I'm going to be playing an explosives expert in the next few days and I was wondering if there is anyone who has done a lot with explosives in SR4 and knows of anything fun or interesting (even not necessarily useful) things to do with explosives.

Additionally, is there some basic ideas or tricks that I should know/do with explosives ingame.

usually they're too loud, but two things I like:
-destraction
-cutting charges

I grew up in a mining town, does that count?

Bangalore explosives. Especially ones that use common explosive components. They are your friend. Especially if you can build them yourself and make them the size you need.

Instant doorway anywhere you want (Watch the first part of the movie HEAT as a demonstration.), and there's a few other tips and tricks I can suggest that I might not want to on a public forum.

Go for it I'm looking for some in-game fun

Well, if you're building your own, use pipes that are the same diameter of those used in a building you're infiltrating/ex-filtrating, and set up some new lines using it along your escape routes with some hacked-in work orders as a contractor.

Instant blockage of the hallway after you run past that point if you shape them right.

And people wonder why my Demolitions expert likes to scope out sites days before a job.

"Dude, we caught you and your team, you're all handcuffed and disarmed, why are you smiling?"






-k

I've also given the suggestion a few times of how to clear out a bad fire-fight area with some judicious use of shaped charges.

If the Fridge or Stove is against an exterior wall, you suddenly have a massive shrapnel charge just begging to be used to clear out an area where any Tangos will congregate in large numbers at least once in awhile unless they have a VERY security conscious boss. Put a few on the ceiling as well for more confusion, probably claymores or something there. Rig up multiple ones, and have them go off at different times, one with a long delay, for when someone pops in and goes "Whafrag?". (Got this idea from a Punisher comic of all places.).

Air Conditioners are also great weights to drop on people you don't like. If you don't care about collateral damage, you can use it as an assassination tool by setting up some cutting charges, and a passive RFID Sensor that triggers it using the building's own Nexus system. Just set the sensor to set the explosives off when the target's corporate-provided ID Tag goes over it, and... Wham, wham, wham, wham... Down comes the air conditioner through a few floors. (I got this idea from a novel where the main character was moments from being killed from the air conditional just falling down due to lack of maintenance.).

If you can seal them properly (FOIL! Not plastic!) to get around chem sniffers, a deliveryman is practically invisible in the Corporate World. Drop off a package for Mr. Target to go off when only his Corporate ID is in range of the expected blast and... (CSI. With my own ideas.)

Finally, the movie "The Italian Job" (the new one) has an excellent use of explosives for getting access to an armored car.

Finally-Finally... From The Dresden Files: Clean out the Asbestos and replace it with high explosives around an office! "And I just paid my rent, too."

Fun with fuses----

1) Fuse to no where

Take about 30 feet or more of somewhat slow burning fuse. Run it under a nearby car within site of the guard tower. Either the guards will run to try to put out the fuse or they will run away.

Same with just laying a fuse down a hallway and under a door.

2) Explosive pets

Attach a fuse to the collar of a guard dog or any pet that goes near your intended target. There doesn't need to be any explosives. Just a fuse or detonator. Much havoc ensues as everyone tries to deal with the animal.

Basically it is easier to get the fuses or to rig a fake detonator than to get the real explosives. Do this a few times then send in the real thing. The guards may be apathetic enough that they let the real bomb slip in.

Detcord is very fun stuff. It's useful as a timing device, but if you have a target you want to intimidate properly in a rich zone, like the places that pride themselves on their yard and the trees in them, hack the maintenance drone/impersonate the gardener (Pre/post "Emergence") and put in a bit of detcord around the property. Set up a zeppelin drone with a IR Camera to see when he's enjoying his morning coffee (Yes, the real stuff!) and looking at his beautiful lawn and grin as you press the detonator.

For added insult, angle it so that the tree falls on the house.

Just remembered something...

During the "Kidnap a Cartoon" 'Run in LA, my group used special effects charges in trash cans (They were disguised as cola cans) to simulate a terrorist attack. Just flash-bangs with a bit of harmless smoke, but enough to cause a distraction.

It doesn't always have to be big, after all.

...one of Leela's favourite tricks was to bypass the normal pin trigger of an HE IPE hand grenade with a micro radio detonator. She would then play her "little girl" act and hand said grenade to a Serb soldier saying she found it while playing. Usually after pat on the head and being shooed away she scampered off but would stay within eyesight, waiting for him to go inside whatever Serb army installation that was nearby, After a few moments she would "think" her "trigger word" (she had a transducer implant patched to a micro transceiver) setting the grenade off.

...reminds me of the old Heavy Angel Urban Outfitters' Distraction in a Can.

I think I remember that from... Somewhere...

The best piece of advice I can give is to do your math ahead of time. Calculating explosive damage and breaching size can really slow a game down and it especially sucks if you are on a run, need a breaching change and find out you don't have enough kilos to blast your way out of there.

I'm going to give a big NO to that last bit. You set off a trigger event like that, you'll get corporate officers screaming bloody murder at their guards for letting a potential situation like that happen. Security will be more vigilant, operational procedures will be revised and updated, and trying to do it again will be ten times harder.

Bit of background: I work in retail, providing an age-restricted service. When we get government inspectors testing our compliance with the law, and someone messes up, there are letters from our base office to remind us of the consequences of failing, there are visits from supervisors and action plans demanded to prevent a repeat. Apply that logic and increase the risk from loss of job, fine, and possible prison sentence to potential damage to property and people, even loss of life, and you'll quickly see why giving the guards a freebie is never a good idea.

OK, that's also good. While they're looking for bombs, they're neglecting other parts of security (Sun Tzu wrote about trying to strong everywhere means you're weak everywhere, after all.). That alone will give security hole openings that the group can utilize in other ways.

Have the Security Spider sniffing heavily for explosives, and the Lesbian Elf Stripper Ninja can sneak right in and shiv the target with her katana, no problems at all. She doesn't smell a thing like Nitrates.

... Well, as long as she stays away from the fatty food, at least, but a LESN has to watch her figure anyhow.

I think they can be strong everywhere in security, and maybe they're weak on public advertising or something.

So, they grab Joe and Richard from PR, give them new uniforms and pistols and tell them, "You're working security now."?

A Mega, sure, they can move people around enough to be effectively strong everywhere. Smaller corps, less so.

And even Megas, do those "Fake Bomb" deals with some Terrorist trappings, and they'll move their security to those sites, leaving the area you're really targeting open just that bit more.

Think like a Stainless Steel Rat. Small cracks are all you need.

As usual, YMMV. Sure, they may be hopped up on bomb defence, but if a team tried that on my watch, all security would be heightened, guards kicked up the arse to stay awake and on-topic. Alert guards are a problem, even if they're alert for the wrong flavour of trouble.

True enough, but you're a fairly intelligent person who would also demand a salary compensate to that for your knowledge.

Will the Corp decide you're worth that much? For a simple "Security Guard Supervisor"?

Depends on the Corp. Thus, Legwork. Find out as much as you can about the company, and, more importantly, the people behind the company.

Remember, you're not fighting technology as much as you're fighting the people that use the technology.

I dunno, if a property of mine was subject to a rash of "false alarms", I'd mark it down as a possible target of a hit and increase the security complement there, at least temporarily.




-k

"There is NO Problem that can NOT be solved with the right ammount of Explosives"

"...amen brothers and sisters." [translated from the Hvartski]





...heeheeheehee, the Queen of Diamonds strikes again

And that's why you use my Java app just for this... (Check my sig)

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition... P for Plenty!"

back to the nasty little tricks, 1/2 kilo of C12 (per) in the railway tressel/overpass pipes with whatever is available for shrapnel makes a nice little (6in depth) claymore for covering your withdrawal, just leave the detonator with the sniper on overwatch.

i played a demo expert for a while and we had this run where we were covering a johnson for a meet. Meet was next to a railroad bridge that was constructed with pipes for crossmembers and i set up (with radio detonators) the above. When the meet went south and my team was bugging out they passed under the bridge and the goons were chaising we detonated the charges riddling the open top truck they were in with the equivilent of three claymore mines.

In some ways, I want to ask my military buddies about their experiences in "The Sandbox" about tricks they ran up against.

In other ways, I like sleep.

BTW: Silly String should be on the equipment sheet, it's now used by the Canadian Armed Forces as a precautionary measure.

Usually explosives are used for structural damage/demolitions or anti-vehicular usage. Anti-personnel usually isn't well served. Didn't Mythbusters show that the Operation Valkyrie plan failed due to being set-off in a room with easily broken windows and such allowed too much of the explosive force/energy to leak out that way, hence the damage to the people inside was not as powerful?

I would see demolition experts mostly used in sabotage runs, or runs that implicate/frame others.

To wit:
-Successful use of explosives is all about maximizing force into your desired target(s), while minimizing excess force.

-Anything that compresses easily doesn't make a very good medium for transmitting force. Air compresses pretty easily, don't use it if you don't have to. Water, metal, most solid things are pretty useful here.

Anti-Personnel is usually shrapnel charges, with the shards of metal/ball-bearings doing the actual Anti to the Personnel.

And I've seen a few simulations around Operation Valkarie, one of which used the actual bunker where it happened.

Had the case been on the other side of the table leg, no Hitler... And possibly a longer war, as he wouldn't have ordered as many tactical blunders. Or maybe a shot at surrendering without Berlin being stomped over... Who knows?

As I've said before, the right tools for the right job.

Well, first day of play and we've pieced together some fun toys.

Bomb Vest
DV 40
AP -20
-1/2 DV/m

Vest- 50
Skinlink- 50
Blasting Cap- 10
Electrical Det- 20

Threshold (Vest)
-1/2 DV/m (+2) (+5 Min)
-20 AP (+40) (+1 hr 40 min)

Threshold (Cooking)
120 for 20 kilos R10
12 Hours- 1 test per hour for 120
Cost 1500
(Assuming all my math is correct)

Obviously this is a last resort type of item. An alternative plan was to use the vest as a negotiation tool along the lines of "Let me and my buddies go or you and everyone you've ever known goes up in smoke!"

Or to scare your target into moving in the direction you want them to, ala the movie "RED".

Don't forget the humorously over-sized clock.

Sounds like a heavy vest, at a little over 20 Kilos. Aside from that, hopefully the opposing forces don't get (un)lucky with a grenade throw and take out your entire team (and themselves) with a sympathetic explosion. It would also be DV 44.

I forget how heavy my "Utility Vest" or "Bat-Vest" was when I was doing Field Computer Tech work, but it knocked over a coat tree on it's own that normally handled Canadian-Grade winter coats.

What is the carrying capacity of most drones?

I'm thinking of making some cheap suicide bombers

Never stated.

'Course, remember, a City Bus can be a "Drone" when you think about it.

Just don't make the same mistake my IRAiE guy did...

Bust a moves work well for this - cheap, and while small, still big enough for a kilo or 3 of plastique.

Cutest bomb you'll ever have the misfortune of meeting.

Best use I've heard for them yet!

A Bust-A-Move filled with liquid explosive and an atomizer fitted into the mouth...

"i'm a 10 second bomb! i'm a 10 second bomb! I'm a five second bomb and you are fucked!"

"I'm a ten second bomb with a short fuse, go ahead and make fun of me you Motherslotter!"

*Cute little girl dolls voice* "Dadda.... Dadda..." When the doll get picked up, *Demonic sounding deep male voice* "Who's your Daddy Now?" *Bang*

OK, I scared myself again.

The Baby Carriage Traps from Fallout 3. Spookiest things ever! A doll's head nestled between two fragmentation mines. The only warning you get is a baby's cry, then, BOOM!

Was really glad they didn't come back for Fallout: New Vegas.

detcord is handy for surprises as well, as it resembles rope or wire, and that's pretty inconspicous. You can also tie it around people to intimidate them, or to set up a 'daisy chain' of explosives around an area.

Oh, and I can't remember where I heard it, but it should also be possible form a giant humanoid shape out of C6 plastic explosive, ritually prepare it, and then have a mage bind a spirit into it - point at enemy fortification, get the hell out of there, profit

Although it might not be useful in Shadowruns (Who knows, it might come in handy), Detcord can also be used to quickly cut down trees.

Angle it right, and you can even arrange how they fall. Useful for Mercs cutting down lines of fire, setting up barricades and fighting positions, clearing a zone for Panzers to pick-up/dust-off, and so on.

Then again, if you're in a city that has a lot of trees along the side of a road, you have a roadblock you can set off whenever you want.

Telephone poles are basically like trees... *evil grin*

Light poles

Parking meters? No man can eat fifty eggs.

Fifty Eggs? Color me Confused a bit...