Also the standard Shadowrun issue that demolitions and driving both have needlessly overcomplicated and math-heavy rules for no good reason.
I don't ever want to try and figure out by the book how to calculate damage for hitting someone with a car again. I have an example here for trying to calculate a simple, iconic demolitions use, blowing in the door of an apartment :
Say you slap a quarter kilo of minimum rating (6) plastique in a directional shaped charge (45 degree arc to only blow into the room) onto an apartment door to blow it in. Per the rules, one cannot use less than a kilo mathematically, as the math explicitly rounds down making less than a kilo effectively zero kilos.
Logic + Demolitions scores four successes. So our equation looks like this :
Rating + (Successes on Demolitions + Logic) x sqrt(number of kilograms of explosive)
[6 + 4] x sqrt(1) = 10 x 1 = 10
So we've got a DV 10 explosion.
QUOTE ("SR5 @ Page 436")
An explosive’s Damage Value is calculated
as its Rating (modified by the Demolitions Test,
if you made one) times the square root of the
number of kilograms used (rounded down). The
Blast value for a circular explosion is –2 per meter,
while the Blast value for a directional explosion
(up to 60 degrees in a specific direction)
is –1 per meter. When explosives are attached
directly to a target, the target’s armor is halved;
otherwise the explosive has an AP value of –2.
If an explosion destroys a barrier, it creates a
cloud of deadly shrapnel that threatens an area
far bigger than the actual blast—the shrapnel blast
has a DV equal to the explosive’s DV minus the
Structure rating of the barrier, with a Blast of –1/m.
QUOTE ("SR5 @ Page 197")
If a character intends to destroy a barrier (or knock a hole
in it), resolve the attack normally. Since barriers can’t
dodge, the attack test is unopposed. The purpose of the
attack test is to generate extra hits to add to the Damage
Value. If a character got no hits, then only apply the base
Damage Value. The only way a character could “miss”
is if he got a critical glitch on the attack test, thus proving
themselves literally unable to hit the broad side of a
barn. A character may use Demolitions as the attack skill
if he has the proper materials and time to set charges.
Before rolling the barrier’s damage resistance test,
adjust the modified Damage Value to reflect the type of
attack, as noted on the Damaging Barriers Table.
Now then, onto what happens when it goes boom.
First, the barrier gets to roll a damage resistance test, with structure + armor. Given this is a standard door, it has Structure 2 and Armor 4 per the chart on pg 197. However, since this is an explosive placed up against the door, we're not done with the math and ready to roll yet. Per the 'Damaging Barriers' chart on page 198, explosives in contact with the barrier get to use Base DV times two. As this section quotes a completely different method of blowing up a door than the one under Demolitions :
We're going to assume the Base DV of this explosive is the one calculated above, despite it having the results of a demolitions + logic roll added in, as the rules on 197 state that the table's results adjust the modified DV. So the next roll is as follows :
2 (structure) + 4 (armor) dice rolled vs 10 (base DV) x 2 (per damaging barriers chart)
So 6 dice vs DV 20.
Assuming an average roll on 6 dice, the barrier gets 4 successes. This leaves 16 DV unsoaked, which is more than the 2 structure the door has, and thus the door has been damaged!
Per 'Damaging A Barrier', page 197-198, The remaining 16 successes are divided by the door's structure to determine the extent of the damage. 1 square meter of hole is generated per multiple of the structure left over in DV. Thus here, a 8 square meter hole would be generated.
We'll assume most apartments don't have a 8 square meter door. Now back to page 436!
QUOTE ("SR5 @ Page 436")
If an explosion destroys a barrier, it creates a
cloud of deadly shrapnel that threatens an area
far bigger than the actual blast—the shrapnel blast
has a DV equal to the explosive’s DV minus the
Structure rating of the barrier, with a Blast of –1/m.
The penetrating a barrier section on page 197-8 doesn't actually have any specifics
at all as to how you actually destroy a barrier, only how to punch a hole in one. In this case, I'm going to go with the assumption that if the hole is larger than the object, that object is destroyed.
This door has clearly been destroyed!
Therefore, anyone on the other side of this door needs to soak :
The 10 DV (AP-2) (Minus 1 DV per meter as this is a directional explosion) explosion/blast effect itself.
-AND-
The secondary shrapnel explosion, at :
10 (Explosion DV) - 2 (structure rating of the door) with a Blast of -1 per meter.
So the door is gone, and the guy standing behind it is soaking two hits, one at 10DV (AP-2) and one at 8 DV.
As this is a shaped explosion, the people on the outside of the door do not have to soak it as well. If this was a standard spherical explosion, they would have to soak 10 DV (AP-2) -2 per meter from the door.
I have intentionally assumed this apartment is big enough that we don't have to calculate the blast reflection as well.
Now we move on to the next combat turn, and hopefully success on the part of the runners storming the apartment.
You see the number of assumptions I had to make up there? This is why I'm asking if this is an errata point or rules as intended, because there are details missing and conflicting rules in these two sections that need clarification. Also, there's a typo in the earlier part of that same rule on page 436. The rules for barriers are not on page 194 as quoted, they're on page 197.
