The Engineering - Demolitions skill makes you a master of destruction, trained in the art of turning anything and everything into a pile of rubble with surgical precision. From taking down towering buildings to blasting through secure vaults, you know just how much explosive force is needed to reduce any obstacle in your way to a cloud of dust and debris.
With your expert knowledge of explosives and their effects, you can quickly assess the best way to demolish any structure, whether it be with a simple explosion or a series of precisely placed charges. You know the intricacies of each explosive device, from the raw power of a traditional bomb to the more subtle effects of timed and remote detonations. And with your steady hand and sharp eye, you can execute each demolition plan with deadly accuracy.
But with great power comes great responsibility, and you know that every explosion you create could comes with a high cost in space. You must be careful not cause unnecessary damage or blow though an outer hull, for the consequences could be disastrous.
You have been training in the use of arming and disarming explosives and know just how much, or more importantly, how little is required to terraform a variety of substances such as reinforced concrete, into confetti.
Rule-playing Demolitions: Generally it’s pretty easy to blow something up The base difficulty is 5.
| Object Construction | Toughness |
|---|---|
| Flimsy (plywood door) | 1D |
| Tough (hard wooden door, most guns) | 2D |
| Sturdy (bolted steel door, personal safe) | 3D |
| Very sturdy (a few layers of steel) | 4D |
| Reinforced (numerous layers of steel) Toughness | 6D |
Have the player roll a demolitions skill check, use the tables below to help your work out a DC.
If they roll well remove a few dice from the Toughness table above and roll the Hit Points for the structure. Have the player roll damage.
If the player exceeds the Hit Points for the structure it has had its molecular bonding rearranged to the player's intent.
For extra damage and special effects, the character must spend extra actions setting up the explosives.
The character also needs to indicate how much explosive they are using. They can use more than one Charge, however, each charge takes at least one action to set.
Items that take at least 10 points above their hit-points total are severely damaged, if not destroyed. Items taking less than that are weakened, and another attempt may be made against the remaining hit-points.
Remember that, while a character may think an object is constructed of one type of material, it may not be. Though this does not alter the difficulty of setting the explosive, it may change the results of special effects. For instance, an explosive set for thin wood won’t do much good if that’s only veneer for reinforced steel.
Also don’t forget explosives are loud, very loud and most security systems have some form of noise detection.
| Example | DC |
|---|---|
| Rigging a bomb so a car explodes the next time it starts | 10 |
| Blowing something open without leaving permanent marks or burns | 15 |
| Rigging an explosion so its force goes in a specific direction | 15 |
| Rigging an explosion so that only a certain, small piece of a much larger object is damaged | 20 |
| Extra charges that work in concert | +3 per charge |
| Familiarity with Target | DC |
|---|---|
| Very familiar or common (tree, wall) | -5 |
| Familiar (bulkhead, bridge support) | +0 |
| Unfamiliar (building of unknown construction) | +10 |
| Completely unknown item or construction Modifier | +15 |
Rather than spending skill points to move up skill levels, You may instead spend skill points to purchase any of the following tricks.
Click Boom:
Cost: 2 Skill points
Requires: Tactical Training
Effect: You have one of your operatives plant explosives ahead of time. Once per mission you may activate a C4 Breaching Charge on a structure of your choice.
Quick Fuse: With this trick, you can set a timed fuse on explosives in half the usual time, allowing for more precision in detonation timing.
Controlled Demolition: This trick allows you to demolish a structure with extreme precision, selectively taking out specific parts of the building while leaving the rest intact.
Plastic Explosive: This trick involves the creation of a sticky, moldable explosive that can be shaped to fit the needs of the job, such as fitting into tight spaces or wrapping around structures.
Underwater Demolitions: With this trick, you gain expertise in handling explosives underwater, allowing you to take out underwater structures or enemy vessels.
Micro-Detonator: This trick allows you to create a tiny detonator that can be remotely activated, perfect for sabotaging small devices or booby-trapping doors.
Silent Explosives: This trick allows you to create explosives that produce no sound upon detonation, allowing for covert operations.
Shockwave Grenade: This trick involves the creation of a grenade that produces a powerful shockwave upon detonation, capable of knocking out enemy personnel and disabling electronic devices.
Shaped Charge: With this trick, you can create an explosive that focuses its energy in a specific direction, capable of penetrating armor or breaching walls.
Detonation Probe: This trick involves the creation of a remote probe that can be used to trigger explosive devices from a distance, allowing for safer demolitions operations.
Implosion Charge: This trick allows you to create an explosive charge that collapses structures inward upon detonation, reducing collateral damage and creating a more controlled demolition.
The EMP Grenade is a highly specialized skill trick in the Engineering - Demolitions skill that involves crafting and deploying a grenade that releases an intense electromagnetic pulse upon detonation. This pulse is designed to overload and destroy any electronic systems or devices within its blast radius, rendering them completely inoperable. This can include everything from computer systems to security cameras, electronic locks, drones, and even vehicles.
The EMP Grenade can be a valuable tool for a skilled demolitions expert, allowing them to gain access to heavily fortified buildings and installations by disabling any electronic security measures. However, it must be used with caution, as it can also affect any cyberware or other electronic implants that the user or their allies may have, making them temporarily non-functional as well.