[Shadowjack]

I threw my first High explosive grenade today and the rules in the bbb were very unclear. I would love an explanation on how they work.

[Angelone]

Basically not well at all, but better than rockets. First you roll your throwing skll then you roll for scatter (2d6 I think afb) you then subtract the number of hits you got from the scatter and that's how close you got from the target, figure damage from there.

For example, you threw a HE grenade, you would roll thrown weapons. Let's say you got 5 hits, scatter is rolled and it comes up 7. HE grenades subtract hits times 2 iirc so you would subtract 10 from 7 getting -3. Meaning you basically hit the target in the face and did full damage. If the grenade landed farther away it would do less damage usually -1 per meter.

Edit- Wow that was a pain to type up on a smartphone. Stupid autocorrect.

[Shadowjack]

I thought all grenades don't blow up until your next initiative pass. Is that not the case? What is the blast radius on a HE grenade? It just say "-2 m" and most other grenades said "10 ft radius".

[UmaroVI]

That means the DV drops off by 2 per meter. Yes, Grenades do in fact suck; you're usually best off with Flashbangs or Splash grenads because neither of them drop off.

[Angelone]

They blow up on your next action, so if you have multiple IPs they go off pretty quickly. The blast radius is 5m for the HE grenade.

[Shadowjack]

Can't my opponents just run as a free action and escape the blast radius? Lol. I'm struggling to see any point to this type of grenades. I guess if you are up against opponents with just 1 ip you can delay your actions and throw it after everyone's acted and then it will get them on your next ip, right? Still seems very gimmicky.

[CanRay]

Grenades can be used to flush people out from cover as well as used to try and hurt them directly.

Example:  "Two-Bats" Nick, the former MLB pitcher turned Shadowrunner after his adept status was revealed, is working with "Tommy Gun" Timmy, who has a LMG set up on a bipod, and are trying to take out a group of Mafioso in Quebec City as part of a job.  The Shadowrunners have good cover in a brick and mortar framed window on the second-floor of a building, while the Mafioso has gone to cover behind their armored cars.  (The cars are incapacitated by GridGuide, through the work of their hacker, "Slow Hand" Luke the Technomancer.).

Two-Bats has a box of grenades of various types at his feet, and starts pitching them, bouncing them off the walls of the building behind the Mafioso and having them land under the cars so that the Mafia guys can't reach them to throw them back or kick them away.  The explosion will funnel under the car into the street and sidewalk.  The Mob guys freak out at the explosives that just landed next to them, and run out away from the cars, right into the sights of "Tommy Gun" Timmy.

The few that don't find out that those weren't HE Grenades, but Neurostun, and start having to deal with sleepy-sleepy hitting them, which would leave them nice and vulnerable to the street monsters that would slit a person's throat for a pair of beat up sneakers, forget the Naga Hide shoes these guys are wearing.

[Shadowjack]

That's a very good example. CanRay How about using them to deal damage?

[CanRay]

Use them in a way that prevents people from being able to get out of the way.

Example:  Two-Bats is back with his box of grenades of various types, after having gotten through all the mooks, on the way to the true target.  Unfortunately, he's sealed himself into a room with thick cermacrete walls of the warehouse, with an HMG set up on a tripod and a couple linked boxes of ammo for a long night (Funny how Mr. Johnson hadn't mentioned the Ma-Deuce!).

Selecting a HE grenade, he has "Slow Hand" Luke go through the security in the building and hack the electronic lock on the door (Oops, someone didn't set up their matrix security right!), and has "Tommy Gun" Timmy open the door from the (relative) safety of the wall just long enough to pitch the grenade in so it bounces around the room.  The Boss watches the grenade bounce around the room, unable to know where to dive for cover when it goes off, the door now closed and locked again.

Cue chunky salsa rule in the 3mX3mX3m tiny office.

[Shadowjack]

Ah, okay. That's not bad then I guess I can't just lob them in the middle of the thugs like I thought Thanks again!

[CanRay]

Another option is to have the grenade go off in a way so that the person doesn't know it's about to.

Changing out the regular timer fuse for a wireless or sensor detonator would work well.  Have a Ultraviolet Laser sensor to set the grenade to go off when it's broken, the 2070s version of low-test fishing line.    (Using grenades as booby traps is an old, old trick.).

[UmaroVI]

Airburst Link also helps, a lot. But you have to have the airburst link on a launcher (and it uses Heavy Weapons, not Throwing). I don't really like thrown grenades much, but grenade launchers have some uses (albeit niche ones); the MGL-6 is a solid choice since it is concealable.

Another way to hurt people is if they have less IPs than you, throw it after they are out of actions. For example, if you open a door and see 6 guards (who have 1 IP each), you might choose to, say, take cover and Full Defense on your first action, hope you stay up through the hail of gunfire, and then toss a grenade in on your second pass, then shoot any survivors on your third pass.

Another good use: you can modify grenades to have no time delay. This means they blow up right in your face immediately. This doesn't sound like a great idea... but what if it is, say, a Splash grenade and you're wearing a chemically sealed suit? Another good use is smoke/thermal smoke grenades with no time delay on noncombat characters; quick cover centered on you. You can also do stuff like have an Indestrucitroll setting off point-blank no-time-delay grenades and soaking the damage but your GM might smack you.

[Shadowjack]

Hehe, thanks. All of this is quite helpful.

[KarmaInferno]

Alternate tactic: use Gecko Tape and a remote trigger, physically slap the grenade onto the target and run away before detonating.





-k

[CanRay]

Gecko tape to the underside of the car with a motion sensitive detonator.  Known as the Minnie Mae!