Alchemical Item: Fire Bombs

Materials

Flammable materials (sulphur and pitch) in an oil base.  Sulphur may be found in volcanic areas, around hot springs or in the depths of the earth.  Pitch is made by processing coal tar.  Oil can also be made from coal, or extracted from vegetables or animal fats.  Coal is found in volcanic areas.  Guideline Purchasing Price: 1GP per d6

Glass for the container.  Guideline Purchasing Price: 1GP per d6

Spell

None is necessary, but the process of sealing the flammable materials into the glass without igniting them is tricky (DL on Build Traps = Strength No. of Bomb to be built), and can be carried out more safely by an Elementalist Bottle Fire Spell.

Guideline Purchasing Price: F(F+1)/2 GP to bottle an Fd6 Fire Bomb

Effect

To throw a Fire Bomb, treat it as a Misc. Object Thrown Weapon Type having StN of F (see Weapon Tables in Armoury)

They detonate in 1 sec for their Strength No. ("F") in d6 of Fire Damage when broken by impact on a hard surface or >0 DAM inflicted (e.g. by a crossbow bolt) on them.  The Fire ignites in the second of impact on contact with air.

Blast Radius: 5Fft, as a sphere.  Cover may protect from the blast, as it radiates out from the point of detonation.

The flammable materials are unstable, and there is a chance of a dud: roll d100 RUD on detonation:

• If <= F is rolled, subtract 1 d6 for each point < (F+1) rolled: e.g if 05 is rolled for a No. 6 Fire Bomb, it does 4d6, & if <= 0 is rolled, it does no DAM.
• If <= 100 is rolled, add 1 d6 for each point < 99 rolled: e.g if 100 is rolled for a No. 6 Fire Bomb, it does 7d6, & if rolled up to 101 it does 8d6

Decrease / increase Blast Radius accordingly.

A st at BTS (45+5F)% (Co) against the fire damage halves the damage taken (FRU: e.g. 5 is halved to 2), and a further st may then be made to halve it again. Once a st is failed, the Target takes the remaining fire damage. The min ADS of any armour that covers the majority of the body subtracts from the damage taken. All damage taken is general damage.

Double the DAM taken if Target is Fire Vulnerable.

Notes:

1. Fire Bombs are glass spheres filled with an explosive liquid.  They are normally completely sealed in the glass, but may be constructed with fuses (typically oil-soaked rags of varying lengths) or stoppers (so that the Fire may be extracted and used for other purposes).

2. The Fire cannot be extinguished by water, but will burn up in 1 sec.  It will ignite flammable materials (but the damage caused to clothing, etc is taken into account in the initial DAM done).

3. Fire Resistance / Prot. vs Fire / Extinguish Spells and Effects all work against the Fire Damage from Fire Bombs.

4. They have encumbrance of 5 * their Strength No. each.

5. They can be stored indefinitely, although the glass may yellow.

6. If someone carrying a Fire Bomb(s) takes Fire (or other explosive or impact-based) General Damage, there is a chance each Fire Bomb carried will itself be detonated.  Make a further st for each Bomb carried by that Being (starting with the biggest), adding to BTS the total DAM taken after all ADS, Prots & sts.  Repeat for each further Bomb detonated, cumulating all DAM taken so far.