Re: [HoE] New Blast Rules (possible spoilers)

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

Matthew Steflik wrote:
> Yet if I'm following this correctly under the new blast rules, BOTH have
> an EQUAL maximum threshold of 60 yards regardless of raises? And this
> also means a mere 60 yards out from a GZ you might not take ANY damage
> (6-1d6 locations)?
> 
> What?!?  Am I misinterpreting this?

Ok, yes, the rules do pretty much say that, but I think you need to put
things into perspective.

60 yards is actually quite a ways away. If the explosion was on the
50-yard line on a football field, and you're standing in the endzone,
how much damage would you realistically expect? The farther away you get
from ground zero, the volume increases as a cube of the radius.
Affecting such a huge volume is rather hard to do. In order to
signifigantly damage something at 60 yards, you have to use a *REALLY*
big explosive device.

Assuming the explosion is in a hemispherical shape, the volume would be
1/2 * (4/3)(pi)(r^3). If the radius is 60 yards or 120 feet, then the
volume would be roughly 3,600,000 cubic feet. That's about 3.6 MILLION
cubic feet. Assuming any shrapnel would have to fill that volume evenly,
at 60 yards you've got a *really* good chance to avoid anything nasty.
Any heat energy would also dissipate evenly throughout that volume, so
you'll probably keep your eyebrows at 60 yards. Of course, the real
kicker with explosives, even at 60 yards, is the concussion wave. To a
concussion wave, the human body looks like a bag of water, and is going
to hit it like a wall of bricks. Concussion waves are *really* hard on
eyes and eardrums. At the very least, you're going to be stunned.

But although it's nice to have "realistic" explosives, HOE is a
"cinematic" game. That means after a big Hollywood-style explosion, the
good guys get up, dust themselves off, and generally aren't seriously
hurt. Striking the right balance between realism+mathematics and
Hollywood-style fun is very difficult to do.