Sorcerers Apprentice
Hero
Black powder isn't dynamite. It's a pretty weak explosive, the amount needed to blow up anything of significant size isn't going to be man-portable.
Black powder isn't dynamite. It's a pretty weak explosive, the amount needed to blow up anything of significant size isn't going to be man-portable.
Like anything, it's a question of quantity, the ability for enemies to deal with it, and availability of enemies.Unlimited anything is going to be disruptive to a game. The answer to that is don't give players an unlimited access to things.
That said, I really wonder about people that have (non-thematic) issues with firearms an explosives in D&D. Have they played any other TTRPG that has an early modern, modern, near futuristic, or futuristic base line where firearms and explosives are readily available or expected? Have they played any such game where the players have or expected to have military-grade hardware? If they did, did they have a similar issue in those games?
As someone that has played/run several such games, I just don't understand this issue.
That much gunpowder is bulky, PC's won't easily be able to haul it from place to place. Even if they can, it's still heavy to move around and stage. It's not like they can just easily chuck full powderkegs at an enemy to set them off.It's a LOT of firepower on the PC's side, and if the enemy can't do the same, they start steamrolling everything.
Bags of Holding, Item spells, Portable Holes. It's not bulky enough to stop them from using it, at all. So, yes, they CAN chuck full powderkegs at an enemy. Telekinesis helps. So does Floating Disks, if they are clever. Heck, tie it to a Summoned creature and send it in.That much gunpowder is bulky, PC's won't easily be able to haul it from place to place. Even if they can, it's still heavy to move around and stage. It's not like they can just easily chuck full powderkegs at an enemy to set them off.
Even if they did, there are all kinds of ways where that would be meaningless, like fire immunities and resistances.
It's got a lot more downsides than are obvious, if you think about the logistics of storing, handling, moving, and staging that much gunpowder. Gunpowder isn't a particularly powerful explosive, and has to be in great bulk to be truly destructive. We aren't talking anything on the scale of modern day C4 or Semtex, nothing like a modern hand or rifle grenade.
20d6 is the equivalent of three fireballs. You can buy three scrolls of fireball for around 450gp.Like anything, it's a question of quantity, the ability for enemies to deal with it, and availability of enemies.
Anytime you can directly convert money, which players have plenty of, cheaply into lots of sudden damage, like you can with gunpowder/explosives, that is going to flip your campaign on its ear. The old bag of holding/portable hole trick costs like 30k to pull off, but you can set up a 20d6 mass explosion for a fraction of that.
There's a big difference of 3x 6d6 vs 1x20d6, and gunpowder is a blast, not fire damage. And how much is a barrel of gunpowder? It also doesn't require a mage to make... any mundane with enough Ranks in Alchemy can make one. You also don't need to be a Caster to set off Gunpowder, you can delay it, you can put it in place ahead of time, etc.20d6 is the equivalent of three fireballs. You can buy three scrolls of fireball for around 450gp.
If multiple characters coordinate, they can fire off all three fireballs at once - and it would certainly require multiple characters coordinating to set up and detonate a bomb.There's a big difference of 3x 6d6 vs 1x20d6, and gunpowder is a blast, not fire damage. And how much is a barrel of gunpowder? It also doesn't require a mage to make... any mundane with enough Ranks in Alchemy can make one. You also don't need to be a Caster to set off Gunpowder, you can delay it, you can put it in place ahead of time, etc.