i think one use of pain is, in a game with hit locations, rules for using wounded or disabled limbs. Also you could 'push' your contortionist skill if you can resist the pain required/
foci that look like they can be dodged would more likely to be deflected even if they would explode if they hit a proper target. The trick would be to determine the deflected hex.
i would buy characters with Cortical Stacks as AIs with EGO stat. they could be inserted into bodies and acquire the physical attributes of the bodies.