Nuclear Blast

[Legend]

I need some help, I have a number of books (scattered between home and storage)  and I remember in one of them there was a breakdown of a nuclear blast. It was a 12 phase attack with something different happening each phase, but I cannot remember what book it was in Does anyone remember this and what book it was in?

 

Any help appreciated

[Cassandra]

Hero System Almanac 2

 

It also has the update on UNTIL.

[Armitage]

The most recent version was in the 6E Hero System Equipment Guide.

 

The basic nuclear warhead for starship combat in Star Hero was a 20d6 RKA.

The more elaborate version was a 20d6 Drain, a 10d6 Drain, a 12d6 Transform, a 20d6 Dispel, three different 20d6 RKAs, a 3d6 RKA, a 1 point RKA, and a 4d6 Aid.

[Cassandra]

The parts of the blast were 

 

Radiation

Flash

Heat

Shockwave

Vacuum

Fallout

[Christopher]

Personally I would be warry to use any Heroic level resource in Superheroics. Using anything aimed towards heroic campaigns makes the "Superman survives nuclear blast" and "superman destroys a tank" too hard to model.

 

If I had to model a Nuclear blast in superheroic games, it would be a 26-30D6 Normal Damage Blast, Area of Effect (potentially explosion), Megaarea.

Counting in that the blast will get in through Windows (so wall densitiy is mostly irrelevant for the AoE's spreading) this should reliably kill every 2 PD, 10 Body normal. While leaving all the characters that should be "only knocked out" (like superman) alive (but not unaffected). And even allows the martial artists to jump for safety.

[Cassandra]

Personally I would be warry to use any Heroic level resource in Superheroics. Using anything aimed towards heroic campaigns makes the "Superman survives nuclear blast" and "superman destroys a tank" too hard to model.

 

If I had to model a Nuclear blast in superheroic games, it would be a 26-30D6 Normal Damage Blast, Area of Effect (potentially explosion), Megaarea.

Counting in that the blast will get in through Windows (so wall densitiy is mostly irrelevant for the AoE's spreading) this should reliably kill every 2 PD, 10 Body normal. While leaving all the characters that should be "only knocked out" (like superman) alive (but not unaffected). And even allows the martial artists to jump for safety.

 

Batman survived the Gotham Earthquake, so I guess it he could survive a nuclear blast.

 

He's Batman.

[Tech]

Personally I would be warry to use any Heroic level resource in Superheroics. Using anything aimed towards heroic campaigns makes the "Superman survives nuclear blast" and "superman destroys a tank" too hard to model.

 

If I had to model a Nuclear blast in superheroic games, it would be a 26-30D6 Normal Damage Blast, Area of Effect (potentially explosion), Megaarea.

Counting in that the blast will get in through Windows (so wall densitiy is mostly irrelevant for the AoE's spreading) this should reliably kill every 2 PD, 10 Body normal. While leaving all the characters that should be "only knocked out" (like superman) alive (but not unaffected). And even allows the martial artists to jump for safety.

 

I'd more or less agree. The many "official" hero games write-ups of a nuke going off are overrated: at those damage levels, nothing would be left - not even rubble.

[Armitage]

The latest comments lead nicely into something I was thinking this morning...

 

Let's see what happens if we nuke Mechanon (Mark XXXVII).

 

We'll assume average damage, 3.5 per die, instead of the 3 for Standard Effect.

 

Star Hero nuke: 20d6 RKA.

Starting damage is 70 BODY and 140 STUN.

Mechanon's 30 rED reduces that to 40 BODY and 110 STUN.

His 75% Damage Reduction reduces that to 10 BODY and 27 STUN.

He has 10 BODY and 73 STUN remaining, isn't Stunned, and his self-repair systems will have him fully repaired in a little over 3 hours.

 

Equipment Guide nuke: Multiple effects.

Radiation: 20d6 BODY Drain and 10d6 CON Drain, NND (LS: Radiation).  Mechanon has Life Support vs. radiation and takes no damage.

Flash: 12d6 Transform to blind being (42 BODY).  Mechanon's 15 Power Defense reduces this to 27 BODY, which would impose a -4 Sight PER for Partial Transform.  Personally, I would add his 10 Flash Defense, which would reduce it to 17 BODY and -2 Sight PER.

Thermal Blast: 20d6 RKA (70 BODY and 140 STUN).  Defenses reduce it to 10 BODY and 27 STUN as above.

EMP: 20d6 Dispel all electrical devices (70 AP).  Mechanon's Power Defense reduces this to 55.  The only things affected are Animate Technology and his sensor and communication systems.  Animate Technology has the Unified Power Limitation as part of his cyberkinesis, so all of those powers shut-down.  I was nearly done typing this post when I realized that his Self-Repair system is only 24 Active Points.  Uh oh.

Blast Wave, Static Overpressure: 20d6 RKA (70 BODY and 140 STUN).  Mechanon is rigid metal, so he would be affected by this.  Another 10 BODY and 27 STUN.

Blast Wave, Winds: 20d6 RKA (70 BODY and 140 STUN).  Another 10 BODY and 27 STUN.

Negative Pressure: 3d6 RKA (11 BODY and 22 STUN).  Mechanon doesn't notice.

Fires: 1 point RKA.  He doesn't notice this either.

Firestorm: 4d6 Aid Fire powers.  He still won't notice.

 

The grand total is 30 BODY and 81 STUN, leaving him at -10 BODY and 19 STUN.  He's Stunned for 1 Phase, he has a penalty to his Sight PER, his cyberkinesis, advanced sensors, and communication systems are disabled, and his self-repair system is fried.  Normally he would be back to full strength in 10 hours, but without repair capabilities, he would likely detach his head and flee.  Without the encrypted transmitter, he can't detonate his body when he leaves, either.

Mechanon doesn't have any Automaton Powers, so technically he would be "bleeding to death" after the blast and would "die" in 10 Turns if he didn't flee.