Cattle Fences Revisited -- Personal Experience

[Tallor]

I was thinking about Jurrassic Park and looked up electric fences in GURPS: High Tech, and hey, they were there! But to my surprise they work very unlike the one that I actually came in contact with, one fateful day.

I'll spare you the details, but I was out in cattle country and heard a clicking noise out by a nylon-rope fence (I later looked closer to find the metal wire was interwoven with the rope, and hardly visible). I leaned over on it and a zap shot up my arm--not a constant stream, mind you, but a tap-tap-tap that matched the clicking noise that I learned was from the fence's hub.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think--at least in my experience--that cattle wires would be constant streams nor would they be a HT or stun. I'd say it's Moderate- or Severe Pain on contact, no save. Those things hurt, but "stunning" doesn't seem like how I would describe it, since it wasn't enough to prevent my other limbs from reflexively pulling me away.

[DanHoward]

Electric fences vary a lot. Some have a much higher voltage and shorter pulse interval than the one you experienced (or no pulse at all). Some of the ones used by the military and high-security prisons are specifically designed to be lethal.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Tallor

Those things hurt, but "stunning" doesn't seem like how I would describe it, since it wasn't enough to prevent my other limbs from reflexively pulling me away.

Stunning is not paralysis - it doesn't prevent active defenses, dropping things, or falling over. But it doesn't require dropping things and falling over either!

What you expected was paralysis. What you described was stunning.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Tallor

I leaned over on it and a zap shot up my arm--not a constant stream, mind you, but a tap-tap-tap that matched the clicking noise that I learned was from the fence's hub.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think--at least in my experience--that cattle wires would be constant streams nor would they be a HT or stun. I'd say it's Moderate- or Severe Pain on contact, no save. Those things hurt, but "stunning" doesn't seem like how I would describe it, since it wasn't enough to prevent my other limbs from reflexively pulling me away.

Tap-tap-tap, so long as you've got a few pulses each second, is close enough to "continuous" for GURPS purposes. The point is that, if you keep a hold of the object, it will keep shocking you. I don't see anything on HT204 (cattle fence), B420 (Stunning rules), or B432 (Nonlethal Electricity rules) that causes the Stun to prevent you from pulling away. Modern electrical fences (as well as cattle prods, shock collars, etc) do typically function more by inflicting pain than by Stunning, but the effect is more "Will roll to not get away from the thing causing pain" than the GURPS Pain conditions, and GURPS typically dislikes taking away agency from the player in this manner. Stun is a good alternative.

Of course, that's actually not the kind of fence HT is talking about - HT's cattle fence is just a slightly-improved version of the jury-rigged version mentioned in the text above, which probably would function more-or-less how the stats describe. Touching that is still going to hurt, but the Stun is going to be the more important component.

[ericthered]

Some explaination for why electric fences intended for cattle behave like that.

Cows won't quickly brute force their way through fences. They slowly push their way through, and most of their tricks involve putting their whole weight on the fence for a period of time. The electric shock is to get the cows to stop touching the fence, and all it needs to be is uncomfortable. More power won't make the fence any tougher vs. cows.

Electric fences aimed at people have a different line of thought behind them.

[(E)]

Electric fences have a pain factor (not quite true pain but close enough) and they also cause involuntary muscle spasms not unlike a tens machine. This can be compensated for but when combined with the pain it requires a fair amount of concentration and will power.

The cracking noise that was heard indicates a short circuit somewhere in the fence. Polywire or polytape is the commercial name for the wire used and it indicates a maximum voltage of about 10kv, though typically this would be closer to 6kv (minus what was lost in the short)

The structure of a fence is also important when determining what effect it has. Does it have earth wires, how are they located relative to the live wires?

A commercial electric fence of 6kv can knock out a large man if the circumstances are ideal. Electric shock to the back of the head combined with a solid earth through the arms. Being wet makes it easier.

It is also possible under other conditions to hold onto a live wire running about 4kv and with a straight face say "it's not going"

Regards animals and fences
Typically animals have to be acclimatized to electric fences, if they are not used to them they can charge through them, especially if the power is low. Cunning older animals may even habitually test fences. To stop bulls units can run as high as 16kv, ones for Rhinos and Hippos run even higher. This is volts not amps. If you want a fence to cause harm increase the amps. The higher voltage is required to ensure the shock penetrates gets deep enough to get to get to nerves.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Cows won't quickly brute force their way through fences. They slowly push their way through

My grandfather kept cows on his farm for a time, and I remember him complaining about one once that would repeatedly break the fence in exactly this manner. It was determined enough ("Freedom!") that the discomfort wasn't enough to stop it, and so it would just lean up against the electrified wire and lean its weight on it until the wire snapped. Then it (and the other cows) could wander off. He did a lot of fence maintenance while that cow was around.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

My grandfather kept cows on his farm for a time, and I remember him complaining about one once that would repeatedly break the fence in exactly this manner. It was determined enough ("Freedom!") that the discomfort wasn't enough to stop it, and so it would just lean up against the electrified wire and lean its weight on it until the wire snapped. Then it (and the other cows) could wander off. He did a lot of fence maintenance while that cow was around.

I guess you could say it wasn't cowed by the fence.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by (E)

...
The cracking noise that was heard indicates a short circuit somewhere in the fence. Polywire or polytape is the commercial name for the wire used and it indicates a maximum voltage of about 10kv, though typically this would be closer to 6kv (minus what was lost in the short)
...

So I've been hit by 6 kilovolts at one point in my life. Wow!