10-27-2017, 08:57 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2011
|
Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
[Mod reminder: Cyrillic characters trip a LOT of our spam filters. Avoid them unless they are truly necessary. Please do not edit this post for any reason; if you need to make corrections, post a reply.]
This one isn't written to quite the same standard of rigor as the palladium glass alloy one. In particular the production rates and operating costs for the job roll are just in "good enough to game with" territory. The CO poisoning effects may also need tweaking, but they're consistent with my research into the effects of acute carbon monoxide poisoning. Code:
TL Type REF Description 8 Polycarbonyl explosives 1.9 Carbon monoxide polymer In 1947 R.J. Mills' experimentation with carbon monoxide revealed that at pressures above 5.2 GPa it can form an explosive polymer which remains stable when brought back to standard atmospheric pressure. The material's metastablity was a curiosity that was largely prohibitively expensive to research further until advances in materials research made anvil presses more common in laboratories in the 1990s. This explosive can be produced as early as TL6, but the extremely high pressure requirements impose a high cost in production equipment and limit the yield of each production run to minuscule quantities. The material is solid and yellow to dark red in appearance, and will darken and become glue-like in consistency with exposure to atmosphere. With exposure to humidity or upon being dissolved in water it develops an acrid smell identical to human vomit. Aside from heat, the only by-products of the explosive are glassy carbon and carbon dioxide. The pure material can be detonated with a laser initiator or by more traditional detonators. The sensitivity and energy content of polycarbonyl explosive can be tweaked during the production process. With three hours of work and a successful Chemistry roll, impurities can be introduced that allow the REF of the compound to be set to any value less than 1.9. On a failed roll the REF is set to whatever the GM likes. On a critical failure the compound explodes! Impure polycarbonyl will leave traces of whatever doping agent was used. The high price of the material is entirely because the very same presses that can make it can also make gem quality diamonds (which, being neither dangerous nor illegal, are a safer way for a press owner to make a profit). Enterprising adventurers can use Chemistry or Electronics Operation(Scientific) to operate an anvil press to make their own. On a critical failure there is a mishap that results in the press being damaged (1d x $5,000 in repairs required) or a leak of toxic gas (acute carbon monoxide poisoning: immediately roll HT-2, on a failure suffer the Seizure incapacitating condition (p. B492) for 20-HT seconds; furthermore roll each second at HT-2, on failure take 2 points of toxic damage). Anvil presses can be purchased on the open market for $150,000 and require a steady supply of electricty and maintenance by a skilled mechanic to keep in operation. Tanks of gaseous carbon monoxide of high purity can be purchased from industrial suppliers for $60 and can provide enough gas for 8,000 grams. Alternately the gas can be generated chemically using materials worth about $1 per production run. Electricity and maintenance on the press costs $1,500 each month. This can be cut in half if the player succeeds at a Mechanic(Industrial Presses) job roll (thus making running the press their full time job). The price of polycarbonyl at TL6 is $3,000,000 per pound. The introduction of cheaper anvil presses in TL8 like the BARS press (Беспрессовая Аппаратура высокого давления) brings the price down to $1,400,000 per pound. If produced by a business that doesn't care about the opportunity cost, the price is $3,000 per pound. Typical production runs take four hours and yield about a gram per press. One gram of polycarbonyl explosive does 1d-1 damage. One pound does 4dx4 damage. Last edited by Andrew Hackard; 10-28-2017 at 12:09 AM. |
10-28-2017, 07:18 PM | #2 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
That is truly bizarre. it's not worthwhile for any normal use of explosives, but the Mad Science applications are fascinating.
__________________
The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
10-28-2017, 08:21 PM | #3 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
Quote:
|
|
10-28-2017, 08:26 PM | #4 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
Isn't that about the cost of a kilo of plutonium 238 now? Is that not TL 8?
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
10-28-2017, 09:14 PM | #5 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
|
10-28-2017, 09:17 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
It's not TL8 in the sense that it isn't a product that is ever likely to be produced in bulk or available in any markets at TL8.
It is TL8 in the sense that it can be procured - and not even at all that heroic lengths. While formally the definition owes more to the former, in many respects the latter is both more important and more characteristic of how TL is actually used. Plenty of things listed at TLs only existed as low-production prototypes, after all...
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
10-28-2017, 09:22 PM | #7 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
What was your reasoning for why something is or is not TL 8 then? I thought it was price per pound.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
10-28-2017, 10:49 PM | #8 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
Quote:
If you go with the $3,000/lbs figure as a suggestion of industrial production costs, that suggests a TL9 cost of $1500/pound, and a TL10 cost of $750/lb, which is closer to reasonable. Last edited by sir_pudding; 10-29-2017 at 03:15 AM. Reason: Math... |
|
10-29-2017, 01:08 AM | #9 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
Not really considering that the diamond market is a monopoly and De Beers has more diamonds than they could sell in 100 years.
|
10-29-2017, 01:23 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
|
Re: Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8
Quote:
Not that they aren't actively working on keeping synthetics from being treated as socially valid substitutes to mined stones.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
|
Tags |
anvil press, carbon monoxide poisoning, explosives, polycarbonyl, polycarbonyl explosive |
|
|