Quote:
Originally Posted by Nereidalbel
Without some form of cage, ceramic vessels would either need to be thicker (heavier), or used for chemical warfare.
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Thicker than
what?
Small amounts of black powder can be adequately contained with stiff paper.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how much structural strength is needed to sufficiently contain an ounce, two ounces, four ounces, eight ounces or a pound of black powder.
As a guess, in the stats above, I have, for the smallest variety of grenade, just under 42% of the concussive grenade made out of explosive powder, with the casing weighing 0.132 lbs and the smokepowder around 2 oz. For the larger concussive grenades, a casing twice the weight, or 0.264 lbs., is used to contain 3.5 oz. of smokepowder. That is 44% explosive material, which I'll grant is high, but these are meant to be what people with 15 years experience with smokepowder and very advanced technical educations (at least for the world) come up with to utilise local manufacturing to make efficient smokepowder weapons.
The casing is an extremely expensive ceramic ovoid weighing a total of 0.132 lbs., with the base price increased by x10 relative to normal earthernware to reflect a complex shape, standardised size and shape and a strong and resilient ceramic mixture that can stand relatively high pressures.
The Waterproof, Rugged and Expensive modifiers are applied to account for high-temperature glazing, and to further reflect the advanced design, construction and materials choice that is meant to allow it to contain the explosion with the minimum amount of material possible at the level of technology.
While it's important for most of the components to be within the manufacturing capability of TL2 or TL3 infrastructure, that doesn't mean that the theory is primitive. And with spells such as Measurement, Find Weakness and Inspired Creation, prototyping and testing is much more advanced than at historical, non-magical low TLs.
The design is TL4 (advanced) or even TL4+1 (prototype)*, with some narrow areas where magic can replace quite advanced technology allowing technomagical solutions equivalent to TL4+2 or sometimes even TL4+4.*
It's entirely possible that the ceramic casings
are too light to allow full explosive damage. On the other hand, using serpentine powder and paper casing, a Chinese rocket manages 2d+2 cr ex at a weight of 1.15 lbs., which also includes powder for propulsion and a wooden stick for guidance.
So clearly, you don't need all
that much containment for an explosion around 3d to be produced. And high-quality ceramic shaped for the express purpose of containing the explosion has
got to be stronger for its weight than paper.
*At least six people involved in the project are at the cutting edge of TL4, with Perks that allow them access to TL5 skills. Those responsible for formulating the requirements, making buy orders, training the TL2-4 craftsmen to make the necessary components and suchlike are generally TL4 (advanced) in all relevant skills, with oversight from the theorists with TL5 skills in Economics, Engineer, Mathematics, Metallurgy, etc.
**Magically guided artillery, aimed by mages with Hawk Vision, Night Vision, Keen Vision, Quick-Aim and other such spells, is often every bit as good as GPS or laser-guided artillery. The magical furnaces and various metallurgy devices within the lair of a red dragon that the PCs slew is at least TL4+2 in effect, by utilising elementals in place of the dragon's own breath, and it may even be TL4+3 or up to TL4+6, depending on other mystical factors that the PCs are just beginning to study, and the availability of various fantasy metals and alloys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nereidalbel
What kinds of noxious compounds could your alchemists get into a container? Preferably without killing themselves in the process...
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Alchemist's Fire would be the best option, I should think. It's self-igniting when the container is ruptured and all.
Which... now that I think about it, sounds
incredibly useful as a contact fuze.
Sure, a
pint might be expensive at $100, but how much do you need to ignite smokepowder? A tiny vial that of alchemist's fire that breaks when the shell deforms and boom, your shell has a TL6 trigger, at least.
How small could the best glassblowers of the pre-Industrial world make glass vials?