Rapid fire explosive rules, again

[Ulzgoroth]

So it was said:

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

Like one of the first things we brought out was a player in the test game decided to pack a full-auto grenade launcher. If you know regular GURPS, that's a "OK, everyone get pizza while we resolve all this" sort of thing. We've got a way of handling this that makes it just another Tuesday.

And I immediately had a tangential question.

I like to believe I do know regular GURPS.

But to the best of my knowledge, that isn't a 'we need a bunch of time to execute the rules' problem, that is a 'they never actually published the rules' problem.

So. Am I missing something? Can anyone lay out...using only actual published rules with citation, please...how you resolve the effects of firing off an automatic grenade launcher?



My understanding: If you manage to hit with all shots, you're okay(*), everything explodes on (or in) the target. If any shots miss, though, we start running off the map, because we really need to know where (on the map) those shots go.

The option that's sort of mapped is Hitting the Wrong Target, p389. The problem there is that rule implies your shot is going on a basically flat trajectory - it's got no chance of hitting near the target you aimed at unless they've got a convenient backstop. Maybe not what you expect from a grenade launcher. Also, it makes the scatter cone very narrow (1 hex wide out to unlimited distance). And it can get really screwy if there's a target that totally obstructs that line but you still manage to miss it. Still, you can follow those instructions! So that's better than I implied!

But if you want something that produces a scatter pattern on the ground, instead of one sprayed across the backdrop, well. The obvious place to look is Scatter, p414, but you likely cannot. That only applies "if you fail your attack roll". So it's inapplicable when you hit with 2 of 6 grenades. And if you do fully miss, well, it doesn't say a word about RoF, so at best it implies your entire burst lands in one place.

(*) Okay except for questions like 'what actually are the fragmentation rules when somebody is hit, is it really safer than being 1 yard away?' And the potentially large number of dice to be rolled and calculations scribbled.