[Redmercury]

I a little bit stumped over there being electric-shock bullets when no grenades deal electricity damage. Grenades in our time are more varied in use than bullets thanks to their payload space, so why hasn't anyone made a shock grenade?

My first thought was that you could make a grenade that spins rapidly through the air on a vertical axis and releases geckogrip stripped contact wires via airburst. There are a lot of flaws with that though, you can figure them out for yourselves.

My second idea doesn't require airburst, but it does require more dedicated engineering. You shoot the grenade, and it detonates with many small charges sending a lot (I'm not picking a number but you could stuff a lot in there) of small contact wires like the one above. It might be more effective, although way more expensive, to line, or tip the wires with mono-wire to get the contacts through armor. Although considering no one seems to give a damn that stick and shot bullets don't have to penetrate armor I don't see that being a big problem.

Your thoughts?

[foolofsound]

I imagined a shock grenade as more of a powerful capacitor+modified tesla coil type-thing combo that zapped everyone nearby. It would probably just ground itself instead, though.

A more realistic, and less mohawk style, grenade might be a microcharge (like the kind in splash grenades) that fires capacitor-laden gel (like stick & shock rounds) in all direction. Would probably be somewhat expensive though.

[FuelDrop]

Maybe just a downsized version of the static discharge missile from arsenal?

Nah, that makes about as much sense as making some kind of adhesive taser-bullet for holdout pistols! forget i mentioned it.

[Halancar]

The real-life problem with sending lots of wire (one way or another) from a central location is that current will choose the path of less resistance, and a (meta)human body is fairly resistant, so it will instead go through all those lovely wires that found nothing and are now lying over each other on the ground or (gasp) actually hit something metallic.

Another option would be to stuff the grenade with 'stick n' shock' bullets around a small explosive charge. Stick 'n shock are fairly outrageous too (and I'm definitely banning them from any game I run), but they are already part of the rules after all.

[JustADude]

Another option would be to stuff the grenade with 'stick n' shock' bullets around a small explosive charge. Stick 'n shock are fairly outrageous too (and I'm definitely banning them from any game I run), but they are already part of the rules after all.

I'd leave 'em in for shotguns, honestly. Those and some equivalent of the real-world "Frag-12" micro-grenade round would actually make them worth grabbing.

But, back on topic, I agree. The '"submunitions" route really is the only way to do it without a lot of handwavium.

[Redmercury]

Either that or put a taser in a sticky grenade.

[Mirikon]

If I was making a 'shock grenade', it wouldn't be a grenade in the sense that it blows up, but a high-voltage capacitor that shot electricity out around it. However, the radius would be small, since generating that kind of power in a compact form isn't easy. And it would obviously be cutting edge research. I'd say the stats would be something like this:

Shock Grenade
8S(e), -half AP, 3m radius (10m radius in water), 16R availability. 200 nuyen each.

[foolofsound]

If I was making a 'shock grenade', it wouldn't be a grenade in the sense that it blows up, but a high-voltage capacitor that shot electricity out around it. However, the radius would be small, since generating that kind of power in a compact form isn't easy. And it would obviously be cutting edge research. I'd say the stats would be something like this:

Shock Grenade
8S(e), -half AP, 3m radius (10m radius in water), 16R availability. 200 nuyen each.

I suggested something like that. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I'm pretty sure that it would ground before it zapped anyone. I think the best best would be a stick&shock cluster bomb-esque grenade.

[Redmercury]

I light something on fire, maybe with incendiaries at the top of my MGL-6, the sprinklers come on. Those guards better hope they aren't standing in my puddle.

That's really dipping into expenses though. Low collateral, but damn those grenades will add up. I'd be better off using incendiary rounds in a shotgun, with an under-barrel grenade launcher.

[JustADude]

I light something on fire, maybe with incendiaries at the top of my MGL-6, the sprinklers come on. Those guards better hope they aren't standing in my puddle.

That's really dipping into expenses though. Low collateral, but damn those grenades will add up. I'd be better off using incendiary rounds in a shotgun, with an under-barrel grenade launcher.

Well, they're capacitors not explosives, right? Why wouldn't you be able to gather them up and recharge them to use again?

Not counting things like running for your life from a horde of Cyberzombies, of course.

[Redmercury]

I was wondering that myself. If it doesn't burn out the capacitor then you just need a workbench to add the propellant again. Now that's what I call economical. I'd pay 1000 nuyen each for some of those. Those electric bills could kill though...

[JustADude]

I was wondering that myself. If it doesn't burn out the capacitor then you just need a workbench to add the propellant again. Now that's what I call economical. I'd pay 1000 nuyen each for some of those. Those electric bills could kill though...

Not even that if it's a hand-lobbed version.

[DarkLloyd]

Or you could make it an air burst micro flack grenade, filling the air around it with metallic dust then hit that cloud with a capacitored burst and you have an electric FAE. A full stun rating throughout the blast zone but no overlapping and no "chunky salsa".

[JustADude]

Or you could make it an air burst micro flack grenade, filling the air around it with metallic dust then hit that cloud with a capacitored burst and you have an electric FAE. A full stun stun rating throughout the blast zone but no overlapping and no "chunky salsa"

Oooh, another good idea.

[Black]

Or you could make it an air burst micro flack grenade, filling the air around it with metallic dust then hit that cloud with a capacitored burst and you have an electric FAE. A full stun rating throughout the blast zone but no overlapping and no "chunky salsa".

This is good.  Great idea.