Mines (claymores)

[kcdusk]

I'm looking to add something different to my game. Something i haven't read up in the T2K books or used is mines (but i am reading up about directional mines now EDIT: wow, its not real clear how much damage claymore mines do, i'm using v2.2).

Has anyone used them in their games? By players or NPC's? How deadly did you find them? Did you roll to "camouflage" them? How easy/difficult did you make it for players/NPCs to discover them before perhaps triggering them? Any AARs?

[Olefin]

I have used Claymore's in several campaigns - in our last one we guarded our camp with them and bagged a wild boar - in previous ones we used them to set up a pretty good ambush on at least two occasions and also used them a la Red Dawn - nothing says "Goodbye Ivan!" like claymores

also had them used on us - we lost a BMP-C to an anti-tank mine in one campaign and two NPC's to anti-personnel mines when we did Black Madonna

[.45cultist]

There is a Challenge adventure with a truck load of food with a bouncing betty boobytrap. Claymores can be used that way in a cache.

[Olefin]

thats how the Germans and Japanese used to booby trap stuff as well as the Vietnamese - hey look at all this stuff - start the looting - and BOOOMM!

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Wasn't just the Germans, Japanese and Vietnamese who did that - everybody, including the Allies, booby-trapped stuff that way.
The real trick though, was to get the experienced enemy soldiers to fall for a booby-trap or at least catch them in the blast zone. They knew better than to just loot something without checking for traps and they had the potential to pass that knowledge on to junior soldiers.
For example, leaving a trap on a particularly desirable piece of kit could catch an inexperienced enemy but a wiser enemy soldier would check it first or even destroy it in place so instead you would leave a typical booby-trap on some piece of gear and then figure out where an experienced soldier would probably retreat to, to escape the trap's blast. Mine/booby-trap that area as well and hopefully catch some of the more experienced soldiers in the kill zone.

Directional mines like the Claymore, are often best used for defensive/anti-infiltration work or for ambushes. We were taught that they're too useful to use up on a typical booby-trap unless you were using the Claymore as a delaying tactic (e.g. to slow down any enemy trying to follow you). Part of the reason for this was that the Claymore was originally designed to be command detonated.

kc, part of the problem with directional mines like the Claymore is that their damage is dependent on where the enemy is in the blast zone. From memory I think that you could expect 10% casualty rate within 10 to 50 metres. From 50 metres you could expect up to 25% (or was it 30%?) casualties.
It was entirely possible for an enemy to be too close to the mine and suffer only the blast effects and not be hit by any of the shrapnel, hence the tactic of having blast zones of multiple Claymores overlap each other - to eliminate any "dead" zone for the blast of any one Claymore.

[swaghauler]

If I understand your post correctly; You want more accurate information on the effects, use and game employment of the M18A1. In the original game rules you would simply roll for Fragmentation hits with a chance of 6 or less on 1D10 to take a hit in the Primary Blast Zone (2d6 DAM per hit) as per the fragmentation rules on page 207. The rules on "Directional Mines" are on page 222. Unfortunately these rules are in fact vague.

The real facts about the M18A1 CLAYMORE can be found in the Army's FM 21-75, Combat Skills of the Soldier. You can also find this information in a book called The Ultimate Guide To the US Army's Combat Skills, Tactics, and Techniques (ISBN:978-1-61608-010-5). Here is the information on the CLAYMORE:

The M18A1 claymore directional mine is a tripwire or command detonated directional mine. It is comprised of 0.68kg of Composition B embedded with 700 steel ball bearings of about 00 Buck size. It comes in a kit with a 30 meter blasting cap equipped cable, a remote electric detonator, and a tester for the electric detonator. If the electric detonator is lost, the mine is equipped with a "ring detonator" in the blasting cap plugs which will allow the use of conventional blasting caps. This requires a person with skill in Demolitions to rig it though (AVE: Demolitions). Modern versions can be radio command detonated (very rare in Twilight2000). The mine has an effective killing range of 50 meters in length by 2 meters high, and an effective fragmentation range of 100 meters long by 2 meters high. The blast "cone" is 60 Degrees (giving a 50 meter wide blast at a range of 50 meters). The maximum "danger range" is up to 250 meters (1 in 1d10?) from the mine. The mine has a 16 meter "blast area" in every direction from the mine where you may be injured by the detonation or debris. It is recommended that the operator be at least 25 meters behind from the mine and under cover. There is a slight chance of injury up to 100 meters behind a detonating mine (1D10 or 1D20 at the Gm's choice). Using the formula on page 221 of Twilight, This 16 meter blast area would have a Concussion of 3 (as a "tamped charge"). I'm guessing the blast would also extend to the front of the mine (perhaps to 25 meters being untamped in front?). Mines laid in series would be optimally placed 25 meters apart (when side by side) to prevent damage to adjoining mines when a mine is detonated. Their blast zones would overlap from 25 meters on (forming a safe pyramid like zone with the base between the mines and the smaller tip of the safe zone at the point where the mine's blast zones overlap). This does not include the 16 meter "blast zone." Tripwires are usually set 25 meters out from the weapon. The electric detonators are often saved from used mines as spares for other CLAYMORES.

Alternate Rules Regarding Use: In my game, I give the M18A1 a different "wound mechanism." I range the mine with four ranges (plus Maximum Range) that ADD to each other (see my postings on shotguns). Each RANGE BAND is 25 meters long. I then assign a number of "Hit Dice" by range band. Each of these "Hit Dice" are rolled as though they were an autofire burst. The hit is rolled on a 1D10 with the chance of success declining with every range band. Every Hit does 1D10 damage (my standard damage die). The "Hit Dice," Chance to hit, and Penetration by range band are:
Contact Range (less than 16 meters): Concussion +10 Dice, PEN 2, 9 or less (1D10)
Short Range (17 to 25 meters): No Concussion, 10 Dice, PEN 2, 8 or less (1D10)
Medium Range (26 to 50 meters): No Concussion, 5 Dice, PEN 3, 6 or less (1D10)
Long Range (51 to 75 meters): No Concussion, 3 Dice, PEN 4, 4 or less (1D10)
Extreme Range (76 to 100 meters): No Con, 2 Dice, PEN Nil, 2 or Less (1D10)
Maximum Range (101 to 250 meters): No Con, 1 Die, PEN nil, 1 or less (1D10)

The stats of the M18A1 CLAYMORE are summarized here:
Wt, Total Weapon: 2.88kg (mine, detonator, cord)
Mine wt: 1.6Kg
Wt, Explosive: .68Kg of Composition B
Bulk: 3 (I give everything in my games a Bulk Rating)
Fragmentation Component: 700 Steel Ball Bearings
Ignition: Command Detonation, Tripwire
Concussion: 3 out to 25 meters? (backblast is 16 meters)

As always, use what you want from this posting and ignore the rest. I hope this helped to answer any questions you might have about the M18A1.

Swag.

[.45cultist]

We only used the trainer in NATO spec navy blue. I like to put them behind doors in FISH. Use an NPC to get shredded and watch your players use more caution or make their own doors.