Anyone have a good suggestion for determining non-magical fire damage, like from throwing a molotov cocktail at a zombie? I haven’t come across anything in the book as far as I remember.
There are rules for Roden fire-bombs in the Monster Burner, methinks. I don’t recall what they are.
Or you could go for something like a DOF with a 2/4/6 IMS. The character would use the Throw skill to determine a hit, just like any other ranged weapon. The damage result is applied every Volley unless a Physical Action is used to put it out.
Larger flame sources just increase the IMS. A bonfire might be 4/8/12!
I’d start from the bomb on p558. If a real bomb is B3, B6, B9, maybe a Molotov is B2, B4, B6? Perhaps more because zombies are flammable? The bomb’s a good foundation.
The obstacles for the Munitions skill on page 284 specify four types of bombs: Small (B4 Mark), Medium (B6 Mark), Large (B8 Mark) and Very Large (B12 Mark). I’d probably resolve a Molotov cocktail as a small bomb (so essentially what Wayfarer came up with). Note that page 471 has rules for using explosives in combat.
Bear in mind, though, that making a Molotov Cocktail requires a glass bottle – not necessarily a cheap purchase, depending on your setting.
Not really. Molotov cocktails use glass bottles because they’re plentiful. Before they were plentiful incendiary weapons still existed. Clay firepots were used mostly in sieges, but I can’t see why a brittle clay container with a rag fuse would be much different. Maybe a little tougher to get the balance of sturdy and breakable right, but the idea’s the same.
The bigger problem is the load. Gasoline is really a 19th century innovation, but there’s gunpowder, pitch, alcohol… plenty of ways to get the right mix of boom and splash.