Boom-Stick

Dungeon Master's Guide

Boom-Stick

Explosive

Very Rare

Each boom-stick is a cylinder, about a foot in length, composed of parchment wrapped around tightly packed Smoke Powder. Extending from the stick is wick, anywhere form 1 to 10 feet in length that, once lit burns down triggering the stick to explode. Most of the time.

While a single boom-stick can destroy a wooden door, causing 2d6 2d6 points of fire damage to any object (as well as to everyone within 10-feet) placed against it, their real power is when they are used in bunches. Nerrid miners will often tie four or even eight sticks together in an effort to blow a hole in a stubborn rock wall. Total damage increases according to the numbers of sticks used. (So four sticks would do 8d6 [roll 8d6] points of damage). In all cases, a successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage.

Unfortunately, boom-sticks are fickle. First, they won't work at all if they get wet, even if they are later dried out and will explode on their own if exposed to fire. Secondly, when lighting a wick, they seem to burn at different rates. Each wick will burn through 1d4 feet of length in any given round, with the rate of burn potentially changing each round. Finally, there is always the chance that it doesn't ignite a stick. After the wick burns out, roll a 1d20 1d20 . On a roll of 2, 3, or 4, the boom-stick fails to ignite. On a roll of one, it ignites, but not until 1 round later than expected. For this reason, any engineers apply multiple wicks to a pack of boom-sticks. If one stick in the pack ignites, they all do.

Cost: 30 gp
Weight: 1 lb