How viable is a Molotov Cocktail in a fantasy game? [closed]

Question

A player in my game wishes to create a Molotov Cocktail - arguably, some alcohol in a bottle, with a piece of oiled cloth as fuse. Is that viable in a fantasy game, assuming technology of say the Renaissance period?

There are three components to this question, I think

1. Is it possible to gather the materials to create a Molotov Cocktail? Wikipedia says gasoline is used - will any type of flammable liquid works?

2. How likely is a character to know how to create one?

3. Is it easy to use in combat, and safe to carry around while adventuring (trekking long distances, climbing up sheer cliffs etc.)

Update: I am adding some setting info to provide context.

It's a homebrewed setting where it is high fantasy, pretty much like Eberron. There is also technology, such as clockwork and machinery, but the source of power is still rooted in elemental magic. For instance, instead of using engines using fuel or gasoline, the engines are ran by trapping elemental spirits within it, and the engine will then run clockworks, machinery and other contraptions. Was there discovery of petrol or gasoline? I would doubt so, because people rely on elemental magic for pretty much everything else.

In short, it's Eberron + Legend (Dragon Warriors' setting) + a mix of 'magi-tech'. That said, I am also interested in answer for a culture or setting with technology equivalent to the Renaissance period., so that when I justify to the players, I have some ground as to my justifications instead of "because my setting notes say so".

Update 2: The system in question is 13th Age. However, there's no rules for such devices in the game.

Answer 1

Such a thing actually existed in that time period. Many different versions of setting your enemies on fire were popular. Check out Greek Fire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire

Answer 2

The answer to these questions is, unfortunately: it depends on your setting, your characters, and your RPG (in that order).

1) Is it possible to gather the materials to create a Molotov Cocktail? Wikipedia says gasoline is used - will any type of flammable liquid works?

This depends on your fantasy setting. Does it have a decently accessible form of sufficiently flammable liquid? Alcohol is a popular and flammable liquid, and may do decently well.

Beside that, though, in your setting, the players might be (or be working with) alcoholic goblins working on an oil pipeline. Oil is, of course, a new thing the goblins have discovered and are figuring out how to use.

There may be an even more potent substance for this purpose in your setting though: the Game of Thrones setting, for instance, contains a substance comparable to napalm.

In your magi-tech setting, is there anything to enable them to use magic to create flammable stuff? Can they stuff a Sprite of Exploding Horribly into a bottle?

2) How likely is a character to know how to create one?

This one is even more up in the air.

Who are your players? They may have indirect or direct exposure to explosives knowledge. They may be or have been soldiers or rebel fighters who've been taught to use such explosives. They may be explosives experts, or they may have worked with and learned some lessons from explosives experts. Either way they may have received some training.

It may even be a cultural or societal thing: people in the current area, or where the character in question grew up or travelled through, might simply know about this particular bomb. Maybe it's something young troublemakers know about and talk about (whether or not they've used it), or maybe in the past there was a rebellion and the villagers generally just learned about this recipe and never forgot about it.

They may have just heard about it in passing talking to strangers, or they may have in the past foiled a little plot to burn down a house using molotov cocktails.

Any number of things could lead to a particular person knowing how to make molotov cocktails. It may be a bit exceptional, but that doesn't mean they can't know about it.

3) Is it easy to use in combat, and safe to carry around while adventuring (trekking long distances, climbing up sheer cliffs etc.)

This is the hard part. You're carrying stuff around in a smashable, probably glass container, so this is risky. However, people often carry around potions anyway - do those get smashed often?

Does your RPG system specify rules for getting various items smashed? Are you willing to ignore it or would you rather make it a pain in the character's backside whilst mysteriously never smashing any of their potions?

If your RPG smashes stuff, it's very risky. If it hand-waves that part of the game away, I wouldn't treat molotovs as a special case. Let using them be risky, if you want, but don't make it a pain in the character's butt as a cost for even having them.

Answer 3

The big challenge with the equivalent of a mundane Molotov cocktail is that you have to carry it in a breakable vessel. So unless you have a spell that causes the vessel to be very difficult to shatter while on the bearer’s person, any time they fumble or an opponent criticals, they’re likely to wind up covered in a flammable liquid. While an alchemist could be meddling with alcohol, naphtha, etc. to try and make something that sticks to the target, it’s not likely to come in handy in hand-to-hand combat. Greek fire was famous as a naval weapon, not something carried by Byzantine staff-sling troops.

If you really want the effect without the frangibility, you could introduce some minor elemental summoning spells that conjure the elemental out of whatever medium you supply. At first level, you conjure a water elemental out of distilled alcohol and it’s so small that it’s probably useless in combat but great for executing “sneak into that guy’s drink and then return to your plane of origin”. At higher level, you can conjure a pack of pumpkin-sized elementals who will happily jump on someone and soak them in alcohol or pitch. (Your pack mule carries the jugs of booze, which also double as trade goods.)

Answer 4

The first and foremost concern when creating such a weapon would be that the major component is volatile enough to cause major damage and be very hard to put out. The next concern is that the component isn't too volatile, as this can cause it to simply evaporate over the course of a few hours.

With this in mind I think that the best way of creating such a device is as follows:

Take a glass bottle and fill it to 1/3 with a strong alcohol(+50%) or possibly pitch, let the cloth settle to the bottom of the container in such a manner that it acts as a wick and absorb the liquid. Cork up the top with the rag hanging out. The device is now ready for use, simply light the rag and throw to your hearts contempt.

And to answer your list:

1. Yes, if a strong enough destillation process is available in the world, the liquid can be produced

2. Pretty unlikely, unless the character is an alchemist, distiller or accustomed to explosives

3. The ease of use is questionable, but a stable, firm throw and an igniting medium of sufficient heat and staying power will help in the process of attacking. the liquid would have to be topped up every day or so to keep the level of combustant at a stable level, since it will evaporate to some degree.

Answer 5

The main issue I can see is that in a medieval (although possibly not in a fantasy) setting, glass is horribly expensive. Clay vessels do not break in the same way (you want pretty much the whole vessel to break at one, instead of simply having it crack into two pieces).

However, putting the harsh realities of Molotov cocktails aside, "yeah, sure, go for it".

Damage-wise, it should be the same as being soaked in fire until extinguished (or about two minutes, whichever comes first).

Answer 6

I would say a Molotov Cocktail is a viable but limited weapon. It is limited both by logistics of managing the components (which you would probably only want to combine at the last minute, and which are heavier than say arrows or sling bullets), and by situational effectiveness.

As well as all the great answers supplying logical reasoning for why and how this player-invented equipment could and should work, I think you should bear in mind:

• Even a direct hit with a flask of oil, and perfect coverage with flames, is not as immediately lethal as a direct hit with a sword or arrow. It is arguably less likely too.

• This is a weapon traditionally more suited to battlefield control and damage to items than used directly against single opponents.

• The rules you apply will affect how often the device is used in the game, and how much fun it is to play. As this is a custom rule for a specific player, only you can assess how much weight of creation rules the player will abide before they just give up on the idea.

• I would err on the side of keeping rules simple and easy, but only moderately effective in battle, with the simple argument - "If it were really easy to do, and highly effective, then everyone would be doing it, and we'd be playing 'flaming oil wars'" - note that argument works both OOC as a gamist one, and in character for game-reality.

Answer 7

Perfect viable (with the assumption that D&D variant D20 rules are relevant as an example):

From http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#oil:

A pint of oil burns for 6 hours in a lantern. You can use a flask of oil as a splash weapon. Use the rules for alchemist’s fire, except that it takes a full round action to prepare a flask with a fuse. Once it is thrown, there is a 50% chance of the flask igniting successfully.

Oil is going to be closer than alcohol to petrol as it'll be a bit more viscous and will burn longer and stick to victims longer.

Depending on how much magic you're willing to accept in your setting there's Alchemist's fire.

You will be able to change the mechanics described in the links to suit the system you are using.

To copy Marcus Wigert's answer format:

1. I imagine oil would be available in your setting, since kerosine was distilled in the 9th century.

2. An inventive character or NPC could be seen improvise one from a lamp etc. during a brawl and then go on to make and or sell them as weapons.

3. It would be as safe to transport as any other sealed bottle/vial.

Answer 8

It's a fantasy game, so don't worry about whether things were possible in the renaissance. Next thing you know, this player will be asking for gunpowder.

So yes anything is possible. But is it likely? No.

• How did your player learn about molotov cocktails in the first instance, since they seem to be uncommon to your setting? Make this is a skill effort or something that the character should learn by roleplaying an interest in explosives.
• Make molotov cocktails by fantasy, not phsyics. E.g. judging from the description of your setting, to develop something like a molotov cocktail you would need to trap a bull's spirit in bottle of brandy and then get it mad enough by waiving a red handkerchief at it to make to bottle explode
• If your player still is willing to go through this foolishness in combat, make sure to set the right parameters: damage, range, it should all be in line with his other powers to make sure it's balanced
• Also think of some funny 'bad consequences' e.g. the bull being set of by accident by the flirting gorgeous maiden in the bar, who happened to be dressed in red.
• I think there's enough that can keep your player from not wanting a molotov cocktail. Just getting the bottle out is already burden (the reason why players always grap for their potions when it's too late)

In sum, don't say no, just play around with the difficulty and make your answer in theme.