Explosive Gunpowder Mines

Sometimes conditions can be arranged so that the gunpowder used in a mine actually explodes. Perhaps the gunpowder is packed tightly in earthenware containers or something similar.

The most spectacular use of a gunpowder mine was at the fall of the French castle of Uovo, near Naples, in 1503. The castle was situated on a narrow peninsula separated from the mainland by a deep ditch, and cannon alone were powerless to reduce the place. The attacking Spaniards had an expert among them-Pedro Navarro--who had perfected the gunpowder mine. After spending three weeks digging a large enough gallery, Navarro packed it with gunpowder and touched it off. The powder exploded spectacularly, blowing much of the wall into the air, and killing the castle’s governor and his council who were at debate in the chapel above the gallery.

The amount of damage done by gunpowder depends on the amount used. The base damage done to structures above the gallery is shown in the following table. The figures represent the number of hits inflicted for each 100 pounds of gunpowder used:

Earth	1d6
Soft Earth	1d4
Hard Stone	1d3

These hits are in addition to those inflicted by the collapse of the gallery (see the table in the section on “Mining Damage”).

Getting gunpowder to explode is always problematical. This is reflected in the following table. When the gunpowder is touched off, roll 1d6.

Die Roll	Result
1-2	Gunpowder burns, but does not explode. Use the table in the section “Collapsing the Gallery.”
3-4	Gunpowder “flares up” (minor explosion). Gallery collapses, and the explosion does one-half damage (in addition to the damage inflicted by the collapse of the gallery).
5-6	Gunpowder explodes, collapsing the gallery and doing and doing full damage (in addition to the damage inflicted by the collapse of the gallery).

Note that the above tables are used only if suitable preparations are made to cause the gunpowder to explode, not simply burn.