Thrown explosive A thrown explosive is a type of weapon that has existed in some shape or form in every " Fallout " game . " Fallout " , " Fallout 2 " , " Fallout Tactics " . In " Fallout " , " Fallout 2 " , and " " thrown explosives are governed by the Throwing skill . Like other thrown weapons , thrown explosives are based on Strength to determine range , but because grenade s in these earlier games have a maximum range of 15 , a Strength more than 5 is redundant ( range is 3 tiles x Strength ) . Unlike other thrown weapons , thrown explosives detonate upon hitting their target , dealing damage to both the target tile as well as all adjacent tiles ( though some explosives in " Fallout Tactics " have wider areas of effect ) . Moreover , thrown explosives cannot be targeted , which makes combining Fast Shot with judicious use of grenades a benefit without a downside . Like missile launchers or other thrown weapons , thrown explosives , even if they miss , will still land in a hex tile roughly near the original target . However , unlike , say , a Throwing spear , instead of landing on the ground , the explosive will detonate . This can mean that a miss can still hit the original target . It can also mean that a critical miss , in which the player drops their weapon , can be particularly bad . It also makes urban combat more problematic , as a miss can easily hit an innocent bystander , thus rendering the entire city hostile . In general , thrown explosives are rare and expensive . In Fallout 2 however , random encounters that feature Hubologists will have Plasma grenades that can be stolen . " Fallout 3 " , " Fallout : New Vegas " . In " Fallout 3 " and " " , thrown explosives are moved into their own skill category , Explosives , which also includes the and plastic explosives that used to be in Traps ( Fallout : New Vegas only ) . In " Fallout : New Vegas " , the Explosives skill in general is broadened to also include " explosive " - style guns , but extra traits and perks are included that help differentiate thrown explosives from other explosive weapons . Sneaking . Unlike in previous Fallouts , thrown explosives can also be used like placed explosives when it comes to planting them on a target . Reverse - pickpocketing any thrown explosive onto a target will change the explosive into a " Live " version of the explosive , which will then cause a fatal explosion a few seconds after the player closes the stealing interface . Note that this explosion is always fatal , regardless of whether a flimsy Dynamite is used or a devastating Nuka - grenade . Thrown explosives can also be used to land sneak attacks , though is a bit more difficult than other weapons for two , unfortunately contradictory , reasons : Real - time combat . All thrown explosives in real - time combat have a fuse : they do not detonate based on proximity or on contact . This means that significantly leading the target becomes a necessity , though the wide area of effect of most thrown explosives alleviates the need for precision aiming . Moreover , unlike having placed weapons , a high Explosives skill does not increase the amount of time the player has to avoid an enemy thrown explosive . Thrown explosives can be shot to detonate them prematurely , however , the resulting explosion deals no damage . Similar to melee combat , holding the attack button down alters the nature of the attack . For thrown weapons , it increases the throw distance , up to a maximum range . Because the fuse of a thrown explosive doesn ' t start until actually thrown , a thrown explosive can be primed for maximum range almost indefinitely . In V . A . T . S . . Along with Melee weapons and Unarmed , targeting individual limbs with thrown explosives is impossible . Though , enemies will still be likely to have body parts crippled from the sheer breadth of the explosion . Moreover , because thrown explosives have a finite range ( again , much like close - ranged melee / unarmed weapons ) , a step or two in the wrong direction can change a moderately good chance of hitting to a 0 % . Even with a 95 % chance to hit , this in large part means that - by the game ' s calculations - the " explosive " component of the weapon will have a 95 % chance to hit . Moreover , this assumption is based on another assumption : that there is a surface for the explosive to land upon . This means that an enemy on a narrow ledge , for example , may be virtually impossible to hit despite a high projected chance : the game frequently assumes that the grenade will be able to land on an imaginary surface , when in practice it will sail past the enemy . Moreover , when throwing an explosive in V . A . T . S . , the projectile follows a parabolic arc . This has the side effect that shots with a high chance to hit may still miss in certain situations . For example , throwing a grenade at a far target when standing right behind a doorway will almost guarantee that the grenade itself will hit the top of the doorway and fall right in front of the player . This is not too much of a significant issue in Fallout 3 where players only take 10 % normal damage in V . A . T . S . , enemies are more aggressively slown down , and frag grenades virtually infinite . This becomes a more significant issue in when the player takes a much more significant fraction of normal damage ( 75 % ) and enemies are better able to close the distance in the time spent waiting for the botched grenade to explode . Thrown explosives can also be individually targeted in V . A . T . S . Moreover , in , the likelihood that a player ' s thrown explosive is hit in mid - air by an enemy shot increases , mainly due to changes in V . A . T . S . mechanics and the greater proliferation of burst - fire weapons .