and that's why i use gravity guns instead of relying on wheat for luring
most likely because the materials (dirt/stone/trees/etc.) are a lot stronger and harder to destroy than in vanilla. that dirt is altered beyond belief; it even has gravity and disallows stacking
No, it still does the same damage to the terrain, just not the player, I can get up close to one without leather armour and let it blow up and my health won't be affected in TFC, yet in vanilla, when I stay 5 blocks away from creepers and let them blow up I get down to one heart.