Down from an F Torp? A D of course!
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battles: SFB Proposals Board:
New Rules:
(FP) Plasma:
Down from an F Torp? A D of course!
I was just thinking of some interesting aplications for the ability to download an F-Torp as a D-Torp for 1+2.
That is during the second turn of loading an F-Torp you could use a point of reserve (or during EA I suppose) to come up with a single D-Torp.
This could be handy in many ways.
This is not to be confused with a long ago proposal for an F-Torp to be shotgunned as type K torps. SVC already has that proposal in his files.
I have been considering the ability to shotgun D torps as an X2 ability. But The four F torps a Plasma M can shotgun is good enough when used in combo with rapid pulse phasers:P 8 D torps wouldbe too strong I think.
Loren. It would be very useful for plasma-armed PFs - perhaps even too good.
MJC. Shotgunning D's would be a separate proposal than Loren's download proposal.
Andy, that's CMC not MJC. 
But that is an interesting point regarding PF's. It would need playtesting. I suspect that against ships it wouldn't prove too much as in a battle against ships PF closing to that range get pretty much killed quick. However, consider a PF flotilla hunting fighters and using a Pl-D download every two turns and that's where there could be an issue.
CMC: The original proposal for a shotgun F tube was for multiple D's but SVC requested the proposal be for Pl-K's (which at the time were not published yet).
PFs are limited in how many plasmas they can launch a turn. A PL-D launched offensively from a rack counts against this limit. Its not much of a stretch to say this would too.
PL-D or K would be fine, but for some reason I find Ks more interesting.
Well, the Pl-K was for the F-Shotgun mode but this proposal is simply for a Pl-D download for the Pl-F that is launchable on the second turn of arming.
The issue at hand with the shotgun mode is a virtual guarantee that a large number of drones can be countered for a realative small cost (except armored Type-VI and Type-VII). Say a Pl-F could shotgun three type-K's. A typical ship could launch six K-Torps to counter six drones. That's a lot (but then it's only every three turns... but Romulans can cloak during this time). Against fighters it isn't so bad, in fact it gets interesting since chaff can counter a Pl-K.
Hmmm, that gives me an idea for a x-drone module. Chaff for drones. A proximity alert device launches the chaff and the drone loses one movement point for the evasion movement it conducts after. Cannot use chaff during the first impulse after launch.
Loren, interesting drone idea. While you are at it consider drone EM.
I had already but SVC says EM is already built into every drones damage factor. All drones always EM.
Hmmm, and maybe that's why a chaff wouldn't work. Can fighters launch chaff while EM'ing? I don't think they can. Of course a drone could be considered something different.
My thought is that the Plasma-D can be held for zero power, even by ships. You also need to buy "reloads" for Plasma-D, whereas any other torps you just generate. This implies that there is some kind of ammunition component to a Plasma-D, which is limited in ways that other torpedoes are not. So, no, I don't think that you could make a "shotgun" with D-torps, because something happens differently with D-torps than with other types of torpedoes.
Both D and K torps are carried in stasis containers or can be considered charges. These containers can be mounted on fighters similar to the way a drone is mounted except when you launch a D or K torp the container is left behind as it releases the torpedo.
Now it is also given that there is a guidence mechanism in a plasma torpedo that also keeps the plasma in shape until it hits the target. Clearly this mechanism is very small and too numorous to worry about supply. You can also easilly add or change out the guidence mechanism at the final moment before launch; add several guidence devices and energy for a shotgun or change one out (or reprogram) one for a enveloping torp. OR you can reduce the energy used and get a lesser strength torpedo but this probably uses the same guidence device.
So an F-Torp guidence device could be fed less energy wich results in a Plasma D sized torpedo. It would further be reduced in capabilities as a consequence of less energy being available to the point where this torpedo behaves exacly as the Container Launched torpedo does.
REMEMBER EVERY ONE: We got into several different lines of conversation here. The central proposal is for the ability to download and F-Torp to a D-Torp using a 1+2 loading sequence (add one point to the second turn of a normal loading sequence of an F-Torp).
Larger Torpedo tubes could NOT use this function because the guidence devices are made for larger torpedos and are at their minimum abilities when launched as a Type-F. The Type-F launcher however has it's own unique system designed to work with the stasis system (zero energy hold) and CAN opperate at the reduced energy levels.
I mentioned the Plasma F shotgun mostly as a response to CMC's post above. As an excersise SVC requested from several of us players on the board at the time to write rules. Mine was the Pl-F shotgun that launched Pl-K's. Since Pl-K's had not been published at the time the original was as Pl-D's but that was too powerful. SVC said he could see possibly using Pl-K's but NOT Pl-D's in this case.
Can I assume that the ability to fastload a Plasma-F tube with a type-D torpedo would need to be a refit? (If it is, then it could be introduced as a contemporary to the Carronade: let the Gorns and Feds do their thing, and let the ISC and Romulans choose another way - explaining why they never went down the carronade road, with the Orions mixing and matching based on home area as usual.)
Interesting thought. Could be.
What's a K-torp? Which module introduced it?
K-torp: dogfight plasma from J2. Half the size of the D-torp with some dogfight drone style properties.
I think this is another topic that SVC refered to in Extreme measures thread.
Loren, I'll ask you the same question I've asked the authors of the other proposals...
Any second thoughts? like to change anything? Restate the proposal? maybe add to it?
No, nothing to change since this is pretty simple. Just like you can fast load any plasma on the second turn of arming as a Pl-F a Pl-F would be able to fast load as a Pl-D. I'd say the energy would be 1-3.
Over six turns you get 40 points of plasma from F's and 30 from Pl-D but some better flexability and certainly some considerable defense against fighters I suppose.
Refit? I would guess that it would be something just developed as a tactic. Invented in the field in some late GW year (180+?). Probably on a carrier that had Pl-D's for fighters and some craft engineer figured out how to down load and F to a D in an emergency. Could say the following year it was available to all carriers and carrier escorts that carried Pl-D armed fighters. The year after that all plasma armed ships carried what was needed to use the process.