HOUND DOG PLASMA.
1) Shouldn't it be HUSKY plasma?

B-52 bombers armed with Hound Dog missiles could use the missile engines to get a speed boost. Of course, they could also refuel the missiles from the bomber's tanks and still launch them.

2) You need to remember to couple these with a real plasma launched from somewhere on the fighter...just racing into
range and then getting to fire off you Ph-3 might not be such a good idea.

Seems obvious.

3) Since WBP can get an extra point of movement from ACE PILOTS, don't say that hound-dog+Ace=selfinflicted-deathdrag.

Sure, whatever.

By Dwight Lillibridge (Nostromo) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:06 am: Edit

plasma torch sounds good to the point of 5 impulses, shouldn't this be one?

isn't it kind of like poping the torp in the tube, and the magnetic field in the tube channeling the plasma out of the launcher which is uncontrolled after it exits the launcher?

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:08 am: Edit

David Kass:

I do not consider EW effects on the drones because in such situations I generally need one or two ships to guide the drones, and I generally have a scout capable of lending at least two ships four points of ECCM (takes ten power plus housekeeping . . . rough for most frigate sized scouts but easily doable by most destroyer sized scouts . . . such as the good old F5S which can do this and maintain speed 15). Lacking those, I generally will have a couple of MRS shuttles around. If my enemy brought a carrier group, I will generally have that scout and probably my own carrier group (sometimes a smaller one than his to use my fighters to help build the drone wave and fend off his attack).

When it gets up to 24 drones the Kzintis have an easier time than the Klingons (or Federation) finding ships with double seeking weapon control, but they are available, like a lot of even small carriers (Klingon F5V, for example). The ships guiding the drones do NOT have to be the ones closest to the fighters, so long as they are able to meet the strictures of (F3.31).

The upshot is that I rarely find myself in a situation where the fighters will benefit from their erratic maneuvers when the drones hit them.

I cannot in good conscience say what you do, but it is not my fault if you allow your drones to try to hit enemy fighters when they are affected by EW. It is just so easy to make sure they are not. Even if the 24 drones (in the large sample) were launched by 12 ships and 12 fighters, or two ships, 10 fighters, and two scatterpacks, they do not have to be controlled by those units. Pick the units that will control them at the moment of impact and make sure they are the ones getting that lent ECCM, and watch the enemy fighters fry.

By Ken Rodeghero (Ken_Rodeghero) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:10 am: Edit

Could be called PLATO for PLasma Assisted Take-Off

Ken

By Dwight Lillibridge (Nostromo) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:15 am: Edit

might have a JATO system for overloaded bombers lifting from planets as an assist to get out of the gravity well. overloaded bombers while carrying more ordanance also would have seriously reduced maneuverability and the effect of any booster packs for space travel reduced in effect as well as it's own engines once those packs are dropped is reduced in effective speed.

By Mike Raper (Raperm) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:17 am: Edit

Dwight,

There were a couple of reasons for the plasma torch being spread over five impulses. The slow release of the energy is what makes the weapon usable by fighters; it doesn't have the shock of a plasma bolt. It also gives some mizia abilities to the weapon, as it's spread out over the five impulses; a little damage every time. But, the biggest thing is that I wanted it to be different. Being able to spray it around at different targets is a cool thing that other weapons can't do, and it adds some flavor.

By Hugh Bishop (Wildman) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 12:24 pm: Edit

How about a different kind of plasma weapon for the ISC. Instead of using Plasma torps they use a system similar to the PPd that can't acquire wave lock but can be pulsed with splash effect. They only used it sparingly because once targeted it had to fire all of it's pulses at one target, it's advantages were mizia, direct fire and a variable operational doctrine. It would have a range say of 12-15 and 4 impulses of pulse. A name for it could be the Plasma Pulse Gun.

By Jim Davies (Mudfoot) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 04:39 pm: Edit

The Hound Dog stuff is like Overdrive in LMC, though that doesn't use the drones to do it. Looks like a bit of tech sloshing to me.

Everybody else has proposed a plasma weapon, so here's mine:

Splash Plasma Torpedo

In Yxxx, Gorn scientists handwaved and technobabbled furiously to produce the SPT. Any plasma launcher can arm an SPT; the decision is made on the final turn of arming. The torpedo is armed with the usual amount of energy (eg 2-2-3 for a G) but marked on the EA form as an SPT. The torp can have been completed with rolling delay and reserve power. Once armed, a torpedo cannot change type. An SPT cannot be fastloaded. It can be held. It can be made Sabot.

It is launched normally and appears to have the same warhead strength as a conventional plasma torpedo. It is degraded by weapons fire in the usual way. A successful Lab analysis will reveal it to be an SPT. A PPT cannot duplicate an SPT except on an X-ship. It bolts normally with no splash.

When it hits its target, divide its warhead by 3 and apply them on the facing shield and its neighbours, retaining any odd points for the facing shield. Two-sided targets (eg interceptors and Andros) do what you'd expect; one-sided targets (eg shuttles, drones) take full damage.

The damage is applied as though from an EPT (ie, during the EPT volley phase); it can hit any phaser that can fire through the shields hit. If it hits on the same impulse as an EPT, any phaser can be hit.

For example, an F-SPT that hits the #1 shield at range 7 after taking 9 points of phaser fire (warhead 11) does 3+5+3 to the target.


Ultimately, it's a bit like a QWT with a bit more splash, which can be both good and bad depending on what you want. And slower-loading with more warhead as per a plasma, of course.


We seem to have moved all the SSJ conversations into this thread. Odd.

By David Lang (Dlang) on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 04:51 pm: Edit

Jim, the difference is that the Hound dog doesn't get you over speed 32

By Jim Cummins (Jimcummins) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 12:16 pm: Edit

New plasma tricks

Star burst plasma:

This new feature converts a normal torpedo to a multi-warhead torpedo. The torpedo requires overload energy to arm and is marked as a plasma starburst. The torpedo is set to release its munitions, at a pre-determined time before the warhead is reduced to strength of 15 by distance traveled. Phaser damage does not affect the sub munitions release unless the plasma strength is reduce to 0 points before release, which will prevent the starburst sub munitions from being released. At the pre-determined time the torpedo then can release 3 10 point plasma D warheads. The original warhead dissipates. Targeting of the sub munitions is determination is as a multi-warhead drone sub munitions.

By Ryan Peck (Trex) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 12:45 pm: Edit

New Defensive Weapon:

P.O.O.H. on a Stick:

Plasma Octahex Output (Heated). This acutaly a large collection of waste material from the warp engines on the ship. It has a highly offensive smell, hard to remove, and universally feared. A good amount of this material is put on the end of a tractor beam is put between the defending ship, and incoming enemy vessels. While it does no damage, it does force any target about to enter the hex to turn one hexside (regardless of turn mode restrictions) away. This includes: Monsters, Drones, Fighters, PFs, and ships (Pretty much anything that can move under it's own power). P.O.O.H. is availible to all races that use warp technology.

Procedure: A transporter must beam the mass to any hex within tractor range. Then it must be tractored. It can be any distance away within legal tractor beam range.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 01:14 pm: Edit

That's one of the funnier things I've read in a long time, Ryan...thanks!

By Frank Brooks (Alskdjf) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 04:28 pm: Edit

Ryan,

Can someone else tractor the P.O.O.H. that you have "launched" and use it against you?

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 05:57 pm: Edit

Frank Brooks:

I actually thought of the same thing, but it was so obvious that you could (it does not go inert when held in a friendly tractor) that I did not bother to ask. But it is a valid question [assuming Ryan was making a valid proposal (GRIN)]

By Mark Kuyper (Mark_K) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 06:16 pm: Edit

Ryan,
whats the move cost for P.O.O.H. ?
Does it affect your turnmode?
Can you use it to assist with a side slip?

Enquiring minds want to know!

By Ryan Peck (Trex) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 07:56 pm: Edit

-P.O.O.H. has a move cost of 0.
-It does not affect turnmode other then forcing anyone about it enter it's hex to turn away

"Can someone else tractor the P.O.O.H. that you have "launched" and use it against you?"
No, they would have to transport it onboard your ship, place it in a brown paper bag, then light this bag on fire. The bag is then beamed aboard the opponent's bridge.

Addendum and Errata:
It appears I mistranslated the Air Force tapes from the future. Federation ships have a special cleaning system (you can tell by the long warp nacelles) which filters this substance. In short, the feds can't use this because there P.O.O.H. doesn't stink.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 08:11 pm: Edit

Ryan Peck:

Does that mean the Gorns (who also have very long Nacelles) cannot use it? Presumeably also the Romulan "Hawk" series of Cruisers and Dreadnoughts are also unable to use it? Similar question for the Neo-Tholian ships versus the Archeo-Tholian ships?

Give the tiny size of their engines compared to the power they produce, I would imagine the Hydran's P.O.O.H. is particularly "fragrant".

And is this the secret behind Orion Engine Doubling? They shovel the P.O.O.H. back into their engines? (And the crew losses from engine burnouts is actually crew men assigned to the task of shoveling being overcome?)

Am I going to carry this much further?

Yes!

Because controlling P.O.O.H. is clearly what led the Andromedans to invent TR Beams in the first place!

I will let others cover the Omega sector, except that I will note that obviously "Flame Shields" were designed to ward off P.O.O.H. attacks by igniting the P.O.O.H. and flinging it back onto the ship that dared to try to use it.