Way back around 2004 or so SVC wanted to see if a few of us could write rules worth a darn. He assigned me the Plasma Gatling. What I came up with was a shotgun rule for F-Torps that fired Pl-Ks.
But today while working in the shop I had a new idea.

Load you plasma (from G to R) as a plasma shotgun. When fired in gatling mode each F-Torp is bolted, one per impulse until all submunitions are fired or ejected.

Example: A Plasma-S is armed as a shotgun and on impulse 10 the player fires it in gatling mode and one of the three F-Torps is bolted. On impulse 11 the next f-torp is bolted. On impulse 12 the third is bolted and the launch tube is empty. ALL submunitions MUST be bolted or ejected once the first submunition is bolted.

Targeting: Against SC5 and smaller units each bold may be at a different target.
Against ships all bolts must be at the same target.
If SC4 or larger is the first target then all bolts got to the ship and ignore the small units. If you fire the first bolt at a SC5 or smaller unit then no subsequent bolts can be at SC4 or larger units.

So yes, this allows a shotgun armed plasma to engage a ship. However, since it takes multiple impulses to fire all the submunitions, the target has oppertunities to turn away.

Still this is the full normal warhead strength being bolted where normally it would be half (the damage output is greater than normally possible). The added loading energy is part of the balance plus the multiple impulse firing mode (no you don't get a PPD wave lock, you roll to hit each impulse).
I believe this would be a refit that would also cost a small amount of BPV per tube (you would be required to refit the whole ship, not just one tube at a time).

Decision to fire in gatling mode is made at the time of firing the fire submunition.

Introduce post Y190. Romulan special. Gorns copy a few years later during Andro war.
Could be a result of trying to make a PPD style weapon.

I have to say, this would have me rushing to play Romulans again.

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 01:06 am: Edit

Loren you turncoat! Leave the Holdfast and never darken us with your carbon based biosystems again!

regards
Stacy

PS Sounds like an interesting concept

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 10:22 am: Edit

As an engineer, I cannot see any way to make the system do that. All of the plasma is in one chamber, and spitting out any of it means spitting out all of it at once, so, a lot of plasma-Ks with no way to aim them. So, self-guiding seekers or just ballistic bolts that hit nothing.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 11:24 am: Edit

Well, that's the refit I was talking about. Sort of a shutter system using energy fields.

But OK, not every idea has wings.


Stacy,

Um, it was a threat file assesment. Yeah, that's it.

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 12:51 pm: Edit

So...that means the Gatling Web Fist is out of the question?
regards
Stacy

By Fred J. Kreller (Kreller1) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 01:27 pm: Edit

Or the Seltorians favorite, the Shield Cracker gatling

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 02:24 pm: Edit

Fred
That crackling sound you hear is NOT the gatling shield cracker it's Seltorians roasting over an open fire (Or at Tholian starship room temperature)Snap, Crackle Pop -NOT RICE KRISPIES
regards
Stacy

By Brodie Nyboer (Radiocyborg) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 04:31 pm: Edit

(Dipping them in dark matter gives them a little zest)

By Fred J. Kreller (Kreller1) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 04:38 pm: Edit

They're really pretty good, once you get past the legs.

By Stacy Brian Bartley (Bartley) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 04:40 pm: Edit

Fred's obviously not a "leg" man
regards
Stacy

By Nick G. Blank (Nickgb) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 05:19 pm: Edit

It would work if you used red matter.

By Phil Shanton (Mxslade) on Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 06:34 pm: Edit

That may explain the messages Starfleet as been picking up from across the Neutral Zone.

http://www.gotfuturama.com/Multimedia/MP3Sounds/popplersong.mp3

By George Duffy (Sentinal) on Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 06:45 pm: Edit

Didn't the ISC already invent this?

I think they called it the Plasmatic Pulsar Device

(Their lawyers will be sending you a writ about infringement rights very shortly )