Clan Integrated PPC Capacitor

A Clan Integrated PPC Capacitor (C Int-PPC Cap.) is a clantech weapon addon intended to reliably enhance the per-shot damage of a Particle Projector Cannon, though at the cost of having to charge every time to fire it.

History
Developed by Clan Fire Mandrill in response to the Inner Sphere PPC Capacitor (which proved compatible with Clan ER PPCs), the Clan Integrated PPC Capacitor better embodies the clan philosophies of consistency and reliability over experimental misgivings. The functionality to fire the weapon without charging the capacitor was abandoned in favor of preventing the random destruction of the weapon when the IS capacitor would overload itself in normal operation.

The integration of the capacitor systems with the main systems of the Particle Projector Cannon also permitted to gut redundant components and diminish the weight to just half a ton.

Timeline

 * Prototyped: 3063 (Clan Fire Mandrill)
 * Production: 3082
 * Common: -
 * Extinct: -

Rules
Their rules are similar to IS PPC capacitors, though there are some key differences.  Clan Integrated PPC capacitors weight 0.5 tons and occupy a critical space in 'Mechs and similar constructs. They occupy no critical slot in vehicle systems.

The C Int-PPC Cap. needs to charge for a turn before firing, yet this charge isn't optional: The weapon can't attack if not charged. A C Int-PPC Cap. charged weapon deals 50% more damage than an uncharged weapon, rounded up to the nearest full damage point. The charge itself generates heat equal to half the total base heat generation of the weapon, rounded up to the nearest full heat point.

For example, a C Int-PPC Cap. equipped C ER PPC will generate 8 points of heat when charging (15 heat /2 = 7.5 -> 8), and still 15 points of heat when firing. The attack will deal 23 damage (15 damage /2 = 7.5 ; 15 + 7.5 = 22.5 -> 23).

If the C Int-PPC Cap. is critted, it counts as a critical hit to the weapon itself, and vice-versa. Both components operate as one unit and must be contigous in the design, being mounted in contact to one another in the same section of the unit. If the weapon (including the Integrated PPC Capacitor) is destroyed on the turn it charges, it will deal an amount of damage to the bearer unit equal to the base damage of the weapon, as an ammo explosion. If it is critted the same turn it is discharged, this damage isn't incurred by the firing unit.

Clan PPC Integrated PPC capacitors don't have a base chance to fail and destroy the weapon in normal operation, unlike regular PPC capacitors.

Vehicles and other non-heat tracking units mounting Clan Integrated PPC capacitors don't need to carry extra heatsinks, since there is no moment at which the component operation generates more heat than the base one of the weapon. In fact, 50%+100% divided by half means the combined component generates only 75% of the regular heat when firing at max rate.

Prototype Rules
 Prototype Clan PPC Integrated PPC capacitors were the ones produced from 3063 to 3081, before the full production phase. These models were identical to the later ones except for two points:
 * They allowed the pilot to overload energy beyond the safe levels, therefore initiating an explosion on their unit on purpose instead of firing (if they had charged the turn before). This "ammo explosion" is equal to the enhanced damage of the weapon (meaning, the base damage plus the 50% capacitor bonus) and destroys both the weapon and the capacitor. Later models implemented a safety to prevent this from happening on accident to more inexperienced pilots, and because it was considered "dishonorable" by many (specially seeing as clan 'mechs aren't so often individual property).
 * If the capacitor/the weapon were destroyed by a critical hit in the same turn of the discharge, the weapon still dealt its base damage as an ammo explosion to the mounting unit due to residual stored energy and coils that don't stop charging. This was due to the early attempts to achieve a "rapid-firing" capacitor, which were unsucessful. The production model does away with this, instead ensuring all energy is discharged and cleared properly before initiating the next attack.

CBT Analysis
The resulting damage across time is only 75% of the one of a non-capacitor enhanced component, since half of the rounds need to be spent charging. However, there are some distinct advantages such as the first shot. Additionally, the damage threshold of both the C ER PPC and the Heavy PPCs can be further enhanced with an Integrated PPC Capacitor (even beyond what a regular capacitor would allow), since they add 7.5 damage to the shot in those cases instead of 5.

Clan's weapons

 * Clan Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon
 * Clan Compact Particle Projector Cannon (fanmade)
 * Enhanced Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon

Inner Sphere weapons

 * Particle Projector Cannon
 * Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon
 * Light Particle Projector Cannon
 * Snub-Nose Particle Projector Cannon
 * Heavy Particle Projector Cannon