Zoids: Chaotic Age Zero

Name: Gatling Mortar
Cost: $12,000
Weight: 16 Tons
Function: Artillery
Mounts To: Cannon Tortoise, Godkaiser, Gojulas, Gordos, King Baron, King Gojulas, Shadow Fox
--On the Cannon Tortoise, the Gatling Mortars mount on top of the Long-Range Heavy Mortar Cannon. It cannot be mounted with the Assault Unit, Attack Unit, Fuel Air Explosives, or Large-Bore Beam Cannon
--On the Godkaiser the Gatling Mortar mounts to the chest. It cannot be mounted with the Assault Unit
--On the Gojulas, and the King Gojulas, the Gatling Mortar mounts to the back. It does not interfere with the mounting of the Twin Republican Supercannons
--On the Gordos, the Gatling Mortar mounts to the right side, opposite the 80mm Heavy Cannons
--On the King Baron and the Shadow Fox, the Gatling Mortar mounts to the back (replacing the Shadow Fox’s Laser Vulcan). On the Shadow Fox, it cannot be mounted with the Large-Bore Beam Cannon.
In Brief: The Gatling Mortar is an artillery weapon designed by Republican engineers to allow a few of their front-line zoids to function as artillery units.

Weapon Type: Quad Rapid-fire Mortar Cannons
Ammo Type: Mortars
Firing Rate: 2 mortars per second per cannon

Description: In the art of war, artillery is a useful thing. A well-placed bombardment can decimate exposed enemies, destroy cover, and saturate enemy defenses.

On Zi, however, artillery is limited. The Cannon Tortoise is the premier Republican artillery specialist, later supplemented by the King Gojulas. The Imperials have a more varied set, with the Dark Horn, Red Horn, and the Iron Kong family all carrying artillery weapons of some sort.

Of these, however, the number of zoids actually meant solely for bombardment is limited to one: the Cannon Tortoise. Republican engineers sought to expand that number by creating the Gatling Mortar. Essentially, the Gatling Mortar is a cluster of four rapid-fire mortars, capable of throwing out two shells per mortar per second, for a grand total of eight mortars per second (Despite the fact that it is actually four separate guns, the Gatling Mortar is still generally referred to as a single weapon). Later, this weapon would be refined and incorporated into the mighty King Gojulas. Of course, those mortars are much bigger than these.

The Gatling Mortar was designed as a flexible unit, mounting to all manner of Republican zoids. The Cannon Tortoise benefits, with even more artillery than it previously possessed, but it is not alone. The Gojulas and Gordos gained new roles on the battlefield as long-range weapons platforms, the Godkaiser gained a new forward facing weapon, and the King Baron and Shadow Fox turned into highly mobile support units. The possibilities were endless. Perhaps that was why the weapon was later added to the King Gojulas, as a supporting weapon for its standard Gatling Mortars.

The Gatling Mortar, as previously mentioned, is a rapid-fire piece of artillery. It is not, however, an accurate one. Designed for defense saturation, the weapon tends to not only hit where you want it to, but everything inside 25 meters of that location as well- on a good day. If there is much in the way of wind… good luck. You’ll need it to hit your target. The Mortar is also plagued with other issues. The power of its individual weapons is lacking, as each mortar deals comparable damage to a standard rocket, with a ten meter blast radius. The reason for that was simple logistics- zoids like the Gunsniper routinely employed weapons of that size, so the munitions base was already available. The size was also chosen to keep the Gatling Mortar a compact piece of equipment. However, even with the small size of the rounds, the Gatling Mortar only carries a total of 24 mortars per tube, for a total of 96 mortars. For those who are not very savvy at math, that’s enough for exactly twelve seconds of fire. After that, rearming will be required.

Despite these problems, the Mortar has various benefits, aside from the obvious benefits of flexibility and simplified logistics. Unlike most mortars, it has no minimum range, and its maximum range of just over two kilometers means that range is rarely an issue. At close range, the mortars may have to fire almost straight up to hit their target… but they can do so, as the Mortar can actually rotate a full 90 degrees vertically, although it is fixed horizontally. The only exception to this is the Shadow Fox, where it mounts to the Laser Vulcan mount, and thus is omnidirectional.

Thanks to the fact that this modification was widely distributed among Helic forces, it is now available for a mere twelve grand. Fork over the cash, and your zoid suddenly becomes a mobile artillery piece.