LINE OF BATTLE
Line of Battle is an Expansion of the Concepts introduced by the Britanian and Hispaniolan Starships. Intrigued by these Sideways-Firing Starships, I envisioned a new galaxy full of empires that designed their fleets in this fashion. However, I didn’t want to be limited to a Single Heavy Weapon (Proton, Disruptor) like the Britanian and Hispaniolan. My New Galaxy would utilize Drones, Plasmas, Fighters, Carriers, Maulers, Web, ESG’s, and More. Of course, all of the starships employed by my new empires would be quite Real, and Not Simulator.
The main problem to be solved by this New Design Paradigm is how to differentiate the starships in Line of Battle from standard Alpha Sector starships. After all, if I utilize much of the Alpha Sector’s weaponry, such as Drones and Plasmas, then regardless of Firing Arcs, what is to stop a Player from flying the Line of Battle Starship like any other Alpha Sector Starship (fly at the enemy, fire weapons at the enemy in FA)? There must be some mechanism in the New Design Paradigm that prevents this, or at the very least, greatly discourages this form of combat.
On a side note, the empires in Line of Battle must also be significantly different from the Iridani, with their Side-Firing Focused Energy Beams, Wide Phasers, and various Modules.
To resolve this primary dilemma, strict Firing Arcs (R, L) would be designated for Seeking Weapons (Drones, Plasmas, etc.) and Heavy Weapons (Photons, Disruptors, etc.). Like the Britanian and the Hispaniolan, the starships of Line of Battle would have Two Sets of Heavy Weapons, one on each side (R and L). Although this will give Line of Battle starships Twice the normal amount of Heavy Weapons, the theory is that they would only be firing one side toward an enemy at any given time. The only exception to this would be Fleet Battles, where a Line of Battle Starship might actually have to opportunity to fire Both Sides of Heavy Weapons in Opposite Directions, if surrounded. Clearly, such a maneuver would require a great deal of Energy, perhaps more than the Line of Battle Starship can muster.
While the initial launch of Seeking Weapons at enemy vessels would require the enemy vessel to be within its Firing Arc (R or L), if the enemy vessel moves out of the initial Firing Arc (R, L), the Seeking Weapon would continue to follow them. So the Major Change to Drones would be the implementation of a strict Firing Arc (R, L) and a more restrictive Firing Arc for Plasmas (R, L, instead of their usual FH, FP, LP, RH). Note that Seeking Weapons in Line of Battle can either be Primary Heavy Weapons or Supplemental Heavy Weapons, since Line of Battle Starships may have Two or More Heavy Weapons plus possibly a Device.
One area of concern arose in regards to HET. Britanian and Hispaniolan starships cannot HET, although Players are encouraged to experiment with the idea. I really wanted the starships in Line of Battle to be able to HET, just like regular Alpha Sector Starships. However, after much thought, I realized that the HET would defeat the purpose of the Side-Firing Weaponry. What was to stop a Player from firing One Side of Heavy Weapons, performing a HET, and then firing the Other Side of Heavy Weapons? The answer is nothing. For this reason, as sad as it may be, Starships in Line of Battle cannot perform HET’s.
I did have an idea for a New Maneuver that I wanted to be pervasive throughout Line of Battle. This New Maneuver would allow Line of Battle Starships to bring their Side-Firing Heavy Weapons to bear in a unique way. The New Maneuver, originally called a Drift, would be a Sideslip and Turn Combined. The Line of Battle Starship would first perform a Sideslip and then perform a Turn (in the same hex) after the Sideslip is completed. The Line of Battle Starship must meet both requirements to Sideslip and Turn to be able to initiate this New Maneuver. I will call the New Maneuver a Sideslip-Turn (to keep the Name simple and obvious to Players). For apparent reasons, the Sideslip-Turn Maneuver should be restricted to Line of Battle only.
The Scatterpack became another problem for the Design Paradigm of Line of Battle. The launching of Shuttles allows them to bypass the (R, L) Side-Firing Heavy Weapons normally utilized. To make matters worse, a single Shuttle could then release Six Drones which could hit an enemy Line of Battle Starship in its Weakest Shield (#1 or #4). Such a tactic cannot be allowed to happen in Poseidon’s Line of Battle, as it would seriously undermine the Side-Firing Combat being set up by the Design Paradigm. Therefore, much to my regret, Scatterpacks cannot be used in Line of Battle. Perhaps, in the future, I will think up an Alternative to the Scatterpack, something which works functionally and tactically for the Sideways Combat of Line of Battle.
The next decision was a difficult one to make. Due to the Side-Firing Nature of Line of Battle, and the Design Paradigm used to develop it, I didn’t want the starships zipping around at Warp 31. It just didn’t make sense and it didn’t match the feel I wanted to create for this New Galaxy. Therefore, I made the tough decision to give Heavy Cruisers in Line of Battle a Movement Cost of 2. This means that Heavy Cruisers will have a Max Speed of Warp 16, probably much slower if they are arming weapons. So this will slow the game down tremendously as warships inch slowly toward each other on the battlefield. But I feel this is the correct decision, because it creates a Flavor and Atmosphere that matches what I want Line of Battle to be like. It will also ultimately affect and create New Tactics that are needed to succeed with the slower speed.
And that brings us to the most important, yet most challenging aspect of Line of Battle. After doing research into the Real-Life Line of Battle, I found that ships would line up to fire sideways, enabling them to cut down enemy ships before they could close for boarding. This was especially true with concentration of fire. I wanted to duplicate this effect in Line of Battle.
The main challenge here was that at long range, shots were typically scoring anywhere from 1-3 points of damage, something easily blocked with some reinforcement. So long-range sniping has never really been a threat. But I wanted the Sideways Barrage of Line of Battle Starships to be Actual Threat at Long Range, not just an Annoyance. This meant I needed to change Two Things in Line of Battle: Phasers and Heavy Weapons.
The solution to Phasers was what I have dubbed: the Long Range Phaser-1 or PL-1. This type of Phaser scores significantly more damage at Ranges 9-15, 16-25, 26-50, and 51-75. The PL-1 scores No Damage at Ranges less than 9. The PL-1 can fire as a standard PH-1 as well. The Firing Mode for the PL-1 is chosen at the Beginning of the Turn, after Energy Allocation. Once the Firing Mode has been chosen, it cannot be changed during the turn. This gives the opponent a chance to attempt surprise tactics to change the distance during the turn, possibly negating the Long Range Advantage. The PL-1 costs the same amount of energy to fire as a standard PH-1.
It should also be noted that Starships in Line of Battle carry a mixture of PL-1’s, PH-1’s, and PH-3’s. They are not restricted solely to PL-1’s. PL-1’s line the Sides, PH-1’s are Forward and Aft, and PH-3’s are spread throughout to defend against Seeking Weapons.
The solution for Heavy Weapons was to give them a Long Range Option. The First Empire in Line of Battle uses Disruptors. So I had to work out the details for what I call the Long Range Disruptor or DISL. The DISL has the option of firing in Long Range Mode, which costs the same amount of energy as being Overloaded. The DISL can then score much more damage at Ranges 9-15, 16-22, and 23-30. The DISL cannot score any damage at Ranges less than 9. Like the PL-1, the decision to fire at Long Range must be declared at the beginning of the turn, after energy allocation, and cannot be changed. Again, this allows the opponent to take advantage of this decision during the turn, if they can.
The explanation for the PL-1 and the DISL can be whatever Technobabble you like. I will write up something in the future about it. Much more important than the Technobabble are the reasons for these changes and whether they work or not on the tabletop.
With Phasers and Heavy Weapons that can score significant damage at Range greater than 9+, the starships in Line of Battle now pose a real threat from a distance. Additionally, when there is an actual Line of Starships, their Combined Fire can genuinely hurt an enemy ship at Long Range. This matches my goal of mimicking the Tactics, Effects, and Strategies used in the Real-Life Line of Battle. Can these Long Range Modifications be abused by Clever Players? Possibly. Solid and Repetitive Playtesting should reveal whether this becomes a reality or not.
Lastly, I thought it made sense for the Line of Battle Starships to have Armor, as a type of 7th Shield. However, I didn’t want this Armor to be 360 degrees. Instead, I imagined reinforced protection on the Line of Battle Starships on both of their Sides, where they were most likely to take Heavy Fire. For this reason, Line of Battle Starships feature Left and Right Armor that protect each individual side. If the Right Armor is ruptured, the Left Armor cannot assist to absorb that damage. If the Left Armor is breached, the Right Armor cannot assist to absorb that damage. These Directional Armors made sense to me and fit perfectly with the Design Paradigm of Line of Battle.
Should the Starships of Line of Battle be flown against Alpha Sector Starships? While possible, I would highly discourage that type of game. The Design Paradigm of Line of Battle is so unique and so different, with so many inherent changes made for specific purposes, that its Starships would be Alien to the Starships of the Alpha Sector. Conflicts would be Unbalanced, with Tactics Disrupted by Two Different Design Paradigms that were clashing at once. It is best to leave Line of Battle Starships to fight one another instead of the Alpha Sector.
In summary, Line of Battle features Starships that have been designed to Fire Sideways. Their Side-Firing Weapons are capable of scoring Significant Damage at Mid to Long Range. Seeking Weapons, including Drones and Plasmas, also fire to the Sides. High Energy Turns and Scatterpacks are not available in Line of Battle. Starships in Line of Battle move slowly and feature Reinforced Armor on Both Sides. Line of Battle Starships have Weak #1 and #4 Shields, but Strong #2, #3, #5, and #6 Shields. All Starships in Line of Battle can perform a Unique Maneuver called the Sideslip-Turn, which is not available in any other galaxy.
With the possibility for plenty of Unique Starship Designs and Unusual, Fresh Tactics, the new galaxy known as Line of Battle has a Lot of Potential. There will also be later opportunities to develop X-Technology in Line of Battle, as well as to incorporate Omega and Magellanic Technology. The History and Timeline of the many empires of Line of Battle remains to be written. To the Future, and to discovering more about Line of Battle!!
