THE PRIME SECTOR
DARK GOD SHIPS
(PMR9.1) HEAVY CRUISER (CA):
The Dark God Heavy Cruiser was a dreaded opponent because of its ability to disappear from our dimension, only to reappear later in a completely different location. This reemergence could not be accurately predicted and many Prime Sector starships found themselves caught completely off-guard by the Dark God’s new location after Phasing Back into our Reality. The Dark Matter Pulsars and Dark Matter Torpedoes were also infamous for the unique way in which they affected a starship once its shields were down. All of these factors made the Dark God Heavy Cruiser a truly unorthodox adversary in the Prime Sector. Fortunately, the Dark God had his own mysterious agenda which rarely involved sending a whole fleet of ships to attack a single strong point.
DESIGNER NOTES:
The Dark God Heavy Cruiser is based on the Souldra. However, some major changes were needed to bring this Omega Empire in line with the rest of the Prime Sector.
First and Foremost, the Soul Shields and the Shards had to be discarded. It’s not that they weren’t cool concepts, they were. Who wouldn’t want to send a fighter over to suck power out of an enemy ship and use it to restore your own shields? Who wouldn’t want to rearrange their shields in any direction every turn? However, these ideas are nearly impossible to balance. And in the Prime Sector, Balance is Paramount, especially between ships. So the Soul Shields and the Shards had to go. I may use some form of the Soul Shields in a future Prime Sector Empire, but the rules will have to be revised somewhat if I do.
The next major issue was a lack of Phaser Power. If you examine the Light and Heavy Dark Matter Pulsars, you will find that they are severely lacking in Damage Output. This is because they utilize the special Dark Matter Damage Procedure once Interals are scored. Still, in order to even get to use the Dark Matter Damage Procedure, you must penetrate the enemy’s Shields. And you will not be able to do that when your Phasers score only half-damage (compared to PH-1’s). To make things much worse, because your own Phasers are deficient in damage, there is nothing to stop an opponent from simply charging at you and overrunning you.
So I needed to give the Prime Sector version of the Souldra some more “Teeth.” But how? My initial solution was to simply give the ship additional PH-1’s that would not use the Dark Matter Damage Procedure. This would prevent ships from charging recklessly to point blank range, because now the Prime Sector Souldra would have PH-1’s pointed at them as they closed. The Damage Output of PH-1’s is much higher than Heavy Dark Matter Pulsars.
But this solution, while simple and efficient, did not sit well with me simply because the mix of technology did not make sense from a technological perspective. Why would this empire utilize PH-1’s when they already have Dark Matter Pulsars (even if weak in Damage Output)? Therefore, I came up with my Second Solution, which was the Super Dark Matter Pulsar. This upgraded version of the Heavy Dark Matter Pulsar now scores damage on par with a PH-2. Still not perfect, but enough to allow the ship to fend off opponents charging straight at it for an overrun.
The Dark Matter Torpedo seemed fine as is. I carefully examined the energy required in comparison to the damage scored. It seemed acceptable. There were two complications; the Dark Matter Damage Procedure and the unusual way that Dark Matter Torpedoes are damaged by Phaser fire.
Total Damage Output from the Dark Matter Pulsars and the Dark Matter Torpedoes had to be carefully calculated to make sure it did not exceed the Average Prime Sector Amount.
The Dimensional Phase Device was crucial to make the Prime Sector Souldra Tactically Challenging to play. Without it, the ship would have simply been a Direct-Fire Ship with some Strange Plasma Torpedoes. But with the Dimensional Phase Device, all kinds of Tactical Possibilities open up during combat. The Dimensional Phase Device operates much differently than the Cloaking Device, so the two should not be confused in terms of Tactics Employed. A thorough and detailed reading of the Rules for the Dimensional Phase Device is definitely worth it, but developing Winning Tactics based on these Rules will require even further in-depth thought.
And so you have the Prime Sector version of the Souldra. Now I needed a name for this New Empire. They were not the same beings as the Souldra, although they are composed of Dark Matter. What are their Goals? What is their Behavior like? Are they Enemies or Allies? Where do they come from? How will their Technology evolve over time? Can they be reasoned with? Can they be traded with? How long do they live? What are their Origins? All these questions will be answered in time as the Prime Sector gets written. This Prime Sector Empire has been dubbed: the Dark God.
DARK MATTER PULSARS (LDMP, HDMP, SDMP): These function as described in Omega-3 except for the addition of the Super Dark Matter Pulsar:
⦁ Super Dark Matter Pulsars require Two Points of Energy to Fire.
⦁ Super Dark Matter Pulsars may be downfired as Heavy Dark Matter Pulsars or Light Dark Matter Pulsars at the moment of firing.
⦁ Super Dark Matter Pulsars are treated as Dark Matter Pulsars in all other respects not noted above.
DARK MATTER TORPEDOES (DMT): These function exactly as described in Omega-3.
DIMENIONSAL PHASE DEVICE (DPD): This functions exactly as described in Omega-3.
DARK MATTER DAMAGE PROCEDURE: This functions exactly as described in Omega-3.
