THE PRIME SECTOR
GUARDIAN KNIGHTS SHIPS
(PMR2.1) HEAVY CRUISER (CA):
The Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser is a streamlined vessel with flexible armaments and defenses. The Guardian Knights seek Justice and Protect the Innocent throughout the Prime Sector. The Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser is outfitted with Three Energy Shotguns, Four Offensive Phasers, Two Defense Phasers, Three Particle Fields, and One Graviton Torpedo Launcher. During battle, the Defensive Particle Fields would be rotated to protect the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser as it sought to bring its powerful Energy Shotguns to bear. Graviton Torpedoes were often launched to keep the opponent away at a distance or to absorb the enemy’s Phaser fire. Curiously, the Offensive Phasers on the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser enjoyed a much wider firing arc than on the Alliance of Lords Heavy Cruiser, a little known fact that the Guardian Knights fully exploited during combat.
DESIGNER NOTES:
The Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser is based on the Helgardian Design by Francois Angers. However, in order for the Design to be properly converted into the Prime Sector, various modifications, deletions, and additions had to be made.
First of all, the Graviton Beams had to be discarded in favor of Phaser-1’s and Phaser 3’s. This is due to the imbalancing multi-fire abilities of the Graviton Beams and also to bring the range and damage ratios in line with other Prime Sector Empires. It was the easiest and simplest solution for this very important area of SFB combat.
Next, I had to take a good look at the Particle Shotgun, which became the Energy Shotgun for the Guardian Knights. I always felt there was something off about the Particle Shotgun’s To-Hit Chances, Energy Requirements, and Damage Output. Starting with the Photon Torpedo Chart, I rebuilt the Particle Shotgun from the ground up. Part of the intent here was Simplicity and Gameplay. The Energy Shotgun has a Standard Feature and an Overload Feature. To-Hit Chances are now more in-line with a Disruptor, actually a bit better. Damage is on par with a Photon Torpedo (8 standard damage, 16 overload damage), with a Standard Energy Shotgun able to score at most 12 points of damage (averaging 8-10 damage at mid-range), and an Overload Energy Shotgun capable of scoring at most 15 points of damage (averaging 9-12 damage at mid-range). Lastly, I made sure the Damage/Energy Ratio matched the standard 2:1 Ratio.
However, there was one feature that I thought the Particle Shotgun should have always had. If separate shots are hitting at the same time (the “Shotgun” effect), then there should be some kind of Mizia Effect if Internals were scored. This attribute has now been defined and added to the Energy Shotgun.
Ultimately, I was pleased with how the Energy Shotgun turned out. It has elements of the Disruptor combined with the Photon Torpedo. Damage and Energy are now balanced. And the Mizia Effect is something unique to the Energy Shotgun that makes sense.
Looking at the Rotary (Rotating) Shields of the Helgardian, I had to be careful about Balance. The regenerating aspect of the device was problematic during Playtesting. Still, due to the nature of the device, it made “Sense” for the shield to “regrow” every turn if damaged.
First of all, in order to simplify use and gameplay, I discarded the Reinforced Option of the Rotary (Rotating) Shields. There is now only One Mode for the newly renamed Particle Fields, you either pay the energy to activate it or you don’t. Secondly, I reduced the amount of boxes of protection for each Particle Field to make sure the additional shield reinforcement was not imbalancing. Then, using the idea that Damage Control requires 4 energy to regenerate 2 shield boxes as a basis, I calculated an appropriate amount of energy to raise each Particle Field each turn. The idea here is that the energy/additional shield boxes should be in-line with Damage Control, but slightly better since the Particle Field is a Unique Device developed specifically for protection purposes. Lastly, I had to make sure that even with all Three Particle Fields activated, the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser was not Overly Protected on any shield arc. At maximum, the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser can have a 29 point #1 Shield which compares nicely to the Alliance of Lords Heavy Cruiser which has a 26 point #1 Shield without any Particle Fields. The additional 3 boxes is not too overpowered since the Guardian Knights developed this device specifically to boost their defenses. It was also important to compare Particle Fields to Specific and General Reinforcement to make sure they were competitive and worth it to use in the first place. And, of course, the Particle Fields have the advantage of being moved around to different arcs during the battle (which requires a bit more bookkeeping, but is ultimately worth it.)
The final piece of Guardian Knights technology is a bit of an oddity. Looking at the ship design tactically, it was clear that you have a direct-fire ship similar to the Federation. What was lacking, in terms of tactical abilities during gameplay, was a seeking weapon. I wanted to give the Guardian Knights a Seeking Plasma Weapon, but a weak one (since it was only a Supplementary Weapon to the Energy Shotgun.). This took the form of the Graviton Torpedo (whose name, like the Particle Field, hints back at Francois’ Original Designs). The Graviton Torpedo is a flexible seeking weapon that can be armed over 1, 2, or 3 turns. Its damage output is less than a standard Plasma Torpedo. Most importantly, Graviton Torpedoes are damaged at a 1:1 Ratio by Phasers. So in the end, you have a Flexible Plasma Weapon that is easily destroyed, but is still a threat that can be used on the Tabletop to compliment tactics with the Energy Shotgun. Graviton Torpedoes can easily be expanded in the future, adding additional features as the Guardian Knights develop them.
The Final Step to the Guardian Knights Design was to make sure that all Internals, Power Curve, Shuttles, and Shields were in-line with the Alliance of Lords Heavy Cruiser. Everything matches, with some differences to make the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser unique.
So the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser enters the Prime Sector as an Able Combatant which is superior to the Alliance of Lords in some respects and deficient to it in other ways. It has flexibility when it comes to Shield Protection and Seeking Weapon Launching. The Energy Shotgun is a powerful direct-fire weapon that is similar to a Disruptor and Photon Torpedo, but possesses a Mizia Feature which can quickly strip a target of its Heavy Weapons, Drones, and Power. I believe the Guardian Knights Heavy Cruiser is a worthy tribute to Francois Anger’s Wonderful Original Design, which provided the Inspiration and Basis for this Prime Sector starship.
ENERGY SHOTGUN:
Energy Shotguns require arming over Two Turns
Standard Energy Shotguns require 2 points of energy on the first turn and 3 points of energy on the second turn.
Overloaded Energy Shotguns require 2 points of energy on the first turn and 4 points of energy on the second turn.
Standard Energy Shotguns can be held at a cost of 2 points per turn.
Overloaded Energy Shotguns can be held at a cost of 3 points per turn.
After a successful hit, calculate the damage by multiplying the damage/hit by the number of hits. Use the appropriate row for standard and overload on the energy shotgun table.
If internals are scored, treat each separate hit as a separate roll on the damage allocation chart. This means the Energy Shotgun generates a Mizia Effect when it scores internals. It may be necessary to calculate the number of hits scoring internals after a partial shield absorbs some of the initial energy shotgun impact.
Example #1: An Energy Shotgun hits a target with its shield down, scoring 5 hits at standard level for a total of 10 internal damage points. Roll on the damage allocation chart 5 separate times, scoring two internal damage points each time.
Example #2: An Energy Shotgun hits a target with 6 points of shield left. The Energy Shotgun scores 5 hits at standard level for a total of 10 damage points. After subtracting the 6 points of remaining shields, 4 internal damage points are scored. Roll on the damage allocation chart 2 separate times, scoring two internal damage points each time.
Energy Shotguns are destroyed on TORP hits on the DAC.
Energy Shotguns are treated as Photon Torpedoes in all other ways not noted above.
PARTICLE FIELDS:
Each Particle Field requires 2 points of energy to activate. The Particle Field will last until the end of the turn once activated.
If a Particle Field is destroyed or damaged during a previous turn, it is completely renewed when it is activated on the next turn.
The Arc that the Particle Field is protecting must be designated and tracked during the entire turn. Each Particle Field can only protect One Arc at a time.
A Particle Field may be moved, at the owning player’s discretion, to an Adjacent Arc every 8 impulses. Particle Fields do not have to be moved.
Particle Fields may not be reinforced.
Damage is scored on Particle Fields before Reinforcement (Specific or General) and before Shields.
Multiple Particle Fields may protect a Single Arc.
Particle Fields are destroyed on Drone hits on the DAC.
GRAVITON TORPEDOES:
Graviton Torpedoes may be armed over 1, 2, or 3 Turns.
Light Graviton Torpedoes require 1 turn of arming.
Medium and Heavy Graviton Torpedoes require 2 turns of arming.
Superheavy Graviton Torpedoes require 3 turns of arming.
Light Graviton Torpedoes require 1 point of energy on the turn of launching.
Medium Graviton Torpedoes require 1 point of energy on the first turn and 1 point of energy on the second turn.
Heavy Graviton Torpedoes require 1 point of energy on the first turn and 2 points of energy on the second turn.
Superheavy Graviton Torpedoes require 1 point of energy on the first turn, 2 points of energy on the second turn, and 2 points of energy on the third turn.
Light Graviton Torpedoes may not be held.
Medium Graviton Torpedoes can be held at a cost of 0.5 point of energy per turn.
Heavy Graviton Torpedoes can be held at a cost of 1 point of energy per turn.
Superheavy Graviton Torpedoes can be held at a cost of 2 points of energy per turn.
All Graviton Torpedoes move at Speed 32.
Graviton Torpedoes are damaged by Phaser fire at a 1:1 Ratio.
At present, Graviton Torpedoes have no Pseudo, Enveloping, Shotgun, or Bolt features. These may be developed in the future.
Graviton Torpedoes are distracted by Wild Weasels as normal.
Graviton Torpedoes are destroyed on TORP hits on the DAC. The Guardian Knights player always has the option when resolving TORP hits to choose between Energy Shotguns or Graviton Torpedoes (since they are both hit on TORP).
Graviton Torpedoes can still be launched on the same turn that a launcher is destroyed.
Graviton Torpedoes are treated as Plasma Torpedoes in all other respects not noted above.
PHASER-1: These function as described in the Basic Set.
PHASER-3: These function as described in the Basic Set.
