THE HOURGLASS DOMAIN
DESIGNER NOTES
Time moves slowly in the Hourglass Domain, like the sands of an Hourglass gently falling from the top to the bottom.
The Hourglass Domain takes the step by step impulse action of Star Fleet Battles and slows it down even further. Here, Starships move slowly, homing Missiles move even slower, and Plasmas have a Maximum Speed of 15.
Hourglass Starships have a Maximum Speed of (roughly) 12, although there will be exceptions. Missiles (Drones) will move very slowly, just a few hexes every turn. This means that masses of staggered Missiles will fill the board, restricting the playing field. To make this work, the Endurance of each type of Missile needed to be extended.
Heavy Weapons in the Hourglass Domain do not Overload. Instead, Heavy Weapons (and most weapons in the Hourglass Domain) fire more frequently. This allows for repeated shots at a lower damage rate. Of course, each shot will still have to successfully score a hit. These repeated shots will accumulate damage on enemy vessels, not all in a single, huge strike, but little by little, resulting in slow attrition damage.
There are no Phasers in the Hourglass Domain, but there are Pulse Guns. Following the Design Philosophy for the Heavy Weapons, the Pulse Guns fire frequently per turn, but score little damage. Like Phasers, there are different types of Pulse Guns, some designed for Defense and some designed for Offense.
There are no Shields in the Hourglass Domain, at least not in the normal sense. Rather, every ship is covered with Absorption Armor. This unique type of Armor captures the energy created when it is destroyed and quickly transfers it to the Battery Capacitors. This creates a distinctive dynamic in the Hourglass Domain, similar to PA Panels, but not as complex or delayed.
Battery Capacitors are unique to the Hourglass Domain. They are a source of both Reserve Power and Pulse Gun Capacitor at the same time. This limits the amount of shots with the Pulse Guns, increases the overall amount of Reserve Power, and allows for the Capacitor to be slowly destroyed during combat.
To further protect their starships, the Hourglass Empires developed a rotating Shield Guard. This Shield Guard is powerful (by Hourglass standards), but can only protect one facing at a time. The Shield Guard can moved, but only once per 16 impulses. This means that, with constant maneuvering by enemy vessels, holes and gaps in the enemy’s defense can be exploited and taken advantage of. The Shield Guard will ultimately prove too slow to account for the enemy’s constant movement and angles.
There are other attributes that make the Hourglass Domain unique. All of these fit in with its Design Paradigm. Administrative Shuttles only take 3 Hits to destroy, move slower, and carry a limited Light Pulse Gun. Hourglass Starships have worse Turn Modes and Breakdown Chances than normal. Lastly, Hourglass starships can only turn 180 degrees maximum when executing a High Energy Turn.
In conclusion, the Hourglass Domain offers a slower paced battlefield, where starships fire more rapidly without powerful, single impulse Alpha Strikes. Shield Guards encourage maneuver during gameplay, as they entice opponents to try to get around their protected arc. Missiles and Plasmas fill the map, not to zoom and quickly hit their target, but to almost hang motionless in space, commanding the area to restrict enemy movement. Battery Capacitors and Absorption Armor create a new energy dynamic, one that needs to be mastered in order to maximize the efficiency of energy usage.
The Hourglass Domain is not for everyone, but for Armchair Generals who revel in commanding each second of every slow passing minute, it is Heaven.
