System

There are three types of systems in TWILIGHT IMPERIUM, home systems, special systems and regular systems:

HOME SYSTEMS
(Interior Yellow Border)

These represent the starting systems for each of the 17 great races. Containing the races’ home worlds, Home Systems play a significant role in the game and are subject to some special rules.

Players may not activate other players’ Home Systems during the first round of play.

Home Systems are also immune to several Action and Political Cards, and the secondary ability of the Diplomacy Strategy Card.

If a player at any time loses control of any of the planets in his Home System, he immediately loses 3 Victory Points. The Clan of Saar is immune to this limitation. A player’s Victory Point total may never be less than 0, or less than the number of Special Objectives he controls. The lost points are immediately returned if he regains control of all the planets in his Home System.

The Creuss Gate system is not considered a Home System for Victory Point purposes.

SPECIAL SYSTEMS
(Interior Red Border)

The Special Systems represent several unique types of interstellar terrain, governed by special rules.

ASTEROID FIELDS
A player's ships may not move through an Asteroid Field unless that player has gained the Anti-mass Deflector technology. If a player does have the required technology, he may move his ships through an Asteroid Field, but it is never possible, by any means, for a ship to end its movement in an Asteroid Field, and an Asteroid Field may never be activated (Exception: The Clan of Saar may activate an Asteroid Field after acquiring the Racial Technology Chaos Mapping.)

NEBULA
• A Fleet defending a Nebula receives +1 to its combat rolls during any Space Battle

• Ships can never move through a Nebula (but ships can move into a Nebula via normal activation)

• A ship leaving a Nebula always has its movement reduced to 1 (regardless of technology modifiers, Action Cards or the Warfare Strategy Card).

SUPERNOVA
These fiery dying stars are incredibly dangerous and absolutely impassable. Only units of the Embers of Muaat may move through them. A Supernova may never be activated.

ION STORM
• Ships may not move through an Ion Storm unless they possess the Maneuvering Jets Technology (however, ships can move into an Ion Storm via normal activation).

• PDS Cannons may never be fired at ships inside an Ion Storm.

• Fighters do not roll any dice during combat inside an Ion Storm. However, Fighters may still be taken as casualties.

GRAVITY RIFT
• Gravity Rifts grant +1 movement when moving through them in a non-straight line (i.e., not exiting on the opposite side of entering.)

• Units with Gravity Drive gain +1 movement regardless of direction, provided they start adjacent to a Gravity Rift.

• Ships in Gravity Rifts do not block enemy movement.

• Unless they possess the Maneuvering Jets Technology, roll one die for each ship passing through the Gravity Rift. At a roll of 1-3, the ship ends its move there. Place a Command Counter from reinforcements pile in the system. If there are already enemy ships present, immediately conduct a Space Battle.

REGULAR SYSTEMS
Regular systems are either empty, or contain one or several planets.

Some regular systems also contain one end of a Wormhole.

The large majority of the TI galaxy consists of regular systems, and they form the battle grounds and points of contention for the great races.

Although considered a regular system for most purposes, the Mecatol Rex system is never randomly distributed to players before the galaxy is created.

WORMHOLES
In TI, Wormholes are spatial anomalies that connect distant areas of space.

GRAVITICS, GRAVITY DRIVE, GRAVITON NEGATOR, LIGHT/WAVE DEFLECTOR
Ships with any one of these technologies may, for purposes of movement, consider a system containing one end of a Wormhole adjacent to any system containing another end of its Wormhole type (Alpha, Beta, C or D).

Note that the wormhole systems are considered adjacent only for movement purposes. This means that you cannot fire PDS cannons, annex planets etc. through a wormhole. You may, however, make Transfer Actions and execute Retreats through wormholes.

GRAVITY DRIVE
Ships starting in a system with a wormhole gain +1 movement.

D-WORMHOLES
The D-wormhole created by the Creuss Flagship Hil Colish can only be used by the Creuss.