Traveller Babylon 5 Universe of Babylon 5.pdf

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UNIVERSE OF
BABYLON 5
Cred its
Author
Editor
Lawrence Whitaker
Charlotte Law
C ontents
Introduction
Welcome to Babylon 5
Page 2
Page 4
Layout
Will Chapman
Characters in the Univers of Babylon 5 Page 23
Careers
Equipment
Space Travel and Ships
Telepaths and Psi Corp
Babylon 5 Revealed
Voices in the Wilderness
License
Page 31
Page 76
Page 90
Page 115
Page 131
Page 160
Page 200
Cover Image
Brandon Bray
Imagery
Empty Room Studios
Deckplans
Travis Leichssenring
Special Thanks
J. Michael Straczynski, Fiona Avery, Isabelle Richard,
Skye Herzog, Gareth Hanrahan, Ian Belcher
Designation of Product Identity:
The following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with section 1(e) of
the Open Game License. Version 1.0a: Any and all Babylon 5 logos and identifying marks and trade dress, including all Babylon 5
product and product line names; any elements of the Babylon 5 setting including but not limited to capitalised names, planet names,
alien species names, ship names, organisation names, characters, equipment, setting and historic events, episode descriptions, any and
all stories, storylines, locations, plots, thematic elements, documents within the Babylon 5 world, quotes from character or episodes,
all artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, illustrations, maps and cartography, likenesses, poses, logos, symbols or graphic designs;
any other unspecified incarnations of Babylon 5 creative property, including elements either derived or inferred from the Babylon
5 setting; and website support materials and all future incarnations, online community donations and all free game support items,
except such items that already appear in the d20 System Reference Document and are already OGC by virtue of appearing there. The
above Product Identity is not Open Game Content.
Designation of Open Game Content:
Subject to the Product Identity designation above, the following portions of the
Universe of
Babylon 5
are designated as Open Game Content: all character statistics and creation rules, all new character classes and abilities, all
new feats, powers and skills, all rules systems and mechanics, all statistic blocks and paragraphs specifically explaining rules mechanics
or special qualities. The use of Product Identity in these circumstances is limited solely to mechanical effects and systems, not to the
items previously stipulated as falling under the PI. Printed in the USA.
Copyright © 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
BABYLON 5 and all related characters and elements are
trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
WB SHIELD:
(s06)
TM
and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
1
2
INTRODUCTION
Prepare to immerse yourself in one of the most detailed science
fiction settings ever created. Coming straight from the hit
television series, the Babylon 5 space station has been the centre
of wars, trials and revolutions that have shaped the entire galaxy.
Now players will have the chance to create their own epic sagas
based on the same space station featured in Babylon 5. There
are few science fiction settings that are as extensive as this and
players now have the opportunity to explore the entire galaxy.
This book takes the popular Babylon 5 setting and translates it
into the
Traveller
rules system. To fully use this book you will
need the
Traveller
core rules and
High Guard,
the extended naval
and ship construction rules; otherwise, the game is complete
and ready to play.
N ew to Babylon 5?
If you have never encountered Babylon 5 before, you are
encouraged to start by reading Welcome to Babylon 5, starting
on page 4, before commencing with the main rules. This will
give you a good grounding in all the eccentricities that make
up the grand epic setting of Babylon 5. From there, go on to
Chapter 3 and start creating some characters to begin play with.
In many ways, Humans are the easiest characters with which
to begin playing this game, as they are readily identifiable
by players even if they have not seen the television series for
themselves. Alien characters may be introduced in later games,
when players have begun to explore and understand Babylon
5 and have started to learn the very important differences that
separate Humans and aliens.
From here, Games Masters can utilise the information in
Chapter 8 to create further scenarios and missions for their
players, gradually introducing new elements of the station into
his games, straight from the Babylon 5 television series.
How Do es The
U niver se of Babyl on
5 Differ to the d20
OG L edition?
The differences are considerable.
Traveller
uses six-sided dice
exclusively for resolving game mechanics and the rules for
character generation, skill use, combat and starships are very
different. However,
Traveller
is an ideal rules-fit for Babylon 5’s
subject matter and the rules themselves are relatively simple and
intuitive to use.
If you are a seasoned
Traveller
player coming to Babylon
5 for the first time, then you will find the rules follow the
standard conventions established in the core rules and
High
Guard.
Character generation, for example, uses the typical
career structure, tailored to the Babylon 5 universe. Ships are
designed to
High Guard
specifications and all of the other
mechanics, including skills, are those found in the core rules
and its supplements (with some tailoring herein to certain
Babylon 5 specifics).
If you are a seasoned Babylon 5 gamer new to
Traveller
– do
not be alarmed!
Traveller
is, at its heart, a very straightforward
rules-set designed for science fiction adventure. If ever a science
fiction setting was compatible with the
Traveller
rules, then
Babylon 5 is it.
The book gives comprehensive guidance and examples for using the
Traveller
rules for Babylon 5 games but you will find it necessary to
refer to the core rulebook from time to time. Character generation is,
perhaps, the best example of this in action but The
Universe
of Babylon 5
contains all of the essential components for
creating fully rounded Babylon 5 characters. All the
classic
Traveller
professions are represented, as are
the unique professions found in the
TV show.
Pla yi ng Babylon 5
The
Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game
is a lot different from other
games you may have played before. Combat is utterly deadly
– yet while it is common in other games for one or more players
to choose characters who are combat experts, such characters
are not central in Babylon 5. In fact, while such characters
are possible (and even desirable in certain campaigns), they
will prove to be by no means necessary in most scenarios. The
characters who wield the true power in Babylon 5 are those
who can successfully manipulate others, construct a network
of contacts, possess detailed knowledge in specialised or highly
technical subjects and are able to communicate with hitherto
unknown alien races. Being the fastest shot in the galaxy is no
guarantee of survival.
It will not be an unusual gaming session if you make 10 times
as many skill throws as attack rolls. Characters will test their
knowledge, hide in dark places and engage in high diplomacy
with sentients of other races. Other games allow characters to
perform actions of truly heroic proportions, diving through
blazing gun fire to avert some disaster fundamental to their
mission. In Babylon 5, that will not always be possible. If an
agent of an alien government has you cold at gunpoint, just as
in real life, you would be ill-advised to make a break for it or
draw your own weapon. He will simply shoot you.
This is not to say heroism does not have a place in Babylon 5
– far from it. Because of the higher stakes and greater likelihood
of being killed, any combat can become truly heroic in nature.
When every shot aimed in your direction can have lethal
consequences, the choices you make within combat can mark
you as a hero, be you a diplomat or a soldier. However, heroism
has many different forms and they all
Introduction
Introduction
make an appearance in Babylon 5. Characters can demonstrate
moral or political courage when standing up to their enemies,
defy cruel leaders with their words or make great personal
sacrifices without ever going near a weapon. Battles can be
incredibly exciting in Babylon 5 but most of the drama will take
place between characters and their interactions.
This is a game where players should always think first and shoot
second. Do not be surprised to discover that the most powerful
characters in the game may not be those with the greatest
amount of credits or the most advanced weaponry. It will likely
be the character who can bring the greatest amount of pressure,
political or otherwise, to bear on his enemies.
There comes a time when
you look into the mirror
and you realise that what
you see is all that you’ll
ever be. Then you accept
it… or you kill yourself.
Or
you stop looking into
mirrors.
No,
nothing can
be changed.
-
Londo
Mollari
3
4
WELCOME
TO
BABYLON 5
And
so it begins.
-
Kosh
Babylon 5 is the name of the five-mile long space station located
in neutral space and orbiting Epsilon III. Its precursors, Babylons
1, 2 and 3 were destroyed; Babylon 4, within hours of coming
online, simply... disappeared. Built by the Earth Alliance in
the 2250s, Babylon 5’s goal is to maintain peace amongst the
various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances
and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed
ambassadors. A council made up of representatives from the five
major space-faring civilizations - the Earth Alliance, Minbari
Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime and Vorlon
Empire - work with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to keep
interstellar relations under control. Aside from its diplomatic
function, Babylon 5 serves as a military post for Earth and a
port of call for travellers, traders, businessmen and criminals.
With dozens of ships and hundreds of visitors passing through
its docks every day, Babylon 5 is just beginning to prove its
detractors wrong and demonstrate that it has a valuable role to
play within the galaxy.
Any spacestation that is home to a quarter of a million humans
and aliens is bound to experience problems and Babylon 5
experiences them in abundance. Its senior staff members are
serving Earth Alliance officers and they, along with the most
prominent members of the diplomatic community, deal with
personal problems, cultural differences, threats to station
security and interstellar crises on a regular basis. Old prejudices
and unresolved issues leftover from the Earth-Minbari War
and the Centauri occupation of Narn, lead to unexpected
developments. Pro-Human groups and a corrupt government
make the Earth of the future far from being a paradise. Telepaths
seek refuge from the militant Psi Corps while the Mars colony
desires support in its bid for independence. Then there is the
growing presence of Shadows in regions close by and on the
Outer Rim of known space. Fate has decreed that Babylon 5 be
crucial to deciding the outcome of all of these conflicts.
claimed that Earth was a lost Centauri outpost – an assertion
that was proven false when Human scientists finally managed
to gain a sample of Centauri DNA and established that the two
races were wildly different, despite outward physiology.
As Human technology increased at the most rapid pace that
it had ever achieved, spacecraft were constructed to explore
nearby star systems and eventually, the technology to construct
their own jump gates was discovered. No longer tied to
Centauri jump routes, Humans began to land on new worlds
and it was not long before the first colonies were established,
light years from Earth. Mankind found itself in a relatively
unexplored part of the galaxy largely ignored by other races
and so this initial expansion was achieved without any conflict
greater than occasional raider activity and a few clashes with
minor alien powers. As an emerging culture, few races other
than the Centauri who had discovered them paid Humanity
much attention. They were ignored by the Narn, Minbari and
Vorlons and dismissed by many in the League of Non-Aligned
Worlds. However, spanning several systems, the Earth Alliance
had begun to leave its mark on the galaxy. It was unfortunate
that war was not far away.
The Dilgar were a doomed people, their homeworld orbiting a
dying star that was soon to turn nova. Though far away from
the Earth Alliance, their aggressive expansion into the galaxy in
a desperate bid to secure new worlds and territories to replace
that which they were about to lose, soon brought the Dilgar
dangerously close to Earth. They tore through much of the
League of Non-Aligned Worlds, eradicating entire populations
and instigating acts of incalculable atrocity. With every fallen
world, they moved steadily and
The Ear th Allianc e
After thousands of years trapped on the Earth, Humanity finally
gained its chance to reach for the stars. In the year 2156 an alien
race, to be later known as the Centauri, made contact
with Humans for the very first time. Leasing the use
of jump gates to Earth, Mankind was finally ready
to travel to the stars. The Centauri turned out
to be very similar in appearance to
Humans and for a time, they even
Welcome
to
Babylon 5

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