Help for Noob

[tzunder]

Ok. If I can buy a copy of

Babylon 5 - A Call to Arms - Main Rulebook

Babylon 5 - A Call to Arms - Fleet Lists

Do I have enough to play with, or do I need to buy minis or counters?

I am a terrible painter and so counters are fine for me.

Ta..

[Burger]

Yes you will have enough to play with - the only addition would be Powers And Principalities, which is an optional expansion. Though if you play Gaim, you might want to use the updated Gaim stats from one of the S&P's, which are a lot more fair.

[Greg Smith]

You need either counters or minis. There are some in the back of the rulebook, but if you could find a counter set, you'd be better off.

[talonspiritcat]

You need either counters or minis. There are some in the back of the rulebook, but if you could find a counter set, you'd be better off.

Should have some counter sets kicking around ebay on occassion and if not, there are websites with good counters on them.

[tzunder]

Thanks. Which products have the counters in them?

[Greg Smith]

The first edition (or revised) boxed sethas counters. Or there is the Sky Full of Stars counter set, which has a greater variety.

Neither is complete as there was never a 2nd edition counter set. If you look at the player resources thread, there are some additional counters to download.

[AdrianH]

Updated Gaim statistics were first published in Signs & Portents issue 56, which is still available for free download here:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/ ... sSeries=13

Optional beam rules which were discussed at length on the forums were first published in Signs & Portents issue 64:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/ ... sSeries=13

Both the updated Gaim and the optional beam rules were republished in "Powers and Principalities".

There are some paper models available here: http://www.ibisfightclub.co.uk/Counters/
Although not as nice as proper painted miniatures, they look better than flat counters. You can make up reasonable Minbari and Drakh fleets from these models.

[tzunder]

Ah, so the 2nd ed rules alone are not much use?

I may go for Warcosm from PIgames instead.

[Da Boss]

yes and no

the rule book has all the rules - but P+P changes a few issues.

the Fleet book has all the ships - but P+P adds some nifty new things and amends a few dodgy ships

the game plays very well (yes I am biased)

I must admit not come across Warscom?

second the paper models bit - I have seen them recently in the flesh and they are extremely effective - Burger did a wonderful job on these.

[AdrianH]

Ah, so the 2nd ed rules alone are not much use?

On the contrary, they are critical if you want to play "A Call To Arms". The updates in "Powers and Principalities" and "Signs and Portents" are tweaks to make them better; you can play well enough with the basic rules, but you may enjoy it more (especially if Gaim are involved) if you use the updates.

Ship data is available either from original 2nd Edition Fleet Lists or as updated by "Powers and Principalities" from the same place as the paper models: http://www.ibisfightclub.co.uk/

Another alternative might be GOBS - I have no idea whether this is any good, having stumbled across it while looking for information about "Warcosm", but it does appear to have one advantage over "A Call To Arms" and "Warcosm" - it's free.