a new B5 player

[AdrianH]

i also got the Babylon station from b5 wars while the scale was a bit of a surpise it still will make a awsome piece.
was there a B5 made for the mongoose scale ???

I believe the Mongoose model was the Babylon 5 Wars one, although I could be wrong. Judging by pictures of the AOG and Mongoose models, they were somewhere around the same size. For a model of the station anywhere near the same scale as models of EA ships, you probably want the Revell plastic kit, though this would be rather large on a gaming table!

i was thinking of making an order at AOG for fighters, would the FA scale work with the Ironwind ACTA Poseidon ???

Yes. I believe Mongoose fighters were mostly AOG FA ones, six small models on a chunky metal hexagonal base. So if you buy a second carrier with fighters included, they'll be the same as the FA ones.

i am still having trouble what i should aim for model wise, i cant wrap my head around the piority levels and fleet alocation points.

Personally I regard 5 Skirmish as the absolute minimum for a playable fleet. Most Mongoose starting sets had a total value of 5 Battle.

What particular difficulty are you having with the the priority levels and fleet allocation points? (Note that the rules for splitting a point down to multiple points of a lower level have changed in Powers & Principalities to penalise players who want hordes of small ships.)

In any case, since you have a Poseidon (War) and have ordered some Hyperions (Raid), you could really do with something at Battle level, which means at least one or two Omegas. Get some Olympuses and maybe an Oracle (Skirmish) and you should have a fleet which can field something reasonable in scenarios of any priority level.

 

[lastbesthope]

I can't see anyone having use for two Poseidons. However, it may be the cheapest way to get a bunch of fighters - so by all means buy it and flog the ship back on ebay.

That reason is why I bought my second Poseidon

LBH

 

[omega731]

In any case, since you have a Poseidon (War) and have ordered some Hyperions (Raid), you could really do with something at Battle level, which means at least one or two Omegas. Get some Olympuses and maybe an Oracle (Skirmish) and you should have a fleet which can field something reasonable in scenarios of any priority level.

THIS!

thanks alot.
now to try and find some omegas.

i am going to grab that second Posedion as well and see what i can get from AOG. (i wonder if the B5 wars Olympus would work from them)

 

[AdrianH]

What particular difficulty are you having with the the priority levels and fleet allocation points?

I'm guessing that your answer to that question was...

In any case, since you have a Poseidon (War) and have ordered some Hyperions (Raid), you could really do with something at Battle level, which means at least one or two Omegas. Get some Olympuses and maybe an Oracle (Skirmish) and you should have a fleet which can field something reasonable in scenarios of any priority level.

THIS!

Brief overview of priority levels and breakdowns:
1 point at priority level X can be split into 2 at X-1, 3 at X-2, 5 at X-3, 8 at X-4 or 12 at X-5. (This comes from Powers & Principalities and replaces the breakdown rules in the basic 2e books.) One of these lower level points can be further split, but only one - you can split a Battle point into 2 Raid, one of which then splits to 2 Skirmish, but you can't split both Raid for a total of 4 Skirmish.

2 points at priority level X can be combined into one at X+1; 4 can be combined into one at X+2; and so on in powers of 2.

Thus, as an example, 5 points Battle could go like this:
2 Battle -> 1 War = 1 Poseidon
2 Battle -> unchanged = 2 Omega
1 Battle -> 2 Raid -> 1 Raid + 2 Skirmish = 1 Hyperion + 2 Olympus
(This isn't necessarily an optimal fleet, just an example to show how the system works!)

As for the B5 Wars Olympus, I believe that's the same as the old Mongoose one and is significantly bigger than the FA one. You can use it in a game, of course, but it will look oversized compared to the Omega and Hyperion. (The Poseidon never appeared on screen so can be any size you like. )

 

[omega731]

thanks for the clearing that up.

going to try the first battle scenario soon at the LGS after i get off work.

hopefully it will be recived well.


i cought wind of a B5wars boxed set on ebay with miniatures. does anyone know what normaly came in those sets? i cant find any specific information on these.

 

[H]

depends on fleet, and if it's and AOG box, or a mongoose box mk I or II.

if you find that info, then we can tell ya

 

[basaint]

I'd say pick you battles and look for the stuff you need, not buying crap like Wars box just for a few bits. Trust me, after finding out the hard way I have stuff I don't want and that no one wants either.

 

[lastbesthope]

i cought wind of a B5wars boxed set on ebay with miniatures. does anyone know what normaly came in those sets? i cant find any specific information on these.

You could try asking the seller

LBH

 

[omega731]

i think its an AOG box as every reference to the Mongoose boxes doesent match.

 

[Sting52jb]

Can you post a link to it. If it is the one i think it is it will have the rule book and three large scale fighters for each of the 4 major races. plus some counters for the major ships of the same 4 races.

 

[omega731]

Can you post a link to it. If it is the one i think it is it will have the rule book and three large scale fighters for each of the 4 major races. plus some counters for the major ships of the same 4 races.

thats the set. i got a reply from the seller last night.


i ran thru the first battle scenario the other day. i was surpised how much you have to keep track of, and i didnt even use any special sctions.

i need to print out some stat sheets and laminate them so i can keep track of things better.

 

[H]

it seems a lot at first, but once you have some ship sheets it gets a lot easier, regarding special actions, the GF9 tokens were great (although a touch out of date with rules changes) but you can download your own and put them on the ships base, or the ship sheet if you have enough room to spread them all out

 

[omega731]

it seems a lot at first, but once you have some ship sheets it gets a lot easier, regarding special actions, the GF9 tokens were great (although a touch out of date with rules changes) but you can download your own and put them on the ships base, or the ship sheet if you have enough room to spread them all out

i actually have the targeting template and tokens coming in the mail.
which ones are out of date so i can place them to the side?

 

[omega731]

its slowly gaining popularity locally and i currently have a sizable collection of miniatures from various factions available.

but currently i am having problems getting the more iconic ships for my collection. examples being the raider battlewagon, narn G'quan, the omega destroyer, warlock adv destroyer and minbari sharlin.

if anyone has some extras they are willing to part with or stumble across a web store with a few in stock please let me know.

in the meantime while i search will the lack of such iconic vessels in my fleets be an issue game play wise or is there still other ships i can use to fill those gaps on the tabletop?

 

[locarno24]

in the meantime while i search will the lack of such iconic vessels in my fleets be an issue game play wise or is there still other ships i can use to fill those gaps on the tabletop?

There are very few 'must have' ships in any fleet, so it shouldn't be a problem if you have to fill in.

 

[H]

it seems a lot at first, but once you have some ship sheets it gets a lot easier, regarding special actions, the GF9 tokens were great (although a touch out of date with rules changes) but you can download your own and put them on the ships base, or the ship sheet if you have enough room to spread them all out

i actually have the targeting template and tokens coming in the mail.
which ones are out of date so i can place them to the side?

ah, only just seen this.
To be honest, off the top of my headf, I think all the actions still exist, but the target numbers may have changed, just do a quick cross check in the SA section of the rules. there have been two rules revisions since the counters were released, maybe more if they came out before the mini supplements. but still extremely useful to have.

regarding "iconic" vessels.

raider battlewagon - use any model suitable bashed up and repaired, the model depicts the battlewagon from the show, in reality with the new raiders ship modification, it could be any ship

narn G'quan - ok, it looks stunning, however it's sub average in ability. i'd use multiple Var'Nics instead.

the omega destroyer - you could try your own modification of a nova (assuming you have a nova) in terms of fleet choices, if it;s crusade, the Marathon is useful, though touch more fragile.

warlock adv destroyer - nothing comparable really in the EA fleet, however i saw one of these on ebay a couple weeks back. If you can't get a warlock you could get hold of a "nike" awesome looking and fits the feel of the warlock beautifully.

and minbari sharlin - dead angel fish?

 

[AdrianH]

its slowly gaining popularity locally and i currently have a sizable collection of miniatures from various factions available.

but currently i am having problems getting the more iconic ships for my collection. examples being the raider battlewagon, narn G'quan, the omega destroyer, warlock adv destroyer and minbari sharlin.

In the absence of metal models, you can find paper 3D counters for several ships including the G'Quan and Sharlin here:
http://www.ibisfightclub.co.uk/Counters

The Battlewagon is relatively easy to scratch-build, being basically a cylinder, a cone and some surface detail to try to make it look more interesting.

i actually have the targeting template and tokens coming in the mail.
which ones are out of date so i can place them to the side?

ah, only just seen this.
To be honest, off the top of my headf, I think all the actions still exist, but the target numbers may have changed, just do a quick cross check in the SA section of the rules. there have been two rules revisions since the counters were released, maybe more if they came out before the mini supplements. but still extremely useful to have.

In addition, Powers & Principalities introduced a number of new special actions, so even if the counter set does not have anything which is wrong, some special actions will be missing.

narn G'quan - ok, it looks stunning, however it's sub average in ability. i'd use multiple Var'Nics instead.

Well, yes, in general two ships of PL X are better than one ship of PL X+1 - this is an intentional design feature of ACTA. Post P&P, the G'Quan is a useful ship . I've sometimes included it in my Army of Light fleet (in which the Var'Nic is not an option, though plenty of other Raid and some other Battle level ships are available), and it has always been effective.

 

[H]

used one in my AOL too, but only as a damage sponge, it was a bit pants otherwise.
for the only ship available with the firepower to take on a shadow ship(and this was when sheridan could have gained access to a sharlin) it's bloody naff in ACTA lol.

 

[AdrianH]

It is true that on one occasion I chose a G'Quan (actually the G'Tal command version) because of its damage-soaking ability, useful when it's going to be the target of an Assassination mission, but it dealt out plenty of damage as well. On other occasions it has been useful as support for "Stand Down And Prepare To Be Boarded" special actions, as well as doing some of the damage which made the enemy ship a valid target for such action. I'll admit that when I first bought a G'Quan, it was purely because it is one of the iconic ships of B5; then I put it into a game for no reason other than I'd just finished painting it and wanted to use it. Its performance in that game earned it a permanent place in my AoL fleet.

Keep it well back, move it as slowly as possible, use "Close Blast Doors", and watch for an opportunity to use the energy mine. Support it with smaller ships when the enemy gets closer - or have another one some distance away, so anything closing on this one can be beamed by the other one.

I'll need to re-watch the episode in question, but I believe Sheridan was trying to give G'Kar something to do, and G'Kar probably did not have a Sharlin to lend. But I agree, the G'Quan in ACTA does not reflect the one in B5 very well - it should have a more powerful beam and less damage, so it can shoot bits off one Shadow ship and then be sliced in half by one shot from the next one. :twisted:

 

[omega731]

don't want to get into trouble bringing up an old Topic but i wanted to update everyone on my progress.

after the current purchases come in i will have a Centari, Narn, Minbari, EA, ISA,and Vorlon fleet. i also have mini Psi Corps, and Raider fleets.

the last items i am looking for is a shadow fleet and the ancients.

i will post some pics in the gallery as soon as i get my workbench cleaned off *had a leak in my work room had to trash it to save all my Miniature stuff. (i play alot of wargames)*

but my main focus atm is the Shadows. what is everyone's opinion for using a fleet action shadow to represent a young ship and have the B5 wars for the ancient?