[Babylon 5 2nd Edition] Core rulebook errata

[bobmani]

Can anyone help me find the official errata for Babylon 5 2nd Edition Core Rulebook? Been having a poke around the internet but having little luck.


Thanks in advance!!

B

 

[Greg Smith]

PM me your email address and I will forward it to you.

Greg

 

[lastbesthope]

As far as I'm aware there never was one for 2E, least ways I don't have one on my hard drive.

LBH

 

[Kalkin]

Is there an official or unofficial errata to the Babylon 5 second edition?

I'm interested in the real P-Ratings for many Telepathy powers that are obviously wrong, some because they are not so powerful effects as to ask for a P-Rating no character can ever attain, some because the supposedly increased P-Rating needed to perform the power at longer ranges is listed as LOWER that the original.

Keep in mind that a full Telepath will be around P9, maybe P10 if the DM allows reroll of the P-Rating

Some of the powers that (in my oppinion) should have its P-Rating revised are:

Core Book:
Jamming (listed as P15, but P12 for greater range; I'd use it as P10)
Psychometry (listed as P15; Just too much PR for the effect in my oppinion)

Lurker's Guide to Telepaths
Signal Detour (listed as P13, longer range as P10; should be probably P8)
Synaptic Flow Adjustment (listed as P15, longer range as P12, probably should be P10)
Coldheart (listed as P10, longer range P7 - should be P5)
Emotion (listed as P13, longer range P8, should be P6)
Intimation (listed as P10, longer range as P10 - should be P8)

I did not look deeply into all the powers to see if their usefulness/brokedness should reflect their current P-Rating, but it is quite obvious a revision is needed for these values.

 

[Mytholder]

I did not look deeply into all the powers to see if their usefulness/brokedness should reflect their current P-Rating, but it is quite obvious a revision is needed for these values.

You're mistaking P-Rating for the power required to use an ability. Remember, under the second edition rules a Telepath can push their power by taking damage. Jamming, for instance, requires Power 15 - so any telepath who's P9 or above could attempt to use that ability, as you can boost your Power by up to 6 points.

 

[Kalkin]

I know the fact that you can push the power - yet, there are too many powers with a Power requirement that makes them inusable since most characters do not have too may HP.

Also, there is an obvious misstype problem with the P-requirements of almost all the powers I listed, as versions that are supposedly more powerful hace LESS requirements.

Example: Jamming is listed as having a P15 requirement for its standard application (Medium range), but if you do it as a more powerful version (Long range) the requirement listed is only P12!!!

Looking at other powers with different range options, I see that augmenting a power increases its P-Requirement usually by +2, so it seems that the true P-requirement of the power should be 10, not 15.

From a setting balance point of view, think about how much useful a Jamming ability is in the universe; P15 is an awfully high requirement, one that no telepath of any race can reach (not counting broken individuals and vorlons). It should be a defensive ability commonly used, but listing it with such high P requirement makes it scarcely used; the power simply is not useful enough to risk sacrificing HP to use it as a P15 power. From a setting point of view, it just means probably nobody will ever use it except in rare ocassions.

From a mechanic balance point of view, Jamming is quite obvious for any Telepath entering a jammed zone, and is mainly used to disable opponent telepaths by increasing their telepathy checks on using powers. This means that if two parties with telepaths are opposing each other, whoever wins initiavite cound potentially disable the other team's telepath.... but in doing so he himself is unable to do other powers, so it's no real vantage unless one of the telepaths is much more po werful than the other. Any way, as there are not unbalancing consecuences, lowering the power P requirement to 10 should be ok.

If you add all these observations, as I did, it seems pretty obvious to me that there is a misstype with the P-Requirement of the power (Jamming in this example), and it should be probably P10. This same observations can be made for all powers that show inconsistency either in the more powerful versions, in the game mechanic balance, and in the setting itself.

This is why I posted asking if anyone has ever done a more careful revision of the powers, since there are many obviously with errors of this nature.

 

[Jewelfox]

I'd like to see some errata also ...

I've been looking at the rules for starship battles, and they seem to break down completely on the scale of individual dogfights, because very often a fighter's weapons can't even overcome another one's damage reduction.