Dilgar war campaign

[JMT]

Hello,

I plan to run a dilgar war campaign and I would like to know if any of you already have run such a strory arc.

The starting point will be somewhere on an far earthforce post. The crew will have the contact with dilgar and them war machine. They should survived and report to earth. Then they can do several mission do asset dilgar potential. They will be on track of deathwalker and her powerfull bio weapons. After few mission, they are also there when earth enter the conflict. The end will be in seeing an unknown alien ship (windsword) allowing deathwalker escape and then dilgar sun will go nova.

It's just a draft. I would like comment on it.

I am also searching for info about this era and area. If you know or have any ressource, please post it here.

Thanks in advance,

JMT

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.b5tech.com/
nice site with good links

 

[Wulfhere]

in the first try of the rpg they are some useable background especially the earthforcesourcebook :lol:

 

[ShadowScout]

I plan to run a dilgar war campaign and I would like to know if any of you already have run such a strory arc.

Some did have thoughts in that matter... some time ago. IIRC their idea was to ahve some pre-PC's work their way through the Dilgar and Minbari war to bring their players into the B5 BG for the Real campaign...

The starting point will be somewhere on an far earthforce post. The crew will have the contact with dilgar and them war machine. They should survived and report to earth. Then they can do several mission do asset dilgar potential. They will be on track of deathwalker and her powerfull bio weapons. After few mission, they are also there when earth enter the conflict. The end will be in seeing an unknown alien ship (windsword) allowing deathwalker escape and then dilgar sun will go nova.

Can't do that "mystery ship" - or the ship would have been identified later (as the Minbari weren't unknown among other aliens - the Centauri for example know how their ships look, and can be counted upon to sell that info). See below on Jha'Dur's escape...

It's just a draft. I would like comment on it.

Well... how can I resist... :lol:

I am also searching for info about this era and area. If you know or have any ressource, please post it here.

Vital - Agent's of Gaming's "The Dilgar Invasion" and "Showdowns-4. Hard to find nowadays (as AoG lost the license last year, and had to stop producing or selling their stuff), but you Can still find a few sold privately (e-bay) or hidden on the shelves of some distributors (or find someone near you who has them, and will allow you a peek, maybe even to copy a few vital pages...)
There you get a complete history of the Dilgar War, from their first "training exercises" against Raiders in the Rohric system over the initial invasion of Alacan territory, the battles against the Drazi, Abbai, Brakiri, etc., until the invasion of Markab space, which made the EA take a stand, and the following turning of the war as fresh EA fleets met the over-extended Dilgar navy and slowly drove them back, liberating blockaded worlds on theiur way, and finally defeating their main fleet at Balos.
And you get some short fiction pieces, giving you a little something to flesh out your RPG (the best of them Jha'Dur's life story - a must read for everyone who wants her featuring in his campaign as more then a face on a wanted poster)
And of course ships, ships, ships... and the official ones (since the stuff from "Into the Fire" never made it to release, while AoG's designs did, and with nifty CGI pix & miniatures to match!)

Exactly what you'd need to set up a campaign like that... having your players start in Earthforce, being assigned to a mission investigating the claims of a lone alacan refugee ship names "Pyrotina", who tell implausible horror stories of alien invaders crushing their young navy and conquering their planet...
...looking helplessly as they see the Dilgar steamroll everything in their path (except the Drazi, who stubbornly hold on and making them pay for every inch of space - paying themselves with mauled fleets and infected planets) while Earth politicos debate the matter and try to stay clear of this war...
...then as the Dilgar get closer and closer to EA territory you can have a mounting tension, until finally it is decided to draw a line and make a stand when the Dilgar invade the neighboring Markab...
...and then the big battles, launching with obsolete Tiger fighters from Hyperion cruisers (and hoping to get assigned the new Nova starfury soon) against Dilgar Thorun dartfighters, dodging the fire of Dilgar Ochlavita Destroyers, flying escort for Artemis Frigates and trying to bring down the Dilgar Targath Strike Cruisers...
...pursuing the retreating Dilgar fleets to make sure they won't get away to do it again, liberating the blocked-up worlds of Brakos, Shri-Shraba and Abba, adding those Brakiri, Hyach and Abbai ships to the allied fleet...
...and the taking of worlds like Mitoc, Alaca or Tirolus, where the Dilgar left behind the too few survivors of their reign, having your players encounter atrocities that would have made Dr.Mengele throw his lunch...
...until the final defeat of the Dilgar at Omelos, where Jha'Dur's night-black Mishakur dreadnought was finally brought in, yet found empty of the infamous warmaster, who had left for parts unknown under mysterious circumstances some week earlier...

How's that sound? :wink:

http://www.b5tech.com/
nice site with good links

...but loads of fan-hallocination bullshit too. Take with great, Great, GREAT care!
Or do like I do - stick with "WB officially sanctioned" stuff like the superb B5W supplements by AoG, and the at least mostly decent stuff in the "The Babylon Project" RPG (though those have to be taken with care again, as they were made without much "continuity checking" like the first few novels, and contradict canon material from time to time)
Or the novels, though none of them mention the Dilgar war... (at least none of those yet written, who knows, there is yet enough BG in B5 to make a dozend and more books out of it!)

 

[Agent One]

...I have a few available if anyone wants to buy one. Send me an email: agent1@agentsofgaming.com

 

[Anonymous]

I plan to run a dilgar war campaign and I would like to know if any of you already have run such a strory arc.

Some did have thoughts in that matter... some time ago. IIRC their idea was to ahve some pre-PC's work their way through the Dilgar and Minbari war to bring their players into the B5 BG for the Real campaign...

Quilty as charged. A small Recap? Thought you would never ask, pull up a chair!

Started off as I ran them through EF Boot Camp. This consisted of several very loud, very big, very mean people yelling and screaming at them for a couple of months. PT Drills, Weapons Training, Hand to Hand, Explosive Readyness, Survival (all types), 0g Training, Explosive Decompression Drills. It was Great, since they have stats that are by no means 'heroic' (which I wont get into here), they all had very big eyes when they saw damage dice. The GM had made his point.

Then off to officer training at the academy, Flight simulation, Formations, Tatics, How to polish medals, etc. Upon graduation they all recieved transfers to the Promethius. Two of my players who know the show very well immediatly wanted transfers. A short No later, they were off as a squad. The Leader, call sign "Red Shirt", his Charismatic second "Mashugana", and the rest of 'Ghost Squad', "Lobo", "Jax", and "Spitfire" (though her in game call sign is now "Maytag" or "SpinCycle" due to several bad piloting rolls and 6 rounds of spinning out of control. May have to implement a 'House Rule' like every round you spin out of control you lose 5 speed. Naaahhh)

Started them off slow, cleaning up some raider activity (the stand by intro for newbies eh?) Then moved them deeper in the plot. I kept doing small story cuts, like meanwhile on the otherside of the galaxy this is taking place. While you are doing that this is happening over here. Just to start them into the 'pace' of a multiple story arc roleplaying envirnment. For most of my players, they are point A to point B, adventures over. Times they are a changing. But anyway my campaign direction, I broke it down into episodes here are some Highlights:

A line of Hope - With the war raging in the Nonaligned Sectors, Earth Space is being flooded with ships of people seeking asylum. Refugees that have no where else to go. EF has still not declared war and does not want to be involved. It is torture on the PC's as they are forced to stand back and not intervene as several ships are blown out of space by Dilgar Ships. Their duty is challenged, knowing the only ships they can render aid to are those that cross that thin line of hope into Earth Space.

Voyage of the Pyrotinia - May 2231, Abbai envoy, dodged blockades, making its way utimately to earth, in hopes of convincing a larger power to get invovled. Once inside Earth Space they have full fighter protection from the Promethius. But agents of the Dilgar will stop at nothing to see the Abbai's mission of peace fail.

Omega Incident - The one mentioned in the Movie "In the Beginning". It is the reason EF got into the Dilgar war according to a post by JMS on Lurkers website. First Contact got screwed up, hmmm, lets see, by both sides, not just the battle crazed Dilgar. Of course the tribuanl cleared Captain Jan Kauwski of all charges.

Drivers in the night - In an attempt to regain merit in EF's eyes Captain Kauwski, volunteered for a diplomatic mission to Narn. War was getting closer and EF wanted to know where the larger races stood. The Narn Regime would allow passage but not be an ally, fearing attack from the Centauri. While returning home through yet untouched Gaim teritory, The Promethius witnesses a renewed blitzkreig by the Dilgar. Hundreds of Mass Driver ships pound N'Chak'Fah while an armada floods into Descari space. The Promethius is forced to flee to Vreetan, homeworld of the Vree, where it appears every Vree ship has taken up defense of their homeworld.

What goes around - While repairing in the safe haven provided by the Vree, the Promethius recieves orders from EF. Captain Kauwski goes on the comms stating, "War is upon us. The Dilgar will reap what they have sown. For far too long have we been silent. We are preparing to jump as a part of a statement that will be heard accross the galaxy. Earth will no longer stand idly by as terrorists and warmongers sew destruction on precious life. Everyone to Battle Stations." The Promethius joined in the first Earth offensive against the Dilgar. The result was a Markab space free of war.

Anyway thats where we are at . . . not sure how many episodes I will run before we start the 'Real' B5 adventures. But it would be nice to see most all of them die at the line. That since of loss, that feeling of helplessness. What I'm not heartless, I plan on giving them a 1 in 10 chance of walking.

But yes ShadowScout is TOTALLY correct Aog's Dilgar War is a must if you want to run someone through the Dilgar Campaign.

...until the final defeat of the Dilgar at Omelos, where Jha'Dur's night-black Mishakur dreadnought was finally brought in, yet found empty of the infamous warmaster, who had left for parts unknown under mysterious circumstances some week earlier...

Mind if I steal that one . . . I LIKE IT!!!

the long winded,
PsyJack

 

[psyclonejack]

And I hate it when I forget to log in . . . DOH!

 

[Wulfhere]

i will steal this plotline shadowscount you have real good idea`s.
this black battleship is very good

 

[ShadowScout]

i will steal this plotline shadowscount you have real good idea`s.

Just potting the pieces together...
(everyone interested, Realy try to get those supplements I mentioned. All I put together is made directly from the much more extensive info found there. And there's soo much more that can be exploited...)

this black battleship is very good

...the black Mishakur as Jha'Dur's personal ship (complete with not one, but Two masss drivers slung under it's hull) is from AoG's fluff... as is the fact that it was present in the last desperate (but futile) battle of the Dilgar fleet at Omelos.
And since it was known that Jha'Dur escaped, I presumed someone must have found she was not on her flagship - which means it either was boarded after being shot into submission or some other info turned up - and the first is far more entertaining for a RPG campaign, especially if the PC's can be part of the boarding party...

 

[Wulfhere]

that`s the plan. the player should board this black ship in the finishing point of the first storyline and see the black shimmering hull coming closer and closer.
must think about the rest but this sounds like a good start for the last story of the war.
by the way the supplements are not longer possible to buy in germany.

 

[ShadowScout]

by the way the supplements are not longer possible to buy in germany.

Makes sense.
You can only find them in three kinds of places:
- forgotten on some back shelf in an store if you're lucky
- on ebay, if you're willing to bid high enough
- from Agent-1 (see his post above), if you have a credit card (via paypal account)

Personally I'd go for A-1; he bought up the leftover stock of some distributors and is now selling it privately, at the prices of AoG's "closeout sale". Supplements, minis... he still has a few of almost everything AoG available.

If you can't, or A-1 sells his last one before you get the chance, all that remains is to seach for some well-stocked B5W player near you who'll allow you to read his supplements.

And as for the story... if your players go against the Dilgar - remember the kitties were highly fanatical and xenocidial. Expect them to fight to the last, and always choosing death before capture, especially if they have the chance to take a few enemies with them. (Yeah, other races used suicide tactics too, but the Dilgar DID have the honor of being the only race in AoG's B5 universe who purpose-built a crewed, 200-odd meters long "medium ship" for crashing it into enemy capital vessels - loaded with the optional nukes for a bigger bang of course.)

 

[Wulfhere]

a thought for the disapearence of Jha'Dur at the final battle.
at http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/SizeComp.html could you found a "lost clan" of Minbari the Void seeker with there own shipdesign.
What if they help her ? I know it`s not canon but I think it`s a nice idea away from the normal way of story.
What do you think ??
another way are the greyaliens which abducted Sheridan in the 2 Season.

 

[ShadowScout]

a thought for the disapearence of Jha'Dur at the final battle.
at http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/SizeComp.html could you found a "lost clan" of Minbari the Void seeker with there own shipdesign.

That "lost clan" is for one entirely fan-imagination, for another the first completely unrealistic (in compatrison to the rest of the Minbari) overpowered try of an aspiring munchkin to create a race (ok, so he may have the excuse of not knowing what he did...), and lastly impossible in this context since we KNOW from Lennier's explenation in the show just who sheltered her in the times after the Dilgar war.

another way are the greyaliens which abducted Sheridan in the 2 Season.

The Streib? Also unlikely - we know she ended up in Minbari territory.
And we know from AoG's fluff she set up her disapperance deliberately and quite skillfully - programming her Mishakur's computer to send out messages to make allied intelligence believe she's still onboard until the battle of Omelos, while later reports indicate she actually left her flagship shortly after the Battle of Balos a few weeks earlier. Finally we also know the Streib abducted single persons for study, sneakily ambushing them in remote areas of space, and running when a real warship comes after them - they would have stayed waay clear of an free-fire warzone like the surroundings of the Dilgar Empire in 2232.


I and some guys have been thinking about that a lot, for another project (B5Wars)... and we came up with some interesting ideas.
Unfortunately I promised my main co-conspirator not to reveal anything in public, since the story we're gonne be doing is a whole lot bigger then just Jha'Dur... so you'll all will just have to wait and see, when we get it ready for release in a few months (hopefully, there have been unexpected delays enough already).
I'll post something when we do... while it will be a fan-based story (unless someone at Mongoose likes it enough to pick it up and thus make it official one day - you never know...), it will be quite good for RPG campaigns (and we took care not to introduce anything that openly contradicts the show "main timeline" up to crusade...).

Just let me say this - the jump routes you see on the map aren't the only ways to get somewhere.
New routes can be discovered, and the silence of some empires can be bought, so it's quite possible to sneak a ship from Dilgar space through allied lines without anyone knowing about it, even late in the war.
And if it's an very hard to find route, and you blow up the beacon after you, chances are good noone will even notice there ever was a jump route going off from there - and thus they won't know where you went.
What else happened on the journey of WarMaster Jha'Dur until she ended up on board a Minbari warcruiser (and a lot more what went on around these events) is another story, and one that Will be told elsewhere eventually.

 

[Anonymous]

the statement from Lennier is a good point at last I forget it
are there any stats for the lostclan avaiable ? I only see the picture`s of there ships at last and another optical is not real a point for great power.
With the info`s of AoG you are some steps away. As I aid before I can get it on a easy way.
The streibs with there "biotechnology" are a interesting point to use them in a campaign (not in this way with the Dilgar) they are only one time seen and this kind of technology bring really interesting possibility`s.
But I see them more in a after shadowwar campaign. I have a vague idea about some rest unit`s of PSI Corps and a war of revenge. Will see what I found.

 

[JMT]

Thanks a lot for all information, enough to build two campaigns!!!

Now, at least I have some key points to picture the whole war and build the gasp between them. However there is something that I do not yet understand: is all AoG production "official"? I mean does all information written in them material like the dilga war approuved by B5 creator?

 

[ShadowScout]

However there is something that I do not yet understand: is all AoG production "official"? I mean does all information written in them material like the dilga war approuved by B5 creator?

Semi-canon. Officially licensed.

IIRC from my conversations with Agent-1 Everything they did had to be approved by WB before they could print it (and WB did veto some things, making AoG delay release until they came up with an acceptable version). That's more then some other B5 publications can say of themselves... (not to mention certain websites which can put up any info some fan-boy can dream up to "prove" his show can beat up the other guys show, no matter how ludicrous...)

But AoG's stuff... let me just post the forword from their rules compendium:

Getting it Right
Making a television series like BABYLON 5 requires that you think like an Irish border collie: you have to be detail oriented, maniacally obsessive, tightly focused and utterly relentless. The massive and intertwined plots and stories aside, there are a million tiny details that you have to get right. How does the centrifugal force inside B5 create gravity? How can a Starfury fly backwards while firing forward? What's the gravity on Mars?
You know why you have to get them right? Because if you don't, you get letters. ("No, no, it should be centripedal, not centrifugal you idiot. And by the way, can I have an autographed picture so I can hang it in the basement of my Mom's house where I'm living while finishing up my third PhD in quantum mechanics?")
Sometimes it's difficult to make licensees understand the importance of getting the details right. For a show like B5, this is massively important. As Michelangelo said, "Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle."
So you will understand how wonderful the experience of working with Agents of Gaming has been throughout the history of B5. They were not only among the first to come aboard and license B5, they instantly understood our desire to Get Things Right in the smallest detail, and even took it a step further, becoming even more rigorous than we were.
How rigorous you ask?
When other licensees needed information on ship configurations or weapon capabilities, we referred them to the Agents of Gaming books (such as the one you are nor holding in your hands). When we were in production and engaged in the writing of episodes or the mapping out of sets, if I was not available to answer a specific question on a technical area covered by AoG... the people involved were directed to go to the AoG books. Whenever AoG's miniatures showed up on the set, there was always a feeding frenzy of the sort usually associated with an unlucky cow falling into a river filled with piranha.
What I'm saying, in this roundabout way, is that if you want the Real Deal, if you want accuracy, canonical authority, and the best of the best when it comes to BABYLON 5 licensing and gaming... you've come to the right place.
Enjoy.
J. Michael Straczynski
Creator/Writer/Executive Producer
BABYLON 5

However, that was then and this is now. AoG has the license no longer and Mongoose does. Meaning AoG's stuff is almost canon, unless contrtadicted by someone more canon (JMS, Babylon 5 - the show, or the current game license holder, Mongoose).

 

[psyclonejack]

Speaking of JMS,

How funny is it that he asked the same question all newbies ask when they roleplay. How do I win?

And even funnier the fact his first Roleplaying experience was with Cthulhu. Where the best thing your character has going for him is how fast you can run. And a game where you never pick up the musty tome.

Still getting a kick out of the "Never Give a Techno-Mage an Eight-Sided Die and Expect Him to Get Anything Other Than a Free Ride",
PsyJack