OK the B5 forums have a nice little commmunity but I don't see anyone posting all that often. ince I'd like to hear more from the people who play one of my favorite games... I'd like to hear from the people who are runnign B5 out there. What are you games like? What are your playeer's characters like? Do you run games that are epic in scope? Let some of us in on what's going on in your B5 world. Give us the low-down on your current game.
Just asking
- Thread starter Yrtalien
- Start date
OK, I guess the idea of sharing what's going down in your games isn't appealing... Well I'll tell you what's up in mine.
The game has been going on for just short of a year. I run epic games (I like my players to be able to challenge Sheridan, Delenn and Lyta... the big players on B5).
From the start I wanted the players to be more involved with the Shadows than the Vorlons and they all knew that nothing was sacred as far as storyline.
The game started with an Agent/Technician named Xavier Grant who had a 9 year old daughter who ended up being a telepath and was taken from him by the Corp. He hated the Corp. for taking his daughter and was always looking for a way to get her out.
Matthew Kincaid was a Ranger. He had served in Earth Force against the Minbari and made a name for himself as a Combat Medic who would treat any fallen Minbari or Human.
Mivon Dura was a P11 (I hate odd numbers it's a thing... and the player knows it) Telepath who was working towards the Prophetess prestige class.
The Ranger became involved in things because the Minbari knew IPX was quietly investigating something near their system and they wanted to know what. Matthew arranged to be part of the crew (Medic/Security). Xavier was chosen for his technical skill by Mitchell Hyundayne (a company on earth that produces medium size ships and fighters... cofunders of the expedition) and Mivon was employed through House Dura for her telepathic skill. She was told that they might need her to interact with some ancient telepathic locks.
On the way the characters met up and got to know each other. Mivon became suspicious of a crewman who seemed to be monitoring her. All began asking questions about where they were going. Matthew was able to learn that they weren't going near Minbari space they were going into it. Since they were radio silent (and he wasn't supposed to know) he wasn't able to inform the Minbari).
Mivon felt the strange crewman scanning people one night and upon questioning learned that he was a an agent of the Corp. sent to find out what these people were up to. Apparently in the first run of this mission the assigned telepath died under mysterious circumstances and he was supposed to determine just what had happened.
Later the Corp telepath and Mivon came to a impasse in how to deal with a matter (he was casually scanning people... deep scans as they slept). Eventually they learned that the Captain had spaced the last teep after he went insane and became a threat to the ship. The Corp telepath wanted Mivon to engage whatever it was down there that had made the telepath unstable so they could learn what it was... Mivon was more hesitant being rather attached to her sanity. In the end she outed him him and he was stuck in the bridge.
On arrival at the planet which made everyone uneasy and seemed to place Mivon in a hightened state of paranoia, she began scanning people randomly to try to determine what was going to happen. The technician learned that there were three examples of biological ships on the planet
(One damaged Vorlon ship and two VERY damaged Shadow they had been there over 1000 yrs and had apparently been engaged in conflict, most likely with with each other). The green ship seemed to still be active and sentient. The Technician began sneaking away in the night trying to get information for Mitchell Hyundyne (he felt IPX would try to lock alot of the info up and it would take years for Mitchell to benefit from it).
Meanwhile Matthew was trying to find a way to communicate with the Minbari to let them know what these people had found and that they intended to study them. Mivon had been having dreams that left her confused.. someone crying for release/death and was so paranoid (and justly so) that she deep scanned (openly and forcefully) the mission's leads scientist and learned that the last telepath had gone crazy shortly after interacting with the ship... then they had spaced him.
Mivon began implanting idea seeds in the scientic group to destabilize them and refused to engage the sentient ship. The Lead scientsit informed her that the assumption was the last telpath had gone insane because he was barely a P5 and that she would be far better to handle the situation. She offered up the idea of using the Corp spy first and they agreed.
The Corp spy was taken before the Vorlon ship and instructed to interact with it (gun to his head). Mivon was in his mind as he did this and they could hear the ships song... loyalty, duty, obedience, service and warnings about the enemy ships nearby. To Mivon it sounded like the dirge of a slave! The ship identified them as servants of its creators (telepaths) and communicated with them... The Corp telepath began interacting with the ship and Mivon realized that he was begining to do more than simply order the door open. Quickly thinking she informed the ship that the Corp telepath was a spy in service to the enemy... Shortly thereafter there was no more Corp spy.
Feeling more secure Mivon agreed to be the one to scan the ship even after watching it blast the Corp spy to bits (she didnt tell them she had arrange for that). They watched as she approached. The ship informed her it was damaged and needed to effect repairs and that the presence of the hated enemies ships in this world constituted a massive threat. As she approached (as the Corp Telepath had) it pulled her into its skin and began accessing her abilities using her as a enchancer of its own damaged communication systems. Its songs filled her and all she knew was obedience and service... through her the ship pushed past some sort of jamming and reached out to the nearest vorlon ship and informed it that the listening post was in danger... that the humanoid was unstable and had been blocking its ability to warn the Vorlons of the danger on the planet. That it seemed to want the enemy ships to destroy it. Then Mivon was released. She refused to access the ship again (but as she had managed to open the door the scientists were happy enough... though very interested in her experience their primary goal was ship technology).
In the meantime Matthew had finally managed to get word to the Minbari of the expedition. He was informed the Vorlons themselves were going to be seeing to the situation which probably meant not good things for anyone on the planet. He began arranging with the PCs to help him; he let them know the Vorlolns were coming and that he needed info on what had been found/learned and studied, and that none of this information could get back to Earth. They agreed to help each other.
As the Vorlons arrived the next day Matthew, Mivon, and Xavier arranged to be a distance away in the shuttle. They watched horrified as the Vorlons scorched the campsite. While out, Mivon was plagued by more visions of the man pleading for death/release and now certain that this was not the ship trying to communicate with her she sought out the source. They found a small hidden compound seemingly formed of the same material as the green ship. They entered and Mivon could feel the edifice breathing and living around her. Inside they found a telepathic humanoid male maintained in some bio-organic machine. He pleaded with them to free him before the Vorlons came and forced him back into service.
The group debated, the Medic/Ranger was reluctant to end a life, the technician didnt want to be involved till he undertood the machine the guy was trapped in and Mivon decided to act to free her brother telepath. Mivon moved toward the machine and began strangling the creature only to find that as his life ebbed away the machine was beginnning to surround her. She found her thoughts expanding... she heard the voices of sentients across the galaxy, her prophetic abilities seemed to surge and the humanoid died... she was dragged into the machine in his place, her mind filled with the litany of the Vorlons, service, loyalty, obedience.
The Technician and Ranger began tearing at the machine trying to free Mivon and the habitat began protecting the replacement Telepath.
Eventually they dragged her out and managed to escape.
Later on their shuttle met up with a Vorlon ship. The Vorlon asked the ranger why it had removed these two from the cleansing. He told it they had provided useful information and that he had extended his protection to them. The Vorlon let him know what he thought of "his protection" and scanned the group informing the ranger they would have to be exterminated. Shortly after scanning the group the Vorlon changed his toon and left them alone... leaving the ranger to wonder what had happened.
Afetr that I involved them in the ragged Edge with a few tweaks (rather than B5 I moved them to Freedom station). The idea of the PCs ending up with sufficient infl by the end (hopefully) to help reshape the galaxy was nice.
[So the characters first interaction with the Vorlons and Shadows was different than most. To Mivon the Vorlons were creatures with a litany of enslavement, to the Ranger they became secretive powerful demi-gods that did not seem to truely care about them, to the the technician/agent they were a threat with an advanced technology who wanted to kill him because he had spent a great deal of time studying the Shadow tech as it seemed far easier to understand and possibly someday use.]
-More to come- If anyone is interested.
The game has been going on for just short of a year. I run epic games (I like my players to be able to challenge Sheridan, Delenn and Lyta... the big players on B5).
From the start I wanted the players to be more involved with the Shadows than the Vorlons and they all knew that nothing was sacred as far as storyline.
The game started with an Agent/Technician named Xavier Grant who had a 9 year old daughter who ended up being a telepath and was taken from him by the Corp. He hated the Corp. for taking his daughter and was always looking for a way to get her out.
Matthew Kincaid was a Ranger. He had served in Earth Force against the Minbari and made a name for himself as a Combat Medic who would treat any fallen Minbari or Human.
Mivon Dura was a P11 (I hate odd numbers it's a thing... and the player knows it) Telepath who was working towards the Prophetess prestige class.
The Ranger became involved in things because the Minbari knew IPX was quietly investigating something near their system and they wanted to know what. Matthew arranged to be part of the crew (Medic/Security). Xavier was chosen for his technical skill by Mitchell Hyundayne (a company on earth that produces medium size ships and fighters... cofunders of the expedition) and Mivon was employed through House Dura for her telepathic skill. She was told that they might need her to interact with some ancient telepathic locks.
On the way the characters met up and got to know each other. Mivon became suspicious of a crewman who seemed to be monitoring her. All began asking questions about where they were going. Matthew was able to learn that they weren't going near Minbari space they were going into it. Since they were radio silent (and he wasn't supposed to know) he wasn't able to inform the Minbari).
Mivon felt the strange crewman scanning people one night and upon questioning learned that he was a an agent of the Corp. sent to find out what these people were up to. Apparently in the first run of this mission the assigned telepath died under mysterious circumstances and he was supposed to determine just what had happened.
Later the Corp telepath and Mivon came to a impasse in how to deal with a matter (he was casually scanning people... deep scans as they slept). Eventually they learned that the Captain had spaced the last teep after he went insane and became a threat to the ship. The Corp telepath wanted Mivon to engage whatever it was down there that had made the telepath unstable so they could learn what it was... Mivon was more hesitant being rather attached to her sanity. In the end she outed him him and he was stuck in the bridge.
On arrival at the planet which made everyone uneasy and seemed to place Mivon in a hightened state of paranoia, she began scanning people randomly to try to determine what was going to happen. The technician learned that there were three examples of biological ships on the planet
(One damaged Vorlon ship and two VERY damaged Shadow they had been there over 1000 yrs and had apparently been engaged in conflict, most likely with with each other). The green ship seemed to still be active and sentient. The Technician began sneaking away in the night trying to get information for Mitchell Hyundyne (he felt IPX would try to lock alot of the info up and it would take years for Mitchell to benefit from it).
Meanwhile Matthew was trying to find a way to communicate with the Minbari to let them know what these people had found and that they intended to study them. Mivon had been having dreams that left her confused.. someone crying for release/death and was so paranoid (and justly so) that she deep scanned (openly and forcefully) the mission's leads scientist and learned that the last telepath had gone crazy shortly after interacting with the ship... then they had spaced him.
Mivon began implanting idea seeds in the scientic group to destabilize them and refused to engage the sentient ship. The Lead scientsit informed her that the assumption was the last telpath had gone insane because he was barely a P5 and that she would be far better to handle the situation. She offered up the idea of using the Corp spy first and they agreed.
The Corp spy was taken before the Vorlon ship and instructed to interact with it (gun to his head). Mivon was in his mind as he did this and they could hear the ships song... loyalty, duty, obedience, service and warnings about the enemy ships nearby. To Mivon it sounded like the dirge of a slave! The ship identified them as servants of its creators (telepaths) and communicated with them... The Corp telepath began interacting with the ship and Mivon realized that he was begining to do more than simply order the door open. Quickly thinking she informed the ship that the Corp telepath was a spy in service to the enemy... Shortly thereafter there was no more Corp spy.
Feeling more secure Mivon agreed to be the one to scan the ship even after watching it blast the Corp spy to bits (she didnt tell them she had arrange for that). They watched as she approached. The ship informed her it was damaged and needed to effect repairs and that the presence of the hated enemies ships in this world constituted a massive threat. As she approached (as the Corp Telepath had) it pulled her into its skin and began accessing her abilities using her as a enchancer of its own damaged communication systems. Its songs filled her and all she knew was obedience and service... through her the ship pushed past some sort of jamming and reached out to the nearest vorlon ship and informed it that the listening post was in danger... that the humanoid was unstable and had been blocking its ability to warn the Vorlons of the danger on the planet. That it seemed to want the enemy ships to destroy it. Then Mivon was released. She refused to access the ship again (but as she had managed to open the door the scientists were happy enough... though very interested in her experience their primary goal was ship technology).
In the meantime Matthew had finally managed to get word to the Minbari of the expedition. He was informed the Vorlons themselves were going to be seeing to the situation which probably meant not good things for anyone on the planet. He began arranging with the PCs to help him; he let them know the Vorlolns were coming and that he needed info on what had been found/learned and studied, and that none of this information could get back to Earth. They agreed to help each other.
As the Vorlons arrived the next day Matthew, Mivon, and Xavier arranged to be a distance away in the shuttle. They watched horrified as the Vorlons scorched the campsite. While out, Mivon was plagued by more visions of the man pleading for death/release and now certain that this was not the ship trying to communicate with her she sought out the source. They found a small hidden compound seemingly formed of the same material as the green ship. They entered and Mivon could feel the edifice breathing and living around her. Inside they found a telepathic humanoid male maintained in some bio-organic machine. He pleaded with them to free him before the Vorlons came and forced him back into service.
The group debated, the Medic/Ranger was reluctant to end a life, the technician didnt want to be involved till he undertood the machine the guy was trapped in and Mivon decided to act to free her brother telepath. Mivon moved toward the machine and began strangling the creature only to find that as his life ebbed away the machine was beginnning to surround her. She found her thoughts expanding... she heard the voices of sentients across the galaxy, her prophetic abilities seemed to surge and the humanoid died... she was dragged into the machine in his place, her mind filled with the litany of the Vorlons, service, loyalty, obedience.
The Technician and Ranger began tearing at the machine trying to free Mivon and the habitat began protecting the replacement Telepath.
Eventually they dragged her out and managed to escape.
Later on their shuttle met up with a Vorlon ship. The Vorlon asked the ranger why it had removed these two from the cleansing. He told it they had provided useful information and that he had extended his protection to them. The Vorlon let him know what he thought of "his protection" and scanned the group informing the ranger they would have to be exterminated. Shortly after scanning the group the Vorlon changed his toon and left them alone... leaving the ranger to wonder what had happened.
Afetr that I involved them in the ragged Edge with a few tweaks (rather than B5 I moved them to Freedom station). The idea of the PCs ending up with sufficient infl by the end (hopefully) to help reshape the galaxy was nice.
[So the characters first interaction with the Vorlons and Shadows was different than most. To Mivon the Vorlons were creatures with a litany of enslavement, to the Ranger they became secretive powerful demi-gods that did not seem to truely care about them, to the the technician/agent they were a threat with an advanced technology who wanted to kill him because he had spent a great deal of time studying the Shadow tech as it seemed far easier to understand and possibly someday use.]
-More to come- If anyone is interested.
Gabriel_Luna
Mongoose
My basic out of game theory for the current campaign is to fill in some of the cracks of the setting. I also intend to keep the PCs, generally speaking, away from canon so I don't have to worry about random acts of violence changing things (we have a Drazi soldier/Hitman in the party, you see...)
So for example, the PCs have just arrived on B5 shortly before the end of season 1. They are going to end up involved with N'grath and will be supplying the reason for his disappearance. The Proxima resistance also has a lot of appeal for me since the command staff did liberate Proxima first, but it barely made one scene, so there's plenty of room for my group to be involved there. Wrap it all up in a "legacy of Shadowtech" plot arc (you know, the one Crusade never got to finish) and you've got a good idea of my campaign goals.
The story arc itself started 5 years after the Earth-Minbari war with them signing on with IPX. They did a lot of work for them, and again filling in some cracks (such as making one of the first peaceful contacts with the Minbari after the war, or assisting the diplomatic mission that brought a Minbari delegation to Earth to discuss joining the humans in the Babylon Project, not to mention assisting in the design of the prototype vessel that led to the Icarus). They discovered hints of a big project way behind the scenes at a megacorp called Cornerstone, but haven't seen more than that it's big, dangerous, and involves a lot of money. For the final episode of Act 1, they ended up working security on Babylon 4. Several foreshadowing timeflashes and a Drakh sabotage team later, they are moved directly into the end of season 1 of the show. Now, as soon as they can shake N'Grath, they get to go out and start picking up the threads of the plots they know about after five years have passed.
So that's where we stand right now, without too many details on the off chance my sneaky players are reading this forum.
So for example, the PCs have just arrived on B5 shortly before the end of season 1. They are going to end up involved with N'grath and will be supplying the reason for his disappearance. The Proxima resistance also has a lot of appeal for me since the command staff did liberate Proxima first, but it barely made one scene, so there's plenty of room for my group to be involved there. Wrap it all up in a "legacy of Shadowtech" plot arc (you know, the one Crusade never got to finish) and you've got a good idea of my campaign goals.
The story arc itself started 5 years after the Earth-Minbari war with them signing on with IPX. They did a lot of work for them, and again filling in some cracks (such as making one of the first peaceful contacts with the Minbari after the war, or assisting the diplomatic mission that brought a Minbari delegation to Earth to discuss joining the humans in the Babylon Project, not to mention assisting in the design of the prototype vessel that led to the Icarus). They discovered hints of a big project way behind the scenes at a megacorp called Cornerstone, but haven't seen more than that it's big, dangerous, and involves a lot of money. For the final episode of Act 1, they ended up working security on Babylon 4. Several foreshadowing timeflashes and a Drakh sabotage team later, they are moved directly into the end of season 1 of the show. Now, as soon as they can shake N'Grath, they get to go out and start picking up the threads of the plots they know about after five years have passed.
So that's where we stand right now, without too many details on the off chance my sneaky players are reading this forum.
Shadow Queen
Mongoose
thats cool
I've been collecting these books since the B5 RPG line came out, and I have yet to run a game. I've wanted to, I've written articles for Signs and Portents, but it's hard finding the time. That said, I do plan to at some point in the hopefully near future, so I'm more than happy to chime in with what I'd use the game for.
I'm primarily interested in the time periods not covered by the series. We know the major conflicts of the series, we know who the major players were, and we know how things turned out. I'm interested in the events that occurred immediately after the end of the series, during the Drakh Plague, or shortly after that. The Thirdspace aliens are of interest to me, as are the Drakh and the Red Helms (the enigmatic aliens from A View From the Gallery). Most of the major players of the B5 universe are at rest at the end of the series and are likely to remain that way for some time, so I see it as a period of renewed exploration and new threats. The characters would play roles where something important is at stake and they are at the center of the solution, much like the Excalibur in Crusade.
I'm far more likely to have a campaign that is set aboard a starship as opposed to a station-bound campaign. Babylon 5 is certainly a worthwhile place to stop in at from time to time during these periods, but it's not likely to be the primary focus of a game I would run.
I'm primarily interested in the time periods not covered by the series. We know the major conflicts of the series, we know who the major players were, and we know how things turned out. I'm interested in the events that occurred immediately after the end of the series, during the Drakh Plague, or shortly after that. The Thirdspace aliens are of interest to me, as are the Drakh and the Red Helms (the enigmatic aliens from A View From the Gallery). Most of the major players of the B5 universe are at rest at the end of the series and are likely to remain that way for some time, so I see it as a period of renewed exploration and new threats. The characters would play roles where something important is at stake and they are at the center of the solution, much like the Excalibur in Crusade.
I'm far more likely to have a campaign that is set aboard a starship as opposed to a station-bound campaign. Babylon 5 is certainly a worthwhile place to stop in at from time to time during these periods, but it's not likely to be the primary focus of a game I would run.
Optimusnorm
Mongoose
I used the Cold Equations book as inspiration to kick start my campaign.
My players are a Diplomat/Corporate Negotiatior, a Scientist/Engineer and a former Earth Force pilot who quit due to drink and personal issues. Recently we have also added a Agent who is a latent telepath.
All the PC's are human and most are not familar with the show so it's great springing surprises on them!
So far one of the players looks set to join nightwatch, another has made contact with a shadow agent without realising and all have earned the enmity of the Narn for helping the Centauri...we're only on the third session and it's getting interesting.
The players have so far avoided nearly all direct confrontation bar once where the engineer was shot.
My players are a Diplomat/Corporate Negotiatior, a Scientist/Engineer and a former Earth Force pilot who quit due to drink and personal issues. Recently we have also added a Agent who is a latent telepath.
All the PC's are human and most are not familar with the show so it's great springing surprises on them!
So far one of the players looks set to join nightwatch, another has made contact with a shadow agent without realising and all have earned the enmity of the Narn for helping the Centauri...we're only on the third session and it's getting interesting.
The players have so far avoided nearly all direct confrontation bar once where the engineer was shot.
As it was my first time running Babylon 5, and preparation time is short at the moment (real life getting in the way), I started the published campaign with Cold Equations and ran on in to The Ragged Edge. I'm running the game online, using Fantasy Grounds II from SmiteWorks.
My players are a Narn Warrior/Agent, a Human Officer/Agent, a Human Psi-Corp Telepath (played by Yrtalien), and a Brakiri Trader. The player characterisation is good and roleplaying excellent. My Brakiri player especially is having fun with the cultural barriers and playing ignorant of human customs. The in-character interactions have calmed down somewhat after a bit of a rocky start. It took a couple of episodes before the team gelled.
In the last couple of weeks, I've run the first filler scenario in the campaign, which I've named Secrets and Lies. My plan being to explore aspects of each of the player characters at appropriate points in the campaign.
This first filler is the exploring the telepath character, answering a cry for help from one of his friends back in Teep town. In the last session, run yesterday, the players engaged in a little breaking, entering, assault and murder. I think I might've managed to send the telepath mad as he killed off someone using his mind powers. It should be interesting for Yrtalien to follow up in the roleplay - potentially lots of bonus XP to be earnt here. The scenario has gone well, foreshadowing future campaign play and leading in to B5 Episode 2:07 - A Race Through Dark Places. The scenario is nearing completion and should be done next week. Then it's either another filler, or on to Episode 3 of the Ragged Edge campaign.
Hopefully, the players are enjoying the game as much as I am. Now, if I can only wean them away from wanting to throw dice all the time.
My players are a Narn Warrior/Agent, a Human Officer/Agent, a Human Psi-Corp Telepath (played by Yrtalien), and a Brakiri Trader. The player characterisation is good and roleplaying excellent. My Brakiri player especially is having fun with the cultural barriers and playing ignorant of human customs. The in-character interactions have calmed down somewhat after a bit of a rocky start. It took a couple of episodes before the team gelled.
In the last couple of weeks, I've run the first filler scenario in the campaign, which I've named Secrets and Lies. My plan being to explore aspects of each of the player characters at appropriate points in the campaign.
This first filler is the exploring the telepath character, answering a cry for help from one of his friends back in Teep town. In the last session, run yesterday, the players engaged in a little breaking, entering, assault and murder. I think I might've managed to send the telepath mad as he killed off someone using his mind powers. It should be interesting for Yrtalien to follow up in the roleplay - potentially lots of bonus XP to be earnt here. The scenario has gone well, foreshadowing future campaign play and leading in to B5 Episode 2:07 - A Race Through Dark Places. The scenario is nearing completion and should be done next week. Then it's either another filler, or on to Episode 3 of the Ragged Edge campaign.
Hopefully, the players are enjoying the game as much as I am. Now, if I can only wean them away from wanting to throw dice all the time.
