Problems with the Guide to the Station

[Vortex]

I'm currently reading the Guide to the Station. It is very well made. The graphics are much better than the average B5 book from Mongoose but there seems to be many omissions and inconsistencies.

1) CNC is missing! I know it is in the 1st ed. base book but what's around it can't be found anywhere. I don't even know how people get there!

2) Customs aren't there. This is the first and last place one visits on B5 and will be of great role playing value for any player who wants to bring anything illegal on or off the station.

3) The starfury pilot's quarters are not described. Yes, it is fairly simple to invent them but still, when pretty much all the rest is described…

4) About half of blue sector is never described. The sphere part is pretty well described but the aft part (between the sphere and red sector) is never described except for what is on the side of the central corridor. That is a huge missing part!

5) Where's the war room? I know it wasn't in the original blueprints but it would be nice to know where they eventually put it.

6) Shouldn't Green 1 be visible in the garden? Since it has a window overlooking the garden we should see it as a building near one of the transport tube, shouldn't we?

7) Shelters? The shelters seen in "A view from the galley" are not shown. The location of these can be extremely important to a game.

8 ) The core shuttle stations listed do not correspond with the tubes visible in other plans. Those listed are:
-Blue Station 1
-Red Station 1
-Red Station 2
-Red Station 3
-Green Station 1 (garden)
-Green Station 2 (garden)
-Green Station 3 (garden)
-Brown Station 1
-Brown Station 2
-Brown Station 3

If you look at the plans you would get something like:
-Blue Station 1
-Red Station 1
-Red Station 2 (garden)
-Green Station 1 (garden)
-Green Station 2 (garden)
-Brown Station 1

I would have to look at the plans a bit more to tell which Green Station actually communicates with the green decks and which is just for the gardens.

I'm just finishing reading the Garden. I'll post again if I find something else…

 

[nezeray]

Well, you've obviously looked at it more thoroughly than I have. I'm interested in the answers to these as well, if only as a completist.

Nezeray

 

[Shadow Queen]

wow you got me on that as well

 

[Felix_Lunar]

Heh, you beat me to it Vortex, have been wondering about those as well...

Also, just a small thing, just this teeny tiny thing...how many decks are there in each sector? I know from looking at the show that there is a Brown 95 with possibilities to look out through the floor. I mean, how safe can that be!?! (from "The Long Dark", season 2). And Grey sector has 30 levels, including the missing Grey 17 (guess the episode ) Did I miss something in this otherwise fine publication?

Also, having some really annoying players who have this tendency to nit-pick, what is the income-tax in the Earth Alliance/ on B5? The tax-rules in the Guide are for businesses, as I see it.

About your point 6 Vortex, are you talking about why it would seem that our good ambasadors (at least Mollari) don't get a view over the Garden in the Guide, as they do in the series?

Some additions I made: a couple of commercial blocks into the garden (as for instance the one containing ASI from the Ragged edge) and the spinward/antispinward-going transports as seen on screen.

Edit: About the taxes: just remembered something that Marcus mentions in [insert episode here], where he is talking about his home that was destroyed. There, he says that the Earth Alliance was just somewhere where they got supplies and vids and sent 30% of their income.

Edit2: Also: Hello, first post on the forum. Love the show, like GM'ing the game so far and hope to have many fruitfull discussions on this forum.

 

[Felix_Lunar]

/bump

Anyone have any thoughts on any of this? Have you found out anything, Vortex?

 

[Cut]

Keep this up please. I have had the box only for a short time and not much time to look over it, but listening here very intesested. Will post if I come across somethiong else of course.

Maybe the Mongoose will produce an add-on (or maybe some downloads) with the missing sections like CnC (the graphics still there somewhere as it was done for 1st edition Rulebook). I agree that customs, the warroom and CnC should have been features, but am impressed with what I have seen so far in the box.

 

[Vortex]

I've just finished the boxed set. There are a few other things that I didn't find in there but I don't have my book with me so I can't really be more precise right now.

I might post something patching-up what's missing but it's going to take a little while before I have that complete.

If some of you have references to episodes mentioning or showing where things are or high deck numbers (like Felix_Lunar posted in this topic) I would appreciate. It would make things faster.

 

[Felix_Lunar]

Sitting at work, but just saw "A view form the Gallery" last night, and some thoughts came to me. Just wanna jutt them down before I forget them.

Iirc, Sheridan let's Byron and his teeps stay in Brown 47 (in one of the first episodes of season 5). In "A view...", as Mack and Bo stay at the teeps for a moment, Mack comments that he can really feel the outside explosions while being so close to the hull (or "this far down" or whatever frase he uses). Also, the boarding-party is on the same deck as the teeps (they could have gone up some decks, but still...50 decks???).

And do I remember things correctly when Bo and Mack leave the Sanctuary (Blue sector) for the shelters, they take the lift. When it stops, they say "Blue 3" (is this where the shelters in Blue sector are?), but they are dropped off right at the fighting in Brown sector! (could just be explained away as fitting the story. I think this is the main reason JMS never really made a set configuration of the interior of the station.)

Also, Bo and Mack take the lifts from one sector to another. This happens several times in the series, which didn't bother me in the beginning, comming from the Star Trek belief the turbolifts takes you anywhere on the ship, but soon nibbled at my geek-nerve as this made the Central Shuttle obsolete, in my mind.

Please correct me if I am mistaken in any of my assumptions here.

Be seeing you,

Felix_Lunar

 

[Vortex]

There are many cases in the show that seem to indicate that lifts can travel between sectors. The last episode I watched (can't remember the name, it's the one with the mad bomber on the station) shows Londo entering a lift in red sector and asking to go to Green Two.

In my opinion, that would not make the core shuttle obsolete. The core shuttle doesn't look like it could handle the transport needs of 250 000 people. It could be more of a "scenic route".

It's already established that there are other "trains" on the station anyway. We sometimes se them passing overhead in downbellow. I think we even see one in the garden in one of the openings.

As for the telepaths, they may just have moved from where they originally were. Nothing indicates it but it's possible and solves pretty much everything.

 

[Mongoose Gar]

Also, Bo and Mack take the lifts from one sector to another. This happens several times in the series, which didn't bother me in the beginning, comming from the Star Trek belief the turbolifts takes you anywhere on the ship, but soon nibbled at my geek-nerve as this made the Central Shuttle obsolete, in my mind.

Central Shuttle would presumably be a lot faster than the lifts. You use it when going from one end of the station to the other, lifts are for shorter journeys.

 

[lastbesthope]

Plus not everyonw would want to take the core shuttle, being zero g and all.

LBH

 

[Felix_Lunar]

Right, I'm convinced by your arguments about the core shuttle/lift. I no longer have a problem with it. And it's in keeping with the Great Makers vision of the station, so, who am I to argue?

Also, I am reminded of one of the last episodes of season 5 where the hitman out to kill Garibaldi and Lise says something along the line of: "Thats the trouble with these transport tubes, you never know if you'll get the car or the shaft." And then he stabs the security officer, which might just be an indication that he wanted to make a bad pun before killing the guy instead of actually commenting on the transport operations of the station.

Just saw the one B5 movie I hadn't seen before today, namely "The River of Souls". Now, here the holobrothel (opened around March 2263? Since the 6 month permit would expire in a couple of months after the movie?) is located in Brown 11, and the hull is about 10-12 levels down...<sighs>

Oh heck, I will argue the Great Maker on this and say that the Station Guide's sollution to placing the holobrothel is better (Deck 42 in the Sprawl). It also makes sense that there is a huge part of Brown sector closed off for wastemanagement, machinery etc. (the first 40 decks as per the Guide).

Right, if me keeping up this deep-geeking stars anoying people, somebody please tell me. :roll:

Now, maybe the use of the terms "level" and "deck" is different....<trails of, ranting to himself>