Hi!
I remember rasing this point before a while back, but after reading up on both Wars of the Centauri Republic and The Great Crusade, I was struck once again with the notion that the Orieni and their allies/subject races would make a fine addition for both the B5 RPG and to A Call To Arms.
In case you are unaware, the Orieni are portrayed as an avian race led by a group of telepaths (the Blessed), who are strictly adherent to a cult of Vorlon-worship (which, unsurprisingly, is tied into the emergence of teeps on Orien at around 1000 CE). They followed a policy of establishing Order on their homeworld, and among the races whose worlds they incorporated into their expanding Empire. Naturally, they found the hedonistic, chaotic Centauri to be quite the affront - and the Centauri for their part couldn't stand the Orieni. Wars of the Centauri Republic was a supplement for Babylon 5 Wars which detailed a devastating war - supposedly taking place as we speak! - between the Centauri Republic and the Orieni Empire. This war resulted in victory for the Republic, but to many sowed the seeds of its later decline.
The Great Crusade was an unofficial addon for B5W, which postulated a conflict between a resurgent Orieni and the Minbari Federation in the Crusade era. According to this work, the Orieni rebuilt their Empire, advanced their technology, spread to re-incorporate worlds which had been abandoned (helped along by the Centauri's retractions into their home territory) and kept watch for the Vorlons in the hope that they would deign to honour them by noticing their existence. Instead, they were shocked at the sight of the Alliance of Light turning on the Vorlons - and casting them out of the Galaxy at Corianna 6! Oh, the heresy! And naturally, since the Minbari Protectorate was their closest target, they had the perfect place to start a crusade of their own... and the boneheads naturally had no idea of what to expect.
As a race as loyal to the Vorlons (in their own way) as the Drakh are to the Shadows - and one which in the Third Age is affected by a similar sense of abandonment and revenge, the Orieni could make a very interesting addition to work on. What's more, it would act as a relatively blank canvas for Mongoose to stake a claim on, as the Orieni weren't featured in one of the TV shows - so Mongoose could expand the mythos in a new direction. (Or JMS might see the work at a later stage and think it was a good idea for one of those new one-shots!)
When it comes to the RPG, there are plenty of areas where the Orieni could be made use of:
Maintaining Order.
The integration of new member races into the Empire during its first great expansion (such as the Phanop, Choaka et al) could be an area for characters to explore - introducing subject-race officers and specialists into a new team, or managing the spread of Order to the new world - or maybe even helping to conquer the planets involed in the first place!
Struggles with Chaos.
The great War against the Centauri leaves plenty of room for interrogation, infiltration, sabotage and conquest - serving the Empire aboard a ship of the Orieni fleet (The 'Hand of the Blessed') or behind enemy lines at logistics nodes and command posts.
The Rebirth.
As the Empire rebuilds after the War's end, new resources will need to be found, old connections with subject races re-established, and the sovereignty of the frontiers with neighbouring galactic powers re-affirmed.
A Last, Best Hope...
Conspicuous in their absence in the B5 Council Chambers, the Orieni were a small presence on the famous diplamoatic station in its heyday. Or were they? Was one of the many un-detailed League delegates truly speaking on behalf of an Empire keeping a low profile? Or, did one of them owe a secret allegiance to the Blessed? Given that the station was the only place outside of Vorlon space where one of the Gods could actually be found (and even better, actually contacted!), can it be assumed that in parts of the station not shown on-camera, the Empire had representatives and agents at work? And if they did speak to Kosh, what - if anything - did he say in reply to them?
Betrayal and Vengeance.
For most (if not all) Orieni, the events of the Earth year 2261 hit hgard indeed. First the other aces defied the Vorlons, and then compounded their error by forcing them to leave for the Rim? Horrors! Time for a good bout of aggressive fundamentalism to deal with the stuation!
And yet, do all Orieni agree with this - or do they see it as a shameless power-grab by the Blessed, keen to maintain legitimacy in the face of changing events? What if there are those among the Orieni who wish to embrace the Anla'shok, or the ISA, or the ideals of the Third Age - who wish to move beyond the centuries' worth of religious dogma which the Blessed have espoused on Orien? And what role will these people play when the drums of war beat ever louder?
These are just a few ideas, but I hope they sound interesting.
For ACTA, there are two ready-made eras that an Orieni fleet list can be tailored for - and one of these could even allow for a new edition of the Centauri list, to boot!
The Great Centauri-Orieni War.
With a fleet based around massive Motherships, nimble medium-sized vessels, waves of missiles and fighters (as well as Hunter-Killers, akin toi drone-piloted suicide fighter craft) and powerful (if short-ranged) laser weaponry at close quarters, the Orieni can prove to be a very dangerous foe to a Centauri player. (The data from WCR can be used to work out an Orieni-era Centauri Navy, as well. Hell, even the likes of the Drazi and Abbai - who were active space-faring powers at the time in question - could be worked out as well, as the Drazi had countless skkirmishes, raids and incursions with the Republic, and the Abbai had to fend off Centauri attacks back in the day...)
The related background might need a bit of modificaiton here and there - for example, the Drakh referecnes in the War would need revision in order to match the current interpretation of that particular race - but is by and large good to go!
The Great Crusade.
With updated technology, new ship classes and an overwhelming desire for vengeance, the Hand of the Blessed in the late 2260s is set to make life in the Minbari Protectorate very uncomfortable indeed!
The scope for modifying or refining the story of the War and its aftermath can be more substantially modified (perhaps the Orieni made less progress than previously written when entering Protectorate space, or held their ground more successfully in later parts of the War - or perhaps a more powerful post-war Empire, sans Blessed, eschewed isolationism and lobbied for Alliance membership and focussed on hunting Drakh...)
A lot can be done with the Orieni, and I hope one day we can see both current B5 systems flesh out the Empire (and maybe the ground combat in both Wars could be seen in War Without End, as well?).
Anyone agree? Or am I just mad?
EDIT: And I just noticed that in another sci-fi universe I check up on, there is another group of fanatical worshippers of jealous ascended beings, with use the letters o, r and i in their name...
Gary
I remember rasing this point before a while back, but after reading up on both Wars of the Centauri Republic and The Great Crusade, I was struck once again with the notion that the Orieni and their allies/subject races would make a fine addition for both the B5 RPG and to A Call To Arms.
In case you are unaware, the Orieni are portrayed as an avian race led by a group of telepaths (the Blessed), who are strictly adherent to a cult of Vorlon-worship (which, unsurprisingly, is tied into the emergence of teeps on Orien at around 1000 CE). They followed a policy of establishing Order on their homeworld, and among the races whose worlds they incorporated into their expanding Empire. Naturally, they found the hedonistic, chaotic Centauri to be quite the affront - and the Centauri for their part couldn't stand the Orieni. Wars of the Centauri Republic was a supplement for Babylon 5 Wars which detailed a devastating war - supposedly taking place as we speak! - between the Centauri Republic and the Orieni Empire. This war resulted in victory for the Republic, but to many sowed the seeds of its later decline.
The Great Crusade was an unofficial addon for B5W, which postulated a conflict between a resurgent Orieni and the Minbari Federation in the Crusade era. According to this work, the Orieni rebuilt their Empire, advanced their technology, spread to re-incorporate worlds which had been abandoned (helped along by the Centauri's retractions into their home territory) and kept watch for the Vorlons in the hope that they would deign to honour them by noticing their existence. Instead, they were shocked at the sight of the Alliance of Light turning on the Vorlons - and casting them out of the Galaxy at Corianna 6! Oh, the heresy! And naturally, since the Minbari Protectorate was their closest target, they had the perfect place to start a crusade of their own... and the boneheads naturally had no idea of what to expect.
As a race as loyal to the Vorlons (in their own way) as the Drakh are to the Shadows - and one which in the Third Age is affected by a similar sense of abandonment and revenge, the Orieni could make a very interesting addition to work on. What's more, it would act as a relatively blank canvas for Mongoose to stake a claim on, as the Orieni weren't featured in one of the TV shows - so Mongoose could expand the mythos in a new direction. (Or JMS might see the work at a later stage and think it was a good idea for one of those new one-shots!)
When it comes to the RPG, there are plenty of areas where the Orieni could be made use of:
Maintaining Order.
The integration of new member races into the Empire during its first great expansion (such as the Phanop, Choaka et al) could be an area for characters to explore - introducing subject-race officers and specialists into a new team, or managing the spread of Order to the new world - or maybe even helping to conquer the planets involed in the first place!
Struggles with Chaos.
The great War against the Centauri leaves plenty of room for interrogation, infiltration, sabotage and conquest - serving the Empire aboard a ship of the Orieni fleet (The 'Hand of the Blessed') or behind enemy lines at logistics nodes and command posts.
The Rebirth.
As the Empire rebuilds after the War's end, new resources will need to be found, old connections with subject races re-established, and the sovereignty of the frontiers with neighbouring galactic powers re-affirmed.
A Last, Best Hope...
Conspicuous in their absence in the B5 Council Chambers, the Orieni were a small presence on the famous diplamoatic station in its heyday. Or were they? Was one of the many un-detailed League delegates truly speaking on behalf of an Empire keeping a low profile? Or, did one of them owe a secret allegiance to the Blessed? Given that the station was the only place outside of Vorlon space where one of the Gods could actually be found (and even better, actually contacted!), can it be assumed that in parts of the station not shown on-camera, the Empire had representatives and agents at work? And if they did speak to Kosh, what - if anything - did he say in reply to them?
Betrayal and Vengeance.
For most (if not all) Orieni, the events of the Earth year 2261 hit hgard indeed. First the other aces defied the Vorlons, and then compounded their error by forcing them to leave for the Rim? Horrors! Time for a good bout of aggressive fundamentalism to deal with the stuation!
And yet, do all Orieni agree with this - or do they see it as a shameless power-grab by the Blessed, keen to maintain legitimacy in the face of changing events? What if there are those among the Orieni who wish to embrace the Anla'shok, or the ISA, or the ideals of the Third Age - who wish to move beyond the centuries' worth of religious dogma which the Blessed have espoused on Orien? And what role will these people play when the drums of war beat ever louder?
These are just a few ideas, but I hope they sound interesting.
For ACTA, there are two ready-made eras that an Orieni fleet list can be tailored for - and one of these could even allow for a new edition of the Centauri list, to boot!
The Great Centauri-Orieni War.
With a fleet based around massive Motherships, nimble medium-sized vessels, waves of missiles and fighters (as well as Hunter-Killers, akin toi drone-piloted suicide fighter craft) and powerful (if short-ranged) laser weaponry at close quarters, the Orieni can prove to be a very dangerous foe to a Centauri player. (The data from WCR can be used to work out an Orieni-era Centauri Navy, as well. Hell, even the likes of the Drazi and Abbai - who were active space-faring powers at the time in question - could be worked out as well, as the Drazi had countless skkirmishes, raids and incursions with the Republic, and the Abbai had to fend off Centauri attacks back in the day...)
The related background might need a bit of modificaiton here and there - for example, the Drakh referecnes in the War would need revision in order to match the current interpretation of that particular race - but is by and large good to go!
The Great Crusade.
With updated technology, new ship classes and an overwhelming desire for vengeance, the Hand of the Blessed in the late 2260s is set to make life in the Minbari Protectorate very uncomfortable indeed!
The scope for modifying or refining the story of the War and its aftermath can be more substantially modified (perhaps the Orieni made less progress than previously written when entering Protectorate space, or held their ground more successfully in later parts of the War - or perhaps a more powerful post-war Empire, sans Blessed, eschewed isolationism and lobbied for Alliance membership and focussed on hunting Drakh...)
A lot can be done with the Orieni, and I hope one day we can see both current B5 systems flesh out the Empire (and maybe the ground combat in both Wars could be seen in War Without End, as well?).
Anyone agree? Or am I just mad?
EDIT: And I just noticed that in another sci-fi universe I check up on, there is another group of fanatical worshippers of jealous ascended beings, with use the letters o, r and i in their name...
Gary
Much like drakh and shadows. Centauri kicked them bad few hundred year pre-B5 events. From quick reading of fan fiction they got pissed off at younger races for driving off vorlons and launched campaign against Minbari in 2268(too much stuff happening at that time!).
