OK...
...I have it now...
And I have to say I agree 100% with the opening statement of Greg Smith!!!
Yes, it IS great, definitely not dull. I can already see that it will become one of the most thumbed-through supplements of my Mongoose-B5 collection! :wink:
But yes, it does have several small problems, from spelling mistakes (which I don't mind at all since I myself create enough of usually that I certainly won't go around casting any stones in that direction) to conceptual errors (as mentioned in that opening post, map worlds which do not match their "status", descriptions that clash with show info - even if it's only the "lesser" show, Crusade - Lorkans!).
Some other things that I noticed:
The big map is nice, but it has inherited one problem from the Factbook map that I really, really hoped someone would correct (I did point it out repeadetly on these forums) - namely the nameless planet/system "above" Gigmos. Oh, and Praxis is missing, kind of - the name is there, the symbol is not.
The Markab are still on the map, with only their home planet "dead" and beacon-less, while the other two creater the false impression that they were still full of markab.
Instead all three should have been "Neutral/Uninhabited" at best, "Dead World" at most (which in itself is a matter of definition - when is a "dead world" a "dead world" - loss of all life or just the sentient species? And did drafa kill just the markab or also their flora and fauna - personally I tend to believe former, because of their "divine punishment" idea - you can't easily consider a plague that affects plants and animals too as punishment for immoral lives... IMO "dead world" should mean a system with no or no longer life-bearing planets. If there's as much as moss on one planet it should be "neutral-uninhabited", while as soon as there's a mining outpost on an asteroid it should be "neutral-inhabited")
All that means that after the Markab are gone, and Franklin has a cure for the plague, everyone who can get the cure (which is everyone considering EA and B5 policy on the matter of medical assistance) can go in and take these three systems. Even after Sheridan blows the Markar gate, all they need then is an explorer vessel. Which means, sooner or later someone will - most likely the EA!
Another thing that annoyed me a bit: the BG story of the Ch'lonas and Koulani was changed severely from the "The Babylon Project" info. Now while TBP didn't give much on them anyway it would have been a nice touch of whoever did that to take what they did and build from it instead of "rewriting history"...
In detail, I love the Ch'lon physical and cultural description, and I would have enjoyed it if that new had been meshed with the old "conquered by the centauri but abandoned as too much trouble after a mere decade, captured their tech then and so circumvited the nuclear age which usually destroys civilizations as agressive as they are..." idea.
As for the Koulani... I really hated the rewriting that indicated the humans won that conflict - it killed the logic of the original idea (which obviously was introduced into the BG fluff to give the early human space expansion a whack on the head and thus show them the universe was not all diplomacy as with the Centauri, but that they would need a strong military too, which explained the earthforce build-up that followed and allowed the EA to defeat the Ch'lonas and later the Dilgar...) and was soo cheesy "human ueber alles", one of the things I already learned to hate in many other mainstrean SF universes.
What's more, Koulani working as mercenaries clashed with the whole idea of a Koulani/human conflict - what mercenary would seek combat without compensation, or combat with a new possible employer. If that mercenary mindset was true, the conflict as portrayed in B5 history becomes unlikely, as then they'd have to have started with an offer instead of an attack - the original xenophobic mindset that appeared threatened by EA expansion and went for a pre-emptive strike against the hyperspace beacon before negotiations to secure a strong bargaining position makes a lot more sense.
And the idea of having them fight on both sides of the Dilgar War... well, one side I could see if they were mercenary-oriented, even though they Are a loong way from that conflict, but the Dilgar using mercenaries??? Are we talking baout the Dilgar here? Xenophobic, egoistical, and nasty? Who were (according to AoG fluff) approached by the Llort with a similar offer (of alliance/mercenary service) and didn't even consider it before invading them?
I did like the Koulani description though!
And one more thing... 2262... how come the Narn got their whoile empire back??? The show states ONLY that their homeworld was freed. The (canon) Sierra CD also states they did not get their colonies back. And what about the races They subjugated? Sorith, T'ill, Tachunq? The description says they're neutral for now, but the map still has them in narn-occupied space...
Now... logically... the Centauri left Narn, as Mollari promised. The Narn had some leftover warships... but not enough to oppose the Centauri. The Centauri would certainly have also left any major narn colony, but would certainly have kept any world without large narn population, and would certainly oppose narn reconquest of minor species.
Sooo... while the Narn have been given back Narn, and certainly Quadrant-14, and most likely also Kotak and Shu; The Centauri will either have kept Q-24 (especially cinsidering that it was the forge of the narn's navy) or decreed it a neutral system (population small enough to expatriate); while they would have no reason at all to give the narn Sorith, T'ill or Tachunq, and will have either kept them under their own giudance or more likely considering Prime Minister Mollari's options and alliances, given them indipendent status. Q-7 and Hilak on the other hand are too far away for the centauri to be of interest, but it would be doubtful if the weak narn navy could defend them against Drazi or Brakiri advances... and at best, these systems shoudl be shown as indipendents (especially on Q-7 as one realizes that after their centauri conquest and occupation the narns will be "junior partners" in any dealing with League races instead of dominant ones)
mthomason said:
For my campaign, it will be the definitive one. Anything canon that doesn't agree I'll make up an explaination for, and anything non-canon that doesn't agree is just plain wrong...
Well... almost.
I for one will have to make some small alterations for my campaign - like doing the Crusade Lorkans and altering the ones above...
But as with the other Mongoose products, I don't see them as "the final word", but an collection of ideas. Like the idea - take it, dislike the idea - leave it. After all, that's the only way I can keep liking the system, by ignoring their mistakes (both objective "oops, they did it wrong" mistakes and subjective "oh my, what were they thinking" mistakes like "minbari drow")
