Babylon 5 RPG (1st Ed.)-The Earth Alliance Fact Book

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    DESIGNSANYOTHERUNSPECIlEDINCARNATIONSOF"ABYLONCREATIVEPROPERTY

    INCLUDINGELEMENTSEITHERDERIVEDORINFERREDFROMTHE"ABYLONSETTING

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    6ERSION!NYANDALL"ABYLONLOGOSANDIDENTIFYINGMARKSANDTRADEDRESS

    INCLUDINGALL"ABYLONPRODUCTANDPRODUCTLINENAMESANYELEMENTSOFTHE

    "ABYLONSETTINGINCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTOCAPITALISEDNAMESPLANETNAMES

    ALIENSPECIESNAMESSHIPNAMESORGANISATIONNAMESCHARACTERSEQUIPMENT

    SETTINGANDHISTORICEVENTSEPISODEDESCRIPTIONSANYANDALLSTORIESSTORYLINES

    LOCATIONSPLOTSTHEMATICELEMENTSDOCUMENTSWITHINTHE"ABYLONWORLD

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    ,QWURGXFWLRQ4HE%ARTH!LLIANCEISONEOFTHEYOUNGESTSPACEFARINGNATIONSIN

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    4HROUGHOUTTHELATESTHE5NIlED%ARTH!LLIANCEGRADUALLY

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