Relics of the Past - smikesworld.dksmikesworld.dk/smworld/magazines/gm_issue04.pdf · 14 Barada...

Relics of the PastRelics of the Past

1THE GREAT MACHINEISSUE 4 February 2004 THE GREAT MACHINE


2 THE GREAT MACHINE ISSUE 4 February 2004THE GREAT MACHINE

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents

Much Welcomings!

Hello, it is Zathras here. Zathas hasgreat gift for everyone. He has found a greatmany starships. Before you see gift, Zathrasmust tell you how he found it. So you canremember Zathras, and thank Zathras for allof the starships you have, and maybe afterwin battle you give praise to Zathras for funhe gave you.

Other day, Draal tell Zathras to findFwiffo. Draal thinks he can send Fwiffohome. So Zathras go to find Fwiffo, to tellhim great news, but Fwiffo runs away fromZathras. Zathras cannot understand why, butZathras thinks it is because Zathras like topoke Fwiffo with stick for fun. So Zathrascorner Fwiffo, he does, in dark corner ofGreat Machine. Fwiffo has no escape fromZathras, but then he realise that all boxesbetween him and Fwiffo have great oldinformation in them. Soon Zathras is readingrecords about people like Aravaln, Barada,and Thrakallan and data for many new shipsfor Earth and League. Zathras thinks thatDraal wanted him to not find these boxes,but Zathras smarter than Draal. But whileZathas look at boxes, Fwiffo run past himout door. Now Zathras, he must go look forFwiffo again before Draal find out whatZathras not do.

ZATHRAS,CARETAKER

2 Introduction

3 Relics of the PastAn introduction to this issue’s focuson the creations of past designers.

3 The ModraniPaul Brown takes a look back atRob Seldon’s Modrani, a race basedon the Eldar of the BFG/W40K Universe.

8 Hammer and ScaleWhat if the Orieni had given the DraziUsuuth particle weaponry? Terry Mottexplores the topic.

11 Aravaln ProtectorateA Centauri splinter group struggles tosurvive, allying themselves with the Narnto maintain their sovereignty.

14 Barada ImperiumThis old race returns, updated fromFirst Edition to Second Edition.

18 Arion DestroyerProjectPhillip Wright updates his Arion Destroyerlineage, building on previous versions ofthe ships.

26 News From the FrontJMS teases fans with more informationon the upcoming Babylon 5 project.

27 Next Issue

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents



In this month’s issue we aretaking a fond look back at some ofthe ships and concept that havepassed before our eyes in the sevenyears since Babylon 5 Wars was firstpublished. In the early days of FirstEdition, when only the core ships werereleased and units like theThunderbolt and the Nova were notyet available, players workedfeverishly to fill in the gaps and createnew ships to use.

The original homebrews wereborn out of the need for variety, asplayers quickly found themselves alltoo familiar with the existing units. Butas more ships came into being, thisdrive towards expanding the universedid not relent. New ships, newcivilisations, new stories – all of thesefound their home in the Babylon 5Wars system.

Many of the first designs ofyesteryear are fondly remembered bythose players who have been around

long enough to have seen them. Thedesigners and in some cases the webpages upon which their work washosted, may now be gone, but theirwork and their creativeness lives on.In some cases, the works of fans hasdirectly influenced the substance ofthe game, such as the early Earth andDilgar designs by Richard Bax whichaided in the development of the DilgarWar product. Or the development ofthe concept of gunboats, an ideawhich in turn led to the introduction ofthe Light Combat Vessel. While othershave helped to influence futureplayers with their own creations, suchas Robert ‘Wraith’ Hahn’s early Drakhdesigns. But in many more cases,their achievements have been almostforgotten either on some fadedmemory of a web page or in the dustyarchives of someone’s computer.

This issue of The GreatMachine will attempt to dispel thecobwebs of time, and reintroduce thecommunity to several works of variousauthors whose content has been outof the limelight for far too long. Insome cases, the staff at The GreatMachine have worked to revitalise oldmaterial by updating it to newer fileformats and current rules for the

Excavating the Ruinsof Babylon 5 Wars

system. In other cases, we presentmaterial which has until now existedonly in scribbles upon paper and inthe dark recesses of some designer’smind. Only now have these ideas andthese ships been given form andshared with the rest of the community.It is our sincere hope, that eventhough you may not enjoy all of thedesigns here, that they are beneficialor even inspirational to thecommunity. And that in consequence,more ideas and work is accomplishedto enrich the game we all love.

You may notice that for someof these articles, the full extent of theinformation pertaining to these ideasmay not be presented. It is ourintention to make Relics of the Past aregular addition to the Great Machine,and that in future more informationabout the races presented herein andthose ideas which have yet to berevisited, will become available forone and all to enjoy. Thus allowing usto reminisce about days gone by, whileworking to forward the game systemin each player’s own unique way.

* * *



Origins of a New RaceSometime in the last quarter

of 1999 Rob Seldon, a fairlyprominent member of the B5Warscommunity, approached me viaemail to create some SCSes for anew race he was developing. Iagreed, and he began sending medata as to specifications of his shipsand also directed me towardspictures which I would use for thesilhouettes of the vessels. Over ayear or so, I produced a total of tenSCSes for him. He asked me to keepthem secret, as he eventuallyplanned to submit them to AoG forpublication. But as everyone knows,it came to be that AoG would not bepublishing anymore, and Rob Seldoneventually drifted away from thecommunity for reasons unknown.Here, on my hard drive, have theseSCSes sat for some three or fouryears. With this issue of the GreatMachine geared towards relics ofthe past, I thought I would dust offthese ships and give them a properPDF treatment for your enjoyment.Recent attempts to contact him havefailed miserably, so I hope that Rob

will not mind if I share his creationswith the community at large.

I present to you a brief lookat the history and society of theModrani, along with four of their mostcommon designs. I should note thatnone of what I have written belowhas anything in common with Rob’soriginal vision. Simply put, I only sawthe SCSes of the Modrani and assuch only know the SCSes. Thehistory and the characteristics of thisnew race were never revealed to me,only the game mechanics. What littleI know is that the Modrani wereapproaching Minbari tech level andwere originally inspired by the Eldarof BFG and W40K. So what I havedone is tried to create a proxy historyfor the Modrani, which may be verywell be overruled should Rob everreturn to the community and releasethe true history himself. The SCSesas they are seen here are true totheir originals, I have made nochanges save for some names ofthe weapons and new icons toreplace the original proxies.Originally, the Laser Pike wasnamed Laser Lance, Medium BlastLaser was simply Standard LaserCannon, and in the same veinTachyon Torpedo was StandardTorpedo. The Tachyon Streamer wasoriginally Tachyon Stream Cannon,but I shortened it to fit the weapondata box. Aside from the SCSes

presented herein, Ihave five more ships

and one more fighter toupdate to PDF. Along with that

I have an email listing variousunits Rob had hoped to one day

have me make as well. While theyhave no data associated with them,I will try my best to fill in the blanks.Most or all of these units should bereleased in a later Great Machine. Ihope everyone will look over thesedesigns and possibly try them out,as they seem to have a nice flavourto them which should not beoverlooked.

The Modrani of Muran IIThe Modrani are a fairly

advanced race whose domain liesanti-spinward of the HyachGerontocracy and Ipsha Baronies.Their government is essentially ademocracy ruled by a small electedbody, with an Empress as head ofstate. While the Empress orEmperor holds absolute power overthe government, this power isseldom used. The position is largelyoutdated and has only remained forthe sake of tradition. As their titlesuggests, the Modrani hold traditionand ancestry very dearly. TheModrani are very aware of theirroots, history and the pastaccomplishments of people withinboth their society and lineage. In afashion more akin to oral cultures, aprominent Modrani is addressed inreference to their parentage ratherthan their family name. To be the sonor daughter of a distinguished parentcan often grant the child specialprivileges such as preference tomilitary academy or opportunities intowhichever trade the parent(s) may

A Look Back at Rob Seldon’s

Lost ProjectBy Paul Brown



have been distinguished in. Whilethis offers an individual the chanceto prove one’s self, it does notprovide them with a ’free ride‘; eachperson must still prove their worthand ability. The son of an Admiral forinstance may be given preferencefor officer school, but should theyprove a poor tactician they will notearn a commission. To a degree thisprevents the induction of individualsinto positions for which they are illsuited based solely upon their familyname, such as the trend found withinthe Centauri Republic Royal Navy.But what it does allow for is theexploitation of hereditary orenvironmental trends which maypass down the ability to exceed in agiven profession.

The Modrani were kept to theconfines of their own system at thetime of the previous Shadow War,having only developed limited spaceflight. The means to travel intohyperspace were not readilyavailable within Muran as it was inother systems. For a time theModrani advanced their technologythrough the colonisation of Muran’sother planets and internal conflict. In1423 the Hyach Gerontocracystumbled into their space and begana dialogue with the Modrani. Amongthe exchange of both ideas andtechnology was the means for theModrani to build their own jumpdrives. The trade agreement andrelationship between the twopeoples did not last long as theHyach soon began their retreat intoisolation. This left the Modrani freeto expand into their adjacentsystems, where they were eventuallymet by other powers.

Though most of theirneighbours were relatively peaceful,a rival power to the Modrani quicklydrew them into armed conflict. Aftera brief period of intense warfare, theheated conflict degraded into a cold

war. Relations between the two havenever improved, and periodic raidsand skirmishes have taken placeever since. While the Modrani werestrengthening their border, theirattention turned to other neighbours.The Hyach who had originally helpedthem now became the focus of newaggression. As a people, theModrani are forever celebrating theformer glory of their ancestors andtrying to better theiraccomplishments. The Hyach then,who had become more isolationistic,appeared as an affront to thesevalues. Through their abandonmentof previous systems they had thrownaway that which their ancestors hadstrove to gain. The Modrani began aseries of raids into Hyach space, outof both principle or to prove theirworth in battle, and more importantlyin an effort to gain new technologies.Though initial attacks were met withhigh casualty rates, they eventuallywere partially successful. TheModrani were after a time able toreverse engineered some of thetechnologies for their own use.

In the years since, theModrani have focused on betteringtheir society and their technology.After having gained a technologicaledge on their main rivals, they werebetter able to fend off their attacks.In the interim they have alsodeveloped new technologies, withparticular focus on tachyon

weaponry anddefensive systems.The Modrani havealso continued theirsporadic intrusions intoneighbouring territory.Attacks against convoys, or

unwarranted entries into Hyachspace are relatively frequent. Whilenot typically a part of a long-termmilitary plan, Modrani captains seekto prove their worth in battle againsteither the Hyach or some of theirother neighbours. The military brassallows and authorises these attacksto continually better their militarystrategy. Oddly enough such attackshave not led to any escalation inhostilities. The Hyach for their partsimply did not respond to theseattacks initially because of theirmove towards isolation. In the yearssince, the military has come to seethe value of these intrusions. Onseveral occasions the Gerontocracywas moving to drastically scale backthe naval fleet, only to have anotherModrani incursion raise fears anddispel those plans. The conflict isnow kept relatively secret outside ofmilitary circles, and the Hyach haveno plans to respond with greaterforce. This may in part be due to theshift in the nature of Modrani tactics.Initially these intrusions wereinstituted with the basis of affirmingtheir own societal beliefs. Since then,they have evolved into somethingbordering on tradition. A strikeagainst the Hyach or anotherneighbour is almost seen as a rightof passage. And more oddly thanthat, a mutual understanding and



code of conduct has been bornbetween both the Hyach andModrani captains. And while not allfollow it, many of the veterans whopatrol the border between theirpeoples engage in battles whosenature borders on war games.While casualties are certainly takenon both sides, it is seldom thatships are destroyed in battle.Instead a ship will bow out, or‘surrender’ and each side will returnto their territories. Several of theopposing captains have becomequite familiar with one another. Theyview each other as old friends andtake joy in out-manoeuvring theother in games of cat and mouse.

Despite the Modrani desire toexceed, both throughout society andwithin the military, this same ideologyhas stopped them from enteringmajor conflict. They learned earlythat war not only invigorates apeople, but it destroys as well. Andthe Modrani are more concernedwith not loosing record or evidenceof past accomplishments, thansurpassing these recordsthemselves. Thus conflict, whilecertainly frequent, has only once ledto open warfare. But through the endof the 2250s it became apparent thattimes were changing. Neighbourswere being turned against oneanother, and the Modrani may verylikely move once again into fullwarfare. More than likely it will be awar fought with one of their anti-spinward neighbours and a warwhich will not be won quickly oreasily.

Modrani WeaponryThe Modrani employ a variety

of Tachyon weapons which theyhave developed independently.These include such examples asTachyon Streamers, Pulsers andTorpedoes. Tachyon weapons follow

all normal rules, they are onlydistinguished for the sake of clarityand for such devices as adaptivearmour. The Modrani also employsome weaponry gleaned from theHyach such as the Medium BlastLaser which is a derivative of themore powerful version.

Tachyon ShieldingThe Modrani’s greatest

accomplishment has come in theform of their defensive shielding. Thetechnology was born out of theneeds of Modrani fleet doctrine. TheModrani prefer highly manoeuvrableships with fast firing weaponry. Butin order to gain this agility they’vemade sacrifices in other areas suchas armour and structure. In order toalleviate this problem with theminimal amount of weight increase,the Modrani have developed a newtype of defence called TachyonShielding. Tachyon shielding is a veryeffective form of defensive shield incomparison to EM and GraviticShielding, however due to unstablenature of the technology and itstremendous power requirements itis impossible to provide constantcoverage, even in times of battle.

Thus while the shield is moreeffective against individual fire, itsunstable nature also allows holesand windows in the shielding,permitting enemy fire to bypass itcompletely. This detriment hasprompted other powers to not pursuethe technology, though the Modranihave for the most part embraced it.

Tachyon Shielding differs inseveral ways from Electro-Magneticand Gravitic Shielding. The firstmajor difference is the lack of needfor projectors on the exterior of theship. Tachyon shielding requiresonly a generator, typically mountedin the primary, which provides a 360’arc of coverage unless otherwisenoted. The second difference is thatthe defensive rating of the shieldapplies not just against the onevolley of a weapon, but to all sub-volleys. Thus each individual rake,pulse, or whatever is affected by theshielding. And finally, while extremelyeffective the shield may bebypassed by enemy fire. For eachshot against a shielded target, roll1d10. Should the result be less than4, the shield will not be effectiveagainst the shot. Which means thatthe shot neither uses the modifieddefensive profile, nor suffers areduction in damage.

Ships and Fighters

Trakkis CorvetteThe Trakkis is the main light

attack ship used by the Modrani.Utilising a Medium Blast Laser anda pair of Tachyon Pulsers, theTrakkis is able to provide a sustainedamount of deadly fire. Though asingle barrage from a Trakkis is notoverwhelming, over a period of timethe damage it dishes out will causeeven the largest warships tosuccumb to destruction. Its excellentmanoeuvrability enables it to place



these attacks where the enemy ismost vulnerable. The weaponry ofthe Trakkis, combined with defensiveGatling Arrays are effective againstboth ships and fighters enabling it todouble as a screening escort.Decent armour along with a level 2tachyon shield enables it to enduresome punishment before forced toretire from the battle.

Rassik Attack CruiserThe Rassik Attack Cruiser is

similar to the Ka’Toc Battlecruiser inthat it is designed to operate in timesof conflict. With a short operatingrange, the Cruiser is ill suited topatrolling or border defence of anykind. The arc and placement of itsweaponry makes it a poor choice foreven planetary defence. Instead theRassik is best suited for one thing,attacking. High manoeuvrabilitycombined with concentrated arcs offire are best utilised when the Rassikhas the initiative. Used either instrikes against enemy fleets or staticinstallations, the Rassik is effectivein an aggressive fleet. In larger fleetengagements, the Rassik is oftenheld in reserve, until the fleet co-ordinator can best utilise them. Withits high speed the ship can becomean effective flanking weapon or usedto penetrate holes in the enemy’sscreening defences, allowing for adecisive strike against the rearwardcommand or support elements.

Many Rassiks are kept inmothballs during times of peace,though a fair number still remain inactive service in defensive responsefleets or as peacetime raiders.

Vorissi Patrol CruiserThe Vorissi Patrol Cruiser

forms the core of the Modranidefence fleets. Designed as a jack-of-all trade ship, the Vorissi is wellequipped to deal with most

situations. Primary weapon mountsinclude a mix of laser and tachyonweaponry, all of which use relativelyshort recharge times, allowing for ahigh volume of fire. The ship is alsoequipped with a squadron of fightersto be used as the captain sees fit. Afair amount of structure combinedwith a Strength 3 Tachyon shield,make the ship especially resilient toenemy attacks. Internal stores allowfor a long operating range for deepspace and border patrols. Its onepossible failing, is the use of ballisticweaponry in the form of two Tachyontorpedo launchers. The weapon’srelatively small ammunition load ispartially offset by the inclusion of areload rack, yet in a prolongedfirefight the ammunition stores willrun dry relatively quickly.

Vorissis are commonlypaired with Trakkis or Shannikescorts during their patrols of theModrani border. Though suchcombinations tend to reduceoperating time as the Vorissi isrequired to supplement the storesonboard the escorts. These patrolsare then in turn rotated with in-system fleets.

Zarkad Medium FighterThe Zarkad is the standard

interceptor of the Modrani navy. Fastand manoeuvrable, the Zarkad packsa serious punch in the form of aTachyon Gatling Gun. The gun ishighly effective with advancedtargeting systems found onboard thefighter, which are the equal of nearlyany fighter in the quadrant. Part ofthis accuracy is attained through aprecise, manoeuvring computerwhich aids the pilot in acquiring andmaintaining the target. Thismanoeuvrability does not comewithout cost. The Zarkad, like therest of the Modrani navy, hasminimal armour which is easily

Sustained andPiercing Weapons

Some of the questionsasked most frequently by playersare in regards to those weaponsthat fire only in sustained orpiercing modes. These types ofweapons lack any other firingmode and have many specialproperties, but properties thatoften confuse players.

Sustained Only WeaponsWeapons noted in the

weapon data card as firing onlyin sustained mode do not requireany extra application of power inorder to fire in sustained mode.Any extra power needed for firingin sustained mode is included inthe normal power requirement ofthe weapon. However, thesustained fire only weapons muststill take a one turn cooldown afterfiring.

Piercing Only WeaponsNormally, weapons with a

piercing mode available incur a -4 OEW penalty in order to fire inpiercing mode. This is not thecase with weapons that fire onlyin piercing mode. Those weaponsthat can fire only in piercing modeignore this penalty completely!This precedent was set with theAbbai Combat Laser andcontinued through into otherpiercing-only weapons, such asthe Yolu Destabilizer beam.

pierced by even the weakest ofweaponry. A partial Tachyon Fieldincreases its resistance to damage,but because the field may only coverone quadrant at a time it makes thefighter susceptible to attacks frommultiple directions.

* * *



In the years leading up to theGreat War, the Orieni Military, knownas the Hand of the Blessed, had abranch in charge of certaindiplomatic efforts. One of thesesecret projects, ultimately the onethat led to the beginning of full-scalewar, was the attempt to sway theDrazi Freehold into an allianceagainst the Centauri. Unfortunatelyfor the Orieni, the Freehold in this erawas even far more fractured andfactional than the Drazi of themodern day. That didn’t stop theOrieni from trying, and like other non-combat branches of the Hand, the“Diplomatic” branch would continueits efforts throughout the war.

The Orieni attempt to bribethe Drazi began with only subtletechnological assistance, but theDrazi could not be bought so cheapand eventually the Orieni “traders”were forced to provide more obviousassistance, including Orieni-built anddesigned components and systems.This, in fact was what lead to the

outbreak of war, as a Drazi raidership was captured with an Orienitechnician aboard. The Centauriwere quick to act, and the Universehas not been the same since.

The Drazi faction that hadreceived the greatest amount ofassistance from the Orieni wasquickly singled out and crushed bythe Centauri before the Drazi couldbe united. The Drazi would continuethe raiding that had been theirstandard since they firstencountered other races, but theywould not become the Second Frontthat the Orieni had hoped for.

This setback did not stop theDiplomatic Branch of the Hand fromcontinuing their efforts. In theopening phases of the war , theywould come upon a technologicalwindfall that they hoped could bribeanother Drazi faction to their side,without costing them anything. Thiswindfall was the spoils gained fromconquering the Usuuth. Stockpiles ofUsuuth weapons, useless to theOrieni military, were given to theDiplomatic Branch to use as theysaw fit. The Diplomatic Branch sawa use for the Usuuth weaponry intheir efforts to initiate a second frontin the war. The weapons, while yearsbehind Orieni technology, were a

step above Drazi capabilities. Theywere given wholesale to any Drazifaction that could provide thetransport to take the weapons home,as an incentive for the Drazi to go towar.

The deal seemed too goodto be true and for the most part itwas. While the Drazi were given theweapons, the Orieni withheld thetechnological support needed by theDrazi to maintain the weapons.Drazi scientists were only partiallyable to decipher the new tech, butthey did find the weapons to beworthwhile. The Drazi had earlierstumbled upon the key that allowedthem to be one of the first races tofield the Standard Particle Beam.This weapon was actually yearsahead of both the Centauri andOrieni advances in that field, alongwith the impressive Particle Cannon.But the Usuuth weaponry had acertain flavor which appealed to theDrazi. They inflicted large,concentrated blasts doingsubstantial damage to enemy ships.The Drazi found little fault in thosequalities. Though the slower rate offire and lower fire controls were laterseen as problematic, in thebeginning the largest hurdle was thelack of comprehensive

A New Vision ofPost-Orieni War

Drazi Ship DesignsBy Terry “Madoka” Mott



understanding and the subsequentinability to maintain the weapons asthey were used or becamedamaged. However, the Orieni planhad one major flaw. By giving theDrazi factions as many of theUsuuth weapons as they couldtransport home, the Orieni allowedthe Drazi to simply stockpilereplacements. The Drazi once againfailed to materialize as an allyagainst the Centauri.

The Drazi, for their part, weremore than happy to take the Orienihandouts and watch the war fromthe sidelines. The victorious Centauriwould be a nuisance following thewar, but they would eventually recedethrough internal conflict andeconomic collapse. The Drazi wouldtake their spoils from the war and runwith them.

Of the Usuuth weaponsreceived by the Drazi, the ParticleProjector and its light variant werequickly discarded or put in the ‘partsand components’ pile. The Drazi hadlittle use for these weapons, as theirhomegrown Standard Particle Beamwas more advanced and moreeffective .On the other hand, theHeavy Particle Projector and ParticleHammer were of particular interestto the Drazi, primarily due to theirlarge standard damage blasts.

The Heavy Particle Projectorwould be the first of these two to seedeployment in the Drazi arsenal, iffor no other reason than that theParticle Hammer was actually toobig to be mounted on the small Drazivessels. Due to various factors suchas a lack of Orieni technical support,Drazi understanding, and somewhatlimited replacements, the weaponwould initially see service on only afew hull variants .

The Sunshrike would be thefirst ship to field the Heavy ParticleProjector. An uncommon Shrikevariant, the Sunshrike replaces the

base hull’s Particle Cannons withHeavy Particle Projectors. Whenfirst introduced in 2017, theSunshrike would be victim to theoccasional weapons misfiring, butDrazi captains appreciated theHPPs ability to quickly degradeenemy structural integrity. Theuncommon Shrieking Peregrinefollowed in 2025, likewise replacingthe Particle Cannons of the basehull, though it also suffered from thesame problems inherent in theSunshrike.

In 2045 Drazi scientistswould finally make the breakthroughsthat would allow them to not onlymaintain the HPP, eliminatingdangerous weapons misfires, but toalso reverse engineer the weaponand both upgrade and improve uponthe original. This progress wouldeventually lead to the introduction ofthe Drazi Particle Blaster, a weaponthat trades damage for an increasedrate of fire and better fire control.

The Sunshrike and ShriekingPeregrine would become commonvariants in 2045, though the Shrikeand Peregrine themselves would notbe fully replaced until the deploymentof the Sunhawk and Stormfalconship series.

As for the Particle Hammer,the Drazi immediately recognized ause for these weapons in upgradingtheir defensive installations.Replacing both Particle Cannons ofthe Dudroma OSAT with a singleParticle Hammer was seen as awonderful idea. Though thevolume of fire from the OSATwas significantly reduced,the increased range andconcentrated damagecould not be ignored.This was especiallysignificant as theCentauri had oftend e m o n s t r a t e dtheir superior

range to fixed Drazi defences, asthey had shown their inability toweather the defensive fire. T h eDrazi also examined the possibilityof upgrading their Kromala DefenseBase. When the Particle Hammerproved to be far too large a weaponfor a simple weapon swap, Draziengineers introduced an idea stillprevalent in modern-day Drazibases. Rather than, removing all ofthe weapons from a section to makespace for a Particle Hammer, theDrazi instead added subsections.Wedged between the four standardsections of the Kromala, thesesubsections would simply be hugeturrets, each housing a singleParticle Hammer and a reactorpowerful enough to supply the hugeweapon. The Drazi would also takethis opportunity to replace the agingHeavy Plasma Cannons of theKromala with the Heavy ParticleProjectors. The resultingKromala(upgrade) would very muchresemble the modern day Brostilli.

The Dudroma-C andKromala(upgraded) fielding theParticle Hammer would eventuallybe replaced by the Shodroma andBrostilli, as Drazi inroads with theHammer technology would in partlead to the Heavy Particle Cannon.

* * *



by Mike Walloch

Editor’s Note: Another ofMike Walloch’s creations during histenure in the Babylon 5 Warscommunity, the Aravaln are a lookat a former-Centauri colony worldthat broke away from the Republicand sustained itself through weaponand ship contracts with the NarnRegime.

All of the text and ship controlsheets included for the Aravaln comefrom Mike Walloch’s Babylon 5Wars Page: http://users.aristotle.net/~aron/b5w.htm.

GeographyThe Aravaln Protectorate is a

small nation occupying a single starsystem. Its one habitable planet,Araval, is notthe model of fertility. Itis an arid world and much of thesurface is quite barren. There aresome comfortable regions whichhave thriving self-sufficient cities.There are also a number ofunderground or domed communitieswhich import much of their food andwater. But the true wealth of the worldand its system is in minerals. Almostall of its industry is based on mining.

HistoryIn the glory days of the

Centauri Republic Araval was aCentauri colony on the outer edges

of their territory. In addition to theCentauri population large numbers ofslaves were imported fromneighboring subject races to work themines. A sizeable military garrisonwas also assigned to the colony tocontrol the slaves and protect themineral-rich system.

As the Centauri’s slave racesbegan breaking away from theRepublic, the Araval system becameincreasingly less cost-effective forthem. In the early 2200’s the Emperorreassigned the local military garrisoncloser to Centauri Prime, leavingAraval with only a handful of armedfreighters and a few squadrons oflight fighters for defense.

At the time the local CentauriGovernor was an outspoken liberalfrom a powerful family. His viewshowever, did not win him manyfriends among his family or theCentaurum however. He wasassigned to govern the Araval systemmainly to get him far away fromCentauri Prime. When the Emperor“left Araval to the wolves” by pullingthe garrison away the Governor wasoutraged. He declared the colonyindependent and formed aprovisional government. TheEmperor barely noticed. The slavesattempted to take advantage of theCentauri’s weakness by revolting,thought they were unsuccessful. Butthe governor knew that the next

revolt, or the one after that, would notfail. He realized that his police forcelacked the numbers to keep so manyslaves in check, slaves which heneeded to continue working.

As a solution he proposed,what was for a Centauri at the time,a radical idea. He offered all of theslaves their freedom and transportaway from Araval, or citizenship inexchange for their loyalty to theprovisional government. Hisproposition was helped by the factthat he was a fair and even-handedgovernor. He had stopped manyabuses of the slaves and improvedtheir working conditions dramaticallysince his appointment. Also, as manyof the slaves had been born onAraval and really had no where elseto go. In the end most acceptedcitizenship while the remainder leftwithin a few years.

GovernmentOver time the government of

Araval has evolved into the AravalnProtectorate. It is a Republic, of akind. The highest position is theProtector, who holds most of thepower. He creates, changes, orrevokes laws by decree. All of thesedecrees, however, must be firstratified by an Assembly before theybecome law. The citizens elect 100representatives to the Assembly.Each citizen gets one vote and canvote for any citizen of theProtectorate for an Assembly seat.The 100 citizens who get the mostvotes gain a seat in the Assembly for

Aravaln ProtectorateAravaln ProtectorateAravaln ProtectorateAravaln ProtectorateAravaln Protectorate



five years. The Protector chooseshis or her own successor, but thatsuccessor must also be ratified bythe Assembly. The Protector servesfor ten years and then must stepdown, although he can, and oftendoes, take a seat in the Assembly.Also the Assembly can vote an out-of-control or unpopular Protector outof office early. One problem with thissystem is that when someone in theAssembly dies the 101st mostpopular person from the last electiontakes his seat. Subsequentlyassassinations are not an unheardof method of advancement. OneProtector was assassinated whenhis opponents lacked sufficient votesto remove him legally.

SocietyCulturally, the Protectorate is

a unique patchwork of separate sub-cultures. The different races all tendto keep to themselves, living insegregated districts or cities. TheAravaln Centauri do not have anygreat love for the Centauri Republicwhich taxed them nearly to deathand then only to abandon them. Theydo not dress like other Centauri, norwear their hair in Centauri styles, andvery few worship Centauri gods.Their clothing is generally moresubdued and practical than what ispopular in the Republic. Loose-fittinggarments which breathe well arebest suited for Araval’s climate. Theyaccentuate their clothing with jewelrymade from local gems and metals,but they tend not to match their

cousin’s excess. Men normally weartheir hair very short. Women tendtowards long hair, but avoid the top-knots common with women of theRepublic.

MilitaryAlmost immediately after

succession the Protectorate beganattempting to acquire real militaryships to defend themselves. Theydid not have facilities for building theirown non-atmospheric ships or manyof the luxuries a more populous andadvanced society can offer. But theydid have something the fledglingNarn Regime needed, raw materials.The Narn, also recently liberated fromthe Centauri Republic, werecranking out ships for their ownfleets. So the Protectorate struck adeal with them to trade materials forship hulls, technological aid, andother goods. As a result, most oftheir fleet is comprised of refittedNarn hulls. This trade arrangementprobably also saved them from beingconquered by the Narn Regime, asthe Narn were already benefitingfrom the Aravaln mineral wealthwithout having to put up the time andresources to conquer, hold,administer, and mine it themselves.

The ships of the Protectoratetend to be built with a single taskorientation. The idea is to build a shipwhich serves one function and doesit very well. This philosophy cameabout from a realization that theydidn’t have the technological orindustrial power to produce good

well-rounded ships. There are a fewweapon factories on Araval whichproduce pulse cannons, particlebeams, and missile racks. Theseweapons are used almostexclusively in their fleet. They do notoperate any of the Narn’s specialweapons such as energy mines andburst beams, as the Narn are notwilling to sell them that technology.They have also avoided the use ofthe Twin Array as it is a moreexpensive weapon to build andoperate than Light Pulse Cannons orStandard Particle Beams. For longrange firepower they have acquiredClass-L missile racks from armsdealers out of Earth. They can buildall of the missile types that Class-Lracks can be loaded with, but theyhave no access to the moreadvanced racks of the EA.

Protectorate ships do nothave a standardized paint scheme.Instead each captain determines thecolor scheme of his ship. Some aresomber and subdued while othersare painted in garishly bright patterns.Captains who are assigned to a newship sometimes keep the old paintjob and sometimes they have it re-painted at their own personalexpense. However, all military shipsin the fleet have the emblem of theProtectorate, a seven-pointed star,prominently displayed.

The young and adventurousof the Protectorate sometimes hireout as mercenaries to other powersand corporations. In some cases,they turn to piracy. There is no



restriction to the ownership of militarygrade equipment by private citizens,thus the mercenaries often haveidentical ships to those found withinthe Protectorate’s fleet.

Ships of theProtectorate

Sovereign DreadnoughtThe Sovereign class is the

most expensive design theProtectorate has evercommissioned. These ships serveas fleet command vessels and areoften the only jump capable ship insmall fleets. For that reason theProtectorate chose to spare noexpense in their construction, aslosing a Sovereign can mean adecisive defeat. They are moreheavily armed and armored thaneither the Narn G’Quonth AttackCruiser or the G’Lan CommandCruiser, but they sacrifice somemeasure of maneuverabilityfor it. They are stillsomewhat

more maneuverable than the NarnBin’Tak Dreadnought, but not much.They carry no fighters, like theG’Quonth, but with their massivearray of pulse weapons enemyfighters should only approach aftercareful consideration. TheProtectorate also decided toincrease the ship’s Sensor ability toincrease its survivability and lethality.With their budget and designconstraints they still could not quiteafford to boost them to levels equalof the G’Lan or Bin’Tak, but they didmanage to match the Var’Nic’ssensors.

Instigator Jump CarrierThese highly modified

T’Loths serve almost always as fleetsupport ships. They are one of thefew jump capable ship classes theProtectorate operates. Their task isto open jump gates and carryfighters to and from a battle. Theyare not designed to engage the

enemy directly, but ratherare intended hang backand let the fighters and

n o n - j u m p

capable ships do the work. Theycarry no large anti-ship weapons buthave a large array of StandardParticle Beams for anti-fighter anddefensive purposes. Instigators aresomewhat lacking compared to thecarriers of other races as they canonly carry light fighters and can onlylaunch a quarter of their capacity ata time.

Subversive SupportCruiser

This dual-purpose ship fillsthe two roles of electronic supportand Assault, being the only designoperated by the Protectorate foreither purpose. It mounts only lightdefensive weapons to dissuade itscaptains from taking it into directcombat. Only a few of them werepurchased from the Narn and theProtectorate does not wish to riskthem lightly. The designers hopedthat the Subversive’s non-threatingarmament would cause enemies tooverlook it in preference to moredangerous ships.

The only modifications to theNarn Sho’Kar are the replacementof it’s Twin Arrays and Burst Beamswith Light Pulse Cannons and therefitting of it’s hanger bay to carry

assault shuttles instead offighters. The shuttles

were utilized so thatthe Protectorate did

not need to operate asecond class ofexpensive support shipwhich would only be



used for the extremely rare groundassault mission. In the majority ofsituations the Subversive performsstrictly in it’s ELINT or Jumpshipcapacity, when this is the case itoften carries Guardian EscortShuttles instead of assault shuttles.The Guardians stay close to theSubversive shielding it from fightersand intercepting ship based fire.

Protector Light CruiserThis is the Protectorate’s

Ship-of-the-Line. Lighter than thecruisers of other races, it is intendedto be both effective in its roll andeconomical. Its combination ofmoderate anti-fighter defenses, goodanti-ship punch, and full fightersquadron make it capable ofpatrolling alone or operating on thefront lines in a fleet action. It is basedon the Ka’Toc hull, and like mostAravaln ships, has no jump drive.

Heretic DestroyerThe Heretic Destroyer

serves as the fleet’s dedicatedwarships. Two of the Rongoth’s aftlight weapons have been removedto make room for a single HeavyPulse Cannon mounted to the aftstructure. This modification wasperformed to ensure that the shipretained some heavy anti-shipfirepower in the event it’s forwardsection was lost in combat.However the Aravaln engineers wereunable to give it better armor thanthe light weapons it replaced. Thefour Twin Arrays found on the Narn

Rongoth were replaced by LPC’s, asthe Protectorate does not use theweapon. These changes reduce theships overall anti-fighter weaponryfrom 6 weapons to 4 weapons whichis partially offset by the LPC’sgreater utility against fighters. It does,however, drastically reduce theHeretic’s intercept capabilities, asthe LPCs are no match for TwinArrays in that role. The advantage ofthe extra HPC is improved anti-shippunch, which is the ship’s primaryrole. Therefore the trade off wasconsidered well worth it.

Heretic’s are built for combatand serve no other function. They areintended to be tough, yet economicaland expendable. Crew comforts areminimal and Spartan, with the crewsoften rotated to other vessels ensureno serious degradation of morale.

Reaver Destroyer EscortThere are only a few of these

old ships in the Aravaln fleet. Whenthe Centauri Republic pulled themajority of the garrison away fromthe colony the Governor managed toacquire a few Vorchan hulls. Most ofthe ships previously hadtheir jump drivesremoved, with anyremaining drives strippedthereafter The PlasmaAccelerators and TwinArrays, when present inthe first place, were alleventually replaced withlocally manufacturedPulse Cannons. To cover the

Vorchan’s blind spot and fill the holeleft by the jump drive an aft firingMPC was added. This newconfiguration was renamed and hasbeen serving the fleet for manyyears. When Reavers are lost theyare not replaced, as additionalVorchan hulls are not available to theProtectorate and newer ships fill thesame role just as well, if not better.

Zealot Light FighterThis is the standard fighter of

the Protectorate. Designed and builton Araval, it is essentially a ParticleCannon with a large engine and acockpit. Long and thin, it presents asmall target to those directly aheador behind it. It mounts a single ParticleCannon in lieu of the dual light gunsused by most light fighter craft. Thisis to ensure it can punch throughheavily armored targets, be theyships or heavy fighters. A fragile craft,Zealots rely on swarm tactics andmaking themselves difficult targets.They are atmosphere capable andlarge numbers of them are stationedat bases on Araval as part of the

Aravaln PlanetaryDefense Forces.

* * *



By Alex Fulton

Editor’s Note: In revisingand distributing the Barada fluff andships I would have liked to recognizethe individual or individuals thatcreated this early Babylon 5 Warsfan race. Unfortunately, the authorof the works did not sign their nameto it . The Barada, like the Markonand Klaatu, were hosted off of Alex“Xander” Fulton’s website, and thatis where I found them. Does anyoneknow who they belong to?

BackgroundThe Barada have really been

in space for a fantastically short time.Only in the past one or two decadesdid they actually achieve spacetravel. Hyperspace is so new tothem, that they have not yet equippedany of their production ships withjump drives.

The Barada have hadseveral long “cold wars” on theirhomeworld. The result is that by thetime they got to space they hadsubstantially advanced their owntechnology. However, they did nothave the exposure to othertechnologies to develop or copy thatmost other races did. They alsowere quite confident that they werethe only race in the universe and sowere not too terribly intent on creating

a space navy. What they had, initially,was only for use in fighting otherBarada ships in a potential war.

Their first contact withanother species was, unfortunately,from a rather biased point of view. In2229 the Barada were contacted bythe Markon. The Markon portrayedthemselves as the foremost race inthe galaxy, a symptom of Markonracial pride in action. They told theBarada about a race called theNep’ta’le. They claimed Nep’ta’lewere foul aggressors who hadconquered a Markon world andenslaved its population, a statementwhich was not exactly true but closeenough from their point of view.

The Barada agreed to forman alliance with the Markon againstthe Nep’ta’le. In return the Markongave them jump engine technology,which was severely restrictedbecause of their lack of Q40, andconstructed a jump gate in theirsystem. The Markon told the Baradathat the Nep’ta’le were horriblyaggressive and that it was in theirbest interests to prepare for war.The Barada expected this conflict tobe akin to the cold wars on their ownplanet, consisting of a lot ofdiplomatic maneuvering, minorskirmishes, shows of force, and soforth.

The Markon, however, havingsecured outside assistance,

immediately declared war on theNep’ta’le, dragging the Barada alongfor the ride. The Barada did not fairwell in the subsequent war, duemainly to their inferior technology.After a disastrous opening battle, theBarada showed a remarkable lackof enthusiasm in the war. To be sure,they supported it with their troops.However, the navy rarely left portand, when it did, it refused todecisively engage the enemy.

After a string of defeats, theBarada navy was finally taken out ofthe war for good when a Nep’ta’lefleet performed a two-prongedattack on the Barada homeworld.The plan was for two Nep’ta’le fleetsto arrive via the two Barada jumpgates, they would then destroy eachgate, and head toward a pointbetween the two. Once the twofleets had assembled, they would beable to jump out through a combatcarrier ’s jump point. In thesubsequent battle, the jump gate inthe outer system was destroyed, andthe gate in orbit of Barada wasdamaged beyond repair.

While focusing their effortson removing the Barada from thewar, the Nep’ta’le were weakenedlong enough for the Markon to “takeback” Noububar. It was a short-livedvictory, however, as the DilgarInvasion forced the Markon to retreatfrom the world to defend theirhomeworld. Luckily for the Baradathey were ignored by the Dilgarbecause there was little of valuewithin their system and they did not

Barada ImperiumBarada ImperiumBarada ImperiumBarada ImperiumBarada Imperium



even possess a jump gate. Thus theNep’ta’le did the Barada a favor in acertain sense. Eventually a Centauridelegation arrived and helped torepair the damaged jump gate inreturn for “trinkets” in a similar veinto what they did when they firstvisited Earth.

AppearanceThe Barada resemble

overgrown hamsters with asignificant grizzly-bear influence.Almost all Barada are dark brown orblack. They are not violent by nature,but when they choose to be, they canbecome quite aggressive. They are,as a whole, a very intelligent species.

HistoryThe Barada, despite

embarking on numerous “cold wars”are typically quite peaceful. The warsthey did fight were almost alwaysover ideological issues. They neverstarted a war to acquire resourcesor territory. Their first major war thatdid not fit this description was theNep’ta’le-Markon War of 2229. Afterthis, the Barada realized that thegalaxy did not fight the way they didand they were forced to change theirconstruction plans for ships andfighters.

They were spared theCentauri occupation that many of theLeague of Non-Aligned Worldssuffered because they were so

backward. They had enoughtechnology, albeit primitive, to effecta resistance to any such attempt.The Centauri saw a world that hadlittle resources to speak of,especially the much sought-afterQuantium 40, and would alsorequire a significant amount of effort,time, and troops to occupy. Inaddition, the Barada had nodistinguishing features that wouldmake them good slave workers.Since they posed no threat to theRepublic, the Centauri essentiallyignored them.

Star SystemThe Barada star system is

very large. It consists of some 15planets, with the Barada homeworldbeing the fourth from the sun. Thereare two asteroid belts in the system,between the 5th and 6th planet andanother between the 13th and 14thplanets. The 15th planet (where theKlaatu built a jump gate) is about twoweeks travel from the Baradahomeworld at standard intra-systemspeeds.

The Barada homeworld isvery fertile and green. Those thathave seen it describe it as a “lushgarden.” The temperature is rathercool, about 50-60 degree Fahrenheityear round, and there is a perpetualcool mist in the air. If not for theconstant Barada curiosity, theywould have likely never have left theirhomeworld.

Political AlliancesThe Barada have not been in

space long enough to form allianceswith other powers. The Minbariseemed to have been watching themas they grew and may be interestedin offering them an alliance. TheKlaatu, one of their other neighbors,will probably oppose any suchrelationship. Should the Baradabecome involved in closer ties withanother power, a war instigated bythe Klaatu is almost certain to occur.The Barada had also alignedthemselves with the Markon for atime, although after the intent of theMarkon became clear, the Baradasought to dissolve this alliance, whichthey succeeded in doing after war’send.

TechnologyThe Barada possess fairly

standard technologies, although theytend to be older and more antiquatedthan those of other powers. Theyhave recently acquired jumptechnology from the Markon,although it is too difficult for them toduplicate in any large quantities atthis time.

Weapons

Heavy Particle BeamOne of the biggest problems

the Barada realized they would have



is the lack of a real heavy weapon.The heavy particle beam is thus farthe best their engineers could comeup with and is therefore a standardmount for their navy. Its ability to fireevery turn is an advantage and it isfairly accurate, giving it an unusuallyhigh fire control typical of particlebeams.

Std. Particle BeamThis weapon is a technology

so common that almost all knownraces field a version of it. The Baradautilize standard particle beams as amedium gun on their ships, using itto counter both enemy ships andfighters equally.

Light Particle BeamThis is probably the worst

example of Barada weaponry. Thelight particle beam was simply tooinaccurate at any reasonable range.It also inflicted very little damage.The Barada could install many morelight particle beams on their shipsthan other particle weapons, though,leading to a proliferation of theweapon throughout their fleet.

Ships and FightersAuthor ’s Note: Their

warships look nearly exactly like theHuman ships in “Space: Above andBeyond” for those who arewondering.

Gilaz Class Fleet CarrierThe Barada were not very

adept at building space-worthywarships. However, starfighterswere easy to make. So, their tacticsfrequently revolved around fighters.Since, for the most part, they couldnot travel through hyperspace, theshort range of the fighters was not aproblem. Obviously, when they didacquire the ability to travel throughhyperspace, carriers would be vital.

The Gilaz is actually capableof forming its own jump point(although just barely). Because ofthe rarity of the technology, very fewof these carriers were built. Onlythree were in service at any one time.Most of them have not been involvedin any battles, but one did serveduring the Markon - Nep’ta’le War of2229. In its most memorable action,it destroyed a Nep’ta’le combatcarrier. This proved to be the onlyNep’ta’le capital ship which theBarada destroyed and in the endconvinced the Nep’ta’le to destroy theBaradian jump gate.

The Gilaz carries fourgunboats attached to hard-links onthe hull. They computer-link the flightcontrols so that the gunboatsengines are used to help the Gilazto maneuver, thus negating theeffect their extra mass would add.When they are attached, all side“structure” damage is divided intotwo groups. One is allocated to thestructure as usual, the other isallocated to a gunboat that isattached to that side, determined

randomly. There is no other effectof the gunboats being attached.

Gomtu Class CruiserThe Gomtu is a new design,

although far outdated by all otherpower’s ships. The lack of a jumpengine is a flaw of almost all Baradaships. However, recenttechnological advances allow thisvessel to follow nav beacons, thus



travel through hyperspace on itsown. It is still limited to existing jumpgates, however . The most popularis the jump gate the Markon built overthe Barada homeworld. The nextmost favorite is the jump gate theKlaatu inadvertently built over thefarthest planet in the Barada system.

Joriv Class AssaultCruiser

The Joriv is a simple variantof the Gomtu. Several Gomtucruisers, upon returning to portheavily damaged, were modified tothis design during their repair andreconstruction. No Joriv classcruisers were built in newconstruction until 2255.

Valia Class CruiserThe Barada, ever the

economists, built several smallcruisers based on hull types used bythe larger Gomtu. This was not thesame hull, just similar in design tocut engineering costs. As a result,one cannot be converted into theother.

These ships saw extensiveservice just after the Nep’ta’le-Markon War of 2229. None werecompleted in time for a standarddeployment, though if the homeworldwas attacked, they would have beenpushed into service. These shipshad the same nav beacon trackingcapability of the Gomtu and Joriv.

Truk Class DestroyerThe Truk class destroyer is

a very small Barada ship. It is oftenfound escorting a Gomtu. Indeed,anytime it is out of system it has tobe escorting another vessel, as itcannot even track hyperspace navbeacons itself and so must rely onits charge to guide it to its destination.This has the effect of serving onthese ships extremely stressful. Ifany Truk were to lose track of the leadship, it would not be able to trace itsway to a navigational beacon.

Fizur Class GunboatThe Fizur Gunboat is the

smallest military ship employed bythe Barada. Most commonlydeployed from Gilaz class Carriers,the Fizur is considered to be a lightcombat vessel. It has poor sensors,paper-thin armor, and inadequateweaponry, all traits common in theBarada navy.

Barogh Class MediumFighter

The Barogh is the standardfighter of the Barada. It is anoutgrowth of an atmospheric fighterused by one of the major nationalpowers. The fighter itself isatmospheric as well.

* * *



During their brutal war withthe Minbari, Earth found itself upagainst a nearly-invincible enemyand, after months of fighting,EarthForce had lost much of its fleetas Minbari warcruisers encroachedon Earth space, striking deeper anddeeper into the heart of the Alliance.EarthForce’s fleet of Novas,Olympus’s and Hyperion HeavyCruisers were proving to be all butineffective against this advancedthreat. The Novas were large anddifficult to repair and maintain in theface of combat, while the Hyperionswere struck down swiftly and theOlympuses had little chance at all.EarthForce required a ship that hadbetter armor than the Hyperion,better maneuverability than the Nova

and as much firepower of twoOlympuses. The Arion was born ofthat need . Though using standardEF construction lines, the Arionbecame a unique ship because,instead of using fixed weaponemplacements, engineers placed itsweapons in configurable pods alongeither side of the vessel, enabling itto be easily configurable to any role.

Three different designconcepts were established at thattime, with the primary versionconsisting of a vast number ofRailgun turrets, which had beenproven quite effective on the Artemis.These Railguns were mounted insuch a way as to place a turret inevery possible arc of fire. Thoughthe Arion had significant defensivecapabilities, with two interceptorbatteries and a number of particlebeams, it was still quite susceptible

to fighter strikes. As a result, like itslarger cousin the Nova, a launch baycapable of carrying a single flight offighters was introduced into thedesign.

Other variants touched uponconcepts such as a combinedMedium Laser/Pulse destroyer whichgave the Arion with the ability to eitherattack at short to medium ranges,whereas the Railguns were strictlyshort ranged, but this variant provedmore difficult to adapt due todifferences in the power distribution.A Missile version was alsoconsidered to convert the Arion intoa long-range support vessel, whichif drawn into a melee engagementwould still have the firepower to fight.

Later when Earth completeda deal with the Narn Regime,purchasing key technologies suchas the Pulse Cannon and the Energy

By Phillip “Entillzha” Wright”



Mine, the Arion proved the perfect testbed onwhich to incorporate the new weaponry and soshortly after another variant was produced. Butthis variant proved less popular in combat due tolong recharge times of the vessel’s weaponrythough was still amply suited for both close-combat and long-ranged roles.

One of the problems within the EarthForcefleet was the lack of scout ships that could jumpinto a hostile sector and jump out again in onepiece. The Oracle cruiser was aging and coulddo very little in fleet engagements on its own, andwhen under fire had very little armor and weaponryto protect itself. With the Arion easily configurable,EarthForce decided to adapt it to carry anenhanced sensor array and act as an ELINT ship.The difficulty in adapting the Arion scout modelwas greater than that of other Arion variants andgreatly limited its deployment. The rarity of militaryengagements after the Earth/Minbari War did nothelp to engender the production of more of thesevessels. The ELINT version of the Arion issubsequently a rare variant. One Arion scout wasrumored to have been involved in the EarthForceattack on Mokdor, providing intelligence supportfor the ground operation in Sh’lassen space.

Gaining technology used by other races,whether on the black market or by official means,the Arion was the testbed for these new weapons,but inefficiencies or problems with the newtechnologies made the mass production of thesevariants untenable, and the existing weapons usedby EarthForce proved more popular. Only tworefits using foreign weapons were ever produced:a Narn and Centauri Tech Destroyer. Others werein the planning stage when the project wasabandoned.

After the war, the Arion was supercededby both heavier designs and upgrades of existingclasses, but the few vessels to survive the Battleof the Line became a testing platforms for the fruitsof EarthForce R&D, testing several newtechnologies and upgrades. The Arion is rarelyseen in actual combat duties at this time, with theOmega and upgraded Hyperions more suited forthese roles.

* * *

by [email protected]

Designed as a replacement for the outdated G’LinCruiser, the Kta’Lin was redesigned to be an Attack Cruiserafter the first encounters with the Centauri Centurion AttackCruiser. Its purpose is to single out an enemy ship andtake it out. The Kta’Lin could be one of the most up-to-dateships of the Narn Navy. Unforuntately, when the war begun,only a few were in service. Most of them were destroyedat Gorash 7

UPDATE: Still looking for Bubbles. No good leads yet.Pranksters calling about ‘shadows’ need not reply.

LOST: One Earth Dog“Bubbles”

Last seen on Colonyin Quadrant 14

Call Warleader G’Ruff

LOST: One Narn Warleader“G’Ruff”

Last seen on Colonyin Quadrant 14

Call BubblesLooking for G’Ruff. I am onZ’ha’dum you moron! Hasn’treturned any of my calls and thesephone charges are killing me.

Narn Kta’LinAttack Cruiser



When the Earth Alliance was on itsrise as a superpower it wasnecessary to test new and existingtechnologies in multiplecombinations to determine whichmix of weapons technologies wouldbe most efficient for newerwarships. Oftentimes these testswere performed on a single hull,testing multiple systemcombinations on a tried and true hulltype. One hull that was especiallyprone to customization and use asa weapon-testing platform was theHecate Testbed Cruiser.

In one case this led to theintegration of the well-known railgunand plasma cannon onto a hull withtwo side-mounted, forward firingmedium lasers and two turreted lightlasers. Even though this was onlyintended to show how effectivelydifferent weapon types could bewhen used in tandem with oneanother, the class had a rough timefrom the start. The initial deploymentwas as a Raider-hunter, using its

multiple weapon arrays to strike theRaiders at all ranges whilesimultaneously test theeffectiveness of the weaponsconfiguration. When the ship shutdown in the middle of an alpha-strikeon its maiden voyage its officers andcrew knew they’d be in for a long six-month tour.

The reactor was slightlyunderpowered, the engine wasweak, the armor was thinner thanexpected, and some of the hullspacing had to be sacrificed for theintegration circuits and other tech forcombined-fire between the severaltypes of weapons aboard. Logisticalproblems plagued the Hecate Phiclass, as its railguns not onlyrequired large-volumeammunition, but the forwardgun’s difference in designfrom the rest led toproblems when it cameto performingmakeshift repairsin the field, as theparts generallyw e r e n ’ tinterchangeable

Hecate PhiTestbed Cruiser

By Mark Dwinnells

due to scale differences. Also, theEA ship designers took stock of theearly sorties against Raiders andnoted that the three standard particlebeams mounted in the center of theship were still, despite all the othership’s other problems, effective andreliable. On the other hand, duringthe few sorties in which the Phi-classtestbed was engaged, she was ableto prove the medium lasers wereeffective in their current mounts. Thedamage output of the medium laserswas the largest problem, and thisrecommendation echoed in theHyperion Theta and Epsilon when thenew heavy lasers were added to thesides of those craft. The light lasersweren’t very capable andsuggestions were made for theirreplacement. No suitable weaponcould be found to fill the turretedlaser mounts, so plans were insteadmade to enlarge the medium/heavylaser pod to hold two larger lasermounts. Finally, the acquisition ofpulsar technology put the nails in thecoffin of the railgun and dual lightrailgun. A greater amount of firepowercould be delivered with pulseweapons without the heavyammun i t i ondependency,a l t h o u g h

the scalep r o b l e m s

with theweapons stil l

prevented their cross-repair on many levels.

* * *



ThrakallanThrakallanThrakallanThrakallanThrakallanBlockadeBlockadeBlockadeBlockadeBlockadeRunnerRunnerRunnerRunnerRunnerby Guild Master Thrawn

The ThrakallansThe Thrakallans developed in

the upper atmosphere of a Gas Giantin the Beta Lyrae system, which isfound anti-spinward of the League ofNon-Aligned Worlds. Civilisationgradually evolved, and cities werebuilt both within and upon largemasses of floating nyan. Relativelyprimitive by most standards, theyhave avoided subjugation mainly bythe uniqueness and hostility of theirenvironment. Thrakallans are hardycreatures with exoskeletons toendure the increased pressure oftheir planet’s atmosphere and itshigh gravity. They communicate ina series of chirps and whistles andmust have a methane atmospherein order to breathe and survive.

It is unclear how theThrakallans developed extra-planetary travel. Most people believethat the technology was given toThrakallans at some point during thelast century by an indeterminatefaction. Whatever the reason, the

Thrakallans have developed a smallfleet of ships, which are usedprimarily for trading or other lesslegitimate reasons. Thrakallans havegained a reputation as both shrewdbusiness and smugglers, which maybe unfairly placed upon them throughthe relative poverty of their society.They trade mainly with theirimmediate neighbours, though someindividuals have ventured farther intoother territories or onto ports suchas Babylon 5.

The Thrakallan criminalunderground is fairly extensive, inmany cases larger than peoplerealise. The core of the Thrakallancriminal underground is located onone of the floating cities, knowncommonly in smuggling circles asDillathl’iin. Its existence is adamantlydenied by the Thrakallangovernment. However, anyone withthe correct transponder code can findit. The cities of Beta Lyrae IIcontinually float across the planet.Traffic to and from them are directedby orbiting stations. Dillathl’iin is adifferent story. Since it “doesn’texist,” the orbital traffic control doesnot keep track of it’s location.“Visitors” must find the right citybeacon frequency and navigatethrough the murky clouds of BetaLyrae to find it. Its a pirate’s hideaway,smuggler’s haven,

and home to one of the galaxy’s mostunsavoury crime lords, thir’nakk. Hissmuggling operations alone bring inover fifty million credits a year.

Background informationfrom Voltayre’s EncyclopediaXenobiologica.

Blockade RunnerA fairly common ship among

smuggling circles, the BlockadeRunner is an easy to constructvessel which is capable of carryinga substantial amount of cargo. Itsdesign is similar to that of the Grome,in that the individual componentsmay be constructed on a planetarylocation before being assembled inorbit. Unlike its distant cousins, theBlockade Runner is more compactwithout the weaknesses of exposedstruts and other problems present inthe Grome navy. The BlockadeRunner uses a mix of readilyavailable plasma and particleweaponry. Its armament is actuallyquite significant, allowing it to engagemany of the more common policevessels. Ironically, its greatest threatmay in fact be fellow criminals suchas raiders whose reliance on cheapfighters are able to circumvent theship’s defences and attack from blindspots.

* * *

"You wish... protection?"



BackgroundThe Dilgar War taught the

Abbai the unpleasant lesson thatsometimes violence is necessary toprotect your people from harm. TheDilgar attacks on Abbai space wereespecially brutal and lastedthroughout the war. Only the greatstarbases of Ssumssha protectedthe Abbai from outright annihilationduring the war.

At the end of the Dilgar Warthe first aggressive Abbai cruisercame into service. The aptly namedMikatha Guardian Cruiser was aheavily modified Lakara hulloptimized for conflict. The Mikathawas equipped with twice the numberof combat lasers as the Lakara. Inearlier battles, the Lakara hadproven itself unable to take downenemy cruisers such as the Targathquickly enough. It was hoped that theextra two combat lasers wouldprovide the edge needed to rectifythe problem.

The Mikatha was not whollyabout improving offensivecapabilities, however. The new Abbaicruiser was given an extensive arrayof particle impeders. It was intendedthat the impeders would providesufficient defense to prevent theMikatha from taking damage,

increasing its longevity in combat.The increased chance of survivinga battle also made the Mikatha abetter fleet command ship, though itdoes not gain any in-game benefitsfrom this enhanced command andcontrol ability.

Very few Mikathas were builtbefore the final defeat of the Dilgar,and production numbers werealmost cut to nothing after the Battleof Omelos. The Abbai, moreconcerned with rebuilding theirdevastated worlds, put constructionof Mikatha Guardian Cruisers at thebottom of their list of priorities.Construction of new Mikathas wouldalways be limited, and most of thosebuilt were put into reserve fleets tobe activated should the need arise.

The development of a newLakara command cruiser variantthat was cheaper and easier to buildthan the Mikatha signaled an end tothe class. The majority of theMikathas then in service weremothballed and, later, scavenged forparts as the Lakara class aged. OneMikatha Guardian Cruiser remainedin service, seeing combat duringthe League Wars where it wasdestroyed by impetuous Draziforces operating on the Abbaiborder.

Designer’s NotesThe Mikatha was designed in

December of 2000, long beforeVariants 4 and the NakarsaCommand Cruiser was released. Istill don’t agree with the proliferationof the special command bonusesamongst every command ship thatrears its ugly little head, but that is astory for another time.

My original intention was togive the Abbai a warship that couldactually fight another ship. With fourcombat lasers—the equivalent oftwo Lakaras or four Tiracas—theMikatha could actually stand to hurtsomeone with its weapons. Duringthe Dilgar War that would have beena very high priority for the Abbai.

I was never really happy withthe Mikatha, but upon searching myrecords for other “Relics of the Past”I came across it and decided that itfit this particular theme. It is indeeda relic from my past.

* * *

By Tyrel Lohr



Of the League races, theBrakiri were arguably the mostmilitarily supportive of the Army ofLight during the Shadow War and inthe ensuing conflicts. This wasespecially true of the final battle atCoriana VI where the Brakiricommitted nearly three-quarters oftheir fleet. In the aftermath of the epicbattle, only an eighth of that fleetreturned to Brakos. The process ofrebuilding was expected to be a longone, as would be true for all of theLeague races that participated in thebattle at Coriana VI. In the years thatfollowed, the Brakiri steadily rebuilttheir military. But after the short warwith the Centauri, and the Drakhattack on Earth, it became apparentto the Krona that they could no longerafford the cost associated withrebuilding their older, cheaperdesigns. They decided to replacetheir aging ships with newer, morepowerful ones that would hopefullyhelp reduce any future casualty rates.

The first of these was theRameshka Dreadnought. TheRameshka was a unique project asthe design contract was offered as ajoint contract between the threelargest corporations: the Ak-HabilConglomerate, Im-Rehsa

Technologies and Ly-Nakir Industries.The move by the Krona wasunprecedented. Never before in thehistory of the Syndicracy had such athing been done! The corporationsaccepted the joint contract and setto work planning on their portions ofthe Rameshka’s design. Ak-Habil andIm-Rehsa began conceptual work onthe primary space frame of thedreadnought, each implementingtheir own technologies, while Ly-Nakirworked on developing a new fightertype especially for use on theRameshka.

With the joint design nowcompleted and launched, theRameshka is the most powerful shipthe Brakiri have ever fielded. TheRameshka is armed with GraviticLances and Graviton Beams,improved by scientists and engineersat Im-Rehsa, and a large complementof Graviton Pulsars. The addition ofmore Graviton Pulsars was done inlarge part to compensate for thefailing of the Brakiri’s previousmainline ship, the Avioki HeavyCruiser. The ship was also fitted withadvanced Gravitic Shields, courtesyof Im-Rehsa Technologies.

The Rameshka is a ship notto be underestimated even by themore technologically advancedpowers. It is capable of engagingenemy units at any range. The long

range of its Graviton Lances andBeams provide heavy, far-reachingfirepower. At short range, theRameshka’s anti-fighter andinterception capabilities areimpressive, thanks to the ship’s vastarrays of Graviton Pulsars. The shipalso operates a large complement offighters onboard, making the vesseleven deadlier. The onlydisadvantage identified by Kronaactuaries is that it is a cumbersomevessel and so large that even if withits shields at full strength it is still aneasy target for most enemy gunners.However, the Rameshka’s strengthsfar outweigh its weaknesses.

As of 2270 only the prototypevessel has been constructed andremains in close proximity to theBrakiri homeworld during its importantshakedown period so that corporatecontractors can complete their fullrange of tests. Considering their highstanding within the InterstellarAlliance, the Krona expects theRameshka to eventually be acommon ship used by Alliance forces,with the Brakiri corporations profitingfrom Alliance-sponsored constructioncontracts. But with the dreadnought’sexpensive maintenance costs andhigh price tag only a limited numberof constructions are expected withinthe near future.

* * *

By Phillip “Entillzha” Wright”



BackgroundThe Circasian victory over the

ak-Tai Hegemony netted the fledglingpower several new star systems.Their enlarged sphere of influencespread the surviving Circasian StarForces thin within the contestedregion. The military needed a multi-purpose warship to reinforce theirpresence within the new areas.

The Tigris Patrol Cruiser wasimplemented to fill this need. A larger

cruiser, the Tigris was well equippedfor dealing with any potential enemythreat. The ship was armed withplasma weapons, including two dualplasma cannons, providing thefirepower necessary to take onenemy cruisers. A cadre of particledispersal cannons supplemented bythe ship’s integral fighter supportprovided the ship’s anti-fighterdefenses. The Tigris also carried twobreaching pods as standardequipment. These breaching podswere used to board commercialships for routine inspections as wellas to capture raider ships the Tigrisencountered during its systempatrols.

Perhaps most importantly,the Tigris Patrol Cruiser was the first

general construction Circasianstarship to be equipped with a jumpengine. The inclusion of a jumpengine on the Tigris greatly extendedits operational range, allowing it tomove between systems withoutrelying on fixed jump gates.

Always demanding of theirship designers, the Circasian WarCouncil required the incorporation ofseveral other features which wouldallow the Tigris to perform in multipleroles during times of war. To that endthe Tigris is equipped with extensivetroop quartering capabilities, allowingit to berth large numbers of groundtroops (but not armor units). In somecases Tigris Patrol Cruisers wereconverted into assault ships, tradingtheir fighters for assault shuttles.More commonly, though, theCircasians used the Tigris cruisersas home assignments for marinesproviding fleet security missions.

The versatility of the TigrisPatrol Cruiser was put to the testduring the Escalation Wars. Tigriscruisers served as fleet supportships, providing heavy weaponssupport for fleet command ships.The dual plasma cannon proved itsworth in this capacity, being one ofthe few weapons that could doserious damage to Couratadreadnoughts.

A Look at the OriginalCircasian Warship

By Tyrel Lohr



Particle DispersalCannon

Called simply a ‘DispersalCannon’ by most, the ParticleDispersal Cannon is a highlyspecialized defense weapon used onmany Circasian ships. The DispersalCannon is capable of firing in bothpassive and active defense modes.In passive mode the cannonintercepts incoming shots in thesame way as any other weaponwould. In active defense mode,however, the Dispersal Cannonactively mitigates the incomingdamage, producing a pseudo-shielding effect to protect the shipfrom incoming damage.

The choice to fire a ParticleDispersal Cannon in active defensemode is made at the same time thatnormal interception determinationsare made. No interception bonus isapplied against the weapon beingactively “intercepted”, however.Instead, the Dispersal Cannon willreduce the damage scored by theincoming volley by 2d6. In the caseof pulse weapons only the first pulseis affected by the damage reduction.

The Dispersal Cannon canonly be used against weapons thatwould normally be interceptable by

the weapon. This means that theDispersal Cannon cannot affect laserweapons or any other weapon thatis listed as being non-interceptable.

The size of the DispersalCannon limited the deployment of thesystem. The Gatling Particle Beamwas still preferred for most anti-fighterapplications, leaving the DispersalCannon as a dedicated heavydefense gun used on a selectnumber of Circasian hulls.

Designer’s NotesThe Tigris was the first

Circasian ship that I ever created. Itwas also one of the first 2E style shipcontrol sheets I ever did. The originalSCS was created in Microsoft Word2.0 using the Microsoft Draw utilitythat came bundled with it. Needlessto say, my SCS creation skills likethe history of the Circasians havecome a long way!

The Tigris was originally aheavy cruiser design and intended tobe the mainline cruiser of theCircasian forces. This was of coursecorrect for the time; in the campaignthat the Tigris originated in the shipwas indeed the primary cruiseroperated by the Circasian Empire.Changes to the timeline and ship

development since then have madethat classification untenable. Severalnew technologies and ships havebeen added to the history that largelyerases the importance of the ship.The vessel, though, remains aneffective cruiser so I decided to makeit into a Circasian patrol cruiser.

One thing that you will noticepretty quickly is that the Tigris lookslike a Narn design. This wasintentional at the time, as theCircasians really were “DilgarfiedNarns” – Dilgar-like felines flying Narninspired starships. The originalsilhouette for the Tigris exaggeratedthis connection, but upon reviewingthe old pen and paper sketch of theTigris I realized that the ship reallyhad a much different look to it. WhenI sat down and drew the vector lineart for the Tigris Patrol Cruiser Idecided to go with a look closer tothat of the ship in the original drawing.

The armament of the shiphas remained relatively the same,though some of the firing arcs havebeen changed. All in all it isinteresting to see how the ship haschanged and evolved from its infancyto maturity.

* * *

planetside.firenebula.com

Rules Guide Version 2.5.2 Available!

Boldy go where no one has gone before!Planetside is your home for the Babylon 5 WarsStar Trek Conversion. News ships, races, andtechnologies are added each month, so besure to check the site periodically.



News fromthe FrontJMS drops hints onnew B5 project,Season 5 DVD boxart revealedJanuary 31, 2004

The highly anticipated news onwhat the new Babylon 5 project is

has not come to pass as expected, but JMS has at least waved amost interest carrot in front of our noses. Posted to the Babylon 5moderated newsgroup on January 29, the following message fromJMS provides a teaser as to what the name of the project is:

It's taken longer than hoped for to be able to talk about this,because it's taken longer than hoped for to go through all themachinations of the deal. Depending on the nature of a given deal, itcan take a few weeks to a couple, three months to actually cut thedeal and finalize the language in terms everybody can agree with. Weonly literally finished the deal last week.

Writing on B5:TMoS is complete, and as soon as the powersthat be sign off on everything, it can be turned in and we can startmoving. At that point, I can say more about this.

Figure another couple of weeks.

jms

Following the release of this new information the attempts tobreak the secret of the script’s name began. JMS latercommented that one of the many names posited by fanswas, indeed, the correct name. It is believed thatthe name of the script may indeed be “TheMovement of Shadows.” It is still unknownwhether this will be a movie-of-the-week style production similar tothe TNT movies or an actualfull feature theatricalpresentation.

* * *

Help!Zathras istrying topoke me!



Coming Next Issue...Coming Next Issue...CreditsCreditsCreditsCreditsCreditsEditorsPaul BrownTyrel Lohr

LayoutTyrel Lohr

ProofreadingPaul BrownTyrel Lohr

Submission [email protected]

Distribution Pointplanetside.firenebula.com

The GREAT MACHINE is anunofficial, fan-basedelectronic publication

dedicated to the Babylon 5Wars game system.

BABYLON 5, BABYLON 5WARS, the B5W Core Rules,

FLEET ACTION, GROPOS andall related material are copyright

2002 by Warner Bros. Thecontents of this unofficial

publication are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of

these product identities,copyrighted material or

trademarks anywhere in thisdocument and its associated files

should not be viewed as achallenge to those copyrights or

trademarks.Original concepts and mechanicsremain the intellectual property of

their respective authors.

Do you have an unfinished project? We sure do! The nextissue of The Great Machine will focus on getting those unfinishedprojects completed. So get out your pen and paper, dust off yourword processor and get to work finishing up all those UFO’s (Un-Finished Objects). Then send an article off to us to let us knowwhat you are working on. Here are a few of the projects slated tobe completed for next month’s issue:

- Encounters-1: The supplement to the Empire RisingEscalation Wars book. Includes additional ships and backgroundfrom the Escalation Wars Universe.

- Freespace Conversion: Paul Brown finishes up hisFreespace to Babylon 5 Wars conversions and unveils the fullTerran, Vasuudan, and Shivan fleets.

- Showdowns-11: Finishing touches will be made to getthis sequel to The Great Crusade ready to go. Look for moreunits for the Orieni and their allies, including modern Rogolonwarships!

Send all submissions to [email protected] with your submission your name, an article or other textrelating to your project, and any ship control sheets or notes thatyou would like run with the article. They might appear in the nextissue!

Submission Deadline: February 27, 2003

Relicsof thePast

Relics of the Past - smikesworld.dksmikesworld.dk/smworld/magazines/gm_issue04.pdf · 14 Barada...

Documents

Transcript of Relics of the Past - smikesworld.dksmikesworld.dk/smworld/magazines/gm_issue04.pdf · 14 Barada...