The Babylon Project
And last but not least I got a chance to see parts of The Babylon Project, the RP game based on Babylon 5. As this was a demo / playtest, much of what I describe might not be carried into the final product. What I did see, however, leads me to believe that the game is in good hands.
Characters (Human, Minbari, Narn, & Centauri only at present) were created according to templates (much like Star Wars or other games from West End); default numbers for each characteristic are given but the players were allowed to subtract and add to characteristics as long as the same point totals were maintained, and no more than 2 points were added or subtracted from any characteristic. Characteristics were rated 1–8 and were broken down in three direct groups (Cultural, Mental, and Physical) and one derived group. Skills were selected from a suggested list that applied to a particular template (pilot, ambassador, telepath, etc.) but others could be selected with a good explanation. Skills were rated from 1–6, with level 6 being almost impossible to attain: at levels 1, 3, & 5 a specialty could be chosen, which adds to any use of the basic skill when the specialty is used.
Rolls are based on the total of the characteristic and skill level, plus situational modifiers, against a difficult level. Six 6‑sided dice are rolled: every 1 or 2 counts as a ‑1, 3s and 4s count as neutral, and every 5 or 6 counts as a +1. Also, every 5 or 6 can be continuously re-rolled as long as another 5 or 6 comes up. I haven’t worked out the statistics, but the system has a net of +1. Getting above but close to the target number is a minor success: it takes +5 to get a really good success. (This is similar to other game systems that use skill levels.) Therefore you need to be really good at a characteristic or skill or roll really good, or use Fortune points to counter-act bad rolls.
Fortune points can be used to re-roll any die. Fortune points are expected to be given out broadly and used broadly. in keeping with this being a “heroic” game: heroic actions are encouraged and abbetted. Fortune points are awarded for good roleplaying.
Combat is short and very dangerous, many times fatal. PPGs, we discover, have little physical stopping power but cause massive burns. If any part of the system still needs work, it is the combat. Too many tables are needed to determine the extent of damage: this part needs some streamlining. It does however, take into account “splash” effects where a marginal hit would be close to the intended target but not directly on target.
Telepaths start out as a basic commercial grade telepath: no Grade 12s or Psi-Cops allowed. The Psi-Corps is one of the projected supplement books, however, along with Earthforce. The game period is from the end of the Earth-Minbari War to the building of B5.
Am I looking forward to this? Yes, I am. This could be a breakout game system, since a lot of B5 fans are not gamers but would be very tempted to buy the game because of the information given in the rules.
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