Babylon 5 Wars
Encyclopedia
Babylon 5 Wars is a science fiction tabletop miniature wargame
, produced by the gaming company Agents of Gaming
. Play centers on miniature figurines based the TV show Babylon 5
. In 1999, it was nominated for the Origins Award
for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules. The miniature produced of the Babylon 5 station won the award for "Best Vehicle Miniature of 1999" of the same year.
Due to the cancellation of the Babylon 5 television show Agents of Gaming chose not to renew their contract. The game is out of print and with a new B5-based game "A Call to Arms" being produced by Mongoose Publishing
, an official comeback is unlikely. However, a relatively strong player base continues to produce new, free content for the game system.
.
The game is broken down into turns. Each player interacts in a turn at the same time. A die roll with certain bonuses determines movement order. Actions such as drift; power usage, electronic warfare, thrust, and fighter operations must be done every turn. A turn can be very long and complex. Some turns can take up to hours depending on fleet sizes.
Supplied by supplements and rules expansions historic scenarios can also be played out. In a scenario, specific fleet composition is spelled out for each player along with map geography and objectives.
genre the cost of a fighting force is relatively cheap. The majority of the ships published had associated minis made for them. A chronic problem with Agents of Gaming though was finding a reliable sculptor. Sometimes throughout the life of the game no miniatures would be released for months at a time.
The only current source for B5W miniatures is online auction houses and discount bins at local gaming stores. Mongoose gaming is now producing some of the line of miniatures using, in many cases, exactly the same molds that Agents of Gaming used to produce them.
Please also note that there are a large number of races, both canon and non-canon, that have been made and developed unofficially. These include the canon Drakh and Lumati, possible takes on an independent Mars, and many more. Conversions have also been made to bring fleets from other universes into the game, including the TV shows Star Trek and BattleStar Galactica, as well as computer games such as FreeSpace and Star Control. See the external links below for more details.
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
, produced by the gaming company Agents of Gaming
Agents of Gaming
Agents of Gaming was a game design studio that started out in January 1992 by Bruce Graw. The company's original purpose was to run Galactic Conquest, the play-by-mail game which became Star Fleet Warlord. Galactic Conquest had originally been run as a hobby , but proved its worth in the first...
. Play centers on miniature figurines based the TV show Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
. In 1999, it was nominated for the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules. The miniature produced of the Babylon 5 station won the award for "Best Vehicle Miniature of 1999" of the same year.
History
The first edition of the game was published in 1997. The two men responsible were Bruce Graw and Robert Glass. The original rules were complex and the ship selection was minimal. The second edition was produced less than one year later. In it were several key rules revisions and clarifications. Over the life span of the game many supplements were released. With the supplements many new races and ships came about.Due to the cancellation of the Babylon 5 television show Agents of Gaming chose not to renew their contract. The game is out of print and with a new B5-based game "A Call to Arms" being produced by Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
, an official comeback is unlikely. However, a relatively strong player base continues to produce new, free content for the game system.
Canon
Due to the close cooperation with the creators of the show, the Babylon 5 Wars material published by Agents of Gaming is considered canon by J. Michael StraczynskiJ. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
.
Overview
Each player assembles a fleet, represented by counters or miniatures, which equal to a set point limit. A player is generally limited to a single race to choose his ships. There is also a limit to ship usage based on fighter space, rarity, and year.The game is broken down into turns. Each player interacts in a turn at the same time. A die roll with certain bonuses determines movement order. Actions such as drift; power usage, electronic warfare, thrust, and fighter operations must be done every turn. A turn can be very long and complex. Some turns can take up to hours depending on fleet sizes.
Supplied by supplements and rules expansions historic scenarios can also be played out. In a scenario, specific fleet composition is spelled out for each player along with map geography and objectives.
Collecting
Compared to other games in the tabletop miniature wargameMiniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
genre the cost of a fighting force is relatively cheap. The majority of the ships published had associated minis made for them. A chronic problem with Agents of Gaming though was finding a reliable sculptor. Sometimes throughout the life of the game no miniatures would be released for months at a time.
The only current source for B5W miniatures is online auction houses and discount bins at local gaming stores. Mongoose gaming is now producing some of the line of miniatures using, in many cases, exactly the same molds that Agents of Gaming used to produce them.
Modeling
A strong point of the game was its models. The ships were made with a high degree of quality. All ship models were released in pewter. Some ships were very large, taking up several base stands on the playing map.Armies/Races/Species
This is a list of playable races (including one-off "Ship of the Month"s). This is for the most part complete, but is in the process of being revised.Please also note that there are a large number of races, both canon and non-canon, that have been made and developed unofficially. These include the canon Drakh and Lumati, possible takes on an independent Mars, and many more. Conversions have also been made to bring fleets from other universes into the game, including the TV shows Star Trek and BattleStar Galactica, as well as computer games such as FreeSpace and Star Control. See the external links below for more details.
- Abbai Matriarchate
- Alacan Republic
- Balosian Underdwellers
- The Belt Alliance
- Brakiri Syndicracy
- Cascor Commonwealth
- Centauri RepublicCentauri (Babylon 5)The Centauri are a humanoid species in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series. They were the first alien species to make open contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands...
- Ch'Lonas
- Corillani Theocracy
- Deneth Assembly
- Descari Committees
- Dilgar Imperium
- Drazi Freehold
- Earth AllianceEarth Alliance (Babylon 5)The Earth Alliance is the name of a fictional alliance of the nations of Earth and off-world colonies in the television series Babylon 5. The transition of Earth government from a democratic, elected government to an authoritarian, militaristic one and back to a democracy again is a major theme of...
- Gaim Intelligence
- Grome Autocracy
- Hurr Republic
- Hyach Gerontocracy
- Ipsha Baronies
- Kirishiac Lords
- Kor-Lyan Kingdoms
- Koulani
- Llort Scavengers
- Markab Theocracy
- Minbari Federation
- Mindriders
- Narn Regime
- Orieni Empire
- Pak'ma'ra
- Raiders
- Rogolon Dynasty
- ShadowsShadow (Babylon 5)The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering...
- Sorithian Commune
- Streib
- Technomages
- Torata Regency
- Torvalus Speculators
- Triad
- Usuuth Coalition
- Vorlon Empire
- Vree Conglomerate
- Yolu Theocracy
External links
- Babylon 5 Wars: official game site.
- B5Wars.net: Formerly hosted by Agents of Gaming, this is a heavily trafficked forums site for the B5Wars game system.
- Planetside: Home of the 'BabCom' and 'The Great Machine' webzines, which include a vast amount of new races, ships, and crossovers from other TV shows and games, by Tyrel Lohr.
- Rich Bax's Site: A collection of very in-depth additions to the game, from one of the game supplements' leading developers, Rich Bax.
- B5Wars Vault: A collection of all currently available fan-made ships and background information. Compiled by Kevin Muñoz.