B5 FT Adaptations (Long)

Hello

quite some while ago I placed some B5 adaptations on this group, and
they
eventually found their way on to Mr Seifert's excellent Unofficial FT
Page.
SInce that time I have had the advantage of seeing much more of B5 (up
to War
Without End Part II), as a result of this, some discussions on this
group,
more thinking, and much more playtesting, the rules have completely
changed.
These adaptations are much better than my previous ones,  and make for a
cracker of a game. Please read them, I welcome any comments. My reasons
for
some of the descisions I made are discuussed at the back in the
designers
notes, so I won't repeat them here. I've enclosed them in a text file, I
hope
it is readable.

Cheers
Geoffrey Stewart
"Stay close to the Vorlon"

<<<<<< Attached TEXT file named "B5 FT Adaptations " follows >>>>>>
B5 Full Thrust Adaptations

"It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind......." , so begins the
title
sequence to the outstanding TV series Babylon 5; full of intrigue and
wonder,
interesting characters, an epic sweep,	and intense space combat.These
rules
are intended as a supplement to Full Thrust, to allow the recreation of
space
combat in the B5 universe. 

FT Rules Used
All the rules of FT will apply unless specifically exempted or altered ,
as
will be expained at the appropriate  place.

MT Optional Rules Used
These adaptations assume the use of some of the MT optional rules, as
will be
expained in their places. They are:
*Fighter group morale
*Scrambling fighter groups
*Aces and turkeys
* Boarding
*Damage control

Tech levels
The diverse powers in the B5 universe can be grouped into three tech
levels,
of increasing sophistication. Each tech level represents a quantum jump
over
those below it. The various powers can be grouped into three groups, as 
follows:

Tech Level 1		EA, Narn, Centauri(+), Non Aligned Worlds,
Raiders

Tech Level 2		Mimbari, Mimbari/Vorlon Hybrids (+)

Tech Level 3		Vorlons, Ancient Ones, Shadows (+)

The significance of these levels in game terms in outlined below. Note
that a
(+) means that the power is advanced for that tech level, and will have
some
characteristics of the next tech level.

Tech Level 1
All weapons do damage as per the FT rules,   3 PDAF  can be grouped to
make
one screen (see below), they use standard drives, and thus the	normal
manoeuvre rules apply. Screens cannot be used. They have 1D6 stealth
technology.  Beams can only be axially mounted. Tech level 1(+) powers
have
better drives, such ships can use half + 1 of their thrust to turn, and
most
weapons do a die extra damage, especially at closer ranges. Anti stealth
or
stealth at 1D6 +2.

Tech Level 2.
All standard weapons can do up to two extra dice damage, particularly at
close
range, 2 PDAF can be grouped  to make one screen, all PDAF add +1 to all
rolls, ships have improved drives, and can thus use all their thrust to
turn.
Screens cannot be used, but Level 1 armour can. Fitting limits are
increased,
up to 75% of mass. Stealth level is 2D6.   Tech level 2(+) powers have
Anti
stealth or stealth at  2D6+2, and can have Level 3 armour.

Tech Level 3
The great powers, the Shadows, Vorlons, First Ones and Ancient Ones,
have
technology far beyond human comprehension and power. All standard
weapons do
2x damage, and their range is  increased by 50%, 1 PDAF can be used to
make
one screen, all PDAF add +2 to all rolls, they use improved drives, and
thus
ships can use all their thrust to turn,  and have  armour up to Level 4.
Fitting limits are increased, up to 75% of mass. Stealth level 3D6. Tech
Level
3(+) powers have inertialess drives.

Tech Level Summary

	Weapon	Damage	Fitting
Tech Level	Range	PDAF	Stealth 	Drive	Points	Limit	

1		Standard	3	1D6	Normal	Mass/3	50%
1(+)		Standard	3	1D6+2	Enhanced	Mass/3 
50%
2		Standard	2	2D6	Superior	Mass/2 
50%
2(+)		Standard	2	2D6+2	Superior	Mass/2 
75%
3		Standard +50%	1	3D6	Superior	Mass/2 
75%
3(+)		Standard +50%	1	3D6+2	Inertialess	Mass/2 
75%

Weapons

The following offensive weapons have been seen in the  B5 universe, and
can be
used. Note that some standard weapons work slightly differently, some
have
been renamed, and there are some new weapons.

Batteries ( FT "Beams")
These Sub Light Bolt Projectors are widely used , and fire a bolt of
energy / 
particles at their target, they travel sufficiently slowly they can be
targeted and destroyed by defensive projectors. The rate of fire seems
to vary
based on type and size, some fire an almost  continuous stream, others
fire
large bolts at a much slower rate. These are best simulated by the 
standard
beam weapons in FT.  Mass as per FT.
The damage and range depend on Tech Level, as below:

		-------------- Dice Damage per Range Band -------------
Tech Level	A	B	C	PDAF	Needle	Range
1		3/2/1	2/1	1	-	-		x1
1(+)		4/3/1	3/1	1	-	-		x1
2		5/4/2	3/2	2	-	-		x1
3		6/4/2	4/2	2	-	-		x1.5

Beams (no FT equivalent)
These weapons fire a beam of energy at light speed, in the case of the
Vorlons
and Shadows it is  so powerful it destroys whatever it hits. The Narn
and EA
also have a similar weapon, which seems less energetic, and is axially
mounted. These are best simulated by a new weapon, which I shall call
Beams.
Axially mounted Beams can't be used as PDAF, and have a fire arc of  60
degrees. that is 9-11 to the front, and 5-3 to the rear. They have the
same
range and range bands as a corresponding battery weapon of that type and
tech
level. Their capabilites are listed below:

		-------------- Dice Damage -------------
Tech Level	A	B	C	PDAF	Needle
1		3/2/1	2/1	1	1	-
1(+)		4/2/1	3/1	1	2	6
2		4/3/2	3/2	2	3	5,6
3		6/4/2	4/2	2	5	3,4,5,6
Notes
PDAF:	How many PDAF's a beam of that tech level can count as
Needle: The score it needs to disable a system if used as a needle 
		beam

PDAF used as screens are ineffective against these weapons, however,
armour is
 effective against them. Each weapon can act each turn as one of: 
	*	an ordinary weapon (rolls standard damage dice as
		above),
	*	a needle beam (needs a Firecon per Beam so used), 
		and only then at short range for that beam
	*	as a PDAF (needs a Firecon if any Beams are so used),
but 
		only against fighters in arc of the Beam
The needle beam column lists the number it needs to hit as a needle
beam, the
PDAF column is how many standard PDAF systems it counts as, if used in
this
role they do not get the PDAF tech level bonus. Mass is the same as a
battery
of that type.

Multi Modal
These weapons can fire as either a battery or a beam, and is nominated
at the
time of firing. 

Mass Drivers
The Narn use a projector that fires a nuclear device which detonates
near
enemy ships, the device seems to be a mass driver of some kind (see
below).
The Cenaturi also use mass drivers to  bombard the Narn home world,
these fire
large chunks of asteroids, and while a devastating weapon for  planetary
bombardments would be ineffective as an anti ship weapon. 

Energy Mine (EM)
These Narn weapons are rather hard to classify, so for the sake of
simplicity
they are treated exactly as missiles except they can move up to 24" a
turn.
Their speed is nominated at launch, and it can't be altered. Thus they
could
have any speed from 0 to 24".

Needle Beams
Some weapons can act as needle beams, they operate as per FT except
certain
systems can't targeted, namely the Reactors and the Jump Engine.

PDAF
Can be fired as an offensive weapon, with a 6" range, doing 1D-1 damage,
they
cannot also act as screen, or engage fighters in the same turn. In other
words, each turn they can do one of:
	* Be grouped to act a screens
	* Be used as an anti fighter defence
	* Be used as a close range weapon

Defensive Systems
The available defensive systems are PDAFs, batteries or beams used in an
anti
fighter role, stealth and armour. 

PDAF
A PDAF is a small rapidly firing projector which disrupts  the incoming 
energy bolts. Each PDAF can be grouped as part of a group which counts
as a
screen, the tech level chart indicates how many PDAF are need to make a
screen. If there aren't enough to act as a screen, then they cannot be
used in
this role. If as a result of damage there are insufficient PDAF left to
form a
screen, the excess can be used to shoot at any targets in range. They
can also
be used as a close in weapon, or as an anti fighter weapon, of course. 
They
must be allocated each turn ,as per the turn sequence.

Beams
Each beam can also be used as PDAF, that is, an anti fighter weapon. The
Beam
Table indicates how many each counts as, the size of the Beam is
irrelevant.
They must be allocated to this role each turn ,as per the turn sequence.
When
so used, they ignore the fighter's defence factor. If so used, a single
firecon must be allocated, which will handle all Beam weapons assigned
as anti
fighter defences that turn. If a Beam is assigned as a PDAF, it can only
be
used in that role, and not as a screen or a close in weapon. When used
in this
role they have the same range as a PDAF  ie 6"

Batteries
A,B, and C batteries can fire at fighters, as follows. A single firecon
must
be allocated, which will handle all battery weapons assigned as anti
fighter
defences that turn.The battery can shoot to the limit of their range,
C's
score a hit on a 5 or 6, A's and B's need a 6. When used in this way,
the
fighter's defence is ignored, and , regardless of range or tech level,
each
weapon rolls one dice. For each tech level past 1, add 1 to the die
roll.

Stealth
Some powers have stealth, and a stealth equipped ship cannot be shot at
until
it's stealth is overcome. This is done by a simple contested dice roll,
rolling a number of dice equal to the Tech level of the ships, if the
targeting ship's roll exceeds the target, it has overcome the stealth
and can
lock on.  The stealth level, if any,  will be indicated for each ship.
Tech
level 1 powers can't have stealth, their stealth level is used to defeat
enemy
stealth. If several ships (or fighter groups) are targeting a single
enemy
ship (or fighter group) the enemy only makes one roll, each friendly
ships (or
fighter groups) rolls individually, any that exceed the roll may fire.
If
Firing ships (or fighter groups) are within 3" of the target vessel,
they
ignore stealth and may fire as normal.
Modification to stealth rolls:
*	Dogfighting fighters +1 
*	Firing ships are within 12" of the target vessel  +2


Armour
The Tech level 3 powers have intelligent organic armour, which can learn
and
adapt to resist a wide range of weapons. The armour acts  as per FT
rules, as
well, Tech Level 2 powers have limited armour technology, and use Level
1
armour. Tech Level 2+ powers can use Level 3 armour, and higher tech
levels
can use up to level 4 armour (to score a hit, a 6 must be followed by a
4,5,6)

Drives
There are thre(3) kinds of drives, reflecting the tech level of the
owner, as
follows:
Tech Level	Drive		Effect
1			Ordinary	As per FT standard drives, ei
can turn up to 
					half thrust rating
1+			Enhanced	Can turn up to half thrust
rating + 1
2,3		Superior	Can turn up to all Thrust rating
3+			Inertialless	Can turn up to all Thrust rating
at no cost in 
					thrust	

Movement
With the exceptions noted above for drive types, ships manoeuvre as per
FT
rules.

Jump Engines
These rules replace those in FT. Any ship with a jump engine is capable
of
opening a jump point, as follows:
*	If a jump point is to be opened, it must be nominated when
movement orders
are written.
*	A jump point can be opened anywhere within 12 - 24", and is
placed on table
as per the turn sequence (ei at end of turn after movement).
*	The opening ship can keep the point open as long as desired, but
it uses a
lot of energy, each turn the jump point is open, the ship can only use
half
its weapons (all PDAF count as one weapon for this calculation) or half
its
drive
*	Any ship may enter the newly opened jump point	during any
subsequent turn's
movement phase
*	If a jump engine is hit and not repaired at the end of the turn,
the jump
point collapses, and any ship on a collapsing jump point is destroyed.
*	A ship crossing a jump point does not enter unless the player so
 nominated.

In simple terms, jump points work this way. On any particular turn, a
ship
nominates it will open a jump point. Provided it's jump engines are
still
intact at the end of the turn, the jump point is placed anywhere within
12-24". The ship can then, next turn, as part of it's movement move onto
the
jump point, and into hyperspace, as can  other ships .

Fighters
Fighters are handled very differently to the FT rules. Each group of six
fighters is considered a special small ship with six hull boxes, and
thus can
accelerate, and manoeuvre etc  as any other ships, except they can
allocate up
to 12 thrust to turn, thus they could do a 360 deg turn, and they turn
by
quarters.  They will need to have their own ship sheet each as per other
ships. Although they have hull boxes, they never need to do threshold
checks,
as each time a fighter is lost a box is crossed off. Each fighter type
is
rated as below:

Type	Move	DF	AF	Defence Antiship		Ndle   
Notes	
Starfury	12"	2	0	1	0		6      
(1)
Thunderbolt	12"	2	0	1	0		6      
(1)
Raiders 	10"	1	0	0	1		5      
(1)
Mimbari 16"	3	1	1	0		5	
Cenaturi Falcon 14"	2	1	0	0		6      
(3)
Narn Heavy	10"	1	0	1	1		5	
Shadows 16"	3	2	3	1		2	
Vorlons 16"	3	3	3	1		2

Type:	Obvious
Move:	Obvious, note that because they are treated as ships, fighter
groups can
accelerate and decelerate, and achieve very high speeds. All fighters
can turn
up to 12, note that a turn of 12 will bring them back to where they
started
from.
DF	Dogfighting factor, the number added to the D6 rolled in
dogfights.
AF	Attack factor, the number added to each standard damage dice
		when	attacking other fighters
Defence How tough each fighter is. This number is subtracted from the
		 attack roll
Anti ship	The number added to each standard damage dice when
attacking
		 ships, not fighter groups. It is also added to their
needle attacks, if
		 any.
Needle	The number each half group needs when doing needle attacks.

Notes
(1)		Can fly through atmospheres
(3)		Centauri often do high G manoeuvres to get into a good
firing position.
		Any turn their player may nominate they will do this, 
they add one
		 to  their DF roll , but on the subsequent turn they
subtract one from		   
their DF.

Fighter Endurance
Both for movement and attacking, fighters have unlimited endurance.

Launching Fighters
Fighters are launched as per FT, with the following additions.On the
turn they
are launched, the fighter moves up to it's movement factor from the
launching
ship, on the next turn their starting speed is the speed of the
launching ship
+ their launching speed. EG "The Churchill" , travelling at 16",
launches its
Starfuries, which are moved 12" from the ship. Next turn the Starfuries'
starting speed is 16+12 = 28". The fighters could also elect to move
only 2"
from the ship, so next turn the Starfuries' starting speed would  16+2 =
18".
If the fighters are to fight the turn the are launched, use the
Scrambling
rules on page 11 of MT.

Dogfighting
When two or more hostile groups of fighters meet , that is, pass or are
within
6" of each other, a dogfight may ensue. Fighters that pass within 6" of
other
fighters may elect to engage them in dogfight, movement may have to be
prorated to determine this. The player with the initiative has the first
option to declare a dogfight, then their opponent. The player initiating
combat may have any number of his fighter groups initiate a dogfight, up
to a
limit of one fighter group attacking three enemy fighter groups. The
opposing
fighter groups are paired off, with any excess being allocated a evenly
as
possible. It is not possible to have more than three groups fighting
one. Each
group of fighters  then roll a dice and add their DF factor, the highest
shoots first. Ties shoot  simultaneously, except in such a case an ace
shoots
first. Each group rolls a die per fighter in the group, and adds their
AF to
each die, and subtracts the opponents DF. If a 4,5, or 6 is scored, one
enemy
fighter is destroyed, and their hull box is crossed off.

One round of combat is fought each turn, at the end of which a morale
check is
taken by all fighter groups in the dogfight that suffered a loss that
round. 
A fighter group that fails it's third consecutive morale check must
break off
immediately.  AT the end of any round a group of fighters may elect to
break
off, or this may be mandated by a failed morale test. 
A group that is faster than it's opponents breaks off  without loss.
They are
moved one basic move away. If they are not faster they must immediately
make a
DF roll v their opponents, if they  win they escape without loss, if
they
lose,  their opponents get a free shot at them as they break off.
If one side has more  fighter groups in a combat than it's opponents,
the
surplus groups may elect to break off at the end of the round, moving a
basic
move away in any direction. These always break off without loss, even if
slower than their opponents
Once a dogfight is over, any surviving fighters start the next turn with
a
speed of zero.

Fighters groups can attack any ship that is in their forward arc and
within 6
inches.They can either attack as normal, or as a needle beam. In the
latter
case, each three fighters or part thereof gets one roll, thus a group
with
four or more fighters left gets two rolls They need a 6, modified as
follows:
+ their anti ship factor
+ their TL - 1
Regardless of any modifications, a 1 is always a miss and a 6 is always
a hit.
These are already factored into the needle score given in the Fighter
Table.

Morale
Fighters check morale as per MT, but subtract a modifier for the mission
level
from the roll (see Ramming rules). They must check morale each time they
lose
fighters, in the case of losses taken from batteries shooting, the group
has
no compulsory reaction, but this does count as a failed test. If they
fail
their third consecutive test, they must flee. Fleeing fighters return to
their
parent vessel, if that is destroyed, the nearest, if there are none,
they flee
off board. Each turn a fleeing group will accelerate by it's  maximum ,
and
cannot attack enemy ships or engage enemy fighters.

Fighters Turning
Fighters turn by quarters, not halves as other ships. They can use all
their
movement , up to 12, to turn. The movement is divided into quarters, any
fractions are allocated to the first then 3rd then second then fourth
quarter.
This is detailed below:

	Turn	Start	1/4	1/2	3/4	
	1	-	-	1	-
	2	1	-	1	-
	3	1	1	1	-
	4	1	1	1	1
	5	2	1	1	1
	6	2	1	2	1
	7	2	2	2	1
	8	2	2	2	2
	9	3	2	2	2
	10	3	2	3	2
	11	3	3	3	2
	12	3	3	3	3

If the turn is less than 4, then
*	If 1, the fighters turn at the halfway point of the turn
*	If 2, they turn as any other ship
*	If 3, the fighter group turns 1 at the start, 1 at 1/4 way, and
1 at 1/2
way.

Turn Sequence
This sequence replaces that in FT.
1)		Plot movements, including fighter launches and jump
point openings
2)		Announce the intention to open a jump point
3)		Determine initiative
4)		Launch and move EM's
5)		Move ships, launching fighters at halfway point
6)		Determine if any fighters pass within 6" of each other,
and if any
		dogfights are to occur.
7)		Detonate EM's, if desired, and resolve damage.
8)		Allocate PDAF and Beams
9)		Shadows ships decloack
10)	Fire ships in initiative order
11)	Dogfights
	i)	Allocate fighter groups
	ii)	Roll for stealth
	iii)	Roll for dogfighting
	iv)	FIre in order of DF score, highest to lowest
	v)	Morale checks
	vi)	Break off moves, if any
12)	Recover fighter groups
13)	Damage control
14)	Jump points
	i)	Remove any jump points that have collapsed, either
because their 
		jump engine was damaged, or has been collapsed by the
Shadows. 
		Any ships on them are destroyed.
	ii)	Ships that have crossed jump points and announced a jump
enter
		hyperspace and are removed from board.
	iii)	Remove any jump points whose opening ship has entered
		 hyperspace.
	iv)	Place new jump points
15)	Shadows ships cloak

Determining Initiative
Determined as for the standard rules. Fighter groups don't count as
ships. 
Any Shadow ships that decloacked that turn automatically have the
initiative.
In the case of a tie, the side with the highest tech level has the
initiative,
otherwise, a die roll is used.

Mission Level
For ramming and morale purposes, each side is assigned a mission level,
this
will be based on the scenario, the three levels are:

Routine - a normal patrol, a probe or scouting mission etc, any mission
where
heavy casualties are unacceptable. +0
Important - an attack on an enemy supply base etc, any mission where
heavy
casualties are acceptable. +1
Vital - a raid on a base to destroy a new enemy super weapon, a last
ditch
defence of the home world, etc any mission where success is paramount,
and
casualties are irrelevant as long as the mission succeeds. +2

Ramming
To ram, a ship must make a roll based on the next threshold level,
modified as
follows:
Mission routine 	+0
Mission Important	+1
Mission vital		+2
Narn			+1
Drahhzi 		+1
Hated enemy		+1

If they pass, they may attempt a ram, using the normal FT rules.Fighter
groups
may also ram, dicing as normal, their threshold dice level is 6. If they
fail
the test they cannot also attack  that turn. Fighter rams cannot be
dodged.
The whole group must  ram, and each fighter left counts rolls a D6 for
how
much damage it does, as per the FT rules.

Grappling
All ships have the ability to grapple, either by mechanical or magnetic
means.
A grappled ship may them be towed. A ship to be grappled must have no
space
drives operating.  To grapple a ship the grappling ship:
* if using mechanical must move to within 1" and exactly match velocity
* if using magnetic beams move to within 3" and the course be no more
than 1
point different, and the speed no more than 2 different . 
The grappled and grappling ships then move at the speed of the grappling
ship,
modified by the mass ratio of grappled to grappling ship, as follows: 

If target ships's mass < grappling ship's  mass 	Speed
If target ships's mass up to x2 > grappling ship's  mass	Speed/2
If target ships's mass up to x4 > grappling ship's  mass	Speed/4
If target ships's mass up to x8 > grappling ship's  mass	Speed/8

Round any fractions. If the result is 0, the target ship cannot be
towed, and
in any case, If the target ship's mass is greater than x8, it cannot be
towed.
Several ships may combine to tow a ship, in such a case their total mass
is
used, and the speed of the largest of them. If two or more are the same
size,
the fasted speed is used. An individual fighter has a mass of 1/2 for
these
calculations, thus a complete group has a mass of 3.

Boarding
As per MT rules. If the ship does not have assault pods, it must exactly
match
velocity and be within 1".

Ship Design
The following weapon systems may be used:
Beams, Blasters, Submunition Packs, Minelayers, PDAF systems, Cloaks,
Fighter
Groups, Minesweepers, Extra Damage Control, Extra Firecons, Reactors,
Armour. 
Ships are designed as per the FT rules, taking into account tech level
limits
and weapons. Their damage points are as per tech level. The cost is
determined
holistically and subjectively, and is based on a general assessment of
their
worth.

New Components

Reactor
Escorts and Cruisers have one, Capital ships two. The first one lost
means the
ship has less power, and can either only use half it's speed, or half
it's
weapons. All the ship's PDAFs count as one weapon for this calculation.
This
will continue until the reactor is repaired. If the last reactor is
destroyed,
containment starts to fail. Unless a successful damage control	roll is
made
at the end of the turn, containment will fail and the ship explodes!

Ships by Power

This section discusses the cultural characteristics of each major power,
and
their concomitant ship design philosophy and fighting methods, and
actual ship
designs.

Notation
Damage (n x m) means m rows each of n boxes
Damage (a b c d)  means 4 rows with a,b,c and d boxes respectively.
Fire Arcs
C		Center
RC	Right and Center
LC	Left and Center
RCL	Right, Center and Left
A		Aft (ie Rear)

Narn Regime

The Narn seem to favour heavily protected ships, emphasising
survivability and
good  firepower at all ranges, likewise, their fighters seem well
protected.
Their battle tactics , as far as we have seen  them,  emphasise
destroying the
enemy at long range, if possible, and massing fire against enemy ships
one at
a time, to overwhelm them. Against the Centauri they often close the
range, to
use their short range firepower to good effect.

Name:	Narn Dreadnought
Owner:	Narn Regime
Class:	Capital

Mass:	60	Mass for Fitting:	30	Damage points:	20 (5 x
4)

	Component		Mass		
	FTL			-	
	Drive (4)		-	
	A beams x2		6	2 x C		Axially mounted
	B(2) batteries x 2	4	1 x RC	1 x LC
	C  batteries x 6	6	6 x RCL  
	Missiles x 4		8	
	PDAF x 6		6	

	Stealth: 1D6
	Damage Control teams: 3
Axially mounted Beams can't be used as PDAF, and have a fire arc of  60
degrees. that is 9-11 to the front, and 5-3 to the rear.

Name:	Narn Heavy Cruiser
Owner:	Narn Regime
Class:	Cruiser

Mass:	32	Mass for Fitting:	16	Damage points:	11 (4 3
3)

	Component		Mass	
	FTL			-	
	Drive (4)		-	
	B batteries x 2 4	1 x LC	1 x RC
	B batteries x 2 4	2 x RCL
	C batteries x 4 4	4 x RCL
	PDAF x 4		4
	
	Stealth Level: 1D6			
	Damage Control teams: 2

Centauri Republic

The Centauri fighting style is flamboyant, and involves considerable
risk
taking, their tactical	doctrine seems to be to strike first, with heavy
firepower, to neutralise the enemy before they can  effectively reply. 
Their
fighter tactics involve pilots risking blacking out to get the first
shot, and
 most of their firepower seems to be  concentrated in the forward arc,
with
some weapons being very heavy, and, in line with their doctrine,  their
defences seem to be rather weak, but they have good manoeuvrability.

Name:	Valerius Battle Cruiser
Owner:	Centauri Republic
Class:	Capital

Mass:	48	Mass for Fitting:	24	Damage points:	16 (4x4)

	Component		Mass	
	FTL			-	
	Drive (5)		-	
	A(2) batteries x 4	12	2 x LC		2 x RC
	C(3) batteries x 6	6	3 x LC		3 x RC
	PDAF x 5		5	
	
	Stealth Level: 1D + 2			
	Damage Control teams: 2

Name:	Dagger Destroyer
Owner:	Centauri Republic
Class:	Cruiser

Mass:	26	Mass for Fitting:	13	Damage points:	9 (3x3)

		
	Component		Mass		
	FTL			-		
	Drive (7)		-		
	B batteries x 3 9		LC  C	RC
	PDAF x 4		4
		
	Stealth Level: 1D+2			
	Damage Control teams: 1

Name:	Blockade Mine
Owner:	Centauri Republic
Class:	Mine

Mass:	2	Mass for Fitting:	2	Damage points:	1 (1 x
1)

	Component		Mass	
	B batteries  x 1		2	

Blockade mines will shoot any hostile ships that come in range. If
several
come in range they will randomly shoot one of them.

Earth Alliance

The Earth Alliance ships seen so far give the impression of being basic
but
solid, with good defences, some weapons with wide fire arcs, and heavy
forward
firing armament. They also have  integral fighter squadrons. By all
accounts
the EA fighters are well regarded, being both fast  and heavily armed.
The
tactical doctrine of the EA, to the extent it has been seen, relies on a
lot
of  manoeuvre, and long range engagement of the enemy combined with a
fighter
attack to divide  their defences. 

Name:	Hyperion Class Heavy Cruiser
Owner:	Earth Alliance
Class:	Cruiser

These obscelescent ships are mainly used for interior patrols and
garrison
work.

Mass:	30	Mass for Fitting:	15	Damage points:	10 (4  3
 3)

	Component		Mass	
	Drive (4)		-	
	Fighters x 1		6
	B batteries x 1 2	C
	C batteries x 4 4	4 x RCL
	PDAF x 3		3
	
	Stealth Level: 1D6					
	Damage Control teams: 3

Name:	Omega Class Destroyer
Owner:	Earth Alliance
Class:	Capital

These ships are EA's strongest, and are fast, robust and heavily armed.

Mass:	60	Mass for Fitting:	30	Damage points:	20(5x4)

	Component		Mass	
	Drive (5)		-	
	FTL
	Fighters x 2		12	
	PDAF x 6		6	
	A Beams x4		12	2 x C	2 x A
		
	Stealth Level: 1D6
	Damage Control teams: 5
	Has Assault pods

The Beams are axially mounted, two fire forward and two fire to the aft,
each
firing respective through the forward and aft sectors ei 11-1 and 5-3. 

Name:	Babylon 5 - as commissioned in 2258 AD
Owner:	Earth Alliance
Mass:	600	Mass for Fitting:	60	Damage points:	64 (8x8)

	Component		Mass	
	C batteries x 8 8	Special: see below
	PDAF x 5		5	
	Fighters x 3		18	

	Stealth Level: 1D6
	Damage Control teams: 6

Note that weapons with a fire arc of  2 can  shoot in the 180#161#  to
one
side of the station or the other, half on each side. B5 has been treated
as a
large immobile merchant ship, as most of it is given over to civilian
use. For
boarding purposes it is treated as a warship. B5 has 4 firecons.

Name:	Babylon 5 - after refit in 2259 AD

Owner:	Earth Alliance

Mass:	600	Mass for Fitting:	60	Damage points:	64 (8x8)

	Component		Mass	
	C batteries x 8 8	Special: see below
	A batteries x 4 12	Special: see below
	PDAF x 7		7	
	Fighters x 5		30	

	Stealth Level: 1D6
	Damage Control teams: 6

				
Note that weapons with a fire arc of  2 can  shoot in the 180#161#  to
one
side of the station or the other. For boarding purposes it is treated as
a
warship. B5 has 4 firecons.

Mimbari Federation

The Mimbari are so superior to the EA they didn't lose a single cruiser
in
open battle against  them, their ships seem very manoeuvrable, are well
protected, and have stupendous firepower, mainly forward. They also have
stealth technology, and all in all are superior warships! Their tactical
doctrine is obscure, but seems	to involve fighters supporting their
capital
ships defensively.

Name:	Mimbari War Cruiser
Owner:	Mimbari Federation
Class:	Capital

Mass:	48	Mass for Fitting:	36	Damage points:	24

	Component		Mass	
	Armour Lvl 1		-	
	FTL			-	
	Drive (6)		-	
	A beam x3		9	LC	C	RC	
	C beam	x 6		6	LC x 3		RC x 3
	Extra Fire Con x1	3	
	Fighters x 2		12	

	Stealth Level:	2D6			
	Damage Control teams: 6

Name:	"White Star"
Owner:	Mimbari Federation Religious castes
Class:	Escort

Mass:	12	Mass for Fitting:	9	Damage points:	9 (5  4)

	Component		Mass	
	Armour-3
	FTL			-	
	Drive (8)		-	
	B multimodalx3	6	3 x C
	Fire Con		3	
	
	Stealth Level	 2D6+2			
	Damage Control Teams: 3

Shadows

The shadows favour a surprise attack in overwhelming force, this is
facilitated by their ability to  drop out of hyperspace without need for
a
jump point ; their staggeringly powerful beam  weapon , and their  great
resistance to hostile fire . The best way to handle their defensive
ability is
to allow them to have armour. Shadow ships can also secrete fighter
pods,
which burst open and release a swarm of fighters. Their ships are living
creatures of some kind, as are their fighters, and both are very
scuttley.

Name:	Dark Destroyer
Owner:	The Shadows
Class:	Capital

Mass:	60	Mass for Fitting:	45	Damage points:	32 (8 x
4) 

	Component		Mass	
	Armour-2
	FTL			-	
	Drive (8)		-	
	A beam x7	21	 7 x C	(must shoot at same target if a
ship, but can 
				shoot at fighters separately) 
	Cloak			6	
	Fighters x 3		18	

		Damage Control	Teams: 0

They can launch all their fighters at once, and can collapse any jump
gate
within 24". When they must make a threshold roll, on a roll of a 6 they
pass
out, and cannot fire or change course. Each subsequent turn in the
damage
control phase a die roll is made, on a 6 it wakes up, sorely vexed!

Vorlons
Vorlon ships are also creatures, and seem similar to the Shadow ships in
most
respects, although sleeker and with a more appealing mien.

Name:	Radiant Effulgence
Owner:	Vorlons
Class:	Capital

Mass:	80	Mass for Fitting:	60	Damage points:	40 (4 x
10) 

	Component		Mass	
	Armour-4
	FTL			-	
	Drive (4)		-	
	A beam x12		36	12 X C (must shoot at same
target if a ship, but						     can
shoot at fighters separately)	
	Fighters x 4		24	

Can detect and fire on cloaked ships. They can launch all their fighters
at
once. When they must make a threshold roll, on a roll of a 6 they pass
out,
and cannot fire or change course. Each subsequent turn in the damage
control
phase a die roll is made, on a 6 it wakes up, sorely vexed!

Name:	Numisminous
Owner:	Vorlons
Class:	Cruiser

Mass:	36	Mass for Fitting:	27	Damage points:	18 (5  5
 4 4) 

	Component		Mass	
	Armour-3
	FTL			-	
	Drive (4)		-	
	A beamx8		24 8 x C (must shoot at same target if a
ship, but can 
				shot at fighters separately)	
Can detect and fire on cloaked ships. They can launch all their fighters
at
once. When they must make a threshold roll, on a roll of a 6 they pass
out,
and cannot fire or change course. Each subsequent turn in the damage
control
phase a die roll is made, on a 6 it wakes up, sorely vexed!

Raiders

Being space pirates, they favour hit and run tactics, and place a
premium on
speed, although the  EA Starfuries are faster than the Raiders'
fighters,
which however are streamlined and can fly  through atmospheres. Until
they
acquired a carrier, they operated from bases hidden in nebula  or
asteroid
belts, once they acquired the carrier they ranged further afield.

Name:	Raider Carrier
Owner:	Raiders
Class:	Carrier(Light)

Mass:	48	Mass for Fitting:	24	Damage points:	16 (4 x
4)

	Component		Mass		
	FTL			-
	Drive (4)		-	
	PDAF x 2		2	
	Fighters x 3		18	
	Cargo Bay		4

Damage Control teams: 2
The large cargo bay can hold small ships, and, presumably, is used to
recover
fighters.	It can launch all its fighters at once.

Name:	Large Freighter
Owner:	EA
Class:	Merchant

Mass:	60	Mass for Fitting:	-	Damage points:	15
(3-4-4-4)

	Component		Mass	
	Drive (2)		-	
	PDAF x 3		3		
	
	Damage Control teams: 1

Name:	Medium Freighter
Owner:	EA
Class:	Merchant

Mass:	40	Mass for Fitting:	-	Damage points:	10
(3-3-4)

	Component		Mass	
	Drive (2)		-	
	PDAF x 2		2		
	
	Damage Control teams: 1

Name:	Small Freighter
Owner:	EA
Class:	Merchant

Mass:	20	Mass for Fitting:	-	Damage points:	5 (2x3)

	Component		Mass	
	Drive (4)		-	
	PDAF x 1		1		
	
	Damage Control teams: 1

Ship Costs
These costs reflect relative weightings, and are not based on any
formula, but
rather, play test  experience.
	EA Omega			25 (35 with starfuries)
	EA hyperion			8 (13 with starfuries)
	CR Valerius			20
	CR Destroyer		10
	Narn Dreadnought		20
	Narn heavy Cruiser		10
	EA Starfury Squadron	5
	Mimbari war cruiser		lots
	Mimbari fighter squadron	20
	Raider carrier			4(16 with fighters)
	Raider fighters 	3
	Shadow			Think of a very large large number
	Vorlon cruiser			Think of a large number
	Vorlon battleship		Think of a stupendously huge
number

Ship Component Symbols
Battery 	As per FT beams
Beam		A circle around a letter with a pair of strokes for each
arc.
Multimodal	Two concentric circles around a letter with a pair of
strokes \
			for each arc.
Reactor 	A triangle.

Designers Notes
I produced a set of B5 adaptations some time ago, however, since then I
have
seen much more of B5, have had much more play testing , and  have
rethought
almost everything; not surprisingly the final result  bears almost no
resemblance to my original adaptations.
My philosophy in designing these B5 adaptations was fourfold; 
the game had to "feel" right, it had to be true to what we know of the
B5
universe,  it had to be as simple as possible, and it had to be
tactically
challenging.
The need to make the rules tactically challenging and simplicity go
together,
the more complex a rule set becomes the more knowledge of the rules
themselves
becomes a factor in the outcome, rather than the tactics which should
flow
from a knowledge of the rules, I also wanted to make each powers' ships
reflect a different design philosophy and approach to tactics, while
remaining
true to the   series. The Centauri seem to favour aggressive tactics
which
rely on manoeuvre and heavy firepower, while perhaps being light on
defence,
this seems to reflect the sometimes flamboyant, reckless Centauri
character.
The Narn, on the other hand, seemed to favour solid, robust  ships armed
with
longer range weapons, and perhaps reflecting their philosophy of wearing
down
the enemy, and so on. The advantage of this approach is that each player
will
be confronted with a different set of tactical possibilities, but that
each
player should nonetheless have an equal chance of victory, it was this
aspect
that made the original Starfleet Battles so enjoyable and what was
latter
ruined by a plethora of supplements that introduced convergent
technologies
and excessive complexity. 
The "feel" of a set of rules is obviously subjective, but I take an
Impressionistic approach to such matters, of the vast array of factors
that
contribute to the outcome of a battle, the designer picks some and
reflects
them in a set of rules which conveys the feel of the period, rather than
trying to accurately simulate the minutia , which I believe is
impossible in
any case. As a result I found I had to rewrite large chunks of FT, or at
the
very least radically extend it, as early attempts to simulate B5 using
the
rules as they are just didn't feel right.
Now to the specific reasons as to why I did various things. The tech
level
concept was taken from discussions on the GZG Mailing Group some time
ago, and
the division into tech levels is very useful for allowing weapons of the
same
notional type to do more damage, as a basis for improve drives, and may
other
things. Each tech level represents a quantum jump of technology over the
previous level, such that a ship of that tech level could easily defeat
one of
a lower tech level.
As for weaponry, there are two kinds of main weapons seen in B5, the
first
being a sub light weapon of various sizes and ROF's, which fire discrete
bolts
of particles. These can be intercepted by similar weapons, so allowing
PDAF's
to act as screens seemed very natural, and in practice works well. There
is
also a second type of weapon seen, an energetic laser type weapon, there
seem
to be no defence against such a weapon, so I invented a new weapon type
"beams", as the simplest solution rather than trying to shoehorn an
existing
weapon into that role, all attempts at which proved to be awkward and
unconvincing. The result , again, works well, and has  added advantage
of
allowing the weapon to be used in other roles, for example, the Mimbari
Beams
have been seen used as a general attack, a needle beam, and a PDAF, so
the
rules reflect this.
Another change made was dropping the damage points of each ship, this
again
allowed tech levels to be reflected by changing the ratios of mass to
damage
points, and also to reflect the brittle nature of B5 ships. Early
attempts
used standard masses, but the ships seemed to last too long, the lowered
damage points gives the right feel. An outgrowth of the need to
accurately
"simulate" the damage was the creation of a new component, the Reactor.
Damage
to the reactor can cause loss of power at a critical moment, and if the
final 
reactor is hit, the ship will explode if the damage control roll is not
made,
this allows a lucky shot to kill a ship, and is something of an
equaliser.
More intangibly, It also creates a fine dramatic tension throughout the
turn,
climaxing as the damage control dice are cupped and rolled!  The special
rules
for the Vorlon and Shadow ships  neatly recreates the nature of organic
ships,
in that they seem holistic , so don't actually have specific systems, on
the
other hand, if a bit is shot off, they may faint from the pain, but
otherwise
not be damaged, so when they awake they will be both sore and sorely
vexed!
The biggest single change was how fighters were handled. It became clear
early
on the standard B5 fighter rules were inadequate for modelling them in
the B5
universe. In B5 , fighters have multi hour endurances, high speeds and
are
effectively used as small fast attack craft, more analogous to naval
torpedo
boats than aircraft. The decision to therefore treat them as special
small
ships brought many benefits; they could keep up and indeed run down any
other
ships, there was no need to worry about keeping track of endurance etc
etc.
Having to write orders for each squadron IS extra work, but I think the
benefits far outweigh the extra record keeping. Rating each fighter in
all the
separate categories, rather than having the  generic fighter types,
allowed
each type of fighter to be individualised, and brought out the essential
differences between the powers, this system is also flexible, if needed
new
types can be added in. All in all, fighters are now much more
challenging to
use, but much more useful, indeed, It is possible to have an enjoyable
game
just with fighters!
The decision to use stealth levels grew from earlier attempts at
simulating it
by using screens etc. This didn't seem right, as a screened ship can
still be
damaged, just less likely, then there was the problem of how to fit in
the
Beams v screens. There don't seem to be screens in the B5 universe, and
using
screens to simulate stealth proved contrived and unsatisfactory. I
adopted the
system of contested rolls as the most natural way to handle stealth, and
it
works on table. EA forces can't damage Mimbari cruisers because they
can't
target them (they only have a 9% of winning the stealth roll), and the
Mimbari
weaponry is so good it will quickly demolish an EA ship. The bonuses for
in
close were a balancing mechanism, as play experience showed that it was
impossible for EA ships to beat Mimbari (as it should be), allowing
close
range bonuses gave the EA player some hope if they manoeuvred well
enough, and
it could also be rationalised that the closer you get to a stealthed
object
the less effective it would be (indeed, anything can be rationalised
with
practice).
Finally, I decided to abandon the official points system. Any additive
type
points system is difficult to balance, and with disparate technology
levels it
is impossible. I have therefore adopted a relativistic approach, a
single
overall  value is assigned each ship, compared to all the others. This
approach is subjective, yet  I think works better than any other system
.
Obviously it only works for a closed universe, that is, with fixed ship
models, but that is what is being simulated so this causes no problem. I
would
finally like to thank the Tuesday Night playtesters, we achieved a lot
and
severely enjoyed ourselves as well.
I hope you enjoy using these adaptations as much as we do, and get many
hours
of gaming pleasure from them!

Peace and Love
Geoffrey Stewart