Babylon 5
From CCG Workshop Wiki
| Babylon 5
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Publisher: Precedence Games
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Game Type: CCG
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| Project Lead(s): Novelty
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 Screenshot of Babylon 5 on gatlingEngine |
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It is the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, the middle of the Twenty-third Century. Man is far from alone in the universe.
A hundred years ago, Humanity made contact with its first alien civilization - or more to the point, they made contact with Humanity. Before the arrival of the Centauri, Humans were confined to their own solar system and forced to sue slow sleeper ships to explore the universe. The Centauri gave Earth the stars, offering the use of their jumpgates: portals into hyperspace - and later, taught Humans how to make their own.
In the eighty years that followed, Humanity flexed its muscles, expanding outward at a rapid pace. When a group of less powerful races was attacked by an invading army, Earth came to their aid, cementing its role as a major galactic power, if a young, brash one.
The wave of euphoria came crashing down when Humanity made contact with a mysterious race called the Minbari. The Earth-Minbari War began with a misunderstanding between the Minbari and a human captain too quick on the trigger. Thanks to bad luck or something darker, Earth's first meeting with the Minbari resulted in the death of their supreme religious and political leader. To the Minbari, what followed was a Holy War, vengeance for the murder of their spiritual leader. Earth was no match for the technologically superior Minbari, and they easily beat mankind back to their home planet.
Then, without explanation, as their ships closed in on Earth and wiped out the last desperate defenses, the Minbari halted their advance and surrendered. Only an elite few knew why.
The Babylon Project was conceived in the aftermath of the war. Modelled after the United Nations, it would be a meeting place, a neutral ground where the powers could meet and work out their differences peacefully.
The first three Babylon Stations were sabotaged in mid-construction. The fourth was completed, but just as it was about to go online, it vanished without a trace. The Earth government would have stopped there, but some of the alien governments, seeing the value of a meeting ground, offered financial assistance for the construction of a fifth station. Naturally, there were strings attached.
Babylon 5 is the story of the last of the Babylon Stations, the last hope for a galaxy without war. It begins in the year 2257 with the opening of the Babylon 5 Station.
Babylon 5 CCG can be played by as a 2 player game, but it is better as a multiplayer game. 3 - 4 players would be ideal, although the maximum can theoretically go into the high teens and even the early 20s. Each player chooses a different faction and play an appropriate ambassador of that faction. The player attempts to build the faction, then set an Agenda for the faction to pursue. By fulfilling the faction's Agenda and accumulating Power, the player will lead their race to a position of dominance and win the game.
Players may use diplomacy, intrigue, psi or military conquest as stepping stones to power. They can choose to rise to dominance on their own merits, or choose to seek the aid of an elder race like the Shadows or the Vorlons.
Expansions
- Premiere 446 cards. Published 1997. This is the base set. However a large number of cards from this set has had the text changed in the later reprints in the Deluxe expansion. The initial 4 races - Human, Minbari, Narn and Centauri are found in this expansion.
- Shadows 203 cards. Published 1998.
- Deluxe 380 cards. Published 1998. This expansion consist mainly of cards reprinted from Premiere with the corrected text changes.
- Great War 397 cards. Published 1998. Home factions are introduced in this expansion, as well as contingency cards and Shadow and Vorlon Characters.
- Psi-Corps 196 cards. Published 1999. The Psi-Corps join the game in this expansion as a third human faction.
- Severed Dreams 150 cards. Published 1999.
- Wheel of Fire 152 cards. Published 2000. The Drakh makes an appearance in this expansion as well as the ISA.
- Crusade 159 cards. Published 2000. The Crusade pile and characters from the Crusade series show up as cards in this expansion.
- Collector's Set 12 cards. Originally titled the Masterpiece Collection, this expansion was never published though the cards were made available on Vorlon Space in 2001.
Fan Made
- Anla'Shok 133 cards. Fan Published 2003. Precedence was developing the Anla'Shok expansion. However the company folded before the expansion was published. One of the developers of the game, Bruce Mason, continued development of the expansion based on the latest developmental ideas from Precedence. The Corporate faction becomes a new racial faction.
- The Vorlons 144 cards. Fan Published 2005. Some of the cards in this expansion was based on ideas left over from the fan development of Anla'Shok. Others were new ideas designed to fill in the gaps of the game. A new Crusade pile, the Enigma pile and a large number of Vorlon characters characterises this expansion.
- The Dying Races In development. This expansion is currently being developed by Bruce Mason and the CCG Workshop Babylon 5 players. Presently on hiatus with tentative plan to resume during Spring 2007.
