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In Memory, Still BrightIn Memory, Still Bright

1THE GREAT MACHINEISSUE 18 Spring 2006 THE GREAT MACHINE


2 THE GREAT MACHINE ISSUE 18 Spring 2006THE GREAT MACHINE

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents

This issue of The Great Machine is specialin many ways, the least of all because it is areal person that is supposedly writing theintroduction (or am I?). In February we lost avery special talent in Andreas Katsulas. Hisdeath did not come as a complete surprise,but that does not soften the blow.

As I saw remarked on the web by anotherBabylon 5 fan, it took Star Trek nearly 20years to lose anyone (DeForest Kelley... itseems the doctors die first), but in a little overten years Babylon 5’s cast has already begunto fade slowly away. Andreas joins RichardBiggs and Tim Choate among the list ofactors that have passed on since theirappearances on Babylon 5.

I hope that everyone enjoys this issue of TheGreat Machine. Special thanks goes out toSean Hillman, who was one of the few B5Wfans to answer the “call to arms” for thisissues submissions. It was only the day afterthe request went out on the forums that Seananswered with his Shadows Cubed scenario.That is real dedication!

Katsulas will always be G’Kar, and he will bemissed.

To absent friends, in memory still bright.

Tyrel LohrEDITOR

3 Remembering G’KarA look at the life and memories of the lateAndreas Katsulas.

7 Ambassador G’Kar &Commander TomalakSample elite officer combinations torepresent these two prominent figures.

10 Narn Ships: Past,Present and FutureWe look into the past to find the lost shipsof the Narn Regime. What fan ships havewe forgotten?

13 Staring Across theNeutral ZoneThe Romulans return with a vengeance,with ships from the archives expanding theirfleet’s options and capabilities.

16 Shadows CubedThe Shadows and Borg have joined forcesto invade the Alpha Quadrant. Can G’Karand Tomalak defeat them before it is toolate?

18 Talons of the RaptorCharles Haught presents a new slate ofadvanced Romulan warships.

22 The Stars are Right!David Ainsworth delves into the heart of theMythos, providing us with a horrifyingglimpse at terrors beyond space and time.

32 Ships of the HyachFleetNew ships for the Hyach!

34 Rules of EngagementSean Hillman B5W conversion of the Rulesof Engagement computer game universe.

40 SCS RoundupThe Firefly Freighter, Federation Antarctica,and EA Command Explorer are inbound!

43 Next Issue

ContentsContentsContentsContentsContents

It was the year of fire...



AndreasKatsulas

May 18, 1946 -February 13, 2006

Remembering G’KarThis February the science fiction community lost one

of its most notable actors, in the form of Andreas Katsulas.Whether you associate his presence with RomulanCommand Tomalak, Narn diplomat G’Kar, or the One-Armed Man, you should have some fond memories of thissingular and irraplaceable actor.

Andreas Katsulas death after a battle with lung cancerwas not a complete surprise to some, as information aboutKatsulas’ condition had become public via other Babylon5 castmates at conventions the year before his death. Still,his death came as a sad surprise. He will definitely bemissed, and no one will ever be able to replace him asG’Kar: one of the most important, if not most important,characters on the Babylon 5 canvas.

In TributeThis issue of The Great Machine is a tribute to the life

and work of Andreas Katsulas. We asked the fancommunity to submit material that would honor the manwho for us some us symbolizes the Narn or Romulanempires. I am happy to say that some of you answeredthis call to arms, submitting material quickly for inclusionin this special issue.

Obituaries and RemembrancesWhat follows are a series of obituaries and notable

Internet notes left by fans, friends, and family of AndreasKatsulas. All of this information comes from other variouswebsites, including the Los Angeles Times, St. LouisDispatch, ISNNews.net, and Usenet.



From the Los Angeles Times

Andreas KatsulasLOS ANGELES (AP) - Veterancharacter actor Andreas Katsulas,immortalized as imposing red-eyedalien ambassador G'Kar on television's"Babylon 5" and a one-armed murdererin the 1993 film "The Fugitive," has diedof lung cancer. He was 59.

Katsulas, who had been undergoingchemotherapy treatments, died in hisLos Angeles home Feb. 13, his agentDonna Massetti said Monday.

"He was a lovely and talented man, andwe are deeply saddened. He will bemissed," Massetti said.

Born May 18, 1946, in St. Louis, Katsulas earned amaster's degree in theater at Indiana University.

He appeared in small roles in a handful of films beforelanding the part of a Greek immigrant in 1982's "King ofAmerica" and then a regular role that same year in thesoap opera "Guiding Light."

He cemented his status as the actor to go to for villainouscharacters with his turn as mobster Joey Venza in RidleyScott's "Someone to Watch Over Me" in 1987.

Katsulas donned a prosthetic device in 1993's "TheFugitive" to portray the murderous one-armed manFrederick Sykes, who frames Harrison Ford's Dr.Richard Kimble in the death of Kimble's wife.

But Katsulas' role as Narn ambassador G'Kar in thesyndicated television series "Babylon 5" brought him themost attention.

Spending hours in heavy makeup, the actor played G'Karas a diplomat whose hatred of Londo Mollari of theCentauri Republic became a central theme of the show.Later, G'Kar evolved into a spiritual leader.

Katsulas also appeared as Commander Tomalak inseveral episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

He also appeared on such TV shows as "NYPD Blue,"

"Diagnosis Murder" and "Murder, SheWrote"and in such films as "TheSicilian" and "Executive Decision."

Survivors include his wife, Gilla NissanKatsulas, and two children from aprevious marriage, Michael andKatherine.

* * *

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch

02/17/2006

Andrew C. "Andreas" Katsulas, a St.Louis-born actor best known forcharacters he portrayed in such films

as "The Fugitive" and the television series "Babylon 5,"died Monday (Feb. 13, 2006) at his home in Los Angelesafter a battle with lung cancer. He was 59.

Mr. Katsulas took to the stage as a child, performing incommunity theater and with a high school theater groupin St. Louis. He studied theatrical arts at St. LouisUniversity and earned a master's degree in theater fromIndiana University in Bloomington.

He landed roles with the St. Louis Repertory Theatreand later in plays in New York and Boston. He joinedPeter Brook's International Theatre Company andtraveled around the world, performing in improvisationaland prepared theater pieces. He performed on well-known stages such as Lincoln Center in New York andthe Kennedy Center in Washington but also in suchlocations as barrios in Venezuela and the marketplacesof remote African villages.

After Mr. Katsulas was cast in Michael Cimino's "TheSicilian," he traveled to Los Angeles, where he waschosen to play Joey Venza in Ridley Scott's "SomeoneTo Watch Over Me," and then Arthur the chauffeur inBlake Edwards' "Sunset."

Since 1986, Mr. Katsulas lived in Los Angeles, wherehe played dozens of roles in feature films, including theone-armed man in "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford,and recent parts in "Executive Decision" and "Babylon5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die inStarlight." Among his television appearances were



"Diagnosis Murder," "Murder, SheWrote," and "Star Trek."

His roles in "Star Trek" and asG'Kar in "Babylon 5" made him apopular figure with science fictionbuffs, and he appeared at sciencefiction conventions in the St. Louisarea, including the Archon 27 inCollinsville in 2003.

The funeral will be held at 10 a.m.today at St. Nicholas GreekOrthodox Church, 4967 ForestPark Avenue. Interment will be at St. Matthew Cemetery.

Among the survivors are his wife, Gilla Nissan Katsulasof Los Angeles; a daughter, Katherine Parker of Buffalo,N.Y.; and a son, Michael Katsulas of Springfield, Mo.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. NicholasGreek Orthodox Church, 4967 Forest Park Avenue, St.Louis, Mo. 63108. Their website is: http://www.sngoc.org/main.asp

* * *

A Note from JMS, Posted to Usenet

Subject: Andreas Katsulas is goneFrom: [email protected]: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:52:01 +0000 (UTC)

Just over a year ago, Andreas Katsulas -- who lovedsmoking with a passion that cannot be described -- wasdiagnosed with lung cancer, which by then had alreadyspread to other areas. He quit smoking at once andwent on a healthy diet and vitamin program, but therewas little hope of a good resolution even though thenew regimen was very good for him. When we spokeabout it, he laughed, and said, "Now that I'm dying I'venever felt better!"

His spirits were always up and positive, putting everyoneat ease about his condition, because...well, that's thekind of person he was.

A couple of months ago, he and his wife convened adinner with me, Doug, and Peter Jurasik, which wasfilled with laughter and stories and good food. He wanted

to know all the stories we never toldhim because, as he said, "Who amI going to tell?" So we did. Becausewe knew we were saying goodbye,and there would not be a secondchance.

Last night, in the company of hiswife and family, Andreas closed hiseyes and went away.

He lived an amazing life...full oftravel and wonder and goodwork...was part of the world

renowned Peter Brook company...he saw the planet,loved and was loved, ate at great restaurants, smokedtoo many cigarettes...he lived a life some people woulddie for.

And, sadly, due to the last part of that equation...he did.

Memorial arrangements are still being worked out, butwill doubtless be private.

Andreas is gone...and G'Kar with him, because no oneelse can ever play that role, or ever will.

I will miss him terribly.

J. Michael Straczynski

* * *

A Message from Katherine (Katsulas) Parker,From isnnews.net

NOTE OF APPRECIATIONFrom: "Kate Parker"Subject: From Andreas's Biggest FanDate: Friday, February 24, 2006 23:24:32

To all those and the Zocalo and anyone else interestedin reading,

My name is Katherine Parker. I have the distinct honorof being Andreas's eldest child, from his first marriage.I am writing, first of all, because I want you all to knowhow much it means to me to see so many people cryingout at the loss of my father. I think that my father sawhis screen acting as a 'day job', something he did to



earn a few bucks. I don't think he ever really understoodhow much his acting meant to his fans. Thank you somuch for all your condolences and sympathy. In return,I thought you might enjoy sharing some of my reflectionsand memories.

What I see being said about my father again and againis that he had a "zest for life." I want people to understandwhat that really means. It does NOT mean that he wasout partying every night, or that he was a thrill-seeker.He was anything but! It means that when he saw abeautiful flower with vibrant color he would have tearsin his eyes. It means that he pinched every penny sothat he could spend his money only on what he valuedmost. It also means that, in Greek tradition, he LOVEDto eat and to cook. Most of my fondest memories of dadrevolve around one good meal or another. It means thathe woke up early every morning, never sleeping theday away.

Among those that knew Andreas best, the most commontheme in their remembrances of him is the image of avery quiet, very private person. And in this we see ahuge contrast. On one hand, people remember my fatheras the giant of an actor who flooded the stage and screenwith his sometimes comical, often terrifying, characters(One of the saddest things about my father's actingcareer, I think, is how often he had to play the bad guy.He was such a funny person!). On the other hand, peopleremember him as being meditative, dodging conventionoffers and most fan mail, and as being the one whodidn't go out drinking with the rest of the cast after acon. But the fact of the matter is that BOTH of thesecharacters represent who my father was. And the reasonthat G'Kar was such an important part of my father's lifeis that he reflected both the private, spiritual man andthe man with the dark and delightful sense of humor.The fact that G'Kar has touched so many people onlyshows me that people appreciated my father for who hewas; G'Kar and my father had a LOT in common.

Again, thank you all for your sympathy.

Sincerely,Katherine (Katsulas) Parker

* * *

Video Tribute to Andreas KatsulasAs with the passing of Richard Biggs (Dr. StephenFranklin, B5), John Hudgens, has created a videomemoralizing Andreas Katsulas. Combining variousscenes from the many years of Babylon 5, this video isa fitting tribute to both the man and the character heportrayed.

http://www.zteamproductions.com/b5stuff/Andreas.html

* * *

For information on other deceasedactors and personalities connected toBabylon 5, please visit the Babylon5: In Memory, Still Bright website at:

http://isnanchordesk.com/mem/



IntroductionThis article takes a look at the

history and abilities of two of thecharacters that Andreas Katsulasportrayed in science fiction. One isrecognizable to all of us:Ambassador G’Kar, to many theheart and soul of Babylon 5. Theother is Romulan CommanderTomalak, one of the mostmemorable opponents that the crewof the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-Dever encountered.

Statistics are included for bothBabylon 5 Wars (obviously!) as wellas for the Victory by Any Meanscampaign system.

Ambassador G’KarG’Kar began life as the

son of a Narn slave. Whenhis father was killed by hisCentauri master, G’Kar ranaway and joined theresistance. There he workedto help free his people fromthe Centauri occupation and,later, expand the Narn sphereof influence. In particular, inparticipated in the initialsubjugation and invasion of

the Tuchanq homeworld of Tachunq.Later in life, G’Kar found himself

in the service of the Third Circle ofthe Kha’Ri – the diplomatic circle. Aspart of his diplomatic duties, G’Kartraveled between worlds seekingallies to help protect Homeworld andat the same time bite at theCentauri’s throat. One such missionfound him on Earth during their warwith the Minbari, with G’Karbrokering weapons deals betweenthe Narn Regime and the EarthAlliance.

Eventually Ambassador G’Karwas appointed the Narn delegate tothe neutral space station Babylon 5,located in neutral territory between

the four major regional governments.Over the course of the next six years,G’Kar would grow from being aspiteful warrior into an enlightenedvisionary. The transformation wasnot sudden; much baggage had tobe shed before G’Kar could learn tosee past his hatreds. By this time heeven came to befriend his oncemortal enemy, the Centauriambassador to Babylon 5, LondoMollari.

After the formation of theInterstellar Alliance, G’Kar traveledas a special envoy. This employmentended when G’Kar was imprisonedon Centauri Prime. G’Kar’s lifeended in 2278 when he helped

Emperor Mollari free himselfof his Keeper.

Babylon 5 Wars OfficerStatsTrying to get G’Kar’s abilitiesto fit into the B5W frameworkis difficult. The B5W eliteofficer rules are not asgranular as those found inthe VBAM system, so somekludging is required to makeanything work. In the end, Idecided that the best fit for

Ambassador G’Karand

Command Tomalak

Elite Officers forBabylon 5 Wars and

Victory by Any Means

By Tyrel Lohr



G’Kar would be to have thetraditional Narn trait of Expert WarLeader, as well as a secondaryfighter-based trait of ExpertMotivator. Both felt like good fits forG’Kar.

It could be debated that, at leastlater in his life, G’Kar could beconsidered an Expert ReligiousLeader. This is a definite possibility,but I am not sure that it fits him aswell as it does Delenn or other highlyreligious characters.

ShipsExpert War Leader

Expert Religious Leader (optional)

Fighters & ShuttlesExpert Motivator

VBAM Officer StatsThe abilities that Ambassador

G’Kar demonstrated both onscreenand in his background make him anextremely versatile elite officer. Hedoes not possess any exceptionallyhigh level traits in any field beyonddiplomacy, but he can take on nearlyany mission and provide somebenefit to its execution.

The G’Kar from Season 1 ofBabylon 5 is a Rank 6 elite officer,specializing in Diplomatic endeavors,possessing the following traits:(Ground) Defense: Unit, CommandRating: Ship, (Flight) Defense: Wing,Negotiator, Firebrand, andAmbassador. By Season 3, G’Karhas risen to being a Rank 7 officer,adding Infiltration to his repertoire.By this point in the series, G’Kar’sability to get information in and outof Narn was quite good – even if heneeded Garibaldi’s help to smugglethings in. During Season 5, with thespread of the Book of G’Kar (coffeestain and all), G’Kar rose to beingCharismatic, increasing him to a

Rank 8 officer. In VBAM terms, thisis a considerable feat!

Chronologically, the first time thatwe see G’Kar is during the events ofthe Earth/Minbari War, as shown inthe TNT telefilm In the Beginning.Here G’Kar should be considered aRank 4 officer, with (Ground)Defense: Unit, Command Rating:Ship, (Flight) Defense: Wing, andNegotiator traits. He would gain hisother abilities over the course of thenext 10 years prior to being assignedto Babylon 5.

Level 1 Ground OfficerDefense: Unit

Level 1 Fleet OfficerCommand Rating: Ship

Level 1 Flight OfficerDefense: Wing

Level 5 DiplomatCharismaticNegotiatorFirebrand

AmbassadorInfiltration

Commander TomalakThe embodiment of the Romulan

Star Empire during the time periodof Star Trek: The Next Generation,Commander Tomalak was aprominent officer in the Romulannavy that was often spotted incommand of ships along theFederation/Romulan Neutral Zone.

Tomalak was not afraid to riskconflict with the United Federation ofPlanets. On several instances,Command Tomalak defied treaty andentered the neutral zone. On oneoccasion, Tomalak illegally crossedinto the neutral zone to find andrecover a Romulan scout that hadcrashed on Galorndon Core. Inanother instance, he pounced onPicard’s Enterprise after it hadmoved into the neutral zone toinvestigate reports provided by aRomulan defector. If not for theassistance of the Klingons, theEnterprise may not have survived thelatter encounter.

The final appearance ofCommand Tomalak was in analternate timeline in which hecommanded a task force of overthirty warbirds sent to watch andinvestigate the anti-time eruption inthe Devron star system, a world



located inside the Romulan NeutralZone. It is somewhat ironic thatAndreas Katsulas’ Tomalak wouldmake an appearance in the TNGseries finale, but be absent fromBabylon 5 ’s own (due tochronological reasons, of course).

Babylon 5 Wars Officer StatsTomalak is perceived to be an

extremely affluent and competentcommander, and as such I havegiven him B5W traits commensuratewith that standing. CommandTomalak is both an Expert PoliticalOfficer as well as an Expert Warrior,the latter trait typically reservedsolely for the Drazi and other highlybelligerent and militant species.These two traits I think help tocapture the political connections thatTomalak enjoyed as well as his skillin combat.

ShipsExpert Political Officer

Expert Warrior

VBAM Officer StatsDetermining statistics for

Tomalak based on his limitedappearances is difficult to do. As aresult, in compiling these stats I haveopted to make Commander Tomalaka true career military officer, with asupreme focus on starship combat.

As of 2366, when we firstencounter Tomalak, he should beconsidered a Level 6 Fleet Officerwith a Rank of 7 (thank to the PoliticalFavorite trait). In this configuration,Tomalak is an extremely competentcaptain.

Level 6 Fleet OfficerAnti-Ship: Ship (2 Levels)Command Rating: Ship

Formations: ShipMaster TacticianPolitical Favorite

* * *

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IntroductionBeing one of the ‘core’ races in

the Babylon 5 universe, the Narnhave received a lot of attentionfrom fan designers throughoutthe life cycle of Babylon 5Wars. A number of Narnship submissions havegraced the pages of The GreatMachine and Babcom before it,offering more tactical possibilities forour spot-headed friends.

With the passing of AndreasKatsulas, and G’Kar with him, Ithought it would be a good time totake a look back at some of the “lost”Narn ship designs that some mayhave forgotten since their originalintroduction.

It is somewhat depressing thatno current fans of Babylon 5 Warssubmitted any new Narn designs forthis issue, but that is more owing tothe waning interest in Babylon 5Wars and, by extension, The GreatMachine.

G’Tir GunboatBackground: The G’Tir Gunboat isan advancement over the olderD’Tarn class. The G’Tir possessesroughly the same firepower butincorporates advances into othership systems, including sensors andarmor. Improvements in sensorreduction techniques have alsobenefitted the hull, giving it a betterdefense profile.

Prior to the War of Retribution,G’Tir Gunboats were used solely ina police role. These craft were usedto patrol locations in the Narnterritories that did not warrant thepresence of a full Sho’Kos PoliceCutter. However, with the start of thewar, the G’Tirs were ultimately

pressed into fleet combat. Theclass fared poorly, but every ship

was needed to help and holdback the Centauri advance on

Homeworld.After the fall of the Narn

homeworld to the Centauri, manyG’Tir captains managed to escapewith their ships and crew intoneighboring territories. The DraziFreehold was especially welcomingof the renegade ships, even moresoafter the Centauri began annexingworlds along the Drazi border.

Once Homeworld was freed, theG’Tir Gunboats saw to the immediatedefense of it and the other freedNarn territories. These small shipswere capable of beating back someof the less impressive raiders thathad moved in to take advantage ofthe Narn’s weakness.Comments: The G’Tir Gunboat wasoriginally named and designed byAlex “Xander” Fulton, and was oneof the first set of “gunboat” class fanships introduced into Babylon 5Wars. These ships would later returnand become the basis for the LightCombat Vessels found in the SecondEdition of Babylon 5 Wars. However,

NARN SHIPSPast, Present,

and FutureBy Tyrel Lohr



it is important to note whendiscussing Light Combat Vessel’sthat it was Juan-Manuel Vidal’sdogged pursuit of resurrectingFulton’s gunship concept thateventually led to the developmentand standardization of the smallships that we all know and love (orloathe, as the case may be).

G’Koth Scout CruiserBackground: The G'Koth was thefirst combat ELINT ship widely usedby the Narn's after their war ofindependence from the Centauri.Poor and inadequate, it tradedfirepower for a weak sensorupgrade. It did not take long for thisdesign to be phased out of service.The last one was gone several yearsbefore the first Sho'Kar was built.Comments: One of my own oldVariant rejects that Paul Brown puttogether as a GIF SCS. That was along time ago!

G’Kar Super CruiserComments: This class was createdby someone that went by the screenname of “Ramius” or similar in theyear 2000. The background text forthe class is unavailable, but itinvolved the Narn building a newstarship with the assistance of theInterstellar Alliance’s technicalassistance.

As the non-standard controlsheet demonstrates, the G’Kar is an

extremely powerful vessel -- perhapstoo powerful. The ship wasconsidered a bit outlandish by someat the time of its release, but withoutplaytesting no one will ever know.Still, it is an interesting look back ata ship from Babylon 5 Wars’ past.

Na'Lon Assault FrigateBackground: The origin of theNa'Lon Assault Frigate first beganwhen shipyards cut back productionon the T'Loth Cruisers in favor ofsome of the newer designs resultingin a supply of excess parts.Increased need for an inexpensivemulti-purpose support vesselpressured designers to come up witha ship that utilized pre-existingmanufacturing processes. Designafter design was rejected for onereason or another as was theproposed Na'Lon.

The design was discarded untila shipyard, that received the variousdesigns for feasibility study, hadproduction set back a month due toattacks to the shipping lanes by the

Centauri. The foreman in charge ofthe facility, not wanting his crews tobe paid without working, ordered theconstruction of the only design theyhad the components necessary tocomplete, the Na'Lon. Within threeweeks, an amazing amount of timefor a new design, the first Na'Lonrolled off the line and began it'sshakedown trials. Though classifiedas a frigate, since it was nearly thesize of a cruiser, it's armament andlack of a jump drive makes it'scombat effectiveness more like thatof a destroyer. A second ship hadalready been started when anothershipping attack delayed normalproduction again. Three Na'Lonswere completed by the time theshipyard was able to resume normalproduction.

The completed Na'Lons sat foranother month until a battlegroupwho had just seen combat andneeded repairs arrived. They wereon a planetary assault mission butwere intercepted by a Centauri taskforce. Towing a crippled T'Loth andmany of their ships damaged ordestroyed, they were ready to returnfor new orders until they saw theNa'Lons berthed. Inspecting theships they found the division oftroops they carried in the crippledT'Loth could fit onto the three of themand repairs on their other ships couldbe accomplished in short order.Gaining approvals from the Kha'Ri,the Na'Lons were added to theirbattlegroup and performed beyondall expectations. After the successfulassault, the design was reevaluatedand accepted and more orders forthe frigate were received.

Slowly, the Na'Lon turned into anaval workhorse, it's capacity tocarry almost a brigade of troops andequipment or additional fightersupport made the ship useful in bothassault and transport roles. Though

Vid



many variants of this ship exist, themost common mounted the newlydeveloped Energy Mine to assist inbombarding orbital defenses.

The Na'Lon can still be foundhere and there but it's use hasdecreased dramatically since thedevelopment of the Dag'Kar Frigateand Rongoth Destroyer.Comments: This ship was createdby Todd Boyce, and the text comesfrom his website, Battle Spoo (http:// r a v e n s b r a n c h . a l l e n . c o m /battlespoo.html). This ship appearedbefore AOG’s own T’Loth panel shipsdid, and in some ways I am stillpreferential to Todd’s design. It issimply a more interesting ship thanksin large part to the variety inherentin the design. You have severaldifferent types of weapons that givethe ship an entirely different ‘feel’than that of the T’Rakk and its ilk.

Shadow G’QuanComments: After the release of theShadow Omega as a Ship of theMonth release, Graves and SymonCook went whole hog creating a widerange of Shadow-tech infusedstarships. One of these was a

Shadowized version of the NarnG’Quan. This ship isn’t a seriousdesign, being a lot like my ownShadow White Star, but it was surelyan interesting intellectual exercise.The ship is still usable, too -- it wouldmake an excellent scenario target!

G’eron BattleshipComments: Anyone that wasaround during the First Edition wouldknow about the Narn G’eron. Thisship was created by Keith Dague,operator of the Stellardyne Shipyardswebsite. Stellardyne was one of thefirst major Babylon 5 Wars sites andfeatured a number of interesting,original ship designs -- includingoriginal ship miniatures that wereavailable for mail order.

Eventually, some time afterStellardyne disappeared, Rich Baxapplied his unique style to creatinga new version of the G’eronBattleship. In so doing he‘modernized’ the design, bringing itup to the Second Edition standard.Some changes were made to theship’s arsenal, but the intent of the

design remained the same.

The G’eron Battleship is essentiallyan oversized G’Quan Heavy Cruiser,with a little more firepower in allareas. It is a nice, balanced ship andone that I look back on with somedegree of nostalgia. I don’t think Iever played with the ship, but Iconsider it a de facto part of the NarnRegime’s order of battle.

Tor’Eth Fighter BomberComments: Roman “ShadowScout” Perner’s Tor’Eth FighterBomber originally appeared in anissue of Babcom. This Narn fighterbomber was based on a piece of CGIartwork that has made the roundsaround the Babylon 5 fancommunity. Since its release, theTor’Eth was been a favorite of theBabylon 5 Wars community.

* * *

The Post-WarNarn Fleet

Rich Bax has compiled his viewof the Post-War Narn fleet,reflecting the state of the NarnRegime navy following theCentauri withdrawal in 2261. APDF containing backgroundmaterial and ship control sheetscan be found at his website:

www.richbax.com



IntroductionAmbassador Tomalak was a

patriot of the Romulan Star Empire,one of the more mysterious politicalentities in the Star Trek universe –and also one of the most powerful.The Romulan Star Empire’srepresentation in my B5Wconversion has always been spottyat best, with a poorer selection ofships for any given time period thantheir arch rivals, the Federation orKlingon empires.

In assembling this issue, I lookedback into my archives and dug up afew ships that I don’t think every sawthe light of day during my days ofhigh activity. These designs are shipsthat I came up with but neverreleased, for one reason or another.

Dhael’tagor DreadnoughtThis ship is a conversion of the

Romulan Condor from the Star FleetBattles game. The conversion is notperfect, of course, given my lack ofknowledge of SFB. The ship

attempted to convert the ship so thatthe general armament remained, butnot on a 1:1 basis.

This large dreadnought is morethan capable of leading a fleet intobattle. In fact, the ship was built toserve as a task force command ship

and saw extensive use in this role incombat against the Gorn.

The ship’s one major failing is alack of a cloaking device. Oncecloaking devices became standardin the Romulan fleet, theDhael’tagors were removed fromservice. The cost of prepping theship to use a cloaking device wassimply more than the Romulangovernment was willing to pay.

Vas’Hathirra Bird of PreyThis early precursor to the

Vas’Hatham served in the Romulanimperial navy during its conflicts withthe Gorn in the early 2200s. Thisstarship is much the same as thelater Bird of Prey model that wouldwreak havoc on the Federationborder; it simply uses oldertechnology. Blast beams replaceMedium Disruptors (which were notavailable to the Romulan Star Empireprior to its alliance with the Klingons),and the central plasma mortar isreplaced by the older, less powerfulplasma shotgun.

Staring Across theNeutral Zone

By Tyrel Lohr



D’nei’rrh WarbirdIn searching for any

Romulan starships I may havecreated and then forgot about, Icame across this finished project.This warbird was designed after Iplayed around in Photoshop andsuperimposed a Valdore over anormal D’deridex Warbird andcreated a ‘merged’ version of the twoships.

The original concept behind thisdesign is that of an evolutionarydesign that could link the newerValdore to the older D’deridex – amerging of the two designphilosophies. Looking at the shipcontrol sheet, it seems that I decidedto make the ship a fairly advancedvessel using the most advancedweaponry the Romulans hadavailable during the Dominion Warperiod.

Shirek Light WarbirdAnother interesting find in my

Romulan folder, this light warbirddesign is based off of a graphic thatI found on the Internet. This ship is alight cruiser vessel comparable to theFederation’s Excelsior or Mirandaclasses. The ship is closer to anExcelsior in capabilities, but itsintended function is to operate asmore of a pack tactic oriented unitlike the Federation employed itsMiranda cruisers during theDominion War.

The Shirek has enough heavyweaponry to be a major threat toenemy capital ships. With threeheavy disruptors, the ship nearly hasthe forward firepower equivalent ofa D’deridex! The one thing that this

class does lack is torpedoes of anykind, which limits its engagementrange.

Sharekka Light TorpedoWarbird

If all the Shirek Light Warbirdwas missing was a torpedo, why notcreate a torpedo variant of the hull?The Sharekka Light Torpedo Warbirddiscards the Shirek’s heavy disruptororiented armament for plasmatorpedoes. The ship is armed withthree in all, one firing forward andtwo firing into the rear hemisphere.The two remaining forward disruptormounts are downgraded to mediumdisruptors.

After all weapon conversions arecomplete, the ship does not haveenough power to cover thedifference, which means that the ship– albeit a good torpedo support ship– does have a power shortage of –3power.

Vas’Mandukar Light CruiserThis Romulan ship is based on

the “Shrike” class from the computergame Starfleet Command III. I neverplayed the game, so I am not sureas to its capabilities there, but whenthe game came out this is one of thefew Romulan ships that actuallylooked Romulan to me. The otherscould have been Romulans from the2100-2240 era, sure, but they didn’tlook like TNG era vessels.

In designing the Vas’Mandukar,I decided to give it the “MyotronicBeams” that the official game sitementioned. I designed these beamsto be principally raking weapons withan EM bonus. I can’t remember whyI decided to do them the way that Idid, but in essence the MyotronicBeams act like raking Burst Beamsfor purposes of how they scoredamage against a ship. A few good



beam hits could in theory deactivatethe facing systems on an enemyship!

Are you looking for some good, old-fashioned variants? Paul Brown’sVariants Rejects page collects many of the failed variants submitted byfans during Agents of Gaming’s variant contests. The site has not beenupdated for awhile, but it will provide a nice bit of nostalgia for those thatremember it, and perhaps some interesting new ships for those thathaven’t!

Variants Rejectshttp://www.angelfire.com/games/b5wvariants/

D’dredar BattleshipBased on a ship from

Birth of the Federation,this vessel is supposed tobe the Romulan’s pre-D’deridex Battleship. Thisship is slow but large andhas shields on par withthose of the FederationAmbassador HeavyCruiser. The D’dredarBattleship is armed with

three plasma mortars, one of thema heavy model, which makes it a vileopponent at short ranges. Various

medium disruptors make up theship’s secondary armament.

My design for this ship can becharacterized as a “Romulan KomoVal”, meaning that this ships sharesa lot in common with the conversionof the Klingon battleship from theFASA games. This ship has plasmamortars, true, but its main weaponin most battles is likely to be itsmedium disruptors.

* * *



IntroductionIt is the year 2273 in the Babylon 5 Universe… and

2373 in the Star Trek Universe. The Shadows have beenrouted and the Borg pushed back for the time being.However, there are those on both sides who do notaccept defeat very well. Borg and renegade Shadowscientists (who had not agreed to go to the Rim) eachdiscovered the existence of the parallel universes andbegan a plan to alter time in both realities.

To prove their worth, however the Borg requiredproof that the Shadows could enhance their ships withShadow technology that would not interfere with theCollective. This they did, creating a Shadow Cube fromthe hull of a Borg Tactical Cube.

It is ironic that the Romulans and Narn each foundout about the odd alliance and moved to quickly destroynot only the Shadow Cube but also the Time-Spacenexus point between the two universes. The Romulansdispatched Commander Tomalak and the Narn allowedG’Kar to lead the fleet that was pursuing the ShadowCube. The Narn and Romulans met near Quadrant 47and the two leaders decided to work together. Movingas one, their vanguard intercepted the just short of itsgoal: The Borg-Shadow Nexus Point.

Scenario ForcesNarn / Romulan Alliance1x D’deridex Advanced Warbird (1200)2x Griffin Light Torpedo Crusier (550)2 x D’ridren Disruptor Destroyers (480 each)

1x Bin’tak Dreadnaught (1250)+18 Gorinth Medium Fighters (720)

2x G’Quan Heavy Cruisers (625 Each)+24 Gorinth Medium Fighters (960)

Shadow / Borg1x Shadow Tactical Cube (5000+?)

+6 Shadow Medium Fighters (900)

MapFull Sized B5Wars Map

TerrainAsteroid Field: In the middle three hex columns of themap, an asteroid appears in every other hex. Thesealternate between the three columns. Moving throughthe hex resolves an immediate attack on the moving

ShadowsCubed

By Sean Hillman



ship. If successful, the ship takes 10 damageon the side facing the asteroid hex.

(note: if/ when I find the asteroid rules for B5again, this could be adjusted.)

Nexus Point: On Turn 2, roll 1d100 and place aNexus Point Marker on the 42XX Column. Thisis the random location of the opening Nexus. Aship can enter this hex from any direction andbee transported to the Star Trek Universe.

There is no other terrain of note.

Starting LocationsRomulansWithin one hex of the asteroid field, on the Nexus sideof the map. Direction at commander’s discretion, speed5. All systems armed and ready

NarnWithin one hex of the asteroid field, on the Non-Nexusside of the map. Direction at commander’s discretion,speed 5. All systems armed and ready

Shadow BorgAt start of Turn 1, they arrive, speed 5, any heading onthe 00 Map edge. The Shadow Borg player can rollrandomly or choose a hex to enter on.

Special RulesThe Tactical Cube has had Molecular SlicerBeams installed, replacing several Light LaserSlicers. A Borg Shadow Pilot has been placed atthe center of the Collective here and acts as afocal point. In all other ways the Shadow Cube isconsidered a Borg Vessel.

Shadow Fighters: These are actual Shadow unitsand will enter the Nexus only after the TacticalCube does. Their sole purpose is to protect theShadow Cube on its journey.

Ramming: Ramming is allowed.

Victory ConditionsRomulan / NarnTheir only purpose is to prevent the alliance betweenthe Borg and Shadows from happening. To this end, ifthe Shadow Cube is disabled or destroyed, it is a MajorVictory. If the Cube manages to get through the NexusPoint, it is considered a Major Defeat.

Shadow / BorgThe only purpose is to make sure the Shadow Cubemakes it through the Nexus. If the Cube is unable tomove, it self destructs in the next round instead of beingcaptured. If the Cub makes it to the Nexus Point, this isa Major Victory. Any other result is a Major Defeat.



IntroductionThis is to be the first in a series

of articles (most regarding the StarTrek Universe) that will be seen inupcoming issues of The GreatMachine. Expect to see Sheliak,ISC, and post Dominion War shipsin addition to races of the Triangle.There may be an occasional articleon Babylon 5 or Escalation Warsraces.

Adding ships to the early andshow TNG era Romulans issomething I have wanted to do forsome time. While Tyrel’s Star Trekconversions are indeed excellent I

have always felt that the fleetselection for the Romulan StarEmpire was seriously lacking. As aresult, I set about to rectify this gapin ship assortment. Creating theseships was something of a labor oflove, as the Romulans are myfavorite science-fiction race. I hopeyou enjoy using them as much as Icreating them.

I would be remiss if I did notthank the writers, modelers (bothCGI and physical), artists and actorsthat have brought the Romulans tolife in a way I never could on my own.Their work inspired these ships andthe, hopefully, many more to come.

Again, thank you for all the hard workand brilliant performances, such asthose by Mark Lenard, JoanneLinville, Carolyn Seymour, AndreasKatsulas and Alan Scarfe.

My words could never conveythe true loss, both to Star Trek andBabylon 5, of a great actor. Bothuniverses are now greatlydiminished with the death of AndreasKatsulas. These science fictionuniverses have experienced thedeath of a sun, one whose light cannever be replaced. He will be sorelymissed.

Talonsof theRaptor

By Charles Haught



The Ships of theRomulan FleetArius Bird of Prey

Much like the relativelyunsuccessful D’Vas class Bird ofPrey before it, these ships weredesigned to hunt down and destroyKlingon B’rel and K’vort classes ofBird of Prey. Their success in thisendeavor was far greater than theD’Vas. As a result, a large numberof these warships are stationedalong the borders of the KlingonEmpire and the Triangle; though theysee service anywhere Romulanwarships are found.

During the Dominion War, theseships proved their worth many timesover against smaller Cardassianwarships and Jem’Hadar AttackFighters. While their loss rate washigher than any other Romulanwarship that participated in the war,their kill rate against enemy smallvessels during their involvementoutstripped that of either the B’rel orFederation Saber.

These ships are named after asmall pterosaur native to theRomulan subject world of Gorwah.Swift and deadly, they fill much thesame ecological niche as Terranfalcons and are revered for theirgrace and compact power.

Cl’vangam Heavy StarbirdDesigned in competition with the

T’Varo class of starbird, theseheavier starships were seen as beingcost prohibitive next to the smaller,faster and more easily producedT’Varo. However, while their size,complexity and power saw the shiplose to the lighter Starbird, the StarNavy did see a use for theseexcellent ships. Cl’vangam serve

largely with the Tal’Shiar where theyare used to infiltrate agents andsaboteurs, destroy lesser targets thatthe Romulan Intelligence Agencydeems a threat and to guardimportant installations that do notwarrant a more powerful vessel orwhere subtlety is more importantthan firepower.

A number of these vessels wereassigned to the conflict zone duringthe Dominion War and all performedwith distinction. In fact, due to theirTal’Shiar commanders, these shipswere capable of working better inmixed strike fleets than most otherRomulan vessels. It proved astrange sight early in the Romulaninvolvement in the war when attackwings of Saber, Steamrunner, K’vort,B’rel, Arius, T’Varo and Cl’vangamfought against Jem’Hadar andCardassian Attack Ships.

D’Generex Swift WarbirdThis smaller class of Warbird

was designed as a rapid responseand perimeter defense unit. Indesigning these ships, the Romulanssacrificed heavy weapons, save theplasma torpedoes, in exchange forraw speed. To compensate, theD’Generex carries a large numberof medium disruptors with wide fieldsof fire allowing it to concentrateweapons to make up for the lack ofheavy hitting ability.

These ships are assigned toborder outposts and core worlds,responding to any enemy incursionin order to halt an adversary’sadvance until the larger, slower, andmore powerful Heavy Warbirds canarrive. In a fleet environment SwiftWarbirds are used to drive enemyunits into the arcs of the morepowerful Romulan Warbird classesand to harass enemy flanks.

D’Generex are named after theRomulan admiral who was

instrumental in the early successesand planning of the Earth-RomulanWar. Unfortunately for the Romulanwar effort Admiral Generex was killedin a daring raid during the first yearof the war.

D’Vaden Pacification CruiserPacification cruisers are one of

the most feared ship classes in theRomulan Star Navy. Not for theirovert combat abilities, but for theirdesigned purpose. These shipsmove into a star system that theRomulans have decided to conquer.Then they obliterate fixedinstallations and level any majorresistance on a world beforedeploying troops.

Of these ships, the D’Vaden isperhaps the most effective. Carryinga massive number of heavydisruptors backed up by plasmatorpedoes, these ship are capable ofquelling any resistance a planetmight provide. They carry moretroops than the smaller Pacificationcruisers in addition to the assaultshuttles necessary to deploy themall simultaneously to the surface ofa world hiding behind transportinhibitors.

For all their power, the D’Vadenhas its weaknesses. Whileexceptionally heavily armed, theirweapons are locked into very narrowarcs and the ships are designed foroffensive firepower and survivability.As such, they forfeit maneuverabilityand speed. Despite these set backsseveral of these ships were used bymore audacious Romulan fleetcommanders during the DominionWar. Backed up by Veles TorpedoFrigates and screened by Shrikesand Arius Birds of Prey they weredevastating to Jem’HadarBattlecruisers and Cardassian heavywarships.

Vadan was the first general to



command the newly createdRomulan Imperial Shrikes. It wasshe that defeated the hardenedwarriors during the conquest ofGorwah, fighting against themassive Gorn-like reptiles eventuallycrushing their heaviest fortifications.

Llaekh-ae’rl StarbirdThese ships became the

most common of the largerRomulan scouts shortly aftertheir introduction. Llaekh-ae’rl have much largerresearch and lab facilitiesthan any other Romulan shipof this size and these are putto good use scanning theRomulan’s coreward frontierfor new minerals, informationand new servitor races.

While not as powerful asthe D’Deridex class scoutsthey are much cheaper tobuild and deploy, and so existin far greater numbers. Andthough their primary missionis scouting and scientificresearch, such activities areoften very hazardous. Assuch these ships are wellarmed and have served well inELINT support roles when a largerD’Deridex scout is unavailable orunnecessary. The Llaekh-ae’rlproved its worth many times duringthe Dominion War by providingELINT support to attack groups ofRomulan Starbirds and Birds of Preyon fast attack or search and destroymissions.

Llaihr’dhael Bird of PreyThis was a ship designed in

competition with the Arius. Whilemore powerful, the Llaihr’dhael ismore expensive to build, operate andmaintain. Still the Star Navy saw thevalue of these small killers.Llaihr’dhael are used as small hit and

fade vessels when larger ships, suchas the V’Terex, are not needed.They also coordinate wings ofRomulan small craft in battle and areprized commands.

Only a few of these ships wereassigned to the Dominion War, most

taking up position only the border ofthe Klingon Empire to watch forpossible incursion. Those few thatdid take part in the war had anastounding war record. In fact, percapita, fewer Llaihr’dhael were lostthan any other class of Romulanvessel that took part in the war.T’Varo class Starbird

These ships were designed andbuilt off of the hull of the Arius classBird of Prey in much the samefashion as the Cardassian Keldon tothe Galor. Romulan designersmoved the warp nacelles to thewingtips and mounted additionalsystems and weapons in what hadbeen the nacelle housings on theArius. The end result is a capable

light cruiser easily a match in a oneon one contest with a K’Vort.

These ships are often seenscreening Romulan fleets with theirsmaller brothers or leading attackgroups of Arius, Shrike, and Velesclass ships. While supplanted by

more powerful ships duringthe period before theDominion War, these shipswere still highly prizedcommands and many fell intoSenatorial fleets or battlegroups stationed away fromhostile borders where theywould see long andsuccessful careers.The T’Varo class is namedfor the Romulan scientist thatinvented the first Romulanplasma bolt. While theweapon and the technologyhave changed much sincethis original weapon, usedheavily during the Earth-Romulan War, the basicprinciples are still applied inPlasma Torpedoes. For herdesign and the power it gaveRomulan warships, past,present, and future, T’Varo’s

family was elevated to the nobilityand holds a seat on the ImperialSenate.

Vahhrer class StarbirdVahhrer were designed and built

as a replacement for the T’Varo.While capable in many ways, theT’Varo was falling behind vessels ofsimilar classes in the navies of theRomulan’s adversaries. Since theseships were already expanded to theirlimits it was decided to start with afresh design, one that would exceedthe T’Varo and allow for futureupgrades. Thus was the Vahhrerborn.

Mounting more firepower andbetter shielding than her



predecessor, these new shipsexceeded Romulan expectations.They proved crushing to KlingonK’Vort and B’Rel class Birds of Preyand were more than a match for thereplacement designs the Klingonshad on the drawing board (thanks tothe Tal’Shiar).

While their numbers were stillmore limited than the Romulanswould have liked when they joinedthe Dominion War, these shipsserved with great distinction, outflying and out performing anythingof similar size the Cardassians couldput on the battlefield and meeting orbesting ships of similar size used bythe Jem’Hadar.

Vahhrer should have had longand prosperous futures with theRomulan fleet, but following theDominion War and the ShinzonIncident the Romulans opted fornewer, even more powerful units. Assuch Vahhrer are never a commonsight.

Vereleus BattlebirdDesigned and built in response

to intelligence provided by theTal’Shiar on the FederationSovereign and Klingon Negh’varclasses of dreadnought, theVereleus possesses colossalfirepower. Based off severalbattleships that were never put intoseries production, the Vereleus wasthe master of the battlefield until theJem’Hadar built their battleships.

These were also the first shipsto mount the deadly SingularityTorpedo, as no other ship up to thatpoint had the space to fit such amassive weapon. These destructivetorpedoes are backed up by animpressive array of mega and heavydisruptors, plasma torpedoes andpowerful, overlapping shieldgenerators. Their only realweakness is a lack of

maneuverability and a balancedarmament.

Two of these behemoths tookpart in the Dominion War. Bothscored massive successes, tearingthrough Jem’Hadar battlecruisers,Cardassian Keldon and Breen GhorTaan. However, both of these shipswere lost in the final days of the war.The Vereleus was destroyed in aconfrontation with a Breen VohLanthe and her escorts on a missionto create holes in the defenses of theChin’toka system in preparation forthe final invasion (a mission shecompleted successfully). TheKo’nar, flagship of the Romulan fleet,was destroyed in the battle to retakeChin’toka a few days later; a deaththat required the sacrifice of severalJem’Hadar and Breen battlecruisers.These “failures” forced theRomulans to abandon constructionof new Vereleus Battlebirds; howeveran additional 5 ships had been laiddown before and during the war andwere completed before the projectwas finally cancelled.

These giant ships are named inhonor of the commander whoblunted the Klingon advance atKlach D’Kel Brakt. Using thepowerful Z-1 Nova class battleships,Vereleus managed to damage ordestroy more than two-thirds of theKlingon’s heavy units. He died whenhis heavily damaged ship rammedthe Klingon L-24 flagship. Thedamage inflicted on the Klingonswas enough to cause them to pauseand gave the Romulans the timethey needed to reinforce theirborders.

V’Terex Incursion CruiserIf pacification cruisers are the

most feared invasion tool of the StarEmpire, incursion cruisers are themost feared intelligence gatheringand hit and fade vessels. Fitted with

more powerful cloaks (whendetermining the detection factor fordiscovering cloaked incursion shipsdivide sensor value by 2 and roundup), these ships cross the bordersof an adversarial nation to gatherintelligence and destroy high-valueunits. To that end these ships arefitted with powerful weapons arraysand excellent shield generationscoverage.

V’Terex are not the mostnumerous of incursion vessels, butfor well over a decade, they were themost powerful and successful ofthese designs. As such, nearly allare under the command of theTal’Shiar and oftentimes have ExpertIntelligence Officers aboard and anExpert Anticipator in command, aswell as, a higher percentage of EliteCrews than many other vesselclasses in the Romulan Navy.

During the Dominion War theseships greatly proved their worth,moving behind enemy lines todestroy Jem’Hadar breedingfacilities and fixed installations.These missions were aided by theirpowerful weapons, advanced cloaksand well trained crews. While asizeable percentage of the ships soused were lost during their missions,the damage they inflicted onDominion infrastructure made life agreat deal easier for other Allianceships and crews.

V’Terex are named inremembrance of the Tal’Shiar agentwho’s infiltration work of the KlingonEmpire shortly after first contactresulted in all initial forays by theKlingons into Romulan space beingrepelled. The V’Terex name is stillrespected and feared with VarelV’Terex serving as a RomulanSenator and General in the Tal’Shiar.

* * *



IntroductionIn the depths of space, buried

and slumbering on countless worlds,or shambling in places betweenspace and time, the Ancient Onesroam the galaxy. Mind-blowing alienhorrors from beyond may once againrise to threaten life as we know it... ifthe Stars are Right!

B5W: The Stars are Right is anunusual crossover, adding the

horrors of Lovecraft’s creations, whathe termed “Yog-sothery,” to the B5Wrules setting. This crossover is notso much an enumeration of a newrace so much as a bestiary and setof additional rules which can allowyour favorite B5W fleets to encounterterror past their imagining.

New RulesThe Stars are Right adds a few

new rules to B5W in order to modelthe deities and creatures of theCthulhu mythos. Insanity rules andrules for the Great Old Ones follow.

InsanityThe mere detection of some of

the Ancient Ones causes the weak-minded to surrender to insanity.Many of these beings also possessthe ability to inspire madness in theirfoes. These rules will help you

Written by David Ainsworth,with SCS by Christian Meador



compute a new “sanity” statistic forB5W ships. Some Ancient Ones willcause all enemy ships to lose acertain amount of sanity every turn;others possess “weapons” whichdrain sanity on a hit. Depending onhow complicated and atmosphericyou’d like your game to be, you canfollow the simple or complexmechanic for insanity.

Simple InsanityFor every point of sanity a ship

loses, reduce its initiative bonus by1 point. When a ship is reduced to 0sanity, it is considered disabled.Treat the ship as if all C & C boxeshave been destroyed. Bases ignorethe initiative reduction but are alsoconsidered disabled when reducedto 0 sanity. Mines and OSATs haveno sanity score and are immune tosanity loss, as are automated unitslike Hunter-Killers or WalkerMapmakers. Fighters have no sanityscore, but must roll for drop-out ifthey suffered any sanity loss in aturn. For every point of sanity lossbeyond the first suffered by a fighterin a turn, apply a +1 penalty to theroll.

Complex InsanityUse the rules above, but with the

following addition. If a unit’s sanityscore is reduced to less than or equalto 25% of its starting score (roundeddown), the unit is considered erratic.Roll 1d20 on the following table atthe beginning of each turn:1-2 Unit attempts to ram an AncientOne unit if possible. If not possible,unit must declare full OEW againsta single Ancient One unit and fire allweapons which bear, even if theyhave no chance to hit.3-4 Unit must declare full OEWagainst a single Ancient One unit andfire all weapons which bear, even if

they have no chance to hit.5-7 Unit must employ all availableEW as DEW and must interceptincoming fire with all availableweapons. It may not attack this turn.Unit may not apply any thrust in orderto maneuver this turn.8-10 Unit randomly assigns eachpoint of available EW to the 6 closestfriendly or enemy units (roll 1d6 foreach point and assign to that unit).This unit must fire all availableweapons at targets it has a lock-onto. If multiple targets are availablefor a given weapon, roll randomlyamongst them to determine whichwill be fired upon by that weapon;the weapons must fire even if thereis no chance to hit.11-13 Unit may not apply any thrustin order to maneuver this turn, butdeclares EW and may fire normally.14-16 Unit must employ allavailable EW as DEW and mustintercept incoming fire with allavailable weapons. It may not attackthis turn but may maneuver normally.17-18 Unit must declare full OEWagainst the closest ship and fire allweapons which bear, even if theyhave no chance to hit.19-20 Unit attempts to ram theclosest ship, friendly or enemy, ifpossible. If not possible, unit mustdeclare full OEW against the closestship and fire all weapons which bear,even if they have no chance to hit.

Determining SanitySanity points for each ship are

determined based on the size of theship and the controlling race. A fewraces have special rules. For racesnot listed here, use the default sanitymodifiers or decide upon the closestcognate race and apply theappropriate modifier.

Size DefaultsLCV: 4MCV: 6HCV: 9Capital Ship: 12Enormous Ship: 15Base (HCV or smaller size, includesmanned OSATs): 8Capital Base: 16Enormous Base: 20ELINT-capable unit: -3 (sometimesspecial sensors aren’t a good thing)

Race ModifiersB5: Abbai: +3Alacan: +0Balosian: +1Brakiri: -1Cascor: +1Centauri: +0Civilian: -1Corillani: +4Descari: +0Dilgar: +2Drazi: +0Earth Alliance (human): +1Gaim: +5Grome: -1Hurr: -1Hyach: +1Ipsha: +0Kor-Lyan: -1Llort: -2Markab: +4Minbari: +4Narn: +3Orieni: +4Pak’ma’ra: +2Rogolon: +1Streib: +6Torata: +1Usuuth: +0Vree: +1Yolu: +1

AncientsAlthough the Ancients often

possess tremendous force of will,their improved senses actually make



them more vulnerable to the effectsof a Great Old One’s mental attacks.These modifiers take these factorsinto account.

Kirishiac: +4Mindriders: +8Shadows: Special. Instead oftracking current sanity, track sanityloss. At the beginning of each turn,roll as if the ship was under telepathicattack, with a Psi rating equal to thecurrent sanity loss. If the ship ispiloted by Shadows, compute sanitynormally with a +6 modifier.Torvalus: +1Triad: The Triad are immune to theeffects of sanity loss.Vorlon: +5Walkers: +3

Star TrekHumans: +0Klingons: +2Romulans: +1Cardassians: -1Dominion: +4Ferengi: -2Breen: +0Tholians: +5Borg: +7Species 8472: +15

Ancient One ControlSheets

As beings capable ofsurviving in interstellar space,many of the Ancient Onespossess an unusual fluidity ofform. I model them as theequivalent of fighters. Themost powerful and leastmaterial, however, like the so-called Gods and Great OldOnes, have a diffuse formdifficult to damage effectively.The control sheets for thesebeings list only structure (aka“hit points”) along with the Old

One’s options and abilities. Unlessotherwise noted, Ancient Oneweapons use the standard fighter arcto determine what they can hit. MostAncient Ones possess inherentOEW which applies to all enemyunits equally (this is listed as anOffensive Bonus, and stacks withweapon fire control). Some AncientOnes have additional EW points theycan spend as indicated on the sheet–these EW points add up with theOffensive Bonus and weapon firecontrol. Ancient Ones rarely possessany DEW, and cannot benefit froman ELINT ship or have a lockdisrupted by one. Regardless ofeffective size, Ancient Onesmaneuver using the rules forfighters. Ancient Ones do not dropout and are immune to power drain,stunning and similar effects.

Mythos UnitDescriptionsNon-Unique, Non-GreatOld Ones Units

The following units representcreatures which exist in numbers.None of these creatures are GreatOld Ones although some are nearlyas terrible.

Mi-Go, Fungi from Yuggoth(Unlimited Deployment)

These fungi-crustaceons can flythrough space on vast membranouswings. They carry electricalweapons. Their nonterrene bodiesare resistant to attack. Mi-go have

no special association with anyMythos being, but many worshipvarious Great Old Ones andthey may appear to assist one.Mi-go are effectively lightfighters. Their wings providethem limited maneuverability,but they are unusually smallcompared to most fighters(though those same wingsmake them easier to hit fromfront or rear). Mi-go need toappear in numbers to beeffective, but their high-techlightning guns are comparableto fighter armament.

Star Spawn of Cthulhu(Unlimited Deployment)

These massive creaturesmay stand 50 feet tall, andappear as slimy humanoids withoctopod heads, vicious clawsand great batlike wings. Liketheir progenitor Great Cthulhu,the Star Spawn are only partlymade up of ordinary matter, and



they regenerate damage rapidly.Their rubbery flesh resists attacks.At range, Star Spawn can invade theminds of others to weaken theirresolve and hurl star-stuff at foes; upclose, they lash out around them withtheir many tentacles, which canextend to tremendous distances. Asbeings originating in the depths ofspace, Star Spawn maneuver well inthat environment.

Special RulesRegeneration: Star Spawn regain2d6 structure during the self-repairphase of every turn if they aredamaged. 30 structure is theirmaximum. Star Spawn do notregenerate if destroyed but canregenerate damage suffered thisturn if they survive to the self-repairphase.

Fire Vampires(Unlimited Deployment)

Little more than living plasma,Fire Vampires are usually found inthe company of Cthugha, thoughthey can be summoned andbound by other Mythos beings. Ascreatures of plasma, they areimmune to plasma weapons andtheir heat often dissolves matterweapons before they can doharm. Small and agile, FireVampires are extremelydangerous but must actually makephysical contact with an enemy todeal damage. Fire Vampires cantransform matter into living plasmalike that which makes up theirbodies, and if they successfullydeal damage they can healthemselves or replenish theirnumbers. These formidablecreatures are best as ship-killers,and their presence is sure to drawoff enemy fighters. Races relyingon plasma weapons may findthemselves defenseless if forced

to confront these beings or theirflaming God.

Special Armor: Fire Vampires sufferno harm from Plasma weapons.Their armor counts DOUBLE againstMatter weapons (instead of theregular rules). Treat their armor asAdvanced Armor against all otherweapons.

Hunting Horror(Unlimited Deployment)

Servants of Nyarlathotep,Hunting Horrors look something likevast ropy worms with a single wingalong their backs and a gaping maw.They fly along paths not existent inour universe, and they hunt downenemies of their lord and punishthem terribly. Hunting Horrors aresometimes “loaned” to other Mythosbeings or summoned for specialpurposes. Hunting Horrors arecomposed of highly unusual matter,and they cannot abide strong light.Even regular starlight does themharm, although their regenerativeabilities can preserve them for short

periods of exposure. Horrors radiatea miasma of fear aroundthemselves. At close range their vastmaws can take deep bites out of theirfoes; at range they rely on darkincantations to literally eat awaymatter. This disintegrating attackweapons molecular bonds acrossthe entire side of a ship struck by it,rendering it more susceptible tocontinued attack.

Special RulesSpecial Movement: Travellingalong non-Euclidean paths, theHunting Horror shifts throughalternate dimensions as it travels.Instead of treating its forward facingas “forward” for purposes ofmovement, the Horror can use eitheradjacent facing interchangably as itsforward facing, switching from oneto the other freely. Thus, if the Horroris facing direction A, it can move“forward” by moving one hex indirections F or B, and it can move Fone hex and then move B the verynext hex without turning or otherwise

adjusting its movement. Note thatthe Horror cannot actually movein the direction it is facing. If theHorror moves in reverse, reversethese rules. A Hunting Horrorcannot pivot or roll.

Regeneration: A Hunting Horrornormally regenerates aconsiderable amount of damage,but it also suffers constantdamage from exposure to the lightof stars and suns. If the Horror isfighting under conditions whichobscure light (in the shadow of aplanet, or in a dust cloud), itrecovers 3d6 points of structureduring the self-repair phase ofevery turn. If fighting undernormal light conditions, it recovers3d6-10 points of structure instead.If this number is negative, the



Horror actually loses points ofstructure. A Horror with 0 structureis immediately destroyed.

Servitor of the Outer Gods(Unlimited Deployment)

These protean horrors mostclosely resemble giant toads, thoughthey have no single shape, and theymove through space in a sort ofroiling boil, flowing forward in anungainly fashion. Though not largeand not material, they can withstandan unusual amount of physicalpunishment. These things send outa full-spectrum piping noise as muchpsionic as sonic, as it can distinctlybe heard even through the depthsof space. This obsceneaccompaniment can enhance thesummoning of Mythos creatures, butits more dangerous effect is upon thesanity of all who can hear it. Thesecreatures often appear in groups,and can quickly drive foes insane.Fortunately, they are not otherwisevery dangerous, being limited toclose-range lashes of their tentaclesand pseudopods.

Colour Out of Space(Unlimited Deployment)

Native to space, these creaturesare noncorporeal and appear to besome form of sentientelectromagnetic energy. Roilingmasses of color and mist, they glowthrough the depths of space seekingout life and energy to consume.These beings are terribly dangerous,capable of engulphing a ship orfighter flight and slowly drainingaway both ship’s energy and thelifeforce of the crew. The constantelectromagnetic field surroundingthem provides some measure ofobscurement, and since the thingsthemselves barely exist in ouruniverse they are excessively hardto damage, with most fighters and

light weapons unable to create anysubstantial effect on them. Contraryelectromagnetic interference orgravitic interference is most usefulagainst them, though in many casesthe Colour will suffer the mostdamage at the hands of a crewdesperate to force it off their shipbefore they all die. The Colour canhurl electromagnetic packets shortdistances to disintegrate matter, andcan drain energy from nearby ships.Few “common” Mythos creatures aremore feared.

Special RulesSpecial Armor: A Colour Out ofSpace consists predominantly ofenergetic particles, which respondvery differently to weapons thanconventional ship structures. As aresult, a Colour uses special armorrules. Determine the class ofweapon hitting the Colour andconsult the following table.Remember to subtract for the EMshield first:Particle: 12 armorLaser: 10 armor; 5 against allsubsequent rakes from the sameweaponPlasma: 12 armorMolecular: 10 armor; 5 against allsubsequent rakes from the sameweapon (against Slicers treat as 5armor at all times)Electromagnetic: 0 armorMatter: 15 armorGravitic: 5 armorAntimatter: 10 armor; 5 against allsubsequent rakes from the sameweaponIon: 6 armorBallistic: 15 armorProximity: as other class if any–ifnone, the Colour is immune to thisweapon

Envelop Ship: A Colour can attemptto board a ship using the boardingpod rules. If it successfully attaches,the entire ship is consideredenveloped by the Colour. The Colourcannot envelop a ship protected byan active EM field–such attemptsautomatically fail. If any arc of theship has no active EM shielding,however, it can be enveloped. Beingenveloped by a Colour Out of Spacehas the following effects:The enveloped ship gains thebenefits of a 4 point EM shield. (Thisactually protects it.)During the Boarding segment of thecombat round, the ship loses 1d6Sanity points, 1d6 power, and 1d6thrust.The Colour may opt to depart theenveloped ship. If it does not, theColour cannot fire its weapons, norcan any unit fire weapons at it. TheColour can be attacked by marinesdefending the ship–roll 1d10 everyboarding segment, +1 if thedefenders can ram, +1 if they areNarn, +2 if they are Gaim (in otherwords, apply standard modifiers):3 or below: No damage to the Colour4-6: The Colour loses 1d6 structure7-9: The Colour loses 1d6+3structure10+: The Colour loses 2d6 structureThe Colour may also suffer damageif the ship it envelops is attacked.Score half of the overkill damagedone to the enveloped ship againstthe Colour instead of applying it tostructure (round down against theColour and up against the structure).If the Colour is destroyed score anyremaining overkill damage againstthe ship normally.

Envelop Fighters: A Colour whichhas not boarded a ship can envelopany fighters which are in its hex afterit has moved. All flights in the same



hex can be affected. At the end ofthe Colour ’s movement phase,immediately roll 1d20+4 againsteach fighter flight in the same hex: ifthe result is greater than the targetflight’s free thrust (not availablethrust, so ignore usage this turn), theflight is enveloped. An envelopedflight must immediately roll drop-outagainst all fighters in the flight–fighters not immune to drop-out roll2d10, while fighters normallyimmune to drop-out roll 1d10.

Non-UniqueGreat Old Ones

A few of the divinities of theMythos can exist in multiple versionssimultaneously.

Nyarlathotep, the CrawlingChaos(Limited Deployment)

Often considered the mostconventionally intelligent of the GreatOld Ones, Nyarlathotep is the Heraldof Azathoth. He spreads chaos,insanity, evil and destructionwherever he goes. Though capableof appearing in human form,Nyarlathotep also possesses manymonstrous forms. The statisticsprovided here are for one of hismonstrous Masks. Nyarlathotep candraw upon the power of the “deities”of the Mythos and possesses a widerange of magical spells, many ofwhich he developed himself. Bydrawing on Yog-Sothoth,Nyarlathotep can appear multipletimes in a single location.

Nyarlathotep can warp minds,and he can command a wide rangeof Mythos creatures magically (in hisrole as agent of the supremeAzathoth). By reaching throughspace with magic, he can drawservitors to him to assist in a range

of different tasks.Though Nyarlathotep can

potentially associate with any Mythoscreature, he favors Hunting Horrorsas his special servants. Unlike manyof the Great Old Ones, Nyarlathotep(as the messenger of Azathoth)freely associates with his “peers”with only rare conflict.

Since he can appear in the form

of multiple masks simultaneously,multiple “versions” of Nyarlathotepcan fight alongside each other. Thestatistics provided here are fairlygeneric and represent a monstrousform. Feel free to tweak stats torepresent other masks.



Special RulesSummon Mythos: Nyarlathotep cansummon additional Mythos creaturesto serve him. During the JumpPoints Open phase of the turn,Nyarlathotep can summon a Mythosunit to any hex within 50 hexes ofhis position. Under ordinarycircumstances, his player must havepre-purchased these summonedcreatures. They appear with anyfacing, all weapons charged, andspeed 6 or less. Note thatNyarlathotep can summon othermasks of himself.

If you’re not playing a pointedcombat, you can use the followingtable to determine what Nyarlathotepgets each turn:

1-5 Nothing appears this turn.

6-10 Summon 1d2 flights of Mi-Goor 1 flight of Fire Vampires

11-13 Summon 1 Star Spawn or 1Hunting Horror

14-15 Summon 2d3 Servitors of theOuter Gods or 1 Colour outof Space

16-17 Summon 1 Mask ofNyarlathotep

18-19 Summon 1 Mask or 1 UniqueMythos Unit of your choice.If the latter, roll another d20–on a 11+ you control theUnique Mythos Unit. On 1-10, your opponent controls it.

20+ Summon any 1 UniqueMythos Unit, 1 Mask, or 2d3non-unique units (notcounting Masks or Yog-Sothoth)

Enslave Minds: Nyarlathotep cansway the weak-minded and forcethem to do his bidding. At thebeginning of each turn starting withthe second turn, Nyarlathotep picks

one enemy unit to try to control.Determine his success or failure asfollows: 1d20, he succeeds if he rollsgreater than the unit’s current Sanity.-1 to the roll against Ancients. -X tothe roll if the enemy fleet has at leastone telepath, with X = to the P ratingof that telepath. (Use the AncientTelepath rules to determine their bestP rating.)

If Nyarlathotep fails to control histarget, that unit immediately gains1d3+1 Sanity. If he succeeds, hisside controls that unit for this turn ofcombat, after which it returns to itsowner’s control. A unit controlled byNyarlathotep in this way whichdestroys a friendly unit immediatelyloses 1d3+1 Sanity. Note that unitswith 0 Sanity are no longer active andthus cannot be usefully controlled.

Nyarlathotep is not required tochoose any unit to enslave if he doesnot wish to. Only one Mask mayattempt to enslave an enemy, evenif multiple Masks are present.

Yog-Sothoth(Restricted Deployment)

The Key and the Gate, Yog-Sothoth dwells outside space-timebut can coexist with space-time atall its points. Although Yog-Sothothcan appear as a small collection ofglowing silver orbs, the formindicated by these statistics appearsas a conglomeration of iridescentglobes shifting, flowing, and breakinginto one another, spanning up to halfa mile. Besides its ability to playtricks with time and space, Yog-Sothoth can expand or contract intoa closer target to ram it. As the Keyand the Gate, Yog-Sothoth can opendoors to elsewhere and pull otherMythos beings through.

Fortunately, Yog-Sothoth canonly appear at certain points inspace-time, or if summoned. Yog-Sothoth’s role means that, like

Nyarlathotep and Azathoth, it cancoexist with other Great Old Ones.No Mythos creatures are especiallyassociated with Yog-Sothoth, thoughhe is the patron of sorcerors.

Special RulesTemporal Manipulation: Yog-Sothoth can reach backwards orforwards in time to cause a varietyof effects. Each turn when Yog-Sothoth moves it may perform oneof the following actions:

Time-space manipulation. Yog-Sothoth may move to any hex on themap and select any facing andspeed. Yog-Sothoth does not movenormally this turn. Yog-Sothoth mayalso escape from combat or moveto any other space using this ability.

Time double. Yog-Sothoth maymaterialize a temporal duplicate ofitself in any hex, facing any direction,speed 0. This duplicate appearsduring the Vortex Activation Phaseof this turn and is removed duringthe Vortex Activation Phase of thefollowing turn. The temporalduplicate has no damage and allsystems are fully charged. When theduplicate is removed, the originalYog-Sothoth suffers damage equalto half of the damage suffered by theduplicate (round down, ignorearmor). The duplicate may notemploy any of the TemporalManipulation effects on its turn.

Timeheal. Yog-Sothoth mayimmediately regain 6d6 structure.Excess healing is ignored.

Time Vortex. Yog-Sothoth may editone opposing unit out of time for theremainder of the turn. Select oneunit within Yog-Sothoth’s weaponsarc and no more than 20 hexesaway. Roll 1d20. If the roll is greaterthan the unit’s DEW, mark it. It doesnot move or fire and it cannot be fired



upon or affected for the remainderof this turn. At the end of the turnthe unit returns to normal space-time. A unit removed from space-time suffers 1d3-1 Sanity damage.If the roll is less than or equal to thetarget’s DEW, the Time Vortex fails.

Regeneration: During the Self-repair phase of each turn, Yog-Sothoth regains 2d6 structure.

Unique Great Old OnesThese beings either exist in a

single location, or at the least appearonly once in any given place. Manyof them do not like each other.Except under extraordinarycircumstances, only one UniqueGreat Old One should be present ata given battle (except for Azathoth,who may potentially appear alongwith any of the others). The non-unique Great Old Ones can appearalongside Unique Great Old Onesfreely.

Great Cthulhu(Unique)

A high priest of Azathoth, GreatCthulhu vaguely resembles a squid,a misshapen humanoid, and adragon. He stands over 100 feethigh, and can strike with his longtentacles or with his magic.Cthulhu’s flesh is rubbery andresists damage; if injured heregenerates rapidly from damage,though severe damage may bursthis flesh and release a noxiouscloud of green mist which graduallycoalesces back into his physicalform unless disrupted.

While Great Cthulhuhypothetically lies slumbering in thecity of R’yleh, his mind wakes andmay project his substance intospace. Cthulhu touches the mindsof sleepers and he can reawaken

their nightmares through his merepresence, or through a mind-shredding direct attack. His children,the Star Spawn, often accompanyhim.

Special Rules

Regeneration: Great Cthulhu canregenerate damage which wouldcause an ordinary being’s death. Ifat least one box of active structureexists Great Cthulhu can actnormally. If all active structure isdestroyed, Cthulhu dissolves into acloud of mist and cannot maneuveror employ any of his abilities exceptfor his regeneration. If allregenerative structure is destroyed,Cthulhu’s material form is banished.At the end of every turn during theself-repair phase, Cthulhuregenerates 3d6 boxes of damage(starting with regenerative structure).If Great Cthulhu spent the entire turnin mist-form, he regenerates 6d6boxes instead.

General Sanity Drain: The merepresence of Cthulhu sends waves ofinsanity and despair against all who

oppose him. All opposing units withLOS on Great Cthulhu suffer 1d3points of sanity loss at the end ofeach turn of battle.

Azathoth(Unique)

An amorphous, blind, idiot godgnawing at the center of creation,Azathoth is senseless, destructivematter. A part of Azathoth can besummoned into the normal universe,though this requires the work of apriest or other Mythos creature. Onlyinsane humans worship the thing asit is incapable of registering suchworship or rewarding it. Conditionsfor summoning Azathoth should beprovided in a given battle orscenario–Azathoth is the Mythosequivalent of a Planet-Killer andshould be treated appropriately.Once released, Azathoth absorbs allmatter around it (save for a fewpowerful Mythos beings who canshield themselves from this effect),and grows hungrily for some timeunless its link to the rest of itself issevered.

Azathoth is always accompaniedby at least one Servitor of the Outer

Gods. If summoned during ascenario, you should place oneServitor adjacent to one ofAzathoth’s hexes unless a Servitoris already present. Azathoth doesnot require a Servitor to be presentin order to manifest, but it tends tolash out with greater fury whendeprived of musicalaccompaniment.

Azathoth is a terrain feature, nota ship. Use counters to indicateAzathoth’s location. GenerallyAzathoth must be summoned insome way to appear on the field–place its first counter at the pointof summoning and place countersin all adjacent hexes, and executethe damage effects listed below if



any units are in one of Azathoth’shexes. Azathoth normally appearsduring the Vortex Activationsegment. Azathoth operates underthe following rules:

During the Ship Power Segment,Azathoth expands. The Mythosplayer rolls 1d6 for every hexAzathoth currently occupies. Oneach 5+, the Mythos player may addone hex to Azathoth so long as thehex is adjacent to a current Azathothhex. If a unit occupies the new hex,immediately apply damage as listed

below.

Damage: If a ship occupies anAzathoth hex for any reason, itimmediately suffers damage asfollows. Mythos units areautomatically destroyed, addinganother hex to Azathoth, unless theunit is a deity (Nyarlathotep, GreatCthulhu, Cthugha, Yog-Sothoth, andother uniques). A Mythos deity mayimmediately redeploy to any openhex adjacent to Azathoth.

Non-Mythos units suffer the followingeffects:

Fighters, shuttles, and similar sizedunits are automatically destroyed.Larger units suffer 8d10+10 pointsof Gravitic class damage in Rakingmode to EVERY side of the unit(except for the Primary hit locationchart–unless a side has beendestroyed, exposing the Primary toattack). Armor applies but Azathothdissolves normal armor immediatelyupon its blocking damage; advancedarmor loses half its points (rounddown), and hardened advancedarmor loses 1 point each time it ishit by Azathoth. If the unit survives,move it directly forward in itsdirection of travel until it is no longerinside Azathoth. It takes no furtherdamage from this movement. Asurviving unit loses 1d6-2 points ofsanity for every hex of Azathothmoved through, however, includingthe original hex, with a minimum of0 points lost per die rolled.If Azathoth expands or moves into ahex with a terrain feature (asteroid,moon, planet, atmosphere, etc) thathex of the feature is destroyed andAzathoth grows by 1d3 hexesimmediately. These new hexes donot move this turn and may not beplaced on a terrain feature. Azathothdoes not consume clouds, storms,or nebulae, but can consume andgrow from debris of strength 3 orgreater.

EW Phase: All ships within 5 hexesof Azathoth during this phase lose1d6 points of sanity automatically. Ifthey drop to 0 sanity the ship isconsidered inert immediately. Notethat Azathoth blocks LOS as anylarge object.

Movement Step: The Mythos playermay move every hex of Azathoth one



hex at this point, before any otherships move, with two restrictions–each hex of Azathoth must endmovement adjacent to at least twoother hexes of Azathoth (if possible),and Azathoth’s point of origin mustbe occupied (if possible). Any hexof Azathoth which is not adjacent totwo other hexes of Azathoth at theend of movement is immediatelyremoved. If Azathoth does notoccupy its point of origin at the endof the movement step, itsmanifestation is dispelled and allAzathoth hexes must be removedimmediately. Note that Azathoth isonly removed at this point in the turnsequence–thus, to dispel Azathothit is necessary to destroy all hexesadjacent to its point of origin, as wellas the origin hex itself.

Weapons Fire Step: Azathoth maybe attacked. Consider each hex ofAzathoth as an enormous unit witha profile of 30. Treat each hex as aseparate unit for purposes of EWand weapons fire. Roll damage forall weapons hitting the target hex,ignoring weapon type or damagemode. If the total for all weaponsfired by this ship or flight of fightersis 180 points or more, the hex isdestroyed–immediately remove itfrom the map. Other ships firing onAzathoth may target a different hex.If the total damage is less than 180,divide the total damage by 30,dropping all fractions, and indicatehow many units of 30 points the hexhas suffered by marking it with a d6.Ships, shuttles, and fighter flightsunable to deal at least 30 points ofdamage cannot effectively damageAzathoth.

Tactical Note: Protect Azathoth’spoint of emergence with other hexeswhenever possible. Obviously,Azathoth is most effective as a

consumer of moons or worlds.

Cthugha(Unique)

Effectively a giant Fire Vampire,Cthugha dwells near Fomalhaut andis worshipped by the Fire Vampiresas god and progenitor. Cthughaexists to burn things around it.Cthugha is fairly dangerous to otherMythos creatures but they willsometimes employ rituals tosummon it and direct its destructivetendencies against enemies.

Cthugha is most appropriate inthe company of Fire Vampires andColours Out of Space. It will only befound in the company of a StarSpawn under extremely unusualcircumstances.

Special RulesSpecial Armor: Cthugha suffers noharm from Plasma weapons. Itsarmor counts DOUBLE againstMatter weapons (instead of theregular rules). Treat its armor asAdvanced Armor against all otherweapons.

Spawn Fire Vampires: If no flightsof Fire Vampires are currently on themap, Cthugha may attempt toSummon flights at the end of eachturn. Roll 1d20 (modified byServitors if any):

1-8 No vampires respond.

9-14 1 flight of Fire Vampiresappear in Cthugha’s hex,speed 0, any facing.

15-18 2 flights of Fire Vampiresappear in Cthugha’s hex,speed 0, any facing.

19+ 3 flights of Fire Vampiresappear in Cthugha’s hex,speed 0, any facing.

If at least one flight of FireVampires is currently on the map,Cthugha may not summon anyadditional flights. However, if itdestroys an enemy ship (not a fighterflight) with its attacks, immediatelyplace a number of Fire Vampireflights in the victim’s hex, speed 0,any facing, based on the ship’s size:

LCV = 1d2-1 flights (minimum 0)MCV = 1d2 flightsHCV = 1d3 flights

Capital Ship = 1d2+1 flightsEnormous Ship = 1d3+1 flights

Fire Regeneration: Cthugha canabsorb any flight of Fire Vampireswhich enters his hex during themovement phase. Immediatelyremove the flight. Cthughaimmediately regains one point ofstructure per point of structureremaining to the Fire Vampires.

Using the OldOnes

One option is to generatescenarios–you can include “ordinary”ships commanded by cultists orinsane followers of the Old One inquestion, and either augment theseships with some of these beings, orhave some timed event whichsummons an Old One into the battle.They also make nifty randomencounters for campaigns.

* * *



IntroductionThe modern Hyach ships

demonstrated a special, if notconfusing, affection for the MediumLaser. When extrapolating their olderfleet, I opted to keep the MediumLaser as their primary weaponsystem. Without any of the newerweapons in wide use, almost all ofthe ships would rely on the MediumLaser for engaging enemy starships.

Alorai Kam Light CruiserThe direct predecessor to the

Senchlat Kam, the Alorai Kam LightCruiser was intended to serve as asmaller cruiser that could be built inlarge numbers and supplement thefirepower of the larger, morepowerful Irokai cruiser hulls. TheAlorai Light Cruiser would operate as

a system defense cruiser, providingfor planetary security at variousoutposts throughout Hyach space.

In a cost-cutting move, jumpengines were omitted from thisdesign. This limited the design’sstrategic movement options but itsrole as a planetary defense cruiserdid not require the inclusion of a jumpengine, and the money saved onconstruction costs and Quantium 40would allow more light cruisers to bebuilt and operated for the same cost.

It was the Alorai Kam that set theprecedent of arming Hyach lightcruisers with heavy weapons, in thiscase the Heavy Laser. Previous lightcruiser classes had not been armedso heavily, relying on quantity ofweapons rather than quality.

In deciding what type of heavyweapons to outfit the Alorai Kam

with, the Hyach initially investigatedthe possibility of integrating a SpinalLaser into its design. However,internal volume limitations in thedesign precluded its installation.Other than the Spinal Laser, the nextheaviest weapon in the Hyacharsenal was the Heavy Laser, whichhad previously been employed, withgood results, on the Irokai KalCommand Gunship. Two HeavyLaser turrets can be found on theAlorai Kam design, projectingsubstantial, long-range firepowerinto the forward and side arcs.

Alorai Kon Light CarrierThe 2150s saw a period of

heightened raider activity in Hyachspace, mostly as the result of aparticularly intense Llort politicalcrisis that had exacerbated existing

Ships of theHyach FleetShips of theHyach Fleet

By Tyrel Lohr



piracy problems. Rival factions withinthe Llort government had providedraiders with currency and warmaterials, planning on them to beused against the enemy. Howevermany of the raiders were more thanhappy to ‘take the money and run’,quite literally in this case, desertingtheir Llort patrons and moving intonearby territories they perceived asbeing ‘weak’.

After several years of enduringthese escalated attacks against theirborder interests, the Hyach navyauthorized the conversion of severalAlorai Kam Light Cruisers, currentlyunder construction at Shri-Shraba,into auxiliary light carriers. Uponcompletion, these ships weredeployed to the border and servedas convoy escorts.

The presence of Alorai Kon LightCarriers in the borderlands provideda significant deterrent to all but themost dedicated of raiders. Mostpirates, even those who hadbenefited most from the Llort ‘gifts’,were no match for a Hyach convoyunder the protective escort of a lightcarrier and its fighter wing.

Sirol Kur Fast EscortThis older Hyach escort frigate

design was in heavy use prior to thedevelopment of more advancedsuccessor designs, including theOkath Kur. For over a century, shipsof the Sirol Kur class provided thebulk of fleet and convoy escortservices to the Hyach navy.

Unlike future Hyach frigates, theSirol Kur was built for speed oversurvivability. The engines of theseescorts were supercharged andsacrificed efficiency for raw thrust.This extra speed potential improvedthe frigate’s chances of huntingdown and engaging nimble enemyfighters.

Yaltat Kes Exploration CruiserPrior to the 2200s, the Hyach fleetcontained two distinct families ofELINT vessels. One family wasoptimized for battle operations andproviding ELINT support to otherHyach combat units. The secondwas designed for long-rangeexploratory missions at the expenseof combat abilities.

The Yaltat Kes ExplorationCruiser falls into the latter family. Theship was one of the last greatexploration cruisers developed bythe Hyach. The ship bears afunctional resemblance to the EAExplorer in that both classes areintended for long-term deploymentto the fringes of known space.However the Yaltat Kes is a muchsmaller vessel with a more limitedcruising range. The class’ jump gateconstruction abilities are also muchmore limited. A Yaltat Kes cantransport and deploy one limited-capacity jump gate in a targetsystem, which then allows dedicatedjump gate construction teams toarrive on site and begin building amore permanent jump gate.

Over the last several centuries,the Hyach’s exploration program haswaned. Few systems of importancehave been discovered, and eventhose systems of merit that havebeen discovered have not been fullyexploited. The declining Hyachpopulation simply could not supportadditional colonial ventures outsidethe core of Hyach space. In somecases, the territories opened up bythe Hyach exploration cruisers wereleased to Drazi concerns

who were more than interested indeveloping limited habitats in thesystems, with a percentage of theirincome being directed to theGerontocracy.

As a result of this waningexploration, most Yaltat KesExploration Cruisers had alreadybeen placed in mothballs prior to theDilgar War.

Vestal Light FighterThis successor to the Dartha

Medium Fighter acted as a testingplatform for many of the technologiesthat would later be adopted in thatfighter. The Vestal Light Fighter’smission however was quite different.The Vestal fighters were optimizedfor dogfighting with enemy fighters,particularly raider fighters. They werenot designed for performing attackruns on enemy capital ships, themission in which the later Darthawould excel.

One of the major failings of theVestal Light Fighter was its relianceon the antiquated Light Maserweapon. Like its ship-basedcounterpart, the Light Maser haddifficulty penetrating enemy armors.Against fighters this was less of aproblem, as fighters tend to havecomparatively weaker armor thancapital ships. However there werestill some fighters that wereequipped with much strongerdefenses, and it was against thesefighters that the Vestal Light Fightersran into difficulties.

* * *



Note: B5 & Babylon 5 areTrademarks of JMS, BabylonianProductions and the WB. B5Warsis Copyright Agents of Gaming.Rules of Engagement I&II are, Ibelieve, still properties ofImpressions Games and theoriginal designers. Nothing hereis meant to infringe on any rightsthat have been mentioned or thatexist and have not beenmentioned. This is for personalentertainment only.

IntroductionThe following rules and the

accompanying SCS’s are basedon designs from the Rules ofEngagement (ROE) I ComputerGame and Manual. Thus theseare interpretations of the originaldesigns of that game. These rulesdo not directly reflect the GameRules of Engagement II. As moreinformation becomes availablethis could change.

Unless otherwise stated, allitems and rules found in theB5Wars Rules Compendium workas normal.

WeaponSystemsUnified WeaponsArray (UWA)The Unified Weapons Array is a

large reactor and munitionsmagazine that acts as a centraldistributor to the weapons onboard the ship. It holds both thecollected energy particles forEnergy Beams (EB) as well as thevarious missiles. Depending onthe size of the Weapon Systeminstalled, these could be standardmissiles or more advancedversions.The UWA is separate from the

Reactor.Each UWA will have a number

associated with it. This is theenergy reserve available for theweapons systems. Note that thisnumber is different than theamount of power saved by turningthe UWA system off. In effect theUWA is a power converter, turningreactor power into energy for theEnergy Beams or guidance andlaunch power for the missiles.The energy used to fire weapons

is automatically replenished each

Conversion Quick Start Rules: Original Game Era (OGE)By Sean Hillman



round that the UWA is on andactive. The reason that a givenUWA may require more power isthat some of the ships of the OGEare a bit over gunned for theirsizes in B5Wars terms. Thusthere may be more ELT to firethan there is power for them.

The UWA is heat andradiation shielded so that Plasmaweapons do not impose any halfarmor penalties. However, whenan ELT is destroyed, theconnections to the UWA mayconduct any residual energy tothe UWA itself, instead of thestructure for that section as per thenormal rules. Roll 1d20, on a 1-5 theenergy is transmitted to the UWA,which takes damage as normal.

If the UWA is destroyed, anyenergy in it is released as a singlevolley on the Primary Section. Ifthere are remaining missiles, roll1d20 for each missile. On a 1 or 2the missile explodes for 5 points.Each missile that explodes is a singlevolley.

Energy Beam –Launcher Turret (ELT)

The primary weapon of the LocalGroup forces (both FW and UDP) isthe Energy Beam. However, theweapon systems designed by thelocal manufacturers also comeequipped with missiles. In theoriginal game, Rules ofEngagement, there is no specificemitter or launcher, the weapons justseem to fire from an undisclosedlocation. Thus it seemed logical thatall weapons were connected to somecentralized location, the UWA, andthen the energy or missile was sentout to a specific launch point on thehull. This is the ELT. Most ships inthe OGE have from 1 to 6 ELT ontheir SCS.

A given ELT may be used on anygiven turn either to fire an EnergyBeam or to launch one ballisticmissile. It may not do both. An ELTcan fire every turn and the mode offire from the previous turn has noeffect on the mode of fire for thecurrent turn.

To fire in Energy Beam (EB)Mode, 3 points of power must beallocated from the UWA to the ELTin question. If not used on the currentturn, this power is lost. However, thisdoes not prevent the weapon firingin either mode the following turn.Energy Beams come in 1 size anddo 2d10+2 damage per hit. They firein standard mode.

To fire in Ballistic Missile (BM)Mode, 1 point of power must beallocated. Note however, that theseships carry a very limited amount ofmissiles for each type. See MissileTypes below for more rules on theseweapons. Note also that when in BMmode, the firing arc of the ELT is 3600

and not what is printed on the SCS.Aside from their varying

warheads these weapons are in allways like normal missiles in B5Wars.

When an ELT is destroyed, thefeedback might damage the UWA.See the UWA rules above.

DefensiveEnergyScreens (DES)

Aside from extensivearmor plating, the shipsin the Local Groupdepend on electronicshielding to deflectdamage away from theirships. DES systems inno way make a shipharder to hit but insteadabsorb a certain amountof damage. They act as

energy armor and absorb damage.There are 4 shields and each isconnected to and controlled from thecentral DES. This system allows agood deal of flexibility in how poweris given to the shields. Eachindividual shield can hold a variableamount of power, depending on theamount transferred into the individualshield from the DES.

The DES system is a centrallylocated power converter, takingwhatever power it generates or istransferred into it and converting itinto ionized energy that first polarizesand then dissipates energies thatstrike it. Unless damaged, the DESregenerates power equal to its powerrating every turn. This power canbe assigned to any DESP on the shipthat is not destroyed. For each pointof power given to the DESP, 1 pointof damage protection is created.Every turn, the power must allocated,whether the points are maintained orvaried from turn to turn. Shieldpower will regenerate between turnsas long both the DES and the DESPare working.

Like the UWA, the DES isarmored and shielded in such a wayas to not be affected by the armordegrading properties of Plasmaweapons.



Defensive EnergyScreen Projector(DESP)

Each Ship in the ROE has 4DESP, numbered clockwise from1(forward) to 4(port). These convertraw energy into protective energiesand help protect the ships fromdamage. These shields or screenscan absorb any type of knownenergy. They do suffer normaldegradation from Plasma weaponsjust like armor does.

Each projector can acceptmaximum of 5 points of energy fromthe DES and thus produce 5 pointsof armor per round (one point ofarmor per point of power added).This provides an extra point of armorfor any and all attacks that comethrough that shield during the giventurn. Once the projector itself isdestroyed, it is impossible to cover

that side of the ship with a DESanymore. Screens and shieldscannot be stretched to cover morethan one side. For a Transporter tobe used, the shields must bedropped. Dropping shields can bedone at any point in a given turn.Raising them again can only occurin the Power Allocation Phase.

Matter – EnergyTransporter (MET)

A by-product of hyperspacescience, the MET allows matter tobe turned into energy andtransported to another location withina limited distance. The targetlocation and original location mustboth be free of any kind of shielding.There are very few solid objects thatcan block the MET.

For the MET to be usable in aship-to-ship transport, thetransporting vessel and target vesselmust be within 6 speed factors ofeach other. Otherwise there is toomuch speed differential to attain lock.Second, the transporting vesselmust have a positive lock on thetarget vessel. Finally, neither shipcan be under the protection of anykind of shielding. Each MET cantransport 1 MRS (Marine RaiderSquad) per turn. Every ship in ROEhas at least one MET. Some of thelarger ships have more than one.The MET is affected the same waya weapon would be against a Minbarijammer. The maximum range of anMET is 10 hexes. Transportationtakes place during the Ship-to-ShipFiring phase.

Marine Raider Squad(MRS)

The Marine Raider Squad orMRS is a highly trained group of menand women who enjoy causing

mayhem on enemy ships. Use thenormal boarding rules from B5Wars.

Note: More information will beforthcoming on the Marine RaiderSquads and other alien shipboardcombatants.

MissilesMissiles are an important tactical

consideration in the ROE universe.Ships carry relatively few of theseweapons but they can offer a tacticaladvantage when used properly. Thefollowing missile types are availablein the OGE.

General Damage: This is straight upbrute force damage.

Anti-Shield: Destroys a shield anda DESP’s ability to convert energyinto protection. When a shield isstruck, the amount of AS damage isapplied to that shield immediately. Ifthere is equal to or more AS damage



than shield power, the shieldcollapses. If the AS damage is less,the shield’s ability is lowered.Regardless, the DESP cannotconvert as much energy to protectionas before.

Example: A normal DESP can createup to 5 points of armor. If hit by amissile doing 3 AS damage, theDESP can now only created 2 pointsof armor. If AS damage negates aDESP entirely (doing 5 or moredamage or a combination of missilesdoing 5 or more) that DESP can nolonger function though it is notdestroyed. It can still absorb normal

damage as a system if its number isrolled.

Anti-Personnel: This missile washarder to convert. So what I did wasconvert it straight into C&C damage.When one of these missiles strikesa ship, no location hit is rolled.Instead, the damage is dealt to theC&C only. This is a very powerfulmissile type representing crew killingability.

Anti-Drive: Like the AP missile, theAnt-Drive missile attacks only onesystem: engines. All damage is donedirectly to the engine.

Anti-Weapon: This missile isexclusively a weapon of the UDP. Itattacks the UWA directly, trying tocause a critical explosion and disablean enemy’s ability to fire its weapons.

A Brief History ofthe Local Group

The current year is 2374 and theFederated Worlds (FW) & the UnitedDemocratic Planets (UDP) are at warwith one another. Much of the conflictstems from the loss ofcommunication with other Earthcolonies for a period of thirty years.The people of the Local Group havebeen on their own for a very long timeand have grown accustomed tohandling their own problems.

The Human worlds in the areasplit into two armed camps, the FWand the UDP. The ships of bothforces are limited to HCV or lowerdue to limited yard size and sizelimitations placed on Hyperspacetravel by the Mass Limit. This limitsthe size of craft that can enterHyperspace (ROE Manual, Pg. 27).

Although technologically evenlymatched, the FW’s industry is slightlybetter than that of the UDP. It couldeasily overcome the one enemy butthe FW must deal with more thanone. Creatures known as ‘Aliens’; thealien Entymion; the Muties – humanswho have undergone severmutation; and the Cybers – apowerful race of human-machinehybrids.

Author’s Note: I could reprint all thepages of the History but these areincluded in the game manual andthus I am not sure of the legalitiesinvolved.

Missile Statistics

Federated Worlds

Missile Damage Type CostPN Pritchard SBR 3 Anti-Shield 5 perMelbourne FU8 10 General Damage 2 perGiaperelli FU9 20 General Damage 4 perFranklin Lab FE 6 Anti-Personnel 10 perWoden FE 9 Anti-Personnel 12 perThiodyne P/PD 6 Anti-Drive 6 perWoden Nova 30 General Damage 8 perIliya Nova 40 General Damage 10 per

United Democratic Planets

Missile Damage Type CostType 1 20 General Damage 5 perType 2 6 Anti-Personnel 10 perType 3 3 Anti-Shield 4 perType 4 30 General Damage 5 perType 5 9 Anti-Personnel 12 perType 6 6 Anti-Weapon 6 perType 7 6 Anti-Drive 8 perType 8 40 General Damage 10 per

Missile: Missile NameDamage: Amount DamageType: Type of DamageCost: For purposes of trading missiles out and altering a ship’s cost



Design DecisionsWhy Rules ofEngagement?

I loved this game. It was the bestship-to-ship game that had come outto date AND it had a lot of Star Trek:Next Generation feel to it. It also hada fairly simple but compelling historyand unlike many TV shows, the shipshad never been converted to myknowledge. The unique feel of theweapons systems also meant that Ihad to seek out some inventivesolutions instead of just armingeverything with a Babylon 5 Warsweapon.

Weapon SystemsYou would think that a weapon

system which essentially consistedof two components (beams &missiles) would be fairly easy toconvert. Well this is not the case fora number of reasons. For one, thedifferent ship classes could fitdifferent sized weapon systems. Thiswas not exactly a “modular” systemthat could be easily represented. Foranother, there was no obvious hardpoints for the weapons. So aftersome thought and some advice fromTyrel, I decided to create the UWA –ELT system. It’s a slightly differentway of creating over-gunnedsituations, since all weapon powercomes from the UWA and not thereactor directly. So an ELT thatstands idle is not saving power.

ShieldsThe shields or Defensive Energy

Screens went through a fewvariations. Initially I had them asdamage absorption and being ableto be recharged very easily eachround. I realized that this would notwork well in that two scouts couldpotentially never hurt each other ifthey maintained the same facingthroughout he battle. So the DESwent from damage absorption todamage reduction. Now they act asextra armor though there is still avariable element.

No Capital UnitsThe FW Dreadnaught is 303

meters long. The FW freighter is 450.These barely make it into HCVcategory. I decided that the fluff



about the Mass Limit allowed me tosimply keep everything at HCV orsmaller. So in campaign games theROE ships will be at a disadvantagedue to no capital units (among otherthings). However, they will be heavilygunned units for the most part.

Expanded Era vs.Original Game Era

I had plenty of ideas forexpanded era designs and histories.I have not seen the information fromROE II yet so I am not sure howthings might change. In any case,the OGE does offer up a variety ofenemies - even if they all use theUDP ships.

Ships of Rules ofEngagementFederated WorldsShipyardMark 1 Scout (LCV)

Although this is an ELINT ship,the FW & UDP forces use theirscouts as Gunboats as well asScouts. Scouts will often perform thesame mission as Cruisers. TheFWAF designed the scout to not onlybe the eyes and ears of the fleet butto carry out small missions on itsown. Its primary purpose is as apatrol and early warning ship, but italso performs convoy escort andfleet support roles.

Although armed with the samenumber of ELT’s as the UDP Scout,the Mk1 has one weapon forward andone weapon aft, making it difficult tooutflank. FW captains prefer anoblique approach which allows thefront and rear weapons to fire.

Mark 2 Freighter (HCV)The largest ship in the FWAF

inventory, it is also the least combatworthy. Never the less, in such adangerous universe, the engineersand Fleet command thought it bestthat all ships be armed, even themerchantmen. Although many ofthese ships are privately owned andoperated, they use the same designthroughout FW territory.

UnitedDemocraticPlanets ShipyardType I Scout (LCV)

The Scout was the prototypedesign for the UDP who initially reliedon fast moving small ships in theirwar against the FW. Although not assturdy as the Mark 1, the T1 is ableto fire both ELT’s in the forward arc.This gives it an advantage on head-on attacks.

Designed primarily as a raider,the T1 performs well in escort andfleet duties, especially since it carriesan Anti-Personnel missile as astandard load out.

Type II Freighter (HCV)Designed by the military and

leased to civilian corporations, theType II Hull is much like the FW Mark2. Instead of being a single large hullhowever, it is broken into three largecargo areas that are strapped ontoa bridge and control unit. The heavylosses these incurred during the Warnearly crippled the UDP economy.

* * *



IntroductionWith the release of The Great

Machine Issue 15 everyonediscovered that Issue 16 wouldcontain Star Wars conversions forB5Wars. So I figured I would includeeveryones favorite rebel ladenfreighter. A ship who’s braveoccupants are relentlessly pursuedacross the galaxy by the evil‘Alliance’. A brother and sister whois wanted by the authorities, bountyhunters chasing them. No it’s not theFalcon; it’s Serenity. Lucas hasnothing on them. Sadly because ofFOX we know don’t know the wholestory, but with an upcoming film Ithought I should present my workhere, especially with the arrival of theSerenity movie on September 30th.

Editor’s Note: This was sent to mebefore the release of Serenity totheaters. Sorry for being so lategetting this included in an issue!

Firefly Class FreighterThe Firefly Class Freighter is a

medium-sized, fast, rugged and out-dated atmospheric cargo craft. Thistype of craft is favored by smugglersand independent cargo carriers. Theships themselves are over 70-yearsold and retired from all of the majorshipping operations. However witha decent sized cargo capacity,excellent maneuverability and highspeed the ‘Firefly’ Class is still foundin relative frequency in known space.Unlike many other cargo craft thereare no defensive weaponswhatsoever and their crews mustrely entirely on their wits, superior

maneuverability and speed toescape hostile situations.

Similar in design to the ‘FastFreighter’ the ‘Firefly’ has bettersensors (but still very poor comparedto any actual combat vessel), higherthrust, jump-capability and greatermaneuverability. All this at only theprice of carrying only half of thecargo, its defensive weapons and anincrease in points cost.

Vectored ThrustVectored Thrusters act as

normal thrusters in all respects,however may direct available thrustin either the forward or aft directions.Thrust may not be directed both foreand aft during one turn.

* * *

‘Designing Everyones FavoriteTramp Freighter’

or‘Six Rebels on the Run with an

Empire in Pursuit’

‘Designing Everyones FavoriteTramp Freighter’

or‘Six Rebels on the Run with an

Empire in Pursuit’

Article and SCS by Adam KeaneArticle and SCS by Adam Keane



Federation Antarctica ClassMedical Frigate

With increased hostilities associated with theDominion War and heavy losses from the Borg, StarfleetMedical recognized that it would have to rely increasinglyon the one-hundred and twenty year-old Oberth-classScience vessels, as the more modern ships wererequired for front-line patrols and combat duties.

Without the required resources and fast shipsStarfleet Medical’s centralized structure could noteffectively combat outbreaks or epidemics on outlyingworlds. For this they negotiated the production of a smallprototype vessel and ten follow-up hulls, in return forturning over the three Nebula-class starships that wereassigned to them. Construction of the prototypeAntarctica-class was completed and evaluated againstthe aging Oberth-class and the three Nebula-class shipsthey were replacing.

Constructed from the ground up to make use ofStarfleets new Emergency Medical Hologram or EMH,there were multiple holographic processors and emittersinstalled throughout the ship and tied into a centraldedicated computer which allowed there to be eightseparate EMH projections active at any one time. Twostandard ground-based medical facilities with completelaboratory support, acute and chronic-care wards wereadapted and included in the forward triangular ‘saucer’section of the hull. This design was hoped to allowground based personal to be quickly and efficientlyintegrated with starship operation without having to have

them adapt to the layout of a standard starship whichmight slow their reaction times in a crisis.

Compared to the other two designs the Antarcticabears more of a resemblance to the Oberth than to theNebula, being of comparable overall size and crewcompliment, this was to allow the crewing of the plannedeleven ships with the crews assigned to the original threeNebula-class vessels. Increased shields, heavierweapons and armour all address the changing climateof the galaxy and a modern warp-drive allowed for fasterresponse times to medical emergencies. Equipped witha large shuttle bay carrying six shuttles, almost the samesize as the Nebula class and three-times the capacityof the aging Oberth’s, provide for large scale reliefmissions when it’s compliment of transporters is notadequate. Federation Type 9a Personnel Shuttles arenormally the type carried due to their availability andlarge payload capabilities.

Weapons and shields compare favorably to the olderOberth-class ships, though obviously not in the sameclass as the much larger Nebula-class Heavy Cruiser.The Oberth’s three light-phaser mounts have beenupgraded to four medium-phasers with 240-degree arcs.However, unlike most Starfleet Vessels the USSAntarctica doesn’t mount any photon torpedo launchers,which normally occupy a great deal of internal space.To save resources the sensor suite and shields are thesame as those installed into the Saber-class AttackFrigate, the shield projectors themselves are the sameas those on the Nebula. The net result is a shield system75% stronger than the Oberth’s with the same recharge-rate. These add up to improved combat capabilities,however the Antarctica and it’s medical crews are fartoo valuable to be risked in hostile situations and theoffensive systems are only designed to get the ship towarp where it’s high speed allows it a fair change of escape.

Since its construction in early 2373 the U.S.S.Antarctica has participated in the relief effort of amutagenic weapon deployed along the Cardassianborder with successful results. Construction of the firstfour of the new hulls are well under way and should becompleted by early 2374.

NOTE: This ship is based off an image I had on mycomputer, I can’t read the artist signature. If you knowwho should be credited, please email me [email protected] and I will update the ship.

* * *

Article and SCS by Adam KeaneArtist Unknown



OverviewThe Command Explorer was the result of President

Clark’s regime and the xenophobia that it created. Thesmall fleet of Explorers that were run by the EA wasonly armed with 24 Aurora Starfuries, two heavy pulsecannons and an array of Mk-1 interceptors. TheCommand Explorer was upgraded with mk-2interceptors and modified to carry Thunderbolt Starfuriesas well. The final upgrade that was made was to puttwo additional hangers into the primary section, raisingthe amount of fighters to 48. The hangers are soextensive that the four boxes per one light combat vesselrequirement is lowered to two boxes per one lightcombat vessel.

Earth AllianceCommand Explorer

By Andrew Wieting



Coming Next Issue...Coming Next Issue...CreditsCreditsCreditsCreditsCreditsEditorsTyrel Lohr

LayoutTyrel Lohr

ProofreadingAdmiral Ackbar

Submission [email protected]

Distribution Pointplanetside.firenebula.com

The GREAT MACHINE isan unofficial, 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.

Submission Deadline: Every Thousand Years...

Well, it was a good run... but given the recent rate of releasesI don’t think that The Great Machine will be around much longer.Why? Because outside of a small circle of people that submitmaterial, there just aren’t all that many that are interested insending anything in. I really do appreciate the work that thosetireless few have put into their submissions, and it has beenfun putting this together.

Is this the end? That depends. My interest in B5W as a gamesystem has largely waned and I have joined Hyperion andothers Beyond the Rim. But will there still be new content andnew issues of The Great Machine? Possibly. It all depends onYOU. There are some players that still seem to be activelydesigning ships and creating rules for the system, but few ofthem want to submit anything to this publication. That makesthe pool of available material extremely limited. And with Paulgone, my ability to fill an issue without external material hasdisappeared.

I would like to thank all of those who have worked hard overthe last year and change to make The Great Machine a reality.

Send all submissions to [email protected]. I won’t bite. You can send it right there to that e-mailaddress. Come on, you know you want to!

CLOSED FORBUSINESS?

in memory, still bright - smikesworld.dk · in memory, still bright ... babylon 5 fan, it took star...

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