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Babylon 5
Internet-Role Playing Game
Members Homepage
For all new players, and for our existing players who may have questions as to how things work, we have set up this section of the website to detail the rules and regulations of play within our mission groups. Also, there will eventually be a FAQ sheet of most commonly asked questions pertaining to the rules. If you have any question you would like addressed, please contact our Senior Moderators, Soo and Becky, or any of the group Moderators.
A little Background:
The Babylon 5 Role Playing Game (RPG) was set up June 26, 1997 by four science fiction fans. The idea was the brainchild of Ron Stewart, aka Rron PrimaVol. The first mission began 7 July 1997 and has been in continuous play ever since. The game expanded to three mission groups: Terran Mission Group, Pax Mission Group and Minbari Mission Group, but has since disbanded the Terran Mission Group. The RPG is based very loosely on the universe created by J Michael Strazynski (JMS) in his television series, Babylon 5. The races in the RPG are based on those created for the series, with one exception : The Volkunes. The timelines and racial technology are also consistent with the Babylon 5 Television series, although we have deviated lately and created our own partial timeline tangent. As far as we are aware, we are the first email-based RPG based on the Babylon 5 universe.
Click on the topic of rules you wish to read:
Command Structure
Promotion/Demotion
Stasis
Application
Assignment/Transfer
Biography
Races Defined
Each mission group is led by a Commanding Officer (Group Moderator) and an Executive Officer (Assistant Group Moderator). These hold the responsibility of managing the mission group, updating biographies for submission to the website, as well as attending regularly scheduled moderator meetings within the RPG. This allows us to compare notes, and also to give an objective opinion to any potential queries or problems before serious action needs to be taken. The CO and XO of each new group are selected by the Moderator Council at the start of each new mission group. Once the initial selection is made, that particular group is managed by the CO and XO.
All subsequent players in any group answer ultimately to the CO, but if a player suspects any impropriety on the part of the CO, (s)he may place his/her request in writing to any moderator of any mission group. That player with then be asked to "appear" before the Moderator Council to discuss his/her concerns. The Council will then discuss the complaint and take action, notifying players as required. All decisions of the Moderator Council are final.
Note: Failure to attend the council for adjudication will result in all "charges" being dismissed.
Here is the order of rank within each mission group:
Admiral - Chief Moderator of RPG
Vice Admiral - Executive Officer of the RPG
Captain - Commanding Officer of Mission Group
Commander - Executive Officer of Mission Group
Lt Commander
Lieutenant
Lt Junior Grade
Ensign
Recruit/Cadet
These are guidelines only, as we are currently undergoing a renovation of the points structure. As a player, you will be informed when these have been ratified.
Rank is defined as that measure which identifies a player's seniority within the group/RPG structure. This is not to be confused with a player's rating, which defines their specific role in play. For example, the Senior RPG Moderator may be an Admiral in Rank, but only an Administrator in the act of play.
The opportunity for advancement was once based on ability and a points schedule. Due to confusion over the points allocation, this part of the promotion structure has been dropped within the Pax Group. Each player has the opportunity, through the ranks, to be promoted to CO or XO, as the RPG expands. This schedule, therefore, attempts to show how players may advance in rank.
Each new player to a mission group plays his first mission as a recruit or cadet, regardless of rating. A player's rating is usually based on the information given in the biography. For example, if a player wishes to be assigned an engineering role, then they state in their biography their interest in engineering and electronic workings. Or if a player wishes to be assigned to a medical role, that player should write in their biography an interest in medicine and sciences.
As a player progresses throughout his career in the mission group, the CO and XO will evaluate his/her performance and decide whether either a promotion or commendation is in order. (S)he will be given promotions from time to time based on the following criteria:
PROMOTION
Minimum participation requirements : Submits a player biography for enrollment into the RPG, posts a minimum 500 word post on a regular basis (at least once weekly), does not disrupt the flow of general play, attempts to advance given mission plot.
RECRUIT - This rank is granted upon induction of an applicant into the B5RPG.
ENSIGN- Meets minimum participation requirements for one mission without requiring moderator intervention. Submit at least one mission plot idea. Updated Biography submitted to moderator.
LIEUTENANT (JUNIOR GRADE)- Meets minimum participation requirements. Interacts well with other players. Growth of character. Submit two mission plot ideas during two separate missions. Updated Biography submitted to moderator.
LIEUTENANT- Surpasses minimum participation requirements. Leads other players in interactions. Matured character. Submit three mission plot ideas during three separate missions. Updated Biography submitted to moderator.
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER- Surpasses minimum participation requirements. Leads and supports other players in establishing plots and subplots. Submit four mission plot ideas during four separate missions. Updated Biography submitted to moderator. Shows leadership qualities.
COMMANDER- A moderator position, promotion to Commander may occur only by consensus of the B5RPG Moderator Council. Ability to lead missions under quidance, strong sense of plot structure, demonstration of responsibility, insight, and/or other instance of exemplary conduct. Is nominated by a member of the Moderator Council.
CAPTAIN- This position is reserved for Group Commanding Officers and may be filled only by a Commander when a position becomes available. Acceptance is by vote of RPG Moderator Council.
VICE ADMIRAL- This position is reserved for the Vice Chief Executive of the B5RPG and may only be filled by a moderator when the position becomes available. Acceptance is by vote of RPG Moderator Council.
ADMIRAL- This position is reserved for the Chief Executive of the B5RPG and may only be filled by a moderator when the position becomes available. Acceptance is by vote of RPG Moderator Council.
DEMOTION/DISMISSAL FROM GROUP
Demotion of rank or dismissal from a Group or the RPG as a whole may be deemed necessary if the following incidents result. Action will be taken only after a full session of the RPG Moderator Council:
Disruption of group including, but not limited to, abusive language, defamatory comments or insulting remarks based on a person's race, gender, creed, age or level of intelligence/ ability.
Acts of violence perpetuated against another player's character without the consent of the other player (usually confirmed in writing to the CO/XO).
Failure to co-operate in general play of mission.
Failure to heed warnings from CO/XO.
Failure to participate, without prior written notice, for the duration of one full mission.
Failure to update biography at least once per three missions.
A player who is demoted on a regular basis [constituting more than once per two missions] will be banned from the group. Once a player is banned, (s)he may be allowed to rejoin pending acceptance of a new character design by the Moderator Council. A player banned from the group for a second time will not be allowed further application.
The stasis rules have been made stricter : The rule now states that:
**Each member must post at least once each mission.**
"If you fail to post during a mission, you may be placed in stasis. If at any time you are unable to comply with this rule, you must keep in contact with your CO so that we can confirm that you are still an active player. If you are on holiday, please contact us in advance!
While in stasis, you will *not receive points on your posts* from your usual mission group and will need to contact your CO to be reinstated, with a post describing a leave of absence or holiday of some form. Unless this post is received in the allotted time, your character may be killed in a mission-related accident. You will receive more information from us when and if you are placed into stasis."
The stasis rule was created in 1997 to discourage players from failing to participate in an active mission. A player will be put in "stasis" when (s)he fails to submit at least one post per mission. A player may continue playing in the next mission immediately, but will not technically be removed from stasis until one post with a minimum of 500 words is submitted to the group explaining the absence. Until this post is submitted, any posts written will not count towards any promotions. Reinstatement post will not count towards any promotions, either.
After a full mission in stasis, a player may be terminated from the group. A player thus terminated will only be re-accepted by following the usual application procedure. A player banned from the group for a second time will be refused further application.
Anyone may apply for participation in the RPG simply by filling in the registration form. The application will then be submitted to our Senior and Executive Moderators for their review. The moderators vote yes or no to an application, and then that player will be assigned to a group. By default, all applicants accepted to the game will begin with the Pax Mission Group aboard the Pax VII Station.
The only requirement for application is an active email account and an imagination. However, failure to fully complete the biography application will result in the application being REJECTED.
This part of the application process is the most challenging, for a player's whole future career stems from their initial biographical application. Moderators look for originality, description of character, detail in personal history and the occasional bright spark which stands out from time to time. While we accept applications from ANY age group, generally speaking, players over the biological age of sixteen stand a better chance of being accepted. However, our youngest accepted player so far was aged 10.
When creating a character, it is essential to define the character you wish to play. The character is defined in two distinct ways. First we require you, the player, to define your character based on a system which promotes basic equality of players across the game. It should be noted that while characters will be balanced, races may appear to be unbalanced in certain areas. After all, it isn't fun if everyone has the psychotelepathically hard Minbari Warrior who has been training in all combat skills for the last millennia! Thus the numerical character definition system is employed. The numerical character definition also gives players a common ground to interact. When you interact with other players you will be able to compare your character's ability to those of other players.
Once you chose a member race, you will be assigned any restrictions imposed (for example, Narns cannot have Telepathic abilities, as determined by the Babylon 5 Television Series). Your character skills define who your character is, and what field of expertise you will be assigned in the game. For example, a player who wishes to be assigned to the engineering section, should demonstrate an interest in Engineering and Sciences. A player who wishes to be assigned to a combat role, should designate an interest in Military/Combat skills. However, this section is not the sole determining factor, merely a guideline of what your character is capable of being. Your role in the mission group will be judged by how your character is played in your first mission. But this section does represent a general guideline.
a) Basic Skills
All character abilities have a level of excellence, ranging from 0 to 5 indicating how good a character is at a given skill. This table indicating summaries of each of the levels is given below and is a crucial part of determining the entire set of abilities for one's character:
(1) Very Poor - The character has no skill in this area.
(2) Poor - The character has had some practice but is still bad.
(3) Average - The character is of average ability level.
(4) Good - The character is above average in this field.
(5) Very Good - The player is elite and the best of the best.These levels are assigned to all ability scores. At this stage you should be getting an idea of what levels of ability you want your character to have in whichever skills he is good at.
b) Career Skills
Career skills tell our moderators where your character would like to be placed in the overall group structure. Someone with an excellent Engineering rating will be placed in Engineering and will most likely be called on to perform those skills on a regular basis in the play of the game. However, this is subject to how a player is actually portrayed during an active mission.
People who in their biography state they are good at something will also be giving others an appreciation of how good by the number system. As a rule of thumb if someone has a skill of higher level he is better than you in that area. This isn't to say that by luck you couldn't beat him, but as a guide it helps you understand the system. Luck is represented in an easy system. If we take a 500 word post to be the standard length, then for that post you have 5 luck points, 1 per hundred words, rounding as per usual. These points are used in any situation, and allow the temporary raising of a skill.
Skill levels will also be created for generic NPCs Non-participating Characters).
Name : [Your name. If you do not wish to use your real name, that is acceptable. But we would like to know how to call you.]
Race: [Obvious. If you wish to choose a race not listed on the Races Webpage, please contact a Moderator for advice and guidance.]
Name (Character): [Obvious. The name of the Character you will be playing.]
Residence: [As per race. However, this is not binding.]
Age: [Your character's age.]
Appearance: [The appearance in general of the character. For example, a Minbari will be described as having a bony crest typical of religious/warrior/worker caste as is appropriate. See the Races page for further options. Many players also describe various physical traits such as scars, etc.]
Family: [A brief outline of your character's family history. Try not to kill them all in a war as this tends to get overused and boring. It is not mandatory, but it does tend to allow you some freedom in your portayal of a character, as it makes that character more three dimensional.]
Interests/Hobbies: [The types of activities in which your character is interested. For example, a soldier may also be interested in some form of martial arts. Not mandatory, but this helps to define your character]
Current Employment: [Employment suggestions are welcome, but the final employment will be determined by the moderator.]
Personality: [This details the character's personality: are you bright and bubbly, or dark and sultry?]
Previous History: [This section briefly, 2 paragraphs, details the character's life to date. This section will grow as you participate in future missions and will be required to be updated when you update your biography.]
Telepathic Abilities: ["P" rating on triangular scale. A Poor "P" rating would be level "P-1". The highest "P" level is 10, according to the Babylon 5 television series - Bester is regarded as "P-10". A rating of higher than P-10 will ONLY be granted upon exceptional circumstances. So prove to us you are worth it, and we will decide if you warrant the higher rating. You can always start at a lower rating, and work your way up.]
Character Definition: [This contains the numerical definition of the character as described above.]
Once the biography is filled out, submitted and accepted [usually within two weeks of posting], a moderator will tell you your employment assignment, and will inform you of which group you will be playing with.
Address any Questions to Moderators who will discuss the ideas with the Council. Due to confusion, it has been decided that players are not to be allowed to play a Vorlon or Shadow character in the course of posting. If one of these races are to be used in a mission, your CO will notify you accordingly, including any rules or guidelines of which you should be aware.
Applicants will be asked to select a race from the Babylon 5 universe and will be judged on the content of their personal history created about that character.
An applicant may select from any of the following list of Races:
Human (Residence, anywhere in the Terran System)
Minbari (Residence, Minbar)
Narn (Residence Narn Republic, or affiliated Narn Colony)
Centauri (Residence Centauri Prime, or affiliated Centauri Colony)
Volkune (Residence Vol'Indi [homeworld] or Xil'Indi Colony)
Other (Please discuss your choice with a Moderator)
Of course, this does not limit a player. One of course may chose to be Drazi, or Pak Ma'Ra. But our players generally come from one of the above races. If you wish to play any of these alternate races, please feel free. A Moderator will then contact you to discuss your intentions, and they will inform you which guidelines you should follow.
For an applicant who is unfamiliar with the above races, please follow this link to learn more.
When a player has been accepted to participate, he will be notified by his/her new CO/XO. The player will then be told to report to the CO on arrival in their group (for example, on Pax, the new player would report to T'Mar Hazan ka', Pro TemAdministrator of Pax Station, for assignment). This is to basically start the player writing and is expected to be no more than simple confirmation of the notice served by the CO. New players start their play as "recruit", but will be promoted to cadet once it has been demonstrated that the new player will remain within the group. If a new player is transferred immediately following the first mission to another group, the CO of the subsequent group may opt to keep the new player's designation as "recruit" for the duration of that mission.
A player at any time may request a transfer to another mission group. The transfer is at the discretion of the CO/XO and will be based on availability in the alternate mission group, the status of play (players will not be transferred during a mission in progress), and the alternate CO/XO's discretion.
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Mission Records from the Pax Group |
Mission Records From the Terran Group |
Mission Records from the Minbari Group |
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Register to Join the B5 RPG |
A Brief History of what has gone before. |
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