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The Races in the Babylon 5 Universe

Thanks to the efforts of Douglas Massie (aka Calris Tineray) and the creator of one of the most informative Babylon 5 sites I have come across, we have a link to a website that has been around longer than we have. I have looked through this site, and the information it contains far surpasses that listed below. Please feel free to use this link as a reference guide to an information spectrum for many of the B5 races not listed below.

Enjoy and good surfing!

http://hyperspace.isnnews.net/index.html

Contents

 


Human Information

Appearance
Well, everyone knows what a human looks like, don't you? In Babylon 5, the Terran System is ruled by Earth Alliance under President Clark. President Clark is a bit of a baddie, responsible for the assasination of President Santiago. At the chronological stage of our game, evidence to this effect has not yet been discovered.

Personality

The general personality of humans are easy to guess, being as we are all one, really. But they tend to be somewhat less accepting of other races, and there is a definite uneasiness in most Humans with regards to the Minbari since the end of the Earth/Minbari war which nearly destroyed both races after a mistunderstanding.

Below is a typical biography from one of our former senior players, who was human.

Personality: Outwardly, a by-the-books character who does not seek to go above and beyond in his duties, but never does less than necessary. Inwardly, a soul of jealousy, spite, a longing for mortal pleasure and for love, compassion, and any other of the contradictory traits that make humans what they are.

Relations:  Loosely allied with the Centauri, since they were the first race we met.  Respected by the League of Non-Aligned Worlds for our assistance in the Dilgar War.  Most don't really like Minbari as they killed a lot of us during the Earth Minbari War.

Time Period:  Factions all over the place.  Those who don't like Clark, those who do; Free Mars (like the IRA) and the Mars Resistance (like the Sein Fein); All those crazy Pro-Human/Anti-Alien groups. 

Residence: Proxima, Vega, Orion VII, Io (and other moons), Mars, Luna, Orion II, etc, etc, etc.

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Minbari Information

Appearance
A peaceful race full of ancient tradition. The Religious caste usually hold positions requiring intelligence and understanding. The Warrior caste are fairly descriptive. The main difference between the two are that Warriors have a more jagged bone crest than Religious and worker cate and are more physically fit due to extensive training, although Religious caste members are rather stronger than your average Human or Volkune.
Personality
Religious caste members, being devoted to intellect and philosphy, are more peaceful and graceful.
Warrior Caste Members are strong, athletic and tend to be easier to provoke into battle when it comes to issues of honour, issues which can be resolved in only one way.
Worker Class:  Caught between the post-Earth-Minbari War divisions of the Warrior and Religious Castes. Handle the bulk of tasks not covered by the other two castes.
 

A typical Minbari description:

Tirest of Vorune is an out going and aggressive young Minbari. He is often arrogant in the extreme in dealing with other races, especially humans. This young Wind Sword word is his bond, when he gives it he will die before he breaks it. Honor means everything to him. He is a death before dishonor type personality.

Relations:  Apparently have closer ties to the Vorlons than any other of the younger races.  Close connection to humans.

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Narn Information

Appearance
The typical Narn is reminiscent of a Galapagos turtle, leathery with green and brown markings covering the surface of their bodies. No signs of hair, at least not that anyone has lived to describe, and red eyes.
Personality
Your typical Narn is usually bitter, particularly about the treatment the Narn race has had at the hands of the Centauri people. Enslaved by the Centauri as a sub-humanoid class of labourers, the Narns eventually fought for their independence and gained their place in the politics of the Younger Races. During the re-emergence of the Shadows on the side of the Centauri, the Narn Regime once again was subjugated by the Centauri, and now only gather in small groups in places of Sanctuary. Narns are NOT telepathic, as the gene was bred out of existence centuries ago. In the series, G'Kar made an attempt to synthetically enhance the gene, but kept this knowledge to himself.

Religion:  There are many different following in Narn philosophy/religion, but there are two major followings.  These are (in no particular order) G'Quan, who G'Kar follows, and G'Lan, who Na'Toth's father followed. The Book of G'Quon is considered to be in the same league as the Bible or the Korran.

Relations:  The Centauri occupied the Narn homeworld for a hundred years.  The Narn are not at war with the Centauri, but they are working towards their independence.

Telepaths: After the Narn achieved spaceflight 1000 years ago, the Shadows tried to set up base on their planet.  The Narn attacked the Shadows, and, in retribution, the Shadows killed all the Narn telepaths.  The teachings of G'Quan (which G'Kar follows) documents this, and thus, Narns don't really like Shadows.  They remember them, and so they aren't suceptible to the Shadow's influence like the Centauri are.  Narns do in fact have telepathic genes, but they were so weakened that Narn telepaths are not bred.  Dust, however, does the trick as it does to mundane humans. If you are intending to establish a Narn telepath in your character, please contact a moderator beforehand.

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Centauri Information

Appearance
Centauri males have a pronouced crest of rich black hair which is worn almost as a crown which shows their position within the Centaurum. The taller the hair crest, the more prominent position held by the male.
Females have no hair at all except for a small patch at the backs of their heads, and are known on occasion to exhibit telepathic abilities.
They are considered to be extremely vorascious in their sexual appetites, the male sexual organism containing six tentacles which are used during varying levels of activity. Ambassador Londo Molari was once caught cheating at cards using one of his tentacles to "pinch" cards from the dealer's deck during an episode of Babylon 5.
Personality
The Centauri are a decadent people, confident in their superiority over other races. They exhibit over-indulgance as a rule. They are selfish, arrogant, and prone to extremes of excess. They have many factions.  In addition to their lust, gluttony, and other love for vices, the Centauri are masterful politicians.  Not all are evil, however.  Take Vir, for example, who faked the death of thousands of Narn during the second Centauri occupation of the planet under the Shadow-influenced emperor and saved them.  When this happened, Vir said others were working with him.  Centauri are a people of intrigue, espionage, and covert political action.  They aren't called the Centauri Republic for nothing; the actions of politicians in the Republic resemble the ancient Romans a lot.
 
Telepaths: Interesting bit here- The Centauri Emperor employs 4 telepaths, linked at birth, who are supposed to keep constant tabs on the royal court and the emperor.  When he's not on Centauri Prime, two go with him and two stay behind.  Not much of use to the player, but an interesting fact nontheless. Centauri telepaths tend to be female rather than male.
 
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Volkune Information

Appearance
Volkunes are practically indistinguishable from humans. The Males of the Royal family exhibit a bluish tint to their fingernails and all Volkunes have a longer life span than most humans, ranging from 120-150 years (where humans tend to have a 70 - 90 year range). Volkunes have a natural telepathic blocking ability so that a telepathic rating of P-5 would be unable to scan even a normal non-telepath. The Volkune society is structured along family lines, but are not as divided into caste systems as the Minbari. All families put stress on intelectual achievement rather than commercial gain, however, their have been some notorious Volkune traders and merchants.
Personality
The average Volkune is quite similar to human, but rather more restrained. When aroused, their tempers can be quite viscious and violent, but eons in the attainment of intelectual pursuits has tought them restraint and patience. Their "deities" are referred to as "The Prophets". The first Prophet is Tris, who brought telepathic training and understanding to the planet. For more information on the Volkune history, check out this page.
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Other Races

Appearance
The universe of Babylon 5 is populated with hundreds of races; most races, however, are technologically inferior to the five major powers: Vorlon Empire, Centauri Republic, Earth Alliance, Narn Regime, and Minbari Federation, most of which are composed of a major race and one or more less developed races.  On Babylon 5, to see in perspective, the League of Non-Aligned worlds is given one vote equal to that of any members on the Coucil of five major powers; each member of the League is, theoretically, only a small fraction in strength of any one of the "Big Five."  The Volkunes, a creation of the B5RPG, are represenative of a smaller race.  They hold a seat on the "Big Six" of Pax VII mainly because they have taken a large responsibility for its maintenance, as Humans had for Babylon 1-4.  Yet the Volkune have a large role in the fate of the galaxy; their advanced telepathic powers are signs of Vorlon intervention, while the current bogus government of Vol'Indi, the "Republic," shows evidence of Shadow tampering in their advanced warships.
 
There are several other races mentioned in the Babylon 5 series which may be of interest to the player. Of course, as these are as yet reasonably unexplored characters, there is quite a open field for use by the potential player. Perhaps one of the most famous to the Babylon 5 fan is the Shag Toth, portrayed by Martin Sheen in a recent Babylon 5 Film. The Shag Toth are nicknamed "Soul Hunters" and are greatly feared by the Minbari, who feel that a soul should be free to pursue it's natural course, whereas the Soul Hunter feels the departed soul should be kept and preserved.
 
Another race commonly seen in Babylon 5 is that of the Drazi (seen above), nomadic traders who will trade in almost anything, and are used as Non-Participating Characters (NPC's) by many of our players who need a "job done".
 
Thus, playing as an individual from a smaller race, such as the Drazi or Pak'Ma'Ra, can be both challenging and exciting.  Like the Volkunes, most smaller races have had little information given on them in the Babylon 5 series, allowing for players to conjure up culture and character.  The facts provided in the series, such as the Drazi Purple/Green ceremonial battle, or the Pak'Ma'Ra's consumption of deceased lifeforms, may challenge you to utilize the resources of the internet in discovering more about the universe of Babylon 5 than you have ever realized.
 

As you can see, choosing a race other than those listed can be a complicated and difficult process.  We therefore request that, should you chose to do play as a smaller race, the moderators be contacted prior to your application to discuss the option in detail with you.

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Comments and Suggestions

Please send me mail telling me what you think about this page and how we might improve your understanding of the characters in the RPG.

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Contact Information

Electronic mail address
Soo or Becky
Moderators

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Links back to other pages on the Babylon 5 RPG Site:


Pax Mission Group

Mission Records from the Pax Group

Terran Mission Group

Mission Records From the Terran Group

Minbari Mission Group

Mission Records from the Minbari Group

Registration

Register to Join the B5 RPG

History

A Brief History of what has gone before.

Email

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