B5 RULES Redux

Hello: Alright, as promised I put the draft of my B5 rules into text format.
Here it is. As far as I know there are no spoilers. If the rules seem
incomplete it because they are. I need some time to sort out a few points in
the rules (mainly fighter EW, and my Interceptors are almost done.) Tell me
what you think.

Later, Mark S.
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Babylon 5 To Full Thrust (Playtest Version.)

By Mark A. Siefert (With lots of help from the members of the FT Mailing
List.)

We all know that one of the most popular backgrounds for playing "Full Thrust"
is none other than "Babylon 5". Let's face it, we get more
space combat out of <I>B5</I> than we have ever gotten out any of that
spinoffs from "The Other Sci-Fi TV Franchise" (TM). The "B5" episode
"Severed Dreams" has been called "Full Thrust: The Movie";, and for damn

good reason. ( e.g. Lasers,fighters, and lots of ships going BOOM!)

        Many "Full Thrust"-ers/"Babylon 5" fans have come up with
their own rules to convert Full Thrust to fit the unique characteristics of
the "B5" universe. Now I want to try my hand at coming up with my own "Babylon
5" rules. This is will not be easy. There are so many good ideas that
I&nbsp;hope that I don't copy someone. I want to be as original as possible.
Keep in mind that these rules are in a playtest" mode right now and are
subject to change. Let me know what you think.

Technology Levels:

The level of technical development varies amongst the great powers. The more
advanced the race the more powerful and effective their weapons and systems
are (and the more points they cost). There are three "tech"; levels for these
rules:

-Tech Level 1: Earth Alliance, Narn Regime, Centauri Republic, League
of Non-Aligned Worlds, and Raiders
-Tech Level 2: Minbari. (Perhaps the Strieb and a few others.)
-Tech Level 3: Vorlons and Shadows.

Right now I want to focus on Tech Level 1 powers, and I will focus on the
others later.

Electronic Warfare: In Babylon 5, electronic warfare is an important part of
combat. The Earth Alliance nearly lost their war with the Minbari because the
humans were not able to target their stealthy ships. In these rules, before a
ship can fire on an enemy it must overcome its electronic counter measures.
Theses rules replace the normal scanning rules found in "Full Thrust" and
"More Thrust" rule books and are based on concepts from Jon Tuffely's FMA
games (i.e. "Dirtside II", and "Stargrunt II." After you have moved your ships
and fighers, but before you start the combat phase, you must go through an
electronic warfare phase. A ship may try to "target"; an enemy vessel. The
player rolls the type of dice that corresponds to the type of scanners the
ship is carrying:

Sensor Type: | Die rolled:
--------------------------
Basic 1d4

Enhanced 1d6

Superior 1d8

The opposing player must try to beat that roll with his ECM system to avoid
being targeted. He rolls the dice that corresponds to the ship ECM system
type:

ECM Type: | Die rolled:
--------------------------
Basic 1d4

Enhanced 1d6

Superior 1d8

The mass and cost equals that of their counter-parts.

The number of times a ship can attempt to target another is equal to the
number of fire control systems it has. A ship can try to target the same ship
more than once. A ship can be trageted by more than one opposing ship.

Fighters: Fighters are a special case which I will deal with later.

Weapons and Systems:
---------------------

Pluse Cannons (Tech Level 1):

These weapons are the primary armament for most of the lower tech races. They
fire controled bursts of superheated plasma at their target. Although they are
very destructive against undefended ships, the bursts travel at
sub-light velocities and can be tracked and disrupted before they can do
any harm. For the purpose of these rules, the pluse cannons are best
represented by the normal beam batteries. There are no changes in the mass or
the points cost. However, AA rated batteries may only be mounted on space
stations (like Babylon 5).

Tech Level 1 Energy Weapons:

Directed energy weapons are a growing development amongst some of the great
powers of the Babylon 5 universe. Although they are devistating weapons that
have been known to litterally &quot;carve&quot; ships into pieces, they are
bulky and take a long time to recharge.

Weapon | Weapon Mass/ | Damgae Dice/
Type     |  Points Cost | Recharge Time
--------------------------------------
Type 1 |        2/4         |   1 dice/1 turn

Type 2 |    3/8     | 2 dice/2 turns

Type 3 |    4/12            | 3 dice/3 turns<

Energy weapons can only be mounted to fire through only one of the four firing
arcs. When the beam is fired measure the distance to the target and roll 1d6.
Check it against this table:

Range: | To Hit: