The Babylon Project: The Roleplaying Game Based on Babylon 5

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful work, flexible system, shy on some specifics.
Review:
This gaming system has several good features.

Character generation (while it does require some page flipping) is a moderatly detailed process which requries some real background development before play begins.

Characters start with respectable abilites, and GM usable character traits.

It is interesting to note that the system actually has a character _worksheet_ (for use during character development) in addition to the actual character reference sheet (for use during play).

The system is skill based and requires only two six sided dice to play.

Though I cannot list the URL based on Amazon's reviewing policy, an in-depth coverage of both the character generation and task resolution system is available at the web site of the publisher, (Chameleon-Eclectic) and uses the same examples as the ones in this book. They also provide several very useful PDF's of such things as character sheets, etc.

A full history of events as they lead up the beginning of ! the television series is included, and the game is designed to be set *in that time period* as opposed to that of the show.

It also encourages a human focus, and devotes itself almost exclusively to running an epic storyline, as opposed to episodic campaign.

Including the beginings of (and somewhat biased towards) a campaign based on the first three or four Baylon stations (and their destruction), the system is high on setting and flavor, but a little short on reference informaiton on the numerous worlds and colonies. An earth local map of jumpgate routes is included.

The book itself is done completely in full color, with high quality illustrations and a few (somewhat blurry) shots from the show itself.

All in all, the system is excellent for the GM who wants flexibility, and the player who has fallen in love with the epic saga style of _Babylon_5_, but is really incomplete without the addition of (you guessed it) sourcebooks. Specifically the Earthforce Sourcebo! ok and the Earth Colonies Sourcebook.

Rating:
Summary: Good book but could use a little more game material
Review: Being long time fans of the TV show Babylon 5, my friends and I couldn't wait until they made a RPG out of it (one Star Wars campaign too many I guess) and when it finally came out we rushed to the store to get our copies.

While the book is very nice, all the pictures are in color and all it still left a few things lacking. First of all it contained no ship combat system (fortunately, Earthforce sourcebook has one, yet if you want a good space battle I must recommend Babylon 5 Wars, by Agents of Gaming, it has a much better combat engine). As opposed to Star Wars where you have many enemies to choose from depending on your skill levels, the only enemy provided was a typical thug that any character with half a synapse firing and any weapon could kill easily. While all this means is that you have to make up character stats for ALL people in the begining of an adventure, it is quite an inconvienience.

Apart from that, this is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. It is based heavvilt on Role-Playing which is good for any GM who can think on his fet and is smarter than his group. The combat system is aalso very good if somewhat slow. As oppsed to Star Wars or D&D or Shadowrun, this gets into impairments and hit location while in the battle which negates thoses epic battles we all love so much in other games.

Despite all the little flaws and the fact Chameleon Electic stopped puplishing it, this is a very good book and a must0have for any fan of the show, even if you don't like RPG's.

Rating:
Summary: Good book but could use a little more game material
Review: Character creation is a little clunky, but the actual mechanics of the system are nice and clean. The background material isn't bad, and the artwork is pretty nice (at least the shots from the show...)

Unfortunately, Chameleon Eclectic's a little slow getting out new stuff for the game.

Rating:
Summary: A good RPG system
Review: Character creation is a little clunky, but the actual mechanics of the system are nice and clean. The background material isn't bad, and the artwork is pretty nice (at least the shots from the show...)

Unfortunately, Chameleon Eclectic's a little slow getting out new stuff for the game.

Rating:
Summary: Good translation of B5 to an RPG!
Review: I am a long time gamer and B5 fan, and I must say that I like what I see. The authors have done a commendable job at translating a very complex TV series into an RPG. I have chomped at the bit to get new books in the series, though, as "Earthforce Sourcebook" is the only other thing available for this RPG. BRING US MORE!
If you like B5 and RPG's you must get this!

Rating:
Summary: Good translation of B5 to an RPG!
Review: I am a long time gamer and B5 fan, and I must say that I like what I see. The authors have done a commendable job at translating a very complex TV series into an RPG. I have chomped at the bit to get new books in the series, though, as "Earthforce Sourcebook" is the only other thing available for this RPG. BRING US MORE!
If you like B5 and RPG's you must get this!

Rating:
Summary: Good background, good system for anything but combat.
Review: I like the rules for structuring campaigns. Some of the ideas here are new, and it does a good job of showing how to recreate the epic structure of the show in your RPG. The character creation rules are also good and unique. The back story of a character is far more important than the stats, and this makes it easier to tie adventures into the character's history, to make things personal. I also like the skill system and skill resolution. Unfortunately, I do NOT like the way combat is done in this game. It resolves slowly, and the body diagram hit location chart is confusing and unnecissary. Overall, I liked it enough to base a long campaign on the system, but I plan to completely rework the combat system to make it faster and simpler. Because of the large amount of material in the book, it sorely needs an index. Fortunately, an index is downloadable from Chameleon Electric's web site.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful work, flexible system, shy on some specifics.
Review: This is a RPG I was excited about, one I wanted to see, one I had high hopes for. My excitement died, my desire waned, my hopes were deflated. It's a very attractive book. Full-color on every page make it very pretty. Unfortunately, the full-color backgrounds make some of the text difficult to read. The images are acceptable, but not great. Most of the screen-captures from the B5 series must have been done during the first season--the quality is much less than whats available now. The system itself seems a little vague, and character generation was more difficult than I expected--requrining all sorts of page flipping. To make it worse, there is no index. The table of contents really isn't that useful. The attention to historical accuracy for each of the races is worthwhile, and probably the most exciting part of the book. It's worth the read--barely, but I wouldn't want to play it. To play it, I'd wait for the second edition.

Rating:
Summary: an okay start very heavily tethered to the series, though.
Review: This is a RPG I was excited about, one I wanted to see, one I had high hopes for. My excitement died, my desire waned, my hopes were deflated. It's a very attractive book. Full-color on every page make it very pretty. Unfortunately, the full-color backgrounds make some of the text difficult to read. The images are acceptable, but not great. Most of the screen-captures from the B5 series must have been done during the first season--the quality is much less than whats available now. The system itself seems a little vague, and character generation was more difficult than I expected--requrining all sorts of page flipping. To make it worse, there is no index. The table of contents really isn't that useful. The attention to historical accuracy for each of the races is worthwhile, and probably the most exciting part of the book. It's worth the read--barely, but I wouldn't want to play it. To play it, I'd wait for the second edition.

Rating:
Summary: Give me more...
Review: We had to wait while CE struggled to get this released in England but it was worth every second. It has a workable system, plenty of background and captures the feel of Babylon 5 to a tee. Whether you're a fan of the series or a gamer this is worth a look.