So I've been re-listening to the O66 casts about Homesteads/Businesses/Bases, and every time I listen to this, my brain, as it is want to do, compares it to Babylon 5.

To anyone familiar with the show, and the station itself (Think Deep Space 9 if you are more familiar with Star Trek), how would you rule the B5 station as a party's resource? Obviously not as big as that one, at least not at first, possibly after many many Duty contribution upgrades. But just, starting out, these basic elements.

Space Station:

1. Living quarters for staff, as well as many people who simply live there as residents, with personal businesses run out of the facility, paying rent for their space on the station.

2. Ambassadorial hub, located in neutral territory, used frequently for negotiations between various parties.

3. Military facility, with at least one solid wing of fighter craft, and multiple turret emplacements to repel larger ships.

4. Port of transport for merchant vessels, buying/selling/moving cargo from location to location

5. Shipyard for repairs/refitting for vessels of any size

Now, again, I know this is a huge facility, over 5 miles long (if I recall correctly), loaded to the gills with stuff. But how would you start this out for a party? If their goal was "We want to eventually build/run a place on the scale of Babylon 5"

Thoughts?

Just happened to see this so forgive the drive by posting as I'm not all that familiar with FFG version of the StarWars RPG.

I'm not sure B5 could have started out small and then organically grown to what it became. If it did it wouldn't be from growth and expansion but far more likely from growth and replacement.

Now in my opinion the primary task of the station is diplomacy which I'd consider to be the "business" of the station. However it's location also requires it to serve as the residence/homestead for those who live there and support the diplomatic aspects of the station. Then you throw in multiple people and diplomatic sensitivities and you're looking at a place that will also require a military presence be secure. If you were close enough to someplace else to live and provide the needed security it would primarily serve as a business/meeting place. You move it out to wild/contested space and it will need to provide its own security.

I think that just owning a business within a larger station should work better with the rules we have. If that business later joins with other businesses to for a council that takes leadership over the station, that provides some of the same opportunities (but with built-in politics) as gradually expanding the physical constriction of the station.

Depends on how many players are involved.

Delenn, Minbari delegate

Sinclair, Human Commander

Garibaldi, Security Chief

Ivanova, Operations Chief

Londo, Centauri Delegate

G'Kar, Narn Delegate

Each donate their starting 5pts of duty to Babylon V so the delegates use 2 to purchase an ally specific to their purpose allowing them a assistant.

Garibaldi adds improved security, Ivanova adds point defence weapons, Sinclair uses his to add a trade ally with the remaining 3pts of each first covering the 5pts for the station leaving 13pts spare maybe deduct another 5 to increase the size of the station as well as increase the hangar size maybe?

How big is B5 or will they settle for silhouette 5 ships docking with it?

Do you mean how big is B5 in this hypothetical Star Wars conversion? Or in the show? I'd have to watch the intro again, but it was several kilometers long, along it's axis. This is mostly just a thought experiment honestly, I don't foresee any players actually doing this.

I saw it more as them growing into it over time, into something major. Making expansions to the station as they grow it, including more systems, etc. Was just curious what seemed like the best starting concept for it. I was thinking "Business: Ambassadorial Location", since that's the stations primary function. The businesses within it just help offset operational costs. But then another part of me was thinking "Base", and they could use their Contribution rewards for hitting their Duty to expand it exponentially. Of course, the secrecy part of Rebel bases offsets that idea, as this place is something operating in the open.

8454 meters. Comparing this to the largest ship I can find in the rules so far, the Preator-II from AoR at Sil 9 (nearly 5 times the length of an Imperial II and @8000 m) I would put B5 station at Sil 9, MAYBE Sil 10 but definatelly no bigger. Especially since the Golan I is Sil 8 and it says the Golan II and Golan III are larger, Sil 9 sounds about right to me.

Do you mean how big is B5 in this hypothetical Star Wars conversion? Or in the show? I'd have to watch the intro again, but it was several kilometers long, along it's axis. This is mostly just a thought experiment honestly, I don't foresee any players actually doing this.

I saw it more as them growing into it over time, into something major. Making expansions to the station as they grow it, including more systems, etc. Was just curious what seemed like the best starting concept for it. I was thinking "Business: Ambassadorial Location", since that's the stations primary function. The businesses within it just help offset operational costs. But then another part of me was thinking "Base", and they could use their Contribution rewards for hitting their Duty to expand it exponentially. Of course, the secrecy part of Rebel bases offsets that idea, as this place is something operating in the open.

The whole station doesn't have to be a Rebel base. It's perfectly reasonable to have a a public side (Wayne Manor) along with an attached secret base (Batcave).

Here's how I'd play it out.

In orbit of a dead world where a number of hyperspace trade route converge sets a gigantic space station. The station's construction was funded by a conglomerate of wealthy businessmen who wanted not only a place for trade to occur but neutral ground where treaties could be negotiated and petty wars could be prevented. It was built near the end of the Clone Wars and went online just as the dreaded Order 66 was issued. The Emperor, not wanting to make waves with the wealthy men who made the station possible, has decreed that it won't be taken over by the Empire. However he insists that an ambassador from the Empire have a constant presence on the station.

The Rebellion realizes the opportunity a station outside of the Emperors control offers for moving equipment and arms through so they assign a team to set up shop on the station. The team will have to keep a low profile as the Emperors "diplomatic team" assigned to the station will be trying to find any rebel activity and exposing it to the station authorities. They will also have to turn a profit and pay their own bills for the same reasons.

Now the station authorities will maintain a neutral stance but they will find the Empire to be heavy handed and if the team plays their cards right they might convert giving the Rebellion a powerful resource. They might even get a large contingent of rebels on board as station personnel. All under the noses of the Imperial diplomats. Eventually they may even boot the Empire out and maintain a large enough combat vessel presence to make taking the station by force far too costly.

Also there may be other recruitment opportunities as other races send their own diplomatic teams to the station. Who knows what exotic life forms with mysterious powers could be brought under the umbrella of the Rebellion.

Also there may be other recruitment opportunities as other races send their own diplomatic teams to the station. Who knows what exotic life forms with mysterious powers could be brought under the umbrella of the Rebellion.

Now I must right up a species build for Zathras.

Does that mean Ilum doesn't turn out to be SKB but Zathras's home world instead?!

No no, not, Zathras. Zathras. Easy mistake. Though I don't know what SKB is so I can't comment on that reference joke

Here's how I'd play it out.

Sounds pretty awesome. Instead of just outright giving the party a station to manage, just give them rooms on the station and watch them struggle to run their business. That's exactly what B5 and DS9 were all about... if you look at it from Quark or Garak's perspective. Your party doesn't need to be the head honchos of the station from Day 1. Let them work their way up, or maybe they'll realize it's easier to do business when you're not so busy trying to run daily affairs of the entire station too.

Yeah, it would be more manageable as a location already in place, and the party has their base/business in it. I just personally like the idea of building it up from a small station, into this massive facility, and having the players being able to say they did that. But that's just me.

Yeah, it would be more manageable as a location already in place, and the party has their base/business in it. I just personally like the idea of building it up from a small station, into this massive facility, and having the players being able to say they did that. But that's just me.

Well... the easiest way I can think of to do that within the current ruleset, would be to have them start with a ship like normal, and then weld more and more onto it. Start to make the USS Voltron until it gets to be as big as a space station. Otherwise, I'm not sure you can get quite the same feel as you're looking for.

Typical sci fi space stations aren't really modular to the point you can start with bare bones and slowly add on modules. It's not like DS9 started out as just Ops and the Promenade, and then later they tossed on the Habitat Ring, and eventually got around to the Docking Ring and Pylons. They didn't build B5 one Sector at a time. They're pretty much all or nothing construction.

Even something meant to be modular, like the Player Owned Stations from Eve Online, don't work the way you'd hope. They start with a ready made Control Tower, which basically looks like a typical space station. Then when you add extra modules, they just float in space somewhere near to the Tower. They don't actually attach or anything, they just sit out there doing their own things.

As an alternative to Starship Voltron, or simply renting space aboard a station, maybe let them discover a derelict Capital ship early on. It's horribly damaged, almost irreparably so. But they could fix it up and use it for a station of sorts. They just won't be flying around in it.

You would probably need representatives from factions the Empire does not want to outright crush.

Only factions that fit the bill, i think, are the Hutts, the Hapians and the Corporate Sector.

Perhaps some corporations and planetary coalitions as well could have representatives.

The question is, do you want the station to be there for pure diplomatic purposes (a la B5) or more of an essential gateway between locations (a la DS9)? A hyperspace trade node points toward the gateway approach.