Babylon 5 in Eberron (contains a few Babylon 5 spoilors)

Meloncov · Nov 21, 2006

"It was the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the Last War. The Thronehold Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and humanoids could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace. The year is 1018. The name of the place is Eberron."

My current Eberron campaign draws heavily on Babylon 5, recast into the fantasy setting. The situation in Khovaire seems vaguely equivalent to the starting conditions of B5: a major war has just ended, and people are more willing to work together towards peace. Demons are roughly analogous to the Shadows, and having the Archerons be the equivalent of the Vorlorns fits beautifully with the moral ambiguity of Eberron.

I'm not trying to have the Khovairian nations mimic the B5 powers, but I am having an equivalent to the station: a mobile, flying fortress that travels between the nations. I've adapted a few characters over; so far, Zathras has made an appearance in the form of the emissary of a changeling village.

So, has anyone else done something like this? Are there any other paralels I'm missing? Any other thoughts?

Nifft · Nov 21, 2006

I like the idea! Let's call it Ebbylon 5.

The key things that I recall from the show are:

1/ The space station is basically a city in the middle of nowhere.

2/ There were other space stations there before (so a city that's built over ancient ruins would be perfect).

3/ The Shadows and Vorlons end up being less morally well defined than Angels and Demons... I'd put Angels & Demons in the category of weapons, and have less morally fixed forces take the place of the Vorlons & Shadows.

Cheers, -- N

Aaron L · Nov 21, 2006

I'd have the Vorlons and Shadows places be taken by opposing factions of dragons, each with a different view of how the Prophecy is supposed to unfold and fighting against each other through intermediaries and proxies to try to make sure it happens they way they want.

And you just have to have a Mr. Morden analogue.

Have to.

Meloncov · Nov 21, 2006

Nifft said:
1/ The space station is basically a city in the middle of nowhere.

It's not near any major powers, but is located along several major trade routs. As such, I was considering having its primary location be in the middle of an ocean somewhere, probably between Khovaire and Xen'Drik.

I'm aware of the ambiguity of the Shadow/Vorlorn conflict. I thought that basing a celestial/infernal conflict on that ambiguity would be an interesting twist on the familar theme.

Edit: That's a cool idea, Aaron. Especially considering how many dragons can shapechange...

dog45 · Nov 21, 2006

I just wanted to say that this is an awesome idea. I love it.

That is all.

Nifft · Nov 21, 2006

Meloncov said:
I'm aware of the ambiguity of the Shadow/Vorlorn conflict. I thought that basing a celestial/infernal conflict on that ambiguity would be an interesting twist on the familar theme.

Yeah, and it's a good idea, but the dragon thing is better -- you can play up the Law vs. Chaos angle (always under-used).

Regarding the Angel/Demon Weapon idea: consider the scene of a city slaughtered by Demons vs. a city terminated by Archons. The demonic slaughter is an obvious horror, but the angelic extermination is just as horrific -- it's just more subtle. You can use the famous "wingtip dipped in blood" quote to excellent effect.

Cheers, -- N

Seravin · Nov 21, 2006

A nice little thread from not so long ago:
The year is 998; the place: Argonth 5

Aaron L · Nov 21, 2006

You could also play up the Chaos/Law conflict, as Nifft said, by having Lawful angels, archons, and Devils be allied under one faction of dragons, against the other faction and its Chaotic angels, gaurdianals, and demons.

The battles in Shavarath could take on whole new meaning.

Maybe Syberys and Khyber are involved, the originators of the opposing factions, but neither side even remembers what their goals really are anymore, and all they have left is wanting to beat the other side. They indiscriminately throw their minions against each other, regardless of Good or Evil.

The fight to control the Dragonmarks would a the primary goal. Secret agents of each faction would be buried so deep in every House that it may be impossible to remove them without destroying their integrity. The Great War itself was probably just a manipulation by the factions to influence the outcome of the Prophecy. Maybe by culling the numbers of the Dragonmarked races, so that the remaining Dragonmark powers would be more concentrated in the survivors.

Or the Factions could be breeding the Dragonmarked Houses, trying to bring about the creation of a new 13th mark, ala the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach.

This is fun

Umbran · Nov 21, 2006

I'm not an Eberron fan, myself. Nothing against it, but I'm not really familiar with the details (like what races are allowed, and all).

But this whole thing has put the image in my head of two groups of kobolds, facing off against each other:

"Purple!"
"Green!"
*whackwhackwhackwhack!*

Meloncov · Nov 21, 2006

Another thing I have to deal with is that several of my players have had some expierence with B5. As such, I don't think having the big suprise be the revelation of the moral ambiguity of the battle would work. Instead, I think I'll make it take a long time for them to figure out that external forces are causing wars at all.