B5W Second Edition FAQ Page

General Questions | Core Rules | Narn-Centauri War | Earth Wars | Showdowns-1 | Variants-1 | Showdowns-2 | League-1 | Variants-2 | Shadow War | Raiders & Privateers | Dilgar War | Tactics Guide | Wars of the Ancients | League-2 | Variants-4 | Ships of the Fleet-2 |


General Questions

When are we going to see a miniature or ship control sheet for the Excalibur (Victory-class) from Crusade?

Why haven't we seen any Interstellar Alliance products?


Core Rules Questions

Where are the White Star counters?

The Nova description says it can carry Thunderbolts, but the T-bolt description basically says on the Omega can do so. Which is correct?

The Thunderbolt page says its missiles have a range of 6, but the rules say a range of 10. Which is right?

Missiles have a +3 bonus to hit. Is this in addition to the missile rack's fire control?

Can ELINT ships loan close combat EW?

Can a gravitic ship pivot and roll at the same time?

Can I make a called shot with a ballistic weapon?

The light fusion cannon on the master weapon list shows 2 guns instead of 3. Also, only the gatling pulse cannon lists an intercept rating. Are these errors?

Shuttles can ram, but there is no ramming factor listed. How do we calculate this?

No description of the Minbari EP gun is provided. How should the description read?


Narn-Centauri War Update Pack Questions

What's up with the misplaced turn costs on the two ships at the center of the book?

My copy of the update pack has two copies of a couple of the ships, and none of a couple of others. What can I do about this?

If I use a burst beam on a fighter flight and then hit it with some other weapon, such as a pulse cannon, are the dropped-out fighters eligible to be hit?

The Thentus has 12 engine power but the aft thruster has only a 6 rating - is this an error?

The rear to-hit chart of the Sulust shows twin arrays, but there are none back there. What should the chart be?


Earth Wars Questions

The rules list the anti-fighter missile as having a +2 bonus versus fighters, but the table says it has a +3 rating. Which is correct?

The basic missile (and other std. range variants) are shown in the Ship Book as max range 15, but are shown on chart on page 13 as max range 20 - which is correct?

When missiles are fired, must their type be announced?

Does the Reload Rack suffer magazine criticals? Can it transfer missiles out of a destroyed rack?

Does the Poseidon provide its init. bonus to allied, non-EA vessels?

What is the "maximum X" of the antimatter converter?

The Explorer is listed as having Mark-I interceptors, but seems to have Mark-IIs based on the defense rating. Which is correct?

The ship description states the Poseidon was not built until recently, yet it appears in a scenario in the Earth-Minbari War. Should it be an Avenger instead?

You fixed the Tinashi, but the arcs of two of the aft weapons on the Rogata Tug cannot be hit according to the Second Edition rules. Is this correct?

When do the various missiles become available?


Showdowns-1 Questions

What's the deal with the Omega in the Earth-Minbari War scenario? I thought Omegas weren't available until well after that war.

Is the in-service date of the unrefitted Babylon 5 Station in error?

Is the cost of the Raider fighter correct?


Variants-1 Questions

The Hyperion Rail Cruiser shows the usual Hyperion hangar but the hangar box lists its complement as 0 fighters. Which is correct?

The Tethys Light Escort Carrier shows one class-S and one class-A missile rack on the control sheet. What is its correct armament?


Showdowns-2 Questions

Are the armor values of 2 on the gravitic shields of the Abbai and Brakiri orbital satellites an error?

Do hits to the gravitic shields on the Abbai Starbase and the Brakiri Techbase ignore the "blanket" armor protection of the section they are mounted in (in effect, armor 0) or do they benefit as do all other systems?

Can multiple shield projectors be used on a single target with cumulative effects?

Can the path of Debris be altered by use of either Gravitic Shifters or Plasma Nets?

What is the proper turn cost for the Brakiri Ikorta (page 47)? The data entry shows 1/2 Speed, but the quick-reference bar seems to show 1 x Speed.

Do fighter missiles gain the +3 OEW in addition to the fighter's offensive bonus (provided that the target is in arc/the fighter has a navigator and has LOS)? Thus, the EA Thunderbolt generally has a total of a +8 bonus when using its missiles (?).

The power cost icon for the Alanti Orbital Satellites' shield projectors is an error. The projector is powered from the shield generator as though it were another gravitic shield.

What is a Light Combat Vessel, and when will we see one?

What happens when an enormous base is hit by a weapon that permantly reduces armor ratings (Disruptor, Plasma Stream, Solar Cannon). Does this reduce all of the armor of that section, or only a "sub-armor" score for that particular system?

Thar'not'ak Cargo: What is the cargo transfer rate of the Thar'not'ak Plasma Cruiser?

Drazi Brostilli Warbase: The Brostilli Warbase has different shuttles on the SCS than all other Drazi Units (with the stats of EA shuttles). Are those correct?

Abbai Kaltika: Just for clarification, does the Breaching Pods armor include the shield (like their fighter), as the text only says, that the defense ratings include the shield value?

Drazi FF Mine: The FF Mine lists a damage of 10, but no structure. I suppose it should read structure 10 instead?

Vree Armed Shuttles: The Weapons on the Vree armed shuttles are a little confusing. They both have weapons with the same names as those used on the fighters, but listing totally different stats.

Or what is the Lgt Antimatter Cannons firing rate? 1 per 2 turns, like that of the Tzymm, or once per turn?

Brakiri Armed Shuttle: Is the range penalty of the Ultrlgt Graviton Pulsar -1 per hex as the normal GP (seems quite powerful for an armed shuttle of this price)?

Gaim Tracha Troop Transport: The Tracha has no Bulkheads at all. Is this intentional (as on a troop transport, the Gaim onboard are more important than the destruction of a weapon) or an error?


Militaries of the League-1 Questions

Pak'ma'ra ships: What is the correct intercept rating for the plasma web?

Gaim boarding: The rules state that the Gaim are supposed to have advantages when using breaching pods, but no advantages are shown. What should they be?

Drazi Star Snake: Are the two Light Particle Blasters linked, as the SCS does not list them a linked?

Drazi Sky Serpent: The Particle Blaster fires independently of the other weapons, but the two Particle Guns are also NOT listed as linked. They probably are, but I just want to make sure.

Heavy fighter weapons: Are the Sky Serpents Particle Blaster and the Vree Light Antimatter Cannon able to intercept like normal fighter weapons (at -1) or not at all (like the Ion Bolt)?

Strikehawk: The Strikehawk is described in the text as a variant of the Warbird, but there is no Rarity rating on the SCS.

Drazi Shuttles: Do Drazi shuttles/armed shuttles/... benefit from the Drazi Initiative Bonus of +2 (regarding all those units, that don't have their initiative explicitly listed)?

Pak'ma'ra Shuttles: Do Pak shuttles/armed shuttles/... suffer from the general Init -1 penalty?

Brakiri/Vree Shuttles: Do all Brakiri/Vree shuttles/armed shuttles/... have gravitic drives?


Variants-2 Questions

Why do the gravitic mines score more damage the farther they are away from the target?

The Brakiri Takata Mine Cruiser has armour rating of 5 on all its gravitic mines with exception of gravitic mine #1 which has an armour rating of 3. Is this correct or should it also have a rating of 5?

The Drazi Jumphawk Command Cruiser lacks a jump delay (has Jump Delay: N/A on the sheet), what is its jump delay?

What special missiles can the Drazi Darkhawk use?

Does the Brakiri Pikitos use a gravitic drive? And does its light gravitic bolt fire in standard mode?

Why does the Alykent Guardpost have a maneuvering rate chart and engine efficiency rating?

Does the Vree Antimatter Saucer really have two structure blocks with different armor values?

How does the Antimatter Torpedo interact with Jammers?


Shadow War Questions

The shield values and defense ratings on the Vorlon Observation Post don't match. Which is correct?

One of the scenarios lists 1 G'Quan followed by 14 more G'Quans. Is that a misprint?

The sensors on the Shadow Dreadnought don't have a power icon. Where is it?

The Ancients don't seem to use powered sensors. Is this correct?

The book mentions that the Molecular Slicer "can use piercing mode at higher arming levels", but the weapon stats don't give any details. If the Molecular Slicer can use piercing, than what arming level must it be at?

The book lists the base to hit of the vortex disruptor as 20, on the SCS it is 24. Which is correct?

What is the proper range penalty for the Lightning Cannon (Lt)? The Vorlon Heavy Cruiser SCS shows a -1 per 2 hex, while ALL of the other SCSs and the Master Weapons Chart from CotSs shows a -1 per hex penalty.

In part of the playtest, the Shadows had gravitic drives. Are they still gravitic?

The rules say the Shadows have an efficiency rating, but they don't. Should they?

Where is the free thrust for Shadow ships?


Raiders & Privateers Questions

There seems to be a mistake on the SCS for the Belt Alliance light gunboat. It is described as agile but has a cost of 1+! for both the pivot and roll cost. What is the correct cost for pivot and roll?

Why does the Brakiri police ship use completely different assault shuttles and breaching pods to the Ikorta light assault cruiser?

Is the in-service date of the Llort raiding cruiser correct at 2215? The reason I ask is that I understood that the Narn did not develop the Mag cannon to recently, and I thought that the Dilgar did not develop scatter pulsars and quad pulsars until the Dilgar war? I would have thought that the correct in-service date would be around late 2230's.

The Vree Xvell Escort Freighter has a forward thruster armour rating of 4, all the others have a rating of 3, which is correct?

The following ships have listed for their single particle beams a fire control bonus of +6 vs capital/HCV instead of the normal +4. I assume that this is a typo. Raider Schooner, Raider Felucca, Civilian Commercial Freighter, Civilian Fast Freighter, Civilian Tanker, Civilian Tug, Civilian Luxury Liner, Civilian Q-Ship.

What are the Deployment Limitations (as explained in Ships of the Fleet) for the ships in the Raiders & Privateers supplement?


Dilgar War Questions

The Dilgar Tratharti has some stats that don't make sense. What are the correct values?

Why does the Earth Nova (Alpha) have such powerful forward thrusters compared to its engine size?

Where is the FCS for the Dilgar Jortava Breaching Pod?

What are those things sticking up out of the Athraskala Bomber?

The text says you did not include counters for the Balosians, yet there are some on the countersheet! What's up with that?


Tactics Guide Questions

The tactics referring to the Gravitic Mine seem to indicate the mines work out to 10 hexes. Is this correct?


Wars of the Ancients Questions

What is the correct cost of the Vorlon Assault Fighter, and how many hangar spaces does it take up?

How much armor does the Mindrider Thought Projection have?

What is the "weak ELINT" the Mindriders use?


League-2 Questions

What is the proper rate of fire and available ammunition for the Class-D rack?

What is the correct amount of ammunition for the class-F rack?

What is the correct hit information for the Hurr Orak? In V5, you tried to correct it, but now the structure is unhittable.

What is the primary hit table for the Kor-Lyan Solyrn supposed to be. It's another HCV with structure not appearing on the primary hit location.

Ditto for the Kor-Lyan Vaklar.

What's the correct hit location for the Cascor Tacacci Strike Frigate? It doesn't look like a medium ship's damage chart.


Variants-4 Questions

What's the deal with the squares instead of zeroes?

Three of the ship sheets are too fuzzy to read!


Ships of the Fleet-2 Questions

Why are the Gaim, Narn, and Vorlon ship files missing from the CD?

Where are the Balosian Kraasus, Balosian Moesar, Brakiri Bashnar, and Gaim Tocrat pages?

Why is the Mishakur-D printed twice in the book?