Babylon station in 40k universe?

[venyak]

Do you think it would be possible to image a station kind of babylon 5 in the 40k lore.

 

I mean is a way more grimm and warlike set up so it could not be as fraternal as babylon. It should be more something as a human and "only human" station in the nihilus imperium, next to the tau frontiers where there are:

 

humans and abhumans factions (votann) would be easy to fit

 

tau: water cast delegation (with their fire cast guard)

 

eldar: some outcast or pirates infiltrated are always easy to fit

 

tyranids: A genestealer cult

 

orks: no clue how I could fit them

 

chaos: there is always a chaos cult

 

necrons: no idea neither. Maybe this necron character who likes to collect things, trazyn, can be use for the purpose.

 

Alternatively, it could be a tau station, but the problem with necrons and orks is still there...

 

My idea is to create a map and set up for a kill team tournament I am preparing.

 

 

[Karhedron]

As a huge B5 fan, I love the notion but I don't think something as optimistic as Babylon 5 could exist in the grimdark far future.

 

I think the closest we are likely to get is Precipice Station in the Blackstone Fortress game. It is not a place built on ideals. Rather it is a ramshackle place where humans and aliens rub shoulders uneasily in a quest for profit. If you imagine Downbelow being all of Babylon 5 then I think you have something close to Precipice.

[Grotsmasha]

I mean, sure, just not within the borders of the Imperium. Beyond the borders where only Rogue Traders dare to tread? Why not.

[Mazer Rackham]

Only a 40k devotee would call Babylon 5 'optimistic' :)

 

I think you could get around the problems with Orks, quite easily.  Orks love loot and they like fighting - there's nothing to stop the odd Rokkit turning up with a few boyz to rob the shinies!  Maybe even some Deathskulls are looking for a Boss.

 

You could set your B5 station in the 40k universe and make it grimdark by making it some kind of Pirate/RT redoubt (as suggested eloquently above) which is based partially in or on a Necron void artifact.  Perhaps it is even built into something like the Jericho Reach Warp Gate (*cough* Thirdspace jump gate *cough*) which although minor, and out of the way, is still a transit station in non-Imperial space, and who knows what guardians may still reside within the aeons old technology...

 

The Mechanicus Explorators would turn up to look it as well...

 

Just my tuppence - it's a neat idea. :)

[MARK0SIAN]

In one of the Ravenor books they visit a station in Lucky space that’s basically just beyond the imperiums effective borders. It’s essentially a trade hub where humans and aliens meet and sort out various nefarious schemes. I think you could repurpose it slightly although it would be hard to squeeze in all the races.

 

The alternative would be maybe a space hulk that’s been made up of the various races ships but has been cut off from pretty much everything else for a long time. The factions on those ships have an uneasy truce with each other and maybe even a common meeting point to barter and trade with each other.

 

To be honest though, having to invent a reason for all the various factions to be present in one place has always been a downside for any GW setting or campaign. It always ends up stretching it way too far that all these races would be present.

 

I might try seeing what factions your players want to bring and seeing if you can invent a location just for those rather than trying to accommodate everything straight away.

Edited May 9, 2022 by MARK0SIAN

[The Yncarne]

I think such a resource would be something the Tau might build on the edge of their space for propaganda reasons. 

[Gamiel]

Maybe something like Precipice ? 

 

Re. the orks so are Blood Axes known to work togheter with other species, and being disturbingly un-orky. So it could be that the majority of the orks are Blood Axes, and they keep the other orks in cheek since they think this is a good enough thing to keep around (for now).

 

Re. necrons - there is a bunch of them there, some of them just walk around or stand guard, others do diplomacy - even if the others on the station don't always get what they are saying, doing and/or want with it (maybe they are delusional and think they are dealing with their own kind, maybe they are gathering information a/o resources for something, maybe they are led by a mad Overlorad that thinks that diplomacy and coexistence is the way forward, maybe the reason they sometime/act speak strange is because of madness, maybe a question of them not fully getting what species/culture they are interacting with and doing the right thing for interacting with an other one) - nobody thinks they can take them without huge loses so nobody do anything

 

There are also lots of lesser xeno-races that can be hanging around there

[N1SB]

Brother, great concept.  As others said, Precipice at the edge of the Blackstone Fortress is the closest example we know.

 

HOWEVER, would you consider something in the Webway, like the Impossible City in Master of Mankind?  To remind you, after Magnus the Red ruined everything for everybody by forcing himself through the Webway to tell the Emperor on Horus, there was an attempt to salvage the Webway project.  They marched in, found an ancient city there that they used as like a forward operating base, which they named the Impossible City.

 

It would be a hub, a nexus, perhaps the humans call it "The Crossroads".  However, each faction would have their own name e.g. the Orks call it "Da Krossroadz".

 

In this Babylon 5 scenario, it's like all these different factions had groups that discovered it, but it belongs to none of them; even the Eldar and Necrons recognise it as belonging to the Old Ones from the War in Heaven.  And those that discovered it jealously guard it from even their own faction; imagine a Rogue Trader who found it knows it is a source for untold riches, and fears revealing it to the Imperium would brand him a heretic...or even worse, tax him for it.

 

They would have started by just defending their own gateway into the Nexus.  But as years go by, they would slowly expand to create their own base there.  After that, perhaps they start allying with each other to prevent any other faction from take over their claim.  Over time, they may even do some slight trading, or sharing of information as long as it benefits them.  It'd be close to a gangland truce, war is bad for business, but sometimes business is war.

 

The humans there, from gradual interaction with the other races, would develop their own fusion language taking loanwords from each: Pidgin Gothic.  All these rich cultures coming together, what they learn from each other are their respective languages cuss words.  "You fink you dealin' wif a stoopid mon~keigh?  You teh stoopid mon~keigh!"  "No, YOU teh stoopid mon~keigh!"  "NO YOU TEH MON~KEIGH LA, SOOOO STOOOOPID TEH MONKEEEEIGH!"

 

(Actually, the more I enginseer this, the more it's starting to resemble Planescape the D&D setting's city, Sigil.)

 

 

My idea is to create a map and set up for a kill team tournament I am preparing.

 

Assuming The Crossroads interest you, you can have all sorts of terrain, but perhaps including something from that Age of Sigmar range, specifically the Faction Formerly Known As Lizardmen.  Or anything, AoS terrain is really cool actually.  And then add stuff like the Orks Mek Workshop or Necromunda Trading Post to it.

[Doghouse]

There are plenty of pirates and outcasts that operate outside of Imperial rule so yeah it is possible.

 

There are plenty of sub-factions of Orks knocking about and even divergent thinkers like on the planet of Angelis in Gorkamorka. You could easily justify an off of someone like the Bad Moons or even Flash Gitz pirates looking to trade, doesn't mean they are hell bent on crumping dem humies.

[Felix Antipodes]

I can see the T’au setting up a Babylon type meeting point to facilitate both trade and to spread their Greater Good creed.  There are dozens of xenos races (as well as plenty of human cultures that exist outside the reach of the Imperium) that could be used as background populations.