Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

[Vondy]

Will rep for cool ideas...

 

I'm getting ready to start my PBEM game Star Trek: To Boldly Go! Its set fourteen months after the Dominion War and will focus on the adventures of the crew of the USS Seraph, and Akria Class starship. The canonical baseline is limited to live action television and movies, with The Final Frontier, Voyager, and Nemesis being omitted. I'm breaking the game into "episodes" (adventures) and "seasons" (arcs). The first season will eschew my traditional "Dave-Saga-From-Hell-Mega-Plot" and will instead focus on establishing the characters and the post Dominion War milieu. As a result Season 1 will be largely episodic in nature. The main characters have plot points built in I can leverage for stories, but I would appreciate ideas for other Trek style "episodes" I can work in between character building episodes.

 

Brainstorm away people!

[Curufea]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

80% of Star Trek plots =

 

1) Something bad happens to colony/ship/crew member

2) A new life form is discovered to be the cause

3) Various bad things happen until it is realised the life form is sentient and the Captain communicates with it

4) Everything ends well.

 

Note - As a sub plot, intersperse something vaguely humorous that could be mistaken for character development.

[McCoy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Time for First Contact? There is a Class M planet with humanoid inhabitants with a tech level approximating Earth before/during the Eugenics Wars (late 20th /early 21st century). There is a team of some two dozen Federation anthropologists assigned to observe the culture's progress. Their reports paint the inhabitants as combining the worst qualities of Klingons, Romulins and Feringi. Currently there is a Cold War between some half dozen constantly shifting alliances.

 

The anthropologists have a number of well hidden "bird blinds" at stragitic points accross the planet, mostly automated, someone beams in every couple of weeks to make sure the equiptment is functioning properly. Their main base is a cloaked space station at the L-3 point, the opposite side of the planet from the single, large natural satellite. A single, unarmed, cloaked shuttle takes them within transporter range of the bird blinds and back.

 

The latest report from the anthropologist said they were detecting some subspace static from one spot on the planet. Someone is days if not hours away from building a subspace radio and discovering They Are Not Alone, which will relax the Prime Directive and they can be contacted about Federation membership. They express a concern that if only one of the planet's political alliances learns the exixtance of a starfaring civilization, it could be a destablizing factor and could cause a war. They are requesting a ship to contact all the alliances at once, and are going on subspace radio silence until it gets there.

 

The Seraph is the closest ship. She is ordered to get there at best speed, then reveal the existance of the Federation to all alliances or wait for a full diplomatic team, at the discression of the Captain, with the advice of the head of the anthropology team. Seraph is to maintain subspace radio silence within a parsec of the planet, and not use Warp drive within 10 AU unless and until the locals have been made aware of the Federation.

 

Any of Vondy's players should not click the spoiler tag.

 

 

If databases are checked, during the Dominion War a small base was built on the farside of the single, large, tidelocked satellite. It is equipted with two heavy phaser banks that cannot be brought to bear on the planet, two launch tubes for four dozen photon torpedos, half a dozen heavily armed fighters, and bigger and better shield generators than the PC's have ever seen before. After the Dominion War it was mothballed, no crew there now, and scheduled for demolition. As no alliance on the planet had an active Space program, the demolition was given a low priority.

 

But after the anthropologists went to radio silence, a different alliance, NOT the one who discovered subspace radio, who had a super-secret space program, broke into the mothballed base.

 

The anthropology team have all been taken hostage, the bird blinds all known to one alliance. The head of this alliance wants to wait, learm more about this new tech while using the bird blinds to spy on their enemies and allies. However, some of the lower ranks of his government want to stage a preemptive strike / demonstration of force right away and demand unconditional surrender. The leader of the one alliance fears a coup and will cut a deal with the Federation as long as it leaves him in charge.

 

Using subspace back to HQ for instructions might alert another alliance to how much of a jump the one alliance has on them, and could trigger preemptive strikes.

 

Crew of the Seraph must protect their ship without unduely killing off or provoking the natives, rescue the anthropologists, prevent a war, make sure all of the remaining alliances find out about the Federation at the same time, and basically keep things from hitting the fan until the diplomatic team gets there.

 

[McCoy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Medical Emergency The Seraph is ordered to make scientific observations of a non-reproduceable / once a millinnium or so phenomena. While on that mission, they receive a subspace call. A crewman on another Federation ship needs a blood-or-other-approperate-tissue transplant, there is no time to grow it in vitro, and Starfleet medical records indicate the closest compatable donor is one of the crew of the Seraph. If the two ships make toward each other at top speed they will rendevue with hours to spare. A shuttlecraft isn't fast enough.

 

 

Full marks if someone suggest sending the character by Class IX probe. They shouldn't all be impossible scenerios.

 

[McCoy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Subspace message is received. A frail looking alien with an oversized cranium claims to be the last Talosian, recording this message to be transmitted on his death, and that this constituts the Last Will and Testiment of his species. "Pike and Vina are dead. When our instruments detect an approching ship, self-destruct mechanisms will destroy every trace of our culture except this message. Our planet itself we leave to the people of Earth, with our deepest apologies."

 

The alien closes --his?-- eyes, slumps forward in his chair, and the message repetes.

 

Any attempt to find out anything more about the Talosians, Vena or Pike runs instantly into a road block, "Classifed under General Order Seven."

 

The full text of General Order Seven is "No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV."

[csyphrett]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Star Trek also has forgotten technology that wants to eat the crew.

 

Terraformers discover a buried robot while redesigning a planet. The machine activates, forcing the staff to flee. It is up to the Seraph to make its way through a new minefield, discover the whereabouts of the terraformers, and deal with robot after robot waking up and wanting to go to war.

 

Naturally orbit reaching artillery is among those things that have decided to get back in the fight business.

CES

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Time for First Contact? There is a Class M planet with humanoid inhabitants with a tech level approximating Earth before/during the Eugenics Wars (late 20th /early 21st century). There is a team of some two dozen Federation anthropologists assigned to observe the culture's progress. Their reports paint the inhabitants as combining the worst qualities of Klingons' date=' Romulins and Feringi. Currently there is a Cold War between some half dozen constantly shifting alliances. [/quote']

 

This, and you other ideas, are very coll. Thanks! Repped!

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Star Trek also has forgotten technology that wants to eat the crew.

 

Terraformers discover a buried robot while redesigning a planet. The machine activates, forcing the staff to flee. It is up to the Seraph to make its way through a new minefield, discover the whereabouts of the terraformers, and deal with robot after robot waking up and wanting to go to war.

 

Naturally orbit reaching artillery is among those things that have decided to get back in the fight business.

CES

 

Interesting tactical scenario.

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Keep 'em comin' gang!

 

I knew I could count on the boards for this.

[Sundog]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Preparations for War

 

The Seraph delivers a new group of scientists to a distant outpost where a joint Federation/Romulan team are developing anti-Borg weaponry. The most promising of these is a new defensive weapon that uses subspace itself to literally crush starships travelling at warp speed - while short ranged, it would make a remarkable defence for endangered planets.

 

En route to it's next destination, the Seraph overtakes a massive subspace shockwave, taking the drives off-line and causing general havoc and damage. Sensors indicate that the shockwave came from the outpost - and that the wave was gaining strength as it traveled, before finally dissipating shortly after the Seraph's encounter with it. The origin of the shockwave coincided with the half-strength test of the new weapon - and the shockwave would have been too weak for the outpost to have noticed.

 

Worse, even a slightly greater powered wave would have reached a heavily traveled trade route packed with cargo ships. And the FULL-power test is scheduled in twelve hours.

 

Seraph has no warp capability or subspace radio transmission capacity, but that weapons test has to be stopped...

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Nature Abhors a Vacuum. With the collapse of Cardassia's empire following the Dominion War, the Breen (still allies of the Dominion) absorbed much former Cardassian territory, and have been aggressively encroaching on the remainder which Cardassia is no longer strong enough to defend. The Federation, alarmed at the growing Breen imperialism, has been attempting to negotiate a truce between Cardassia and Breen.

 

The Federation is approached by Cardassian intelligence with a request for help. One Cardassian battle cruiser from the joint Obsidian Order/Tal Shi'ar fleet that attacked the homeworld of the Founders survived the Dominion's retaliation and eventually made it back to the Alpha Quadrant. Manned by fanatics who believe themselves outcast from Cardassia, and still equipped with a Romulan cloaking device, the ship has been attacking Breen ships and outposts. The Cardassians fear the Breen will use those attacks as a pretext for all-out war.

 

The Seraph is part of a Star Fleet task force assisting the Cardassians in tracking down and neutralizing the renegade ship, while attempting to avoid confrontation with the Breen who are also hunting it. The Seraph has been assigned a complement of Cardassian intelligence officers to assist them in finding the ship. But do the Cardassians truly intend to stop the renegade, or do they plan to seize it, and its cloaking device, for Cardassia? Will they attempt to provoke an incident against the Breen, hoping to draw the Federation to their side in any war with Breen?

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Nature Abhors a Vacuum. With the collapse of Cardassia's empire following the Dominion War...

 

This is good. I have been pondering the Breen and what to do with them. It would also be a good way to have an Admiral Ross cameo. Must spread rep around before I can....

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Financial Upheaval. The reforms to Ferengi society introduced by the new Grand Nagus, Rom, have proven surprisingly popular with much of the population; but hardline conservatives were greatly upset by the change in the old order, especially the populist restrictions on their financial freedom and influence. Some of them are rumored to be behind recent attacks on the Nagus and his supporters through means very uncharacteristic for Ferengi: sabotage, assassination, even terrorism. These attacks have destabilized the economy of the whole Ferengi Alliance, and threaten their trading partners across the Alpha Quadrant.

 

The Seraph intercepts a coded transmission between some of the Ferengi conspirators, and tracks it to one of their secret cells. There they learn that the conservative Ferengi have allied themselves with a far more ruthless organization, the Orion Syndicate, who are planning an armed coup against the Nagus. The crew of the Seraph must race against time to prevent the coup, or else the richest trading block in the quadrant will be taken over by the deadliest organized criminals in the galaxy.

[csyphrett]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Death at the Amusement Park is a common scenario.

 

A starbase is being considered for a noninhabited planet. Hologram emitters are being tested for making holodecks possible without any of the usual limitations like walls. This would allow for changing scenes, costumes, and nonhuman players in the open on the planet very much like a sca reenactment, or renaissance fairs.

 

Now someone with a grudge has decided to use this new application of the programming and tech to create deadly traps for visitors including the crew of the Seraph.

CES

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Financial Upheaval. The reforms to Ferengi society introduced by the new Grand Nagus, Rom, have proven surprisingly popular with much of the population; but hardline conservatives were greatly upset by the change in the old order, especially the populist restrictions on their financial freedom and influence. Some of them are rumored to be behind recent attacks on the Nagus and his supporters through means very uncharacteristic for Ferengi: sabotage, assassination, even terrorism. These attacks have destabilized the economy of the whole Ferengi Alliance, and threaten their trading partners across the Alpha Quadrant.

 

The Seraph intercepts a coded transmission between some of the Ferengi conspirators, and tracks it to one of their secret cells. There they learn that the conservative Ferengi have allied themselves with a far more ruthless organization, the Orion Syndicate, who are planning an armed coup against the Nagus. The crew of the Seraph must race against time to prevent the coup, or else the richest trading block in the quadrant will be taken over by the deadliest organized criminals in the galaxy.

 

Here's the kicker: Nog is the Seraph's tactical officer. No joke.

[penemue]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Have you seen the following?

http://trekmovie.com/2006/12/13/cbs-considering-new-animated-trek-series/

I also found some really good scenario resources for the LUG game... I used them quite a bit for my own Big Eyes, Small Mouth Trek game and now for my Trek Hero game.

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Have you seen the following?

http://trekmovie.com/2006/12/13/cbs-considering-new-animated-trek-series/

I also found some really good scenario resources for the LUG game... I used them quite a bit for my own Big Eyes, Small Mouth Trek game and now for my Trek Hero game.

 

Um... no, I hand't seen that. And I'm not sure I want to.

[Nyrath]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

http://www.randomplots.com/

[Tom Carman]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Time for First Contact? Their reports paint the inhabitants as combining the worst qualities of Klingons' date=' Romulins and Feringi. [/quote']

 

Oh my God, they found another human race?!

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Nature Abhors a Vacuum. With the collapse of Cardassia's empire following the Dominion War, the Breen (still allies of the Dominion) absorbed much former Cardassian territory, and have been aggressively encroaching on the remainder which Cardassia is no longer strong enough to defend. The Federation, alarmed at the growing Breen imperialism, has been attempting to negotiate a truce between Cardassia and Breen.

 

The Federation is approached by Cardassian intelligence with a request for help. One Cardassian battle cruiser from the joint Obsidian Order/Tal Shi'ar fleet that attacked the homeworld of the Founders survived the Dominion's retaliation and eventually made it back to the Alpha Quadrant. Manned by fanatics who believe themselves outcast from Cardassia, and still equipped with a Romulan cloaking device, the ship has been attacking Breen ships and outposts. The Cardassians fear the Breen will use those attacks as a pretext for all-out war.

 

The Seraph is part of a Star Fleet task force assisting the Cardassians in tracking down and neutralizing the renegade ship, while attempting to avoid confrontation with the Breen who are also hunting it. The Seraph has been assigned a complement of Cardassian intelligence officers to assist them in finding the ship. But do the Cardassians truly intend to stop the renegade, or do they plan to seize it, and its cloaking device, for Cardassia? Will they attempt to provoke an incident against the Breen, hoping to draw the Federation to their side in any war with Breen?

 

This one - with some twists - is under way.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

This one - with some twists - is under way.

 

I'm proud and flattered , and would love to hear how it turns out.

[Vondy]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

I'm proud and flattered ' date=' and would love to hear how it turns out.[/quote']

 

I'll be posting the "script" when we're done. It got off to a slow start because we were introducing characters and the post dominion war situation, but now we're into the flow.

[kridenow]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

Not a story idea but... I generally use a format for my Star Trek games that is more or less mimicking the TV episodes frame. I mean running two stories at once.

It's quite often the case in TV shows, where you have one "serious" plot unfolding and at the same time, either a secondary plot for comic relief, either a character building plot.

 

It can be tricky to run, especially if you also separate your players in two different groups there but it can also serve to ease with some plots where the specialized Starfleet personnel sometimes lack... skills.

I know many GMs are at times puzzled by questions like "What the medical officer is going to do in this adventure ?" or "this is a diplomacy and stealth mission, what the Klingon PC will do there... ?"

Not saying you are... but using this two-plots-at-once format was quite fun and a change in roleplaying pace, for me and my players.

 

Now about plot/episode seeds, I can advice you to give a look on those boards

 

(but actually, you might already use that format or one similar )

[D. Guss Tibus]

Re: Trek Plot Brainstorm Help!

 

::franticly scribbles notes then sneaks away::