Space the final frontier

[dmjalund]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

 

 

QM

If you're interested, I have an app that can merge multiple pdfs, and was able to merge those files into a single pdf

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

If you're interested' date=' I have an app that can merge multiple pdfs, and was able to merge those files into a single pdf[/quote']

 

Send me the info.

 

Links too

 

QM

[dmjalund]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Send me the info.

 

Links too

 

QM

here

or I could just upload the merged file

[Christopher]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

ST:DS9: Have the actions and situations come to you

I would not want to have been O'Brian.

On the contrary! He once remarked that "Everything run to smooth on the Enterpirse", and was about to break something just so he had something to do (repair it).

Perhaps a Cardassian/Bajoran/Federation technology mix + alien Menance on the doorstep was a little bit more than he bargained for, but I am not so sure....

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Personally I've long thought it would be cool to have a post-Voyager mission to the Beta Quadrant. That would give the Enterprise/TOS sense of wonder from exploration of new territory, latter-day relations among species, advanced tech, and the potential for stories involving the Borg, Q, and other cosmic-level threats.

 

Plus, I thought to staff the crew with the most unlikely possible ideas: a Klingon doctor, a Vulcan counselor, a Chief Engineer with manifest Asperger's/autism, and perhaps even a ship's attorney.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Personally I've long thought it would be cool to have a post-Voyager mission to the Beta Quadrant. That would give the Enterprise/TOS sense of wonder from exploration of new territory, latter-day relations among species, advanced tech, and the potential for stories involving the Borg, Q, and other cosmic-level threats.

 

Plus, I thought to staff the crew with the most unlikely possible ideas: a Klingon doctor, a Vulcan counselor, a Chief Engineer with manifest Asperger's/autism, and perhaps even a ship's attorney.

 

While a Chief Engineer with Asperger's/autism is intriguing, the idea that we won't be able to effectively "cure" such conditions even 300 years in the future is more than a tad depressing.

I like the ship's attorney idea, though. Y'know, there's never really been a good sci-fi legal procedural series.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

I never had any bias against any of the Treks. Certainly, all of them had their good and bad episodes - some possibly more of one or the other, depending on whom you ask. The constant bitching and back-biting about which one was "better" is the primary reason I dropped out of organized Trek fandom many years ago, and just never went back.

 

Ran a few campaigns using the FASAtrek rules - two Star Fleet (one small and one large vessel) and one Klingon (small vessel mostly, then a large vessel near the end). All set somewhere between 'Wrath Of Khan' and 'Undiscovered Country' and all went quite well. Certainly, they can be more demanding on Players in some ways. Everybody needs to be onboard with how things SHOULD run, so the Ref must draw the line early on, just to be safe.

 

As regards absentee Players, the only way to deal with this is as with any other rpg - have copies of all character sheets, and either run them as NPCs or by other Players (with Ref supervision). Face it, the only alternative is to not play at all.

 

One trick I found worked EXTREMELY well in my 'USS Axanar' campaign (Star Fleet "large" ship) was this. Each Player created three characters. The first character (the Primary) was a senior officer (Captain, Exec, Chief Engineer, Chief of Security, Helmsbeing, etc..). The second character for each was a Shuttle Pilot (Axanar carried both shuttles and fighters) of Ensign - Lieutenant rank. The third character for each was (mostly) Security, but there was also a Scientist, a Medic and a Tech in the mix, all of Ensign - Lieutenant rank.

 

For routine shipboard stuff, it was mainly the senior officers in play. If an Away Team was needed, it was usually a very quick turn of "mix and match", with one or two senior officers in charge, plus a selection of junior officers depending on circumstances. The real beauty of this set-up was that almost everybody, at one time or another, had chances to lead Away Teams or be in command of the ship. It certainly eliminated the whole 'Let's Beam Down The Entire Bridge Team' thing.

 

Could even have a few "surprise" arrangements. For example, one time most of the ship's crew were put out of action by bad guys trying to take control of the ship (face it, happens in all the Treks at least once). The Shuttle Pilots had all been in their Lounge (in a relatively isolated part of the ship) and thus overlooked. So, it was up to them to save the day. 'Die Hard On The Axanar', basically.

 

All along, I was fortunate in that my Players were mainly people I had gamed with for years. IMO, Trek rpging has even less room than most other rpgs for Munchkinism, PvP and general dickery.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Personally I've long thought it would be cool to have a post-Voyager mission to the Beta Quadrant. That would give the Enterprise/TOS sense of wonder from exploration of new territory, latter-day relations among species, advanced tech, and the potential for stories involving the Borg, Q, and other cosmic-level threats.

 

Plus, I thought to staff the crew with the most unlikely possible ideas: a Klingon doctor, a Vulcan counselor, a Chief Engineer with manifest Asperger's/autism, and perhaps even a ship's attorney.

 

Maybe you mean the Delta Quadrant (the quadrant where USS Voyager ended up)? Alpha and Beta Quadrants are where the Federation, Klingons and Romulans are located; and Gamma Quadrant is where the Dominion is.

 

Also, I strongly suspect that Aspergers / Autism is one of many somethings that UFP medical science had countered. For humans, anyhow - maybe there are sentient alien races out there where this is, more or less, their normal state?

[GoldenAge]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

...a Chief Engineer with manifest Asperger's/autism...

 

Isn't that Scotty???

 

[Lucius]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

While a Chief Engineer with Asperger's/autism is intriguing, the idea that we won't be able to effectively "cure" such conditions even 300 years in the future is more than a tad depressing.

I like the ship's attorney idea, though. Y'know, there's never really been a good sci-fi legal procedural series.

 

Perhaps they concluded that there was nothing to "cure" except for a cultural tendency to pathologize normal Human variations.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

And a perfectly normal palindromedary.

[Christopher]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

One trick I found worked EXTREMELY well in my 'USS Axanar' campaign (Star Fleet "large" ship) was this. Each Player created three characters.

Interesting approach. A lot of extra work, and you have to give all characters equal XP regardless of "Role" played but it certainly has the flexibility on it side.

On potential caveeat: Has FASA anything like Complications? I figure that you either have to take very similar personalities in Hero, make them all "Fictionized Copys" of the player, or generally set Matching Complication Points to Zero (so only those that really matter make it to the sheet).

[GoldenAge]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

As regards absentee Players, the only way to deal with this is as with any other rpg - have copies of all character sheets, and either run them as NPCs or by other Players (with Ref supervision). Face it, the only alternative is to not play at all.

 

One trick I found worked EXTREMELY well in my 'USS Axanar' campaign (Star Fleet "large" ship) was this. Each Player created three characters. The first character (the Primary) was a senior officer (Captain, Exec, Chief Engineer, Chief of Security, Helmsbeing, etc..). The second character for each was a Shuttle Pilot (Axanar carried both shuttles and fighters) of Ensign - Lieutenant rank. The third character for each was (mostly) Security, but there was also a Scientist, a Medic and a Tech in the mix, all of Ensign - Lieutenant rank.

 

For routine shipboard stuff, it was mainly the senior officers in play. If an Away Team was needed, it was usually a very quick turn of "mix and match", with one or two senior officers in charge, plus a selection of junior officers depending on circumstances. The real beauty of this set-up was that almost everybody, at one time or another, had chances to lead Away Teams or be in command of the ship. It certainly eliminated the whole 'Let's Beam Down The Entire Bridge Team' thing.

 

Could even have a few "surprise" arrangements. For example, one time most of the ship's crew were put out of action by bad guys trying to take control of the ship (face it, happens in all the Treks at least once). The Shuttle Pilots had all been in their Lounge (in a relatively isolated part of the ship) and thus overlooked. So, it was up to them to save the day. 'Die Hard On The Axanar', basically.

 

All along, I was fortunate in that my Players were mainly people I had gamed with for years. IMO, Trek rpging has even less room than most other rpgs for Munchkinism, PvP and general dickery.

Nice... That's basically how we did it when I began the NEMESIS campaign (see in my sig below). Players created one 375 point OC + One 250 point secondary character that was remanded over to the GM as an NPC but returned to the player if needed. This helped fill the ship with interesting personalities and allowed players whose OCs got killed or detained to continue play.

 

Unfortunately, the last few times I started a game I didn't do this (the players were having a hard enough time creating their original characters). Every time we had a crucial absentee the group opted to wait for that player's return. The Captain actually missed 2 or 3 bi-monthly games in a row and I just cancelled the game and went back to Epic City. :-/

[Escafarc]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Has FASA anything like Complications? I figure that you either have to take very similar personalities in Hero' date=' make them all "Fictionized Copys" of the player, or generally set Matching Complication Points to Zero (so only those that really matter make it to the sheet).[/quote']

 

Check out GURPS Prime Directive it has Disavantages, Quirks, etc.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

I figure Xenophobic has to be worth a LOT of points in Trek.

[FrankL]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Also, I strongly suspect that Aspergers / Autism is one of many somethings that UFP medical science had countered.

 

It can be done, but the genetic resequencing required is illegal except for severe birth defects. But determined parents can find black market doctors who will do the treatment. The results sometimes backfire badly. Which is part of why it is illegal (the rest being the Federation doesn't want another Khan).

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Maybe you mean the Delta Quadrant (the quadrant where USS Voyager ended up)? Alpha and Beta Quadrants are where the Federation' date=' Klingons and Romulans are located; and Gamma Quadrant is where the Dominion is.[/quote']I'd generally thought that Federation et al were just in the Alpha Quadrant.

Also, I strongly suspect that Aspergers / Autism is one of many somethings that UFP medical science had countered. For humans, anyhow - maybe there are sentient alien races out there where this is, more or less, their normal state?

Perhaps they concluded that there was nothing to "cure" except for a cultural tendency to pathologize normal Human variations.

Thank you. This is correct.

It can be done' date=' but the genetic resequencing required is illegal except for severe birth defects. But determined parents can find black market doctors who will do the treatment. The results sometimes backfire badly. Which is part of why it is illegal (the rest being the Federation doesn't want another Khan).

A couple of Dr. Bashir's engineered friends (the ones who were brilliant institutionalized) would be examples of how intellectual brilliance and social difficulties can go hand-in-hand. Those individuals were sufficiently impaired that, even in the all-inclusive Federation, institutional help was needed.

 

OTOH, while someone like Thomas Jefferson could never become President today, I could see it happening in the Federation.

[Orion]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

One trick I found worked EXTREMELY well in my 'USS Axanar' campaign (Star Fleet "large" ship) was this. Each Player created three characters. The first character (the Primary) was a senior officer (Captain, Exec, Chief Engineer, Chief of Security, Helmsbeing, etc..). The second character for each was a Shuttle Pilot (Axanar carried both shuttles and fighters) of Ensign - Lieutenant rank. The third character for each was (mostly) Security, but there was also a Scientist, a Medic and a Tech in the mix, all of Ensign - Lieutenant rank.

 

I've had multiple characters as a player, but never as a GM. As a player, they were all of equal points/abilities/powers, so while I had a favorite character, none could have been said to be the main one. If/when I decide to be a GM again, I hope to have a group of players that can handle multiple characters. Important DNPC and rivals will be played by other characters, not me. I like the idea of one player being the Captain, while another is a pilot and a third is a generic red-shirt. As a player in the past, I wouldn't have been able to handle it well unless I was the combat dude in any group, but that's not so important now. I also like the idea of assigning certain NPCs to players. Not for them to play that character, but to determine the general direction of that person, and how they'd react to events. This can be very effective if the NPCs are not always working towards the same goal.

[Ragitsu]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

The Zeta Quadrant.

[dmjalund]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

I'd generally thought that Federation et al were just in the Alpha Quadrant.

Yes, but the Klingosn and some other "Federation-adjacent" aliens are in the Beta quadrant

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Interesting approach. A lot of extra work, and you have to give all characters equal XP regardless of "Role" played but it certainly has the flexibility on it side.

On potential caveeat: Has FASA anything like Complications? I figure that you either have to take very similar personalities in Hero, make them all "Fictionized Copys" of the player, or generally set Matching Complication Points to Zero (so only those that really matter make it to the sheet).

 

XP was allocated in a pool to each Player, and they decided which of their Characters benefitted. Each of my Players made a point of creating quite distinct Characters, and this seemed to work well - allowed for variety in role-play, that is for certain.

 

Re FASAtrek charcter generation,

 

No complications, quirks or anything at all like that in FASAtrek - that was entirely up to the Players and the Ref.

 

You picked your Character's race and gender, generated stats and chose background skills, then decided what rank and function said character would have ingame. You then worked out the Character's career (and accrued skills) up to their current situation. Basically, the exact reverse of classic 'Traveller' - instead of seeing how far you could get your character in a given career path, you decided what your character was going to be and then backtracked from there.

[Christopher]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

No complications' date=' quirks or anything at all like that in FASAtrek - that was entirely up to the Players and the Ref.[/quote']

Then I see this as the main hinderance to using it in Hero.

Of course, the Trek Guys where never really troubelled or had hidden things from the start. There was not even a really planned out meta story arc like in B5.

 

This is extreme with the example of Bashir from DS 9:

One day the actor came to the set and was informed that in the last three Episodes the original Bashir had been replaced by a Changeling.

In another episode it was just decided he was an Augment. They propably didn't had this idea until before the season started (and we are talking about Season 4 or 5 of Seven).

 

While there are some obvious, mayor personality things (Spock/Data/Odo/The Doctor/Seven of Nine are the Tinman, searchign for their human hearts; Kirk/Bashir are womanizers; Quark/Guinan are the Barkeeper), the mostly lived from episode to episode.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

I would pretty much have to do my own Trek reboot, one where technology and such was a bit better defined and properly used. Teleporting warheads to multiple points around a ship, photon torps actually being more effective than a stick of dynamite, etc.

[RexMundi]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

I would pretty much have to do my own Trek reboot' date=' one where technology and such was a bit better defined and properly used. Teleporting warheads to multiple points around a ship, photon torps actually being more effective than a stick of dynamite, etc.[/quote']

 

Heh, many Trek Authors already do that. Paramount however, tends to Ignore such and then runs off to randomly change something they had already implemented.

 

~Rex

[clsage]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

......Teleporting warheads to multiple points around a ship,......

 

 

Heh' date=' many Trek Authors already do that. [/quote']

 

Ahhh...So I am not the only one who has read and recalls the novel The Kobayashi Maru

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kobayashi_Maru_%281989_novel%29

 

 

-Carl-

[RexMundi]

Re: Space the final frontier

 

Heh, what can I say I like Most of the Trek novels with the exception of a Few writers. David Mack's Stuff is top notch.....Wrapping up the Typhon Pact series right now.

 

~Rex....says it's a shame the shows never looked to the books....