Let's build a ship.
I'm thinking I want to start the campaign in 2375, either right at the end of the Dominion War or immediately after the war. This allows us to have some exciting stuff going on. The Federation resumes a tense relationship with the Romulans. There is a vacuum where Cardassia used to be. There is a new Chancellor of the Klingons, maybe some rogue Klingon houses to play with. I forsee conflict with the Romulans being fun. They make great complex villains. There are other threats poking around.
As far as ships go, that gives us pretty much any options to choose from. The process is as follows:
1. Choose year of service: 2375. Check!
2. Choose Spaceframe. This is a biggie. Do we want a big fully loaded ship like a Galaxy or Akira class. A smaller ship like a Constellation or a Constitution dug our of mothballs for the War? Excelsior? Intrepid? Miranda? An experimental and buggy Nova class? This also relates to what kind of crew we want to play. Obviously a Galaxy class ship has the best and brightest of starfleet, whereas a Constellation might be a different kind of crew.
3. Mission Profile: This provides special upgrades and outfitting for the ship. It also tells me what kind of adventures you might want to focus on.
"Strategic and Diplomatic Operations" "Pathfinder and Reconnaissance" "Technical Testbed" "Tactical Operations" "Scientific and Survey Operations" "Crisis and Emergency Response" "Multirole Explorer"
4. Refits: These are basically point for point upgrades that you get for each 10 years the ship has been in service. Probably the easiest part of the process.
This is all connected to the crew and types of characters we want to play, so we can start talking about characters as well.
I'll get the PDF when I get home and start looking through it so that I can contribute meaningfully to the dialogue, but I think that it might be interesting for our ship to be recon or spec ops based. It would give us more freedom and a smaller crew to deal with.
I assume that we are going to be in control of the ship, or are we just going to be officers on it?
Thanks! At tabletop but will post some comments/ideas after. :-)
Thank you for the invitation.
Spaceframe
I'm not too keen on going with the Galaxy or Constitution class as they are very iconic. Less of an issue with the Intrepid as it always seem like a solid science vessel. Despite Voyager having a spotty record with me at best I like the design.
I could be on board with a Miranda/Constellation/Excelsior running around picking up the slack of the other more recent combat capable ships during the war with the occasional moment of heroism to punctuate things.
The Akira class is a bit more combat focused than I'm inclined towards but... it just works appearance wise so I wouldn't be dead set against it.
Nova's oh we'd be better off on one of the old tried and tested rust buckets but it's got it's own charm!
Mission Profile
Multirole Explorer followed by Scientific and Survey Operations would be the ones I'd be keenest on. Tactical Operations would be the one I'd be least enthusiastic with but it wouldn't be a deal breaker. I imagine in classic Star Trek style it'd be half phasers and half using science to defeat our foes!
Character concepts
I'm inclined towards Medical, Science, Operations, Engineering but could do a character outside of those roles, I'm just not interested in the helmsman role. I'm happy to have the character be able to pilot but dedicated to it wouldn't appeal.
I did have an idea for a Cardassian defector but that might be a bit sadistic on my part given the time frame we are talking about.
A young Bajoran Officer inspired to join Starfleet to emulate the Emissary.
Human, former Maquis. It think this is something that was written in the Decipher RPG so isn't cannon but GM SuperTumbler might entertain adopting it. The book had it that during the Dominion War the Federation was in a tight spot getting experienced officers to man their ships. Some Maquis who had Starfleet training were offered pardons if they served on a Starfleet ship, they do have a lot of experience as the underdog and fighting Cardassians. It makes sense to me, and could offer some interesting dynamics. I like the idea of them having made a place for themselves on the ship but butting heads with other Starfleet officers over some ethical debates but being loyal to his new crew.
A Trill who's previous host died at Wolf 359 or during the events of first contact. I imagine getting killed after seeing some of your comrades getting assimilated would lead to some interesting quirks.
Nothing specific for an Andorian but I quite like them so there's a good chance I'll come up with something for one.
We don't have to limit ourselves to those spaceframes, necessarily. There are plenty of others on a couple of blogs that are unofficial, but it isn't really hard to figure out where a ship should fit into the rules.
As for who is in charge of the ship and the captains position, I think a few possibilities present themselves. We can have a PC captain, as long as that person is willing to take into account what the players want. I've had situations like that work. Since the captain is often not on away teams and such in this time period, the captain could be an NPC that I play and that is also sort of a corporate entity of the group. I might prefer the captain to be an NPC since the captain is often a narrator and sort of a stage manager, so it would work well. At the same time, for things like decision making the group of players would decide and I would channel that through the character.
I'm not too worried about how we divide up characters among departments. I'd like to have the various roles covered, but if no one wants to play a particular job that could be ok.
A suggestion regarding captain. Firstly the some Captains regularly ignore that, so often it seems perhaps if it's one of the rules Starfleet tried to enforce as a hard rule they'd be reprimanding half the Captains in service.
But if we did have a PC Captain perhaps they could control a mission specific ensign for the away mission... or an Ensign from operations on a more regular basis... operations seem to do everything.
Alright, I'm back. For spaceframe, I'd love to see what those other less official options are. :-) I love those iconic ships, but something unique could be cool. There is a lot of interesting options. But, really, I think it comes down to the role we want to play. For a general multirole explorer, of the options we have available, I love the Excelsior-class. Visually, it's my favourite starship class. It's big, but not Galaxy-class big, so the concerns of having civilians on board shouldn't be an issue.
(Of course, that issue might not actually be an issue. If we are fresh from the war, I doubt any families will be returning to ships for a while. That's just my impression, anyway, I may be completely mistaken.)
If there is fan content for such, Ambassador-class could be a good pick for that too.
On the other hand, I really kind of like the technical testbed mission profile. The ship is given the wide variety of missions, better to test the upgrades. This could work well for a newer design, like the Nova or Intrepid (though, that one isn't very old). If there is any more recent designs from those blogs you mentioned, we could be flying a prototype that didn't make it into service in time for the war. (Perhaps another try at the Prometheus class, or maybe something like the Vesta-class - a spinoff of the Intrepid -
from STO?)
Anyway, those would be my preferred mission profiles, and ship suggestions for them, but I know I'll have fun no matter what. :-)
As for the captain, I kind of like the idea of a PC captain if, yeah, the captain goes with the consensus of his command staff (a.k.a. the rest of the players). That way, if there's any ship to ship negotiations or the like that goes on, it will be a PC that does it.
For the away teams, the captain could easily be more in the Kirk or Janeway style, and actually goes on the away teams. :-) I'm going to stop this rambling post here to see if anybody else has said anything in the time it's taken me to write it. :-)
*Edit: Kevin's idea could also work out very well.
I'd like to volunteer to make my character the Chief Engineer. The Scotty, the La Forge, the DS9 O'Brien. The guy that has the deepest understanding of how the ship works. That role is still open, right? Reading through the thread it doesn't look like we've pinned those down yet.
I think everything is open, Plume. :-) But, I, personally, have no objection to you taking that role. I'm not really sure what I want to play yet. :-)
I have started working on my character, and I'm leaning towards either security or medicine (or perhaps both, depending on how things work out). If someone else really wants to be the medical character of the group, then I can just go pure security.
Oops, I was wrong about the Vesta being based on the Intrepid. It just has a similar pointed saucer section that stuck in my mind. But, I was right in that it entered full-service in the near future of our timeline. Except the prototype was established and destroyed in the novels, and the follow-up prototype was a major ship in the novels. So, it may not work, depending on if you want to branch out from that level of canon. (I certainly have no problem ignoring the books completely.)
Anyway, back on the topic of characters. I'm interested in - in no particular order - command, flight control, operations, or science. Beyond that, I've got a few brainstormed ideas, but not sure which to use yet.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Okay, here is my first draft of my character. She's leaning towards medicine at the moment, but could easily fulfill the security officer role:
Pegira Hagen
Female Betazoid
Attributes:
Control 11
Daring 8
Fitness 11
Insight 10
Presence 8
Reason 8
Disciplines (Focuses):
Command 2
Conn 1
Engineering 1
Security 4 (Hand-to-Hand Combat, Hand Phasers)
Science 3 (Genetics)
Medicine 5 (Emergency Medical Procedures, Trauma Surgery, Infectious Diseases)
Stress: 15
Damage Bonus: 4
Traits: Betazoid
Talents: Telepath, Mean Right Hook, Field Medicine, Quick Study
Values: Self Reliance, Focus and Control, Served with Distinction, The Duality of Existance
Species: Betazoid
Environment: Frontier Colony
Upbringing: Starfleet (Accepted)
Starfleet Academy: Science Track (Medicine)
Career: Experienced Officer
Career Events:
*Dealing with a Plague: Was assigned to a science team studying and treating a Dominion bioweapon designed to target both Humans and Bajorans. She spent most of the time treating patients, and was instrumental in discovering patient zero, which allowed for a cure to be created.
*Conflict with a Hostile Culture: Fought a holding action aboard the Bajoran ship Prophet's Will against the Dominion. Although ultimately the ship was destroyed, the crew and a hold full of civilian refugees were able to evacuate.
Pegira is a gifted doctor who practiced medicine on the frontier colony of Sheppard's Folly, an experimental colony made up primarily of Klingons and Vulcans, with Betazoids to act as the intermediaries. Life as a frontier doctor was hard, and several times Pegira found herself in combat with people who might want to hurt her patients.
When offered the chance, Pegira joined the federation, where she excelled in the medical studies program and was assigned aboard the battleship Pulsar.
Often assigned as the medic for away team missions, Pegira discovered that she was addicted to the thrill of combat, and requested a transfer to Security, where she finished her tour of duty.
She has held positions as both ship's doctor and security officer in her career.
Pegira is a gifted telepath, and considered exceptional among her peopled due to her ability to shut out the emotions of those around her.
Thanks for the invite!
My Trek knowledge doesn't cover the various frames of ships (though I'll be reading the book in more detail today/tomorrow, so I may have more specific thoughts later). Based on your quick descriptions, I like the idea of having something on the glitching edge of technology (Nova?) or one of the fresh out of the mothballs models - having plenty of hooks to struggle with our own tech sounds like fun.
I'm interested in playing a Security specialist, so I'd prefer for that sort of thing to come up within our Missions with reasonable regularity (though not a full-on war campaign or anything.) Something in the neighborhood of Strategic and Diplomatic Operations, Pathfinder and Reconnaissance, or Crisis and Emergency Response sound like they'd fit that best.
As for the character, I haven't put her through the mechanical ringer yet (or given her a name), but I've got a few bullet points as a starting place that I can throw around for now:
Young and ambitious
Wet behind the ears
Idealistic
Human?
Security/Tactics
Promoted early due to the war
All that said, I try to be a flexible player, so I'm more than happy to rework things to better fit the group if we go in other directions.
@Cwethan more security (Odo) than tactical (Worf) I take it.
Chief Engineer: Plume
Ships Doctor: Vrog -You said leaning towards medical and someone else is gunning for security as their number one choice so slotted you in here... but a surprising person to be able to back up our security officer very well
Security: Cwethan
Fobok and myself being wildcards
That works for me.
Star Trek Adventures Wiki has lots of fan created resources, most of which seem pretty well designed. Lots of character creation and GM references that can be useful for getting a handle on things.
This morning, I'm liking the idea of an Ambassador class (that is the class of the Enterprise-C) that was dug out of mothballs and refitted for the War. I like the idea of a ship that has new tech stuffed into an old frame and the potential for that not to work. I'm also imagining that if the crew acquits itself well it could eventually get a newer ship fresh off the assembly line, which lets us have our cake and eat it too. Not committed to those ideas, just how I feel this morning. I also like the idea of a ship that is maybe a little underpowered. That makes me feel more secure as a new GM.
As for crew, the roles the game has on page 132 are:
Command: The Captain
Executive Officer
Operations Manager
Chief Engineer: Plume
Chief of Security: Cwethan
Chief Medical Officer:Vrog
Science Officer
Flight Controller
Ship's Counselor
Communications Officer
Each of those gives a small bonus Advantage. You don't have to fill all of those roles, and not all of them have to be filled with player characters. I think we can dispense with an XO and have a more active Captain.
On second thought, maybe an Ambassador is too big. I didn't realize how big they were, but the write up puts them at scale 5, larger than an Excelsior.
We could always have stolen the Defiant. :)
Oh wait, you wanted an under-powered ship...nevermind.
I'll be from where I'm from in real life, the Twin Cities, MN on Earth. Any other Earthling crew members want to have a connected backstory somehow?
Now that I think about it, I really like the idea of a very old ship drawn out of mothballs in desperation. It also makes sense that it would stay in operation until new ships could be built to replace the ships lost in the war.
I agree, though, for that idea the Ambassador is too big and too new. It was, after all, the most powerful ship in the fleet until the Galaxy came along.
However, what about going further back? There is the Federation, which was very powerful in its time but by modern standards it's not even as powerful as a Constellation. However, there were some that were refit like the Constitution, so it makes sense that some would be in good enough shape to take out of mothballs. It would also be big enough for a Multirole Explorer or Strategic and Diplomatic Operations, but still very small by modern standards, at Scale 4.
There are others, too, on that site that could easily fit the idea, without going to the most iconic Constitution. :-)
I'll be from where I'm from in real life, the Twin Cities, MN on Earth. Any other Earthling crew members want to have a connected backstory somehow?
Right now, my mind is flipping between human and joined Trill. If I go human, I'd definitely be cool with that. (If not, there's also Starfleet Academy for background links, or previous crews. I'd love to have some story ties to some other players no matter what.)
I think it comes down to character role. So, I'll put it out: Is anybody else interested in being Captain? I fully admit that it's outside of my comfort zone, (I usually play young and inexperienced characters), but in the past some of my favourite characters have come about when I stepped outside of it. :) However, I'm just as happy doing something else if someone else wants that role.
@Kevin - Thinking more in the vein of Tasha/Worf who iirc sort of blended Tactical and Security.
@Plume - Still figuring out species/origin, but what kind of background intersection are you considering? Might work to link up at Starfleet Academy even if Minnesota's not in the cards.
@Fobok - If you want to be Captain, I say go for it! I do think an NPC would work fine in that role though, if something else grabs you.
How do we feel about either Miranda or Constellation class. Pretty similar in abilities. Constellation is a little more of a hot rod, Miranda might pack a little more punch. Both can easily be outfitted for a Multirole explorer.
Preferences?
I like the Constellation class a bit more of the two, but I'm cool with either of those.
@GM SuperTumbler I'd prefer Constellation. Very distinct appearance.
@Fobok I can do Captain but I'll leave you have first refusal. If I did a Capatain I'd probably style them as being previously in science or operations.
@Fobok I can do Captain but I'll leave you have first refusal. If I did a Capatain I'd probably style them as being previously in science or operations.
If you truly don't mind, I think I'm going to go for it. I think the character that's starting to come together in my mind could be fun, and I'd probably regret not giving it a shot.
Constellation sounds good to me too (bonus points if we get to perform a Picard Maneuver)
That reminds me, the Constellation has the benefit of having had multiple rooms appear in an episode, for visual reference of what the bridge, engineering, and possibly others I can't remember would look like.
Yes. And there are blueprints, maps, cutaways, and etc. online if we need them. Sounds like we will go with that.
Constellation gives 8 refits and 4 starship talents.
We also need a name. Lots of options on Memory Beta if you want an established name. Or we could make up our own.
Looking through that list on Memory Beta, I kind of like the name 'U.S.S. Magellan'. But I'm not too picky. :-)
Okay here's a first pass at Jalla's Lifepath:
Trait: Andorian
Attributes (Daring 7-8, Control 7-8, Presence 7-8)
Talent: The Ushaan
Value: "Our Ancestors' Strength Persists"
Attribute (Daring 8-9)
Discipline (Security 1-2)
Rejected that upbringing
Attributes (Fitness 7-8, Reason 7-9)
Discipline (Command 1-2)
Focus (Law)
Value: Win with Honor, Practical Honor
Attributes (Daring 9-11, Fitness 8-9)
Discipline: Security 2-4, Command 2-3, Conn 1-2
Focuses: Shipboard Tactical Systems, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Debate
Talent: Follow My Lead
Value: "Carving Out a Space in Her Uncle's Shadow"
Talent: Untapped Potential
Attributes: (Reason 9-10)
Discipline: (Conn 2-3)
Focus: Lead by Example
Serious Injury
Attribute: (Fitness 9-10)
Discipline: (Medicine 1-2)
Focus: Prose
Trait: TBI
Value: You Can't Lead from Behind
USS Zheng He. USS Cochrane. USS Aldrin.
USS Final Judgement, USS Bastion, USS Soyokaze
I like the sound of the Bastion.
I like U.S.S. Bastion as well.
In the case of Attributes, I think there are good arguments for Control, Insight, or Reason.
Control represents a character's ability to handle fine-grained, precise tasks under pressure, from ranged combat to flying a starship, to keeping their cool and mental focus in a tense situation. I'd use it in situations where the telepath is trying to perform some kind of delicate maneuver, like extracting a certain piece of information, or picking one specific person they don't know (like an assassin) out of a crowd.
Insight relates to someone's ability to pick up on social cues and discern the reality of a situation. Think of it like social perception, or the wisdom of experience. Insight is how you tell that someone is unhappy despite them trying to force a smile, it's how you tell they're bluffing in cards, it's how you recognize a good spot for an ambush (because you can put yourself in the shoes of the ambusher and imagine the kind of place they'd want to lay a trap). I'd call for Insight when the telepath is trying to discern someone's true feelings or motives. You might think this is as easy as scanning them but it's important to remember that people's true motivations are often a mystery even to themselves, or they actively deceive themselves ("I'm not bullying this person, I'm teaching them to be tough").
Reason has to do with the ability to learn, access, and deploy general knowledge about the world, to follow chains of logic, to solve puzzles, and so forth. I'd call for Reason when the telepath is trying to make sense of confusing information, or trying to perform some kind of difficult intellectual feat, like interpreting the thoughts of a truly alien mind.
Those are the most obvious cases, but I can definitely imagine arguments for other Attributes: I might call for Fitness if the telepath is trying to project a message over a great distance, or Daring if they're attempting something that oculd jeopardize them, like entering an incredibly powerful or alien mind.
For Disciplines I would tend to use Command most often, as it's the discipline that deals most directly with interpersonal interaction, but we can imagine uses for all of them. Troi probably uses Medicine a lot in her work as a psychologist. A Betazoid security officer might use Security to anticipate their opponent's martial arts moves before he makes them.
Okay, I think I've figured this out.
Step 1: Species [i]
Select Species: Trill
Immune to parasites, allergic to insect bites/venom (especially if joined). Incomplete medical knowledge of species
Value: Mistakes are how we learn
Talent: Joined - Trill
Once per mission, your symbiote grants you a single focus for one scene. Additionally, gain a Trait matching the symbiont's name
[i]Prerequisite: Trill (Not Former Initiate)
Step 2: Environment
Select Environment: Starship/Starbase
Increase Control or Insight by 1; Increase Command, Conn, or Engineering by 1 (I chose Control and Command)
Value: Curiosity is the First Step
Step 3: Upbringing
Select Upbringing: Science/Technology
Increase Conn, Engineering, Science, or Medicine by 1 (I chose Conn)
Accept/Rebel: Accepted
Focus: Astrophysics
Talent: Dauntless
When attempting to resist threats/intimidation, reduce difficulty by 1
Prerequisite: None
Step 4: Starfleet Academy
Select Field of Study: Command Track
Split three points amont 2-3 attributes; increase Command or Conn by 2, then increase any 2 disciplines (except the one chosen previously) by 1 (Daring 1, Presence 2, Command 2, Conn 1)
Focus: Helm Operations
Focus: Team Dynamics
Focus: Starship Recognition
Talent: Starship Expert
Success at a Conn task to identify/understand a starship -> gain 1 momentum to spend on obtain information or as part of create advantage cost (perceived weakness)
Prerequisite: 3+ in Conn
Step 5: Career
Stage in Career: Experienced Officer
Select any talent (except "Untapped Potential" or "Veteran") and any value
Talent: Defuse the Tension
Whenever you attempt a task to persuade someone not to resort to violence, you may add a bonus d20 to your dice pool
Prerequisite: 3+ in Command
Value: [b] Two heads can be better than one
[b]Step 6: Career Events
Select Event: First Contact
Incrase any Discipline by 1 (Command)
Focus: Cultural Studies
Select Event 2: New Battle Strategy
Focus: Combat Tactics
Step 7: Finishing Touches
Attribute Check: Subtract so that no attribute greater than 12 (or 11, if you selected the "Untapped Potential" talent during step 5), and no Discipline greater than 5 (or 4). Use the corrections row to enter negative numbers to lower applicable scores, and raise others. Once finished, raise two attributes and two disciplines by 1 each. The sum of all Attribute scores should total 56; Disciplines should total to 16. (Daring, Presence, Conn, Engineering)
Value: I don't start fights, I finish them
Final stats:
Control: 11
Daring: 10
Fitness: 7
Insight: 7
Presence: 12
Reason: 9
Command: 5
Conn : 3
Engineering: 2
Science: 3
Security: 2
Medicine: 1
Though later he would be called Tobin Dell, Tobin Nedan was born on the space station Deep Space 4, on the edge of the Typhon Expanse. His parents were astrophysicists studying many of the odd astronomical effects found in the Expanse. Tobin took after his parents, wanting nothing more than to follow in their footsteps.
His twin sister Lidra, on the other hand, dreamed of joining Starfleet. However, neither wanted to proceed without the other. They decided to join Starfleet Academy together, as soon as they were old enough, with Tobin taking a scientific path while Lidra followed a more traditional Starfleet career. Of course, there was almost no chance they would be assigned together after the Academy, but they were children with a dream.
A few years later, though, their plans were thrown for a loop. Tobin’s academic achievements led to him being accepted as an Initiate. It was an honour he couldn’t pass up, no matter his plans. Even Lidra had to, grudgingly, accept it. She had a hard time with it at first, though, both because of the broken plans, and her own failure to be accepted.
While his sister was off joining the Academy, and eventually becoming an officer, Tobin went through even more rigorous training and testing. All the people around him were being washed out, and he lived in fear that he would as well. In the end, however, he wasn’t. Finally, he was chosen to read Joined with the Dell symbiont.
After Joining, Tobin changed. With the combination of lifetimes of memories and Dell’s personality added to his own, Tobin was no longer studious. He had a sudden drive for adventure, and a desire to see as much of the galaxy as he could. He signed up for Starfleet Academy at last, but instead of studying science, as he had planned, he followed the command track.
Tobin’s career was very successful, and he quickly rose through the ranks. He rarely got to see his sister, but they got along better when they did get together, his sister having grown out of her annoyance.
Eventually, Tobin was assigned to the Cheyenne-class USS Justice as first officer. Shortly after he got the job, he was given an assignment that would go on to help shape his career. First contact with a new species. The Arlathians had just reached warp travel, and due to a reputation for diplomatic skill he was assigned to be the one to introduce and explain the Federation to them. Though there were some bumps along the way, the contact was deemed successful.
Not long after that, the war started. The Justice fought in a number of battles over the course of the war, often surviving only through the tactical genius of its captain. Tobin learned a lot in those two years, and he was able to put it into practice as well. During one of the more desperate battles near the end of the war, he came up with a series of manoeuvres that drew a number of the larger Cardassian ships of the enemy fleet into an encirclement. It helped tip the balance of the battle.
It was after that battle that his captain put them in for promotion. Starfleet, desperate for more ships, had been pulling old starships out of mothballs, and Tobin was assigned to command one of them. A constellation class ship, the USS <fill this in>. The war was actually over by the time he took command, but that was alright with Captain Tobin Dell. It gave him the chance to do what both sides of him always wanted: explore.
I still have to flesh out the background but I'm going with an Andorian from a frontier colony. I'm going with veteran and he's a science officer but he's drawn unwanted attention that's gone against him career wise as he's quite publicly spoken out about the Federation's handling of the treaty with Cardassia that created the demilitarized zone feeling that the Federation negotiators should have pressed harder and assured the colonists didn't have to leave their homes.
That said although he has sympathies with their cause he has performed missions against the Maquis but has always advocated ending things peacefully where possible.
@GM SuperTumblr: I'm taking the breakthrough event as well as the Experimental Technology focus, so perhaps he came up with the theory behind one of the prototypes on the ship?
Glad you changed that avatar, Tobin. The other one was a bit silly.
I've been doing lots of reading, chosen a first adventure, and am trying to put together as much quick reference material as I can.
I've updated the ship spreadsheet. I went ahead and spent the refit points between engines, structure, sensors, and weapons, figuring that would be what they would do for a ship dug out for the war, but you guys are welcome to change that if you want. The talents given by the space frame and mission are extensive shuttlebays and improved warp drive. I threw in rugged design which makes it easy to repair. That leaves you with one more ship talent. I think you guys should choose.
In other news, we'll be going with the Hathaway bridge configuration, I think. It is a little more practical than the Stargazer one, I think.
We will be starting with the Dominion War still ongoing, as it makes a nice tie in to the first adventure. We will soon wrap up the war and move on to a broader mission.
On the character development front, we have:
As for crew, the roles the game has on page 132 are:
Command: Fobok character complete
Executive Officer
Operations Manager
Chief Engineer: Plume
Chief of Security: Cwethan
Chief Medical Officer:Vrog character complete
Science Officer
Flight Controller
Ship's Counselor
Communications Officer
Give me an idea of how much time you think you need to work up characters, and we will start working on beefing up and linking backstories as desired. I'm sure I'll have some questions as we pin down our character concepts.
Kevin, were you asking about the pardoned Maquis officer? I'm on board with that if you are interested. I don't think I ever replied to whomever asked about it.
I asked about it but since you hadn't responded I assumed it wasn't something you were keen on. I've fleshed out the idea of a watered down version, him being a bit of a Maquis sympathiser. I like the idea of him knowing that messed with his career track, having hoped to get command of a science vessel and his opinions likely not been too encouraging to the admiralty. He's focused more on research than advancing his career the last few years.
I noticed our Captain's at the experienced age bracket. How would people feel about my character Gareb th'Chiaqis being the Science officer and executive officer? It mentioned in the book having one of the PCs in a different role be the XO if here's no one else in the command track but he captain.
It might be an interesting Dynamic to have the more experienced officer advising the newly minted captain. I know first officer and captain running around together... but hey it was good enough for Kirk and Spock, and at points everyone else however I'll always have Picard denouncing it in my ear but others seemed a lot more liberal about it.
Glad you changed that avatar, Tobin. The other one was a bit silly.
Yeah, sorry, the other one was just my attempt to get the system to work properly. When I had none selected, it kept kicking me out when I tried to change pages.
I noticed our Captain's at the experienced age bracket. How would people feel about my character Gareb th'Chiaqis being the Science officer and executive officer? It mentioned in the book having one of the PCs in a different role be the XO if here's no one else in the command track but he captain.
It might be an interesting Dynamic to have the more experienced officer advising the newly minted captain. I know first officer and captain running around together... but hey it was good enough for Kirk and Spock, and at points everyone else however I'll always have Picard denouncing it in my ear but others seemed a lot more liberal about it.
That sounds great to me. :-)
It doesn't bother me to have the XO and Captain doing missions together. XO and science officer is obviously classic.
As for your experimental technology, I would suggest we choose a ship talent that represents that advance.
Here are his current talents. Studious and testing a theory are the talents that might lean to that. I'm not 100% settled on them so I'd be willing to make changes.
Here's the current draft as it stands now.
Name: Gareb th'Chiaqis
Andorian-Frontier World-Upbringing: Science and Technology (Accepted)-Starfleet Academy (Sciences Track)-Veteran Officer-Breakthrough-Called out a Superior
Attributes
Control 10(7+1+2)
Daring 8(7+1)
Fitness 9(7+1+1)
Insight 9(7+1+1)
Presence 8(7+1)
Reason 12(7+1+2+1+1)
Disciplines
Command 1+1+1 Minor
Conn 1+1
Engineering 1+1+1 Minor
Security 1+1
Science 1+1+2 Major
Medicine 1+1
Stress: 11, Damage Bonus 2,
Focus: Astrophysics, Subspace Communications, Computers, Anthropology, Experimental Technology, Justice
VALUE: The needs of the many do not always outweight the needs of the few. -Has sympathy for fringe and frontier groups like the Maquis and Bajorans due to growing up on a frontier world.
Value: From Starfleet Academy?
Value: From being a Veteran?
Value: From Finishing Touches?
TRAIT: Andorian. This trait may reduce the Difculty of Tasks to resist extreme cold, or Tasks impacted by extremely low temperatures. Their antennae aid in balance and spatial awareness; a lost antenna can be debilitating until it regrows. Andorians also have a high metabolism, meaning, amongst other things, that they tire more quickly than Humans; this also makes them more vulnerable to infection from certain types of injury. Before the Federation, Andorians and Vulcans had numerous disputes; though these issues are largely considered to be ancient history, Andorians and Vulcans don’t always get along.
Talents
PROUD AND HONORABLE
REQUIREMENTS: Andorian or Gamemaster’s permission.Your personal integrity is unimpeachable, and you will not willingly break a promise made. Whenever you attempt a Task to resist being coerced into breaking a promise, betraying your allies, or otherwise acting dishonorably, you reduce the Difficulty by 1.
Veteran
REQUIREMENTS: Veteran Officer (during character creation, or at Gamemaster’s discretion)
The character’s is inexperienced, but talented and with a bright measured and considered way. Whenever the character spends a point of Determination, roll 1 . If an Effect is rolled, immediately
regain that spent point of Determination. The character has a rank of at least lieutenant commander.
STUDIOUS
REQUIREMENT: None
Whenever you spend one or more Momentum to Obtain Information, you may ask one additional question (in total, not per Momentum spent on Obtain Information)
TESTING A THEORY
REQUIREMENT: Science 2+
When you attempt a Task using Engineering or Science, you may roll one additional d20, so long as you succeeded at a previous Task covering the same scientifc or technological field earlier in the same adventure.
PROUD AND HONORABLE
REQUIREMENTS: Andorian or Gamemaster’s permission.Your personal integrity is unimpeachable, and you will not willingly break a promise made. Whenever you attempt a Task to resist being coerced into breaking a promise, betraying your allies, or otherwise acting dishonorably, you reduce the Difficulty by 1.
Veteran
REQUIREMENTS: Veteran Officer (during character creation, or at Gamemaster’s discretion)
The character’s is inexperienced, but talented and with a bright measured and considered way. Whenever the character spends a point of Determination, roll 1 . If an Effect is rolled, immediately
regain that spent point of Determination. The character has a rank of at least lieutenant commander.
STUDIOUS
REQUIREMENT: None
Whenever you spend one or more Momentum to Obtain Information, you may ask one additional question (in total, not per Momentum spent on Obtain Information)
TESTING A THEORY
REQUIREMENT: Science 2+
When you attempt a Task using Engineering or Science, you may roll one additional d20, so long as you succeeded at a previous Task covering the same scientifc or technological field earlier in the same adventure.
Hi, this is Plume. I'll be posting my created character tomorrow. Still need to pick up the source material and look through it, but I should be able to catch up on what I need to know pretty quickly.
Fun, another Andorian!
With the timing of a Young officer and a Veteran officer, we likely won't have too much crossover in our backstories (unless you taught at the academy or we know each other through family or something), but it's always fun to have more than one of the aliens
Oh, and I'm good for the Bastion as well.
Okay, I've been looking through the starship talents, and perhaps Advanced Shields could work? It would fit the experimental technology, and during the Dominion War improved shield technology was pretty desperately needed.
Just a 4am idea that is totally off the top of my head, so no idea at this moment if it truly does make sense, but it seems to at the moment. :-)