As far as our refits go, we should be looking at computers. It's our lowest ship system by far.
As far as Talents go, Advanced shields or Secondary Reactors would be my votes.
I put your refit points into engines, sensors, structure, and weapons. You guys can certainly move them to different places. Or maybe the computers aren't completely upgraded to isolinear systems. I'm sure we can justify anything, so it is just a matter of what you guys want. Obviously, computers are important for gathering and processing info, so they will matter for lots of kinds of tasks.
I'm going to quickly redo the build and have him have gone Maquis before getting caught and getting offered the pardon later to serve on a ship.
@Jalla I'd be interested in reworking the background a little. He could have been at the academy while she was training... him running away while on leave. I'm thinking he wouldn't pull an Eddington and try and steal anything on the way out, clashing too much with that Andorian pride!
How wet behind the ears is Jalla? Is she just out of the Academy or has she a few months or a bit longer under her belt. Perhaps as a former student of his as a Cadet or Ensign (depending on the timeline) she was part of the operation that brought him in. Her familiarity and insight with him helping (and hindering a little). I like the idea of him recommending her for the Chief of Security post to the Captain, you can imagine if our Captain asked why someone so inexperienced Gareb can declare "I firmly believe without her aid they never would have caught me." She might have no idea of his stance.
If she helped take him down and he knew she genuinely felt it was the right thing to do he'd have a lot of respect for her.
Name: Gareb th'Chiaqis
Race: Andorian
ATTRIBUTES: +1 Daring, +1 Control, +1 Presence.
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.
Homeworld: Frontier Colony
VALUE: The needs of the many do not always outweight the needs of the few. Growing up on a colony world Gareb has long taken the stance that as large as it is sometimes the Federation loses focus about outlying and fringe elements in hopes to keep peace. He doesn't belive this is due to any malevolence but that the heart of the Federation has rarely dealt with the same problems of late as those on the fringes.
ATTRIBUTE: +1 Fitness.
DISCIPLINE: Security +1.
Upbringing: Science and Technology
The character’s home was one flled with the potential of science, and cutting edge developments were familiar ground. Perhaps the character was raised by scientists or engineers, or had mentors and teachers who encouraged a talent for the technical.
ATTRIBUTES: Control +2 and Reason +1.
DISCIPLINES AND FOCUS: +1 Science.
The character’s Focus should relate to the character’s favoured felds of study and inquiry. Examples include: Astrophysics,
TALENT: 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)
Starfleet Academy
SCIENCES TRACK
Somewhat isolated from the other Tracks, the Sciences track is primarily academic, with Starfleet Academy producing many accomplished scientists. Included within the sciences track, but separated by a distinct curriculum, is Starfleet Medical, training doctors, nurses, and counselors to serve aboard Starfleet vessels and facilities across the Federation.
VALUE: Decieve but do not lie. When Gareb left Starfleet while on leave he stole no materials and left a letter of resignation to be sent upon the end of his leave period. This is an example of how he might not always work within the rules as people expect him to he wont break them needlessly and if he must for a greater ideal but is never excessive or flippant about it. He will extend the benefit of the doubt to others if he believes them to believe they are honourable.
ATTRIBUTES: +2 Reason, +1 Insight
DISCIPLINES: Science +2 Major, Command +1 Minor, Engineering +1 Minor
FOCUSES: The character selects three Focuses, at least one of which should relate to the character’s chosen Track. Anthropology, Linguistics, Computers
TALENT: 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.
VETERAN OFFICER
The character has decades of experience in the service of Starfleet, and has served on many ships, and starbases. The character’s judgement and opinions are highly-regarded by subordinates, peers, and even superiors.
VALUE: He's drinking with the Klingons again! Gared never fully fit in with many of the other members of the Maquis, those from a Starfleet background were well and good but some of the wash outs or civilians turned soldiers were falling far below what he hoped for. He refused to take his ship on missions with some other Maquis vessels. This meant there were some Maquis who felt he was full of himself but he made good in roads with several Klingon captains in co ordinated strikes against Cardassian military facilities with Gareb's ship functioning as bait in many cases.
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 .
Event 1
CALLED OUT A SUPERIOR
The character was placed in a situation where they had to choose between a trusted superior and their own ideals, and chose to follow their ideals. Who was the superior? What did they ask the character to do? How does the character feel now? What were the repercussions of this? Are the details of this event on record? Was the character right?
ATTRIBUTE: Reason +1.
DISCIPLINE:Conn +1.
FOCUS: Uniform Code of Justice
Event 2
BREAKTHROUGH OR INVENTION
The character made an important technological discovery, devised a new way of using a particular technology, or invented some new technology that will be invaluable in the future.
What was the discovery, breakthrough, or invention? How will it be useful?
ATTRIBUTE: Reason +1
DISCIPLINE: This kind of technological achievement does not go unrecognized by Starfleet; increase Engineering by 1.
FOCUS: Experimental Technology
Finishing Touches
Attribute: Insight +1, Presence +1
Discipline: Command +1, Medicine +1
Value: You wont escape me this time Andorian! Decades of experience as a science officer tempered by years as a member of the Maquis helped Gareb develop a knack for infuriating his foes by finding ways to escape. This would often leave his would be hunters nursing grudges. Indeed go to the write dive bar at a pirate port and you can get details for bounties put out on his head by an enraged Gul called Neket. A nebula, celestial phenomenon or piece of the environment let him elude his captors for a long time... but not long enough.
SCIENCE OFFICER: Science department only. A science ofcer is responsible for advising the commanding officer of all matters scientifc, providing hypotheses in matters concerning the unknown. Not all ships have a dedicated science ofcer within the senior staff, often having the operations manager take on these duties. When the science ofcer succeeds at a Task assisted by the ship’s Computers or Sensors, or using a tricorder, the character generates one bonus Momentum, which may only be used on the Obtain Information Momentum spend.
Control 10, Daring 8, Fitness 8, Insight 9, Presence 9, Reason 12
Command 3, Conn 2, Engineering 3, Medicine 2, Science 4, Security 2
Stress: 10, Damage Bonus: 2
Trait: Andorian
Focus: Astrophysics, Anthropology, Linguistics, Computers, Uniform Code of Justice, Experimental Technologies
Talents: Proud and Honourable, Studious, Testing a Theory, Veteran
Values: The needs of the many do not always outweigh the needs of the few. Decieve but do not lie. He's drinking with the Klingons again! You wont escape me this time Andorian!
Personality:
Calm, a little more adventurous than before he ran off to join the Maquis.
Appearance:
Athletic Build, plasma burns from collar bone to neck refuses to let them be repaired, a soft confident smile that some would call smug
Relationships:
Enemy: Gul Neket. Gareb continously eluded him damaging the Cardassian's standing. He is also aware Gareb knows an embarassing secret.
Enemy: Vedek Baran Maiad had a younger sister called Talo who Gareb became involved with while she served aboard his ship in the Maquis. Vedek Baran blames Gareb for her sister's death.
Family: Lieutenant Zyl zh'Chiaqis, Operations officer of the USS Zheng He. Has not spoken to him or returned his letters since he joined the Maquis. Neither has she allowed him to see his grandchildren.
Peer: Captain Katsulas of the USS Babylon. A human who Gareb served alongside during the war with the Tzenkethi. Katsulas has only recently returned from a five year mission. The two men are currently reconnecting, having been out
Rival: Sebra, a denobulan female, has always been somewhat of a competitor for Gareb. She's always pushed him to new levels, he enjoys the rivalry but suspects she doesn't have anywhere near as positive opinion of him.
Ally Captain Chorgoth of the IKS Vin'Tok, the two officers gained respect for each other and often laid traps for Cardassian military ships with Gareb's vessel as the bait.
-Gareb grew up on a frontier world. His parents both scientists manning an observatory.
-Joined the academy to become a science officer
-Becomes rivals with the Denobulan scientist Sebra.
-Served under Captain Katsulas and eventually the science officer of the USS Babylon during the war with the Tzenkethi. Gareb's wife died during this conflict.
-His daughter Zyl graduates from Starfleet Academy.
-Rather than undergo a five year mission with the USS Babylon Gareb takes up a position at Starfleet Academy so he could attend his daughters wedding
-Becomes increasingly unhappy with the Federations treatment of the demilitarised zone.
-Meets Jalla at Starfleet academy?
-Goes on leave to Risa, Gareb does not return never having gone to Risa but left to join the Maquis. A message is automatically sent resigning from Starfleet at the end of his leave period.
-Gareb gains command of an old Condor Class vessel when the Maquis Captain dies during a foolish engagement with Gul Neket's Keldon class ship. Gareb eludes the larger vessel using the gravity well of a gas giant. This is the first of many engagments between Gul Neket and "That Andorian"
-Gareb hears about his grandchildren being born but Zyl does not respond to any back channel attempts at communication.
-Gareb becomes romantically involved with Baren Talo. Gareb is self conscious about the relationship.
-Gareb begins collaborating with Captain Chorgoth, much to the later surprise and annoyance of Gul Neket.
-Talo is killed by an assasin sent by Gul Neket to kill Gareb. Talo's sister a Vedek blames Gareb for this. In retaliation Gareb seeks out a hidden facility kept off the books by Neket in hopes to find something to either lure Neket into a confrontation or feed to one of his rivals to destroy his position. When he gets their however he discovers this is a home where Gul Neket has a second family. Gareb keeps the secret and leaves Neket's secret family in peace sent Gul Neket a coded message, unable to not twist the knife a little stating that "This is why we're better than you Neket."
-A federation ship (with Jalla onboard?) comes searching for Gareb. Gareb is able to evade them for a while but is hard pressed as even though he doesn't know the Captain they seem to be anticipating him. He realises after a time that he can not get his ship away from the vessel using any of his usual tricks. Gareb contacts the vessel from an escape pod, the captain had a choice, get the pod and capture him or pursue his ship but with the decaying orbit he was in they'd be leaving him to die. The captain captured him and he went to jail.
-Gareb is given an offer some time later. He can serve aboard a starfleet vessel as an officer in the dominion war and gain a pardon. Gareb accepts knowing that even reinstated he will likely never get his own command.
-Gareb makes a breakthrough/makes a prototype that is employed on the USS Bastion and is given the position as science officer and executive officer.
-Gareb suggests Jalla as Chief of Security. When pressed on why he states without her they never would have come that close to catching him. (?)
That looks great to me, Kevin O'Rourke. I like the idea of the tie in with Jalla if she is good with it. The idea of the race admiring each other for their prior conflict is a nice twist where that might normally lead to a rivalry with other species. I don't know a lot about Andorians, so that will be fun to dig into.
Advanced Shields is a big bonus. +5 to your current 13. That sounds good to me. Maybe the shields also work to partially counteract the advanced transporters that the Dominion use to beam through shields. I'll have to ponder that.
I believe we are all met except for our Chief Engineer. Let us know if you need any help.
I would love some help building out a few other members of the crew. I'm going to create the Flight Controller position, probably just an ensign, and probably a human since we have mostly aliens among the senior staff. It wouldn't hurt for each of you to create one other crewman who might be a back up character. There is a section in the rules for these characters. If that doesn't sound like fun, don't worry about it.
I love the idea of Gareb recommending Jalla for the crew. How did the rest of us get this assignment?
Sure, I'm cool with making a secondary character. I love that idea in this game. :-) I'll start working on something. Maybe someone in operations.
Vrog or Lieutenant Commander Hill/Plume, either of you interested in being an officer that Dell brought over from the USS Justice? (Plume especially might fit that, as the Cheyenne-class has the same engine configuration as a Constellation, so having that experience could be a bonus.)
I'm also happy to connect my background to anybody in any other way as well. We could have known each other on Deep Space 4, at the Academy, or any previous assignment I haven't detailed. Heck, our characters may not have met, but you could have served with Lidra (Tobin's sister).
It's also quite possible that any of the other characters might have known Dell's last host in some way. I haven't really detailed any of that history yet, so it's an open book. :-)
For your consideration, a supporting character for Operations.
Lieutenant J.G. Randal McNeil
Human
Control 9, Daring 8, Fitness 8, Insight 9, Presence 7, Reason 10
Command 1, Conn 2, Engineering 4, Medicine 2, Science 3, Security 1
Focuses: Astronavigation, Computers, Electro-Plasma Power Systems
That's a great potential intersection! Especially since I've got a Called out a Superior Officer in the major events already.
I'll put some thought into a Supporting Character too...
I like your idea about being a transfer from the USS Justice, Tobin!
I haven't posted today or yesterday because I was studying for a big exam that was really important to me that I took today. And I passed it yay! So I'll be taking care of business tonight and I'll be caught up shortly.
Congratulations! Is Hill ready to go, or do you need more time. It's fine either way, just let me know.
I think we are all good to go once Hill is built. I want to say a few things before we get started.
1. Please feel free to call me out on rules. This rules set is pretty awesome, but I have no experience with it. I'm sure I'll miss things, and I won't be at all offended if you notice something I don't.
2. I am all about collaborative story telling. If you want to make something up within the context of Star Trek, please feel free. Make up an admiral, or a planet, or a ship. Look it up on Memory Alpha or Beta and throw it in. I'm good. One of the things that I teach is improvisation, and I'm all about saying "yes, and..." Obviously, try to keep things Trek appropriate.
3. We are going to be starting in the war, and there will be some war plots. We'll use these to learn the rules, but I don't intend for the whole thing to about combat and fighting. I'm very interested in exploring the human stories of Trek. Also, please feel free to suggest story ideas or whatever. I'm here to work together, not to tell my own story.
I'm just about to finish up a rewatch of DS9, which is a great timing for us.
I'm going to hope to get Gameplay rolling on Wednesday.
I'm working on creating my character as we speak, and should be ready in the next hour or so. Excited to get started.
That all sounds great to me. :-) I'm back in season four of my rewatch, so the war stuff isn't entirely fresh in my mind, but that's what Memory Alpha is for. :-) And yes, the human side of things is the part I most enjoy.
I've also started watching Shield of Tomorrow to try to get a preview of the system in play. I have to say, I like it a lot. I'm looking forward to trying it out. :-)
Okay, *HERE* is my character sheet!
Marcus Hill is an experienced Chief Engineer with over 25 years of service to Starfleet. In that time, he's seen some incredible things, but nothing that human perseverance can't overcome. He's gruff and curt in demeanor with his fellow crewmates, but he feels an overprotective attachment to them regardless.
No one knows that better than Captain Dell, his Trill commanding officer. Though their banter is often contentious and belligerent, often lacking any formal deference, their war service together aboard the USS Justice formed a battle-bond that runs deep. So much so that when Dell was given his own command, Hill was at the top of his list for requisitioned officer transfers. Dell knows that Hill's bark is worse than his bite, and he's actually a softy that hates violence on the inside.
Marcus grew up on Earth, in a family of avionics and naval engineers. Taking advantage of the knowledge his father, a Starfleet engineer, was able to pass on to him before he died, Marcus performed well as a cadet, and was well into a comfortable career aboard the Justice when the war broke out. The rest is history now, but Hill still bears psychological wounds from the conflict.
Physically, Hill is tall, with white hair, brown skin, and a full beard and mustache. He wears what looks like a gold earring, but it's more than just an aesthetic accessory. The earring is actually the control panel for Hill's prosthetic eardrum, and has tiny controls that can be adjusted as needed. During the Cardassian war, there was an explosion near an engineering console that Hill had been trying to repair. He was rendered deaf in his right ear, and now, after surgery and rehabilitation, he has a sophisticated prosthetic in place of his original eardrum. This gives him the ability to hear in a wider range of frequencies than normal humans can, which has proven useful on a number of occasions. If you're looking at Marcus in profile, a faint blue LED light can be seen in his ear canal, showing that his prosthetic is functioning within normal parameters.
I've got my alias set up, I'll make the secondary character tomorrow.
I won't be doing any creationy things tonight (my wife loves gaming too, but not thaaat much), but I'm good to go in Gameplay, I'll post up a fuller character background and possibly a secondary character tomorrow regardless.
Okay, alias has been updated.
I’m trying to be very explicit with the rules descriptions as we go, but I realized looking back that it sounds like I’m speaking with authority. I don’t necessarily have that authority, so don’t take anything I write as gospel. I’ll also try to interject some of the design philosophy as I understand it from what I’ve been reading. At this point, players want to be banking Momentum or gaining Momentum from rolls to gain more info about a situation.
I'll bank my two Momentum for later! Anyone in the party can spend it, right?
I banked my one as well.
Also, can the Andorians provide phonetic pronunciations of their names?
In IPA it should be something along the lines of d͡ʒɒlɒ Ʒ' kd͡ʒɒkiːɹ
Blegh. There's spacing being added after some of those characters that I'm unable to remove...
Which is to say, Jalla is pronounced fairly English standard, with the a's like in the word "father" (though the first syllable is stressed so it's a bit longer).
Zh is like "vision"
Qjaqir is pronounced like the q's are k's, the j and a are the same as in Jalla, the i is like the vowel in "peer" and the r is unrolled.
Did the ship refits change our phaser type? According to the book, a Constellation gets phaser banks. On the ship spreadsheet, however, they are listed as Arrays. (I like that they are, arrays get some nice bonuses in exchange for the reduced damage, just curious how that works. I thought we only changed the attribute points and added the talents with the refits.)
That's interesting. I didn't make that change. I tried to figure out if it was something automatic, but I can't tell. There doesn't seem to be any indication of how to upgrade those systems.
Currently the ship is listed as having phaser arrays and quantum torpedoes. It makes sense to me to have the most up to date weapons systems in a ship revived to send to the front, but I can also see the appeal in playing a scrappy underdog. So I'll leave it up to the team. Do we want arrays or old fashioned phaser banks? Quantum torpedoes or just old fashioned photon torpedoes?
I'm good with the new systems. :)
I'm good with either.
A perhaps useful reference: a cross-section of the Constellation-class.
New seems simpler, and certainly makes sense.
I had the flu a few weeks ago and am fighting off the end of a bout of pneumonia. I also have a week of 14 hour days. All of that is to say that my posting may be sporadic this week, but please talk amongst yourselves.
I was thinking as part of our retrofit we might have a holodeck? Good for morale and all, it might not be up and running yet.
...also good for stories.
A holodeck would be an excellent project to work on, but it might take some doing to install all the proper holo-emitters to make a room the likes of the one on Enterprise.
Perhaps it could be a medium-term goal for us to work towards in Engineering? We could justify the expense for a warbird by incorporating some military training programs.
I love that idea Hill. It seems far too major a project to have been done while rushing the ship into service, but it could be an 'in your spare time' project to get one running. I'm imagining it will be smaller, like the ones on Voyager. Maybe even just a bit smaller. (We are, after all, noticeably smaller than an Intrepid class. Over 30 m shorter even before taking into account how much of that length is warp nacelle on our ship. On the other hand, a good portion of our space is a shuttle bay that goes almost all the way around the edge of the saucer. I'm sure we could fit a holodeck-under-construction on one of the ends. :-) )
Let's say that they loaded the parts of the holodeck in crates into a room that could be a holodeck. Build your own holodeck! That could be fun. I don't think there are any published holodeck adventures, yet, but I have a bunch from Decipher.
Alternately, you could have your own programs of interest.
Vrog is a pretty consistent poster, so I'm guessing he is under the weather. I can't seem to get over the weather. I've been sick going on 4 weeks now. It's getting old.
Very well! In Hill's spare time, he'll be working a partitioned off portion of the docking bay into a smallish holodeck. Baseline, the kit involves historical recreations of Wolf 359 and a few other battles of interest to Starfleet, as well as some ancient legends from various Federation races, including Klingon and Vulcan.
Just for future adventure design, if there is anywhere you would be interested in going on the holodeck, you could let me know. I don't want to go too far down that well. While it is fun on an episode of a show, it might take too long as a PbP adventure. But it could be fun at some point.
Yeah, same here. I'm lucky and (as far as I know) it's only a cold still, but I'm going on six weeks now. And, from the nurses I've talked to, almost everybody around here has had it or does have it. Whatever virus is going around, it seems to be a hard one to shake.
Some holodeck adventures would be cool, once we get it built. I hadn't thought of anything too interesting myself. I figured Tobin, given his interest in starship design (because of one of Dell's past hosts, as described in my last post) so he'd have some allowing him to tour famous designs, but that wouldn't be much of an adventure. :-) *Edit: You're right, they could take too long for a play by post. Though, it might work in a situation existing both in and out of the holodeck, like one of my favourite holodeck episodes (Our Man Bashir).
Anyway, I don't mind waiting a bit longer for Vrog, I totally know what it's like to be sick. Or should we keep going to keep the game flowing?
I don't think it will hurt his feelings to continue. If we were in the heart of investigating a strange alien virus, I would totally wait for him, but you guys can carry on until he gets back.
I know that I certainly would prefer the game to continue on if I had an unexpected reason to be absent for a few days. I say we press on, as players just as the crew will be.
Same here, my posting will be sporadic at best this weekend.
No, I'm not hurt if you guys need to push on without me. I've had pretty bad coughing fits the last few days if I sit up for too long, so it's been limiting my posting.
Just a quick note: I updated the current year on the spreadsheet. (It had said 2275, instead of 2375. :-) Unless we passed through a temporal anomaly or something, which, of course, is not unheard of. :-) )
I think I had changed it to see if that was automating and didn’t change it back.
Sorry, not feeling great tonight, I'll get a post in tomorrow though!
Opening comms
Here is what I see as the storytelling situation.
1. We have new experimental shields with a trait that lets them resist the advanced transporters of the Dominion. (We need a good technobabble name for those, by the way.)
2. We have several characters who are built to be good at melee and ranged combat. That suggests to me that their players want a chance to show off those skills.
3. We haven't used the combat rules yet.
So, I think what I will do is spend Threat to introduce a Complication that the new shields have a flaw, maybe the emitter fields don't completely overlap or something, leaving a crack. This gets some boarders on the ship, lets us fight them, and lets me get up to some other shenanigans off-ship.
What do you guys think about that?
Works for me! (I was sorta guessing that the flaw would emerge once our shields were under fire during the space battle, but figuring out a crack in our defenses as the opening of our engagement allows for a different and also fun scene)
Gareb is competent in a firefight, he's pretty much competent at everything with a few areas he exceeds in but him being a veteran I liked the idea of him having practical experience in all of the skill groups even the ones he is weak in.
It could be that the new augmentations are having difficulties with the power flow problems we are having.
This rules set is fascinating. It isn't often as a GM that I have to write an open ended post because the player retains narrative control to alter what happens. That happened twice in my actions on this turn. It is much more of a negotiation within the bounds of resource management to determine what happens narratively. I'm completely on board for that. I do hope it doesn't become a problem in maintaining the PbP flow.
I think that may mean that you need to be more willing than usual to alter my narration. So if I hit you and you negate it in some way, you can navigate that. You don't need to send it back to me.
Check!