The PCs are crewmen aboard a Federation starship at the time of the original Star Trek TV series. They comprise a security squad, in fact. Every session they get an assignment that's almost impossible, and the goal is to not die. If even one crewman survives ten away missions then the whole group "wins" the campaign.
If one of the PCs is taken out of the action, the squad's boss (a grumpy petty officer) beams down and takes over (so that the player has something to do).
The starship gets lots of exciting assignments, but the squad usually only hears about them. They're not playing the bridge crew; they're the grunts. I may give them opportunities to interact with events aboard ship, but the win condition depends solely on away missions.
This will be a GURPS 4e campaign, and the PCs will built on 25 points.
I'm still in the initial planning stages, but I hope to start up the campaign when my current group of secret agent elves finishes Second Darkness. I want it to feel a little bit like Paranoia, in that they care about living to the end of the session more than they care about actually doing well at their assignments. Their missions are not fair, and the players will know that this is the premise of the campaign before they sign up.
2. A derelict starship floats through space without any power. The PCs are sent over to find out what went wrong. It turns out that the ship belonged to the Orion Syndicate, and is full of traps. The PCs are ordered to retrieve the computer core, which is under very tight security.
3. The PCs beam down to a planet full of hostile monsters and are told to enter a cave system and retrieve the Federation monitoring equipment stored there.
4. At a resort planet just before shore leave, klingons attack and accuse Starfleet of having a hidden military outpost beneath the resort. The klingons send an away team down to expose it, and the PCs are sent to stop them.
5. The PCs fly a shuttlecraft full of supplies to an asteroid outpost while their starship visits another planet in the same system. They are attacked by pirates who want the shuttlecraft for themselves.
6. The bridge crew beams down to a planet and promptly gets taken hostage. Their captors are demanding anti-matter in exchange for releasing them. The PCs are sent to retrieve them.
7. While visiting a primitive planet, the bridge crew comes down with a terrible disease that will kill them very soon. The PCs are ordered to accompany the medical team to the planet and make sure that they succeed at curing the bridge crew.
8. A transporter malfunction on a prison planet puts the PCs in the bodies of prisoners and the minds of the prioners into their bodies. They are still behind bars when they see themselves beam back up to the ship, which then leaves.
9. The ship is transporting a Federation ambassador to another world. Before the ambassador beams down, the PCs scout ahead to make sure that everything is all clear. Things are not all clear. A bomb goes off and people are shooting. The PCs are told to sort things out and report back when the ambassador can beam down.
10. The starship is trapped in a nebula, and the PCs need to take a shuttlecraft out to figure out why this is the case. While they're out there, the starship shimmers and vanishes.
Any thoughts?
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"This is Captain Kirk! I need two Red Shirts to Transporter Room Two. Full Away mission Kit! Sorry boys I'm planning to run through heavy Phaserfire with a Tactical Nuke timing down to zero under one arm and a Naked space Princess under the other. So get your affairs in order." The three Security Officers in red each flipped a coin One Heads and Two Tails. The Odd one out breathed a sigh of relief. The two Red shirts who drew even headed for Transporter Room two.
The PCs are crewmen aboard a Federation starship at the time of the original Star Trek TV series. They comprise a security squad, in fact. Every session they get an assignment that's almost impossible, and the goal is to not die. If even one crewman survives ten away missions then the whole group "wins" the campaign.
If one of the PCs is taken out of the action, the squad's boss (a grumpy petty officer) beams down and takes over (so that the player has something to do).
The starship gets lots of exciting assignments, but the squad usually only hears about them. They're not playing the bridge crew; they're the grunts. I may give them opportunities to interact with events aboard ship, but the win condition depends solely on away missions.
This will be a GURPS 4e campaign, and the PCs will built on 25 points.
I'm still in the initial planning stages, but I hope to start up the campaign when my current group of secret agent elves finishes Second Darkness. I want it to feel a little bit like Paranoia, in that they care about living to the end of the session more than they care about actually doing well at their assignments. Their missions are not fair, and the players will know that this is the premise of the campaign before they sign up.
** spoiler omitted **...
One word- HILARIOUS.
Thanks! :D
The trick is going to be making sure that the players understand ahead of time exactly what this campaign is about. If they've seen Black Adder Goes Fourth then they know about taking a ridiculous situation seriously, and even though the result ends up being funny it's still deadly serious to the people involved. I want something similar here, where we know that a) they're not very good at being security crewmen and b) their superiors don't value their lives much; the reason we know these things is because they're clear from watching the show. Other than that I want the players to try to stay alive, in spite of the Paranoia feel to the situation.
I'm not 100% sure yet what I'm going to do about the inevitable deaths. It's only a ten-mission campaign, so I don't have to worry too much about "fairness" (especially if I'm really up front about everything before the campaign starts). One of the ideas that I'm pondering is having NPCs available for players who lose their characters, and just not allow replacement PCs. These NPCs would be fun to play and interesting people, but not necessarily all that good for the party.
I really think that this one is all about the player buy-in. Hopefully that won't be a big issue.
I'm not 100% sure yet what I'm going to do about the inevitable deaths. It's only a ten-mission campaign, so I don't have to worry too much about "fairness" (especially if I'm really up front about everything before the campaign starts). One of the ideas that I'm pondering is having NPCs available for players who lose their characters, and just not allow replacement PCs. These NPCs would be fun to play and interesting people, but not necessarily all that good for the party.I really think that this one is all about the player buy-in. Hopefully that won't be a big issue.
As usual this should be another rockin' TBUG campaign.
I say roll with the inevitable deaths. It is bound to happen. I think having available "flawed" NPCs to play after you die is an excellent price to have to pay.
To go one more step, allow your players to design the fundamentally flawed NPCs as a group. Their collective evil genius should lead to some interesting and amusing characters. Of course, knowing your group, they will then be in a rush to play those horrifically flawed NPCs. :P Maybe that isn't such a good idea.
CJ
To go one more step, allow your players to design the fundamentally flawed NPCs as a group. Their collective evil genius should lead to some interesting and amusing characters. Of course, knowing your group, they will then be in a rush to play those horrifically flawed NPCs. :P Maybe that isn't such a good idea.
I think it's a great idea, but possibly not for this system. GURPS has character creation flexibility as one of its greatest strengths, but also as one of its biggest drawbacks. Creating a character takes forever. Doing an entire group by committee sounds like it would take an entire session all to itself, sadly.
Here's the first draft beta squad. These are the guys the players would get if their character died. I'd have to make replacement beta squad members worse and worse for the party, of course (as existing members transferred into the alpha squad to join the PCs).
Petty Officer:
- * seems very by-the-book, but is actually by-his-own-set-of-rules
* dislikes the PCs because they have the "good watch" (ie the same one as the primary bridge crew)
* statys alert for an excuse to transfer the PCs away
Brick
- * beefy dumb fighter
* compulsively tastes random stuff
Ninja
- * thinks she's way stealthier than she really is
* favours swordplay over shooting things with a phaser
Hacker
- * slavishly devoted to the petty officer
* uses the starship's computer for own selfish benefit
Spy
- * no details yet, but is a traitor and feeding information to someone else (Klingons? Romulans? Sheliak? Tholians?)
Gun Fanatic
- * owns several custom weapons, and obsesses over which is appropriate for any mission
* uses guns for odd things (I'm picturing Homer Simpson using his to "turn off" his TV)
n.b. I want the replacement characters to be lots of fun to play; I just don't necessarily want them to be good for accomplishing party goals.
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I remember there was once an awesome Gurps Game? A Fun Scifi involving a Bar on an Asteroid, Albert Einstien, Some Aliens, Nazis in Space, and The crew of the Enterprise...
Or something like that.
Adventure Scenario: Shoreleave
"I heard about this bar from one of the other cadets during training..." Ensign Furl reached out to activate the airlock mechanism.
"On the Dark side of the Moon?" Ensign Jato shook her head. This was not gonna be good.
"Trust me!"
Ensign Dar shook his head and looked back across the exposed lunar surface at the only Transporter Pad. The space suits were their only way back. If something went wrong...
DM Briefing: The Team get shoreleave and visit a bar on the dark side of the Moon. The Transporter Pad is one hundred feet from the Bar (aptly named shoreleave) over exposed lunar surface. The bar itself is a hive of scum and villany.
I really haven't put much work yet into the stuff taking place between missions. It will be full of roleplaying opportunities, of course, but no chances to jack up the away mission count. I like the idea of exotic shoreleave, though.
So shoreleave just means taking time off someplace other than home, right? How often do ships give the crew shoreleave? Any time they're in a different port? A friendly port? Once every X days no matter the port?
So shoreleave just means taking time off someplace other than home, right? How often do ships give the crew shoreleave? Any time they're in a different port? A friendly port? Once every X days no matter the port?
Shoreleave, and any kind of leave is all part of the whole idea of "liberty". Once you hit port (just about any port), you get some sort of "liberty": the chance to get off the ship for X number of hours. The amount of liberty you get depends upon your duty rotation ("duty" is a four letter word). For the most part duty rotation depends upon the size of the ship's compliment and the ready state of the ship.
An example might be best.
Say you have a small ship, with a corresponding small crew (only so much berthing space for the crew), and your usual ship mission is something like "border patrol/Neutral Zone enforcement". A usual patrol takes you from star-port to star-port along the edge of the Neutral Zone. The time between ports might vary depending upon how amount of supplies the ship carries (the maximum time it can go between resupply) and how much of a presence the Federation needs to show in successive ports (for whatever reason). The ship might also be serving to resupply remote outposts, deliver personnel/specialized equipment/mail. Ship missions rarely serve a single purpose -- unless it is an emergency (rescue mission, etc.) -- it is just to expensive to get-underway (leave port): fuel, increased maintenance costs when under operation, crew pay (while underway, away from port, the crew generally gets paid more -- in present day this is called "Sea Pay" -- the crew accumulates this along with "Sea Time" which is used to calculate a variety of things: advancement, awards, favorable future duty stations), etc.
While underway the crew is divided into duty rotations (watches) that maintain the ship: manning various stations, doing maintenance, standing watch. Generally the day is divided into 4-hour watch periods. Again the size of the crew determines the watch rotation. With a small crew a crewmen might be standing 4-and-8's (or "4 in hate"). That means 4 hours of watch followed by 8 hours of rest, followed by 4 hours of watch, followed by 8 hours of rest -- until you die. During those 8 hours of rest a crewmen might also be expected to perform some cleaning and maintenance duties depending upon rank and "rate".
A "watch" is going to consist of the bare minimum it takes to safely operate the vessel while it is moving.
So again, crew size (and qualifications) largely determine how often watches are rotating. At any one time a watch might have new crewmen learning how to perform watch duties along with qualified watch standers.
On one of the vessels I served during any one "underway" watch we had the following:
Bridge Watch Crew (I didn't spend that much time on the Bridge, so my recollections here are hazy at best.):
OOD: Officer of the Day/Deck, generally on the bridge pretending to be the CO.
XOOD: Assistant to the OOD.
-- one of these guys is telling the helm what to do -- where to go.
Quartermaster of the Watch: Rated navigator, this is guy keeping track of the ship's course, plotting progress, etc. He might also be manning the radar.
Helmsmen: generally a very junior enlisted man following directions from the one officer giving him instructions.
Lookout: another junior enlisted man standing at a look out post watching the water to make sure the ship doesn't hit anything.
-- during a four hour watch the helmsmen and lookout will probably swap. There might also be one or two other junior enlisted men (E2-E3's) assisting with various tasks.
Radioman: tending to comms.
Bosun of the Watch: Rated Boatswainsmate, wandering the ship's non-engineering spaces making sure everything is in order. Also generally in charge of the Lookouts.
Engineering Watch Crew:
EWO (Engineering Watch Officer): either an officer with specializing in engineering or a mid-to-senior level engineering NCO (E5+). He is in charge of the engineering section during the watch -- the bit that makes the ship go and provides light/electricity.
EPO (Engineering Petty Officer): junior NCO (E3-E5) following the direction of the EWO, roaming the engineering spaces to make sure everything is running correctly, monitoring engines/generators/any running equipment.
EW (Engineering Watch): very junior enlisted (E2-E3), assisting the EPO, cleaning up spilled oil, etc.
Duty Electrician: Rated Electricians' Mate, making after hours repairs to electrical equipment that breaks (including bridge, deck, and mast lighting).
Duty Cook: Rated Cook preparing meals.
On this particular ship (a 180 foot buoy tender) we also had "day workers" consisting of a corpsman (medic), storekeepers, and a gunnersmate. It was a small ship's crew and generally in engineering we had enough qualified engineers to stand 4-and-12's.
Anyway...when you get into port the last thing you want to do is spend time on the ship. Even the most remote port warrants some amount of "liberty". The amount of liberty granted generally depends on the size of the ship's crew. For a small crew, the personnel might be divided in half, with half away from the ship at any given time. It also means that half the crew can't wander too far from the ship -- as they have to be able to get back to the ship in time to relieve the current duty crew.
Liberty also depends on how much work needs to be done on the ship. Generally, most work can be done while the ship is underway. And the crew work like dogs so that once they get into port, "Liberty is Granted". Some ports might be declared "working ports", where no or limited liberty is granted (maybe only overnight after the work day is done). Depending on the size of the crew, and the work to be done, a crewmen might get two days of liberty followed by a day of "in port" duty (watch standing, maintenance, etc.). A crewmen might also chose to augment liberty by taking "leave" (actual time off).
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions -- always glad to expound ad nausea.
CJ
How often do ships give the crew shoreleave?
About once per series. :-)
Wow, I feel so edumacated now! Thank-you, sir!
I'm going to put it in my own words to make sure I get it. After that I'll apply it to my specific campaign.
The day is divided into watches. You talk about four-hour watches, but from my research it looks like Starfleet either uses six-hour or eight-hour watches, depending on the captain's preferences (see, for example, "Chain of Command"). I'm going with eight. The "day shift" will be from 0800 to 1600, and this is when the PCs will be on duty. "Swing shift" is the second shift of the "day", and "Night shift" is the third.
The PCs will all have a really low rank. I'm not sure what their rate is, but does "generic security away team member" count? Would they go to "security guy" tech school? Or is this actual tech stuff? I wanted them all to be able to tinker with their equipment and use comm gear, so I included those skills in their template. Would they have learned that after boot camp? Does it sound like I understand what a rate is, or am I still confused?
I'd been thinking that the other squad would be on another shift and just got called up whenever a PC was out of action, but it sounds like that's not really how it works. I think they'll just be the on-call squad instead, assigned to do shipboard stuff while the PCs gallivant around (which also gives a better explanation for the resentment, I think).
My take on the bridge crew always seeming to be on duty is that the senior officers all work during day shift and helm officers always calculate the warp astrogation thingies to make sure that the ship arrives at its destination during day shift. As for the bridge watch mostly seeming to be officers (not always though; Miles O'Brien wasn't an officer and he manned the helm at least once), I figure that because the Enterprise is the most important ship it's considered the plum assignment and so officers are willing to do work normally handled by enlisted crew, or something. I dunno. Certainly the other two shifts probably have way more enlisted crew. My ship (which won't be the Enterprise) will have a lot higher proportion of enlisted people working on it.
So this brings us to "liberty". Let's say that normally in space the PCs work for an eight-hour shift, have about four hours of "ship's work" (which I assume is cleaning or other joe jobs), four hours of free time, and eight hours of sleep. (Does that sound reasonable?) Then they arrive at a port. Assuming no big jobs need doing, they'll stand their eight-hour shift and be told to be back for their next eight-hour shift? Possibly with the caveat that they should stay nearby (which in this case probably means "within transporter range") in case they're needed?
So here's how this applies to my ten missions:
1. There's a strange new world being surveyed by the ship. It turns out to be inhabited, and some of the inhabitants are friendly and others aggressive. I'm guessing that after the survey is over there will be liberty granted. I don't know if crew will be restricted as to where they can visit.
2. This mission takes place in space aboard wreckage. There will be no liberty.
3. The PCs desperately try to recover computer tech from Dinosaur Planet. There will be no liberty.
4. There's a resort planet, and liberty is expected but the PCs have to work instead. They might get liberty after their mission.
5. The ship is flying to an inhabited planet and the PCs have to take a shuttlecraft in the opposite direction. I'm guessing that everybody except them gets liberty.
6. There are hostile aliens on a planet and the PCs fight them. Presumably there are other people on the planet too, so there might be liberty afterward. If the crew is made unwelcome by the actions of the PCs then there might be other people on the ship making their dissatisfaction known.
7. The rain forest planet has no intelligent life but really dangerous flora and fauna, which nearly kills the bridge crew. I'm guessing no liberty, but I could be wrong about that.
8. The prison planet doesn't allow visitors, so no liberty there.
9. There's a big war on a civilized planet, but it's up to the PCs to calm things down. Presumably there can be liberty if they succeed.
10. There's no liberty in the middle of the mysterious nebula.
Does that sound right?
Okay, so how can I use this as a motivator? What sort of roleplaying thread can I weave into the campaign that makes the players want to give send their characters off to strange places during their time off?
How often do ships give the crew shoreleave?About once per series. :-)
Well yeah, but who knows what my players will be expecting. :) I figure at the very least I need to learn how it works in the real world.
I can't remember if it ever was mentioned in the various series, but the Trek novels mention things like Alpha, Beta, and Gamma shifts, and sometimes even Delta.
Apparently the bridge officers are supposed to rotate independently (not as a group) between the shifts. It sounds logical that they would make sure that they arrive at a planet during a daytime shift when all department heads are available (possibly making the assumption that any visit will not take longer than a shift or two).
Okay, question for people with military experience:
What sort of beef could the petty officer have with the PCs that will keep him hating them throughout the campaign but won't give him cause to have them fired? Is it enough that they get to do the planetside mission and he's just irked that his promotion keeps him shipside? Should I do something more that that?
I can't remember if it ever was mentioned in the various series, but the Trek novels mention things like Alpha, Beta, and Gamma shifts, and sometimes even Delta.
Apparently the bridge officers are supposed to rotate independently (not as a group) between the shifts. It sounds logical that they would make sure that they arrive at a planet during a daytime shift when all department heads are available (possibly making the assumption that any visit will not take longer than a shift or two).
Both ST:NG and Voyager mentioned that they have three shifts. DS9 had two shifts on the station and had four when in battle aboard the Defiant.
Okay, question for people with military experience:
What sort of beef could the petty officer have with the PCs that will keep him hating them throughout the campaign but won't give him cause to have them fired? Is it enough that they get to do the planetside mission and he's just irked that his promotion keeps him shipside? Should I do something more that that?
Hmm...
1) One of the Pcs catches him in a somewhat bad position it could easily be just caught messing around whilst off duty say reading or watching anime (see Full Metal Panic 2nd raid OAV for example on that!)
2) Is an ex of one of the Pcs current girlfriends or rather thinks they're dating and she/he dumped him/her for them.
3)Someone played a prank on him and he thinks one of the PCs was behind it (and he might be right if they chose the right disadvantage!)
4) One of the PCs dated his niece and they don't know he knows and has a grudge that he'll only act on when its convenient as in he can get away with it!
5) He's actually a shapeshifting spy who killed the original so he could eliminate his chosen target unfortunately since his superiors mixed up his mission orders he thinks he has to kill one of the PCs and doesn't know which one so he use their missions to try and get them all killed!
6) He/she fancies one of the PCs and is trying to catch their attention however they're obivious to what is really going on!
Need more?
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Okay, question for people with military experience:
What sort of beef could the petty officer have with the PCs that will keep him hating them throughout the campaign but won't give him cause to have them fired? Is it enough that they get to do the planetside mission and he's just irked that his promotion keeps him shipside? Should I do something more that that?
That's easy.
- The fact that they even exist- That they're younger generation and "all gone to hell" - no discipline, etc.
- That they've replaced older mates with whom Crusty served with and trusted but are now gone
- Its not really beef, but tough love
I strongly recommend observing Sam Elliott in We Were Soldiers.
Both ST:NG and Voyager mentioned that they have three shifts. DS9 had two shifts on the station and had four when in battle aboard the Defiant.
I remember that Captain Jellico changed from three shifts to four after he assumed command of the Enterprise-D, so I'm keeping it in the back of my brain that there's precedent to mess with people this way. :D
Hmm...
[snip six great suggestions]
Need more?
Thank-you for this!
- That they've replaced older mates with whom Crusty served with and trusted but are now gone
I'm going with this one for their immediate superior, but I'll keep both lists in mind. Thanks, hopeless and TigerDave!
My players are starting to strategize about their characters. There was even one suggestion that since only one of them had to survive that they should designate the survivor and then create five disposable PCs who could bestow some sort of boon on their companion before expiring. I feel confident that this idea won't be used (since my players are far too into roleplaying), but it was an interesting idea nonetheless.
I think that there will be some disappointment if I don't kill at least some of them, which surprised me. It sounds like they're looking forward to some truly nasty obstacles, so I'm really going to need to bring my A game.
The Potemkin arrives at Alpha Myra II for a survey mission. Historical notes indicate human colonists fled here in an old warp one sleeper ship (DY-210 class) late in the twenty-first century, and the Potemkin is to survey possible sites for hidden observation posts without interfering.
The bridge crew beams to the A Site and the captain sends some redshirts to survey the B Site. The PCs are promised that the site is completely deserted according to the previous orbital observation, but they beam into bedlam. People are screaming and running around. (soccer game? big drunken party time? political rally?)
With so very much craziness going on the PCs are surprised to find that people aren't reacting very strongly to them. The folks around them all speak English, so they can even communicate. (If the PCs immediately beam back to the ship they get chewed out for not accomplishing their mission, but they survive.)
I want there to be some sort of fight scene next, and I'd been thinking that the PCs would likely be captured and taken someplace else and accused of being spies, but maybe this would be a good time to let them win and have bad things occur as a result. What do you think? The big problem with an early win like this is that it really goes against the campaign theme, so I'd need to bite them hard. Maybe a win means that the locals declare war on the A site and start launching ancient missiles?
This sounds very much like Prime Directive, the rpg built on the ST universe of Star Fleet Battles, based on the specific rights retained by Robert Justman. Basically in that game the PC's are special named tactical squads loosely attached as crew to an assigned starship.
Yeppers, I was thinking that as well, LazarX. Though my group always prefered FASA Star Treck, Prime Directive seems like it would fit the OP's concept much better.
Greg
Thank-you! I have acquired the Prime Directive supplement for GURPS 4e, and I'm using it for a bunch of the stat blocks and equipment. The setting information is based on different canon from what I'm using (since they developed their own timeline and I'm trying to stick closely to the televised episodes). Thanks for pointing this out, because if I didn't already have it then I'd certainly be rushing out now to get it. :)
Another military question: how do medals work? We don't see them very often in Star Trek, but they get passed out occasionally. I've said in PO Krusky's public bio that he was awarded a medal for his actions during the situation that cost the life of the other security members of the away team. Does that just mean his uniform is prettier now, or are there other implications?
In the character creation guidelines I've specified that the PCs are E-1. Is it reasonable that as their supervisor Krusky is only E-2, or should he be higher?
Another military question: how do medals work? We don't see them very often in Star Trek, but they get passed out occasionally. I've said in PO Krusky's public bio that he was awarded a medal for his actions during the situation that cost the life of the other security members of the away team. Does that just mean his uniform is prettier now, or are there other implications?
Somewhat loaded question...
It really depends on the Service Branch and the type of medals being awarded. Some medals you get for breathing consistently over a period of time (Good Conduct Medals are an example of this..sort of like Rimmer's Service Awards). As long as you keep your nose clean over an extended period of time you get one. Some medals are ship mission specific: the entire ship's compliment might get a "theatre" award for serving in a specific location for a set period of time, or an award for "Best in Drill", a wartime medal, or even something like a Neutral Zone Patrol Medal. All you have to do to get one of these is serve aboard the vessel while it is performing one of these missions or tasks. Then there are the more serious "earned" awards/medals: Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Medal for Conspicuous Gallantry, etc. To get one of those you have to have earned it, been seen earning it, and in many cases be recognized as having deserved a commendation.
In the character creation guidelines I've specified that the PCs are E-1. Is it reasonable that as their supervisor Krusky is only E-2, or should he be higher?
Perhaps a bit too low in rank.
E-1 is an Enlisted Recruit. This is the rank enlisted men attain just by entering Boot Camp. Generally upon completion of Boot Camp you are promoted to E-2 (in your case SA, Spaceman Apprentice). E-2's scrub toilets, peel potatoes, paint hulls, and swab decks -- they aren't put in charge of anything. An E-3 (in the Navy is a Seaman) might be placed in charge of several E-2's (and enlisted men who due to infractions had been reduced in rank to E-1). An E-3 is generally trying to become something else -- an NCO. They might be part of a ship board work division (engineering, deck, bridge, supply, etc.) and undertaking junior tasks within that division (generally all E 1-3's are going to be part of some ship board work division).
This is of course only one scenario. Some enlisted men progress from Boot Camp right into Tech School (really depends on the needs and size of the Service). Once they graduate tech school they are "rated" (have an occupation or job) and are E-4's (NCO's or Petty Officers). An enlistee might even have applied and been accepted into Tech School as part of their Enlistment Agreement.
If your Red Shirts are designated security personnel -- they have probably had some training in such and thus would be E-4's at the very least (3rd Class Petty Officers). They would probably work for an E-6 (First Class Petty Officer) or E-7 (Chief Petty Officer, CPO) as part of a small unit/squad and might even have some sort of officerial oversight (like an O-2 being in charge but deferring to the E-6 or E-7 who has more practical experience).
Hope this helps.
CJ
Two of the PCs died in the mirror universe during the last session. Until they figure out how to get back home I can't even give them new red shirt characters to play. Here's hoping they're clever! :)
Nice idea. Looking forward to hearing more. 25 points? Yeouch!
M
Nice idea. Looking forward to hearing more. 25 points? Yeouch!
M
I got talked into 50 points.
Two of the PCs died in the mirror universe during the last session. Until they figure out how to get back home I can't even give them new red shirt characters to play. Here's hoping they're clever! :)
Don't leave us hanging -- how did they get sucked into the mirror universe? Or is there a campaign log thread that I don't know about?
Two of the PCs died in the mirror universe during the last session. Until they figure out how to get back home I can't even give them new red shirt characters to play. Here's hoping they're clever! :)Don't leave us hanging -- how did they get sucked into the mirror universe? Or is there a campaign log thread that I don't know about?
They were escorting Ambassador Gav to a planet rich in dilithium. The PCs beamed down in advance to make sure that the area was secure for the ambassador's arrival, and arrived in the mirror universe. They are currently on the run from the Terran Empire, and the mirror version of their starship is aware of who they are. A couple of the PCs have convinced rather drunk Governor Gav that they're totally attracted to him, and they're wandering the streets of his new capital city. The two PCs covering their escape died in the process of doing so.
Two of the PCs died in the mirror universe during the last session. Until they figure out how to get back home I can't even give them new red shirt characters to play. Here's hoping they're clever! :)Give them Mirror characters to play. Better than having the players just sit on their thumbs while events resolve. I know it's a month old but that's what I would have done as GM.
I had a red shirt NPC along, so one of them played her and the other played a mirror universe NPC. I agree completely; having players sit on their thumbs is no fun for anyone.