Where does your TREK take you?

If I were to run a Star Trek game it would be in some corner of the Federation that wasn't actually crawling with Starfleet. Oh, there'd still be aliens to fight and new worlds to explore, but it would be getting done by planets who are defending themselves and doing the exploration on their own, rather than watching/expecting/ALLOWING Starfleet to do it. I'm interested in exploring the Star Trek universe with minimal involvement of the stifling influence of Starfleet. When planets are finally brought into the Federation, does the Federation just immediately come in and handiwipe the residual traces of their politics, sociology, and what-all? No, because the Prime Directive says they're not _allowed_ to interfere with a planet's natural development. So when a new system is granted membership they probably aren't yet up to the level of tech we see in the movies and series. They still have decades, or maybe even centuries of technological assimilation to get through. THAT's what I'm interested in seeing some of.

For example, in TOS episode "A Piece of the Action". One of everybody's favorites. The Ionians developed a gang-based culture based on 1930's Chicago because of a book they'd got hold of. Kirk sort of sets them back onto a normal course of development but says "the Feds will be back regularly to take our cut." And then McCoy leaves a tricorder (?) behind. Maybe. What does that culture look like in 100 years when it's advanced to the point where it can actually join the Federation? What if there are (gasp!) unscrupulous smugglers who regularly (and ILLEGALLY) supplied them with new technology? When a culture has it's own perfectly capable military are they required to scrap their ships and rather than protect themselves let Starfleet now do it for them? What if a culture LIKE the Klingons enters the Federation? Do they trade out ALL their military hardware and tradition to be replaced by Starfleet hardware and tradition when they join, or are they allowed - as the Prime Directive requires - to continue to largely manage their own affairs even while being members of the Federation?

I want to explore the idea that Starfleet is not the be-all/end-all of the Star Trek universe. I think there's VAST amounts of unexplored potential in the setting that is wasted simply because the focus has never been shifted off of Starfleet.

Sacrilege, I know. But that's where MY Star Trek takes me these days.

If I were to run a Trek campaign I would want to run in the TNG/DS9 era (love the ships in that era) but heavily changing canon (no Klingon peace treaty and Romulans are still mysterious).

For the captain problem I would have the captain be a party NPC. The players would decide the course of action the captain orders (with the GM vetoing anything too wacky) and the PC would executive those orders.

If I were to run a Trek campaign I would want to run in the TNG/DS9 era (love the ships in that era) but heavily changing canon (no Klingon peace treaty and Romulans are still mysterious).

For the captain problem I would have the captain be a party NPC. The players would decide the course of action the captain orders (with the GM vetoing anything too wacky) and the PC would executive those orders.

I would want to run a campaign set during the original TV series. Kirk's Enterprise cannot be everywhere at once, space is big and 3-D. Sometimes the PCs might stop off at a planet from the series, but often not.

Winston Churchill's "The World Crisis" Vol. 2 accidentally describes a good Ship's Captain NPC. The individual is rather slow-paced and prone to indecision. He is concerned with getting all the paperwork done properly, rather than with action or the mission or accomplishing a purpose. He is basically competent, somewhat older (near Retirement Age) and willing to let the young energetic officers do all the physical work. He will back them to the hilt as long as they do not do something dumb or rash*.
The PCs can be ship's officers, who can discuss the mission and options in council as the Captain listens, then he OKs any non-crazy plan and lets them get on with it.

* as in Return of the Jedi, C-3PO says "Princess Leia, I'm afraid our furry companion has gone and done something ... rather rash."

As for getting the Star Trek feel, for me, it has been less a matter of the rules or time period and more about getting the characters and challenges right.

As a Game Master, I've striven for a good mix of moral dilemmas, exploration, diplomacy, romance, and yes, occasional fisticuffs and starship battles. Any technobabble should be in service to the story.

There should be something for everyone to do, from an officer barking commands on the bridge to a lucky (or unlucky) ensign on an away mission to the Ferengi merchant in the lounge learning about Starfleet's imperfect record....

I've tried to encourage my role-players to remember that their characters are mostly professionals, teammates, and friends.

Whether you're trying to reconfigure a warp core, outwit Romulan spies, or determine whether a planetary anomaly is alive, the game -- and, indeed, each installment of the franchise -- should be fun, thought-provoking, and fast-paced.

Good luck with your own voyages, and LLAP!

https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/items/u-s-s-rotha-ncc-1993-c

EvilPheemy said:

What era and region are your Star Treks happening in? Where does your voyage take you?

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I haven't run a game in decades, but I love Trek, and I love the old FASA rpg.

I'm nostalgic. If I ran a Trek game tomorrow, I'd set during the original series. I love that time period.

Have you read the Vanguard series? It's an awesome seven book series set in that time period. It's a fantastic read.

I've wanted to run a game on the Enterprise city ship J during the mid 26th Century with the adversaries being the Iconians, the Kelven and the Parasites. The "Captain" is the ships computer and the PCs would start with a shuttle and work up.

If I were to run Trek (which at the moment looks unlikely), I think I'd set it shortly after the first section of "ST: Generations". The ship would be the Enterprise-B, just setting out on its own 5-year mission.

Because that's a relatively untouched bit of time, with lots of freedom to build; it has my favourite design for the uniforms, and because it lets the PCs have an Enterprise without being locked into the 'big' story.

(The other option I would consider would be the Enterprise-F, launched by a just-retired Jean-Luc Picard on its own mission. But I prefer the older uniforms.)

No said:

I've wanted to run a game on the Enterprise city ship J during the mid 26th Century with the adversaries being the Iconians, the Kelven and the Parasites. The "Captain" is the ships computer and the PCs would start with a shuttle and work up.

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That sounds dangerously like Ian Banks' Culture...

delericho said:

If I were to run Trek (which at the moment looks unlikely), I think I'd set it shortly after the first section of "ST: Generations". The ship would be the Enterprise-B, just setting out on its own 5-year mission.

Because that's a relatively untouched bit of time, with lots of freedom to build; it has my favourite design for the uniforms, and because it lets the PCs have an Enterprise without being locked into the 'big' story.

(The other option I would consider would be the Enterprise-F, launched by a just-retired Jean-Luc Picard on its own mission. But I prefer the older uniforms.)

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That'd be a nice second choice.
Or the early adventures of the Emterprise-C. I like the hybrid look of that Enterprise that has some of features of the D and the A.