Where does your TREK take you?

[EvilPheemy]

Since this year is the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek, I'm starting up a campaign of my own in the Final Frontier. Which has me curious.. What era and region are your Star Treks happening in? Where does your voyage take you?My campaign is set between the end of TOS and the beginning of TNG. 10 years after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The characters will be Junior Officers and Enlisted Crew on board the USS Horizonte NCC-1542, a Constellation Class cruiser exploring beyond the Federation frontier into the Alpha Quadrant (the Quadrant that contains Bajor and the Cardassian Union).In the past I've run campaigns set after Star Trek: Nemesis out beyond charted space, and a Klingon Campaign set just after the V'ger Incident, and a very interesting Triangle Campaign where the characters of multiple species crewed a tramp freighter smuggling cargo between the Romulans, Klingons and Federation (with the Orion Syndicate providing "guidance")

 

[khantroll]

My Star Trek game started on Orion, and stayed in the Neutral Zone area for a while, before heading out to the Taurus Reach (like the EU authors, I saw it as a less defined place where I could draw on multiple sources/times).

 

[Morrus]

I always like the just post-TOS era. Enterprise-A in service, a couple of Excelsior class ships out there, Klingons still,one bad guys, despite Khitomer.

I prefer the aesthetics of that era in almost every way. The ships, the uniforms, the general feel.

 

[aramis erak]

Most of my trek games have been (evenly split) (1) TOS-era to TOS movie era, set on the klingon border, or (2) SFU Y 165-172 Fed-Klingon border near thre Kzinti border.

 

[edemaitre]

I've played and run Star Trek games in the original series era (FASA, including the first movies), the Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager era (GURPS 3e), and most recently, in the period of Star Trek Online, almost a century after Next Gen.

https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/wikis/star-trek-restoration-notes

Our recent (D20/FATE) "episodes" have involved Klingons, Romulans, and Ferengi; the Prime Directive; and a derelict starship....

https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-1
https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-2
https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-3
https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-4
https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-5
https://vortex.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/star-trek-restoration-episode-6

Good luck with your own voyages, and live long and prosper....

 

[fredlove]

My current campaign is set in 2380, just after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. We all know about the weaknesses of that movie, but I find that it sets up a really interesting political situation with most of the Romulan Senate dead after a failed Reman coup. So the crew started out as junior officers aboard an aging Excelsior-class vessel supplying Federation outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone, and they've since uncovered a Tal Shiar plot to reclaim systems in the Neutral Zone and in Federation space that contain ancient Iconian artifacts.

I've sprinkled in some more traditional sci-fi exploration sidequests, but the campaign is heavy on politics and intrigue. Sorta going for a DS9 flavor but set on a starship.

We just finished our 10th session last night, which saw the PCs attempting to infiltrate Remus on a covert mission for Starfleet Intelligence. We've been having a lot of fun so far...

 

[Celebrim]

If I was to run a Star Trek game, I'd probably toss out much of what is considered canon (including time travel), and run a game based mainly around the original series plus some of the SFB canon.

I'd prefer a setting in either the roughly TOS era or else the earlier era explored by Enterprise, but tossing out the entire series as rather useless. I might even consider doing an alternate universe where the Enterprise was lost in space, and the PC's were commanding one of the other Constellation classes on a 5 year mission to explore, seek out new worlds, etc.

As a guy with heavy simulationist leanings, the failure of later series to really integrate the implications of their own technology and scope into the setting really bug me, and certain things like time travel are next to impossible to DM. Star Trek has always had a technobabble problem, and it just gets worse the longer things go. The smaller scale, more limited technology, and so forth of the earlier eras appeal to me far more than the sufficiently advanced technology of later series. Even the TOS era is somewhat problematic, but you can sort of get by by assuming that the various discoveries by the Enterprise go into a development lab somewhere and take a couple of decades to come to market.

 

[innerdude]

I'd be really interested to hear how people get the right kind of Trek "feel" for what they're running. That's always been my dilemma. I think Trek has loads of possibilities as RPG source material --- I've just never been able to wrap my head around how to make it feel right.

 

[EvilPheemy]

As I've played Trek-inspired RPGs over the years, I've learned that the "Star Trek Feel" is much more important than rules, or game balance. For example, when designing Vulcan characters it quickly becomes obvious, mechanically, that Vulcans are the most "cost-effective" character species in the Federation (and maybe the known galaxy outside of the Borg). But if you use game mechanics to "balance" Vulcans, you run the risk of losing a lot of the Star Trek feel. (for Example, if you as GM balance the Vulcan Intellect, and Physical stats with penalties to social interaction because they're "coldly logical", you risk losing all the qualities that made Spock or Tu'Vok endearing in the series and hinder players from emulating them in their characters).

So I recommend that Star Trek tropes should take priority over game balance and mechanics when they come into conflict.

The other big recommendation I can make is to watch as much Star Trek as you can. Look at the episodes and movies from a GMs perspective. Imagine that you're running the plot of the episode or movie as the GM with the characters being PCs in your game. Discover how the pacing goes, what the themes and challenges are, and most importantly, what works and what doesn't. When you begin to analyze the plots of various episodes and movies and eras of Trek you'll develop the "feel" pretty naturally.

Live Long and Prosper!

 

[Jester David]

I'm in the planning stages of a WOIN Trek game on the Excelsior between III and VI.
I like the lesser tech and more exploration based adventures of the Original Series and, frankly, just like the movie uniforms. The galaxy is wilder and the Klingons and Romulans are still dangerous.
The Cardasian war (just pre-TNG) might be a good second choice.
Really, the 70 year period between the movies and the next TV series is filled with potential.

When I do my mini-campaign I'll likely have the ship attacked or damaged early on. Kill the captain and senior staff as the ready room gets spaced. The PCs are the remaining officers and have to take charge. Which alleviated the Chain of Command issues and having one player be the captain.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

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.

 

[fjw70]

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.

 

[fjw70]

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.

 

[Eltab]

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."

 

[edemaitre]

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

 

[Water Bob]

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

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.

 

[No]

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.

 

[delericho]

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.)

 

[aramis erak]

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.

That sounds dangerously like Ian Banks' Culture...

 

[Jester David]

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.)

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.