Showing posts with label FASA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FASA. Show all posts

Friday, January 28, 2022

31 Days / 31 Characters - XERET XEET

Every good Character Design Challenge needs a Star Trek entry. The question is which character to use?

After all, I've run dozens upon dozens of Star Trek campaigns and one-shots and seen hundreds of characters. I could probably fill the entire 31 Days / 31 Characters Challenge with Star Trek personas without batting a bat'leth. What I need is one that stands out because it was unique, different, unusual in some way...

Wait a second. I got it.



Character: Xeret Xeet

AKA: Lieutenant Commander Xeet

Player: Adam Dickstein and Andrew (I don't remember his last name).

System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game - FASA Deluxe Edition
 
Convention Two-Parter: The Battle of Midway

Gamemaster: Mark (I don't remember his last name) and Adam Dickstein

Circa: 1989 (I believe)

Origins: In 1989 I attended a local* RPG convention, mainly to meet with some friends and the guys I knew from West End Games. 

I bumped into a fellow I'd met a few times at my FLGS, The Compleat Strategist, who just so happened to be running a game of FASA Star Trek. He had an opening and invited me to play, knowing what a big fan of Star Trek gaming I am.

As I often do at most conventions where pre-gens are given, I waited to pick last. I've learned that most people don't like playing the kinds of characters I do, so after everyone else argues over the badasses I get my pick of the fun weirdos. Sure enough I was left with my obvious choice; the USS Midway's Chief Science Officer and Third-in-Command - Lt. Commander Xeret Xeet, a member of the Bzzit Khaht species. 

After a great first session I learned that this was a two-parter, with the second half to be run later that day. Over comes one of the organizers in a bit of a panic. The GM for Part II never showed up. Eventually we find out he was really sick - food poisoning or something - and he won't be able to run. Mark, the GM of Part I, was due to run something else in the same time slot. Without warning, Mark suggests me for the job. He sells it hardcore, "Nobody knows Star Trek or the FASA game like this guy!".

How could I say no? 

When I started Part II I made sure to have the same characters present and most were played by the same players. There were two people missing and two new people at the table, so one of them needed to be the Engineer and the other my Science Officer. A fellow a bit younger than me saw the picture of Xeet and fell in love with him. His portrayal was fantastic, though different from mine as I will explain below.

USS Midway, A Loknar Class Frigate
Mark III Refit


Backstory: The following (paraphrased of course) was noted on Lt. Commander Xeet's character sheet:

Xeret Xeet is one of the few Bzzit Khaht currently serving in Starfleet and perhaps the highest ranking to date. It is a position of great prestige and honor but one he feels pressure living up to. 

Xeet was first assigned to Scientific Research and Survey vessels for two 3-year terms before later serving one 5-year Exploration mission aboard the USS Valiant. He has just completed a 3-year mission aboard the USS Midway and has been promoted to Lieutenant Commander/Third Officer and Chief Science Officer. He now begins his second 3-year mission (within 6 months of the session). 
 
Xeet specializes in Xenobiology and Xenobiological Psychology. He studies and has knowledge of various alien life forms and how their biology affects their behavior. 

Overview: The Battle of Midway seemed a simple scenario on the surface.  

Our vessel enters a star system wherein an intelligent civilization is signaling the Federation/Starfleet for aid. The civilization is located on one of the inner planets and between us and them is a large asteroid field. It isn't too difficult for a ship like the Midway to maneuver through the field but hiding deep within it are a number of Klingon vessels. When we reached about half-way through the field, the Klingons attacked. 

There turned out to be a lot more to it however. The Klingons were well outside the Federation-Klingon Border. How did they get there undetected? It turned out the leader of the Klingon Squadron had a personal grudge against our Commanding Officer.

Why was this Klingon out for revenge against the Captain? There really were advanced aliens on the inner planet. Did they actually call for help, was that just part of the trap, and did they know more about our predicament then we did?

While a good portion of the first session dealt with Starship Combat, there was also quite a lot of Role-Playing mixed in as we get to know the crew in a trial-by-fire. I played Lt. Commander Xeet as a man a little out of his depth. He was definitely intelligent and competent but not accustomed to actual battle conditions. He didn't want to let his friends and crewmates down but I made it clear he was out of his element. 

The GM and my fellow players game me a commendation me for original thinking - heheh - but seriously; everyone remarked how well I had done at making Xeet feel three-dimensional. They said he appeared overwhelmed and flustered by the situation but at no point did I display being 'bad' at my job.

In the second half of the game when I was the GM and Andrew played Xeret Xeet, there was a lot more investigation, mystery-solving, and science as the crew tried to unravel the plots and subplots behind the ambush. Here we see a very different Xeet - one who is charged with doing what he does best. Counter to my portrayal, this is Xeet completely in his element and doing what he longs to do, exploration and science. It was a different take on the character, yet one that fit perfectly with what had been seen before.

The Highlights:

Early in the first session I made a point that Xeet's species, the Bzzit Khaht, release a somewhat offensive odor as a by-product of their respiration and underwater adaptions. He wears a deodorant that makes it considerably less powerful. I added that when nervous (breathing heavy) the odor is stronger and the deodorant less effective.  

I recall a moment in the first part [in which I played Xeet] where I responded to commands from the Captain and called out the readings while also giving additional information and ideas to other PCs. I mimed it all, physically moving like a frantic officer pressing buttons and looking from monitor to monitor. The look on my face and the quick, jerky movements I used made everyone else feel a sense of urgency. At the same time, it made our Vulcan Navigator lean in towards me and try to calm Xeret down. 

I can see the scene in my head and recall the faces of the other players. I made them - through the situation - feel tense but also implied it was specifically too intense for Xeret. 

The moment in Part II that stands out the most for me was when the PCs were arguing about what to do with knowledge that the native lifeforms on the planet were technologically advanced to roughly the 20th Century and were not Warp Capable. Did involving them violate the Prime Directive? The Klingons had essentially forced the crew of the Midway into doing just that by faking a Distress Call that made us contact the alien world. The PCs could not decide how to proceed. 

Lt. Commander Xeet walked up to the Captain and suggested that since the damage was done, why not ask the aliens how they feel about the situation. Explain the Prime Directive, note our concerns, ask the rulers what they think is best for their people. Interestingly, Andrew (Xeet's player in the second half) already guessed how the aliens would answer. He picked clues I'd mentioned indicating these beings would be overjoyed to learn they weren't alone in the universe. 

Game Info:

It was so long ago I couldn't even begin to say what his stats were, though I recall Xeret Xeet was quite Intelligent, fairly Dexterous, and far better at Science related skills than any other type by a considerable margin. 




Well that's it! Challenge Complete! Break out the Romulan Ale! It's time to move on to...What? What's that? Not finished? Sure we are.

Let me explain...

AD
Barking Alien





 


Thursday, January 14, 2021

31 Days / 31 Characters - HEREK

 The only thing more mind-blowing than the fact that it took 10 entries to reach my first Star Wars character is that it's taken 13 to get to a Star Trek character. 

What the Devil in the Dark is going on here? Am I right?

Anyway...

This character is rather special and unique for reasons that will become obvious fairly quickly. Let's get right to it...



Character: Herek

AKA: Lt. Commander Herek

Player: Allen Halden

System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game - FASA Deluxe Edition
 
Campaign: Star Trek: Gryphon

Gamemaster: Adam Dickstein

Circa: 

Origins: My dear, departed friend Allen Halden and I were driving to Connecticut to attend RobCon and it was a very long trip. RobCon was a convention, held annually, at the overly large home of our friend Rob. Rob's massive house was in a secluded woodland area that could only be reached by driving to the middle of nowhere, making a right, and then continuing down dirt roads for another hundred miles. 

I don't actually drive so it was Allen that was doing all the hard work, asking only that I help him navigate and keep him awake and focused. It was the least I could do. 

We joked, told stories, even sang, and finally started talking about starting a new Star Trek campaign. Allen wanted to play an alien Science Officer, as he often did, with each alien being stranger and more well thought than the last. For this campaign, set during The Original Series era and using the FASA system to give it that old school feel, Allen was curious to play an Edosian (or Edoan as they were known back then). 

With very little canon information on the species and some of the published non-canon information being a tad contradictory, Allen made a dedicated effort to merge all the known data and then extrapolate something totally new and fleshed out from there.

What he created was, like his other alien species developments, absolutely brilliant. The focus was the conflicting ideas that the species was very individualistic but also focused on community. How can one be about the group but also very much about themselves? The result was hilarious, thoughtful, and most of all downright alien.

He saw the Edoans as very much about the community and the greater good. Their society embraced socialism and true (not as it is normally enacted) Marxist communism. Everything was done for their neighborhood, region, province, nation, planet, species, or the Federation as a whole. Privately they were welcome to indulge their own interests, to set aside time for the self, but publicly this was a taboo and seriously frowned upon. This went so far as having Edosians experience extreme anxiety and embarrassment if publicly identified or called out for any reason, positive or negative. 

If the Federation News Network announces that Inax, an Edosian doctor, has cured an illness effecting Humans in several sectors and the UFP wants to give him an award, poor Inax will likely never live it down. How disgraceful, having his contributions pointed out like that. Better that he cure the disease and it simply be announced that the disease was cured. No need to point out that any one person had anything to do with it.

This has led an increasing number of Edoans in fields where they might gain off-world notoriety to join Starfleet. Still, adapting to the cultural differences of Starfleet life could be very difficult. I asked how we'd make that matter to his character, Herek. "We make him First Officer if that's OK with the rest of the group", said Allen. "In addition, there aren't any Edoans at this time above the rank of Lieutenant and he's just become Lt. Commander. It's all over the news." 

"Oh my gosh. It's the talk of Starbase 7! You know how fast gossip travels", I teased.

"Don't remind me. I don't know how I'll show my face back home."

Backstory: The nephew of famed Starfleet Medical Officer Inax, who now lives in self-isolation at the Medical Research Outpost on Caduceus III, Herek knew he would one day join Starfleet. It wasn't because of his drive to do so or even his brilliant mind but rather his uncanny ability to stand out and be noticed. 

Before submitting a paper on Xeno-Anthropology to the Vulcan Science Academy, Herek was careful to be accepted to Starfleet Academy first and requested the Vulcans quote, 'not make a big deal about it'.




Overview: Sadly, we only played three sessions of Star Trek: Gryphon, the campaign that saw Lt. Commander Herek as the First Officer and Chief Science Officer of the converted Avenger Class Destroyer-turned-Scout. Various personal and professional conflicts got in the way of that campaign and we had to scrap it.

While looking through my Star Trek gaming archives (yes, I have Star Trek gaming archives), I discovered that I had converted many aspects of the campaign over to Last Unicorn Games' ICON System, clearly hoping to get back to the game using those rules.

When we later resumed a regularly scheduled game the group make up and dynamic had changed slightly and we decided to run something else.

My memory of and affection for Herek comes less from how he was played than it does from the long car ride where Allen spit-balled, organized, and edited the ideas for the character. Well before we used the game mechanics to generate him, he existed in Allen's mind and mine as well. He was a well thought out individual from an interesting alien society before he saw a second of in-game action. 

Yet another reason my buddy Allen was an amazing guy. Miss you brother.

The Highlights:

There are two moments that stand out as highlights for me. 

The first was in the initial episode/adventure when Herek, after putting together all the clues to the mystery at hand and coming to a realization about what was going on, made a sort of 'Ah-Ha!' or 'Eureka' exclamation to the group and then quickly apologized, composed himself, and called the Captain into a private meeting.

In his one-on-one with the Captain, Herek divulged his findings, theories, and recommendations. Before returning to the rest of the bridge crew, he asked the Captain to down play his contribution to solving the relevant conundrum. She smiled and said she was less surprised by his request than she was at his conviction that he had the right answer. Hanging his head he replied, "I usually do", further shaking his head and whispering, "I usually do".

In the third of the three episodes in which Herek appeared he did this...this amazing thing that could only be done by Allen. Once he realized what was going on in the adventure, he would hint at elements of it to each of the other players and several of the NPCs. Over the course of the session he would make inquiries, lead conversations in particular directions, and subtly, almost imperceptibly, guide the rest of the crew toward solving the situation at hand. In the end the mystery of the episode was not solved by Herek but by the combined talents of all involved; but really mostly by Herek. 

Legacy: It has been some time since I've thought about Herek and I don't believe I have ever used him in a game post Star Trek: Gryphon. In an odd twist, I have used Inax as an NPC in a medical-oriented adventure. 

Like every character that appears in one of my games, I am sure he is out there somewhere, doing incredible things, helping people, and hoping nobody notices. 

Game Info:

Lieutenant Commander Herek

Edoan - Male, 30 years of age.

Position: First Officer, Chief Science Officer

Current Assignment: Executive Officer - USS Gryphon, NCC-D386, Avenger Class

STRENGTH:        45             
ENDURANCE:     53                       
DEXTERITY:        76                    
INTELLIGENCE:  65                        
CHARISMA:         58
LUCK:                  48
PSI:                      26

Herek's areas of specialty included Planetary Ecology, Xeno-Anthropology, and Xeno-Biology. He was quite adept with a Phaser and quite the Acrobat, especially in jungle environments.

Next up, behold the Helmet of A Thoughtful Warrior! This relic of the First Age has been donned by knights and killers, conquerors and saints, but only once by a young man from Brooklyn who would use it to become a Superhero. To become, THE HYBORIAN!

AD
Barking Alien






Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Star Trek Renown - Remastered

Remember my posts about my recent game of Ghostbusters with the guys I used to play with back in high school? You should, they're right here. Not to mention here and here as well!

Well folks, we went and did it again; assembling the various players from the far reaches of the galaxy...OK, it was three states and two coasts...this time for Star Trek! While the original campaign was 30 years ago using the FASA Star Trek RPG, we converted everything to the Star Trek Adventures game for this very special one-shot. 

The original game, Star Trek: Renown, is very near and dear to my heart. It was one of the first (if not THE first) RPG I ran in high school. It was my way of trying to make friends. At first, it didn't really go as planned, netting only a single player. Yep, we started the campaign with myself as GM and David Concepcion as Captain Logan Hendrix, the sole PC and participant. 




Over time, other people saw us playing and wanted in. Various players would join in a temporary fashion as guest stars here and there, including my friend Pete as a reoccurring villain who got a short spin-off campaign of his own. David would tell his friends about the game, which is how I got invited into my pal William's Champions campaign. 

Around this time and a bit after the campaign was in full swing, I started running other Star Trek campaigns with other groups of friends which I placed in the same shared continuity as the voyages of the Renown. The one-shot I ran at my FLGS, which Will participated in, was one such Renown-adjacent outing into the Final Frontier. Dave played the Chief Engineer and my good friend Joe V. was the Science Officer in another with my friend Nelson as Captain. 

The Renown campaign eventually saw two or three additional players join in and lasted about three years off and on. The first year we played fairly often but in the later two we had too many other games going on and only revisited Captain Hendrix and his crew periodically. Still and all it remains an absolute favorite of mine. It featured a ship with a unique gimmick (described below), multi-faceted characters, interesting villains and mysteries, and was much more 'day in the life' as opposed to emulating a weekly television show. 




Our story starts in 2285, the same year as the events in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The USS Renown, a refit Miranda Class Cruiser, is exploring an area of space near the Azure Nebula when they detect a Romulan ship on Federation side of the nebula. The Renown hails the Romulan vessel which proceeds to fire upon the Renown and then duck into the Azure Nebula in a region below the 'galactic plane'. The Captain of the Renown orders his ship into the nebula in pursuit. 

The Azure Nebula has a number of unusual properties, not the least of which is its dimensions and location. It touches the Organian Peace Treaty Zone (aka the 'Klingon Neutral Zone'), the border of the United Federation of Planets, and the Romulan Neutral Zone. It extends below the galactic plane into unclaimed territory in a bell-shaped region referred to as the Bluebell Reach or Bluebell Sector. If the Romulan vessel could pass through the nebula all the way to the Romulan Neutral Zone it could cross back into Romulan Space and there would be nothing the Renown could do. 

Unfortunately, there are a number of navigational hazards and anomalies in the nebula as well. The stellar gases and radiation of the region interfere with starship sensors and communications in a similar way to the Mutara Nebula. There are also pockets of an unknown form of energy that can neutralize a ships power systems rendering it dead in space. The Romulans seemed familiar enough with these to be able to navigate around them. The Renown was not so lucky. 

After passing through one large area of this energy anomaly the Miranda Class vessel lost main power, the Warp Core went offline, and the ship quickly switched to auxiliary power and reserve batteries. Seeing their opponent in distress, the Romulans took advantage and fired a Plasma Torpedo that struck the Renown with devastating results! The Captain was killed and much of the bridge was a mess of wreckage and exploding consoles. 

The ship's First Officer and Chief Engineer, Commander Logan Hendrix, had been in the Engine Room at the time. He assumed command but didn't attempt to reach Deck 1. Instead, he and his team began working on his plan to get the ship enough power to get them out of the Azure Nebula alive. Using the Auxiliary Batteries, Hendrix jury-rigged a system to charge up the Impulse Engines and use them to just start the Warp Core. By bypassing numerous safety protocols and re-aligning a number of power junctures the engineers sent pulses of power to the main drive. It worked! Hendrix knew that it wouldn't last long however. 

He turned the ship around and headed back for Federation space but the Romulans caught sight of the Renown and followed them. Detecting a disturbance in the gases of the nebula, Hendrix ordered a volley of Photon Torpedoes to be fired behind them. The Romulan ship was struck by only one or two but the barrage forced them to change course and they accidentally hit the power nullifying energy pocket causing there own main drive to fail. With their opponent damaged and depowered, the USS Renown limped to the nearest starbase.

That was the campaign's prologue. The first session/episode takes place a year later. The makeshift modification Hendrix designed became the basis for the Impulse Phased Power System or IPPS, specifically designed to compensate for the Azure Nebula's dangerous anomalous conditions. Three ships, all Miranda Class, were outfitted with the IPPS as part of Operation: Deep Blue, an exploration initiative to investigate the Bluebell Reach sector. 

Logan Hendrix, now officially Captain of the Renown, was placed in charge of the operation, accompanied by the USS Daring under Captain Christine McAllister and the USS Invincible under the command of Captain Stovol. Later in the campaign addition vessels were added included two more Mirandas (the USS Redoubt and the USS Courage) and three Ranger Class Scouts (the Strider, the Pathfinder, and the Rover). 




Stand out stories and episodes include:

In the first session we encountered a 'faerie like' intelligent species called the Alfeans who desperately needed our help. Their ship had been attacked and badly damaged by brutish, aggressive beings called the Hudra, whom the Alfeans had taken pity on. The Alfeans were attempting to improve the Hudra's primitive society and low level of technology. We eventually learned that the Alfeans were the aggressors, having conquered the Hudra, who were trying to rebel against their oppressors and establish their independence. Hendrix knew something were off about the Alfeans early on and played along to find the truth. 

The Alfeans would be antagonists in several episodes. 

The Captain and crew of the Renown beamed down to a desolate planet were the S.S. Heimdall, a Daedalus Class vessel, appeared to have crashed a few decades before. The planet appeared to be haunted by the ghosts of the Heimdall's crew but in truth an alien artifact was attempting to keep their memories recorded for posterity. Hendrix was able to communicate with the artifact and transfer the knowledge of the Heimdall's demise to the Renown's computer. In the process they gained extensive information about the Azure Nebula's unique dangers.

Our heroic Captain became involved in an epic quest with none other than the Norse god of thunder, Thor! During the adventure he faced the Fenris Wolf, Frost Giants, and the trickery of Loki. Eventually Odin appeared and the Captain learned it was all a game being played by a nearly omnipotent group of energy beings calling themselves the Vanir. They both are and are empowered by a rainbow hued fire they call 'Bifrost'. We would later learn there activities may have given birth to the legends of many world's including Earth, the Klingon homeworld of Q'ononS, and others.

We met a species of small, amphibious, frog-like beings who believed themselves the largest and most powerful in known space. Seeing the crew of the Renown as monstrous giants they imprisoned the PCs and then challenged them to various feats of intellect and physical prowess. It wasn't easy winning over an entire species of beings with Napoleon complexes but it was entertaining. 

On one world the Renown crew discovered a small, not completely form 'Guardian of Forever'. The artifact or being was in an early developmental stage and did not have complete control of its temporal transfer capabilities. It spoke as the one from 'City on the Edge of Forever' did but it was merely a confused child. We had Baby Yoda before Baby Yoda.

Late in the campaign (towards the end of the original run) the Renown was hurled into another galaxy by a mysterious anomaly possibly connected to the Vanir. We spent several sessions lost in space (pun intended) until the PCs were able to rig the ship's IPPS system to generate a field that imploded the phenomenon and sent them back to the Milky Way. We were Voyager before Voyager. 

We also had numerous battles with a Romulan named Commander Herculis (pronounced Her-QUE-liss) who was the former Sub-Commander of the ship encountered in the prologue/backstory. He sought revenge for the death of his own Commander who died as a result of injuries from their battle with the Renown. 

Well, now that you're caught up, let me tell you how the reunion session went.

It all started...

AD
Barking Alien





Thursday, August 9, 2018

RPGaDay Challenge 2018 - Day 9

Time to go deep...






The fourth question of the 2015 RPGaDay Challenge was 'Most Surprising Game' My answer to that is question is here

That question was poorly worded in my opinion. 

Is it asking what game that I purchased surprised me? What game I ran or played? Is it asking about the setting, the rule mechanics, a single session's story, a campaign, or what? No clue. I answered as best I could. 

Today's question is so much better as it asks 'How', as in 'in what way', has a game surprised me. This simple change makes me really think back on the games I've read, run, and played and consider which ones unexpectedly changed my thinking about RPGs.*

I'm constantly surprised by games to a certain extent. Not the eyes bulging out kind of surprise that makes you yell "WHAT THE...?!", complete with the ellipsis and exaggerated punctuation though. I'm talking about being unexpectedly impressed by what gaming can do. I've seen it bring people together, create moments of levity, moments of sadness, and a much needed release of tension and pressure. I've used it to teach English, to teach teamwork, and as a purely creative exercise. 

If I had to pick one game that surprised me more than any other [and trust me this isn't easy], it would have to Star Trek. Specifically Star Trek, The Role Playing Game by FASA, but all Star Trek gaming is included here for the purposes of this explanation. 

In my early Star Trek campaigns, which I ran more like a universe that people lived and worked in and not a TV show, I first discovered or perhaps first realized that tabletop RPGs could be about more than fighting villains and saving the day. Sure, we had that but we also had moments of discovery, investigating mysteries, and getting to know who the PCs and NPCs really were. Star Trek, far more than D&D and my Superhero games, featured truly three dimensional characters with more than cardboard cut-out friends, relatives, and enemies. 

It was one of the first games I ran wherein the players and the PCs liked the NPCs so much they were willing to protect them at risk of injury to themselves. Not in a vague 'Protect the Innocent People of This City' way you see in some Superhero RPGs, but in a direct, personal way.

I will never forget my friend Dave's Chelonian Chief Engineer trying to evacuate Main Engineering before a section of the room exploded, when the NPC Asst. Chief told him to go to the bridge. The NPC knew someone had to stay behind to activate the shielded doors that would protect the rest of the ship and contain the blast. Dave's PC said he would do it, as the NPC had a wife and a child. Besides he was the Chief and it was his duty to stay behind. The NPC insisted he be the one to do it as Dave's PC was the only one who could get the ship fully up and running after such a devastating incident and the ship was still under attack. Basically, if the PC saves the NPC the whole crew could die. After a brief altercation between the two friends, the NPC pushes Dave's character beyond the door frame and seals himself and the blast inside the chamber.

Dave almost cried. The other players needed a moment. Everyone was worried about the NPC's family.

That had never happened before. Not quite like that. Not to that degree.

I am happy to say it wasn't the last time something like that occurred.

That first time though...I wasn't definitely surprised.

AD
Barking Alien









Friday, January 6, 2017

Don't Tell Me...You're From Outer Space

Picture this...

Everyone familiar with classic Traveller will know this refrain:


Oh no! The ill-fated Beowulf is done for!


Wouldn't it be awesome if this were followed up by:


It that...Starfleet? Thank goodness!
We're saved!


I've been putting some additional thought into this project, and more so than others I've worked on, I think it sounds great, but even I am a tad skeptical as to how it will be executed.

Don't get me wrong, it's a cool idea, and I am up to the task, but when all is said and done, I have to ask myself, 'Does this work better than what I already have?'

This is a common question we in the RPG hobby ask ourselves, or at least it should be IMHO. 


Does the newest edition of a game give my players, and I a superior gaming experience to what we already have, or have had? Often the answer is easy. Sometimes not so much.


In the case of many games, I prefer older editions. I still run Champions 4th Edition (though they're up to 6, or 6.1 with Champions Complete), Ars Magica 4th, Star Wars WEG D6 2nd Edition, and my preferred Mekton is actually Mekton II (trying desperately to get a copy of the first edition).


For Traveller, I tend towards classic, original Traveller with some additional material from MegaTraveller.


For Star Trek, the tendency (by a wide margin) is to go with Last Unicorn Games' ICON System. When I feel like doing something different, I go for the older FASA game. 


Do I need another Star Trek RPG? That question came up as I discovered the upcoming Star Trek Adventures RPG by Modiphius Games. I am very excited to see that game, and happy to be part of the playtest, but I think I am more interested in the new material it will present (adventure ideas, ships, aliens, NPCs, etc.) than I am about a new set of rules.


That brings me back to Star Trek Traveller. 


Can I not run the above scenario in a previous version of a Star Trek RPG? No, I can. There is nothing in the USS Traveller's attempt to rescue the Free Trader Beowulf that can't be done with FASA, LUG, Far Trek, Where No Man Has Gone Before, or any number of other RPGs.


So why Star Trek Traveller?


I'm not entirely sure. I feel part of my desire to put this together stems from my love of both things (Star Trek and Traveller), and part of it comes from my wanting to run Star Trek this year for a group of people who don't have quite as strong an attachment to Star Trek as I do. They do have a strong attachment to Traveller though, and that is 'my in' you might say.


What it all boils down to is that I just love Science Fiction. I especially love Space Adventure Science Fiction. 

I love the idea of a diverse, heroic, good natured, and well meaning (though not perfect) group of people banded together to explore, learn, create, grow, and defend their principles against the forces of tyranny, hatred, fear, and ignorance. 

I love Star Trek.

I want to live in that future. I want to investigate it. I want it to challenge me.

I want to pass that love onto others. 

This just might be the way.

AD
Barking Alien








Monday, February 29, 2016

STAR TREK - POLARIS

For this next installment of Campaigns I Have Known, we're going to go to Warp 9, slingshot around the Sun, and travel all the way back to 1983.

This my dear friends is one of my earliest campaigns for one of my favorite games. Based on a suggestion/recommendation by my good buddy WQRobb, here is a campaign classic...

The campaign came about as the result of an impromptu RPG session thrown together because we had a few free periods at school. It was likely the result of some special assembly, or a teacher's union meeting, or some such. Anyway, for whatever reason, my friends and I had the time, we had the freedom, and we decided to get a game together.

This was a fairly common occurrence. Throwing a Star Trek game together I mean. It was our go-to game at the time. We would roll up officers, pick a ship, and head off into the Final Frontier on some crazy, ad-libbed adventure that would pop into my head.

We must've made a dozen crews, named a dozen different Starfleet vessels, and visited a dozen planets that were never seen again.

Mini-rant...Honestly, I can't understand people who play the same character every time they play a game. That, or they reuse old characters again, and again. Sure, we all have favorites. I've reused characters a number of times myself. I do it in Superhero games more than any other genre, and always after years of not using the character. C'mon people, stretch that ol' imagination. Don't be lazy....Mini-rant over.

Where was I? Oh yes...

So in this one instance, just like many before it, the players generated some Star Trek characters, and I prepared for our mission. There were a few things that made this particular outing special as I recall.

  • For some reason, most of the players wanted to play Andorian characters.
  • We wanted to use lower ranked characters, on a smaller, less powerful ship.
  • We set the game in the era of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, instead of TOS.

I had gotten a hold of a fanzine somewhere, and low and behold, there was an original [fan created] ship in there that I really liked. It was labelled a Research/Survey vessel and fit the bill of the kind of ship we were thinking about. I showed it to the group, and it was unanimously voted so strange looking that we just had to use it.

I'll be honest, I don't remember the first session beyond that. I can't for the life of me recall the scenario. I remember we had fun though. We all liked the characters, the vessel, and the speculative science, mystery-solving, 'big idea' nature of the adventure. It was Star Trek as heavily influenced by Space: 1999, and OMNI Magazine.

It was a hit. More so than I had realized.

When the opportunity to run a quick adventure came up again a few weeks later, the group asked if I still had the characters sheets, and stats for the USS Polaris, our vessel. I did. For some reason I not only didn't throw them away, or lose them (as I did so many other one-shot game materials at the time), but I actually left them in a folder in my backpack (or book bag as we used to say).

We ended up playing them again. And again. Before long, we all looked at each other, smiled, nodded, and agreed - this was our new campaign. We couldn't have planned one better ourselves.

 ***

Campaigns I Have Known
Proudly Presents...

STAR TREK - POLARIS

 Pleiades Class Research/Survey Vessel

The vessel first appeared in an article in
the Star Trek fanzine, 'Warp Factor One'
written by Don Corson - Publication Date 1976


Title: STAR TREK - POLARIS

System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game (FASA), 1st Edition.

Circa: 1983. There were approximately three dozen sessions in this campaign. Early on there was no set schedule, then by the mid-way point it was short 4-5 hour sessions once, or twice a week, and one 8-10 hour Saturday session a month.

Player Base: Our core group consisted of five male players, all about 14 years of age. Other players would pop in and out playing 'guest star'* roles on a fairly regular basis. While no one guest star appeared more then five, or six times, I do recall that one of the last sessions had about 8-9 players. It is possible that ship's Chief Medical Officer may have shown up more than 6 times, but I'm not positive.

This was actually a common dynamic in our games from 1982-1986.

Characters: As noted above, this was a pick up game initially. We had some time to kill, decided to play a Star Trek game, and threw some characters together. Oddly, one guy had been itching to play an Andorian, one always played an Andorian, and then another was like, "Hey, why don't we all play Andorians!" It didn't end up exactly that way, but it was a largely Andorian crew, which was awesome for me since they're my favorite Star Trek species.

Sadly, this is where my memory betrays me. I don't recall any of the PCs' names. I'm so ashamed.

I recall who played what type of character, species, rank, and what their position was aboard the ship. Just no names. It was 33 years ago. Cut me some slack.

Andorian, Male, Commander - Commanding Officer (played by Chris D.)

Our commanding officer was a career Starfleet Officer from a long line of Starfleet, and Andorian Imperial Guard personnel. He hailed from Andor (aka Andoria, Andor Prime, or Epsilon Indi VIII), but largely grew up on flights between his homeworld, and Earth. As such, he is especially good at dealing with other species, particularly Humans.

The Polaris was his first command, but he had spent years on a Miranda Class (called an Anton Class in the old FASA game) that had performed exploration missions near the Klingon border. The commander was not a fan of the Klingons.

Andorian, Male, Lt. Commander - First Officer/Chief Helmsman (played by ?)

(I sadly can't recall who played this character, which is very strange. A true, and slightly scary sign that I'm getting old. Also, that this was a long time ago. How can I not remember who played the First Officer? I remember the character, just not the player. So odd.).

A more disciplined, by-the-book fellow than his Commanding Officer, the First Officer was an excellent military man, having engaged in a number of conflicts while serving on his previous post (a Scout/Destroyer if I recall). His best skills are Starship Weaponry, Shields, and Ship-To-Ship Tactics.

The First Officer grew up on an Andorian colony some distance from Earth, and was unfamiliar with other species prior to attending Starfleet Academy.

Human, Male, Lieutenant  - Chief Science Officer (played by David F.)
 
The only Human being about the USS Polaris, the Chief Science Officer initially experiences quite a bit of resentment, and resistance from his fellow crewmembers. Recommended to the position by the former Andorian, Chief Science Officer, now retired, much of the staff of the Polaris felt the position should be awarded to another Andorian.

Through perseverance, skill, and confidence, the Science Officer turns things around, gaining the friendship, and admiration of his peers, and subordinates alike. He has a possible [off screen] romance with the Asst. Chief Helm Officer (a PC guest star).

Megarite, Male, Lieutenant - Chief Engineer (played by Joe C.)

The other non-Andorian member on the command crew was the ship's Chief Engineer, a Megarite. Megarites are an humanoid, aquatic mammalian species, similar to Terran Whales. They communicate through bellows of varying tones, volumes, and frequencies. While they normally  breathe air, they do have gill-like membranes that can extract oxygen from water for a limited time. His skin was similar to the hide of a Terran rhinoceros.

The Chief Engineer was warm, gregarious, and saw the crew as extended family.


Megarite
Concept Art and Costuming
from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)


Andorian, Male, Chief Petty Officer - Chief of Security (played by Bruce D.)

Our toughest customer in personal combat was no doubt our Chief of Security. Well versed in the use of his fists, feet, swords, phasers, and demolitions, this guy meant serious business.

Hailing from a failed colony world and having something of a checkered past, this guy was given a chance by the Polaris' Commanding Officer and the two are old friends.

Guest Stars Included:

A Female, Andorian, Helmsman - Lt. Junior Grade -  who covered for the First Officer when he was on landing parties. She was identified as the Assistant Chief Helmsman.


Illustration by Adam Cotnam.
Coloring By Adam Dickstein (that's me!)


An Andorian, Male, Shuttlecraft Pilot who also sometimes doubled as a Navigator on the bridge.

Andorian, Male, Doctor - Chief Medical Officer of the USS Polaris. He was a Guest Star, but joined us for a good number of sessions (probably 6, but maybe more). He was often used as an NPC while the player was not around (one of the first times I did that).

While the bridge/command crew only had two non-Andorians, there were a few others onboard. Roughly 5% of the total crew compliment of around 175 crewmembers were not Andorian.

Some other guest stars were:

A Male, Vulcan, Geologist who desperately wanted to be reassigned because of how cold the ship was (we decided Andorian 'room temperature' is considerably lower than Human standards).

A Female, Caitian, Bio-chemist. Also something of a nurse/field medic.

A Male, Zaranite, Engineer specializing in Phaser technology.

Synopsis: There was no real overarching metaplot in this campaign. Instead, I used a very sandbox approach, letting the Commander and crew choose which planets they wanted to study in an area of space not too far from the Organian Treaty Zone, and therefore the Klingon Empire.

Klingons were the main antagonists (one of my rare campaigns that used them much), but other reoccurring opponents included Orion Pirates, the Gorn, and an original species of weird, 'War of the Worlds Martian' type squid things.

Most of the sessions focused on some heady science fiction concept, not unlike the original Star Trek series, but in some ways more like Space: 1999, or Red Dwarf. That is, it was less about the moral, and social issues of the time, and more about exploring scientific theories, and 'What If?'s.

Appendix N: Obviously the original Star Trek television series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were the primary influences.

Additionally, a major inspiration for the campaigns' individual adventures came from articles in OMNI Magazine. Various classic Science Fiction novels and short stories, such as those by Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Alfred Bester, and others, were also a source of scenario ideas.

Bonus Features:

We really had a great layout for the interior of the USS Polaris. It had an unusual bridge design created by my friend Joe and myself. We mapped out a good portion of the ship including the Sickbay, Shuttle Bay, Engine Room, Mess Hall, and major laboratories.

The ship started with two standard Shuttlecraft but later we modified one into an original design that was more like a mini-scout ship.

I was reading a lot of scientific books, and magazines at the time and this also influenced the type of adventures we had.

The campaign never had a definitive ending. I don't recall what happened to make us change games, but it was probably no more weighty an event than we found a new game we really want to try.

*I'm wondering if I should do a post in the near future on 'Guest Stars', a gaming tool I've been using for years that enables people to drop in, and out of campaigns easily.

Any interest in that? Does anyone else have that as part of their games?

See you again soon!

Oh wait! Happy Leap Day! Hurray for the end of the month of February >_<

Also, Happy Birthday Superman!

AD
Barking Alien





Sunday, August 31, 2014

RPGaDay Challenge - Day 31 - Favorite RPG of All Time

Day 31 - Favorite RPG of All Time

Well this is it, the last entry for the RPGaDay Blogfest Challenge. The big finish. The Grand Finale!

Hard to believe I made it to the end. As my good friend F. Douglas Wall noted, I've tried to do a number of these in the past and mostly failed. Not this time. This time I had insomnia, a slow work schedule, and a few tricks up my sleeve to get me through.

Now I've come to the end, and I get asked the big question. What is my all time favorite Role Playing Game.

I went looking through my past entries on this blog to see if I've mentioned it before, and you know what I discovered? I'm rather non-committal on the subject. Oh, I've listed my top 5 or 10, 'in no particular order', or mentioned a number of games that are, 'among my favorites', but I've never really stated my favorite game unequivocally.

Part of the reason for that is that unlike some GMs and players, I just can't keep playing the same game forever. I get bored. I get ideas that don't necessarily fit the story or genre I am currently running. I save these ideas, and use them later when I run a different game. As much as I may love a particular game, there are other games I want to play and new games I want to try.

I think of it like my favorite foods. I love sushi and sashimi, but even I can't eat sushi three meals a days for the rest of my life. I'd go bonkers.

That said, I do love sushi and sashimi. I do have a favorite food. I have a favorite musician/singer (David Bowie), a favorite color (Emerald Green), and a favorite superhero (Hal Jordan, Green Lantern).

So I must have a favorite RPG.

And I do.



STAR TREK Roleplaying Game
ICON System, By Last Unicorn Games
 
 
Long before I ever played a role playing game, I played Star Trek. Sometimes it was with the MEGO Action Figures, sometimes it was with the play accessories available (Light up Phaser, Walkie-Talkie Communicators, Cheap Plastic Tricorder), enabling us to play Starfleet and Klingons instead of 'Cowboys and Indians' or 'Cops and Robbers'.
 
Fact is, my friends and I, especially myself and my best friend at the time, Joe, were just crazy for Star Trek. We imagined how amazing it would be to explore outer space in a cool starship, fighting evil aliens, and get pretty girls in glittery, silver, lame' to dig how awesome we were.
 
When the FASA game came out I totally fell in love with it. It is still up there, a favorite with a very special, sentimental place in my heart.
 
As time marched on, and I experienced a host of different rules systems and approaches to gaming, I found FASA worked, and worked well, but I wished it was smoother, sleeker, and more cinematic. I wished it was more like West End Games' Star Wars game, without actually being that game.
 
If you've got a better description of Last Unicorn's ICON System Star Trek game, I'd love to hear it. To me, this game is the perfect middle ground between the obsessive detail we Star Trek fans love, while at the same time being simple, straight forward and flexible enough to remind us, yeah, this was a TV show. Lighten up jack!
 
I mentioned in the entry 'Day 18 - Favorite Game System' that the WEG D6 Star Wars game is similar to the ICON System Star Trek game mechanically. Star Wars hits that perfect sweet spot I am forever searching for between crunch and complexity and feel and atmosphere. Star Trek comes in a very close second, but it has the added benefit of being, well, Star Trek.
 
Moreover, it just does what I need it to do. It lets me run the kind of Star Trek game I want to run, with the kind of characters that fit the setting. It builds stories and subplots right from character creation on forward. The game is also pretty easy to mess with, and that is a major plus for me. It's not difficult to add to the game. New ships, new aliens, and even new overlays (professions/classes) are fairly simple to construct.

  
The USS Renown, A Miranda Class Variant CGI
Created by a friend for one of my LUG Star Trek Campaigns
 
 
Did I mention that it's Star Trek? Because, ya'know, it's Star Trek.
 
Star Trek for me is the ultimate RPG setting. It does everything I like.
 
The player characters begin the game capable, with a bit of detail. They don't start out as quickly named nothings, born a few seconds ago with no past, or knowledge of what they are doing, and why.
 
Everyone knows why they and everyone else is there. They may have different personal interests, goals, and mistakes from the past they'd rather leave behind, but they all know their characters share a future. They are boldly going where no one has gone before. They are going to defend the institution and ideals of the United Federation of Planets. They are going to seek out new life forms and civilizations. Cool. Nobody is trying to get revenge on anyone else in the group. No one is trying to get the most money. We don't use money exactly. It's complicated.
 
I really love that you all share the same overall goal, but your individual goals can be very different.
 
The Captain hopes to make Admiral so he can be stationed at a Starbase and move his family out to be with him. He misses the wife and kids so much. The First Officer is looking to get her own command and while she wouldn't mind taking over the ship from the Captain if he's promoted, she would love to take charge of one of those new Vesta Class Starships. The Chief Engineer isn't impressed by the flashy Vesta Class. He has his own design he's been working on. If he could just get it to the right person in Starfleet, he knows they'll approve its production. The Doctor only really joined to get access to Starfleet medical records and technology. She hopes to cure the plague outbreaks in the Chimera Angora System. She lost a lot of relatives to that illness and it still remains a threat. 
 
Another thing I like about running and playing Star Trek? No murderhobos! You live on the starship until you get to go home to Earth, Andor, Vulcan, the Vega Colony, or wherever. You aren't there to kill things, though it may be necessary to do so if the lives of your crew, or the safety of your vessel is threatened. You are not there to steal from people. You are there to learn, teach, spread the concepts, and peaceful message of the Federation and perhaps, in the process, get a new prospective on what it means to be Human.
 
Who's in charge here? The Captain! The party works as a team with a definitive team leader having the final say. Make is so!
 
There are just so many elements of running and playing in the Star Trek universe that I love, there is not way this would not be my favorite game.
 
Which makes me all the sadder that I am not running right now, nor have I been able to get a regular game of it going for some time. Sigh.
 
Still, I am scheduled to run of one shot of it for my bi-weekly group, so we'll see what happens.
  
There are always possibilities my friend Spock said...
 
AD
Barking Alien