Safari Trek

[c57d]

Having had a hiatus from the FASA game for over fifteen years  I am again working on a TOS setting campaign. However, ruleset and time period are probably immaterial. 

However I would appreciate the opinions of learned Trek players here.

PCs ship is just starting to map and explore a new frontier on the open edge of the UFP, away from any other major races/empires. What they uncover is that this used to hold an alien star empire thousands of years ago, which collapsed in on itself in a massive civil war. I haven't decided on the racial details yet, but I want them to be really alien ( not just bumpy head humanoids). 

Obviously they will encounter wrecked bases ships, destroyed cities etc all legacies of the war. But they will also discover a range of extremely similar species at the top of the food chain on widely separated worlds in the region. Sometimes, with quite different biochemistry to the lesser species of the world.

The reason ( which they slowly uncover) is that said alien race cultural status was based around the hunting and killing of certain totemic predators, which they genetically engineered to be seeded on a number of "preserve" worlds across their empire. And the legacy of this remains. 

However, the ultimate totemic adversary was a sentient humanoid(with bumpy head) which evolved along side them on their home world, but got hunted to extinction. And so whenever they encountered any similar races (which ST is full of) they captured and hunted them also (as the Predator film). Not unsurprisingly the sentient races in the region are pretty frightened of "people from the stars", which should make any a First Contacts rather difficult!

As I said all thoughts gratefully received.

[Starbeard]

I like it. The Enterprise wanders onto the set of Predator (or even Alien). Both of those concepts translate into RPG hooks very well.

Having the campaign map revolve around a single, long-dead galactic empire also opens up the possibility of old school dungeon crawling with phasers, if you want to go down that route.

Having the local races aware of space travel, but unable to do so themselves, throws a nice twist onto the setting. It seems like it would make the party's job handling the Prime Directive a little easier and more straightforward.

[c57d]

Aug 23, 2016 10:40:33 GMT -5 Starbeard said:

I like it. The Enterprise wanders onto the set of Predator (or even Alien). Both of those concepts translate into RPG hooks very well.

Having the campaign map revolve around a single, long-dead galactic empire also opens up the possibility of old school dungeon crawling with phasers, if you want to go down that route.

Having the local races aware of space travel, but unable to do so themselves, throws a nice twist onto the setting. It seems like it would make the party's job handling the Prime Directive a little easier and more straightforward.

Thanks Starbeard

You have certainly hit upon my basic concepts here.

"Dungeoneering" with phasers and tricorders in ruined cities and derelict starships. Facing hibernating security systems and finding the truth about the long dead empire.

Chief Science Officer uncovering the biological, biochemical and ecological interference and their common cause.

Having to overcome the legacy of the Ancient Races's hunts and interference in sentient species within it's purview. And our crew having to overcome that.

Shipwise I am considering the Ranger class scout (a FASA design). A small 30-35 crew tough little scout ship, that also packs a good defensive punch. It's a good choice (I think) for intimate, hands on problem solving.

[Starbeard]

All good stuff. I think as a table-top RPG, Star Trek really works best by focusing on that part of the Venn diagram that connects Trek, D&D and/or Call of Cthulhu.

The Ranger class would be a good ship to use. It has a small crew, decent load out and is quick on the feet. This guy has made a set of deck plans for the Ranger that I actually like quite a bit: www.coldnorth.com/owen/deckplans/m20/ranger/index.htm

They seem pretty authentic, in that he has considered the limited size and function of the vessel. The engineering section is directly behind the bridge (literally, just out the bridge door and into the engine room)!

Here's the whole list of deck plans for the site: www.coldnorth.com/owen/deckplans/m20/

[c57d]

Aug 25, 2016 13:33:02 GMT -5 Starbeard said:

All good stuff. I think as a table-top RPG, Star Trek really works best by focusing on that part of the Venn diagram that connects Trek, D&D and/or Call of Cthulhu.

The Ranger class would be a good ship to use. It has a small crew, decent load out and is quick on the feet. This guy has made a set of deck plans for the Ranger that I actually like quite a bit: www.coldnorth.com/owen/deckplans/m20/ranger/index.htm

They seem pretty authentic, in that he has considered the limited size and function of the vessel. The engineering section is directly behind the bridge (literally, just out the bridge door and into the engine room)!

Here's the whole list of deck plans for the site: www.coldnorth.com/owen/deckplans/m20/

Totally agree with you that CoC (one of my other favourite RPG's) can be successfully merged with a Trek game.

I am a regular viewer of the Cold North site and certainly love his designs. He certainly has rationalised the original FASA Ranger class Scout design and made it sing! I have redesigned that according to my personal head canon, but certainly took massive inspiration from his design.

I am also quite interested in his Federation Scouts service concept, at:

coldnorth.com/owen/game/startrek/universe/source/scout.html

And am quite interesting in developing it as a UESPA (not Starfleet) conversion of the FASA rules. I would start with the assumption that it accepts the drop-outs from StarFleet academy. So, not the best of the best, maybe the second rate?

[blackbat242]

Hmmm... that general scenario sounds kind of familiar - like the Star Trek: Vanguard series without all of the Klingon/Romulan/Tholian interplay, and with the aliens safely dead (unlike the Shedai in that series).

[c57d]

Aug 25, 2016 22:51:05 GMT -5 blackbat242 said:

Hmmm... that general scenario sounds kind of familiar - like the Star Trek: Vanguard series without all of the Klingon/Romulan/Tholian interplay, and with the aliens safely dead (unlike the Shedai in that series).

Blackbat242 you have me at a disadvantage.

I have never read the Vanguard series, however, prompted by your post, I have just Googled it and I can see the general similarity that you observed.


Oh well, great minds think alike, and all that lol !!!

[blackbat242]

Oh, I have seen that kind of thing a lot - in the 1980s a friend described an idea he had for a TOS episode (or more correctly, for a TOS comic issue) - and 4 months later an issue of the DC Star Trek comic came out with nearly the identical story - but it was not written by my friend.

The same thing happened with a friend and an idea for a "sea of grass" that would be an interface between the Prime material Plane and the Elemental Plane of Water - ships with a certain spell cast on the hull could sail through the land", which was a flat grassy plain - but people and animals could walk on it, dig in it, etc - but if a ship sailing through ran onto a hidden rock it would fill with water up to the ground level (but not sink), and anyone who tried to go out through an opening in the hull below ground level would drown unless protected by magic. Aquatic creatures could swim under the ground, etc.

Shortly after he described this, the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream commercial with the ocean liner sailing through a wheatfield came out.

[c57d]

Aug 27, 2016 5:39:15 GMT -5 blackbat242 said:

Oh, I have seen that kind of thing a lot - in the 1980s a friend described an idea he had for a TOS episode (or more correctly, for a TOS comic issue) - and 4 months later an issue of the DC Star Trek comic came out with nearly the identical story - but it was not written by my friend.

The same thing happened with a friend and an idea for a "sea of grass" that would be an interface between the Prime material Plane and the Elemental Plane of Water - ships with a certain spell cast on the hull could sail through the land", which was a flat grassy plain - but people and animals could walk on it, dig in it, etc - but if a ship sailing through ran onto a hidden rock it would fill with water up to the ground level (but not sink), and anyone who tried to go out through an opening in the hull below ground level would drown unless protected by magic. Aquatic creatures could swim under the ground, etc.

Shortly after he described this, the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream commercial with the ocean liner sailing through a wheatfield came out.

Yeah me too, it's amazing how that happens!

About twelve years ago I wrote a modern day campaign, one major part of which was an EMP like effect that took out all electrics worldwide (including car ignitions). Then a few years later the Tom Cruise War of the Worlds movie came out.

Including an EMP like effect that ....... (Please fill in the blanks yourself!)

[c57d]

Back to the campaign. I had a good chunk of spare time last night and so spent some time working on this.

I have roughly sketched out 15mm deckplans for the Ranger class, loosely based around Cold North's design (http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/deckplans/m20/ranger/index.htm) but with substantial changes.

I have chosen to interpret the bow "plate" as the main sensor/deflector, behind which (on deck1) is the bridge, which (given the very small crew and size) is far more compact than a normal Starfleet bridge. Then a centrally located computer core, before an aft facing corridor leading to an (equally compact) engineering.

The rest of deck1 is made up of the transporter, micro sickbay, recreation, labs and storage.

For the rim edge deck2 I have copied CN's concept and fitted in eight quad crew rooms and two single rooms (for Captain and Exec). And port & starboard air locks.

Deck3 holds two standard shuttlecraft (dropping straight down through dedicated doors), a cargo bay, life support, consumables 

Crew is 2 officers and 32 crew.

I am imagining two ten hour shifts, each with:-
1 Command (Captain or Exec)
1 Helm/Nav
1 Wps/Def
1 Commu
5 Eng
2 Sec
6 Sci (one Sci officer is multi-tasking Medic/Life Sciences)

Officers will be Lieut Cmdr (Captain) and Lieut (Exec) and crew Ensigns or Enlisted.

I imagine it as a cramped, relatively short range "working" ship, lacking the luxuries of the Enterprise. Probably only away from a Starbase or outpost for six months at a time, surveying a specific set of systems to make recommendations for colonisation or not etc.

That's enough for now, I now need to develop the campaign area background.

[blackbat242]

I'd like to see that deck-plan when you are finished - I might "borrow" it.

[aramis]

C57D - you are aware that the ranger class was deckplanned out by FASA?

[blackbat242]

Oct 11, 2016 2:48:05 GMT -5 aramis said:

C57D - you are aware that the ranger class was deckplanned out by FASA?

That was mentioned in the link Starbeard posted and c57d reposted - that linked site has the following comment:

The Ranger class Scout first appeared in FASA's Star Trek the Role Playing Game's Federation Starship Recognition Manual (1st edition), with subsequent appearances in the 2nd edition and in the adventure module "The Strider Incident" is the title ship, the USS Strider, NCC-7141. That adventure featured a set of deck plans, done in FASA's usual slap-dash and completely inept style. As with most of their plans, the artist (and I use that term loosely) failed to even consider how the "plans" would fit into the ship as originally designed by Mitch O'Connell. Three full decks will simply not fit into the hull envelope. Rather, you can only fit one full deck and two partial decks.

Hence Cold North's re-do of the deck plans.