c57d
Lt. Commander
Posts: 169
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Post by c57d on Aug 15, 2020 4:39:23 GMT -5
A thread on another geek-site has made me think about how much focus I and other GM's put into naming the PC's starship in a TOS game. Due to RL commitmments I cannot run a game at present, and so am just brainstorming campaign concepts. But if I could run a game I would have my PC's assigned to Constitution/Starship class USS Hood (NCC1703), Motto:Ventis Secundis (Latin: "With Favourable Winds"). Shuttlecraft: Norfolk, Suffolk, Achates, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, Electra & Icarus. I chose the Hood due to it being one of the few RN ships on the list (I am English), the motto is directly carried from HMS Hood, and the shuttlecraft are named after the two cruisers and six destroyers in the Hood's taskforce at the ill-fated Battle of the Denmark straits (in which it was sunk). Just my thoughts on one starship, how do you name yours? EDIT: And on a related point. If you had a Vulcan or Andorian ship that you wanted to call " Courage" or "Logic"(for example) would you make up some pseudo Vulcan or Andorian word for that (like "USS Rant'nl'ar" or some such). Or would you just assume that the Universal Translator would kick in and just call it "USS Courage" or "USS Logic"? Obviously, a proper (person or location) name would be the exception to this.
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Post by Falconer on Aug 15, 2020 12:58:36 GMT -5
I would tend to avoid Hood just because of the excellent classic scenario, “Ghosts of Conscience” which I honestly think should be run by every group. But of course if you have a good reason to use Hood, you could easily change the name of the ship in that scenario. By the way, how dare you, Hood is 1707 (in the grand Technical Manual tradition). So how do I do it. I took slortar’s “Lifepath Generator” and modified it to taste - docs.google.com/document/d/1gpaq8GyjO541TBnFuhbGowT-GlmoEc87XGa-basIzgY/edit?usp=sharing - This provides tables for each class of ship in my campaign (plus Ptolemy which I don’t use, but players can have backgrounds in serving on it). The campaign started on a Hermes class with a Lieutenant commanding: 01 Aeolus 02 Anubis 03 Batidor 04 Bridger 05 Carson 06 Cody 07 Diana 08 Hermes 09 Quintillus 10 Revere They rolled 6 - Cody. In our session last night, one of the players having achieved Lt. Commander rank, she was offered command of a Saladin-class Destroyer: 01 Alaric 02 Darius 03 Etzel 04 Jenghiz 05 Kublai 06 Pompey 07 Saladin 08 Sargon 09 Suleiman 10 Xexes She rolled 7 - the Saladin herself!
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c57d
Lt. Commander
Posts: 169
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Ship names
Aug 15, 2020 21:03:25 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by c57d on Aug 15, 2020 21:03:25 GMT -5
Apologies, I was out by 4 NCC's!! Love your random PC ship roll system. I just wonder how you deal with the posibility that the random ship assignment may not result in the ship type you want? For me a 430 crew and 14 labs Starship/Constitution class is an ideal match for exploration (natch!) while a 200 crew Saladin is better as a patrol/ defence vessel. Or are your scenarios and campaigns flexible enough to overcome that issue?
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Post by Falconer on Aug 17, 2020 20:34:32 GMT -5
Oh, that part about rolling for ship class is only applicable for filling out characters’ backstories.
The campaign itself has a vaguely outlined trajectory based on level = rank = vessel
1 - Ensign - shuttle - 2 episodes 2 - Lieutenant - scout (Hermes) - 10 episodes 3 - Lt. Commander - destroyer (Saladin) - 8 episodes 4 - Commander - destroyer (Siva) - 10 episodes 5 - Captain - heavy cruiser (Constitution) - 10 episodes 6 - Fleet Captain - heavy cruiser (Bonhomme Richard) - 10 episodes 7 - Commodore - heavy cruiser (Bonhomme Richard) - 16 episodes 8 - Rear Admiral - dreadnought (Federation) - 5 episodes 9 - Admiral - dreadnought (Federation) - 4 episodes
This is adapted from Beyond the Final Frontier with an eye toward Starships & Spacemen and the Technical Manual. My character creation document includes this note:
“Scout and destroyer vessels officially require a commanding officer of Commander rank or above, but this provision is temporarily suspended due to ship inventory outstripping qualified personnel. However, an officer under Commander rank who is assigned as commanding officer of a scout or destroyer is still addressed as Commander.”
And,
“Dreadnoughts are planned but not assumed to be constructed till some years in the future of the campaign.”
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