One big question

Hello everyone.

A few months back i luckily got my hands on the Decipher's Star Trek books and i've been trying to make heads or tails of them in the time i've had inbetween my studies. It's taken some time but i'm finally getting the hang of it. I've always been quite the Star Trek fan, which is odd here in France where ST has few followers, and i've been introduced to pen and paper RPGs only a couple of years ago. Nowadays i can't get enough of them and i'm always looking forward to the next session. All of which led me to the idea of combining both of my favourite things Star Trek and RPGs, now possible with these books.

The problems for me are that 1. it will be my first (real)GMing, and 2. my friends know nothing of Star Trek.
So i've been trying to find some way to break things easy for them and also for me in the star trek world. Let them play something close enough from what they know (mostly DnD, Warhammer, Cthulhu etc) yet retaining a "Star Trek feel".

My idea would be on making them play as Maquis "terrorists" for several reasons:
It will allow a multispecies group.
The PCs will have orders given to them but will be free to accomplish them as they please in the loose organisation that is a maquis cell.
It will allow me to make them stay in a localized region of space, namely the DMZ.
I will have a clear threat for the group with the likes of the cardassian fighters in the DMZ and bad guys like Gul Evek.

Also i personally like the moral conflicts implicated in a terrorist/resistance organisation such as "does the end justify the means?" "if we act in such ways aren't we as bad as our enemy?". It quite fits our period in my opinion.


So i have one question for you ladies and gents:

- How would you break people oblivious to star trek into this fold? (and alternatively, is my option valid in your view?)



Last but not least, i'd like to thank Patrick Goodman for his site from which i grabbed about everything, i also would like to thanks those responsible for the files displayed on said site and also everyone contributing to the life of the Star Trek RPGs here on this forum. I also would like to thank Sanmateo for his fantastic website which is a real help for a young (future!)GM like myself.
I plan to come back here as soon as i've finalised my first few sessions and keep you informed. Any tips/advice are more than welcomed.

First of all your choice of playing maquis is a pretty solid choice for a group of brand new gamers I think, for all the reasons you stated. I hope you guys have a blast!

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Originally Posted by Romain

- How would you break people oblivious to star trek into this fold? (and alternatively, is my option valid in your view?)

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Do you have any Star Trek shows on DVD or anything like that? If you do then I'd just pick a really good episode, order a pizza and watch it with them. See how they like the idea of gaming in that setting.
Otherwise...maybe something online? I don't know if there are any episodes from any particular series on YouTube but there should at least be a few bits and pieces they could go over really quick.
That's all I got, though. Sorry. I suppose we have it easy in the States. Everyone knows Star Trek here. :D

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Originally Posted by Romain

I also would like to thank Sanmateo for his fantastic website which is a real help for a young (future!)GM like myself.

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Very little of that material is really mine, though I did collaborate in some of it.
So, sure. I'll go ahead and take credit. :D

One of my friends has said that he'll wait to see the upcoming Star Trek(2009) movie, which, funnily enough, they had no idea was the eleventh film. I've told him (or atleast tried) that i won't be playing in that era and that i don't really know how star trek will be handled in it but i didn't get much response. So i've been thinking of pointing them out to watch one the newest films with the TNG cast (First Contact for example).

Thanks alot for the help, i'll be looking forward to your next episode with the Vigilant's crew!

Welcome, Romain!

I can't recall the specific episodes, but DS9 had some great Maquis-based ones. The one that comes to mind is where Sisko and Eddington go head to head and Sisko ends up poisoning a Maquis world to get Eddington to surrender.

Show that episode to your group and I'm sure they'll get a good feel for the Maquis and a grittier Star Trek.

Welcome aboard, Romain. Nice to see another Frenchie around here.

The trouble with playing Trek in France is that usually it's viewed as "the crappy old series with the pointy-eared guy". Having faced the problem, I would recommend the following :
- As has been advised above, if you can, have your players watch a few episodes or movies that match what you intend to do in your games and are good examples of the specificity of Star Trek (i.e. not Star Wars with phasers and poor FX, for instance).
- Quickly present the universe, the various races, the technology and especially the balance of power and ethos of the various powers.
Both of those are usually enough for the players to have a good idea of the universe.

If you intend them to play as Maquis, it could also be useful to present the situation in more detail (especially the Cardassian and Bajorand situations), and if you can have them watch a few DS9 episodes.

GMing in Trek is not that different from GMing other RPGs, so the usual advices stand. There are a few tricky cases if your players are in a starship, but since that is not the case you should avoid those troubles.

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Originally Posted by Romain

- How would you break people oblivious to star trek into this fold?

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I'd sit them down and watch a few episodes about the Maquis. And then Apocalypse Now and maybe some spaghetti westerns.