Genius-level player characters. . .

I've run a lot of different systems and continually have problems with players who create high-intellect characters.

Normally, I get by with dice rolls and handouts, "You recall that the same elements you observe here are also found in Talaxian lake water."

But even when I send GM notes, this still sort of makes the PC into a sock-puppet for GM exposition. I find it rather. . .addictive.

One of my players (a Vulcan science officer) is showing signs that he feels he cannot contribute to the game on his own. :(

Suggestions? I'd like to hear how players and Narrators have dealt with this issue.

I've been teased several times by my players because as Tawney Madison is wont to say, "I'm doing it! I'm repeating the darn computer!".

I'm PARTICULARLY bad about this sort of thing with the Communications Officer- and coming up with things for that character to do is always a challenge.

To get around this, I've fallen into the habit (and believe me, that fall took three stunt men, four camera angles and three [s]wind[/s]...ummm....air bags to pull off) of providing them with the "raw" sensor data and allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

In our last adventure, the Klingons (our heroes) were sneaking up on a Romulan outpost believed to be harboring a fugitive wanted for collaboration with the Dominion and other vile crimes.

Rather than have them roll the dice and then announce (on their behalf) "You think there might be a cloaked vessel nearby), I gave them a Handout with a breakdown of the station (mineral and metal ratios, breakdown of various ores in the asteroid into which the outpost was tunnelled.

In the midst of this data overload, I also slipped in a small warning flag showing particle residue consistent with warp drive reactor exhausts- and a breakdown of total particle count and particle counts by known source- and the numbers didn't match up. There were more anti-matter residue particles than could be accounted for from known sources.

The science officer reviewed the data and missed it- and the Klingons blithely sailed into a trap.

The only thing that saved them was the Captain double checking the data. He caught the discrepancy only seconds before they launched their offensive and called a sudden halt to their plan.

We then had the entertainment of the Klingon captain berating his science officer (both in character) for failing to monitor his post diligently, and busting him a grade in rank.

The argument then became one of whether the cloaked vessel was a match for them or not.

The chastened science officer used the data in a fashion I had NOT expected. He substracted the known sources of residue from the total and compared the remainder to their own emissions- and concluded (correctly) that the Romulan vessel was roughly equal in power to their own.

They altered their plans accordingly and concluded the mission successfuly.

In an adventure called "A Taste of Ashes" (which may be either "published" in- or posted to- BTFF in the near future), relevant clues to the phenomemon- and to the single viable solution- are buried in these sensor scans.

As a House rule, I usuall set my Target Numbers for sensors in the ten to fifteen range (unless the item or information they're scanning for is wildly esocteric or extremely rare). A success earns them a handout with basic information (and a fair amount of filler). Each degree of success allows them to ask one additional question about the data on the sheet or the phenomenon being scanned.

This keeps the Science Officer more involved as he's actually participating in the analysis of the object in question, rather than simply repeating data being spoon-fed to him.


The other problem I've noticed (in the vein of the OP) concerns locks, passwords, and computer encryption. The rules allow for skill tests against Computer Use (Invasion), System Engineering, or even Repair in an attempt to bypass these things- but there's very little fun in that approach. Sure- the characters are challenged, but for the players, it's little more than another dice roll.

As a result, I've taken to creating small logic puzzles to present an example of the type of thinking in which the characters would be engaged.

If the players can complete the puzzle, then their characters have completed the more complex one being simulated.

Hints and clues can be won with good dice rolls.

One example of this is the following sequence:

M H A L L L L _ _ M H A L L _ F _ W A S

The correct answer is:

M H A L L L L L L M H A L L I F W W A S

The sequence represents the first letter of each word of the children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb". This one was wildly popular with one group (parents all). I'd framed it as an exercise in decryption for our Communications Officer, allowing her to "decode" an alien phonetic language (much like Hoshi does in Enterprise). I expected the puzzle to take anywhere from a half hour to complete to two or more.

Our Communications Officer blew through it in three minutes- and then confessed that she hadn't been able to get the song out of her head after singing it with her daughter earlier that day!

Another example might be:

O T _ S N _ T _ S N T

The correct answer is:

O T F S N E T F S N T

The sequence is the first letter of each word of the first eleven odd numbers ( one, three, five, seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, nineteen, and twenty-one).

A mathematical puzzle might be something along the lines of:

1 3 7 _ 31 _ 127

The completed sequence is as follows:

1 3 7 15 31 63 127

The formula is (N x 2)+1.

I've also used basic substitution crptyographs to simulate translating alien runes.

These puzzles are even more fun (and strangely enough) more popular when they're done without Roman lettering or numerals. My players love being presented ith "Alien" iconography to decipher and discern.

The rule to remember is that these puzzles should add to the fun rather than the frustration- and that sometimes your players just won't get it. Depending upon their patience and level of interest, different groups might enjoy these things less than others- but my players all seem to love the "personal" aspect over the triumph.

The final rule is to always leave yourself (and your players) an "out" so that the adventure won't be ruined by a single bad obstacle of puzzle.

Push come to shove, they can always just go with the dice rolls, right?


The problem with this approach is that it requires a goodly amount of additional preparation on the part of the Narrator- and requires a mind that is good with puzzles (which mine is not).

As a last resort, you can always crib from logic puzzle and brain teaser books- which can be had for a dollar or less at any major department store (they're usually kept with the crossword, search-a-word, and soduku puzzles).

If you've got the knack and the talent, however- and if your players take to it- it can be some of the most personally rewarding game play you will encounter in Trek- as your players know that it was their cleverness and skill that brought the challenge to a successful conclusion.