Mirror Universe idea

I'm simply spouting this off the top of my head, so bear with me...

I had a quick idea to get my players (such as they are at the moment, but that's a different story) into the Mirror Universe somehow - transporter malfunction, new technology, subspace anomaly, you know the drill.
I haven't decided whether to let them keep their ship, but regardless, the twist is that Q engineered their journey. He has been keeping an eye on the Mirror Universe, and has seen what will happen if the PC's don't intervene in a certain situation.
He shows them this - worlds destroyed, populations wiped out, general nastiness to the Nth degree, in both universes.

BUT...

The catch is that they have to work with their alternate selves in order to stop this catastrophic event from happening.
They will be forced to work with the sides of themselves they hate, everything the despise made flesh, in them. I really want to see the sparks fly.
What I need to know is:
1) Any ideas for a Universe-spanning catastrophe that can be averted?
2) Is it feasible for the players to alternate between their two selves?
3)Why would Q pick this particular bunch of people?
4) Any other comments or suggestions.

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Originally posted by Becker
What I need to know is:
1) Any ideas for a Universe-spanning catastrophe that can be averted?
2) Is it feasible for the players to alternate between their two selves?
3)Why would Q pick this particular bunch of people?
4) Any other comments or suggestions.

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1) Depends a little on the timeframe you had in mind for your adventure. If it's set during or after the DS9 era, why not use the Pah Wraiths (sp?).
The wormhole is never discovered in the Mirror Universe AFAIR, so there is no Emissary, but that would (possibly) still leave the Wraiths in the fire caves on Bajor. If they are freed they could inflict a LOT of carnage on a great many worlds, but as we have seen on screen this can be averted.
As this is the Mirror Universe we are talking about you could just as well use the Prophets as the adversaries. With all the contact between both universes during DS9 some visitor form the Mirror U is bound to pick up some knowledge about the wormhole and try to exploit it for his own gain, thereby freeing the evil Prophets who promptly enslave the population of Bajor, forming them into an army to take over the galaxy.
To get rid of them you might need a major explosion to seal the wormhole for good - like exploding the PC's (or their mirror counterpart's) ship in the mouth of the wormhole.

2) Never tried this, but allowing the players to play both sides sounds like a sure way to trouble to me. If you do it, I would suggest not to allow them to play their own 'Evil Twin', but play the mirror version of some other PC. That way the mirror characters personality would be based on the flaws the other players perceive in the regular character which could be quite enlightening for the player of the 'regular' character.

3) Why would Q do anything he does ??? The only reason Picard gets regular visits from Q is that he is the main character of the series. The same reason should be good enough for any RPG: The PCs are the stars of the series, so things happen to them. If the players ask him about his reason, how about this answer:

Captain: "Why did you pick US for this insane mission?"

Q: "I made a deal with my mirror universe counterpart. He won't interfere in this matter if I picked the most insignificant and unqualified crew for this job. Any more questions?"

The thought of really really evil Mirror Universe Q should silence any player long enought for you to just teleport them to their destination without any further ado.

4) No further suggestions at the moment, as this all rather of my head.

What if the Q are having problems with the mirror universe Organians? Or maybe the Metrons?
They might pose enough of a threat so that Q might actually ask for help. Of course, the PCs might just be cannon fodder...

In terms of neat mirror universe NPCs to use, obviously you want to include mirror versions of your chaacrters. Try to include versions of an npc that has died to show how things are different.

a mirror version of Sloan from section 31 might be a good idea. I guess he would be with the Terran resistance, wouldn't he? He might be assisted by a slightly deranged Betazoid named Suder (remember this crazy from Voyagers early seasons?) and a tough female by the name of Tasha Yar.

just some thoughts,

Monty

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Originally posted by Becker

1) Any ideas for a Universe-spanning catastrophe that can be averted?
2) Is it feasible for the players to alternate between their two selves?
3)Why would Q pick this particular bunch of people?
4) Any other comments or suggestions.

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1) Could be anything. You could use your garden varity anomolies. Perhaps one of the powerful races above are running amok, I was also thinking of a MU Trelene that could be interesting.

2) It could cause problems, but I think if you stay on top of things the players could play their counter-parts, I know I would like to try something like that. After all they made the character and background, they're the ones that "knows the evil" in their hearts.

3) As stated "who knows why Q does what they do."

4) The only other suggest I can make is to decide which version you will use, TOS MU or DS9 MU. Personally I have merged the two. The Terran Empire is still a very strong universal power under the control of Emperor Spock. The Empire is currently embroiled in the Alliance War (their version of the DW) and both sides have reached an impass, the Empire is currently covertly helping the Romulans, who were conquered by the Alliance due to their weakend state after the Earth-Romulan War (it went a little different then in this universe.)

Anyway, I hope I have been at least a little bit of help.

After a little bit of thought, here's what I've decided to pull:
You are assigned to the flagship of a new taskforce consisting of the USS Indefatigable, USS Indomitable, and the USS Impregnable. You are to accompany a scientific vessel, the USS Einstein, to a heavily-contested area of the Badlands.
Present are the Maquis, the Cardassians, pirates, and other shady characters, taking advantage of the decrease in scanning power to conduct their business. The ships are there to prevent this kind of activity, and pave the way for a new starbase.
The Einstein is there to conduct cutting-edge research into the possibility of harnessing the rampant cosmic energy into something controllable. This involves the use of a revolutionary new scanning technique. Obviously, the scanners interact with the cosmic energy and create a rip in space.
The Indefatigable moves to investigate and is pulled through, into the Mirror Universe. Q appears, and tells you that he has cut a deal with his Mirror counterpart. They have started a competition, using both the USS Indefatigable and the ISS Indefatigable, to see which universe is the best.
Thus, each ship will be dragged through as many periods of history as possible, trying to keep things as they should be, in the case of the USS Indefatigable, and trying to alter them in the case of the Mirror Universe counterparts.
The twist is, when arriving at a certain point in history, the crew will not know which universe they're in, the Mirror, or their own. After several episodes, each dealing with a different time, the final confrontation will come when the crews of both Universes realise the Qs have engineered a catastrophe that will wipe out both Universes, just to see what will happen.
The crews of both Indefatigables must work together to prevent this catastrophe from occurring.

What do you think? Be honest!

A very very minor nitpick of mine : I'd avoid using a Mirror Q. Given Q's abilities, I expect him to exist on many dimensions at once. Beside, you don't want a bad Q at large...
Either Q alone decided this contest (wich doesn't prevent him to blame the idea on a "Mirror counterpart" of him), or another Q in the same Continuum has taken interest in the Mirror Universe and they have decided to confront their favorite universes.

Apart from that, I like this idea. Although maybe the Qs' goal could not be to see how the catastrophe will occur, but more how both Crews will be able to work together to prevent this to happend - a bit like what Q did with Picard in All Good Things..., only this time with alternative universes instead of time.

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Originally posted by C5
A very very minor nitpick of mine : I'd avoid using a Mirror Q. Given Q's abilities, I expect him to exist on many dimensions at once. Beside, you don't want a bad Q at large...

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Hey, Mirror Q doesn't have to be bad. Maybe he is not that different from the 'real' Q, just devoid of emotions, cold, calculating and not an ounce of fun in him. Sort of like Q after going through Kholinar. :)

I have an idea for the Mirror Universe. This wasn't addressed in DS9 that i recall but what if you said that one reason Bajor was able to enter into the alliance with the klingons and the Cardassians in such a leadership role was because of the Pah wraiths. what if in the mirror universe the wraiths not the prophets were the one's exiled from the celestial temple. The Pah wraiths would be worsihpped on Bajor much as the Prophets are.

Just an idea. Use caution though if you use this. I wouldn't go as far as the Gul dukat stuff did on the show and make an uber-powerful anti-emissary but you could have a Pah wraith priest with some psionic powers to surprise your characters.

This idea has the added bonus of maybe the players running into the exiled "prophets" trying to set things right. Rememebr in the mirror universe, they have not found the wormhole so maybe your players can...

Monty

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Originally posted by ds9guy
what if in the mirror universe the wraiths not the prophets were the one's exiled from the celestial temple. The Pah wraiths would be worsihpped on Bajor much as the Prophets are.

Monty

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May want to edit that. I know you mean the Prophet's exiled, not the Pah Wraiths.