Welcome to Bridgetown

I've been thinking about using Bridgetown myself. My thought for scale was BIG ...awe-inspiring big. This is just the arch over the chasm, itself. More than large enough to keep most people busy just looking around the place...

Of course, it's nothing compared to the catacombs on either side that Gnol & his bunch are keeping from the general population. And why is that? Cause their's some there that, once unlocked/ deengineered/whatever can change the galaxy -- technologically, politically, etc. And make whoever controls it the grand poobah of the galaxy/universe/existence. (Gives you the chance to use Q at some point to stop them from destroying everything .

I really like this idea!

Sufficiently distinct from DS9 to be interesting in its own right... And I love the names!

Personally, I'd put it more than a couple of days from civilised space. I'd want to make sure the SF players were well away from StarFleet help if there was a problem, although you could have an explorer class vessel in the area to provide help if it was needed - distance and availability governed by plot.

Such a vessel could also make for an interesting PC/NPC rivalry, which always spices the game up a little!

With more civilian-oriented characters, a small charter vessel and lots of primitive alien populaces in the area, you can have a 24th century revival of Tales of the Gold Monkey too... (I'm sure I mentioned that series before, but I did love it as a kid!)

--- Bridge Town Plot Device/Hook --

Transmitter Down.

Someone or somethings have caused the three accessible subspace communications relays from this area to Federation Space to cease to function. Even the Starfleet personnel need to "buy" transmission time and data baud and storage from a local Civilian unaffiliated source. Of course it's a big priority to reestablish independent communications...but who is to say the fed comm relay won't have more problems? Perhaps the independent comms broker won't sell them relay if the insist on trying to put him out of business by setting up there own relay network which others would use for "free". Pirates and Rogues would definitely understand one of the best ways to keep the Feds from coordinated interference is to keep their communications down...and is it worth a constant ship presence to maintain a relay station up?

Etc Etc Etc.

Peace

A fair question. For me, the thought of an outpost in the absolute middle of nowhere had a certain appeal, but the problem was I had a hard time explaining why there'd be so many people there. I decided to put it on the frontier - it's not too far to civilization, but it's also in the middle of the wilds. This way I have a bit of flexibility in my campaign - reasons to run follow-up adventures for the Dominion War, the ability to visit Cardassia or Bajor, etc. But, it is a little out of the way physically and it also attracts a different type of person. Lily-white people from the Federation don't go to Bridgetown - at least not that often. That makes it far out of the way mentally.