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I've been asked to run a game of Star Trek around the time of the release of the new movie. It's been suggested that I reimagine the plot of a classic series episode in the JJ style. What can I do to make the game fell like it's set in the style of the reimagined universe? Anyone had any experience of this?
1) Combine the most mundane elements of three different plots. Discard any canon elements which conflict with making it "your" movie.Quote:
Originally Posted by Renny
2) Invent a new love-story around two of the original characters (no matter how improbable- slash fiction a plus).
3) Make your primary villain a cardboard moron with a speech impediment.
4) Insult your players' intelligence every other scene by throwing in little in-jokes from the original series in ways that make no sense. Then claim it's THEIR fault for being offended.
5) Hire a bunch of psycophants and groupies with no knowledge of Star Trek to post online about how your brilliant reimagining breathed new life into a moribund classic.
6) Admire self in mirror.
I will try not to take offense at those remarks.
In all seriousness, your best bet is to:
1) keep the plot relatively simple and straightforward, and
2) hype up your pacing.
Aside from the factors already mentioned, the Abrams movie is an popcorn action flick more than a drama.
The number of things happening- including camera changes and different shots take place in quicker succession in order to build a more "exciting" pace and to keep the audience focused (or distracted, depending upon your point of view).
For an extreme example of the phenomenon, go back and compare the Scooby Doo cartoons of the seventies to almost any other TV shows. Note how often the shots change. Because the target audience has a shorter attention span, the changes are necessary to keep the audience from getting bored.
The Abrams flick- which relies more on eye-candy than story- uses the same technique to keep audience members from fidgeting, changing the channel, signing up for elective surgery, or even starting a conversation with their mothers-in-law.
(In fairness, ALIENS- a much better movie- uses the same technique, but only in moderation).
If you really want to replicate the JJABrams feel, you'll need to approach the story the same way: keep the story light, the tension high, the background music snappy, and flog your players (or at least their characters) mercilessly to keep the pace moving.
If they have time for a long soliloquy or to plot out a comprehensive battle strategy, you're moving too slow.
I've actually done this in a Gurps Trek game; the whole point was to take classic TOS plots and put an Abrams spin on them. What I ended up doing was something like...
1. Take the set up of an episodes plot to create your dilemma. you can often glean this from the part of the episode before the first commercial break.
2. Allow the characters to role play, take notes while they do so, and then try to tie their story elements into the adventure so they feel as if it's their narrative and not yours. (this is something any GM/DM should do, but when you're adapting an existing Trek episode, you'll get tempted to lead them by the nose everywhere. Don't)
3. Take anything the episode was limited on budget-wise and vamp it up. Ignore or modify canon when you feel it's appropriate (example: I ran "Friday's Child" and expounded upon the alien culture; I took note of their costumes and demeanor and made them kind of an Ottoman Empire rip off culture with a sprawling capital city to set the first act in that I described in detail. The players really enjoyed it)
4. Let the plot be open ended. Take note of the experience awards and come up with contingencies; the maximum EXP award often lines up with the actual resolution of an episode. That makes it easy.
I had just written a post berating Selek for using this thread to have a go at the movie and then he went and posted some great advice. Drat
I have to confess I very much wanted to post something similar to Selek's first post (minus point 5, I guess).
Another thing to keep the Abrams feel, in my opinion, would be to put a greater emphasis on the characters and story, no matter if the suspension of disbelief has to be cranked up a few notches (this is not a critic on the movie BTW - my very first RPG was James Bond, and they put a great emphasis on how to keep the feel of the movies in the game, no matter how unrealistic some situations may appear).
After all, Star Trek is a series where the full command crew would routinely beam down to potentially dangerous planets. In the Abramsverse, such a command crew could also be cadets who happened to be at the right place.
To sum up, if I had, say, to play a scenario based on Balance of terror in the Abrams way, I would probably add a few Romulan boarding parties in order to bring the fight to the ship, and maybe have the Captain send some boarding parties to the Romulan's ship once it has been detected. All the while as the ship is trying to dodge the unseen element if the pilot or weapon officer is a PC.
And don't forget the lens flares and to violently shake the camera during combats ;)
3 things would hamper my ability to enjoy playing in the Abramsverse -
1 - I'd say a good 60% of my characters are Vulcan, or have some kind of Vulcan background. Since JJ made Vulcans an endangered species I'd have a difficult time converting.
2 - Most of my characters are PCs who've been around since FASA's heyday. Thus, a bit old for a universe with 20-year old Captains.
3 - I tend to play more in the TNG era, and later. DS9, or post Dominion War. I'm not sure how JJ's universe would work out in the "kinder, gentler Federation" of Jean-Luc Picard.
That said I can well see having some good fun at playing in JJ's universe. If that's what you like, by all means indulge in it, and have a great time. And to that end, to capture the feel of Abrams-Trek, try to have a lot of action. Don't worry too much about canonical Trek, and "what's gone before" (tweak the stories to suit your setting). And feel free to let characters advance fast.
Kirk went from Cadet to Captain in one mission - that means he got several advances, and in game-terms was able to buy several levels of the Promotion edge off that one mission.
Hmmmm... fast advancements... maybe in a way I've been playing Abrams-Trek for a long time and just didn't know it.
okay. just off the top of my head...Quote:
To sum up, if I had, say, to play a scenario based on Balance of terror in the Abrams way...
1. Those outposts in the first act. Have the Enterprise race to rescue any survivors and discover the gruesome aftermath of the Romulan attacks with an away team. Suddenly they discover the Romulans have left booby traps (a time bomb for example) and it becomes a race against death to evacuate before they go off. The Romulans are playing for keeps this time; using weapons that have been banned since the Romulan/Earth war. (gives you an extra action scene in there)
2. Keep in mind that things are a bit different between the Abrams Trek and the old canon. For one, the Romulans look different and also the Federation has seen them. Feel free to dress Romulan ships from the period however you like; I imagine the Romulans in Abrams' Trek being bald with face tatooes, but still wearing the wide shouldered uniforms complete with jackboots. Lots of black and green. The ships in my head look fearsome (more influenced by the Narada).
3. Lt Stiles can still be included in the story, although this time around he probably suspects Spock immediately of being in cahoots with the Romulans. Combine this with the Abrams-verse destruction of Vulcan, and you could pattern him as something akin to a Holocaust-denier. That could really work.
4. The boarding scenario is nice. I would probably do that once with the Romulans doing something very quick and nasty to the Enterprise during the adventure; I would have them beam aboard in an attempt to sabotage the warp core with the same weapons used on the outposts (mentioned above).
Was thinking about Fugazi Grrl's comments about Vulcan characters: a running subplot for any Vulcan could be things like: SF offers all Vulcan's honorable discharges if they want to leave the fleet to help their people: a Vulcan officer, seeing that logically his people are doomed, so his best course of action is to preserve as much as their culture as he can, or maybe he wants to ensure that no FED race ever has to face what he has faced; or maybe he goes looney toons and tries to fix it (time travel plans? better keep him away from the Guardian of Forever...).
There was a comic out that showed some first season Star Trek episodes redone with the Abrahmsverse crew. It's available at your local bookseller.
Speaking of comics, a lot of the new Trek universe reminds me of the Marvel 'Ultimate' comic line: the basic premise is a lot like the movies (well, actually they are making the movies by borrowing heavily from the Ultimate line); superheroes first appear in the modern era, not back in the 60's: Peter Parker was bit by a spider a few years ago; the Fantastic Four were basically some scientists going for the 'X-Prize'/independant space program, for example.
One of the main things they do is substitute things; you may know the name (weapon X program for example), but the premise is changed (instead of an old program to make mutant super soldiers, it is now a program where mutants are kidnapped and forced to undertake extremely dangerous black ops missions for the US gov't). Also a lot of gender/race changes, as well as updating tech to make it more advanced than ours.
Depending on how things work for you, you must tell us how you did iconic figures from TOS: Kahn, Nomad and tribbles all sound great!
Vulcan's Vengeance (#7-8 ) have a plot similar to this.Quote:
a Vulcan officer, seeing that logically his people are doomed, so his best course of action is to preserve as much as their culture as he can, or maybe he wants to ensure that no FED race ever has to face what he has faced
Ok, some really excellent ideas here. It's going to be hard to not do Balance Of Terror given how many cool things have been put on the table here.
Going along with my earlier post about Ultimate Trek stuff, sometimes you can cange the premise a bit. In Marvel, they changed the origin of the Vision (built by Ultron, ant man's evil runaway robot) into robotic warning device sent to warn earth about Gal-act-us (giant killer cloud...see bad F4 movie for more details). They also made it a curvy female, because they could.
So, I was thinking about Nomad. At first I thought about having Nomad being a next gen spaceprobe, like a better version of our Mars landers. It's pretty much the same origin as the original Nomad. But what if it was something else: lost communication satalite, experimental space war device, or maybe take it's origin away from the US/Nasa all together. Make it some other countries lost space junk, come back all super crazy and godlike. (I'm looking at you, North Korean space program)
Or, you can play with the story: Remember, the original Nomad collided with an alien probe (Tan-Rue); what if HE shows up in place of Nomad. (or, call it Braniac and mess with your players BIG TIME!!!) Just thinking...
I must say that just screams Good Plot !Quote:
Originally Posted by BaronVonStevie
I love that idea. It makes good use of what I thought was one of the worst points of the Abrams film.
Great idea.
To my mind, doing "Balance of Terror" will actually be harder given all the ideas introduced- and that's the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Renny
Call the story what you like, but it will no longer "Balance of Terror" once it's been JJBastardized- any more than West Side Story would be "Romeo and Juliet in the Bronx" once they omitted the love-story between Tony and Maria in favor of a menage a trois with Anita (Rita Moreno's character).
The original plot was a classic duel of wills between Captain Kirk and the Romulan commander- tense, gritty, and psychological.
The story pivoted on the experience and judgement of the two antagonists- hinging upon their cunning and force of will, not zippy-doo special effects.
Kirk's internal doubts and assessement of the Romulan commander were the crucible in which the grist was ground and the fulcrum upon which the drama turned.
Everything else was "B" plot and set dressing.
By diluting that central conflict, you are fundamentally altering the nature of the story itself- just as removing or altering the central romance would destroy West Side Story.
Once that happens, it is no longer "Balance of Terror".
By mixing in the extraneous elements, you are robbing the story of its classic simplicity- and thus of its narrative power.
You can run a Abramized episode with elements of BoT, but in my opinion it just won't be "Balance of Terror".
Because Styles-the-racist is too subtle for modern audiences, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by BaronVonStevie
I am interested in your reasoning though.
The Romulans just destroyed Vulcan and attacked Earth- and the only available evidence exculpating the Empire itself is the word of the attackers (if that).
Spock himself was instrumental in stopping those attacks.
So how does Style leap from a renewed Romulan attack to Spock-as-a-collaborator?
In the original episode, Style's antagonism was tenuous at best, made possible primarily by Styles latent prejudice and paranoia, and the mysterious nature of the Romulans.
Despite a long career, Spock himself was an enigma and a cipher at that point (Vulcans were not yet common in Fleet Service).
Style's antagonism never blossomed into a direct accusation. It never matured into anything beyond a suspicion and loathing of the other.
In the "reimagining", on the other hand, Spock is already a decorated hero of the Federation and both the Romulans and the fate of Vulcan are comparatively well-known.
So by what leap of logic does Styles get from the massacre of billions of innocent Vulcans to at the hands of the Romulans to Spock-as-collaborator- without coming across as foaming at the mouth loon?
It would be akin to accusing Major General Joseph Wheeler of aiding Sherman in a renewed "March to the Sea".
I think it's the closeness of Romulan and Vulcan. It's a bit convoluted, but you can have Stiles try to see through Spock's involvement in the defeat of Nero. He's still a Vulcan and Vulcans are basically just as bad as Romulans. They're the same people; don't trust them because they share the same blood. If there are humans still so hateful of the Romulans, then they're going to jump through hoops to hate Vulcans too in spite of the Vulcan homeworld being blown up (and the subsequent actions of a certain Vulcan in saving Earth). That's what racists do; they delude themselves.
Besides, it wasn't the Romulans who destroyed Vulcan. The Vulcan/Romulan collusion still goes on. It was this war criminal from the future, Nero, right? I could easily see publicity for the incident be interpreted that way by anyone who hates Romulans and Vulcans in that way.
Stevie-
In other words, the only way for Styles to arrive at the desired conclusion is to turn him into a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist who wouldn't get past the first week of Academy psychological screenings.
That kind of Mars-needs-women paranoia would disqualify him for service aboard a starship and would either be rooted out early in his Academy training (or he would be bounced from the service).
It might be plausible if you were to pull a Ben Finney on him- but that, too, alters the nature of Style's conduct from unacceptable to pathological.
In the original Balance of Terror, Styles was a latent bigot with strong anti-Romulan tendencies (his detestation of Spock hinged on the Vulcan/Romulan similarities).
Despite that hang-up, he was nonetheless a good, solid officer (as evidence to his posting as a bridge officer aboard one of only thirteen Constitution class starships).
He was there as a foil and as an example of what NOT to be.
Styles served as an object lesson in that he was able to overcome his prejudices.
Styles-as-a-Ben-Finney madman is a totally different concept- and as per my example above, is no longer a lesson or example, but someone to be pitied (much as was Golen in LOTR).
In any case, it is further evidence of my contention that one cannot Abramize "Balance of Terror" and have it yet be "Balance of Terror".
On a side note, I also question your assumptions about how much information would be released vis-a-vis the destruction of Vulcan.
It has been my impression that the Federation has always been reticent about various aspects of time-travel.
Couple that with an attack that utterly destroyed a Federation member world (and a founding world at that), and you have a perfect recipe for widespread unrest and out-and-out panic.
Despite the utopian ideal that the Federation is supposed to represent, the existence of outfits like Section 31 suggest that that utopian ideal is ruthlessly enforced.
All things being equal, I have little reason to doubt that the Federation could and would classify the incident- and the true nature of the attackers- at the highest levels.
I don't think Starfleet would need to run around saying Nero was from the future. The only pertinent information would be that it wasn't an action of the Romulan government. They wouldn't cover that up.
I think Stiles would still work - and you could still show him overcoming his prejudices. In this case, Stiles would eventually feel empathy to Spock's loss in some way. In the original episode, Spock bravely enters the phaser room. This could still be the case.
I don't think the scenario withn Styles would work. The AbramsTrek Federation knows what Romulans look like. In the main TOS universe they didn't. It was only when Styles found out that Romulans and Vulcans were indistinguishable that he suspected Spock. He wasn't bigoted towards Vulcans as such. In this scenario, there is no sudden discovery and therefore no suddn connection to be made. It changes the basic motivation of the Styles character.
it's a different set up, but the same character. you could even show the Stiles is in conflict over his prejudices since the destruction of Vulcan. instead of a holocaust denier, you could show that Stiles is getting over his mistrust of Vulcans... but then the Romulans show up again to cause trouble and he's thrown into conflict again.
But, then it shouldn't be, as we would be trying to run a roleplaying adventure, probably with different characters than the original crew. I'm sure no one wants to rerun a TV episode exactly for their RPG, just borrow some of the more interesting situations and ideas.Quote:
Originally Posted by selek
In other words, we don't want to play "Balance of Terror", we want to have our own adventure finding out why Romulans are attacking Neutral Zone outposts.
oh yeah. when I ran Gurps and used Trek episodes for adventures, I literally just took a premise for an episode and let the players run around in that premise.
then I updated in "Abrams-tone"... just a couple contrived action scenes and a ramped up budget. Make the pace quick. That's all you have to do. I remember "A Taste of Armageddon" (season 1, ep 23) being really good. Players loved that one.
or a variation of 'The Ultimate Computer'
1. The Enterprise (or Players ship) was not selected for the M-5 Refit. A Vengeance Class DN (I really Doubt that with Klingon Hostilities on the horizon that Starfleet is going to simply shelve that design) (U.S.S. Confederation) is refitted with the M-5 system.
2. The M-5 actually DOES function as advertised, the programmers being Genre Savvy and seems to be a good system to be used as MFD and ships AI.
3. Given the prevalence of drones these days, the M-5 has the ability to run various unmanned assault fighter wings efficiently.
4. The Klingons find out about the war games and attempt to destroy the ship through means gross and subtle. The M-5 recognizes them as a priority threat and shreds them in short order. The Confederation crew doen't really have much to do as M-5 does most of the leg work, giving it praise.
5. It starts going wrong: perhaps something missed in programming, or perhaps the M-5's programming works far too well, but M-5 has no qualms about heading for the klingon border and commencing raids on Klingon facilities. The Klingons will have severe problems with the ship as it reacts far faster than they do.
6. M-5 does not particularly regard SF vessels as enemies as it's screwed up programming still thinks it's in Wargames simulations. It will disable SF vessels as part of the wargames. It will have no compuction eliminating KDF Vessels
yeah, I could see it. Especially the drones bit. Drone warfare is an issue I think Gene Roddenberry would take shots at; he wasn't afraid to do that in the 60s at all.
BC: loved your "ultimate computer" update! The gamemaster could go the cliché route and have the M-5 decide that the best way to handle the Klingons is to wipe them out; the traditional answer to the 'mutant question' when it's handed over to the robotic Sentinels.
I'll table the drones for a second to hit another idea: it's already controlling drones, what if it was able to overwhelm the main computers of SF ships, essentially turning them into drones as well? Obviously the other ships wouldn't have the actual M-5 unit, but perhaps it could send it's OS into allied ships, presumably to take command of them if the crew was incapacitated? Looking to the future of the Prime timeline, the USS Prometheus was able to use it's multi-vector attack mode; this would be something similar (and dangerous, if some of the ships used had crews onboard).
You know, when I watched STID, the new torpedoes made me think of drones, just something about the look of them. I started thinking that if you had a good AI, or a controller, a small engine (doubt a warp core, but who knows), some shielding and a nice phaser array, you'd have a great 23rd Century drone. It's size alone would make it had to find and the shielding would help with that, and enough phaser power to attack a ship or installation, and if shooting it fails to take out the target, overload the phasers and let it become a missile! After all, aren't phasers on overload very dangerous?
I was thinking M-5 As being a bit more selective in that it would be able to analyze relative threat levels and means to carry it out by the KDF. It's priority targets would be KDF ships building and repair facilities, as this would force the Klingons to invest resources that they do not have into rebuilding them and any ships destroyed at said facilities. Then it would prioritize by relevant threats to the Federation.
I had not considered the Computer hack angle. I could only assume that Starfleet thought of that and came up with the prefix codes. A nasty variation of that is have the Confederation hack the KDF vessels, which so far seem primitive compared to UFP vessels and turn them on the KDF
what about an AI? Some kind of villain persona to attach to the M5 computer ala Hal from 2001? It would be cool to be able to talk to the ship's computer.
Hmm, AI...M5 in the original continuity was programed with Daystrom's mental engrams, which led to it being unstable. What if they used someone else's engrams? Maybe a tactical genius (hmm, Garth of Izar?), but he's got lots of mental baggage and skeletons in his closet. What might be mild paranoia in a human might be attacking anything that might become a threat in a starship.
Daystrom then. Yeah that would be cool. Make the voice of the computer some sinister version of him that he has to come to terms with in the episode. Or maybe it kills him. That's some good science fiction.
"By Any Other Name"
1) The Kelvins did not have to take the human form to adapt to the Galaxy, but use them to acclimate and observe. Their true form (if any) is utterly horrifying to the senses (The Full Lovecraft, boys and girls).
2) The barrier at the Edge of the Galaxy did rupture their vessel (who's set of physical laws didn't take kindly to it) and they had to crash within range of the ship. While primitive, the ship with modification will serve thier needs.
3) The return to Andromeda is something of a misnomer. The Kelvin Empire has a outpost in one of the Magellanic clouds and is preparing an all out invasion force for the Alpha and Beta Qudrants in thier "Ships?" (Technoorganic nightmares)
Pick up the on going comic series from IDW, they are tending to do classic episodes of TOS set in the Nu Trek. I gotta say while I hate the movies this doesn't suck.
I mentioned the IDW series in another thread: Return of the Archons is more "evil Star Fleet" stuff, from what I remember.
Thinking of the Kelvins, what if you take the Lovecraft level up to 11? They aren't from another galaxy, they are from a different dimension; their craft didn't so much crash as cease to function in our strange 3-D space. They are attempting to find a way back to their universe or stabilize their ability to exist in ours, perhaps using a warp bubble to create stable X-D space, or creating something like the Spheres from ENT.
As for the bodies they are using: what creeps you out more? Stolen human bodies (some hapless survey crew?) Created human forms (thought energy, hardlight holos, androids or real flesh)? Or maybe they have been remade as human (with hints at distinct inhuman traits), and barely able to handle being made something so...alien.
well that kinda was the Plot of B5: Thirdspace (which JMS admitted was a Cthulhu Tal)
Good writers borrow from other writers; the great one's steal outright. ;)
when they stick to the original episodes, the IDW series is good. when they try anything original, it's pretty bad IMO.
Even though I too enjoy the series, I don't think they try hard enough to re-imagine those episodes. They tell them pretty much straight with a twist here or there... the idea of the Abrams Trek is that it's supposed to be "not your father's Star Trek" and yet, often times, the comics end up being exactly that.
It's been a while since this was posited, but upon re-reading the thread, I feel inspired to respond.Quote:
Originally Posted by nightwind1
With this statement, you have conceded my point: You are not playing "Balance of Terror", merely borrowing elements of its premise for your plot.
By altering its essential nature, you have turned it from one story into another, just as altering the atomic/molecular structure of gold turns it into something else (and Doctor Horrible's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, it defeats the purpose of taking it in the first place ;)).
Which, in and of itself, is not the least bit objectionable. I have no objection to borrowing elements or premises to tell a new and interesting story- only in pretending that the new story and the old are one-and-the-same.Quote:
In other words, we don't want to play "Balance of Terror", we want to have our own adventure finding out why Romulans are attacking Neutral Zone outposts.
This is, ultimately, an old argument- one that I doubt will ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
Suffice it to say, that if one replace Kirk, Spock, and McCoy with Ray, Egon, and Winston (Zedmore) and substitute poltergeists for Klingons, and particle throwers for phasers, then you are no longer playing "Star Trek", but "Ghostbusters In Space."
No matter how relentlessly one might deny the reality, one cannot simply convert gold into lead and pretend that it's still gold.
Some thought on playing in the Abramverse
Style is a big difference as noted it should be faster paced but also
look over the movie and take notes as to the visual style.
Everything is BIGGER. A ships Bridge is full of people and is brightly lit. the viewscreen is also an actual window . Its bright it GLEAMS.
In contrast the Engine room is also massive but is full of walkways, its INDUSTRIAL, its dangerous. everything has an extreme feel capture that in descriptions.
Space - IS Big and the ships are FAST, planets we know are hours away, not days ( Warp seems almost to be transwarp as far as I can see) don't forget the scope of everything.
Make a note of visuals - phaser fire fast moving bolts of energy, not beams, when they hit things there are EXPLOSIONS. again its purely the way its described but it makes a difference.
Uniforms, pay attention to the many different uniforms and outfits for different things. Officers don't go into a danger zone in bright red uniforms, they are armoured or dressed in black. Off ship they wear smart uniforms.
Aliens are different, its worth paying attention to them, they are more varied than the TV shows, Think Star Wars and let your self go. Also note the differences in aliens we know. The Orions have red hair. The Klingons have face armour.
Consider the political situation. Romulans are a more well known quantity, heavily monitored their language understood and their faces recognised. The Klingons are agressive and on the brink of war. The Orions are integrated into Federation society to some degree. And everyone is on the doorstep.
Avoid the magic meeting room at all costs, discussions should be on the fly with action always around the corner.
Characters are more competent more quickly - an officer can have his own ship four years out of the academy remember so don't be afraid to give a few extra picks to beginning characters.