Earth in Trek. Paradise or Hell?

I'm planning a campaign which starts with the PCs kicking back on Earth on extended shore leave and I was wondering how I should describe Earth.

Particularly with regards to getting around.

I have a wonderful set piece for one of my adventures (involving the players uncovering a plan by Romulan rogue intelligence cell to assassinate the President of the Federation). I want it to be suitably Trek like with a traditional phaser fight etc but also I want to include the traditional cinematic element of a classic car chase.

My question is this. Do you reckon that cars would still exist on 24th Century Earth or would every one use transporters and/or public transport. I'm just seeking an opinion as I intend to go ahead regardless with my plan (it'll look like a cross between the car chase in the Steve McQueen film Bullett only with cars like those you see in Demolition Man). All using electrically powered cars of course but with better than current 21st Century levels of electric car performance - once the AI controlled safety protocols are bypassed that is (Computer Use (Hacking) TN 20 btw).

Vehicles of some description exist. During 'All Good Things' when alternate future Picard goes to visit professor Data at Oxford there is definately a car sized ground vehicle moving in the establishing shot.

I do not recall seeing wheels however, so it could be a hover/Anti-Grav based vehicle. Combined with Hoppers which are mentioned in DS9 my personal concept is that a small number of ground based vehicles are available with Anti-Gravs serving in the role that cars and trucks do now, while Hoppers are effectively a low flight ceiling equal to shuttles (like the air tram seen in the Motion Picture), these Hoppers would fulfil the role currently taken by helicopters/private planes as well as emergency service vicles and public transport.

There is a site with some possible hopper designs that is linked
here;

I hope all this helps... After all, with a couple of stolen vehicles, it could evolve moid-chase from a ground vehicle chase to low altitude...

"There is a site with some possible hopper designs that is linked"

Didn't really care for the ASDB concept for the Hopper, aside from the fact that it's butt-ugly. My idea of the Hopper based on the one reference in Nor the Battle to the Strong is more a dedicated grav-APC capable of dropping from orbit and returning.

But returning to the point, I'd imagine there are a variety of vehicles - wheeled and ground-effect surface vehicles, aircars, et cetera. We've seen air-trams and monorails on Earth. I suspect that if you're up to it, you could get away with a credible Bullit type chase. One thing, though - how many hubcaps are there on an aircar?

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Originally posted by Dan Gurden
There is a site with some possible hopper designs that is linked
here;

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The above link works but the link it leads to does not. Well it works, but the pics are all gone. Only get a 404 error message, what ever that means.

Anyone know where to find these pics now?

I got so wrapped up in my idea of doing a classic car chase that I haven't considered one thing.

Vehicle combat rules.

I guess i'll come up with some and post them on the Coda board.

But that's another thread for the Coda forum.

Or, since it seems that you will have some time until you want to run the adventure, you could wait until Killerwhale has finished his Expanded Starfleet Organization Manual. IIRC he intends to include rules for vehicle construction and combat. However, it could take another month or two until he is finished. Maybe, if you ask him, he will publish the chapter, if it is already finished, or mail you what he has completed so far.

Alternatively you could use a rather simple system I came up with to simulate a shuttle chase through a narrow chasm of a planetoid back to the surface. The chased pilot determines the TN for his piloting skill check. This reflects the amount of risk he is willing to take. If he succeeds he moves forward TN length units. If he fails roll 1d6 - x + (TN - skill check result) for vehicle damage (The shuttles' shields offered some protection). Since the PCs will probably want to keep up they will have to select at least the same TN as the leading pilot. Of course you will want to give the bad guys some length units of lead to compensate for the PCs' higher skill level.
As I said, this is very simple, but the fun starts as soon as the bad guys notice their pursuers and start freaking out, i.e. increasing the TN every turn.

Well, there's the 'operate vehicles' skill in the SOM. The difficulty levels and maneuvers would probably be pretty close to those for starship combat -- close, disengage, etc.

As for the vehicles -- most likely you'd pop around in hovercars in the city, but there's probably wheeled vehicles around still; they'd be cheaper and easier to use in some ways. I would think the transporter would be used for longer hauls -- from one city or continent to the next. In city and for short hops, the power use for the transporter wouldn't be able to compete with cars or trains. Not that you couldn't use one, I would just think they wouldn't have regular service at distances shorter that a few hundred klicks.

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Originally posted by Ergi
but the fun starts as soon as the bad guys notice their pursuers and start freaking out

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Thanks for the thoughts Ergi. I've started a new thread on the Coda Rules board for thoughts on the rules for Vehicle Combat.

You right, it is fun, if your run your bad guys as monkeyboys. But these guys are elite Tal'Shiar agents gone BAAAAAAAAD! They were posted to Earth so they were good in the first place. I'm from the Evil GM school and I sometimes through bad guys at my players that are better than them. Then they have to use their brains to get out of trouble rather than relying on their good rolls.

To post any (greatfully received) ideas for the Vehicle Combat rules please post on the following thread:

http://forum.trek-rpg.net/showthread...&threadid=8095

If you want to discuss the topic of ground transportation in the Federation (specifically on Earth) then this is the thread for you.

:)

Of course, there is the Argo in Star Trek NEMESIS.

:D

Respectfully,
General Chang

Well, most Trek sources seem to agree that Earth is paradise in the TNG era. I don't recall any specific references to cars in the episodes (and I have all of TNG, DS9, and VOY...), but I would think cars in the 24th century would be like horse and carriage is today. I guess nobody would use a car for transportation as they already have transporters or shuttles that are infinitely more useful, but there cars can have other functions than as a means of transportation. I don't think it would be inappropriate at all to have cars on Earth as long as it's for nostalgic reasons. Note how much Tom Paris loved old movies and cars on Voyager? Well, imagine there are groups of people with similar interests all over Earth... That way you would have cars here and there. Sure, there would be few and they would be seen as antiquated, but then that just means you won't have traffic :)

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Originally posted by Siroth
that just means you won't have traffic :)

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Now that would be paradise

:)

Y'know "The Jetsons?"


:D

Siroth's got the right idea.Having the Rom.'s stumbling across an antique car club and taking one, followed by the PCs who also take one,prompting an old-school car chase would be a fun scene. And having the players figuring out how to drive in a hurry could add a little color(remember Kirk in "A Peice Of The Action"?).

Any 20th century car would have its internal combustion engines sufficiently modified to not produce exhaust harmful to the environment (presumably).Possibly a 100% clean fuel-any car guy would want to get under the hood of of ,say his '69 GTO,and any 24th century power source would probably violate the whole spirit of antique cars.A clean gas substitute would allow those guys to keep the engines true to the 20th C. ideal.

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Originally posted by Rayaru
Y'know "The Jetsons?"

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I've gotta believe someone's working on the flying car... someone not afraid to throw his hat over the wall for the good of mankind.

(Now, who gets the obscure reference..?)

"Image in the Sand" also established that Sara Sisko had been killed in a hovercar accident when Benjamin Sisko was still a young child.

"I've gotta believe someone's working on the flying car..."

Remember those ads Avery (Benjamin Sisko) Brooks did a few years ago, where he was going on about how it was approaching the year 2000, and, "They said we'd have flying cars by now - I want my flying car!"?

Alright, got a quickie here (yeah right).

In A Piece of the Action, Kirk and Spock are confronted with a car. Neither knew how to drive it, but Kirk was in the driver's seat and Spock makes that classic statement, "I beleive 20th century vehicles incorporated a device known as the clutch. Perhaps one of those pedals."

There was no problem stearing. They understood that one pedal was go and the other stop already, or so it appeared. Perhaps they were just used to automatic transmissions.

A Slightly related statement in concern to this subject:

Does anyone rememebr when Garibaldi (sp) on B5, while still head of Station Security was trying to remake that one Motorcycle.

Well when completely completed by his Mimbari friend, I forget his name, he created it to spec, all except the motor, which burned clean . . . some type of power cell contraption.

Can you imagine that on a '71 Corvette Stingray? I don't think so.

But still . . . modifications would still have to be done so that they meet the VERY strict Emission Laws.

"Alright, got a quickie here (yeah right).
In A Piece of the Action, Kirk and Spock are confronted with a car. Neither knew how to drive it, but Kirk was in the driver's seat and Spock makes that classic statement, "I beleive 20th century vehicles incorporated a device known as the clutch. Perhaps one of those pedals."

More to the point, they were confronted with a replica of an early 1930's automobile. Early automobiles used a vastly different system to even today's standard transmission vehicles. Further, they didn't have today's non-slip differentials and other niceties. Take someone who's used to driving a modern automatic and they wouln't even be able to start an old Model T, what with spark retarders, starter button separate from the ignition key, manual choke, et cetera...

Yes, but my point was that they were not wholly unfamiliar with personal vehicles.