Can't wait

[Rottwang]

I have been cruising around this site for about a week now and have become very interested in how the STRPG works. Unfortunately, we are talking about three weeks before I can have the money and time to get the any of the books.
Now, I have been looking at some of the characters that have been posted to this site and I have some questions to sate me until I can get one of the books.
Under the attributes I see that some characters have plusses and minuses to what I will use this character to work off of:
Name: Baran Deela
Rank: Ensign
Position: Engineer
Assignment: Dyson Base, Runabout U.S.S. St. Lawrence, NCC-72480

Species: Bajoran

Attributes
Fitness 2
Coordination 2
Reaction +1
Intellect 3
Presence 2
Willpower +1
Psi 0

Skills
Athletics (Running) 1 (2)
Computer (Modeling) 2 (3)
Culture (Bajoran) 2 (3)
Demolitions (Booby Traps) 1 (2)
Dodge 1
Energy Weapons (Phaser) 1 (3)
Espionage (Forgery) 2 (3)
History (Bajoran) 2 (3)
(Federation) (3)
Language, Bajoran 2
Federation Standard 1
Material Engineering (Structural/Spaceframe) 1 (3)
Personal Equipment (Tricorder) 1 (2)
Physical Science (Chemistry) 2 (4)
Planetside Survival (Urban) 1 (2)
Propulsion Engineering (Impulse Drive) 2 (4)
(Warp Drive) 2 (4)
Shipboard Systems (Sensors) 2 (3)
(Flight Control) (3)
(Transporters) (3)
Systems Engineering (Transporter/Replication Systems) 2 (3)
Vehicle Use (Shuttlecraft) 1 (2)
(Ground Vehicle) (2)
World Knowledge (Bajor) 1 (2)

Advantages/Disadvantages
Innovative +1, Medical Remedy (Bionic Arm) +2, Physical Impairment (Missing Arm) -2, Species Enemy (Cardassians) -4, Vengeful (Cardassians) -2

Resistance: 2
Courage: 4
Renown: 1
Initiative:1

Background
Early Life: Guerilla
Academy Life: Advanced Research Engineering
Cadet Cruise: Shakedown Cruise
Tours of Duty: Shakedown Cruise (7 years)

Could someone explain to me the mechanical elements of this character for me. Additionally, could someone explain how overlays and races work into this.

Thank you for any assistance.


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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
their dreams."
--Eleanor Roosevelt

[Paul]

OK - let's see if I can make some sense out of this.

Attributes: There are 5 key attributes - Fitness (measure of physical stamina, strength, etc...), Coordination ('nuff said), Intellect ('nuff said), Presence (your personality, charisma, etc...), and Psi (psychic ability). Each key attribute has 2 Edges, which help flavour the character a little - Vitality (endurance) and Strength (raw muscle) for Fitness, Dexterity and Reaction for Coordination, Logic (deductive reasoning) and Perception (senses) for Intellect, Willpower (mental strength) and Empathy for Presence, and Range and Focus for Psi.

Every character will have their attributes range from 1 to 5, and their Edges will range from -2 to +2.

By the Book, skills are checked by rolling a number of d6 according to the value of the key attribute, modified by the Edge (if the Narrator deems that the Edge is appropriate), where 1 of the dice rolled is the Drama Dice (explained later). Thus, (example 1) if Ens. Baran needed to Dodge something (like a club), she would roll 2 dice, including her Drama Dice, as Coordination is the key attribute for Dodge. She would take the highest value shown on the dice, add her skill level, and that is the result of her skill test. If the Drama Dice rolled a 6, she would keep it and add the next highest dice (in this case, she only has 2 dice). However, (example 2) if Ens. Baran needs to Dodge in surprise (the club swung at her out of the shadows with no warning), then the Narrator may decide that the Reaction Edge is appropriate to include - and Ens. Baran adds an extra dice to her pool (now rolls 3 dice). If the Drama Dice rolls 6, she keeps the 6 and adds the next highest, discarding any other dice.

As far as attribute numbers go, 2 is Human Average. Combining Attributes and Edges gives the character substance. If a character has Coordination 3 / Dexterity -2 / Reaction +0, he might play a good game of baseball, but don't ask him to repair your PADD. Similarly, if the character has Presence 3 / Willpower +1 / Empathy -2, then he's quite capable of keeping the party conversation lively, you can bank on him keeing his cool under fire, but he has all the compassion of a rock.

Whew! That's a lot of work right there. Someone else's turn now...

...Paul holds the torch out for someone to take...

Hey, wow! I'm the first Australian to 1200 posts! I reckon SIR SIG will beat me to the 1300 mark, though...

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How do I set a Laser Printer to stun?

[This message has been edited by Paul (edited 03-28-2001).]

[Owen E Oulton]

Oooooookay... Big topic, but I'll try to give you a brief overview. (I have to - Ensign Baran is an NPC in my campaign, so I guess I'm kind of her father )

Each character has several types of statistic. The first are Attributes and Edges. There are 5 Attributes, each of which has 2 Edges. An Attribute is an overall category, while an Edge is a modifier for certain types of tasks. F'rinstance, Deela has a Coordination Attribute of 2 and a Reaction Edge of +1. This means that on rolls where reaction time is a factor, she's just that little bit better.

Next, we have Skills and Specialisations. A Skill is just that - something you know how to do. A Specialisation, noted in (parentheses) denotes an area where you have particular expertise.

Advantages and Disadvantages should be familiar to anyone who's played GURPS or Hero, or any number of other games. They're traits which help or hinder you.

Last, we have Courage (expendable points you can use to increase the odds of success), Renown (your reputation in 5 different aspects) and Resistance (used to figure your "hit points" for want of a better term.

Attributes determine how many d6's you roll for a task. An Edge adds or subtracts from the number of dice. You roll the number of dice appropriate to the Attribute controlling the task you want to perform and add the Skill or Specialisation to the highest die, and compare the result to a task number set by the Game Master (called the Narrator in the rules). One of the dice is the Drama Die - a contrasting colour is used to tell it from the rest. If a 6 is rolled on the Drama Die, add the highest other die roll to the result.

For instance, if Deela is firing a Phaser, she rolls two dice (Coordination) and adds 3 (her Phaser Specialisation) to the result. Her player rolls a red and a blue die, the blue being the Drama Die. She gets a 3 on the red die and a 4 on the blue. The task is of Moderate (7) difficulty, so with a 3+3=6 she misses. If the blue Drama Die had been a 6, however, the red die would be added to it, for a result of 6+3+3=12, a hit.

Another example - while walking down a corridor, a section of ceiling falls down. Since this roll involves reaction time, Deela rolls 2 dice for her Coordination, plus one die for her Reaction Edge, and adds her Dodge Skill. The Dodge Skill is one of the few Skills which has no Specialisations. She rolls 5 and 4 on the red dice, and 3 on the blue and adds 1 for her Dodge skill to the higher of the red dice (5+1=6). The Narrator had decided that since Deela knew the structure was rickety, she would be on the alert, so he decides it's only a Routine (4) roll. With a 6, she manages to step aside before the debris hits her.

Hmmm.... it's getting late. I'll have to answer more of your questions later tomorrow, or perhaps someone else will tackle them.

[Rottwang]

Thank you Paul and Own for what you have told me so far. What you have told me so far peeks my interest in the game even further, but let me see if I am getting. The way I see it is that STRPG is kind of like a combination of GURPS, SWRPG WEG, and White Wolf. I'm a big fan of the first two but have only looked at the remaining. STRPG looks like it would be fun to run and play

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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
their dreams."
--Eleanor Roosevelt

[Calcoran]

Hold on ... I thought the Drama Die counted too for the highest result?! So that in your first example Owen the result would have been 7 (4(highest dice) + 3(skill)) and not 6. Dang, I wish I had my core books at work .

[SIR SIG]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Calcoran:
Hold on ... I thought the Drama Die counted too for the highest result?! So that in your first example Owen the result would have been 7 (4(highest dice) + 3(skill)) and not 6. Dang, I wish I had my core books at work .</font>

It does indeed and it would've been 7 and a sucess! Our esteemed collegue must've slipped up

From Paul:
Hey, wow! I'm the first Australian to 1200 posts! I reckon SIR SIG will beat me to the 1300 mark, though...

Of course I will! Maawaahaaaa!
-Guess you noticed what I said over in Carddies?

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'...The Borg have stopped at deck 10...'
'...Deflector Control, no vital systems...'

Not a vital system! What the heck do you think stops the ship going 'poof' every time it goes to warp?

- ST:First Contact; Lt Hawk