Splinter Cell... The Trek way

[Evan van Eyk]

Well, it has been a while since I have posted here in the forums, but the main reason was lack of playing. While "officially" I have four campaigns running in the Trek universe ( two of which I am narrating ), the truth is I have not played a Trek session for almost a year.

After analyzing this, I came to the conclusion that I probably suffer from the same problems as the current series, yeah I know there is none.
I think it is primarily a "been there, done that"-thing. It is hard to come up with a new exiting setting the players do not know already ( besides the fact that I play RPGs only every six weeks or so, due to lack of time ).

After reading some novels, watching some Bond-movies and playing a some sessions of Splinter Cell, I was wondering if that concept would be adoptable to Trek. I think I would stick to Starfleet ( like Bond ) and not a "civilian" branch, meaning it should be a Starfleet Intelligenec Series and not a Federation Intelligence Service thing. Now I am wondering how that should work. Like Splinter Cell I would like the campaign to have a subplot that unfolds during play, but I am totally lacking an enemy. The ordinary stuff is all known already, meaning Romulans, Klingons, what do I know have already been dealt with, so I would have the same problem as before. More exotics like Tholians do not work, because it would be impossible to infiltrate, con etc. But it should be a species that could really pose a threat to the UFP...

the basic idea was this: There is an attack on the UFP, one of the core-worlds, I thought about the destruction of the sky-elevator on Tellar or something comparable. The threat is investigated and revealed to be a set-up. More is investigated and in fact there is a conspiracy within the UFP to become a more military organization ( like I layed out in my UFP sourcebook, vol II ). The characters would have to reveal that and bring it to public attention to stop the conspirators. I am not yet sure if the result would destroy the UFP or not.
However I am completely lost on actual adventure ideas and the threat that is used to attack the UFP. Any ideas? Well I hope you could read all that rumbling... Thanks!

[Tobian]

Ok I am not familiar with the actual Plot of Splinter Cell (so some help is needed here if you want me to 'play' allong hehe) But could not this new enemy be an 'enemy within' have it be a sizeable new faction but whom are almost invisible to the federation because they cloth themselves in it ? It could be Starfleet people, it could be a sinister cabal, who are being controlled by aliens or a planetary government who are rebelling in their own way. Something like the Vulcan isolationis movement. If you wanted it to be very sinister it could be a group of humans!

[Evan van Eyk]

What I meant with Splinter-Cell plot was a slow unfolding of the connections between the missions. At the beginning it seems to be something completely different than at the end.

My idea now was that there is a faction within the UFP that tries to provoke a war with another species in order to strengthen the military and with that their own power ( possible a Section 31 connection ). To disguise their involvement they cloth the initial attack/ incident as an action of a third entity. It will be the characters' task to unrevel that disguise and they will learn that in reality "Unknown Enemy" is behind the plot, which was the idea of the UFP section. Once the first stage of the conspiracy has come to light, Section 31 assumes that no more conspiracies will be suspected and the "Unknown Enemy" will become exactly that: an official enemy.

Now what I do not know is, who that enemy is supposed to be. With the recent actions of the Romulans in Nemesis and during the Dominion War, I do not feel that they suit this role and I cannot come up with another species that is suitable for infiltration but still powerful to pose a threat to the UFP.

[Tobian]

In a post DS9 scnario a perfec candidate would be the Breen.. They are mysterious and no one knows much about them, plus importantly they were with the Dominion during the war.. they could be nigh on perfect for this! They also got out of the war without much in the way of casualties (unlike the poor Cardassians) to themselves or their fleet, and importantly they do have cloaking technology!

[Ergi]

I'm not sure I've completely understood what you meant. You are looking for a preferrably exotic race that can be used by the conspirators inside the UFP to serve as a scapegoat. Right?

I like that Splinter Cell/James Bond idea a lot. I've just finished watching the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, so I might be slightly influenced by the main plot of that show, but here is what you could do.
First, you give the players access to the best gadgets, watches with micro phaser and built-in tricorders, the fastest shuttles and the best weapons. The PCs are the heroes, they get almost everything they want and the women love them. During the campaign they have to meet some less reputable people living the in the Federation, arms traders, shady Yridian who sell secret information to everyone who can afford it. Exactly the kind of people the PCs don't want to be seen with.
Slowly the PCs collect enough information to identify some of the people behind the conspiracy, when those people discover the threat the PCs represent. The characters' HQ is raided, their boss, who has always been fully supportive of the PCs, actually more like a father-figure, is apprehended and imprisoned at an unknown location, and the PCs are declared public enemies. Hunted by everyone, equipped with the few things they have stored in safe houses, the PCs now have to make use of their shady network to acquit themselves and expose the real conspirators.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

-Tzenkethi, perhaps... (on a side note, the writeup in Worlds kind of sucks).
-An ancient race reawakening in Fed territory?
-Gorn?
-An internal threat, like the New Essentialists or Maquis?
-An internal threat which is blamed on alien subversion? The parasites from 'Conspiracy' perhaps? Space vampires? A cult of the Old Ones?
-Invaders from another dimension?

[Evan van Eyk]

I'm not sure I've completely understood what you meant. You are looking for a preferrably exotic race that can be used by the conspirators inside the UFP to serve as a scapegoat. Right?

Which was what I meant with me rambling I am talking as thoughts come to my mind... Sorry. OK, I will try and be more specific - but let me say already there are already good points, here, I will write something about that in a moment.

There is the conspiracy the characters have to unreveal:

-Highest Level: Inside UFP Faction, probably section 31, trying to militarize the Union and get more power to Starfleet.

-Second Level: Since Section 31 has not the means to pose a real threat to the UFP they "hire" a second group/ entity to oppose the UFP. I am not yet sure whether this group knows it is working for Section 31 and if so why they gree to help. This is the Level the characters and UFP are supposed to learn about and then think "Aha, we have uncovered a conspiracy" - the idea is that they stop "thinking" when the learned of that conspiracy.

- Third Level: "hired" by the Group from Level Two this one is supposed to be the initial bait. However here as well, I lack a motivation for them. Why should they do it...



I think the Level Two group could very well be the Breen, thanks for that idea. They have a threatening technology and have been enemies of the UFP since ages. Now the only question why should they become the puppets of "Level One Faction"?
the Level Three I think could the Tzenkethi be. A perfect occassion to use my write-up about them, I had planned to use in an episode, but never did. Since they had already warred against the UFP another attack would be definitely possible, especially with the Federation as weak as it is after the Dominion War. But why should they work for the Breen, how do they convince the Tzenkethi to attack? Maybe the promise technology or a secret alliance...?
Thanks for the ideas up to now, they are great!

[The Tatterdemalion King]

-Second Level: Since Section 31 has not the means to pose a real threat to the UFP they "hire" a second group/ entity to oppose the UFP. I am not yet sure whether this group knows it is working for Section 31 and if so why they gree to help. This is the Level the characters and UFP are supposed to learn about and then think "Aha, we have uncovered a conspiracy" - the idea is that they stop "thinking" when the learned of that conspiracy.

i'd imagine that they wouldn't know that it's section 31 using them–they might know they're getting help from the federation, but the Breen might think it's simply disgruntled ex-Starfleet officers with imperial ambition. Give sensitive data to an enterprising young Thot–who definitely has imperial ambitions–and see what he does with it. Orion Syndicate middlemen between S31 and the Breen seem like a good thing to include, as well.

[Evan van Eyk]

This sounds great, thank you!

[BouncyCaitian]

Hows about the Kzinti?

[Tobian]

The Breen are actually perfect for this. On the contrary to what you have said the Breen are not an enemy of the Federation (ok they are now-ish ). It was even stipulated they have no overarching hierarchy and consist of a number of clans and factions.. It came as a great shock when they united en-masse and fought against the Federation as they did!

As you say they have sinister technology, represent a real 'red menace' but in all likelly hood will turn out to be an empty threat of unsubstantiated rumours.. The episode Homefront showed what a dedicated team of rumour mongers can do to the Federation.. that time they got caught, but that was mostly because there was a hard decleration of war, which forced the issue forward.. if it's all shadows it could be interesting!

Reasons why the Breen would do it? Well 1) It might only be ahandful of real breen if any, they have lots of mercenaries.. 2) they are not the actual culprits so it doesn't matter why they would do it for us! 3) They are being used just the same as everyone else and 4) it is a minor faction who have their own agendas! Perhaps they have a grudge against Thot Gor for taking them into a war with the Federation!

The only problem with the metaplot as a whole is why this individual / group etc is trying to do what it is doing? In the Homefront plot it was for a singular real percieved threat.. This is however towards another agenda.. a false plot to move the Federation / Starfleet into a certain direction. I know the Dominion war would have raised some of the standing Starfleet Admirals dander, and many would have proposed beefing up their military hardware etc, but the Federation is a slow moving animal.. it's not going to change it's policy over night for one 'bad guy of the week', where it did not for the Dominion War!! .. or rather not for a few skirmishes etc.. this is going to have to be something BAD!

On the flip to that it could be that whoever this bad guy is is actually the real target.. someone wants them gone, and is actually trying to provoke the war.. much like the Romulans were trying to do in the end Enterprise Episodes?

There's a lot of possibilities I guess !

[JALU3]

Rather then a specific race or a militant group . . . how about the opposite . . . pacifist isolationist. They have been shocked by the war, and see moving outward as a direct threat to those within. I.E. It are those damn explorers that brought us those foreign forces that ruined our peaceful lives.

So how better to focus attention to within and not out then possing another group as an internal threat, with help from an outside element. Say they pose Starfleet as the internal threat, with help from the new allies the Romulans to reduce their peaceful lives into a militant dictatorship. Therefore they hope to move public opinion against Starfleet, and foreign powers involvement within the Federation, with an ultimate goal of disbanding Starfleet and its exploration tendencies.

This would benifit this group by removing themselves out of the exploration tendencies, and it would benifit the group that they contract to slander Starfleet, by allowing them to advance their power without the Federations exertion of beliefs upon others.

[Evan van Eyk]

Well, my players were not so fond of an Intelligence style game in Trek - to bad. I will make a writeup of that stuf anyway as soon as I find the time, just in case they change their minds. Should I do it, I will post it here as well.

[Azar Kel]

I have been met with the same kind of "enthusiasm" regarding an Intel-based game that I wanted to run. I had a really complex storyline drawn up centering around the intelligence/counterintelligence aspects of the Federation. It was inspired by all the NSA-CIA-FBI relationships that we have been learning about here in the states. Well, long story short, only two of my 6 players were even interested in the concept. So, I integrated the storyline into the existing campaign. I set on player up as Intel the other as counter-Intel. The results were actually quite impressive. Both players communicated their covert actions to me via private messages. It actually worked out. The people who had an interest in playing within the shadow world of intel got their chance, while we still enjoyed a comprehensive story featuring the whole crew.