A New Captain, What Ship Should He Get?

[stule]

For a new Captain during the TNG Era, what do you think is a good first time ship?

I was thinking Excelsior Class or Miranda.

Oerth would be at the bottom of the list.

I don't think Akira, Nebula, Galaxy, Sovereign, or Ambassador would be good for someone who has never sat in the Captain's chair.

What do you guys think?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

New Orleans, Cheyenne maybe. Miranda, definitely.

[TorItara]

I'd think any of the 'smaller' ships - Cheyenne, Constellation, Miranda.. possibly, during late TNG, a Saber, Steamrunner, Intrepid or Norway. I'd personally think of an Excelsior as better for 'second-tier' Captains - those who have already captained a smaller vessel. Of course, as with anything, circumstances can change this - a highly experienced first officer (one posted to a critical ship, such as Riker, or one exposed to highly challenging circumstances for a prolonged period of time (Chakotay) would be prime examples) might be shunted directly to a large ship, on the basis that they're already as command-experienced as a lot of Captains, despite never having held a formal command of their own.

-Tor

[LUGTrekGM]

Oberth for a LCDR or CDR.

Miranda for a CDR

Excelsior, that's a full bird captain's ship. Ditto for a galaxy.

A galaxy might even be a ship for a 2nd or 3rd tour Captian on his way to Commodore.

On my Navy Ship, a medium Cruiser, our CO was Full Captain Rank.

But, as others have said, the needs of the service dictate.

But no LT is gonna command a Galaxy, unless the bridge crew is dead, and he's taking charge from Engineering or some other extreme emergency like that.

Escort / Patrol Boat LT
Frigate LCDR
Destroyer CDR
Cruiser CDR/ CAPT , perhaps with flag admiral aboard, if a command ship.
Battleship CAPT perhaps w/ flag admiral aboard.

[toadmage]

what are the captain skills ? Star fleet would assign the officer to the best post to use his or her talents .

The ship may be one of the smaller ones .

[The Tatterdemalion King]

What kind of Captain are we talking about here?

[stule]

In our game, we have a Lt. Commander that is thinking on becoming a Captain. He has all Prereqs for Commander and Captain.

I am leaning towards the Cheyenne, even though in Spacedock, it is a bit more powerful than the Excelsior.

He has been a Commander on our game for about a year (off and on) and he is serving on a Nebula Class Starship.

My player wants to be a Captain and he has Ally and Patron Advantages as well.

So I like the Cheyenne Idea. She is a fairly new ship and kinda different.

[JALU3]

I say that every "captain" of the LTCMDR (O-4) or CMDR (O-5) grades should have to go through smaller commands prior to even being allowed to move up to a larger command that requires one to be a Full Bird CAPT (O-6).

Therefore, a Miranda or a Sabre . . . or in a stretch a Cheyenne, New Orleans, Steamrunner . . . would be the more likely command responsibilities . . .

Or a CO of a squadron of Runabouts/Talons . . . but that's going towards a different line of command.

Think of the command tracks . . . that we have today . . . just because one was a CO for a Bn of Infantry, that does not mean that you would make a great CO for a Support Bde.

Same goes here . . . what is this officer's specialty?

It makes sence that if CMDR Crusher continued to serve, that she would ultimatly get a command of her own . . . such as a CSH/MASH or a Hospital Ship . . . but would she ever be offered a command for the equivalent of an Ohio Class SSBN? Never.

Although a lot of the ships are multi-mission by design . . . each has an edge towards a certain field . . . match that edge with the Captain of the ship to maximaze that ships potential.

[stule]

Well the Commander started in Security, and rose to head of Security, then got into Command.

His specialty is Starship Tactics and Command (Starship) so I am thinking that the Cheyenne is a good choice for him. Our campaign happens shortly after Wolf 359 and Starfleet is desperate for new Captains and crews. The crew of the Cheyenne I am making will be mostly fresh out of Starfleet Academy. Only Commander is the 1st Officer, and there will be a few Lt.

[JALU3]

I say a Steamrunner . . . say for the second or third ships shakedown cruise . . . would make a good start.
But if you want to go for something older . . . say the Niagara.

[Pericles]

For a brand new captain such as you describe, I've got to go with a Miranda. Once this young turk has earned their bones, then they would get a better ship, but for first command I have to go with a Miranda and probably one just out of mothballs since you mention your campaign is right after Wolf 359.

[DDeridex]

Greetings to everyone! I liked this topic and I will share some of my ideas with you.

The most important on this matter is the player's skills. He or she must have some experience and feeling about real life leadership.

I'd put some NPC's, superior or not, to gather more information about the player’s skills interests, points of view, roleplaying interviews or simple conversations about Star Trek Universe politics or local situations.

Otherwise your game can become just a roll dice matter, or become difficult to manage, because is not wise to send an aggressive captain to take a diplomat or scientific mission, for instance.

We must have in mind that our series will be based mostly in captain’s decisions, because of that, is wise the game master send this new captain to take simple missions to gather experience, and the game master gather the feeling of how the player will react when facing several situations.

Take a look on spacedock on ship’s commissioning date, because the project date is more important than the size of ship. The Defiant class was released several years before Wolf 359, in fact, Defiant and Steamrunner projects, were designed based on experience gathered on the battle of Wolf 369. There are smaller ships more powerfull than many Excelsior or even Galaxy class starships.

[LUGTrekGM]

The tactic I would take is asess the character's personality give him / her that renown, and just play it out. Science mission, Diplomatic mission, whatever.

Also, have an XO (PC or NPC )or an Admiral NPC advise them, in game, via roleplay if they are screwing up.

Admiral Jones: "Captain, make no mistake, this is a delicate mission, which requires diplomacy, not gunboat diplomacy. We need those dilithium resources, but not at phaser-point. We are not Klingons, we are the Federation."

It adds drama.

There is something to be said for playing out a few simple mission, though to simulate their experience coming up through the ranks.

But if you are going to DO that, why not just set it up that way in the first place? Don't make them a captain, make them an XO, with an NPC Captain, showing them the ropes. then after 4 or 5 missions, the NPC is promoted to Admiral, the XO makes captain, but they can rely on the NPC admiral for advice....but since the NPC admiral now runs a sector / battlegroup, and not just one ship, they are not available and on call for advice, all the time, thus allowing the PC to grow on his/her own.

And, over time, at a critical point, if they are relying on advice too much, the Admiral can say" Look, Captain, we put you in command to make your own decisions, accomplish the mission, and report back." OR "You and your Executive officer should get together on this. Inform me of your combined plan to deal with the situation in 6 solar hours. Commodore XXX out.

I liked Next generation more in that they had picard dealing with seniors a lot more. Kirk was sometimes allowed to be a really loose cannon. (though the Era and setting supported it.) But he was always on the verge of starting a war, stopped by McCoy.

Good luck.

[Jem'hadar]

I've always thought the Intrepid class was a perfect ship for either a new captain or for any Star Trek RPG campaign. That's b/c it's not too big & powerful, like Galaxy or Sovereign classes, & not too small & underpowered, like Oberth or Nova classes.

It's crew complement is about 150 which is more manageable than a crew of 400.

It has powerful engines & just enough firepower to handle some bigger ships for a brief time or w/ lots of luck. Yet, it is not so overwhelming powerful that only a few other types of ships pose any threat.

Anyways, that's just my opinion. You have to look at your own campaign & your own players & find the ship that works best for both.

[JALU3]

I think the point is, that you don't want to get a green CO to be given anything close to a ship of the line until they have proven themselves worthy to command a ship and crew of that stature. Otherwise, why not give a newly minted LTCMDR a Galaxy Class Explorer?
Rather, you have to earn the right to the privledge and hardship that comes with a command of higher natures.