Starting a new Star Trek (ICON) Campaign

[Commander Sonek]

After much deliberation, I am starting a new Star Trek campaign, after having run FASA many years ago.

I am actually getting keyed about it. I intend to start in the NG/DS9 era, and if there is enough interest, go retro back to the original series era.

I decided to go with the ICON system for a few reasons.

With the officially published materials, and the materials available online for ICON, ICON "feels" more complete, and more fully realized.

Everything needed to play the game is in the ICON Core books, and they are just _packed_ with information. On the other hand, the CODA books don't seem terribly well organized.

I find ICON more easier to grasp. CharGen is simple and pain free. Easy, intuitve rules for task resolution. CODA, on the other hand, seems like it was trying to emulate D20, a system that I have never been enamored with.

Finally I am still irked with Decipher: if they had shown even a little concern about me as a customer buying their product, I might have supported them more. "As we say on Earth, C'est le vive!"

[LUGTrekGM]

My feelings exactly. I love LUG Trek.

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Do you intend to run this as a Play-By-Forum, Chat, or Tabletop game?

Regards,
CKV.

[Commander Sonek]

Sorry - I should have clarified that earlier. It is going to be a tabletop game, run with our local gaming club.

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Cool. So presuming your players are not lurking around here somewhere, please give us a run-down on what you have planned?

Regards,
CKV.

[Cut]

Cool. So presuming your players are not lurking around here somewhere, please give us a run-down on what you have planned?

Regards,
CKV.

I second that! Give us something to play along within our minds...

[Commander Sonek]

After securing Mr. Owen Oulton's permission, I am using his Star Trek: Relic setting as a springboard. The PCs are the operational crew of the Danube class runabout U.S.S. Shiawassee, assigned to Dyson Base, a small base in the Dyson Sphere.

I see the campaign as being analogous to the situation in Stargate: Atlantis; A small base with access to a number of small ships and out of contact with Command for long periods of time. Oppurtunities for exploration and first contact with new cultures, with the PCs having to rely only on their own resources. R& R oppurtunities with Holodeck adventures in the HoloGym. And, eventually, unravelling the mystery of who built the Dyson Sphere and why.

The classic series, assuming there is interest for that as well (and there better be), I see as very retro back to the old series concept: command crew on a Constitution class Starship.

[spshu]

After securing Mr. Owen Oulton's permission, I am using his Star Trek: Relic setting as a springboard. The PCs are the operational crew of the Danube class runabout U.S.S. Shiawassee, assigned to Dyson Base, a small base in the Dyson Sphere.

<snip>

U.S.S. Shiawassee? Is that an indication of where you live now or perviously in Michigan?

[Commander Sonek]

LoL - you got me!

After all, Danube class runabouts are named after rivers!

[JALU3]

How would the increased solar radiation impact their capabilities internally? We have seen that standard shields can more then block strong solar radiation very close to the actual star . . . but have we seen the long term impact on those same systems? Furthermore, wouldn't most of the surface be biologically dead to all but the most uv resistant creatures?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

How would the increased solar radiation impact their capabilities internally? We have seen that standard shields can more then block strong solar radiation very close to the actual star . . . but have we seen the long term impact on those same systems? Furthermore, wouldn't most of the surface be biologically dead to all but the most uv resistant creatures?

Assuming there's not mysterious ultratech protecting certain areas.

[Tobian]

Cool idea, yeah Owens concept is cool, though I don't think I would run it myself as I would run out of ideas fast!

With regards to the setting.. well the place it's self looked fairly green and pleasant. So on the one hand. the surface might be being shielded, but then if that was the case, why did they abandon it?! It could well be that 10,000 years ago the star went into a period of flux that was MUCH worse than what we saw in that episode, and then it died back, and everything re-grew

Given the tech that the Federation has been looking into the re-ignition of stars, it could be an intriguing plot, albeit *everything blows up* if it doesn't

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Cool idea, yeah Owens concept is cool, though I don't think I would run it myself as I would run out of ideas fast!

With regards to the setting.. well the place it's self looked fairly green and pleasant. So on the one hand. the surface might be being shielded, but then if that was the case, why did they abandon it?!

Obviously, it only looked abandoned...

[Commander Sonek]

Owen's concept is that the upper atmosphere "polarizes" so as to simulate a day/night cycle.

The Enterprise was not in the Sphere long enough to observe the polarization effect.

And of course there is the possibility that the Sphere isn't "abandoned" per se, any more than the Ringworld in Larry Niven's Known Space series was truly abandoned.

I keep thinking of the Stargate SG-1/Alantis series as a good model. Plenty of potential ideas, even before getting to the topic of the Ancients (Builders).

[JALU3]

Something the size that the dysons sphere is would take Starfleet dozens if not hundreds of years to fully explore . . . the story line possibilities are endles . . . and what if they were able to discover technology, either within, on, or outside the sphere to bring the star back to Main Phase? Imagine the possibilities that a stable inner Dysons Sphere would mean to the Federation.

And what if the original owners came back one day . . . that is if they ever left at all.