Hello!

I'm setting up an online Star Trek campaign, to be run using the CODA rules on alternate Wednesdays from 2030 GMT using Screenmonkey. This campaign will focus heavily on role-playing and investigation, though with some elements of the action/adventure generally found in Star Trek. It is to be set in the early TNG era, and the goal is to take a look at some of the lesser-explored aspects of the Trek universe, staying away from some of the usual suspects, such as the Borg or the Klingons.

Players will portray the command crew of the scoutship U.S.S. Zeppelin, assigned to the Maelstrom Sector – a sector dominated by a huge black hole, hidden from the sight of Earth behind the Coal Sack. A few small colonies, filled with the troublemakers and isolationists, manage to scrape a marginal living out there, on the borders with the long-dormant Kzinti Patriarchy. Much of the campaign will focus on themes such as disaster relief, intelligence work, and scientific investigation – this is not to be a 'brave new worlds' campaign, but more taking a look at the darker side of the Federation, akin to some of what was shown in Deep Space Nine.

Character creation will use the standard CODA rules, as well as some of those that can be found in the 'Piece of the Action' supplement on this excellent website, and the aliens found in the Alien Compendium on the same website. The only rule is that, other than human, no character can play a race that has already been seen as a major character in a Trek series – no Vulcans, Bajorans, Betazoids, etc. A big part of this for me is to walk the road less travelled.

I've already got a couple of players – if you are interested, please get in touch at richard.tongue@virgin.net

Thanks,
Richard