Are there any online games?

[Sea Tyger]

One note of caution:

I plan to introduce relevant issues as moral dilemmas into some adventures, in the spirit of TOS. Because of that, I please ask that you check your personal political views at the door. I will not try to ram my version of politics or morality down your throats, and I ask that you treat your fellow players with the same respect.

So far, we have two half-votes for 2285 and one half-vote for 2245 (I have a possible player who also prefers 2285; if he joins in, it looks like we'll be playing in the post-Genesis era.)

JALU, your preference(s)? If you're good with 2285, I'll put together a list of possible ship classes for your perusal.

[PGoodman13]

So far, we have two half-votes for 2285 and one half-vote for 2245 (I have a possible player who also prefers 2285; if he joins in, it looks like we'll be playing in the post-Genesis era.)

Take me out of the "possible" column. Barring some sorta catastrophe, I'm in.

[Sea Tyger]

I'm going to say that the story will start in 2285.

Aside from CO (I'm still of two minds about a PC or NPC captain...I will initiate contact with a player should I decide to go with a PC CO), all department head positions are available, including XO; however, I think I'd like to see a first officer who is also a department head. Go ahead and list your first and second preferences for department position (and whether or not you want to volunteer for the first officer position).

Helmsman
Navigator
(Security &) Weapons Officer
Communications Officer
Engineer
Science Officer
Medical Officer

• The first officer will hold the rank of lieutenant commander
• The rest of the department officers will be either lieutenants or lieutenants, junior grade
• The medical officer and science officer will be required to be a minimum rank of lieutenant; I may allow the medical officer to be the rank of lieutenant commander
• The first officer may not be the medical officer or weapons officer

Ships
I'm considering the following classes of ship for the campaign:

Anton-class cruiser (2268 refit)
Wilkerson-class destroyer
Thufir-class destroyer
Northampton-class heavy frigate (original)
Loknar-class heavy frigate (2269 refit)

I am leaning toward an Anton, Wilkerson or Loknar at the moment. I even have a name for the series if we go with an Anton:

Star Trek - The Last Anton

[PGoodman13]

I'd like the science officer position (and, if no one else goes for it, I'll go for the XO slot as well).

Barring that, I'd like the medical officer billet.

Any of those ships is fine by me, though I'd personally lean toward the Anton, I think.

[Renny]

I'd like to plump for Helmsman as first choice and Security (Weapons) as second. I personally love the idea of the Anton as well. Always liked that ship and it's an unusual choice.

[Cut]

As much as I'd like to game alongside you, I just can't make the commitment right now. But my question would be: Where will you be playing, and could one read along, please?

[Sea Tyger]

I'm looking at either onlineroleplaying.com or RPG Resouce Masters (rpgrm.com). I'm a member of both sites, though I'm only currently playing in a game on the latter; both have dice rolling code built into the forums, which I like.

Lurkers are always most welcome.

[Nolmir]

Hey, if you still have room and are accepting more players, this looks like something that I'd like to get into, if its a 2280-ish game. I have the same role preferences as Renny, but I'd be plenty willing to do either one. As for ships, the Wilkerson strikes my fancy, but I don't care too much about that.

[Sea Tyger]

Welcome aboard, then, Nolmir. That gives us the following players (with department selections in parenthesis):

Raconteur X
PGoodman13 (SCI+FO/MED)
JALU3
Renny (HELM/WEPS)
Nolmir (HELM/WEPS)

I think that will give us a good start. So, Raconteur and JALU, could you please give me your department head preferences? Thanks.

Renny and Nolmir, maybe you can negotiate between yourselves on which department each of you takes? If you both really want to be helm officers, perhaps one takes Navigation (which also falls under Flight Control Officer elite profession)?

For ships, we have two votes for the Anton and one for the Wilkerson. I'm leaning more toward the Anton at this point, so, unless JALU3 and Raconteur have strong preferences for the Wilkerson, we'll go with the light cruiser.

[RaconteurX]

... a Tactical Officer with more of a focus on away-team tactics than starship combat...

Thought that was fairly evident, but it no longer matters. Just committed to another game on RPOL and shan't have the time to play Trek. Have fun storming the castle. Go you Huskies!

[Sea Tyger]

There's an old saying a favorite doctor of mine used once. I think it applies here, but I won't repeat it. Have fun with your other game, Raconteur.

Okay, that leaves us with four players, and I think we're in good shape to go on from there.

JALU3
Renny (Helm/Weps)
Nolmir (Helm/Weps)
PGoodman13 (Sci+FO/Med)

This is a small-enough group that I'm going to go with a PC CO, in the spirit of the "Big Three" of TOS fame. We'll just have the "Big Four."

Renny, since you joined first, go ahead and make your character the Chief Hemlsman. Give him the rank of lieutenant.

Nolmir, please take the Chief Security/Weapons Officer position. As with Renny, please limit your character to the rank of lieutenant.

PG, the Chief Science Officer/First Officer position is yours. Your rank will be lieutenant commander.

And yes, that means I'm offering JALU3 the CO spot. If he declines, PG, it's yours.

Next post: discussing starting experience and total advancements.

[Nolmir]

Ok, SeaTyger, that works for me. Renny and I have been PMing (sorry we didn't clue you in) and that's the decision that I think that we were working towards anyway.

[Sea Tyger]

Starting Experience

As I stated above, I follow the rule:

1 advancement =
1 year of regular Starfleet experience, or
6 months of intense action (including combat/warfare), or
2 years of civilian life

Renny and Nolmir's characters are required to have the Promotion 2 and Command 1 edges. PG's character is required to have the Promotion 3 and Command 2 edges.

Each of you, please briefly describe your basic character concept, including Starfleet experience and when he/she graduated from the Academy (most folks graduate the academy at the age of 22, though there are exceptions, like Chekov).

The following are the only player species I will allow in the game (unless otherwise noted, these races appear in the Player's Guide, the Starfleet Operations Manual and/or Aliens):

Andorian
Atreonid
Caitian (my creation; a close cousin to Regulans, as Centaurans are to Humans)
Centauran
Deltan
Denobulan (from PGoodman13)
Human
Regulan
Tellarite
Vulcan

Mixed-species characters are not allowed at this point (unless you're mixed Human-Centauran).

PG will be playing a Denobulan character. I don't mind an interspecies crew, but I would like to have at least one of you gents playing a human (or, at the very least, a Centauran). It's just not Starfleet unless there's a bunch of humans/near-humans running all over the place.

[Renny]

Hope this is the sort of thing you're looking for;

Lt Harry G Churchill, Starfleet Flight Control officer.

Born: Coventry, England, 2256.

Harry Churchill never had to work too hard at anything. He always did well academically without too much effort. He was usually the most popular guy in class. Good looking without having to work hard at it. It was assumed by those who knew him that he would sail through the entrance exams to Starfleet Academy, and sure enough he was identified as extremely promising by his Academy liason.

Doing well came easy to Harry Churchill and so it came as some surprise to him when he began to flounder as his academy tenure continued. He had chosen the Flight Control branch for training as it was considered the natural path to a Command position some day but his particular talents proved of little use when applied to the disciplines of spatial awareness, navigation and the rapid decision making process required in guiding a starship. He soon realised that he would have to put in the work to achieve competence in his chosen field. Long nights of study replaced the carefree parties of his early days at the academy. Even so, he was held back from graduating with the rest of his class and was forced to go through his cadet evaluation cruise for a second time before being assigned as a newly minted Ensign to the old transport vessel USS Ptolemy.

Churchill had learned a valuable lesson in humility during his last year at the academy and his dedication to improving his skills soon endeared him to his first commanding officer, Captain Bailey. Bailey, himself a ship driver saw a lot of himself in the serious young Churchill. By the time he left Ptolemy, he had risen to the position of Assistant Helmsman and the rank of Lieutenant j.g. A short posting to Starbase 7 followed, where Churchill acted as Department Head for the station's auxillary craft section. This vital experience, along with the promotion to Lieutenant which he achieved six months ago has served to prepare him for his current new posting as Chief Helmsman. Now 29, Churchill is a much more determined and conscientious young officer and eager to embrace the new challenges which lie ahead.

Assuming you are happy with the concept, i'll stat out the character tomorrow night.

Renny

[Renny]

Forgot to mention he's human, by the way