Warp factor and distance?

[Cdre Bob Wesley]

If there's a thread on this already, stop me before I get going, or merge it please.

But I'm running a TOS campaign (CODA) and calculating warp distances on the star charts and then factoring them into the game. This feels like an awful chore. Especially if the players never really notice when I skip from scene-to-scene.

CODA doesn't even provide a TOS conversion, so I'm stuck with TNG. But regardless. . .

How do I know when to make warp factors/distances a "rule" and when do I throw it out?

[C5]

Personally, I'm in favour of the "speed of plot" warp scale...

More precisely, if the story happens in a given sector, where players may have to travel between systems during the adventure (and speed being an issue), I try to map the sector in advance and define the distances between the various important points (in term of raw distance or just "time at warp X").

For any other travel, the time needed is the one fitting the story. Should the players notice a discrepancy between travel times from a story to another, there is always the explanation that the subspace condition changed, that a sun went nova and that they have to avoid the sector, that they need to resupply somewhere, and so on...

Hope this helps

[Cdre Bob Wesley]

That helps a great deal C5, thanks!

[Sarge]

I'm with C5. Gaming is supposed to be about fun and adventures, not algebra homework. "If a starship leaves Khitomer and heads toward Vulcan at warp 4 and another starship leaves Andor 33 hours later on a course for Tellar at warp 2.5, calculate the subspace coordinates of the point where their courses intersect." Zzzzz...

If I'm Narrating, their courses intersect where the cloaked Romulan fleet is engaged in nefarious plots, and coordinates be damned.

[K.G. Carlson]

I usually only use the speed and distance chart between adventures, to calculate the passage of "off camera" time (players hate to be stuck at Ensign for the whole campaign).

But definitely use warp at the "speed of plot" as others have mentioned during the adventures.

[selek]

If I'm Narrating, their courses intersect where the cloaked Romulan fleet is engaged in nefarious plots, and coordinates be damned.

Pushover.

Just ONE Romulan fleet?


And here I thought you were about CHALLENGING your players!

[Owen E Oulton]

TOS Warp Factors are actually a lot simpler than TNG ones, and most scientific calculators can handle it no sweat. Where in TNG, speed = WF^10/3, in TOS it was just speed = WF³ in both cases quoted in times lightspeed.

Of course, the correct answer is given above "at the speed of plot" - i.e. <i>fast enough so the cavalry arrives just in time to mop up after the players are forced to figure the solution out for themselves...</i>

[RaconteurX]

Two prior discussions which may prove helpful: Quick & Dirty Guide to Warp Speed and Believe it or not, I only just noticed...

[K.G. Carlson]

I am also running Coda Trek in the 23rd, and the conundrum of speed/distance traveled is important to an upcoming adventure plot; that, combined with this thread, got my brain to percolating.

Sure, warp should move at the speed of plot, but on the other hand sometimes the speed IS the plot. I like the way the Coda system balances out those Scotty-style one-hit wonder tricks with the engineering department, so it wasn't too long until I had cooked up these two additions to my house rules.

I’m given ’er all she’s got, Captain!: The rules for pushing the engines on page 99 of the Narrator’s Guide are good for game balance, but neglect the input of a talented engineer. To assist the engines in holding together while being pushed to the red line, an engineer or team of engineers may be working to that end. Before making the hourly reliability test, the engineer(s) may make an Engineering: Propulsion (warp system) check at TN 15 with the following results:

Propulsion (warp system) modifier
disastrous failure -3
complete failure -2
failure -1
marginal success +1
complete success +2
superior success +3
extraordinary success +4

This potential bonus assumes that the engineer(s) are constantly making engine adjustments while the ship is moving at high speeds. This is considered a standard action, which means that the crew involved must begin making Stamina tests after two hours to avoid fatigue penalties (see Player’s Guide p. 248 or Narrator’s Guide p. 95-96).

Go long!: While it would seem that the warp speed chart exists only to justify Voyager’s journey, and warp speed should move “at the speed of plot” sometimes that distance traveled can be made to serve the plot. Borrowing from one of the novels of many moons ago, the engines can be rigged for “high speed running.” Making reliability tests every hour for a month-long trip would be extremely tedious. The engineering crew can rig the engines to run at maximum output via a controlled burn out of the engine components; this will also require extensive repairs after the high speed run is complete. Both the rigging and repair of the engines are extended tests.

The TN is 10+Warp speed desired (to ship’s maximum rating); X2 for daily reliability tests, X5 for weekly reliability tests with an hourly interval for progress. Maximum travel time at this rate is equal to the warp factor traveled in days or weeks respectively.

Because this type of strain is particularly hard on the ship’s engines, the repair TN is 15+Warp speed traveled with the same multiplier as used to determine the rigging TN. The repair interval is also one hour.

Replace the Engineering: Propulsion (warp system) skill test with Enterprise: Administration (Starfleet) after rigging and use the chart in I’m given ’er all she’s got, Captain! to determine bonus/penalty to reliability TNs.

***
EDIT: I've just uploaded a pdf of my complete Coda Trek House Rules on the CODA forum; right here.

[MadProphet]

For calculating warps, spreadsheets are your friend. I created a series of worksheets that will calculate travel times using TOS (wf^3), Star Trek Maps (wf^3 * x), Star Fleet Battles (wf^3 * x) and TNG (wf^3.33 * x).

Just enter star co-ordinates, destination co-ordinates and warp factor, select scale and voila! Instant answer.