My house rules:

[IKI]

Here are some of my house rules, tell me what you think of them.

Explosions:
Sometimes things blow up. Control panels erupt in a shower of sparks, a terroristic bomb explodes, or unstable compounds release all their energy at once. When a character is caught in an explosion, he may suffer damage based on whatever or not he is caught in the explosion’s blast radius. Characters caught in an explosion make a Quickness reaction test TN 7 + Blast radius to reduce the damage and other effects. Character caught in the drop-off zone gain a +1 bonus for each meter beyond the blast radius. The amount in which you reduce the damage and its effects depends on the level of success (see below). Aldo, sometimes the character can also catch fire when caught in an explosion, see Fire damage for more info.
Extra-Ordinary Success: You suffer na damage at all.
Superior Success: Reduce the damage to a quarter.
Complete & Marginal Success: Reduce the damage to half.
Complete Failure: +1D6 Damage (mooks loose an extra wound level), and the target falls prone and drops everything he holds.
Disastrous Failure: +2D6 Damage (mooks loose two extra wound levels), and the target falls prone and drops everything he holds.
Explosions cause damage to the area around them. Find the appropriate material type, and apply explosive damage to the amount the material can absorb, then the sustainable damage.

Personel combat (see file):
PERSONAL COMBAT.doc
This file containst the following items (it is not finished):
-Alternate combat system based on Rune quest. It works with combat maneuvers that are granted depending on the level of success of the attack.
-Combat Skill group: I use this skill group with proficiencies and bonuses to certain maneuvers (see alternate combat system)similar to the Lord of the Rings rpg.
-Combat related edges: A number of edges that are related to the alternate combat system. Martial arts can be created using a combination of certian edges.
-Proffesional abilities: A number of proffesional abilites that I created
-Weapons: My rules to create certain weapon, following a more logic system.

Reaction saves:
Reaction saves against skill checks are unbalenced since that there level is significantelly lower than skills. I use a house rule that can balance this: Make a skill check against a TN 10 (+ applicable mod). Than the target makes a Reaction test against a TN based on the level of success: Marginal or complete TN 9, Superior TN 12, and Exra-ordinary Success TN 15. Allow the use of synergy bonuses on reaction saves.

surviving at any cost:
Some characters can survive damage that normally would kill him, effectively cheating dead. He takes voluntarily the Disabled Flaw or other appropriate Flaw (Example: Addiction Flaw to specific Medication), for each level of the flaw (or multiple Level I’s) the character can ignore 1 full Health level of wound point damage. The ignored damage can bring you maximum to the Incapacitate Wound Level. The character may take the Medical Remedy Edge once he is successfully healed. If he has no enhancement picks left, he may take the Edge and must spend them the next time he goes up an advancement.

System operation Skill:
System operation skill is the most unbalanced skill in the game. Most of the other skill are group skills (example Enigneering, Science, Language...). So in my game I use a System Operation skill group with the following skills
-System operation "Tactical" = Weapons, Shields, Helm
-System operation "Ops" = Sensors, Communication, Transporters
-System Operation "Personal Equipment" = by specific equipent. Example Tricorder.

[RaconteurX]

While I understand your position regarding Systems Operation, it doesn't really fit how the skill is portrayed on-screen. Characters change crew position at the drop of a communicator, and this never seems to decrease their competence. Ultimately this is the skill of using a starship's GUI in the most efficient way possible. Does the way you manipulate data on a touch-interface smartphone differ all that much from the way you do it on a tablet PC or a big-ass virtual tabletop? I don't think so, personally.

[Doug Taylor]

I was going to say the same thing that Raconteur just said. Everything that we see on Star Trek suggests that moving from one System Operation test to the other should be as simple as can be. I think they got this one spot-on, and don't agree that anything needs to be changed.

Your point about Reactions is a good one, though. Until characters have increased their Reactions, they are so low that they will usually have trouble hitting even a TN 10.

[Fugazi Grrl]

I agree too, about the task of switching stations. Since all bridge stations are laid out in a similar LCARS interface it should be easy enough for a trained officer to go from one station to another, provided the station is not locked out or keyed to one officer's personal control code or something.

I know both Tuvok and Worf had their weapons consoles keyed to their own log-ins. Thus Troi has to guide Worf's finger over the "fire" button in Nemesis, rather than just fire the torpedoes herself.

Personal Combat - one of the reasons I switched from FASA to CODA was that my main character - an expert in three martial arts (Mok'bara, Capoeira, and Muay Thai) kept getting her butt kicked, roundly, by people with half her skill level due to unlucky dice rolls.

This has so far yet to happen in CODA. As a matter of fact, she fights like a sort of Cynthia Rothrock-type, as she is supposed to, using CODA's rules for close combat and the Martial Arts PDF written by Scott Rhymer. I'd be afraid to change or incorporate new rules that they might tone down her abilities in that area.

I've always felt CODA's combat system was meant to incorporate the kind of "Kirk-fu" you see on the shows, with PCs winning fights like no body's business. And that is why I've become so fond of the system (that and their stellar rules for building Starships, and Starship combat).

I like the other rules. The Medical Remedy Edge is a part of the ICON system, but we also incorporate a lot of the edges and flaws from ICON into our CODA game.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I've always felt CODA's combat system was meant to incorporate the kind of "Kirk-fu" you see on the shows, with PCs winning fights like no body's business. And that is why I've become so fond of the system (that and their stellar rules for building Starships, and Starship combat).

Yeah, me too. After actually reading how the multiple action rules work, I realized I could take out a room full of Romulans in one round with a phaser rifle–and to be honest, this doesn't seem wrong in Trek.

[K.G. Carlson]

I'm with FG and TK; Coda does the finest emulation of Trek I've found of the various RP systems. So while I mine the others heavily for source material and concepts, its Warp 9.9 with Coda rules for me.

[IKI]

While I understand your position regarding Systems Operation, it doesn't really fit how the skill is portrayed on-screen. Characters change crew position at the drop of a communicator, and this never seems to decrease their competence.

I do not totally agree. In other words: A Science officer with the same level of skill in the System operation skill as the Security officer could fire the starship weapons as good as the security officer? This doesn't seem logical to me.
Character can still change positions, and still invest in one of the other System ops skills. It just makes the roles of each character more inportant.

Does the way you manipulate data on a touch-interface smartphone differ all that much from the way you do it on a tablet PC or a big-ass virtual tabletop?

No, but the programm you run does matter. I can work very well with Word or PMhotoshop but I cannot work with other programms. All of the System ops skills in my game use different programs one for Ships weapons one for Sensors,... With each program its own variables, and difficulties.

Your point about Reactions is a good one, though. Until characters have increased their Reactions, they are so low that they will usually have trouble hitting even a TN 10.

Thx. As for the 10, you have always courage, and I let them use synergy bonus. Then with this system, the change of succeeding are much greater than just opposing to the skill test result of the opponent.

This has so far yet to happen in CODA. As a matter of fact, she fights like a sort of Cynthia Rothrock-type, as she is supposed to, using CODA's rules for close combat and the Martial Arts PDF written by Scott Rhymer. I'd be afraid to change or incorporate new rules that they might tone down her abilities in that area.

I like this file to. But if you look at the star trek universe, there are possibly a million martial arts out there. If you use a system that has its own edges with each martial arts, this can give a little problems and a lot of work. My idea in that area was to create (and convert) a system that has some general skill, give some small bonuses, and give a list of combat related traits. Now a player or NPC just has to do is take the unarmed combat skill, take some bonusess, and traits that mimmic his Martial arts style.

[RaconteurX]

A Science officer with the same level of skill in the System operation skill as the Security officer could fire the starship weapons as good as the security officer? This doesn't seem logical to me.

This is why the tactical officer has the Tactical specialty for his Systems Operation skill, for a further +2, and the science officer does not. A good tactical officer likely also has several professional abilities which allow him or her to further outstrip the science officer when it comes to firing the ship's weapons. Keep in mind that the science officer is not a civilian scientist, however; he or she is a trained Starfleet officer with a high level of general competence. Again, my position is based on what we see on-screen. That's Trek reality... regardless of what may conflict with real-world logic.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

No, but the programm you run does matter. I can work very well with Word or PMhotoshop but I cannot work with other programms. All of the System ops skills in my game use different programs one for Ships weapons one for Sensors,... With each program its own variables, and difficulties.

On the other hand, Word and Photoshop weren't designed to work togther; the LCARS subroutines were.

[Fugazi Grrl]

I like this file to. But if you look at the star trek universe, there are possibly a million martial arts out there. If you use a system that has its own edges with each martial arts, this can give a little problems and a lot of work. My idea in that area was to create (and convert) a system that has some general skill, give some small bonuses, and give a list of combat related traits. Now a player or NPC just has to do is take the unarmed combat skill, take some bonusess, and traits that mimmic his Martial arts style.

Well, so far, we haven't had any trouble using the combat system as it stands, and using Martial Arts skills. I actually wrote a little PDF on additional martial arts skills, expanding on what Scott wrote. Not as good as his, but we use it a lot.

I do a lot with GURPS Martial Arts, and if it weren't for CODA we'd probably be playing Star Trek using GURPS.

What it boils down to with house rules is use the ones that best fit the way you want to play. Your house rules probably work great for the way you and your group like to play. I think they're well-written and well-thought out.

[Fugazi Grrl]

This is why the tactical officer has the Tactical specialty for his Systems Operation skill, for a further +2, and the science officer does not. A good tactical officer likely also has several professional abilities which allow him or her to further outstrip the science officer when it comes to firing the ship's weapons. Keep in mind that the science officer is not a civilian scientist, however; he or she is a trained Starfleet officer with a high level of general competence. Again, my position is based on what we see on-screen. That's Trek reality... regardless of what may conflict with real-world logic.

Very well put. And there are also Professional Abilities in the rules that account for this degree of station specificity. Or to emphasize the character's performance of their skills in their specialty (like Ship's Counselor).

[Fugazi Grrl]

I'm with FG and TK; Coda does the finest emulation of Trek I've found of the various RP systems. So while I mine the others heavily for source material and concepts, its Warp 9.9 with Coda rules for me.

We even mine a lot of stuff out of my Narrator's collection of 3e GURPS books. And the ICON, and FASA material of course. CODA is one of the best systems I've ever played, now that I've learned the mechanics and know how to use it to create a cinematic scenario and an action-capable character it is the best system IMO.

Especially for Trek.

[splatomat]

I agree with the OP about System Operations. I house-ruled it in a very similar fashion. I took the list of 'systems' detailed in the sidebar and split them evenly into three piles organized by the three divisions of Starfleet: Command, Science (including Medical), and Operations (inccluding Eng and Security/Tactical). I tried to make sure each of the three skills included systems that were important.

In addition to feeling more balanced (in my eyes) it also has given the players the chance to feel like they're investing in a niche. If they choose to diversify, there's an actual difference in skill level between their character and someone who chose to really focus (instead of just a +2 difference).

[IKI]

A good tactical officer likely also has several professional abilities which allow him or her to further outstrip the science officer when it comes to firing the ship's weapons.

I see professional abilities as specialisations in the Security offcier class. There are Security officer that are more like investigator, there are some of them that specializes in personal combat, and there are ones that specializes in starship combat.

Well, so far, we haven't had any trouble using the combat system as it stands, and using Martial Arts skills. I actually wrote a little PDF on additional martial arts skills, expanding on what Scott wrote. Not as good as his, but we use it a lot.

I know but all I asked was to look at the system I wrote (converted) and give your opinions on it: is it balanced, does it cover all combat actions, does it provides interesting combats. And how about all other house rules I suggested??
I would greatly aprichiate the info and feedback.

I agree with the OP about System Operations. I house-ruled it in a very similar fashion. I took the list of 'systems' detailed in the sidebar and split them evenly into three piles organized by the three divisions of Starfleet: Command, Science (including Medical), and Operations (inccluding Eng and Security/Tactical). I tried to make sure each of the three skills included systems that were important.

He I like that split. I think yours is even better than mine.

In addition to feeling more balanced (in my eyes) it also has given the players the chance to feel like they're investing in a niche. If they choose to diversify, there's an actual difference in skill level between their character and someone who chose to really focus (instead of just a +2 difference).

My feel excately

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I feel about System Ops the same way I feel about most 'Computer' skills in RPGs. They're an artefact of a time when just using one of the damn things was a specialized skill, before they were integrated into every aspect of life. For a world where you can ask the computer to do complex analysis from a few stated facts it seems even more absurd.

I'd suggest breaking up the System Ops into use-oriented skills, like Piloting, Hitting Things With Lasers or Doing Obscure Research. There's plenty of other skills–Chemical Analysis or Armed Combat–which are assumed to require the necessary tools to function. I don't see why any starship-related skills would be different.