Teaching my kids...

[Ronin84]

Every Saturday from 10 till 1 I run games for my sons and three of their friends...I want to introduce them to the world of Star Trek my problem is what rules system should I use?

We have played a lot of different games so far but none of Trek...any suggestions are very much appreciated!!

Ronin

[PGoodman13]

What games have you played? For Trek, I really like to push CODA, but it depends on what system(s) they're used to.

[Owen E Oulton]

I'm quite happy with the ICON system. It only requires a few tweaks, which I have detailed on the following page: http://www.coldnorth.com/owen/game/s...s/newrules.htm

The system is easy to follow for beginners. Character creation is fairly easy, but I have a number of pre-generated characters on the Relic and Memory: ICON pages. The most cost-effective book to get is the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Core Rules, or if you prefer TOS-style Trek, the TOS Core Rules.

[Ronin84]

Owen I was thinking the same thing...

Games we have played

Pathfinder
dnd 4
Savage Worlds
Stars without numbers
Battletech
MnM 3e

Those are the major ones..

I am gonna see about getting a copy of the ds9 rules...sold mine years ago...maybe the TOS as well.

[Ronin84]

Adventure ideas for kids playing characters who are going to be older than them? Suggestions are very much appreciated..

[PGoodman13]

What's the basic premise of the series?

[Ronin84]

I think that we are going to go with more of a below decks campaign idea. My problem right now is I am trying to decide on an era...either the 2290's or movie era I believe OR putting them in after the Cardassian War...

I am sure of the below decks campaign...Ensigns and Lieutenant JG's for sure....

And Hello Patrick, long time no talk!

[PGoodman13]

So what ages are we talking here for your sons and their friends? And how old do you see the PCs they'll be playing? If you want to skew younger for the PCs, I'd probably go with the 24th century; they seemed to have a better eye for prodigies than they did in the 23rd (though in the 23rd you did get characters like, well, Jim Kirk and Peter Preston, who was 14 or 15 years old according to the novel for ST2).

Either way, getting them relatively green and young onto a starship shouldn't be a major hassle from a story standpoint. The biggest challenge will be getting the differences in their ages, if there's a significant difference, taken into account, though it sounds like you've probably got that under control.

I would still recommend the CODA system for this, since they've played a number of D20-based games, and there's a definite similarity to the feel of the dice mechanic between D20 and CODA (dice roll + skill level + attrib modifier compared to a target number), and the character generation isn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. There are a number of aids for it up on my site. If you want a lifepath system, Doug Burke adapted the FASA lifepath system to CODA; that's in one of the issues of the BTFF zine. He's even done one for Klingons, which I'm working on getting up on the site one of these days.

The new teaser for Into Darkness kind of has me jazzed for Trek again, so maybe I'll get back to the website again soon. I do have some material I need to post.

[Ronin84]

So what ages are we talking here for your sons and their friends? And how old do you see the PCs they'll be playing? If you want to skew younger for the PCs, I'd probably go with the 24th century; they seemed to have a better eye for prodigies than they did in the 23rd (though in the 23rd you did get characters like, well, Jim Kirk and Peter Preston, who was 14 or 15 years old according to the novel for ST2).

Either way, getting them relatively green and young onto a starship shouldn't be a major hassle from a story standpoint. The biggest challenge will be getting the differences in their ages, if there's a significant difference, taken into account, though it sounds like you've probably got that under control.

I would still recommend the CODA system for this, since they've played a number of D20-based games, and there's a definite similarity to the feel of the dice mechanic between D20 and CODA (dice roll + skill level + attrib modifier compared to a target number), and the character generation isn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. There are a number of aids for it up on my site. If you want a lifepath system, Doug Burke adapted the FASA lifepath system to CODA; that's in one of the issues of the BTFF zine. He's even done one for Klingons, which I'm working on getting up on the site one of these days.

The new teaser for Into Darkness kind of has me jazzed for Trek again, so maybe I'll get back to the website again soon. I do have some material I need to post.

The kids are...13, 12, 12, 12, 12 and 9 they have been playing together for almost two years. My sons are 12, 12 and 9 and they have a beginning base to work from but not extensive...

I tried CODA back in the day and it really didn't resonate with me as much as ICON did but I was feeling kind of anti-decipher at the time...maybe I will take another look. I got rid of all those books as well...though I think I can still find some of them out there.

[PGoodman13]

Okay, so relatively young. Ensigns straight out of the Academy, maybe a LTJG for one of the older boys. A 2290s, late movie-era game could work. If they're so inclined, you might want to go the Peter Preston child prodigy route with at least one of the characters, though depending on their individual maturity and role-play skills, that might not be necessary. It's a good way to go, though, if you're worried at all about the character making a 12-year-old's mistake occasionally. The character could be relatively brilliant, but still lacking the life skills that only come with growing up.

Prodigy characters include Wesley Crusher, Peter Preston from Star Trek II, and Pavel Checkov from Star Trek (2009). You know, in case you needed to point to one for a player's benefit. I could probably come up with a few more given a little research time.

How familiar with Trek in general are they? They sound like they've got a relatively good RP background (impressive, really, considering their ages). One of the reasons I push CODA, aside from my personal love of the system, is its flexibility. In spite of the character generation problems, it's a very easy system to get into and understand, and I find it vanishes in use. It's also useful for all eras of play, from Enterprise to post-Nemesis.

It does, however, benefit greatly from players coming in with a familiarity with Star Trek and the general milieu. It's not insurmountable if they don't know the setting well, but it does help. While I like the all-era approach, it does pose a problem of not necessarily providing an in-depth coverage of a particular era. This is where the ICON books really shone for me; had the line and the company survived, there would have been era splat books for CODA. I saw one chapter of the DS9 book that had started development when everything fell apart.

I know I had a point when I started this, but as usual I kinda rambled and babble a bit. Have I been of any help, or have I just muddied things up?

[Ronin84]

Okay, so relatively young. Ensigns straight out of the Academy, maybe a LTJG for one of the older boys. A 2290s, late movie-era game could work. If they're so inclined, you might want to go the Peter Preston child prodigy route with at least one of the characters, though depending on their individual maturity and role-play skills, that might not be necessary. It's a good way to go, though, if you're worried at all about the character making a 12-year-old's mistake occasionally. The character could be relatively brilliant, but still lacking the life skills that only come with growing up.

Prodigy characters include Wesley Crusher, Peter Preston from Star Trek II, and Pavel Checkov from Star Trek (2009). You know, in case you needed to point to one for a player's benefit. I could probably come up with a few more given a little research time.

How familiar with Trek in general are they? They sound like they've got a relatively good RP background (impressive, really, considering their ages). One of the reasons I push CODA, aside from my personal love of the system, is its flexibility. In spite of the character generation problems, it's a very easy system to get into and understand, and I find it vanishes in use. It's also useful for all eras of play, from Enterprise to post-Nemesis.

It does, however, benefit greatly from players coming in with a familiarity with Star Trek and the general milieu. It's not insurmountable if they don't know the setting well, but it does help. While I like the all-era approach, it does pose a problem of not necessarily providing an in-depth coverage of a particular era. This is where the ICON books really shone for me; had the line and the company survived, there would have been era splat books for CODA. I saw one chapter of the DS9 book that had started development when everything fell apart.

I know I had a point when I started this, but as usual I kinda rambled and babble a bit. Have I been of any help, or have I just muddied things up?

Muddied...no! I appreciate the back and forth as it helps me with brainstorming!

They are a great group of kids and I have now looked at CODA and I have to agree with you, those rules are going to be easier to show them how to use.

My three are very familiar with TOS Trek having watched quite a few episodes and all of TAS. They have a bit of knowledge of TNG and DS9...not really Voyager though.

I am thinking of settling the game in 2371, there about. This is a time I can catch them up on pretty quick and I can build off of another adventure we had for Stars without Numbers...

[Maltese_Falcon]

For what it's worth, apologies for chiming in so late (been a while since I logged on). In a nutshell, teaching kids any RPG--Star Trek in particular--has several benefits.

First off, it's a fun activity for us. I have a 10-year-old son that I now include w/my Star Trek series (post-Dominion, post-Voyager). Like PGoodman, I also like to push CODA as an RPG system. My son's character is a Lt. in security, interested in ground tactics and demolitions. He uses d6 in many other games we all play, so rolling 2d6 and adding/subtracting numbers is easy for him.

Second, TAS is in my series' "official history," and both my kids know and grew up watching it. Both enjoy the action, and my daughter (also a gamer, but not Trek) likes the life lessons that TAS includes.

Third, in our gaming group, most of us went to college together and they really like it when I bring my kids to the game sessions; they treat my kids as equals and offer good gaming suggestions.

Lastly, gaming as a social activity:

• teaches teamwork and problem solving
• encourages imagination/thinking outside the box
• helps with basic math, helpful for kids who need the practice

Just a few thoughts. Ciao for now.

M_F