Code of Honor - Starfleet

[Owen E Oulton]

Which action was sanctioned by Starfleet in the person of Admiral Nechayev. Indeed Picard was castigated for not taking this action. Genocide does not apply in this case - the Borg are not a species, nor are they an ethic group. They are a computer virus which infects humanoids. Regardless of what you might think of it, it does not contradict Starfleet mores, and so would not conflict with the Starfleet Code.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Which action was sanctioned by Starfleet in the person of Admiral Nechayev. Indeed Picard was castigated for not taking this action. Genocide does not apply in this case - the Borg are not a species, nor are they an ethic group. They are a computer virus which infects humanoids. Regardless of what you might think of it, it does not contradict Starfleet mores, and so would not conflict with the Starfleet Code.

Just because the Borg are a single person—or meta-person—doesn't make the destruction of them any less genocide.

Anyway, this goes to show that, if this were a game, Picard (who did end up realizing Guinan was right, after all) and Nechayev's players would have different Codes of Honour written on their character sheets. In the case of Sloan, his Code of Honour, which we can presume he believes in just as strongly, would put him squarely at odds with Picard. Indeed, the existence of Sloan would probably make Picard seriously question his commitment to Starfleet (a cornerstone of his own Code of Honour), if he knew that Sloan's activities (even before the whole bio-warfare thing) were being sanctioned by people in the command structure. Hell, after what he did to Remmick...

[Owen E Oulton]

Just because the Borg are a single person—or meta-person—doesn't make the destruction of them any less genocide.

Well, it really does, by the definition of the word genocide. I don't live in a world where words magically mean what we want them to mean. IMNSHO, the Borg are not a person - they are a malevolent computer virus which enslaves people and destroys what makes them persons. True, a small minority can be restored, but it is utterly impractical to do so on any meaningful fraction of all infected non-individuals. They're like the Walking Dead, only more capable and infectious.

Anyway, this goes to show that, if this were a game, Picard (who did end up realizing Guinan was right, after all) and Nechayev's players would have different Codes of Honour written on their character sheets. In the case of Sloan, his Code of Honour, which we can presume he believes in just as strongly, would put him squarely at odds with Picard. Indeed, the existence of Sloan would probably make Picard seriously question his commitment to Starfleet (a cornerstone of his own Code of Honour), if he knew that Sloan's activities (even before the whole bio-warfare thing) were being sanctioned by people in the command structure. Hell, after what he did to Remmick...

Picard and Nechayev may well have had differing Codes of Honour, but they are NPCs. The Code of Honour uses game mechanics to restrict a player's choices in a metagaming fashion. Codes of Honour are designed to be adopted as a choice by a player - even when one is received as a result of a Tour of Duty they can be swapped out and the points balanced. There is a carrot-and-stick built in... accept these game-mechanics restrictions and get extra points for character generation. To do what you're suggesting steps over the line from "rules lawyer" to what is commonly known as "rules nazi" (wish there was a term that didn't misuse the term Nazi, but there you have it). It is manipulative on the part of the GM to implement this sort of rule - tantamount to the oft-used term railroading.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Well, it really does, by the definition of the word genocide. I don't live in a world where words magically mean what we want them to mean.

The Borg do, though. That's the whole point of the exercise of SF, to take unreal violations of accepted norms and see how they relate to everything else.

IMNSHO, the Borg are not a person - they are a malevolent computer virus which enslaves people and destroys what makes them persons. True, a small minority can be restored, but it is utterly impractical to do so on any meaningful fraction of all infected non-individuals. They're like the Walking Dead, only more capable and infectious.

So I take it Day of the Dead wasn't your favourite movie of the bunch?

It is manipulative on the part of the GM to implement this sort of rule - tantamount to the oft-used term railroading.

Demanding PCs in a Star Trek game be thought of as PCs in a Star Trek game by their players is railroading? Do you feel the same way about Sources of Stability in Trail of Cthulhu or Passions in Unknown Armies?

Putting aside my suggested rules changes, the Code of Honour doesn't actually restrict player action in any way. It merely adds a potential consequence for certain actions, and specifically in regards to a mechanic which represents a diegetic element of the game world, the exact opposite of a metagame restriction. It's actually more of a carrot-and-pool-noodle than a carrot-and-stick, since a negative Renown doesn't really ever bottom out in a permanent way like HP or SAN. (Interestingly, I can't find a suggested guideline in the TOS core for a lower maximum for Skill or Discipline Renown for Starfleet officers in play.)