The nitty-gritty of colony setup

[DavidMowatt]

Woo, finally made it onto the discussion boards! And only a few months after [trekrpg] stopped transmitting, too. I love my organised life. Still, it's nice to be playing Trek again.

The Trek in question... next semester, after the summer break, I'm going to be running a Trek campaign with the avid new bunch of roleplayers that I've found here at university. I managed to pilfer quite a good idea, shamelessly ripped from the Star Trek: New Earth series (which I haven't read, so any consistency breaks are not my fault ).

The campaign will be set after the Dominion War. A colony world will have been devastated in a Jem'Hadar attack, to the point where the biosphere is now uninhabitable. Instead of re-establishing the colony in the Alpha Quadrant, however, the Federation have decided to use these experienced colonists to set up the Federation's first permanent colony in the Gamma Quadrant. (If ST canon says that there is already a Federation colony in the GQ, GM canon quietly erases the planet from stellar cartography.)

This provides some useful boundaries for the campaign:

1.) We recapture some of the old TOS exploration feel. The PCs ship is by itself on the frontier, almost out of contact with the Federation, and with strange new species all around, including what's left of the Dominion if they're not lucky. They've got to rely upon themselves.

2.) There's plenty of exploration to do. Current projections state that the PCs will scout a few planets out first, find a suitable one soon, and the campaign will be temporarily fixed upon that world and the logistical problems of getting a colony set up - surveying, scouting local hazards, dealing with flora and fauna...

3.) PCs will have the option to play either crewmembers of the Starfleet vessel or the colonists themselves, who under the circumstances will have to interact to survive (thus satisfying my awkward player who is bound to want to play the Klingon/Ferengi/Jem'Hadar/Q/other species inappropriate to Starfleet).

At the moment I'm doing preliminary planning, working out some of the details. Due to the fixed nature of the campaign, a lot of the fun will come from the NPCs the players will interact with on a regular basis, so I'm writing up a roster even now. However, some input from all those fine minds out there would most certainly be appreciated.

1.) What kind of ship would be suitable for carrying the colonists/Starfleet mission? I'm thinking of a Nebula-class; nice, versatile workhorse. Would a single ship be capable of at least setting up the initial basis for a colony (buildings, power amenities etc.), or will a small convoy be needed?

2.) How many colonists do you think would be suitable for those initial stages? 100+? If it's more than 150 or so, I'm going to need a second ship...

3.) What kind of equipment would you need (insert useful Trek devices for colonisation here) and how much cargo space would the initial-stages-worth take up?

4.) Any comments, suggestions, seeds, hooks or whatever to throw in?

Oh, and a brief shot for those who know what they're talking about in Spacedock (which I don't... yet ): How many SUs (roughly) does a Nebula's cargo module contain, how many would I get back if I pulled out the enhanced sensor array (to, say, fill it with more crew quarters and cargo space), and what sensor package would the ship have without the enhanced sensors?

Whew, a lot of questions... I hope you can answer a few! Of course, now I expect I'm going to be thoroughly interrogated in return. Ah, me.. better think up some answers!

Right, back to the periodic insomnia.

Sleep... is for the... weak... [zzzzz]


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David Mowatt
el_narrador@yahoo.com
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"Ray, when someone
asks you if you are
a god, you say YES!"
- Ghostbusters
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[AslanC]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DavidMowatt:
1.) What kind of ship would be suitable for carrying the colonists/Starfleet mission? I'm thinking of a Nebula-class; nice, versatile workhorse. Would a single ship be capable of at least setting up the initial basis for a colony (buildings, power amenities etc.), or will a small convoy be needed?</font>

Agreed, a Nebula is the workhorse of the Federation and a great example of a tough enough ship to stand on it's own and take a gander around the Gamma Quad. Good choice! And yes a convoy would be needed initially, but the Nebula could transport the colonist and their animals, while the robot-transports carry the building suplies

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">2.) How many colonists do you think would be suitable for those initial stages? 100+? If it's more than 150 or so, I'm going to need a second ship...</font>

I would say 150 would be a nice number as a first wave to set up evberything, with hundreds more coming i the second wave in say 1 year.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">3.) What kind of equipment would you need (insert useful Trek devices for colonisation here) and how much cargo space would the initial-stages-worth take up?</font>

Boy this one is beyond me...anyone else?

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">4.) Any comments, suggestions, seeds, hooks or whatever to throw in?</font>

Ever see a show called Earth 2? It was very cool colonial type stuff and dealt with humans interacting with a new environment. Also you could have ancient ruins of some long dead spceies...or are they? Classic Trek stuff abounds.



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Aslan Collas
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Star Trek:Strange New Worlds;
http://www.geocities.com/aslan_collas/
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Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #76: Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.

[redwood973]

As to ships: the Nebula-class is a good pick. I also think a convoy will be need to start with. But as far as leaving the Nebula on its own, I have doubts. A colony in the G-Q will not be easily reached, even with the aid of the Wormhole. What if the colony needed assistance of some sort, but the Nebula is one (maybe two) days away. Perhaps who other ships (minor ship class) need be included as support ships for the Nebula (how 'bout a scout and a light cruiser)? If you are going to establish a presence in the G-Q you need to support that presence.

[pesterfield]

Some suggestions:

Do a thorough study of the system, you'll want to expand throughout the system eventually. Especially if you have more than one class M world or a mineral rich asteroid belt.

Your ecologist will be one of the most important positions for awhile to determine what nonnative flora and fauna can be introduced and how to use the native kind.

If you can spare one of your colony ships to stay in orbit permanately it can be used as a beginning space station.

Is this colony a business enterprise, government sponsore? Is it a mix of species or an ethnic colony?

Use an Intrepid or another class capable of landing as the center of the colony. It will provide temporary living quarters, replicators for food and material fabrication, and serve as the colony power supply.

[Paul]

I'm going to jump on the band-wagon and agree that the Nebula-class vessel is a good choice (although you could probably sqeeze close to 200 colonists and equipment into one...) The Nebula is well-armed, well protected, and packs a mean sensor pallet to have a sniff around the area.

If these guys re going to do the initial colony set-up work, then you'd need not much more than 100 people. If you want a good idea for the setting up of a colony, and what equipment might be useful, then I'd strongly recommend you read Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (it deals with 100 people setting up the first colony on Mars from approx. 2025 onwards).

Otherwise, your colonists are going to need power generators, basic shelter, replicator units, communications systems, mining and excavation tools, a few ground vehicles, possibly a transporter unit, and a few bits of personal equipment (phasers, tricorders, etc...). Of course, don't dare go in without Medical support.

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A couple of comments to throw in times of stress to that person who's really annoying you...

"Oohhh. Did I just step on your itty-bitty ego?"
"How many times do I have to flush before you go away?"

[JALU3]

Hello, so you're @ a University too? I C. I tell you it's sometimes rather difficult dealing with college scheduales, even our own, us being GMs.

However, I wouldn't agree to sparing a Nebula Class alone in the GQ. Sure, she's a fine vessel and would work very well in your campaign. I mean she is well armed, can be fit for most task that are asked of her, and can stand alone for long periods of time.

But at the same time realize that this one vessel would go a far way at helping the Federation rebuild the devestated sectors. Furthermore you have to ask the question of force requirements after the war and whether or not the Federation will help support the Cardassian Union. If your answer to the later question is yes, then the Federation will have her hands full with the rebuild (especially due to the last minute massacuring of Cardassians wholesale). However, if the answer to the later question is no, then a Nebula may be spared.

In my own personnal opinion I would start rather large, especially due to the fact the the Dominion still isn't happy with Alpha Quadrent powers romping around in their backyard. Therefore I would start the campaign with a Excelsior (upgraded) carrying the colonist and the planning elements. Accompanied with her is a Nova, a Norway, and two Medium size transports of some sort. The Nova and the Norway would do the majority of the scouting and the two transports would carry the equipment necessary to establish a personnal. The Excelsior would provide the technical support and that extra umph if so needed. Remember there is protection and strength in numbers.

With all this, no one in their right mind would attack without giving a second thought. Furthermore, all those people would be able to create a permanant colony far faster than a single vessel. Once the colony is finished and the initial colonist level this task force the only vessels that would remain are the Nova and several smaller craft. I suggest a flight of SAFs (3-5), and three Ventures and or Danubes. These smaller craft are built in mass and can easily be transported by the two transports along with the rest of their equipment.

The reason why I think that the larger vessels wouldn't stay long term is due to the fact that they would be needed elsewhere for other missions. Furthermore, a Nova is just right for the unexplored region, and that flight of SAFs can do far more damage than you can imagine (see the postings of the Akira v Romulan Warbird simulation in the Spacedock section).


As far as equipment goes I have no idea . . . but you gotta start with the basics. You need housing, farming equipment, basic defensive equipment, a way to get around planetarily, basic medical facilities, repair equipment, and a way to communicate with the 'outside' world. Therefore bring tents and other prebuilt buildings (you can also have two story building easily), shield emmiters & phasers (believe me, both can easily be used for non defensive/offensive task), several wheeled or hover planetary craft, standard medical equipment for an outpost, a subspace transmitter, and the equipment to repair all the aforementioned equipment.

Of course there is the inital food supplies that are needed, personnal equipment, and what not.

Well there's my two cents.

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"See Everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little." -Pope John XXIII

[Lancer]

I have no idea how many SUs a Nebula cargo module has, but how about this idea:
You use cargo modules to supply your colony and leave some of the modules behind in orbit about the colony world. You could then use those empty modules as a basis for a space station. Just cobble some of them together, set up pressurized habitats in them, put in some equipment and you won't have to build a station from scratch. You could even use pre-fabricated modules for this. After all, what serves as living space on a station could well be used to transport colonists.

And concerning the number of ships you would need for the colony setup: In the TNG episode were the Crystalline Entity get's destroyed (don't now the english episode title, sorry) the starting point is a new colony and I got the impression, that the Enterprise was more or less the only ship involved. On the other hand it was not set in the Gamma Quadrant

What did the Fed/Dominion peace say about the Gamma Quadrant? If they didn't establish a Federation right to build colonies in the G-Quadrant than it could be a good idea to go with only a small number of ships. Even if your colony is set well beyond Dominion borders a large group of ships could well provoke the Dominion into harassing your colonist/ships. Not something you want to risk on their home turf.

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"To seek, to strive, to find and not to yield" - Alfred Tennyson

[JALU3]

Hmm . . . good point, and a good counter to my initial proposition. However, what would you say to an Excelsior (upgraded) and a large transport? Excelsiors would be able to be released from normal duties to help with a new colony, and is large enough to ward off most minor threats. Furthermore, a large transport/colony vessel, can more than carry the initial amount of equipment and the smaller craft aforementioned in my previous posting. Figure a Colony/Transport vessel about size 8, mainly comprised of cargo space.

However, I would still think that the aforementioned task force would be more efficient.

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"See Everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little." -Pope John XXIII

[Dan Gurden]

I was thinking about stuff like this myself a long while back for a failed game...

- Why do you need to assign a large Starship and crew? If you think for a minute there are countless possibilities open for a far smaller Starfleet group, say a central colony administration and services group with access to a couple of runabouts and shuttles (similar to the early seasons of DS9)

This smaller group also emphasises the reliance on the Starfleet and Colonists working together, rather than separating the hard-living colonists on the planets surface from the soft-living fleeters in the ship in orbit.

To transport the colonists there, maybe the Federation Merchant Marine was involved, and will set up a trade route (opening yet more piracy plots, and a whole new character type for anyone interested...)

And should your plot require a big stick (sory, I mean ship ) then simply assign a ship on exploration and mapping duties that your crew can call on if need be...

That is of course if they dont commendeer the Merchant Marine freighter which is woefully under-prepared...

But then I am an evil bastard!

hmmm, this is sounding better every time I tell it!

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Dan.

"A couple of thoughts from a random mind!"

[Lancer]

Okay, if you don't weant to use a large ship I would go with a Saber to escort the colonists transport ship.

A Saber would be combat worthy and fast enough for some initial scouting around the new colony. Once your colony is more or less established and the neighboring planets are checked for potential dangers I would replace the Saber with a Nova class ship to survey the neighborhood more thoroughly.

Both are small ships with a crew of less than 100, but still good enough to lend assistance to a small colony.

Personaly I wouldn't restrict this setting to only shuttles and runabouts. They don't give you enough room to evacuate the colony on short notice. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but the setting is after all the Gamma Quadrant, where the next Starfleet vessel is a long way away. It never hurts to be prepared for the worst.

And another thing to mention here are roleplaying possibilities: With a starship assigned to this sector on a permanent basis you get even more opportunities to contrast the colonists against starfleet types than by only putting a handfull of fleet officers on your colony planet.
You could even run an episode or two that shows how planet based officers get more friendly with the colonists over time after they initaly resented this assignmet to an out-of-the-way mudball. If you have some other officers who don't live among the colonists (ie spaceship crew) you can use them to enhance character building by painting the ship crews as arrogant and condescending when confronted with the colonists.

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"To seek, to strive, to find and not to yield" - Alfred Tennyson

[Drifter]

For future progression of the story, you might want to consider using a small element of Merchant Marine to keep them supplied. This will take the load off of Starfleet "combat resources" and a little-used organization would see some action in your story. It may provide the players with a certain suspension of disbelief, as well.

Just idle pondering...

[wolfe]

Nice campaign idea..
Well here's my opinon
I would think the dominion would allow a limited presence in the G-Q,meaning a few science /exploration vessels and a colony or two,but to have an armed group of vessels "escorting" the colonists would show the dominion the Federations lack of trust.
Remember the war ended in the alpha quadrant because odo convinced the female founder to end it,just becuse things went bad in the alpha quadrent doesn't mean they couldn't have just sat behind the wormhole and rebuilt a much bigger invasion fleet.
Starfleet now has to prove that they are just explorers not a conquering horde.

Since you like the idea of a temporary space station I would suggest the cargo transport/tug containers,
which are designed to create an instant station if need be.
The transport drops off the containers then goes off on its way,the containers which houses the colonists and equipment then reposition themself into orbit and begins work on the colony.
When initial colony work is done another transport/tug brings a couple more containers with more colonists /equipment the containers connect with the others.
If you plan on having a permenant space station in orbit the temporary one would also be used to house the construction workers,but in the mean time It could serve as an embassy of sorts...
once the pernament one is ready to start housing people the containers are moved to a new location.

If you do use a Nebula why remove the much needed sensors?
just consider that nebula one that was hastily rebuilt during the war and has much of its internal space open, just lower the recreation facilities down a bit,along with tweaking the SU's of other sections (lower their ratings)
and you will have quite abit of room for colony equipment.

[calguard66]

<<1.) What kind of ship would be suitable for carrying the colonists/Starfleet mission? I'm thinking of a Nebula-class; nice, versatile workhorse. Would a single ship be capable of at least setting up the initial basis for a colony (buildings, power amenities etc.), or will a small convoy be needed?>>

A colony should have a few thousand... with a couple hundred in an "advance party". You could do that if you had colony transports who dropped off the colonists and left, with your Nebula class escorting the transports in along with two other warships, then everything leaves, with the Nebula staying behind to explore and keep an eye on the colony...

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"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees..."
Shania Twain

[DavidMowatt]

Hmm... lots of thoughts...

Re the ship choice: Nebula was my first choice due to their sheer versatility - they're big, powerful, and have useful sensor capabilities, although the Excelsior was next on my list. However, I think that Starfleet will be willing to spare one, despite their aiding the Cardassians in rebuilding (and indeed, their rebuilding of the Federation itself). In Starfleet (or at least, in my Starfleet, there is a certain feeling of wanting to be seen as unaffected by the war, and capable of getting back to normal as quickly as possible - with an eye particularly towards projecting this image towards the Romulans and, mainly, the Dominion. The colony is part of this effort, which makes it relatively important.

(And as for the Dominion, whilst I don't think there was expressly a colony agreement in the treaty, they won't as long as Starfleet keep their noses clean. For what I have planned, they're going to have their own problems. The Dominion's member species see that the Founder's aren't invincible now, and the Jem'Hadar's gods have been defeated. Can you smell rebellion in the air? )

Now the multiple-ship colony, I can buy into that. The Nebula is there to escort and help, as well as to aid with the surveying. But some transports would certainly help. I was going to leave the colonists with perhaps a couple of runabouts for their own use, delivered by the ship. Add to that some cargo transports (either some simple transports, perhaps the Antares, or even a Deneva-class ship... does anyone know where I can get an image of that?) Also, massive kudos goes to whoever it was that suggested cobbling a quick-and-easy space station out of cargo modules... that ought to suffice until the parts for the proper one get there!

And a hundred people will be perfectly sufficient for colonists for now. The current stretch of the campaign is meant to be dealing with the initial set-up of the colony. Once the next thousand arrive in a year or so, the Crew's work is done. By then, a permanently-assigned starship should arrive, one specifically suited to deal with whatever has been found in the area.

The big list of ideas is already underway. Any more to throw in are welcome. Oh, and I was right. The awkward player does want to play a Klingon.



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David Mowatt
el_narrador@yahoo.com
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"Ray, when someone
asks you if you are
a god, you say YES!"
- Ghostbusters
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[Lancer]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by wolfe:
Since you like the idea of a temporary space station I would suggest the cargo transport/tug containers,
which are designed to create an instant station if need be.
...
If you do use a Nebula why remove the much needed sensors?
</font>

Ahh, but the sweet thing about the Nebula is, that you have so many options with the pods. Not all of them are sensor modules after all.
If you can use standard cargo modules from a transport ship dpends, on wether you really use transports for the colony setup or not. If you do that's certainly a good option.

What should not be ignored is the fact, that after the Dominion War the Federation has a lot of rebuilding to do. I don't imagine that a colony in the G-Q would be high up on the resource allocation list.
Even if you want to project an image of normality resources can only be stretched so far.

Just a few random thoughts anyway.

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"To seek, to strive, to find and not to yield" - Alfred Tennyson