So, at least one player in my upcoming series (to begin in August) is fairly in the dark as far as the Star Trek universe goes. Well, it took me years to become a true expert, but I need a quicker way for my less-informed players to become functional in this universe. Any thoughts?
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"Real programmers don't comment their code. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand." -Anon.
All three rule books have a fairly good introduction piece that sets the stage.
Also if you have cable or your friend does, most cities have anywhere for 3 to 10 episodes of Star Trek airing a day. Mostly Voyager these days, but you an find TOS, TNG and DS9 as well.
Otherwise, sit down with him, let him ask questions and answer them as best as you can.
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Aslan Collas
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RPG_Trek; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rpg-trek
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Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #76: Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.
Well, videos of Next Generation, DS9, TOS, and VOY are all widely available for rental, and so are all the movies. I'd sit him down with an episode or two from each series (preferably GOOD ones), and let him ask some questions.
Good introductory eps for TOS would be Balance of Terror, Space Seed, and The Trouble with Tribbles... for Next Gen, I'd suggest Best of Both Worlds, Time's Arrow, or Measure of a Man.
pretty much any DS9 ep outside the first season would be good (focus on the Dominion War is a plus), and the Voyager episodes dealing with the future timefleet would be good as well.
Several of my players enjoy Star Trek, and have watched the occasional episode, but are fairly inexperienced in shipboard procedures and technobabble.
What I have done for several games was give the players 'tactical briefings' Ð a list of options available to them, along with pluses and minuses, which allow them to play their characters a little more confidently.
Most technical information can be drawn from the Technical Manual, or the Encyclopedia (edited as necessary for length), and handed out at an appropriate moment.
However, timing and content is everything. You don't want to give away a crucial plot twist by being too in-depth on a briefing sheet, or do all the character's thinking for them ... just give them enough to ground themselves, an overview that won't take twenty minutes of reading.
What's the difficulty? Just show them the Starfleet mission tenets:
1. Ignore Starfleet commands except when convenient.
2. Make sure nobody but you breaks the Prime Directive.
3. It's better to start a war and then end it than to avoid a war with diplomacy in the first place.
4. There is no better solution to an interpersonal problem than a flying jump kick.
5. When meeting an alien woman, make sure your "first contact" is...umm..thorough and hands-on.
6. Dead tribble pelts make great hairpieces.
Oops, sorry, I was reading from the Kirk mission tenets.
Melbourne, Australia. Winner of the First Trek Survivor Trivia Show, and Bearer of the Steve Long Pink Elephant Stamp of Learning. :)
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Alternatively, if you have the Starfleet Academy box, you can do what I did:
I have a couple of players in my group who are sort of familiar with Star Trek, but not much - so I started them in the Academy as First Year Cadets, and am runningseveral scenarios to get them through the Academy. This way, the players who don't know much about Trek begin play with characters who don't know much about Trek - you can take it from there...
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"...and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters Where God went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes, and Who is this God Person Anyway?"
- The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (dec.)
Cochran, Georgia, USA, Sol III, Alpha Quadrant, Milky Way Galaxy
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I've just run into this problem. One of my new players is also part of my Star Wars RPG group. I don't think he has a firm grip on how things work in Star Trek. He wanted to play a Vulcan whose dark secret disadvantage came from his murdering someone in order to get promoted to their slot. I thought he was joking, "what do you think this is , the Mirror Mirror universe?" But he was actually serious, I need to have a talk with him. Sometimes he really worries me.
I hope a arrange an afternoon to watch some Trek movies (the good ones) and go through my collection of the Star Trek magazine to get him more in tune with Trek. But he's mostly seen TOS episodes and I thinks likes Kirk's idea of diplomacy... a smirk and a phaser.
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"Retreat?! Hell, we just got here!"
Helpful hints, although unfortunately, I won't actually see any of my players again until the game starts (and the semester.) Still, I've encouraged them to ask questions of me online. I can only hope that some will feel compelled to go out to their local video stores.
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"Real programmers don't comment their code. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand." -Anon.
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