I really want to upgrade my TOS-Era campaign to TWOK-era

[Evil Kirk]

I love the uniforms and the ship models, and the whole design aesthetic of the film era post-TMP (embarrassing, embarrassing skin-tight unitards. Ugh.)

Unfortunately to make the transition not seem forced and premature, I should wait at least several more episodes.

Any ideas on how to play up the transition into something cool? I think I'm just going to conveniently pretend that the TMP uniforms never happened. I think I'll base whether they get re-assigned to a Constitution Refit or Miranda class on their performance in the coming sessions.

-Evil Kirk

[Owen E Oulton]

There's the old standby - a wormhole or other anomaly which pops them into the future. A good one would be some sort of subspace rupture during a battle with the Klingons. Suddenly the Exploding Consoles of Doom erupt, spewing sparks all over the place. A rip opens and sucks the ship through, and suddenlt the crew finds themselves elsewhen.

This gives you a chance to play with some of the changes they did for the movies. The players see a Klingon and go "What the hell is THAT!?!?" "Whaddaya mean we're in peace talks with the Klingons!?!?" They'll feel all happy when the Genesis incident happens and they're back (at least temporarily) to hostilities as normal.

Don't ignore the STTMP uniforms, make the players glad that they missed the era when they were worn. Have other officers tell them horror stories about the uniforms giving them auto-wedgies, or having their shoes attached to their pants.

Be sure to have them meet some of their old friends, now 15-20 years older while they haven't aged!

Have fun with it...

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

To add to Owen's comments. If one of the PC's has a child, the scenes where they meet and the child is now fully grown could be quite poignant as they both try to readjust. The child to a parent presumed dead and almost their same age now and the parent to a fully grown child whose life they've missed out on in almost a blink of an eye.

Throw in a few of those horror stories about the uniforms if the child followed in the parent's footsteps.

Regards,
CKV.

[qerlin]

I like that Vaughn.

[Sarge]

Here's another possibility: The PCs ship is in a really bad situation, and the crew has to abandon ship. Per standard procedure, there is a court martial for the CO who lost the ship, and the investigators uncover some damning evidence (mostly fake, but throw in some real stuff if your PCs have screwed up anything at all). Their careers are ruined and they go their separate ways for fifteen or twenty years.

Then their ship is rediscovered. They have a chance to find the proof that they were framed and can bring down the officer who framed them... if they can reach their old ship before he does. And if he doesn't kill them to protect himself. (Hey, ya just gotta throw in an evil Starfleet admiral for the characters to take down every now and then. It's Trek tradition.)

[Shoshuro]

You could always do it as an end of season deal, rather the ship is damaged or not. Question I would have is have you put down a specific date the series is in?

Way I see it, you could do a few episodes to give a nice climax, do a "final" show where the ship appears destroyed. Next session open up however many years later with the characters a little older (if need be) and a brand new refit or ship. Talk to the characters beforehand and ask what they might want to do during that time. Does the Engineer want to work on upgrading the ship? Or is he part of the design team for the new one? Has the "rash" Ensign gone on to another assignment, perhaps to come back as a new Jr. Lt. and a little more sure of himself. The science officer could've gone off on some fact-finding mission. The Capt. and First Officers could've gone back to the Academy for a few years to teach about what they found out there. Might be a way to introduce new characters (Ensign Cruathers was in my Klingon culture and defense course, with his marks I knew I needed him for this mission).

Also remember it was never fully said how long it was until the refit. I belive Decker said he had been working on it for several years. Other ships could've been upgraded before the Enterprise was, there is that nice 10-12 year gap. And the Federation can only upgrade or build so many ships, Docking space is limited along with resources. Then again you could always just bypass the PJ period. I think most Reffs do (lord knows I do).

[Evil Kirk]

I set it pretty firmly in 2268, but my playgroup isn't totally averse to minor re-conning.

[Dan Stack]

Well if you are in 2268 you could have an adventure where the characters' ship gets beat up pretty badly and put into drydock. (Something like the war games of "The Ultimate Computer")

You could fade out as the ship enters drydock and start up again several years later - kinda like the big gap in time between TMP and TWOK. As for the uniforms, I always assumed they only lasted a year or so max before Starfleet officers rebelled. (Though I'm in a minority that doesn't hate those uniforms... If only they'd have had black pants they might've worked...)

[Antonsb214]

Just assume that on their last mission that they were so far out that they never got the new uniforms. Their 5 year mission lasted the entire time that those uniforms were in use, so by the time they're back, the new red jacket model is in. Then their ship is due for a refit. It shouldn't take too long after getting it right with the new Enterprise, but let them have a shakedown cruise, and make comments like "it's not like the old ship". Even if the refit improves the ship, the crew may still prefer the "way it was".

[AslanC]

I like the TMP unis... Very Space 1999

As for the campaign, I would recommend that if you don't do thetime travel idea that Owen and CKV have suggested then you sit with eachplayer and really figure out what has happened to them in the past 10+ years.

[Antonsb214]

Just let them be semi-retired or in little postings all over the Federation, then have an emergency that requires the whole crew together again, maybe with a new ship....
Let them complain about little known, seldom used reserve activation clauses.....
Stick them in a new Miranda or Akula class.

[GnarleyWoodsman]

In the Star Trek series the ship was refitted several times. Most minor refits take up to a few weeks. Major overhauls such as what occured with the Enterprise in TMP take many months. Scotty tells Admiral Kirk that they've just spent 18 months redesigning and refitting the Enterprise. They had not yet finished fine tuning the equipment or training the crew on all the new equipment. They also had not yet put her through her trial runs. Suffice to say she would have launced properly in 4-6 months. Meaning for that particular refit from original Constitution Class to Refit Constitution Class should take up to 2 years. The Chronology shows that the Refit Enterprise launched in 2271.

Your campaign takes place in 2268. I would run a few episodes where you impart to the crew that time has passed. Make the dates progress into late 2269- early 2270. I would give them one episode where the crew are unable to complete thier task 100% due to technological limitations (ties in later, see below). Give them one last hurrah on the old girl then advise the crew that Starfleet has called for a refit, and the ship is to report to drydock for a systemwide overhaul. The crew spend the two years doing another assignment in the TMP jumpsuits.

During this downtime, ask the players what temporary assignments thier characters would accept. The engineer may wish to be involved in the redesign efforts. For the most part let them choose where thier careers lead. Do an episode in downtime letting work on thier projects and so forth. Give those who did well a commendation or promotion. I would also grant them the equivalent of two more levels, making sure they spend the points on something relavent to what they role played in down time.

In the mean time your ship can be completed and be mission ready. Up to you weather you want the crew to take her out for her shakedown. I would give them a mission that would show off the new technology. Let them complete (Tie in from above) something they had trouble with during the first season. Off you go to Boldly explore the galaxy.

Just some thoughts. That'd be how I handle it.