Planning on running an NX Era game....

[Ensign Sears]

Hello,

I am going to be GMing a game soon. We have all come to an agreement that it should be an Enterprise Era game, because there are some that are not as familiar with Trek as others are. My dillemma is coming up with a catching plot for the players.

Here are some ideas I have thought of:
1. setting the players on the NX-02 or NX-03
2. I want to run a game with a overal series arch. Kind of like Babylon 5 did (which is my favorite sci-fi show when it comes to plot)
3. I have considered the events leading to the Romulan War but still not sure.

I don't want to have the TCW or Xindi aspect in this game. I think they are interesting plots, but I don't want to go against what the show is playing with.

On the Romulan approach, I thought about a Voyager type setting for the "first season." having the ship and crew standed about a year from Earth, on the other side of Romulan space. than way they have to travel through their territory to get home and could be a catalysist to the War that is supposed to come.

Anyways, comments on plot ideas are EXTREMELY welcomed. thank you for taking the time to read this message.

[Mazza]

Do you know the names of the NX-02 or NX-03? Because I can almost guarantee that we will hear them some time during the series... and when we do, you're going to want the name of the ship on the show to be the same as the one in your campaign.

[Owen E Oulton]

Well, since NX-02 is more than a yera from completeion, NX-03 is quite a way off on the show, so it shouldn't be a problem to assign a name to NX-03.

I'd stay away from running a campaign involving the Romulans unless you're prepared to concoct an explanation as to how no images of Romulans exist in Federation databanks until the 2260's.

[Liz Not Beth]

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[Dan Gurden]

Of course this data loss would also have to include any paperwork and crew memory... So that at no point does anyone seem to remember to report;
"Y'know those Romulans... Well they sort-of look like Vulcans..."

So not quite that easy.

My suggestion would be that rather than a Voyager style, they simply patrol/explore the border. They could still be the spark that caused the war. But your story arc may only feature the occasional incursion/conflict with the Romulans during which time they only ever encounter Romulan ships that either escape or destruct (if your crew win hands down)... Or maybe the occasional Romulan successfully posing as a Vulcan trader, or surgically altered...

That way they still wouldnt know what the Romulans look like, and your story-arc idea remains intact.

Perhaps they are supporting a frontier colony (even more B5-like) and it is the colony that sparks the war, and your ship/crews job to defend them...

[Liz Not Beth]

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[Ensign Sears]

Thank you for your comments.

I still have not decided on what to do. I was thinking if i do go with the stranded aspect, it would be similar to the "Year of Hell" episodes Voyager did, but without the temporal mechanics. just a plain traveling through space getting shot at by the enemy type thing, with your normal exploration of space as they make their way across.

I had forgotten about the "no images of Romulans exist in Federation databanks until the 2260's." so that would take some maneuvering.

Does anyone have ideas about a plot line if/when they make it back? I guess i should mention that this will be my first game to narrarate. so any help would be nice. again, thanks for the comments!

[Owen E Oulton]

If this is your first time as GameMaster, you may wish to run a few individual adventures before jumping into the campaign. This will give you a chance to get to know your abilities and for the players to get used to your style.

Do a session exploring a planet, one with a space combat, and one with a ground combat - more than one can be combined in a session. Once you're on firm footing, unleash your stellar anomaly and pop'em into unknown space.

There are, of course, ways to avoid the Romulan paradox. The first is to never let the PCs find out - Romulan ships will not use visual communications; no intact bodies are ever found as Romulan self-destruct devices are very efficient; any Romulans encountered should be in disguise; and so on...

Just wiping out any electronic records is insufficient - any officer or crewmen who return with the knowledge would at least make verbal reports. Of course, there's always the Vulcan angle. Perhaps high-ranking members of the High Command or Science Council are aware of their relationship to the Romulans and take counter-measures. Reports are destroyed and the memories of those making such reports are persuaded to be silent, even to the extent that their memories are tinkered with. Yes, mind melding is considered a perversion in this time frame, but it is reasonable to assume that the V'Shar uses the technique anyway.

In fact, suppression of the knowledge that Romulans are an offshoot of the Vulcans could well be the post-return phase of your campaign, should you wish to have a go at an intrigue-based game for a while.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Dan Gurden
Of course this data loss would also have to include any paperwork and crew memory... So that at no point does anyone seem to remember to report;
"Y'know those Romulans... Well they sort-of look like Vulcans..."

So not quite that easy.

Yeah, I mean it's not like they haven't mind wiped the crew of a starship in the series before. Oh, wait...They have.