1. How do you keep all players occupied? We are 1 narrator and 5 players and I find it difficult to keep every one concentrated on the adventure and entertain everyone. I think one problem is, that on a starship the characters are not at one location. The medic is in the medical bay, the engineer in his engineering room and they do not quite cooperate as I wish. Any ideas?
2. Too much joking! My players, especially two of them, can’t stop to joke and make nonsense. From time to time it is really funny, but it is very difficult to play a concentrated and effective game. Any ideas?
3. Complicated players. I got one player, my best player with the most experience, who thinks, that he is the greatest. He is very argumentative and so, I often give him his points that he wants. Any ideas?
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Star Trek Alpha Squad -
"United they stand"
1. Design adventures that play to the character's strengths, and most importantly, their weaknesses. If you're running the Captain as an NPC, railroading the players together is easier. If the Captain is a player, you'll need his/her help.
Adventrues need not take place on the bridge. Have the trouble start in engineering, have a panel explode. The doctor comes to render aid, the command crew comes down to see whats up.
Inversely, have the crux of an adventure lie in a character's little-known speciality. Have trouble involving the engineer? How about an adventure where his love of ancient Vulcan history (Culture (Vulcan) 2 (4)) makes him the resident expert. (Or other such skill.)
2. Talk to them about it. That's really the only way to reduce the interruption to the game. Unless they're telepathic they probably have no idea that they're being disruptive to your Narrating.
3. Shoot him.
Well, you're the boss, so I wouldn't back down. I'd try a double-fake, where his "experience" actually steers the whole adventure/crew down the wrong path. That tends to suck the wind out of their sails.
Also, like number 2, you can always talk to him about it.
I'm not sure what the nature of his problem is in your game (disruptive, tells other players what to do even when his character isn't there, etc.)
If he's bossing other character's around (when his isn't there), politely tell him that "you're not there -- Sally has to solve this problem on her own." If he keeps it up, dock Experience Points at the end of the adventure and make sure to tell him why.
If he argues every technical Star Trek point with you then you've got a different problem. Do more research and be prepared for his arguments. If he insists that something should do something because "that's how it happened in Episode X" then repond with, "well, it doesn't appear to be working like that in this instance" and then provide a technobabble answer to justify why. (Alternately, you do this at the end of the adventure, when they find out that what they thought was "X" was in all actuality "Y.")
In short, I wouldn't concede points to a player unless it really is something painfully obvious that you overlooked (hey, it's happened to us all). The adventure and story are what's most important, so you might have to think on your feet and alter things to "bend" them to your liking. Just be consistant when it's all over, and have some good technical reasons as to why things didn't work the way he thought they should, and you'll be fine.
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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1. Try to keep your players together. Where not possible, try to keep a Trek feel to the game - flash between groups as you see happening in the show. Keep each scene short, sharp, to the point. As Don suggested, try to keep the adventure diverse enough so that every player can contribute - even if down to the almost-pointless skills the character has. It's tougher to do in-game than on-screen - in the show, every character seems to know everything...
2. Subtly let the players know that you'll be taking everything they say as being in-character - so that the sotto voce insult about the local chief from the XO to the CMO suddenly is heard by the chief himself, and all hell breaks loose - this will let the players know that the time for joking is not in the middle of the game, and when you penalise them XP for bad roleplaying, causing adventure complications, etc... they will start to tone it down... Also, break your sessions up with drink/toilet/chat breaks, so that your players can get up, stretch their legs, get a drink, etc...
3. If this player is so good, then award him XP accordingly. Openly break down his XP award - "1 XP for completing the mission, 1 XP for an ingenious solution, -1 XP for poor roleplaying." That will soon let him know that maybe he's not as good as he thinks he is.
In all cases, however, you will need to talk to the player(s) concerned - hammer-fisted methods, if used incorrectly, can have the effect of killing your game, rather than enhancing it...
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Why do banks charge you an "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?
For the specifics of the Engineer/Medical Officer, Away Missions are your friend!
Perhaps they need to team together for a biomechanical virus.
With regard to the jokes, I'd probably ask for it to be toned down a little. However, I wouldn't try to do away with it totally - part of the fun for my group is being a little silly. If your players do tone it down a little, I would encourage an occasional humorous adventure along the lines of "Trouble with Tribbles".
[This message has been edited by Dan Stack (edited 12-30-2000).]
I must agree with what my most learned collegues have stated.
1) Intra ship communication (everyone knows where everyone is and can talk to them)
Switch between players and groups during the episode, focus on one chap for 5 min then find out what the next is doing etc.
2) My players are well known for this, let a little happen now and then, heck join in with the good ones. When the fun is over and their still going; boom, get their attention by having something extraordinary and unexpected happen. (Belive me when a ship drops out of warp right on top of the PCs ship, they jump to battlestations)
3) Work with him, if that doesn't work show him who's boss (technobabble, docked xp, ostracized by the crew etc.) Heck something puts him out of phase with the ship and he cannot interract properly with everyone
I've got a PC like this but fortunely his trek knowledge pales beside mine
Problems with narrating
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