Using and misusing treknology

[Lancer]

I could use some advice from a fellow GM. My problem is that my players always try to solve problems by clever applications of technology (or so it seems to me). I'd rather have them think about how their characters would feel and react to a situation then about new creative uses for (insert treknology gadget of your choice). Now I realize that's been a part of the ST universe for ages. Sometimes I just feel it's abused by some players.

I could come up with an equally new and creative way to make the hightech stuff unusuable every episode but frankly I think they pulled that stunt way to often on TV already

Oh and by the way: We all GM once in a while. Therefore I can't just rule out certain applications of exisitng tech that were allowed by someone else.

It really isn't a major problem for me, but once in a while it starts bugging me. Anybody out there who had the same experience?

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

[Antonsb214]

It they rely on the tech too much try coming up with an excuse for it not to work like a natural dampening field. Or the monster might be phaser resistant. And make sure that it's something that the players character actually might think of (a medical officer probably wouldn't know every trick of using a phaser, even if the player does).

[qerlin]

Before I even started a campaign in Trek, we all agree to a few simple rules: that we would standardize what tech could do what for the campaign; only reasonable modifications to any tech; don NOT touch the deflector dish! (We also have a no boy genius rule...)

Other than that, I make certain the plots are more character-driven, requiring roleplaying and character-based actions to solve them.

[Dan Gurden]

One reick I used once was the PSI-factor...

By introducing an NPC with a PSI virus I dragged the crew into an induced coma with shared hallucination...

This gives the ability of allowing you to place them in a 'dreamland' where everything works the way you want it to... It doesn't even have to be the same time period...

In this case the NPC was incidental in getting them there, but had the added bonus of getting the PSI active players to resist and fight to get the players back, until they realised the plot was elsewhere...

In this case it was a Cthullu type plot in the background and they were in 1920's mode... So no Hi-Technology...

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Dan.

"A couple of thoughts from a random mind!"

[Lancer]

Thanks for the input folks. I really like the "shared dream" idea. I was thinking about something along those lines for the next adventure. On the other hand I could go for the "omnipotent alien testing the crew" stuff. Hadn't had something like these for a while.

On the topic of laying down some ground-rules for the technostuff: We missed that chance a long time ago, but I will try to bring it up with the boys. Only trouble is that I seem to be the only one who is unhappy about the way we handled it in the past. Still worth giving it a try I guess.

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

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
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[darkwing duck1]

There are a number of allies you can enlist in the fight to keep the "Scottys" and "Wesleys" in line:

1. Time - sure, the alien vessel may be vulnerable to a deflector pulse in the 35 terrahertz range, but that's not a standard Federation deflector frequency. It'll take at least 1/2 hour to remodulate the dish, and it will take the alien vessel only 5 minutes to obliterate your ship. . .

2. Shielded targets - sure the alien energy pattern may be dispersed by a modulated phaser shot on setting 7, but the pattern just jumped into (character, preferably a PC), and that would kill him/her along with the pattern. . .

3. Set the situation up to be tech "neutral", at least - sure, your landing party is surrounded and outnumbered. You CAN just beam up, but who's gonna go get the probe the natives have stored in the deepest dungeon of the castle. You can't just beam up the probe, because it's power core is unstable, and will explode if exposed to a transporter beam before being "scrammed" (which has to be done on site).

Hope this helps!

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Deo Vindice!

[starkllr]

Depending on the scenario, the easiest thing might be to just assume that the adversary (especially if they're Romulans, Cardassians or other equivalent tech race) is as clever as your players, and...

"the deflector pulse fires, but it doesn't penetrate the Romulan shields; the sensors show that they've varied their harmonic frequencies...they must have figured out how to do that since the last time they ran into the Enterprise and Captain Picard tried that same deflector pulse trick..."

[CaptainGonzalez]

I actually reward my players for creative uses of treknology. I've never had a problem with this affecting the story I'm trying to tell. Sometimes though this takes a simple misdirection of player's attentions.

Need to have tricorder misread some information? Create an anomoly that requires a tricorder to be reconfigured to scan for something it normally wouldn't but makes it less accurate in normal situations. Want your ship's computer to be offline? Say that the regular maintenance check has discovered some "treknobabble" problem and the isolinear chips need to be replaced to avoid being corrupted.

One time I wanted to strand the player's ship in the middle of space with only the impluse engine operational. I was thinking of forcing the players to eject the core but the players came up with something different.

The player engineer solved an emminent warp core breach by redirecting deuterium through the flow regulators and out the bussard collectors by decompressing the ramscoops and using the vacuum to draw the plasma out into space. It sounded odd but I agreed it could be done but would damage key components of the electro plasma system.

The player XO asked what negative effect it would have and the player Chief Engineer said that it would leave the warp engines offine until repairs could be made, restrict power to all systems except minimal sensors and environmental controls and the ship would only be able to use thrusters to manuever.

I gave the CO and XO only 30 seconds to decide, they agreed to go with the PC engineer's recommendation and then the PC engineer and the operations officer made their rolls. I ruled that if they both succeeded it would take 20 hours to make all the repairs (the time I needed for the adventure I planned) which admittedly was much less than the 48 to 72 hours I would have said it would take to retrieve the warp core and make the necessary repairs had they done as I thought they would.

When the players come up with something that sounds good but would get in the way of my story I don't say no, I simply tell them it can be done but not in time to be of any use.

Once the players were caught by Romulans and taken prisoner. They were left with nothing more than a player's VISOR and a PADD. Two players decided that those were enough parts to fashion a crude laser weapon or even a one-shot phaser. I said there was enough but they would need to succeed in four straight challenging rolls and spend 6 hours working on it. They worked on the weapon but didn't finish before one of the plot points happened that allowed them to identify a Starfleet Intelligence operative who helped them escape without starting a firefight.

Remember treknology can also help you to establish your story. My favorite thing is make make up particles and energy waves that distrup everything from transporters to vulcan mind melds. Vertirons, chronitons and the every present neutrinos from the various shows have been a big part of my games, as well as laztin particles, dek waves and the nasty farzcapinos.

Hope this helps

[Sarge]

Anybody have any suggestions for how to keep players from using wide-beam phasers to wipe out hordes of enemies with a single shot?

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LUGTrek isn't really dead. Not as long as we remember it.

[Lancer]

Sarge:
I don't have my rulebook with me right now, but I think widebeam is only possible with certain phaser settings, up to heavy stun.
Maybe the opponents in your scenario are naturaly resistant to stun-shots or they could be wearing some kind of body armor. We once met some Obsidian Order Cardies who couldn't be stunned for the very same reason. With a lot of civilians around we had no chance to go for the kill-settings on our phasers and ended up as prisoners of the bad guys.

To all: Thanks again for all the wonderfull idea

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

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Capt.Hunter]

Not to mention the Transphase Wibble Field (TM)

I also once saw a comedian ripping off Trek with the line "Cap'n! The engines canna take it! And we've lost the Obviously-Madeup-Name crystal!!"

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"Captain Hunter, you are clearly outgunned. I suggest you surrender your vessel": Romulan Commander Terev, Imperial Warbird Senex

"Cmdr.Terev, you clearly have no idea we're carrying quantum torpedoes. I suggest you duck!": Capt.Matt Hunter, USS Tempest

[CaptainGonzalez]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by StyroFoam Man:

Hmmm, Do you write for Star Trek: *$@*$&ING Particals , er, Voyager?

Don't forget alge particals, frumple-waves, *squishy colors* and the truly evil Doh particals.

</font>

Actually I save up all my pointing and laughing at that other show with muppets in space, hence the farzcapinos. Farzcapinos affect biological matter and make it do strange things, like burp or hear strange noises or talk to bugs.

I still say use treknology to your advantage. Just out trek-talk your engineer and any other player who tries to find a quick solution to a problem. Or simply say no.