For the next year I'm going to be prepping my Star Trek : Paradise Lost campaign...and I need help, inspiration etc (Koltar & Technomancer, the time is now )

The players will play Maquis or rather may end up as Maquis some where in the beginning of the campaign. I (We) are not entirely sure if they should begin play as these guys or become them during the course of play.

I want to run this as a "historical" type game, meaning sticking relatively close to Trek canon. What I'm interested in is a freewheeling discussion on Trek lore, system recommendations, play experiences....almost anything and everything regarding Star Trek.

I want this discussion to be pretty open, as long as it's got to do with Trek  - although I'd really like some discussion on topics relevent to the kind of game I want to run - anything is welcomed.

Links are esp good Hopefully throughout the year folks will contribute to this thread if their interested.

Regards,
David R

So, a Maquis campaign - that puts you about 3 or 4 years before the Dominion War.

I'll have to dig through my old files.

 Used to know some good websites for that kind of thing.


- Ed C.

Decipher Star Trek is pure fucking awesome, and I highly encourage you pick up both books and give it a read.  Even if you decide you don't care for the system itself (I think it's great, but it maybe be too D20-ish for you), the books are so utterly chockful of idea seeds and tips and hints and advice that you literally can't pick up that book and not come away with some great ideas for a game.

I'll fire off the first volley in the Crunchy vs. Lite debate. For genre and character emulation, I'd choose a system that emphasises general character types, rather than detailed character definition.  If play is to be anything like how characters behave on the various shows, then they need broad, overarching abilities that can be applied to a variety of situations.  Risus springs to mind, particularly the Traveller adaptation, Travelling Lite, but it may prove too flimsy.  Over the Edge or HeroQuest would work handily, too.

Hmm...for fodder, for a nice hook, you need some kind of dangling thread that was never resolved in canon that you players can resolve themselves (or at least witness in resolution).  My favorite dangling thread -- which was later resolved to a degree while I wasn't watching -- was Lt Thomas William Riker, the transporter-accident-duplicate of Commander William T. Riker.  I always thought that he should have been the captain of The Voyager, going from one shitty situation to another.  He eventually turned up as a Maquis symp and was shipped off to a Cardassian prison planet, presumed dead in one of the Dominion attacks.

Hey, then there's Nicolas Locarno, the hot-shot cadet who was drummed out of Starfleet Academy for being a lying prick.  The character Tom Paris from Voyager was based on him, and was even originally supposed to be Locarno (hell, they hired the same actor), but the writers went with a different back story.  Still, smart, talented, and with a huge chip on his shoulder, out there somewhere wandering the galaxy.  A guy with that much going for him can't just fade into the woodwork.

!i!

First Ian, very nice, the Riker clone reference. This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

J, tell me more about Decipher. With my gaming crew, d20-ish won't be a problem.

For space combat (and I know this is pretty old school) what I'm aiming for is the ship to ship battles of Wrath of Khan. You know some old school machismo injected into the next generation.

But I also want to retain the way how "characters behave on the various shows, then they need broad, overarching abilities that can be applied to a variety of situations"

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RFirst Ian, very nice, the Riker clone reference.

You're welcome.  I noticed, looking through the Memory Alpha website entry on Tom Riker, his final disposition was never resolved in canon.  He was shipped off to the Cardassian prison planet for being a Maquis operative, and Kira promised to come back for him later, but the whole Dominion War thing got in the way.  As far as canon goes, he got aboard a Cardassian transport destined for the prison, but from that point forward, he's fair game.

!i!

QuoteJ, tell me more about Decipher. With my gaming crew, d20-ish won't be a problem.

Mechanically, like I said, it's pretty reminiscent of D20, but with a 2d6 roll, and generally smaller numbers involved thanks to the scale.  There's a vaguely class-like system for character design as well, but it's very flexible, almost closer to the old Alternity classes, and pretty much all your bridge crew and ship roles, as well as non-Starfleet roles are covered quite well.

The thing that I really loved about it though, is exactly what I mentioned above.  The writing is fantastic, and there's a lot of advice and ideas in the book.  It was the first time I ever really felt like I "got" how to run Star Trek, because everytime I picked up that book and started reading, it was like ideas were just pouring off the page, into my brain.  I had to keep a notebook with me when I read it through so I wouldn't forget any of them.

They did a great job of capturing Trek, and all in one set of corebooks too.

When the DMZ was created, both Federation and Cardassian settlers had to leave their homes. Maybe a encounters with such Cardassian settlers would be a nice... mirror for the Maquis.

And I can totally see Ferengi weapon traders selling to the Maquis.


There is one unresolved plot from early DS9 that intrigues me: Skrreea
Maybe a rebellious Skrreean youth seeks adventure with the Maquis. (They were depicted like that.)

Quote from: 1of3When the DMZ was created, both Federation and Cardassian settlers had to leave their homes. Maybe a encounters with such Cardassian settlers would be a nice... mirror for the Maquis.

I had totally forgotten about this. Yes, this would add some nuance to the proceedings

J, one more question. How's does Decipher handle space combat ?

Regards,
David R

Quote from: 1of3When the DMZ was created, both Federation and Cardassian settlers had to leave their homes.

And, now that you mention it, this was the backstory to Chakotay, wasn't it?

!i!

Quick Off-topic Thread:
My FLGS has Prime Directive (Task Force Games). How is the game?

Back on thread:
I was always partial to the old Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator. It was lighter than Star Fleet battles and a heck of a lot of fun.

Hi!
  I feel like the running gag of all the Maquis storylines is the idea that there  is no "Right answer." From our introduction to the Maquis during the forced relocation episode to the whole reason there is Maquis on the crew of the voyager...
  I'd say every dilemma you come up with for the players that you make sure it is a damned if you do damned if you don't type situation...

Study the dialogue and mini-speeches of Cmdr. Eddington. He was was one of the best representatives of the Maquis.

Heck - so was Sisko's girlfriend for a little while.


- Ed C.

Quote from: enelsonQuick Off-topic Thread:
My FLGS has Prime Directive (Task Force Games). How is the game?

Yeah, I'm interested too.

QuoteBack on thread:
I was always partial to the old Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator. It was lighter than Star Fleet battles and a heck of a lot of fun.

Okay is this like a boardgame or something ? I don't mind if it is, switching between the rpg system and this for the space battles. I did something similar for a campaign I ran last year.

Regards,
David R

Here's another dangling thread: Ro Laren.  Joined up with the Maquis as a double-agent for the Federation, but turned sympathetic with the cause.  Changed sides for real, but no episode ever resolved what she did thereafter.  Had a bit of a suppressed thing for Will Riker, which might be interesting if she ever met Tom Riker.

I always liked Ro.

!i!