What game handles the concept of phasers--weapons able to kill with a single hit, or be dialed down to stun only well?

I'm asking for a variety of reasons, but primarily friends have watched the new Star Trek movie and been enthused by the concept of a Star Trek game. I'm not much of a fan. (Preferring Original Trek, and even then only a mild one.)

I'm also doing my own "Trek" reboot/derivations, I'm going to do something like "Star Trek: The Anime Series", which is taking the idea that someone who likes science fiction and mecha (vehicle/machines, not giant robots) design, and wants to apply both Trek's visual style to an animated format with influences from anime and manga. (Think more Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex in terms of visuals and story telling complexity/simplicity.) We won't have strictly silly aspects, it will be as serious a SF show as Star Trek can get without losing the hopeful vision of the future.


If you have a Star Trek game engine of the past to recommend, please describe why it works, and how it works. I've read a variety of reviews, but most of the ST system reviews don't seem to describe the mechanics and how they work.

I'm interested in Prime Directive (D6) but it's now out yet. Since I'm doing my own setting variant of Trek, specific details of the universe "as canon" are useful, but not required. I'd prefer some information on the races, and setting to help bolster my admittedly limited knowledge. I'd prefer buying as few books as possible game wise, but will take quality over conciseness if necessary.

Ironically this is a really tricky issue; "stun" in games has always been complicated; because if you make it work really well it makes for very short combat. And if you don't make it very well, then no one will ever even try to use it.

Its very hard to find a middle ground.

RPGPundit

Kill does hp damage. Stun forces saving throws. Reduced hitpoints cause a penalty to saving throws. If two hits usually results in death from a kill weapon, the difficulty of the saving throw should be 50%.

In star trek, all weapons are autokill / autostun. There is no saving throws for humans, only non-player character aliens... and for them, any arbitrary bonus is ok.

Stun is only used when humanity is important. It isn't used in battle because of the fear that an enemy, unsecured in the heat of battle, will wake up and destroy the ship.

Quote from: Cranewings;304673In star trek, all weapons are autokill / autostun. There is no saving throws for humans, only non-player character aliens... and for them, any arbitrary bonus is ok.

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This is true of some arbitrarily huge percentage... say 99.9%... of all fiction combat.   Either an attack kills outright or it does 'nothing'.

I feel this is related to the Inverse Ninja Rule, but do we really need to go there?

You could certainly make something up by having your winning gauge measure something other than health.

"Positioning" might be fitting. So you do not make attack rolls, but positioning rolls. If you collect enough, the other side looses.

That's how it often works on Star Trek at least.

Quote from: 1of3;304701You could certainly make something up by having your winning gauge measure something other than health.

"Positioning" might be fitting. So you do not make attack rolls, but positioning rolls. If you collect enough, the other side looses.

That's how it often works on Star Trek at least.

That might really capture some kind of science fiction feel.

d6 Star Wars handled "stun" settings on blasters fairly well. Then again, I'm biased and think that the d6 system is well suited to emulating the cinematic and TV genres.

I always felt that Alternity handled stun well. It wouldn't be too hard to give the phaser two modes, one stun damage and one mortal damage.