The problem with dealing with Phaser damage is that the Phaser "pistol" is not a pistol - meaning it is not a personal weapon designed for last resort self-defense.

The Phaser is a tool capable of cutting through walls, heating rocks for survival, and as a weapon is up to light anti-vehicle class.  Against unarmored troops, it's max setting is pure overkill (and probably against the standard Federation Rules of Engagement).

The question of course is, if the Federation, Klingons and Romulans have personal hand weapons capable of obliterating an unarmored/unshielded person, why are none of them wearing armor and shields?  Perhaps personal weaponry has outstripped personal defense to the point of being useless, but the later Treks certainly show Phasers as being less effective then the early Treks.

So how do you want to make the setting work?
1. Assume it doesn't - It's Trek!
2. Assume the TOS Phasers indeed are that powerful, which invalidates certain elements of the new series, for example, the Klingon penchant for closing into HTH.  If a mini-Phaser can vaporize a Kingon with one shot, or wide angle stun a whole squad, then the Klingons will be using Disruptors as main battlefield weapons, not Batleths.
3. Assume Phasers aren't quite TOS powerful, which means the basic assumptions of later Treks make more sense.
3. Assume the

Klingons do use disrupters, at least in TNG.  

Most of the HtH you see is ritual or political combat in TNG & DS9.
(I didn't watch Voyager or Enterprise, so I can't help there.)



Also, I didn't see big tech differences in how the transporters or warp works across TNG/DS9.  Could someone give me an example?  Or is it more of an issue with different shows?

Quote from: Doctor Jest;598531So part of playing 'Trek is deciding what YOUR version looks like, and how you're modeling that, then never looking back.

Which again is why, IF I get to run a Trek game, I'm putting it in the Abramsverse so there's a minimal chance of some other Trek geek saying "No, it didn't work like that!"

JG

I think the original series was pretty consistent in how it handled phaser damage.  So yeah, I'd have no problem with requiring phasers on "kill" to actually kill you if you don't dodge (notwithstanding stuff like aliens with extra resistance/toughness, or people wearing special armor).  The 'stun' setting should likewise knock you out if you don't make a very difficult saving throw of some kind.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;599084I think the original series was pretty consistent in how it handled phaser damage.  

I think you need to watch TOS again, if you really believe that.

I remember the Star Trek III movie where a phaser actually did Knockback.  

JG

Quote from: jeff37923;599098I think you need to watch TOS again, if you really believe that.

Other than the one case already mentioned, was there any other instance where a phaser set to kill didn't actually kill an ordinary human on a hit?

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;599389Other than the one case already mentioned, was there any other instance where a phaser set to kill didn't actually kill an ordinary human on a hit?

RPGPundit

I remember several occassions where a phaser set to "kill" would either kill and leave the body or kill and completely disintegrate the body. That may just be at the whim of the special effects budget of a TV series, but it could have a lot of impact on a role-playing game adventure.

Quote from: jeff37923;599449I remember several occassions where a phaser set to "kill" would either kill and leave the body or kill and completely disintegrate the body. That may just be at the whim of the special effects budget of a TV series, but it could have a lot of impact on a role-playing game adventure.

That's a fine point, but it doesn't change the fact that either way a Kill setting blast kills.

RPGPundit

There's Mostly Dead, All Dead, and Disintegrated.  And with Disintegrated, you can't even search the pockets for loose change.

JG

Quote from: James Gillen;599652There's Mostly Dead, All Dead, and Disintegrated.  And with Disintegrated, you can't even search the pockets for loose change.

JG

There'd be justification in having "Stun", "Kill", and "Disintegrate" settings. Or "phasers to maximum" or whatever.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;600020There'd be justification in having "Stun", "Kill", and "Disintegrate" settings. Or "phasers to maximum" or whatever.

RPGPundit

The difference being that Klingons would be less scaredy-cat about using the term "disintegrate."

JG