[Other] Star Trek Adventures: To Boldly Go

[Acathala]

Originally Posted by GleefulNihilism

Strange New Worlds is actually quite good. Just sayin’.

Oh hell no. However if you like it, then I'm glad you found something you like.

[PalladiaMors]

Originally Posted by GleefulNihilism

Strange New Worlds is actually quite good. Just sayin’.

I've personally had it with prequels and would like to see an actual continuation of the TNG/DS9/Voyager timeline that is NOT the atrocity that was Picard. Lower Decks is far more faithful to Star Trek of that era than Picard was, and it's a cartoon joke.

Originally Posted by Acathala

I'm actually fairly tempted to throw up an app given you seem to be avoiding Kurtzman trek.

"A wise man can find value in anything. Except Kurtzman Trek." - Ferengi rule of acquisition #105.

Also the online character generator can be found here.

[daveron]

[Saratek]

Chief of Security/Tactical Officer Application NAME: Revan SPECIES: Vulcan AGE: 41 if XO Role36 RANK: Commander if XO RoleLieutenant Commander ENVIRONMENT: Starships (Vulcan and Starfleet) UPBRINGING: Diplomacy and Politics (Rebelled) ASSIGNMENT: USS Tomoe Gozen NCC 62643 PREFERRED ROLE: Chief of Security/Tactical Officer ALTERNATE ROLE: Executive OfficerIf he is ultimately chosen for the XO Role over the preferred, I will adjust his age, rank, and history to reflect such.* DISCIPLINES Primary Discipline: Security Secondary Discipline: Command FOCUSES Interrogation Shipboard Tactical Systems Hand Phasers Hand-to-Hand Combat Combat Tactics Investigation VALUES The Galaxy is Greater than any Individual Race, Planet, or Person. To Serve is Vulcan…but not Uniquely Vulcan. Aggression is Only an Option when Logic and Diplomacy have Failed. Failure is Vital to Learning. Learning is Vital to Success. Loss is both Individual and Communal. Sharing in Loss is Not Illogical. BRIEF HISTORY   Son of a Vulcan Diplomat Father (Suvok) and Vulcan Starfleet Officer Mother (T'Val), Revan spent the majority of his childhood accompanying his father on various diplomatic missions as his mother's career often made minding a child impossible. While his upbringing was as traditional as possible under the circumstances, the young Vulcan was no stranger to getting into trouble as he coped with many different cultures and peoples, resulting in him both becoming no stranger to forceful security personnel as well as being an occasional interruption to his Father's missions. Even in this, his intelligence showed through and was the reason his Mother urged him into joining Starfleet. While Security may have been the last division his parents would have anticipated for their son, Revan thrived. Reinforcing his own family's ideals, he found these same ideals existed in so many different peoples for a bevy of reasons. It was during his early years in Service that he truly came to understand the need in the galaxy for those like his Father, and how his Mother's dedication was both admirable and to be forgiven. Manning the Tactical station during one incredibly harrowing encounter with a coordinated trio of Romulan Warbirds, Lieutenant Revan noticed a pattern in the tactics of the group of ships, and was able to devise a new strategy that both saved the ship, and also left the Warbirds disabled, forcing a more diplomatic approach that ensured far less loss of life, on both sides. Following the events of the Battle of Wolf 359, in which his Mother was one of the countless losses, Revan learned that, while an accepted part of life, Logic did not ease the pain of Loss. His Captain, familiar with Vulcan sensibilities, took notice of how it affected him, taking special care to help Revan through grief unlike any he'd been exposed to before. This resulted in the Lieutenant holding Captain Borja in such high regard that he was blind to the man's ambitions. Borja ordered the wrongful destruction of several sites on a colony world along what would eventually become the Federation-Cardassian DMZ. Borja was subsequently brought up on charges. Revan, in an attempt to defend his Captain, uncovered a connection between Borja and an agent of the Obsidian Order. It hadn't been the result of bad intelligence, but a willful act as a result of coercion. Borja erupted during the trial when his dedicated Security Officer became the prime witness in his subsequent conviction. After years of service aboard effectively 'Warships', Revan had grown fatigued by all of the death. When his time came up for reassignment, he'd surprised many by forcefully requesting an assignment on one of the dwindling 'Exploration' vessels still being sent out by Starfleet during this heightened time of hostilities. Many in Command balked at the Vulcan's request, especially as he was seen as an adept tactician. His threat to 'retire' from Starfleet if his request wasn't fulfilled resulted in him being assigned as Chief of Security/Tactical aboard the newly christened USS Tomoe Gozen. While his skills may have been desired elsewhere, Command valued the Vulcan enough to grant his request, ensuring his continued service to Starfleet. If chosen for the XO Role, his history will update his Rank and Position under Borja to LtCmdr and Security Chief, respectively*

[BattleFries]

So, quick question about Disciplines... Would a Tactical Officer fit in the same role, mechanically, as a Security Officer? The difference I see being the former handles threats to the ship from the outside (hostile ships and such), and the latter handles threats from individuals on board the ship. A lot of Trek shows cram them both into a single role, but I remember DS9 had Odo as chief of security (Constable, I believe he was called), and Worf was in charge of tactical defense of the station itself from outside threats like the Klingons, Dominion, etc. from season four onwards. How would that work mechanically in this game? I see you've posted Security and Tactical as being filled by one character in the application process, but I suppose I'm curious as to how that works mechanically? All I can think of is how in the real world, you'd probably have a military officer in charge of tactical defense, and you'd have a police detective in charge of security.

Sorry for my babbling. Just trying to sort things out. My brain sometimes works differently than others, being on the autism spectrum. I can tend towards the overly literal, needing a lot of details and such. I do apologize if it's a problem for anyone. I don't mean it to be, but Ben Sisko can tell you all about what good intentions pave the road down towards.

[Drachenspirit]

Originally Posted by BattleFries

So, quick question about Disciplines... Would a Tactical Officer fit in the same role, mechanically, as a Security Officer? The difference I see being the former handles threats to the ship from the outside (hostile ships and such), and the latter handles threats from individuals on board the ship. A lot of Trek shows cram them both into a single role, but I remember DS9 had Odo as chief of security (Constable, I believe he was called), and Worf was in charge of tactical defense of the station itself from outside threats like the Klingons, Dominion, etc. from season four onwards. How would that work mechanically in this game? I see you've posted Security and Tactical as being filled by one character in the application process, but I suppose I'm curious as to how that works mechanically? All I can think of is how in the real world, you'd probably have a military officer in charge of tactical defense, and you'd have a police detective in charge of security.

Sorry for my babbling. Just trying to sort things out. My brain sometimes works differently than others, being on the autism spectrum. I can tend towards the overly literal, needing a lot of details and such. I do apologize if it's a problem for anyone. I don't mean it to be, but Ben Sisko can tell you all about what good intentions pave the road down towards.

In some shows/Episodes the Security officer and Tactical Officer positions were filled by the same person. Also, if I don't combine them, those players would be playing an NPC a lot of the time.

[Drachenspirit]

UPDATE: Added "Preferred Role" to the Application list.

I'll also start reviewing and adding applicants to the main Post so you can see a summary of how many have applied, and for what roles and species.

I've also added a Q&A section to the main post.

[Saratek]

 

Originally Posted by Star Trek Adventures Core Rulebook pg.127

On many ships, the chief of security operates from the Tactical station on the bridge.

In addition, a "Chief Tactical Officer" isn't listed as one of the roles available in the book. Normally, the Chief of Security is, by default, the Chief of Tactical, as that position is mostly just "select and click" and monitoring ordinance numbers. The various "Attack Patterns" are largely a result of coordination between multiple stations, the primary of which is the Flight Controller.

As for your example, you've stumbled into my favorite Star Trek series: (Disclaimer: going off memory)

Odo's presence predated Starfleet taking over DS9. They kept him on as Chief of Security because of his familiarity with not only the station but also the relationships he had with those living there. It is safe to assume, until and probably even after Worf arrived, he would have directed the Defense of the Station from outside threats as well as maintained order aboard DS9. (if not for the constraints of TV storytelling)

Worf came into the series much later and coincided with the arrival of the Defiant. His expertise as a Security/Tactical officer attributed to his assignment (and the desire for the showrunners to have a familiar face after the end of TNG). While he was responsible for exterior defense in some sense, this was expected to be done using the Defiant. Odo, to his credit as a wonderful Security Officer, could not hold a candle to Worf's proven excellence when it came to shipboard weapon systems and ship-based combat. While it may not have been specifically stated, it was generally assumed that Worf was in command of the Defiant, or at the very least, the Second in Command when another, higher-ranked officer had taken command.

DS9 also had paltry exterior offensive capabilities for the purpose of station defense. The Defiant was brought in, especially after the Bajoran Wormhole started spitting things out, to basically be the "Big Stick" Starfleet needed in the sector to both defend DS9 and provide overall security for the sector.

If you want a better example, and one that I'm sure is more fitting for the intended "Ship-Centric Game" this will probably be:
Worf's Duties on the Enterprise during the TNG Series is more accurate in showing the Chief of Security/Tactical Officer role aboard a ship.
Generally speaking, besides issues caused by "visitors", Starfleet Ships and their crew are fairly well-behaved places and don't require much in the way of "policing". Most of what a Chief of Security does aboard a ship is prep security personnel in the event of Away Missions and the occasional "uninvited guest".

I hope this helps.

Random Thought/Question: Why is the Akira-Class seemingly the most popular class of ship for Star Trek RPs? (from my lengthy experience in the genre)

[Drachenspirit]

Originally Posted by Saratek

@BattleFries:

Random Thought/Question: Why is the Akira-Class seemingly the most popular class of ship for Star Trek RPs? (from my lengthy experience in the genre)

Well said on the former. On the ship, I think because it is different than the standard, yet still capable as both an explorer and mainline fighting ship. IMHO.

I'll not down talk 'Strange New..' because I like it so far just for the actors and stories, and different setting. Don't get me started on all the continuity and such due to people just wanting to make $ off the Star Trek name.
I liked Discovery more after it got flung into the future and sort of stood alone in that sense.
It's kind of like Star Wars Rogue One - die hard fans either really like it, or hate it; meaning there's usually no middle ground.

Anyway, I'm excited about this game and don't intend to rush the process.

[Saratek]

I wasn't intending to add in on this particular conversation, but...

 

It's not really fair to judge the different Star Trek Series against one another when the series being compared are from different eras of television. TOS and TNG are quite different, but that is almost entirely a result of the era of tv they resulted from. The same can be said about comparing TNG to Discovery, or TOS to Strange New Worlds. The influence of both the Culture of the Time and the Culture in "Hollywood" is very apparent in the different Star Trek Eras. It's even difficult to compare Early TNG to the later TNG-Crewed Movies. Another factor, as already pointed out, is the overall "Producers" of the different shows. Each era had a different person acting as the effective "Kevin Feige" of Trek at that time. Those two things: Era of TV and Showrunner are the cause of the departures imho.

If you have trouble seeing it or disagree, I'd like to point out the other massive Sci-Fi IP: Star Wars, as an example.
George Lucas, the "Gene Roddenberry" of Star Wars, was directly responsible for writing and producing BOTH his Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy. Anyone who has seen both can easily tell you there are major storytelling differences between the two that changes the overall feel, regardless of the CGI. This, I believe, is a direct result of differences in the Era of Film at the time.
[Side Note: Rogue One is my favorite Star Wars movie if I treat them all as "stand-alone" films]

Lastly, and only because I'm sure it will make someone really ponder it: If they made "Smokey and the Bandit" today, it would just be a Fast and Furious spinoff like "Hobbs and Shaw".

The point is: The time in which something is made matters, so it's unfair to compare shows made ~30 years apart. Times change, and so does motion picture storytelling.

[daveron]

There are Not one, but two vulcans with security backgrounds involved in putting charges over on superior officers as senior crew on this ship. Either someone wants to run a really tight ship, or starfleet wants to keep an eye on someone of this crew, or someone wants to send away the vulcans to do some exploration and keep them from digging up more dirt at home... Wounder how they will get along considering thier similarities and vast differences. I really enjoyed making my character and rolled out a lot of his possibilities leaving it to fate. He didn't turn out how I expected but now that he exists I wouldn't want him any other way. I really look forward to being accepted onto this crew. (Or being rejected and playing that out as well, I left it open ended just in case.)

[Drachenspirit]

Some Feedback

[Saratek]

@daveron: It has to be that pesky Vulcan Logic and "Honesty" that sent them both packing for the edge of known space. Clearly keeping them around was causing trouble for all of the humans and their easily manipulated emotions.

[daveron]

[daveron]

Originally Posted by Saratek

@daveron: It has to be that pesky Vulcan Logic and "Honesty" that sent them both packing for the edge of known space. Clearly keeping them around was causing trouble for all of the humans and their easily manipulated emotions.

We may disagree fundamentally on how we think the humans should handle their emotions, but at least we can agree that what they are doing now is wrong and uncontrolled. These are the bonds that hold together the federation.