ST: Flight of the Vanguard (Dir, Sys, Small-Group, TOS-Era) Episode CLOSED

[Cyrano Johnson]

Pilot Episode: "Death's Other Kingdom"
The U.S.S. Vanguard is sent to investigate reports of strange visions among the work crews attempting to build a new research station, and discovers a bizarre artifact that radiates weird, haunting phenomena... almost like ghosts. But it turns out that mere ghosts might be the least of their problems...

UPDATE as of 11.05.13: Tagan is confirmed in the role of Yuuna. Welcome!

UPDATE as of 11.01.13: Many thanks to Tagan for her interest in the role of Yuuna. I am pencilling her in for the Role while she takes an opportunity to observe the game.

UPDATE as of 10.30.13: We are enjoying a very successful play of our Pilot Episode thus far (you can see the results of our first three Scenes in the game thread). We are, however, very much missing our player for our Chief Science Officer, who had to bow out. As I didn't want to play her character without her, I generated another character on a similar concept -- her name is Commander Yuuna.

Right now Yuuna is an NPC. However, I'd be open to having a player take her over for the remaining scenes of the game -- the system is structured around Starring Scenes for each player and I'd like to avoid giving Starring Scenes to NPCs if I can. If you'd like to jump in and try out the game concept without a lot of time spent rolling dice and generating a character, this might be the ideal opportunity for you. I will keep recruitment for the Role of Commander Yuuna open until we're ready to shoot our next Scene... probably just over a week. You can reply to this thread or hit me up by PM. Please read the game document before replying, so that you understand the game concept and expectations.

Note as per the subject line: this is a system and action-oriented game. It is a small-group game set in the Original Series era -- that's the real Original Series, not the "reboot" version -- featuring a five-year mission launching in 2265 on a ship other than the Enterprise in a setting imagined in the closest possible accordance with the rules and guidelines of the writers of that television series. The ship is the USS Vanguard, NCC-1685.* The destination... is adventure!

The game will be a directed RP using a micro-lite d20 system called "Where No Man Has Gone Before," in addition to a meta-system of my own devising for PBP games that's designed to speed up the process of getting ideas down by using dedicated "planning threads" to rough out a "scene" before the player "starring" in that scene (rotating so everyone gets equal scene time) writes it up from their perspective.

All the basic game details (expected posting frequency, etiquette rules, details of the systems involved, setting notes and writing tips, background information and character sheets for our core group and semi-regular NPCs) are linked in the game's world-building thread. Prospective new players are invited to read, comment and ask questions.

We have the following positions on the bridge crew:

• Captain - Saria's Captain J.L. Chandra
• Science Officer / Executive Officer - Commander Yuuna (played by Tagan)
• Chief Medical Officer / Ship's Surgeon - Joslyn's Dr. Marah Tren
• Chief Engineer - Imogen's Chief Engineer Adams
• Helmsman - Lieutenant Bremen (NPC)
• Communications Officer - Ebb's Lieutenant Cortez

We started the game in early October. Our Guest Star for this episode is Sonvek of Vulcan, played by bigwad73.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

(* A vessel that had an unnamed cameo appearance of sorts in the TOS episode "Court Martial," incidentally.)[/list]

[Ebb]

I like the cut of your jib, sir. I think the game document you put together is grand, and really gets across the feel of the roleplay that you're looking to build. I especially like how you're incorporating the old writer's bible and the way that you (and the writer of the WNMHGF system) are striving to take into account the sensibilities and camp of the original show without crossing the line into fourth-wall breaking by the characters. I'm also very interested to see how your meta-system for scenes and shoots will work in practice.

In short, I'd like to register interest.

As far as characters I have no strong preferences yet. Let me ask two questions, though:

1) As in the original series, is it expected that bridge crew will also tend to make up the landing parties, even if that might not make the strictest sense? I think playing a communications officer might be fun, for instance, but not if they only get to show up in 20% of the scenes.

2) Is it a requirement that the executive officer and the science officer be the same person? Or could the executive officer role be coupled with one of the other positions instead?

[Cyrano Johnson]

Many thanks for the interest, Ebb! To your questions:

1) Yes, the plan is to have the bridge crew go on away missions just as in the original show. This could in fact include the Communications Officer, especially if that character has skills as, say, a trained negotiator or cultural analyst. Much as I have... specific opinions about the Abrams reboot, I admit I do like the fact that they make an effort to give Uhura more to do than be a glorified switchboard operator.

2) We could look at attaching the Executive Officer position to something else if needed, though I'd need to think a bit as to how that would work. The SO/XO arrangement does work pretty well as a fit with the premises of the show and the ship's mission, though, so we'd need to have a strong alternative to justify such a change.

Hope that helps!

[Ebb]

"Look! I have one job on this lousy ship, it's *stupid*, but I'm gonna do it! Okay?"

Yes, I think I'd like to roll up a Communications Officer who does a bit more than repeat what the computer says. I like the idea of him having a diplomatic / anthropologist side. In general, I'm fond of the idea of splitting up some of Spock's uber-competence and spreading it around among other crew members a little, particularly as a way of keeping this crew from being a carbon copy of the Enterprise's.

I'll take a look at the system and see what's what. Would you like character submissions here, on the world-building thread, or by PM?

[Imogen]

I'm also interested. That document was an amazing read and it took me away dreaming of the original series. I like how you are looking to man a new ship instead of recruiting players for the familiar names. If there's a hat, I'd like to toss my name in there, please.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Be delighted to have you both, thanks guys. Let's do character sheet submissions by PM for now, and I can post confirmed characters to the world-building thread as we go through the process.

[PoppyHoneymeade]

I've never played with this particular system before but I think it could be fun :D

I'm having a read of all the rules but count me in as theoretically interested.

What were you thinking of playing Imogen? I'm thinking blue shirt, but whether Science or Medical is still TBD.

[arkhos]

I'd be very interested as well, happy to fill-in any role that is available. It's OLD-SCHOOL Trek, of COURSE I'd be happy with any role! :)

-ark

[PoppyHoneymeade]

Out of interest, the Deltan oath of celibacy, does it apply to everyone or just fellow crewmembers? Or are we not applying that (as it was from the motion picture and we're setting this before that, perhaps some of the shenanigans are why it was brought in)?

I'm considering whether to apply as a Deltan character...

[Cyrano Johnson]

That's a good question, Poppy. I'd say to think of the Deltan oath of celibacy as a kind of sexual version of the Prime Directive: it's an ethical restriction against taking advantage of "sexually immature species" whether on or off the crew. (Of course, just as there can be circumstances that override the Prime Directive...  O:)) I'll add an explanation of that to the game doc later.

And thanks for the interest, ark! Feel free to put in for any role that takes your fancy, the only one taken so far is Comms Officer.

[arkhos]

Heheh, I recognize Imo and Poppy from another game I'm in, and I -know better- than to step on their toes! :P

My preference would be for medical, but I am not wed to the position - I honestly would be happy with any of the positions listed, so... ladies first! :)

-ark

[Saria]

I have interest. May I bounce a possibility off you? I wonder if you would consider a female (zhen) Andorian captain?

[PoppyHoneymeade]

If you want medical Ark I'm happy to go science, assuming that wasn't what Imo had her eye on.

-Edited, found it.

[Cyrano Johnson]

-Edited, found it.

Groovy!

Saria: I would definitely entertain a female captain. Andorian could be a possibility too. With the Captain role I'll be considering interaction with the rest of the crew as a major factor, so I may be a little more choosy about the details there than I would be with the other roles, but certainly everything is on the table.

[PoppyHoneymeade]

If the Captain's a human I'm fine with being Science officer and XO, but if she's an Andorian it seems a little odd for the two alien women on board to be the Captain and XO... so would perhaps the Engineer or Communications officer like the task? (I would add the CMO to that but the med staff tend to stay out of the direct line of command somewhat if possible, so they can be objective about whether the CO is fit for duty etc.)

[Cyrano Johnson]

If the Captain's a human I'm fine with being Science officer and XO, but if she's an Andorian it seems a little odd for the two alien women on board to be the Captain and XO...

This is one reason why I might hesitate about an Andorian Cap. Also, Engineer is a fine second officer in a pinch, but they're typically too critical to the engine room to take on the XO mantle, so I would be unsure about going that route. (An Andorian female Engineer might be pretty badass, however...)

[Saria]

Oh, of course. The Captain should be the kind of character who will drive the action without overpowering it. I am still reading through the material, but here is what I had in mind:

I had in mind making her rather more aggressive than Kirk (or any of the other captains) - much more inclined to take action rather than trying to be diplomatic or clever, though not at all opposed to be being very underhanded when she spots an opening, which will probably create a lot of "situations" that will have to be dealt with. I figure with her personality, she will usually have to rely on her fellow officers to keep her on the straight-and-narrow. For example, when facing down an alien ship, her instincts will be to eschew diplomacy and strike first without warning, so she will have to turn to her crew for more level-headed options (diplomacy options from the Communications Officer, technical options from the Science Officer, etc.), but once primed with options, she is clever, bold and devious enough to do something entirely out-of-the-box. Of course, the fact that she has to request opinions from her fellow officers doesn't necessarily mean she will be patient about listening to them.

She will also be much more into delegating that Kirk ever was - not just with normal day-to-day ship duties, but in general... which is not necessarily a good thing. For example, she would the kind of Captain who might say: "Hm, that open patch over there looks suspicious and might be dangerous... ... ... you, go check it out - don't worry, I'll cover your back."

I also thought of going with Andorian because I could have some fun with the biology and culture. I don't mean that she will have "secret powers" or superhuman abilities - I just intend to make occasional random comments, quips and non-sequiturs for the occasional chuckle. (For instance, Spock's response when Uhura asked if he ever had romantic thoughts when looking up at the moon: "Vulcan has no moon.") I imagine she will have a general disdain, or amusement, at shipboard relationships ("I can't understand how you can make relationships so complicated with just two partners. We Andorians make it work with a group of four.").

[Cyrano Johnson]

She sounds interesting, Saria. I like the way that her characteristics as you describe them tie in with Andorian warrior heritage and what you'd expect of a common Andorian temperament.

I'm not sure that one can really dial up to more aggressive than Kirk, or highly-prone to delegation, and still land in the Captain's chair. But shoot me a character sheet and I'll be happy to keep the idea in the mix. It could also be fun to have one of the officers playing the "why the heck aren't you just shooting them?" role on the crew.

[arkhos]

Working on a Human/Deltan hybrid Chief Medical Officer. :)

If Imo or Poppy decide they want to Med Bay as their kingdom, I can certainly shuffle him someplace else. :)

-ark

[PoppyHoneymeade]

I think there's a limit on how many non-human characters there can be.

Also Starfleet is kind of new and the Deltan's only joined recently and have rules against boinking other races (what with being able to blow people's minds literally in the dirty way), I'm not sure how likely it would be for there to be a Deltan/Human Hybrid.

It's up to the GM though. Just warning you that they might object.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Hi: I was prepared to work with the Deltan-hybrid concept but Joslyn has in the meantime submitted a good-looking Andorian CMO character who I'm going to go ahead and confirm. So to save ark and Saria some time I will suggest they maybe look at some different options. Thanks and sorry guys!

[arkhos]

Okies, fair enough. Good luck with the game, folks! :)

-ark

[PoppyHoneymeade]

That's a shame Ark...

Saria I love your idea for a Captain, I think she would still work as a human...  :-\  Perhaps she was raised on a hippy commune style colony if you still wanted the being puzzled at the mess the crew make of their love lives?

That being said we don't seem to have an actual Security Chief (or Redshirt of the week with the Red Shirt talent)... might that be someone to add to the list of recurring characters?

Role: Army of Red shirts :P

[Cyrano Johnson]

There are human colonies with fairly distinctive cultures, like Izar (the harsh world that Garth of Izar came from).

EDIT: Heh, I did consider adding a Security Chief, but wanted to keep the group size manageable so I can keep Scene time equitable for everybody. A Security Chief as an occasionally repeating Guest Star might be doable, though. (I am also seriously considering occasional use of the game's amusing Redshirt Generator tables.  ;))

[PoppyHoneymeade]

Fair enough.

[Joslyn]

Hi, everyone.  :-) Just wanted to introduce myself and say I'm looking forward to seeing the other characters as they are approved. I've never been in a game that constructed scenes the way this one is going to, I'm curious to try it--should lead to a bit more natural dialog. In the normal format there is the temptation to cover as much ground as possible per post and avoid short back-and-forth dialog even when it might be more appropriate.

[Cyrano Johnson]

And many thanks for joining, Joslyn! That's one of the things I'm hoping for from the format too! *fingers crossed *

[Imogen]

-waves sleepily-

I don't mind which role to play. They all sound good so I'll let Ark choose and take the other one :-)

[Cyrano Johnson]

I took Ark's last reply to mean he was backing away for the moment... be delighted if he reverses that decision, but I don't think you need to wait on him to choose a role.

[Imogen]

Ah, you're right. In that case, I'll go for the chief engineer, pretty please :-)

[Cyrano Johnson]

I'm cool with that, thanks Imogen. Just shoot me a sheet by PM when you have the chance...

[EDIT: We're other one female character away from having a mostly-female bridge crew, or two more male characters away from having a perfectly-balanced one. Either would be awesome!]

[kylie]

     I may be interested, but honestly a little confused.  Is this the same thing minioch was starting to advertise for in the other thread, or another one? 

     Also if it's much the same, I'd be interested in answers to some of the questions that arose there before going through an elaborate system process to create a character. Unless it's some no-limits, "very good reason everything will be kept a mystery and tossed out there later."

Thanks!

Besides an all female bridge crew and short skirts, what else is this game about?  Is it going to be NC/Exotic?  Yuri? 

Can we get more details?

[PoppyHoneymeade]

Well I'm sure the GM will be able to answer things better but I'll see if I can answer a little for the moment...

It's the same system but not the same concept as to how to use the system. The crew isn't all female, though there does seem to be more women than men at the moment you can totally play either gender if you want. The spaces still left are Captain/Helmsman (though Saria had a great Captain idea she hasn't responded since she was told she couldn't be Andorian as we already have 2 alien characters).

There's a link to the world building thread in the first post, from there you can find a link to the game system and to an overview of what this game is intended to be like flavour wise and if you scroll down you can see the characters created so far.

I think the NC and Exotic parts would be up to the players to decide to an extent but I doubt it'll be a major focus.

Hope this helped.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Hey Kylie:

Poppy has it quite right. Apart from using the same system, the two games have nothing to do with each other. I still don't really know what minioch was ultimately going for either, but having an all-female crew wasn't my focus (that we're getting so many women is merely a happy coincidence), and this RP is action-oriented -- I intend only Light Exotic in-game erotic content at most, although NC and Extreme can still be alluded to "off-screen" -- focused primarily on reproducing an atmosphere like the original show with adventures centered on a different crew. It's also using a meta-system for forum play that I'm testing out.

If you want more detail, I go over all of this at length in the game overview in the world-building thread that Poppy mentions, that's probably the fastest way to answer your questions.

[Cyrano Johnson]

...and good morning, Elliquiy-land! As Poppy mentioned, we still have two roles available in our crew of Series Regulars, the Helmsman and the Captain. Male or female applicants welcome!

[kylie]

     Thanks for the answers.  Kind of wanting more psychodrama or some flavoring of nc/ex myself.  Not sure I want to write plain action. 

     The series was fun to watch, but not so sure I want to hop into mechanics much without the other elements featuring a bit more.  And it's been a long time since I watched the series, so that much harder to do just that.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Fair enough. If action ain't your bag then this wouldn't be your thing. (I don't mind NC myself, but I want to keep it Light mainly in order to maintain appeal to the widest possible range of potential players while the "series" is running.)

[Joslyn]

Minor thing, I was looking at the characters so far and I think LT Cortez is missing his extra talent for being human.

Also, was wondering if I could use two minor elements from the Andorians on Enterprise (I was mostly okay with that show but I understand our GM is not a fan, heh). One is the movable antennae--I imagine that is something they might have done in the original series had digital effects existed at the time. The other is that some Andorians (though probably not Marah) use "pink-skins" as an impolite term for humans. I really like that because--given the unusually wide variations in skin pigmentation among humans compared to other TOS races--it doesn't make a lick of sense. Bigotry is usually stupid like that.  :P

[Cyrano Johnson]

I'll double-check Miguel's sheet, thanks for catching that.

I shall waive the vaporization penalty for mentioning the-show-that-must-not-be-named, since they did treat Andorians at greater length than ever before and had some genuinely intriguing ideas.

The "pink-skins" slang is something that could have derived independently, it is genuinely fun and is an obvious thing for blue-skinned people to pick up on about not-blue-skinned people, so I'll say that one is in.

The idea to have the antennae move and be incorporated in gestural vocabulary is interesting in a way, and who knows, might have been something TOS might have tried with the right technology. However, it's at variance with the "fake antennae" trick demonstrated in "Journey to Babel," which is based on being able to disguise a transceiver as one because they were not expected to twitch around. Also, in general I've always had the sense that Andorian antennae were meant to be a kind of exotic combination between horns and sense organs, not an analogue to insectoid feelers (hence their being mounted on the back of the head). So on that one I unfortunately have to rule it is out. 

Make sense?

[Ebb]

Minor thing, I was looking at the characters so far and I think LT Cortez is missing his extra talent for being human.

You're right, I was adding things in and out and lost track of the total.

GM: Please add the talent "Heroic" to LT Cortez' sheet.

[Joslyn]

Thanks for the rulings, and also not vaporizing me.  ;D I definitely agree there were some just baffling decisions on that show. >.< Though my only major problem was that many of the characters and plots just felt so meh, like it was the supermarket generic version of star trek.

[Cyrano Johnson]

I've made the necessary adjustments.

I'm going to add a section to the main world-building post with continuity-related Q&A's like the one about the Andorians above.

[Cyrano Johnson]

I definitely agree there were some just baffling decisions on that show.

Honestly, I wanted to like it so much. Scott Bakula + old-timey Trekverse could have been such a winning formula, but they just fumbled it so badly in every way.

[Ember Star]

Room for one more?

[Cyrano Johnson]

Room for one more?

Sure is! Helmsman is still open, so is the Captain's chair.

[Ember Star]

I do have a captain character who is half Vulcan. But taking her out of my settings and putting her into a new group would feel a little awkward, I think. Plus you already have your two aliens.

So, Helmsman for me please!

[Cyrano Johnson]

Exciting! PM me your sheet when you've got it, thanks!

[Ember Star]

eerk. I didn't click the links and see the PDFs before I began interest. Are they needed? Because I'm not sure I can get them on my phone (and my phone is ALL I have). I can try, though.

[Cyrano Johnson]

eerk. I didn't click the links and see the PDFs before I began interest. Are they needed? Because I'm not sure I can get them on my phone (and my phone is ALL I have). I can try, though.

I really do recommend reading the PDFs, they are very important to understanding the game. I can pull out the text and try to send it to you (or put it up somewheres to download) separate if you absolutely cannot read them.

[Ember Star]

I have a book reader on my phone so I downloaded the smaller one to try out. I'll krt you know.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Fingers crossed!

[Ember Star]

I got open and looked at it, (not the easiest thing to do with a PDF vs a epub or something). To be honest, the system is a turn off for me. Not a fan of them unless they're overly simple or the GM does it all. For that reason, I don't think I'll fit. 

I apologize. I saw TOS Star Trek RP and got excited since it's my favorite. I should've looked further before jumping.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Well to be fair, the game doc does mention that the GM handles the die-rolling, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference? But if systems aren't your thing, they're not your thing, you've gotta know what you like...  O8)

[Ember Star]

I'm in two system games now and have been in one other (a Star Wars one, actually) before. They're not usually my thing, I'm a freeform girl. But, if the plot and characters are enough to drive my interest, I can appreciate a system as long as there's not much I have to actually do/decide besides roll dice occasionally. I find systems boring, often. This just looks like a lot to take in and fill out, and it difficult to read at that.

So, that and given the fact that I am too busy with other RPs, it's best I back out.

I apologize.

[Cyrano Johnson]

All good, thanks for looking in.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Role: Army of Red shirts :P

You know what I just realized: it's in fact possible under the rules to play as an army of red shirts (or at least an interchangeable succession of them), using the Red Shirt talent.

That's too awesome not to make use of, I think I'm going to have to make that a frequent Guest Star role.  O8)

Okay, here's the update: recruitment is maybe kinda getting close to closing for this phase, sorta. I've offered Saria right-of-first refusal on either one of the two remaining positions on account of the trouble she went through to put together a character concept already. I'm waiting to hear back from her about her preference and whether she wants to accept that offer. Once and if I confirm a spot for her, I will wrap recruiting for the bridge crew and move on to the next phase, so if anyone else wants to get in on this -- and arkhos, if you're out there, still happy to have you back if you change your mind -- now is the time to let me know. Thanks everyone!

[Cyrano Johnson]

Further update: the Captain's chair is now filled, welcome Saria!

I'll leave the Helmsman spot open til tomorrow morning and will then close this phase of recruitment.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Updated with a possible alternate role to the Helmsman position.

... and that's a wrap for now! Stay tuned to this space!

[Cyrano Johnson]

Check the main post for details about our Guest Star recruitment opportunity!

[Cyrano Johnson]

Just noting that the Guest Star role in this RP is still open at this time. I will keep it open until early next week, and will close recruitment for this Episode at that time if we have no takers.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Recruitment for this Episode is now finalized. Thanks everyone, and I will re-open this thread for recruitment for future Episodes as necessary.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Due to the loss of a player, we have opened one Role for recruitment for a limited time only. See the update on the first message in this thread for details.

[Tagan]

Well, color me interested.  You paint a compelling picture, and as a huge fan of TOS, I'm intrigued.

I can play cerebral/empathetic... it should be quite a bit of fun, actually.

I've live RP'd a TOS game, (it was back in the 80's so it's been a while,) but I've been PBPing for over 12 years now, so I have that experience behind me.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Hey, truly excellent, so glad to have your interest Tagan! I'm just heading out of my local salt mines now but will PM you soon to chat about how you'd like to proceed.