From: [d 2 dcblu] at [fre.fsu.umd.edu] (L.L. Cool Ranch Dressing)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: RESOURCE: Trek Guide (2)
Date: 3 Apr 1996 14:02:21 -0500
THE PEOPLE
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Kirk 14 14 16 16 12 18
Spock 19 16 15 20 20 15
McCoy 11 11 16 15 13 16
Scott 12 12 13 15 14 12
Sulu 13 13 16 16 15 15
Checkov 13 12 14 14 12 13
Uhara 11 12 16 15 15 16
Chapel 9 10 14 14 11 14
Presented below are three sets of stats for the people of Star
Trek: The Next Generation because of the various interpretations.
Choose the one that seems the most appropriate.
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Picard 14 15 15 17 18 17
Riker 15 17 16 16 14 17
Data 23 -- 25 25 -- 14
Worf 18/00 18 14 14 10 10
Geordi 13 14 15 17 13 13
Troy 10 11 13 13 17 17
Beverly 10 12 13 16 13 16
Wesley 12 14 15 18 19 12
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Picard 12 15 14 16 17 16
Riker 13 14 12 14 12 14
Data 25 -- 25 25 -- 10
Worf 18/00 16 14 12 10 12
Geordi 12 14 15 14 10 11
Troy 09 13 14 14 13 15
Beverly 10 12 13 15 13 15
Wesley 12 14 14 18 12 13
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Picard 12 15 13 16 17 16
Riker 13 14 14 14 12 14
Data 23 -- 25 25 -- 13
Worf 18/00 16 14 12 10 12
Geordi 12 14 15 14 10 11
Troy 09 13 14 14 13 15
Beverly 10 12 13 15 13 15
Wesley 12 14 14 20 12 9
Presented below are two sets of stats for the people of Star Trek
because of the various interpretations. Choose the one that seems the
most appropriate.
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Kirk 12 14 14 15 12 17
Spock 17 15 13 18 20 11
McCoy 10 10 14 15 13 15
Scott 11 10 12 16 14 11
Uhura 10 11 16 16 15 15
Checkov 12 11 12 15 12 15
Sulu 12 11 16 15 15 14
Chapel 11 10 13 12 11 13
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Kirk 14 14 16 16 12 18
Spock 19 16 15 20 20 15
McCoy 11 11 16 15 13 16
Scott 12 12 13 16 14 12
Uhura 11 12 16 15 15 16
Checkov 13 12 14 14 12 13
Sulu 13 13 16 16 15 15
Chapel 9 10 14 14 11 14
Presented below is a set of stats for the people of Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine.
Strength Constitution Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Sisko 13 14 12 15 15 15
Kira 14 15 13 14 10 14
Dax 10 15 13 19 19 14
Odo * * * 15 15 9
M. O'Brien 15 14 16 15 14 12
K. O'Brien 9 14 13 15 12 15
Quark 12 17 17 13 12 10
Bashir 12 12 14 16 11 14
* Odo's physical characteristics change with the form he's in.
A Look at Spock's PSI
PSP: 111
2 Disciplines: Telepathy Clairsentience
3 Sciencs: Mindlink Sens to Psi Impressions
Probe
10 Devotions: Contact ESP
False sensory input Mind Bar
Post Hypnotic Suggestion Send Thoughts
Radial Navigation
3 Defenses: Intellect Fortress Mental Barrier
Mind Blank
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A FEW WEAPONS OF STAR TREK
----------
Phaser
----------
There are two types of phasers: Phaser I and Phaser II. Phaser I
does not have a handle and can fit easily in the palm of the hand. The
hydrogen energy cell in a Phaser I holds 50 charges. Phaser II is
larger and has a handle. The two hydrogen energy cells in a Phaser II
holds a total of 100 charges.
Type Range Charges
Phaser I 5/10/15 50 Range is given in
Phaser II 10/20/30 100 tens of yards.
A phaser is different than other weapons in that it has a setting
controls that allows various forms of damage.
SPREAD:
Normal - The wielder makes a normal "to hit" roll.
Wide - The wielder doesn't make a normal "to hit" roll. Instead, the
target makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation to avoid being hit. This
saving throw is made at a bonus of +2 if the weapon is used at medium
range, or +5 if the target is at long range.
SETTING:
The number following the setting is the number of charges that
will be drained from the battery per hit. Wide-spread attacks will
drain twice the number of charges per person affected. The setting are
as followed:
Stun (1) - Target must make a successful saving throw vs. wands or be
rendered rigidly immobile for 5d4 rounds. A save indicates that the
stun didn't affect the character this time. The ray from this setting
is blue.
1 (2) - Target suffer 1d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage. The ray color from settings 1 through 10 are various shades of
red (1 being light red, and 10 being dark red).
2 (3) - Target suffer 2d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
3 (4) - Target suffer 3d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
4 (5) - Target suffer 4d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
5 (6) - Target suffer 5d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
6 (7) - Target suffer 6d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
7 (8) - Target suffer 7d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
8 (9) - Target suffer 8d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
9 (10) - Target suffer 9d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
10 (12) - Target must save vs. death magic or die.
Maximum (14) - This setting causes matter to vanish. It affects even
matter (or energy) of a magical nature. Disintegration is
instantaneous, and its effects are permanent. Anything within the 10' X
10' X 10' cube is obliterated. A thin, green ray (no wide-spread
attack) causes physical material affected to glow and vanish leaving no
trace.
Overload (all) - This setting causes the phaser to build up energy that
surpasses safety parameters until it explodes destroying the phaser.
Phaser I has a blast radius of 25 yards and does 5d10 points of damage
to living things in the blast radius. Phaser II has a blast radius of
50 yards and does 5d20 points of damage to living things in the blast
radius.
----------
Phaser TNG
----------
Type Range Charges Settings
Type Ic 5/10/15 50 1-3
Type I 5/10/15 50 1-8
Type II 10/20/30 150 1-16
Type III 20/40/80 225 1-16
Range is given in tens of yards. Type Ic is a civilian model. Type III
is a rifle.
A phaser is different than other weapons in that it has a setting
controls that allows various forms of damage. Also, the weapon has an
automatic timer.
SPREAD:
Normal - The wielder makes a normal "to hit" roll.
Wide - The wielder doesn't make a normal "to hit" roll. Instead, the
target makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation to avoid being hit. This
saving throw is made at a bonus of +2 if the weapon is used at medium
range, or +5 if the target is at long range.
SETTING:
The number following the setting is the number of charges that
will be drained from the battery per hit. Wide-spread attacks will
drain twice the number of charges per person affected. Each setting has
a unique sound. The setting are as followed:
Light Stun (1) - Target must make a successful saving throw vs. wands
or be rendered rigidly immobile for 1d6+4 rounds. A save indicates that
the stun didn't affect the character this time. The ray from this
setting is blue.
Medium Stun (2) - Target must make a successful saving throw vs. wands.
Success indicates that the target is rendered rigidly immobile for
3d6+2 rounds. Failure indicates that the target is rendered rigidly
immobile for 1d6+2 rounds. The ray from this setting is blue.
Heavy Stun (3) - Target must make a successful saving throw vs. wands.
Success indicates that the target is rendered rigidly immobile for
3d10+10 rounds. Failure indicates that the target is rendered rigidly
immobile for 3d6+2 rounds. The ray from this setting is blue.
1 (4) - Target suffer 1d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage. The ray color from settings 1 through 10 are various shades of
red (1 being light red, and 10 being dark red).
2 (5) - Target suffer 2d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
3 (6) - Target suffer 3d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
4 (7) - Target suffer 4d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
5 (8) - Target suffer 5d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
6 (9) - Target suffer 6d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
7 (10) - Target suffer 7d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
8 (11) - Target suffer 8d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
9 (12) - Target suffer 9d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
10 (13) - Target suffer 9d10 points of damage, save vs. wands for half
damage.
11 (14) - Target must save vs. death magic or die.
12 (15) - Target instantly dies.
Maximum (16) - This setting causes matter to vanish. It affects even
matter (or energy) of a magical nature. Disintegration is
instantaneous, and its effects are permanent. Anything within the 10' X
10' X 10' cube is obliterated. A thin, green ray (no wide-spread
attack) causes physical material affected to glow and vanish leaving no
trace.
Overload (all) - This setting causes the phaser to build up energy that
surpasses safety parameters until it explodes destroying the phaser.
Type Ic has a blast radius of 25 yards and does 5d10 points of damage
to living things in the blast radius. Type I has a blast radius of 50
yards and does 5d20 points of damage to living things in the blast
radius. Type II has a blast radius of 100 yards and does 10d20 points
of damage to living things in the blast radius. Type III has a blast
radius of 150 yards and does 20d20 points of damage to living things in
the blast radius.
OTHER WEAPONS OF NOTE
Betleh - Use of this weapon requires two skill slots to use. The
Betleh is such a complicated and versatile weapon, that the users gets
a number of options with it in combat. The character gets the downswipe
hack with a speed of 9 damage of 2d8/4d4. One other benefit from the
betleh is that it is a natural parrying weapon, so it counts as a
shield in melee combat (remove the AC bonus when in the process of
making a downswipe hack, as the warrior is busy with the windup for the
attack until 9 segments later).
A third proficiency spent on betleh gives access to both slashing
and jabbing attacks, at speed of 5 with damage of 1d8/1d6 and speed of
3 with damage of 1d4/1d4, respectively.
How this works in combat is that the warrior with his betleh at
the ready has until his initiative number to decide how he will attack,
whether he needs speed over damage, and allows a little more role-
playing flavor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY OF FANTASY TREK ITEMS
TELEPORTER HISTORY
The original sea vessel, the Starfish Enterprise, under the
command of James T. Smirk (see note 1), had a magical item called
Transportation Beam. It was a small splinter of wood, the size of a
tooth pick, which, when the command word was said, grew to a fully
sized wooden beam with legs. The legs allowed the beam to walk on land
or paddle in water. Up to four people could sit on the beam, and it had
a carrying capacity of 500 pounds.
To command a Transportation Beam, the user usually says "beam me
xxx, Scotty", where xxx is a compass direction, and Scotty is the
activation word. Another possibility is "beam me to the ship, Scotty".
Note that the beam cannot fly, and the phrase "beam me up, Scotty" has
never been actually heard, contrary to common misconception. If the
beam is in compressed form, it expands once the command is said and can
be used. If it's already in full size, it just takes the new direction.
When all users dismount the beam, it shrinks back to tooth pick size.
The Starfish's namesake, the jamming Starship Enterprise, didn't
include such a powerful device, but the transportation methods used on
the ship gave the term "beaming" a whole new meaning. Apparently the
crew of the Starship Enterprise heard about the usefulness of a beam
for transportation, and did their best to make use of beams for this
purpose. The effort was headed by captain Fab-Look Picard, who was a
great believer in "the old ways".
The first use of a beam for transportation was simple. If you want
to get quickly to the surface of a planet, what's faster than jumping
off the ship? Of course few people would do it of their own free will,
but after being knocked unconscious by a large beam, they wouldn't
argue any more, and it was easy to throw them overboard. Only ensigns
travelled this way, but even this stopped after the captain was called
to Star Freaks command, and was told that this is The Next Generation,
and ensigns should be treated differently. Of course keeping all
ensigns alive seemed abhorrent to the captain, as it contradicted "the
old ways".
Some time later a psionicist was brought on board. As it happened,
this was a turn for the better. Being a Psychoportation specialist, he
knew the Teleport Other science. It wasn't long before Sharky
La-George, the chief engineer, discovered a use for this power - they
didn't have to bring the ensigns on deck in order to drop them to the
planet, but could just teleport them outside the ship, where they
wouldn't have anything to cling to, and would fall to the planet below.
Certainly saves a lot of carrying.
After a month or two of this, a brilliant ensign brought up the
idea that Teleport Other can actually bring them to the surface of the
planet. He was quickly awarded the first opportunity to try this new
idea. The Teleport worked perfectly, and the ensign landed inside an
active volcano. Of course it took some time to find out what happened,
as there was no means of communication with the ensign, and teleporting
was only one way.
It should be noted that all this time the beaming process
continued to be in use. Apparently unconsciousness was needed before
the Teleport Other power would work (see note 2). The term "beaming"
was used to describe all transportation methods involving hitting
someone on the head with a beam.
As mentioned before, teleporting the ensigns to the surface had
some problems. It turned out that viewing the planet from distance
didn't give the psionicist a good enough idea of the target, and as a
result the landing sites varied considerably. As the ship was close to
running out of ensigns, a considerably better method was needed.
Eventually the psionicist remembered that he had Clairvoyance.
This really helped, and in no time they were beaming people accurately
to the surface.
At this time they hit idea that they could construct a psionic
item capable of transportation. It took several months, and thanks to
the multi-talented psionicist and the great plans of La-George, it
became the unique piece of engineering we all know (if we read note 3).
The Teleporter, as the device was called (after Transportation Gizmo
was rejected), made the Enterprise the most well known of Star Freaks'
ships, and in no time it started doing special "peace keeping" and
"scientific exploration" missions for Star Freaks (see note 4).
But there was one basic problem with the Teleporter - it only
worked one way. Teleporting back to the ship was problematic. Initially
teleportation devices were built on the planets to allow transportation
back to the ship, but these took a lot of time and effort to build.
Lately there has been new research into the Teleport Here power
(see note 5), and new devices are promised to be released "by the end
of fall", which probably means "when the Romulan empire falls", or
"once we stop falling in this bottomless pit".
Note 1: Captain Smirk's full name is James Tea Smirk. As the story
goes, the pregnant Mrs. Smirk was sitting at the dinner table next to
Mr. Smirk when suddenly she started making all sorts of "Oh", "Ooh",
"Aaahhh" and "Eeeh" sounds. "Are you okay?" asked Mr. Smirk. "I'm fine.
Do you want a cup of tea? I'll bring you one," answered Mrs. Smirk,
when all of a sudden little baby Smirk slid from her womb effortlessly,
and landed on the floor, head first. "Nice tea," said Mr. Smirk, "I
wonder what you would have given me if I wanted coffee." And the name
stuck.
Note 2) While the power description of Teleport Other states that a
willing character can be teleported, most simple minded folks have an
aversion to being disintegrated and reintegrated in another place
(which is a common misconception about the working of teleportation),
and therefore are never fully willing to be teleported, even if they
say they are. The problem is even more acute with ensigns, for some
reason. Because of this problem, a lot of psionicists still don't know
that the Teleport Other power can be used on conscious people.
Therefore beaming (and general clubbing) is still very common among the
users of this power.
Note 3: See "Teleporter" article.
Note 4: Read "conquering and pillaging" and "treasure hunting".
Note 5: See "Teleport Here" article.
CAPTAIN'S LOG HISTORY
Ship captains have always had the urge to record their
experiences. In the old days, before the wondrous inventions of quill
and papyrus, these events were recorded by carving them on blocks of
wood, i.e. logs. It is said that the famous explorer, the wizard known
as Mage Lan, once made a trip around the world, and ran out of logs. He
then went on to dismantle several ships in his fleet just to provide
logs for recording the rest of his voyage (several of these logs were
used to describe the dismantling of the ships).
These logs were wildly known as captains' logs. Later, at the time
of the five kingdoms, collectively known as Star Feet, the phrase
Captain's Log referred to one special item, belonging to the well known
ship, the Starfish Enterprise. However with the fall of the Star Feet
confederation, the Log was lost, and its current location is unknown.
The Captain's Log was a wooden log, similar to other logs in
appearance, although the enchantments laid on it made it very special.
First of all, it had the ability to convert speech into carvings, thus
recording the words of its owner. Moreover, once the log was fully
carved, the whole carving was shrunk down to one small mark, allowing
carving to continue on an almost blank log. The writing could then be
recalled by pressing the mark. Marks were laid out along the
circumference at the lower part of the log. The marks were made in
groups of five, with four vertical marks, and the fifth crossing these
first four.
The log also had powers similar to the Ring of Human Influence,
but more limited. In addition to raising the captain's Charisma to 18
on encounter reactions, the captain could also make a Suggestion to any
human or humanoid serving as an ensign on the ship. The log had no
Charm power. Note that the Captain's Log is enchanted in such a way
that only ship captains can use its powers. The only power usable by
others is the ability to recall entries in the log.
As usual, the Starship Enterprise, which became the star ship in
the Star Freaks organization, had its own Captain's Log. Captain Fab-
Look Picard, always a follower of "the old ways", and keeper of antique
comic books, such as those detailing the adventures of the great
epileptic barbarian Shake Spear, was fascinated by the idea of the log.
He ordered a stock of logs, and started carving them. This made Foo D.
Replicator, the ship's chef, quite annoyed, as Fab-Look was using his
knife collection for that purpose. Still, he kept quiet about it. No
use complaining - the captain will just force him to have a session
with Deanna Troll.
But it was Picard himself who decided to stop carving. It was
simply too much work. Comic books made it look so easy. He couldn't
understand how the captains of old had the patience for this. And when
a splinter went into his palm, it was the last straw. He decided to
gather the crew for a brainstorming session. Eventually the captain
came up with an idea - something which will not be a lot of work for
him, yet will allow him to use a log.
The next day, a young ensign reported to the captain's chambers.
Holding a quill and papyrus, he wrote down everything that Fab-Look
told him. When he began to slow down, the captain took his log, and hit
him on the head with it. Unfortunately, because the captain was so
experienced in beaming, but not so in logging, he caused the ensign to
lose consciousness. Even after several days of practice he just
couldn't get the hang of it, so he eventually went on to hit the ensign
on his legs. This improved the situation considerably.
The problem was that the ensign developed walking problems, for
some reason. The ship's doctor suggested that hitting the ensign with a
log caused the problem, but since the captain was hooked on the idea of
logging, he decided that the solution would be to have an ensign in
every place he wants to make a log entry (as he called it). This way
they wouldn't have to follow him everywhere, so that walking wouldn't
be such a problem.
This continued for a few years. In the meantime the Transporter
was created, and Picard was introduced to the power of psionics. The
first application of psionics and logging was a log which could hit
someone without the need for the guiding hand of the captain (note 2).
This certainly made the captain's job easier. It was a nice
implementation of the powers of the original Captain's log in that it
not only allowed the captain to produce written documents of his
experiences, without lifting a finger, but it also allowed him to use
"suggestion" on the crew.
But it was only after the great Og epidemic (note 1), prompted by
a visit from The Few, reduced the ensign population considerably, that
psionic means were used to create a new non-violent item (note 2). It
was actually created even before that, outside the Enterprise, but
Picard only became aware of it at this time. Note that this psionic
Captain's Log was created some time after the events described in the
Transportation Beam article.
The psionic log has caught on rather well, because of its
simplicity compared to the Transporter, for example. Currently a log is
being installed at space station Deep Shit 9 (note 3), and more are
planned for other well known space installations.
Note 1: The Og epidemic initially caused ensigns on the ship to be
polymorphed into hogs, and later dogs. The situation really
deteriorated when they started turning into cogs, and horribly peaked
when one ensign turned into a bog, totally stinking the Hollow Deck.
Mind you, the hogs did like it. Surprisingly, only one ensign turned
into a log, but that was enough to remind the captain that something
had to be done about the logging situation.
Note 2: See the "Psionic Log" article.
Note 3: When the commander of the station arrived at the location, her
first comment was "looks like I'm in deep shit". The name Deep Shit
seemed to become popular, especially as it turned out that the station
suffered from frequent problems, often on a weekly basis. Star Freaks
command got annoyed with the name, and it was admiral Punkt who
answered: "Deep Shit? Nein! I vill not have zis kind of talk. Zis iz a
very gut station." So Star Freaks command decided to call the station
officially "Deep Shit? Nein!", to show their belief in the future of
the station. Unfortunately for them, people outside Star Freaks command
just call it Deep Shit 9.
The psionic log has evolved with time. Presented here are three
versions of the log, from the earliest effort to the latest.
Floating Log
Powers: Telekinesis (12)
PSPs 12
Int 9
Ego 3
Alignment LN
Description: The floating log is a wooden log, three pounds in
weight.
Origins: This was the first psionic log created. It was designed
to save captain Picard the need to lift a log and hit his ensigns with
it.
Use: On command, the log will lift itself into the air, and hit an
ensign on his knees. The ensign is either selected randomly, or by the
captain.
Other uses: The log is also used to make "suggestions" to the
crew. This is usually done by placing the log above a crew member's
head, and then making the suggestion. Of course, there's usually not
much use for this when it comes to the crew, as Picard is the captain,
and can command them to do his wishes. It can still be handy at times,
though.
There's also another use for the log. When the captain is alone in
his room, he always likes to drink a cup of coffee (note 1). The
floating log is great at saving him the effort of actually getting out
of bed to take the cup.
Attack Log
Powers: Telekinesis (10), Ballistic Attack (8), Molecular Agitation(13)
PSPs 28
Int 11
Ego 7
Alignment LN
Description: The attack log is very small, just 1 pound in weight.
Perhaps the term "log" is not the most suitable in this case, but it
fits the purpose of this item.
History: The floating log proved its usefulness when the senile
chief engineer of the Exitprise (note 3) came to visit. He continually
disturbed the work on the ship, until for some reason his leg was hit
by the floating log (note 4). He was then confined to his quarters by
the ship's doctor. Fab-Look then got the idea of using a log to get rid
of unwanted personnel. The attack log was then invented, to improve on
the floating log, which apparently was effective only on old senile
people (note 5).
Use: Upon command, the log will hurl itself at an enemy (or
ensign, as the case may be). The log has THAC0 15, and causes 1d6
points of damage.
Other uses: Since a new log was to be created, Picard decided to
enhance its coffee serving abilities. The Molecular Agitation power now
allows the log not only to serve the coffee, but also to heat it up
(note 6).
Memory Log
Powers: Worm Drive - Read (14) Write (10), Tattoo (12) (note 7),
Body Control (9), Complete Healing (13)
PSPs 40
Int 14
Ego 10
Alignment LG
Description: The memory log is about 8 inches in diameter, and
about one feet in height. Its surface is completely smooth.
History: This item was actually developed off the Enterprise,
which accounts for its lack of any coffee making power, or, for this
matter, any ensign "encouragement" power. While it was later installed
on the Enterprise, Picard still keeps his old attack log.
Use: When the captain uses the phrase "captain's log", the log
will start memorizing his words until it hears the words "end entry".
The log will then use the Write power to save the memory. When asked to
recall a memory, the log will Read it and use Tattoo to inscribe it on
its surface. The log can also recite the memory instead of inscribing
it.
The Body Control and Complete Healing powers are used to keep
the log from harm, and allow it to be used even in hostile
environments. Of course, most Star Freaks captains will never get near
a hostile environment if they can help it, so these powers are rarely
used.
Other uses: Captain Picard also uses the log as an answering
machine, leaving it in his room with a message, and an instruction to
read it if someone knocks on the door, and possibly to remember their
message.
Note 1: Coffee is a drink made of the droppings of the Flandersburg
bird. The name comes from Cof-fee - what a Cof earns for a day's work.
Cofs served their masters at the land of Burnzia, for the small fee of
heating material, in the shape of Flandersburg droppings. When they
were "liberated" by Star Freaks, the Cofs decided to show their
"gratitude" by putting this heating material in a drink. Frankly, it
doesn't taste that good, but Star Freaks members always like to show
that they are men of the universe, and therefore continue to eat and
drink any foul food and drink they encounter (note 2).
Note 2: Giving foul foods to Star Freaks members is a common custom
amongst most intelligent races. The Clingons, for example, are well
know for the disgusting foods they share with Star Freaks members. Of
course on most other occasions Clingon food is considered a delicacy.
This custom is meant to discourage Star Freaks members from making too
much contact with other races, but apparently it doesn't work.
Note 3: The Enterprise was a late model of the Prise family of ships.
Previous ships in the family were the Exitprise and the rather less
well known Nobelprise.
Note 4: Captain Picard always claimed that the old chief engineer just
slipped. He never admitted to commanding the log to hit him. The secret
is kept with Fab-Look and the log, who both vowed not to tell anyone,
even under torture.
Note 5: After being hit on his leg, the old chief engineer kept yelling
"my head, my head!".
Note 6: While personal coffee machines are available on many new ships
(usually used only by captains), captain Picard still uses his old
attack log for this purpose.
Note 7: Worm Drive and Tattoo powers are described in a separate
article.
Tattoo (Psychometabolic devotion)
Power Score: Con -1
Initial Cost: 6
Maintenance Cost: 1/turn
Range: 0
Preparation Time: 1
Area of Effect: Personal
Prerequisites: none
With the Tattoo power, a psionicist can draw intricate designs
over his body, in several different colours. When the psionicist stops
maintaining the power, his skin will return to normal. The one round of
preparation time is used by the psionicist to concentrate on the exact
details of the design.
This power is well known in primitive societies, where such
designs often have to do with the situation or the intent of the
person, and where designs are often used during festivities. It can
still be quite useful in adventuring situations, for example when
there's need to quickly copy a map painted on a wall.
Power Score - the psionicist can change the design once while the
power is active, without paying the initial cost again (but with one
more round of concentration).
20 - The design becomes permanent, and can only be removed by
normal means used to remove a tattoo (or with powers which can affect
the condition).
Worm Drive (Psychometabolic science)
Power Score: Install: Con -8, Write: Int -5, Read: Int -1
Initial Cost: Install: 35, Write: 6, Read: 2
Maintenance Cost: Install, Write: na, Read: 1/round, 1/memory
Range: 0
Preparation Time: Install: 5, Write: 1, Read: 0
Area of Effect: personal
Prerequisites: none
"A worm never forgets", the saying goes. While this is a well
known saying, few people know its origins, with the Spineless Worm.
This worm, once it lives in a place for just one day, will always
remember it, and will return there no matter where you put it. In fact,
if kept at a new location for a day or more, it will remember this new
place too, and when released, will retrace the way between all such
places. It's not known what drives the worm to return to the places it
knows, but as this power has to do with recalling old memories, the
name seemed to fit. As a side note, "you're a spineless worm" is a
phrase of respect reserved for learned scholars, with vast knowledge of
many subjects.
The Worm Drive power is actually a collection of three related
powers - Install, Read and Write. The names have some historical
meaning which has been lost with time. To use Worm Drive, one must
first use Install. This creates a new organ - a kind of sub-brain,
which can store memories. The creation of this organ, like any other
massive change to the body, can cause massive stress. The psionicist
must make a system shock roll. If he fails, the power fails, and the
psionicist passes out for 2d6 turns.
Once Install has been used, the psionicist can Write (store)
memories, and then Read (recall) them. To Write a memory, the
psionicist must concentrate for one round on the memory to be stored,
and then invoke the power. To recall a memory, the psionicist activates
the Read version of the power.
There are two basic ways to recall a memory. If the psionicist
knows what he wants to remember, but just doesn't know the details, he
thinks about what he wants to recall, and then activates the power. The
other way is to go over the memories, from the last to the first. The
psionicist can browse memories at about ten per round, getting only a
vague idea of what each memory holds. Once he finds the memory he
wants, he can get the full details. The memory is then vividly
recalled.
Browsing memories costs one PSP per memory. Once the memory is
recalled, holding it vivid in memory costs 1 PSP per round. Once
maintenance is stopped, the memory fades away over the next turn, until
the psionicist can only remember the details he remembered before
invoking the power. The psionicist cannot browse, recall, and then
browse again, without reactivating the power and making another power
check.
Note that memories stored with Worm Drive are not affected by mind
affecting spells or psionic powers, so, for example, a Forget spell
won't affect a stored memory, even if this memory is of an event which
occurred during the time span affected by the spell. Often psionicists
who have access to this science, and feel that they have been affected
by a memory erasing power, automatically activate Worm Drive and browse
memories, recalling those they can't remember.
Power Score -
Install: the system shock roll automatically succeeds.
Write: no special effect.
Read: full details of the memory are kept in the psionicist's
mind for a turn without need for maintenance, and only then
start to fade.
20 -
Install: a large blob of flesh grows somewhere on the body of
the psionicist, and in addition the psionicist passes out for
2d6 turns. One way to remove the blob is to cut is off, causing
3d6 points of damage. When healed, the body will return to its
normal shape.
Write: no special effect.
Read: the psionicist recalls wrong details.
TELEPORTER HISTORY
As is well known, a psionic item should be made from an item of
exceptional quality which is 48 hours old at most. Unfortunately the
only thing of value which the Enterprise could manufacture was food.
The great chef, Foo D. Replicator, was an honored member of the crew,
and was growing, cooking and baking all kinds of highly exceptional
foods.
The first attempt was made using large circular blocks of cheese,
enchanted with the Food to Stone spell (an extremely well known spell,
often used by store owners, apparently to keep the food intact). The
psionicist failed the empowering process, however, blaming his
inability to concentrate on the smell. Apparently Mr. Replicator's
cheeses were of such high quality that the smell survived the Food to
Stone spell. The second try was with a large pizza, but this caused a
problem with the beaming (see below), so eventually the designers
settled on a huge loaf of bread (enchanted with Food to Stone, of
course).
In the eventual design, the loaf of bread is right below a loose
wooden beam. People who need to be transported stand on the loaf, and
the beam is then dropped on them, knocking them unconscious. Then the
Teleport Other power can transport them to their destination. In
retrospect it's obvious why the pizza shaped transporter wasn't good,
as it's very difficult to find a matching circular beam, let alone drop
it accurately.
The even more problematic side of the transporter was the psionic
empowerment. As usual, the two common problems arose. The first is the
small number of PSPs an item holds. A reasonable Teleport costs 50 or
more PSPs, and with the need to teleport more than one person this is
even more problematic. This is usually solved by including many
redundant powers. The second problem, the limitation of powers to a
single discipline, is usually solved by having several parts, often
communicating through a telepathic part. These solutions were used with
the Teleporter (luckily the psionicist was lawful good, so the parts
work well together).
The Teleporter parts:
Note: The number in parentheses are the power scores for the powers.
Teleport part
The teleport part is stationed above the falling beam.
Powers: Teleport (16), Teleport Other (14), Banishment (15),
Dimensional Door (10), Dimension Walk (9), Dream Travel (9),
Teleport Trigger (17), Time/Space Anchor (16)
PSPs 76
Int 13
Ego 19
Alignment LG
Typical use: With 76 PSPs, it's possible to teleport one person to a
distance of 10,000 miles, or up to three people to a distance of 1,000
yards. The more usual application is sending one important crew member
to a 10 miles distance. This way if the teleport fails, a second
attempt can be made in 20 minutes (assuming that the teleporter was
fully charged with PSPs). Recently a backup teleport part was added,
allowing teleportation of two people to a great distance or two
attempts for one person.
Since an important crew member will rarely travel alone, an ensign
or two are always being sent with him. Unfortunately the teleporter
cannot teleport such a large number of people, so an alternate method
is used. A special device, called Parachute (note 1), was devised. The
unconscious ensigns are connected to a Parachute, and then the
Dimensional Door is activated. One door appears in front of the
teleport device. Since the device faces the floor, it appears on the
floor, under the ensign, which then falls through it and through the
second door, under the ship.
Special uses: When there's no need to return in a hurry, the teleport
part can teleport itself onto the surface of the planet, then regain
its PSPs, and send crew members up one at a time, and then send itself
back. Since the teleport part knows where the ship is (hopefully it
hasn't moved), it doesn't need the help of the other parts. This
function is rarely used.
Clairsentient part
Powers: Clairvoyance (9), Move Focus (12) (see Net Psionics Handbook),
Aura Sight (8)
PSPs 32
Int 17
Ego 8
Alignment LG
Typical use: Before transportation to a location the teleporter doesn't
already know, the clairsentient part is used to get an image of the
location (sometimes called "getting a lock on the location"). Typically
the rough location is found using Clairvoyance, and then refined with
the use of Move Focus, or another Clairvoyance invocation.
Special uses: The clairsentient part is often used for surveillance.
When the ship is on its way, with no need for teleportation, it's a
good time to find out more about the guests. The clairsentient part can
use its Clairvoyance and Aura Sight powers to gain more knowledge about
a visitor to the ship.
The clairsentient part generally sees spying on others as an
unacceptable activity (being lawful good), and the result is a
personality conflict with the operator of the transporter. The part can
be convinced, however, to use Aura Sight on a newly arrived guest, and
then, if the guest is evil, it might agree to spy on him.
Telepathic part
Powers: Mindlink (10), Contact (15), ESP (11), Send Thoughts (17)
PSPs 36
Int 15
Ego 9
Alignment LG
Typical use: When a teleport to a previously unknown location is called
for, the telepathic part waits a while, then contacts the clairsentient
part using Mindlink to find out what it has seen. In case the
clairsentient part is not yet ready, the telepathic part contacts it
again later. The picture gained in this way by the telepathic part is
sent to the teleport part using Send Thoughts.
In an experienced teleporter the telepathic part can often make a
good guess as to the time it takes the clairsentient part to get the
visual impression. The clairsentient part will typically keep the image
in mind at this time. Therefore the ESP power is enough, and saves two
PSPs per invocation. Note also that the parts are always willing to be
telepathically contacted, so the telepathic part has no problem
contacting them.
Special uses: If the destination is known by a crew member, the data
can be received from his mind, instead of using the clairsentient part
of the teleporter.
Note 1: Parachute - originally from para - beside and chute - fall.
The device is built by gnomes. It was invented by a slightly dyslexic
gnome, who apparently read it as "bedside fall".
The device is basically a mattress, to which the person about to
fall is tied. It is intended to break the fall - it's always safe to
fall on a mattress. In fact, it sometimes even works. Note that the
mattress does a great job of soaking water, so if you fall on a lake or
some such, you better get out of the tying ropes as quickly as
possible.
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ADVENTURE STORY
Below is a story of an adventure on the Enterprise from a GM who
ran it. He says it went awesome! The players (or most of them) had a
great time role-playing not knowing a thing about Star Trek. They also
had a great time finding out some of the specifics of the Enterprise
and the crew. It is really fantastic and imaginative and should inspire
other GMs to create some adventurers in the Star Trek setting.
Mist, the Old Red Dragon, used her last breath on Moander, the
Darkbringer. The party, however, noticed that the air was filled with
the smell of marsh gas and had determined that the fire from the
dragon's breath would ignite the area, making it very uncomfortable for
the adventurers. Courtney, the Wizard Most Wild, pulled out a scroll,
uttered a few words, and teleported away, attempting to take the party
with him. Unfortunately, he was not quite quick enough to avoid the
magical shock-wave from the deity's explosion -- the spell went awry.
He did succeed, however, in taking the party with him -- to the first
plane of Hades -- except the party's thief, Fingers Bubblefoot, who
wasn't quite able to reach the desperate mage in time. Fingers was
blown clear away to the Astral Plane, where he wandered for some time.
Courtney, seeing the lack in the party, pulled out his most valuable
possession--a ring of three wishes. "I wish the party was back
together", he intoned, not caring about the side effects of such a
powerful item. There was a FLASH, and then a curious tingling
sensation. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in a 20x40
room, standing on a platform. In front of them were two men, one of
which tapped a curious object on his left chest, and said to the air,"
Captain, you had better come down here..." Seeing the weapons the party
possessed, one man drew a small, oddly shaped box and pointed it at the
party. "Drop you weapons", he commanded. Bashar Teg, the barbarian of
the group, refused and attempted to attack the man holding the box. He
only succeeded, however, in getting blasted into unconsciousness. The
other members of the group were more amenable, and surrendered
peacefully.
The brig consisted of 4 rooms, 3 of which branched out from the
fourth. Fingers, Bashar (Bash), and Alex (former cleric, now paladin)
were put into one of the cells, and locked in by a forcefield. The
others (Courtney, and the Mage/cleric Karalina) were taken to sickbay
to tend to their wounds (Karalina was badly injured in the fight with
Moander, and was even possessed by the Darkbringer for a time).
Unknown to the party, someone had followed the party through space
and time. The evil mage, Glyssaxx, had learned of the party's fate and
had teleported onto the Enterprise. Using his spells, he learned of the
mighty "Phaser" and even where several were kept. After killing the
guard, and opening the Armory, he proceeded to steal several phasers.
An alert security guard, however, noticed the breach in the doors and
investigated, getting hit by several magical missiles before being able
to summon aid.
Glyssaxx, seeing himself outnumbered, ran down the hall to find a
place secure enough to cast his teleport spell. Several security
forcefields were already in place, however, but were no match for a few
disintegrate spells. The guards, too, were only a nuisance --fireballs
worked nicely in disposing of them. He didn't count on the
Enterprise's transporter, for when the first guard saw his comrades
fall, he told the computer to beam the mage out into open space. Thus
ended the life of Glyssaxx.
Meanwhile, the party was getting used to the comforts of the
Enterprise. Several experiments with the food dispensers in the cells
yielded amusing results -- horse steaks, halfling sized cakes, and the
art of instantaneous cooking.... The amusement stopped, however, when
Captain Picard entered and accused the party of conspiring with
Glyssaxx. The party denied it. After a lengthy consideration, Picard
decided to let the party out (they had already made several escape
attempts, but of no avail).
Suddenly, an alert sounded. Accompanying by a guard, the party ran
to investigate. Turning a corner, they saw a pale skinned humanoid
dressed in what looked like leather. He was shooting a blue beam into a
panel. The lights up and down the hallway were blinking off and on, and
general mayhem was being created. The guard fired his phaser, but to no
affect. The party decided to attack, and was able to defeat the
creature (Borg), sustaining only minor damage in the process. The Borg,
however, were not so easily defeated, as more and more started
appearing all over the Enterprise. Also, the ship was being bombarded,
frequently throwing everyone to the deck.
The battle ensued for control of the Enterprise, and during a
scuffle in Main Engineering, an iron quarterstaff (through which the
mage Courtney casts shocking grasp) was embedded into the dilithium
warp chamber. Fearing an explosion, the party ducked for cover, only to
discover that instead of exploding, the staff was acting as a conduit
for raw warp energy.
Meanwhile, other members of the party were teaming up with
Enterprise crew members for a rescue mission to retrieve Picard from
the Borg ship, who had been captured during a battle.
Through some computer damage, the self destruct mechanism for the
ship had been activated, giving the party and crew about 10 minutes to
come up with a solution to this massive dilemma. through teamwork, they
determined that the warp energy embedded into the quarterstaff could be
used to amplify spell energy. This was a dangerous risk to the
spellcasters, as it could have disastrous rebounding effects.
Courtney, fishing out a scroll, deemed it plausible to cast a prismatic
sphere, and hope the energy would be sufficiently amplified to surround
the ship, thus protecting it and also providing a means of destroying
the Borg ship. He proceeded to cast...
Aboard the Borg ship, the rescue party has succeeded in
recapturing Picard and transporting back to the Enterprise. Uttering
the final words of the spell, Courtney directed it into the quarter
staff. Blinding light filled every window of the ship as the sphere
took form. Because of the unique nature of the warp drive, it also
moved with the ship. On impulse drive, the Enterprise rammed the Borg
ship.
A blinding flash of light, and the Borg were gone... taking the
Enterprise with them via tractor beam. The astral plane looked rather
strange to the crew of the Enterprise, but with a plane shift spell,
Karalina managed to free the Enterprise from the Borg while leaving
them to wander the Astral plane forever....
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"FIFTY WAYS TO KILL AN ENSIGN"
The problem is something 'bout your clothes, she said to me
The red shirt and the stripeless sleeves yell, "I'm Security!"
And when you get down planet-side with Kirk, you'll get to see
There must be fifty ways to kill an ensign
He takes a landing party down to find what's going on
A couple of the bridge crew, and some extras come along
And then before you know it - the `expendables' are gone
There must be fifty ways to kill an ensign
Fifty ways to kill an ensign
Just step on a rock, Jock
Get thorns from some plants, Lance
A Horta can spray, Ray
Just listen to me
Clouds drink up your blood, Bud
Computers can kill, Bill
You could lose all your salt, Walt
Kirk gets away free...
She said it grieves me so to see you with such nerves
Not ev'ryone who goes with Kirk will suffer from this curse
But then of course, you must recall - they sometimes suffer worse
There must be fifty ways to kill an ensign
Just tell him, "I'm not stupid and I'm not expendable
I'm not going!" Tell him that he's a Denebian slime devil
And he's overbearing, swaggering, and dictatorial
He'll find a new way to kill an ensign
Fifty-one ways to kill an ensign
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SPECIAL THANKS
Marc Carlson the co-creator who wrote all the creatures and a lot of
the weaponry.
Joel Polowin A.K.A. Bunsen Honeydew for his song "Fifty Ways To Kill An
Ensign".
Eyal Teler for History of Fantast Trek Items.
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