Looking over my notes for a mission, I don't know how to write this from the players perspective ... if the player is from 2411 (?) why would Starfleet of the 26th century send out a captain from 100 years ago to a different galaxy? Why wouldn't the future Federation (Galactic Union) simply tell them ... "Earth's at X, go get it back!" ?
Well it could be as simple as the person in charge saying "Captain, I know you're not from our time, but we could really use the help of an experienced commander and crew on this expedition." I think players will go along with it.
Possibilities:
—Predestination Paradox: People from the farther future say you have to go because they know you went. Might be useful dialogue for Duncan Idaho's Temporal Agent Ross suggestion.
—Role as a Temoral Agent: The Search for Earth is a particularly delicate point in time, easily disrupted. You're sent to keep watch. No temporal attack even has to happen in the story; you just had to be there.
—The means by which Earth was taken sucks several ships from the 26th century's past into their time. And since you're there. . . Might be hard to make consistent with starting form the 26th century, though, and might just limit your story too much.
—Something about Earth's disappearance resembles events in one of Cryptic's story missions. Could be similar readings to Iconian gateways or the dimensional compression in Kal Dano's ship or whatever's up with the crystals the Tzenkethi are targeting. Anything. But your logs aren't enough. The 26th century needs your direct experience.
—Predestination Paradox: People from the farther future say you have to go because they know you went. Might be useful dialogue for Duncan Idaho's Temporal Agent Ross suggestion.
—Role as a Temoral Agent: The Search for Earth is a particularly delicate point in time, easily disrupted. You're sent to keep watch. No temporal attack even has to happen in the story; you just had to be there.
—The means by which Earth was taken sucks several ships from the 26th century's past into their time. And since you're there. . . Might be hard to make consistent with starting form the 26th century, though, and might just limit your story too much.
—Something about Earth's disappearance resembles events in one of Cryptic's story missions. Could be similar readings to Iconian gateways or the dimensional compression in Kal Dano's ship or whatever's up with the crystals the Tzenkethi are targeting. Anything. But your logs aren't enough. The 26th century needs your direct experience.
Invoking the 25c player's role as an actual or defacto Temporal Agent would make the greatest use of the setting IMO. A separate predestination paradox would need additional layers of explanation, the force of narrative convenience (the player doesn't have any particular reason for being sent forward except the tautology of "that's what happens"), and later plot points to carry it out in full (when this is only one of two choices.) Keep it simple so we don't lose the ability to seamlessly allow 26c RP options too.
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
—Predestination Paradox: People from the farther future say you have to go because they know you went. Might be useful dialogue for Duncan Idaho's Temporal Agent Ross suggestion.
—Role as a Temoral Agent: The Search for Earth is a particularly delicate point in time, easily disrupted. You're sent to keep watch. No temporal attack even has to happen in the story; you just had to be there.
—The means by which Earth was taken sucks several ships from the 26th century's past into their time. And since you're there. . . Might be hard to make consistent with starting form the 26th century, though, and might just limit your story too much.
—Something about Earth's disappearance resembles events in one of Cryptic's story missions. Could be similar readings to Iconian gateways or the dimensional compression in Kal Dano's ship or whatever's up with the crystals the Tzenkethi are targeting. Anything. But your logs aren't enough. The 26th century needs your direct experience.
Invoking the 25c player's role as an actual or defacto Temporal Agent would make the greatest use of the setting IMO. A separate predestination paradox would need additional layers of explanation, the force of narrative convenience (the player doesn't have any particular reason for being sent forward except the tautology of "that's what happens"), and later plot points to carry it out in full (when this is only one of two choices.) Keep it simple so we don't lose the ability to seamlessly allow 26c RP options too.
Funny thing is, out of my first two suggestions, I actually think the first is the simplest. "History records you're part of this. You need to be here," seems simpler and easier to say in an optional [25th century character] dialogue path than "You're just here to keep others from interfering in the timeline. Now go out and be the lead actor in every major event in the mission." It would lead me to wonder, "Who was going do do this if I didn't show up? How am I not interfering in history?" But there may be a way this works out. It just seems that that's the on that requires more work.
We still need a captain for the IKS Durgath, and a different tac officer for the Romulan contingent. Sorry Hauriant but at the moment we can't really do Suliban. I don't want to add to many more, but if we can get those two that will fill out the roster nicely.
I happily do whatever you through at me because I love a challenge and a break from my series is nice.
That being said; does it really have to be the whole planet that gets thrown?
Could it not be the Enterprise-J herself that gets lost 'Voyager-Style' in the attempt to save Earth?
Also, all these characters and back story brain storming, isn't it limiting to what the authors can do with their story or is it just a "use if you would like" situation???
STAR TREK CONTINUES
Episode One - A Single MomentEpisode Two - InfancyEpisode Three - Unto the Breach Episode Four - Head Of A NeedleEpisode Five: The Duality of MenEpisode Six - Redemption Earned Episode Seven - Shattered UniverseEpisode Eight - The Gepetto ConditionEpisode Nine - One Room, Two Officers Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest StarEpisode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't HurtEpisode Twelve - A Protracted Officer Episode Thirteen - SomewhenEpisode Fourteen - The Boy Who LivedEpisode Fifthteen - Empathy
The aim is to provide authors with a story prompt, and then resources they can choose to use or not. They are intended as a basis for authors to build upon. The characters, for example, can be simple mission givers. Say Captain Dax calls the player up and says "We need you to follow up on strange readings from a star system" and that's the jump off point to a crazy adventure involving none of the other characters suggested here. Or if the author wanted to have these characters be more involved they can.
It's a similar format to what we did with the exploration series. Some authors made a lot of use out of the characters the community provided, while some chose not to. I think it went very well.
It's a similar format to what we did with the exploration series. Some authors made a lot of use out of the characters the community provided, while some chose not to. I think it went very well.
I suppose that was my main worry, that I would be restricted. In fact my story idea is kicking of AFTER Earth and the ships have returned, but they all have amnesia. Du du duuuu
Also; I would contribute to the list, but I already like what I see.
STAR TREK CONTINUES
Episode One - A Single MomentEpisode Two - InfancyEpisode Three - Unto the Breach Episode Four - Head Of A NeedleEpisode Five: The Duality of MenEpisode Six - Redemption Earned Episode Seven - Shattered UniverseEpisode Eight - The Gepetto ConditionEpisode Nine - One Room, Two Officers Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest StarEpisode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't HurtEpisode Twelve - A Protracted Officer Episode Thirteen - SomewhenEpisode Fourteen - The Boy Who LivedEpisode Fifthteen - Empathy
It is unclear how she was admitted into house Paris, but she has proven herself to be a highly capable KDF officer. She was born on a Federation world to a betazoid mother with her father disappearing shortly after due to unknown circumstances.
She quickly took a liking to the Klingon Empire. She was admitted into her house at the age of seventeen when she was known to have developed a passion for the bat'leth.
Her betazoid half has earned her many troubles in matters concerning honor. However, none can deny that it has afforded her unmatched enjoyment of confrontation. She savors aggressive emotions. Perhaps this explains her passion for any kind of competitive sport. The Bat'leth Tournament is her favorite. She currently holds nine first place championship trophies in addition to trophies from a wide range of other competitions.
It may come as a surprise to many then that she holds a secret appreciation for "softer" emotions, perhaps in equal measure to her open preference to aggression. She undertakes great pains to conceal this.
(Note: the above can be subject to changes if needed)
Make her House Paris like Mara. Could lead to an interesting relationship where L'yar is an elder member of the house (a cousin or something) but Mara is the actual heir.
L'yar as a cousin would work. Will be interesting to see how the relationship with Mara develops (I won't be able to do this well since my mission idea is more about "strange new worlds.").
She's the quiet type, off duty she prefers solitude but on duty she can work with others on a level playing field. Her teacher was Admiral Jarok during her time at the academy on New Romulus before she transferred to Starfleet as a tactical officer aboard the Enterprise J. She's resourceful when operation on scarce resources and prides herself on her duty to the Alliance
Post edited by theraven2378 on
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Commander Sarau Macx
Half Tellarite, half Vulcan, a somewhat unusual cross even in the 26th century. She is the Federation's top theoretical physicist, her unique ability to visualize the 28-dimensional geometry of subspace manifolds makes her an expert on hyperwarp conduits. Her expertise will be necessary to not only get the task force to Centaurus A, but to return Earth to its proper place in the Sol system. She is both highly logical and highly stubborn, and tends to be extremely impatient with anyone who does not immediately grasp all the nuances of her plans (which is nearly everybody.)
Lt. Commander Makai
A son of House Gur'at, a lesser house of no particular renown, he has risen to his current rank based on pure merit. Makai is a brilliant engineer who loves nothing more than a seemingly impossible challenge. His current assignment is to execute Commander Macx's plan for the return of Earth in a way that doesn't destroy the planet or kill everyone on it, so he is enthusiastic about this mission. He is also extroverted and friendly (for a Klingon) and is eager to sample the alcoholic beverages of any species he encounters.
Subcommander Jhiannin Viau
Subcommander Viau is a member of the Romulan Republic Diplomatic Corps, and has political ambitions beyond the Republic fleet. Her assignment is to take point on first contact missions with any alien species the task force may encounter in the Centaurus galaxy. Her personal goal is to make friends in high places in the allied fleets that may benefit her in the future, and will not hesitate to ingratiate herself with anyone she meets in the hopes that someday she may be able to call in a favor.
Foundry Missions by @zebgodwin Trouble in Trimble: An illicit Reman colony is under attack by Orion pirates. Will you defend the colony or arrest its only defender? Paying the Price: You must protect an uncontacted pre-warp civilization from Orion slavers, without violating the Prime Directive. The Mirror of Infinity: To save your ship, you must convince the descendants of the crew of the long-lost USS Infinity to work with their mortal enemies - their Mirror Universe counterparts. Part of the USS Infinity Foundry Roundtable Challenge. The Tholian Tempest: A rescue mission on a Y-class world leaves the away team stranded inside a Shakespeare play while under attack by Tholians and Gorn. The Trafalgar Paradox: A mission to locate a missing Starfleet vessel leads the away team into a mind-bending temporal paradox.
Funny thing is, out of my first two suggestions, I actually think the first is the simplest. "History records you're part of this. You need to be here," seems simpler and easier to say in an optional [25th century character] dialogue path than "You're just here to keep others from interfering in the timeline. Now go out and be the lead actor in every major event in the mission." It would lead me to wonder, "Who was going do do this if I didn't show up? How am I not interfering in history?" But there may be a way this works out. It just seems that that's the on that requires more work.
It'll probably be helpful to clarify that what I see as "simple and uncomplicated work" is work in the normal course of story telling.
To me, a predestination paradox doesn't flow from what we've been happening in STO. It's its own thing (by definition). We could certainly question what would have happened if we didn't show up and whether or not this loop is indeed artificial. And, I think the answers to those questions are more unsettling for the Trek universe. It doesn't save us anything over the temporal agent impetus, but the major effect (as I see it) is that it cuts us off from using the setting in a way that justifies the player's involvement without an accidental tautology. One method is integrated, the other is stand alone (in this one very particular respect). Take the following scenario:
Noyes' allies at the battle of Procyon 5 (which shouldn't have been there in the natural timeline) proved to be more of a challenge to the Alliance. Losses were therefore slightly higher.
Even though there's been 10 years of recovery, there is still a slight difference in available ships, resources, and personnel.
This slight discrepancy means the highly critical and highly risky expedition to Centaurus A (one fleet heading to a completely unknown galaxy) has a unnatural chance of failure as the timeline stands now.
The Temporal Integrity Commission (to correct logical complications from known events in STO) is therefore sending the player out to help stabilize this part of history (given our previous involvement and proven capabilities.)
It flows. This scenario creates a problem and presents a solution using established events and aspects of the player character. We can (at the idea's absolute simplest) present the player with Captain Walker, offer them the assignment, and provide optional dialog on why they're going if such is desired. That extra detail isn't required though, because of how firmly established our role as temporal agent is through the multi-faction temporal arcs. It's built into STO, so it's a simple and effective way of creating a good story within that context. A temporal paradox is more straight forward (abstractly) but it will take more work (IMO) for the resulting story to be as compelling and cohesive.
Post edited by duncanidaho11 on
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
I saw a few gaps in the roster (My understanding is Makai is Starfleet or part of the Planetary Rescue Taskforce, not the KDF Engineer). Here are a few more possibilities:
*Klingon Character Suggestions*
Commander Chol’Ek, Son of Yetla: First Officer of the Klingon ship. Chol’Ek came from a common family. But when he was young, he lived with his father, who was assigned as a Marine guard at series of Klingon embassies. The young Klingon spend several years each in San Francisco, on New Romulus, on Defera, on Tholia, and the First Federation homeworld. As a man, he joined the KDF and rose from common Bekk all the way to First Officer of the flagship. A brave and strong Klingon warrior who maintains his peoples ways, he know how to combine them the with the lessons he learned from species he met in his youth: Human idealism, Vulcan logic, Deferan Balance, whatever the Tholians have, etc. In his new mission, he aids his captain in the quest for glory in battle, but also the thrill of discovery and understanding, if possible.
Faths’ssss: Chief medical officer of the Klingon ship. A giant of a Gorn with the gentleness possible hands but a reptilian bedside manner. Is neither cruel, nor kind, but seeks to repair a body like an engineer repairs a a ship.
Polevna: Orion female vixen and engineer. Grew up in the Orion slums of Quo’noS, learning how to fight, persuade, and rebuild technology both modern and old. Dr. Faths’ssss makes sure she takes her regularly required pheromone suppressant drugs, but constantly suspects she’s cheating. Even though she isn’t, she likes him to think she is.
*Starfleet Character Suggestions*
Ensign Octavio Quispe: Newly assigned con officer, human. Having been assigned to the Enterprise after his graduation from Stafleet Academy less than a year ago, he had been on leave at his hometown of Iquitos, Peru two days before the disaster. (I figured there should be a non-time traveling human on the bridge crew of the Federation ship looking for Earth.) Now, he’s suddenly thrust into a new adventure and a search for his home. Is know to have read the logs of the Voyager crew to understand how the dealt with their similar-yet-inverted situation.
--
Also, should there be a Romulan Engineer? TNG started without a regular Chef Engineer, only to have to transfer another character over for Season 2. (I also don't recall seeing Discovery mentioning casting any engineers for either of the ships. We'll have to see what ends up happening, there.) A Romulan Doctor might be useful, too. Though perhaps that role might be possible for an "extra," if needed. Also, do you see Admiral Jarok being an active member of away teams, or to stay on the bridge, mostly. If she's active, the age suppression she got will have to be quite strong. If she is going to remain mostly the bridge like Picard did, who's the Romulan First Officer? Is it one of the already established characters, or do we need one of those, too?
Who's the First Officer of the Enterprise, for that matter?
The only established senior officer of the ENT-J is Captain Dax. That said, we do have a lot of Federation officers (and an established Captain for players to interact with) so I don't think we need to specify who this first officer is as part of anthology prep. Full flagship crews are something authors can continue working on with their missions.
Post edited by duncanidaho11 on
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
My understanding is Makai is Starfleet or part of the Planetary Rescue Taskforce, not the KDF Engineer
Makai is definitely intended to be KDF, not Starfleet, but yeah, he's head of engineering for the Planetary Rescue Taskforce rather than chief engineer of the KDF flagship. He earned his role by pulling off a number of seemingly impossible engineering projects in the past. Think of him as a Klingon Montgomery Scott - he has a reputation as a miracle worker.
Foundry Missions by @zebgodwin Trouble in Trimble: An illicit Reman colony is under attack by Orion pirates. Will you defend the colony or arrest its only defender? Paying the Price: You must protect an uncontacted pre-warp civilization from Orion slavers, without violating the Prime Directive. The Mirror of Infinity: To save your ship, you must convince the descendants of the crew of the long-lost USS Infinity to work with their mortal enemies - their Mirror Universe counterparts. Part of the USS Infinity Foundry Roundtable Challenge. The Tholian Tempest: A rescue mission on a Y-class world leaves the away team stranded inside a Shakespeare play while under attack by Tholians and Gorn. The Trafalgar Paradox: A mission to locate a missing Starfleet vessel leads the away team into a mind-bending temporal paradox.
Ok, I'm going to close down the search for characters. I think we've got a good roster for each ship. What we'll do when all this is ready is provide a link to a folder where authors can access the slider screenshots (which I need you all to post here). Then people can use the characters in any capacity, as mission givers, experts who come along on a mission, or even to tell more personal stories about people in the task force.
On the next Roundtable we're going to finalize the uniforms for each faction. Authors will of course be free to use whatever uniforms they like, but we've been working on some standard ones. We'll also be talking about how to write for one of these missions. Should be Saturday evening. Regular time is 4:30 p.m. Pacific at twitch.tv/thefoundryroundtable, but we might have to change the time since Duncan might be a guest on Legion of Myth that night.
Got another question for you. What new technologies will begin the background of the 26th century world? When TNG debuted, we saw com badges replace hand-held communicators, the holodeck, the ability to beam “directly to the bridge” or “directly to sickbay,“ which isn’t something we saw in TOS. Saucer separation maybe was technically there, but unseen, in TOS; maybe not. Those changed details made it seem like there’d been progress.
One thing the really bothered me about the 29th Century time agents of the Relativity, is that we mostly didn’t see any technological or cultural progress except for a minor variation in fashion and the time powers. There are no telepathic communicators or controls, no portal doors that could lead to any room in the ship. (I choose to think such things were there, but they hid them from people of the past.)
Besides the super engine to get to Sagittarius, will there be any background 26th century technologies in the ships?
I think that's something we can probably leave up to authors. It'll be fun to see what you guys can come up with to differentiate between the 26th and 25th centuries.
Have Daniels bring the 25th Century captains into the 26th
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
I think that's something we can probably leave up to authors. It'll be fun to see what you guys can come up with to differentiate between the 26th and 25th centuries.
II can see that. I do encourage whoever does the first mission to add a couple early on, though. Things that can be seen as normal to 26th Century characters and exotic and advanced to 25th Century characters (and the players). There's no time for culture shock than the beginning.
I don't think we need to hold any votes on characters. The only overlap in suggestions was we have 2 KDF Engineers, but maybe we can say the Durgath has two separate engineering spaces (maybe they're always competing with each other). I was missing an RR engineer so I came up with my own submission.
1) I need slider screenshots for these characters.
2) Write for me some introductory dialogue for the characters you submitted. We'll be having maps in the intro mission that will introduce the three crews, and if I have you guys write for your own characters that saves us time and helps get the characters across as you all envision them. Limit it to 3 dialogue panels or less so we don't overdo it. They don't all need to tell their life story, just whatever feels natural for an officer being introduced to a captain from another ship with whom they will be sharing adventures.
The only overlap in suggestions was we have 2 KDF Engineers, but maybe we can say the Durgath has two separate engineering spaces (maybe they're always competing with each other). I was missing an RR engineer so I came up with my own submission.
What about a research engineer tasked with studying incoming technology from Centaurus A? It might be a good way of highlighting social change in the KDF (namely that they're emphasizing the sciences more, in line with eventually joining FED.)
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
I like that idea. Let's make Makai an "Advanced Technology Engineer" which could be something of a fleetwide expert position, and then Polevna is the Durgath's Chief Engineer.
Renna is 2 on the sliders all round.
Jolan Tru .......(depends on player rank), my name is Sub-Commander Renna Khev. I am here as part of the Republic response to the loss of Earth, we Romulans know what it's like to lose a home. If dad keep's harping on, just ignore him, works every time.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
I just found two new assets on Foundry; Crate - Enterprise J 01
Door - Enterprise J, Opening
It is meant to be.
STAR TREK CONTINUES
Episode One - A Single MomentEpisode Two - InfancyEpisode Three - Unto the Breach Episode Four - Head Of A NeedleEpisode Five: The Duality of MenEpisode Six - Redemption Earned Episode Seven - Shattered UniverseEpisode Eight - The Gepetto ConditionEpisode Nine - One Room, Two Officers Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest StarEpisode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't HurtEpisode Twelve - A Protracted Officer Episode Thirteen - SomewhenEpisode Fourteen - The Boy Who LivedEpisode Fifthteen - Empathy
Comments
Possibilities:
—Predestination Paradox: People from the farther future say you have to go because they know you went. Might be useful dialogue for Duncan Idaho's Temporal Agent Ross suggestion.
—Role as a Temoral Agent: The Search for Earth is a particularly delicate point in time, easily disrupted. You're sent to keep watch. No temporal attack even has to happen in the story; you just had to be there.
—The means by which Earth was taken sucks several ships from the 26th century's past into their time. And since you're there. . . Might be hard to make consistent with starting form the 26th century, though, and might just limit your story too much.
—Something about Earth's disappearance resembles events in one of Cryptic's story missions. Could be similar readings to Iconian gateways or the dimensional compression in Kal Dano's ship or whatever's up with the crystals the Tzenkethi are targeting. Anything. But your logs aren't enough. The 26th century needs your direct experience.
Invoking the 25c player's role as an actual or defacto Temporal Agent would make the greatest use of the setting IMO. A separate predestination paradox would need additional layers of explanation, the force of narrative convenience (the player doesn't have any particular reason for being sent forward except the tautology of "that's what happens"), and later plot points to carry it out in full (when this is only one of two choices.) Keep it simple so we don't lose the ability to seamlessly allow 26c RP options too.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Funny thing is, out of my first two suggestions, I actually think the first is the simplest. "History records you're part of this. You need to be here," seems simpler and easier to say in an optional [25th century character] dialogue path than "You're just here to keep others from interfering in the timeline. Now go out and be the lead actor in every major event in the mission." It would lead me to wonder, "Who was going do do this if I didn't show up? How am I not interfering in history?" But there may be a way this works out. It just seems that that's the on that requires more work.
We still need a captain for the IKS Durgath, and a different tac officer for the Romulan contingent. Sorry Hauriant but at the moment we can't really do Suliban. I don't want to add to many more, but if we can get those two that will fill out the roster nicely.
Here's the current list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BXz4AwfvZH4dqkpBdnRqR-MVDhS2rxQUPwiPotPOGWE/edit?usp=sharing
We'll do a poll for the year and a poll for Dax's first name.
That being said; does it really have to be the whole planet that gets thrown?
Could it not be the Enterprise-J herself that gets lost 'Voyager-Style' in the attempt to save Earth?
Also, all these characters and back story brain storming, isn't it limiting to what the authors can do with their story or is it just a "use if you would like" situation???
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
It's a similar format to what we did with the exploration series. Some authors made a lot of use out of the characters the community provided, while some chose not to. I think it went very well.
Anyway, here is first-pass I did on an outline for the intro mission: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12aGE2ZxGoWhZV52EoxnGeimUwNUXbg-d60HrWX2sZDA/edit?usp=sharing
I suppose that was my main worry, that I would be restricted. In fact my story idea is kicking of AFTER Earth and the ships have returned, but they all have amnesia. Du du duuuu
Also; I would contribute to the list, but I already like what I see.
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
Captain L'yar,
Species: Klingon/Betazoid.
Age: 43
It is unclear how she was admitted into house Paris, but she has proven herself to be a highly capable KDF officer. She was born on a Federation world to a betazoid mother with her father disappearing shortly after due to unknown circumstances.
She quickly took a liking to the Klingon Empire. She was admitted into her house at the age of seventeen when she was known to have developed a passion for the bat'leth.
Her betazoid half has earned her many troubles in matters concerning honor. However, none can deny that it has afforded her unmatched enjoyment of confrontation. She savors aggressive emotions. Perhaps this explains her passion for any kind of competitive sport. The Bat'leth Tournament is her favorite. She currently holds nine first place championship trophies in addition to trophies from a wide range of other competitions.
It may come as a surprise to many then that she holds a secret appreciation for "softer" emotions, perhaps in equal measure to her open preference to aggression. She undertakes great pains to conceal this.
(Note: the above can be subject to changes if needed)
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/857227780216617898/FE484CDB3B0C935246AAB9B7725AD44C0F35B2B3/
Name: Renna Khev
Daughter of Toven Khev and tactical officer with the Romulan contingent
She's the quiet type, off duty she prefers solitude but on duty she can work with others on a level playing field. Her teacher was Admiral Jarok during her time at the academy on New Romulus before she transferred to Starfleet as a tactical officer aboard the Enterprise J. She's resourceful when operation on scarce resources and prides herself on her duty to the Alliance
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Commander Sarau Macx
Half Tellarite, half Vulcan, a somewhat unusual cross even in the 26th century. She is the Federation's top theoretical physicist, her unique ability to visualize the 28-dimensional geometry of subspace manifolds makes her an expert on hyperwarp conduits. Her expertise will be necessary to not only get the task force to Centaurus A, but to return Earth to its proper place in the Sol system. She is both highly logical and highly stubborn, and tends to be extremely impatient with anyone who does not immediately grasp all the nuances of her plans (which is nearly everybody.)
Lt. Commander Makai
A son of House Gur'at, a lesser house of no particular renown, he has risen to his current rank based on pure merit. Makai is a brilliant engineer who loves nothing more than a seemingly impossible challenge. His current assignment is to execute Commander Macx's plan for the return of Earth in a way that doesn't destroy the planet or kill everyone on it, so he is enthusiastic about this mission. He is also extroverted and friendly (for a Klingon) and is eager to sample the alcoholic beverages of any species he encounters.
Subcommander Jhiannin Viau
Subcommander Viau is a member of the Romulan Republic Diplomatic Corps, and has political ambitions beyond the Republic fleet. Her assignment is to take point on first contact missions with any alien species the task force may encounter in the Centaurus galaxy. Her personal goal is to make friends in high places in the allied fleets that may benefit her in the future, and will not hesitate to ingratiate herself with anyone she meets in the hopes that someday she may be able to call in a favor.
Trouble in Trimble: An illicit Reman colony is under attack by Orion pirates. Will you defend the colony or arrest its only defender?
Paying the Price: You must protect an uncontacted pre-warp civilization from Orion slavers, without violating the Prime Directive.
The Mirror of Infinity: To save your ship, you must convince the descendants of the crew of the long-lost USS Infinity to work with their mortal enemies - their Mirror Universe counterparts. Part of the USS Infinity Foundry Roundtable Challenge.
The Tholian Tempest: A rescue mission on a Y-class world leaves the away team stranded inside a Shakespeare play while under attack by Tholians and Gorn.
The Trafalgar Paradox: A mission to locate a missing Starfleet vessel leads the away team into a mind-bending temporal paradox.
To me, a predestination paradox doesn't flow from what we've been happening in STO. It's its own thing (by definition). We could certainly question what would have happened if we didn't show up and whether or not this loop is indeed artificial. And, I think the answers to those questions are more unsettling for the Trek universe. It doesn't save us anything over the temporal agent impetus, but the major effect (as I see it) is that it cuts us off from using the setting in a way that justifies the player's involvement without an accidental tautology. One method is integrated, the other is stand alone (in this one very particular respect). Take the following scenario:
It flows. This scenario creates a problem and presents a solution using established events and aspects of the player character. We can (at the idea's absolute simplest) present the player with Captain Walker, offer them the assignment, and provide optional dialog on why they're going if such is desired. That extra detail isn't required though, because of how firmly established our role as temporal agent is through the multi-faction temporal arcs. It's built into STO, so it's a simple and effective way of creating a good story within that context. A temporal paradox is more straight forward (abstractly) but it will take more work (IMO) for the resulting story to be as compelling and cohesive.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
*Klingon Character Suggestions*
Commander Chol’Ek, Son of Yetla: First Officer of the Klingon ship. Chol’Ek came from a common family. But when he was young, he lived with his father, who was assigned as a Marine guard at series of Klingon embassies. The young Klingon spend several years each in San Francisco, on New Romulus, on Defera, on Tholia, and the First Federation homeworld. As a man, he joined the KDF and rose from common Bekk all the way to First Officer of the flagship. A brave and strong Klingon warrior who maintains his peoples ways, he know how to combine them the with the lessons he learned from species he met in his youth: Human idealism, Vulcan logic, Deferan Balance, whatever the Tholians have, etc. In his new mission, he aids his captain in the quest for glory in battle, but also the thrill of discovery and understanding, if possible.
Faths’ssss: Chief medical officer of the Klingon ship. A giant of a Gorn with the gentleness possible hands but a reptilian bedside manner. Is neither cruel, nor kind, but seeks to repair a body like an engineer repairs a a ship.
Polevna: Orion female vixen and engineer. Grew up in the Orion slums of Quo’noS, learning how to fight, persuade, and rebuild technology both modern and old. Dr. Faths’ssss makes sure she takes her regularly required pheromone suppressant drugs, but constantly suspects she’s cheating. Even though she isn’t, she likes him to think she is.
*Starfleet Character Suggestions*
Ensign Octavio Quispe: Newly assigned con officer, human. Having been assigned to the Enterprise after his graduation from Stafleet Academy less than a year ago, he had been on leave at his hometown of Iquitos, Peru two days before the disaster. (I figured there should be a non-time traveling human on the bridge crew of the Federation ship looking for Earth.) Now, he’s suddenly thrust into a new adventure and a search for his home. Is know to have read the logs of the Voyager crew to understand how the dealt with their similar-yet-inverted situation.
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Also, should there be a Romulan Engineer? TNG started without a regular Chef Engineer, only to have to transfer another character over for Season 2. (I also don't recall seeing Discovery mentioning casting any engineers for either of the ships. We'll have to see what ends up happening, there.) A Romulan Doctor might be useful, too. Though perhaps that role might be possible for an "extra," if needed. Also, do you see Admiral Jarok being an active member of away teams, or to stay on the bridge, mostly. If she's active, the age suppression she got will have to be quite strong. If she is going to remain mostly the bridge like Picard did, who's the Romulan First Officer? Is it one of the already established characters, or do we need one of those, too?
The only established senior officer of the ENT-J is Captain Dax. That said, we do have a lot of Federation officers (and an established Captain for players to interact with) so I don't think we need to specify who this first officer is as part of anthology prep. Full flagship crews are something authors can continue working on with their missions.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Makai is definitely intended to be KDF, not Starfleet, but yeah, he's head of engineering for the Planetary Rescue Taskforce rather than chief engineer of the KDF flagship. He earned his role by pulling off a number of seemingly impossible engineering projects in the past. Think of him as a Klingon Montgomery Scott - he has a reputation as a miracle worker.
Trouble in Trimble: An illicit Reman colony is under attack by Orion pirates. Will you defend the colony or arrest its only defender?
Paying the Price: You must protect an uncontacted pre-warp civilization from Orion slavers, without violating the Prime Directive.
The Mirror of Infinity: To save your ship, you must convince the descendants of the crew of the long-lost USS Infinity to work with their mortal enemies - their Mirror Universe counterparts. Part of the USS Infinity Foundry Roundtable Challenge.
The Tholian Tempest: A rescue mission on a Y-class world leaves the away team stranded inside a Shakespeare play while under attack by Tholians and Gorn.
The Trafalgar Paradox: A mission to locate a missing Starfleet vessel leads the away team into a mind-bending temporal paradox.
On the next Roundtable we're going to finalize the uniforms for each faction. Authors will of course be free to use whatever uniforms they like, but we've been working on some standard ones. We'll also be talking about how to write for one of these missions. Should be Saturday evening. Regular time is 4:30 p.m. Pacific at twitch.tv/thefoundryroundtable, but we might have to change the time since Duncan might be a guest on Legion of Myth that night.
One thing the really bothered me about the 29th Century time agents of the Relativity, is that we mostly didn’t see any technological or cultural progress except for a minor variation in fashion and the time powers. There are no telepathic communicators or controls, no portal doors that could lead to any room in the ship. (I choose to think such things were there, but they hid them from people of the past.)
Besides the super engine to get to Sagittarius, will there be any background 26th century technologies in the ships?
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
II can see that. I do encourage whoever does the first mission to add a couple early on, though. Things that can be seen as normal to 26th Century characters and exotic and advanced to 25th Century characters (and the players). There's no time for culture shock than the beginning.
If she's voted in, I'll post the costume sliders from that mission, but feel free to give her a different outfit.
My Foundry missions | My STO Wiki page | My Twitter home page
Here is the final list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BXz4AwfvZH4dqkpBdnRqR-MVDhS2rxQUPwiPotPOGWE/edit?usp=sharing
So, next assignments for everyone.
1) I need slider screenshots for these characters.
2) Write for me some introductory dialogue for the characters you submitted. We'll be having maps in the intro mission that will introduce the three crews, and if I have you guys write for your own characters that saves us time and helps get the characters across as you all envision them. Limit it to 3 dialogue panels or less so we don't overdo it. They don't all need to tell their life story, just whatever feels natural for an officer being introduced to a captain from another ship with whom they will be sharing adventures.
What about a research engineer tasked with studying incoming technology from Centaurus A? It might be a good way of highlighting social change in the KDF (namely that they're emphasizing the sciences more, in line with eventually joining FED.)
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Jolan Tru .......(depends on player rank), my name is Sub-Commander Renna Khev. I am here as part of the Republic response to the loss of Earth, we Romulans know what it's like to lose a home. If dad keep's harping on, just ignore him, works every time.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
I just found two new assets on Foundry;
Crate - Enterprise J 01
Door - Enterprise J, Opening
It is meant to be.
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
All we need now is the 26th C bridges ... and J interior ... and we're good