I have had a strong interest in the Cardassians since their first introduction in TNG. My favorite episodes in DS9 involved the Cardassians in one form or another. Garak, Dukat, and Damar were characters that carried my solid interest all through DS9 and I feel they carried the screen whenever they were on.
Looks like they may be making a return to the new shows? If so, I would find this an interesting development!
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-ds9-cardassians-return-discovery-lower-decks/
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Um...what media were they looking at? Cardassians haven't been overly populous in media over the past 25 years, but they haven't exactly been scarce either.
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The last time any of them were in any of the Trek series was around 1997, when Seska bailed out of Voyager and went with the Kazon as far as I know of. Sure, they have been in STO to a small extent and maybe some of the other games, they were probably in some of the older novels that tied in with TNG and DS9, and it is possible one of the fan productions had them back when those existed, but they have not been in the last of the traditional Treks (ENT) or any of the new stuff yet so it has been a while since they have been seen in the source materials to say the least.
I haven't seen all of third yet. It makes sense though with the probably half-Cardassian in the s4 trailer.
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The Appeal is mostly because Cardassians are basically Romulans 2.0, they had a spy network, they had a secret police, they're sneaky, arrogant, nationalistic and had slaves (Bajorans) like the Romulans, just be glad that the Cardies didn't force the Bajorans to live underground as dilithium miners.
I think it is mainly the social flux and underground elements. They are not good to actually live in, but they are prime story material and most roleplaying game characters are typical fictional personalities with all the hooks and troubles that entails rather than direct avatars of the player themselves (though of course a lot of people just play the mechanics of the game without any roleplay too).
Societies in flux like the Cardassians, the Dominion, the TOS Romulans, and the current Republic Romulans (the TNG ones were static and boring for the most part) are less staid, more full of surprises and drama, and overall just more fertile ground for the "hero with a dark past" style that is quite popular in fiction.
Take urban fantasy for example, quite often the main character will be a free-thinking rebel that is in/comes from a rigidly hierarchical society like werewolf, vampire, angel, demon, or whatever, is secretly from an 'enemy' faction or has some kind of outlawed power (or occasionally the lack of a required power) that they have to keep hidden to avoid persecution, prison, execution, or the like. Rarely are they really are just an average person from a free society with nothing but mundane everyday concerns who just happens to get into some kind of trouble, though they often start out thinking they are before the nearly inevitable reveals that they are actually one of the other types above.
At this point, the Cardassians, the Dominion, and the Romulans are all just emerging from their own dark, authoritarian pasts and their cultures are still finding their new footing. That kind of story appeals to a lot of people, especially since there is always a struggle (often 'underground') between proponents of the new vs the holdouts of the old ways. Its a classic setup, it is really what the Arthurian stories are all about for instance.
I have been thinking of doing a Cardassian agent similar to Seska, but instead of doubling down on the nastiness like she did, goes native instead and embraces the new ways on her return to Cardassian society. I might still do that one as a Delta before the recruitment ends but I have not gotten around to it yet especially since getting a Cardassian ship anytime soon is rather problematic and I would prefer she start with it rather than getting it after she hits endgame.
I already have several "TOS era" Romulans and one who was Tal Shiar but reluctantly joined with D'tan and the Republic when ran across too much proof to deny the corruption in her own organization any longer, among others (I play Romulan more than the others), along with a number of Vorta. The background story editor is one of the nice things about STO.
Well said and I agree with you in your points. I roleplay with all my characters and have a back story for each. My Cardassian is making his way in the post Dominion War reality. Feeling the effort effects of the loss in the war coming to grips with the brutal past of the Cardassian Union. He has a T6 Keldon (from "Plain and Simple bundle") and carries himself with the motivation of restoring Cardassian prosperity, without the militaristic brutality.
I have a TOS themed Romulan also. He comes forward to the 25c seeing a very different world. Angered that his noble Star Navy have become dominated by the Tal Shiar and lost all sense of service for the benefit of Romulan society. He is also a bit skeptical of D'Tan's Republic movement, but sees it as a much better option than the Tal Shiar. He is working to rebuild Romulan society and hopes to play his part to restore the Romulan Star Navy to the honorable service it once was in the 23c. He wears his 23c uniform with great pride and hopes it can reflect and example of honorable service once again.