Introduction: I will be running a small science fiction roleplaying game, set in the Star Trek Universe, using the rules for the GRAPE roleplaying system.
That said, don't bother about reading/learning/buying any rules. It's the GM's responsibility to know and enforce rules when s/he feels like -- players just need to know the genre and their own characters' personalities. I will help each person to make her/his character.
This game will have a tone rather like that set in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which the characters and situations are serious, but in which there are some lighthearted and "swashbuckling" moments.
The game is tentatively scheduled for Sundays (we'll try to do a couple sessions each month), starting in June. The game will be taking place in Natick Massachusetts (about 40 minutes out from Boston). If you are interested in playing, please contact Scott David Gray.
Starting Year: 2376
Location: Otani space. In the Typhon sector, Just inside of Federation Territory along the Romulan Neutral Zone, and somewhat further out in the Z axis of space than most Federation colonies.
Most of the habitable planets in Otani space are part of a Federation colony centered around the planet of Otan. The Otani Colony was founded in 2335. Otan is mostly self-sufficient, but they do engage in trade with other planets for luxury items -- Otan's main exports are holodeck programs (many programmers live on Otan) and hand-raised Otani Blue-Backed Warblers (a clever and carnivorous flighted creature that can be easily trained).
There are other parts in the Otani Colony. Brandywine is a desert planet where antimatter processing is done. Aragon was colonized by persons who thought it's hot springs would make it a perfect tourist planet, but the failure of its tour industry has kept Aragon economically depressed. Gabriel, Aragon's Moon, is a religious Baptist Christian colony. Moronsi is a small planet with a harsh acidic atmosphere but rich in dilithium; colonists live in climate-controlled habitats and don protective gear when outside, and as part of an extended treaty with the Romulans a few Romulan outposts mine for dilithum side by side with the Otani Colonists.
Right in the middle of the Otani system is a lone inhabited planet named Adma. Adma is host to a species of Intelligent life called the Adami (distinguished from Humans by a total lack of facial hair or eyebrows, and a small brow ridge that turns up slightly on either side of the nose bridge). The Adami nations are at various tech levels, with the most advanced nations on the planet having just entered the Industrial Age. Some of the Adami nations have been engaged in an offensive activity -- chattel slavery. Adami slaves have their faces tattooed to make recognition of a runaway easier.
The Otani Colonists watch the developments on Adma with interest and horror; after a major failed uprising by the Adami slaves in 2368, slavery on Adma became the central political concern on Otan. Many of the Colonists wrote to and lobbied the Federation President, requesting an executive order to release them from the restrictions of the Prime Directive. Meanwhile, some of the colonists have begun smuggling slaves off of Adma -- against Federation law, but Otani law enforcement tended to look the other way.
In 2371, after delaying a formal decision for a long time, the UFP formally refused to allow any exceptions to the Prime Directive in Otani space. And, in fact, has sent scout/patrol ships to Otani space, arresting the smugglers. The UFP President declared that though he understood what the colonists were doing and why, this kind of action would lead to a cultural hegemony by the UFP over backwards planets.
After numerous clashes between smugglers and Federation ships in 2373, and use of high-speed shuttlecraft by some smugglers which allow them to easier avoid capture, the UFP President stated that Federation ships stationed in the area would be authorized and ordered to shoot to destroy smuggler ships which they could not otherwise catch.
The Colonial Governor, Kwan Iratsi, was prepared to back down. In an effort to cool the situation, she proposed an arrangement by which the Colonial government would enforce the Prime Directive more forcefully with Federation inspections, in order to normalize relations between the Otani Colony and the UFP.
In 2373 a new opposition political party, the Interventionist Party, was formed.
The Interventionist platform promises that the party will help Adami slaves
to escape. The platform contains promises that the party will actually fight
against the Prime Directive, stating:
Governor Iratsi's supporters -- who opposed any actions against UFP law -- lost most seats of the Otani Legislature to the Interventionist party in 2374.
A series of political clashes between Governor Iratsi and the Otani Legislature ensued. Finally, a motion was passed in the Legslature declaring "no confidence" in Governor Iratsi in 2375 (requiring a 3/4 vote). A new election was called, and Governor Iratsi lost handily to Dao Morini, the leader of the Interventionist party with no prior political experience. Before becoming politically active in the founding of the Interventionist Party Dao Morini was a mid-level bureaucrat, working in the Otani Department of Sciences reviewing applications for grant money to experiment with cybernetic technology.
Governor Morini has not yet taken direct action which directly violates the Prime Directive or Federation law, except insofar as he has continued to support and fund runs by smugglers freeing slaves from Adma. UFP ambassadors and envoys from Governor Morini have been meeting to find a diplomatic solution, on Lantres -- a Vulcan planet where both parties agreed to meet.
Physics: In general, the campaign will assume Star Trek physics. However, just because it could be fun, Einstein's general and special theories of relativity hold at impulse speeds (though not at warp speeds).
Characters: The player characters are members of Captain William Houseman's 17 person crew on the privateer smuggling ship "Nat Turner." William Houseman bought the ship (formerly known as the "Dawn Treader") as a private individual from the government in 2375, immediately after Governor Morini took office. The ship conducts raids and skirmishes on Adma, transporting Adami slaves on board and smuggling them to sympathetic Otani homes. The Nat Turner has some small offensive and defensive capability, can carry as many as 183 passengers (383 in emergency situations), and is capable of impulse speeds as high as 80% of the speed of light, though it has no warp capabilities.
The following are crew positions on the Nat Turner. The crew operates mostly informally, by first name and by a combination of consensus and deference to individuals in their own field of expertise; the Captain likes this, and stays mostly out of the way of his crew.
Players may use any media they wish to describe their characters; pictures, short stories, clay, etc. Some players may present characters made under other rules systems. Players should be prepared to clarify their characters for the GM. The GM will decide whether or not the character is reasonable, and may give suggestions for revisions or disallow the character.
The Nat Turner faces a few challenges at this point.
Links:
For more information, please contact Scott David Gray.