GURPS: TREK - THE UNAUTHORIZED SOURCEBOOK SECOND EDITION - SECOND PRINTING --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION ONE C - GENERAL - PART THREE - CHARACTERS --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- This section contains some general information about player character types in GURPS: Trek. It exists to give GM's and players some ideas about what types of characters would normally be used in a GURPS: Trek campaign. Neither GM's nor players should feel limited by this information. If you come up with a new type of character, send it in! This was written by myself, with some editorial comments by several other people on the playtest committee. Any comments about this section should be sent to: tmp_harkins@dirac.physics.jmu.edu "Mr. B." GURPS: Trek - Section One C - General - Part Three - Characters - is Copyright (c) May 1996. See GURPS: Trek - Section One B - General - Part Two - Overview for more info. --------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents - Part Three ------------------------------ Federation Characters Klingon Characters Romulan Characters Others =============================================================== FEDERATION CHARACTERS --------------------- Federation characters can serve in virtually any position aboard a Starfleet vessel, or anywhere else in Starfleet. They can come in any of the many Federation races available in these rules, or you can make up your own race using either GURPS: Aliens or GURPS: Fantasy Folk 2nd Edition. Gender discrimination in the Federation is virtually unknown. Following are several of the various positions available to Federation characters. --------------------------------------------------------------- Captains -------- The Captain runs the show. Consider them to be like today's Chief Executive Officer. They are in command and in control of everything. The Captain is the one all of the other officers in the main chain-of-command eventually report to. Executive Officers ------------------ Also called "First Officers", the Exec is in command in the absence of the Captain. Frequently, the Exec represents the Captain on Away Team missions, unless those missions are not considered life-threatning. Chief Science Officer --------------------- The Chief Science Officer runs the science department aboard Federation vessels and bases. They are in charge of the scientific research and development and frequently have projects of their own as well. Chief Engineer -------------- The Chief Engineer runs the Engineering department and is in control of the Engine room. They are the person to talk to about operations and functions of the Warp and Impulse Drives, and functions of the ship in general. Chief of Communications ----------------------- Some larger ships, and especially Starbases, have a Chief of Communications. They handle the day-to-day operations of the communications center and also frequently the Computer department. Other vessels combine this position with the duties of the Tactical Officer. Chief Counselor --------------- Also called the "Ship's Counselor", the Chief Counselor is an adviser and psychologist. Their job is to monitor and aid in maintaining the mental well being of the crew. They work closely with the Chief Medical Oficer and the Captain and give advice to those who may need it. Conn Officer ------------ The Conn Officer replaces both the old Helmsman and Navigator positions on newer Federation vessels. They chart the ship's course thru space, and perform other piloting duties. Chief Medical Officer --------------------- More information is available on the CMO in GURPS: Trek - Section Four C - Starfleet - Part Three. Operations Officer ------------------ Sometimes called "Chief of Ops", the Operations Officer handles such things as shift scheduling and coordinating the day-to-day operations of all departments. They serve the Captain at an intermediary stage and coordinate between departments as well. Chief of Security ----------------- The Chief of Security handles the police activities aboard Starships and Starbases. They also take care of personal weapons issue, away teams, boarding parties and the like. Some ships have combined this position with the Tactical Officer. Tactical Officer ---------------- The Tactical Officer is in charge of the ship's weapons. They are the ones who set up Phaser and Photon targeting and firing. The Tactical Officer is sometimes also the Communications Officer as well. In these cases, they have to double up by learning what there is to know about proper procedures for communications in all situations. Some Tactical Officers are also Chief of Security. Specialist/Technician --------------------- Specialists and Technicians are the heart and soul of any good department. They work on projects depending on the type of equipment that they are familiar with. These are the typical rank-and-file workers. Crewman ------- Crewmen are the base-line soldiers. Frequently, there are no crewmen per se on board Starships unless they are in training to be NCO's and/or Officers. They have similar jobs to the Technicians and Specialists. =============================================================== KLINGON CHARACTERS ------------------ Klingon characters serve the Klingon Empire in just about the same positions as their Federation Counterparts above. See the Federation section above for some more ideas on what Klingon characters would be doing on their vessels. The Klingon Empire is also currently at war with the Cardassian Empire, and thus, technically, the Federation as well. There will be covert and overt missions occurring whenever the whim strikes. These missions will primarirly be military in mature, but the exact purpose of the mission varies depending on the type of result desired. =============================================================== ROMULAN CHARACTERS ------------------ Romulan characters in GURPS: Trek seem to come in two types, renegades and spies. Other ideas are possible. The Renegade is an outcast or a refugee from Romulan society. They do not generally appear as player characters due to the (very real) possibility that they could be spies for the Romulan government. However, it is possible that a fully cleared Romulan could serve the Federation in some function or other. The functions allowed such characters would probably be limited to those in which a security clearance would either not be necessary or would be very low. This means that unless a player had a -really- good background, Romulans should not be Captains or Execs on any Federation Starship. An "Unusual Background" disadvantage of at least 25 points, possibly more, depending on individual GM's, should be assessed to anyone wishing to play a Romulan in Federation society. In addition, the character should probably also have negative Status and/or negative Social Standing to best represent their position within the Federation. Many Federation characters would react negatively to a Romulan just being on board a Federation Starship in any position. Positions available to Romulan characters would probably include any low level occupation or they might serve as advisers to ships patrolling near the Neutral Zone. See the listing for Federation characters above for some ideas on the types of characters available. The other type of Romulan character would really -be- a spy. They would, to all intents and purposes, be exactly like the Renegade Romulan appearing above, but they would either eventually be found out or would complete their mission and return to Romulus a hero. Either way, they are not recommended as player characters. GM's can also consider running a Romulan campaign. If this is done, the Romulan crew would be filling about the same positions as their Federation counterparts. =============================================================== OTHER CHARACTERS ---------------- Other races ----------- There are at least as many races in the Federation that have not been discovered as there are ones that are known. GM's and Players can develop their own races as they see fit from ones on the shows or develop their own. Use GURPS: Aliens for most of your main information, but check your scores from the new second edition of GURPS: Fantasy Folk for fine tuning. See both the "Races" section and the "Aliens" section for more information on how new races could be developed. I have even included a race of my own creation, the "Histah", in GURPS: Trek - "Aliens" Part 3 for this purpose. =============================================================== Other characters: ----------------- Other characters can be of virtually any type. They range from Ambassadors and Diplomats to Dilettantes and more. A few ideas are presented below, but players and GM's should not feel limited by these lists. Make up your own ideas and send them in! --------------------------------------------------------------- Ambassadors/Diplomats --------------------- Ambassadors exist outside of the Federation as well. They represent their governments while on missions outside of their normal territorial range. They frequently have diplomatic immunity and are usually considered to be the legal representatives of the governments they represent. Explorers --------- Explorers can be from anywhere. They try to find whatever they happen to be looking for. Whether this be new planets to colonize, new minerals to mine, new frontiers to map, or just out for a good time, explorers do some of Starfleet's job for them. Characters could be sent in on a rescue mission for stranded explorers. Geologists ---------- Geologists are usually hired by planetary governments and companies that are interested in rocks and minerals. Some company could be out there somewhere that handles the mining for the Federation, as well as the various civilizations throughout the galaxy. Merchants --------- Merchants provide products to clients on worlds both within and outside of the Federation. Sometimes they operate within the law and sometimes not. A good example is Cyrano Jones (TOS: "Trouble With Tribbles"). Miners ------ Miners are the people that are sent after the Geologists to dig for the materials that the Geologists found. A good example of these were the miners in the TOS episode "Devil In The Dark". Pirates ------- Pirates roam the spaceways searching for booty to plunder. Pirates aren't very common to Trek, but some could exist. Scientists ---------- Scientists work for themselves, for governments, and for corporations looking for new discoveries. Examples include Dr. Soong, who developed Data (and the other androids) and Dr. Daystrom (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer"). Terrorists ---------- Terrorists work against governments, whether this be local governments, planetary governments, or even the Federation, Romulans, Klingons, or whatever. A good example would include the Maquis. Traders ------- Traders are sort of like merchants. They take items from areas where they are plentiful to areas where they are not and trade them for other items in those areas that are plentiful. They can and do trade for gold-pressed latinum, as well as other commodities. Colonists --------- People of all races seem to be willing to take on the responsibility of taming a new world. Frequently, characters will be transporting colonists to new worlds, and colonists may have many unforseen problems that will require the player's help. Lawyers ------- Yep. There have to be lawyers in the Federation and in other empires as well. They frequently work for the government or for planetary governments and corporations. Good examples include Sam Cogley (TOS: "Court-Martial"). Journalists ----------- News still flows, especially from the front lines of military actions, the frontiers of newly explored space, and from worlds throughout the Federation. Journalists report on events that occur for their clients. The Federation doesn't have any Journalists of its own, but it does maintain a public relations department where similar characters could work. Bounty Hunters -------------- Move over Boba Fett, here come the Federation Bounty Hunters! They seek for known criminals to collect the reward for their capture (or death). The Federation doesn't use Bounty Hunters, but the Klingon Empire and some non-Federation governments do. Charismatic Leaders ------------------- Charismatic leaders have existed throughout time and will still exist in Trek's time. They attempt to get people to follow their advice, whether it be good or bad, and frequently they succeed. Examples include Sybok (ST:TFF) and Dr. Severn (TOS: "The Way To Eden"). Dilettantes ----------- These wealthy nuisances are characters that can own their own planets or small space stations. Examples include Flint (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah") and Kivas Fajo (TNG: "The Most Toys"). They make great NPC's for GM's in a hurry to create a new adventure. Space Hippies ------------- These are the happy-go-lucky space pests (from TOS: "The Way To Eden"). Tasteless clothes, bad attitudes, lame singing, etc. - living incarnations of the maxim: "Those Who Cannot Remember The Past Are Condemmed To Repeat It". Get out of the way "Herbert", we're coming through..... ===============================================================