GURPS: TREK - THE UNAUTHORIZED SOURCEBOOK SECOND EDITION - SECOND PRINTING --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION FOUR D - STARFLEET - PART FOUR --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- These sections deal with Starfleet and Starfleet Academy. This section, dealing with Awards and Starfleet Marines, is virtually totally the work of Chris Beiting, except for editing and some small additions. Chris can be contacted at: beiting@vax.ox.ac.uk. I would like to thank him here for his contributions to this sourcebook. Please feel free to contact him for more info about Awards and Starfleet Marines. See GURPS: Trek - Section Four A - Starfleet Part One - for more information about these sections. See GURPS: Trek - Section One B - Overview - for more general information. Any comments about this section should be sent to: tmp_harkins@dirac.physics.jmu.edu "Mr. B." GURPS: Trek - Section Four D - Starfleet - Part Four - is Copyright (c) May 1996. See GURPS: Trek - Section One B - General - Part Two - Overview for more information. --------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents - Part Four ----------------------------- Starfleet Awards, Medals, and Decorations Starfleet Marines Basic Starfleet Marine Skill Package NCO's and Officers Marine Ranks Ads and Disads =============================================================== STARFLEET AWARDS, MEDALS, AND DECORATIONS ----------------------------------------- Militaries throughout history have rewarded their soldiers with honors, and Starfleet is no exception. Awards, Medals, and Decorations serve to encourage excellence, and help to provide Starfleet personnel with a sense of their own worth and Starfleet's appreciation of them. This point should not be underestimated, since many individuals have to sacrifice a great deal in order to establish a career in Starfleet, and often are unable to have or maintain families, homes, or other "traditional" symbols of self-worth. Starfleet awards are of several types. They can be divided into four types: medals for military missions, medals for peace missions, general ribbons, and medals for notable achievement. Additionally, there are several non-Starfleet decorations issued by individual Federation and non-Federation member worlds. If a character earned these while in Starfleet service, they are entitled to bear it alongside their Starfleet decorations, although it will not mean as much to Starfleet personnel. These decorations are worn on formal dress uniforms. If a medal is awarded more than once, it is decorated with a design of metal leaves, called a cluster. The most impressive awards are those granted for military missions. They are of four grades: The Starfleet Medal of Commendation (StarCom) is issued for valuable service in action. It is the highest military award that can be issued for meritorious service in a situation where there was no risk of life. It is somewhat common, and, as such, is not as impressive as the higher medals. The Bronze Star is more valuable. It is awarded in recognition of a single act of heroism performed in a situation where there is a significant risk to life. This is the highest medal that can be awarded in a non-combat incident, such as rescuing someone from an impending Warp core breach. Note that StarComs and Bronze Stars awarded for valor in a combat situation have a small "V" appended to them - this makes that award much more impressive. The Silver Star is the next highest medal. It is awarded in recognition for an act of heroism performed at risk to life above and beyond the call of duty. It is only awarded in combat. Finally, the Medal of Honor (or Gold Star) is awarded for multiple, consecutive acts of heroism performed at risk to life in a situation far above and beyond the call of duty. This is a very rare honor, and is often given posthumously. There are also individual ribbons awarded for participating in certain memorable military campaigns. The value of these ribbons depends on the fame and/or notoriety of the event. For instance, the ribbon for the battle of Wolf 359 is one of the most recognized decorations in Starfleet. Since Starfleet is not totally a military body, it also gives an award for peaceful missions. This is the Palm Leaf of Axanar medal, and it is awarded for notable success on a peace mission. Multiple receipt of this award proceeds in a series of stages: the Palm Leaf itself, the Palm Leaf with Oak Cluster, the Palm Leaf with Silver Cluster, and finally, the Palm Leaf with Gold Cluster. Although just as important as the medals for action missions, it is not as highly regarded among Starfleet's rank-and-file. Starfleet also awards a general series of ribbons for crew on missions and campaigns. They tend not to figure in reactions of fellow Starfleet crewmembers, but can add background detail to a character or provide a GM with a way to say "Well Done" to a group of players who have performed particularly well. These ribbons are of four grades: The General Services Ribbon is awarded to anyone who served in the field during a particular mission or campaign. The Outstanding Services Ribbon is awarded if the particular mission or campaign was completed successfully. The Praentares Ribbon of Commendation, Second Class, is awarded if the particular mission or campaign was completed in an outstanding fashion, to the highest level that was expected. Finally, The Praentares Ribbon of Commendation, First Class, is awarded if the particular campaign or mission was completed above and beyond all expectations of success. There are a great number of individual medals and awards. GM's should be encouraged to be creative here. Some of these medals would be given for meritorious demonstrations of particular ability with a skill in a difficult situation. These are the kinds of displays of skill that wind up being taught at Starfleet Academy. The GM should figure that they involve a critical success -and- some clever thinking on the part of a player in a difficult situation. For example, young Captain Picard is facing a hostile Ferengi ship in the damaged USS Stargazer. He then rolls a critical success on his Tactics: Space roll. Realizing that the Ferengi ship is only using lightspeed sensors, he orders an immediate jump to Warp One. The Ferengi Captain thus tracks on the Stargazer's old position rather than on it's new one. By the time that the light from the new image reaches him and he sees two Stargazers bearing down on him, he is blown to photons. This became the classic "Picard Maneuver": it becomes a standard maneuver taught at the Academy, and Captain Picard is awarded the Grankite Order of Tactics for it. Another class of awards are those awarded by Federation or non-Federation governments, as noted above. Finally, since Starfleet personnel are encouraged to engage in scientific research as part of their duties, there are numerous scientific awards that can be granted, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize. Again, the watchword here is GM creativity - there should be as many or as few of these awards as they desire. Awards can serve as a Reputation modifier among other Starfleet personnel, and civilians in the know. If the GM wishes, and the players are willing to pay the character point casts, the above awards can produce the following benefits: Bronze Star with "V"; multiple StarComs with "V", Palm Leaf of Axanar (+1 reaction); 5 points. Silver Star; multiple Bronze Stars with "V" (+2 reaction); 10 points. Grankite Order of Tactics (or similar); multiple Silver Stars (+3 reaction); 15 points. Medal of Honor; Nobel Peace Price (+4 reaction); 20 points. =============================================================== STARFLEET MARINES ----------------- Note that apart from a brief appearance in a Shuttlecraft with Kirk in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Starfleet Marines have received little or no detailing in the Trek universe. Thus, what follows is purely conjecture, extrapolated in large part from information in GURPS: Special Ops. It is meant to flesh out the Trek universe a little, and to appeal to players of Task Force Games' "Prime Directive". --------------------------------------------------------------- Starfleet is not primarily a military organization. Despite its military ranks and procedures, its frequent space battles, and its ships which carry enough firepower to bake the crust of a planet, Starfleet is devoted primarily to the peaceful exploration of space and the policing of Federation spacelanes. However, there are times when military intervention on a planet becomes necessary, and when those times come, the Federation maintains an elite force of soldiers - Starfleet Marines. Starfleet Naval personnel serve a wide variety of purposes, diplomatic as well as scientific. Starfleet Marines serve only one purpose - combat - and they are used if diplomacy fails. Marines are carried aboard Starfleet ships, but they have their own commanders and are separate from the regular shipboard chain of command. Twenty-fourth century technology, and particularly Holodeck technology, have made it possible to give rank-and-file soldiers the kind of intensive military training that was the sole preserve of special forces units a mere four centuries before. Starfleet Marines are exceptionally well trained and capable, even by Starfleet standards. They are meant to operate primarily on planetary surfaces, both land and water, but are also trained to participate in space-based operations as well. Their skills reflect the fact that they frequently have to operate in a long-range reconnaissance fashion, often with little or no support from Starfleet. Unlike Naval personnel, Starfleet Marines must meet exacting physical criteria. They are particularly expected to display above-average intelligence and exceptional endurance. The following stats are considered to be minimum: BASIC STATS: ST 10+ DX 10+ IQ 11+ HT 13+ Marines should be built on a total of 300 to 400 points, to reflect their intensive training. They are meant to be at peak mental and physical conditioning, so certain advantages are desirable and certain disadvantages should be prohibited - see GURPS Special Ops pg.46 and pg.49-50 for details, or use some common sense. GM's may also wish to use the rules for skill degradation from GURPS: Special Ops pg.55-56 if they have characters who will spend long periods of time off-duty, away from Holodecks and other training sources. BASIC STARFLEET MARINE SKILL PACKAGE ------------------------------------ Starfleet Marines are expected to meet the following skill requirements: Administration 9 Armoury: Beam Weapons 12 Astrogation 10 Brawling (or Anbo-Jytsu) 15 Beam Weapons: Phaser 15 Camouflage 12 Climbing 12 Computer Ops 13 Computer Programming 10 Demolitions/TL 11 12 Driving/TL 11 11 Elec. Ops.: Communications 12 Elec. Ops.: Sensors 12 Elec. Ops.: Transporters 12 First Aid/TL 11 10 Forward Observer 12 Gunner: Phaser Cannon 13 Guns: Infantry Anti-Vehicle 13 Guns: Photon Grenade Launcher 13 Intelligence Analysis 10 Interrogation 10 Jumping 12 Knife 13 Language: Federation Standard 12 Leadership 10 Navigation/TL 11 10 Orienteering/TL 11 13 Parachuting/TL 11 11 Pilot: Shuttlecraft 12 Powerboats/TL 11 11 Survival: Terrestrial Planets 13 Survival: Hostile Planets 13 Survival: Rock/Ice Planets 13 Survival: Gas Giants 13 Savoir-Faire: Starfleet 12 Scrounging 10 Scuba 12 Shadowing 12 Stealth 11 Streetwise 10 Swimming 13 Tactics: Small Units 10 Thrown Weapon: Photon Grenade 14 Thruster Suit Ops. 12 Traps/TL 11 12 Vacc Suit Ops. 12 There are special schools which confer additional language training, survival training, escape and evasion training, and other piloting skills. GM's should feel free to allow their characters to pick up skills from these or other areas if their players can justify having had such training. Note also that this makes Starfleet Marines primarily ground and water troops. If you would like to make them similar to SEALs, add: Elec. Ops.: Security Systems 12 Tactics: Small Units 14 There are probably even more elite troops within the Starfleet Marines for special missions. These troops would be even better trained for their missions, which would often be covert in nature. Think of them as the "Delta Force" of Starfleet, and allow players to develop individual skill templates based on specialties within the Starfleet Marines. Examples include: Demolitions Technician, Underwater Specialist, Anbo-Jytsu Instructor, Computer Specialist, Communications Technician, Cryptographer, Insertion/Extraction Specialist, etc. Characters who are specialists within their fields should also have skill in Teaching, so that they may share their knowledge with other members of the team. Even the existence of such a team may be limited to a "need-to-know" basis. Additionally, Starfleet Marines who are NCO's or Officers should receive the following skills to reflect their training: NCO's ----- Administration 12 Detect Lies 9 Leadership 13 Scrounging 12 Tactics: Small Units 11 Officers -------- Administration 13 Detect Lies 12 Diplomacy 12 Leadership 14 Orienteering/TL 11 12 Tactics: Small Units 12 NCO's are your career sergeants. They provide training and leadership to the Privates, Specialists, and Technicians in Starfleet Academy. Officers are the real leaders - the power behind the power. All Starfleet Marines can expect to go on missions at any time. There are no distinctions due to rank on missions, except for the usual chain of command. Privates with specialized training may be placed on teams with officers, and officers with NCO's, etc. Starfleet picks the best men for the job ahead. The Starfleet Marine table of ranks follows a slightly modified version of the ranks of Terran ground forces, rather than that of Terran Navies as Starfleet does: MARINE RANKS ------------ Rank 0 - Private, Specialist, Technician Rank 1 - Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Rank 2 - NCO's: Master Sergeant, Sergeant Major Rank 3 - 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant Rank 4 - Captain, Major Rank 5 - Lt. Colonel Rank 6 - Colonel Rank 7 - Brigadier General, Major General Rank 8 - 3 Star General, 4 Star General Rank 9 - Admiral of the Fleet Yes, the Starfleet Marines are eventually responsible to the Admiral of the Fleet for their operations. ADS & DISADS ------------ Regarding a basic Marine advantage/disadvantage package, they should probably have Extremely Hazardous Duty (-20) added to their Disadvantages. It is up to individual GM's to decide whether or not this eliminates "Duty: Starfleet". It is also up to individual GM's to decide whether the missions of the Starfleet Marines should include the advantage of "Legal Enforcement Powers" and/or the disadvantage of "Vow: Uphold Prime Directive". ===============================================================