GURPS: TREK - THE UNAUTHORIZED SOURCEBOOK SECOND EDITION - SECOND PRINTING --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION SEVEN B - CROSSOVERS - PART TWO --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- This section is meant to provide crossover information for GM's who wish to use other GURPS worldbooks for campaign information. It can also be used to help GM's with ideas on how best to use the wealth of information available. See Section 7 A - Crossovers - Part One for more info. Any comments about this section should be sent to: tmp_harkins@dirac.physics.jmu.edu "Mr. B." GURPS: Trek - Part Seven B - Crossovers - Part Two - is Copyright (c) May 1996. See GURPS: Trek - Section One B - General - Part Two - Overview for more information. --------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ----------------- Holodecks Crossovers Arabian Nights Atomic Horror Aztecs Bloodtypes Celtic Myth Conan Fantasy Illuminati Martial Arts Old West Scarlet Pimpernel Vikings Special Ops Ice Age Camelot/Middle Ages I/Robin Hood Other Ideas =============================================================== The Best Place to use Crossover Information ------------------------------------------- In a word - Holodecks. But to be more complex, characters can develop any fantasy their heart desires on holodecks. The primary use of Holodecks will generally be to escape for a few minutes in places far removed from the life of the Federation officer. Some may use the Holodeck to recreate home and family. Others may wish to be far removed from such constraints. The only limits are that duplication of actual living crewmembers without their consent is severely frowned upon. Virtually anything is possible using the latest Holodeck programming. There have even been some indications that Holodeck programming can "get away" (for lack of a better term) from the creators. See the example of Moriarty in TNG for one example. Others may find that the Holodeck world that they have created is too good to be far away from. Holodecks are cheap, legal, and can be addictive, - not a few humanoids will find a well-created fantasy world to be more rewarding and interesting than the real one. Starfleet personnel are supposed to be made of sterner stuff, but not always. Another problem is Holo Transference Dementia Syndrome (or HTDS), a form of Delusion (-10) in which the character comes to identify with a character in a Holo program so much that they come to believe that they -are- that character. In Starfleet, Security and the ship's Counselor monitor crew who seem to be making too much use of the Holodecks or who seem to be growing too dependant on them. Nevertheless, a character with a Secret (-10) addiction may be able to avoid discovery for some time. Holodeck programmers are in great demand, and certain programs are valuable. Currently popular in the Federation are "Holonovels" - Holodeck programs constructed to make the user a central character in a classic work of fiction. There are Holodecks on almost all Federation ships and bases, and they are a regular feature of the bar on DS9. Holodeck programs are regularly traded among Federation ships as they meet in space. Individuals generally get good Holodeck programmers to create Holodeck programs based on one or more of their ideas. Some people may even wish to take Electronics Operations: Holodecks themselves for this purpose. GM's should try to encourage their players to come up with one or more possible Holodeck programs that their characters would be interested in using. GM's should then feel free to use the information provided to produce adventures. Some of these adventures should be ordinary, and some - not. GM's can also use NPC's to give characters in Holodeck programs unusual adventures even -they- weren't prepared for. Below are more ideas that can be used as true crossovers as well as in Holodeck programming. Remember that even the worst examples could probably make good adventures. A creative GM could use elements of -any- worldbook to generate a good adventure. The best rule to remember in such cases is Arthur C. Clarke's "Law": "A Sufficiently Advanced Technology Is Indistinguishable From Magic". =============================================================== CROSSOVERS ---------- Arabian Nights -------------- An Arabian Nights crossover can be a world that has developed along similar lines to the ancient Arabic legends. Burton's "Thousand and One Nights" would be an excellent source for background, or you could include any of the "Sinbad" films. Some Arabic-type worlds may have developed unusual ways to deal with technology. An example is the TNG episode "Code of Honor". Atomic Horror ------------- Wouldn't it be wild to have Japanese monsters show up in an adventure? Well, now you can! The film "Destroy All Monsters" assumed that a spacefaring race knew about the Japanese critters and moved them from one place to another to create a battle royale. Also, this book could provide a good way for GM's to take ship and/or crew back in time to a more paranoid era. Imagine the fun of -knowing- that -they- are really out there! Imagine the mass hysteria even if the world finds out that -they- are -us-. Aztecs ------ A civilization could be based on the Aztec/Mayan culture, or crewmen may wish to see "what it was like for our ancestors". Seeing how the crew would deal with such things as human sacrifices (especially if one of the crew was the intended victim) would be interesting. Bloodtypes ---------- Here are some much better Vampire types to use against players in an adventure. There are also some really good rules here for a truly creative GM to come up with a rationale for a Vampire-like PC race, or even Vampire-like humans or humanoids. Celtic Myth ----------- Yet another good sourcebook for planetary creation info. A Celtic-like planet could exist, and Celtic-like literature is probably still popular with crewmembers. A great idea for Holodeck programs, since there would be the only place that I would recommend "magic" (per se) to be introduced. Conan ----- Here's one for the Holodeck. Magic? What's the difference? Someone in the crew could have enjoyed the books. Or, for that matter, stripped of magic, this would make for an interesting TL2/3 world to visit. Don't forget, Robert A. Howard said that the Conan mythos is Earth's pre-history. Good place to time travel to? Fantasy ------- Yet another world stuck in time - or sent back to it the hard way. The crew could need something of value from this world to make necessary repairs - and would need to watch very carefully for Prime Directive violations. Note that this also includes GURPS: Fantasy II: The Mad Lands and any other GURPS Fantasy-based books. Illuminati ---------- Big Brother is -still- watching you. The New World Order was achieved - on Terra. Now the tentacles need to stretch to the stars. A good argument that Trek developed from a Terradyne- like society could be made very easily. Or go back and find out what made the Illuminati fall. Either way, the Federation could represent the finest achievement of Illuminated goals. Martial Arts ------------ Lots of good source material here - both for crew and for adventures. There are already two forms of Martial Arts that have been developed for this supplement, and more are possible. In addition, Martial Arts are a worthwhile addition to Chinese and Japanese worlds, as well as others. Old West -------- We've already seen a couple of versions of this: as a world (TOS, "Gunfight at the OK Corral") and as a Holodeck program (TNG, "A Fist Full of Datas"). Now, let's do it right! A civilization could have reached a similar point of development. Many western writers are probably still popular among crew as well - witness Deanna Troi's fondness for Westerns - so it is virtually certain that a program recreating "the Ancient West" is standard in any Holosuite. Crewmembers may also wish to see what the West was really like. As a slightly different twist, it is possible to encounter worlds which were either settled by modern Native Americans trying to recreate their traditional cultures (like the homeworld of VOY's Cmdr. Chakotay), or which have been seeded with endangered Native American tribes by the Preservers (TOS, "The Paradise Syndrome"). Scarlet Pimpernel ----------------- Snatch condemned aristocrats out from under the noses of the Parisian mob? Why not? Trek has featured several characters interested in heroism and swashbuckling swordplay - here's a fine environment in which to test those skills. Or, a planetary civilization could also have developed to a similar point. The Scarlet Pimpernel ethos can be preserved anywhere the Federation must snatch friends, allies, or crewmates out from a chaotic situation on a less-developed planet without attracting too much attention to themselves. Rescues become a lot more complicated when there's violating the Prime Directive to consider... Vikings ------- Now the truth will be known - Eric the Red had help discovering America - our help. A Nordic culture and race could also be developed for use in an adventure. Crewmembers could also wish to relive this era. This is yet another world that could be used by a more advanced civilization - 'Let's see what they're capable of -here-!'. Special Ops ----------- Here's a valuable sourcebook. Some of Starfleet's personnel -must- be trained in Special Ops procedures for emergency use. Federation shock troops/Marines could be used to help get PC's or NPC's out of a trouble spot quickly. Several adventures - or even a whole campaign - could be developed around a select group of Starfleet's best responding to unusual situations. Gamescience's "Prime Directive" role-playing game does a very good job of this for those who wish to develop this campaign. Ice Age ------- Another culture out of time. Something of this type of adventure was shown in the TOS episode "All Our Yesterdays". Or, perhaps Julian May's "Pliocene World" might be a good stopover. Or are we really responsible for the development of humans? Someone might have to volunteer to stay behind... Camelot/Middle Ages/Robin Hood ------------------------------ I put this at the end because it's my favorite. Camelot! True or not? Only time travel might tell. The Middle Ages - how did we ever get out of them alive? Robin Hood? We've already seen one use of this by "Q" in "Qpid". All this and more can be created with these worldbooks. Several good adventures could also be had for the various types of "Robin Hoods" through the decades. Creative GM's could create a modern day "Robin Hood" for the Federation - stealing the technology from advanced cultures and giving it to the less- developed for their advancement despite the Prime Directive. =============================================================== Ideas that -may- be bad - for various reasons --------------------------------------------- There are a few worldbooks that might not make such great conversions into either Holodeck or real adventures for the crew. Of course, a really creative GM -could- find a way to do this - and if you do, I'd like to see it! One possible way to deal with magic is to assume that it is PSIonically based - that is, if you -believe- that magic works, it does. All of the worlds listed below could make for a really interesting adventure for both player and GM if done right. --------------------------------------------------------------- Autoduel -------- Since this takes place on a post-apocalypse Earth, it might be hard to run if not used as an alternate timeline. Landing parties might find this type of civilization to be dangerous, if not life-threatening. There have been some indications that such planets may exist even within the Federation's boundaries - note Tasha Yar's background. Bunnies and Burrows ------------------- This is probably the worst of the examples. I just can't imagine what a sane crewmember would want to do in such a Holodeck program - and in a "real" B&B world, the chances are fairly high that the crew will never notice the huge civilization that exists just a meter or so below their feet. It may be that a character with the Empathy or Telepathy advantage would be able to discern the intelligence of the rabbits, but what then? CthulhuPunk ----------- Introducing Cthulhu elements into a Trek campaign would seem to be just about impossible. Cthulhu gods would most definitely unbalance the campaign. Even some of the minor minions might give a landing party a lot of trouble. It is possible that a few of the lesser creatures could be placed on some world far out in space, but that would be about it. Another thing to remember - if Cthulhu and/or any minions exist, then the crew of the ship would be right out there where the Old Ones live! Horseclans ---------- Since this campaign takes place on Earth (although a much changed Earth) I can't see where this worldbook could be very useful - except as a scenario for a crew such as Voyager who would return to Earth and find it - changed. Another possible way to do this would be to do the "Mirror, Mirror" world transfer routine, but this type of "deus ex machina" by the GM should be extremely limited. It is possible that a parallel world similar to the Horseclans could exist, however. Mage ---- Magic of most any type would most definitely change the entire scope of a Trek campaign. It might be interesting to see how the crew dealt with the existence of real magic, but there has (so far) not been any indication that magic works in the Trek universe. This is one place that might prove that the Technocracy is right! Lensman ------- Although the "Space Opera Combat System" from this book would be extremely useful to the GM, using Lensman would be very unbalancing. Remember that the Lensman technology is based on an unusual advance in (of all things) vacuum tubes and thus is incompatible with Federation technology. Some races from Lensman may be useful as new alien races, however. The Prisoner ------------ The Federation would never use the types of techniques described in this book. Other races may have developed similar places or techniques, but such races would rarely be part of the Federation. A good example of what kinds of mental torture a civilization could put a man through is in the TNG episode "Chain of Command". Riverworld ---------- The entire population of Terra was destroyed sometime in the 22nd century, and copies of everyone from the dawn of time to 1984 were artificially resurrected on a terraformed world by aliens, so the Federation could never have happened. This book does give some good ideas on how party members can work together to solve problems. Imagine the surprise of the crew if they come upon a world filled with the signs of life - cities, roads, towns, buildings, etc., and not find a single sign of humanoid life? Or what if they found the Riverworld itself? The report to Starfleet alone would prove interesting. Supers ------ A good example of elements that may unbalance a campaign. Super powers could include interstellar travel, thus bringing the problem home quickly. Even one super villain would give a well-trained landing party some very tough moments. Look what Apollo was capable of in the TOS episode "Who Mourns For Adonis?" Although the story seemed to indicate that Apollo got his power from the temple (thus being technological in nature - rather than magical) he still gave the crew a bad time - ship and all. Vampire ------- Yet another example of the types of characters that could unbalance the campaign. The -existence- of Vampires alone could drive some unbalanced characters over the edge. Even a world haunted by the Undead would be a very dangerous place to send a landing party - both for the landing party itself and for the Federation. Imagine what the Federation would look like run by the Camarilla - or the Black Hand. Voodoo ------ Since Magick (note the "k") is such a vital element of a Voodoo campaign, it would be extremely hard to integrate these elements with a Trek campaign. A good case could probably be made for the Magic=Technology school of thought, however. War Against the Cthorr ---------------------- David Gerrold has developed a future Earth filled with new and terrifying dangers. Cthorr represent a plague that Earth may not be able to resist. Cthorr make "Aliens" look friendly. A planet in the Federation might need help, but Federation weapons and abilities might prove to be too unbalancing - to the Cthorr. A creative GM could give Cthorr some resistance to the normal Federation weapons, or the Cthorr could be an advancing alien menace that threatens some Federation world. Werewolf -------- If you though Vampires were bad, imagine what one Crinos form Werewolf would do to a landing party. Not to mention the other side of the coin - the Weres might believe that the Federation represents the Technocracy come to life. Whether or not this was on Terra or on another planet, Werewolves would represent another unbalancing element. The good news is that werewolf bites will not transmit the disease - it is inherited. Packs of werewolves would create an interesting adversary - run it like "Aliens go Native" or "The natural Predator". Witch World ----------- Magic exists. But not in the Federation. Witch World characters could soon take over the ship, not to mention the landing party - or even the whole Federation. I know a good phaser blast could even out things, but a whole world? This brings us back to the magic=psionics idea - but I believe that the type of magics available on the Witch World would soon prove to be too powerful. ===============================================================