Initial Ground Combat Tables

"a" through "e" represent the members of the friendly away team. "a1" through "e1" represent the corresponding members of the enemy away team. Each team rolls a single six sided die per team member.

ROUND ONE
a)3  a1)3 winner:tie
b)2  b1)5 winner:b1
c)4  c1)1 winner:c
d)5  d1)2 winner:d
e)5  e1)6 winner:e1

ROUND TWO
a)6   a1)3 winner:a
c)1   b1)3 winner:b1
d)4   e1)6 winner:e1

ROUND THREE
a)3   b1)5 winner:b1


This is obviously a case for people wanting to engage in combat, and they would include these die roll results in their post. Players involved in a similar mission not wanting to engage in combat can simply write their own combat resolution as they see fit. One detail that I haven't worked out is modifiers for qualified personnel, like security specialists or command level officers. That will come soon.

What is Fantasy Trek?
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Captain's Personal Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 0708.31

Stardate 0708.31
USS Guadalcanal
Captain Murphy
In orbit of Jibalia III

Away team personnel:
Captain Mike Murphy
Science Officer Commander T'Par
Senior Helm Officer Lt Gallo
Chief Geologist Lt Cmdr Carstairs
Security Specialist Seward


The last twenty-four hours have been unforgettable. As soon as the Klingons appeared on the surface of Jibalia III, they opened fire on the landing party. We immediately dropped to the ground, but with almost no covering terrain, and bulky environmental suits to move in, we were hard pressed to match the Klingons' offensive. We managed to return fire and held our own for a short time, but eventually were overcome. I remember distinctly watching the other members of the away team fall under enemy fire, and finally, I felt a strange tingling sensation as my environmental suit was compromised, and the disruptor hit my skin. Then I woke up on board the Guadalcanal, along with the others, completely unharmed.

At the same instant that the Klingons appeared on the surface, a Vorcha' Class heavy cruiser appeared in orbit and opened fire. The Guadalcanal attempted to make contact even as they defended themselves. The Klingon ship did not respond to hails. After a short exchange of weapons, the Klingon shields collapsed, and the ship was destroyed. It was at that point that the landing party reappeared on the ship.

Logs and sensor readings show that no damage was ever inflicted on the ship or the landing party. Moreover, there is no evidence that any of our phasers were ever fired. Essentially, there is no evidence that the Klingons were ever there, or that combat ever took place. There is one intriguing footnote to this mystery. The hole that we managed to drill in the metal alloy shell of the planet is still there. The thought of scanning through there is tempting. T'Par, however, has suggested that the appearance of the apparently imaginary Klingons could represent a kind of burglar alarm, and any race capable of creating such powerful illusions (much like the Talosians) is best left alone. That makes obvious sense, but I also think that we would be setting a very dangerous precedent for the Federation's involvement in the Delta Quadrant (and we are commiting ourselves to that more and more every day) by hanging a 'do not disturb' sign on the first planet we investigate. If there is a race as powerful as the Talosians here, we learn everything we can about them, and quickly.

(Moderator's note: I've used this incident to do a quick test of simple ground combat rules that I'll show in a separate post)



What is Fantasy Trek?
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Sample of Completed Quick Start Guide

To get started, answer the following questions:

Game Type: Mix
Alignment: Federation
Ship name USS Guadalcanal NCC 55726

Command crew
Captain Mike Murphy (Human male)
First Officer Commander Lukara (Klingon female)
Science Officer Commander T'Par (Vulcan female)
Communications Officer Commander Mark Valoran (Human male)
Tactical Officer Lieutenant Klaw (Andorian female)
Helm Officer Lieutenant Allesandro Gallo (Human male)
Chief Engineer Commander Robert Oldman (Human male)
Chief Medical Officer Commander Susan Whittaker (Human female)
Chief of Security Lieutenant T'Char (Skorr female)

The next step would be an assigned mission. In this case, the Guadalcanal was assigned to travel through the Durandal wormhole to begin operations and exploration in the Delta Quadrant, and to establish communications with USS Voyager. (In this case, things  didn't go as planned. Refer to Captain Murphy's log Stardate 0708.16 for details.)


What is Fantasy Trek?
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Captain's Personal Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 0708.27

Stardate 0708.27
USS Guadalcanal
Captain Murphy
In orbit of Jibalia III

Cargo shuttle Bunker Hill.
Away team personnel:
Captain Mike Murphy
Science Officer Commander T'Par
Senior Helm Officer Lt Gallo
Chief Geologist Lt Cmdr Carstairs
Security Specialist Seward

The largest tool the ship carries for putting holes in planets (aside from its main phasers) is a Mark III drilling phaser, and that doesn't fit in a type-two shuttle. What you have to do is mount the drilling phaser (which is used for everything from dilithium mining to drilling holes so transporters can penetrate deeper than normal) onto the aft deck of the shuttle. Then you land the craft so that the drill is positioned where you need it. The aft panel of the shuttle lifts straight up, exposing the business end of the drill, and all you do is fire from there. Easy.

The journey through the planet's frozen atmosphere was understandably rougher. The Bunker Hill is considerably larger than the Stalingrad, and as such, as Mister Gallo pointed out several times before we landed, is less responsive and more subject to 'atmospheric irregularities'. Another irregularity is the fact that T'Par had great difficulty locating the artificial signal that brought us here in the first place. The fact that we couldn't find it didn't bother me as much as the simple fact that it indicated a change. Had someone or something detected us on the surface? T'Par felt it necessary to suggest that the change may have been a response to my use of the phaser rifle. I didn't answer her, choosing instead to help her tune and retune the sensors until we located the signal. It was possible, T'Par speculated, that the alloy shell just below the surface acts as an antenna, and our efforts might have thrown the transmission off.

We landed moments later, as Lt Gallo brought the shuttle down to the same site we'd left not long ago. As geologist Carstairs began to tune the drilling phaser appropriately, I raised the aft hatch. Jibalia III was no more inviting than it been the first time, but I also had the feeling that I was about to trip an alarm. T'Par would say 'I told you so', and Lukara would probably say I was being too timid. But we'd started this mission to get answers, and the only answers had to be below the surface.

As I was thinking about this, and seeing ghosts on the horizon where there were probably just rocks and swirls of dust, Carstairs warned us that he was about to drill.

We all jumped (aside from T'Par, naturally) despite the warning, as the bright red phaser beam shot into the level of dust that had settled over the exposed shell. T'Par scanned as Carstairs drilled, and a few minutes later, announced that sensors had penetrated a small gap drilled in the shell. Carstairs immediately cut power to the drill, and we stood around T'Par, trying to interpret the images scrolling across the screen on her tricorder.

The answer sounded flat, carried through the comm systems of our environmental suits. No lifeforms. I was just breathing a sigh of relief as five Klingons materialized a dozen meters away from us. So, we aren't the only ones who've moved into the Delta Quadrant.



What is Fantasy Trek?
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Quick Start Guide

To get started, answer the following questions:

Game Type:
Pure Combat
(Do you play for pure combat? You know that other events might decide the nature of that combat, but you just want to blow things up. And think about this: Do you like to micromanage combat, allocating power to personalize your attack/defence strategy, making combat a personal match of wits, or do you just like quick matches that can be over in minutes?)

Non-Combat
(You don't care about the combat. You like to write and you want to explore.)

Mix
(You appreciate both aspects of game play. You accept that the ship you love to write about may be lost in combat)

Alignment:
Federation
Klingon
Romulan
Other (specify)

Ship name
Command crew
(You can stick to the TOS crew configuration of science officer, helm, navigator, communications officer, etc, or you can use the TNG idea of Operations Officer combining some duties. I like the TOS way, and I use it in the TNG era, adapting as I please. Captain's perogative)
Note: unless you have something else in mind, all players in this stage of the game get a Heavy Cruiser to start. The 'something else in mind' I mentioned is if you decide you want a mission-specific ship like a scout or police ship, which is likely to be a frigate or destroyer. Just remember that you might be limiting yourself in a case like that.

That is really all you need to start. Since the game is still technically a work in progress, I will happily walk any new players through the first few missions. If you are concerned that you don't have enough time to contribute, don't be. This game is as casual as you want. Exploring takes as much or as little time as you want. Write once a day or once a week. A hundred words or a thousand. The most intense level of this game, heavy combat takes a commitment of no more than one email a day. And even that case, if you miss a day, its forgivable. Even the moderator has a RL and the occasional computer issue. The game is turn-based. Combat results will be posted online daily. And if it still doesn't make sense, think of it like your favorite role-playing/writing group gathering for some table-top game playing.

Captain's Personal Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 0708.24

Stardate 0708.24
USS Guadalcanal
Captain Murphy
In orbit of Jibalia III

Type-two shuttlecraft Stalingrad.
Away team personnel:
Captain Mike Murphy
Science Officer Commander T'Par
Senior Helm Officer Lt Gallo
Chief Geologist Lt Cmdr Carstairs
Security Specialist Seward

I've never taken a shuttle through a frozen atmosphere before, but the Stalingrad made the trip well. Commander T'Par pinpointed the source of the artificial signal, and Lt Gallo managed to get us there without too many bumps and bruises. In minutes we dropped lightly to the surface and were scanning the immediate exterior of the craft. The extreme cold and lack of an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere made it necessary for us to wear environmental suits. No surprises there, and we were all outfitted appropriately. There was enough of a surprise waiting for us outside.

Moving around on the surface was easier than I thought. I'd expected buffeting winds, but in fact it seemed very calm. Still, we wasted little time sight-seeing. After ordering Lt Seward to scout the general area, the rest of us followed T'Par's tricorder to a small patch of ground a short distance from the Stalingrad. Then we got our surprise. Lt Commander Carstairs' geological tricorder detected what appeared to be a single, continuous shell, constructed of an indeterminate alloy less than a meter under the surface. I decided it was worth returning to the shuttle for a phaser rifle. I could seeT'Par's raised eyebrow through her environmental suit's faceplate as I pointed it at the ground, and part of me took secret joy in blasting away at the ground. The phaser beam tore through the ground very quickly until it hit the shell that Carstairs detected. The beam bounced off of that. Even on maximum power, the phaser beam didn't heat up the alloy. Oh well. I contacted the ship and told them we'd be coming back for some heavier equipment. I know it would have been quicker and easier to have Commander Lukara send another shuttle down, but for some reason I didn't want any more people coming down than was absolutely necessary. Just the kind of human intuition that T'Par would turn her pretty nose up at. So we all climbed aboard the Stalingrad and headed back to the ship.

Experience Points: How To Get Them and What To Do With Them

I'm giving Captain Murphy just five posts to encounter and solve the mystery. No specific guidelines as to length. At least a hundred words. The payoff, aside from a good story, is one experience point. So what does one experience get you? Nothing right off. But five of them give that ship and crew an 'experienced' rating. That does a few things.. When a ship goes into combat, the advantage goes like this: in advanced combat, it gives you five opportunities to turn faster, repair a system quicker, apply extra sensor power to detect a cloaked ship, etc. In basic combat, it gives you five extra shield points. That reflects a crew that is better at what it does because of the experience. What does it do for a ship that doesn't go into combat? Good question. I'd appreciate any input. I'm thinking about access to experimental ships, clearance to operate more challenging arenas. Things like that. But I'd really like to hear from people who aren't inclined to go into combat. How would you want to benefit from experience points? I'll think on that, and anybody reading this, please feel free to comment. On the subject of experience and experience points, I think that ten experience points gives you 'veteran' status. Twenty-five gives you 'elite' status, and fifty gives you 'legendary' status. Rewards obviously go up accordingly. But remember, it takes five individual missions of at least five posts just to make 'experienced'. And in the meantime, I'm not counting the adventures of the Guadalcanal that took place prior to its entry into the Delta Quadrant. Just because.