Prime Directive

[dreamingbadger]

Hi Guys,
it seems that ADB (the developers of Starfleet Battles, and Prime Directive,a Star Trek based SFB roleplaying game) are taking feedback on which system they should develop their Prime Directive Roleplaying game on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?v=wall&story_fbid=121559854524192&ref=mf

I know there was a lot of chatter about people wanting a Star Trek based RPG for Mongoose Traveller... nows the chance to try and influence them.

 

[domingojs23]

Prime Directive: MGT ?!

Yes pretty please with sugar on top !!!!

 

[domingojs23]

Another wonderful implication of having an MGT: Prime Directive is that there would be a gateway for Traveller to Federation Commander (and, by extension, Starfleet Battles), a great if not the greatest P and P space combat system !!!

 

[Jon Brazer Enterprises]

I voted MGT and offered to help them develop it.

 

[domingojs23]

Wonderful ! And how is the project coming along ?

 

[domingojs23]

What if we first come out with a fan-produced MGT Prime Directive sourcebook ? The USS High Guard project could be adapted as a basis for character generation, as well as of course the PD Gurps series.

 

[dreamingbadger]

if you came out with something based on Prime Directive on your own i think SVC would be might pissed off... as he would assert correctly you were damaging his sales...


i did this off of high guard and FASA Trek

http://cid-20273372de129cbd.office.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/DRAFT%20Star%20Trek/Role%20Playing%20in%20the%20UFP%20for%20MGT.pdf

 

[domingojs23]

Hi Stuart !

Very sorry, I forgot to cite your excellent ST conversion !

Well, what are your current thoughts on the starship system to be used for MGT Trek ? I know you left off with the notion of reworking the FASA system.

Indeed, touching the SFU will result in the hasty dispatch of the Texas Rangers. So, this would rule out Starfleet Battles and Federation Commander, and probably Starmada as well given Klingon / Romulan / Alien Armada.

I was a big fan of the FASA Trek RPG, but I felt that RPG'ing the key bridge positions as in the case of FASA Starship Combat Simulator in combat scenarios was not very satisfying. So, for me at least, I wouldn't really bother with campaign PC's role playing the bridge.

What about Full Thrust, Squadron Strike, Warcosm, etc ?

And how would you generally game the Trek universe setting ? Would you create a completely stand-alone campaign, or somehow integrate it with elements of the OTU or other settings ?

Cheers,

Gary

 

[dreamingbadger]

I was a big fan of the FASA Trek RPG, but I felt that RPG'ing the key bridge positions as in the case of FASA Starship Combat Simulator in combat scenarios was not very satisfying. So, for me at least, I wouldn't really bother with campaign PC's role playing the bridge.

What about Full Thrust, Squadron Strike, Warcosm, etc ?

TBH I don't know them so it wouldn't be a good conversion the challenge with starship combat in a RPG is to make it interesting to the majority of the players... FASA was the only one that came close to that, Star Warriors was pretty good too. A lot depends on your goal, combat simulation vs roleplaying and i think you have to live with the compromises that each gives you. Mt prefernce is a more roleplaying apporach, if i want a war game i'll do that seperately. If your PC's arent bridge characters its not something they are very likely to come into contact with "the away team" route ala PD means Starship combat is pretty abstract.

And how would you generally game the Trek universe setting ? Would you create a completely stand-alone campaign, or somehow integrate it with elements of the OTU or other settings ?

I'd stand it alone, i don't think it intergrates at all into OTU...

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I think that you do not need to worry too much about a starship combat system. Prime Directive D20 basically had a few page blurbs about using SFB (this was prior to Klingon Front etc.) as the starship combat system. Maybe in a "Starship" situation, an Engineer 5 skill translates to "Legendary Engineer". Traveller would be good as an RPG system though, add a Starfleet Academy option, maybe a Special Technique or two for racial abilities and you are good to go.

 

[dreamingbadger]

I think that you do not need to worry too much about a starship combat system. Prime Directive D20 basically had a few page blurbs about using SFB (this was prior to Klingon Front etc.) as the starship combat system. Maybe in a "Starship" situation, an Engineer 5 skill translates to "Legendary Engineer". Traveller would be good as an RPG system though, add a Starfleet Academy option, maybe a Special Technique or two for racial abilities and you are good to go.

Sure, and the principle is fine, the mechanics of the starship combat in PD20/SFB/FC/etc... are just not a great "role playing experience", nor really are the ones in MGT for that matter IMO, as a game of tactical starship combat the are superb, but, actually that is an afternoons activity all on its own, certainly an hour or so even with FC...

I just dont have a better alteranative at the moment, on the other hand its rare enough that I kinda don't care that much about investing time in fixing it

 

[domingojs23]

Thanks guys !

Well, is anyone here playing some form of Star Trek / Prime Directive using the MGT Framework already ?

 

[Gamerguy]

8)
Back when Classic Traveller was generic I did a Star Trek adventure.

It played very well. Nobody wore armor and the phasers did 32 d6 damage - so you didn't want to get hit by one.

We used a version of the Starships combat rules from book 2 that was heavily modified.

Overall - this was a great way to play Traveller - we did Starwars also.

 

[rust]

By the way, Steve Jackson Games has only recently published the GURPS
version of Prime Directive, updated for GURPS 4th edition, as a PDF. It
may well contain some ideas that could be interesting for a Traveller ver-
sion, too - sometimes it is easier to "translate" one from another RPG than
from a more original source.

 

[BenTOGS]

Back in the day, I did a Traveller adventure that featured a merchanter crew hired to haul a Jump-drive to a stranded Klingon ship that had dropped in from a paralel dimension. The physics of their warp drive woldn't work in the Trav universeso they were trying to combine a jump drive with their warp core to 'jump' dimensions to home. Of course they didn't want to leave any witnesses, 'cause they wanted to come back with a Fleet.... Used the Klingon battlecruiser deckplans from FASA for a great chase thru the cruiser.