Star Trek a model for an episodic campaign
Nov 9, 2018 14:13:39 GMT -8
Post by Linus on Nov 9, 2018 14:13:39 GMT -8
Given Stu Venable and his ambitions for Ashes of Exodus - ie. having an ongoing campaign with lots of players, playing a session whenever the GM and 3-5(?) players can make it - it seems as Star Trek fits the bill pretty well:
1) Exchanging/introducing players and their characters is easy
2) Having a mobile station/ship/hub of such importance that it wont be left behind in another star system
3) A system that enable taking on extras in scenes that doesn't make sense for player's primary characters to be a part of (despite it being on brand for Trek)
But why are any of the aforementioned points the way the are (or appear to be, maybe cadave just makes it look easy...) If we can deconstruct that, maybe we can make these types of campaigns in a multitude of genres and systems.
1) Why is it easy to introduce new characters (and extras)? My guess is that they will all fall under a pre-existing function - and a hierarchy within those functions - engineering, science, medical and command(?). The Federation may be a post-scarcity socialist utopia, but the ships and their crews adhere to naval hierarchies. It's not very strict per see, Star Trek has traditionally portrayed command that take on and consider the viewpoints of the expertise under their command, but when push comes to show, and order is an order.
Now, that in itself is another utopian fantasy, mankind can't even operate an office without resorting to politics and plotting, but what is gaming if not escapist fantasies. Having a clear function - or perhaps, a clear definition of a characters assumed responsibilities - makes shoving an extra pair of hands into any pre-existing coalition much easier.
This doesn't mean that you put a stop to any interpersonal drama, both the show and the AP has offered us a fair bit of "friction" in regards how each character carries out their responsibilities. I guess having the values of the Star Trek-setting at hand helps a lot in this, encouraging discussion and cooperation rather than cleaving "that rogue son-of-a-mongrel" in twain.
...I'll think more about the other points later, but feel free to reply before that, especially if you're a proper Trek-fan and/or have first-hand experience playing the game. I don't know much about any of them (wtf is "red matter"?)
1) Exchanging/introducing players and their characters is easy
2) Having a mobile station/ship/hub of such importance that it wont be left behind in another star system
3) A system that enable taking on extras in scenes that doesn't make sense for player's primary characters to be a part of (despite it being on brand for Trek)
But why are any of the aforementioned points the way the are (or appear to be, maybe cadave just makes it look easy...) If we can deconstruct that, maybe we can make these types of campaigns in a multitude of genres and systems.
1) Why is it easy to introduce new characters (and extras)? My guess is that they will all fall under a pre-existing function - and a hierarchy within those functions - engineering, science, medical and command(?). The Federation may be a post-scarcity socialist utopia, but the ships and their crews adhere to naval hierarchies. It's not very strict per see, Star Trek has traditionally portrayed command that take on and consider the viewpoints of the expertise under their command, but when push comes to show, and order is an order.
Now, that in itself is another utopian fantasy, mankind can't even operate an office without resorting to politics and plotting, but what is gaming if not escapist fantasies. Having a clear function - or perhaps, a clear definition of a characters assumed responsibilities - makes shoving an extra pair of hands into any pre-existing coalition much easier.
This doesn't mean that you put a stop to any interpersonal drama, both the show and the AP has offered us a fair bit of "friction" in regards how each character carries out their responsibilities. I guess having the values of the Star Trek-setting at hand helps a lot in this, encouraging discussion and cooperation rather than cleaving "that rogue son-of-a-mongrel" in twain.
...I'll think more about the other points later, but feel free to reply before that, especially if you're a proper Trek-fan and/or have first-hand experience playing the game. I don't know much about any of them (wtf is "red matter"?)