Things I learned studying up on Captain-and-Crew Space Opera

[shawnhcorey]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Nope. I did exactly that, and when they (a) failed to get detailed orders out of the captain and (b) screwed up, they blamed the captain for their failure and made him out to be an idiot who couldn't effectively command the mission.

It's part of a CO's job to teach young officers how to be better at their jobs.

Also, it is more likely that their orders would come from the Exec or Ops officer rather than directly from the CO. Part of the Exec's job is to train the crew and, of course, the Ops officer is in charged of all operations.

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Nope. I did exactly that, and when they (a) failed to get detailed orders out of the captain and (b) screwed up, they blamed the captain for their failure and made him out to be an idiot who couldn't effectively command the mission.

I have been left very wary of any RPG in which the PCs are directly under the command of a present superior.

It sounds like this play style just isn't for your group then. Which is ok. Not all genres and styles work for all groups. The key, I think, is to find a genre and play style that fits your group of players.

Or, if they're interested in trying, explain to them that you would like to try a new gaming style and/or genre, that you think it will be difficult for them, and then carefully lay out all of the genre/play style rules. Of course this only works if the players and the GM are all willing to try this new thing and then actually work at making it work.

An experiment like that can be fun, or it can end up imploding, but if it's not working out you can always shut things down and start anew with something that you and your group do like.

In any case it really isn't all that different from the standard 'they meet in a bar and a guy gives them a quest'. The only difference is that they bring the bar with them, on their ship, and that the quest giver is still there to give advice and help if the PC's have no other options. As a GM you have to make sure that they really understand that last part.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Or, if they're interested in trying, explain to them that you would like to try a new gaming style and/or genre, that you think it will be difficult for them, and then carefully lay out all of the genre/play style rules. Of course this only works if the players and the GM are all willing to try this new thing and then actually work at making it work.

I'm doing that for a game starting up soon. My group (including me) has primarily been playing GURPS, and I'll be running Fate Core. The way I described it when giving a rough explanation of the system was that a roll wasn't to see if you succeeded so much as winning the right to narrate the moment.