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Old 10-12-2016, 11:10 AM   #1
Captain Joy
 
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Default Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

I invoke the forum to reality check me here. I'm wanting to suss out the crew of a typical Constitution Class heavy cruiser (i.e. TOS era Enterprise). Here is what I have so far:

EDITS and UPDATES:
The crew complement has been updated.
Crew Compliment: 430 – from Memory Alpha
(CMD) Command: 72 – from 1 in 6 seeming reasonable
(ENG) Engineering: 117 – from half of what is left over after assigning CMD, SEC, ACD, CNS, MED
(OPR) Operators: 117 – from half of what is left over after assigning CMD, SEC, ACD, CNS, MED
(SEC) Security: 40 – from Starfleet Museum example of 340 total: 280 crew, 60 scientists or marine
(ACD) Academics: 40 – from Starfleet Museum example of 340 total: 280 crew, 60 scientists or marine
(CNS) Counseling: 22 – same as MED
(MED) Medical: 22 – from 1/20 : physicians/patients at TL6 (B425)

The Starfleet Museum is my campaign's canon source for Ship maps, so I'm happy to use their values as a basis for assigning scientist (my Academics Dept.) and marines (Security Dept.). I chose TL6 to determine the number of physicians because that is the tech level the physicians would operate at if they didn't have use of their high tech equipment.

In any case, let me know if I'm unequivocally way off on any of these. If you believe they could be possible, but only based on certain campaign assumptions, feel free to question me to make sure I'm operating under correct campaign assumptions.

Last edited by Captain Joy; 07-04-2018 at 09:51 AM. Reason: links and pointer to update
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:18 AM   #2
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

I don't understand what the 117 "Operators" that aren't assigned to a Department do. I also don't understand why Starfleet would assign medical personnel based on them operating without equipment (and why they would crosstrain them at TL6 for that event anyway, rather than just use Physician/TL11 at -5 for improvised equipment).
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:35 AM   #3
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
I don't understand what the 117 "Operators" that aren't assigned to a Department do.
They operate the ship’s (primarily) internal systems, e.g. communications, sensors, transporter.

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
I also don't understand why Starfleet would assign medical personnel based on them operating without equipment (and why they would crosstrain them at TL6 for that event anyway, rather than just use Physician/TL11 at -5 for improvised equipment).
Going with 1/50 physician/patient ratio of TL9 (campaigns medical tech level) just seemed like too few. I used TL6 simply as a safety margin. I should add that medical research is handled by the Medical Dept., not the Academics Dept., in my campaign. (From B425: …a TL6+ physician performs as though he were TL6 if he has to make do without the gadgetry to which he is accustomed…")

Last edited by Captain Joy; 10-12-2016 at 11:40 AM. Reason: added parenthetical
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:41 AM   #4
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They operate the ship’s (primarily) internal systems, e.g. communications, sensors, transporter.
Wouldn't these personnel be assigned to departments? Communications to command, sensors to science, transporters to engineering. Purely from a management standpoint, they need a chain of command that leads to a Department head.

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Going with 1/50 physician/patient ratio of TL9 (campaigns medical tech level) just seemed like too few. I used TL6 simply as a safety margin. I should add that medical research is handled by the Medical Dept., not the Academics Dept., in my campaign.
As a quasi-military vessel, a Constitution class should have redundant staffing. Starfleet apparently uses a submarine service style watch system with three sections which should triple your personnel requirements.
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:44 AM   #5
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

B425 puts TL11 physicians at 100 patients per, or about 5 total -- which isn't a bad match for the number of medical personnel we saw in TOS.

If they didn't have equipment, then the TL6 ratio of 20:1 would applym but that doesn't seem like the basis for normal staffing. I can imagine a risk-taking organization having redundant medics, just in case of poor facilities, unforeseen disasters, or just to have for all those calls to cure plagues on colony worlds with more than 430 inhabitants. So you might have more than the four or five minimum.

Also, some of the "academics" might be biomedical researchers with the equivalent of MDs that could be pressed into service for emergencies.
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:53 AM   #6
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

Note that there are only 30 non-ensign officers aboard (SFTM, plus several Paramount approved sources). The other 400 are ensigns and/or enlisted.
72 command personnel — ship drivers and Gunnery Officers, essentially — is unreasonably high. USN & USCG, they're under 1/10.
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Old 10-12-2016, 02:32 PM   #7
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Wouldn't these personnel be assigned to departments? Communications to command, sensors to science, transporters to engineering. Purely from a management standpoint, they need a chain of command that leads to a Department head.
Good point. I think at the time, I was looking at "Operations officers included engineers, security and tactical, and some service specializations such as communications." (Memory Alpha) and just decided to lump service specializations together as my Operators Dept. The head of the Operators Dept. is the Operations Manager. I should probably go through and decide which ships systems are handled primarily by my Operators Dept. I suspect I will find that I should lower my Operators crew numbers and raise some other crew number.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
As a quasi-military vessel, a Constitution class should have redundant staffing. Starfleet apparently uses a submarine service style watch system with three sections which should triple your personnel requirements.
Which personnel should be tripled? I'm not understanding because if they're all tripled, the relative numbers in each department won't change.

Last edited by Captain Joy; 10-13-2016 at 11:05 AM.
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Old 10-12-2016, 02:42 PM   #8
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

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Originally Posted by Anaraxes View Post
B425 puts TL11 physicians at 100 patients per, or about 5 total -- which isn't a bad match for the number of medical personnel we saw in TOS.

If they didn't have equipment, then the TL6 ratio of 20:1 would applym but that doesn't seem like the basis for normal staffing. I can imagine a risk-taking organization having redundant medics, just in case of poor facilities, unforeseen disasters, or just to have for all those calls to cure plagues on colony worlds with more than 430 inhabitants. So you might have more than the four or five minimum.

Also, some of the "academics" might be biomedical researchers with the equivalent of MDs that could be pressed into service for emergencies.
All true, but as sir_pudding noted, I'm assuming three shifts. I'm also lumping medical research scientists into my Medical Dept. So going from 5 to 22 based on that doesn't seem too outrageous. I figure most of the time, only about half of the 22 are on duty; and of the 11 that are on duty, most are engaged in research most of the time.
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Old 10-12-2016, 02:44 PM   #9
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

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Originally Posted by Captain Joy View Post
Which personnel should be tripled? I'm not understanding because if they're all tripled, the relative numbers in each department won't change.
You have 430 personnel comprising three teams of 143. If each team needs, at TL9, 1 physician per 50, that's three doctors per shift (or more likely a doctor, a nurse, and a medic) and therefore you need nine total minimum. You can easily justify doubling this for training and redundancy, and get 18, which is pretty close to your 22 without mucking about with virtual TLs...

Last edited by sir_pudding; 10-12-2016 at 03:03 PM.
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Old 10-12-2016, 02:48 PM   #10
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Default Re: Star Trek Constitution Class Crew

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Originally Posted by ak_aramis View Post
Note that there are only 30 non-ensign officers aboard (SFTM, plus several Paramount approved sources). The other 400 are ensigns and/or enlisted.
72 command personnel — ship drivers and Gunnery Officers, essentially — is unreasonably high. USN & USCG, they're under 1/10.
I think it's reasonable to adopt the 1/10.

At the heart of all this is figuring out what fraction of the crew are engaged in simply running the ship: command, engineers, operators, security; and what fraction are doing research-esque things: academics, counseling, medical.

Crew Compliment: 430 – from Memory Alpha
Command: 43 – from U.S. navy < 1/10, see post 6
Engineering: 132 – from half of what is left over after assigning CMD, SEC, ACD, CNS, MED
Operators: 132 – from half of what is left over after assigning CMD, SEC, ACD, CNS, MED
Security: 40 – from Starfleet Museum example of 340 total: 280 crew, 60 scientists or marine
Academics: 40 – from Starfleet Museum example of 340 total: 280 crew, 60 scientists or marine
Counseling: 22 – same as MED
Medical: 22 – from 1/20 : physicians/patients at TL6 (B425) or twice TL9 minimums + 4 (post 9)

Last edited by Captain Joy; 10-12-2016 at 03:23 PM. Reason: added revised crew compliment
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