Stating Captain Kirk

[Anders]

He has a dozen Wildcard skills. Captain!, Melee!, Fist!, etc. Or one really unbalanced one called Plot!

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by corwyn

That's a problem with movie and tv protagonists in general. They usually have no problem just picking up a weapon and using it. Amok Time, anyone? Maybe cosmic abilities or Wild Talent limited to weapons? Or maybe it's just a setting rule that everyone defaults to DX for pre-gunpowder weapons. I mean, even Bones doesn't do horribly with gladius and shield in Bread and Circuses considering the advantage Spock has in DX and ST - far better than his default of 7? or lower would suggest.

I'm reminded of the Murphy's Rule about Traveller's space marines being trained how to use their swords ... and we know Sulu knows how to fence. And there's also the episode Day of the Dove. Maybe there's a one-semester course at Starfleet Academy on how to not make a complete fool of yourself when handling a blade.

Originally Posted by combatmedic

I'd actually give the Enterprise Weirdness Magnet, if that's possible.

The ship's been ordered "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations" - it comes with the territory, I'd think.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by adm

Keep in mind that the Metrons stated that the had placed the materials needed to defeat the other Captain within the battle area. Serendipity may not apply here, but I agree he does have it.

Just stumbling over them rather than finding them with a deliberate search still looks like serendipity to me.

Kirk's Player: "I need something to make a weapon out of."

GM: "There's some pure crystalline sulfur on the ground right next to where you're walking."

[Jasonft]

He also needs Sense of Duty (Enterprise) at ridiculously high level. It was proved in the series to be so powerful that it could override a fairly serious mind control at least once.

Something about an alien woman and her tears if I recall. At the end of the episode I think Bones was going to give him the antidote and either Spock or Scotty said he didn't need it because his love for the ship left no room for anything else.

[GodBeastX]

How is star trek anything less than TL11? i figure it's TL12. Shields and other crazy devices don't even exist in TL10.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Just stumbling over them rather than finding them with a deliberate search still looks like serendipity to me.

Kirk's Player: "I need something to make a weapon out of."

GM: "There's some pure crystalline sulfur on the ground right next to where you're walking."

Or he's using PU5.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by GodBeastX

How is star trek anything less than TL11? i figure it's TL12. Shields and other crazy devices don't even exist in TL10.

TOS has many TL12^ items but not all of them. TNG comes much closer to having the great majority of them.

You have to go back to Enterprise to get TL10^. Even then their Phase Pistols would be TL11^ Omni-Blasters (and of course the TLK12^ Teleport Projector.. They don't have Barrier Screens or much else in the way of TL11.

TOS gives us TL12^ Disintegrators (with an Omniblaster-like stun setting) and Barrier Screens for ships but still uses Robofacs.

TNG adds TL12^ Replicators and has TL12 Metamorphosis viruses, Exophase generators and pretty much everything else except the Conformal Force Screen.

TL10^ is for Firefly or H. Beam Piper where people have contragrav using spaceships but still shoot slugthrowers at each other.

[Phantasm]

One thing about TOS!Starfleet is that it seems to follow Admiral Rickover's (the father of US submarine forces) cross-training philosophy: everyone is trained in all operations of the ship, in case you're needed to fill in somewhere. This means even Yeoman Janice Rand (perhaps the only enlisted person we saw in TOS; Roddenberry wanted to make her an Ensign because he thought Starfleet would operate on NASA's "you need to be an officer with a degree to go into space" doctrine) would have at least the Dabbler Perk in regards to Mechanic and ship gunnery.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

One thing about TOS!Starfleet is that it seems to follow Admiral Rickover's (the father of US submarine forces) cross-training philosophy: everyone is trained in all operations of the ship, in case you're needed to fill in somewhere. This means even Yeoman Janice Rand (perhaps the only enlisted person we saw in TOS; Roddenberry wanted to make her an Ensign because he thought Starfleet would operate on NASA's "you need to be an officer with a degree to go into space" doctrine) would have at least the Dabbler Perk in regards to Mechanic and ship gunnery.

She isn't the only enlisted person in TOS, see the list of enlisted personnel in Memory Alpha.

[The_Ryujin]

I would be hesitant to give a character based on a media figure luck or serendipity unless it was clearly spelled out that the character in question had it in their show/movie/whatever. In all reality to me any cases of those advantages that Kirk was shown to have it was mostly do to plot convenience, they only have so much time to tell a story so some liberties are needed. I mean when you set up a magruffin or plot coupon that the players need you might make it hard for them to find but it's still generally gonna be set up so they can find it- you wouldn't make it so that only characters with serendipity or luck have a chance to stumble upon them (unless you're purposely setting up a hook for a character that has it of course heh).