GURPS Star Trekking - Help? Assistance?

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

That means anyone 'beaming in' to invade or attack will be spotted pretty quickly and does not have any element of surprise.

-Ed C.

Well unless the ship being boarded is smashed to pieces they would not get surprise. A transport in is very energetic, ships sensors would detect that, so at the least defenders would know 'Transport in Cargo Bay Three, suspected boarders'.

If the attackers choose poorly or have bad luck and appear in an area with ARMED alert personnel they will likely eat a round of fire BEFORE round time starts.

If the choose middling then they appear in an area with personnel, possibly even armed personnel. However they if they are not Security they are probably concentrating on their duties (in combat I would sure hope so). If the area has Security posted the Security alone would get one free shot. So basically I would then call top of the round.

If they choose well then they are in an empty section and would get the 'round' to acclimate. Then reacting Security forces would not be surprised, but might be forced to attack. That would be a disadvantage, especially if the section has only one entrance.

In most fiction the targets to protect are the Bridge, Life Support and Engineering. If I were GM I would assume they would get posted guards at Red Alert and that the boarders would be trying to seize all three.

If they manage that then basically it is all over but the shouting.

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Therefore, you don't transport people into open areas. You put them into concealed spaces, a little way from anyone who's armed. That allow the entire boarding party to be on board the target ship before any of them have to start fighting.

An attacker's sensors would possibly be able to tell life signs (i.e. people) but armed people?

I would give them a sensor roll to try but the penalties would be hefty.

A phaser on 'that ship over there' is a very small energy signature on big object. At Red Alert there are a lot of energetic objects. Plasma Conduits, Force Field Generators, Replicators, etc, etc. I really do not see any easy (or medium hard)way to pick out the phaser signature out of all the others.

Trek canonically has had Life Signs as distinctive and detectable so no Life Signs and Atmosphere will likely be their best target.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Here is the problem that I was hoping some of you would help me out with - If GURPS Combat is done in 1 second turns, then doing a fight against a 'boarding action' where Transporters are being used will end pretty quick.

That's why boarding parties are beamed to parts of the ship where enemy personnel aren't present. If you're lucky, the people monitoring the ship's security systems panel will be too distracted to notice the beam-in.

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Most 'Star Trek' transporters are flickering or shimmering for what feels like TWO seconds

At least two seconds, although there doesn't seem to be any consistency. I'd like to think that phase in/out time is based on range, operator skill, and TL, but it's not. Like ship speeds, transporter "in transit" time moves at the speed of plot.

There's also a fair bit of evidence that attacks which hit someone transporting in or out just before they materialize might have pain or stunning effects, but do no damage.

Really massive attacks which would normally vaporize the victim might interfere with transporter operations rolls to get them back.

Anything but a critical failure when trying to get a transport target back means spend 1d seconds messing with the transporter panel and then make another skill roll at a cumulative -1 penalty per previous failed attempt. Increasing power or kicking in backup systems ("cross-circuiting to B") can cancel penalties or even give bonuses.

Originally Posted by Qoltar

That means anyone 'beaming in' to invade or attack will be spotted pretty quickly and does not have any element of surprise.

There are a number of canon instances where attackers or saboteurs managed to beam aboard another ship and get away with it. Notably, "The Enterprise Incident" in TOS.

This is where a good security officer earns their keep. Not only are they looking at damage control, hull and shield integrity, etc., they're also looking for signs of intruders, and gaps in internal sensor cover which intruders could use to hide.

Not surprisingly Prime Directive has a fair bit of info on boarding actions.

If you want to abstract it:

1) Inflict enough damage or sabotage to get the enemy to drop their shields (transporters don't work against shields).

2) Roll vs. Tactics, with EO (Sensors or Security) to find a good place to drop in the first boarding party.

3) Roll vs. EO (Transporters) with whatever modifiers seem right to actually get the boarding party in place.

4) The first boarding party makes skill rolls to orient themselves and establish a "beachhead." Treat this as a Body Control or Tactics skill roll.

5) More boarding parties come in behind them. Alternately, they get transported to other points on the target ship to divide enemy defenses or quickly take out multiple critical targets like the bridge and engines. More Tactics, possibly Electronics Repair (Security) or Demolitions (Explosives) to sabotage defenses.

6) Meanwhile, defenders are doing what they can to defeat the invaders - venting atmosphere or pumping in gas, messing with gravity control, closing bulkheads and throwing up force screens in the corridor, or using their own transporters to transport defenders to ambush the invaders, beaming in explosives or other weapons, or transporting intruders into the brig or space. Both sides might send in boarding parties in vacc suits to land on the ship's hull, either to sabotage vital systems from the outside or bypass hostile forces inside the ship. More Tactics, EO (Sensors) determine where foes are, ER (Life Support) to sabotage or restore atmosphere and gravity systems, Crewman or ER (Security) or even Lockpicking or Forced Entry skill to crack open bulkhead doors and bypass force screens.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Combat

GURPS-style combat...

Here is the problem that I was hoping some of you would help me out with - If GURPS Combat is done in 1 second turns, then doing a fight against a 'boarding action' where Transporters are being used will end pretty quick.

Most 'Star Trek' transporters are flickering or shimmering for what feels like TWO seconds

That means anyone 'beaming in' to invade or attack will be spotted pretty quickly and does not have any element of surprise.

The problem is while the speed of transporters may feel like two seconds it is far slower. I found "Star Trek Transporters Through the Years" on youtube and for the TOS era the materialization process took 6 to 7 seconds with a whining sound through out the process. It got shaved down to 4 to 5 seconds in TNG and 3 seconds in Picard.

The noise the process generates is an issue.

[Qoltar]

Originally Posted by Witchking

.......Force Field Generators, Replicators, ..?...?.....

Replicators??

My game campaign is set in the year 2261.

They really were not using 'replicators' back then and if "Strange New Worlds" has used the term - then they should not have.

That term and device were not even mentioned til the 2360s of the first season of "ST The Next Generation" - at least a century later in time.

-Ed C.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Replicators??

My game campaign is set in the year 2261.

They really were not using 'replicators' back then and if "Strange New Worlds" has used the term - then they should not have.

Found this on a forum: "According to The Making of Star Trek, the food processors took actual raw ingredients (stored and perfectly preserved by advanced methods) and processed them mechanically in a sort of automatic "kitchen" system, then delivered them to the food slots by dumbwaiter. Presumably when dishes arrived instantly, it's because they'd been prepared in advance and were just waiting to be delivered (just like an automat, indeed). The food cards probably represented the menu of available options for each day."

It was the first officially licensed reference book produced and AFAICT it is still regarded as canon.

[Qoltar]

Originally Posted by maximara

Found this on a forum: "According to The Making of Star Trek, the food processors took actual raw ingredients (stored and perfectly preserved by advanced methods) and processed them mechanically in a sort of automatic "kitchen" system, then delivered them to the food slots by dumbwaiter. Presumably when dishes arrived instantly, it's because they'd been prepared in advance and were just waiting to be delivered (just like an automat, indeed). The food cards probably represented the menu of available options for each day."

It was the first officially licensed reference book produced and AFAICT it is still regarded as canon.

I have already read all of those sources when I was younger - they still never used the term or word 'replicator' during the Original series. They might have said 'Food processor' or 'Food Slots'. By-the-way, in the episode "Charlie X" the ship had a chef that Captain Kirk talked to over the intercom because he wanted the food to 'look like Turkey' because it was near Thanksgiving on their calendar. So the ship had an actual chef or cook for a while.

Oh and this debate about 'replicators' has nothing to do with the gaming questions in this thread.

- Ed C.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Replicators??

I wouldn't get too caught up in terminology. There are plenty of instances where stuff from franchises set later in ST history gets retconned to franchises set in an earlier era, but produced later in our timeline. For example, Enterprise and Discovery/SNW reference species and concepts only introduced in the TNG era.

This means that, just because it isn't mentioned in TOS, TAS, or the TOS cast movies, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist in the ST universe at the time.

Just assume that there are slower, bulkier, and less adaptable precursors to 24th century energy-to-matter replicators, but that they're called by different names.

Enterprise, DIS, and SNW establish that there are "replicator like" gadgets available from the 22nd century on and full conversion of shipboard waste into its component molecules. It's also implied that starships have a limited ability make hull plates, spare parts, uniforms, and odd gadgets (like a short run of flintlock muskets, plus ammo) without needing extensive machine shop facilities. That suggests that there are advanced versions of 3D printers available.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

I try to keep the SFU Battles universe as far away from my game campaign as possible - like with a ten meter pole.

Feel free to mine my GURPS Star Trek webpage for material. (See my .sig for the link.)

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Replicators??

My game campaign is set in the year 2261.

-Ed C.

A- Trek has more time travel eps than I can shake a stick at.

B- Was thinking of named memorable systems that would have a high energy draw. Was not thinking re: time line. Hell at Red Alert all replicators would be off line and zero power draw regardless of time period.

Sheesshhh.