My GURPS Star Trek(ish) Campaign

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Are you certain you want this? That's two checks per typical day of travel (once either for the FTL or STL drives, once for the power plant); absent positive modifiers, that means that with a professional, skill 12 Ship's Engineer, you're going to fail roughly once every two days.

My take on "Trek Tech" is that, while Starfleet personnel are highly competent, the equipment they use is just as amazing. By the 23rd century, many ship systems are automated with excellent self-diagnosis and limited self-repair capacity. Some ships carry diagnosis and repair robots (the "DOTS" from the first seasons of ST: Discovery).

By the TNG era, most ship systems are self-diagnosing and self-repairing, with crew mostly "maintaining the machines that maintain the machines," with the possible exception of trickier systems like the warp engines. (IIRC, there's a line for ST: Voyager where they say that 90% of the ship's systems are automated.)

Positive modifiers generally apply when operating or repairing ST equipment. +4 for Routine tasks under most circumstances, plus +1 or +2 for Good- or Fine-Quality equipment.

Under normal circumstances, Starfleet equipment should be very reliable, with failed skill rolls indicating a minor problem which could grow into a more major one. That allows merely competent technicians to handle routine ship operations and repairs.

Given the ease with which Starfleet personnel transition between using different ship systems, I'd also suggest that the LCARS provides something more than just funky graphic design. Call it a +1 to +4 bonus for having a huge degree of commonality between different ship system interfaces, customized haptic feedback, lots of failsafes, and several centuries of universal design and user-friendliness experience.

Computer databases you can query in real time from almost anyplace on the ship, which recognize you by voice, should also help. Online diagnostic and repair manuals might give a bonus of up to +5 to offset penalties to skill. This represents the massive online libraries which most Starfleet vessels carry.

Starfleet systems also seem to be designed to be repaired or upgraded fast. Penalties for Reduced Time should be reduced, bonuses for Taking Extra Time should be a bit more generous.

Then there's Leadership and Administration, which are required for any Starfleet officer. Leadership or Admin, plus Engineering, plus a high level of Electronics Repair or Mechanic (Starships) should allow an officer to plan and supervise repairs, boosting overall crew skill within their department. Meanwhile, the junior enlisted - the folks in the color-coded jumpsuits working in the background - will have just Crewman, ER, & Mechanic/Armoury skills.

Finally, at least by the 23rd century, EO (Matter Transmitter/Transporters) is an Easy skill, in the same way that Computer Operations is Easy vs. using trickier or more varied equipment in other electronics specialties.

[LoneWolf23k]

Equipment/Technology Basics:

Armor and Clothing
Starfleet Uniform: TL 10 Nanoweave trousers and jacket (DR 18/6; flexible), plus TL 10 Assault Boots (DR 18/9)

Security Personnel can get TL10 Nanoweave Tactical Vests (DR 24/10) with additional Trauma Plates (+46 DR) and Light Infantry Helmets (DR 24) for on-ship duty. Considering TL10 Combat Hardsuits or Space Armor for Space Marines.

Communications
Combadges are TL 10 Tiny Communicators. The TNG Tech Manual gives them a 40,000km range for Ship to Ground communications, although that might mostly be from the ship’s on-board Very Large Communication system linking to the badge. As Star Trek Communicators use subspace relays for their range, we’ll treat those as Gravity Ripple Communicators (TL11^), which means the combadges have a personal range of 100 miles when not using the nearby ship as a relay.

My personal interpretation is that Combadges use tiny gravity wave generator/sensor systems to beam audio directly into the wearer’s ears, as well as pick up the wearer’s voice, even if they’re whispering.

Combadges also include a Universal Translator Program system, which function as long as they’re wearing the badge.

Sensor Tech
Tricorders, as well as Starship Sensors, and most sensor tech in general, are treated as Ultrascanners (TL11). Personal Tricorders are Small Ultrascanners, which have a 2,000-yard range (10 miles in search mode)
Starfleet Military personnel can access Tactical Tricorders, which can also track up to 10 targets at once to the listed range, identify them at 1/10th that range, and give +3 to hit any of them with an aimed attack.

Medical Tricorders: These are basically Medscanners (TL10^), granting a +3 bonus to Diagnosis Skill. 0.25 lbs, 10 hours on a B cell, LC 4. They are built standard into Diagnostic Beds in Medical bays

Personnel Tech
PADD (Personnel Access Data Device) are just TL10 Small Computers (Complexity 5, 1 Petabyte data storage, 0.05 lbs, 20 hour functionality on a 2A battery) that are used to interface with the ship’s computers.

Notes on Computer Technology: Starfleet is said to use Duotronic Computer systems, followed by Isolinear systems, all of which are superior to previous computer technology. In game terms, these are treated as Quantum Computers, which can respond far more quickly to user requests than old systems.

Positronic brains are a step above even duotronic electronic systems, and unlike duotronic computers, these can only be created individually, and not remotely mass-produced like duotronics. Only Positronic Brain Androids can be said to have true Sapience, and as such have true Volitional AI.

There are plenty of non-volitional AI systems, including more “traditional” robots, which are built with duotronic computer systems.

The case of Sapient Hologram characters, such as Moriarty or the Doctor, are special cases. In game terms, they are treated as Volitional AI Infomorphs, with the Hologram Bodies built using the Body of Light meta-trait from Template Toolkit 2: Races.

(For the most part, though, I would rather avoid having Hologram PCs)

Weapons
Beam Weapons are King in Star Trek. Some civilizations might still use chemical, electromagnetic or even gravity-based projectile launchers as weapons, but for the most part most Warp-using civilizations use beam weapons.

All beam weapons will be treated as Field-Jacketed (Ultra-Tech p133), allowing them to function normally in either atmospheres (for lasers) or vacuums (for particle beams), and also explains why those beams are visible, even in vacuums.

Phasers are the primary energy weapons used by Starfleet and other Federation member species. These fire nadion particle beams, and use the relevant Beam Weapon/TL11 skill. Both are treated as Blaster particle weapons with Omni-Blaster option, granting them their Stun Setting. Stun shots force the target to make a HT check at a penalty of -1 per damage die, with the target getting to use up to ⅓ of their DR as a bonus to their roll. Failed roll results in the target in the victim falling unconscious for minutes equal to the margin of failure.

As Phasers fire beams, they use the Jet rules, with the attack being a continuous stream rather than a series of bolts.

The “Vaporize” function, rather than being a true Disintegrator, is treated as a special effect of reducing a target to -10xHp via damage.

Phasers can be set to “Wide” setting, reducing their range by 10 and halving damage (rounded up), but turning the attack into a Cone that can affect multiple targets.

Phasers are also capable of heating rocks and metals, as well as being used as a welding tool (or an intense metal-cleaning tool), these are considered uses of the relevant Beam Weapon skill, at a penalty decided by the GM.

Weapon Name Damage Acc Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl LC
Pistols
Type 1 (holdout) 2d(5) burn, sur 3 130/500 0.35/B 3 13(3) 3 -1 1 3
Type 1 (Pistol 3d(5) burn, sur 5 300/900 1.6/C 3 40(3) 4 -2 1 3

Rifles
Type 3.1 5d(5) burn, sur 10+1 500/1,000 5.6/2C 3 17(3) 5 -3 1 2
(original rifle, treat as Carbine)
Type 3.2 6d (5) burn, sur 10+2 700/2,100 10/2C 3 10(3) 7 -4 1 2
(Insurrection-era rifle, treat as Rifle)

(Considering more versions, such as using the Heavy Blaster for a "HMG" version of the Phaser Rifle)

Disruptors are the weapons used by most other major powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, and can be treated as Blasters without the Omni-Blaster options, and only using the damage options.

GURPS Romulans (for Prime Directive) did give the Romulans access to Plasma Weapons, and suggested they also relied heavily on Laser weapons until acquiring Disruptor tech from the Klingons following the Treaty of Smarba (where the Klingons acquired Cloaking Technology, among other technology exchanges). So I figure this is a good justification to give Romulans not just Plasma Gun technology, but also X-Ray Laser weapons

Various Star Trek TNG episodes show less advanced space-faring civilizations still using laser weapons, so we’ll keep them as available, at least for NPCs.

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Also, while the nigh-instantaneous speed of limited range travel is convenient it's the "take everything apart particle by particle and then put it back together" aspect that makes most of the trouble.

That's part of why I suggested some sort of portal technology. Though it's also because I like the visual of having a transport system that resembles entering a holodeck: set up a link to your destination, open the portal door, and there's your destination in front of you. Step through, and start your Away Mission. (I was also inspired somewhat by Stargate SG-1, but with much shorter ranges for the portals.)

The other main reason is that it gives more control to the GM as to where the destination can be: there needs to be a receiving end working in tandem with the ship. That might seem to be a problem, in that Star Trek used its transporters mainly to beam down to unexplored planets that wouldn't have receiving stations; but if you pair that with, say, a probe that can be launched and remotely piloted down to the surface and then used to set up the other end of the gateway there… Basically, something that's in between “you have to use shuttles to get to the surface” and “you can beam to or from almost anywhere you wish”. Even if you stick to teleporter pads, you might want to consider ditching the “you can teleport to or from anywhere” aspect in favor of “we can send a small, fast probe to the desired destination and then teleport to the probe”.

And with that, the obstacles to the portal or transport network needn't be super science force fields; they can be something as simple as “the destination is indoors”, or “the locals have missile defense systems” (which shoot down the incoming probe). By making the destination dependent on something physical, it becomes much easier to separate the Away Team from it, or to have it destroyed or disabled.

That said, a big part of where I'm coming from is that I've been envisioning something with a similar feel to Star Trek, but not so much as to be a Star Trek clone. Were I doing this, there wouldn't be Klingons, or Romulan, or Vulcans, etc.; that's too much like Star Trek. Instead, I'd use the likes of the Gormelites, Kronin, and Irari, and others from GURPS Aliens.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Starfleet Uniform

Canonically, ST uniforms don't provide that much DR vs. cutting, impaling, or piercing attacks (e.g., Kirk's torn up uniform shirts). What they do appear to provide is:

* Temperature Tolerance. They appear to be comfortable to wear in both very hot and extremely cold environments. I'd suggest Temperature Tolerance 5, with two levels of Heat Tolerance and three levels of Cold Tolerance (110 *F to 0 *F comfort range).

* Fireproof. Despite the fiery explosions when a ship gets damaged, nobody's uniform catches fire, and charred cloth around phaser burns appears to instantly self-extinguish. Treat this as the equivalent of Nomex.

* Heat Resistance: In Amok Time (where Spock goes into Pon Farr and has to go home to get married), there is a scene where Spock pushes Kirk backwards over a brazier filled with hot coals, with Kirk's back resting on the brazier rim. Despite several seconds of exposure, there's no damage to the back of Kirk's uniform or Kirk. There are also a number of scenes during the TNG era where SF personnel run through (or next to) flame hexes without suffering damage. DR 6+ (burn only) seems fair.

* Maybe, corrosion resistance. Probably at about the same level as burn damage protection.

* Maybe, crush resistance. Even 1-2 DR vs. crushing would explain the "durability" of Starfleet personnel in brawls and their ability to survive short falls relatively uninjured.

Clearly, they provide "good enough" armor and other benefits that SF personnel feel comfortable beaming into hostile territory wearing just their duty uniforms.

(As a silly suggestion, uniforms might have the ability to "attract" weapon fire which would otherwise hit nearby unprotected areas, perhaps giving a +/-2 modifier to Hit Location to move attacks towards the user's Torso and away from their head and hands.)

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Combadges are TL 10 Tiny Communicators.

They also act as locator beacons and IFF which are keyed to the individual who wears them, boosting rolls to use EO (Matter Transmitter) skill.

All communications devices appear to have built in voiceprint authentication, voice recognition, and message routing software. They recognize authorized users by their voiceprint, interpret user commands, and then route communications to the appropriate people. In some cases, they might activate special functions, like locator beacons or emergency signals. It's very likely that they contain a tiny computer.

There's a lot of magic behind the simple command of "two to beam up."

The comm device recognizes who's speaking, whether they're authorized to use the device or issue a particular command, and then forwards the message to the appropriate ship's stations.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Combadges also include a Universal Translator Program system, which function as long as they’re wearing the badge.

Sensor and transmitter systems also automatically send translated language directly to the user's ears/appropriate senses.

There's some canon material which suggests that Universal Translators work on psionic principles, so transmitters might send signals directly to the speech recognition centers of the user's brain.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Tricorders

There are also Engineering and Medical Tricorders, which provide additional functions, at the very least the equivalent of a portable HyMRI. That should give bonuses to ER/Mechanic or Diagnosis skills, respectively.

There's no canon mention of a Tactical Tricorder, but it doesn't seen unreasonable.

Tricorders also seem to have lots of other functions beyond those provided by Ultrascanners. In particular, they appear to function as small computers. That would allow additional functionality in the form of extra programs or peripherals.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

PADD (Personnel Access Data Device) are just TL10 Small Computers (Complexity 5, 1 Petabyte data storage, 0.05 lbs, 20 hour functionality on a 2A battery) that are used to interface with the ship’s computers.

There's more to them than that, but extra features could be modeled as peripherals to the main computer.

I'd also suggest that battery life is much longer than 20 hours for all handheld gadgets other than weapons. Star Trek battery life seems to be measured in weeks or months, with no degradation in power even if the item is left unattended for years. Perhaps days at TL9-10 (22nd century), weeks at TL10 (23rd century), and months at TL11-12 (24th century).

All Starfleet Gear can be assumed to be Ruggedized, Radiation Resistant, Waterproof (down to least 100 feet or so), and Fine-Quality.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Notes on Computer Technology

The Neural Net option seems plausible for computers from the 23rd century on. Cutting edge 23rd century tech allows Semi-AI robot brains, with some notable limitations to reliability. Large ship or central computers might be smart enough to have true AI.

By the mid- to late-24th century, androids with positronic brains which allow volitional AI are experimental prototypes, and the Federation has trouble recreating the technology. A few years later, there's a ban on research into the subject, which lasts for approximately 20 years until the early 2400s.

The real source of Volitional AI in the late 24th century is holograms supported by the resources of a holosuite computer. If a complex personality simulation program is allowed to run long enough, it might develop self-awareness and free will. This sort of technology is much easier to replicate, but is limited to environments with sufficient computer resources and holoemitter systems.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

The case of Sapient Hologram characters, such as Moriarty or the Doctor, are special cases. In game terms, they are treated as Volitional AI Infomorphs, with the Hologram Bodies built using the Body of Light meta-trait from Template Toolkit 2: Races.

Any holographic character can be treated as a SAI Infomorph and traits based on the Body of Light Metatrait. Dedicated AI Infomorphs are used for emergency holograms (e.g., Emergency Medical Hologram) and complex holosuite characters (e.g., Moriarity or Vic Fontaine).

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

(For the most part, though, I would rather avoid having Hologram PCs)

They'd require a hefty Unusual Background, might have a Social Stigma, and would have a massive Dependency on dedicated computer and holoemitter systems. Those resources might also count as Increased Life Support (Massive).

The Doctor is only footloose and fancy free due to a futuristic portable holoemitter system from the 28th century.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Phasers are the primary energy weapons used by Starfleet and other Federation member species.

By the mid-23rd century, phasers had a ridiculous number of setting, with the lowest being "ouch" and the highest being "vaporize entire boulders".

The lowest stun setting causes Moderate Pain for one second. It's presumably used for training, crowd control, and non-lethal animal control.

Light Stun might give targets a +2 bonus to HT rolls to resist Knockout, with unconsciousness lasting for just minutes equal to margin of failure. It's used for small or relatively fragile targets.

Regular stun seems to inflict some damage on the target, to the point where it's not the preferred option for law enforcement or capturing prisoners. That might be modeled as 1 HP of damage with the possibility of Heart Attack or similar problem on a Critical Failure.

Heavy Stun gives victims a more serious penalty to resist knockout than regular Stun, but also inflicts minor damage, perhaps 1 HP crushing per die. Victims might remain unconscious for longer.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Phasers can be set to “Wide” setting, reducing their range by 10 and halving damage (rounded up), but turning the attack into a Cone that can affect multiple targets.

This might use a slightly different specialization: Beam Weapons (Projector).

Phasers are also capable of heating rocks and metals, as well as being used as a welding tool (or an intense metal-cleaning tool), these are considered uses of the relevant Beam Weapon skill, at a penalty decided by the GM.

They can also be used to start fires and as cutting torches. With modification, they can be turned into etching tools (Transporter Duplicate Riker modifies a phaser to etch stone artworks.)

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

(Considering more versions, such as using the Heavy Blaster for a "HMG" version of the Phaser Rifle)

There's also the field gun/AAA gun version shown in the TOS Pilot.

"Automatic" squad-based heavy phasers might go against the spirit of the show, however, since their massive firepower seriously changes boarding actions and similar military skirmishes.

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Various Star Trek TNG episodes show less advanced space-faring civilizations still using laser weapons, so we’ll keep them as available, at least for NPCs.

Federation civilians also used less advanced weapons, equivalent to lasers or weak blasters. These can be treated as lower TL or de-rated versions of SF technology.

It's not canon, but I could see a civilian phaser pistol or rifle which was just limited to stun settings.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

That's part of why I suggested some sort of portal technology.

This sort of transporter is shown in canon, but appears to only work for linked, fixed transporters. (In an episode of Picard, Starfleet Headquarters employees are shown "beaming" in or out by walking through portal-type transporters.)

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Basically, something that's in between “you have to use shuttles to get to the surface” and “you can beam to or from almost anywhere you wish”.

In canon, transport pattern enhancers fill this role. They're portable devices which look vaguely like small rockets held upright on a tripod mount, with the obligatory glowy lights on top. Three or more pattern enhancers boosts the transporter signals within the area, possibly with bonuses for additional devices.

There might be similar devices which can be launched from orbit using probes.

To discourage "site to site" transport, you might apply Speed penalties for relative speed between the transport and landing sites and Size penalties to transport to any area smaller than a starship. Distance penalties also apply - there's plenty of canon material where transporters have trouble transporting targets at the limits of their range.

Penalties can be partially overcome by Taking Extra Time and brute force computer power, but that might not be possible if you're short on time and the computers are required for more important tasks.

When transporting to a planet, good sensor readings are also required so that the landing team lands safely on the ground rather than in midair or in a river. All manner of problems might confound sensor readings, making safe transporter use more difficult.

The GM can also mess with transporters by creating plot complications. Players might hate it, but it's all part of the genre even if it is cheesy railroading. Severe weather, strange materials or energies in the atmosphere (or in stone or building materials for indoor or underground locations), electronic countermeasures, and conditions which cause strange problems (e.g., Mirror Universe duplicates or transporter clones) can all block transporter use.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

All communications devices appear to have built in voiceprint authentication, voice recognition, and message routing software. They recognize authorized users by their voiceprint, interpret user commands, and then route communications to the appropriate people. In some cases, they might activate special functions, like locator beacons or emergency signals. It's very likely that they contain a tiny computer.

There's a lot of magic behind the simple command of "two to beam up."

The comm device recognizes who's speaking, whether they're authorized to use the device or issue a particular command, and then forwards the message to the appropriate ship's stations.

Most of this could be at the starship end, with the communicator just being a dumb front-end.

I'd also suggest that battery life is much longer than 20 hours for all handheld gadgets other than weapons. Star Trek battery life seems to be measured in weeks or months, with no degradation in power even if the item is left unattended for years. Perhaps days at TL9-10 (22nd century), weeks at TL10 (23rd century), and months at TL11-12 (24th century).

UT battery life is for constant use, so a device left behind somewhere can reasonably be assumed to power down after not being used for an hour or so and with power cells that don't drain charge when not in use you have items that can be picked up, brushed off and used after years or decades.

How often do we see gear in Star Trek used constantly for days or weeks with no opportunity for a recharge.

[Fred Brackin]

An idea I've been playing with for a while just in my head could be called Transhuman Trek.

I'd make StarFleet uniforms out of bioplas becuase even transparent bioplas has full DR. A "tinted" bioplas to make up the part of the TOS uniforms that cosplayers simulate with pantyhose would be no trouble at all and make the whoel outfit jsut as practical as anything else.

Modest sorts of genetics and advanced bio-cosmetics would make sure that all females could look young and pretty enough that they'd want to show off their legs. :)

Also, little robot arms pop up out of the desks in their cabins to do their hair every day. The Federation is so rich that this isn't even a luxury at all. The little robots would trim the men's sideburns at that finicky angle too. When I had sideburns they used to drift all over the place.

There would be other "hidden" transhumanisms like the Universal Translator shtick being pulled off with brain implants.

They might also have bioplas low light contact lens to explain why no one bothers with flashlights. They could even have enough magnification to explain the lack of binoculars. The Federation uses remarkably little personal equipment. there ought to be some reason it's too small to notice or just not needed any more.

[Rupert]

Night Vision Contacts are TL9 according to UT. Infrared Contacts are TL10. At +1 TL they get x2 magnification, x4 at +2.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Rupert

Most of this could be at the starship end, with the communicator just being a dumb front-end.

Except, IIRC, 23rd century communicators and 24th century combadges still allow person to person communication when there is no ship in range.

More likely, a starship acts as a repeater, satellite link, and signal booster.

So, relatively short range comms when there is no ship in orbit, planetary or interplanetary comms if there's a ship. Presumably, a ship or suitable satellite can also link regular comm traffic to interstellar subspace transmissions.

A ship might also allow many more people to use the same comm net or allow Universal Translator programs to handle more languages or users.

Originally Posted by Rupert

UT battery life is for constant use, so a device left behind somewhere can reasonably be assumed to power down after not being used for an hour or so and with power cells that don't drain charge when not in use you have items that can be picked up, brushed off and used after years or decades.

This might be the norm. It also works better from a dramatic point of view (the tricorder you used to jury rig a personal force field only has 6 hours of power left, and when it goes down all your air goes with it).

I'd have to go hunting for canon examples when a hand-held gadget is in continuous use for long periods of time without a chance to recharge. My instinct is that handheld gadgets do run out of energy eventually, but it takes a lot of time and use, and there might be a way to recharge them using locally available resources like sunlight or gravity.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

An idea I've been playing with for a while just in my head could be called Transhuman Trek.

<SNIP interesting ideas>

Khan would be in for a hell of a surprise on that version of the Big E, but on the other hand, he might also be less hostile to them - or maybe it's a timeline where he won, and there was no need to go into stasis.

Really, it's a concept that's worth expanding upon.