STA: Damocles – How to enlist

If you have been following me on twitter, you’ll know I have been raving about Star Trek Adventures and how I want to a campaign for it. I’m a big Trek fan and have been as long as I can remember. The more I read about and saw of STA, the more I liked it. Then one day, after an amusing discussion on twitter about the best captain (and it’s Sisko in case you was wondering :-p) I realized that my passion for the show has never really ended that now was the perfect time to start a campaign.

But for that, I need players – This is where you come in …possibly…

Requirements to join

Absolute Minimum

• The quick-start STA pdf – This is available free from HERE (https://www.modiphius.net/collections/star-trek-adventures/products/star-trek-adventures-quickstart-guide) so there is no excuse to not have this at the very least
• Some way of taking notes etc – Notepad or text file is fine
• Webcam/mic as we’ll be using Roll20 if possible or equivalent, skype as back-up in case things go wibbly, and if this happens, you’ll need some d6 and d20s
• Not be a rules/lore lawyer – This is a major peeve of mine – We all make mistakes and are not Q. The goal of this is for fun. Granted, if this was an “official” game then be a stickler, but it isn’t, so leave that mind-set back home tyvm. Unless of course, I make a major mistake – like saying Vulcan is not part of the Federation etc. Think of this as an alternate timeline that is very close to the prime/official one.

Preferred

(Not needed, but if you have these will make your life and mine much much easier)

• A copy of the full rules of STA, either the PDF OR the dead-tree version
• Able to commit to being available to game once every two weeks once season 1 is underway

Game Details

• Working Title – The working title for the game is Star Trek Adventures: Damocles – I want to change this, but for now, it will suffice.
• The number of players I am aiming for around 4 players. This gives us flexibility in case of emergencies and people need to take a week off etc and still have enough to do missions.
• Frequency/Time – To start with, the sessions will be every couple of weeks. This may change later, but to start with will be 2 weeks. The play day/time is yet to be decided. Provisionally, it will be a Friday or Saturday night, at around 7 to 8 pm GMT or equivalent
• Guest Stars  – Having four players also allows us to have guests on for a one-off or re-occurring Plot Lines. Although I have a rough idea for an overall arc/plotline, this will be subject to change as the story and events dictate. Players and Patrons may suggest ideas for storylines they want to do.
• There will be what I have dubbed “Season 0”. This will be a practice series of sessions, using the quickstart pdf to begin with, probably no-more than 3 or 4 tops, so that we all get used to the game and I can be comfy running it. These won’t be recorded or streamed (except maybe a test stream/recording), but there probably be notes taken and a synopsis written up for blog/websites, players or myself. Season 0 will end with a group session for making your characters properly, these will be carried forward into Season 1 – Episode 1 when the crew, the Damocles and the major NPCs will be officaly introduced. If my computer can handle it, these sessions will be streamed and/or recorded if possible, so bear that in mind.

For clarification, I am using the term episode here to refer the game sessions, although some episodes may stretch over into two (or more) sessions – Think of these as the multi-parters that sometimes crop up. A Season will be a collection of episodes in a certain arc.

Goals

I have a number of goals I want to achieve when playing/running this game, apart from the obvious one of my players and me having fun:

• Record/Stream the sessions. At the very least a synopsis of the episode for people to read to go on the blog(s) of those taking part, if so desired.
• Get a few guest stars on – By guests I mean non-regulars/existing crew
• Viewer/Reader interaction – Someway of having viewers of the sessions/streams or even blog readers to be able to interact with the ongoing story, such as naming NPCS, planets, suggesting storylines, twists/events etc, all within reason and with the final veto from the crew and myself. Streaming, such as via Twitch, will make this easy and allow for complications, twists, in game gifts to be given to the players or me or to torment them (evil laugh goes here)
• Improve my set-up – A word of warning, the set-up I have will be, well best described as something a Packled would use. It’ll work, but won’t be pretty. One of the ongoing goals will to rectify this with better cameras, mic, lighting etc. I am under no illusions, in comparison to others, it will look bad, but, I have to start somewhere right? This isn’t putting myself down, just a dash of being realistic about how things will be…for now at least.
• Improve my Gm’ing/running of the game. This is something that will come with time and experience. Hopefully soon rather than later
• Keep to a regular schedule – Although I will be doing my utmost t keep to the planned schedule, my health issues may crank up the inertia damper on this to the maximum. But, ignoring those, then I want this to become a regular thing people, including me, look forward to each week/two weeks.

How to take part

So, if after reading all this (and ty for doing so) you have decided you want in on this madness, what do you have to do?

• Simple – Be available from the first week of November. I will be running season 0 until end of the year. Season 1 is planned to start in the first week or so of January unless we feel we are ready much sooner.
• Follow me (@EnneadGames) on twitter – I’ll be posting the selection process there. It will be simple and quick. If only 4 people want to join, then they will be invited to be the new crew. If there is more than 4, then it will be either a random draw or a mini-competition related to Star Trek. Anyone who isn’t selected at this point will have first refusal when the first guest slot is opened up.

Once more, thank you for taking the time to read through this and as the Vulcans say…

Live Long and Prosper!

Legal Bit

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