|
FORWARD The First Officer of the U.S.S. Fearless, LCDR Lech Kosinski, is a legend in his own mind. A former warp drive specialist, he has been trying to use the Fearless as a test bed for experiments in engine power output. Most of these requests have been shot down by the ship’s Captain, John Hawk. After the war games with the Hood proceed not in favor of the Fearless, Kosinski approaches Hawk with a modification proposal to the ship’s engines that will increase her power output. Captain Hawk, reluctantly, agrees. The war game will take place with one of the characters at the helm of Hood. The power output of the Hood will increase during the war game. The only problem is that Kosinski looses his ability to control the output. In an emergency maneuver, Captain Hawk orders his Operations Manager to channel all excess energy into the warp drive. The Hood will try to assist the Fearless in ending the power output. Unless the character in the chair orders it first, Captain DeSoto (or whoever you have as Captain) will order that that a tractor beam grab the ship hoping to use its own weight to slow it down. The Fearless will continue to accelerate dragging the Hood along with it! The Warp velocity will continue until…Warp 10 is achieved. Being at Warp 10, according to canon, is like being everywhere at once. The characters will undergo a series of surreal experiences becoming one with the universe but, at the same time, losing their individuality. During this experience, they will meet with the Traveler who will assist them in getting out of this mess. This adventure has the potential to be a real migraine for the Narrator without some prior planning. During the whole experience two things should be hammered to the player:
CAMPAIGN NOTES The surreal experiences of the characters and NPC’s are based on my own campaign. Some alteration of them might be needed. I hope that this adventure give you and your players plenty of enjoyment. PART I: INTRODUCTION I am taking this opportunity to train [insert name of character]in starship tactics. When the next "battle" between the Hood and the Fearless occurs, [he/she] with have [his/her] turn in the Captain’s Chair. At this point, the Narrator should run the Interlude. Scene: Ready Room, U.S.S. Hood Once the character is settled in, he will tell the character that he will be sitting in the Captain’s Chair during the next round of combat and that his/her opponent will be none other than that ship’s captain. Once the character has had time to digest this, Captain DeSoto will go into his opponents most likely strategy.
Let the character ask as many questions he’d like of the Captain. He will continue to stress the fact that Captain Hawk is a very aggressive opponent as well as reminding him or her that "combat" will be strictly at impulse speeds. Allow the character time with the rest of the command staff to go over his plans as far as maneuver as well as shield and weapon settings. Once the player has made all his plans, let the combat begin. Both ships have been adapted to the war games. The "shields" are actually modified sensors to note hits and damage. The phasers and photon torpedoes are harmless lasers and emitters that interact with the sensors. There is also a "panic switch" available to the Operations Manager to bring actual shields and weapons on line in the event of an emergency. No roll is required. Captain Hawk is a very offense minded tactician. The chart to the side shows his power allocation.
By this, the Fearless will be moving at .7c. Both torpedo launchers will be firing a spread of five torpedoes each with a twenty-eight point phaser blast. His movement will be directly at the Hood. Assume his bridge officers have skills roughly proportional to those of the characters. His First Officer, LCDR Kosinski, has been making certain modifications to the engines for more power output. Do not worry about game balance. As it will be revealed, those alterations were a real bad idea. Every round, increase the power output of the Fearless’ engines by 10. Divide the new power through the active systems proportionately to include impulse. If anyone scans the Fearless with their scanners, have the player make a Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test at Moderate (7) Difficulty. Success will indicate that the Fearless is putting out ALOT more power than they should! Once impulse speed passes .9, the Fearless’ Warp Drive kicks in and they sling into warp. Owing to the fact that this is plainly against the rules, the character in the chair would probably note that something is amiss. PART II: CONFLICT First, the character might try hailing the Fearless. If hailed, Captain Hawk will respond. Owing to the fact that his bridge is in chaos trying to figure out what is going on, his answers will be terse. He will try to get two points across:
At no time will Captain Hawk ask directly for assistance. If offered, he will accept it with a curt nod. Obviously, The characters’ ship will have to jump into warp to assist the Fearless. If Captain DeSoto (or the Captain of your ship) has not been called to the bridge yet, he will come to the bridge when he sees that the ship has gone into warp. As they pursue the Fearless, they will note that the ship is constantly increasing in warp. The Fearless’ shields are up as well. If anyone tries scanning the Fearless, have that player make a Starship Systems (Sensors) Test at Moderate (7) Difficulty. A success will indicate that the Fearless is putting out more power than the ship was designed to. As far as the shields being up, a character making a successful Material Engineering (Spaceframe) Test at Routine (4) Difficulty will note that it is probably to preserve hull integrity and compensate for the ships’ drastic speed increase. By this time, the Captain should reach the bridge. Unless a character has already done this, the Captain will order that a tractor beam be locked on the Fearless. That done, he will order the Flight Control Officer to gradually put engines into full reverse. His hope will be to slow the Fearless down. This will have little effect. The Narrator may wish to play out the drama below.
The characters, at this point, will attain Warp Factor Ten. They will be one with the universe: Omniscient. This is where things get difficult for the Narrator. Describing omniscience is like describing an object in four dimensions. Give the players Handouts 1 through 4 and tell them that they are living all four of these experiences at once. As they experience each of these, have each player make a Search Test at Moderate (7) Difficulty. A success indicates that he or she sees a bald humanoid standing over two meters watching him or her. PART III: CLIMAX The bald humanoid will identify himself as the Traveler. While he is there to assist the characters out of the jam that they are in, he will remain silent for the most part in an effort to let the characters arrive at their own conclusions. Handout #1 explains that they have become one with the universe as a whole and to remain in this state will mean sacrificing their individuality. Handout #2 illustrates that it is all in their mind. It is the desire to leave that is the key to escape. Handout #3 states that to free the two ships as a whole, the Captain and First Officer of each ship must state their desire to leave this realm. Handout #4 implies that if the characters are unable to convince the Captains and First Officers, they must be forced to the characters’ way of thinking (described in Part III). The Traveler will only try to steer the characters on the right path to each of these conclusions. Although he will not outright explain each memory’s meaning, he will question the player characters until they arrive at the correct conclusions. Once that is done, he will ask each character if they desire to leave the current state that they are in. If the answers are affirmative, he will guide them to the minds of each captain and first officer. The best way to get the captain and first officer of each ship to go along with the characters is by convincing them through talk. Failing that, the characters could try forcing them to their view. Essentially, it’s convincing them through a battle of wills and "overriding" their thought processes. The battle is treated as standard hand-to-hand combat with some alterations. First, a character rolls his Presence + Empathy when determining initiative. Likewise, when making an unarmed attack, the character rolls his Presence + Willpower. A character’s resistance and subsequent damage categories are calculated by his/her Intellect + Logic. The damage that a character does is modified by his/her Perception Edge. Once a character’s damage level reaches Incapacitated, his/her will is considered overridden. The two-tiered plane of existence (for lack of a better term) for Captain Hawk and LCDR Kosinski resembles something out of the mind of MC Escher. On the upper tier, Captain Hawk is engaged in hand-to-hand combat with an odd assortment of Cardassians and Borg. Below him, Kosinski stands in front of a chalk board working out a very complicated equation. Every now and then, Hawk will throw one of his opponents off his tier and onto Kosinski. Since neither the Borg nor Cardassians give Kosinski much concern, they disintegrate upon impact and do Kosinski no harm except distracting him from his very important work! If any characters attempt to parlay with Kosinski, he will complain incessantly that the Captain’s antics are distracting him from some very important work. Any character attempts to understand Kosinski’s work, he or she will not be able to make any sense of it. It is pure gibberish. If a character points out that all that is required for them to return to normalcy is to wish it so, he will balk at it and tell the character that he requires scientific proof. This is impossible. Of course, a character may spout of some gibberish of his or her own. An attempt like that is reflected in a Fast Talk Test at Challenging (10) Difficulty. Reduce the difficulty to Moderate (7) if the character writes it out on the blackboard. Captain Hawk, meanwhile, is dealing with some personal demons of his own. The Cardassians and Borg will attack but not harm the character unless he or she has the Disadvantage Intolerance (Borg or Cardassian). If that is so, the character will have a demon of his or her own to deal with. Statistics for the Cardassians are provided in the Core Rulebook. The Borg statistics have been taken from Patrick Murphy’s work featured on TrekRPGNet. BORG Attributes Skills Convincing Hawk will not be the same as convincing Kosinski. Characters must be respectful but firm and point out to him that while he is fighting out his own private war, his crew could suffer a horrible fate. They must drive home the point that the well being of his crew is of utmost importance! This is reflected in a Command (Starship) Test made at Challenging (10) Difficulty. Reduce the Difficulty to Moderate (7) if the character offers to "cover him" in the process. Captain DeSoto and LCDR Torres are in what appears to be a garden maze of rose bushes. Torres stands at the entrance to the maze looking pensive. DeSoto is in the center surrounded by what appears to be an translucent sphere. Torres has never had much luck in Away Team missions, whenever things turned violent, he always seemed to receive the brunt of it. He continuously approaches the maze muttering something about duty then stops short. He has already deduced that all that is required to leave is desire. This desire, in his mind, is reflected in his willingness to reach the captain. If questioned about his hesitancy, he will state that he knows the minute that he moves toward his captain, he will be run through by the thorns. Anyone looking at the rose bushes will note that nothing seems unusual. Torres needs to be coaxed. This is reflected as a Charm (Influence) Test at Challenging (10) Difficulty. If a character offers to protect him, reduce the difficulty to Moderate (7). The sphere surrounding DeSoto can be transgressed simply by walking through it. Inside the sphere, DeSoto is sitting cross-legged on a beach watching an endless expanse of water (this is metaphysics). The water he is watching is absolutely still. If questioned he will only respond by remarking how peaceful the water is. He is hypnotized by the serenity. The key to getting him to snap out of it is quite simple: disturb the water. Once that is done, he will become completely lucid. Once it is explained that he only has to desire to be back in normal space, he will do so. Once all four wish to return to normal space (or forced into the characters’ beliefs) the scenery will evaporate and everyone will find themselves back on the bridge. PART IV: CONCLUSION The minute the Conn looks as his/her terminal, he or she will note that they are cresting 9.2 and still getting faster. Upon notification of this, Captain DeSoto will take action. "John!" he will yell, "Drop the Warp Core!" The Fearless will do just that, about to drop out of warp with the core. Captain DeSoto will continue to bark out orders. "[Tactical], maintain tractor Beam! [Conn], maintain velocity! Alter course to one-five-mark-two!" Narrators should maintain the stress of the situation. Have the players make rolls to carry out their tasks. In the end, the Fearless’ Warp Core will explode with both the Hood and the Fearless a safe distance away. It will be up to the Hood to tow the Fearless to the nearest Starbase. Captain Hawk will hail the Hood to convey his thanks. He will also ask to speak to his opponent during the "war game". "[Character], you really pulled my bacon out of the fire. I owe you. Oh yah, I also cede our match to you." If any character engaged him in a little mental hand-to hand combat in Part III, he will rub his jaw thoughtfully and congratulate him or her on his or her right hook. Each character gets one experience point for surviving the adventure. If they ensured that the Captains and First Officers got their ships out of Warp 10, increase the award to two: three if they role-played well.
Characters should complete the adventure with no more than three points of Renown. INTERLUDE The intercom sounded with the voice of ENS Kyle Ahnkhorah, the ship’s Communications Officer. "Excuse me, Captain, but you are being hailed by the Fearless." "Patch it through, if you would, Mr. Ahnkhorah." "Aye sir." On his table top appeared the face of the Captain of the Fearless, John Hawk. Being an ancient movie buff, Captain DeSoto once remarked to him that he was the spitting image of Michael Ironside. Captain Hawk, never having seen an ancient movie told him that he had no idea what he was talking about. "John! How are things going on the Fearless?" John gave him a curt nod. "Busy. We’re oh-and-one and-one. We’ve got to win this one to save the honor of the ship." It was difficult to tell when John was joking. "You’re not asking me to throw the next match, are you?" John gave him a feral grin. "Not in your life, Robert." "You’re Second Officer fought my First Officer to a stand-still," Robert offered him diplomatically. "Yeah and you took my First Officer to town like a Ferrengi to a bunch of Pakleds. That was a nice trap you set, by the way." Robert Gave him a regal wave. "I’ve been sitting in the captain’s chair before most of our crews entered the Academy. Kosinski, right? He’s fresh from the Engineering Department. Give him some time." John grunted. "He’s in engineering right now. He says that he can reconfigure the engines to give us more output. I think he just wants to make up for getting his tail handed to him. So who am I taking on?" "My junior command officer." "Do you want me to easy on him?" "Absolutely not," said Robert waving his index finger, "I’m viewing this as more of a test of his character than tactical ability." "So be it," said John, "Until tomorrow." HANDOUT #1 You hear your sensei speak. "You notice as the sugar falls into the water, it dissolves. When it incorporated into the medium, the granules cease being individual but absorbed into the solution as a whole." Above your sensei’s head is a monitor showing a crystal slowly break down into nothingness. HANDOUT #2 Your Vulcan instructor completes the incision revealing the cadaver’s brain pan. "The brain is the most essential organ to all sentient life," he drones, "This is the one organ that cannot be replaced. "It has been completely mapped. We know what lobe carries out what function. We know the neural paths used to make a decision. Still, there is something that eludes us: the mind. "The mind is immaterial: philosophical rather than physiological. Yet it is what makes us truly sentient." HANDOUT #3 You’ve lost count how many times you’ve given this lecture. You could give this lecture in your sleep. For all you know, you are. "The two most important positions are those of the Captain and the First Officer. Between these two, all decisions are made." HANDOUT #4 There is a wet, choking grunt and one of the combatants fall to the ground kicking dust into the air. You observe with clinically that the knife pieced his solar plexus and that the tip of the blade most likely pierced his heart. In a minute, he will be dead. Old Shathki steps forward and speaks. "If a problem cannot be solved through verbal discourse, then it shall be decided by physical prowess. There is no impasse in a duel. The decision has been made and the ceremony concludes. NONPLAYER CHARACTERS Captain Robert DeSoto Image: Starfleet captain with sad eyes and a receding
hairline. ATTRIBUTES SKILLS ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES Courage: 5 Resistance: 2
Lieutenant Commander Manuel Torres Image: An unassuming Hispanic male of average height and
indeterminate age. NOTE: For a better picture of Torres, see ST:TNG Episode 1:
"Encounter at Farpoint (Part 1)." ATTRIBUTES SKILLS ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES Courage: 5
Captain John Hawk Image: Michael Ironside in a Starfleet Uniform. During the "brush-fire" wars with Cardassia, he served admirably as a tactical officer on several ships. When the Federation and the Cardassians signed a treaty, he fell out of Starfleet’s graces for vociferously protesting the Federation "giving in to the damned Cardies." It was believed that he would never sit in the captain’s chair. Starfleet never counted on the Battle of Wolf 359. Hawk, at the time, was assigned there as the First Officer of the Endeavor, the only ship that survived the battle. He took command after his captain (once an underclassman) was killed. His Tactics and stubbornness allowed the Endeavor not only to survive but to make hit-and-run attacks against the Borg until the Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) arrived to destroy it utterly. For his valor, he was given a command of his own on the U.S.S. Fearless, an old Excelsior-class cruiser. The sector he is assigned to is far away from the Cardassian border so as to not cause trouble but close enough for his ship to be called in should trouble arise. ATTRIBUTES Fitness: 2 SKILLS ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES Courage: 5 Resistance: 3
Lieutenant Commander Lech Kosinski Image: An arrogant man who always acts like he’s
late for an appointment. ATTRIBUTES SKILLS ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES Courage: 5 Resistance: 2
The Traveler Image: A tall humanoid with three fingers on each hand.
An air of benevolence surrounds him. ATTRIBUTES SKILLS ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES Courage: 5 Resistance: 2
|
