CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: Star Trek Adventures (4 of 6)
THE GAME: Star Trek Adventures (2017)
Star Trek Adventures Core Rulebook
A broken vessel lies motionless, tied up at an overworked repair station, sparkling with the beams of fusion torches, surrounded by suited yard workers and crewmembers and Workbees placing hull plates into position and towing replacement warp coils into the starboard nacelle, its inner workings flayed open. The ship’s hull itself weaves a story as the eyes pass over the mixture of new plates, blasted and buckled sections yet to be repaired, and a few proud areas of the vessel’s original structure less marred by years of combat. The Cardassian War has not been kind to this aging vessel, or to her crew. Her Executive Officer is a newly-minted Lieutenant Junior Grade, her Operations Officer just as recently promoted from Ensign. The Chief Medical Officer, also only recently promoted into a job made vacant by the previous occupant’s death, spends her days attempting to repair the crew in mind and body just as the yard workers struggle to repair the ship. All of them know that all too soon- but perhaps not soon enough - they will venture back into fray against an implacable foe. Their ship, built decades ago for exploration and scientific discovery, must stand as Starfleet has always stood - between the people of the Federation and those who would do them harm.
Today we meet another member of the crew.
Character Creation Sequence
Step One: Choose Species
Step Two: Choose Environment
Step Three: Choose Upbringing
Step Four: Attend the Academy
Step Five: Career Thus Far
Step Six: Career Events
Step Seven: Finishing Touches
Step One: Choose Species
This crewmate is a Denobulan male named Grizno. He gets a +1 to Fitness, Insight, and Reason. He gets the Denobulan Trait, which gives him some interesting abilities, including that of going without sleep most of the time. This is paid for by the need to hibernate for several days each year. He also grabs the Denobulan Talent of Cultural Flexibility.
Step Two: Choose Environment
Grizno grew up on a Busy Colony. This bumps Daring up +1, Security up 1, and he gets a value. “Art is the window into culture.”
Step Three: Choose Upbringing
Grizo embraced his upbringing my Starfleet members. He picks up +2 Control and +1 Fitness, and a point in Command. He also rolls randomly to pick up Bold: Command. I think we see where this character might be headed. We take a Focus in “Art History” to back up the value from above.
Step Four: Attend the Academy
Upon joining the Academy, we randomly roll that Grizo goes into the Operations division. We roll Daring, Daring, Fitness for Attribute increases, and Security for major. He minors in Science and Engineering. He gets three focuses, we take Hand-To-Hand Combat, Non-Federation Cultures, and Shipboard Tactical Systems. He rolls Bold: Security for a Talent, and takes the Value “Fortune favors the bold.”
Step Five: Career Thus Far
Grizo is an Experienced Officer. We give him the value “Live to fight another day.” in light of his recent experiences. He also picks up the Denobulan Talent Parent Figure.
Step Six: Career Events
During Grizo’s career, he had an encounter with a truly alien being. This raises his Reason +1, adds +1 to Science, and adds a focus. He takes Philosophy.
Hey, good old Transporter Accident. So he was there when things happened to the other crewmates who rolled this. +1 Control, and +1 Conn. And a Focus. He takes Sensor Operations.
Step Seven: Finishing Touches
We raise Insight and Presence, and add a point to Command and Security. His Value is “We have a boatload of kids. It’s my job to see them grow up.”
Grizo was the Tactical Officer of the ship until the most recent battle. As the most senior surviving officer, he was taken aback to be told that rather than receiving a Captain from another post, he was being brevetted to Captain and tasked with getting his ship and crew back into shape. Grizo is much older than most of the human crew, and they do remind him of his own Denobulan children. He feels deeply for the friends and crewmates they’ve all lost, and is very aware that his expertise is quite narrow for Starfleet’s ideals of what a captain should be. But there is a war on, and it’s up to him to make sure his crew makes it through to a time when Starfleet can be explorers and scientists again.
