|
STARFLEET ACADEMY Copyright Brent Knorr ©2001 Edited by Lowell R. Matthews for The Guild Companion IntroductionWelcome to the world of Star Trek, adapted to the Spacemaster/Rolemaster Rules. All you really need to make use of the material in this article is a copy of Spacemaster Privateers, although occasional references to other ICE products may be made. As with any game, the material presented here reflects certain views of the author that may not be shared by everyone. I'll try and state most of these up front. The characters created by this Training Package system are officers in Starfleet. They are not enlisted men. There is some debate about what percentage of a Starfleet crew consists of officers vs. enlisted men, but at some point, I believe it was stated that all of the crew of a Constitution-class vessel (Star Trek: The Original Series) were officers. This obviously did not stay true in later series, with Chief O'Brien (ST: The Next Generation and Deep Space 9) being a prime example, but an unusually large number of the characters seem to be ensign rank and higher, so they will be the focus of this article. I personally hold the belief that a first-level character in Spacemaster has at best a high school education, or perhaps limited post-secondary education. I've adopted the rough guideline that each year of post-secondary education is equivalent to an additional level in Spacemaster. Related to this is my view on what qualifies as "Professional Level" in a skill. I would expect a character to have at least 40% in a skill to be considered a professional. This means that under routine conditions (generally a +30 bonus), a character with a 40% skill only needs to roll 6% or higher to achieve at least a partial success. Relating to the Star Trek Universe, I would expect any crewmember capable of manning a station without supervision to have at least a 40% skill rating. I would further expect that at least a 10% would be required to man the station with an experienced supervisor nearby. I have designed the Training Packages with the following in mind: The Academy runs for four years, followed by a one-year Cadet Cruise. This is consistent with what we know from the TV series (ST:TOS) and two previous incarnations of Star Trek Roleplaying. Each year at the Academy is equivalent to one level of experience in Spacemaster. Characters are required to take at least two TP's at each level. Currently, all characters will be created using the Adolescence ranks for Humans in the Spacemaster Privateers book. For the moment, I'll leave the creation of other Star Trek races up to someone else, or perhaps as a future project. NOTE: Because of the large number of Adolescence ranks that Humans receive in the Communications Skill Category and the Science/Analytical groups, it is quite likely that some of the TP's will cause a character to go over the 10-rank limit for TP's. In this case, take any ranks that would exceed 10 and apply them to the Skill in that category instead. Alternately, the GM could rule that the 10-rank limit does not apply, or could enforce it strictly, meaning extra ranks are lost. Also, because of the number and the cost of some of the TP's, it may be possible that a character is short a few development points, particularly at first and second levels when they have not yet made many stat-gain rolls. In this case, I would usually allow the character to dip into the next level's DP pool if it is obvious that they will still have enough DP's to buy the packages that they need for that next level. This can represent summer-school courses, or courses that were actually picked up the following year, etc. There are certain minimum requirements that are needed in some skills for a character to graduate from Starfleet Academy. If TP's #1 through #6 are taken, combined with Adolescence ranks, then most characters will meet these requirements. If some TP's are substituted, then the character may need to pick up some additional skill ranks along the way. I have included a breakdown of the number of ranks for categories and skills that the TP's #1 through #6 give out, but it is the percentage score that is required (with the exception of Body Development). Note that just meeting these requirements is not sufficient to graduate from the Academy, but lacking any of these will definitely prevent graduation.
Minimum Requirements
There are several different areas of specialization in Starfleet, and different degrees of specialization within those areas. The main areas are Command, Communications, Helm, Navigation, Engineering, Medical, Sciences, and Security. The typical route through the Academy provides a general exposure to all areas in the first three years, with the student picking a specialization in his fourth year. However, if after two years the student already knows in which area he wishes to specialize, he can begin to focus on that area a year earlier, as long as he still meets the minimum requirements at the end. Engineers, Medical Specialists, and Scientists will often choose to do this, taking one of the larger packages in the third year instead of the smaller, more general packages. Years 1 and 2 at the Academy will be the same for most students. Year 1 will cover the background and history of the Federation (TP #1—Social) and will cover some of the basics of operating Federation equipment (TP #2—General Operations). Year 2 will focus on some basic self-defence, including the ability to operate in Zero G (TP #3—Combat). The student will also be taught some of the skills required of an Starfleet officer, including Leadership and the ability to teach others (TP #4—Officer). In Year 3, most students, particularly those interested in Command, Communications, Helm, Navigation, and Security, will take additional training in Data Processing (the ability to retrieve information is very important) as well as a range of Science options (TP #5—Science Package 1). They will also study basic Astrogation and Engineering skills (TP #6—General Science/Engineering). In an emergency, any officer should be able to do basic repairs to equipment and to plot a basic course, if not to a specific destination, at least away from a particular hazard. Students who know they are going to specialize in Medicine will often substitute the Field Medic or Medical TP's for TP #5—Science Package 1. Students specializing in Science will often substitute Science Package 2 for Science Package 1. Students specializing in Engineering will often substitute Engineering Package 1, and less often, Engineering Package 2 for the General Science/Engineering Package. NOTE: It is often advantageous to try to take three training packages in Year 4. A suggestion would be to allow characters to save some unused DP's from Year 3 to be used in Year 4. This could represent the character actually getting a jump on things by taking extra courses in Year 3. Year 4 is fairly wide-open and depends on the students' specialities. Command: This is probably the route that offers the most choices. A good commander should have a fairly general knowledge of everything. Most students in Command will take the Helm Package and the Security Package. Other good choices are Field Medic, Outdoor Survival, Communications or Navigation. One of the first six packages could also be taken for a second time. A student serious about Command will often take extra courses in Year 4 (i.e., three TP's if the character has enough DP's). Another option is to not take any particular packages, or take only one package, and then just use the DP's to improve required skills. Communications: A Year 4 student intent on becoming a communications officer will take the Communications Package at least once, possibly twice if they want to be really good. Most often, a different second package will be taken, leaving further improvement to Communication skills for the Cadet Cruise. The second TP can be almost anything, including the first six. Helm/Navigation: These two tracks are often interrelated; a helmsman should know basic navigation and a navigator should have basic Helms skill. Students in these specialities will each take the Helm Package and the Navigation Package once, then will gain additional practical training in their area of specialty on their Cadet Cruise (reflected in game terms by taking the appropriate package again at that level). If the character has enough DP's, he could take the third package during Year 4. Engineer: Engineers will normally take Engineering Package 1 and Engineering Package 2. Engineering Package 1 should be taken twice, either by taking it once in Year 3 and once in Year 4, or if the character has enough DP's, taking it an extra time in Year 4. It could also be taken as part of the Cadet Cruise. Medical: Medical specialists take the Medical Package as many times as possible, generally twice. It doesn't hurt to squeeze in Field Medic somewhere as well, but it isn't actually required—although if it isn't taken, the character should take at least one rank in Pharmaceuticals along the way. Sciences: Scientists take the Science Package at least twice. Oddly enough, Navigation is a good complimentary package as well. Security: Take the Security Package twice. Other good options are to take Outdoor Survival or take the Combat Package again, particularly if the character has enough DP's for a third TP. Other Options: The information on Year 4 should be considered as guidelines, not carved in stone. There is nothing wrong with creating a character with a more general skill set. Look at a character like Geordi from ST:TNG—he started off as a Helmsman/Navigator and ended up as Chief Engineer. There is lots of time for additional on-the-job training. A character who takes the Medicine Package plus the Navigation Package in Year 4 is perfectly fine. Cadet Cruise: This is a one-year cruise designed to give the new graduate some practical experience. This could easily be role-played as a group of Cadets (fourth-level characters) on their first mission, or can be treated as an additional Academy year. The characters could gain a fifth level and buy additional Academy packages or simply spend their DP's as usual. There are two extra TP's included at the end of this article—Department Head and Command School. These could be taken at some point after graduation for those characters who will become heads of departments (chief engineer, chief medical officer, first or executive officer, captain or commanding officer, etc.). The captain should also take the Command School Package (so should flag officers). If you are starting your player characters as the main crew on a large ship (such as the USS Enterprise), I would recommend giving them at least one more level of experience (6th minimum) and allowing them to take the additional TP's. TP #1—Social Package
TP #2—General Operations Package
TP #3—Combat Package
TP #4—Officer Package
TP #5—Science Package 1
TP #6—General Science/Engineering Package
TP #7—Communications Package
TP #8—Helm Package
TP #9—Navigation Package
TP #10—Engineering Package 1
TP #11—Engineering Package 2
TP #12—Field Medic Package
TP #13—Medical Package
TP #14—Science Package 2
TP #15—Security Package
TP #16—Outdoor Survival Package
(Note: TP's #17–#19 are reserved for future developments.) TP #20—Department Head Package
TP #21—Command School Curriculum Package
Editor's NoteAll trademarks and copyrights to the Star Trek universe are acknowledged. |