Post by hszmv on Dec 5, 2016 22:09:12 GMT
So, at this point, we are only discussing this. Saturday Night, a bunch of old-timers from the fleet’s pre-Starbase days were discussing the difference between then and now, in terms of RP. Back then, it was less organized and structured. It was the rare night someone wasn’t starting trouble IC. Part of what made it more interesting to RP was that the fleet was more in the sight of the community. I know I’ve thumped on this idea in the past, but our current state of RP is in channels only, mostly on ships, and hard to get involved with if you can’t make any of those. The biggest reason we were a force in the RP community was because we didn’t rely on channels back then.
This also dovetails into the death of Klink and Romulan RP. Because there is little to do outside of big fleet actions, it makes it hard for players interested to do more than just shoot the breeze. They can’t get involved with many ships and they can’t get to hang out spots on the Starbase. And KDF was never a big faction to begin with.
All of this lead me to propose a shift in where the Fleet RPs… and how we do it. The pitch I gave was one that would fit current STO and fleet narratives really well. Starbase 146 lies in canon between the Badlands and Tzenkethi space. The former is a beachhead for the Terran Empire into prime space. The latter has not been used much, but got a name check in the most current in game mission, and a hint that the Tzenkethi might be a more active force in the future. Combined with the Na’Kuhl story that recently ended, a small fleet RP storyline about increased pirate activity in the area, the Cardassian Union being fairly close, and the Breen always doing something sneaky, SB 146 is in quite the activity nexus for a Starbase designed to be away from the front lines.
Given the recent Occupation Storyline we ran last year and the increased concern regarding the Tzenkethi, Admiral Quinn might be a little worried that a fleet HQ is based there. Starbase 146 is still an important asset that will be maintained by our fleet (more on that later) he’s concerned that fleet leadership may be at risk again and doesn’t want to order another evac if he can avoid it.
So, 146 HQ will be moved to Hathon, Bajor, and be run out of there. This has some benefits to both IC and OOC including:
It’s a Faction Neutral Zone. Unlike the Starbase, Our Klink toons can come there and freely RP with Starfleet toons, Romulan Toons, and Neutral toons.
It has all the features we would use for RP in the Starbase including offices, holodecks, medical facilities, and a Bar… a Klingon bar! The drama writes itself.
As Flynt mentioned, it’s not big, but it’s also got enough space to hide… i.e. we can RP on it, but not be in the way of other people.
As Krow mentioned, there are a ton of great Foundry RP maps that can be accessed from the Zone.
It’s not a big RP hub, so we’re not entering a crowded area.
Its close to DS9. In canon, it would be 30 minutes via a shuttle from Bajor (sometime 90… depends on crunch time). If it’s dead, a fleetie can easily hop a ride to the hoppin’ Quarks for fun. Conversly, if there is a crisis or meeting, it’s reliable to get too. If there are a bunch of Tellers in Quarks and someone calls in an emergency from Hathon, it would be quick to move and we may pick up some interest from Quark’s goers as to WTF?
There is some reliable foot traffic. Unlike Quarks, Hathon has a very unique mission on it that requires exploring much of the map. We could easily get the attention of some newbie while he’s running the mission.
I should point out, that, as per the discussion, the addition of recruiting is a bonus to this, not a goal. While we never have been big on active recruiting, our biggest recruiting spells can be attributed to larger activity in public areas. As pointed out by Krow, we’ll need to make a quick and very obvious distinction: We are not in control of Hathon. There is presumably a Captain outside of 146th chain of command who handles that stuff. Additionally, we won’t be allowed to arrest people on Hathon or enforce rules. That’s the NPC Job. Apparently, our RPing that we were staff of DS9 back in the pre-Star Base days still rubs people wrong… even though we were not the Storytellers back then. We won’t be naming Captains or Chief of Security for this area.
The next question is what about our Starbase?
Again, I do not want to discount it… in fact, given its location, it’s prime for some great storytelling in the vein of DS9 (a small town on front lines of brewing conflict). I’d love to see it get crewed and have stories told from it. I think given it’s location, it’s going to become a vital for the IC Starfleet, with it being the last big Starbase between several conflict zones. We’d have to have armaments ready to re-equip returning ships, medical staff to help battlefield injured, Dry Docks and production facilities for ship repairs, intel monitoring of known areas, and of course, defense of all of that. A good GM could milk a few stories out of that. And because we do not know what role the Tzenkethi will play, a good much of initial RP can focus on that unknown and worry. Most active officers probably have never even seen a member of the famed Reclusive Tzenkethi or their ships and much of their tactics from earlier encounters are not well documented. We do not know what will happen. And of course, we can always have more personal RP on the SB (great for event planning for the fleet).
I apologize for the long post and the lack of a TL;DR, but I’d like to get opinions and thoughts on this. I’m not sure it could be a right direction, but if we can make a good story out of it, it should be fun.
This also dovetails into the death of Klink and Romulan RP. Because there is little to do outside of big fleet actions, it makes it hard for players interested to do more than just shoot the breeze. They can’t get involved with many ships and they can’t get to hang out spots on the Starbase. And KDF was never a big faction to begin with.
All of this lead me to propose a shift in where the Fleet RPs… and how we do it. The pitch I gave was one that would fit current STO and fleet narratives really well. Starbase 146 lies in canon between the Badlands and Tzenkethi space. The former is a beachhead for the Terran Empire into prime space. The latter has not been used much, but got a name check in the most current in game mission, and a hint that the Tzenkethi might be a more active force in the future. Combined with the Na’Kuhl story that recently ended, a small fleet RP storyline about increased pirate activity in the area, the Cardassian Union being fairly close, and the Breen always doing something sneaky, SB 146 is in quite the activity nexus for a Starbase designed to be away from the front lines.
Given the recent Occupation Storyline we ran last year and the increased concern regarding the Tzenkethi, Admiral Quinn might be a little worried that a fleet HQ is based there. Starbase 146 is still an important asset that will be maintained by our fleet (more on that later) he’s concerned that fleet leadership may be at risk again and doesn’t want to order another evac if he can avoid it.
So, 146 HQ will be moved to Hathon, Bajor, and be run out of there. This has some benefits to both IC and OOC including:
It’s a Faction Neutral Zone. Unlike the Starbase, Our Klink toons can come there and freely RP with Starfleet toons, Romulan Toons, and Neutral toons.
It has all the features we would use for RP in the Starbase including offices, holodecks, medical facilities, and a Bar… a Klingon bar! The drama writes itself.
As Flynt mentioned, it’s not big, but it’s also got enough space to hide… i.e. we can RP on it, but not be in the way of other people.
As Krow mentioned, there are a ton of great Foundry RP maps that can be accessed from the Zone.
It’s not a big RP hub, so we’re not entering a crowded area.
Its close to DS9. In canon, it would be 30 minutes via a shuttle from Bajor (sometime 90… depends on crunch time). If it’s dead, a fleetie can easily hop a ride to the hoppin’ Quarks for fun. Conversly, if there is a crisis or meeting, it’s reliable to get too. If there are a bunch of Tellers in Quarks and someone calls in an emergency from Hathon, it would be quick to move and we may pick up some interest from Quark’s goers as to WTF?
There is some reliable foot traffic. Unlike Quarks, Hathon has a very unique mission on it that requires exploring much of the map. We could easily get the attention of some newbie while he’s running the mission.
I should point out, that, as per the discussion, the addition of recruiting is a bonus to this, not a goal. While we never have been big on active recruiting, our biggest recruiting spells can be attributed to larger activity in public areas. As pointed out by Krow, we’ll need to make a quick and very obvious distinction: We are not in control of Hathon. There is presumably a Captain outside of 146th chain of command who handles that stuff. Additionally, we won’t be allowed to arrest people on Hathon or enforce rules. That’s the NPC Job. Apparently, our RPing that we were staff of DS9 back in the pre-Star Base days still rubs people wrong… even though we were not the Storytellers back then. We won’t be naming Captains or Chief of Security for this area.
The next question is what about our Starbase?
Again, I do not want to discount it… in fact, given its location, it’s prime for some great storytelling in the vein of DS9 (a small town on front lines of brewing conflict). I’d love to see it get crewed and have stories told from it. I think given it’s location, it’s going to become a vital for the IC Starfleet, with it being the last big Starbase between several conflict zones. We’d have to have armaments ready to re-equip returning ships, medical staff to help battlefield injured, Dry Docks and production facilities for ship repairs, intel monitoring of known areas, and of course, defense of all of that. A good GM could milk a few stories out of that. And because we do not know what role the Tzenkethi will play, a good much of initial RP can focus on that unknown and worry. Most active officers probably have never even seen a member of the famed Reclusive Tzenkethi or their ships and much of their tactics from earlier encounters are not well documented. We do not know what will happen. And of course, we can always have more personal RP on the SB (great for event planning for the fleet).
I apologize for the long post and the lack of a TL;DR, but I’d like to get opinions and thoughts on this. I’m not sure it could be a right direction, but if we can make a good story out of it, it should be fun.