I know that many of the ST fans are sticklers for canon (except almost all of them have one or more episodes that they would rather pretend did not exist), but it makes me curious: Is there is anything that, while fairly trivial overall, you like to change in your games?
I have two. The first is that everything shown on the series and films is an in-universe dramatization of the “factual” events. This means that the “canon” that we see IRL may or may not be entirely accurate. This allows for the complete editing out of episodes that are disruptive (or just plain stupid). In particular, for my game, Voyager did disappear in 2371, but the rest of the events depicted in that series are entirely fictional. Also, the scale of the fleets in my Dominion War are considerably smaller than those described and depicted in DS9 (dozens and scores of ships in many battles rather than hundreds or even thousands of ships).
My second is that the 2373 “First Contact” Starfleet uniforms will never exist. I just don’t like them at all. Instead, the TNG uniforms (two-piece, second type) and early DS9/Voyager uniforms will both be in use from the 2350s through at least the 2380s. Commanding officers can decide which uniform is appropriate for any particular post/mission. Finally, the shade of blue for the Sciences Division uniforms will remain the shade seen in TNG rather than the more greenish teal seen later. Like I said, it’s a trivial change, but it matters to me.
To be honest, when I read “fairly trivial breaks from canon” I was not expecting things like making an entire series non-canon, scaling the Dominion War way down and de-canonizing uniforms. I mean it’s your game and feel free to do so, but these are not “trivial” changes to me.
Anyway, I tend to smooth over certain aspects of canon. For example, in my game Commodores exist in the TNG era and beyond. Admirals that were depicted with only one star (like Gregory Quinn) are treated as a “costume error” because they should have had two stars.
Also the rank of Fleet Captain still exists and its insignia is actually the same as Luther Sloan’s.
I’ll often tweak stuff if I think it’s appropriate - the players get informed if it comes up.
Ranks and insignia are a common one (I approve of @Shran’s solution to the Commodore/RA dilemma! Minor Picard spoiler especially as we’ve seen a Commodore in 2399) , and I’ll tweak ship designs and the like (Discovery-era ships are much smaller, IMO). Certain episodes get retconned if need be.
It’s not because of a distaste for Voyager per se, but there are several things in it that I’d rather not include in my game, and it makes for a good in-universe “ghost ship” story.
I can understand the reaction to my view on Voyager, but the other two?
The Dominion War scaling always seemed off to me. If Wolf 359 can only gather 39 ships to defend the heart of the Federation, then I don’t buy that there are thousands of ships floating out there. I saw the DS9 fleet sizes as just being a “keep turning it up to 11” inflation, and I don’t see it as being necessary. Before DS9, we saw a lot of single-ship and occasionally small squadron actions, and I think this makes for a better cinematic universe than massive fleets; bigger numbers does not always make for a better setting.
As for the uniforms, if you see eliminating the “gray shoulders” outfits as too radical, then you are likely not a person I’d ever want to have a second conversation with.
Wolf 359 was an abrupt attack with very little warning at a time when exploration efforts were at the forefront. The Federation is massive so it takes a long time to call in the fleet. Not only that, but the borg threat itself led to a huge uptick in starship production. With the Dominion war, the handwriting was on the wall for quite some time, which further increased ship production and enabled them to form fleets and prepare their defenses.
Regarding the Uniforms: Actuall in my Campaign the High Collar TNG Uniform is used as Class A-Uniform, worn on Earth in Starfleet Command and simmilar Installations, while the DS9/Voyager Uniform is the Duty Uniform for Shipboard and Starbase Service.
Regarding the First Contact Uniform I might skip their introdution because, my player might not even care, which Uniform their Charakters wearing, but I will ask.
I personal would skip them and bring in the Picard flashback Uniforms.
Fleetscale: I think I would scale Wolf 359 up instead from scaling the Dominion War Fleet down.
The Federation has around 150 Membersworlds, so a few thousand Ships for Starfleet seams quite fitting.
In my Campaign the First Contact Phaser Rifle has replaced the TNG-Phaser Rifle in 2371, but that is not even an issue. The older ones are still in use with the Marquies and with some Rebels in the Klingon Empire.
That seems unnecessarily hostile. I just think eliminating a uniform that was used quite prominently is not a “trivial break from canon” to me, its more like new timeline territory. But again, to each their own. I like the grays, and if that somehow disqualifies me from having a conversation, then so be it. But having a conversation with people even if they have different opinions is the whole point of a forum?
I could just image the look on players’ faces when they realize they have shifted to an alternate timeline where the only difference is that the 2373 uniforms were never adopted and blue stayed blue instead of going teal. I image that most would just shrug and move on and would hardly think of it as “new timeline territory.”
To be honest, I tend to have more problems with “canon” than breaking with canon. But that’s mainly because I’m an engineer and none of the writers are.
I was writing a decent sized post illustrating a few deviations I prefer, but the sheer arrogant superiority of that comment just boggles the mind, so no, I won’t be participating any further in this thread. You do you, but try not to be such a jerk about it.
People, let’s try to get along with each other please. Every game master has their own alternate universe with their own canon. Like or don’t like a certain uniform? That’s cool, use or don’t use it.
Take the rules, watch the shows, pick and choose what you like. There’s no reason here to judge or hassle anyone about their choices.
I do have TOS (my era) smooth headed Klingons, but, the #$@# augment virus did not happen. I use FASAs/The Final Reflection’s John M. Ford’s version of events.
I don’t like war and while some may disagree, I rue the day Roddenberry left the show.
Also, while I enjoy long multi-episode story arcs, I am getting tired of it taking up the whole season, particularly when it is about the aforementioned war.
There are Romulans living in the Federation since the end of the Romulan War, prisoners of war who could not return home. Most of these live on Alpha Centauri IV, Earth’s oldest extrasolar colony.
For a planned campaign in 2384 I assumed that both the Romulan Star Empire and the Cardassian Union lie in shambles. The first because of Shinzon’s failed coup, the other because of the Dominion War. The Klingons and the Breen are fighting eachother for the remnants of the Romulan Star Empire. Picard now has the same position Kirk had in the beginning of TMP, Worf is still the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire and has to deal with Klingon-Breen War, and his son is a Starfleet officer. Those three should have played a major role in this campaign.
@lightjammer
Funny thing is that according to Roddenberry the TOS Klingons should always have looked like the TMP Klingons, thus no explanation needed.
@HappyDaze
You are ignoring one of the only uniform changes that were explicit mentioned in episodes? (Before someone asks the other one was in the first episode of the second season of DIS.)
“Funny thing is that according to Roddenberry the TOS Klingons should always have looked like the TMP Klingons, thus no explanation needed.”
Yeah, I’m aware of that! And I was prepared to go that way and just retcon it but then TNG and DS9 (particularly “Trials and Tribble-Ations”) happened.
I also really enjoyed the Klingon backstory as depicted in “The Final Reflection” so I’ve made that canon in my game. I think most of the stuff from TNG can still be used, though.
And I was prepared to go that way and just retcon it but then TNG and DS9 (particularly “Trials and Tribble-Ations”) happened.