So I want to get back into rpg’ing and I want to GM a star trek campaign In the tng timeline.
The idea is to grow with the characters.
So I would like to do 4adventures with the fresh characters as cadets on the academy, then some adventures with the characters being low rank but not cadettes anymore and then full rank later.
But I struggle having ideas for a story on the academy. I thought maybe something with Sabotage and or traitors inside the Starfleet (romulans?). Maybe even an overarching storyline over the years.
Do you have ideas, where I could get some inspiration or background Infos on the academy and or romulan spy tactics?
That is a pretty good idea but most of them don’t really fit for the academy, do they? The only ones, that could fit would be “death of a friend” or “mentored” but they do not make a good adventure foundation. They would need to develop out of the story, not the other way round.
There’s always the cadet cruise and maybe some “go see your parents that are on a ship and let’s play lower decks” or the ancient totally sure artifact that was on display in the archaeology class is indeed not safe, maybe you can contact a truly alien unknown species with it (1 scenario 2 events).
Maybe Starfleet intelligence want you to spy on your comrades (another one) maybe Starfleet intelligence isn’t starfleet intelligence but a romulan undercover spy.
Transporter incident can happen anywhere maybe your terran empire double and yourself switched places, you have to resolve an engineering crisis to come back,. Maybe you’ll have to kill your double (trauma qualifies for death or a friend).
Of course someone could have sabotaged the holo training resulting in you being wounded and your roommate, training as Security being killed while saving you. Now the saboteur must be found. Maybe the truth is unsettling and need to be covered
And so on…
I’m reminded of the Season 1 TNG episode “Coming of Age” where Wesley deals with the psychological portion of the Starfleet entrance exam when an explosion occurs and he’s forced to leave a Starfleet officer behind to die while rescuing another. Granted, this occurs before Wesley attends the Academy, not during his attendance, but I’m wondering if this could serve as inspiration for an adventure at the Academy.
There’s also the Season 5 episode “The First Duty” where Wesley engages in a coverup at Starfleet Academy after his classmate is killed during the Nova Squadron spaceflight. Perhaps your players are faced with a similar ethical dilemma after an accident at the Academy? Like any military school, there has to be an honor system in place at Starfleet Academy. Can you think of any ways your players might run afoul of it?
@betatester wow, these are good ideas. Thanks a lot. You have a lot more inspiration than I do. But I can continue from your ideas. Thanks a lot❤️
@Sutehp I had both episodes In mind when proposing the idea to my friends. But they do know the episodes very well. So I will have to change it enough or use the season 1 episode as a opening adventure. Thank you for reminding me
@Modiphius-Jim i have to look if I have the player book. I have bought a lot of pdfs a year ago. Thanks for the advice
~edit: so I just bought the pdf for the player guide. It offers good advice on cadet characters. But with a story I will need to do some research on my own.
There are also lower level adventures you could do.
Students have a lot of restrictions, sometimes you have things you want to get away with that the authorities don’t want. A party or catching a glimpse of the really famous admiral that is visiting.
You could build an entire light hearted adventure around basically outwitting campus security.
Which can always turn darker if wanted. Maybe they stumble on a plot to assassinate the admiral, but with no evidence they have to deal with it themselves.
Do we talk about the Targ BBQ at the end? The meal escape? The betazoid psychic contact with it turning her into a targ?
What about the drunken Vulcan brawl?
And of course there’s the sex with Bolian topic (cure of a plague… apparently the evening was wild)
I did a mission way back when, that had a group of cadets instructed to try and steal a ship out of spacedock- was pitched as the instructor trying to prove a point to SF Security (but there was more going on than that).
Can definitely see a game at the academy having some of the fraternity style pranks, like joyriding in a shuttle craft, for example
Would a military academy even have or permit fraternities on campus? College pranks don’t seem like the sort of thing a military academy like Starfleet Academy would permit as it’s totally counterproductive to inducing discipline. For that matter, could or would Starfleet Academy tolerate hazing? I find it extremely unlikely that they would. And joyriding in a shuttlecraft that’s Starfleet property? That’s definitely a VERY fast way to get expelled, if not outright prosecuted.
You’re right though, standards would be different, even if Startleet is only pseudo military. That said, theres no reason a game couldn’t make room for an amount of lighter hearted moments too. Some cadets even get commendations for original thinking during their illegal activities!
First, EVERY adventure can be adapted to take place at the Academy, easily. It can just be a holodeck (training) simulation and/or test. Bonus: Spend Threat for funny holodeck malfunctions.
In my opinion, you should definetly consider using/adapting the free Kobayashi Maru adventure.
If we happen to have a coffee one day, make sure to ask me about the pranks they did in the officers’ school I attended. (Of course I never participated as some of the things were definitely a VERY fast way to get expelled, if not outright prosecuted. )
Especially Captains seem to have had wild days at Starfleet Academy they occasionally hint at. I’d even go so far as to consider it a recurring trope that we only know that Picard, Janeway and Chakotay did questionable things at the Academy, yet seldom heard what they actually did.
Ok, I’ll admit that I never attended a military academy (and I sure as ■■■■ never went to Officer Candidate School or was ever part of the military at all) so maybe I was talking more than a little bit out of my @ss when talking about pranks at a military academy. I don’t doubt pranks occur at military academies in real life, although it never occurred to me that pranks at OCS could even be a thing. (I mean, what do I know about OCS? Not a damn thing.)
And I just remembered Kirk talking about being pranked by Finnegan way back in the “Shore Leave” TOS episode, so pranks at Starfleet Academy aren’t (at the least) unheard of. I guess it all comes down to what we mean by “pranks.” Starfleet Academy classmates messing with each other is no doubt tolerated (just look at Kirk being pranked by Finnegan or Sisko being taunted by Solok (DS9 s7,e4: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).
But joyriding in a Starfleet (military-owned) shuttle (as opposed to a civilian shuttle)? Considering that some shuttles are armed with phasers, that would be like joyriding in a tank. I can’t see something like that being dismissed by the Commandant at Starfleet Academy as just “kids being kids.” Again, it comes down to what we mean when we say “pranks.” And I’ll admit that my imagination when it comes to pranks might be lacking. (I mean, jeebus, I’m a lawyer and there are some things even I won’t do.)
As for MisterX and those pranks he witnessed (but most definitely did NOT participate in ) during his OCS days, I can only respond by saying that if MisterX feels the need to invoke lawyer-client confidentiality before he tells me any details, I can say with confidence that I shall not reveal anything he tells me to anyone ever.
Long-term: espionage/conspiracy plot? Cadets witness something dodgy and the higher-ups don’t believe them without additional evidence. Possibilities could include attempts to embed sleeper agents in Starfleet via the Academy (how exactly did Commodore “Oh” get to her position of responsibility?).
Field trip goes wrong, or unscheduled use of a transporter or shuttle (for whatever reason), leaves the cadet stranded in the middle of nowhere and they have to make their way back to civilisation without assistance.
but most of them don’t really fit for the academy, do they? The only ones, that could fit would be “death of a friend” or “mentored” but they do not make a good adventure foundation. They would need to develop out of the story, not the other way round.
)
) during his OCS days, I can only respond by saying that if MisterX feels the need to invoke lawyer-client confidentiality before he tells me any details, I can say with confidence that I shall not reveal anything he tells me to anyone ever. 
