OOC Discussion

K wrote:http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/FrogSticks/Manipulative/146003 ?

Nope.

tsk

*completely and utterly off topic question*

If you had to pick one species from all of Star Trek's continuity... that isn't a Q or otherwise all powerful being... to choose to be, and to have to live the type of lifestyle of that given species (either within a similar culture or whatnot), which would you choose?

Not the Voth, that's for sure.

Sounds boring, but, Human.

Here's my problem with answering that question. In Star Trek, most species can be defined by a single or a few key traits that permeate their entire culture, with very little room for variation. Klingons are all warmongering space assholes, Vulcans are all logical, Romulans are all fascists, Deferi are all supposedly balanced, except for the fact that their notion of balance is to spam the word in every phrase that comes out of their mouths like a mantra, which is pretty imbalanced in and of itself.

There is supposed to be more to it than that (the episode where Riker serves aboard that Bird of Prey comes to mind), but it's only mentioned or lightly touched on, never gone in depth into.

Heck, Worf stands out among the Klingons exactly because he escapes the stereotype (more like struggles with it, but that's a different story). Others, like Chang and Kahless actually embrace and enjoy it, while the rest of them live it as a religion. So i guess there is room for variation after all, but in essence, it still all spins around those few common traits, and how different people react to them.

Mass Effect actually both parodies this ("Because humans have a wide variety of mentalities and cultures, but all Krogan think and act exactly alike" - Wrex), and makes it a plot point, on how humans are so diverse, sort of making THAT our stereotype.

So i guess in the end, the same way a Klingon could normally never accept to live like a Romulan, i have a very hard time figuring out which of the set living stereotypes i'd find the least painful conforming to, being a human and all.

EDIT: Wait, are you making a new character in STO, or something?

*highfives Snarg* Humanity FTW!

K's point is valid, for various reasons I won't nerd out and explain here, since the only real races that got extensive depth to them were the ones entire series could focus on (Cardassians and Bajorans come to mind).  That being said I admit I'm speaking as a huge Trekker asking this question, since for example I could point to various characters and say 'that's a true blank', like Admiral Jarok or Telek R'mor as a true Romulan, or Martok as a true Klingon, or Garak as a true Cardassian, and so on and so on.  I was just curious what people would say, though admittedly picking Human is actually quite a bit of cheating isn't it, since as I've tried to express before, Earth is a true paradise in Star Trek and you can do literally any job you want within reason as a career choice... yeah.

Speaking of Jarok, Arch, did you notice who's in command of the flagship of the Romulan Republic now?

EDIT; Oh, and although not a race, would it be valid if i picked Maquis?

*in response to K's question* No I was just thinking about societies and cultures while playing STO.  Klingons, while ultimately self destructive from a civilization perspective, are fascinating when it comes to inter personal dynamics and culture (unless you're watching Star Trek Into Darkness in which case they're nameless orcs).

You may hate me for this, but i actually liked the single depiction of a Klingon in that movie. It wasn't over the top or brash or hasty. The guy delivered it with the deliberate menace and confidence that belied that fierce warrior nature that Klingons in the series tried so hard to outwardly express. He didn't need to force it at all, you could see it his his mannerism, his stare, his voice. I would have honestly liked to have seen more of that Klingon representation in the movie. Instead we got a shootout to make Mr Harrison look badass. Oh well.

Ugh, browsing Alpha Memory wikia was not fun. Way too many damned shapeshifting species. Way too many species to begin with, and not categorized by small & cute to big & ugly. Just "corporeal" and "incorporal", and by quadrants--who does that?--and "anthropomorphic", which apparently doesn't have the definition normally assigned to it.

So I'm just gonna ask you, what do you know about the GORN? Aside from the fact that they're ruled by a Hegemony that favors aggressive expansion.

They're anthropomorphic T-Rexes, can't get much more badass than that.

@Arch : yeah, I just want to put Bonebreaker in a pit right now, but I did want to investigate first. Zeiss was an assassin of the Flock after all and he had to investigate to make sure his target was guilty. I know you're the kind of GM who likes to give a dozen of layers to your characters. But if he's okay with Rory's family being threatened, and having anything to do with it, he's going down. Oh, and human. Naturally.

And poor Snarg. Good thing you're there Gwydo. I'm starting to think I'm one of the few party members in good health. Rory transforms in a stupid Tusker at night, Higaide has rewoven himself into a mutant, Snarg's soul is getting teared apart, Fierneceal's soul has been cut in two, Javan is being possessed by his spear, Sethos almost got dewoven by Gaerlan and is still feeling the effects, Hanuel is God knows where, Z is a desolate, Kez has turned berserk and then kidnapped because of it (probably) and Araiguna is destroying the Auburean continent...

Me, Gwydo and Kolson are normal.

Zeiss wrote:Me, Gwydo and Kolson are normal. :P

*has the Laugh Attack of the Century, and passes out from lack of air*

I realize this isn't an answer to Arch's question, but if we ever start a Trek campaign, this is me:

And this is my theme music:

And I'm going full-on Fighter with heavy plate armor, fist weapons, and the following skills: Intimidation, Athletics, Awareness, Acrobatics, Deception, and Knowledge: Politics.

And I'll roleplay a disgraced Hegemony loyalist if I have to. I AM GORN!

Also Zeiss, I hate to be this way but I didn't tell you that he and I talked about my family. *Gravelly voice*You know nothing of my family.

Yeah, I know Rory. I planned to poke you about the talk you had with that guy. Zeiss, IC, already had his suspicions about Bonebreaker from what you said. But other matters seemed more urgent at the time. Then we just discovered his little dealings and I put two and two together.

So be prepared to be poked... with my DROP KICK.

Joke. You want a hug instead?

I agree with confronting him about it, of course. There's no way this can go unanswered (though IC, my char doesn't know him nearly well enough to make that judgement himself).

Just consider how his actions actually saved us from being either dead or in a very very bad situation right now. We did not own the not-defeat at Irondell, and part of it was down to sheer rashness, so the last thing we should be doing is going at him all righteous angry.

The main thing i really want to know is WHEN he made that deal. The timing will probably speak volumes as to the situation.

Out of character I pretty much agree with everything Higs has said about Bonebreaker saving our asses.
In character, I'm furious at him for not including us in his planning and schemes

Well, i think the trick of going right about this (and i'm gonna defend this in char) should be cooling off first, and going about it cold and dispassionate. No good will come of it if we tackle this problem with our blood boiling.

Also, not making hasty or rash judgements. Something more like "Hey Bones, Gretta just told us you'd cut a deal with her. What's going on?" than like "RAAAAAWR, Bones, i'm gonna kill ya for going behind our backs!!".

For one, his plan did hinge on our success, and our inevitable finding out about it, so there's no way he would have planned to keep us in the dark about this indefinitely.

So I have a little request I would like to make. From player to players in this case.

If any of you know about Zeiss's backstory, from either the first or the second version I wrote, or just because I slipped some info about it OOC, please do not mention anything about it from now on. When Kolson and me chatted some time ago, he said he wanted to learn about it in-character and I would hate for him to have the "surprise" spoiled.

For those who have some difficulty to keep OOC info from leaking into our roleplay (like I do), here's what you know about Zeiss' past : he was a member of the Bloodied Flock, an assassination organization, and it was mentioned IC that he also had been a thief " a long time ago". That's all you know. Really.

Thank you in advance.

Why, you're welcome in advance, good sir.

I believe I ask this every time (at least I'm consistent in my forgetfulness :p), but how many AP do we get on level up?

5 + L

All thanks to me. In light of everything going on though, I believe Rory has stopped caring about Zeiss' former status as a member of the Flock. All but forgotten, really.