We would like to welcome you to the USS Retribution, Star Trek E-Mail role-playing game.  The Retribution is a role playing game ship assigned to the UFED Role Playing Group.

First of all, we have a few questions:

What do you know about the Star Trek Universe? There are many resources available to acquaint you with the way things run in the Star Trek Universe. It might be a good idea to pick up the Star Trek Encyclopedia. It is available in almost any book store or through Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.  However, we're aware that not everyone has the funds or willingness to purchase the books. Another source might be your local library. You can check out Star Trek novels and read them. You can also access vast amounts of information on the World Wide Web. See resources for a list of excellent sites or use your favorite search engine. For the best example of what takes place on board a starship, watch a couple of Star Trek episodes.

Have you ever done any role-playing before? If so, what kind? U.F.E.D. RPG is a science fiction based game which is grounded in a well organized manner. Some of you who have participated in fantasy RPG's might find it rather constricting.

Those of you who are die-hard Star Trek fans, or even those of you who have just discovered it, will find it an entertaining, as well as mentally stimulating, way to experience the Star Trek Universe on a more personal level. We feel that this Simulation Guide will give you the tools to help you build and role play a character that everyone will find interesting and that we hope you will find fun. After all, that's what role playing is all about, having fun.

Throughout this Guide, you will hear us refer to "In-Character" and "Out Of Character" or "OOC" posts. For a thorough explanation of these terms, please see "RPG Etiquette".

Remember, the goal of any "game" is to have fun but do it within the established rules.

RPG Etiquette

An In-Character post is a message sent to the entire crew in which your character takes action, talks to other characters and has thought processes. These are read by the entire crew and actions may be taken, questions answered or other thoughts considered in response to them. This is not the forum for discussing Sim-Plot development, questions about simming etiquette or personal statements or questions to other authors. These would be handled in Out of Character (OOC) posts.

You want to handle as much as you can with In-Character posts. If you have a question about the operation of the ship or other technical question, you can handle this In-Character. For example: You want to know how fast a shuttle craft can go or what type of weapons it carries. You could post this question to the engineer with an In-Character message. If you disagree with the actions of another character, post your question or argument In-Character, but remember to be polite, courteous and observant of the Chain of Command.

An OOC post is utilized when you, the Author, has a question about the plot, where it is going or if you are confused about the current status. These would be posted for the whole crew to read.

It is acceptable, even appropriate at times, to post OOC messages to only one or a few Authors. You may do this if you want to make a suggestion to an Author for his/her character to try and action or follow a course of logic that would be beyond the scope of your character. You may want to coordinate how you want a specific dialogue to go between you and another character to make sure you keep that other person's character consistent and within the bounds of his/her background.

You As The Character vs. You As The Author

What's the difference?

You, as the character, will be confined to doing and saying things only your character knows, as we have referred to before. If you have chosen to make your character a security officer, even if you (the Author) are a board certified Medical Doctor, would it be reasonable or fair to the Doctor on your ship for your character to have any knowledge of advanced medical procedures? If the background you provided for your character has the reference in it providing sufficient reason for him/her to know medical procedures then go ahead and suggest a course of action to the doctor, citing your reason for knowing the information. Example: "Doctor, as a child whose father was a doctor and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, I attended 2 years of medical training. I heard of a procedure. . . would that be possible in this case?" Giving your ship's doctor the opportunity to be THE doctor. Now, doesn't that make sense? That's called Simming Etiquette.

Another habit that's easy to fall into is having your character act on information you have read in an OOC message, another character's thoughts or actions committed and words said outside of the presence of your character. Example: Crew members away on a Landing Party and suddenly find they cannot contact the ship because they have been transported underground in a shielded area. The people on the ship will only know that they cannot contact the party, but they will not know exactly why, other than perhaps tracing energy signatures from the transporter. Another Example: A crew member begins to feel dizzy, ill and disoriented as a result of contracting Kassaba Fever and puts this in his <thoughts> only, but does not vocalize them. The crew will only know that s/he has passed out, but not know why. They may see him/her stumble and fall, but they will not immediately know it is a case of Kassaba Fever. That would be for the Doctor to diagnose.

Just because you as the Author read an action in a post, you may not be able to immediately take action on it until your character is notified and/or asked to take action.

Play by e-Mail

What is Play by Email RPG?   Well, although it seems like a simple question deserving a simple answer, it isn't.

Play by E-Mail comes in many forms.  Depending on where you go to play, it can vary from as much as different ways to develop the story to a simple symbol.

The UFED RPG uses a narrative style of play.  What that means is that we write like we are writing a book.  We don't use a movie script format which is often the common means of role playing.  For example:

Script:

Maxon: Sir, we are being hailed.

Rogers: Put it on screen, Ensign.

Narrative Style:

"Captain, we are being hailed, Sir."  Maxon said.

"Very well Ensign, put it on the screen."   Captain Rogers replied.

We also role play in a "third person" format vs. a "first person" format.  Third person means that you don't use the "I" terms but rather the "proper name" version.   For example:

Parker was busy working at his station when a call came in from Engineering.  "Engineering to Lieutenant Parker.  We've started the warp re-calibrations per your instructions" the Engineering officer explained.   Parker acknowledged the call and returned to his station.

In this case, "Parker" was my character.  I could have easily written it as I was busy working at my station when a call came in from Engineering....

We also use a specific format for our story "posts".  A "post" is simply your contribution to the game.    It is your part of the story sent via email.  Our format differs from many other rpg's out there because we don't put a lot of extra garbage on our "posts".  For a sample of how to set up your format, please press this link: sample email.    This will give you an idea of what to expect as a proper heading.

We do not allow for any signatures on our "posts" as they tend to make the whole visual look messy to a lurker reading our story posts.   We do not permit the addition of other rpg groups links or character names on the email posts either.  Advertising other groups isn't what we are here for.  There are many great groups out there and many of us belong to other groups.  However, this is the UFED and that is all that should be on our posts.

We do not offer "IRC" (online) role playing but if you are really interested, we can set up an IRC division.  We believe that email playing offers you more opportunity to get involved with a time schedule which meets YOUR schedule.

Remember, the object of the game is to enjoy yourself.   When you stop having fun, it is time to review your character and his/her contribution to the game.  Usually a slight change in how you approach the game will re-invigorate you and your character.  Of course, on the other end of the spectrum the option to resign or be asked to leave always exists.

Problem Solving:

Is there magic out there?  Not usually. In the Star Trek universe things often happen that are hard to explain. This odds a little bit of mystery and adventure to a universe often deeply over run with logical and scientific explanations. (No offense Vulcan characters.)

As your character becomes involved there will often be times when a problem comes your way. Be sure that when you come up with a solution it is believable and in character. Give your character a personality, make him guess, or have to find a solution by trial and error. You may want to have this take some time, two or three posts spread over a couple of days. This will allow others to respond to the problem and contribute to the plot.

A bad habit that often occurs is when someone creates a problem and solves it in the same post. Another thing you may see will be when a medical doctor puts in his post that he is experiencing problems with a power fluctuation in sick bay. This is an excellent way to get the engineer involved in the post. But before the Engineer can post a response in reference to finding or finding the problem, a post comes in from the Helmsman whose Author has an interesting solution and decides to fix the problem from his station on the Bridge. This is excellent initiative on the Helmsman's part, however it is also bad judgment. Not to mention pretty far fetched as the problem may have to be fixed manually by the engineer in a Jeffries Tube or other remote location.

It is often frustrating for other Authors, as well as rude, when a character has a habit of always pulling solutions out of thin air to solve a particularly difficult or dangerous problem that comes up. Even if your character has the ability to magically save the day, there might be times when the Engineer, the Captain or the Doctor might want to come up with a solution themselves. If your character has an ability that resembles magic, you might want to include specifics in your Bio as to the extent of their capabilities, therefore the other Authors have the knowledge and can work them into their posts. They might even call on you to save the day.

You will find that if too many major plot complications are introduced, it reduces the fun factory for everyone. This also forces the Captain to spend a great deal of time and energy trying to bring everything together into an understandable and workable story. A lot of times the ultimate solution will end up looking like the work of magic or some benevolent force rather than the work of the crew.

Interaction:

What keeps our sims going is character interaction. The object of your posts should be to include as many characters as is reasonably possible within their scope of duties. Ask them questions and give them time to respond. Take their suggestions and apply them according to their reasonable expectation of success. One person cannot think of everything and the authors of most characters may have a wide range of knowledge. Phrase your suggestion as just that, a polite suggestion. Unless you are in a position to give that person a direct order, do not alienate the rest of your crew.

Always remember that, with the exception of the Captain and the First Officer, department heads; Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer, Chief Security Officer and Chief Science Officer are responsible for their departments and therefore all decisions concerning a specific department should be made by that department head.

If Security makes a suggestion to Engineering on how to fix the warp drive and the Engineer says that it is impossible, the Engineer should be ready to explain why it is not possible. In turn, the Security Officer should accept the Engineer's explanation. Do not be offended, just because you saw that solution in a particular episode of Star Trek does not always make it workable in every situation. Most of the time they were using pioneering techniques and technology that were untested. These could have destroyed the ship as easily as solved the problem they were trying to fix. This applied to every department on the ship. Although every department head does not have the end all of knowledge, they are considered the expert in their particular field and should be treated as such.

Remember, be creative. But always have a plausible explanation for your creative suggestions. But also be careful if you create a problem that has the potential to affect things outside your scope of responsibility. For example: If you lose ship wide power it will have a negative effect on helm, life support, sick bay, shields detention cells, everything.

Medical

You may notice a shortage in Counselors and Doctors. This is generally due to the perception that they are not normally used in a proactive manner, but merely sit and wait for things to happen so they can utilize their skills. This is a prime example of why character development and role play are so important.

If, for some reason, it has been a while since the doctor has had an opportunity to treat a patient, s/he could then create a situation that would call for the doctor to be useful. Even if there is already a plot running, the doctor could suddenly be inundated with crew members showing signs of radiation poising from a ruptured plasma conduit. The doctor can then put together a very descriptive post, much like an episode of E.R. or M.A.S.H. where the doctor first becomes aware of the problem, sets up a triage, informs the captain of the problem, treats the patient and so on. This would also bring about interaction with the engineering staff who would then be called upon to repair the problem. Although this would be a big problem in Medical, it would not adversely effect other departments, other than Engineering, or jeopardize the mission.

Another thing the doctor can do to keep busy and involve other characters may be to call one of them in for a follow up on a previous injury or illness. Perhaps having a non-player character, NPC (one you make up) come into your office with a complaint and you may find it necessary to ask the playing characters if they are experiencing the same symptoms. There is a good chance that an experienced simmer will pick up on you cue and come to your office.

It is also not unreasonable, and definitely within your scope of duty, to call the other characters in form routine medical checkups. Who's to say that you don't find something wrong with them. But be careful, you may incapacitate another character by accident. If it ever becomes necessary to have a player quarantined, don't forget about them or leave them there too long with nothing to do. The player may become bored or resentful and no longer want to participate in your medical posts. At the end of the checkup prepare a fitness for duty report and submit it to the XO.

Another responsibility that the doctor has is the fitness for duty aspect of other players. If you find it necessary to find another character medically unfit for duty, which is well within your scope of authority, make sure you have ample documentation of your reasons for needing to do so and always run this decision by the Captain or XO first before you render player characters unfit.

If you ever feel like taking the Captain off of active duty, send a message OOC to the Captain first, explaining why and how the plot twist could fit into the current sim. All in character responses from the Captain obviously will be to argue and complain about it, but most of the individuals who run them will realize the could make for an interesting situation on board the ship. Be careful that you do not use this function to often as the Captain will eventually become irritated at always being confined to sickbay.

Engineering

Now we'll cover some types of simming for the Engineer. Always remember these are merely suggestions to make things more interesting for you, they are not intended to limit you or your character.

As the Engineer you are (to coin an often used phrase) "The Miracle Worker". Almost regularly on any mission something technical will go wrong that needs to be fixed or you profession opinion as an Engineer will be required. That is where you come in.

A little used aspect of the Engineering department is maintenance of ALL shipboard functions. If, for some reason, you are not actively involved in the mission, such as when all the main characters go on an away mission or the action is centered around Medical, you can submit a post advising the Captain that this or that function must be taken off lien for a period of time for routine maintenance or because of a problem. Try to make the time limit reasonable for each incident. You also might want to keep in mind, in case the Captain belays your request due to the state of thing on board the ship, that you have the responsibility as well as the duty to place your recommendation on the record. Also, if the Captain, in character, chooses to ignore your request you might want to OOC him/her and see if they will let you make that particular piece of equipment malfunction. The courtesy of informing you Captain OOC will allow him/her to take advantage of the opportunity to shake things up even more. Eventually you will build a trust with the Captain so that he trusts your judgment enough to let you "break things at will". Again, be careful that this aspect of your job is not over used as it can become annoying.

When you are called upon to perform various tasks, do not be afraid to say that doing something will be difficult, take time or require research. From time to time someone may suggest a solution to a particular problem. If you want to use the suggestion, go ahead. If you feel the need to modify it, fine. It is impossible, say so. Chances are the person who posed the suggestions is not an engineering expert, as you are supposed to be. Politely tell them that it is not possible and explain why. Or, if it's possible but modifications need to be made, tell them so. Don't fall into the trap of becoming territorial, welcome suggestions from other players.

Counselor

This is an area that is not often used to its potential. There are far more possibilities here than most people realize. Usually the only time you see the counselor is when the Captain requires his/her services. Be aware, this particular position is not a proactive position, but rather a reactive assignment. It is not often exciting and glamorous. This post, however, does present almost infinite possibilities for character development as well as interaction with the other characters on a more personal basis. The counselor is specifically responsible for the emotional health and well being of the entire ship. Get involved with the other characters. Schedule meetings, required Starfleet evaluations, if a character displays a certain habit, explore it. Create a number of NPC's to bring to the XO's attention various mental health issues.

For example: You create Ensign Schmoe who has a problem with understanding the chain of command. There are two ways to post this. Post an actual counseling session where you play both characters, or you can report the result of a counseling session to his supervisor or the XO during Schmoe's evaluation.

You could have a fictitious senior officer approach you with a problem he is his having with a fictitious, or real, crew member. Again, be very careful when dealing with real characters, you wouldn't want someone to develop a mental or discipline problem for you to deal with. Before using a real character, ask him/her OOC if s/he would be willing to participate in a particularly touchy or sensitive counseling problem concerning his/her character. These types of posts can be fun and/or informative to the other crew members.

As a counselor you'll realize that most real characters don't expand much on their own background. It is your duty to be familiar with the character's history above and beyond the Bio information they may have already provided. Set up counseling sessions to explore in greater detail what is in their Bio or attempt to bring information to the surface that is heretofore unknown. This can be an invaluable asset to the rest of the crew, giving them more information on the personality so they can include better and more accurate responses of other characters in their posts.

Be attentive to questions or comments made by other character, both in character and in OOC posts. Often times when a character does something that is suspicious or is not particularly supported in their background, other characters will begin asking questions about where s/he received their information, who the character really is or what background they have in a certain field of expertise. As a counselor you can provide a forum for characters to explain, in character, where they are coming from. This adds an element of realism to the game. Not everyone on board a starship is clearly defined, such as a pure Klingon or pure Vulcan. These types of characters have preset personality traits, but not everyone chooses to play a character that is a warrior or emotionlessly logical.

As An Afterthought . . .

Just because a particular mission is centered around a medical problem doesn't mean that engineering cannot be utilized to assist in coming up with a solution. As shown in numerous Star Trek episodes, every department on board the ship is able to function in conjunction with, and alongside, others. Just like a jigsaw puzzle piece, all pieces working together as a team to create the picture as a whole. As long as you stay focused on what your particular duties and responsibilities are in relation to the other departments as you work to solve a problem, you will have a fun time interacting with the other characters.

Promotions & Gaming Points:

The UFoP's Fleet Exploration & Defense RPG believes in basing promotions on performance and service rather then leaving them to the whim of the individual GM.  By following the simple posting requirements below, you'll be able to best determine your own progress as well as estimate when you'll be promoted, etc.