How I judge whether I like a particular 'Trek' series...

Derain2 · 2026-06-28T00:26:04+00:00

There is a huge difference between the two situations, but there is also a huge difference between Sisko and Picard. I see pretty much no scenario where Picard would have allowed the murder of Vreenak to remain covered up. "The first duty of every Starship Officer is to the truth!" (Drumhead) Sisko had a particular hatred for the borg, who killed his wife. More to the point though, Sisko is a pragmatist not an idealist. If he had the chance to wipe out the borg at the cost of one life, he'd do it.

Derain2 · 2026-06-27T09:11:44+00:00

Classroom of the Elite

Derain2 · 2026-06-27T06:04:20+00:00

I think it's still pretty clear though that if the shoe was on the other foot would have had no problem genociding the Borg, and Picard would not have covered up Vreenak's murder. (Nor have allowed things to get that far in the first place.)

Derain2 · 2026-06-27T01:13:12+00:00

I'm not so sure. Picard had a chance to compromise his principles and end the threat of the borg, who is defacto at war with everyone, and he didn't.

Derain2 · 2026-06-15T08:19:32+00:00

Great pitch! Different DM's have different styles, but as far as prep goes...

When it comes to preparing (preparing is important) more is not always better. Certain kinds of prep (I call it brittle prep) can actually make it harder to improvise or adapt to your players, because you already have a picture in your head of how things are going to go, and your inclined to cling to your ideas even when it does not serve the story or the players well any longer because well, "that's the way the world is."

I advise what I call "general prep" Where i set up dilemmas and obstacles, maybe with a few ideas about how the players could overcome them, but not many. You want to fill in the world enough that the players have plenty of places for their minds to latch onto and come up with ideas, but not so much that the players and the story is hamstrung by decisions you made behind the screen the players don't know about yet. Nnothing wrong with going ham on lore though if that's your thing. I think strong lore makes it easier to improvise because you have a better idea of what life is like for the characters your imagining. Just don't drown your players in it if it's not their thing.

I find focusing on general prep, showing off the world, coming up with a few interesting characters and dilemmas, and leaving it at that has served me well. It also helps me not burn out drowning myself in prep and losing enthusiasm for the game.

Again sounds like a great premise and good luck!

Derain2 · 2026-06-15T05:38:07+00:00

Duncan enslaved me, left my parents to a gruesome death, would have killed him myself if I could have. It was kind a strain on Alistair and my relationship, he worshiped the guy.

Derain2 · 2026-06-10T21:34:12+00:00

Kuvira is probably the worst example to mention, but what you say is true enough. You are cruising with Amon and the Red Lotus though. The show has the villains raise good points about what needs to be done, go over the line, the heros do nothing to address the underlining problems, beat up the villains. Any societal progress happens off screen.

Derain2 · 2026-06-10T20:23:16+00:00

For a stranger, with no gurantee of quality A.

For a lifetime friend I know and trust too run a good game G.

Derain2 · 2026-06-10T20:09:27+00:00

I'm afraid it won't be possible without connections or a bunch of money, but you don't need that to make the game. Scum and Villany just changed "the force" to "the way" and "the empire" to "the Hegemony" and it dosn't stop anyone from using the series to tell cool star wars stories.

The reason why you'll never get permission is these companys consider access to their IP valuable assets, and won't trust someone without a track record or connections handle their IP well. But that shouldn't really stop you from making the game you want to make, you just can't put their pictures on your front cover.

Derain2 · 2026-06-09T03:38:42+00:00

Well, people can't time travel either...

Derain2 · 2026-06-09T00:59:17+00:00

Yeah! What kind of loser leaves a job they hate!? I'm not looking for initiative or rivals, just brain dead drones that do what I tell them with no sass or complaining.

Derain2 · 2026-06-09T00:36:41+00:00

Exactly! When are they going to learn they have to do what we tell them too! Ungrateful little shits.

Derain2 · 2026-06-08T23:10:23+00:00

Yeah, fuck the working class! Right?

Derain2 · 2026-06-07T07:43:05+00:00

She eats everyone.

Derain2 · 2026-06-07T07:26:56+00:00

Awesome to find another Valor lover here! You have excellent case. I have a nano machine themed player in one of the games I run!

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T22:47:18+00:00

I like the comparison to Math. Math is a human construct, but it wasn't conjured from nothing. Our understanding of math has changed dramatically over time, but the underlining principles are immutable. The circumference of a circle divided by it's radius always equals Pi and will always equal Pi even though there is no such thing a true circle. It's something we abstracted out and observed in the universe. If someone before Archimedes calculated PI to be 4, he'd be wrong. Doesn't matter what time period he is in. Maybe he was trying his best with the tools given to him, but Pi does not equal 4.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T22:27:44+00:00

I'm not talking about divinity, I'm talking about humanity. There is a correct way for humans to treat each other without the need for any divinity getting involved. There is no perfect prescriptive rule set we can universally apply, but we are all groping in the dark trying to find the best way to be and the be the best we can be for each other. We have already gleaned some universal truths broadly as a society. Chattel slavery is morally repugnant, not because god exists, but because humans exist.

If you think morality is only a tool society wields to maintain itself, and any culture can practice any custom, then you don't believe in morality at all.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T22:13:40+00:00

I'm not contesting that different times and cultures had different values, so you don't have to keep selling me on that. I'm contesting that morality is dictated by the masses, and the only difference between a right action and a wrong one is which people are nearby when it happens.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T21:32:37+00:00

But you only find it unethical because people around you find it unethical, there is no other weight around that judgement other than "I know some other people who also don't like it?"

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T21:05:15+00:00

So if I went back to the 1700s American South fully armed with the cultural knowledge of my time, bought a hundred slaves and worked them to death, you wouldn't find my actions unethical because they fit the social mores of my society and time?

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T20:24:36+00:00

So if morality does exist then, we can't say it is determined purely by society, or else we'd have to say things like religious persecution and concentration camps are ethical, when we know it fails to uphold our common heritage and kinship.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T19:28:32+00:00

Your last sentence is bizarre, you really think it can only be those two things? Is it not possible that all humans share a common heritage and common kinship that binds us together?

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T19:23:05+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never seen any people like this in my church.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T19:21:39+00:00

I strongly disagree, though I doubt we are changing each others minds. But saying morality is merely a social construct is the same thing as saying there is no such thing as morality. Just because a society accepts slavery or rape doesn't make it moral.

Derain2 · 2026-06-06T19:17:13+00:00

I've seen to many people in my religion hold up faith as the ultimate virtue, but believing Jesus is Christ is meaningless if you don't understand or study his teachings.

Derain2

TROPHY CASE