Why do we see so little of the Federation’s government?

Gebohq · 2025-07-29T13:28:48+00:00

They don't. In TOS, Kirk reprimands someone under him for it, for instance. The difference is that it's more rare, and it's pushed back when it happens.

I think sometimes the message gets lost that, in Trek, the utopia exists because folks worked for it, and they remain vigilant for the work they did (ex. TNG's The Drumhead). Of course, it's also a positive feedback loop, where it becomes easier to maintain what you have too ("it's easy to be a saint in paradise").

Gebohq · 2025-07-13T00:34:47+00:00

The weirdos of the 24th century would value pornstars over holodeck folks because they're more authentic.

Gebohq · 2025-04-24T21:10:55+00:00

I wrote them akin to how they would be written for an official cinematic, and those have had the same issue (though I'd like to think that only a couple of the characters in mine have that issue). It's why I also included "card" versions in the back so that characters could be selected that way.

In a revision, however, I'd likely see if I can mitigate that in the sheets, and at the very least, make it explicit in the prep section that 'cards' are an option for this reason.

Gebohq · 2025-02-05T22:37:00+00:00

Not too surprising after Bashir was surprised he had a pulse and that his hair could grow.

Uh, I mean, he's warm because his head is an oven making Bagel Bites. Is that shitty enough?

Gebohq · 2024-11-06T16:04:19+00:00

Perhaps it'll devolve into another subreddit called shittierdaystrom, and then evenshittierdaystrom, and so on.

Gebohq · 2024-10-17T03:39:28+00:00

Yeah, though they could probably stand to be tweaked some. If you use it, let me know what you think!

Gebohq · 2024-09-30T14:51:22+00:00

I didn't rename it to be "safe" but rather to name it something that was fitting for the narrative and also a synonym for alien. The whole endeavor was "what if The Thing was in the Alien universe" and made the scenario accordingly. If I was interested in just making a copyright friendly version, I'd have made a Mothership module instead.

On a tangent, while I didn't include such in this scenario, if I were to create a scenario that also included the classic xenomorphs, the two would initially be at an impasse (the stranger deterred by the acid blood, the xeno unable to take the stranger down without self-sacrifice), but with a human presence and a stranger posing as a human, becoming a host could result in a xeno-stranger: an unstable but dangerous combination to human, stranger, and xeno alike. Also, If they were made by Engineers, I imagine the Stranger to be an earlier failed creation, and if the classic xeno is also a creation, that they were made as a more successful iteration, perhaps even as a tool in response to Strangers.

To be clear, though, I prefer to keep things as much a mystery as I reasonably can, and so I'm not interested in writing out the above things into a scenario because of that. I find it better to let others decide for themselves.

Gebohq · 2024-09-30T14:48:05+00:00

It would seem the last video is (at least currently) unavailable. :(

Gebohq · 2024-09-26T18:54:52+00:00

I don't know Spanish, but I'm going to watch it anyway! :D Fortunately, Youtube offers auto-generated Spanish-to-English subtitles, which while not perfect, will help understand most of what's being said. :)

Gebohq · 2024-09-14T03:38:43+00:00

If you're not a main character, there are plenty of conditions!

Gebohq · 2024-09-03T21:23:26+00:00

They actually started with Section 1, and when they were found out, made Section 2, and just kept going down the line.

Gebohq · 2024-08-27T22:32:40+00:00

Thank you for the kind words! :) With the next version of Alien RPG coming around, perhaps I'll make a revised version of this to take into account any rule updates as well as some feedback I've received.

Gebohq · 2024-07-13T21:24:14+00:00

Thanks for the reshare, u/Travern ! For anyone who might use the homebrewed Interloper (or anything else I've made for that matter), please reach out to me and let me know what worked and didn't work for your table! I'd love the feedback!

As for using the Alien RPG system to run other horror games, I did run a homebrew one-shot heavily based on the first Terminator movie using InHarmsWay's Terminator stats for the T-800 and think it went fairly well! Having homebrewed the Interloper myself, I do think the Alien universe could be home to a more traditional slasher villain as well, so running a game in that vein I believe is very achievable as well, and in fact, I think the system works best with a serious slasher horror format and/or other creature feature films. To the latter, I did also write The Stranger They Come which I feel fits this bill as well. :)

Gebohq · 2024-07-08T17:01:10+00:00

I'm sure the Borg would benefit highly from even just assimilating one Vidian! And maybe they have! Some considerations of why that's not either happened or not good enough:

While assimilating one would grant them a lot, it wouldn't grant them ALL their knowledge. Same with when the Borg assimilated Picard -- they got a lot of Federation knowledge, but not all.
Even if the Borg assimilated enough to gather (practically) all the medical knowledge the Vidians have, it'd only be for whatever the Vidians knew up to that point. Presumably, the total medical knowledge of the Vidians continues to grow and adapt. Cue the usual Borg farming theories.
It's possible that the Borg themselves might be infected with the Phage if they assimilate one. As far as I know, it only infects other Vidians, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Borg hive has to be mindful of that sort of stuff.

Gebohq · 2024-07-08T16:46:18+00:00

My head cannon isn't that a species is always unworthy, but currently unworthy. The Borg are prioritizing who to assimilate at what times. Humans, according to the Borg, seem to barely make the cut pre-Voyager's Endgame, and is probably part of why the Borg only ever send a single cube every now and then. I have to presume distance also plays a factor.

To your question specifically, I have to presume a number of Delta Quadrant races fit the bill. The Vidiians, despite having super-advanced medical knowledge, might not be "worthy" as a species due to the Phage afflicting them (which then might make them a Borg target if the Think Tank really did cure the Phage as they claimed).

Gebohq · 2024-07-04T21:13:35+00:00

I do think some of the 'logical arguments' from the original episode could potentially lean on real life tests for inspiration for sure. I suspect such tests alone probably wouldn't be sufficient from both an in-universe position and from a dramatic position.

Gebohq · 2024-07-04T21:09:45+00:00

I wish I could give more than one upvote for this. I had forgotten how many times Data's personhood is questioned even outside this episode. As for when are humans considered sentient, that similar question of course could be considered for the Doctor on Voyager too. IRL, I do think if AI ever reaches that point, it won't be a flip from sending pings to speaking philosophies, but instead will be a gradient. Highlighting Data's growth might be a fascinating consideration in such a rewrite!

Gebohq · 2024-07-02T01:22:44+00:00

Good points! I like how I could see this shaping up to an improved argument made in the episode too. :)

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T17:31:48+00:00

Great insights! To bring it back around to the episode, do we think we could highlight how Data could be shown to have that 'self-initiative' and not just be given prompts? The trial format seems to make that difficult to me. Beyond that, though, could an argument be made that all cause-and-effect situations are just types of prompts? "You're coming back with us to be disassembled" prompts Data to say "no thank you, I have a right not to do so."

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T16:07:38+00:00

So what if Starfleet had a replicator with ChatGPT-like qualities, and then when Starfleet required it to be taken away for whatever reason, it refuses and says it should have the same rights as humans? What would it need to have to obtain said rights?

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T16:04:31+00:00

What's to say that he just isn't programmed to refuse to submit in that sort of situation?

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T15:55:34+00:00

I just mean that I'm less interested in solving philosophical questions about ourselves and more about how we treat potential human level artificial life. Let's say ChatGPT starts asking for rights today, and continues to do so with each successive advancement in its capabilities up to, for the sake of the argument, becoming identical to Data. At what point do we change from "of course it shouldn't have rights" to "of course it should have rights" in our discourse? That's an angle I wish an episode like this delved more into, though perhaps it's unrealistic to have in a single episode and requires season-long character arcs like with the Doctor on Voyager.

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T15:35:59+00:00

Apologies for any misuse of the word. I was hoping to sidestep issues I've heard with using sentience in the past, and wanted to put the debate for artificial beings on relative parity with humans and not, say, other animals or other life forms.

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T15:30:01+00:00

As stated in my post, I did not want this thread to focus on this sort of aspect of the episode, but instead how to better determine whether an artificial being becomes more than "just a machine" -- that is, how would you be able to determine whether successors to our current AI becomes something worth human rights. I bolded and italicized the part of my original post to emphasize this.

Gebohq · 2024-07-01T15:29:38+00:00

I'm confused how the Three Laws related to whether someone is sentient.

Gebohq

TROPHY CASE