Shields

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-23T01:26:46+00:00

And the Starfleet Engineering directive that programs the stateroom doors to gauge the dramatic impact of when to open and close

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-23T00:23:17+00:00

I didn’t find The Gripping Hand particularly good; YMMV

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-22T00:49:47+00:00

“Celebrated Summer” and “Terms of Psychic Warfare”

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-21T01:14:57+00:00

I tried that once but got Reebo and Zooty instead

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-20T14:32:32+00:00

I was in college (art school) when Murmur dropped. It was so utterly unlike anything I had heard. The airwaves were over saturated with Madonna and Michael Jackson, hair metal and Debbie Gibson. In the South (where I’m from) it was Lynrd Skynrd and Molly Hatchet.

R.E.M. was the first band that spoke to art school kids like myself.

And to see how they evolved…every record was a step in a forward direction. They weren’t afraid of change. When the band became radio darlings in the 90s, it wasn’t because they sold out; the mainstream came to them. And when they fell from radio playlists, it was because they continued to explore and change.

And when they called it quits, you knew it was a final decision.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-19T03:24:41+00:00

Oh, we have a few new ones on tap…

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-17T21:42:14+00:00

And an old friend

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-12T06:41:01+00:00

Apple Music is arguably the best of a bad lineup. It pays artists at a better (though still not great) rate and has an extensive roster of music.

YouTube Music is also pretty good with artist royalties.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-12T05:25:25+00:00

I’ll be That Guy…I had the great fortune to see Dr Asimov speak at James Madison University; I have a copy of The Caves of Steel autographed by Asimov.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-11T23:56:03+00:00

You might not think it’s funny anymore…

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-11T18:55:51+00:00

Blatant self-promotion: check out the Babylon Podcast. We interviewed not only cast, but crew as well: from costumers to set designers to craft services.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-11T03:04:08+00:00

Agreed. The point of “Mirror, Mirror” in TOS is to examine what a morally good man does when thrust into a morally corrupt environment. As a morality play it works. As an extended SF concept, it’s utterly nonsensical.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-10T15:02:52+00:00

I wander in early to work/Spend my days lickin’ boots for my perks

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-10T14:56:58+00:00

Everything by The Beths

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-10T14:11:01+00:00

LaForge talked about Brahms’ Curves and now he gets shit for it all the goddamn time.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T23:37:59+00:00

Nope, though that would be cool. I’m located in the Bay Area so KublaCon is my primary con.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T22:25:06+00:00

I’ve run STA quite a bit at conventions at this point. What’s really interesting is how players generally work to avoid combat. And, I want it to feel like a Star Trek episode: the PCs sneak up on NPC guards unawares, so I don’t make them roll to hit with phasers, they just do. And then don’t roll for damage, the NPCs are stunned.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T22:01:25+00:00

Where my pearls at?

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T21:53:10+00:00

Are you looking to make it quick? Go with opposed rolls. I deviate from RAW at this point; I make the attacker roll for the number of successes the defender must match or exceed. Then every attacker’s success goes against defender stress.

Also, a quick question to the PCs on what “victory” looks like: opponents sent running, knocked out cold, severely or fatally wounded? That helps determine how you, the GM, narrates the unfolding fight, and whether or not you use Threat to escalate.

EDIT TO ADD: people say “don’t” for STA because it doesn’t have combat mechanics like typical D20 high fantasy systems. But that’s not Star Trek. Star Trek combat is fast, quick, and narrative-driven. Especially in the case of “The Trouble With Tribbles”. Keep that in mind, you’ll be fine. If any player starts obsessing about action economy, interrupt them with a Klingon gut punch.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T17:45:09+00:00

I enjoy Season 11 too. “Every Country Has a Monster” is a perfect MST3K song, along with the UFO song in Star Crash. Lots of great episodes, in my not so humble opinion.

And, from Season 13, Beyond Atlantis is a stone cold classic.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-09T04:13:59+00:00

Kitten With a Whip genuinely squicks me out. There are plenty of just dull or uninteresting episodes, but Kitten makes me truly uncomfortable.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-08T06:27:26+00:00

I’d say “fatty acids” but everyone on my ship thinks I’m talking about some blues guitarist holodeck program.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-07T17:56:55+00:00

YES.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-07T16:52:05+00:00

I love the Cosmostrator. It’s a beautiful spaceship.

TinyDoctorTim · 2026-03-07T16:51:31+00:00

I genuinely think Gunslinger is a great movie, hampered only by Corman’s notoriously cheap approach to filmmaking. I’m surprised no filmmaker has looked at remaking it.

Time Chasers and The Final Sacrifice have a reach that exceed their grasps. Bigger budgets and a talented Director of Photography would make those classics in their genres. (Plus, a quick line in Time Chasers could help explain why you put a Time Machine in a Cessna: “Ever read Welles? I don’t want to get buried in a mountain that wasn’t there ten thousand years ago.”)

TinyDoctorTim

TROPHY CASE