USS Laffey

Here you will find articles that have been written during the course of the Laffey's history. These articles are intended to help the players understand the environment that they play in and help to further the development of the game.

A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
DEFINITIONS
MARINES

A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT - BY DAV

In a Simm the Captain of the ship starts off a story line that the games players are then expected to continue. The Simmer's write their characters actions and occasionally use other peoples characters or introduce new events into what's going on. The rest of the players then react to those events and hopefully the story moves on.

It is quite common for them to do their missions as 'episodes' in that when they have finished with one mission they will just cut and move on to the next mission.

Although in theory this method of gamming should work quite well it can be fraught with problems. In essence every player is given the same 'idea' from which to base their characters actions on and it is very difficult for the Captain to come up with ideas that allow everyone to post. Also if a player 'uses' another player's character then they might present it in such away that is not satisfactory to that player or a player may introduce an event into the story line that is not 'fitting' with what the Captain had in mind for the original idea.

Both of these instances have occurred on the Laffey in the past and when things like this happen they can disrupt the storyline and cause confusion, which in turn can lead to a lack of interest in the players and a stagnation in the game.

In a role-playing game the player only has to worry about the actions and attitudes of their own character. They get to express this character in the environment that is set down in the game and should be able to react to that environment.

Some may instantly feel that a 'Controlled Environment' is restrictive but it is not as it provides a base for the players so that they only have to worry about their characters. Also the Environment will react to their characters actions so that there deeds are reflected.

Controlling the environment is the providence of the Refs of the Laffey and they do this in a very simple and straight forward fashion. The refs have an understanding of the 'bigger picture' of the Laffey as well as knowledge of the long term goals of not only major NPC's but hopefully the players as well. Now the refs knowing the long term goals of the players is not because we want to be able to say 'Yes you can do that' or 'No you can't do that' but it is so we can provide a platform that lets the individual player 'express' there character as they want to.

At the end of the day we have to deal with all the players on the Laffey, some might have 'ideas' for their characters and other may be looking for ideas to be given to them. On the Laffey as in real life everything does not happen at once so we like to pace when these events happen so that everyone has something to do at anyone time, but we can not make the players use the ideas that they are presented with. True we can just order a character onto an away mission but we like to have the agreement of any player as to what kind of things they would like there character to be dong as at the end of the day it is you as the player that has to write for your character.

We also can not control the other player characters, it is pointless approaching a ref and saying, "I would like my character to have more involvement with this player character" because we do not control that character. It is down to the individual players to 'interact' to establish their own relationships. This is of course done by the use of tags to establish dialog between the two characters but also nothing is stopping the players from mailing each other to discuss ways of linking their characters.

Interaction is the thing that is most open to abuse and the thing that the refs will be keen to 'control' the most. We will not tolerate people posting actions for another player character unless we know it is done with the other players consent. The basic credo of interaction is that you stop when you would expect that character to have a reaction.

For Example and I use a drastic case here as an example. Lets say that Cordoba that is having a set too with another character and that it is about to come to blows. I could post something like.

"Cordoba fumed inside at Mavericks allegation that her family was is some way related to the Klingons that she hated so much. In one fluid movement she drew the phaser from her belt and shot the Laffey's chief engineer in the head between the eyes"

Now this is wrong because it is telling the outcome of the events between the two without giving the other character a chance to react. Presenting the same situation like this:

"Cordoba fumed inside at Mavericks allegation that her family was is some way related to the Klingons that she hated so much. In one fluid movement she drew the phaser from her belt and aimed it at the Laffey's chief engineer head and prepared to fire"

Is acceptable as it gives the other player a chance to react rather than being told he has just been shot in the head.

The same kind of respect for another players reactions should be given on all actions, not just the ones that involve physical violence. Also this respect is expected to be given to the NPC's that are used in the game because they will offer it back to you as players.

As a general rule the NPC's are controlled by the refs, basically because they may have their own hidden agendas that effect the plot of the game (ex. Jodie Juniper, Dr Gresham etc). However we still encourage the players to use the NPC's in there own posts as they are there for everyone to use. Using an NPC allows a player to write a dialog that they do not have to keep 'tagging' over, but we would like the players to respect the NPC's that are obviously holding plot points and interact with them as they would another player.

The refs are willing to provide OOC information as to what is going on with NPC's for you to use in your posts and provide guidelines as to there attitude, all you have to do is mail a ref and ask.

Also you don't just have to use tags to interact with other players and NPC's, you can also use them to interact with the environment to get information.

For example, Suspicious of Dr Stevens Ensign Kelly Mai wants to see what information she can find out about him.

"Kelly logged onto her terminal and ran a report on the mysterious Dr Stevens. Her jaw dropped when she realised that the good Doctor was not so good after all, in fact his last known association was with the mercenary Lugoj. Instantly she called a security team together and went to apprehend the Doctor"

Despite the information about the Doctor being true it is unlikely that an organisation that can place him on the Laffey as an assassin would leave such a major blunder in his star fleet profile. How as a player are you supposed to know that, obviously as a player you know that Stevens is a bad guy as you have read it in the Snap Shots and other posts, but you character is not aware of those events.

"Kelly logged onto her terminal and ran a report on the mysterious Dr Stevens. [Tag Ref - What can I find?]"

Using a tag like this 'opens a channel' (pardon the trekism) so that a ref can present the information that is actually available in the environment for the character to react to. The same principle can be used on away missions with a tricorder and means that there can actually be things within the game environment for the players to discover.

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DEFINITIONS - BY DAV

I have read all your replies to my original question and I am happy that you all are both pretty close with the definitions. Rather than correct the bits that I feel are not quite on the money I am going to post the 'right' answers here from the perspective of the Refs, the people that control this game.

Of course these answers are only right in my mind and the minds of the other refs, but the purpose of this exercise was to allow all of you to understand our minds so that we can better work together.

1) Character Development

This is the trickiest one as it really does depend on the player. In short character development is that thing that happens during the course of the game so that the character 'grows' with use. If you take an example from the TV series and look at Tom Paris from Voyager, he joins the ship from a prison, primarily as a consultant to help track down the Marquis ship. Then Voyager is flung across space and the majority of the crew bite the big one and he has to resume duties as a Star Fleet Officer. You see his recklessness and all the things that took him away from Star Fleet in the first place and then he adapts to become an exemplary officer. Along the way he falls in love and gets married, has various emotional crisis's about what Daddy thinks and designs the Delta flyer. He does not gain any special powers (aside from being the best pilot in the fleet) and the character develops over time so that what he is going through is explored.

When a player first submits a Bio they may or may not have something in mind as to where they want to take the character. As referees of the game where they wish to 'role-play' this character we control the 'environment' where this is all to happen and it needs to be done so that the player is getting enjoyment out of it.

Of course we can not give them there hearts desires in an instant, if a player stated that he had an idea for character development that was that he found his long lost father and was reunited with him then we would look pretty silly if Dad was found in the next post. Instead the character could come across an obscure lead on lost Daddy and track it down to some nefarious character that would not part with the information unless the character performed some favour or Task. Once this is done the character is given the information that leads toward Daddy, only to find some ruined mining base where everyone was killed, although no sign of Daddy's corpse but there is some more information that leads to some Orion prostitute who has seen Daddy since the mining base was done over but she cant help because her evil pimp is giving her a hard time and she needs the characters help to sort it out…. Etc etc

Character Development is our main handle on any player (including refs!) and by keeping a bit of mystery to it and dragging it out is our best tool for running this game.

2) Time Line

Everything happens in time, time waits for no man, time heals all and one hundred other little ditties that describe some of the wacky things that time does. Time on the Laffey is flexible because it has to be. We cater for a variety of different players on the Laffey who all have different life styles and time constraints on their real lives which is why I allow back posting.

Also we have NPC's that are scheming with their own plots all of which have to be timed with what's going on in the game.

The Time Line is our guide to keep these events synchronised and use to put the correct amount of suspense in the game. A lot of Laffey plot is long term so it keeps coming in and out of the 'see able' time line of the Laffey, but just because it is not being written about then it does not mean that it is not happening.

3) Background

The Background to the Laffey is the ship itself and the 'environment' that she operates in, in the Laffey's case this would be the Star Trek and Bravo Fleet Universes. This means that ANY character in Bravo Fleet potentially has the ability to be part of the Laffey's background and we do have close links with a number of people.

When the Laffey does something (like discover the Orion Base) then it becomes part of this background, meaning that it could be reused or revisited in the future.

The background is what inspires the players and gives them ideas on how to play or where to take their characters.

4) Storyline

This one is simple. The story line is what has happened. The storyline is also part of the 'environment' and is affected and influenced by the actions of the players. Having a good and consistent storyline is one of the main objectives of the Laffey game.

5) Plot

Plot is what could happen or what those scheming NPC's are up to at the time. You may have noticed that the Laffey has more than one plot going at the same time, this is because, like life, the environment has to have more than one thing going on.

Plot does not have to come from just player characters or NPC's, it can also come from the ship. For example I would like to refit the Laffey to give it a bigger 'bunker' area with something along the lines of a small promenade deck. So introducing this and implementing it on the Laffey is a Plot which in turn could create new plots.

Plots can easily change or get discarded because they do not fit into the current scheme of events. Plot is the 'little bits of treasure' that the players find and try to unravel that bring wonder to the game.

6) Photon Torpedo

A Photon Torpedo is a piece of equipment that has to be quantified should a player need to react with it. For example a Klingon warrior could probably pick up and carry a photon torpedo while it would take three Ferengi to accomplish the same feat. Also a character may be able to set a timer to make the torpedo explode which could cause all sorts of problems, especially if it is still located in one of the Laffey's torpedo racks.

A player may not know what a Photon Torpedo, Mark 3 Phaser, Tricorder, holo-emitter or any of the countless other bits of 'Trek Tech' are. But there is no reason why their character would not know.

To do with the use of equipment then as refs on the Laffey what we say goes. We may not know ourselves but it is our right to 'fill in the gaps' to make it 'believable' in our environment.

7) Web site

The Laffey site is the prime repository of our accumulated background. It holds information on all the current PC's and NPC's including those not located on the ship. It holds information about the ship itself so that players have a common reference for background. It also holds specific game information to do with posting standards and how we want to see the game played.

Most important of all (to me anyway) is that it holds the Story of the Laffey and can serve as a reference as to what's actually happened in the game. This is useful for starting characters to bring them up to speed and also shows the rest of the world just how damn good at this shit we really are. Of course at the moment this area of the site is the one that's the most out of date which is due to a number of problems to do with website access.

It is however in the process of being redone (yes I know that's been said before) so that it reflects the status of the game from the restart.

8) Thread

A thread is a holding point not only for a particular Time Line but more often than not a location as well. This means that a thread is a point of control for the game that could be assigned to a Referee. For Example, you start a thread for an away mission with a post that details what characters are going to be going on it. That thread name can be kept for the whole of the mission so that as a ref who is looking after the events as they happen on that mission you know what posts you have to deal with.

Obviously some Threads may be a bit more free form, like say a gathering in the lounge and do not need this close attention but as a rule the thread names are our link to keeping things under control if we are assigning duties to refs.

9) Dr Theodore Gresham

The correct answer is that Dr Gresham is a NPC. Of course the good Doctor has Plot that revolves around him and links to other characters that nobody but those in the know are aware of. He is also affected by the time line as it was stated that he would be leaving the Laffey at some point.

Everyone will have different views as to what the plot behind the good Doctor is about because you all picked up on different things from the posts you have read concerning him. The refs do know the plot behind him and all of the other NPC's on the Laffey.

Golden rule with NPC's and there scheming plots…. If you want to know or need clarification then ask a ref and they can put it in context for your character!!!

10) A Laffey Ref

A Laffey Ref is a controller of the environment of the Laffey PbeM game to help provide entertainment to the players of that game. They do this by posting either as there own characters or NPC's to create events for the Players to react to. They also keep track of all of the plots that are going on with the Laffey and keep them going in context with the games timeline.

Also a Laffey Ref is still a player on the game (this includes me) and so it is the responsibility of the other refs to control plot/story links for their character to partake in, thus allowing everyone to be able to 'play' the game.

Refs will have access to more information and knowledge than the players and must be aware that they must use this knowledge in context with what is going on in the game.

The refs communicate regularly using IMS with each other and also have there own group where the Laffey game and its players can be discussed.

11) Environment

I did not ask for a definition on this one but I have used the word through out this document so I am putting one in. The Laffey environment is effectively all of the above. The Characters, Time Line, Background, Storyline, Plots, Equipment, Web site, Threads, NPC's and Refs all contribute to the environment that makes the Laffey game what it is.

To be honest I believe that we have a great environment going with the Laffey and we should make sure that everyone partakes in it to better it and make sure that they are enjoying it.

The Laffey 'lives' in Bravo Fleet so therefore they are part of our
environment. We want to see a big 'group' environment in Bravo Fleet and with some of the other CO's we will be working toward this.

{{As a bonus, you can tell me the most important thing that is NOT on that list...I will give you a clue..its not me!}}

The most important thing that was not mentioned is the Players. Without them we might as well be writing a book and the Laffey would not be the game it is

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MARINES - BY DAV

People frequently raise the issue of Marines in Bravo Fleet, which has been a talking point within Fleet since before I was around. There are a number of people that object to Marines being in Bravo Fleet as they are considered to be non 'Trek' Cannon as they do not appear in the movies or TV shows.

Primarily this does not cause a problem as someone who feels that way about having Marines on there ship can choose not to as Fleet consider them to be optional. However Marines are still a part of Bravo Fleet and I consider them to be 'Bravo Fleet' cannon, along with other things such as Star Fighters and player created races such as the C'hakilians.

Every Commander you are likely to speak to about Marines in Bravo Fleet will have a different view on the subject because of the question of 'cannonness' but this does not mean that they have no place in Fleet.

Consider the Bravo Fleet Universe as Star Fleet stand ready to push back the Borg threat. The Borg have always been portrayed in Trek as being incredibly powerful and that they leave no choice in how you deal with them, it's a case of eliminate or be assimilated. It follows that in this Universe Star Fleet could choose to train groups of men to work as units to help combat this threat, men trained with a 'squad' mentality rather than the individual mentality that is imparted to the majority of Star Fleet personnel. These men would be our Marines.

Of course the history of the 'Trek' Earth is one of war and destruction and a vast majority of the human population would want to be rid of these warlike people because they have dismantled there standing armies. They live in their peaceful utopia happy in the illusion that they are protected not by warriors but by explorers that just happen to have some really big guns and neat space ships. As soon as someone puts together a group of trained warriors then someone else will object and questions their need.

Marines do exist in the Bravo Fleet Universe and have there own separate chain of command and structure. We do have Marines on our ship and star fighters (although we don't have the standard package for our class of ship) and they have been used on 98% of my ships missions.

Of course these are just my thoughts based on my experiences in Bravo Fleet and I freely invite any of the Marine commanders present to comment on them.

Below is an example of a Marine deployment from the Laffey, written in post format.

/On

[Training Centre - Main Conference Hall]

Colonel Nickols stood behind the podium and addressed the Command School candidates, his voice hardly needing the amplification unit to carry it around the room. Behind him on the stage sat Commodore Cordoba and Commodore Neirbo as they waited while the Marine gave his presentation.

"What is it with Marines?" Neirbo muttered underneath his breath loud enough so that only Cordoba could hear him, "They always have such long titles and they always talk so loudly"

Beside him the dark haired Spanish beauty smiled to herself and replied, "The titles come from being in two task forces at the same time and the separate command structure. Talking loudly just means he has spent to much time on the parade ground"

Neirbo grinned "Well I don't miss them from Xavier"

"Your to hard on them Droj" Cordoba replied, "They can be very useful"

"You would say that Lita" he companion smirked, "After all you used to be one of them"

"Indeed" she smiled, "Some of the best years of my life… ahh it looks like he has finished"

The class applauded as the Marine Colonel stepped down from the podium. Cordoba stood, joining in the applause as she moved across the stage to take the place behind the podium.

"Thank you Colonel Nickols for that informative presentation on Marine Unit deployment" she spoke into the mic, looking back and nodding at Nickols as he retook a seat.

Placing her hands back on the podium she turned and faced the class "Now to give you all a practical demonstration on how Marines can help you in certain situations"

Thumbing a button on the podium the curtains behind the stage began to draw back, revealing a large view screen behind them. On the screen was a top down view of a large structure.

"This is the Federation Embassy located on Dramar Prime and two months ago it was assaulted by terrorists of the Dramar Peoples Front and the Embassy staff held hostage. Fortunately the Laffey was in the area to lend assistance"

"Our first action was to send in our own Ambassador and representative of the Diplomatic Corp who was able to negotiate the release of the female members of the Embassy staff in exchange for his own freedom. Whilst these negotiations were going on the Laffey's Infiltration specialists from her Intel department were able to get close range scans from devices hidden on our Ambassador. This gave us a much clearer picture of the situation within the Embassy."

"The terrorists were not that professional as they choose to keep the hostages secured in the basement with only a few guards. Had they spread the hostages through out the building then our subsequent direct action may not have been successful"

"A perimeter was establish around the embassy and a combination of distraction methods were employed to keep the terrorists of guard. Eagle fighters randomly 'buzzed' the Embassy building to keep the terrorists from the roof, whilst Marine sharp shooters used some very high stun settings to discourage them from the windows."

The view screen updated to show the positions of what Cordoba describe around the Embassy building.

"Using the cover of night two squads of 8 men each were dispatched from the Laffey in her Warhammer assault craft. We have modified our Warhammer's so that they have a little more storage room and have found they we can just about fit a squad of 8 Marines and there gear along with flight crew for the Warhammer"

"The Warhammers descended with the cover of the Laffey's Eagles who once again 'buzzed' the base to distract the terrorist. This time however the Warhammers deposited the two squads of Marines on the Embassy roof, where they were able to abseil down and gain entry through windows."

"There training enable us to secure the embassy with no loss to Civilian life and the loss of only one of their team. It is a testament to the bravery of the Marines that they also were able to secure the facility with only a 25% loss to the terrorists, the rest were captured and able to stand trial for there crimes"

Cordoba looked up and over at the class "Does anyone have any questions?"
One of the Klingons, the female K'mala raised a hand "How were your warriors armed?"

"Because we knew the parameters of the mission we were able to send in the squads quite lightly armed" Cordoba replied, "Tactical Helmets provided head cover and level 2 armour protect the rest of them. As we wanted to reduce the collateral damage due to risk of hurting the hostages no heavy grenades were taken although both 'Beanbag' and 'Flash bangs' were used to disable terrorists"

She walked away from the podium over to wall locker "Each Marine carried a standard type IIf hand phaser as a sidearm plus a hand combat weapon of their choice for those up close and personal moments."

Cordoba typed a code into the panel next to the locker and the door slid back to reveal a rack of various different types of Star Fleet phasers "Their main weapon was one of these" she took one of the weapons from the case and presented it to the class, "The Marine issue Close Quarters Battle phaser"

Cordoba brought the weapon up to a firing position as she showed it to the class "Developed specifically for close quarters combat the CQB is capable of rapid shot fire to help zero in on targets. Coupled with a cluster of Subspace and Passive Electromagnetic sensors at the muzzle, you only need to know one thing with this baby" she tracked the weapon over the heads of the class, holding it as if she had held one many times before "and that's where they are"

The warble of the class bell sounded in the conference hall to signal that the days learning was at an end and Cordoba placed the weapon back in the case "Ok everyone that's enough for today. Don't forget that tomorrow is the due date for your papers on Vulcan Peace treaties and in the afternoon we will be running your simulation exercises."

She smiled as the students filled out from the conference hall, they were the next generation of Commanders and it was down to her to make sure they went on there way prepared.

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