I’ve never seen the original game, but I’ll be certain to buy this electronic edition. It will be interesting to compare it to FASA’s Star Trek RPG and Amarillo Design Bureau’s Star Fleet Battles.

Read the product description here.

Incidentally, Goblinoid Games previously released a PDF edition of Starships & Spacemen, another Star Trek-inspired game first published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1978. Read its product description here.

Lest I give a false impression, there is far more to Federation spacefaring than the ships of Star Fleet. The more densely populated areas of Federation Space and the more active trade routes are busy with the traffic of a multitude of starships of various designs manufactured by the competing shipbuilding companies of a multitude of worlds. There are ore freighters, cargo freighters, mining ships, passenger liners, yachts, survey vessels, research vessels, and more. Some are privately owned by individuals or corporations; others are owned by planetary governments. The Federation has a thriving economy amongst its member planets and via trade outside the Federation, and Star Fleet is there to protect the trade routes as well as the planets themselves. There have, at times, been conflicting views on the nature of the Federation’s economy, but there is substantial evidence within Star Trek: The Original Series that there is trade, private enterprise, and a monetary system even if there is also a more enlightened view of society’s responsibilities to the welfare of its citizens. Thus, Star Fleet is powerful, but not as numerous as the civilian shipping it protects.

In the episode “A Taste of Armageddon,” an ambassador of the United Federation of Planets refers to “Federation Central.” We already know there is a Space Central, which I have deduced is short for Federation Space Central (q.v.), so it stands to reason that Federation Central is likewise short for the same. Rather than trying to retrofit the Classic Star Trek Universe with a makeshift organizational hierarchy incorporating all the terms ever used or pretending that certain terms were a slip of the tongue, I think it is useful to role-players and probably more in the spirit of the original screenwriters’ intentions to interpret these terms in the original context in which they were used. In both cases, Space Central and Federation Central were mentioned in reference to a governmental authority, which we may assume is the United Federation of Planets. For the purposes of the episodes in which they were mentioned, they are effectively interchangeable whether by accident or design (and I tend to think the former). Therefore, Space Central and Federation Central are synonymous with Federation Space Central, the government of the Federation, and each Federation world of a certain population size has its own planetary Space Central, e.g. Earth Space Central, Vulcan Space Central, etc. (q.v.). The U.F.P. is, after all, a federation, so each member world capable of self-governing within the bounds of Federation law would have its sovereignty respected and protected.

Star Fleet is, of course, the combined service of the Federation, and Star Fleet Command is Star Fleet’s central authority and headquarters, answerable to the civilian government of the Federation, Federation Space Central (its governing body being the Federation Council — as first mentioned in the episode “Amok Time” — and whose members represent and are elected by the member worlds).

Thus:

United Federation of Planets

• Federation Council (governing body)
  • Federation Space Central (civilian government)
    • Star Fleet Command (combined service authority)
      • Star Fleet (combined service)

It’s all nice and simple. Alas, what are we to make of “Space Command,” “Star Fleet Control,” and the “United Earth Space Probe Agency”?

Space Command, mentioned in the episode “Court Martial,” was probably meant to be Star Fleet Command, and since I don’t recall it being used subsequently, I’ll assume the terms are synonymous.

Curiously, Star Fleet Control and United Earth Space Probe Agency were both mentioned in the episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” although the latter was first mentioned in “Charlie X.” Star Fleet Control is almost certainly an alternate term for Star Fleet Command, but where then does that place the UESPA in the scheme of things? We know that certain starships, possibly most, in Star Fleet had single species crews. The Intrepid was notable for being crewed entirely by Vulcans, whereas the Enterprise was depicted as being crewed by humans with the exception of a single crewman of mixed Vulcan/human parentage. Is it possible that the Federation member worlds had their own service divisions within Star Fleet, each perhaps descended from the planetary space administrations from the time of their admission to the Federation? Earth, Vulcan, and every other member world would each have its own Star Fleet division. Or perhaps the designations are a formality that have no basis in anything but tradition. This bears further consideration.

In Star Trek Observations Part 1, I erroneously referred to “Space Control” being an organization mentioned in the Star Trek episode “Miri.” What Kirk actually said was “Space Central.” Investigation revealed that there was also a Vulcan Space Central in the episode “Amok Time.” The topic, in light of this information, deserves further consideration.

If there is a Vulcan Space Central, it stands to reason that there is an Earth Space Central and probably a Space Central for every other home world. Kirk didn’t say Earth Space Central, which gives us two possibilities. Either there is also a Federation Space Central, or he meant Earth Space Central and merely abbreviated it since everyone would know that he was referring to a situation of interest to Earth since they had discovered a planet that was Earth’s identical twin several hundred light years away.

Since the Enterprise is a vessel answerable to Star Fleet, a combined service of the Federation, I would assume the Space Central to which Kirk referred was the Federation Space Central. Space Central, then, is probably the headquarters and central authority of the United Federation of Planets, which would be the body that would assign such tasks as sending “teachers and advisers” to a planet in need via one of its subordinate agencies in charge of delivering emergency aid or assisting in rebuilding efforts or integration into the Federation.

I think it all fits rather nicely and without disposing of a useful term.

As far as more functional applications go (in line with the article), it occurs to me that the musical cues for police procedurals Laws describes would be perfect for games such as Stalking the Night Fantastic or Bureau 13 by Tri Tac Games, Strange World by Carnivore Games, or any other paranormal/supernatural/cryptozoölogical investigative role-playing games (or GURPS Cops, come to think of it). I’ll certainly be considering it for my own gaming in this genre.

The ship prefix most commonly heard in Star Trek is “USS” as in “USS Enterprise.” We know from the original series that USS stands for “United Spaceship,” which is conveniently close to its historical inspiration, “United States Ship.” The only other ship prefix heard is “SS” as in “SS Beagle” or “SS Columbia.” We can assume in this case that SS stands for “Spaceship,” pertaining to Federation ships in general, whereas USS denotes Star Fleet ships. (The historical meaning of SS, incidentally, is “Steamship.”)

The question is: Do other major spacefaring civilizations also use ship prefixes? I see no reason why they should. If the Germans and the Japanese during World War II perceived no purpose for ship prefixes, why should the Klingons and Romulans? Perhaps that is an unfair comparison, perhaps not, but it possesses an appealing symmetry. Besides, the logical choices are decidedly unappealing. For instance:

• “Imperial Romulan Ship”: IRS
• “Romulan Imperial Naval Ship”: RINS
• “Imperial Klingon Ship”: IKS
• “Klingon Imperial Naval Ship”: KINS
• “Klingon Imperial Spaceship”: KISS

I suppose one could simply resort to RSS for “Romulan Spaceship” and KSS for “Klingon Spaceship,” but both sound too Federation-like, too neighborly, too friendly. The Tholian Assembly is far too alien to have any use for something as quaint as ship prefixes, and I think the Gorn are likely to lack the sentimentality to give their ships names at all.

Therefore, in the Expanded Classic Star Trek Universe, USS and SS will be retained for Federation starships, Klingon and Romulan ships will have names sans ship prefixes, Gorn ships will use hull classification symbols combined with hull numbers exclusively for identification, and Tholian ships will use only hull numbers (a.k.a. registry).

Furthermore, Star Fleet vessel identification will consist of the following:

1. ship prefix (e.g. USS)
2. name (e.g. ENTERPRISE)
3. registry (e.g. NCC-1701)
4. hull classification symbol/hull number combinations (e.g. CA-2)

Hull classification symbol/hull number combinations are used to identify individual ships by their type (e.g. CA for Heavy Cruisers) and their production number (e.g. 2 for the second ship of that type to be commissioned). Ships of different classes within a type are numbered consecutively for their production within the type, not the class, i.e. Constitution class Heavy Cruisers CA-1 through CA-19 might be followed by the hypothetical Magna Carta class Heavy Cruisers CA-20 through CA-22, which might be followed in turn by the Fuji class Heavy Cruisers CA-23 through CA-25. A class that is too radically different from its predecessors might warrant reclassification as a separate type altogether, along with a new series of hull numbers, e.g. USS Dreadnought (NCC-whatever) (BB-1). Here BB stands for Battleship and 1 stands for the first ship of that class.

Here is a proposed list of Star Fleet hull classification symbols for use in the Expanded Classic Star Trek Universe. [See also Part 6.]

Interstellar Combatant Types

• BB: Battleship (planned)
• C: Cruiser (retired; formerly assigned to Light Cruisers)
• CA: Heavy Cruiser
• CC: Battlecruiser (retired; never used operationally)
• CL: Light Cruiser
• DD: Destroyer
• FF: Frigate (retired)
• K: Corvette

Interplanetary Combatant Types

• M: Monitor
• PB: Patrol Boat
• PF: Patrol Frigate

Support Types

• AGR: Research Ship (also known as Science Ship)
• AGS: Surveying Ship (also known as Survey Ship or Scout)
• AT: Tug

Module Types (for use with Tugs)

• AM: Auxiliary Module (also known as Module)
• AMA: Agricultural Module
• AMB: Barracks Module
• AMF: Factory Module (also known as Manufacturing Module)
• AMG: Miscellaneous Auxiliary Module (also known as General Module)
• AMGO: Orbital Station Module
• AMGR: Research Module
• AMH: Hospital Module
• AMK: Cargo Module
  • AMKD: Dry Bulk Cargo Module
  • AMKL: Liquid Cargo Module
  • AMKP: Products Cargo Module
  • AMKR: Refrigerated Cargo Module
• AMM: Mining Module
• AMP: Transport Module
• AMR: Refinery Module
• AMRD: Repair Dry Dock Module

Combatant Module Types (for use with Tugs)

• AMKA: Assault Cargo Module
• AMPA: Assault Transport Module
• AMPB: Patrol Boat Module
• AMVA: Assault Vehicle Module

The following are thoughts about Federation ships in the Expanded Classic Star Trek Universe.

I am inspired to retain the designs pioneered by Franz Joseph in his Star Fleet Technical Manual, but I shall not be using all of his suggested names for vessels. In fact, I shall be using very few of them. Unlike the extreme diversification of ship types found in both Star Fleet Battles and the Alternate Star Trek Universe, I would like to simplify Star Fleet and limit most of the variety to different classes within each type rather than representing every possible type. Star Fleet, after all, is a “combined service,” as Captain Kirk once said, and would expect most ships to be capable of carrying out a variety of missions, rather than succumbing to the overspecialization (and overspending) of historical military services. The main ship types (and their hull classification symbols), then, are Heavy Cruisers (CA), Light Cruisers (CL), Destroyers (DD), Scientific Research Ships (AGR), Scout/Surveying Ships (AGS), Transport/Tugs (AT), and Corvettes (K). Battleships (BB) of various classes, including a Dreadnought class, are in the planning stage. Frigates (FF) have been retired from combat duty as they are obsolete, having only navigational deflector shields and some hull armor, rather than the powerful deflector shields required by modern warships.

CA: Heavy Cruisers, as mentioned repeatedly in the original series, are the most powerful ships in Star Fleet, and are the envy of rivals such as the Romulans. They have the most powerful armaments and deflector shields of any Federation ship, they are the largest of the armed Federation ships, and they have extensive research facilities to allow for very long deep space missions in potentially hostile parts of uncharted space. Despite their status as ships-of-the-line, they are far more versatile than the capital ships of most other spacefaring species, and their activities can involve exploration, surveying, scientific research, emergency aid, rescue operations, transportation, diplomatic missions, escort duty, or patrol, in addition to combat missions.

CL: Light Cruisers serve much the same function as Heavy Cruisers, but most classes are older. At one time they were the only Cruisers in Star Fleet (previously bearing the hull code C), and were the cause of the retirement of the Frigates. Light Cruisers are well-armed, possess reasonably effective deflector shields, and have moderate research facilities. They are used for much the same variety of roles as Heavy Cruisers. Light Cruisers are somewhat smaller, considerably less expensive (and quicker) to manufacture, and consequently more numerous.

DD: Destroyers are dedicated warships — heavily armed, possessing powerful deflector shields, very maneuverable, and having no peaceful function except to restore peace through battle or the threat of it. Destroyers are typically deployed to protect shipping, defend populated areas, repel invasions, or otherwise engage hostile vessels close to home or deep in enemy space. The limited research facilities of a Destroyer are solely devoted to analyzing unfamiliar enemy weaponry and developing countermeasures in the field. Additional barracks are available for large armed landing parties or boarding parties.

AGR: Scientific Research Ships are unarmed, possess moderate deflector shields, and are used for — as the name suggests — conducting scientific research alone in safe areas of Federation space or with the protection of a Destroyer, Light Cruiser, or Heavy Cruiser in more dangerous areas. They have the most extensive research facilities of any ship in Star Fleet and are capable of very long missions in deep space. They are slow, however, and not very maneuverable.

AGS: Scout/Surveying Ships are very lightly armed, usually possessing no more than a single bank of phasers, with moderate deflector shields, but they are very fast and highly maneuverable. They have moderate research facilities, but their primary mission is either reconnaissance, exploration, surveying planets, charting space, or a combination. Sometimes they are also used to convey messages beyond the reach of Star Fleet signals.

AT: Transport/Tugs are truly the workhorse of Star Fleet and are the most numerous of the larger ships. Transport/Tugs can be reasonably maneuverable or reasonably fast, but never at the same time. They are moderately armed for defensive purposes, possess powerful deflector shields, and are equipped with the strongest tractor beams. The three main purposes of the Transport/Tug are to convey large, modular transport containers designed for liquids, dry bulk, refrigerated goods, products, or passengers; to tow ships that are disabled or are entering or leaving drydock; and to participate in salvage operations.

K: Corvettes are small ships with small crews, moderate armament, and light to moderate deflector shields. Like Destroyers, Corvettes are dedicated warships with no available space to waste on research facilities. Their purpose is to patrol the space around Federation planets, prevent piracy, and harass larger enemy vessels. Despite their size, they can be very effective when they use their speed, maneuverability, and superior numbers to their advantage. Corvettes are the most numerous of the armed ships in Star Fleet.

BB: Battleships are still in the planning stage as of the fifth year of the Enterprise’s current five year mission. If and when they are ever launched, they will supplant the Heavy Cruiser as the most powerful armed ship in Star Fleet, but they will not enjoy the diversity of mission assignments, for their sole purpose is to destroy the enemy. A Battleship will possess the greatest firepower and the most powerful deflector shields; if she has research facilities, they will be strictly dedicated to research of a military nature; she will have enough quarters to accommodate the largest armed boarding parties; and she will be equally capable of providing planetary defense or spearheading assaults on enemy fleets or bases. The drawback is that she will be astronomically expensive both to build and maintain, especially for the limited scope of her missions. Another disadvantage is her poor maneuverability, the lowest of any armed ship in Star Fleet. She will probably need to be towed into place every time she docks. Nonetheless, when she needs to reach warp speeds, she will make the jump extremely quickly (as long as she’s already pointed in the right direction).

More details on the ship types, including all the classes and the names of individual vessels, will follow. Eventually.

Thinking further about the previous article, I have decided on the following terms to describe the Star Trek universe, which will be used in my comments and probably in the game as well:

• Alternate Star Trek Universe
• Classic Star Trek Universe
• Expanded Classic Star Trek Universe

It is in the Alternate Star Trek Universe that one may find all the movies and spin-offs that comprise the current official Star Trek canon. The Classic Star Trek Universe pertains only to those things that have been depicted or mentioned in episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Animated Series. The Expanded Classic Star Trek Universe is the same as the Classic version, with the addition of most of the information found in the Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph, some elements described in other games (q.v.), and original material that I shall be contributing in order to expand the setting by logical extrapolation from what has been presented before (with the original series being considered the primary source and authority where there is conflicting data).

A quick note about the advantages of adapting material from secondary sources such as the Star Fleet Technical Manual, Star Fleet Battles, Federation Commander, et al: In choosing to acknowledge the existence of Franz Joseph’s starship designs (the world’s first published examples of Federation starships other than Constitution class starships such as the Enterprise), I am now free to use miniatures based on those designs in my own game. I can use Gamescience miniatures to represent the Heavy Cruisers, Destroyers, Scouts, Transport/Tugs, and Dreadnoughts, FASA miniatures of the Reliant to represent Light Cruisers, and various other Amarillo Design Bureau miniatures to represent new ship classes I have designated. Thus, I have no reason not to continue collecting miniatures.

As mentioned previously (and this might be more of a Part 3a rather than a Part 4, to be honest), I am considering all Star Trek spin-offs to be part of an alternate universe and not the “Classic” universe. (The current tentative title for the game, by the way, is Classic Star Trek: The Unofficial Role-Playing Game.) My reasons for this, apart from my overwhelming preference for the original series, is borne out both by how the depictions on screen and the events behind the scenes led to irreconcilable divergences.

For the latter, I direct your attention to the lamentable canon wars. [See the Karen Dick interview at Trekplace.com.] To sum it up, it all started when Franz Joseph Schnaubelt, who went professionally by the name of Franz Joseph, created two books, Star Trek Blueprints and the Star Fleet Technical Manual. Gene Roddenberry encouraged him and officially approved of his blueprints and manuscripts, even going so far as to recruit Joseph as a technical advisor for a scuttled show and getting his work included in an exhibit at the Smithsonian. Due to a series of fateful misunderstandings caused by differences in how Hollywood and the world of engineering do business, Franz Joseph eventually had his work published by Ballantine with the help of Paramount. Joseph’s books transformed the publishing and bookselling industries, and countless Star Trek fans took his works as gospel during the interlude between the original series and the first motion picture. Roddenberry, understandably a bit vexed by the tremendous success of Joseph’s books (which were originally to have been published by a company run by his wife, Majel Barrett [see the article]), reversed his previous stance toward the books and actively promoted their decanonization, if you will, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and especially with Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Although, it must be said, a number of Joseph’s ideas and innovations were incorporated.) There has even surfaced something touted as Roddenberry’s Rules of Starship Design, ostensibly created with the purpose of invalidating Joseph’s designs of several Federation starships previously approved by Roddenberry. [See Franz Joseph's Starships and Roddenberry's Rules of Starship Design by Greg Tyler at Trekplace.com.] In short, some of the divergence of the spin-offs (or maybe much of the divergence) was caused by Roddenberry’s (and probably Paramount’s) desire to avoid the necessity of dealing with Joseph in matters of royalties and intellectual property rights. Rewriting history and enforcing “official canon” solves their problems.

With regard to the on screen depictions that justify my alternate universe interpretation, there is such an abundance of examples that it would be pointless to try to list them all. I shall limit myself to just a few. First, both the original series, the spin-offs, and even the movies (e.g. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) are rife with examples of time travel and alternate time lines. Once you take into account as few as one or two discrepancies between them, it is obvious that we are talking not about one time line, but at least two.

Item 1: In the spin-offs and movies, Romulans have modified “angry brow” foreheads, whereas Vulcans do not. In the original series, Romulans and Vulcans are identical, to the extent that when a Romulan is seen by Terrans for the first time ever (“Balance of Terror”), Spock is immediately suspected by one member of the bridge crew of being a Romulan spy. What possible purpose it could serve to alter the appearance of Romulans (other than satisfying someone’s alien forehead fetish) is beyond me. Obviously, we are dealing with an alternate universe here in which Romulan evolution diverged from their Vulcan kin to the point where they were not identical.

Item 2: Beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and continuing with every subsequent movie and television depiction, Klingons have — you guessed it — modified foreheads. In the original series, Klingons were no more distinguishable from Terrans than Romulans were from Vulcans, except in their manner of dress and their attitude. Budget concerns aside, I think it served to show us how close we really were to being Klingons ourselves, with their hunger for conquering and exploiting those weaker than themselves (amply demonstrated in our own history), were it not for our ability to put our differences aside, promote peace, and work together to help other cultures without interfering with their natural development. In the original series you have this remarkable contrast of who we could be (the United Federation of Planets) and who we are, to a degree, now (the Klingon Empire). The forehead Klingons, I suspect, have no other excuse than that they have a much bigger makeup budget, so it’s the fashion to modify everyone’s forehead they can get their hands on. With regard to continuity (and disregarding the eagerness of some fans to excuse every single error ever made by retroactively “explaining” it away instead of just admitting that a mistake is a mistake [a bit like the people who insist on a literal translation of the Bible despite its numerous inconsistencies, come to think of it]), the only reasonable explanation (and the simplest one) for why forehead Klingons exist in the later spin-offs and the prequel Star Trek: Enterprise, but not in the original series, is that we are dealing with an alternate universe again where Klingons evolved differently. To argue otherwise is to stoop to arguing about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin and grouse about the discontinuation of Inquisitions. The alternate universe explanation, I predict, will be further vindicated when the next movie, in which the original crew of the original series will be recast with big name stars, will depict not original Klingons, but forehead Klingons. Then there can be no doubt even in the eyes of revisionist groupies that Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Animated Series exist in a separate universe from the “canon” universe of the spin-offs and movies.

Item 3: Cloaking devices are a Romulan invention and belong only to the Romulan Star Empire except for one improved cloaking device that was stolen by the Federation so it could learn how to detect cloaked Romulan ships and thereby avert any temptation the Romulans might have of violating the peace treaty and invading Federation space (“The Enterprise Incident”). Cloaking devices were not even known by the Federation to exist until an unknown force (a cloaked Romulan ship) was discovered destroying Federation outposts monitoring the Romulan Neutral Zone (“Balance of Terror”). Yet, this first contact event would be rendered utterly nonsensical by the cloaked Klingon ship encountered by the crew of the Enterprise in the prequel spin-off Star Trek: Enterprise. I rest my case. Not to belabor the point, but Romulans would never trade cloaking technology to any foreign power (military cultures tend to guard their military secrets jealously), especially not another aggressive, empire-building civilization. And as far as Romulans using ships “of Klingon design” (“The Enterprise Incident”), we can be reasonably certain that Romulans are not trading anything they value to acquire those designs, but are more likely experimenting with designs they stole from the Klingons.

If the preceding three items do not prove my case, then nothing will. In my view, there is Classic Star Trek exemplified by the original series, the animated series, and portions of other material such as the Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph, and then there is the Alternate Universe Star Trek exemplified by the movies and spin-offs. I prefer Classic Star Trek, and that is what my unofficial role-playing game is about.

Just to clarify how I plan to do things with the new game, I am viewing the following sources as canon:

• Star Trek: The Original Series (including the pilot episode, “The Cage”)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series (mostly)
• Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph (mostly)

The following are additional sources of inspiration:

• Star Fleet Battles by Amarillo Design Bureau (partially)
• Star Trek: The Role Playing Game by FASA (partially)
• Star Trek Role-Playing Game by Last Unicorn Games (partially)

The movies and other television shows and games are not considered part of the Star Trek universe embodied by this game (as I do not consider them part of the same fictional universe or time line at all). At best, I consider the spin-offs to be an irrelevant alternate universe. As far as the game is concerned, the date is the beginning of the fifth year in the Enterprise‘s five-year mission. The future is wide open from there.

And no, Star Trek: Enterprise and its revisionist interpretations never happened and it has no bearing on the events in the game (just as it has no bearing on the events of Star Trek: The Original Series).