Galaxy
All of Federation Space and what we know of the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Tholian Assembly, the Kzinti Hegemony, and the Gorn Hegemony
Code of Honor (Psychic’s) [-10 points]
Starfleet instills this Code of Honor into its trained empaths/telepaths. Think of it as a Hippocratic Oath for telepaths. (It comes from GURPS: Psionic Campaigns, p. 34.)
- Never use your psi solely for personal gain.
- Never harm another person with your psi except in self-defense.
- Never psionically invade another person’s privacy (including eavesdropping) without his knowledge.
Engineering House Rules
Engineering, or main engineering, is the location from which the ship's main power systems are controlled. Engineering is the primary assignment of engineers and chief engineers.--Memory Alpha
These house rules provide additional specialties for the Engineer skill and introduce a new Professional Skill.
Engineer/TL You must specialize.
IQ/Hard
Special
Mathematics (Applied)
The Engineer skill and a list of possible specialties are given on p. B190. Additional specialties follow.
Aerospace: Designing vehicles capable of atmospheric flight to and from orbit. Default: Mechanic (Aerospace)-6.
Gravitic: Designing apparatus that are based on the principles of gravitic physics – artificial gravity, force fields, shields, tractor beams. Default: Armoury (Force Shields)-6 or Electronic Repair (Security)-6.
Matter Energy: Designing apparatus that convert matter to energy and energy to matter – transporters, replicators. Default: Mechanic (Matter Transmitter)-6.
Nuclear: Designing apparatus that are based on the principles of nuclear physics – antimatter reactors (e.g. warp cores), fusion reactors (e.g. impulse reactors), and to a lesser extent its application to warfare and medicine. Default: Mechanic (Antimatter Reactor)-6 or Mechanic (Fusion Reactor)-6.
Professional Skill(Reactor Operator)/TL
IQ/Average
IQ-5, Mechanic (Antimatter Reactor)-5 or Mechanic (Fusion Reactor)-5
This is the skill of directly controlling and monitoring antimatter and fusion reactors from a control panel. A successful roll lets you alter the amount of reactor reactivity, start up a reactor, shut down a critical reactor, or respond to a casualty of the reactor.
Machine Empathy
5 points
Operator officer
You have an unusual rapport with machines. Upon taking the controls of a new device, the GM will roll against your IQ. On a success, he will give you a general sense of its purpose and current condition. Furthermore, this advantage functions as Empathy (p. 51) with respect to artificial intelligences, and allows you to use your Influence skills (see p. 359) on such entities. You may use Detect Lies and Psychology on artificial intelligences at no "off species" penalty.
Meditation Skill
IQ/Hard
Will-6 or Autohypnosis-4
Chakotay mandated that B'Elanna Torres take meditation lessons from Tuvok, after she destroyed The Doctor's holographic camera.--Meditation - Memory Alpha
The Meditation skill's abilities are defined qualitatively on p. B207. This house rule adds additional, more quantitative aspects.
Calm the emotions: You can suppress an emotion that you regard as irrational and destructive, such as an Addiction, Phobia or awe for an overwhelmingly beautiful alien. It does not apply to self-imposed, mental disadvantages as you regard them as rational. This only delays the emotion for as long as you maintain a meditative state. The GM may require additional rolls against Meditation skill at appropriate moments to keep your emotions suppressed against an ongoing stimulus. Against some stimuli, this may actually be a contest of skills.
Control the mind: You can reduce your pain levels (B428): eliminate Moderate Pain, reduce Severe Pain to Moderate Pain and Terrible Pain to Severe Pain. This effect lasts for as many hours as your margin of success, after which a repeated attempt is allowed at no penalty.
Relax the body: You can slow your metabolism, consuming food, water and air at half the normal rate. More usefully: HT rolls to resist poison, for Bleeding (if used, B420), lingering through a mortal wound (B423) or Natural Recovery (B424) are at +1. To make use of this ability you may do nothing except speak softly and eat. This effect lasts for as many hours as your margin of success, after which a repeated attempt is allowed at no penalty.
You must be conscious and meditating to enjoy these benefits unless you make a successful roll against Dreaming skill (B188). Exception: Natural Recovery allows the +1 even if you fall asleep.
My thanks to Matthew Greet, aka warmachine, for this houserule: Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Meditation: Is it just a Flavour Skill now?
Piloting and Driving Specialties
...as long as you're using thrust as lift in order to stay aloft, then you're using areospace. Once you're staying aloft because you've achieved (or exceeded) orbital velocity, you're piloting a spaceship. In the same way, if you're achieving lift by an airfoil, then you're flying an aircraft--Lord Carnifex: Steve Jackson Games Forums - Is Piloting (Aerospace) only good for atmospheric flight?
This house rule is clears up confusion concerning the various Piloting specialties and atmospheric flight.
Pilot/TL You must specialize.
DX/Average
IQ-6 and Special
The Piloting skill and a list of specialties are given on p. B214. GURPS Spaceships p. 40 has this to say about atmospheric flight:
Spacecraft with wings … or if streamlined and with acceleration greater than local gravity, can fly in an atmosphere.
Use the rules on p. B466 for air travel. Use Piloting (Aerospace) skill rather than their normal spaceship operation skill.
Two Piloting specialties come up frequently in a Star Trek campaign: Contragravity (an ultra-tech replacement for Aerospace) and High-Performance Spacecraft. The vehicle type and where/how it is being flown determine which Piloting specialization is appropriate.
Piloting Specialties and What Vehicle Under What Circumstances They’re Good For
Listings in italics occur routinely in Star Trek campaigns.
- Piloting (Contragravity)
- Shuttlecraft maneuvering surface-to-orbit
- Fighters maneuvering and not engaged in combat maneuvers
- Fighters maneuvering in trace or no atmosphere and engaged in combat maneuvers
- Aircars (except for primitive (TL9) models)
- Hoverbikes (except for primitive (TL9) models)
- Hovercars (except for primitive (TL9) models)
- Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft)
- Starships in orbit and in open space
- Shuttlecraft in orbit and in open space
- Fighters in open space and not engaged in combat maneuvers
- Piloting (VERTOL)
- Starship maneuvering surface-to-orbit (e.g. an emergency surface landing, which uses thrusters)
- Primitive (TL9) Aircars
- Piloting (High-Performance Airplane)
- Fighters in atmosphere engaged in combat maneuvers
Vehicles and What Piloting Specialties Are Used to Fly Them
Listings in italics occur routinely in Star Trek campaigns.
- Aircars, Hoverbikes, and Hovercars
- Most models - use Piloting (Contragravity) (some vehicles will have a Driving (Automobile or Motorcycle) option)
- Primitive (TL9) models - use Piloting (VERTOL) (some vehicles will have a Driving (Automobile or Motorcycle) option)
- Fighters
- Combat Maneuvers in Atmosphere - use Piloting (High-Performance Airplane)
- Combat Maneuvers in Trace or No Atmosphere - use Piloting (Contragravity)
- Non-Combat Maneuvers - use Piloting (Contragravity)
- Travel Surface to Orbit - use Piloting (Contragravity)
- Travel Orbit to Open Space - use Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft)
- Shuttlecraft
- Maneuvers - use Piloting (Contragravity)
- Travel Surface to Orbit - use Piloting (Contragravity)
- Travel Orbit to Open Space - use Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft)
- Starships
- Travel Surface to Orbit - use Piloting (VERTOL)
- Travel Orbit to Open Space - use Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft)
- Maneuvers in Open Space - use Piloting (High-Performance Spacecraft)
Driving/TL You must specialize.
DX/Average
DX-5 or IQ-5
Less wealthy individuals, enthusiasts, eccentrics, or lower tech level communities might drive groundcars instead of aircars. Others might use them as back-up vehicles. They are significantly cheaper.
Common Driving Specialties
- Automobile
- Motorcycle
Species Specialties and Skill Penalties
Because of the common genetic ancestry of most of the races of the Milky Way Galaxy...--Hybrid - Memory Alpha
Many behavior/cultural and medical/physiological skills and techniques require you to specialize by species. There is a penalty when using these skills with culture [B23] or physiology [B181] you aren't specialized in. It is assumed you will specialize in your own species, but you don't have to. (Being specialized in other species but not your own requires a plausible background story—a 1 character point Unusual Background Perk).
Behavioral/Cultural Off-Culture Penalties
The penalties for using the behavioral/cultural-type skills – Anthropology, Body Language, Carousing, Connoisseur, Criminology, Dancing, Detect Lies, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Games, Gesture, Heraldry, Hypnotism, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Merchant, Poetry, Politics, Propaganda/TL, Psychology, Public Speaking, Savoir-Faire, Sex Appeal, Sociology, Streetwise, and Teaching [B23] – on a species outside your specialty are given in the table below. The Expert Skill (Xenology) skill suffers from the same penalties when used to identify or answer general questions about a species' culture.
Off-Culture Default Penalties for Behavioral/Cultural-Type Skills
Prevalence | Penalty | Culture |
Common | -1 | Human, Andorian, Tellarite, Vulcan |
Uncommon | -2 | Alpha Centauran, Caitian, Deltan, Denobulan, Edosian, Klingon, Orion, Rigelian, Saurian |
Rare | -3 | Arcturian, Argelian, Betazoid, Bolian, Brecon, Coridan, Cygnan, Cygnian, Jidarian, Kaferian, Kzinti, Medusan, Mynieni, Nausicaan, Prellarian, Romulan, Suliban, Trill |
Very Rare | -4 | Bajoran, Benzite |
Unknown* | -5 | Ferengi, Gorn |
Enigmatic† | -6 | Tholian |
* Cultural Familiarity for unknown species costs 1 character point, plus a 1 character point Unusual Background.
† Cultural Familiarity for enigmatic species costs 2 character points.
Counseling officers have access to Cultural Adaptability (10 pt) (or Xeno-Adaptability (20 pt)) which allow them to ignore these cultural unfamiliarity penalties for Common and Uncommon species (or all species). The Counseling! wildcard relative skill level bonus reduces these penalties for those skills above that aren't covered by Counseling! E.g. If you had Counseling! at Attribute+1 (36 pt), you would have only a -1 penalty when Carousing with an Alpha Centauran and no penalty when Interrogating one.
Medical/Physiological Off-Species Penalties
The off-species penalties for medical/physiological-type skills are based on the Zorsky Interspecies Compatibility Table [from GURPS: MODULE PRIME ALPHA, pp. 28-29] given below. These penalties can be waived if you can make a Physiology (species) roll for that species first. You may roll against Physiology (species) at defaut; such a roll suffers from the same penalties given below.
Physiology (species)/TL
IQ/Hard
IQ-6, Diagnosis-5, Physician-5, Physiology-off species penalty, or Surgery-5
This skill is covered on p. B213. A successful roll against your species specialty of Physiology temporarily removes the off-species penalty for physiology-esque skills [B181]: Diagnosis, First Aid, Physician, Pressure Points, Pressure Secrets, or Surgery. If you fail this Physiology roll, you feel the full effects of any off-species penalty. While a high Physiology skill with several species specializations can be an efficient way to go for high-IQ individuals and/or those with a wide range of medical/physiological skills, purchasing additional species specialties for particular skills removes their off-species penalty permanently.
Off-Species Default Penalties for Medical/Physiological-Type Skills
Zorski Group | Description | Default Penalties | Example Species |
I | Humans and all species moderately compatible in terms of blood and biochemistry. (Alpha- Centaurians are genetically human.) |
- -1 within a subgroup
- -2 with other Group I subgroups
- -3 with Groups II-IV
- -4 with Group V
- -5 Groups VI-IX
- -6 Groups X
|
- Subgroup a: Humans/Alpha- Centaurans (same species), Rigellians
- Subgroup b: Brecon, Cygnans, Prellarians
|
II | Species dissimilar to Group I in biochemistry and/or have significant internal organ differences including extra or unique internal organs. |
- -2 within Group II
- -3 with Groups I, III, and IV
- -4 with Group V
- -5 Groups VI-IX
- -6 Groups X
|
Arcturians, Klingons, Tellarites |
III |
Species dissimilar to Groups I and II in that their blood chemistries are not based on iron, e.g. copper (a) or cobalt (b) based. |
- -1 within a subgroup
- -2 with other Group III subgroups
- -3 with Groups I, II, IV
- -4 with Group V
- -5 Groups VI-IX
- -6 Groups X
|
- Subgroup a: Vulcans
- Subgroup b: Andorians, Orions
|
IV | Mammalian species with biochemistries moderately compatible with Group I, but which have significant internal and external differences. |
- -3 with Groups I-III
- -4 with Group V
- -5 Groups VI-IX
- -6 Groups X
|
Kzintis |
V | Reptilian species with biochemistries and internal/ external differences that are significant when compared to Group I. |
- -1 within Va subgroup
- -2 with other Group V subgroups
- -4 with Group I-IV
- -5 Groups VI-IX
- -6 Groups X
| |
VI | Exoskeletal species that are significantly different to Groups I-V and each other. |
- -5 with any other species, including other Group VI species
- -6 Groups X
|
Jindarians, Mynieni |
VII | Species that do not have individual internal organs or their equivalents, and include plantlike species. |
- -5 with any other species, including other Group VII species
- -6 Groups X
| |
VIII | Species that do not breath oxygen and come from subzero (though not cryogenic, see Group IX) climates. |
- -5 with any other species, including other Group VIII species
- -6 Groups X
| |
IX | Species that do not breath oxygen and come from cryogenic climates. |
- -5 with any other species, including other Group IX species
- -6 Groups X
| |
X | Species that are highly unique and defy classification. |
- -6 with any other species, including other Group X species
|
Tholians |
The above table is a modified version of Zorsky Interspecies Compatibility Table that appears in GURPS Module Prime Alpha.
These penalties can be waived if you can make a Physiology Skill roll for that species first, which will of course suffer from the same penalty. If you don't have the Physiology Skill for that species, you can roll against a default: IQ-6, Diagnosis-5, Physician-5, or Surgery-5.