CHARACTER CREATION

Starfleet United Federation of Planets Emblem
Starfleet Command

Starfleet Officers

Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory and defense service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal functions include the advancement of Federation knowledge about the galaxy and its inhabitants, the advancement of Federation science and technology, the military defense of the Federation, and the practice of Federation diplomacy.--Memory Alpha “Starfleet”

As a Starfleet Academy graduate, eager for your first duty assignment, you will be a 100 point (105 if you provided Joy with a complete character background and character portrait) GURPS character with no more than -50 character points in elective disadvantages. (Disadvantages that are part of Starfleet Officer Template do not count against this limit.) At the most basic level, you are defined by your species (Human, Andorian, Tellarite, Vulcan, etc.) and department (Command, Counseling, Engineering, Medical, Operators, Science, or Security). It is important you choose a species and department you will enjoy playing and that will be of value to your team. Check with any active players and Captain Joy to get an idea what species and departments are already accounted for and what niches are yet to be filled.

In general, Starfleet is a dominated by Humans. Individual starships are fairly segregated, with predominantly Human-crewed ships patrolling Human occupied regions of space, predominantly Vulcan-crewed ships patrolling Vulcan occupied regions of space, etc. To reflect this, no more than half your team should be non-Human. Having at least one non-Human is generally desirable, however.

You may not start out as a Command officer. You can switch to Command as early as six months into your career. It is not that unusual for an officer to change departments one or more times during their career in Starfleet.

Five required (numbered) and several optional (lettered) templates and lenses are listed below. By purchasing the required templates and lenses (#1, #3, #5, #6, #8), you will necessarily be choosing your species and department. The recommended attribute minimums and the lettered templates and lenses, while not required, are provided to help you create an interesting and competent Starfleet officer; use them as is or as a source of inspiration. E.g. you may decide your brainiac officer can make do with a 10 DX, but needs a 13 IQ.

  1. Species Template (varies) most will be Human; your character's sex will be the same as yours
  2. Set Your Attributes (40 or 80 pts) a minimum of 12 for your DX and/or IQ is recommended but not required
  3. TL11 Everyman Lens (5 pts) basic skills anybody should have
  4. Personal Background Lens (10 pts) what you did before you joined Starfleet
  5. Starfleet Officer Template (13 pts) represents the first two years or so
  6. Starfleet Academy Degree Lens (12 pts) represents the last two years or so
  7. Extracurricular Activities Lenses (≤4 pts) what you did when you weren't studying
  8. First Departmental Certification (about 8 pts) may not be from Command Division
  9. Department Lens (≤0) for officers committed to a non-Command Division department
  10. Hero Lens (-20 pts) good-guy mental disadvantages
  11. Action Lens (5 pts) comprehensive combat skills
  12. Adventure Lens (10 pts) general adventuring skills

Beyond the above templates and lenses, you should consider adding/improving new/existing skills and abilities, and adding additional disadvantages (up to -50 points and subject to GM approval–Starfleet screens out undesirables). Talents are only allowed as part of Species Templates and Department Lenses. Psionic abilities will require a 5 point unusual background for most species.

A cultural distaste for the artificial augmentation of one's natural abilities permeates the Federation. Because of this, only cybernetic implants of a medically necessary nature are allowed by Starfleet. It is a serious crime to augment yourself through genetic engineering. Use the Human Template as the standard for allowable minimum and maximum values in general.

Again, you want a team that is well rounded. If possible, each member of your team should be from a different Department: Command, Counseling, Engineering, Medical, Operators, Science, Security. An exception might be an Academy graduate who is planning on switching to Command Division; as they'll be leaving their current department soon enough, it doesn't matter much what it is.

The GURPS GCS Program and a Character Creation Worksheet are available to assist you in the process of character creation.

Species Templates
(var.)
Background Lenses
(10 pts)
Officer Templates
(36 pts)
Degrees Lenses
(12 pts)
Extracurricular Activities
(8 pts)
Department Certifications
(~8 pts)