Options
Regular Characters, Irregular Skills
Zann Calcore (ISA)
✭✭✭✭
This is a suggestion, not just to the folks at DB for future crew design, but also for any and all on the forums that might like to make their requests for such crewmen. So what am I talking about exactly? Well, I’ve noticed that over time, naturally, many characters get different versions and other than numerically speaking, looks, and maybe a few traits, the skill set tends to be basically the same. Sometimes it might get switched here and there so a different skill is accentuated more or less but you still end up with characters who only ever posses certain skills.
Some easy examples are Kirk and Worf. Kirk almost always has a variation of three skills, Diplomacy, Command, and Security. Worf almost always has a variation of two skills, Command and Security and sometimes we get lucky and he gets Diplomacy as well (like with Duchamps and Sheriff Worf). Again, there might be all kinds of variation and maybe one of these skills gets left off or one gets added on, but basically it’s always the same skills with the same characters.
This is mostly true for a lot of the core characters. Picard, Crusher, Scotty, Spock, the Doctor, Archer, T’Pol, Janeway, Sisko, and others I’m sure. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions but they are VERY few and far between. Anyhow, my whole point is that it would be nice if DB would go pull from those exceptional points in the movies and shows and use them to make new, unexpected crew.
Again, my go-to example here is Kirk, and I can think of at least one episode of TOS that represents Kirk being different in his skill set for sure. I think the title of the episode is “Arena”; it’s the one where Kirk and a Gorn captain get taken to a planet and told they have to fight each other to the death on behalf of their respective ships. In this, Kirk eventually figures out a way to beat the Gorn by making a makeshift one-shot gun out of the surrounding minerals and scant vegetation. I could easily see this as Kirk having a small amount of Science to have that know-how, but to me, the real skill on display here would be a modicum of Engineering. So, to me, and Arena Kirk would have either Security, Diplomacy, and Science or Security, Diplomacy, and Engineering. The latter would be my preferred choice and I’ve put them in the order of mastery, respectively. That is, Security would be his highest skill and Engineering his lowest. That’s, of course, just one example, but I could pretty easily see more.
Since I’m discussing unusual skills for certain crew, I thought I’d also like to point out something I found a bit disappointing because of the lack of this kind of thinking. Sheriff Worf is awesome, no doubt, but I really thought he ended up with the wrong skill set. Security is a given and Diplomacy I could see and was a nice change, but Command just seemed like a reflex to me, especially given what Worf does in the episode that crew is based on. He definitely should have had Engineering as his tertiary skill. I mean, for crying out loud, he took a communicator badge and turned it into a temporary personal force field! That, if anything, if most certainly Engineering; so yeah, I thought they messed that great character up a bit there.
There are plenty of other instances throughout the Star Trek universe where characters use skills they normally either don’t seem to posses or rarely show that they have. Scotty rarely gets any Security but he’s surely capable of it. So there, I think by now anyone reading this much should get my drift of what I’m talking about, so, help me try and persuade DB to consider doing this a little more often with future crew, and if any of you happen to have ideas of your own that you think fit the bill, go right ahead and list them here in this thread. Thanks if you read this far and even more thanks if you contribute to the conversation.
Some easy examples are Kirk and Worf. Kirk almost always has a variation of three skills, Diplomacy, Command, and Security. Worf almost always has a variation of two skills, Command and Security and sometimes we get lucky and he gets Diplomacy as well (like with Duchamps and Sheriff Worf). Again, there might be all kinds of variation and maybe one of these skills gets left off or one gets added on, but basically it’s always the same skills with the same characters.
This is mostly true for a lot of the core characters. Picard, Crusher, Scotty, Spock, the Doctor, Archer, T’Pol, Janeway, Sisko, and others I’m sure. I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions but they are VERY few and far between. Anyhow, my whole point is that it would be nice if DB would go pull from those exceptional points in the movies and shows and use them to make new, unexpected crew.
Again, my go-to example here is Kirk, and I can think of at least one episode of TOS that represents Kirk being different in his skill set for sure. I think the title of the episode is “Arena”; it’s the one where Kirk and a Gorn captain get taken to a planet and told they have to fight each other to the death on behalf of their respective ships. In this, Kirk eventually figures out a way to beat the Gorn by making a makeshift one-shot gun out of the surrounding minerals and scant vegetation. I could easily see this as Kirk having a small amount of Science to have that know-how, but to me, the real skill on display here would be a modicum of Engineering. So, to me, and Arena Kirk would have either Security, Diplomacy, and Science or Security, Diplomacy, and Engineering. The latter would be my preferred choice and I’ve put them in the order of mastery, respectively. That is, Security would be his highest skill and Engineering his lowest. That’s, of course, just one example, but I could pretty easily see more.
Since I’m discussing unusual skills for certain crew, I thought I’d also like to point out something I found a bit disappointing because of the lack of this kind of thinking. Sheriff Worf is awesome, no doubt, but I really thought he ended up with the wrong skill set. Security is a given and Diplomacy I could see and was a nice change, but Command just seemed like a reflex to me, especially given what Worf does in the episode that crew is based on. He definitely should have had Engineering as his tertiary skill. I mean, for crying out loud, he took a communicator badge and turned it into a temporary personal force field! That, if anything, if most certainly Engineering; so yeah, I thought they messed that great character up a bit there.
There are plenty of other instances throughout the Star Trek universe where characters use skills they normally either don’t seem to posses or rarely show that they have. Scotty rarely gets any Security but he’s surely capable of it. So there, I think by now anyone reading this much should get my drift of what I’m talking about, so, help me try and persuade DB to consider doing this a little more often with future crew, and if any of you happen to have ideas of your own that you think fit the bill, go right ahead and list them here in this thread. Thanks if you read this far and even more thanks if you contribute to the conversation.
Weirdly enough, I’m also Vulcan Housewife. Also, RNGesus hates me, like really, REALLY hates me.
0
Comments
I'll come back to this thread in a bit.
Then again, I also tend to skip posts written with cat puns instead of proper words.
Hippocrates Noah and Benny Russell are lovely examples of SCI, ENG or even MED variants of Sisko who's usually not known for his "alternate" skills. I would surely like to see similar versions of other famous crew such as Janeway, Data or Picard with unusual skill combos. It would also increase the variety of 2x Bonus for shuttles of any kind.
Ideas:
Poker Dealer Data - ENG/SCI/DIP
Arena Kirk - SEC/ENG/DIP
Water Polo Archer - DIP/SCI/SEC
Vision Quest Chakotay - DIP/COM/MED
Tinker Tailor Doctor Spy - MED/ENG/COM
I love "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy" idea, but I think he wasn't a tailor.
Also, Zann Calore, please don't take any offense by what I wrote about the readability of your post. I wanted to help, not to start a fight. I hope you got me right.
Ha! Yeah that is pretty WTF?
I couldn’t remember the name of that Voyager episode off the top of my head but you got the idea.
I didn’t realize there were Datas with DIP...my crew is devoid of Data other than the 2* in the freezer. But yes, a 3* or 4* Poker Data would be a fun addition regardless of his skills.
As you command. Also, I didn’t take offense, so no worries. Thanks to your response I realized you were right. I honestly hadn’t thought about it because generally when I have something I’m trying to say I just type it out without much in the way of spacing.
Obviously I like the idea of Arena Kirk, but I have to say, I love the idea of Vision Quest Chakotay and Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy. See, that’s what I was talking about. There are so many different versions of all these characters throughout the Star Trek universe that this could easily be accomplished within the canon framework of the tv shows and movies. I’m not disparaging the comics or books or whatnot, just saying there’s plenty in the regular stuff already, no need for Pirate Janeways, again not disparaging.
I know what you mean. Some of the non-canon crew are neat but not all are popular (I'm a fan of pirates in general but even I had to admit that Mirror Janeway was a stretch) and some canon characters have been sorely neglected. Archer is probably the most talked-about but Chakotay and Scotty definitely need some more attention.
I actually don’t have much of a problem with most of the “non-canon” crew with a few exceptions, I’m looking at you Martok. I’d have to say that some of the Disco crew are more abhorrent to me than some of the comic books ones and such. I mean, I love using T’Kuvma, he’s simply superb in ship battles, but I still hate the way he looks and the whole space orc thing that STD has managed to do.
Ok, I’m getting off-topic here though, so let’s steer it back on track. More Scotty and more Archer would be lovely, especially if we could get some of the more interesting versions. I’d love to see a version of Scotty with a primary Security, but I’ve no idea off the top of my head where he’d come from. Also, I’m not sure if she’d have any crossover skills but I’d love to see a feather-fan dance Uhura from, of all things, Star Trek V. Any other suggestions for crossovers?