GAME RULES
 

The rules are not that complicated and will add to your skill as a member of the crew. We try as best we can to involve all the crew in the plots, and it will not matter if you are new to the role-playing experience or not. The rules will give you some background information as well as how the game works and who to go to for help if you find you need some. Because we are just one ship we try to keep it simple.


1. Your character is what we will all interact act with and it must be original.

We do not do clones of Star Trek characters and we do not do Q or any superhuman heroes. You may use a character you find in the Star Trek books.


2. What position on the ship do you want?

You will need to create a background that will support that position. If you are new to the Trek simm then it is a good idea to start out in a junior role (Ensign) so you have time to work on the character's interaction with others and do a bit of reading up on the kind of things your character would be responsible for. The more believable, the better the chance you have of getting the position on the ship you want. If in doubt, ask the captain for help.


3. If you have no simming experience, you should start out as an Ensign (just graduated from the Academy) and earn your promotions.

You must read through all of the Academy / Game Play information. What's there, along with the information you learn as you start playing, can be helpful in understanding how to do good postings and improve your quality of writing. The more you post good, readable and believable posts, the more points you earn and the faster you get promoted.


4. Posts need to be of a high quality.

The Academy section has all the information necessary to help you write high-quality posts. Please read everything there.

If your writing is not in line with the guidelines for formatting posts, you will be asked to read through that information and other Academy information. If there is no sign of improvement, you will be mentored by the XO in how to write good posts. If there remains no improvement, you may be advised that this might not the game for you.

The USS Scorpion is one of the more advanced games on the internet, and as such, the quality of writing is not only of a high standard, but required to be of a high standard.


5. Those who start with a significant role-playing background should have no trouble adapting to the Scorpion.

You must read through all of the Academy / Game Play information just in case we have a new idea or a weird rule. We are in this for the fun of it and the interaction with the rest of the crew is important if you want to build your character's personality.


6. Security Procedures

Life onboard a Starfleet military vessel isn't all about sweet-smelling roses and good times. You will be on one of the most important starships in all of Starfleet - in the entire Federation. As a result of this, there are stringent security procedures in place that are designed to prevent all kinds of security breaches from happening on the ship. Most of these are based on common sense, and are guidelines.

However, if you do anything that obviously breaches common sense and security procedures, your post may be declared invalid. At best, there will be consequences of your actions that involve security staff coming to take you away... or something like that. So have a read of the Security Procedures page and make sure you understand what you can and can't do.


7. I must stress that you fill out your application completely.

If I see an application for a position on the ship and do not see a history that would support the position, I will ask you to re-do it until I feel confident that you can support the position you are applying for. If I feel that you can not support that position I will offer you something else or ask you to go back and re-read the crew manifest and find something that will put less demands on you.


8. On the Scorpion we ask all players to post at least once a week.

There are other ships, as well as other fleets that have different posting requirements, but these are our requirements.

• I do not consider a post of less then 200 words a post, and it will not get any experience points awarded for it.
  
• If you fail to post after a 4-week period you will be dropped from the ship. There will be no exceptions. You are required to keep up to date with posts and Experience Points updates. In the Experience Points updates, you can see if you are currently receiving any penalties for inactivity.
  
  (The reason for this aspect of the rule is that we encourage only active writers/players, and if you are inactive, then you are holding up position on the Crew Manifest that could be better used by a more active and enthusiastic player.)
  
• If you're going on vacation or doing exams or the dog is sick (you get the idea), let the CO know and we will declare you to be LOA (leave of absence) for however many weeks you feel necessary (usually no more than 8 weeks). This will keep you alive until you can come back and continue playing. A LOA is a planned absence and I can even send you off to 'visit a relative' if you need time away. Please remember ALL LOA requests must be in writing and you can email them to me off list. So talk to the XO or CO if you need a break.
  

9. Respond to Joint Post requests within 24 hours!

If you are asked to be in a Joint Post (JP) by another player, you will need to reply within 24 hours to let them know if you are available for it or not. If you are not available for it, it allows them to create a JP with someone else instead, or choose to do a post by themselves.

IMPORTANT: If you are involved in a JP that is essential to a major plot involving someone's character or the ship, and you do not reply within 24 hours, the person requiring the JP may go to the CO and advise them that you haven't replied. The CO will look at the situation and either suggest they wait another 24 hours, or he will do the JP with that player - but he will write the part of your character. Reason for this rule - it is essential that you check your email at least once every 24 hours to keep up to date with possible requests from other players and allow the game to continue flowing smoothly.


10. Promotions are determined by your postings, both in quality and quantity.

We have a page to show you the points system and as you will see it is up to the discretion of the Captain. If your post is great but it made a split in the story line I could go with it and try to work it in or if not I might reject it.

Experience Points Updates are sent out regularly to show you the progress of your character. (It's supposed to be every week, but doesn't always end up being that way, with it sometimes being every 2-3 weeks.)

There is one exception to your promotions. You can only go so high on the ship. You cannot be a Captain, and the First Officer is usually the only one of the rank of Commander (however, on the Pathfinder class there may be a number of Commanders allowed due to the size and complexity of the crew numbers). If your character gets to the rank of Commander, he can decline his promotion, or receive it and be transferred off the ship if there are no suitable positions available onboard. This means the character is retired from the game, and you will have to start a new character. The Captain of the ship has the final say as to the rank of the crew.


11. Ship characters have to stay in character.

• If the Medical Officer just told the XO that she is pregnant, then no one knows but the XO.
  
• If the XO and CO are having a discussion and exchanging information about a mission and your character is not in the room, then you did not hear it.
  
• If the Captain says that we are on Red Alert, you do not go play in the holodeck. All alerts are posted on the Scorpion mailing list.
  
• You do not post the Captain coming to you with a problem, or info on a mission unless he has approved it.
  
• If the Captain or XO states an order within a post that affects other crew or the ship, then it is assumed that the order has been passed on down the line to all crew that are affected by the order. For this reason it is very important to carefully read all the posts.
  

12. Every post has a subject, usually to do with the mission.

The Captain sets the subject and no one is to change it. The subject also has a # attached to it. If you see a subject "Don't Shoot #23 " the subject is "Don't Shoot" and the #23 is the number of the post. If I was to send out my post now it would be #24 and the subject would still be "Don't Shoot". If you have an idea for a mission or a sub-plot send it to the CO in writing, or post it on the Scorpion Message Board. He will approve or reject it, and will say why. If you see a post from a crew member that is taking the ship off in another direction, you know the poster has permission 'cause if they don't then they will be demoted, and may be cleaning the transporter room tomorrow with their toothbrush. (Not to mention that their post will be declared invalid.)


13. Read the posts...

Make sure that if you are going to be at a dinner with the doctor that she has not already posted that she is in the middle of an operation. If you want to have dinner with the doctor, ask her out after the operation is over. Follow what is going on aboard the ship. We would not have an evacuation drill in the middle of the Security Chief's wedding. Everyone's bio will be up so go read it. If you're talking to a Ferengi you would not be intimidated by his height unless you're an elf.

If you are unable to read all the posts and follow the story as it unfolds, you will not enjoy your time on the ship because you won't know what's going on


14. Language and violence.

This is a PG-17 rated game. If you're over 17 but can't handle the language or violence, then you're welcome to leave.

While there is plenty of diplomatic and peaceful missions in Star Trek, there's a lot of violence as well. No need to leave out the good bits if that's what you want to write about... just make sure that your descriptions are appropriate and not over the top.


15. Sex.

This is a PG-17 rated game. While some sexual content is ok, remember that this is Star Trek - if you haven't seen it on the TV or movies, then we don't really want to see it in the game.


16. This is our universe and it must blend in with the Star Trek universe.

The Star Trek universe is copyrighted by Paramount. What they have created must blend with our imagination, but even in this Star Trek universe we like to keep it believable. You will not have the Queen of the Borg surrendering her ship to you. If the computer is down then you can't use it till it is fixed. If you are the Doctor you do not go and fix the computer - the engineer will do that.

While the Star Trek universe is created by Gene Roddenberry and continued by Paramount staff, 'fan fiction' has the luxury of creating modifications to flesh out what already exists, and to provide more information for one reason or another.

The USS Scorpion takes place 3 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, and as such, we have taken various liberties to fill out the 'history' between what is known by everyone, and the time we exist in for the game. It's called an 'alternate timeline', because it branches off from what is known. At the same time, however, it tries to follow very closely how things are expected to be in the normal Star Trek universe. Think of it as our interpretation of how Star Trek could have turned out based on events that we already know of.

The Pathfinder-class doesn't exist in canon Star Trek, but we think that it's an exciting possibility for us to explore and play on.


17. On the Scorpion you are initially limited to one character, but can eventually have two.

When you first start playing on the Scorpion, you are allowed only one character. However, once your character has received a 6-month Service Award (which means you have been playing that character for 6 months), then you are allowed the option of creating a new second character.

IMPORTANT: you must seek the captain's approval first.  It is up to the captain to decide whether your playing style would allow for two characters. If the quality of your posts has been lacking, or you have posted sporadically but still managed to avoid being removed due to lack of posting, then you may be discouraged from creating a second character.

If your second character application is approved, it will be subjected to the same rules as your first. It will receive minus points for each week you fail to post, and if it is obvious that quality or quantity is lacking, then the captain may advise you to discard one of your characters, as it is negatively affecting your gaming. Contact the captain if you have any further queries about this rule.


18. If there is a problem on the ship with another player please try to work it out among yourselves.

If, however, it is being brought to others in the crew or you cannot resolve the problem, bring it to the XO and they and the Captain will sit with you both and help you work it out. Most of the time you will find a misunderstanding has occurred.

No complaints will be accepted about any crew member or player if the complainant has been removed from the game due to violating any of these rules, or if they are yet to join the game. These rules apply only to current players. However, if you are treated in an offensive manner outside the game (and not 'in character') by any current player, then you are welcome to advise the CO or XO who will caution that player. If the offense is severe enough and proof can be shown (via chat logs, etc), then the instigator may be removed from the game."


19. Should a player make a complaint against the Captain or XO or another player, then it must be put in writing and sent to the person you lodge the complaint against as well as the Captain and the XO.

The Captain will have 24 hours to respond to the complaint. He will look at all the available information about the complaint and make a decision.

If the Captain is the subject of the complaint, then the XO will review all information and make a decision. If the decision is to be found in favour of the complainant, then the Captain will follow the XO's recommendations.


20. Remember there is a chain of command and you are to follow it.

We all have ICQ or AIM or MSN so be nice and no insulting other players. Breaking the rules will result in a warning depending on how serious. Three warnings and you are out of the game. 

For more severe infringements, including the violation of any of the above rules, or anything that is not covered within these rules, it may be decided that immediate removal from the game is warranted. (These rules will then be modified to take into account any situation that previously wasn't covered.)


21. Don't ask questions through the mailing list; send them by e-mail to your CO/XO or other member off the list, or - ideally - use the Forum.

If and when you quit, do it off list after talking to your CO. We are all in this for the fun. If you are not having fun let the Captain know and he will try to help you.