Ok so I posted some of this in a free form, stream of consciousness on Twitter a few months ago while rewatching Enterprise and then started fleshing it out over on G+ last week. This is no where near complete and I'm still pondering a lot of this. The base setting is the flag ship of the Confederation, sent out to make contact with new races of the Eastern Arm in an attempt to help unify this area of space. The main struggle here is in deciding what races' resources are worth getting involved in their private issues for. This is basically Star Trek in the generation between Enterprise and TOS with the serial numbers still legible through the rough scraping I've given them.
Things I'm happy with:
Every move feels like something that would be in an episode of Star Trek.
The setting places players in a situation where they have people that are relying on them without being able to provide much support. (I'm thinking about adding in a Liason Officer, a basic move, and a Captain's move that will help reinforce this dynamic)
The emphasis on exploration and discovery.
Things I'm not happy with:
Some of the moves have cruft left over in them from where I stole them from that don't add to the flavor but I'm not sure how they can be replaced yet.
I'm still working out what the fundamental scarcity is. I feel like trust and loyalty are the obvious ones but how do I reflect that?
Things that are obviously missing:
Ship moves, crew moves (I'll probably base those close to what I've done with the Medical Crew), and moves that deal with the fundamental scarcity whatever that ends up being.
Principles and GM moves. (I'm going to try and tackle those next)
I'm sure there are things I am forgetting, things that will become obvious as I fill in the obvious needs and tweek what I'm not happy with. I'm posting this here because this is the quickest way to get to the smartest minds on hacking AW. What I'm looking for is advice on things I've listed that are obvious problems, hints at what might be problems that I haven't pointed out, and ideas for how to better fulfill my goals here. What I'm not looking for is canon arguments, suggestions on better eras or settings, and heated debates about which series is the best. If it will help, feel free to declare your allegiance to the best ST series in the first line of your first response so we all know where you stand and then leave it at that.
So here is what I've got:
Basic Moves:
Set for Stun: When you fire a phaser set on stun, roll with Cool. On a 10+ you achieve your goal without harming anyone, on a 7-9 you do more damage than expected, on a miss you hit someone or something you didn't mean to.
Get Out of There: When you run for your life roll with Sharp. On a 10+ hold 3, on a 7-9 hold 2, on a miss hold 1. You may use your hold, 1-for-1 to do the following:
•Live to fight another day.
•Loose your perusers, for now.
•Do Harm to your perusers or their vehicle.
•You are able to determine what they want that will make them stop chasing you forever.
•You don't loose anyone or anything important in your escape.
Take Cover: When you do something under fire, or dig in to endure fire, roll with Hard. On a 10+, you do it. On a 7–9, you flinch, hesitate, or stall: the MC can offer you a worse outcome, a hard bargain, or an ugly choice.
Aaaagh: When you suffer harm in the heat of battle, you may either increase your Pain or do one of the following.
• You lose your footing.
• You lose your grip on whatever you’re holding.
• You lose track of someone or something you’re attending to.
• You miss noticing something important.
• You are captured, infected, or knocked unconscious.
Each Pain you have adds -1 to every roll you make.
Security Chief: hard, sharp
Set to Kill: When you fire a phaser set to kill, roll with Hard. On a 10+ you kill or destroy what you intended, on a 7-9 things go crazy and someone or something else gets killed, on a miss your target survives and the situation is worse.
Assess the Situation: When you read a charged situation, roll with Sharp. On a hit, you can ask the MC questions. Whenever you act on one of the MC’s answers, take +1. On a 10+, ask 3. On a 7–9, ask 1:
• where’s my best escape route / way in / way past?
• which enemy is most vulnerable to me?
• which enemy is the biggest threat?
• what should I be on the lookout for?
• what’s my enemy’s true position?
• who’s in control here?
Science Officer: weird
What is it: When you encounter a new alien life-form, roll with Weird. On a 10+, all 3. On a 7-9, choose 1.
•You are able to communicate with it in some form, tell us how.
•You discover one of the being's basic needs.
•You do not offend it in any way.
On a miss, the being makes an aggressive move towards you, your ship, your crew, or all three.
Watch This: When you study a piece of alien technology, roll with Weird. On a 10+, ask 3. On a 7–9, ask 1:
• what species handled this last?
• what species made this?
• has there been weapons fire near this recently?
• what data was recorded by this?
• what has been done most recently with this, or to this?
• what’s wrong with this, and how might I fix it?
On a miss, the item was trapped and makes an aggressive move towards you, your ship, your crew, or all three.
Captain: hot
On Confederated Authority: When you try to take secure your hold on something, roll with Hot. On a hit, choose options. On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7–9, choose 2:
• you take definite hold of it
• you suffer little harm
• you inflict terrible harm
• you impress, dismay or frighten your enemy
I'm a Starship Captain: When you try to seduce or manipulate someone, tell them what you want and roll with Hot. For NPCs: on a hit, they ask you to promise something first, and do it if you promise. On a 10+, whether you keep your promise is up to you, later. On a 7–9, they need some concrete assurance right now. For PCs: on a 10+, both. On a 7–9, choose 1:
• if they do it, they mark experience
• if they refuse, it’s acting under fire What they do then is up to them.
Councilor: sharp
How Does That Make You Feel: When you read a person, roll with Sharp. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7–9, hold 1. While you’re interacting with them, spend your hold to ask their player questions, 1 for 1:
• is your character telling the truth?
• what’s your character really feeling?
• what does your character intend to do?
• what does your character wish I’d do?
• how could I get your character to __?
Negotiator: When you enter into diplomatic relations with a non-Confederation species, roll with Sharp. On a 10+ hold 3, on a 7-9 hold 1. While negotiating with them you may spend your hold 1-for-1 to:
• Discover a recent event that happened.
• You befriend a useful alien.
• Discover some local resourse that might help the Confederation.
• Not entangled or tricked into involving yourself in issues that might embarrass the Confederation.
• You manage not to offend anyone.
• Discern some secret that they are trying to keep.
On a miss you offend them all enough that they declare war against the Confederation.
Medical Officer: cool,
Infirmary : You get an infirmary, a workspace with life support, hydro-spray drugs, and advanced scanning equipment. Anyone who spends a day in you or your crew's care in the infirmary removes one Pain. When you go into your infirmary and dedicate yourself to making someone better, or to getting to the bottom of some medical mystery, decide what and tell the MC. the MC will tell you “sure, no problem,
but…” and then 1 to 4 of the following:
• it’s going to take hours/days/weeks/months of work;
• first you’ll have to get/fix/figure out ___;
• you’re going to need ___ to help you with it;
• it’s going to require rare alien items or equipment;
• the best you’ll be able to do is to get them stable or rule out one possibility;
• it’s going to mean exposing yourself (plus colleagues) to
serious danger;
• it’s going to take several/dozens/hundreds of tries;
• you’re going to have to take ___ apart to do it.
Healing Touch: When you use your medical scanner to heal someone of their Pain roll with Cool. On a 10+ You heal them of one Pain or two Pain if they treat both as though you had rolled a 7-9. On a 7-9 you heal them of one Pain and they gain an Insecurity that they don't already have. On a miss you don't manage to heal any of their Pain and they gain an Insecurity.
Medical Crew: You have a crew two assistants that can be sent out to deal with medical emergencies or left on the ship to deal with those in your care. If you send them on an away mission roll with Cool. On a 10+ they do what you sent them to do, no problem. On a 7-9 choose if they get the job done or if they come back alive. On a miss they fail on their mission and don't make it back.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully make a comment.
J.B.
EDIT: Here is what I've come up with for Principles.
Principles:
Fill the galaxy with the weird, the dangerous, and the wonderful.
Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.
Make the aliens seem human.
Be a fan of the players’ characters.
Treat the crew like red shirts.
Sometimes, disclaim decision-making.
Loyalty to the Confederation is always based on what the Confederation can do for them.
Address yourself to the characters, not the players.
Make your move, but misdirect.
Peace always comes at someone else's expense.
Make your move, but never speak its name.
Always leap to the worst possible interpretation.
Give everyone a life.