Welcome to Ten Forward Fridays, where a new playable species is presented for the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game, filling in some gaps until official material can be released.
The theme for dark and gloomy February is bad guys, with this week being the piratical and aggressive Nausicaans.
Appearing in “flashbacks” during The Next Generation episode 6×15 Tapestry, the Nausicaans became semi-regular background aliens in Deep Space Nine, often as traders or hired “muscle”. They also appeared as raiders in episode 1×10 Fortunate Son of Enterprise, implying the species had warp capabilities before Humans.
Pirates in the pre-Federation era, their presence on Earth (and nearby Starfleet Academy) in Tapestry suggests Nausicaans were not openly hostile with the Federation in the early 24th Century, although their membership status was questionable.
Their proximity to Earth in the 22nd Century suggests their homeworld is relatively close, potentially making them a species whose planet was surrounded by Federation territory. Not presented as particularly intelligent, previous RPG products postulate the Nausicaans stole spaceflight technnology, making them a good example of why the Prime Directive is a good idea. It would be a rare Nausicaan that serves on a Starfleet vessel. A character of this species might be better served as an occasional ally or supporting character. In a campaign set in a static location, such as a planetary base or space station, a Nausicaan could be a helpful resident akin to Quark or Garak.
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