Happy First of April. Aka April Fools Day.
As a Sunday, there would normally be a starship spaceframe here on Continuing Mission. But I’m taking a break to do something somewhat silly.
The Orville
Arguably the best Star Trek show to be released in 2017. While a comedy series and a parody of Star Trek, the show is very clearly also a love letter to the franchise, especially The Next Generation. And a science fiction show so enjoyable, even Fox couldn’t cancel it!
So why not merge it with Star Trek Adventures providing spaceframe rules for the Orville itself as well as two species: the Kaylon and the Jelly? It makes perfect sense, especially on today, the silliest of holidays.
Well… the silliest holiday next to Arbor Day.
The ECV-197 Orville
The Orville is fairly small, being somewhere been 200 and 400 meters in length, with most guesses placing it around the size of an Intrepid-class starship, but with half that length being the arches on the back. The total livable size might be smaller. Because Union technology (especially weapons and shields) are presented as being a little less robust compared to the Federation’s, I’ve “rounded down” the size to Scale 3. But it wouldn’t be out of line to knock it up to a Scale 4.
A ECV ship might be from a species other than humanity that is forming its own Union, perhaps on the far side of known space. A rival for resources, planets, and allies that isn’t overtly hostile. Or the ship could be presented as hailing from another reality.
It’d also be fun to just dump the setting of Star Trek and jump ship into the more untapped world of The Orville and use the Star Trek Adventures rules to play in that setting.
Click Image for PDF
Kaylon
The science officer of the Orville is Isaac, a Kaylon. Kaylons might be a heretofore undiscovered species at the edges of the Federation. Or they could be from another reality or time, perhaps being recovered in ruins or a derelict spacecraft, the sole survivor of another era. The Kaylon lore could also be dropped and these mechanics could be used to play a variant android created by Starfleet or another species, such as the Cardassians or Romulans.
Click Image for PDF
Jelly
A seemingly throw-away background character on the Orville is Yaphit, the easy going gelatinous lifeform. Amusingly, the character ends up appearing seven episodes, over half the first season. And gets a couple good character moments.
More than other species, Jellies are a fun addition to the game, being something not previously seen in Star Trek. A gelatinous lifeform doesn’t sound too implausible in the vastness of space. And it’s something fun and different with its own unique experiences and challenges.
Click Image for PDF
Is the “Swift Response” Talent supposed to be the mentioned “Kaylon-Built Body” Talent? It doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with responding swiftly.
Likewise, I presume that a Jelly would be required to take the Gelatinous Anatomy Talent at some point during character creation?
Yes on both counts.
Missed the first. Old cut-and-paste error when getting the formatting right. Crud.
The second I realised, but weighed the pros and cons of making a new version of the file for that one line…
Can you add the other races so I can start my Union campaign😁
I’ll probably do a second Orville Fool’s Day in a month or so, with Moclans, Xelayans, and possibly Krill. Now that we know enough about their culture and worlds.