Welcome back to another NPC from Tuesdays at Quark’s! We’re wrapping up our exploration of the original Star Trek series time with a standard of seafaring and spacefaring stories: the conniving, unscrupulous merchant.
In this character we combine two favorite elements of the original series: greedy civilians and the weird-looking Saurians. First appearing in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Saurians have been fan-favorites for a long time. They are one of the playable species in Star Trek Online and, of course, one of the species written up by Jester David here on this site. They are a fun species to portray, particularly because of their famous Saurian brandy which everyone in Starfleet seems to enjoy.
Today’s NPC, Nakotti, is a culmination of these things. He’s certainly an accessible character with clear motives (get rich quick!) but he can sneak in under the radar because he seems like such an innocuous fellow. He’s got that nice brandy, he’s from a species that looks like a Mutant Ninja Turtle, and he just wants to sell you something. In the end, though, he’s just Harry Mudd with scales. He can operate in as sleazy or as slick a way as you want, possibly helping the characters out with deals and information even while acting like a selfish jerk (in that case, more of a Quark than a Mudd).
There are lots of directions to take Nakotti but here are some ideas to get you started.
- An outbreak of Vikarian Flu has brought a Federation colony to its knees and the cause is found to be sickened livestock sold to the colonists by Nakotti. He claims he is being set up, however, that Klingons sold him the animals specifically to bring to this colony. If Starfleet is willing to waive charges he will even help them track down the Klingons responsible…
- The crew welcomes aboard a group of civilians, including a very charming Saurian. Nakotti brings with him a “Gasoka board” which he happily gives to the crew to play along with a series of very complicated rules. In reality, Nakotti doesn’t know what this thing is. He found it on an alien planet and thought it looked vaguely game-like. That’s why he has no idea how to stop it when people start hallucinating after playing a few games.
- Starfleet Intelligence has a chance to contact a Klingon operative who wants to push the Empire to a more open stance with the Federation. They need the crew to travel disguised as Kriosians to make contact with the operative, and they have to rely on Nakotti to smuggle them across the Klingon border. Can they trust the Saurian not to sell them out? For that matter, can they trust their Klingon contact?
Click on the image below for the PDF.
Adventure Tag: ADV001