This is Part Three of Sargon And Beyond: Operation Silk Roads. Part One of this 2372 campaign setting, which described the premise and presented a general map of the campaign region, is here. Part Two, which is the GM’s Briefing, is here.
In Part Three, we explore some GM options to consider for the campaign. All of these are optional, and as always, tweak anything as you need.
Players shouldn’t read any further, as the following is intended only for the eyes of your GM!
GM Options
Timeline Milestones
These are events and repercussions in the established timeline that affect your crew. This often is an improvement or other change that affects your game during specific periods of time. For Silk Roads in 2372, there are some Timeline Milestones that work well. The Q Civil War in particular may make interstellar exploration exciting.
- KHITOMER ACCORDS BROKEN (January 2372-July 2373): Stardate 49011.4 to 50564.2
- HOMEFRONT (March-May 2372): Stardate 49170.65 to Stardate 49366.1
- Q CIVIL WAR (April 2372-May 2373): Stardate 49301.2 to Stardate 50392.7
Operation Silk Roads
You may choose to start the campaign at either Deep Space 6 or Star Station Echo, whichever makes more sense for your crew.
Operation Silk Roads will require the expedition to bring members of the Diplomatic Corps along, to establish First Contact, draft trade agreements, and negotiate shipping lane rights. Starfleet Intelligence will also want experts in the Romulan Star Empire on the expedition. Each ship will carry subspace relays and deploy them where needed to enable better subspace communications in the unexplored regions. Stellar cartography and astrometrics labs will be essential for mapping the new routes.
You can define what it means for the mission to be a success. One possibility is below, but you can adjust the parameters to your liking. NPC ships may fulfill some of the requirements on their journeys, at your whim.
- one viable route through neutral or allied space;
- 5 friendly ports of call along the route;
- 8 subspace relays distributed equidistant along the way;
- time limit of one year (or the region is deemed too dangerous).
With regards to how many ships are participating in Operation Silk Roads, it is recommended that aside from the players’ ships, two are sent from Deep Space 6 and two from Star Station Echo. (Feel free to adjust the numbers to your liking.) These ships are meant to support each other on the expedition, but it’s up to you whether they travel together, or spread out to find multiple routes. The ships coming from the other direction are only encountered if their paths intersect with the players’ path.
For ambitious GMs with the Command Division sourcebook, this is an opportunity to use the Admiralty Campaign rules on page 37+, or parts of them. If Squadron Points are used, assume 13+ points for the players’ squadron and 9+ points for the ships coming from the other direction. If you don’t want to use Squadron Points, simply pick ships that fit the mission.
Here are some suggested ships and captains to choose from, but feel free to create your own, or ask the players to create them.
* indicates that an article is coming in the near future.
Quickstart Pre-generated Player Ship and Pre-generated Crew
- U.S.S. Thomas Paine (NCC-65530, New Orleans Class, 4 Squadron Points), Captain Rixx
Pre-generated Player Ships
- U.S.S. Yosemite (NCC-19002, Oberth Class, 3 Squadron Points)
- U.S.S. Hathaway (NCC-2593, Constellation Class, 4 Squadron Points)
- U.S.S. Appalachia (NCC-52136, Steamrunner Class, 4 Squadron Points)
- U.S.S. Bozeman (NCC-1941, Soyuz Class, 4 Squadron Points)
- U.S.S. Phoenix (NCC-65420, Nebula Class, 5 Squadron Points)
- U.S.S. Challenger (NCC-71099, Galaxy Class, 6 Squadron Points)
Thirteenth Fleet Ships (DS6)
- U.S.S. Challenge (NCC-75099, Defiant Class, 3 Squadron Points), Captain Sirriv
- U.S.S. Vishpala (NCC-77702, New Orleans Class, 4 Squadron Points), Captain Lakin Viromm
- U.S.S. Cairo (NCC-42136, Excelsior Class, 5 Squadron Points), Captain Edward Jellico
Twentieth Fleet Ships (Star Station Echo)
- U.S.S. Copernicus (NCC-58637, Oberth Class, 3 Squadron Points), Captain Michael Argyle
- U.S.S. Mogami (NCC-44785, Calypso Class, 4 Squadron Points), Captain Ral Fortok *
- U.S.S. T’Kumbra (NCC-62100, Nebula Class, 5 Squadron Points), Captain Solok
Additional Starships
Some additional starship stats may be helpful in the Silk Roads campaign:
- Ferengi Shuttles
- Gorn Starships (for Zrabas and S’kard)
- Maloculan Starships
- Miradorn Theta-Class Raiders are common mercenary starships
- Nausicaan Starships
- Pranir Hyperdrive Starships
- Romulan Small Craft (Scorpion assault fighters and Tiercel-class crafts)
- Santari Starships
- Yridian Starships and Boslic Freighters may be substituted for generic alien starships
Next
Parts One through Three should allow you to start the Operation Silk Roads campaign. We plan to add further materials, such as starships, missions, species, Teasers, Cosmozoan Cards, and NPCs. Watch for them!