Rules

Star Trek is an adventure. Worlds are created and destroyed. Heroes rise and fall, only to rise again. Peace yields to war, chaos finds order, and the boundaries of our knowledge are ever-changing. Star Trek is ideal for role-playing.

Over the years, we have perfected our simming methods to best suit a Star Trek format, both in the chatroom and in our many written logs. The Potemkin is a live-action sim, but there is an important written element not implied by that phrase. For many, the weekly opportunity to read and write Star Trek-based stories about life aboardship is just as important as the hour spent with fellow crewmates in our chatroom.

Whether you prefer writing or role-playing, the Potemkin has something for you.


CHARACTERIZATION

The first and quite possibly most important step in joining a sim is the establishment of the unique character you will portray. Your initial design for this character can be as simple as a name and a race, or a fully developed person with likes, dislikes, family, character traits, and a myriad of other carefully-crafted traits. It is up to you to decide how you wish to initially define your new character. We can promise you, though, that no matter how simple or complex a character is, he or she will begin to grow from the very first sim. We do have a few guidelines and recommendations about creating a character for simming:

  • Don't use a character that has already been established in an episode or a movie. Please create a new and unique character that's all your own, for your benefit and that of the rest of the crew. If you do use a pre-established character, you will be asked to change it.

  • Consider creating a simple character and expanding on him or her as time goes on. Many who create detailed and complete characters find themselves hindered later by what they've created. A simple character will expand and grow very quickly and grow to fit you instead of forcing you to hold back in order to fit it.

  • Don't create a "perfect" character with magical powers or incredible abilities. Telepaths are interesting and great for creative development, but overly powerful beings like the Q or the Organians can hinder the enjoyment of the rest of the crew. As people, we are defined by our limitations, not our strengths. You'll find that playing a character's weaknesses can be the most rewarding and enjoyable parts of your simming career.

  • Have fun! A good character will be fun to play and develop.

    An important part of the characterization process is the character biography, or "bio" for short. A bio should at least include information on the character's name, species, age, gender, rank, service record, and personality. All new crewmembers are given a user name and password to allow them to log in to the Potemkin website and place this information online.


    SIMMING

    The primary focus of the Potemkin has always been the hour each week when the crew comes together to play off of one another at the sim. Each sim has a unique storyline designed for the crew's enjoyment. The background of the plot will generally be available a day before the sim in a mission briefing or teaser log e-mailed to the crew. If not, a briefing will be presented at the beginning of the sim.

    When simming, we use certain symbols to represent various events and actions. These symbols, as well as common variations, are listed below.

  • Performing an action. To have your character perform an action, place the description of the action inside of a pair of colons. (e.g. "::Fires phasers::")

  • Communicating by commbadge. If your character is saying something to someone else using a communicator, put "+taps+" in front of the text. (e.g. "+taps+ Ensign Warp to Captain Putty.") On the Potemkin, this is more often seen with the name of the person being contacted put in the place of "taps." (e.g. "+Putty+ Ensign Warp to Captain Putty.")

  • Telepathic conversation or thoughts. Telepathy and thoughts to oneself are usually placed inside of tildes ("~~") or triple curly brackets ("{{{}}}"). (e.g. "~I'm in trouble!~" or "{{{I'm looking for you now. Hold on!}}}") Or, due to the move to Discord, can also be made italic with using a star at the start and end of your telepathic statement, making sure there is no space after the first star and after the end of your statement before the last star. (e.g. *I'm in trouble!*)

  • Out-of-context (OOC) comments. OOC comments are placed inside of double less-than and greater-than symbols, or inside of a pair of parentheses. (e.g. "<>" or "((Hey, sorry I'm late!))") Please keep OOC comments to a minimum, as they can disrupt the flow of the sim.

  • Away team/location markers. When there are events taking place in several locations during a sim, the captain or first officer or plot runner might request you to add a "-location" to your name. This will allow everyone to know what location you are in.

  • Plot or story actions. Actions and events affecting the entire ship are traditionally depicted by having the text "ACTION>" placed in front of it. The description of the action is sometimes written in capital letters or is bold, or both, though this varies. Actions should only be performed by the captain, first officer, or plot runner unless permission is given. (e.g. "ACTION> THE SHIP SHAKES VIOLENTLY."). To make the "ACTION>" bold, you can place it within double-stars, following the rule of Telepathy above with spacing of the stars. (e.g. **ACTION>**)


    Be sure to arrive for the sim a few minutes early to allow the sim to start on time. When the pre-sim briefing begins, either the captain or first officer will announce, "ATTENTION ON DECK." After this, each member of the crew replies, "::AA::," which means "at attention." In order to make things go quickly during the briefing, it is asked that comments be kept at a minimum and all comments be placed inside of less-than and greater-than symbols as explained above for OOC text.

    Once the mission has been explained, the captain or first officer will announce, "BEGIN SIM." Once this has occurred, everyone's character is at his or her post, or at a location specified in the briefing.

    During a sim, the use of bold or ALL CAPITALIZED text is reserved for the captain, first officer, or plot runner. Please do not use any of these text styles during the sim.

    The sim may be paused momentarily and continued, but generally, once "PAUSE SIM" has been called by the captain or first officer, the sim is over. Each crewmember replies, "::paused::" and then "ATTENTION ON DECK" is called once more. Promotions and post-sim comments are handled here. Once they are complete, "DISMISSED" is announced and the crew departs.


    LOGS

    Between sims, many crewmembers write logs and e-mail them to the crew. Our definition of a "log" is broad, and one person's logs may be written in a completely different format than that of another. Generally, a log is either done in the style of the shows, simply describing the events by having the person speak, or done in the style of fan fiction writing, as though the events are a story.

    There are three classifications for logs: personal logs, duty logs, and joint logs. They are explained below.

  • Personal Logs: A personal log is a log about something that has happened to your character during off-duty time. If in story form, it might involve a holodeck adventure. If in verbal/descriptive form, it could describe a trip to the arboretum. These logs are the most commonplace, and the most fun to write, because they allow for the most character development.

  • Duty Logs: A duty log is a log written about events that occurred while your character was on-duty. A duty log written in story form might involve a maintenance job that you had to perform during your day. If written in verbal/descriptive form, duty logs most often describe the events of the last sim, although this is not always the case.

  • Joint Logs: A joint log is a log written cooperatively between two or more people. These are nearly always in story form, and involve the characters of two or more simmers. These can be great for character interaction and development, as well as to get to know your fellow simmers.

    There are a few things to keep in mind when writing logs out of courtesy to the entire crew.

  • First, if you are going to include someone else's character in one of your logs, ask that person for permission first. You shouldn't make any major character developments relating to a character other than your own unless you have express permission.

  • Second, please don't make any major alterations to the current plotline or the ship's state in your logs without discussing it with the captain or first officer. Sometimes those changes can derail a plot or affect a story arc.

    Logs are used as a criteria for promotions and commendations, but they're also simply fun to write. It is suggested that you write one duty log and personal log per week. In practice, numbers vary, but the optimal weekly number to increase your chances of a promotion is at least two.


    PROMOTIONS: SECTION PENDING

    Promotions are some of the events that the crew anticipates most. They are earned, and although the requirements for promotions vary from ship to ship, promotion requirements will never be excessive or unreasonable. Generally, the requirements for the promotion of an ensign will be four weeks of attendance (consecutive) and two logs per week. The requirements increase as you move up in the ranks, and are, of course, at the captain's discretion.

    The following is a list of the ranks used aboard the Potemkin, in descending order from captain to ensign. Included is a list of abbreviations for each rank.

  • Captain: The commanding officer of a sim. This rank can only be held by a host of the sim. Although commanding officers are sometimes promoted beyond Captain, this is rare. It is equally rare for the first officer to hold the rank of Captain, but on occasion, that has been known to occur. (Abbreviations: Capt, Cpt)

  • Commander: This rank is normally only held by a host of the sim, although it is sometimes awarded to non-hosts for exceptional performance. The Executive Officer (XO) normally holds the rank of Commander, although some (such as Spock from TOS) serve as XO while holding a lower rank. (Abbreviations: Cmdr, Cdr)

  • Lieutenant Commander: A simmer holding this rank has displayed excellent leadership skills and may lead away missions. They may become hosts in the SLA and eventually move up to a First Officer or Captain position on the Potemkin or another sim. A ship's Second Officer often holds this rank. (Abbreviations: LtCmdr, LtCmd, LtCdr)

  • First Lieutenant: Simmers holding the rank of First Lieutenant have displayed leadership skills and begun to stand out in their particular department. They may serve as department head. They will also lead away missions. (Abbreviations: FstLt, FLt, FstLtn)

  • Lieutenant: A simmer who holds the rank of Lieutenant has an up-to-date biography and is beginning to display leadership qualities. They help newcomers to feel welcome in their department and have shown good attendance. The simmer may become the assistant department head of the department in which they serve. (Abbreviations: Lt, Ltn)

  • Lieutenant, Junior Grade: The rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade (or Lieutenant J.G. for short) is the first step after the rank of ensign. A Lieutenant J.G. will have attended at least four consecutive sims and written two logs for each sim attended. While still newcomers to the crew, they are beginning to show promise. This simmer will have created a character biography and are keeping it updated. (Abbreviations: LtJG, LtnJG)

  • Ensign: The rank of Ensign is assigned to every new crewmember on the Potemkin. There is no Cadet rank or required Academy. An Ensign is a new recruit and has just joined the crew. If this simmer attends sims regularly and writes logs, he or she can be promoted beyond this rank. (Abbreviations: Ens, En, Ensign)


    CONCLUSION

    Simming is an extremely exciting and creative activity that will allow you to explore new worlds and to truly make a difference. The Potemkin prides itself on offering a nurturing environment for new simmers, giving them the opportunity to expand and develop their simming abilities and their characters as they become familiar with the format and the premise of the sim.

    The information above covers all of the basic aspects of a sim. If anything comes up that is not explained here, don't hesitate to contact your department head, the first officer, or the captain and ask questions!

    Welcome aboard!