50 Things to Write About
Created by Captain John "Apollo" Barstow, M.D. on Saturday 28 May 2016 @ 01:58
It is commonplace in writing that you get to a period where you need something to spice up your character's day to day life on the ship or star base. Here's some ideas that relate specifically to individual characters and do not interfere with an ongoing, major mission of the vessel they are on. Feel free to use any of these and please add anything you can think of that might help others have fun and develop their characters. We have not included holodeck ideas or shore leave ideas since these are virtually limitless.
1. A long lost relative dies and leaves you a gift; a disruptive teenager to look after until a new home can be found.
2. Sign up with the ship's doctor for annual first aid training.
3. Go along with the Marines or security for annual live phaser fire training.
4. Daily exercise routine.
5. Have friends over for dinner.
6. Have the flight officer check you out for your annual certification to fly runabouts.
7. Get an interesting shipboard hobby: musical instrument, computer games, Polynesian dragon boat racing on the holodeck.
8. Independent research project into [insert alien civilization] political unrest.
9. Take shore leave and just post to the group by yourself with the NPCs you meet.
10. Have a maintenance malfunction in your quarters and have to live with the grumpy Klingon security officer for two weeks.
11. Isolate the power draw that's causing a .01 % loss of power to the port warp nacelle.
12. Identify the molecular chain that develops Rectellian Fibrosis in humans.
13. Go outside the vessel in an EVA suit to repair damaged shielding emitters.
14. Find out that the grumpy security guard is missing annual physical training and the only course available is knitting.
15. Find out that the wimpy doctor is missing annual physical training and the only course available is hand to hand combat with the security team.
16. Get stuck with shipboard Legal Officer duty and have to work with alien governments to get drunken crewmen out of bizarre legal customs and strange jails.
17. Get stuck with shipboard Safety officer duty and have to check every emergency escape pod and medical kit on the entire ship.
18. Get stuck with shipboard Supply Officer duty and try and find cargo that was misplaced two months ago while people yell at you because there's no cherry pie in the galley or the replicators.
19. All junior officers eventually have to be the Officer Of the Day, or OOD. Stalk around the ship after hours and try and catch crew members sleeping on watch.
20. Be the OOD and get stuck watching the ship while everybody else goes on shore leave.
21. Get stuck with shipboard Maintenance Officer duty and dispatch repairmen to fix malfunctioning lights in one person's quarters and try to keep the fighter craft operational.
22. Get stuck with shipboard Personnel Officer duty and try and track down someone's back pay in Federation credits while you straighten out the filing disaster the last Personnel Officer left.
23. Get stuck with shipboard Training Officer duty and schedule everybody for regular annual certification and qualifications on hand to hand combat, runabout operations. Be the one who has to tell the Captain that he needs four hours of knitting to meet his annual fitness requirements.
24. Get stuck with shipboard Morale Officer duty, organize volleyball tournaments in the hanger bay and musical concerts as well as help crew members with minor personal difficulties.
25. Have a computer glitch in the watch list and have the wimpy doctor assigned as duty engineering officer.
26. Have a computer glitch in the watch list and have the wimpy doctor be assigned as duty bridge officer and be in charge of the entire starship or station when the Captain and XO are off the bridge.
27. Gather a reading group in the ship's data library.
28. Have a lengthy, detailed dream.
29. Have a detailed memory from your childhood.
30. Discover an anomaly in space from celestial calculations.
31. Discover a computer glitch in the ship's onboard computer system.
32. Find a vulnerability in the ship's computer security system.
33. Meet a potential love interest in the knitting class.
34. Find the missing pet that escaped from a crewman's quarters.
35. Attend shipboard university level class.
36. Teach a shipboard university level class to crewmembers trying for a commission.
37. Get picked for the lead part in the ship's theater troupe for a dramatic play.
38. Get stuck inventorying extremely remote storerooms that aren't even on the ship's schematics.
39. Get stuck as the duty rescue shuttlecraft pilot and called off on a medical emergency in the middle of the night.
40. Plant some vegetables on the biodeck.
41. Get stuck supervising uncooperative engineering technicians changing of air filters in everybody's quarters.
42. Check up on NPCs in your department.
43. Have NPCs in your department come to you with personal problem.
44. Get a pet.
45. Participate in Federation holiday celebration on the ship or star base.
46. Have a relative visit on board for a short while.
47. Supervise the ship's Flying Squad, or fire response and emergency medical teams.
48. Supervise the ship's Security Team, or security fast reaction force.
49. Hang out in the officer's ward room and shoot the breeze with other officers.
50. Perform some day to day rituals unique to your culture.
borrowed from Obsidian Fleet's Task Force 21 "Wolf Star Squadron" and USS Cavalry with their permission
1. A long lost relative dies and leaves you a gift; a disruptive teenager to look after until a new home can be found.
2. Sign up with the ship's doctor for annual first aid training.
3. Go along with the Marines or security for annual live phaser fire training.
4. Daily exercise routine.
5. Have friends over for dinner.
6. Have the flight officer check you out for your annual certification to fly runabouts.
7. Get an interesting shipboard hobby: musical instrument, computer games, Polynesian dragon boat racing on the holodeck.
8. Independent research project into [insert alien civilization] political unrest.
9. Take shore leave and just post to the group by yourself with the NPCs you meet.
10. Have a maintenance malfunction in your quarters and have to live with the grumpy Klingon security officer for two weeks.
11. Isolate the power draw that's causing a .01 % loss of power to the port warp nacelle.
12. Identify the molecular chain that develops Rectellian Fibrosis in humans.
13. Go outside the vessel in an EVA suit to repair damaged shielding emitters.
14. Find out that the grumpy security guard is missing annual physical training and the only course available is knitting.
15. Find out that the wimpy doctor is missing annual physical training and the only course available is hand to hand combat with the security team.
16. Get stuck with shipboard Legal Officer duty and have to work with alien governments to get drunken crewmen out of bizarre legal customs and strange jails.
17. Get stuck with shipboard Safety officer duty and have to check every emergency escape pod and medical kit on the entire ship.
18. Get stuck with shipboard Supply Officer duty and try and find cargo that was misplaced two months ago while people yell at you because there's no cherry pie in the galley or the replicators.
19. All junior officers eventually have to be the Officer Of the Day, or OOD. Stalk around the ship after hours and try and catch crew members sleeping on watch.
20. Be the OOD and get stuck watching the ship while everybody else goes on shore leave.
21. Get stuck with shipboard Maintenance Officer duty and dispatch repairmen to fix malfunctioning lights in one person's quarters and try to keep the fighter craft operational.
22. Get stuck with shipboard Personnel Officer duty and try and track down someone's back pay in Federation credits while you straighten out the filing disaster the last Personnel Officer left.
23. Get stuck with shipboard Training Officer duty and schedule everybody for regular annual certification and qualifications on hand to hand combat, runabout operations. Be the one who has to tell the Captain that he needs four hours of knitting to meet his annual fitness requirements.
24. Get stuck with shipboard Morale Officer duty, organize volleyball tournaments in the hanger bay and musical concerts as well as help crew members with minor personal difficulties.
25. Have a computer glitch in the watch list and have the wimpy doctor assigned as duty engineering officer.
26. Have a computer glitch in the watch list and have the wimpy doctor be assigned as duty bridge officer and be in charge of the entire starship or station when the Captain and XO are off the bridge.
27. Gather a reading group in the ship's data library.
28. Have a lengthy, detailed dream.
29. Have a detailed memory from your childhood.
30. Discover an anomaly in space from celestial calculations.
31. Discover a computer glitch in the ship's onboard computer system.
32. Find a vulnerability in the ship's computer security system.
33. Meet a potential love interest in the knitting class.
34. Find the missing pet that escaped from a crewman's quarters.
35. Attend shipboard university level class.
36. Teach a shipboard university level class to crewmembers trying for a commission.
37. Get picked for the lead part in the ship's theater troupe for a dramatic play.
38. Get stuck inventorying extremely remote storerooms that aren't even on the ship's schematics.
39. Get stuck as the duty rescue shuttlecraft pilot and called off on a medical emergency in the middle of the night.
40. Plant some vegetables on the biodeck.
41. Get stuck supervising uncooperative engineering technicians changing of air filters in everybody's quarters.
42. Check up on NPCs in your department.
43. Have NPCs in your department come to you with personal problem.
44. Get a pet.
45. Participate in Federation holiday celebration on the ship or star base.
46. Have a relative visit on board for a short while.
47. Supervise the ship's Flying Squad, or fire response and emergency medical teams.
48. Supervise the ship's Security Team, or security fast reaction force.
49. Hang out in the officer's ward room and shoot the breeze with other officers.
50. Perform some day to day rituals unique to your culture.
borrowed from Obsidian Fleet's Task Force 21 "Wolf Star Squadron" and USS Cavalry with their permission
Categories: General