[WelshAvenger]

From a story point of view, it's a lot simpler if we go with the TNG levels of equipment. If we went with the STO model, you'd have 'Deus ex Didn't I mention I had this Distortion cannon all along?'

I think we should go with the stun first method. Sure Starfleet killed but mostly they tried to stun first (except during the dominion war).

My 2 cents.

[Allan Hood]

Everyone has the right to write whatever they want, as long as they can back it up with canon, as everyone knows. I don't want us to start telling others what to write and how to write it. We should question people out of curiosity, their interpretation of canon, and story flow, as you're doing. We can even write in that our characters don't approve of something and have a discussion about it in the story. Don't like seeing a longsword in the transporter? Have your character call him/her out on it, too.

i.e. An ARES Away Team beams down... you see a Vulcan science officer, a simple standard phaser tucked in its holster on their side, immediately scan the area with their tricorder. Next to them an Ensign engineer fiddling with his BIG BOOM Gun with no less than five bandoliers across his chest, a huge backpack mounted phase cannon, and a giant 8-foot melee weapon, lovely re-created to honor his favorite RWBY character.

No one's going to do this, don't worry.

Yes, in the series we saw certain members of the crew with personal weapons. But they did not walk around with them while on duty or even for 'typical' away missions. Maybe going to and from the holodeck for a workout/practice. Or an extreme circumstance on a mission. But it was never very overt or in your face. As when you saw them, it was a special or highlighted circumstance.

All that is 100 percent true. Now, with collapsable or retractable weapons, we don't know who could have carried what. Not every crew member is going to be carrying personal weapons. Out of our crew so far, I only know of two that have personal weapons, including myself.

I'm just looking to see what our norm was. Is it based off TV/Movie, where we see they go down with a phaser sidearm (and *maybe* security escorts usually the only one with rifles)? Or are we more based off STO, where everyone has two weapons they deploy on ground missions with?

Our norm is based off TV/Movies. All personal weapons were hidden for diplomatic reasons, most likely. We didn't know what Worf or Sulu was carrying until it was needed, as a last resort.

We already know that there are enemy camps and random attacks, kidnappings of colonists and forced slavery. Officers carrying an extra weapon doesn't seem too far off, especially considering the war just ended. It isn't purely a diplomatic mission. I see it as the standard equipment we've seen in most episodes: type-2, tricorder, sometimes a hidden type-1 in the earlier seasons in combo with personal weapons as seen in the films, IF they wish to carry them.

Also, under what cases and whose authorization are "weapons" allowed to be even issued? On most missions, the Away Team wasn't even armed. They relied on their wits and hand-to-hand fighting to subdue.

Most missions in TNG were diplomatic. In non-diplomatic missions, we see the standard phaser/tricorder. I imagine Worf and Sulu had to get special permission from Starfleet, probably a license, as in my bio, for example. They relied on their wits after they were surprised and caught off guard.

And... (sorry this may be getting a bit long)... are we a Starfleet that kills (i.e. STO-like) or are we more like the series/movies where fighting is the last resort and killing is virtually not done (Borg are an exception, as we are doing that former person a favor... per Picard.)

No one is going to run anyone through with a sword after transporting haha personal weapons have always been used as a last resort. Killing was only done during battles and war, which there may be considering the enemy camps, random attacks, kidnappings of colonists and forced slavery. I figure the captain will try to talk peace with the Naassicans, first. They probably aren't going to go quietly, especially considering how long they've been there and our encounter as we approached.

[Josh Broughm]

Looks like I started something here.

I did Max's background in a way that would be somewhat fun to play with. He know advanced hand-to hand & swordplay. Max taking the sword with him was an instinctual thing that just became habit.

From a canon standpoint, I do get that swords are...non-standard away equipment, so I think I'll do up a post asking the Cap if the sword is overkill.

AS FOR MY ARM......That's imagination gone into overdrive. I had Inspector Gadget in mind when I made it. All the functions of it are in the transfer orders, but here's what it can do...that I can think of...:
- Standard phaser(type VIII variant)
- Flashlight
- Stun grip(on contact)
- Tricorder(basic functions)
- Sword sharpener

Might be more than that, but we'll see.

Oh, Max prefers the slashing style, as he aims to cut the opponent's feet out from underneath him. (Was that German?)

[Allan Hood]

Oh, Max prefers the slashing style, as he aims to cut the opponent's feet out from underneath him. (Was that German?)

(Leg attacks are extra hard with two-handed swords; it takes more reach and other body parts are closer haha it's a good secondary if you miss above the waist haha not very German hahaha)

[LogicalLeopard]

My character also has a concealed weapon license to carry a "retractable cutlass, permission to carry on his person in a concealed manner, including away missions."

I imagine weapons are strictly controlled and authorization is given to those that apply for it. We only seen those on TV, so if the cast had them, and carried them on away missions, I can see that others probably had traditional weapons from their homeworlds, too.

Hehehe when I was in the armed forces we used to joke that our last ditch effort was 'save the last round for yourself'. The thing we dreaded most of all was being told to fix bayonets. I will say, however, that I was in the Royal Air Force so if we were being told to fix bayonets, things were really screwed.

We'll have just the security officers bring personnel weapons down with them because it's their duty to provide security and protection for the people on the planet. Having everyone beaming down to a planet we were invited to visit while carrying every weapon in our possession would send the wrong message to people we are helping. At best they'll be scared to come to us for aid and at worse we'll have a riot on our hands.

And... (sorry this may be getting a bit long)... are we a Starfleet that kills (i.e. STO-like) or are we more like the series/movies where fighting is the last resort and killing is virtually not done (Borg are an exception, as we are doing that former person a favor... per Picard.)

It seems like the issue of bringing swords on the Away team has been handled, or will be soon so I'll leave that alone. However, I would like to point out that there is some fertile roleplaying opportunity over these questions.

When you look at Silynns question of whether or not we're doing the Starfleet that kills, or the Starfleet that does it as a last resort, of course the overall morality of the series calls for the latter, but we have to remember that most of these characters were either directly doing or assisting in doing the former just six years before. Have all of the characters recovered from that mindset? How did the Dominion War shape Starfleet overall? You had a terrifying enemy that could cloak their soldiers and just appear and start killing. Some might have felt comfortable with a knife or collapsible weapon or modified weapon. Or, like WelshAvenger said, a "round in the chamber" type thing to prevent themselves from possible torture at the hands of the Cardassians.

So it's interesting to see how much of that has held over six years later. Security Officers would seem like they'd be the most likely to want extra weapons, but honestly, there could be science officers or doctors who got caught without any weapons and started taking them into situations that seemed dangerous.

So the whole concealed carry thing is very interesting, from the standpoint of what that would mean in Star Trek. There are three types of locations - the ship, Federation Worlds, and Away Missions. Obviously, on whatever Federation world you're on, their individual weapon laws would apply. Kind of like how with concealed carry permits depend on what state you're in, and even what type of building you go in, like a school or government building, etc.

As far as on the ship, there are presumably no threats, so it would seem to me that's more like a permission thing. Like, in the case of a knife or collapsible sword, security or command is basically saying, "Yes, Ensign Heidelberg has permission to have a sword, mek'leth, knife, and yes we know it can be concealed on his person, and we're fine because he's reasonably proficient in it, we've briefed him on safety protocols (what to do in zero g, the proper way to secure it during turbulence/battle shaking, etc), and since we know about it, if an alien virus starts to make people crazy, were going to shoot him first and disarm him immediately." *LOL*

But the away team is where it gets interesting, and the idea of Starfleet issuing permits to people to carry auxillary weapons. Would that have started happening in the Dominion War? Did Starfleet Officers after the Dominion War say, "Look, if you want me to beam down to the planet of Universal Bliss and Happiness and NOT carry a phaser, I'm carrying SOMETHING, because I don't trust them. Too many people have been taken captive, beaten up, killed, and turned into cubes and crushed BEFORE the Dominion War when we were just explorers, so after it, I'm NOT taking chances, because I'm lucky to be alive and I'd like to stay that way."

However everything progresses, I think we should all take the opportunity to have some of these debates come out in our characters thoughts and interactions, based on their experiences and personalities.

[Asteropax]

Yes, WelshAvenger and Logicalleopard nailed and summarized my thoughts and questions.

I know that in ARES Project, we want to keep the creativity open and not put or make many (if any) hard rules regarding this or that. Yet, I think we should have some sort of baseline that we do work from. That way we are all on the same page. Otherwise, some scenes will appear pretty silly when you picture them.

i.e. An ARES Away Team beams down... you see a Vulcan science officer, a simple standard phaser tucked in its holster on their side, immediately scan the area with their tricorder. Next to them an Ensign engineer fiddling with his BIG BOOM Gun with no less than five bandoliers across his chest, a huge backpack mounted phase cannon, and a giant 8-foot melee weapon, lovely re-created to honor his favorite RWBY character.

Yes, in the series we saw certain members of the crew with personal weapons. But they did not walk around with them while on duty or even for 'typical' away missions. Maybe going to and from the holodeck for a workout/practice. Or an extreme circumstance on a mission. But it was never very overt or in your face. As when you saw them, it was a special or highlighted circumstance.

I'm just looking to see what our norm was. Is it based off TV/Movie, where we see they go down with a phaser sidearm (and *maybe* security escorts usually the only one with rifles)? Or are we more based off STO, where everyone has two weapons they deploy on ground missions with?

Also, under what cases and whose authorization are "weapons" allowed to be even issued? On most missions, the Away Team wasn't even armed. They relied on their wits and hand-to-hand fighting to subdue.

As much as I like RWBY, this is Star Trek.

Creativity is good but we can't go overboard. There is no way anyone in the Federation would approve of a Starfleet Officer beaming down to a civilian colony sporting bandoliers and every weapon they can carry. Not even the Klingons, who pride themselves on their warrior culture, have done anything remotely close to that.

With away teams, there have only been 2 pieces of equipment which everyone brings along with them; tricorders and communicators. Anything else is considered extra. When doctors beam down, they have a medical kit with them with some basic supplies. When security officers beam down, they tend to be armed with phaser pistols, carrying rifles only when it looks like there will be a major hostile encounter.

To me, our norm will be based on lore. We bring down what suits our specialization, carrying weapons only if necessary and security being the only ones to routinely bring phasers with them. If people want to bring along a melee weapon, I'm okay with that as long as it is collapsible, like the one we see Sulu use in the reboot movies.

And... (sorry this may be getting a bit long)... are we a Starfleet that kills (i.e. STO-like) or are we more like the series/movies where fighting is the last resort and killing is virtually not done (Borg are an exception, as we are doing that former person a favor... per Picard.)

Starfleet almost exclusively used the stun setting throughout the Star Trek lore history as the first option when firing weapons. Higher "kill" settings were only used on a regular basis during wartime. As of the 2381 year the Ares Roleplay occurs, Starfleet isn't at war. Whenever we get into fights, we'll try to stun opponents first instead of killing. Considering our ship is off on one of the first major deep space exploration voyages since the Dominion War, we'll want to explore and use diplomacy to solve problems rather than fight.

[LogicalLeopard]

By the way, nice details on the Gul Enok thing! An interesting conversation!

[WelshAvenger]

Has anyone heard from KaiserKirk (Doc Hems) recently?

[Scarlett]

Or rybraian?

[Silynn]

According to the Roster... (at the very bottom of any page)

KaiserKirk hasn't logged into the site for 4 weeks.
Rybraian was last on 3-days ago (Rollcall perhaps?).

They are in the CL4 section (for ease of searching).

[Scarlett]

I knew that.

Yes, that's the ticket ...

[WelshAvenger]

According to the Roster... (at the very bottom of any page)

KaiserKirk hasn't logged into the site for 4 weeks.
Rybraian was last on 3-days ago (Rollcall perhaps?).

They are in the CL4 section (for ease of searching).

Well I'll be.... That's real handy. I never noticed that before, thanks Silynn!

[Scarlett]

@Joshua on Storm and origin locale - Texas and Carolinas are worlds apart, lol. As I read the text I get a Texas vibe.

[Josh Broughm]

@Joshua on Storm and origin locale - Texas and Carolinas are worlds apart, lol. As I read the text I get a Texas vibe.

I had a certain YTber in mind when I wrote that. LOL

I guess Texas it is!

[Redking353]

hi, all sorry I have not been as active. just started school back up and had to take an emergency trip to pick up my mother from North Carolina. ill post after i catch back up