31 Days / 31 Characters - CURIOUS MERP

Character: Merp

AKA: Ensign Merp, Curious Merp

Player: Adam Dickstein

System: Star Trek Adventures, 2nd Edition

 

Nature: Not yet applicable

Gamemaster: Not yet applicable

Circa: December 28th, 2024. Not yet used.

Origins: I fell in love with Star Trek: Lower Decks right from the very beginning. Now, with the series completing its run with Season 5 (at least at the time of this writing), I'm even more inspired to run and/or play a 'Lower Decks' style campaign of Star Trek Adventures. The Second Edition of the game is now available and while I wasn't particularly interested in giving it ago*, I did consider, 'Why not make a 2E character for the 31 Day Character Challenge?'.

A about a year ago (roughly) I came up with some alternative Character Creation rules for making a Lower Decks PC that seems closer to the characters on the show. The write-up for Ensign 'Curious' Merp does not reflect this as my objective was to see how 2nd Edition was different from First. I didn't want to confuse things with my own houserules. I might redo him if I were going to use him in a full-on campaign. 

Why a...Merp?

Well, the Merp are an alien species introduced to the Star Trek universe in the inagural season of Lower Decks, though they remained unnamed for sometime. Eventually we learn that one individual member is named Merp. Later in the series we meet another nicknamed 'Big Merp'. The third member identified is a female called 'Sleepy Merp'. We still don't have an official name for these aliens but it would seem they're simple called the Merp. Each Merp is named Merp. This humorous concept spurred me on to create this PC. 

Merp, Big Merp, and Sleepy Merp.

Backstory: Merp, like so many Merp, was born on the Merp homeworld to a family of artists and creative philosophers. Merp grew up fascinated by the idea that a people's art could give you insights into their culture and even their biology. His parents were extremely supportive, as not only was Merp their only son but their worldview was all about 'following your heart, mind, and spirit wherever they lead you'. I imagine them being low-fi nerdy space hippies.

Once he was old enough, he applied to Starfleet Academy, deciding to Major in Anthropology and Cultural Studies. Combining his studies he focused on researching his idea of learning about sentient species through their art. Merp Minored in Xenobiology to round out his theories. This and his overall nature earned him the nickname 'Curious Merp' from his classmates.

Merp graduated to the rank of Ensign and was assigned to the Starfleet Support Service vessel USS Long Beach, a California Class starship specializing in Scientific Research and Survey Operations. 

Overview: I love the idea of a character who is intelligent, kind of nerdy, and accidentally brave. That is to say, he is so eager to learn, to understand and know his universe, that he is willing to put himself in mortal danger to do so. You'll notice his Attributes reflect this, giving him a decent Daring for a Junior Science Officer. 

The Highlights: None yet. 

Game Info:

Note that there are no official stats for the Merp species. I based them on the Aquans from the Star Trek: Animated Series, which are depicted in the Animated Series Campaign Guide. I made a few changes but not much. My reasoning is that in at least one episode we very clearly see Big Merp with his shirt off and he has gills on the sides of his ribs.

Full transparency, I used the absolutely amazing Star Trek Adventures Campaign Creator by BC Holmes, a fan who has gone above and beyond in the development of an indispensible sets of tools for running a Star Trek campaign. If you plan to run Star Trek Adventures, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Notes:

The ship Curious Merp is assigned to is named for Long Beach, CA, known for Long Beach Comic Con and being the home of my paternal grandfather for decades. My grandpa and my dad were both born in Southern California. 

*I have nothing against Second Edition but I also don't feel the need to switch my current campaign from 1st. Why? After 10 years or so of running Star Trek Adventures and modifying the game to my liking - adding houserules, taking away unnecessary elements - I have the 'edition' of the game that works best for me. The 'Barking Alien' edition.

This is pretty common for me with games I've played again and again over a long stretch of time. 

Legacy: I want to play this guy sooo badly. I've got ideas man. IDEAS! He has an outlook!  He's got goals! He loves to play Human party games like Charades and Pictionary so he can better understand how others think. Get to know him! He definitely wants to get to know you!

How far can I take him? Ensign to Chief Science Officer perhaps? I'd really like to try. 

AD

Barking Alien