Civilian Simming Guide

			Divisions and Personnel Assignments

A note on Civilian professions and backgrounds

Within the Federation, people develop careers to better themselves. Some do this in service to Star Fleet but millions do not. So perhaps the first and most important question you must ask as a writer, when developing your civilian, is what is your character's profession? And by extension, what is their background and why have they found themselves within a Star Fleet ship or base? While this may seem daunting, it is helpful to know that any career one might envision having inside of Star Fleet, one could also have as a civilian. So it is very easy to imagine someone finishing school on a Federation world and then going on to becoming a counselor, engineer or even a scientist. But this isn't the limit of what types of careers a Civilian could have by any stretch. If you can think of a 24th century analogy to a 21st century career, you could have your character become it. So careers like artists, reporters, shop keepers, and even politicians are completely plausible.

Civilians in the Trek universe owe great thanks to characters such as Quark, Neelix and Guinin but at the same time the character you write isn't defined by the stereotypical image of a civilian cook or bartender.

One last thing needs to be considered when developing a civilian, and that is how they will fit in aboard the starship or base you will be writng on. This is why having a career is important, because now your civilian isn't just a hitchhiker but someone that could be called upon to contribute to a mission. Whether your creating a new character or writing for the first time, a discussion with your CO will allow you and your CO to figure out how to fit your civilian into future missions and any other concerns you may have initially.

Before the Mission

Before the mission, depending on your class of civilian your role varies. For example, if you are a botanist, you can say that your character has made an important discovery on plant life that could improve relations on another planet. Or, if your character is a cook, you could say that she was cooking a new recipe that went horribly wrong and ended up poisoning the entire crew that had eaten in the cafeteria. Mainly your job is to have the ship run as smoothly (or not as smoothly) as possible.

During the Mission

Getting your character involved with the current mission is probably the most difficult part of being a civilian. Once you have done this though, the momentum of the mission should give you plenty of opportunities to join in on the mission fun and drama.

So first things first, don't wait to be given a way into a mission by other crew members, find unexpected ways to have your character stumble into the fun. This is part of the fun of being a civilian, finding unique ways to approach a mission. For example if there is a medical conference, even if your character isn't a doctor, have your character attend "because they always wanted to learn more" or "because someone close to your character dragged them along". If your character is a merchant, maybe he/she would ask for permission to tag along on an away mission to pick up supplies or so that he/she can meet a client. The key is to make whatever is happening a part of your character's life (however shallow that reason may be initially) in order to get them involved in the mission.

Then you can run with what happens next. Be it as acting as a nurse when a strange disease hits the medical conference or acting as a guide on an away mission. Sometimes you may know what your role in a mission will be but if you don't know, just focus on simming how your character would react to a specific situation.

Never be afraid to discuss a mission in character with other crew members. Who knows which crew member can make use of your particular character's skill set in any particular situation. And just like any other posting and player, talking with your CO and XO out of character, is a good way to get help in finding ways into the plot if you are still struggling.

After the Misison

Once everything has been finished on the mission, back to square one right? Wrong, there is still so much for your civilian character to do! When the ship was attacked, did one of your close friends get injured or die? Sim the emotions of the character. It will be a good read for everyone as well as lead to further character development. Also as a civilian, you get to tell about what happened behind the military lines. What was seen? How did it affect your character and the outcome of the mission? All of these rules should help you get started on simming this duty post.

Mission Specialist	Helm/Com/Ops	Engineer	Science Officer	Medical Officer	Nurse
Intelligence Officer	Security Officer	Tactical Officer	Marine	Counselor	Civilian

	Duty Posts