Hidden Verbs Part Two (The Interrupt Roundup)

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Hidden Verbs Part Two (The Interrupt Roundup)

by Remo Giancola, Staff Writer

26th March 2024

You, Commander Data, stare hard, watching for the slightest twitch, the merest tremble, the fastest blink-- anything which might signify a bluff. But those confident, steeley-blue eyes only stare right back. Commander Ryker is not having it. He is going to win, again.

With your far-superior eyes you know you could zoom in and read the cards off the reflection in the Commander's right cornea, but Lieutenant Worf is leaning in close, radiating heat off his rather large forehead, listening intently for the audible optical zoom from your eye servos.No, that would not work. On the other hand, with your superior endurance you know you could win the staring contest if it came down to that, waiting as long as it took until the Commander passes out from physical exhaustion. But Councilor Troy was already tapping her perfectly manicured fingernail, slowly, on the felt tabletop. That strategy would not work again.

You need something new, anything, to give you an edge. You could fake a shut-down, and drop face-first into the holo-table, undoubtedly smashing it. And without Jordi here to diagnose you, it might just work. However, the transporter Chief Miles O'Brien had shown up unexpectedly, and he had one hand under the table. Considering his fetish for tools it was probably a hypospanner. He was a formidable engineer, and would be anxious to help. That would not work either.

Finally, there was Ensign Crusher, the most ingenious player of them all. Intriguing. He is not even paying attention, deceptively concentrating on picking a booger. Yes, Wesley. No one is watching you wipe that booger under the table. As usual, the brash young ensign has found a superior strategy. Of course everyone was watching him. He has single-handedly broken the concentration of everyone at the table. Genius.

That seals it. You are trapped, with no way out. You must play your hand, and suffer the consequences.

Back here in the (sort-of) real STCCG 2E world, we all know far too well how Commander Data feels during his beloved poker games with the (mostly) senior staff. Either we're staring at our opponent's two 50-point missions, watching our opponent's 2-Leadership personnel come into play, or sitting helplessly as our opponent scores a much-dreaded 5 points. These are all indicators of a much sinister gameplan, because none of us are immune from the power of the interrupt.

Serving as the most versatile card type of the game, the interrupt can be played at any time for almost any reason. It can cancel other interrupts and events, target personnel coming into play, increase or decrease skills and/or abilities, send ships rocketing across the quadrant, casually throw a monkey wrench into an open engine nacelle, or any one of a hundred other uses.

Welcome to Part Two of Hidden Verbs, the Interrupt Roundup. To recap, I have compiled two comprehensive lists of events and interrupts that do not contain either keywords or icons, causing them to slip through targeted verb searches unnoticed. For the list of events see Part One, the Main Events. The list below is the interrupt list, sorted into three main categories, Utility, Disruption, and Dilemma-based interrupts, each with two subcategories, Conditional and Unconditional (depending on the requirements to use the interrupt). This division only leaves one scoring interrupt (The Warrior's Anthem) and a couple of dual-use interrupts which defy other categories. I have also added more information this time for certain cards. For Conditional Interrupts I have done the same thing I did with Conditional Events and added the condition(s) required to play them (i.e. a staffted ship on Engage Cloak for Silent Strike). But for the Unconditional Interrupts I have added additional information, shorthand for what the interrupt does (i.e. 5-point scoring disruption for Khan!). This makes the list a faster reference resource, since we don't have to click on the link or memorize anything to find out what the interrupt does.

Two notable interrupts I discovered writing this and that I'd like to mention are Parting Shot and The Perils of Peacemaking. After losing to MVB's 5-point shenanigans so many times I have really warmed up to anything that allows me to spend 5 points. Parting Shot helps me weed out those rare-skill personnel for a targeted dilemma pile. And I really like the potential of The Perils of Peacemaking. Being able to suck out one or two Timescapes, Vault of Tomorrows, In Developments, or The Weak Will Perishes from my opponent's dilemma pile would really send my crews into a squealing frenzy. I will consider them both next time I build a deck. Have a look over the list and tell mein the discussion which interrupts (from this list) are your favorites. Enjoy, and I'll see you (and Wesely's boogers) on the holodeck at 1700 hours.

Utility (Conditional)

Allies on the Inside (one Dissident personnel)

Clandestine Agent (your Founder)

Comfort Women (your Gul or Legate)

Fresh Tactic (three Guls)

Holodeck Safety Protocol (your Holoprogram event)

Invasive Transporters (your Jem'Hadar)

The First of Many (your Borg)

The Founder is Wise (your Vorta)

The Order of Things (your Founder or Vorta)

The Rite of Emergence (your Host)

Vorta Discipline (your Founder or Vorta)