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To be merry and in love…
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by Sean O'Reilly, Staff Writer
14th February 2019
“This human emotion, love, is a dangerous thing, Picard, and obviously you are ill-equipped to handle it. She’s found a vulnerability in you. A vulnerability I’ve been looking for for years. If I had known sooner, I would have appeared as a female. Mark my words, Picard, this is your Achilles heel.”
Love.
The emotion causes strong responses in humanoids to make them act irresponsible. Even a stoic Vulcan will sometimes shed a tear upon losing someone they loved. (Though they won’t admit to feeling “love.”)
Star Trek series mostly focused on exploring the unknown, whether it is outer space or the space between one’s ears (be they pointed or not).
Jean-Luc Picard once admitted regret over not starting a family. He put duty as a Starfleet officer over personal relationships. That is, until he met Vash.
The archeologist was a liar and a thief who knew how to win over a man’s heart for her own benefit.
in the episode “Qpid,” Q quickly realized Vash opened up a previously-unknown vulnerability in the U.S.S. Enterprise captain. The omnipotent being decided to play a little game in Sherwood Forest to explore love in depth.
Q transformed Vash into Maid Marian, Jean-Luc into Robin Hood, and the Enterprise’s bridge crew in Robin’s band of merry men (except Worf who protested he wasn’t merry.)
That brings us to two cards revealed today: Jean-Luc Picard (Reluctant Swashbuckler) and Vash (Duplicitous Damsel).
The design team wanted to represent both characters as they appeared in “Qpid.” We made them both Federation with a TNG icon. This was done for game balance to limit the number of decks they could go into because of their abilities.
You will note neither Jean-Luc nor Vash has a command icon. We felt they didn’t deserve one because they are not commanding a ship.
Since Q brought them into Sherwood Forest, we gave them both the Q keyword. We felt this to be appropriate as the only other personnel to be part of a Q-induced scenario, Jean-Luc Picard (Unraveled), also has the Q keyword.
Each affiliation has its own “flavor.” Romulans try to prevent cards from coming into play. Bajoran like to manipulate the past (the discard pile). TNG Feds help both players.
In that vain, when you play Reluctant Swashbuckler or Duplicitous Damsel, each player can download a copy of Vash or Jean-Luc-Picard respectively. What is interesting about the ability, is you are not limited to downloading the Sherlock Forest version of their persona.
Jean-Luc’s ability plays off Robin Hood’s idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. You score 5 points when he is about to be stopped by a dilemma, if Vash is present. We limited the ability to once each turn so it could not be abused in combination with William T. Riker (First Officer).
Vash is a damsel in distress that will do anything to save herself. She is willing to “pay” to keep from being killed or captured. This is represented in her ability.
As for their skills, we played off the Sherwood Forest characters they are playing.
Robin Hood is an honorable man, who is leading his bunch of merry men. He may break the law, but he only does it to secure the freedom against a tyrannical king.
In trying to escape from her captors, Vash is very diplomatic and treacherous. She knows how to manipulate men and is willing to do so for her own gain.
That wraps up the expansion full of love in all its forms. I hope you enjoy our special Valentine’s Day treat and can’t wait for you to unwrap some more “gifts” later this year.
If you are interested in trying out a few of the new Qpid cards, I put together the following Federation deck using personnel and their romantic partners or spouses and cards using images from "Qpid." The dilemma pile doesn't play in Sherwood Forest, but play a different game with your opponent.
Discuss this article in this thread.
This deck is currently eligible for the following family or families of achievements:
- Next Generation Player
- Nonlethal Force
- Anywhere You Go...
- How About a New Mission, Admiral? I
- Chula: Not a Game
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