[Faithful Reader]

It's Wednesday! We're more than halfway through the week. Since we are over the hump, let's look at a question!

Last Week: GoFORever
3-22-23 Play Twenty Cards
3-15-23 aGarak
3-8-23 Rummage Sale!
3-1-23 Judge, Jury, Hall of Famer 2023
2-22-23 Gone Izing
2-15-23 Trading Cards: Timeless/Nemesis
2-8-23 Algebra!
2-1-23 What we Fifties Behind
1-25-23 Back to the Fifties
1-18-23 Pick a Promo: Story Voting
1-11-23 Vintage Archive
1-4-23 Pick a Promo: Tell me a Story (or Nine)

This week, we look at strength. As one of the attributes, this can go anywhere from one to ten with one being weakest of the weak (Such as https://www.trekcc.org/2e/?cardID=4111) and ten being the strongest of the strong (usually a Data of some sort) and everywhere in-between.

But as Barclay showed, we can exceed that if given proper justification. So this week, give an example of a personnel that could feasibly have a strength of eleven.

[jadziadax8]

Was surprised they didn't give an 11 to Fek'lhr.

[edgeofhearing]

Was surprised they didn't give an 11 to Fek'lhr.

I thought he was in testing and I double checked; and he was 11 Strength in version A. I wasn't on that side of the set though, so I don't recall when/why he changed when Barclay stayed at 11.

[GooeyChewie]

I was also on the other side of that expansion, but I think the thinking was that each card that breaks a rule should only break one rule. And Fek’lhr’s rule break is having Honor and Treachery on the same personnel. But I’m not 100% sure on that.

Personally I can’t think of a personnel who should have Strength 11. They’d have to be stronger than androids who have proven mega-strength (to put it as Picard did in The Measure of a Man). I might have said The Pendari Champion, but we already have him at 9.

[Enabran]

Ruk should be the one.
1E is much better in giving numbers than 2E and 1E gave him a fantastic 16 - thats 4 more Strength than Data has.

Khan should also have more than 8. Eventually he was able to lift up Chekov in his spacesuit with one hand!

[The Guardian]

I've always looked at the attributes on 2E cards as being on an exponential curve. Is 8 twice as powerful as a 4 on whatever scale? No. It's probably insanely more powerful. Someone with a Cunning of 7 is on a whole other level from someone with a Cunning of 6. We might have seen someone with a Cunning of 6 outsmart another someone with a Cunning of 6 on the show, but that scale just means they're in the same ballpark. A ship with Weapons of 9 is a generation of development beyond a ship with Shields of 8. It's why Borg ships don't have insane attributes in 2E and why Riker and Picard have equal Strength.

Now, that falls apart a little when Range is calculated pretty linearly and we add Weapons, Shields, and Strength for battles, but it's a game, so it works for me. Can a couple of Humans working together take down Khan? Maybe. So, for the game, let's say yes.

[The Prefect]

I've always looked at the attributes on 2E cards as being on an exponential curve. Is 8 twice as powerful as a 4 on whatever scale? No. It's probably insanely more powerful. Someone with a Cunning of 7 is on a whole other level from someone with a Cunning of 6. We might have seen someone with a Cunning of 6 outsmart another someone with a Cunning of 6 on the show, but that scale just means they're in the same ballpark. A ship with Weapons of 9 is a generation of development beyond a ship with Shields of 8. It's why Borg ships don't have insane attributes in 2E and why Riker and Picard have equal Strength.

Now, that falls apart a little when Range is calculated pretty linearly and we add Weapons, Shields, and Strength for battles, but it's a game, so it works for me. Can a couple of Humans working together take down Khan? Maybe. So, for the game, let's say yes.

One of the things I miss about attributes in 1e is that there seems to be more of a difference between species - the biological norms are different for species.

Consider:

Kira Nerys: 7.7.8.
Dukat: 4.8.9.
Weyoun: 5.9.5.
Jean-Luc Picard: 9.8.6.
Quark: X.8.3.
Gowron: 8.7.9.
Tomalak: 7.7.9.

Each of these characters represent different species, and each seem to have their own biological distinctiveness as reflected in the shows and/or movies. Bajorans tend to have higher base Integrity and Strength, Cardassians tend have higher base Strength and Cunning, Humans tend to have higher base Integrity and Cunning, etc.

In 2e, we see that biological distinctiveness reflected in Strength with Klingons and Jem'Hadar most clearly and with Vulcans' Cunning and Strength to a lesser extent. But Bajorans, Cardassians, Humans, and Romulans might as well all be the same species from an attribute range perspective. Also, I never understood why 8 in Integrity just means "extra honorable" (as in JLP) for most species while the same value in Cunning or Strength on a Bajoran, Cardassian, Human, or Romulan denotes superhuman qualities not naturally achievable.

Note: this is not a complaint so much as a "while we're on the subject of attributes" post...