#505272
Welcome to today's First Edition Friday Question, where you get a chance to answer questions that will help shape the future of First Edition. If you'd like to catch up on previous entries, here's a list of all of my previous Friday Questions:
Last night was the finale of the first season of Star Trek: Picard. Did you watch it? Are you going to? I believe CBS All Access is free right now, so if that's been a barrier for you watching either Picard or Discovery, now is a time to catch up. I won't talk about any spoilers here, but I was mostly satisfied with the inaugural season. I think it struck a good balance of world building, nostalgic, and social commentary.
One of the things that happened last night after the finale, since we know a Season 2 is coming, was that my roommates and I talked about potential stories moving forward. In particular, we talked about TNG characters we'd like to see. One of the characters that came up was Q, and there has been some talk internally about reviving the mechanic. I thought that would make a good topic for today's question.
Would you like to see the CC develop new cards?
The mechanic was introduced in 1996 in the Q Continuum expansion. If you aren't familiar with how it works, here's a quick breakdown: you seed a Q-Flash as a doorway, and within it you seed a bunch of the cards. You also seed copies of Q-Flash under missions (just like you would seed a dilemma). When an opponent's Away Team or crew hits one of the Q-Flashes, they face one card from the "Q Continuum" side deck for each personnel in the crew/Away Team. (If you play Second Edition, then you might recognize this mechanic as a prototype of the 2E dilemma mechanic.)
After the mechanic's introduction, it was only occasionally given new cards. Once the OTF rules were created, and dilemmas and cards that seed like dilemmas (including Q-Flash) were limited to two copies, it pretty much put a nail in the coffin of the mechanic. However, there has always been an undercurrent of interest in reviving the mechanic within the Department. When the TNG block was originally being designed, one of the earliest plans was to include a Q-themed expansion in the block. But at the time, there was very little interest in the mechanic getting developed. However, a lot has changed in the almost a decade since, so it's time to ask if we should develop new Q cards?
It won't be without challenges: after all, we'd need to figure out how to enable more Q-Flashes to go under missions. But there is a lot of Q story out there to tap into, and it would be a lot of fun to see it used again. What do you think? Should we do this? Should we let it die? Should it be reinvented? And if we do make new cards, which stories would be at the top of your list?
I sincerely hope that all of you are staying safe and sane in these uncertain times. If anyone needs to chat, I'm going to be holding weekly streams where we can talk about life and 1E. And you can always reach out to me via PM. Check on your friends as much as you can.
-crp
Last night was the finale of the first season of Star Trek: Picard. Did you watch it? Are you going to? I believe CBS All Access is free right now, so if that's been a barrier for you watching either Picard or Discovery, now is a time to catch up. I won't talk about any spoilers here, but I was mostly satisfied with the inaugural season. I think it struck a good balance of world building, nostalgic, and social commentary.
One of the things that happened last night after the finale, since we know a Season 2 is coming, was that my roommates and I talked about potential stories moving forward. In particular, we talked about TNG characters we'd like to see. One of the characters that came up was Q, and there has been some talk internally about reviving the mechanic. I thought that would make a good topic for today's question.
Would you like to see the CC develop new cards?
The mechanic was introduced in 1996 in the Q Continuum expansion. If you aren't familiar with how it works, here's a quick breakdown: you seed a Q-Flash as a doorway, and within it you seed a bunch of the cards. You also seed copies of Q-Flash under missions (just like you would seed a dilemma). When an opponent's Away Team or crew hits one of the Q-Flashes, they face one card from the "Q Continuum" side deck for each personnel in the crew/Away Team. (If you play Second Edition, then you might recognize this mechanic as a prototype of the 2E dilemma mechanic.)
After the mechanic's introduction, it was only occasionally given new cards. Once the OTF rules were created, and dilemmas and cards that seed like dilemmas (including Q-Flash) were limited to two copies, it pretty much put a nail in the coffin of the mechanic. However, there has always been an undercurrent of interest in reviving the mechanic within the Department. When the TNG block was originally being designed, one of the earliest plans was to include a Q-themed expansion in the block. But at the time, there was very little interest in the mechanic getting developed. However, a lot has changed in the almost a decade since, so it's time to ask if we should develop new Q cards?
It won't be without challenges: after all, we'd need to figure out how to enable more Q-Flashes to go under missions. But there is a lot of Q story out there to tap into, and it would be a lot of fun to see it used again. What do you think? Should we do this? Should we let it die? Should it be reinvented? And if we do make new cards, which stories would be at the top of your list?
I sincerely hope that all of you are staying safe and sane in these uncertain times. If anyone needs to chat, I'm going to be holding weekly streams where we can talk about life and 1E. And you can always reach out to me via PM. Check on your friends as much as you can.
-crp
Director of First Edition, 2019 - now
"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty."
Klingons say TRANS RIGHTS.
"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty."
Klingons say TRANS RIGHTS.