LESSON 3: Character Depth
Characterizations
If you had to give your fellow crewmates a code name and describe them, what would it be like?
Loner - keeps to himself, very little known about him, a loner, social skills not well developed, feelings of frustration over his inadequacy, good team player, an accomplished officer.
Dad - Military history, devoted father & husband, easy to get along with.
Joker - Very intelligent & humorous, mixed human & of a race that few trust, resembles the other race (not human), feels that his appearance makes people pre-judge him.
Big Kahuna - Strong parental ties, background drew her to a career with Starfleet, excellent service record, recently promoted, very accomplished, doesn't talk to renegade sister.
Widower - Wife died recently, little known about him, loved wife dearly, still upset about her death, easy going & accepting.
Wildwoman - Mentally scarred regarding physical differentiation's (abnormalities), uninhibited, easy to get along with, courageous, direct.
Mystery man - Files indicate little/nothing about his performance record or past, all that is given is that he has a slight physical birth defect, doesn't socialize much yet.
Overachiever - Due to past she now wants to "do it all", accomplished, hard working, easy to talk to.
Linguist - fluent in all languages, a historian, distinguished record, file shows nothing on personal life, doesn't socialize much yet.
This is an excellent way of keeping records (notes) on fellow crew members. Not only do you get to know the person prior to counseling sessions but you can refer to them at different points in time (in session or out). I like to keep my notes on people on a file disk that way I can update them as I receive new info. You do not have to have special empathic or telepathic abilities to function as a counselor. Trust your instincts and intuition, use your skills & training.
Using Biographies
As I mentioned in the first lesson, character biographies are an important part of your crewmates' characters. Let's say for a moment that Lt. Redgrave submitted a character biography which just stated things about himself. Then, later you read that he is crying over the death of his wife. You can add this information to your notes. If your counselor is and empath, able to feel other people's emotions, or a telepath, able to read other people's thoughts, then you can go to wherever Redgrave is and try to comfort him. If your counselor is neither an empath nor telepath, then you can just state in your log that you noticed he was a little sad.
Creativity
On the ship, the Captain is in charge and violation of his/her authority is a court martial offense. I believe everyone is familiar with the rank structure of Star Trek, if you are not, ask. Your responsibility as a player includes, keeping your dept. alive and functioning. If this means making up work for yourself, do it. Or if you are a dept. assistant, make sure you back up and help your dept. head. Also you all have the right to add to the story at will, as long as it does make sense and is not offensive. Your captain is there to guide you on the mission but he/she can't do it alone.
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LESSON 4: Socializing
One-to-One
Here is an example of an individual session which I feel is very productive:
Alexander Redgrave comes into my office and he is clearly concerned about something. I sit him down and ask him what is wrong and he begins to tell me that he has realized that he procrastinates on the job and that the head Horticulturist in the arboretum, where he works, is getting slightly ticked off with him. "Do you like cake?" I ask him. He replies that he does. "Which part of the cake do you like better," I went on, "the cake or the frosting?"
"Oh, the frosting!" He responded enthusiastically.
"And how do you eat a piece of cake?" I inquired, feeling that I must be the most inane counselor that ever lived.
"I eat the frosting first, of course." he replied.
Now, from his cake eating habits, what can you see? Well, for starters, the whole cake thing is a metaphor. Can you see it? If not, don't fret, I will explain it for you. On any given day, Alexander would devote the first hour to the more gratifying things about the job and then spend the rest of the time milling through the rest of the day. Now, here comes your part. In this situation, you must first proceed by suggesting to Redgrave that he try to devote the first hour to the less gratifying things of his job, and then he'll have the rest of the time to enjoy the more pleasant things.
Contact and Interaction
What do you do once you leave your office? Well, for starters, let's go to the bridge. What should you do on the bridge? Well I'm sure you've all seen Counselor Troi in TNG. What does she do on the bridge? Well, she sits there is that cute little purple outfit and looks beautiful. Yes, but that's not all. The viewscreen goes off, Picard has just finished talking to the captain of the other ship. He turns to his left and (Now, here comes your part) he asks the counselor for her assessment on the situation. Now, your job is to tell him how you felt about the other captain. If you are telepathic or empathic, then you can tell him what you sensed from the other captain. Be sure to keep your response in context with the storyline, but this does not mean you can't be creative (Lesson 3). Tell him what you think, and add what you like; aliens, weapons, poisons etc. Creativity is the soul to a good rpg, so please use all you have. Now let's take your counselor somewhere else. It truly does not matter where, try to get your counselor involved in all areas of the ship, and be sure to go to places were there are a lot of people so you can observe them around others or, as I like to say, PEOPLE WATCH.
Chin Up
Hey, I never said it was an easy job. It comes with its own share of headaches, but don't fret, there's hope, it's a big universe. The reason you must be so full of hope is because a lot of times, the crew will look to you for their morale. If you notice that the Lt. is mad because she can't make that three pointer in the gym, point out something that she can do. If the ensign is sad and thinking about his dead sister, then invite him to 10-Forward for a drink and get his mind off of it, but later on, be sure to invite him to your office to talk out these feelings.
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