What is Borderlands?
Is it free?
What is a 'Sim / RPG'?
What is Play-by-eMail (PBEM)?
What is Star Trek?
What is a tag?
Why is it called “Borderlands?”
Wait a minute! I don't remember any of this from the shows!
How old is Borderlands, anyway?
Who runs Borderlands?
If I join Borderlands, can I play Captain Kirk?
How do I advance?
How do I win?
Do I have to play a Starfleet Officer?
Can I start my own sim?
Hey, I already have my own sim – can we join you guys?
Boy, you guys sure are picky!
Borderlands is an affiliation of Play-by-eMail (PbeM) Star
Trek Sims.
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Yes! Our players make up the game, so it's free as a bird and
as fun as you can make it.
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What is a 'Sim / RPG'?
A Sim is a simulation. In this case, sort of a writers'
collective where a diverse group of people all collaborate on stories
set in a common idiom. It is also referred to as a Role-Playing Game
(RPG), because of the similarity to games like Dungeons and Dragons, or
even Worlds of Warcraft (technically a MMORPG). However, Borderlands
and other similar 'games' have nowhere near the level of structure or
rules that true RPG's do.
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What is Play-by-eMail (PBEM)?
Play-by-eMail (PBEM) is the method used to collaborate on the
ongoing stories. One writer will begin a scene, leaving 'tags' for
other players to fill in sections of dialog or narrative as needed.
This scene will be sent to the participating group via email. Others
fill in their tags, and repeat the process to move the scene along.
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If you have to ask, you may be in the wrong place.
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A tag is a request for another writer to fill in narrative or
dialog from the perspective of the character they are playing. See the Borderland's Player's Manual
for more information on the nuts and bolts of writing for a sim.
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Why is it called “Borderlands?”
"Borderlands" refers to our setting – on the borderlands of
settled space. In Borderlands, the Federation and Romulans have
established a treaty (the Treaty of Horizon) allowing them common use
of a wormhole connecting the Alpha Quadrant (the home quadrant of both
governments – see the Borderland's Map), and the Delta Quadrant (best
known as the place where most of the events of Star Trek: Voyager
occurred, and where the Borg come from). The Federation has established
facilities in the quadrant as platforms for exploration, commerce, and
defense. The Romulans likewise maintain a presence. These, along with
one civilian and one 'Rebel' group, make up the dutystations of the
Borderlands sim group. See the Dutystations-specific pages to learn
more about each one.
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Wait a minute! I don't remember any of this
from the shows!
Borderlands is set some 30 years after the events of the most
recent Star Treks shows and films. All those sources provide canon
background information for us to use, but we have a certain freedom to
develop plots beyond what the shows ever did. As such, everything you
see in Borderlands is the product of years of independent creativity by
the past and present members of each dutystation.
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How old is Borderlands, anyway?
The group now called Borderlands has existed, in one
incarnation or another, since 1993. Borderlands Trek PBEM RPG is easily
one of the oldest Trek Sims on the net.
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Who runs Borderlands Trek PBEM RPG?
Borderlands is governed by a Council made up of the Commanding
Officers (COs), Executive Officers (XOs), and two elected
representatives from each dutystation. This council makes decisions on
who becomes CO or XO of a dutystation, who gets promoted to command
ranks, what the plot of the overall group is, and other issues at
levels above the dutystations themselves. A Chairperson is elected from
within the Council to guide discussion and open polls. See also the Borderlands Constitution
for the rules governing the Council and the administration of the sims.
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If I join Borderlands, can I play Captain
Kirk?
No. As stated above, Borderlands is set well in the future of
the Star Trek shows and movies. On top of that, as part of the 'game'
aspect of the sims, new characters begin at low ranks – usually
Starfleet Ensign, or Marine 2nd Lieutenant, and then advance over time.
We discourage using existing Trek characters, or existing characters
from other genres such as Star Wars.
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Usually through a combination of quality and quantity of
posting. Ultimate authority resides in the dutystation CO when it comes
to promotions, and there are no hard and fast rules. However, if you
post regularly and with a certain amount of creativity, you should
enjoy success.
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You don't. While we call this a game, it's not about winning
or losing. In fact, if you keep writing your character as solving every
problem, winning every battle, and beating everyone else to the
metaphorical punch, you will quickly find yourself politely asked to
leave. We call this Superhero Syndrome (SHS). The bad news is: it is
all too common in inexperienced simmers. The good news is: it can be
cured. Just remember that while we call it a game, it's really about
creating interesting storylines with interesting characters set in the
Star Trek universe that we all know and love.
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Do I have to play a Starfleet Officer?
Not at all. You can play almost any type of character as long
as there would be a reasonable explanation for their ongoing presence
and interaction on one of the dutystations. We have ambassadors,
merchants, traders, scientists, Delta Quadrant natives of various
types, and many more. One sim, the SES S'Task, is a dedicated Romulan
ship. The RSS Cromwell is a sim where former Starfleet officers attempt
to establish a new Federation that adheres more closely to the
'original intent' of its founders. There is also a civilian ship – the
Axel.... The possibilities, while not endless, are plentiful.
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Sure you can. Not with us, but you're free to try it out
somewhere else. That's not to say that the Borderlands isn't closed off
to expansion, but we need to see a powerful reason for starting a new
dutystation, plus a reasonable and well thought-out story to back it up.
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Hey, I already have my own sim – can we join
you guys?
Maybe. But it'll be a hard sell. You'll need to show us that
you have a proven track record and an established group of players to
bring with you. We want to see a viable, vital sim. Plus, your idiom
(where you're set, what timeframe and purpose you have) needs to make
sense vis a vis what Borderlands is all about.
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Yes we are. That's why we've survived since 1993.
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