Data - because Q has a thing for him.

Guinan - because she has unspecified plot powers.

Quark - to "acquire" goods and services for the party.

Odo - to keep Quark from getting bored and selling our possessions while we sleep.

Miles - so I have someone who won't be traumatized by being constantly thrown to the wolves, both figuratively and literally.

Bolian with IBS.

Give me the 5 leads from Lower Decks + S.A.M as the cadet

Q is the DM ? Janeway, Picard, Sisko, Kirk, Kira

• Data: utterly OP, can't not take Data
• Troi: always helpful when people are involved
• Riker: good leadership while being more physically capable than most captains, bold enough to endanger himself and his crew if necessary but smart enough to avoid it if not
• Bashir: Can handle any medical emergencies and, again, highly physically capable compared to other medical experts

This brings up a mental game I've played of trying to decide which Star Trek characters would be the best tabletop DMs.

Here's my TNG list:

For the record, I think although TNG-era Worf would not be a great DM because he'd be so focused on combat that you'd get the impression he'd rather be playing 40k instead, by the time he reached his DS9 era, he'd have picked up a lot more openness to narrative and be much better.

Also, I think early season Wesley would actually be better than Starfleet Cadet Wesley, as he'd show a ton of promise and enthusiasm at first, but seems to become fairly insufferable by the time he's a cadet.

Just me and a bunch of red-shirts. And, Scotty better not be drinking again.

"Scotty! It's Jim, beam me up!"

"Jim Beam? Don't mind if I do."

Not sure why no one is mentioning Garak. Seems like a no brainer

Q as DM is a wash as far as I'm concerned: they're the same picture.

With that out of the way, this could go a bunch of different ways, but here's my most OP squad:

• Pike
• Riker
• Data
• Scotty
• EMH
• Worf

... and my most dysfunctional squad:

• Shaw
• Beckett
• B-4
• Tilly
• T'Ana
• Reed

Edit: if anyone is looking for a lightweight RPG framework to get this kind of thing moving fast, may I recommend "lasers and feelings.". The rules are just one page.