Star Trek Adventures the RPG

Designer: Nathan Dowdell, Dave Chapman, Sam Webb, et.al.

Artist: Guillem Pongiluppi, Joseph Diaz, et.al.

Publisher: Modiphius Entertainment

Year Published:  2017

No. of Players: 2 or more

Ages: 13+

Playing Time: 1 hour or more

Main mechanic / Theme: Role Playing Game, specifically the 2d20 System, Sci-fi

"A Must for Trekkies."

Find more info on the official website: https://www.modiphius.net/collections/star-trek-adventures

Overview:

Play as an officer of the United Federation of Planets. Go on diplomatic missions, scientific explorations or meet new life forms. Star Trek Adventures RPG (STARPG) is a roleplaying game that immerses players into the deep and fascinating Star Trek universe.

Gameplay and mechanics:

STARPG is a tabletop roleplaying game which requires two or more players to play. One takes the role of Gamemaster (“GM”) while the others will be characters in this cooperative storytelling. The GM sets the scenes and provides the challenges while the other players dictate the actions of their characters. RPGs are primarily “pen-and-paper” games accompanied by dice but you can expand your experience by using props and/or miniatures.

If you are familiar with RPGs, then it will be easy for you to learn the game. The Character Sheet is just one page, unlike with other RPGs, which gives you a sense of the number of things to track and monitor during your game sessions.

If you are new to RPGs, you may want to check sample RPG gameplays to give you an idea of how RPGs are played.

GMs, old and new, will love this book as it provides tools and tips on how to run gaming sessions.

Theme, Artwork and Illustration, Graphic Design and Layout (optional)

If you are a Trekkie, you will definitely love this Core Book. This is perhaps the best and most comprehensive collection of Star Trek lore I have ever seen. With an LCARS (Library Computer Access/Retrieval System) format, the Core Book provides you with star charts, faction descriptions, key historical events, key characters, starship information, starship lay-out, and more.

Compared to other RPG Core Books, the STARPG Core Book is well written and easy-to-follow. There is a step-by-step process for Character Creation which will be useful to players. In addition, there are sections that are specifically written for the GM (Chapter 10) which I find very useful.

As someone who played various RPGs, usually as the GM, I would have the Core Book ready by my side for quick reference of a particular rule or game mechanic. The STARPG Core Book Collector’s Edition is presented in a format that makes it easy to do just that and even made easier with the three reading ribbons (the standard Core Book only has one).

What worked:

For RPG players, you know that the GM has a lot of influence on how your gaming experience will be. Thus, it is hard for me to provide a review of the gameplay. However, there are distinct mechanics that makes STARPG different from other RPGs:

• Era of Play; Your group can decide which era of Star Trek you want to be immersed in. You can choose “Enterprise” when Humans were relatively a new member race of the United Federation of Planets (a.k.a. the Federation). If you love the original TV series with Captain James T. Kirk, then you can choose the “Original Series” era. The third option is called “The Next Generation” which covers the following TV series: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager. There are game mechanics that algin with your choice of “Era of Play” such as discovered technology or political milestones.

• Life Path System; When creating a character, you can use this approach to fill up your Character Sheet. This gives you a feel of how your character’s past experiences influencing his or her current profile. This is a seven-step process that let’s you choose your race, homeworld, background, and Star Fleet academy training which, in turn, affects your Character’s stats.

• Variety of Races; Like most RPGs, STARPG gives you race options to choose from namely Andorian, Bajoran, Betazoid, Denobulan, Human, Telarite, Trill and Vulcan. The Core Book also provides the mechanics on using a custom race or other races in the Star Trek universe that are not listed above (tlhingan maH!).

• Main and Supporting Characters; Players get to control a Main Character which is a senior officer of a starship or starbase. Throughout the gaming session (or sessions), players can acquire Supporting Characters that represent the junior officers that report to them. Most RPGs let players control only one character.

• Starships; It’s Star Trek! You have to have a ship. Complete with their own statistics, your group can command your own space vessel. Whether you choose an already existing Federation starship or come up with your own, the Core Book provides you with the steps on how to create and manage one.

• Bonus Adventure; The Core Book comes with a pre-made mission called “The Rescue at Xerxes”. This can help first time GMs on running a game of STARPG.

Final thoughts:

If you have a group of Trekkie friends, then ditch the usual Dungeons & Dragons campaign and hop on your starship with Start Trek Adventure RPG. The lore contained in this Core Book alone is worth the read.

Having to only use twenty-sided dice (d20) and six-sided dice (d6) is a big plus for anyone adding this game to their RPG portfolio as you don’t have to get specialty dice sets to enjoy this game. Although, the publisher (Modiphius) does offer these beautiful dice sets that will surely make your gaming experience more immersive.