CREDITS

978-1 912743 94-0

2D20 SYSTEM DESIGNER CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER FACTORY MANAGER
NATHAN DOWDELL RITA BIRCH MICHAL E. CROSS MARTIN JONES

STAR TREK ADVENTURES MANAGING DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS SENIOR PRODUCTION

PROJECT MANAGER CAMERON DICKS STEPHANIE TORO OPERATIVE
JIM JOHNSON GURUMENDI, MARK DREW COX
HEAD OF PRODUCT WHITTINGTON &
WRITERS SAM WEBB CHRIS WEBB PRODUCTION OPERATIVES
MICHAEL DISMUKE, THOMAS BULL, JOSHUA
NATHAN DOWDELL, JACK HEAD OF AUDIO AND VIDEO FROUD-SILVERSTONE,
GEIGER, KEITH GARRETT, CREATIVE SERVICES PRODUCER LUKE GILL, DAVID HEXTALL,
JIM JOHNSON, FRED LOVE, JON WEBB STEVE DALDRY ANTHONY MORRIS, ALEX
AARON M. POLLYEA & TAYLOR-MORRALL, MILES
AL SPADER CREATIVE COORDINATOR DEVELOPMENT TURNER & WARRICK VOYZEY
KIERAN STREET COORDINATOR
EDITOR JASON ENOS CUSTOMER SERVICE AND
JIM JOHNSON FINANCIAL CONTROLLER ACCOUNTS MANAGER
LUC WOOLFENDEN DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT LLOYD GYAN
GRAPHIC DESIGNER TEAM
MICHAL E. CROSS LOGISTICS AND NATHAN DOWDELL, JONO MARKETING COORDINATOR
PRODUCTION MANAGER GREEN & ETHAN HEYWOOD SHAUN HOCKING
LAYOUT PETER GROCHULSKI
ROXANNE THOMPSON QA TESTERS CUSTOMER SUPPORT
ART DIRECTORS SAMANTHA LAYDON, REPRESENTATIVE
ART DIRECTOR KRIS AUBURN, KATYA NATHAN PERRY & DOMINIC CHRIS DANN
JIM JOHNSON THOMAS & ROCIO MARTIN WESTERLAND
PEREZ WEBSTORE MANAGER
COVER ARTIST SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER KYLE SHEPARD
STEPHANIE TORO STUDIO COORDINATOR GAVIN DADY
GURUMENDI ROCIO MARTIN PEREZ BOOKKEEPER
PROJECT MANAGER VALYA MKRTCHYAN
INTERIOR ARTWORK LEAD 3D DESIGNER JAMES BARRY
MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT JONATHAN LA TROBE-LEWIS FOR VIACOMCBS
& CBS STUDIOS ASSISTANT PROJECT MARIAN CORDRY
SENIOR 3D DESIGNERS MANAGERS & STEPHEN ZELIN
PROOFREADER DOMINGO DÍAZ FERMÍN & MATIAS TIMM &
KELLI FITZPATRICK CHRISTOPHER PEACEY HARALAMPOS TSAKIRIS WITH THANKS TO
GENE RODDENBERRY,
MODIPHIUS 3D DESIGNER OPERATIONS MANAGER JOHN VAN CITTERS,
ENTERTAINMENT LTD. JOANA ABBOTT BENN GRAYBEATON MARIAN CORDRY, SCOTT
PEARSON & THE MANY FANS
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER OF THIS GAME
CHRIS BIRCH

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ISBN: 978-1-912743-94-0
 S TA R T R E K A D V E N T U R E S

GAM E M AS TE R ' S
GUI D E
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

01.00 STAR TREK DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

02.00 THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE IN PLAY. . . . . . . . . . . . 19

03.00 STAR TREK ERAS AND PLAY STYLES. . . . . . . . . . . 57

04.00 TO BOLDLY GO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

05.00 STAR TREK STORYTELLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

06.00 MAIN ENGINEERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

07.00 ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
 FO REW ORD J I M J O H N S ON , PRO J ECT M AN AG ER
S TAR TREK AD VEN TURES

THESE ARE THE VOYAGES

IN THE FOUR YEARS SINCE STAR TREK gamemaster-oriented game information designed to
Adventures released, the game’s development enhance your gaming experience. I hope you enjoy
team has heard the joys and challenges expressed all that is offered within these covers and develop
about the game from players and gamemasters the confidence and inspiration to create a mission or
all over the world. In that span of time, Modiphius campaign that will challenge bold Starfleet officers,
developed and released other roleplaying games daring Klingon warriors, or any other kind of charac-
using the 2d20 System and have devised new ways ters your players can imagine portraying within the
to enhance and diversify the game system. With Star Trek universe.
a deeper understanding of the system’s versa-
tility and an awareness of what questions Star I’ve played and gamemastered roleplaying games
Trek Adventures players and gamemasters were set in the Star Trek universe for more than three
asking, the development team decided to create decades now. Star Trek enabled my groups to create
the Gamemaster’s Guide you now see before you, many of the most powerful collaborative storytelling
along with the companion volume, the Star Trek experiences I’ve had the fortune to enjoy at the
Adventures Player’s Guide. game table. It is the collective hope of the Star Trek
Adventures creative team that you read this guide
Whether you are a casual Star Trek fan curious and the Star Trek Adventures core rulebook of your
about the game, a new fan intimidated by the sheer choice and embrace the setting and the game as we
breadth of episodes and lore available, or even a and so many other gamers have. May you and your
diehard Star Trek fan well-versed in the setting, I players create countless amazing Star Trek-esque
hope you’ll find this guide of value. The first two moments together. As Captain Picard once said,
chapters are intended more for people new to the “The sky’s the limit.”
franchise and game, introducing both to a new gen-
eration of Star Trek fan and gamer. The remainder As always, thank you for your support of Star Trek
of the guide should prove useful for experienced Adventures. Live long and prosper!
gamemasters and novices alike, providing detailed
advice on eras and styles of play and a wealth of

ii
 SPACE , T H E
FINAL FRON T IE R
“ . . .t o b o l d l y g o wh e r e n o one has gone before.”
— F R O M S TARFLEET’S M AN D ATE

A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITY
FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS AND ACROSS TEN TELE- (a Western series that focused on a recurring cast
vision series (and counting), 13 feature films, and exploring together) to its current incarnations in no
countless other forms of narrative from novels to fewer than five series in active production, Star Trek
comic books to games, Star Trek has delighted stands unique among science fiction media prop-
audiences worldwide with its science fiction erties, presenting a comprehensive and consistent
storytelling in a future laced with hope, adventure, setting in which virtually every fiction genre and
drama, and wonder. From its conception by creator type of character can find a home, where any kind
Gene Roddenberry as “Wagon Train to the Stars” of story you can imagine telling can fit somewhere

YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE
As noted in the core rulebooks, the default setting following the events of Star Trek: Picard and
for Star Trek Adventures is the year 2371 (star- into the far future depicted in season 3 of Star
dates 48000–48999), but that does not mean Trek: Discovery. As Spock once said, “There are
other eras of play are unavailable for use. This always possibilities.”
game can be used to tell stories in any Star Trek
era, from the earliest days of the Federation in Groups wishing to play in adventures or
the 2100s to the 32nd century and beyond. campaigns set during various Star Trek time
periods will have no trouble using
You and your group may choose to set your game the materials presented in this
at the dawn of Earth’s tentative steps to exploring guide. If an item of equipment,
space in the 2100s; during the “Five Year a technological advance, or
Mission” period in the 2200s when illustrious piece of information should
captains such as Kirk and Kang commanded be unavailable in a certain
starships and pushed the boundaries of known era, you’ll find a note
space; during the 2300s where the Empire and within the text or in a
Federation forged peace and navigated the chal- sidebar like this one. 
lenges of their new alliance and the Federation
faced a variety of threats; or even in the centuries
00101

INTRODUCTION 1
 within the expansive Star Trek Galaxy seen on the eras and styles of play available to you and your
screen and in print. group. You’ll also discover a wealth of information
that builds on what’s found in the game’s core rule-
Welcome to the Star Trek Adventures books, which should help you more effectively plan
Gamemaster’s Guide, where you, the gamemaster and tell Star Trek stories with your players, as well
of a Star Trek Adventures mission or campaign, can as adjust the ruleset to best fit your narrative style
learn more about the franchise, the setting, and and the needs of your game.

SUPPLEMENT STRUCTURE
THIS GAMEMASTER’S GUIDE PROVIDES ALL THE Chapter 2: The Star Trek Universe in Play is
information you’ll need to understand the essentials aimed at the new or casual fan who might not be
of the Star Trek setting and to apply that setting to familiar with all the myriad details of the Star Trek
the Star Trek Adventures campaign or adventure universe and how they might apply specifically to a
you want to plan and run with your players. roleplaying game. This chapter provides information
about how the contents of the setting operate, how
Chapter 1: Star Trek Defined provides a primer beings in the setting live and work, and more, all
on what makes Star Trek unique among science presented through the understanding of a Star Trek
fiction media properties, including the setting’s ethos, Adventures character.
mythos, expectations, assumptions, and more. In
addition, this chapter discusses what Star Trek Chapter 3: Star Trek Eras and Play Styles dis-
Adventures is and how it directly ties into the DNA of cusses the various eras of play available in Star
what makes Star Trek an amazing setting in which to Trek, as well as a number of styles you and your
plan and stage great roleplaying experiences. players can use to set the feel and tone of the
stories you want to collaboratively tell.

2
Chapter 4: To Boldly Go discusses how to get Chapter 6: Main Engineering examines each key
engaged in the game even if you are not a veteran game mechanic and component introduced in the
Star Trek fan and provides guidance on how to be an core rulebooks in more detail, expanding on how
active and supportive gamemaster. It also discusses to make the most out of attributes, disciplines,
the tools you need to plan and begin a Star Trek Momentum, Threat, traits, values, Determination,
Adventures game, and provides pointers on how to NPCs, extended tasks, and more.
form a remarkable crew with your players.
Chapter 7: Additional Rules and Tools provides a
Chapter 5: Star Trek Storytelling details how Star discussion on how to more effectively integrate the
Trek stories are structured, what types of story rules with the narrative you build with your players,
content are available for Star Trek Adventures, and and provides a collection of optional rules and
provides advice on developing varying scales of Star other tools, including sample encounters, sample
Trek stories, from single adventures to season-long extended tasks, and a brief discussion on a variety
stories, and even multi-season campaigns. of social, governmental, and religious structures you
can use to create unique cultures and species.

USING THIS GUIDE

THIS GUIDE FOCUSES ON YOU, THE GAMEMASTER, Trek stories and situations, create interesting and
and provides you with a wealth of information about cunning allies and adversaries for your group, and
Star Trek’s eras, styles of play, scales of storytelling, collaboratively tell dramatic and engaging stories
and detailed advice all designed to help you develop with your players and their characters, in your very
and execute a mission or campaign that fits into own Star Trek-style episode or ongoing series.
the Star Trek universe. Whether you are running a
Starfleet or Klingon game or some other polity, set in Now, gather your players, some dice, your gaming
2155 or 3188 or somewhere in between, this guide gear, and favorite snacks. It’s time to explore the
can help you. final frontier, Star Trek-style. Make it so!

With this guide and a Star Trek Adventures core

rulebook of your choice, you can plan unique Star

INTRODUCTION 3
 WHERE TO START?
What if you want to run this game but you’ve Consider watching the following episodes,
never watched Star Trek? Perhaps you’re which arguably present Star Trek at its best,
a casual fan who has viewed a handful of and exemplify what’s possible for a Star Trek
episodes here and there. Maybe you’re on the Adventures episode or campaign. As you
fence about the game and need inspiration. watch, imagine what kind of campaign you
Perhaps you’re uncertain just which handful of might create with your players that might carry
episodes out of the hundreds available might forward the Star Trek ideals and ethos.
help answer “Just what is Star Trek?” and
“What can my players and I do in this game?”

STAR TREK
The original series laid the foundation for the and topics include “A Taste of Armageddon,”
entire franchise and set the tone and style for “Balance of Terror,” and “City on the Edge of
more than 50 years of science fiction storytell- Forever.” For a good example of how to have
ing. Three episodes that illustrate the concepts fun within the setting, check out “The Trouble
of teamwork and deep exploration of character with Tribbles.”

STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES

The Animated Series continued where the orig- is as strong as ever. Three standout episodes
inal series left off, and while the crew com- include “The Time Trap,” “Yesteryear,” and
position changed somewhat, the storytelling “The Slaver Weapon.”

MOTION PICTURES
While feature budgets and scope require a Home present a deep, character-driven trilogy
refocus of intent, the Star Trek films deliver that is alternately action-packed, tragic, and
spectacle as well as story. Star Trek: The Motion humorous. It’s also worth noting that three of
Picture offers a thoughtful science fiction prem- the ten feature films involve some form of time
ise with a sweeping scope, while The Wrath of travel, a Star Trek storytelling staple.
Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

Moving the franchise into a new era, The Next unknown. “The Emissary” and “Sins of the
Generation built on what came before, and Father” started significant Klingon world-build-
added much detail to the Star Trek universe. ing that resonates to the present day. “All Good
“Encounter at Farpoint” provided a model Things” brought the series to an epic conclusion
story of humanity striving to explore the great and told a deeply personal story along the way.

4
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Deep Space Nine took a new approach to Star unresolved at the end of an episode would still
Trek storytelling – rather than warping to the be present next time. Be sure to check out the
adventure every episode, now the adventure episodes “Emissary,” “The Visitor,” “Far Beyond
would come to the crew on the station. This the Stars,” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”
meant that, often, issues and challenges left

STAR TREK: VOYAGER

Voyager shows us that even if you take a crew tradition. Standout episodes include “Caretaker,”
far away from the established Star Trek universe “Blink of an Eye,” “Year of Hell,” and “Tinker,
as shown in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, you Tailor, Doctor, Spy.”
can still tell a wealth of stories in the Star Trek

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE

Enterprise takes us to the beginning, showing exploration mission looked like. Make time
us what exploration was like for Starfleet in its to watch “Carbon Creek,” “Similitude,” the
infancy. The NX-01 broke new ground episode “Affliction” and “Divergence” storyline, and “In
after episode, illustrating what a deep-space a Mirror, Darkly.”

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY

Taking the franchise into bold new directions viewing “Such Sweet Sorrow,” “An Obol for
(and, in season 3, 900+ years into the setting’s Charon,” “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go
future), Discovery tells some of the most mature Mad,” and “New Eden.”
and thoughtful stories of all the series. Consider

STAR TREK: PICARD

The first season of Picard tells a deeply personal best off watching the whole series. If you need
story, something not seen before in the annals to pick just two episodes to watch, though,
of Star Trek on such a scale or with such focus. make them “Remembrance” and “Nepenthe.” 
With just 10 episodes to choose from, you’d be

00102

INTRODUCTION 5
6
 CHAPTER 01.00

ST AR T R E K
DE FI N E D
01.10 WHAT IS STAR TREK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

01.20 WHAT IS STAR TREK ADVENTURES? . . . . . . . . . . . 13

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 7
 CHAPTER 01.10

W HAT I S
STA R T RE K?
“ And yo u peop le, you ’re all astron au ts
on some kin d of star trek.”

– DR. Z E FRAM COCHRANE

TEN FACTS ABOUT STAR TREK

WHILE STAR TREK HAS BEEN IN THE PUBLIC’S sciences – physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology
collective consciousness for more than 50 years and and all the xeno- and exo- versions of the “hard”
is one of the most significant popular cultural icons sciences – but also the “softer” sciences of archae-
in the world, it has come to mean different things ology, sociology, psychology, and anthropology play
to different people over the franchise’s life. For that key roles in many Star Trek stories.
reason, it’s worth examining ten key points about
the franchise to help establish a baseline when Writers involved in Star Trek stories have taken full
thinking about adapting Star Trek to a roleplaying advantage of the franchise to examine social issues
game experience you’ll create with your players. of their times, focusing those issues through the sci-
ence fiction lens. Holding a mirror up to difficult and
Perhaps you have your own perspectives about challenging topics and examining them via a science
what Star Trek is or what it means to you; if so, be fiction future is often a way to generate discussion,
sure to mention them to your group and, together, and sometimes, to generate realistic means to effect
develop your own definition of Star Trek for the pur- change in the present. From its conception right up
poses of your game. There are no “wrong” answers; to its present offerings, Star Trek has tackled a wide
there are only possibilities. variety of social and political topics, including, but not
limited to: racism, social injustice, gender equal-
ity, sexual identity, labor issues, the challenges of
1. Star Trek is a reliance upon automation, Human rights and Human
Science Fiction Setting rights violations, war, violence, religion and faith
issues, drugs and addiction, and terrorism.
First and foremost, Star Trek is a science fiction set-
ting with all the expected tropes and trappings that
The franchise’s handling of each topic may not
make science fiction what it is. Spaceships, faster-
always be perfect, and almost never attempts to
than-light travel, energy weapons, new worlds to
present solutions. However, Star Trek shows us that
discover and explore, a wide variety of alien life-
it’s important to raise the questions and to highlight
forms to encounter and interact with, all with a firm
the issues, through a science fiction lens, in order to
basis in known science and scientific principles, as
spark discussion and, perhaps, lead to change for
well as theoretical science. And not only the hard
the betterment of all.

8 CHAPTER 1.10
2. Star Trek Presents a among individuals are embraced and celebrated,
and discrimination and exclusion on any basis is
Positive, Hopeful, and prohibited. This standard of diversity, equity, and
Vibrant Forecast inclusion provides you and your players with the
flexibility to create any character you can imagine.
One of the first things you’ll note about Star Trek
They’ll find a home in the Star Trek setting.
on the television screen is that the colors pop out.
The future presented by the franchise is vibrant,
rather than washed out or shaded in grays. Starfleet
uniforms and civilian clothing are colorful, Starfleet
4. The Characters Build
vessels almost always have brightly-lit interiors and Nurture Relationships
and control panels and displays. This attention to Watch any episode of Star Trek and you’ll find
bright colors reflects the overall positive tone of the characters working together, playing together, and
franchise, the hope baked into the very concept of exploring together. While there is a certain level of
the series. discipline and distance maintained by some char-
acters, many of the characters on the shows are
Starfleet officers live in a post-scarcity society friends on- and off-duty, sometimes even family.
where all basic needs are met, where all individuals
are free to pursue whatever interests or careers they It is Human nature to form communities, and the
care to set their minds to. They explore the universe communities we see episode after episode are often
not to conquer other peoples or to acquire land or ones we want to tune back into time and time again.
treasure, but to expand their understanding of them- We respond in kind when we see the characters
selves and the universe in which they live. caring for each other, risking their lives for each other,
and sacrificing their all so that another might live on.
Unlike other science fiction properties that might There are so many great relationships to draw from
present a dystopian future or a dark, brooding noir for inspiration; here are just a few examples: the
type of world, or settings in which endless war is a dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy; the loving
daily fact of life for that universe’s inhabitants, Star father-son relationship of Benjamin and Jake Sisko;
Trek offers a universe of morality, hope, and joy in the friendships forged between Burnham and Tilly,
the wonders to be explored. What do you want to Data and LaForge, and Bashir and O’Brien; and the
explore within a Star Trek game? nurturing mentorship Saru imparts upon Tilly.

What relationships can you foster among the player

3. In Star Trek, Diversity, characters or among player characters and NPCs?
Equality, and Inclusion What sort of shared backstories can your group
create together so that the characters have a
are Paramount common bond from their very first game session?
From the very first episode, Star Trek presents a
diverse crew, representing a wide variety of Human
ethnicities, skin tones, backgrounds, histories, and 5. The Franchise Focuses
identities, in addition to one half-Human, half-Vulcan
science officer. Further, the various series present
on Character Over Plot
Star Trek is arguably at its best when it focuses on
many representatives from alien species and cultures,
the characters and how they react and change to
adding to the diversity of a given cast of characters.
the circumstances placed in their paths. How does
Kirk react when he learns that Edith Keeler must
Star Trek presents a future where everyone is wel-
die? What does the crew of the Enterprise-D feel
come and accepted and considered equal no matter
when they see that their beloved captain has been
their species, gender identity, sexual preferences,
assimilated by the Borg and turned into Locutus?
faith, body shape, or other unique traits. Differences

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 9
 Star Trek has its share of stories where the plot In addition, the Federation is grounded firmly in poli-
must be solved by creative thinking, scientific know- cies and practices that portray a grand view of ethics
how, and a judicious sprinkling of technobabble, and morality. The Federation is aware of its strength
but it is arguably the character-driven episodes that and potential for abuse on other worlds, intended or
fans remember most vividly, and are likely the ones otherwise, and endeavors to manage these concerns
that keep us watching season after season. Work via law and order and a series of directives and
with your players to develop a crew that consists of policies intended to stand the test of time. The Prime
fully rounded, fascinating characters that you’d want Directive – which focuses on the non-interference
to watch in action, session after session. with pre-warp cultures – represents the Federation’s
awareness of itself and requires all who serve in
Starfleet to follow the spirit, if not the letter, of that
6. Characters Live directive. The moral challenges that arise from it are a
in a United Federation staple of Star Trek drama. Where and how will it play
a role in your games?
of Planets
By the 24th century, the United Federation of Planets
has grown to include more than 150 member worlds 7. Starfleet Characters
and protectorates, a conglomerate of billions of
beings working toward a common purpose. Allying
Blaze the Trail
Starfleet is the uniformed, exploratory organiza-
together for mutual protection and mutual benefit
tion within the Federation, primarily focused on
pays dividends for the Federation, whose members
deep-space exploration and research. Starfleet
know that they are stronger together, rather than
vessels and crews also take on other missions and
separate. There is safety in numbers, but there is
assignments based on the needs of Starfleet and the
also strength and solidarity and shared purpose.
Federation, including, but not limited to, peacekeep-
ing efforts, disaster relief, defense, and diplomatic
operations. Most Star Trek characters are members

10 CHAPTER 1.10
of Starfleet, though some series present non-Star- story. Virtually every character in the various series
fleet characters to provide contrast and alternative has some education and background in one or more
viewpoints and storytelling possibilities. science disciplines, and can understand and operate
most standard technology (e.g., most beings can
Composed of members from Federation member operate a shuttlecraft much as many today might
worlds, protectorates, and sponsored individuals operate an automobile).
from non-Federation worlds, Starfleet is the primary
organization beings join to contribute their talents Star Trek has inspired generations of scientists,
to the furtherance of knowledge for all. Are all engineers, and theoreticians. Many technological
your players playing Starfleet characters? If so, devices and concepts that once began as science
what drove them to join Starfleet over any other fiction concepts on the show have gone on to
profession or life interest? What talents do they have become real devices in real life. Just as modern
to contribute? If they’re not a member of Starfleet, technology inspires the writers of Star Trek to think
would they ever consider joining? Why or why not? more futuristically, Star Trek sparks innovation
through inspiration. If your players’ characters aren’t
dedicated scientists or engineers, what disciplines
8. Star Trek Examines are they interested in?
the Human Condition
Every Star Trek series has at least one character
who is non-Human and who serves as the means
10. Characters Have
by which the writers and the audience explore what Some Fun Along the Way
it means to be Human. In some cases, it might be a Star Trek is most often presented as a science fic-
Human character who was raised in a non-traditional tion drama, where high stakes, danger, and Galaxy-
manner, such as in the case of Seven of Nine. In spanning events are used more frequently than day-
many ways, these characters often have the most to-day storylines; yet, even with the ever-present
Human responses to events and are often the ones drama, somehow most of the characters are shown
musing on the story’s moral in the episode’s coda. to love their jobs, their fellow crewmates, and the
journey they all share. They even crack smiles and
Commander Spock, Lt. Commander Data, Constable jokes along the way.
Odo, the Emergency Medical Hologram, Neelix, Kes,
Dr. Phlox, Commander Saru…these characters Many Star Trek episodes carry a tone and spirit
bring a uniquely non-Human perspective to their firmly planted in the comedy genre, showing that
respective series, and reveal to us, Humans here on even while travelling through deep space, working
Earth, answers to questions and then present the far from home, and potentially facing any hundreds
inevitable questions that arise from those answers. of possible fatal encounters, it’s Human nature
Do you want to facilitate stories that support such to occasionally get silly and stumble into comical
a character? How might those characters best fit in situations. Your crew might come out of them
with the series you want to collaboratively create unscathed, with perhaps a bit of replicated egg on
with your players? their face and a purring tribble perched atop their
heads. If it fits into your group’s game concept,
remember to have fun while exploring all your
9. Star Trek Explores the imagination has to offer.
Wonders of the Universe
In addition to exploring what it means to be Human,
Star Trek, as a science fiction setting, embraces
the exploration of the unknown via real science,
plausible science, and, when needed, fictitious
science that sounds authentic for the sake of the

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 11
 NON-FEDERATION CHARACTERS AND CAMPAIGNS
Many Star Trek characters and cultures do not on a Galor-class warship, run operations as
embrace the Vulcan Infinite Diversity in Infinite members of a Romulan Tal Shiar strike team,
Combinations (IDIC) philosophy or adhere to or portray a cadre of Ferengi arms dealers
the generally hopeful and utopian point of view working every side of a given conflict to earn
portrayed in most Star Trek stories. Often, these maximum latinum, there’s nothing stopping
characters and cultures are presented as antag- you from doing so. The game’s mechanics
onists for the heroes to battle or overcome, don’t change. What will change are the tone
which in some cases can be problematic. and expectations of your game in comparison
to what is traditionally seen as a Star Trek
Not all Cardassians are fascistic torturers, nor story. Putting aside the Star Trek ideals of a
are all Romulans treacherous schemers. As hopeful, positive future and the tenets of IDIC
with any species or culture, there are members for another approach means your game will
across the many spectrums, from conservative have a very different feel from the intentions of
to progressive, fascist to libertarian. Tarring an the series creators and the game designers.
entire race or species with the same brush or
label is as unacceptable and intolerable in the Whatever you choose to do, ensure your group
Star Trek universe as it is in real life. comes to consensus on the concept before
beginning play. 
To that end, if you and your group want to
play a campaign of Cardassian soldiers based
01101

SUMMARY
NOW THAT WE’VE ESTABLISHED WHAT STAR TREK IS, Star Trek Adventures itself, and define what makes it
or at least built a baseline to spark discussion at the the world’s most popular Star Trek roleplaying game.
game table, let’s take that foundation and apply it to

12 CHAPTER 1.10
 CHAPTER 01.20

WH AT I S
STAR T RE K
ADVE NT URE S ?
“ Ye s , y e s , y e s . N o w, where are the gam es?”
– FA L O W, MA S T E R S URCHID O F THE WAD I

TEN ASPECTS OF STAR TREK ADVENTURES

NOW THAT YOU HAVE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING players are all unique individuals, as is everyone who
of what Star Trek is (if you didn’t already have a has ever played the game, written a Star Trek story,
firm grasp of it before reading this guide), you might or played some role in the design, development, and
be wondering just what is Star Trek Adventures production of any episode, movie, or printed story.
and why would you want to play it with a group of
friends? What can characters accomplish in this Your group’s characters will likewise be unique, and
setting that hasn’t already been portrayed by the the stories your group tells will be unique as well.
many characters and crews in hundreds of filmed Together, you’ll be developing your own series, set
stories, and hundreds more told in print? on your ship or station, in your own corner of the
Star Trek setting. Starfleet always has need of new
Those questions can be answered if you consider crews and new starships; create yours and add your
the following ten aspects of Star Trek Adventures. stories to the ever-expanding Star Trek universe.
Discuss them with your group so that you can deter-
mine just what kind of Star Trek game you want to
design and play, and with what kinds of characters 2. Rules that
you want to populate it. Support Every Era
While many Star Trek Adventures products are
1. Your Ship, Your Crew, designed to fit the 24th century visual aesthetic
established in The Next Generation, the game rules
Your Adventures were designed to be era-agnostic, meaning you can
The Star Trek universe is really, really big. It spans run any era of Star Trek with this ruleset. You can
more than a thousand years of in-setting content play games in the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, or 32nd century,
and touches on all four quadrants of our Galaxy (and somewhere in between, or even in an alternate time-
sometimes beyond!). While the many characters line. There’s no need to wait for an original series core
we’ve come to know and love over the last 50 years rulebook or a Star Trek: Picard version of the game.
have told amazing stories and lived amazing fictional The core rulebooks provide the rules you need for
lives, there’s always more to discover. You and your playing at any point in time in the Star Trek universe.

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 13
 3. Rules as Light or their characters through the lifepath, they’ll add
more story elements to their characters, along with
as Complex as Needed additional mechanical benefits. Once complete with
The 2d20 System features a straightforward task the lifepath, your group will have fully-realized char-
resolution system: when a player is presented a task acters ready to take their place among the heroes of
to attempt, determine the target number by adding the franchise.
together the scores of the relevant attribute and
discipline, establish the task’s Difficulty level (0–5, Unlike many other roleplaying games where char-
determined by you), then roll 2d20 and attempt to acters start out with modest abilities and stand real
score enough successes to beat the Difficulty level. chances of dying early and often, characters in this
If you learn only just that core concept and can game begin play as highly competent and capable
execute it consistently when attempting tasks and beings, ready to take on whatever challenges the
when in combat situations, you’ll be armed with the universe (or you, the gamemaster) throws at them.
single most essential tool you can use to build many What path will your group’s characters traverse?
sessions of entertaining gameplay. How does each character’s journey on their lifepath
intersect or relate to the other characters?
From there, you can gradually add in the rules for
using Momentum and Threat, buying additional
dice to use on task attempts, using values and 5. A Role for Everyone
Determination, generating assists from characters Some players have a preferred role to play in role-
and starships on task attempts, and engaging playing games, while others are happy to pick a role
in social conflict, personal combat, and starship that best supports the other players and the needs
engagements. Add additional mechanics as desired, of the game. No matter what type of players you
adjusting the game system to the needs of your have in your group, or what types of character they
ongoing campaign and the comfort level of you and want to play, there’s a place for them in Star Trek
your fellow players. Adventures. If a player comes up with a character
concept that excites them but doesn’t reflect the
There are as many ways to play Star Trek traditional idea of a Starfleet officer (or Klingon
Adventures as there are game groups playing or warrior), encourage them to brainstorm with you
trying out the game. From play-by-post games in and their fellow players and craft a place for their
online forums that are 100% non-mechanics focused character in the game.
and essentially shared fiction writing, to detailed
combat scenarios using scratch-built models and
painted miniatures moved around a game table, to 6. Working for
something in between, there’s a way to play the game
that will suit almost any game group.
the Greater Good
One common theme among almost all the main
characters across the various Star Trek series is that
4. Character Creation they all strive to work together for the benefit of all,
rather than toward their own self-interest or personal
Via a Lifepath gain. Granted, there are some notable exceptions,
The primary way to create player characters for though even the exceptions are still portrayed as
Star Trek Adventures is to work through a lifepath generally good individuals who try to make decisions
step by step, gradually building the character from that benefit someone other than themselves.
childhood into their career as a Starfleet officer
(or Klingon warrior). At each step of the lifepath, Star Trek characters usually have strong moral
your players’ characters earn specific benefits and compasses and are devoted to concepts such as
are encouraged to begin building the story of that duty, honor, personal integrity, truth, and justice.
particular character. As your group members take Character perspectives and outlooks are defined

14 CHAPTER 1.20
 FINDING REWARD BEYOND THE MECHANICS
Veteran gamers who are accustomed to role- across their respective series if viewed through
playing games where their characters improve a game mechanics lens.
incrementally over the life of the campaign by
defeating foes, gathering treasure and more However, where these characters do change
powerful weapons and gear, all the while gain- and develop is through their relationships with
ing some form of experience points, may feel each other, through their rich inner lives and
frustrated with this game’s more modest char- internal growth, and how they react to the sto-
acter advancement and development systems. ries they’re placed into. They grow by learning
something new about themselves, about their
The types of character development portrayed fellow crew members, and about the universe
in the franchise are baked right into the game – around them. Every story these characters
the characters we see in the various series, by experience gives them something new to con-
and large, start off as highly competent Starfleet sider, some new facet of humanity to examine
officers (or Klingon warriors) and do not grow and understand. It is Human nature to explore,
significantly in “power level” from episode to to learn, and to grow, and that, more than any-
episode or season to season. Captain James thing, is the intended reward of a collaborative
Kirk, from the first episode of the original series storytelling game.
to his apparent death in Star Trek: Generations,
is arguably the same character from a game Encourage your players to consider playing
mechanics standpoint, with perhaps a few Star Trek Adventures more for the rewarding
minor shifts in attributes, values, talents, and experience of shared storytelling at the game
focuses over his long years of service. Likewise, table than for the experience of their characters
Captains Picard, Janeway, and Archer, and most reaching a particular power level or gaining a
of their subordinate officers, change very little mechanical achievement. 
01201

in Star Trek Adventures in the form of a charac- to devise creative and, often, effective solutions to
ter’s values, which serve as a barometer of their seemingly insurmountable challenges.
essential outlook on the universe, and which can be
tested or challenged session after session. Indeed, a Star Trek Adventures offers player characters the
character’s values can even change over the course same opportunities to work problems together,
of a campaign, reflecting the character’s growth – or in the form of assist mechanics – in which both
regression – through their life experiences. What are characters and the starship herself can assist on
your group’s characters’ most important values? task attempts – and through the use of a shared
Momentum pool. In addition, the options for
extended tasks and using the Scientific Method
7. Collaborative (discussed in the core rulebooks), provides charac-
Problem-Solving ters with the means to work together as a team to
research, experiment, and then solve challenges.
Star Trek characters, by and large, encounter and
You should challenge your players with tasks and
solve problems together, working as a team. Each
extended tasks with the expectation that they’ll
individual brings their own unique blend of skills
attempt to solve them together.
and abilities and applies those talents to whatever
problem they are faced with. All the series present
crew members who have complementary skills who
combine those skills with those of other characters

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 15
 8. Present Dramatic Events 10. A Safe Space
Decade after decade, series after series, Star Trek
serves up epic, expansive storylines packed with
in Which to Explore
Star Trek expresses the Vulcan concept of IDIC –
drama and high stakes. Star Trek Adventures
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations – where
delivers on this promise for high drama as well.
everyone is welcome, accepted, and considered
The game’s story-driven mechanics in the form of
equal no matter their species, gender identity,
Momentum and Threat allow you and your players
sexual preferences, faith practice, body shape,
to alter the circumstances of scenes and encounters
or other unique traits. This concept holds true for
to amp up the most dramatic gameplay and present
players just as it does for player characters. Star
big, Galaxy-defining events.
Trek Adventures provides a safe space for gamers,
regardless of their race, faith practice, sexual
In addition, Star Trek Adventures has an advan-
orientation, gender identity, or other traits. Just as
tage over the series we seen on screen in that the
any character concept can find a home in the Star
game provides an infinite special effects budget,
Trek setting, any player should be welcome at the
no limitation on alien species prosthetics, and the
game table.
ability to tell stories as large as the universe itself.
The television and movie screens may have a limit
to the scale they can present, but that limitation
goes away at the game table, where your stories are
limited only by your group’s collective imagination.

9. Engage in Story-
Driven Gameplay
The game mechanics built into the game – notably
Momentum, Threat, and Determination, as well as
the use of values, focuses, and traits – are tools
designed to enable you to create Star Trek-like story
events at the game table with your players. You
should feel free to use as much or as little of the
provided ruleset as you require to play through your
missions and campaigns. Some groups may choose
to use the full range of options at their disposal,
while others may opt for fewer rules.

You may play entire sessions of the game where you

don’t roll a single die, perhaps even sessions where
no one at the table rolls dice or attempts a task, but
rather delves deeply into roleplaying their respective
characters and telling a grand story together. And,
you may have sessions that are entirely task-fo-
cused or combat-focused, where the dice fall hard
and heavy and resources are spent in a whirlwind
of activity. All these options are possible, so long as
they serve the story you are telling together.

16 CHAPTER 1.20
You and your players should discuss, at the very officers to have a common code of behavior and
beginning of the game, what makes for a positive conduct, so too should your group have an agreed-
and safe game experience, and clearly note what upon set of guidelines and safety tools. Safety tools
you are and are not comfortable exploring within a are detailed further on page 109.
game context. Just as it is essential for all Starfleet

BOLDLY GO
YOU’RE NOW PREPARED WITH A STRONGER UNDER- to learn more about the contents of the Star Trek
standing of the essence of both Star Trek and Star setting and the eras and styles of play you might
Trek Adventures. Review the next two chapters choose for your campaign.

S TA R T R E K D E F I N E D 17
18
 CHAPTER 02.00

TH E ST AR T R E K
UNIVE RSE IN P L A Y
02.10 SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

02.20 TECHNOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

02.30 SERVICE PROTOCOLS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 19
 A WELL-WOVEN TAPESTRY
Over more than 50 years, across ten series (with These sections are intended to provide you with
more on the way) and thirteen feature films, Star a baseline understanding from a roleplaying
Trek’s production and creative teams fashioned game perspective so that you, as gamemaster,
a sprawling science fiction setting that has can understand the basics of the setting in which
remained remarkably cohesive. Even if it occa- you’re about to create amazing Star Trek-style
sionally stretches a bit at the seams and allows storytelling moments with your friends.
in some minor inconsistencies here and there,
the franchise and its contents as a whole hang Note the emphasis on brief – this chapter is not
together rather well. So much so, that, for the meant to be, nor can it hope to be, exhaustive.
purposes of Star Trek Adventures, there’s ample Millions of words have been devoted to the Star
consistency in the franchise’s weft and warp that Trek franchise and setting over the past five
you and your players should be able to confi- decades. There are hundreds of references that
dently bring an authentic Star Trek feel to play in go into much deeper detail on the above topics
any era and portray characters in situations that and many others.
could easily stand alongside the many heroes
and events depicted on screen and in print. This chapter should serve to whet your appetite
and give you enough information about the
This chapter provides a brief overview of the setting to use it to effectively craft a story that
society presented in the Star Trek setting, a challenges your group’s bold Starfleet officers or
primer on the most important technological honorable Klingon warriors, or whatever type of
elements of the setting, and a brief discussion characters are present in your game. Enjoy all
on Starfleet’s protocols and its naval heritage. that the Galaxy has to offer! 
02001

20 CHAPTER 2.00
 CHAPTER 02.10

SOC I E T Y
“ E l y si a i s, in ma ny re spe c t s, a pe rfect society. Bu t with all its
v irt ue s, it is no t ho me . And h om e with all its fau lts...
is wh ere we p refer to b e.”

– CAPT. JAM E S T. KIRK

HOME, SWEET HOME

This section provides an overview of some understanding of what Star Trek characters
of the key societal elements presented in the know about daily life within the Federation, and
Star Trek setting. From IDIC to various cultures, the larger Star Trek universe as a whole. 
religion to the economy, you’ll gain a basic
02101

A FUTURE OF HOPE
AMONG THE MANY SCIENCE FICTION PROPERTIES as racism, sexism, and political unrest, or complex
and franchises in popular media, Star Trek is unique aspects of individual identity, including faith, disabil-
in that it presents an image of humanity’s future not ity, sexuality, and many others. Star Trek invariably
as a post-apocalyptic nightmare or a cynical, dysto- promotes a future where everyone can live the life
pian cityscape, but rather as a positive, diverse, and they want, unfettered by the 21st century challenges
hopeful existence. Uniforms and ship corridors carry of bigotry, hate, and selfishness.
bright colors and dynamic designs. Crews made
up of beings from dozens of different species and The vast majority of characters in the Star Trek set-
cultures work together to explore the mysteries of ting, especially those from the Federation, embrace
the universe, study scientific wonders, and still have this positive outlook and fold it into everything they
time to explore their own rich inner worlds, to exam- do, the choices they make, and the direction they
ine what it means to be alive, to be a component of choose to pursue. The characters in your game
a Galaxy staggering in scope and potential. almost certainly share this view as well. What do
they see when they look to the stars?
This hopeful outlook is most evident when Star Trek
is examining very real modern social issues, such

INFINITE DIVERSITY, INFINITE COMBINATIONS

STANDING NEXT TO THE HOPEFUL VIEW OF THE to represent a philosophy baked into virtually
future is the Vulcan ethos of Infinite Diversity in every Star Trek story. It is made clear, time and
Infinite Combinations, or IDIC. This concept devel- time again, that the United Federation of Planets,
oped early on in Star Trek’s life, and has grown of which Starfleet is a key component, holds

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 21
 RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
For all that the Federation is a broadly secular RELIGION IN PLAY
society, religious and spiritual beliefs are far Star Trek has typically been a very secular
from absent. Vulcans are a deeply spiritual franchise, sometimes dismissing religion as
people, with ancient traditions of monastic superstition and speaking of it as if it were
contemplation and asceticism, and philoso- something that a culture evolves beyond, with
phies that encourage deep self-knowledge and god-like beings (or beings posing as gods)
musings upon the metaphysical. Bajorans, on serving as antagonists in many episodes. Gene
the cusp of being a Federation member, have Roddenberry is said to have believed that
a rich religious life centered around worship of contemporary religion would be gone by the
the Prophets in their Celestial Temple, and this 23rd century, with humanity favoring a form of
organized religion holds much social and politi- secular humanism as our guiding philosophy.
cal influence. While few other Star Trek cultures
have had their faith so prominently shown on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine took a more bal-
screen, every culture is shaped by the beliefs anced approach, with the Bajoran faith explored
and faiths of its people, past and present. in detail, and Benjamin Sisko having to strike a
balance between being a Starfleet officer and a
Within humanity, religion often takes on more religious figure, but the religion in question was
individual forms of practice than it may have in always that of the Bajorans; Human faiths never
the past, but even atheists and agnostics typi- factored into it.
cally recognize the cultural impact that religion
has had upon their lives. Many of these faiths Star Trek: Enterprise suggested that a variety of
and practices have evolved over the centuries Human faiths persisted at least into the 22nd
as spiritual leaders debated the interpretation century, with Phlox having studied a range of
of their traditions and texts in the light of new Human religions during his time on Earth. The
discoveries and new technologies. second season of Star Trek: Discovery deals
with faith in an abstract sense and reveals that
The Federation does not have an official religion Captain Pike’s upbringing included study of
and guarantees freedom of religious expression religion alongside science, rather than in place
so long as one’s religious beliefs are not harmful of it. In these small ways, Star Trek has grown
to others. to explore belief and faith in ways it didn’t
originally, even if it still shies away from talking
In the Klingon Empire, matters are slightly directly about any real Human religion.
different. Klingons have a deep tradition of
spirituality, and many of their rites and practices These considerations are important in a game
are said to date back to the time of Kahless, context because religion is a part of people’s
though how much of this is true is unknown. identities and cultures, and that is as much a
Klingons worship no gods – they were deemed part of IDIC as race, sex, gender identity, sexual
too troublesome and slain by Klingon warriors orientation, and other factors. Within the game,
in ages past – but they have a concept of an you may wish to create a character which you
afterlife in the form of Sto-Vo-Kor and its antith- identify with, and that may include some or all
esis, Gre’thor, which are the ultimate fates for the aspects of your faith practice, if you have
the honorable and dishonorable, respectively. one. Within an individual game of Star Trek
Klingons also maintain a monastic tradition, Adventures, allowing players to see themselves
with the monks of Boreth serving as stewards in their characters can take precedence over
of the traditions of Kahless the Unforgettable, in the way Star Trek has traditionally handled the
addition to other roles. subject of religion. 
02102

22 CHAPTER 2.10
dear the rights and freedoms of all beings, even than becoming the basis for marginalization or
specific artificial life-forms. Further, the Federation persecution.
expressly prohibits unfair discrimination based on
a being’s species, ethnicity, nationality, spiritual Reflecting the strong ideal of IDIC, characters in Star
or political beliefs (so long as those beliefs are Trek Adventures may be of any species, ethnicity,
not harmful to, or unfairly imposed upon, others), faith, sexual identity, gender, gender expression,
gender, sexuality, or a range of other factors, such and so forth without limit or restriction. Variations
as disability or neurological variation. rarely have any impact upon the character in game
mechanics terms, though your players may choose
Within the Federation, all people are given the to highlight some key element of their charac-
means and opportunity to pursue their ambitions and ter mechanically, perhaps via a value or focus.
realize their full potential. The differences between Encourage them to do so, and provide insight and
individuals are embraced and celebrated, rather suggestions when possible.

CULTURE
THE FEDERATION, AND THE HUNDREDS OF SPECIES, table. The most-used species in the franchise –
worlds, and cultures the main characters encounter Humans, Klingons, Vulcans, Betazoids, Cardassians,
across the Star Trek universe, each have cultures Bajorans, Ferengi, and Kelpiens, among others – are
containing norms, expectations, and styles all their given sufficient cultural background (by virtue of
own. Precious few are provided with a deep dive being the species of a main character) that they’re
into their beliefs, customs, morals, and so on – the relatively easy to present and roleplay compared
stuff that roleplaying gamers rely on to deliver a to others. Secondary canon has helped to fill in
meaningful portrayal of their character at the game some of the blanks for other species as well. If

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 23
 any of your players are playing a character from a species from scratch), take on the fun challenge of
well-known Star Trek species, or if you are creating fleshing out that species for the purposes of your
a key NPC from an established species, much of campaign. Much as The Next Generation added a
their world-building has already been fleshed out to wealth of detail on Klingon culture, and Deep Space
adapt and use. Help your players create their char- Nine dove deeply into the Ferengi psyche, use the
acters on that firm foundation and then boldly add opportunity to take a canon species and build their
your own collective spin to an established species. culture as you play. Species such as the Tellarites,
Andorians, Tiburonians, Ktarians, and Pakleds could
If you or your players are creating a character of all be played as a main character or key NPC and
a species that has not been given much canonical given deeper cultural details and practices that
cultural detail (or perhaps even creating a unique could enhance any game experience.

ECONOMY
ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACET OF THE STAR TREK Your players’ characters likely joined Starfleet or
universe is that, by and large, the average Federation the Klingon Defense Force (or whatever organiza-
citizen has left behind the need to pursue a survival tion is appropriate for your game), out of a desire
income or to hoard wealth. Replicator technology and to better themselves rather than feeling the need
the logistics of a post-scarcity society mean that few to earn a salary and benefits or out of obligation.
beings in the Federation want for any of life’s essen- Without a need to earn to live, and free to join
tials, which frees people to pursue careers or activities Starfleet to explore the Galaxy and to better them-
out of a feeling of desire rather than necessity. Some selves, what excites your group of characters?
individuals and some species and cultures certainly What hobbies do they choose to pursue? Knowing
do pursue wealth and material possessions, but these that they can do anything they want if they set
are seen as the exception rather than the norm. their mind to do it and put in the effort to learn new
skills, what do they want to do in their Starfleet

FEDERATION CITIZENS AND MONEY

The United Federation of Planets is, broadly, wine, and other items made the old-fashioned
a collection of post-scarcity societies where way rather than replicated, as well as a wide
financial success and the accrual of wealth are variety of trades practiced by skilled profession-
archaic concepts consigned to history, but the als. Starfleet personnel and citizens who travel
exchange of resources is still managed and extensively, or who come into contact with those
accounted for. Federation citizens receive a share outside the Federation, often exchange a portion
of the economic product of their world, which is of this discretionary fund for an equivalent value
more than sufficient to provide for all their regular in latinum or other valuable commodity, allowing
needs: food, housing, clothing, education, use them to purchase goods and services from those
of public utilities, and so forth. On a day-to-day who are not part of the Federation.
basis, no citizen of the Federation needs to worry
about lacking the means to survive. For example, it is not uncommon for Starfleet
personnel stationed at Narendra Station (or any
A portion of this share is set aside as credit to be other Federation station or outpost) to keep a
traded on a discretionary basis for luxuries and stash of Klingon darseks or latinum on hand for
similar – a visit to a restaurant, a bottle of real trading purposes. 
02103

24 CHAPTER 2.10
career? How about a second career? Perhaps they What did they do and how does that experience
spend 30 years at one trade and then join Starfleet. influence their decision to join Starfleet?

STARDATES
TIMEKEEPING IN THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE CAN BE to the chronological occurrences in your game. A
tricky when dealing with multiple different worlds story that occurs after another should have a higher
that each have their own native calendar and time stardate than the first. It’s up to your group to figure
systems, combined with issues that arise from rela- out how you want to keep track of time.
tivistic effects. After the formation of the Federation,
a standardized system was implemented called While not always the case, there is a rough equiv-
stardates. As a gamemaster, all you need to remem- alence in stardates and the calendar of Earth after
ber is that a stardate gives an internal reference the 23rd century. A stardate of 44000.1 is equivalent

BEHIND THE SCENES: STARDATES

If you and your group want to use a stardate for § Starting with The Next Generation, the pro-
your adventures that feels more authentic to the ducers choose to use a five-digit stardate,
source material, consider the following guidance: suggesting a progression from the original
series, and use a range of 41000.x-41999.x
§ Star Trek: Enterprise uses traditional for the first season, set in 2364. This prac-
Gregorian calendar dating practices. The tice is continued sequentially through Deep
first episode, “Broken Bow,” starts on April Space Nine, Voyager, and the four The Next
16, 2151, while the season four episode Generation feature films. For example, the
“Terra Prime” takes place on January 22, pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint” starts
2155. If you are playing in this era, feel free at stardate 41153.7 (and is set in the year
to use the Gregorian dating practice and 2364). Voyager’s final episode, “Endgame,”
simply sidestep the whole stardate issue. starts at stardate 54973.4 (and is largely
set in the year 2378). If you are playing in
§ Episodes in the original series, The
this era, you may wish to review various
Animated Series, the six original series-era
episodes or consult a Star Trek timeline
feature films, and the first two seasons
resource in print or online to determine
of Star Trek: Discovery use stardates in
where in the canonical timeline you wish to
the 1000–9900 range, though they are
place your adventures. Of course, you are
sporadic and rarely sequential from episode
free to ignore established canon and pick
to episode. For example, the original
whatever dates you wish!
series episode “The Man Trap” carries a
stardate of 1513.1 (and is set in the year § Star Trek: Picard is set in the year 2399,
2266), while Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered though does not make use of star-
Country starts with a stardate of 9521.6 dates in its first season of episodes.
(and is set in the year 2293). If you are Theoretically, the stardates would be in the
playing in this era, you can safely use a 75000.x–75999.x range. If you’re playing
stardate in the 1000.x–9999.x range for the a game set in this time period, you could
years 2254–2323 or thereabouts. choose to use a stardate following The Next
Generation era pattern, or simply make use
of the Gregorian dating system. 
02104

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 25
 to 1 January 2367 at about 12:53 AM, with one year needs of your campaign, anyway). It’s always easy
comprising 1,000 stardate units. Alternate versions from there to go back and insert stardates. Stating
of stardates are sometimes used, including using stardates at the beginning of logs or during a point
the calendar year as the whole number, and the where you provide information may also give players
fraction of the year already passed as the decimal, clues as to strange occurrences happening as long
i.e., 2285.2739 is 10 April 2285. You may also as they are paying attention to the date. Why is the
choose to use a traditional form of dating missions stardate for this adventure before the last adven-
and sessions, for example, having one episode set tures? Did that last communique from Starfleet give a
on May 22, 2325 and the next episode set a couple timestamp that showed a year had passed when our
weeks later, on June 14. local clock says only a few hours have elapsed?

You should keep track of all the adventures your

players accomplish, ensuring that they are at least in
chronological order (if doing so chronologically fits the

26 CHAPTER 2.10
 CHAPTER 02.20

T EC HNOLOG Y
“I n st r u me nt s re gist e r o nly t ho s e th in g s th ey’re d esig n ed to
re gist e r. S pa c e st ill con tain s in fin ite u n kn own s.”

– LT. CM DR. SPOCK

GADGETS AND GEAR

This section provides an overview of some of though some are only available in specific eras.
the most commonly-used technology found The various descriptions in this section will
in the Star Trek setting with which your group note in which eras you may or may not find that
of characters would be familiar. Most of these particular technology. 
types of technology are present in all eras,
02201

CLOAKING DEVICE
A CLOAKING DEVICE, REGARDLESS OF THE POLITY War. Cloaking devices are present in all potential
producing it, is actually multiple pieces of equip- eras of play.
ment (heat sinks for the engines, baffled thruster
ports, multispectral plating on the outer hull, etc.) A partially-mended cloaking device may bend
installed around a starship that operate together to light around a starship so it can hide from optical
render the vessel undetectable to most sensors. This sensors, but it may not be hiding the small gravita-
adds up to extreme power usage even for the most tional anomalies the vessel produces as it moves,
advanced forms of the cloaking device, and vessels nor the impulse plume from its propulsion. If the
under cloak generally do not have enough power to players have a cloaking device, you could introduce
simultaneously provide for defensive and offensive complications to their starship when it has suffered
systems. More primitive cloaking devices may even damage that makes using the cloaking device more
restrict the use of warp and impulse propulsion, difficult until repairs are possible.
leaving the cloaked vessel maneuvering under
thrusters only. You should also remember that cloaking devices can
be used on probes to make them stealthy, starbases
You may expect to use a cloaking device for covert to hide them from hostile attackers, or possibly
missions, hiding from enemies, or getting a starship even entire worlds if the immense amount of power
into position to make a surprise attack. While required was available. Further, stealth systems that
the Klingons and Romulans use cloaking devices may not be as effective as full cloaking devices can
extensively, the Federation has treaties that prevent still make finding something more difficult. A ship
its use in Starfleet vessels, except for the U.S.S. that is invisible but still producing exhaust is hard to
Defiant, which was destroyed during the Dominion target with weapons fire, but not impossible.

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 27
 COMMUNICATIONS
IN THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE, THERE ARE A FEW By the 24th century, most communications occur
hard and fast details about subspace communica- via subspace, layers of reality that exists alongside
tions you should keep in mind: an unboosted sub- normal space-time. Within subspace there is a
space signal moves at about six light-years per hour, ‘spectrum’ just like in the electromagnetic spectrum
and subspace comms range and clarity are entirely in normal space-time that allows data to be trans-
up to the dictates of the story. A general guideline mitted at faster-than-light speeds. Subspace com-
for long-range communications is that inside set- munications utilizes these subspace frequencies,
tled space, be it in the Federation or Klingon Empire, and like its equivalent radio transmissions in normal
subspace communication is near real-time due to space-time, allows vast quantities of data to be
subspace boosters and transceivers. Outside of this spread across the Galaxy at incredible speeds. This
territory, a starship may need to wait hours or days does not mean instantaneous, as even subspace
for requests from home. Local energy disturbances communications have an upper speed limit similar
or space-time anomalies may also reduce the range to light-speed in normal space-time.
or speed of subspace communications.
In the 22nd century, power and technological limi-
Short-range communications using personal com- tations meant real-time communications, even over
municators or even old radio usually route to a nearby as little a distance as Earth to Vulcan, was difficult
larger transmitter when available, or just transmit to without subspace boosters. In the 23rd century, it
an orbiting vessel. While almost always real-time, would be difficult to get immediate contact with
communications using this method should have a Starfleet Command on Earth when on the edges of
much more limited range to be heard properly, per- Federation space, but by the 24th century, real-time
haps as little as the distance to the Moon from Earth. communications Federation-wide were possible due
To ease communications difficulties, all comms traffic to an extensive network of subspace communication
is routed through universal translators on each end to relays and boosters.
give all parties an understanding of their languages.

28 CHAPTER 2.20
 LANGUAGE AND THE UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR
The invention of the Universal Translator in the Player characters are assumed to be completely
22nd century was a massive breakthrough in fluent in one or two languages. These are
interspecies communication. In the centuries typically the common language of their service
that followed, further advancements allowed the – Federation Standard in Starfleet, or tlhIngan
technologies to be incorporated into personal Hol in the Klingon Defense Force – and either
communicators or unobtrusive wearable technol- a language reflecting the character’s heritage
ogy that allowed real-time conversation between (an Andorian will be able to speak a form of the
any two beings regardless of shared language. Andorian language, for example), or another
language which the character studied at some
Starfleet guidelines, and general pragma- point during their upbringing (a Human who
tism elsewhere, suggest that learning other natively speaks English also speaking tlhIngan
languages in case of technical faults, or to help Hol). It can be assumed that every civilization
understanding other cultures more deeply, is has numerous languages and regional dialects,
still valuable, but it is no longer an absolute with one being the most prominent and used for
necessity for an exploratory mission to have a government and interstellar trade, as Federation
xenolinguist on board as it was during the early Standard is for Earth.
missions of the Enterprise NX-01.
A character may additionally know languages
In most games of Star Trek Adventures, the based on their focuses – any focus relating to a
existence of the universal translator means that particular culture means that the character has
you can ignore language difficulties as a regular at least some understanding of that culture’s
part of play, as it isn’t likely to be an issue. language, and knowledge of history may give
However, communication without using a uni- a character a grounding in a dead language
versal translator is a plot point in numerous Star (such as Latin) or a particular chronolect of
Trek stories, from the Enterprise crew desper- a language they already know (a chronolect
ately seeking to send a message in Klingon in is the way a language is spoken during a
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, to many particular era, such as the differences between
stories involving Ensign Hoshi in Enterprise, to Old English and its modern forms). A focus in
more recent stories such as the communication Linguistics or similar may allow a character to
difficulties faced by Discovery’s crew in the know numerous languages – Commander Saru,
episode “An Obol for Charon.” Because of this, for example, speaks 94 different languages
it’s occasionally useful to know what languages – and if a player is willing to devote part of
different characters speak and read. their character to that, then you should allow
the character to know a minimum number of
languages equal to their Reason score. 
02202

While the Federation enjoys freedom of communica- traders from across the Alliance can quickly and
tions for its population, other polities may not put as efficiently make profits. Regardless, lightly settled or
much significance on the use of subspace boosters. explored sectors may not enjoy subspace relays and
The Romulan Star Empire, as an example, may only boosters at all, causing a communications lag.
utilize boosters to operate between Romulus and
strategically important worlds in order to compart- Communications on a planet, or even communi-
mentalize and cover up rebellious actions in con- cating between a planet and orbit, may not rely on
quered star systems. The Ferengi Alliance may have subspace technology, and instead rely on older and
an extensive network of subspace boosters so stock less power intensive fiberoptic wires and laser data

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 29
 transmission, especially in the 22nd and 23rd centu- unable to speak with their vessel in orbit may
ries. This practice would become redundant as power mean the difference between a tense scene and a
generation increased and technology for subspace nail-biting one. Perhaps the universal translators
communications became more miniaturized. In the cease to function, making understanding each other
24th century, older styles of communication became next to impossible. Jamming devices can always
niche hobbies and studied by historians rather than fill subspace with white noise, subspace anomalies
engineers, and starships of that era would rarely can make long-range communication impossible
monitor the normal EM spectrum. Knowledge of these through signals being blocked or warped in such
older communications styles can be very useful when a way that the sender receives their transmission
dealing with less technologically-developed societies again in a few moments. Eerie subspace voices
that are pre-warp, or in emergency situations where emanating from nearby timelines and cries for help
no subspace communications is possible. Remember that echo through a region can unsettle your players
that old never means useless! and give an easy route for you to take your game
into the realm of horror for an episode.
Communications difficulties are a great way to intro-
duce to tension to a scene. Characters suddenly

HOLOGRAM TECHNOLOGY
HOLOGRAMS HAVE BEEN IN USE SINCE THE EARLY and tractor beams to create interactive full-sensory
days of the Federation, when holographic imaging environments. Safety protocols prevent items on a
systems were used to record and display lifelike holodeck from being deadly, though accidents can
3-D representations of people, scenery, objects, happen – for example, someone in an orbital skydiv-
strategic maps, and more (perhaps a character has ing simulation could still twist an ankle on landing.
a treasured holorecording of a loved one, or a place Adding artificial intelligence allows for holographic
they’ve visited). Starting in the 23rd century, some characters that users can interact with. Objects
polities experimented with holographic communi- created on a holodeck usually vanish when taken
cation systems (in lieu of viewscreens), though they beyond its doors.
did not see widespread use.
A holodeck can serve to add another dimension
Holograms are often used in visual media like televi- to a scene. If the crew is hosting a dinner for an
sion to make dramatic or expository elements more alien delegation, perhaps this can take place in an
engaging – a figure standing in front of the crew evocative setting on the holodeck instead of a dining
seeming more real than a two-dimensional image room, such as dinner on a world covered in crystal
on a viewer – but in a verbal medium like RPGs this spires. This enables you and your players to intro-
does not have the same impact. While holograms duce an exotic location while never leaving the ship.
are sometimes used for recordings and interactive
communication systems, the primary use of holo- Also, remember that holodecks were developed to
grams will likely be in the realm of holodecks. help crew members deal with being away from a
planetary environment for long periods of time. Both
Developed at the start of The Next Generation player characters and NPCs likely spend a lot of time
era to address the psychological needs of most running recreational programs, either standard ones
organic lifeforms to relax and experience familiar available throughout the Federation or programs the
environments – and do so in a way that utilized a characters themselves designed. You can tap into
minimum of space in the ships they were installed a sense of continuity by establishing a recurring
in – holodecks (or, in some places, holosuites) com- program or two, such as the bar where the Voyager
bine holographic imaging, force fields, replicators, crew spent time together. Holonovels can make a

30 CHAPTER 2.20
fun adventure setting on their own, even when a (ENH), and Emergency Tactical Hologram (ETH).
technical problem isn’t the trigger. They present a Emergency holograms in this era can be easily mod-
chance for players to experience a different genre, eled on existing people, including their memories
while still playing Star Trek! and personality.

This technology is in use beyond the Federation as None of these holograms are designed to be self-
well, popular for recreation, as a training tool, and aware, though exceptions exist. Indeed, it could be
a development and simulation tool for disciplines enjoyable to show the progress of a holo-character
ranging from engineering to medicine. It has also who is developing such awareness, whether it is a
been used in anthropological field research, where main player character, a supporting character, or
holographic “duck blinds” hide observation posts an NPC.
behind images of natural scenery such as cliff walls
or dense vegetation. Starfleet ships regularly visit Besides recreational use and emergency holograms,
such outposts to support the scientists. any ship department can make use of a holodeck in
their day-to-day work. Science and medical officers
Many late 24th century starships are equipped with can create working models of physical compounds,
an Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), an artificial spatial phenomena, and even life-forms to test
intelligence designed to mimic a humanoid being theories. Engineers and conn officers can run lifelike
and programmed with extensive medical knowl- simulations to try out different power and flight
edge. An EMH can operate in sickbay (which has configurations. Security officers train extensively
been equipped with holo-emitters) and is intended against any conceivable simulated enemy in multi-
to supplement or temporarily replace the medical ple environments. Counselors use carefully-crafted
staff in emergencies. Such holograms are not holo-environments (and sometimes holo-characters)
designed to be self-aware, though there have been to aid the therapeutic process. Command officers
a few notable exceptions. immerse themselves in situations both tactical and
interpersonal that hone their instincts concerning
As depicted in Star Trek: Picard, emergency following Starfleet protocol and making effective
holograms have expanded significantly by 2399. command decisions. In addition to giving the players
Additional varieties in use include the Emergency fun things to do, having them roleplay moments like
Engineering Hologram (EEH), Emergency Hospitality these can connect their characters to one of the
Hologram (EHH), Emergency Navigational Hologram setting’s key elements.

PROPULSION
STARSHIPS IN THE STAR TREK SETTING MOVE
among planets, systems, sectors, and quadrants
Impulse Drive
An impulse drive is the primary set of equipment
using two primary forms of propulsion: impulse
used to propel a starship, shuttlecraft, or probe
(sublight), and warp (faster-than-light). While
at sublight speeds. United Earth, and later the
many episodes present other forms of propulsion,
Federation as a whole, standardized impulse drives
including solar sails, quantum slipstream drives, and
to use highly efficient fusion reactors that would
subspace tunnels, this primer focuses on the two
generate energy for ship systems and plasma
most common forms player characters will use in
exhaust that could be channelled through mag-
virtually every adventure.
netic and subspace baffles to provide thrust that
resulted in propulsion. These fusion reactors utilize
deuterium-deuterium reactions that produce helium
and hydrogen atoms, free neutrons, and an amazing
amount of energy. In the setting, it means that a

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 31
 helmsman can both accelerate and decelerate their speeds the ship’s crew may find themselves unable
starship with an impulse drive without ever having to react fast enough to outside threats. Most civiliza-
to change the orientation of their starship. tions the Federation interact with do not like vessels
continually being out of sync with other ships and
Your players can use these systems to not only headquarters, so the time dilation makes coordi-
propel their vessel at sublight speeds, but also use nation difficult at best. At extremely high sublight
them in a way that would require thrust like a rocket velocities, it’s possible that characters may only feel
or power like a nuclear power plant. Impulse drives they have been travelling for days when years or
are used to travel within star systems, and even decades have passed outside.
at quarter impulse speed, a starship could travel
from low Earth orbit to the Moon in 21 seconds. At You may find in games that an impulse drive may
full impulse, a starship would only require around shut down from heavy use, or that steep gravity
a half hour to go from the Earth to the Sun, and wells mean the impulse drive struggles to provide
could travel the entire diameter of Neptune’s orbit enough velocity to escape. While fusion reactors are
in a little more than 33 hours. While slow compared much safer than fission reactors due to their failure
to warp velocities, an impulse drive is able to ade- only resulting in the dissipation of high-energy
quately provide movement inside a star system for plasma out external vents, working around them still
most of the Federation’s citizens. has dangers that you can introduce to provide some
nail-biting tension such as the plasma vents being
What all impulse drives in common use share is damaged, the impulse drive taking damage during
limitations on velocity in an attempt for both safety battle when maneuvering is vital, or perhaps the rel-
and to try and deal with relativistic effects; this ativistic limiter fails and the player characters may
speed is typically between 0.25 and 0.33c. The need to fix the damage before time (in the outside
faster a vessel goes in real space under impulse, universe) literally runs out.
any particles, dust, or larger objects impacting the
vessel will cause larger amounts of damage and
require more power to deflector systems to keep Warp Drive
everyone on board safe. Time dilation becomes Star Trek without warp drive would be limited to
an issue the faster a vessel goes – the more the being “Solar System Trek.” It is one of the most
outside universe seems to speed up. While at low quintessential technological systems that every
velocities this may not be a large issue, at higher player character will encounter. Simply put, warp

32 CHAPTER 2.20
 ERA-SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY TRANSLATOR
Many elements of Star Trek effectively work the Here is a list of items and concepts that use
same in different eras but have different names. different labels over time. 

Enterprise Star Trek The Next Generation

communicator communicator combadge

grappler tractor beam tractor beam

hand scanner tricorder tricorder

landing / boarding party landing / boarding party away team

particle rifle phaser rifle phaser rifle

phase cannon phaser bank phaser bank / phaser array

phase pistol hand phaser hand phaser

photonic torpedoes photon torpedoes photon torpedoes

polarized hull plating screens or shields shields

protein resequencer food synthesizer replicator

— recreation deck (“rec deck”) holodeck

02203

drive is a propulsion technology that warps space- interesting, and dramatic solution to work around
time around a vessel by producing a subspace that, then by all means, make that call. Remember
bubble. This bubble allows a vessel inside of it that newer starships tend to be faster than older
to stay at slower-than-light velocities, avoiding ones even if refitted, top speeds can’t be held
relativistic effects, and moving the bubble itself at indefinitely, and star systems are still far enough
superluminal velocities. This subspace bubble is apart that they generally take days to reach at best.
produced by warp coils, pieces of technology found At Warp 6, the cruising speed of Enterprise from the
in a vessel’s warp nacelles. Most vessels keep these original series would take about 7 days to go from
nacelles far from the inhabited areas of the ship for Earth to Proxima Centauri, and at Warp 8 (emer-
safety reasons, but this isn’t a firm design rule. gency speed) would take 3 days if it could somehow
sustain that velocity.
Warp drive will find its way into every mission that
you run. It will be the reason why the characters are Warp travel requires significant amounts of power,
where they are, how they get from A to B, or even as even at low speeds, and this is commonly provided
a tactical way of moving when in a combat situation. by matter/antimatter reactions inside of a warp
The most important thing that you should remember core. In Starfleet vessels, the matter and antimatter
about warp speed is that it allows a ship to move at streams converge inside a chamber where a faceted
the speed of plot. Don’t feel like you need to know dilithium crystal helps to focus the resultant plasma
the exact top speed of a ship, or how long it can into a ship’s warp plasma system, channelling the
maintain that emergency speed. If the plot says the high energy material to the vessel’s warp coils.
characters’ starship can’t catch a fleeing antagonist,
the antagonist’s ship is just a little faster. With that You should remember that this form of energy
being said, if the players can come up with a unique, generation isn’t the only means of providing power

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 33
 to warp drives. The Romulan Star Empire builds that if they are exploring the unknown, help will
vessels that power their propulsion through a often be weeks away.
naked singularity. Any kind of large power source
can provide power to drive a vessel in warp, even Standard warp isn’t the only way to travel at super-
fission reactions found in modern nuclear reactors, luminal velocities. Transwarp is another form of
though the lower the amount of energy provided, travel that is often mentioned. First theorized in the
the lower the warp velocities. Much like other types late 23rd century, transwarp drive allows a vessel
of propulsion, warp coils are unable to sustain their to shunt itself entirely into subspace, exponentially
maximum power rating for long durations, and ves- increasing the real space velocities of a starship.
sels that have been travelling at higher than cruising Borg vessels use this type of propulsion, in addition
speed must often slow or even stop for a period of to normal warp propulsion, to be able to transverse
time to let the coils cool or to perform maintenance. the entire Galaxy in a matter of hours through
stable transwarp conduits that provided even higher
While warp speeds are incredibly fast by early relative velocities, or conduits generated by an
21st century standards, space is an incredibly individual vessel.
large place and travelling between star systems
isn’t something that happens in moments. During Warp and transwarp are only two examples of
the 23rd century, a ship cruising at warp 6 (216 faster-than-light travel in the Star Trek universe,
times the speed of light) would take 7 days and 4 and there are dozens of others each with their own
hours just to travel between Earth and its closest quirks and benefits. Maybe your crew will be able
stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri. Even in the 24th to figure out a way to introduce them to Starfleet
century, when starship’s cruising speeds were and change the Galaxy for the better. Your players’
higher and the warp scale was reconfigured, a ship characters can use warp drive systems in many
cruising at warp 6 (392 times the speed of light) ways including for purposes of bending space-
would still take nearly 4 days on the same journey. time, producing localized temporal acceleration or
The highest speeds seen on screen is the Intrepid- deceleration, or even defensively to cause directed
class starship, capable of emergency speeds of energy weapons to bend around the vessel. Warp
warp 9.975 or a staggering 5126 times the speed drive is a wondrous invention, and there are count-
of light, allowing the vessel to move between Earth less ways for you to use the technology in unique
and Proxima Centauri in a little more than 7 hours. and fascinating ways, and to break it to provide
Regardless of the era, you should remind players challenges to your players.

SENSORS
YOUR PLAYERS WILL BE USING SENSORS MORE distances, navigational sensors, astrometrics, and
than any other system on a starship or piece of even optical telescopes. These kinds of sensors may
equipment. Sensors can range in simplicity from be able to detect a planet in a nearby star system,
a character’s visual receptor(s) or a thermometer, but wouldn’t be able to detect if there was human-
to the incredibly complex multiphasic subspace oid life on that planet. Reason and Control should
sensors that allow a starship to detect things light- be used with most tasks involving these systems as
years away in real time. Sensors are the things that they require patient study of data or self-discipline
allow characters, and their players, understand what enough to not miss any important data.
is going on around them, and using them or limiting
them can have a drastic effect on your mission or Short-range sensors are those that can be held by
campaign. Long-range sensors can detect broad a character, or as a rule of thumb, only work within
patterns and basic generalizations from great the range of a transporter at most. These types of

34 CHAPTER 2.20
devices include tricorders, microscopes, and any flares, active black holes, or energy jamming. Tasks
other device that needs to get direct evidence from with these kinds of disruptions involving sensors
a phenomena. Like long-range sensors, these can should have their complication range raised to
use Reason in most cases, but sometimes Insight as represent the amount of misleading or contrary
some sort of interesting or non-standard result may data that can occur with that sort of interference.
show up under close scrutiny. You should keep in Think of these two types of interferences as being
mind that the more information a character wants to the difference between trying to see in a pitch-dark
gain from using sensors, the closer they have to be room and trying to see in the same room lit with
to get it. There is only so much data one can gather pulsing strobes.
from the safety of a starship in orbit before an away
team needs to go down and get a closer look. There are many times in the show, or in the
narrative of a mission, where sensors would be
Sensors are also one of the easier systems to run useful having tracked characters inside the ship if
afoul of the complexities and dangers of space. Dust they could normally see a person from orbit. The
clouds and nebulae can hide ships and even whole reason why this isn’t the case is that the Federation
star systems from view, and it is suggested that any respects personal privacy, and doesn’t track its
tasks that occur with sensors that have their target citizens. Security threats and visiting dignitaries may
somehow obscured either by intervening material be exceptions, but the computer on a starship won’t
or distance, have their Difficulty raised. Another way be constantly monitoring where each and every
of disrupting sensors is through active interference crew member is at all times.
such as high-energy ion storms in the region, solar

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 35
 SHUTTLECRAFT
SHUTTLECRAFT ARE AN EVER-PRESENT FEATURE OF entirely unable to deviate from a planned course.
the Star Trek universe, from the pods of the You should limit independent shuttle operations
Enterprise era to the various models of shuttlecraft to inside the same star system the main starship
and runabouts seen in The Next Generation era. In a is in, otherwise the story may become difficult to
Starfleet or Klingon setting, shuttlecraft are used by manage as weeks may pass on the shuttle going
the crews of starships to extend the range at which to a destination for a B-plot, while characters in an
the vessel’s crew can operate. As they are small A-plot solve it in days.
starships capable of limited independent action,
your players will find numerous uses for these You should also remember that any difficulties a
vessels. One thing to keep in mind is their size and starship will have because of environmental condi-
limitations. Shuttlecraft can’t carry very many crew, tions and spatial phenomena may have a stronger
ranging from two to a dozen, and cramped condi- impact on shuttlecraft. Additionally, most starships
tions may double this for very short planet-to-orbit stay in orbit and rarely pilot through atmospheres
journeys. Additionally, shuttlecraft from the 22nd and (birds-of-prey being an exception), and flying a
23rd century may only have low impulse power and shuttlecraft through a dense planetary atmosphere
limited warp capabilities only appearing in the mid- requires a much different skill set than piloting a
23rd century. This means that travelling to a nearby starship through the vacuum of space. You should
star system in one may be either impossible or very remind players that certain focuses may not trans-
slow and only undertaken if the parent vessel is late between helming a starship and shuttle.

TRACTOR BEAMS
MOVING AN OBJECT THAT IS ALMOST AS BIG (OR tow. It’s suggested that starships towing objects of
sometimes larger) than whatever is needing to move greater or equal scale are unable to enter warp as
it is a problem, and tractor beams in the Star Trek the warp field cannot encompass the towed object.
universe are the solution. The tractor beam is a Exceptions should be made if characters are able to
stream of particles directed at a nearby object, likely modify the warp field through an extended task, or if
less than a few thousand kilometers away, when the the spaceframe includes a special rule indicating it
beam can either bring the object closer, hold it at a is a tug or able to tow large objects.
set distance, or push it away.
A tractor beam can be disrupted by any number of
The core rulebook states that a tractor beam spatial phenomena. Increasing the Difficulty of a
must be engaged when at Close range and when task involving a tractor beam would involve some-
attempting to lock onto a moving ship. In the event thing that can interfere in the beams operation, like
that players need to lock onto an object that isn’t an ion storm, radiation, or perhaps just being deep
under control, it’s suggested that you allow the in a large gravity well making the gravitons spin
normal tractor beam task to be accomplished at away too quickly. Increasing the complication range
Difficulty 1. There are also times when your players of tasks would involve gravitation sheer, distorted
may wish to lock a tractor beam onto something space-time, or subspace interference that interacts
as large as their vessel or more. If this is the case, with gravitons. While much of this is technobab-
increase the Difficulty of the task by 1 for each scale ble, try to ensure your players understand the link
that the object is above the strength of the tractor between a complication or Difficulty increase and
beam. Additionally, the ship must also use that what’s causing it.
same difference between scale and tractor beam
strength in Power for as long as the object is in

36 CHAPTER 2.20
 SHIELDS
DEFLECTOR SHIELDS (ALSO CALLED EITHER Such phenomena are useful for you, because in
deflectors or shields) are the most common type addition to opening the ship up to boarding parties
of defensive measure employed by starships in or the threat of severe damage, they have other
the known Galaxy. Available starting around the effects that can make things more interesting for
2240s, shields are forcefields that surround a ship the player characters, such as causing glitches in
or base in an invisible bubble – except when they ship’s systems and endangering civilian populations.
are hit by something, at which point an observer
will see a multicolored flash of Cerenkov radiation. Objects and weapons striking a shield reduce its
Shields protect against both physical objects (such effectiveness. Some interstellar phenomena can
as asteroids) and many types of energy (including also impair or disable shields, including nebulae,
phasers and other weapons). Shields that are active stellar flares, radiation storms, geomagnetic storms,
are said to be “up,” and shields that are inactive or novas, and black holes. Once a ship or station’s
have collapsed are referred to as “down.” Shields rating is reduced to 0, the shields collapse
and offer no further protection until restored or
Some interstellar phenomena can impair or disable repaired. Most ships cannot withstand many attacks
shields, including nebulae, stellar flares, geomag- once the shields are down.
netic and radiation storms, novas, and black holes.

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 37
 Some shipboard activities cannot be performed Shields operate at a specific frequency, and normally
while shields are up, including transporting to or operate at the same frequency as the ship’s own
from the ship, launching or landing shuttlecraft, and weapons so they do not interfere with each other.
operating a cloaking device. This limitation forces Shield (and matching weapon) frequencies are
players to make interesting choices – do we risk changed regularly, because if an enemy manages to
our own safety to beam up people in danger? – so match its weapon frequency to that of the shields,
players’ attempts to get around it should usually the weapon will do the same as the target ship’s own
fail, or at best result in a temporary workaround weapons: bypass the shields entirely.
(perhaps in the form of an advantage). Note that
some cultures have been able to work around this Be cautious if allowing an enemy to do this to the
restriction, such as the Dominion and Borg with their player characters’ ship, as having this sprung on
advanced transporters, which can facilitate shaking them can be frustrating to players who like to trust
things up with the sudden appearance of a boarding in their own shields. In combat, the tactical officer
party during battle. can use the Modulate Shields task to try and tune
the ship’s shield frequency to something more
effective against the current enemy.

TIME TRAVEL
TIME TRAVEL IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE IN STAR § Do take action to prevent historical alterations,
Trek stories. From the Guardian of Forever to the Orb if necessary.
of Time to the Red Angel time suit, Starfleet officers
§ Avoid revealing information about the future that
and members of other cultures (notably the Borg)
could itself cause interference or even generate
have had many journeys into the past and future.
a time paradox.
In the Star Trek universe, time is malleable. It is
The methods employed in traveling through time are
possible to change the past and affect one’s own
quite varied, but common means to do so include
timeline, so extreme caution is advised for any
the slingshot effect (warping near a powerful gravity
officers who find themselves traveling into history.
source, such as a star, then rapidly breaking away),
Indeed, in the late 24th century the Federation
warp drive malfunctions, transporter accidents,
instituted a Temporal Prime Directive that prohibits
and the general (but vague) category of “temporal
changes to the past, in much the same way that the
anomalies.” Anomalies are probably one of the
original Prime Directive prohibits interfering in the
most typical means of time travel because relying
natural development of other worlds. Officers who
on various malfunctions can hurt the trust that the
travel through time can expect a thorough debriefing
characters (and the players) have in their technol-
by the Department of Temporal Investigations. It
ogy. You can vary anomalies by giving them different
is likely that other cultures have instituted similar
names: Star Trek has made use of temporal rifts,
directives and departments as the Federation.
time portals, time warps, energy vortices, subspace
(Before establishing the Temporal Prime Directive,
corridors, subspace fractures, and more.
the Federation experimented with missions to the
past for observational purposes.)
Evidence of time travel is often detectable by sen-
sors and tricorders, in the form of such phenomena
The Temporal Prime Directive has three
as temporal distortions, tachyons, and rare suba-
essential rules:
tomic particles called chronitons. Though it is helpful
to allow characters to figure out that time travel is
§ Don’t interfere with historical events.
involved by making such evidence available, try not

38 CHAPTER 2.20
to let the solution to the adventure simply be making In addition to the Federation, the Borg and
a dice roll to throw particles at a problem. Klingons both have access to time travel technol-
ogy, and records at the Department of Temporal
Alterations to history during time travel sometime Investigations indicate that numerous other civiliza-
create alternate timelines. These sometimes exist tions do as well. The Orb of Time on Bajor has been
only between the time a change is made in history used for this purpose. Some organisms have even
and the time someone else repairs that change, but shown the ability to manipulate or travel through
in other cases they remain in existence as a separate time, such as the Devidians, the Q, and a species
reality, leaving it possible to travel back and forth of quantum singularity lifeforms. Accordingly, some
between the two timelines. This is separate from time travel stories can involve preventing others
the concept of parallel universes, in that alternate from making changes to the past, or correcting
timelines differ from ours only because of changes to changes that have already happened. A fun wrinkle
historical events, where parallel universes gener- on this idea could be to have the problem caused
ally incorporate different physical laws, even if the by individuals who would not be on the short list of
changes are minor compared to our own universe. time-meddling suspects, such as Ferengi or Pakleds
Both alternate timelines and parallel universes can – or for a story with less comic relief, perhaps
be fun for players, especially when they get a chance time-traveling Andorians or Tellarites who want to fix
to encounter (and possibly play!) earlier, later, or some perceived injustice in their culture’s past.
alternate versions of their own characters.

WEAPONS
THOUGH PEACE IS STARFLEET’S GOAL, IT’S A FACT weapons and those installed on starships. We won’t
of life that combat happens. (In the Klingon Empire, cover every weapon in use in Star Trek, but present
it’s an aspiration.) It helps to know the weapons you a summary of the most common or noteworthy, and
will be facing as well as the ones you will be using, provide some notes regarding their use.
so this section offers an overview of both handheld

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 39
 Note that when encountering the aftermath of other weapon types can more easily cause greater
a battle, it is often possible to use sensors and damage. Depending on the setting used, a phaser
tricorders to determine which type of weapon was can stun, heat, cut, kill, or even vaporize targets. Try
involved in an attack by analyzing the damage. to accommodate what your players want to do with
Sometimes even hearing the sound of a weapon this flexible device. If they want to use a phaser to
can differentiate it; Federation phasers sound quite send a narrow-beam Morse code transmission and
different than Klingon disruptors. In addition, some you think it is possible, you can just allow it to work.
phenomena can make certain weapons inoperable,
as hyperonic radiation does to phasers. Keep in In game terms, a phaser’s Charge quality represents
mind that this can work in two directions: first, you its versatile array of settings; to use it, a charac-
know that hyperonic radiation disables phasers and ter performs a Prepare minor action to adjust the
they (or a player) make use of this fact in the story, weapon before firing.
or the player wants to find a way to disable phasers
and you allow them to create an advantage to do so, Another highly popular weapon in the Galaxy is the
inventing a scientific-sounding rationale for making disruptor, favored by the Klingons, Romulans, Gorn,
this possible. Tholians, Breen, and more. Disruptors are less ver-
satile than phasers but perform well at their primary
task: inflicting damage (reflected by their Vicious
Handheld Weapons 1 damage effect). They do not have a stun setting,
The most common personal weapon in the though characters can still use them for non-lethal
Federation and many other societies is the phaser attacks, in which case the target receives burns
(except in the Star Trek: Enterprise era, when it was that are minor but survivable. From a clue-giving
the earlier-model phase pistol). Phasers are phased standpoint in a story, it is handy that so many
particle beam weapons, favored by the Federation cultures use disruptors. This can tell the characters
because of their versatility, despite the fact that that certain parties are likely not involved (Ferengi,

40 CHAPTER 2.20
for example) but not give away just yet whether the Some civilizations have developed more uncon-
culprits are Romulans or Gorn. ventional weapons. The Breen use an energy
dissipation weapon that can drain power from ships
Other energy weapons in use in the known Galaxy without damaging them, and the Ferengi sometimes
are less ubiquitous. Though the Federation discon- fire an electro-magnetic pulse that combines a
tinued the use of lasers, early particle beams, and high-damage blast with low-level power disruption.
phase pistols by the early 2250s, a few civiliza- Jem’Hadar ships use phased polaron beams, which
tions still use them. Some cultures, such as the excel at penetrating shields. One of the most unu-
Andorians, have used plasma weapons, though sual weapons is the Tholian web spinner, capable of
the Dominion uses a version that incorporates an (slowly) ensnaring a ship and draining it of power.
anticoagulant effect that makes injuries inflicted
by them far harder to treat. The Federation has When you are creating your own adversarial forces,
used a variety of grenades that use phaser pulse try to tailor their weapons to their outlook. For
technology to stun targets, collectively called pulse example, the Federation uses phasers because
grenades. The Klingons have an affinity for using they are as much a tool as a weapon, and they can
melee weapons in addition to energy weapons, from be used non-lethally, whereas the Romulans use
their d’k tahg dagger to their legendary bat’leth, and disruptors because they are more lethal. If your new
many warriors default to these whenever possible. adversary is all about being sneaky, you might give
Similarly, the Jem’Hadar enjoy using their kar’takins, them a weapon that is silent, or perhaps invisible.
which are like short polearms. You do not even have to change the game rules;
sometimes it’s enough to change the name to make
Most energy weapons have a few features in the weapon feel unique.
common. They generally appear in both pistol and
rifle variants, with the rifles having greater accuracy TORPEDOES
and the capability to inflict greater damage. They Starships in earlier eras (or modern fleets used by
use rechargeable power cells that can support a less-advanced civilizations) used rockets, spatial
tremendous amount of sustained usage. And many torpedoes, and then photonic torpedoes. As of
have an “overload” feature that can turn the weapon the original series era, photon torpedoes became
into a makeshift explosive device. the most popular starship projectile weapon in
the known Galaxy, and see use by the Federation,
Klingons, Orions, Gorn, Dominion, Hirogen, Vidiians,
Starship Weapons and many others. Torpedoes are long-range projec-
Starships usually mount both energy weapons and tiles that carry powerful explosive or energetic pay-
projectile-based ones, commonly called torpedoes. loads. Many torpedoes can track a target, pursuing
In general, energy weapons are more precise while it at high speed until it strikes and detonates. Photon
torpedoes inflict more damage but also raise the torpedoes contain a quantity of antimatter that
stakes (reflected by the generation of Threat points). combines with matter on impact, creating a pow-
erful explosion. In the late 24th century, Starfleet
ENERGY WEAPONS began equipping ships with the more advanced and
Phasers are the primary starship weapon for many higher-damage quantum torpedoes, which work on
cultures, including the Federation, and some use a a similar principle but use plasma-based warheads.
combination of phasers and other energy weap- A number of Star Trek episodes had plots involving
ons, such as the Cardassians, Ferengi, and Orions. quantum torpedoes; you could easily follow suit
Shipboard phasers are similar to their handheld and craft adventures touching on the discovery,
counterparts, and can even use the stun setting development, transport, testing, or rollout of some
(over a large area!). Disruptors are also common even newer weapon system.
starship weapons, equipped on Klingon, Romulan,
Gorn, Tholian, and Breen ships. An earlier plasma weapon still in use from the orig-
inal series era is the Romulan plasma torpedo. This

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 41
 WHY DOESN’T AN ENEMY JUST FIRE A TORPEDO INTO
SOMEONE’S SUN?
While there is an example of this exact thing destroying them for no one to inhabit or exploit
occurring in the Star Trek universe (Star Trek: is a terrible thought. You should note that photon
Generations), there are many reasons why you or quantum torpedoes were not listed above
should avoid doing this or something just as as technology capable of destroying a star or
destructive to a star system. making it go nova. Remember that even the
most destructive weapons that your characters
In universe, there are few pieces of technol- have access to pale in comparison to the energy
ogy that can affect a star in such a way as to output of even the smallest star. Each second,
destroy it: trilithium, red matter, creating artifi- our Sun releases the equivalent energy of
cial singularities, etc. Each one of these technol- nearly two billion detonating photon torpedoes.
ogies is incredibly rare and hard to construct, Whatever your starship has in its magazines
but also would be highly regulated and rarely won’t do anything except register on sensors as
in the hands of anyone except researchers at a stellar anomaly.
the highest levels of a government. It is also
highly likely these technologies or substances From a storytelling perspective, the concept
are banned under interstellar treaties. The doesn’t fit into the narrative structure of a story
reason for this is simple: the destruction of star and can often entirely destroy the plot you
systems, even uninhabited ones, represents the devised. Star Trek is about exploring ideas and
loss of incalculable resources and would result concepts, discovering new life and new civiliza-
in every other nearby polity banding together tions. Star Trek isn’t about committing genocide
to remove the threat of a government willing to on any scale. You should see even a lifeless
destroy stars and planets at will. world through the eyes of those characters you
act as, worlds capable of providing resources to
Imagine this occurring in an inhabited star your society, an opportunity to explore and learn,
system with billions of sentient beings. Even maybe even gain glory for you and your House.
the most villainous of governments in the Star A rapidly expanding cloud of molecules does no
Trek universe would consider this reprehensible. one any good, players or characters alike. 
Fighting over habitable worlds is common, but
02202

weapon is extremely powerful and can even follow a that was conceived for a single episode, then
ship into warp for short periods of time. They require barely mentioned afterward. Although continuity is
a tremendous amount of energy and have a longer important, this method is also fine for storytelling in
charge time than most torpedoes, but when they your game! Not every idea put into an adventure has
strike they spread a lingering field of plasma around to be a permanent addition to your game’s canon,
the target, inflicting additional damage over time. even though your players might try to hang onto an
The plasma torpedo is an example of a weapon especially powerful or intriguing device or weapon.

TRANSPORTER SYSTEMS
IN THE STAR TREK UNIVERSE, THERE IS ONLY ONE Transporters were developed on Earth in the mid-
piece of technology that comes close to the 22nd century by Emory Erickson, and the technology
ever-present warp drive, and that is transporters. would be the basis for most of the member worlds

42 CHAPTER 2.20
of the future Federation. A transporter is a form of temporary allies that are not encountered often, so
teleportation system that converts matter into a our heroes are not tempted to short-circuit adven-
stream of energy and sends it to another location, tures by using such transportation to bypass space
where it is reassembled moments later. Transporters travel entirely.
work on life-forms as well as objects, and are used
by most spacefaring civilizations in the Alpha and Transporters cannot normally operate through
Beta Quadrants. They are available in all eras of shields, which means sending an away team to
play, though see the Transporter and Replicator another ship would require one’s own shields to be
Era Notes sidebar for comments on key changes down as well as those of the target vessel. In rare
over time. circumstances this has been overcome, as when the
operator was familiar with the target vessel’s shield
You will see these devices being used nearly every refresh cycle, and some civilizations’ transporters
adventure to move characters from one location have been designed to bypass shields – notably the
to another. Most normal uses of the transporter Dominion and the Borg. Beaming can be attempted
will involve tasks using Engineering and Control. at warp speed, but at greater difficulty, and the
The range at which people can be moved safely velocity of the beaming ship must be set to match
depends on exact conditions, which gives you that of the target ship.
leeway in exactly how close the ship needs to be,
but a rule of thumb is that the range shouldn’t be Shipboard transporters are typically housed in one
greater than high orbit for living creatures, and or more transporter rooms. Most transporter rooms
maybe the distance of the Moon from Earth for have six transporter pads, sufficient to transport
simple non-organic objects. six individuals or an equivalent amount of cargo at
once, though it is possible to beam more than six
Any lingering look at the television series available people with an increase in Difficulty. A transporter
will also show transporters being capable of doing room is normally staffed by a transporter chief who
any number of, at first glance, bizarre operations. specializes in the operation, maintenance, and repair
Acting as a stasis pod to preserve a person until of the system. Players may appreciate interacting
rescue arrives, de-aging a person like a Fountain of with a recurring transporter chief NPC, along the
Youth, cracking through dimensional barriers and lines of Lt. Kyle on the Enterprise or Chief O’Brien on
moving people between timelines, etc. All of these the Enterprise-D.
strange functions are not able to be performed
easily by the device and usually have specific Site-to-site transport is beaming from one location
circumstances surrounding them. You should limit to another without materializing in the transporter
non-transportation uses of a transporter to only room doing the beaming. Note that the transpor-
occurring for predetermined plot-points to progress tees technically still pass through the transporter’s
the narrative, and would typically use Daring or systems on the way, they just don’t materialize until
Science, or any other combination of attributes and they reach their destination.
disciplines you see fit.
Beginning in The Next Generation era, biofilters
Traveling by transporter is commonly called “beam- were developed and added to transporter systems to
ing,” as in “beam me up.” The complete demate- scan incoming matter streams for known bacte-
rialization/rematerialization process only takes a riological and viral signatures and removes them,
few seconds. In game terms, most transporters are greatly reducing the risk of an away team bringing
limited to Close range on a starship scale, which contaminants or diseases aboard.
is close enough to beam to and from a planet from
standard orbit. Some advanced civilizations have From an adventuring perspective, having this in
transporters that can operate across far vaster play helps keep players from spending too much
distances – up to thousands of light-years. For story time worrying about getting sick when they visit
reasons, these are typically limited to adversaries or a new planet. On the occasions that you want to

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 43
 TRANSPORTER AND REPLICATOR ERA NOTES
Enterprise era: Transporters are new and most The Next Generation era: Transporters are
people don’t put much trust in them for beam- ubiquitous, and replicators are new. The trans-
ing living beings. A relatively primitive progen- port process is faster than in the past, taking
itor of replicators, called protein resequencers, only a few seconds to dematerialize and rema-
can prepare a limited menu of common food terialize. Biofilters are introduced. Transportees
choices to supplement the galley. can move and talk during transport. Intraship
beaming is common and unremarkable.
The original series era: Transporters are Beaming patients directly to sickbay is a
in common use, though some traditionalists frequent benefit.
still don’t trust them. Life-forms in transit
are immobilized until they fully materialize. The 32nd century: As depicted in the third
Intraship beaming is difficult and generally season of Star Trek: Discovery, transporter
avoided. Replicators have not been developed technology in the 3100s advanced to the point
yet, though food synthesizers replace the that portable transporters were miniaturized
older protein resequencers in supplementing and built directly into combadges, removing
shipboard meal production, often in the form of the need for transportees to go to a dedicated
multicolored food cubes. transporter room before beaming. 
02202

involve a new disease, that’s no problem either: them to malfunction. Large amounts of solid matter
The system cannot protect from a biosignature it can block transporters as well, such as a target
has not yet encountered. deep underground. Some devices can intentionally
prevent nearby transporter operations, including
In a similar manner, a transporter operator can disa- transporter scramblers, transport inhibitors, and
ble or remove weapons possessed by transportees, particle scattering fields.
if they are of a known design. They can even nullify
the effect of a weapon that has been fired during Transporter accidents happen often in Star Trek
the transport sequence. This is also a good thing for episodes, though this is likely skewed due to the
the game, because it means captives in a trans- fact that viewers are often presented with the
porter beam are no longer a threat – removing (it is dramatic moments rather than the countless times
hoped) any temptation for more bloodthirsty players that everything works fine. Try to avoid overusing
to beam them somewhere fatal. transporter accidents in adventures – perhaps
once during a season is enough. It’s fine to present
These modifications to the matter stream are obstacles to using the transporter to save the day
possible because of the pattern buffers that store (such as the enemy moving out of range), but try
the stream before materialization. The transporter not to make the characters reluctant to even trust
system can hold a person’s pattern in stasis for the technology.
short periods, typically a few minutes before the
pattern starts to degrade. Delaying a new arrival’s In the spirit of Arthur C. Clarke, the transporter is a
materialization in this way is sometimes used to pretty magical device. It is tempting for players to
give security or medical officers time to reach the want to use it to solve many of their problems. This
transporter room, depending on the situation. is natural, but from time to time, you may need to
prevent this from happening. After all, a hostage
Stellar flares, radiation storms, ion storms, and rescue situation would not be fun to play out if
geomagnetic storms or other atmospheric distur- it could be resolved in a few seconds by setting
bances can stop transporter operations or cause coordinates and beaming them home. To help keep

44 CHAPTER 2.20
transporter use within reasonable limits, keep in for later replication. Note that some substances or
mind these transporter limitations: items have too complex a molecular structure to
replicate. An example is latinum, and this is part of
§ Limited range the reason latinum remains valuable. The phrase
“too complex to replicate” can be your friend.
§ Blocked by shields, stellar phenomena, large
amounts of matter, technological means
Having replicators available makes it no less likely
§ Requires power that a broken MacGuffin will drive an adventure plot.
After all, the dilithium crystals used in warp engines
§ Requires a sensor lock on the destination
cannot be replicated, and many stories have
centered on danger to that key material. Replicators
Replicators do, however, facilitate player creativity in coming up
with helpful items, especially for away teams.
Directly connected to transporter technology are
replicators. These miraculous devices are the reason
One of the most popular uses for replicators is for
for the near post-scarcity society of the Federation
producing food, and replicators on starships include
and would be common devices for characters in the
thousands of stored meal selections. Replicator ter-
24th century. The most common use for the devices
minals are located in most living quarters on a ship,
is creating food, clothing, and other necessities, but
as well as lounges and other common areas. Most
larger replicators can produce nearly anything one
replicated meals on a Starfleet ship are designed
can imagine. As they rely on transporter technology,
with enhanced nutritional value as compared with
replicators can only produce things they have pat-
their traditionally-cooked counterparts. Klingon
terns for. Given enough direction from a character,
ships don’t use replicators for food, instead relying
could produce unique items that are variations on
on the important role of the ship’s cook.
stored patterns. Another limitation is the availability
of elements to be used. Iron and lighter elements
Though the energy cost is significant for creating
on the periodic table would be easily accessed, but
most of the crew’s meals using transporter systems,
not every replicator would have stores of gold or
the benefits are tremendous. Food storage needs
platinum outside of Starfleet vessels. A replicator
are reduced, as is the need for personnel to prepare
can make these elements from lighter elements,
it, and of course the crew (and visiting guests) have
but it requires far more energy, so such opera-
access to a wide variety of dishes at a moment’s
tions should be limited to replicators larger than
notice. These can be useful for you in getting around
what most characters would have access to off a
replicator limitations: If an adventure requires that
starship. Replicators are a tool, like any other. If you
someone is replicating dangerous organic material,
feel that the device can’t do what your players are
these specialized replicators can serve that purpose.
asking, it can’t, but give the characters the chance
to tinker and improve the technology. Modification
It is important to note that replicators use molec-
of the device would require an Engineering task, but
ular-level object imaging, rather than the quan-
reprogramming patterns would more likely require a
tum-level imaging employed by transporters, which
Science task.
means replicators are not suitable for recreating
living things. It also means that replicated meals
Replicators are useful on a ship for creating spare
are not perfect, and single-bit errors sometimes
parts on an as-needed basis, though crews often
occur; this may be why some users say they can
keep important replacement parts in physical
distinguish replicated foods from the “real thing.”
storage, either because they are difficult to replicate
Specialized replicators in sickbay and various sci-
or they are important enough that they might be
ence labs have higher resolution than most, allowing
needed when replicators are unavailable (such as
them to replicate pharmaceuticals and other scien-
during a loss of power). Replicators can scan items
tific supplies, and even create biological organs.
as well, which allows users to store object patterns

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 45
 UNIVERSE-SHAKING EVENTS AND HOW TO USE THEM
Events that change the landscape of the future, The second reason is that they make the person
through technological developments like the viewing the episode or participating in your
Genesis device, or through discoveries by explo- mission ponder the possibilities. The greatest
ration like the Dyson Sphere, are things that part of Star Trek is the thoughts and ideas that
stick with us as viewers and fans of the Star it allows you to move through with what it
Trek universe. What makes them so effective? means. The idea of the Genesis Device as just
There are two reasons, and you should consider a terraforming tool was the initial idea, but the
both before putting them into your game. writers of subsequent films showed that even
the characters inside the movies were thinking
The first reason is that they are used sparingly. about what it meant, with the Klingon Empire
A new breakthrough to solve ‘all problems’ thinking that it was a weapon of mass destruc-
doesn’t happen every episode or movie. When tion. They weren’t wrong.
they are introduced, the technology is often
flawed, or the science isn’t fully understood. Before introducing something of this caliber
The Genesis Device, while it could create life in a mission or allowing your players’ char-
from lifelessness and terraform planets in seven acters to develop something that would place
minutes, wasn’t stable due to the inclusion of them among the scientific greats of Cochrane,
protomatter. The Dyson Sphere wasn’t perfectly Daystrom, and Marcus, you should think about
habitable because of the instability of the star. the two reasons why these sorts of things
These drawbacks are important as it stops a are so effective in a story. Make sure it’s
plot device from become a cure-all for many not happening every episode, make sure it’s
problems. The technology or discovery is still inspiring enough to make everyone think of the
ground-breaking and important, but now things possibilities, and make sure you think through
don’t change overnight. how it will affect your campaign and the Star
Trek universe as a whole. 
02203

46 CHAPTER 2.20
 CHAPTER 02.30

SER VI CE
P RO T OCOLS
“ I a ssume she ’ ll be ship sh ap e an d Bristol fash ion .”

— CAPT. JE AN- LUC PICARD

THE PREMISE OF STARFLEET

Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force, and other purposes of your campaign), Starfleet does have
spacefaring organizations depicted in the Star a codified set of standard operating procedures
Trek franchise are based on real-world militar- that govern the organization’s operations and its
ies, even if they are all not necessarily a military members’ good conduct and behavior.
in a strict definition of the word. There has been
much debate on whether Starfleet is a military This section briefly discusses some of those
in the same sense as modern armed forces; procedures, specifically those that will come
suffice to say that whether it is a true military or up time and again in a Star Trek Adventures
not (or whether you choose to make it so for the mission or campaign. 
02301

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

STARFLEET IS A VAST ORGANIZATION SPREAD OUT similar operating procedures, though they are not
across thousands of square light-years, incorporat- detailed here.
ing beings from over one hundred member worlds
and their associated colonies, and involved in a
constant stream of research, exploration, defense, Docked / External
and training duties. Any attempt at detailing the
procedures in use across the entire fleet would be
Support Mode
Sometimes referred to as a Blue Alert or Condition
an exercise in futility. Thankfully Starfleet Command
Blue, this mode of operations is used when a
has codified the standard operating procedures in
starship is docked with a space station or star-
such a way that even guests visiting a starship (or a
base, landed on a surface of a planet or moon,
player wanting to learn how Starfleet functions) are
or is otherwise out of harm’s way. The vessel has
able to comprehend what should generally happen
powered down its primary power source, typically
in certain circumstances.
its warp core. Secondary power systems, such as
the impulse fusion reactors, are kept at minimal
The Klingon Empire and other spacefaring polities
operations as long as external power to the starship
in the Star Trek universe can be expected to have
is provided and adequate. Life support systems are

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 47
 also put in standby if the connected facility is able characters, etc. Remember that Deep Space Nine had
to provide support for these systems. Most of the many vessels visiting most episodes and they would
vessel’s primary systems ranging from propulsion have been at Condition Blue, but each episode had
to defensive and offensive systems are either shut ample time for characters to get embroiled in local
down or put on standby. During this downtime, the station politics or drama.
player characters and other crew are likely being
shuffled off the ship for shore leave or encouraged
to relax elsewhere off-ship. This is also a perfect Standard Operations
time for the crew to perform vital maintenance on During most adventures, this is the standard
areas where normal operations would mean severe operating condition of a starship when conditions
danger such as in the warp core itself, warp coil are not out of the ordinary. While referred to as
replacement and repair, replacing damaged bulk- Cruise Mode in the 24th century, it is also called
heads, or repairing equipment on the outer hull. Condition Green, referring to the Human tendency to
use green to represent when a system is operating
During these times characters aren’t usually armed normally. On primarily Human-crewed starships,
in any way, and few characters would be carry- there are usually three shifts equalling 24 hours, or
ing any specific equipment with them that aren’t a standard day. This can vary widely depending on
personal possessions. Outside of these generalities, the crew composition and the captain’s preferences.
engineers performing maintenance may carry a A primarily Vulcan crew and captain may keep a
tricorder and engineering toolkit. Medical personnel 24-hour standard day but only utilize two duty shifts,
may continue performing their duties in sickbay and while an Andorian crew may use a 32-hour day and
have access to the equipment normally at that loca- four duty shifts.
tion, but would rarely be carrying said equipment
around the ship. Before the advent of replicators, a This is the condition the ship begins in for most
ship’s quartermaster may find themselves at their adventures, and certain activities for your characters
busiest as they coordinate loading and unloading of can be broadly given here. Regardless of the exact
equipment, resupplying the vessel’s departments, circumstances, engineers that are on duty will likely
and even ensuring that personal equipment from have a tricorder and engineering toolkit and medical
newly-arriving officers and crew are stowed or personnel in sickbay will have access to medical
moved to their assigned quarters. diagnostic equipment.

You don’t need to let times where the vessel is at When entering a new solar system, science officers
Condition Blue to be ones without any interesting of all physical science specialties will be wanting to
things happening. While characters are off the ship on scan the major (planets and moons) worlds in the
shore leave or visiting the starbase they are docked system, and if time allows, the minor worlds (aster-
at, any number of adventure seeds can be planted oids and comets). Interesting geological anomalies
for later use involving NPCs that live and work at the are noted and passed to specialists, and if life is
station. Examples of this are: meeting a merchant detected on any world, xenobiologists and perhaps
captain at a bar/restaurant who befriends a character medical personnel will be called on to assist in the
and later calls them when they are in trouble, an NPC analysis of the data.
from the characters’ ship being attacked by criminal
elements and the characters needing to investigate or Entering orbit around an interesting world gives
chase down the criminals, and even transfers of per- characters a better chance at understanding the
sonnel onto the ship that will lead to scenes in later long-range sensor readings. It’s here where charac-
episodes. You can also have entire plots for an adven- ters with the specialities will perform more detailed
ture take place away from the ship on the starbase: scans to give general areas where the anomaly
visiting family members for characters they were or interesting readings may be, perhaps refining
not expecting, unexpected investigations by Starfleet what was detected at long range. Be ready for the
Intelligence or Starfleet JAG based on past actions by players to ask you some questions about the world,

48 CHAPTER 2.30
such as: What’s the atmospheric composition/is it team. If the planet has life, don’t be afraid to detail
breathable, if there is life on the planet, can we get some of the creatures that the away team may
any better readings or information on it (what types encounter even if they have nothing to do with your
of plants and animals are detectable from orbit, adventure. What do these animals or plants look
mammals? Reptiles? Deciduous or conifer trees or a like, sound like, smell like? What color is the sky, the
mix of both, etc.), signs of civilizations or ruins/can soil, or even the water?
we communicate with the people we detect there,
and general level of technological development. You
may also want to detail how the planet will look and Yellow Alert / Caution
feel from orbit; is it a blue-green world with swirling Remind your players that a yellow alert isn’t
white clouds like Earth, or is it a dusty red ball of something used lightly. Starfleet is used to danger
dust and haze like Vulcan? and the unexpected, but a yellow alert means that
things are just a bit more dangerous or concerning
Standard away teams, or landing parties depending than normal. It’s a way to ensure that all characters
on the era, will travel to the surface to get better know that things could escalate, and that everyone
readings if surface conditions are safe for the crew. needs to be ready to do their jobs. Regular ship-
When a landing party has beamed to the surface, board activities halt, and recreation is interrupted.
Starfleet typically will have a shuttlecraft on standby Also remember that a yellow alert doesn’t have to
in case transportation from the surface becomes an escalate into a red alert or deadly outcome; it can
issue. A standard away team composition for general be a misunderstanding of the situation, or perhaps
exploration consists of a command officer (often the problem is solved before it gets worse. A yellow
one with experience in the type of world they are alert is a great way to raise tension and either let
exploring), multiple science division members that are it continue to build, or let the tension break before
specialists in the field of whatever drew the Starfleet things get too intense.
vessel to the world, and a single security officer.
Away teams beaming down to worlds with life-forms
will also include at least one medical officer, and Red Alert / Danger
often include a xenobiologist in case the away team Red alert is the highest level of tension, which
encounters any new pathogens or otherwise fasci- means that it is highly likely characters’ friends
nating life-forms. Regardless of why the away team and colleagues may be injured or killed in the next
is beaming to the surface, all characters are given scene. You should remind players, especially those
communicators (if they do not already have one), playing command personnel, that declaring a red
tricorders applicable to the specialty, and the security alert is a big deal. It’s also recommended that in a
officer will be equipped with a sidearm (Type-1 situation where a red alert is called for and players
phaser, phase pistol, or disruptor pistol). Away teams aren’t having their characters respond with one, you
with a diplomatic assignment will rarely have any should tell them that their characters would likely
member armed unless the society being contacted declare a red alert if the main computer doesn’t
is known to put an emphasis on being armed at all automatically put the ship there. You should also
times. The captain of a vessel, in coordination with remind players that once the threat has passed,
their chief of security, may amend these procedures they should step down the red alert to begin
as needed (for example, requiring all away team deescalating the tension. Practically this means first
members to be armed with Type-2 phasers). moving to yellow alert, and then once all systems
have checked out and casualties moved to sickbay,
If you are the most well-versed person in the Star standard operations can continue.
Trek universe at your table, you may want to feed
some of these suggestions to your players as their
characters would already know these standard
assignments or ideas on how to handle an away

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 49
 Emergency Evacuation / have access to a medical kit and medical tricorder.
Security personnel are posted around sensitive
Medical Emergency areas of the starship to maintain operational security
All starships launched have a maximum number and to ensure that personnel are able to continue to
of crew complement they are rated to carry. This perform their duties.
number, ranging from a dozen to thousands for
larger ships built by the Federation and nearby Away teams that are responding to a medical emer-
polities, is determined by the number and quality of gency have a makeup that is different than many
quarters for their crew, the volume needed for crew landing parties. The team is led by a security officer,
support equipment, and, most importantly, the effi- along with an additional security officer, to provide
ciency of the vessel’s life support systems. In rare protection for the medical personnel that compose
circumstances such as an emergency evacuation, a the majority of the team. Medical personnel are
starship may take on board far more than its normal composed of at least one general practitioner, one
crew complement, stretching its resources to the nurse or doctor trained in triage techniques, and the
breaking point to get civilians, rescued ship’s crew, remained specialists in the type of medical problem
or even livestock out of harm’s way. The numbers that is confronting those they are trying to help (viral
vary by starship, but at least twice the number or bacterial infections, radiation sickness, etc.).
of the standard complement of the vessel can be Security personnel will beam down with sidearms
accommodated for short periods of up to a few unless hostile action is foreseen at which point
days to a week before a strain on ship’s systems larger rifles may be issued on the determination of
begins to show. On board a starship, the primary the commanding officer, and may also be equipped
officer in charge of operations is the chief medical with a medical tricorder if they also have any train-
officer, as they mobilize anyone on the crew with at ing. Medical personnel will each beam down with a
least first aid training to assist any wounded or sick medical kit, medical tricorders, and specialist equip-
individuals. During this time, any such character will ment for the situation at hand. While shuttlecraft

50 CHAPTER 2.30
are typically used to evacuate severely wounded calls for it as determined by the head of security
from a planet that are unable to be transported, in or commanding officer. Operations or science
quarantine situations shuttlecraft operations are officers continually scan the interior of the ship for
halted unless the vessel has an isolated shuttlebay, the hostile force or any signs of non-standard ship
as on many medical vessels. operation. Finally, security personnel are deployed to
vital ship areas such as the bridge, main engineer-
A medical emergency in your game should be a time ing, armory, weapon systems, and shuttlebays to
where you can try and show that while the future is guard against any action that may be taken against
filled with wonders, simple suffering can still occur the personnel or equipment in those areas.
when accidents happen, new diseases erupt, or
through the acts of uncaring people. Try and ensure These types of events are great ways to introduce
that the victims are portrayed not as statistics, but a limited threat to the ship that can quickly become
as people in need of help and care. one that threatens everyone’s lives. Even on small
starships, there are multiple places a clever intruder
can hide, lots of ways to fool sensors, and countless
Security Alert ways to damage important systems. Make sure
When a ship is boarded or there is an escaped pris- you think through the steps the NPCs may take to
oner or otherwise hostile entity on board, a security perform the tasks they undertake so as the players
alert is declared. All personnel draw sidearms from search and put pieces of evidence together, a clear
the ship’s armory. Security personnel will only be picture of what’s happening can come into focus.
equipped with phaser or disruptor rifles if the threat

ORBITAL TYPES
WHEN ORBITING AROUND A PLANET, THERE ARE A synchronous orbit is where a starship doesn’t
many different paths to choose from, and some are need to maintain power to its propulsion systems
mentioned more than others in the Star Trek uni- to stay above a region, but it is at a much higher
verse. A standard orbit is where a starship continues altitude depending on the mass and rotation of the
to use propulsion to maintain a position above a planet. This orbit is important as it allows a starship
specific area of a planet, often from one to ten thou- to cover a larger region of a world with its sensors,
sand kilometres, to facilitate transporter operations, but it may be outside of transporter or weapons
sensor sweeps of the region, etc. range in the case of an emergency. Less of the sky
is blocked by a planet when in this kind of orbit, but
This orbit matters because in a different orbit, a many of the drawbacks of a standard orbit are here
starship may not be within transporter range of an as well, and as a starship doesn’t need to maintain
away team when an emergency strikes, or may not propulsion to stay there, it can be hard to detect
have direct line of sight to use sensors accurately. If unless actively looking for it. Entering or shifting to
the players say the characters’ starship is entering and from a standard orbit to a synchronous orbit
orbit, you can assume that it is for a standard orbit. should require a Control + Conn task at Difficulty
Remember that sensor readings for the other side 0. Complications that arise could mean that the
of the planet may not be as clear as they would be starship impacts some sizable amount of space junk
if the players had line of sight to it. Starships can or other material.
hide behind planets if they are sneaky, planetary
mapping isn’t able to get a full picture of what’s A polar orbit is one where a starship crosses
there, and if a starship in a standard orbit can do over the axial poles of a planet, which is a highly
something with its equipment, things on the surface efficient way to quickly get sensor coverage across
can likely do the same. the whole globe. This kind of orbit is important for

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 51
 mapping and surveying, but may mean the starship masses, often quite far from either. Objects placed
is not able to immediately respond to emergencies at these points remain stationary in respect to both
on the surface with an away team. Coming into, the masses, which is perfect when a starship needs
or adjusting to an optimal polar orbit for survey to power down propulsion and not have to worry
purposes, should require a Control + Conn task at about a decaying orbit over days or weeks. In order
Difficulty 1. Complications can result from not being to find and ‘park’ at these points, two tasks should
at the proper altitude and having to later perform a be completed. The first is a Science + Reason task
task to maintain orbit after it decayed from friction at Difficulty 1. Success at this means gravitationally
or gravitational anomalies, or perhaps it results in stable points are calculated for the complex multi-
areas of the planet that don’t get high-resolution body system that the characters find themselves in.
sensor coverage. The last task is a Control + Conn task at Difficulty 1.
Lagrange points typically have material that gathers
While not an orbit – but useful to players who are near them, so this task represents maneuvering
portraying helm officers – are Langrange Points. around these bodies and ensuring that they won’t
These are gravitationally stable points between two intersect the character’s starship in the near future.

THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

STARFLEET’S GENERAL ORDER ONE, ALSO KNOWN as these are the cases where interference could
as the Prime Directive, prohibits personnel from happen most easily and with dramatic conse-
interfering in the affairs and natural development of quences. Even presenting a world with the knowl-
other cultures – even if such changes are well-in- edge that “aliens” exist – perhaps even accidentally
tentioned. The most familiar application of this – could transform a planet’s society overnight, with
Prime Directive involves non-warp-capable cultures, end results that are not predictable.

52 CHAPTER 2.30
The Prime Directive is not just a rule, it is the member must do their part to apply the directive.
guiding philosophy of Starfleet. Upholding it takes The captain won’t be the only one to suffer scrutiny
priority over the lives of Starfleet personnel, even an from Starfleet Command if an officer reveals “mirac-
entire crew. Unfortunately, doing so is not always ulous” capabilities to a primitive culture. Loss of
easy, and often involves making tough decisions. Reputation is possible, as well as demotion or even,
Should the crew intervene to save a primitive pop- in extreme cases, court martial. Complicating this,
ulation even though the Prime Directive forbids it? of course, is the fact that although every Starfleet
If an allied Klingon ship asks them for help against officer has sworn a vow to uphold the Prime
another Klingon faction, should the player charac- Directive, not every officer has the same opinions
ters get involved? If crew members themselves get about the directive or how to interpret it. This is a
into legal trouble on a developing world, do other good thing, though, because it is an amazing source
characters dare bend the rules to get them out of it? of drama.

In Star Trek Adventures, the Prime Directive is not Keep in mind that not only do most other cultures
meant to trip players up, or prevent them from doing not have such a noninterference directive, some of
fun things; instead, it is a means to increase drama them actively work to interfere with other cultures.
and introduce philosophical considerations into a Indeed, a Starfleet crew might have to involve
story. There is often a lot of room for interpretation themselves to prevent interference from happening,
in whether the Prime Directive should apply in a or repair it when it already has, as the Enterprise
given situation, and you should give players the crew did when Klingons were arming one group of
opportunity to discuss whether they think it does low-tech natives with firearms.
and what they should do. Such moral quandaries
are the bread and butter of Star Trek. For a more extensive discussion of this topic, see
The Prime Directive section in Chapter 2 of The
Although Starfleet captains are often in the spotlight Command Division supplemental rulebook.
for possible Prime Directive violations, every crew

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 53
 STARFLEET’S NAVAL TRADITION
Many of the customs, regulations, trappings, and Abandon ship: Leave the (presumably doomed)
rituals of Starfleet originate from Earth’s nautical ship by previously arranged means, typically
traditions. This is especially true of the Star Trek: transporter, shuttle, or lifeboats. “All hands,
Enterprise and original series eras, but is evident abandon ship!”
in later centuries as well. A key part of this is that
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was inspired Abeam: Alongside the ship, on a line at a right
by the Horatio Hornblower novels written by C. angle to the ship’s heading. “When she comes
S. Forester, which feature the action-oriented abeam of us, transport the survivors aboard.”
nautical adventures of an introspective ship
captain whose voyages involved both warfare Aboard: On a ship. “We have 300 tribbles aboard.”
and diplomacy.
Adrift: Unmoored and not moving under the
We can start with “U.S.S. Enterprise”: A common ship’s own power, likely drifting. “No power
naval ship prefix that originally meant “United readings…she looks to be adrift.”
States Ship,” and a vessel named after several
noteworthy nautical ships from Earth history. As Aft: Toward the back of the ship. “Aft torpe-
was common with some Earth navies, Starfleet does, fire!”
ships are referred to in the feminine.
Ahead full: Proceed at full speed, normally
Starfleet ranks are also modeled after Earth interpreted on starships as full impulse.
navies, from admiral down to ensign, and
even including midshipmen (Academy cadets All stop/full stop: Stop propulsion and bring
receiving shipboard training). One notable rank the ship to a stop (possibly relative to some
holdover from Earth’s naval tradition is calling other object). A common response to this
the commanding officer of a vessel “captain” order’s completion is, “Now reading all stop.”
even if they hold a lower rank than captain. The “all” is a throwback to ships that had mul-
(The person in charge in other fleets is often tiple engines and would turn some off to move
translated as “commander,” simply meaning slowly, or all to come to a stop.
“the one who commands.”)
Amidships: In the middle of a ship. “The
Many shipboard positions also have naval torpedo struck her amidships.”
origins. The second in command is called the
first officer, executive officer, exec, or XO. The Astern: Behind or toward the rear of a ship. “The
head of a department is called a chief, such as object they dropped lies astern of the ship.”
the chief engineer. In earlier eras (through the
original series), the officer piloting the ship is Aye: Confirms that an order has been heard an
called the helmsman, and crews include the understood. “Aye, sir,” or the more emphatic
position of yeoman, which is an assistant to “Aye aye, sir.”
higher-ranking officers.
Battle stations: Orders the crew to prepare
If you wish to immerse your group in nauti- for combat immediately: “All hands to battle
cal-sounding speech, consult the following stations.” The similar order “general quarters”
lexicon, which lists terms and phrases useful in does the same.
giving orders and describing situations during a
Star Trek Adventures mission.

54 CHAPTER 2.30
Bearing: The direction of an object relative to Deck: A horizontal level or “floor” of a ship.
a starship. “Sensors are picking up an object “Impact on deck five!”
bearing 245 degrees mark 18.” (Note that
you would say this as “two-four-five degrees Drydock: A starship repair yard located in
mark one-eight” rather than “two hundred and space, away from gravitational or atmospheric
forty-five degrees mark eighteen.”) interference. “The ship will need some time in
drydock to repair those breaches.”
Belay: Cancel. “Belay that order.”
Fore: Toward the front of the ship. Often inter-
Bow (rhymes with “how”): The front of the changeable with “forward.” “Report to the fore
ship. “The anomaly is just off our bow.” phaser room.”

Bulkhead: A dividing wall between Hail: Initiate communications. “Hail the

shipboard compartments. “The enemy Romulan vessel” or “Open hailing frequencies.”
boarding party is trying to cut through the
bulkhead into engineering.” Hand: Crew member. “All hands, brace
for impact!”
Captain on the bridge: A formal way of
announcing a commanding officer’s arrival. Hard aport / hard astarboard: Turn the ship
Variants include other locations (“Captain as quickly as possible in the specified direction.
on deck!”) and flag officers (“Admiral on the “Hard aport, get us away from that station!”
bridge!”).
Heading: The direction a ship is moving
Clear the bridge: Orders all non-essential relative to galactic coordinates. “The Tholian
personnel to leave the bridge. ship has a heading of 110 mark 12—directly
toward the convoy.”
Closing: Moving closer. “That sensor blip has
returned, and it’s closing fast.” Heave to: Another way of ordering a ship to
stop, often issued as a demand. “Orion vessel,
Come about: Change the ship’s course to a heave to and prepare to be boarded.”
new heading. “Come about to 045 mark 7.”
Helm: The controls for piloting the ship (aka the
Course: A path set by a navigator, giving the conn in later eras).
ship a new heading. An intercept course is one
type, intended to meet up with a target vessel. Leave / shore leave: Time off from duties,
“Set a course for Betazed.” especially shore leave, involving downtime on
a planetary surface. “Looking forward to shore
Dead ahead: Directly in front of the ship. “The leave on Risa?”
pirate ship is dead ahead.” Something directly
behind is dead astern. Maiden voyage: A vessel’s first assignment.

Dead in the water: Disabled and incapable of Port: To the left side of the ship. “The
defending oneself. “One more hit and we’ll be signal came from our port side, 120,000
dead in the water.” kilometers away.”

>>>

T H E S TA R T R E K U N I V E R S E I N P L AY 55
 <<<

Shakedown cruise: A simple mission to

test a ship and her crew’s readiness for
duty after first being constructed or after
major repairs or refit.

Shipshape: Functioning normally.

Shipyard: A starship construction facility,

which may be on a planetary surface or
may consist of orbital drydocks. “The
newest class of cruiser is under construc-
tion at the Utopia Planitia shipyards.”

Skeleton crew: The minimum number

of hands required to operate a ship, often
assuming little or no redundancy.

Starboard: To the right side of the ship.

“Starboard shields buckling!”

Steady as she goes: Remain on current

course; keep doing what you’re doing.

Stern: The back, or aft-most, part of the

ship. “The pursuing ship has struck our
stern.” Something behind the ship is called
“astern,” or “dead astern” if it is exactly
behind.

Take the conn: Can mean either take

control of piloting the helm of a starship
or shuttle, or take command of the ship
(e.g., if the commanding officer or watch
officer has to leave the bridge and turn over
command to someone else).

Underway: Describes a ship in motion.

“Once we are underway, the trip will take
two days.” 
02302

56 CHAPTER 2.30
 CHAPTER 03.00

STA R T RE K E R A S
AND P LAY S T Y L E S
03.10 ERAS OF PLAY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

03.20 STYLES OF PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 57
 CHAPTER 03.10

ER AS OF P L A Y
“ Ho w lit t le do yo u mortals u n d erstan d time.”

— “JUDGE ” Q

SELECTING AN ERA OF PLAY

The many stories told in the Star Trek fran- overlaps where multiple series fit into the same
chise span thousands of years, though that general era. This chapter details six key eras of
massive breadth of time can be broken down play you and your players should consider when
into specific eras of play. The various eras can determining where in the Star Trek timeline you
generally be mapped to specific series, though wish to base your adventures. 
as the franchise continues to grow, there are
03101

THE FOUNDATIONAL YEARS (2063-2199)

This era includes Star Trek: Enterprise, elements from A campaign set in the years immediately preceding
other series, and parts of Star Trek: First Contact. or following first contact has challenges and oppor-
tunities that other campaigns may not. While space
travel is available even during the Third World War,
A Long Road and slow warp vessels were quickly constructed
THE LATTER HALF OF THE 21ST CENTURY WAS A after 2063, the scope of the campaign will be the
time of great change for humanity. The hundred solar system if your game focuses on humanity.
years after Earth’s first contact with an extrater- United Earth is slowly forming, the United Earth
restrial civilization would prove to be formative and Space Probe Agency is attempting to reconnect with
crucial to the eventual safety of the local Orion Spur. automated probes and manned missions that had
become lost during the war, and the first manned
Earth was in ruins and still suffering from the after- exploratory vessels begin to venture outwards to the
math of the Third World War and the post-atomic nearby stars of the Alpha Centauri system, Barnard’s
horror. There were people still alive who remem- Star, and Wolf 359. This is a time where there is
bered the Eugenics War, functioning governments, extreme optimism about the future, with humanity
and a time when there was peace on Earth, but coming together as one, and picking up the pieces
there weren’t many. The Human Zefram Cochrane, of over a century of neglect for the environment,
and the changes begun by the first contact with society, and research.
Vulcans, ensured that that older generation wouldn’t
be the last to remember those golden years. From The construction of civilian merchant warp vessels
2063 onwards, Earth (and then United Earth) was and the rise of the “boomers” in the latter part of
a blossoming flower, bursting out of the nuclear win- the 21st century provide even more possibilities for
ter’s frost and stretching upwards towards the stars. campaigns. In this era, players can be United Earth
Space Probe Agency (UESPA)/Starfleet crews or

58 CHAPTER 3.10
civilian crews ranging farther from Earth than ever species and humanity, resulting from interference
before. Exploration becomes a bigger focus as time from one of the factions engaged in the Temporal
goes on, with diplomacy and mercantilism efforts Cold War. The attack on Earth showed humanity that
expanding to benefit Earth overall. Games in this Starfleet was underpowered and underprepared
period will see antagonists who aren’t Human, as for the wider universe. Rather than pull back under
Vulcans become more of a roadblock to the pro- the protective shadow that Vulcan offered, Earth
gress of technology and societal changes on Earth. strengthened its resolve. This would prove fortuitous
The first brief conflicts between Earth and the Kzinti for the changes wrought by the Earth-Romulan War
are fought in this time as well. and the founding of the United Federation of Planets.

Campaigns set in this era could easily focus on

Coalition and Federation diplomacy. The different species that would later go
The middle of the 22nd century saw United Earth on to form the Coalition of Worlds and the Federation
solving the last of the remaining problems of the are there for characters to make first contact with,
Third World War. Hunger, poverty, and climate break bread with, and forge the way forward for
change had been dealt with via new technologies the coming centuries. This is also an era where
and the dedication of the population to ensure the everything is still new, even to those species that
problems of the past didn’t repeat themselves. have had warp capability far longer than humanity.
Permanent colonies were set up on the Moon, Mars, Few have wandered far from their home systems,
and extra-solar worlds. This is a time for bound- and there aren’t many colonies. Each and every star
less optimism and wide-eyed exploration of the system holds some new discovery, a new civiliza-
unknown, punctuated by two brief wars. The Xindi tion, or a new danger.
War was fought in 2153 between the multiple Xindi

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 59
 EARTH-ROMULAN WAR
Starting in 2156 and lasting until the defeat of the Command fell apart and the Vulcan govern-
Romulan Navy at the battle of Cheron in 2160, ment discovered Romulan involvement in their
these four years of conflict scarred the Coalition own actions, the Confederacy did everything
of Worlds deeply and ensured the formation of they could diplomatically to help hold the
the Federation. Only with the might of all the Coalition together. Canon is light on details of
worlds combined would any be safe against the the war, so you could set a whole campaign on
horrors shown during this conflict. While little has an NX-class starship leading a battle group, a
been shown on screen, we do know that even ragtag group of officers on a Daedalus-class
a century later there are Humans who fear and vessel, or even a campaign set on an Andorian,
loathe the Romulans for what happened in the Vulcan, or Tellarite vessel. Remember that
war. Worlds were burned, fleets wiped out, and the bonds forged here will be stronger than
alliances threatened to tear themselves apart duranium and the Federation rises from there.
under the raptor’s wings… Deep friendships are made, like that between
Shran and Archer, and even love like we see
You have many campaign possibilities during between Tucker and T’Pol. Each dramatic
this four-year conflict. The formation of the moment can be a first for the characters in
Coalition of Worlds was a shaky one at first your campaign, and their decisions can have
as many of the members saw Earth being the far-reaching effects on what the Federation
primary reason why the Romulans wished to will become. 
strike when they did. After the Vulcan High
03102

FEDERATION AND EMPIRE (2200-2299)

This era includes Star Trek (the original series), Star this period of the 23rd century should have a focus
Trek: The Animated Series, the first two seasons of on diplomacy and a sense of unease. The scars from
Star Trek: Discovery, and all of the original series- the Earth-Romulan War are still fresh, and many
era motion pictures (plus the opening scene of Star worlds still have people in power who remember
Trek: Generations). the orbital bombardments and losing loved ones in
the conflict. While the Romulans in this time have
been quiet for decades, and the construction of
The Calm Before the Storm the Neutral Zone outposts has been complete for
THE FORMATION OF THE UNITED FEDERATION OF decades, there is still worry that the Romulans will
Planets in the mid-22nd century led to a time of attack again.
slow growth at the beginning of the 23rd century as
Starfleet rebuilt its shattered fleets and was tasked Into the mid-23rd century, this sense of paranoia
with protecting the new borders with the Romulan fades and worry about the rise of the Klingon threat
Star Empire and the Klingon Empire. Internally, the takes over. It’s in this era where the core worlds of
Federation was solidifying its governance of its the Federation are at their strongest together, yet
member worlds, and was slowly integrating new still somewhat apart. It’s rare for species to serve on
members. Exploration had taken a back seat to each other’s starships, but not unheard of. It’s here
consolidation for the time being. Campaigns set in where you can begin to include ideas and concepts

60 CHAPTER 3.10
that may be literally alien to the players’ characters. long-simmering conflict with the Klingons can erupt
Exploration is a common thread for Starfleet in all at any time.
eras, but here it is focused on ensuring the stars
contained inside Federation space have their worlds
fully charted, their resources mapped, and new On the Shoulders of Giants
colony worlds flagged for later settlement. The cold and hot wars with the Klingon Empire of
the 2250s and 2260s would cease with the Treaty of
Organia in 2267. The final opposition to the peaceful
Five-Year Missions expansion of the Federation had ceased, and with
A new age of exploration began with the develop- it the payoff to the investment in exploration and
ment of the incredibly powerful duotronic computer diplomacy Starfleet had undertaken through the ear-
by Richard Daystrom in 2243. Installed in the new lier part of the century. What the Treaty or Organia
Constitution-class starships, these computers would started, the Khitomer Accords of 2293 solidified into
significantly improve sensor data analysis. Starfleet place. The Federation and Klingon Empire would
saw the opportunity and grabbed hold. This is the move together into the 24th century as allies.
era of the deep space five-year missions where
Constitution-class starships were sent out far past Campaigns set in this time are ones where espio-
the Federation’s borders with the goal to find new nage is commonplace. Peace may mean the vessels
civilizations, make new scientific discoveries, and of Starfleet and the KDF aren’t facing off with each
fly the flag of the Federation. Campaigns in this other across the Neutral Zone, but it does mean
period are all about exploration and the problems intelligence agents, saboteurs, and diplomatic back-
that come along with it. Diplomacy on the fron- stabbing is far more common. Both sides distrust
tier, encountering new and old threats that are each other and are forced to meet at the negotiation
rising again, and as time goes on, another period table by the Organians. The treaty also made it clear
of open warfare. Discarded pieces of the past that whoever could best develop a planet would
can come back to haunt the Federation, and the gain use of that world, so scientific discoveries and

REPEATING THE PAST

The 23rd century saw two primary conflicts you focus, or covert operations where the characters
can use as the main setting of a campaign or are deniable assets. The hot war of the mid-
as a backdrop to other adventures: the overall 2250s is a time of desperation: Starfleet quickly
Klingon cold war (ranging from 2223–2293) and loses over a third of the fleet and a wide swath
the hostilities between the two polities in 2256 of Federation territory was occupied between
and 2257, beginning with the Battle of the Binary Qo’noS and Earth, with the Sol system itself
Stars. While the cold war was fought between nearly being invaded in 2257. Adventures with
individual starships or squadrons consisting of high-intensity combat, rear-guard actions against
three to five starships on each side, the primary invading Klingons, desperate evacuations, and
conflicts were fought through neutral powers as heroic last stands against the Empire – these
both the Federation and Empire attempt to gain are all concepts that can be explored during this
an upper hand on resource-rich worlds, settle period. Remember that the Federation of the
Class-M planets, and annex or offer membership 23rd century is large and has extensive borders.
to already-inhabited worlds. Starfleet’s primary purpose is still exploration,
and there are ample chances to have starships
Using the cold war as a backdrop could make exploring away from the war-torn reaches of the
adventures where “cowboy diplomacy” is the Klingon border region. 
03103

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 61
 new technologies such as the Genesis Device were to better itself and deny use to the Klingons was
important to both polities. Exploration, as always, is important, making the treaty area one of the most
Starfleet’s priority, and discovering new worlds in charted in the region.
the treaty area that the Federation could use

ALLIES AND ADVERSARIES (2300-2379)

This era includes Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star as pioneering vessels pushed farther into deep
Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and all space. The Federation felt they didn’t need to worry
four Star Trek: The Next Generation motion pictures. about anyone along their borders, but then the first
problems with the Cardassian people began.

Quagmire While the Federation was focused on bolstering

THE SIGNING OF THE KHITOMER ACCORDS IN 2293 the Klingon Empire, the Cardassian First Republic
meant that the new century would be a bright one. collapsed due to resource shortages and famine
For nearly 30 years, Starfleet was able to focus on their homeworld and its colonies. By 2319,
entirely on exploration, and the Federation expanded the Republic had been replaced by a totalitarian

62 CHAPTER 3.10
 LARGE-SCALE BATTLES
Running a campaign during the Dominion
War and placing your players’ characters in
the midst of the action means you should
be aware of how and who is running
things on Deep Space 9, as it sits at the
center of almost all the action during the
war. It was constructed by the Cardassian
Union during the beginning years of the
Federation-Cardassian War, and was placed
into Federation care after the Cardassian
military abandoned it in 2369. The station
changed hands twice more before the end
of the war in 2376.

A campaign featuring a starship in the midst

of the Dominion War should see large fleet
actions involving dozens of starships on
both sides. While some of these large-scale
battles may seem fun, start small and see
where your players begin to feel bogged
down. If you want your campaign to feature
these large conflicts, you could narrate the
results of the battle, with player characters
making a few dice rolls to affect the action
and the outcome of their own vessel.

You don’t have to explain every detail

military dictatorship that promised the Cardassian of every battle; sometimes it’s enough
population food, shelter, protection, and a brighter to focus on the results and any notable
future, at the expense of other inhabited worlds. events that occur, perhaps tied into events
The Occupation of Bajor began in 2319. Bajor was depicted on Deep Space Nine. Remember
resource-rich and capable of producing excess that navigating large-scale battles should
foodstuffs to feed millions of starving Cardassians. be fun for you too, so delve into them into
In the Cardassian Union would annex dozens only as much detail as you need to keep
more systems until war was declared between the your campaign moving. 
Federation and the Union in 2347. The war would 03104
drag on until 2366.
timeframe could expect to have more emergency
While there had been peace with the Klingon
response adventures, running from point to point in
Empire, it was an uneasy one until the Romulan
the Klingon Empire or along the Cardassian border,
attack on the Khitomer colony in 2346 when the
responding to crises as they occur.
crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-C nobly sacrificed
themselves fighting off warbirds and proving
In addition, warp speeds continued to increase,
to the Klingon people that the Federation were
so the Federation kept expanding. You can always
brave and selfless warriors, willing to fight to the
focus on deep-space exploration missions,
death to protect their allies. A campaign set in this

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 63
 diplomatic missions to add new member worlds to Many adventure ideas and plot points can center on
the Federation, and even depict the first tentative these civilian members of the crew.
steps into the Shackleton Expanse.
The conflict with the Dominion, and its allies in the
Alpha Quadrant – including the Cardassian Union
Dominion War and the Breen Confederacy – changed things almost
The peace between the Federation and the overnight. While Starfleet had been slowly changing
Cardassian Union would only last seven years, and policies again back to a war footing since the Borg
during that time Starfleet resumed peaceful explora- invasion of Sector 001, change came too slow.
tion to the extent that it allowed civilian families on While the war waged, portions of Starfleet were left
board active vessels. Morale that was at an all-time unchanged entirely, operating hundreds of light-years
low due to the low-intensity warfare over the previous from the front lines. It’s here that you can insert
20 years improved almost overnight. Deep-space any number of adventures with styles ranging from
exploration vessels found that they could stay out diplomacy as the Federation attempts to shore up its
longer before crews felt too disconnected from home. standing with its neighbors, exploration into the deep
During this brief interwar period, you are encouraged unknown, or perhaps finding another threat rising up
to have characters have family members on board. from a direction Starfleet doesn’t expect.

POST-WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (2380-2399)

This era includes Star Trek: Lower Decks and
Star Trek: Picard.
The Ross Initiative
THE AFTERMATH OF THE DOMINION WAR SAW THE
Federation rebuilding shattered infrastructure
on multiple worlds, Starfleet having to rebuild

64 CHAPTER 3.10
starships and train more personnel from the losses As always, exploration is a focus for Starfleet, but the
the fleet suffered, and the Federation stabilizing regions focused on are different than earlier eras.
the Cardassian Union so there wouldn’t be a failed With the collapse of the Cardassian Union, the new
state along the Federation border. Thankfully, the peace with the Dominion, and the freedom of move-
Ferengi Alliance and the Klingon Empire, under the ment through the Ferengi Alliance, Starfleet is able to
leadership of Grand Nagus Rom and General Martok, explore more regions of space. The Gamma Quadrant,
respectively, helped the Federation with the logistics while still hostile in many regards, is accessible via
and expertise needed. the Bajoran wormhole and open for exploration.

The recovery from the Dominion War, called the

Ross Initiative after the admiral who organized and Fall of the Romulan Empire
detailed the rebuilding and relief efforts, would be After years of supporting the Cardassian Union and
one of mutual assistance for all polities involved. rebuilding its own worlds, the Federation suddenly
If you are running adventures in this era, you may had an unexpected problem as the star in the capital
wish to focus on a Starfleet or KDF weakened by system of Romulus exploded in 2387. The Romulan
the losses of the war, but still performing its duties. Empire had been unstable for years after the events
Adventures in this era can focus on relief to the of the coup led by Shinzon, but with the most
Cardassian Union and damaged Federation worlds populated and industrialized star system suddenly
(such as Betazed). Some of these worlds may not nothing more than plasma, the Romulan Empire fell
be pleased to see Starfleet returning, and may still apart almost overnight. Evacuation of nearby worlds
hold grudges of being abandoned by the Federation would need to occur before the shockwave reached
during the war. them, and the remains of the Romulan Imperial Navy
were more interested in saving their own skin than
mounting an organized evacuation.

OLD FOES AND UNLIKELY ALLIES

The era after the Dominion War is a time rife The splintering of the Romulan Empire also
with opportunities for you to forge your own provides you with incredible opportunities for sto-
way ahead. It’s during this time when the rytelling. While the Empire had recently been an
knowledge of who your enemies are for the ally of the Federation during the Dominion War,
Klingon Empire and Federation dissolves into now that government is gone. In its place are
the chaos of peace where all is no longer hundreds of colonial governors, minor senators,
certain. While the war with the Dominion and subject species to the Empire, and innumerable
Cardassian Union may be over, your campaign Romulan naval officers all vying to take control
may focus on assisting the new government of of whatever shard of the Empire they can. Some
the Union in hunting down hardline hold- will be more than happy to cooperate with the
outs from the Obsidian Order as they attack Federation, while some will be willing to try and
Cardassian and Federation targets alike. start a new Earth-Romulan War. All of this occurs
Starfleet officers may find themselves protect- against the backdrop of the Klingon Empire
ing Cardassian civilians from reprisal attacks annexing swaths of the Romulan Empire, former
by Maquis, or protecting former Maquis as Romulan worlds being added to the Federation,
they reintegrate into society. The changing and a new push into the Shackleton Expanse by
political landscape of the Ferengi Alliance can anyone wanting to secure the ancient artifacts
prove to be useful for explorers from Starfleet, discovered there prior to the outbreak of the
with new worlds formerly closed off to outside Dominion War. The end of the 24th century could
eyes opening up. be the gateway to countless epic stories. 
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S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 65
 Starfleet began assisting in moving Romulan citi- Earth-Romulan War of over two centuries past.
zens (Romulan and subject worlds alike) to habitable Every Starfleet officer and vessel is pushed to its
worlds in the former Neutral Zone far enough from limits to try and do what is right, even when others
the radiation pulse to make them safe for long-term disagree. Klingon campaigns have similar difficulties
habitation. The Klingon Empire wasted no time in in that the Klingons would be assisting a people who
annexing whole sectors of the former Romulan state they’ve never gotten along with, but the alternative
as the price to assist the civilians in relief efforts. is anarchy on their own coreward border.

Campaigns set in the years following the explosion While Starfleet and the KDF may not focus on
should focus on the emergency of evacuation. exploration during this period, moving through
Billions of people beg to be helped and moved the remains of the Romulan Empire can provide
before their worlds die, and Starfleet can’t save numerous new worlds and civilizations for your
them all. Some Federation worlds reject helping players to encounter.
their allies of the Dominion War because of the

THE TEMPORAL COLD WAR (27TH CENTURY

AND OTHER TIMEFRAMES)
This era includes elements from Star Trek: Enterprise new timeline’s future attempts to maintain it. After
and other series. the first incursions of the Temporal Cold War into
the timeline in the mid-22nd century, United Earth
THE TEMPORAL COLD WAR OR A CAMPAIGN INVOLV- (and later the Federation) opened the DTI in order to
ing the Department of Temporal Investigations (DTI) better understand what was happening and protect
is one where there is ample opportunity for you to and prepare the present against any large-scale
craft your own version of the Star Trek universe. chronometric warfare. Campaigns involving the
Each time a temporal strike team travels into the DTI typically don’t involve time travel themselves,
past, or the future, alternate timelines stem from but stay in the local present, determining if cases
the break point, altering the future and creating of accidental time travel really were accidental
even more possible incursions into the past as the and what effects the incident had on the timeline.
original timeline attempts to fix the change and the DTI agents also work closely with refugees who

66 CHAPTER 3.10
 TEMPORAL POSSIBILITIES
When running a campaign in the far future § THE MIRROR UNIVERSE: Splintered from
or during the Temporal Cold War, you don’t the prime timeline sometime in Earth’s
need to be limited to having characters from a 19th century, the Mirror Universe is an
single timeline, or even originating in the time- anti-reflection of the utopia and peace
line they are currently in. The franchise has seen in the Federation. Until its collapse,
depicted multiple different pasts, presents, and Earth was at the core of the Terran Empire
futures; consider the following as additional that ruled over most of the polities within
options for a campaign. 100 light-years of Earth, including the
former Romulan and Klingon Empires.
§ ASSIMILATION: In this timeline, the
§ ROMULUS ASCENDANT: The infiltration of
Borg Cube that took Captain Picard and
the Vulcan High Command was total, and
converted him into Locutus defeated the
when the Romulan Empire brought war
fleet at Wolf 359 and Enterprise was too
to Earth, the victory was all but assured
late to stop the assimilation of Earth. Within
as Vulcan vessels turned on Earth and
5 years, the majority of the polities around
her allies. In this timeline, the worlds that
the Federation are assimilated, with the
would comprise the Federation are client
remains of Starfleet and other fleets able
states of the Romulan Star Empire. While
to do little but flee further from the new
there may be senators from Earth, Tellar,
Collective. Another possible timeline stems
and Andoria representing their worlds on
from the Borg incursion on Earth of 2063,
Romulus, all non-Vulcans and non-Romu-
conquering the world before first contact
lans are second-class citizens and have
with Vulcans. The outcome is still the
little chance at advancement. 
same – few non-Borg remain within a few
hundred light-years of Earth.
03106

are temporally or dimensionally (originating from Voyager, we see timeships being used to conduct
alternate timelines or parallel dimensions) displaced, espionage-type raids into the past to subtly ensure
assisting them in integrating into the present culture outcomes. Timeships could also be used to explore
of the Federation, or segregating them if they are the past, as Starfleet is wont to do, observing
unable to adapt. Campaigns with the DTI can involve historical events or studying long-dead species
a lot of diplomacy, but also a lot of heavy science and civilizations. In these campaigns, it’s wise to
and research, depending on the exact circum- remind the players that the Temporal Prime Directive
stances of the incident. comes into play: do not interfere with the past
unless someone else is attempting the same, and
Another possibility is to run a campaign involving do not discuss the future with anyone not from your
the Temporal Cold War itself, involving elements present. The primary focus of campaigns involving
like the timeships of Starfleet (ranging in use from the Agents of the Temporal Integrity Commission
the 26th to 31st centuries) such as the Aeon or would be preventing historical interference and
Wells-class vessels, the agents of the Temporal making events of the past unchangeable in any way
Integrity Commission, or even agents from alternate possible to prevent accidental deviations.
possible futures of the Federation or Klingon
Empire travelling back in time to ensure their own While the Temporal Accords were signed in the 28th
existence. Setting a campaign on a timeship isn’t all century and time travel was banned in the 32nd
about warfare with other time-travelling powers. In century, the Temporal Cold War is still waged across

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 67
 the timeline and all possible branching timelines. The job of DTI, Starfleet, and the Temporal Integrity
Agents, timeships, and chrono-strike teams are Commission will never end.
constantly popping in and out of the local present.

THE 32ND CENTURY

THE THIRD SEASON OF STAR TREK: DISCOVERY The Federation is a shell of its former self, the
takes the franchise into a bold, new direction and disparate pieces of it striving to hold together
era of play, moving the franchise approximately and continue its mission. In the resulting anarchy,
800 years ahead from 2399 to the late 3100s and various factions, such as the Emerald Chain, rise up
upending the major polities in the Galaxy. Much to gather power and influence. In short, an entirely
about the setting remains the same, in terms of new stage is set for galactic intrigue and adventure.
species and technology, though much has changed You have a fresh new slate upon which to scribe
as well. new adventures with your players. What roles will
the player characters play in this new Star Trek era?
Somewhere around the year 3069, a cataclysmic Will you run a Federation campaign with the player
event known as the Burn occurs, which renders characters as brave Starfleet officers looking to
inert most dilithium in the known Galaxy. The Burn chart a new course forward? Perhaps your group
causes the detonation of every active warp core, will want to play independent traders seeking their
crippling Starfleet and many other galactic polities. fortune. Whatever the case, the future is still being
Countless deaths result from the event, along with written, and there is opportunity for you to blaze an
the destruction of many cities, stations, and worlds. all-new trail with your players.
New technologies must be created to compensate
for the changes, and active dilithium, now a rare and
precious resource, skyrockets in value.

68 CHAPTER 3.10
 CHAPTER 03.20

STYLE S OF PL A Y
“So m e t i m e s t he o nly w a y t o f ind o u t wh ere you fit in is to step
o u t o f t h e ro ut ine , be c a use so me t im es wh ere you really b elon g
w a s w a it ing right arou n d th e corn er all alon g .”

— MICHAE L BURNHAM

SELECTING A STYLE OF PLAY

There are a variety of adventure and campaign far from home. This section details the most
styles of play your gaming group can select common styles of play upon which Star Trek
from to use as the foundation for your game. Adventures stories can be built. Discuss with
Adventure is to be had, whether it is serving your group which one you find most appealing
within the deep interior of your territory, along to explore together, or if a combination best
the borders, or exploring unknown space suits your group’s desires. 
03201

ADMIRALTY CAMPAIGNS
SOME CAMPAIGNS ENDEAVOR TO TAKE THE PLAY- Chapter 3 of The Command Division supplemental
ers inside the situation room where powerful rulebook contains detailed instructions for building
senior leaders make the tough calls that can shape squadrons of ships for an admiralty campaign, if
the future of an entire quadrant. These admiralty your group is interested in that option.
campaigns force player characters to wrestle with
the politically murky and ethically fraught circum- Players spend much of their time gathering informa-
stances that affect trillions of sentient lives. In many tion, reviewing various scenarios, and making big
cases, every option at an admiral’s disposal comes decisions. Player characters might travel throughout
with drawbacks and dangers. This section will the Galaxy to conduct fact-gathering missions, to
detail some strategies you can use to ratchet up the engage with representatives of other governmen-
stakes of an admiralty campaign, ensuring players a tal entities, or to address crises as they develop.
grippingly intense experience. Admirals do not customarily put themselves directly
in harm’s way, but Starfleet grants its flag officers
wide latitude in determining the parameters of
Player Roles their missions. So, if the admiral in your campaign
The typical approach to an admiralty campaign is for insists on secretly crossing the Neutral Zone to meet
one player to take on the role of an admiral, while in person with a potential Romulan defector and
the other players fill the roles of support staff such assume all the personal risk such a journey might
as adjutants, intelligence officers, and Federation entail, you should encourage your players to get in
diplomats. An admiral may command a squadron on the action. Players in an admiralty campaign may
of vessels, or they may spend most of their time on demonstrate a tendency to conduct much of their
an assigned starbase or at Starfleet Headquarters. work from behind a desk on in a conference room,

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 69
 KLINGON ADMIRALTY CAMPAIGNS
Admiralty campaigns work much the same threats. This contrasts sharply with a Starfleet
in the Klingon Defense Force as they do in Admiralty campaign and provides opportunities
Starfleet, though there are some important for a very different tone. Klingon generals may
differences to keep in mind. For instance, the have to keep an eye out for betrayal from within
equivalent ranks to admiral in the Klingon their own ranks, or from challenges from rival
Defense Force are colonel, brigadier, and gen- Houses. The threat of civil war often looms over
eral. Most officers of this rank serve under the the Empire, and generals must account for that
direction of the Military Commission of the High possibility in their decisions. Like Shakespeare’s
Council, also referred to as the High Command. tragedies, Admiralty campaigns reach their
Five generals form the High Command, which is highest stature in the hands of Klingons. 
headquartered on the heavily fortified planetoid
Ty’Gokor. Additionally, many of the great Houses
of the Empire maintain militias composed of
warriors and vessels.

Throughout Klingon history, the Houses have

competed with one another for power and
position in the Empire. This means a Klingon
Admiralty campaign is at least as likely to
focus on internecine conflict as it is external
03202

70 CHAPTER 3.20
but you should remind them that they’re the heroes situations and exercise good judgment, often under
of the story. As such, they should take action and immense pressure. All command officers must
experience the Galaxy for themselves. prepare themselves to make life-or-death decisions,
but admirals must make similar choices on an even
greater scale. The fate of entire worlds can swing on
Gamemaster Guidance the decisions made by an admiral and their support
Admirals generally rise to such a high rank because staff. It’s your job to put your players in these kinds
they’ve demonstrated the ability to size up complex of complex situations, allow them to form a plan

ADMIRALTY CAMPAIGN OPTIONS

Admiralty campaigns can work across many dif- Houses. Klingon generals during these peri-
ferent time periods and regions of space. Here ods must deal with shifting loyalties and the
are some possibilities to consider. constant threat of betrayal as they navigate
the bloody politics of the Empire. House
§ BIRTH OF THE FEDERATION: In the after- leaders assemble fleets and await the most
math of the founding of the United Federation opportune moment to move against their
of Planets in 2161, Starfleet admirals had to rivals. Assassins lurk in the shadowy back
expand the fleet of available starships, build alleys of Qo’noS. The fate of an Empire
relationships with new member species, and hangs in the balance.
push the boundaries of explored space – all
§ ROMULAN REFUGEE CRISIS: During the
while establishing the norms and rules that
years preceding the destruction of the
would govern Starfleet for centuries to come.
Romulan sun in 2387, Starfleet attempted
These momentous decisions play out against
to relocate millions of Romulan citizens to
the shadowy backdrop of the growing
new planets in safe locations. The synthetic
Romulan menace.
attack on the Utopia Planitia Shipyards in
§ POST-KHITOMER REALIGNMENT: The first 2385 derailed much of these efforts and
Khitomer Accords established a cessation of unleashed a wave of political upheaval
hostilities between the Federation and the throughout the Federation. Admirals strug-
Klingon Empire following the destruction of gled to balance the humanitarian, logistical,
the Klingon moon Praxis in 2293. The peace and political demands of the crisis, while
agreement remade the political balance simultaneously dealing with the secretive
of power in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. and suspicious Romulan government.
Starfleet admirals and Klingon generals
§ REBUILDING THE FEDERATION: The
orchestrated drastic changes in their
United Federation of Planets, which
operations along the old Klingon-Federation
once counted more than 150 worlds as
border. High-ranking leaders on both sides
members, dwindled to only a handful of
must overcome decades of prejudice and
members by the 3180s following the Burn.
distrust to forge new bonds of friendship.
Dilithium became a precious and scarce
§ KLINGON CIVIL WAR: At various points resource, making warp travel a rarity.
throughout Klingon history, the great Admirals in this era must do what they
Houses of the Empire fought bloody con- can to uphold the Federation’s ideals and
flicts among themselves. For instance, the mission with severely limited resources
era leading up to the Klingon-Federation and only a few available starships. They
War of 2256–2257 was marked by deep must also compete with the Emerald Chain
divisions between the 24 great Klingon for what little dilithium remains. 
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S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 71
 of action, and then allow them to confront the Throw them into situations where there are no
often-sweeping consequences of their choices. perfect solutions, only choices that seem less bad
than others. In situations like this, the players must
Leaders in highly visible positions must often get determine their priorities and then live with the
their hands dirty, and the player characters in your reality that they can’t possibly please everyone.
admiralty campaign should be no different. Try to Admirals must also wrestle with situations in which
come up with situations in which any alternative the high ethical standards of the Federation make
pursued by the players will result in drawbacks. their jobs more difficult.

ADVENTURES WORTHY OF THE SILVER

SCREEN: CINEMATIC-STYLE CAMPAIGNS
YOU MIGHT HAVE RUN A LONG CAMPAIGN, AND watching Spock use a rocket booster to travel deep
you’ve decided your characters are ready to make into the heart of V’ger.
the jump to the big screen. Alternatively, you might
start a campaign from scratch with big, cinematic You might want to start by making a list of your
stories in mind. In any case, Star Trek has a long favorite action and special-effects sequences in the
tradition of telling sweeping, action-packed stories Star Trek canon, and then think about what made
for the silver screen, and you can capture that each scene so compelling. You might even want to
same cinematic feel in your Star Trek Adventures expand your list of action scenes to include other
campaign. Games that aim for a cinematic tone films as well. With your list of thrilling set pieces,
will usually try to raise the stakes and amp up the develop ways to add similar scenes to your Star
action. This section will go over a few considerations Trek Adventures campaign. What traits might you
that can help you and your players tell a story that’s assign those action scenes if you were running them
sure to come out on top at the box office. in a game? What are some creative ways you could
apply traits or spend Threat during such scenes?

Gamemaster Guidance Don’t worry too much about your scenes feeling
In most cases, entries in the Star Trek film franchise derivative of your source material. You can add a
set themselves apart from the television series by new spin to these sequences just by allowing the
showcasing dazzling action scenes and special unique characters in your game to interact with
effects sequences that might not have been possible the various traits of the scenes and making them
on a more modest television budget. Luckily, you their own. For instance, we’ve seen the Enterprise
don’t have to worry about budget constraints when destroyed more than once in various films, but your
putting together white-knuckle action scenes. You player characters can make a similar idea seem
can incorporate exciting set pieces into your cam- fresh by adding their characters’ unique reactions to
paign any time you want to heighten the action to seeing their own vessel destroyed.
a cinematic level. When the story plays out in your
gaming group’s collective imagination, your budget
is limited only by your creativity. Make It Personal
Another important tool in capturing a cinematic feel
Review the following for some strategies to help you in your campaign is to drive up the stakes of your
replicate the thrill of watching Captain Picard and adventures by making them personal for the player
Worf wage a zero-gravity battle against Borg drones characters. Your cinematic adventures should have
on the deflector dish of the Enterprise, or the awe of something important on the line. That might be
something grand at stake, like an entire planet, or

72 CHAPTER 3.20
even all of existence. But it could also be something
smaller but still intensely personal for your player
Casting the Right Villain
Star Trek storytelling often encourages the heroes
characters. Think of how the death of David Marcus,
of the story to establish an understanding with
James T. Kirk’s son, changed the tenor of the events
the antagonists of their adventures, rather than
on the Genesis Planet. Kirk’s motivation to stop
immediately locking phasers and photon torpedoes.
Commander Kruge took on a whole new dimension
That’s certainly a valid approach to cinematic stories
in light of David’s fate.
as well. For instance, the crew of the Enterprise
couldn’t hope to oppose V’ger in an armed conflict.
Mine your player characters’ backstories for elements
Instead, they had to figure out V’ger’s motivations to
to feature in your cinematic stories. Go through the
keep it from destroying all life on Earth.
career events your players selected during the life-
path character creation process. Are there any ships,
But sometimes you want a villain in your cinematic
locations, or characters that could make a return
campaign who isn’t interested in finding a peaceful
in a cinematic adventure to drive up the stakes?
resolution to the conflict. Khan provides perhaps
Supporting cast characters from previous adventures
the most iconic example of a Star Trek villain; the
can fulfill a similar function. Old allies might need help
Borg Queen also springs to mind. Your cinematic
facing a grave threat. Or it can be fun to play against
campaign might benefit from featuring a similarly
type when reintroducing previously established
compelling villain.
characters. Maybe it’s not an old friend calling for
help, but an old enemy. Maybe a once-trusted friend
You can draw inspiration from throughout the Star
suddenly betrays the player characters. Any of these
Trek canon, as well as from other media, when
options thrust your player characters into a situation
creating the perfect villain for your game. Once you
where the stakes are personal.
have a general idea of what kind of villain you want,
think about how such a villain would fit specifi-
cally into the Star Trek universe. Consider how the

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 73
 events and conditions of the Galaxy might influence at the end of the previous session. Think of Hikaru
and give rise to a suitably menacing villain. For Sulu, who received a promotion to captain and took
instance, Khan Noonien Singh’s outlook and will to command of the U.S.S. Excelsior between films.
conquer sprang from his origin and upbringing as a Similarly, Geordi LaForge received prosthetic eyes
genetically augmented superhuman. You might want between film appearances. In a film series, these
to give your villain a similar science fiction twist that significant character developments occur of screen,
feels at home in Star Trek. and the audience simply has to keep up.

Next, make sure you understand your villain’s You might want to implement a similar strategy if
motivation. What do they want? In Khan’s case, his you want your campaign to emulate the feel of a
desire for revenge against Kirk, whom he blamed for film series. Following a session, you can talk with
Khan’s exile on Ceti Alpha V, motivated his actions. your players about advancing the timeline and how
their characters might develop or change during that
You’ll most likely want to use the Major NPC cate- time. Some possibilities include transfers or pro-
gory when designing the statistics for your villain. motions. Players might also suggest ways they can
Guidance for designing them appears on page 305 shake up their characters’ personal lives. Romantic
of the Starfleet-oriented core rulebook and page relationships might end, or new ones might begin.
284 of The Klingon Empire core rulebook. Choose Don’t be afraid to allow the characters in your
talents and special rules that fit thematically with campaign to shake up their status quo in big ways
your concept for the villain and that are likely to and then explore the ramifications of those changes
be of use when the player characters inevitably in your next cinematic adventure. It’s important that
confront the villain. both you and your players are comfortable with any
significant proposed changes. This is an opportunity
Once you’ve established a strong understanding for collaborative storytelling, and neither you nor
of your villain’s motivations, plans, and mechan- your players should impose changes to characters
ics, you have all the ingredients you need for a that could upset or derail the overall campaign.
cinematic clash.
This off-screen character development technique
can apply to supporting cast characters as well.
Off-Screen Character Familiar faces among your supporting cast might
Advancement receive promotions or even change their career
tracks altogether. You also might want to add refits
A lot can happen “off-screen” in a campaign
and upgrades to your campaign starship between
aiming for a cinematic feel. Months or years might
adventures. All of these options feel right at home in
pass between adventures, and the beginning of
a cinematic campaign.
one session might find the player characters in a
dramatically different place than where they were

CAMPAIGNS BASED ON
SEASON-LONG STORY ARCS
SOME GAMES REVOLVE AROUND STORY ARCS THAT campaign has much in common with the highly-se-
play out over a series of intricately connected rialized nature of many modern television shows,
sessions. These story arcs might involve a central and you can think of each lengthy story arc in your
mystery or conflict introduced early in the cam- campaign as the equivalent of a season of a televi-
paign that builds steadily over the course of several sion show. You might think of yourself as the show-
sessions before reaching its conclusion. This style of runner. In Star Trek terms, consider how Star Trek:

74 CHAPTER 3.20
Picard and Star Trek: Discovery are structured. Think a resolution for individual episodes and save the big
of the mystery surrounding the Red Angel during payoff for the end. Finally, you can plan out the end of
season 2 of Discovery or the real reason behind the your story arc. You should put some effort into making
synth attack on Utopia Planitia as depicted during the conclusion suitably climactic and exciting. You’ve
the first season of Picard. These story arcs were likely devoted considerable time and effort into build-
hardwired into the season from beginning to end. ing up the tension before you reach the end of your
You can emulate this kind of storytelling by posing story arc. If the conclusion doesn’t deliver a satisfying
questions and teasing plot threads during early ending after all that effort, your players are going to
sessions to which you plan to return later. feel let down, or maybe even cheated.

So what makes a satisfying ending to a story arc?

Gamemaster Guidance Your conclusion should provide a definitive resolution
Heavily serialized story arcs can deliver huge payoffs to the conflict you introduced early in the campaign.
that players will never forget, but they also run the The player characters should have an opportunity to
risk of getting bogged down and confusing. Here are attempt tasks and make decisions that bring the arc
some strategies you might want to keep in mind to to a definitive close. The climax usually involves some
avoid those pitfalls as you orchestrate your sea- risk of failure as well. Whether the player characters
son-long arcs. succeed in their objective or not, something in the
campaign changes as a result of their actions. If they
PLAN AHEAD succeed in resolving the conflict, they should receive
No two gamemasters are exactly alike, and some an appropriate reward. If they fail, then there should
feel perfectly comfortable improvising developments be consequences. However your story arc wraps up,
related to various ongoing plot threads. If you prefer the player characters’ lives shouldn’t simply go back
piloting your campaign without setting a specific to how they were before. The conclusion of the story
course, and your players are having a good time, arc should shape the future of the campaign and
then full speed ahead. However, season-long story leave an impression on the player characters.
arcs may benefit from some planning ahead of time.
Most great stories have a beginning, a middle, and an Planning the beginning, middle, and end of your story
end. The beginning introduces a conflict or mystery, arc gives you a roadmap to follow for your campaign,
the middle of the story is where the protagonists which can keep your game from stagnating. Of
engage with the conflict, and the end of the story course, you can always change your roadmap as the
comes when the conflict reaches its climax and the campaign develops, and you should endeavour to
protagonists either solve the problem or suffer the allow your players agency and flexibility in how they
consequences of failure. engage with the central conflict, rather than “railroad-
ing” them through your predetermined story beats.
You might want to write down a roadmap for your If you strike the right balance between planning and
story arc that follows that formula. Plan ahead how flexibility, and deliver a satisfying conclusion to your
you’ll introduce the big conflict. Usually, this should story arc, you’ll keep your players coming back for
occur near the beginning of your campaign, maybe many more seasons to come.
even in the very first scene. Then, you can figure
out what happens in the middle of the story as the RECAPS
player characters take action to solve the conflict These campaigns may place less of an emphasis
you’ve introduced. Often, the middle of the story on providing a resolution for individual episodes
reveals something unexpected about the nature of the and save the big payoff for the end. This can make
conflict, or escalates the threat in a memorable way. it difficult for players to keep the details of the story
The middle of the story might not occur until several straight because they may have to recall events
sessions after you’ve introduced the conflict, depend- from several sessions in the past. You might want to
ing on the nature of your campaign. These cam- provide regular recaps, often at the beginning of each
paigns may place less of an emphasis on providing session, in which you and your players review the

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 75
 relevant plot points and mission objectives. The most CONNECT THE PLAYER
carefully crafted story arc won’t make much of an CHARACTERS TO THE PLOT
impact on your players if they don’t remember what’s As you plan out your season-long story arc, you
going on. You might even want to encourage your should make sure each player character will have
players to have regular in-character scenes during opportunities to contribute to the development of the
your game in which the player characters review the plot. Review your player characters’ focuses, values,
story and speculate about what’s happening. Think and career events and try to think of ways you can
of the many scenes in the observation lounge of the hardwire those elements into the story. Making the
Enterprise where the main characters piece together stakes personal for your players is one of the most
the mystery at the heart of the plot. effective ways of ensuring a meaningful conclusion.
You and your players are going to spend a good deal
Be sure to listen closely to what your players say of time building the story toward its conclusion. The
during these scenes. They might come up with a very last thing you want is for your players to feel like
different idea of where the plot is going than the one the climax of the season-long arc doesn’t make any
you’ve envisioned. You can take the best ideas your difference to their character’s development. This can
players come up with and either weave them into be good advice for many different campaign styles,
the plot or twist them around in surprising ways to but it’s especially true for lengthy story arcs.
subvert your players’ expectations.

76 CHAPTER 3.20
 CLOSE TO HOME: POLITICAL
CAMPAIGNS AND CORE WORLDS
SOME CAMPAIGNS MAY DEAL HEAVILY WITH A SINGLE effort in a campaign where the player characters set
region of space rather than warping across multiple course for a new planet at the end of every episode.
quadrants and visiting a different strange new world But in this close-to-home style campaign, you can
every session. Your campaign might play out largely expand your creative horizons and invent truly
on Earth, Vulcan, or Qo’noS, for instance. Countless vibrant new settings.
interesting stories could play out on any one of those
worlds. Or you might set your campaign in a single
region of deep space, such as near the Bajoran Living with Consequences
wormhole. For the purposes of this section, we’ll refer Campaigns set on starships that warp across the
to campaigns that center on a particular setting or cosmos can shield player characters from some
region as “close to home” campaigns. of the long-term consequences of their actions.
For instance, when Dr. McCoy mistakenly left his
Close to home campaigns may take place entirely in communicator behind on Sigma Iotia II, we never
a central setting, or they might return to that setting learn what the planet’s inhabitants did with the
repeatedly, as if it were your player characters’ alien technology because the Enterprise didn’t stick
base of operations that they revisit between travels. around long enough for us to find out.
Either of these options is likely to immerse the
player characters in the unique politics, culture, and In a close to home campaign, the player characters
peoples of a particular planet or region for much of will have great difficulty outrunning the conse-
your campaign. quences of their actions. Mistakes will come back
to haunt them. If they make a new enemy, they can
be sure a confrontation is in their near future. And
Gamemaster Guidance letting down allies can damage relationships and
You’ll likely want to devote some extra attention to make life more difficult later. Your job is to make
the core worlds and locations that will be featured sure the players’ decisions ripple outward and affect
prominently in your game. This can provide opportu- the setting. Sometimes those effects can cause their
nities for your gaming group to engage in deep and own ripples that might push back against the player
collaborative world building. This can be a deeply characters. When done well, your players should
rewarding creative exercise as you work with your feel like they’re immersed in a real, living setting,
players to add new traits and layers to your setting. and their characters have the power to change that
Try to come up with vivid details that are unique setting through the actions they take.
but still feel at home in the science-fiction world
of Star Trek. If you’re struggling to come up with Take note whenever a player character makes a
exactly the kind of setting you’re looking for, you decision that has the potential to upset the equilib-
can simply ask your players if they’d like to assign rium of the setting in some way. Think of a direct
new traits to the setting or fill in some of the blanks consequence of that decision that your player char-
of the central world of your campaign. This helps acters are sure to encounter. You can also create
your players to feel invested in your game, and it secondary or secret consequences that may take
can take some of the pressure off you. Think of your some time to ripple back to the players. This method
setting as another character in the campaign. As creates both short-term and long-term reactions to
the player characters interact with the setting, you player decisions, further deepening the believability
can add new complexities and detail. The longer of your setting.
you spend in a particular setting, the more alive it
feels. In-depth world building can seem like wasted

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 77
 Factions and Politics as well as Maquis rebels, and later, the Dominion.
Throughout the series, the characters on the station
Campaigns that focus on a single region or planet
forged relationships, made hard decisions, and dealt
most likely will put player characters into contact
with the consequences of everything they did to
with the various political factions and governmental
change the course of the region.
entities that exist there. You might want to put some
thought into the political balance of power your
Emulating that kind of dynamic political situation in
player characters will be walking into at the start of
your close to home campaign reinforces the sense
the campaign and then allow their actions to upset
of immersion for your players. In long campaigns,
that balance in interesting and organic ways.
they may find themselves allying themselves with
a faction early on before distancing themselves
The region of space near the Bajoran system
from that same group as the circumstances of your
provides a prime example for how varied and
game change. Think of the complicated relationship
competing factions can enrich a setting. The crew
Benjamin Sisko had with the Maquis as an example.
aboard Deep Space 9 had to build relationships with
The Maquis counted numerous former Starfleet
the Bajoran people, who represented a wide variety
officers among its ranks, some of whom were
of commercial, religious, and political interests. Just
Sisko’s friends. Yet, when his duty demanded it,
keeping abreast of the shifting allegiances among
Sisko did what he could to rein in the Maquis threat.
the Vedek Assembly was a tall enough task for
It can make for intense roleplaying if you introduce
the Starfleet personnel on DS9. And beyond Bajor,
similar shifting allegiances to your campaign.
Starfleet had to contend with nearby Cardassians,

78 CHAPTER 3.20
 DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION GAMES
HUMANS HAVE AN INSATIABLE LUST FOR EXPLORA- Federation’s knowledge of the Milky Way Galaxy.
tion. We have been enraptured with the idea of space Though it is rarely seen, it is logical that the Klingon
long before our first rocket went into orbit. An ever- Empire has its own form of exploration.
lasting fire was set in the heart of people ever since
the first person looked down on the blue orb called Seeking out new life and new civilizations is just
Earth from the earliest manned starships. But human- part of deep space missions. Survey missions help
ity is not alone in its quest to visit the stars. Hundreds chart star systems and spatial phenomenon. They
of other species share the appetite for adventure. mark hazards that could endanger other vessels
that are seeking to do more detailed exploration of
In like manner, you may have decided to run a star systems or desiring to set up colonies. Survey
Star Trek Adventures game. You want to take your missions could include setting up subspace beacons
players’ imagination farther than any Human has to enable long-range communications or establish-
gone before. The universe has an endless array of ing defense nets to protect from hostile invasions.
strange new worlds, fascinating civilizations, and These missions can also help locate valuable
scientific wonders to explore, and you want to lead resources that are of use to Federation worlds and
your players to discover them. These adventures their colonies.
can be a wondrous way to spend leisure time as the
characters land on hostile planets, encounter bizarre Discovering new life could mean encountering a
anomalies, and interact with extraordinary beings. sentient species. First contact is a carefully-regulated
event. It is logical that any deep space exploratory
Even though the characters will be warping into the vessel would have mission specialists well-versed in
deepest regions of the Galaxy, it does not mean that first contact protocol, diplomacy, and xenolinguistics.
they are completely alone. This is where you come
in. You are responsible for creating the endless array Some deep space missions involve studying strange
of animate and inanimate things they will come anomalies, searching for lost ships, and even cross-
across on their long journey. Deep space does not ing the boundaries of time and space. Officers are
mean unexplored space. It could mean that it has expected to keep detailed logs of all their findings.
not been explored by members of the Federation Every piece of data adds to the collective knowledge
or Klingon Empire. Your crew may unwittingly cross of the Federation. And, knowledge is power.
into the sovereign territory of another species or
pass into the realm of monstrous and godlike crea-
tures. There are things out there that defy descrip- Tactical Missions
tion and hazards that have destroyed other vessels. The farther starships push into the Galaxy, the more
Still, you want to create an environment where your likely they are to encounter a hostile faction with
players dauntlessly press onward. designs of its own. Such an encounter has switched
the tone of some deep space missions from scien-
This style of campaign is well-suited for fans of Star tific to tactical. A good example is Starfleet’s explo-
Trek: Enterprise or Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek rations of the Gamma Quadrant. It was not long after
Adventures allows you to plan and execute a variety the Bajoran wormhole was discovered that Starfleet,
of deep space exploration campaigns. A few options Ferengi, Klingon, Romulan, and other vessels began
are listed below. exploring the newly-opened region of space. Within
a short time, it was discovered that the Dominion
held sway over much of the quadrant and they were
Scientific Missions not pleased about all the “solids” pouring through
Most deep space exploration missions depicted in from the Alpha Quadrant.
Star Trek serve the main purpose of expanding the

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 79
 KLINGON DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION MISSIONS
Whereas Federation deep space missions take engage in battle more often. Therefore, assign-
on a more scientific or diplomatic role, Klingon ments aboard long-range exploration vessels
exploration has served a different purpose. are not highly sought after. However, there are
Expansion of Klingon borders has historically those who have a passion to explore burning
centered on conquest, acquisition of resources, deep in their hearts. They long for the chance
and tactical operations. These missions are to bring honor to their House and to the Empire
designed to strengthen the Empire and elimi- by acquiring a new resource that will maintain
nate possible threats to Klingon supremacy. Klingon dominance in the Galaxy. 

Deep space missions aboard Klingon vessels

are hardly as comfortable as those aboard
Federation ships. Creature comforts like well-lit
surroundings, recreational facilities, and relax-
ing activities are scant. Long periods of time can
pass without meeting other species or encoun-
tering a habitable or resource-rich planet. Less
honor might be given to a scientifically curious
Klingon compared to one who has the chance to
03204

What initially was met with excitement was soon since most vessels are rarely as well-equipped as
replaced with a sense of dread. Exploring the their Starfleet counterparts.
Gamma Quadrant was equivalent to poking a
hornet’s nest. Before long, Starfleet and its allies If you choose to develop a deep space mission that
were devoting more resources to tactical exercises is unsanctioned by Starfleet, be prepared to bend
and intelligence-gathering missions into the Gamma the rules to survive. The Prime Directive might not
Quadrant than scientific studies. hold much sway on the borderlands. Your crew will
likely find themselves in backwater bars and ragtag
In a similar manner, your crew might decide on outposts searching for supplies or information. Your
a clandestine deep space mission into Dominion, crew may need to form alliances with non-Federation
Romulan, Breen, Tzenkethi, or some other hos- species to survive or integrate alien technology into
tile faction’s space. Or maybe the unexplored their starship to effect repairs. Still, some scientists,
Shackleton Expanse appeals to you and your play- archeologists, or treasure hunters brave the risks to
ers. Tactical missions afford more action, tension, reap the rewards, be they scientific or monetary.
and suspense than a purely scientific mission. But,
gathering intelligence that will secure the borders of
your polity is essential to their survival. Guidance for Deep Space
Exploration Games
Non-Starfleet Missions If you are running a deep space exploration cam-
paign, you will need to create stellar phenomena and
Deep space exploration is not solely under the
alien civilizations that no other Starfleet or Klingon
purview of Starfleet. Independent organizations,
vessel have ever come across. How will you keep
civilian agencies, and Federation members are free
the players’ attention and make long and tedious
to pursue their own missions. This is highly risky
journeys into outer space thrilling for your players?

80 CHAPTER 3.20
First, there is no need to drag out long sequences civilization. The subspace and interstellar chemistry
of non-action. In the various series, journeys that pallet could be brought online. The communications
take days or weeks are summarized in seconds in and sensor arrays might start to pick up radio sig-
a log entry. Feel free to jump ahead to the action. nals or detect signs of post-industrial civilizations.
However, there are scenes you can include in your Long-range sensors are now close enough to pick
game to help players understand some of the rou- up other starships in orbit of populated planets or in
tine duties that occur when on deep space missions. transit through space.
It is not necessary to play this out every time, but it
would not hurt to set the tone. Close-range tasks: Once a starship is within a
solar system, the true work begins. More detailed
Long-range tasks: A crew might start by initializing planetary analysis, remote life-form analysis, and
long-range scans to locate star systems with a high electromagnetic scanning may occur. Fully auton-
probability of having planets capable of sustaining omous probes equipped with terrestrial and gas
humanoid life. Enhanced long-range particle and giant sensor pallets might be launched to retrieve
field detectors and imaging systems might chart data on interstellar particles. Material samples can
hazards along the way like solar flares, supernovas, be analyzed for chemical composition. Other probes
black holes, and a wide variety of radiation, geo- can observe pre-warp civilizations and transmit the
magnetic, or ion storms. All this information feeds data to the main ship. Multiple shuttles manned by
the stellar cartography and astrometric labs and is conn and science officers might strike out into the
normally transmitted back to the closest starbase system forming away teams to collect samples from
via an encrypted subspace relay network until it the surface of large asteroids, moons, and planets.
finally arrives for analysis at Starfleet Headquarters. A hustle of activity fills every corridor as material
samples and data are brought back to the main
Medium-range tasks: Excitement grows as the ship to be analyzed, dissected, and catalogued in all
vessel comes within a few light-years of the target sorts of science labs.
system. Sensors may start picking up evidence of

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 81
 For most deep space explorers, the most valua- Deep space missions afford characters to form deep
ble find is a new sentient race. This is a sensitive friendships and explore personal interests. Not every
interaction that can go amazingly well or end in session needs to be a shoot-‘em-up, ship-to-ship
utter disaster. The astonishing diversity of civiliza- battle action sequence. A lot of adventure can be had
tions your crew may discover can be created using exploring backstories, discovering anomalies, engag-
the tools in the core rulebooks. The television series ing in recreation, and advancing scientific research.
had budgetary constraints that limited the type of
alien that could be created for on-screen use. This Create scenarios and moral dilemmas that highlight
is not the case with your game. You can introduce the complexity of the Prime Directive. For Klingon
the most obscure non-humanoid species to the campaigns, allow characters to enrichen the depth
adventure. Your imagination is the limit! and passion of Klingon culture. Not everything has
to end in a bat’leth fight.

FAR FROM HOME GAMES

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT Your players might want to start their adventure on a
might cause your crew to be displaced thousands of generational ship where the offspring of the original
light-years from home. A chance encounter with a crew have been born and raised aboard a vessel. It
Caretaker Array. Flung whimsically to the other side has been their only home. All their training has been
of the Galaxy by a Q. Caught in a spatial anomaly. in the field. Life in the stars was not a dream, it was
Many officers recall the tale of the starship Voyager a harsh reality, one they have adapted to in amazing
cast 70,000 light years from home. Though their tale ways. The vessel and its crew might be caught
had a happy ending, very few ships have the power in such unexpected circumstances. In this case,
or stalwart crew to survive such an ordeal. the characters might feel truly alone. Cut off from

82 CHAPTER 3.20
communications with their people. Desperate to find as criminals by temporal agents or enemies by
resources to keep the ship in working order. Now vicious time-hopping aliens?
they are the aliens in a new part of space.
OTHER REALITIES
This style of campaign is well-suited for fans The Mirror Universe. Fluidic space. The Celestial
of Enterprise, Voyager, or Discovery. Star Trek Temple. Some theorize that there are as many layers
Adventures allows you to run a variety of far from to reality as there are stars in the sky. With that,
home campaigns. Albeit new species and civiliza- other dimensions spawn all sorts of life-forms. The
tions must be created from scratch as the dominant laws of physics that you have come to know might
powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrant hold no operate in a different manner. Environments might
claim in this uncharted region of space. Work with be inhospitable to humanoid life. Your group’s star-
your group to invent drastically different species ship might be rendered inert in such alien realms.
and worlds, the likes of which other Federation or Will it need an emergency retrofit to operate in
Klingon citizens may never see. different spatial conditions? Once again, the desire
to return home will most likely be at the forefront of
the crew’s thoughts. Will they be able to maintain
Types of Far their sanity while piercing barriers that are one
from Home Games quantum leap away but a universe apart?

Far from home games can take on different scopes

as described below. Guidance for Far
LOST IN SPACE from Home Games
This might be the most common form of far from If your group decides on a far from home cam-
home campaign. You will need to answer a few paign, they will need to realize that help may never
questions to make the premise plausible. What force come. Starfleet or the Klingon High Council may
or technology was the catalyst for the extremely have been left with few clues as to your current
distant journey? Exactly how far from home has the whereabouts. Characters will need to summon forth
ship and crew been cast? How many years at max- new levels of innovation to survive what could be a
imum warp would it take to get back to their native decades-long ordeal. Moral dilemmas might arise.
region of space? Are they on the other side of the Should you adhere to the Prime Directive? How far
galaxy or in an entirely different galaxy altogether? will your crew go to acquire rare resources? What
What is the condition of the ship upon arrival? Is it will happen when your characters come across
lacking resources and, if so, where will your player habitable planets? Will some desire to transplant
characters acquire new ones? themselves in a new region of space, start a colony,
and make like pilgrims in a new land?
LOST IN TIME
Perhaps the crew has been flung far into the past Being separated from your allies is dangerous; even
or thrust violently into the future. In either case, worse when hostile species find out that you are
familiar technology might be scant or non-existent. truly alone. It could make for hard times if most of
You may need to create an entirely new scenario the crew’s time is spent fighting or running from
wherein the social and political landscape of planets attackers who seek to pillage the advanced technol-
and empires are drastically different from what the ogy of your ship or enslave your people. Xenophobic
player characters were used to. What spatial effect species may not be open for negotiation. Friendly
or technology allowed them to break the constraints species might be few and far between, though still
of physics. Was there a purpose for their journey? boasting agendas of their own.
Can a way be found to restore the timeline? It is
possible that the characters have been caught in First contact takes on an entirely new meaning in
some manner of temporal war? Will they be viewed this setting. More caution than normal is advised as

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 83
 first contact could be your crew’s last chance to get never see home again will cause many complex
home. Scouting parties, spy missions, and under- emotions to rise to the surface. Isolation, despera-
ground bartering for goods might be the order of the tion, fear, paranoia, anxiety, depression, and anger
day to keep from arousing suspicion or attracting threaten to overcome the spirit of discovery at any
unwanted attention. moment. Or perhaps the crew will triumph in these
harsh circumstances and discover a new destiny in
Each character will react differently in this extremely the stars.
stressful circumstance. Realizing that one may

SPICE OF LIFE GAMES

LIFE IN SPACE CAN BE FULL OF VARIETY. VESSELS the crew to fraternize with popular personalities like
that stay within the boundaries of their alliances, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, Vash, Quark, Garak, Lwaxana
federations, empires, and unions have a never-end- Troi, Guinan, Morn, or Dr. Soong. The player charac-
ing array of mission profiles in which they may be ters could walk the decks of famous ships of the line
assigned. In addition, your character might be one like the Enterprise, Excelsior, or Zheng He. You might
of the Federation or Empire’s top-notch diplomats, set foot on Deep Space 9 or Regula I.
physicians, strategists, or soldiers. Their expertise
could be called into service at any time. You may
be assigned to missions based on your vessel’s Diplomatic Missions
capabilities or reputation in battle. Though establishing first contact is a distinct priv-
ilege, there are other kinds of diplomatic missions.
This style of campaign is well-suited for fans of the Starfleet’s mission is a peaceful one; however,
original series or Star Trek: The Next Generation. One factions within Federation borders might require
week you might be negotiating a treaty between the assistance in ending a conflict. Even the Klingon
Pakleds and Yridians, the next, rescuing a science Empire has worlds within its borders comprised
outpost from a supernova. Days later, you could be of other species. The Empire is no stranger to
asked to support a patrol of the Romulan border. conflict between the various Houses. The KDF might
be called in to settle all kinds of disputes. Some
Discuss with your group the type of adventures conflicts are not of an aggressive nature. Diplomacy
you want to rotate through the campaign. Spice of can include negotiating trade deals, determining
life games allow you to have recurring guest stars, trade routes, hashing out land and mining rights,
favorite ports-of-call, and familiar settings in which and facilitating cultural exchanges like the Officer
to play. The various Star Trek Adventures adventure Exchange Program. Your crew might be asked to
compendiums and standalone missions provide a escort an ambassador or specialist to a meeting.
generous library of stories that can be adapted to They may be called to represent Starfleet, the
fit most campaigns. In addition, there is a lot of fan- Klingon High Council, or their species during a major
made material available on the internet. Of course, interplanetary conference.
you can work with your players to design your own
campaign. The game is what you make of it.
Protection and Security
Another benefit of this style of play is the opportu- Tactical missions are just one facet of protecting and
nity for characters to meet some of the stars of the securing the rights and territories of the Federation
Federation or Klingon Empire. It might be possible to or Klingon Empire. Providing aid and relief to dis-
rub elbows with legendary figures like Sarek, Kirk, tressed outposts and planets is a possible scenario.
Spock, McCoy, Picard, Riker, Kira, Janeway, Seven Your crew could be called on to coordinate mass
of Nine, Worf, and Gowron. You could make time for evacuations after a major disaster, stop a virulent

84 CHAPTER 3.20
plague, deliver food supplies and technology, or per- There is also an infinite number of stellar phenom-
form other humanitarian actions. The group’s vessel ena to survey and catalog.
could be assigned to patrol a section of space along
a neutral zone or ordered to provide security for a
diplomatic convoy. Other missions could involve dis- Guidance for
mantling illegal trafficking cells, infiltrating criminal
organizations, or destroying enemy installations.
Spice of Life Games
The universe is your oyster if you choose to rotate
Also, adventure awaits at any one of the hundreds
through different mission types. This might be the
of ports of call at which the ship might dock. Player
most dynamic form of roleplaying as each character
characters might aid any number of starbases, relay
has a chance to really engage with their background
stations, science outposts, or colonies.
and test their skills in a variety of scenarios.

Science Missions You might keep each adventure episodic in nature

with each plot being resolved by the end of the
Besides deep space missions that have already
session. Or you may create a story arc that carries
been covered, there is an assortment of other mis-
through multiple adventures and sessions. This
sion types available for the science-minded officer.
format of play allows for rich character development
Characters may be asked to survey an asteroid field,
as the characters have an opportunity to interact
moon, or planet for mineral resources or coloni-
with people from their past. These relationships can
zation. Elaborate and sensitive experiments could
be explored in greater detail.
be the order of the day. Conducting experiments
in a controlled and isolated environment might
Characters might be a little more comfortable in this
decrease the possibility of accidents that could
setting as surroundings are familiar, relationships
harm large populations. Some starships are replete
are established, and they have a good lay of the land
with research labs wherein new technologies can be
(or ship). They might have the opportunity to visit
developed and scientific practices can be explored.

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 85
 home and communicate with loved ones on a more borders of the Federation or Empire. They might
regular basis. Generally, there is not a state of con- see more action engaging in a family squabble than
stant war or conflict happening within the protected shooting it out in ship-to-ship combat.

STATION-BASED GAMES
MOST STAR TREK STORIES CENTER ON THE VOY- and all those options can fit in on a bustling space
ages of a starship, boldly warping into unexplored station, colony, or planetary starbase.
sectors of space to find out what’s out there. But
your gaming group might decide on an alterna- Some space stations are dedicated to specific sci-
tive setting for your campaign. You might want to entific research purposes. The personnel on Regula
explore life on a space station, a planetary starbase, I, for instance, focused on the development of
or a remote colony. These settings can provide a Project Genesis, which sought to remake planetary
backdrop every bit as dynamic as a warp-capa- ecosystems to support humanoid life. In this vein,
ble starship, though you might need to adjust the you might run a campaign focused on a particular
kinds of stories you tell and the expectations of scientific mystery, and each player character might
your players. Station-based games also come with possess technical or scientific expertise that con-
inherent advantages that can lead to rich charac- tributes to the project. In these cases, players will
ter development and a sense of deep immersion spend much of their time conducting experiments,
in your chosen setting that you may have a more gathering data, analyzing results, and performing
difficult time establishing in a starship-based game. other scientific functions. This kind of premise could
First, this section will go over a few options at your lend itself to heavy use of the scientific method
disposal if you decide you’d like to set your game on guidance contained in the core rulebooks.
a station, followed by a discussion of strategies you
can apply to bring your stories to life.
Gamemaster Guidance
Space stations, colonies, and planetary starbases
Player Roles contrast with starships in a few important ways that
Player characters can fulfil a dizzying variety of roles you might want to consider as you prepare sce-
in a station-based game, just as they can on a star- narios for your campaign. Perhaps most obviously,
ship campaign, and any of these options can form station-based games may keep the main characters
the basis for hours of engaging and fun gaming. The of your campaign less mobile than they would be if
default assumption likely would be for the players to they were stationed aboard a warp-capable starship.
take on departmental leadership positions, making Player characters will spend less time boldly going
big decisions with the potential to shake up the and more time engaging with stories that come to
status quo for the entire region. But “lower decks” them. Luckily, space stations, colonies, and starbases
style games can offer a compelling alternative. In are exciting locations where remarkable happenings
these games, players take on junior positions and occur all the time. Your player characters should have
will likely spend their time carrying out the scientific no difficulty finding exciting things to do.
and technical functions necessary to keep your
station operational. They may also confront street- MAKE YOUR STATION
level crime, which may be a persistent concern A RICH AND DIVERSE SETTING
in your setting. This guide also details options for Your characters will spend a lot of time living, work-
playing non-Starfleet or non-Klingon Defense Force ing, and interacting with one another on the space
characters. Players may wish to create merchants, station, planetary starbase, or colony on which your
diplomats, spies, mercenaries, or religious officials, game takes place. Accordingly, you should spend

86 CHAPTER 3.20
some time creating a rich and detailed setting that’s Putting some thought into the location of your
going to be just right for your campaign. You may setting can also help you figure out what kind of
want to collaborate with your players to see how stories might make the most sense for your setting.
they envision the setting. Try to come up with details Determining what civilizations live near your setting
and traits for your setting that will bring it to life and can influence the kind of encounters your players
elevate it above a generic, cookie-cutter, space- can expect. Is your station located near a powerful
dock-type starbase. Aim to make your setting as space-faring empire? Or are the nearest planets
dynamic and unique as any of the player characters. completely uninhabited? Are there nearby plasma
storms, wormholes, or other spatial phenomena that
Some characteristics you and your players might might affect the flavor of your campaign?
consider as you’re designing your setting are its
history, location, and mission. Writing up a brief BRING THE STORY TO YOUR PLAYERS
history of your setting gives your station a sense How many memorable episodes of Star Trek: Deep
of depth. The characters in your campaign are not Space Nine hinge on strangers visiting the station?
stepping onto a blank slate, but a living location that These characters include Klingon Dahar masters,
may have been the setting for many previous stories revolutionary Cardassian scholars, energy beings
and will likely continue to be the backdrop for more that feed on the creativity of corporeal creatures,
stories long after your campaign ends and your and Vulcan Starfleet officers who have taken up the
characters have moved on. Did the governmental old Earth sport of baseball – just to name a few!
body or entity that oversees your station do so from
the beginning, or did it take over the setting from You may decide that your space station has access
another governing entity? How long ago was your to a warp-capable vessel whenever the player
setting built? Is it well maintained, or is it in a state characters need one, in which case they’ll be able
of disrepair? The answers to these questions can to go wherever the action leads them. However, you
inform the kind of traits you assign your setting and also have a golden opportunity to create a diverse
make it seem like a deeper, more believable place. and imaginative cast of supporting characters who

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 87
 visit your station to kickstart the plot of your games. depth and texture. Each new layer of detail deposits
Think of your station as a crossroads where virtually new material that you can mine later for plot hooks
anyone or anything may pass through on any given and call backs.
day. These visitors may have ulterior motives or dark
secrets. They may be fleeing pursuers and looking Much the same way the supporting cast rules allow
for safe haven. Or they might have something of your players to add new details to characters when
great value to offer the player characters, which they make multiple appearances, you can add
they might give freely or part with only if the player new wrinkles and traits to nonplayer characters
characters agree to pay an equally great cost. These as they drop in and out of your game. You might
are just a few of the options for story seeds that you introduce the chef at the Klingon restaurant on
can plant on your station-based game. your space station’s concourse as little more than
a generic background character. However, on the
Space stations, planetary starbases, and colonies chef’s second appearance in your game, the player
attract both uniformed and civilian personnel, characters might learn that she’s the heiress of a
giving you wide latitude to introduce all manner of once-powerful Klingon house that was run out of
supporting cast characters. This may contrast with the Empire by rivals. The next time the chef appears,
a starship-based game in which most of the char- she might ask for help restoring her family to a
acters belong to Starfleet or the Klingon Defense place of honor in the Empire. The layers of this once
Force. Feel free to stretch your imagination and generic chef can build gradually and naturally until
populate your station-based game with a supporting she becomes a three-dimensional character with
cast capable of surprising your players. Introduce her own plot thread. Because the player characters
characters that will challenge your player charac- will spend so much time ensconced in a single
ters and cause them to question their biases and, setting, opportunities for this kind of serialized
hopefully, grow beyond them. storytelling will present themselves frequently in a
station-based game.
Garak, for instance, is among the most memorable
characters to live on Deep Space 9. Most of the
crew on the station treat the former Obsidian Order Space Stations
operative with suspicion. But Dr. Bashir cements an Space stations reside in deep space and, like star-
unlikely bond with Garak, and even Benjamin Sisko ships, they serve a range of functions and support a
agrees to work with Garak when the situation calls range of missions. Unlike starships, they have only a
for it. These unexpected relationships can elevate a limited ability to adjust their position and orientation.
campaign into something special and exemplify the While starships can travel light-years in the blink of
IDIC principle. an eye, moving a space station any great distance
usually requires a significant amount of preparation.
TELL SERIALIZED STORIES
The player characters in your campaign should Some space stations operate in strategically impor-
weave themselves into the fabric of your setting by tant locations and act as a crossroads of commerce
forming dynamic relationships with the supporting and travel. Often, these space stations are massive
cast and with one another. They’ll likely spend less and possess the capacity to dock a number of large
time focusing on external circumstances and more vessels. Other space stations might be smaller and
time embedded in the community of your setting. occupy more remote regions. These smaller stations
This makes station-based storytelling a terrific usually support smaller crews and may focus on
avenue for serialized arcs in which plot threads research and scientific missions or act as listening
stretch out for multiple sessions. As you and your posts or communications relay stations.
players spend more time interacting with the setting
of your game, you’ll add nuance and detail to the Both the Federation and the Klingon Empire depend
game world, lending your setting a greater sense of on extensive networks of space stations. Private and

88 CHAPTER 3.20
unaligned stations also exist in various locations
across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, offering you a
Frontier Colonies
Your players might have an interest in establishing a
wide range of styles and flavors for games based on
new colony from scratch on a previously uninhab-
space stations.
ited planet. They may be driven by the desire for
freedom, scientific curiosity, or philosophical or reli-
Planetary Starbases gious motives. Establishing a new civilization on a
world where none previously existed offers opportu-
Some starbases are built on planets, moons, aster-
nities for creativity and collaboration that few other
oids, and other celestial bodies. Like space stations,
play styles can match. But this lifestyle contrasts
they can perform a huge range of functions and can
starkly with the relative luxury and security of the
support large populations. Bustling starbases usually
core worlds. Colonists must take on the challenges
support a mix of uniformed and civilian residents.
of material scarcity and social isolation, and they
usually face these dangers alone due to the extreme
You can give their starbase unique traits by placing
distances that often separate new colonies from
them on planets with interesting properties. In these
heavily populated worlds.
cases, your group’s main characters aren’t setting
out to discover strange new worlds; rather, they
This sort of campaign allows you to explore the
live on one. A starbase may reside on a planet with
theme of survival more viscerally than most other
unique native plant or animal life, unstable climactic
Star Trek settings. The essentials for survival are not
or seismic conditions, or unpredictable temporal
guaranteed on a planet covered by untamed wilder-
fluctuations. Think of some of the most imaginative
ness. Colonists must devote much of their time to
planets you’ve encountered in your favorite science
making sure their populations have adequate shel-
fiction stories. Could a starbase exist on that planet?
ter, food, and water. For colonies of any great size,
If so, you might have an interesting premise for a
they must build schools, hospitals, roads, and other
Star Trek Adventures campaign.
infrastructure. Nothing can be taken for granted,

STARSHIP SUPPORT FOR YOUR STATION-BASED GAME

Some space stations, starbases, and colonies tell might require your players to explore nearby
have ships, or even fleets of ships, permanently star systems, or even set out for more distant
assigned to support their missions. These ships sectors, on a routine basis. In this case, you may
might take the form of shuttlecraft or runabouts, want your players to have on-demand access
or they might be Defiant-class starships or even to warp-capable starships. If you think your
larger vessels, depending on the circumstances. campaign might benefit from a heavier emphasis
on isolation and independence, the characters
On the other hand, some stations and colonies might not have regular access to a ship at all.
have very little in the way of ship support. They may have to depend on regular visits from
These might be isolated science outposts or tiny cargo vessels. You should account for the kind of
communications relay stations. These settings tone and themes you want to emphasize in your
likely depend on regular starship visits to deliver campaign and make a decision that reinforces
supplies or routine medical care. those considerations. And you can always assign
new or better ships to your station later if you
You can go over starship support options with change your mind or if the mission of your station
your players at the start of your station-based shifts. After all, the U.S.S. Defiant didn’t make
campaign to figure out which path best suits your its first appearance until the third season of Star
vision for the campaign. The stories you plan to Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
03205

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 89
 unlike on the core worlds where material scarcity is defend themselves against invasion from neigh-
largely a thing of the past. boring interstellar powers. And, unlike on the core
worlds, colonists must often face these dangers
Any number of things can go wrong. Unforeseen without the possibility of timely support. Colonists
natural disasters strike. Colonists may stumble upon must fend for themselves or everything they worked
dangerous life-forms on their new world they didn’t to build can crumble in an instant. Colony games
know existed previously. Strange spatial phenomena can give players a sense of desperation, isolation,
such as temporal distortions or plasma storms may and danger that few other settings can match.
arise. Isolated colonies must always be prepared to

TOUGH LITTLE SHIPS?

Some space stations, starbases, and colonies These might be isolated science outposts or tiny
have ships, or even fleets of ships, permanently communications relay stations. These settings
assigned to support their missions. These ships likely depend on regular starship visits to deliver
might take the form of shuttlecraft or runabouts, supplies or routine medical care.
or they might be Defiant-class starships or even
larger vessels, depending on the circumstances. Work with your group to determine what kind of
In these cases, your character might spend starship support the characters can expect on
some time taking on exploration missions and the station. These decisions can influence the
traveling to distant sectors. kind of missions the characters will take on and
the overall tone of your campaign. 
On the other hand, some stations and colonies
have very little in the way of ship support.
03206

90 CHAPTER 3.20
 KLINGON STARBASES AND COLONIES
Warriors in the Klingon Defense Force often on a military starbase along the Romulan
find themselves serving aboard space stations border, or perhaps a character was wrongly
and colonies. The Empire’s fearsome fleet accused of a crime and must now escape
of warships, the very pride of the Defense from the brutal confines of a prison colony. The
Force, take flight from massive shipyards and Empire’s quest to command the stars would
drydocks where some of the best engineers surely fail without the crucial contributions of its
in the Empire ply their trade. Heavily armored space stations, starbases, and colonies. 
starbases occupy strategically important loca-
tions to defend territory and repel foes. And the
Klingon network of penal colonies constructed
on desolate asteroids and moons is the stuff of
nightmares.

Countless stories of pain, sacrifice, glory, and

honor have played out on Klingon space stations
and colonies, and the player characters can add
their own verse to this age-old Klingon song.
Perhaps a character is a proud warrior serving
03207

UNSANCTIONED MISSIONS
THE CREW OF THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE LED BY JAMES the sometimes-unsettling reality of life without
T. Kirk defy Starfleet orders and return to the Genesis regulations. This style of campaign is well-suited for
planet to rescue Spock. Worf resigns his Starfleet fans of Star Trek: Picard. If you are planning to run
commission to join the Klingon Defense Force during this style of game, it might end with the characters
a civil war. Jean-Luc Picard assembles a ragtag band saving a friend’s life, exposing a galactic conspiracy,
to unravel the mystery of the Zhat Vash. or discovering a valuable treasure. Conversely, they
might end up losing all rank and privilege, wasting
In all these cases, the characters marshalled away in a dank prison, or dead at the bottom of a
together what resources they could and struck ravine on a backwater planetoid.
out on their own without the support of a larger
organization. In some cases, they openly defied A DEBT OWED
direct orders to accomplish their objectives. Your A call from help has come from a person or a civili-
group might feel forced to do the same. Maybe a zation. The situation is dire. Perhaps Starfleet or the
friend or colleague is in trouble. Maybe it is time KDF is deliberating on the matter, mired in politics
to repay a debt. Perhaps the characters are aware and treaties, but the characters need to act now.
of a Galaxy-spanning danger and cannot wait to Or they may be currently serving aboard a starship
cut through governmental red tape to save the day. when someone from the past reaches out to them.
Maybe sabotage, infiltration, theft, and assassination They need to do something unscrupulous or off-the-
are the only ways to preserve the peace or tip the record before an opportunity is missed. Whatever
balance of power. the ask, the characters feel compelled to break
protocol, grant the favor, or pay back the debt. Once
Unsanctioned missions give characters the oppor- they go down this road, their future with Starfleet or
tunity to slip out from the Prime Directive and see the KDF is uncertain.

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 91
 VIGILANTES have a chest full of gold-pressed latinum, hard to
The Maquis. Ferengi eliminator Leck. The Fenris find technology, or valuable intel to exchange if they
Rangers. Starfleet and the Klingon High Council do are going to keep moving toward their goal.
not even play into the equation. Player characters
got fed up with the rules a long time ago. It is time If you and your group are designing an unsanctioned
to do what is right or in their own best interest. Dare campaign, here are some things that might be
anyone to try to get in their way. The characters helpful to map out.
might go it alone or join like-minded individuals to
achieve their goals. Vigilantes might be out for jus- CONTACTS
tice, revenge, or a pile of gold-pressed latinum. They Contacts that can provide information and resources
are familiar with hideouts, outposts, and safehouses are valuable assets in an unsanctioned campaign.
used by illegal traffickers and traders. Anything or These contacts can work for the government.
anyone can be bought for a price in this underworld They could be businesspersons, bartenders, local
environment. Vigilantes might be acquiring or celebrities, or criminals. In any case, they can help
exchanging information like the location of archae- player characters cover their tracks or get a lead
ological treasures, banned weapon technology, or on someone or something. They may not have the
security access data to some of the quadrant’s most exact information or technology they are looking for,
powerful figures. but they know someone who does. Generate con-
tacts from the wide array of adaptable NPCs found
ESPIONAGE in Chapter 11 of the core rulebook or Chapter 10 of
Your group’s characters could be working for a The Klingon Empire core rulebook.
secret organization like Section 31, the Tal Shiar, or
the Obsidian Order. They are one thread in a tangle STARSHIPS
of lies and cover-ups. Maybe they have some of Unsanctioned missions are rarely accomplished by
the information, but never all the information. They staying on one planet. Transport is often required. It
could meet with disguised agents and counter- is highly unlikely that your player characters will get
agents in shadowy alleys, crowded marketplaces, their hands on an Intrepid-class science vessel or
and over encrypted comm lines. The lines of moral- Pach’Nom-class escort. Hitching a ride on an inter-
ity are blurred but the crew’s mission directives are stellar cargo freighter, mercenary shuttle, or luxury
clear. Perhaps they are enlisted officers, but know commercial cruiser are more plausible scenarios.
Starfleet could never support such a questionable If they are even more gutsy and have high-quality
mission. Nonetheless, the characters are willing forged documentation, they may manage a ride on
to put their careers and lives on the line to do that a Federation or Klingon vessel. The best scenario,
which Starfleet or the KDF would never allow a of course, is if the crew can afford to rent, borrow,
sanctioned officer to do. or buy their own vessel. Most likely, it will be an
unregistered warp-capable vessel built by a private
supplier or a third-generation retrofitted spaceship
Player Guidance held together by self-sealing stem bolts and chicken
for Unsanctioned wire. If they are fortunate, fate may drop into their
lap a Kaplan F17 Speed Freighter or some other
Missions Games modern ship. If none of these ideas work, the player
Traveling the Galaxy without the backing or characters could always just try to hijack a vessel to
protection of Starfleet or the Klingon Empire is one get where they need to go.
of the riskiest endeavors a being can undertake!
Characters can easily drop into danger if they fall WEAPONS AND TECHNOLOGY
off the grid. Villainous people, nefarious crime syn- If you are going it alone, you will want a trusty
dicates, and desperate individuals are all too eager sidearm…or three. You may seek to hide weapon
to take advantage of them. Goodwill is a rare com- caches in cities, outposts, and planets you frequent.
modity during unsanctioned missions, so they better Your character will want to know one or more

92 CHAPTER 3.20
weapons dealers who can come through in a pinch. If a character has chosen the life of a vigilante, they
Of course, you run the risk of being sold a dud. And will need to decide where the character lives, who
Starfleet will not treat you kindly if they find you they spend most of their time with, and how they
in possession of an illegal weapon. Additionally, pick up new missions. Do they live by an ethical
each mission often requires specialized technology. code? What are their political views? Do they hold
Vigilantes rarely have access to industrial replicators a particular view of the Federation or Klingon High
or starship cargo bays stuffed with useful gear. You Council? Do they have a criminal record? Will
may need to build, barter, or steal what you need. someone be pursuing them while they are pursuing
their goal?
UNSANCTIONED MISSIONS
A player character could easily get lost in the Players may want to run an unsanctioned storyline
chaotic environment of an unsanctioned game. for a brief period before moving on to a different
Individuals might have contrasting objectives and style of play. If so, did they take on the unsanctioned
you may need to adopt a win some / lose some atti- mission for sport, adventure, money, loyalty, love,
tude to obtain your goals. If any of your players are thrills, or something else? When and under what
playing an undercover officer, decisions will have to circumstances do they eventually want out of the
be made on when to cross the line. They may simply game? Are their friends and families endangered by
want to accomplish their unsanctioned mission as their profession or did they cut all ties long ago?
quickly and neatly as possible then head back to
their normal life.

S TA R T R E K E R A S A N D P L AY S T Y L E S 93
94
 CHAPTER 04.00

TO BOLDL Y G O
04.10 GAME PREPARATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

04.20 RECRUITING A CREW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

04.30 YOUR FIRST VOYAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

04.40 RUNNING THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

T O B O L D LY G O 95
 CHAPTER 04.10

GAM E
PREP ARAT I O N
“ We ha ve a lo t t o do . O f all th e cap tain s th at’ll sit
in t his c ha ir, I c a n’ t imag in e an y of th em b ein g
mo re p rou d th an I am rig h t n ow.”

— CAPT. JONAT HAN ARCHE R

SO YOU WANT TO BE A GAMEMASTER...

Congratulations! Taking on the mantle of a Chapter 4 provides advice for planning and
Star Trek Adventures gamemaster is no small running a game, including feeding the spark
endeavor; it’s a role that can be seen as a that drives you to run a game, tips on gather-
combination of director, producer, writer, sound ing a crew, advice on collaborating with your
effects expert, casting director, and actor. You’ll players to pin down what kind of Star Trek story
likely wear a lot of different hats as gamemas- you want to experience together, and advice on
ter, whether you’re running a short one-shot running the game itself. 
adventure at a convention or an epic, multi-sea-
son campaign with friends and family (or even
something in between!).
04101

PREPARING FOR LAUNCH

STAR TREK ADVENTURES IS, AT ITS CORE, A GAME things you should consider. Are you planning on
about telling fascinating stories with dynamic charac- running a single one-shot mission in one session,
ters, together with your players. While the rules exist a longer story that could span several sessions or
to determine how the player characters interact with missions, or perhaps even a long-term campaign with
the universe, your goals are to make sure the story no preconceived end-point? Whatever the case, make
serves the player characters, and that everyone in the sure you check in with yourself and be honest with
game is having a good time. Having a basic under- what length of game you’re prepared to commit to.
standing of the game rules will make your sessions This will help inform your potential players when you
run more smoothly and will make sure your players start recruiting for your game.
engage with the stories you are telling together.
SINGLE-SESSION EVENTS
Usually used as a way to introduce players to the
Game Length game, these one-shot events should strive to show
Before you gather a group of players together to all key aspects of the game, including task resolu-
boldly go on a voyage with you, there are several tion and conflict, be it personal combat or starship

96 CHAPTER 4.10
 RUNNING AT CONVENTIONS
If you run Star Trek Adventures at a conven- You should consider sharing the convention’s
tion – whether in person or online – you should code of conduct and allow the players to share
try to represent the game how it is intended to what their expectations are in terms of tone and
be played. While introducing the rules to new acceptable behavior. If someone says they don’t
players, especially those unfamiliar with Star want to do something, and another player tries
Trek, provide insight on what it means to be to get them to do it, it is up to you to immedi-
Starfleet or how to bring honor to the Klingon ately stop what is going on, explain why it is
Defense Force. If an action the player takes in wrong, and redirect the scene. Additional advice
a game is the opposite of what a member of on developing safety tools with your players is
either faction would do or believe in, it is okay provided on page 109.
to pause the game and explain why their action
might not make sense. If appropriate to do so, You should also allow players to introduce both
offer suggestions that could bring their actions themselves and their characters, along with
more in line with the Star Trek feel. which pronouns they prefer for themselves and
their characters. It may also be useful to have
The other thing you should consider when the players share what their relationship is
preparing to run at a convention is how you are with Star Trek and what they hope to get out of
going to ensure the safety of all of your players. the session. 
03102

combat. Single-session adventures generally have a interesting backstories. Because of this, you have
self-contained story arc, much like a standalone epi- many more ways to tie the characters to the plot and
sode from one of the series, that can be wrapped up to each other. Using these connections, you can build
by the end of the session so that players get a feeling short character arcs into the content you are running.
of closure. However, some single-session events
could be a series of roleplaying scenes and tasks for When preparing for a multiple-session adventure,
characters to attempt, if you’re looking to spotlight you should keep in mind what schedule works best
the game for curious players. for you as the game can usually go forward if any
one player can’t make it, but it can’t progress without
Single-session games are often run at conventions. you. Also keep in mind how much time you require to
Whether it is online or in person, these sessions prepare for a session. If you are quick to prepare, a
usually run between two and four hours and typically weekly game could work well; if you need more time
use pregenerated characters and starships so that to prepare for a session, meeting every other week or
you and the players can get right into the story. When monthly might be a better cadence. Work with your
running one-shots, it helps to have rules references players to find the schedule that works best for all.
to hand out to players as needed. The two free
quickstart digital adventures (one Starfleet, the other MULTIPLE-MISSION SEASONS OR CAMPAIGNS
Klingon) detail the essential rules and provide pregen- You may decide you want to tell a longer, more
erated characters, along with a short adventure. involved story, or perhaps even run a full-blown
campaign consisting of multiple seasons and dozens
MULTIPLE-SESSION MISSIONS of missions. If so, you’ll want to think about what
A multiple-session mission is a self-contained story the overarching story is for the season or campaign.
played out over several game sessions, usually on a Perhaps you want to run a season’s worth of episodes
regular schedule with your group. This format allows where your crew is tasked to discover the truth
time for players to develop detailed characters with behind some cataclysm that impacts the entire Alpha

T O B O L D LY G O 97
 Quadrant. Or maybe you want to run a multiple-sea- Story Type
son campaign detailing the crew’s experiences boldly
The second thing you need to consider when prepar-
exploring the newly-opened Gamma Quadrant.
ing to bring players together to play is how would you
like to lay out your campaign. Are you looking at using
Whatever the case, know that a longer story requires
an episodic approach, a serial story, or a combination
more effort on your part. You’ll have that many more
of the two? Knowing how you want to deliver your
episodes to prepare, more NPCs to create, more story
stories will allow you to better connect your players’
arcs to consider. While that may sound like work,
characters to the arcs that are presented. It will also
remember that you’ll be creating the series with your
help your players understand what to expect from the
players, and that you can share much of the creative
content you are delivering.
load with them. You may find that much of your cam-
paign almost writes itself, as you throw a challenge at
Review the advice in Chapter 3 and think about what
your players, see how they react, and then build the
style of game you want to run, be it a far from home
campaign scene by scene, mission by mission, until
game, a serialized game set on a planetary science
you arrive at your epic conclusion.
lab, a game full of political intrigue, or another option
(or even some combination of all the above!).

98 CHAPTER 4.10
 Style of Content
The last thing you should consider before recruiting
players is what type of content you will be using.
While you will probably use multiple options as you
become more comfortable, it is a good idea to share
what kinds of content you intend to run. Some players
have different preferences as to what they want to
play and may not be as engaged in a story that you
made up versus one found in a published “official”
adventure, or vice versa.

PREWRITTEN MISSIONS
If you want to focus more on learning the craft of
being a gamemaster and don’t want to have to
worry about creating non-player characters or a
detailed plot, you may want to try running any of
the dozens of prewritten missions created for Star
Trek Adventures. Both the core rulebook and The
Klingon Empire core rulebook include intriguing,
multiple-scene missions designed for new gamemas-
ters and players alike. In addition, the two quickstart
digital releases and the Star Trek Adventures Starter
Set include premade missions designed to show off
different aspects of the game to new players.

There are also numerous missions for different eras

of play availably digitally as standalone adventures,
as well as two mission compendiums: These are the

CANON CONTENT
When creating your own missions and setting while other players prefer to keep their cam-
content, you may wish to give your players the paigns free from any canon “guest stars.”
experience of playing through events depicted
in one of the Star Trek television episodes or One strategy to include canon in your stories
movies. The important thing to remember when is to have your events run parallel to the canon
using canon in your adventures is that members events you wish to use. You can even have
of the Star Trek community have varying opin- what your ship does influence different events,
ions about what canon means and if it should so the canonical situation happens the way it
be changed based on your crew’s actions. As did on screen. The key to making these stories
such, bring it up with your players to see what successful is to remind your players that though
they think. Some players might wish to avoid they may know what is supposed to happen,
playing canonical events, whereas others might their characters don’t, and therefore their char-
enjoy using canon events to tell parallel stories. acters’ actions should be true to the characters’
Some players value the opportunity to have their values throughout the story. 
characters interact with canonical characters,
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T O B O L D LY G O 99
 Voyages and Strange New Worlds. While all of the and encounters. Because they are written at a high
standalone missions and the compendium missions level, they are easy for you to adapt to your particular
are each designed for a specific era of play, each campaign and cast of characters.
include guidance for adapting them to different eras.
Mission briefs also work well as side treks that take
Prewritten missions give you the opportunity to focus your crew from one mission to the next. Most briefs
on being a Star Trek Adventures gamemaster by are written to be easily adapted to stories you are
providing a story for you to follow as well as the already telling and allow for you to use NPCs that
statistics for any enemies, NPCs, or ships your crew you’ve already introduced in previous missions.
may encounter. With these things already laid out for
you, you can focus on adapting the mission to your Even though they can be used with stories you’ve
crew, creating a seamless and immersive experience already told, it is also entirely possible to use a
for your players. mission brief as its own self-contained episode that
isn’t connected to your previous stories. If you decide
MISSION BRIEFS to do this, you’ll want to spend some time preparing
Originally introduced in The Klingon Empire core statistics for non-player characters and ships that
rulebook, mission briefs are one-page story starters your crew may encounter.
for you to use as you become more comfortable
with being a gamemaster. These high-level outlines PREWRITTEN CAMPAIGN
provide a story structure, NPC suggestions, and plot Another type of content you may wish to run is a
threads that you can use to create your own stories prewritten campaign. A campaign is an ongoing

100 CHAPTER 4.10

story, usually in a specific region of space. Often ORIGINAL CONTENT
these campaigns have larger story arcs as well In a universe as vast and detailed as Star Trek, the
as individual episodes that are set throughout the number of story arcs you can tell is infinite. With
region. The Shackleton Expanse Campaign Guide over 800 hours of filmed stories that open possible
includes an epic campaign that takes place over the plots for you to explore and a Galaxy that is mostly
course of multiple missions that take place in the unexplored, you can write stories steeped in canon or
Shackleton Expanse, spanning some hundred years. in unexplored regions of space with alien species and
This campaign provides everything you need to tell an star systems you’ve created.
overarching story.
Creating your own story requires preparation, but
When using a prewritten campaign, it is important often the payoffs are far more meaningful to the play-
that you make the story your own. Adding arcs for ers. This is because you can create custom character
characters or removing scenes that some play- arcs that specifically tie into your overall story and
ers may not wish to participate in falls onto your world. With these arcs, your players will feel much
shoulders. While the story is told in a specific order more connected to both the content you are present-
during a campaign, you can also add side treks in ing and the worlds and regions you’ve created.
as you play through the campaign’s missions. This
can sometimes give the players a break and shift the
story focus to characters who haven’t had the chance
to shine in the campaign missions. GAME PREPARATION
CHECKLIST
In summary, before recruiting players to
play in your game, be sure you’ve consid-
ered the following so that you have your
desired game goals in mind:

ˆ Familiarize yourself with the Star Trek

Adventures rules

ˆ Determine the expected length of

your game:

§ Single-session event

§ Multiple-session mission

§ Multiple-mission season
or campaign

ˆ Determine the story types you plan to

run by reviewing Chapter 3

ˆ Determine the content you plan to use:

§ Prewritten missions

§ Mission briefs

§ Prewritten campaign

§ Original content 
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T O B O L D LY G O 101
 CHAPTER 04.20

RECR UI T I NG
A C RE W
“T h e r e a r e t hre e t hings t o re me m b er ab ou t b ein g a starsh ip
c a p t a i n : Ke e p yo ur shirt t uc k e d in, go d own with th e sh ip …an d
ne ve r a ba ndon a memb er of you r crew.”

— CAPT. KAT HRY N JANE WAY

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
YOU CAN’T RUN A STAR TREK ADVENTURES GAME community. One way to accomplish this is to visit
without a group of excited players who are looking local game stores in your area and ask about adver-
to express themselves through dynamic characters. tising a game. This advertisement could be a simple
With this in mind, there are many different ways flyer posted in the store or, in some cases, a quick
to recruit players. In some cases, you may want to blurb that the shop could put into their customer
invite specific players whom you know, while other newsletters or on their websites. The information you
times you may be running for new or inexperienced put in these advertisements should be short, concise,
players with whom you’ve never played a game. and designed to get players excited about your game.

If you don’t have a local game store, or if you

Finding Players are planning on using a virtual tabletop, consider
Usually, the hardest part of getting a game up and posting on one of the hundreds of roleplaying game
running is finding someone willing to be the gam- websites or social media groups created to help
emaster. Since that’s you, gathering players should players come together virtually. From digital com-
be easy so long as you look in the right places. munication channels to social media groups, there
You may already know players from your regular are thousands of players looking to be connected
group or other local groups. If so, simply extend the to games all over the world. In these instances,
invitation to these individuals along with information when you say that you are looking for players, in
about which virtual tabletop platform you will be addition to saying what day you are looking to run
using or the physical location you will be running the on, include what time zone you are in and what lan-
game. You will also want to include the times you guage the game will be run in so players can make
are looking to play, and what kind of content you an educated decision about whether the game is a
will be delivering. This information should allow the good fit. It’s also important to be clear how long of
players you choose to make an educated decision a game you intend to run (e.g., single-session one-
as to whether they’d like to join your game. shot, multiple-session adventure, or multiple-adven-
ture series or campaign). If you want to just run a
If you don’t have access to a regular game or session or two to showcase the game or the rules,
local gaming group, you will need to find a way to you may have a different level of interest than if you
reach out to the larger tabletop roleplaying game decide to run a multiple session game.

102 CHAPTER 4.20

 SAMPLE GAME ADVERTISEMENT
DO YOU LOVE STAR TREK? DO YOU LOVE Where: Delta Quad Games in Riverside, Iowa
ROLEPLAYING?
Who: Both new and experienced players
If you answered yes to one or both of these are welcome.
questions, then join me, Gamemaster Jess, on
an expedition into the Shackleton Expanse! What you need: A copy of a Star Trek
Adventures core rulebook is recommended but
What: The Shackleton Expanse Campaign from not necessary to play.
the Star Trek Adventures RPG
*We will begin with a Session 0 to set expec-
When: Every other Friday night from tations and design our ship and characters
7PM–11PM EST together. If time permits, we will also review the
most important rules. 
04101

If you plan to run Star Trek Adventures at a conven- of gamemastering and allow players to introduce
tion, you rarely get to determine who sits at your themselves and any expectations they have during
table during a session. In these cases, you may not the session. It also helps to discuss the philoso-
know who your players are at all, even when they sit phies of Starfleet or the Klingon Defense Force,
at your table. Because of the lack of familiarity with and to explain how the co-storytelling of Star Trek
each other, it is important to create trust with and Adventures works. By setting clear expectations
among the players as soon as the session starts. early, it allows for a more dynamic game among
Begin by taking a few minutes to go over your style players who have just met.

COMMON ROLEPLAY STYLES

DIFFERENT PLAYERS HAVE DIFFERENT EXPECTA- Players will come to the table with diverse and
tions and want different things out of a roleplaying unique roleplay styles. These styles often reflect
game when they sit down at a table. Your job is to aspects of the players’ personalities and therefore
identify these things and to try to provide the players shouldn’t be considered “right” or “wrong” ways to
an experience as close to what they’re looking for as roleplay, so long as everyone is abiding by the rules
possible. There will be times when different players of respectful play. It is also important to not label
are seeking different experiences. Identifying this the players with the style of play they prefer. Instead
early can help prevent table conflicts later and can label the type of behaviors they might exhibit while
increase engagement among your players. In most roleplaying. Your job is to find ways to engage all
cases, games work best when every player is on the roleplay styles with a plot or subplot to allow players
same page and looking to get the same thing out of to access the content in a way that is comfortable
their roleplaying experience. It is entirely possible, for them and everyone else at the table.
though, that different types of players can find
excitement in Star Trek Adventures if you find a
way to connect them to the story and provide them Enterprising
with something that interests them. Players with an enterprising roleplaying style often
prefer to lead and are always ready to connect their
character to the plot being presented. This style

T O B O L D LY G O 103
 often involves talking with others and sometimes the intelligence gathering play style are often more
dominating conversations. The enterprising style is attached to the stories you are telling and can pick
often openly passionate about their beliefs and are up bits of information that other roleplaying styles
the first to jump into action during stressful situa- might miss.
tions. For better or worse, players who like this style
want to push the plot forward at a rapid pace. Players who like the intelligence gathering style
typically prefer to have plots that involve personal
Players with an enterprising style often jump on journeys that support or challenge their values.
all plot threads that you dangle in front of them. While their reactions to plot twists may not be dis-
To ensure an experience they won’t forget, plan played in front of the group as a whole, these stories
intricate subplots they can connect with while an can ensure a connection to the overall story and can
overarching story is happening. It is also a good idea help their characters develop over time.
to remind the players who enjoy this style to include
players with other play styles in their conversations
as some may not speak up unless asked. Entertaining
An entertaining roleplaying style usually includes the
most jovial and excited players at the table. Excited
Intelligence Gathering to just be a part of the experience, players who enjoy
A player who prefers an intelligence gathering play the entertaining play style find joy in every character’s
style often hangs back in a scene, processing the ups and downs. This entertainment can often lead to
information they’re hearing. A player who enjoys this laughter and jokes that may or may not be related to
play style usually creates grand plans of things the the game. It is important to let these players know
group could do, but often waits to reveal these ideas when these comments and jokes are appropriate and
until they are asked their opinion. It might be easy when they aren’t. In addition, it is important that the
to interpret this play style as not paying attention or players who enjoy this style of play understand and
not attached to the game. In reality, players who like respect other players’ boundaries while playing.

104 CHAPTER 4.20

An entertaining roleplaying style usually leads to a making their characters as mechanically effective as
player finding story threads to follow, whether you possible. These players usually find game synergies
planned them or not. If this happens, it is okay to and enhancements for their character that ensure
develop the plot that they’ve attached to or created they are usually successful at what they want to
as it enriches their game experience. Another way do. It is typical that this style enjoys advancing their
to help a player with an entertaining play style is to characters to make them even more efficient.
include comedic moments in your story. Creating
a safe moment where a player can laugh in-game While gamemastering a group that includes
could show them that you will give them times to someone with a protocoling roleplaying style, you
laugh and enjoy situations on a regular basis with- can employ a few strategies to help them engage
out detracting from the story. with the story instead of just the rules. First, if a
question ever arises about the rules, allow the
player to share their interpretation with the group.
Defending This will help them contribute in a way that helps
A player with a defending roleplaying style can them feel important. Another way to engage a player
often seem like they are complaining, but this is with the protocoling style is to give them some
just the way they process how the game interacts tasks that they are good at and others that their
with their character. A defending roleplaying style statistics aren’t the best for. This makes the game
leads players to become concerned about things like seem challenging at times while allowing them to
taking damage, breaking rules, and even manag- succeed easily in other situations. Also consider
ing resources. In Star Trek Adventures, this can using the Glory advancement system out of the The
sometimes happen when determining when to use Klingon Empire core rulebook or the medals in The
Momentum or Threat, or even using a ship’s power Command Division supplemental rulebook to make
reserves. In some cases, a player with a defending the player feel like their characters are improving.
style may even call players out for things they didn’t
do during an encounter. This often comes down to
an attachment to their character and not wanting Tactical
them to die. Most players who roleplay this way care Players with a tactical roleplay style yearn for battle,
about their characters and don’t want to see them be it person to person or ship to ship. This play
challenged or fail. style can sometimes manifest in creating physical
conflicts when other options are on the table. This
The key to helping a player with a defending style can be a concern when running a Starfleet game as
enjoy your game is building trust. This can be done diplomacy is often the most common tactic used.
by showing them that encounters can be dangerous When tactical situations arise, players who prefer
but not always deadly. You can also show a player this play style are in their element, and it often
who prefers this style how complications make a shows in their excitement.
game session more interesting. Another idea is to
have the players who like the defending style focus It seems obvious that someone who enjoys tactical
more on their values and how they can change over roleplaying would probably enjoy a Klingon-focused
time instead of their injuries or Momentum and story over a Starfleet one. However, there are some
Threat management. steps you can take in a Starfleet story to give this
play style the excitement they yearn for. First, there
are plenty of Starfleet stories that have had major
Protocoling space battles. You could easily add one of these in
Players with a protocoling roleplay style often know every now and then to change things up and give
every rule of the game, sometimes even better than this play style some excitement. Another option is
you. Protocoling stylists often enjoy the mechanics to use non-sentient creatures or robotic protectors
of the game as much as the stories being told. while on an away mission instead of a first contact
This style of roleplaying also lends itself to players species. While these situations don’t have to happen

T O B O L D LY G O 105
 in every mission, they can help a player who enjoys consider having a holodeck training scene for
the tactical style to connect to the story in ways players who enjoy tactical roleplaying to give them a
they enjoy. If you can’t make these scenarios work, chance to do what they like.

MEETING EVERYONE'S NEEDS

THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN MAKING YOUR GAME around them at one time. Processing these stimuli
accessible to all players will require adjusting some all at once can take a player’s focus away from the
things about how you run. From physical disabilities game and cause them to become overwhelmed.
to comfort preferences, the key is to communicate If a player tells you they have difficulty processing
with each player about any additional needs they sensory information, consider moving your table to
may have in order to create an enjoyable roleplaying a quieter place and set table rules about cross-talk,
experience. It is important to not make assumptions side conversations, and speaking over one another.
about any player and to instead talk with them about If playing online, check with each of your players
what is appropriate. that the platform meets their needs.

Players with sensory difficulties sometimes benefit

Sensory Differences from things like character handouts and maps and
Some players may process sensory inputs differ- miniatures. Again, don’t assume this is always the
ently than others. In some cases, this can lead to case, as others may become more overwhelmed
stress for the player if there is too much happening with these additional stimuli or may not find them

DIFFICULT PLAYERS
There may be a time where a player in your If the behaviors continue to disrupt and distract
group becomes difficult to manage and redirect. from the group, have another private meeting,
This behavior can manifest in multiple ways, and explain your observations. In addition, give
such as trying to control another player’s the player some ideas and strategies on how to
actions, complaining about rules interpretations, avoid being difficult while playing with a group.
or even breaking the group’s trust. A difficult It often helps to share how their actions are
player becomes problematic if they continually making things less fun for the group.
try to manipulate the players and the game,
making it less fun for the rest of the group. If things still don’t get any better, you may need
to consider removing the problematic player
Usually, difficult players aren’t being difficult on from the group. Delivering this information to
purpose and may not realize they are making the player is always difficult, but the future of
the game less fun for the group. For this reason, your group might rely on it. During this conver-
it is important not to call them out on every little sation, lay out why things aren’t working for the
thing they do, especially in front of the group. As group, and explain how you came to this deci-
everyone has a bad day, it is best to presume sion. It often helps to have specific examples of
positive intentions with the player and check in things the player did in the game, and to remind
with them privately. them they’ve had several chances to change
their behaviors. 
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106 CHAPTER 4.20

helpful. If the player is blind, use as many descrip- the team that isn’t being focused on can meet
tive words as you can when laying out a scene and together and plan what they are going to do in their
encourage the other players to as well. next scene. Alternatively, you could encourage the
players not in the active scene to play a supporting
character in the active scene, so that they can be
Attention Span involved and not separated from the group.
Many players who love roleplaying games have
difficulties maintaining attention, especially over
long periods of time. If you have players who have Education Level
these difficulties, especially younger players, be sure It is possible that you might have players who have
to add breaks to your game. Give players a chance difficulty with reading or doing basic math. While
to stand and stretch or get a snack if needed. You this is more common when younger players are at
can also help someone whose mind is wandering by the table, it is possible that adults may have some
asking them questions about a scene directly and of the same difficulties. This topic can be extremely
engaging their character. sensitive to some people, so it is important to not
call it out in front of the group. If you think one of
Another thing that can capture a player’s attention is your players is having difficulty reading handouts
splitting the group into an away team and a bridge or figuring out their target number for a dice roll,
crew. If a player whose attention tends to wander approach them privately and ask how you can help.
isn’t in the group that is the focus of the scene, they Don’t assume anything before having these private
might disengage entirely from the story. One way conversations, but make sure you accommodate the
to address this is to find a separate place where player so they can engage with the game and story.

CHEATING
If you ever suspect a player might be cheating, playing the game. When you speak to the player
they probably don’t even realize that they are. For who is cheating, remind them that Star Trek
this reason, it is best to approach the player as a Adventures is about co-storytelling where the
teacher and not an accuser. Ask the player if they players work together to create an interesting
added their abilities together correctly or if they story. If a character stumbles, others are there
really had an appropriate focus for their character to pick them up. Let the player who cheated
role. You could even confirm that they understand know that their actions deter from the fun and
their talents correctly or if they totalled up their focus of the other players at the table.
challenge dice roll appropriately.
Ultimately, you are responsible for addressing
Rarely, you might encounter a player who is cheating in your game. While doing so, remem-
cheating knowingly and on purpose. Consider ber to be calm and ask questions instead of
discussing with the group what the expecta- accusing the player. Through your guidance and
tions are for this kind of discussion. Will you talk mentorship, the behavior should stop in a short
to the player in front of the group or privately? amount of time. You are, after all, a teacher and
This should be determined before you start a facilitator, not a dictator. 
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T O B O L D LY G O 107
 CHAPTER 04.30

YO UR FI RST
VOY AGE
“ This is a ne w ship, but sh e’s g ot th e rig h t n am e.”

— ADM . LE ONARD M CCOY

SESSION 0
ONCE YOU’VE ASSEMBLED A GROUP OF PLAYERS, IT regular contact to share ideas, make announcements,
is time for your first session together. This session and coordinate logistical concerns outside of your
is the most important meeting you will have with regular gaming sessions. You might exchange email
your players, as it will set the tone and expectations
for the group moving forward. Often referred to as
Session 0, use this meeting to establish ground
rules, determine which era you will be playing in, PLAYER EXPECTATIONS
and design the group’s cast of characters and star- To help you connect with your players and
ship or space station. Your goal during this session establish the group’s expectations, each
is to guide the group through this process together, player should be given the opportunity to
and to answer any questions they might have in answer the following questions as honestly
regard to the rules and the story you want to run. as they can. If a player isn’t comfortable
answering any of these questions or
answering them in front of the group, give
Expectations them a chance to share privately with you
The first thing you should do is give each player a after the session.
chance to introduce themselves, explain their per-
sonal roleplaying expectations, and express what they § What is your name and pronoun
hope to get out of the game. It is a good idea for you preference?
to take notes and make them available to all players,
§ What is your connection to Star Trek?
as they will serve as the foundation for your game
moving forward. This interaction is the first step to § What are you not comfortable with in a
building trust within the group. In addition to making roleplaying game?
this information available to everyone, you should
§ What do you enjoy about roleplaying?
reference this information while preparing sessions to
find a way to engage the players in satisfying ways. § What accommodations might you
need to fully access the content being
presented?
Forms of Communication § What types of plots do you not want to
Session 0 is also a good opportunity to establish the
be part of? 
best means of communication with your gaming
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group. Your group most likely will need to stay in

108 CHAPTER 4.30

 COMING TO A CONSENSUS
As your group discusses what they want the Encourage your players to explain why they think
game to look like, it is important that all players something will be fun and beneficial to the group
have a chance to share what they think and when making a decision. This opens up the con-
how they feel about things. If one player starts versation to others and provides a visual of what
to dominate the conversation and puts pressure potential their ideas have. This might also give
on the others, it is up to you to dial them back other players ideas of things they’d like to see or
and ask for additional input from the other even illuminate the possibilities to players who
players. That said, if one player is fine with any aren’t as familiar with the Star Trek universe. 
options generated, it is perfectly fine for them to
abstain from giving ideas.
04302

addresses; set up a group text; communicate via Roleplaying games require some improvisation and
social media; or even create and maintain a game collaboration. The sometimes-unpredictable nature
forum, wiki, or server. Poor communication can doom of the hobby can create situations where you and
a campaign to a premature end, so it’s worth your your players might be exposed to ideas, themes,
group’s time to figure out the best way for everyone and situations that trigger discomfort or emotional
to stay in touch outside of gaming sessions. distress. Session 0 gives every participant an oppor-
tunity to establish clear communication about what
they are and are not comfortable with.
Safety and Consent
It is important to understand that roleplaying can be Note that if you’re playing a game at an event or
an intensely personal experience. Players join a game convention, you may not have the time for a Session
placing a strong amount of trust in each other – trust 0. Therefore, it’s important to publish or check for
that the story you will be creating together will be content warnings, so that you and your players have
a good experience, and that everyone’s personal an idea of what to expect at the table.
boundaries will be respected by all involved. It is
critical to ensure that everyone playing with you feels
safe and comfortable in their gaming experience.

“BUT WE DON’T NEED SAFETY RULES!”

You might think there is nothing objectionable Truth is, you likely don’t know all your fellow
in your game, but the Star Trek franchise players’ histories or inner lives. An element you
has dealt with a lot of difficult topics over its might not think is problematic might be trigger-
lifetime. While the franchise usually operates ing for another player. Often, you or the players
below a “mature audiences only” level of may not react to something right away, and
language and violence (harkening back to its emotions might strike later in the session. Err
roots as a network television show), some epi- on the side of caution – no player should have
sodes, scenes, and situations across the fran- to “get over it” for the sake of continuing the
chise’s hundreds of hours are more intensely game session. Remember, everyone at the table
graphic, violent, or disturbing, and these may is there to have fun. The amount of effort that is
be upsetting for some individuals. required for everyone to play safely is minimal
and can avoid the campaign ending badly. 
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T O B O L D LY G O 109
 HARD AND SOFT NO’S § Sitting back, as if trying to pull away
A strong way to start your campaign from a safe
§ Nervous laughter
place is to discuss the tone you want from the game,
setting the expectations of the game you want to § Prolonged silence
experience. Some players may want to delve into
grittier, darker themes, while others may prefer to If you notice these, call for a pause and check in
lean into humor. Any option is fine, but what matters with your group – ask if they are happy to con-
is the group knowing what they’re in for. Be sure that tinue. If anyone seems hesitant, you should stop.
everybody is happy before you start playing. A player does not need to outwardly say that they
are unhappy – people often feel put on the spot and
Ask your players if there are any situations that may not answer honestly in the heat of the moment.
they would not want to approach in the game, or If you’re unsure, be cautious and keep checking
any topics they don’t like. If a player has a topic in. You shouldn’t have to rely on a player to catch
which is a “hard no,” then everyone should strive these cues; if you see something happening or feel
to ensure that topic never comes up in the game. something is off, say something.
Common “hard no’s” in Star Trek include child
abuse, animal abuse, sexual assault, and unwilling HANDLING DISCOMFORT
bodily or mental possession. When a player signals that they are uncomfortable
with a subject, some people at the table may be
Soft “no’s” are subjects that players might be fine tempted to ask why or enquire what it is about the
with but prefer not to engage with directly in the content that the player found objectionable. This
game. Think of these as “off-screen” or “fade to should be avoided – someone who has come to a
black” events. Common soft “no’s” in Star Trek game night will find little enjoyment in being quizzed
might include sexual encounters and substance about their fears or phobias. Everyone at the table
abuse. You should approach these subjects with should strive to be respectful of their fellow players.
considerable care and with attention to players’
consent, often only referencing them in passing. Sometimes somebody may discover that they are
uncomfortable about something only once it comes
Be aware, however, that these preferences can up and it’s important to recognize this. A player
change over time, so always consider them subject may have stated that they are fine with intense
to alteration. Check in with your players and adjust violence, only to discover that those descriptions
accordingly, and encourage them to check in with are uncomfortable for them. If this does occur
you and each other as needed. mid-game, treat it as you would any other discom-
fort and adapt your game accordingly. After the
READING THE ROOM session, you should take a moment to touch base
If you are playing the game in person and are with your group to gauge if they are comfortable
approaching a subject that might be difficult, it’s with the game, check if there are any issues, and,
important to slow the pace of the scene so that you above all, if they’re still having fun.
can get a good reading of how the group is feeling.
If you are playing online, you can do the same
via webcam or by listening carefully to the audio Choosing a Faction
stream. There are many signs that a player might With both the Starfleet core rulebook and The
give which could indicate that they are not entirely Klingon Empire core rulebook, there are multiple
comfortable with how a scene is progressing. These options for which faction’s point of view your players
could include: can choose from. While it might initially feel like
these two options narrow down the types of role-
§ Crossing their arms over their body playing that players can experience, both Klingon
and Starfleet games allow for all types of roleplaying
§ Glancing to the side or away from the main group

110 CHAPTER 4.30

and can provide the experiences your players prefer,
albeit from different perspectives.
COMMON FACTION PLOTS
In addition to these core rulebooks, Star Trek
While your players discuss which faction
Adventures can be adapted to many points of view
they’d like to play in your game, explain to
with a little work on your part. From the Maquis to
them how plot focuses may be different
the Fenris Rangers to the Emerald Chain, the faction
among the factions. Here are some ideas
options are vast, and you can even use, combine,
for faction plot focuses:
or ignore rules from both core rulebooks to make
the faction your players choose feel unique. It is
§ Starfleet – exploration, diplomacy,
important to tell your players that some factions
scientific discovery
might take away from the Star Trek tone and ideals.
While these things are an important emphasis in the § Klingon Defense Force – border
game, feel free to run with whatever faction your disputes, technological advancements,
players are interested in. glorious battle
§ Civilian – business expansion,
It is entirely possible to run a completely civil-
political rivalries, law enforcement,
ian-based game if you wish. Using the new roles
religious endeavors
featured in the Player’s Guide, your players can
take on the duties of an individual freight trans- § Maquis – military operations, rebellion,
porter or even a private business’s mobile space espionage
dock with relative ease. A civilian-based game will
§ M.A.C.O. – security details, tactical
require some additional planning on your part, but
training, special operations 
easily falls within the capabilities of the Star Trek
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Adventures ruleset.

T O B O L D LY G O 111
 Finding Consensus But not every story must adhere to this bright and
optimistic tone, even though we often think of it as
on Tone and Era the default tone for Star Trek. Games can just as
There’s an entire Galaxy of stories waiting to be easily make use of themes and story elements that
told with Star Trek Adventures, but before you can introduce shades of gray into the mix. For instance,
lay in a course for excitement and fun, you have to campaigns set against the backdrop of a bloody
decide where and when in the Galaxy your story interstellar war, such as the Dominion War or the
takes place. Determining the era and tone for your conflict with the Klingons, most likely will take on
campaign are big decisions that will influence the a bleaker tone. Or a player might decide to play an
kind of stories you tell and the experiences you’ll admiral in the upper echelons of Starfleet who must
share with your players. Are you most interested in make difficult choices that affect the populations of
a starship-based, action-adventure romp during the multiple worlds.
2260s? Or maybe you’d prefer a more methodical,
introspective campaign set after the synth attack There’s no one way to tell a Star Trek story. The
on Mars in 2385. Maybe you want to take on the franchise has been a vehicle for everything from
roles of temporal agents who visit a different era deep character studies to contemporary social
every mission. All of these stories and many more commentary to high-octane action and adventure
await you in Star Trek Adventures, but some might to side-splitting comedy. Some episodes combine
appeal to your group more than others. Everyone some or all of these elements into a single story.
in your group should give these questions some All of these options can result in compelling game
thought and then try to come to a consensus before experiences for you and your group, and there’s no
play begins. Let’s look at a few considerations you single right or wrong answer for what kind of tone
should account for when making these decisions. your Star Trek Adventures game should strike.
Rather, it comes down to a matter of taste.
TONE
Tone is simply the word often used to describe how That’s why it’s important for you to discuss the
a campaign feels and the kinds of themes it is likely kind of tone you’re most interested in early on with
to utilize. Star Trek often showcases a bright and your players, before the campaign even begins.
optimistic tone in its largely positive depiction of Establishing a consensus increases the likelihood
humanity’s future. Human beings have made great that everyone will be happy with the feel of the
strides toward eliminating poverty, greed, prejudice, campaign and won’t end up in situations that make
and many of the other ills that have marred Human them uncomfortable or frustrated. Those lines of
history. This depiction of the Human adventure communication should stay open throughout the
strikes a hopeful tone that has inspired millions campaign as well. Campaigns evolve, just like a
of Star Trek fans throughout the years, and you television series. Many gamemasters and players
may want to emulate that feeling in your Star Trek enjoy experimenting with different tones over the
Adventures game. course of the campaign to keep the game from feel-
ing stale. Be honest and open with your group about
You can do this by encouraging players to create what kind of tone appeals to you, while keeping in
characters who strive to do right and who adhere mind that others may have different ideas.
to a code of ethics that enshrines noninterference,
peaceful exploration, and scientific advancement ERA
as core principles. Many of the main characters of Just as with tone, Star Trek has told stories across
various Star Trek series aim for these standards. many different eras in its fictional universe, span-
They may occasionally make mistakes, misjudge a ning thousands of years within the Star Trek uni-
situation, or compromise their principles, but they’re verse. Your group should seek consensus on the era
unquestionably the heroes of their story, and their best suited for the stories you want to tell. Chapter
actions make the Galaxy a better place. 3 takes you on a brief tour of Star Trek eras, and
you can set your game at any point on that timeline,

112 CHAPTER 4.30

or even somewhen else if your group so chooses. one another. During this process, it is important to
Review that chapter and note options that appeal to encourage your players to discuss how and why
you, and discuss them with your players. they came to be in Starfleet or the Klingon Defense
Force, and what type of stories they’d like to tell
You should keep in mind that the era you choose with their characters.
can influence the sort of missions the characters
are likely to take on. For instance, is your group The first step in the process is for the players
interested in an era defined by a major conflict, such to determine which roles they would like to fill.
as war with the Dominion or Klingons? Would they These roles usually represent senior staff on
prefer an era before the Borg threat overshadowed board a ship and reflect the job the characters are
much of Starfleet’s other priorities? The era also responsible for. Each role comes with a special
affects the kind of supporting cast and antagonists ability that represents the character’s training
that might be available for your game as well. For and the departments they are in charge of. These
instance, many of the worlds that eventually join roles, and the abilities they grant, can be found in
the United Federation of Planets were still unknown the core rulebook on pages 126–127 and in The
to Starfleet in the 2150s, when the first NX-class Klingon Empire core rulebook on pages 115–116.
starships took flight. If a player wants to play a lower-ranking character
who doesn’t have a role on the senior staff, they
should still determine which department they will
Creating Characters be a part of. Note that there are additional roles
Once your crew has selected the faction they want detailed in the three division supplemental rule-
to play in as well as the tone and era of play for the books and in the Player’s Guide.
game, it is time for them to build their characters.
This part of your first meeting will help create a Once you have roles figured out, it is time for your
dynamic crew with interconnecting backstories and players to go through the lifepath process. This
abilities that will both complement and conflict with seven-step process will generate a highly-detailed

T O B O L D LY G O 113
 character for each player. If any of your players have 3. LAUDED BY ANOTHER CULTURE
created characters before, they may wish to complete § The culture that the character helped in the
this process on their own, but newer players will past is under a new threat.
benefit from working through the process together.
§ When the character next meets the culture,
the character is hated for some reason.
It is important to emphasize to your players that
each step of the lifepath process can create plots § The culture that loves the character has
strings for stories and can be used to determine if started taking over other planets with their
their characters have met prior to the start of the military and subjugating the people on
game. While connecting a backstory to one or two them.
other characters makes sense, it isn’t often that
every member of a bridge crew knew each other 4. NEGOTIATE A TREATY
before they were assigned to their vessel. § The culture that the character helped nego-
tiate a treaty with has been seen breaking
Perhaps the most important parts of the lifepath the treaty.
process are the career events. Often showing up
in their values, career events are defining moments
§ The company that signed an agreement
brokered by the character has stopped
in the player characters’ lives. These events often
following it.
provide many plot possibilities that you can use
to create character arcs within your story. Some § The culture the character made an official
character arc starters for each career event are alliance with has completely disappeared.
listed below.
5. REQUIRED TO TAKE COMMAND
1. SHIP DESTROYED § The leader the character took over for has
§ A crewmember who the character thought gone rogue and is actively working against
died on the ship shows up mysteriously the character’s ship.
while they are on shore leave.
§ The mission the character was on when
§ The vessel that destroyed the character’s they took charge failed and the fallout is
ship shows up and offers to aid their new happening now.
ship.
§ When the character took command of the
§ The character dreams every night about ship, they did a better job than the previous
the five minutes before their ship was commanding officer and caused a rift
destroyed and discovers something about among its crew.
the event that nobody else knows.
6. ENCOUNTER WITH A TRULY ALIEN BEING
2. DEATH OF A FRIEND § The alien changed the character at a quan-
§ The character discovers that their actions tum level, giving them strange abilities.
were responsible for the friend’s death.
§ The alien’s species has begun taking over a
§ The character begins seeing temporal small star system.
echoes of their friend.
§ The being reached out of a new dimension
§ The character is placed on a similar mission that the character often has visions of.
to the one that go their friend killed.
7. SERIOUS INJURY
§ The injury caused the character to wear
a device or prosthetic that doubles as a
tracking device for an evil species looking
for them.

114 CHAPTER 4.30

 § The person that caused the character’s 12. BETRAYED IDEAL FOR A SUPERIOR
injury is now an ambassador on the ship. § A JAG officer shows up on the ship to
investigate the player’s betrayal of ideals.
§ While injured, the character was in a coma.
While in the coma, they had visions of an § An enemy manipulates the character the
event that hasn’t happened yet. same way their superior did to try and get
them to betray their ideal again.
8. CONFLICT WITH A HOSTILE CULTURE
§ The character discovers the superior was
§ During the battle, the enemy leader got a not who they thought they were when they
direct look at the character and has now
betrayed their ideal.
sent assassins after them.

§ The hostile culture the character engaged 13. CALLED OUT A SUPERIOR
with has sent out a distress call. § The character got a rank demotion for
calling out the superior and is trying to work
§ The hostile culture is pretending to turn
their way up on a new ship.
over a new leaf and the character is called
in to help sign a peace agreement, only to § The superior they called out requests aid
be taken advantage of. from the character and their ship.

9. MENTORED
§ Calling out the superior led to a failed
mission and now the character is on a
§ The character’s mentor has been similar one.
kidnapped.

§ The character’s mentor has fallen gravely ill 14. NEW BATTLE STRATEGY
and requests something of the character. § When battling an enemy, the enemy mimics
the strategy the player created.
§ The character decides to mentor another
character and is struggling to do the same § The battle strategy the character created
job their mentor did. was used by an alien species when taking
over multiple starbases.
10. TRANSPORTER ACCIDENT
§ The character attempts the strategy in
§ The character’s quantum structure another situation, and it fails horribly
becomes corrupted, and they can now
because the enemy somehow knew it
phase through walls.
was coming.
§ The character was stuck in a pattern buffer
for over a hundred years and is now trying 15. LEARNS UNIQUE LANGUAGE
to adapt to the future. § While using similar language to the one
they learned, the character accidentally
§ The character is terrified of transporters
angers a new alien species.
and refuses to use them while conscious.
§ Using the language they learned, the char-
11. DEALING WITH A PLAGUE acter is able to figure out another species’
§ The character starts showing signs of having language.
a plague they tried to stop years ago.
§ The ship picks up a message coming
§ The plague the character helped stop has from the aliens the character learned the
mutated and returned. language from that suggests the language
is a form of programming code.
§ A group within the society the character
helped has begun withholding the cure for
the disease and marketing it for profit.

T O B O L D LY G O 115
 16. DISCOVERS AN ARTIFACT 18. SOLVED AN ENGINEERING CRISIS
§ The artifact begins speaking to the player § The adjustments the character made to the
and asks them to do things for it. system have been silently corrupting other
systems over the past several months.
§ The artifact fits together with several others
that have been found to become a key to § Another character tried to fix a problem the
deciphering an ancient mystery. same way the character did, and it ended
badly for them.
§ The artifact belongs to a slumbering enemy
species that have awoken to reclaim it. § The solution the character used was stolen
by an enemy and turned into a weapon.
17. SPECIAL COMMENDATION
§ The event that preceded the player getting 19. BREAKTHROUGH OR INVENTION
their commendation was their fault. § After integrating the player’s invention into
their society, an alien species has become
§ The records of the player receiving this
infected with an unknown sickness.
commendation have gone missing and
nobody seems to remember the event § While doing research on the scientific
happening. breakthrough, a previously unknown alien
threat emerges.
§ The commendation was given to the char-
acter to keep them quiet about the details § When the breakthrough was made, the
of the event. character unknowingly created a jealous
nemesis who is now hunting them down.

116 CHAPTER 4.30

20. FIRST CONTACT story could explain a longer commission for the
§ After the player makes first contact with a spaceframe your players choose.
new species, an enemy learns the species
has resources they need and is planning After your players have determined which space-
an attack. frame they want to use, they should determine the
ship’s mission profile. The ship’s mission profile will
§ The new species the character met is from
set it apart from other ships of the same type of
a dimension that they cannot return to; in
spaceframe. In many ways, the mission profile is the
addition, the species discovers that the
foundation of the stories the players will experience.
player characters’ dimension is harmful to
That said, your group should be ready to meet any
their physiology.
challenge that they come across, even if doesn’t
§ An entire species showed up at the Galaxy’s directly relate to their ship’s mission profile.
edge seeking amnesty. The character is
slowly trying to find planets for the aliens Once your players have decided on a spaceframe,
to inhabit. they should create a name and backstory to go
along with it. This story will be represented by the
starship’s traits. All starships have at least one trait
Creating the Starship that explains what culture it originated from. Some
Once your players have created their characters ships have additional traits based on the ship’s lon-
together, it is time to create one additional key gevity, lore, and commission. These traits can inform
character: their starship (or space station, if you’re how other species may interact with your players’
running a station-based game). Choosing which ship and provide additional plot hooks for you to use
spaceframe they’d like to use is the first thing when creating your stories. Though your players can
players should decide when creating their ship. Each create any traits the like, some sample traits can be
spaceframe presented in the core rulebooks and found in the core rulebook on page 253 and in The
The Command Division supplemental rulebook has Klingon Empire core rulebook on pages 230–231.
the date it entered service at the beginning of its
entry. This date will correlate to a time period of one The next thing your players should do is determine
of various eras of play. In general, spaceframes are which talents the ship will have. A spaceframe has a
in service for around a hundred years, but a good number of talents equal to its Scale, but remind your

PLAYING ON A STARBASE, SPACE STATION, OR OUTPOST

Your game might take place on a setting other heft, as well as provide story elements for
than a starship. Some alternative options future sessions to draw on.
might include a starbase, space station, or a
planetary outpost. In these cases, you may not You might also want to spend some time
have to choose a spaceframe or assign refits discussing how your setting feels. Does it have
as you would aboard a starship, but you should the welcoming, comfortable feel common to
still treat your chosen setting as you would a modern Federation facilities? Or is it purely
distinct character. You might want to invent utilitarian in design? Does your setting feel well
a brief history of your setting to give it some maintained, or is it a little rough around the
depth. Filling in details about how long the set- edges? Discussing these questions with your
ting has existed, who built it, and what notable players can help make your setting feel like a
events may have occurred there in the past real, immersive place. 
can grant your campaign a sense of historical
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T O B O L D LY G O 117
 players that any talents granted by their mission make the game experience safe and enjoyable for
profile count toward the total number of talents the all involved.
ship can have. Talents represent special abilities
and upgrades your ship might have. A talent can You’re ready to leave Spacedock. It’s time to see
be taken as long as your players’ ship meets any what’s out there.
necessary requirements it may have. Explanations
of these talents can be found in the core rulebook
on pages 255–257 and in The Klingon Empire core SESSION 0 CHECKLIST
rulebook on pages 228-230.

TOPICS TO DISCUSS
Make sure your players know that these talents
Use this session zero checklist to help
can help with many parts of the game, not just in
you work through your first meeting with
ship-to-ship combat scenarios. It sometimes helps
your group.
to consider starship talents in five categories: offen-
sive, defensive, maneuvering, power management,
and non-combat. Your players may wish to have
ˆ Scheduling and establishing best
channels for communication
talents from each category or focus them all in one.
Each ship is unique in this regard and there is no ˆ Player introductions and expectations
wrong way of deciding which talents are taken.
ˆ Safety and consent
ˆ Campaign tone and era
Ready for Departure
As you can see, Star Trek Adventures upholds the
ˆ Choose a faction
IDIC philosophy by supporting a diverse, virtually ˆ Character concepts
limitless range of possibilities. Going over the topics
contained in this section should help you and your
ˆ Complete lifepath process together
gaming group establish consensus on the tone, era, ˆ Choose roles
and scope of your Star Trek Adventures adventure
or campaign. Further, you should be ready to work
ˆ Choose a spaceframe
with your players to create a setting that fits those ˆ Choose a mission profile
qualities. You also have the tools you need to help
players create believable characters with some
ˆ Name the ship and give it traits
depth and detailed career events, and you know ˆ Choose ship talents 
what to expect from Session 0, including how to 04206

118 CHAPTER 4.30

 CHAPTER 04.40

RUNNI NG
T HE GAM E
“ It ’s a ga me . Rik er b rou g h t it b ack from Risa.
Eve r ybo d y’s p layin g it. Wan t to tr y?”

— DR. BE V E RLY CR USHE R

YOUR GROUP HAS BUILT CHARACTERS AND TOOK with the basic rules of the game and have agreed
the time to flesh out their background and personality. upon the table rules and safety tools you’ll use.
You know the ship or station on which the crew will
serve. You and your players have familiarized yourself It is now time to run the game.

EFFECTIVE GAMEMASTERING
REVIEW THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS ON EFFECTIVE You can then add in the more detailed rules for social
gamemastering, which build upon the chapters on and physical combat, starship combat, extended
gamemastering in the core rulebooks. tasks, and more. Just remember that you don’t have
to go into your first session or adventure with com-
plete knowledge of the entire game system.
Start with the Basics
Between the core rulebook of your choice and this
guide, there is a wealth of gamemaster advice you Be Engaged
can review and absorb to help you run an effective There are some best practices that you can use to
and entertaining Star Trek Adventures mission. enhance each gaming session, all as part of being a
However, you shouldn’t feel like you must memorize collaborative, engaged gamer. Consider the follow-
all the contents and rules before running your first ing advice to be an engaging storyteller.
session. Start with the basics, and build from there.
ALWAYS ASK “WHY”
If nothing else, learn how task resolution works, A story dies without motivation, whether it is the
and what parts of it you are responsible for. The drive to discover new worlds and new civilizations, to
vast majority of your game sessions will consist see things no other being has seen, or to reunite the
of your players roleplaying and asking to attempt shattered fragments of a millennium-old Federation.
specific tasks, and you telling them the attribute
and discipline combination to use, as well as the This is the “why” factor. Every adventure should
task’s Difficulty level. With that foundation, you include a why. Why are Lokai and Bele at odds
can then add in the rules for Momentum, Threat, even though they are the last two beings in their
Determination, assists, and traits, showing players civilization (Star Trek, “Let That Be Your Last
how task attempts can be modified or manipulated. Battlefield”?) Why won’t the Sikarrians provide their
spatial trajectory technology (Star Trek: Voyager,

T O B O L D LY G O 119
 “Prime Factors”)? Why is the Red Angel appearing in solution. These solutions tend to be more innovative
seemingly random locations throughout the Galaxy and gratifying than responding to every problem
(Star Trek: Discovery, “The Red Angel”)? with a volley of photon torpedoes.

The central premise of the game is to unravel the JUST DO IT

mysteries of the universe by asking why. To compre- You might be running an RPG for the first time.
hend alien worlds and species, you and your players Consequently, you may worry about what is and is
must ask why they act and think the way that they not possible in the game. You may have made the
do. If your crew’s vessel is being attacked, players mistake of trying to memorize all the rules before
might ask why they are being viewed as a threat or your first gaming session and are feeling over-
enemy. Unlike some RPGs, confrontations in Star whelmed. You may be worried that your players will
Trek Adventures are not often solved by who has make a choice in-game that will wreck some point
the greatest strength or most powerful weapons. of canonical lore.
Problems are usually solved when the motivating
factor leading to a conflict is discovered and then Relax.
resolved. This could mean negotiating resources
between two warring factions, unearthing deep- Put the core rulebook and your knowledge of the
set prejudices built into a society, or decoding the franchise aside for a moment. This simple tip will
programming in a weapon of mass destruction. make your gaming experience imminently better:
just do it, one task at a time, one scene at a time.
Players should actively pursue understanding the Let the story build gradually, based on the actions
relevance of a mission and their role in it. It is more the players take and whether they succeed or fail at
important to understand the cause of an issue, not task attempts.
merely looking at the effect. Once the “why” of the
problem is discerned, the crew has a better chance Tell your players what attribute and discipline com-
of figuring out what to do or how best to create a bination is required to attempt a task, the Difficulty

120 CHAPTER 4.40

of the roll, and any other pertinent information. You after gaming sessions to discuss the path they want
do not need to say “no” to a task. You should simply their characters to take, either in the next session or
increase the Difficulty of the task to represent how adventure, or farther into the campaign.
challenging it will be for the character to succeed.
On a grander scale, work with your players to form
For example, you might tell a player that rerouting story arcs for their characters. A story arc is an
power is a Power Management task that requires ongoing storyline. The story would unfold over many
a Daring or Control + Engineering task with a episodes on a television program. In the game, your
Difficulty of 2. However, the ship might be on its players may want to develop their characters in a
last iota of power and they may say, “I want to similar fashion. Really significant changes do not
draw power from the nearby star to recharge our occur in one mission. True growth takes time. Your
life support and engines.” You might make this a could agree to spotlight a specific character in an
Difficulty 4 task to make it more challenging and to upcoming adventure, and plan to rotate the spotlight
encourage the player to seek assistance from their from character to character over the course of a
fellow players. season’s worth of stories.

There could come a time when a player pushes the In the same vein, you should also meet with the
limits of logic in game terms. They may say, “I want group to discuss where they want the story to go.
to use the power of a star that is two light-years Are they going to remain on a space station or
away to recharge our entire vessel so that we are in ship? Are they exploring the borders of the known
battle ready condition in one hour.” In this case, you Galaxy or serving in a diplomatic role among other
might say that this is impossible, though you could Federation members? Is it a time of war or a time of
use an NPC to offer suggestions, or let the players peace? Does the crew want to discover new worlds
spend some time brainstorming possibilities. and new civilizations or test out new technologies?
Do they want to focus on one primary character,
highlight a few key officers, or rotate the spotlight
Encourage Players among the characters?
to be Co-Writers
You play an essential role in the development of your
players’ characters. Meet with players before and

EFFECTIVELY USING VIRTUAL TABLETOPS

THE FACE OF ROLEPLAYING GAMES IS GRADUALLY time to play. They may not be able to dedicate three
changing. When roleplaying games were launched or four hours to a gaming session at one sitting.
in the 1970s and 1980s, it was common to find They might prefer to play in shorter intervals.
a bunch of friends huddled around a table with Inconsistent and irregular RPG sessions may inhibit
miniatures, maps, and dice. With the advent of the truly rich character development.
internet and players scattered geographically apart,
new ways have developed that enable gamers to get Due to these challenges, some gamemasters
together and play games. Gaming across states and have shifted their game into a virtual environment.
continents is now possible using internet applica- Some use interactive gaming platforms, message
tions and virtual tabletops. boards, phones, email, or applications that
enable communication.
Matching schedules with players who are scattered
across different states, countries, and time zones Some may find playing in an online campaign as
can prove challenging. Some people have limited easy as text messaging. Players can post their

T O B O L D LY G O 121
 actions, chat in and out of character, and make rolls § Main play forum. This forum is meant to present
with virtual dice applications. Gamemasters can the ongoing story in narrative form. It explains the
post links and art from their home, local coffee shop, actions that both player characters and NPCs are
or while in transit. performing. All posts should be in character.
§ Out-of-character (OOC). Another forum should
Several virtual tabletop platforms allow voice and
be an out-of-character (OOC) forum. This is
video calls from your computer or smartphone. You
where players can chat, ask questions, strate-
can search for and find free applications. Some
gize, and joke around.
gamers like a virtual platform since many roleplay-
ing games, including Star Trek Adventures, provide § Actions. Dice rolls, Momentum spends, Threat,
PDF copies of their books and supplements. and complications can be tracked here, though
you might want to have a separate forum for
If you have purchased a core rulebook, download each element.
the digital file along with any supplements you need
to run the game. The printable PDF editions are Additional forums can be formed depending on the
searchable from smartphones. This is essential for needs of your group. You can create different rooms
you but optional for players, though players will do that allow characters to chat privately or break out
well to review the Player Guide to optimize their the crew into different scenes on the ship.
gaming experience. Download an online dice rolling
app. The group could decide that you should make Search popular social media sites if you are
all the dice rolls. interested in creating a virtual tabletop group. You
will find many eager people with similar interests
If possible, set up multiple forums with different pur- and matching schedules looking for a group to
poses. Here is a sample of the type of forums you join. Prepare to enjoy an entirely different kind of
might set up to enable clear and concise playing: roleplaying experience online.

122 CHAPTER 4.40

 CHAPTER 05.00

ST AR T R E K
STORYT E L L I N G
05.10 STAR TREK STORIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

05.20 MISSION-SCALE STORYTELLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

05.30 SEASON-SCALE STORYTELLING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

05.40 CAMPAIGN-SCALE STORYTELLING. . . . . . . . . . . . 149

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 123
 CHAPTER 05.10

STA R T RE K
STO RI E S
“O n c e u p o n a t ime , t he re w a s a Dal’Rok. An d it lives th ere,
i n t h e w o o d s, a nd he ha t e d t he vill ag e an d all of th e villag ers
a nd he w a nt ed to see th em d estroyed .”

— CHIE F M ILE S O’BRIE N

MANY WAYS TO TELL A STORY

Whether you are an experienced gamemaster and deliver a Star Trek Adventures story. Such
or new to the role, it’s likely you’re already a a thing does not exist. There are as many ways
storyteller at heart, with your own method of to tell a story as there are storytellers. Review
researching, building, and telling a story. This the contents of this chapter and use only what
chapter contains a wealth of advice related to makes sense for you to use, and either adapt or
storytelling in the Star Trek milieu, but does not ignore the rest of the contents as desired. 
(and cannot) present the only way to prepare
05101

STAR TREK STORYTELLING

STORYTELLING IS AN AMAZING ART FORM. to digest the concepts of racial equality, the power
Humanity has been obsessed with telling and of diversity, and the dream of humanity united to
recording stories for others to enjoy for as long as accomplish a shared goal.
we’ve been able to put our stories into some sort of
visible medium, be it a drawing on a cave wall, an Now, you have the power to join in that storytelling
illuminated manuscript, a printed book, or a filmed tradition. This chapter describes the storytelling
adventure. Stories stir the imagination. They have content available to you in the Star Trek Adventures
the power to capture a moment in time so that product line and how to adapt that content to your
others can travel forward or backward in time to live specific campaign and group of player characters.
out the experiences of others. In this way, they can It also discusses how to construct a Star Trek-style
teach empathy. One of the greatest abilities stories story from the ground up in a variety of lengths,
have is the power to educate. Gene Roddenberry, including standalone missions, a season’s worth of
the creator of Star Trek, knew this. missions, or an entire campaign.

Toward the end of the tumultuous 1960s, Star Trek

appeared on American television. It confronted A Universe of Content
provocative social issues, yet dressed them in the There are several formats in which story content
guise of science fiction. This enabled more people is provided to gamemasters through all the various

124 CHAPTER 5.10

official Star Trek Adventures products: campaigns sessions, since player characters would ideally
of various length, standalone missions, mission appear in most, if not all, the campaign’s adven-
briefs, and plot hooks. You can even combine these tures. With some adaptation, the various adventures
formats to create an endless array of adventures for within a published campaign can be split off from
your players. the campaign and used as standalone missions.

CAMPAIGNS STANDALONE MISSIONS

Campaigns are composed of multiple missions that Modiphius provides a large selection of standalone
link together to form a larger story arc, similar to how adventures that provide rich stories that may contain
many of the series offered story arcs that spanned extensive plot descriptions, battle maps, concept art,
one or more seasons, including Enterprise, Deep various NPCs, starships, equipment statistics, and
Space Nine, Discovery, and Picard. The campaigns more. Suggested tasks players would make when
contain an overall objective, as well as objectives for attempting an action are outlined in detail.
each component mission. The Shackleton Expanse
Campaign Guide provides an epic campaign in the Standalone adventures can be found in either digital
form of 10 linked full-length adventures plus dozens format or as part of a printed compilation (which
of mission briefs and plot hooks, all designed to work is also available digitally). There are two adventure
together to provide you and your group with countless compilations available: These are the Voyages
storytelling possibilities. The Starter Set and the (containing eight adventures) and Strange New
Tricorder Collector’s Box Set each contain a 3-part Worlds (containing nine adventures).
campaign that can stand alone or be adapted for use
in your ongoing campaign. Each standalone adventure, whether available indi-
vidually or in a collection, can be altered in whatever
Campaign play makes sense if you are interested in way you see fit. You have full creative license to
running an extended story and you have a group of make sure your player characters stand out. You
dedicated players who can regularly attend gaming also may choose to alter the era, species, general

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 125
 MISSION MODIFICATIONS
You may come across an adventure or mission ADJUST NPCS. Non-player characters can be
brief that is set in a different era than the one manipulated to fit the needs of your games. For
you are playing in. Or it could feature a region of instance, a campaign module might provide
space, NPCs, or technology that would conflict that the Major NPC is a Ferengi. However,
with your current campaign’s storyline. Not a this might not match the tone of your Klingon
problem. Star Trek Adventures missions and campaign. You can always swap out the Ferengi
mission briefs are flexible and can be adapted for a member of the Nyberrite Alliance. Use the
by taking the following into account. same stats for the Ferengi. Tweak some of the
disciplines and attributes. You can also swap out
VERIFY THE ERA. The scope of the filmed Star entire species. If you and your crew are tired of
Trek universe now spans over 1,000 years, battling against Romulans, switch them out for
starting with Enterprise in 2151 and into the Nausicaans, Breen, or a species of your crea-
most recent era of Discovery in the late 3100s. tion. View the various characters outlined in the
As such, you may need to verify what technol- rulebooks and modules as basic recipes. You
ogy exists in your campaign’s era. For instance, can add creative ingredients to bring distinct
Enterprise-era ships would not have tractor characters to life.
beams yet. They use grapplers, a metal cable
outfitted with a magnetic lock device to clamp FOCUS ON THE MISSION OBJECTIVES. Before
onto objects. launching into your adventure, review the mis-
sion objectives. Do they need any tweaking? Are
CONFIRM SCENE LOCATIONS. Most campaign they still achievable? For instance, maybe the
modules and mission briefs do not stipulate an objective of the mission is to drop off an alien
exact location wherein the story occurs. Many ambassador on the Klingon homeworld but your
times, it may name a planet or note the location campaign is set in the far-off Delta Quadrant.
is along the borders of Federation or Klingon The objective may need to be adjusted by
space. In either event, feel free to change the delivering the ambassador to an alien world in
names of planets, sectors, and cities to meet the Delta Quadrant instead.
the needs of your game. For instance, you may
be playing a campaign wherein your crew is Take note of any modifications that you have
exploring the Shackleton Expanse. You can made to the module or mission brief so that
adjust the modules so that all of the action you can recall them at any point in the game.
takes place in the Expanse or along its borders. Remember, your players have no idea what
is in store for them, so make each mission
your own! 
05102

location, or other details to adapt the story to your MISSION BRIEFS

specific needs. Standalone missions work well for A mission brief contains several elements that col-
one-shot gaming groups like at a convention or lectively create a high-level outline for a Star Trek
hobby shop. Of course, if you have a regular gaming Adventures mission. Each element may be modified
group, feel free to drop a standalone adventure into as needed to suit the needs of your game and group
your larger campaign. Standalone missions are of players. Mission briefs are broken into smaller
great if you are new to gamemastering or if you are sections: a synopsis, major beats, minor beats, a
unfamiliar with the rules of Star Trek Adventures. conclusion, and tips on how to add the mission to
your campaign.

126 CHAPTER 5.10

Mission briefs also provide suggested spotlight for the game line, the player characters’ information
roles. This means that most of the tasks or action sheets, or directly from the players themselves. Each
will match the role of a particular player character, product published for the game contains lore details,
such as the captain, communications officer, or plot hooks, or encounter seeds on virtually every
chief medical officer. This is not a hard and fast page; you could turn any detail into a potential story
rule. Since these adventures are more freeform, you hook for your game. In addition, Chapter 5 of each of
could easily tweak the mission brief to spotlight a the three division supplemental rulebooks provides
different role or share the spotlight among several gamemaster advice and random tables to help you
characters. You can use the recommended spotlight develop thematic plot hooks for characters from
role to run missions for player characters who are each of the six departments. These prewritten hooks
due for their moment in the spotlight, and to collab- should be adapted for use in your game, with your
oratively build character arcs with your players. specific group of characters in mind.

You should review a mission brief and create con- You can also generate plot hooks by reviewing the
flicts from the information provided. For instance, a player characters’ information sheets, backsto-
major beat might explain that the characters must ries, and lifepath results. Your players may have
infiltrate a locked room. It would be up to you to populated their characters’ histories with interesting
create the tasks and challenges needed to break events, NPCs, and other material that could indi-
into the room. Much like a standalone mission, these vidually be turned into a plot hook for an adventure
briefs can be used for one-shot gaming groups or or scene within an adventure. These types of plot
dropped into a campaign with regular players. hooks are, by definition, specifically oriented toward
your player characters, and likely can carry more
A wide variety of mission briefs can be found in impact than a generic plot hook that has been
The Klingon Empire core rulebook, the Shackleton adapted for use.
Expanse Campaign Guide, in some digital
standalone adventures, and in digital mission brief Plot hooks are discussed in greater detail in
packets available for free download. Chapter 05.30, starting on page 144.

PLOT HOOKS
Plot hooks (also known as plot seeds) can be found in
a variety of places, including every product published

CHARACTERS ARE KEY

YOU MAY DESIGN A NEW SECTOR OF SPACE relevant. They should not feel like you have already
replete with cosmic wonders. You may build a planet decided exactly how an adventure will conclude.
full of uncanny flora and fauna. You may invent Players play roleplaying games to break free from
odd species to populate your new corner of space. the constraints of the real world, to test out new and
You may conceptualize new technology, elaborate extreme courses of action, and, in the end, to have
cityscapes, mysterious edifices, and ancient objects fun. Therefore, you have the task of constructing a
of power. You may develop dozens of NPCs. virtual playground for their enjoyment.

Yet, without engaged players, all this creativity, You may have a general idea about how to solve a
work, and imagination is worthless. In the end, the particular problem presented in an adventure. Some
true task of a gamemaster is to keep the spot- gamemasters might make the mistake of “railroad-
light on the players. Players should feel like their ing.” This is when a gamemaster forces the players
decisions and actions are meaningful, impactful, and to make certain decisions to further their personal

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 127
 vision of where the story should end up. However, Your group may have decided to make the com-
you will find that players are a creative lot who can manding officer an NPC. Some groups decide to do
outsmart your best-designed plans. this because they want the captain issuing strong
reminders about mission objectives throughout an
Star Trek Adventures campaign modules are adventure to keep everyone on track. Other players
designed to allow players to make decisions, but may simply prefer to fill other roles on the ship. In
do not force a certain conclusion to happen. This is either case, NPCs should never be the stars of the
because the conclusion can only be decided based on game. The player characters should be center stage
the free will of the players. Instead, campaign supple- and spotlighted during most missions.
ments and mission briefs provide possible conclu-
sions to adventures. They often contain the abundant Take time to study your players’ character sheets. You
use of words like “may” or “might” when describing should be familiar with their backgrounds, focuses,
how a mission could resolve. Players are a bright and values, and talents. Design or adapt your adventures
conniving bunch of people. You may be impressed, around these aspects; doing so will help the players
pleasantly surprised, or shocked by what they come feel like their characters matter to the campaign
up with. Players should feel like their characters are or story. The more familiar they become with each
the stars of their own Star Trek series – they are other, the more they will truly have an immersive
the protagonists, the main characters, the regulars. experience. The more immersed they are, the more
Even though you might have some interesting NPCs enjoyment everyone will derive from the game.
and enemies to throw in their way, in the end, their
characters should be given the opportunity to own the
majority of the game’s “screen time.”

128 CHAPTER 5.10

 TYPES OF PLAYERS AND CHARACTER ROLES
SUPPOSE YOUR GROUP IS COMPOSED OF JUST However, your players may decide to set some ground
three players. They have selected to play a chief rules so that everyone enjoys the game. For instance,
medical officer, an Emergency Medical Hologram, and one player may want to have a mutated character
a security officer. You should primarily avoid missions who inherits cosmic powers which allow them to
that focus solely on scientific and engineering fly through space without the aid of a spaceship.
solution to issues. You may want to alter the setting The other players may not want to play a game that
so that they are involved in search and rescue oper- includes superpowers borrowed from other genres.
ations, transporting key supplies to far-out colonies, They may want to impose boundaries and keep
or espionage missions with a focus on forensics. grounded with the general scope of abilities as seen
Adapting missions in such a way will keep players in canon Star Trek film and television. These matters
engaged. Consistently check in with your players after should be discussed at Session 0 while everyone is
each session. Do they feel like the game worked well establishing their characters with the goal of having
for them and their character? Listen carefully and a general idea of each character’s limitations. (Of
include any suggestions into the next session. course, having an adventure wherein a crew member
gains phenomenal cosmic power for the length of one
Keep in mind not to stereotype characters. For adventure falls well within the Star Trek genre.)
instance, one of your players may have chosen
to play a Vulcan character. Vulcans are generally You will find it easier to write and adapt adven-
regarded to be creatures of logic. However, the tures and tasks once all the characters have been
player needs to be given free rein to play the established. Remember, the players have no idea
character as they see fit. They could even provide about the scope and details of an adventure. They
an explanation as to why their character does not are unaware if the upcoming mission is to be a
fit into a particular stereotype. This allows a new space battle or a social conflict. They will not know
ingredient to be added to the game and the insert a if engineering, science, or medicine is the answer
new thread into the tapestry of Vulcan life. to the dilemma. Your familiarity with your players’
characters will allow you to design missions that
bring their strengths (and weaknesses) to the fore.

THE SCALES OF STAR

TREK ADVENTURES STORYTELLING
EACH STAR TREK SERIES CONTAINS A NUMBER OF § Mission-scale storytelling (Chapter 05.20,
discrete seasons, with each season consisting of sev- beginning on page 130) discusses how to
eral episodes. Similarly, Star Trek Adventures games prepare a single adventure for your group or for
may comprise a campaign or groups of campaigns, a convention one-shot experience.
one or more seasons of missions, or any number of
§ Season-scale storytelling (Chapter 05.30,
individual missions. The next sections of this chapter
beginning on page 144) details how to build an
delve into more detail on each of the three scales of
entire season’s worth of story for your group.
Star Trek Adventures storytelling and how you can
build and plan each one for your game. § Campaign-scale storytelling (Chapter 05.40,
beginning on page 149) takes it a step farther
and discusses how to build an epic campaign
consisting of dozens of missions grouped into
multiple seasons.

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 129
 CHAPTER 05.20

M ISS I ON- SC A L E
STO RYT E LL I N G
“T h i s i s r e a l l y just a no t he r pa ge o f h istor y, isn ’t it? Will th is b e
t he e nd o f o ur c ivilization ? Tu rn th e p ag e.”

— CAPT. JE AN- LUC PICARD

ADVENTURE, EPISODE, OR MISSION?

The terminology used to define a discrete For the purposes of Star Trek Adventures,
Star Trek Adventures installment can vary “mission” or “adventure” are the most
dependent on the gamemaster or individual frequently used terms in the various game
writer, and what background they may have in products, including this Gamemaster’s
roleplaying games and in creative writing. You Guide. Specifically, a mission or adventure is
may call a specific story an adventure, episode, a self-contained story, with a clear beginning,
installment, mission, module, or any of a variety middle, and end, and requires one or more
of other terms. game sessions to complete. 
05201

COMPONENTS OF A MISSION
EVERY STAR TREK ADVENTURES MISSION SHOULD choose a course of action, or it may extend over
contain a number of scenes and at least one of a protracted period, with lots of action, drama, or
the following components: encounters, tasks, and tension to resolve.
extended tasks. Each of these four components is
discussed in more detail below, starting with the Many gamemasters keep to the rhythm of Star
most important, the scene. Trek episodes when developing their adventures.
Most episodes open with a teaser (also known as
a cold open), then run through three or more acts
Scenes before coming to a resolution. Many published Star
Star Trek Adventures, like the television series Trek Adventures missions follow a similar format
and movies it is based on, is designed so that play with the adventure broken up into three acts and
is structured as a series of scenes, with you and multiple scenes. Each scene may cover a few
players all having opportunities to drive the action, minutes, hours, or days. Several scenes collectively
adjust the circumstances of the scene, and deter- form an adventure.
mine what happens next.
Regardless of the nature of a scene, it will probably
A scene may be brief, lasting a minute or two at play out something like this:
most as characters make plans, converse, and

130 CHAPTER 5.20

§ Frame the action: You describe the scene, 1. Where is the scene set? Where a scene
based on how previous scenes concluded. It’s occurs defines the layout, terrain, and the likely
useful to think about a few key pieces: who is occupants. The promenade on Deep Space 9
present, what is happening, where and when is a very different environment to an isolated
the scene is occurring, and why these events forest clearing on an unexplored world, both in
are happening. terms of layout and terrain, but also in the type
of scene that is likely to occur there.
§ Establish traits: Note any traits applicable to
the current scene. This picks out the most sig- 2. When is the scene set? Time is as important
nificant or most obvious elements of the scene, as place in a lot of ways. This can be absolute,
and thus provides players with a few things to with locations changing at different points in
interact with. time (for example, doors are more likely to be
locked at night, if a location is normally only
§ The players act: The players tell you what they
occupied during the day, and locations at night
want to do. This might be handled in a freeform
will be lit differently, if at all), but it could also
manner, it may require a task, challenge, or
be relative, with the amount of time passed
extended task, or it might be structured using
since the previous scene affecting things like
the conflict rules, with a specific order in which
the readiness of adversaries or the aftermath of
characters act.
previous events.
§ Resolve action: The player characters attempt
3. Who is in the scene? This might be allies,
tasks or otherwise resolve the action at hand.
adversaries, bystanders, or a mixture thereof.
§ The gamemaster responds to the players’ You may also wish to consider the possibility of
actions and narrates the consequences: You other characters “nearby” who aren’t present
then respond to the players’ actions, describing in the scene immediately, but who might arrive
what happens as a result. during the scene – such as reinforcements for
adversaries who call for backup, or characters
§ Repeat: A scene may be complete with only
who are due to arrive at a specific time. This
a single action on the part of the players, or
all will likely take cues from where and when
the players may wish to take more actions in
the scene takes place – different people will
response to the consequences they’ve just faced.
be active at different times of day, whether
§ Wrap-up: Once a scene is complete, provide on a planet where day and night are obvious,
any extra narration needed to wrap things up or on a starship where different duty shifts
and transition to the next scene. divide the crew. When it comes to the player
characters, the players decide which of them
FRAMING THE ACTION is present – you cannot decide that some of
It’s your responsibility to establish each scene. This the player characters aren’t there without the
is, arguably, your biggest responsibility: scenes are players’ agreement, though a player character
the structure within which the action happens and can’t be in a scene if they’ve already been
provide the shape and structure for the situations established as busy elsewhere. This is also the
the players will confront and overcome (or fail to ideal opportunity for the players to introduce
overcome). As a result, you should give plenty of supporting characters.
consideration to five core questions about a scene
4. What is happening? The who, where, and
when establishing it. These questions shouldn’t
when are all fair and good, but the scene would
take long to answer, and many will have obvious
not be worth playing out unless something of
answers, especially as the game progresses, as
note was happening. This could be a goal of
each scene may answer the questions from the
the player characters, the motivations of some
previous scene and pose new questions for the next
adversary, or some event completely independ-
scene to answer.
ent of either protagonist or antagonist. What is

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 131
 happening in a scene can be something that actions. In general, a scene should follow logically
started before the scene began, or it can be from the scene before it.
something that begins while the player char-
acters are there. For the most part, the “what” To reiterate: You may be the one in control of
of a scene should be significant to the player establishing each scene, but those scenes should
characters, or to the overall adventure. frequently come about because of decisions the
players have made. If the players have found a lead
5. Why is this happening? This is also crucial,
in a mystery, then the players may state that their
though you may keep this secret from the
next step is to follow that lead, which answers some
player characters – determining why something
of your questions about the next scene.
is happening can be the players’ drive to con-
tinue the adventure. This will often link into a
Now, that isn’t to say that things will always play
wider storyline that spans the whole adventure,
out as the players desire. There’s nothing to prevent
but this doesn’t always have to be the case.
you from having the group ambushed on the way
to another destination, for example (though don’t
When you establish a scene, you have free rein to
overuse this, as it gets boring fast), or to have the
answer these questions in any way they see fit,
scene involve some factor or element the players
but the answers should have a reasonable link to
didn’t predict.
the adventure or to the player characters’ previous

SCENE FRAMING TRICKS

There are a few tried and true ways to vary scene. Instead of describing the characters
scene framing to produce different effects, arriving, describe them already there (they
feelings, and styles. Using them separately, or arrived a while ago, and are in the middle
in conjunction with one another, can give you a of their business) or leaving (they’ve done
wider range of ways to present new scenes. what they wanted to do and are now on
their way out).
§ Why Are You Here? Sometimes a scene
§ In Medias Res: This is a Latin phrase mean-
will begin without a clear idea of why the
ing “in the middle of things.” Occasionally
player characters are there. This is common
starting a scene in the middle of the action –
at the start of adventures, especially when
during a chase, a gunfight, an intense inter-
framing the opening scene. The simple trick
rogation, or similar – is an interesting way
of asking each player why their character
to shake things up. Used at the start of an
is present can both inform the situation and
adventure, especially when combined with
provide ideas and context that you may not
“Why Are You Here?” above, this technique
have thought of. This is a way to get the
can kick off an adventure in a powerful and
players to contribute to the storytelling right
memorable way. These kinds of scenes will
from the start.
often lead into, or foreshadow, something
§ Framing After Arrival: You do not need later, but an alternative type of In Medias Res
to frame a scene with the characters introduction may have nothing to do with the
walking in the door; that’s likely to become main plot (or appear to have nothing to do
predictable. Often, what the characters with it), instead serving as an opportunity to
want to achieve is already known at the show off the protagonists’ skills in a quick
beginning of the scene, so it’s sometimes action scene. 
useful to skip the “empty space” of the
05202

132 CHAPTER 5.20

This balancing act is part of the challenge of being during that scene and establish those possibilities in
a gamemaster: balancing the players’ choices and their description of the scene. An example might be
intentions with the influence of things beyond their describing an alarm, which could be triggered, and
control. Too much in favor of players, and the game the fact that there are other enemies nearby which
will seem predictable or lacking a challenge, while could be called in by spending Threat. Alternately,
too many things outside of player control can make unstable terrain could be a few points of Threat
the players feel like they can’t make an impact. away from crumbling or collapsing, shifting the
scene’s terrain.
Once the fundamental questions of the scene have
been answered, your next job is to flesh that out Once these things are done – and they will invaria-
and present it to the players. Doing so has two bly take much less time to do than they have taken
aspects, narrative and mechanical, which feed to explain – the scene can begin.
into one another.
PLAYING THINGS OUT
The narrative side is simply describing what the Once the pieces are in place, it’s time to begin the
player characters can perceive – the sights, sounds, scene. A problem should present itself early on
and even smells, tastes, and sensations of being in in the scene. This problem could be designed to
a specific place, at a specific time, with a specific highlight a character’s focus, value, or opinion. It
group of people, and so forth. could just be a way of exploring a little-known facet
of Star Trek. Whatever is presented, it should have
The mechanical side relies on that description and some tie into the larger story. It should drive the
builds upon it. The most important details pres- characters to discover something of interest – even
ent in the scene receive mechanical weight and a personality flaw in another character – and want
representation as traits, as described in the core to explore.
rulebooks (and provided more detail in this guide
on page 187). You should point out and note down a When the scene begins, players take the lead, and
few traits for the scene, which serve both as part of you step back a little. Whereas setting scenes is
the description of the scene and highlight elements where you have the most power, it is within scenes
that the players might want to try interacting with or that the characters have an opportunity to shine. You
obstacles that they may need to overcome. should endeavor to help the players show off their
characters, especially when that means confront-
Sometimes, some of these traits may be advan- ing those characters with challenging obstacles to
tages or complications, if they are biased one way overcome and deadly perils to survive. Seeing a
or another, or if characters involved have made a character react when things are hard is often the
point of establishing some beneficial features, but most satisfying way to engage with the game and
most traits established at the start of a scene should the story.
be ordinary traits that don’t inherently favor one side
or the other, such as Crowded Streets or Dark or During a scene, your involvement is more limited,
Howling Wind, for example. relying on the actions of NPCs and uses of Threat
to alter things and respond to the actions of the
Another element that requires your consideration player characters. The player characters are front-
here is Threat, which will be examined in detail later, and-center in the action, while giving you the tools
but which should be discussed briefly. to ramp up the tension and challenge the player
characters’ capabilities.
While you don’t have to spend Threat for anything
you introduce as part of establishing a scene, that Within a scene, the players will want their char-
doesn’t mean that it isn’t useful to think about acters to attempt tasks. It’s your responsibility to
Threat at this point. You may wish to consider a adjudicate those tasks, to decide if those tasks
few different ways Threat could be gained or used are possible, and to determine what happens

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 133
 afterwards. In a lot of cases, this will be a simple resolve quickly and with few or no dice rolls, while an
matter, as many tasks the player characters attempt intense chase or battle might take many rolls and a
will have a predictable outcome if successful. In the greater use of the rules to resolve.
cases that aren’t simple, however, you can rely on
the rules for assistance. Aside from the actions of gamemaster-controlled
characters (any NPCs not directly commanded by
Regardless of how the action is resolved, you are the players), the way that you can influence a scene
responsible for describing what happens next. The in progress is by spending Threat, which will often
situation will change in response to the actions of be generated by actions and events within the scene
player characters and NPCs. You may ask the play- itself. These opportunities for Threat use will often
ers for their input here, especially where the action be elements of the scene itself, described when the
heavily involves them – a player character’s suc- scene was introduced, or created by the actions of
cesses, and their failures, can be given to the player characters within the scene.
to narrate, within reason – but you get to decide
how the world around the player characters (and the WRAPPING THINGS UP, AND MOVING ON
NPCs in that world) responds to those actions. Concluding a scene is as important as starting a
new one; indeed, the two are linked, because how
This response can take many forms. The players’ you end one scene will feed into the start of subse-
actions could see the scene concluded, with the quent scenes.
consequences influencing the next scene, or those
actions could be one small part of a larger sequence A scene concludes at a point where there is nothing
of events, with adversaries and allies taking their own worthwhile left to do in that place and at that time. If
actions, which in turn prompt more actions from the the players decide that they want to leave the area,
player characters, and so forth. This will vary based then that’s a call for a new scene: indeed, beam-
entirely on the scene itself: a scene that is merely ing from one place to another is a natural scene
a brief conversation between two characters may break. If the players don’t have anything else to do

134 CHAPTER 5.20

 NO TIME TO REST
One option you have at the end of a scene is to If you spend Threat, the players do not remove
rush or hurry the players. If the next scene is any of the Stress they’ve suffered, and any
only a short time later, with no opportunity to lingering effects from the previous scene
rest between them – perhaps the characters don’t end. But, the characters also don’t lose
haven’t had time to stop, or the next scene any Momentum at the end of the scene. This
begins only moments later – you may spend 1 connects the two scenes in such a way that the
Threat to reflect the urgency. short-term effects from one scene carry over
into the next. 
05203

right now – time has passed, and they’re waiting Romulan warship. Suddenly, two more Romulan
for something to happen, or they’ve been doing ships decloak and move within weapons range.
something less interesting in the meantime – then Cut scene.
that’s a call for a new scene too. If the group is split
§ A clue of things to come is discovered.
and the action needs to move to the other part of
Imagine that your landing party has arrived in
the group for a while, that’s a new scene as well.
the scene with the goal of finding survivors.
In most cases, it should be obvious when a scene
Perhaps they find a recording explaining that
has ended, as scenes tend to come to a natural
a mutation occurred among the populace that
conclusion by themselves. You also have the means
transformed them all into ravenous giant lizards.
to conclude a scene prematurely, via the Reversal
Suddenly, a distant roar is heard. Cut scene.
option, but this should be rare as it costs a consider-
able amount of Threat to execute. § Someone enters or leaves the scene. Perhaps
the crew is going about its business when
It’s important for you and your players to know when a friend or foe beams onto the bridge unan-
to end a scene. Just as we are not shown every nounced or an argument with another crew
second of what every character is doing during an member ends with them storming out of the
episode or movie, we do not need to play out every conference room. Cut scene.
second of the characters’ lives. Generally, a scene
should end when one of the following happens: You can help the group transition to the next scene
by asking if they have anything else they want to
§ The characters are surprised by something accomplish in the current scene. This is a great way
unexpected. Perhaps everyone looks around for everyone to step out of character, take stock, and
at each other, are rendered speechless, jump in reorient the direction of the game. When it’s clear
shock, or cry out in disbelief. Cut scene. the scene is over, you can apply any end-of-scene
mechanics, including managing Momentum and
§ The situation has implied consequences.
addressing other effects.
Maybe a shuttle carrying an away team
explodes, an ambassador walks out swearing
§ Momentum. Remember that 1 point of
war against your species, or your lover tells you
Momentum should be deducted from the team
they never want to see you again and cuts off
Momentum pool at the end of each scene. This
communications. Cut scene.
mechanic is designed to encourage players to
§ The battle seems to be leaning in favor of use Momentum to succeed at tasks and move
one side over another. Leaving players in the plot forward. However, you may choose to
suspense as to who will win a particular conflict not enforce this mechanic after every scene.
is a good way to hold their attention. Imagine Some scenes are often transitory in nature or
that your crew has been exchanging fire with a very short, such as when a group of characters

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 135
 have a “walk-and-talk” scene as they move direction to take the adventure, even if things don’t
from the transporter room to the bridge, catch- turn out quite how the players expect. The players
ing up on the plot in progress before the next may have an idea for this immediately, or they may
crisis occurs. For such a short scene, it may not want to discuss it amongst themselves briefly.
make sense to remove a point of Momentum.
Alongside this, attend to minor rules “upkeep”:
§ Other effects. A change of scene can also indi-
remind the players to remove all their current
cate a change in circumstances. For instance, if
Stress, reset the ship’s Power and Shields, and end
the previous scene ended with the away team
any other effects that last until the end of the scene
being knocked out by a theta-wave projector
(most complications fall into this category).
while walking in the dark, they might wake up
on a brightly-lit beach on the other side of the
You should also think about the events that took
planet. Some or all the advantages, complica-
place in the scene, and then consider if any of them
tions, conditions, or traits from the last scene
will have long-term consequences or repercussions,
may or may not be present in the current one.
or if there are any threads or elements of that scene
You should communicate to the players when
which haven’t yet been resolved. These may not
and if these changes occur.
be immediately relevant in the next scene, but they
might impact later scenes, lay the foundation for
Concluding a scene often starts with a brief descrip-
later adventures, or provide inspiration for complica-
tion of the state things are in as the scene ends,
tions and uses of Threat later.
especially if the scene is dramatic or action-packed,
perhaps describing the last fleeing enemy, or
bystanders emerging in the aftermath. Encounters
In addition to scenes, your missions will usually
You should then ask the players what they want to do
contain one or more encounters, which are the
next. This, more than anything else, should provide a

136 CHAPTER 5.20

moments where the player characters face off Tasks are discussed in greater detail on page 155
against adversaries or other forms of challenges and in the core rulebooks.
that don’t neatly categorize as tasks or extended
tasks. Specifically, encounters are intended for
conflict of some form, whether that is social conflict Extended Tasks
or physical conflict, such as hand-to-hand fighting Similarly, you should use extended tasks for scenes
or starship combat. Technically, encounters are a where the player characters need to solve a com-
form of scene, but for the purposes of the game, plicated problem or challenge over the course of
scenes and encounters are defined separately and the adventure, or perhaps during a timeframe that
have different uses. encompasses multiple episodes. The extended task
could take one scene to resolve, or be stretched out
Encounters are discussed in more detail on pages over several scenes or missions.
221 of this guide, in the core rulebook on page 297,
and in The Klingon Empire core rulebook starting EXAMPLE: Captain Christopher Pike and the
on page 290. crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are tasked with
tracking down seven strange red signals during
the second season of Star Trek: Discovery. The
Tasks key elements involved in solving this season-long
Calling for a task attempt should be something mystery could be presented as a complicated
reserved for situations where success or failure is extended task consisting of many sub-tasks.
impactful to the story and meaningful for both the plot
and the characters involved. For day-to-day tasks, or The more important or influential an action is to
simple operations, calling for a task attempt is usually the story, the more complex and dynamic the task
unnecessary, and may only serve to slow down the should be. You may wish to highlight crucial story
game. If the outcome of the action does not provide elements by making use of the extended task
an interesting development for the story, or if failure mechanics. Doing so ensures your player charac-
is largely irrelevant because the character can simply ters will begin to overcome critical plot challenges.
attempt the task again later, skip the task effort and Your players will quickly learn that encountering an
simply narrate what their success looks like. extended task means they are on the right track
when navigating through your adventure and will
If you make a habit of only calling for task attempts seek out those opportunities.
when there is something important at stake, you
can help guide your players through story elements Extended tasks are discussed in greater detail on
and encourage them to focus on roleplaying their page 161 and in the core rulebooks.
characters. If players expect that actually rolling for
a task only occurs when things are important, you
can build tasks into your adventures that carry real
weight and meaning.

INTEGRATING GAME
MECHANICS INTO YOUR STORY
WHEN RUNNING ANY GAME, CLEVER USE OF NARRA- is the hallmark of an exceptional gamemaster to
tive elements and game mechanics to keep your seamlessly integrate both into an adventure. Being
players engaged are critical and often go hand-in- able to actually pull this off, however, is not nearly
hand, and Star Trek Adventures is no different. It as simple as just stating it. Your ability to identify

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 137
 and incorporate these elements into your game characters that will be recurring during play. If your
requires a solid understanding of the players at players are new to Star Trek Adventures, this is
the table, the characters they have created, the also a fantastic time to highlight some core game
elements of the setting you wish to highlight at any mechanics as well. Toss in a few minor tasks first
particular time, and the game mechanics that will so the players can get a feel for how dice pools
govern how everything else interacts. The first step are constructed, how tasks are rolled, and how
in this process is planning. Momentum and Threat are generated and used. It
may also be good to include some brief structured
Before you can hope to design an adventure or series conflicts, both physical and social, so that players
of adventures that will capture your players’ interests, can see what those look like and the basic rules
as well as those of the player characters they are that govern them. This will also be a good time to
portraying, you have to know what those interests are. give players an opportunity to use their characters’
While you can often guess what key elements your talents. For most groups, this “training wheels”
players are interested in experiencing as your story stage lasts for one or two sessions before they are
develops, most roleplaying game settings cover a ready to move on to more dynamic and complex sit-
broad range of elements. Narrowing your field of focus uations. If your players are already experienced with
can help keep your game exciting and interesting. Star Trek Adventures and have a solid understand-
ing of the game mechanics, this introductory phase
If you have been gaming with your group for can be skipped entirely.
a while, you likely already know each player’s
personal tastes, but it is important to ask anyway. When designing your adventures, think about what
Just because a friend at the table has consistently you are trying to convey to your players. Many
enjoyed playing games focused on surviving the roleplaying games are based around an ongoing
dangers of combat, you should ask what they wish campaign plot, where their players are slowly
to play next. These will often be more broad discus- advancing and becoming more experienced while
sions about the setting, and not tied to any particular moving toward a final, dramatic confrontation
character, and therefore will help you formulate the with a significant adversary. While Star Trek has
outline for entire episodes or ongoing plot elements traditionally been episodic with each episode being
throughout your game. a self-contained story, as the setting has progressed
through popular media, the idea of ongoing chron-
Remember that your players are both your key actors icle-type story telling has increased. If you decide
and the audience of your game, and the success of to run campaign or series using a more traditional
your game is usually measured by how entertaining chronicle style of storytelling, you should outline
it is for your players, not on how challenging it is or what the critical developments of that story look like
how amazing their characters look – though those and when those developments should enter play
can both play into the level of entertainment your within your adventures. This will provide you a guide
players get. Once you’ve identified what the players for designing individual episodes, since you know
want to see and achieve as your game develops, start what the overall plot of the game is leading to.
looking at how you can incorporate those elements
into play and what game mechanics will be critical in Once you’ve identified the adventure’s focus, outline
representing those elements. each scene or act that the adventure covers with
a few keywords or perhaps a sentence or two.
Most adventures that are intended to last one or
Letting the Story two sessions generally contain between three and
Drive the Rules five acts, with each act covering between one and
three related individual scenes or encounters. Each
The first session or two will likely be more of an
scene should allow the players the opportunity to
introduction of the player characters, their environ-
address some story element related to the act they
ment (usually a starship) and any key supporting
are currently in, and each act should advance the

138 CHAPTER 5.20

story and build to a conclusion in the final act. This The most likely reason why you would want to take
usually takes the form of either an investigation to this approach is to intentionally spotlight a set of
obtain additional information and resources, or over- mechanics that your group does not make regular
coming some challenge or obstacle that will impede use of, or mechanics that you’d like to introduce to
resolution in the final act. your game. Taking time to call these mechanics into
play can help ensure that you and your players are
Episodes, scenes, and acts can also be useful fully familiar with them, which will make future use
increments to focus on a particular discipline or of those mechanics easier, and to add depth and
area of expertise. Think of these in terms of the flexibility to your adventures. Perhaps you rarely use
color system discussed in the division supplemental starship combat or personal conflicts, or have not
rulebooks. While each episode can be focused on a yet had a chance to introduce the scientific method
Red, Gold, or Blue story, breaking these down to the system. You may also realize that your players
level of the act or scene may likely be more effective have selected values, talents, and focuses for their
when trying to get all of your players involved. characters that never see use.

Some scenes will simply be opportunities for Start with the mechanics in question. In what
the players to engage in roleplaying with other circumstances are they intended to be used? Since
characters, and these will often be times where you the mechanics apply to some specific situation,
can advance a subplot involving just those specific including those mechanics in your game will, in turn,
individuals. Other scenes will be where you can start require the players to be faced with that circum-
to tie game mechanics into your game. Each act stance. How might your player characters end up in
may call for one or two critical tasks that specifically that circumstance? This will likely tell you what the
address the story, though where these tasks fall scenes should be focused on where this mechanic
within the act’s scenes will depend on the nature of will come into play. Why would your crew be
the scenes and how your players progress through involved? Answering this will give you a basic guide
those scenes. When outlining an act, try and keep on what the overall plot (or at least a major subplot)
in mind what kind of tasks have been called for of the adventure or episode should include.
in previous scenes and add some variety to keep
things interesting. From there, it is just a matter of fleshing out any
specific elements necessary to give the plot more
If you are unsure, try two standard tasks for each depth, and deciding if there are any secondary plots
challenge or extended task and two challenges or or elements you want to include, and what scenes
extended tasks for every use of structured conflict would give those elements a narrative impact.
or scientific method, and see how that feels for you
and your players. As with previous recommenda- Finally, if this mechanic is something that only a few
tions, this suggestion is not intended to be followed of the players are going to be involved in, ensure
exactly, but to give you a guide for planning out you have readily available supporting characters for
tasks and time management during play. idle players to take control of, and see if you can
give characters that are otherwise missing from this
game’s focus an opportunity to engage in a minor
Using Rules to scene that either drives a subplot about that charac-
Guide the Story ter forward or gives that character an opportunity to
engage in meaningful roleplaying.
You could build adventures by focusing on mechanics
first and writing story elements to fit those mechan-
EXAMPLE: Melina, the gamemaster, has run her
ics. This may seem somewhat backward at first,
group through five adventures so far, comprising
given the earlier discussion on how to make game
some 30 sessions of game play, and her group
mechanics fit the story, but in truth, the two go hand
has yet to make use of the scientific method
in hand and equally inform and support each other.
mechanics. She likes the mechanics and wants

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 139
 to fold in the possibility of using them in her by how important that particular scene is to your
next adventure. She spends some time planning adventure or overall campaign. Scenes with little
a situation for her crew that might justify the significance can be represented by a handful of
need to use the mechanics, and folds it into the simple or opposed tasks, depending on the charac-
next mission. The players might not choose to ters involved. Some scenes – such as a structured
use the scientific method, but Melina hopes that conflict that might carry more importance, but not
by tailoring the plot of the mission around the enough to require an hour or more to resolve – can
mechanics, the players might give them a try. be easily represented using an extended task.

Regardless of which set of mechanics you wish to

introduce, you should strive to ensure that those Hiding Story Elements
mechanics and the story elements they represent
develop naturally through the progression of the
within Game Mechanics
Emphasizing story elements is not the only time
plot. Players will often be able to spot when you are
you will want to bring certain game mechanics
attempting to force the situation instead of allowing
into play. Sometimes there may be multiple ways
to develop naturally, and this could make your
for the players to achieve their goals or meet the
adventure feel disjointed. Understanding the players
Directives set forth for that adventure. In addition,
and the characters involved in whatever scene you
when dealing with particularly clever opponents,
are emphasizing can be critical in presenting situ-
providing challenges that are designed to be false
ations and choices to those characters and being
trails can ensure that you keep your players guess-
able to predict which direction those characters
ing as the story develops. This is equally true for
are most likely to choose. This, in turn, makes your
situations where in-game time is important. While
players feel like they are in control and are the force
timed challenges or extended tasks may usually
driving the plot forward, instead of being pushed
address a deadline during play, habitual use of such
forward by the plot or mechanics. If you are unsure
will become predictable. Instead, you may simply
which direction a group may take during play, you
give the players more potential tasks than they
can always test their reactions in one adventure, as
can conceivably accomplish in a given time frame,
preparation for future sessions.
requiring them to carefully pick which tasks they are
going to attempt.
Adjusting the Rules This element of mystery can also be maintained by
to Fit the Scene keeping certain elements of your game a secret and
Just because a specific set of rules governs a alluding to them through difficulties and traits. For
particular set of actions within the game does example, you could have a Subspace Interference
not mean that you are forced to always use those trait impact the Difficulty of various tasks, but remain
mechanics. This most often occurs when you want undisclosed to the players until they successfully
to shorten a particular scene due to time constraints identify it. Is allows you to incorporate mechanics
or because you feel that engaging in those mechan- that represent plot twists or complications without
ics is unnecessary for that set of circumstances. having to clearly advertise their existence. As players
Such truncation of scenes is always an option when attempt meaningful tasks, and encounter difficulties
running sessions and is often useful when you need or prohibitions they did not expect, they will usually
to include a story element that would usually be investigate to determine why. If they do not, and the
covered by core mechanics but is not a significant discovery of these elements is critical to the story,
enough element to warrant the investment of time you can illustrate the importance of this investigation
and resources in the normal way. through your narration.

When deciding how to shorten or bypass mechan- Conversely, instead of keeping story elements
ics, the methods you use will likely be determined secret, you can hide crucial elements within a

140 CHAPTER 5.20

group of less important ones. Continuing with the can simply be negated or avoided. This will often
Subspace Interface trait example, instead of hiding be a more effective way to maintain an element of
it, you could instead detail several more traits that surprise in your game, but does require more of
are present within the scene, and then let your your time and energy to keep track of each piece of
players attempt to investigate and determine which whatever puzzle the group is faced with.
ones are hindering their efforts and which ones

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

NOW THAT YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH THE KEY COMPO- to favor roleplaying and drama over rolling dice,
nents of a mission, and are armed with advice on while encounters are where the characters put their
how to adapt the rules to the story (or to build a abilities to the test and the players roll some dice.
story around rules mechanics), it’s time to plan out Many missions usually have a mixture of both types
the adventure you want to run for your group. of events. If a mission ends up leaning more heavily
toward scenes or encounters, consider planning the
The traditional format of Star Trek episodes includes next mission to have more of a balance. For example,
a short teaser (or cold open) that sets up the story, you could follow up a mission heavy on starship
and up to five acts, each act consisting of two or combat encounters with an intrigue-laden ambassa-
more scenes or encounters that carry the story dor’s ball full of roleplaying scenes, or vice versa.
forward to a logical and satisfying conclusion. A
mission in Star Trek Adventures can be constructed The number of scenes and encounters you need for
in much the same way, though you should plan to be your adventure will vary based on how ambitious a
flexible since it’s usually not possible to accurately story you want to tell and on the actions of the play-
predict what a group of player characters will do ers. It may require you to be flexible in your planning
when faced with specific situations or how the dice so that if players breeze through or really struggle
may fall during a given session. with the scenes and encounters you’ve planned,
you can add or subtract scenes and encounters as
needed to keep the story moving toward a satisfying
Build an Outline conclusion. Your players may choose to take actions
As a best practice, it’s a good idea to come up that require additional scenes to be added, or per-
with a story or concept for the adventure, and then haps result in a scene that can be omitted.
create some form of outline that broadly details the
various key moments in the story, the general flow
of those moments, and a notional ending of how the Plan for the
story might ideally play out. The outline could be
as simple as a few bullet points, or could go longer,
Time You Have
Different groups have different needs for their game
such as a paragraph per scene or encounter. Use
sessions. Some meet for short two-hour sessions
whatever level of detail you need for the purposes of
every week. Others meet once a month but play for
your storytelling. The plot could be based off original
eight hours or more. Discuss with your players what
concepts, or perhaps inspired by a player character
sort of session schedule works best for your lives.
background element or an NPC that the crew has
Plan a scene or encounter for every 30 minutes
already encountered in the game.
of playing time, plus two or three extra scenes for
maximum flexibility. This may mean that your mis-
To help in outlining, classify all the key story elements
sion will take more than one session to complete,
you want to use into two types of events: scenes
or may fit into one dense, action-packed session. It
and encounters (combat or non-combat), which,
may take some practice to dial in the right number
collectively, will help tell that story. Scenes tend
of scenes and encounters to include in a given game

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 141
 session for your group, and, by extension, the ideal to repair Chelmik’s ship, for some price to
number of scenes and encounters you’ll want to be determined – maybe a plot hook for a
prepare for each of your missions. future episode?

EXAMPLE: Aliyah sits down to develop the § Scene: The crew arrive at Vendra II and help
outline for the next adventure she wants to run Chelmik get settled. Marco’s character looks
for her group. She knows she wants to run a up Yvette, or she reaches out to him first.
one-off adventure about the crew having to
respond to a distress signal coming from the § Scenes: Opportunity for shore leave for any
Badlands. She wants the adventure to focus characters who want to take it. Jump from
on the group’s first officer, whose sister, Yvette, scene to scene for different players and see
happens to live on a contested planet within the what they get up to. Bar crawl, chatting up
Badlands. She also wants a group-favorite NPC, locals for rumors and news (Cardassians
an irascible Yridian smuggler named Chelmik, are on the prowl in the region), dinner invite
to make a cameo as well. She wants the tone of to sister’s house, dealing with Chelmik, etc.
the episode to be light-hearted and roleplay-
ing-heavy, given that her group has recently § Key note to hit is that Yvette wants to sound
been embroiled in a tense standoff with a out her brother as to whether he’d render
Cardassian gul and his crew in the last episode.

She jots down a notional title for the adven-

ture, “Border Blues.” She then lists out scenes
she’d like to play through, building the skele-
ton of the adventure.

§ Scene: Open with a first officer’s log and

give Marco (the first officer’s player) a
chance to start off the teaser with a scene.

§ Scene: Red alert as the ship receives a

distress signal from within the Badlands –
an unregistered ship is in peril!

§ Scene: The crew arrive at the location of

the distress signal and render assistance,
only to discover that the sole crewman
aboard the damaged vessel is Chelmik.

§ Optional Encounter: The crew and

Chelmik’s ship have to navigate out of this
section of the Badlands, and have to evade
a Cardassian patrol ship to do it.

§ Scene: After some shenanigans, Chelmik

asks the crew for assistance delivering
his perishable cargo to Vendra II, a planet
within the Demilitarized Zone. The planet
also happens to be Yvette’s home. This is
an opportunity for the engineering team

142 CHAPTER 5.20

 assistance if her colony gets into trouble with episode may play out. Scenes could be added in
the Cardassians – maybe a chance to make between the listed scenes here and there to keep
Yvette a Maquis or Maquis sympathizer? See the flow moving and to allow for subplots and plot
if you can pull on some values here. Also, hooks to slide into place as they’re conceptualized
Chelmik gets in over his head and some of in the moment during the game.
the characters have an opportunity to help
him out, or leave him to reap what he’s sown Aliyah knows her group well enough to project
(maybe make this an encounter). how they’ll likely approach the scenes, and plans
accordingly, while still building in flexibility so that
§ Notional ending: The first officer and his there’s no chance of anyone feeling like they’ve
sister make their good-byes, while the been railroaded to a predetermined ending.
rest of the crew see Chelmik off, sure to
encounter him again in a future episode. This is just one approach to outlining a mission.
Think about how you’d do it differently, and then
Note that the scenes and encounters aren’t num- plan your group’s adventures. And, remember to
bered and that the latter part of the adventure isn’t have some fun along the way!
planned out in deep detail. There’s enough wiggle
room for the players’ choices to influence how the

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 143
 CHAPTER 05.30

SEASON- SC A L E
STO RYT E LL I N G
“ O v e r t h e pa st 2 4 ho urs, F e de ra t ion sen sors p icked u p seven
r e d b u r st s spre a d o ut a c ro ss mo re th an 30,000 lig h t- years.
T he y a ppe a re d in pe rf e c t syn ch ron ization , ju st lon g
e no ugh f o r us t o get a read in g , an d th en ju st
a s sudde nly dis ap p eared , excep t for on e.”

— CAPT. CHRIST OPHE R PIKE

YOU’VE OUTLINED AND RUN YOUR FIRST MISSION do so and keep your players engaged from the first
with your group. You may have even run several episode to the climatic season finale.
missions in succession, either as a series of
standalone adventures or perhaps integrated into a Before we talk about planning and building a season
short story arc. Now you want to plan a bigger story, for your group, let’s discuss the most important
something that could span an entire season’s worth parts of your game – the players and their charac-
of missions. This section provides advice on how to ters – and why it’s critical to keep them engaged if
you want to plan and run an extended story arc.

KEEPING THE PLAYERS INVOLVED

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS WORK TO ENSURE THAT YOUR have their own ambitions, desires, goals and fears –
players and their characters are actively interested all of which are excellent sources of motivation to be
in the story being told. This can be especially chal- used in the game.
lenging when you have characters who have views
or aspirations that are in direct opposition to each You can weave these elements throughout your
other, or are in opposition to the Directives in play season in a variety of ways, including plot hooks,
for given adventures. It is important to understand subplots, and sidebar scenes.
the desires of your players and the motivations of
their characters, as you will likely struggle to pres-
ent adventures that genuinely spark your players’ Plot Hooks
interest without that understanding. Plot hooks (also known as plot seeds) can be pretty
much anything that catches the interest of the
It is often most effective to focus on the characters, characters involved in a story. The most effective
since the way a character is built and portrayed by a plot hooks are the ones that deal directly with a
player is a direct representation of what that player character’s personal story, as these provide the
is hoping to get out their roleplaying experience. most interesting opportunities for those charac-
And, since characters represent people, they should ters to be challenged or engaged with dramatic

144 CHAPTER 5.30

circumstances. While there is nothing wrong with Passive hooks provide an opportunity to become
using a more generic plot hook, like mysterious cir- involved in events without demanding a particular
cumstances that require investigation, because they choice or response. These most often take the form
are generic, they will appeal to the widest number of of interests or ambitions the characters have, and
characters but will have significantly less impact on want to pursue, regardless of circumstances. These
those characters. tend to make more appealing plot points because
they provide a greater range of freedom and are
Review the aspects of your player characters usually based around a character’s desires, making
beyond their role. Hobbies and interests are following those hooks feel more organic within the
excellent ways of motivating characters to become story. Passive hooks can also be more challenging to
involved in an adventure, as are family and friends. work into your adventure, as they may not resonate
A character’s past is also an excellent source of with more than one or two characters.
potential hooks. Look at what events shaped the
character during character creation. If the player has When using hooks, you can often overlap them
not already provided further details of those events, with other story elements or character motivations.
ask for them. This will often be result of a character’s immedi-
ate obligation or duty which must be performed
TYPES OF PLOT HOOKS which is aligned with their personal or professional
Hooks generally fall into one of two categories: motivations. Such hooks are referred to as baited
active and passive. hooks because they are the most inviting for
characters to pursue. You will find that a properly
Active hooks drag characters into the plot. They are baited passive hook will be the most rewarding and
usually is the result of a situation or choice being interesting for you, the players, and their characters
forced on the characters or the situation leaves since they offer potential options for involvement,
them without any real acceptable alternative but to without forcing the circumstance upon them, while
follow where the hook leads. Active hooks can vary also layering in the characters’ motivations and,
considerably depending on the kind of game you ultimately, opportunities to engage in personalized
are running and the kinds of characters the players plot points. Even when circumstances are forced
are portraying. For example, civilians in immediate on the characters, connecting these story points to
danger could be an active hook for Starfleet charac- the motivations of the characters will nearly always
ters, while being directly challenged would be one result in a more rewarding play experience for all
for Klingon officers. In both cases, the players are involved. After all, fighting or pursuing something
left with little option other than to follow the hook you believe in is almost always more dramatic than
without serious repercussions. simply being forced to fight or pursue.

Directives often form the basis of an active hook, as Baited hooks do, however, require more invest-
they determine what actions are and are not accept- ment and research in order to properly pull off.
able. As these are still choices, players always Understanding what both your players and their
have the option of refusing to follow an active characters want to get out the game is essential,
hook, and when tied into the mission’s Directives, and to make such efforts work, you should consider
this can be an excellent opportunity to use the what hooks to bait during the early stages of cam-
mechanics around challenging Directives and using paign planning, character creation, and adventure
Determination. Regardless of how they are used, design. Knowing each character’s driving motiva-
however, when active hooks are used too frequently, tions will tell you what specific kinds of plot ele-
they may make your game feel constraining or ments those characters will be motivated to follow,
cause the players to feel that they are being led which will help you determine what kinds of hooks
around and therefore should be introduced in your you can reasonably expect to get the most out of.
games with special care.

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 145
 You should never expect that the player characters party dealing with a crisis on a planet, a subplot
will always take a hook, regardless of how well you involving an alien spore infecting the crew aboard
have baited it, so plan accordingly. Engaging in a the starship could suffice to involve those player
hook should always be represented by a choice that characters who didn’t get added to the landing
the character must make. This can be particularly party. This gives more of the player characters
interesting when a character is conflicted about something to do, even if their player chooses to play
pursuing the hook, either because they disagree a supporting character in the plotline their main
with the potential options presented or, more character isn’t involved in.
interestingly, because their character has opposing
motivations and following the hook may involve
yielding to one desire while sacrificing another. Sidebar Scenes
A sidebar is a type of scene you can use in a mis-
These kinds of conflicts often make for dramatic sion to provide detail or texture to the overall season
experiences and drive meaningful character devel- or story, without necessarily relating to the main
opment in game and, therefore, you should actively plot in progress or any subplot that may be running
work to try and foster these kinds of dramatic concurrently. Sidebar scenes could be used to high-
moments for each character at least once during light a character relationship or to explore a player
a season. character’s backstory, the types of scenes we often

Subplots
Subplots are a storytelling technique used to tell
more than one story within a single adventure, often
a primary plot (or A-plot) and one or more second-
ary plots (B-plot, C-plot, etc.). The secondary plots
may, but not always, relate to or echo the primary
plot. This structure is seen frequently in Star Trek
episodes, particularly in The Next Generation and
Deep Space Nine.

There are three reasons to make extensive use

of subplots in your seasons. First, you likely have
several players in your group, each of whom likely
wants spotlight time for their character. Just as the
various series have main characters and actors
who expect significant screen time, so too do your
players want to be the focal point of an adventure in
relatively equal proportion to the other players.

Second, sometimes the primary plot isn’t quite

extensive or complex enough to adequately fill an
entire mission’s worth of adventuring. Adding a
B-plot to the mission might be enough to fill in the
gaps and give the players the sense of a more well-
rounded story experience.

Third, using subplots gives more player characters

the opportunity to do things during the mission. If
the primary plot of a mission centers on a landing

146 CHAPTER 5.30

don’t get to see on screen because they often don’t Sidebars can be used to give a player character who
meaningfully contribute to the plot and are often cut may not feature heavily in the main plot an opportu-
for time. In a roleplaying game, however, these types nity to highlight a part of their character’s backstory
of scenes are valuable because they add context or abilities. They can also be used to present a
and provide more information about a character, scene to players that may not seem important, but
even if that information may not be entirely relevant could act as foreshadowing to a later plot point in a
to the plot at hand. future episode.

PLAYING AND RUNNING A SEASON

DEVELOPING A FULL SEASON’S WORTH OF STAR
Trek Adventures stories and running them for your
Episodic Season
The original series can be viewed as an episodic
players is a monumental but fun task that can be
campaign consisting of three seasons. Even though
rewarding for you and your players as storytellers
it occasionally contains episodes that are effectively
and gamers. You should determine if you want
sequels to previous episodes, the many episodes
the season to be episodic, serialized, or perhaps a
can be viewed in any order, with little to no impact
hybrid of the two.

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 147
 on the characters or individual plot points. This form
of episodic campaign is ideal for groups that don’t
Hybrid Season
Like many of the Star Trek series, it’s possible to
want to invest in a long, interconnected storyline,
plan and run a season in a hybrid format, where a
and who may want a slightly more casual gaming
percentage of the season’s episodes are devoted
approach, where whichever players are able to
to the larger storyline you want to tell, and the
show up for a given mission do so and enjoy the
remainder of the episodes are standalones that drop
events, and don’t necessarily feel like they have to
into the season to break up the metaplot-heavy
show up for the next one for continuity purposes.
episodes. These standalones could serve as a
This sort of campaign is somewhat easier on you
change of pace or change of tone, or serve to give
as well, as you don’t have to necessarily work to
the players a fresh perspective should the metaplot
connect one mission to another, other than to have
you’re building grow in complexity or heavy in sub-
Starfleet issue orders to the commanding officer
ject matter. They can also be used to introduce new
with directions on what to do next.
characters or plot elements that may play a role
later in the season, or perhaps plant plot seeds that
If running an episodic season, feel free to create
won’t bloom until a mission in a subsequent season.
missions of your own but to also drop in the
occasional pre-written mission or mission brief from
If you are running a hybrid season, an option might
the many Star Trek Adventures products available.
be to start with a couple of adventures that intro-
With a little tweaking, each standalone adventure or
duce and advance the overall main plot, and then
mission brief could be “reskinned” into something
run an adventure that is focused on something else
new, tailored for your group of players. And doing so
– either a character-focused story or a self-con-
could involve less effort on your part than creating
tained mission. If you can, avoid making these
an entirely new mission from scratch. Your players
breaks between metaplot episodes and standalones
may never know the difference.
predictable. Also, be careful not to go too long before
running the next metaplot story, as a three-episode
Serialized Season gap tends to be the upper limit before most players
lose the thread of the larger story being told.
Any of the seasons of Star Trek: Discovery can be
viewed as an example of a serialized season – for
the most part, each episode follows from the previ-
ous one in a logical, linear fashion, and it’s a good
idea to watch each one in order so as not to miss
out on key plot points or character reveals. Planning
and running a season in this manner takes effort
and diligence on your part as well as that of the
players, and requires some research into the char-
acters’ backstories to pull in events and NPCs that
can be used to add in subplots and plot hooks that
will keep the players and their characters engaged
for the long haul.

Planning and running a serialized season can be

immensely rewarding, as you are building and
co-writing an epic story with your players, one that
is sure to be remembered for years to come.

148 CHAPTER 5.30

 CHAPTER 05.40

CAM P AI GN- S C A L E
STORYT E LL I N G
“ F o r t h a t o ne f ra c t io n o f a se c o n d , you were op en to op tion s
y o u h a d ne ve r c o nside re d. Tha t is th e exp loration th at awaits
y o u . N o t m a pping st a rs a nd st udyin g n eb u lae, b u t ch artin g th e
unk no w a ble p ossib ilities of existen ce.”

— Q

NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT GOES INTO A STAR This section details how to blend all you know about
Trek story, and understand how to build a stan- Star Trek, Star Trek Adventures storytelling, and
dalone episode as well as a season’s worth of your players, and build a campaign that consists of
story, and to make it all focused squarely on the multiple episodes comprising multiple seasons.
players and their characters, it’s time to bring all
your knowledge and gamemastering skills together
into developing and running the largest format of
roleplaying game storytelling – a campaign.

TYPES OF CAMPAIGNS
WHILE THERE ARE AS MANY POTENTIAL TYPES OF Most published Star Trek Adventures missions and
campaigns as there are gamemasters, broadly speak- mission briefs are considered episodic in nature and
ing, campaigns will usually be predominantly either can be played in any order.
episodic or serialized in nature. These were discussed
in some detail earlier, in Chapter 3. The key points
are repeated here to provide context to this section. Serialized Campaign
On the other hand, you may prefer a more serialized
style of play. This is reminiscent of Deep Space
Episodic Campaign Nine, Discovery, or Picard. Each mission builds off
You may choose to run an episodic game mod- another one in a serialized campaign. Storylines
eled after the original series, The Animated Series, may provide clues that can help solve problems in
Enterprise, The Next Generation, or Voyager. Episodic future sessions, and early episodes may present
campaigns take place in the same setting but usually plot seeds that don’t blossom until an episode in a
have new and different plots each adventure. Even later season. There is often an overarching theme
though we watch the characters grow and progress, to the entire campaign. Ask your players if they
each story tends to have a clear ending and is rarely are okay with you launching a serialized cam-
directly connected to the story that follows it, other paign, since their regular participation is key to the
than the same ship and crew appearing within it. campaign’s long-term success. Be careful, though.

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 149
 Intricate plots and a myriad of detail that stretches adventures. Next, you may take a break with a few
over months or years of play might exhaust some episodic stories only to cut back to the serialized
players. And, should scheduling issues or burn-out style for one or two missions. This is a great way to
occur, the long-term campaign you had planned mix it up and introduce a variety of gaming elements
may never gain completion. into your group’s sessions.

Hybrid Campaign
Finally, you may want to try a combination of both
major campaign styles. For instance, you may start
with a short story arc composed of three interrelated

RUNNING A CAMPAIGN WITH MULTIPLE GAMEMASTERS

One way to keep a campaign interesting and your campaign a lift, as you get to experience a
moving forward is to rotate gamemasters during story from a different gamemaster’s perspec-
a season or campaign. If there’s more than one tive, almost like how one of the television series
person in the group willing to run an adventure benefits from having different writers and direc-
for the crew, feel free to hand over the reins for tors developing concurrent episodes. Rotating
a mission and use a supporting character for gamemasters also helps to reduce gamemaster
that mission. Rotating gamemasters might give fatigue and stave off potential burn-out. 
05401

BUILDING A CAMPAIGN
MANY CAMPAIGNS ARE EPISODIC IN NATURE, make for a tremendous moment in your game if
where each mission or episode stands alone and they accept a command of their own in the cam-
consists of a story told from beginning to end, with paign’s finale.
no specific story tie to the episode or adventure that
occurred prior to or after it. There are many different ways to start a campaign.
Is the crew already a few months into a tour? Is
The advantage to running a full campaign over a the ship full of unproven technology that requires
single standalone mission or single season is that you maintenance or unexpected fixes? While players are
can tell more complex stories over multiple seasons making their characters, you should discuss your
and missions. If you have an expansive story that ideas for the beginning of the campaign. Your char-
will not fit in a single season, think about how many acters may have connections with each other. They
seasons’ worth of missions it might take to tell. If pos- may have reputations to live up to – or down from.
sible, work in a cliffhanger at the end of each season These elements do not have to be fully developed,
that will keep your players on the hook to come back since half the fun will be exploring them in later
next time and see how the story continues. sessions, but putting them in place at the beginning
of a campaign will enable them to grow.
Campaigns also enable you to feed longer stories
to players little by little as time passes and as While it is important in the short term to give each
characters learn more about each other. A character mission and season a beginning, middle, and an
who starts out as a low-ranking officer in the first end, also consider planning those elements for the
episode and grows in skill and rank over time will whole campaign. If your campaign is about the

150 CHAPTER 5.40

return of a new generation of Borg and the threat season arcs. The NPCs and locations the players
they present to the Federation, think about the react to will clue you in on which elements they
turning points where the players discover evidence, want to see again. When you match those elements
where the Borg show up in force, and where the with important plot moments, you will hook your
climactic battles takes place. These do not have to players in to fight harder to save those things they
be set in stone, but knowing the general direction of love and defeat the ones they love to hate.
your campaign will help plot individual missions and

ROTATING PLAYERS AND CHARACTERS DURING A CAMPAIGN

Sometimes during long-running campaigns, the campaign you and your group have worked
one or more players may end up having to drop hard to develop is to take a cue from the
out of the game or reduce the amount of time various series and simply change up the cast.
they have available to play. Sometimes players Perhaps the commanding officer meets a dra-
get bored of a game and simply stop attending matic ending in a season finale and is replaced
sessions. Other times, players might grow tired by a new player character at the start of the
of their characters and want to try playing a next season. Maybe one player moving away
different character or a different role. results in the discovery of a new player who
wants to join in the active campaign. Whatever
In cases like these, there’s a temptation to the case, there are always options to continue
stop the campaign where it stands and start an existing campaign rather than letting a
something new with a different group of campaign die where it stands due to a specific
players and characters. An option to preserve player or character having to depart. 
05402

YOUR ONGOING VOYAGES

TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE END OF THE CAM- legacies. Most of the films and episodes focus on
paign as well. Long-term campaigns that last for the crew of a starship. Other ships have genera-
years are the stuff of legends. Unfortunately, real-life tional stories to tell with a new campaign set on an
challenges often intervene and a campaign that old ship familiar to everyone at the table. Legacy
starts off well could fade into obscurity and leave campaigns can also be connected to characters. A
everyone feeling unsatisfied. Using a final episode favorite character with a famous grandfather might
to wrap up questions and plotlines gives everyone a find that older character and his crew at the center
sense of closure and the feeling of a complete story. of a new campaign in an earlier timeline. As Captain
Picard once told us, the sky’s the limit.
The end of one campaign can mean the beginning
of a new one. The Star Trek universe offers great
precedent in stories involving main character

S TA R T R E K S T O RY T E L L I N G 151
152
 CHAPTER 06.00

MAIN E NGI N E E R I N G
06.10 TASKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

06.20 EXTENDED TASKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

06.30 MOMENTUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

06.40 THREAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

06.50 ATTRIBUTES AND DISCIPLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

06.60 VALUES AND DETERMINATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

06.70 TRAITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

06.80 CONFLICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

06.90 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

06.100 CREATING AND USING NPCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

MAIN ENGINEERING 153

 OFFERING A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
The Star Trek Adventures core rulebooks This chapter is intended to provide that
provide guidance for using the rules in-game additional advice to you on most of the
and for teaching the rules to your players as you most critical elements of the game system,
create and navigate game experiences. In the including attributes, disciplines, Momentum,
years since the core rulebook was developed Threat, Determination, combat, and more. The
and released, the design team designed and amount of information in this chapter may look
released additional versions of the 2d20 System daunting, but fear not! You’re not required to
for other licensed properties, and fielded rules read every section or memorize every additional
questions from thousands of gamers. The end piece of information. Read the sections you
result of this additional development time and most want more insight on, and add or enhance
Q&A cycles is that there is now a wealth of these components in your game gradually,
additional advice that can be provided to you building upon your experiences together with
and your players so that you can more effec- your players. 
tively play the game and create exciting Star
Trek moments together.
06001

154 CHAPTER 6.00

 CHAPTER 06.10

T ASK S
“My bro t he r, it is yo u w h o d oes n ot see. You look for
ba t t le s in t he w ron g p lace. T h e tru e test of a
w a rrio r is n ot with ou t, it is with in !”

— WORF, SON OF M OGH

MAKING USE OF TASKS

ALMOST ANY ACTIVITY IN WHICH THERE IS DOUBT IN speaking, be actions completed in one sitting or a
the outcome, in which failure or complications are short amount of time: searching for clues, repairing
interesting, or in which the degree of success is a shuttle, or negotiating with previously unknown
important, can be regarded as one or more tasks. A aliens are examples of tasks.
single task represents a character or group of char-
acters attempting to succeed at an activity despite As outlined in the core rulebooks, a task requires a
resistance or conflict. Tasks should, realistically player to roll two or more d20s, attempting to score

RULES AS WRITTEN
In many published adventures, different and when you apply such changes in order to
situations present suggested attribute and maintain those reasonable expectations; players
discipline combinations, standard difficulties, who are uncertain about what they can and
and standard consequences for failure, along can’t do may be less willing or able to engage
with specific uses for Momentum and specific with the adventure.
effects for complications.
In a similar way, players can suggest changes of
These are meant to provide a reliable, predict- their own if the circumstances fit; perhaps they
able baseline so that players can make reason- think a different attribute might be more fitting
able plans and have reasonable expectations in this case, or they want to use Momentum
for how events may play out. However, you are in a specific way not covered by the rules. You
free to change those details as circumstances are encouraged to consider these, and possibly
dictate, especially if a situation is markedly to negotiate with the players briefly about
different from the norm. changes of this nature. Perhaps a player-sug-
gested method is possible, but it’s riskier, so the
You should be careful about making such complication range goes up, perhaps it requires
changes, and should make any changes clear spending Momentum to make that change, or
to the players so that they’re aware that the perhaps it alters the consequences of failure in
situation is unusual in some way. It’s also some way. 
recommended that you be consistent in how
06101

MAIN ENGINEERING 155

 equal to or less than a target number made from a A Task or Not?
combination of one of their character’s attributes
When a player decides that they wish their character
and one of their disciplines. It’s you who chooses
to do something, the rules and guidelines for tasks
which attribute and discipline combination to use for
provide a foundation: each time this happens, you
the target number, as well as which focus applies, if
respond with “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
any, though the player involved can offer input. It’s
also your role to determine the task’s Difficulty, what
§ You should answer Yes if the action or activity
consequences there are for failure, and what effect
is something that can be achieved easily and
complications and Momentum spends may have on
without risk or peril. You are free to frame this
the outcome.
answer with some condition, such as explaining
that the action will take time, or that it will draw
Handling the specifics of all that – deciding when
attention, or have some other potential conse-
to ask for a task, deciding what the outcomes could
quence; this kind of condition is often referred
be, choosing the Difficulty, and so forth – are all
to as “Yes, but…”
part of your responsibility, and there’s a lot you can
do with those specifics to make the game more § You should answer No if the action or activity
exciting and dramatic. is something that cannot be achieved at all.
You are free to state that there might be some

ACTION ASSUMPTIONS
As a general rule, when determining whether § Knowledge is a little more ephemeral, and it
an action is possible, you should assume may be innate to the character (represented
that player characters are competent, driven, by a trait or a focus) or come from research
and capable. They are, after all, the stars of a and study (taking time and effort to create
Star Trek story, whether that means Starfleet an appropriate advantage). Lack of knowl-
personnel, Klingon warriors, or some similar edge may often lead to increased Difficulty
dynamic being. or increased chance of complications.
§ The opportunity to concentrate relies on a
In general, a player character should be able
lack of distractions. Action scenes such as
to accomplish anything given enough time, the
combat are a common form of distraction.
right tools, the right knowledge, the opportunity
to concentrate, and the absence of serious risk § Absence of risk or peril allows a character
or peril. Tasks (or “no” answers) will often come to keep trying even if they make mistakes,
in situations where the character lacks one or succeeding through trial and error. A risky
more of those factors, framing the action as or perilous task means a character can’t
“can the character achieve their goal in this sit- rely on being able to try again if they fail.
uation.” In a similar way, a character’s attributes
and disciplines can be thought of as how good Similarly, this kind of framing also means that
the character is at applying their strengths and failure isn’t a matter of incompetence: a char-
knowledge when under pressure. acter doesn’t fail because they screwed up, but
rather because something prevented them from
§ Time pressure is a common problem posed succeeding. They didn’t have enough time, they
in adventures. didn’t have the chance to focus, they didn’t have
the right tools, something or someone interrupted
§ Tools are either carried by the character,
them, or something else of that nature. 
or must be located during play, and lack of
tools is a common complication.
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 circumstances under which the action could should increase the Difficulty of a task, you have the
be performed, such as obtaining the right freedom to do so.
tools, special materials, obscure knowledge, or
specialized assistance; this is often referred to Structuring the timing of Difficulties in a game
as “No, but…” session can also be a consideration. Starting a
scene with a Difficulty 4 or 5 task isn’t recom-
§ You should answer Maybe if the action or activ-
mended unless the scene absolutely demands
ity is something that might be possible. In this
it; there’s always the possibility to ramp up the
case, the character may attempt a task to see if
Difficulty as the action progresses, by using
they succeed.
complications and spending Threat. On the other
side of things, if something is necessary for the
Tasks can also be used in a “yes, but” situation, if
story to continue, then keep the Difficulty low or
the player wishes to avoid the condition or conse-
allow Success at Cost to ensure that a failed task
quence; this is an ideal situation to use the Success
can’t easily stall progress. In general, a variety of
at Cost rule, as the task is about whether the char-
Difficulties, rising and falling throughout the session,
acter can avoid the consequence, rather than seeing
is often an appropriate tool for pacing an adventure.
if they can succeed. Similarly, “no, but” results can
also prompt tasks, as characters seek to engineer
Environmental traits adjust the Difficulty of tasks,
the circumstances that make an action possible.
based on whether they are a help or a hindrance
to a character, and such a trait may be beneficial
Task Difficulty in some ways and problematic in others: a heavily
crowded area may make it easier to avoid notice,
Difficulty represents how challenging a task is,
but it’ll make rapid movement more difficult. Think
based on environment, opposition, obstacles,
carefully about the circumstances of a scene, taking
and similar factors. Traits are a key part of this,
note of the traits, advantages, and complications,
and while most basic tasks have a Difficulty of 1
and judge the Difficulty accordingly.
or 2, it’s important to remember that you set the
final Difficulty, and thus can increase the required
Finally, making judgements based on the mood
number of successes accordingly. Traits represent-
and preferences of the players is also key to the
ing hazardous environments, obscurity of infor-
Difficulty of tasks. Few groups enjoy constantly
mation, a lack of preparation or appropriate tools,
having to beat the odds by facing an abundance
or other problems can all increase the Difficulty of
of Difficulty 4 or 5 tests, while some revel in rising
routine tasks. If it feels appropriate that a situation
to such challenges. If the group has just faced off

THREAT, MOMENTUM, AND TASK DIFFICULTY

While traits – particularly advantages and where the trait alone may not be reason enough
complications – can have a lasting impact upon to increase the task’s Difficulty) or because
the Difficulty of tasks, short-term Difficulty of the actions of another character creating a
changes can often come about because of uses distraction, obstruction, or other problem.
of Momentum or Threat.
Regardless of how they are used, increasing
These options can be used when a situation Difficulty by spending Momentum or Threat must
becomes momentarily more difficult, either be done before the decision to buy bonus d20s
because of the vagaries of some environmental for that task is made: it would be decidedly unfair
factor (such as smoke, or a crowd, or something to see if a player wants to buy any dice before
similar; this may be represented by a trait, choosing to increase the Difficulty. 
06103

MAIN ENGINEERING 157

 against a difficult opponent, tension will be high, so § A consequence is something that will happen
allowing a few easier tasks will help release that because of action; it might be the result of a
tension, giving players a bit of a break and allowing failed task, or it might come automatically if the
them to generate some much-needed Momentum. task is even attempted.
Sometimes players just have a bad night with a
string of unlucky rolls; nobody will think badly of you When setting the Difficulty of a task, you should
if you ease off the pressure, if it allows the fun and consider the things that could go wrong. These can
the story to continue. naturally serve as inspiration for how to handle any
complications that may occur, but they can also
serve as the result of a failed task. Similarly, if a
Risks, Costs, and player wants to attempt something that is particu-
Consequences larly tough or challenging, or which shouldn’t be too
straightforward to attempt, it may be worthwhile
A crucial part of adjudicating a task, and one com-
considering a cost for that task. These are all pow-
monly overlooked, is defining the effects of failure.
erful tools that can be interwoven with all the other
If the task is to avoid some dangerous effect or
rules of the game to create thrilling, dynamic, and
situation, then the effects of failure are obvious: the
evocative scenes and encounters.
character didn’t avoid the danger. But in situations
where a character is attempting to achieve some-
Of course, it’s easy to simply say “think of the
thing, it is important to determine what will happen
things that could go wrong,” but it’s harder to do
if they fail to achieve their goal; after all, if there’s
that in practice, at least without some guidance or
no cost or consequence for their failure, then why
experience. Fortunately, fiction provides us with a
didn’t they just succeed automatically?
variety of different problems that occur frequently,
and which can serve as inspiration. Consider the
Risks, costs, and consequences are all different
following challenges that could occur:
ways to express “what goes wrong.” They don’t
necessarily represent something going irrevocably
§ Price: A straightforward problem is a price, usu-
wrong, but rather help to provide you with a sense
ally in the form of lost resources. This might be
of nuance about what could go wrong, and in turn
a tangible resource, but it could also easily be a
convey those potential problems to the players.
loss of Momentum, or adding to Threat, or even
There’s a lot of overlap among the ideas, but in
something like losing an advantage or suffering
general, they can be described as follows:
a complication.
§ A risk is something that might happen because § Harm: Equally straightforward: suffering Stress
of a task. It isn’t guaranteed to happen, but it and risking injury or trauma is useful as a risk,
could occur if the player suffers a complication. cost, or consequence. The application of some
It doesn’t change whether the task succeeds, form of fatigue is an appropriate instance of
but it might still change the outcome one way this problem.
or another.
§ Revelation: The character reveals something
§ A cost is something that must be paid or that they didn’t intend to, such as something
faced to get a desired outcome, but which can they know, or even where they are. Alternatively,
be avoided. This turns up with the option to the character may learn something that they
Succeed at Cost (where a failed task allows wish wasn’t true which could complicate later
the character to get minimum success if they actions, such as finding that the enemy leader
also suffer a complication), but you may frame has extra guards, or that they are about to head
a cost for allowing a task to be attempted in somewhere else. Revelations can be useful to
the first place. introduce new ways to spend Threat or set up
other problems like time pressure.

158 CHAPTER 6.10

§ Confusion: The character miscommunicates the next scene (maybe they’ll turn up partway
or otherwise creates uncertainty, leading to through the scene instead of at the start), or it
upset, poor timing, offense, or misunderstand- means they can’t act first in the next round.
ing. Only applicable when there’s an audience,
§ Closed Path: A specific way of doing something
confusion can lead to problems with teamwork
is no longer possible, at least in the short term,
or make it so that an adversary responds in an
and the characters will have to find a different
unexpected manner.
approach. A character tries bypassing a lock only
§ Waste: Like price, but whereas a price is inten- to find that the door is bolted shut. A character
tional, waste is the misuse or misapplication can no longer rely on a specific informant or ally.
of resources. This is useful in situations where Witnesses are too scared to come forward.
a character might already have the option to
use those resources. Alternatively, waste may In practice, many of these challenges may end up
represent being inefficient or reckless in some having similar outcomes, but they are useful starting
other way, perhaps with a character leaving points to consider when deciding the outcomes of
themselves exposed to reprisals, or putting different tasks.
themselves in a position where they can’t
easily follow-up (in a conflict, a character may More than that, they can also be used to help
find themselves unable to keep the initiative structure problematic situations: a situation may be
or make a reaction, or they lose some other presented as a series of overlapping, interlocking
defensive benefit). problems, each of which is part of a trait, and each
of which can be “disarmed.” This kind of structure is
§ Ineffectiveness: The effect of the task is less
ideal for challenges.
than expected in some way, or the character’s
success is only partial or incomplete. The
Of course, the nature of a problem is only half the
character still gets the minimum of what they
story. You should also consider the severity of prob-
wanted to achieve, but that success is imperfect
lem. This should be relatively straightforward most
and may result in problems. This might reduce
of the time, but it’s worthy of consideration anyway,
the strength of an attack, or it may mean that a
as it can be a useful “lever” for you to adjust during
distraction doesn’t occupy an adversary for as
play. The severity of a problem is, in short, how big
long as desired.
the problem is. This is something independent of
§ Overkill: The character succeeds too well. how difficult the task is – a task can be extremely
The character becomes a victim of their own difficult, but with only relatively mild consequences,
success, gaining unintended effects from the or it could be easy, but with a major cost.
outcome. A lie told to gain access somewhere
causes the guard to treat you as a VIP. A dis- As a basic guide, we can approach severity from the
guise attracts the attention of people other than perspective of complications, as that ties neatly into
your intended target. A phaser blast to remove the existing framework of tasks – a risk represents
some rubble accidentally brings the whole a potential complication effect, and the Success at
building down. Cost rule ties into the idea of cost. Complications
have two universal outcomes – create a compli-
§ Delay: Sometimes, things just take longer than
cation or add 2 to Threat – which means that they
anticipated. This is already built into the rules
are useful for quantifying a problem. If a problem is
for time pressure, where a complication can
equivalent to two complications, then it’s equal to 4
cause the task to take an extra interval, but
Threat, for example.
it can apply just as well to other situations.
Perhaps a delay allows the enemy to prepare
And, just as with Difficulty, you may spend Threat or
for the characters’ arrival, or it allows pursuing
apply traits and complications to increase the sever-
guards to catch up. Perhaps a delay means
ity of a problem (though a single trait or complication
the character can’t join the rest of the group in

MAIN ENGINEERING 159

 should only have a single effect on a task at a The Threat section on page 168 provides guidance
time). For example, if an area of a building has the for how differing amounts of Threat spent can trans-
Unstable trait, then you may use this to add to the late into mechanical effects. In general, however,
severity of tasks to cross that terrain, while a Poorly there’s no hard-and-fast way to measure or quantify
Lit trait might make tasks for observation somewhat some problems: you should rely on your judgement
ineffective rather than more difficult. This is where and experience, and how the players respond to the
consequences can come in, with traits providing problems they face.
justification for problems occurring on failed tasks.

PLAYER-DRIVEN PROBLEMS
While problems are mainly a consideration for The other way that players might wish to
you, players can have some input here. engage with problems is by adjusting risk and
reward. A player may offer to face a problem,
As already noted, a problem may be repre- or a more severe problem, in exchange for
sented or caused by something else present increasing the benefits of success (typically
in-game, typically a trait or complication; play- manifesting as bonus Momentum for a suc-
ers can engage with and eliminate the problem cessful task). For example, a character may feel
by attempting to remove or circumvent that that they could search a laboratory for evidence
trait. This is a useful way of presenting traps more effectively if they weren’t concerned about
and similar artificial hazards, and it encourages making noise, increasing the risk of being heard
creative approaches to problem-solving. but making it more likely that they’ll find what
they’re looking for. 
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160 CHAPTER 6.10

 CHAPTER 06.20

EXTE NDE D T A S K S
“ I’ m no t go o d in g rou p s. It’s h ard to work
in gro u p s wh en you ’re omn ip oten t”

— Q

MAKING USE OF EXTENDED TASKS

WHILE THE RULES FOR EXTENDED TASKS ARE § Resistance works exactly as in combat – each
explained in the core rulebooks, they are often a time Stress is inflicted, it reduces the total
source of confusion for gamemasters new to Star amount of Stress suffered.
Trek Adventures, both in terms of how they func-
§ The Stress a character inflicts each time they
tion and where and when to use them. This section
succeed at a task for an extended task is a pool
provides additional details on using extended tasks
of A equal to 2 plus the discipline rating the
in your games.
character used. At your discretion (or because of
talents) characters may have additional effects
How an Extended which apply to this roll. This can be modified
– by rerolls, buying extra Stress, or reducing
Task Works Resistance – with Momentum exactly as with
At their core, extended tasks function by apply- an attack in combat.
ing the game’s Stress and injury mechanics to
non-combat actions. That is, an extended task is an Those are the fundamentals, summarized and
activity where “beating” the activity means success- explained to help you understand them yourself, and
fully inflicting Stress upon it. to help you explain them to your players.

§ Breakthroughs are akin to a character’s But the important part is less about how they work,
injuries, or the breaches a ship can suffer. An and more about what they’re meant to be used for.
extended task can only take a set number of
breakthroughs before it’s been successfully
overcome. Get all those breakthroughs, and you Where and When
beat the extended task. Extended Tasks Work
§ The Work track is the activity’s Stress rating. An extended task is essentially a pacing tool,
When you succeed at a task to affect the activ- designed to slow down and add some uncertainty
ity, you inflict Stress upon that track, much as to an activity. They represent activities which will
if you had hit an enemy starship with an attack. take longer than a single task, but more importantly,
Inflict 5 or more Stress (after Resistance) in one they create an opportunity for tension, so long as the
go, and you’ll get a breakthrough. Fill the Work extended task is in the right place within the narrative
track entirely, and you’ll get a breakthrough (do you’re building. If you apply an extended task in the
both and you’ll get two breakthroughs). Inflict wrong place, your players are likely to see it as just
Stress when the Work track is already full, and meaningless dice rolling, and they’ll likely get bored.
you’ll get a breakthrough.

MAIN ENGINEERING 161

 If there is no pressure or peril involved in an or risking death, this can make a good extended
extended task you have established, then it would task. Attempting to perform repairs on a critical
be better presented as a single task that simply ship system while the compartment floods with
takes a long time to complete, or even just as a radiation is a good example of this.
description of how long it takes before moving on in
§ If the characters are attempting to perform
the game. If there are no consequences for failure
some complex scientific or technical activity
or for taking too long, don’t use an extended task.
during a combat situation, this is an ideal
Consider the following guidance:
extended task, and one that can be used to give
characters less skilled at fighting something
§ If the characters are trying to achieve some-
important to do during a fight. Indeed, they can
thing complex in a specific amount of time, an
often serve as the objective of a combat: beam
extended task is well-suited to that activity, so
out prisoners from a Dominion POW camp while
long as the consequences of failure are signifi-
the rest of the away team are fighting off the
cant. Defusing a bomb before the timer reaches
guards or try to disable the transporter jammers
zero is a classic tense situation, and one well-
so that the away team can beam out.
suited to an extended task. Adding the rules for
intervals and timed challenges is ideal here.
These situations all create a key component of an
§ If the characters are attempting a delicate extended task: tension. Because the player cannot
activity where failure is risky or costly, extended know for certain how long the extended task will
tasks can work well. Life-saving surgery, where take – either in terms of time taken per roll, or in
a failed roll sees the patient grow weaker and terms of number of rolls – pairing this uncertainty
slip closer to death, or trying to shut down with danger or risk creates tension, which in turn
some booby-trapped technology that may react makes each roll meaningful. If each roll means
violently to tampering are both good examples taking Stress, then taking too long and needing to
of this kind of extended task. make too many rolls can be deadly.
§ If the characters are attempting something com-
What’s also useful to remember is that because
plex in a dangerous environment, where merely
an extended task represents the results of several
being in the environment means suffering Stress

SOCIAL EXTENDED TASKS

In a social conflict, extended tasks can be useful that the characters need a better offer while
for representing conflict over large matters, negotiating, or must prove they’re willing to
such as trade negotiations or peace talks. While carry out a threat they made, or should present
these don’t necessarily have the same urgency better evidence, or must offer something to
or peril associated with defusing a bomb or pre- support the lies they’ve told.
venting a warp core breach, the same principles
of consequences and risk can still apply. That simple element of context can help
maintain a sense of tension during that kind of
A useful trick here is to enforce the idea that protracted social conflict. Combine that with an
once you’ve failed a social task to persuade appropriate form of ongoing pressure – per-
someone, you cannot attempt it again until haps the trade negotiations have a deadline, or
you’ve altered the context in some way. In an perhaps peace talks risk being undermined by
extended task, that logically means that failing violence the longer they take – and an extended
on a task means that side cannot make any task in a social conflict can maintain the neces-
further attempts to affect that extended task sary tension and drama. 
without doing something different. It may mean
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162 CHAPTER 6.20

tasks strung together, the overall consequences description for each breakthrough can ensure that
for failure can be much greater and much more players have a sense of progress. You may even
significant than might be the case for a single task. wish to alter the normal benefit for achieving a
Nevertheless, while failing to defuse a bomb in time breakthrough to represent a specific benefit: maybe
has justifiably lethal consequences, never spring the breakthrough reduces the extended task’s
these consequences on a player unexpectedly: a Resistance, or allows players taking part to roll addi-
character (and player) should go into an extended tional A. This technique can also be used to change
task understanding the risks involved, because it’s things up in other ways – perhaps the second stage
even more dramatic if the character knowingly risks of a project needs a different set of skills, so you
or sacrifices their life. require that somebody else takes the lead after the
first breakthrough.

Other Ways to Use Long-Term Projects: By restricting how often

Extended Tasks a character can attempt progress towards an
extended task, it becomes a long-term project rather
The methods described above are all ideally suited
than an immediate part of the scene. A limit of
to an extended task which sits within a scene as
once-per-scene may represent an activity that will
part of the overall action and drama of that scene.
define an entire adventure, particularly if other tasks
However, there are other ways to use extended
during a scene are used to support the extended
tasks that aren’t so immediate.
task, while one that can only be attempted once per
adventure may represent a significant undertaking
Narrated Breakthroughs: A useful technique with
carried out behind the scenes over weeks or months
longer extended tasks or ones which are more
of in-game time. In these cases, the immediate con-
central to the adventure’s plotline, a narrated break-
sequences from failure may be minimal, or they may
through means describing the outcome of each
have a nasty effect on the current adventure, but the
breakthrough in meaningful terms. Having a specific
rewards for success should be significant.

MAIN ENGINEERING 163

 CHAPTER 06.30

M OME NT UM
“ Alla ma ra ine , cou n t to fou r. Allam arain e,
t he n t hre e mo re . Allamarain e, if you can see…
Alla ma rain e, you ’ll come with me.”

— CHAN D R A, LT. DAX , CMDR. SISKO,

D R. BASHIR, AND M AJOR KIRA

MAKING USE OF MOMENTUM

THE MOMENTUM MECHANIC IS ONE OF THE HIGH- Momentum. Once this begins to happen, it can
light features of the 2d20 System and Star Trek quickly get away from you, and result in tasks you
Adventures. It is a powerful tool for players to intended to be dramatic and critical becoming rela-
impact their gameplay and improve their chances tively easy to overcome. Balancing this is one of the
of success. It is also, however, an equally powerful toughest things to learn. The core rulebook defines
tool for you to enhance the narrative of your story how Momentum is generated, as well as its various
– highlighting the successes of characters and how uses, but any discussion on Momentum should at
those task resolutions further aid future attempts. least cover how those uses can impact your story,
Generating Momentum will likely be one of the and provide you with options and ideas to incorpo-
primary outcomes your players are hoping for when rate into your game.
attempting a task, and you should keep that in mind
when they pick up the dice. Providing opportunities
for the players to generate Momentum will help Objects in Motion
keep the players engaged in the game by giving Likely the most common use of Momentum is allow-
them opportunities to feel important and useful. ing players to buy additional dice when attempting a
task. As such, you will likely see this being the most
Remember that your players are the central common mechanical benefit your players derive
audience as well as the key figures in your story, from their success. You should plan for this to occur
and giving them this opportunity is both fun and and build your adventures accordingly. Failing to
rewarding. This will also allow them to take on provide opportunities for your players to generate
challenges that would normally be prohibitive, and Momentum before a critical task can result in your
give you greater opportunity to include significant story getting derailed at an inopportune moment, as
or truly dangerous opponents or situations, further the players fail the attempt and decide not to use
increasing the dramatic tension in game. Threat to Succeed at Cost. If you decide to present
this situation to your players, be sure to determine
Momentum can, however, also work against what failure looks like ahead of time and be ready
the story if you’re not careful. While generating with a backup plan to keep the game moving.
Momentum is fun and makes players feel impact- Otherwise, you’ll need to provide your players
ful, it also means that any subsequent tasks with a few minor tasks to allow them to build up
are going to be somewhat easier, and therefore, Momentum prior to facing significant tasks.
provide increased opportunities to generate further

164 CHAPTER 6.30

There are many additional ways for you to those characters challenges that require them start
encourage your players to seek out opportunities to calling on other aspects of their characters. As with
generate Momentum. Other tools at your disposal increasing a task’s Difficulty, and including traits and
are traits and opportunity costs. They are grouped opportunity costs which will require players to spend
together because they both function in similar Momentum, this option should be used infrequently.
ways. Both require players to spend Momentum in When used too often, your players may feel that you
order to make certain actions possible, either by are intentionally trying to counter their best chances.
requiring tools or equipment for the job at hand,
or by countering or eliminating an obstacle in their In the event that you feel like you are having a
path. As with Difficulties, both of these options can difficult time using all of these tools, try using each
provide new ways for you to bring circumstances one once before returning to it again and keep an
into play that will drive your players to find ways to eye on the amount of Momentum being generated
use their characters’ attributes and disciplines in and saved by the players. If it seems like they
order to continue driving the story forward, but, if are struggling, simply eliminate the obstacle you
they are presented well, traits and opportunity costs inserted into the scene or make a task they are
will often feel more integrated into the story and attempting slightly easier. If you instead feel like the
therefore less arbitrary during play. amount of Momentum is too high and your players
are effortlessly moving through your story, do the
This is not, however, to say that each scene should reverse and insert a new obstacle in their path.
include such a cost or obstacle. Constantly dropping
prohibitive traits into your game can feel just as
arbitrary as simply upping the Difficulty of tasks. Giving Momentum Meaning
Instead, you should use a careful mix of Difficulty, Because Momentum is such an important aspect
traits, and opportunity costs throughout your game. of game play, it should be important enough to
Doing so will allow you to craft game sessions provide at least a minimal amount of narration as it
that, hopefully, challenge your players and require is created. While there is nothing wrong with simply
them to use their character’s strengths whenever awarding Momentum in numerical terms, if you are
possible, while preventing things from becoming trying to keep things moving quickly, you will find that
repetitive. In this way, you can call on the mechanics providing that extra bit of narration can significantly
of the game to help reinforce the dramatic circum- increase the atmosphere of your game. In this way,
stances presented in your story. awarding Momentum works a fair bit like suffering or
inflicting Stress during a conflict. While simply stating
As Momentum degrades over time, striking a that an enemy has suffered Stress works, giving that
solid balance between generating and spending extra bit of detail that the player’s enemy was struck
Momentum is important, and should be taken into by a phaser beam that causes their torso to give off
consideration when you are designing the details of a dim orange glow before collapsing into a stunned
the game session. You should try and give players daze is often more engaging.
the opportunity to build two to three Momentum in
each scene if you are building to something bigger Giving this narration can be a bit of a challenge,
as the session moves on. This way, players will especially if you had not considered that a player’s
slowly increase their pool of Momentum and be able task would generate any. This is why it is impor-
to utilize it in either small increments or save it for tant to consider tasks when designing your game
when things really get interesting. sessions. In addition to thinking about what success
and failure might look like, you should also give at
If you do end up in a situation where, despite careful least some thought to what a significant success or
planning, your players are generating high amounts Success at Cost might entail as well, because those
of Momentum, even when using all of these options, are also potential outcomes any time dice are rolled.
it may be time to simply evaluate when and how
each character is generating Momentum, and give

MAIN ENGINEERING 165

 You should also keep in mind which attributes, USING GAIN INFORMATION
disciplines, and even focuses are being used FOR AUTOMATIC SUCCESS
as well, because this will often inform you as to A potential option is to simply allow your players to
how the outcome should be narrated. There is a spend previously-generated Momentum to auto-
distinct difference between a potent success from matically succeed at a subsequent task. This can
a Control-based task and an Insight-based one. be especially important if you feel that the story has
This is why attribute and discipline combinations bogged down at an inopportune time, and the play-
were discussed in such detail above – as having a ers have previously generated a sizable amount of
clear understanding of the circumstances that might Momentum in excess of what you had planned for.
require a particular attribute and discipline combi- Consider allowing players to use Gain Information
nation can also help you determine what the result and spend Momentum equal to the Difficulty of
of that combination might be. If you are requiring a the next task to achieve a single success, and
character to call on their Presence to inspire a group simply narrate how their previous successes simply
they are leading to work faster, any significant result bypassed the task they are faced with because of
from that task should emphasize how that group the detailed information gained.
has increased their productivity because of that
character’s presence among them. EXAMPLE: Suppose the crew’s ship suffered
an unexplained power failure due to a spatial
In essence, any time a player is generating or anomaly. While analyzing the anomaly, the
using Momentum, providing a suitable brief narra- science officer generated two Momentum which
tion of what that looks like can add a vast amount they spend on Gain Information. While providing
of flavor to your game and enhance the experience detailed information about the anomaly is
for everyone. If the use of Momentum is relatively interesting, unless you intentionally worked that
minor, then a few words will get the job done. If the information as a central aspect of your story,
task is significant, or the Momentum spend was the Momentum may be expended for narrative
especially impactful, giving a sentence or three will effect only. You can, instead, allow the players
heighten the impact and ensure that your players to gain a tangible benefit from that information
feel that their efforts were both mechanically and by allowing the chief engineer to restore the
narratively important. ship’s power without rolling because that task
would have required the player to succeed at a
Difficulty of 2. Narrate the detailed information
New Ways to Use and then simply allow the chief engineer to suc-
Momentum ceed because they now know exactly how the
anomaly affected their ship and can counter it.
While there are a good number of potential uses
for Momentum, your players may end up in situ-
USING MOMENTUM TO ALTER A TASK
ations where they have Momentum to spend, but
While designing your adventure, you may have
nothing readily available to spend it on. Sometimes
presented a challenge that requires a particular
the situation simply does not present itself, or
attribute and discipline combination, and yet a
the players are not entirely sure what to do next.
player suggests a different combination that you
When this happens feel free to offer suggestions,
feel may not particularly suit the situation. While
especially those you have already integrated into
you are completely able to deny the request, doing
your story, or allow them to use Momentum in new
so frequently may make your players feel that
and interesting ways.
you are being inflexible. Instead, if the suggested
combination could potentially work, but is not well
suited, instead of increasing the Difficulty of the
task, you can require the player to spend a point
of Momentum to allow for that use. If it is entirely
out of place for the circumstances of the scene you

166 CHAPTER 6.30

are presenting, require two instead. In this way, this players make an excellent resource for you to use
rule functions similarly to introducing a Trait into the to manage more mundane elements of the game
scene, without actually doing so, thus saving you during your adventures.
the trouble of creating and tracking that Trait as the
scene moves forward. Instead of tracking Momentum yourself and trying
to remember all the subtle details and effects, have
EXAMPLE: The players have been ordered your players keep track of the Momentum they
to hold a rocky pass against an oncoming have generated and contributed to the players’
Jem’Hadar squad. Maintaining careful discipline pool, including whatever narrative descriptions
and executing that ambush requires each you’ve given. Then, when a player wants to use that
character to use their Control + Security in the Momentum, the players work together to repeat the
first series of exchanges, as these first crucial narrative descriptions you provided and assist you in
shots are more about steady hands than quick working those into the current scene.
reflexes. Unfortunately, one of the characters
has an abysmal Control rating and instead EXAMPLE: Let’s return to our stranded ship
suggests that once the shooting starts, his caught in the spatial anomaly. The science
character changes targets to a lone Jem’Hadar officer and chief engineer have both rolled
that has broken from the rest of their group and during their portions of the scene and each
is charging the characters’ positions. While the generated a single Momentum that they’ve
player should be rewarded for their imagination, given to the Momentum pool. The science
simply allowing them to change to their much officer’s Momentum spend was described as
better Daring defeats what you were going an extensive sensor analysis that detailed the
for by requiring the Control-based task in the various tidal shifts in subspace. While restoring
first place. Instead of denying their suggestion, main power, the chief engineer’s Momentum
reward them by allowing their suggestion, but spend was described as a minor increase in the
at a minor cost of one Momentum. If the player efficiency of the EPS grid. Now the flight control
accepts the cost, they get to implement their officer at Conn needs to navigate the ship out of
suggestion, or they can go back to using their the anomaly before the tidal forces in subspace
Control and save that Momentum point for begin to rip the ship apart. The conn officer’s
later. Either way, the player can decide how the player asks the group if he can go ahead and
Momentum is spent, while you maintain the use some of the generated Momentum and
integrity of the encounter you designed. the group readily agrees. Normally, that player
would simply grab some extra dice and remove
the corresponding number of Momentum from
Player-Tracked Momentum the pool. Instead, in this example, we now
Keeping track of Momentum generation, and more engage the players. The player of the chief engi-
importantly the narrative description of what generat- neer repeats the narrative description to both
ing that Momentum looked like, can be a difficult task you and the group and says that the increase
for you. When you start giving Momentum a narrative, in efficiency from the EPS grid will make ship
it suddenly becomes an additional set of traits that slightly more maneuverable, then spends the
now impact your game. Trying to keep all the details point of Momentum they generated and passes
straight, while managing everything else, can seem a d20 to the player of the conn officer. The
a bit overwhelming, even when taking notes during science officer’s player then states that the map
play. An effective way to address this is to utilize one of the more dangerous areas of local space
of your greatest resources: your players. should allow the pilot to avoid those areas and
help get the ship to safety, spends their point of
Many players, especially those with previous Momentum and also passes a d20.
experience as gamemasters, may be willing to
provide support to you. Because of this, your

MAIN ENGINEERING 167

 CHAPTER 06.40

THREAT
“ Yo u k no w t he gre a t e st da nge r facin g u s is ou rselves, an
i r r a t i o na l f e a r o f t he unk no w n . Bu t th ere’s n o su ch th in g
a s t he unk no w n – o nly th in g s tem p orarily h id d en ,
t e m p orarily n ot u n d erstood .”

— CAPT. JAME S T. KIRK

RAISING THE STAKES

AT ITS SIMPLEST LEVEL, THREAT IS A MECHANIC You begin each adventure with a set amount of
that can be used to raise the stakes of a scene or Threat based on the number of players in the
even a whole adventure. It allows you to alter and game, as well as numerous means and opportuni-
manipulate elements in a scene without direct action ties to gain more during play. Each adventure will
from NPCs, providing and shaping twists, turns, and also include opportunities to spend that Threat to
challenges for the player characters to overcome. empower NPCs, change the situation, and create
problems for the player characters. In this way, the

168 CHAPTER 6.40

Threat pool grows and shrinks as characters act and FORESHADOWING
react in each scene. Try to describe ways that Threat could be gained,
or effects could be triggered by spending Threat, in
Threat is a means of building tension – the more advance of using them. During the action, you may
Threat you have, the greater the likelihood that describe a problem that could occur. By describing
something will endanger or imperil the player this problem in advance, if you use that problem
characters. The player characters may not always to gain or spend Threat, it doesn’t come “out of
know exactly how much Threat you have, but their nowhere,” and thus feels like an organic part of the
instincts may tell them when something seems too situation rather than something arbitrary.
easy, or they may have a sense of peril when danger
draws near. Traits can provide a solid basis for this: if a walkway
or bridge is unstable, then a trait which reflects that
As the adventure progresses, you may spend a large can be ample justification for uses of Threat, and
amount of Threat in one scene, creating a difficult this trait can easily be included when establishing
and dangerous situation, but also producing a release the scene to begin with. During a scene, compli-
of tension afterwards as the Threat pool is now low. cations, the effects of failed tasks, or the cost to
Or, you may choose to allow Threat to build over attempt or succeed at something can all be used
successive scenes, spending little or none of it until a as opportunities for you to introduce new uses for
climactic event occurs. In this way, Threat mimics and Threat. Another way may be for the adversaries to
emulates the rising and falling tension of dramatic create an advantage: like any trait, an advantage
storytelling, often culminating in a grand finale. can serve nicely as foreshadowing here.

In addition to making a use of Threat seem natural

The Principles of Threat and fitting, foreshadowing also gives the players a
A tool for pacing and dramatic storytelling aside, chance to try and prevent or avoid that problem. This
Threat is best thought of as an abstract representa- may turn into an extra objective for them to pursue,
tion of all the things that might go wrong at any or they may decide that they’ve got too much to do
given moment. It’s all the unknown variables, and already and ignore that potential problem.
the unfolding conspiracies, and the malign influence
of powerful foes, and the clamor and clangor of THE SPOTLIGHT
battle, and the chaos that can erupt when tension When you gain or spend Threat, the resulting effects
runs high. It’s Murphy’s law (“anything that can go can serve to draw attention to specific themes
wrong, will go wrong”) quantified, and it’s the bul- and ideas, or to certain elements of a scene, or to
lets in Chekov’s gun (a dramatic principle whereby an individual character. This, in turn, creates new
elements introduced into a story must pay off or opportunities for the players to engage with the situ-
they are superfluous). ation. In general, using Threat to highlight things can
make the game more engaging, compared to simply
During a scene, Threat is one of the two methods using Threat to make things more difficult.
by which you can influence events: the other being
the actions of NPCs. As a result, it is powerful and With a thematic spotlight, you can use Threat to
evocative if used well, and it is extremely versatile, pick out a specific concept central to the adventure
but it is also finite, with the quantity often defined or to the campaign. Spend Threat to introduce spe-
by the actions that take place in the scene. But, cific types of challenges or problems that encourage
whereas some ways of gaining and spending Threat a specific approach: large numbers of enemies and
are straightforward and self-explanatory – in any frequent reinforcements can encourage a subtle,
instance in which a player character could use considered approach, favoring stealth and guile.
Momentum, an NPC can use Threat, for example – Alternatively, you may use Threat to dissuade a cer-
others may require more work from you to use in a tain type of action: the game naturally does this with
satisfying way. lethal force, so that player characters attempting to

MAIN ENGINEERING 169

 kill enemies add to Threat, while NPCs attempting often by facing them with a dilemma or a tough
to use deadly force must spend Threat. This adds choice. Occasionally, you may wish to play to the
an extra level of cost to trying to kill, and it helps weaknesses of a specific character or put them in
to create adventures in which trying to negotiate a situation where their strengths become a liability,
with or subdue enemies is more commonplace than but this should be done sparingly, if at all, as some
simply shooting them. players can feel picked on, making the game feel
adversarial rather than collaborative.
A situation spotlight draws attention back to a
specific part of the current scene. This might be to CAUSALITY
a specific place within the environment, such as Because Threat is in large part provided by character
spending Threat to make a crumbling cavern start action, it helps provide a balance to the game, ensur-
to collapse, or it might be a specific character, such ing that the “pressure” the player characters apply to
as a leader or priority target (often using an ability a situation is met with equal force by their opposition.
unique to that character). It might even be a single
objective: you may spend more Threat on adver- Threat serves as a visible cause-and-effect for play-
saries trying to reach a specific location or attack ers taking risks and facing the problems that come
a specific character if that aids their goal. This can along with it. Your use of Threat feeds from circum-
be a useful way to add urgency to a situation, espe- stances in-game: the protagonists push their luck,
cially if things have seemed too easy for the players and fate pushes back. This connection provides the
up until that point. Alternately, you may wish to try players with an understanding of how their choices
adding a point or two to Threat periodically (either influence the problems they face and gives you a
in general, or because of NPC actions, like setting clear license to create those problems on the fly.
explosives) to represent a ticking clock or escalating
problem, or to urge the players to action if they’re The causality of Threat means providing a narrative
being overly cautious. link between the ways that Threat is gained during
a scene, and the effects that come from spending
A character spotlight is a situation where attention Threat. It doesn’t have to apply to every time you
is drawn to a player character. This can resolve gain or spend Threat, but a few key instances can
itself in a few ways: you may present a problem help a feel of continuity and verisimilitude.
which that character is ideally suited to solve,
allowing that character to show off for a bit, or A good example of causality might be a character
it might change circumstances which play to a adding to Threat to buy dice when climbing a crum-
character’s personality or backstory, engaging the bling cliff, and you spending some of that Threat
player by bringing their part of the story to the fore, later to make the cliff begin to subside, or enemies

DITHERING
Sometimes players spend a long time debating In these situations, particularly in time-sensitive
a situation and don’t spend enough time doing situations like combat, you may wish to
things. This can suit some groups fine – many announce that their debating and time-wasting
groups enjoy an intricate, carefully-devised will add to Threat. If this doesn’t stir them to
plan – but other groups may end up talking in action, add 1 or 2 points to the Threat pool.
circles, and may need a little nudge to get them
to decide on a course of action (even if it’s as This Threat could even be spent right away
simple as who goes next in combat). to change the situation in such a way that
makes the players react and gets the session
moving again. 
06401

170 CHAPTER 6.40

sounding an alarm, which adds Threat points which If the players give Threat freely, then you should use
you can then spend to bring in reinforcements. Threat eagerly and often: using Threat roughly as
often as the players generate it is a good bench-
PROPORTIONATE RESISTANCE mark, simply to avoid a flood of Threat spends later.
Because Threat can often be gained through the Players that give Threat freely tend to fall into one
actions of the player characters, this means that the of two categories: players looking for a challenge,
players have considerable control over the amount of and players who don’t regard Threat as particularly
Threat you have available during a scene. Cautious, threatening. In the former case, spending Threat
reluctant, or careful players may give little Threat (as gives the players what they want. In the latter case,
may new players who aren’t comfortable with the spending Threat regularly means that the players
idea of empowering you), while aggressive or deter- don’t come to regard adding to Threat as conse-
mined players can flood you with additional Threat. quence-free: an ever-growing pool of Threat may
seem intimidating, unless you never spend any of
Players reluctant to add to Threat may find them- it, at which point it may seem to have no bearing on
selves Momentum-starved at crucial moments, play at all.
making higher-Difficulty tasks and other challeng-
ing situations more difficult to overcome, while In either case, you can still regulate the flow of
players more comfortable with giving you Threat Threat: spending it more frequently than it is gained
can blast through difficult situations with relative will reduce the size of the Threat pool and make the
ease, as they’ll always have the extra dice and situation less tense, while spending it less frequently
other benefits they need, and can generate extra than it is gained allows the pool, and the tension it
Momentum accordingly. represents, to grow.

Thus, you should watch the group’s behavior, and STATUS GAUGE
their approach to Threat, to help guide decisions One interesting use of Threat doesn’t rely on how
made during the game, such as numbers of enemies Threat is gained or spent: instead, it considers
and Difficulty of tasks. Your use of Threat should simply how much Threat there is in the pool. The
also be adjusted accordingly: if players generate a overall quantity of Threat can be used as a gauge for
lot of Threat, then that Threat can be used to put the situation currently playing out. This is a useful
pressure on those players in turn, so that the players trick when handling games focused on infiltration
have a degree of control over how big a challenge or subterfuge (though it works in other situations
they will face. too), as the amount of Threat can provide a useful
guide for how NPCs will act: higher Threat means
If the players are wary of Threat, and are reluctant adversaries will be alert, wary, and quick to respond,
to provide you with any, then you should use Threat while bystanders may withdraw from the area or
sparingly; Threat use may need to be rationed hide if startled. In a negotiation, high Threat may
anyway, as there isn’t as much available. Also, mean that tensions and tempers are running high.
using effects that alter the circumstances rather
than just amp up the Difficulty can be good for the This provides a greater sense of feedback for
game in general: players wary of Threat often feel Threat, with an effect more visible and pervasive
afraid of it being used to “punish” them later, so than individual uses of Threat. It is especially valua-
using it in more narrative and less confrontational or ble in situations where the peril is contained within
adversarial ways can help. It can also help if Threat the local environment – such as a single building, a
is used in small quantities, rather than saving up compound, or some other restricted area – or where
for a bigger effect: a large pool of Threat can seem there is some supernatural phenomenon in play that
ominous, especially for players expecting some big, Threat can represent… or both, such as a haunted
catastrophic expenditure. house or similar environment.

MAIN ENGINEERING 171

 up Threat spends, especially when those expendi-
tures are being used in direct opposition to another
player’s action, as the relationship among players
should be based on them working as a team.

Gaining Threat
You begin every adventure with a set amount of
Threat, based on both the number of players and on
the underlying tension and danger of the adventure
itself. By default, the starting number is 2 Threat per
player character, but some adventures may begin
with a larger or smaller number.
If the situation is one where Threat will fluctuate
greatly, Threat can cue a change in NPC behavior: § A low stakes adventure begins with 1 Threat
if high Threat means that an enemy is alert and per player character. These adventures are
vigilant, then spending Threat for that enemy can likely to be simple, straightforward affairs, either
represent the effort and intensity of their search, short one-off games, or low-key adventures in
which will pass in time. As Threat decreases, those a campaign that serve as a reprieve after a few
enemies will relax their efforts, let their guard down, tense adventures.
and go back to their normal patrols, but an increase
§ A high stakes adventure begins with 3 Threat
in Threat will increase their alertness again. This
per player character. These adventures are likely
produces a degree of dynamic feedback, where
to be high in action, drama, and uncertainty. In
actions that feed and draw from Threat influence the
a campaign, several adventures may lead up
situation in passive ways as well as more active and
to a high stakes adventure, building in tension
immediate ones.
over time.
ADDING THREAT TO THE NARRATIVE § A catastrophic adventure begins with 4 Threat
Any time Threat is generated, a narrative expla- per player character. These adventures are likely
nation of what that looks like should accompany to be explosive, whether literally or figuratively,
adding points of Threat to your pool. This can often and are ideally suited to climactic struggles
take a variety of forms, depending on where the against major adversaries. They should also be
Threat originated from, either because the players extremely rare, being built up to over the course
have added it or because of the inherently danger- of a campaign.
ous nature of the situation. In either case, giving
your Threat a meaningful narrative description will Once an adventure has begun, you can spend and
add to the atmosphere of the game and give both gain Threat as you see fit. You gain Threat through
you and your players a more rewarding experience. a variety of situations and circumstances, as
described below.
Tracking threat in this way can be as challenging as
tracking Momentum and traits. If you feel your players THREAT FROM THE PLAYER CHARACTERS
are willing, you may ask them to keep narrative A significant source of Threat is the player charac-
track of the Threat they have generated, but keep in ters, who can add to Threat through their choices
mind they may not have as much knowledge of the and through random chance.
circumstances active in any given scene as you do.
This option works best when dealing with Threat that Immediate Momentum: Whenever a player charac-
has been generated specifically because of a play- ter uses a Momentum spend listed as Immediate,
er-driven action, and should only be used when you they may choose to pay some or all the cost by
call for it. Players should not be encouraged to offer adding to Threat instead of spending Momentum.

172 CHAPTER 6.40

This is a simple option, but one entirely at the This method is easy to abuse, but it can be fun for the
discretion of the players, and as already discussed, players if used carefully and thematically. Actions and
different players will have different attitudes to situations that generate Threat are more interesting
giving you Threat. in play than effects that simply generate Threat auto-
matically, as they help reinforce a sense of cause and
Complications: Whenever a player character effect as well as being something that the players can
suffers one or more complications on a task, they try to interrupt or prevent. Allies with the Menacing
or you may choose to add 2 to Threat to “buy off” ability are an interesting idea too: it’s a nice com-
the complication. promise for having a powerful ally, as their presence
draws attention that helps offset their abilities.
Escalation: You – or the rules – may note that
specific actions or decisions risk escalation, making Adversary Momentum: Adversary NPCs with
a situation more dangerous or unpredictable. If a unspent Momentum may spend that Momentum to
character performs an action that risks escalation, add to Threat, as they lack a group Momentum pool
they immediately add 1 to Threat. to save it in. Each Momentum spent adds 1 to Threat.

You should be consistent in this, and instances of This is an important option, as it can allow the
escalation should be appropriate to the theme and players’ enemies to build up Threat through their
style of the game. However, use of lethal force, normal actions. A useful trick here is to have
or carrying powerful or unusual weapons into a “minions” who generate Momentum on their tasks
populated area, are both actions that commonly which then gets used by their leader, or to use
risk escalation. You should declare that an action smaller battles with enemies who dump all their
risks escalation and then allow the player character Momentum into Threat rather than spend it on
to choose whether they wish to continue with that themselves, creating a fight that was “suspiciously
choice: springing an escalation cost on a player after easy” to build up to a later scene.
the fact is unlikely to be well-received.

OTHER SOURCES OF THREAT Spending Threat

You have a couple of other ways of generating Your options for using Threat are more diverse and
Threat that give you additional control over how numerous than the ways of generating Threat, and
much Threat is available and how that reflects the this is deliberate: there are always more things you
events going on in the game. could use Threat on than there is Threat to spend on
those things.
Threatening Circumstances: The environment
or situation of a new scene may be threatening or Adversary Momentum: Threat serves in part as a
dangerous in some way, adding 1 or 2 Threat to the mirror of the players’ Momentum pool. Thus, adver-
pool automatically when the scene begins. Some sary NPCs may spend Threat in all the ways that the
NPCs may generate Threat simply by showing up player characters can use Momentum.
(this is covered by the Menacing special ability), in
response to changes in the situation (often noted in This is a simple and straightforward option. It
the NPC’s special abilities or talents), or by taking is entirely possible to run a game of Star Trek
certain actions. Sometimes, the environment may Adventures and only use Threat for this purpose,
have specific ways of increasing Threat when ignoring all the narrative elements of Threat to use it
characters interact with it: an alarm that can be simply as “evil Momentum.”
triggered, heavy or dangerous machinery that can
be activated, or flammable materials that could burn Adversary Threat Costs: On any action where a
or explode. player character would be required to add 1 or more
points to Threat, an adversary NPC performing the

MAIN ENGINEERING 173

 same action or making the same choice must spend enemies (the player characters can’t “defeat all the
an equivalent number of points of Threat. enemies” if there’s an endless supply of enemies).

Again, simple and straightforward. This is less a use ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

and more a cost, a way to balance the scales by AND NARRATIVE CHANGES
ensuring that adversaries pay for things just like the The options you have for using Threat are not limited
player characters do. to those primarily mechanical options discussed
above. Indeed, many of the most potent and most
Adversary Complications: If an adversary NPC dramatic options have a more far-reaching effect than
suffers a complication, you may buy off that compli- simply buying extra dice or altering task Difficulty.
cation by spending 2 Threat.
Dramatic scenes often play out in exciting environ-
Once more, it is a natural counterpart to how the ments, whether crumbling stairs in ancient ruins, the
rules work for player characters. turbulent shallows of a river crossing, the bustling
indifference of a busy city, a rocky cliff with waves
Complication: You may create a complication by thundering against the jagged shore, the offices of a
spending 2 Threat. This must come naturally from skyscraper, or even more evocative locations. When
the current situation. describing scenes, you will already have defined
what the environment is like, and you should
This can be a useful way to generate complications typically aim to have the environment enhance the
without waiting for them to occur by chance, but scene: a scene with an evocative backdrop will be
it should be used sparingly. Ideal opportunities for much more memorable and interesting. There’s no
this option include failed tasks, or from NPC actions reason to use bland or uninteresting locales, as you
(akin to spending Momentum to generate an advan- have control over where each scene takes place.
tage), but as a general rule, a complication should
only ever occur because something happened, Furthermore, you can use Threat to bring that
rather than appearing out of nowhere. environment to the fore, putting the environment
into motion in some fashion, or by taking obvious
Reinforcements: You may bring in additional elements from the traits and other description, and
adversary NPCs during a scene. Minor NPCs cost 1 emphasizing or developing them. Similarly, you can
Threat each, while Notable NPCs cost 2 Threat each. employ Threat to perform a few different narrative
A starship can be brought in (appearing on long- tricks and techniques that can add twists, turns, and
range sensors, dropping out of warp, or decloaking) other story elements to the game. Either way, these
by spending Threat equal to the ship’s Scale. In a effects cost Threat.
conflict, this should be done at the start of a round,
with the reinforcements able to act during that As a general rule, environmental and narrative
round as normal. This does not apply to NPCs who effects of this sort come in a few distinct categories.
are present at the start of the scene, only additional
ones who arrive while the scene is in progress. § Incidental effects cost 1 Threat, and they
There must be some logical reason why those appear in play as things such as flickering
reinforcements have arrived. lights, unstable floors, and thick smoke. These
don’t cause a significant problem, but it might
This is a powerful tool, in part because it allows you increase the complication range of a task by 1,
to scale a conflict according to the player charac- make some routine action require a Difficulty
ters’ abilities on the fly. Justifications for reinforce- 1 task when success would normally be auto-
ments are easy to devise – enemies sounding the matic, or require a Difficulty 1 task to avoid a
alarm or spending an action calling for help – and problem. This effect may come from something
it can be used to refocus an action scene on its which is persistent but varied, representing that
objectives rather than simply trying to defeat all the problem at its worst: the unstable floor may

174 CHAPTER 6.40

 give way a little, making a character stumble, when the player characters first become aware
while billowing smoke may obscure vision at of it, though it should still come naturally from
the worst moment, hindering vision for a split the scene description and associated traits.
second. The effect applies to a single character Remember that, while it affects a whole area
when the Threat is spent; extra Threat may be and potentially multiple characters, cunning
spent to affect additional characters, though it players may figure out ways to use it against
shouldn’t affect too many characters at once. their enemies. The amount of Threat required
for this depends on the amount of Stress, and
§ A change of circumstances is more signifi-
the effects chosen. Review the Hazard Damage
cant, and such an effect should cost at least 2
and Threat Costs table for more details.
Threat. An environmental effect like this can be
represented by taking an existing location or § Dividing the group can complicate the player
situation trait, and then replacing it with another characters’ plans like nothing else. Perhaps a
trait of the same type (such as going from bright door slams shut behind part of the group, some
light to deep darkness), or by adding a new trait of them are beamed away (or left behind), or
that alters the situation in some way, shape, a section of floor collapses beneath them, or a
or form. It may make an area more difficult to ladder or staircase breaks. Whatever happens,
traverse or force a different route to be found some circumstance has contrived to separate
(such as blocking a path with thick mud or the group temporarily. When used, you split
falling debris). Each trait changed, added, or the group into two, choosing how many and
removed costs 2 Threat, and some changes of which characters end up in which group. You
circumstances could see several traits change then pay Threat equal to the number of player
in quick succession. characters in the larger of the two parts. The
two parts cannot directly interact with one
§ Immediate hazards inflict Stress suddenly
another while divided – though they may still be
on a single character. This can come from
able to communicate by shouting or using their
factors like fire, collapsing structures, falling,
communicators – and reuniting the group will
dangerous chemicals, strange energies, traps,
require some time and effort. At the very most,
and other perils. The number of points of Threat
the separation lasts only until the end of the
spent determines how much Stress is inflicted,
current scene.
as well as if any effects that apply. The amount
of Stress and the effects chosen should make § A reveal shows the player characters some
sense for the environmental hazard repre- fact that they wish wasn’t true. This could be
sented: an explosion of fuel or other flammable an ally betraying the player characters, or it
chemical could have the Area and Persistent could be the discovery that that the situation
effects, for example, while glimpsing a horrific they’re in is an ambush, or that there’s a bomb
visage might have the Piercing effect. An in the room. This sets up a new situation,
immediate hazard applies its effects instantly,
but characters affected may attempt a task to
resist or avoid the effects, and the easier the
hazard is to avoid, the less Threat it costs (to a
minimum of 1).
§ Lingering hazards are effects applied to an
area (one zone), which inflict Stress upon
anyone within that area, at the start of each
round that they remain in that area. This may
represent something like a raging fire, choking
fumes, or a room flooding with deadly radiation.
You should spend the Threat to create this effect

MAIN ENGINEERING 175

 HAZARD DAMAGE AND THREAT COSTS
EFFECT THREAT COST NOTES
3A Stress 2 Base damage for a hazard
+2A Stress +1 Can be stacked multiple times
Apply cost modifier from area last.
Area Multiply total cost by 2
May only apply to Immediate Hazards.
Intense +2
Knockdown +1
Persistent X +(X divided by 2) Round fractions up
Piercing X +(X divided by 2) Round fractions up
Vicious +1
Applies to more than
+3 May only be used with Lingering Hazards.
one zone
Does not affect +3 May only be used with the Area damage
adversaries effect or Lingering Hazards.

changing the nature of the scene: perhaps a or deteriorates in a major way – such as an
social conflict or stealthy approach becomes overwhelming number of enemy reinforcements
a combat, or perhaps there’s now a challenge or some other imminent catastrophe – and then
to overcome, or time pressure that applies. A the scene ends. The reversal cannot be used to
reveal costs 4 Threat. harm or kill the player characters directly, only
to radically change their circumstances, and
§ A reversal is a significant turning point or
the players should be given a few moments to
change of fortunes. By spending 2 Threat per
discuss their new situation before you set a new
player character present in the scene, you end
scene. As you chose how the previous scene
the scene immediately, with the situation unre-
ended, you can use it to set up the next scene in
solved. You describe how the situation escalates
a specific way.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIONS
In a conflict, when the situation is split into encourage the player characters to get out
rounds and turns, it may sometimes be useful to quickly), and the gamemaster can spend
set aside a turn every round for the environment Threat to make the fire spread, to cause
to take actions. parts of the ceiling or floor to collapse, to
make choking smoke billow out, and so
Strictly speaking, the environment isn’t doing forth. Gaining that Threat and spending it on
anything deliberately, but this provides a those effects takes place on a specific turn
convenient point at which you can handle each round, within the normal action order
those moments where the scene itself adds – so that the situation will get worse.
to or spends Threat for environmental or
narrative effects (as opposed to spending it on If the situation is especially severe, it may even
characters directly). warrant multiple turns each round, though
in that case it may be wise to break up the
EXAMPLE: The action is taking place inside situation into discrete problems, each of which
a burning building. Each round, the situ- receives a distinct turn (to continue the above
ation adds 2 to Threat, as the state of the example, perhaps the collapsing building is one
building worsens and the fire rages (and to problem, and the fire is another). 
06402

176 CHAPTER 6.40

 CHAPTER 06.50

ATTRI BUT ES A N D
DISC I P LI NE S
“ I a m e n d e a vo ring, ma da m, t o c o nstru ct a m n em on ic m em or y
c irc uit using ston e kn ives an d b ear skin s.”

— LT. CMDR. SPOCK

INFINITE COMBINATIONS
ONE OF THE GREAT BENEFITS OF A ROLEPLAYING and the various supplements for Star Trek
game is that it gives players many more options Adventures, you will often find that specific rules
and choices in how their characters respond to have been outlined with particular combinations. You
challenges and circumstances, as they are not should feel empowered to alter these combinations
usually forced to choose between a handful of given when and if the situation warrants. It is important
responses. But, while the idea of Infinite Diversity to remember that, whenever these specific rules
in Infinite Combinations is a lofty aspiration, the have been outlined, it is intended that they cover the
reality of any roleplaying game is that its rule broadest use of that set of rules, not to restrict you
system cannot possibly match the broad spectrum or players into a set series of responses.
of possible actions and responses an individual can
attempt in any situation. Games that try to cover as
many of these responses as possible usually end up Disciplines in Review
with rules that are quite extensive, and often cum- There is often significant overlap between various
bersome. Star Trek Adventures takes a different combinations. It usually falls on you to decide which
approach, and instead provides a system that is is the most appropriate combination for the scene
considerably streamlined and easy to understand, or circumstance. It may be helpful to revisit this
while providing a framework that covers the bulk of core mechanic and provide examples for how each
what most situations call for, both mechanically and discipline interacts with each attribute, and how that
narratively. At the core of that system is the combi- might be used in your games.
nation of attributes and disciplines which make up
how tasks are performed. Command is the go-to discipline whenever charac-
ters are dealing with others in a social environment.
Exploring the 36 possible combinations of these In this way, it often overlaps and combines with
two aspects of player characters gives you and your Presence, the attribute associated with social inter-
players a sizable number of possible responses to actions. Just because Presence and Command may
challenges. When you add in focuses, this number be defaulted together, this combination should not
grows exponentially. These possible combinations be used every time characters are engaged socially.
and the situations that could call for them are briefly Control is usually used when a character must resist
discussed in the core rulebooks, but throughout the social manipulation from others, Daring when orders
various rules provided by both the core rulebooks must be given in rapid succession or without time to

MAIN ENGINEERING 177

 plan, Fitness may be appropriate when the team is often be used to judge the spirit or intent of rules and
negotiating difficult terrain, Insight when determin- regulations as opposed to their letter.
ing the true meaning of an order, and Reason when
you are explaining the rational to your subordinates. Engineering, save perhaps Medical, is the most
As a note, Command may not even be appropriate likely discipline to be tied to Control – given the
in all situations, especially when interacting or detailed and delicate work necessary to maintain
coordinating with a group of particular individuals or complex systems. While Reason clearly has its uses
situations, such as leading a repair team or science when designing evolutionary upgrades, it shouldn’t
project. Whenever a character is attempting to become habit to over-use it with Engineering.
organize a diverse group of individuals in various Noticing or identifying troublesome failures or faults
tasks, Command is the appropriate discipline. requires Insight, responding to imminent problems
requires Daring, pulling difficult components from
Conn is used whenever dealing with space travel. a bulkhead will require Fitness and, for chief engi-
This covers not only actually flying a craft, but also neers, Presence will be necessary to organize and
all associated protocols with flight, and – perhaps lead the ship’s engineering department.
most importantly – with starship operations. Routine
and precision piloting will normally use Control, while Medical covers every aspect of caring for someone
evasive actions and emergency maneuvers tend to who is suffering, including physical, emotional,
use Daring. Plotting courses in advance, reading star and mental treatment. Further, it encapsulates all
charts, and knowledge and recognition of different manner of research and scientific inquire directly
starships uses Reason, while extravehicular activities tied to this area of focus. Because of this, you will
such as a spacewalk normally use Fitness. Conn also likely see plenty of opportunities to combine this
covers knowledge of the protocols and traditions with the full spectrum of attributes. Control is used
of spacefaring, with Reason often used to recall whenever performing delicate surgery, but also
regulations or details of procedure, while Insight may remaining calm when a patient directs their fear and

178 CHAPTER 6.50

anxiety at you. Daring will be critical during mass It is often easy for you or your players to fall into
casualty events or when patients are moments from recurring combinations or rote actions again and
death. Fitness may be called for when engaged again. Giving players a broader range of combina-
in treatments that take hours of careful observa- tions not only provides a more dynamic atmosphere
tion. Insight will make it possible to spot potential during play, but also can help them determine which
signs of infection or notice abnormal something areas of improvement they want for their charac-
strange in test results. Reason is required when ters. Further, it can also provide a new avenue to
formulating a new treatment plan. Presence can be challenge characters beyond the task Difficulty, and
used to convince a combative patient to take their highlight both a character’s strengths and weak-
prescribed medicine. nesses. Remember that while disciplines will usually
be determined by what a character is doing, the
Security covers all things confrontational or safety attribute is driven by how.
related, from hand-to-hand combat to intimidation
tactics, and yet this discipline combines with all
of the attributes extremely well. Take ambushes, Attributes and
for example. Setting or anticipating an ambush
relies on Reason, coordinating one with others uses
Their Meaning
The core rulebook contains several examples that
Presence, executing one may involve Fitness and/
discuss and illustrate the use of attributes. Following
or Control, noticing one depends on Insight, and
are some additional guidelines that build on the
responding to one in those first crucial moments
content in the core rulebooks.
involves Daring. That’s just a single situation. This
same applies to traps, boarding actions, starship
Control: This attribute is all about maintaining, aptly
weaponry and tactics, and so on.
enough, control over yourself and through some
extension, others. Anytime your players are con-
Science governs all things related to scientific study
trolling their emotions or testing mental discipline,
and inquiry, including obtaining data from probes
being forced to keep patient, keeping their hands
and sensors, developing and executing experiments,
from shaking, doing precision or detailed work,
analyzing data, and using predictive models. Given
giving or implementing detailed instructions, use
the vast number of areas of expertise, Science often
Control. When describing an activity or action, use
provides the largest overall field of knowledge – but
Control if the narration includes: patiently, fine-tun-
due to the interconnected nature of scientific laws,
ing, delicate, detailed, steady, controlled, extensive,
this discipline is most often represented as intense
prolonged, or sensitive.
focus in a few areas combined with a broader
understanding of scientific principles as a whole.
Daring: In many ways, Daring is the polar oppo-
Combine Science with Control when performing
site of Control. Daring is all about quick action or
delicate research or keeping frustration in check
reaction in the face of trouble and when needing
when experiments repeatedly fail, with Daring when
to respond without the time for clever planning.
experiment goes suddenly wrong or when imme-
Anytime your players are immediately responding to
diate pressure, with Fitness when study becomes
something, jumping into a situation without time to
physically laborious such as during a prolonged
think, or relying on pure instinct, use Daring. When
archaeological dig or in inhospitable environments
describing an activity or action, use Daring if the
such as freeze cold, with Insight when reviewing
narration includes: quick thinking, acting on instinct
data for the first time without established baselines
or instinctually, snap decision, reacting, stubbornly,
to compare it to, with Presence when managing
aggressively, or daringly.
a research team or when arguing the validity of a
theory, and with Reason when evaluating data and
Fitness: Covering everything related to whole-body
predicting results.
exertion, governing not only strength and endur-
ance, but agility and dexterity as well. Anytime your

MAIN ENGINEERING 179

 VARIANT: ATTRIBUTE COMBINATION
Sometimes, you may find that a player wants the normal values of a character’s attributes, a
their character to attempt something completely simple combining would usually result in a very
beyond what you think a discipline covers high target number. To address this, the most
and nothing specific seems to fit. There are a appropriate attribute is used at its full value,
number of potential options available to you to and the next attribute is used at one quarter of
resolve this. Within the existing rules, you may its value, rounded up, substituted as if it were
require a trait to make a proposed option avail- a discipline. This variant is often useful when
able, or default to the most appropriate attribute encountering situations where the characters
and discipline with an increased Difficulty. are engaged in an activity that does not fall
Sometimes, however, even this fails to properly within the traditional aspects of a discipline.
address the situation. These are often hobbies or interests that a
character has that do not directly relate to their
Instead of combining an attribute and discipline position or education, especially when those
together when attempting a task, you could interests are based around creativity, such as
instead combine two attributes together. Due to with music or art. 
06501

players are having their characters meaningfully to meaningfully effect their target. When describing
move or exert themselves, use Fitness. Because an activity or action, use Presence if the narration
this represents nearly every aspect of physical includes: influence, convince,
performance, save acute hand-eye coordination and coordinate, command, bully,
manual dexterity (which could fit under Control), you negotiate, argue, inspire, or
should call on this whenever their overall physical assertively.
fitness is important. When describing an activity or
action, use Fitness if the narration includes: endure, Reason: Reason governs
overpower, gracefully, strong, demanding, elegantly, problem solving, pattern
powerful, or tough. recognition, mental acuity,
and rational predictions. The
Insight: The attribute all about immediate observa- key component to Reason, in
tion and instinct, Insight shares many of the same contrast to the related Insight,
key areas of focus as Daring, except related to is that Reason should only be
mental or emotional functions instead of physical used when the character has
action. Insight is especially important whenever information or data to use, or
information is limited or subtle and a character can readily apply knowl-
must be able to guess or feel their way through a edge obtained previously.
situation. When describing an activity or action, use This becomes an especially
Insight if the narration includes: notice, spot, guess, important distinction when
gauge, feel, instinctually, intuit, assume, and sense. encountering unknown
circumstances. If a character
Presence: Encompassing all things related to a char- is able to carefully review and
acter’s social or emotional influence, Presence comes compare obtained informa-
into play anytime a character is interacting socially tion or draw clear connec-
with another and attempting to drive an outcome. tions to existing known quan-
Such actions, however, will often require prerequisite tities, Reason should be used.
activities using other attributes before being able When describing activity or

180 CHAPTER 6.50

action, use Reason if the narration includes: analyze, important for smooth gameplay. Once you’ve allowed
predict, plan, compare, evaluate, study, logically, or a talent to be used differently than it is presented,
rationally. your players will likely wish to continue using it in
this new way. There is not anything wrong with that,
but broadening the applicability of a talent can have
Attributes and Talents significant impacts on your game moving forward.
While attribute, discipline, and focus combinations
can provide a wide variety of potential ways to Look at how that talent is written and if it is already
attempt to solve challenging problems, and give you self-limiting. Does the talent already provide specific
a multitude of ways to present those challenges, you circumstances when it can be used? Does it require
will like encounter situations that call for a specific the character to be in a particular situation, or be
combination. And just like core mechanics, you can using their discipline in a particular way? If it does,
and should feel free to change how those talents then you should be able to call for a different attrib-
work when the situation calls for it. There is, how- ute other than what was written when the talent
ever, a bit more to consider before you do so. was designed, as the details of the scene and task
involved are being met. If it does not provide a clear
Before deciding if you should call for a combination set of circumstances, but is instead focused on the
of attribute and discipline other than what was given actual combination of attribute and discipline, you
for that talent, you should look at how you’ve handled are likely better off leaving it as written.
the use of that talent in the past, as consistency is

MAIN ENGINEERING 181

 CHAPTER 06.60

VALUE S AND
DETE RM I NA T IO N
“T h e r e a r e t ime s w he n it is ne c e ss ar y to d ie for on e’s id eals;
do yo u be lie ve th is is on e of th ose tim es?”

— LT. CM DR. GE ORDI LAFORGE

USING VALUES AND DETERMINATION

FOR PLAYER CHARACTERS, VALUES ARE A POTENT Working through the list to find potential sources
way to guide roleplay and access a powerful of conflict or tension can help interweave the char-
resource: Determination. An individual point of acters’ stories into the adventure you’re running,
Determination is a potent thing, comparable in effect whether it’s one you created yourself, or one written
to 3 points of Momentum or Threat and can mean the by someone else.
difference between triumph and disaster. Essentially,
Determination is earned and used by players engaged § Are there any values that one character has that
with the story and invested in its outcome. conflict with another character’s values in the
group? If so, what aspect of this adventure could
put those characters at odds with one another?
Values § Are there any values that reference a relation-
The values a player chooses for their character
ship or connection among player characters?
are choices about who that character is. When
Perhaps illustrating two characters who are
presenting a situation to the players, it’s your job to
especially close, or work well together, or have
put those statements to the test: applying pressure
a particularly strong bond? If so, what pressure
to a particular belief, relationship, or statement of
could this adventure put upon that connection?
personal identity is how those things are highlighted
and emphasized in a story. The true test of a per- § Could an adversary or situation you have planned
son’s values is when those values may be difficult test one of the characters’ values? If so, how?
to hold on to.
§ Does any character have a value which may
come into conflict with a Directive present in
Make a list of all the main characters’ values, and
the adventure?
maybe the values of any important supporting
characters who have developed during the campaign.
Asking those questions can prepare you to be more
Keep that list with your notes during the session too –
aware of the characters’ values during the game
it’s a good reference for situations that might crop up
itself. Noting down any answers you find can be a
organically in play – but make a point of sitting down
useful way to keep those potential conflicts in mind.
before an adventure and looking over what’s there.
You don’t even need to search for many answers;
a handful of opportunities for this kind of dramatic
tension is plenty, and if you don’t find something

182 CHAPTER 6.60

that plays to everyone’s values in one adventure, drama and tension for Star Trek: the realization that
make sure to prioritize the ones you missed next a character’s beliefs prevent them doing as ordered,
time. If it’s a doctor-centric episode one week, then or that their values compel them to act in a way that
maybe the science officer, chief engineer, or captain their orders prohibit, is natural drama fuel.
gets the spotlight next time.

The idea here is that the ship and crew are a well- Directives & Dictates
oiled machine, and you’re there to throw a wrench While they can be somewhat overlooked next to
in the works (in a nice way). Solving the problem values, Directives (Dictates in The Klingon Empire
and saving the day is satisfying, sure, but solving core rulebook) can be a powerful way to shape a
the problem and saving the day while dealing with plotline and exert pressure upon character values.
some inner struggle or interpersonal turmoil? That
makes for a story worth retelling. Directives, broadly, come in two forms:

SOURCES OF CONFLICT § Objectives: Any directive which prompts a

When you find opportunities to create tension, you specific goal or desired outcome. These instruct
can leave them as notes and improvise things in the characters in what they have been sent to
play to make something happen, or you can build accomplish. They can come into play most often
something more targeted. as an extra way to spend Determination.
§ Prohibitions: Any Directive which restricts the
Creating a specific NPC (or adjusting one already
actions which may be undertaken. These are
provided by the adventure) is an easy way to put
standing orders, treaties, and other instructions to
pressure on a particular value or connection, as it’s
avoid specific actions. The Prime Directive is an
a character under your direct control. This could
example of this. These come into play most often
be an adversary, but there’s no reason that an
as extra ways to earn Determination: attempting
allied NPC can’t be a source of tension for a player
to take an action prohibited by the Directive can
character, particularly if they’re an old friend, rival,
either result in a player suffering a complication
or a family member.
or challenging the Directive (and suffering the
consequences later), but either outcome comes
Reusing an NPC from a previous adventure can be
with an extra point of Determination.
especially fun here, particularly if they tie to a longer
story thread for that character: Gul Dukat serves in
So, from your perspective, putting one or more
this role for Major Kira (and others) in Deep Space
Directives into place signals the rough shape of the
Nine, and Crewman Daniels does so in a different
adventure to the players. Each one says, “Command
way for Captain Archer in Enterprise.
wants you to do this,” or “Command does not want
this to happen.” They aren’t hard restrictions, as
If a specific faction relates well to a value or con-
players can break them if they wish (most often
nection, then there’s little harm in introducing them
by challenging them), and they don’t give specific
– in a small way, or in a big way – to the adventure.
instructions as to how to solve a problem. Rather,
If the adventure is pre-written to involve Romulans,
they impose either a desired goal or a set of
but one of your player characters has a bad history
constraints that the player characters have to work
with Cardassians, swapping the Romulans out can
around, compelling them to be more creative in how
work, but doing so might include some minor details
they solve problems.
about an Obsidian Order agent skulking around.

Directives – and their Klingon campaign counterparts,

Dictates – are also a good source of conflict. The
Using Determination
Like Momentum, Determination is a player resource
point at which a character’s deeply-held beliefs clash
but much more impactful when used and much
with their orders from command is a good source of

MAIN ENGINEERING 183

 more difficult to gain. As it is tied to narrative You should incorporate at least one such opportunity
elements like values and Directives, the use of into each of your game sessions, usually focused
Determination can be somewhat controlled by on the central character for that mission, and plan
you by the kinds of scene and plot elements you accordingly. This is especially impactful when you
introduce into your adventures. Remember, however, orchestrate scenes that bring more than one of
that preventing the generation of Determination will the character’s values into play, as it provides the
also result in a stagnation of a character’s views and opportunity for the character to both gain and spend
beliefs and therefore prevent growth and change Determination at the same time. If you do not, you
of a character’s personality. Further, ambitious are likely to find that the players will begin actively
players will often seek out opportunities to generate seeking to force circumstances into play that speak
Determination because of how impressive it is in to their characters’ values, or begin to regularly
play, and efforts to actively prevent this may have challenge Directives.
negative consequences to your game.
When narrating gaining Determination, pay special
When designing your adventures, every effort should attention to the value that was challenged, and
be made to incorporate the values of the player ensure that the nature of that value is discussed.
characters, in addition to Directives you present, Characters who have their core values shaken may
into your plot points, as these will immediately grab become filled with grim determination, but they will
player interests and draw them into the plot by their
own choices, instead of being forced by circum-
stance. Doing so also create plenty of opportunities
to gain Determination, either because the plot hook
is in line with the character’s values or because it
opposes them, and causes dramatic conflict within
the character. While values are intended to be
beliefs, they often also represent key motivations
for the character, and therefore can be used to help
draw characters into the story of their own volition.

Once you have incorporated values into your game,

however, you must be ready for the players to gain
and spend Determination. This is never a bad thing,
as it provides the players the opportunity to really
shine in the story, even if (or especially because)
that circumstance is painful and causes the charac-
ter to question themselves and their views.

IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

Let’s discuss the role you play in the characters
gaining Determination. Because of how useful
Determination is, it usually difficult for the players to
gain Determination without you planning for it. While
the core rulebooks state that Determination can
only be gained once per mission, you are likely to
find that giving each character this opportunity each
session is challenging. Gaining Determination is
supposed to be hard and demanding; this is why the
only way to gain it requires the characters to make
use of or challenge their beliefs.

184 CHAPTER 6.60

also be deeply troubled by having their worldview spends a point of Determination in this way, it
fractured. These will make for excellent scenes should always be accompanied by a narrative
where the character seeks out friends for comfort detailing not only the very likely exceptional success
or retreats into solitude to think or brood over the scored, but also be specifically focused on the emo-
hardship they have endured. tional and mental elation of the character’s values
being involved in the scene and reinforced.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Players will usually look to spend their EXAMPLE: During their early career, a Starfleet
Determination on what they feel is a crucial task. Security officer was a part of a relief mission to
Because the die added to their pool is immediately a world devastated by an aggressive neighbor.
counted as rolling a 1, and it is extremely likely After being exposed to the lingering effects of
that the character will be benefiting from a focus, this tragedy, the character developed the value:
this will result in 2 successes before any additional “Innocents should be protected.” During a mis-
dice are rolled. If you are intentionally ensuring that sion, the character is planetside trying to help
your players will have this opportunity, you should civilians evacuate a natural disaster. Suddenly,
also give thought to how you will narrate that task’s a tremor causes the building next to the officer
resolution with special attention being paid to the to collapse, trapping a mother and child. To free
potential use of Determination. When a character them, the character must succeed in a Fitness

MAIN ENGINEERING 185

 + Security task, but the rubble is heavy and EXAMPLE: A Klingon warrior’s backstory gave
nearly impossible to move, and the task is at a them the value: Strike First or Not at All. Caught
Difficulty 4. Even with Momentum spends, there in a devious Romulan trap on some nameless
is little chance of success. The player cites the backwater world, the warrior charged forward
character’s Value and sets a d20 aside with the into the Romulan line. When their first attack
1 face up. Then, spending 6 Momentum to add drops a petaQ in a heap, the character’s player
two more dice to the pool (and reaching the cites the character’s value, spends a point
maximum number of five dice), rolls 4d20, in a of Determination, and immediately performs
desperate effort to save those trapped. another task. The warrior rolls to attack a
second Romulan centurion. With a success, a
MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION second Romulan dies and the warrior’s allies
Even with a sizable dice pool and reasonable can now advance.
Difficulty, sometimes the worst happens in a crucial
moment and a player just rolls terribly. While Success BY MY COMMAND
at a Cost can sometimes negate this, if the task is of Traits will often be the defining aspect of any given
particular importance to the character and speaks scene within a mission or adventure. These form a
to their core beliefs, Determination may be used to foundation of impactful story elements which make
avoid catastrophe, allowing any or all of the dice to be the players’ objectives easier to achieve or nearly
rerolled. This can be especially useful if one or more impossible to obtain. Further, because traits can be
complications were rolled in addition to failing. used by everyone, so long as they remain relevant,
players will quickly realize that creating a trait can
EXAMPLE: At the Academy, a Starfleet engineer be far more cost effective when it comes to gaining
became obsessed with taking mundane equip- the most out of their resources. Because of this,
ment apart and trying to improve it, develop- you should expect that players will actively seek
ing the value: The Constant Tinkerer. Now a opportunities to introduce beneficial traits. Creating
seasoned officer, the engineer is serving aboard a trait using Determination needs to be something
a ship which has been caught at the edge of you anticipate. As it takes immediate effect, any
the accretion disk of a black hole and cannot trait created in this way will automatically negate a
escape. Believing that reconfiguring the warp prohibiting disadvantage or reduce the Difficulty of a
drive may allow them to escape, the player rolls task being attempted.
the character’s Control + Engineering against
a moderate Difficulty of 2, and fails. With the EXAMPLE: Having been in command of a star-
lives of the crew at stake, the player cites the ship for many years, an aging Klingon captain
character’s value and spends his Determination has been regularly challenged by younger
point to reroll his dice pool. There are 3d20s warriors, making her suspicious of others. She
in the pool, all of which failed to produce suc- has developed the value: “My enemies are
cesses, so the player rerolls all three in hopes of always close.” This has prepared the captain for
getting a better result. the moment when Jem’Hadar infiltrators board
her ship using their shrouds. With her warriors
SURGING FORWARD unable to effectively combat this threat and her
When the clock is ticking and lives are on the line, it ship nearly lost, the captain’s player invokes this
is often necessary to act fast. Your players will find value and states that the captain has prepared
that particularly brutal conflicts or truly dangerous the ship’s life support and fire suppression
timed challenges may come down to who acts first systems to produce rain, introducing the
or most often. Usually, no character is allowed to Artificial Downpour trait. This trait can now be
act consecutively in a structured environment, but used to reduce the Difficulty to find and attack
Determination allows the rules to be bent, if not the intruders.
outright broken.

186 CHAPTER 6.60

 CHAPTER 06.70

T RA I T S
“ Ho w c a n I punish you for b ein g wh o you are?”

— CAPT. KAT HRY N JANE WAY

ALL ABOUT TRAITS

A TRAIT IS A FACT ABOUT A SITUATION, LOCATION, Traits are also your most versatile tool. When you
person, object, etc., which is called out as important. make a trait, it signifies that something is important,
Traits are always true, because if something isn’t but you don’t need to define what effect a trait has
true, it isn’t a trait. By being denoted as a trait, a fact right away. When a trait becomes relevant, you
is marked as being important to the situation and decide what effect it has there and then. This gives
thus given an opportunity to influence the rules. you considerable flexibility in shaping scenes and
situations for your players: it allows you to pick out

TRAITS FRONT AND CENTER

If you emphasize traits as a core part of the both in a narrative sense (as their characters)
game, you are encouraged to note down traits – and a mechanical sense.
or perhaps only the most important traits – and
place them in full view of all the players, per- This practice can be a little distracting, and it
haps on an index card. This allows the players might detract from the players’ immersion in
to see what the most important parts of the the situation, but it sits better with players who
scene are, as well as how they change as the want to engage with the game’s mechanics in
scene progresses, and interact with those traits more depth. 
06601

TRAITS ON THE FLY

Traits don’t need to be formally defined. If you adjudicating the game, without specifically
and your players are comfortable with it, the referring to them as traits: rather than having a
matter of traits can be left informal, handled by “Torrential Rain” trait in play, simply apply the
you as a natural part of play. Indeed, this makes effects of the rain when it’s relevant.
it easier to emphasise or deemphasise different
traits as the situation demands. This approach does somewhat lessen the play-
ers’ ability to interact with traits as a mechanic,
In this situation, you would apply the influence but this may suit some groups who care less
of traits by themselves as a natural part of about the mechanics and more about the story. 
06602

MAIN ENGINEERING 187

 important details in a way that becomes meaningful increase the Difficulty. If the statement ends with
in play, and then to shape the way those details “possible,” then the activity can be attempted while
impact gameplay. the trait applies, whereas if it ends with “impossible,”
then it can’t be attempted while that trait applies.

Adjudicating Traits It’s also worth remembering that if a truth makes

At the most basic level, a trait which matters to a an action impossible, that doesn’t necessarily mean
situation will have one of four different effects upon your players can never attempt that action. Rather, it
a task. In practice, this effect can be determined may mean that the action is impossible unless they
easily. Each trait can be placed into a simple change the situation to make it possible.
statement, such as one of those below, and if that
statement makes sense, then it applies. If it doesn’t EASIER
make sense, then it doesn’t apply. When a trait makes something easier, redude the
task’s Difficulty. This is the most common use for
§ Because I am [personal trait], this activity is… advantages created by characters: they are created
by characters seeking to make their situation easier.
§ Because of [situation or location trait], this
activity is…
Tools and other items of equipment often have this
§ Because I have [equipment trait], this activity is… effect, allowing characters to undertake a diffi-
cult activity more easily than if they had no tools.
The end of each of those statements is either Similarly, traits representing strategies and tactics
“easier,” “harder,” “possible,” or “impossible.” At the can be created to have this effect, in turn represent-
simplest level, that’s as far as you need to go with ing greater coordination and teamwork.
trait: if the statement ends with “easier,” reduce the
Difficulty, and if the statement ends with “harder,”

188 CHAPTER 6.70

Multiple traits with this effect – whether several traits in whatever way is most useful, so if one
stacked traits or several different ones applying to trait makes a task possible to attempt, then other
the same activity – can have a cumulative effect, applicable ones can make that task easier.
reducing the Difficulty of a task by several steps.
This could even reduce a task’s Difficulty to 0, IMPOSSIBLE
removing the need to roll. When a trait makes something impossible, it
creates an obstacle that the characters must
HARDER either remove or find some way around. It may be
When a trait makes something harder, it usually possible for characters to remove the trait, making
results in an increase in Difficulty for an existing the action possible again. This is a useful way to
task, but it may also mean that an action which improvise problems for the players to overcome,
didn’t normally require a task now does (with a such as ones produced by complications rolled, or
Difficulty of 1, typically). when you need to stall the players’ progress for a
little while so that you can finish preparing the next
Traits that make things harder commonly occur part of the adventure.
because of environmental conditions, or because
of complications suffered. These kinds of adverse As with traits making things harder, traits making
conditions naturally make things more difficult. this impossible could occur because of environmen-
However, they could also occur because of defen- tal conditions (such as interference blocking scans,
sive tactics, positioning, movement to hinder enemy or darkness preventing vision), or complications
attacks (either in personal combat, or in space suffered (the plasma leak in the hallway preventing
combat), technologies designed to conceal or misdi- you from pursuing the enemy that way). However,
rect, or even emotional states that keep a character they can just as easily come from traits which
from thinking clearly (such as complications arising benefit the enemy, such as tactics, positioning, or
from a value used negatively). technology (such as cloaking devices), or personal
circumstances which prevent a course of action
Multiple traits with this effect will have a cumulative such as those coming from values.
increase in Difficulty, though beyond a certain point
(typically, above a Difficulty of 5), it may be worth- Traits that make an action impossible don’t naturally
while just to have a trait make the action impossible, stack – there’s no real way for an action to be more
at least until the number of problems is reduced. impossible – but multiple traits making an action
more difficult may cumulatively be ruled as making
POSSIBLE something impossible, requiring that one or more of
When a trait makes something possible, it expands them be removed so that a task can be attempted.
the options that characters have. An action made
possible may still require a task to determine if it is
successful, and you may rule on the Difficulty of that Gamemaster-Created Traits
task as you see fit, but sometimes you may decide The traits you create will tend to fall into two broad
that making the action possible also means that it categories: those you create when a scene begins
doesn’t require a task of its own. (which are free), and those which are created by
NPC actions, player character complications, and the
Traits can also make things easier via tools (which spending of Threat during a scene.
allow you to perform some activity that is impossible
without an appropriate device) or the presence of Scene traits are those used to define the environ-
additional colleagues or teammates (for any activity ment and situation when a scene begins. These will
that can’t be performed alone). normally be environmental traits, such as darkness,
radiation, weather conditions, background interfer-
Obviously, this doesn’t stack well with other traits ence, specific zone effects such as dense mud or
doing the same thing. Fortunately, you can interpret snow, and so forth. These traits don’t cost anything

MAIN ENGINEERING 189

 to introduce, because you have complete freedom to In those situations, you should try to be gener-
establish a scene as you see fit. ous when it comes to adjudicating the effects of
player-created traits. When the trait is created, try
Traits created during a scene tend to be more to create a name for it which conveys the effect it
circumstantial, affecting individual characters or is supposed to have as clearly as possible – even if
representing sudden changes in the environment. the trait is player-created, it should be you who has
While the nature of these traits should make sense the final say on the name of the trait, for the sake
in the scene (don’t introduce traits that don’t make of clarity, but the intention of the player creating the
sense or require too much explanation to justify), trait should be kept in mind.
there are a few useful moments when such traits
can be introduced: If your players are less interested in the rules, then
you may have to do a little more work here, but
§ When a player character suffers a complication. in turn, the experience may be somewhat more
streamlined. Players will still perform actions that
§ By spending Threat when a player character
would create traits, but the mechanical effect isn’t
fails a task.
the stated goal: rather, the player has in mind a par-
§ By spending Threat to represent some aspect of ticular outcome, and you choose to represent that
the situation worsening, often at the beginning in game terms using a trait, because interpreting
of a round in combat. the player’s actions using the game’s rules is part of
your responsibility.
§ As a result of NPCs taking actions to create
advantages for themselves.
In these situations, the trait’s name is largely irrel-
evant except as a reminder to yourself as to what
These represent natural points at which you are
the trait is intended to accomplish. It’s part of your
altering things and creating traits, and will likely feel
notes, rather than something floating around the
the most natural and the most consequential.
table to remind everyone. It is, however, useful to
mention what the trait represents – such as a plan,
Player-Created Traits an improvised gadget, or some other advantage –
from time to time when you apply it to a task’s dif-
There are two ways to approach player-created
ficulty or use it to allow a task that might otherwise
traits, depending on how engaged your players are
be impossible. This occasional mention ensures that
with the mechanics of the game.
the players know that it hasn’t been forgotten about;
if a player doesn’t believe that their actions have an
If your players are actively engaging with the game
impact, they may stop trying to do things.
mechanics, then they will be seeking to create traits
of their own to help shape situations that they’re in
and give themselves advantages to overcome the
problems you’ve set before them. This is ideal. Tthis
is the game working as designed.

190 CHAPTER 6.70

 CHAPTER 06.80

CON FLI CT
“ At t a c k ing t he Ca rda s sian s n ow will on ly escalate
t h e c o n f l i c t , a nd ma k e pe a c e mo re exp en sive in th e lon g ru n .
N o w, I ask you ...is th at log ical?”

— QUARK

COMBAT
SOMETIMES, SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY AND PEACEFUL the occasional mindless fight scene in a perfunc-
exploration can have unpleasant consequences. The tory manner (i.e., it’s there, but nobody really cares
Federation may pursue peace and prosperity for its for its inclusion or puts much effort into making
member worlds and their inhabitants, but that often anything of it). And even for combat-heavy games –
brings them into conflict with other cultures whose even for a Klingon game set during the height of the
methods are less peaceful, from clashes against Dominion War, where clashes against Cardassians,
Klingons, Romulans, and Xindi early in Federation Jem’Hadar, and Breen should be commonplace –
history, to wars with Cardassia and the Dominion, that is most certainly the wrong way to go about it.
the Temporal Cold War, and other historic struggles. Combat is not separate from roleplaying or story.
Combat is a time when roleplaying and story are
Whether your game centers on Starfleet personnel heightened, because the stakes are life and death.
or Klingon warriors, your game is likely to include
conflict, even if the characters try to find other solu- Combat is a story. It should happen for meaningful
tions. Sometimes the conflict will be purely verbal, reasons, and it should contain drama and emotion
but violent conflict remains a possibility that needs just as much as social scenes and other roleplaying.
to be defended against. Combat scenes are scenes of suspense and tension
which resolve through violence, and they should
And, well, even if Star Trek isn’t about seeking out highlight who characters are just as much as scenes
battle (unless you’re a Klingon), fighting for what centered around dialogue.
you believe in and being willing to defend others are
important aspects of the universe, and an opportu- If an action scene doesn’t do those things, of course
nity to tell interesting stories. they’ll seem boring.

Much of this section is applicable to both personal Who is involved? Who are the participants in this
combat and to space combat, though concerns particular action scene? What do they want? What
that apply specifically to space combat are goals are each character (or more often, each side
addressed separately. of the combat) trying to achieve?

By asking those questions, you’re already halfway

Every Conflict is a Story there to figuring out the essential tension at the
It can be easy to think of combat as something that heart of the scene. Often, one side wants some-
just happens in a roleplaying game, and to include thing, and the other side is trying to stop them.

MAIN ENGINEERING 191

 But you probably want to establish more than that; characters into difficult situations as the enemies
the combat has occurred because of events that get more accurate, start doing more damage, etc.
happened earlier in the adventure, so the combat The fight should feel tougher and more dangerous.
should move the plot onwards, and either answer If one or two player characters need to Avoid Injury
an existing question about the story or ask a new here, great! It ups the stakes.
question that sets up events after the fight.
In Act 3, we conclude the fight. The heroes push
In this way, the combat becomes part of the story. back, or solve the problem, or achieve their objec-
tive…or maybe they get the opportunity to escape
A BATTLE IN THREE ACTS and withdraw, alive but defeated. Either way, the
Most combats in Star Trek Adventures shouldn’t scene should conclusively end. Don’t let it drag out
last particularly long – no more than a handful of until all the enemies are unconscious or defeated.
rounds at most. The longer they last, the more likely If the enemy are beaten, they’ll probably withdraw.
they are to outstay their welcome and start to get Even fearless foes like Borg drones, Jem’Hadar war-
boring. But even if they are lasting a little longer riors, and Klingons understand the value of retreating
than they should, breaking them up and changing and regrouping for the next battle, even if they
the dynamic of the fight can often maintain a faster, might view it differently than each other. If the player
more exciting pace and keep boredom at bay. characters are beaten, then that might mean escape
(beaming up to their ship, or warping away from
It’s easy for you to fall into a habit of setting up a danger), being saved by a third party, or capture.
fight, determining who takes the first turn, and then
just going through the motions until one side or You can’t guarantee either outcome – player choice
another is defeated. But action scenes throughout and random chance prevent things being scripted
the franchise – especially the good ones, the mem- like that – but you can push for one or the other. If
orable ones – rarely work like that. A good action you want the characters to win, you can make that
scene is like a little story all its own. more likely by easing up on Threat spends in Act 3.
If you want the player characters to struggle and
This narrative progression is easy to achieve in play. possibly be defeated, spend more Threat in Act 3.
The first round of a combat can be thought of as Act If they win against that extra Threat in Act 3, it’ll be
1 (maybe the first two rounds, if things start slowly), even more satisfying for them anyway, while losing
the next couple of rounds are Act 2, and the round against all that Threat now sets up a new situation
or rounds after that are Act 3 and the conclusion. where you’ve got fewer tricks left to use.
A four-round combat works also, with Act 2 split
across the second and third rounds. OBJECTIVE ACTIONS
One other useful trick for combats in Star Trek
In Act 1, we introduce our combatants and our Adventures is to tie the scene to some other activ-
environment. Here’s the battlefield, here are the ity. Achieving a specific objective serves as a natural
important places, and here are the enemies. Here limit to how long a combat can last, and such an
are the player characters, and the situation they’re objective can easily be used to involve characters
in as the action starts. Don’t spend much Threat who aren’t effective combatants.
in this round because it is meant to just establish
the basic situation. You also don’t need too many Extended tasks are a solid example of this tech-
enemies: you can add more later. nique, but any kind of challenge or activity that takes
multiple actions to resolve can work here. It may even
In Act 2, we escalate things. The enemy pushes be several small extended tasks, to be carried out
for their objective, maybe some reinforcements by multiple people – the fight on the deflector dish
arrive, or the odds look like they’re turning against in Star Trek: First Contact can be imagined as such,
the crew. Spending more Threat here is a good with Picard, Worf, and Hawk (a supporting character)
signal that things are serious and can also push the needing to unlock the deflector dish at three points

192 CHAPTER 6.80

before the Borg can send their signal. For the sake extended tasks, ensure that they’re small – 2
of discussion, we’ll use an extended task for the breakthroughs, maybe 3 at the most – as they can
objective in this discussion. be worked on simultaneously.

In this context, achieving the extended task is the To add some extra tension and struggle to proceed-
goal of the scene. That is what matters, and it will ings, maybe note that the enemy will fight harder
determine success or failure for the entire combat. the closer you get to success, informing your players
Transporting refugees from a stricken ship, stealing that each breakthrough they achieve will add 2
or sabotaging some vital technology from an enemy points to Threat to represent this.
facility or ship, shutting down the shielding of a Borg
cube so you can beam away – these are natural
examples of an extended task in a combat scene. Zones and Environments
The extended task needs to be overcome, and Combat in Star Trek Adventures uses a system of
combat just happens to be occurring at the same abstract zones to determine movement, range, and
time. Furthermore, the combat ends naturally when relative position. While this is a versatile tool for
the extended task is completed: there’s no reason gamemasters, it can sometimes be tricky to figure
to stick around, and even if the action continues, it out how big a zone should be, how to break an area
probably takes a different form (perhaps a chase down into zones, and how to depict certain environ-
rather than a fight). ments that lack obvious features or divisions.

As a general rule, the objective shouldn’t take more WHAT A ZONE IS

than 3 rounds to complete once started. If there is An individual zone is any continuous space that can
a single extended task, only allow one person to be thought of as a single location. Zones inside of
work on it at a time – others may assist, but only buildings and ships are the easiest to imagine: a
one person per round can make a proper attempt room is a zone, unless that room is particularly large
against the extended task. If there are multiple or has natural divisions within it, such as different

COMBAT, BUT NOT A COMBAT SCENE

At risk of contradicting the advice given in this into something manageable. But not every
chapter, it is necessary to state that sometimes combat needs that level of detail or requires
the outbreak of violence isn’t worth all the effort that structure. If necessary, just use an opposed
of a conflict scene. Sometimes, it’s two people task to represent a brief, intense struggle, or
struggling with a knife or a phaser, and the maybe just use the rules for making an attack
full combat rules don’t quite line up with the and inflicting Stress. In some cases, it may not
intent. Sometimes it’s over with a single attack. even be necessary to inflict Stress: the loser just
Sometimes you don’t want to break from the suffers an injury.
drama of a situation to arrange rounds and turns.
Use as much or as little of the rules in the game
That’s fine. That happens, and part of running as you need at any given moment. Try to be
Star Trek Adventures is judging when not to open with your players about this too. If you
use the tools available. don’t want to go into a full-scale combat for
an honor duel between two Klingons, let your
The combat rules are there to support small players know when you make the decision. No
groups of combatants, or conflicts between game was ever ruined by honest, open conver-
individual ships (or one big ship versus several sation among gamemasters and players. 
smaller ships), organizing the chaos of battle
06801

MAIN ENGINEERING 193

 levels of floor, railings or other barriers, or clear dif- quickly, or sprint to more distant zones if needed.
ferences of function. A transporter room may count Obstacles and changes in terrain can easily be rep-
the transporter pad as separate from the rest of the resented by dividing the different terrain into distinct
room, for example. zones, so that vaulting a fence or entering an area
of deep mud is a distinct zone from what’s around
Outdoor areas are a little trickier to define as zones, it (and these differences are often easily defined
but far from impossible. There are three main using traits). Zones of clear, open terrain with few
approaches, which you can freely mix-and-match to obstructions can typically be larger than zones of
suit your needs: dense or challenging terrain, which in turn naturally
creates easier movement for open terrain, but more
§ Natural divisions are any obvious dividing difficult movement through denser terrain. This can
lines, barriers, or clear changes in purpose be valuable if you’re running a chase scene, for
for the environment. A roadway or pedestrian example: longer, open routes allow faster movement
walkway is a good natural division, clearly than closely-packed, obstacle-strewn ones, but it
dividing one side of the street from the other. might be that getting to that open route – perhaps
The edge of a forested area may give way to a open rooftops alongside a busy market street – is
clearing, which is a reasonable division between more difficult to begin with.
two zones. This method tends to work best for
constructed or artificial environments, though it SPACE COMBAT ZONES
can work for natural ones too. Zones in space combat are much the same, though
far bigger. Ship-to-ship combat typically occurs at
§ Features or objects within an area can serve
ranges of tens of thousands of kilometers (though
as the focal point of a zone. Describing a zone
older generations of ships may have fought over
by the most important or most noticeable
feature there is useful when describing situa-
tions, because characters can be described as
“near the turbolift entrance” or “by the statue”
or “behind the plants.” This method doesn’t
care for distinct divisions so much as relative
proximity to things present in the environment,
so it often works better for more organic
environments, though large, artificial spaces
such as plazas and marketplaces can also be
well-suited to this approach.
§ Arbitrary divides are useful when an environ-
ment is simply too large to reasonably make
sense as a single zone. While zones can, and
should, vary in size and shape, sometimes
an area is so large that it feels like it should
be broken up, but there aren’t any obvious
divides or features to use. In these cases, it
is perfectly acceptable to simply divide the
large area into two or three smaller zones
simply to reflect the distances involved (e.g., a
starbase’s flight deck).

When it comes to the shapes and sizes of zones, a

single zone should be small enough that a single
character could jog to an adjacent zone relatively

194 CHAPTER 6.80

shorter ranges of only a few thousand kilometers), have space stations, communications relays, sensor
and “close range” for a starship may be anything platforms, docking facilities, and the like, and most
within 50,000 kilometers. A planet can easily fit combat in space will take place near important
within a single zone, naturally requiring that a ship places simply because civilizations don’t war over
enter that zone (and thus orbit of the planet) to empty space. However, space is also big, and thus
transport personnel to and from the surface. you’ll likely have an assortment of empty zones
around smaller clusters of “terrain” zones containing
Assuming such distances means that you’re unlikely objects. In space combat, more than ground combat,
to find more than one planet on any but the largest dividing an environment into arbitrary spaces is
battlefields: if you decided to treat every zone as commonplace, though it can be useful to make
if it were a hexagon 50,000 kilometers on a side, spaces around planets and other “terrain” smaller
and put Earth in one of them, then there would be to represent the more precise maneuvering needed
7 empty hexes before you reached the Moon, and and/or the effects of gravity wells.
nearly six thousand such hexes between Earth and
Mars (on average). At distances of more than about One additional consideration with space combat:
300,000 kilometers, directed energy weapons take a starship can move fast. A single warp task can
over a second to hit their target, so battle simply carry a ship over a considerable distance in a single
cannot occur at interplanetary distances or the delay turn, allowing it to move into ideal weapons range
between firing and hitting becomes so long that any or withdraw to safety as the crew wish, so long as
warp-capable ship can evade attacks easily. they’ve got enough power. Larger maps with more
numerous zones are more useful in space combat
Space isn’t entirely empty: any settled world beyond than in ground combat, as they give ships the room
a certain level of technological advancement will to maneuver.

MAIN ENGINEERING 195

 CHAPTER 06.90

THE SCI E NT IF IC
M ETHOD
“ Insuf f ic ie nt f acts always in vite d an g er.”

— LT. CMDR. SPOCK

WHEN CONFRONTED WITH THE UNKNOWN

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD (DETAILED IN THE CORE coming together and solving a scientific problem or
rulebook on pages 157–158 and The Klingon question, an engineering challenge, or other problem
Empire core rulebook on pages 246–247) is a gated that stems from an unknown so profound that there
challenge that represents a group of characters is little information with which the characters may

196 CHAPTER 6.90

begin their investigation. The difference between Another excellent application of the Scientific
using the Scientific Method and a standard series of Method is for technological improvements to
gated challenges is this lack of knowledge. existing pieces of equipment. The Scientific Method
represents the biggest questions and the most chal-
lenging investigations characters may undertake.
When to use the The most important question you can ask yourself
Scientific Method to determine if you should use Scientific Method is,
“Is this something that more than one character on
There will be many times in your games when
the television show would figure out in one or two
a simple task won’t be enough to get a group of
scenes, or is this something that may represent
characters through a problem. This is where gated
multiple episodes?”
challenges, or a series of tasks, would apply. The
Scientific Method is a more extreme version of a
EXAMPLE: Amy is considering using the
gated challenge where failure isn’t necessarily the
Scientific Method as a way for her players to
end of the gated tasks and the problem never be
deal with something strange happening to her
solved. Here, characters may fail and go down the
players’ starship’s warp engines, which are
wrong path, yet still narrow down what is really
losing speed. As this plot point isn’t intended
happening, or what they have to do. Think of the
to last the entire episode, or over multiple
Scientific Method being used in situations that
episodes, Amy chooses to use an extended
may take the entire adventure to solve, or perhaps
task. In addition, one of her players asks if they
multiple adventures.
can research how to improve their vessel’s
shield systems. This sounds like an excellent,
long-term project that the Scientific Method
could be used for.

Using the Scientific Method to research a new phe-

nomenon would usually take up most of an episode
for multiple characters. If there are player characters
part of this research, try and make sure that there is a
“B-plot” they can be involved in, or perhaps suggest
that they play supporting characters to flesh out the
rest of the crew. When using Scientific Method for
improving technology or ship systems, take it slow.
Allow a single roll per session (or per adventure if you
want the challenge to span a longer period of time
in-game) for the characters involved to represent both
the research and the actual testing of changes to the
technology. There are such things as breakthroughs
in technological development that seemingly change
things overnight, but the story you are trying to tell
may be overshadowed by these massive changes,
or even hindered by it. Make sure to work closely
with the player who wants their character doing
this research so both you and they understand what
exactly the improvements are capable of.

MAIN ENGINEERING 197

 The Research Lead online games may allow for different solutions such
as a pinned document.
The player whose character is acting as the
research lead in the Scientific Method acts as the
You should lean more toward allowing a broader
task’s representative for the players. They make the
interpretation of a possible solution rather than
final call on which direction to take the research,
narrow; i.e., if a research lead offers Mechanical
they make the dice rolls for all of the tasks involved,
Engineering as a focus to possibly explore, and your
and much of what will play out will be due to the
initial “right way” was Damage Control Procedures,
research lead understanding the problem in front
depending on the situation, both of these focuses
of them. Make sure that every piece of information
could lead to the same conclusion from two different
the characters have at their disposal is presented to
viewpoints. It should be rare at this stage for you to
the research lead, and make sure the “Five Ws” are
completely stump the players. If they are stumped,
listed for all to see: who, what, where, when, and
go back and answer for yourself the “Five Ws.”
why. While asking “why” or “how” is the point of the
Scientific Method, those questions may be partially
The primary difference between a series of gated
answered at the beginning.
challenges and the Scientific Method is within the
choice of a hypothesis. Choosing a wrong research
EXAMPLE: Jacob’s character is acting as the
path may result in a dead end, but not failure. What
research lead for a problem that involves a
is proven is that another of the possible hypotheses
new form of subspace rupture that is leaking
could be correct. Science is often about coming up
both gravitons and tachyons. The “who” of the
with an idea and testing it against real-world data,
situation is the characters involved, as no other
only to find that you were mistaken. Those mistakes
creatures or life-forms seem to be involved.
are part of learning and developing a sounder and
The “what” is the subspace rupture of unknown
more encompassing solution.
origin, the “where” is this specific area, and the
“when” is the point at which it appeared, so
EXAMPLE: Jacob’s research of this new type
something about this place and time is clearly
of subspace rupture is about to begin and he
important. The “why” is unknown except for a
has answered all Five Ws as best he can. One
possible link to a strange ripple of infrared light
hypothesis involves Optical Physics due to
that occurred within an AU of where the rift
the strange ripple of infrared light involved;
appeared. While there are few clues here, this is
another presented by different player is
enough to begin the investigation.
Subspace Theory due to the rupture itself,
and an oddball choice by a player portraying
A Hypothesis an engineer is Holodeck Technologies, as
they think it’s possible this is all some sort
Proven or Rejected of enemy projection. The gamemaster’s plan
With the Five Ws put in front of the player acting was to have “the right way” be Transwarp
as a research lead, it’s very possible they may see Technologies because the rift itself is a new
an idea that is “the right way” as defined in the form of Borg conduit exit, but Subspace Theory
Scientific Method. It’s helpful if all the players see is related and could come to the same end
the choices they come up with in front of them, so results. Even if Jacob had chosen Holodeck
make sure to take down all the suggestions they Technologies, the completed research that
may have, or offer the idea to the research lead to leads nowhere will still narrow down their
do so. It’s also helpful if the research lead notes possibilities for when they go back to the
supporting evidence for each idea. With in-person beginning of the hypothesis phase.
games, this may be as simple as using notecards
and a marker to keep everything visible to all, but

198 CHAPTER 6.90

 CHAPTER 06.100

CREAT I NG A N D
USIN G NP C S
“ Huma n int uit io n a nd in stin ct are n ot always rig h t,
but t hey d o m ake life in terestin g .”

— GUINAN

ADDING TO THE STORY

IT IS EASY TO THINK THAT AN NPC MEANS AN While some Notable NPCs, such as low-ranking
enemy, but in Star Trek Adventures, NPCs can individuals or citizens of different locations, are
often be allies, or even have their loyalties shift. unnamed, Major NPCs should always have a name
When creating an NPC for your story, you should and presence in a story. These characters can be
first consider what kind of character it will be. anything ranging from the leader of a commune to
The three types of NPCs are outlined in the core the mastermind of an interstellar conflict. In general,
rulebooks. Once you’ve determined whether the when designing Major NPCs, you should consider
NPC is Minor, Notable, or Major, you can then begin their backstory and lifepath, much like one of your
the process of turning them into an intriguing ally or players would for their character.
adversary.

From giving clues as to how to move the plot Detailed Backgrounds

forward to creating deep philosophical discussions, The rules for creating NPCs can be found in the
NPCs should always add to the story being told. core rulebook on pages 304–306 and The Klingon
When creating an NPC, the goal should be to bring Empire core rulebook on pages 283–286. These
emotion out of your player characters. Whether it rules detail quick and easy ways to create char-
is anger, frustration, joy, or something else, these acters that may or may not be recurring in your
emotions make the story more meaningful to the campaign. The important thing to remember about
player characters and help to engage the players in these rules is that it is up to you to pick and choose
whatever outcome there might be. how to use them in your game. Perhaps you’d like
a more detailed history and background for your
While most unnamed NPCs won’t impact major Major NPC, or maybe you want to have an army
story arcs, they can create interesting beats within of enhanced clone Minor NPCs. Either way, these
a story. Some of these NPCs may never even speak characters can be as detailed as you’d like to be if
a word, but their presence and actions should still you have time to create them.
carry meaning and have consequence. These NPCs
could be exhausted workers at a trilithium factory or The best way to create a meaningful NPC backstory
possessed warriors on a planet full of spirits; in both is to go through the same lifepath process the play-
cases, their presence leads to potentially bigger ers in your game would go through when developing
mysteries to figure out. their characters. These backstories will help inform

MAIN ENGINEERING 199

 what kinds of decisions and tactics your NPC will
employ while trying to achieve their goals. Having RANDOM GOALS TABLE
this information already established will make an
If you aren’t sure what your NPC’s goals
NPC seem more real and will help seamlessly add
are, roll a d20 and consult this table, or
them to an ongoing story.
just choose a result that you feel
is appropriate. 
While adapting some of the NPCs and adversaries in
the core rulebooks to what you need is the quickest
D20 ROLL RESULT
way to create an NPC, often the characters with the
1 Earn someone’s love
most detailed backgrounds are the ones your players
will find memorable and more important to the game. Rise to control a group
2
of people
3 Rise through military ranks
Promotions and 4
Add to their amazing
collection
Adjustments 5 Reunite their family
Adjusting adversarial NPCs on the fly is one of the
6 Gain territory
most challenging parts of being a gamemaster. The
rules for making these adjustments can be found 7 Gain scientific knowledge
in the core rulebook on page 304 and The Klingon 8 Earn fame
Empire core rulebook on page 283. The important
9 Restore their family name
thing to consider is when to make these adjustments
to make the story more interesting or challenging. 10 Make new friends
11 Find a deity
Spending Threat to add adversaries to an encounter
12 Revenge
that turns into an unexpected combat situation can
help balance the engagement, but that only works if 13 Win a competition
you have Threat to spend. If the encounter happens 14 Earn someone’s respect
at the climax of a story, and you want to make it Stop an event from
15
more exciting without spending Threat, consider happening
making some adjustments and promotions to the 16 Create a new invention
NPCs. Doing this will bolster the NPCs into a bigger
17 Complete a bucket list
threat worthy of a climactic scene.
18 Find a new cure
The balancing act of story, activations, promotions, 19 Escape from their past
and adjustments ultimately falls on your shoulders.
20 Solve a mystery
Your job is to make an exciting encounter that tells a
story, together with your players. Ensuring that these
061001
kinds of encounters are fair and achievable will help
build trust among your players and emphasize the
co-storytelling aspect of the game. they are using to accomplish those things. Many
characters may have the exact same goals, but their
plan to achieve those goals is often informed by
Goals and Tactics their lifepath and prior experiences.
When creating a Major NPC, it helps to consider the
Major NPC’s goals and aspirations, as well as how When designing these ideas, it is important that
they plan to accomplish those things. These goals characters can change. Perhaps, through interac-
and aspirations should be the ends the character is tion, the NPC could learn a new means to achieve
hoping for and the tactics should be the processes the ends they want, or maybe certain events can

200 CHAPTER 6.100

 least one value that represents their point of view.
RANDOM TACTICS TABLE Even though they don’t start with any Determination,
Major NPCs can use their values normally, but
If you aren’t sure what your NPC’s tactics
spending or gaining Threat instead of Determination.
are, roll a d20 and consult this table, or just
The process for this varies depending on whether
choose one that you feel is appropriate. 
the NPC is an ally or an adversary.

D20 ROLL RESULT

MAJOR NPC ALLIES
1 Sacrifice others An NPC who is an ally can gain the benefits of a
2 Sacrifice self point of Determination by adding to Threat. The NPC
can reference a value in a positive fashion. After ref-
3 Political manipulation
erencing a value in a positive fashion, the NPC can
4 Distraction add 3 Threat to the Threat pool to gain the effects of
5 Military aggression a point of Determination.

6 Espionage
In addition, ally NPCs can use their values nega-
7 Biological weapons tively. After suffering a complication or challenging
8 Technological upgrades (and thus crossing out) a value, the NPC can remove
3 Threat from the Threat pool.
9 Computer manipulation

10 Stealing MAJOR NPC ADVERSARIES

11 Expanding territory
An NPC who is an adversary can gain the benefit
of a point of determination by spending Threat. The
12 Assassination NPC can reference a value in a positive fashion.
13 Lying After referencing a value in a positive fashion, the
NPC can spend 3 Threat from the Threat pool and
14 Trading
gain the benefit of a point of Determination.
15 Science

16 Grandiose show In addition, an adversary NPC can use their values

negatively. After suffering a complication or chal-
17 Subjugation
lenging (and thus crossing out) a value, the NPC can
18 Extorting add 3 Threat to the Threat pool.
19 Revealing secrets

20 Protecting secrets New NPC Special Rules

061002 These special rules and abilities can be assigned to
exceptional NPCs or alien adversaries. In general,
these abilities should reflect new aliens with differ-
cause them to want different ends altogether. Of ent physiologies than your characters are used to.
course, these changes may not happen at all, and They can also represent devices or technologies a
the NPC may also double down on their means Major NPC may have that give them the upper hand
based on story events as well. The key is to be flex- in a combat encounter.
ible with the NPC’s ideals and allow the characters’
actions to sway them one way or the other. AMPHIBIAN
The being has anatomical structures that allow them
to breath on land as easily as they do in water. The
Determination and NPCs being is immune to drowning (see sidebar).
While Minor NPCs don’t have values to reference or
challenge, Notable and Major NPCs always have at

MAIN ENGINEERING 201

 SWIMMING AND DROWNING
MOVING IN A LIQUID reference points, assume that a zone is a 5
When a being isn’t anatomically designed to meter x 5 meter x 5 meter cube.
swim, they can move one zone by using a minor
action, just as they do on land. A being with fins DROWNING
or webbed hands and feet has a major advan- If a being doesn’t have the ability to breathe
tage while underwater and in other liquids. underwater by either natural or technological
Beings whose bodies are built to swim should means, they must hold their breath in order
have the Aquatic ability to show their advantage to do so. Each time the being attempts a task
over beings that don’t have similar features. underwater while holding their breath, they
Similarly, a being in an environmental suit who must succeed at a Fitness + Security task. The
tries to swim must succeed at a Difficulty 1 Difficulty for this task starts at 0 and increases
Fitness + Conn task to move one zone. by 1 for each other turn the being remains
underwater without getting a breath. This check
While moving through a liquid, there may not resets if the being surfaces or catches their
be reference points to define zones around the breath in another way. This task is a free action
beings involved. While in open water without that happens as soon as the being activates. If a
being fails the task, they suffer 3A Stress. 

061003

AQUATIC turn or suffer the effects of falling. A flying being

The being is at home in the water and has physio- who suffers the Knockdown weapon effect also
logical structures that allow them to move through suffers the effect of falling.
water and other liquids with ease. While underwater
(or another liquid), the being can move up to two If a flying being wishes to carry another being or
zones with a minor action. load while in the air, they must succeed at a Fitness
+ Conn task. The Difficulty of this task will be
CAMOUFLAGED determined by you, based on the being or object’s
The being is adept at blending in with their back- size and portability, as well as how the NPC intends
ground environment’s colors. The Difficulty of any to carry the being or object.
tasks to locate the being is increased by 2.
FORMLESS
ENERGY-BASED The being doesn’t have an organized structure and
The being’s body is made out of energy or radiation, can contort their body into many shapes. The being
or they emits energy from their skin. The being’s can move through openings as small as 1 centime-
Resistance increases by 2 against attacks made ter in diameter and gains Tough 2.
with energy weapons. When the being is hit with a
melee attack, the attacker suffers 1A Stress. HYPER-AGILE
The being is abnormally quick and reactive. The
FLIGHT Difficulty to hit the being in ranged combat is
The being either has anatomical structures that increased by 1.
allow them to fly or a form of personal technology
that allows them to do so. The being may move into
zones vertically in addition to horizontally. A flying
being must use at least a minor action to move each

202 CHAPTER 6.100

INITIATIVE X MULTI-ARMED
The being is sufficiently trained or quick enough to The being has more than one pair of arms. When
activate more than once per initiative round. Unless engaging in melee combat with a being without
otherwise noted, NPCs have Initiative 1. If they have multiple arms, this being automatically generates
a higher number, they can activate that many times 1 additional point of Momentum if they succeed.
in a round. Bonus Momentum cannot be saved.

INTERPHASIC SPINED
The being is constantly shifting through different The being has long spines that they use as a
dimensions or their molecules scatter and reassem- defense mechanism. When the being is hit with a
ble at will. The being can move through walls, other melee attack, the attacker suffers 1A Stress. The
creatures, and objects as though they aren’t there. attacker continues to suffer 1A Stress at the start
of each turn until they use a Prepare minor action to
MARTIAL ARTIST remove the spine.
The being has trained for years in hand-to-hand
combat styles from numerous cultures. When the STURDY
being succeeds at an unarmed attack, they may The being has many legs that aid in keeping it
replace the Knockdown effect with either Intense or upright or can defy the laws of physics in other
Piercing 1. ways. The being is immune to the Knockdown
weapon effect.
MIND-SHIELDED
The being has natural psychic barriers built into SWARM
their anatomy or they have technology that makes This being is a swirling mass of smaller beings or
their mind unreadable. The being is immune to the robots. When combined as a single threat, they gain
effects of both the Telepathic and Empathic talents. this trait. This being has twice as much Stress than
normal and can only suffer an Injury from having its
Stress track completely filled.

VERTICAL MOVEMENT AND FALLING

VERTICAL MOVEMENT each floor is its own zone. This helps to clarify
Beings with the ability to fly unlock an entirely open areas inside these structures such as
new dimension during a physical conflict, turbolift shafts and open atriums.
allowing them to move high into the air with rel-
ative ease. While zones on the ground typically FALLING
have many visual markers to define them, it is While flying provides unique advantages
possible that there are none of these markers for NPCs and adversaries, it can also be a
occupying the sky above an encounter. If this detriment if a group is prepared to deal with
is the case, assume that a vertical zone above the ability. If a team is able to stop the flying
the battlefield is a 5 meter x 5 meter x 5 meter being from being able to fly while they are in
cube. This allows the flier to have places to go mid-air, or if the team can knock down the flier,
without being able to fly kilometers up into the the being will spiral out of control to the ground,
clouds with a single action. suffering Stress when they crash. The general
rule is that falling causes 3A Stress for the first
When a character is moving vertically inside a vertical zone plus 2A Stress for each additional
building or other similar structure, assume that vertical zone they fall through. 
061004

MAIN ENGINEERING 203

 TOUGH X RECURRING ADVERSARY NPCS
The being is rugged and resilient, either ana- Creating recurring adversary NPCs can enrich the
tomically or technologically. This being gains an story and create meaningful arcs for your charac-
additional X Resistance against melee attacks. ters. When deciding if an adversary should return,
consider the situation your crew last left them in and
how that situation would impact a future appear-
RECURRING NPCS ance. By considering what changes the character
Both ally and adversary NPCs can often return went through since the last time the crew encoun-
multiple times in different missions to help or hinder tered them, the NPC will feel like a seamless part of
the characters in your game. Using recurring NPCs your story’s timeline.
can create interesting plot threads among the player
characters and can help players to connect with the If you wish to use an NPC in the future, make sure
content being presented. There are several ways to your character’s actions weren’t futile in their
make these recurring NPCs memorable and seam- interaction with the NPC. If your crew captured the
less in your story. NPC, just saying that they escaped could make your
players feel like their actions were meaningless.
RECURRING ALLY NPCS
A recurring ally NPC is best saved for characters who
don’t serve on the player’s ship. When referencing
characters on the ship, the players should use the
rules for supporting characters instead of NPCs.

When an NPC you introduce is popular with the play-

ers, you may wish to use them again in the future.
The key to remember is to use these recurring NPCs
to supplement the story and not to be the focus of
it. Recurring NPCs are best when they participate in
conversations but don’t dominate them.

It is easy to use recurring Major NPCs to give infor-

mation to the crew. If you decide to do this, try your
best to not make the scene an information dump.
Your players will get much more out of the infor-
mation if delivered through conversation instead of
a speech. NPCs may know things the characters
don’t; all that information doesn’t have to come out
all at once.

Recurring Major NPCs are often powerful, and

therefore it is easy to have them show up and save
the day. While this can be entertaining in movies or
on television shows, it can also make your players
feel like their actions in the story were meaningless.
Instead, consider surprises where your recurring
NPC shows up early and gives a mission, or is saved
at the end of the mission.

204 CHAPTER 6.100

This situation should be avoided whenever possible. talking about their plans and reasoning, be mindful
Instead, consider the NPC wanted to be captured for to steer clear of having them deliver monologues.
some reason, or perhaps accidentally escapes in a This information is best delivered through dialogue
future battle or power loss. with the player characters.

Another thing to be wary of when creating an In many cases, creating a sympathetic case for your
adversary NPC is to consider how their tactics may recurring NPC will tighten the connection that your
push or challenge the values of the characters. characters will have to them. You can build sym-
Some of the best adversaries actually want the pathy for an NPC by showing the characters why
same ends as a player but have a totally different the adversary is doing what they’re doing. When
philosophy on how to achieve them. This difference designing the reasons why the adversary is acting
of philosophies can create dynamic interactions and the way they are, consider similar events that have
conflicts that don’t have to come down to combat. happened in the crew’s past and how they may
While the adversary NPC shouldn’t shy away from have handled them differently.

MAIN ENGINEERING 205

206
 CHAPTER 07.00

ADDI T I ONAL R U L E S
A ND T O O L S
07.10 OPTIONAL RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

07.20 SAMPLE ENCOUNTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

07.30 SAMPLE EXTENDED TASKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

07.40 CULTURAL STRUCTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 207

 CHAPTER 07.10

OPTI ONAL R U L E S
“N o w, I ’ m n ot a f ra id o f be nding t he ru les ever y on ce in a wh ile
i f t h e si t u at io n w a rra nt s it . And I don ’t th in k you are, eith er.”

— LUT HE R SLOAN

THE MENAGERIE
This chapter provides even more game advice, Guide. Review each section at your leisure and
optional rules, and tools that didn’t easily fit use only those elements that make sense for
into other sections of this Gamemaster’s your game. 
07101

MORE TOOLS FOR YOUR TOOLKIT

SOMETIMES THE GAME’S RULES DON’T QUITE DO of those rules to represent a growing problem that
what you need them to. Sometimes it’s useful to needs to be avoided.
have other options available to you, to represent dif-
ferent things or to shape play into a particular form. A consequence is structured in the same way as an
This is, of course, the point where you can devise extended task, with a couple of minor adjustments.
your own house rules or discuss other options with
other gamers. § A consequence has setbacks instead of
breakthroughs, but they are functionally sim-
This section caters to those situations by providing ilar. Each consequence can suffer a number
an additional selection of optional rules that you of setbacks (normally 1-5) before it results in
can use as you see fit. These rules are not a core disaster, which is called the magnitude. When
part of Star Trek Adventures, but instead represent the number of setbacks suffered is equal to
specific ways that you can alter or adapt the game the consequence’s magnitude, then the scene
to achieve specific goals. In some cases, where they ends, and disaster strikes.
affect how characters are built or developed, they
§ A consequence has a Stress track. This shows
do not fully discuss all the possible implications
how far a situation can be pushed before
and consequences of applying the rule, and in this
something bad happens. Some situations will
regard, they are intended to be used by experienced
affect the consequence, and you’ll roll a number
gamemasters who have a deeper understanding of
of Challenge Dice (A) and apply the Stress
how the game works and what effect an optional
rolled to the track. If 5 or more Stress is inflicted
rule may have.
(after Resistance, below), a setback occurs. If
the Stress track is filled or any Stress is inflicted
Extended Consequences when the Stress track is full, a setback occurs.
These can both happen at once.
Just as an extended task represents a problem that
needs to be overcome, you can use a modified form

208 CHAPTER 7.10

§ A consequence may have Resistance, which § Event: The setback triggers some activity or
represents stabilizing factors that can limit how change in the scene, such as the arrival or
much impact the characters have. Each point of departure of specific individuals, a change in
Resistance reduces the Stress inflicted by 1. enemy tactics, or a new danger, or even inflict-
ing Stress on one of the player characters.
§ Consequences do not have a basic Difficulty.
This is because you don’t make tasks to affect a
EXAMPLE: The away team is attempting to
consequence, as we’ll discuss in a moment.
infiltrate a Romulan research base, and the
§ Consequences have a basic Stress rating. This gamemaster creates a consequence to repre-
is normally 4A, but may vary based sent the alertness of the guards and the level
on circumstances. of security, and thus the things which make the
consequence worsen are failed tests to move
Whenever you create a scene with a consequence, unnoticed, complications on any task, or any
define one or more conditions which will cause noisy or attention-grabbing action. The basic
the consequence to worsen: at this point, roll the Stress rating is 4A, the consequence has a
consequence’s Stress rating, and mark off the Stress track of 15, and it has a Magnitude of 3,
total rolled on the Stress track. The most common so it can suffer 3 setbacks. The Romulans aren’t
of these are likely to be complications on specific expecting trouble, so there’s 2 Resistance at
tasks, failing certain tasks, or even taking specific the start of the scene. The gamemaster decides
dangerous actions. that the first setback makes the Romulans
suspicious, removing the Resistance, while the
Each setback may have a different result depending second setback will add 1 to the Difficulty of
on what the consequence represents, and a single any further tests to move around unseen. The
consequence may have different results for each third setback means the alarm is sounded as
setback. These results are most likely to be one of the away team is discovered!
the following:
CONSEQUENCES AND EFFECTS
§ Uncertainty: Some tasks associated with the Just as with extended tasks, the use of A in a con-
consequence increase their complication range sequence means that effects rolled are something
by 1 (i.e., from 20, to 19–20). worth considering. Under normal circumstances
there are no special effects used that apply to a
§ Difficulty: Some tasks associated with the
consequence: an effect rolled simply inflicts 1 Stress
consequence become more difficult, adding 1 to
as normal.
their Difficulty.
§ Instability: The consequence grows more However, you may rule that the situation is suffi-
precarious. This may reduce the consequence’s ciently dangerous or precarious that special effects
Resistance (if any) by 2 or add 2A to the occur when effects are rolled against a specific
Stress rating. consequence. This might occur because of compli-
cations suffered, or they may be added because of a
§ Escalation: The setback adds 2 points to your
setback. The following are common examples of the
Threat pool, to be used immediately or saved for
kinds of special effects you may wish to add:
some later problem.
§ Create Trait: The setback creates an advan- § Disastrous: If any setbacks are suffered, and
tage for the enemy or a complication for the one or more effects were rolled, then one addi-
player characters. tional setback is suffered.
§ Destabilizing X: This Stress roll ignores X
points of the consequence’s Resistance for each
effect rolled.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 209

 § Severe: The Stress roll inflicts 1 additional § Working on dangerous or highly restricted
Stress for each effect rolled. technology can serve as a consequence, with
setbacks representing security protocols and
§ Stressful X: The Stress roll inflicts X Stress to
anti-tamper countermeasures being triggered.
the character who caused the Stress roll for
each effect rolled. If this causes an injury, the
These situations can even be combined with an
injury is non-lethal.
extended task: indeed, extended tasks and con-
sequences can work extremely well together on a
CONSEQUENCES AND THREAT
single activity with high rewards but considerable
While player characters cannot apply Momentum
risks: each time a character attempts a task towards
to a consequence – by their nature, consequences
the extended task, a successful task is rewarded
occur outside of the player characters’ control –
with progress, but failed tasks add to the conse-
you may use Threat to affect a consequence in the
quence instead.
following ways:
Indeed, combining an extended task and a con-
§ Additional Stress: For each point of Threat
sequence in this way is ideal to model defusing
spent (maximum 3), the consequence’s Stress
a bomb: the extended task represents progress
rating increases by 1A for this roll.
towards successfully disarming the device, the
§ Special Effect: For 2 Threat, apply one of the consequence represents how close the bomb is to
listed special effects (above) to the conse- being detonated by the attempt. Particularly perilous
quence’s stress rating for this roll. You should bombs may also be a timed extended task, with
not do this more than once per roll. setbacks potentially reducing the amount of time
remaining as the countdown speeds up.
§ Re-roll: For 1 Threat, re-roll any number of A
from this roll.
Advanced Traits
USING CONSEQUENCES
Under the normal rules, a trait does one of four
Consequences can make for an especially tense
things: makes things easier, makes things possible,
scene in a variety of situations, though they should
makes things harder, or makes things impossible.
be used sparingly, for situations which are life-and-
And for most situations, that’s fine. You don’t need
death, or where the cost of failure is severe.
more than that range of effects in most games or in
most circumstances.
§ Attempting to remain unnoticed in a hostile
environment is a natural fit for a consequence.
But sometimes, it isn’t quite enough. Sometimes it
Actions (and failed tasks) which draw attention
feels like a trait needs to have a different impact to
naturally feed into the consequence.
make the scene play out in a way that feels right.
§ Moving through unstable or dangerous terrain, This optional rule is not advised for inexperienced
such as collapsing ruins, along crumbling cliffs, gamemasters, as it can be overwhelming to have so
or similar, can serve as an interesting conse- many options at your fingertips unless you have a
quence. Complications when moving (or fight- solid grasp on which options do what.
ing) around the environment may disturb the
terrain and cause it to collapse further, making Functionally, a trait is an opportunity, and a reason,
progress more difficult or even inflicting Stress. to bend the normal rules in one way or another.
Each one is a little flag saying, “this situation is
§ Social situations against hostile or easi-
different,” and in theory can be used as the justifica-
ly-provoked foes may face a consequence.
tion for numerous adjustments to the rules.
Complications or failed tasks may anger or insult
them in some way, potentially leading to violence.

210 CHAPTER 7.10

ADVANTAGES COMPLICATIONS
When a trait is of benefit to a character, there are When a trait is a problem for a character, there
numerous possibilities for how that benefit can be are just as many possibilities for how those prob-
presented in game terms. lems manifest.

In combat or an extended task, this may manifest Increasing complication range is a common
as extra effects on a weapon, or bonus A. It might approach, as is suggesting a greater effect for
reduce the cost of a Momentum spend by 1 or 2 failure. It may be that a complication reduces some
points or allow a character to gain a benefit for free rating the character has, typically maximum Stress,
that normally costs Momentum or would add to Shields, Power, or Resistance, representing some
Threat, such as keeping the initiative. It might allow weakness or vulnerability that’s been exposed. It
a character to break some small limit or restriction may be a prohibition against using a specific option
in some way. or removing a benefit that would normally apply. As
many complications occur from rolls, a lot of these
A lot of this depends on what the trait itself repre- effects may only be momentary, lasting only through
sents, and it is left entirely up to your discretion. the character’s next action.
This is why this rule is optional: there are a lot of
possibilities here and knowing how to use those Again, the possibilities are endless, and should be
possibilities effectively comes with experience. considered carefully once you are used to the way
the game works.
§ A trait representing some volatile explosives
may allow a character to add the Area effect to § A trait representing an energy drain or damage to
an attack they make into the zone where the ship systems may mean that power requirements
explosives are present. for specific tasks (or even all tasks) increase.
§ A battle plan might grant one extra free minor § A complication representing an error or a mis-
action to allies for a turn or allow an ally to keep judgment may prevent a character keeping the
the initiative. initiative or stop them from providing assistance.
§ Spending time preparing the ship’s shuttlebay § A character suffers a complication in combat
(creating an advantage) may allow it to carry may overextend themselves, preventing them
a Scale 2 craft when it normally couldn’t or from benefiting from cover.
allow it to launch a greater number of small
§ Environmental effects may reduce a ship’s
craft than normal.
maximum Shields, typically by 3.
§ Having the right tools on hand (an equipment
§ Traits represent fatigue or despair may reduce a
trait) might add a special effect to your A when
character’s maximum Stress, typically by 3.
working on an extended task.
§ A trait representing a vulnerability in a character
§ A trait representing a team of subordinates
or ship’s defenses may reduce Resistance by 2.
might allow you to perform a task where you
aren’t present, by ordering them to complete
it. This can include making an attack if you’re
commanding a security team.
Stress and
§
Injuries Variants
A trait representing security team providing
Many fights in Star Trek are desperate, wearying
supporting fire might add 2A to your attack’s
affairs, full of close calls and near misses, showers
Stress rating.
of sparks from phaser beams hitting rocks and
bulkheads, but over quickly once combatants get
worn out or they take a direct hit.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 211

 But this isn’t always the most satisfying approach and being exposed to phenomenon such as mind
at the table. For some campaigns, a more visceral control or psychic attack. Mental attacks are always
damage system is desired. Or sometimes a group non-lethal.
wants to add additional meaning to the psychologi-
cal and morale sides of battle. A character’s maximum Physical Stress is equal
to their Fitness score plus their Security score. A
If you wish to use these options, they should apply character’s maximum Mental Stress is equal to their
for the entire campaign: they’re not easily added to Control score plus their Command score.
or removed from a game already in progress.
Resistance is also split into physical resistance and
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STRESS mental resistance. Talents and equipment which
In this variant, characters have two Stress tracks, normally grant Resistance now only grant physical
rather than one: one for physical stress, and one for resistance. Talents which make a character more
mental stress. resistant to coercion, fear, or emotions should
be amended to grant +1 mental resistance (the
Physical stress is suffered from attacks with melee Kolinahr talent, available to Vulcans, should grant +2
weapons, directed energy weapons, projectiles, and mental resistance).
assorted hazards such as fire, collapsing structures,
radiation, and similar. Physical attacks can be either All Starfleet personnel, Klingon warriors, and
lethal or non-lethal. other military characters receive 1 point of
mental resistance because of their training
Mental stress is suffered from psychic and psy- and discipline.
chological onslaughts, such as experiencing fear or
panic, witnessing something distressing or horrific, In conflict, including social conflict, a character may
being subjected to intimidation or interrogation, attempt to inflict mental stress by attempting to

212 CHAPTER 7.10

threaten, provoke, or intimidate their target. This is When a character suffers Fatigue, it reduces their
an attack, normally requiring a successful Presence maximum Stress by 1 for each point of Fatigue suf-
+ Command or Presence + Security task with a fered. If a character’s maximum Stress is reduced
Difficulty of 1, opposed by the target’s Control + to 0, any further Fatigue means the character
Command. If the attacker succeeds, then they inflict falls unconscious – this is the same as suffering a
mental stress equal to 2A, plus additional A equal to non-lethal injury, except that the character doesn’t
their Command or Security, whichever is higher. At recover while their maximum Stress is 0. If the char-
your discretion, the nature of the threat may apply acter suffers any more fatigue while unconscious
one or more effects to the Stress inflicted. from exhaustion, they die.

When a character has suffered 5 or more mental A character can remove Fatigue with a Fitness +
stress in one go, or their mental stress track is Medicine task with a Difficulty of 1, once they have
filled, or they suffer any mental stress while their removed themselves from any sources of fatigue
track is full, then they gain a new trait which (for example, if you took Fatigue from sleep depri-
reflects their fear, their panic, their broken resolve, vation and starvation, getting a hot meal and a good
their anger, or whatever other mental state has night’s sleep allows the character to try and remove
been inflicted upon them. that Fatigue). A character may attempt a Control +
Medicine task with Difficulty 1 to revive someone
Mental stress recovers fully at the start of each new unconscious from Fatigue, administering fluids and
scene, just like physical stress. However, during a stimulants to revive their patient. In either case,
scene, effects which allow a character to recover success removes 1 point of Fatigue, plus one more
Stress must remove either physical or mental stress, for every Momentum spent.
not both.
INJURIES
FATIGUE In some games, the all-or-nothing effect of injuries
Some things can wear on a character’s ability to can get in the way of the story, making it more
endure, from intense heat, extreme cold, thirst or difficult to present tales of triumph against adver-
starvation, abject despair, sleep deprivation, and sity by making it difficult for characters to push on
overexertion. These problems can mount, and when hurt.
though they are not as severe as an injury, they can
still pose a problem to characters. Under this variant, a character can suffer multiple
injuries before being taken out of the fight. It is

MORALE
Just as characters can resist physical harm by and the total added to the character’s mental
taking cover, characters can resist mental harm resistance when they suffer mental stress. Once
through good morale. used, morale resistance is removed.

A character can bolster the morale of them- Morale granted to allies may come from
selves and their allies by spending Momentum, encouraging words, a rousing speech, shared
with each point of Momentum spent camaraderie, or restatement of purpose. Morale
(Immediate, Repeatable) granting themselves granted to oneself may come from mental exer-
or one ally within communications range 1A cises or taking a moment to clear one’s mind. 
of Morale resistance. These dice are rolled,
07102

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 213

 somewhat more complex than the standard rules, If a character suffers 5 or more Stress from a single
however. When using this variant, characters cannot attack or exposure to a hazard, or they reach their
pay to Avoid Injury. maximum Stress, they immediately suffer an injury.
If both these things happen, then the character
An injury in this variant is a specific form of compli- suffers two injuries instead of one. If a character
cation: it is a negative trait which represents serious is already at maximum Stress, then suffering any
physical harm suffered by the character. additional Stress will inflict an injury, and suffering
5 or more Stress while at maximum will inflict two
injuries. You determine the nature of all injuries.

HEALING
A character who has suffered one or more in sickbay may treat an injury in sickbay as part
injuries will likely want to receive healing. of this (the sickbay also reduces the Difficulty
to 1, and the Momentum cost to treat additional
Injuries cannot be fully healed without time, injuries to 1). A character with multiple injuries
rest, and proper equipment. A character may will need to spend more time in sickbay.
attempt to treat another character’s injuries (to
help injuries heal and reduce pain) by suc- A character without access to medical facilities
ceeding on a Control or Daring + Medicine will remove one treated injury at the start of
task with a Difficulty of 2 (Control outside of each subsequent adventure.
combat, Daring while still in combat or on a
dying patient) to treat a single injury. This does DEFEAT AND DEATH
not remove the injury trait, but rather changes A character who has been defeated can return
it to reflect the medical attention provided – the to the action in one of two ways: medical atten-
wound isn’t healed, but broken bones have tion, or Determination.
been stabilized, bleeding has been stopped or
at least staunched with a dressing, and so forth. If a character was defeated by a non-lethal
Additional injuries may be treated by spending 2 attack, removing that injury restores the
Momentum (Repeatable) per additional injury. character to consciousness and allows them to
act normally.
A treated injury does not impose any penalties
upon the character, unless they suffer further If a character is dying, then the Difficulty to treat
damage, which will open treated injuries and an injury increases by 1. Successfully treating
return them to an un-treated state. at least one injury on a dying character stabi-
lizes them, so that they are no longer dying.
If the injury treated was unconsciousness Spending an additional 2 Momentum after
caused by a non-lethal attack, then the injury is stabilizing the character means that they are no
removed entirely. This also means the character longer defeated, but they still have 3 injuries,
is no longer defeated. Otherwise, the uncon- and a fourth injury is fatal.
scious injury is removed at the start of the next
scene with no further effect. A defeated character may spend 1
Determination, without regard for their values,
If the character has access to a sickbay or other to return to action. This does not treat or remove
medical facility, they may remove one treated any of their injuries, other than any unconscious
injury (treated or otherwise) by having the injuries caused by non-lethal attacks. 
character spend a scene in sickbay. A character
07103

214 CHAPTER 7.10

§ If the attack was non-lethal, then the first No more than once per round, when the ship is the
injury an attack inflicts renders the target target of an attack or would be struck by a damaging
unconscious. The target is immediately hazard, a single character who has not yet acted this
defeated (see below). round may declare “Brace for Impact!” If they do so,
immediately spend all the Momentum currently in
§ If the attack was lethal, then the character
the group pool. If there is no Momentum in the group
gains Injuries based on the nature of the
pool, add 1, 2, or 3 points to Threat instead.
attack: a disruptor will cause plasma burns,
a knife will leave bleeding cuts, and so forth.
Roll a number of A equal to the number of
If a character would suffer their third injury,
Momentum spent, or equal to the Threat given to you.
then they are also defeated and dying. A fourth
Increase the ship’s Resistance by the total rolled. This
injury is immediately fatal.
increase applies only against the current attack.

If not defeated, a character may continue to act

NPC vessels cannot Brace for Impact.
while suffering from one or more injuries, though
as traits they will impair the character in various
DIVE FOR COVER!
ways depending on how a given injury is described:
This variant makes characters more likely to survive
a broken leg will hinder or even prevent movement,
but can also make fights that much more chaotic. It
but it won’t have as large an effect on aiming and
combines well with the injuries variant, above.
firing a phaser.
When a character is the target of a ranged attack,
A defeated character falls prone immediately, and
they may add 1 to Threat to try and avoid the attack,
they cannot take any actions for the remainder
so long as they are aware of the attack and not
of the current scene. A character who has been
currently prone. The ranged attack becomes an
defeated may be returned to the action with medical
opposed task, with the defending character rolling
attention, or by spending Determination, as noted in
Daring + Security with a Difficulty of 2 to oppose
the Healing sidebar.
the attack. This is reduced to Difficulty 1 if the
defending character is within Close range of any
A dying character must also roll 1A at the end of
terrain which provides cover.
each turn. On an effect, the character dies from
their injuries.
If the attacker succeeds at this opposed task, then
they resolve the successful attack as normal. If the
Minor NPCs are defeated after suffering a single
defending character succeeds, then they may move
injury of any kind. Notable NPCs are defeated after
to any point within Close range (such as into cover)
suffering two injuries. Major NPCs follow the normal
and immediately drop prone.
rules for player characters.
SQUADS
Advanced Combat Rules This variant allows Minor NPCs to operate in
coordinated groups rather than as individuals,
The following are an assortment of additional details
sacrificing their own turns to become more effective
and changes that can be made to the combat rules.
collectively.
These changes can be added individually or all
together, at your discretion.
§ A squad consists of up to five identical
Minor NPCs.
BRACE FOR IMPACT!
This variant can help make smaller, more fragile § A squad receives only a single turn each round,
starships more survivable against larger foes, at regardless of how many NPCs are in that squad.
a cost.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 215

 § When a squad takes a minor action, all mem- § When the squadron takes an action or performs
bers of the squad perform that action. If the a task on one of its turns, the entire squadron
action involves movement, then they all make performs that action as one. If this is movement,
the same movement, to the same location, they all move in close formation along the same
remaining in a close grouping. path to the same destination. If this is an attack,
they all attack the same target.
§ When a squad performs a task, resolve the task
as if one member of the squad (chosen when § When a squadron performs a task, resolve the
the task is attempted) is attempting the task, task as if one member of the squadron (chosen
and each other member of the squad as if they when the task is attempted) to attempt the task,
were assisting. As the entire squad is identical, and each other member of the squadron as if
this is essentially the same as rolling 2d20 plus they were assisting, using the target numbers
an additional assistance d20 for every member for their crew rather than the ships. As these are
of the squad after the first. As these are assis- assistance dice, a squadron may still purchase
tance dice, a squad may still purchase up to 3 up to 3 bonus d20s with Threat as normal.
bonus d20s with Threat as normal.
§ When a squadron makes an attack, the
§ When a squad makes an attack, the combined combined fire adds 1A to the Stress rating of
fire adds 1A to the Stress rating of the attack the attack for every member of the squadron
for every member of the squad after the first. after the first. The attack is otherwise resolved
The attack is otherwise resolved normally, with normally, with one member making the attack
one member making the attack and the rest and the rest assisting.
assisting.
§ When a squadron is attacked, select a single
§ When a squad is attacked, select a single member of the squadron to attack. If the attack
member of the squad to attack. If the attack is successful, inflict Stress as normal; if the tar-
is successful, inflict Stress as normal; if the geted vessel suffers one or more breaches, it is
targeted NPC is injured by the attack, any disabled (left drifting in space), and any remain-
remaining Stress from that attack is immedi- ing Stress from that attack is immediately
ately inflicted upon the next NPC in the squad, inflicted upon the next vessel in the squadron,
and so on until the entire squad is injured or and so on the entire squadron is disabled or
there is no more Stress to allocate. there is no more Stress to allocate.
§ When an NPC is the target of an attack while
COVER
within reach of an allied squad, the squad may
While listed in the core rules for starship combat,
spend 1 Threat to interpose itself and become
these variant rules for cover can also be applied to
the target of that attack instead.
ground combat to add variety to the battlefield.

SQUADRONS
Cover or concealment may have special effects that
Like the squad rules above, this allows small craft
trigger on each effect rolled on those A, just like
– such as armed shuttles or fighters – to operate in
attacks do. You should determine these in advance,
coordinated groups to fend off larger vessels.
but a few examples include:
§ A squadron consists of up to five identical Scale
DENSE: The cover is particularly dense, making
1 or Scale 2 vessels with the Small Craft trait.
it especially hard to score a good hit. Each effect
§ A squadron takes a number of turns each round rolled generates 1 additional Resistance.
equal to the number of vessels it contains,
regardless of their Scale. When they perform FRAGILE: The cover is especially fragile and will
a task from a specific station, all subsequent disperse entirely if it is damaged. Each effect rolled
tasks from that station increase in Difficulty by permanently reduces the number of A that area of
1, just as if they were a single large vessel. cover provides by 1A, after the current attack has

216 CHAPTER 7.10

 § Ranged attacks reduce in Difficulty by 1, nor-
been resolved. If that would reduce the cover to 0A,
mally to Difficulty of 1. In addition, add 1A to the
that cover is destroyed.
attack’s Stress rating.

UNSTABLE: The cover is unstable and taking too § Melee attacks are a normal task, rather than an
many disruptor bolts and phaser beams may make opposed task, meaning that the defender does
the situation much worse. Each effect rolled adds 1 not get to roll to defend themselves. In addition,
to Threat. add 2A to the attack’s Stress rating.
§ Starship attacks reduce in Difficulty by 1. In
VOLATILE: The cover is exceedingly volatile, likely
addition, add the Piercing 1 weapon effect to
to ignite or explode. If any effects are rolled, then all
the attack. Unaware enemy ships may also have
characters within the zone immediately suffer 5A
their shields down, treating their maximum
Piercing 2 Stress. This Stress increases by 1A for
Shields as 0.
each effect rolled when the targeted ship rolls their
cover dice. After the attack is resolved, the zone no
WEAPON RANGES
longer grants any cover.
Starship combat applies some additional rules for
weapon range which aren’t typically applied to per-
SURPRISE ATTACKS
sonal combat. In general, this is because effective-
Attacks against unaware enemies can be par-
ness at different ranges isn’t commonly seen in Star
ticularly effective, though they aren’t necessarily
Trek’s fight scenes, but it can be added for groups
honorable.
who want to consider that additional detail.
When a character makes an attack against an
In this variant, each ranged weapon has a distinct
enemy who is not aware of that attack, apply the
Optimal Range – the range where the weapon is
following changes:
most effective. For any weapon listed as a rifle, this
is Medium range. For pistol weapons, and Type-1

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 217

 and Type-2 phasers, this is Close range. Grenades movement and distances. This variant replaces zones
have their own rules as part of the Grenade quality. with concrete distances, allowing for more precision.

When a ranged weapon is used to make an attack, The normal range bands are still used. However,
determine the range to the target. As a reminder, they now apply to specific distances, as explained
Close range is in the same zone, Medium range is in below. Distances are given in meters.
an adjacent zone, Long range is 2 zones away, and
Extreme range is 3 or more zones away. If the range § Reach is anything within 2 meters of a character.
to the target does not match the weapon’s optimal
§ Close Range is anything outside of Reach, but
range (i.e., if the target is not at Medium range for
within 10 meters of a character.
an attack with a disruptor rifle), then increase the
Difficulty by 1 for each zone away from optimal § Medium Range is anything outside of Close
range the target is. Range, but within 25 meters of a character.
§ Long Range is anything outside of Medium
TACTICAL COMBAT
range, but within 50 meters of a character.
Some groups may dislike abstract zones or might
wish to have greater detail when handling character § Extreme Range is anything more than 50
meters away from a character.

EVASIVE PATTERNS AND MANUEVERS

Use this randomized table to add some EXAMPLE: Eager to avoid being destroyed
awesome conn babble to your game. This is by enemy mines, Captain Pike of the U.S.S.
a great way to make it seem like the player Discovery orders the helm officer, Lieutenant
characters have a repository of well-honed Detmer, to engage evasive maneuver pattern
battle maneuvers with which to outwit and Lambda Ten. The crew works to disable the
defeat enemy ships. Create more combinations mines remotely. Upon failing to do so, Pike
by stating the number first when calling out orders Detmer to switch to evasive pattern
the evasive pattern. Gamma Four. Still unable to successfully
evade the mines, Pike calls for a series of
random evasive patterns. 
D20 ROLL GREEK LETTER NUMBER
1-2 Alpha One

3-4 Beta Two

5-6 Gamma Three

7-8 Delta Four

9-10 Epsilon Five

11-12 Kappa Six
13-14 Lambda Seven
15-16 Omicron Eight
17-18 Sigma Nine
19-20 Omega Ten

07104

218 CHAPTER 7.10

These distances are used for all physical environ- § A character who succeeds at the Sprint task
ments, such as modifiers for perception, ability to can move up to their Speed, plus their Speed
communicate, and determining range for certain again for every Momentum spent (Repeatable).
forms of attack and special ability. The only thing that
§ Any other forms of movement a character may
these range categories are not used for is movement.
use, allow the character to move their Speed
once for each zone that action would allow
Movement instead is handled in the following manner:
them to move.

All characters have a Speed, which is a distance in

TACTICAL SPACE COMBAT
meters equal to their Fitness plus their Security (so,
As with the personal combat variant above, this vari-
a character with Fitness 9 and Security 3 can move
ant replaces zones with concrete distances, allowing
12 meters). A character may always choose to move
for more precision.
less than the full distance allowed. At your discre-
tion, some species traits may increase a character’s
The normal range bands are still used. However, they
speed – Kelpiens, for example, can run much faster
now apply to specific distances, as explained below.
than Humans, and could reasonably be given a
Speed of twice their Fitness plus their Security.
§ Contact is anything within 1 kilometer of a ship.
§ A character who uses the Move minor action § Close Range is anything outside of contact, but
can move their Speed. within 50,000 km of a ship.
§ Medium Range is anything outside of Close
range, but within 125,000 km of a ship.

CASUALTY REPORT
Ship to ship battle means that vessels will likely 3. Add up the total that appears on the A.
sustain damage. Damage comes in the way of That represents how many crewmembers
exploding conduits, collapsing decks, and hull were injured.
breaches. You may want to elevate the sense of
4. Add up the total effects rolled. That repre-
danger by using this house rule. You may have
sents how many crew members were killed
a group of players who are all too eager to rush
in action.
into battle and you need to impress on them the
sanctity of life and the huge level of responsibil- 5. Identify any player characters that have
ity they bear to keep their crew safe. Determination. Players can choose to use
Determination like Resistance.
Use this rule after a battle concludes. This is
6. Deduct the amount of Determination spent
equivalent to department heads doing a head
from the number of crew members killed in
count and determining who on their teams were
action. Those crewmembers are now consid-
injured or killed. Any crewmembers who met
ered injured and will need medical attention.
their untimely demise may have been sucked
through a breach into space or met some other
Player characters should make a casualty report
sad end.
and deliver it to the commanding officer. Players
can choose to memorialize any crew members
1. Identify how many breaches the ship sus-
that were killed in action with ceremonies in
tained during battle.
accordance with the traditions and wishes of
2. Roll a A for each breach. the fallen. 
07105

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 219

 § Long Range is anything outside of Medium § Maneuver: The ship moves up to its Speed.
range, but within 250,000 km of a ship.
§ Impulse: (cost 1 Power) The ship moves up to
§ Extreme Range is anything more than 250,000 twice its Speed.
km from a ship.
§ Warp: (cost 1 Power per multiple of Speed
moved) The ship moves a distance equal to its
These distances are used for all physical environ-
Speed multiplied by the amount of Power spent
ments, such as modifiers for perception, ability to
(i.e., if the ship spends 4 Power, it moves four
communicate, and determining range for certain
times the ship’s Speed).
forms of attack and special ability. The only thing that
these range categories are not used for is movement. § Evasive Action: (cost 1 Power) The ship moves
up to its Speed as part of this task.
Movement instead is handled in the following manner:
§ Attack Pattern: (cost 1 Power) The ship moves
up to its Speed as part of this task.
All ships move at a Speed based on the ship’s
Engines and Conn scores: a ship’s Speed is equal § Ramming Speed: (cost 1 Power) The ship moves
to the ship’s Engines score, plus its Speed score, up to twice its Speed as part of this attack.
multiplied by 5,000 km (so a ship with Engines 8
and Conn 2 has a Speed of 50,000 km). A ship may
always choose to move less than the full distance
allowed. At your discretion, some starship talents
could increase this Speed rating.

220 CHAPTER 7.10

 CHAPTER 07.20

SAM P LE
EN COUNT E R S
“T h e r e are t ho usa nds o f st a r system s alon g th is p ath . T h ere
m u st h a v e be e n so me t hing t ha t piq u ed you r p eop le’s in terest.”

— CAPT. ARCHE R

THE FOLLOWING ENCOUNTERS CAN BE ADDED TO A § Klingon Encounters. Encounters sanctioned by

game session in need of an encounter or used as the Klingon High Council or missions that help
a springboard to create an adventure from scratch. expand the power of the Empire or add to its
You can adapt them to any era. They are broken resources in some way.
down into three sections:
§ Unsanctioned Encounters. Encounters that act
independently of Starfleet or the Klingon Empire,
§ Starfleet Encounters. Encounters sanctioned
personal ventures that are not endorsed by those
by Starfleet Headquarters or that fall in line with
entities, or actions that are in direct conflict with
the Directives and regulations of the United
established Directives, regulations, and orders.
Federation of Planets.

STARFLEET ENCOUNTERS
All page references for Starfleet Encounters are from
the Starfleet-oriented core rulebook.
Know-It-All
The setting is a courtroom or assembly hall. An
ambassador from a rival government negotiates on
The Bog behalf of an enemy of the Federation. They are espe-
cially difficult to outwit. The ambassador’s knowledge
IT IS A RACE FOR TIME AGAINST A GROUP OF
of Starfleet Intelligence and protocol is frightening
Klingons, but in a foggy bog full of biological and
due to a neurotransmission device surgically placed
technological traps. The prize is valuable but sur-
on their spine that enables them to scan brainwaves.
viving this muddy encounter will not be easy. The
The crew must either outwit the ambassador or find
fog includes technology that prevents tricorders
a way to hamper the technology that enables their
and transporters from working. The enemy squad
opponent’s seemingly miraculous leaps in logic. Use
should include 1 Major NPC and several Minor
the stats for Cardassian Glinn [Notable] on page 328
NPCs equal to the number of players. Add in
and increase Presence to 12 and Command to 5. Add
one or two Minor NPC creatures and two robotic
the focuses Diplomacy and Negotiation.
drones with Particle Beams (Energy, Range M, 3A).
Location traits are Sinking 1 and Foggy 2.
The Metacompact
This encounter begins when the player characters’
vessel gets trapped in a region of metacompact

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 221

 space in the shape of a convex polyhedron. They are Street Kids
removed from normal space and time. The trap was
While in the middle of a mission, a group of street
designed by a multiphasic subspace entity who has
kids steal the characters’ equipment. The street is
been duped to work on their behalf. To break free,
in disrepair and some streetlights are out. Another
the characters must win the respect of the entity
group of children are willing to sell information
by devising a way to reverse the effect. Focuses
to the characters so that they can recover their
like Quantum Mechanics, Computational Geometry,
equipment. Use Ferengi Menial [Minor NPC] on page
Mathematics, or Subspace Theory would apply. Trait
325 for street kids. The only focus they should have
while in the space is No Inertial Movement, which
is Pickpocketing. They have no weapons or special
negates warp, impulse drive, thrusters, and commu-
rules. Traits are Dark 1 and Crowded Streets 2.
nication with parties outside the convex polyhedron.

Out for the Count The Unplanet

This encounter involves a small planet that is imper-
Replicators sabotaged by a Romulan spy begin
vious to orbital scans due to hyperactive magnetic
to spew out an incapacitating agent, which may
fields that disguise a giant cosmozoan lifeform
delay the characters from completing their current
about to be born from its cosmic egg sac. Once
mission. This effect could also be triggered remotely
born, it will try to feed off the warp core of the ship
from an enemy ship that has hacked into the
as it requires antimatter to survive its long lifecycle.
player vessel’s computers. Engaging emergency
It can move at warp speed. Adapt the stats for the
life support procedures and donning EV suits will
Crystalline Entity [Major] on page 344. Eliminate all
be required before being able to reprogram the
Attacks and Special Rules, and add Special Rule:
computers, vent the incapacitating agent, and reset
Energy Transfer: The cosmozoan’s energy transfer
the replicators. Location trait is Bad Air 2.
tubules gains the Vicious 2 effect against ships with
an active warp core. Add Attacks: EM Pulse (Energy,
Range Medium, 7A, Spread).

KLINGON ENCOUNTERS
All page references for Klingon encounters are from
The Klingon Empire core rulebook.
Nobody Leaves
Here Without Singing
The Lie Klingon Opera
Characters with the most knowledge about Klingon
THIS ENCOUNTER BEGINS WHEN THE KLINGON HIGH
opera might survive this encounter as they happen
Council orders the player characters’ vessel and
on a bar owned by a radical gang leader. The char-
its crew to be destroyed upon sight after a false
acters are severely outnumbered and outgunned.
transmission is circulated among the Empire. The
They might survive if they belt out an amazing
crew must reverse-engineer the false transmission
rendition of Shevok’tah gish, Gav’ot toh’va, or some
while evading Klingon war vessels. Use the Effects
other beloved composition. The bar should be full
on Ships table on page 243 to create stellar phe-
of Minor NPCs based on the Jem’Hadar Warrior
nomena that the player characters can hide in while
found on page 369. The player characters should be
they perform their research. Select two starships to
outnumbered 3-to-1. Taris, Vorta Overseer [Major]
represent KDF forces out to destroy them.
on page 370 can be used to represent the assassin
guild leader.

222 CHAPTER 7.20

Trading in Mugatos Warped Mind
This encounter involves boarding a small Nyberrite The crew must deal with an assailant who trans-
vessel to acquire intel, only to discover that the ports onto their vessel. The individual’s biosignature
pilot makes money breeding and selling mugatos is somehow linked with the player characters’
for battle. The illegal operation must be brought to ship’s warp field. The character’s emotional state
a halt, but things get dicey when the pilot attempts also affects the warp drive. If the assailant dies, the
to escape capture by releasing rabid mugatos on warp core suffers a breach. For the assailant, adapt
their would-be liberators. Adapt a Major NPC for Starfleet Science Officer [Minor], page 361. Increase
the Nyberrite crew member. Add Animal Handling Science to 3 and add Transporters, Persuasion, and
and Small Craft as focuses. Add in an equal Quantum Mechanics as focuses.
number of mugatos to players. Mugato stats are
found on page 375.

UNSANCTIONED ENCOUNTERS
All the page references are from the Starfleet-
oriented core rulebook.
The Alien King
An unconscious alien king leaves behind biological
markers that provide the characters the answer to
808 a current dilemma. The player who revives the alien
first will also be granted special ambassadorial
THIS ENCOUNTER OCCURS INSIDE FEDERATION
privileges to the planet and play a role in helping
penal colony 808. The power is out, and the prisoners
them join the Federation. Modify Gul Tremak [Major]
are loose. A fire starts and an escort ship is hijacked.
on page 329. Replace Special Rules with Kingly
The player characters must navigate dark corri-
Advisor: Whenever an ally needs to persuade people,
dors, deactivate security systems, and avoid violent
add a d20 to their die pool.
confrontations. Use Starfleet Security Officer [Minor]
on page 314 for the guards and random Minor NPCs
for prisoners.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 223

 CHAPTER 07.30

SA M P LE
EXTENDE D TA S K S
“We h a ve no re a so n t o e xpe c t su ccess, b u t ou r h eig h t is
l i t t le mo re t ha n t w o inc hes an d even th is action will
be be yo nd us in fifteen m in u tes’ time.”

— CAPT. JAM E S T. KIRK

NOTHING WRONG WITH A RETROFIT

The sample extended tasks listed below can You may insert these extended tasks into your
be reused in multiple adventures. There will be games as appropriate. Any complications that
more than one time when your crew will need arise can be represented by broken tools,
to negotiate for peace, evade hazards in space, failing equipment, turbulence, social conflict, or
track down an enemy, mount an ambush, save anything that hampers the characters’ ability to
a planet from destruction, or triage hundreds get things done. 
of patients. Retrofit these as needed as they
provide a quick template demonstrating the
makeup of extended tasks.
07301

COMMAND
Evacuating A Ship This is an extended task with a Work track of 18, a
Magnitude of 3, and with a basic Difficulty of 3 for
THE PLAYERS’ VESSEL COMES UPON A SHIP THAT
tasks to overcome it. As the characters are trying to
needs immediate evacuation. Transporters will be
complete the task before the other ship explodes,
ineffective due to a high amount of nucleogenic
they can only attempt a maximum of four tasks to
radiation emanating from the ship’s warp drive and
overcome this extended task. If they have not com-
power systems. The vessel will explode within 30
pleted the extended task after the fourth task, then
minutes. The reactor ejectors have fused, so the
they have one round to get clear of the other ship
warp core cannot be removed. The ship does not
and may attempt a Daring + Conn task, assisted
have enough escape pods for everyone, and some
by ship’s Structure + Conn, with a Difficulty of 5.
of them cannot be accessed due to some decks
This represents the player vessel detaching access
being irradiated. There are dozens, if not hun-
tubes, sealing the hatches, and flying off to get
dreds, of people that need rescuing. The crew can
out of close range. Any complications rolled take 2
evaluate the situation to decide how best to initiate
points off the Work track.
evacuation in a timely manner.

224 CHAPTER 7.30

Due to the amount of people who need to be evac- scrambler that prevents simply transporting the hos-
uated, it is difficult for any one person to simulta- tage out. If the player character does not complete
neously fly escape shuttles, retrieve escape pods, the extended task after the third task, then the
or coordinate and supervise access ports. Each opponent may escalate matters.
successive task attempted by the same character to
overcome this extended task increases in Difficulty The default task for this is Insight or Presence +
by 1. Using multiple characters to affect the rescue Command. Any complications rolled can take 4
is advisable. Each character who leads a task can points off the Work track or be used to create com-
have up to two assistants, but not ones that have plications that effect current negotiations or a strike
led other tasks related to the evacuation. The default team if one is needed.
task for this is Control + Command or Security,
but a character using a shuttle to ferry evacuees can The captor and hostage may be in a secret location.
choose to use Control + Conn. If that is the case, a separate extended task with a
Work track of 15, a Magnitude of 3, a Resistance of
If the extended task is successfully overcome, the 2, and a basic Difficulty of 2 must be overcome to
crew has enough time to detach from the dam- locate the captor’s hideout. The characters made
aged ship and get clear of the resulting warp core responsible to locate the hideout get four attempts
explosion. If they fail, when the reactor explodes, the to overcome this extended task, with each task
players’ vessel suffers damage in accordance with representing three hours of investigative work. One
the rules contained in the core rulebook on page 228 character can lead the search with two assists;
and The Klingon Empire core rulebook on page 201. however, the character in the lead of the negotiation
cannot take part. The default task for this is Reason
+ Security or Science with ship’s Sensors + Conn
Negotiating to or Security. Complications might represent encoun-
Free a Hostage ters with people or systems resistance to divulging
the information.
One of the player characters or another party has
become the hostage of an enemy force. It will take
If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
quite a bit of diplomacy, negotiation, and composure
hostage has been freed. Their captor may have
to free the hostage. Or maybe tougher tactics must
negotiated freedom or made some other deal. If they
be employed, like intimidation, deception, blackmail,
fail in this task, it is possible a strike team prepared
or bribery. It will be up to the commanding officer or
to affect a more tactical means to end the hostage
a person appointed by them to negotiate for release
situation. Bursting into the secret hideout (if the
of the hostage unharmed. After twelve hours,
location is known) will be a sensitive operation if the
the enemy will lose patience and possibly inflict
hostage is to come out of the situation unscathed.
casualties. To make matters worse, the enemy will
The default task for this is Daring + Security with
only allow one person to negotiate on the hostage’s
a Difficulty of 4. Gamemasters might choose to
behalf. Refer to the core rulebook page 164 and
employ Success at Cost. For instance, the hostage
The Klingon Empire core rulebook page 163 for
might be rescued but the captor escapes or a boo-
guidance on social conflict.
by-trap detonates that injures everyone.

This is an extended task with a Work track of 14, a

Magnitude of 3, and with a basic Difficulty of 2 for
tasks to overcome it. The character made respon-
Brokering Peace
Two rival factions are at odds. Already, property
sible to lead the negotiation can only attempt a
has been destroyed, lives have been lost, and more
maximum of three tasks to overcome this extended
violence is imminent. The crew has been called
task, with each task representing four hours of
in to broker a peace between these two groups.
back-and-forth negotiations, hearing demands, and
It is the crew’s task to get them to work through
making counter-demands. The foe has a transporter
their complicated differences and shared history

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 225

 of violent reprisals conducted by extremist groups
on both sides. The first step is sitting down at the
Securing the Borders
The crew’s job may be to protect citizens from hostile
table. The next step will be days of diplomacy and
incursions, enemy forces, or an alien entity. Mapping
finesse. Weapons dealers, war profiteers, and the
out a course, determining a plan of action, and
vengeful will be countering the negotiations every
organizing work crews must take place. Part of this
step of the way.
task may require securing the borders by setting up
early warning beacons, listening posts, and subspace
This is an extended task with a Work track of 20,
relays. It could involve laying down space mines or
a Magnitude of 4, Resistance of 3, and a basic
unmanned reconnaissance probes and installing
Difficulty of 3 for tasks to overcome it. The character
sensor nets. This might take hours or weeks depend-
made responsible to lead the diplomatic endeavor
ing on the size of space to be covered.
can attempt a maximum of five tasks to overcome
this extended task. They may have up to two assis-
This is an extended task with a Work track of 15,
tants as part of their diplomatic attaché. Each task
a Magnitude of 3, and with a basic Difficulty of
represents a day’s worth of exhaustive meetings,
2. The character responsible to lead the tactical
selecting official bilateral representatives, drafting
mission can attempt a maximum of three tasks to
peace accords, consulting legal teams, revising
overcome this extended task. They may have up
agreements, settling territory and resource disputes,
to two assistants. Decide the amount of space that
and the like. If the player character does not com-
needs securing and declare whether the time to
plete the extended task after the fifth task, then the
complete tasks represents hours, days, or weeks of
peace talks fail, most likely in a disastrous way.
work. If the player character does not complete the
extended task after the third task, then there is a
The default task for this is Control, Presence, or
gap in security that enemies could exploit.
Reason + Command. Any complications rolled can
take 4 points off the Work track or be used to create
The default task for this is Control + Command or
complications related to parties disinterested in
Security. Any complications rolled can take 4 points
peace. They can be complications such as Wealth as
off the Work track or be used to create complications.
a Tempter, Insidious Lies, or Desire for Revenge.

If the extended task is successfully overcome,

If the extended task is successfully overcome, peace
the group’s vessel receives the advantages Early
– even temporary – is achieved. A pact is formed,
Warning System and Tracking the Enemy. If they
a treaty drafted, and celebratory events can ensue.
fail in this task, create the trait Faulty Sensor Net
If the player characters fail in this task, war breaks
2, which enemies can use to their benefit when
out immediately or is imminent. The characters are
performing Conn or Security-related tasks.
asked to leave the planet, their usefulness at its
end. If they refuse to leave, they may be subject to
attack. In either case, the Federation or the Klingon
Empire will expect a report and the crew’s service
record will be elevated or tarnished.

CONN
Escaping a Gravity Well force of nature that can pull in asteroids and small
moons now threatens to envelop the starship and
A MISHAP OCCURS WHILE THE CREW ARE ENGAGED
crush it into atoms. The power of this gravity well is
in a scientific survey, tactical exercise, or battle. The
such that sensors and communications are down.
vessel is caught in the gravity well of a local star. A

226 CHAPTER 7.30

A huge amount of energy and flight skill will be This is an extended task with a Work track of 18, a
needed to achieve escape velocity. Magnitude of 3, and with a basic Difficulty of 3 for
tasks to overcome it. Add Resistance 1 if a single
This is an extended task with a Work track of 16, enemy is working against the crew. If a small group
a Magnitude of 4, and with a basic Difficulty of or entire starship is working against the crew, add
2 for tasks to overcome it. The process involves Resistance 2 to the extended task. The person
securing the ship, shutting down nonessential leading the search can attempt a maximum of four
systems, rerouting power to engines, and surfing tasks to overcome this extended task. They can
the magnetic eddies to break free of the gravity well have two assistants. Only use the ship as an assist if
and reenter open space. Time is of the essence, with it is available, since land-based search parties may
each task taking two minutes to complete. The flight not have the benefit of a command ship.
controller will most likely be the person responsible
to lead. They can attempt a maximum of four tasks The default task for this is Control or Reason +
to overcome this extended task. They are limited to Conn with the ship’s Comms + Conn.
one assistant.
If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
The default task for this is Control + Conn with the crew locates the missing persons and ensures
ship’s Structure + Conn for the first two task rolls. their safe return. If they fail in this roll, the missing
The last two rolls can use Control + Conn with the team could be lost forever in the wilds of a hostile
ship’s Engines + Conn. The final roll costs 2 power. planet or the infinity of space. The gamemaster
One A should be rolled for each complication rolled could decide to allow Success at Cost, but a penalty
while performing this task. If an effect is rolled, that should be imposed, like ending up with injured
means that the ship suffers a breach as systems away team members, equipment lost to a pre-warp
blow out and the structure is strained. civilization, or damage to the crew’s reputation.

If the extended task is successfully overcome,

the ace pilot powers up the engines and breaks Tracking an Enemy
free of the gravity well. If they fail in this roll, the The crew is in pursuit of an enemy who has stolen
extended task starts again with a Work track of 16, something of value or committed a crime. The set-
a Magnitude of 4, and an increased Difficulty of 3 for ting could be a crowded city, sun-bathed outback, or
tasks. Of course, things are much worse now that multicolored nebula. The enemy could be on foot, in
the ship might have breaches. In addition, reduce a hovercraft, or starship; they are doing everything
power by one-quarter. The same rule applies each to evade capture, be it laying down mines, utilizing
time the extended task fails, with the difficulty going a cloaking device, or hiding in hazardous locations.
up by 1 point each time the task must start again. Only a skilled navigator will keep on their trail and
bring them to justice.

Finding Our Friends This is an extended task with a Work track of 18, a
The away team is lost. Search parties must be sent Magnitude of 3, and a Resistance equal to the Conn
out. This takes coordination from someone who of the opponent. Base Difficulty is 3. The person
knows how to create a search grid, mark maps, and leading the search can attempt a maximum of four
coordinate search teams. This task could symbolize tasks to overcome this extended task. They can
an away team being trapped on an alien planet or have two assistants. Only use the ship as an assist
lost in space. A knowledge of a planet’s topography if it is available for use since land-based search
or stellar cartography will come in handy. Failure to parties may not have the benefit of a command ship.
find the away team in time could mean that they fall
to starvation or worse, death. The default task for this is Control or Reason +
Conn with the ship’s Sensors + Conn.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 227

 If the extended task is successfully overcome, the utilize information from the astrometric lab and stellar
crew tracks down their enemy, which might ignite a cartography to identify and track stellar phenomenon.
violent confrontation or end in surrender. If they fail, This data has multiple applications like providing
the individual or starship has evaded capture. If you guidance to other science and tactical teams.
want to add another level of threat, you may choose Sometimes, the survey must be conducted on a time
to have a booby-trap go off any time a complication constraint because a fleet of warships or colony
is rolled. For city- or land-based searches, adapt vessels are going to arrive in the system soon.
weapons from the core rulebook to represent land
mines, explosives, or other booby-traps. The enemy This is an extended task with a Work track of 12, a
might plant booby-traps like space mines if the Magnitude of 2, and with a basic Difficulty of 2. The
pursuit is happening in space (Space Mine: Close, person leading the search can attempt a maximum
3A, High Yield). of three tasks to overcome this extended task. They
can have two assistants. The default task for this is
Control or Insight + Conn with the ship’s Sensors
Surveying a Star System + Science.
One of the primary functions of a conn officer is to
plot courses and chart hazards in space. This takes If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
the form of survey missions in which they must region of space is mapped and provides the crew

228 CHAPTER 7.30

the advantage of Detailed Survey, which they can phenomenon has not been positively identified and
pass on to allied vessels. If they fail in this roll, the could risk the characters’ ship or other ships at
conn officer has failed to map the system in time some point in the future. Choose fitting hazards from
to benefit a tactical mission. This creates the com- the core rulebook, page 154, or The Klingon Empire
plication Going in Blind. Also, a dangerous stellar core rulebook, page 242.

SECURITY
Conducting a to the victim, the methods used to perpetrate
the crime, and the motive. Figuring out the time,
Forensics Investigation location, and any tools or weapons involved in the
A CRIME CAN OCCUR ONBOARD A STARSHIP OR crime is part of the process. Additionally, computers
station that requires the security team to act and and ship systems might have been manipulated to
investigate. Those who plan crimes rarely leave a support the endeavor. You can tweak this extended
clear trail of breadcrumbs. It is up to a forensics task so that the magnitude of the crime is equal to
team to figure out how the individual gained access the Security or Science rank of the perpetrator.

As a base template, conducting a forensics investi-

gation is an extended task with a Work track of 17,
and a Magnitude, Resistance, and base Difficulty
equal to the Security, Science, or Medicine value of
the perpetrator of the crime. Each task might take
hours or days. This is left up to your discretion and
should match the nature of the crime. The person
leading the search can attempt a maximum of four
tasks to overcome this extended task. These tasks
involve establishing contacts to interview (if there
are any), a preliminary survey or walk-through of
the scene of the crime, capturing or recording the
scene, and collecting evidence.

The default task for establishing and interviewing

contacts is Presence + Command or Security.
There can only be one assistant for this portion of
the task roll. Surveying a scene without disturbing
the evidence is a Control + Security, Science, or
Medicine task. The lead character for this part of
the investigation can be selected based on who pos-
sesses the discipline that best matches the crime.
For instance, a crime may have been committed
that involves manipulating of computer data. Even
though the lead investigator holds a high rating
in Security, they may ask a computer specialist
(Science) to take the lead on this part of the investi-
gation if the specialist has a higher discipline value
or focuses and talents that could lend to a more
thorough survey. Capturing the scene and collecting

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 229

 evidence would be a Control + Security, Science, If the extended task is successfully overcome,
or Medicine task. the accused stands convicted of the crime. If the
convicted person is an officer, they may be demoted
Any complications rolled can be used to create or stripped of all rank and privilege. Criminals con-
problems that stymie the investigation. victed of a serious crime may end up in a Federation
penal colony, or even worse, be subject to Klingon
If the extended task is successfully overcome, justice. If the prosecuting character fails, they lose
enough evidence is collected to confidently point to the case and the accused can walk free, fully exon-
the perpetrator of the crime or indicate an absence erated of charges.
of any criminal activity. Finding and capturing
the criminal is possibly an adventure of its own.
Evidence may be used to confront the perpetrator Setting Up an Ambush
and may influence the outcome of social conflict. This extended task applies to ground-based guerilla
warfare tactics to capture, incapacitate, or destroy
If they fail, the investigation is inconclusive. It is an enemy. Setting up an ambush involves identifying
possible that the evidence was contaminated, the the target, selecting a good location from which to
perpetrator of the crime outwitted the investigators, or launch the attack, establishing a rallying point (if a
the investigator was inept. The perpetrator can walk team is involved), and conducting reconnaissance
free knowing that the crime will never be solved. operations. A starship might be able to provide
logistical and tactical support.

Convicting a Criminal As a base template, setting up an ambush is an

A crime has occurred. A forensics team has gath- extended task with a Work track of 14, and a
ered the evidence. The accused is innocent until Magnitude, Resistance, and base Difficulty equal to
proven guilty. Now, it is time for a skilled officer of the Security rating of the opposing force. Since con-
the court to present the evidence and tell the story ditions on a planet or battlefield are subject to rapid
in a way that convinces the judge and jury of the change, each task represents a number of minutes
person’s complicity in the crime. or hours determined by you.

As a base template, presenting a prosecutorial case The default task is Control + Security with ship’s
is an extended task with a Work track of 20, and a Computers + Security. This task can have up to
Magnitude, Resistance, and base Difficulty equal two assistants. Any complications rolled can either
to the Security or Command value of the opposing take 4 points away from the Work track or create
counsel. If the accused is representing themselves, complications like Ready for Attack, Poor Cover,
use their Security or Command value, whichever Savvy Foe, or some such that makes subsequent
is highest. The goal of the opposing counsel is to task rolls more difficult.
leave enough doubt that the accused can go free.
Depending on the severity of the crime, this trial If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
could take hours, days, months, or even years. security team gains initiative and the advantage of
Advanced Tactical Plan. The enemy force receives
The default task for prosecuting a case is the complication of Ambushed! If they fail, the
Presence or Reason + Command or Security. security team fails to mount a successful ambush.
There can only be one assistant to this task. Any The enemy force gains initiative.
complications rolled can either take 4 points away
from the Work track or create complications like
Tainted Evidence, Sketchy Eyewitnesses, Legal Getting Past Defenses
Loophole, or some such that makes subsequent A security team will often be tasked with getting
task rolls more difficult. past a defense system be it a force field, laser
turrets, or an advanced electronic lock. This could

230 CHAPTER 7.30

involve hacking a system, digging a tunnel, remov- Defense Systems, Another Layer of Code, Backup
ing power from a base, or setting up demolitions to Generators, or some such that makes subsequent
blow their way through. task rolls more difficult.

This is an extended task with a Work track of 15, If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
and a Magnitude, Resistance, and base Difficulty security team negates the defensive system and
equal to the Security value of the opposing system, can move forward toward their objective. If they fail
but always set at a minimum of 2. The default in this roll, the defenses stay in place. The security
task is Daring + Security. Each task represents team can abandon the task or start all over again
an established number of minutes or hours set but with 1 increased level of Difficulty every time
by you. In the case of hacking computer systems, they need to restart the task. Under normal circum-
this work could take days or weeks. This task stances, their enemies will only give them so much
can have up to two assistants. Any complications time to try to break in before the characters can
rolled can either take 4 points away from the expect a counterattack.
Work track or create complications like Backup

ENGINEERING
Restoring Life Support Narrow the Annular
THE SHIP HAS BEEN BATTERED IN AN ATTACK OR
hit a spatial anomaly. Conduits rupture, pipes burst,
Confinement Beam
The away team or civilians are trapped on a starship
and systems fizzle and pop. With systems damaged
or planetary surface. Transporters are functional but
and power waning, life support begins to fail in
the interference is too much to allow a successful
certain sections or all over the ship. The crew might
rescue. However, with some tinkering and a lot of
have only minutes or days before the ship becomes
know-how, the engineering specialist is sure they
their coffin.
can narrow the annular confinement beam, secure a
transporter lock, and get the team home.
This is an extended task with a Work track of 15,
Magnitude of 3, and base Difficulty of 4. The default
This is an extended task with a Work track of 12,
task is Daring + Engineering. There are four tasks
Magnitude of 2, and base Difficulty of 4. The default
allowed representing an established number of
task is Daring + Engineering with ship’s Sensors
minutes, hours, or days, set by you. This task can
+ Engineering. The lead can only attempt a
have up to two assistants. Any complications rolled
maximum of three tasks to overcome this extended
can either take 4 points away from the Work track or
task, with each task representing a designated set
create complications like Unresponsive Life Support
of minutes, determined by you. This task can have
Controls, No Response from Trapped Crewmembers,
one additional assistant. Any complications rolled
Working in the Dark, or some such that makes
can either take 4 points away from the Work track
subsequent task rolls more difficult.
or create other obstacles to success like Radiogenic
Interference, Negative Target Lock, or I Cannot Work
If the extended task is successfully overcome,
Under This Pressure.
life support is restored. Everyone can take a deep
breath and start to warm up. If they fail, the charac-
If the extended task is successfully overcome, a
ters can Succeed at Cost but must treat the failure
positive lock can be made on the target. The charac-
as a breach.
ters receive the advantage of Annular Confinement
Beam Narrowed. Standard rules apply for trans-
porter operations. If they fail, the characters fail to

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 231

 establish a target lock and any attempts to transport or create other obstacles to success like Fused
are at +2 Difficulty on top of the normal restrictions. Centrifugal Assembly, Working While Fighting, or
Alternative ways to retrieve the away team might be Engineering Team Spread Too Thin.
in order.
If the extended task is successfully overcome,
engines are restored. If they fail in this roll, they may
Impulse Engines need to find alternative means of travel or start the
Nonresponsive extended task from the beginning.

A common trope in any Star Trek show is when

the engines fail. This can happen for a plethora of
reasons including damage from an enemy weapon,
Main Sensors Inundated
unexpected spatial turbulence, loss of power, or with Chroniton Radiation
computers going down. This extended task can Of course, there are dozens of different types of
apply to thrusters, warp engines, or other means of radiation that can reduce or eliminate the function-
propulsion on all sorts of automated vehicles. ality of a starship’s sensors: antimatter, delta rays,
gamma rays, ions, metaphasic radiation, nadion,
Getting a propulsion system restored is an extended nucleonic, polaric, subspace, and tachyon, to name
task with a Work track of 20, Magnitude of 3, and a few. This could also apply to failure of the commu-
base Difficulty of 3. The default task is Reason + nications array. When this happens, engineering and
Engineering. The lead can attempt a maximum operations crew must scramble to purge systems
of four tasks to overcome this extended task, with of alien particles, reboot arrays, and restore normal
each task representing minutes, hours, or days to functionality. Failure to do so could mean flying blind
get the system back up. This task can have two or being unable to evade an enemy attack.
additional assistants. Any complications rolled
can either take 4 points away from the Work track

232 CHAPTER 7.30

Getting sensors or communications restored is an create other obstacles to success like Sensor Palette
extended task with a Work track of 18, Magnitude Slagged, Diagnostic Test Failure, or Extra-Vehicular
of 3, and base Difficulty of 2. The default task is Work Required.
Reason + Engineering. The lead can attempt a
maximum of four tasks to overcome this extended If the extended task is successfully overcome, sen-
task, with each task representing minutes, hours, or sors or communications are restored. If they fail in
days to get the system back up. This task can have this roll, sensors or comms are still down. They will
two additional assistants. Any complications rolled need to start the extended task from the beginning.
can either take 4 points away from the Work track or

SCIENCE
Do You Understand Digging for Truth
My Words? Unraveling the secrets of ancient civilizations is a
long and arduous process. However, studying the
THERE COMES A TIME WHEN THE UNIVERSAL TRANS-
past informs the future and can grant one a better
lator will not work. Perhaps the translator is
knowledge of other species and everyone’s place
malfunctioning or the alien species you are trying to
in the universe. This extended task could apply to
communicate uses a wildly different form of language
archaeology, cultural studies, computer program-
that could include just photonics, facial expressions,
ming, sociology, psychiatry, or paleontology. It
gestures, body language, proxemics, haptics, colora-
represents a scientist’s efforts in uncovering clues,
tion, relation to shapes or artifacts, or a combination
studying behavior, and searching for patterns that
of such. This is when the communication officers and
shed light on a given subject.
linguistic specialists excel as they work hard to build
a bridge and establish first contact.
This is an extended task with a Work track of 20,
Magnitude of 5, Resistance of 2, and base Difficulty
This is an extended task with a Work track of 20,
of 4. The default task is Reason or Insight +
Magnitude of 4, Resistance of 2, and base Difficulty
Science with ship’s Computers + Science. There
of 4. The default task is Reason + Science. There
are five tasks allowed that most likely represents
are five tasks allowed that most likely represents
days, weeks, but more likely years of work. This task
days, weeks, or years of work. This task can have
can have up to two assistants. Any complications
up to two assistants. Any complications rolled can
rolled can either take 4 points away from the work
either take 4 points away from the Work track or
track or create complications like Decaying Fossils
create complications like Misunderstood Intent,
or Cultural Norms.
Offensive Gesture, or Those Are Fighting Words!

If the extended task is successfully overcome, the

If the extended task is successfully overcome, first
team finds what it was looking for. Perhaps it was
contact is established, and communication is clear.
a piece of lost art or technology, information that
The specialist can now program computers and
could lead to curing a genetic or mental disorder, or
translators with the newly-discovered form of com-
a truth about the origins of life on a planet or in the
munication. If they fail, the characters may have a
universe. The find might inspire an award-winning
partial understanding of the new form of communi-
research paper to be written or open a new field
cation, but relations will be rocky at best.
of study. The lead researcher might receive critical
acclaim and be awarded special recognition and
speaking engagements at galactic conferences. If
they fail in this roll, more questions are found than

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 233

 answers. Investigations lead to dead ends. Perhaps This is an extended task with a Work track of 18,
a society is offended by the find as it calls into ques- Magnitude of 4, and base Difficulty of 4. The default
tion long-held religious or cultural beliefs and deeply task is Reason + Science with ship’s Sensors
rooted animosities and prejudices or perhaps the + Science. However, if the energy is a new or
society is unhappy with the investigation process seldom-seen type, the default task is Daring +
itself. You may decide to allow the characters to Science with ship’s Structure + Science. This
Succeed at Cost, though there should be an associ- also applies if the characters are trying to manip-
ated sacrifice or negative outcome of the find. ulate any energy to produce an effect that has not
been tested before. There are five tasks allowed
that most likely represent minutes, days, or weeks
Processes of the Universe of study. This task can have up to two assistants.
There are hundreds of different types of radiation Complications can either take 4 points away from
and particles in the universe. Each layer of sub- the Work track or create issues like Insufficient
space, each dimension, and every moment in time is Containment Procedures, Indecipherable Patterns, or
a complex tapestry of intersecting and overlapping Incompatible Scanning Equipment.
energies that form the makeup of reality. Exploring
space means interacting with and learning how If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
to manipulate those energies to survive or thrive. team receives an advantage like Particle or Wave
Science officers have been trained in all manner Fundamentals, or another advantage of their cre-
of physics, ranging from practical to quantum to ation that gives them an advantage on future rolls
theoretical. In addition, the technology in a tricorder utilizing, manipulating, counteracting, or projecting
or on a starship can help deduce the nature of the energy type. When researching new energies
stellar phenomena. But answers do not come easily. and chemicals, failure can mean disaster. Create
Modify this extended task when your characters scenarios wherein havoc is unleashed, property
face a problem wherein utilizing, manipulating, is damaged, unpredictable side effects occur, or
counteracting, or projecting energy is involved. injuries happen. Also, dangerous threats might be
This same extended task can apply to chemical let loose on the universe and the individuals who
processes. Take into consideration that the ship created the problem must now solve it.
might not always be available when interacting with
an unknown energy or chemical.

EXTENDED TASKS ABOUT SYSTEM FAILURES

NUMBER OF LIFE
WORK TRACK MAGNITUDE RESISTANCE DIFFICULTY
FORMS AFFECTED
1-25 14 2 2 2

26-150 15 3 2 3

151-2500 16 3 3 3

City 17 4 2 3

Continent 19 4 3 4
Planet 22 5 3 4
Star System 25 5 4 5

07302

234 CHAPTER 7.30

Reversing System Damage The ship may assist with Computers, Sensors,
Structure + Science or Engineering, but be flexi-
There are many types of system environments:
ble and allow the players to come up with creative
computer, ecological, planetary, solar. These inter-
solutions. You should determine how many tasks are
connected networks have hundreds if not millions of
allowed. You should also determine how much time
potential fail points, and it takes the best and bright-
each task takes, as some system failures might take
est scientists to stop or even reverse the effects of
years to occur. For instance, scientific data might
system disruptions. System problems could include
inform the crew that a major volcanic eruption will
overcoming a hostile holodeck program, restoring
occur within two weeks. You could spread out the
the ecological balance to an alien forest, saving a
intervals over this time. This task can have up to two
rare species, stopping a tectonic plate from destroy-
assistants. Any complications rolled can either take
ing a continent, keeping a star from going super-
4 points away from the Work track or create a wide
nova, or figuring out a way to surf the time stream
variety of complications that could confound the
and get the crew back home.
research team.

The Work track should be adjusted depending on the

If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
threat potential.
problem is rectified or at least temporarily fore-
stalled. On the other hand, failure could mean dis-
You can modify the numbers depending on any
aster. Hopefully, the failure only damages inanimate
traits, complications, or advantages that make
objects. It is a tragedy if lifeforms are harmed due
sense. The default task is Daring or Reason +
to a scientist’s inability to find a solution. You might
Science. There are instances where the ship can
allow the team to Succeed at Cost, but the penalty
be used to study and rectify the system failure.
for failure should be such that the characters will
Specialized research labs, high-powered computer
not soon forget the consequences of the incident.
modeling, and advanced sensors could prove useful.

MEDICINE
The Cure Drop the Difficulty by 1 if lab equipment is readily
available. If there is a ship available, it may assist
DISEASES. AILMENTS. INFECTIONS. INFLUENZAS.
with Computers + Medicine. Determine how many
Pandemics. The Galaxy is full of viral dangers and
tasks are allowed. Also, determine how much time
bacterial threats. It is a battle waged on the micro-
each task takes, as conditions might alter the medi-
scopic scale and only the strongest can survive. The
cal team’s ability to work.
doctor or surgeon on a starship or station carries
a huge amount of responsibility and is often given
For instance, an especially virulent plague might
new and complex diseases to research and combat.
kill people in 24 hours. Whereas helping one
This work could also mean reversing the effects of
person with a less contagious disease might be an
pathogens, biological agents, or chemical weapons
extended task with a Work track of 15, Magnitude
on an individual or population.
of 3, Resistance of 2, and base Difficulty of 2
research over a period of weeks, trying to stop the
The Work track should be adjusted depending on the
more virulent plague in under a day might be an
threat potential.
extended task with a Work track of 20, Magnitude of
4, Resistance of 2, and base Difficulty of 4. Trying to
You can modify the Work track, Magnitude,
rush the process makes the task more difficult with
Resistance, and Difficulty depending on any traits,
Limited Time being a trait.
complications, or advantages that make sense.
The default task is Daring or Reason + Medicine.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 235

 These tasks can have up to two assistants. Any You can modify the Work track, Magnitude,
complications rolled can either take 4 points away Resistance, and Difficulty depending on any traits,
from the Work track or create a wide variety of complications, or advantages that make sense.
complications that could hinder the research and The default task is Reason + Medicine. If there is
creation of a cure. a ship available, it may assist with Computers +
Medicine. You should determine how many tasks
If the extended task is successfully overcome, the are allowed. You should also determine how much
disease is cured. If they fail in this roll, life will surely time each task takes, as conditions might alter the
be lost. Success at Cost might mean finding a cure medical team’s ability to work, as explained in the
but only after patients have been left with irrevoca- section above, “The Cure.”
ble disabilities. Worse yet, some might have died.
This task is normally best handled one on one with
a patient. However, it might make sense to have
The Mind a team of doctors or psychologists working on a
Mental illness. Post-traumatic stress. Neurological time-sensitive project. Any complications rolled can
problems. Psionic viruses. The list of things that either take 4 points away from the Work track or
can go wrong with the mind are as endless as create a wide variety of complications that could
diseases. Medical doctors might be useful when exacerbate the patient’s condition.
trying to solve conditions of the mind. However, this
extended task might also be tackled by scientists or If the extended task is successfully overcome, the
trained counselors who specialize in neuroscience condition is cured or a regimen has been put in
or telepathy. If that is the case, simply use Science place to help the patient. Failure could mean the
or Command (in the case of some uses of telepathy) patient spiraling deeper into their condition and
instead of Medicine. becoming a danger to themselves or others. Future
attempts to aid them might be more difficult.
Modify the table “Extended Tasks for Diseases or
Disorders” below for conditions that affect the mind.
The Work track should be adjusted depending on the
threat potential.

EXTENDED TASKS FOR DISEASES AND DISORDERS

NUMBER OF LIFE
WORK TRACK MAGNITUDE RESISTANCE DIFFICULTY
FORMS AFFECTED
1-99 15 3 2 2

100-999 17 4 2 3

1,000-100,000 20 4 3 4
Planetary
22 5 3 4
Pandemic
Interstellar
25 5 4 5
Pandemic
Planet 22 5 3 4
Star System 25 5 4 5
07303

236 CHAPTER 7.30

Triage character’s actions might come under scrutiny.
Furthermore, their reputation could be tarnished.
Natural disasters, industrial accidents, fast moving
pandemics, and violent conflict leave behind
TOTAL % OF PATIENTS
casualties. When dozens or hundreds of injuries D20 ROLL
WITH FATAL INJURIES
are involved, it is the role of the medic or surgeon
1-8 20%
to determine the severity of the injuries and sort
9-16 40%
the patients based on likelihood of recovery with or
without treatment. This might mean making some 17-20 60%
tough calls, like assessing where the medical team
should be spending its time and energies to save the
maximum number of patients. Making that call might New Life
require the medic to allow some patients to die to One of the greatest events a medical officer can
save others. This situation calls for composure and experience during their career is the discovery of
rapid decision-making skills at the outset of an inci- new life-forms. But life comes in many different
dent. If a new emergency arises while still triaging the forms, and what may seem like a new form of life
first, the process may need to start again as a new could be something else entirely. Often, the medical
batch of injured are introduced to the equation. officer will be summoned to determine if something
is living or not. This process involves pinpointing an
This is an extended task with a Work track of organized system of cells or molecules, observing
12, Magnitude of 3, and base Difficulty of 3. The how the subject reacts to the environment, deter-
default task is Presence + Medicine. There mining if the subject can reproduce, adapt, grow,
are three tasks allowed that must take place in and develop, and identifying the systems and pro-
minutes or hours once the characters learn of cesses the subject uses to process energy. The lines
the disaster. Sometimes a starship is called into between artificial intelligence and intelligent life can
action to help and the character might have days be blurry. Being able to clearly define what some-
to analyze the situation. If this is the case, use the thing is can directly effect a commanding officer’s
ship’s Computers + Medicine to assist. Any com- decisions during a conflict or first contact encounter.
plications rolled can either take 4 points away from Of course, the universe is full of life-forms that leave
the Work track or create complications related to many medical officers scratching their heads.
poorly coordinated teams, insufficient transporta-
tion, or lack of adequate medical supplies. This is an extended task with a Work track of 18,
Magnitude of 3, and base Difficulty of 3. The default
If the extended task is successfully overcome, task is Reason + Medicine with ship’s Sensors +
the character has outlined a clear place of action Medicine. There are four tasks allowed that take
that saves the most patients. Roll a d20 with the place over equal intervals of time. This task can
following results: have up to two assistants.

TOTAL % OF PATIENTS If the extended task is successfully overcome, a

D20 ROLL
WITH FATAL INJURIES clear determination is made as to whether the sub-
1-8 0% ject can be classified as living, artificial intelligence,
9-16 5% an automaton, or something else entirely. If they
17-20 10% fail in this roll, the characters are simply not sure. It
could take years of further research or the introduc-
tion of new evidence before a clear determination
If they fail this task, more patients are lost. Roll
can be made.
a d20 and consult the following table. The lead

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 237

 CHAPTER 07.40

CU LT URAL
STR UCT URE S
“ A n t h r o po lo gic a lly spe a k ing, it ap p ears th at th ey cob b led
t o g e t h er a re ligio n, ba se d o n t he p rim ar y faith s of E arth .”

— M ICHAE L BURNHAM

NEW LIVES AND CIVILIZATIONS

VIRTUALLY EVERY NEW CULTURE YOUR PLAYER Use this information to help add key details to new
characters can expect to encounter will have some cultures you create to help them come to life. Feel
form of organizational structure to their government, free to pick the structures that best suit your needs,
polity, religion, or society. This section briefly dis- or roll on each of the random tables to quickly
cusses some common types of cultural structures. create a new culture or civilization.

238 CHAPTER 7.40

Types of Governments communal ownership of the means of production
by the working classs and citizens having a say in
Any attempt to make a document that summarizes
every aspect of life from what and how much of a
differing forms of government is bound to make
product is made at a factory, or how food produced
some broad generalizations to ensure that it does
at a farm is shipped to other communities.
not run to the length of an encyclopedia. This sec-
tion is not meant to be taken as a political science
OLIGARCHY
thesis; many of these forms of governance can
Many governments from Earth’s past and present
overlap to produce unique results.
fall into a category known as an oligarchy, or “rule
by a few.” Often, these governments are controlled
ANARCHY
by rich or powerful people who are supported by
While many think that anarchy is the lack of govern-
the labor of a far larger population of people who
ance or state, this would be an oversimplification.
have no opportunity for upward mobility in society.
Anarchism is actually the rejection of the state and
Military and civilian dictatorships are examples of
hierarchies, as there is active mistrust. Anarchistic
oligarchies, with power often resting in the hands
societies tend to believe that any governance results
of a non-hereditary-monarch-like person or a
in individuals being less equal, and therefore, should
group of high-ranking military officers, similar to
be fought against. True anarchic nations or worlds
the Cardassian Union. The Ferengi Alliance is an
tend to last a very short time before another gov-
example of another form of oligarchy: a plutocracy in
ernment forms from groupings of people willing to
which the wealthy and powerful rule over those who
delegate responsibilities or work towards a goal that
have less material wealth. A theocracy is a type of
requires large scale cooperation.
oligarchy in which a god or gods are seen as giving
certain individuals power to dictate how people
DEMOCRACY
live their lives inside the polity, and also to run
Democracies have existed on Earth for millennia,
governmental structures, similar to Bajor after the
and tend to be highly stable as political entities,
Occupation. Most of these forms of governance can
but are less stable in terms of policy and direction.
work very well as long as those in power use their
Democracy means rule by many, but how many is a
position to the benefit of their population rather than
question for each democratic polity. Early democ-
against them. Stalinism is an example of oligarchy
racies on Earth tended to limit who could vote on
in which a dictatorial leader rose to power and used
policy or leadership to just men of a certain standing
the powers of state against their own population.
(essentially a form of oligarchy).
MONARCHY
The United States (also United Earth and the United
These types of governments are some of the
Federation of Planets in the Star Trek universe) are
oldest on Earth, and often mix with other types of
democracies, but a specific kind called a represent-
governments. Absolute monarchies are one form
ative democracy. In these polities, citizens elect repre-
in which the power is vested in a sovereign. Power
sentatives and leadership that represent the populace
vested in a royal along with subordinate nobles is
and their priorities. This is in contrast to a direct
an aristocracy. Titles and positions are handed down
democracy, where citizens vote on specific policies
from parent to child (from parent to firstborn child is
instead of having representatives do so. Democracies
called primogeniture) and the children are groomed
tend to be founded on the ideas of equality among
from an early age to fill their parents’ positions. The
citizens and the valuing of all voices, but that equality
Great Houses of the Klingon Empire fit this model,
may not extend into all aspects of life.
and their support for a Chancellor among them
means the overall government on Qo’noS is a form
Another form of government or social structure that
of constitutional elected monarchy. This means that
prioritizes equality among citizens is communism.
there are certain limitations and guidelines that
In many forms of that socio-political framework it
a Chancellor (or monarch) may rule within, and if
is a representative democracy, but it also espouses
they go outside of these boundaries, there are legal

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 239

 consequences that may remove them from power. confederation members. An example of this is the
In the case of the Klingon Empire, challenges to Breen Confederacy.
the position of Chancellor may be made, or a Great
House could have its titles removed and name EMPIRE
disgraced. A crowned polity is one with a monarch Finally, there are empires, states that typically
whose power is largely symbolic. The monarch may impose thier own governmental structure onto other
still have vestigial powers that are rarely used, and polities. Empires typically see client states ruled
using them often comes at great political risk. by members of the empire, with local populations
relegated to being unable to govern themselves
or their former territory. Over time, some occupied
polities of an empire may integrate strongly enough
TYPE OF GOVERNMENT with the imperial polity that either their populations
RANDOM TABLE are given the same rights as the imperial polity, or
they are absorbed entirely. Empires are often led
D20 ROLL RESULT by monarchs or oligarchs, but democratic empires
1–5 Anarchy are possible when voting rights are limited to only
6–10 Democracy
those who support the empire and its ambitions.
Two major examples of democratic empires are the
11–15 Oligarchy Klingon and Romulan Empires.
16–20 Monarchy
FEDERATION
07401
A federation is a type of government that has indi-
vidual polities (typically all similar style of govern-
ance, such as all representative democracies) agree
Groupings of Polities to a centralized “federal” government that typically
When multiple polities come together to form a deals with foreign policy or interactions with other
larger whole (or are forced to do so), there are a few governments, and oversees interactions among
overall types of governance you can easily use for members of the federation. It’s also possible to have
your new culture. a federation of monarchs, which is called a federal
monarchy. The United Federation of Planets is an
ALLIANCE obvious example of a federation.
An alliance is one in which each sovereign polity
that is a part of it remains exactly as it did before,
but each member participates voluntarily in certain
agreed-upon programs, often economic or military TYPE OF POLITY
in nature. The Allied powers fighting the Dominion RANDOM TABLE
during the Dominion War is an example.
D20 ROLL RESULT
CONFEDERATION 1–5 Alliance
A confederation is similar to a federation in that 6–10 Confederation
there is a centralized government. Unlike a fed-
eration, the centralized government is dealt with 11–15 Empire
differently by the states that compose it. While a 16–20 Federation
federation has its individual polities inside of it being
07402
no longer “sovereign” and unable to individually
make treaties with other sovereign states, a confed-
eration has no such limitation, allowing individual
polities to make separate trade deals or treaties
with outside polities even if they disadvantage other

240 CHAPTER 7.40

Types of Religion Henotheism: A type of polytheism in which a single
god is worshipped but other gods may exist for
Each world encountered by Starfleet will have its
other people. A henotheistic society believes that
own unique philosophies and religions that are
other societies and places could also have their own
based on millennia of social adaptation and theo-
gods separate from the one they actively worship.
logical debate. Here, we only have space to broadly
categorize some of the belief systems found among
Monolatrism: A type of polytheism in which mul-
the religions of Earth. These descriptions offer ideas
tiple gods exist in the religion or society but only a
for building societies in your adventures.
single god is consistently worshipped. Monolatrism
may also appear as the worship of a single, ruling
Agnosticism: Belief that a supernatural god is
god with numerous lower-ranking gods beneath
unknowable. This can appear in societies as neither
them that aren’t worshipped.
belief nor disbelief in a supernatural being or as an
embracing of mystery. Agnosticism might show up
Monotheism: Belief in a single god. This god may or
in a society that doesn’t understand the concept
may not be referenced by societies using pronouns
of religion or gods, or in people who believe the
as proper nouns. Many societies that are monothe-
concept of a god is beyond comprehension without
istic believe their god is the only true god and may
sufficient scientific grounds.
actively work to suppress or remove other religions.

Animism: Belief that objects, locations, and

Pantheism: Belief in a single god that is one with
creatures all have spirits that can be worshipped
the universe. Pantheistic societies believe everything
and prayed to. In many cases, animism doesn’t
that exists is part of their one god. This type of
claim the existence of gods but rather spirits that
religion can appear to be similar to animism at
live within things. These spirits could appear in
first glance, but when observed closely, the things
a society as rivers, plants, animals, natural rock
worshipped are part of a greater whole.
formations, or sometimes as any object, being, or
force in existence.

Atheism: Belief that there is no supernatural being. TYPE OF RELIGION

Atheism can appear in societies that have active
religious cultures as a counterpoint to their preach- RANDOM TABLE
ing. It can also show up in societies that are actively D20 ROLL RESULT
rebelling against entities they thought were gods. 1–2 Agnosticism
It may also show up in a society that has chosen to
give up religion due to an enlightenment movement 3–4 Animism
or scientific advancement. 5–6 Atheism

7–8 Deism
Deism: Belief that a single god created the universe
and has left it alone to mature and grow based off 9–10 Dualism
the scientific principles that it also created. Deism 11–12 Henotheism
usually doesn’t appear as a religion with worshipers
13–14 Monolatrism
or churches. Most deistic societies carry few beliefs
in anything supernatural. 15–16 Monotheism

17–18 Pantheism
Dualism: A type of polytheism that believes in two
19–20 Polytheism
conflicting gods. These gods usually appear as
opposite concepts who are constantly at war over 07403

their believers. This often manifests as gods of light

and darkness.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 241

 Polytheism: Belief in multiple gods and goddesses. instead on trade to obtain the materials they need to
Not all of these gods are always worshipped equally defend themselves and tend to their herds.
and can often appear in societies as pantheons of
gods. Some societies may worship using “hard” HORTICULTURAL
polytheism in which the gods are real beings, while Similar in many respects to pastoral societies,
others worship personifications of concepts or horiticultural societies learned to cultivate plant-
natural forces. based foods in a given location, and tend to work
the land in one place for an extended period of
time, growing crops and trading those crops with
Types of Societies others. Horiticultural societies typically have limited
One of the ways a society can be defined is in terms technology, which means that they tend to move on
of their progress along a developmental scale, start- to new land once the land they’ve cultivated dries
ing from a foraging culture to one that is warp-ca- up and no longer yields viable crops. Horiticultural
pable or perhaps even possessing technology communities can be a single large family or a few
surpassing that of the Federation. The following are large families working together, and rarely have a
several broad categories of societal progress. central leader, favoring a community approach to
problem-solving and defense.
FORAGING
A foraging culture is a culture of beings who do
not yet know how to develop their land or domes-
ticate animals, and instead hunt and gather food,
build simple structures or live in caves, and wear
clothing made of animal skins or plants (if they wear
clothing at all). Foraging groups tend to be tribal
or communal, with work divided equally among all
members, and tend to be small and mobile, moving
frequently to keep up with migrating animals and to
avoid the worst of seasonal changes. Most foraging
communities do not have a single leader, but rather
rely on the community as a whole to manage itself.
Foraging communities have very little technology to
speak of but usually have the knowledge to develop
hand weapons of wood, stone, flint, bone, or the like.

PASTORAL
A pastoral society is one in which members have
developed the ability to domesticate animals and to
tend herds and flocks, and to use those animals for
transportation, food, and trade. Pastoral societies
are often nomadic in nature, and tend to be small,
perhaps a few large families working together in
a tribal fashion. These tribes usually do not have a
central leader, relying instead on the head of each
family to have equal status and say in the well-be-
ing of the whole. These tribes move frequently to
ensure the animals have adequate food, water, and
shelter from climate changes. These societies have
little technological capabilities of their own, relying

242 CHAPTER 7.40

AGRICULTURAL artisans and the lower class of workers with modest
The advancement of technology brings improvement holdings, on down to slaves or indentured servants.
to both pastoral and horticultural societies, moving Advancements also occur in science, philosophy, the
them toward a more agricultural form of society. arts, faith practices, and other areas.
With the ability to create farming implements,
such as plows, and the development of irrigation INDUSTRIAL
techniques, agricultural societies are able to put An industrial society learns to harness the power
domesticated animals to work more efficiently over of steam, and from there develops machines to
a larger, more fertile area of land. More land means perform tasks even more efficiently than animals or
more people working together, and the formation of sentient beings. Advances in farming technologies,
much larger communities that establish towns and manufacturing, and more result in machines largely
cities in specific locations, often along the shores of removing the need for slaves or indentured servants.
fertile rivers or other bodies of water. This gradually moves the society to a two-class
system where the upper class are predominantly
With a stable food supply and growing population, non-workers who control most of the money and
caste systems begin to form, with the land owners possess the ability to create rules, and the lower
and the soldiers they are able to hire taking more of class of workers who perform most of the labor at
a controlling interest over the middle class of skilled the upper class’s bidding. This results in varying

ADDITIONAL RULES AND TOOLS 243

 levels of social inequality, where some cultures want warp-capable technologies and those without.
more equal rights and freedom for all beings, while Warp-capable cultures tend to have robust space
others struggle to determine which class should exploration efforts underway and have usually sent
rule. With social inequality comes unrest, protests, manned expeditions to explore or at least map their
battles, and wars, sometimes on a global scale. own solar system.

POST-INDUSTRIAL ADVANCED
Some polities within an industrial society, especially The Galaxy is replete with ancient and current
those among the wealthiest or most powerful, tend civilizations that possess or possessed technologies
to develop more advanced technologies, such as far beyond the capabilities of either the Federation
computers, nuclear power, microchips, and low or Klingon Empire. They may possess advanced
orbit capable spacecraft. They may even develop faster-than-light engines, other forms of advanced
the means to send automated probes into space to propulsion, or even forms of transportation that
explore their solar system in more detail. Knowledge don’t require engines or starships at all. They may
becomes power, and those with the means to gather have medical technologies or practices that seem
knowledge most effectively take on leadership wondrous to 24th century standards. Their culture
positions, often moving the society toward some might be unified in an elevated form of enlighten-
form of global democracy, though this is not always ment. Advanced cultures may be as large as the
the case. Federation, if not larger, and may be trillions of
beings and thousands of worlds in size.
These types of society tend to shift toward more
equity in theory, where there is greater potential
for social mobility, education, training, and ability TYPE OF SOCIETY
to purchase desired goods. Some societies enjoy
the fulfillment of this theory while others strug- RANDOM TABLE
gle to break free from a class system of wealthy
D20 ROLL RESULT
power-holders and struggling workers. Inequity in
1–2 Foraging
these societies may spark regional conflicts or even
global crises. 3–4 Pastoral

5–6 Horticultural
WARP-CAPABLE
7–8 Agricultural
A warp-capable society is one in which technology
has advanced faster-than-light capabilities for 9–11 Industrial
spacecraft. It could be a brand-new discovery for 12–15 Post-Industrial
them, or something they’ve developed for years.
Often, warp-capable societies have also unified 16–19 Warp-Capable
under a single planetary government, though this 20 Advanced
is not always the case. It’s possible the society
07404
suffers significant inequity between those with

244 CHAPTER 7.40

 I NDE X
Action Assumptions.............................. 156 Effective Gamemastering...................... 119 Long-Term Projects.............................. 163
Active hooks......................................... 145 Effectively Using Virtual Tabletops......... 121 Main Engineering.................................. 153
Adding to the Story............................... 199 Encounters........................................... 136 Attributes and Disciplines................ 177
Additional Rules and Tools.................... 207 Encourage Players to be Co-Writers...... 121 Conflict............................................ 191
Adjudicating Traits................................ 188 Environmental Actions.......................... 176 Creating and Using NPCs................. 199
Adjusting the Rules to Fit the Scene...... 140 Episodic Campaign............................... 149 Extended Tasks................................ 161
Admiralty Campaign Options................... 71 Episodic Season................................... 147 Momentum...................................... 164
Admiralty Campaigns.............................. 69 Eras of Play............................................ 58 Tasks............................................... 155
Advanced Combat Rules....................... 215 The Foundational Years The Scientific Method...................... 196
Advanced Traits.................................... 210 (2063-2199)................................... 58 Threat.............................................. 168
Advantages........................................... 211 Federation and Empire Traits............................................... 187
Adventure, Episode, or Mission?........... 130 (2200-2299)................................... 60 Values and Determination................ 182
A Hypothesis Proven or Rejected........... 198 Allies and Adversaries Making Use of Extended Tasks.............. 161
All About Traits...................................... 187 (2300-2379)................................... 62 Making Use of Momentum.................... 164
A Task or Not?...................................... 156 Post-War and Reconstruction Making Use of Tasks............................. 155
Attributes and Disciplines..................... 177 (2380-2399)................................... 64 Many Ways to Tell a Story..................... 124
Attributes and Talents........................... 181 The 32nd Century.............................. 68 Meeting Everyone’s Needs.................... 106
Attributes and Their Meaning................ 179 The Temporal Cold War (27th Century Mission Modifications........................... 126
A Universe of Possibility............................ 1 and Other Timeframes)................... 66 Mission-Scale Storytelling.................... 130
A Well-Woven Tapestry........................... 20 Evasive Patterns and Manuevers........... 218 Momentum........................................... 164
Be Engaged.......................................... 119 Every Conflict is a Story........................ 191 Morale.................................................. 213
Bringing It All Together.......................... 141 Extended Consequences....................... 208 More Tools for Your Toolkit.................... 208
Build an Outline.................................... 141 Extended Tasks............................. 137, 161 Advanced Combat Rules.................. 215
Building A Campaign............................. 150 Extended Tasks About Advanced Traits............................... 210
“But We Don’t Need Safety Rules!”....... 109 System Failures................................. 234 Extended Consequences.................. 208
Campaigns Based on Extended Tasks For Stress and Injuries Variants.............. 211
Season-Long Story Arcs...................... 74 Diseases and Disorders..................... 236 Multiple-Mission Seasons or Campaigns.97
Campaign-Scale Storytelling................. 149 Fall of the Romulan Empire..................... 65 Multiple-Session Missions...................... 97
Canon Content........................................ 99 Far From Home Games........................... 82 Narrated Breakthroughs........................ 163
Casualty Report.................................... 219 Finding Consensus on Tone and Era...... 112 New Lives and Civilizations................... 238
Characters Are Key............................... 127 Finding Players..................................... 102 New NPC Special Rules........................ 201
Cheating............................................... 107 Finding Reward Amphibian....................................... 201
Cinematic-Style Campaign...................... 72 Beyond the Mechanics........................ 15 Aquatic............................................ 202
Close to Home: Political Campaigns Foreword..................................................iii Camouflaged................................... 202
and Core Worlds.................................. 77 Framing the Action................................ 131 Energy-Based.................................. 202
Combat................................................. 191 Frontier Colonies..................................... 89 Flight............................................... 202
Combat, but Not a Combat Scene......... 193 Game Length.......................................... 96 Formless......................................... 202
Coming to a Consensus........................ 109 Gamemaster-Created Traits.................. 189 Hyper-Agile...................................... 202
Common Roleplay Styles...................... 103 Gamemaster Guidance........................... 71 Initiative X........................................ 203
Defending........................................ 105 Game Preparation................................... 96 Interphasic...................................... 203
Enterprising..................................... 103 Game Preparation Checklist.................. 101 Martial Artist.................................... 203
Entertaining..................................... 104 Giving Momentum Meaning.................. 165 Mind-Shielded................................. 203
Intelligence Gathering...................... 104 Goals and Tactics.................................. 200 Multi-Armed.................................... 203
Protocoling...................................... 105 Groupings of Polities............................. 240 Spined............................................. 203
Tactical............................................ 105 Guidance for Far from Home Games....... 83 Sturdy............................................. 203
Complications....................................... 211 Guidance for Spice of Life Games........... 85 Swarm............................................. 203
Components of a Mission...................... 130 Hazard Damage and Threat Costs......... 176 Tough X........................................... 204
Conflict................................................. 191 Healing................................................. 214 New Ways to Use Momentum............... 166
Consequences and Effects.................... 209 Hiding Story Elements Non-Federation
Consequences and Threat..................... 210 Within Game Mechanics.................... 140 Characters and Campaigns.................. 12
Creating and Using NPCs...................... 199 How an Extended Task Works............... 161 Nothing Wrong with a Retrofit............... 224
Creating Characters.............................. 113 Hybrid Campaign.................................. 150 No Time to Rest.................................... 135
Creating the Starship............................ 117 Hybrid Season...................................... 148 Objects in Motion.................................. 164
Cultural Structures................................ 238 Integrating Game Offering a Deeper Understanding.......... 154
Deep Space Exploration Games.............. 79 Mechanics Into Your Story................. 137 Old Foes and Unlikely Allies.................... 65
Detailed Backgrounds........................... 199 Keeping the Players Involved................ 144 Optional Rules...................................... 208
Determination and NPCs....................... 201 Klingon Admiralty Campaigns................. 70 Other Ways to Use Extended Tasks........ 163
Difficult Players..................................... 106 Klingon Deep Space Passive hooks....................................... 145
Directives & Dictates............................ 183 Exploration Missions............................ 80 Physical and Mental Stress................... 212
Disciplines in Review............................ 177 Klingon Encounters............................... 222 Planetary Starbases................................ 89
Dithering............................................... 170 Klingon Starbases and Colonies.............. 91 Plan for the Time You Have.................... 141
Dominion War......................................... 64 Large-Scale Battles................................ 63 Player-Created Traits............................. 190
Earth-Romulan War................................. 60 Letting the Story Drive the Rules........... 138 Player-Driven Problems........................ 160

INDEX 245
 Player Expectations.............................. 108 Space Combat Zones............................ 194 The Scales of Star Trek
Player-Tracked Momentum................... 167 Space Stations........................................ 88 Adventures Storytelling.................... 129
Playing and Running a Season.............. 147 Spending Threat................................... 173 Campaign-scale storytelling............ 129
Playing on a Starbase, Spice of Life Games................................ 84 Mission-scale storytelling................ 129
Space Station, or Outpost.................. 117 Standard Operating Procedures.............. 47 Season-scale storytelling................. 129
Plot Hooks............................................ 144 Docked / External Support Mode........ 47 The Scientific Method........................... 196
Preparing for Launch.............................. 96 Emergency Evacuation / The Star Trek Universe in Play................. 19
Promotions and Adjustments................ 200 Medical Emergency........................ 50 Threat................................................... 168
Raising the Stakes................................ 168 Red Alert / Danger............................. 49 Threat, Momentum,
Random Goals Table............................. 200 Security Alert..................................... 51 and Task Difficulty............................. 157
Random Tactics Table........................... 201 Standard Operations.......................... 48 To Boldly Go............................................ 95
Recruiting a Crew................................. 102 Yellow Alert / Caution......................... 49 Torpedoes............................................... 41
Recurring NPCs.................................... 204 Stardates................................................ 25 Tough Little Ships?................................. 90
Repeating the Past.................................. 61 Starfleet Encounters............................. 221 Traits.................................................... 187
Replicators............................................. 45 Starship Support for Traits Front and Center......................... 187
Risks, Costs, and Consequences........... 158 Your Station-Based Game.................... 89 Traits on the Fly.................................... 187
Rotating Players and Star Trek Defined...................................... 7 Transporter and Replicator Era Notes...... 44
Characters During a Campaign.......... 151 Star Trek Eras and Play Styles................. 57 Types of Campaigns............................. 149
Rules as Written.................................... 155 Star Trek Stories................................... 124 Types of Far from Home Games.............. 83
Running a Campaign Star Trek Storytelling..................... 123, 124 Types of Governments.......................... 239
with Multiple Gamemasters............... 150 Start with the Basics............................. 119 Types of Players and Character Roles... 129
Running at Conventions.......................... 97 Station-Based Games............................. 86 Types of Plot Hooks.............................. 145
Running the Game................................ 119 Story Type.............................................. 98 Types of Religion.................................. 241
Safety and Consent............................... 109 Stress and Injuries Variants................... 211 Types of Societies................................. 242
Sample Encounters............................... 221 Style of Content...................................... 99 Unsanctioned Encounters..................... 223
Sample Extended Tasks........................ 224 Styles of Play.......................................... 69 Unsanctioned Missions........................... 91
Command........................................ 224 Admiralty Campaigns......................... 69 Using Consequences............................ 210
Conn................................................ 226 Campaigns Based on Using Determination............................. 183
Engineering..................................... 231 Season-Long Story Arcs................. 74 Using Rules to Guide the Story.............. 139
Medicine......................................... 235 Cinematic-Style Campaign................. 72 Using This Guide....................................... 3
Science........................................... 233 Close to Home: Political Using Values and Determination............ 182
Security........................................... 229 Campaigns and Core Worlds........... 77 Values and Determination..................... 182
Sample Game Advertisement................ 103 Deep Space Exploration Games......... 79 Variant: Attribute Combination............... 180
Sample Mission Outline........................ 142 Far From Home Games...................... 82 Vertical Movement and Falling.............. 203
Scene Framing Techniques................... 132 Spice of Life Games........................... 84 What is Star Trek?..................................... 8
Scenes................................................. 130 Station-Based Games........................ 86 What is Star Trek Adventures?.............. 13
Season-Scale Storytelling..................... 144 Unsanctioned Missions...................... 91 When Confronted with the Unknown..... 196
Selecting An Era of Play.......................... 58 Subplots............................................... 146 When to Use the Scientific Method........ 197
Selecting a Style of Play.......................... 69 Supplement Structure............................... 2 Where and When Extended Tasks Work.161
Serialized Campaign............................. 149 Swimming and Drowning...................... 202 Where To Start?........................................ 4
Serialized Season................................. 148 Task Difficulty....................................... 157 Why Doesn’t an Enemy Just Fire a Torpedo
Service Protocols.................................... 47 Tasks............................................ 137, 155 into Someone’s Sun?........................... 42
Session 0.............................................. 108 Temporal Possibilities............................. 67 Yesterday’s Enterprise............................... 1
Session 0 Checklist............................... 118 Ten Aspects of Star Trek Adventures..... 13 Your First Voyage.................................. 108
Sidebar Scenes..................................... 146 Ten Facts About Star Trek.......................... 8 Your Ongoing Voyages.......................... 151
Single-Session Events............................ 96 The Premise of Starfleet......................... 47 Zones and Environments....................... 193
Social Extended Tasks.......................... 162 The Principles of Threat........................ 169
Society................................................... 21 The Research Lead............................... 198
So You Want to Be a Gamemaster............ 96 The Ross Initiative.................................. 64

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