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| The Role Playing Game | |
|---|---|
 Cover | |
| Designers | Guy McLimore,Greg Poehlein,David Tepool |
| Publishers | FASA Corporation |
| Publication | 1983(1st edition) 1985(2nd edition) |
| Genres | Science fiction (Star Trek) |
| Systems | Custom |
Star Trek: The Role Playing Game is arole-playing game set in the fictionalStar Trek universe published byFASA Corporation from 1982 to 1989.
Jordan Weisman ofFASA wanted to get one of the biggest space adventure licenses and acquired theStar Trek license in 1982.[1]: 120 Weisman andL. Ross Babcock III looked outside FASA to build aStar Trek design team, but FASA rejected four different game designs over several months that focused too heavily on combat rather than the utopian future envisioned by Gene Rodenberry.[1]: 120 The fifth design team was the freelance group Fantasimulations Association, composed ofGuy McLimore Jr.,Greg Poehlein, andDavid F. Tepool, and they created a workable design that FASA approved.[1]: 120
Star Trek: The Role Playing Game (1983) has a tactical combat system in which battles are simulated using a square grid, and is based on the FASA board gameGrav-Ball (1982).[1]: 120
The game was published as aboxed set with a 128-page book, an 80-page book, and a 56-page book, two counter sheets, and dice.[2]: 317 Weisman and Babcock insisted that the designers not have the game transition from a role-playing game into a board game during space combat, so the Fantasimulations designers created a system in which each section head operated from their own "console", so that the role of the captain during combat was to coordinate everyone else.[1]: 120 The supplementThe Klingons (1983), a book which was co-authored byJohn M. Ford, had an influence on subsequentStar Trek productions by Paramount.[1]: 121 Paramount was unhappy with the twoOfficer's Manual (1988) andFirst Year Sourcebook (1989) supplements forStar Trek: The Next Generation, and so Paramount pulled theStar Trek license from FASA after feeling like these supplements did not match well with how they viewed theNext Generation universe.[1]: 123 Game historian Stu Horvath commented that Paramount's decision did not sit well with fans of the game, noting that it "pissed off a lot of fans of the RPG! After six years and a substantial pile of books and magazines, players were invested in this versions of theStar Trek universe.""[3]
Star Trek: The Role Playing Game is set in theStar Trek universe beforeStar Trek: The Next Generation. Most player characters are members of Starfleet engaged inspace exploration missions. They typically hold senior posts on a starship bridge and visit alien planets as part of landing parties.
The game's published supplements and modules are mostly set in the original crew movie era (AD 2280s/90s), but a few are set during the original TV era (AD 2260s) or a century later in theNext Generation era (AD 2360s/70s). SeeOfficial Supplements by era below.
FASA designed theirStar Trek game universe nearly five years beforeStar Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) (1987-1994). The designers built their game universe when there was no officialcanon, and they borrowed heavily from ideas in theStar Trek original series, theStar Trek animated series,fan fiction, and the works ofStar Trek novelist John M. Ford.
Game elements which either were never introduced into what later became canonStar Trek, or which differ significantly from how canonStar Trek presents them, include:
The game's depiction of theKlingons, the result of work by science fiction author John M. Ford,[4] differs from later canon. Ford's Klingons not only appear in the supplementThe Klingons for the game, but also in hisStar Trek novelThe Final Reflection, which is told almost entirely from a Klingon perspective. Ford designed his Klingon society to provide a logical basis for the actions and statements of onscreen Klingons in the original TV series, as well as the differing appearance of the Klingons in the original series and those inStar Trek: The Motion Picture (the only movie featuring Klingons to have been released when the novel and game supplement were first published). They are guided by a philosophy expressed in theirKlingonaase language askomerex tel khesterex, roughly translated as 'that which is not growing is dying';komerex, referring to any structure growing and expanding its control over its surroundings, is also their word for their empire (komerex Klingon). This leads to a belief that the proper role of species not part of akomerex is to serve those that are, and the Klingons have subjugated many of these servitor species (kuve) in their conquests. The philosophy also motivates their actions on a personal scale, with individuals engaging in schemes and intrigues to enhance their personal power and that of their extended family, and generates traditions like starship officers being promoted as a result of assassinating their superiors.
The Klingons seen inStar Trek: The Motion Picture, or "Imperial Klingons", are the original natives of the Klingon homeworldKlinzhai. The ones seen in the TV series are "human-fusion" Klingons, a result of genetic engineering combining the DNA of humans and Imperial Klingons into a hybrid better able to work in environments occupied by humans and thought to better understand them (for purposes of fighting them). Romulan-fusion Klingons also exist (Ford's Klingons contacted the Romulans before humans) and possibly other hybrids (such as with the Orions, whose space abuts both the Empire and the Federation).
Ford's Klingons (at least those serving in their space fleet) believe that when they die they will serve in a "Black Fleet" in the afterlife. Given the fact that few stars are visible at night on most of Klinzhai due to cloud cover, they have a mystical reverence for "the naked stars" and believe they remember acts of courage performed under them.
In contrast, the Klingons inStar Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent TV series, as well as the later movies, have a culture and traditions based more on a cross between thevikings andJapaneseSamurai (or, rather, Western imaginations of them), focused on personal and familial honor and placing value on sacrificing their lives for the causes they serve. The canonicalKlingon Empire is governed by the High Council, led by a chancellor, instead of an emperor. Their language,tlhIngan Hol, is different from Ford'sKlingonaase, and their homeworld is Kronos (Qo'noS in Klingon). UntilStar Trek: Enterprise, there was no canonical explanation for the differing appearance of Klingons in the original TV series compared to the movies andThe Next Generation. In theStar Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", the matter was joked about but left unexplained; in theEnterprise episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence", it is explained as an infection caused by an attempt to infuse Klingons with the DNA ofKhan Noonien Singh (a variation of the human-fusion idea).
When the game was published, the only filmed material featuring theRomulans were the twoOriginal Series episodes "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident". FASA's Romulans are the descendants of prehistoric Vulcans transplanted to the planet Romulus by the species known as the Preservers (mentioned in the TOS episode "The Paradise Syndrome"). Before developing interstellar travel, Romulan science concluded they were not native to their planet, leading to a social and religious goal of building a "Road to the Stars" to find the "gods" that placed them there, leading to the establishment of the Romulan Star Empire.
The Romulans are one of the Federation's chief antagonists inStar Trek: The Next Generation, featured in many episodes, and a canon explanation of their origin is given in that series. They are the descendants of Vulcans who did not agree withSurak's doctrines of logic and emotional suppression, instead choosing to leave Vulcan and travel through vast distances of space to their new home on Romulus. A similar concept was used byDiane Duane inSpock's World and theRihannsu series of novels.
The game supplementTrader Captains and Merchant Princes, first published in 1983, introduced "the Triangle", a lawless area wedged between the space occupied by theUnited Federation of Planets, theKlingon Empire, and theRomulan Star Empire.
The Triangle supplement later introduced a set of color maps, allowing players to know exactly how long it would take them (in game time) to travel between star systems.
This lawless area was popular with players as it allowed them to escape the strict parameters of a military campaign.[citation needed] Most campaigns with civilian or non-Starfleet characters are based entirely or in part within the Triangle.
The game introduces a number ofstarship classes not based on those seen in the series, though many of them borrow from the starship design standards set in the original TV series and first two movies: Federation ships have saucer sections and outboard engine nacelles, Klingon ships have a primary hull with a command section at the end of a long boom, and Romulan ships look like birds.
They include, but are not limited to: theBader-class scout,Baker-class destroyer,Chandley-class frigate, theEnterprise-class cruiser (the refittedConstitution-class introduced inStar Trek: The Motion Picture),Derf-class survey ship,Larson-class destroyer,Loknar-class frigate,Nelson-class scout,Northampton-class frigate, the so-calledReliant-class cruiser (the FASA name for the movie-eraMiranda-class cruiser), theMission-class transport,Royal Sovereign-class battlecruiser,M'benga-class hospital ship and theSagan-class science ship (an upgrade of the canon Oberth-class starship). A few designs were made for ships mentioned in canon but not seen. One of these was FASA's conjecture of the Ambassador-class starship, which resembles a modified Enterprise-class cruiser with Excelsior nacelles; in canon theAmbassador is a precursor to the Galaxy-class starships.
The distinct design of several of those ships, notably theChandley-class frigate and theLoknar-class frigate, have made them popular in non-canonStar Trek folklore.[citation needed] TheLoknar, which predates the NX-class starship design, bears a more than passing resemblance to the titular ship inStar Trek: Enterprise.
TheMission-class transport, a shuttle-style, warp-capable ship designed for small crews and short missions, is similar to the small, long-range, shuttle-stylerunabouts introduced in later Star Trek series. The FASAMission-class transport predates it by more than a decade.
Thestardates in the original series are arbitrarily assigned but tend to be larger for episodes produced later in the series' run. FASA's game introduces the notion of reference stardates based on Gregorian dates, similar to a standard fan practice for constructing stardates. A date in or after the year 2000 in year 2XYZ, month MM, day DD becomes Stardate X/YZMM.DD. For example, FASA set the date of the detonation of the Genesis device inStar Trek II as Stardate 2/2206.20, corresponding to June 20, 2222. Dates before 2000 use negative numbers before the slash.
Beginning withStar Trek: The Next Generation, filmed materials assign stardates in a more systematic way. The first season ofTNG has stardates of the form 41XXX.XX, with the numbers starting just above 41000.00 and increasing towards 41999.99 as the season progresses. Subsequent seasons have stardates beginning with 42, 43, etc.Star Trek: Deep Space Nine andStar Trek: Voyager used stardates corresponding to the season ofTNG that was airing at the same time, then progressing forward afterTNG went off the air (DS9 season 1's stardates began with 46, andVoyager season 1 episodes had stardates beginning with 48).
A number of key dates in the FASAStar Trek universe are about 60 years out of phase with their equivalent dates in the canonicalStar Trek universe. For example, the game dates the original five-year mission of theEnterprise from 2207 through 2212, while the canonical dates are 2265 through 2270. Also, the game takes most of its fictional history between the present day and the 23rd century from theStar Trek Spaceflight Chronology, the contents of which are almost totally contradicted by later canonical materials (especially the filmStar Trek: First Contact and the seriesEnterprise).
Supplements to the basic game introduce players to the rudiments of theRomulan and Klingon languages. Neither language, as expressed in the game, is the same as later depictions in theStar Trek series.
Star Trek: The Role-Playing Game is a skill-based system in which character skills are determined by time spent in previous service.[2] The rules cover character creation, familiar characters from the series, Vulcan telepathics, weapons and equipment, personal and spaceship combat, and encountering new civilizations.[2] The boxed set includes three introductory scenarios and an 80-page pull-apart book ofEnterprise deck plans.[2]
The game system is percentile based. Success or failure is determined either by rolling against a set difficulty target, a player's skill, or a hybrid of both.[5]
FASA had previously written supplements forGDW'sTraveller, an association which influenced the early structure of theStar Trek game, particularly in character generation.[citation needed]
The rulebooks also provides systems for governing personal combat and exploration of space and planes, and the first edition provides rules for combat between starships; the second edition moves the starship combat rules into a separate board game. Supplements provide additional rules for characters in the Klingon Empire and Romulan Star Empire, interplanetary trade and commerce, starship design, and campaigns focusing on other non-Starfleet players.
Each planet in the game's atlas has a code that - coupled with the character's merchant skill and some luck - allow players to buy and trade across the galaxy. A ship's carrying capacity is not based on tonnage but on volume. There are also rules on buying and selling stock on the Federation stock market.
Players roll dice to determine the beginning attributes of their character.Star Trek: The Role Playing Game characters begin with seven basic abilities -Strength,Endurance,Dexterity,Intellect,Luck,Charisma, andPsionic Potential. These attributes are adjusted depending on the character's species. (Vulcans, for example, gained a natural bonus to theirPsionic Potential score, a measure of their heightenedpsionic skill.)[5]
Players have the option of playing almost anyhumanoid species introduced in the originalStar Trek TV series, the animated series, or the first four movies. These include Humans, Vulcans,Tellarites,Andorians,Orions, Klingons, and Romulans. Two other species introduced in the animated series,Caitians andEdosians[dead link], can also be played.
Players use dice rolls on various tables to determine skills acquired before joining Starfleet, and then those gained by their shipboard assignment (helm operations, sciences, medical, communications, etc.) during tours of duty, which also leads to increases in rank before determining their final posting for the start of play. Later supplements allow players to generate Starfleet Intelligence agents, Klingon and Romulan military personnel, Orion pirates, and civilian merchants.
Game statistics are provided for principal characters in theStar Trek TV series (Kirk,Spock,Dr. McCoy,Scotty, etc.), allowing players to play those roles instead of generating their own characters.
The first edition of the game includes a tactical starship combat game, which was later redeveloped into theStarship Tactical Combat Simulator.
The game's basic rule system provides a simple system for moderating space battles, in which each player assumed a role in the battle, typically by manning a station on theship's bridge.
The Captain determines the strategy, the Engineer is responsible for power management and allocation to different systems such as weapons and shields, the Helmsman for firing weapons, the Navigator for managing deflector shields, and the Communications Officer for damage control.
FASA later developed that system into a more complex standalone game, theStarship Tactical Combat Simulator, similar to a tabletopwargame. During a role-playing session, if the adventure calls for a space battle, players have the option of using this standalone game to determine the outcome of the battle.
William A. Barton reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game inSpace Gamer No. 64.[6] Barton commented that "I like this game. And I think you will, too, despite any picky points you can find that don't quite agree with your own concept of how aStar Trek game should be [...] It has its flaws as does any system and it wasn't possible to cover every aspect ofStar Trek in one game. But everything you reallyneed for a satisfyingStar Trek role-playing system is to be found here - in fact, just about everything you need forany SFRPG. So I recommend you not be put off by the high price of this package. [...] I think you'll be glad you entered the Final Frontier. This game, so far, is my pick of the best role-playing system of 1983."[6]
Sandy Petersen reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game forDifferent Worlds magazine and stated that "Star Trek is the first science fiction game I have ever wanted to play in the strength of the game itself. I have played many science-fiction role-playing games simply because I love the genre, and hoped the game would serve as a tool to allow me to enjoy science fiction. ButStar Trek was an end in itself."[7]
Steve List reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game inAres #16 and commented that "Star Trek game is an ambitious work, generally well-done, with some minor flaws. The worst of these is in any case a matter of taste – the episodic nature of things versus the continuous campaign approach."[8]
Russell Clarke reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game forWhite Dwarf #58, giving it an overall rating of 9 out of 10, and stated that "Star Trek the RPG is a worthy addition to the SF role-playing genre and I highly recommend it."[9]
William A. Barton reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game, Second Edition inSpace Gamer No. 71.[10] Barton commented that "second editionStar Trek: The Role Playing Game is an even better avenue to gaming the final frontier than its predecessor. Those who own the original won'tneed this edition to continue to play, as both are compatible, but will certainly find enough new material that they won't be sorry for buying it. If you haven't yet triedST:RPG - especially if you're new to SF roleplaying - I recommend this game over its competitors for ease of play, consistency, and sheer enjoyment."[10]
Steve Nutt reviewedStar Trek: The Role-Playing Game for the British games magazineImagine, and stated that "The game places great emphasis on role-playing. If your group is hack and slash then they had better change their approach before they play Star Trek. After all, if you are Captain Kirk then you should act like him. The referee should also play the game in the spirit of Star Trek, with scenarios as wacky as you like. If the role-playing game is played like the film, then it is first class; if not, it could get rather bloodthirsty. It has to be pitched right."[11]
In his 1990 bookThe Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games, game criticRick Swan noted "With its simple mechanics and clear presentation ...Star Trek is a fan's dream come true." Swan did point out some ambiguities around the use of skills such as Administration, and thought that other skills such as Negotiation "would be better handled by role-playing instead of a die-roll." With regards to combat, Swan thought it wasn't particularly realistic, but "combat is quick and exciting." Swan felt that the game was similar to the television series in scope, writing that it "lends itself better to single adventures than extended campaigns." Swan concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 3.5 out of 4, saying, "role-players comfortable with the simplicity of the series need look no further — the game is a flawless reproduction."[12]
Phil Clare retrospectively reviewedStar Trek: The Role Playing Game forArcane magazine and stated that "Despite FASA finally losing the license, it does seem rather odd that there isn't aStar Trek RPG currently available despite interest in the past from TSR, Mayfair and Steve Jackson Games. Ironically, however, this is probably for the best because theStar Trek franchise is now highly formulaic, and let's not forget the creative differences FASA had not only with Paramount, but also the original design team. All this should make those of you who own a copy not only particularly smug, but also secure in the knowledge that the likelihood of anotherST:RPG of the same quality appearing is pretty slim. And any game designers reading should take this as a challenge."[13]
