Boldly Going: The New Star Trek RPG

It's been a crazy year for Star Trek role-playing: First, the sale of Last Unicorn Games to Wizards of the Coast followed by the transition of the Star Trek license to Decipher. Fans of Star Trek role-playing have been left in something of a vacuum, wondering what this all means to them. Certainly their old material is still valid and useful, however with the lack of future support, now what? With little news out there regarding the upcoming incarnation of the Star Trek RPG, rumors and misinformation abound.

In a recent visit to the former offices of Last Unicorn Games, I had an opportunity to participate first-hand in the upcoming Star Trek game being developed by the Role Playing and Miniatures Studio of Decipher, Inc. Within I’ll remove some of the veil of mystery and provide details on this new game line, the system, and the design process behind it.

As with all things in flux, it needs to be stated, emphatically, that everything contained within this article is subject to change without notice. While we are collectively being offered a glimpse into the future Star Trek RPG, a number of design elements may change before you see the final product later this year. I should also clarify that while I am not a representative or employee of Decipher, I am writing and participating in the upcoming RPG. So, this certainly won’t be the most unbiased article you’ll ever read.

Back to the Future
The names are familiar -- simply open up any previous LUG product: Christian Moore, Owen Seyler, Ross Isaacs, Steve Long, and Ken Hite to name a few. What has changed is the name on the door and some new and exciting ideas on where to take Star Trek role-playing into the 21st century.

First, lets get the most difficult part out of the way: the Icon System is gone. While this may be a point of contention with many fans, the truth is that three years later and with a wealth of experience, the developers feel that they are ready to make a system better than Icon. A system that addresses the criticisms of the Icon system while still preserving the core dramatic elements of Star Trek role-playing.

The system is still d6-based, but this time with less granularity as the range has been opened up. The resolution mechanic is straightforward and allows for dramatic successes, however not with the frequency found in Icon. Overlays have been replaced with broader Professions, where characters will use a series of "picks" to select skill and Trait purchases.

Background packages, or the ability to literally "build" your character through descriptive packages still exists, but are much more flexible in design. No more taking a package, being saddled with a skill you already have, and losing valuable Development Points! Instead you customize your character however you’d like.

Speaking of Development Points, they no longer exist. The pick system simulates these aspects, but no longer will you be tracking point costs to the smallest detail. Traits are much the same as before, but now have equity across the board. For a more powerful Trait, you simply select it multiple times. Some Traits will have dependencies, requiring you to develop a path of advancement. This causes for some planning if you have an end goal in mind, but also provides characters with advancement options that might not have been considered during the initial design.

Skills have been overhauled as well. Gone is the dominance of 60% of all skills being Intellect based. Specializations are replaced with Specialties, however they are no longer tracked separately -- your skill has one ranking. New are the idea of perks, or "cookies" as they're internally called, where having a high rank in a skill, such as a 6 or 9, grants you additional special abilities when using that skill. These cookies are analogous to Traits, but overall not as powerful. Because the range has been doubled to twelve, there is more of a differentiation between characters with the same skill at different ranks.

Characters will be able to change between multiple Professions, allowing you to easily create the shady rogue who engaged in questionable business dealings after leaving Starfleet, disillusioned. Elite Professions will also exist to allow characters further means to differentiate themselves later in their careers. If any of this sounds similar to Prestige Classes from Dungeons & Dragons, then you'd be right. While fans of the Icon system may bristle at the mention of classes, how is this really any different then Icon Overlays? This is the one area, simply due to semantics, that I think may cause the most concern with those who favor the Icon system, while in practice it really is no different.

In many ways the design influence of Icon can still be seen, but most of the restrictive trappings have been removed. The game is much more results-oriented, where characters have tangible rewards after each adventure and exciting "cool stuff" to continue to develop. This contrasts to Icon's purely Narrative-style where, honestly, character advancement was an afterthought.

The Order of Battle
Also gone are the narrowly focused products such as the Vulcans or pure adventure books; instead books will contain more utility and be broader (and larger), appealing to a greater audience. Most products, if not all, will be designed with all aspects of Star Trek in mind. In fact, there will be one core rulebook that covers all four (current) Star Trek properties, instead of the multi-book format employed by LUG.

More specifically, there will be a two book "buy in" for most consumers, although the first book, the Player's Rulebook, will be enough to actually play the game. The second core book, the Narrator's Rulebook, will contain more Narrator-specific information, such as starship combat. Combined, these two books will probably be in the area of $60. The upside of this is that these two books will contain a lot of information -- and all four Star Trek shows.

Now, as you can imagine, it just isn't possible to contain everything for each individual series inside two books with a reasonable page count. However, the essential information necessary will be provided, opening the way for series-specific sourcebooks at a later date. These sourcebooks will solely contain setting information -- no repeat of mechanics as in the past. This will keep the size and the price down. So, Narrators that plan on running a Deep Space Nine campaign will have all the tools they need for a basic setting with the two core books. Later a DS9 sourcebook will fill in the remaining blanks, if the Narrator even feels that he or she needs it.

Future products, as previously mentioned, will be broader in scope. Instead of a 128-page soft cover book focusing on one species, a new book would be slightly larger and give treatments on 15-20 species, covering a variety of eras. A Klingon book, one of the first products currently on the schedule, is a rare exception to this.

Another new design decision will be a starship book for each faction, again covering all four properties. So, instead of searching through multiple books for a Federation starship, you'll be able to find it in one comprehensive resource.

Miniatures are also part of the equation, and the often mentioned, but never-seen starship tactical miniatures game, "Engage!" will see the light of day -- and quickly. At this time many aspects of miniature development are still unknown, but both character and starship miniatures are planned, handled by a third party with experience, likely.

Having these larger, broader products will also mean fewer products in the pipeline at a given time. This should make staying on top of your Star Trek purchases easier. Also, remember that this development team is also handling other RPG properties for Decipher, most notably the recently announced Lord of the Rings RPG.

Make It So
All this begs the question of what condition the game is in now and how soon until it graces the shelves of your local game store? Many of the core design considerations spoken to previously are decided and finalized, even though some specific elements are still being determined. Certainly these will require tweaking and play-balance considerations, which is why the game is undergoing an extensive internal and external playtest now. (No, don’t ask to participate!) Christian Moore is very serious on seeking input from the loyal Star Trek RPG fans out there that grace this site.

As the system progresses forward, more information will be provided, as well as glimpses at the actual product and system. Fast play rules are in the works, so by Gen Con it is certainly feasible that you could be playing the new Star Trek RPG.

Until the product line is entirely finalized and approved, Decipher is wisely not willing to discuss release dates or upcoming products. Everyone remembers the heartache of Last Unicorn Games missing their release dates. However, some of the products mentioned earlier are on the schedule and will follow closely after the two core books are released later this year.

Final Thoughts
For many fans, not just those that have been loyal to the Icon System, there was concern in the timing and the perception of how Decipher acquired the Star Trek license. After bringing aboard the development team from Last Unicorn Games, much of that concern has been alleviated. Opening up this development process and keeping the fans informed, something that Christian Moore has pledged to do, will go a long way in helping transition to this new system and product line. Here's hoping for many more updates to come.

Don Mappin
Webmaster, TrekRPGNet

Star Trek® and all related marks ™, ®, & © Paramount Pictures. Star Trek The RPG™ and all related products are © Last Unicorn Games, Inc. Individual works are the property of respective authors and may not be reproduced without permission. HTML code, layout, and custom images are property of TrekRPGNet and may not be reproduced without permission. See the legal page for more information.