Review: The Way of Dera: The Romulan Star Empire Boxed Set
Contents: One 128-page book, one 64-page book, one 32-page book, four maps on two double-sided poster sheets (maps unavailable for review)
Executive Summary
Buy this. Buy it now.
The Way of D'era
"Dera is the philosophy that forms the foundation of Romulan society.
Believing themselves to be the children of the Vhorani, ancient beings who
created the Romulan species at Vorta Vor, the Wellspring of Creation, the
Romulans work to achieve their manifest destiny: to one day rule the Endless Sky
and take the place of their lost creators. It is their destiny to rule the other
(obviously inferior) species and to spread Romulan culture throughout the
universe. Those who do not accept Romulan rule must be made to see the errors of
their ways. A true Romulan does not give up in the face of resistance, but
redoubles his efforts.
"The Vhorani made the Romulans strong and capable, and challenged them with a mighty task."
Since their first appearance in Star Trek, the Romulans, a secretive and enigmatic people, have captured the imagination of viewers with their aggression, passion, and honor. Now in their first species supplement, this Last Unicorn Games product focuses on one of Star Treks most devious and dangerous foes.
Contents
The Way of Dera Boxed Set is comprised of three books focusing
on different aspects of the Romulans. Book One, "The Romulans," deals
with the species, their history, culture, equipment, government, and Star Navy,
and is 128 pages in length. Book Two, "Romulan Characters," solely
covers introducing Romulan characters into the Star Trek RPG and
the rules governing them in 64 pages. The final book, Book Three, "Romulan
Adventures," presents two adventures for the Narrator to quickly
incorporate these foes into his game.
Two full-sized poster maps are also included in the product but unfortunately were unavailable to review. I have, however, seen the maps as laid out on the page-setting computer at Last Unicorn Games (LUG) and must say they are very impressive! One map in particular includes the whole of Romulan space, the Neutral Zone and surrounding areas. It is beautifully crafted, as if being on a Romulan view screen. Another poster (the reverse side?) is a full-color ship and uniform recognition chart. A description does not do the artwork justice!
All three books, sans covers, are in two-color (?) black and green format and are easy to read and forgiving on the eyes. Book One is glue-bound, Two and Three are stapled. Of particular note is the layout, which is similar to the recently-released Planets of the UFP: the borders are quite small and tight, leaving a LOT of material between the covers!
The artwork, as with other LUG products, is a mixed bag. Book Two, "Romulan Characters," really stands out, as all the artwork is simply fantastic; there isnt a bad piece of art in the whole book! Books One and Three vary from the good and adequate to the downright awful. The starship illustrations are top notch. The art is well used and breaks up the text appropriately. There are also some really great layout issues that Ill touch on in each individual book.
Book One, The Romulans
Opening it up, this book is very intimidating, as you will find a lot of
material within its thick pages. The first chapter starts with an engaging piece
of fiction, which captures the essence of the Romulan people. If you arent
inspired after reading then your blood just isnt green enough!
Chapter two deals with the background and history of the Romulan people. A lot of light is cast on the previously dark shadows of the Romulan psyche within these pages. A Romulan timeline (with Federation equivalent) shows the major events within the Romulan peoples history.
The third chapter, The Conscience of the Empire, covers the Romulan government in exquisite detail. "Why," you may ask? Political intrigue is a hallmark of any good Romulan campaign and this serves to set the stage.
The Raptors Talon is dedicated to the Star Navy and includes great detail into the organization of the Navy, its operation, and the various fleets. The fleets add a new aspect to any Romulan game, including the Command Fleets, Senatorial Fleets, Coalition Fleets, and the Praetorian Fleet. Imagine the prestige of serving aboard a Warbird within the Praetorian Fleet or gaining favor with a highly-placed Senator and being transferred to the flagship of his personal fleet!
The chapter continues to discuss, among many other things, the Tal Diann, another aspect of the Romulan military. Similar to the Tal Shiar, the Tal Diann is Military Intelligence, very similar to the USSRs own Political Officer that served upon vessels. The Tal Diann provides many role-playing opportunities similar to the Tal Shiar without having to find an excuse for the Tal Shiar always meddling in shipboard affairs. Also, readers are introduced to the LUG "Icon Link:" an Icon watermark behind the text that denotes that more information on the subject is available on LUGs forthcoming new web site. This material will enhance the product by providing additional information, game mechanics, or optional rules. Each product will contain 2-3 of these "Icon Links" within them. The Tal Diann section is so marked as there will be an Overlay available online.
No book regarding the Romulans would be complete without mentioning the Tal Shiar. The intelligence branch of the Romulan Empire, the Tal Shiar strikes fear not only in the hearts of Romulan enemies but to those who may have traitorous thoughts. The Tal Shiar comprises their own, albeit short, chapter going into additional information on this aspect of the Romulan Empire.
Everyone loves equipment and The Tools of Conquest is devoted to all manner of Romulan equipment from tricorders to disruptors. Romulan disruptors get their own treatment, distinguishing them from their Klingon brethren. Like the equipment from The First Line: Starfleet Intelligence Handbook, some of the equipment is just plain darn cool. Personal favorite? The Neural Reprogramming Array! I do have some concerns with some equipment, such as the Phased Cloaking Device and the Portable Cloaking Generator. While both are interesting concepts, no real hard data is given and most of all the descriptions are really vague, opening a can of problems for Narrators with clever players (arent they all?). While Narrators can, of course, set the ground rules within their game, introducing a portable cloaking generator that can cloak just about any structure (or starship) yields some big game-balancing problems. It would have been nice to have those problems defined and headed off, or some real limitations laid down. Overall however, the chapter is excellent with some really great Romulan equipment.
Birds of Prey, is no doubt, where everyone will flip to first. Here is the order of battle for the Romulan Star Empire and seven new starships. The Dderidex is included (making eight) but is, for the most part, a reprint of the stats found in the Core Game Book. No doubt some will complain about the reprint but I for one approve; I want all my Romulan ships in one location.
There is the Theta-class swift courier, the Meret-class incursion cruiser, the Dvirin-class incursion frigate, the Deresus-class heavy scout, the Trasus-class light starbird, the Dvalek-class swift warbird, and the Vereleus-class dreadnought. Yes, the Dderidex is no longer the largest starship patrolling the spacelanes!
The final chapters are devoted to the planets of the Romulan Empire and worlds within her. All contain fascinating information and new species Templates. Of particular note are the two chapters on Romulus and Remus the twin jewels of the Empire. There you will find statistics for the Kaurel Tennahrex ("the High Fortress"), the first published orbital starbase. You do not, I repeat, do NOT want to be on the receiving end of this! Of course this is only a small part of the Romulan worlds and quite a bit of depth explores the home of the Romulan people.
You can not help but be impressed with the content of information within this book! The art is fairly light and well done, while sidebars and borders are used well (with a few exceptions of empty space).
Book Two, Romulan Characters
While the first book is merely outstanding, the second is downright spectacular!
The book starts off by describing what it means to play a Romulan character and their driving forces. These first few pages are mandatory reading by anyone planning to run a Romulan character, be it as a player-character or NPC.
Of course, the Romulan template is included along with a slew of Romulan Overlays. The first five Overlays deal with more "civilian" professions, such as the Diplomat, Intercessor, Merchant, Scientist, and the Senatorial Aide. All are capable Overlays and are ripe with role-playing potential. The next, a personal favorite, is the Tal Shiar Overlay. The final Overlay is the Serona Overlay, outlining the basic military service of the Romulan Empire that all Romulans must attend. These Soldiers, upon completion of their first five-year commitment, may return to civilian life or attend the Romulan War College (or its proper name, the Military Rhetor of the Romulan Star Empire) to enter into a lifelong service as a military officer. Characters can focus in one of seven functional areas, such as Command or Operations. One of the most interesting is the Tal Diann, as described in Book One.
As with generating Starfleet officers in the Core Game Book, Romulan characters go through a number of Background phases where Development Points are spent to purchase skills or packages. Unlike Starfleet officers, all skills in the Core Game Book are open to Romulan characters to learn there are no taboo skills within Romulan society.
During these phases you will be introduced to a new concept with Renown that forever changes the way you will look at it. While the use of Renown in the original RPG can be clumsy and of little use at times, for Romulan characters it is of the utmost importance! Three Renown aspects, Aggression, Discipline, and Skill are used to calculate your Glory points (more on that later) and also determine your characters Rank. No longer do you outright purchase rank, you must earn it through obtaining Renown in Romulan-favored aspects! While other aspects, such as Initiative and Openness are still tracked, their importance is not stressed in Romulan society. In fact, Romulan society favors these aspects highly and it is emphasized throughout the product. Packages and Advantages provide you with additional Renown and the value of some Advantages, such as Benefactor and Cohort, measure THEIR Renown as well. Want to have a high-level Benefactor within the Tal Shiar who has a significant amount of Renown? No problem, using the simple chart you can calculate a DP cost easily.
Romulan characters do not use courage points; instead they obtain (and spend) Glory through game play. Glory is the amount of a characters Aggression, Discipline, and Skill aspects. The more Renown you earn in these aspects the more Glory you earn. During play, Glory can be spent to modify die rolls or do spectacular things, such as having a Senatorial Aide assist you or have Star Command dispatch a nearby Warbird to assist. Since Renown values can become quite high, so can a characters Glory value. In fact, having a Glory in the high double-figures isnt uncommon at all. Glory differs from Courage Points in that, unlike Courage Points, once you spend Glory it is gone you can only call in so many favors until your reputation wont earn you any more slack.
This provides the Narrator with a powerful tool to use during (and after) game play. Experience Points, Renown, and Glory can all be added (or removed) to reflect a characters actions while serving the Empire. The whole system, in a word, is awesome!
A large number of new Skills, Specializations, Advantages, and Disadvantages are introduced as well. Personal favorites are the Benefactor, Dark Secret Revealed, and Watched Traits. Existing Traits and Skills are touched upon and updated for use within the Romulan campaign, such as the Code of Honor for Romulans. Of particular note, LUG was kind enough to reprint the new espionage Advantages that appeared in The First Line: Starfleet Intelligence Handbook. A chart of pre-done Romulan mixed-species Templates is also included.
A chapter, Scions of the Empire, includes several famous Romulan characters to include in your campaigns, such as Senators Kassus, Merek, and Pardek, Major Sela, and the infamous Commander Tomalak. Descriptions include hooks for including in your campaigns.
The final chapter deals with running a Romulan campaign and wisely covers not only the Romulan-centered series but also the Federation-centered series. Chocked full of great ideas, this chapter is a great boon for Narrators who need some assistance incorporating all the material available to them into their campaigns. I do wish it were a bit longer, however! The final section deals with using and rewarding Renown and Glory. The upcoming Klingon Boxed Set will include a similar system. The final page includes a Romulan Character Sheet.
What I like most about Book Two is the wealth of information and exceptional art (it really is great). Little things, such as the Romulan mixed-species Templates and the reprinting of the Starfleet Intelligence Advantages really stand out. Sidebars are very effectively used to convey information and only inserted when necessary. LUG also uses the text of the book to provide "ins" for Romulan characters in a Federation-campaign or how to perhaps make a defector character.
Book Three, Romulan Adventures
The smallest of the three books, 32 pages, "Romulan Adventures"
contains two adventures for use in your campaign.
The first, "The Gentara Incident," is a Romulan-centered adventure and is excellent. Multiple characters have multiple agendas and the PCs find themselves caught in a dangerous web. The Glory aspects are highly-emphasized and the adventure really shines to demonstrate the great possibilities of running your own Romulan-centered campaigns. Being Romulan doesnt necessarily mean youre always the "bad guy."
Like Book Two, Book Three very effectively uses text boxes to highlight important aspects of the adventures for the Narrator. Although I liked the format that was used in A Fragile Peace, this makes more sense and is easier to use.
The second adventure, "Duty or Conscience," is made for a Federation-centered series. I found "The Gentara Incident" be a better overall adventure, but "Duty or Conscience" serves its purpose well to introduce the Romulan threat.
The third book is a bit thin for my tastes and I think I would have much rather had a thicker book with purely Narrator-oriented information with the adventures. A kind of mini-"Romulan Narrators Toolkit" if you will. I do have to applaud LUGs inclusion of both a Romulan and Federation-centered adventure, as Narrators will be using the Way of Dera for different purposes. Of course there is nothing prohibiting playing "Duty or Conscience" from the Romulan viewpoint with a little work.
General Comments
Way of Dera is a solid product from cover to cover. The fact
that the Romulans are my favorite antagonist may color my enjoyment somewhat,
but I think the product stands quite well on its own.
The downsides of the set are minor compared to the volume of information provided. The Glory system is downright ingenious while as a Narrator I was hoping for a bit more guidance than the six pages provided for adapting the material to my campaign.
As a suggestion, the disbursement of material could have been done another way, similar to the old FASA Romulan supplement (the comparison was inevitable). I would have preferred a smaller 32-page book with information directed at the players to give to them, easily readable in a small amount of time and separate from the other material. Of those 32 pages half would be devoted to Romulan background (playing in a Romulan-centered campaign) and the other half would be sort of a Starfleets Primer to the Romulan Star Empire for a Federation-centered campaign.
The second book could then focus on purely game-related material, such as equipment, charts, character generation, adventures, and the Narrators Romulan Toolkit. It probably would have jumped up to 96 pages.
Book One would stay pretty much the same, minus the material shifted to the other two books. Considering the retail price is on or around the $35 price point, I think this could have been doable. Remember, the 312-page hardbound, full color, Core Game Book retailed for $35 as well.
Finally, to round out my wish list, is a dictionary of Romulan terms and phrases. Scattered through the books are a few, but sadly no master list. As a player or Narrator such a list would be an invaluable aid to add additional flavor to a Romulan campaign. Unlike the mass popularity of the Klingons, there is no Romulan dictionary that we Narrators can go out and purchase. (Side note: The novel, "The Romulan Way," DOES contain one such unofficial Romulan dictionary of terms. I highly recommend it.)
Conclusion
I heartily recommend this product not only for its outstanding writing (the best
to date) but also for its fantastic content. It is a "must have" for
any Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG Narrator out there. Players
who are die-hard Romulan fans will certainly enjoy it as well and the maps make
a great wall-mounted conversation piece.
Without a doubt, in my mind, sans the Core Game Book, this is the best LUG product to date and you simply can not go wrong in purchasing it.
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