The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Planets of the UFP is the latest release for Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek: the Next Generation Roleplaying Game and it's a pretty good one. This 128 page book contains descriptions of 23 different planets in the Star Trek universe. despite the misleading title and back cover text, not all of these worlds are members of the United Federation of Planets. Indeed, several of them are independent or uncharted worlds. Now, I don't mind the inclusion of new material –– in fact, I applaud them for this –– but it does give a false impression that all of the worlds included in the book are UFP planets.

The book is nicely put together, devoting 4-6 pages for each of the worlds, including in most cases a map of the star system and of its main world. As I mentioned in my review of The Way of Kolinahr, I'm gratified that LUG has named the continents of its worlds. I simply can't bear the thought of any more references to "the southern continent" and other such nonsense. Bravo, LUG!

The art throughout the book is, to my mind, much improved over that in previous supplements. The cover, however, is a bit in the unimpressive side, as if it were hastily put together without any thought to its appearance. I'm especially baffled by the weird version of the UFP insignia seen on the cover: it appears rather decrepit, right down to flecks of paint chipping off the central disk. I'm not sure what is meant by this, if anything. That's really the problem; the cover just doesn't grab me. If LUG is reading, please try to work on the covers of your books. Include some original art or nice color stills from the series. Please.

Fortunately, the text inside is well worth the price of admission. The editing also appears to be of higher quality than past efforts. I found no glaring misuses of "it's" when "its" was intended or misspellings of any kind.

The worlds are presented in a standard format. Included with each is a discussion of the local solar system, the world's environment, a run-down of its significant locales, a brief history, words on its government and population, its strategic importance to the Federation (very nice addition!), its notable inhabitants and creatures, as well as some episode ideas. All in all, each entry should provide the Narrator with sufficient material to run several episodes on each planet.

Should, of course, is not the same as will. Planets of the UFP stumbles a bit with its choice of planets. While heavy-hitters like Earth, Andoria, Tellar, and Vulcan are here (as well as the homeworlds of most PC species), there are also some seriously minor leaguers like the Ba'ku Planet (from Star Trek: Insurrection), Caldos Colony, and Dytallix B. LUG seems to have an unfortunate tendency to revisit worlds and situations from the series and movies that weren't compelling the first time around. You can tell that this is the case because the adventure seeds accompanying the weaker worlds are either rehashes of the original plot in which they first appeared or don't really use the world in a way that highlights its uniqueness at all. Don't misunderstand me: there are plenty of great ideas in this book, but not as many as there should be. I sometimes wonder whether LUG's licensing deal with Paramount requires them to include a certain number of boring planets, characters, and situations per book.

The bulk of the planets are really nicely done, though. Places like Betazed (yes, you read right: Betazed!) and Alpha Centauri are much more interesting than you'd expect them to be. The episode possibilities are boundless. I can already think of lots of ideas about how to incorporate them and other worlds into my Straits of Magellan campaign. Even Earth comes across as being much more fascinating than it has any right to be. Clearly, the boys at LUG know what they're doing. I just wish they'd do more of it. Get rid of Acamar III and Vagra II and give me more details on the worlds that actually have replay value. For that matter, make up some new worlds like Denocet V included in the book. This is what people want (or at least, this person).

LUG is also very good at infusing this book with the ethos of Star Trek, as they did in their other books. Reading through Planets of the UFP, my natural cynicism about the show's sanctimoniousness evaporates. I really come to see the Federation as a worthy vision of the future and not some foolish pipe-dream. As any of my friends will tell you, that's quite an accomplishment. LUG is to be congratulated for living up to Roddenberry's vision.

At the same time, I can see that LUG obviously wants to make the Federation a dynamic place, which is a fancy way of saying not boring. I guess that's why so many separatist and isolationist movements have sprung up all over the place. Reading through LUG's recent releases, you begin to get the impression that no one (except Humans anyway) wants to be part of the Federation anymore. We've got Vulcan and Betazoid isolationists, Andorian separatists, Bolian nationalists –– the list goes on. Enough already. I can appreciate adding spice to the formerly utopian UFP, but it's because of that utopian vision that a lot of people like Star Trek. A little bit more idealism will go a long way.

Criticisms aside, this is an excellent book and I heartily recommend it to Narrators looking to spice up their ongoing Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game series.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Planets of the UFP –– A Guide to Federation Worlds
Author: Various Category: game Company/Publisher: Last Unicorn Games Line: Star Trek: The Next Generation Cost: $20.00 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-889533-05-X Playtest Review by James Maliszewski on 06/22/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Space	Planets of the UFP is the latest release for Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek: the Next Generation Roleplaying Game and it's a pretty good one. This 128 page book contains descriptions of 23 different planets in the Star Trek universe. despite the misleading title and back cover text, not all of these worlds are members of the United Federation of Planets. Indeed, several of them are independent or uncharted worlds. Now, I don't mind the inclusion of new material –– in fact, I applaud them for this –– but it does give a false impression that all of the worlds included in the book are UFP planets. The book is nicely put together, devoting 4-6 pages for each of the worlds, including in most cases a map of the star system and of its main world. As I mentioned in my review of The Way of Kolinahr, I'm gratified that LUG has named the continents of its worlds. I simply can't bear the thought of any more references to "the southern continent" and other such nonsense. Bravo, LUG! The art throughout the book is, to my mind, much improved over that in previous supplements. The cover, however, is a bit in the unimpressive side, as if it were hastily put together without any thought to its appearance. I'm especially baffled by the weird version of the UFP insignia seen on the cover: it appears rather decrepit, right down to flecks of paint chipping off the central disk. I'm not sure what is meant by this, if anything. That's really the problem; the cover just doesn't grab me. If LUG is reading, please try to work on the covers of your books. Include some original art or nice color stills from the series. Please. Fortunately, the text inside is well worth the price of admission. The editing also appears to be of higher quality than past efforts. I found no glaring misuses of "it's" when "its" was intended or misspellings of any kind. The worlds are presented in a standard format. Included with each is a discussion of the local solar system, the world's environment, a run-down of its significant locales, a brief history, words on its government and population, its strategic importance to the Federation (very nice addition!), its notable inhabitants and creatures, as well as some episode ideas. All in all, each entry should provide the Narrator with sufficient material to run several episodes on each planet. Should, of course, is not the same as will. Planets of the UFP stumbles a bit with its choice of planets. While heavy-hitters like Earth, Andoria, Tellar, and Vulcan are here (as well as the homeworlds of most PC species), there are also some seriously minor leaguers like the Ba'ku Planet (from Star Trek: Insurrection), Caldos Colony, and Dytallix B. LUG seems to have an unfortunate tendency to revisit worlds and situations from the series and movies that weren't compelling the first time around. You can tell that this is the case because the adventure seeds accompanying the weaker worlds are either rehashes of the original plot in which they first appeared or don't really use the world in a way that highlights its uniqueness at all. Don't misunderstand me: there are plenty of great ideas in this book, but not as many as there should be. I sometimes wonder whether LUG's licensing deal with Paramount requires them to include a certain number of boring planets, characters, and situations per book. The bulk of the planets are really nicely done, though. Places like Betazed (yes, you read right: Betazed!) and Alpha Centauri are much more interesting than you'd expect them to be. The episode possibilities are boundless. I can already think of lots of ideas about how to incorporate them and other worlds into my Straits of Magellan campaign. Even Earth comes across as being much more fascinating than it has any right to be. Clearly, the boys at LUG know what they're doing. I just wish they'd do more of it. Get rid of Acamar III and Vagra II and give me more details on the worlds that actually have replay value. For that matter, make up some new worlds like Denocet V included in the book. This is what people want (or at least, this person). LUG is also very good at infusing this book with the ethos of Star Trek, as they did in their other books. Reading through Planets of the UFP, my natural cynicism about the show's sanctimoniousness evaporates. I really come to see the Federation as a worthy vision of the future and not some foolish pipe-dream. As any of my friends will tell you, that's quite an accomplishment. LUG is to be congratulated for living up to Roddenberry's vision. At the same time, I can see that LUG obviously wants to make the Federation a dynamic place, which is a fancy way of saying not boring. I guess that's why so many separatist and isolationist movements have sprung up all over the place. Reading through LUG's recent releases, you begin to get the impression that no one (except Humans anyway) wants to be part of the Federation anymore. We've got Vulcan and Betazoid isolationists, Andorian separatists, Bolian nationalists –– the list goes on. Enough already. I can appreciate adding spice to the formerly utopian UFP, but it's because of that utopian vision that a lot of people like Star Trek. A little bit more idealism will go a long way. Criticisms aside, this is an excellent book and I heartily recommend it to Narrators looking to spice up their ongoing Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game series. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Planets of the UFP –– A Guide to Federation Worlds