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The Player's Guide for Last Unicorn's Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game (ST:TNG RPG) is the first major rules expansion since the release of the Core Game Book last summer. Sadly, it's something of a disappointment.

Let me state here that the Player's Guide is not a bad book or a poor supplement by any means. In fact, there's a lot of very useful information included within its glossy, full-color pages. However, there's also a lot of unimpressive material within its pages as well. To be more charitable, there's a lot in the Player's Guide that doesn't really belong there. Let's take a look at its contents and you'll see what I mean.

Chapter One treats the meaty topic of "Life in Starfleet." In general, this is a useful chapter and the kind of thing I expect in a book of this kind. Chapter One provides an overview of general orders and regulations, protocol and traditions, and examples of what Starfleet officers do while on duty. Nothing within the chapter is especially inspired, but it is very helpful nonetheless. Many players, even long-time fans of Star Trek, don't have a very good sense of what Starfleet personnel do when they're not saving the Federation from the Borg or tending to outbreaks of alien plagues. This chapter provides a decent answer to those questions.

Chapter Two gives us "Expanded Character Creation." This rather lengthy chapters opens up a whole slew of new options and choices in the creating of Starfleet characters. A wide variety of new packages are included. There's a revised system for handling promotions, as well as advanced training programs for specialist characters. The chapter even includes rules on creating characters with previous experience prior to their joining Starfleet.

Chapter Two is quite extensive. It is also rather frightening. Granted, everything within it is completely optional. The basic system included in the Core Game Book has not been altered by these rules. Nevertheless, I suspect that many players will want to use these rules, thereby opening the door to a style of play that emphasizes creating "a skilled character" over creating a "good character." That is, the options in the Player's Guide give players the opportunity to obsess over stats and skills in a way that I don't feel suits the ethos of Star Trek very well. The Core Game Book is so wonderful partially because its character creation system is so simple and streamlined, with an emphasis on background rather than game mechanics. I'm sure many people who use the Expanded Character Creation rules as they were intended –– to create more detailed characters –– but I fear many will abuse it.

Chapter Three details eight "New Alien Races" for use as player characters. None of them are especially noteworthy. Most played minor roles in one or more episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the same time, new races are to be welcomed, if only to offer more choices to players who may grow weary of yet another Vulcan science officer on their ship. I should note here that the original art used to illustrate these new races, while serviceable, pales in comparison to the color stills from the series found throughout the Player's Guide. This is the danger inherent in using original art side by side in a book with photographs. Unless the original is exceptional, it tends to look less impressive than it might otherwise.

Chapter Four includes "New Skills and Traits." As an adjunct to the "Expanded Character Creation" rules, this chapter just makes matters worse in my view. The Core Game Book already provided for more skills than I expect most Narrators and players will ever need. Moreover, the skill system is designed to simulate the multi-talented nature of Starfleet personnel. To my mind, that obviates the need for huge lists of new skills in every supplement. The same is true of new advantages and disadvantages which, to my mind, adds to the perception of characters as lists of numbers and statistics rather than personalities. Once again, this is a matter of taste. Many people will find the expanded options to their intense liking.

Chapter Four also provides for a greater number of Unarmed Combat options, including the Hatchet Chop and Hammer used to such good effect by James Tiberius Kirk. Despite my dislike of combat rules, I couldn't help but enjoy this section. The authors of the book are to be congratulated for rules that should make brawling colorful and exciting. Finally, this chapter lists some of the awards and commendations Starfleet dispenses to its personnel, which should help to add flavor to decorated characters.

Chapter Five details "Enlisted Personnel." This all too short chapter is a good one, especially if you're a fan of the "working men" like Chief O'Brien who keep Starfleet running on a daily basis. Included are complete rules for creating enlisted characters, as well as Narrator's advice on how to use them in a series.

Chapter Six described "Psionic Powers" and Starfleet's attitude toward them. There are also descriptions of some new powers and the rules for using them. Thankfully, this chapter is short. After The Way of Kolinahr, I had little need for any more psionic abilities, but here they are just the same for those who believe you can never have enough kinds of telepathy.

Chapter Seven treats "Archetypes," which is to say, pregenerated characters. Each one comes with stats, a history, and some new equipment appropriate to their role. I had little use for this chapter and would have preferred its page be used elsewhere. Nevertheless, some Narrators may actually find it helpful.

Chapter Eight discusses "Using Miniatures in Your Series." Not being a miniatures gamer, I found this chapter pretty uninspiring. At the same time, many people do use miniatures and I suspect the advice included herein will be of use to them.

Chapter Nine includes "New Rules." Thankfully, these rules are not as burdensome as the Expanded Character Generation system. Among the new rules are the much-awaited high-ranking character rules. With their inclusion, ST:TNG RPG is now a complete game, capable of handling series as they are actually played, as opposed to the way the designers may have wanted them to be played. This chapter also includes a nice system for Starship Renown, to reflect the fact that some ships are better known than others, and expanded options for combat.

Chapter Ten gives us "Starbase 315," a new setting for the game. Set in the BeTau sector, Starbase 315 is a station within Federation territory rather than being on the frontier. This chapter gives lots of information on the worlds of the sector and its conflicts, including quite a few episode seeds. While I was not inspired by Starbase 315, there are some gems of goodness within this chapter. Narrators would be well-advised to look at this carefully to get a sense of how to run a non-starship based campaign.

As you can see, the Player's Guide is a real mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's still a worthwhile purchase, as it does add some useful material to ST:TNG RPG. Even so, it also contains some uninspired and indeed problematic material that I'm not sure adds a lot to the game. It's almost as if Last Unicorn Games wasn't entirely sure of the audience they were writing this for, die-hard gamers or casual players who just love Star Trek. A sign of this confusion can be seen in the fact that the cover and title page call the book the Players' Guide, while everywhere else it is the Player's Guide. Consequently, I'd recommend taking a hard look at which type of ST:TNG RPG player you are before you contemplate buying this book or adding its material to your series.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG Player's Guide
Author: Ross Isaacs, Robin Laws, Steve Long, Don Mappin, Lou Prosperi, and John Snead Category: game Company/Publisher: Last Unicorn Games Line: Star Trek: The Next Generation Cost: $26.00 Page count: 160 ISBN: 1-889533-03-3 SKU: LUG 25002 Playtest Review by James Maliszewski on 09/02/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Space	The Player's Guide for Last Unicorn's Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game (ST:TNG RPG) is the first major rules expansion since the release of the Core Game Book last summer. Sadly, it's something of a disappointment. Let me state here that the Player's Guide is not a bad book or a poor supplement by any means. In fact, there's a lot of very useful information included within its glossy, full-color pages. However, there's also a lot of unimpressive material within its pages as well. To be more charitable, there's a lot in the Player's Guide that doesn't really belong there. Let's take a look at its contents and you'll see what I mean. Chapter One treats the meaty topic of "Life in Starfleet." In general, this is a useful chapter and the kind of thing I expect in a book of this kind. Chapter One provides an overview of general orders and regulations, protocol and traditions, and examples of what Starfleet officers do while on duty. Nothing within the chapter is especially inspired, but it is very helpful nonetheless. Many players, even long-time fans of Star Trek, don't have a very good sense of what Starfleet personnel do when they're not saving the Federation from the Borg or tending to outbreaks of alien plagues. This chapter provides a decent answer to those questions. Chapter Two gives us "Expanded Character Creation." This rather lengthy chapters opens up a whole slew of new options and choices in the creating of Starfleet characters. A wide variety of new packages are included. There's a revised system for handling promotions, as well as advanced training programs for specialist characters. The chapter even includes rules on creating characters with previous experience prior to their joining Starfleet. Chapter Two is quite extensive. It is also rather frightening. Granted, everything within it is completely optional. The basic system included in the Core Game Book has not been altered by these rules. Nevertheless, I suspect that many players will want to use these rules, thereby opening the door to a style of play that emphasizes creating "a skilled character" over creating a "good character." That is, the options in the Player's Guide give players the opportunity to obsess over stats and skills in a way that I don't feel suits the ethos of Star Trek very well. The Core Game Book is so wonderful partially because its character creation system is so simple and streamlined, with an emphasis on background rather than game mechanics. I'm sure many people who use the Expanded Character Creation rules as they were intended –– to create more detailed characters –– but I fear many will abuse it. Chapter Three details eight "New Alien Races" for use as player characters. None of them are especially noteworthy. Most played minor roles in one or more episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the same time, new races are to be welcomed, if only to offer more choices to players who may grow weary of yet another Vulcan science officer on their ship. I should note here that the original art used to illustrate these new races, while serviceable, pales in comparison to the color stills from the series found throughout the Player's Guide. This is the danger inherent in using original art side by side in a book with photographs. Unless the original is exceptional, it tends to look less impressive than it might otherwise. Chapter Four includes "New Skills and Traits." As an adjunct to the "Expanded Character Creation" rules, this chapter just makes matters worse in my view. The Core Game Book already provided for more skills than I expect most Narrators and players will ever need. Moreover, the skill system is designed to simulate the multi-talented nature of Starfleet personnel. To my mind, that obviates the need for huge lists of new skills in every supplement. The same is true of new advantages and disadvantages which, to my mind, adds to the perception of characters as lists of numbers and statistics rather than personalities. Once again, this is a matter of taste. Many people will find the expanded options to their intense liking. Chapter Four also provides for a greater number of Unarmed Combat options, including the Hatchet Chop and Hammer used to such good effect by James Tiberius Kirk. Despite my dislike of combat rules, I couldn't help but enjoy this section. The authors of the book are to be congratulated for rules that should make brawling colorful and exciting. Finally, this chapter lists some of the awards and commendations Starfleet dispenses to its personnel, which should help to add flavor to decorated characters. Chapter Five details "Enlisted Personnel." This all too short chapter is a good one, especially if you're a fan of the "working men" like Chief O'Brien who keep Starfleet running on a daily basis. Included are complete rules for creating enlisted characters, as well as Narrator's advice on how to use them in a series. Chapter Six described "Psionic Powers" and Starfleet's attitude toward them. There are also descriptions of some new powers and the rules for using them. Thankfully, this chapter is short. After The Way of Kolinahr, I had little need for any more psionic abilities, but here they are just the same for those who believe you can never have enough kinds of telepathy. Chapter Seven treats "Archetypes," which is to say, pregenerated characters. Each one comes with stats, a history, and some new equipment appropriate to their role. I had little use for this chapter and would have preferred its page be used elsewhere. Nevertheless, some Narrators may actually find it helpful. Chapter Eight discusses "Using Miniatures in Your Series." Not being a miniatures gamer, I found this chapter pretty uninspiring. At the same time, many people do use miniatures and I suspect the advice included herein will be of use to them. Chapter Nine includes "New Rules." Thankfully, these rules are not as burdensome as the Expanded Character Generation system. Among the new rules are the much-awaited high-ranking character rules. With their inclusion, ST:TNG RPG is now a complete game, capable of handling series as they are actually played, as opposed to the way the designers may have wanted them to be played. This chapter also includes a nice system for Starship Renown, to reflect the fact that some ships are better known than others, and expanded options for combat. Chapter Ten gives us "Starbase 315," a new setting for the game. Set in the BeTau sector, Starbase 315 is a station within Federation territory rather than being on the frontier. This chapter gives lots of information on the worlds of the sector and its conflicts, including quite a few episode seeds. While I was not inspired by Starbase 315, there are some gems of goodness within this chapter. Narrators would be well-advised to look at this carefully to get a sense of how to run a non-starship based campaign. As you can see, the Player's Guide is a real mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's still a worthwhile purchase, as it does add some useful material to ST:TNG RPG. Even so, it also contains some uninspired and indeed problematic material that I'm not sure adds a lot to the game. It's almost as if Last Unicorn Games wasn't entirely sure of the audience they were writing this for, die-hard gamers or casual players who just love Star Trek. A sign of this confusion can be seen in the fact that the cover and title page call the book the Players' Guide, while everywhere else it is the Player's Guide. Consequently, I'd recommend taking a hard look at which type of ST:TNG RPG player you are before you contemplate buying this book or adding its material to your series. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)

Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG Player's Guide