The Inside Scoop on Gaming

About four months ago this website posted a press release from a game company in Los Angeles called Last Unicorn Games. This release raised gamers' eyebrows across the world by announcing the return of STAR TREK to the world of roleplaying games. I immediately went to the company's website to make sure I had read correctly. For a month I pestered poor Daniel Landers with email, wondering when the book would be released, what all would be in the product line, and how much it would cost. In the crowded third floor exhibition floor of Milwaukee's Midwest Express Center I got my answer. There, sprawled under a giant STAR TREK banner were stacks of the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION ROLEPLAYING GAME (ST:TNG-RPG) in all their hardbound glory.

For some reason I still felt compelled to page through the heavy book before purchasing it, even though I knew what to expect: Daniel Landers had said the book would be 288 pages, hardbound, and full color. In the end, the book is actually 303 pages, plus an index, character sheet, and pages of handsome advertisements. ST:TNG-RPG was the first book I bought at the first GenCon I've ever attended. I also got it signed by John "Q" DeLancie. After years of piecemeal STAR TREK games of my own, this game had a lot of expectations to contend with. How did it stack up?

APPEARANCE

The cover is a striking, colorful collage of images from ST:TNG on a dark starfield. To my surprise, this cover picture appears completely original, rather than one of the dozens of cast photos which could have been set in its place. I could, in an ungracious attempt to nitpick, point out that the starship Enterprise featured on the cover is not, in fact, the one which appeared in the first 176 episodes, but it's a handsome cover regardless.

Within, the book is a glossy full-color expedition into the ST:TNG universe. Photographs and screen captures (courtesy of Matthew Colville) are supplemented with original artwork in some later sections. Each page features a border design similar to the LCARS interface format designed by Michael Okuda for THE NEXT GENERATION. Although page numbers or chapter titles might have been well-placed within these borders, they are at least color-coded throughout the book, to give the reader an at-a-glance idea of where they are. Text is clean and easily legible, with obvious chapter changes and subheadings. Overall, a painless book to navigate.

All photographs and images are from the television series (with a few from the feature films) and are clear, interesting images. I personally wish that some images were displayed larger, but there really isn't room for it; the book is packed with text as it is. The original artwork (by John Bridges, Carol Heyer, and Mark Maxwell) ranges from clear and descriptive to cartoonish and vague. Both the art and the photographs present starships, aliens, major characters, action shots, and equipment of all sorts.

Thus far the book has succeeded everywhere it needs to.

CONTENT

The meat of this book oscillates back and forth between game mechanics and setting information. First, a fairly typical introduction welcomes new players to the game. A brief expanse of history for the STAR TREK universe follows, as well as a briefing on Starfleet in general. Now, just when your head is brimming with ideas for your own take on the STAR TREK setting, we hit character creation. At first I was delighted with this section. Shortly thereafter it disappointed me. Now I'm happy with it again.

Character Creation for ST:TNG-RPG utilizes templates, so as to assist first-timers into their new roles (according to a Last Unicorn Games statement in InQuest magazine). I suspect first-time gamers will get good use out of them. The long lists of skills for each character might make newcomers to the hobby slightly queesy, but not so much to risk driving them away. Experienced games might encounter another problem, however. The book is dreadfully short on character templates (which cover the character's species). In fact, only seven are presented, and three of these (Centauran, Tellarite, and Andorian) have little place in THE NEXT GENERATION. Just the absense of a Bajoran template disappointed me.

Once you start down the path of character creation from scratch, though, this problem goes away. Since most STAR TREK aliens are used as models for race relation metaphors anyway, their stats actually do not range too far from the human norm, so constructing your own templates for these races is easy. Now, after purchasing the book, should a player really have to make their own templates? No, of course not. Is it fun to do? You betcha. Later in the book, there are even suggestions to make your job easier. In general, in my experience, character creation is a fun process. The exact procedure to follow is a little sketchy in the text, but nicely illustrative when you figure it out. Now I'm happy again.

Using the "from scratch" character creation method, I built a character I play in an email simulation to see how closely he matched the picture in my head. With a few slight changes to some background options, I ended up with a very accurate model of my dysfunctional Bajoran engineer. I expect other players will have similar luck with their own characters.

The game mechanics are very simple and easily accessible to new players. Without any RPG experience the rules are still a simple, quick system (designed by Christian Moore, Steve Long, Kenneth Hite, and Ross Isaacs). Last Unicorn Games calls it the Icon System, though there are actually very few icons used. Regardless, the system works. Six-sided dice are used for all elements of the rule system, supporting the user-friendly approach. I imagine that the game's designers initially had the same instinct I had – to make a percentile system for STAR TREK. In ship-to-ship combat this would have been very nice (since shields have traditionally been measured in percentiles themselves), but in the end the character-oriented system employed is still very effective.

Starship combat involves strategy and brute force, as it should. Careful planning of shipboard power systems is required to keep a vessel operating at peak efficiency, but it's not hard work. In fact, trying different approaches to power distribution is fun and keeps in the style of the television series. Best of all, the system actually involves all the players (assuming they're all bridge crew), so that no one gets let out of what could otherwise be a one-man show. Thoughtful.

Starships, equipment, aliens, and creatures are all described in their own chapters with a nice balance of examples and suggestions for creating your own. I particularly like the treatment of alien races. Not only is setting-specific information presented, but ideas on how to best use each alien in an adventure blend well with the episodic and metaphorical nature of STAR TREK. This attention to the series' personal flavor permeates the entire book, in fact.

TO BOLDLY GO

The ST:TNG-RPG contains extensive information on how to run a roleplaying game. A lot of this information is old news to experienced gamers and is included for newcomers. However, even experienced gamers should appreciate these sections as this is some of the best gamemaster advice I've seen in a rulebook in a long time. Not since White Wolf's Storyteller handbooks has such game-specific and genuinely helpful information been offered to support frightened and lonely gamemasters. The book actively encourages GMs to operate in the STAR TREK tradition, and then provides actual, useful suggestions on how to do so. Advice covers episodic campaigns, broad epic adventures, and different types of stories befitting the genre to try out.

The only place this support fails is in the example scenario, "Shakedown Cruise," and Last Unicorn Games should beware. It's my belief that this scenario doesn't work for the same reason most published STAR TREK scenarios won't: they don't affect the characters as people. The best game scenarios always involve the characters not only directly but specifically, and for STAR TREK this is especially true. It's exceptionally difficult to write a genuinely engaging (no pun intended) scenario for an unknown collection of main characters, and this is the one major danger to the STAR TREK line.

COURSE AND HEADING

The aforementioned Danny Landers was kind enough to supply this reviewer with a detailed list of upcoming products for the ST:TNG-RPG. They look good. A new miniatures combat system for more tactical starship combat is forthcoming to contend with Task Force Games, as well as sets of starship and figurine miniatures. A second full-color, hardbound book is on the way as well. "The Price of Freedom: United Federation of Planets" will cover several member worlds and feature new character templates. I'll be looking for the Bajorans, as you can imagine.

The men behind the iron curtain of ST:TNG's Cold War – the Romulans – are being well represented in the game line. The forthcoming "Neutral Zone Campaign" brings us to their borders, and the Starfleet Intelligence supplement promises to take us beyond them. The Romulan Star Empire boxed set even offers us the chance to take on the role of the Romulans ourselves.

Still, Last Unicorn has more products on the way to expand the STAR TREK roleplaying galaxy. This February they plan to debut the STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE roleplaying game, and again I find myself counting the weeks to the release of a STAR TREK roleplaying game. An old school STAR TREK roleplaying game will follow DS9 approximately six-months later, and then VOYAGER'S game will be released six-months later still.

Make no mistake, ST:TNG-RPG is a book about THE NEXT GENERATION, and operates completely within the boundaries of that series. There remains, then, plenty of room for three more roleplaying games. Also, this allows players to focus on the styles of STAR TREK they really enjoy the most.

At first, $35 for a game seems steep, but as one satisfied customer mentioned to the company president, the game isn't $35, it's just $35. The book is packed with information, and could support a gaming group on its own for a good while, I should think. As usual, I recommend chipping in on a single copy to see if you'll want more.

In the end, the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION ROLEPLAYING GAME (whew!) is a strong, promising book for a bold, ambitious game line. Although the book has its weaknesses (the Tsiolkovski could not have been recovered – it was destroyed), it also has a multitude of strengths (I'm glad to see my home ship, the USS Endeavour, mentioned). This book reminds me of the old days, when roleplaying games were half roleplaying and half games, and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. If you've been waiting for a chance to really get into the STAR TREK setting, here it is. Welcome aboard.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game
Author: Various Category: game Company/Publisher: Last Unicorn Games Cost: $35 Page count: 312 pages ISBN: 188953300-9 Capsule Review by William Hindmarch on 08/26/98. Genre tags: none	About four months ago this website posted a press release from a game company in Los Angeles called Last Unicorn Games. This release raised gamers' eyebrows across the world by announcing the return of STAR TREK to the world of roleplaying games. I immediately went to the company's website to make sure I had read correctly. For a month I pestered poor Daniel Landers with email, wondering when the book would be released, what all would be in the product line, and how much it would cost. In the crowded third floor exhibition floor of Milwaukee's Midwest Express Center I got my answer. There, sprawled under a giant STAR TREK banner were stacks of the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION ROLEPLAYING GAME (ST:TNG-RPG) in all their hardbound glory. For some reason I still felt compelled to page through the heavy book before purchasing it, even though I knew what to expect: Daniel Landers had said the book would be 288 pages, hardbound, and full color. In the end, the book is actually 303 pages, plus an index, character sheet, and pages of handsome advertisements. ST:TNG-RPG was the first book I bought at the first GenCon I've ever attended. I also got it signed by John "Q" DeLancie. After years of piecemeal STAR TREK games of my own, this game had a lot of expectations to contend with. How did it stack up? APPEARANCE The cover is a striking, colorful collage of images from ST:TNG on a dark starfield. To my surprise, this cover picture appears completely original, rather than one of the dozens of cast photos which could have been set in its place. I could, in an ungracious attempt to nitpick, point out that the starship Enterprise featured on the cover is not, in fact, the one which appeared in the first 176 episodes, but it's a handsome cover regardless. Within, the book is a glossy full-color expedition into the ST:TNG universe. Photographs and screen captures (courtesy of Matthew Colville) are supplemented with original artwork in some later sections. Each page features a border design similar to the LCARS interface format designed by Michael Okuda for THE NEXT GENERATION. Although page numbers or chapter titles might have been well-placed within these borders, they are at least color-coded throughout the book, to give the reader an at-a-glance idea of where they are. Text is clean and easily legible, with obvious chapter changes and subheadings. Overall, a painless book to navigate. All photographs and images are from the television series (with a few from the feature films) and are clear, interesting images. I personally wish that some images were displayed larger, but there really isn't room for it; the book is packed with text as it is. The original artwork (by John Bridges, Carol Heyer, and Mark Maxwell) ranges from clear and descriptive to cartoonish and vague. Both the art and the photographs present starships, aliens, major characters, action shots, and equipment of all sorts. Thus far the book has succeeded everywhere it needs to. CONTENT The meat of this book oscillates back and forth between game mechanics and setting information. First, a fairly typical introduction welcomes new players to the game. A brief expanse of history for the STAR TREK universe follows, as well as a briefing on Starfleet in general. Now, just when your head is brimming with ideas for your own take on the STAR TREK setting, we hit character creation. At first I was delighted with this section. Shortly thereafter it disappointed me. Now I'm happy with it again. Character Creation for ST:TNG-RPG utilizes templates, so as to assist first-timers into their new roles (according to a Last Unicorn Games statement in InQuest magazine). I suspect first-time gamers will get good use out of them. The long lists of skills for each character might make newcomers to the hobby slightly queesy, but not so much to risk driving them away. Experienced games might encounter another problem, however. The book is dreadfully short on character templates (which cover the character's species). In fact, only seven are presented, and three of these (Centauran, Tellarite, and Andorian) have little place in THE NEXT GENERATION. Just the absense of a Bajoran template disappointed me. Once you start down the path of character creation from scratch, though, this problem goes away. Since most STAR TREK aliens are used as models for race relation metaphors anyway, their stats actually do not range too far from the human norm, so constructing your own templates for these races is easy. Now, after purchasing the book, should a player really have to make their own templates? No, of course not. Is it fun to do? You betcha. Later in the book, there are even suggestions to make your job easier. In general, in my experience, character creation is a fun process. The exact procedure to follow is a little sketchy in the text, but nicely illustrative when you figure it out. Now I'm happy again. Using the "from scratch" character creation method, I built a character I play in an email simulation to see how closely he matched the picture in my head. With a few slight changes to some background options, I ended up with a very accurate model of my dysfunctional Bajoran engineer. I expect other players will have similar luck with their own characters. The game mechanics are very simple and easily accessible to new players. Without any RPG experience the rules are still a simple, quick system (designed by Christian Moore, Steve Long, Kenneth Hite, and Ross Isaacs). Last Unicorn Games calls it the Icon System, though there are actually very few icons used. Regardless, the system works. Six-sided dice are used for all elements of the rule system, supporting the user-friendly approach. I imagine that the game's designers initially had the same instinct I had – to make a percentile system for STAR TREK. In ship-to-ship combat this would have been very nice (since shields have traditionally been measured in percentiles themselves), but in the end the character-oriented system employed is still very effective. Starship combat involves strategy and brute force, as it should. Careful planning of shipboard power systems is required to keep a vessel operating at peak efficiency, but it's not hard work. In fact, trying different approaches to power distribution is fun and keeps in the style of the television series. Best of all, the system actually involves all the players (assuming they're all bridge crew), so that no one gets let out of what could otherwise be a one-man show. Thoughtful. Starships, equipment, aliens, and creatures are all described in their own chapters with a nice balance of examples and suggestions for creating your own. I particularly like the treatment of alien races. Not only is setting-specific information presented, but ideas on how to best use each alien in an adventure blend well with the episodic and metaphorical nature of STAR TREK. This attention to the series' personal flavor permeates the entire book, in fact. TO BOLDLY GO The ST:TNG-RPG contains extensive information on how to run a roleplaying game. A lot of this information is old news to experienced gamers and is included for newcomers. However, even experienced gamers should appreciate these sections as this is some of the best gamemaster advice I've seen in a rulebook in a long time. Not since White Wolf's Storyteller handbooks has such game-specific and genuinely helpful information been offered to support frightened and lonely gamemasters. The book actively encourages GMs to operate in the STAR TREK tradition, and then provides actual, useful suggestions on how to do so. Advice covers episodic campaigns, broad epic adventures, and different types of stories befitting the genre to try out. The only place this support fails is in the example scenario, "Shakedown Cruise," and Last Unicorn Games should beware. It's my belief that this scenario doesn't work for the same reason most published STAR TREK scenarios won't: they don't affect the characters as people. The best game scenarios always involve the characters not only directly but specifically, and for STAR TREK this is especially true. It's exceptionally difficult to write a genuinely engaging (no pun intended) scenario for an unknown collection of main characters, and this is the one major danger to the STAR TREK line. COURSE AND HEADING The aforementioned Danny Landers was kind enough to supply this reviewer with a detailed list of upcoming products for the ST:TNG-RPG. They look good. A new miniatures combat system for more tactical starship combat is forthcoming to contend with Task Force Games, as well as sets of starship and figurine miniatures. A second full-color, hardbound book is on the way as well. "The Price of Freedom: United Federation of Planets" will cover several member worlds and feature new character templates. I'll be looking for the Bajorans, as you can imagine. The men behind the iron curtain of ST:TNG's Cold War – the Romulans – are being well represented in the game line. The forthcoming "Neutral Zone Campaign" brings us to their borders, and the Starfleet Intelligence supplement promises to take us beyond them. The Romulan Star Empire boxed set even offers us the chance to take on the role of the Romulans ourselves. Still, Last Unicorn has more products on the way to expand the STAR TREK roleplaying galaxy. This February they plan to debut the STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE roleplaying game, and again I find myself counting the weeks to the release of a STAR TREK roleplaying game. An old school STAR TREK roleplaying game will follow DS9 approximately six-months later, and then VOYAGER'S game will be released six-months later still. Make no mistake, ST:TNG-RPG is a book about THE NEXT GENERATION, and operates completely within the boundaries of that series. There remains, then, plenty of room for three more roleplaying games. Also, this allows players to focus on the styles of STAR TREK they really enjoy the most. At first, $35 for a game seems steep, but as one satisfied customer mentioned to the company president, the game isn't $35, it's just $35. The book is packed with information, and could support a gaming group on its own for a good while, I should think. As usual, I recommend chipping in on a single copy to see if you'll want more. In the end, the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION ROLEPLAYING GAME (whew!) is a strong, promising book for a bold, ambitious game line. Although the book has its weaknesses (the Tsiolkovski could not have been recovered – it was destroyed), it also has a multitude of strengths (I'm glad to see my home ship, the USS Endeavour, mentioned). This book reminds me of the old days, when roleplaying games were half roleplaying and half games, and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. If you've been waiting for a chance to really get into the STAR TREK setting, here it is. Welcome aboard. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game