STAR TREK ADVENTURES Public Playtest Launches

The public playtest for Modiphius' Star Trek Adventures tabletop RPG has launched worldwide with over 5,000 players in a storyline penned by writers including Dayton Ward (NYT bestselling author) and Scott Pearson. The living campaign will run until mid-2017, when the core rulebook is released, taking place in the unexplored Shackleton Expanse near Starbase 364. Different playtest experiences are available depending on which group playtesters signed up for, with different groups focusing on combat, diplomacy, and so on.

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LONDON, ENGLAND (December 1, 2016): Modiphius Entertainment, publisher of the Achtung! Cthulhu, Mutant Chronicles, Conan, Infinity and John Carter of Mars roleplaying games, announces the missions for the Star Trek Adventures™ living campaign playtest, to develop the first official Star Trek RPG in more than a decade, are now live with more than 5,000 players and counting. To join the campaign, visit www.modiphius.com/star-trek.

Thousands of players around the world will adventure through the Star Trek universe like never before in an epic storyline written by New York Times Bestselling Star Trek author Dayton Ward and Scott Pearson (Star Trek novellas: The More Things Change, Among the Clouds, Terra Tonight), developed by Nathan Dowdell (Black Crusade, Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition, Corvus Belli's Infinity: The Roleplaying Game and Robert E Howard's Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of) and lead writerDavid F Chapman (Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Roleplaying Game, Conspiracy X 2.0, Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG). Joining them are an interstellar line-up including writers from all previous editions of the Star Trek roleplaying game, as well as big names from across the tabletop gaming industry including:

Shawn Merwin (Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition: War of Everlasting Darkness, Halls of Undermountain, Dungeon Delve), Jim Johnson (Lord of the Rings RPG, Mage: The Awakening, Shadowrun Augmentation), Jacob Ross (Legend of the Five Rings, Mongoose Traveller, Kaigaku), Patrick Goodman (Shadowrun: Fifth Edition, Shadowrun: Street Legends, Shadowrun: Storm Front), Ross Isaacs (Line Developer Star Trek RPG (Decipher) and Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game (Last Unicorn Games), Ian Lemke(Changeling: The Dreaming, White Wolf Publishing, Earth Down), John Snead(Mindjammer: Traveller, Eclipse Phase, Star Trek Next Generation RPG Last Unicorn Games.), Dan Taylor (IDW Publishing's Star Trek comics), Bill Maxwell (Fading Suns, Star Trek Roleplaying Game, Mage: The Awakening), Tim Beach (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Red Steel, Maztica Campaign Set, Hail the Heroes, Dungeons of Mastery, City of Delights) and Andrew Peregrine (Doctor Who, 7th Sea, Victoriana).

As well as Aaron Pollyea (Battletech), Oz Mills (Fantasy AGE Bestiary, Dragon Age: Faces of Thedas), Ade Smith (Mutants and Masterminds: Atlas of Earth Prime - Northern Europe, Rogue Gallery. Fainting Goat Games: Extreme Earth), Chris Huff (Mutants & Masterminds Freedom's Most Wanted, DC Adventures RPG Heroes & Villains Volume 1, DC Adventures RPG Heroes & Villains Volume 2), John Kennedy (Ninja Crusade 2E, Infinity Tabletop Roleplaying Game, Myth Board Game), Kevin Mickelson (Mask of Death, A Learning Time, A Frightful Time, A Miraculous Time), Ryan Schoon (Fragged Empire, Edara: The Steampunk Renaissance, Baby Bestiary) and Chris Huff (DC Adventures, Mutants & Masterminds, Pathfinder).

The playtest gives fans of the legendary television series and films the opportunity to contribute to the development of the game; to sit in the captain's chair, seek out new life and new civilizations, give all they've got to a warp core breach, or explore their own adventures in the Star Trek universe.

The living campaign begins with playtest missions and will continue with the release of the core rulebook in the summer of 2017. The living campaign takes place in the Shackleton Expanse, an area of space vastly unexplored by both the Federation and the Klingons. Starbase 364, Narendra Station, named after the battle of Narendra III where the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C was destroyed, serves as the keep on the borderlands for excursions out into the frontier of space.


As the crews of the U.S.S. Venture, U.S.S. Bellerophon, U.S.S. Thunderchild, explore strange anomalies and discover new life while uncovering an ancient civilization and mysterious technologies, those aboard the U.S.S. Lexington will shape historical events for those very ships.

Assignments are still open for Captains and Officers to take their place aboard the bridge and make Star Trek gaming history. Further, local game shops organizing an in-store playtest group will receive starbase status with pre-order promotions for the game's retail release. Fans attending Dragonmeet in London on Saturday will have the final chance to receive a free Captain Kirk or Captain Picard figure when they sign up for the Star Trek Adventures playtest.

To register yourself or your group online, visit www.modiphius.com/star-trek.

To register as a retailer, visit http://www.modiphius.com/retail-support.html

Under license by CBS Consumer Products, Star Trek Adventures is slated for a Summer 2017 release and the playtest crews will be listed in the Star Trek Adventures book manifest.

 

[EonTrinity]

I simply can't wait for this RPG.

ET

 

[ddaley]

Never was a big Star Trek (or Star Wars) fan, but, as an RPG, could be interesting.

 

[EonTrinity]

I wish this had kickstarted.... I would be mega in on this...

 

[Leatherhead]

So is this UK only?

 

[Xohar17]

So is this UK only?

Not at all

 

[aramis erak]

I got it to table yesterday...

It works, and it works reasonably well...

In the same way that any of the Cortex Plus games work reasonably well...
... It needs players willing to engage with mechanics on a story-level
... it needs players willing to adhere to the conventions of a setting
... it needs players aware of those same setting conventions

 

[pming]

I'll probably pick up the PDF if/when it's out and give it the once over. But, in all honesty, it's pretty damn well near impossible to beat the old FASA Star Trek!

There was a lot of stuff out for that version, it used d100 (feels like "the" sci-fi die for me), and, most importantly, you got big fold-out sheets with the layout of your Navigation, Weapons, Engineering and Piloting (iirc) that you got to place 'chits' on. When the captain called for more speed, the navigator would have to request "points" from engineering...who may have to shunt power from shields...with the end result being everyone seeing the other players sliding chits up and down their fold-out sheets or placing chits on an "on/off" toggle.

Any 'trek game that actually has the players making the same physical movements as the characters on the show (moving/flipping toggles)...well, as I said...pretty damn well near impossible to beat that kind of feeling! (throw in laying the game room out as a bridge, complete with custom-made flashy Christmas tree lighting boxes to look like 'high tech computer readouts', and that little viewfinder with the blue light in it that Spok always looked into and then said "Fascinating" [the Engineer player made that], and a few toy communicators that made all the cool trek beep, boop and cha-kik-ik-nikk-nikkk...noises...fugettaboutit!).

Yes...amazing campaign that was back in Daves basement (alas, ol' Dave died a decade ago or so...miss that big guy!). Easily one of the most memorable campaigns I've played in (Dave was GM...I got to actually *play* in a campaign!). I don't think the campaign would have been nearly as engaging if the game itself didn't have built-in props. Good times...good times...

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Ive signed up to have a look. Looks interesting.

 

[Chimpy]

I've done the playtest. It seemed pretty good. Extended tasks seemed a bit meta-gamey and I kept forgetting as GM to use my threat, but it felt like quite a solid game.