Experience with Decipher's Star Trek RPG

Erekose · Jan 20, 2009

I used to play the FASA Star Trek RPG and so was intrigued by the Decipher system. However, I bought the Player's Guide and the Narrator's Guide and then was distracted by 3.5E D&D.

Now I've just bought the Aliens, Starships and StarFleet Operations books on eBay for a bargain price and I'm thinkig of giving the system a go!

So I'd be grateful for hearing about anyones previous experience plus and idea where any errat might be found

Cheers!

Ghostwind · Jan 20, 2009

Head over to TrekRPGNet Forums - Powered by vBulletin and you'll find a ton of helpful information and suggestions.

The Green Adam · Jan 21, 2009

Probably not what you want to hear...

But my recommendation is to use the books you purchasd as source material and get a copy of the far superior Star Trek RPG by Last Unicorn Games. Better rules, more options and more online support (including the aforementioned Trek-RPG.net and its affiliates).

I've played more Star Trek campaigns then any other kind of RPG in my 30+ years of gaming and without a doubt LUG's ICON System game is my favorite incarnation.

Live Long and Prosper,
AD

Erekose · Jan 21, 2009

Ghostwind said:
Head over to TrekRPGNet Forums - Powered by vBulletin and you'll find a ton of helpful information and suggestions.

Thanks - looks like an ideal site!

The Green Adam said:
But my recommendation is to use the books you purchasd as source material and get a copy of the far superior Star Trek RPG by Last Unicorn Games. Better rules, more options and more online support (including the aforementioned Trek-RPG.net and its affiliates).

I've played more Star Trek campaigns then any other kind of RPG in my 30+ years of gaming and without a doubt LUG's ICON System game is my favorite incarnation.

Live Long and Prosper,
AD

I prefer the FASA system myself . . . but want to give the Decipher system a whirl - do you have any specific issues that you think I should look out for in play?

The Green Adam · Jan 21, 2009

Erekose said:
Thanks - looks like an ideal site!

I prefer the FASA system myself . . . but want to give the Decipher system a whirl - do you have any specific issues that you think I should look out for in play?

I too love the FASA system, it being the first RPG I ever purchased with my own money and the first at my FLGS some 25 years ago. At the same time, the LUG version still tops it in my book.

Things to watch out for when using Decipher...

Decipher Trek has a very D&D 3e feel and as such, certain character concepts are tricky. Also, the game has something like feats that, as they start to pile on, create a need to look back at the book or a reference sheet again and again to remember what they do. IMO, this is Decipher Trek's biggest flaw; some of the rule mechanics are just too close to the surface and as such slow the game down and weaken the cinematic feel of a good Star Trek adventure.

AD

Erekose · Jan 22, 2009

The Green Adam said:
I too love the FASA system, it being the first RPG I ever purchased with my own money and the first at my FLGS some 25 years ago. At the same time, the LUG version still tops it in my book.

Things to watch out for when using Decipher...

Decipher Trek has a very D&D 3e feel and as such, certain character concepts are tricky. Also, the game has something like feats that, as they start to pile on, create a need to look back at the book or a reference sheet again and again to remember what they do. IMO, this is Decipher Trek's biggest flaw; some of the rule mechanics are just too close to the surface and as such slow the game down and weaken the cinematic feel of a good Star Trek adventure.

AD

Thanks - the Decipher Coda system does read very similar to 3E. I think the reasons why I like the FASA system are partly nostalgia and partly that I like the fact that it allows you to start with a command crew of different ranking officers (using a systeam that reminds me of Traveller). This is quite different from coda/3E as there's no real attempt at balance (although department heads aren't radically less "powerful" than the captain) - it's a great example of how the command team are a group of experts very similar to the TV series. The only downside to the FASA system was the starship combat which was an OK game in itself but didn't naturally fit with the rest of the game.

Jeux Fictifs · Apr 21, 2017

I started playing the old Star Trek edited by Fasa, then playing with the Star Trek edited by the Last Unicorn and now I play Decipher's Star Trek.
I am nostalgic for that of Fasa, which generates for the character a chronology of his studies and his years of service. Then the battle of the spacecraft was like a war game.
But I liked the one of the "Next Generation", finished with the percentage dice, playing with simple cubic dice. Creating characters that works by assembling skill groups.
In Decipher, you choose your race (species) and your class (profession), you will have full powers and maybe even an elite class. Everything looks like an old D & D. The procedure of creation is not simple, in addition, the player seeks to combine the advantages to have the most bonuses. Without the die 20 but with 2d6 which raises on a 6. but why not have taken 3d6 (3 to 18).

If I had the time, I would take the pleasing aspects of each of its editions to rewrite them in a new edition.

aramis erak · Apr 21, 2017

Jeux Fictifs said:
I started playing the old Star Trek edited by Fasa, then playing with the Star Trek edited by the Last Unicorn and now I play Decipher's Star Trek.
I am nostalgic for that of Fasa, which generates for the character a chronology of his studies and his years of service. Then the battle of the spacecraft was like a war game.
But I liked the one of the "Next Generation", finished with the percentage dice, playing with simple cubic dice. Creating characters that works by assembling skill groups.
In Decipher, you choose your race (species) and your class (profession), you will have full powers and maybe even an elite class. Everything looks like an old D & D. The procedure of creation is not simple, in addition, the player seeks to combine the advantages to have the most bonuses. Without the die 20 but with 2d6 which raises on a 6. but why not have taken 3d6 (3 to 18).

If I had the time, I would take the pleasing aspects of each of its editions to rewrite them in a new edition.

FASA was the only one that used d% of the licensed games. There was a TNG supplement (It cost them their license, tho').
Prime Directive 1E used d6 dice pools, 6's open end (for 5+1d6, recursive)
LUG used d6 dice pools, keep highest die; doubles/triples add 1 to their match (So, 4,4,4,4,6 is 7 (4+1+1+1)
Decipher used 2d6 open ending on nat 12.

Jeux Fictifs · Apr 21, 2017

Thank you Aramis erak, for adding details on the use of the dice for each of his editions of the Star Trek role-playing game.
But what is the best for you to play?

Jeux Fictifs · Apr 22, 2017

In Decipher's Star Trek role-playing game.
In the creation of the character

What you think to be able to take two personal developments.
For a greater variety ... Example: his parents are from StarFleet and are based on a Border Astrobase.

Having two groups of choices for his past, would offer him pls great diversity. In order to avoid an imbalance, the player will have to make the same choices as if he had a single group but with two he will have a greater choice. In addition, a richer history.

Of course, some player might take two childhoods may be compatible as starfleet parents and a childhood among the smugglers.

Experience with Decipher's Star Trek RPG

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