Star Trek RPGs

[wingsandsword]

LUGTrek was definitely the best Star Trek RPG ever made (FASATrek, Prime Directive, LUGTrek, Decipher Trek)

I've seen d20 versions made with d20 Future rules, which were okay, but of published ones, definitely LUGTrek, and while it's out of print, it's not too hard to find at least some of the core books (like the DS9 or TNG core books).

 

[Captain Tagon]

I have both LUGTrek and the new version of GURPS Prime Directive. I need to go read them both again soon to remember what I thought of them.

 

[Ranger REG]

The Icon System used for LUGTrek is the only d6-based rulesystem I can tolerate more than WEG's d6 System.

 

[Stormborn]

So does this exclude Prime Directive, which is made for both GURPS and d20?

System doesn't matter, as long as its a RPG not a wargame. Having said that, am i correct in thinking that Prime Directive is more about combat oriented away missions than the full range of star ship activities?

 

[Henry]

I played once in a Star Trek game using a heavily modified d20 Star Wars system. Looked pretty good, too, but the designer (one of the gamers in our group) didn't take it very far.

 

[Ilium]

System doesn't matter, as long as its a RPG not a wargame. Having said that, am i correct in thinking that Prime Directive is more about combat oriented away missions than the full range of star ship activities?

It is (or at least the first edition was) primarily aimed at away teams. Basically that allowed for a wider variety of PC-type activities than being the command crew of a ship. You could do straight-up fights, espionage, infiltration, diplomacy, exploration, etc. etc. without having to say, "OK, but why did we leave the multi-billion dollar ship in the care of nameless junior officers while the captain goes planetside to get shot at."

But there's no reason you couldn't play command officers if you wanted to.

 

[Wombat]

I played and enjoyed both the FASA and Decipher versions; I do not care for the Prime Directive/Starfleet Battles side of things, as they are too militaristic, therefore undercutting many core ideas from the shows. LUG was okay, but I found the 1-6 scale incredibly limited, not allowing nearly enough range in characteristics or skills.

 

[Captain Tagon]

I played and enjoyed both the FASA and Decipher versions; I do not care for the Prime Directive/Starfleet Battles side of things, as they are too militaristic, therefore undercutting many core ideas from the shows. LUG was okay, but I found the 1-6 scale incredibly limited, not allowing nearly enough range in characteristics or skills.

Prime Directive fit in perfectly with the feel of its source material which was the Original Series and the Animated series. Both had a very "cold war" type feel to them.

 

[Michael Tree]

True20 would be a perfect fit, IMO.

All the characters could be easily classified as either Warriors or Experts. Those with powers generally only have one or two, and gain them from their race/background.

Level-based combat fits the ST genre well; why does Picard, an older man with little or no hand to hand combat experience manage to defeat a seasoned Klingon warrior? Because he's high level.

The skill challenges system easily represents all the fancy skill tricks that characters have to pull off. And there are numerous feats that allow characters to not only be good at combat or skills, but inspire their crew, be better at social interaction, and try fun new tricks.

 

[Ranger REG]

I played and enjoyed both the FASA and Decipher versions; I do not care for the Prime Directive/Starfleet Battles side of things, as they are too militaristic, therefore undercutting many core ideas from the shows.

Because SFB/PD wasn't meant to be the Paramount version of Trek. It was derived from Joseph Franz Star Trek Technical Manual and their own alternate timeline spin (or parallel reality).

IIRC, FASA had a very militaristic overtone for their TrekRPG. If they hadn't made the mistake of publishing the TNG First-Year Sourcebook without Paramount's permission, they wouldn't have lost the license.

LUG was okay, but I found the 1-6 scale incredibly limited, not allowing nearly enough range in characteristics or skills.

Perhaps, but because it is set up so we're very proficient with our skills, we can focus more on the story/adventure and having a good time than worry about reaching a new skill rank. And the reward benefits are more role-playing than mechanical (or metagaming).

P.S. When LUG was acquired by WotC in 2000, Ryan Dancey sent out an email suggesting what TrekRPG d20 might be. I still kept the initial brainstorming proposals on file.