Sell me a Star Trek rpg
- Thread starter Korgoth
- Start date
The Green Adam
First Post
There are always possibilities...
If there is any one subject I have gamed more then any other, it is Star Trek. I've run a least one game using every edition and version of the subject put to rules and I have learned a great many things. Please keep in mind this subject is near and dear to me so I may rant a wee bit. You have been warned.
GURPS is way too complex a system for the fast paced, cinematic feel of the television shows and movies. While the point based system allows for many interesting options, it just doesn't lend itself to a game with a Star Trek feel. Likewise D20 does little to give you the impression it was made for Trek, since it wasn't. Also, D20 Race/Class systems, even those of a SAGA/D20 Modern ilk, don't seem to allow for easy adaption to the possibilities inherent in the Star Trek universe.
The Decipher Star Trek game sadly feels very D20ish to me, with 'feat-like' abilities and trying to shoehorn Trek character types into class-like professions that don't easily translate older characters or those who have transfered to Starfleet from some other field or vice-versa. In addition, the CODA system always screamed, "We made this because we couldn't use Last Unicorn's ICON system. Isn't it similar?" Yes, it's similar. That's doesn't mean it works quite as well.
The ICON system version by Last Unicorn Games is perhaps the best merger of detail and flexibility I have ever seen for Star Trek gaming. It was well supported by people who were real Star trek fans and is currently kept alive on the internet by some very talented and creative people. I have the pleasure of playtesting the game and working with several true kings of the industry on one of the sourcebooks. I never had so much fun and I got paid to create Star Trek characters. Nirvana. I have run about a half dozen campaigns with this system and it is capable of handling any era, level of advancement and style of play from Starfleet to civilian.
The FASA system is a bit dated, a bit limited and totally, classically awesome. I grew up on that game as much as I grew up on Star Trek itself. I still play it occaisionally out of a love of nostalgia. It was the first game I bought with my own money and still a fan favorite of mine.
If you need any resources or have any questions please let me know. Good luck and godspeed!
AD
If there is any one subject I have gamed more then any other, it is Star Trek. I've run a least one game using every edition and version of the subject put to rules and I have learned a great many things. Please keep in mind this subject is near and dear to me so I may rant a wee bit. You have been warned.
GURPS is way too complex a system for the fast paced, cinematic feel of the television shows and movies. While the point based system allows for many interesting options, it just doesn't lend itself to a game with a Star Trek feel. Likewise D20 does little to give you the impression it was made for Trek, since it wasn't. Also, D20 Race/Class systems, even those of a SAGA/D20 Modern ilk, don't seem to allow for easy adaption to the possibilities inherent in the Star Trek universe.
The Decipher Star Trek game sadly feels very D20ish to me, with 'feat-like' abilities and trying to shoehorn Trek character types into class-like professions that don't easily translate older characters or those who have transfered to Starfleet from some other field or vice-versa. In addition, the CODA system always screamed, "We made this because we couldn't use Last Unicorn's ICON system. Isn't it similar?" Yes, it's similar. That's doesn't mean it works quite as well.
The ICON system version by Last Unicorn Games is perhaps the best merger of detail and flexibility I have ever seen for Star Trek gaming. It was well supported by people who were real Star trek fans and is currently kept alive on the internet by some very talented and creative people. I have the pleasure of playtesting the game and working with several true kings of the industry on one of the sourcebooks. I never had so much fun and I got paid to create Star Trek characters. Nirvana. I have run about a half dozen campaigns with this system and it is capable of handling any era, level of advancement and style of play from Starfleet to civilian.
The FASA system is a bit dated, a bit limited and totally, classically awesome. I grew up on that game as much as I grew up on Star Trek itself. I still play it occaisionally out of a love of nostalgia. It was the first game I bought with my own money and still a fan favorite of mine.
If you need any resources or have any questions please let me know. Good luck and godspeed!
AD
The Green Adam said:If there is any one subject I have gamed more then any other, it is Star Trek. I've run a least one game using every edition and version of the subject put to rules and I have learned a great many things. Please keep in mind this subject is near and dear to me so I may rant a wee bit. You have been warned.
GURPS is way too complex a system for the fast paced, cinematic feel of the television shows and movies. While the point based system allows for many interesting options, it just doesn't lend itself to a game with a Star Trek feel. Likewise D20 does little to give you the impression it was made for Trek, since it wasn't. Also, D20 Race/Class systems, even those of a SAGA/D20 Modern ilk, don't seem to allow for easy adaption to the possibilities inherent in the Star Trek universe.
The Decipher Star Trek game sadly feels very D20ish to me, with 'feat-like' abilities and trying to shoehorn Trek character types into class-like professions that don't easily translate older characters or those who have transfered to Starfleet from some other field or vice-versa. In addition, the CODA system always screamed, "We made this because we couldn't use Last Unicorn's ICON system. Isn't it similar?" Yes, it's similar. That's doesn't mean it works quite as well.
The ICON system version by Last Unicorn Games is perhaps the best merger of detail and flexibility I have ever seen for Star Trek gaming. It was well supported by people who were real Star trek fans and is currently kept alive on the internet by some very talented and creative people. I have the pleasure of playtesting the game and working with several true kings of the industry on one of the sourcebooks. I never had so much fun and I got paid to create Star Trek characters. Nirvana. I have run about a half dozen campaigns with this system and it is capable of handling any era, level of advancement and style of play from Starfleet to civilian.
The FASA system is a bit dated, a bit limited and totally, classically awesome. I grew up on that game as much as I grew up on Star Trek itself. I still play it occaisionally out of a love of nostalgia. It was the first game I bought with my own money and still a fan favorite of mine.
If you need any resources or have any questions please let me know. Good luck and godspeed!
AD
Thanks. I actually tracked down and ordered a copy of the LUG Trek TOS rulebook. I kind of like that it's basically a one book game; that limits my tendency to want to buy all the stuff for it! I also found the fan-created expanded starship material that I can incorporate into it.
I'd like to get the FASA game eventually, too. It also sounds quite good.
Do you (or does anybody) know of any particularly good Trek rpg sites, especially as oriented to these two systems?
Ghostwind
First Post
I have LUG's version of Deep Space Nine. It has a lot of good source material. I can't really speak to the rules since I didn't read them. DS9 is my favorite of the Treks, so I keep it for the very unlikely event that I run a Savage Worlds conversion of it.
I had another Narrator's Guide, but it did less for me. It was too broad and general. Maybe it was TNG era. I can't remember who published that one.
I also tried to get excited about Prime Directive d20. I even went out and bought Prime Directive before the d20 version was released. But, it just didn't do it for me.
I think what entices me about the DS9 era is the diversity of options available for the characters and the story. Like the characters on the show, those in the game don't have to be on the same side or even really get along all that well.
My suggestion for your game is to pick a system you like and that works for you. Then get some minis. Those really set a tone. Then just unfold the story.
I had another Narrator's Guide, but it did less for me. It was too broad and general. Maybe it was TNG era. I can't remember who published that one.
I also tried to get excited about Prime Directive d20. I even went out and bought Prime Directive before the d20 version was released. But, it just didn't do it for me.
I think what entices me about the DS9 era is the diversity of options available for the characters and the story. Like the characters on the show, those in the game don't have to be on the same side or even really get along all that well.
My suggestion for your game is to pick a system you like and that works for you. Then get some minis. Those really set a tone. Then just unfold the story.
Just for the record, Prime Directive was made for several systems: GURPS, D20, D6 and the original system.
http://www.starfleetgames.com/pdindex.shtml
http://www.starfleetgames.com/pdindex.shtml
Ranger REG
Explorer
If you like the SFB/PD Universe, you can play as is or with little tweaks.Dannyalcatraz said:
ALTERNATIVELY, you can use the PD d20 to salvage usable game mechanics to make a decent Roddenberry/Paramount version of d20 Trek.
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