I’ve got another odd-paring two-book review to blog about for Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition. As mentioned in my review of the Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition Technical Manual and 23rd Century Campaign Guide, sometimes these books get released when I don’t have the spare funds to make the insta-buy. Something I need to have not only as a Trekkie, but as a GM as well for my new Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition campaign starting soon. In the case of the Species Sourcebook, I lucked out just as release day hit. Which was a good thing as I needed to use it for a STA2e entry in the 2026 Character Creation Challenge. But the Exploration Guide I had to get from Ebay when a good price came up. I really wish that more of my local gaming stores would stock these games since I want to buy from them.
When I realized that I would have both books in my physical possession about the same time, I elected to review both in one blog post. As mentioned previously, if you buy a physical book from Modiphius on their website, they send you the PDF immediately. If you buy a deadtree version from another source, you can still send them a photo to Support@Modiphius.com and they will send you the PDF as soon as they have processed the ticket. This is usually done in a couple of business days and is very much appreciated.
As mentioned above, the Exploration Guide was released by Modiphius in 2025. This hardbound book has 144 pages and includes a two sided poster map for the 23rd and 24th century (see photo below). These same maps are on the front and back interior covers. The ISBN number is 9-781802-812749 and the product number is MUH0142514. Inside on the credits you’ll find names such as Nathan Dowdell (system designer), Jim Johnson (Many hats including Project Manager). I’ve noticed that there are more writers and artists in the credits for these books than there was for the STA2e Technical Manual. These writers include Eric Campbell, Marieke Cross, Michael Dismuke, Nathan Dowdell, AJ Fox, Jim Johnson, Aaron M. Pollyea and Al Spader. The cover artist was Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo (who also did the cover for the Technical Manual) with interior art by Erin Arik, Marc Bell, Carlos Cabrera, Andrew Clark, Elena Conte, Albert Cordero, Enoch Driscoll, Aurea Freniere, Toma Fiezo Gas (kewl name BTW), Andrew Jarvis, Vincent Laik, David Metlesits, Wayne Miller, Berenice Buniz, Dat Phan, Paolo Puggoioni, Armin Rangani, Vadim Sadovsky, Nicola Sivani, John Teska, Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo, Angelos Vadeiros and CBS Studios. Someday I hope to see my kid with the art degree from the University of Utah in one of these credits.
The contents of the book include an introduction and five chapters. These includes Supplemental Game Mechanics, Sector Generation, Star and System Generation, Planet Creation and Planetary Biomes. In the back of the book there is both an Index and a List of Tables. There are a lot of tables in this book which makes me happy. We also have flowcharts (with page numbers) that are similar to those in the STA2e Core Rulebook which made it soooooo much easier to read as compared to 1st edition. Proof that Modiphus listens to the fans of the game that provided them with feedback.
The Independent Archeologist and Outpost Scientist (both of which we see a lot in Trek) are two new career paths that are available for characters. I had to giggle at one of the value suggestions for the archeologist that sounds like it could have been said by a man with a fedora and whip. There are also several possible career events and an interesting sidebar on the Officer Exchange program. A handful of new talents are also listed for players to use that fit the theme of this book. But one very interesting addition to the character creation is the Secret. This could be a secret value, trait or talent and would need to be coordinated between GM and player. New awards and honors are also provided for use by the GM. Now exploring is about observing and becoming aware of unknown things. There is an entire sub-chapter about how the different player attributes and departments can be used in spotting or revealing items during play. This is good as I’ve wondered about this in some of my past one-shots. The use of Challenges and Extended Tasks in exploration is also presented.
As noted in past reviews, I love how Star Trek quotes were utilized to give the book some flavor. Well this book also includes quotes from notable scientists. This made me smile. When talking about the various biomes that are present on the different worlds, the writers elected to provide a list of Star Trek episodes that matched those biomes. I will say that I was confused by The City on the Edge of Forever being recommended for the Forest biome or The Crossing for the Water biome. Various story seeds are also provided for each biome which may assist some GMs in planning out their adventures. I wonder what the pilot of the runabout was thinking in that image on page 119?
Currently the latest publication for STA2e is the Species Sourcebook. While the Exploration guide was a book primarily for GMs to create those strange new worlds, this book is the new life and new civilizations that can be used as possible player characters. Sixty new alien templates are made available in this book with entries from The Original Series all the way to Section 31. There are some species that may not be considered to the “good guys” available in this book, but that would help if a player wants a character that may be an exile or a cross-breed.
The ISBN number for this hardback book is 9-781802-812183 with a product number of MUH0142601. Inside there are 133 pages. The introduction is found at the start and the index at the end. And while there is only one chapter, there are a LOT of sidebars for different chapters species and talents (such as shapeshifting, breathing apparatus requirements or something from the IDW Star Trek comics). After all of these are presented, there is a section for GMs on how to create an original species. I can see myself using this for homebrewing from other Trek sources.
The cover for this book was provided by Paolo Puggioni. Some of the additional art credits include the Star Trek Online MMORPG. The talented wordsmiths mentioned above are all present in this publication. When I showed this book to my daughter with the art degree, she pointed out how much she loved the artwork for the Deltan (how the dress flowed over the character) and the Risian (the shading in the clothing that covered the figure and how it made the character stand out without the use of heavy lines.) She spent some time talking with me about the different styles in the book and what worked for her and what didn’t. I really wish I had been smart enough to write it all down or record it.
For those who are curious, you’ll find the following species available in this book. Androids, Aurelians, Barzans, Benzites, Betelgeusians, Bolians, Breens, Brikars, Bynars, Caitians, Cetaceans, Chameloids, Changelings, Children of Tama, Deltans, Edosians, Efrosians, El-Aurians, Exocomps, Grazerites, Holograms, Hortas, Human Augments, Illyrians, Jem’Hadars, Kelleruns, Kelpiens, Klingon QuchHa’s, Klowahkans, Ktarians, Kwejianis, Kzintis (I’m so glad these got expanded from more than the singled TAS appearance), Lanthanites, Liberated Borgs, Lurians, Medusans, Nanokins, Nausiccans, Ocampans, Blue Orions (Or-E-Ons), Osnullus, Pakleds, Remans, Rigellian Chelons, Rigellian Jelnas, Risians, Saurians, Son’as, Talaxians, Terrans, Vau N’Akats, Vortas, Xaheans, the different Xindi races (Aquatic, Arboreal, Insectoid, Primate and Reptilian) Yridians, and Zakdorns. Some of these had been presented in 1st edition books, but hadn’t been converted to 2nd edition until now. Each entry has two pages worth of material.
Don’t take the lack of photos or description on the Species Sourcebook to mean that I loved it any less than the Exploration Guide. Both books filled different niches within the Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition RPG system and were very well thought out. Recently I was able to convince another GM into running 2nd edition as compared to 1st by my past reviews. If anyone is considering running or playing STA2e, I can’t recommend these enough.
I’m already trying to save my Quatloos for the next book. Jim Johnson has been giving hints about it on the Modiphius discord server. So far, my money is on a book based on the medical aspects we’ve seen in the different Star Trek shows. Is my guess the right one? I hope we will find out soon.
And one last thing before I wrap this up. Modiphius has a system set up to report typos in the various books. I found one in the STA2e core rulebook that I submitted to them. And they recently released the latest errata that contained my corrections. I was tickled to see that.
Did you have any questions about the Exploration Guide or the Species Sourcebook for Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition? Ask me about it. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.
