Between a lot of real-world issues, and a lack of funds, I’m finally able to catch up on reviewing two books that have been released for the Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition Roleplaying Game. As you can see from the photo above, these are the STA2e Technical Manual and STA2e 23rd Century Campaign Guide. Previously I had reviewed the STA2e Core Rulebook and the STA2e Game Toolkit. I also sang the praise of Modiphius for providing the 1.0 to 2.0 adaption documents for their previous publications (of which more have been released since that blog post).
Let me get this out of the way now. The excellent work done by the crew at Modiphius, from the writing to the art, has continued. Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition has been a vast improvement from the 1st edition and so far every new book I’ve wanted to buy (damn you lack of funds). Every new release of the 1.0 to 2.0 adaptions have been downloaded and reviewed instantly.
For those of you who have been regular readers of my blog, I love the various Star Trek Technical Manuals that have come out. I’ve even been called a Treknologist. So when I heard in 2025 that Modiphius was releasing their own Technical Manual for the Star Trek Adventures 2e game, I cried. Not because I was happy, but because at the time I had no money to get it. Eventually I was able to free up some funds to order it from the Modiphius website. I’ve tried to get my local gaming stores to bring in the game, but for some reason they could only get limited items. They were finally able to get me a copy of the Technical Manual for which I was very grateful. If you are not aware, if you purchase a Modiphius product, you can contact them at the email Support@Modiphius.com with a photo of the book and they will send you the PDF. Even if you buy the book used. I was able to do this when I had picked up the John Carter of Mars RPG.
The Technical Manual is a hardbound book with 129 pages and has (thank you) a ribbon book mark for when I’m doing research. I’ve found that a simple thing like the ribbon book mark really improves the book itself. The 2nd edition books have been much, much easier to quickly find answers in, but the ribbon helps. The product number is MUH0142513 and the ISBN number is 9-781802-811933. The project manager is Jim Johnson, the writers are Michael Dismuke, Nathan Dowdell, Jim Johnson, Aaron M. Pollyea, Al Spader and Dayton Ward. Hey, I know that last guy. The cover artist is Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo (OK, why does that sound like a name you’d see at the top of a character sheet?) with a bunch of artists for the interior art. All the art is in color and I’m still of the opinion that Modiphius should release an Art of Star Trek Adventures book for the 10th Anniversary of the game coming up in 2027.
As you can see from the photos above, the inside front covers have a ton of graphical information that add to the book. As for what is on the inside, the book is broken down into eight chapters. Supplemental Game Mechanics, Standard Equipment, Diplomatic Assets, Scientific Equipment, Medical Technology, Engineering Technology, Weapons and Tactical Gear and finally Starship Technologies.
For the new submissions for the game mechanics, there are some new career events that are all technological in nature. Several new talents for the different departments and equipment styles (cybernetics, etc.). For the designers of Starships in STA2e there are several new service records and talents that you can apply to the different classes. There is also a new weapon type for mines (the exploding kind, not the digging a tunnel kind). Do you want different types of propulsion? Not only does this book have them from the different shows, but it appears that some are from Star Trek Online (I haven’t played that in years so I couldn’t confirm).
Your standard equipment covers holograms, PADDs, communicators, replicators, uniforms and 32nd century common items (programmable matter, tricom badges, etc.). Not only are these broken down by the major powers, but there are also complications that can affect these equipment items. I think is to make the players lives interesting if they keep depending upon one piece of equipment like The Doctor would always depend upon his sonic screwdriver. So the writers would take it away from him in order to move the story along or challenge the character.
In chapter three there is discussion with the diplomatic assets. Communicating between different languages and how universal translators may (or may not) help. Chapter four talks about the scientific equipment that may be used in the game. From the very common like chronometers to tricorders to sensors. What do the non-Federation scientists use? In our medical device chapter it not only talks about the equipment, but the treatments and enhancements that may be encountered in a Star Trek story. What are some ways a transporter, genetic engineering or cybernetics could be used to resolve medical issues? This book covers it.
It can’t be a technical manual without talking about engineering technology. What do the different diagnostic levels mean? What are the steps in the transporter operation? What are the different tools that can be found in an engineer’s toolkit? While engineering items can create, weapons can destroy which is what is found in chapter 7. The different melee weapons from different cultures. Different types of phasers, plasma pistols, distruptors, and tetryon rifles. I know that in Beta cannon, there were stun only weapons, but I didn’t see those here. I wonder if that ever came up on the show itself? It probably wouldn’t be that difficult to homebrew with this book.
Starship fans will love chapter 8. All of the different pieces of equipment found under (or on) the hull are listed here as well as possible complications (as found throughout the book).
Conclusion: As per usual, this book could have been bigger considering all of the equipment that we’ve seen in the show. I didn’t envy the editors tasks of making it all fit between the covers. I think the Technical Manual does a good job of giving us the basics, which will allow a good game master to homebrew what they need for their table. The use of Star Trek quotes was recognized and appreciated. There is an index in the back for quick lookup.
The second book that I’m including in this blog post is the 23rd Century Campaign Guide. I already used the 23CCG (as I had to start calling it) when I made a merchant trader STA2e character for the 2026 Character Creation Challenge. This book was a gift from one of my kids who ordered it from the Modiphius website and shipped directly to me. It was very well protected when it had arrived.
This is another hardbound book that was released in late 2025 by the same gang that I had listed above. However the cover to this book is very different as compared to the earlier STA2e products. Instead of being just a painting of the characters that talk to you in the different STA2e publications, it shows the characters that we’ve known and loved from the 23rd century. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Pike, Burnham and Saru. I thought it was an interesting, and logical, change. Oh, and thank you again for the bookmark ribbon. It has been very handy.
So we have seven chapters in the 23CCG. Supplemental Game Mechanics, Growth of the Federation (2200-2255), War and the Red Angel Crisis (2256-2258), Federation and Empire (2259-2269), Conspiracies and the Thaw (2270-2299), Playing in the 23rd Century and finally Gamemastering in the 23rd Century. I like how they broke down some of the details by different eras in the 23rd century.
Of course, the front and back inside covers are filled with information. You can see the different uniforms presented in the photo above. I didn’t get a photo of the back inside cover, but it has different timelines within the 23rd century. Not just of the prime universe, but of the mirror and Kelvin timelines as well. I think this is the first time I’ve seen any Kelvin information in a STA2e book (or any come to think of it).
For the character creation additions to the game, there are new environment options. This gives a breakdown of some of the major homeworlds (Andoria, Denobula, etc.) and what benefits the character would receive from their time on that planet. This opens up the possibilities for homebrewers to write up different options for different locales. And on page 9 is a quick guideline for gamemasters to do such a thing. Then there is the new Free Trader career path option that I had used last month in the Character Creation Challenge. As I mentioned there, I think this write up for a merchant type character was better than the options listed in the core rulebook. But both could be used if needed. Then there are new Career Events based upon historical moments in the 23rd century like the Tarsus IV Massacre, or the Whale Probe Crisis. There are quick guidelines for homebrewing these as well which has lead to a bunch of fan submissions on the STA Continuing Missions website. Then there are some optional rules that are presented for the GM to consider. These appear to be updates to some of the conflict rules that was presented in the first edition Klingon-Federation War campaign guide.
The three chapters dealing with the different eras within the 23rd century are all broken down into three sub-sections. State of the Galaxy, Technology and Politics. These are all viewed with the eyes of the different powers at that time. There are some interesting side-bars that gamemasters could find interesting such as how to use Command Codes.
Playing in the 23rd Century is the sixth chapter in the book. It also breaks down information by the four eras mentioned above and provides some additional roles. There was a very good side note about “player knowledge vs character knowledge” that I appreciated and would probably bring up at the start of an STA campaign. I also had to giggle at the section about the USS Enterprise being the “only ship in the quadrant”. Primarily because it made sense (and is being adopted into my own personal headcannon). Another good side note is the examples we have in the show of multiple roles such as Spock being both XO and science officer.
Like chapter six, the gamemastering chapter is also broken down by the four eras. The book talks about themes, tones, styles of play and campaign structures. It gives different suggestions for each item and how gamemasters may be able to integrate them into their campaigns. And at the end is another index for quick searches and more Star Trek quotes scattered throughout the book.
Conclusion: I’m also happy to have this the 23rd Century Campaign Guide in my collection. I’m really hoping that this will lead to campaign guides for other eras. I can see the 24th century as a sure bet, but I really hope we see one for the 22nd century as well (possible lack of details may hinder this one). I don’t think we’d see a 32nd century guide until well after the TV series set in that era have ended. I’m still seeing some of the FASA Star Trek RPG influences in the book and I’m still pleasantly surprised that there was some Kelvin timeline information. Even if it was mostly a footnote.
One additional note before I wrap this up. There are two other Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition books that have been released, but not yet shipped yet. The Exploration Guide and the Species Sourcebook (which isn’t even available on DriveThruRPG yet but can be pre-ordered from the Modiphus website closest to you). When this second book was announced, I had just enough money to pick up one of them. While I really want to see the rules for creating sectors and planets in the Exploration Guide, I had to pull the trigger on the Species Sourcebook. It already came in handy in the Character Creation Challenge. Hopefully I’ll have both books physically when it’s time do write up some additional reviews.
Did you have any questions about the 23rd Century Campaign Guide or the Technical Manual 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.