TardisCaptain's Blog of Holding
Random musings from a Geek Dad
Star Trek Adventures- USS Magnanimous episode two play report
Wait, Carl, I don’t see the play report for episode one of the USS Magnanimous STA game that you ran. Did I miss it?
Nope, you didn’t miss it. The reason I haven’t posted it yet is because it is the same adventure that I’ll be running at the upcoming SaltCON End-of-Summer event. I know some of the SaltCON attendees read my blog, so I’ll have to post that later.
Today’s episode- The Taylor Incident
Day 31 Prompt: Edge
Week 6 Prompt: Ability
Weekday Prompt: Fair of Face
And we have reached the final day of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge with the prompts Edge, Ability and Fair of Face. While these are very common terms used in roleplaying games, how do I make this article unique?
I’m seeing a lot of posts about the characters having an edge. Or what’s beyond the edge of the map. These are tempting topics of discussion. And I have enjoyed reading a few of them. But there is one group that I believe has an edge when it comes to roleplaying games.
The Gamemaster themselves. Sometimes called Dungeon Masters, Referees, Game Operation Directors (GOD) and a host of other names. But the position is the same. Set up the outlines of the story for the shared storytelling experience, run the non-player characters, and keep the flow of the game moving at a reasonable pace.
Each gamemaster is unique. They all run their tables in their own way. Some use a GMs screen; others prefer an open table. Do they run theater of the mind, or are there maps and figures? Is gaming limited to just at the table, or do they provide opportunities between sessions? How do they handle house rules (agreed upon rules that tweak the system) and table ruling (temporary decisions made to keep the game moving that can be revisited later)?
Where their edge comes from is the ability to alter the game on the fly. As mentioned before, this is a joint storytelling experience. Even as a GM I’ve had my players bring something up that made me think “yeah, that’s better than what I had planned” and I went with it.
In my Star Trek Adventures campaign that I’m currently running, I sent emails to the players with different nuggets of information that their characters would know. Because I didn’t want to make it blatantly obvious “here is your bad guy/McGuffin/clue” I had other nuggets of information seeded into the emails to give it flavoring. Well, one of the players took one of these seasoned nuggets and pushed a theory into the scenario. Suddenly, the pirates who were only going to be seen in a brief appearance became the bad guys who they fought at the end of the night.
Unless my players are reading this blog post now, they never knew that there was a slightly different ending to the episode. I used this ability to give the edge to make my game enjoyable. I always ask for feedback at the end of each game session, and the players told me they all had a good time. So, I’m believing that I used my GM powers wisely.
Gamemasters, you have the edge to make your games enjoyable. Have some flexibility in your games. Use the ability to think on your feet. Be prepared for the players to come up with solutions that you hadn’t thought of. Use the ‘rule-of-cool’ when your players brainstorm. This allows you to be surprised as well. And not knowing how it’s going to end is what makes it unique for everyone.
What abilities do you think give a GM an edge, and what’s the best unexpected idea your players ever came up with? Tell 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 or click on my social media links with any comments.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account and the @STrekQuotes Bluesky account for the week of August 24th through August 30th. Note: Because Twitter/X will use posts to train AI, we will no longer be posting on that platform. This is out of respect for the owners of Star Trek.
August 24:
Happy Birthday to Jennifer Lien. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Jennifer_Lien #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #Quote
“But isn’t that why we have minds—to look beyond biological urges, to consider their consequences?” Kes- Elogium, Stardate: 48921.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #Quote
Happy Birthday to Melissa Navia. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Melissa_Navia #StarTrek #StarTrekSNW #IDIC #Quote
“Are you kidding? This is your idea of a practical joke?” Uhura “Kind of.” Ortegas “I’m going back to change.” Uhura “You do not want to be late to the captain’s table. Relax, Cadet. It’s tradition.” Ortegas- Children of the Comet, Stardate: 2912.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekSNW #IDIC #Quote
August 25:
“Genuine research takes time. Sometimes a lifetime of painstaking, detailed work in order to get any results.” Dr. Crusher- Ethics, Stardate: 45587.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
August 26:
Happy Birthday to Chris Pine. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Chris_Pine #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote
“Are you feeling homicidal, power-mad, or despotic?” Dr. McCoy “No more than usual.” Kirk- Star Trek Into Darkness, Stardate: 2259.55 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote
August 27:
“We’re explorers. Where’s your spirit of adventure?” Tucker- Dead Stop, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #Quote
August 28:
“If you’re going to judge me, judge me for what I am now.” Sito- Lower Decks, Stardate: 47566.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
August 29:
“You must know what you’re doing. You always do. If I’m to be the woman of a Caesar, can’t I know what you’re up to?” Mirror Moreau- Mirror, Mirror, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #Quote
August 30:
“I want the Federation back. I want to sell root beer again!” Quark- Behind the Lines, Stardate: 51145.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #Quote
What are your favorite daily Star Trek quotes selected for this week? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
Day 27 Prompt: Hunger
Week 5 Prompt: Emotion
Weekday Prompt: Far to Go
The prompt of “Hunger” is what we’ve been given for Day 27 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge. And I had to wonder how I was going to connect a generic term to a positive post about roleplaying. Then it dawned on me, when you are hungry, you eat. And while eating is a natural biological function, it is also a social opportunity. Every year my Star Trek fan club host the Admiral’s Banquet to celebrate the club’s anniversary and to highlight the member achievements. It’s now a tradition to get together and break bread with members of our Star Trek family.
We’ve seen similar traditions in the show. So today I’d like to talk about some of the traditions seen on the show and how they can be implemented in your Star Trek Adventures campaign. Some of these are food related, some are not. This gives the gamemaster the options to introduce some role-playing opportunities at the table.
The first tradition that came to mind when I saw the prompt hunger is from The Next Generation second season episode “A Matter of Honor”. Commander Riker is transferring to the Klingon Defense Force vessel IKV Pagh as part of an exchange program. He will be serving as the vessel’s executive officer. He participates in the practice of the feast before the transfer to try some Klingon dishes.
If an officer is transferring to a planetary assignment, they could use this feast to learn about the local dishes. I could see an eager young ensign using this feast to learn about the traditional dishes from the home region of his new commanding officer. Confirming what those dishes are (or the favorite dishes) could lead into a B-plot similar to Ensign Sato being assigned to find out what Lt. Reed’s favorite food is in the Enterprise first season episode “Silent Enemy”.
We saw even more food-based rituals when we saw Cadet Uhura attending her first meal at the Captain’s Table in the first season Strange New Worlds episode “Children of the Comet”. Welcoming banquets have been seen in “Journey to Babel” (TOS season 2), “Sins of the Father” (TNG season 3) and more.
Now not all of these traditions require physical sustenance. In the first season Strange New Worlds episode “Spock Amok” we learn about Enterprise Bingo. A list of challenges that lower ranking crewmembers try to accomplish without their superiors catching them in the act. It is very possible that each Starfleet vessel has its own bingo traditions. While there is a list of the Enterprise entries in the link above, here are some possible suggestions for a bingo list.
There is a current naval tradition called “Crossing the Line.” Sailors who travel over the equator transform from Pollywogs to Shellbacks in a ceremony held on the ship. A Shellback is someone who has been accepted by King Neptune. Well, there isn’t really an equator in space, but there is the border between the Alpha and Beta quadrants. This could be called “Crossing the Divide” with an initiation process that marks the crewmembers as “Wayfarers.”
And sometimes new traditions starts on a lone vessel. This could spread to other vessels with transfers and interactions with fellow Starfleet ships. In the Deep Space Nine sixth season episode “Behind the Lines”, there was a crew practice held at the end of a successful mission with the used power cells from the phaser array. Rather than recycling them immediately, the spent power cells became visible reminders of what the crew had endured together.
In your Star Trek Adventures game, look for opportunities for the players to create their own traditions like this for their characters. After each successful cargo haul, the crew has to drink a certain brand of Saurian brandy. What happens if they are getting low on that brand? For each new first-contact, how would the crew want to mark the occasion? The options are endless.
So, are your players hungry for something that makes your sessions actual Star Trek episodes with an “A” plot and a “B” plot? See what traditions you can shuffle into the adventure.
What traditions would you have on your Starfleet vessel? Tell 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 or click on my social media links with any comments.
Day 24 Prompt: Distance
Week 5 Prompt: Emotion
Weekday Prompt: Fair of Face
We have a new weekly prompt of “Emotion”, and we’ve cycled back to the weekday prompt of “Fair of Face”. The Day 24 prompt for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge is Distance. So, what am I going to do with this one? I’m going to lay down some common sense.
When characters need to get somewhere, then remember this simple rule. The game should move at the speed of plot. Think about it. When John McClaine was moving through the ducts at Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, we saw the character-building moments. But we don’t see him going through every inch of the ducts. We didn’t see every light-year that the USS Voyager traveled to get home, or all the steps that Phileas Fogg took on his 80-day journey. We see the parts that help the story.
So, with the players controlling their characters, we don’t need to see everything they do all day. Even during the gaming session. Focus on the parts that enhance the story, build the characters, or are just entertaining. There was one game that I was involved in where the GM made the players roll just to dock their starship. It wasn’t a challenging event, but it made the players freeze for a second because there was no helmsman that was a PC. They eventually remembered: “Oh yea, we have Ensign so-and-so who can do that” I remember rolling my eyes thinking this interaction didn’t help. The ship was never really in any danger; we weren’t collecting in game currency (like momentum), the scene didn’t really enhance the game. In my humble opinion, it should have been skipped. “Ok you’ve ordered your helmsman to dock, and you hurry to the Admiral’s office for your briefing.”
If there is a distance between plot points is where you get the characters to assist the gamemaster. Hopefully you’ve already had a session zero where you know some of the goals the players want to do with their characters. “In the seven days it took to travel to Promise Station describe what your character did to improve their fencing skills.” Perhaps that could be worth a die roll to see how well they did on that front.
Another GM trick that I just recently used is correspondence from connections the characters have. This is a good way to get PC knowledge into the minds of the players. This allows them to contribute to the game when clues pop up that their character can assist with. Just before session two of my Star Trek Adventures campaign (yea, I know I need to post play reports here) I sent emails to my players with different nuggets of information. Two were personal correspondence letters from contacts which were directly tied into the next session. The CO, XO and Chief of Security all got the same security briefing that was sent out by sector command. Some of the nuggets were valid; others were just there for flavoring. The Chief Engineer got a subspace message from a friend in the Quartermaster Division talking about what supply requests were and were not fulfilled. This helped when the ship went into battle, and the character already knew what was missing out of inventory for repairs. The Chief of Communications got a duty report from the third shift which really didn’t connect to the upcoming session but did still give them some ‘this is real’ vibes on what happened between sessions. Some time and distance had happened between session one and two and the players noticed it, but it didn’t drag down the game. It also kept the players engaged between sit-down sessions as some players sent character responses to me. And when player A popped up with “well this unknown term came up” then player B was able to quickly say “Oh, that’s this…” without hearing it from the GM before they parroted it out to the rest of the table. I received several compliments about the between-game emails and how it helped with the roleplaying in the session.
So, if your players are on their way to Far2Go to reach Promise Station or traveling through the jungles to find the Well of Desires in a lost city you don’t have to track every mile. But you can make it feel like it was a long distance by the way you presented it. If done right, your games can run a lot smoother.
What suggestions would you recommend for keeping travel distant without drying up the adventure? Tell 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 or click on my social media links with any comments.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account and the @STrekQuotes Bluesky account for the week of August 17th through August 23rd. Note: Because Twitter/X will use posts to train AI, we will no longer be posting on that platform. This is out of respect for the owners of Star Trek.
August 17:
“Instruments register only those things they’re designed to register. Space still contains infinite unknowns.” Spock- The Naked Time, Stardate: 1704.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #Quote
August 18:
(re: Baseball) “That’s what I love about this game. You never know what’s going to happen next. Every situation is different.” Sisko- Take Me Out to the Holosuite, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #Quote
August 19:
Happy Birthday to Diana Muldaur. http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Diana_Muldaur #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
“I can offer choices, not guarantees.” Dr. Pulaski- Loud as a Whisper, Stardate: 42477.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
Happy Birthday to Jonathan Frakes. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Jonathan_Frakes #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #StarTrekFilm #StarTrekDS9 #StarTrekVOY #StarTrekENT #StarTrekPIC #StarTrekLDS #IDIC #Quote
“Without trust, there’s no friendship, no closeness. None of the emotional bonds that make us who we are.” Riker- Legacy, Stardate: 44215.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
August 20:
Happy Birthday to John Noble. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/John_Noble #StarTrek #StarTrekPRO #IDIC #Quote
“My father put the fate of our world on my shoulders without ever asking me.” Gwyn “Sounds like despite your pop’s intentions, you gotta find your own way.” Hologram Diviner- Ghost in the Machine, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPRO #IDIC #Quote
August 21:
Happy Birthday to Kim Cattrall. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Cattrall #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote
“Four hundred years ago on the planet Earth, workers who felt their livelihood threatened by automation, flung their wooden shoes, called ‘sabots’ into the machines to stop them. …Hence the word ‘sabotage’.” Valeris- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Stardate: 9521.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote
August 22:
“My advice in making sense of temporal paradoxes is simple. Don’t even try.” Janeway- Timeless, Stardate: 52143.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #Quote
August 23:
“A mother is expected to push her young out of the nest. At some point, they’re supposed to return.” T’Less- Home, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #Quote
What are your favorite daily Star Trek quotes selected for this week? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
Day 15 Prompt: Endurance
Week 3 Prompt: Associates
Weekday Prompt: Works Hard
Probably one of the better RPG recommended prompts for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge and we are provided with “Endurance”. I wonder if this was chosen for Day 15 since it’s the midpoint of the month. I’ve known some participants who have already dropped out already (dang real life). I’ve also been tempted a few times myself, but I think forcing my way through some of these prompts has been a mental challenge.
So where am I going to take this prompt? I’m going to stick with the (now evolved) theme of providing seed ideas with different locations and vessels. I hope you enjoy it.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION
TO: Personal Terminal-Ms. Matilda Harper, Perth, Australia, Terran Confederation
FROM: Personal Terminal-Spacer First Class Ward Harper, Starship Endurance, Fleet Command
CLASSIFICATION: Personal Correspondence- OPSEC cleared
Mum,
I hope that you are doing well. I was pleased to hear that Doc Callaghan had cleared you from your last round of treatments. Please continue to follow his instructions. He knows his stuff unlike those AI-Assisted Digital Companions that still can’t seem to get a diagnostic right. I think that I’m starting to understand dad’s analog way of doing things, especially now that I’m settled down in my new assignment.
In my last letter I told you that my professor at Fleet Academy seemed to have a smirk on his face as we all gathered for our new assignments after graduation. I told you that he seemed to have it out for me. I couldn’t write to you before now because of how busy we’ve been. Packing up our gear. Many different transport stops. Clearing customs and keeping out of scraps along the way. But I’m finally berthed at my assignment.
I’m on that ship, the one everyone keeps talking about. The Endurance. The oldest operational vessel in Fleet Command. I remember when we disembarked from the transport shuttle and one of the other green members asked the Senior Bosun if we were here to help decommission the ship. This old guy just smirked and said “Son, you’ll either be dead, retired or the Grand Admiral of the Fleet before the Endurance is actually decommissioned.”
After getting my bunk, the first thing they had us all do was a temporary assignment with the Cargo Master. I tell you, this woman has the mind of a steel trap. She knew exactly where everything needed to go, what label needed to be on what container and how to rotate the containers so that the oldest items could be accessed first. The entire time I was around her, I don’t think she looked at her digital display device more than twice. I recall her telling the Senior Bosun that she’d rather have another round of arguments with the Syndicate Pirates than the Customs Officials of Oreth Prime.
After we got the resupply stocked and secured, I was finally released to my permanent assignment. I reported to Maintenance Chief, Lt. [redacted]. I walked more steps here than all my years at the academy. The Endurance must be twice as large as a similar cruiser class vessel. This makes for more corridors and access shafts. Lt. [redacted] stopped at one junction and just tilted his head. Then he had me note down that Circuit [redacted] needed to be replaced on the next maintenance cycle. When I asked him how he knew that he just shrugged and said, “The Endurance just talks with you, if you know how to listen.” I think he was serious.
After my first round with the Chief, we were told to report to the Arboretum, where we had our first meeting with Captain Henline and Exec Rosales. We got our official welcome aboard and an introduction to the senior staff. I could tell that Captain Henline has confidence in his team by the way he talked about them. The one that didn’t talk much was Executive Officer Rosales. When it came time for him to talk about his role, he only said that he represents the crew to the CO but is the first to follow the COs orders. I overheard one of the Ensigns whispering that Rosales scared him more than the visiting Admirals they had the week before.
One of the members of the senior staff came up to me just after our meet-and-greet with the staff. It was Lt. Commander Victoria Shellby, the ship’s archivist. Apparently, the Endurance is so old that there is a permanent historian on board. She immediately asked me if I knew the late Jack Harper. When I told her that was my dad, she put on a big smile and asked me to follow her. As we kept getting deeper and deeper into the lower sections of the ship, I was starting to wonder what was going on. Was this part of some prank on the newbies joining the Endurance. But eventually, after passing through three generations of replacement sections, a weird sign that says, “DO NOT REMOVE, IT IS LOAD BEARING.” (she couldn’t tell me what “it” was) and past a coffee maker that was older than I was, she pointed at some graffiti on a hull plate. There, etched in with a plasma welder, was the name “Senior Technician Third Class Jack Harper”.
I didn’t know dad served on the Endurance? He never talked about his time in the fleet. No wonder he loved the analog way of doing things. First, I was upset about getting this assignment. Sure, I wasn’t at the top of my class. But I felt that I had put in the effort to earn a berth on a Madagascar Class Cruiser or a Jefferson Class Destroyer, not the oldest ship in the fleet. Now… now I’m happy to be here. Lt. Commander Shellby didn’t say anything as I bawled. I know dad has been gone for a couple of years now, but this connection confirmed my decision to follow his footsteps into the academy. I hope what I do here will make both you and him proud.
END OF TRANSMISSION
Again, Carl looks at the screen after typing this up. Did I do good? Do you think the environment of the oldest ship in the fleet would work for a campaign setting for Star Trek Adventures, Traveller, FrontierSpace or a host of other science-fiction RPGs out there?
This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account and the @STrekQuotes Bluesky account for the week of August 10th through August 16th. Note: Because Twitter/X will use posts to train AI, we will no longer be posting on that platform. This is out of respect for the owners of Star Trek.
August 10:
Happy Birthday to Evan Evagora. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Evan_Evagora #StarTrek #StarTrekPIC #IDIC #Quote
“Elnor, I told you to stay on the ship.” Picard “Yes. I didn’t listen.” Elnor- The Impossible Box, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPIC #IDIC #Quote
August 11:
“You’re human. So am I. Humans help each other.” Archer- Terra Nova, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #Quote
August 12:
Remembering Jane Wyatt who was born on this date in 1910. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Jane_Wyatt #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #Quote
“Logic! Logic! I’m sick to death of logic! Do you want to know how I feel about your logic?” Amanda- Journey to Babel, Stardate: 3842.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #Quote
August 13:
Happy Birthday to Dawnn Lewis. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Dawnn_Lewis #StarTrek #StarTrekLDS #IDIC #Quote
“But then we’re right back to buffer time.” Freeman “Yes, when people could do whatever they had to, to get the job done. You’re a great captain. Let them be a great crew.” Boimler “You’re… you’re right! I am a great captain!” Freeman- Temporal Edict, Stardate: 57501.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekLDS #IDIC #Quote
August 14:
“Do you think you’re the only one in pain? Do you think you have the monopoly on loss?” Troi- Gambit, Part I, Stardate: 47135.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #Quote
August 15:
“That’s what doctors are there for—to help so there’s really no reason to be afraid of them.” Dr. Bashir- Equilibrium, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #Quote
August 16:
“My programmers didn’t clutter me up with pithy Earth trivia.” The Doctor- Persistence of Vision, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #Quote
What are your favorite daily Star Trek quotes selected for this week? This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com or click on my social media links with any comments.
Day 14 Prompt: Regard
Week 3 Prompt: Associates
Weekday Prompt: Loving & Giving
Regard is the Day 14 prompt for the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge…. and I’ve got nothing. I wracked my brain for this topic, and I really don’t know what the organizers are going for. Let’s look at some of the other entries that have been posted for inspiration. (Checks BlueSky social media)
Wait, Fellow RPG blogger Craig Oxbrow asked a question “What is a game held in high regard you have yet to play?” Perfect, I’m going to go with that one. Thank you Craig. (and after I started working on this, it looks like other participants used this same idea)
“Have yet to play?” Hmm… I’m going to break this into two categories since they would both count. “Never played” and “Never played outside of a one-shot.” As I’ve mentioned in my SaltCON reports, when I sign up for RPG sessions at conventions, I try to play at least one game I’ve never played before. I had also had the pleasure of being invited to a few one-shots outside of conventions (thanks guys). And no, I don’t count making characters for the Character Creation Challenge as playing the game.
Amazing Adventures– This is the “D20 Modern” variant of Castles and Crusades by Troll Lord Games. It’s a D20 based system that uses the siege system for resolving skill issues (driving a motorcycle, climbing wall, finding a hidden item, haggling with a merchant for a lower price, etc.) What I like the most about this system is it allows the player to say, “I want my character to do this” instead of “My character sheet says I can only do this.” Kind of like how you can with the 2D20 system Star Trek Adventures by Modiphius.
Planet of the Apes– The D6MV (the “magnetic variant” of the D6 system used for the Star Wars D6 game from West End Games). This game had a very successful KickStarter from Magnetic Press Play. Yes, I ran this at a SaltCON, but it was the intro adventure from the Quickstart. I would really love to play this in a campaign as a player.
Traveller– The latest version from Mongoose Publishing. 1- I’m a fan of science fiction. 2- This is one of the original RPGs that shaped a generation like Dungeons and Dragons did. I’ve seen the 2d6 system spawn off many retro-clones and imaginations. So I’d like to try it in a campaign at least once.
FrontierSpace by DWD Studios. This company is a small one-man operation that has put out a lot of different games . This entry covers science fiction and is his love letter to Star Frontiers (while using an original system). He has also created the espionage game, White Lies, which should also be on this list. While White Lies is based off of the Whitebox Fantasy Adventure retro-clone, the system used for FrontierSpace is very unique. It also has the “do what I want, not what my character sheet says” vibe.
And you know what? I’m going to call it there before this turns into a post 20 miles long. There are quite a few more that I could hold up and state that I hold it in high regard. I own them either in PDF or deadtree version. I’ll probably bring them up in future blog posts.
What are the four games you’d hold up in high regard that you haven’t played yet? Tell 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 or click on my social media links with any comments.
Day 13 Prompt: Strain
Week 3 Prompt: Associates
Weekday Prompt: Far to Go
Day 13 of the RPGaDAY 2026 Challenge and I’m going to go with a storyline that I’ve had rolling around in my head for quite some time. I never knew if I wanted to make this an RPG session, Star Trek fan fiction or an original science-fiction story.
Communications Station Four-Seven-Bravo-Bravo-Echo
LOCATION: Regalas Sector, Coordinates 887447-AA532
ALERT ALERT SIGNAL INCOMING FROM UNKNOWN SOURCE
IDENT CODE: Fleet Registry Light Cruiser-800437 Starship Venture UNCONFIRMED
SIGNAL QUALITY: 17% degradation detected- aided restoration attempted
–Video Starts–
(static fades, interior of a Washburn Class starship command center is seen. Some panels are in different states of disrepair. A human male with a dirty uniform is seen sitting at the command station.)
(off screen female voice) “I think it’s going through now sir, but I don’t know how long we’ll have access to the subspace channel.”
“Fleet Command, I hope you are hearing this. (static) This is Captain Gabriel Costa of the Starship Venture. I don’t know if this message will reach you in time. If you haven’t been hit by the (inaudible static) wave, then you may only have weeks, days or even hours depending on how long this (garbled audio) message makes it through comms.”
Sparks fly off of one of the panels behind him.
(warped voice distortion) “Three years ago…” (voice normalizes) “…the Venture encountered an unknown anomaly that flung it over 4,700 sectors away from Its previous position. (static) “…our true location, we started the journey back home. During that time…” (garbled) “…a danger that affects all inhabited planets in the home sectors.”
(screen becomes full static before returning 35 seconds later)
“…at which time we discovered that the group was fleeing from something called the Delta Wave. This…” (voice distorts) “…wave will cause FTL drives to malfunction and eradicate certain organic compound…” (voice normalizes) “…unless it was shielded by…” (static) “… which protects some vessels and ground-based compounds but devastated entire civilizations that were caught unprotected. Many vessels of unknown origin are in a constant state to outrun the wave.”
Captain Costa wipes his brow with a dirty hand.
“As per fleet regulations, we attempted to assist where we could but quickly found ourselves at the magnitude of this disaster. Unknown forces attempted to commandeer the Venture. We suff…” (voice distorts) “…ered many casualties and attempted to flee away from the wave. So…” (voice distorts even more) “…far the science department has calculated the wave to be large enough to cover several sectors. We sti…” (voice normalizes) “…ll haven’t discovered the edge of the wave. Professor Viggan believes that the wave is growing with each system it engulfs. Other than the elements it consumes, the planets and stars are still present, but unreachable by the other side of the Delta Wave.”
(The video continues with an agitated Costa speaking, but there is no sound for 20 seconds)
“…is our last confirmed coordinates. I made the command decision to break radio silence in attempt to warn the fleet of this impending disaster. We have detected several vessels converging on our location. We will attempt to evade them and contact…”
(signal ends)
FROM: Automated System for Communications Station Four-Seven-Bravo-Bravo-Echo
TO: Regalas Sector Command, Fleet Command Base 94
PRIORITY: High
Message Start. Long range sensors have detected a large number of vessels approaching from the Tenkor Rift heading towards this sector. Identification scans: inconclusive. Total number: inconclusive. Propulsion sources: varied, but inconclusive. ETA: 108 Terran Hours. Sensor scans and unconfirmed message from Starship Venture (Registry 800437) attached in datapacket. Message Ends.
Carl sits back at the keyboard and looks at what he has typed up. This could be used with Star Trek Adventures, Stars Without Number, Frontier Space, Star Frontiers, or any other science-fiction based RPG systems.
Did the seed get planted? Do you think that the Venture was able to survive the strain of being trapped in a remote sector surrounded by desperate alien vessels? Tell 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 or click on my social media links with any comments.
