Day 24 of the #RPGaDAY2023 Challenge and the topic is “Complex/Simple RPG you play”. I’m probably in the same boat as a lot of gamers. I want to play, but getting things scheduled and set up (aka real life) is getting in the way.
Recently I have played a few rounds of Far Trek through the Roll20 website. Far Trek is a fan made Star Trek RPG that was created using the Microlite D20 rule set. Take your standard D20 rules and boil them down even more (no feats, simplified skills, etc.) I found it an easy read, easy character creation and easy to run. I’ve even been considering some homebrewing for this system. And if you are looking for a simplistic good Star Trek game, the PDF is free.
What Complex or Simple RPG do you enjoy playing? 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 with any comments.
Not only am I collecting any of the Star Trek licensed RPGs, but I’ve been gathering the unofficial ones as well. Some of these are games where the IP elements have been filed off, but the game is clearly Star Trek. One example of this is Starships & Spacemen 2nd Edition. Far Trek and Where No Man Has Gone Before are fan created games based off of the Original Star Trek series. Star Trek Alpha Quadrant is a fan-made game based off of the Cepheus Engine. I haven’t had a chance to try STAQ yet, but I may in a future Character Creation Challenge.
What is your favorite licensed RPG? 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 with any comments.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of August 21st through August 27th. The @STrekQuotes Twitter account is still active, but Twitter/X has elected to charge for the Tweetdeck tools that allowed me to automate the quotes to post on a certain date and time. Since I do this for fandom and not to make money, I have no money to purchase a business account. Nor do I wish to take donations to do so since it already costs too much to be a Star Trek fan. If a free scheduling option can be found for Twitter/X, then we will resume daily posts on that platform. Other platforms are also being explored at this time and will be announced if they are set up.
August 21 “Let’s make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise.” Picard- Yesterday’s Enterprise, Stardate: 43625.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 22 “Is truth not truth for all?” Natira- For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky, Stardate: 5476.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 23 “I don’t know what all you brass hats in Starfleet Command are thinking but take it from a simple field officer – we’re not going to win this war by running away from the enemy.” Dax- Favor the Bold, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“If I’m going to ask myself to look at those consequences, then I have to ask myself some questions. Am I really ready to have a child? Am I prepared to give that child the attention and devotion it deserves? Am I capable of taking on such a huge responsibility?” Kes- Elogium, Stardate: 48921.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Never get in the middle of a Vulcan relationship. They will hit you with a lirpa. Trust me. Have you every fought with a lirpa? I have actual scars.” Ortegas- Spock Amok, Stardate: 2341.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 25 “It’s elementary, my dear Riker… sir.” Data- Lonely Among Us, Stardate: 41249.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves.” Kirk- Star Trek Into Darkness, Stardate: 2259.55 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 27 “There’s a saying on my world: ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.'” Archer- Marauders, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
For Day 19 of the #RPGaDAY2023 Challenge we were asked to discuss our favorite published adventure. Like some of the other favorites in this challenge, how can I select just one. So in order to make sure this isn’t a huge blog post, I’m going to stick with two that came to mind.
Demand of Honor for the FASA Star Trek RPG
I loved reading through Demand of Honor for the Star Trek Role Playing Game by FASA. There were quite a few good published adventures from FASA that followed up on episodes from the original Star Trek. This one gave us the aftermath of the episode Arena where we first saw the Gorn. From the FASA catalogs we had sourcebooks for The Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Orions, Merchants and more. The planned Starship Recognition Manual for the Gorns was never released. I don’t know if we ever would have received a manual for the Gorns, so this adventure was the closest we got. Insight on the Gorn point of view. It gave details about what the state of affairs after Kirk’s fight with the Gorn. We were also rewarded with a new Gorn vessel (with deck plans) that was probably planned for the recognition manual. This was great to flip through and read. I just wish that I could have played or GMed this adventure.
Into the Borderlands by Goodman Games
I no longer have my original copy of B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. In the mid-90’s when I had to cut down on the amount of D&D books that I owned for various reasons (20/20 hindsight told me that I should have kept them). But I remember reading this module. I remember wanting to play this module. Eventually I even ran this module as my first attempt at being a Dungeon Master. In my conversations a lot of people had this book and loved it as well. So it didn’t surprise me that Goodman Games had obtained the rights to publish a 5E conversion of B1: In Search of the Unknown and B2 called Into the Borderlands. I was able to pick up a copy myself and loved reading through the history and information. I should sit down and do a full review of this hardbound book.
As I mentioned above, there were several other printed adventures that I would love to mention as well. I felt the need to restrain myself at this time. I may make future blog posts talking about some of the others.
Do you have a favorite adventure that was published for a role playing game? 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 with any comments.
OK so Favorite Game System is the subject for Day 18 of the #RPGaDAY2023 challenge. And I have to think about this one. While there are a few systems I’d prefer not to play (such as something really crunchy or overly-complicated) I’m pretty much open to playing just about anything at least once.
There is the old standby of the standard D20 system that has been seen in the various flavors of Dungeons and Dragons or the various retro-clones such as Basic Fantasy, Castles and Crusades, OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord. There are a ton of other options in this category as well that covers other genres.
Probably on the not-so-well known stage is the d100Lite system that is seen in such games as Barebones Fantasy, Covert Ops and Frontier Space. While I haven’t had a chance to play these systems yet, they look and read amazing.
There are also several other systems that I haven’t really mentioned here. But I’m sure my readers don’t have time for me to list just about everything. So my answer is kind of like Bubba’s answer to what his favorite beer is. But replace beer with what game system is currently being played at the table.
What is your favorite #TTRPG system (or systems)? 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 with any comments.
Hanging on while watching the latest season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of August 14th through August 20th.
August 14 “Why are we pursuing the Entity, if not to destroy it?” Dr. Marr “We are not hunters, Doctor. Nor is it our role to exact revenge.” Picard- Silicon Avatar, Stardate: 45122.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 15 “I’ve noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours.” Spock- The Immunity Syndrome, Stardate: 4307.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 16 “Alright, Niners! Let’s hear some chatter! Hey, Batter!” Sisko “Hey, batter batter batter batter!” Yates “Hey, batter batter batter batter batter batter!” Leeta “Death to the opposition!” Worf- Take Me Out to the Holosuite, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 17 “A positive attitude is vital to the healing process. The more you complain, the longer your recovery is likely to take.” Dr. Phlox- Dead Stop, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 18 “How many glasses of champagne did you consume?” The Doctor “One” Seven “Obviously the Borg can’t hold their liquor.” The Doctor- Timeless, Stardate: 52143.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Splint. It’s a very ancient concept. You take two flat pieces of wood or plastic, a bandage. The broken limb is kept immobile.” Dr. Pulaski “That’s crazy, that’s not practicing medicine.” Nurse “It’s a time-honored way to practice medicine with your head, and your heart and your hands.” Dr. Pulaski- Contagion, Stardate: 42609.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Happy Birthday to Jonathan Frakes. @jonathansfrakes https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Jonathan_Frakes #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #StarTrekFilm #StarTrekDS9 #StarTrekVOY #StarTrekENT #StarTrekPicard #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“We’ve got our phasers locked on your warp cores, and nothing would make me happier than you giving me an excuse to kick your treacherous Tal Shiar ass. But instead, I’m going to ask you one time to stand down.” Riker- Et in Arcadia Ego Part 2, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPicard #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Every moment that Fugitive Zero stays at large gives the Unwanted hope, and hope has no purpose here.” The Diviner- Lost and Found, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekProdigy #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Day 14 of the #RPGaDAY2023 Challenge and the subject is “Favorite Convention Purchase”. Well I’ve been to a ton of conventions. I really need to get my convention resume updated and placed on this site. However since this is a challenge geared towards roleplaying games, I’ll have to think about an item I purchased from an RPG convention.
My very first convention ever back in the late 80’s was an RPG convention. It was held at a local library and there were a ton of D&D games going on. Comics Utah ran Kublai Con when it was still around, but heck if I can remember if I had purchased anything from that event. Another gaming store that had been located in the Southtown mall that ran a quarterly gaming convention (I met several friends there for the first time). But I don’t recall if I had purchased anything from these events. In the 90’s to early 2000’s, CONduit had some gaming going on and I know I purchased items there. But it was primarily a literary convention so I don’t know if this would count?
This year I’ve been to SaltCON-Spring and SaltCON-Summer. And I documented what I had purchased from these events. So from those two events my favorite convention purchase (at least for now) are the Star Trek Adventures Player’s Guide and the Star Trek Adventures Gamemaster’s Guide. I had purchaesed these from a small local RPG store that had a table at the convention. I was able to support a small business. If you read my after action reports for both events, you’ll see that I also picked up several other books that I plan to use in the 2024 Character Creation Challenge. So it is a possibility that I may change this answer in the future.
What is your favorite convention purchase? 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 with any comments.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes Twitter account and the @STrekQuotes Mastodon account for the week of August 7th through August 13th.
“I’ve heard that you can only write about what you’ve experienced. And you got to admit Deep Space 9 is a pretty good pace to get experience.” Jake- Explorers, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“So, a good captain puts the needs of the crew first before himself. Maybe I should be using these ears more than my mouth.” Dal- Kobayashi, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekProdigy #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 8 “I have noticed that parents tend to exaggerate when it comes to their children’s accomplishments.” Data- Inheritance, Stardate: 47410.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“And for twenty five years I planned my revenge against the Federation, and forgot what it was like to live a normal life. But I did not forget the pain. It’s a pain that every surviving Vulcan now shares.” Nero- Star Trek (2009), Stardate: 2233.04 #StarTrek #StarTrekFilm #IDIC
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Seven “Picard released me. I found a cause even more lost than his.” Elnor- Broken Pieces, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPicard #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
August 11 “Listen to me very carefully because I’m only going to say this once. Coffee, black.” Janeway- Bride of Chaotica!- Startdate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“That’s not a dirty word. You’re Human, too. Let that part of you come through.” Amanda- Journey to Babel, Stardate: 3842.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Our ship might not be the biggest, and we might do the missions nobody else wants, but we are still Starfleet.” Freeman- An Embarrassment of Dooplers, Stardate: 58053.9 #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
So I had to think about this topic for Day 6 of the #RPGaDAY2023 Challenge. “Favorite game you never get to play.” Between physical copies and PDFs purchased online through DriveThruRPG or charity bundles I have a lot of games. Some I’ve read and they were OK, while others I’ve read and I’ve really wanted to try them out. So which one do I choose? Some of these covered science fiction, espionage, post-apocalyptic and more. I’ve never played the Star Trek RPG that was released by Last Unicorn Games, but considering how big of a fan I am of FASA Star Trek and Star Trek Adventures, I wouldn’t mind playing LUG Trek once to try it out, but it’s not really at the top of my list. I want to pick a game that not only would I want to play in a campaign, but I’d want to homebrew for like I have with FASA Trek and STA Trek.
So when I narrowed it down, I felt that Frontier Space by DWD Studios is my selection for this topic. It barely beats out Castles and Crusades (I’ve been told that I can hopefully get into a C&C game if I can get on their discord), Apes Victorious (I don’t know anyone who plays this, but it’s a D20 retro so it should be easy to pick up) and White Lies (an espionage game also by DWD Studios).
I’ve created a character for Frontier Space in a past Character Creation Challenge. The system is rolling a percentile to see if you succeed in a task with your Ability and Skill scores combined creating your target number to roll under (kinda similar to the 2d20 system seen in Star Trek Adventures) The character creation process is pretty straight forward and I thought was easy to understand. The universe it is set in sounds intriguing to play, but the system could easily be adapted for other franchises if desired. I love the use of percentile dice and I am a big fan of science fiction. So perhaps, someday I’ll be able to get some friends into a game?
I’ve actually talked with some RPG fans in my local Star Trek club about an idea of them showing up for a game night not knowing which game we will be experimenting with. I’d run a one-shot for them, explaining the rules and gathering their feedback for a future blog post. I need to get this done because I think it would be fun. Now I just need to get the time set aside to put something like this together. I hate the dreaded real-life/schedule curse.
What roleplaying game would you like to play that you haven’t had a chance to 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 with any comments.
Of a complete game system, the latest purchase was Sorcery and Super Science by Expeditious Retreat Press. I picked this up from a Bundle of Holding sale that happened in earlier this year.
Sorcery and Super Science is a post-apocalyptic game that appears to be heavily influenced by the 1980’s cartoon series “Thundarr the Barbarian“. I clearly remember a world thousands of years in the future where the moon was cracked and the land was ravaged by sorcery and super science. Dang it, now I need to watch the series again.
I haven’t had a chance to go over all of the rules yet. But I’m certain that I’ll be using this in the 2024 Character Creation Challenge.
What was your latest RPG purchase? Was it a full game or a supplement? 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 with any comments.
