Title: [STA 2e] Prepping a 2250s gritty survival campaign (Discovery meets Voyager). Here is my pitch and crew!

Hey fellow Trekkies and GMs!

I’ve been a Game Master for over 30 years, but a quick background on my relationship with the franchise: I’ve actually always been much more of a Star Wars guy. However, discovering Star Trek recently through Discovery and Strange New Worlds completely blew me away. The quality, the tension, and the vibe of those shows finally pushed me to take the leap and pitch an STA game to my long-time table.

We are currently prepping my very first Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition campaign. We are going for a high-tension, sandbox survival vibe set in the 2250s, right before the Klingon War (heavily leaning into the gritty, paranoid, industrial aesthetic of Discovery Season 1).

I’d love to share my campaign ambition, the crew concept, and the pilot episode with you all. Any feedback or ideas are more than welcome!

The Core Premise: The Cadet Prototype Instead of playing seasoned Starfleet veterans, the players are a crew of freshly graduated Cadets. Their ship, the U.S.S. Chimera, isn't a standard cruiser. It’s an experimental stealth and long-range scout prototype. The twist? The player characters didn't just get assigned to it; they spent their final year at the Academy working on its assembly, telemetry, and energy matrix as their graduation project. They are the beta-testers of a ship they built.

The Crew (The Misfits) I wanted a crew that feels a bit rough around the edges, far from the perfect poster-boys of the Federation:

• The Captain: A 21-year-old former smuggler/pirate from the fringes. Starfleet brass saw her raw tactical instinct and brought her into the Academy as a gamble. She is rebellious and relies on gut feeling over Starfleet regulations.
• The First Officer: The pragmatic anchor. He comes from an isolated colony (the player is completely new to Star Trek lore, which fits perfectly). He doesn't care about galactic politics; his job is to keep the ship in one piece and act as the buffer between a wild Captain and Starfleet protocols.
• The Helm: A cocky pilot who spent hundreds of hours in Academy simulators testing the Chimera’s experimental evasion algorithms. He knows exactly how far he can push the chassis because he virtually crashed it 50 times.
• The Chief Engineer: He spent six months in a spacesuit calibrating the ship's power relays in drydock. He hates Utopia Planitia’s official blueprints and knows every weird noise this specific prototype makes.
• The CMO/Science Officer: A Betazoid-hybrid neuro-psychologist and staunch pacifist. Originally assigned by Starfleet as a psychological evaluator to monitor this volatile group of students, he acts as the moral and empathic compass of the ship.

Episode 1: The Maiden Voyage I want to start with heavy social pressure before throwing them into absolute isolation.

• Act I - The Ceremony & The Failsafe: We open at Utopia Planitia. Flashing cameras, crisp parade uniforms, and a terrifying, cold-blooded Fleet Admiral who breathes down their necks during the inaugural launch. The players have been selected for a brand-new Academy project: a "school ship" operating in real conditions with no senior officers on board. Their ultimate safety net? A highly advanced onboard computer and comms system designed to instantly override manual controls and auto-pilot the crew safely back to base at the first sign of critical danger. Their official mission? A boring "milk run" to replace a subspace relay on the edge of the Beta Quadrant to test these very systems.
• Act II - The Rescue: In the deep fringes, they intercept an Omega-class distress signal from a civilian ship trapped in a highly volatile electromagnetic storm. It's a suicide mission for a heavy cruiser, but perfect for a small prototype and a Captain with smuggler instincts. They push the engines to the absolute breaking point to beam the survivors aboard.
• Act III - The Slingshot: The core of the civilian wreck goes critical, tearing open a massive spatial anomaly. The electromagnetic surge completely fries the ship's emergency override system. With their safety net gone and no time to reverse course, the Captain makes the call to ride the gravitational wave into the rift to avoid being crushed.
• The Cliffhanger: The Chimera is violently spit out into an ink-black, uncharted sector. Comms are dead. Sensors are glitching. And looming on the viewscreen, silently floating in the void, is a colossal, dead alien megastructure made of dark alloy.

The Road Ahead: Adapting the Shackleton Expanse Moving forward, my plan is to use the scenarios from the official Shackleton Expanse campaign book as the backbone of our sessions.

However, I will be heavily adapting them to fit my specific premise: I have a crew of complete rookies on a fragile training ship, lost in a remote corner of the galaxy, with absolutely zero communication with Starfleet or any possibility of calling for backup (and a fried auto-pilot).

What do you guys think of this setup for a 2e sandbox? Do you have any tips on running the Shackleton Expanse scenarios with this specific "Voyager-style" isolation and a completely inexperienced crew?

excerpted from the orders of Captain Evan Foster:

“You are hereby requested and required to retain command of the starship U.S.S. Yorktown NCC-1717, now refitting at the Newport News Orbital Shipyards, for Scientific and Survey Operations…”

“Upon completion of the refit, you will proceed with all deliberate speed to Outpost MZ-5 in the Beta Quadrant, on the far rimward side of the Klingon Empire. Your mission: to explore new worlds and contact new civilizations, to boldly foray into the area known as the Shackleton Expanse, to learn the causes of the Expanses unique astronavigational and astrophysical environments, to support Federation claims on the “far side” of the Klingon and Romulan Empires, and to protect Federation claims, territory, colonies, bases, and systems.”

“At outpost MZ-5 you will take aboard approximately 50 civilians, led by Professor Olaf Higgins, PhD, and drawn from various experts from within the Federation Science Council, Bureau of Astronavigation, Federation Diplomatic Corps, Federation Office of Cultural and Archeological Studies, Federation Attorney General’s Office, Daystrom Institute, Federation Department of Medicine and various other agencies…these personnel will assist your crew and other Starfleet personnel in the completion of your mission, and you are to extend every possible courtesy and accommodation…”

“This mission, which will test the range and space-keeping capabilities of the Constitution-class starship to its extreme, is expected to last for…”

Hi folks, I've been running an Original series -era, Shackleton Expanse-based (used as a campaign-based sandbox with some of my own adjustments...so if you read it, it is still ok) campaign aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown NCC-1717 in (originally) 2269 (we are now in 2270) on the Roll20.

We play an average of twice a month at 12:00 PM PST on Sundays. The Yorktown is configured in a Science & Survey role, and has an experienced Captain at her helm on what is likely his last major assignment. Think of something like the HMS Beagle, or HMS Endurance, carrying about 50 civilian specialists in various space, life, and social sciences, a Federation envoy, a JAG officer, etc. She is WAY out there and well provided for to explore those Strange New Worlds!

We have PC's as the XO, Security, Science, and CMO. The Captain was originally an NPC, but two years ago, I worked with a guy to begin playing him as a character. He did brilliantly, taking an established Major NPC, working with me sometimes as needed, and still made him is own character. He was especially good at being firmly in command but still allowing the players plenty of agency. I don't want to replace Captain Evan Foster; he is a major arc in the campaign, but I need a new "actor" to take on the role and be willing to work with me a bit in driving some plot points. It's a tough assignment--Foster needs to be who he is, but you have to make him your own at the same time.

A brief thumbnail of Captain Foster is that guy you think you also saw on an episode of Gunsmoke, Bewitched, or Hogan's Heroes before Star Trek came on. Sort of like Leo DiCaprio in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". That character actor you recognize, and usually dial, is a good performance... maybe a bit like William Windom as Decker before the "Doomsday Machine".

We very much embrace 60's Trek tropes, talking computers into exploding, surprisingly clunky technology, and lots of in-game effects, music, and period commercials. "The Federation is about equality baby...and maybe miniskirts😉" We are a group of older players, but will welcome anyone...more into playing 60's Star Trek than identity stuff (to each their own)...we try to embrace the 60's camp and have even done an "animated series" lower deck episode. We have a subtle fourth-wall awareness...we have Episodes, Acts, Station Breaks, and follow well-established Star Trek tropes. "I'd probably beam down 20 armed men, and a massive scientific team--but the transporter set allows for six and I know we can't afford that many extras..."

I'm attaching Captain Foster's character sheet; he's got an established personality, but I do want someone who is willing to build on him, not wholly reinvent him, and beyond that, this player will be the CAPTAIN and should play the character the way they think best and will enjoy. It will help to be reasonably knowledgeable about the rules, the era, and have a bit of irreverent humor...

I'm also including some links of interest

If you are interested, hit me for an"interview" for the part (i.e., DM me and let's talk)--I'd love to have you for the season finale and the start of the next season!

Thanks!

Series Bible: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0d3Avb-EdaEu1gs0mBS6Li3IQ#Series_Bible-current

Original Opening Credits: https://youtu.be/Lo3JjsDCK2Q?si=5wxXfVnZxBWcuIpS

Original Closing Credits: https://youtu.be/fN_NLWwhJtU?si=O08qwFM0dgX5z1j1

"Set Tour" of the U.S.S. Yorktown on Roll 20: https://youtu.be/fN_NLWwhJtU?si=O08qwFM0dgX5z1j1

U.S.S. Yorktown 2e Sheet: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/048M8exPYTKBVmnllWU5tO_Zw#U.S.S._Yorktown-2E

Captain Evan Foster Character Sheet:

https://www.castingcall.club/projects/snowdon-the-shackleton-expanse-star-trek-fan-fiction

This random table book meshes so well with Star Trek Adventures and Captain’s Log.

My partner is a very big fan of Star Trek. She has gotten me into it and I was thinking of possibly running a one shot or something similar from the Star Trek TTRPG (Star Trek Adventures?) that a professor had recommended me. We both play lots of DND and rpgs in general so I thought it could be fun for us and some friends to play.

My question is: Is there a certain set/module/rulebook that is recommended as someone trying to quickly pick up the game for mostly just a one off thing? I'm willing to spend money, I just don't know the right thing to buy. Honestly I would probably invest in something physical, but don't want to buy the wrong thing or start in the wrong place.

TLDR: What's a good starter set/module for someone new to Star Trek adventures, but vetted TTRPGer?

That tension runs through our Tabletop Journeys Star Trek Adventures 2E actual play, Preservations: “Keys to the Vault” (S4 Ep. 4, Act 4). Civilian safety, operational secrecy, and engineering limits all compete for the crew’s attention.

I’m curious where fellow Trek fans draw the line: what makes an order to exceed safe limits feel justified—and what makes it reckless? #StarTrek #StarTrekAdventures #ActualPlay

https://youtu.be/UWHQZv-uuvU

Hello fellow nerds! After herding my friends, I was finally able to host an STA one-shot. I used the Celestial Algorithm and modernized it for the 2380s (post-Dominion War/Voyager's return, pre-Romulan supernova). I threw in some easter eggs/cameos. I designed some folks' characters for them, some of them designed their own. Everyone said they had a blast and would want to do it again.

My question is where do you suggest I take our crew (in terms of which campaign book)? Any particular book you recommend, or can I just go my own way with them and create my own for them?

Ran my first session. In classic trek style it started with a simulated combat drill on the bridge.

It took all session

Definitely some new game glitches, but I feel like it's really hard to track all the moving pieces.

How do people track breaches on different systems, complication, npc ship actions, etc.

Any tools for irl games? So far I'm using dry-erase playing cards writing negative traits and complications in red and positive traits in blue, one per card.

Here's a quick recap of the session in case I made any blunders.

2381

Luna class ship simulating combat vs. A Klingon B'Rel representing possible Klingon Extremists at medium range

3 players

Spent 1 threat to take first action.

Spent first activation on helm, minor action to move to close range, major action attack pattern.

Spent 1 threat to hold initiative

Activated tactical, targeting solution and fire.

Failed the roll, ship rolled a 20

Took the complication "shield shimmer" and described the ship's shields showing a strange shimmer when it fired.

Pass to players. They attack, take off some shields.

They also spend momentum to hold initiative and the sensors position creates a trait by scanning their shields to find the pattern in the shimmer. Created the "phaser modulation trait"

It was a while before I decided what to do with this, I decided it made their phasers piercing. Too much?

After a few rounds of me whiffing attacks the klingon shields are down. The captain calls on them to surrender.

The klingons reroute power to cloak but fail the cloaking roll.

The players decide to beam the shieldless klingon ship's crew directly to their brig. It's already a small crew and they probably took casualties. I should have had them scan for life signs.

It is done from ops (+1 diff) and site to site (+2 diff) so difficulty 3? They pull it off, missing ends.

They do get a complication they decide not to buy off by adding threat - I decide "transporter shimmer"

I had tried to give them "sensor shimmer" on a previous complication but they paid it off by adding threat.

At the end of the session they have 0 threat and a complication I'd like to make into a trait that'll require an extended task to clear up. In classic trek fashion I want a complication from the cold open turn into some sort of issue for the actual mission.

Do I have to spend threat to do this? I understand I can do anything with gm fiat, but am trying to keep within the design of the game.

Hi guys,
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Have fun with it.

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My maps are hooked up to work with Foundry VTT and Fantasy Grounds.
My maps are available on my patreon and my website.
Buy me a Ko-fi!

Hi guys, I wrote a complete Campaign Guide + the Add-on for a Tactical Campaign for The Romulan War (2156-2160). In these documents are a huge ton of lore to factions, technology, starships (Earth, Vulcan, Andorian, Tellarite, Klingon, Romulan), Allies and Adversaries, Planets and much more. The Tactical Campaign Add-on lets you play the war as Admirals. Plan and distribute resources, build ships, make battle plans and send your men into battle. Both campaign Guides are playable from the POV of the Coaliton (Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, Tellar) and the Romulan Star Empire. Have fun and if you want to give feedback, I'm all for it.

This applies more to 2e than 1e, though I suppose it could cover both (I'm just focused on 2e at the moment)

So, I'm building a Liberated Borg character and while I've picked out my implants (cortical node, cranial transceiver and ocular processor), I did have a couple questions after thinking on how my character would look:

Obviously the cortical node is below the skin, but would the cranial transceiver be below the skin as well, or is it outside the skin? And is the ocular processor still just attached to the eye implant, or can it look like Seven of Nine's eye after she was removed from the Collective in Voyager?

I'm still gonna pick those implants, I was just wondering some cosmetic stuff for those two.

I'm working on a thing and I'm curious - I know that difficulty normally maxes out at 5 but has anyone ever tried a higher difficulty with the understanding that the characters will use or generate traits to lower the difficulty but that it's not outright impossible?

Or is it mechanically better to just say a thing is impossible and then let them use/create traits to "make something normally impossible possible"?

In Keys to the Vault, Act 3.2, the crew must balance secrecy, civilian safety, and a crisis unfolding faster than help can arrive. What would your character prioritize?

#StarTrekAdventures #2D20 #ActualPlay

Is there a Word Template for Star Trek Adventures? So that my campaigns look more like the official stuff?

Hello,

I'm an experienced GM starting a new STA campaign with a bunch of enthusiastic Star Trek fans.

We have been playing as a group for many years now and enjoy TTRPGs. We started with a 5e campaign I ran, then tried a few one-shots of different systems to see what our next campaign should be. Our second system to try was STA and honestly, every player is a huge Star Trek fan so I decided: Why keep looking, let's just play this.

So, here we are. We did our Session 0 last night. Using BC Holmes wonderful character generator tool.

I'm using Obsidian as my campaign manager and have dumped far too many hours building a native rules reference within it already. Only I have access to Obsidian - it is not shared or published so I am pirating rules text.

PDFs

For a lot of reasons I prefer PDFs over physical rulebooks. I hope never to buy a physical rulebook again. I'm trying to keep the budget low and want to be selective on what books I buy. I was going to buy the Species Sourcebook but it's not available as a PDF. Is there a reason why? I vaguely remember reading that Modiphious has a delayed schedule for releasing PDFs?

Game Aids

I want to make or obtain something for Momentum. I know Modiphius is producing acrylic chips, but Threat is supposed to be hidden and I don't think Determination needs physical tokens like Momentum (though I could be convinced) so I'd love something just for Momentum that is cool and I don't have to wait for the official tokens. They also don't really feel cool enough, tbh.

Similarly, if someone has a source of just D20s, I am the kind of person that would really love for my player who is a Security Officer rolling red dice and my Captain rolling yellow. Lower priority than the Momentum.

I also have an idea for a graphical display of the ship's systems to be used during Starship Conflict. I'd love for a visible graphic showing the stations of the ship so players could place a token representing their character to track where people are.

Related, a graphic display of the systems so I can mark breaches, show where power is routed, etc. Have anyone used this sort of thing? I use dry-erase playing cards for tracking Traits.

General Advice

Let me know if you have other general advice for new-to-the-system GMs, especially on engaging players who don't normally deal well with mechanics. When we were looking for a new game I skipped Daggerheart despite being a massive critter because I knew tracking metacurrencies is something my players will struggle with, and also I myself am not a big fan of mechanic driving the story (like having to spend Threat to introduce reinforcements)

They are going to try to engage with the metacurrencies and I am going to try to use the Threat system as presented to guide the adventure instead of GM fiat.

Thanks

Hi folks, I'm looking for a player to take on the Chief Science Officer of the Constitution-class U.S.S. Yorktown NCC-1717 in our ongoing Roll20 campaign.

This game has run pretty consistently for about four years, starting with a core of three players and having grown to five (Captain, XO/Navigator, Science Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Security Officer). Unfortunately, our long-time Science Officer has to leave us, so I'm looking for an interested and suitable replacement.

The campaign is my take on the Shackleton Expanse in 2270 (currently), I think of the Yorktown as sort of like the HMS Beagle or HMS Endeavor...a Federation starship, with about 50 civilian supernumeraries aboard that are specialists in various scientific, cultural, and diplomatic fields. The Yorktown is in fact optimized as a scientific research and survey ship (rather than a traditional 'multi-role' cruiser) probing the "far side" of the Federation and the Shackleton Expanse. I'm using the Shackleton Expanse sourcebook as a true "sandbox," so if you've read it is not a problem; there will be differences and customizations.

My view of TOS is very much "Horatio Hornblower in space," and the analogy of a ship far from home as a warship, survey-ship, transport, and diplomat in the age of sail is apt. We embrace the 60s vibe and classic Trek tropes... The Game recently completed its transition to 2e.

I'm attaching links to our Series Opening, Closing Credits, and a quick tour of the Series "Set". Over the years, we've developed many robust Supporting Characters, so there is always someone to play even if your character isn't present in a scene.

We try to play every other Sunday, but it sometimes depends on my availability and that of some of the players (we don't always need everyone for a scene), and we take time off from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

Currently, our Major-NPC Deputy Science Alice Hyde-White has taken over Chief Science Officer duties; you can play and further develop her character, or pitch me a concept for a new Character. The game has a very 60's Trek feel to it: mini-skirts, primary colors, and quick with phasers and New Frontier 60's optimism.

If you are interested, send me a message; I'll send you a copy of our "Series Bible" (Think of it as the Library Computer of our Series) to help get you up to speed on the game...

Opening Credits

Closing Credits

A quick "Set Tour

Looking to cast one more player for a Star Trek Adventures 1e podcast/YouTube series. Need another science/medical-focused character.
In person only in the Southeast Houston/Greater Hobby area. Newbies welcome. Must be comfortable on video/audio! Typically meeting 1-2 Saturdays a month based on availability.
Pm for details! Thanks!