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Post by Falconer on Dec 29, 2009 14:08:47 GMT -5
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Post by Falconer on Dec 29, 2009 15:44:31 GMT -5
That’s a lot of published RPGs! They’re probably all worth a look to mine for ideas, but I’m not holding out much hope that any one will be what I’d like it to be. I have a copy of STAGFF on order from eBay, as from what I’ve read it will be a good start with the right feel. I do hope it is good, because there is something nice about using a published book rather than something you completely made from scratch yourself. The Tsukuda Hobby game was made in Japanese, and therefore is of little use to me. A fellow named Robert Saint John has done a translation. It looks like a perfectly playable little game, to me, but if I’m going to be printing out a PDF I might as well make my own which fits me even better. Still, if it proves to be significantly better than STAGFF, then maybe it will be a better starting point. The rest I’m frankly afraid to look at. As I said in the “About This Forum” thread, I am leery of skill-based games, which probably disqualifies all of them. I am also leery of games which mix classic Trek with the other eras of movie and television trek. In that sense, Prime Directive is safe, FASA is largely safe, and there is a TOS-only core book for ICON which is safe but the rest of the line is basically unsafe. CODA is right out. Looking past rules and on to modules, FASA is the heavyweight in terms of amount of published material. I would like to hear some opinions on whether any of their modules were any good. I’m not holding my breath, simply because the mid-late 1980s are not known for producing very good modules. Regards. |
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Post by thedungeondelver on Dec 29, 2009 18:41:39 GMT -5
I have the Decipher (2002) game; it isn't bad, it definitely has the look and feel right. Unfortunately, I have never gotten to play it. I have played the FASA STRPG - that was a lot of fun.
Nice Forum!
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Post by Doc on Dec 29, 2009 20:16:24 GMT -5
What you might want to look at also is a homebrew Star Trek game called Where No Man Has Gone Before 2.0. It is written by Michael Berkey and used the Microlite20 system, which is itself based on D&D. I believe that you can find it at: www.microlite20.netLive long and prosper. Doc |
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Post by coleston on Dec 29, 2009 20:21:20 GMT -5
Some of the FASA modules were pretty good and some were not. "Demand of Honor," Return to Axanar," "The Stryder Incident" and the three little adventures that came in the 2nd edition Deluxe Boxed set were pretty good and were easy to run.
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Post by Falconer on Dec 30, 2009 13:06:47 GMT -5
I took a look at “Where No Man Has Gone Before 2.0”. It’s pretty good; usable in a pinch. The idea of there being three classes—yellow shirt, blue shirt, and red shirt—is aesthetically pleasing and gets the job done. I would probably at least split blue shirts into two classes, though: medical and scientific.
This game goes a bit too far in the “silly” direction, for my tastes. Talents like “catch phrase” and “ripped shirt” abound; these are in-jokes that capture some of the charm of the show; however, I imagine these things would come up naturally in gameplay without there having to be a mechanical benefit to them. The whole idea of Action Points (story points, fate points) is not very Old School IMO.
I also wouldn’t tie rank and level together. That’s really problematic. In the show, all the “PCs” remained more or less the same rank throughout the entire run. I think the assumption should be that the campaign mirrors the series; so, the “Captain” character starts as Captain and ends as Captain.
Mr. Berkey has obviously put a lot of great work into this. I don’t mean to denigrate it. I just think it’s helpful to pick it apart to what works and what doesn’t work from an old school perspective. Eventually, for this board to have any meaning at all, we’ll have to choose some sort of rulebooks in order to have any common ground for discussion at all.
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Post by blackbat242 on Dec 30, 2009 21:22:59 GMT -5
1893  So, Sulu did some time-traveling?  There were some promotions... Spock went from Lt Cdr to Cdr about the end of the first season, for example... although virtually all other promotions first appeared on the various movies. In general, though, ranks were fairly fixed due to the limited amount of time the series depicted. For a game that allows long-term campaign play, rank promotions are necessary to maintain atmosphere, otherwise all you have is a "snapshot" of a small part of the character's career. I would suggest something like a 1:3 ratio, allowing for each rank to have "novice", "experienced", and "veteran" levels. Officer: Ensign (1-3), Lieutenant (4-6), Lieutenant Commander (7-9), Commander (10-12), Captain (13-15), and Admiral (16+) Enlisted: Trainee (1-3), Crewman (4-6), Specialist/Yeoman (7-9), Petty Officer (10-12), Chief Petty Officer (13-15), and Warrant Officer (16+)
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Post by Falconer on Dec 30, 2009 21:41:01 GMT -5
Oy. 1983! (Fixed.)
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Post by finarvyn on Jan 5, 2010 16:51:02 GMT -5
It's surprising to me how many Star Trek games there have been, yet none of them have really caught on. Seems like each company puts out a few products, I run out to buy them, then the company fades away.
Anyone have a feeling as to why Star Trek isn't a more popular RPG franchise?
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coffee
Lieutenant
"My chicken sandwich...and coffee." - James T. Kirk
Posts: 84
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Post by coffee on Jan 5, 2010 16:58:06 GMT -5
My guess would be advancement. It's the first thing people talk about whenever I set up to run a game.
Star Trek, as a friend of mine pointed out back when we were all playing FASA's Star Trek, is "pure roleplaying". There's no levels, there's no money, there are no magic items -- there are none of the usual 'pulls' you get with D&D.
Some of us like that, but I would guess a lot of others are in roleplaying for the advancement.
Anyway, that's my .02 credits.
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Post by chgowiz on Jan 6, 2010 10:49:21 GMT -5
I think it's the nature of the stories and universe.
Why does Star Wars work? There's a whole cast and plethora of almost fantasy type elements in it, mass combat and such.
Star Trek, at its heart, was a story about a few people. You had the 3, maybe 8 main characters. It was very much a personal episodic thing. I think RPG series, as publishers go, live and die by breadth and interest in the breadth of the series. Star Wars seems to be more open to that than Star Trek, from a conventional wisdom/popularity POV. I'm not saying it's right, I don't agree, but I think that's the stumbling block for a lot of Trek RPGs.
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Post by Falconer on Jan 6, 2010 15:53:31 GMT -5
One aspect may be that the periods of peak popularity for Star Wars have coincided with the periods of peak popularity for Dungeons & Dragons: Star Wars OT: 1977-1983 (peak years for AD&D 1e) Star Trek TNG: 1987-1994 (bland and uninspiring years for AD&D 2e) Star Wars PT: 1999-2005 (peak years for D&D 3e) The coincidence of people being into roleplaying and Star Wars at the same time would just quite simply have been much higher. Star Trek, at its heart, was a story about a few people. I see no big difference from Star Wars here. Who are the “PCs” in Star Wars? Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, and Chewbacca initially, with Leia later being swapped in for Obi-Wan. In Star Trek? Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty, at the very least, though you could swap in others like Pike or Mitchell or Chekov. I think Star Wars just gives you the opportunity to play a rogue or rebel with a blaster or lightsaber at his side, who also gets to save the galaxy from Evil Incarnate as he sees fit. There’s a very legitimate concern that in Star Trek you go where Starfleet tells you to go and do what Starfleet tells you to do. |
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Post by chgowiz on Jan 6, 2010 16:03:14 GMT -5
See, I think we're saying the same thing but from different POVs. When I say Star Trek is about a few people, I think that I'm saying the universe is a bit more limited, than what we saw in Star Wars. This is probably just how we all see things differently, but for me, Star Wars felt HUGE where Star Trek felt personal, like a small family.
And yes, role playing in a military unit (ala Starfleet) does appear to have limitations. You'd have to really want to do it, or be willing to work in a game where you're NOT the captain, but perhaps a Dept Head (similar to being a knight or adventurer in a game where the town lord has hired you and you do his/her bidding..)
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Post by Falconer on Jan 6, 2010 16:16:15 GMT -5
Ah, yeah, I see. Part of that is TV versus Movie mentality. One thing I like about TV, especially old shows, is you always knew at the end of the episode that all the characters were like family and you feel like you’re a part of it, or if you were you would be safe and perfectly at home.
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Post by aramis on Feb 3, 2010 14:24:13 GMT -5
The list is missing a few of the Unlicensed ones... Especially S&S (FGU).
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