Star Trek Adventures, the tabletop role-playing game published by Modiphius Entertainment, just celebrated its second anniversary. Since first launching in August 2017, the game has published seven different books, released multiple sets of miniatures and die to supplement game play, and has plans for much more on the way.
We caught up with Jim Johnson, who was recently promoted from Star Trek Adventures editor to line manager to discuss where the game is two years on, why Star Trek fans should check it out if you have not already done so, and what’s coming next for the line.
TREKCORE: What’s your background and role with Star Trek: Adventures?
JIM JOHNSON: I joined the Star Trek Adventures development team in May 2016 as a freelance writer and editor, and gradually took on more responsibility for the various products on the line, from writing, editing, proofreading, art direction, etc. I was just recently promoted to line manager and am both grateful for the opportunity and excited at the prospects ahead.
TREKCORE: What is the setting of Star Trek Adventures? Is there a main story that underlines it, or do players have access to all areas of the Star Trek canon?
Johnson: Star Trek Adventures covers the entirety of [pre-Discovery] Star Trek canon in our license, which is Enterprise, the Original Series, the Animated Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, the six Original Series movies, and the four TNG-era movies. We’re also able to sprinkle in content from the various comic books and novels.
The default year for the game line is 2371, where things are really getting interesting for the Federation, though the game can be used for Star Trek stories set in any year or era. The core rulebook presents the toolbox — it’s up to the gamemaster and players to use those tools in whatever setting they want to play in.
Our living campaign series of adventures tells two connected stories, one set in the original series era in 2269 and the other in the Next Generation-era, 2371. We also have a number of standalone adventure modules set in various years from 2151-2379.
TREKCORE: How does Star Trek Adventures compare to other famous role-playing games that fans might know, like Dungeons and Dragons?
JOHNSON: It’s a pen and paper tabletop role-playing game, so it’s similar to other RPGs in that you and a group of friends get together and create characters (who are most likely the senior officers aboard a Federation starship) — and one player acts as the gamemaster or referee. Together, you tell stories set in the Star Trek universe much as an episode of the television show would play out.
The game focuses primarily on teamwork, problem solving, and social conflict, though there are ample opportunities for ship to ship engagements and hand to hand combat.
Task resolution is based on a character’s statistics, and influenced by rolling dice, usually 2 to 5 twenty-sided dice and a handful of six-sided dice depending on the circumstances. The game uses a customized version of Modiphius’s 2d20 system, tailored to deliver a true Star Trek experience to the game table.
Unlike some other RPGs, you don’t need miniatures or maps to play the game, and can rely instead on a more narrative ‘theater of the mind’ form of playing, though there are plenty of STA gamers out there who do use miniatures and maps at the table.
TREKCORE: Since it launched in 2017, you’ve published a number of different products in the Star Trek Adventures line. How do they all tie together?
JOHNSON: There are currently three entry points to the game — the free quick-start PDF, the boxed starter set, and the core rulebook itself. I’d encourage anyone interested in the game to check out the free quick-start first, since it contains pre-generated characters, a short rules explanation, and a short adventure.
If you like what you see in there, grab the starter set which includes dice, tokens, maps, an abbreviated version of the rules, and a three-part adventure designed to teach you the system as you go.
Once you’re in love with the game, pick up the core rulebook and gain access to the full ruleset, along with custom character generation options, and a ton of setting detail and gamemastering advice.
There are three division sourcebooks — one each for command, operations, and sciences — which give players with characters in those divisions more options, and gives gamemasters detailed guidance on how to more deeply involve those characters in adventures.
We have a series of “Quadrant” books that go into more detail on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and the species that live in them, as well as offering plot hooks and ideas for gamemasters to use the setting in their games. We have a large selection of standalone adventure modules for use in games as well, in both PDF in print format in the adventure anthology titled These Are the Voyages.
There are also accessories to enhance game play, such as customized dice, a gamemaster screen, and a free online app for character generation. We have a range of character miniatures as well, though as mentioned, the game does not require the use of miniatures.
Original Series characters, Next Generation era characters, Klingons, Borg, and Romulans are all currently represented in the miniatures range.
TREKCORE: You’ve been hiring longtime Star Trek authors, like Dayton Ward and Christopher L. Bennett, to write missions Star Trek Adventures. What has that process been like?
JOHNSON: I had several short stories published in various Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthology installments that Simon and Schuster published from 1998-2016. In the course of being published in those anthologies, I attended several Star Trek-oriented conventions, including Shore Leave in Hunt Valley, MD.
Over the years of writing and going to those conventions, I built friendships with many fellow Star Trek authors, including Dayton Ward, Christopher L. Bennett, Scott Pearson, Derek Tyler Attico, Kelli Fitzpatrick, and others. I was able to leverage my responsibilities on the STA line to encourage many of those writers to work with me on various projects — and so far, no one has said no, which is really exciting!
I’m delighted to be in a position to bridge the Star Trek fiction and gaming worlds to some extent.
TREKCORE: What would you say to a Star Trek fan who might be interested in Star Trek Adventures, but has never played a role playing game before?
JOHNSON: If you love Star Trek’s themes of hope, idealism, personal growth, and adventure, and you love collaborative storytelling, and have a group of friends you like to play games with, give Star Trek Adventures a try. It’s only logical.
TREKCORE: What can Star Trek Adventures players look forward to in the months ahead?
JOHNSON: The Gamma Quadrant Sourcebook and Delta Quadrant Sourcebook are coming up next, as well as a second adventure anthology titled Strange New Worlds. After that, we have a number of amazing products in development that will be announced soon!
Fans and gamers can expect to see the product line grow and expand further in the coming months and years. It’s been a fun ride so far, and as Picard said, “The sky’s the limit!”
You can get in on the Star Trek Adventures action through a number of retailers, or head straight to the source — all of the STA materials released to date are available directly from gaming publisher Modiphius Entertainment.
Check back to TrekCore later this week, as we’ll have a close-up, hands-on look at a set of those Star Trek Adventures miniature gaming figures — which take an artists’ touch to bring them to life for tabletop action!