Star Trek Roleplaying Game: Player's Guide Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, let me say that I bought this for the Trek content and for inspiration as a writer and may never play the game. I have played some previous RPGs (none Trek) so I can still evaluate it as one - I hope. Anyway, this appears to be a complete player's guide. Unlike some games, everything you need is here, and sourcebooks are extras not essentials. There are ten starting species to play: Humans, Bajorans, Betazoids, Cardassians, Klingons, Ferengi, Trill, Vulcans, Talaxians and Ocampans. Each matches what we have seen in the show in their attribute modifiers and special abilities, although Vulcans have so many that some were cut. The action is done by rolling dice once, adding your character's skill score, bonuses and penalties and then comparing the result to the number needed for success. Everything your characters can do is expressed in a skill, and the range of skill coverage is very good. Characters also have edges and flaws, character traits that help define their personalities and affect their skills. Finally, each character also has Courage points. These represent heroic action and you use them to add to your rolls, either to prevent failure or boost the level of your success. (I would love this feature as a player.) There are seven basic professions: Diplomat, Merchant, Mystic, Rogue, Scientist, Soldier and Starship Officer. There are elite starship officer professions for every one we have seen in the shows. There are other elite professions that can be entered by anyone meeting their prerequisites. This system manages transfers like Spock from Science Officer to Commander to Ambassador and then probably either Envoy or Spy, all as a Starship Officer. All in all, the system really captures the feel of Star Trek characters.
The guide has a number of flaws. Least annoying first, there are a number of canon errors, which is surprising considering how much trivia the Decipher staff know about Star Trek. It was enough to bother me a little, so some fellow Trek reviewers may be driven crazy by it. As has been mentioned in most reviews (such as on rpg.net) the chapter and section order is really bad. The sections on character mechanics and level advancement should have been consolidated and in front. Character Development should probably have been in front of Professions, since you would use them in that order, and the non-starship elite professions should have followed the basic professions. The worst flaws are outright errors in presenting the mechanics of the game. There are edges listed in training that were renamed or eliminated by the time the Traits chapter was written. There are errors in the examples supposed to clarify how the game works. The level advancement rules are sometimes unclear. The Starship Duty ability is, according to the FAQ on the web, importantly more limited than it reads in the Guide. This needed a much more thorough editing before printing.
These problems are irritating, but they are fortunately simple to resolve. The character generation system and the skill test system are solid and very simple to implement. The guide also explicitly states that the players can create their own skills and edges, and even rules for doing so, and that the Narrator can change the type of skill test as he sees fit, if necessary. Should I ever choose to play, I would be very happy to use this system. As a collector, the insight into the skills and abilities of the character types, especially the elite professions, was worth the price. Also, nearly a third of the guide is given to chapters on equipment, starships, the galaxy and the Federation. Those sections were really interesting and informative. As a player I would give this a four for the errors, but as a collector I give it five stars.

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