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DECIPHER.com > Star Trek RPG
What's "In the Cards" for Star Trek™ RPG?
by Mark Tuttle
Decipher Internet Net Rep
mark.tuttle@decipher.com
Decipher has finally entered the exciting world of RPGs with the Star
Trek™ Roleplaying Game. If you've played Decipher's other games,
you might not be prepared for what an RPG has to offer. It might seem like
a lot of reading and the system complex at first, but RPGs are very flexible
in how you implement the system. You could play a game where the Narrator
brings all of the notes you need, and the only thing required of you is
a pencil and your imagination. Or, you could represent your progress through
the game using miniatures on square or hexagonal graph paper. (That's how
I started my RPG career in 1978!) Finally, you can find a happy medium between
the two. That's the beauty of RPGs; it's up to you to decide how you visualize
and progress through your adventure!
Since RPGs offer such a wide outlet for creativity, here's an idea for
you to really flesh out your Star Trek Roleplaying Game! Go to your
gaming shelf and pull out your boxes of cards from Decipher's Star Trek
Customizable Card Game. What? I thought we were going to talk about the
RPG. Well, we are. Way back when the card game was released and you opened
your first pack, you probably found a U.S.S. Galaxy or a Darian Wallace
and thought "...what am I ever going to do with these..."? Besides building
STCCG decks, you can put them to great use in the Star Trek Roleplaying
Game!
Remember, RPGs are about imagination. However, since we're in the world
of Star Trek, there are certain images that we already have set in
our minds. Why not use those images to enhance your play? Your Star Trek
Customizable Card Game extras can be put to use doing just that. Here are
just a few ways you as a Narrator or player can do this:
- Use Federation character cards to represent members of a landing party
and their relative positions.
- Card images give a name and face to non-player characters throughout
the game. The cards are a great reference source for personalities your
players may meet throughout the game. This gives your scenario validity
and it will "feel like Star Trek".
- Duplicate the horror of Borg drones beaming onto the bridge in exponentially
increasing numbers.
- Run a scenario where a hijacked Federation vessel attacks and watch
your players' faces when you "activate the viewscreen" by dropping a Khan
card!
- Have your players each draw a card at random from a handful of alien
races and explain that you're all being held by a hostile alien race.
Players must play that pre-rolled character.
- Use common starship cards to build a spaceport or drydock. Or, represent
a massive fleet battle!
- Dilemma cards can be randomly drawn as hazards your players face.
The possibilities are endless and with the huge number of cards available
in the Star Trek Customizable Card Game universe, almost every ship,
character, and situation from the various series and movies is included!
Hopefully, you can find something here that helps you when you begin your
first Star Trek Roleplaying Game adventure. See you around the galaxy!
June 12, 2002
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