43

It was 43 years ago today when Star Trek was born, or at least when it aired its first episode on NBC. Since that time Star Trek has been through a lot with ups and downs along the way. Today we take a trip down memory lane, counting the years since Star Trek was new...

Check out today's fantastic look back at the 43 years of Star Trek -- in text, rare pictures and video -- over at TrekMovie

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TrekRPGNet Forum 10th Anniversary

As posted this week over in the TrekRPGnet Forums:

10 years and still flying

On August 24th 1999 did Don Mappin open the doors to this forum. Within 2 days had the number of members reached 50, some still active.

TrekRPGNet itself, as an independent repository for Star Trek roleplaying material, was created the year before. The site itself will become 11 year old in just 10 days.


Happy Anniversary to both and thanks to those who create it and maintain it to this day!

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Space: The New Black in RPGs

I don't know if it's Gen Con, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower or the confluence of the two, but this sure seems to be a banner month for science fiction RPGs in general. The genre is still overshadowed by fantasy setting releases such as Paizo's Pathfinder and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Unaffordable Edition, but there does seem to be plenty of renewed interest in SFRPGs.

Here's a sample, starting off with the flood of Mongoose's Traveller releases (looks like I picked a good time to quit sniffing glue collecting them):

Golden Age Starships Compilation
Tripwire!
Supplement 5: Civilian Vehicles
Supplement 6: Military Vehicles
Book 6: Scoundrel
Alien Module 1: Aslan
Judge Dredd

Mongoose is also releasing the 25th Anniversary edition of the classic Paranoia with Paranoia: Troubleshooters. And Shadowrun celebrates its 20th anniversary with, um, Shadowrun 20th Anniversary Edition. Also just released is the transhuman sci-fi Eclipse Phase, the Cthulhutech supplement Damnation View, FFG's Warhammer 40k game Rogue Trader, and Adamant Entertainment's new hardcover release of MARS: Savage Worlds Edition.

Also at risk of being overshadowed are some SFRPG releases from smaller outfits, but books I can't wait to get my hands on nonetheless.

First up, Grey Area Games has released the OGL-based X-Plorers: the Role Playing Adventures of Galactic Troubleshooters (pictured above) by David "grubman" Bezio. If you've ever wondered what would have happened in 1974 if Gary & Dave had tried to make a science fiction game rather than a fantasy game (using that same Original system), X-Plorer's may have been the result. The printed version is available for $12 ($6 PDF) through Lulu, and I'm going to wait until I have it before I do a proper review elsewhere, but you can check it out right now, absolutely FREE, on the X-Plorer's Downloads page. The Free version omits the art and some of the enhancements of the Full version, but is absolutely everything you need to start playing. So try it, then buy it! I'm really anxious to see what comes of this game. David is already planning on Galactic Troubleshooters, a quarterly supplement to the game, and it will be interesting to see if it gains the same kind of traction that other recent "old school" games such as OSRIC, Swords & Wizardry and Spellcraft & Swordplay have garnered. And of course (on topic), I'm interested to see how easily the "United Corporate Nations (UCN)" might translate to the UFP!

From Original-based old school to FATE-based new school, the long-awaited hard science fiction RPG, Diaspora, is finally here from VSCA Publishing with a 6x9 hardback available for $35 through their store at Lulu. Here are some description excerpts from the Diaspora Wiki (where you can find preview PDFs and other tools):

Humans have been in space tens of thousands of years, and societies have risen and fallen so many times that no one remembers where we come from.

Colonies are grouped in clusters of a few systems connected by slipstreams - artifacts of the cosmos or perhaps a forgotten technology. Only the splipstreams allow travel faster than light. Apart from that, spacecrafts make do with reaction drives, dumping heat as best they can.

Diaspora is a self-contained role-playing game, with rules for starship-battles, individual combat, social interaction, and platoon-scale engagement, in an original science fiction setting that you help design.

This is your universe. How are you going to survive?.

Sounds stark, but fascinating. Very "anti-Traveller" in ways, and I think the market could use that right now. Looking forward to picking it up with the next paycheck.

Finally, from Rogue Games' comes the latest supplement for their grand space opera RPG, Thousand Suns, called Foundation Transmissions. It's available today for $7 as a PDF through RPGnow, with the $13 print edition available at Gen Con now and through Indie Press Revolution in a few weeks. The 130-page book is a collection of articles and new game mechanics for Thousand Suns by Rogues Richard Iorio II and James Maliszewski, Gabriel Brouillard, and some new guy named Robert Saint John. I saw it this morning and it's absolutely loaded with some great art, some of which didn't make it into the original core rules book. Articles include:

• Military Ranks in Thousand Suns (this is one of mine... note the section on ranks for "Navy/Combined (Starfleet)")
• The Ways of Scheming
• Custom Weapons
• Custom Protection
• Guide to the Core Worlds
• A Spacefarer's Introduction to Lingua Terra
• The Aurigan (new alien species)
• Robots

A preview of this and other Rogue Games and Thousand Suns material can always be found on their Scribd site.

So even if you (like me) couldn't make it to Gen Con, there's plenty of new SFRPG stuff out there this month to keep us occupied. 2009 has shaped up to be a great year for the genre, and it shows no signs of slowing down in 2010!

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Geekdo - The Way of the (RPG) Geek

During the wife's tradeshow, I kept myself amused on her "insanely great" iPhone 3Gs. I'm not even a Mac or iAnything head, and I couldn't stop being amazed by what I could do with it. I may have to give in and trade in my current phone (left).

One place I spent a lot of quality time at is the new Geekdō RPG Geek site, from the folks who brought us the wonderful BoardGameGeek. Geekdō is now the "brandname" and parent site for both BGG and its new (and looonnnnggg overdue) RPG sibling. If you're not familiar with BGG, it's basically a HUGE community-driven database of every boardgame and its variations known to humankind. Once you've registered, you can find the games you have (past and present), add them to your collection, rate and comment on them, and discuss them with others. Have a game that's not listed? Add it! See a game that's listed, but has no pictures or description? Expand the entry! Have a favorite game and want to find similar games? BGG is the place to do it.

It's been an invaluable resource for me, especially for old microgames from the 70s and 80s I love so much. And if it weren't for BGG, I never would have been able to track down some really obscure foreign games for Star Trek, Godzilla and Ultraman (and greatly expand some of those entries as well). The interface for BGG is really overwhelming, but eventually you learn to customize it and/or learn to live with its quirks.

One thing BGG has never had, though, is roleplaying games. Some slip through the cracks if they're hybrid boardgames (for example, Battlestations or some of The Fantasy Trip games like Melee and Wizard), but much of what I cover here could not be found on BGG. With Geekdō and its new RPG sub-domain, that's all changing very fast.

It's been in the works for awhile, and there are still some kinks to work out. RPGs and the variety of formats, supplements and connections between games make them very different than the boardgame industry, but I think they've done a pretty great job so far. Over the past week, RPGs that fall under the Star Trek "family" has made enormous progress, and new listings and expansions are being added nearly every day... even by a guy stuck at a tradeshow with his wife's iPhone.

There's a long way to go, though, especially with the FASA Star Trek releases, and I'm pretty sure there's more than 12 people who own the CODA Star Trek Roleplaying Game. So hop over, check it out and build and rate your collection (here's mine, under construction)! Once you're comfortable, you won't be able to resist making a contribution... or two... or three... and soon you'll wonder where your afternoon went!

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Re-emerging

What a crazy few weeks! Had a big job that had to be finished last Friday, then off for 4 days to help my wife Barbe with her big wholesalers' tradeshow, the San Francisco International Gift Fair. That was a huge success (for her), but EXHAUSTING!

So today is the day I catch up on e-mails and other online happenings, and should have a new post here by the end of the day.

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Gone Underground

Just felt that I needed to post an update since I've been MIA for a week or so now. Just overwhelmed with Real Life™ commitments last week and for the coming week as well (pays the bills!). Wish I could say I was busy prepping for Gen Con, but that's not it at all either (since I'm not going, wah).

My absence may have seemed ominous in light of a post I made a few weeks ago, but its nothing to do with that at all. Just work. I'll try to get back in the groove week after this, and post tidbits before then if time allows. I have some good stuff and news to share, just need the time to do them justice.

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Star Trek II - New and Expanded Soundtrack Released!

I usually don't snatch and repeat news published elsewhere, but this came from out of the blue and is just too exciting not to share.

As reported today at TrekMovie, Film Score Monthly and Screen Archives Entertainment have released a newly expanded and remastered soundtrack to James Horner’s 1982 score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan! What was 9 tracks and 40-some minutes is now 23 tracks and 77 minutes, includes a 28 page booklet with rare photos and notes, and is only $20.

Wow. After all these years, I'd pretty much given up hope this would ever happen. I was proven wrong with TMP and Superman: The Movie (I love films scores) now this. Hmmm, what else have I given up on that may have a chance after all?

Anyway, get yourself over to FSM now, and be sure to note the $5 off special for orders over $50.

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One Small Step Toward the Final Frontier

A tip of the hat to the real heroes amongst us...

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Trek and The Great RPG Debate

I had no intention whatsoever on weighing in on this week's Great RPG Industry Debate (short version: "The RPG Industry is Dying and the Enemy is Us" vs "No, You're Just Full of Shit") for two reasons. First, it seems like this comes up every year. Is it always right before Gen Con? Second, I'm annoyed that all of this seems to have sprung from a discussion about Poor Editing in RPGs, and the contention that we should all just suck it up and accept that because The RPG Industry is Dying has now been overshadowed.

Wait, don't go!!! This post isn't what you think. It is not my take on the whole thing. Rather, I just wanted to point to a related piece of wisdom that seems extremely relevant to Trek tabletop RPGs in particular. Over at Trollsmyth there is a post in response to The Debate entitled Supply, Demand, and the Teetering RPG Industry. Note this set of excerpts (emphasis mine):

Even if everything he says is true, it doesn't matter. Why? Because there is a huge number of kids out there reading, writing, and yes, even roleplaying right now...

...But you'll notice I mention nothing about games. Regular readers know what I'm talking about: fanfic and free-form roleplay. It's easy to laugh and dismiss this sort of thing (just as RPGs were laughed at and dismissed in my youth, when they weren't being blamed for suicide and devil worship), but here are a bunch of kids so desperate for roleplay that they have built websites and software and communities to facilitate their play. They've done it all on their own...

...The future is now, and these kids have already, on their own, created the roleplaying experience he's talking about. While they don't yet incorporate things like augmented reality, they take full advantage of cellphone texting and similar echnologies that are available today. That, ladies and gents, is all set to be the roleplaying of tomorrow, and it's got no interest in your rulebooks, dice, or character sheets, thank you very much.

Just last night I had written the following to a friend:

You know, it's not even the endless debates over The Movie that has me down. It's seeming disinterest from those who would rather ponder the effects of the 18 available hand-phaser settings or debate why System X sucks and System Y rules.

And then they wonder why the vast majority of Trek fans decided to forego dice completely and just "sim" on internet boards. Or did they even notice?

I've started a project and every day I just keep thinking of cooler stuff to add to it. It could become pretty big, but now I'm at the point of asking myself whether or not it's worth it. It may only be of interest to a dozen people. I don't really want to do another Enterprise-like project if there's no audience.

Anyway, back to writing and pondering on this. Go check out that link.

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Regarding Groknard's Auction of the Week

So I just realized that something may have gotten lost or misunderstood over the course of time regarding my "Auction of the Week". I'm a bit embarrassed now that I've realized it.

AotW is not something I've won. Ghod knows, I don't need much more of anything!

AotW is for you, the readers. It's a current running auction (when I post it) and I try only to list things that have at least 4 days left. It's also not an auction where I'm the Seller (maybe someday, but I'll be clear about that), not sponsored by eBay or the Seller in any way, and I generally only list things that look like they're a good value. I will never bid against you on anything I post for AotW. If there's nothing good that week, I'll skip it or maybe post something later in the week.

Sorry for any misunderstanding. It wasn't until tonight that I realized that some readers may have thought this was "This is what I won this week on eBay!" No no no no. The wife would kill me.

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Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 7/15/09

This week we've got a FASA Star Trek The Role Playing Game 2nd Edition lot, most from around 1987, that looks like the perfect way to jump whole-hog into the system. Starts off with the 2E box set (2001D) that includes the three core rulebooks and the Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator (rules, master control book, map and counters). Looks like it's got everything except the dice (two 20-sided, numbered 0-9 twice; you can just use D10 with 0-9). Also included:

- (2002) The Klingons (Second Edition)
- (2301) Klingons Ship Recognition Manual (Second Edition)
- (2302) Federation Ship Recognition Manual(Second Edition)
- (2303) Romulan Ship Recognition Manual
- (2204) Ship Construction Manual (Second Edition)
- (2225) The White Flame Starship Combat Scenario Pack from 1988
- (2227) Star Trek: The Next Generation First Year Sourcebook from 1989

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Star Trek TOS, Storytelling and Timelessness

Wonderful post over on James Maliszewski's GROGNARDIA today about why Star Trek TOS still holds up today, in large part due to its approach to storytelling:

"Watching Star Trek, I am continually struck by the fact that it's never about itself. Each episode is simply a science fiction adventure story, with little or no connection to anything that comes before or after."

His post comes at a perfect time for me. I've already spent too many days wrestling with canon on (secret project), which is precisely the point. Time to move on and focus on what matters.

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This Bud's for Them - 6 Months

Today marks the 6-month anniversary of Groknard, and according to my stats I'm about to hit Unique Visitor #10,000. 25% of you come back again and again, and average visits per day have gone from about 20 in January to 100 last month. I expected it to take a dip after the premiere of the film in May, but that hasn't happened yet.

The most popular pages have been about turning a keychain into new Enterprise starship gaming miniature, the Heritage Star Trek Miniatures Masterlist, and -- the most popular by far -- the rundown of many of the great fan created ("homebrewed") Trek RPG adaptions done over the years.

Other than "star trek rpg" or "groknard", the most popular search terms are "star trek miniatures", "prime directive rpg", and some variation of searches like "icon coda conversion" or "fasa coda conversion". That's self-selecting, though, as people are only going to follow the link if they think they're going to find what they were looking for here. Strangley, the least searched term was "close-up vince noir badges". Probably my wife, the Boosh fan.

And where do you all come from? Here's a selection over a period of a few days:


Trek roleplaying in Kazakhstan? Not so big. I'll do what I can to change that. But I'm always impressed to see from where almost all over the world readers are coming.

In my first post on Groknard, I wrote:

When it comes to RPGs, Star Trek seems to be the place Where Everyone Has Gone Before, yet here we are in 2009 with no official licensed version. I began to wonder about all of the Trek RPGs I'd missed or skipped over the years, and started to do research. What worked? What didn't? ... As I dug deeper into boxes in the closet and searches on the web, I started finding all sorts of things I'd never known before on the subject.

Although it's true that I have a great collection of Trek games and miniatures, the sad fact is that I haven't actually been able to play the games all that much, especially recently. I certainly enjoy the collecting, the reading, the daydreaming, the blogging and the occasional related creative endeavor. But games are meant to be played and I wish I got to do more of that. When the FASA game came out, my old group (in Columbus, Ohio) had mostly gone its way, and attempts to put together a new regular group in the 80s never came together for me. I only got to play a few FASA RPG sessions, though I had a bit more luck with the Tactical Combat Simulator game. By the time the LUG and Decipher games came out, I was new to California and very preoccupied with work. Although I liked the games and longed to play them, there was something about the RPG community on the internets in a number of places that rubbed me the wrong way. As a result, I wasn't "there" while some of the best fan work was taking place.

Over the past few weeks, I've really wanted to take a moment to give credit where credit is really due, because I'm standing on the shoulders of a lot of giants. This blog simply wouldn't exist without the fine work of so many who have come before me, pointed me in the right direction, helped fill in the blanks, and fought the good fight whenever it seems that gaming in the universe of Star Trek is a lost proposition.

I'll never be able to know or remember everyone, and there are dozens and dozens of gaming professionals who have done so much over the decades. But "this Bud" is for the fans and those who weren't necessarily full-time professionals who have documented and/or created so much more in Trek gaming than ever showed up at the FLGS. My apologies in advance for any ommissions, misunderstandings or misattributions, which I'll be happy to correct or see posted in the comments:

• Mark of Xon Gaming for The FASA Star Trek Starship Combat and RPG Support site, the best single site documenting the Trek games of FASA, and probably the best of its kind.
• Lee "Fasafan" Wood for his contributions to that site, as well as the Morena Shipyards Yahoo Group and his invaluable, in-depth Star Trek RPG Magazine Article Compilation.
• Joe "UFC465537" Homoki of the Guardian of Forever site and its Yahoo Group, who has kept an archive of FASA campaigns and written some exception rules extensions such as Boarding Actions II and Starship Combat II.
• SF RPG writer extraordinaire Jonathan M. Thompson of Battlefield Press who, despite being a pro (and the author of the excellent Prime Directive d20 Modern) spends a good amount of time composing fan gaming material for Trek and more, and (IMO) doing more than its publisher to promote the PD system both in general and as a legit alternative for Trek gaming.
• Crimson... you know who you are, you know what you did, and.... THANKS!
• Owen Oulton whose Memory ICON site has been such an invaluable resource for the Last Unicorn Games system for so long.
• Brad "Sub-Odeon" Torgersen who built and maintains the fantastic (deep breath) Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive and its associated forum. It's hard to believe that STSTCS (one of my favorite tabletop games ever) still holds up so well after all these years, and Sub-Odeon has kept it a living, breathing game. Thanks!
• Speaking of STSTCS, Jason Robinson the genius behind the Windows PC game version of STSTCS, which I find so entertaining and an astounding feat for one person.
• Bill "Graylingnator" for his STSTCS contributions, including his Tactical Combat Simulator site and the wonderful Battlehawks Scenario Pack.
• Bob Portnell, the oft-mentioned (here) "King of Star Trek Homebrews"
• A big tip of the hat to Michael "Scotty" Scott, the Grandfather of Trek RPGs, period! Not only did he create Heritage's STAGFF, but he still actively games in the Trek universe today.
• Magnus Lundgren, current proprietor of The Star Trek Role-Playing Network, or TrekRPGNet, originally created in 1998 by Don Mappin as "an independent repository of information for the then-recently-released Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG by Last Unicorn Games". Thanks to Don for creating that haven and keeping it going through all of the transitions and more, and thanks to Magnus for keeping it alive for all Trek RPGs today.
• Vance, whose Jaynz Ships of the Fleet image gallery and toolkits have allowed and inspired so many folks to create the starship of their dreams for their games.
• Patrick Goodman, whose invaluable CODA Star Trek RPG Support Page for the Decipher game acts as a collective resource for nearly everything related to it, with more great things to come. "Tilting at Windmills" , indeed!
• Matthew "GandalfOfBorg" Kearns' successful and extensive webzine Beyond The Final Frontier: The Unofficial Star Trek RPG Magazine, also hosted at Patrick's site.
• To all of those unsung heroes who have tirelessly documented over 30 years of Star Trek tabletop gaming on Wikipedia and Memory Alpha, and are correct more often than not ;)
• Finally, props to James Maliszewski (Grognardia) and Jeff Rients (Gameblog) who obviously set the standard for RPG blogging and served as my inspiration for creating Groknard in the first place.

To all of them and to you, my readers, my respect and thanks. I love this subejct, and I love sharing it with you. As the title indicates, "This Bud's for them". And you.

And now, I'm going to go drink it!

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Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 7/8/09

This could be a killer deal for someone. 10 of Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek The Roleplaying Game books, currently at $5.50 (plus lots of shipping!).

- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Core Game Book (LUG 25000, 1998)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Narrator's Toolkit (LUG 25001, 1998)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Player's Guide (LUG 25002, 1999)
- The Price of Freedom - The United Federation of Planets Sourcebook (LUG 25100, 1999)
- The First Line - Starfleet Intelligence Handbook (LUG 25101, 1998)
- The Way of Kolinahr - The Vulcans (LUG 25103, 1998)
- Planetary Adventures - Federation Space Volume 1 (LUG 25301, 1999)
- The Way of D'era - The Romulan Star Empire Boxed Set (LUG 25500, 1999)
- Star Trek: The Original Series - Core Game Book (LUG 45000, 1999)
- All Our Yesterdays - The Time Travel Sourcebook (LUG 15002, 1999)

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New Enterprise MSD - Almost Done

...getting there. Its been a productive holiday weekend!

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David R. Deitrick Follow-up

The series is complete!

Here's my rough attempt to assemble the Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan series triptych of the special retailers' incentive version with art by David R. Deitrick, as covered here last month. Issue #3 was released July 1st, so if you want to get them, grab them soon (link to Things from Another World, or click the image above). This series with David's artwork and April's movie prequel Countdown have really made me take a closer look at the Trek comics coming out of IDW Publishing, and the John Byrne TOS April-era tale Crew (featuring "Number One"!) jumped out at me as well. But just as Crew #5 is coming out next week, #2 is already sold out. I tracked it down and paid extra, but that's the lesson for TWOK: if you want the Deitrick covers, best get them while you can.

Speaking of Mr. Deitrick, he came upon my original post and was nice enough to drop me a very gracious thank you note. It turns out that the TWOK covers were an entirely new commission, not an older unseen piece. If, like me, you'd like to see more of these, do what I did: drop IDW a note by snail mail or email and let them know you want more (I even hinted I'd like them to release a poster). In my ideal world, this gives David a chance to build up his Trek portfolio just in time for a new game publisher to come along, snatch up the RPG license, and hire him to do all of the art for the game!

A guy can dream, can't he? While I'm at it, I win the lottery big time, and I'm the one that gets the license and hires the rest of the best and the brightest. We all quit our day jobs and just create the best Trek RPG ever.

But for now, I'll just have to make do with these comics and work on the next best thing...

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Star Trek Lives... at Origins 2009!

First off, if I'd had half a brain in my head these past few weeks, this should have been a post previewing the Origins Game Fair held last week (June 24-28) in my hometown of Columbus, OH at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. As it happens, it never occurred to me to even check the schedule until it was over, probably because I was bummed that I couldn't afford to go (and Gen Con still looks just as unlikely).

Post-con reports this week have been pretty much the same: attendance seemed slightly down compared to previous years, it didn't help that Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf and Games Workshop didn't exhibit, but overall it was a great show for gaming. As someone who deals with tradeshows in the tech field, I have to tell you that shows this past year have been down at least a third, and I hear Origins didn't have anywhere near that kind of drop. Congratulations to the Game Manufacturers Association for that.

It looks like Origins 2009 was packed with fun for Trek gamers. First off, a big round of applause to Steve Cole and the folks at Amarillo Design Bureau for a great presence at the show, and for running Star Fleet Universe new player demos for all 5 days. Best way to introduce new players to the hobby. In fact, it sounds like it was a full plate for SFU players throughout the show with Federation & Empire (the strategic game of the SFU) games run upstairs, Federation Commander and Star Fleet Battles games and tournaments, and seminars and "The Sing-A-Long" (the company briefing). Here is a picture album that Bill Stec has posted to Photobucket.

And here are some tidbits from friend, Groknard reader and fellow Cardinal (Class of '86), Lee Hanna (thanks Lee!):

• F&E was rocking... 23 bodies at 4 tables, the room was definitely full
• Played in the "Errant Wind" game (General War delayed, Romulans and Klingons gang up on Federation; 4 turns played)
• Attended the Company briefing (aka the Sing-A-Long) and the F&E Seminar. Came away impressed with the continued openness by ADB's officers. Missed the SFB Tactics and FC seminars. A number of seminars were podcasted, so you can hear for yourself with more to come
• Little coverage and no play of the Prime Directive RPGs during the con :(
• ADB's sales were higher YOY in May 2009 than May 2008 and June's sales were double, perhaps due to the new Star Trek film?

(side note: great blog entry yesterday at Troll in the Corner regarding memories of the old Star Fleet Battles)

Also popular at Origins this year was the other venerable Star Trek wargame, FASA's Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator. Chris Norton organized no less than four games of STSTCS in Hall D during the show based on Klingon vs IKS and Klingon vs Federation scenarios.

And here's one I wished I'd been in on: Ken Burnside's (Ad Astra Games) Squadron Strike with the scenario When Universes Collide - Babylon 5 vs Star Trek! I need to get me the SSDs for that and give the Star Trek universe a shot in a true 3D simulation game... In Valen's Name!

But it wasn't all miniatures and ConSims at Origins 2009. Prime Directive may have decided to skip the show (a shame, btw, considering that the new D20 Modern version rocks), but there was no lack (or variety!) of Star Trek role-playing games going on at the con. Tara Lydick of Blue Hen Gamers club, for instance, ran a LUG game called Which Came First? - "When the crew of the USS Blackhorse discover a new star system, can they successfully negotiate their way out of their strangest first?"

CODA games aplenty too! Patrick Goodman and I were talking on the phone the other day and he'd heard that his CODA Star Trek RPG Support Site came up in conversations during the show. Between the movie, a complete Trek game system for $35, and efforts like Patrick's, CODA has definitely proven itself to be the little Trek RPG that could. As for CODA games at Origins...

• Kevin Hake of Crimson Hand Gamers ran two games: Ports of Call, in which the USS Gryphon patrols the infamous Triangle, and Ports of Intrigue, where the crew goes undercover to investigate New Sahara... is it a black market or something more sinister?
• Kris Chester and Brandon Perdue also ran two CODA games: The Lost Colony, a TNG scenario, and The Treason Sharply, in which players could join the crew of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey and gain honor in the hunt for a traitor to the Empire.

Last but not least was a FUDGE homebrew sponsored by Grey Ghost Press and organized by Gordon Cooper called The Monument. In this TOS-based scenario, a science vessel investigating the ruins of a lost civilization has disappeared... and there are reports of Klingon activity in the sector.

Not too shabby a showing for Trek at all. I'm definitely going to try to make it to next year's Origins (June 23-27, 2010) and I may have a couple of my own games to run as well (more on that later). In the meantime, Gen Con Indy 2009 is just 40 days away, and I see a few Trek games on deck. Hmmm... what is "Directive 7731"?

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OT: I have entered BIZARRO WORLD

"It am an international crisis! Quick, Bizarro President! Go to sleep!"

In BIZARRO WORLD, California native Robert "Groknard" Saint John stays home during the weekend of July 23-26. His wife, Barbe, goes to the completely sold-out San Diego Comic-Con. It must be BIZARRO WORLD (or the Mirror Universe), because in our universe, Barbe hates comics, science fiction, movies, Star Trek, San Diego, gaming and crowds.

But she does love, LOVE, The Mighty Boosh. And apparently BBC Worldwide are bringing creator / stars Julian Barratt (Howard Moon) and Noel Fielding (Vince Noir) along with co-stars Michael Fielding (Naboo), Rich Fulcher (Bob Fossil) and Dave Brown (Bollo) to Comic-Con. She must be there. So, against all odds, we managed to score her a ticket this evening on eBay through SDCC's official last minute auction.

Oh sure, Russell T. Davies, David Tennant, Julie Gardner and Euros Lyn from Doctor Who are going to be there. John Barrowman and Eve Myles from Torchwood? There. Star Trek's J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman? Yep, but they're there for Fringe. Apparently Star Trek won't have an offcial presence at SDCC this year. Maybe.

But this is BIZARRO WORLD, and as such, I don't care. Really. Of course, now Barbe has to find a hotel room for under $1000 in San Diego County. HAH!

Come with me now on a journey through time and space...... To the world of The Mighty Boosh....



And from my absolute favorite episode, Nanageddon, with my favorite characters, Saboo and Tony Harrison of the Board of Shaman...

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Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 6/29/09

This week's auction is a nice collection of FASA books specifically related to the Star Trek Technical Combat Simulator. No counters, dice or maps, but would make a handy set of reference tools if you plan on playing STCS online with Rob Carignan's excellent VASSAL STCS module or the amazing ST:STCS Computer Version.

Included in the auction are:

- Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator (FASA 2003) - Rule book and Master Control Book
- Klingons Ship Recognition Manual, Second Edition (FASA 2301)
- Federation Ship Recognition Manual, Second Edition (FASA 2302)
- Romulan Ship Recognition Manual (FASA 2303)
- Star Trek III: Sourcebook Update (FASA 2214)
- The White Flame Starship Combat Scenario Pack (FASA 2225)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation First Year Sourcebook (FASA 2227)

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Looking Back 10 Years Ago

Just a quick entry here, because the meat is elsewhere. I ran across an entry from the SF Gaming column of RPGnet, a June 1999 interview that James Maliszewski (of Rogue Games and Grognardia fame) did with Ross A. Isaacs, author, designer and line editor of so much of the Last Unicorn Games and Decipher Star Trek role-playing games. I think Ross is at Eden Studios these days. I think. Actually, I'm not sure what's going on with Eden these days.

From the interview:

"Star Trek, as an RPG, must create new material to remain viable. The great thing is that Paramount understands this, and actually looks forward to seeing what we come up with."

*sigh*

"In the coming months, you'll learn about the Federation's Merchant Marines, Starfleet's organization, Starfleet Intelligence, Vulcan's dark past, where Mount Seleya is located, Risan history, Tellarite cities, and all about Romulan culture and space. Next year, we're going to tackle the Tholians, the Klingons and Cardassians. Will you see "original" material? Heck ya!"

*double sigh*

Anyway, check out the full Isaacs interview, a great blast from the past. And when you're done with that, check out James' inteview with author/developer Kenneth Hite from the same period.

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A Miniature Crew of Your Own

It was about 2 1/2 years ago that I "re-discovered" The Hobby. Actually, I hadn't forgotten it, but I'd stopped following it on the Internets back in '99 because I felt they were sucking the fun out of it. Anyway, the reason I "came home" was due in big part to Star Trek and its long legacy of gaming, much of which I'd missed during my exile.

One of the first things I started looking for was the miniatures I'd had and those I missed. I've been lucky enough to have saved (or recovered) and expanded my collection quite a bit with the Heritage, Citadel, FASA, LUG and Ultimo Avamposto officially-licensed releases. Of course, those aren't the only options.

It was around that time (early 2007) that I was on The Miniatures Page and saw a post about a fellow named Matakishi who was planning on designing and casting his own 28mm Starship Crew. By early this year, I'd given up hope that he would finish the project, but lo and behold! He says he's still working on perfecting the sculpts, but apparently is willing to share the fruits of his labors in return for a donation. See his site for details.

It was also on his site and others that I came across pictures of some other "not Trek" miniatures that came out a few years ago, and are no longer available. Here are some from OOP Eureka Miniatures (that I have since managed to get off eBay):



...and here are 1st Corps' 28mm "Away Team", also long gone (that I have not managed to find):


There are at least two other options for a miniature crew of your own. I'm particulary fond of MegaMiniatures 25mm "SF Explorers", available through their eBay store:



They may look a little goofy, but they're very nicely cast, very affordable and easily modified with a little skill. Take a look at what Scott over at the Star Trek Miniatures Yahoo Group managed to do with one:



And I think Adam or I mentioned them before, but Victory Force Miniatures has their outstanding line of 28mm "Spacefarers" that are perfect for Next Generation era Trek, Galactica, Babylon 5 or even Galaxy Quest! Here's the "Space Crew Explore Pack #2":

Be sure to scroll down the whole page, and you'll find perfect sources for men, women, aliens... and even redshirts!

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Star Trek: Big in Japan!

If you haven't noticed, I have a passion for many things Japanese, including Japanese things related to Star Trek (or, as the original series was called over there, 宇宙大作戦 (Space Operation)). Probably a result of the years I spent immersed in kaiju eiga and tokusatsu fandom... that's a fancy way of saying Godzilla, Gamera and Ultraman, heh.

Thanks to Eric, my wonderful online friend and Trek RPG buddy in Tokyo, I got a fantastic care package last week. I'd already managed to get ahold of a few chirashi (mini-posters) for the film, but Eric really completed my collection with the official movie program, a keychain with a very small new Enterprise, a command badge and a press/PR document (all pictured left, click any of these to embiggenize).

I still have and treasure my original 1979 theatrical program from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was probably one of the final programs of its type published. By the time TWOK came out in 1982, everything seemed to have switched to "Official Collector's Magazines". Just not the same.

But in Japan, a few very high-quality programs still manage to be released, and some theaters and movies have additional merchandise for sale at the concession stands. Some of the coolest and rarest Godzilla collectibles were "theater exclusives" that would only be available at the end of the year when what used to be the annual Godzilla film was being screened.

And so it was with the June premiere of JJ Abrams' Star Trek in Japanese theaters this month. Shochiku Goods has released Star Trek theater merchandise as part of its Froovie ("something from the movie") line of goods, which can be seen at the Froovie website. Unfortunately, most of it now appears to be sold out (and Eric told me the same), so it will be difficult for most Westerners to get ahold of it unless you know how to frequent outlets such as Yahoo Japan Auctions. In the meantime, here's some closeup images of what Eric managed to get to me.

I love the program, but I think this is my favorite: yet another new Enterprise keychain! This is much smaller than the US version I covered a few weeks ago, 1 3/4" (45mm). For starship miniature fans, that's about the same size as the small Romando Star Trek 1/7000 collection (my favored scale for gaming).

Here are some additional close-ups alongside a Galoob TOS 1701 Micro Machine, the US Basicfun keychain, and -- one of my favorite recent acquisitions -- a brilliant 1/7000 scale Klingon D7, erm, Sing-on Starship from Studio Bergstrom (do check out that website, his minis are better than the pictures and a GREAT VALUE!).

And here are some shots of the additional merchandise (click to enlarge):

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Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 6/25/09

I'm a little confused about what makes up this week's auction, so you may want to message the seller in advance for clarification. It's listed as DS9 RPG, the Next Gen RPG, The narrators guide, and the box set of The romulan Expansion, "the Path of D'ehra".

Based on the photos, I'm pretty sure it's Last Unicorn's 1999 releases of Star Trek Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game, the DS9 Narrator's Toolkit by Christian Moore and The Way of D'Era: The Romulan Star Empire boxset by Ross Isaacs (I don't see the box in the pics, though). Also included seems to be Decipher's CODA system release of Star Trek Roleplaying Game Narrator's Guide from 2002.

The D'Era release alone is difficult and expensive to get, so if you can snatch this for $10 plus shipping, that's a great deal. But it's not a fraction as good as the material in the underrated DS9 books, so consider getting it for those!
--
EDIT 6/25/09: Also, check out this seller's $2 Buy It Now Star Trek FASA Modules!

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Farewell Startrek-games.com and Post Rescue

As you may have seen or read elsewhere, IGN has decided to shut down a number of sites it hosted, including Chessmess' wonderful, long-lived Star Trek Games site. Although the focus over the past decade had primarily been Trek-themed PC and videogames, Chess was just beginning to expand into other areas such as tabletop gaming and online sims. I had made a few contributions recently and was planning on making it a regular gig to cover non-RPG tabletop games I don't cover here.

With STG gone, I'll probably occasionally include coverage of these games -- such as the Star Fleet Universe, rare Tsukuda Japanese Trek wargames and the old Star Fleet Battle Manual -- here at Groknard as as well. I do want to thank Chess for the opportunity to contribute to STG and for all the work he's done in Trek gaming over the years, and wish him the best.

There was one post I did in March that I liked a lot, so I'm going to republish it here for the sake of posterity.
______________________________________________________________

Updates from the Star Fleet Universe
Originally posted on Star Trek Games, March 16, 2009

Are you familiar with the Star Fleet Universe games from Amarillo Design Bureau? You should be!

Since this column on tabletop Trek games is still relatively new, I thought I should introduce the Star Fleet Universe (SFU) before getting to news about its latest products. You have probably heard about their signature game, Star Fleet Battles (SFB), if for no other reason than it having been the basis of Interplay’s 1999 videogame, Starfleet Command and its sequels Starfleet Command II: Empires at War and Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates.

SFB is a tabletop wargame of the “hex-and-counter” flavor, designed in the mid-70s by Stephen V. Cole. It was initially released in 1979 by Task Force Games and under Cole’s guidance (and subsequently through his company ADB), SFB has thrived through various versions over the decades. In fact, the entire product line has grown to include pewter starship gaming miniatures, a faster and simpler SFB-like line of games called Federation Commander, the RPG Prime Directive, and the action card game Star Fleet Battle Force and more, all set in the Star Fleet Universe.

Although based on elements of Star Trek, the Star Fleet Universe adheres to an alternate canon. It was originally built upon the legacy of TOS, the Animated Series and the 1975 book The Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph, on which its licensing is based (SFU products are — contrary to myth — licensed through Paramount as well). But the SFU is a different reality, as if Star Trek had taken a different path before the events that started with Star Trek The Motion Picture.

In the SFU, you’ll find the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. You’ll also find the Kzinti, Orions and many elements unique to the SFU’s history. You won’t find Cardassians, the Borg or the Dominion. For licensing reasons, you also won’t find Kirk, Spock or even the words “Star Trek”. But the world in which the SFU games takes place will definitely look and feel familiar to anyone raised on TOS.

The best way to see if the Star Fleet Universe and its games are for you is to jump in and play… for free! ADB has made available a downloadable starter version from its Federation Commander game system called First Missions. It’s a 34 page PDF manual that includes rules, counters, a map, full color ship cards and scenarios. Just add some 6-sided dice and a friend, and you’ll be ready to take command of a Federation Heavy Crusier or a Klingon D7 Battlecruiser.

If you like it, there are plenty of options available to go further with Federation Commander. There’s a full version Klingon Border game, but if you prefer the Vulcan’s cousins, there’s Romulan Border. If you’re low on funds, consider Academy because you can always move on to Graduation later. The games are very modular and available in such a way that you can easily mix and match and never spend money on what you don’t need. For complete information, check out ADB’s website for Federation Commander and more.

ADB has made some new product announcements across most of its game lines:

Star Fleet Battles Master Annex File - Master Ship Chart, Master Fighter Chart, Master Gunboat Chart, complete Sequence of Play, and all of the other annexes and data tables for SFB, updated to include the past four years of products. Now available.

Star Fleet Battles Galactic Conquest Rulebook (4th Ed) - A printed manual intended for use with the “Galactic Conquest” campaign engine for Star Fleet Battles.

Prime Directive: Federation - Supplement for the Prime Directive RPG, detailing the extensive history of the Federation, the history and culture a dozen member races, military organizations, medals, starships, politics, intelligence agencies, and so on. The D20 Modern version will be available on April 20, and the GURPS version is scheduled for May 18. (NOTE: obviously, this is out of date. Neither has been released, and no specific date is yet available)

Orion Dreadnought (1/3788 scale miniature) - One of the latest editions to the Starline 2400 series of pewter miniatures, the Orion DN is the biggest pirate ship of all time, and has more guns, more power, and more sheer terror than any other pirate ship.

Finally, ADB and Majestic Twelve Games have announced an agreement to develop Klingon Armada, a Starmada supplement set in the SFU tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.

Starmada is another extremely popular miniatures boardgame of starship combat, and Klingon Armada will contain all of the rules options, additions, and starship designs necessary to allow players to pit forces of the Klingon Empire against their perpetual enemies, the United Federation of Planets.

I’ll bring you more information on this as it becomes available.

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I'm Not Dead Yet

Apologies for the extreme slow-down in posts. I've taken on some extra work in real life and we just brought in a new chihuahua puppy to foster. Last week was a sleepless mess, but everything's slowly getting back into some kind of rhythm. Should be back to normal posting by the end of the week.

In the meantime, I have been working on some Trek stuff, specifically the schematics that I mentioned last month and some work for Patrick's Starships of the Star Fleet Technical Manual project. Here's a tiny glimpse (left, click for another view) of how that deckplan of the new Enterprise is coming (yes, I totally re-started it from scratch). Should be done by end of the month. Takes a loonnnggg time to draw all those pipes in engineering.

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The "Key" to New Starship Miniatures!

Fans of Star Trek and starship miniature gaming, rejoice!

As I hinted in my blog earlier this week, a new alternative for starship miniatures has come onto the market in an unlikely fashion: the new line of Star Trek Keychains from Basic Fun, Inc. The company has released a set of 5 new keychains, 4 from older Star Trek series and 1 from the new film. Based on the pictures, I decided to take a chance to see if these would be suitable for Trek miniature gaming, and similar to the Star Trek Micro Machines I already have in terms of quality and scale. The answer is: close enough!

The new line of keychains are made of the same soft plastic (PVC?) that most of Galoob's Micro Machines were made of. They are each about 3 inches (8cm) long, and consist of the following ships:

- TOS USS Enterprise NCC-1701
- TOS Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser
- TNG USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D

These are in identical "Original Trek" packaging (see right) with images of each on the back, including a TOS Communicator keychain, not covered in this post. Regardless of contents, the packages are all labeled with the same SKU and "Item# 1354".

The fourth starship is the new Enterprise from this year's film. It is in its own unique packaging, listed as Item# 1355, and makes no reference on the back to any of the other keychains.

As you can see to the left (you can click most pictures in this post to get the bigger versions), the ships are all the same length. Both of these Enterprise ships are nearl the exact same length as the Galoob Micro Machine USS Enterprise, as pictured at the very top of this post. At first glance one might even think that the two TOS Enterprises are from the same mold, but the quality and detail of the new "keychain" version exceeds the older one in subtle ways, such as the thickness of the saucer section.

The paint jobs and lettering on all of the new ships is excellent, and none of the ships I received were at all warped as MMs could be at times. I will certainly be clipping the chains from these ships and using a Dremel to drill small holes in the bottom for flight stands.

One really important thing to note for both the TOS and the new Enterprise is how the keychain itself is connected. Despite the images used on the packaging and in promotional photos for them, the connecting loop is more invasive than depicted. To the right, for instance, is a closeup of one of those images, definitely a prototype. Down below, however, you will see that the loop actually goes through two small holes on the rear of the saucer, and one through the neck. They're not sloppy holes and I can see why they chose to do that considering the material and their actual function as something to pull out of your pocket. But I'm sure there are some fans who would prefer to know this before they purchase them. This method is not used on the 1701D or the D-7.

It's not a deal killer for me, and I don't think I'm going to bother trying to fill the gaps. Although it would be easy enough to do with green stuff (epoxy modeling putty), it would probably be a pain (for me) to match the original paint. I'm sure others with be able to do it in such a way as to not even be noticeable!>



I only wish Basic Fun had released a Kelvin as well! I would have bought a boatload of those to kitbash and create the two other Federation starships (the "Quad" and the "Trike" as some call them). But even with just the 1701, there are some great custom kitbashing possibilities, like those found at the awesome Shipyard site of 3D artist MadMan.

Here are some more images of the other "Ships of the Line". First, the 1701-D and the D-7, side-by-side with their Micro Machine counterparts. As you can see, they're a good half-inch longer.



Next, some closeups of the beautiful detail found on the new 1701. Yes, that is actually an aztec pattern on the bottom of the saucer! Manufacturing has come a long way.





Next, some close-ups of the D-7 (or, as I'll call it when I pit it against the new Enterprise, the big "D-9 Klingon War Birds", even though the Klingon War Birds in the new film do have some stylistic differences). In the third pic, you can almost imagine that I know how to focus a camera in such a way that you can see the individual windows painted on.



Here's the 1701-D, and it's just beautiful. Very smooth, and windows and other detail are fantastic. The keychain connector simply unscrews, leaving a small knob that should come off with a sharp hobby knife.



Finally, the "NCC 1701. No bloody A, B, C, or D."



So, there you have it. At about $6 a pop, definitely a less expensive alternative for the new Enterprise than what's available through the secondary market right now, and some almost perfect alternatives to what came out through Micro Machines. You should be able to find these on eBay or the official Star Trek Store (beware obscenely priced and slow shipping and handling!), and I would think that they'll be showing up in all sorts of brick and mortar retail outlets as well.

Let the kitbashing and tabletop gaming begin!

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