With the exception of a very few more miniatures sets, this post will wrap up my coverage of Heritage Models and Star Trek adventure gaming. Frankly, I'm surprised I've managed to get this many words out of the subject. At this rate, it may take me 4 years to cover FASA!
As I detailed in my two part review of Star Trek Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, the game's biggest weaknesses were that a) it didn't feel like Star Trek, despite all the name-dropping, and; b) there are virtually no rules covering themes of exploration, character building, starships and starship combat. In the age before the Internet, it would require some fan-written works published in a magazine called Different Worlds.
Different Worlds began publication in 1979, amongst other adventure gaming magazines at the time such as The Space Gamer, Dragon, White Dwarf, Journal of the Travellers Aid Society and, shortly after, Ares. Despite the fact that it was published by Chaosium (Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest), it remained remarkably independent in its focus on fantasy, sci-fi and horror games regardless of publisher, thanks in no small part to the vision of its editor Tadashi Ehara. It's also the only gaming magazine I remember that had a wonderful industry gossip column, "A Letter from Gigi". For someone like myself who was 15 years old at the time, it was really the only way I knew who was who working for whom on what way back when. Did I mention there was no Internet yet?
In Issue #4 (Aug/Sept 1979, above) DW published "A Star Trek Scenario Report: Kirk On Karit 2" by Emmet F. Milestone. The three-page tongue-in-cheek article is a little bit review of STAGFF, some background on the one-shot adventure the author created to run at DunDraCon IV, and special rules he created for STAGFF.
Kirk has Spock run a survey scan of the space surrounding Karit II. The sensors show the presence of a Klingon scout and an entirely alien vessel which appears to be a derelict from its utter silence on all the EM bands. Kirk decides that investigation of the geological disturbances has top priority, so he leaves Scotty in charge of the Enterprise and beams down to the planetary surface with Spock, McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and four security guards. The landing party materializes in front of the only entrance to a huge white dome.
As the people of the starship accustom themselves to the new environment of Karit II, the great double doors of the dome burst open and a group of figures comes flying from within. Three giant humanoid insects are obviously pursuing the lead entity, an orange floroid resembling a carrot, all using jump harnesses. The insects open fire with their disruptors and scorch the plant-man, who dives for cover.
The insectoids, it turns out, are Dreenoi from the 1974 sci-fi miniatures game Starguard (a game which still lives today!). Milestone provides STAGFF statistics for Dreenoi Warriors and Brain Bugs as well as the carrot of Karit II, Karitan Alpha. The noble crew of the Enterprise must infiltrate the mysterious dome, fighting off Dreenoi and Klingons, and repair a machine before the planet destroys itself. And along the way, Kirk may have to seduce a female Klingon lieutenant. In order to pull this off, Milestone created two additional mechanics for STAGFF, "Falling in Love" and "Making a Pass", noting that "Kirk never has luck in love, and can't add his Luck modifier" to his scores as a result.
In Issue #18 (January 1982, right) DW published the more serious and useful "Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier" by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh, one of the most prolific writers of gaming articles at the time (see Jeff Rients' Gameblog for two posts about the late, great Mr. Crabaugh). The article almost accomplished more in its six pages than STAGFF did in its 30+ pages. How much?
Written to supplement Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier role-playing rules, this variant covers a wide range of topics including Experience, Skills, Aging, Salaries, Price Lists, The Referee 's Role, Chain of Command, and World Generation.
Not only that, but Crabaugh included tables for determining crew member species, rank, bonuses and skills, type of starship, warp speeds, department assignment, tech levels and about a hundred more pieces of equipment. In short, Crabaugh single-handedly managed to take STAGFF and transform it into a role-playing game, one worthy of campaigns rather than one shot, landing party dungeon crawls. It's an amazing achievement, eclipsed only by the fact that FASA's Star Trek The Role Playing Game would come out later that same year.
In fact, I would go so far to say that STAGFF combined with Crabaugh's "Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier" resulted in the first true Star Trek role-playing game as we know it.
Things coming up on Groknard: FGU's Starships & Spacemen, ADB's Prime Directive series yesterday and today, more FASA and Citadel miniatures, another surprise, two hybrid "role-playing boardgames" and -- in two weeks! -- my inevitable reviews of the new Star Trek film and its CD score by Michael Giacchino. Today, however, I'm off to EndGame in Oakland for their 6th Annual EndGame Auction!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Heritage Star Trek and Different Worlds
Sunday, March 29, 2009
New Trek, RPGs - What's Hip and What's Geek
Just a random thought here.
Over the past few days, I've read a few articles about events and merchandise that seem to indicate that Paramount is putting some serious focus into "hipstering" up Star Trek (classic and new) as part of its marketing campaign for the upcoming film. TrekMovie had articles this week about NYC and LA "Star Trek Dance Parties" (click the Orion to the left for an LA Weekly Slideshow) and the "new pseudo retro" t-shirts from Junk Food. Harry over at Ain't It Cool News has a somewhat bizarre piece this morning about what's hip, what's geek, and what's geek that can be made hip.
This isn't anything new, of course, and it's all about money. Don't think for one second that the guiding principals of Star Trek are actually anything Paramount gives a crap about. There is not one tiny thought that governs their actions about doing this new Trek movie "for the fans". There is some distinction, I think, between Paramount and JJ Abrams & Co., as I've seen and read enough from the latter to feel some certainty that they have enough respect for both Trek and its fans. So I have some confidence that the movie will not only be good, but very good and satisfying as well.
So what does any of this have to do with role-playing games? Some have remarked that they can't believe that such a big franchise with a history of RPGs associated with it doesn't have an RPG right now, of all times. How could they possibly leave money on the table, it's argued.
If there's any truth to the rumor that parties recently inquired with CBS Consumer Products and Paramount about licensing Trek for a new RPG and were rebuffed, perhaps this (in part) explains why. To those guys, Trek is all about The Brand. And now they're trying to "hip up" The Brand to make sure as many of Teh Kidz see Star Trek and buy the t-shirts before heading to Teh Klubz because that's where the cheddar is. Yo.
And in order to control perception of a brand with so many associations, it's necessary to limit those licenses and marketing efforts. Cool fragrances? Hip. Spock ears? Geek. Hot Orion chicks at a dance party? Hip.
Role-playing game? Geek. And completely un-hippable. "Like Dungeons & Dragons... but with phasers!" probably doesn't fit the mission profile right now.
Like I said, though, it's all about money. Once they've pocketed their first $500 million by the end of summer, they'll be looking to keep that money rolling in for 2010. And by that time, your money and mine will be as green as an Orion slave girl at an LA dance party.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Heritage's Star Trek RPG In-Depth (Part 2)
Today I'm going to wrap up my in-depth review of the rulebook for Heritage's 1978 Star Trek Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (STAGFF), then move on to fan written works that added to the original game. In Part 1, I covered the Basic Game rules and scenario. To sum up my findings so far:
- STAGFF is better organized and presented and more playable than its predecessor, Space Patrol.
- The Basic Game is based upon using the classic Trek characters (Kirk, Spock, Koloth, etc.) and provides stats for them.
- For the most part, the Abilities -- Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Luck (LK), Mentality (MN), Charisma (CH), and Constitution (CN) -- are each applied to only one or two specific tasks with modifiers. No Skill system is given.
- The game suffers from unnecessary complexity.
- The Basic Game provides a brief Scenario called "The Shuttlecraft Crash" and includes a map.
- Even in comparison to the few other RPGs of the time, STAGFF feels more like a wargame, and feels nothing like Star Trek itself.
Over 1,000,000,000 years ago the Slavers ruled the Galaxy. They died off when one of their subject races rebelled with sufficient ferocity. The only known remains of the last Slaver Empire are Stasis boxes. These are special force field boxes in which time stands still. These boxes can be opened using a magnetic probe and they often contain artifacts, devices and other remains of the lost Empire. Just such a box gave the Federation its anti-gravity technology used on starships. Another stasis box contained a super-weapon that was lost due to Kzinti intervention. The slaver stasis boxes are the most sought after archaelogical treasures in the known universe.
The scenario opens with the ENTERPRISE shadowing an alien vessel traveling in unknown territory. The alien vessel, possibly a Kzin or Klingon ship (this is at the discretion of the Mission Master. Any aliens can be used. When aliens are mentioned in this scenario they will be called aliens, but the Mission Master can fill in whatever aliens he thinks would be appropriate) makes a landing on a small Class M world near a partially ruined building. The alien crew, numbering 8 individuals, are seen getting out and entering the building. The ENTERPRISE sends down a party of 6 crewmen to investigate.
The planet has been seeded by the ancient race known as the Providers and has animals from many parts of the Galaxy. The building in the ruins is an ancient Slaver outpost and contains 4 stasis boxes hidden within its walls along with various creatures and the searching alien landing party. The Star Fleet crew must prevent the stasis boxes from falling into the hands of the aliens. The walls of the building are made of a Slaver alloy which prevents the operation of the communicator (and thus the Transporter) and tricorder readings are only partially effective through its walls. Doors in the building are sliding doors requiring a strength of at least 13 to open or can be burned down by a phaser set on Dematerialize. The aliens are hostile and will attack the Federation crewmembers on sight.So that's kind of cool. A sequel of sorts to the 1973 Star Trek animated series episode "The Slaver Weapon" by Larry Niven, and author Michael Scott even got Kzin/Kzinti correct! And an adventure on a planet seeded with the remnants of both Slavers and Providers? All it needs are the Ringers from the Enterprise RPG scenario "The Drifting Ring", and we'll have all the Ancients covered.
In all seriousness, a few things worth noting. First, the "dungeon crawl" nature of the mission is pretty obvious: kill the Kzinti, find and take the treasure. It feels more like a D&D adventure than anything actually inspired by a Star Trek episode. Second, here is evidence that as early as 1978, the question of how do deal with the Transporter in a Star Trek RPG is identified as problematic (and still discussed today, as shown in one of this week's more popular threads on RPGnet). Prospective GMs take note: "Slaver Alloy" as an alternative to "Ion Storm". Third, I do find it interesting that there are some similarities between this Scenario and the one included with the Japanese RPG Enterprise (ancient race, stasis devices)... I wonder if Tama Yutaka had actually seen this game before he was inspired to write his own years later?
The Scenario is more interesting than the one in the Basic Game, and much more deadly. It makes use of the elements from the Advanced Game such as Psionics and some of the new creatures listed later on including the Capellan Power Cat, the Vulcan Sehlat and... the Mugato! Those whacky Providers.
The Scenario is followed by a brief section on custom Character Creation, which basically consists of rolling various dice for the six primary Attributes, the all-important Size attribute (right down to the centimeter) and Movement. The rule for awarding experience essentially amounts to two sentences, encouraging the Mission Master to award Attribute points and new equipment training for a successfully completed scenario.
The section on Psionics makes it clear that, with the exception of Vulcans and the Kziniti, characters will rarely have a Psionic power, determined by a roll (1% chance). If the roll succeeds, they roll to get Empathy (with a rule for Gem-like healing), Telepathy, Telekinesis, Clairvoyance, Precognition, Mind Control or Teleportation. Again, this section is very similar to the PSY Talents section in Enterprise. I suspect the list was influenced by Traveller Book 3 - Worlds and Adventures, but the random generation method looks to be Michael Scott's own, later borrowed and further polished by Yutaka. It's definitely not the Psionics of Eldritch Wizardry.
The next section is on Familiar Star Trek Life Forms, a list of nearly 50 alien races and creatures from both TOS and TAS. Examples (note the use of the generic AR - Ability Rating - for creatures as opposed to alien races, as detailed in the Basic Game; note also, typos are not my own):MUGATO - Great white horned ape of Neural with poison fangs. They mate for life and will avenge mate's death. Basic move: 12, Basic size: 250 cm, AR 18.
TELLARITE - Pig-like humanoids, they are members of the UFP and can be members of a Star Fleet crew. They are very argumentive and alcohol only makes them more so. Basic size: 175cm, Basic move: 10m, CH -2.
VULCANS - Pointed-eared humanoids of great emotional control and logic. Their blood is based on copper salts and they have protective nictating membrances to protect their eyes from dirt and glare. They have limited powers of telepathy and empathy in that they usually have to be in contact with a subject for the powers to operate. Once every seven years they must mate or die. Basic size 200cm, Basic move: 11m, ST +3, DX +2, MN +3, CT +4. They are members of the United Federation of Planets (in fact, one of the most highly regarded members) and are found throughout Star Fleet's crews. The Vulcan Spock is a successful hybrid of Vulcan and Human heritage.
Rules are also provided for Creating Alien Creatures, based on Space Patrol's random attribute generation method (3D6 for AR) and a series of tables: Type and Shape, Size, Special Capabilties, Size Modifier and Basic Movement.
The next sections are the Advanced Equipment Table and a 4-page List of Equipment and Weapons, many based on Star Trek items (ex: Lirpa, Phaser Bore, Phynburger (sic), Universal Translator, five types of Tricorders), and the rest corresponding roughly to that provided in Space Patrol. These are generally just descriptions with little or no detail as to their effects, provided later in the Advanced Game Weapons Tables that are part of Advanced Combat.
The Advanced Combat Rules don't add much to what was outlined for ranged and hand-to-hand combat in the Basic Rules. In fact, despite the four pages they occupy, the Advanced Rules really only add three things: a modifier for Initiative (or, as it's called throughout the book, "Initiation"), tables for the use of all the weapons previously introduced, and rules for the use of Armor and Shielding (in short, the value of the Armor Rating is subtracted from the damage when hit).
The book starts to wrap-up with simple instructions for creating custom Scenarios, re-uses Space Patrol's types of scenarios, and throws in a few Trek-ish bones into each such as this:
You may have realized that the players of a scenario do not have to be Star Fleet crewmembers. They could be Klingons, Romulans, or some other race. Think how nice it would be sometime to be able to solve a problem technologically and not be hampered by the Prime Directive restricting your every action. Admittedly the Star Fleet crew has the harder job, having to play by the United Federation of Planets' rules and still get the job done. But Kirk seemed to manage from week-to-week, and you can too.
It then gives some advice to the prospective Mission Master on how to keep players engaged by emphasizing the mystery to be solved in the story, and how to deal with players in general. This also leads to one of the stranger passages of the book:
(T)he Mission Master does not volunteer answers to questions that are not asked... Suppose that Spock was using the semi-sentient talking computer of the ship systems to scan an area . He asks for the computer to report any relevant dangers. It would be asking too much of the computer to understand Spock's unreasonable fear of the Groupies at a Star Trek convention. Thus, unless our favorite Vulcan asked, the computer would see no reason to mention his adoring fans waiting in the landing area.
Both of these excerpts are examples of a few places in the game where you may sense a little disdain for Star Trek itself, but I think it's worth noting that STAGFF is really a product of its time.First, it was 1978 and, in the wake of Star Wars, repeats of Star Trek were starting to feel a little dated. Yes, a big film was on its way in late 1979, but little was known about it. Star Trek and "Trekkies" were seen as cheesy and as objects of derision, even more so than today (for example, the 1976 SNL sketch with John Belushi as Kirk, and Mad magazine's Trek parody later that same year). The way I recall it (and I was only in my early teens in the late 70s), it really wasn't until the films and the Next Generation shows that Trek (even TOS) began to gain some wider respect in pop culture.
Second (and I've mentioned this before), 1978 was early for RPGs, which were still growing out of their wargame origins. The fact that STAGFF was created (probably on the cheap) only to help Heritage Models sell its Star Trek miniatures emphasizes that "role" was still being defined in gaming. At that time, it was probably inevitable that such a game would turn out to be "let's phaser things and take their alien treasure!" As a result, STAGFF is really just a great big list of things to kill, weapons to kill them with and the mechanics to do so.
I'd argue that things haven't improved much in this regard over the past 30+ years. Despite the noble efforts of FASA, LUG and Decipher to emphasize elements in their games such as diplomacy, the Prime Directive, character skills and "the needs of the many", the fact remains that the Trek games that have survived and done best over the years (tabletop or computer-based) are those that are focused on starship combat and "let's phaser things and take their alien treasure!" There have been a number of online discussions lately as to whether Trek is really suitable for roleplaying at all, especially when you have players (and GMs?) that focus on Trek-nology and do things like transport a photon torpedo over to the enemy's bridge (RPGnet thread).
I'm not trying to philosophize (not yet, that'll come later). I'm just pointing out that the easiest criticism to level at STAGFF -- that it's "not very Star Trek" -- is still true of Trek games today. In 1978, I'm not sure that mattered or offended all that much. And despite these strange passages in the rulebook, their are other places where you can tell that the author must have loved the show. For what was probably supposed to be a simple miniatures game, he went a little further than just slapping the name "Star Trek" onto his Space Patrol rules.
The rulebook finishes by referring the reader to the best merchandise available at the time: books! In the days before VHS and The Google, references such as The Star Fleet Technical Manual, The Star Trek Concordance, The Making of Star Trek, and the novelizations of TOS and TAS would be a Mission Master's best friend. At the bottom of the page was the "Star Trek Catalog" of Heritage Models: the list of 31 packages of miniatures, half of which would never go into production.
The most notable elements missing in this Star Trek game are the things that Michael Scott would later remedy somewhat in Star Patrol and Starfleet Voyages: the themes of exploration, character building, starships and starship combat. Although a comprehensive approach wouldn't show up until FASA's 1982 Star Trek The Roleplaying Game, this is not the end of the STAGFF story. Two fan-written works published years apart in Different Worlds magazine would take two very different approaches to extending STAGFF, and make it more like the Star Trek game they wanted it to be. I'll look at those in the near future.
But wait! There's more.....
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
New Prime Directive RPG Releases from ADB
Looks like the folks over at Amarillo Design Bureau have been super busy lately, and there are a few upcoming releases of interest. I said early on that I probably wouldn't cover the Star Fleet Universe or its Prime Directive RPG much here, but I've changed my mind for a number of reasons.
Primarily, Stephen Cole and ADB have kept the flame burning for Trek tabletop gaming for a long time, 30 frakkin' years! That deserves nothing but respect. Some of the themes and tone of the SFU may differ from Star Trek, but it's properly licensed and the rest is technicality. If my blog is truly "A Retrospective of Star Trek RPGs", then it's incomplete without coverage of these efforts.
I'll also be covering SFU over on my new Tabletop Games column at Star Trek Games, as games such as Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander have probably had a bigger impact in terms of Trek-themed tabletop gaming than anyone else.
Anyway, news!
Scheduled for 4/20/09: Prime Directive: Federation (d20 Modern), SKU 8702, $24.95 - This manual covers everything you could want to know about those do-gooders of the galaxy, the Federation. Extensive history of the Federation, history and culture a dozen member races, military organizations, medals, starships, politics, intelligence agencies, etc. This release is specifically for the d20 Modern rule system, and PD20M core rules and supplements for the Klingons and Romulans are already available. UPDATE: Thanks to Stephen Cole at ADB for sending me the cover images above and below!
Scheduled for 5/18/09: The long-anticipated GURPS Prime Directive: Federation, (GURPS 4E), SKU 8402, $24.95 - Similar to the above, but adapted to the Generic Universal Role Playing System by Steve Jackson Games. The Core PDGURPS book (200 pages, and includes a complete rules set for GURPS including character creation) and supplements for Klingons and Romulans have been available for awhile. Other supplements such as Tholians and Starships have been mentioned in the past, so hopefully the release of Federation is a sign that things are picking up steam.
Keep an eye out here for more on the past, present and future of Prime Directive.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Nail in Decipher Trek's Coffin?
(Note from Robert: Credit to Taliesen at the TrekRPGNet forum for posting the link to this story and adding some verification to it. Very sad. No wonder CBS doesn't have faith in dealing with any potential licensees for a Trek RPG right now. Not to get all political, but it's thieves like this that have helped dump our economy where it is now. It's thieves like this that do damage to the RPG industry and its reputation. It's thieves like this that left books unpublished and writers unpaid. What a winner.)
Norfolk man pleads guilty to embezzling more than $1.5m
By Michelle Washington, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 10, 2009
As vice president of finance for Decipher Inc., Rick Eddleman controlled every aspect of the company's money.
His brother-in-law, Warren Holland, had founded the Norfolk-based company in 1983. It quickly took off, producing and selling a line of collectible and role-playing card games such as "How to Host a Murder," "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars."
Holland hired Eddleman to work part time on Decipher's computer systems. By the end of 1992, Holland asked Eddleman to become vice president of finances for the company.
Prosecutors say Eddleman embezzled more than $1.5 million from the company over nine years.
Click here for the rest of the story...
Heritage's Star Trek RPG In-Depth (Part 1)
Heritage Model's 1978 Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (STAGFF) is not nearly as unplayable as Gamescience's Space Patrol (upon which it's based) and much more polished than that game. But it's still riddled with unnecessary complexity that makes it one of those games where you would constantly have to refer to the rule book for exceptions. The 38 page rulebook is divided into a 7 page Basic Game, 19 pages of Advanced Game rules and 12 pages of tables, maps and lists.
As I said previously in my "first impression" post, it's only fair to note that the game's real purpose was to help sell Heritage's line of 25mm Star Trek miniatures. Nevertheless, it was the first officially licensed Star Trek RPG, so in this two or three part series, I'm going to review it in that light. First, I'll take a look at the Basic Game.
The book opens with an Introduction, going into background on Star Trek itself; the concept of a role-playing game (at one point the book refers to itself simply as The Final Frontier, which doesn't appear again in the book); and a plug for Heritage's line of Star Trek miniatures.
Next, the concept of the "Mission Master" and game preparation is introduced, but without really explaining the concept of a game master as opposed to players and characters. The author assumes that players are already familiar with the concept, perhaps a little prematurely for 1978. The game requires "one set of percentage dice, one set of polyhedra dice, and plenty of regular six-sided dice." The requirement for "polyhedra dice" is the first example of unnecessary complexity in the game. Virtually everything in the game is resolved with 6-sided dice or 20-sided percentage dice. Others (4, 8, and 12) are rarely used and there's no real consistent game mechanic. It also mentions that the game is best played with 6 or less player characters "because the standard Star Fleet Transporter only has 6 places".
The Basic Game section outlines the game as played with the standard Trek characters (character creation is covered in the Advanced Game) and limited equipment rules. Each character has six abilities with a value between 3 - 18: Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Luck (LK), Mentality (MN), Charisma (CH), Constitution (CN). There is no Skill or Talent system. Instead, each of these abilities applies to the resolution of specific tasks as you would expect, except CN which is really a hit point metric.
Next is the list the available player and non-player characters ("Star Trek Personalities") of the Basic Game: Kirk, Spock, Scotty, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Rand, Chapel, M'Ress, Arex, Captain Koloth (of the Klingon Battlecruiser DEVISOR), Lieutenant Korax (Klingon), Standard Klingon Soldier, Sub-Commander Tal (of the Romulan Star Empire), Standard Romulan Soldier, Basic Gorn, Chuft Captain (a Kzin), Kzin Warrior, and Standard Star Fleet Security Guard.
Example Character:
Lieutenant Korax
ST 12.......DX 14
LK 9........MN 9
CH 8........CN 13
Class 3 Hand-To-Hand
+2 to Initiation
+5 in Hand-To-Hand
- Disruptor
- Communicator
The section on Characters wraps with brief rules about the use of Psionics, Saving Rolls (through the LK attribute), and how the Mission Master should deal with the "magical Transporter". There's really no reason for Psionics to be included here as they don't come up in the Basic Game, and no further details are provided until the Advanced Game section.
Next are the Basic Game Combat Rules, though it really covers all Basic game actions. Each round is divided into four phases: Decision, Initiation, Execution, and Record Keeping. Simple rules are provided for Movement, Hand-To-Hand Combat and Ranged Combat.
The section on Hand-To-Hand Combat is a perfect illustration of the unnecessarily complex rules (although they are somewhat simplified from the original Space Patrol rules). Here's an excerpt:
Each Hand-to-Hand (H-H) Combat consists of the attacking character rolling 1 die and modifying the number rolled according to H-H Class, Strength, and Dexterity. The defending character rolls 1 die in the defense and modifies the number rolled according to H-H Class and Luck. The defense roll is subtracted from the attack roll. A positive result affects the defender and a negative result has no effect.
The attacker's die roll is modified plus 1 for each number above 12 and/or minus 1 for each number below 9 in Strength and Dexterity. (This modifier has already been determined for you in the prepared characters described earlier.) The attacker's die roll is further modified plus 1 for each H-H Class rating. Captain Kirk has a ST of 13, a DX of 14, and H-H Class of 2. His total H-H combat modifier would be 5. If Kirk rolled a 4 for H-H Combat, the roll would be modified to a 9.
The defense roll is modified plus 1 for each number above 12 and minus 1 for each number below 9 in Luck and is also modified by the character's H-H Rating. Thus Lt. Korax would have a defense modifier of 3. If Korax rolled a 2 in defense to Kirk's attack, it would be modified to a 5.
If Kirk made a H-H attack on Korax with the die rolls described above, the result would be that Korax would take 4 hit points of damage (9-5=4).
Damage points affect the character's Constitution. Lt. Korax's CT would be reduced from a 13 to a 9. If a character lost one half or more of their current CT points in one attack, the character is knocked out, and falls to the ground.
A character may only attack towards the front. For purposes of this game, the front of a character is considered to be up to 90 degrees from straight ahead, to the left or right. If a character makes an H-H attack from behind another character, the attacking character may add an additional 4 to his or her die roll.
Phew.
Ranged Combat, on the other hand, is a fairly simple DX check with modifiers, rolled against a Hit Probability Table. Now I know why Indiana Jones just shot the gun.
The rules proceed to outline Creatures who only having one rating known, the Ability Rating (AR). An example from the Basic Scenario would be the "cat-like creature" that can move up to 14 meters per turn, has an AR of 10 and long talons that do 2 dice (6-sided?) worth of damage.
Next is the Basic Weapons Table -- Phasers with three settings, the Disruptor, and a Sonic Disruptor -- and the Hit Probability Table for ranged combat. The section finishes with Basic Game Equipment Rules for the Tricorder, Communicator, Medikit, and the amazing "Klingon/Romulan Communicator" which "works the same way as a Star Fleet communicator but can also be used to scan for energy sources in the same way as a Tricorder." And it slices and dices.
The Basic Game wraps with a very brief Example of Play, then the three page Basic Game Scenario "The Shuttlecraft Crash". In it, the Galileo 7 has crashed (again) on a nearby Class M world, and the characters must find some Dilithium in a maze of canyons in order to repair the shuttle. Players will have to confront exciting alien forces such as the aforementioned "cat-like creature", humanoid with spear, a snake and a giant reptile. They must also beware of traps like rockfalls, quicksand and purple grass. A Basic Game scenario map is included, though it's actually the map for the Advanced Game scenario (the Basic map is included a few pages later).As you can see, there's really nothing in the rules related to role playing, and this doesn't change in the Advanced Rules Section. Like many games of the time, STAGFF is very "wargame-y" and doesn't inspire personality-based role playing in the same way that games like Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller did.
Unfortunately, it also isn't very "Star Trek-ey". It isn't much worse in this respect than the 1983 Japanese Trek RPG Enterprise, but Enterprise's use of Alignment was a nice extra step that helped in both respects. Fortunately, many of these weaknesses are addressed by some wonderful fan-written works published later in the excellent Different Worlds magazine, with "A Star Trek Scenario Report: Kirk On Karit 2" by Emmet F. Milestone (Issue #4, Aug/Sept 1979) and "Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier" by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh (Issue #18, January 1982).
In the next part of this review, I'll take a look at the Advanced Game rules of Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Enterprise RPG - Tama Yutaka's Designer's Notes
Here is the last in my series of excerpts from my translation of the 1983 Japanese TRPG, Enterprise. I've finally (well, 3 weeks, not bad!) finished translating both the rulebook and the accompanying scenario, "The Drifting Ring". The scenario book wraps with designer Tama Yutaka's notes (below) on what he was trying to accomplish with the game, and the importance he saw in upcoming tabletop roleplaying game revolution.
Keep in mind that up until this time, gaming in Japan was mostly limited to simulation wargames, including Tsukuda's 1982 Star Trek: The Invasion of Klingon Empire (pictured left), which he references in his notes. Look for my articles regarding this game and its follow-up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan over on Chessmess's Star Trek Games website in the near future. Yutaka also mentions "the original SF RPG we are now planning", which I can only assume was Ed Lipsett's Star Quest, detailed previously which came out later in 1983.
As for Yutaka himself, despite graduating from law school at Keio University in 1984, he would continue to do pioneering work in the Japanese gaming industry. With his partner Hitoshi Yasuda (translator/author of the Hobby Japan Traveller), he would edit the Japanese version of the UK publication "Warlock - The Fighting Fantasy Magazine" for a number of years before they continued the magazine with their own original content. He was author of many books such as the 1990 text "Handbook of Computer Game Design", and translator of numerous gaming-related texts and articles, including at least two exclusive Japanese texts based on the writings of "the father of D&D", Gary Gygax, entitled "Master of the Role-Playing Games" and "Master of the Game Master". Unfortunately, his life was cut short at the age of 35 by a collagen auto-immune disease, and he passed away in December 1997.
Here, then, to wrap up these excerpts from his work -- the first Japanese tabletop RPG -- are the words of Tama Yutaka regarding his thoughts on roleplaying games, and his STAR TREK RPG, ENTERPRISE:
DESIGNER NOTES
I designed this STAR TREK game as a way to introduce the Role Playing Game -- currently at dizzying heights in the United States -- to Japan. It is my belief that the ability to create a background world and your own characters in an SF and Fantasy Game is a significant one and, although Mr. Sonoko feels my translation of "Midgard" was a board-less story making game, I feel this role playing game is the true next step.
Previously, there were two ways in which to convert a story to a game: by taking a portion of the whole world and cutting out the characters, and then limiting it to one game board (which made a strategic game such as Mr. Nakajima's STAR TREK possible). And although one can focus on machines like the Enterprise, SF and Fantasy -- especially in the case of STAR TREK -- are something in which the human (character) should be central (though some are not), and the game that does not make the characters the subject feels incomplete.
There is also a limit in a board game's ability to employ the charm of a character, and for this reason the development of the role playing game is inevitable.
In a board game, with the focus on a map board and pieces, the ability to convey the world is limited. In role play, the only limits to an infinite world are the creativity of the GM and the restrictions he places upon the players and the actions he allows them.
Because charts cannot be included for everything, the system of this game is based on using percentages, allowing the GM to determine results for almost any situation.
Although one might find the combat system unsatisfactory when compared to that of a board game, please consider that the most valued element of this game should be that of making a story.
Although it is a game in which many parts are left to the discretion of the GM, if you are blessed with a good GM, you should be able to enjoy yourself.
Further, we look forward to showing the next stage in SF role playing with the original SF RPG we are now planning.
I wish to thank Mr. Yoshifumi Sakatani who supplied me with information during the design of this game.
Designer - Tama Yutaka
Keio HQ Simulation Game Club
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Enterprise RPG - "The Drifting Ring" (scenario)
(Note: Here is the next in my series of excerpts from my translation of the 1983 Japanese TRPG, Enterprise. The box set included a separate booklet, an adventure module entitled "Scenario No. 1". As far as I can determine, it was the only official module released for the game. It's only 14 pages, many of them detailed maps, but it appears quite imaginative. Sort of "A Private Little War" crossed with "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", as our intrepid crew finds itself aboard an enormous Stanford Torus-like generation ship, rushing toward Klingon space.)
"The Drifting Ring"
Captain’s Log, Stardate 3205.6
We are in pursuit of a spectacle beyond compare.
The Enterprise discovered it while exploring within UFP territory near the Klingon border.
It possessed a remarkable velocity that, in many ways, could not be believed.
Spock judged that it must be an artificial satellite powered by some kind of technology.
But the size!
It did not seem conceivable to me that this was a ship, dozens of times larger than our own Enterprise.
Once it was before our eyes, however, our suspicions were confirmed.
Now this enormous torus with a diameter larger than 10km is before us.
Bones calls it "The Drifting Ring".
However, "The Ring" is hurtling toward Klingon territory. This is our pretext, and we have no way of knowing how they’ll react. We must investigate and stop the Ring.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Enterprise RPG Combat Example (excerpt)
(Note: Next in series of excerpts 1983 Japanese TRPG, Enterprise. This time, a long actual play example that illustrates really well the combat systems and how rolling against modified abilities works. I'm not including the tables that break down weapons range, modifiers and so on because the text clearly shows how they get to the numbers. You can detect the rather quirky sense of humor that shows up throughout the book, and you can see how simplistic the game mechanics are... especially for Hand-to-Hand combat!)
Kirk and Spock have transported down to a planet to investigate some mysterious activity.
GM: "Ahead of you, two men are standing 150m away."
Kirk: "I pull out my phaser and set to stun."
Spock: "Is there any cover nearby?"
GM: "Yes, there are some small rocks."
GM: "It's about 10m away."
Spock: "Anyway, I run to the rock."
GM: "I understand."
The GM reviews the Scenario and the characters Kirk and Spock are encountering.
They are two Klingons, armed with disruptors and always hostile. They have ST of 13 and 14, and DX of 12 and 15, respectively.
Because the disruptors only have an effective range of 100m, the Klingons approach.
GM: "Roll one 6-sided die."
Spock and Kirk each roll one die and get 4 and 3, respectively.
4 is added to Spock's DX16 for 20, and 3 added to Kirk's DX15 for 18.
The GM rolls for the Klingons and gets a 2 and a 6. 2 is added to DX12 for 14, and 6 is added to DX15 for 21.With the highest adjusted DX, the 2nd Klingon moves first. As the combat round is starting, it will proceed to Spock, then Kirk, then the other Klingon, in that order. (see 8-3 Combat Order Decision).
GM: "The first Klingon comes running forward."
Spock: "How far is he now?"
GM: "About 100m."
Kirk: "Your phaser is of no use holstered."
Spock: "I pull out my phaser and set to stun."
GM: "Understood."
Kirk: "I hide near a rock."
GM: "You're moving to the same place as Spock?"
Kirk: "No, a different one."
GM: "Yes, OK."
GM: "The other Klingon has come running forward."
With that, the combat round is ended. As for damage, none. Distance between the two sides is 100m. Spock and Kirk are taking cover by rocks.
GM: "We roll the 6-sided die again."
Spock rolls a 1, added to his DX16 is 17. Kirk rolls a 3, added to his DX15 is 18.
For the Klingons, a 3 and a 2. 12+3 is 15, 15+2 is 17.Combat order this time is Kirk, then Spock, then Klingon 1 then Klingon 2. Spock and the Klingon tied with a 17, but Spock's base DX is higher so he'll go first.
Kirk: "Still 100m distant, right?"
GM: "Yes."
Kirk: "I move forward to take cover near another rock."GM: (You quickly consult the Scenario. Because there's no precise description of the location of the rocks and the distance, you must decide how to proceed). "I'm going to roll a die, and if it's a 1, 2 or 3, it's 20m; and if it's a 4, 5 or 6, it's 30m." The GM rolls a die. It's a 4. "It's about 30m to the next set of rocks."
Spock: "I'll go there."
GM: "OK. The first Klingon moves forward about 10m while dodging. The second moves 50m and ducks behind another rock."
Now the second combat round is finished.
Klingon 1 (ST13, DX12) is near a rock, about 20m from Kirk. Klingon 2 (ST14, DX15) is 60m ahead.
GM: "Okay, roll the 6-sided die."Kirk rolls a 2 (17) and Spock rolls a 6 (22).
The Klingons rolls a 5 and a 2, for 17 and 17. The combat order is Spock, Kirk, Klingon 1 then Klingon 2. (Three of them had an adjusted DX of 17, so order was defined by base DX. In the case where those were the same, the player is given preference. This is the decision of the GM).
Spock: "I aim for the dodging Klingon."
The GM passes the two 20-sided dice to Spock. The distance is 60m. If it's a Phaser II, the range is M. Because Spock's DX is 16, the probability of a hit is 49%. But because the Klingon is dodging, a penalty of 10% is applied and the adjusted probability is 39%. (see 8-7, GM Options).
Spock: "I rolled a 34. Did I hit?"
GM: "Yes, the Klingon has been stunned."
Spock: "OK."
Kirk: "I set my phaser to "dematerialize" and fire at the rock the other Klingon is hiding behind."
The GM hands the dice to Kirk. The distance is 20m, so the range is M. Kirk's DX is 15 so the probability is 46%. There is no modifier because the target is a rock. Kirk rolls.
Kirk: "Yes, a 28."
GM: "The rock disappears in front of your eyes. The Klingon stands there agape."
Kirk: "Is he going to shoot us?"
Spock: "It's likely he'll shoot us."
GM: "Yes, very likely."
The GM rolls for the target, and a 1,2 or 3 will be Kirk, and a 4,5, or 6 will be Spock. It's a 3, which means Kirk will be the target. The distance is 20m, S range for a disruptor. The Klingon's DX is 12, so the probability of a hit is 83%. Because Kirk is taking cover behind the rock, a penalty of 25% will be applied (GM's decision). Adjusted probability is 58%.
The GM rolls the 20-sided dice.GM: (The dice are rolled. 11. A hit.) "It hit, Kirk is shot. Damage..." (he rolls one 20-sided die) "…6. How much ST does Kirk have now?"
Kirk: "It's 15."
GM: "OK, now it's 9."
Combat round three ends. Kirk has acquired 6 points of damage, Klingon 1 is unconscious, and the other stands 20m away with no cover.
Combat will continue to advance in this fashion.
Let's jump ahead to another round, this time with an example of hand-to-hand combat. The order is Spock, Kirk, then the Klingon.
Spock: "I'll engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Klingon."
GM: "OK."
Spock's ST is 17, the Klingons is 13: a difference of 4. Therefore the hand-to-hand value is 90%.
GM: "Roll the 20-sided dice."
Spock rolls the dice and gets a 74.
GM: "You've knocked the Klingon out."
At this time, 5 rounds have elapsed, but the time passed is 1 minute.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Enterprise RPG Character Creation (excerpt)
- ST roll is 5, 4, 6 and 1, a result of 15.
- DX roll is 2, 3, 5 and 4, a result of 12.
- IQ roll is 3, 6, 2 and 5, a result of 14.
- CH roll is 2, 3, 3 and 5, a result of 11.
- LU roll is 1, 4, 2 and 6, a result of 12.
First we check for the Mechanical Repair Talent. Since DX is 12, if you can roll 60% or less on the two 20-sided dice (did you remember to designate the dice?), it is OK.
With a roll of 7 on the tens die and 4 on the ones die, the result is 74.
Regrettably, he does not have the Mechanical Repair ability.
For the Medical Talent, an IQ of 14 means a 40% probability. The 20-sided dice are shaken. 6 for the tens and 2 for the ones is 62. He does not have the Medical Talent.
The Science Talent with an IQ of 14 is a 70% chance.
The roll is 2 on the tens die and 7 for the ones. With a 27, he has the Science Talent.
Finally, a roll of 10 or less to see if he has a PSY Ability.
A roll of 0 for the tens and 6 for the ones is a 6. He has a PSY special ability.
The two 20-sided dice are shaken again. A roll of 6 for the tens and 5 for the ones, a 65. This character will have the Telepathy ability.
Next the Alignment of the character is determined. The player may choose this to their liking.
We decide that this character is EG (Emotional Good).
Next we'll decide what Equipment the character has.
Because he has the Science talent, we'll give him the Tricorder, as well as a Communicator and a Type II Phaser. Furthermore, he may be given food for 3 days, water and a knife. (However, please declare it to the GM, otherwise it may be said he doesn't have it).
With this, character creation is completed.
Leonard Shatner; Human Race; ST15, DX12, IQ14, CH11, LU12; Alignment EG; Special Ability: Science Talent; PSY Telepath; Equipment: Science Tricorder, Type II Hand Phaser, Communicator, knife and three days water and food.
Take the above, and write it on one of the Character Cards included with this game. (A water felt-tip pen or marker can be used and erased if wiped off).
Monday, February 16, 2009
Update - Translated Enterprise and More
Apologies for the extended absence this past week.
I've really been immersed in translating Enterprise, and finished the rough translation yesterday. I'm now in the process of cleaning it up, redoing charts, de-Engrishing it and so on. In the end it came out to be about 39 pages and 15,000 words. And I still have to translate the Scenario that was included with the game! That should go rather quickly, though. It's only 9 pages of text and 7 maps, so perhaps another week.
I'm still not entirely sure what I'm going to do with it once I'm finished, other than certainly run a game or two. I may even put together some online games using MapTool or some other VTT such as Battlegrounds or Fantasy Grounds, or even a Play by Post hosted either here or elsewhere. I'll keep you updated so that those of you interested in playing some very old school Trek gaming have a chance to get in on the action.
As for making the rules available to a wider audience, that's a tougher question. I've got a lead on another copy of the game, but it's rarely cheap or easy to get them over from Japan. The exchange rate is working a little more in my favor these days. And Japanese games that include translations almost always go for a great price on eBay, and might make the 100+ hours of work I've done worth it. On the other hand, the economy is not what it once was and there is something appealing about more people being able to have it, even if I have to file the serial numbers off. There might be some hints I should take from the burgeoning "Old School Renaissance" taking place as to how I can do this legally and cover my expenses at the same time!
And to think I still have to do the same for my Tsukuda Trek consims, Star Trek: The Invasion of Klingon Empire and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. There aren't enough hours in a week!
In the meantime, I'll be catching up with the blog. Look for some excerpts from the Enterprise rule book translation, including some examples of play. Also, more miniatures. There wasn't really anything worthy for the Auction of the Week when I checked on Friday and Saturday, but I'll post should anything come up. Check back starting tomorrow for more updates.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
More on the Enterprise JTRPG (1983)
Sorry about fewer updates than usual this week; Real Life and Day Job calling. PART II - RULEBOOK (pages 5-20)
I have been working on some Groknard stuff, though. Coming up is that closer look at STAGFF, and this week I started translating Tsukuda's Enterprise, the Japanese TRPG introduced previously. As I dig into it deeper, Enterprise is turning out to be quite interesting. It takes its position as the first real Japanese-language RPG very seriously, and spends a great deal of time (and precision) imparting the the basics and history of roleplaying games to its reader to an even greater degree than seen in TSR's Basic D&D. It makes no assumptions and often draws distinctions between the RPG and the simulation wargame (already quite popular in Japan at the time), and references western games such as D&D, Tunnels & Trolls, DragonQuest and Traveller. The rulebook is deceptively small. With virtually no illustrations, it manages to squeeze a great deal of RPG concepts and rules for the game into its 20 kana/kanji typeset pages.
I was mostly correct with my initial perceptions of the game: the mechanic is 2d10 roll under attribute for many task resolutions with some percentile rolls; characters have five basic attributes, with rules provided for PSY (Psionic) and a few other special abilities; Alignment is an an important trait for use with encounters with NPC characters; and there are no rules for starships or starship combat, with adventures mostly limited to landing party type missions.
I was mistaken on a few things. There are rules for race, skills and custom character creation. The rules are structured in such a way as to support a "basic" game that consists of using the pre-generated characters and their cards in the adventure included with the game. But the rulebook also stresses that the real fun continues when players create their own characters, and game masters create their own scenarios, and provides plenty of guidelines for doing so.
Oh, and those Alignments? Very cool: Logical Good, Logical Bad, Neutral, Emotional Good, Emotional Bad. Very Star Trek!
In terms of both its familiar SF setting setting and its execution, Enterprise seems to have been the perfect introduction to Japanese audiences for tabletop RPGs. But as I said previously, I'm not altogether certain it made much of an impact at all especially in comparison to the soon-to-come translated imports of Tunnels & Trolls and Traveller, later domestic TRPGs such as Roads to Lord and Sword World, and the very Japanese concept of published replays (example role-playing sessions in book form).
With that, here's the Table of Contents for the Enterprise Rule Book, to give you a better idea of what all the game covered:
PART I - GUIDE TO ROLE PLAYING (pages 1-4)
1. To Start
2. Contents of Game
3. Progress of game
4. Characters
4.1 Strength(physical strength)
4.2 Dexterity (deftness)
4.3 IQ
4.4 Charisma
4.5 Luck (fate)
4-1 Personality/makeup of Character
-1 Race
-2 Alignment
4-2 Trait and bonus of each numerical value
4-3 Equipment
5. Specialities (specific abilities)
5-1 Types
5-2 Mechanic Repair (repair ability)
5-3 Medical Talent
5-4 Science Talent
5-5 PSY Talent (ESP)
5-6 Limitations of PSY
6. Character Creation
7. Adventure
7-1 Movement
7-2 Movement and Time
7-3 Instant Actions and Time
7-4 Normal Actions and Time
7-5 Combat and Time
7-6 Master's option (time)
7-7 How to Resolve Type and Results of Actions
7-8 Limitations of Actions
7-9 Master's Options (Actions)
8. Encounters (Encounters and Combat)
8-1 Master's Characters
8-1 Alignment Check
8-1 Combat
8-1 Firefights (shooting)
8-1 Hand-to-Hand Combat
8-1 Master's Options
9. Equipment List
10. Alien List
11. Creating Scenarios
11-1 Maps
11-2 Numbered Squares
11-3 Enemies
11-4 Master's Characters
11-5 Missions
11-6 Conditions
11-7 About the Creation of Scenarios
11-8 Before Beginning the Game
12. Master's Reference
Monday, January 26, 2009
Enterprise, the 1983 Japanese Star Trek RPG
ENTERPRISE - ROLE PLAY GAME IN STAR TREK (Japanese)
Manufacturer: Tsukuda Hobby
Designer: Tama Yutaka (多摩豊)
Set #: HG-014-R
Format: Boxed Set
Year: 1983
MSRP: ¥3,000
Enterprise - Role Play Game in Star Trek was a Japanese roleplaying game that, despite an impressive history of firsts, is not widely known in the western world. It was the first Japanese domestic RPG (note: RPGs in Japan are generally known as Table-Talk RPGs, or simply TRPG, to distinguish them from computer-based RPGs). It was Tsukuda Hobby's first entry into tabletop roleplaying games, alongside the wargames that they were already publishing. And as Enterprise was based on an official license from Paramount/Tohokushinsha for Star Trek, it was the first Japanese RPG based on a licensed property.
Background
ConSim (conflict simulation) wargames were already popular in Japan in the early 80s, published by Tsukuda, Bandai and other hobby publishers. Tsukuda had their "Hobby Simulation Game SF Series" which included 1982's Star Trek: The Invasion of Klingon Empire (HG-009), a strategic wargame similar to Task Force Games' Federation Space; two Star Wars games, Death Star (HG-005) and Hoth (HG-010); and various titles based on the Gundam and Xabungle anime universes. Enterprise would be the first of the series to be designated as a "role play game".
Although Enterprise was the first domestic RPG released in this format, it was technically preceded by Donkey Commando, a tactical level science fiction minigame featuring character stats, published in the Japanese Tactics magazine in 1982. At the time, western RPG titles such as Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller were known by many Japanese gamers, but it wouldn't be until 1984 that these games would actually be imported by companies such as Hobby Japan, and later be localized for Japanese hobbyists. In the meantime, computer-based RPGs were already beginning to gain interest, and Japanese designers were starting to create their own tabletop RPGs.
The first original TRPG came after Enterprise, and was another science fiction title called Star Quest (Tsukuda HG-032-R). Interestingly, it was written by Ed Lipsett, an American expert on Japan and author of the wonderful 1979 Spacefarers' Guide series from Phoenix Games, which served as a starting point for Star Quest. The first Japanese translations of Traveller were starting to appear and gain popularity, and Tsukuda was eager to have their own competing product in place. Star Quest was similar in concept to Traveller, but utilized a d1000 mechanic (roll 3 d10: designate one as the 100 value, one as the 10 value, and the last as the 1 value, to get a result from 001 to 1000). Around the same time, Tsukuda released the first domestic fantasy TRPG, Roads to Load (HG-030-R). All of these games set the stage for TRPGs in Japan -- imported and domestic, licensed and original -- which would become increasingly popular well into the early 90s.
It's impossible for me to know how much of an impact Enterprise made at the time (I suspect that it wasn't very much), but it is nevertheless interesting to note that it was a Star Trek RPG that started the ball rolling in Japan. I should also note that the game was written by Tama Yutaka, a pioneer in the early Japanese gaming industry. He was a founding member of the Keio University HQ Simulation Game Club, graduated in 1984 (he designed Enterprise while in school), co-edited (with Hitoshi Yasuda, translator/author of the Hobby Japan Traveller) the Japanese version of the UK publication Warlock - The Fighting Fantasy Magazine, was author and translator of numerous gaming texts and articles, and is even credited with some early PC adventure games. Sadly, Mr. Yutaka passed away in 1997 at the age of 35.
ENTERPRISE - Contents
Like most Japanese publications and boxed games, the quality of the components of Enterprise was exceptional. It came packed in a brilliantly colored hard cardboard box (8.5" x 11.5" x 1.5") featuring Kirk, Spock and McCoy on the front; and a black and white rear cover with a description of the game, pictures of some of the character cards and their stats, and a list of the game components, as follows:
ENTERPRISE - Game Mechanics
At this point, there's not a great deal I can say about the game itself as I've yet to translate it. I've done this kind of work before (see my translation of Bandai's 1982 Mothra vs Godzilla wargame), but I'm by no means a Japanese expert, and translating games is a time-consuming process. I do plan to do so (2 months?), so keep checking back!
Having said that, here's what I can tell from a glance. It appears that the mechanic is roll 2d10 under attribute for many task resolutions, as well as some percentile rolls. Each character has five basic attributes: Strength (1-18, which also acts as HP), Dexterity (3-18), IQ (10-18), Charisma (10-18) and Luck (3-18). Rules are provided for a PSY (Psionic) characteristic, but it's not listed on any of the cards. Characters are also provided a space for Special Abilities, and assigned an Alignment (Lawful Good, Lawful Bad, Neutral, Erratic Bad, Erratic Good) that is cross-referenced with an opposing character's alignment to determine CH and IQ modifiers to opposed tasks.
Hand-to-Hand combat appears to simply be ST-ST to cross-reference and determine the % required to roll under. There are only about 10 small tables, so the game doesn't appear to be at all complex. There do not seem to be any rules for class, skills, XP and possibly not even for character creation. I don't see anything for starships or starship combat, and the adventure itself appears to be completely landing party based.
For now, Enterprise appears to be mostly a curiosity, especially to those accustomed to more sophisticated (and English!) RPG systems. Nevertheless, I thought it was important to at least get it documented.
And, if nothing else, the next time someone tries to trick you when asking "How many licensed Star Trek RPGs were there?" (expecting you to forget Heritage, and answer "3"), you can turn the table on them and say "5!"
TRPG Chronology
Wikipedia Japan entry on Tama Yutaka
TRPG Library
Monday, January 12, 2009
Heritage Trek RPG - 2nd Edition Cover
I meant to include this with yesterday's post. At some point after the initial 1978 release of Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier, Heritage released a 2nd edition with a revised cover. I've seen it mentioned in a Heritage miniatures collector group, and this image can be found on the Star Trek wiki, Memory Alpha.
I'm don't know what year this was released, but I suspect it was as late as 1981. The January 1982 issue of Different Worlds magazine featured an article entitled "Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier" about STAGFF, which would be strange if the game hadn't been re-released fairly recently. I don't have this version myself but if any readers do, or simply know when this version came out, feel free to chime in below!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Heritage Models' Star Trek RPG - First Impressions
Welcome back. I'll start off with the first officially licensed Star Trek roleplaying game, Heritage Models' 1978 release of Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (STAGFF) by Michael Scott. Michael Scott is actually Michael Scott Kurtick, who co-authored Gamescience's 1977 releases Star Fleet Battle Manual wargame with Lou Zocchi and the Space Patrol RPG with Rockland Russo. Despite the use of the pen-name, the STAGFF rulebook does state that its rules are based on Space Patrol, and that the games can be used together. Kurtick would continue to revise and polish these rules over the years culminating with the 1982 Terra Games release of Starfleet Voyages. With the exception of STAGFF none of these were official Trek games per se, but its influence is obvious throughout, as we'll see throught the course of this blog.
In his 1982 Designer Notes (Space Gamer Issue#51) for the third iteration, Gamescience's Star Patrol, Kurtick talked about how Lou Zocchi had approached him in 1975 to create a "Star Trek D&D", and the potential pitfalls associated with it. In the end he and Russo decided to go broader, and Space Patrol was the result. But that was only the beginning, as he wrote:
"Soon after the publication of Space Patrol, I did get the chance to do a Star Trek role-playing game for Heritage, who had managed to acquire a license to do both games and figures. Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier was essentially a clone of Space Patrol, concentrating on the elements of the Star Trek universe. The figures were poorly sculpted and the advertising campaign promised by Heritage never materialized. Paramount withdrew its license."
I'll return to the details of these other games in future updates, but that sets the stage of how STAGFF came to be published in 1978. There may be some truth to Kurtick's contention about publicity for the game. Looking back, I vaguely recall Heritage's 25mm Trek miniatures on the well-stocked shelves of my local game store at the time (Hobbyland North in Columbus, Ohio), but I never saw the rulebook (pictured above) there or at any other store, or at any of the science fiction conventions I attended at the time. I also can't find any advertisements in gaming magazines from the period, though I haven't combed through them extensively. Fortunately, someone invented a time-travel device called the internet, and I was able to obtain the game through the wonderful folks at Noble Knight Games.
Once I had STAGFF, I was almost afraid to open it. Some has been written about the game -- virtually none of it flattering -- on RPGnet and other gaming forums, and it even has an extensive entry in Wikipedia. I was prepared for the worst, especially in light of the primitive layout and typography typical of so many games at the time. The cardstock cover is certainly not very inspiring, though no worse than many Trek fanzines and game supplements of the period.
Imagine my surprise (go ahead, I'll wait) to find that the STAGFF rulebook is rather attractive, easy to read and at first glance appears to be fairly well-organized (although the "Index" at the back is really a Table of Contents, which should have been my first clue of trouble ahead). In fact, the layout reminds me very much of one of my favorite RPGs, Metagaming's 1980 The Fantasy Trip releases. It was certainly an improvement over the layout of Space Patrol.
The rules are divided into two sections: an 11 page Basic Game (4 pages of which are mostly tables and pre-defined character stats), and over 20 pages of Advanced Game rules and tables. There are virtually no graphics with the exception of two maps, confusingly listed as "Basic Game Scenario Map" and "Advanced Game Scenario Map". Confusing because the layout of the two maps is swapped and, further, the Advanced Game Scenario itself is placed back to back with the Basic Game Scenario before the Advanced Rules have even been detailed. Mr. Spock does not find the layout of the rules at all logical. He does, however, appreciate the inclusion of the blank 1/4" hex paper at the back, because I suspect we'll be wanting to create more interesting missions than those provided.
The Index details how the rules are broken down, and what is covered:
The first things that jump out are what is missing: Space Exploration. Starship Combat. The Enterprise itself. Even the UFP and the Prime Directive are only mentioned in passing ("You may have realized that the players of a scenario do not have to be Star Fleet crewmembers... Think how nice it would be sometime to be able to solve a problem technologically and not be hampered by the Prime Directive restricting your every action." ugh!).
The starship omissions struck me as the most unusual, and I wondered if it were perhaps due to some type of licensing limitation. I believe Lou Zocchi had already released his Star Fleet Battle Manual and miniatures at that point, but those appear to fall under that grey area of "under license from Franz Joseph Designs" and the Star Fleet Technical Manual. In addition STAGFF's parent, Space Patrol, suffered from the same weakness.
In the end it was likely considered unnecessary because (as the final section of the rulebook reminds us) the game's real purpose was to help sell Heritage's line of 25mm Star Trek miniatures, which I'll discuss soon. Before that, however, we'll go back a year and examine Space Patrol, its mechanics and Trek references in it that helped form Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier. I'll return to STAGFF for a closer look at its rules and a playtest in the near future.
