Thank you to Mōdiphiüs Entertainment for a PDF copy of Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual in exchange for an honest review.
Are you looking to expand your Star Trek Adventures game to all-new heights? Then, you’ll want to consider the Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual. This supplement is currently available for preorder, with immediate access to the PDF when you do so. Here’s what you can expect from the title when yours beams in.
Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual
First and foremost, in order to enjoy (and use) the Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual, you’ll need a copy of Star Trek Adventures: The Roleplaying Game: Second Edition Core Rulebook. If you already have a copy of the Rulebook, in many ways, the supplementary Technical Manual reads like an expansion of a section in that book.
Each of the chapters starts with a quote from the onscreen Star Trek adventures. Alongside these quotes are comments from the U.S.S. Challenger crew, who were spotlighted in the campaign for the Star Trek Adventures: The Roleplaying Game: 2E Starter Kit. Brief logs by these characters also appear elsewhere in the book.
RELATED: Book Review: Star Trek Adventures: The Roleplaying Game: Second Edition Core Rulebook
The Technical Manual details the types of technology available in the Franchise. This includes details on the difference between Starfleet technology and, for example, the tech possessed by Klingons and Romulans. The technologies of other Star Trek species are discussed, as well.
All kinds of distinctive Star Trek tech is explained over the length of the book. This ranges from the transporters to the food replicators to the tricorders and the phasers. Ship systems like the transporter and warp drive are included as well. There are even variations like Star Trek: Voyager’s Quantum Slipstream Drive. Throughout the book, there are full-color illustrations of some of the technologies being discussed. These depict Starfleet and non-Starfleet tech and crews alike.
Boldly Taking Your Adventure Further
First of all, I adore the way the Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual follows in the footsteps of the Rulebook. It accomplishes this by ensuring every onscreen Franchise entry is included. This is clear even from (what I assume are) the book’s endpapers. These include depictions of devices from several shows, including Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
This trend is continued throughout the book, which draws on the whole of the Star Trek canon to great effect. There are entries included for the U.S.S. Protostar’s Protostar Drive and the “Cranial Observation and Control Implant” like the one Samanthan Rutherford has. Furthermore, the Technical Manual includes technology from throughout the Franchise’s timeline, covering everything from the fledging Star Trek: Enterprise era to the far-future of Star Trek: Discovery’s later seasons.
RELATED: Game Review: Star Trek Adventures: The Roleplaying Game: Second Edition Starter Kit
However, perhaps my favorite feature of the book is the myriad of tables that allow you to roll for various technological malfunctions and narrative situations. These tables give you 10 to 20 possible outcomes that will complicate the gameplay. For one example, if you roll a 10 on “Universal Translator Complication,” you’ll get “All translations are in halting Kirk-esque speech.” By contrast, a 19 will cause the universal translator to begin “divulging secrets it has heard over the years.”
There are many of these tables throughout the book. Other similarly organized tables cover possible story twists. There’s everything from a “Planetary Crisis” (13: “Food production at an all-time low; mass starvation imminent”) to “Reasons why Sensor Scans Might Fail – External Issues” (17: “Local creature’s mating call”). I’m especially excited to integrate these tables into our weekly game.
Available for Preorder Now
In addition to these features, the Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual also includes new talents and service records. This goes for characters and ships alike. For example, “The Last Generation” describes a ship that is several decades old that has been brought out of mothballs, à la Star Trek: Picard’s series finale of the same name.
Like the Rulebook, the Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual was put together by a team that included many writers, artists and other core crewmembers. Like the Rulebook, it was spearheaded by Project Manager Jim Johnson.
RELATED: Game Review: Star Trek: Lower Decks: Buffer Time: The Card Game
This Technical Manual will be an invaluable tool for further expanding any Star Trek Adventures game. Plus, it brings the promise of more engaging gaming supplements to come. Once you’ve made ingress into the world of Star Trek Adventures, you’ll want to be sure you get ahold of this title as well.
The Star Trek Adventures 2E Technical Manual is available for preorder now, which will immediately grant you access to a PDF of the book. Don’t delay!
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