Hey, guys! I am running a one-shot Trek RPG game, and I need a module! It’s got to be zippy but memorable. Anyone have any experience with any published scenario, FASA or otherwise? Thanks!
Just brainstorming here, I vaguely had in mind a primarily planetary adventure, like “The Slaver Weapon” or “The Cage” or “Friday’s Child” or Forbidden Planet. I read a novel called The Galactic Whirlpool which involved the crew boarding a generation ship - that would be a pretty cool scenario (check out Metamorphosis Alpha?). I think the best Star Trek episodes involved landing into a new situation where they meet the natives, who are not a known entity — i.e., primitives or ancients, not Romulans or Klingons, though they can be involved as a third party (but prefer Gorns and/or Orions for this, I think). Another good setup is when the Enterprise has been taken over and you have to fight to take it back (“Space Seed,” “By Any Other Name,” “Day of the Dove,” First Contact perhaps most D&Dishly). A few years ago I ran a Star Wars one-shot which was an escape from a Star Destroyer scenario. A straight-forward premise harkening back to the original movie which just nailed the feel of SW. I’m trying to think what a ST equivalent would be. Basically The Cage, right, just with a little more meat?
I recommend THE LIVING CAMPAIGN for a surfeit of options. https://www.modiphius.com/livingcampaign.html
I’ll just try one more time. Hope I’m not a pest. I don’t think I’ve explained myself well. I’m not looking for just a scenario, any scenario, to test out; I’m looking for a GREAT module. Every year on my birthday I run a big party-style RPG game with a familiar theme (in the past it has been Middle-earth, Star Wars, etc.). This year I’m turning 40, and I want a bang-smash 4-hour hilarious and fun and interesting Star Trek module. I vaguely imagined it would be something from FASA, but, really anything that would fit the bill that anyone has any experience with, I’d love to hear about. Thanks!!
I've been hesitant to respond because I'm the line manager for the Star Trek Adventures RPG and may not be seen as an objective third party. Modiphius has published a lot of standalone adventures for the game so far, both in PDF format and in print book form. There are approximately 25 different adventures to choose from (though 8 are in one print volume "These are the Voyages" and 9 are in the newly-released "Strange New Worlds"). I'd suggest looking at the product descriptions of the standalone PDFs and see if any of them call out to you. I think they're all great, but again, biased opinion since I edited and developed all of them in conjunction with the writers I hired to write them. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4329/Modiphius/subcategory/8425_28215/Star-Trek-Adventures If you're after something fun and crazy and standalone, and if you like Godzilla movies, the newly-released standalone "Hard Rock Catastrophe" is essentially a Star Trek kaiju adventure, written by longtime Star Trek fiction author Christopher L. Bennett.
I haven't read them (not sure if I have them), but there are three modules for GURPS: Prime Directive. Dread Pirate Aldo Planet Aldo Starship Aldo Might be something to check out.
Well, Jim, I appreciate the solid recommendation. You’ve made yourself a sale. My first impression is that it seems like a good premise, but it’s lacking in visual aides, specifically nongeneric art and maps. How about pictures of Saurians and rock creatures? How about a starmap of the system and what systems are nearby? How about an overland map of the planet? How about some sort of drawing or sketch to help visualize each scene? I don’t really know anything about Saurians (should I?) other than their famous brandy, which doesn’t appear to feature here. I would appreciate any insight into the decision to feature Saurians but not Saurian Brandy. I would also say the villain’s motivation seems a little weak. I like a nice planetbound adventure, but a little more stuff to do onboard the starship would still be nice. Just brainstorming here, but what if there are two native factions on the planet (A Private Little War) or in the system (A Taste of Armageddon)? Faction A has caused the rock monsters to invade Faction B, and Faction B has called in for help from any nearby empire. The Federation (the Players) responds, but so does another empire (Gorns?).
Do you had any reactions to my remarks on Hard Rock Catastrophe? Sorry if I came across as being too hard on it. Just brainstorming, really.
You're free to change the adventure in whatever way works for you and your game. That's the awesome thing about being a gamemaster. Once we publish the adventures, they're out of our hands. No two gaming groups will run an adventure exactly as written. Have fun with it.
For a one shot, how about "The Vanished" by FASA? https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Vanished It has a mystery, a new alien creature, and could be run in one night. And if you want to extend it to other sessions, I've seen a blog adding Orions spies to the mix.
I really appreciate the replies, especially those who recommended The Vanished and A Doomsday Like Any Other. These two adventures were named by multiple people on multiple sites (unless it is the same two people!), and I will definitely keep those in mind for the future. This time around, I ended up running Hard Rock Catastrophe (Mophidius) with “The Slaver Ruins” (from Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier) added in. Thanks to those who recommended these, as well. Great fun!
I'd also recommend "Old Soldiers Never Die" which is a tie-in to the Romulan War. At that point in time, it was assumed that the war was the first major conflict between the Federation and a foreign power (the Romulans). FASA fleshed it out a bit more, with the Romulans unwittingly attacking Federation ships which they mistook for Klingon forces. The Federation had captured a prototype Romulan battleship, the juggernaut, near the end of the war before it could be armed and put into service. The prototype was stored in orbit of Memory Alpha, wth the assumption that in a future war Starfleet could copy the design and use it, and all references to its real origin were altered to hide the Romulan connection. Now a rather daring group of Orion raiders has managed to steal the juggernaut, and the players have to get it back before it can be sold on the black market (or, failing to do so, must fight a fully outfitted version of the juggernaut).
Definitely agree with The Vanished and A Doomsday like Anyother. Also suggest Where has all the Glory gone? Movie era Fed ship on RNZ patrol recieves distress signal from inside RNZ. They respond but discover secret Rom base with a crew who don't want Starfleet recovering them and the base secrets. Saboteurs among survivors and Rom squadron on its way complete matters! Only problem is it strongly features SF Marines. But ship's Security is a workable alternative.
Anything but Routine by Frylock is a simple adventure for a one-shot session in the TOS era. Romulans posing as Vulcan scientists thwarting a Federation planetary survey mission and antagonizing the Gorn. In fact, if I ever get to launch my FASA rpg campaign, I'm using it as the first mission, with small modifications.