By Jim Johnson, Project Manager
Art by Alberto Cordero
You and your fellow players may be looking at Star Trek Adventures and wondering what the right mix of character roles could be, whether you’re playing a Starfleet-focused game or something else. While there are as many ways to fill the seats on the bridge as there are gaming groups, let’s talk about what an effective spread of character roles might look like!
The baseline assumption of Star Trek Adventures is that a group of player characters is posted to a starship or station, and each main player character owns one particular character role, be it a commanding officer, medical officer, security officer, engineer, expert, etc.
It is absolutely possible to run missions and campaigns where two or more player characters have the same role. For more targeted type of games, such as several player character engineers in a game based around the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, or perhaps several player character security officers if you’re playing a game centered around Klingon warriors, or mercenaries, or a Fenris Rangers strike team, it makes sense to have some roles doubled or even tripled.
While there are as many possible combinations of character roles in a given group as there are groups playing the game, let’s present the following spread of roles as a solid group with a strong mix of capabilities. I hesitate to call this a “balanced group,” because game balance in Star Trek Adventures doesn’t carry the same meaning as it does in other RPGs. Niche protection as a concept does not really exist in Star Trek Adventures in the same way as it exists in other role-playing games, partly because Starfleet officers and other spacefaring organization personnel are almost always cross-trained and capable of taking on a wide variety of tasks.
Assuming you have a typical group of five players along with the gamemaster, here’s a suggested spread of character roles, along with some notes about why each one is worth having in your crew as a player character.
-
COMMANDING OFFICER: Most spacefaring organizations in Star Trek are hierarchies of some form, and someone has to be in charge, making the critical decisions on behalf of their organization or crew. The roleplaying opportunities a commanding officer can face while on the bridge or while commanding an away team are legion, and well-suited for a player willing to take on the challenge and responsibility.
-
CHIEF TACTICAL OFFICER: Every starship, station, or away team needs to be protected in a setting where most vessels and personnel are armed with lethal and devastating weaponry. The tactical officer’s job is to ensure the safety of their posting and crew, making it a good option to be part of any crew.
-
CHIEF ENGINEER: All the wondrous technologies present in the Star Trek universe are little more than piles of parts if they get damaged or interfered with by any number of complications or Treknobabble reasons. Engineers are the miracle workers keeping personal gear and ship components operating effectively, making this role a consistent presence in many crews.
-
SCIENCE OFFICER: Star Trek features exploration of the unknown on a regular basis, and few are better suited than a science officer to explore the unknown using their knowledge of the known. Science officers often make an effective team with engineers, attacking challenges and problems from both the technological and scientific angles so prevalent in the franchise.
-
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: You are the pilot, and you fly the ship! Many players want to zoom around the cosmos at the helm of a mighty starship or riding the stick of a freighter or impulse fighter. Star Trek is all about travelling to new worlds, and no other role is better suited for getting the ship and crew from one place to another.
Note that this spread of roles is just a suggestion, and your groups may very well have a different number of players and a different spread of character roles.
What do you feel are the must-have character roles for a Star Trek Adventures crew? What other insights would you like to share about creating an effective group of player characters? What has worked or not worked for you in your games? Share your insights with your fellow players on Modiphius’s Discord server!
Star Trek Adventures 2e Collection:
Thanks for reading this article, and thank you for your interest and support of Star Trek Adventures! Keep frequencies open for news about other upcoming Star Trek Adventures product releases. Live long and prosper!
TM & © 2025 CBS Studios Inc. © 2025 Paramount Pictures Corp. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
