By Jim Johnson, Project Manager
Art by Armin Rangani

 

Among the contents of the new Star Trek Adventures Allies and Adversaries Sourcebook that have me excited are the new gamemaster tools. Particularly, the random encounter and NPC tables grouped by century of play. Using these new resources helps you quickly generate random encounters and plot hooks, whether you need to add a spark to a session or want to plan something new for your group.

 

To see how these things might function in action, follow along with this example. Let’s say I’m running a mission and some of the players are engaged in an A-plot. I notice a couple of players are a little restless, so I decide to generate a B-plot for them quickly. I grab this book and hop over to the planetary encounter hook table, roll a d20, and get the result: “The player characters encounter a warp-capable civilization in turmoil after Federation first contact and become embroiled in the ongoing debate on whether the civilization should join the Federation.”

 

That gives me the germ of an idea. I then head over to the random NPCs by century tables, and, since I’m running a 25th-century campaign, I roll a d20, check the relevant century row, and get the Orion Syndicate as my result. I flip over to the batch of Orion stat blocks and pick a Notable NPC, give them a name, ch’Mall, and drop them right into the scene. 

 

Picking up the narration, while the other player characters engage in the A-plot, the others are approached by an Orion civilian who looks like they’ve had better days. The Orion approaches the player characters and says, “Hey, Starfleet! Your people came to my colony two months ago, promising supplies and an industrial replicator. So far, we’ve seen nothing from the Federation but hollow promises. My clan leaders and I are skeptical that we’re going to get any benefit from Federation involvement. What should I tell my family and my fellow leaders?”

 

I then sit back to see how the players choose to handle the new situation, all generated with a couple of dice rolls and some quick thinking. From there, we can play it out together and see where it leads us next.

 

With the tables containing NPC options for six broad eras and 40 encounter hooks, these tables, when combined, should provide you with an endless array of possible encounters and plot hooks to use in your adventures and campaigns.

 

How are you planning to use the random tables contained in the Allies and Adversaries Sourcebook? How might you combine other Star Trek Adventures random tables with these tables to create an even broader selection of plot hooks and mission starters? Tell us all about it at the official Modiphius Discord!

 

Preorder the print edition of the Allies and Adversaries Sourcebook now and receive the final digital edition as soon as it is available (estimated late Aug 2026)

 

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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! 

 

 

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