Example of Play: Sudden Wormhole!
By Patrick Goodman, Contributing Writer and Jim Johnson, Project Manager
Art by Daren Dochterman and CBS Studios, Inc.
This article takes a scene from the Star Trek franchise and uses it as an example for illustrating the rules of Star Trek Adventures in action.
Participants
This time around, we’re looking at the dramatic warp drive failure and ensuing wormhole effect that impacted the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew during the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The statistics for Kirk and his crew can be found in The Original Series Crew Pack, though with a few adjustments to bring it into second edition (check out the free download packet on the downloads page for 2e conversion documents). The statistics for the U.S.S. Enterprise are in the same pack; for this example, the original series version of the ship suffices. If you want to represent her in her refitted format from the movie, tweaking the system numbers or adding a trait or two should be all you need to do.
Stand by for Warp Drive
As the scene begins, Jim, the gamemaster, says, “Okay, the intruder’s less than a day away at warp seven; you’ll still have two days to carry out your mission once you get there.”
Chris, who’s playing Commander Decker, says, “We really need to run more simulations, to make sure the engines will actually work.”
Erin is playing Lieutenant Ilia, and she adds, “You should really listen to your science officer, Captain.”
Patrick, Captain Kirk’s player, says, “We don’t have that kind of time. The Intruder is closing on Earth fast.”
Jim chimes in again. “Engineering says it’s borderline, but if you really want to do this, they can’t stop you.”
Patrick turns to Thomas, who’s playing Sulu, and says, “Warp speed!”
Thomas gives him a look and says, “Aye, sir.”
Jim takes two Threat tokens from the pile in front of them and puts them back in their bag. “With a mighty surge, the new engines take you to warp one. Just as you turn around to be smug with Decker, however, an alarm klaxon goes off and a frightening red energy tunnel appears on the viewer.” Jim uses the Threat to add a trait to the scene in the form of a complication, Fallen Into a Wormhole.
Patrick turns to Thomas and says, “Hit the brakes; we need to get out of this!”
Thomas agrees. Normally, taking a ship out of warp would be a Difficulty 0 Control + Conn task, but the complication makes it Difficulty 1. The ship would usually assist with Engines + Conn, but since the engines are part of the problem, Jim rules that it’s all up to Sulu. Thomas rolls 2d20 but gets an 18 and a 20. Jim shakes his head. “Controls are all locked up because of the wormhole, and that 20 doesn’t help. Erin, Thomas’s new complication just showed up on your navigational sensors. Give me a Reason + Conn task at Difficulty 2; the ship can assist with Sensors + Science.”
Erin rolls her dice and comes up with a 5 and a 13, while Enterprise’s Assist die comes up with a 9, for a total of three successes. Since she knows it’ll come in handy later, she banks that point of Momentum. Jim tells her they’ve pulled an asteroid in with them, and it’s on a collision course with the ship. Erin passes this information on to the rest of the crew.
“This sucks,” Patrick says. “Arm the phasers; we’ll blow it up and then get the ship out of this.”
Chris looks at Jim. “Can I use one of my values to interrupt what Captain Kirk’s doing?” Jim nods, but Patrick gives him a funny look. “Decker knows the ship better than Kirk, remember? I’ll explain later.” Patrick gives a thumbs-up, and Chris says to Aaron, who’s playing Chekov, “Ignore that. Arm the torpedoes instead.”
Aaron nods and says, “Okay, I’m targeting the asteroid; torpedo away!” He tells Jim he’s using the Prepare minor action to arm the photon torpedoes.
Jim puts another Threat chip on his pile for the torpedo attack, then tells Aaron the task has a Difficulty of 4 instead of the usual Difficulty 3 because of the Fallen Into a Wormhole complication. Aaron uses the single point of Momentum in their pool to buy an extra d20; Jim has him roll Control + Security, with the ship assisting with Weapons + Security. Aaron rolls a 1, a 4, and a 12, while the ship rolls a 9. The 1 counts as two successes, as does the 4 because of his focus in Shipboard Tactical Systems. His third d20 and the ship’s Assist roll, both count as successes, too, for a total of six! Aaron hits the asteroid, and also generates 2 Momentum.
Enterprise’s torpedo has Damage 4. The asteroid is Scale 2, and has Resistance 1, which reduces the torpedo’s Damage to 3. The asteroid also has no shields, which means it’s enough to cause a breach. The torpedo’s High Yield quality gives it a second breach. Jim decides that since it’s just a giant rock, it has no Systems to breach, and simply explodes into fragments.
Aaron asks, “Can we buy off the wormhole complication with this Momentum?”
Jim nods. “As the asteroid shatters, the shockwave slows Enterprise down to sublight speed. Aside from a lot of jangled nerves, there appear to be no casualties. What do you folks want to do next?”
After-Action Report
This scene is an example of a straightforward challenge for the player characters, using the core mechanics, a couple of actions, and some judicious spending of Threat and Momentum.
What are your thoughts on this example of play? How would you and your crew handle this situation differently? What other key scenes from across 60 years of the Star Trek franchise would you like to see written up? Share your ideas and insights with your fellow fans at the official Modiphius Discord!
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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