By Troy Mepyans, STA Contributor
Art by Nick Greenwood
I was introduced to gaming when I was about seven years old by my older brother with one of the first D&D boxed sets. In that introduction and the following adventures, he not only put up the monster of the day for me and my companions to best in battle; he also presented puzzles and twists in the adventures to try and get me to use my mind in ways I hadn’t up until that time. It stretched my imagination and taught me how to look at problems from different angles
In fiction as well as gaming, I came to love the adventures/episodes that presented a mystery for me to try and figure out. When I started running my own games, the mystery was one of the tools I would use to get my players to participate in the story without simply resorting to whatever weapon they had at hand and beating the daylights out of the problem of the day. It was gratifying to see how players would discuss among themselves different solutions and theories as play went on. This led to them investing more in their characters and molding them into three-dimensional people with their own ways of looking at the world around them.
In Star Trek, the lure of the mysterious and the unknown is a large part of why these intrepid people venture into the stars “to explore strange, new worlds” and “to seek out new life and new civilizations.” With this new mission briefs pack for the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game, I tried to combine my favorite series, the original series, with my favorite adventure type, giving it a science-fiction twist. The challenge was to come up with mysteries that weren’t simply cliches or re-treads. Star Trek lends itself beautifully to this with an entire Galaxy of aliens, technology, politics, and exploration to draw from in order to make the story come to life.
When I started laying the groundwork for this project, I borrowed from many different genres and types of mysteries, imagining how those would have translated onto the screen in a Star Trek episode that would be compelling for the viewers to watch. Taking that base, I worked in the setting of the original series and its rough and tumble style of exploration, conflict resolution, and moral examination.
My hope for these mission briefs is that gamemasters and players alike will be able to stretch their horizons a little bit, engage each other in ways they may not have yet in the game, and enjoy the fun and satisfaction of seeing something hidden uncovered before their eyes because of their actions. Combine that with the frontier feel of the original series era, and you’ve got a recipe for some very memorable missions with your crew. I also hope that this will inspire gamemaster and players alike to maybe embrace parts of the game, the setting, or their characters in ways that may not have presented themselves before.
Good luck and go boldly! Peace and long life.
Download the briefs pack “Mysteries” at the following:
Thanks for reading this article, and thank you for your interest and support of Star Trek Adventures! Keep frequencies open for news about additional STA products in the coming months. Live long and prosper!
