Other Ways to use Captain’s Log

By Jim Johnson, Star Trek Adventures Project Manager
Art by Vadim Sadovski

The earlier blog posts in the Captain’s Log series discussed character generation, ship generation, setting up your first story, and then writing your first mission’s opening log entry, and telling your story scene by scene to reach a satisfying conclusion, and even covered how to transfer characters from Captain’s Log to Star Trek Adventures or vice versa. You may be wondering, “What else can I do with Captain’s Log?”

While the possibilities are endless, here are three ways you can use the contents and tools within Captain’s Log to facilitate telling great Star Trek stories either alone or with a group of friends:

COOPERATIVE GAMEPLAY. Use the first two chapters of the book as a Star Trek primer to get your friends interested and excited about the setting, and pick a few recommended episodes to watch together. Talk about what kinds of characters your group might want to create and what sort of ship they would use to explore the cosmos. Then, use the guidance in the book to tell the story together, using the probability matrixes and core game loop to help you along. No need for a gamemaster or facilitator – let the book do the heavy lifting and leave the creativity to the group!

GAMEMASTER TOOLKIT. Maybe you’re already running an active Star Trek Adventures gane and want more tools at your disposal to plan scenarios for your group or to add details to an ongoing adventure. With a copy of Captain’s Log by your side, generating specific data points from various tables is as easy as flipping to a page and rolling a d20. Use the results you glean to add texture and detail to your game.

NON-STARFLEET STORIES. Much of the book focuses on the core Captain’s Log game experience expectation – that main characters are Starfleet officers embarking upon missions to benefit Federation citizens and worlds and the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. But the Star Trek universe is bigger than just the Federation! Create a dour Klingon warrior determined to restore her family’s honor. Play a Ferengi merchant looking to score the best deal in a war-torn section of the Beta Quadrant. Tell the story of one of the lost Changelings as they wander the Galaxy in search of themselves and others like them. Discover what challenges await your Pakled mercenary captain and crew as they delve into the Gamma Quadrant in search of power and strength. The options are as numerous as the stars in the Galaxy.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of blog posts all about Captain’s Log, and I hope you have a chance to pick up a copy of the book to tell countless incredible Star Trek stories. I’ll look forward to reading them all. Live long and prosper!

Order your copy of the Captain’s Log Solo Roleplaying Game now and receive the final PDF right away and start creating your own Star Trek stories!

Thanks for reading this article, and thank you for your interest and support of Star Trek Adventures! Keep frequencies open for news about Captain’s Log and other Star Trek Adventures product releases. Live long and prosper!

Go to Captain's Blog #7