By Al Spader, Star Trek Adventures Contributing Writer
Art by Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo
One way or another, war takes its toll on everyone involved. Whether it’s pushing a character to the brink of what they think they’re capable of or leaving vicious scars on their psyche, The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign for Star Trek Adventures provides numerous options that can be used to embrace these effects. With safety expectations at the center, this book allows players to roleplay the effects participating in a war has on their characters, their crew, and their families.
Star Trek has used the effects of war as backstory for some of its most iconic characters such as Benjamin Sisko, Joseph M’Benga, Christine Chapel, and Liam Shaw. The tragedies these characters were a part of during war informed their values and outlooks and set the foundation for emotional character arcs throughout their appearances in their respective series.
The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign provides many optional rules to represent the toll war takes on a character. From suppressing values for the benefit of the cause to suffering brutal negative traits known as scars, these optional rules represent what happens when a ship meant for scientific research or peacekeeping missions is thrust to the front lines of a war. Additionally, because things can change so rapidly during wartime, characters can opt to take accelerated development which makes their milestones more significant in exchange for suffering scars.
The sourcebook also provides detailed explanations as to how the expectations of different character roles might change during wartime and provides lists of traits, values, and focuses that directly relate to war efforts. These lists help round out a character participating in not just the Federation-Klingon War, but any war a group is looking to experience. The book even provides some wartime Career Events that can be used to replace Career Events in a character’s lifepath.
In addition to redefining some of the more common Starfleet roles when it comes to war, the tactical campaign book also gives detailed descriptions and quick builds for civilian roles that might come into play during war time such as ambassador, political liaison, and intelligence agent. It also provides the same detailed description for combat roles such as heavy weapons specialist and ordnance expert.
To round things out, the book also includes fifteen new character talents focused on both combat benefits as well as diplomatic benefits, as, in war, words are often just as powerful as weapons. Perhaps your diplomatic character wants to use their enemy’s words against them, or maybe they’d like to rouse a group of refugees to fight for their freedom. Both of these options have talents that allow the character to be more successful in these attempts. On the other hand, if your character wishes to sabotage enemy strongpoints or fire weapons mounted on an Argo, there are talents that can help you as well.
The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign provides a wealth of new character options to embrace to make a character a part of the war story. These options open up innumerable new options for character arcs and plotlines both during and after wartime.
Pre-order your copy of The Federation-Klingon War Tactical Campaign now and receive the final PDF right away to start creating your own Star Trek wartime stories!
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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