I've just recently acquired the new Star Trek Adventures solo RPG Captain's Log from Modiphius Entertainment. This is a roleplaying game that contains a streamlined set of rules from the full Star Trek Adventures RPG (which I blogged about during the playtest and when it came out here, here, and here) and directions on how to run yourself through solo adventures.
How does a solo roleplaying game work? Basically the book contains a series of tables that you roll on to generate the initial incident and theme of the adventure, an advantage or disadvantage that's in place at the beginning, and then the first encounter that is taking place.
The game can be played in any of the eras of Star Trek, with cover variants for TOS, TNG, DS9, and even the distant future from Discovery. The books are the same, from what I can gather, but the covers are different.
I decided to start my character during the original series era, year 2269, as a tellarite ensign in the science division, and then to generate the character as needed throughout play of the game. This is also outlined in the book, along with rules for designing the ship. I'm crew on the U.S.S. Asimov, an Oberth-class science vessel.
For my first adventure, here's what I rolled up:
Mission Type: Diplomacy - Negotiate Release of Political Prisoner
Incident: Retrieve
Theme: Nest (Energy-based)
Advantage: Second Wind
Encounter: Uninhabited Planet - Port for Smugglers
Prisoner: Tholian scholar from a mining colony, seeking to stop an event using extortion, with an interest in the Federation
Jailer to Negotiate with: Edosian engineer from a busy colony, with a leadership role, who wants to earn someone's love by revealing secrets, and is blase toward the Federation.
Energy-based lifeform: Patient attitude, feeds on chroniton energy, Cnidarian (jellyfish), mycelial network
Smugglers: Caitian
The adventure then begins. You start with an introductory log entry, and then progress through a variety of scenes. The adventure consists of three acts of about 5 scenes each, with a supplemental log entry written at each act change, and then the conclusion. Here's the result ...
Act 1: Personal Log - I have just received my first mission since assigned to the U.S.S. Asimov. We were exploring the Brigellan Sector, but have been diverted from our scans to negotiate the release of a political prisoner ... a Tholian. Lieutenant Commander Jakes is in command, of course, but we are meeting on an M-Class world that's a rogue planet, drifting far away from any stars. He wants a science officer along to maintain scans to identify any unusual properties. The Asimov itself must stay a way back from the planet, until we have completed the negotiations.
Act 2: Personal Log, supplemental - Lt. Cmdr. Jakes is unconscious and I'm in command of the mission now. As bad as that sounds, it's so much worse. We handled negotiation with the Edosian Ry-Lar easily enough, but then my tricorder reported strange energy readings ... just in time for a group of Caitian smugglers to attack us. Jakes was taken out early on, but I was able to stun the Caitians. The Tholian got spooked during the battle and ran for our shuttle to get out of here. Then the entire area became irradiated by chroniton radiation. Ry-Lar and I pulled Jakes and the Caitians into some nearby ruins that provided sufficient shielding. We are safe, for the moment, from the chronitons, though they are interfering with communications. I've been able to awaken the Caitians and negotiate a truce until we get to safety. Unfortunately, though, the chroniton readings are showing that a mycelial network throughout the planet is absorbing the radiation and growing ... as if the planet itself were an egg that were hatching. We need to find a way to get to the Ray-Lar's ship and launch.
Act 3: Personal Log, supplemental - We've made it to Ray-Lar's ship and launched, just as the planet was dissolving around us. The planet is home to energy beings and, as they consume the planet, they are converting it into chronitons for nourishment. The good news is we're in the air. And our sensors have located the stolen shuttlecraft. Unfortunately, it's also shown that the shuttlecraft is currently being chasen by what I can only assume is this nest's hen ... a giant energy being.
Conclusion: Personal Log, supplemental - We were able to get free of the chronitons and call the Asimov, which arrived in time to pull the shuttlecraft away from the energy being with its tractor beam. We were also able to dock, and get shields up just as the creature attacked. Jakes is in medbay, but will recover. The Caitians revealed that they had some chroniton-based explosives among their smuggled goods, which is likely what began releasing chronitons and triggered the creatures out of dormancy. We were able to shoot it with a modulated pulse, and the release of chronitons distracted both the parent and babies, giving us enough time to get free of the rogue planet. We then let Ry-Lar go, dropped the Caitians off at a nearby starbase, and took the Tholian to rendezvous with another ship. Everyone safe. A very successful first mission.
Career Events:
- Required to take command
- Discovered an artifact
- Encountered truly alien being
