Last post I shared a scenario that I wrote for Star Trek Adventures, the 2d20 TTRPG published by Modiphius Entertainment. I ran it this week for my STA group in which I’m normally a player. Reception was good overall, however running the adventure exposed some problems that I’d like to reflect on here. Do you run Star Trek Adventures? Let me know how you prep an adventure over on Mastodon: @[email protected]
The Setup
I ran the adventure, which I titled “Follies of Youth,” for four players in a four-hour session. Ahead of the session, I shared a player info sheet with details of the Jhora system, the USS Paracelsus’s survey, and the incidents leading to the crew getting the assignment. We began play with an Admiral video calling the ship and tasking the crew to make first contact. The crew asked some questions of the admiral and then got to work.
Get to the Planet!
It took longer than I expected for the crew to reach the planet. After receiving orders from the admiral, the crew worked on some projects while enroute to the Jhora system. Then we got to the outer system. There the crew checked out the space station orbiting Jhora VII, scanned the warp trail from the Jhorian Youth ship, and found the derelict Jhorian Imperial space craft. Once they exhausted clues in the outer system, we were running behind schedule. I skipped over the clues from the inner system and got right to contact with Sabhe from the Irenic Covenant.
Having run the adventure, what would I do differently? I think a little time pressure would give the plot some endogenous forward momentum. The admiral could say something like,
“Long-range sensors report that a Cardassian Union vessel changed course towards Jhora following the Jhorians’ subspace broadcast. Even at maximum warp, they will still arrive half a day behind you. The terms of our treaty stipulate the Cardassians not interfere with early warp civilizations that the Federation has contacted. Proceed judiciously, but do not be overly cautious. We do not want another Bajor.”
Putting that little time pressure on there would give reason to condense the investigation rather than letting the crew dither in the outer system. But of course, I put the clues there. I could have made the clues do more work.
I presented the outer system clues as remnants of a mysterious space faring civilization. They figured out that the civilization was centered on Jhora but didn’t have a lead as to its nature. Were I to run the adventure again, I’d explicitly mention the Jhorian Empire and its subjugation of nearby pre-warp civilizations. Introducing the empire early would give context to the dispute on the planet. Also, learning about the domineering empire would increase contrast with how peaceful Jhora II has become in the intervening millennia.
I don’t mind that I skipped over the secrets and clue in the inner system. Overloading on clues lets players find them wherever they happen to look. If the players ran right to the planet without searching the outer system, I could have made those clues jump out to them.
What Worked Best
I don’t want to give the impression that my session was a failure. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we had some cool character moments. When the away team arrives on the planet the locals ask them questions about the Federation and their individual roles in Starfleet. This turned out to be a good forum to let players express their characters’ beliefs. Asking players questions besides, “what do you do?” really lets them shine. I was also able to use pieces of their answers to introduce another plot theme that I hadn’t thought of going into the adventure; namely, that the Federation judges civilizations based primarily on their technological achievements.
Rushing to Finish
I kept one eye on the clock throughout the adventure, but still found myself rushing the end a bit. I didn’t have the Jhorian Youth abduct an NPC. Rather, I had them grab one of the player characters. That way I could have that player speak directly with Davras. There was a brief scuffle followed by a climactic scene where that character (played by our erstwhile GM) talked down Primarch Davras. Once the climactic scene resolved, I cut to a captain’s log to give a quick conclusion.
I didn’t get a good chance to introduce the Jhorian Youth’s point of view. Were I to run the adventure again, I’d change the abduction to something else. Perhaps the Youth are just as stubborn as the Covenant and instead of spending my threat points on the abduction, I’d introduce some climate disasters that would require the players to mediate a compromise.
I’ve heard TTRPGs described as “15 minutes of story in a four-hour bag.” That’s accurate, but it’s not a damning as it sounds. Collectively telling story with an uncertain end may be slow but is also very rewarding. In order to fit the story we want to tell into a session, our prep needs to reflect that reality. Want to chat about Star Trek Adventures or how to run sessions within specific time frames? Find me on Mastodon: @[email protected]
Feature Image “Hallowed Fountain” by Piotr Dura copyright 2022 Wizards of the Coast