Star Trek role-playing game (Heritage Models)
Encyclopedia
Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier is, as the name indicates, a role-playing game
set in the fictional Star Trek
universe published and edited by Heritage Models from 1978 until Heritage Models ceased doing business.
Starfleet
. Most player characters were assumed to be members of Star Fleet, engaged in planetary exploration missions. They typically held senior posts on a starship bridge, and visited alien planets as part of landing parties.
For the most part, the game's rules were set in the original TV series era (a.d. 2260s) and Star Trek: The Animated Series
TV series.
Because of the simplicity of the game's structure, all of the supplements, regardless of their "era", could be easily re-set to suit a different era.
(TNG) (1987-1994) first aired. The game's designer built his "game universe" when there was no official canon
, and he borrowed heavily from ideas in the Star Trek original series and the Star Trek animated series.
Heritage Models was a miniature figures company founded by Jim Oden from Miniature Figurines USA, inc. (Dallas) in 1974. Heritage Models begins casting Hinchlife figures under license.
At Heritage USA Seifried innovated by bundling rules, organization books, and painting guides together with figures to form a complete game line. Because he didn’t like his units looking rigid and identical on the game table, he developed unit packs of figures in varied poses. He led the gaming hobby in the development and marketing of acrylic paints to simplify and enhance the craft aspects of miniatures gaming as well (Beatie; GAMA).
Thus Heritage Models was licensed by Paramount Pictures
to produce the first official Star Trek RPG and figure line based on Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
. Influences of the Star Trek: The Animated Series
were allowed in the license.
Players had the option of playing virtually any humanoid
character introduced in the original Star Trek TV series or the animated series. They included: Humans, Vulcans
, Tellarites, Andorians, Orions, Klingons, Romulans. Two other races introduced in the animated series - Caitians and Edoans - could also be played.
Using the Basic Rules, the players used the pregenerated Bridge Crew to assume the roles of the Star Trek characters, including Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Lieutenant Uhura
and Yeoman Janice Rand
from Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
and included M’res and Arex from Paramount's Star Trek: The Animated Series
.
The rules included descriptions of several alien races including Larry Niven’s Kzin, an extensive equipment list, tables for randomly-generated aliens, and two introductory scenarios. The scenario plots were very limited in scope compared to the average Star Trek episode. Both scenarios were essentially “dungeon crawls” complete with monsters, radioactive rocks, and traps.
Chain of Command rules would, however, violated one of the basic concepts of Star Trek: The Original Series
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
, that the captain of the ship was "out there" having to make the hard decisions.
One element that the game introduced that was unusual comes directly from the series: the concept of a subordinate player’s (junior officer) ability to question the actions of a commanding officer with the request: “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
True to Star Trek: The Original Series
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
adventurer's did not seek wealth or glory, a player succeeded by completing the mission without wrecking the Prime Directive.
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
where the shows were basically either planet based or ship based, with planet based adventures preferred. The ship was just the means to get to the planet.
#18 (the January 1982 issue) published by Chaosium, Inc. The article was seven pages in length with fifteen small tables (pages 10-16). Here is the brief editorial blurb from the beginning of the article:
“Written to supplement Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier role-playing rules, this variant covers a wide range of topics including Experience, Skills, Aging, Salaries, Price Lists, The Referee’s Role, Chain of Command, and World Generation.”
The author’s influences were stated up-front: Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
, Star Trek: The Animated Series
, and Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
was over a year away from release at the time Crabaugh finished his article, and he stated that he did not use Star Trek: The Motion Picture
simply because there was a lot more useful gaming material available in the TV episodes and their novelizations.
Emmet F. Milestone played the out the game scenario with miniature figures, since their visual appeal added so much vitality. He wrote: “I could only afford a couple of packages of Federation figures and an equal number of Klingons at the time, so I pulled some Star Guard miniatures from my shelves and an idea for the scenario began to crystallize. ... My attention wandered across to a horde of Dreenoi. What could be heavier than swarms of the all devouring insect warriors? I got busy writing stats.”
Emmet F. Milestone provided the details of how he constructed the scenario using an old dungeon map (not provided in the article), the Star Trek Blueprints, and the statistics he devised for the Star Guard Dreenoi.
In addition to the scenario, Emmet F. Milestone also added some Romance Rules. The Romance Rules were added to give the characters the opportunity to “Make a Pass” and dealt with “Falling in Love.” The writer felt this gave the player characters the opportunity to emulate some of the events seen on episodes of Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
that were not provided in the original game rules.
With the publication of the scenario, other RPG Game Masters had a model for scenario development and model for additional rules development.
Space Gamer #30 published by Steve Jackson Games included a review of "Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier" by Jerry Conner.
White Dwarf #18 (April/May 1980) included an article entitled "Star Trek- The Motion Picture: Miniature Rules and Scenarios" by Tony Yates and Steve Jackson. Although not directly affiliated with Heritage Model's "Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier", the rules, adventure and painting guide revolved around the use of Citadel Miniatures, Ltd. "Star Trek- The Motion Picture" miniatures.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
set in the fictional Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe published and edited by Heritage Models from 1978 until Heritage Models ceased doing business.
Setting
Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier was principally set on unexplored planets within the United Federation of PlanetsUnited Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
. Most player characters were assumed to be members of Star Fleet, engaged in planetary exploration missions. They typically held senior posts on a starship bridge, and visited alien planets as part of landing parties.
For the most part, the game's rules were set in the original TV series era (a.d. 2260s) and Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
TV series.
Because of the simplicity of the game's structure, all of the supplements, regardless of their "era", could be easily re-set to suit a different era.
Heritage Models Trek
Michael Scott designed his Star Trek game universe nearly nine years before Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
(TNG) (1987-1994) first aired. The game's designer built his "game universe" when there was no official canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, and he borrowed heavily from ideas in the Star Trek original series and the Star Trek animated series.
Heritage Models was a miniature figures company founded by Jim Oden from Miniature Figurines USA, inc. (Dallas) in 1974. Heritage Models begins casting Hinchlife figures under license.
The Companies
That same year Custom Cast maker of 25mm Fantastiques (fantasy figures) is founded by Duke Seifried. Duke Seifried also founded Der Kriegspielers, and both companies ultimately merged with Minifigs USA (Beatie; GAMA). Three years later, in 1977, Custom Cast and Heritage Models merges and will begin doing business as Heritage USA (Beatie; GAMA). Duke Seifried directed Heritage USA, then the largest US war-game miniatures manufacturer (Beatie; GAMA).At Heritage USA Seifried innovated by bundling rules, organization books, and painting guides together with figures to form a complete game line. Because he didn’t like his units looking rigid and identical on the game table, he developed unit packs of figures in varied poses. He led the gaming hobby in the development and marketing of acrylic paints to simplify and enhance the craft aspects of miniatures gaming as well (Beatie; GAMA).
The First Star Trek RPG License
Heritage Models thus became a small-press maker, under license, of the early RPGs John Carter, Warlord of Mars (1978), Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier (1978), Knights and Magick (1980), and Swordbearer (1982). They had two books and a whole line of figures for John Carter, Warlord of Mars at the 1978 Origins in Michigan. Additionally, they produced the first official RPG and figure line for Conan the Barbarian and Lord of the Rings. In fact, all those licenses are what more than likely brought the company down.Thus Heritage Models was licensed by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to produce the first official Star Trek RPG and figure line based on Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. Influences of the Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
were allowed in the license.
System
The rules were split into a “Basic Game” using pre-generated characters from the series, and an “Advanced Game” with full character creation and additional combat rules like random initiative.The Basics
The basic rules are just what the word implies, but they are complete. They were deliberately written for newcomers to the hobby. Michael J. Scott eliminated much of the guesswork found in earlier RPGs as to how the parts fit together. A section on preparing to play and explanations of the six very familiar characteristics opens up the basic segment of the rules, followed by movement, hand-to-hand, and ranged combat rules, a sequence of play for the “action phase,” and a list of twenty personalities along with their characteristic values. This segment also includes some brief descriptions of Star Trek equipment and an example of play.Character Generation
Characters have six attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, Luck, and Mentality) generated by 3d6 rolls modified by race. There is a “Hand-to-Hand Class” bonus, but no other skills and no experience rules. Melee combat is resolved in a single damage step. The attacker rolls 1d6-6d6 (depending on weapon) plus Strength, Dexterity, and Hand-to-Hand Class modifiers. The defender subtracts 1d6 plus Luck and Hand-to-Hand Class modifiers from this total to determine damage. Ranged combat requires a 1d6 roll under a hit number which depends on range and the attacker’s Dexterity.Players had the option of playing virtually any humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
character introduced in the original Star Trek TV series or the animated series. They included: Humans, Vulcans
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
, Tellarites, Andorians, Orions, Klingons, Romulans. Two other races introduced in the animated series - Caitians and Edoans - could also be played.
Using the Basic Rules, the players used the pregenerated Bridge Crew to assume the roles of the Star Trek characters, including Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Lieutenant Uhura
Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
and Yeoman Janice Rand
Janice Rand
Yeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.-Depiction:...
from Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and included M’res and Arex from Paramount's Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
.
Advanced Rules
About twenty pages of information charts and rule expansions allows for more advanced play. The Advanced section contains rules for creating original characters, a list of lifeforms and their characteristics from the TV series, advanced combat rules, and a more extensive list of equipment.The rules included descriptions of several alien races including Larry Niven’s Kzin, an extensive equipment list, tables for randomly-generated aliens, and two introductory scenarios. The scenario plots were very limited in scope compared to the average Star Trek episode. Both scenarios were essentially “dungeon crawls” complete with monsters, radioactive rocks, and traps.
Core Rules Limitations and Strengths
The rules lacked ways for characters to gain Experience or Skills. Rules were lacking to address Aging and Salaries. There were no guidelines for costs and no price Lists. The Referee’s Role was defined more by the use of miniature than anything else. It is not surprising that the rules expected players to use miniatures—the combat rules would be difficult to run without them. Chain of Command and World Generation rules were also absent.Chain of Command rules would, however, violated one of the basic concepts of Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
, that the captain of the ship was "out there" having to make the hard decisions.
One element that the game introduced that was unusual comes directly from the series: the concept of a subordinate player’s (junior officer) ability to question the actions of a commanding officer with the request: “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
True to Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
adventurer's did not seek wealth or glory, a player succeeded by completing the mission without wrecking the Prime Directive.
Starships
There were no starship rules, as adventurers took part in "Landing Party missions” (away team missions) using rules for personal-level roleplaying. This followed the pattern of Paramount's Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
where the shows were basically either planet based or ship based, with planet based adventures preferred. The ship was just the means to get to the planet.
UnOfficial Supplements
“Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier” was written by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh and appeared in Different WorldsDifferent Worlds
Different Worlds was an American role-playing games' magazine, now defunct.-History:Different Worlds was launched in 1979 by Greg Stafford to promote the role-playing games from his own editing house, Chaosium...
#18 (the January 1982 issue) published by Chaosium, Inc. The article was seven pages in length with fifteen small tables (pages 10-16). Here is the brief editorial blurb from the beginning of the article:
“Written to supplement Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier role-playing rules, this variant covers a wide range of topics including Experience, Skills, Aging, Salaries, Price Lists, The Referee’s Role, Chain of Command, and World Generation.”
The author’s influences were stated up-front: Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
, and Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
was over a year away from release at the time Crabaugh finished his article, and he stated that he did not use Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
simply because there was a lot more useful gaming material available in the TV episodes and their novelizations.
UnOfficial Adventures
“Kirk on Karit 2: A STAR TREK Scenario Report” was developed by Emmet F. Milestone for use at DunDraCon IV. The intended players were a mix of “old dungeon-mates” and some non-gamer Trekkies who were interested in finding out about role-playing.Emmet F. Milestone played the out the game scenario with miniature figures, since their visual appeal added so much vitality. He wrote: “I could only afford a couple of packages of Federation figures and an equal number of Klingons at the time, so I pulled some Star Guard miniatures from my shelves and an idea for the scenario began to crystallize. ... My attention wandered across to a horde of Dreenoi. What could be heavier than swarms of the all devouring insect warriors? I got busy writing stats.”
Emmet F. Milestone provided the details of how he constructed the scenario using an old dungeon map (not provided in the article), the Star Trek Blueprints, and the statistics he devised for the Star Guard Dreenoi.
In addition to the scenario, Emmet F. Milestone also added some Romance Rules. The Romance Rules were added to give the characters the opportunity to “Make a Pass” and dealt with “Falling in Love.” The writer felt this gave the player characters the opportunity to emulate some of the events seen on episodes of Paramount's Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
that were not provided in the original game rules.
With the publication of the scenario, other RPG Game Masters had a model for scenario development and model for additional rules development.
Related Material
Different Worlds #18 included an article under its "Metal Marvels" section entitled "Star Trek Figures from Citadel" by John T. Sapienza, Jr. This three page review included pictures of the miniatures and also included a footnote by Yurek Chodak (assistant editor) stating "We have learned that both Heritage's Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier role-playing game and the Citadel line of Star Trek figures have been discontinued."Space Gamer #30 published by Steve Jackson Games included a review of "Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier" by Jerry Conner.
White Dwarf #18 (April/May 1980) included an article entitled "Star Trek- The Motion Picture: Miniature Rules and Scenarios" by Tony Yates and Steve Jackson. Although not directly affiliated with Heritage Model's "Star Trek: Adventure Gaming in the Final Frontier", the rules, adventure and painting guide revolved around the use of Citadel Miniatures, Ltd. "Star Trek- The Motion Picture" miniatures.
Also Known As
"The designer of Starfleet Voyages Michael Scott is a pseudonym of Michael Scott Kurtick, designer of the games StarFleet Battle Manual and Star Patrol" (Barton 34).External links
- An Encyclopedia of Role-playing Games
- Different Worlds Magazine of Adventure Role-Playing Games
- Ferengi Blue Room Community of Star Trek and Lord of the Rings Roleplayers
- "GamingReport.Com" provides Game Reviews and Interviews with Game Industry Writers, Developers, and Publishers
- The Courier: America’s foremost Miniature Wargaming Magazine Presents A Timeline of the Historical Miniatures Wargaming Hobby by Robert Beattie