Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition

There are a nearly endless number of play styles in TTRPGs. Whether you're looking for intense tactic driven combat, puzzle filled dungeon crawls, character focused and narrative driven storytelling, or anything in between, there is a group for you! Finding a game and play style that fits your preferences and those of your group is key to ensuring you have a great time playing.

Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs) are games where the players play as characters embarking on an adventure or story, and are usually guided by a Game Master (GM). Players can describe what they want to do and make choices as their characters, and the outcome of those choices are controlled by the rules of the game, the dice rolls, the GM’s guidance, and the collaborative storytelling of the group!

The Game Master (GM) is responsible for creating and running the game world, including setting the scene, portraying non-player characters (NPCs), and adjudicating rules. Players control characters in the game world, making decisions and taking actions that affect the story. The GM and players work together to create an immersive and enjoyable experience for everyone.

Typically a one-shot will consist of a self-contained adventure that will take place all in one session, which will usually take a few hours to complete. They are meant to be completed in one sitting, and will usually have a very focused plot or objective. A campaign on the other hand, is a longer adventure that takes place over multiple sessions. Short campaigns may be only 2-3 sessions, while longer ones may be played over months, or even years!

Games like Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition can cover an impressive range of topics and styles, including violence, horror, romance, and many many more! However, if there are specific themes or content that you’re uncomfortable with, let your group and GM know before the game, and have an open conversation about these topics. Any group worth playing with should be respectful and understanding of your concerns and the game can be adjusted so everyone is having fun. Many tables also use “Safety Tools” which help ensure that these conversations are handled easily, and everyone has a voice at the table.

Knowing every rule of the game may be helpful to some, but many players will learn the game as they play! If you want to read the rules ahead of time you absolutely can, but if you are a hands-on learner you can also just start playing, and if there is something you don’t understand never be afraid to ask questions, because everyone starts somewhere!

While Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition may involve some level of basic math, like if you are totaling up dice rolls, you don’t need to be a mathematician to enjoy the game. The system will provide tables and simple tools to make the math as simple as possible, and if you are playing online, the Virtual Table Top you use may even handle all the math for you!

Obviously this will vary from table to table, but here are some good places to start! If your game is played in person, most likely you will want to get a set of dice, something to write with, and paper to take notes. If your game is hosted online instead, you will probably need to make accounts on a few sites for things like character sheets, access to the Virtual Tabletop for maps and tokens, and sites like Discord or Zoom for video/voice calls during the session. You won't always need to have the rulebooks to start, but if you want to read through them to make sure you know all the rules, this might also be a good option.