Star Trek: The Adventure Game
Star Trek: The Adventure Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Glossary
- 3. What This Game Contains
- 4. Game Sequence
- 5. Setting Up the Game
- 6. Movement
- 7. Exploring New Worlds and New Civilizations...
- 8. Random Events
- 9. Federation High Commissioners
- 10. Klingon Agents
- 11. Control of New Worlds
- 12. Replacing Ships
- 13. Replacing Commissioned Officers
- 14. Replacing Security Officers
- 15. Extra Turns
- 16. Victory
- 17. Optional: Chain of Command
- Solitaire Game
1. Introduction
(1.1) The Federation Player
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, the Starcruisers Ares, Beijing and Surak, their five-year mission to seek out new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. Patrolling in the Organian Sector, between Earth and the dreaded Klingon Empire, they must deter the Klingons from their schemes of conquest without resorting to war. For the Organians, a wise and ancient race with awesome power, forbid it — and they can enforce their edict.
The Klingons are a ruthless and oppressive race. They cannot be allowed to subvert and subjugate the worlds of this sector. Your ships and their crews must stop the Klingons, and persuade new civilizations to join the Federation in peace and brotherhood.
You control the forces of the Federation. These include the mighty Enterprise, pride of Starfleet Command, and the Federation's finest officers: Captain James T. Kirk, Science Officer Spock and Medical Officer Leonard McCoy.
Your officers must obey the Prime Directive, which restricts interference in the affairs of other's cultures. These men and women know their enemy, and will ward off the insidious Klingon presence.
The United Federation of Planets is a peaceful union of ethical races, built upon trust, friendship, and compassion. You will, of course, keep these principles in mind as you make decisions which will decide the fate of the Organian Sector.
This your task. Live long and prosper.
(1.2) The Klingon Player
These are the voyages of the Starship Swift Victory, the Starcruisers Death Rattle, Hawk Stoops and Repentance, their five-year mission to fight and conquer in the name of the Emperor. Patrolling in the Organian Sector, between Klingon and the decadent United Federation of Planets, they must defeat the schemes of the cowardly Federation, without the joys of cleansing battle. For the Organians, a meddlesome and foolish race of awesome powers, forbid it — and they can enforce their edict.
The Federation is a collection of sickly and decadent races who have lost any love for victorious battle, along with all pride in the swift fangs of death — in short, they are natural slave species. Your ships and their crews must stop the Federation from adding to their unhealthy union, by capturing the planets of this sector for the Empire.
You control the forces of the Imperial Navy. The Swift Victory has never lost a battle, and your officers, led by Koloth the Unconquerable, are far craftier and more ruthless then the Federation and Organian wimps.
Klingons are brutal, treacherous and harsh; but they are brave and proud, and have their own sense of honor. You will keep these principles in mind as you make your decisions.
This is your task — in the name of the Emperor!
The Klingon player will do well to learn from sources written with the Klingon in mind: John M. Ford's The Final Reflection (Pocket Books) and Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince (Classics Library).
2. Glossary
These terms are used throughout the rules:
A character is a commissioned officer, Federation High Commissioner or Klingon Agent.
All characters other than agents or Commissioners are commissioned officers. A replacement officer is also a commissioned officer.
The fatality rate for security officers is too high for us to be able to include individual counters for each one. Instead, the number of security officers remaining on each ship is recorded by markers on the Federation and Klingon Displays.
An undamaged ship is one which does not have exhausted dilithium crystals.
3. What This Game Contains
This section describes each of the items that comes with Star Trek: The Adventure Game, and explains the purposes of the letters and numbers on the counters and map. There's no need to memorize this information — most of it is repeated on the Neutral Display, and you can always refer to this section later.
(3.1) List of Components
Each copy of Star Trek: The Adventure Game should include:
- one 22" x 17" mounted game map
- one countersheet containing 40 round planet disks and 64 square counters
- one 8-page rules book (what you're reading)
- one 64-page paragraph book
- three 8½" x 5½" light cardstock displays (labelled "Federation Display," "Klingon Display," and "Neutral Display")
- two dice
- two plastic bags
- the game box
To play the game, you will also need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
If any of the components are missing, refer to the box at the bottom of page two, which will tell you what to do.
(3.2) The Game-Map
We call the game board a "game-map" because it depicts the area of space between Earth and Klinzhai (the Klingon home world), which includes the Organian Sector. One curved line is drawn around Federation space, and another one around the Klingon Empire. (Of course, these territories extend off the map.) Between the two lie the uncharted stars of the Organian sector.
The area within one side's curved line is called his home area.
A hexagonal grid is printed on the map. Ships move across the grid during the game. For the sake of brevity, each hexagon is called a hex.
Note the distinction on the game-map between explored planets and unexplored stars. The planets are multi-colored while the stars are printed in a single color. Only stars can be explored; the planets are considered to have been explored before the game begins. When you explore a star, you will place one of the forty planet disks there to indicate that it has been explored.
(3.3) Planet Disks
Before starting play, place the forty planet disks in the game box top (or a bowl) and mix these up. When you explore a new star, you take one of the disks from the bowl (without looking) and place it on the star. You read the name of the planet (which is printed on the back), and look up that planet in the "Planet Descriptions" section of the paragraph book.
(3.4) Counters
There are 64 square counters which serve various functions.
Starships. Front: Enterprise (Federation) / Swift Victory (Klingon). Back: Enterprise Dilithiums exhausted / Swift Victory Dilithiums exhausted. Each side has one starship. It can carry 6 security officers and any number of characters.
Cruisers. Front: Ares (Federation) / Death Rattle (Klingon). Back: Ares Dilithiums exhausted / Death Rattle Dilithiums exhausted. Each side has three cruisers. Each can carry 3 security officers and any number of characters. The back of the counter is used like the back of a starship.
Bases. Front: SB-11 (Federation) / INB-S (Klingon). Back: SB-11 Destroyed / INB-S Destroyed. Each side has two base counters. They can be placed anywhere in the Organian Treaty Zone. (Bases in the players' home areas are printed on the map.) The back of a base counter is used if the base is destroyed.
Commissioned officers. Front: Kirk (Federation, skills CMD, SED, CHA, PC) / Koloth (Klingon, skills CMD, INT, RUT, PC). Each side has seven commissioned officers. The front of each commissioned officer is printed with his picture and name. The back is printed with codes indicating the skills he possesses. (See the Neutral Display for an explanation of these codes.)
Replacement officers. Front: Rodriguez (Federation) / Kerleth (Klingon). Each side has three replacement officers. They do not have any printed skills, and are used if any of your commissioned officers die.
High Commissioners. Front: Ferris (Commissioner). The Federation player (only) has three High Commissioners. They are sent to conduct diplomacy with neutral planets. They are printed with a picture and a name.
Security Officers Remaining. Each side has four security officers remaining markers. These are placed on the displays to indicate how many security officers each ship carries.
Reputation. UFP Reputation +/-, Klingon Reputation +/-. Each side has a reputation marker. It is placed on the player's Reputation Track (on his display) to show how many reputation points he possesses. When a player's reputation point total is negative, the marker is flipped to its back side, which is printed with a minus (-).
Political Balance. UFP Political / Klingon Political. One political marker is included. It is placed on the Political Track (printed on the Neutral Display) to indicate the political balance in the Organian sector. If the Federation player has the most political points, it is placed with the "UFP" side face-up; if the Klingon player has more, it is placed with the "Klingon" side face-up.
Status. UFP-inclined / Klingon-inclined; UFP member / Klingon satellite. Two kinds of status markers are included. A planet can be neutral (in which case no marker is placed); permanently neutral (in which case the planet disk is flipped to its back side); Federation- or Klingon-inclined; a Federation member planet; or a Klingon satellite. These are placed on top of explored planets to indicate current political status.
Game-Turn. One Game-Turn marker is provided; it is placed on the Game-Turn Record Track (printed on the Neutral Display) to indicate how many turns have been played. An Extra Turn Marker is used with it.
Events/Destroyed. Two Events/Destroyed markers are used. When a base in a player's home area is destroyed, the marker is placed on the base with the "Destroyed" side face-up. When the players need to remember that a particular event will occur on a certain game-turn, the appropriate marker is placed on the Game-Turn Record Track with the "Event #" side face-up as a reminder.
(3.5) Displays
Three cardstock displays are included. One of these is provided for each player; the third is used by both.
The Federation and Klingon Displays are each printed with six boxes. There is one box for each of a player's ships. The commissioned officers carried by a ship are placed in the top half of that ship's box. Each ship box also contains a "security officers remaining" track, numbered from 1 to 3 for cruisers, and from 1 to 6 for starships. At the beginning of the game, each ship has the maximum number of security officers. As security officers are lost, the security officers remaining marker is moved down the track. If all of a ship's security officers are lost, the marker is removed from the track.
Each ship box also has a space for the ship's commander. The player chooses one commissioned officer on the ship as its commander, and places his counter in this space. (If there are no commissioned officers on the ship, it has no commander.)
The other two boxes are labelled "Landing Party #1" and "Landing Party #2". When a player beams down a landing party, he decides what commissioned officers will accompany it, and places them in the "Landing Party #1" box. (If they survive, they will be returned to the ship's box when they beam up.) Sometimes a player is required to send two landing parties to the same planet, in which case he uses the second landing party box.
Finally, each display contains a "Reputation Track." Each player begins with a "reputation" of zero. The player's reputation marker is placed on the zero box of the track. As a player gains or loses reputation points, the marker is moved up or down the track. When a player's reputation point total is negative, the marker is flipped to its negative side (printed with a minus); when it is positive, the positive side (printed with a plus) is used. (Note: A player's reputation can never increase above "9" or drop below "-9." If the marker is at the end of the track and a gain or loss of points should push it beyond the end, simply leave the marker in the "9" box.)
The Neutral Display contains the "Political Track." The political marker is placed on the track to indicate the relative political balance between the Federation and the Empire in the Organian Treaty Zone. At the beginning of the game, it is placed in the zero box with the "UFP" side face-up. If the UFP player earns political points or if the Klingon player loses them, the marker is moved up the track one box per point. If the UFP player loses points or the Klingon player gains them, it is moved down the track. If the marker is moved down to the zero box and should still be moved down further, it is flipped to the "Klingon" side and moved back up the track. (Neither player can have more than 9 political points; if the marker is at the top of the track and the player whose side of the political marker is face-up earns more points, the marker remains in the "9" box.)
The Game-Turn Record Track is also printed on the Neutral Display. At the beginning of the game, the Game-Turn marker is placed in the first box on the track; it is advanced one box toward the end of the track at the end of each turn.
The Neutral Display has a number of tables that provide information to the players. These include:
- The Skill Summary explains what the skill codes printed on the commissioned officer counters mean.
- The Reputation Table explains how Reputation Points can be gained or lost.
- The Commissioner and Agent Table summarizes what commissioners and agents can do.
- The Richter Scale of Culture explains what the letters printed next to each of the planet names mean. This is provided in case you are interested, and has no effect on the game.
- The Important Rule Summary repeats some of the game's most important rules.
(3.6) The Paragraph Book
The paragraph book describes what happens to the player's officers during the game. Its use is described in section 7.
4. Game Sequence
Each turn of Star Trek: The Adventure Game is divided into phases. During a phase, players take the actions appropriate to that phase. The rules below describe what happens in each phase, and the order in which they take place.
(4.1) Initiative Phase
The players determine who is the "first player" and who the "second player" for this turn. The player with the most reputation points is the first player. If the players have the same number of reputation points, the player whose side of the political marker is face-up is the first player.
(4.2) Movement Phase
- Random Events: The first player rolls a die. If he rolls a 6, a random event occurs. See rule 8.
- Movement: The first player can move any or all of his ships. After he moves a ship, he must roll to determine whether its dilithium crystals fail. See rule 6.3.
- Dilithium Repair: If a ship with exhausted dilithiums did not move this turn and is at a base, an "AA" class world, or Organia, it receives new crystals, and its counter is flipped back to the undamaged side. See rule 6.3.
- Base Repair: If an undamaged ship that did not move this turn is at a base that has been destroyed, it may repair the base; remove the destroyed counter or flip the base counter to its front side.
The second player now repeats steps 1 through 4.
(4.3) Exploration Phase
If the first player has any undamaged ships at unexplored stars he may conduct one planetary exploration; to do this, he draws a planet disk at random and places it in the ship's hex. The second player then refers to the "Planet Descriptions" section in the paragraph book. He reads the description of the planet aloud to the first player. After several paragraph references, the first player will be asked to make a decision; after he does so he will be awarded or penalized reputation and/or political points, and may suffer casualties. Also, he is told what the planet's political status becomes. He places and moves the appropriate markers to record these changes.
The second player may now conduct one planetary exploration.
(4.4) Political Phase
The first player may use his commissioners or agents to influence the political status of planets. Agents may also attempt to sabotage ships or bases, or to assassinate commissioners.
The second player may then use his commissioners or agents.
(4.5) Ship Replacement Phase
If a player has any ships on the Game-Turn Record Track, he may roll to see whether his ships are replaced.
(4.6) Game-Turn Record Phase
The game-turn marker is advanced one box on the track to indicate the end of the turn.
5. Setting Up the Game
Lay out the game-map. The Federation player takes the Federation Display, and the Klingon player his display. The Neutral Display is placed between the players, so both can refer to it.
Take the forty planet disks, and place them in the game box top (or an opaque bowl). Mix them thoroughly.
Place each of the "Security Officers Remaining" markers on the tracks in the ship boxes at the maximum values on those tracks.
Place the reputation markers on the players' Reputation Tracks, in the "0" boxes.
Place the political marker on the Political Tracks, with the "UFP" side face-up.
Place the game-turn marker on the Game-Turn Record Track, in the "1" box.
The Klingon player must take a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. He may assign one of his three agents to the Federation home area. There are no agent counters; instead, he notes the agent's location on scrap paper. The agent may be on any Federation base or planet in the home area.
Each player takes his two base counters. The Federation player may place one of his bases in any hex in the Organian Treaty Zone (but not on Organia or on an unexplored star). The Klingon player then places one base; the players alternate until all four bases have been placed.
Each player takes his four ship counters and seven commissioned officer counters. Each player can place his ships at any AA world or base in his home area (only). Ships can be placed in separate hexes, or in the same hex.
Each player then assigns his commissioned officers to his ships. Any number of commissioned officers can be placed in each ship. They can all be placed in the same ship, or they can be divided up. When a commissioned officer is assigned to a ship, place his counter in the ship box on the player's display. (The replacement officers are not used at this time.)
If the Federation player wishes, he can assign any or all of his High Commissioners to his ships by placing their counters in ship boxes. Unassigned commissioners are kept off the board.
If the Klingon player wishes, he can assign either or both of his remaining agents to his ships. If an agent is assigned to a ship, the Klingon player notes the agent's location on scrap paper.
You are now ready to begin the game.
6. Movement
When it is his turn to move, a player can move any or all of his ships. Bases never move. Officers, commissioners and agents never move independently — they can move only when on ships.
(6.1) Moving Ships
Each ship can move up to 12 hexes from the hex in which it begins the turn.
After moving a ship, determine whether or not it burns out its dilithium crystals. Count how many hexes there are from the ship's original hex to its destination hex. (Don't count the hex in which the ship starts, but do count its destination hex.) Roll two dice; if the total of the dice is less than the number of hexes moved, the dilithiums are exhausted.
Example: A ship moves from New Paris (hex 1424) to Star Base 4 (hex 1719). This is a distance of 6 hexes. If the die roll is 2, 3, 4 or 5, the ship's dilithium crystals are exhausted; on any other roll, the ship is okay.
Note: Although a ship can move up to 12 hexes, it is not a good idea to move this far. If you do, your dilithiums will burn out unless you roll a 12 on two dice.
When a ship's dilithium crystals burn out, flip the ship counter to its back side (which says "dilithiums exhausted").
(6.2) Engineers
If an officer with "engineering" skill is aboard a ship, it can move up to 14 hexes.
When you roll to determine whether the dilithium crystals of a ship with an engineer fail, add 2 to the die-roll.
Example: If a ship with an engineer moves 6 hexes, its dilithium crystals would fail only on a 2 or 3. (A roll of 3, plus 2 for the engineer equals 5, which is less than 6.)
(6.3) Exhausted Dilithiums
A ship with exhausted dilithium crystals can only move two hexes per turn. (It is moving on impulse power.)
If an engineer is aboard, it can move three hexes.
You don't roll dice after moving a ship with exhausted dilithium crystals.
If a ship with exhausted dilithium crystals begins its movement phase at a friendly base (a Federation base for the Federation player, a Klingon base for the Klingons) or a "AA" class world in the player's home area, or at Organia, it may replace its crystals. Flip it to its front (undamaged) side. The ship may not move during that turn.
By the terms of the Organian Treaty, the Federation and the Empire are required to allow each other's ships to visit their bases. If a ship with exhausted crystals begins movement at one of the other player's bases, place it underneath the base counter. On the next turn, it is flipped to its undamaged side (and cannot move during that turn). (Your opponent is required to replace crystals by the treaty — but he'll do his utmost to tie up your ship in red tape, costing the ship that extra turn.)
(6.4) Transfer of Characters
If two ships begin movement in the same hex, characters can be transferred between them. The ships can move during that turn.
If any of your characters are on a planet or base and a ship begins its movement at the planet or base, the ship may pick up the characters. A ship may drop off any of its characters at the planet or base at the same time. You may also drop off (but not pick up) characters at a planet or base if you end movement there. (Remember: the Klingon player always records the locations of his agents on paper.)
If a commissioner or agent is not in play (its counter is not on the board, or the agent has no location written on the Klingon player's record sheet), any ship at one of the player's AA worlds or bases may pick up the commissioner or agent.
7. Exploring New Worlds and New Civilizations...
To explore a planet draw one of the planet disks from the box-top, and refer to the paragraph book to determine what your expedition finds there. A planet can only be explored once; if the players have read a set of paragraphs for that planet, they cannot explore the planet again, and must journey to another planet if they wish to continue exploring.
(7.1) When You Can Explore
Each player may conduct only one planetary exploration each turn.
You may explore a planet only if you have a ship at an unexplored star (not an explored planet). If you have more than one ship at unexplored stars, you may choose which one conducts planetary exploration.
Ships with exhausted dilithium crystals may not explore.
If you have no eligible ships at unexplored stars this turn, you may not explore a planet this turn.
(7.2) When Two Players Want to Explore the Same Star
When two players have ships at an unexplored star and both wish to explore there, the player who bids the most reputation points is able to explore. The other player may not explore the star.
To bid, each player conceals his hand under the table or behind his back, and extends no, one, two, three, four or five fingers. On the count of three, each player reveals his hand. The player who has the most fingers extended is able to explore the star. Each player loses as many reputation points as the number he bid, even if he does not get to explore the star.
If both players bid the same number of reputation points, the player whose face of the political marker is down (that is, not showing) gets to explore the star.
If you bid to explore a star and lose, you may not make any other exploration that turn.
(7.3) Drawing Planets
Decide where you wish to explore. Then, without looking into the box top or bowl, draw one of the planet disks.
Read the name of the planet, and place the disk (with the colored side face-up) on the hex you explored.
Give the paragraph book to the other player. He must find the name of the planet you drew in the "Planet Descriptions" section of the paragraph book (at the front). He must then read the planet description to you.
After the description has been read, you will roll a die. Depending on the number you roll, the other player will be referred to one of several numbered paragraphs.
Here is a sample paragraph description:
Ceti Alpha V: Ceti Alpha V is a hell world, apparently uninhabitable.
Roll: 1-2 - 114 3-4 - 367 5-6 - 376
Your opponent would read you this description; then, you would roll a die. On a roll of 1 or 2, he would turn to paragraph 114; on a roll of 3 or 4, to paragraph 367; on a roll of 5 or 6, to paragraph 376.
(7.4) Decision Paragraphs
The rest of the paragraph book contains about 800 numbered paragraphs. The player with the book turns to the paragraph with the number he found on the planet description table. He must read this paragraph out loud. At the end of this paragraph, the exploring player will be given a number of options. He must choose one of these. At the end of each option is another paragraph number; the reader turns to the paragraph of the chosen option and reads it aloud.
Note: Sometimes, the first paragraph you turn to will refer to yet another paragraph before the options are listed. Just keep on going until you come to a paragraph which describes the explorer's options.
Here is an example of a decision paragraph:
634 We are suspicious of some of the details of Karl's story. However, he seems a harmless and pleasant young chap who is unaccustomed to life with members of his own species. You may:
- Proceed as planned to the nearest base at top speed: 635.
- Proceed to the base, but at reduced speed in order to have more time to watch the lad: 636.
- UFP: Attempt to teach Karl some of the important things about being a human being before you arrive at the Star Base: 637.
- Klingon: Execute the obvious spy immediately: 638.
If the explorer were Klingon, he could choose either the 1st, 2nd or 4th option; if Federation, the 1st, 2nd or 3rd option. If the explorer chose the first option, the reading player would turn to paragraph 635; if the second, to paragraph 636; etc.
(7.5) Landing Parties
Often a paragraph will direct the exploring player to form a landing party before turning to the next paragraph. In this case, he must decide which commissioned officers and how many security officers he is committing to the landing party.
A landing party must contain at least one commissioned officer (if any are aboard). It may contain up to 6 men and women (adding the number of commissioned and security officers together). It is a good idea to send down at least a couple of security officers if you have any, to absorb casualties. Obviously, you cannot send more security officers with a landing party than you have on the ship.
When you assemble a landing party, place the commissioned officers in the party in one of the landing party boxes, and announce how many security officers are being sent.
Usually, the landing party is automatically returned to the ship after the exploration is resolved. Sometimes, however, the paragraph will specify that the landing party is marooned on the planet, in which case the commissioned officers' counters are placed on the planet disk, and the unfortunate player must record the number of accompanying security officers on a piece of scrap paper.
Sometimes a paragraph will say something like "Immediately suffer one casualty." In this case, the party loses one member immediately. If immediate casualties kill all members of the landing party before a resolution paragraph is reached, the encounter is over. Read no further. The exploring player immediately scores the following: "R-2/P-2/neutral/all of the party killed." (See below for an explanation of what this means.)
(7.6) Resolution Paragraphs
The reading player turns to the paragraph whose number appears after the chosen options, and reads it. The paragraph will describe the result of the player's decision.
At the end of this "resolution" paragraph, a series of short codes will appear. It will look something like this:
"R1/P-1/anti-inclined/1 casualty"
The number printed after the letter "R" is the number of reputation points gained (or lost, if it is a negative number) by the exploring player. He moves his reputation marker to reflect this gain or loss. (In the example above, the player gains one reputation point.)
The number printed after the letter "P" is the number of political points gained (or lost). Move the political marker to reflect this. (In this example, the player loses one political point, or the other player gains one.)
The next phrase will indicate what the planet's political status is after exploration.
- If the phrase is "neutral," the planet is neutral and no marker is placed.
- If the phrase is "permanently neutral" the planet's political status can never be changed by commissioners or agents. Flip the planet disk to the named side to indicate that it is permanently neutral.
- If the phrase is "Federation-inclined," "Klingon-inclined," "Federation-member" or "Klingon satellite," place the corresponding status marker on the planet disk.
- If the phrase is "pro-inclined," the planet is inclined to the exploring player. If the Federation player is exploring, place a "Federation-inclined" marker there; if the Klingon player, place a "Klingon-inclined" marker.
- If the phrase is "anti-inclined," the planet is inclined to the opposing player. If the Federation player is exploring, place a "Klingon-inclined" marker on the planet disk, etc.
Sometimes a resolution paragraph will indicate a number of casualties. If the ship has any security officers, they always absorb casualties first; move the "security officers remaining" marker to reflect the loss. If the ship suffers more casualties than it has security officers, the remainder must be absorbed by commissioned officers. The player chooses which commissioned officers will die, and removes them.
The exploring player loses 1 reputation point per commissioned officer who dies. (Losing security officers does not cost any points.) This loss is in addition to any gain or loss indicated by the resolution paragraph.
If a ship suffers more casualties than can be absorbed by security and commissioned officers, the ship is destroyed. Place its counter on the game-turn record track in the same box occupied by the game-turn marker. Two reputation points are lost when a cruiser is destroyed, and 3 points when a starship is lost. (This is in addition to any loss indicated by the resolution paragraph.)
If there is a landing party, only crewmen in the landing party can be killed (unless specifically stated otherwise.) Any additional casualties are ignored.
Note: Sometimes a resolution paragraph will describe other special effects which result from the player's choice. Simply do what the paragraph tells you to do.
Note: Sometimes a resolution paragraph will have a section labelled "UFP" and another one labelled "Klingon". Read only the section labelled "UFP" if the Federation player is exploring, or the section labelled "Klingon" if that player is exploring.
(7.7) Skills
Sometimes the use of a skill helps a player achieve a better resolution. Some resolution paragraphs are divided into several sections, one of them labelled "NO SKILL," and one or more labelled with skill names.
Each commissioned officer has one or more skills. Skill codes are printed on the back of officer counters. These codes are summarized on the Neutral Display.
If a skill listed in the resolution paragraph is possessed by an officer on the ship, the exploring player must use the resolution printed after the skill name.
If none of the listed skills are possessed, use the "NO SKILL" resolution.
If several skills are listed, and two or more are possessed by officers on the ship, the exploring player may choose which of the skill resolutions he uses.
Note: Circumstances other than skills will sometimes affect resolutions. For example, in some resolution paragraphs, the presence of a female commissioned officer will alter the outcome.
Note: Sometimes a skill name will be printed with the word "Mandatory." In that case, you must use that skill's resolution paragraph if any of your exploring officers has that skill, even if a second skill resolution is printed and an officer has that skill.
Note: Sometimes a skill listing will occur in a paragraph other than a resolution paragraph. For example, the paragraph might say:
100 NO SKILL: Go to 109. SCIENCES: Go to 125.
If there is a landing party, only the skills possessed by members of the party can affect the resolution. (Exception: Some paragraphs say "[skill] (on ship):" in that case, the skill only affects paragraph resolution if someone on the ship has the skill.)
Here is a sample resolution paragraph which uses skills.
656 Working carefully, we used the computer to duplicate the conditions that brought us here. However, the Chief of Security of this strange alternate ship was suspicious, and confronted us as we prepared to beam back home.
NO SKILL: In the melee that followed, only a few of us were able to return. R2/P0/neutral/3 casualties.
CHARISMA: An impassioned speech persuaded the Chief to reflect for the first time on the evils of this alternate Federation. He beamed us back to our own universe, promising to think about how he might bring change. R1/P2/neutral.
PERSONAL COMBAT: We defeated the security guards, and had no trouble making the transfer. R2/P1/neutral.
If none of the officers in the party has charisma or personal combat, the first resolution occurs. If one of them has charisma, the player uses the second resolution; if one has personal combat, the player uses the third resolution. If officers in the party have both charisma and personal combat, the player may choose to use either the second or third resolution.
8. Random Events
Each player must roll for random events before he moves any of his ships.
Roll one die; if a six is rolled, a random event occurs. On any other roll, that player has no random event on that turn.
If a random event occurs, roll both dice. Use the roll on the colored die as a tens digit, and the roll on the white die as a ones digit. (Example: The player rolls a 3 on the colored die and a 2 on the white die. The die-roll is 32 [not 5].)
Refer to the paragraph book and find the numbered paragraph corresponding to the number rolled. (In the example above, the player would refer to paragraph 32.)
Read this paragraph, and follow its instructions.
Sometimes, random event paragraphs will require a player to make decisions, just as happens during exploration.
Often, a random event will require the player to do something by an indicated turn or lose political or reputation points. It may be helpful to place an "event" marker on the Game-Turn Record Track as a reminder that the random event's instructions must be fulfilled by then. It may also be helpful to note the random event's number on paper, so you can read it again to make sure that you've done what it asks.
9. Federation High Commissioners
The Federation player has three Federation High Commissioners. Their main purpose is to persuade planets to become members of the Federation.
(9.1) Diplomacy
If a commissioner is at a planet during the political phase, he can try to affect its political status. Roll a die. On a roll of:
- 1, 2 or 3, the planet's status moves one level toward Federation membership (i.e., from "Klingon-inclined" to "neutral"; from "neutral" to "Federation-inclined"; or from "Federation-inclined" to "Federation member.")
- 4 or 5, there is no effect.
- 6, the commissioner has committed a gaffe, and the planet's status moves one level toward Klingon satellite (e.g., from "Federation-inclined" to neutral, etc.).
Commissioners cannot change the political status of Federation members, planets in the home areas of either player, Organia, Klingon satellites, or permanently neutral planets.
If there is more than one commissioner at a particular planet, you may only roll for one of them.
(9.2) Transport and Arrival of Commissioners
Commissioners are transported by ships, just like other characters. They may take part in planetary exploration.
If a commissioner is not in play, you may pick him up at any Federation Star Base or AA class world. If a commissioner dies, you may pick him up after the current turn — he is not permanently out of the game.
(9.3) Pulling Rank
If a commissioner is on an exploring ship or on a planet which a ship is exploring, the Klingon player decides which option to choose when you get to the decision paragraph. (Commissioners outrank commanders, have very high opinions of their own abilities, and are notorious for being incapable of ship command.)
10. Klingon Agents
The Klingon player has three secret agents. No counters are provided for them, because their location is (usually) a secret. Instead, the Klingon player keeps track of them by noting their locations on paper.
Agents have three functions: they can influence planets' political status; they can sabotage ships and bases; and they can assassinate commissioners.
(10.1) Subversion, Sabotage and Assassination
If an agent is on a planet during the political phase, he can try to influence its status, in the same way as High Commissioners. Roll a die. On a roll of:
- 1 or 2, the planet's political status moves one level toward Klingon satellite.
- 3, 4 or 5, there is no effect.
- 6, the agent is caught and executed. The political status moves one level toward Federation membership. The Klingon player loses one reputation point.
If an agent is on a Federation ship or base, he can try to sabotage it. Roll a die. On a roll of:
- 1 or 2, the ship or base is destroyed. If a ship is at a planet or base, its crew beams down to the planet before the ship is destroyed, and are marooned there. (Otherwise, all hands are killed in an impressive explosion.) If an engineer is aboard the ship, it is merely damaged; flip it to its "dilithiums exhausted" side. In any event, the agent is killed.
- 3 through 5, there is no effect.
- 6, the agent is caught and executed, and the Klingon player loses 1 reputation point.
If an agent is on a planet, ship or base with a commissioner, he can try to assassinate the commissioner. On a roll of 1 or 2, the commissioner dies. On a roll of 6, the agent is executed, and the Klingon player loses 1 reputation point. Any other roll has no effect.
An agent can only try to influence political status or sabotage or assassinate on one turn. Also, multiple attempts cannot be made on the same planet, ship, base or commissioner on the same turn.
(10.2) Transport and Arrival of Agents
Agents are transported by ships, just like other characters. They may take part in planetary exploration.
If an agent is at a base or planet, and a Federation ship visits that base or planet, the agent can "sneak aboard" the ship. The Klingon player notes that his agent is on the ship.
If an agent is not currently in play (no location is noted for him), a Klingon ship can pick him up at any Klingon Imperial Naval Base or AA world.
If an agent dies, he may be returned to play at the end of the current turn, and picked up as above. Agents are never permanently out of the game.
(10.3) The Emperor's Men
If, during the political phase, an agent is on board a Klingon ship with at least one officer, or on a planet which a ship with an officer has just explored, there is a chance that the agent will attempt to assassinate the ship's commander. (Agents are fanatically loyal to the Emperor, and what the commander might interpret as within his prerogatives as a commander, the agent might interpret as disloyalty to the Empire.)
Roll a die. On a roll of 1, 2 or 3, the agent will try to assassinate the ship's commander. On a roll of 4, 5 or 6, the agent may instead attempt subversion, sabotage or assassination at the Klingon player's option.
If the agent decides to try to kill the commander, roll a die again. On a 1 or 2, he succeeds, and the ship's commander is removed from the game. On a 6, the ship's commander kills the agent instead, and the Klingon player loses 1 reputation point. Any other roll has no effect.
All things considered, it is usually wise to carry agents on ships which do not also contain commissioned officers.
11. Control of New Worlds
When a planet becomes a Federation member, the Federation player earns political points; when one becomes a Klingon satellite, the Klingon player earns points.
The number of points that you earn depends on the planet's cultural level. You earn:
- 3 points for an "A" or "B" world
- 2 points for a "C" or "D" world
- 1 point for an "E" or "F" or "X" world
12. Replacing Ships
When a ship is destroyed, place it on the Game-Turn Record Track in the box occupied by the game-turn marker.
On subsequent turns, you may roll a die for each of your ships on the track during the ship replacement phase. On the turn after the ship was destroyed, you get it back on a roll of 1; on the next turn, on a roll of 1 or 2; and so on. Six turns after it is destroyed, you will automatically get it back, unless you've recovered it before then.
When you get a ship back, you may place it at any of your bases or AA planets.
13. Replacing Commissioned Officers
If any of your commissioned officers die, you may use the replacement officers.
You can replace up to three commissioned officers, since you have three replacement counters. If you lose more than three commissioned officers, you're out of luck.
A replacement officer can be picked up at any of your bases or AA planets.
Each replacement officer can have one skill. They don't have skill names printed on the back; you can choose one skill listed on the Skill Summary (see Neutral Display). Obviously, Federation officers cannot have Klingon skills, and vice versa. Write the officer's name and skill on a piece of scrap paper when you replace the dead commissioned officer.
14. Replacing Security Officers
If a ship begins its move at an AA planet in your home area, or at one of your bases, it can replenish its security officers. Move the ship's "security officers remaining" marker to its maximum value (3 for cruisers, 6 for starships).
A ship cannot move during the same turn it replenishes its security officers. It can replace its dilithium crystals in the same turn.
When a ship replenishes its security officers, the owning player loses 1 reputation point.
15. Extra Turns
After ten turns have been played, check the player's reputation point totals.
If both players have negative reputations, the game is over; go to section 16 to determine who wins.
- If both players have positive reputations, subtract the lower reputation from both players' totals. (Example: The Federation player's reputation is 7; the Klingon player's reputation is 3. The Federation reputation becomes 4, and the Klingon reputation becomes 0.)
- If one player's reputation is positive and the other's negative, do not change reputation totals.
Flip the game-turn marker to its "Extra Turn" side and put it in the "1" box on the track.
The player who has a positive reputation (only) may choose to "buy" an extra turn. Buying an extra turn costs 1 reputation point. If he buys an extra turn, only he can move, explore, roll for commissioners or agents, and so on; the other player can take no action during the extra turn.
At the end of the first extra turn, the "Extra Turn" marker is moved to the "2" box. If the player still has a positive reputation, he can now buy a second extra turn, but this turn will cost two reputation points.
The player can continue buying extra turns until he runs out of reputation points; each extra turn costs one more reputation point than the previous one (3 for the third, 4 for the fourth, etc.). You cannot buy an extra turn if paying the reputation point cost would reduce your reputation total below zero.
16. Victory
After the last (extra) turn is played, refer to the Political Track. If the "UFP" side of the marker is face-up, the Federation player wins; if the "Klingon" side is face-up, the Klingon player wins.
Note: A player can win with zero political points. Remember that the political marker always shows the face of the last player to have a positive political point total.
17. Optional: Chain of Command
This rule is used only by mutual consent of the players, and reflects the Federation and Klingon Empire regulations for the selection of a commander.
You are required to appoint the highest ranking commissioned officer on a ship as commander. The ranks are:
| Federation | Klingon Empire |
|---|---|
| 1. Kirk | Koloth |
| 2. Spock | Korax |
| 3. Scott | Kestel |
| 4. Sulu | Gella |
| 5. Chekov | Zhukov |
Replacement officers with the command skill are added to the chain of command (that is, the first such officer ranks sixth), in the order they appear in play.
Other replacement officers, McCoy, Uhura, Varozh, and Valara may be made commander only if there are no ranked commissioned officers on the ship which carries them.
Solitaire Game
When you play the game by yourself, choose either the Federation or Klingon side. Ignore the rules for commissioners and agents.
You win if you earn at least 5 reputation points and at least 9 political points. (You may have reputation and political point totals greater than 9 in solitaire play.) If you fail to do this, you lose.
The requirements for a win become tougher as you play more solitaire games of Star Trek:
- Increase the reputation and political point totals needed to win by one for each three times you play the game solitaire. For example, when you play for the seventh time, you will need 7 reputation and 11 political points to win.
- If you believe yourself to be an expert game player, increase the reputation and political point totals at the end of every solitaire game. Thus, you as expert will need 7 reputation and 11 political points when you play for the third time.
- If you have not played the game in a while and do not remember the great majority of the paragraphs (let alone the number of times you've played the game solitaire), that's a good enough excuse to again need 5 reputation and 9 political points to win.