STA 2nd Edition Quickstart Guide, Rules Changes & 1e Compatibility Discussion (Star Trek Adventures)

David and Chris return to the channel to give their honest reactions and discuss the changes to Star Trek Adventures TTRPG coming in the 2nd edition. Join us as these two longtime STA 1e players learn about the differences for the first time. Today we cover the biggest changes to the system that have been announced thus far via the Quickstart Guide and Modiphius blogs.
#startrekadventures #rpg #startrek #ttrpg
Come join us in the conversation!
TheFinalFM
thefinalfm
-- Resources --
Quickstart Guide Free Download:
US Store: www.modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-quickstart-guide-pdf
UK/RoW: www.modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-quickstart-guide-pdf
Preorders for STA 2nd Edition:
Gamemaster's Toolkit
US Store: modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-game-toolkit
UK/RoW Store: www.modiphius.net/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-game-toolkit
2e Core Rulebook Standard Edition
US Store: modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-core-rulebook
UK/RoW Store: www.modiphius.net/products/star-trek-adventures-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition-core-rulebook
2e Core Rulebook Collector's Edition (Command)
US Store: modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-command-limited-edition
UK/RoW Store: modiphius.net/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-command-limited-edition
2e Core Rulebook Collector's Edition (Operations)
US Store: modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-operations-limited-edition
UK/RoW Store: modiphius.net/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-operations-limited-edition
2e Core Rulebook Collector's Edition (Sciences)
US Store: modiphius.us/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-sciences-limited-edition
UK/RoW Store: modiphius.net/products/star-trek-adventures-second-edition-core-rulebook-sciences-limited-edition
Modiphius Blogs
www.modiphius.net/blogs/news
Chris's Miniature Painting Instagram
lolai_bw
-- Credits --
Music: "Curiosity" by Alexander Nakarada
www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-curiosity.html
Opening Background Video from Mustafa Keskin on Pixabay
pixabay.com/videos/space-to-view-space-traveling-27770/
HUD design provided free to use by www.deviantart.com/masterq2

[@scribe_ineti]

Thanks for posting the discussion. It’d be interesting to hear a follow-up once you’ve had a chance to play 2e.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Thanks, Jim. That’s my hope, too. Run a few games with the full 2e rules in effect then bring David and Chris back to see how they feel after having tried it compared to the initial reactions.

[@Morta1337y]

Thanks guys, nice to hear from some experienced players what they think.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Yeah, I wanted to have others involved. Especially those who knew nothing about the mentioned changes. Otherwise it’s just me repeating the opinions I’ve already expressed. Having other points of view really gave me more to think about.

[@megasquidd]

I'm excited that we don't have to use the janky d6's that cost way too much money. Most players are going to have tons of d20s laying around. This should lower the barrier of entry for the game.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

I agree that it will lower the barrier of entry for new players, which is always a good thing to keep a community healthy and growing. And as much as I enjoy the Challenge Dice, I've found myself feeling a little tired of them in recent games as they just seem to slow things down. I'm not sure if the 2e adjustments to exclude Challenge Dice will be better for me, but I'm eager to try them out and see which one is more satisfying.

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

I've run multiple 2d20 games from most everything Modiphius sells. The BIGGEST complaint in all of the systems, once the players get past roll low, is that after they hit, they do no damage. It's ok if the target has armor or something similar, but to roll dice and do no damage is their biggest complaint. We use normal d6s and just ignore 3s and 4s. You don't need special dice.

[@ogremark5]

I would love to see an improved version of STA. We have found STA rules as written to be difficult at the table - especially the space combat rules.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

I’m definitely very interested in the streamlining being done and can’t wait to see how this changes space combat. The new power rules are definitely a big step in that direction, but it remains to be seen how the entire concept changes.

[@danintennessee4447]

Another great one. Thank you.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Thank you for watching! I can’t wait for the full 2e text to come out so we have something major to discuss.

[@richardturnbull8591]

One thing people seem to miss is that the expenditure of stress to avoid being defeated is not them taking damage (i.e. phaser burns), it can also be the phaser hit splashing off of cover, or the character dodging out of the way.

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Very true and a good point for all players to keep in mind. Again, it was a very poor word choice of me in the moment referring to it as “damage”.

[@brucemacmillan913]

Brand new to STA and this was help full. I like the traits aspect. If you were rolling up Michael Burnham she have a cultural Vulcan trait while physically being human

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Yeah, the traits are so versatile and useful in this game. I love that 2nd edition is going to lean even heavier on them. They are one of the elements that really help to streamline running the game and they enhance the narrative. Have you been playing 1st edition or are you waiting for 2e to jump in?

[@Allensh]

You don't do four points of "damage". If you hit and the opponent can't avoid injury, you are Injured and Defeated. The Severity establishes the cost of avoiding injury by spending Stress.

[@Allensh]

They are...sorry

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

You’re absolutely right. I didn’t realize I said that until I was editing the video and heard that part. I confused myself. lol

[@TheChillee]

This is absolutely correct. In 2e,, if a Nonlethal attack, Defeated but at end of scene, you are recovered. if Lethal attack, Injured and Defeated. If Lethal Injury not administered First Aid by end of scene, the character is dead. This is akin to 1e rules. Avoid Injury in 2e is simple an expenditure of Stress by a PC or a Threat allotment of a Major NPC (separate from GM’s Threat Pool). This expenditure of Stress or Threat should be thought of a character dodging blows/shots, expending physical and mental effort rather than the classic D&D meme of attrition in damage from landed blows. When Stress or Threat is gone, a hit will Defeat (and possibly Injure) the target.

[@terratorment2940]

8:42 I am glad challenge dice are gone

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

A lot of people are. But a LOT of people really are not happy with the change! lol I’m looking forward to trying the new version and see which one I’ll be using.

[@lotharen]

Have you ever tried playing STA with Mythic Game Master Emulator 2nd edition for solo play? I know Captains log is a thing, but the game play is completely different. For those of us, like me, that don't live near a group of players this is our only option. Busy home life prevents online play because its just to chaotic and settling on a specific time impossible. So, that is the only option for me if I wish to play any TTRPG. Would be interested to see a video doing this if it's something you think would be fun to try out. Keep up the great videos!

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

Thanks for the comment! No, I've never tried Mythic Game Master at all. I'm not really one for solo roleplaying so I'm quite unfamiliar with all the tricks and tools involved. It does sound like it might make for a fun experiment to check it out. And it could make for a useful video to draw attention to useful resources for other solo gamers. Also, I know you mention about solo play being your only option due to availability issues, but perhaps a play-by-post game would be another avenue into group gaming for you. I was in a couple of pbp STA campaigns before and they were a good workaround for people like me who has difficulty setting aside time consistently for groups. It allows you to contribute your part to the adventure whenever you have time and most of those groups are very adaptable to how long before they move on from a scene. It might be worth checking out. Thanks again for the idea. I'll look into it.

[@lotharen]

@@thefinalfrontiersmen Thank you for suggesting a play by post game. I haven't done that since I ran a forum for Star Wars Saga edition. Do you have a suggestion of where to look for a game? I'm a new player to STA. I've had the books since December and havn't had a chance to even read them beyond look at the nice artwork. Thank again for the help. :)

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

@@lotharen Your best bet for finding a game to join or inquiring about one would be the official Modiphius Discord channel. That's where many games are advertised and where most people are directed to look. But you can find some luck on the STA Facebook group and Reddit, sometimes. I hope you can find a group that gives you another outlet for STA in addition to solo!

[@wookiemart]

will there be backwards compatibility for all the 1st edition sourcebooks? otherwise it's pointless

[@thefinalfrontiersmen]

As it looks like the majority of the differences between 1e and 2e revolve around the Challenge Dice, it should be relatively simple to swap character/ship stats back and forth between either edition. Character stats should still be identical, save for how Stress is calculated so you'd only need to do the calculation for whichever edition you are using. As for Talents, it sounds like the only ones changing are the ones that use Challenge Dice are being reworked to make up for their absence. That means you should only need to look up those particular Talents for the version you want to play and use those mechanics. The rest of the Talents should still work as-is, based on that information. Starships adaptation would be similar as they have said the stats for most ships are unchanged, but a few have been tweaked based on some new considerations. However, Jim Johnson has stated that using any stats (pre-Utopia Planetia, post-Utopia Planetia or 2e) wouldn't be game breaking in any way. Again, you'd have to swap out any Talents that originally included Challenge Dice and would need to make some small calculations (Power, Shields, etc.) but otherwise the bulk of it will be the same. So really it's only a matter of having sheets aimed at an environment that either uses or doesn't use Challenge Dice. Nearly everything else is identical based on the information we have so far.

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

they are but, you do have to change a lot. I found that every pre-made character, PC and NPC, had to be changed. Talents have different meanings. Stress is changed, usually lowered, in 2nd Ed. Weapon traits needed to be changed. Once you know the system it should be easy. I'm just learning 2nd ed and relearning 1st ed. A lot to unlearn.