Welcome aboard. For some of you, this will be your first assignment, fresh out of Starfleet Academy. For others, this will be the next stage in your career within Starfleet. No matter where you are assigned on the ship — whether you are bridge officers, specialists in your fields, researchers who will be assigned to science stations, or operations crew ensuring the safety of the ship or to keep the engines running at peak performance — you all have a vital role to play on board.

A great part of the enjoyment of roleplaying games is in creating original Player Characters and telling their stories, and this chapter describes how to do so. Star Trek Adventures provides two distinct methods of creating those original characters, and these methods will produce roughly equivalent characters. Whichever method is used, it should be used for the entire group, to get the same play experience.

The term “character” applies to both Player Characters (those representing and controlled by Players) and Non-Player Characters (characters controlled by the Gamemaster). While Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are treated somewhat differently in some aspects of the game systems, they are otherwise like Player Characters and thus, the use of “character” in this chapter applies to both Player Characters and Non-Player Characters.

The Galaxy of Star Trek is filled with characters of all kinds, who populate its worlds, crew its starships, and interact with one another in all manner of ways, both mundane and dramatic. To represent this abundance and diversity, characters are composed of a several elements that collectively serve to depict how that individual interacts with the universe, both in game terms, and in story terms. These elements are Attributes, Disciplines, Focuses, Values, Traits, and Talents, and together they paint a picture of who the character is, what they are good at, and how they view the universe around them.

Characters are, broadly speaking, divided into three types for the purposes of play.

• Player Characters consist of all the characters used by Player to participate in the game. Player Characters are split into Main Characters, and Supporting Characters, but whatever type of character it is, while it is being controlled by a Player, it is a Player Character.
• Main Characters are the primary focus of this chapter, and can be thought of as the Main Characters of a Star Trek series or movie. They’re the ones who appear in most episodes, and have the biggest impact upon the story. Each Player in a game of Star Trek Adventures will have a single Main Character to control, who will normally be a member of the senior staff of a Federation starship. Each Player decides how their Main Character will act the scenes framed by the Gamemaster. This chapter presents two different methods for creating Main Characters, but whichever method is chosen, it is recommended that all the Players use the same method.
• Supporting Characters are like Main Characters in many ways, in that they are controlled by the Players. However, there is no fixed list of Supporting Characters; rather, a Supporting Character is created as-and-when needed to provide aid and assistance in difficult situations, or to allow a Player to take part in a scene if their Main Character is busy elsewhere. Supporting Characters are seldom as complex as Main Characters to allow them to be created swiftly, but a group of Players may find that they want to bring back favourite Supporting Characters time and time again, allowing them to develop and grow into more fleshed-out individuals. Supporting Characters are described more fully in their own section, later.
• Non-Player Characters are all those characters that arenot controlled directly by the Players. They’re normally introduced and directed by the Gamemaster, though if a Non-Player Character — abbreviated to NPC — would be friendly to the Players’ characters, the Gamemaster may allow the Players to direct that Non-Player Character during tense situations such as combat. Non-Player Characters are described fully in the section on Adversaries (p. 311), and their creation is described in Chapter 10: Gamemastering (p. 270).

The elements that comprise a character are described in the sections below.

TRAITS

A character will typically have one or more Traits, one of which will always be the character’s Species. Traits are essentially descriptions of important parts of the character, in a single word or a short phrase. Alongside a character’s Values — which cover the character’s personality, motivations, and beliefs — Traits help define what the character is and what they can do, and they can be employed in the same way as Traits for a location or situation, such as to increase or reduce the Difficulty of Tasks.

First and foremost, we have the character’s species. Different species in Star Trek vary in many subtle ways, both biologically and culturally, and a Trait can encapsulate those many little differences easily. These are both positive and negative, and influence both how the character interacts with their environment and how characters interact with one another.

A character may obtain additional Traits because of things that happen to them during character creation — lifechanging events that will define the character going forwards — and they may occasionally gain more during play. This may be something about the character, such as a debility or impairment the character suffers from, or the influence of some external force, such as the impact of a harrowing experience.

Traits are neutral, and thus able to be applied both positively and negatively. There is no fixed number of Traits a character will have, though every character will have at least one: their species. Traits, and their effects upon play, are described in full on p. 76.

Example: Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge has two Traits: Human, and Blind. The first is his species: anything that affects a Human in a specific way, or for which being Human is advantageous or problematic, is impacted by this Trait. The second reflects the fact that Geordi was born without eyesight, and will thus impact any situations where eyesight is necessary or useful. Because of this second Trait, Geordi has a unique piece of equipment: his VISOR. This allows him to see, counteracting the effects of his blindness, but it comes with its own set of potential problems.

VALUES

When a character is created, the character’s Player creates statements that describe the attitudes, beliefs, and convictions of that character. These are not simple opinions, but the fundamental structure of the character’s morals, ethics, and behavior. They are the things that define who a character is as a person, why they behave the way they do, and what drives them during times of struggle and hardship.

One type of Value is a relationship. Where most Values reflect something internal about the character, a relationship reflects a bond between two characters, or a character and an organization, specifically how the character regards the other party described by the Value. This bond doesn’t have to be positive — old grudges and resentments can have a definitive effect upon a character’s nature — but it must be something significant, and something that shapes who the character is and how they act.

However, a character’s Values are not static. They are potent driving forces for the character; people evolve and grow with their experiences, and in many cases, things that once felt like unshakeable beliefs may come to be seen differently as time passes. There will be opportunities during play to alter a character’s Values, and Values are an important part of how characters grow and develop over time.

Values differ from Traits (above) in that they describe what the character believes. They are statements about how the character regards the universe around them, and they are both subjective and potentially changeable. How Values are used in play is described on p. 87.

Example: Captain James T. Kirk has four Values, which define the core of his personality. These are “Doesn’t Believe in a No-Win Situation,” “There’s No Such Thing as The Unknown — Only the Temporarily Hidden,” “Married to the Enterprise” and “Risk is Our Business”.

Each character in Star Trek Adventures is defined by six Attributes. These are described elsewhere, but they’re repeated here as a useful reminder. They embody the character’s intrinsic physical and mental capabilities, when compared across species, and the ways they prefer to approach problems. These attributes are Control, Daring, Fitness, Insight, Presence, and Reason. Each attribute has a rating which determines its measure, with higher numbers reflecting greater ability. For humanoids, these attributes range from 7 to 12, with 8 representing average capabilities. Nonhumanoid creatures may have attributes across a broader range, and special abilities that increase their abilities further, though that is described more in the rules for Adversaries.

A character may encounter situations for which more than one of their Attributes are applicable. In these cases, it is important to consider the context of the situation, and how the character is choosing to approach the problem. The Gamemaster may choose which Attribute is most applicable to a situation if more than one could be used.

CONTROL

Control is about the character controlling themselves, and it covers precision, accuracy, and careful timing. It can rely on self-discipline and control of one’s emotions to ensure mechanistic precision, or it can be a mixture of fine motor skills, coordination, and familiarity with the activity.

A character might use Control…

• …when performing precise or delicate work.
• …when performing a Task that involves precise timing or accuracy.
• …when giving detailed instructions.
• …to resist mental assault, duress, or other stressful situations through an orderly mind and the application of discipline.

DARING

Daring comes into play whenever a character reacts to a new situation without doubt, hesitation, or caution. It covers circumstances where characters take decisive action without a detailed plan or analysis, and relies on gut instinct and quick reflexes.

A character might use Daring…

• …when responding to an emergency.
• …when attempting to evade or resist some form of immediate danger.
• …when acting aggressively.
• …when acting based on instinct.
• …to resist mental assault, fear, or panic through stubbornness and defiance.

FITNESS

Fitness is about enduring hardship and employing force. It covers physical conditioning, general health and well-being, fortitude, and endurance.

A character might use Fitness…

• …when attempting to employ raw physical force to a situation.
• …when performing some strenuous or tiring physical activity.
• …when trying to resist, or act despite the effects of, some physically debilitating condition, such

INSIGHT

Insight is about understanding people and their feelings, and being open to different ideas and ways of thinking. It covers self-awareness, being conscious of a creature’s current state of mind, and hard-earned wisdom, and relies upon a person’s emotional intelligence, empathy, and experiences.

A character might use Insight…

• …when attempting to understand the feelings of another creature.
• …when trying to determine how another creature might think or act, to anticipate or predict its actions.
• …when trying to overcome their own judgements and preconceptions.
• …when attempting to calm or reassure others.
• …when allowing past experiences and instinct to discern changes in the environment around them.

PRESENCE

Presence is power of personality, and the ability to command attention or respect. It’s used for being diplomatic during negotiations, giving orders during a crisis, and even being charming or seductive.

A character might use Presence…

• …to sway the mood or opinion of others through emotive language and rhetoric.
• …when trying to keep others calm and focused during a stressful situation.
• …when resisting duress or manipulation by others by maintaining a strong sense of self.
• …to present a specific appearance or demeanor to others, appropriate to the circumstances.
• …when seeking to capture and command attention through speech and behavior.

REASON

Reason is about logic and meticulous analysis. It covers forming hypotheses and intricate planning, as well as recall of intricate facts, calculation of complex variables, and it relies on keen observation and a thorough command of the facts.

A character might use Reason…

• …to study and analyze some unfamiliar phenomenon, and come to a hypothesis about it.
• …to research a complicated subject, or otherwise interpret large amounts of information.
• …when trying to sway the opinion of others through facts and logic.
• …when required to perform complex calculations.
• …to use observation and rational thought to anticipate and discern changes in the environment around them.

In addition to the six Attributes, each character is trained in six Disciplines, which encompass the broad roles that Starfleet officers are expected to be proficient within. Each Discipline is rated from 0 to 5, with each rating representing a differing level of training, expertise, and natural aptitude. All Main Characters have at least a 1 in every Discipline — Starfleet provides extensive training and expects its officers to have at least basic proficiency in every discipline.

DISCIPLINES TABLE
	DISCIPLINE	MEANING
	0	Untrained, unskilled, lacking in innate aptitude.
	1	Basic training, rudimentary skill, or a raw but undeveloped aptitude.
	2	Professional competence, from a combination of training and talent.
	3	Experienced and well-trained, or an aptitude developed through study and training.
	4	Excellence within the field, achievable through dedication and experience.
	5	Exceptional, often a combination of intense training, hard-won experience, and natural aptitude.