FASA to Unicorn Star Trek Gaming

[EricB007]

Greetings to all:

I've been out of the Trek gaming loop for many, many years. Recently, my son took an interest in Star Trek and the bug bit me and I'm back. This is a great website! Now I'm trying to recuperate what I sold of my FASA Star Trek as a teen-ager and trying to catch up with the Last Unicorn Star Trek.

I have a few questions:

1. Obviously, the attributes and ratings are different between the FASA and Last Unicorn Star Trek games. Is there a "conversion" table of sorts to bring FASA Star Trek modules into the Last Unicorn Star Trek modules?

2. Does Last Unicorn have a starship combat simulator like FASA's?

3. Is it true Last Unicorn no longer exists? Is anyone going to continue the Star Trek role-playing game saga? If so, who and when?

4. With the internet available, are there ways for FASA Star Trek gamers to conduct campaigns via email? How does it work? Any recommendations? This also includes Last Unicorn Star Trek gamers.

Sorry for the "newbie" questions. Like I said, I've been out of it for over 10 years. I'm back and everything has changed.

Thanks!

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[redwood973]

Let me be the first to welcome you to the boards! Unfortunaltly I won't be able to answer your questions fully. . .but don't worry. The heavy weights will provide all!

1. I had never heard of FASA untill joining this board so I am not familiar with it. I do know there are conversion stuff; I think linked on the this sites main page (under computer core I think).

2. What is a "starship combat simulator?" Sorry, I said I wouldn't be much help

3. Yep. Last Unicorn is no more but never fear they were bought out by a company who (I think) is issuing their Core Books this fall. Decipher I think they are called.

4. There are a ton of on-line campaigns! I have never used any of them, but some (far from all) are listed in the Transporter Room of this sites main page. And if none of those campaigns trip your trigger, the campaigns usually list links to other campaigns.

Don't worrie about the "newbie" questions. It seems everyone starts thier love affair with this site that way

Welcome to the Board!

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Cpt. Stefan Skov, CO
USS Nautilus NCC-31910
Miranda-class (F-CL+)

[Ripley]

welcome aboard!!!


2. Does Last Unicorn have a starship combat simulator like FASA's?

look at the mainpage for something called "spacedock"... (in the computer core)it is far superior to the starship combat simulator, but has a similar feeling and concept...; there you will find the first starship recognition manual too...


3. Is it true Last Unicorn no longer exists? Is anyone going to continue the Star Trek role-playing game saga? If so, who and when?

that is right; the LUG staff - i count most of them to the best rpg designer i've seen in the last 15 years - is now working for DECIPHERs rpg department and develops the new ST rpg as well as the new lord of the rings rpg.

r.

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Last night i merely escaped assimilation...i saw a box with big letters on it: "1 of 2"...
now im looking for the rest of the borg here around...

[Phoenix]

As far as convesions go, there is (or was I haven't looked as of late) an unofficial conversion formula for characters on the LUG Trek sight here, I have not seen ship conversion rules any where.

There is no real combat simulator, per say, most of the rules are for ship personal as indiviguals (but you could do one player to one ship)

With question number three, alas yes the company was purchased by WoC, then paramont gave the game rights to Decipher, a company that has been making the CCG for a few years now.

Yes, there are still a few hard core FASA gamers out here, I don't have any hard info on any of them. As for their workings, I do not know, but some must like them their still around.

And with the newbie questions...hey we were all new at one point. Also some people belive we're like nice around here, go fig'

Phoenix...answering questions sense 1999(?)

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"Of all the shadows cast in this world, it is my own that I fear the most"
-Phoenix Merrick 2001

[EricB007]

I really appreciate everyone's kindness and answers. Thank you! I hope to be more active in the Star Trek RPG areas.

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Retouching
http://www.abetterreality.net

[Paul]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by EricB007:
Greetings to all:

I've been out of the Trek gaming loop for many, many years. Recently, my son took an interest in Star Trek and the bug bit me and I'm back. This is a great website! Now I'm trying to recuperate what I sold of my FASA Star Trek as a teen-ager and trying to catch up with the Last Unicorn Star Trek.</font>

Howdy! And welcome!

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I have a few questions:

1. Obviously, the attributes and ratings are different between the FASA and Last Unicorn Star Trek games. Is there a "conversion" table of sorts to bring FASA Star Trek modules into the Last Unicorn Star Trek modules? </font>

Yes, there is a conversion, of sorts, from FASA to LUG...you can find it in the Computer Core of the TrekRPG site at http://www.trekrpg.net I'm not sure exactly where it is, though...you may have to do a bit of sniffing.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">2. Does Last Unicorn have a starship combat simulator like FASA's?</font>

Not really (not to my knowledge, anyway). The best and closest thing you'll get to it is the fantastic SPACEDOCK product, which can be downloaded from the TrekRPG website. This doubles as a Starship Design manual, so you get two things from the one source...lucky us!

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">3. Is it true Last Unicorn no longer exists? Is anyone going to continue the Star Trek role-playing game saga? If so, who and when?</font>

Yes, it's true. LUG was purchased by WotC about a year ago now (or is it longer? I've lost track of time). Many of the Developers of the LUG line of Trek products were working freelance with LUG, and have now been picked up by Decipher to write a new Star Trek game (obviously, with a new system...and conversion rules. ). As to when...in the next few months, hopefully. *sighs*

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">4. With the internet available, are there ways for FASA Star Trek gamers to conduct campaigns via email? How does it work? Any recommendations? This also includes Last Unicorn Star Trek gamers.</font>

Yes, you can. These are called PBEM games. Don't ask me how they work, I've never played or run one. Check the Game Finder forum and see if anyone's doing (or done) something similar.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Sorry for the "newbie" questions. Like I said, I've been out of it for over 10 years. I'm back and everything has changed.

Thanks!</font>

No problems. It's what we're here for. Someone here will know the answers to your questions...we even get the LUG developers (some of them, anyway...) trolling these boards occasionally!

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"...and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters Where God went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes, and Who is this God Person Anyway?"
- The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (dec.)

[redwood973]

So what is a "starship combat simulator?" guys? From this post I know it was a FASA product, but what was it? Rules for combat?

[Eric R.]

Both. The original Simulator was a stand alone board game that had a very easy to understand mechanic for play with an intermidiate and advance game (I would say between 4 and 6 on the old Avalon Hill complexity scale.). There was also a set of rules for RPG ship combat which could use the counters and mapshet from the board game. You might still be able to buy it from FASA, I did recently for 25 US$

[redwood973]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Eric R.:
Both. The original Simulator was a stand alone board game that had a very easy to understand mechanic for play with an intermidiate and advance game (I would say between 4 and 6 on the old Avalon Hill complexity scale.). There was also a set of rules for RPG ship combat which could use the counters and mapshet from the board game. You might still be able to buy it from FASA, I did recently for 25 US$</font>

Thanks for the explain! I reasently got a look at my first FASA stuff. . .interesting to see how the game has progressed. The FASA stuff seems rather confusing to me. . .but that could be I have only seen ship stats and no rules. Thanks agian!

[reimero]

The FASA stuff isn't that bad. If you're curious, you can get it off eBay for a song

One big difference, though, is that the old FASA game seems more oriented toward the action/adventure part (speak: combat) whereas LUGTrek is more role-playing and problem-solving. A FASA fight can last as long as most of Kirk's brawls (or longer!) whereas a LUG fistfight can be resolved in a round or 2, depending on how tough the opponent is.

I run both the old FASA and the LUGTrek and it's hard to say which is better. I personally prefer the icon system, but my players very much like the classic Trek stuff and the cowboy diplomacy.

[EricB007]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by reimero:
The FASA stuff isn't that bad. If you're curious, you can get it off eBay for a song

One big difference, though, is that the old FASA game seems more oriented toward the action/adventure part (speak: combat) whereas LUGTrek is more role-playing and problem-solving. A FASA fight can last as long as most of Kirk's brawls (or longer!) whereas a LUG fistfight can be resolved in a round or 2, depending on how tough the opponent is.

I run both the old FASA and the LUGTrek and it's hard to say which is better. I personally prefer the icon system, but my players very much like the classic Trek stuff and the cowboy diplomacy.</font>

What do you mean by "icon system" and are any of these FASA/LUG Trek games PBEM? Thanks!



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[mike]

Reimero - How do yours players react to the differences in the FASA and ST Canon worlds?

I was thinking of running a TNG era game using the FASA or icon rules. I've heard that the TNG officers manual is a horrible product to use for the FASA game. But it has most of the ships that I would use for the game in it.

Mike

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"Only Nixon can go to China" Spock

[Eric R.]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by EricB007:
What do you mean by "icon system" </font>

Spits out drink as room goes quiet at that statement.

Icon is the System that was used by LUG.

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[EricB007]

What's the difference between the playing systems of icon/LUG and FASA?

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Retouching
http://www.abetterreality.net