Itching for a Fight

The Star Trek Adventures core rulebook emphasizes that violence should be used only as a last resort for Starfleet crews, and rightly so. Star Trek has always featured heroes that prefer to think their way out of fights rather than immediately firing phasers. But sometimes a good fight makes for an exciting story (and an opportunity for a scene or two of Captain Kirk with a torn shirt).

My home gaming group began “Signals,” the adventure included in the free Star Trek Adventures quickstart guide, during our last session, and the story left off just as the Player Characters crashed a shuttle on the surface of a planet after encountering an electromagnetic storm. The players quickly learned a crew of Romulans also had crashed on the planet, and a fire fight had just broken out between the Romulans and the Player Characters as we ended our session.

To prep for our next game, I reviewed the section in the core rulebook dealing with combat and put together some notes to make the fight as dynamic and engaging for my players as possible. Below, you’ll find my expanded guide for the encounter. Feel free to adapt it for your own campaign.

Setting the stage (Gamemasters may read or paraphrase the following text to start the scene): You regain consciousness unsure of how long you were out. It could have been mere moments or it could have been longer. As your vision clears, you take in the interior of the shuttlecraft, which clearly sustained major damage in the crash landing. The few computer consoles that appear functional flicker, and instruments lie scattered throughout the cabin. A quick check of the propulsion system shows the engines are completely offline. This shuttle isn’t going anywhere without repairs.

Once the Player Characters have gathered their wits and examined the interior of the shuttle, they’ll likely open the shuttle’s hatch to find out what’s going on outside. Once that happens, the Gamemaster should read or paraphrase the following:

The hatch opens onto a rocky, arid plain beneath a red sky swirling with bright discharges of electromagnetic energy. Jagged formations of rock dot the landscape, and the shuttle has left a trail of wreckage strewn around the crash site. Without warning, a sizzling bolt of disruptor energy blasts the ground immediately in front of you and a voice cries out, “That’s far enough, Starfleet! We’ve already claimed this planet in the name of the Romulan Star Empire. We hereby order you to drop your weapons and turn over your spacecraft.”

A trio of Romulan soldiers has trained disruptors on the Player Characters from long range. Two of the Romulans lie prone behind a crag while the third stands nearby, but still remains within reach of the crag and benefits from the cover it provides. It’s the standing Romulan who shouted for the Player Characters to surrender. These Romulans were part of a crew of scoutship crew who crashed on the planet while investigating a powerful alien energy source they’re interested in harnessing as a weapon. They do not intend to allow Starfleet to claim the energy source and will not negotiate with the Player Characters, making combat likely.

The crags behind which the three Romulans take cover grant 2 [CD] resistance. Targeting the lone standing Romulan for a ranged attack requires a successful Difficulty 2 Control + Security Task. However, successfully making a ranged attack against the two prone Romulans from medium range or further requires a successful Difficulty 3 Task. Additionally, the two prone Romulans may re-roll any number of their Cover dice. However, successful attacks against prone Characters from close range generate two bonus Momentum. The Romulans will stay close to the crag and take advantage of the cover, popping up on their turns to fire disruptor blasts at the Starfleet crew.

A chunk of wreckage from the shuttlecraft came to a rest not far from the rear hatch of the shuttle, and Player Characters can easily take cover behind the debris, granting 2 [CD] resistance. The wreckage lies in the zone adjacent to the shuttlecraft’s hatch, meaning it’s a medium-range distance from Player Characters inside the shuttlecraft. If Player Characters take two of the three Romulans out of the fight, the third will retreat on foot back to the Romulan crash site, where several more of his comrades await.

Currently stranded on the planet, the Romulans intend to steal the Player Characters’ shuttlecraft to get back to Romulan space. They also recognize the value of Starfleet hostages and will attempt to capture the Player Characters rather than kill them. If they succeed in subduing the Player Characters, or if the Player Characters surrender, they may try to contact Starfleet to negotiate a way off the planet.

Gamemasters may consider spending Threat in the following ways during this confrontation:

1.    Reinforcements. Gamemasters may summon more Romulan soldiers to arrive on the battlefield by spending 1 Threat for each additional Romulan agent.

2.    Environmental effect. Gamemasters may spend 2 Threat to trigger a power surge that overloads several of the computer consoles inside the shuttlecraft. Any Characters remaining in the shuttlecraft when the overload occurs take 2 [CD] stress damage due to exploding equipment.

3.    Complication. Gamemasters may spend 2 Threat to create a highly localized electromagnetic discharge that causes all electronic equipment – including phasers, tricorders and communicators – in the affected zone to cease to function. This discharge appears like a bolt of lightning that strikes the ground and creates intensely localized electromagnetic interference for several seconds. Characters may repair affected equipment with a successful Difficulty 2 Control or Daring + Engineering Task.

Resolution
If the Player Characters manage to take any of the Romulans captive, they must complete a Difficulty 4 Persuasion Task to gain any useful information. These Romulans have received training in how to withstand interrogation. However, if the Player Characters succeed in convincing the Romulans to talk, they may learn the following information:

1.    The Romulans came to the planet three days ago to secure the powerful alien energy source and evaluate its usefulness as a weapon.

2.    The Romulan scoutship crashed after encountering intense electromagnetic interference in the upper atmosphere of the planet.

3.    There is a settlement near the energy source that is protected by some sort of energy-reflecting technology, making it difficult for sensors to penetrate the area. The Romulans have made several preliminary incursions to test the settlement’s defenses but have not yet settled on a strategy for a full-on assault.

If the Romulans won the encounter, they take the Player Characters captive and march them back to a camp near the Romulan scoutship’s crash site. The Romulans then pump the Player Characters for information regarding the strange alien power signature and the Shackleton Expanse. The Player Characters will have to come up with a plan to escape from the Romulans. If they’re slow to attempt an escape, the Nelbinar miners, who live in the nearby settlement, may provide an opening by staging a sneak attack on the Romulan camp.