When Jim Johnson and Michael Dismuke gave me the incredible chance to contribute some writing to Captain’s Log, my first step was to run a play-test of the early rules to get a feel for how the system was adapted for solo, unguided play.
I wanted a Starfleet Captain in the classic mold who would naturally conjure iconic Trek-style beats, and I thought of Saavik. I found a TNG-era Saavik build right here on this site, and decided to adapt her to my own personal games’ universe. She would be over 110 years old during the Dominion War, and I thought it would be fun to see her at that middle-aged time of life in which the TOS characters found themselves during the Movie era.
I wrote three short stories while testing:
- The Call: getting started with Tasks and the Probability Matrix
- A Wounded Animal: a test of Starship Combat
- The Blooming: an extensive use of the Probability Matrix to drive NPC and world events
This was a ton of fun. The rules flowed nicely and the Probability Matrix generated lots of inspiration. Saavik gets to solve scientific mysteries, cool hotshots bent on violence, and square off against the Dominion. Most of all, she gets to contemplate what it is to head into the latter side of life, complete with aches, pains and a sci-fi health scare.
I hope this write-up is useful to new players learning the rules, and fun to read!
