The primary choice that you need to make up front is what era you are going to go with--the Star Trek: Enterprise era, the Original Series, or the Next Generation. Next Generation provides the most options in terms of species, so let's go with that.
Step One: Species. Pretty much what it says on the tin. I rolled a 6, which gives me a Betazoid (i.e. Counselor Troi's people).
Species provides +1 to three Attributes, out of the six of Daring (both bravery and fast-twitch reactions), Control (concentration and willpower, but also fine coordination), Fitness, Presence, Insight (intuition and problem solving), and Reason. In the case of a Betazoid, you get +1 to Insight, Presence, and Reason. Since the Attributes start a 7, this gives me:
- Daring 7, Control 7, Fitness 7, Presence 8, Insight 8, Reason 8
I also add the "Betazoid" trait, which basically just means that the GM is within his or her rights to impose penalties or bonuses for Betazoid-related things (like if I am trying to lie). I also get one Talent, which I can take from the general list or from the species-specific list. For Betazoids, I have to put one Talent into either Empath or Telepath, so I might as well use it now to pick Telepath.
Step Two: Environment. This is the kind of planet or location that your character grew up on. My d6 roll was a 2, for "Busy Colony World," and the idea here is that it is an old and well established colony world, inhabited for hundreds of years. I didn't know the Betazoids had colonies, but, sure.
The first thing you pick is a "Value," which is a statement of personal belief. Values are one of the best parts of Star Trek Adventures, in that they create strong game mechanic hooks for the kinds of moral and ethical conflicts that are the heart of Star Trek. Here, I'm going to with "There's More to Betazoids than Just Talking"--I'm thinking that Elias VI (my "busy colony" that I just made up) is a harsher world than the tranquil Betazed, and so has produced more assertive, action oriented folks than the ones living on Betazed. Think of it as the "rednecks" of Betazoid society.
In addition, I get a +1 to either Daring or Presence, and I think Daring is the obvious choice here. I also get +1 to one of three Disciplines. Disciplines are the equivalent of skills, and line up with the six divisions of Starfleet--Command, Conn, Security, Engineering, Science, and Medicine. They also all begin at one. My three choices for the bonus are Command, Security, and Science. I was tempted to pick Security here, but I think I am going to go with Command as a reflection of the assertive people of Elias VI. Taking all that, we have:
- Daring 8, Control 7, Fitness 7, Presence 8, Insight 8, Reason 8
- Command 2, Conn 1, Security 1, Engineering 1, Science 1, Medicine 1
Step Three: Upbringing. This is what your parents/family did growing up, and how your character reacted to that. Once again I rolled a 2, which gives me "Business and Trade." I'm thinking that Elias VI has significant resources of key materials like dilithium, which is why the Betazoids are there. The family was in the dilithium trade, shipping it from Elias VI all over the Federation
For each upbringing, you can choose to accept it or reject it, and that choice affects the attribute bonuses you get. I'm kinda indifferent between the two, but I like the bonuses for accepting better (+1 Daring and +2 Presence), so I'm going to go with that. I also get +1 to either Command, Engineering, or Science, and I'll go with Science (gotta know how the product you are selling works). I also get a Focus, which is an open-ended specialty. Looking at the suggested list in the book, Geology is the obvious choice for dilithium miners and traders. I also get one Talent, and I am going to go with Dauntless (add a bonus die to tests to avoid being intimidated or threatened), which seems in character. This gives us:
- Daring 9, Control 7, Fitness 7, Presence 10, Insight 8, Reason 8
- Command 2, Conn 1, Security 1, Engineering 1, Science 2, Medicine 1
Step Four: Starfleet Academy. As much fun as it sounds to travel the galaxy selling dilithium, that wasn't enough adventure for our redneck Betazoid, and he signed up for Starfleet Academy. The key decision point here is which track you go on--Command Division, Operations Division, or Sciences Division. I rolled a 4, for Operations Division. I'm thinking the idea of the "fightin' Betazoid" sounds fun, so our guy gravitated to the Security branch.
I get a Value from my time at the Academy. I think I'm going to go with "Humans are Kindred Spirits"--after being told all his life he was impulsive and hot-headed by the reserved Betazoids, our guy found he fit in perfectly with his human classmates, and formed a bond with humanity.
I also get three points to spread around my Attributes, and I think I am going to put +1 into each of the physical attributes. I also get +2 to my Discipline "major" (here, Security), and +1 to two others. I think I'll put 1 in Command and 1 in Medicine. Finally, I get three focuses. I'm going to go with Hand-to-Hand Combat, Interrogation (being a Telepath surely helps in that regard), and Survival. Finally, I get one Talent, and I am going to go with "Quick to Action," which essentially allows any of the PCs to go before any NPC in the first round of combat without cost. This gives us:
- Daring 10, Control 8, Fitness 8, Presence 10, Insight 8, Reason 8
- Command 3, Conn 1, Security 3, Engineering 1, Science 2, Medicine 2
Step Five: Career. Here, the options are basically a newbie "Young Officer," a veteran officer, or something middle of the road. I think newbie feels like the right choice here.
This adds another Value that has something to do with being young, so I'm going to go with "Bold Action is Often the Best Plan." I also get the "Untapped Potential" Talent, which caps my Attributes at 11 and my Disciplines at 4, but allows for bonus Momentum (and/or additional Threat) on checks where Momentum or Threat are used. Basically, when you go for broke, you get really spectacular (in a mostly good, with a risk of bad) results.
Step Six: Career Events. You roll twice on the Career Event table to determine what has happened to your character on active duty with Starfleet. I rolled an 8 "Conflict with a Hostile Culture" and 12 "Betrayed Ideals for a Superior." For Conflict with a Hostile Culture, the obvious choice is the Cardassians, fighting out the last parts of the conflict before the treaty and the rise of the Maquis. That provides +1 to Fitness, +1 to Security (now capped out at 4), and a Focus, which we'll go with Shipboard Tactical Systems. "Betrayed Ideals for a Superior" is a little more dramatic in presentation than the description in the text--it's more like "your superior wanted to do something one way, you wanted to do it another way, and you went with your superior." I'm going to say I served under a Vulcan Captain, T'Karra, and he tempered some of my character's recklessness. I get +1 to Presence (capping it out), +1 to Command (capping it out as well), and a Focus, which we'll go with "Composure." This leaves us with:
- Daring 10, Control 8, Fitness 9, Presence 11, Insight 8, Reason 8
- Command 4, Conn 1, Security 4, Engineering 1, Science 2, Medicine 2
Step Seven: Finishing Touches. First, I get one more Value. Given my mentorship from Captain T'Karra, I'm going to add "It Never Hurts to Listen to What People Have To Say." I also get two points to add to Attributes and two points to add to Disciplines. I think I'm going to add +1 to Control (which is tied to phaser combat, so that's helpful), along with +1 to Insight to round out the character. On the Discipline side, I want to round out my character a bit, so I'm going to add +1 to Conn and +1 to Engineering. My final Attributes and Disciplines are:
- Daring 10, Control 9, Fitness 9, Presence 11, Insight 9, Reason 8
- Command 4, Conn 2, Security 4, Engineering 2, Science 2, Medicine 2
Derived stats time! Stress, the Star Trek Adventures equivalent of HP, is equal to Fitness+Security, or 13. Damage bonus is equal to Security, or 4 extra dice (Security would be the God stat if Star Trek Adventures was all about personal combat, which it is not). Department, rank, and role are supposed to be determined by the player group, but since there is no player group, I'm going to say that my rank is Lt. J.G. (the highest rank I can have as a Young Officer), and I am the acting Chief of Security.
Finally, a name. Looking at the samples, provided, I'm going to go with "Rennan Grax." Lt. J.G. Rennan Grax, acting Chief of Security, the daring, charismatic, impulsive Betazoid redneck. Full character sheet:
Lt. J.G. Rennan Grax
Role: Chief of Security (Acting)
Species: Betazoid
Homeworld: Elias VI
Attributes: Daring 10, Control 9, Fitness 9, Presence 11, Insight 9, Reason 8
Disciplines: Command 4, Conn 2, Security 4, Engineering 2, Science 2, Medicine 2
Focuses: Geology, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Interrogation, Survival, Shipboard Tactical Systems, Composure
Talents: Telepath, Dauntless, Quick to Action, Untapped Potential
Values: "There's More to Betazoids than Just Talking," "Humans are Kindred Spirits," "Bold Action is Often the Best Plan," "It Never Hurts to Listen to What People Have To Say"
Stress: 13
Damage Bonus: 4 dice
Stress: 13
Damage Bonus: 4 dice
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