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Holodeck Adventures
Holodeck Adventures provides Narrators with information on creating and using holodeck stories of their own, as well as four existing story lines: Travel the streets of 1940s San Francisco as the infamous detective, Dixon Hill. Unravel the ancient horror of King Korvos' lonely castle. Set sail in search of a pirate's treasure. Holodeck Adventures takes the Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game in new directions... roleplaying in the 19th century.
104 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 6, 2023
The basic question is: Is there a Holodeck on the Starship Enterprise in Kirk’s era?
The classic Star Trek does not mention it. But the Star Trek Animated Series clearly does mention and show a Holodeck.
I personally HATE the Holodeck According to the original Star Trek writer’s guide all the devices have to have some basis in theoretical reality and the Holodeck just doesn’t. It’s magic. So it doesn’t belong in Star Trek at all.
So I thought I’d read this book and see what they say about it.
The book starts out with the capabilities and limitations of the Holodeck Almost none except the room size.
Then it talks about how to use the Holodeck Starting with malfunctions. Then it gives some useful suggestions on using the Holodeck for exposition (‘show not tell’ what you want to info dump) and for some additional story devices you can use the Holodeck for.
Then it talks about creating ‘holonovels’. Stories where the participants willingly play ‘parts’ in a cheesy cosplay story. It basically gives a list of stock characters and stock plots.
So far while there are some clever uses of the Holodeck for illuminating the character of its participants or for even some psychological benefits of using the Holodeck, it’s still magic, and still seems like it would cause more questions than answers. Like why isn’t the whole ship a Holodeck if what can be done it it can be done at all?
Next it talks about how players can abuse the Holodeck by reprogramming it on the fly and whether to allow it and improvise it or to put the kibosh on it.
Next chapter is a 22 page Dixon Hill (private eye/gangsters) scenario. After that is an 18 page Horror/Medieval scenario. Next is a 22 page Pirate scenario. Aka Holonovels.
That’s really about it. So the question I wanted answers - are Holodecks really worth having around seems to be No. They don’t add much unless they are either malfunctioning or the basis of a whole scenario. Neither of which is interesting to me.
Now if you are inclined to enjoy Holodecks and the wide variety they can add to a Star Trek game the book gives you plenty of material to work with, as long as you realize there are effectively no restrictions on what it can do.
I give it 1 star for me. But 2 stars for anyone interested in having a Holodeck in a game. It’s doesn’t add anything you don’t already know, but there is a good amount of grab and go material.
The classic Star Trek does not mention it. But the Star Trek Animated Series clearly does mention and show a Holodeck.
I personally HATE the Holodeck According to the original Star Trek writer’s guide all the devices have to have some basis in theoretical reality and the Holodeck just doesn’t. It’s magic. So it doesn’t belong in Star Trek at all.
So I thought I’d read this book and see what they say about it.
The book starts out with the capabilities and limitations of the Holodeck Almost none except the room size.
Then it talks about how to use the Holodeck Starting with malfunctions. Then it gives some useful suggestions on using the Holodeck for exposition (‘show not tell’ what you want to info dump) and for some additional story devices you can use the Holodeck for.
Then it talks about creating ‘holonovels’. Stories where the participants willingly play ‘parts’ in a cheesy cosplay story. It basically gives a list of stock characters and stock plots.
So far while there are some clever uses of the Holodeck for illuminating the character of its participants or for even some psychological benefits of using the Holodeck, it’s still magic, and still seems like it would cause more questions than answers. Like why isn’t the whole ship a Holodeck if what can be done it it can be done at all?
Next it talks about how players can abuse the Holodeck by reprogramming it on the fly and whether to allow it and improvise it or to put the kibosh on it.
Next chapter is a 22 page Dixon Hill (private eye/gangsters) scenario. After that is an 18 page Horror/Medieval scenario. Next is a 22 page Pirate scenario. Aka Holonovels.
That’s really about it. So the question I wanted answers - are Holodecks really worth having around seems to be No. They don’t add much unless they are either malfunctioning or the basis of a whole scenario. Neither of which is interesting to me.
Now if you are inclined to enjoy Holodecks and the wide variety they can add to a Star Trek game the book gives you plenty of material to work with, as long as you realize there are effectively no restrictions on what it can do.
I give it 1 star for me. But 2 stars for anyone interested in having a Holodeck in a game. It’s doesn’t add anything you don’t already know, but there is a good amount of grab and go material.
March 26, 2023
You can't really do a post TOS era Star Trek game without the holodeck. Yes, they are goofy and weird. A bit cliche but they can be a lot of fun. Especially if your group loves metahumor. The book has interesting ways to use the holodeck in a game. Plus three pre-generated adventures and rules to develop your own holodeck stories.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews