Supporting characters are created and controlled by the players during a game of Star Trek Adventures. Supporting characters:
Represent the rest of the crew in play, giving the players subordinates to play.
Enable players to take on different roles, allowing them to capitalize on a skillset that doesn’t exist among the main characters, to play a more active role in an adventure that doesn’t focus on their main character, or account for players who are absent.
Permit the players to split their characters among different activities in different locations without being left out of the game.
Allow smaller groups of players to bolster their numbers during challenges and extended tasks, such as by ensuring enough bridge stations are manned during a space battle.
USING SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
At the start of a scene, a player may choose which character they are using: their main character or one of the supporting characters currently available, or a supporting character they create on the spot. For the duration of that scene, that player will control the character they have chosen—the character chosen is a player character.
The player, and the gamemaster, should keep in mind where the main characters and supporting characters are at different times, and it will typically be the case that a player will choose a character located in the scene being established. However, this means that if the gamemaster ends a scene, and then establishes the next scene in a location occupied by a different set of characters, the players can easily switch to the appropriate characters without having to stop and figure out who is and isn’t involved.
If a player has multiple characters in a single scene, the player may not directly control those other characters. Characters not under the direct control of a player cannot perform the full range of actions and tasks available to a character under a player’s control. Instead, they can perform the following:
MINOR ACTIONS: An uncontrolled character will perform whatever minor actions or other incidental activities are needed to keep up with the player characters, or to follow the orders of player-controlled characters with authority over them.
MAJOR ACTIONS: An uncontrolled character cannot attempt any major action that includes a task that has a Difficulty above 0 unless they’ve been ordered to do so using the Direct action. Uncontrolled characters may, however, use the Assist task to benefit player characters, though they may only do so once per round in combat.
COMBAT: Uncontrolled characters do not receive a turn during combat; instead, an uncontrolled character’s major and minor actions (per the limitations above) are resolved as part of the actions of player characters—the uncontrolled characters follow the orders of their superiors immediately.
COMPLICATIONS AND INJURY: Uncontrolled characters can be Injured and Defeated, and can suffer complications as normal. However, an uncontrolled character may not choose to avoid an Injury. Further, in any situation where a player character would become Injured, and there are one or more uncontrolled characters in the scene, the player may choose to have the uncontrolled character suffer the Injury instead. In the case of an Injury, the uncontrolled character is immediately Defeated, and if the Injury was Deadly, they will require medical attention or die. If a player character suffers an Injury or is otherwise incapacitated, their player may immediately choose to take over an uncontrolled character for the remainder of the scene.
Further, uncontrolled characters can be treated as a trait, to allow a task to be attempted which would otherwise be impossible (for activities that would require multiple people), or to reduce the Difficulty of a task— simply providing an extra pair of hands and an extra set of senses can be valuable.
Creating a Supporting Character
The number of supporting characters present during any game is variable, and players do not inherently own any supporting characters—though they can lay claim to them during play, for the duration of that adventure.
A group of players will have a maximum number of supporting characters that can be used during a single adventure; this number is the Crew Support of the group’s ship (Crew Support is described more in Chapter 5 on page 185). During an adventure, players may choose to introduce one or more supporting characters at the start of any scene, either creating those characters anew or choosing from previously created supporting characters. The total number of supporting characters introduced during the adventure cannot exceed the Crew Support.
Note that previously created supporting characters do not count against this number until they are introduced in play, and during a prolonged campaign a group may create many supporting characters, not all of whom will appear in every session.
When creating a supporting character, use the procedure opposite.
Whenever a supporting character is introduced to an adventure, and this is not the first time they have been introduced (i.e., they have been introduced before), they receive an improvement, meaning the player introducing them may choose one of the following options:
VALUES: The supporting character gains a single value. This option may be chosen up to four times, gaining a new value each time. Once a supporting character has at least one value, they also gain a Stress track, and can take Stress to avoid Injuries and other consequences.
ATTRIBUTES: The supporting character increases a single attribute by 1. This option may only be chosen once.
DEPARTMENTS: The supporting character increases a single department by 1. This option may only be chosen once.
FOCUSES: The supporting character chooses one additional focus. This option may be chosen three times, gaining a new focus each time.
TALENTS: The supporting character gains a single talent that they meet the requirements for. This option may be chosen four times, gaining a different talent each time.
Once all the improvement options listed above have been taken, a supporting character cannot improve further simply by being introduced to an adventure. However, supporting characters can also be improved as part of a main character’s advancement—reflecting a main character training and developing the personnel under them.
Advancement for Supporting Characters
Once a supporting character has selected all the improvement options listed above, they are as capable and detailed as a main character, but with few opportunities to develop further. At the gamemaster’s discretion, there are a few possibilities to advance a supporting character further.
MAIN CAST: If a new player joins the group, or an existing main character is killed or otherwise leaves the game (perhaps promoted, assigned to another ship, or retired), a fully developed supporting character can be used as a replacement main character.
PROMOTION: The supporting character joins the senior staff and selects a role—gaining the accompanying role benefit—if they did not have one before. The supporting character’s rank is increased accordingly.
REASSIGNMENT: The supporting character departs, perhaps to a new posting on a different ship. While they can no longer be used as a supporting character, they can be a useful contact elsewhere in the fleet, and someone who can provide plot hooks or assistance. They could even become a main character in a friend’s Star Trek Adventures campaign, similar to the way Chief O’Brien went from a recurring character in Star Trek: The Next Generation to a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Supporting Character Creation
Step One: Purpose
Determine what purpose the supporting character will fill. Are they an engineer, or a doctor, or a scientist, or a security officer? This will shape the rest of the character. This includes choosing a department for the character. Create a trait to describe the supporting character’s role or purpose, such as Starfleet Enlisted Crew or Diplomatic Aide.
Step Two: Attributes
Assign the character’s attribute ratings. The character will have attribute ratings of 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, and 7, arranged in any order. Also at this stage, choose the character’s Species, and note down their species trait, their Species Ability, and adjust the attributes accordingly.
Step Three: Departments
Assign the character’s departments. The character will have department ratings of 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, and 1, arranged in any order. The character’s highest department should match up with the department chosen in step one.
Step Four: Focuses
Choose three focuses for the character. At least one of these should match up with the purpose defined in step one.
Step Five: Finishing Up
Finally, give the character their standard issue equipment and choose an appropriate name and rank for the character. Supporting characters should never have a rank above lieutenant, and may often be enlisted personnel rather than officers.
Supervisory Characters
The mechanics for supporting characters assume they are being used to create and play subordinates, characters of lower rank and status while the player characters are more important and of higher rank. If you’re playing lower ranking characters—perhaps a group of scrappy ensigns or enlisted crew, in the style of Lower Decks—this might not be the right fit: in such a game, the supporting cast would be the senior staff, like the captain, XO, chief engineer, and so forth.
Alternatively, it may be that a senior role in the ship’s crew isn’t filled by a player’s main character, so creating a supporting character to fill that role is the next best thing, allowing them to appear in adventures where they’re relevant.
Supervisory characters are created in the same way as supporting characters, with the following changes:
When you create or introduce a supervisory character, you must spend 2 points of Crew Support rather than 1: senior officers are rarer and have more demanding duties, so they’re more costly to introduce.
ATTRIBUTES: When you assign the character’s attributes, their ratings are 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, and 8, arranged in any order. Apply the character’s Species attribute modifiers.
DEPARTMENTS: When you assign the character’s departments, they have ratings of 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, and 1, arranged in any order.
FOCUSES: The character begins with four focuses, instead of three.
VALUES: The character begins with one value. As a result, they have one Determination when they are first introduced during an adventure.
FINAL STEPS: In addition to the other details, a supervisory character has a maximum Stress rating equal to their Fitness, like a main character.