Star Trek: Into the Expanse (Beginners Welcome!)
Take your station on the bridge and explore the volatile Shackleton Expanse in a cinematic Star Trek campaign inspired by TNG, DS9, and Voyager.
TYPE
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Saturday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 10+ Sessions
2 / 6 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
2/6
About the adventure
You are officers stationed at Narendra Station, the first joint Federation–Klingon outpost on the edge of the mysterious Shackleton Expanse. Set shortly after the Dominion War in the DS9 era, this campaign explores a volatile frontier filled with political tension, strange new phenomena, and civilizations never before encountered. Why Join This Game? 🖖 Play the stars of your own Star Trek series! You’re not background crew, you’re the senior officers whose decisions drive the story. 🚀 Episode-style adventures! Each mission unfolds like a Star Trek episode with briefings, complications, character moments, and drama. 🧭 Explore a dangerous frontier! The Shackleton Expanse is unstable, mysterious, and perfect for exploration, diplomacy, and first contact. 🎭 Strong roleplay and character moments! Expect meaningful decisions, moral dilemmas, and opportunities to develop your character over multiple episodes. ⚖️ Multiple ways to solve problems! Diplomacy, science, investigation, and negotiation are often better tools than combat. 📺 Designed to feel like classic Trek! Inspired by the tone and storytelling of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. 🌍 All are welcome! All players are welcome no matter nationality, race, sex, gender, religion, experience level, etc. Embrace the Vulcan philosophy of IDIC and treat others the way you would like to be treated. --- How We’ll Play: Zoom for voice (microphone required, webcam encouraged) Roll20 for character sheets, dice rolling, and handouts Theater of the Mind for most scenes. Your imagination drives the adventure Discord for organization and private in-game messages --- Campaign Structure: This is a mini-campaign of 3–4 episodes. After it concludes, a new mini-campaign will launch for players who wish to continue the story. If you’re ready to take your station and boldly face the unknown… prepare to venture INTO THE EXPANSE!
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Combat Lite
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Knows the Rules
About me
My journey with roleplaying games began in the mid-90s when a friend invited me to play D&D 2e with her group. I had only ever heard the name Dungeons and Dragons so it was exciting to see what it was all about. The liberation of playing a game constrained only by the limits of imagination was exhilarating and I fell in love immediately. Not long after that, another friend invited me to try the d6 Star Wars roleplaying game. Playing in the world of my favorite movie series solidified my love for TTRPGs and I couldn't get enough. I wanted to play more than my friend was able to host, so I had to take matters into my own hand: I bought the rulebook and learned how to be a Game Master. While I was a little disappointed that I couldn't play at first, I soon discovered that being a GM fit well with my innate love of storytelling. The pandemic led me to run some games online for friends around the globe to help them deal with those stressful days. It also introduced me to Star Trek Adventures, which became my favorite system of all time. My love for STA compelled me to start a YouTube channel to hype it and that eventually led to me being hired by Modiphius as a contributing writer for Star Trek Adventures. So now not only do I get to keep running the game I love, I also get to create content for it to be used by players around the world. It's a great feeling and keeps me motivated to constantly improve my craft. NOTE: I live in Japan, which puts me in an awkward time zone for people in the Americas and Europe. I will respond to any messages as quickly as possible but please be aware that I may be sleeping during your normal daylight hours.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Please use the online character generator at: https://sta.bcholmes.org/ to create your character. Characters will be built using Second Edition rules, so please select those options on the Character Generator. The ranks and roles of all player characters need to be decided before anyone creates a character. This can be done together during Session 0 or done on your own, but please confirm details with me for final approval. Generally, most character ideas will be permitted but I try to keep the game feeling close to Star Trek canon. There will be some species unavailable during this setting (late 2376). So please share your ideas with me before committing to them. Guidance will be provided for those who are unfamiliar with Star Trek. Pregenerated characters will be provided upon request.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need a Discord and Roll20 account created before game time and you should download the Discord client to your device. We will use Zoom but an account isn't strictly necessary. You will need good quality headphones and microphone. Please don't use speakers as it usually creates an audio feedback loop. A good webcam will be needed for those who are comfortable sharing video. Those not using a webcam should prepare a character image to be used as their Zoom portrait. *If you are comfortable using a webcam, feel free to cosplay as your character. I will always be in uniform so feel free to join me! Characters must be created and approved before the first session. A character image should also be provided for visual reference. I will provide resources on how to find or create a character during Session 0. During character creation, please put thought into your character's Values as they are a key component in both roleplaying and advancement. Please also prepare a small notebook or notepad to use as a character log, which is a key component of STA2e's advancement system. I will explain further during Session 0. I will prepare consent forms about sensitive content. Please complete the forms and return them to me before the first session. Lastly, bring your enthusiasm! Visualize yourself as a character in a Star Trek TV show and run with it!
What Bill - The Final Frontiersmen brings to the table
As the Game Master, I bring 30 years of experience in running roleplaying games. I have a deep knowledge of Star Trek lore which I use to create an immersive experience for the group. I can also support players who are not familiar with Star Trek lore, so don't let that dissuade you from playing. I will provide a Discord server with dedicated channels to this campaign where all players can meet, discuss, roleplay, and chat freely. It will also be used for passing private messages during game sessions. Visual assets relating to the episode will be used to help with immersion. Necessary handouts and reference sheets will be available for everyone on Roll20. I keep a very flexible approach to the rules to ensure that they support what players want to accomplish without getting in the way. I like to provide opportunities for players to create their own scenes of roleplay to showcase their characters in ways that might not be possible during the natural course of an adventure. You will have a chance to create your own character moments or personal subplots to let your ideas shine.
Homebrew rules
Some elements of STA 1st Edition may be used in place of 2nd Edition, but the two editions are almost identical. Some rules may be adapted to better serve the narrative. For example, we might run a combat encounter as an extended task rather than with standard combat rules if it was more appropriate for the scene.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Headphones
Pen & Paper
Platforms used
Safety
How Bill - The Final Frontiersmen creates a safe table
We will have a Session 0 to create our crew and set expectations as well as to go over some basic rules. A consent checklist will be sent to each player to fill out before the first session. An Open Door policy is kept at all times so players do not feel trapped or overwhelmed if they feel triggered. We will take at least one 15-minute break at the midpoint of the session. Additional breaks may be had if needed and depending on circumstances. Stars and Wishes will be used for players to provide feedback of what is and isn't working for them in the campaign.
Content warnings
Safety tools used