Gamma Quadrant
Gamma Quadrant is a sourcebook for Star Trek Adventures, written by JACOB DC ROSS, JAMES BERRY, JOHN D. KENNEDY, AARON M. POLLYEA, JIM JOHNSON and published by Modiphius Entertainment.
By Stephen Reuille
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So I have had the privilege to get a review copy of the new Star Trek Adventures Sourcebook about the Gamma Quadrant. Like my review of the second Adventure Compendium, I received a PDF of the book. Since my background is not in PDFs however, I will not be commenting on some of the items a more tech savvy reviewer might. My review will be of the content and not the add-ons a PDF purchaser may use to increase the document’s utility. Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, let’s take a trip to the Gamma Quadrant, there is a lot to unpack.
The book is broken down into five chapters. Similar to the previous Quadrant books, Gamma adds new locations and species to the Star Trek Adventures cargo bay. But unlike them, Gamma is much more focused on a theme. As stated in the introduction chapter, this book forwards the timeline from 2371 to 2374. For those that may not know, this places the setting deep within the Dominion War. This sourcebook gives a Gamemaster and crew much to help flesh out a campaign set in the latter seasons of Deep Space Nine. But how does it do this?
Starting with Chapter Two – the Gamma Quadrant, the lion’s share of the book, we get an overview of the Dominion, its structure, and a history of the changeling species. This section gives players an overview of information from Deep Space Nine but also adds to the lore of the show. It explains what it is like to be a citizen living under Dominion rule and how that is different than life in the Federation for example. I especially liked the explanation of the Dominion’s logo and why they chose it. You will have to get the book to know.
The chapter goes on to describe various Gamma Quadrant aliens and their connection to the Dominion. Besides the son’a (that I believe are not from Gamma), species like the drai and karemma can be seen or are referenced in episodes of Deep Space Nine. In discussing the species, the chapter gives a good but quick overview of their society and descriptions of some of the minor powers not ruled by the Dominion. The chapter goes on to briefly describe a number of planets in the Gamma Quadrant. Although not explicit, these sections are good places to find story seeds for a session of play. The part of this chapter I like the most is that it gives the reader ideas how other powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants could be involved in the Dominion War. You want to replace the cardassians with gorn? The book tells you how that may be possible. These ideas are a great way for the player’s crew to have their own nemesis in the campaign and not just warp in the shadow of DS9’s characters.
Chapter three is the part of the book adding new species for players to pick for their characters or Gamemaster characters. The species are the ones described in chapter two. I must say the species in this book are not as relevant for me as the other Quadrant books. Like I said previously they are species seen in only a few episodes of Deep Space Nine. They are good if you are interested in some new species to add to your campaign or a player wanting to play the rare or only member of a species in Starfleet. Reviewing the new additions, I think they are well balanced for the game but they do not have the weight of additions to the game like romulans or klingons. They will only see greater use in games centered firmly in the Gamma Quadrant. That being said, prepare for the players wanting to play the sole changeling with a heart of gold.
Now on to the starships in chapter four. There are new ships to attack your Starfleet crew and add to the Dominion war machine from the Core Rulebook. After these entries, the book does something not seen yet in other Star Trek Adventures’ offerings. There are a number of named ships of the Federation active during the war defined here. The Sutherland, Galaxy, and more are written up in the book. I like these write-ups and hope Modiphius adds more in future products. They give Gamemasters and crew ready-made ships with a history to serve on and use in their campaigns. They are also good templates for creating new ships with backgrounds. Lastly in this chapter, there are rules for Frankensteining ships. For example, take a Miranda frame and slap some Galaxy grade nacelles. A novel idea that I think both Gamemasters and crews will have a lot of fun with.
The last chapter of the book covers encounters and adversaries. It starts by describing the Bajoran Wormhole and some adventure seeds. These seeds will need to be expanded by the Gamemaster, but can be good for a night or two of gaming. The next part of the chapter deals with adventuring in the Dominion War era and what it might look like. Giving the Gamemaster things to consider and views of the war from both sides. This can help the Gamemaster get deeper into the psychology of the war for their crew.
The book wraps up with stats for various adversaries to throw at your crew. In the book you will find Jem’Hadar and vorta of various types. The best part of this chapter is statistics for many of the supporting characters from Deep Space Nine. You will find Martok, Dukat, Kai Winn, the Founder Leader, and more. With the Main Characters statistics in their own PDF, this gives a Gamemaster a great resource to flesh out the rest of the Dominion War cast.
Like all the Star Trek Adventure books, the layout of the Gamma Quadrant Sourcebook is on the top end of the industry. The writing is well done and the art is original and fantastic. I particularly like the Prometheus on page 85. While this book is firmly set in the Deep Space Nine era of Trek, it is packed with useful information for any Gamemaster and crew. I believe this is a book that cannot be absorbed in one read though. I feel I only scratched the surface of the book and I strongly recommend this book for any STA shelf. Now go on your own own journey to the Gamma Quadrant and start unpacking.
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