Delta Quadrant Sourcebook
Delta Quadrant is a sourcebook for the space travel Star Trek Adventures RPG, written by LUKA CARROLL, JACK GEIGER, AARON M. POLLYEA, DEREK TYLER ATTICO, FRED LOVE, SHAWN MERWIN, and JIM JOHNSON and published by Modiphius Entertainment.
By Stephen Reuille
Learn more about Delta Quadrant Sourcebook here
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I have been given another opportunity to review a copy of a Star Trek Adventures offering, this time the Delta Quadrant Sourcebook. Like my other two reviews, 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 the long voyage to the Borg-dominated Delta Quadrant.
Like the previous Quadrant Sourcebook I reviewed, Delta Quadrant Sourcebook is divided into five chapters. Similar to the previous three Quadrant books, this one adds new species, ships, and more to your Star Trek Adventures table. This book, like Gamma, moves the timeline forward, this time to 2379. This is so the Voyager from the show of the same name can have returned and all the information they gained can be given to Starfleet and the Federation. Some of the sections in this book take the concept of Janeway and others briefing you on the time they spend in the Delta Quadrant. It also places the setting, until recently, after all the aired shows and movies so a Gamemaster is free to do with Star Trek as they wish and to feel free to use the main species in this book, THE BORG, in any way they deem without messing with the timeline too much. Now on to the Delta Quadrant.
Starting with chapter two – the Delta Quadrant, like the Gamma Sourcebook, is the lion’s share of the book, we start with the various societies, races, and planets of the region. I have not watched Voyager so I can only assume this is a who’s who of the groups and places seen in the seven seasons of the show. That being said, it feels to me more of an independent science fiction setting because I am not familiar with them. This could be a good thing as a Gamemaster has a whole new area to explore not tied to the personalities and histories of the well known Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
Any intrepid explorers must be careful, however, as the book continues into chapter two with a deep dive into the potent villains known as the Borg. We get a look at the Collective’s structure, the different types of Drones, information on the Borg Queen, conflicts they are in, and how they fight. This chapter gives a lot of information on the Federation’s arguably most mysterious enemy. There is good information how species interact with the Borg from before and during their first encounter to assimilation and beyond. I really liked the inclusion toward the end of the chapter on Borg “colonization.” It was interesting to see how Borg view the worlds they conquer and what they do with them after. This section was a good mining area for encounters with Borg not trying to kill you with their Cubes. In this chapter you will also find the next character request Gamemasters will see in all their games, the Liberated Borg, but more on that soon.
Chapter three is the part of the book adding new species like Ocampa, Talaxian, and more for players to pick for their character 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 Alpha and Beta Quadrant books. Being species seen in the Delta Quadrant, far from known space, unless you are playing in this region, I do not see a lot of use with these statistics. Reviewing the new additions, I think they are well-balanced for the game, however, and may be used for some inspiration for players’ unique aliens and new species the Gamemaster can tweak for their own. These species will only see greater use in games centered firmly in the Delta Quadrant and then there is the Liberated Borg. I like the write up for these Borg; like Seven of Nine, these Borg can choose to have Borg tech still with them to give them special abilities. To get these abilities, healing them will be more difficult. I really like this idea, but Gamemasters need to be careful the Borg character is not outshining the other characters. I would have also liked to see some rules for Liberated Borg regaining their original species uniqueness.
Now onto the starships in chapter four. Many ships encountered in the Delta Quadrant are defined including many new Borg vessels to threaten their neighbors. You get Scale 4 all the way to Scale 14 Borg vessels. The highlight is rules for assimilated ships. With the simple rules presented, any ship in the game can be assimilated. Oh the possibilities! [Pardon me as I create my next episode.] Now even if Gamesmasters are not playing in the Delta Quadrant, the stats in this book can be used to construct your own new ships for your own aliens in the other regions. Need an odd ship, how about one that travels through Underspace or uses Temporal weapons?
The last chapter of Delta Quadrant Sourcebook covers encounters and adversaries. There are encounters with various Delta species and a number of them that deal with the Borg specifically. With some work I can see these strung together to create the bones of a campaign against the Borg on their home turf. The book goes on to describe ways to create and run Borg campaigns and possible ways to defeat them. I will say for a book set in the Delta Quadrant, the encounter ideas still focus on a crew, similar to Starfleet. It would have been nice to see these encounters really stretch the setting of Star Trek. The adversaries are what you have come to expect in Quadrant books. A good grouping of minor and major supporting characters. I do not know if any of the named characters are from the show, but I was excited to see Hugh’s description included. This chapter also describes strange beings and space phenomena encountered in the Delta Quadrant, but I did not see any reason they could not be imported to other regions of the galaxy.
Like all the Star Trek Adventures books, the layout of Delta Quadrant Sourcebook is on the top end of the industry. The writing is well done and the art is original and fantastic. In my previous two reviews, I found a piece of art in the book I liked the most, this time I am choosing the Borg Queen piece on page 37. However, the Borg alien canine on page 75 is a close second.
Like I stated earlier, I would have liked to see the creators take some risks in this book. Most of the ideas seem centered around a Starfleet vessel exploring a non-Federation region. It would have been interesting to see ideas for campaigns focusing on a species in the Delta Quadrant really making the setting its own and not a way to recreate Voyager. Maybe it is because I have not seen much of the show, but just seems like a missed opportunity. That being said, there is much to take inspiration from in this book. I will be using it as a place to mine ideas for unique locations, aliens, and ships. This book is a must for Gamemasters and players interested in the Borg and a good addition to any Star Trek Adventures shelf. Now go assimilate it.
