Equipment & Gear
Starfleet officers carry a wide range of tools, weapons, and devices into the field. Equipment in Star Trek Adventures is treated as traits — short descriptions that modify how you interact with the world. Some items have additional mechanical rules beyond being traits.
Equipment Categories
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Phasers, disruptors, bat'leths, knives |
| Armor | Armored vest, body armor, environment suit, personal forcefield |
| Gear | Tricorders, communicators, PADDs, pattern enhancers |
| Device | Engineering tools, medical devices, holographic imagers |
| Consumable | Pulse grenades, hypospray medications |
Most equipment is standard issue and has no cost. Items with an Opportunity cost require the GM to grant access — the character must have a reasonable way to obtain the item.
Weapons
Weapons have several key properties:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Melee or Ranged |
| Injury | Stun (incapacitates), Deadly (causes serious harm) |
| Severity | A number (usually 2–5) indicating how severe the injury is |
| Size | 1H (one-handed) or 2H (two-handed). Using a 2H weapon in one hand increases Difficulty by 1 |
| Qualities | Special rules modifying how the weapon functions |
Common Weapons
Melee
| Weapon | Injury | Severity | Size | Qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unarmed Strike | Stun | 2 | 1H | — |
| Anesthetic Hypospray | Stun | 3 | 1H | Cumbersome, Intense |
| Knife/Dagger | Deadly | 2 | 1H | Hidden 1 |
| Blade | Deadly | 3 | 1H | — |
| Heavy Blade | Deadly | 3 | 2H | Intense |
| Bludgeon | Stun/Deadly | 3 | 1H | — |
Ranged — Federation
| Weapon | Injury | Severity | Size | Qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phaser Type-1 | Stun/Deadly | 3 | 1H | Charge, Hidden 1 |
| Phaser Type-2 | Stun/Deadly | 4 | 1H | Charge |
| Phaser Type-3 (rifle) | Stun/Deadly | 5 | 2H | Accurate, Charge |
| Pulse Grenade | Stun/Deadly | 4 | 1H | Area, Grenade |
Ranged — Alien
| Weapon | Injury | Severity | Size | Qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disruptor Pistol | Deadly | 4 | 1H | Intense |
| Disruptor Rifle | Deadly | 5 | 2H | Accurate, Intense |
| Jem'Hadar Plasma Pistol | Deadly | 4 | 1H | Debilitating |
| Jem'Hadar Plasma Rifle | Deadly | 5 | 2H | Accurate, Debilitating |
Weapon Qualities
| Quality | Effect |
|---|---|
| Accurate | When you Aim, re-roll up to 2d20 instead of 1 |
| Area | Spend 1 Momentum per additional target in the same zone (Repeatable) |
| Charge | After Prepare, add Area, Intense, or Piercing to the attack |
| Cumbersome | Must Prepare before attacking |
| Debilitating | +1 Difficulty to treat injuries from this weapon |
| Grenade | Range up to Medium; enough for 3 attacks |
| Hidden X | Conceal with a minor action; searching requires Difficulty X |
| Inaccurate | Cannot benefit from Aim |
| Intense | Spend 1 Momentum (instead of 2) to increase severity by 1 |
| Piercing | Ignores the target's Protection rating |
Stun vs. Deadly
When you attack, you choose whether to inflict a Stun or Deadly injury:
- Stun: Incapacitates the target. The injury fades after the scene.
- Deadly: Causes serious harm. If the target is defeated with Deadly injuries, they are Dying and will die at the end of the scene without medical attention. Choosing Deadly adds 1 Threat.
Improvised Weapons
Any object can be used as an improvised weapon. The GM determines its type, injury, severity, size, and qualities. All improvised attacks have the Cumbersome quality.
Armor and Protection
Armor provides Protection, which reduces the severity of injuries inflicted against you. A character may only wear one form of protective gear at a time.
| Armor | Protection | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Armored Vest | 1 | Standard issue |
| Body Armor | 2 | Opportunity 1, Escalation 1 |
| Environment Suit | 1 | Opportunity 2 |
| Personal Forcefield | 3 | Opportunity 1, Escalation 2. May be sacrificed to convert a Deadly injury to Stun |
How Protection works: When you suffer an Injury, reduce its severity by your Protection rating (minimum 1). Protection does not prevent the injury — it makes it less severe.
Tools and Devices
Tricorders
Standard issue. Tricorders sense, record, and analyze data. During the 23rd century, science and medical tricorders were separate devices; by the 24th century, they were unified into a single design.
Communicators
Standard issue. Allow communication with the ship in orbit or other communicators. By the 24th century, worn as a badge.
Universal Translator
Built into standard communicators since the late 23rd century. Without one, you cannot converse with beings who don't speak your language.
Engineering Toolkit
Standard issue for engineers. Contains tools for repair and maintenance. Opportunity 1 for non-engineers.
Medkit
Standard issue for medical personnel. Contains hyposprays, dermal regenerators, laser scalpels, and monitoring devices. Opportunity 1 for non-medical personnel.
PADD
Personal Access Display Device. No cost. Provides data access, subspace communication, and recording capabilities.
Tips for Players
- Equipment is a trait, not a solution. A phaser doesn't solve every problem — but it changes how you approach danger.
- Choose Stun wisely. Stun is humane and reversible. Deadly is final and costs Threat.
- Use tools creatively. A tricorder can scan for life signs, detect radiation, or analyze evidence. A communicator can be used as a distraction. A PADD can display a misleading image.
- Mind the Opportunity cost. Some items require the GM to grant access — don't assume you have specialized equipment unless it's standard issue or you've obtained it.