''Prime Directive'' is a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

set in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''-derived

Star Fleet Universe ''Star Fleet Battles'' (SFB) is a tactical board wargame set in an offshoot of the '' Star Trek'' setting called the Star Fleet Universe. Originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole, it has had four major editions. The current edition is pu ...

. The game has gone through two different incarnations.

''Prime Directive'' RPG

The original release of ''Prime Directive'' was published by

Task Force Games Task Force Games was a game company started in 1979 by Allen Eldridge and Stephen V. Cole. TFG published many games, most notably including both ''Star Fleet Battles'' (currently published by the original designers, Amarillo Design Bureau) and ...

in 1993. Using an in-house design by Mark Costello and Timothy D. Olsen, it used a D6-style system similar to '' Shadowrun'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''. Aspects of the game include a multi-tiered task resolution system, where characters can achieve 'Complete', 'Moderate', 'Minimal', 'Failure' or 'Botch' levels of success with their actions, and the Character Reputation and Background system that allows characters to “spontaneously” develop skills, abilities, and prior associations appropriate to the mission at hand. The published books for the game included the core rulebook, a Federation sourcebook. and a few adventure books.

''GURPS Prime Directive''

After the folding of Task Force Games and the cancellation of the original ''Prime Directive'' line, Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc., the new publishers of Star Fleet Universe games, were left with the question of what to do with ''PD''. They were primarily a wargame company, and the poor sales of the supplements were cause for a reexamination. Eventually, they approached

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

to utilize the ''Powered by GURPS'' format.

''D20 Prime Directive'' and ''D20M Prime Directive''

The core rulebook, ''D20 Klingons'', ''D20 Romulans'' (no D20M as of Aug 2011), and ''D20 Federation'' are available for this system. Supplements for the Gorns, Tholians and other empires/races are in various writing stages.

Prime Teams

Prime Teams are a concept pioneered in the original ''Prime Directive'' game. The concept is a specialized landing party that can perform a variety of functions, including science, negotiations, and combat. While "Prime Teams" are a Federation designation, nearly every empire has their own equivalent.

Reception

Chris McCubbin reviewed ''Prime Directive'' for ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' #7 (May 1994) and stated that "My advice to ''Star Trek'' fans interested in ''Prime Directive'' is to play it, but play it on its own terms, as a good, solid outer space military adventure, without trying to squeeze it into the TV show's mold in every tiny detail. To tell you the truth, the universe of ''Prime Directive'' is much more playable than the ''Star Trek'' universe anyway, while preserving most of the elements that got trekkies interested in ''Star Trek'' in the first place."

Reviews

*''

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * ...

'' #48 (Oct., 1994) *''

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

'' #1 (Sept., 1994)

References

{{reflist Role-playing games based on Star Trek Role-playing games introduced in 1993 Star Fleet Universe Task Force Games games Space opera role-playing games