Mail Call Tuesday: Star Trek Adventures, 2nd Edition

 I have been watching so many of my friends, both online and in real life, go on about the new Star Trek Adventures, 2nd Edition game from Mōdiphiüs. Both Carl Stark's Character Creation Challenge and Adam Dickstein's RPG Campaign Tour Challenge, along with my friend Greg Littlejohn's Trek game, and new Trek on TV,  convinced me it was time to take the plunge. But the final and ultimate motivation was DriveThruRPG offering "retail" copies of their books, not print on demand, but retail version of their offset printed books.

Well, they came last weekend. Shipped to me faster than some print-on-demand books I had ordered a few days prior. 

Now, keep in mind I am fiercely loyal to my FLGS. But I really wanted to see how these products looked. I am very impressed. Mōdiphiüs shipped these out, and I got them really fast. 

The books are gorgeous, as expected. A nice mix of new art and some art from the shows. All eras and shows are represented here. If there is a Trek you love, you can do it. If there is one you hate (*blasphemer!*), then you can ignore it.

Two of my favorite ships!

I have not gotten deep into the rules yet, but they seem simpler than the First Edition.

My oldest and I are going tomake some characters and ships here soon. Last week was Valentine's Day, and today is Fat Tuesday, so it's the busiest time of year. But I am looking forward to working out the Mercy, the Protector, and my various Challengers.

Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 17

Day 17 - Wars & Battles

Day 17-Can you tell us about any famous battles or wars?
Tales of conflicts and combats abound across the multiverse! Any interesting ones in your setting we should know about?

Elowen’s Journal

"Witches do not remember wars the way other people do. Neither do ghosts.

The living talk about who won. The ghosts talk about what was never recovered afterward. Fields that never grew back the same. Songs that stopped being sung. Names no one says anymore because it hurts too much to remember them. Witches talk about what was lost.

I do not read about wars. I walk through them.

There are still ghosts here from what the historians call the Elf-Goblin Wars. That name is wrong. It always was. It was really a war between the elves of the old forest and the Mountain Orcs, long before humans ever came to the Haven Valley. The goblins were caught between them, and so were the dwarves. The dead remember confusion more than hatred. Orders that made no sense. Allies that vanished overnight. I cannot tell how long ago it was. A thousand years, maybe more. Time blurs when everyone involved is gone.

The conflict that shaped West Haven most was not really a war at all.

Before there was an East or a West, there was just Haven. One village. One valley. When fear took hold, fifteen women and men were accused of witchcraft by a mob led by a lay-priest of the Church of Light. The night they were meant to burn had already seen three days of heavy rain. Somewhere in the mountains, a glacier finally broke loose. The flood came down the valley and erased the village before the fires could be lit.

The witches survived. Most of the townsfolk did too. But Haven did not.

Afterward, people did what they always do. They moved apart. Humans went east to higher ground. Witches, both human and gnome, went west. Two towns grew from the same grief and the same blood and convinced themselves they had nothing left in common. When I walk near the lake, I can still see the old streets beneath the water. The ghosts remember when it was all one place."

Designer’s Notes

West Haven’s conflicts are defined less by battles than by their aftermath.

The Elf-Goblin War predates human settlement in the Haven Valley and was, in truth, a multi-sided conflict involving Mountain Orcs, Haven Elves, Goblins of the Wood, and Dwarves of the Rock. Its echoes linger in the form of lingering spirits, ruined sites, and long-standing cultural tensions that never fully healed.

The defining event for human history in the region is The Founding and the Flood. Originally settled as a spiritual utopia by followers of the Lords of Light, Haven later absorbed a second group of pagans, mystics, and practitioners of the Old Ways. Though uneasy, the two communities survived together until fear triggered witchcraft accusations and attempted purges. The Great Flood, whether an accident, fate, or an intervention by the gods, destroyed the original village and ended the violence.

It didn't end the distrust.

The resulting split gave rise to East Haven and West Haven. Both towns share laws, bloodlines, and trade, but diverged culturally and spiritually. That divergence, rather than any single war, is the wound that still shapes this setting. In West Haven, history is not past. It lingers, watches, and sometimes, if you know how to listen, it speaks.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 16

Day 16 - Direct Threats

Day 16-Are there any direct threats?
Who or what in your campaign actively means the people in it - including the PCs - harm?

Elowen’s Journal

"When people ask about threats, they usually mean something with teeth. An army. A monster. A name you can point to and say, 'that one.' I don’t think it works that way here.

There are names that change a room's temperature when spoken. You can feel it in your skin, like a window just opened somewhere you didn’t see. Even the ghosts react to some of them. They fall quiet. Or they leave. That scares me the most. 

Kelek is one of those names. I don’t know much about him. Only that he hates witches, and that hatred feels old and practiced, like a blade sharpened over generations. The ghosts that remember him do not scream. They whisper. That somehow feels worse. 

I also always hear awful things about Skylla, but the few times I have met her, she didn't seem that terrible to me. 

There is someone called the Bone Man. I don’t know if that is his real name or just the one that survived him. He wants the magic of West Haven. Not the people. Not the land. Just the power that leaks out of everything here, whether we want it to or not. Ghosts do not like him. They do not like to say why. They do not like to be around when he is talked about.

East Haven scares me in a different way. Not because of monsters, but because of certainty. There are men there who believe witches should not exist at all. Not regulated. Not controlled. Erased. The ghosts from East Haven carry a lot of unfinished anger, and none of it is aimed at the right people.

Then there is Katrina.

She is on our side. I know that. She has saved my life. She has saved Aisling's life more than once. But she wants a world that belongs to witches alone, and when she talks about it, I understand why. I also understand why Larina listens carefully and says very little in response. Those two are going to have a fight one day, and I am not sure who is going to come out on top. 

The most frightening threat does not have a name I am supposed to write down.

There is something the ghosts sometimes circle around without touching. Something they remember only in pieces. A presence that does not rage or conquer or declare itself king. It waits. It remains. Even Larina does not speak its name. At all.

If there is a single truth I have learned, it is this: West Haven is not threatened by invasion. It is threatened by people who want to define it. Control it. Simplify it. Turn it into something smaller and easier to rule.

The monsters are real. So are the ideologues. But the most dangerous things are the ones that believe they are right forever."

Designer’s Notes

Direct threats in West Haven are intentionally asymmetrical. Some are personal. Some are ideological. Some are cosmic. None should be what the characters or even the players expect. 

Kelek represents institutionalized hatred of witchcraft through arcane authority. Skylla is a cautionary tale for witches. Normally I have been avoiding "other IP" in my West Haven, but these two have been such a staple in my games for so long it is hard to part with them. 

The Bone Man embodies predatory magic seeking to extract power from place and people alike. He used to be a citizen of West Haven. He had been in charge of the gravesites, and for a while, he ruled as Lord Autumn in the Autumn sector. But his desire for power, both necromantic and political, drove him out of West Haven. Some say he left to find better ways to seize power; others say he was forced out by the Witch Queen at the time. He shows up occasionally, attempting to sow discord, but has not been seen in years now.

East Haven’s Patriarchy reflects systemic, conservative opposition to witches as a social and spiritual force. Thankfully, they do not represent all the people of East Haven, but they are rather vocal. They are followers of Providence Stoughton, one of the founders of the original Haven settlement and village. Stoughton was a devout member of the Lords of Light and the spiritual founder of the Church of Light in Old Haven. The Temple of Light in East Haven was dedicated to his memory. While Stoughton was a moderately conservative priest, he was not a fanatic. The Patriarch of East Haven though feels that since he founded the Haven Settlement all these lands, including West Haven, belong to him and therefore belong to his legacy, which they claim. 

Katrina exists as a morally complex internal threat, an ally whose vision could become tyranny if unchecked. Sadly, if the Patriarchy were ever to become a true threat again, Katrina's position would grow more attractive, especially to younger witches.  One thing I hope to convey through Elowen is that Katrina has some good points. It is through older witches like Larina and Esmé that we see what threat Katrina really brings. 

The greatest long-term threat is The One Who Remains, a force that does not attack directly but erodes reality, memory, and identity over time. It is not always visible. It does not always act. But it is always present. The One Who Remains is also the threat that could cause all the participants above to put aside their differences and fit this greater foe.

West Haven survives not because it is strong, but because it refuses to be defined by outsiders.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 15

Day 15 - Things Best Avoided

Day 15-What are some things in the setting that are best avoided?
Dangerous terrain, haunted places, angry natives, and even unpleasant beverages; name some elements in your campaign that should be given a wide berth. Obviously these are beings and things in the setting the tourist should avoid but which Player Characters would likely run towards. 

Elowen's Journal

"People warned me about West Haven when I first arrived. They said it was dangerous. Haunted. Wrong. I think that’s funny now.

The places I avoid are quieter than that.

I stay away from the lake. I can’t explain it properly, only that the ghosts there feel unfinished in a way that makes my chest hurt. Not loud. Not violent. Just… stuck. Some of them don’t even know they’re dead. Others know too well. I can stand at the shore, but I never linger. I don’t like how the water remembers.

East Haven makes me nervous. I can walk its streets. I have. But it feels like a place that watches you back. The rules are clearer there, sharper somehow, and I am never quite sure which ones I am breaking just by existing. My first real adventure started there, and I learned quickly that “safe” and “familiar” are not the same thing.

I will not go near the Cailleach’s Bones. Everyone says you can feel them before you see them, and they are right. The spirits there are old and proud and very sure they were right to die for what they believed. That kind of certainty frightens me more than anger ever could.

The Maiden Wood is worse. Everyone avoids it. Even people who pretend they don’t believe curses can affect them still take the long way around. I know better than to ask questions. I have seen Larina walk into that forest more than once, calm as if she were stepping into her own kitchen. That does not make me feel safer. It makes me feel like there are rules I do not yet understand.

What surprises me most is that people think West Haven itself is frightening. They whisper about witches and ghosts and strange folk in the streets. To me, it feels honest. The dangerous places announce themselves here. The truly terrible things do not bother with disguises.

If I have learned anything, it is this: not everything dangerous feels threatening, and not everything that feels safe actually is. West Haven taught me that. It also taught me how to listen when the land says, quietly but firmly, do not go there."

Designer Notes

This day reframes classic adventure locations as lived warnings rather than explicit hooks. Elowen’s perspective emphasizes instinct, emotional danger, and spiritual weight over physical threat. Places players will be eager to explore are introduced as areas locals avoid for reasons that are felt rather than explained. 

West Haven is a paradox: widely feared by outsiders, yet experienced by residents as a place of clarity, where danger is visible and negotiable. This reinforces the setting’s core philosophy: witches and ghosts make the world safer not by removing danger, but by naming it. This is a "witch village," the villagers are not afraid of the same things.  

This sets up future adventures while reinforcing trust in intuition, boundaries, and the idea that some places are not meant to be entered until you are ready—or ever.

There is an ancient elven ruin in the Goblin Wood. The Lake is cursed, as are the Callieach's Bones. The Maiden Wood isn't cursed, but the dryads are violent to outsiders. There are more haunted houses in West Haven than in cities five times larger. 

There are wererats fighting aligatormen in the sewers and septic pits under the village. Werewolves roam north of the village, and they are barely contained by the Rangers of the North Star. There are enough undead to keep the Church of Light and the Knights of St. Werper busy for decades. 

There's a lot to do here, and almost none of it is safe. Elowen might avoid these places, but I suspect adventurers won't. 

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 14

Day 14 - Eat Like a Local

Day 14-What to order to 'Eat like a local'.
Are there any foods unique to the campaign setting? If so, what are they like?

Elowen’s Journal

"Eating like a local in West Haven is not about ordering the right dish. It is about knowing what you need. And where to get it. 

Renee’s always tastes like safety to me. Warm bread, gentle herbs, tea that settles instead of wakes. When I sit there, I remember learning how to breathe again. How to listen. How to stay in one place without feeling like I needed to flee. The Purple Dragon tastes different. Heavier. Louder. It makes me think of Aisling and Eodard, of music and laughter and the way healing is not a straight path. She is further along than I am, I think. That is all right. I am still walking.

The Westhaven gnome inns taste like discovery. Every meal feels like a small, pleasant surprise, as if the village itself is reminding you that kindness can be inherited and practiced without being announced. Even the Drunken Orc has its place. I cannot help laughing when I eat there, remembering how uncomfortable my parents were the first time they visited. It is not comfort food, exactly, but it is honest.

Still, if I am telling the truth, my favorite place to eat is Larina’s kitchen. A long table. Too many chairs. Someone is always cooking. Someone is always talking. Food passed without ceremony. That is what belonging tastes like. It is not something you can order. It is something you are invited into. We are a coven, but we are also a family. Despite what Katrina says. Or maybe because of it."

Designer's Notes

In West Haven, food functions as emotional shorthand. Each location feeds a different need. Healing, celebration, grounding, nostalgia, or belonging. None of these spaces are random. They are designed to support character arcs and reinforce the idea that rest and nourishment are part of play, not distractions from it.

Day 14 intentionally avoids listing signature dishes. Instead, it frames eating like a local as an act of understanding context and community. Players who pay attention to where they eat, and with whom, learn as much about West Haven as they would from any lore dump. Food here is memory made edible, and the kitchen table is often where alliances, confessions, and character growth truly begin.

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 13

Day 13 - Food & Drink

Day 13-Where can we get a drink and a bite to eat?
Give us a few of your most notable restaurants and bars in the campaign setting. Tell us something about these places and what makes them distinctive.

Elowen's Journal

"If you want tea, you go to Renee’s. That part is simple. It is perfect for luncheons, for afternoon conversations that turn into confessions, and for evenings when you only want something light and warm before heading home. Renee always seems to know when to refill your cup without asking, and I have learned that whatever pastry she suggests is the one you should take.

The Purple Dragon is better when you are hungry in a serious way. Big meals. Loud tables. Music drifts through the room, whether you planned to listen or not. It feels like a place where stories get told out loud, not whispered. 

But if you want the best food in West Haven, truly the best, you go to one of the inns run by the Westhaven gnome clan.

They used to be called 'Winterhaven,' long before the flood, back when Haven was still one settlement. The stories say they hid a group of witches during a hunt, fed them, sheltered them, and never asked for anything in return. The witches blessed them in return, and when some of the clan stayed in the valley, they changed their name to Westhaven. Their cooking is… more than good. I do not know how else to say it. Their bread alone feels like it remembers every meal you ever needed. I dream about it sometimes. They make this pastry, which they call "walking bread." It's light, fluffy, sweet, and filled with fruits and cream. It's crazy how good it is. One day, Doireann and I went all over the village and got a different one at each inn. I was sick to my stomach, and Doireann laughed, but it was completely worth it. 

Food changes with the seasons here, too. Each quarter does its best work in its proper time, but no one does autumn like the Mabon Quarter. Stews, roasted roots, apple breads, things that make you feel like winter will not be quite so cruel after all.

Friday the 13th is my favorite. It is not a big festival. No banners or speeches. Just a quiet understanding that luck bends a little differently that day. Extra dishes appear. Drinks get stronger. People linger longer. Witches smile more than usual. It feels like the town is taking a breath and remembering who it belongs to."

Designer's Notes

Food in West Haven is intentionally grounded. Meals are communal, seasonal, and often layered with subtle ritual meaning, whether the diners are aware of it or not. Eating together is one of the ways the town maintains cohesion between witches and non-witches, locals and travelers, living and lingering.

Different locations serve different roles. Renee’s Tea Shoppe is a social and conversational hub, ideal for quiet scenes and character development. The Purple Dragon handles larger gatherings, music, and shared stories. Gnome-run inns, particularly those of the Westhaven clan, represent inherited magical hospitality. Their food is blessed not through spells but through tradition, gratitude, and long memory.

Friday the 13th functions as a minor holiday in West Haven. It is not announced, but it is observed. On that day, luck, fate, and appetite all run a little stronger. For witches especially, it is a reminder that nourishment is not just physical. It is ritual, protection, and belonging made edible.

It is Friday the 13th here as well, and my son's bakery is doing its annual Pączki day, which may or may not be a good substitute for Westhaven Walking Bread. But don't try to eat more than two at a time unless you are a goblin. 

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Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 12

Day 12 - Entertainment

Day 12-What do people do for entertainment around here?
Music? Theatre? Sports? Gambling? What do the adventurers in your campaign do on their 'day off'? What is there for tourists to spend money on?

Elowen's Journal

"I used to think entertainment was something you planned for. A concert. A festival. Something announced ahead of time. West Haven taught me that it is more like stumbling into the right room at the right moment.

There are tea shops everywhere here. My hometown had one, and I thought that was very impressive. In West Haven, I find a new one every time I go out. Some are quiet places meant for thinking. Others are loud with laughter and gossip. You can always tell which coven favors which shop by the kinds of cups they use and how long people linger. At the risk of sounding pedestrian, my favorite is Renee's. I know, everyone loves Renee's; it has more teas than I ever knew existed (it was just "tea" singular before I came here), and has the most variety of patrons. But it is still my favorite. I think I could now write a book on the opinions witches have about tea.

Young witches race brooms through the streets when they think no one important is watching, even though the elders pretend to scold them while remembering when they did the same thing.

Larina once told me there used to be poetry competitions, years ago, until too many witches started sneaking spells into their verses. Apparently, it became impossible to tell whether people were applauding the poetry or the enchantments, so they stopped altogether. These days, she prefers a card game called Pentacles, played with a modified tarot deck and four other witches. Esmé plays too, but I have never managed to keep track of the rules. There are halls where the game is played seriously, but Larina treats it as a way to pass the time. Witches rarely gamble with coin. They gamble with favors and promises instead.

Aisling drags me to the Purple Dragon whenever she can. Her boyfriend, Eodard, plays music there, and the food is always good. She sings along and dances in the crowd. Amaranth occasionally dresses in something that would make a courtesan blush and disappears into the night, not returning until morning. When I asked her about it, she said she would tell me when I was older. I blushed and decided not to press. West Haven has taught me that some entertainments are not meant to be shared."

Designer's Notes

West Haven is designed to feel alive at all hours, especially at night. It never truly sleeps, because there is always something happening somewhere, whether it is a quiet game of cards, an impromptu performance, or a coven gathering that looks suspiciously like a social call. Entertainment here is communal, informal, and often layered with meaning that outsiders may not immediately grasp.

Different spaces serve different social roles. The Drunken Orc Inn caters primarily to adventurers and outsiders, a place to unwind loudly and visibly. The Purple Dragon is more for locals, a hub for music, good food, and familiar faces. Tea shops act as neutral ground for conversation, negotiation, and quiet observation. Together, these locations reinforce the idea that rest and play are part of survival in West Haven. In a setting where danger is never far away, entertainment becomes a way to stay human, connected, and grounded.

Mostly, I want a place where adventurers can find as much adventure even when they are not on the road.

AND if you get the chance wish our host Adam Dickstein a very Happy Birthday today!

Join Adam Dickstein of Barking Alien, and his RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026!