History TabletopGame / StarFleetBattles

The game has given birth to the greater Star Fleet Universe and a number of related games: ''Federation Space'' and ''Federation & Empire'', allowing players to fight a strategic war across the known space; ''Prime Directive'', the {{RPG}} which started out with its own system, but was later adapted for use with ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', UsefulNotes/D20System and ''TabletopGame/{{d20 Modern}}'' systems; ''Starfleet Battle Force'', a card based game directly based and homaged to the classic card game ''Naval Wars''; ''Federation Commander'', referred to by all as ''SFB Light'', a simpler system stressing speed and ease of play over detail. And this does not even go into the fact that the base mechanics and most of the background used in the first two ''[[VideoGame/StarTrekStarfleetCommand Starfleet Command]]'' computer games were directly licensed from the ''Star Fleet Battles'' system.

** A RolePlayingGame was produced in 1993, called ''Prime Directive''. Initially it used its own rule system, but it faltered after only a few books were produced. It was rereleased in 2002 using the TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} system, and followed by parallel UsefulNotes/D20System books in 2011 (which have been superseded by the d20 Modern, which are still 'in-print'). The GURPS version was also revised for the 4th edition GURPS system in 2008 and is still available from Steve Jackson games.

*** [[AllThereInTheManual In the instruction manual]] for the ''Star Fleet Command II: Orion Pirates'' expansion (which is based on ''TabletopGame/StarFleetBattles''), one specific pirate cartel, called The Syndicate, is specifically described as being founded by Asian humans descended from an ancient Earth organization called the ''[[{{Yakuza}} Yukuza]]''. Sure enough, during gameplay, the voice actors representing the Syndicate crewmembers use with a quasi-Japanese accent.

*** [[AllThereInTheManual In the instruction manual]] for the ''Star Fleet Command II: Orion Pirates'' expansion (which is based on ''TabletopGame/StarFleetBattles''), one specific pirate cartel, called The Syndicate, is specifially described as being founded by Asian humans descended from an ancient Earth organization called the ''[[{{Yakuza}} Yukuza]]''. Sure enough, during gameplay, the voice actors representing the Syndicate crewmembers use with a quasi-Japanese accent.

''Star Fleet Battles'' is a tabletop space combat game featuring ships from ''Franchise/StarTrek''.

* BerserkButton: Kzinti and Lyans.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange

* [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy Proud Merchant Race]]: The Federation, actually. They dominate the explored area of the galaxy economically.

** Battleships exemplify this trope, with the greatest firepower in the game ''and'' large (for the game - around a dozen) fighter contingents. "Historically" only the Klingons built them and [[AwesomeButImpractical they aren't very successful]], but they're [[CoolShip just so cool]] that every race gets a conjectural battleship and the Klingons get [[UpToEleven a conjectural super-battleship]] in one of the expansions.

** And then the Kzinti often use scatter packs too -- giving them ''[[UpToEleven even more]]'' drones on the map.

** The Federation didn't field [=PFs=], because they felt assigning a regular crew to an attrition unit was like assigning them to a suicide mission. Instead they built [[UpToEleven more and better fighters]] crewed by all-volunteer fighter pilots.

* SlaveRace: Klingon warships are partially crewed by non-Klingon subject race members who act in supporting roles such as boarding parties and menial labor. They are not educated in actually being able to control the ship movement or weapons. The Commanders Rulebook mentions that "While they are not slaves, they are not considered politically dependable." Under the right circumstances, such as destruction of all security block squares on the SSD, the Klingon player must roll each turn to determine if a mutiny occurs. If a mutiny is successful, the Klingon ship surrenders to to the opposing player and is regarded as captured for all intents and purposes.
** It is not completely unheard of for subject race members to command unarmed support vessels such as supply ships. But the entire crew is always non-Klingon and even the highest ranking of these would be subordinate to even a Klingon cadet.

** It's possible for any drone-armed ship to launch a "scatter pack" -- an un-manned shuttlecraft that is filled with missiles and set to fall apart and launch all of them under specific conditions. The Klingons in particular like these, since their ships tend to have drones but not enough launchers to put a significant number on the map without using a scatter pack.

*** [[AllThereInTheManual In the instruction manual]] for the ''Star Fleet Command II: Orion Pirates'' expansion, one specific pirate cartel, called The Syndicate, is specifially described as being founded by Asian humans descended from an ancient Earth organization called the ''[[{{Yakuza}} Yukuza]]''. Sure enough, during gameplay, the voice actors representing the Syndicate crewmembers use with a quasi-Japanese accent.

** The Orion Pirates are effectively TheMafia, especially in the sense that Orion (a Federation ally) [[PlausibleDeniability disavows knowledge of their existence or actions]]. Also, like the Mafia, they can be anywhere, except Tholian space.

** The Federation is NATO (with Earth being the US)
** The Klingons are the Soviets (as they were in the Original Series)
** The Romulans are China with Roman names (they also employ Klingon designed ships in the same way Communist China employs Soviet designed warcraft)
** The Hydrans are the UK
** The Gorns are Germany (few but very good ships and a very steady alliance with The Federation)
** The Kzinti are UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan circa 1941 (the later alliance with the Federation will draw parallels to post war Japan. )
** The Lyrans are vaguely reminiscent of the Arabs pre-British domination

** The WYN are Switzerland