Into the anomaly and back - a Mephisto review

In Back to Reality, the plot fits a typical Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. The crew of players is to explore an asteroid belt that is not only extraordinarily dense but also shows strange quantum signatures. Due to the anomaly, it is necessary to fly a shuttle into the asteroid belt and obtain samples by hand. What starts as an exciting field mission quickly evolves into a fascinating anomaly that comes up with a dilemma for the player characters.

Back to Reality offers a good mix of story and challenges for the players to solve with both dice rolls and the right decisions. Even if the location for the finale is somewhat vaguely sketched, the adventure picks up on typical TNG themes that have also appeared in episodes of the series. From my point of view, Back to Reality is a fitting and engaging adventure in the world of Star Trek TNG.

(Björn Lippold)

Who doesn't love alternate universe Star Trek Adventures? This was a solid and interesting mission with a good deal of open ended plot ideas that could lead to a larger campaign if wished. It had a strong Star Trek feel with moral choices and the Prime Directive potentially at odds with one another. Designed for Next Generation era adventuring there are also ideas on how to use it with crews from other time periods. All in all, this is a great mission supplement for any Star Trek fans.

This is one of my favorite published missions. The challenges are worthy and the mystery is fun. Depending on how far the GM/players want to lean in the "big reveal," there could be some pretty sizable moral choices. This is a good one in the tradition of Star Trek's more memorable episodes.

If you have enjoyed other adventures in this series then you will enjoy this one. its about 15 pages so most groups should be able to complete it in one session. if your group likes to travel to other universes and explore what ifs then you will enjoy this adventure. Be aware that depending how it is played you might lose some PCs if they are not careful. All in all a solid adventure.