The Way of D'Era: The Romulan Star Empire (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

A must-have supplement for Last Unicorn's Star Trek roleplaying game. If you're running a campaign set in the Next Generation era, then this set provides information for using the Romulans in their strictly villainous role from that series.But, the Way of D'Era also provides enough background information on the Romulans as a people, that they can be brought into a game in a more neutral, or even protagonist position in an original Star Trek roleplaying setting.And most of the information in the Way of D'Era is easily converted to the CODA rules system from Decipher if that newer offering happens to be your system of choice for roleplaying in the Star Trek universe.But, as well written and virtually indispensable as the Way of D'Era is as a tool for using Romulans in any Star Trek roleplaying setting, I have to advise gamers to pass on it. The price-tag is offensive.For a boxed set of two thin, soft-cover books that originally retailed for closer to $20 to be priced at $300 for a new copy is simply idiotic. I often find myself shocked as to why people think they can charge $300, $400, or even $500 for an out-of-print roleplaying book - often more than people ask for a valuable piece of jewelry.Gaming is a hobby that is enjoyed by people of average middle-income. And no one who buys a roleplaying book buys it to seal it in a glass case and treat it like a museum piece, so pricing a book that has been out of print for a decade in the same price range with a 1st-issue Superman comic from the 1930s, or a 60-year old baseball card is ridiculous.People who buy gaming books buy them to use at the gaming table. And this set is great for just that - using in the course of playing a game. And yet most gamers don't have between $50-$300 to shell out for a below-par, used, beat up, and heavily highlighted "acceptable" book.So, while The Way of D'Era is an excellent work, written by talented game-designers, and a perfect addition to anyone's Star Trek gaming collection; the price for which it is being sold here puts it way beyond the average person's means in this day and age.So - a word of advice to sellers of this title - bring your prices down. That's a good way to assure that you wont have the same listing on Amazon, trying to sell the same book for 3 years.

While it is true that it is impossible to reconcile this version of the romulans with the two previous glimpses, I must say that this version is by far my favorite. The only complaint I have is the art work. For the price, I was expecting stills from the series on glossy paper; instead, I found poorly drawn black and white (green and white actually) on plain ordinary paper. There are three books in this box set, and two full color posters the first being a map of romulan space, and the second depicting romulan uniforms and starships in full color.The first book details romulan life and culture. The Way of D'era, the romulan philosophy is interesting. We are also shown how the empire functions, its history, the structure of the Romulan star navy. There is a section on the various worlds which can be explored in Romulan space as well as Romulus and Remus.The second book gives rules for creating romulan characters, as well as guidlines for running an all romulan campaign. There are new traits and skills presented which are romulan specific. The most interesting section is scions of the empire. This section gives stats and descriptions of the movers and shakers of the empire. Included is Senator Kassus, a character whose shadow is felt in the LUG product "A Fragile Peace".The third book includes two adventures. The first "The Gentera Incident" is an adventure for an all romulan cast. The second, "Duty or Conscience" is an adventure for a cast of starfleet characters. The first is a fairly well written adventure, the second deals with the Prime Directive and is fairly well done.All in all, if you want to add depth to your star trek campaign, this is a good product. If, however, you are a fan looking for further information on Romulans, stay away.

For the devoted fans of the Romulans in Star trek we first first looked toward FASA's installment of the Romulans, then we had Diane Duane's and now we have LUG's. This book adds yet another view on the Romulans inconsistent with two most prevalent ones already out there, making it impossible to reconcile the three.LUG's Romulan Core Setting breaks down into three books. The first one goes into mind set, government, ships, ranks, etc... The basis on what you need to run a Romulan Campaign. Then their is a book on how to make a Romulan character and finally an adventure manual.Though most Romulan devotees will find yet another view irritating, the books do provide an coherent setting and background. The layout is fairly well done and there is a fairly good table of contents and good handouts.The overall quality of work in this book is poor to fair. If you expect good graphics and pictures you will be disapointed. The drawings for the most part appear to have been done by a 5 year old and add nothing to the narratives when they appear. Where an image could have aided the narratives there are none.An example in the book is when it speaks of the alien race the Romulans fought with during their 30 year silence, as mentioned in the Series. The book goes into alien mindset, technology and appearance. Yet when you look for an image of these beings you are treated to a thick line drawing a 3rd grader might have drawn.For the price I would have hoped that they would have gotten someone who could have illustrated this professionally, brought the other two authorized views in conjunction with this one and added color, maybe photos to it.

I got this book a week ago, and I must say that this view of the Empire is fantastic. The depth of details is awesome. I like the military setting in particular. The whole conception of a militarized society, living for a common dream: reaching D'era (the Endless Sky) as the goal set from Vulcan times and fulfilled since the diaspora.The art is somewhat lacking, but it's heavily compensated with the adventures and the detail in Romulan character creation, rounded up as any Starfleet officer.