The First Line: Starfleet Intelligence Manual (Stra Trek, the Next Generation)

Rating:
Summary: Top Secret !!
Review: This book contains all the information you ever wanted to know about Starfleet Intelligence, and even discusses the infamous Section 31 briefly. Included in the back of the book are several ideas of Campaigns that might be run using Starfleet Intelligence characters, though there are no complete campaigns within the book. The primary drawbacks to this supplement are the same failings that Last Unicorn's "A Fragile Peace: The Neutral Zone Campaign" possessed, this book too is printed in black and white, and contains little by way of new character overlays or species templates. Although there are examples of characters who are members of the Cardassian Obsidian Order, and the Romulan Tal Shiar, it might have been helpful to have actual Species Templates for these kinds of characters included in the sourcebook.

Rating:
Summary: Secrets revealed
Review: This book offers an in depth look at the life of an SFI character. It offers enough information for an entire intelligence campaign to be played. The book breaks SFI into two branches: Administration and Operations. Both branches are explained well. The structure of the Mission Team is given, and a section describing what a SFI officers does is included. The technology section offers many "James Bond" type toys. Intelligence Dossiers are given for many spies throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, these descriptions are in depth and offer the narrator a wealth of ready to go NPC's. More traits and skills are offered, but few templates and no species templates. I was dissapointed that there were no complete adventures offered, but there are enough adventure seeds for the narrator to develop into full blown adventures and enough intelligence "hot spots" are offered in the "Locations" chapter to inspire the narrator's imagination. I was hoping for more information on Section 31, and I found the sections on the Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar to be somewhat lacking. This book receives a common complaint about the LUG products: black and white art work. It isn't bad artwork, but compared to the stills found in the core rulebooks and The Price of Freedom, it is lacking. Overall, a good solid book.