The long-awaited and much anticipated Federation sourcebook has been finished. Sent to the distributors on Monday, August 30, it should be available soon from a friendly local game store near you. If that is an issue, then you can order it from our storefront here: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=8722&Category_Code=NP Personal mail orders will be shipped on September 7.

Set in the popular Star Fleet Universe, the Prime Directive RPG line brings to life the individuals who inhabit the galaxy. PD20M is designed to work with the d20 Modern set of rules. Using these rules, you can be a member of a starship's crew (perhaps even the captain!), a scientist exploring ruins on a now dead planet, an Orion Pirate (who are not all Orions) and redistribute the wealth, or a member of a Pioneer Team sent to explore a new planet prior to colonization. Only your imagination is the limit. Prime Directive Klingons PD20M is also available.

Getting a book like this written is a team effort. John Sickels created the opening story, discovered the political history of the Federation, described the various government agencies that characters might encounter, and fleshed out the culture and history for many of the member species of the Federation. Steve Cole and Steven Petrick handled the military background and the starships. Gary Plana and Hugh Bishop did a lot of background work. Jonathan Thompson, the prolific author and publisher perhaps best known for his Gaslight books, created the species templates, vetted the weapon stats, and gave us advice on the height and weight charts. Tony L. Thomas, an avid PD20M player and SFU fan, created the character stats for the pre-made Pioneer Team described in the opening story "Another New World".

No book is complete without art. We decided to go with a mix of new and classic art. There is entirely new art by Adam Turner, Loren Knight, and Ted Geibel as well as classic art by Dale McKee, Dan Carroll, Jim McGonigle, and Alvin Belflower. No Prime Directive RPG book would be complete without deck plans; this has the Federation frigate deck plans drawn by Nick Blank.

What's new in Federation PD20M? Apart from the detailed history (so you can pick a time period for your adventurers), description of the justice system (which one hopes that the characters do not have to encounter), the description of how a colony is created (maybe the group is moving in during the wild and woolly phase of colony growth), the detailed geography of the Federation (it helps to know where you are), the descriptions of the military forces (for those characters who are a part of such forces), and the Federation starships (you have to travel somehow!), there are:
• New species: Antareans, Brecon, Deians, Fralli, Mantorese, and Prellarians.
• New vehicles such as the M3 ground combat vehicle and the M190 tank.
• New weapons including the phaser IIA assault pistol, the Federation grenade launcher, and the Fralli pole-whip.
• New places including Tafelland's Groenveldt colony and the Donjebruche trading post.
• Adventure ideas such as encounters with Klingons, Orion Pirates, and new civilizations.
• Exotic supplies including Romulan Ale, Rigellian Ferrets, and Terran Parsley(!).

In short, this book has everything a GM wants for setting adventures in the Federation. We hope that you enjoy using this book as much as we enjoyed creating it.