This is Margin of Profit (1984), an adventure for FASA’s Star Trek RPG.

Yesterday, I said it is a shame that the box set didn’t have much in the way of original art. That’s a lie. If we’re judging from the interior art here, the lack of it in the box set is a relief. Terrible. Except for the schematics! FASA Star Trek looooooves its schematics and renders them beautifully. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about that cover.

I love it. There is no credit, so I don’t know the artist’s first name, but their last name is Giberson. I haven’t been able to dig up anything on them, tho they did do a couple out Trek adventure covers. Straight up gorgeous. But! Totally not my vision – or maybe anyone’s vision – of Star Trek. Maybe Flash Gordon?

This is actually an adventure intended for the merchant variant of the game, with players taking the role of a crew of traders investigating a rash of hijackings. It is fine. Again, nothing essential about it screams Trek. And, in fact, the climax inevitably results in violence, which makes sense for a 1984 RPG but seems a bit antithetical to the themes of the show. This pull towards violence and militarism comes up again and again in the game materials and would wind up contributing to Paramount revoking the license in 1989. That happened, in part, because they learned of FASA’s plans for a Trek-themed ground combat strategy game and a scenario in which the Federation starts a war with the Klingons and the Romulans. No bueno.