The Reach of Telepathy

by Richard New, 2E Design Manager

19th June 2025

Hey, everybody. I hope you're enjoying release week. Tomorrow you get to see the whole set, but for now we'll just talk about the three cards that are new today.

"As I'm sure you're aware, the Borg collective consciousness is extremely powerful. It allowed us to transfer information instantaneously, to think with one mind. But what you may not be aware of is the link also has inherent medical applications."

-- Orum, Star Trek: Voyager, "Unity"

First up, we have Orum (Awoken From the Nightmare). This is one of those cards that when I first saw it, I wish I had thought of it. I'm not sure it ever would have occurred to me to make him Borg affiliation, but it makes sense. In the episode "Unity," the freed former Borg still use Borg technology to aid in their survival and sometimes activate their neural links to heal one another through group neuroelectric energy. Establishing a new collective consciousness that they call the Cooperative ends up being their solution to their fracturing society, going so far as controlling Chakotay to get what they want. The means seem extreme, but one could argue altruism represents the overall effect for our main characters in this instance, Chakotay's chilling foreboding aside.

Orum's ability seems well-represented by a twist on text we already have in the game: Interlink. He's obviously given the Dissident keyword, as are all Borg that don't wish to stay or return to the Collective, but while in the established Borg Dissident deck, he can enforce his belief that they are stronger being empathetic to each other by sharing Telepathy. For those thinking that a neural link is a far cry from true biological telepathy, I'll point out that not only has this already been established by the Think Tank Ship, but the method used for controlling Chakotay was described by the Doctor as, "the residual neuropeptides heightened his telepathic receptivity." Though strange that the classic Borg, whose identity is represented by interconnectivity are denied access to this ability, putting all your eggs in one basket is counterproductive for the game. It's nice that these guys have their own abilities while maintaining the established Borg weaknesses.

"I told them nothing of consequence. How could I know Toral was going to send a Lethean to steal my thoughts."

-- Kor, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "The Sword of Kahless"

Next, we have Soto, who represents another departure from the affiliation of his 1E counterpart (and previous version). This one wears the Klingon red and with two skills is probably a little light for a cost of 1. But with a battle card in play (and you are playing Klingon, right?), he's suddenly a good deal, gaining Geology and Treachery. Now, Telepathy is a boon for the Klingons any way you look at it, but I've been a longtime fan of Treachery Klingons and Arne Darvin only upped their game with a fun dilemma pile. Of course, that dilemma pile is best paired with the Tribble triumvirate of missions. Iota Geminorum IV and Kavis Alpha aren't normally an issue, but Maranga IV can be a trick with only Lursa (Sister of Duras) and Koth (Prison Commandant) to offer Geology. I usually skip it for another 35-point mission, like Braslota, instead of diluting the deck with non-Treachery or Non-Aligned Geology. Now, that deck has another option. It's not much, but enough to open up the fifth mission slot for something else. Plus, you know, Telepathy.

"She has an illusion and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant."

-- Talosian Magistrate, Star Trek, "The Cage"

The last card for today you've seen before, but let's talk about how it interacts with Where No One Has Gone Before. First of all, we've been doling out the normal version of the APs from Timeless for the last few expansions, with the exception of Realm of Fear. Turned out there we experienced a couple of last-minute cuts, so filling in blank spaces wasn't necessary. I had been saving Praxis and Colonel Worf for that expansion, but some things just don't work out. You'll see them tomorrow (spoilers...) as we're finishing up our AP conversions and transitioning to a new method to fill needed slots, which Lucas explained.

If I was saving anything for Where No One Has Gone Before, it would probably have been Talos IV, simply because of the Telepathy requirement. It's one of the most underutilized skills in the game and nowhere more so than on missions, hence its inclusion in Timeless. Diplomacy and Leadership are a good pairing with Telepathy as, on a whole, they tend to be a more honorable group (despite what Soto suggests). In fact, with Beta Stromgren (Investigate Sighting), Deneb IV (Encounter at Farpoint), and Talos, a 100-point Telepathy/Integrity trio comes into play (again, as Lucas mentioned). Who knows if we'll see other missions that will add options in this set? (Well... I do. We will.) The best affiliation to play an all-in Telepathy strategy with these missions is probably TNG, with several versions of Deanna and Lwaxanna from which to choose, plus a plethora of high-Integrity Diplomacy and Leadership personnel. After that TOS (and Voyager, if one of their ships can be convinced to hop quadrants) has some options, both of which get some additions in Where No One Has Gone Before and sport characters who can do a Vulcan Mindmeld.

Meanwhile, the Barzan Wormhole (Wormhole Negotiations) seems ready to accept entries from the Romulans (who host a couple versions of The Viceroy and the new Venoxis) as well as the Klingons (via Soto). A solid 40-point (at least) planet Telepathy mission wouldn't go awry with those plans... Neither Klingons nor Romulans will balk at making up the relatively small RTC point difference.

I personally can't wait to try out these new decks and see what imaginative options are available that I haven't thought of yet.

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