Four D&D Tips from Star Trek TNG’s 11th Worst Episode

It originally aired on February 1, 1993, and currently holds an IMDb rating of 6.0. It is entitled “Aquiel.” The Enterprise visits an isolated communications station to find the crew missing and murder and intrigue around every corner. Plus, a dog in an air vent.

Geordi falls in love with yet another woman long distance, as he is required to watch Aquiel’s log entries during the murder investigation. It turns out that Aquiel is still alive, and things get complicated. There’s a very minor B story involving Klingons, which apparently no longer have a peace treaty with the Federation—though that’s unclear. The theme of aliens using crystals in sex continues, oddly enough.

I remember hating this episode when it first aired. I must admit I found it better watching it this time, though I would have rather rewatched “Shades of Gray.” Because, there are a lot of problems. The investigation doesn’t feel real, and there are some jumps in logic. The special effects are uncharacteristically bad. There’s a massive continuity error, even bigger than the one in “Imaginary Friend.” According to my research, the producers had wanted Geordi and Aquiel to marry, but they ultimately thought LeVar Burton and Renée Jones did not have the best onscreen chemistry, and the character was dropped from the show.

Personally, I rate most “romance” episodes lower because that was not why I watched Star Trek. Another way to sum up this episode is that Geordi sleeps with the prime suspect during a murder investigation he’s conducting and then offers her work incentives in exchange to continue the relationship once she is found innocent. (Yikes!)

Dungeon Master Tip Number One: Journal Entries

Geordi must gain access to Aquiel’s and the other crewmember’s logs to help figure out the mystery. Journal entries are a storytelling trope dating back centuries, to be conservative. Let’s use them in our games. The player characters can always discover an adventurer’s journal that will give them clues to dungeons, treasures, or other secrets. Reading the queen’s journal could help the party understand why she wants the negotiations with another kingdom to fail. There is so much that can be done with journals, and as a bonus, players love them because it reminds them of fiction they have enjoyed.

Dungeon Master Tip Number Two: Shape Changers

The real murderer in the episode is a lifeform that assumes the shapes of its victims. Shape changers abound in D&D. Use them to mess with your players—in a good way, of course. You could break a cliché here, though. In the episode, the person consumed by the lifeform became angry and irritable. That’s usually what happens in fiction when shape changers are involved. You could try the reverse: the doppelganger in place of the person is nicer and kinder than the original.

Dungeon Master Tip Number Three: Red Herrings

This episode is filled with red herrings. Suspicion switches from Aquiel to the Klingons to the other crewmember several times. DMs can be tempted to place red herrings into adventures. However, more often than not, that is a mistake. Players are great at coming up with their own red herrings. They are always thinking the innkeeper is shady, or that the blacksmith is up to something. Use the red herrings your players give you rather than introduce your own.

Dungeon Master Tip Number Four: Investigations

“Aquiel” is a mystery supposedly modeled after the 1944 film noir feature Laura, directed by Otto Preminger. The story requires an investigation. In D&D and other RPGs, investigations can be difficult if we place clues behind perception rolls. If the players need to roll a 16 to find the scrap of cloth left at the scene of the crime and the highest roll is a 12, there’s a problem. The story can’t progress because they didn’t find the clue. This actually speaks to a larger problem in RPGs that I’ve mentioned before: it is impossible for the DM to plot an adventure. We simply cannot say, “When the player character finds this, then that will happen.” We never know what the players are going to do or what they are not going to do. A better way to handle clues is to place them based on player actions. For example, if a player says they are searching a room and they specifically mention looking under a chair, place the scrap of cloth under the chair so their character can find it. If you have them make a roll, give them the clue no matter what the dice result is. I know, some will complain that the rules don’t matter then. They are correct—the rules don’t matter. Welcome to the wild world of tabletop RPGs.