"I trust this isn't the usual way our missions will go sir?"
"On no, Number One, I'm sure there'll be much more interesting"
Missions are the absolute heart of STAFF and my first priority was to create Missions that had some kind of narrative to them.
In the original Decipher CCG, you could place any Dilemma under any Mission. Ok, it had to be a Space Dilemma on a Space Mission and a Planet Dilemma on a Planet Mission, but that was it. It meant that there was no connection between the Mission and the Dilemmas you had to overcome and could have a 'Matriarchal Society' or 'Archer' where you had to 'Expose Covert Supply'. Yes, you could do some kind of mental gymnastics to make it all fit (loads of wacky things happen on 'Star Trek' !), but I always felt that the game had no narrative flow.
So for STAFF, the first thing I did was to create a unique Dilemma table for each of the 64 Missions. Each table has a possible 18 different Dilemmas, all with a connecting theme to the Mission. Hopefully as you play the Missions, you will begin to see that structure. The Mission lore IS important and might give you an indication what to expect. If you are about to 'Investigate Incursion' you might just possibly encounter large cube ships...
My second priority was to give each Mission a 'special rule' to give it more flavour, either as you play through it, or when you solve it. If you look at 'Advanced Combat Training' (M005):
The lore mentions a harsh environment so I added a rule for weaker Personnel not being able to attempt it. If you solve the Mission, your Away Teams are stronger since they have done the training, so you get a bonus in Away Team battles.
I think having those little rules gives SO much more flavour and increases the narrative of STAFF.
The STAFF Mission Booklet is now available to download free in PDF: https://buymeacoffee.com/dragoncymru
"Let's see what's out there"