Firefly the Role Playing Game by NomAnor01

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

Geeze, Gojiro...steal my thunder.

Yeah, I made some conversions for Deadlands...

a) toss out the monsters and all arcane stuff
b) replace them with reavers

and psychics

(NPC only)
c) add skills that are space related (I don't have the Deadlands Lost Colony stuff)
d) replace Union w/ Alliance and Confederate w/ Browncoat and everything else falls into place.
c) had to do some "ship design" stuff, but found alot of what I needed online because there are soooo many Browncoats out there!

Whala! Instant Firefly adventure, and no need to rewrite the system!

The best part is it already has the whole western theme, and the system is an award-winning design that works real well for

action packed adventure!

CILANTR

!
TCM

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visit: http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/?u=TenthCrewMember
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Show your Browncoat pride! I have original (meaning: designed by me!)
T-shirts and posters for sale
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004 6:44 PM

GOJIRO

Quote:
Originally posted by TenthCrewMember:
Geeze, Gojiro...steal my thunder.

I just borrowed it, is all.

gojiro

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Tuesday, October 19, 2004 6:48 PM

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

Just had another quick thought...what about making rules for a LARP (Live Action Role Play) game based on Firefly?

I've been playing White Wolf's Vampire last couple of years. Lots of fun actually, despite the theme. Mechanics would be fairly simple as we would not have alot of janky superpowers and fear of sunlight, fire and stakes.

thoughts?

TCM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not yet an OFFICIAL BROWNCOAT? Well join up and swell the ranks 'cuz I am thinkin' we will rise again!
visit: http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/?u=TenthCrewMember
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Show your Browncoat pride! I have original (meaning: designed by me!)
T-shirts and posters for sale
http://www.zazzle.com/contributors/home/default.asp?cid=23847914695881
5760

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004 1:53 AM

CYRENIUS

Man... that would rock... It's like all the coolness of LARP without all the gayness of Vampire.
With so many good ideas, you should run for dictator.

Work work work....

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004 2:41 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Welcome to the site NomAnor01. Glad to have you with us.

My first convert has created a Firefly RPG using a variation of Traveler and Deadlands. We have been playing it now for about 8 months. We have been having a great time w/ the game. There is not too much dice rolling, there is lots of role playing, and my friend runs a great game complete w/ visual aids and plot twists.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004 4:20 AM

THALOS

There are alot of people who have altered their favorite RPG to fit into the Firefly universe. Firefly has so much "common" features that lots of systems would work well. Some use D20, some Traveler, some Cyberpunk 2020/Fuzion. It has even shown up with the company who currently writes for the "Buffy/Angel" RPGs (whos name of course escapes me at the moment.

If you are looking to run your own game the link below leads to a great site with a TON of useful information and ideas:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=53

"Whoa, good Bible."

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004 5:22 AM

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

Pimping my own D20 system:

www.estador.co.uk/firefly

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Saturday, October 23, 2004 3:33 AM

CYRENIUS

Nice game. Want players?

Work work work....

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Monday, April 25, 2005 1:22 PM

JOLAN

Of all of the games I've played in I would have to say that D6 by www.westendgames.com is the best choice for a system, while Dead lands I could see working really well. I felt like that there was a lot of dice roling in it, especially for combat, which also caused combat to take a long time, I do have fond memories of playing in the dead lands system, I think that for FF i would choose D6 system.

Jolan

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Friday, May 13, 2005 8:36 PM

Anyone have any idea the new system they're using for the Serenity Roleplaying Game by Margaret Weis Productions or when they will have their web site up.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:17 AM

EMMA

Quote:
Just had another quick thought...what about making rules for a LARP (Live Action Role Play) game based on Firefly?

god yes please!

extremely dimensionally transcendental

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Wednesday, May 25, 2005 4:54 PM

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

Okay, well I haven't poked my head in since I posted about the LARP thing, but since someone else has chimed in on a positive note, how about some ideas?

I figure it should be a KISS (keep it simple stupid) format. Wouldn't have to worry about all the wonky powers of Vampire and Co. so I would start by saying RPS (rock paper scissors) for resolution and no dumb rules about weapon props, save for not actually "using" them on eachother.

If people are willing to entertain this idea, I'll work on an outline/brief rules set for governing a Firefly LARP.

Feed me people, so I can regurgitate something worth having. ;)

Cilantro!
TCM

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Avail yourself of my trade! I have original (meaning: designed by me!)
T-shirts, posters, mugs and more at
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5760
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http://www.cafepress.com/10thcrew
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Wednesday, May 25, 2005 9:21 PM

EMMA

Definitely KISS but no to RPS, I so hate that system (despite being utterly brilliant at it and usually winning - weird). It is possible to do Vampire with simpler rules (check out http://members.lycos.co.uk/vampire_tw/ it is very simple and effective to play - honestly, its how I started) than the official White Wolf ones, which IMHO are pants.

Decent rules for combat are needed because there are always those players (yawn) who play for the combat, especially when you can really wollap each other with latex swords, and RPS doesn't do it justice.

I think the best thing to do would be to take a Firefly model already used (the Deadlands version seems to be a goer) so that character generation is easy. Modify the traits and such like that players can have in LARP and then work out the specifics of combat and such like. What do you say?

As a side, it might be an idea to rename this thread or start a new one, RPG'ers and LARPers are not always the same.

extremely dimensionally transcendental

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Thursday, May 26, 2005 5:25 AM

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

starting a new thread...

Deadlands would be good, since I already own the materials. ;)

Also, I can't get the link to work, can you email me the info at tenthcrewmember@gmail.com?

Cilantro!
TCM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Avail yourself of my trade! I have original (meaning: designed by me!)
T-shirts, posters, mugs and more at
http://www.zazzle.com/contributors/home/default.asp?cid=23847914695881
5760
AND
http://www.cafepress.com/10thcrew
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In or near Ohio? Join us!
http://p097.ezboard.com/bohiofireflyfans
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firefly-ohio

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Thursday, June 30, 2005 8:31 AM

TARASTOP

Spacemaster would be the gamee to use. It already has all the rules for weapons,combat for both spaceships and personel and everything inbetween. It is perfectly suited - a little on the complicated side but thats good too.

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Wednesday, July 13, 2005 6:52 AM

UMGESTALTET

Chimera Creative (aka Matt Snyder) has an extremely simple system based off five-card-stud called Dust Devils( http://www.chimera.info/dustdevils/index.html)
It's based in the Old West, like Dead Lands, but is much simpler. In fact, it's downright narrativist. There are a number of full conversions fitting it to everything from Sin City/Andrew Vacchs noir to Kirosawa samurai fiction to James Bond. Since it's extremely rules-light, it can fit pretty much any style. It's the core (and low dollar cost)that makes it so appealing. The Devil of Dust Devils could easily be changed to apply more to something like the character's history or such like.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005 8:27 AM

I picked up the game from GenCon last week
It's similar to D6, the attributes and skills are defined as die types, advancement is gained by increasing the 'size' of the die (ranges from d2 to d12, above d12 you add another die d12+d2). skills are expressed seperately from the attributes and follow the same convention as the attributes. this allows your mechanic to roll Alertness + Mechanical Engineering to find the problem and Intelligence + Mechanical Engineering to fix it.
There's a detailed Asset/Complication system (talents/flaws), in fact every character is required to have one of each.
character creation is a point system, everything costs points, the points are based on the level of the campaign.
Ships are built like characters, they have stats and traits, I've only glanced at the section for now
Added bonus is a reference section in back with three pages of chinese translations of words and phrases, including some curse words.
All in all, it is well done, a lot of attention was paid to keep the feel, in fact the text will drive english teachers nuts, there is heavy use of 'western' or 'boondock' terminology and word use; they do a good job at butchering the english language.

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Friday, August 26, 2005 8:01 PM

DALTONSPENCE

Quote:
Originally posted by Chaman:
I picked up the game from GenCon last week
It's similar to D6, the attributes and skills are defined as die types, advancement is gained by increasing the 'size' of the die (ranges from d2 to d12, above d12 you add another die d12+d2). skills are expressed seperately from the attributes and follow the same convention as the attributes. this allows your mechanic to roll Alertness + Mechanical Engineering to find the problem and Intelligence + Mechanical Engineering to fix it.
There's a detailed Asset/Complication system (talents/flaws), in fact every character is required to have one of each.
character creation is a point system, everything costs points, the points are based on the level of the campaign.

Sounds a little like GURPS/ character creation to me, although the game mechanics seem different. Would they difficult for a GURPS/ gamer to learn? What dice would be needed? Is there a lot of paperwork (i.e. forms) required?

Quote:
Ships are built like characters, they have stats and traits, I've only glanced at the section for now

Can these stats and traits be translated into real world characteristics such as max cargo mass and volume (both official and actual), thrust and manuverability, power generation, life support capacity, purchase price and/or mortgage payments, operating and maintenance costs, etc.? How much explanation of the tech is there? (I'm a bit of a gearhead and while Joss's "western in space" was excellent drama, the lack of tech details left my inner geek a bit hungry.

)

Quote:
Added bonus is a reference section in back with three pages of chinese translations of words and phrases, including some curse words.

Is there much detail in the book about just how bilingual/bicultural the Alliance really is?

Quote:
All in all, it is well done, a lot of attention was paid to keep the feel, in fact the text will drive english teachers nuts, there is heavy use of 'western' or 'boondock' terminology and word use; they do a good job at butchering the english language.

How about the Chinese language?

Would it be a good resource for writing Firefly fanfic?

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Friday, August 26, 2005 10:34 PM

I haven't had a chance to play GURPS (though I should look at my Disc World book, if I can find it...)

Dice: you pretty much need a set, two sets would be prefered (I'd wait to see how well you liked it, as a third set would be good when you characters got to be 'big damn heros')

I haven't had a chance to get to the ships yet, that's the chapter I'm starting. So I'll skim it real quick, give you the attributes they use and I'll give you more detail when I finish. I had kind of skipped forward before and was reading the prose, lots of nice material discussing various ships systems and operating a ship (really detailed explaination of how gravity controls affect space travel, great for the geek). The main attributes are the same as characters, though they're changed a little to reflect a ship:
Agility is reaction and maneuverability, Strength is determined by size and tonnage (but there's some flexibility), Vitality reflects her general state of repair, Alertness reflects the ships comms and sensors, Intelligence determines the abilities of the flight computer (there are no sentient bots in Firefly), and Willpower is a measure of the safety of the ship and any redundant systems.

They suggest looking up the stats of historical ships from 1850 to 1950, look for one that that is of the same type, the specifications will be about the same even though the tech won't

most of the normal specs are covered, there's a section on 'ship traits' which are assets/complications for the ship

some ships detailed, some have plans
Aces & Eights (mid-sized transport / yacht)
Hotaru (a firefly)
Escape pod
short range shuttle
alliance short range enforcement vessel
small transport (Wren class)
homestead transport (bumblebee class)
another Firefly
Serenity
Alliance patrol boat
independent blockade runner
Cargo Liner
Alliance Cruiser
El Dorado (passenger liner)

the GM chapter has the following sections:
a Technobabble chart
26th century slang
western
in with the old, and in with the new (mixing techs, like the holographic pool table)

in the 'Verse guide
lots of history
some important groups
a map of the known planets and pics of the planets
overview of the planets

Last is the appendix: Gorram Chinese
there's a discussion on languages, cussin' fightin' words frontier slang a primer on basic rim world speech, frontier slang, space slang, underworld slang, technical slang and three pages of chinese phrases

Someone at another forum had problems finding the book, here's the ISBN: 1931567506 (should be ten digits). Give this to you local bookseller (at B&N, B. Daltons, or Doubleday, the title is listed as "Serenity RPG"), it should be out the first week or so of next month, so you can order it now. oh, at B&N stores (which includes the other two), you're under no obligation to buy, you can order it and change your mind. the price is 39.99.

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Saturday, August 27, 2005 8:49 PM

DALTONSPENCE

Thanks for your response. It looks like the game will be well worth the money and a great reference for Firefly fanfic writers. If the series ever returns to the tube (not likely I know, but hope springs eternal), maybe it could be used as the new "series bible."

I don't suppose the "Gorram Chinese" section has a translation for the question "What's happening?" or "What's going on?" (such as what one might ask when entering a room at the tail end of a strange conversation). I have one for "What's the matter?" but that question implies a problem is expected.

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Monday, August 29, 2005 6:16 AM

What: Shuh Muh?

they're supposed to have a webpage at www.serenityrpg.com
but they got sidetracked by GenCon, as did a number of authors/designers

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Monday, September 12, 2005 2:02 PM

On the Borders page with Amazon.com they have the rpg for $26.39 saving $13.60 plus shipping. Just sent in my order.

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Monday, September 12, 2005 2:02 PM

Anyone know when the www.serenityrpg.com is going to be up.

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:59 AM

JAMIECHAMBERS

Soon.

** Jamie

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005 9:05 AM

BOOMERGOODHEART

We bought it at Dragon*Con ($40), and were able to have Margaret Weiss sign it (she wrote the fiction bits in it). Now hubby is obsessing over it, creating his own blank sheets for tabletop gaming. The GM in him has reared it's ugly head. LOL.

BoomerGoodheart
"I love my Captain."

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 8:34 AM

J0HNNYR3B

Drat your obscure reply Jamie.

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 9:06 AM

ISBNs!

Serenity (movie adaptation)
Keith DeCandido
1416507558

Finding Serenity (A collection of essays about Firefly)
Jane Espenson (wrote Shindig episode)
1932100431

Serenity Role Playing Game (this is how B&N lists it in BookMaster)
Margaret Weiss Productions
1931567506

Serenity: the Official Visual Companion (to the movie )
Joss Whedon
1845760824

The only one that hasn't made it to the warehouses is the RPG, all the rest can be ordered in. You should be able to do a pre-order or a hold-order on the RPG (a pre-order may come back canceled, but you can have them reorder it; a hold-order requires that they have some on the way to the store that are meant for the shelves, but it won't be cancelled)
There's also another novel due out next June by DeCandido, possibly planned as another movie adaptation (the contract is for three movies)
Whedon also wrote an X-men graphic novel, but I don't have the ISBN handy

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Tuesday, September 27, 2005 8:09 AM

MRWAGGA

if you go to Amazon you can order the RPG thats what i did and i got it

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Wednesday, September 28, 2005 8:26 PM

I ordered mine on amazon and got it in 2 weeks and at $30 included shipping

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Friday, September 30, 2005 3:30 AM

www.serenityrpg.com is now up but just has the same basic page that was on Margaret Weis website. But it's nice to know that it's started. On a side note planning on seeing the movie tonight after my girls go to bed!!!!

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Friday, September 30, 2005 11:33 AM

Sorry, I should have posted a couple days ago
on Wed I checked the warehouse status for Ingram & B&N, the shipments had arived and over 500 copies shipped out that day, there are still over 200 copies in the warehouse with another 200 to 300 on order. They should hit the stores either today or early next week, Wed at the latest. If you're near a B&N call them to put in an order now & if they were already planned to get one they will hold it for you (I think the system does first-come-first-served). If you order it from www.BN.com you can do a return or exchange at a regular store, also our discount cards give you a 10% discount.

Just checked, bn.com is selling it with a 20% discount, not sure about the stores yet. so the price is $31.99US, if you have a membership it's $28.79US. the membership is $25 by itself

When I find out the ISBNs for the support material I'll post it (hopefully that day)

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Sunday, October 16, 2005 7:03 PM

On the www.serenityrpg.com site they have a great fan made board that's doing great. I'm hoping the gang at MWP is going to put up more things soon! I'm looking forward to more info on the products that they're suppose to be working on.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2005 8:44 AM

Little update:
Ingram is ordering in 1400 copies, the first 800 were gone within days of them gettin' them

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Wednesday, January 11, 2006 5:09 AM

MEENOL

Only problem with the game is that officially (because its rights stem from Universal) it can only draw from Serenity. There are little references to Firefly (like being left naked in the desert in the "survival" skill category), but not much else. I've not checked the Chinese in back with my transcription of the Chinese from the series, but from memory its fairly close.

So if you're looking for an RPG with a source of eveything Firefly, you're not going to get it. It works well as a system, lets you create nicely deep characters.

----------------------------

No, THIS is what going mad feels like.

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Wednesday, January 11, 2006 9:06 PM

Another little update,
New guide:
Serenity Out in the Black

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=MA0
FI6OCYX&isbn=1931567522&itm=2

at $24 and in HC I think it'll be a sourcebook, probably with at least one adventure. It's due out near the end of the month, but they're not in the warehouses yet, about 400 on order at last check.

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Thursday, February 2, 2006 4:33 PM

SPACEMANSPIFF

Any new word on this book?

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

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Saturday, February 4, 2006 3:59 PM

YUROICHI

No news yet... It is still in the process. My husband got an email from Jamie about it. My husband reviews rpg books for Silven.

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Saturday, February 4, 2006 4:12 PM

SPACEMANSPIFF

OK, thanks. Keep us posted if you hear anything new.

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

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Saturday, February 4, 2006 4:22 PM

YUROICHI

Not a problem. I will keep all of you posted, Jamie told him that he would get all of the future titles for review. As we know about what is coming I will post.

"The latest is a very solid review from the Silven Trumpeter, a quarterly online gaming magazine." taken from http://www.serenityrpg.com/ - This is my husbands work talked about here.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2006 6:59 PM