Firelfy RPG by Seshat

My first reaction is to say just use GURPS, but the West End d6 Star Wars is a great system for it too because it had very broad skill areas that were vague so as to promote role playing. Players had to develop thier rationalle for having a skill at a certain level and it added more to the feel of the game doing it that way rather then tagging on five dozen feats does in d20, IMO.

GURPS has 3 stats and from ther on out, it's all skills. 3d6 to test. I'm biased towards the old Star Wars cause I played and ran that thing into the ground.

I too am not a huge fan of d20 and hope to the gamer gods that it's not the way all things go. (lol) Plus, it's too geared toward making an über-character eventually, so I'd stick with what you've got, use GURPS, Traveler or come up with your own system.

Getting info....that's the tough bit.

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Friday, January 3, 2003 3:41 PM

ALLRONIX

Star Wars D6 was my initial thought, too. The skill set is big enough, and there's the little munchkin-trap in the form of Dark Side points.

(When I was converting it to Galaxy Rangers, I used the concept of "Sanity" to cover the same ground. If a character started out a good guy and started acting in "dark side" ways, the explanation was that they were going nuts.)

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Friday, January 3, 2003 3:42 PM

ALLRONIX

Aspects of Deadlands could be adapted to the Firefly Verse, too, especially the "Hell on Earth" scenario - it has the right mix of tech, psionics (which you'll need if you convert River), and Western.

Only problem is that the whole Deadlands scenario reads like the 26th century equivilant of Giles shows up on Serenity and starts passing out wooden stakes.

Co-founder of the Evil Writing Crew - causing hell, one hero at a time!

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Friday, January 3, 2003 4:13 PM

JONSP

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat:
We were thinking of doing something very stupid, like using a converted version of White Wolf's Storyteller system...

*ahem* Worked quite well actually, thanks.

Of course as any sensible person knows, Storyteller's perfect for anything.

God, I hope D20 isn't the future of gaming. Reminds me too much of Microsoft Windows -- a so-so system that everyone ends up using just because it's everywhere.

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Friday, January 3, 2003 4:25 PM

XERIAR

There's always GURPS - it's malleable enough. :-) Transhuman Space in particular looks like a nice starting point for rules & technology.

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Sunday, January 5, 2003 12:47 PM

The more I think about it, and with what was mentioned about the Dark Side Points, take a look at Star Wars d20 as well. Dark Side could easily be "Bad Karma" or "Disreputableness" or some crazy thing which can result in ALlience Warrants or underworld enemies. SWd20 also uses a WOund Point that takes the longevity of D&D hit points out of the mix so the characters have to really fear getting injured.

Come to think of ot, one of my buddies worked on d20 Traveller and I offered up opinions on the damage system with him while it was in final playtesting. That system is very realistic for damage and has a more archaic starship system that might reflect the Firefly Verse well.

I'm still partial to SWd6, m'self, but try taking a look at the others.

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Sunday, January 5, 2003 2:20 PM

KURUKAMI

Nah... if I was going to run an RPG based on Firefly (and I have been considering it), it would have to be in the Shadowrun 3rd edition system. It's already got all of the firearms rules and various stuff, not to mention good rules for rigging vehicles and decking into computer systems. Add a spaceflight system and a few Reaction-based skills for piloting craft, and one is pretty much set.

And d20? Please. d20's a decent system, but the amount of crap you'd have to go through to create all of the various backgrounds, classes, feats, skills, and whatnot would be preposterous. Shadowrun's got the necessary framework and a strong system already in place -- and moreover, you don't need to depend on merely a single-die roll to know whether or not you succeeded.

Not to mention the beneficial use of Karma in cases of "oh crap, I missed...". Very useful for the heroic goings-on, and it better models the ability of experienced characters to get that incredible luck when they're in deep trouble.

History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.

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Sunday, January 5, 2003 2:39 PM

SERGEANTX

I've been working on an adaptation of the FUDGE system. I'm adding a system to try to simulate the deep character development and dialog that makes Firefly so cool. I should have something to look at in a week or two for anyone interested.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

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Monday, January 6, 2003 12:15 AM

XENOBOB

GURPS seems to be the way to go. GURPS Space is my favorite RPG supplement ever, except for maybe the Book of vile darkness... :)

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Monday, January 6, 2003 5:37 AM

Never really looked at FUDGE, but I'd be up for it.

Shadowrun isn't a bad idea, but it doesn't really support the spacecraft stuff that a Firefly RPG would need. The Farscape RPG is d20 (which does blow if one gets too crazy with feats and stuff - I agree there) but everything you'd need to have firearms, phsionics, starships and anything else is already in there. About all you'd need to really come up with is cows, because horses are in D&D3. (lol) Ignore all the alien races and just use the humans and you're good to go.

However, even in saying that, the SWd6 system has all that too, plus the Force points whhich act just like Karma in Shadowrun. I still prefer that.

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Monday, January 6, 2003 7:46 AM

SKULLNINJA

Another alternative would be Alternity (which WOTC killed with d20, so that Star Wars d20 wouldn't have any in house competition). It is geared towards this type of setting.

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Monday, January 6, 2003 8:56 AM

Yep. That is a pretty good system and very flexible. It's essentially d20, but it has that difficulty dice thing that adds a little more randomness to things. Good idea. Cross genre too so that western space adventure makes perfect sense. Real good idea.

Now we need that data base of worlds and vocabulary. (lol)

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Wednesday, January 8, 2003 10:01 AM

ANGELUS

Im glad im not the only one doing A firefly rpg . I was thinking of using the BESM rules but mabe I will use D20

if I have 2

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Wednesday, January 8, 2003 12:35 PM

ALLRONIX

My bro in law worked on the Farscape d20 (and the Red Dwarf d6), and has his notes and things. He's also a Firefly fan.

Ideas?

Co-founder of the Evil Writing Crew - causing hell, one hero at a time!

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Wednesday, January 8, 2003 2:14 PM

XERIAR

Quote:
Originally posted by angelus:
Im glad im not the only one doing A firefly rpg . I was thinking of using the BESM rules but mabe I will use D20 if I have 2

BESM RULES FOR FIREFLY!?!?!?!

Tell me you're joking, please, even if you have to lie about it...

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Thursday, January 9, 2003 8:35 AM

ANGELUS

Xeriar whats wrong with BESM? the ruls are simple to learn and simple to run and its a fun game when done right. And to tell you the trouth I started working on the rpg last night and decided not to go that way im using the D10 system in stead.

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Thursday, January 9, 2003 9:04 AM

MELI

Quote:
FARADAY wrote:

I saw a thread on the Fox board where someone was compiling a list of the planets/towns/etc. for use in a RPG. It had the names, along with episode references and what information was known about them.

Has anyone considered doing that for other aspects of the universe? Sort of a publically-available Firefly RPG sourcebook?

Actually, I've been working on developing a site like that -- with a database of every "noun" in Firefly, with lots of cross-referencing among tidbits of information.

At this point, I'm still working on the data architecture before I start collating everything from every episode and plugging it all into PHP/MySQL.

If anyone would be interested in participating in this activity, drop me a line.

-- Meli

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Friday, January 10, 2003 5:26 PM

FARADAY

Quote:
Originally posted by Meli:
If anyone would be interested in participating in this activity, drop me a line.

I'm interested. Not sure where to drop you a line at, though, other than here.

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Friday, January 24, 2003 11:22 AM

HITOKIRI

My personal opinion for a flexible, sound and playable system that would fit a firefly rpg would be Fuzion. I have personally found this system to be robust enough to handle either a loose story-telling style of play, or a more technical style. It is also available for free download, so that also helps.

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Friday, January 24, 2003 7:33 PM

HAPLO721

BuMp

I don't think there's anything wrong with d20, or any other system for that matter... it's all about the GM and the players. They make the game, not the rules.

D20 happens to have a LOT of material available, with more to come. I'd have to say that d20 Star Wars rules would provide a solid groundwork for a Firefly RPG. Additionally, the Sanity rules from d20 Call of Cthulhu could be patched in for River and Reaver victims. CoC also has expansive firearms stats.

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Saturday, March 1, 2003 7:17 AM

> ... it's all about the GM and the players. They make the
> game, not the rules.

YEA! Give that man a cigar. Or a milk shake or something.

My group has been playign firefly for several months with a system created by a young designer who works with this same philosophy. I'll see if I can get his permission to post it the rules he created.

Games not rules. What a concept!

-------
Out of my mind. Back in 10 minutes.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2003 6:22 AM

Well, I couldn't get permission, but I've posted another system my friends and I have been using for quite a while. It is 3d6, point based, Stat + Skill and a minimalist approach. The players, the action, the story and the fun -- not the mechanics. Heritage through HERO and FUZION type things, weapons reduced to small, medium, bigger and way big. Keep it simple.

It's at http://members.ispwest.com/radiojoe/firefly

I've also collected two other documents - the general Firefly references people have contributed, and the Chinese references, with a few additions.

I have been working on a low-tech, no aliens, relatively near future sci-fi setting and also posted a link to the beginning of the atlas.

It's basically a kit - the system has worked for a variety of settings, including a very Firefly like game we have played for a few years. Take what you need, leave the rest.

And comments are invited.

While the Bible is very specific on the subject of killing, it's a might hazy on the topic of kneecaps...

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Thursday, March 27, 2003 5:50 AM

d20 I would recommend against. It's too hack and slash oriented.

Have you played GURPS? Since Traveller is now a GURPS system... and GURPS is so adaptable... it may be the best way to go.

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Thursday, March 27, 2003 6:10 AM

WERESPAZ

Quote:

Games not rules. What a concept!

Better yet: Story not rules.

My only two cents about RPGs and systems is this: As a storyteller, I like a system that gives you degrees of success, as it adds more to the story than just "You hit him for four points of damage".

-The SpAz

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Thursday, March 27, 2003 10:09 AM

RIVERSIDE

Actually it was partially the kinda Deadlands-y feel to Firefly that made me want to watch. I miss the old rules though, no matter what my bro' says. Poker hands for combat is just too cool.

Quote:
Originally posted by Allronix:
Aspects of Deadlands could be adapted to the Firefly Verse, too, especially the "Hell on Earth" scenario - it has the right mix of tech, psionics (which you'll need if you convert River), and Western.

Only problem is that the whole Deadlands scenario reads like the 26th century equivilant of Giles shows up on Serenity and starts passing out wooden stakes.

Co-founder of the Evil Writing Crew - causing hell, one hero at a time!

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Friday, March 28, 2003 6:08 AM

A couple good comments and the files have been reduced to a single PDF which contains ...

Generic Firefly refs (locations, factions, planets, moons, ships, tech and a complet (fuctional) gaming system to get a group together, roll some dice, hoot and holler.

For them as what need's 'em.

And free.

http://members.ispwest.com/radiojoe/firefly

Email would be nice.

While the Bible is very specific on the subject of killing, it's a might hazy on the topic of kneecaps...

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Saturday, March 29, 2003 5:56 AM

Okay - I'm done for a while. A new group is organizing here to buy a refurbed firefly and traipse off into the 'verse for whatever we can get.

Revised character sheet.

Also, I can't find deck plans for the Firefly, so I did a quick and dirty job on a Firefly-01 (Serenity is a Firefly-03 to explain discrepancies). Good enough for the game.

http://members.ispwest.com/radiojoe/firefly

Email would be nice.

------

While the Bible is very specific on the subject of killing, it's a might hazy on the topic of kneecaps...

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Saturday, April 12, 2003 7:09 PM

Thanks to great feedback the RPG page is coming together. Notes have een added for the FUDGE system, which is a word-based RPG available free on the net or through Grey Ghost Games in bookstores.

If you have Firefly RPG materials up on a web page, let me know and I'll provide a link to it.

http://members.ispwest.com/radiojoe/firefly

While the Bible is very specific on the subject of killing, it's a might hazy on the topic of kneecaps...

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Wednesday, April 16, 2003 5:04 AM

CAPTAINZEE

Quote:
Originally posted by zeke023:
d20 I would recommend against. It's too hack and slash oriented.

A game is only as hack-and-slash as its players and referee want it to be.

We've played a D&D 3E campaign consistenly for almost three years now and I've found d20 to be intuitive, flexbile and adaptable.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2003 8:16 AM

KENWOOD

>We've played a D&D 3E campaign consistenly for almost three years now and I've found d20 to be intuitive, flexbile >and adaptable.

It's got some problems 'out of the box', most notably the skill system. But with some mod's it really is a good system. Wouldn't be my choice for Firefly though. I'm lookin at either Deadlands or Millenium's End.

Don't look back, som'thin' might be gainin' on ya.
Who let the pigs play poker?
Evo Shander was right!

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Thursday, April 17, 2003 11:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by zeke023:
d20 I would recommend against. It's too hack and slash oriented.

A game is only as hack-and-slash as its players and referee want it to be.

All I meant was... d20 games are not oriented toward story telling. You can tell a story with them, like you can with any game.

However, the system works against you. Players have 3/4 of a character sheet to represent how combat efficient they are... and only a few spaces for any kind of character personlity or social skills. Not only this, but players are not rewarded whatsoever for taking any kind of flaw that would give their character depth. I know that good role-players will play good characters regardless of system... but the fact is the d20 system doesn't encourage this like White Wolf or GURPS.

You can adapt your own methods to encourage good role-playing... but it isn't inherent within the system. Hence, it is a system oriented toward combat.

I once ran a whole campaign that only had a single combat in it. That type of campaign was BEAUTIFUL for role-playing and great for storytelling - but if I had run it in d20 - 3/4 of the character sheet would have been worthless (all that would have mattered would have been alignment and the diplomacy skill).

But this is just my opinion. There are many different types of gamers - you gotta go with what you like.

-Zeke

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Friday, April 18, 2003 12:10 PM

LONESAIL

What would be really great is a MMORPG set in Firefly universe. MMORPG is a massively-multiplayer online RPG - a persistent online game kinda like "StarWars Galaxies".

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Sunday, May 11, 2003 2:24 AM

Work on the Firefly conversion to FUDGE continues. FUDGE was determined to be simple, fast and scaled for humans against humans. We've been bashing several previous sci-fi near-future settings sans aliens to come up with a variety of ships, worlds, cultures and such.

if you are in the Denver area, probably an older gamer, and would like to participate in some playtesting, drop me a line.

The work so far:

http://members.ispwest.com/radiojoe/firefly

If anyone has sites with other Firefly gaming systems, let me know and I'll provide links to the sites.

------------
The bible is very specific on the issue of killy, but it's a mite hazy on the subject of kneecaps.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2003 5:53 AM

I've been working on a Firefly Campaign in GURPS. And I have a few questions that you guys might know about.

Communication? How does the FTL radio work? I seem to recall hearing something about becons from planet to planet that boost the signal (their not being near one was why "Out of Gas" was such a hazardous perdicament).
Any ideas about this?
Their has to be some sort of deep space communication network for the Cortex to work.

Anybody who knows anything about GURPS can also chime in with any ideas they have about Tech Levels and ship drives.

-Zeke

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Tuesday, May 20, 2003 8:59 AM

SESHAT

hey,

when i started this thread I ment to post some conversions for SWD6 fairly soon, but r/l got in the way

i sugested SWD6 beacuse the way i play we mostly role play to keep things moving

i have never heard of some of the stuff mentioned but it's good to see so much enthusiasim

just thought i make a plug for the second best fansite ever (bet you can guess the number 1

) and the #1 Matrix site, www.thelastfreecity.com

peace

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Tuesday, May 20, 2003 9:02 AM

SESHAT

) and the #1 Matrix site, www.thelastfreecity.com

peace

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Thursday, May 22, 2003 1:32 PM

MISHAADO

I've been putting together a GURPS campaign for Firefly as well and ran across a similar situation.
The solution I decided on wasn't perfect, but it works so far.

Essentially FTL communications only require a small amount of hardware to receive broadcasts, however to send something FTL, you need a piece of gear too expensive and massive to put anywhere except for dirtside or on destroyer-class vessels.

A Firefly ship, for example, would only be able to send messages a distance of, say, a solar system, but would have to make planetary stops to get a message back to the core....

Unless, they happen to be near one of those new-fangled beacon/boosters I didn't think about the first time around. Put yourself within spittin' distance of one of them and you can tap into a longer-range broadcast mode.

Thus, in deep space (a la Out of Gas), far away from any beacon/booster, Serenity only had a solar system's range to send, but could probably receive transmissions via the Cortex...

It ain't pretty, but it has worked thus far...

========================================
Jayne Cobb, Man About Town:
"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth."

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Friday, May 23, 2003 2:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mishaado:
Thus, in deep space (a la Out of Gas), far away from any beacon/booster, Serenity only had a solar system's range to send, but could probably receive transmissions via the Cortex...

It ain't pretty, but it has worked thus far...

BEACONS
I like the way you've explained this plus the beacon thing.
There need to be beacons. I don't remember where I got this idea from (I'm not sure it was Out of Gas - but if you, or someone else, can confirm that I'll be mighty pleased) - but without a beacon no one could ever send information back to whatever their futuristic equivalent of a web server is. So when Inara was choosing men on the cortex, she needed to send the information of which one she chose back to the planet. Without a beacon, she could not have done this.

Visual and Audio
I remember several episodes (including the pilot) where characters have made reference to being close enough to get a visual transmission. If you listen to the dialogue, you can deduce that at far range you can comunicate via auido but not visual, and at closer ranges you can do both.

Visual involves sending a lot more information in a shorter amount of time than audio. So this means that there is something similar to "bandwidth" that is going on here. Ideas?

-Zeke

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Friday, May 23, 2003 3:19 AM