Hello,

I am looking for someone to take over the role of Tess in the Serenity based game Destiny's Flight. Tess is the ship pilot and right hand lady to the captain Jon. It is a good crew with some interesting characters so if you like exciting stories and thrilling heroics - I need a Big Damn Hero.

I would like someone that understands the Firefly/Serenity verse a bit. However, I'm relatively open and there are many resources on the Web.

Well if it was a male character I would have asked if I might take it over. If perhaps you find the need to change to another pilot, male, let me know as I would love to join.

Not up to the challenge of playing another gender? Come on! Not like she is a companion...

I am afraid I am not good at understanding the opposite sex, I mean really who is?

Last time I tried it everyone said the woman was a little too mannish. I mean what do you expect, I am a man!

I have read some of the adventures with her and think it would be best is a woman played the character. I dont think I could do Tess any justice.

But if something else opens up, pilot or otherwise, let me know.

In fact I will be looking for a Pilot for Rocinante after this campaign finished which will be soon-ish. That is not a fill in, but a new character will be needed. I offered the role to someone but they seems to have disappeared.

I would definitely be interested in that position. I hope the crew survive as I have been reading that one from time to time and it doesnt look good.

Would you need just a Straight pilot or something of a mixed character? Pilot/Gunslinger, Pilot/Engineer, etc.

A pilot with some tech ability. Preferably can use a gun too. I plan to write John and Tess out of the game at the end of this so I hope to combine the two.

As I have Tess in the Destiny game, I guess they have to survive somehow....

Title notwithstanding, I'm actually not too familiar with the 'verse. A lot of knowledge second hand type of thing. I'll take a read through the game thread later when I get home after work though; I'm pretty sure I was interested in a Serenity game before... though that game didn't quite happen. She (the character I made with help) was an interesting character though I thought

A fast summary of Flrefly and the Verse

More of a synopsis of the Verse history

Character Name: Tess “the-devil-made-me-do-it” Zhou
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Born on: Shadow
Age: 25
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Build: Athletic

Physical
Agility – d10
Strength – d8
Vitality – d6

Mental
Alertness – d8
Intelligence – d6
Willpower – d8


Assets
Born behind the Wheel (major) – You could drive before you could walk. You can drive any type of a ship so well that you can amaze people.
Steady Calm (minor) – Even in the most dangerous situations, you remain calm, as if nothing fazes you or could ruffle your feathers.
Talented: Pilot (minor) ~ Flying is her business, and business is good!

Complications
Lightweight (minor) ~ wheee!
Loyal (minor) – Browncoat through and through.
Superstitious (minor) – Don’t mess with my lucky charms.


Skills
Discipline – d6
• Specializations:
Concentration ~ d8
Mental resistance ~ d8

Guns – d6
• Specializations:
Rifle ~ d12
Shotgun ~ d8
Pistol ~ d10

Mechanical Engineering – d6
• Specializations:
Mechanical repairs ~ d8
Rewire and reroute electrical ~ d8

Pilot – d6
• Specializations:
Astrogation ~ d10
Transports ~ d10
Gunships ~ d12
Short range Shuttles ~ d10
Ultra-light aircraft ~ d8

Technical Engineering – d6
• Specializations:
Communications ~ d8
Technical repair ~ d8

Gear
Fruity Oaty Bars (10) ~ 1
Goggles ~ 1.2
Rucksack ~ 2
Good Whiskey ~ 5.6
Deck of Cards ~ .2

Weapons Etc.
Pistol, heavy ~ 22
Holster, Speed Draw ~ 10
Rifle ~ 30
Scope 12x ~ 8
Harness ~ 6 (usually left a home w/ rifle unless under special circumstances ^_^ )
Knife, Combat ~ 1.6
Grenade , Flashbang (10) ~ 8

When asked about her life before the war, Tess usually just shrugs and mumbles something to the effect of “it doesn’t matter”.

Tess and most other young people from Shadow, were some of the first to join the Independents in the war. The plan for total “Utopia”, plus the violent nature of the Alliance was at complete odds with the hard workin’ folks of Shadow. Tess herself came from a family of ranchers, something that the family had been doing for generations. Their ranch was the culmination of at least 150 years of hard work, and the Alliance threatened to undermine their way of life by smothering it with rules and regulations. Rules and regulations that were made by go tsao de politicians that had never seen a cow.

It could be said that Shadow was hit the hardest during the war. It all depended on who you talk to. What was once a vast, plain swept planet with cattle ranches, granaries, and dotted with towns is now a black rock. The Alliance, in a show of force, bombed the entire surface of Shadow in order to teach the Browncoats a lesson. What happened instead was even greater tenacity and determination from everyone who fought.

From the very beginning of her military career Tess showed a great aptitude for driving, specifically piloting. She blamed it on all of that horse riding she had done on the ranch, “You get on ‘ol ornery on a bad day and you sure feel like you’re flying. Especially if she throws you from the saddle.” Speed was the game, and what a fun game it was. She was soon shuffled into a gunship as the main pilot. When Shadow was destroyed, Tess became increasingly foolhardy. She began pulling off stunts that no ship should be able to perform, and when someone called for a pilot with “more balls then brains”, Tess was almost always chosen. The phrase “the devil made me do it” was often used by Tess after a near impossible feat, mostly to the crew that looked a little green around the gills.

It was during this time that she developed her belief in her lucky charms. Certain items were always present when she completed the death defying stunts for the Independents, and she began carrying them as talismans for future capers. She is always seen with her goggles, a few black feathers fixed to her hair, and the pockets of her cargo pants show oddly shaped lumps through the fabric.


On Tess:
Tess? Oh sure, she’s easy enough to work with. You could say that she gets a little flip sometimes, but her general demeanor is fairly pleasant. Her humor can get pretty confusin’, it usually sounds just like every other gorram sentence that falls out of her mouth. I think we’ve all lost our lunch a time or two after one of her stunts, but she says she’s keeping that to a minimum. Well, she says that right after sayin’ “Devil made me do it”. Don’t talk too much ‘bout her life before the war, but she’ll jaw your ear off about cows and horses if you give her an opportunity.

It’s pretty easy to see that Tess considers Destiny her home, and everyone on it her family. That girl loves this ship. She and the captain have some kind of history. Not that kind of history, they were in the war together. The two can go rounds, giving each other a ration of luh suh, but nothing gets ugly. Naw, she’s not one to rile very easy, but if you do get under her skin, an’ she goes real quiet, you’d better hide. But like I said, pleasant enough. Don’t go worrying your purty little head about starting an argument with her. She’s even-tempered, sometimes crazy behind the wheel, but still pretty even-tempered.

Please send me your character generation guidelines for this Rocinante game and I will start working on ideas for my character. Probably a Pilot/Tech type guy.

Consider that position filled for now. I will work up a character and you can let me know when the game is ready for him.

The following is a general guide to creating characters in the Verse. If you are from a free-form background and don’t get this stuff, let me know and we can work it out together based on what person you want to play.

Attributes in Serenity RPG are dice, not stats. You pick a higher dice to represent a better attribute. The steps of dice progression are:

d2 – d4 – d6 – d8 – d10 – d12 – d12+d2 – d12+d4 etc.

Any time you want to do something, from fly a ship to shoot a guy, you take attribute + skill die and roll them against a difficulty class.

You have six attributes, three are physical and three are mental

Physical
Agility – Your ability to move quickly and physical coordination
Strength – Just how strong is your character.
Vitality – a measure of general health and toughness

Mental
Alertness – Intuition and observation. How much you can spot and notice.
Intelligence – Basic smarts. How bright you are and how much you’ve learned
Willpower – Determination and force of will.

Important:
Initiative (How shots act first in combat) is Agility + Alertness
Life Points (Hit points, how much damage you take) is Vitality + Will Power
Physical combat – strength + skill
Gun combat – agility + skill
Basic Combat Dodge – Agility + alertness

Making the characters;

Everyone starts with 48 points. If you want d12 in strength, it will cost you 12 points. But don’t be dividing up points yet. First there be Assets and Complications.

Assets are bonuses and addons that help your character do things that define them. Kaylee’s ability to talk to engines, Jayne’s ability to take a hit, Wash being able to fly the ship all come out of assets. Assets are major or minor. Every player should have at least one asset, and no more than five. Minor Assets cost 2 points and major assets cost 4.

Complications are those quirks or personality traits that make people human. Jayne getting greedy when the money is good. Or the circumstances that make things difficult like Simon and River being wanted fugitives. Minor complications add 2 to your points and major ones add 4. Everyone should have at least one complication and no more than five. Note, play to your complication in the game will get you plot points as well.

Once you have your assets and complications done, you take the remains points to give to you attributes. Remember that d6 in an attribute is considered average.

The following are the list of assets and complications in general terms. If you want to know them in specifics, let me know. If you can think of something not on here, let me know. If minor or major is listed after a trait, then that is the only level possible for that trait.

Assets
Allure – You are damn good looking and you know it. You can play it up, dress it up or just have that look.
Athlete – You excel at one specific athletic specialty (tennis, running, swimming etc)
Born behind the Wheel – You could drive before you could walk. You can drive any type of a specified vehicle (ships, land machines, etc) so well that you can amaze people.
Cortex Spectre – The is no record of you on any alliance data bank. As far as the computers know, you do not exist
Fightin’ Type (major) – You are always ready for a fight and can handle yourself well in a tussle.
Friends in High Places (minor) – You have friends and contacts in the high class social groups.
Friend in Low Places (minor) – you have friends and contacts in the underworld and seedy parts of the verse.
Good Name – You are known and have a good reputation. People respect you for something you did or have done or supposedly did.
Healthy as a Horse – You rarely get sick and shake off injuries faster than most.
Heavy Tolerance (minor) – You can drink most people under the table. Doc has to hit you twice with meds to put you under.
Highly Educated (minor) – You have school training and can refer it from time to time. You can rhyme of facts and figure galore about a whole lot of places and things,
Intimidatin’ Manners (minor) – You have that look that makes people scared of you. Complete strangers call you sir.
Leadership – You have the way about you to bring the best out of people. You inspire, you motivate and the right word of praise for you will make people want to work harder.
Lightning Reflexes (major) – You are a fast draw. Most guys haven’t touched their guns by the time you have drawn and shot them.
Math Whiz (minor) – You do math in your head faster than a gorram computer.
Mean Left Hook (minor) – You are deadly in a fist fight. Hands can do lethal damage.
Mechanical Empathy (minor) – Machines talk to you and your hear them. The slightest of sounds from an engine means volumes to you and you are gifted at fixing them.
Military Rank (minor) – You rode a tank or held a general’s rank on one side or the other. Be it winning or losing side, you have served in the military and have military training.
Moneyed Individual* – You are loaded. Your dad is rich, or you wrote the jingle for Fruity-oat bars that everyone sings. Either way, you can get you hands on cash if need be.
Natural Linguist (minor) – You have an ear form languages and pick up different ones easily.
Nature Lover (minor) – You are at home in a forest and in harmony with nature. Trees seem to talk to you and you have a gentle touch with animals.
Nose for Trouble – Every once in a while, you get that feeling as if her is trouble about and sure as shooting, you know that trouble is about somewhere.
Prosthetic Limb/organ – You lost something in the war or a fight or an accident and had it replaced with a bionic replacement that enhances its ability. An extra strong arm or an eye with infra-red, either way you are better than you were before.
Reader* - you can sense other people’s thoughts and feelings. Getting inside a person’s head is possible for you, even if you don’t want to.
Registered Companion* (minor) – You have completed the Companion training and are legally entitled to the benefits of the guild members.
Religiosity – You are a man or woman of god (Buddha or Christian). Faith guides your actions and movement through the verse.
Sharp Senses (minor) – Pick a sense and yours is better than most.
Steady Calm – Even in the most dangerous situations, you remain clam, as if nothing fazes you or could ruffle your feathers.
Sweet and Cheerful (minor) – You are a happy person and you like to show it. Nothing can bring you down and people just can’t help but like you.
Talented – One skill you are exceptionally good at and perform better than most.
Things go Smooth – Lady Luck likes you and good things tend to happen to you.
Total Recall (major) – You have an amazing ability to recall something you have seen or heard in the past, in great detail.
Tough as Nails – You are much tougher than you look. You can dish it out and you can take it as well.
Trustworthy Gut – You have learned to trust your gut reactions as they are rarely wrong.
Two Fisted (major) – You are ambidextrous.
Walkin’ Timepiece (minor) – You don’t need no watch, you just know the time. Freaky really and your friend use you to set their owen clocks.
Wears a Badge – You are a law man, a sheriff or a member of some law enforcement organization. You are sworn to serve and protect.

Complications
Allergy – something sets off your body to a rash or sneezing fits.
Amorous (minor) – Sex might not be the only thing one your mind, but it is in the top 3.
Amputee (minor) – You lost a limb and never got a fancy replacement
Bleeder (major) – You suffer a blood condition that makes you bleed and not clot well.
Blind (major) – Since birth or after some accident, you are completely blind. May need a guide animal of some sort.
Branded – You are a bad bad apple and you are rotten to the core. Everyone knows you and everyone knows what you are capable of.
Chip on Shoulder – Anger management? Screw that! You lash out at people for the slightest of things.
Credo – You have a personal set of principles that you can not go against no matter what. The sense of honour you have is all that keeps you going and damned if you are going to compromise that.
Combat Paralysis – Guns start to blaze, you stop moving. You need to take a few moments before you can face a fight.
Coward (minor) – You ain’t no hero and believe to leave the fighting for those who are into fighting.
Crude (minor) – Yo usay the wrong thing at the wrong time, and the right time and well any time really. Subtle is not your middle name.
Dead broke (minor) – No matter how big your take, you always seem to be broke. Money just burns through your pockets
Deadly Enemy (minor) – Someone doesn’t like you and you are on their list of who to eliminate. Even if you kill this guy, he has a brother, sister and uncles that would like you dead.
Deaf (major) – You can’t hear a thing. Your ability to speak may be effected
Dull Sense (minor) – One sense doesn’t work so well.
Easy mark (major) – You are gullible and believe every hard luck story in the verse.
Ego Signature (minor) – You have a thing for leaving calling cards wherever you go, a little sign that you were here for your fans and enemies. Makes you easier to track.
Filcher (minor) – You steal things out of habit. You tried quitting but you gained so much weight so you try to keep it to a minimum instead.
Forked Tongue (minor) – You like to lie. You get to spinning a tale and the tale takes on a life of its own.
Greedy (minor) –Money can make you do stupid things, like betray your crewmembers.
Hero Worship (minor) – Someone in your life can do no wrong and you won’t hear otherwise.
Hooked – You are addicted to a substance, and require doses of that substance or find your perform will become effected.
Leaky Brainpan – You are crazy. You talk to people who aren’t there, or think you are a flower and people should water you. Whatever the case, you are a nutcase.
Lightweight (minor) – You get drunk really easily. Doc has to show you a needle to make you pass out.
Little Person (minor) – You are a dwarf. 3 to 4 feet tall.
Loyal (minor) – Some group of people know you are loyal to them, and that you’ll do anything they ask of you out of loyalty.
Memorable (minor) – You have something distinctive about you that makes people remember you.
Mute (major) – You can’t speak. You have to use non-verbal communication
Non-Fightin’ Type (minor) – You just don’t believe in violence and will avoid conflict if you can.
Overconfident (minor) – “Hey, I can do that” is your motto in life. You are bold, brave, cocky and full of dare.
Paralyzed (major) – Spinal ord injury has put you in a wheelchair for life.
Phobia (minor) – Something scares you badly. If you come near it, it freezes you up completely.
Portly – You never met a pot roast you didn’t like. You are a heftyperson.
Prejudice* - You dislike a certain group of people and react negatively when brough tin contact with them.
Scrawny (minor) – You look like you have missed a few meals.
Slow Learner (minor) – You have a mental block on a certain set of skills that keeps you from learning it well.
Soft (minor) – You can’t take pain and crack under the smallest of pressure.
Stingy (minor) – You never feel rich enough. You lock away money, never spend it on things you need.
Straight Shooter – You are generally honest and like to remain that way.
Superstitious (minor) – You believe in the crazy mumbo –jumbo that affects your everyday life.
Things Don’t Go Smooth – Lady Luck hate you. Things never work out in the end for you without a series of complications.
Traumatic Flashes – You have flashbacks and horrible dreams of things done to you in the past. It can freeze you up at the worst times.
Twitchy (minor) – You aren’t paranoid – you know there are people out to get you. Trust no one is your motto.
Ugly as Sin – Whether by scar or by birth, you are one ugly critter.
Weak Stomach – Sign of blood makes you weak. A Dead body will drop you faster though. You can’t handle all but the dullest of foods.

With skills you start with 75 points. You begin with the General Skills listed below which you can only take to a max of d6. After that you may go higher in specializations within the skill sets. So for example you might have a d6 in Animal Handling, so you add 2 more to the specialty of horse training to d8. You can go as high as you want within a specialty.

Skills
General - Even if you have never done anything in these skills, you have a chance based on attribute alone in these skills. So a novice can shoot a gun, or come up with obscure knowledge.

With specialization, if there is a category you can think of, but don’t see – bring it up. This is hardly the exhaustive list. Some cross over several skill sets, so don’t specialize twice.

Animal Handling – You like animals, or you know how to talk to them.
• Specializations: Training, riding, zoology, veterinary, specific animal
Artistry – you have some artistic talents
• Specializations: Appraisal, cooking, forgery, game design, painting, photography, poetry, sculpting, writing.
Athletics – You are good at moving and using athletic skills
• Specializations: Climbing, contortion, dodge, juggling, jumping, running, swimming, any sport
Covert – The subtle arts of the sneaky sneak.
• Specialization: Camouflage, disable devices, forgery, infiltration, disguise, hide in shadows, streetwise, open locks
Craft – You can create things out of other things.
• Specialization: Architecture, blacksmithing, gun repair, leatherworking, cooking, pottery, origami, metalworking
Discipline – You have had some sort of training, usually military.
• Specialization: Concentration, interrogation, intimidation, leadership, mental resistance, morale
Guns – Anyone dip can squeeze a trigger – this is about aiming and knowing how to hold the gun
• Specialization: Assault rifles, energy throwers, grenade launchers, machine guns, pistols, rifles, shotguns
Heavy Weapons – The big guns that are used to take a ship out of the sky.
• Specialization: Artillery, catapults, demolitions, forward observer, mounted guns, rocket launchers, cannons
Influence – Sometimes words are better than guns and glances.
• Specialization: Administration, barter, bureaucracy, conversation, counseling, marketing, seduction, streetwise
Knowledge – Knowing stuff and more stuff.
• Specialization: Culture, selling goods, appraisal, philosophy, earth that was, sports, religion, local customs
Melee Combat Weapons – Weapons held in the hand that don’t shot nuthin’
• Specialization: Clubs, numchaku, swords, knives, dagger
Perception – Picking up on the subtle clues in your surrounding
• Specialization: Deduction, empathy, gambling, hearing, intuition, reading lips, search, sight, smell, taste, tracking
Performance- You got a song in the heart or a desire to act out.
• Specialization: Acting, dancing, costuming, keyboard, guitar, wind instruments, singing
Planetary Vehicles – You have the ability to drive, steer and operate land based vehicles
• Specialization: cars, canoes, sailboats, hovercraft, ground vehicle repair, military combat vehicles, submarines, yachts
Ranged Weapons – Any weapon thrown or shot that isn’t a gun
• Specializations: Blowguns, Bows, crossbows, darts, grenades, javelins, knives, slings
Survival –Buck naked on a rock – things ain’t so bad.
• Specialization – water, land, desert, nature, space survival, specific environment, making fire, hunting
Unarmed Combat – You fight with fist and feet
• Specialization: Boxing, brawling, judo, karate, kung fu, wrestling, street fighting

Skilled Only – you must have points here to try these at home.

Linguist – You know languages well
• Specialization – Arabic, Armenian, French, German, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, etc
Mechanical Engineering – You know machines and how to fix them
• Specialization: Invention, machinery maintenance, mechanical repairs, plumbing, security systems, identify problems, rewire and reroute electrical.
Medical Expertise – You have studied medicine either in school or on a battlefield
• Specialization: Dentistry, forensics, general practice, genetics, neurology, pharmaceuticals, surgery, toxicology, prosthetics
Pilot –If it flies, you can drive
• Specialization: Navigation, astrogation, astrophysics, gunships, transports, helicopters, patrol vessels, ultra light, covert stealth ship
Scientific Expertise – Plenty of schooling or self taught, you the nerd, man!
• Specializations: Earth Science, Terra-forming, Historical sciences, life sciences, mathematical theory
Technical Engineering – If it has a computer, you can work with it.
• Specialization: Communications, computer programming, hacking, security devices, technical repair, create/alter technical devices

I have read the game thread. Tess sounds like quite a fun character. Especially if she's given free reign with the navigation

What year is the ROC adventure? I am working on my character and need to know for his age purposes.

Also, I copied a character sheet of a tech guy in your character and an adapting that; can I assume starting equipment within reason? I was thinking of using the equipment listed on that Tech guy's sheet with a few modifications, with your permission of course.