What ship are we going to be in?

I say we don't need no ba wong screwin' things up. We got ourselves a se duhng an' that's all we need t' bie woo lohng.

Now I am all a shiver!

Hasn't been decided yet, but I was thinking a Firefly class because that is what everyone will be familiar with. There are others though (Shark and Dragonfly come to mind)

Depends on whether the Captain (or crew owners) want to own a ship outright(in which case expect cheap) or owe a lot of money to a sleezy Loan Shark named Al (you get mods, but you have to make enough to make monthly payments).

But I still need a full crew to decide.

How many more crew do you need?

I love the idea of starting out with some heat. "Earn the dough and pay up, or there'll be hell t' pay."

I'll take either the pilot role (if'n it ain't already been hugged none.) or the doc's role. Already got me a couple o' idears that I'm thinkin' are pretty how. Whatever the ship is tha' we call home, I'm game... and as far as timeframes are concerned...

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

Like you said, Puhn Yoh.

I imagine you'll be gettin' t' the ruttin' details an' all concernin' the heroic level of the crew an' what not, but I'm chompin' at the bit, so t' say, an' am lookin' fer some meat t' chew. If you want, I'll make a character sheet in Excel.

I am hoping for a crew of 6, but will settle on four, with two stay on ship NPCs.

I don't know Bro, your character sheets can be intimidatingly detailed. I am trying to keep it simple.

I will post character creation details soon. We will be playing on the veteran level - meaning the ship and crew have been together for a while and have developed a reputation for getting the job done.

The game will start with the ship docking on Beaumonde, and Captain in desparate need for work because the crew needs pay, the ship needs fuel and, oh there's the powerful need to eat. Your last mission when wonderfully smooth until you reached your employer and found he and all his men had been killed by a rival gang. So you made half of what you expected and were stuck with a hold full of self sealing stem bolts for high powered compression mining equipment. Hopefully you can dump these on Beaumonde.

When developing your characters, you should think along the lines of Serenity's crew and any other movie/TV team that works together but often deals adversity. Battlestar Galactic has some great characters (Starbuck as mechanic) and did the A-Team (Murdock as pilot), CSI (Horatio as gunslinger), and many others.

There are some core positions that need to be filled though. You have to have:

A Pilot - someone to fly the ship, keep the reavers off your tail and manage to land eventhough the main coupling just blew.

A Mechanic - Someone to fix the ship when mean people do all sort of nasty stuff to it.

A Medic - Someone to fix up the crew when them mean and nasty people put holes in them.

A Gunslinger - A person who fights, can handle a gun, are a pool cue or whatever comes to hand.

A Talker - Someone to make contacts with people. The smooth talker who can use words and subtle gestures to get in and out of trouble.

A Commander - The person who will have the final say so the crew doesn't spend their entire day yammering at each other.

Now, these roles are not exclusive. You could play a Commander Talker Gunslinger, however the more hats you put on the less effective you will be at any one thing.

So far I believe I have Yanamari, Bromern, Lyskhala and Blamm as interested. Please speak up here or via PM or email if you'd like to join.

"Gun and I went to the movies. Gun got a coke and I got a rootbeer... because Gun wouldn't share."

>>dramatic pause<<

"Guns... I like guns."

So, anyway... I think I could dig the gunslinger guy!

Medic is not really my deal... nor the pilot.

I see a Gunslinger/ Assistant Mechanic character.

Or a Command guy.

I know I said I didn't think I'd have the time, I know I said I couldn't handle more than one game with my travelling, but hellfires, Cap'n, the crew needs me and you know it.

Call me a talker and a medic, if you will...a smooth talking bit o' sweetness as dropped outta Companion training to learn more about the insides of folks. So maybe I'm not good at finishing what I start, Cap'n, but I'd take it as a kindness if you took me on.

Cue the guitar solo....

But Al done sent me a PM an' telled me that it'd be probable and likely that I'd be playin' the Lao Buhn. I admit, I felt a powerful need t' mi'tian gohn in my breeches. I'd originally signed on t' fly this boat, solely an' cleanly. Then I gots t' thinkin' an' a slow smile did play upon these here lips. I can have my cake an' eats it too... or somethin' like that was said on Earth-that-was times. So, it looks like I gots my medic an' ambassador as well as my hired gun an' that's all how. Barrin' old Al bindin' me by law, I think I'll take on the responsibilities of captaining an' pilotin', though I have serious doubts that I won't be fairly decent with an iron too.

'Course, I'll need t' know the condition an' ownerships of my boat... Rocinante, a Firefly class.

Oh, an' as far as that character sheet done did go; I'd promise t' keep 'er simple. I'm new t' the rulebook an' 'ave no plan t' get fahn dahn jus' yet, puhn yoh. 'Sides, this here system looks t' be pretty straight shootin' if'n ya ask me.

Ni how, my name's Wyatt Sung, an' I captain this boat.

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 shot 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.

* - means requires GM approval and a heck of a backstory


Next Post – Skills and Plot Points

Here are some links to resources out there in the black for gamers.

Serenity RPG Resources is an excellent page with oodles of resources for the player and GMs. Highly recommended.

The Waves in the Black Forum is the place for talking to other on line gamers.

The Firefly Wiki with many links and resources.

Not much left for a greenhorn.
The two I was thinking about were medic and gunslinger...
mutilate our foes and fix our friends


But since those are spoken for I'm thinking something that would be fairly easy to play for a newbie playing amongst the elite. Any suggestions fom the ones listed?

Maybe a mechanic since that is my background.

Good to have someone looking at the mechanic position. Actually Lyskhala and I were joking about all double meanings and humour in a possible ex-companion/mechanic combo.

But seriously folks. It is shaping up well.

Captain - Bromern

Mechanic - Lyskhala

Medic/Talker - Vanadia

Gunfighter/Mechanic - Blamm

Pilot/Gumfighter - Eol Fefalas

Still would like to hear from Yanamari on possible Smoothtalker or another character.

With skills you start with 68 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

Well, Wyatt's sitting in your inbox waitin' approval. There's also an easy character sheet included for the other characters if you so desire to use it. If not, I won't be offended. I look forward to feedback.