Comments on: On starting up a role-playing campaign in the Firefly ‘verse

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:45:10 +0000

“perhaps he has an engineered, experimental corporate implant that allows him to see quantum fluctuations in nearby universes — which is like being able to see the future, except it doesn’t happen in our universe but 10% of the time.”
Is THAT what that cute little bald kid had? Man I wish I’d figured that out!

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:56:57 +0000

Serenity was the first rpg back in for me after a decade or two of being away from them. Extremely easy to roll with, and even easier if you are a die hard Browncoat like I am.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:32:40 +0000

Oh, and Ben — we do use a little Chinese, but not much. There’s a sheet on http://www.fireflyrpg.com that has a few dozen phrases. I generally reward players with a “plot point” (it’s a Cortex thing, like edge in other systems) whenever they toss in a successful mandarin phrase.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:31:12 +0000

I’ve heard the Savage Worlds system works well. I went ahead and supported the ‘official’ Serenity system, just because.

The Cortex system, as it’s called, has some pros and cons. It’s very light on the rules, and encourages/rewards good role playing. There are times when it’s a little TOO light on the rules, though — we’ve had to patch it with several house rules to keep it flying.

That said, Margaret Weis’ production company still keeps kicking out new supplements for it, and the fan community is really helpful.

By: Wax Banks

Wax Banks — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:46:25 +0000

@Carole: People speak kindly of the Firefly RPG, as I recall. And the book is evocative eye-candy regardless. Jump in! If you want a very light, playable pulp roleplaying system, consider something like Savage Worlds, which should adapt straightforwardly to Firefly/Serenity play and won’t overwhelm new players with rules and exceptions.

By: Carole

Carole — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:28:19 +0000

Absolute babe in the woods when it comes to rpgs but Firefly/Serenity rpg sounds downright irresistible. Any advice for a still-bubble-wrapped newb, I’ll go look at your link, I may be back with a duh/whuh on my face. Any recommendations for a game to learn on?

By: Ben Hamill

Ben Hamill — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:21:11 +0000

Wow. A guy asks one question… That’s some great advice, Josh. Thanks. Another thought I had… Besides just the way they spoke English, which you addressed, did/do y’all make any attempt at Chinese or just leave it off? Seems like it could be a lot of book keeping.