Cancelled Sci-fi Shows: Bad for the Fans, Good for Gamers

One advantage of Firefly and Crusade being cancelled is that both of these shows then become ideal set-ups for campaigns. The GM and players are automatically on the same page as regards the concept of the campaign, the setting, and the characters, and you can just pick it up where the show ends.

Of course, you have to be willing to adopt the characters from the shows, but let's face it: if you're playing a Firefly campaign, it's probably because you want to continue the adventures of the show. Easier to do that with the characters from the show, rather than creating another band of misfits who just happen to fly around in a Firefly-class starship.

It also helps if the rulebook for the game provides stats for the characters in a balanced manner. I don't have the Serenity rulebook yet (it's on order; see my previous post), but the Crusade supplement for B5 gives the character levels as follows:

• Galen: 6th level Technomage/5th level Destroyer
• Captain Gideon: 9th level Officer
• Max Eilerson: 6th level Scientist/3rd level Xenoarchaeologist
• Dr Chambers: 7th level Scientist
• Dureena: 5th level Lurker/3rd level Master of Subtlety
• Lt Matheson: 2nd level Officer/4th level Telepath (P6)
• Trace: 1st level Lurker/5th level Worker

The thing is, while it makes sense for the Captain to be the highest level, this does not have to be so, and it doesn't make for the best campaign (d20 definately works best with a balanced party). Simply adjusting the levels slightly gives a much better balance to the whole. Note: Galen doesn't need changed. He probably works best as an NPC anyway.

Actually, Crusade is a particularly good example. The sourcebook contains synopses for two unfilmed episodes, both which seemed particularly strong. These, of course, provide two excellent adventures to ease you into the campaign.

(I should also probably note that, while Enterprise and Farscape were both cancelled, neither is really ideal for a continuation in this manner. After a little while, a show builds up a bit too much mythology to make 'stepping in' comfortable. Besides, at least in the case of Enterprise, it would probably be more fulfilling to take on the roles of a crew of a different ship anyway.)