In preparation for this year's Christmas Game, I'm going through the process of converting the crew of Betty from the Serenity system to Firefly. In effect, this actually means rebuilding the characters from the ground up, but that's okay. Nonetheless, it may be worth comparing to the previous version.
As I discussed in my previous post, it is my intent to build these characters by first working out the three most important things about the characters, and using that to select Distinctions. Further, as a rough rule of thumb, I intend to select two of these from the depiction of the characters in "Alien: Resurrection", and add a third to better suit the character's use in home games.
In the case of Elgyn, then, the two Distinctions from the film are simple: we know he's the Ship's Captain, we know he has at least one Friend in High Places, both of which are existing Distinctions. For the third, I have selected Not to be Crossed, to represent his vendetta against Silas Cho-Zhu. So that's done. Even better, it's relatively easy to select appropriate triggers for those Distinctions, the skills match up reasonably well, and so the character basically falls into place:
Frank Elgyn: Mercenary Captain
Attributes
Mental d8
Physical d8
Social d8
Skills
Craft d4
Drive d4
Fight d6
Fix d4
Fly d8
Focus d8
Influence (Leadership) d10
Know (Bureaucracy) d8
Labour d4
Move (Running) d6
Notice d6
Operate d4
Perform d4
Shoot (Pistols) d6
Sneak d4
Survive d6
Throw d4
Treat d4
Trick d6
Distinctions
Ship's Captain
A natural leader, you're responsible for the Crew and the ship you all fly in.
Lead the Crew: When one of your crew directly follows one of your orders, spend 1PP and give that Crewmember an asset equal to your Influence die rating.
Not to be Crossed
Just so we're clear: if you cross me, I will end you.
To the Edge of the Black: When you pursue someone who crossed you into obvious danger, create a d8 Asset for the scene.
Friends in High Places
The Alliance thinks highly of you. That's the only opinion that matters.
Signature Assets
Betty: d8
Elgyn has a close connection to his ship, an Auriga class mid-bulk transport, and won't allow just anybody to fly or fix her.
Roleplaying Notes
Elgyn was born and raised on Shadow, and would have made for a natural Browncoat were it not for a deep survivalist streak in his nature. He saw the forces arrayed, and calculated that the Purple Bellies had the manpower, the ships, and the technology. Knowing that a neutral could never benefit from the war, he signed up quickly, and made sure to seek a nice, safe, administrative role.
Make no mistake: Elgyn's no coward. He's tough, and more than willing to get his hands dirty. But he's also smart, and he knows good and proper that the only sure way to live through a fight is to be elsewhere.
Having found himself an undistinguished role as lieutenant in the Alliance Quartermaster's Corps, Elgyn quickly learned the value of contraband. In every war, there are always those who will profit, and there are always luxuries that cannot be easily had. So, with the tacit (and well-paid) approval of Captain Perez, he got his start. And after the war, he made the smallest of career changes, and carried right on making money.
Elgyn has been doing this for a good number of years now. He has a ship, and he's found a crew. The jobs come - they come with some difficulty, especially since the Alliance got that bloody nose a few years back - but they come.
He prides himself on his good name. He doesn't claim to have much honour, but he knows that he's good at what he does, and he knows that other people know it also. He would hate to see that tarnished. And on those rare occasions when his conscience does trouble him, he reminds himself of his two golden rules. Either that, or he drinks his troubles away.
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