Building an Adventure: Strawberries

With the end of the competition season fast approaching, I'm hoping to get back to some gaming over the next few months. I'll need to be a bit careful with this - there's some other big stuff going on which means I can't get too obsessed - but I should be able to fit some sessions in.

The next session of "Firefly: the Lost Episodes" is also my first homebrew episode in the series. We've now played through the pre-gen adventure in the Core Rulebook and also the four in the "Thrillin' Heroics" compilation, and while I have another five pre-gen adventures queued up, plus half a dozen that can be converted from the old Serenity RPG, I'm keen to try out an adventure of my very own.

It's called "Strawberries".

Now, it's worth noting that I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here, as I can hardly spill all of the secrets of the adventure before I run it, now can I? However, I can talk a little about the process.

The Firefly pre-gen adventures all follow a specific format, which is actually quite handy for use. Specifically, they detail the premise of the adventure, then the cast of NPCs, then any key locations, and then the prologue, four acts, and epilogue of the adventure itself. Finally, there are a few notes about potential future adventures.

So...

Premise: "Strawberries" is mostly a character-driven piece. It's largely about how some of the Crew will react in a particular tense situation. Specifically, the PCs will be Wash, Kaylee, Book, River, and Simon (with Inara as a potential sixth). That is, the group specifically doesn't include any of the three 'leader' characters and the main fighters of the Crew.

Beyond that, it's pretty simple: bounty hunters have picked up their trail: what will they do?

(The tension in the group, then, should come from three sources: firstly, there's no clear leader to make the decisions. Secondly, there's a threat both, and immediately, to the PCs, but also to those "left behind" - Wash can't simply run for it, because that puts Zoe at risk. And, thirdly, it's not like they're going to get lots of time to come up with a detailed plan of action. There's a need to act, now!)

Cast of Characters: I'm actually not sure on this one. I know one of the key groups (spoilers!), but need to come up with a few others. And, in particular, I'll need to consider a few different possible responses to the threat.

Comings and Goings: The start of the adventure takes place in the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone. Beyond that, I think it's likely the action will mostly take place onboard Serenity herself. So that should be easy enough.

The Four Acts: This still needs detailed. As I said, I need to come up with at least a few possible solutions. And, in particular, my usual four-fold options: fight, evade, deceive, or negotiate. (Hmm... probably best to have at least two bounty hunter groups. That way the Crew can at least try to turn them against one another...)

Future Adventures: Truth is, I've found this section to be mostly useless in the published adventures, since the suggestions have been pretty basic and because better ideas have generally arisen during play. That being the case, I'm inclined just to skip this.

Anyway, that's a start. More later, perhaps...