Serenity Characters #3 of 7: The First Officer

This is the third of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran at the weekend. Given that I intend to make use of the same characters for future one-shots, it seems wise to give some more thought to how the characters should be constructed, and perhaps make some adjustments. Additionally, of course, if the characters are useful to others, that is a plus.

Christie is one of two characters who are almost entirely void in the source film (the other being Hillard). The other four characters all seem to be pretty well fleshed-out, but Christie gets one moment with some concealed weapons, and thereafter exists more or less to carry Vriess around.

This of course has advantages and disadvantages. The key advantage is that it allows me to take the character in pretty much any direction I wish, safe in the knowledge that I'm not contradicting anything important. The disadavantage, though, is that I need to do the work for myself.

Perhaps interestingly, in the one-shot session, the characters of Christie and Johner fell to the same player. This left him playing two somewhat similar roles. That being the case, it is my inclination to rework Christie's skills a little, to differentiate him a bit more from the other 'mercenary' character.

Christie: First Officer

Attributes

Agility d10
Strength d8
Vitality d8
Alertness d6
Intelligence d4
Willpower d6

Life Points 14
Initiative d10+d6

Skills

Athletics d6
- Climbing d8
- Jumping d8
- Running d8
Covert d6
- Streetwise d10
Guns d6
- Pistols d12
Knowledge d4
Linguistics d4
Medical Expertise d2
Pilot d4
Planetary Vehicles d6
- Cars d8
Survival d4
Unarmed Combat d6
- Kung Fu d8

Weapons and Equipment

Pistols: Christie seldom wears any overt weaponry. Instead, he wears two pistols, one attached to each forearm. The holsters are of his own unique design, and are constructed so that with a shrug he can have a gun available in each hand.

Ballistic Mesh: Christie has lived a hard life on the streets, and knows the wisdom of good protection. This absorbs 1 Wound point from any attack that hits the torso, arms or legs. Additionally, if hit with normal bullets, it converts all Wound (and Shock) damage into Stun damage instead.

In addition, Christie typically carries a comlink tuned to Betty's standard frequency, a forged ID card, and a handful of small change.

Traits

Fightin' Type (major asset): Christie has been in a fight all his life, and so is totally unfazed by the outbreak of hostilities.

Friends in Low Places (minor asset): It seems everywhere he goes, Christie knows someone. Not necessarily someone you'd want to know, mind, but typically there's some favour of other he can call in.

Two-fisted (minor asset): Christie is ambidextrous, not naturally but through long practice.

Second Class Citizen (major complication): Christie made the unforgivable error of being born poor on a rich world. As such, he is shunned by those in polite society for his lack of wealth, but likewise shunned by those in inpolite society for his too-polished manners.

Roleplaying Notes

Christie has lived a hard life, partly through outrageous fortune, and partly through his own mistakes. His first error was being born the son of a writer who aspired to be dirt-poor. On Osiris, that was a minor transgression, although one that was probably forgivable. But his unforgivable sin was that his mother was the daughter of one of the planet's richest advocates. When she elected to marry Christie's father, the old bastard disowned her, cut her off from all connections, and then systematically blackballed Christie's father.

Nonetheless, Christie's parents knew the value of a good education and of refined manners, and they ensured their son acquired both. Unfortunately, amongst the poor that only made their son a target. Christie was bullied for years, right up to the point where he fought back - sadly, a little too well. That was the last time he was ever bullied, but it was also the last time he went to school, or saw his parents. He ran - better that than a murder rap.

During the war, Christie fought for the Alliance, purely because the military gave him a place in the 'Verse. Sadly, once the war was done, his family connections bit him again, and he was out. That was when he signed on with Elgyn, and found a new place for himself.

Christie is broadly loyal to his captain and his crewmates, but he is very definitely his own man. In particular, he won't accept being bullied. He also now takes a somewhat perverse pride in remaining poor - he appreciates what money can do, but prefers to use it for short-term pleasure, rather than accumulating it and risking becoming his grandfather.

Serenity Characters #2 of 7: The Mercenary

This is the second of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran at the weekend. Given that I intend to make use of the same characters for future one-shots, it seems wise to give some more thought to how the characters should be constructed, and perhaps make some adjustments. Additionally, of course, if the characters are useful to others, that is a plus.

Johner was actually the sixth and final character I drew up for the one-shot, and by that time I was frankly a little sick of the whole process. Creating characters for the Serenity RPG is actually reasonable fun, but creating six in sequence is rather less enjoyable. Especially since characters all start with a fairly large number of build points, giving a danger that they all end up looking much the same.

Fortunately, Johner was a nice easy one. The character is basically Jayne. Indeed, it appears that Joss Whedon was happy with the way that he played out, because the character really is basically Jayne. Therefore, when creating this character, I started with a copy of Jayne's stats, and then made some minor adjustments.

In play, this character worked pretty much as he should. I briefly considered adjusting a couple of the skill points, to add a specialisation in shutguns, but at length decided against - although Johner has a one-shot "thermos gun" that operates as a shotgun, this is basically a weapon of desperation, so it's not inappropriate that he should have to fall back on the general Guns skill to use it. The one change I think I will make, though, will be to drop the Rifles speciality by one step, in order to buy rudimentary skill in Influence - the better for his intimidatin' manner.

Johner: The Muscle

Attributes

Agility d6
Strength d10
Vitality d10
Alertness d6
Intelligence d4
Willpower d6

Life Points 18
Initiative d6+d6

Skills

Athletics d6
- Dodge d8
Covert d6
Discipline d4
Guns d6
- Assault Rifles d10
- Pistols d8
- Rifles d8
Heavy Weapons d4
Influence d2
Melee Weapons d4
Perception d4
Pilot d4
Ranged Weapons d6
Survival d4
Unarmed Combat d6
- Brawling d8

Weapons and Equipment

Pistol: Big guns are all well and good, but they can't be taken everywhere, and concealed weapons have their limitations. For that reason, Johner carries a pistol at his hip as often as he can.

Assault Rifle: But this is more like it! Most of the time, Johner leaves his favourite gun on Betty, but he always relishes opportunities to use it.

Thermos Gun: This is a little device Johner worked up in his spare time. It looks like a simple flask, even to the point of holding a hot drink. But with a twist and a pull, it opens out into a shotgun, good for a single shot in a tight spot.

In addition, Johner carries a number of knives about his person, and a comlink if and when he remembers.

Traits

Fightin' Type (major asset): Johner is always spoilin' for a fight.

Intimidatin' Manner (minor asset): Through sheer physical bulk, and a tendency to snarl, Johner is adept at browbeating others to his way of thinkin'.

Mean Left Hook (minor asset): He's a big guy. When he hits you, you know about it.

Tough as Nails (minor asset): Johner can take a lot of punishment. Something as trivial as a gunshot wound isn't going to slow him down.

Crude (minor complication): Johner mostly speaks with his fists. And when he does speak with his mouth, the effect is much the same.

Greedy (minor complication): Johner has been poor, and he's been rich. He much prefers the latter.

Roleplaying Notes

Johner was born on Higgin's Moon, and dragged up by a succession of 'uncles'. He spent two seasons farming mud, and as soon as opportunity permitted he jumped that rock. He hasn't looked back since.

Johner fought on both sides during the war in various mercenary units. Provided the money was good, he was happy to do whatever was required - and there was no shortage of work. In fact, peace is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to him.

Johner signed on with Betty early on, bringing to the table a significant talent for destruction, coupled with an almost complete lack of morals. Just about the only thing that causes him moral outrage is when he doesn't get paid enough for the job.

Johner is actually quite good with money. He has a secret bank account, into which he funnels most of his pay, and then he (naturally) pleads a poverty of ready money to the rest of the crew. The contents of his account are pleasingly high, but never quite pleasing enough - he's permanently one big score away from retirement. Though what he would do if he did retire, he couldn't say.

Serenity Characters #1 of 7: The Captain

This is the first of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran at the weekend. Given that I intend to make use of the same characters for future one-shots, it seems wise to give some more thought to how the characters should be constructed, and perhaps make some adjustments. Additionally, of course, if the characters are useful to others, that is a plus.

The first character is the captain of Betty, Frank Elgyn. I was reasonably happy with the way this character functioned in the game, and in how he was constructed. As such, the only change I think I would make is to reduce his Leadership specialities in favour of some Melee Weapons training.

One of the things I was keen to emphasise with this character is that he isn't Mal Reynolds. That is, while they necessarily have some things in common (both being captains of mid-bulk transports, both lead rag-tag crews of miscreants, and both are somewhat lovable rogues), Elgyn is much more direct in his dealings, and has rather fewer scruples. Ifelt that came out quite well, both in the build, and also in the game itself.

Frank Elgyn: Mercenary Captain

Attributes

Agility d8
Strength d4
Vitality d8
Alertness d6
Intelligence d6
Willpower d6

Life Points 14
Initiative d8+d6

Skills

Athletics d6
- Running d8
Covert d6
Discipline d6
- Leadership d8
- Morale d8
Guns d6
- Pistols d10
Influence d6
- Bureaucracy d8
- Streetwise d8
Knowledge d4
Melee Weapons d4
Perception d6
- Search d8
Pilot d4
Planetary Vehicles d4

Weapons and Equipment

Pistol: Elgyn is a veteran of the Unification War, and learned long ago that it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need one and not have it.

Ballistic Mesh: Likewise, Elgyn is no fool. At the first hint of trouble, he'll be sure to don his trusty mesh armour. This absorbs 1 Wound point from any attack that hits the torso, arms or legs. Additionally, if hit with normal bullets, it converts all Wound (and Shock) damage into Stun damage instead.

In addition, Elgyn usually carries a combat knife just in case, a billfold containing several small notes, a comlink set to Betty's standard frequency, and an identity card that may or may not be forged.

Traits

Fightin' Type (major asset): As a veteran of the Unification War, Elgyn saw a reasonable amount of action. He can handle himself in a fight.

Friends in High Places (minor asset): Elgyn retains few friends from the service, but the one man he can reliably turn to is General Perez, an old customer who retains his rank, but little of his authority.

Good Name (minor asset): Elgyn has worked for some years to build a certain reputation - he's known as a competent smuggler, mercenary, and agent, who will get the job done and, more importantly, will keep his mouth shut.

Leadership (minor asset): Elgyn is good at setting priorities, and ensuring his people know what they each need to do.

Military Rank (minor asset): Elgyn was once a lieutenant in the Alliance military (Quartermaster's Division). As such, he is used to giving orders and having them obeyed.

Credo (minor complication): He only has two rules - he won't be taken as a fool, and he won't directly harm a child.

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.

Firefly: Furiously Fast in retrospect

On Saturday I ran the first of my weekend games of the year. This was originally intended to be the Christmas Game, but was cancelled at the time because poor scheduling led to a poor show of interest. (I was very disappointed to cancel that game, and even moreso as January marched on with an absence of gaming. I'll have to try to schedule the game better this year.)

The game was therefore rescheduled to take advantage of the FDWC's venue, which they have generously allowed us to use. Present were myself plus three players. One person who had signed up to attend failed to appear without any notification, while the one "maybe" didn't make it. On the one hand, this was a shame, as I think it might have worked a little better with a full crew; on the other, we had a good group dynamic, so no great loss.

The concept of the game was one I came up with while reading the Star Wars Saga "Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide", of all things. Basically, that book had a throwaway comment about swoop gangs being an issue on some planet or other, a comment that stuck in my mind just as I was looking for something for the Christmas Game. The short version of the setup is that it was basically a "Fast & Furious" movie set in the Firefly 'Verse - the characters were engaging in a heist, involving lots of vehicles and shady characters, and all that.

What Went Well

• Good group dynamic. This is always very important - it has long been my contention that 90% of the enjoyment of RPGs depends on getting the right mix of GM and players, and we managed to hit that. This is perhaps especially important with "Serenity" as it's very much a player-driven game and so requires players who will enter into the concept and will, well, drive.
• The crew. As noted in an earlier post (and also a post on the other blog), I was making use of the crew of Betty, from "Alien Resurrection". This meant that the crew were almost entirely suited to the setting (being a rough draft of the crew of Serenity, if you will), while at the same time not being the characters from the show.
• Prep work. Prior to the game, I had worked out much of the detail for the first act of the story. However, I hadn't done much with the second and third acts, largely because I couldn't predict how the PCs would handle things. This proved to be almost exactly the right level of prep.
• The venue. I was a bit surprised that we were the only people present. But the hall we were using was pretty much ideal for our uses, and represents a good alternative to the flat. So that's something to consider for future one-shots.

What Didn't Work so Well

• I could probably have done with a few more named NPCs, filling out the cast of characters a bit more. I could certainly have done with a bit more flexible prep work - more fleshed out locations, lists of suitable adjectives, and the like.
• There was at least one major absurdity in the way some NPCs reacted. In particular, the effects of hover tech on setting up road blocks needs some more consideration.
• There are a couple of glitches with the characters. Several times, key skills were confined to a single character who needed to be somewhere else at the same time, leading to issues. Oh, and at least once there was a difficulty set such that the party actually couldn't succeed. Oops!
• The character of Vriess isn't as much fun as he might be. Partly, this was just that the character was totally unsuited to the adventure; partly, it's just that his complication is a pretty massive issue. In future, I'm inclined to restrict him to NPC-only use unless we have a full complement of players.
• I'm inclined to think that Call needs adjusted as well - basically, I don't think the 'Auton' thing is particularly useful, and doesn't really fit the 'Verse. So I think I'll replace that Dark Secret with another next time I use the character.
• I'm still not happy with my handling of vehicles and vehicle chases. This is a significant weakness, especially in a sci-fi setting.

Overall

All present had fun, which is the main metric for a good game. And although the list of cons seems much longer than the list of pros, most of them are just a matter of tweaking. So that's pretty good.

One other good outcome from this game was that I came away with the inspiration for the next "Serenity" one-shot, which should hopefully become this year's Christmas Game. It's always nice when that happens.