Serenity Characters #7 of 7: The Ship

This is the seventh and last entry detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran last 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.

One of the more interesting aspects of the Serenity RPG is that it treats the ship itself as a character, specifically as an NPC. This is an interesting approach, but it seems entirely appropriate - in the TV series, Serenity herself certainly has her quirks and characteristics. In addition, to a very large extent Mal Reynolds is what Han Solo would have been had he never met Luke - in which case, Serenity is a counterpart to the Millennium Falcon, another ship noted for her character. (Indeed, the lack of that character is something of a weakness of the various Star Wars RPGs over the years.)

In the one-shot, Betty was simply treated as a Firefly-class vessel. The reason for this was that I named the one-shot before I fixed on using the crew from "Alien Resurrection". Having named it "Firefly: Furiously Fast" for alliterative purposes, it then didn't make sense for the ship not to be of that class. And since the ship wasn't really used in the course of the session anyway, it wasn't worth bothering with.

Thus, unlike the other characters in the series, Betty is presented here not as a modified version of the character that was used, but rather as a new-built creation. That said, she is pretty much a slightly-modified Firefly anyway - given that she fills basically the same role as Serenity, and given that the stats of the Firefly are pretty much what is needed, there seemed little point in making major changes. I've named Betty an Auriga-class Mid-Bulk Transport. As far as I can tell (certainly, without rewatching "Alien Resurrection" again), the actual class of the vessel isn't stated anywhere, and so needed to be assigned. "Auriga" was the name of the facility where the aliens were cloned, which is as good a name as any.

It's perhaps worth noting that Betty, like Serenity, isn't really anything special. Indeed, both ships appear to be much more like the Millennium Falcon as originally conceived - they're much more of the "piece of junk" persuasion than the "ship of legend" that the Falcon has become. If, as the Serenity RPG says, there are some designs that just become iconic for their era by virtue of them just working, then the Auriga would join the Firefly, the YT-1300, and the Ford Transit in that exalted bracket.

Betty: Modified Auriga Class Mid-Bulk Transport

Dimensions (LxBxH): 191 x 128 x 53 feet

Tonnage: 2,400 tons

Speed Class: 4 cruise / 6 hard-burn

Crew Quarters: Two double, four single cabins

Fuel Capacity: 60 tons (600 hours)

Cargo Capacity/Maximum Deck Load: 600 tons in hold #1

Price: Not available for sale. Estimated approx. 2,880 credits.

Attributes

Agility d8
Strength d6
Vitality d6
Alertness d2
Intelligence d2
Willpower d4

Life Points 10
Initiative d8+d2

Skills

Aeriel Transport Operations / Auriga d2
Covert d4
Perception d2
Space Transport Operations / Auriga d2

Weapons and Equipment

Escape pods (8): Once upon a time, Betty was fitted with a shuttle, suitable for ferrying the crew wherever they needed to go. Somewhere along the line, this was lost, and Elgyn has never found a compatible replacement. In the interim, he has fitted eight single-person escape pods, good for makin' planetfall and very little else. Each contains enough food and water to provide nutrition for one day.

Hover Mule: This is a single, fairly standard hover mule, big enough to seat four in what passes for comfort. It's pretty damn ugly, having been put together by Vriess from the parts of several donor craft, but he swears it's that little bit faster for it. It's also equipped with accessibility options programmed into the controls, allowing hands-only operation.

Traits

Healthy as a Horse (minor asset): Despite her age, Betty is fundamentally sound, and can shake off damage and stresses that would total a lesser vessel.

Loved (major asset): Every owner of this ship has come to love her, and has regretted her loss. That love was reflected in the best of maintenance, and she has rewarded that with unusual longevity.

Everybody Has One (minor complication): Although a rare sight nowadays, the Auriga class was once common as muck. As such, pretty much anybody can find the details of the ship in a few moments checkin' on the Cortex.

Seen Better Days (major complication): Betty is an old, old ship. Some might say a classic. But being more than 40 years old, and in near-continuous service in all that time, she's most definitely a bit creaky at the knees.

Complexity: Low

Maintenance Costs: 480 credits per month

Roleplaying Notes

"This piece of gosa is even older than I am!"

If the Firefly class is the iconic ship design of the current era of mercantalism, then the Auriga-class would be the standard-bearer for an earlier age. You don't see many of them around these days, but half a century ago they were near-ubiquitous in the spacelanes. Through a combination of design and excellent build quality, the Bernard-Lingotti Corporation managed to capture lightning in a bottle. Between five slightly different official models, and any number of knock-off designs, more than 200,000 Auriga-class vessels were commissioned before the line was finally superseded.

Betty started her operational service as a fairly standard 05-model Auriga class, outfitted for cargo lifting. However, even from the outset she was maintained with exceptional care, thus explaining why she remains in active service even so long after her first registration.

Over the decades, Betty has been reconfigured and repurposed several times. Somewhere along the line, her entire engine assembly was removed and replaced with the integrated systems and power plant from a Firefly-class vessel, a modification that vastly extended her operational lifespan, but one that is itself showing its age. At least one owner was of a sufficiently larcenous bent as to have all manner of hidey-holes fitted for the concealment of small, high-value (and probably illegal) cargoes. And Vriess has gone to some lengths to further advance the ship's systems, installing some highly illegal transponder-foiling software, as well as accessibility controls allowing a pilot to fly the ship without the use of his legs.

Betty's service in the Unification War was, regrettably, rather unedifying. Her previous owner was a Browncoat sympathiser, and took to running weapons and materiel. He was promptly captured by the Alliance, tried as a war criminal, and shot. Betty spent the rest of the war locked in an impound, before being auctioned off. Thus, she made her way into the hands of Frank Elgyn. 'Course, whether her new use is any better than smuggling weapons is a matter of some debate...

Serenity Characters #6 of 7: The Mechanic

This is the sixth of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran last 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 sixth and final member of Betty's crew is John Vriess, the engineer. As with the pilot, this is a position that really needs someone to fill it, but which has the potential to leave the character sidelined in some of the more expansive adventures - while the rest of the crew goes off to do their own thing, it's not unlikely that they'll want the pilot and engineer to stay on board for when they need to leave.

In the one-shot, I also felt that Vriess was a little problematic by virtue of him being in a wheelchair. This seemed to lead to a focussing on what the character couldn't do, rather than on what he can, and thus further led to the character being sidelined. In the one-shot, this didn't matter too much because each player had two characters, but it would have been less than ideal had the player only had that one character to use.

Ultimately, I don't think there's really much to be done about that. Vriess' disability is a core part of the character, and so really isn't something that should change. But that and his tendency to stay with the ship are perhaps complementary aspects of the character, that can work to my advantage in future - unless the event is fully booked, at least one of the characters will not be used, in which case I can simply remove Vriess from the roster and assume he's back on the ship. Job done.

Because of Vriess' relative lack of activity in the one-shot, there's not too many lessons to be learned from him. As I noted in my previous post, the one thing I did note was that he and Call had a nasty overlap in skills, which I'll look to redress here. In his case, this will be done by reducing his Technical Engineering skill in favour of boosting Mechanical Engineering.

John Vriess: Engineer

Attributes

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

Life Points 20
Initiative d4+d6

Skills

Artistry d4
Covert d4
Guns d6
- Grenade Launchers d8
- Shotguns d8
Heavy Weapons d4
Mechanical Engineering d6
- Machinery Maintenance d12
- Mechanical Repairs d10
Perception d4
Pilot d4
Planetary Vehicles d6
- Cars d8
Survival d4
Technical Engineering d6
- Demolitions d10

Weapons and Equipment

Electric Wheelchair: Vriess has painstakingly redesigned and rebuilt his chair more than once, with the net result that while it looks primitive, it provides him with the same rate of movement, and close to the same mobility, as if he were walking - and is considerably more stable, as well.

Shotgun and Grenade Launcher: As part of its design, Vriess' chair incorporates a disassembled shotgun with underslung grenade launcher. It takes him about a minute to assemble the parts of this weapon before firing, and he is only able to conceal a single ammo load for each part, but this represents a good way for him to carry some potent concealed weapons.

In addition, Vriess typically carries a full set of mechanic's tools on his chair, and carries his ID card, a comlink, and at least a little money on his person.

Traits

Steady Calm (minor asset): Vriess isn't easily shaken. Way he sees it, he's already suffered the worst the 'Verse can throw at him, so why worry about anything else?

Tough as Nails (minor asset): Surviving the wound that crippled him has given Vriess great reserved of fortitude.

Paralysed (major complication): Simply put, Vriess' legs don't work. He has neither motor control nor any sensation below the waist.

Roleplaying Notes

To hear Vriess tell it, he was born in battle at Serenity Valley. He was serving with the Browncoats when a stray bit of shrapnel hit him in the lower back. In that instant, the man he had been was killed, and the man he is today was born.

His reticence to talk about his life prior to this moment has led others to conclude that he doesn't like to talk about his injury, but the truth is quite different. To his way of thinkin', there's no point in dwelling on the past and on what was lost. He reckons he's already survived the very worst the 'Verse can throw at a man, and so he can live without fear. He's actually quite cheerful about it.

After the war, Vriess spent a lot of time in a Veteran's hospital, where he came to profoundly hate doctors, but more especially that breed to beautiful young woman who will come and 'cheer' patients with their sympathy. Bad enough that he was disabled, without them inflicting new torment on him by looking at him as a cripple, instead of as a man.

Eventually, he had had enough, and he fled the hospital, only to find a new hell outside. Nobody had any time for injured vets, especially an injured vet from the 'wrong' side. Work was nigh-impossible to find, and starvation beckoned until an old foe, Frank Elgyn, crossed his path. Elgyn was puttin' together a crew for his ship, and he needed a good mechanic. Although they had been on opposite sides in the war, he knew ability trumped sentiment, and so a deal was struck. And in the years since, the two have forged a strong, if quiet, friendship.

Serenity Characters #5 of 7: The Newbie

This is the fifth of seven blog entries detailing the crew from the Serenity one-shot I ran last 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.

Of all the characters, Call was the most controversial, because in the film she is revealed to be an Auton - an artificial person, built by "first generation" artificial people. Of course, the Serenity 'Verse doesn't actually include artificial people, with only the LoveBot coming at all close. So, is it better to leave the character as-is, and thus make a major addition to the 'Verse, or is it better to replace Call's past with something more appropriate.

For the one-shot, I left the character as-is, and it played mostly fine. However, as anticipated, it did provoke something of a discussion (actually, once the game was concluded). And, as anticipated, opinion was rather mixed.

In light of this, I am inclined to revise the character background somewhat. Although the character will retain secrets that she'd rather not see revealed, and will continue to have stealth and tech skills that may surprise, she will no longer be non-human in nature.

The other major change to the character that I want to make is to adjust her skill-set, the better to differentiate her from Vriess. In the one-shot, it was essentially redundant having both these characters - either one could have done as well. So, I'll reduce her Mechanical Engineering, and remove any and all specialities for this skill, and instead boost her Technical Engineering skill. Additionally, the character was rather lacking in the stealth skills she demonstrates in the film, so that should be redressed.

Annalee Call: Technician

Attributes

Agility d6
Strength d4
Vitality d8
Alertness d8
Intelligence d12
Willpower d10

Life Points 18
Initiative d6+d8

Skills

Covert d6
- Infiltration d8
- Open Locks d10
Knowledge d6
- Philosophy d8
- Religion d8
Mechanical Engineering d6
Pilot d2
Planetary Vehicles d4
Scientific Expertise d6
- Mathematical Sciences d10
Technical Engineering d6
- Computer Programming d8
- Create / Alter Technical Devices d10
- Electronics d10
- Hacking d10
- Technical Repair d10

Weapons and Equipment

Call doesn't generally carry any weapons or armour, and in a fight is most likely to seek cover. She dresses in practical overalls, the pockets of which generally carry her ID card and a comlink set to Betty's standard frequency. In addition, she carries a number of small electronic devices of custom design and unknown purpose.

Traits

Math Whiz (minor asset): Call has always been more at home with numbers than with people.

Mechanical Empathy (minor asset): And likewise, she has a greater empathy with machines than people. At least machines have never lied to her.

Steady Calm (minor asset): No matter how crazy things get, nothing ever seems to phase her for long.

Dark Secret (major complication): A few years back, a regulatory problem led to a children's hospital receiving a shipment of contaminated drugs. Were it to become public knowledge that Call was responsible for the mistake, few people would react kindly.

Shy (minor complication): Call finds it hard to speak up for herself amongst people she doesn't know well.

Roleplaying Notes

The newest member of Betty's crew, Call seldom talks about her past. She was born to an unremarkable middle-class family on an unremarkable planet, and enrolled to an unremarkable school. However, her native intelligence, coupled with her affinity for computers let to her quickly being fast-tracked into a top-notch religious school. The rigourous discipline of the school, coupled with the intensive learning environment, lead her to joke that she was built, rather than born.

In her inevitable teenage rebellion, Call avoided the classic "drink and boys" mix, in favour of hacking and burglary. She proved quite adept at this, and so avoided being caught for all but the most minor of infractions. But, of course, since getting caught was a large part of her purpose, this merely inspired her to ever-greater exploits. Eventually, people got hurt.

After her schooling, Call spent some time drifting from one job to another. She could have easily commanded a high wage in a legitimate career, but she could never stomach the tedium. And so, a few months ago she signed on with the crew of Betty, with no real goal than just seeing more of the universe.

Call is an inherently secretive person. She has several talents that she'd simply rather people didn't know about, even those people closest to her. And she's fairly prone to going off-mission, in order to pursue some agenda of her own. Still, outright betrayal is not really her scene - she's more than smart enough to realise the value in not burning bridges.

Serenity Characters #4 of 7: The Pilot

This is the fourth 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.

Like Christie, Hillard is something of a void character - we know that she's a good pilot, we know she's involved with the captain, but that's about it. Well, other than that she gets herself killed by an alien while swimming underwater, but that's probably not relevant here.

In the one-shot session, Hillard spent most of her time on the ship, taking little part in the actual adventure. That was okay, because each player had two characters, but it had one interesting consequence: she was the character with both the Pilot and Planetary Vehicles skills, meaning she really needed to be in two places at once.

I've made a few tweaks to the character here, reducing the number of skills to try to build in a bit more focus. Even so, I'm not 100% sure I'm happy with the character - of the six members of the crew, this is the voice I find hardest to hear.

Sabra Hillard: Pilot

Attributes

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

Life Points 14
Initiative d10+d10

Skills

Athletics d6
- Running d8
Covert d6
- Infiltration d8
- Surveillance d8
Knowledge d6
- Cultures d8
Mechanical Engineering d4
Medical Expertise d6
Perception d6
Pilot d6
- Astrogation d10
- Mid-Bulk Transports d10
Planetary Vehicles d6
- Bikes d8
- Cars d8
Technical Engineering d4

Weapons and Equipment

Hillard seldom carries and sort of weapon, and doesn't wear armour. She usually wears a fitted grey jumpsuit with several pockets. She keeps a number of small tools in her pockets, along with a few credits, her ID card, and a comlink set to Betty's standard frequency.

Traits

Born Behind the Wheel (minor asset): Sabra was born in space, and has been around ships all her life. She is more at home in the Black than planetside, she loves to fly, and she has become very good at it.

Lightnin' Reflexes (major asset): Hillard's reflexes are almost supernaturally fast, the result of far too many hours behind the wheel.

Hero Worship (minor complication): Hillard tends to get emotionally involved very quickly, and takes loss hard. Thus, if her current partner should end things or, worse, if he were to die, she wouldn't react well.

Soft (minor complication): Hillard is no soldier, that's for sure. She's never quite mastered the art of rolling with the punches.

Roleplaying Notes

Sabra Hillard was born in the Black, and has lived most of her life out there. Indeed, she prefers the feel of artificial gravity to the real thing.

Growing up, Hillard was constantly on the move, constantly seeing new places, new faces. And, when the time came, she eagerly joined the Trader's Guild, following the same career as her parents before her. And she was happy there for several years.

But in time, even sticking with the same job proved to be stifling to her, and so when the opportunity came to sign on with Betty, she eagerly did so. Shortly thereafter, she became involved with the captain, and things were good.

Once again, though, Hillard is beginning to find the routine of it all uncomfortable. She's starting to think that her future is elsewhere again. It's not that she wants to leave; it's just that she's not sure she can stay.