The Joy of One-Shots

I recently had word that a friend is returning to the area (ish), which raises the possibility of getting the band back together somewhat. Which is all great news.

That said, it remains my position that I just don't have the ability to commit to any sort of campaign play at the present time - the regular chunk of time turned over to gaming, on either a weeknight or at the weekend, is just not something I can commit.

But there is the possibility of getting together for an occasional one-shot game, potentially taking a chunk of time on one Saturday or Sunday afternoon for that purpose.

Which is no bad thing - we had a number of successful one-shots back in the day. They have the key advantage that you get different people at the table, you get to try out different systems and different characters, and they can be a lot of fun. Notable good times were a "Hunter: the Reckoning" game, a "Star Wars" mirror universe one-shot, Numenera, and Star Trek. (That last, in particular, is something I'd like to try again - and is something ideally suited for one-shots.)

They're not the same. But they're good in a different way.

The Space Elevator of the Ancient World

So I've had an idea for a game that is either genius or just terrible.

The game would be D&D 3.5e, using the old "Testament" setting supplement from Green Ronin (the name is a good indicator of what that's all about). The game would be set in the ancient city of Babel, and surround the Tower.

Said tower being a Space Elevator constructed by a significantly more advanced alien species, who rule humanity through their agents the Nephilim. The PCs would be cast in the role of rebels attempting to bring down the Tower, and thus end the reign of this alien race.

Of course, one fairly significant issue with that premise is that it is essentially jusr "Stargate" - replace ancient Egypt with Babylon, the Pyramids with the Tower, and Ra with Goliath, and you've got much the same thing.

On the other hand, it's an interesting premise. And "Stargate" was of course set long after the rebellion, rather than casting the PCs as the rebels themselves.

Well... it's an interesting thought, if nothing else.

Gaming in 2018

It looks like 2018 will be another very quiet year for gaming - my involvement in the Pathfinder campaign will have to come to an end in January (if it hasn't already), and from mid-Jan through to at least the summer I won't have time for any sort of regular campaign play.

That means that my options are limited, indeed singular - if I'm to play, it will have to be one-shots. But then, that's not too terrible, as a good one-shot can give a lot more focussed, and potentially enjoyable, experience than some campaign play.

The upshot is that I'm probably going to be on the lookout for some, limited, one-shot play. And it's likely that those will be my only games for 2018.

It's also worth my considering whether to look for one-shots to play, or whether I could consider putting together a game to run...

Firefly Characters #4 of 7: The Pilot (revised)

This is something I've been meaning to post for a long time. As I've mentioned before, I was never entirely happy with how to handle the character Sabra from the crew of Betty that I use for one-shots. At one point I thought I'd settled on giving her two 'fixed' and one 'floating' distinction, but I then spotted something in "Alien: Resurrection" that led me to settle on a third, quite useful, third distinction. Therefore, I've taken the time to revise the character, and can now present the results:

Sabra Hillard: Pilot

Attributes

Mental d8
Physical d8
Social d8

Skills

Craft d4
Drive d4
Fight d6
Fix d4
Fly (Transports) d10
Focus d4
Influence d6
Know d4
Labour d4
Move d6
Notice d8
Operate (Computers) d6
Perform d4
Shoot d8
Sneak (Surveillance) d6
Survive d6
Throw d4
Treat d6
Trick d8

Distinctions

Ship's Pilot
The list of folks wanting to hire you is longer than your arm. You're just that good.
Born Behind the Wheel: Spend 1 PP to step up or double your ship's Engines Attribute for your next roll.

Veteran of the Unification War
It don't matter which side you fight on, war leaves a mark on your heart n' soul.
War Stories: When you create an Asset or take a Complication related to a wartime flashback, step it up.

Hitched
You ever been with a warrior woman?

Signature Assets

Betty: d8
She may be a piece of le se, but Betty can still turn a trick or two with Sabra at the helm.

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.

The Christmas Game 2015: Memoirs of a Companion

Tuesday saw me running my final game for the year, the sixth annual "Christmas Game". It has become quite the tradition! And, as is also somewhat traditional, we once again played a "Firefly" one-shot. This time, the crew were that of Serenity, but updated for a decade of life after the events of the film of the same name. So, Mal was still recovering from his long incarceration on Perdition, Zoe had spent the decade raising her daughter Emma on Tombstone, and Jayne had become quite the big man - captain of his own vessel.

Unfortunately, as also seems to now be something of a tradition, we once again had a no-show for the event. I haven't had a chance to speak to the player involved, so it's entirely possible that there was a good reason for this absence; I simply don't know. This meant that we had four players instead of the hoped-for five, but that wasn't the worst thing in the world. The chosen characters were Mal, Simon, Jayne, and Kaylee.

The plot of the episode was fairly straightforward: Inara was dying, and the only sure place to get the medicines that she needed was from the Companion Guildhouse on Sihnon. And so the Crew had to plan and execute a heist. In doing so, they learned some more about the backstory of Inara, and some of the secrets of the Guild - some of them less than appealing.

The story was structured, as usual, with four distinct acts. The first act opened in Serenity's med-bay with Inara's collapse. It then proceeded with the journey to Sihnon, and the gathering of the Crew once more, as Serenity was joined by Jayne's Violet and Zoe's Mutt to form a little armada. The Crew then worked out the first details for their plan to break in.

The second act took in the peaceful facade of the Guildhouse exterior - the perfectly manicured gardens, the lovely pagodas where Companions are trained and where they meet their guests. The Crew chose a two-pronged approach: they sent Emma in to the Guild as a would-be Companion in training (much against Zoe's better judgement!), and they sent Jayne in to bid as a prospective Danna for a newly-minted Companion. Jayne was outbid by one of the villains of the piece.

The third act then saw the Crew sneak past the facade of the Guildhouse and into the underground facility where they keep their administration and catering facilities, their medical facility, and their blackmail material. Once there, they found the drugs they needed... but alas they had caused enough chaos that they were apprehended by security and the head of the House.

And so the fourth act saw the Crew improvising - they took the Guildmistress hostage for a moment, they turned the head of security, they ran off in several different directions (most of them wrong), and they even found time to deal with a sudden but inevitable betrayal by one of their own. In the end, they survived and even secured what they needed, but at a terrible cost: Jayne had to sacrifice his Violet to the Alliance. He even had to make a terrible choice: he could rescue his collection of guns or the money he had made in the last decade, but not both. In the end, he chose sentiment.

But the other thing I built into the session was five "interludes" - scenes taken from Inara's backstory that made up the Memoirs of the episode title. For each of these, except for the first, I passed Inara off to one of the players to have that player fill in on the young Inara's thoughts or choices. So we saw the young Inara joining the Guild for the first time and leaving behind her mother. Then we saw the aftermath of her completing her training and her first Danna (that same villain of the piece mentioned above). Then her meeting with a Guild doctor on Ariel while the rest of the Crew was busy infiltrating a hospital. And then her decision to finally break with the Guild, because Mal was imprisoned and she was needed to help free him.

The final scene of the game was the fifth and final interlude, which actually stepped back before the third. This was Inara's departure from the Guildhouse in order to travel the 'Verse for a while, by which point it was actually quite clear just why she needed to make that choice and just what she left behind her - and that despite it never quite being said.

I was extremely pleased with the way this episode all played out. Once again, we had a very strong group of players together, and they grabbed hold of their characters extremely quickly. It was a lot of fun, and it felt like something that might well appear on the show.

(I was also pleased with the "paths not taken" - I didn't know exactly what the Crew would do, but I'd prepared plenty of options. And so when they were discussing their plans, there wasn't any point at which I was completely off-book. Which is good. Basically, I managed to hit pretty much exactly the right amount of preparation. Though I do now have one or two ideas how to streamline things even more...)

And that was that - a very successful game to come to the end of the year. Hurrah!

Practically a New Person

This year's Christmas Game is another Firefly one-shot. It takes place thirteen years after the events of the movie "Serenity", and features the crew of that ship engaged in their usual mix of hijinks and desperate improvisation.

As a consequence of some time having passed in the setting, and also due to some of the revised roles taken on by the characters, it had been my intention to modify the various characters slightly for use in the one-shot. Thus they would remain largely recognisable, but there would also be a clear sense of growth.

However, as I proceeded to make the relevant changes, I quickly found that this was a less-than-ideal approach. Some of the new Distinctions just don't align at all well with the character's skills, and in some cases (notably River), the skills assigned by default don't match her new role at all.

As a consequence, I'm now planning a more or less complete rebuild of the characters for this one-shot, effectively recreating them as a new person for this session.

Mal: The captain of Serenity has spent the better part of the last thirteen years in solitary confinement on Perdition. For most of that time, the one thing that kept him going was the knowledge that Zoe simply would not abandon him to his fate and that therefore he just had to wait for a rescue. In the end, he was rescued two years ago by a crew of mercenaries hired by Inara and Simon. Reunited with his crew, he has found that Zoe did indeed leave him to his fate, a matter that sticks in his craw rather.

Mal's revised Distinctions will be Ship's Captain (because he is), Unresolved Issues (or similar) to reflect his being left behind, and Lost a Step (or similar) to reflect his ordeal on Perdition.

Zoe: There was only one thing that could take Zoe from Mal's side, and that was the birth of her daughter Emma Washburne. Zoe has thus spent the last decade or so serving as the sheriff on the moon Tombstone, and for most of that time believed that Mal was dead. When news reached her that her captain had been freed, she immediately disentangled herself from her new life, and she and Emma headed back to the Black.

Zoe's revised Distinctions are Backwater Sheriff, Mama Bear, and Steady.

Jayne: When Serenity was identified as the most wanted boat in the 'Verse, and when the jobs dried up, Jayne decided the time had come for him to leave. He has spent the last decade bouncing around from job to job without any great direction. He's now captain of his own ship, with a hotshot mechanic, and a rotating crew of ne'er-do-wells. But word has reached him that an old friend is dying, and his conscience (Kaylee) has been nagging him, and so he's heading back for one last job.

Jayne is probably the least changed of the characters: his Distinctions of Crude, Mercenary, and Family Ties can all still apply.

Simon: No longer on the run, Simon spent some time considering whether simply to return home with River. But when Mal was captured, he found a new purpose: to become the saviour of the man who once saved him. He has spent a decade working closely with Inara, building up a network of contacts and becoming a veritable mastermind, all with the aim of bringing the captain home. Alas, this all came with a cost - Simon's relationship with Kaylee broke down very early on, driving the mechanic from the ship. Simon is therefore wracked with both guilt and loss as a result of this mistake.

Simon's new Distinctions are Ship's Doctor, Mastermind, and Family Ties.

River: Unlike Simon, River never had any intention of going home. Instead, she has found a new family on Serenity, and a new place behind the controls. She's been the pilot of that boat for some years now, and has developed quite a connection to the old girl.

River is probably the most changed of the characters, because as written she completely lacks any skills in Fight, Pilot, or Operate. These will need changed, and she should also have Serenity added as a Signature Asset. Her revised Distinctions will be Government Experiment, Ship's Pilot, and Reader.

Kaylee: Once upon a time, it seemed that no power in the 'Verse could stop Kaylee being cheerful, and certainly nothing could take her away from Serenity. But these were both proven wrong when Simon became obsessed with rescuing Mal Raynolds. He managed to deeply offend Kaylee and in fact drove her away from her home. Heartbroken, Kaylee went to work with Jayne, and has been serving as his conscience as well as his mechanic.

Like Jayne, Kaylee is largely unchanged: her Distinctions remain Ship's Mechanics, Sweet & Cheerful, and Everything's Shiny. Even her abiding love for Serenity, reflected in her Signature Asset, remains unchanged - while she cares for Jayne's ship, you never forget your first love.

Inara: The former Companion is dying, and serves an expository role in this game. As such, she won't be available as a PC.

Emma Washburne: The daughter of Wash and Zoe, Emma is being dragged across the 'Verse by her mother. She doesn't know it, but she was actually delivered by Simon and cared for by the crew of Serenity in her earliest days. But for the past years she has lived on Tombstone, and is less than pleased at being taken from the only home she remembers. Plus, her mother is way over-protective.

Emma has inherited more from her father than she knows: her Distinctions are Ship's Pilot, A Little Nervous, and Wet Behind the Ears.

Aki Ross: When Kaylee left, Serenity foud herself in need of a new mechanic. Inara therefore contracted Aki Ross, a no-nonsense gal with a list of recommendations longer than your arm. Aki barely talks, and never about her past, but she's a calming influence on the ship with much the same demeanour as the late Shepherd Book.

Aki's Distinctions are Ship's Mechanic, Mysterious Past, and Steady.

(With five players and nine members of the Crew - eight possible PCs - I don't know quite which set of PCs I'll end up with. I think my "ideal cast" would be Mal, Zoe, Emma, Simon, and Kaylee since that probably gives the maximum scope for intra-party strife. But it should work okay with most combinations - maybe not Jayne, Kaylee, River, Aki, and Emma, but I think that's unlikely.)

The Christmas Game 2014

The Christmas Game for last (!) year took place on Monday. I'd been looking forward to it for quite some time for several reasons: 2014 had been a poor year for gaming generally, this was to be the first chance to play the new Firefly RPG, and the Christmas Game has become something of a highlight of the gaming year and is always something I look forward to.

Perhaps due to these factors, or perhaps simply because Firefly makes it quite easy, I was actually very well-prepared for this game. I'd been able to apply my recent revelation regarding the four-act structure to the game, and I'd made sure in all applicable cases to at least consider my four possible solutions (Fight!, Evade, Seduce, Deceive). So not only was I feeling good about the amount of preparation I'd done, but I was also quite happy with the type of preparation I'd done. And I was feeling vindicated that the lessons I thought I'd been learning were indeed the right ones. Huzzah!

In the event, the game suffered two late call-offs. One of these was due to illness, while the second was due to a mistake about the times. So we were down to three players, each of whom took on two characters. But that was fine - at least it meant nobody was stuck with a 'bad' character! (Though it turned out that there were no 'bad' characters, so that turned out to be an invalid fear anyway.)

The game itself all went extremely well. The four acts actually proceeded in the order expected, with little bleeding between them, and although I didn't predict everything that happened, or even close to it, there was no point when I felt I wasn't prepared for what was happening.

The was one story-telling weakness in the plot as it unfolded, which was that the PCs fled the scene immediately before the bad guy got his much-deserved comeuppance, which meant that that happened "off camera". Though I'm not entirely sure that's a truly terrible thing.

So, all in all I was really happy with the game. I was actually also quite happy with the way Sabra worked out in this game - as I've posted before, she's the character that doesn't quite 'fit'. However, the Firefly game is actually constructed such that no character is ever truly useless - even when doing something they're 'bad' at, the character should have something to contribute, which is good.

(Also, as part of my research for this game, I revisited "Alien: Resurrection", and noticed something I hadn't seen before: in the middle section of the film, the crew lay claim to a number of guns of various sorts. And although she's in the background much of the time, Sabra is depicted as being quite comfortable with weapons. So maybe her third Distinction should actually be "Veteran of the Unification War", thus making her a bit more of a warrior-type, and hopefully making her a bit more fun to play without requiring a rewrite for every game. Maybe.)

As a result of this game, I'm going to press ahead with my notion of running "Firefly: the Lost Episodes" at various times this year. And I'm currently working on some ideas for the next "Christmas Game" - "Memoirs of a Companion".

Firefly Characters #7 of 7: The Ship

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.

In the Firefly RPG, as in the Serenity RPG before it, ships are treated largely as characters in their own right - they have Attributes, Distinctions, and Signature Assets. Ships don't have skills, but that appears to be the only significant omission. As for the Serenity RPG, this is an interesting and entirely approach to handling ships in this game.

Oddly enough, my previous stats ofr Betty have never actually seen use - the ship was actually modelled as a Firefly in the first one-shot and didn't appear at all in the second. Therefore, what follows is an entirely new construction.

Betty's three Distinctions are "Auriga Class Transport", which is new, "Battle-Scarred", and "Smuggler's Delight", and her two Signature Assets "Computer-Assisted Controls" and "Hidden Storage". Between them, these model both the ship's extreme age and her use in smuggling cargo.

Betty: Modified Auriga Class Mid-Bulk Transport

Attributes

Engine d10
Hull d8
Systems d6

Distinctions

Auriga Class Transport
Designed as a multi-purpose boat, the Auriga Class Transport is now falling out of use due to the venerable nature of its design. Although variations exist, all Auriga Class ships are engineered with certain fixed compartments: cargo hold, engine room, and bridge.
Runnin' On Empty: Create a Low Fuel d8 Complication to step up Engines for the rest of the scene.

Battle-Scarred
Your ship proudly displays the scars of many battles fought during the Unification War. Though she's showing signs of wear, your boat's still here. Guess that means somethin'.
That Part Don't Work Anyway: Step back your ship's Hull Attribute for the rest of the scene to step back a new Complication that's just been inflicted on your ship.

Smuggler's Delight
Certain ships have been modified to address the needs of "privacy-minded" crews.

Signature Assets

Computer-Assisted Controls: d8
As part of the modification for paraplegic use, Vriess has installed significant computer assistance in the controls. This is frequently useful, but also somewhat glitchy.

Hidden Storage: d8
Salvaging derelicts is good work, provided a captain has the license for it. For those operating outside the Law, hidden storage compartments provide ways to stash precious cargo, illegal salvage, etc.

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...

Firefly Characters #6 of 7: The Mechanic

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 earlier 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.

The most obvious aspect of Vriess' character is his disability - the character is in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, I found in the "Firefly: Furiously Fast" one-shot that this could lead to a player focussing on what the character couldn't do, rather than what he could. However, I'm hopeful that this will actually not be the case in the Firefly RPG - the character is assigned the "Invalid" Distinction, which is a clear fit, and also has his chair listed as a Signature Asset. Hopefully, this will turn a seeming weakness into a strength, without totally negating a key part of the character.

The other Distinctions for the character are the obvious "Ship's Mechanic" role, and "Steely Reserves" - Vriess has had a knock, but he's a tough one.

John Vriess: Engineer

Attributes

Mental d10
Physical d8
Social d6

Skills

Craft d4
Drive d6
Fight d4
Fix (Engines) d12
Fly (Transports) d6
Focus d8
Influence d6
Know (Art) d6
Labour d4
Move d4
Notice d6
Operate (Machinery) d10
Perform d4
Shoot d6
Sneak d4
Survive d6
Throw d4
Treat d4
Trick d4

Distinctions

Ship's Mechanic
A ship's a living thing, no matter what they say. You can feel when she's sick, and she makes you proud when she's well.
Miracle Worker: If you replace your Fix Skill with a d4 for your next roll, gain a Big Damn Hero Die equal to that Skill's normal die rating if your roll is successful.

Steely Reserves
People think you're a pushover. They're always a mite surprised when you don't bend.
Not Today: When you take a Complication to stay in a fight, you can spend 1 PP to double an appropriate Attribute in your next roll.

Invalid
You can't get much of anywhere without somebody's help.

Signature Assets

The Chair: d8
Vriess has been working on his chair for years, constantly modifying and refitting. Part mechanised transport and part concealed arsenal, it is practically designed to foil a weapons scanner.

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.

Firefly Characters #5 of 7: The Newbie

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 earlier 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 this regard, Call is a little tricky - the key feature of the character in "Alien: Resurrection" is that she turns out to be an Auton, an artificial person. Of course, Autons aren't a feature of the Firefly 'Verse, and after trying this out in the "Firefly: Furiously Fast" game it was felt that this element of the cross-over was best avoided. So Call needs some rework to make fit.

Fortunately, it's possible to rewrite her background to keep the core of the character intact: make her hugely secretive with something dark in her past, give her infiltration and computer skills, and retain her role as ship's technician. With that in mind then I've assigned her the Invisible Ops Distinction to reflect her hidden agenda in the film, Mysterious Past to reflect the big, dark secret she has (albeit a different one from the film), and Wet Behind the Ears to reflect her being the newbie on the ship.

Annalee Call: Technician

Attributes

Mental d10
Physical d6
Social d8

Skills

Craft d4
Drive d6
Fight d8
Fix (Hotwire) d8
Fly d6
Focus d4
Influence d4
Know (Electronics) d8
Labour d4
Move d4
Notice d6
Operate (Security Systems) d12
Perform d4
Shoot d4
Sneak (In Plain Sight) d8
Survive d4
Throw d4
Treat d4
Trick d6

Distinctions

Invisible Ops
I could tell you what I do, but then I'd have to kill you and everyone on this ship and I do hate making a mess
We Were Never Here: When acting on your secret orders, spend 1 PP to step up or double Sneak for an Action.

Mysterious Past
You weren't born to the life you're livin' now.
Ghosts of Yesterday: Create a d8 Complication relating to your history to step up your Fight, Know, or Sneak for a scene. This Complication cannot be stepped back by spending PPs to activate Opportunities.

Wet Behind the Ears
Folks say you're naive. It ain't that. You just grew up a mite sheltered, is all.

Signature Assets

There's an App for That: d8
Call carries a bunch of electronic gizmos about her person. These are useful for disrupting the operation of many electronic systems.

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.

Firefly Characters #4 of 7: The Pilot

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 earlier 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.

Sabra has always been the most difficult of the characters to generate, as there was very little to hang the character on. But Firefly makes it almost ridiculously easy to generate the character: the "Ship's Pilot" and "Hitched" Distinctions match the two things we know about her from the film, leaving only one to choose. For the upcoming adventure I have created a new Distinction, "Not Guilty", reflecting the fact that Sabra was the only character not to feature in the previous "Bound by Law" adventure. The fact that she, alone of all the characters, doesn't have a criminal record is liable to prove very useful...

Sabra Hillard: Pilot

Attributes

Mental d8
Physical d8
Social d8

Skills

Craft d4
Drive d6
Fight d4
Fix d4
Fly (Transports) d10
Focus d4
Influence d8
Know d4
Labour d4
Move d8
Notice d8
Operate (Computers) d6
Perform d4
Shoot d4
Sneak (Surveillance) d8
Survive d4
Throw d4
Treat d6
Trick d10

Distinctions

Ship's Pilot
The list of folks wanting to hire you is longer than your arm. You're just that good.
Born Behind the Wheel: Spend 1 PP to step up or double your ship's Engines Attribute for your next roll.

Not Guilty
You may have been before the magistrate, but nothin's ever stuck.
These Aren't the Goods You're Looking For: Step back your Physical die to step up your Social die when convincing someone you're not a threat.

Hitched
You ever been with a warrior woman?

Signature Assets

Betty: d8
She may be a piece of le se, but Betty can still turn a trick or two with Sabra at the helm.

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.

Firefly Characters #3 of 7: The First Officer

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 earlier 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 Christie, then, the two Distinctions from the film are simple: we know he's the First Mate, and we know he is a crack shot specialising in twinned pistols. For the third, I have selected Friends in Low Places, to tie in to the background I have invented for the character. From there, it was all reasonably easy...

Christie: First Officer

Attributes

Mental d8
Physical d8
Social d8

Skills

Craft d8
Drive d6
Fight (Kung Fu) d8
Fix d4
Fly d4
Focus d4
Influence (Streetwise) d6
Know d4
Labour d6
Move d8
Notice d8
Operate d6
Perform d4
Shoot (Trick Shots) d10
Sneak d4
Survive d4
Throw d6
Treat d4
Trick d4

Distinctions

First Mate
You're the captain's right hand, but as often as not you're his fist.

Dead Eye
You're cool under fire and a keen shot.
Take Aim: Step back Move until the end of the scene to create an In My Crosshairs d8 Asset.

Friends in Low Places
Those of us on the Rim don't have much, but we stick together. There's a power in that.
I Know a Guy: Spend 1 PP to create a d8 Asset when you call in a shady friend with the skills you need.

Signature Assets

Guns Akimbo: d8
Christie has two pistols concealed in the sleeves of his greatcoat. These are attached, so cannot be disarmed, but neither can he "drop them!"

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.

The Four Act Structure

I've been reading through a lot of the published Firefly adventures recently, and I was struck by something in the structure - they all have exactly four acts. It took me a while to realise this, as I'd expected some to have three, some five, or whatever; or perhaps for the number of acts to vary with the length of the adventure. But, no. Four acts it is; no more, no less.

Now, I was of course familiar with the 'classical' five-act structure: introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement. And I was equally familiar with the compression of this into the three-act structure (where the falling action is compressed to the "final scare" and the denouement is almost non-existent). But I hadn't encountered a four act structure before.

(Incidentally, how come I had to learn all this from reading JMS talking about crafting "Babylon 5"? Why wasn't this covered in English at High School, even at CSYS level?)

I therefore did some investigation and found out what was going on. For obvious reasons, the three-act structure can also be described as "beginning-middle-end". However, the problem with this in terms of movies or TV shows is that the beginning and the end are usually quite short and self-contained, while the middle is extremely long. Therefore, it is common to define a mid-point in the story, and thus split the "middle" into two acts, thus giving beginning-mid-dle-end. Perhaps more importantly, though, it's important that this mid-point has some sort of meaning - that is, the second act "mid" should be somehow different from the third act "dle", in terms of what is happening, or of tone, or whatever.

(Not coincidentally, American TV shows are structured so that the ad breaks fall between the acts. Or, at least, they should be.)

What this means, as far as story goes, is that we have something like this:

• Pre-credits: Introduction, and "inciting incident"
• Credits, and ad break.
• Act One: Immediate reaction to "inciting incident". Statement of the problem.
• Ad break
• Act Two: Attempt to fix the problem. Doesn't work. Add complication.
• Ad break
• Act Three: Second attempt to fix the problem. Partial success. Raise the stakes.
• Ad break
• Act Four: Completion of the solution.
• Ad break
• Denouement: All wrapped up nicely. Coincidentally in 42 minutes. Huzzah!
• End Credits

Of course, that's not an absolute template, or TV would be incredibly dull. But it's pretty good.

What this means in terms of RPGs, and especially for something like the Firefly RPG (which deliberately models itself on a TV show) is that a session can be structured into four distinct parts. Each part should be 'about' something, probably representing a distinct step in solving the 'problem' of the session, coming naturally to a climax in Act Four. Plus, it's useful for pacing purposes - if you have 3 hours in the session, each Act should be about 35 minutes long; if you have 5 hours, each act can stretch to 65 minutes. (Plus 10 mins each for Introduction and Denouement; and a few minutes for breaks, waiting for late players, and general goofing around.)

(This of course needs to be flexible. But that goes without saying.)

Unfortunately, defining all that's the easy bit. Somewhat harder will be populating the various tags as required for the "Firefly: Inglorious" game in a few weeks.

Chameleon

I've just hit upon the solution to my difficulties with the character of Sabra in Firefly one-shots!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm inclined to think that the best way to create characters for this game is to write down the three most important things about the character, and use these to create the character's Distinctions - probably the key defining element of characters in this game.

However, Sabra had always struck me as something of a 'void' character - she's the ship's pilot, she's involved with the Captain, but other than that we know virtually nothing about her. Well, except that she gets killed by an alien while swimming.

So, I was trying to come up with a good "third thing" about the character. And, being honest, I was doing so with one eye on the upcoming Christmas Game. However, I kept hitting on a criticism: "isn't it incredibly convenient that she just happens to..." Plus, of course, if she just happens to fit this adventure, she probably doesn't fit the next one.

Then the solution hit me: what if this character didn't have a fixed "third thing", but was instead built with two 'permanent' Distinctions with a third assigned at the time so that she always "just happens" to fit the adventure?

(Which is not without precedent in the Firefly RPG - one of the things that threw me on my first glance through the book was that the character of Saffron was actually quite different from Yo-Saff-Bridge. Because they took the wise decision to limit the complexity of NPCs, the publishers established that it was legitimate to rebuild such characters if they need to play different roles in different Episodes.)

So, that's my solution: Sabra will be built with the "Ship's Pilot" and (probably) "Hitched" Distinctions, plus a third "Chameleon" Distinction which will be assigned closer to the time. And that's that problem solved. Huzzah!

Firefly Characters #2 of 7: The Mercenary

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 a 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 Johner, the Distinctions were easy: the character is essentially Jayne, meaning I could simply copy a lot of material. In particular, the Mercenary and Crude Distinctions fit perfectly. Jayne's third Distinction didn't fit, but a third Distinction seemed entirely appropriate: Mighty Hideous - I mean, just look at that face!

Johner: The Muscle

Attributes

Mental d6
Physical d10
Social d8

Skills

Craft d4
Drive d4
Fight (Knives) d12
Fix d4
Fly d6
Focus d4
Influence (Intimidation) d6
Know d4
Labour d8
Move d8
Notice d6
Operate d4
Perform d4
Shoot (Rifles) d10
Sneak d4
Survive d6
Throw d4
Treat d4
Trick d4

Distinctions

Mercenary
They don't pay you to look pretty. They pay you to shoot things.
Time for Some Thrillin' Heroics: Spend 1 PP to go first in any battle or combat scene. On your first Action, you may reroll any dice that come up 1 instead of accepting a Plot Point.

Crude
You're a little gorram rough around the edges.
Obnoxious: Gain 1 PP when you choose to disrupt, upset, or challenge the social order of things when you have the option of being mannerly or polite.

Mighty Hideous
You weren't pretty to start, but then you got yourself deformed somethin' fierce. Now folks try not to even look at you.

Signature Assets

Thermos Gun: d8
Johner usually carries his weapons openly, but when he needs to sneak something past a search or a scan, he has just the thing.

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.

Firefly Characters #1 of 7: The Captain

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.

Numenera: Third Thoughts

We played Numenera for the third time yesterday. That being the case, I have some third thoughts...

Actually, I have very little to say. The game was much more satisfying than either of the previous two sessions. The move up to tier two characters made things much more enjoyable, as characters were just that bit more capable - it looks like Numenera, like most versions of D&D, very definitely has a 'sweet spot' for play.

The only slight complaint I might make concerns one "GM intrusion", where the PCs were clearing away some metallic 'spider' webs and the intrusion was that we hurt ourselves in doing so. My complaint there was not because there's anything wrong with the concept of intrusions, with an intrusion in that situation, or in taking damage. It's just that that intrusion at that time was, frankly, a bit dull. Taking four damage, just before we have a chance to heal with no real penalty to do so, isn't really worth the time - it would be like costing a D&D 4e character a healing surge right before he takes an Extended Rest.

But that's a very, very minor thing. Otherwise... good times.

(As an aside: would I recommend Numenera? Yes, I would. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but it's a fun game. Will I be buying Numenera? No, I don't plan to - in general I only buy a game if I intend to run it, and I think I'm more interested in discovering Numenera from the players' side of the screen.)

A Realisation

My one-shot game, "A Lament for Lustivan" was cancelled again at the weekend. It seemed I had picked a bad day, so a great many people simply couldn't make it. However, as this was the third and final attempt to schedule the game, I have decided it was just not meant to be, and have therefore elected not to attempt to reschedule it again.

However, I did come to a realisation when this was done: I was actually somewhat relieved. "Black Crusade" was one of those games I liked more in concept than in practice, and the fact that it was difficult to get a session scheduled indicated that, actually, there was no real pent-up demand for the game within the group. Nobody is really going to be terribly disappointed if I don't run it again; it can simply... disappear. (The one downside, though, is that that means the money I've spent on the books for the game is largely wasted. But... oh well.)

So, that's what I intend to do: "Black Crusade" has now been quietly dropped from my list of go-to games. My plans to run an "occasional campaign" with the system have been scrapped, and "Hand of Corruption" is no longer slated to be my likely next campaign.

But, moreover, on that topic... after some consideration I've decided not to plan any "next campaign". My intention, at present, is to run "Star Wars: Imperial Fist" to its conclusion, probably in September, and then to step away from the screen for a goodly time - probably the whole of 2015 in fact. During that time I may run some one-shots and perhaps some three-part weeknight games (which are actually much the same thing), but no campaign as such. Instead, I'd like to play more than I have in recent years.

That may change, of course. In particular, either D&D 5e or the new "Firefly" RPG may scream out to me "you must run this!". But for the moment I'm feeling rather burnt out, so it's better to take a step away.

Games for Next Year

As the year draws to a close, and with the last 'regular' session of the year done, my thoughts inevitably turn to two things: the "Christmas Game" and the games for next year. This year's Christmas Game is, once again, a Serenity RPG one-shot titled "Bound by Law" - I'll no doubt post about that again before the end of the year, possibly before the event, and then once again as a wash-up/retrospective.

However, it is the games for next year that are my immediate topic.

As per usual, next year is likely to see me running one campaign and a number of one-shots. Due to the way the calendar falls, it's likely that I'll finish off my current campaign but will not start on a new venture (although I'm prepared for that eventuality also). I'm also hoping to play in a few games next year, as I've barely had a chance this year. However, that will depend both on there being suitable games to play, and also on my schedule being kind.

Naturally, the bulk of my gaming for next year will be in my ongoing campaign, barring a Total Party Kill or other collapse. And, as mentioned before, that campaign is "Star Wars: Imperial Fist". My impressions of the campaign so far have been somewhat mixed, as I think the group of PCs may be more suited to a different direction. So, I'm considering my options there. My plan, I think, is to see what happens with the player base in the next session or so - we may end up with five, four, or three regular players, in various combinations, and the exact configuration will probably dictate a particular direction. I'll be musing on this some more in the coming weeks.

I also have three one-shots provisionally scheduled for next year. (We had five scheduled for this year, but it's very likely we'll actually play three of those.)

The first of these is a third, and final, attempt to schedule the "Black Crusade: A Lament for Lustivan" game. This will be the second time I've run "Black Crusade", and will give me another opportunity to assess if I like it or not. I hope it goes well, both because it has been cancelled so many times now, and also because I'd really like "Black Crusade" to get a permanent spot on my roster of games. (Also, my next campaign is expected to be a run through of the "Hand of Corruption" adventure for that system, albeit in a heavily modified form.)

The second one-shot will be a second "World of Darkness" one-shot entitled "Ultraviolet: 2XS". The previous one-shot with this game was actually the single best game I have run for many years, partly due to a strong and interesting concept, partly because of the system, and largely because of an excellent mix of players. I'm hoping this second run will likewise be good.

Finally, there is the Christmas Game for next year, entitled "Firefly: Inglorious". As the name implies, this will be run using the "Firefly RPG" that is due out in February, which is effectively a second edition of the "Serenity RPG" that we've enjoyed so much. My big hope here is that the new game is as much fun as the old, but that the new system corrects my issues with "Serenity" - I would quite like to run a campaign in The 'Verse, but don't feel the existing system is really up to the task.

In all three cases, I think I've got fairly strong concepts for the game. And two of the three, at least, are amongst our most popular games - the "Warhammer" games and the "Serenity RPG" always manage to attract interest. The "Ultraviolet" game is a little more dicey, but as it is based on a well-remembered, albeit rather niche, TV show, it could do well. I guess we'll see!

The Occasional Campaign

Several years ago, I ran my first "one-shot showcase" game, which I think was probably the Serenity RPG. The goal at that time was to give a bit of exposure to a game that people might like but that I wasn't sue would garner enough interest for a full campaign.

Over the years since then, I've run quite a few such games in various systems. I've learned quite a lot about the process of putting together a one-shot game, but I've also narrowed my list of potential candidates down quite sharply, with only four games now sitting on my 'one-shot' list.

I've also run each of these four at least once, and have my second run of both "Black Crusade" and "World of Darkness" planned for next year. That being the case, it's not really a "showcase" any more - I know the interest is there, people know at least a bit about the system; it's just a question of whether to proceed to a 'full' campaign or not.

And, actually, the answer to that is mostly "not". Obviously, I'm currently running a "Star Wars" campaign, but both "Serenity" and "Black Crusade" have some significant issues that prevent me taking the plunge, while "World of Darkness" is a much more niche concern, popularity wise (despite being the system used in the single best game I've run in recent years). It's unlikely that any of these will ever be 'promoted' to a full campaign (though it would be nice if the forthcoming "Firefly" RPG changed that).

Having said that, I do have a... notion tickling the back of my mind.

Some time ago, I did a short series of posts detailing the crew of "Betty" for the Serenity RPG. I used that crew for my "Firefly: Furiously Fast" one-shot, and am intending to reuse the same characters for this year's Christmas Game, "Serenity: Bound by Law". And I've also pencilled in next year's Christmas Game, "Firefly: Inglorious", which will use the same characters. In each case, the one-shot background makes some limited reference to the previous adventures, although the games themselves will not assume that prior knowledge.

Likewise, for my "Heresy of Angels" one-shot for "Black Crusade", I put together a set of characters that I intend to reuse for "A Lament for Lustivan" (if it ever happens), and will probably reuse after that. Again, the adventure backgrounds will feature some common elements, but the adventures won't make any assumption of prior knowledge.

And, finally, I think I've hit on a format for my "World of Darkness" one-shots, which will be modelled heavily on the old "Ultraviolet" TV series. Like the "Black Crusade" one-shots, this will use a common set of characters, with missions being assigned by an NPC as required (thus getting the PCs up to speed and involved quickly).

This has the big advantage of cutting down on the amount of unique preparation work I have to do to put together a one-shot game. It also has the advantage of building a scene quickly for returning players - they know what happened last time, and so can slot back into place with a minimum of fuss (albeit with the oddity that they may not have the same character!).

All of which is good so far. But it has another hidden advantage. Both the "Black Crusade" and "World of Darkness" setups are explicitly mission-based, with characters being assigned their tasks by either Lord Maleceros or Michael Colefield. Meanwhile Firefly/Serenity, by its nature, is inherently episodic - and has no great difficulty in simply telling the players where they are at the start of the 'episode'.

What this means is that there's no great need to stick rigidly to the old one-shot formula (with sessions booked months in advance, games being pretty detailed, and everything tightly wrapped up in 5-6 hours of solid play). Instead, if I find myself between campaigns but looking to host a game, I could quickly put something together, put out the call, and run a short mini-series (say 3 sessions across 5 weeks) in one of the games. And, with three different options to choose from, there's no risk of "continuity glitches" if I happen to have a mini-series occurring at the same time as a one-shot.

It at least opens up some interesting possibilities.

Now, I just need to do two things. I need to put together a team of four for the "World of Darkness" series (one cop, one spec-ops/merc, one doctor, and one priest). And I need to build up a bank of easy-to-populate adventure outlines...