Firefly characters for Traveller

[adders]

Hey all,
It's been a long time since I posted here. Just returning to Traveller this summer after a couple of years playing other RPGs (Aces & Eights, Corporation, D&D 4e, etc).
So a quick question:
My kids would love to create characters similar to Mal Reynolds and other Firefly/Serenity characters.
I wonder if anyone has created these? If so, are they available as pre-generated sheets?
I know we could just sit down and do them ourselves over time but I would be very interested to see what is already out there.
Cheers

 

[CosmicGamer]

Wife had a character based on Kaylee. She had latent Psi ability and was, without her knowledge, capable of Machine Symbiosis. See Psion book 4 page 63 Interrogate.

 

[GamerDude]

I run some Firefly/Serenity adventures under Traveller at conventions. I purposely didn't recreate the crew of the Serenity, but instead an entirely new crew with some nice change-ups. To mention just THREE of them:
- The mechanic got caught running illegal mods in the Alliances spaceship version of "NASCAR" and got 'invited' to leave the sport.
- The 50-something yo granny who is their cook, is also the "Muscle"
- There is no psychic/psychotic 'reader' anywhere in the crew.

 

[adders]

Thanks guys,
I didn't want to particularly recreate the Firefly/Serenity universe at all for any of our games this summer, but one of my lads really wants to play a Mal Reynolds-type of character.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Nope. But you could get the Serenity RPG book (or ebook) and convert.
Some notes... I am trying to make items fit into game terms.

Does not really know how to lay down and and go unconscious (final fight in Serenity), but perhaps not as tough as Jayne (getting attacked by a rabid River Tam in the bar) End higher than 7 (say 9+) with Jayne even higher (10+)

Grew up on a ranch and knows a bit about hauling cattle
Animals 0. Maybe a homeworld of Agricultural, Garden or Poor.

Volunteered for the Independents and made Sergeant
Army (Infantry) at least 1 term. Getting at least Athletics 0, Drive 0, Gun Combat (slug rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons 0, Melee Combat 0, Recon 0. Probably has Leadership and Tactics (as seen in the pilot episode)

After the war, got a spaceship, knows how to pilot it. Does crime every so often and has contacts (fences and such) that know of him
Rogue (Pirate) (?) Merchant (Free Trader) (?) 2 terms
At least Pilot 0 (nowhere good as Wash), Vacc Suit, Streetwise, Gunnery (destroying reaver spaceship or just more Heavy Weapons at work)

Fairly proficient with his pistol to do trick shots (like shooting off a cable attached to Jayne while standing on a grav/hover vehicle flying at full speed while being chased by reavers)
Gun Combat (slug pistol) 1+, Maybe Dex 9+ (maybe not)
Enemy (Niska)
Rival (Saffron)
Contact (Mr Universe)
Not sure where to put Badger and the twins

and most definitely does not have Melee (blade)!

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Book
Has High Government Clearance, knows how to handle rifles and has spent some time as a Shepard and does weights with Jayne
Agent (Intelligence)
Citizen (Worker)
Gun Combat (Slug Rifle)
Athletics (Strength)
Social Sciences (philosophy)

The Tams both had a higher than average education (EDU 9+) due to their priviledged life
Simon Tam
"Gifted" is the term (but an idiiot child compared to his sister) Top 3 percent of graduating class, skilled surgeon, finished internship in nine months, he ain't weak counts for somethin'
Int 12 or more, End 8 or more (long grueling nights as an intern and he's not weak), SOC < 7 (he is a fugitive)
Scholar (Physician) Comms, Computers, Diplomat, Investigate, Life Sciences (biology)
Medic 2 or 3

River Tam
She is smarter than her brother, anything she did was as easy to her as breathing is to you and I
Physics, Dance....
Int 13 or more, Dex 12+ (fights in Serenity)(shot three of Niska's guards with her eyes closed), Athletics(co-ordination)(!), SOC < 6 (she is a fugitive, even more than Simon)
PSI 2+, Telepathy(she could read surface thoughts of guard within 3 meters), maybe clairvoyance (shot three of Niska's guards with her eyes closed)

Agent (Intelligence) (though she does not know it)

 

[CosmicGamer]

Info based on Serenity RPG

Mal
STR +1
DEX +0
END +2
INT +1

Note that the Serenity RPG has characteristics that are not in Traveller. Alertness. Willpower. Serenity life points are based on Vitality (END) and Willpower.

Skills
Animals 1
Athletics(dexterity) 2
Stealth 1
Leadership 2
GunCbt(Pistol) 4
GunCbt(Rifle) 1
HeavyWeapon 1
Persuade 0
Medic 0
Recon 0
Pilot 0
Drive 0
Survival 1
Melee(Unarmed) 3

Something seam off? Well, Serenity RPG has positive and negative traits.
Friends in low places would perhaps be streetwise skill.
Tough as nails gives Mal additional health
Fighting type gives Mal advantages in combat. Kind of like getting an additional minor action or maybe no negative penalty for certain things like dodging or changing stance.
Leadership and military rank are another two positive traits Mal has.
He also has negative traits like "Things Don't Go Smooth".

Book
Has High Government Clearance, knows how to handle rifles and has spent some time as a Shepard and does weights with Jayne
Agent (Intelligence)
Citizen (Worker)
Gun Combat (Slug Rifle)
Athletics (Strength)
Social Sciences (philosophy)

Not going through all his skills but from the SRPG
GunCbt(Shotgun) 2
Melee(Unarmed) 3 Karate

SRPG doesn't have EDU and a few of the shepherds skills are specific areas of knowledge.

River Tam
She is smarter than her brother, anything she did was as easy to her as breathing is to you and I

The SRPG does have River with slightly higher INT than her brother but some of her ability is based on her trait "Total Recall". From the book

River makes her gifted brother sometimes look like an idiot child. She remembers everything she sees and hears, making some things as natural as breathing.

 

[locarno24]

Thanks guys,
I didn't want to particularly recreate the Firefly/Serenity universe at all for any of our games this summer, but one of my lads really wants to play a Mal Reynolds-type of character.

Fair enough.
Let's be honest, the Serenity/Millenium Falcon/Starbug/Eureka Maru and their crews is and always has been the archetype that Traveller is built around.. :mrgreen:

As noted, it shouldn't be hard to make an ex-army type resemble Mal. Just make sure to take Melee (Brawl) and under no circumstances take the Discipline skill!

 

[CosmicGamer]

under no circumstances take the Discipline skill!

Mal has his own credo that he adheres to and a strong loyalty to his crew and former browncoats.

IMO, Discipline should be roll played and not a skill. Mongoose agrees, indicating it will not be included if/when the books are revised.

 

[locarno24]

IMO, Discipline should be roll played and not a skill.

To an extent, it is; if I say "this is happening, everyone make a check" and you point out "well, as a navy crewman, I'd have had that drummed into me every week, wouldn't I?" (let's say some sort of emergency drill), I'd say "fair enough, your check is routine, everyone else's is difficult". Literally the same effect without necessarily needing an explicit rule.

Mongoose agrees, indicating it will not be included if/when the books are revised.

Good. As a mechanic, I was never that much of a fan of it.

'X times a day' thing doesn't quite work for me - feeling a bit like something from D&D has randomly got moved across...

I understand the idea - able to succeed at difficult tasks reliably but without needing a bundle of Skill/3s and Skill/4s, and without generating ridiculous effect for easy tests - and I understand the logic - navy warship does emergency drills on a meaningfully regular basis, hence engineer can cope with a jump drive hit whilst doing divert power without being any better an engineer than his civil counterpart - but I just don't like the mechanic.

But that's the point. The Browncoats never really went in for formal training, or operating procedures, and Mal has a tendancy to wing it at the best of times.

 

[BP]

...
Let's be honest, the Serenity/Millenium Falcon/Starbug/Eureka Maru and their crews is and always has been the archetype that Traveller is built around.. :mrgreen:

Falcon is the only one that pre-dated Traveller - as to the rest, well, obviously they were all from Traveller games, folks just can't admit it for legal reasons

A while back I started to plan a Firefly Traveller game, but changed direction. Anyway, here are some of the notes I made for canon characters:

(Sources: firefly.wikia.com; http://www.mts.net/~arphaxad/firefly.html)
[2506-2511 - Unification War .. 2512 Mal buys ship .. 2517 show]
Mal - Army(Infantry)/Sergeant - 31 (9/20/2486*(2468) - Shadow - Malcolm Reynolds)
Zoe - Army(Infantry)/Corporal - 33 (born 2/15/2484 - Vesselside - Zoë Alleyne Washburne)
Wash - Merchant(Free Trader) - 31 (2486* - ? - Hoban Washburne)
Jayne - Rogue (Enforcer) - 32 (2485^(77*) - ? - Jayne Cobb)
Kaylee - Citizen(Worker) - 20 (2497* - ? - Kaywinnet Lee Frye)
Inara - Entertainer(Performer) - 23 (2494* - Sihnon - Inara Serra)
Book - Agent(Intelligence) - 57 (2460 - ? - Derrial Book/Henry Evans)
Simon - Scholar(Physician) - 27 (11/?/2490* - Osiris - Simon Tam)
River - Entertainer(Performer)* - 16 (2501* - Osiris- River Tam)

Package skills and the like would include Animal(Riding) and Drive.

 

[adders]

Thanks everyone, I didn't expect this much feedback, but it is all such a big help to me.
Appreciated

 

[GamerDude]

Not a problem...

If you ever want the pdfs of my pregens drop me a PM. I think you'll like the backgrounds I came up with

 

[adders]

Cheers Gamerdude, PM sent. Many thanks

 

[GamerDude]

Cheers Gamerdude, PM sent. Many thanks

No problem. Got the PM. This offer is actually open to anyone.

One caveat: In going to send them to adders I realized I hadn't made the corrections from my last con, and there is something else that needs to be updated (I have my own "character defining quirks and flaws" system I use. A bit too massive a change to MGT to be published but it works for me.

Anyway, I plan to have these ready in a few days (on top of a big project for Matt) but definitely by Friday June 22nd.

I really need some free webspace where I can host this stuff cleanly. (hints anyone)?

BTW - I also have Pregens for Hammers Slammers, Strontium Dogs, Cthonian Stars available (I have 2300 ad too, but those are actually from an adventure published in 1990 by RPGA).