D&D+Firefly=DragonFly

[varden]

Take the Firelfy/Serenity story and superimpose it on a D&D-type fantasy world: DragonFly.

With D&D4 getting all the current buzz right now, it could be a good way to 'keep flyin' even though your gaming group is more interested in dungeoneering again.

The Central Planets = Central Continent
Border and Rim Planets = Islands

Earth-That-Was = Another continent halfway around the world
Ecosystem Collapse = Volcano or Ice Age or Both.

US and China = Humans and Eladrin

Unification War = Same
Alliance = Lawful Neutral Empire
Independents = Chaotic Good Kingdoms

Spaceships = Sailing ships

Reavers = Pirates. Or zombies. Or zombie pirates. Mobile undead, anyway

Christianity = Worship of one Lawful Good God
Bhuddism = Worship of one Neutral Good Philosopher

Mal = NG human warlord
Zoe = LG elf fighter
Wash = CG human rogue
Jayne = CN dwarf or half-orc fighter
Kaylee = NG halfling rogue
Inara = NG half-elf or human rogue or enchantress
Simon = CG or NG half-elf cleric or necromancer
River = CN or CG half-elf monk/warlock
Book = LG human assassin/cleric

Firefly-class ships = Dragonfly-class ships; three-hulled catamaran with 4 mainsails in an 'X' or 'double-V' formation. The hull simulates Serenity's general shape, sails suggest a dragonfly.

Please read and post your thoughts.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Definitely not a bad idea...though I'd consider using Dragonstar instead of/in addition to actual D&D as the basis.

 

[Kmart Kommando]

bah

I say Firefly story, Spelljammer ships, Iron Heroes rules.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That too would work...if you don't mind Giant Space Hamsters...

Da-shiong bao-jah-shr duh la-doo-tze!

 

[GAAAHHH]

That too would work...if you don't mind Giant Space Hamsters...

Da-shiong bao-jah-shr duh la-doo-tze!

Miniature Giant Space Hamsters. Boo says hi.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Nice idea. I read some of the characters a bit differently:

I'd say River would be a monk/psion/soulblade sorta thing. Not warlock.
Jayne as a half-orc or human.
Mal: I'd say a fighter/rogue.
Chloe: no need to be an elf surely? She's a tough, no **** sorta girl. Not at all like an elf. Then again, I'm biased against elves.
Kaylee: human expert. She's not that short and shows precious few combat skills ever. But we love her cos she's Kaylee.
Inara and Simon I'd agree on.
I'm only familiar with the TV series and movie, so I don't know if Book has been elaborated on anywhere else. But I'd have said he was a fighter/cleric. I'd gotten the impression he's a former high ranking navy officer.

But each to their own!!! It does sound like a cool idea.

I'd also use classes like "sailor" and "pirate" and "navigator." Variations on these can be found in a various splat books.

ALso I think the Spacejammer idea works.

 

[Jin_Kataki]

I haven't played it, but whats wrong with the actual game system for Serenity? Or is it that it isn't a D20 system? I haven't played any of the other systems mentioned either except D&D so I am not familiar with them either.

 

[Serendipity]

Really nifty idea - so long as spelljammer (or I suppose Dragonstar) were used and it wasn't intended to replicate the source material so much as be strongly inspired by such.
THAT would be a cool game. Add some old Boot Hill/Sixguns & Sorcery to the setting and you're ready to serve.
(I'd think River would, to make her suitably exotic, be among the rarer uses of Psions in the game, esp. in a Spelljammer lifted setting.)

 

[varden]

I haven't played it, but whats wrong with the actual game system for Serenity? Or is it that it isn't a D20 system? I haven't played any of the other systems mentioned either except D&D so I am not familiar with them either.

No buzz. That's the only thing I don't like about SRPG [Well, healing was confusing, and the book was hard to reference quickly during a game.] Fun, intuitive system. Earning 'plot points' for playing your PC's complications is pure role-playing gold!

The problem is that D&D4 is getting all the buzz! SRPG is SO last season, at least in my gaming group.

I was driving around a week ago, lamenting the fact that, as a DM, I don't have an 'Alliance' to keep my characters in line in a D&D game the way I do in SRPG. Don't want the PC's to loot the high-powered ammo I gave an NPC? Just declare it 'illegal' and if they get caught using it, the Feds show up and arrest them all.

Then I thought 'What's stopping me?' But, instead of reinventing the wheel, just migrate over everything from the Firefly story that makes it compelling: the exodus, the war, and all the opportunities for 'crime' the oppressive government provides for the PC's.

I don't grok Spelljammer, so my DragonFly is gonna stay planet-bound. It doesn't have to be played in space! It's the story that matters.

Joss Whedon:

"...I wanted to play with that classic notion of the frontier: not the people who made history, but the people history stepped on -- the people for whom every act is the creation of civilization. Then again, there's also [sword]fights and action."

So, that's what.

Anyway, what's a good D&D amalgam for Niska? A dragon? A lich?

 

[Kmart Kommando]

Forget the Spelljammer setting, just use the ships and the updated 3.5ish rules. Never liked the setting much, but the idea rocked. They even have a Dragonfly class ship for you.
Add a few more guns and the Iron Heroes classes, and 4th edition would have nothing on it.