Best RPG to run a Firefly game

[Bill Zebub]

P.S. I know BitD/S&V don't require pre-written "adventures" in the same sense as more mainstream RPGs, but does anybody know of any resources to assist referees (and players?) in improv/creativity?

 

[Crusadius]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay with Death on the Reik Companion.

Now hear me out!

It has your river... er, space, travel rules in the Death on the Reik Companion. You can even call your boat ship Die Gelassenheit.

You even have the careers of the crew of the Serenity... I mean, Die Gelassenheit: Soldier, Physician, Boatman, Priest, Engineer, Duellist, Entertainer. Obviously an exact fit*.

*if you squint so hard your eyes pop out the back of your head.

 

[zakael19]

P.S. I know BitD/S&V don't require pre-written "adventures" in the same sense as more mainstream RPGs, but does anybody know of any resources to assist referees (and players?) in improv/creativity?

There's tons of score frames (a target, some details about scenery, potential complications, etc) out there for BITD on reddit / DTRPG / the Blades discord (which is kinda broader FITD as well). I think there's some stuff for S&V floating around too.

 

[JConstantine]

P.S. I know BitD/S&V don't require pre-written "adventures" in the same sense as more mainstream RPGs, but does anybody know of any resources to assist referees (and players?) in improv/creativity?

I haven't seen anything for Scum & Villainy specifically (but then I haven't actively looked), but Blades has a bunch:
Sean Nittner, who was editor and playtester for BitD, has several supplements, including scores, here.
A Couple of Drakes has several collections of scores here.
Olin Kirkland has numerous scores here.
Andrew Shields has two print and play card decks for generating heists here and here.
Similarly, Evil Hat themselves have a few decks, including one for devil's bargains here.

I haven't actually used any of them myself, but they should give you an idea of what sort of prep is typical for FitD games, and I imagine they shouldn't be terribly difficult to reflavour for space opera since S&V is just a reskin with very little in the way of mechanical changes from BitD.

 

[aramis erak]

What RPG would you use to run a Firefly/Serenity game?

• Firefly RPG, obviously. But,
• Traveler? For the commerce aspect.
• Star Wars Edge of Empire? Rogues, anyone?
• Stars Without Number? Adventures galore!

What else?

To be honest? Firefly (The Boardgame) the great big one with the map of the system and crew... as the mission generator, with the dirtside stuff resolved via Firefly (the RPG, Cortex Plus).

Traveller isn't cinematic enough without tweaking under CT/MT/MGT1, and is too gritty on ships but too cinematic in fights in TNE. The barroom brawls in the show and movie are dowright brutal, and TNE just can't deliver that unarmed.

EotE under RAW? Maybe... but the ships are all armed in EotE, and that's a bit out of tropes for Firefly. I do oft describe it as "Firefly ported to the Star Wars Universe"... but the truth is, Firefly doesn't have nearly as much backstory intrusion as the Obligation has intrusively thrust into my Edge games.

I can't speak to SWN; haven't read it, let alone run it.

A few others that I've considered...

Cinematic Unisystem (BTVS/Angel/Army of Darkness/Ghosts of Albion) - one of the issues of Eden Studios Presents has a conversion for CU games to do "space westerns"... I've oft considered it... never pulled the trigger, because I found prep to be extremely inefficient for me: PrepTime : PlayTime::1.5:1...

Recast it into fantasy, and use Daggerheart. River's a Guardian. Mal's a Rogue, Jayne's a Warrior, Zoey is clearly a Warrior, too. Then we get to the connundrums... I think Inara's a Bard - a troubador functionally, albeit her performance is adult. Simon becomes a divine wielder seraph, becuase it's the healer. Which shoves Shepherd Book... I'm not certain if he's a seraph or bard, but I suspect both. So, multi.

Bounty Head Bebop... Bebop is, subject wise, pretty closely adjacent, and the net effect is the same - always ending the ep needing more cash to keep flying.

Cowboy Bebop: same rationale as BHB. Very different rules, to much the same effect.

 

[aramis erak]

Open d6 with the Space Opera book. It’s Star Wars WEG with the IP filled off.

D6 Space actually is what was slated to be WEG SW 3rd ed.

 

[Breaking Star Games]

P.S. I know BitD/S&V don't require pre-written "adventures" in the same sense as more mainstream RPGs, but does anybody know of any resources to assist referees (and players?) in improv/creativity?

Check out the core playsheets for BitD here: Downloads | Blades in the Dark RPG

The Threat List is great for helping with Improv and it translates decently to Scum & Villainy.

 

[Belen]

Cypher System (and The Strange)

I am surprised no mentioned it. It has modern, sci-fi, and fantasy rules. The mechanics are clean. In fact, my Strange campaign spent 3 months in the FireFly universe.

I think Vaesen could also work.