D20 system to play Firefly?

[BASHMAN]

For firefly there are a couple ways to go.
1. Gurps (if you don't mind character creation taking hours)
2. d6 System is great for sci-fi


If you want something rules light, I would recomend BASH Sci-Fi, but it is not available yet! Instead though, you could go with Savage Worlds or POW. Both are fairly cinematic style games, and relatively rules light.

PS- POW is a free download at RPGnow.com. Savage Worlds would cost you some coin though...

 

[Morte]

There is nothing at all deadly about Firefly -- PCs have script immunity -- so I wouldn't use any gritty system like the various Traveller editions or Grim Tales. Traveller/Grim Tales mechanics are meant for "low SF" and Firefly is "high SF" (in the manner of low and high fantasy). Traveller does suit Firefly's setting, but IMHO it's a very bad choice for Firefly's genre.

You really want mechanics with something like hero points to keep the PCs alive through whiffy dice, and drama mechanics that let them succeed at stuff that is particularly important to the story in progress. If it were a clean sheet I'd say use FATE or the cowboy game Dust Devils (since Firefly is more honestly called a "space western" than "science fiction"). I could also fancy Spaceship Q Zero with a different paint job.

But if you don't want to learn anything too new, I'd say run Spycraft mechanics to do the genre and grab bits from D20 Future for setting as required.

edit: p.s. I'm currently playing in a "Firefly-esque" campaign using GURPS Traveller. We make it work, but it's not ideal.

 

[The_Universe]

Grim Tales+D20 Future or D20 Modern/Future should work the best. I'd just go with whatever you own (unless you own both, then I'd use some of the rule variants in Grim Tales like the chase rules, and make Modern the guide for character creation, etc.)

It's familiar to a wide variety of players, it's set up to simulate about the same action/adventure level as the TV show, and D20 Future should let you build enough detail for a one shot without any trouble at all (and it should work about as well for Grim Tales as it does for D20 Modern).

 

[The_Universe]

D6 Adventure + D6 Sci Fi could probably serve you, as well. I really need to pick up those books, if only for nostalgia's sake...

 

[Klaus]

A while ago (before d20 Future came out) someone at the WotC boards statted the Firefly crew up. Here's Mal:

Malcom Renyolds; (Dedicated 6/Tough 5/Soldier 4); CR 15, Medium-sized human male; HD 6d6 plus 5d10 plus 4d10 plus 50; hp: 146; Massive Damage Threshold: 17; Init: +1; Spd: 30ft; Defense: 20 (+1 Dex, +1 Armor, +8 Class) 19 flat-footed, 19 touch; BAB +10; Grapple: +12; Atk: +14/+9 melee (1d8+2/x2), or +13/+8 ranged (2d8+4/x2, Mal's pistol, see below); AL: crew of Serenity, Loyalty, Freedom; SV: Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +9; AP: 35, Rep: +3; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 15, Chr 16.

Occupation: Rural (skills: drive, survival; Bonus Feat: Personal Firearms Proficiency)

Skills: Bluff +10, Craft (mechanical) +2, Craft (structural) +2, Demolitions +4, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +5, Drive +9, Escape Artist +2, Gamble +7, Gather Info +5, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (business) +5, Knowledge (current events) +3, Knowledge (streetwise) +11, Knowledge (tactics) +6, Listen +5, Navigate +2, Pilot +4, Profession (captain tight pants) +7, Read/Write (Chinese), Read/Write (English), Repair +2, Ride +4, Sense Motive +10, Slight of Hand +3, Speak (Chinese), Speak (English), Spot +7, Survival +6, Swim +4, Treat Injury +3

Feats: Brawl, Improved Brawl, Knockout Punch, Confident, Combat Expertise, Deceptive, Heroic Surge (4/day), Iron Will, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Pointblank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Simple Weapons Proficiency,

Talents:
Dedicated: Skill emphasis (bluff), Aware, Faith
Tough: Remain Conscious, Robust, Second Wind
Soldier: Weapon Focus (Mal's Pistol), Weapon Specialization (Mal's Pistol), Bonus Feat (Advanced Firearms Proficiency), Tactical Aid (+1)

Possessions: Independence Army Duster (treat as a leather jacket for armor), Mal's pistol (see below), Serenity (Firefly-class medium transport), tight pants.

Mal's pistol: A mastercraft semiautomatic(??). 2d8+2/x2 damage, 30ft range, Semi-auto, 8 internal rounds (or some such). +1 to hit.

If it interests anyone, I can post the rest of the crew.

 

[Wraith Form]

Sidewinder: Recoiled, combined with D20 future would probably work pretty well.

Even easier: Sidewinder: Recoiled + Traveller T20 = Firefly.

 

[Henry]

There is nothing at all deadly about Firefly -- PCs have script immunity -- so I wouldn't use any gritty system like the various Traveller editions or Grim Tales.

On a conceptual level, I have to disagree; if we're talking one-shot, it might be different, but the TV show was pretty "gritty" and as low-sci-fi as you can get, outside of something like Asprin's Cold Cash War.

He may not die, but Mal for one gets shot, stabbed, poisoned, and humiliated more times in 13 episodes than most "high-sci-fi" characters do in three seasons; Jayne almost got spaced by Mal (and I have a theory that had the series run longer, either he or Simon would have died for dramatic effect) and the number of people the Firefly crew lost to war and general inhumanity was quite large.

 

[John Morrow]

There is nothing at all deadly about Firefly -- PCs have script immunity -- so I wouldn't use any gritty system like the various Traveller editions or Grim Tales.

I disagree. Other than the script immunity (which is often best handled with some sort of "hero point" or GM fiat that can easily be grafted on to any system), main characters go down pretty quickly from even a single gunshot several times in the show (e.g., Kaylee and Book) and "NPCs" drop from single shots left and right. That's the whole logic behind keeping the doctor in the ship. If you get shot, you need to get fixed. It's not as if the protagonists walk around like Chow Yun-Fat in a John Woo film and seem impossible to kill, which is what you get with many more "heroic" or "cinematic" systems designed to emulate action movies. Basically, a deadly system moderated by hero points or just plain GM fiat could work just fine. If you want script immunity, just always treat "dead" and "nearly dead" for the PCs unless (A) the player wants their character to die, (B) its utterly impossible that the character would survive, or (C) the players start absuing the script immunity.

 

[KaosDevice]

Speaking of script immunity remember this is Joss Whedon we are talking about, he kills and maims main characters at the drop of a hat...don't kid yourself.

 

[Henry]

Speaking of script immunity remember this is Joss Whedon we are talking about, he kills and maims main characters at the drop of a hat...don't kid yourself.

Yeah! That's what you need for your Firefly one-shot, Kid C! A Random Maimings Table!