Firefly LARP thread - soliciting ideas/feedback

POSTED BY: TenthCrewMember
UPDATED: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 21:14
VIEWED: 18564
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TENTHCREWMEMBER

Thursday, May 26, 2005 3:28 PM

Okay, thus far, we know we want rules for a LARP and I am working on that. Looking to convert Deadlands (possibly) and go forward from there.

Also, I am looking for any ideas from LARPers RPGers and general fans for what they'd like to see/not see in the game system.

BWAH!
TCM

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FORRESTWOLF

Thursday, May 26, 2005 5:48 PM

I've helped to develop a sci-fi LARP ssytem myself - in fact, when Firefly came out right afterwards, I thought it had some eerie similarities to the system we developed.

Things I liked about the system we made (but may or may not apply to what you're discussing!):

1) We had learning-type rules systems for things like science, engineering, etc. You could actually solve puzzles that taught you a LITTLE bit about those disciplines. Put another way, you really ought to give the mechanics something to keep busy with. Repair/jury-rig-type puzzles are probably good for that.

2) We used 'airlocks' to great effect, really. Seemed to add a lot to have areas designated as airlocks.

3) Paintball masks sure looked good for respirators. Not so sure about proper vacuum suits.

4) Cameras and R/C vehicles added a LOT to the tech feel of the game. A Firefly game would only need one or two gadgets, anyway (tech shouldn't dominate), and it would add a lot to atmosphere.

5) Ours WAS a combat LARP. That is, combat was handled real-time, using Laser Tag-style guns. This really can work quite well, with the right guns, which are not expensive. On the OTHER hand, we had lasers, not gunpowder weapons - might not work so well for Firefly. Perhaps NERF? Capguns work very well for 'modern' combat LARPS, as an alternative. You can throw a beanbag at the same time the capgun goes off, and a combat sure SOUNDS like a Firefly-like fight. On the other hand, perhaps you don't WANT a combat LARP. But man, swinging foam 'chairlegs' and 'bottles' would look GREAT in a bar-room brawl.

EMMA

Thursday, May 26, 2005 7:38 PM

For a good LARP I personally think you need both combat and politicing, storylines and so on.

How many people would you want to play? The best LARPing has at least 20 players but would this be too many for 1 ship? It could be done so that the game was based on Persephone. That time a bunch of people could be a crew for a Firefly-class ship and others could be different characters on Persephone. Alternatively, you could have it so the actual Serenity crew are in the game as NPCs and only come in to play occasionally.

I think allowing maybe one or two alliance PCs would work but they would have to keep it secret and so the GM(s) should make sure they know the players before agreeing to them. The same with companions - too many would be silly. As an aside, I totally agree about giving mechanics something to do.

extremely dimensionally transcendental

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Friday, May 27, 2005 3:29 AM

Combat - Yes
Politics - Yes
Storyline - Hell yes.

To me, combat in Firefly was merely an extension of the politics of the 'verse, whether it be personal (Mal & Patience) or Governmental (Alliance & Independents).

My thinking for the LARP would be to allow people to portray characters in the 'verse but not the actual people in the show (NPCs as you said). Thus if I wanted to be a cook from Londinium with a shiny hat that took a job on a transport so I could "see the 'verse", I could be just that. I am thinking the setting should be 10 or less players per group, all on 1 ship. Multiple groups could exist, but it would be up to the storytellers(for lack of a better title) to find reasons for them to come together (such as they both get word of a wrecked freighter on an outlying moon and race in for salvage! That could be fun with seperate rooms representing seperate ships!)

This could also allow for online play if say, a group of 6 people spread across the globe all wanted to be part of the same crew...but let's start small, and think big for later.

Sorry, getting ahead of myself. I want the game to incorporate the combat, the politics, and the story. Characters should have depth. Reasons for being and doing. They can have conflict, hell, I'd encourage conflict. Though I'd warn against excessive PC death. A good storyteller will make common enemies for the PCs to deal with and keep on keepin' on.

Of course, if you have a large enough group (like I could have here in Cincy) you may want to create a "bigger" story. Perhaps they are a crew of Slavers who supply the gov't with labor for terraforming, and of course the Alliance doesn't ask where they came from so long as they arrive out on the border. So you could conceivably have a larger ship with more "roles" to be taken on (like "Recruiter" ha ha ha). It's a LARP so anything (within reason) should be possible.

I am also thinking this will be a great way to bring other gamers into the Firefly fanbase. I mean, who wouldn't want to run around, steal, and shoot people? Sounds like every D&D game or Vampire LARP I've been in, except now we get spaceships!

Those were just some surface thoughts to give you an idea of the location of NO & WHERE, which is where I am presently. :)

BWAH!
TCM

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EMMA

Friday, May 27, 2005 7:13 AM

Yeah that sounds good, although I have played the games where you have different rooms and they don't often work (IMHO). What can work is having a large hall and using tables and such like as makeshift walls - that way you can still see the other players.

The other rooms, do of course work for a weekender.

Your ideas for a plot sound good, but the ship sounds a bit tricky, you would need a certain number of NPCs to make it interesting and with only 10 players it would be hard for them to come out of game-time to become a different character for a while. Of course, they could do this if the ship were to land somewhere, your mechanic/companion etc could go looking for parts/clients and come back as a dodgy dealer...

Sounds good, wish I could come and play - the Atlantic is in the way though!

extremely dimensionally transcendental

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Saturday, May 28, 2005 6:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Emma:
Yeah that sounds good, although I have played the games where you have different rooms and they don't often work (IMHO). What can work is having a large hall and using tables and such like as makeshift walls - that way you can still see the other players.

Well that was an idea for larger groups or groups that want a competetive US v THEM style of game.

Quote:
Of course, they could do this if the ship were to land somewhere,

Well a good ST would certainly get them there. :) A good idea for newcomers and new games might be to have the Captain be an NPC until the players get on their feet.

Quote:
Sounds good, wish I could come and play - the Atlantic is in the way though!

When I get this all done (sometime in the future, hopefully not 500 years from now! LOL!) you should get a group together on your side of the pond. And perhaps, email/chat game will be a good possibility (seeing as they communicate via "waves" in the show all the time).

BWAH!
TCM

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EMMA

Saturday, May 28, 2005 11:50 AM

sounds cool!

extremely dimensionally transcendental

FORRESTWOLF

Saturday, May 28, 2005 4:25 PM

Personally, I prefer a LARP with the role of 'player' (i.e., 'hero' for lack of a better word) vs. 'cast' deliniated. If you have a group of 20-40 participants, then, you'd have a few 'storyteller' types (the storyteller, technical support roles), a ship crew of perhaps 10 'players', and the rest would be 'cast.' This would fit the model of a small crew in a larger 'Verse pretty well.

That's just a style of LARP I prefer - the other alternative would be a 'Persephone'-like game like you describe (actually, the Space Bazaar would work really well, too), where you'd have a LOT of 'players' in various groups, and very few 'cast' - that's much more like a Vampire- or Mind's Eye Theater-style game. Much more politicking and inter-PC conflict.

Me, I prefer the small group vs. the world - and Firefly supports that, to some extent - but I'm sure there's room in the 'Verse for BOTH types of play. Perhaps you'd want 'Persephone' like games at conventions?

As for difficulty in set design - Firefly is PERFECT for 'planetside' adventures - all you need is a nice drylands-looking park. Shipboard adventures DO require some creative set design, IF you want it to 'look good.' On the other hand, a few tables and a lot of imagination could go a long way :)

I'm in New Jersey - where's the proposed region for play?

FORRESTWOLF

Saturday, May 28, 2005 4:42 PM

Few more thoughts -

1) How bout using an existing ruleset, to keep this simple? Just translate dicerolls to rock-scissors-paper if need be (ala Vampire) and streamline the system. I'll go ask Jamie Chambers if the new Serenity RPG is well-suited to LARP translation - who knows? Maybe they'd give 'us' an advance quickplay copy to use?

2) Is the goal here advertising for Serenity? If so, we (note: I'm saying WE, but I think TCM is the one doing this :) could put this on a fast development timeline and rush out a game this summer. Not impossible to pull off, depending on scope, and it would be right, timing-wise, to draw in new recruits.

3) You know, it really WOULD be easy to set up the stereotypical 'Mal meets the contact' scene - imagine the meetings with Patience or the contacts buying the meds on Ezra (War Stories). SO easy to pull off in a park.

SLAYER730

Saturday, May 28, 2005 8:36 PM

My husband SteamedBao3 already wrote an entire Firefly LARP, rules and all over a year ago. If you have any questions, you can email him at Ripper5X5@hotmail.com

***Never judge a book by its movie***

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