Roll-keep system for Firefly

POSTED BY: MessiahRRM
UPDATED: Monday, August 2, 2004 18:22
VIEWED: 5223
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MESSIAHRRM

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 4:45 PM

I'm thinking of running a Firefly table-top rpg, using modified rules taken from Legend of the Five rings and Seventh Sea, both of which use a roll-keep D10 system that's quite flexible. I find that these mechanics can be customized to just about any setting.

Also, has anyone thought of asking the official Firefly people about doing an liscenced RPG? That would be quite shiny, I think.

S-what?

WANGENSTEIN

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 5:12 PM

My first thought about a Firefly RPG was that the system for Deadlands might work pretty well (or its generic cousin, the Savage Worlds system). I mean, you actually use poker cards to play the game (as well as dice)! How western is that?

MESSIAHRRM

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 5:16 PM

I was thinking of Deadlands as well, but the actual Deadlands systems is gumpy at best. I was going to take the poker chip mechanic and intergrate it into the roll-keep base system, mainly to make it more heroic (and less player-character deadly). As neat as the cards during combat are, they tend to make combat take forever, in my experience.

NECROMANCERBOB

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 11:48 PM

Deadlands' system stinks. Not as badly as the version used in Brave New World (the worst superhero RPG ever), but still bad. Savage Worlds could possibly work, since it takes out most of DL's wonky elements - thankfully the two systems are at most distant cousins.

Adapting Firefly to R&K: Keep in mind here that I *like* R&K, and am running 7th Sea right now. In finding a system to use, my personal preference is to find something that requires a minimum of adapatation - a similar genre or a generic system that can cover it, preferably. The versions of R&K are mainly set up for medieval tech levels - they're nicely cinematic, but would require a lot of work to add technology and high-tech skills in, IMO. But then, I'm a lazy man.

As far as an official game, IIRC AEG has discontinued the R&K system as an independent line. They're still putting R&K stats in L5R books, but no independent games (and 7th Sea is dead, sadly).

CHOZSUN

Thursday, July 15, 2004 11:18 PM

7th Sea's Keep Die System is an excellent system for game mechanics. It rewards for heroism and drama in the form of drama die (extra D10 awarded by the GM) which can be used later to add to your rolls in case you want to pull off something cool.

Since there isn't a lot of space combat with the Firefly class starship, you wouldn't have to use a system that had rules for Starships (Star Wars, Fading Suns, etc.).

But if you wanted to incorporate more ships, then you may have to borrow rules from other systems to use with Keep Die system.

AMNESIACK

Monday, August 2, 2004 6:22 PM

I think Seventh Sea's naval combat system could be translated into a ship-to-ship space combat system without too much trouble.