Character Creation: Firefly

"Since I found Serenity." Kinda the goal, yeah?

The Game: Firefly
The Publisher: Margaret Weis Productions 
Degree of Familiarity: Some with the system, though I've never played this particular game. Very familiar with the underlying source material
Books Required: Just the one? Tee-hee.

 
This is actually the second RPG based on the IP. The first was Serenity, which only licensed the movie, meaning that it had to talk around the TV show events. This book is based on the show, and as such is able to go much more in-depth with the characters and their history. The book actually goes through each of the 14 episodes and puts events from them in the context of the game, which results in a really readable and engaging way to learn a system.

Character creation, like Chill or Marvel Heroic, has three options: Play an established character, grab a template and tweak it, or build a character from scratch. I am, as usual, going for the third option, but that does mean I need to think about concept a bit. Hmm.

Oh, you know, I think I'm gonna do something a little out of character for me - I'm gonna take an existing character from the Firefly universe and stat him up. More specifically: Fess Higgins.

Fess is the son of Magistrate Higgins, the ruler of Higgins' Moon, which is where the crew found themselves in the surreal position of being surrounded by Jayne fans in "Jaynestown." At the end of this, Fess stood up to his father for the first time, which is the last we see of them, but for my purposes let's say that dear ol' Dad kicked Fess off planet. It's not like he's disowned; Fess could go back, but dad's still pissed and wants Fess to "make something of himself." So Fess has money, but no real experience to speak of. Good start.

Step One: Choose Attributes. We don't get to see much of Fess in the episode, so I'm not sure where he's really strongest. I'll leave his Attributes at d8.

Step Two: Choose Distinctions. I get three of these. I can pick them from the list or make them up. I know I want Gentry to reflect that Fess comes from money and privilege, and that his family name is important. Oh, Wet Behind the Ears is goddam (gorram) perfect. And then I think something like Heart of Gold or Honest or Caring. Based on what we see in the episode, I think Caring makes the most sense.

Step Three: Choose Distinction Triggers. Each of these Distinctions has three triggers. One is just that you can use it as d4 to get a Plot Point, but then they have other effects as well. I don't get them all, though, I just get to unlock a total of two more. Well, I know I want Noblesse Oblige; if someone asks me for help, I get a Complication that obliges me to try. And then I think I want Heal the Wounded Heart. Inara helped Fess through his insecurity and fear of his father and that he wasn't a "real man," and he carries that kindness and empathy forward.

Step Four: Step Up Skills. This is nice and easy. I start with a d4 in all the Skills, and then I step each one that associated with my Distinctions up one for every time it pops up. My Gentry Distinction gives me Drive, Fly, and Focus. Wet Behind the Ears gives me Drive (which goes to d8), Fix, and Treat. Caring gives me Focus (also to d8), Influence, and Treat again (so d8).

Cool. Now I get 9 points to spend to step up Skills. If I step up those Highlighted Skills, it's one-for-one, otherwise a step up costs 2 points. I'll spend 2 to buy Notice up to d6, four to buy Know up to d8 (Fess seems bookish to me), two to put Craft up to d6, and my last one to put Influence up to d8.

Step Five: Choose Specialties and Signature Assets. I get five points here. A signature Asset is one point at d6 or one additional point to step it up to d8, but it can't go higher than that. I'll create one such Asset - Higgins' Moon d6. It's not going to show up much, but Dad does basically run a small world. I'll buy four Specialties: Drive (Wheeled Vehicles), Focus (Frustration), Influence (Empathy), and Treat (Good Listener). And then I get a free one in Know, so I'll take High Society.

Step Six: Biographical Info. I've pretty much got this done, but just to flesh it out a little more: Fess booked passage off Higgins' Moon and wound up somewhere in the Red Sun system, where he listened to a sob story and got burned. He lost a lot of his money and he's considering asking Dad for more, but it actually feels good to get his hands dirty.

Without a group, I think that's pretty much it. I note, with some amusement, that Fess has stats in the book, and the only real point of overlap is the Wet Behind the Ears Distinction.