This is not a review of Serenity. This is an overview of how Serenity maps to Traveller.
This is my 25 cent run-through.
I saw a copy of Serenity RPG used on Amazon for $17, and finally decided to get it. I had read a couple of mixed reviews comparing it to the newer Firefly, which I decided meant it didn't matter that I got the older one.
Chris Thrash is in the credits, in case you remembered him from T4 (and TNE?) and the TML in the 90s. And Lester Smith. And James Ward.
Serenity Characters are like Traveller Characters
Sure, there are differences, but at least at face value they seem to have more in common than not.
Serenity characters have attributes and skills. Yes, chargen is point-buy, and the task system is different, and they explicitly have hit points, but essentially Serenity characters are like Traveller characters. They even split attributes up in half: three physical, and three mental.
Tip. To have Traveller characters that seem a bit like Serenity characters:
(1) Replace Education and Social Standing with Alertness (like intuition and observation) and Willpower.
(2) Andy Slack in 2015 noted that his players came up with detailed backstories and personalities with no Edges, Hindrances, Ads/Disads or whatever you want to call them. He concluded the point by saying You really don’t need rules for that stuff, you know.
Economics are Economics
The Alliance credit is worth US$25 - more than the Traveller credit. If the Traveller credit is today worth around US$5, then that corresponds most closely to the gold coin used in Border systems in Serenity (also US$5).
Equipment costs are different from item to item, but unless someone is really keen on finding out why, I bet it won't matter.
Tip: There's lots of neat equipment for covert operations in this book. If you're going to run something Firefly-like, this book will help with gear, even if you use Traveller otherwise.... but it's not necessary.
Starships in Serenity can require monthly payments, as usual, as well as fuel, supplies, parts and upgrades, and crew salaries.
Passengers pay less than in Traveller - significantly so. I suppose that's because there's no actual interstellar travel. Cargo is close to Traveller prices, it seems.
Robots run the same general range as in Traveller, I think. Nothing really new there.
Starships are More Abstract
Yes, starships in Serenity have abstracted equipment ratings into a set of "attributes" that makes them work as if they were NPCs. At least, that means the task system works for ships as well as characters. Handy. Here's how you could create similar ship Attributes for Traveller:
STR. Use a Size Code.
DEX. Use High Guard Agility, perhaps.
END. Rate the ship's maintenance status. This could map to "Quality" or "Reliability" from T5.
Alertness. This is simply the power of the ship's sensors.
INT. This is simply the main computer's rating.
Willpower. This is a measure of the ship's "Safety" and redundancy rating.
The Setting
Pages 197 to 218 have all the background you need to run the game in the Firefly 'verse.
This is my 25 cent run-through.
I saw a copy of Serenity RPG used on Amazon for $17, and finally decided to get it. I had read a couple of mixed reviews comparing it to the newer Firefly, which I decided meant it didn't matter that I got the older one.
Chris Thrash is in the credits, in case you remembered him from T4 (and TNE?) and the TML in the 90s. And Lester Smith. And James Ward.
Serenity Characters are like Traveller Characters
Sure, there are differences, but at least at face value they seem to have more in common than not.
Serenity characters have attributes and skills. Yes, chargen is point-buy, and the task system is different, and they explicitly have hit points, but essentially Serenity characters are like Traveller characters. They even split attributes up in half: three physical, and three mental.
Tip. To have Traveller characters that seem a bit like Serenity characters:
(1) Replace Education and Social Standing with Alertness (like intuition and observation) and Willpower.
(2) Andy Slack in 2015 noted that his players came up with detailed backstories and personalities with no Edges, Hindrances, Ads/Disads or whatever you want to call them. He concluded the point by saying You really don’t need rules for that stuff, you know.
Economics are Economics
The Alliance credit is worth US$25 - more than the Traveller credit. If the Traveller credit is today worth around US$5, then that corresponds most closely to the gold coin used in Border systems in Serenity (also US$5).
Equipment costs are different from item to item, but unless someone is really keen on finding out why, I bet it won't matter.
Tip: There's lots of neat equipment for covert operations in this book. If you're going to run something Firefly-like, this book will help with gear, even if you use Traveller otherwise.... but it's not necessary.
Starships in Serenity can require monthly payments, as usual, as well as fuel, supplies, parts and upgrades, and crew salaries.
Passengers pay less than in Traveller - significantly so. I suppose that's because there's no actual interstellar travel. Cargo is close to Traveller prices, it seems.
Robots run the same general range as in Traveller, I think. Nothing really new there.
Starships are More Abstract
Yes, starships in Serenity have abstracted equipment ratings into a set of "attributes" that makes them work as if they were NPCs. At least, that means the task system works for ships as well as characters. Handy. Here's how you could create similar ship Attributes for Traveller:
STR. Use a Size Code.
DEX. Use High Guard Agility, perhaps.
END. Rate the ship's maintenance status. This could map to "Quality" or "Reliability" from T5.
Alertness. This is simply the power of the ship's sensors.
INT. This is simply the main computer's rating.
Willpower. This is a measure of the ship's "Safety" and redundancy rating.
The Setting
Pages 197 to 218 have all the background you need to run the game in the Firefly 'verse.
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