D&D Firefly

[Thorodin]

I have recently gotten inspired to do a Firefly (the television series) type universe with fantasy races and elements. Basically D&D with a western/Sci Fi setting. I haven't thought out too much yet, so I will add to this as I have more detailed questions. I want to use D20 D&D 3.5 as the base. I could use some suggestions and maybe some other resources that I could use that I can convert to the game. I am figuring on using the various D&D races (Dwarves etc.) as races from different planets of origin. I will need to change the racial abilities from a fantasy setting to fit with a sci-fi western setting. Off the top of my head I am thinking of going with a non magic universe. If I use elves in that case they will need to be totaly readapted. I could also use some reference ideas for diagrams of various types of spaceships. That's something I really don't want to create from scratch. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Zeta Kai]

Well, I think you'd be better off starting with D20 Modern; it has the no-demihuman, tech-compatible ruleset that your probably already looking for. Standard D&D cannot function easily or well if you scrape out all the magic; you have to at least put something else in its place. You're probably going to be reinventing the wheel if you try to turn D&D into a D20 Modern-like ruleset on your own.

That being said, here is a Firefly D20 project I found a while back. It seems like a good place to start. Also, this page briefly discusses the pros & cons of various gaming systems in regards to the 'Verse. Good luck.

[Heskan da snipa]

well off by heart i dont know what you could use as referance. however i do no that they have a listing for guns in the DMG.

As for your character and monster design. you really dont have to change much. none of the base races have any racial magical abilities as i recall. you could basically keep the same stat bonus and racial traits and be perfectly fine.

i think the hardest thing would be determining combat. if the conditions are normal then combat is normal. however if the pcs are fighting in zero gravity then they should have a reduced speed, strength, and dexterity.

If you have the pcs fighting in air combat (spaceships), i guess you could just give the ships a basic move speed, dexterity, passenger size, and different types of attacks. since your probably gonna be fighting other ships, give the ships two or three attacks that do 1d10 or 2d8 damage. have the ships have a set amount health as well.

if may also be good to have one of the base races to be good with repairing the ships. probably the dwarf would make sense and have a custom feat that allows them to repair whatever it is that needs repaired in a certain amount of turns. elves would be good pilots along with halflings and humans (elves and halflings would give a +2 to the ships dex). humans and dwarves would be good at ground combat and get a +2 to constitution or strength. i think only having those four races would be sufficient.

however if you wish to use all the races you could easily find a use for them by looking at the character type. like an ogre would be a good gunner and give the gun either an extra 1d6 damage OR a +3 to attack rolls.

i gotta go, ill post more later.

[sigurd]

I think you'd have problems with the power curved in D&D.

The firefly team are experienced characters that survive on wits not mega hit points and super powers.


Sigurd

Have you thought about something like Cthulu or maybe Traveller?

[Duke of URL]

Google "Serenity d20" and you'll get links to d20 Modern conversions for Firefly/Serenity.

[Zeta Kai]

Google "Serenity d20" and you'll get links to d20 Modern conversions for Firefly/Serenity.

Yeah, that's what I did to get the links in my first post.

[Angel in Black]

Honestly? If you can get your hands on it, use Alternity. I love the system, it works so well for this sort of thing.

[Cubey]

DnD would create a poor representation of Firefly's feel, I advise against it. There already is a Firefly/Serenity tabletop game. I didn't play it, but people who did had mixed reactions - that is, some liked it a lot and others hated it.

[Lord Tataraus]

Well, if you want a space-faring fantasy universe, why not start with Spelljammer? Here is the 3.5 official conversion.

[zeruslord]

d20 is the wrong system to use for Firefly. The linear distribution may work, but the power curve, detail level, and toughness of characters just won't support a western-style setting.

[ErrantX]

You could also incorporate elements from the anime Outlaw Star if you do want to include magic. Wiki it if you're not familiar with it. I must say it's one of my favs!

-X