Serenity rpg pdf download

The system described here is the one detailed in the Serenity core rule book. Margaret Weis Productions refined and expanded the system for their Battlestar Galactica role-playing game. The system uses dice with 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 sides, described with the standard role-playing game notation of d2, d4, d6, d8, and so on.

Each of a character's attributes and skills is assigned one of these dice types, with larger dice representing greater ability. So, for example, a character might have Strength d6, Intelligence d8, Athletics d4, Guns d10, and so on. Tasks of greater or lesser difficulty are represented either by increasing or decreasing the difficulty number or increasing or decreasing the dice the player rolls by "steps," with each step raising or lowering the die type by one.

So a d10 with a two step penalty becomes a d6, a d12 with a one step penalty becomes a d10, and so on. The game uses a system of Assets and Complications to round out characters and give them various bonuses and penalties. The Cortex System also includes Plot Points , which increase characters' survivability and give players greater control over events in the game.

Players can spend Plot Points to gain extra dice when making a die roll, reduce the damage from an attack, or even make changes to the storyline. She remembers a place and time when they were happy. Fast forward and place her in a scene where something triggers those memories.

Does she do anything about it? Does she reveal or confide her emotions to anyone? Finding suitable motivations can be a difficult task, but without motivation, the character ends up on the drift, going along with events and never really taking charge of them.

Personal motivations provide individuality and add to the drama. Sure you might have signed on to the ship to stay a step ahead of those bounty hunters, but do you have to put up with the doc who wants to stop and save every dirtside orphan? These conflicts of motivation can be the basis for a great role playing experience. Coping with inner conflict builds character. Credo is the most obvious example, allowing. Others can be helpful as well. Both Assets and Complications can set fire to the imagination.

Someone with a Deadly Enemy tends to focus on survival and putting a stop to the threat on a permanent basis. A character with Amnesia might be driven to discover her lost past.

Some Traits hint at the sort of goals the character would prefer: Greedy, Loyal, or Twitchy. While Assets and Complications are not substitutes for larger motivations, they should complement each other at some level.

If a Trait can inspire a motivation, problem solved. Through the long years of the Exodus and even longer centuries of terraforming, humanity prided itself on maintaining its traditions, its faith, and its hope for the future. Nearly every ethnicity, religion, and tradition still exists somewhere. Some traveled. Others remained in ghettoes in the growing cities in the Core. Still others merged together, keeping some or all of the old traditions and adding those of another. These two global powers from Earth-That-Was created the Generation Ships that traveled through the black.

Their people settled on the two prime planets on arrival. Elements from both cultures tend to dominate most areas of society. Beyond those influences, enough time has passed for new cultures to arise. A person born and raised on Shadow has a different outlook on life than a worker at the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone or a Companion from Sihnon.

Remote settlements and colonies may have developed bizarre variations on what others call normal. Embracing these sorts of cultures can enrich the crew and enrich the campaign. Some say they heart of every culture is its food. What folk eat affects their view on life and what they value. When defining an ethnicity consider what the traditional foods are and how they are served and eaten. Does the character eat with chopsticks? Do she use strong spices when she cooks?

Is the ingestion of certain meats forbidden; always or on certain days? Something as simple as food and its preparation can affect all the characters. A character cooking fish-head soup in the ship galley, sending odor throughout the ship, can make some drool with hunger or make others run for the head.

What people say and how they say it says much about their culture. Do they have traditional phrases used. Do they have distinctive terms of praise or obscenity? In fact, whatever research the player is willing to make can only enrich his portrayal.

The character may not stick to the costume in its entirety but he might to incorporate part of it as a symbol in otherwise typical attire. A character might wear his coveralls while on duty, but bring out the kilt and jacket for a party.

Finally, does the culture have a distinct view of religion? Is the character Buddhist, Christian, or a nonbeliever? Does her religion infuse all aspects of her life or is it a private concern not easily shared? Does the character strictly observe religious holidays through fasting or prayer? Does the character have a small shrine in his cabin? Or, at least, not without spacesuits! Those interactions are based on and, in turn, alter, their relationships with one another.

The two main elements of relationships to consider are why you interact with one another this often forms the basis of the relationship , and how you interact with one another. The second aspect of relationships describes how crew characters interact. They would go to the mat for each other, putting their lives on the line to keep the sibling safe. Of course, these two aspects of character relationships are not easily separated from one another.

Compare notes with other players; do any good basic relationships jump out at you? But remember that though the story is important, the people living the story are what count. Here are some examples of basic relationships, the why type, and how they can lead into more nuanced how descriptions.

Survivors You and Fred survived some horrible event together. Could be it was a spaceliner disaster. Could be a POW camp. Maybe you know that when the pressure is on, Fred can freeze up.

He knows that you have a gimpy knee that you try to keep secret. But you also know that he can endure more pain than you thought a mortal could. You two have a bond that few others could understand. Maybe you fought on opposite sides in the Unification War. Are you always looking over your shoulder, just waiting for Fred to stab you in the back? Or are you able to forgive and forget? Are there unresolved jealousy issues?

Is he in line to inherit some significant wealth ahead of you? Is Fred a Companion, and you and your family do not approve of that? Buddies Maybe you served together in the war. Maybe you grew up together and have been buddies since you were knee high to a grasshopper. For whatever reason, you and Fred are best friends.

Mix well and watch the story unfold. Common Background Maybe you and Fred were both war refugees or maybe the war took from both of you people you love. Maybe you both were born to settler families and grew up in the first generation on a new world.

Maybe you were both raised in high society. Now we get to the mechanics of relationships. The rules in this section are purely optional, of course. Their purpose is to encourage players to play up their relationships with each other and to encourage them to play out the sorts of arguments and misunderstandings and food fights typical of Big Damn Heroes. Relationships are represented as Traits. Relationships act as both Assets and as Complications, and can be used as both.

A Relationship Trait is expressed as a sentence. It mentions both characters involved and summarizes the most important element of how one the owner of the Relationship feels about the other. This is real important—a Relationship Trait is not intended to represent every nuance and every aspect of how two people relate to one another,. The long and short of it is that generally players try to do what the rules encourage them to do.

The point of rules for Relationships is to encourage interaction among the players as they use and change those Relationships to their advantage. These rules are most useful for groups whose players are, for whatever reason, reluctant to engage each other in meaty role playing. Some game groups can use a little nudge.

But stay tuned, as some players really enjoy the back-and-forth of combat applied to other forms of conflict. You might want to give these a try. Game Masters might consider allowing heroes to declare a relationship with a ship or a particular bit of gear in their kit.

The Game Master retains the right to veto any use of a Relationship if you think players are taking unfair advantage of it. If the object—ship, gun, pocket watch—ever gets destroyed or ruined beyond repair, the character may shift the Relationship to one of a memory or obsession over that lost object.

That in itself makes for some compelling storytelling. On the other hand, as a Game Master, it might be nice to provide that object with some degree of script immunity. If the character throws in some Plot Points, the object is only out of commission long enough to be a frustration. How to Use These Rules Something to keep in mind is that these rules rely a lot on good judgment.

Use the rules to encourage player to player interaction. Here are a few real important points to remember. But be careful. The one exception to this is the temporary slot, but more on this later.

When creating your crew character, compose one—and no more than one—Relationship Trait for every other member of the crew see Choosing Relationships. If you create crew characters independently of one another, take a few minutes when you come together for the first game to arrange the Relationships rather than make them up independently as well. Leave the temporary slot open for now. Not all Relationships need to be assigned right away.

Players should assign most say, at least half of their available Relationships. Feel free to assign the Relationship Trait when it makes sense, even in the middle of a session if something important happens between the two characters to define how they relate to one another. How does this affect everyone else on board the ship? The same applies for new crew characters, too.

Assign Relationship Traits when it makes sense in the story to do so. Keep it to one sentence, though it can be a complicated sentence if you want it to be. There is no definitive list of Relationship Traits. The best Relationships are those that can cut both ways, and all Relationship Traits should be subject to change. These relationships belong to the character, Jin.

Ling is a placeholder for whatever character that Relationship is directed at. When you take an action and you trigger the Relationship Trait, if the trait seems relevant, your Relationship comes into play. Read that again—just like Complications, Relationships are a great way to generate Plot Points. Alternately, a Relationship trait can be triggered by the Game Master to allow or require a Skill roll where otherwise none would be either allowed or necessary.

If this works against the player, the Game Master should pony up a Plot Point. The examples below include an instance of this. Does the character get seriously ticked off at someone? Did the character catch someone in a state of undress and now feels awkward around them?

The Game Master should assign it here. Get rid of the trait when appropriate— usually at the end of the session or maybe a bit longer if that seems logical. This is the only way you can have more than one Relationship Trait directed at another crew character. Example: Zoe and Jayne Mal is explaining a complicated plan to the crew. Hwa Ling has been bound by law and the purplebellies are headed for the ship.

The first one is the simple way—the player can simply explain to the Game Master why the Relationship is no longer true or important and suggest what the new one should be. If the Game Master agrees, then change it. The other ways are a whole lot more interesting. Discussions A Discussion is a social conflict system that tries to simulate two or more people having a civil though not necessarily friendly non-confrontational conversation attempting to change the status quo in one or more relationships among the people involved in the conversation.

For purposes of these rules a Discussion explicitly represents crew characters attempting to change how they relate to one another, and thus their Relationship Traits. Relationships to a character who is not present. The Game Master needs to use judgment on that. A Discussion is resolved as a cooperative complex action; all parties involved add their Skill rolls together. Each additional party in the Discussion raises the Threshold by one step. Each roll represents an arbitrary length of time; it could be seconds, or it could be an hour.

Players should role play the Discussion out, of course, or at least the highlights. Game Masters should feel free to award bonuses if someone involved in the Discussion uses an appropriate Asset or Complication Trait. Interpreting the results is fairly straightforward, and is essentially based on how long it takes the crew to hash things out. Use the following as guidelines. They redefine their Relationship Traits among themselves and, if the Game Master allows it, with subjects of the Discussion who were not part of the Discussion to reflect the outcome of the Discussion.

The two are close and decide to talk about it civilly. She and Rawhide trade some banter. Rawhide asks some pointed questions about why Devil needs to do what she wants to do and then explains why he has a hard time accepting it. Devil responds by saying she understands, but explains that the money is needed for the good of the crew. The Discussion continues until the two have each had three turns. Suppose their total exceeds In a fight, your capability of staying in the brouhaha is measured by Stun and Wound damage compared against your Life Points.

In an Argument, reaching your boiling point is measured by Stress compared against Composure. The Argument plays out by a series of backand-forth conversations simulated by social Skill rolls.

Same thing with the defense roll—the defending player has his character respond, and he and the Game Master decide what Skill he uses to parry the thrust. Role play this in whatever ways make sense. Maybe a character runs away in tears or throws dishes. Just make sure your table has a consensus on handling crew vs. The consequences of an Argument are more spectacular than a Discussion. First, both characters involved in the Argument may end up drastically changing their Relationships with each other.

Players and Game Master need to use their best judgment here and make the consequences relevant. Second, who lost and who won does matter. The loser must give a Plot Point to the winner. Furthermore, the loser may alter his temporary Relationship slot in some relevant way, perhaps reflecting some temporary embarrassment or bruised feelings or a broken nose.

An optional rule is to allow the Game Master to force the activation of a Complication—to enforce it. In other words, the Game Master can hit the player with consequences stemming from his Complication whether he likes it or not. The scope of the penalty is left up to the Game Master. Use this rule to toss a wrench into the works to make things more fun, but be very careful not to overdo it.

But if the Game Master acts responsibly and the crew trusts the Game Master to enforce only Complications when doing so makes the game more fun for everyone, the use of this rule can really enhance the experience. Once an Argument begins, one side or the other can attempt to de-escalate. In this case, the two combatants may leave the Argument. Stress goes away at a rate of 1 point an hour, so that character probably best avoid getting into another Argument too soon after the last one.

In addition to the people involved in the Argument, there could be bystanders and observers whose opinions might be affected. Anyone witnessing an Argument may alter his temporary Relationship in some relevant way, particularly if one side of the Argument was nasty and bullying or generous and magnanimous.

Sadly Temporary The final method of changing Relationship Traits is only relevant to temporary Relationships. All temporary Relationship Traits vanish at the end of each game session unless the Game Master and players decide there is a compelling reason for one or more to remain.

Further, the Relationship Traits can evaporate within the session if this makes narrative sense. This revised Crew Creation process has the same number of items on the checklist as the version on page 30 of the Serenity Role Playing Game. The biggest difference is the order in which some things are done and how Traits are purchased. This translates to a free Minor Asset.

And finally, if. The Game Master will determine the Heroic Level for the crew. Points assigned become Attribute dice: 2 points is a d2, 4 points is a d4, and so on. The maximum in any Attribute is d The player must choose at least one Asset and one Complication. Like Attributes, every Skill has dice rating. Spend your Skill Points to pick up General Skills. Choose Specialty Skills for ratings higher than d6. The same limitations apply as in the Serenity Role Playing Game.

With the two. Get Skills From this point everything proceeds more or less as it did in the usual Crew Creation process. You get a number of Skill Points equal to your starting Attribute Points plus Why should I change the way characters get created? Makes sense, figuring out those defining aspects of your character. This chapter simplifies the process, providing new ways to use Traits and Skills and suggestions for changing how to define them in the game.

As a player in the Serenity Role Playing Game, you should feel free to consult with your Game Master about new Traits for your crew character; as a Game Master, you should go ahead and throw your hat in the ring, writing any new Traits you think your crew will need! In this book, there are a number of new and different spins on this subject you might want to check. This might be from extensive training or practice or it could be in your nature to be able to compartmentalize physical pain or emotional pain.

Normal Skill rolls to do so automatically fail. A Reader suffers a —2 Skill step when trying to Read you. You automatically resist the urge to break down cry, go into hysteria, or similar upon receiving bad news, though you may need to deal with it at a later time.

You still feel the pain, but this Trait lets you ignore it until a more convenient moment to grieve arrives. When you suffer more Wound damage than half your Life Point score, you take only a —1 Attribute step to all actions instead of the normal —2. Make sure to talk with your Game Master about who exactly you look like, since the GM will need to approve any fringe benefits this grants you. If you start failing actions this Trait benefits, the authorities are going to start getting suspicious.

Again, make sure you and the Game Master have a good handle on what this entails. You might want to take the Dark Secret Complication if this alternate identity becomes less help and more pain in the ass. These organs run a little hotter than normal, but they make you one tough S. At the Major level, enough of your guts have been swapped out to ensure that almost anything broken is one of the implants, which heal faster.

In addition to the Minor benefits, you recover from Wound damage at twice the normal rate. Born in the Black [Major] Folk die in the black all the time. You have wide-ranging knowledge about such things as space-survival and maintenance drills. You can operate basic ship systems such as sensors, emergency systems, and life support. On the flip side, you are a fish out of water planet-side. You may have trouble dealing with horizons bending the wrong way, cold weather, and hostile ecology.

These problems are usually too minor to count as Complications, but if your Game Master uses this Trait to throw problems at you perhaps a weak auto-immune response to common germs on some planets, leading to a —1 or —2 Attribute step penalty to resist catching cold , then the GM should reward you with a Plot Point or two. You have a title—inherited or earned—or a well-known family name, and this can help you out a bit when interacting with nobility.

As a Minor Trait, your status is only recognized by folk on a single planet or moon, or some minor group of likeminded citizens. Of course, you could run afoul of someone who bears a grudge against your family or just simply hate bluebloods. If your title or name ever causes you problems, the Game Master should reward you with Plot Points as if it were a Complication. You have a way with computer systems and the Cortex. That means that if you spend 1 Plot Point to get a d2, it gets increased to a d6.

Connoisseur [Minor] You have refined tastes—at least, some folk think so. Examples: wine, breeding prized hunting dogs, growing award-winning geraniums. Your reputation extends out to the Rim, where most other enthusiasts of the same field welcome you, regardless of class, politics, religion or any other differences. Maintaining your status requires exercising your knowledge as a speaker or a judge of competitions, and you might fall out of favor if you fail to live up to these expectations.

Your base movement speed is higher than normal. At the Major level, your Hideout can support up to a dozen crew. When you take this Trait, be sure to talk with the Game Master. Light Sleeper [Minor] The slightest noise or disturbance, even a change in the way your ship sings through the Black, wakes you up. If you start to suffer from fatigue or insomnia, the Game Master should award you Plot Points as if this were a Complication.

Folks here come to you looking for work legit or otherwise to fence goods or when they need to know what you know.

The exact nature of the item is up to you. It could be anything you could keep on your person at all times, such as a signature hat, a military uniform, a pair of sunglasses, or a well-worn pistol with a handle grip carved by your father.

However, since something like a pistol can still be confiscated by guards or similar, you can only hope that the GM will see to it that the object is returned later. This could be almost anything: a ship, a small planet, a big business, a racehorse, or even a government research project. Any endeavor covered by this Trait has at least three partners, so unless members of your crew hold the other two shares, your ship or business, or planet or race horse is still owned at least in part by a supporting character or an organization.

Be sure to check with the Game Master before taking this Trait; you can only be a Shareowner of something the GM approves. Unless the game is exceptionally highpowered and the Game Master allows it, three crew characters cannot each take this Trait and suddenly own an Alliance Cruiser!

Just like the Assets, this list of new Complications works pretty much like the list in the Serenity Role Playing Game. You might want to look to the previous chapter on Relationship Traits and the new rules on Assets and Complications later in this chapter for more ways to get complicated. You can take it as read that role playing Complications is a swift way to get more Plot Points! You find it hard to concentrate. New ideas or shiny objects easily distract you. This is more than a mite troublesome when you really need to stay focused and on task.

The Game Master might impose a —2 Skill step to your rolls when distractions make it difficult for you to concentrate on a long or involved task or when you try to remember where you put the keys to the spaceship. As a Major Complication, you have total amnesia.

You have no memories except for vague little feelings urged by memory triggers. Note: Even if you pick an explanation for your loss of memory head injury, corporate experimentation, etc , this is only what you think happened. The Game Master may weave your problem into the story however the GM sees fit.

Cold As the Black [Minor] You have no emotions. Your emotions are nearly non-existent. Apprehend criminals runnin to the black. Its not as free as youd like, but theres security. They pay you to shoot things. Someday, they might believe you. Fcll Dg c Truck. You can feel when shes sick, and she makes you proud when shes well. Youre just that good. Everyone else is just in the way. And hope you leave as soon as possible.

Youre the light in their darkness. Friendly Banter: Step up Social Ior a scene. To lvc wthout honor s not living at all. Youre the exact opposite.

But the way folk carry themselves, how they move, thats the language you speak. Honey, why would I do that? Just dont make promises you cant keep. You werent ready! The sun was in your eyes! Double or nothing! Your pappy youd throw in for free. Cept maybe girls. Or liquor. Or cards. A truc dcnccr cxsts cs beauty through motion. But for the time being, youve got resources. It may have changed you, but you didnt break. You like to refer to it as having an expertise in beverages; others like to refer to it as a serious problem.

One of you is right. Folk who dont know that are foolin themselves. Theres a power in that. But now that its done, you can never go back. Now ]olks try not to cvcn look ct you. Look at Me! You Call That Pain? Youre a fugitive and youre trouble. Some call you a witch. Theyre just scared of what you represent.

Youve always stood together. Youre more than gifted; youre transcendent. Spend 1 PP Io do boIh. It aint that. You just grew up a mite sheltered, is all. Triggers are special tricks you can use to afect the dice you add to your pool or to gain Plot Points, special Assets, or other benefts.

Tuesday, January 24, PM. Sunday, January 29, PM. Saturday, February 4, PM. Tuesday, September 11, AM. Monday, September 17, PM. All other graphics and texts are copyright of the contributors to this website. Nice package, good read. Haven't run it yet, so I can't comment on playability, but I did notice one itsy-bitsy design deficiency: no character sheets! I suppose I could locate some generic sheets, or modify something from some other RPG, but I'm both unskilled at graphic design and fundamentally lazy.

Has someone else out there already dealt with this problem, and if so, are you willing to share with your fellow browncoats? Don't let that stop you. If you don't bet, you can't win. I haven't found anyone willing to try and play it anyway, because they all like White Wolf systems too much. Saffron: I do know my bible, sir. On the night of their betrothal the wife shall open to the man as the furrow to the plow. He shall work in her again and again, til she bring him to his full.

And rest him then upon the sweat of her breast. Mal: Whoa.