D&D Firefly

[Xandros]

I had trouble deciding whether I should post this under Fantasy or Sci Fi. I decided to post it here since it will likely get more traffic. 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.

[Greylond]

Spelljammer would be a great resource for you to check out for this.

[DeathByDM]

There is a Serenity RPG out there (came out in 2005). I browsed through it at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago. It's not D20, but you could probably use the source material and convert it to D20 if you wanted.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Here's some links that you may be able to cannibalise. Keep us up to date with developments.

http://www.sff.net/people/kitsune/tr...starships.html

http://www.merzo.net/

http://www.utzig.com/traveller/iai.shtml

http://www.utzig.com/cgi-bin/iai/map_top.pl

http://www.people.iup.edu/pnwm/comparison.gif

http://www.travellermap.com/

[cplmac]

Will you be going with what would probably be the obvious role for the dwarves as being the miners/prospectors? A suggestion for the evles would be to make them be most of the aristocratic types, mayor, merchants, etc. Will there be futuristic/scifi type weapons or will they basically be what was available back in the "Old West"? I am also curious to see with what the story is on how the races got there from the other planets.

[Webhead]

As well as the Serenity RPG as DeathbyDM mentioned, there might also be some good info (especially since you want to run D&D 3.5) to be found in the Dragonstar RPG books published by Fantasy Flight Games.

[Bearfoot_Adam]

Another place to go for ship design could be Seas of Blood ( a mongoose book). Yes they are sailing ships but they would give you a basic template to work off of as you convert the hull from wood to metal, and catapults to laser cannons.

As far as the elves needing a complete overhaul in a non magical setting I would just give them a different preferred class. Depending on what version of elves you want (civilized vs. Wild) they could either be rogues or any ranger variant from less magic oriented settings.

If races are from different planets and the a major theme of Firefly and westerns is life on the fringe does this mean that each race has it's own planetary frontiers?

[tesral]

D20 Modern might be a better d20 base that D&D. There is also a "future" version I have never seen. That could be right up your alley.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

There are alot of sci-fi free modules on the net as well. It sould help you when thinking up a clever scenario to run your gamers through.

[Grimwell]

You can also check around for used copies of Alternity and Star Frontiers for a TSR influenced dose of space fantasy. Coming from the D&D company, you may find enough commonalities in the approach to the game to enjoy it.

[Xandros]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I haven't worked out the history yet. I figure that all the different races come from different planets within the same system, but travel freely between them. Most planets now contain a mix of all races, although many civilizations are still rather segregated. Dwarves will come from a mining planet, which will be their primary source of trade with other planets. Most travelling Dwarves will be warriors. Like I said, I haven't worked out the history yet, but I'm thinking they probably were a mining culture until a great war forced them to become soldiers. So far as weapons go, I am going to stay away from lasers and other future weapons and stick to projectiles like on Firefly/Serenity. Mostly sticking to old west style with the rare modern style weapons. There is a used copy of Alternity at my local Hastings. I will pick it up this week. I have all the old Star Frontiers stuff from ages ago. I need to get it out of storage. I will also see if I can find the Serenity role playing game. I am good at converting things. I would not be good at converting ship designs to space ship designs. I could convert stats, but I really want some visuals for players.

[Xandros]

On consideration, it does appear that D20 modern will be the place to start and then convert the fantasy races. I have never played D20 future, but I will need to look it up.

[nijineko]

for me, the greatest benefit of d20 future was that they converted all the star frontiers pc races to 3.x. =D for that alone i'd buy it. ^^

[Mead]

Firefly had lasers, they were just very expensive and tended to attract lots of unwanted attention, making them rare outside the Core planets. They also didn't have very large power packs.

I would say the projectile weapons in Firefly had advanced targeting systems or possibly electronic firing mechanisms (a la Metal Storm), since they mostly all went *kcheee* when cocked and featured vastly expanded ammunition supplies.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Firefly had lasers, they were just very expensive and tended to attract lots of unwanted attention, making them rare outside the Core planets. They also didn't have very large power packs.

I would say the projectile weapons in Firefly had advanced targeting systems or possibly electronic firing mechanisms (a la Metal Storm), since they mostly all went *kcheee* when cocked and featured vastly expanded ammunition supplies.

I would agree. I always felt...also, that the guns in Firefly were high tech in regqards to construction and mechanisms while having an old design concept/appearance, most likley due to the popularity of such designs.

Therefore: Lighter, stronger, more powerful, more accurate, more reliable, fused with an old design for appearances.