Note 1: If you wish to skim read this, you should read the entirety of the Premise, and then the first Rule from each section.
Note 2: Sign-up coming soon. All gameplay happens on the following website, where the map is located also, and with each action recorded live in the game thread.
Premise
1. Each player has borrowed $6k from the crime lord Niska and is now the proud owner of a Firefly class starship with $3k cash still in hand. The aim of the game is to earn enough money to pay Niska back by doing jobs around the 'Verse. The first player to return to Ezra (where Niska is) with $6k in hand and two solid contacts wins.
2. The 'Verse is made up of a grid-like map that will be linked in the game thread. The blue central areas are Alliance territory, and the red outer areas are Border territory. Planets and stations are also highlighted.
3. Each player's Firefly-class starship by default has a range of 5 sectors, has a cargo hold of four, a cargo stash of four, a crew hold of seven (including the Captain) and space for three starship upgrades. Each player's captain counts as one of the crew for purposes of crew count, but cannot be killed, discarded or removed from play.
4. All players, their basic information, cards, actions, and any and all dice rolls made in the game will be hosted at the official website which will be linked at the top of the game thread.
a. Dice rolls that occur at the end of the Fly action, or in response to killed crew, will occur on the listed action cards. Crew or gear skills that increase the number of these rolls will increase them up until the maximum allowed value of the dice.
b. Dice rolls to calculate the success of actions that rely on skills are known as Skill Tests. These will occur and display on the appropriate card that requires them.
c. Requests for actions should be made by players in the game thread, unless otherwise indicated by the GM. The website will be updated, and a summary of the results of the requests will be made by the GM in the game thread.
Setup
5. Before the beginning of the game, all players must name their Captain and Firefly starship, and pick a Profession and Personality of their chosen Captain. They must also choose the starting location of their Firefly, which cannot be the same location as any other Firefly. They will be then given starting jobs, one from each dealer, and must discard down to three.
a. Jobs start with a starting skillset for the Captain you choose. There are three possible skills in the game; Fight (Fi), Tech (Te) and Talk (Ta).
i) All Rounder (Fi Te Ta) - note this does not give your Captain any particular job bonus but does give you a basic benefit in all skills
ii) Companion (Ta Ta Ta)
iii) Mechanic (Te Te Te)
iv) Soldier (Fi Fi Fi)
v) Mercenary (Fi Fi Ta)
vi) Grifter (Ta Ta Fi)
vii) Medic (Te Te Ta)
viii) Pilot (Te Te Fi)
b. Personalities offer a bonus to completing certain objectives, enabling you to work towards your particular advantage.
i) Heart of Gold: Acquire all crew for free.
ii) Tech Genius (Mechanic Job required): Get all ship upgrades for half price.
iii) Shipping Magnate: Get $500 for each shipping job completed.
iv) Smuggler Extraordinaire: Get $500 for each smuggling job completed.
v) Brown Coat: Get $500 for each crime job completed.
vi) Transport Tycoon: Get $500 for each transport job completed.
vii) Gun Runner: Get all explosives and firearms at half price.
viii) Cold and Heartless: Get $500 for each immoral job completed.
Gameplay
6. On each round, each player gets to take a turn. On a player's turn, they may do two of four actions: Fly, Buy, Deal or Work. They may not do the same action twice.
a. There are some things noted in the rules that do not take an action to complete. These can be done at any time, even if the player(s) in question are not on their turn.
b. The GM has the rights to move play forward after 24 hours of inactivity from the current player on turn.
Fly
7. To Fly, a player may move their Firefly starship through sectors on the map up until the maximum possible range of their Firefly.
a. A player may move their Firefly into adjacent sectors horizontally, vertically and diagonally.
8. If a player ends their Fly action within a sector in Alliance territory, a 20 sided dice is rolled. If the dice falls on the number 20, Alliance Cruiser contact is established.
a. When Alliance Cruiser contact is established, the player loses all contraband and fugitives on their ship that are not stored in the stash. Each warrant the player has loses the player $1000, and then all warrants are cleared. For each wanted crew member the player has, a 6 sided dice is rolled for that crew member. If the dice falls on 1, that crew member is removed from the game.
b. When a player finishes their turn in Londinium, Alliance Cruiser contact is always established.
9. If you end your action within a sector in Border territory, a 20 sided dice is rolled. If the dice falls on the number 20, Reaver contact is established.
a. When Reaver Cruiser contact is established, the Reaver's location is moved to the location of the player. If the player has a pilot and a mechanic on their crew roster, the player evades. If not, a 6 sided dice is rolled. If the dice falls on the numbers 1-2, 2 crew members are killed and the player evades. If the dice falls on the numbers 3-4, 1 crew member is killed and the player evades. If the dice falls on the numbers 5-6, the player evades with their crew intact.
b. When a crew member is killed, that crew member is removed from the game.
c. To evade, a player moves their ship to an adjacent sector from their finishing position.
d. All other players occupying the same sector establish contact with the Reaver Cruiser in accordance with the above rules regardless of whether they are on turn or not.
10. No players may travel to or through a system where a Reaver ship is located. However, they may spend a Fly action to lure the Reaver ship to their current location if they are in a sector next to the location of the Reaver ship. If they do, Reaver contact is established and follows the procedure of 9.a. The player's ship may then evade into the new location.
11. If a player ends their turn in a sector that doesn't contain a planet or a station, their range is reduced by 1 to a minimum of 1. Otherwise, their range is restored to the maximum possible range of their Firefly.
a. A player may ask to search a system that doesn't contain a planet or a station as part of their Fly action request. If a player doesn't encounter an Alliance Cruiser or a Reaver ship, a 6 sided dice is rolled. If the dice falls on the numbers 5-6, the player has found a derelict, and may recover two Cargo (in Border territory) or two Contraband (in Alliance territory).
Buy
12. There are five locations from which items, ship upgrades, and crew may be purchased.
a. Space Bazaar, which is the home to many fine pilots and hired guns.
b. Silverhold, where players will find hill folk and hired guns.
c. Persephone, which houses many fine mechanics and hired guns.
d. Regina, which houses mechanics and Border ship upgrades.
e. Osiris, which is the home to many of the leading medical practioners and Alliance ship upgrades.
13. For each location, a minimum of three visible cards are held at all times. On each round after the first, one of the following three things happen depending on circumstance:
a. If no player is present at a sellers location, and there are less than six cards present, an additional card is added to that location.
b. If no player is present at a sellers location, and there are six or more cards present, a random card is put back into the deck at the discretion of the GM from that location, and then an additional card added to that location. The card put back can be the card subsequently drawn.
c. If one or more players are present at a sellers location, three cards are added to that location.
14. When at a particular location, a player may use a Buy action to purchase up to two visible cards. When these cards are purchased, additional cards will be automatically added in to bring the visible card count of that location up to the minimum of three, if needed.
a. Players may not purchase crew or ship upgrades if their Firefly has no more room for these things, but may discard crew beforehand in accordance with crew discard rules (see Rule 28) and ship upgrades beforehand at any time. Discarding either of these does not take an action.
b. Some crew members will be available to be renamed when a player takes control of them. These crew will be highlighted with their purchase name in brackets. At the time of purchase, a player may name that crew member whatever they wish them to be called and it will be shown on the card. If they do not pick a name, a random name will be chosen by the GM instead.
c. Players may spend a Buy action, along with $100 per crew, to give crew shore leave. In doing so, all disgruntled crew become undisgruntled.
Deal
15. There are five contacts from which jobs can be collected. When a player successfully completes a job for a contact, they become solid with that contact, and are able to sell that contact cargo and contraband, along with other listed benefits. The contacts are:
a. Harken, who can be found on Londinium. When solid, you can't sell contraband to Harken, and clearing warrants is automatic when encountering Harken (as explained in Rule 8.b.), but you can sell Cargo for $200 each.
b. Amnon Duul, who can be found on the Space Bazaar. When solid, can be sold Cargo for $600, Contraband for $500 and allows the loading of Passengers and Fugitives for free, no limit.
c. Badger, who can be found on Persephone. When solid, can be sold Cargo for $600, Contraband for $700 and clear all warrants for $1000.
d. Patience, who can be found on Athens. When solid, can be sold Cargo for $600, Contraband for $500, and sells both Cargo and Contraband for $800 each.
e. Niska, who can be found on Ezra. When solid, can be sold Cargo for $400, Contraband for $800.
16. For each location, a minimum of three job cards are held at all times. On each round after the first, one existing job card from each contact is randomly put back into the deck at the discretion of the GM and a new job card is drawn. The card put back can be the card subsequently drawn.
17. When at a particular contact's location, a player may use a Deal action to add up to two visible cards to their job hand. When these cards are taken, additional cards will be automatically added in to bring the visible card count of that contact up to the minimum of three, if needed.
a. Players may only hold three job cards in their hand and must discard down to three after taking extra job cards that exceed this limit.
Work
18. When a player is at a location mentioned on one of their job cards, they may use a Work action to progress that particular job. Most jobs involve the pickup and drop-off of cargo, contraband, passengers or fugitives across the 'Verse.
a. Jobs can either be legal or illegal. If a job is illegal, at some point in time during the job in accordance with the job text, a player must misbehave.
b. Jobs have one of four different types: Shipping (Cargo transfer), Transport (Passenger or Fugitive transfer), Smuggling (Contraband transfer), and Crime (Misbehave at a location).
c. Each cargo, contraband, fugitive or passenger takes up one cargo space, either in the hold or stash.
d. If a player is in a sector with a planet, that player may use a Work action to instead take $200 from the bank to do small time work on the planet somewhere.
19. A Work action always involves four steps.
a. The player must check that they have the requirements needed for that particular job to progress it. If they don't have these requirements, they cannot progress that job. When this passes for the first time, the job is considered active.
b. The player can choose which of their crew they wish to take on the job. If they ignore this part, all crew go on the job.
c. The player can then follow the instructions as indicated on the job card, which will be undertaken with the help of the GM.
d. If the instructions are completed successfully, the player receives the outcome of those instructions.
20. When a job is considered active, as in Rule 19.a, the job is moved from the player's hand into the active job pile. Each player may only have three active jobs at any one time.
21. During a job, if a particular action (on the job card or on a misbehave card) targets one or more of the player's crew, this can affect only those crew members that have gone on the job during the current Work action.
22. On completion of a job, all crew regardless of whether they went on the job or not, must receive payment equal to the amount of money they were originally hired at, even if this means taking money from the player's savings in order to pay the crew.
a. If by completing a job you are unable or unwilling to pay your crew, they become disgruntled until you are able to pay them in full. A player can choose which crew to disgruntle, if needed.
b. If you are unable to pay your crew a second time, as per 22.a, the crew leaves your ship and is discarded.
Misbehaving
23. When performing illegal work, players must misbehave at certain times. This is done as part of the Work action at that particular location. To misbehave, a player is drawn a misbehave card. This card will have two or three options which the player needs to pick from. These options normally require you to have a certain number of skills in a certain area, or a certain item, or a particular crew type, or even a particular crew member from the Firefly franchise. The player chooses which one they wish to go with to proceed.
a. When a certain number of skills are required in a certain area, a 6 sided dice is rolled to signify luck. If and when the dice falls on the number 6, the dice is rolled again. All rolls are added together along with the skills of the crew and items you carry to give the total amount.
b. Kosherized Rules indicate that no items may be added to calculate the requirement made in Rule 23.a.
c. Bribes indicate where a local official will allow you to pay extra to help pass by. For every $100 you pay to the bank, add +1 to the total of the required skill roll as calculated in Rule 23.a.
d. When more than one misbehave is required, you will need to successfully proceed pass all the misbehave cards in one go in order to succeed.
24. If a player is unable to meet any of the requirements to proceed, then the misbehave fails and the failure action is given. This will be one of two things.
a. Attempt Botched, this fails the misbehave and discards progress through all previous misbehaves up until that point. A player can try again next round.
b. Warrant Issued, this fails the misbehave and provides the player with a warrant. When a player receives a warrant, the job they are working on is failed, and is added back into the visible draw pile as an extra job for that particular contact. The player loses Solid reputation with the contact whose job is failed on, with Harken (if they are solid with Harken) and, if the job they were working on is for Niska, also loses one crew member (which can be picked from crew who were both working and not working on the job).
Crew
25. Each crew member has a certain number of skill points in Fight, Tech and Talk. These skill points are useful for meeting requirements for jobs, as well as for misbehaving. Some crew members also provide additional benefits that will be mentioned on the card. Some crew members will be wanted, which will mean that when a player encounters the Alliance Cruiser, they may be taken into custody and removed from the game.
26. Some crew members have a particular profession that provides a certain benefit to the player when they have that crew member.
a. Some jobs provide bonuses for having that particular crew type on your payroll (your crew member draws some benefit by being there), and some misbehave cards allow you to proceed if you have that type of crew.
b. The medic allows you to roll a 6 sided dice whenever a crew member may be killed, even if the crew member is the medic. Rolling a 5 or higher prevents that crew members death.
c. Having a pilot and mechanic on board will aid you in escaping the Reavers with a little more ease!
27. Each crew member may hold one item from your gear stash when going on a mission. You are able to change this at anytime by assigning gear to your crew. This does not take an action.
a. Any gear not assigned to a crew member provides no effect, either on or off a job.
28. Whenever a player is at a planet or starbase, they may dismiss crew. When this happens, crew are added back into their appropriate deck to be drawn again. This does not take an action.
29. Whenever a crew member is killed, unless otherwise specified, that crew member is removed from the game.
a. The Captain cannot be killed, instead, they are disgruntled.
b. If the Captain is disgruntled twice, they are fed up with their crew and blame them for everything! All crew are fired and are discarded.
Player Interaction
30. Whenever players occupy the same sector as one another, they may buy, sell and trade Crew, Cargo, Contraband, Ship Upgrades and Gear to one another without restriction. These trades may be discussed freely outside of the game before being enacted within the game. This does not take an action.
Additional Rules
31. Additional rules and setup instructions may be made by the GM and posted at the top of the Game Thread before the game begins. Any conflict between those rules and instructions and the rules in this rule sheet favour the additional rules and setup instructions over the rules listed in this Rule Sheet.
Off Topic
Tips
- Try not to do difficult illegal jobs until you are able to. A solidly equipped crew will breeze through misbehaves.
- A pilot and mechanic on board ship will help avoid the rare chance you encounter reavers.
