Not Exactly Fanfic: GURPS Firefly

[omorka]

I'm sure people have done this before, but I'm curious how many points our Big Damn Heroes end up being. I'm using the character descriptions from the Serenity RPG as a rough guide, but it tries very hard to make our Party Core 9 balanced, and I don't think they are.



Mal:

ST 11 (10 pts)
DX 12 (40 pts)
IQ 13 (60 pts)
HT 13 (30 pts)

Advantages: Charisma (1 level, 5 pts), Contacts Group (small-time underworld hoods, 10 pts), Hard To Kill (4 levels, +4 to HT rolls to avoid death, 8 pts), Hard to Subdue (2 levels, +2 to HT rolls to avoid unconsciousness, 4 pts), Military Rank (Sergeant, 2 levels, Browncoats only, 5 pts), Strong Will (+1, 5 pts)

Disadvantages: Code of Honor (keep your word, protect your crew, do the job; -5 pts), Enemy (Niska, powerful crime lord, -10 pts), Intolerance (Alliance federal employees and law enforcement agents, -5 pts), Sense of Duty (to crew and other Browncoats, -5 pts), Unlucky (-10 pts)

Languages: English (Native, free), Mandarin (Accented, 4 pts)

Quirks: still "wears the brown" (-1 pt), talks about Serenity as if she were alive (-1 pt)

Skills: Animal Handling/Cattle - 13 (2 pts), Animal Handling/Horses - 14 (4 pts), Boxing - 14 (8 pts), Brawling - 14 (4 pts), Carousing - 13 (1 pt), Computer Operation - 13 (1 pt), Crewman/Spacer - 15 (4 pts), Dancing - 11 (1 pt), Detect Lies - 11 (1 pt), Diplomacy - 12 (2 pts), Driving/GravLev Mule - 13 (4 pts), Electronics Operation/Communications - 13 (2 pts), Electronics Operation/Sensors - 12 (1 pt), Environment Suit/Vac Suit - 13 (4 pts), Explosives/Demolition - 12 (1 pt), Fast-Draw/Pistol - 12 (1 pt), First Aid - 13 (1 pt), Free Fall - 12 (2 pts), Freight Handling - 14 (4 pts), Gunner/Cannon - 14 (4 pts), Guns/Pistol - 15 (8 pts), Guns/Rifle - 13 (2 pts), Holdout - 12 (1 pt), Intimidation - 14 (2 pts), Law - 11 (1 pt), Leadership - 14 (4 pts), Literature - 11 (1 pt), Mechanic/Firefly-class Transport - 12 (1 pt), Merchant - 13 (2 pts), Navigation/Space - 13 (2 pts), Observation - 12 (1 pt), Piloting/Aerospace - 13 (4 pts), Piloting/High-Performance Spacecraft - 13 (4 pts), Riding/Horse - 13 (4 pts), Running - 13 (2 pts), Saber - 11 (1 pt), Search - 12 (1 pt), Shiphandling/Spaceship - 14 (8 pts), Smuggling - 14 (4 pts), Soldier - 13 (2 pts), Streetwise - 14 (4 pts), Survival/Plains - 12 (1 pt; home planet: Shadow), Tactics - 14 (8 pts), Teamster - 13 (2 pts)

Total: 266 pts


Comments: This is a very, very conservative Mal based mostly on the TV show. I could pretty easily argue, on the basis of the film, a DX of 14 and the corresponding upward adjustment of all his DX-based skills. HT of 14 would be even easier to argue, which would also up his Carousing skill. The actor clearly has Appearance (Attractive), but there's nothing in the show that suggests that Mal has particularly memorable looks. On the down side, one could fine-tune the Code of Honor to a 10-pointer pretty easily, but that's the only place I can see to up his disads. Well, one could add the Alliance as an enemy, I suppose, but it isn't actively looking for him - it's actively looking for the Tams, and wouldn't mind arresting him with them. Any quirks I forgot that might be worth the point? Should I list Mr. Universe separately as a Contact, or does he fit in the Contact Group? Does he have any Allies other than the crew (who I am not listing because they're the other 7 PCs plus one GM-ex-machina NPC)?


Edit: Okay, I did forget something. He clearly has at least one level of Strong Will. I'm hesitant to take more than one level - he does eventually lose against YoSafBrige, after all - but he held out long enough against both her and against Niska that he gets at least one.

Comments

[quantumduck.livejournal.com]

One presumes he has connections and allies throughout the rim. He must pick up jobs and find safe harbors somehow.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

That's what the "Contact Group" advantage is supposed to represent. Most of those folks (Badger, for instance) wouldn't do anything for Mal that put them in significant danger, at least not without equally significant pay, so I don't think they qualify as Allies in the GURPS sense. I could see making a few of the recurring or significant ones - Badger and Mr. Universe, in particular - individual Contacts rather than part of the Group, but most of them we only see the once.

[princejvstin.livejournal.com]

Right, we have to extrapolate and assume that Mr. Universe and Badger are representative of the contacts he has.

[bibulb.livejournal.com]

My take would be that Mr. Universe would be part of Mal's contact group but count as an Ally for Wash.

(Badger, you called exactly right. Likewise the twins we meet in the movie.)