Heather and a few friends and myself have started a Serenity the RPG. I'm writing up the adventure sessions both as a record of what happened and as an exercise for my own purposes.
First - A quick intro to our characters:
Justin Khan (former Browncoat Lieutenant of the Independent 18th Battalion of the 3rd Brigade) is a decorated hero of the Unification war for saving his commanding officer from an unexploded bomb that was hanging off his damaged gunship. It had been forced to return to it’s launching platform. In the accident, Justin’s mother (Browncoat Master Sergeant Engineer First Class Tonya Khan) was killed.
Shortly after losing his mother Justin was informed that his family’s homestead had burned and that his remaining family, his Stepfather Dan Tarrant and his sister Karisma Khan-Tarrant had died.
Justin’s Commanding Officer, Thomas "Cap" Cooper, took him under his wing and the commander’s Daughter; Danielle "Candy" Cooper grew to feel she owed a debt to the young pilot. She has grown to become a fine engineer herself.
"Cap" and Justin combined funds and bought a Firefly-Class freighter and named her "Mudder’s Luck.” For the last 6 years Justin and Candy have been flying the aged but sturdy ship with a rotating crew (that generally get paid by the job).
They encounter Justin’s long-lost sister, 17 year old Karisma Khan who has become a car thief and general nuisance on the world of Bangalore. She is a fast-running, fast-driving kid who has escaped from so many institutions that they’ve stopped trying to put her in them.
She is paired with Doctor Jarrah Cassidy a drunkard with a medical degree who is the only general practitioner around these parts. Doc Cassidy has a dark past that he never speaks of except in mumbled dreams and frequent flashbacks. He is also a dedicated pacifist, sworn never to harm others.
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Players:
Heather Ackroyd: Doc Cassidy
David Dent: Karisma Khan
John Drummond: Justin Khan
Dave Harris: Candy Cooper
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Episode 1(7-2-06): Mudder's Luck (Teaser)
One night while in mid-transport, Justin Khan, Captain of the Firefly-class freighter receives a wave:
"Is this Justin Khan, former Browncoat Lieutenant of the 18th Regiment, 3rd Battalion?"
"It is. What do you want?"
"I need a verification of identity before I can proceed. Can you press your thumb to the screen, please?"
Justin did this with some annoyance, "What is this about? The war has been over for 10 years. There aren’t any browncoats any more."
The clerk shrugged, “A records purge has turned up an undelivered wave that was sent twelve years ago. You are listed as the next of kin for a Tonya Khan, Master Sergeant Engineer with the …”
“What? My mother? 12 years! Send that right now!”
The screen flickered and a balding man that was approaching middle age but had not quite reached it appeared on the screen. He looked vaguely familiar to Justin but he could not place him. “Tonya, I hope you get this before the other messages. I tried to save them, I really did but there was nothing I could do.
The whole house is burned and the girl, the poor girl has been taken away. I tried to stop them. But it may be too late. You have to come back to Bangalore. Dan is gone and I don’t know how to reach him. You might be able to save Karisma. She is still okay. Come for Karisma as soon as you can!”
The signal went dead. Justin’s blood ran cold. His sister had been alive all this time. Twelve years and he had never known she was still alive. He called the bridge, “Kevin, how long till we can reach Bangalore?”
Kevin, the hired hand, called back, “Before or after we deliver our cargo?”
Indecision gripped him for a moment. After. Before. It had been 12 years, why rush now? “After,” he barked.
“Four days,” drawled Kevin.
“See if we can’t make it three.”
Serenity the RPG
I've opted out of writing a full treatment and have just sort of outlined these. If i keep writing them out I have to resist the urge to retro-con them and that won't do. So here's the first adventure (only 4 more to write up!)
"Mudder’s Luck"
Written & Directed by David Dent
Players:
Dave Harris: Danielle “Candy” Cooper
David Dent: Karisma Khan
Heather Ackroyd: Doc Jarrah Cassidy
John Drummond: Justin Khan
-- Part One --
Justin landed in St. Lucas’ Mission, the largest city on Bangalore. Justin tried to find out who had sent the message and discovered that it was Gary Bishop, a man who lives in Pulgarra, a small town in the “suburbs” of St. Lucas’ Mission. He is the ‘Planetary Governor’ and works with the Alliance.
Playing a hunch, Justin investigates a local orphanage. “Oh, Her,” is a common response to his questions. They tell of the young troublemaker, Karisma. She had been in and out of the place over the last twelve years. They have not seen her for the last two and aren’t anxious to get her back.
A quick stop in a law ‘Parlor’ allowed Justin to meet one of the local authorities. Not a bad sort as such go, and he too remembers “Her.” He told Justin that the best thing he could do for her would be to get her off planet before she got into serious trouble. Before she turned 18 and could no longer be treated as a minor orphan in the custody of the Alliance government.
A quick hop to Pulgarra and a meeting with Mr. Bishop has been planned. Bishop tells Justin of the young troublemaking ‘Karisma” and how she is a veteran thief. He is glad to see she still has family and he tells the sorrowful tale of how a fire broke out in Justin’s step-father’s ranch. Mr. Bishop tells of how Karisma’s father tried to save her but was overtaken by flames even as he got her out of the house.
When pushed to explain the cause of the fire, Bishop dissembles and hints at how ‘some people shouldn’t rile up folks, like your sister is doing. She’ll be a lot safer off-world.’
Justin asks about where to find her and is directed to Doc. Cassidy, a local drunk, but talented physician who is her closest friend.
-- Part Two --
Karisma and Jarrah are at it again. She is getting on him about remembering to collect cash for his doctorin’ rather than chickens and cows. That, and his drinking is getting bad lately (nag nag…) Jarrah on the other hand is giving her a hard time about how she isn’t ever home, and if he needed a wife he’d order one through the Cortex. “I’ve been takin’ care of myself long before you started hangin’ around.”
She storms out and fires up her hover-bike and drives off in a huff. This is a common enough scenario that has played out virtually verbatim every few months before the two loners slowly drift back to each other.
A day later Justin arrives to find the Doc sprawled on his floor and chickens running through his shanty that leans slightly against the field surgical module with which it shares a wall. The Doc stands up and brushes off his shirt before asking what sort of medical needs they might have.
Justin explains and “Oh, Her” is the expected reply, “She left yesterday and I have no idea where she went or when..or if…she’ll be back. She does this.” Just then Justin heard the distinctive sputting engines of his Firefly starting up.
Justin, Doc, and several locals all run towards “The Mudder’s Luck” in time to see a young woman trying to make a getaway from the now-leaning ship’s hatch. Justin calls her name and she pauses just long enough for him to charge forward to say, “I’m Justin. Your Brother.”
-- Part Three--
Karisma looks puzzled at first and then gets somewhat angry about being left alone. She was told that Justin had died in the same incident that had claimed her mother’s life. The two of them are confused and full of conflicting emotions and the attempted theft of the ship is forgotten in the reunion.
Candy rights the ship and Justin and Karisma compare lives. Karisma remembers little of the night of the fire. She remembers being torn from her father’s arms. She also knows that Bishop was made her guardian and that he was the one who put her into the orphanage.
Justin thinks that something doesn’t add up so he asks the Doc for details. The doctor has none since he’s a relative newcomer to Bangalore (he’s been here 8 years). He agrees to go with Justin and crew to St. Lucas’ Mission to find out if anyone else remembers what happened that night.
There is a lot of mis-information, dead leads and an encounter with several “heavies” who encourage the crew to leave (and take that “Mangy Doctor” with them) since “The Pope don’t need the kind of trouble you are likely to stir up. And when the Pope says something it gets done.”
-- Part Four --
The toughs are quickly dispatched and the one who was most wounded is treated by the ‘mangy Doctor” who patches him up. Justin lets them go, but determines that something isn’t adding up. So he decides to try to break into Bishop’s house to see if he can find anything there.
Karisma and Candy break the code on the fairly sophisticated Alliance system that protects the “Governor’s Mansion” while Justin delays Bishop with an ultimately fruitless interview. Justin is told in fairly blunt terms that he is wearing out his welcome and stirring up a lot of folks (“Like your step dad did, son.”) and that leaving would be a good idea.
While searching Phone records, Candy stumbles across a off-world Wave from the Pope that essentially tells Bishop to “encourage” the boy to take the girl. He mentions the Doctor in passing but indicates that he doesn’t care what happens to him he’s “someone else’s problem.”
She copies the file and the pair make their exit.
Meeting up with Justin Candy plays the file for all of them. Justin and Karisma immediately recognize the voice and see the picture in the Wave. The Pope is their father. They prepare to leave immediately.
End Episode one