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Written and Designed by Jamie Chambers

Based on the Motion Picture Screenplay Written by Joss Whedon

Additional Design: James Davenport, Tracy Hickman, Tony Lee, Andrew Peregrine, Nathaniel C.J.S. Rockwood, Lester Smith, Christopher Thrash, James M. Ward, Margaret Weis

Chapter Fiction: Margaret Weis • Editing: Christoffer TrossenChinese Translation: Tony Lee • Cover Art & Interior Graphic Design: 11th Hour (Susan Renée Tomb)

Layout & Typesetting: Jamie Chambers • Art Direction: Renae Chambers Illustrations: Lindsay Archer, Dan Bryce, Ryan Wolfe

Playtesting: Dylon Abend, Eben P. Alguire, Cam Banks, Kelly Barron, Damon Black, Carl “Browncoat 1” Boothe, Peter F. Daigle, David Dankel, Steve Darlington, Jason Giardino,

Chris Goodwin, Digger Hayes, Stephen Herron, Jason “Padre” Driver, Jack Kessler, Tobin Melroy, Jason Mical, Andrew Morris, Mike Nudd, Angela Rienstra, David Ross, Matthew W. Somers,

Richard W. Spangle, Jennifer L. Stevens, Kevin Stoner, Clark Valentine, Jeffrey A. Webb, Floyd C. Wesel, Trampas Whiteman, Richard E. Wilhite III, Mitch A. Williams, John Wolf, Yuri Zahn

Special Thanks: Veronika Beltran, Christi Cardenas, Cindy Chang, Joss Whedon

Dedication: Jamie would like to thank Jimmie Chambers, Jim McClure, Don Lewis, and the rest of the “Space Dungeon” game group. Somewhere out there, the Blackhawk is still flyin’.

© 2005 Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. Serenity © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.Margaret Weis Productions and the MW Logo are trademarks owned by

Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Published byMargaret Weis Productions, Ltd.

253 Center St #126Lake Geneva, WI 53147

Fourth Printing—2006Printed in the USA

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Introduction: Here's How It iS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Get started here with a quick overview of the game and the rest of the book.

Crew of Serenity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Discover game information and details of these Big Damn Heroes.

Chapter 1: Find a Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Create fresh characters, improve upon veterans, and assemble your crew!

Chapter 2: Traits & Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38All the things that make a crew tick are explained here in detail.

Chapter 3: Money & Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Learn about the economy of the ‘Verse and find details about personal equipment.

Chapter 4: Boats & Mules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Vehicles and spaceships help a crew to keep flyin’.

Chapter 5: Keep Flyin' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137Every game needs rules, and here they are.

Chapter 6: Out in the Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160Become a Serenity Game Master with advice and pre-generated characters.

Chapter 7: Brief Guide to the 'Verse . . . . . . . . . .195Read up on the history of the ‘Verse and learn more about its planets and moons.

Appendix: Gorram Chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219Learn the slang of the 26th century and how to say clever phrases in Mandarin.

Character Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226

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SerenitySerenity—a beautiful word that conjures images

of peace. Serenity—a state of being. No anxiety, no cares in this world. Serenity—a place not easily reached. Leastways not without eating a bullet or diving out an airlock. Everyone strives for Serenity in this life. Few find it in this life.

Serenity is also a motion picture from Universal Pictures, a science-fiction adventure from the mind of Joss Whedon (a fellow who has earned himself both Emmy and Academy Award nominations). The film combines action, drama, comedy, and a unique perspective on a new kind of science fiction universe.

Inside the film’s universe (usually called the ‘Verse), Serenity is a valley on the planet Hera. Nothing special in its own right, this valley was the site of the bloodiest fighting during the Unification War. In Serenity Valley, the Alliance Government delivered a crushing defeat to the Independent Faction, sealing the ultimate course of the war. Countless thousands perished in Serenity Valley, and with them died the hope for freedom. Among the rebel Browncoats—so-called for the long dusters they wore—who were defeated that day in Serenity Valley was a young sergeant name of Malcolm Reynolds.

Serenity is also a spaceship, a Firefly Class transport owned by Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a man not yet ready to forget why he fought in the war. Determined to live by their own rules, Mal and his crew sail the black, taking on odd jobs as they come. Serenity is home to a group of disparate people: a cheerful mechanic, a hard-bitten mercenary, two professional soldiers, a wise-cracking pilot, a beautiful and seductive Companion, a “Shepherd,” a mentally scarred young girl and her brilliant doctor brother. This group, brought together by accident or fate, has become Serenity’s family.

Together or apart, they work to keep flyin’.

Role Playing Game?You probably picked up this book knowing a

little something about the ‘Verse, but maybe you haven’t the slightest notion of what a role playing game is. After a quick flip through the book, you might even think the game is strange and all manner of intimidatin’. Don’t fret—this game really is simple. Child’s play, as a matter of fact.

Kids play role playing games every day without ever thinking about it. Cowboys and Indians is good clean fun. Everyone has a part to play—good or bad—and the guns and tomahawks are all imaginary. No one ever “wins” because the goal is simply to

have a good time. A tabletop role playing game (such as the Serenity Role Playing Game) is pretty much the same, only it happens to have a few rules to help you figure out things like what happens when a bullet hits you and just how bad it’ll hurt. After all, every game has to have some rules to keep things fair. Games also need a bit of unpredictability. In card games that means shuffling the deck. In our role playing game, we use funny looking dice. Above all, remember the most important rule: it’s all about the fun.

The Serenity Role Playing Game

Think of this book as a set of tools—papery, wordified tools that aren’t so good for hammering in nails, but will help you recreate all of the adventure, drama, danger, and humor in the movie, Serenity. Think of the game as a form of group storytelling, where the only limits are those set by the players. All you need are a few friends, some of those “funny looking” dice, and your imagination.

Everyone has a role to play in this game. One of the players takes the role of Game Master (“GM”), a person who is part referee and part storyteller. The rest play the parts of the main characters in the story, whose fortunes are determined by the choices they make during the course of play and by the luck of the dice. Do you and your group want to play the crew of Serenity? Shiny! The ship and its crew are fully detailed and ready to use. We have provided additional sample characters for you to play, but you can always create an all-new crew with their own ship.

If you’re new to role playing and don’t have an experienced player on-hand to show you the ropes, we recommend you visit the resources we’ve made available as well as fan-generated material linked to from our website at www.serenityrpg.com. Or maybe your group of players wants to find a ship, find a crew, and start flyin’. No matter how you want to play, the rules in this book will get you started and help you and your friends find adventure and action, fame and fortune in the ‘Verse.

The style of your game is entirely up to you and your group. You might want to try some “one-shot” adventures, where you play through one self-contained story. The next time you play you start with a whole new story, and maybe even with whole new characters. Most role players prefer “campaign-style” play, which is a lot like a television series or movie franchise. Each player plays the same character every game session with each “adventure” building upon the story that has gone before, just like the next episode in a series.

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Along the way, each character will discover things about himself and his fellow crew members. He’ll make friends and enemies, learn new skills, and improve old ones. The ‘Verse is a dangerous place. If you’re clever and more than a bit lucky, your character will survive. If not... Well, you can always “roll up” a new character.

Before you go jumping ahead with the adventure, take some time and read over a few basics of the Serenity Role Playing Game.

CrewThe most important characters are the crew, the

“stars” of the game. These are the Player Characters (PCs) you and your fellow players create (minus the Game Master, whose role is different). In the film, the crew consists of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and the rest of Serenity’s family. Supporting roles are played by the GM. These are called Non-Player Characters (NPCs). In the film, the NPCs are The Operative, Alliance soldiers, Feds, and the Reavers, as well as bit parts like the bank tellers on Lilac.

Each player creates one crew character and controls what that character does and says during the game. The amount of detail you put into your character’s personality and background is entirely up to you. Of course, the more detail you provide at the beginning, the easier it will be to figure how your character will react during the game.

When you’re creating your character, you have a lot of options open to you. You don’t have to play yourself. In fact, you could (and many would say should) distinguish yourself from your character. Your character can be as physically, emotionally, and mentally different from you as you want. Crew can even be of entirely different genders—a guy can play Zoe, a gal can play Jayne, and so on.

Some characters like Jayne and Simon may not get along inside the story of the game, but everyone should be friends when they are not in character. Keep arguments and such nonsense inside the game. Remember—it’s all about having fun and telling exciting stories.

Game MasterOne player needs to take charge of the game,

and take on extra responsibilities. That’s the Game Master. The GM creates the basic outline of the story that the crew will follow and plays the part of all the NPCs—all those people the crew meets during their adventures. The GM is the players’ window into the ‘Verse.The GM tells the players what they see and hear (and smell and taste and feel). But the GM needs to remember that the crew are the stars of this tale. The players have to make

their own choices in the story—meaning they’ll get themselves into trouble all by their lonesomes! The GM has to think on his feet and adjust the story when the unexpected happens. (And it will happen!)

Another role the GM plays is that of arbiter. The GM will be the only person who knows all the facts in the game. As there will probably be some disagreements, the GM settles any arguments over the game rules or questions about character creation or how the story develops. Final decisions rest with the GM, but he should remember that his chief job is to help everyone have fun. Fair play is a part of that notion. After all, with power and authority comes responsibility. (If you’re the GM, you’d much rather be like Mal than an Alliance stooge, right?) The GM needs to be fair, while still keeping things fun for everyone.

Sessions, Adventures, and Campaigns

If you’re not familiar with role playing games, you probably don’t know the difference between “sessions,” “adventures” and “campaigns”. We’ll fix that in a jiffy.

A “session” is whenever you and your group sit down to play one installment of the game. A session can last a whole day or just a few hours. Depending on what happens, you might be able to play through an entire story or just a small bit. Since most of you have jobs or school or families to eat up your time, you should probably schedule your game sessions in advance (including how long the session will last). Some people like to play once (or more) every week, while others get together less frequently. How often and how long you play is up to you and your group. Plan ahead and be considerate of everyone’s schedule.

An “adventure” is a single story that is generally played out over several sessions. An adventure has a beginning, a middle, and an end, just like an episode of a television show. Some adventures can last a single session, but only if the adventure is very short. Normally, it will take a crew a few sessions to complete a single adventure.

A “campaign” is a series of adventures that ties the characters and stories together into a larger story, much like an entire television series. The campaign can be “episodic,” where the adventures don’t share many common threads. Or it might have an arc that ties several adventures together into an interweaving storyline. Most groups usually prefer campaign play because it gives them more chances for character development and allows them to be part of a much larger drama.

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