In previous blog posts (here and here), I provided some game stats from James Lovegrove's novel Big Damn Hero, the first in a planned trilogy of 'Firefly' novels from Titan Books.
Today I thought I'd do the same for Lovegrave's new book, The Magnificent Nine, which was released in March. This post will therefore contain spoilers for that book.
It isn't really my purpose to review either novel here, but I found both books to be a little predictable. Lovegrave did a better job at capturing the crew's voices in The Magnificent Nine, which essentially recycled the story from one of the greatest Western sagas of all time, mashing up the best elements from 'Firefly' with those from The Magnificent Seven. If you're interested, the third book in this trilogy, Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon, is scheduled to be released in October.
Thetis
The Magnificent Nine is set on Thetis, a world which doesn't appear on the map in the game book. I checked, and Thetis is also missing from The Complete and Official Map of the 'Verse. Here's how the planet is described in the novel:
"Coogan's Bluff was a tiny town, one of a couple of hundred such settlements scattered across the arid surface of Thetis, a world which sat somewhere between the Border and the Rim but closer to the latter than the former.
"Thetis was an ironic name. The original Thetis was a Nereid, a sea nymph in Ancient Greek mythology of Earth-That-Was. Only someone with a strange sense of humor-- or a great deal of optimism-- would have borrowed her name for a planet whose landmasses were more or less desert and whose oceans were small and so densely salty that they could not support marine life."The only large town on Thetis, according to the novel, is a place called Whiteplains Edge:
"Whiteplains Edge took its name from the salt flats it perched on the fringes of. Like a vast, rid white lake, the salt flats stretched away into the horizon, shimmering as blindingly as a magnesium flare in the noonday sun. The smell that rolled off them was like ocean brine but a hundred times more pungent, and if the wind blew the wrong way a pale haze of dust enveloped the town. Hence, when outdoors, most Whiteplainers went around with their mouths and noses masked and their eyes goggled."Location Triggers
Sparsely populated. Spend 1 PP to create an Ain't No One Looking D8 Asset when acting surreptitously or trying to avoid notice in town.
Boil an egg in the shade. During daylight hours, spend 1 PP to step up or double any Complication related to an opponent's fatigue, exhaustion, or thirst.
If you're using the Reputation Rules from Smuggler's Guide to the Rim, a typical settler from Thetis would be positively disposed towards Corporations and negatively disposed towards Alliance, Browncoats, and Criminals. A townsperson from Whiteplains Edge would be positively disposed towards Corporations and Alliance and negatively disposed towards Browncoats and Criminals.
Dramatis Personae
The plot of The Magnificent Nine is lifted pretty neatly from the classic Western movie, The Magnificent Seven, and as such it ought to be a pretty familiar story: a huge band of desperate criminals has threatened a remote border town with indiscriminate violence unless its demands are met. One of the townspeople sends an urgent message to a band of plucky adventurers, requesting their help. Not all of the townspeople support the idea of bringing in outsiders, though, and a ruckus ensues.
Here are some of the key townspeople of Coogan's Bluff:
Mayor Huckleberry U. Gillis
Attributes
Mental D6
Physical D4
Social D8
Skills
Focus D8
Influence D12 (Stump Speech)
Know D12 (Alliance Law)
Notice D8
Sneak D8
Trick D12 (False Flattery)
Distinctions
Politician. D8
You attained public office, acclaim, and people's trust. You have access to the corridors of power, for what that's worth.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Pulling the strings. When you create an Asset based upon political or corporate connections, step it up to D8.
Smooth Talker. D8
You can talk your way out of a life sentence or into a locked room. Just don't make promises you can't keep.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Gift of gab. Spend 1 PP to double your Influence die for your next roll.
Looking out for Numero Uno. D8
I'm just making sure that my nest gets feathered.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Mayor Gillis is well-liked by the townspeople of Coogan's Bluff, who of course have no idea that the mayor made a deal with Elias Vandal's band of outlaws to sell the town out in order to save himself.
Temperence McCloud
Attributes
Mental D8
Physical D8
Social D8
Skills
Drive D8 (Mules)
Fight D8
Fly D6
Focus D8 (Detect Lie)
Influence D10 (Charm)
Know D8 (Security Systems)
Labor D8
Move D8
Notice D10
Operate D10 (Remote Controls)
Shoot D10 (Pistols)
Sneak D10
Trick D10
Distinctions
Farmer. D8
Terraforming made plenty of work for you, but it's a rough life, whether it's cows, corn, or chemically-altered protein product.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
One Eye Over My Shoulder. D8
It ain't paranoia if they really are coming for you.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Escape Plan. When you're confronted in your bolt hole or a place you've had the chance to survey, spend 1 PP tp create an Escape Plan D8 Asset.
Jack of All Crimes. D8
The concept of original sin means avoiding all the pedestrian crimes and getting truly creative.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* New, Exciting Crime. When breaking into a place you've never been before, you may double Operate or Sneak for the Action. Both 1s and 2s count as jinxes for the roll.
Temperence McCloud is an alias of Temperence Jones, who was Jayne Cobb's first criminal and romantic partner some fifteen years ago. She abruptly abandoned Jayne to seek out a new life on Thetis, where she has spent the last fourteen years raising her fourteen-year-old daughter... Jane.
Jane McCloud
Attributes
Mental D6
Physical D6
Social D6
Skills
Fix D8
Focus D10 (Alert)
Labor D8
Notice D8
Operate D8
Shoot D8 (Rifle)
Sneak D8
Survive D8
Distinctions
Homesteader. D8
You found yourself a home and a family to fill it.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Problem Solver. D8
Not now! I've almost finished my puzzle.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Indistractible. If you replace your Focus skill with a D4 for your next roll, gain a Big Damn Hero Die equal to that skill's normal rating if that roll is successful.
Wet Behind the Ears. D8
Folks say you're naive. It ain't that. You just grew up a mite sheltered, is all.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Easy Mark. Gain 1 PP when you are tricked by more worldly folk or whenever someone takes advantage of your naivety.
Jane McCloud is fourteen years old and has never set foot off of Thetis. She is curious about the identity of her father, since the two have never met.
Billy Korusawa
Social D8
Physical D6
Fight D6
Billy runs Billy's Bar in Coogan's Bluff-- if your glass isn't clean, Billy's always there to wipe it out with his shirt tail.
Townspeople
Fight D6
Shoot D6
Sneak D8
The good people of Coogan's Bluff are more likely to hole out somewhere than to face danger head-on, but on Tethis, water is life, and you can only run so far from your water supply.
Elias Vandal
Attributes
Mental D10
Physical D8
Social D6
Skills
Fight D12 (Thrown)
Focus D10
Influence D10 (Threats)
Labor D8
Move D10
Notice D10 (Suspicious)
Shoot D10
Sneak D8
Survive D8
Trick D10
Distinctions
Gang Boss. D8
They're the best muscle money can buy. Too bad you're so cheap.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* What do I pay you for? You may lose one of your thug Assets in your dice pool to avoid being taken out in a scene.
Morbid and Creepifying. D8
People say you're a sociopath when you've simply outgrown morality.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Crazy Intense. When you try to recruit a follower or hurt someone emotionally, roll Mental instead of Social.
* Unbound. When you show how little regard you have for other people, spend 1 PP to give a character a Disturbed D6 complication.
Mighty Hideous. D8
You weren't that pretty to start, but then you got yourself deformed somethin' fierce. Now folks try not to even look at you.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Boomarang Blade D8
The left side of Elias Vandal's face is burned, blistered, and scarred, almost beyond recognition. According to Vandal, this happened when he was running with Reavers a few years back, before he decided to go his own way as an outlaw. Now, he heads the Scourers, a large gang of killers and rapists on Thetis who intend to seize control of the planet's water supplies, forcing the big mining corporations to negotiate with them. Vandal uses cruelty and terror as weapons, making examples of anyone who stands up to him. Unknown to anyone but Elias Vandal and Temperence McCloud, he's also the biological father of Temperence's daughter Jane, though he has no fatherly feelings towards the girl.
Shem Bancroft
Attributes
Mental D8
Physical D8
Social D8
Skills
Drive D8
Fight D10 (Bull Rush)
Focus D8
Influence D10 (Order)
Move D8
Notice D10 (Binoculars)
Operate D8 (Radar)
Shoot D10 (Sniping)
Sneak D10
Survive D8
Distinctions
Gang Member. D8
The 'Verse is a hard place. Folk stand together.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Strength in numbers. When you and your Crew outnumber your opponents, step up Fight. When your opponents outnumber you and your crew, take an Outnumbered D8 complication.
Steady. D8
It takes a lot to throw you off-balance.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Things Don't Go Smooth. D8
Life sure seems to be a string of mishaps, mistakes, and misappropriations. But you're still here, aren't you?
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Trouble Magner. Step up one of your Complications to reroll a die. On your next roll, 1s and 2s count for Complications.
Shem is Elias Vandal's second-in-command, but he's beginning to have doubts about the resources and opportunities which have been wasted by Vandal's wanton cruelty.
Ellie-Mae, Frank, Rufus, and Isaac Hazzard
Physical D8
Fight D8
Shoot D6
The Hazzards were members of the Scourers who were unfortunate enough to meet River Tam alone on the Serenity when they attempted to sneak on board and catch the crew by surprise.
The Scourers
Physical D8
Shoot D8
Drive D6
Stanislaw L'Amour
Attributes
Mental D8
Physical D8
Social D8
Skills
Drive D10 (Hovercraft)
Fight D8 (Duelling)
Fix D10
Fly D10 (Stunts)
Focus D8
Influence D12 (Negotiation)
Know D8 (Mining Operations)
Notice D10
Shoot D8
Trick D10
Distinctions
Gentry. D8
You've got a fancy title, and probably a sash to go with it.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Noblesse Oblige. When someone less fortunate than you asks for your help, take or step up an Obliged Complication to step up Focus for the rest of the scene.
Fiercely Independent. D8
Go ahead, tell me what to do. I won't stop you from wasting your breath.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Filthy Rich. D8
Money is power. Folk who don't know that are foolin' themselves.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Leverage. Double Influence when you bribe someone or threaten them with financial ruin.
Stanislaw and Inara are old friends, but he isn't a former client; he has other personal inclinations. Stanislaw is ruggedly handsome, wealthy beyond anyone's wildest dreams, and unnaturally successful at business, and he also happens to have a healthy sense of right and wrong, making him a good friend to have in a pinch. In addition to owning several mining concerns on Thetis, he also employs a private military force called Dragonwing Protective Services (if you need game stats, you could use the mercenaries that I posted here).
The Exchequer
Attributes and Skills: Engines D8, Hull D10, Systems D8, Crew D10
Distinctions
Seraphim-Class Private Cruiser
In Kaylee's considered opinion the Seraphim wasn't a patch on Cashalton's all-time classic the Dreamcrest. It was underpowered for its weight and prone to stability issues in atmo, thanks to the overelaborate and entirely superfluous fin array at the aft. In the plus column, it was furnished inside with every luxury the mind could conceive, down to a lap pool and a sauna. Flight performance be gorramned. You wanted to travel the 'Verse in style, you couldn't do much better than this.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
Military Grade D8
They don't usually sell these to private citizens.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Weapons Free! Step back Hull for the rest of the scene to double weapons fire for your next roll.
Armed and Dangerous D8
When you're being attacked by pirates out in the black, the only ship you can count on is you. And if some sommbitch tries to bite you, well, you can bite back, too.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a D4 instead of a D8.
* Ya'll are outgunned. Spend 1 PP to double Systems when taking on a ship which lacks your firepower.
Chain Guns D8
Rail Gun D8
The Exchequer is Stanislaw L'Amour's personal cruiser-- and it's been Kaylee-approved.
