''Smuggler's Guide to the Rim'' is a sourcebook published by

Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. is a games publisher located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States and founded in 2004 after Margaret Weis and Don Perrin, the two founders of Sovereign Press, divorced. Games Margaret Weis Productions is p ...

in 2015 as a supplement for the ''

Firefly Role-Playing Game The ''Firefly Role-Playing Game'' is a science fiction role-playing game released in 2014, written by Monica Valentinelli and set in the universe of the Joss Whedon television show ''Firefly''. It was produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd ...

'', which itself is based on the '' Firefly TV series''.

Description

''Smuggler's Guide to the Rim'' presents more information about the ''Firefly'' role-playing game setting, including: * the Blue Sun and Kalidasa systems: Planetary descriptions in gazetteer format, secret trade routes, and places for

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

s to hide out * Various Chinese phrases and their translations * New game rules for character reputation * Twelve new character archetypes * New ship designs The book also includes two adventures: "All in the Family" by Margaret Weis, and "Circling the Wagons" by Greg Stolze.

Publication history

In 2005, Margaret Weis Productions acquired the role-playing game license for ''

Serenity Serenity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Serenity'' (2019 film), a thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Diane Lane * Sailor Moon (character), also known as Princess Serenity and Neo-Queen Serenity, in the ' ...

'', the movie based on the ''Firefly'' TV series, and subsequently produced the ''

Serenity Role Playing Game The ''Serenity Role Playing Game'' is a science fiction role-playing game released in 2005 and set in the universe of the movie '' Serenity''. It was produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, and its mechanics were the first iteration of t ...

'' that used the first iteration of the

Cortex System The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, ''Cortex Prime,'' was designed by Cam Banks and published by Fandom Tabletop. Prior versions appeared in the licensed roleplaying games published by Margare ...

rules. That license expired in 2011, and production of the ''Serenity'' role-playing game ended. In 2013, the company announced that they now had a license to produce a game based on the ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' TV series, this time with the rights to the characters who appeared in the series rather than those who appeared in the film. After the release of preview adventures ''Gamin' in the Verse'' and ''Freedom Flyer'' in 2013, the ''Firefly Role-Playing Game'' was released in 2014. This was followed by a series of sourcebooks and adventures. The fourth of these was ''Smuggler's Guide to the Rim'', a 296-page PDF and soft-cover book designed by Bill Bodden, Jaym Gates, Deanna Gilbert, Travis Heermann, Aaron Rosenberg, Brie Sheldon, Greg Stolze, PK Sullivan, Monica Valentinelli, Eddy Webb, and Margaret Weis, with artwork by Joseph Carriker, Thomas Deeny, Brian Glass, Craig S. Grant, Yigit Koroglu, Ben Mund, Beth Sobel, Andrew Trabbold, Kieran Yanner, and Darius Zablockis. It was published in 2015.

Reception

Writing for ''Escapist Magazine'', Marshall Lemon noted that "''Smuggler’s Guide to the Rim'' has a fantastic Reputation system for managing factions, and an upgraded character sheet with an 'episode guide' that tracks experience." While Lemon agreed that the core game was playable without these additions, he concluded, "they add so much that ''Firefly'' feels lacking without them." Thomas Robert for ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' said that the basic faction and reputation management system in the book would be an excuse to add more dice to the GM or crew pools.''

'' (v4, Issue 16 - Sep/Oct 2015)

References

External links

Product information at ''RPGGeek''

product review at ''The Black Campbell''

fan reviews at ''EN World''
Firefly Role-Playing Game adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2015 Science fiction role-playing game supplements {{rpg-stub