I’m so glad you noticed! You are correct — after nearly two years of hibernation, FireflyRPG.com is beginning a crawl back to the realm of vibrancy with a new content management system, new content to manage and more!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be adding most of the old content back to the site, and we have a few exciting bits of exclusive content planned, too.

New features of the site include comment areas on each post and a more modular design that makes it easier for us to modify existing content.

As always, let us know if you have something you’d like to submit, and don’t hesitate to ask questions or leave comments if you have any!

The Background:

As many of you know, we developed an evolving series of ‘Verse maps to cope with Joss Whedon’s distaste for any hard data. Joss has famously said that ships move “at the speed of drama,” but some of us who play in the ‘Verse want a little more detail on where things are.

The most recent we came up with was a detailed map of the ‘Verse set in a trinary star system with revolving orbital calculations. While it was a fair amount of fun to play with, we started to shy away from it, as everything felt just a little “too close,” and there wasn’t enough ‘black’ to sail in, and not enough room for mysterious goings-on, or space mermaids, or whatever.

But then Quantum Mechanix expressed a desire to create a map as close to canon as they could get. As one of the folks who helped out with QMX’s fantastic, gloriously detailed, definitive map of the ‘Verse, I instantly saw the gameplay appeal and switched our campaign over to the QMX map.

But using the map came with its own set of problems — most notably, a reliable way to calculate distances. So, with permission from the company, we took their map and created a simple method of calculating distance.

How this map works:

1. Print this map out on 11×17 (tabloid) paper. If you print it smaller, you’ll find the ‘verse is a zippy place to travel in.
2. Measure distance between points using a ruler. Take the result, and multiply it by 10. That’s the travel time in days for a vessel with Speed Class 1.
3. Divide the result by your ship’s speed rating to get your travel time.

Example: The distance from Aphrodite to Londinium is 2.94 inches. That’s a lengthy 29.4 days if you’re in a vessel with Speed Class 1. However, a boat with Speed Class 6 can make the trip in a little less than 5 days.

FAQ 1: What about the revolving planets? Aren’t there times when they’d be on the far side of the core?
Answer 1: Yes — you’re right. I debated playing that game. It’s technically accurate, but a bear to mess with. So, for the purposes of fast gameplay, and to keep the ‘Verse true to not being mathematically dense, our planets stay in a nice fixed revolution.

Download Version 2.4 of the ‘Verse Planetary Distance Chart

And, while you’re here, don’t forget to buy the full map from Quantum Mechanix!

Download the file by clicking this image:

Download the file by clicking this image:

“Don’t like to spend much time planetside, yeah? This boat’ll take you further than most of the others on a full tank — get you from Osiris to Haven without a stop, if the orbits are right. Got more crew room than most other haulers, to boot. If you’re serious about making a living in the long haul business, I can’t hardly recommend a much better ship’n this.”

Creator: Lynn LeFey
Download the ZIP (1.3MB)

“This bird’s supposed to be a real workhorse, and that twin-tail assembly screams style and class, but the jury’s still out. The flat radome and wide construction let ‘em pack a lot of goodness in a deceptively large space. I hear a lot of good things from those that own ‘em, but frankly, they’re still pretty fresh. If it were me, I take a likin’ to something with a few miles on her, but hey, you want the latest and greatest, who am I to judge?”

Creator: selek@yahoo.com
Download the ZIP (3.7MB)

“This boat has it all. Fairly fast express boat, decent cargo space and a nice sensor package to boot. ‘Course, features like this don’t come cheap. … what did you say you did for a living? Not that it’s any business of mine, but you better be pulling in some good cash to pick up a fine piece of spacefaring technology this sweet young lady. Prices are firm.”

Download the ZIP (7.3MB)

NOTE: I don’t have a record of who created this ship. If it’s yours, you deserve the credit. Drop me a note, and I’ll update the file with your name!

Creator: Renfield
Download the ZIP file (760K)

Note: I’m missing Cortex System stats on this. Why not add some below, and I’ll put them into the files?

“Ah, so you’re not into driving a space truck, and are looking for something with a little more zip in it. Wanting to stay on the move, or just out of sight? Right — none of my businessEither way, this little bird’ll keep you sweet. She’s small, but her engines kick like a mule. No luxurious guest quarters, but she’s great for doing business of the express variety.”
Creator: Wydraz
Download the ZIP file (675K)

“’The Great White Elephant:’ Slow, and not much armor, and not the greatest in a firefight, but this girl won’t quit fer nothin’. It couldn’t cut it as a colony transport, but the ship holds up so well under pressure that others have found more creative uses for her. Me, I wouldn’t know.”

Creator: Renfield
Download the ZIP file