An example Job for Firefly + Dogs in the Vineyard
And a worked example of my modifications to play Firefly using the Dogs in the Vineyard rules; It's quite simple (just 4 major NPCs), but I
still think this would work quite well, even if I do say so myself!
"The Aberdeen Job"
1a) Benson Hibliss is the executive manager of the Aberdeen Hydrogen
Refinery. The refinery is one of the few places that anybody can refuel
without too much Alliance presence. And it also has a significant
amount of lightly guarded tanks full of high-value Superdense Hydrogen
Fuel Blocks which will fetch a handsome price on the black market...
1b) To keep the Refinery working at maximum output, Hibliss works his
employees harder and harder, working long hours to keep up with demand.
Mandatory unpaid overtime is put in place, causing fatigue and
unhappiness amongst the workforce.
2a) The stress and long hours put upon one worker -- pipe-fitter Jake
Dranner -- is getting to him, and he takes to drinking and drug binges.
His work suffers and his relationship with his young wife, Xueyan,
starts to suffer.
2b) There is an explosion at the Refinery, killing several workers and
destroying the most recent batch of Superdense Hydrogen. Hibliss is
livid at this loss of productivity, and the surviving workers are
outraged. Dranner is overwhelmed with guilt -- it was his pipework that
blew.
3a) Dranner decides to put his guilt squarely at Hibliss. It was his fault for demanding so much. Hibliss should be blamed for the explosion -- it was him who made us do all this work, after all! He's the one at fault here!
3b) Dranner's vocal outrage at Hibliss falls on several friendly ears
on the refinery floor. He and a few others start quietly sabotaging
production and intimidating other workers to join them in calling for
Hibliss' arrest. Occasional beatings are dished out by Dranner and his
cronies against those they regard as "suck-ups" to management.
4a) Naria Falconer, an ambitious self-serving shift supervisor, thinks
things are getting out of hand, and requests external help from the
Alliance. They agree to "help" in return for her testifying against
Hibliss and her coworkers -- including Jake.
4b) Winter Starkos, Blue Sun executive, arrives at Aberdeen and takes
executive control of the plant away from Hibliss "to stabilise the
situation for the Alliance". She also uses her personal squad of purple
bellies to arrest the "ringleaders", using force if required.
5) The Alliance soldiers fail to arrest Jake, as he is holding out in
the service area of the refinery. To try and get his compliance,
Starkos has his wife, Xueyan, brought to her. Starkos then shoots
Xueyan in cold blood, broadcasting the whole thing to Jake.
Opening Scene:
You can either assume that the characters want to steal some valuable Superdense Hydrogen
Fuel Blocks, or that their ship is running low on fuel and as one of the crew used to serve with Hibliss, this would be a good place to quietly get refueled without pesky Alliance attention.
The game opens on the PC's detecting the broadcast of Xueyan's murder
as they make a final approach to the Refinery's landing pad (which is
just above where Dranner and his cronies are holed up) ready to steal -- or buy -- the fuel. Unfortunately, due to the explosion and continued
sabotage, there is only a limited amount of fuel available until
somebody gets the Refinery up and running properly again.
What people want from the PCs:
Winter Starkos, the Blue Sun representative of the Alliance wants retain control of the plant and stop any disruption of her plans. So obviously, she wants Jake Dranner and PCs killed or captured, and the workers rounded up and sent to prison.
Benson Hibliss wants the PCs to get rid of Winter Starkos for him, so he can regain control over the plant. And then, he wants them to get out of his business and leave him alone.
Jake Dranner is overcome with anger, grief and frustration. He wants the PCs to kill both Starkos and Hibliss in revenge for his wife's death. He also knows he is in an unwinnable situation, so he wants them to get him off-world and away from this plant. Also, some more drugs wouldn't hurt!
Naria Falconer wants the PCs to keep her safe from recrimination by the
rest of the workers. If Jake found out, her life wouldn't be worth
living. She also doesn't want them to find out that she was the one who
brought the Alliance into this.
Blood Relations
Benson Hibliss used to serve with one of the PCs during the war, and Naria Falconer worked onboard a ship another PC crewed in the past as well. Let the players pick which relationship they want (i.e. "Who wants to have served with the manager of this facility during the war?") and then see how things play out
What the Alliance wants:
The Alliance wants production to resume as soon as possible under
control of Starkos. This refinery is worthless as it is. If the worker
revolt and that fool Hibliss don't make it through this, then that's no
bad thing either.
What would happen next:
Jake Dranner would lead a doomed attack against the Alliance purple
bellies, with predictable results. Starkos would gain control, and use
Falconer to get Hibliss arrested on trumped up charges. Blue Sun would
then control even more of the outer worlds and restrict movement by
controlling the sale of fuel to non-Alliance vessels.