I'm a total newbie to Dogs in the Vineyard. So new, in fact, that the copy I ordered hasn't even come in the mail yet. I should probably hold off on a post until I actually get and read my copy, but I couldn't wait.

I have some experinece with Sorcerer and Don't Rest Your Head, and a few other games discussed here on the Forge, but I'm not an expert on the "style" of gaming often discussed here. Most of my experience is D&D -- going back a few decades, but still a more hack-slash style than most Indie games.

What attracted me to Dogs in the Vineyard was (1) people speak very highly of it on this and other boards, and (2) several websites say that using DitV for a Firefly campaign is a fantastic mix.

So, what I'd like to know is:
1. Will DitV be a fast read, a quick learn, etc?
2. Are there any fast hints, guidelines, shortcuts, etc, that will make my learning this game faster?
3. Will conversion to Firefly be as simple as has been suggested, or am I in for more work than I had hoped?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you share!

hi :)

there are some threads around this board which pretty much answer your n°2

as far as I can remember, they deal mostly with town creation (DITV's name for GM prep)

Welcome!

1-2) I did my best in the game text! Other people will be more help here than I will.

3) I think it'll probably be simple, but I haven't done it, so I'm not a good judge. Let us know?

-Vincent

Hi, Marv!

The answers to your questions are rather personal (I mean, how can someone say how quickly you will read the game?), but there is a good advice I think will help you make a better conversion to Firefly (if not a quick one): first, play the game, exactly as written, for an entire story-arc for a group of characters (4-5 sessions).

Why? Because there are nuances in the game not apparent from a simple reading of the rules. And I am not talking about the simple experience you always gets from playing a game: this game SURPRISE you when you play it. Playing it "as written" for a story arc will help you port the full game experience to the Firefly setting, without missing some crucial part in the process.

A google search for "Firefly in the Verse" turns up a lot of pages with character sheets and other resources for using DITV in a Firefly campaign.

http://www.fusionofthought.com/fitv/index.htm

http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyGaming

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22firefly+in+the+verse%22

I second the "playing it straight" suggestion, maybe not for 4-5 towns, but at least 2-3.

My firefly variant is here, and I also have put together a simple example job. I haven't playtested this yet -- work is insane, but it's a pretty basic reskin of Town Creation, so I think that it should work OK!

Further to those posts, I have had an additional thought: You know how in regular DitV, the Towns usually have NPCs who are the blood relations of the PCs, to tie them in more and feel more responsible? I think you should do the same, but instead of family ties, some of the NPCs involved in each job are people who have worked/served with the PCs, and hence they get a free d6 relationship to them.

So, in my example job, you could say that 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.