"Things Don't Go Smooth" is an essential product in the 'Firefly' RPG product line. It's a must-have for 'Firefly' storytellers, in particular. I strongly recommend getting this supplement after picking up a copy of the rules (available in either the core rulebook or the "Echoes of War" supplement-- see my reviews) and after acquiring the "Smuggler's Guide to the Rim." While those titles will expand the rules set you're playing with, this book focuses on dirty tricks for the storyteller to use when challenging a crew.

The first section in this supplement deals with Antagonists-- recurring villains to oppose and annoy the crew across one or more complete story arcs in an extended 'Firefly' campaign. This part of "Things Don't Go Smooth" covers how to create an effective Antagonist, how to conceal their identities and obscure their true role in things, and even how to expand upon established Antagonists so that they can continue to oppose even the most experienced crews. Best of all, this section includes examples of five complete Antagonists who are ready to drop into your existing game.

The next section of "Things Don't Go Smooth" introduces the idea of Rivals-- not necessarily villains (though they can certainly be villainous), but more like stiff competitors who aim to make the crew work overtime for their pay. Once again, this supplement contains game stats and descriptions for four different Rival groups which can be thrown at your crew with little modification.

The next broad category of opposition presented in "Things Don't Go Smooth" is referred to as 'the Unexplained.' The Unexplained are elements of mystery which can recur periodically throughout a long campaign, possibly even forming the basis for their own story arc at some point. In keeping with previous sections of this book, the section on the Unexplained present several fully-fleshed examples which can be used to intrigue your players right away. Best of all, this section of the book finally contains the rules for REAVERS!!!

There are several more chapters containing GM tips and suggestions, and these are as good as I've seen in any roleplaying supplement over the years, but particularly useful for running games in the 'Firefly' setting.

Finally, "Things Don't Go Smooth" concludes with two fine adventures, which also include brief chance encounters with some of the Antagonists, Rivals, and Unexplained phenomena from previous chapters. These encounters don't necessarily establish those NPC's in recurring roles, although their appearances here easily allow storytellers to reintroduce them in future adventures if desired.

All in all, "Things Don't Go Smooth" places a rather nifty set of tools into a 'Firefly' storyteller's hands. This supplement is well worth having.

This book is a must have addition to your firefly RPG library. Not only does it have a pile of more adventures and jobs to go on but it had a very nice FAQ in the back going through some very common questions. More distinctions, more ships, more assets, more bad guys, just more of everything. Quality is just as good as the core book, very well made and the art is top notch.

I would recommend every firefly player to own this book and give a few good read and play throughs.

This book is a great addition for the GMs, not so much for the players. The Players should check out Smugglers Guide to the Rim. As a GM, it contains a lot of helpful hints to challenging the players, introducing enemies as well as NPCs.

This book contains a few very interesting antagonists for the party and can introduce a mite heapin' of trouble. The advice on how to "run a crime organization" is awesome and sure to please the GM (and their players). It shows how to make some characters that your PCs are sure to love to hate. Some additional Signature Assets and Encounters are given to help you on your way.

The Rival Crews and Gangs section gives you a good bit of information on creating a crew to be your crews rivals. This helps make your players feel like they are not alone, and gives them someone to compete against. The crews that MWP details are pretty fun, and humorous. I specially love da McCoys.

Enemy Boats gives you plenty of competition and ideas for your own. It gives a number of new Ship Distinctions, Signature Assets and how to create your own, as well as triggers.

I haven't been able to run through the two adventures yet, but they really help clarify the material in the book from my reading them.

This is a resource for a Firefly RPG Game Master (GM), whose role is of course to ensure that thing's don't go smooth for the characters... er, that they may live in interesting times. After all, who wants a game where all plans execute as intended and the bad guys never show up? Keep that for real life...

The Introduction lays this all out, in the rather slangy approach that is standard for Firefly resources. Whilst the book is mainly intended for GMs, there is material that players can use, however - like new distinctions, signature assets and ships. You may prefer, however, to introduce these in a controlled manner rather than letting them loose in these pages, particularly if you intend on using the army of antagonists or the plot suggestions to be found here.

Antagonists are not necessarily villians. They're just people whose interests or inclinations run contrary to those of the characters and so can be relied upon to object to or counter whatever they are trying to do... or whose own schemes will impact in a negative way on them. Some are out-and-out bad guys, but even villains don't necessarily see themselves as evil: they may have a quite reasonable (to themselves, at least) rationale for whatever they are doing.

The bulk of this book, then, is a collection of antagonists who can be relied upon to ensure things don't go smoothly for your characters. They are divided into various categories, so you can pick ones appropriate to what you have in mind... and of course, reading through all the details presented sparks ideas for stories if you haven't a plan in mind already. Spies and crime bosses, rival crews and gangs, and assorted other potential opponents are to be found here.

The first lot - the spies and crime bosses - are all individuals although most command a fair few minions to do their bidding. There are notes on what makes a good - great, even - crime boss, which you can apply to individuals of your own design as well as appreciate in these ones. Each one comes with detailed background information and some atmospheric illustrations - not just them but things like appropriate advertisments or scenes - as well as full stat blocks. Notes include typical locations and details of their followers, but the main focus is on the individual in charge. If you are wondering about the spies... well, strip away the followers, tone down their activities a bit and any one of these people could make a career out of espionage, if that suits your plans better. The individual details are followed by some appropriate signature assets. Some might be appropriate for your characters... or they may, ahem, liberate them from a passing crime boss in the course of an adventure. The chapter rounds out with some plot seeds that would work well with these antagonists.

Then come the rival crews and gangs. After all, it is extremely unlikely that the characters are the only bunch of somewhat questionable types crusing around the 'Verse in a ship looking to make a score. There's bound to be other groups with the same idea in mind. Some may be intrinsicly similar to your crew, with enough differences to make them interesting and challenging - their cortex hacker maybe enjoys a good brawl whereas yours hides under a table when a fight breaks out, for example - others will be completely different with their own motivations. Ideas for how to present them in interesting ways are provided before descriptions of several groups are provided, with full stats for the leader and summaries of everyone else in the crew or gang, along with copious background notes replete with suggestions as to how to incorporate them into a good plot. Again, illustrations and notes bring them to life, adding atmosphere to the listings. The chapter ends with a neat system for coming up with a rival crew on the fly (which will work just as well if you are short a few ideas but know you want a rival crew...) and a selection of plot outlines to embroil them in.

The final collection of antagonists are quite strange - things that might be completely unexpected. There are some guidance notes on setting up the right circumstances to introduce them and what makes them tick, too, which empower you to weave them seamlessly into whatever's going on. And they are weird indeed - a rogue AI, perhaps, which has got religion or maybe someone who is a nice person who just happens to be (unbeknownst to themselves) a programmed assassin... or even someone - something? - that may be a ghost or is it merely an urban legend that the unscrupulous are capitalising on? More new signature assests and a whole bunch of stuff about the Reavers and how to bring them into your game with the right amount of terror and confusion that they should generate.

The next chapter presents a veritable fleet of enemy boats. A memorable enemy has to have a ship to match, after all. Several are described in detail all ready for the using (or the stealing if your crew is anything like mine...) and there's also a complete system for designing your own ships, based around devising new signature assets and new classes of vessel.

This is followed by a chapter called Scheming and Narratin' - this is jam-packed full of hints and tips on game-mastering and in particular how to give your antagonists every bit as much life, individuality and interest as your players lavish on their characters. There's all sorts of stuff here including combat, location and much, much more... material that could easily be retooled for any game and so is well worth reading whatever ruleset and genre you run games for. Spend a lot of time reading and rereading this chapter, it will reward you amply.

Finally there are two complete adventures ready to run - Merciless and Thieves in Heaven. The first involves a heist in a museum and the second a collective of shipyard dogs who have fallen on hard times and are coming down with a mysterious illness to boot. Of course, there's plenty more to each of them and they should prove interesting entertainment for you and your group.

If you are serious about GMing Firefly, this book should be snuggled up next to your copy of the core rulebook.