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New Official Alien Franchise RPG

Started by Beldar, April 27, 2019, 12:59:30 AM

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Beldar

I don't know anything about the company behind this or their games. But this might be worthy of discussion. Link below. Please note that I am stupid and can't get the hyperlink to work properly from my phone. You might have to copy and paste.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/alien-is-getting-a-tabletop-roleplaying-game-1834309513/amp

Brand55

Quote from: Beldar;1084726I don't know anything about the company behind this or their games. But this might be worthy of discussion. Link below. Please note that I am stupid and can't get the hyperlink to work properly from my phone. You might have to copy and paste.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/alien-is-getting-a-tabletop-roleplaying-game-1834309513/amp
Free League has put out a lot of games in the past few years: Mutant Year Zero, Coriolis, Tales from the Loop, and Forbidden Lands. From what I read in the official announcement, they're using a slightly modified version of the system seen in those games. At its core, you'll have a pool of d6s based on attributes, skills, and gear. Typically you want 1 or more 6es for success, and you can reroll the dice at a cost.

Here's the official website announcement for anyone interested: https://frialigan.se/en/alien/

Personally, I'm cautiously optimistic. The system Free League uses isn't my favorite, but it isn't horrible. It wouldn't be my first pick to play a game of Aliens; I've got Savage Worlds or Stars Without Number for that. I might pick up the books if they look good and provide a solid source of information, and I am a bit curious how they'll present the two forms of play. As someone who sticks more to campaign play over one-shots for the most part, I'm hoping that aspect of the game isn't given short change.

Beldar

Quote from: Brand55;1084729Free League has put out a lot of games in the past few years: Mutant Year Zero, Coriolis, Tales from the Loop, and Forbidden Lands. From what I read in the official announcement, they're using a slightly modified version of the system seen in those games. At its core, you'll have a pool of d6s based on attributes, skills, and gear. Typically you want 1 or more 6es for success, and you can reroll the dice at a cost.

Here's the official website announcement for anyone interested: https://frialigan.se/en/alien/

Personally, I'm cautiously optimistic. The system Free League uses isn't my favorite, but it isn't horrible. It wouldn't be my first pick to play a game of Aliens; I've got Savage Worlds or Stars Without Number for that. I might pick up the books if they look good and provide a solid source of information, and I am a bit curious how they'll present the two forms of play. As someone who sticks more to campaign play over one-shots for the most part, I'm hoping that aspect of the game isn't given short change.

Thanks for then the info, I've never played any of those. It worries me a bit that it's going to use a dice pool system. I don't dislike dice pools universally, but they never feel gritty and harsh like an Alien game should. So, I guess I'm in the same boat as you. If it's an excellent source book, maybe I will pick it up. I would much rather use something like Stars Without Number first edition or All Flesh Must Be Eaten.

Alexander Kalinowski

I don't agree with the direction that the setting took and haven't watched any Aliens movies since part 3, so... not too excited about it. I ran the old Aliens RPG , a stripped down Phoenix Command, for a while though. It was fun.
Author of the Knights of the Black Lily RPG, a game of sexy black fantasy.
Setting: Ilethra, a fantasy continent ruled over by exclusively spiteful and bored gods who play with mortals for their sport.
System: Faithful fantasy genre simulation. Bell-curved d100 as a core mechanic. Action economy based on interruptability. Cinematic attack sequences in melee. Fortune Points tied to scenario endgame stakes. Challenge-driven Game Design.
The dark gods await.

Beldar

Quote from: Alexander Kalinowski;1084733I don't agree with the direction that the setting took and haven't watched any Aliens movies since part 3, so... not too excited about it. I ran the old Aliens RPG , a stripped down Phoenix Command, for a while though. It was fun.

I loved the first move for it's horror and mystery. It used the unknown in a fantastic way. The second movie was a great action film with a horror theme and it can be hard to pull off both at the same time. Things went down hill fast after that. Prometheus had serious potential with the Engineers, but for every interesting piece, there was a big steaming turd of a scene to ruin it. The Alien franchise has been treated so poorly that it should be criminal.

jeff37923

#5
I'm interested in seeing this game as well. So far, I've been using the Hostile sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (Book Form!) for emulating play in the Alien universe. It has allowed me the freedom to ignore the stupid things in the later movies of the franchise.

EDIT: If you haven't seen them yet, the 40th Anniversary Alien Short Films are pretty cool to watch for game inspiration.
"Meh."

Spinachcat

I've run Aliens RPG events for decades. My go-to is Classic Traveller. It works most awesome, especially with 2-3 PCs per player. I have also used Savage Worlds for 40k "Imperial Guards vs. Tyranid" which is just Aliens and I've been very happy with the results.

BTW, if you enjoy the Alien universe, I highly recommend checking out the old Dark Horse comics. Personally, I find that the work in the Aliens comics to be far more entertaining, original and game-useful than the later films.

I've also run Aliens via Stars Without Number (1e) and it works nicely there too. If I were to run an Aliens campaign instead of just a one-shot, I would use SWN and dump H.R.Giger's aliens into the SWN setting. Why? The SWN character classes are very cool and the presence of psionics  would add a freshness to the Alien-verse (at least for me).

myleftnut

Free League is an amazing publisher but I'd be hesitant to back a kickstarter using this franchise. For those familiar with miniature gaming an Aliens vs Predator game was produced incredibly late due to supposed corporate red tape from 20th C.Fox.

Thornhammer

Quote from: jeff37923;1084735I'm interested in seeing this game as well. So far, I've been using the Hostile sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (Book Form!) for emulating play in the Alien universe.

Hostile is fucking good.  Nails the feel right to the wall.

Take Hostile and add Mothership, which is custom built to do Alien.

Still, I'm gonna buy this new one because I love Alien.

Shawn Driscoll

#9
Quote from: Beldar;1084726I don't know anything about the company behind this or their games. But this might be worthy of discussion. Link below. Please note that I am stupid and can't get the hyperlink to work properly from my phone. You might have to copy and paste.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/alien-is-getting-a-tabletop-roleplaying-game-1834309513/amp

https://alien-rpg.com/
Looks like another ALIEN coffee table art book, but with a dice pool rule included.

jeff37923

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;1084862https://alien-rpg.com/

OK, check out the website if you haven't. It has already sold me on the game just for the background and the art.
"Meh."

S'mon

Seems foolish that they're treating the terrible Alien 3 as canon and the default setting time period. That'd be like making a Highlander RPG set in the Highlander 2 universe.

jeff37923

Quote from: S'mon;1084869Seems foolish that they're treating the terrible Alien 3 as canon and the default setting time period. That'd be like making a Highlander RPG set in the Highlander 2 universe.

Alien: Resurrection happened 200 years after the first 3 Alien movies and both Promethius and Alien: Covenant are prequels set 30 years before, so it makes sense from a timeline POV.
"Meh."

S'mon

Quote from: jeff37923;1084871Alien: Resurrection happened 200 years after the first 3 Alien movies and both Promethius and Alien: Covenant are prequels set 30 years before, so it makes sense from a timeline POV.

I understand their stated reasoning, but IMO they should set it around the time of ALIENS and leave it to the GM whether to incorporate Alien3.

S'mon

Quote from: jeff37923;1084871Alien: Resurrection happened 200 years after the first 3 Alien movies and both Promethius and Alien: Covenant are prequels set 30 years before, so it makes sense from a timeline POV.

I understand their stated reasoning, but IMO they should set it around the time of ALIENS and leave it to the GM whether to incorporate Alien3.