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.

So you're not looking for a target number, like Star Wars D6. You're looking for a number of successes, like White Wolf?

I'm interested in this game and trying to learn more about the proposed system. What does reroll at a cost usually mean? Is this a narrative thing of, "GM finds a way to screw with you," (which can be fun, don't misread that) or is it more, "costs you X amount of resources?"

Quote from: Tanin Wulf;1085845So you're not looking for a target number, like Star Wars D6. You're looking for a number of successes, like White Wolf?

Right. Each six you roll is a success. Generally you'll only need one to pull off something basic, but you'll often find yourself needing more to really be effective. For example, rolling extra sixes in Coriolis during combat lets you pull off a bunch of different tricks, or you can do the basic option of trading in an extra success to increase your damage by one.

Quote from: Tanin Wulf;1085845I'm interested in this game and trying to learn more about the proposed system. What does reroll at a cost usually mean? Is this a narrative thing of, "GM finds a way to screw with you," (which can be fun, don't misread that) or is it more, "costs you X amount of resources?"

It varies from game to game. Sticking with Coriolis as an example, you can "pray to the Icons" to reroll all dice that aren't a six. However, doing this gives the GM one Darkness Point, which can be used for all kinds of things including activating special NPC abilities or causing bad stuff to happen during a scene. Basically, players can pray for help to reroll their dice (only once per roll, and only on skill checks), but doing so means they're giving the GM ammunition to use against them later.

Another example is Forbidden Lands. It's a little more complicated than Coriolis since you're supposed to keep track of which dice come from which source (attribute, skill, or gear), but basically it works along similar lines. You can push your luck if your roll isn't good enough -- you get to reroll any dice that didn't come up a six or a one, but all non-skill dice that end up as a one on your final roll (including from your first roll) will either cause damage to your gear or the attribute you rolled.

There is a podcast from Plot Points interviewing Tomas Harenstam (the Free League designer).

OK, more points in the favor of the Alien Franchise RPG.

Paul Elliot, owner of Zozer Games and creator of the Hostile setting for Cepheus Engine, is one of the writers who worked on the Aliens game.

Quote from: Facebook post by Paul ElliotI'm always writing... I wrote my first history book 25 years ago (!) Every evening, its usually lots of science and science fiction, or it's a history book for Fonthill Media. Or a magazine article for Ancient Warfare or some other history magazine. And sometimes I'm juggling two projects or sometimes three at the same time. I've just finished working for a fabulous project, my dream job helping to write the Alien roleplaying game for a Swedish publisher, who have negotiated the license with 20th Century Fox. Very very cool, there's few things I know more about!

All fine and fandy (and I will almost certainly buy the book for the eye candy and because ALIENS), but my issue with an Aliens game is the same as my issue with the Aliens film franchise: everyone knows not to stick their face in the egg pod by now. Everyone knows to dodge out of the way of the alien's blood.

Alien 3 and 4 no doubt sucked in various ways, but you can at least see why they felt they had to do something different (e.g. the Ripley body horror) to have some chance of shocking the audience.

Also. do we know if the Predators will be in it?

Quote from: Marchand;1086141All fine and fandy (and I will almost certainly buy the book for the eye candy and because ALIENS), but my issue with an Aliens game is the same as my issue with the Aliens film franchise: everyone knows not to stick their face in the egg pod by now. Everyone knows to dodge out of the way of the alien's blood.

Alien 3 and 4 no doubt sucked in various ways, but you can at least see why they felt they had to do something different (e.g. the Ripley body horror) to have some chance of shocking the audience.

Go read Hostile. This very issue is addressed masterfully.

Quote from: Marchand;1086141All fine and fandy (and I will almost certainly buy the book for the eye candy and because ALIENS), but my issue with an Aliens game is the same as my issue with the Aliens film franchise: everyone knows not to stick their face in the egg pod by now. Everyone knows to dodge out of the way of the alien's blood.

I've run many Aliens games (usually with Classic Traveller). Often, the setup is the PCs all KNOW the lore. They don't have to pretend their PCs are naive noobs.

...and it doesn't matter. Somebody WILL stick their head in an egg pod (or the equivalent).

Of course, I've run the scenario from the Weyland Yutani perspective. The team isn't there to rescue people. They're there to retrieve aliens and the infected and escape.

My favorite was the time my players collected the eggs, put them on truck, drove the truck into their ship, then opened the truck to remove the eggs...and SHAT THEMSELVES when the facehuggers ran off to various corners of their ship.

Quote from: RandyB;1086160Go read Hostile. This very issue is addressed masterfully.

I own Hostile. I see (really good) GM advice on how to create a new alien monster or other threat. I still don't see how that helps me run canonical Aliens. In fact, the GM advice in Hostile specifically warns against letting it turn into a cliched bug hunt.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1086185I've run many Aliens games (usually with Classic Traveller). Often, the setup is the PCs all KNOW the lore. They don't have to pretend their PCs are naive noobs.

...and it doesn't matter. Somebody WILL stick their head in an egg pod (or the equivalent).

Of course, I've run the scenario from the Weyland Yutani perspective. The team isn't there to rescue people. They're there to retrieve aliens and the infected and escape.

My favorite was the time my players collected the eggs, put them on truck, drove the truck into their ship, then opened the truck to remove the eggs...and SHAT THEMSELVES when the facehuggers ran off to various corners of their ship.

Not sure how to put this tactfully, so I won't bother - your players sound like they play their PCs to be fucking idiots.

You can get the claustrophobia and the physical threat and so on. I can imagine the PCs being cooped up on their ship or whatever waiting for someone's chest to explode and that will be kind of cool. But I think you'd be better off with HOSTILE (or Mothership) where you don't even know what kind of monster you're dealing with.

Also... will there be Predators?

Quote from: Marchand;1086251Not sure how to put this tactfully, so I won't bother - your players sound like they play their PCs to be fucking idiots.

They're players! What do you expect?

I suspect part of the "bad decision making" comes from (1) its a convention game one-shot, (or short arc home campaign); and (2) I am a merciless GM who takes advantage of player missteps. I play the aliens as described by Ash in Alien:

Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
Parker: Look, I am... I've heard enough of this, and I'm asking you to pull the plug.
Ash: Last word.
Ellen Ripley: What?
Ash: I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies.

Quote from: Marchand;1086251But I think you'd be better off with HOSTILE (or Mothership) where you don't even know what kind of monster you're dealing with.

What is Mothership?

Quote from: Marchand;1086251Also... will there be Predators?

Predators are in my Aliens games!

I have no idea if the Aliens license allows the Predator IP (or Prometheus IP) to be used. It would be weaksauce if the answer was NO (but not surprising either).

http://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/mothership

I must admit I've never actually got to play it, but the reviews are good and it reads like it would be a blast

Run Mothership and post an actual play review!!!

Quote from: Spinachcat;1086338Run Mothership and post an actual play review!!!

Right now I am in an AD&D 1e campaign where we have managed 2 sessions in about 3 months... (cue world's smallest violin)

I'd use Uncharted Worlds with the Horror rules in the Far Beyond Humanity supplement.

It's the reason I bought UW; to handle all my "outer-space" gaming.

I loved Ripley. She was always the smartest person in the room and the fact that she is constantly marginalized created perfect horror.

A1:

Lambert : Look, could you open the god-damned hatch? We have to get him inside.

Ripley : No. I can't do that and if you were in my position, you'd do the same.

A2:

RIPLEY: I told you, it wasn't indigenous. There was an alien spacecraft there.
A derelict ship.  We homed on its beacon...

ECA REP: To be perfectly frank, we've surveyed over three hundred worlds and no one's
ever reported a creature which, using your words... (read from Ripley's statement)
...'gestates in a living human host' and has 'concentrated molecular acid for blood.'

&

Ripley : I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Private Hudson : Fuckin' A!

Burke : Hold on, hold on just a second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it.

Ripley : They can *bill* me.

A3:

Ripley: Because they won't kill it. They might kill you just for having seen it but they're not gonna kill it.

Aaron: That is crazy! That is horse shit! They will not kill *us*!

Ripley: When they first heard about this thing, it was "crew expendable". The next time they sent in marines - they were expendable too. What makes you think they're gonna care about a bunch of lifers who found God at the ass-end of space? You really think they're gonna let you interfere with their plans for this thing? They think we're - we're crud. And they don't give a fuck about one friend of yours that's - that's died. Not one.

The FBH Horror rules go like this:

• Rising Tension ("that thing" is out there somewhere. The PCs & NPCs still have to perform activities, but as they fail at any activity, the tension level rises moving them to the next level)
• Emergent Horror (clues of the alien's presence become obvious to the PCs; "What's this slimy ---??" or "Where's the dog?" The PCs may not know what's going on, but the players will almost definitely feel the tension rising)
• The Horror Revealed (IT APPEARS & tries to fist somebody's brains out with its MEGAJAWS!! During this scene, all Consequences are greatly increased! Can you say 'friendly-fire'?)
• Safe for Now (It vanishes with its prey, leaving the others pissed-pantsed & nauseous. The Tension level resets to 1 and begins rising again the following scene. The cycle keeps going until the PCs escape or the critter(s) is/am dealt with.  

Quote from: Marchand;1086519Right now I am in an AD&D 1e campaign where we have managed 2 sessions in about 3 months... (cue world's smallest violin)

That's because your fellow players really want to play Mothership instead!

Quote from: Theory of Games;1086719I'd use Uncharted Worlds with the Horror rules in the Far Beyond Humanity supplement.

It's the reason I bought UW; to handle all my "outer-space" gaming.

Never heard of Uncharted Worlds! Tell us more! Links! Reviews! Pimpage!

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. It has allowed me the freedom to ignore the stupid things in the later movies of the franchise.

The writer of Hostile - Paul Elliott is also working on The ALIEN RPG