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
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/ (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.
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/ (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.
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.
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.
I'm interested in seeing this game as well. So far, I've been using the Hostile (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228492/Hostile) sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186894/Cepheus-Engine-System-Reference-Document?filters=0_0_45550_0_0) (Book Form! (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237247/Cepheus-Engine-RPG?filters=0_0_45550_0_0)) 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 (https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/alien-short-films-40th-anniversary/)are pretty cool to watch for game inspiration.
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).
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.
Quote from: jeff37923;1084735I'm interested in seeing this game as well. So far, I've been using the Hostile (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228492/Hostile) sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186894/Cepheus-Engine-System-Reference-Document?filters=0_0_45550_0_0) (Book Form! (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237247/Cepheus-Engine-RPG?filters=0_0_45550_0_0)) 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Quote from: S'mon;1084872I 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.
The events of Alien 3 are pretty easily ignored, though. Unless Ripley is going to be a part of your campaign it wouldn't be much different even if you left it in as cannon. In fact, redoing that moving in tabletop form might actually improve on the original. An isolated prison with an Alien on the loose is perfect for a full length adventure.
Quote from: S'mon;1084872I 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.
Point taken, but this way the Ellen Ripley story arc is done and GMs don't have to contend with players trying to trash the story arc (a point in the game's favor*).
*One of the biggest headaches I have in running Star Wars or Star Trek is that at some point the players want to use their OOC knowledge to gain an incredible advantage and simultaneously wreck the established storyline of the franchise. I can easily see this happening with the Alien franchise too.
Quote from: Beldar;1084732Thanks 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.
In Coriolis, the dice pool gives rather crappy chances for success that is only somewhat bettered by appealing to the Icons (praying). I don't think that will be in an Alien game, so expect characters with a high degree of suck in anything outside of their very specific fields of competence (and that competence isn't super-skilled by any means).
Quote from: HappyDaze;1084879In Coriolis, the dice pool gives rather crappy chances for success that is only somewhat bettered by appealing to the Icons (praying). I don't think that will be in an Alien game, so expect characters with a high degree of suck in anything outside of their very specific fields of competence (and that competence isn't super-skilled by any means).
I have never been keen on any games that rely on skills and large dice pools, especially if it is limited to d6's. Traveller does everything one needs to do, with 2d6. Fudge & Fate, 4d6. Why make a game more difficult to play?
Came here to mention Hostile, so glad to see I'm in good company. I'm honestly not sure what I'd do with an "official" Alien game.
Quote from: jeff37923;1084735I'm interested in seeing this game as well. So far, I've been using the Hostile (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228492/Hostile) sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186894/Cepheus-Engine-System-Reference-Document?filters=0_0_45550_0_0) (Book Form! (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237247/Cepheus-Engine-RPG?filters=0_0_45550_0_0)) 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.
Hostile (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228492/Hostile) is freaking awesome.
I used the Xenomorphs in a FASATrek game. The players were throwing out quotes from
Aliens during the build-up to the reveal, never realizing how right they were...
Quote from: SavageSchemer;1084887Came here to mention Hostile, so glad to see I'm in good company. I'm honestly not sure what I'd do with an "official" Alien game.
Use it for background material and ogle the artwork, that is what I'm going to do.
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
Thanks Beldar. I like to see news in this forum.
Quote from: Rithuan;1084963Thanks Beldar. I like to see news in this forum.
No worries, it was actually my wife that informed me about it first. I just thought I would share as Alien is a rather interesting franchise to me.
Finally, a license in the hands of a company I trust.
Quote from: jeff37923;1084735If you haven't seen them yet, the 40th Anniversary Alien Short Films (https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/alien-short-films-40th-anniversary/)are pretty cool to watch for game inspiration.
Nice!
Playlist for all of them is here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLraFbwCoisJApbIN0n2WRyliwHo2nSU3o).
Quote from: Spinachcat;1084796BTW, 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.
Couldn't agree more.
It's a damn shame the rights holders for both Aliens and Star Wars ultimately decided to throw out all the amazing lore their licencees created.
Quote from: Anon Adderlan;1085038Finally, a license in the hands of a company I trust.
Nice!
Playlist for all of them is here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLraFbwCoisJApbIN0n2WRyliwHo2nSU3o).
Couldn't agree more.
It's a damn shame the rights holders for both Aliens and Star Wars ultimately decided to throw out all the amazing lore their licencees created.
Yeah, I loved the Dark Horse Aliens comics; hated Alien3.
Quote from: S'mon;1085058Yeah, I loved the Dark Horse Aliens comics; hated Alien3.
I'm still wishing that they would have just adapted the original Dark Horse
Aliens vs Predator comic to film. That would have been epic!
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.
I liked Alien 3, you fucking harlot.
Yes, Aliens was better, but Alien 3 is a lot better than Alien Resurrection or the AVP movies.
As long as they do not recognize the Joss Whedon trainwreck that is Alien Resurrection as canon, I can accept them recognizing Alien 3 as canon.
Watch the Assembly Cut of Alien 3, it's much better than the theatrical cut and serves as an excellent finale to the Alien saga.
Lemme guess, you're still butthurt that they killed Hicks and Newt in the third film, aren't you?
The Dark Horse timeline makes the most sense for a RPG setting. For an Aliens game to work, the Alien threat needs to have spread across numerous worlds, including Earth.
As per the films, the Alien threat on Acheron LV426 was vaporized and the prison planet threat was totally contained, leaving nothing but blood samples that took 200 years to make viable again. Not much to do there. Prometheus and its whatever sequel nuked the setting options even further.
For me, I've always declared the Alien Ship on LV426 to have survived the nuclear meltdown. It wasn't that close to the atmospheric station and makes the perfect macguffin for various corporations to steal eggs and spread the disaster from world to world.
BTW, that's also why Predators are highly active in my Aliens campaigns. Lots and lots of hunting grounds with worthy prey.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085374Lemme guess, you're still butthurt that they killed Hicks and Newt in the third film, aren't you?
It was super lame and undercut the entire point of Aliens.
Much like the current Star Wars shitfests negating the sacrifices and achievements of the previous films.
I like Alien 3 (and I've seen the assembly cut) and I enjoyed Alien 4 because the crew are RPG PCs.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1085375The Dark Horse timeline makes the most sense for a RPG setting. For an Aliens game to work, the Alien threat needs to have spread across numerous worlds, including Earth.
As per the films, the Alien threat on Acheron LV426 was vaporized and the prison planet threat was totally contained, leaving nothing but blood samples that took 200 years to make viable again. Not much to do there. Prometheus and its whatever sequel nuked the setting options even further.
For me, I've always declared the Alien Ship on LV426 to have survived the nuclear meltdown. It wasn't that close to the atmospheric station and makes the perfect macguffin for various corporations to steal eggs and spread the disaster from world to world.
BTW, that's also why Predators are highly active in my Aliens campaigns. Lots and lots of hunting grounds with worthy prey.
Why not mix both continuities together? I like your idea of the ship surviving the colony getting nuked.
That way, the Xenomorph threat can spread and you can bring in Predator as well, while Alien 3 remains canon, Joss Whedon's cinematic abortion of a fourth film can be safely declared non-canon, and Hicks and Newt can stay dead just to piss off the whiny meatheads who bash Alien 3 because it wasn't a rehash of Aliens.
And this is from someone who considers Aliens to be the best film in the franchise.
I keep Alien 3 canon in my setting because Ripley dead is easier. I don't like PCs meeting up with canon characters because it always gets too MarySue. Also, the total loss of Colonial Marines combined with a Weyland Yutani coverup means that I get to set up gov't vs. corporate espionage plus revving the rumormill among other marines. Let's not forget that even the marines thought their mission was "another bug hunt" which give credence to the concept that some "bugs" exist as threats on other worlds.
Aliens should have been followed by another Aliens-like movie. That would have been smart box office business. Alien 3 is a fine sequel to Alien because it plays with similar themes, but Aliens took the franchise from "horror thriller" to "military scifi" and that radically changed audience expectations.
But Ripley's death in Alien 3 is one of the most badass of any film hero.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085374I liked Alien 3, you fucking harlot.
Yes, Aliens was better, but Alien 3 is a lot better than Alien Resurrection or the AVP movies.
As long as they do not recognize the Joss Whedon trainwreck that is Alien Resurrection as canon, I can accept them recognizing Alien 3 as canon.
Watch the Assembly Cut of Alien 3, it's much better than the theatrical cut and serves as an excellent finale to the Alien saga.
Lemme guess, you're still butthurt that they killed Hicks and Newt in the third film, aren't you?
Are you even old enough to remember the Alien 3 theater release? There are precisely 2 things in Alien 3 that even make it worth watching...the dog-like alien showing how the host can affect the final xenomorph and Ripley's death scene. Other than that the movie ranks up there with introducing midichlorians/Luke's cop-out in the Star Wars universe.
They did such a bad job with the set-up, that it would have been better as a sequel to the original movie. All they would have to do was substitute the Nostromo's lifeboat for the Sulaco and edited out any scenes with Hicks/Newt's bodies.
Aliens was a hi-tech sci-fi military action piece, but at its core it was the battle of 2 mother's protecting their children in a war of annihilation. On one side you have the Queen and her brood, the other is Ripley and her Colonial Marines, because Ripley pretty much is the mother figure in charge as soon as she commandeers the APC to rescue the platoon. She may 'defer' a little to the supposed people in charge, but if you think she isn't the Alpha on the human side, I suggest you go back and watch it again.
The intro to 3 completely destroyed the basic myth cycle of Aliens when it started with Newt and Hicks being dead. That is why so many people had a bad visceral reaction when it came out, even if they did not consciously understand from a literary perspective about myth cycles...It just 'felt' wrong to them.
Now the whole martyr sacrifice to save humanity/Jesus thing that Ripley does at the end is actually the perfect ending for the whole story line and most people will agree with this. The problem people had was the route used to get there, which destroyed the myth cycle of the entire second movie.
...and don't even get me started on the logical fails of the Sulaco damage and Ripley becoming infected...did the Queen grow another ovipositor in the Sulaco landing bay and nobody noticed or did a couple of facehuggers just happen to sneak out of the depths of Hadley Station just in time to hitch a ride on the Cheyenne dropship just like the Queen?
I would agree with setting the campaign timeline just after Alien 3 and leaving it as canon.
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.
Even if stripped down, just running Phoenix Command gives you some RPG street-cred :D
Quote from: moonsweeper;1085422Are you even old enough to remember the Alien 3 theater release? There are precisely 2 things in Alien 3 that even make it worth watching...the dog-like alien showing how the host can affect the final xenomorph and Ripley's death scene. Other than that the movie ranks up there with introducing midichlorians/Luke's cop-out in the Star Wars universe.
They did such a bad job with the set-up, that it would have been better as a sequel to the original movie. All they would have to do was substitute the Nostromo's lifeboat for the Sulaco and edited out any scenes with Hicks/Newt's bodies.
Aliens was a hi-tech sci-fi military action piece, but at its core it was the battle of 2 mother's protecting their children in a war of annihilation. On one side you have the Queen and her brood, the other is Ripley and her Colonial Marines, because Ripley pretty much is the mother figure in charge as soon as she commandeers the APC to rescue the platoon. She may 'defer' a little to the supposed people in charge, but if you think she isn't the Alpha on the human side, I suggest you go back and watch it again.
The intro to 3 completely destroyed the basic myth cycle of Aliens when it started with Newt and Hicks being dead. That is why so many people had a bad visceral reaction when it came out, even if they did not consciously understand from a literary perspective about myth cycles...It just 'felt' wrong to them.
Now the whole martyr sacrifice to save humanity/Jesus thing that Ripley does at the end is actually the perfect ending for the whole story line and most people will agree with this. The problem people had was the route used to get there, which destroyed the myth cycle of the entire second movie.
...and don't even get me started on the logical fails of the Sulaco damage and Ripley becoming infected...did the Queen grow another ovipositor in the Sulaco landing bay and nobody noticed or did a couple of facehuggers just happen to sneak out of the depths of Hadley Station just in time to hitch a ride on the Cheyenne dropship just like the Queen?
I would agree with setting the campaign timeline just after Alien 3 and leaving it as canon.
I dunno, I loved Alien 3 partly because of Hicks and Newt dying.
One, it pissed off the meatheads which made me like it even more and two, it helped make the tragedy of Ripley and her death more intense.
Alien was claustrophobic body horror, Aliens was military action horror, and Alien 3 was a classical Gothic tragedy.
(And I mean Gothic in the good Edgar Allan Poe sort of way, not the bad Sisters of Mercy sort of way)
Alien Resurrection was still utter shit, but that's mainly because Joss Whedon is an untalented hack who should do the world a favor and suffocate himself with a plastic bag in the midst of a publicly available livestream.
Whedon is a cancer upon geekdom and I will never forgive him for Firefly or the first Avengers movie, or for being a man-thot and lying to his wife about it.
Joss Whedon is neither a whore nor a slut. Whores charge for it and sluts have some dignity.
Joss Whedon is a thot.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431I dunno, I loved Alien 3 partly because of Hicks and Newt dying.
One, it pissed off the meatheads which made me like it even more and two, it helped make the tragedy of Ripley and her death more intense.
There would have been nothing wrong with the death or loss of Hicks/Newt if it was done properly...
Jonesy survived the Nostromo and actually participated in Aliens in the first act of the movie. Then the movie moved past him. That was done properly.
Ripley's death wasn't a tragedy.
Quote from: moonsweeper;1085434Ripley's death wasn't a tragedy.
Maybe not, but even if Ripley's death was not a tragedy, Joss Whedon's hypothetical suicide would be a comedy.
My fellow anime fans and I have a pool where we bet on which show will Joss Whedon be a guest on when he finally snaps and puts a 9mm in his mouth and blows his capeshit-loving ugly head off his weak soy-addled body.
My friends think it will be The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon but I think it will be The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
All I know is that when Whedon finally does does pop culture a favor and blows his brains out, the blood on the wall behind him will form the Disney logo because he's a corporate whore and a Marvel shill to the fucking end.
He'd go from directing a movie about Marvel superheroes to becoming the very first Marvel An Hero.
Robert Downey Jr. is already sick of doing these MCU films and already has a history of mental illness, violent behavior, and doing enough drugs to kill Charlie Sheen, so if Disney calls him up to do another MCU film (yes, I know what happens at the end of the newest Avengers flick*, but still), I'd imagine Robert Downey Jr. would snap like a disgruntled postal worker and go for the High Score like a fucking boss.
Video related.
[video=youtube;UhjHVQsJOlo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjHVQsJOlo[/youtube]
Maybe if Disney pushes Robert Downey Jr. far enough, he'll do a fuckton of whiskey, PCP, and coke and then start punching the clock at Marvel HQ with an AR-15, pumping round after round into untalented SJW writers and greedy producers, and get his name on the leader boards. It will be tragic and I will miss ol' Bobby, but Hollywood's greed knows no bounds so I would not rule it out as a possibility
*-I saw Avengers End Game with this girl I've been seeing because we went on a date and she really wanted to see it.
I didn't like it at all, but I kept my mouth shut and had a good evening otherwise.
Doc, you're a nutter, but you've got a gonzo ranting style that has potential. You should explore whether comedy writing (or just crazy ranting) can become a paid gig for you. No, I'm not kidding.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431I loved Alien 3 partly because of Hicks and Newt dying... it helped make the tragedy of Ripley and her death more intense.
I disagree, but please explain WHY.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431Alien was claustrophobic body horror, Aliens was military action horror, and Alien 3 was a classical Gothic tragedy.
Agreed.
The Gothic angle was definitely a big part of Alien 3 with the religious cult and the flawed men seeking redemption, even if that redemption could only come in a noble death.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431Alien Resurrection was still utter shit,
Beyond your hate for Whedon, please explain WHY.
I'm interested in your reasons compared to my own dislikes about the movie (most especially, the alien-human baby).
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431I will never forgive him for Firefly
Again, explain WHY.
And you're right that Whedon is thot. He used his celebrity to get extra marital nookie, but let's not pretend that's not 24/7 in Hollywood and let's not pretend women hooking up with Joss didn't know he was married, or why they were hooking up with him. It takes two to tango.
Resurrection wasn't necessarily a bad SF movie, but it was a terrible Alien franchise movie. The crew of the Betty work as rpg characters, but they don't belong in the same fictional universe as the crew of the Nostromo.
Also, the humor in Resurrection was too broad and heavy handed. You can have comic relief in a horror/action movie without breaking the mood, just look at the character of Hudson in Aliens. I got too much of a "look at me being clever" vibe off of Resurrection. I'm not sure how much of that is due to Whedon (undoubtedly some) and how much came from the director.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1085380I keep Alien 3 canon in my setting because Ripley dead is easier. I don't like PCs meeting up with canon characters because it always gets too MarySue.
When I ran a Call of Cthulu ALIENS game based on the Dark Horse comics, Ripley died - right after she and the solo PC broke out of detention cells on the orbital station and broadcast a warning to Earth about what Weyland-Yutani was doing, they kissed, and were gunned down by the Weyland-Yutani security troops. It was
tres cool.
This was years before ALIEN3.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1085378It was super lame and undercut the entire point of Aliens.
Much like the current Star Wars shitfests negating the sacrifices and achievements of the previous films.
I like Alien 3 (and I've seen the assembly cut) and I enjoyed Alien 4 because the crew are RPG PCs.
3 and 4 have issues, and are much weaker than 1 and 2, but I liked them more than not.
3 had a lot more potential, personally I think Ripley just finding herself in a life boat on the prison world without explanation would have been a more interesting set up. Maybe even a life boat from the Nostromo making one wonder if 2 even happened. Was it a hypersleep dream, or did someone remove Ripley from the Sulaco for some unexplained reason? then again, I'm not sure why Ripley even needs to be the center of further movies. She faced off with the Aliens twice and survived, even Arnold got to go home after beating the Predator.
The highlight of 4 for me is definitely the crew of the Betty, as you say totally PCs. The film has its moments, the aliens in the underwater scene were super creepy, and I love the scene where the aliens attack another alien to escape, and the horror of the scientist as he belatedly realizes what they are up to was awesome. Again, the presence of Ripley was not essential. It could have just as easily been an illegal science outpost studying the Alien species and performing horrific experiments. The hybrid alien human was kind of lame, but I will admit Alien / Ripley complete with acid blood was kind of cool.
Also bonus points for android Winona Ryder!
Quote from: Trond;1085428Even if stripped down, just running Phoenix Command gives you some RPG street-cred :D
Phoenix Command gets some much undeserved hate, and is not as difficult as many think. It was a solid game for what it does, it is just overkill for 95% of games.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085431Joss Whedon is a thot.
I'm working on cranky old guy, so not up on all the latest lingo but I thought THOT was sort of a sideways complement. Maybe not a girl you take home to your parents, but one you definitely want to take home.
Also you might want to switch to decaf. :D
The lame attempts at witty humor and the hybrid freak thing at the end of Alien Resurrection ruined the movie for me, the fact that Whedon was responsible for it was merely insult to injury.
Quote from: Doc Sammy;1085690The lame attempts at witty humor and the hybrid freak thing at the end of Alien Resurrection ruined the movie for me, the fact that Whedon was responsible for it was merely insult to injury.
I don't recall the humor but I do recall the ending was lame.
Quote from: Dimitrios;1085521Resurrection wasn't necessarily a bad SF movie, but it was a terrible Alien franchise movie. The crew of the Betty work as rpg characters, but they don't belong in the same fictional universe as the crew of the Nostromo.
True. The Nostromo crew were worn out space truckers and the Betty crew felt somewhat out of video game. I excuse it somewhat due to the 200 years later, and the Betty crew are talented criminals, not just a hapless crew of an ore freighter trying to make a living.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1085707True. The Nostromo crew were worn out space truckers and the Betty crew felt somewhat out of video game. I excuse it somewhat due to the 200 years later, and the Betty crew are talented criminals, not just a hapless crew of an ore freighter trying to make a living.
Exactly, the crew of a freighter vs gun runners or pirates. I think that is why the crew of the Betty feel so much like they came straight out of a Traveller game.
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 (https://plotpoints.libsyn.com/alien-rpg-to-burst-out-of-free-league-publishing-an-interview-with-tomas-harenstam-ep-140) (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. (https://www.facebook.com/zozergames)
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 (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228492/Hostile) sourcebook along with Cepheus Engine (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186894/Cepheus-Engine-System-Reference-Document?filters=0_0_45550_0_0) (Book Form! (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237247/Cepheus-Engine-RPG?filters=0_0_45550_0_0)) 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
Uncharted Worlds.com (https://uncharted-worlds.com)
UW review (http://maker.e2ogame.net/this-is-real-roleplaying)
Far Beyond Humanity review (https://www.google.com/amp/s/templeofravens.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/review-uncharted-worlds-far-beyond-humanity/amp/)
Quote from: middenface;1086861The writer of Hostile - Paul Elliott is also working on The ALIEN RPG
That's a plus.
Well, I'm tentatively sold. Definitely checking it out when it comes out.
Quote from: middenface;1086861The writer of Hostile - Paul Elliott is also working on The ALIEN RPG
Hi, Ian!
Quote from: jeff37923;1084877Point taken, but this way the Ellen Ripley story arc is done and GMs don't have to contend with players trying to trash the story arc (a point in the game's favor*).
*One of the biggest headaches I have in running Star Wars or Star Trek is that at some point the players want to use their OOC knowledge to gain an incredible advantage and simultaneously wreck the established storyline of the franchise. I can easily see this happening with the Alien franchise too.
Catching up on this thread. Using an existing IP that is centered around specific characters has always concerned me. I'm considering running a Lankhmar campaign, but killing off Fafhred and the Grey Mouser right off the bat. Basically have the black wizard kill the heroic duo instead of their girlfriends from the early story, and have the PCs pick up from there. If I was going to do Star Wars I'd have Luke, Han, Chewie and R2-D2 die in the explosion of the Death Star and have the PCs join the rebellion from that point. Has anyone else reading this thread done something similar in their campaigns?
Quote from: wmarshal;1087167Catching up on this thread. Using an existing IP that is centered around specific characters has always concerned me. I'm considering running a Lankhmar campaign, but killing off Fafhred and the Grey Mouser right off the bat. Basically have the black wizard kill the heroic duo instead of their girlfriends from the early story, and have the PCs pick up from there. If I was going to do Star Wars I'd have Luke, Han, Chewie and R2-D2 die in the explosion of the Death Star and have the PCs join the rebellion from that point. Has anyone else reading this thread done something similar in their campaigns?
Did something similar with a Star Wars D20 RCR game we played a few years ago. Several of us weren't interested in playing a game where the heroes of the universe were all running around. Game opened shortly after the Battle of Endor, with a Rebel Alliance peace summit being held on the forest moon, and someone released a bioweapon, which killed off Han, Leia, Luke and Chewie (amongst many others - but Lando survived, apparently), and rendered the Ewok's critically endangered, if not extinct.
Made for a decent starting ground. We were all relatively familiar with canon up to that point, but didn't have the big names running around. Plus, fuck Ewoks.
Quote from: kythri;1087168Did something similar with a Star Wars D20 RCR game we played a few years ago. Several of us weren't interested in playing a game where the heroes of the universe were all running around. Game opened shortly after the Battle of Endor, with a Rebel Alliance peace summit being held on the forest moon, and someone released a bioweapon, which killed off Han, Leia, Luke and Chewie (amongst many others - but Lando survived, apparently), and rendered the Ewok's critically endangered, if not extinct.
Made for a decent starting ground. We were all relatively familiar with canon up to that point, but didn't have the big names running around. Plus, fuck Ewoks.
Was your group able to sustain the campaign for a decent amount of time?
My hope is that an interesting setting can be the basis of a successful campaign. I don't know if that's possible with every IP, but I'm hoping so with Lankhmar. I believe a Star Wars campaign can be run without the heroes around, as well as Star Trek.
Quote from: wmarshal;1087167Catching up on this thread. Using an existing IP that is centered around specific characters has always concerned me. I'm considering running a Lankhmar campaign, but killing off Fafhred and the Grey Mouser right off the bat. Basically have the black wizard kill the heroic duo instead of their girlfriends from the early story, and have the PCs pick up from there. If I was going to do Star Wars I'd have Luke, Han, Chewie and R2-D2 die in the explosion of the Death Star and have the PCs join the rebellion from that point. Has anyone else reading this thread done something similar in their campaigns?
I have done something similar a few times. I agree that with an existing IP, it's best that you establish from the start that the RPG is an alternate reality where there is no guarantee that events will follow as predicted.
The closest one to what you suggested was a campaign I did set in Middle Earth, called "All Shall Love Me". The premise of that was that Frodo successfully convinced Galadriel to take the One Ring, and now Galadriel is trying to destroy it by an alternate plan, since just two people trying to sneak into Mordor seemed incredibly risky. The PCs were part of that new plan.
http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/lordoftherings/allshalllove/intro.html
The original Fellowship weren't killed off per se, but they were disbanded, and pursued other avenues - while others took up the quest to destroy the One Ring.
Quote from: wmarshal;1087169Was your group able to sustain the campaign for a decent amount of time?
Fairly long - the campaign didn't peter out due to lack of interest, more real life getting in the way. People's job schedules changing, or life circumstances, that kind of thing. We've actually been talking recently about reviving that campaign, so, fingers crossed!
Quote from: wmarshal;1087169My hope is that an interesting setting can be the basis of a successful campaign. I don't know if that's possible with every IP, but I'm hoping so with Lankhmar. I believe a Star Wars campaign can be run without the heroes around, as well as Star Trek.
I've been taking notes for the better part of the past 6 months to initiate a Star Trek campaign set in the TOS era, using D20 Modern and Prime Directive D20 Modern as the basis. I grew up with TNG and DS9, but from a roleplay and tech perspective, TOS speaks to me moreso than the newer (next? :P) generation of the setting. I blame the Franz Joseph Technical Manual. :D
TOS seems more "frontierish" than newer takes on the series, so it seems like something a group of privateers would be better set in.
Quote from: wmarshal;1087167I'm considering running a Lankhmar campaign, but killing off Fafhred and the Grey Mouser right off the bat. Basically have the black wizard kill the heroic duo instead of their girlfriends from the early story, and have the PCs pick up from there.
That's a great point of divergence! :cool:
But when I ran Lankhmar I just ignored Fafhrd & Mouser, they really are not important to the setting. My game was set after the last of the original books, F&GM were off on Rime Isle getting fat and happy with their Rimish consorts.
When I ran Star Wars I kept it in the official WEG time frame and time line, Han Luke & Chewie were off elsewhere while the PCs were stars of their own story a la
Rogue One, which feels a lot like my Star Wars campaign including the lethality. :D
Quote from: jeff37923;1087107Hi, Ian!
Hello Jeff!
Quote from: S'mon;1087230That's a great point of divergence! :cool:
But when I ran Lankhmar I just ignored Fafhrd & Mouser, they really are not important to the setting. My game was set after the last of the original books, F&GM were off on Rime Isle getting fat and happy with their Rimish consorts.
When I ran Star Wars I kept it in the official WEG time frame and time line, Han Luke & Chewie were off elsewhere while the PCs were stars of their own story a la Rogue One, which feels a lot like my Star Wars campaign including the lethality. :D
I guess it depends on why I love a setting. If the DM takes out all of the touch stones that I love about Star Wars/Lankmar/Forgotten Realms then I may as well play in their home brew setting.
As Alien/Aliens fan I and a buddy are cautiously looking forward to this game, but damn it's quite pricey for an rpg. $99.99 for a standard edition bundle is the most expensive Swedish-based game I have ever seen. Apparently it's a $50 discount on the total discount for the standard edition rule book, two sets of dice, three decks of cards (that one could probably play without as usual) and some map and markers.
Maybe I'm just a cheap old bastard. Is this a common price tag for game bundles in the US for example?
Quote from: GIMME SOME SUGAR;1091603Maybe I'm just a cheap old bastard. Is this a common price tag for game bundles in the US for example?
Boutique editions, with all kinds of fancy-schmancy props/extras is becoming more common, certainly.