ALIEN RPG Launches New Kickstarter

Free League Publishing has launched a Kickstarter for a new edition of ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game, complete with a new starter box and a box of miniatures. Launched today, the Kickstarter raises money for an Evolved edition of the popular licensed horror RPG, which uses the Year Zero Engine. The Evolved Edition contains improved version for stealth mode, stress and panic, and a new zero gravity system. The edition also includes content from ALIEN: Romulus, the hit 2023 movie, including a setting guide for Jackson's Star, and a solo mode.

The ALIEN RPG uses a dice-pool system where rolling a 6 guarantees a success. Players can add stress for additional rolls with specially-colored dice, although rolling a 1 on these dice causes the chance of panic setting in. The game comes with a campaign mode and a cinematic mode in which players are more likely to get killed by an alien or a different terror in space.

As of the time of this writing, the Kickstarter has already raised over $650,000, putting it well on the pathway to the fabled $1 million mark.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Pretty notable that, despite the handwringing over the new edition's timing, the Kickstarter is about to close at over $2.3M. Also interesting, imo, given that the Alien RPG isn't exactly known for supporting long campaigns. So this likely isn't a bunch of people who've decided they're only playing this one game for however long. It's people who just really like short campaigns or one shots where basically everyone dies!

EDIT: Wait, nevermind—I forgot they did minis this time around. Always the easy way to juice a campaign (if you have the resources).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Pretty notable that, despite the handwringing over the new edition's timing, the Kickstarter is about to close at over $2.3M. Also interesting, imo, given that the Alien RPG isn't exactly known for supporting long campaigns. So this likely isn't a bunch of people who've decided they're only playing this one game for however long. It's people who just really like short campaigns or one shots where basically everyone dies!

EDIT: Wait, nevermind—I forgot they did minis this time around. Always the easy way to juice a campaign (if you have the resources).

Playing great one-shots and short campaigns is a great way to play RPGs and Alien definitely does a great job with them.

 

[aramis erak]

Also interesting, imo, given that the Alien RPG isn't exactly known for supporting long campaigns.

It can support 6-9 months of play, easily... whether or not that's "long" is a more personal question... The space trucker mode is probably the easiest one to keep going that long... if the first encounter with the xenomorphs isn't fatal. One of my campaigns, they didn't get got until their THIRD encounter with Xenomorphs. And players can make some of the cinematics take far longer than the 3-6 sessions envisaged. Destroyer of worlds took about 12 weeks with one group over VOIP...

 

[Grendel_Khan]

It can support 6-9 months of play, easily... whether or not that's "long" is a more personal question... The space trucker mode is probably the easiest one to keep going that long... if the first encounter with the xenomorphs isn't fatal.

Are you talking about 6 to 9 months of weekly sessions? So 24 to 36 sessions total? Those must be some wildly zoomed-in, not-much-happening sessions, for Alien. At that point, where's the horror? I get that you can sort of Traveller it up with Alien, and that the game (at least the current edition) sort of vaguely suggests how to do that. But doesn't seem like it's playing to the game's strengths at all.

 

[Jd Smith1]

The game is coming up on six years, and the rules expansion, from the kickstarter blurb, don't sound all that earthshaking.

Are you talking about 6 to 9 months of weekly sessions? So 24 to 36 sessions total? Those must be some wildly zoomed-in, not-much-happening sessions, for Alien. At that point, where's the horror? I get that you can sort of Traveller it up with Alien, and that the game (at least the current edition) sort of vaguely suggests how to do that. But doesn't seem like it's playing to the game's strengths at all.

I agree. Plus, Alien the creature is much diminished when not on board a ship; without the threat of acid-blood hull-breaches, they are not nearly as fearsome.

I've used them countless times in space campaigns, but only for surprise scenarios aboard a ship; they're not all that impressive on land against stand-off weaponry.

For a long-term campaign, you need a much more flexible foe/threat.

 

[Reynard]

Playing great one-shots and short campaigns is a great way to play RPGs and Alien definitely does a great job with them.

Short campaigns are vastly underrated. Give me 6 solid 4 hour sessions to cover what might be a single TV season. Yes please.

 

[aramis erak]

Are you talking about 6 to 9 months of weekly sessions? So 24 to 36 sessions total? Those must be some wildly zoomed-in, not-much-happening sessions, for Alien. At that point, where's the horror? I get that you can sort of Traveller it up with Alien, and that the game (at least the current edition) sort of vaguely suggests how to do that. But doesn't seem like it's playing to the game's strengths at all.

Yes, 6-9 months of weekly sessions.
Playing Alien as a horror game only is in fact the point where you're wasting its potential. Why?
Alien as a game is NOT written as a horror game first - it's a solid space opera game first and foremost, but one with a great stress system, that makes the rather buff xenomorphs a serious pucker factor... before accounting for the acid splash when you hit them. But it has other major stressor elements for campaign play, and the cycle of economics and schedules. And the politics of the setting: 3 major factions, including The Three World Alliance, the Union of Progressive Peoples, and The United Americas, plus the corporate shenanagins of Weyland-Yutani, The Interstellar Commerce Consortium, Lasalle Bionational, Seegson Industrial, and others... It's a very playable game even if you just eliminate that 1/18 chance of Xenomorphs. Or substitute less dangerous xeno-fauna.

The Cinematics are anywhere from 3 session to 12 session, depending upon players, GM, and how much sidelining happens. The three I've run have been absolutely wonderful... the longest was Destroyer of Worlds, which was 12 sessions IIRC. They got heavily into the sneak and peak aspects, and No, the xenomorphs are NOT less intimidating on the ground...

It's heavily grounded in the same core mechanical conceits of Coriolis: The Third Horizon. Setting based alterations and better wordings.

The Cinematic mode is fun; I've run three of the modules. (One of them thrice.) But it isn't the whole of the game, and the inclusion of non-XX121 threat aliens is a nicety... And Campaign play goes into Cinematic Mode when the bigbad xenos show up.

 

[Jd Smith1]

No, the xenomorphs are NOT less intimidating on the ground...

Curious here: how are the xenos, who are limited to melee attacks, intimidating with the PCs having access to long-range fire (both direct and indirect), liberal use of explosives, high-tech recon devices, and all the other basic gear? I know the system is pretty minimal, but it is hard to imagine how that can be pulled off.

They had to insert an unexplained ammo shortage and very tight quarters to give hordes of xenos a fighting change against the handful of Marine survivors in the second movie.

In the most recent movie, Romulus, one basic infantry weapon made a very impressive difference.