Let’s dissect 3 Alien RPG scenarios: Chariot of the Gods + Destroyer of Worlds + Heart of Darkness

[@DaveThaumavore]

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[@samdurfee6093]

I too at first didn’t like the lack of Xenomorph. However I do agree that the black if used effectively can make for incredible monsters for the franchise. It’s just the strange insistence on Ridley Scott that the Big Guy (The Xenomorph) isn’t scary anymore and he used the black goo as an excuse to not use the big guy. That’s what got fans annoyed and it clearly got carried over to the FL Alien RPG which unlike Scott did do Alien justice.

[@vesperschake6241]

I love Free League so much 😅💕

[@DaveThaumavore]

Yeah they’re great.

[@paxiros4428]

Love it! Can't wait for the colonist sourcebook that'll be coming out! Quick edit: if you didn't know free league's plan with the Alien rpg is releasing a specific scenario and then a sourcebook for more free flow campaign play, so we have DoW then colonial marines now HoD then it'll be a conflict sourcebook and next year we get space truckers/blue collar scenario and sourcebook! Finally free league partnered up with authors to make 3 novels and at the end of each novel there's a scenario and new items to be used in the rpg

[@DaveThaumavore]

Wow I didn’t know about the future releases. I’ll probably review them all at some point. Very exciting!

[@paxiros4428]

@@DaveThaumavore yea its awesome I don't think I've seen a rpg line get releases like this but it's very smart

[@salsatheone]

@@paxiros4428 This is exactly what happened with Star Wars D6 back in the West End Games era and the actual mold of this franchise format.

[@tonylakes3086]

I think the beauty of this RPG is it gives GM's so much to homebrew their own and build on the Universe. The campaigns feel very much at home in the Alien universe.

[@MrWiley15]

Thank you for this excellent commentary on the Draconis-26 trilogy. One group I am GM'ing is finishing up Destroyer of the Worlds and another is in the middle of Chariot of the Gods. Over the last 40 years I have probably ran over 100 modules and campaign books. I think Destroyer of Worlds is possibly the best scenario I have ever run. It appears that Chariot of the Gods will be up there as well. I cannot remember any other module that I finished running and was already planning on when I would gather another group together and run it again. Although they have some tightly scripted plot points, how the players embody the personal agendas and react to the events give the scenarios strong replayability for a GM. You are right about the intimidating breadth and complexity of DoW but I think many GMs may find that more exciting than daunting. Initially I was concerned about that cinematic scenarios written by a novelist would be too constricting for players and either sacrifice agency or fall apart if they players became creative. It turned out to be an unfounded concern, the location + event + motivations structure that fills the scenarios with such potential provides both a narrative backbone room for players to choose their own paths to the goal. GMs do have many spinningplates but the events and NPC motivations help keep everything spinning and drawing towards epic moments. Like you, I do not agree with the criticism of using Xenomorphs other than xx121. The scenarios would become much too repetitive for both players and GM if it was the same Alien and lifecycle over and over. Especially when you consider that many groups will start with Hope's Last Day as a warm-up that uses xx121. Another point about the use of Xenomorphs in the scenarios worth mentioning is that the use of two different threat species (e.g. Abomination and Neomorph/xx121) in the scenarios. This provides a nice layer of mystery and confusion for the PCs -- are they all just different stages or completely seperate? do they come from the same source or not? etc.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Nice. I’m happy to hear that you’ve really gotten so much out of DoW.

[@paavohirn3728]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds super cool! I just got my core book and starter box. Need to find a time slot and pick players at some point.

[@spider00x]

So Ive played through all the scenerios and run them including the missions inside the colonial marine handbook, by far Destroyer of Worlds is a masterpiece. Then a close second Chariot of the Gods because I love introducing players who THINK they know the alien universe and turning it on its head obstacles which aren't the classic xenomorph. THE NOT KNOWING what the enemy is, is part of the scare. After so many movie featuring the Xenomorph, I love it when the players think that's what they are getting in Chariot and the script is flipped. The Entire end sequence of Destroyer and the palpable sense of dread is amazing, it reminds me of apocalypse now where they go to the front lines and no one knows whats really going on its just chaos. The weak points is Heart of Darkness, I know what Andrew was trying to do - ie. make a slick mega dungeon with factions, but TBH its so deadly and your characters are so fragile the whole things feels a little unfocused, after a while the players just stopped caring about their individual objectives and just focused on staying alive - also by then some of the game tropes became a little clique like the "betrayer" character or the double agent. Im not sure how old you are Dave or if your old enough to remember the Dragonlance series of adventures for Ad&d that kinda gave this scenematic feel, I remember playing through them as a kid and it was a rush you felt like your right there in the middle of the books... however, it (like the draconis adventures) kinda feels like its on rails after a while, things need to happen at specific points in order to propel the story forward or the whole things gets derailed quickly. If you are a GM that rolls out in front and are dedicated to not fudging rolls, your going to have a hard time completing some of these adventures outside maybe Chariot of the Gods. Andrew is a friend of mine, we talk from time to time about expanding the universe outside cinematic mode and into something a little more freeform and campaign oriented, I think that's where Alien RPG needs to go in order to survive, I have these same conversations with Sean McCoy. I think the Draconis stuff is like a awesome trilogy of films a great gateway into what Alien can really do, however I think like I said the future is more freeform adventures that are left a little more open ended. Id be curious to see what some new blood in the form of writers and designers can do with the property. Its a shame its a licensed IP because the 3pp community would go HAM on alien, I know I couldn't resist, and made an adventure of my own. cheers homie keep up the good work. -S|00x

[@DaveThaumavore]

I agree about Alien supplements needing to break out of the traintrack mold. Free League sort of has the answer right in front of them in the form of Forbidden Lands' "adventure sites," where the adventure structure is more freeform and players can just go from place to place without breaking a narrative track.

[@RichardBejtlich]

Maybe put your pregen character sheets in plastic sleeves instead of laminating? Great video as always.

[@maxducoudray]

This is what I'd do, and give the players wet erase markers. Even if the sleeves get gunky over the course of a game, you can toss them after the adventure.

[@patrickc.8676]

This was my plan too.

[@dragonsgreedgaming13]

Just laminate and use dry or wet erase markers. That's what I've done and it works great! If you trim the laminate enough they still even fit in the box!

[@dangarthemighty0980]

Have all three and they are gorgeous, thank you for the video.

[@DaveThaumavore]

You bet!

[@fl1bble]

I actually like them not using the xenomorphs in every scenario. The core rulebook even tells you to use them sparingly as to not ruin the impact of when one does show up. It also gives the GM a bigger pool of monstrous entities to draw from in custom campaigns.

[@ex-voto]

The quality art & presentation is really important. This is a game about atmosphere, (actually all RPG's are so there's no excuse for anyone), moody & appropriate art, geeky details & nice to own items that reflect the feel of the game; then & the more imersed you are in the aesthetic & the better everyone will enjoy the game.

[@valorin5762]

Great review! Thanks! I plan to GM these scenarios once I find players who are up to it. :) And yes. Alien Isolation is absolutely awesome and in my book it carries the same weight as any of the movies. One thing: The original Xenomorph wasn't inspired by H.R. Giger, but made by him for the movie. Same as the derelict ship. Giger was directly involved in the making of the first movie.

[@jimjones7980]

I would love for you to do deep dives on more adventures like this. It would be great to hear your thoughts on the adventure books released for Forbidden Lands and for Vaesen.

[@DaveThaumavore]

That sounds fun!

[@richardmckenney8605]

One of the characters became the synthetic and teamed up with Kayla to take the corporate escape pod and put a timed bomb on the flammable substance that was found in the storage area. After destruction of the cronus, Kayla and the synthetic prepared the escape pod for home and Kayla entered the cryochamber. The synthetic said "see you on the other side my new captain", and closed the cryo tube. As Kayla was falling asleep, she noticed that the synthetic was looking over the controls of the cryotube. Lucas the Android, then carried out his agenda and unplugged the cryotube, ending Kayla's life

[@xczechr]

I've run the first two scenarios and they were a lot of fun, even though most of the PCs didn't survive.

[@johnnype11]

I'm going to go read these adventures and then I'll be back to watch your video. Looking forward to it.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Nice. See ya soon.

[@stevenirizarry1304]

Here is how I homebrew the threats of the trilogy Proto-Morphs, The Abominations, The Offspring Space Jockeys, The Xenomorphs, The Bodyburster The Proto-Hives, The FullFremen, The Gigermorph(the Ultramorph from alien: engineers replaces the deacon)

[@Miskatonic1927]

Like usual, this is a very informative video! This one is even more useful as I am about to run my own lengthy homebrew Alien scenario and I am borrowing a few plot elements from the trilogy along with some ships and NPCs. Thanks!

[@DaveThaumavore]

Awesome! Thanks, Craig! Good luck on the Alien sesh.

[@detectivelizard9532]

Great video as usual. Good to see Alien Isolation get a shout out as well, just finished that game recently and it's amazing. I was just wondering, can you run the Draconis Strain Saga with custom made characters or is it heavily expected to use the pre generated characters in these adventures?

[@DaveThaumavore]

There is really no connection between the pregens and the scenarios besides the pre-written Personal Agendas.

[@Schasm]

100% agreed on your take towards the end. If they had made 3 big scenarios that were all XX121 then everyone, even my mom, would not be surprised by anything that happens. Oh wow, eggs, hosts, queen, yep, got it, and would make a boring campaign and universe. Now if you are doing a one shot, it's a ttrpg, by all means take the bones of the story/setting and make it classic Xenos (destroyer of worlds seems great for this. Start with the investigation and switch into the hive is making big moves into the dying colony and ignore the goo bombing. Exciting space elevator escape. Done.) I've seen the angry reddit threads and just could not understand this criticism. It was a damned if you do (boring, uninspired complaints) and damned if you don't (where's my nostalgia complaints) situation.

[@DaveThaumavore]

I think the weirdest thing to me is that detractors could easily just sub in classic xenos into any scenario. Just because a book says to use zombies and goo doesn’t mean you have to. It’s like the whole point of playing RPGs instead of video games: you can do whatever you want.

[@7mmScout]

Hmmm. 18 x 2.5 hour sessions for destroyer of worlds when I ran it...and we all loved it.

[@arcanetraditions]

I have been a player and GM in two separate games using Chariot. After my first game I made myself familiar with the rules as written well enough to confidently run it. I understand the complaint about a lack of a familiar xenomorph, and my solution was simply to add those elements. The game ran flawlessly over 5 sessions on discord with a group of 4. I ran the remaining PC as an NPC until it became needed. One of the players was a GM I played with before and when his PC reached the abomination stage, we let him rp as the monster, hunting the remaining crew before being killed by them. In the end the big chap, who was onboard the entire time became the crescendo of the game killing all but one of the pcs. I still used the bloodburster scene and that made for probably the most fun combat of the game I think. It took them quite a while to kill the neomorph. I did include a few eggs in the garage too, one pc was facehugged. The crew were wise enough to get them into a medpod but were too late by the time they repaired it and ended up using a sterilization protocol in the pod to immolate the crewmate and chestburster. Such good fun. The Alien RPG is by far my new favorite system.

[@beowulfshaeffer8444]

I hadn't even thought of the Isolation connection. My first thought was Disney's "The Black Hole" combined with Deadspace.

[@WookieeRage]

Thinking about the use of the character sheets. I am going to see if one of the comic/magazine hard collectors sleeves can fit them. This would provide a good surface for dry erase markers while protecting the sheets.

[@matusalem9263]

Finaly someone who would made a actual reviw with spoiles. Nobody seens to want to do it with spoiles.

[@verlandes1]

In my campaign that I planned out but ultimately didn't get to run, the black goo was called Shub-Niggurath and wasn't designed by the Enginers, but instead discovered and worshipped by them as a sort of diety.

[@LithNeo]

This is an awesome overview of the trilogy! I was/am looking for any and all content that I can about these as I am hoping to run these for some friends as I am my groups Forever GM, and this is a huge help! I wanted to ask, what are your thoughts on using custom characters over the pre-gen ones and playing it as a sort of running trilogy for the PCs as they go from one hell to another? Would that work or not work at all for these?

[@DaveThaumavore]

The scenarios make specific references to the pregens here and there, but it’s nothing that can’t be improvised around with little effort.

[@paavohirn3728]

Thank you for another stellar review!

[@mick19]

Would you have a link to the year zero worlds discord server you mentioned? Thanks.

[@stirrednotshaken3111]

fantastic thank you

[@F2t0ny]

Great video thank you

[@DaveThaumavore]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@bjornprompeler9424]

I am in fear of spoilers and will go watch your first video about alien instead, to decide if I want to buy it 😅 thanks for your excellent videos.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Glad the spoiler alert works!

[@MrRadicalsheep]

I certainly enjoyed running all of these products. Would have been cool to link all these modules for the characters versus the players. I mean I get why it was never done for the simple reason that it is suppose a much deadlier game.

[@IlPane1505]

There is a way to link all 3 adventures together in a bigger overarching story on 3 acts? I would like to try out Alien with my group next Fall, starting with Chariot of the Gods. The idea is to play some one-shot or small adventures of various games while pur Forever GM write a new campaign but if the first adventures is liked I would like to ask them if they want to play more and move to the other 2. Having a an overarching sub story with its own twists that links all 3 adventures would be amazing.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Yes. The thing that connects the three scenarios is the Draconis strain.

[@IlPane1505]

@Dave Thaumavore RPG Reviews oh, right. Thanks for the reply! If they like Chariot I'll try to play them back to back than, without telling them of the overarching narrative at first

[@TheRendar]

Great overview 🤘🏻

[@DaveThaumavore]

Thanks! 🙂

[@joshuanecaise2243]

Where can you find fan made maps for this

[@JamesCorp]

I interview Andrew he was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever spoken to when I did interviews

[@normanmason1877]

I can’t seem to find that Discord server.

[@MiguelSeabraMelo]

Great video, especially the final part summarising what we can learn about scenario building from the 3 boxed sets. But, indeed, I am concerned about the one-off nature of everything you see here. Sounds like a huge waste.

[@totallymojo]

Great reviews. Been thinking of running these three scenarios for a long time now. And I'll be damned, maybe an unpopular opinion, but I loved both prequel movies a lot lol. Not as good as the first movie, but slightly better than Aliens, and waaay better than Alien 3 and Resurrection.

[@jonathanb2622]

Thanks for this Dave. This may be a non-starter but can you or anyone else who has played Alien RPG advise if Alien RPG could feasibly be played solo using only xenomorphs and facehuggers as the principle non-human enemies to encounter? Alien, Aliens and Alien Isolation are three of my favourite sci-fi creations of all time, but I'm yet to buy any Alien RPG stuff because I find the path the movie franchise has taken to be a bad joke...and knowing that black goo, spores, abominations etc. seem to feature heavily in Alien RPG is a huge turn-off. I'm a big fan of some of Free League's other RPGs and understand why they have done it with Alien RPG as they are just following the franchise, but I would only be interested in encountering the traditional xenomorph types (as in the first two films)...totally get that others might find that repetitive but I would be playing solo.

[@DaveThaumavore]

I think a lot of the charm of this game is presenting surprise and The Unknown to players, in order to solicit a limbic response. This feat would be unlikely if the GM were also the player. But if you’re going for story, then you could probably use a GM oracle like Mythic.

[@jonathanb2622]

@@DaveThaumavore Appreciate the reply - thanks Dave. In all honesty I will probably still pick up Alien RPG at some point but am going to try 'Hostile' RPG first as apparently it covers the space truckers/Alien/Aliens vibe incredibly well and can have xenomorphs in it (also has a dedicated 'Hostile Solo' standalone book which sounds perfect for my needs). I'd never heard of it until yesterday but apparently the author also worked on some of Alien RPG too.

[@patrickc.8676]

@@jonathanb2622 The Aliens board game might trip your trigger. I am pretty sure it can be played solo and stays within the first two movie boundaries.

[@snieves4]

Year zero world discord link pls?

[@benparker2522]

thanks, convinced me not to get them as I'm a fan of the first two movies, and deeply dislike the prequels, largely because of the black goo, but the review was great.

[@evidenc3]

I own all 3 of these and overall, I was pretty disappointed with them. Yes, they are pretty, but it is the definition of form over function. I would have preferred the maps to be either single A4 sheets for each station floor, or specific encounter maps. As they are right now, they are not big enough for minis and also too big to handle nicely on a table. I also have to disagree with your take on the criticism of the lack of Xenos. I don't think most Alien fans have an issue with Xenomorph variants to keep things interesting (nobody has an issue with Crushers, Praetorians, or coming up with your own ideas like Xenomorph Kings as they did in the comics). The problem is the prequals suck and everything about them makes the Alien lore less interesting. I wanted an Alien/Aliens RPG, not the Prometheus RPG. I don't buy the argument that Xenomorphs over and over is boring. If that were true, we wouldn't have the list of comics we have today. Finally, Heart of Darkness just leans too much into generic Sci-Fi horror. There are some fairly gruesome scenes that just seem a bit over the top, even for Alien, which isn't lacking in gruesome scenes. Again, I wanted an Alien RPG, not Mothership.

[@jonathanb2622]

Completely agree with your comment about the alien types and wanting an Alien/Aliens RPG, not Prometheus RPG. I absolutely love Free League's stuff and it's not their fault that the Alien franchise has become a joke (spores, black goo, abominations etc.) and now a far cry from the first two films (and Alien Isolation) which are masterpieces. I would have been very happy with the traditional xenomorph types with parasitic facehuggers from the first two movies being the principle non-human enemies in this RPG. Meeting them over and over would definitely not be boring, in fact I wouldn't expect to easily survive to be able to encounter them multiple times. The nonsensical stuff from the prequels being in it is a huge turn--off for me, so much so that even though Alien, Alien Isolation and Aliens are three of my favourite sci-fi creations of all time, I'm yet to buy any Alien RPG stuff.

[@adamwhitehead7289]

@@jonathanb2622 In the base RPG itself, that stuff is presented as an optional expansion. The Alien universe as presented in the films is somewhat high on atmosphere but thin on detail, and especially thin on alternate antagonists to the classic xenos (especially as I do not believe that Free League has the rights to Predator, and Fox seems keen for the Alien RPG to remain Alien-only with no AVP material), so they tap the other material to extend the gallery of potential enemies. The RPG also tries to do some remedial work on the odder and under-explained aspects of the prequel films so they make more sense (the Dave Filoni effect), although whether that works for people will vary by person. Using the base RPG alone you can completely ignore any Prometheus material, and indeed the starter adventure goes straight for the old-skool jugular by casting the players as colonialists at Hadley's Hope helping fight off the initial xenomorph incursion at the start of Aliens (whether you stick to canon and have them wiped out or allow the players to change the course of history by succeeding, that's up to them) with no black goo in sight.

[@Asin24]

I'd say the issue with the stories is that it DOES involve the prequels and builds off primarily them. I find the idea of new Alien types or even new creatures fine, but it's got so much story elements linked to the prequels that people are far less fond of. If it was about being unexpected it would involve the creation of new things rather then relying so heavily on questionable things like the Black Goo.

[@Zeithri]

Chariot of the Gods is...... It's bad. I might enjoy reading it myself but other than that this story is just bad. It's devoid of originality, it's just rehashing both good and bad plot points. I don't like it. To improve it, I'd argue implement a case of random factor to the story because otherwise it will *always* go down the same path. Wow the Company Safety talent is *amazing stupid* . Destroyer of Worlds sounds far more interesting except I really despise the black goo. The whole colony would already be dead by it's mere presence there. They aren't like Xenomorph eggs after all. Suggest not having the players be USCM but rather Detectives would probably make it a lot more interesting. Either that or straight up Infiltrators or something, light weapons and high tech gear. 4 bulky ass Marines looking to beat down a door.. No, that'd be bad. 8:47 - Doesn't matter. That's just instant gameover. 9:40 - That's.... so bad. On every level. Why does the planet have a orbital elevator? Why is there a QUEEN on it?! This is just stupid. 11:22 - Hello Space Gun Taito. 14:40 - I rolled my eyes so heavily at the sudden " _You crash into it_ ". Why? Just why? So dumb. 15:12 - This is clearly someone who wanted to make a story not set in Alien/s universe. 16:40 - Kinda nice but the design is lacking. Giger has sooo much beautiful and macabre art. I guess it's just too _sexual_ for Alien ... Yes that's sarcasm. 18:25 - Would be far more interesting if they turned the whole station to a living ship. "Spread out like a Virus".. That's literary nothing different from humanity by that definition. 20:30 - Perhaps you should play Aliens vs Predator on Atari Jaguar, on Super Nintendo, on PC 1-2-3. Alien 3 on Snes, Sega. Project Firestart on C64... The list goes on and on and on. Borrowing from a game.. What a novel concept to say considering Aliens Dark Descent is basically Aliens the RPG the PC game. The list goes on and on and on and on really. These adventures are just awful. Only the third one looks remotely interesting and it still.. just fails.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Pretty intense comment. Thank you for your thoughts.

[@shobooknight]

I don't get the "implement a random factor". It's a premade oneshot adventure. You're not supposed to play it multiple times.