Looking At The Entire ALIEN RPG Product Line

#freeleague #alien
ALIEN recently turned 45, to celebrate I take a look at one of the greatest licensed RPG's of all time from one of the greatest RPG companies of all time!
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[@arcanetraditions]

I have played chariot twice. Once as a player and again as the GM. I have been playing TTRPGs since dnd 3.5 and after a couple years of reading the core cover to cover and my two game experiences totalling about 50 hours of playtime, I can safely say with confidence that the Alien RPG is my favorite system. It's nearly flawless and user friendly. Many of my players were completely unfamiliar with the system but after the first session they had it down tight. It's mechanical perfection is matched only by its atmospheric theme. The only thing I changed when running it was a few of the panic table entries to help counter group killing panic spirals but other than that, it's smooth sailing at the table. I will say this about chariot of the gods, if you aren't a big reader, you'll have a rough time GMing it. You really need to memorize the mandatory and optional events as well as the room descriptions to really make it shine. Read the entire adventure several times over to give yourself an edge and guarantee a stress free GM experience.

[@DravenSwiftbow]

Very well put. When I ran it I had a sheet with the optional events that I planned to use and what areas I wanted them to happenin. I didn't have the Space Pirates appear when I ran it because I felt it hurt the pacing and atmosphere. I also had a couple events I only planned to use if the players were stalling in a certain section. Chariot of God's was a sandbox for sure, I do think Destroyer of Worlds will be easier to run since the acts all take place in different locations.

[@arcanetraditions]

@@DravenSwiftbow thanks! Yeah I left out the pirates too. The game I ran ended up being five 4-6 hour games. I can't even imagine that one being run as a true one shot, you really get so much for your money with the Alien starter set. I would argue that with the starter rules being the entire rules minus character creation, the included dice and the sheer volume of amazing writing in the adventure itself, it's easily the best RPG starter set that I've played. I bought two of them just to have a grip of dice lol. I'm really looking forward to running a nice classic alien homebrew game now that I know the rules like the back of my hand.

[@paulbigbee]

Free League’s massive sale on 4/26 (heh) had me go all-in but they are reprinting the Starter Set, so I’ve settled in to reading the core book. Appreciate the broad and enthusiastic review of the product line. I agree with you: Free League is the current high standard in the RPG industry.

[@verlandes1]

I've run Chariot of the Gods twice, a real solid scenario! It would be fun if they released a cinematic scenario that leaned in to the bonkers vibe if Alien 4. Also I do agree that Alien is best experienced through cinematic play, but I can't shake the feeling that a Westmarsh Style Campaign in the outer rim would rule.

[@Stalwartinitiative]

Thorough and wonderful breakdown. Free League has been crushing-it the last few years. Can’t wait to see what comes next. Thanks

[@mattpenlington6719]

I don’t know if you’re aware (I only found out in the latest Seth Skorkowsy alien rpg video) that some of the alien books contain small cinematic scenarios included at the back of the book as some sort of cross promotion, books like “Alien: Colony War” among others include these

[@DravenSwiftbow]

Thank you for letting me know. I wasn't aware until very recently. Next time I'm at Chapters I'll be looking for one of those novels!

[@mattpenlington6719]

@@DravenSwiftbow and thanks for the great video, I’m in the middle of preparing to GM for the first time and that’s in no small part because of you and your videos!

[@DravenSwiftbow]

I'm glad I could help. I hope it's been going well.

[@monsteronmytable9000]

Not only New Minas. They ignored us here in Halifax too! It might be time for a sternly-worded letter.

[@fwbean119]

Nice video! I am curious about your thoughts on the announcement of a second edition of the game. I feel the core mechanics, especially stress dice, are great, but the panic system itself could use some refinement. Rules as is I think would be fine as a one shot or introduction to the game, but in the long run the panic system snowballs too easily and outcomes are very repetitive. I had some ideas for addressing this, and also adding gear dice, but now am curious and excited abilities what they may do with the new edition.

[@DravenSwiftbow]

I'm excited about it. It will be the first Kickstarter I will back. After seeing the change in the dice system in the Blade Runner RPG and other refinements to their rules I figured it would only be a matter of time. Alien is in my top 5 favourite RPG's of all time and Free League is a great company.

[@Lanterns_light]

I have wanted to play this for the longest of time. Finally ordered the books today. Where can I find and play an online hosted game?

[@Lanterns_light]

I am not a fan of the egg morphing idea. I’ve always imagined that in the absence of queen pheromones an egg could transform in to a Queen face hugger, and/or a chest burster can develop into a Queen. So glad this universe doesn’t include resurrection 😅 if I were to ever run a campaign it would be alien, aliens, alien3 purism. One of the best aliens media I’ve read in recent years is aliens phalanx.

[@DravenSwiftbow]

Facebook might be a good place to start looking. There are pages dedicated to the Alien RPG some folks There might be trying to organize something.

[@andrewduitsman3918]

Hey does the DM or GM (Mother) screen come in the starter box? Do you think the core book and a starter box should be more than sufficient to run a 5-10 session game? I am just wrapping up for the year about to enjoy my summer, and two guys I play Battletech with asked me if I would run this. Outside of the first 2 movies I have no experience with the franchise, but I have played and ran a ton of RPGs. I want to make sure I deliver what they are looking for, but I am not setting myself up for to much extra work or lore to be good.

[@DravenSwiftbow]

The GM Screen is a separate purchase. The Core and Starter Set are absolutely enough to run several sessions. The Core Rulebook has Hope's Last Day which could take 2-4 hours. When I ran the Starter Set it took 3 or 4 four hour sessions. Those are cinematic scenarios but the Core book also has rules and ideas for running a Campaign. It's a little more work but you have all the NPC's and monsters you need.

[@andrewduitsman3918]

@@DravenSwiftbow Just picked up the core book and Destroyer of Worlds. I am looking forward to this. Thanks for the video.

[@DravenSwiftbow]

I just started running Destroyer of Worlds, I hope you enjoy it.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

I want to play this game

[@DravenSwiftbow]

I'm thinking about trying to organize an online game for Destroyer of Worlds. If you're interested email me [e-mail] And I'll get a chain started.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

@@DravenSwiftbow what day and time are you thinking?

[@DravenSwiftbow]

It will need to be worked out, but I'm aiming for a Saturday or Sunday. It will probably be a once a month or every three weeks kind of thing.