Halifax | First Time for Everything | Alien RPG
Table of Contents
First Time for Everything
In space, no one can hear you scream. In Alien RPG, screaming isn’t an option. Players must be smart and think before they act. A fraction of a second can mean the difference between life and death.
Tomorrow will be the first time that I run a Tabletop RPG and I am feeling both excited and nervous at the same time. To add fuel to that fire, I am leading the game Alien RPG, which is a game that none of us have played. That leaves a lot of pressure on me to lead my players in the right direction while giving them the freedom to help create the story. As excited and nervous as I feel, writing the campaign has been a blast and quite therapeutic.
About the Campaign
There are two types of ways to play the game, cinematic and campaign. We are going to play the campaign version of the game which means the game won’t finish until we say the story has been completed.
The campaign will begin with a prologue. Once the prologue has been completed, we will move into parts that are divided into chapters. Each part will be focused on a major section of the story. You can expect times of ease and times of distress.
There are a few different types of careers to choose from. In this particular campaign, we will be focusing on the space trucker career. Space truckers are employed by various companies or by one company and move cargo from one spot to another. Our team of space truckers will find themselves on planets, stars, space stations, and anywhere else throughout the known (and sometimes unknown) universe known as The Stars of The Middle Heavens.
Each character has their own agenda and sometimes those agendas can form an alliance or cause friction. Who knows what each character is really thinking or what their own plans are. Our players will come across all types of people across The Middle Heavens and sometimes they may run into an android or something severely terrifying.
About Alien RPG
Alien RPG was released on December 17, 2019, so the game itself remains in its infancy. The following comes directly from the Alien RPG website:
Overview
Space is vast, dark, and not your friend. Gamma rays and neutrino bursts erupt from dying stars to cook you alive, black holes tear you apart, and the void itself boils your blood and seizes your brain. Try to scream and no one can hear you—hold your breath and you rupture your lungs. Space isn’t as empty as you’d think, either—its frontiers are ever-expanding. Rival governments wage a cold war of aggression while greedy corporations vie for valuable resources. Colonists reach for the stars and gamble with their lives—each new world tamed is either feast or famine. And there are things lurking in the shadows of every asteroid—things strange and different and deadly.
Things alien.
This is the official ALIEN tabletop roleplaying game—a universe of body horror and corporate brinkmanship, where synthetic people play god while space truckers and marines serve host to newborn ghoulish creatures. It’s a harsh and unforgiving universe and you are nothing if not expendable.
Stay alive if you can.
The Game
The ALIEN tabletop roleplaying game is a beautifully illustrated 392-page full-color hardcover book, both presenting the world of ALIEN in the year 2183 and a fast and effective ruleset designed specifically to enhance the ALIEN experience. The game can be played in two distinct game modes:
Cinematic play is based on pre-made scenarios that emulate the dramatic arc of an ALIEN film. Designed to be played in a single session, this game mode emphasizes high stakes and fast and brutal play. You are not all expected to survive.
Campaign play is designed for longer continuous play with the same cast of player characters over many game sessions, letting you explore the ALIEN universe freely, sandbox style.
The rules of the game are based on the acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as Tales from the Loop and Mutant: Year Zero, but adapted and further developed to fully support and enhance the core themes of ALIEN: horror and action in the cold darkness of space.
The Setting
The year is 2183—a little more than three years since the destruction of the Hadley’s Hope colony on LV-426, the disappearance of the USS Sulaco, and the closing of the prison and lead works on Fiorina 161. The loss of the Sulaco’s Colonial Marine unit along with these Weyland-Yutani sponsored outposts, and the implications of corporate foul play stemming from these incidents, have created an air of distrust between the company and the United Americas.
To add fuel to the fire, conflicts between the rival sectors of space have increased exponentially in the past five years. While unconfirmed, many believe that Hadley’s Hope was a test site for one of Weyland-Yutani’s bioweapons and that an enemy state sent a warship to nuke it from orbit. Others believe that the Company is working with a rogue nation to assume control of the colonies on the Frontier.
The 2180s are a dangerous time to be alive.
The Trailer
Finally, if you haven’t seen the trailer for our campaign, you can view it here. Enjoy and keep an eye out for our episodes as we dive into The Stars of The Middle Heavens in Alien RPG, a tabletop role-playing game.