Halifax: An Alien RPG Adventure
Table of Contents
Halifax is an Alien RPG campaign that ran for 3 years. Alien RPG opened the door to my first experience as a Game Master. The player base consisted of friends and my wife played the first season. We did our best to meet regularly on a bi-weekly schedule but some of us have busy schedules and children so we missed the mark several times. The Alien RPG adventure is story-driven with lots of dialogue. The results will forever remain memorable.
AN ALIEN RPG ADVENTURE
My first experience as a Game Master (game mother in Alien RPG terms) was the Halifax Alien RPG adventure. I’ve played many tabletop RPG games but never had the confidence to lead. It wasn’t until Alien RPG and the perfect group of players came to me practically all at once. The opportunity became apparent to me and once we all agreed to go on this adventure together, I got to work.
Alien RPG became my tabletop RPG of choice for other reasons, too. I have been a huge fan of the Alien franchise for a long time. I watched my first movie well before I should have (according to the film rating system) which scared me shitless. However, I loved the movie and have since watched, read, and written loads of Alien content.
HALIFAX: PRECIOUS CARGO BETWIXT DRAGONS AND GHOSTS
There are several types of campaigns that you can run in Alien RPG. The three in the core rulebook include colonists, space truckers, and marines. As a group, we decided to do a space truckers campaign. Space truckers need a ship so I let the original pilot choose the name of their spaceship. He chose Halifax.
Halifax: Precious Cargo betwixt Dragons and Ghosts follows the crew of Halifax and the experiences they encounter throughout the Alien RPG campaign. A space trucker’s career is tough and the crew faces natural, environmental, mechanical, political, hostile, conflicting, and personal challenges.
CAMPAIGN TITLE BREAKDOWN
I chose precious cargo for a couple of reasons. Space truckers transport cargo and the cargo is precious to whoever is waiting for its arrival. I also chose precious cargo because Halifax carries the crew and they can be considered precious cargo.
Dragons and ghosts are a part of the lore surrounding Alien and more. Revealing their true meaning would be a spoiler and I won’t do that. I will say that dragons and ghosts represent threats the crew faces in our Alien RPG adventure.
I like the word betwixt and I prefer it over between. That part of the title is simple. However, the crew consistently finds themselves in conflict and are considered precious cargo. They are precious cargo betwixt dragons and ghosts; a crew between conflict.
REFLECTION
The Halifax Alien RPG adventure started in early 2021 and ended in early 2024. There are forty sessions that you can watch Halifax on YouTube or listen to Halifax in podcast format. I did not expect the Halifax to go on for 3 years but the story I wrote had lots to explore and my players were willing to take the journey with me.
ALIEN RPG
I never played any cinematic scenarios so I cannot offer much insight with those. I will say that I feel as if Alien RPG was not built for campaigns and that is based on other tabletop RPGs that I have played. The core manual states that campaigns are an option and I managed to run an Alien RPG campaign but I found myself creating Alien RPG homebrew content often.
THE HALIFAX CAMPAIGN
The Alien RPG adventure I wrote is heavy on player interaction, dialog, theatrics, decision-making, and critical thinking. Combat is secondary and rarely occurs. However, there are instances when supplies are limited or non-existent, and these scenarios create lots of tension. The life of a space trucker is hard, am I right? My players would tell me they were exhausted after some sessions because of what I put them through. That’s when I felt most accomplished.
I realize I wrote the story for Halifax but I did enjoy the story. I aimed to create a story that focused on the Alien franchise but explored new territory (according to my knowledge). I had lots of fun creating space stations and the characters that inhabited them. Most inhabitants played a small role but some played important roles.
Imogen Gray is my greatest achievement in character development and you can find her in Alien RPG Homebrew Content. She is a complex character shrouded in mystery. The child expresses empathy and playfulness but unpredictable behavior lies close by. I enjoyed watching my players interact with Imogen and learn about her throughout the Alien RPG adventure.
ALIEN RPG TOOLS
As a parting gift from Alien RPG, I am sharing all the tools, homebrew content, and more, I accumulated and produced during the Halifax Alien RPG adventure. You’ll find everything on the Alien RPG Tools page. You’ll also find several articles that I wrote to help guide you based on my experience with tabletop RPGs.
I spent lots of time creating these tools, some more than others. The Alien RPG immersion tools and Alien RPG planet generator I designed and coded took a lot of work. Some of these tools helped with running the campaign. Deleting or letting them sit in digital space feels like a waste. For those reasons, I am sharing them with you in hopes that you can use them yourself.
THE ALIEN RPG COMMUNITY
I would have had a harder time running my first tabletop RPG without the help from the Alien RPG community. Alien RPG has many complex rules and I tend to overanalyze everything which only confuses me. When I would get to this point, I’d look for backup. I found plenty with the Alien RPG community.
There are two communities in particular that I’d like to give a shout-out to. The first is Alien RPG by Free League on Facebook. These folks have always been super supportive. They offer great advice and are willing to talk through scenarios.
The second community that I’d like to mention is r/alienrpg on Reddit. The folks in this subreddit are very supportive. I’ve run ideas off of them and they even helped me diagnose issues with Alien RPG Tools on my website.
There are plenty of other communities out there and I have attempted to associate with them but these two have been the best for me. I deal with anxiety and panic issues daily and these two communities never made me feel anxious or afraid to approach them. That’s an awesome feeling and makes me appreciate them.
THE END OF HALIFAX
If I have missed anything in this post, don’t hesitate to reach out on any of the Ties That Bind Gaming social media channels. I’d happily hear your feedback, add content, or make changes.
This Alien RPG adventure has come to an end. I’m unsure if I’ll revisit Alien RPG, but I did leave room for more adventures with Halifax should the opportunity arise. However, my journey with Tabletop RPG games will surely not end. Keep an eye out for more adventures by Ties That Bind Gaming. This will not be the last.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.