“They said it couldn’t happen, Matthew said it shouldn’t happen, but Dave went and did it anyway.”
Listeners to the Effekt podcast will know that I recently ran an ALIEN RPG hack where the players were the xenomorphs. It played out in three episodes which my co-host Matthew called “a crime against role-playing”, but then he’s a luddite when it comes to daft ideas (although, to be fair, our friends at Free League, Nils, Martin and Mattias, kind of said the same thing when we discussed the idea over a beer at the UK Games Expo in May!).
But it worked out well, the players had a blast and some of you out there seem to like the idea too. So here it is! I’ve written up my notes in the PDF at the end of the article.
But please bear in mind:
- As with all the “hacks” I write they are my own take on the game, and I welcome others’ views and thoughts on how they can be made better, which they obviously can. Feel free to add or amend as you see fit!
- The rules for I, ALIEN are light, a scaffold to help the GM run her game. As such, the game as written is for GMs who are happy spending a lot of time improvising, and making decisions on the fly.
- The scenario plays out at Hadley’s Hope, on LV-426. Having access to the ALIEN RPG Corebook and the scenario “Hope’s Last Day”, that details the colony and provides maps, will obviously be a huge advantage.
If you have any questions please ask:
– You’ll find me most easily on Facebook (I don’t really twitter although Matthew is on there).
– Although, if you’d like to join our small but elite group on Patreon, look up “Effekt” and come and join us, and you can talk to me, Matthew and the rest of the crew whenever you like!
– And finally, if you’re reading this before Dragonmeet 2019, I’m manning the Free League stall (numbers 5&6 in Trade Hall 2), running the Grindbone 2183 Tournament in the Podcast Zone from 12.30 (sign up at the Free League stand, but come early to avoid disappointment!) and am guesting on Chris Handley’s (from Darker Days Radio) horror panel discussion at 18.00, “Hearts Racing.”
Enjoy, and I’d be delighted to hear any feedback or fun stories from your own games!
rpggods.org 