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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
 
$24.99
Average Rating:4.9 / 5
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Erik B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/05/2024 23:51:58

Really nails the feeling of the Alien universe! The book is laid out well and looks very good without making it difficult to read as well.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Lewis [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/04/2024 08:26:50

I really liked but it I've struggled to run it. I think it's best to purchase in combination the starter set for a more guided experience. Otherwise, I have found it to be really novel and unique, and inventing new ideas rather than just re-hashing the same systems. I recommend it if you're interested in the setting.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Britton [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/03/2024 12:08:07

I love this system and the quality of the book. I only wish the PDF were hyperlinked internally.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Lee M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/28/2023 02:39:48

I wrote my own 3 day Halloween special that we played through on our channel sanity check gaming. Loved this setting and the rules set is perfect most folk could pick up and play with minimal reading and a half decent GM. Looking forward to playing again.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by jarrod j. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/20/2023 02:23:01

Beautiful book with rules laid out in easy to read format, with lots of in universe descriptions and out of universe advice for a budding GM



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Kimi K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/11/2022 02:34:03

Great system and resource for fans of Alien and the rest of the Aliens-franchise (Covenant and Prometheus included). The research on this has done a great job knitting in facts (or rather fiction) from a huge scope of Alien media, from the films, to books, to comics. The book has a nice atmosphere from its layout and imagery and at no point does it back off on the genre the system sets out to emulate. My only gripe is with the .pdf-version still having an issue with the bookmarking of the last section, the Cinematic Scenario Hope's Last Days. Once they fix that with a updated file, I'll give this 5/5 stars!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Derek H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/13/2022 14:53:11

One of the Best Rpg's i have played in years...it really captures the fear and stress of liveing in the vacuum and fighting the "perfect organism".Free League is Just the bees kneens!yep Great stuff



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Jason I. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/07/2021 09:51:06

completely knocked out the park this deep dive into the world of Alien. every beat is perfect.

incorporates the films, novels, comics, and miscillenia of years of Fandom.

truly epic in scope this reasonably priced, wholly satisfying work gives you base rules, understanding of the new cinematic role-playing method, an initial adventure a comprehensive history of the universe including new factions and aspects and introduces the meta-narrative that will span all future releases.

this book is damned-near perfect.

i have high hopes for Mr. Gaska and the working joes at Free League. may their work be rewarded and their toil never end.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Thomas B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/23/2021 06:31:15

So Alien was my gateway drug into the Year Zero Engine Universe and importantly the game that inspired me to get back into gaming. It was and continues to be an excellent game with amazing art and a set of mechanics that are perfectly tuned to the game setting. I cannot recommend this book any more highly.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Michael F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/17/2021 20:21:19

Just ran my first session and we had an absolute blast! The built in tension of the the supply rolls had players nervous before threats were even hinted at, the straightforward skills and rewarding stunts make rolling very exciting, the combat flies by smoothly and BRUTALLY but takes the guilt away from GM with the lethality of the enemy moves and the critical injuries being left up to the dice rolls. I really think this makes it more of a game for the GM too we were all biting our nails when an attack was being rolled. So so good 5/5 highly reccommend!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Ciaran O. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/07/2021 17:23:55

Overall, this RPG is pretty excellent, and I would highly recommend it.

It uses a slight modification of the elegant and tight Mutant: Year Zero mechanics where you can push your character to re-roll a test, but they gain "Stress Dice", which improve their chances of rolling a success but also raise the risk of panicking. The stress system is incredibly good at evoking the slow, rising dread of the Alien films at their best. The fluff and lore encompasses almost everything from the first 3 films, the books, the comics, even some of the toys, leaving any contradicting canon to the GM and their preferences. The map of colonised star systems is huge, and only some are detailed to any great degree. The setting goes for broad strokes; There's enough detail on factions, corporations and governments to get by without having watch any films, but it is extremely helpful to have read some of the books or comics to get extra detail, or you can simply make something up to fill the gaps. This actually plays to the setting's strengths in a way, underlining just how vast the galaxy is, and how little of it humanity has actually explored.

Character creation is quick, based on starting archetypes such as Colonial Marine, Pilot, Corporate agent and so on. The equipment and weapons list are comprehensive, and include all the bits and pieces from the films from motion trackers to pulse rifles. While it isn't essential, players generally start with a starship, too, although the terms of ownership likely include a lease-to-buy option where the crew are constantly on the lookout for jobs to keep up payments. There are plenty of ready-made examples, including the Nostromo and Sulaco, or your players can make their own from scratch. There are extensive options for modifying or upgrading your ship, and ship-to-ship combat is generally streamlined and includes all players in some manner.

Combat between characters and NPCs is likewise straightforward, and quite brutal: Hit points are based off the Strength attribute, and humans can't raise that above 5 (synthetics have higher limits), so it doesn't take much damage to bring a player down to 0 health, where they become "Broken". While Broken any further damage calls for rolls on Critical Injury tables, so while it's easy to become Broken, it's considerably harder to die. I prefer this method myself, as a long-surviving character with many scars is a lot more compelling than making up a new character every couple of weeks.

Finally, the Aliens themselves are treated with a good deal of respect and operate very well within the mechanics. There are various types drawing from all the films, from facehugger to Queen to the colossal crusher xenomorph from the otherwise rather dull Colonial Marines video game. The youngest stages are quite squishy, but every xenomorph is fast, strong, stealthy and hideously dangerous. They have a table of signature attacks, so not even the GM knows what they'll do all the time. And if you do manage to reduce one to 0 health (and avoid the resulting acid splashes), they have randomised deaths which could take an unwary or unlucky player with them. For players roleplaying a group of civilian traders, one xenomorph stalking them is probably enough to keep them busy for multiple sessions. Combat heavy games, where the players are all hardened soldiers, could make short work of a few xenomorphs at a time, but ammo runs out, and without regular breaks to relieve stress their luck will run out.

There's enough material in the core book to run a campaign where the players never even see a xenomorph. Space travel, corporate treachery and frontier life are hostile enough, but they make for excellent antagonists, used sparingly. There are even a few other nonhuman creatures thrown in, most likely from the comics universe. There's a planned expansion in the works that deals with the US Colonial Marines in greater detail. The available adventures and maps are of excellent quality. The artwork throughout the book is sublime (the black makes for very poor character sheet prints though, you should find the printer-friendly version online!)

I'd have preferred an expanded list of skills ("Comtech" includes everything from bioligy to computer networking, which is a bit strange), and more information on the Union of Progressive Peoples (Space Russia analogue) and their various star systems would have been awesome, but all in all Alien is a simple, clever RPG jam-packed with atmosphere. Absolutely worth the price.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Eddie H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/23/2021 04:56:58

The scope of the universe in the game is mind boggling. The ability to create your own worlds and locations with everything you need within the core rules. The ability to have a quick grusome game for one evenings fun or a campain over weeks that fleshes out your character over time.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Pablo R. V. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/03/2021 11:06:40

> The darkness engulfs you as you enter the derelict. A strange sheen reveals the patterns on the oblong walls of the hallways. Your footsteps echo through the chambers, then... silence

Alien RPG is the tool for fans of the universe, with enough information to run any kind of campaign within the universe, whether it includes xenomorphs or not, giving plenty of opportunities for human conflict along the book to not tire the trope. It even solves many continuity problems in the franchise (like the retro tech in posterior missions). Fluff-wise, it is a pearl. Mind you, this lore includes all of the franchise, including the polemical Prometheus cycle. But even as I personally dislike them, I find interesting to have some variety to throw in the mix.

Now for the crunch, where a modified year zero engine makes a stellar aparition with the very interesting addition of stress as central mechanic. I love stress, it grants players more chances of success but also of failure, and the scenarios crescendo into panic attacks and chaos with the few stable minds rushing to survival. Now, for the stealth mechanics, while in paper they work a marvel, I feel they drag down the pace horribly, even for a terror atmosphere of slow crawls. I ended up skipping them altogether to keep my players engaged.

I haven't tried space combat nor campaign mechanics (only played self contained scenarios with loads of PC death), but what I read seems manageable and the campaign stuff includes enough content generation to keep it fresh while the GM develops an overarching plot.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Jeremy C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/01/2020 14:53:55

This game system is excellent. It literally plays out like some of the best Alien movies. The feel and pacing of the game is perfect.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Henrik J. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/31/2020 15:18:50

See link for comprehensive video review: https://youtu.be/ByHHN7xwniM



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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