Aliens RPG

[Randyman]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

Quick thought -- in Alien, Ash talks about how valuable the xenomorph would be to the Company. In Aliens, Burke talks about its value to the bio-weapons division. Who is the Company (or its customers) fighting that they need that kind of killing power?

Heck, who do the Colonial Marines fight that a minor ship for them has the reported firepower of the dropships? (I'm not sure we're ever told what the Sulaco could have done other than nuke it from orbit). (I've also got issues with leaving no one in orbit, but I can excuse that on the theory that Burke put this together on a shoe-string.)

Other xenos? "....just another <censored> bug hunt?" Wars between colonies? Corporate wars?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

Heck, who do the Colonial Marines fight that a minor ship for them has the reported firepower of the dropships?

Freedom fighters, terrorists, insurgents, rebels, unionists, secessionists, revanchists….

[cptbutton]

I've always assumed that one of the main jobs of the Colonial Marines was "bug hunts", i.e. exterminating (or at least suppressing) inconvenient low tech sophont species, with the pretext that they are merely animals.

Not sure how drop ship firepower helps that, though the nerve gas certainly makes sense.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

I've always assumed that one of the main jobs of the Colonial Marines was "bug hunts", i.e. exterminating (or at least suppressing) inconvenient low tech sophont species, with the pretext that they are merely animals.

Not sure how drop ship firepower helps that, though the nerve gas certainly makes sense.

THe in-book fluff, as well as some older non-film materials, note that the USCM also handle insurrections in the colonies against the UA member planetary government and/or the UA itself.

[L.J.Steele]

Finally ran the Hadley's Hope one-shot. Worked moderately well -- the dice pool mechanic has some weird swings, but people had fun. Near TPK at the end, when the sudden but inevitable betrayal occurred.

The printed book has some serious proofreading issues. The most recent version of the pdf fixes a few, but there are discrepancies in the text that make no sense.

A few oddities -- androids don't get stress dice, which seems to mean that they don't run out of ammunition.

Finding some of the rules on the fly was complicated -- like how much life support the shuttle they hope to escape in has and how long it will take to get to anywhere else.

[Mark Caliber]

The website mentions a "Year Zero Engine?"

Other than the really ominous name for the gaming mechanics, what are these new mechanics?


(Although, I find it ironic that a high casualty rate game would use a game mechanics named "Year Zero").

[Armin]

Originally Posted by Mark Caliber

The website mentions a "Year Zero Engine?"

Other than the really ominous name for the gaming mechanics, what are these new mechanics?


(Although, I find it ironic that a high casualty rate game would use a game mechanics named "Year Zero").

It's the house system used by Fria Ligon (Free League) for many of their games, including Mutant: Year Zero.

IIRC (book is in a box somewhere), it's a dice pool where you roll a bunch of d6 and succeed if you get a 6 in there. I found you this quick explanation: https://rpggeek.com/rpgsystem/43636/year-zero-engine

[L.J.Steele]

Originally Posted by Armin

IIRC (book is in a box somewhere), it's a dice pool where you roll a bunch of d6 and succeed if you get a 6 in there. I found you this quick explanation: https://rpggeek.com/rpgsystem/43636/year-zero-engine

Yup. Roll d6 equal to Stat (typically 1-5) plus skill (0-5) - Difficulty. If you get any [6] you succeed. If you get multiple [6] you succeed with style and get bennies.

Aliens adds stress dice. If things happen that would stress you out -- say peeling a facehugger off someone's neck -- you get extra dice (different color). They work like regular dice on a 2 to 6. On a [1] however, you fail automatically and get to roll on the panic table. (Sadly, none of my players got the cool panic effects.)

[Mark Caliber]

I've heard of this mechanic.

It doesn't sound interesting. Mathematically very uninteresting.

Thanks for the answers.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

Aliens adds stress dice. If things happen that would stress you out -- say peeling a facehugger off someone's neck -- you get extra dice (different color). They work like regular dice on a 2 to 6. On a [1] however, you fail automatically and get to roll on the panic table. (Sadly, none of my players got the cool panic effects.)

1's are NOT autofails on stress dice. They're "make a panic check."
1d6+accumulated stress for ≤9 or autofail. (7-9 have consequences, but they don't prevent the rolled action. 10+ does.)