Alien Movie Quadrilogy Xenomorphs

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by archie

It's too bad this went nowhere. I'm considering an Aliens game and wondering how to work out the acid blood splashback from guns.

4e Powers p 100 describes a good method under Aura and Blood Agent IMHO. I'd personally use that build on a Corrosive IA with 1d damage and a lot of Armor Divisor and 1-second Cycles. I'd leave the range at which a hit with the spray is automatic at C per normal Aura rules, but allow them to direct it at a specific target within Step & Attack reach with a DX or Brawling roll if they're spraying it from a major wound or a targeted attack on blood vessels (an opportunity with no additional cost implied by the text "otherwise requires the usual attack roll" under Reverse Blood Agent).

Whether we see differently on screen is debatable, but if you really want you can just lower the Melee limitation on Aura to something better than C and slap on Cosmic +50% (Breaks a Rule).

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

4e Powers p 100 describes a good method under Aura and Blood Agent IMHO. I'd personally use that build on a Corrosive IA with 1d damage and a lot of Armor Divisor and 1-second Cycles. I'd leave the range at which a hit with the spray is automatic at C per normal Aura rules, but allow them to direct it at a specific target within Step & Attack reach with a DX or Brawling roll if they're spraying it from a major wound or a targeted attack on blood vessels (an opportunity with no additional cost implied by the text "otherwise requires the usual attack roll" under Reverse Blood Agent).

Whether we see differently on screen is debatable, but if you really want you can just lower the Melee limitation on Aura to something better than C and slap on Cosmic +50% (Breaks a Rule).

The exact point costs and modifiers can't really be that relevant here, can they? "Xenomorphs" aren't going to ever be PCs and the usual arguments for shapeshifting, ability cloning, and allies don't apply to the setting either.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The exact point costs and modifiers can't really be that relevant here, can they? "Xenomorphs" aren't going to ever be PCs and the usual arguments for shapeshifting, ability cloning, and allies don't apply to the setting either.

But I wanna.

[starslayer]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The exact point costs and modifiers can't really be that relevant here, can they? "Xenomorphs" aren't going to ever be PCs and the usual arguments for shapeshifting, ability cloning, and allies don't apply to the setting either.

I don't believe that at all:

1- The alien queens seem to possess high animal intelligence, even perhaps rudimentary sentience, thus it might be fun to have an entire group of PCs play them as they attempt to overtake a ship full of marines or similar.

2- If you don't disbelieve the existence of alien resurrection then it is possible to genetically engineer a human/alien hybrid has, mostly, human intellect and motivation, but many alien traits.

3- The corporation seems to very strongly think that the aliens can be controlled, the fact that they screw this up royally in aliens does not mean it is impossible, in fact it seems they were doing quite well until some accident happens. Thus it may be possible to have a pheromone emitter or similar device that allows you to control drones as if you were a queen [and thus enabling you to buy drone allies]

4- It's a great big universe, with at least 3 space faring races (the humans and whatever species was on that ship they found, and whoever engineered the aliens [or whoever the engineers of the aliens were fighting if the dead alien was of the engineer race]), the potential for a shape shifting race should not be absolutely ruled out, in fact, a properly conditioned xenomorph who ignores a native population through pheromone detection might be an ideal anti-shape-shifter weapon.

5- Genetic engineering exists, it may be possible to make a smarter xenomorph that can be reasoned with [and played as a pc]. Conversely xenomorphs may already be smart enough but have had no reason to reason in any of the movies.

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The exact point costs and modifiers can't really be that relevant here, can they? "Xenomorphs" aren't going to ever be PCs and the usual arguments for shapeshifting, ability cloning, and allies don't apply to the setting either.

I dunno, they made a pretty fun "player race" in the old AvP FPS (the original one from 1999, haven't played any of the others). You don't have to make them absolutely evil/mindless - the ones in the first and third movies had basically just been born at a buffet, and the ones in the second movie were just defending their home. A xenomorph-human alliance of some sort wouldn't necessarily be impossible.

Statting them out can also be useful for exporting them to other settings (Fantasy, DF, other Sci-Fi settings, etc), possibly even with modifications to be a player race.