I'm glad they didn't just focus the game on the movie xenomorphs, and provided for longer intrigue and exploration campaigns involving political and megacorp background. Along with a couple completely different types of extraterrestrial beasties as examples of what could be found. I'm wondering if they might provide more such content in a future splatbook, although being a big IP they may be rather restricted in that department.
It's one of those IPs where people want to deal with the xenomorphes but will get tired of it if every challenge is a xenomorph... But then again will get upset if a xenomorph is not involved. I actually got a boardgame called Nemesis which 99% copies the aliens IP. But they couldn't get the license so thankfully now they are able to design and implement an unimaginable amount of cosmic horrors and suspense into the game and it's upcoming expansions. So not being limited to the IP actually worked in it's favor
@@crushingit5128 Yeah, you can't really have an Alien universe, without using the element that made it the Alien universe in the first place. Without xenos related elements, it's just another generic Sci-Fi universe.
@@thrrax Yeah nothing outside of them is really all that interesting. It might make forr a better one shot or shorter campgains. Or you could just put the characters through an extended one with the Xenos that just goes from bad to worse as time goes on. IE Alien on your ship, ship is brought to earth or whatever human planet, it escapes and becomes queen and now the planet begins to become overrun.
@@Chaogod1233 I heavily disagree with this and thrrax's sentiment. The setting has immense potential aside from the xenomorph, and it is this nearsightedness that has reduced the previously formidable perfect killer into cannon fodder in most modern media that depict the monster. Having a single alien terrorise humans is exciting the first time around, but after a while the excitement wears off and at some point the human inevitably picks up the gun. No one is brave enough to explore or develop the "generic sci-fi setting" because if there is one thing alien fans seem to hate it is developing lore. Prometheus and Covenant are good examples of this. They tried to expand the universe, but they knew whiny fans would hate it if everything wasn't about the alien, so they made it about the alien and fans hated it for ruining the mystery. Most alien fans seem content getting the first alien movie over and over instead, where every noun is just a word without any meaning, every object exists to not be explained and to be at best nothing more than a plot device and every set is either a dark iron corridor or a dark iron room, because god forbid there is anything interesting in a room besides the alien. The rule book does what should theoretically be great for fans: it expands the world around the aliens, without ruining revered "the mystery" behind the alien. "Nah, it's just a generic sci-fi universe, who gives a shit." After all this ranting, I concede by saying that I do get it. I love the xenomorph, it is one of my favourite monsters of all time and if I go see a movie titled as such I expect to see the alien in it. However, if I am given a movie or tv-series that doesn't have "alien" in the title, and the only ties to them are the megacorps, visual and sound design, ruling factions, technology and general atmosphere, I would definitely give that a shot over something that tries to be the first alien movie but fails horribly because ultimately no one wants the same movie twice but different. At that point these people might as well just keep watching the first one that got everything right everytime a new movie comes out. And before anyone tries to get me with the epic "gotcha": *"But it's literally called the ALIEN RPG, the monster should be the focus then!"* If you can come up with an alternative name for the RPG, that isn't a mouthful and clearly explains what IP it is based on, go ahead and email Fria Ligan.
The most important decision in this game is when to reveal the xenomorphs in a campaign. You can only reveal them for the first time once. When it's done, it's done.
ERRATA: Symbaroum doesn’t use the Year Zero Engine Prometheus is set in 2104, NOT 2140 2:26 “Alien” (1979) not “Aliens” (1986) 7:48 “Aliens” (1986) not “Alien” (1979) Support the channel by joining my Patreon! www.patreon.com/thaumavore Newsletter sign-up: bit.ly/ThaumavoreNewsletter
Man, I’m about to GM this with my crew. We already play DnD and WFRP but I’ve been dying to play something in the Alien universe. I’ve bought the book and have been going over it and love it! Your video here was the clincher! It’s great at giving a mechanics synopsis and universe overview without any spoilers. Thanks!!
this is the best review of this game ever! You just sold me the game... I had no idea it had all the other exploration and spaceship stuff. I think using this and maybe a generic alien creator book you could really go far.
You’re making my wallet hurt. Your reviews are amazing, well written and analyzed. You’re definitely going to blow up. Don’t be afraid to review 5e or d&d1 to blow the bloated corpses out of the water with your precision.
There we go, finally! It has been so hard to find any information about what makes this game tick. I needed to know whether I should just create a Fantasy Flight Games Genesys rpg set in the Alien universe or bother buying this one. This review was exactly what I needed.
Now this is a game I do wanna run. The fact it's the expanded universe instead of just Alien is why I like it so much. If you think about it the film was really about the crew, the game should be as well. The Alien is really the object that crew must eventually overcome. The newer films kind of forgot that.
Personally, my ideal canon is Alien, Alien: Isolation, and Aliens, and honestly I could likely make due without Aliens. Not that it isn't an amazing film, but tbh it was the first nail in the xenomorph's coffin. Aside from Alien 3, which is a decent film (director's cut), everything following Aliens makes them basically keepaway target practice, and I much prefer the horror of a single perfect killer to being outnumbered by a bunch of moderately decent killers.
I would like something akin to Aliens: Stronghold. It was my first Alien Comic, yet still my favourite story. Whilst it does reduce the Xenos to being a bit more like mindless hive swarms, it still has enough world-building outside of that which could work well for a RPG Scenario (especially if the players haven't read the comic). Maybe for a smaller group though, such as a GM and 2 players being the Phil and Joy Strunk.
I really want to have a campaign that combines the worlds of Terminator, James Cameron's, Avatar and alien.. into expanded universe and this book was a huge help in doing that
Thanks for the review. Just ordered the book and looking at the PDF at the moment. First thing I do is looking for the original places of the movies and games and noticed that they spelled Sevastopol wrong... It's "Sevastapol" on the map (main location from Alien - Isolation.) I really wonder how this kind of thing happens... (learned later they it said "Weland Yutani" on the map in an earlier print) What I saw about the actual content of the book was pretty impressive actually. I'm not a fan of how they put all text into boxes, stretching the content endlessly, but there's a lot of lore covering the whole franchise (even the bad parts...) without going back to the actual happenings of movies and games. They just harvested what they could to build an actual game world and really got that part right! Rules are almost too simple for me, with attributes like "Wits" covering perception AND intelligence for example, but like in Mutant Year Zero and Tales from the Loop it works well and in my opinion they chose exactly the right spots for adding detailed mechanics and leave the simple rule set as it is. After I watched this review I was unsure if I'd like the stress system, but then saw that random stress reactions are only extreme if you already have a lot of accumulated stress since you always add your current stress level to the roll and can't hit the "IMA JUS' KILLEMALL" reactions without a significant "bonus" to the roll. This is one of the rare occasion where they took a major franchise (and one I really love if you exclude the new movies) and made a great RPG from it. Edge of the Empire surprised me with being real StarWars in a world of betrayal, but so far the Alien RPG takes the cake. Waiting for the book to arrive (and I hope I get the reprint including the y on the map...)
Yeah, I agree that this book is not perfect but the underlying game is well-designed. It's Year Zero Engine, so it's inherently a bit simplistic and abstract, but the alternative is crunchiness, which can slow down gameplay and turn away new players.
@@DaveThaumavore I am always for more story and less simulation in roleplaying games, especially with games that come with a certain atmosphere, like KULT for example, which now runs on Apocalypse which is a much better fit in my opinion. Just sometimes I like a little more precision when it comes to basic abilities of characters. Being smart doesn't mean you're also perceptive and so on. Buuut anyway: read more and am still thrilled. When I'm reading a rulebook and I'm already planning the first steps of a campaign or scenario, I'm pretty sure it's done right. :) I might even consider watching Covenant without bailing after half of the movie, for strictly investigative and scientific purposes of course...
Excellent and top-notch content! I have the same sentiment as you when it comes to needing more creature illustrations. I don't think it would really detract from the immersion all that much, if at all. Plus, I know I love creature books. If they made one, I'd most likely be in on it.
Thanks for a great, and very professionally produced, review. I'm thinking this would be a great engine to do a Cthulhu SF campaign....might pick this up as part of The One Ring kickstarter that FL are currently running.
Thank you for your excellent review of the book. I just picked it up today and your guide help immensely in understanding the classes and the dice mechanic.
Very nice review video! Looks like a good game. My experience with stunt tables (A.G.E. system) is that table look-up and decision comes at a high action moment and tends to slow the game at the least desirable time. Combat resolution works best (for me) when it's fast and easy. Your aside comparison to Traveller is significant to me. I have run a few "Alien" inspired sessions of Traveller over the years. The advantage of using Traveller is that players are not anticipating a xeno so it is easier to keep them guessing.
That was a great breakdown, I'm sending that to all my experiment subjects, I mean, players. btw Alien: Covenant answered those 2 questions. Note: Clip labels are backward- Alien(2:25) and Aliens (7:46) (Happens to the best of us video editors).
Dave Thaumavore - no worries, I can tell how many layers you put in there during the edit. But really superb breakdown, especially on the stress mechanic.
Thanks so much for this video. I just learned about this game the other day, and decided to pick it up thanks to a group playing it here on youtube and your review here is doing an amazing job highlighting things. Thank you so much, very to the point and useful delivery in this video
Good Review Dave! The only point I would make is your Initial Video insert at 7:45 or so (where Bishop is getting skewered by the Queen) is not from Alien (1979) but Aliens (1986). I actually prefer the lack of Variant Alien art but that's mostly because I found the existing Artwork from the Dark Horse Comic era to be (pardon the pun) Comically terrible.
It's funny to try and spin a world without the major element that made it possible in the first place. It's like creating Venom around Spiderman, then trying to create a compelling Venom without the existence of Spiderman. It works, but it's not the same. 40k kinda manage to spin it off, if you take a better look at it. The Empire are the humans, The Eldar are the Engineers, The Tyranids are the xenomorphs, the Necrons are basically Terminators, and the Orcs and Demons are just filling.
The dice roll mechanics, pushing rolls, und buying stunts with extra successes is IDENTICAL to the Tales from the Loop RPG. Which is fine, it's a good, math-light system. I just wonder if they're from the same publisher/ author/ core system...
The questions of: "What are the origins of the Xenomorph" and "Who are the Engineers" are questions that should never, ever be answered. Period. I'm glad they didn't. For context, in horror the 'not knowing' is part of the fun and enjoyment of a thing. The Alien franchise was, first and foremost, horror (not action, though the second film did a good job at Action/Horror, don't get me wrong, and added to the franchise in ways which were only positive). Giving up too many things, too many facts, having a perfect omnibus pulls the teeth of any horror story, because it quantifies something that should remain mysterious. Sometimes it is better to leave something alone and unexplained-- a fact so many writers seem to have forgotten, especially in the horror genre. This is one of the (many) reasons the 'prequel' movies fell so flat for me. I didn't want to know the things that were shown in those films. The mystery of their origins is more terrifying than any creatively contrived demonstration of their origins could ever be. I picked up the entire offering of this RPG series that Free League has published to date. I was not disappointed.
Mysteries should reveal more mysteries. The prequels actually did that which is why I think they're underrated (wonky editing/structure in them excluded).
Now, as much as I love this game, it does make me wonder. What would happen if Free League made a Predator RPG? The possibilities are endless, but I can see them tweaking the Alien system to have the PCs be Yautja of varying degrees of skill.
Great review, like always, thanks! I bought the Alien RPG mainly to get the lore (Alien ist one of my favorite franchises) and to plug elements into our Coriolis Game - but no doubts, if we were to run a dark and gritty space exploration game, it alone would be a blast at the table (I really like the Year Zero Engine).
I just got this book today, already read the first 65 pages in my first "session of reading". I like what I read a lot so far. I play RPGs through the Fantasy Grounds VTT and they just started officially supporting this RPG so I plan on running this (along with my usual 5e game) after the holidays.
Going to be playing this soon and now I'm really excited. Fantastic video, thank you! On the point of so few images of Aliens in the book, I like that explanation by the game dev. One of the most impactful and magical things about both Alien and Predator was the unknown. When you first see the monster is an incredible moment in both of those films that I can see why they would want to carry over into this game. Especially considering all the other nuances they seem to have captured.
Great review. I would say that having to create your own Aliens is not a con: "how to" rules will always be better than bestiaries, in the end, imagination is best :) Also, about the "players are not scared of xenomorphs having see all movies already", I feel like you can use tension masked as fear. They don't "fear" the monster, but they dread the stalking, the air running out, the impending doom... About this I would say that the consumables mechanic is something sweet in the rules.
If you're in need of more creatures/threats, I think you should use other movies, and use whatever is going on there! Example: - Moontrap - Lifeforce - Prince of Darkness - Screamers - Virus - Species - Event Horizon - Necrons (from "Chronicles of Riddick") - Infini Maybe something with Terminators, a rogue faction on a far away colony, living in peace, even with humans, but if humans find out, they have to kill everyone to make sure nobody else finds out about them. Because their technology. And "you" found out about them. And they still like to use their Phased Plasma Rifle with a 40-Watt Range...
(2:26) Not to be "that guy", but isn't that space jockey scene from 1979's Alien and not Aliens 1986? :/ I know in the director's cut of Aliens Newt's parents go out to the derelict ship, but I don't recall that they actually showed them inside the derelict ship. :/
@@DaveThaumavore Don't feel bad! Heck, I was worried my mind was slipping after all this time! ;) I thought your video was great! It actually helped me desire to get the game! :)
Nice job. Looking forward to my first YZ system play via Alien in a few weeks. Very much agree on the layout comment. Impressive at first, cumbersome in the long run. It could have been a 250pg book rather than 400.
Great review. My personal opinion appears to be the same as the creators regarding the "don't want to make a bestiary" discussion points. Personally I like the idea of the "unseen horror" element.
I could see the xenomorphs as more of a backdrop; let's say I take my group to Hadley's Hope after the events of Aliens; they won't know if the derelict survived or if an alien is still roaming the planet; those two things alone can create profound fear, add the ugly miserable surface environment and you've got a truly terrifying set-up and that's just for openers, if I were a player this would be the last mission I'd sign on for. And all this is assuming anybody from WY even publicized those events, chances are good the players only know of rumors. I foresee hours of material on LV426 alone.
The Cinematic Mode is such a great excuse for GMs who derive a perverse satisfaction out of killing their players. Uh, I mean, not that I consider myself to be that type of GM (evil laughter).
Yeah it does bear similarities to Traveller. It also reminded me of ship combat in Star Trek Adventures. It’s just so odd to see it in this game. I haven’t heard of anyone actually using it in their Alien sessions.
@@DaveThaumavore Thanks for the reply!! If I were to to a guess as to why we haven't heard of it being used it would be bc, we have never seen ship combat in any of the movies. Sure Hudson, goes on a long spiel about what the colonial marines are packing, but we never actually see space combat. I do want to try this game (that's in no small part, thanks to your review 👍) especially for Halloween. I'm just wondering what to kinda of use as inspiration to keep ship combat tense and scary, if that can even be done.
The game Comes in France in some days. I Wonder if this game has a lot of possibilites regarding different scénarios. What Alien game is without xenomorphes and fear? This is not a Space opéra universe where you can add anything from others movies or novels. Really i m really intetested but hesitant too
Yeah it’s a really interesting question. You’re right that the universe is not presented in the movies, comics and novels as a space opera. But this game, as written, seems to try and push it as one. I think the game actually provides the support for a wide-ranging space opera type of game, but it’s confusing in the sense that the Alien universe has never been presented in such a way. If you have players who want to really Dig In to the Alien universe and not just fight xenos every session, then you’re in luck. Otherwise the game still works as a xeno-fighting one-shot machine.
I haven’t played Alien RPG but based on this review combat seems more complicated than it has to be. It can still be fun but complexity slows down the action. I might get the soon-to-be-released Alien Starter Set but rather play the scenario using the Alternity rules system which I’m more familiar with.
I like this game. However, even though the Stress rules are great, they can become a bit too much. Colonial Marines, for example, can in some cases panic by firing their weapons in full auto, as any full auto attack causes a level of stress.
It leaves you enough room to remove them if you want to. I have reworked them with little effort (the black goo is derived from the alien in my game, the prequels don't exist).
I highly recommend the works of H.P. Lovecraft for inspiration, as well. ESPECIALLY the copious amount of artistic interpretations of various creatures from the mythos over the years. Just for inspiration, mind you. ;) Or how about the Species movies? There's nothing like a creature that wants to have sex with you and then kill you. ;)
Not a fan of Alien 3 or Ridley Scott's clumsy and poorly written Prometheus movies (Damon Lindelof is a hack). I like the idea of a slow burn story before introducing the Alien, which is deadly, as it should be. But why would you run or play an Alien game and not put one of the best creature movies ever made? I had the old Aliens adventure game back in the 90's. It had the "engineers" as explorers who found the eggs. I like that, to think there is a planet out there where the aliens came from.
I would ad. Red faction computer geme as inspiration for opresing corporation ad workers revolt. Wayland corporation ws also in Blade runner so rouge Hall like AI is in place Plus Necromorphs from ded space because not just aliens.
The same company made both games, so calling this a "ripoff" is unfair. Why create a completely new mechanic for space combat if they already have one that's perfectly fine?
@@alexfiettaCause an RPG game isnt just the mechanics, its mainly the setting, tone and feel. Also, the system is different than Coriolis in ground combat. Its also way deadlier.
@@MrAttentionHorse Is the system actually more deadly? Looks like you would have to lose ALL hit points, and then there is a 11% chance of death. That might be less deadly than DnD or several other systems. I guess if you throw them into a meat-grinder with a bunch of xenomorphs, then yeah, but you can do that with any game I think. I don't know much about this system though so maybe there are some things I'm not considering?
The game is fun but the book is not worth buying. Tons of pages are just one table or one paragraph. So a good editing would shorten the page count dramatically. Also, what's with the d6 fest mentality? Rolling a few d6 is fine, but throwing the spartan army across the table gets ridiculous at some point in a game where you are "trying" to simulate fear and paranoia. I'll just stick with basic roleplaying/coc 7e.
anyone remember the old aliens RPG? man, i'll be the first to admit it's kind of an obnoxious system, but boy, back in the day, you could do pretty much anything you needed to with it.
Cut Prometheus content and earlier scripts tells the relationship between Engineers, humans and Xenomorph (MAJOR SPOILERS): the Engineers made humans among many similar attempts and humans became their favored child (they killed off all the others). They believed in a cyclic nature of life, about how creation requires sacrifice (hence why the Engineer killed itself to create humanity in Prometheus). However, humans turned out to be too selfish, greedy, violent and corrupt (the scene where the founder of the company asks for eternal life from the infected Engineer who is doomed to death by being brought out is the titular example of this). The Engineers took a maiden's child (hint hint) to teach humanity their wisdom and hope of fixing this. By the Engineer's reckoning, it did not take and that is why there was a death-ship in Prometheus with an adaptive bio-weapon so deadly that it killed its own crew before it could be sent. Look up the lost script, the entire point of the movie was cut out and is the reason why it became a confusing mess. To me, it sounds like the game would have benefited more with this in mind: the Xenomorphs is an evolving bio-weapon that exist solely to wipe out humanity or other organic life, to function as the erasers of the Engineer's mistakes and what they deem unworthy. Xenomorphs should not be locked into one form, but adaptable, ever-changing and the fact that the RPG details to space battles but not a cookbook how to make new xenomorphs is puzzling. It would also give an impetus in the world-building, a reason why the megacorps become stupidly risk-taking when it comes to xenomorphs: they are incredibly biotechnology that if they could reverse-engineer, would allow things like eternal youth. Trying to get this technology has you run into Xenomoprhs. Xenomoprhs kill everyone.
