Alien RPG - Cinematic Scenarios - Review

I'm going to take a look at the four published cinematic scenarios:

• Hope's Last Day (Alien RPG core book, 2019)
• Chariot of the Gods (Starter Set, 2019)
• Destroyer of Worlds (box set, 2020)
• Heart of Darkness (box set, 2022)

Chariot of the Gods, Destroyer of Worlds, and Heart of Darkness make up the Draconis Strain Saga series. Designed to be played in release order.

Most of my sessions are 3 hours long. Different groups take different times, but my run times are here for comparison purposes. At conventions, I generally book a 6 hour time slot which includes time for explaining the system and a break for food.

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Hope's Last Day (Alien RPG core book, 2019, p.368)

Pages: 16
Run Time: 1 session
Pre-Gens: 5 terraforming colonists, Space Truckers
Hook: PCs return on a maintenance run and find things amiss at Hadley's Hope.

This is a great introductory scenario. It runs exactly like an Alien movie.

The time frame is two weeks before Ripley with the Colonial Marines arrive at Hadley's Hope.

The PCs return from a routine maintenance run and find everything has gone to hell.

This scenario takes about 4 hours to run, perfect for a convention time slot. I've run this about 8 times already. It's really the 3rd act in a full scenario.

I was introduced to this game with this scenario, I love this scenario.

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This scenario is pretty basic. Find out things have gone to hell at the colony, get the key card to unlock the shuttle, get onboard, get off planet. It's survival horror.

I start the PCs at the West Lock, explaining that decades of terraforming has made the atmosphere breathable. No IRC Mk.50 Compression Suit is needed and they didn't have any because they didn't need them for their job. It's just a bit chilly and dark. Their Daihotai Tractor broke down and they had to hoof it back. PCs can role play "What's the Story, Mother?" handout for background information or they can just read it. I also ask the Players if their PCs have family or significant other at Hadley's Hope, they've been there for years. Most gamers say, "No."

Daihotai Tractor

Since the PCs have lived on Hadley's Hope for several years, if not decades, they know the facility like the back of their hands. So, I hand out the maps for everything. Some Players have problems initially reading the maps. The black boxes and rectangles are rooms and hallways on your current level. The white boxes and rectangles are rooms and hallways on either the level above or below your current level.

3D perspective view of Hadley's Hope

There are a few odd things on the map. The PCs arrive at the West Lock but the first thing you'll notice is there's a ladder. It goes nowhere. I believe it's an error on the map and shouldn't exist. The next thing is that there are ladders going through several levels that need to be mapped out. Players need to know which ladders give them access to which levels.

Ladder Locations Annotated

The North Gate Wall is a jet blast deflector for the spacecraft landing pad.

The scenario has an announcement over the intercom that repeats and then gets cut off, but I prefer one of those annoying automated messages that repeats forever on a loop until it's shut off. I tell the PCs that emergency messages like that come from the Command Centre. I don't do the gunshot and scream (p.375 Kicking Off the Action), but I still increase their stress due to the emergency message.

There are Hidden Xenomorphs (p.375) throughout the facility, but I found it easier to have them marked on the GM map so that I'd remember where they're located. Otherwise, you'll forget when the PCs walk by their location.

Sublevel Areas (p.381) tunnel to Processor 1 is barricaded, but there should be an active Sentry Gun posted there on the other side of the barricade (as per Aliens (Special Edition) 1986). The tunnel is south of the Maintenance Offices on Sublevel 1.

If the PCs go the Vehicle Bay, I tell them all the vehicles are gone. They see various personal items left behind in a hurry from people evacuating the facility. There's an abandoned teddy bear that's been run over by a vehicle.

p.382, The Escape. I found that having one Facehugger per PC/NPC is a bit overkill. I prefer that the Xeno from the North Lock and/or Billy's Bar track them as they get to the Shuttle, then as they fight off a Xeno, franticly unlock the shuttle, and try to climb onboard, a few Facehuggers scamper down the access hatch and attack those not engaged with the Xeno. If the PCs do get onboard, just when they think it's safe, if anybody is infected, this is when the Chestburster comes out.

I found if you have too many Xenos, you start repeating Signature Attacks and it gets boring. You need to keep the number of Xenos low, so the Signature Attacks vary. If you keep on rolling the same Signature Attack, just pick a different one.

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Chariot of the Gods (Starter Set, 2019)
Pages: 52

Run Time: 3 sessions
Pre-Gens: 5 Space Truckers (for 3-5 players)
Hook: Crew of the USCSS Montero, a starfreighter, wake up to find they're not where they're supposed to be.

I've played in this twice and ran it twice. The first time I played it, it was finished in a 4 hr session, but it was an earlier version from the first printing of the core book. The second time I played it, we killed all our backup characters before they were activated, so we finished in 2 sessions. Both times when I ran it, it took 3 sessions.

This game is a nice slow burn. PCs wake up on their ship and start to figure out things aren't quite right.

It's a nice scenario. I like how Free League constructs their scenarios. They give you mandatory events that the GM must run and various optional events to add flavor or to tweak the pacing of the game. If the scenario has locations, they have detailed text for each location. The events are also separated into three Acts. Once an Act is over, unused events are discarded. Usually, the last Mandatory event in an Act closes that Act.

The marker tokens included in this set are large and are only useful for marking which zone a PC is in, multiple tokens in the same zone are generally stacked. It's not for any tactical use. The same tokens are used for Destroyer of Worlds and Heart of Darkness.

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This is the exact setup as Alien (1979). But instead of going to LV-426, they run into the USCSS Cronus, a derelict science vessel.

The science vessel has been in shutdown mode for 75 years. The ship picked up the black goo from Prometheus (2012) and things went horribly wrong. Surviving crew members are in cryochambers. Throughout the ship are subtle and not so subtle evidence of violence aboard the ship. The crew did develop an inoculation against the black goo, but it has side effects.

There are several ways to get on the the Cronus. First the Montero has to match the velocity and spin of the Cronus. The two choice ways of getting onto the Cronus is either using the Daisy (p.8 USCSS Montero, Cargo) or the Umbilical (p.8 USCSS Montero, Passageway Umbilical). So far, no one has ever picked a spacewalk.

WY-37B Flatbed Cargo Lifter Shed "Daisy"

Without power, the Vehicle Bay ramp on Deck D will not open. If the PCs are ingenious enough, they can probably figure a way to temporarily override the door system and power it from outside, using the Daisy's power system. Doing this will decompressurize Deck D. Loose objects, such as two ATVs, will come tumbling out. Possibly requiring a Piloting roll to avoid them (p.28, Deck D, Vehicle Bay, Garage).

All airlocks are either welded shut or damaged. The airlock door on Deck A, Junction A-1, is the easiest to attach to the umbilical (p.20 Deck A, Cryo Deck, Main Airlock, Junction A-1).

Players noticed an airlock door on Deck C, next to Junction C-1. It is actually an elevator platform that lowers to the planet surface, but it is out of order (p.26, Deck C, Cargo Deck, Junction C-1).

When the PCs come onboard, the Cronus is basically a popsicle stick with some emergency power. They need to bring the reactors back online to power up the ship and engines running. Due to the cold, the PCs will be wearing IRC Mk.50 Compression Suits with a limited Air Supply (p.10, Gear on the Montero).


These suits are cumbersome. They're not comfortable, mobile, nor easy to work in. The whole goal is to have the PCs run out of air before they fix up the Cronus. Once the Cronus starts defrosting, the frozen bits of black goo, spores, and Xenos start becoming active. Then it becomes a race between fixing the ship, getting infected, fighting off Xenos, and questioning the Cronus crew.

PCs will try to refill their Air Supply. I think it may take some work to hot swap the air supply canisters, if they can be removed at all. They might have to be recharged in place. e.g. hooked up to a recharge system. Remember, the Cronus has been drifting for a long time. I decided any recharge station had already leaked their air and won't be operational until the ship is powered up and the air filters scrubbed.

To prevent the PCs from just abandoning the Cronus, the Montero will self-destruct. While exploring the Cronus, there's always a PC that decides it's safer to stay on the Montero. Wait until the countdown happens. The only way to save the crew is to pilot the Montero away from the disabled Cronus. Whether the pilot survives or not is up to various die rolls. The good news is that some of the Cronus crew should be available as a backup character.

I forced my PCs to enter the Air Scrubbers Shaft from the upper levels via an Air Duct. It starts off frozen, but once it starts thawing, it's like that dark room with chains and dripping water in the movie. Cleaning the filters may require either harsh chemicals or a flame unit. If the Egg Sacs aren't a challenge enough, you can send a Xeno after them. 

At some point, events will overwhelm the PCs and they'll probably have to abandon the Cronus also. Some may survive on a hidden EEV pod.

There's an optional use of the USCSS Sotillo, a group of space pirates. I found it odd and never used them. I've hinted at their existence, just in case I needed another set of replacement PCs, but it's really odd to bring them into Act 3.

Someone asked, "How did you decide what the 26 Draconis inoculation did?"
CoTG p.5, Mother's Note. 95% it turns you into an Abomination. 5% it doesn't work and you turn into a Neomorph (this happens to Cooper, he didn't take the inoculation). The crew in Cryo were all inoculated except for Cooper. I'd assume the rest would turn into Abominations. If you want to roll dice, roll d66: 11-64 Abomination. 65-66 Neomorph.

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Destroyer of Worlds (box set, 2020)

Pages: 90
Run Time: 2-3 sessions
Pre-Gens: 7 Colonial Marines (for 3-5 players)
Hook: Colonial Marines sent to capture 4 AWOL marines.

I've played this once and ran it twice. When I played it, it took 3 sessions. When I ran it, it took 3 sessions and 2 sessions.

PCs are on a frosty moon, almost ready to deploy to fight the UPP on 61 Cygni, then they get pulled to do MP (Military Police) work.

I just find it odd that with fusion reactors that can terraform a planet, FTL drives, etc., they're still using petrochemicals. Maybe they need it for plastics.

The pre-gens are marines and the chain of command is: Gen (General), Col (Colonel), Maj (Major), Capt (Captain), Lt (Lieutenant), WO1 (Warrant Officer), GySgt (Gunnery Sergeant), Sgt (Sergeant), Cpl (Corporal), PFC (Private First Class), Pvt (Private).

Ranks and Abbreviations for various branches of US military.

A nice sandbox scenario, packed with action.

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If Chariot of the Gods is Alien, then Destroyer of Worlds is Aliens (1986).

Act 1, PCs are sent on a fool's errand to capture the 4 AWOL marines. It actually doesn't matter if the PCs find or capture them. It's a MacGuffin to explore locations on the moon. All that matters is that the PCs figure out that the AWOL marines were infected (with Chestbursters) and later inoculated with the serum from Chariot of the Gods. W-Y, UPP insurgents, and the PCs are all after the AWOL marines.

Act 2, UPP invade the moon. PCs thought they missed out on fighting the UPP? Well, the UPP came to them! An EMP blast happens before a fullon military assault happens. As the USCMC is overwhelmed, Oil-Eater bacteria are released in a scorched earth tactic. PCs either continue with their mission or decide to return to Fort Nebraska. This Act is can be pretty short.

Act 3, Escape the moon. Black goo bomb hits the city. Xenos from the Fort escape containment. People transformed by the black goo rampage everywhere. PCs figure a way to get into Fort Nebraska, fix and get on the space elevator. Before they leave, there's just one more thing, set off the nukes in the Fort. Of course, the Xeno Queen is hidden in the cargo bay of the space elevator for one final surprise fight.

The scenario leaves it up in the air as to who used the black goo bomb, but I heard that in the Colonial Marines book that question is answered.

If Players get to peruse the character sheets before picking, Chaplain's character sheet gives too much away to the other Players. I'd heavily edit the second paragraph and add a "Possible Malfunction" card with information about Jaell (the second paragraph). Add the card reference to the character sheet, just like Mason has for the "Outbreak on Yaophora Station" card.

I found most of the Agendas cards were weak sauce. When I ran it, I handwaved it as: Easy, free Story Points, needed for later. If I ran this again, I'd probably redo most of them and make them more interesting. I'd probably add more Story cards too.

For unpicked PCs, I have them offscreen in support roles such as guarding the APC. That way, they can still be replacement PCs.

The scenario is built like a sandbox, but almost everybody goes to the Eye of Oblivion bar. Even though the text doesn't spell this out, it's a stripper bar. So far, no one has ever gone to the Spaceport.

One of the Act 1 Events, Have You Heard the Word? (p.54) references the short story, Space Beast. I could only find a copy of this booklet on the internet. It was a promotional item for a coffee table book. It's pretty terrible and is a retelling of Alien 3 from the viewpoint of the prisoner Robert Morse. Not much detail is given about the Xenos other than they're killing machines. The only reason I can figure that it's been banned is that it badmouths W-Y, putting full responsibility on them which creates a liability issue. Instead of using the promotional item, I'd make it more like a religious pamphlet where the Space Beast is here to test man's faith during the Apocalypse.

Most of the time, just using the Destroyer of Worlds booklet with the extra Colonial Marines rules and tables was all that was needed to run the game except for Other Hazards rules for Falling, Explosions, and Disease (p.74-75 Starter Kit Rulebook or p.108-109 core book). W-Y APEsuit (Suits and Armor, p.92 Starter Kit Rulebook or p.128 core book).

I found all 3 Acts pretty good, except for the Xeno vs Xeno fights in Act 3. What's more boring that watching two sets of Xenos fighting each other. I'd only give a hint by showing the two Xeno types fighting each other early on. Later, I would have one or the other type of Xeno be an obstacle for the PCs then they can decide if they want to lure the other type of Xeno into the fight as a distraction.

Of note is Fort Nebraska Sublevel 2. Munitions is probably ammo for small arms including cases of M-5 RPG Launchers. Ammo Depot is ammo for vehicle weapons such as APCs, Dropships, and Tanks. Nuclear Storage is what you use to nuke it from orbit. Both times, PCs used the ventilation shafts to enter this area.

When PCs get Broken, I had the Xenos drag their Broken bodies away to be cemented into the hive. This is pretty cool and very much on point with the movies. When a PC gets Broken, they're suddenly taken away, screaming, and the Xeno is gone too. It's sort of odd that the broken marines are packed into the Maintenance Pits, but I'd make that a non-exclusive area. They're cemented throughout the Reactor area, but a majority are in the Maintenance Pits.

Overall, this scenario is jam packed with cinematic action.

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Heart of Darkness (box set, 2022)
Pages: 80

Run Time: 3 sessions
Pre-Gens: 7 Science Team Members and Space Truckers (for 3-5 players)
Hook: W-Y science team is sent to a space station orbiting a black hole to investigate a new life form. The space station uses prison labor.

I played and ran it, both times took 3 sessions.

PCs are a mix of contract scientists for W-Y and crew members from the ship that takes them to a space station. When they arrive all hell breaks loose.

This scenario is also very sandboxy. Lots of options for the GM to use when running it. And various options for Players when playing.

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This one is Alien 3 (1992) with some bits of Alien 4 (1997).

Like Chekhov's Gun, you know when you have a space station orbiting a black hole it's going to fall into it. Guaranteed.

The PCs are guest scientists and crew of a plasma tanker, the USCSS Cetorhina. The Cetorhina runs from Earth to Erebos Station, a plasma farm, loading plasma energy and rare elements as cargo, going to either Earth or the Frontier, offloading the cargo, and returning to Erebos Station in Draconis 26. The Cetorhina has done this 8 times in 6 years. Erebos Station is operated by prision labor and watched by a Warden and Corrections Androids. A black hole causes plasma streams to circle it like water down a drain. Erebos Station harvests the plasma. The proximity to the black hole causes accelerated NDD (Neurological Distortion Disorder), mental issues. Appropriately dispensed medication helps ameliorate these problems. W-Y probably pays hazard pay to the human employees and probably doesn't care too much if the prisoners go crazy. The prisioners here are high-risk lifers: violent gang members, organized crime figures, and terrorists.

Instead of bringing in prisoners and supplies this time, the Cetorhina is bringing a bunch of scientists. Sparkling xeno-life has been spotted in the plasma stream. The scientists are lured by lucrative contracts to study this new life.

I noticed Clerke's Clues (p.28), Weaponizing the Virus (p.34), and Deck C - Medlab (p.32) info is all spread out everywhere and needs to be understood by the GM before running, otherwise info will be skipped or missed. Clerke's Reports (p.29) are pretty fragmentary if you just hand them out piecemeal and make the PCs do a treasure hunt betwen terminals. A bit odd and I doubt the PCs would do that. I actually handed out all of Clerke's Reports in one go in the Medlab.

The Hessdalen Lights make more Perfected and so does the 26 Draconis Strain. So, I'm not sure why the Perfected want the 26 Draconis Strain. Maybe it works faster or lets them make a black goo bomb? The Hessdalen Lights need radiation to survive and the 26 Draconis Strain doesn't. So, maybe it's a better way to make more Perfected and has a higher survival rate.

In the game I ran, the Players mainly picked crew members of the Cetorhina, so they were focused mainly on fixing their ship, scavenging parts, and getting out of there.

When I played, the Players mainly picked scientists, so we were focused on discovering how the Xenos worked and how to kill them.

If you want to focus more on the prisioners. You can bring in more of the conflict between the Warden and the prisoners. My players never went to Deck H, so they never ran into the surviving prisoners. If you want more emphasis on the prisioners, you'll need to use more of their optional events and even put a few on other decks and have them take over sections of the space station. This is if you want a different feel in the scenario than what is written.

Act 1: At the start, I showed pictures of the black hole (scenario cover or box cover) and the exterior of Erebos Station (p.7) while reading out "What's the Story Mother?" (p.9). When the PCs arrive, docking port Terminal 2, Deck G will open up to them. As they try to dock, a gravity shear smashes the Cetorhina into the right side of Erebos Station, causing structural damage and plasma fires on Erebos Station (right side of Decks F, G, & H). Depending on how they pilot their ship, they'll crash into either Deck E, F, or H (p.16, Crash Location Chart). The accident will disable the Cetorhina until it can be repaired and separated from Erebos Station. Captain Lugar of the Cetorhina has been to the station numerous times, so she has some knowledge of the station's layout. To put out the fires, airlocks can be opened to vent areas out to space (p.26, Plasma Fire). PCs may have to go into the Chute, to shut the emergency doors between each floor (p.27, Emergency), before they open up the airlocks (p.38, Plasma Vent), otherwise they may space the whole structure. The emergency doors should close by themselves, but the crash and the plasma fire may have affected the mechanisms, and the structural integrity of the station. Exterior airlocks are all secured and would require ComTech rolls to open from the outside.

Act 2: Just as a Deacon Xeno is about to kill a PC, it is told to stop and the Perfected shows up with a deal. It wants the 26 Draconis Strain in exchange for what is most likely a bad deal. The PCs are directed to the Cheiron. Most PCs will go along with this just to have a truce with the Xenos. The Perfected cannot sense the Pilot (p.50). They want his infected blood. This is not made clear at all. PCs may be puzzled as to why the Perfected can't get this themselves. Or how the Perfected knows the 26 Draconis Strain is on the Cheiron. The only thing I can think of is that Perfect Aly (on Deck B, p.31) has some residual memory of hiding Lavigne in the hypersleep chamber and the Hive has finally figured this out and still can't find Lavigne and need the PCs to do this. A bit weak sauce, but the only thing I can think of that works.

By now I've asked for NDD and Radiation sickness checks. So far, nobody's suffered anything. I'm not sure if it's even worth asking for the die rolls, especially the Radiation checks.

The PCs never went to Deck B, so never ran into Perfect Aly. I actually think it'll be better to change it so that the first Perfect they run into is Perfect Aly, if Aly's grand niece, Lugar, is in play.

They did discover Asteroid 1113B (p.8 & p.34) and its collision course with the space station. Finding this out doesn't really matter other than it creates a ticking clock for either moving the space station or fixing the Cetorhina.

In both my play and run, the PCs didn't give the 26 Draconis Strain to the Perfected. The Players in the game I ran found the Ladder to the Ventral Aux Hatch and was able to sneak away, get the Power Cells from Cargo Bay 1 (p.18), use the EVA pods to transport the batteries back to the Cetorhina (got a 3 successes on Mobility, the sneaky bastard). They also used the EVA pods to get the Thruster Compression Coil (p.18) and cut away the Hive tendrils (originally they were going to cut the Cethorina free (p.18), but this takes a whole shift), so they decided to cut the tendrils and risk hull damage by pulling away from the space station (p.57).

One PC started working on Weaponizing the Virus (p.34), but it was too late. It takes a whole shift to do this. So, the PC packed up whatever he could and took it to the Cethorina.

Act 3: The PCs broke free of the space station and let it fall into the black hole. But it's not over yet, there's a Ninth Passenger (p.57). And the PC with the Virus lab decided to become Perfected and infected himself. There's no real rules for this, so I went with the Effects on p.70. Gave the PC the Fulfremmen Speed, Health, and Armor Rating. As crew members are snatched away by the Ninth Passenger, they're transformed into Xenos and the Perfected ordered them to take over the ship. In the end, only the Perfected and Adrien the cat were the last surviving PCs.

In the game I played in, one of the scientists switched the 26 Draconis Strain with the Weaponized Virus and gave that to the Perfected. My PC called the UPP for pickup and we got off the station.

When I played this, we mainly picked the scientists. When I ran this, the PCs picked were all the crew of the Cetorhina. Only when the PCs started dying did the scientists get picked as PCs, but the game turned out fine even though I was worried that there were no active scientists at the start of the game.

Overall, depending on what the Players are interested in or what the GM wants to emphasize, this scenario can be played with a specific focus. Though the scientist clues and clue trails are more developed. So, if you want a different focus, you'll have to pick events more in line with what you want to see happen and even create your own events.

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Here's my original review of the system and Q&As: Alien RPG Q&A