Dec 22, 2023 8:24 pm
✅ The Game System: Alien RPG
Lethal adaptation of the Year-Zero-Engine that IMHO does a great job of capturing the desperate hopeless gory brutal grimy survival horror of Alien film. I've seen lots of PC death playing and running this system.
Image cropped to banner format from an image by Mobin Dindar under the CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed license from Wikimedia Commons
✅ The Story
Set during the the film Aliens, this scenario plays out around the fall of the Hadley's Hope colony on the moon LV-426, before the Colonial Marines, Ripley, and Burke arrive in response to the loss of communications from the colony. This is the short one-shot scenario included at the back of the Alien RPG Core Rulebook - I don't usually enjoy running pre-written scenarios, but I really enjoy this one, and have run it live maybe five times already.
There's been some gnarly happenings in the colony of Hadley's Hope the last few days. Rumours of some kinda parasites getting inside people and getting inside the buildings y'all have come to call home these last years.
PCs are a group of colonists sent out by the colony supervisor to do repair work on Atmosphere Processor 9 - one of the huge machines being run by the colony to generate a breathable comfortable atmosphere for the moon. Your tractor broke down, though, before it got to the Processor and you're stranded out there - the colony not having followed through on its promise to send out a repair team. Unable to raise anyone at the colony, you head out to trudge through dark and the storm to return to the colony on foot.
✅ The PCs
We will play the set of five pre-gens that come with the scenario. They have inter-connected hidden agendas. Playing live it can work to make changes/alternatives to the pre-gens, but this likely frustratingly slow via PbP. So we stick with the pre-gens.
✅ The World, The Tone, and Safety Tools
Almost nothing is flashy in this world. Corporate capitalist oppression and crushing of worker spirit is pretty much the norm. The tech is crappy - no flat-screen TVs here, my friends - it's all humming fuzzy cruddy CRTs. FTL space-drives, FTL-but-still-clunky interstellar communications.
LV-426 is dark, it's always raining, the winds are relentless, the rock is black, the sky is black, you can breathe the air but it still tastes like you're walking through a cloud of burning oil.
The game will involve gore, body horror, bystanders/NPCs dying. Likely also claustrophobia, PvP, isolation, claustrophobia, medical horror, existential horror, character death.
It will, however, not include any ableism, domestic violence, sexual violence, harm to children or animals, anti-LGBTQIA+ attitudes or actions, racism, prejudice against mental illness, sexism, torture.
We will work with a Lines and Veils document to allow all players to describe their own lists of topics that will be excluded from the story - with the exception of the initial list above ("gore, body horror" etc.) as these are intrinsic features of this story. A player's indication that content will not be in the game will always take precedence (apart from the afore-mentioned exceptions) over another player's desire to include that topic in the game.
We will also be playing with the X-Card - any player at any time can X any content, and this will be immediately removed from the game without any questions about why it's being removed - the only questions you might get will be ones to clarify what specific content is being removed from the game.
✅ Game Length and Posting
This is a short scenario - typically takes me 3-4 hours to run live. I'm guessing the game might last 4-6 months. Ideally looking for one post per player per day with the understanding that real life is also important. By default, we'll give 3 days grace to a player before we either assume their PC just comes along passively with the others, or if needed that the GM takes actions for them.
I expect we'll get started in 2024.
✅ Tone and Attitude
I want us all to have fun playing this. For me, that is about OOC open, collaborative, non-sarcastic, non-conflictual supportive, respectful play. I work to adapt games I run to what the players enjoy AND in return am looking for flexibility, kindness, and collaboration from the players.
✅ Player System/Genre Experience/Interest
Everyone - no expectation that anyone has any familiarity with the rules. You can learn them as we go through the story. Looking for people who love gritty desperate lethal survival SF horror. Looking for 5 players ideally.
✅ Technology
Everything will be run in GP.
✅ Recruitment
To apply, post to this thread. Previously I've aimed for players with a range of PbP/GamersPlane experience - but given that this really does work best with five engaged players because of the interconnected agendas, I may instead this time look for people with a record of consistent GP posting.
✅ Questions?
Please ping me with any questions!
Lethal adaptation of the Year-Zero-Engine that IMHO does a great job of capturing the desperate hopeless gory brutal grimy survival horror of Alien film. I've seen lots of PC death playing and running this system.
Image cropped to banner format from an image by Mobin Dindar under the CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed license from Wikimedia Commons
✅ The Story
Set during the the film Aliens, this scenario plays out around the fall of the Hadley's Hope colony on the moon LV-426, before the Colonial Marines, Ripley, and Burke arrive in response to the loss of communications from the colony. This is the short one-shot scenario included at the back of the Alien RPG Core Rulebook - I don't usually enjoy running pre-written scenarios, but I really enjoy this one, and have run it live maybe five times already.
There's been some gnarly happenings in the colony of Hadley's Hope the last few days. Rumours of some kinda parasites getting inside people and getting inside the buildings y'all have come to call home these last years.
PCs are a group of colonists sent out by the colony supervisor to do repair work on Atmosphere Processor 9 - one of the huge machines being run by the colony to generate a breathable comfortable atmosphere for the moon. Your tractor broke down, though, before it got to the Processor and you're stranded out there - the colony not having followed through on its promise to send out a repair team. Unable to raise anyone at the colony, you head out to trudge through dark and the storm to return to the colony on foot.
✅ The PCs
We will play the set of five pre-gens that come with the scenario. They have inter-connected hidden agendas. Playing live it can work to make changes/alternatives to the pre-gens, but this likely frustratingly slow via PbP. So we stick with the pre-gens.
✅ The World, The Tone, and Safety Tools
Almost nothing is flashy in this world. Corporate capitalist oppression and crushing of worker spirit is pretty much the norm. The tech is crappy - no flat-screen TVs here, my friends - it's all humming fuzzy cruddy CRTs. FTL space-drives, FTL-but-still-clunky interstellar communications.
LV-426 is dark, it's always raining, the winds are relentless, the rock is black, the sky is black, you can breathe the air but it still tastes like you're walking through a cloud of burning oil.
The game will involve gore, body horror, bystanders/NPCs dying. Likely also claustrophobia, PvP, isolation, claustrophobia, medical horror, existential horror, character death.
It will, however, not include any ableism, domestic violence, sexual violence, harm to children or animals, anti-LGBTQIA+ attitudes or actions, racism, prejudice against mental illness, sexism, torture.
We will work with a Lines and Veils document to allow all players to describe their own lists of topics that will be excluded from the story - with the exception of the initial list above ("gore, body horror" etc.) as these are intrinsic features of this story. A player's indication that content will not be in the game will always take precedence (apart from the afore-mentioned exceptions) over another player's desire to include that topic in the game.
We will also be playing with the X-Card - any player at any time can X any content, and this will be immediately removed from the game without any questions about why it's being removed - the only questions you might get will be ones to clarify what specific content is being removed from the game.
✅ Game Length and Posting
This is a short scenario - typically takes me 3-4 hours to run live. I'm guessing the game might last 4-6 months. Ideally looking for one post per player per day with the understanding that real life is also important. By default, we'll give 3 days grace to a player before we either assume their PC just comes along passively with the others, or if needed that the GM takes actions for them.
I expect we'll get started in 2024.
✅ Tone and Attitude
I want us all to have fun playing this. For me, that is about OOC open, collaborative, non-sarcastic, non-conflictual supportive, respectful play. I work to adapt games I run to what the players enjoy AND in return am looking for flexibility, kindness, and collaboration from the players.
✅ Player System/Genre Experience/Interest
Everyone - no expectation that anyone has any familiarity with the rules. You can learn them as we go through the story. Looking for people who love gritty desperate lethal survival SF horror. Looking for 5 players ideally.
✅ Technology
Everything will be run in GP.
✅ Recruitment
To apply, post to this thread. Previously I've aimed for players with a range of PbP/GamersPlane experience - but given that this really does work best with five engaged players because of the interconnected agendas, I may instead this time look for people with a record of consistent GP posting.
✅ Questions?
Please ping me with any questions!
Last edited January 9, 2024 7:47 pm
