These past few weeks we’ve had an abundance of news come out for the Alien RPG Second Edition by Free League Publishing. First of all, they’ve sent an update about new maps that are going to be used in the new edition to everyone who’s subscribed to their newsletter.
These detailed, full-color maps will be in format 864x558mm (34×22 inches) and are designed to scale for the new RPG miniatures that are also part of the upcoming Kickstarter, as well as the expanded stealth mode in the updated game rules. Using these maps, the miniatures, and the updated rules, ALIEN RPG 2e can even be played as a miniatures skirmish game.
The maps shown below, designed by acclaimed map artist Miska Fredman (Astraterra), show two decks of the USCSS Fidanza, a Nostromo-style spaceship, and the mining colony Jeremiah VI. Both are included in the new cinematic adventure Rapture Protocol. Similar maps of the Hadley’s Hope colony (as seen in ALIENS) will be included in the Hope’s Last Day Starter Set.
Tomas Härenstam, the head of Free League Publishing and the Game Director for ALIEN The Roleplaying game, has confirmed in the following videos that the maps are still being worked on, with the possibility of making them moodier and have more grime, but the older style of maps will still be present. Recently, there have been two interviews with Tom to clarify more information about the upcoming new edition.
One of the things people have been most concerned about was how backwards compatible will the new edition be? In the interviews, Tom reveals he somewhat regrets announcing this version as a Second Edition and is even considering dropping that part from the official title, saying that this is more of a 1.5e or Evolved Edition, emphasizing that for someone who knows the rules from the First Edition will have a very easy time upgrading to the New Edition. In other words, no hard reset, all of the lore and the timeline will be still part of the releases going forward. The changes will be a number of smaller tweaks to the rules. Tom said that the idea for a new, evolved edition came from writing the new cinematic with Jonathan Hicks (writer of RPGs such as: Those Dark Places, Pressure, Fireteam, Deep Space, Fighting Fantasy) where they realized that they needed to flesh out the stealth rules more. One thing led to another and a bunch of small changes convinced Tom that a new edition makes sense. He mentioned in previous posts in the official Alien RPG Facebook group that changes to the rules will probably be released separately as well, for free, on a sheet, if people just want those without anything else. The main focus for the new edition are the stealth mechanics and miniatures it seems.
In the newest interview, Tom mentions that the new Core Rulebook, the new cinematic Rapture Protocol, the new Starter Set and a new miniature set should all be a part of the Kickstarter with bundles for everyone to pick and choose what they want specifically. Future VTT support is also in the plans. The Kickstarter itself still hasn’t got an official date yet. It was and still is planned for the Fall of 2024, but pending licensing approval, Tom mentions it could also start early next year.
From these details, we’ve gathered that the stealth rules will be expanded, made less abstract, specifically to aid playing with miniatures. Tom mentions tweaks to the panic chart, in the sense of having multiple charts with multiple expanded options that fit better the situation at hand, explaining that there will be a stress chart for skill rolls (when you get a facehugger on the stress dice) and a panic chart when you face a horrifying situation. Other things that are mentioned that are going to be tweaked are: ammo, armor, explosions, zero gravity. New elements from Alien: Romulus will be added as well. The focus of this release is a back to basics type of horror experience, with the Space Truckers campaign book still being worked on and in the plans, though it seems it’s still in the conceptual stages. Also, the new books are probably leaving the completely black page backdrops behind.
Besides the miniatures for which we do not have a lot of details yet, new significant additions to the type of play are a solo mode being developed by the designer of Ironsworn RPG, Shawn Tomkin, and a more detailed expansion of campaign play rules by the original campaign designer Paul Elliott, where a new location will be added and possibly fleshing out a sector of space in more detail. Any possible lore and worldbuilding from the previous Core Rulebook will be carried over to the new edition if it is present at all, but Tom doesn’t plan to have Andrew E. Gaska on with this release, nor Dave Semark when it comes to the writing in this instance as of the latest information we’ve got.
Keep your browsers locked on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien RPG news! You can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums.
