Free League Publishing Announce Alien: The Roleplaying Game

[Xenomrph]

Any references to Colonel Dr. Church yet?

Haven't found one yet, I was actually just talking about that with SiL not too long ago. I haven't gone page by page through the book yet, just been flipping to random sections.

The book references actual narrative elements from Gibson's Alien3 draft beyond just the existence of the UPP - such as Anchorpoint Station (and its destruction) and the nuclear proliferation treaty (although in the RPG's narrative, it was the Patna, the WY ship from 'Alien3', that violates the treaty on its way to Fury 161 rather than the Sulaco drifting towards Anchorpoint station).
It also comes up with this elaborate public coverup story for 'Alien3', with an actual cholera outbreak that the prisoners tried to contain by burning it out with quinitricetalyne, which catastrophically exploded and then the Patna (a medical ship) showed up to assist and there was only one survivor.
Also the team deployed to catch the Alien in A3 have the in-house name of "the Dog Catchers".

The Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle is from 'Aliens: Colonial Marines', as is the model designation for the pulse rifle grenade launcher, and the book uses the model designation name from A:CM for the pump-action shotgun but the image is different - it's not the shotgun from AvP2, AvP2010, or Colonial Marines. It's not a SPAS-12 although it's got some design elements reminiscent of it.
If they were going to crib stuff from A:CM I think the submachine gun would have been a smart call, but maybe they're saving it for a hypothetical "weapons and gear" expansion.

The "heavy pulse rifle" also reminds me of something, I think there was a barrel extension in Colonial Marines?

This book is wild, and it's giving me the biggest nerd-boner.

Edit -- the heavy pulse rifle is from the CMTM, but it uses the image for the Weyland Storm Rifle from the 'Prometheus' viral marketing. Per that same link there is an image for the heavy pulse rifle, but I don't know if it's fan-art or what.

Edit again-- A:CM does have a barrel extension, and the image in the RPG seems to be a hybrid of the Storm Rifle and A:CM designs.

Edit the third-- the Heavy Pulse Rifle design from the AvPCentral page is fan art.

[Local Trouble]

Does it go into detail about the history of the UPP?

[The Old One]

It does, the extensiveness of the book is crazy- it's near perfect.

[[cancerblack]]

If they were going to crib stuff from A:CM I think the submachine gun would have been a smart call, but maybe they're saving it for a hypothetical "weapons and gear" expansion.

Agreed, prolly the best thing that game added.

The "heavy pulse rifle" also reminds me of something, I think there was a barrel extension in Colonial Marines?

It shows up in the boardgame too:

I thought it was pretty obvious the black goo is liquid plot device and does whatever it needs to to push the story ahead.

As much as I appreciate the effort FI has put into making a codified, sensible case study of the stuff - this is unfortunately accurate and likely will continue to be how it's used in future.

[The Old One]

REEEEEEEEEEEEEE, yeah...
You're probably right, I just wish someone was in charge to make sure it wasn't nonsense.

[Xenomrph]

If they were going to crib stuff from A:CM I think the submachine gun would have been a smart call, but maybe they're saving it for a hypothetical "weapons and gear" expansion.

Agreed, prolly the best thing that game added.

The "heavy pulse rifle" also reminds me of something, I think there was a barrel extension in Colonial Marines?

It shows up in the boardgame too:

I thought it was pretty obvious the black goo is liquid plot device and does whatever it needs to to push the story ahead.

As much as I appreciate the effort FI has put into making a codified, sensible case study of the stuff - this is unfortunately accurate and likely will continue to be how it's used in future.

Does the board game refer to that as a heavy pulse rifle?

[Local Trouble]

It does, the extensiveness of the book is crazy- it's near perfect.

I would like to know more.

[[cancerblack]]

If they were going to crib stuff from A:CM I think the submachine gun would have been a smart call, but maybe they're saving it for a hypothetical "weapons and gear" expansion.

Agreed, prolly the best thing that game added.

The "heavy pulse rifle" also reminds me of something, I think there was a barrel extension in Colonial Marines?

It shows up in the boardgame too:

I thought it was pretty obvious the black goo is liquid plot device and does whatever it needs to to push the story ahead.

As much as I appreciate the effort FI has put into making a codified, sensible case study of the stuff - this is unfortunately accurate and likely will continue to be how it's used in future.

Does the board game refer to that as a heavy pulse rifle?

Yes. It's a lot longer, bulkier and has a much bigger mag than the standard ones, i can take a pic in a bit.



Roughly twice the size of the standard rifle. Note that I removed the longer barrel on this one.

[Corporal Hicks]

The card refers to it as a heavy too IIRC.

[[cancerblack]]

The card does, and all custom-builds in both the boardgame and wargame provide the option.

[Alien Primordial Origin]

Does it acknowledged the event in Alien: Out of the Shadow or the existence of LV-178 and the Drukathi or not ??

[SM]

LV-178 is on the map.

[Alien Primordial Origin]

What about the Drukathi?

[SM]

I haven't read that much of it yet, but I don't think the Drukathi rate a mention.  There's no crossover into AvP where the Drukathi are fleshed out some 500 years after the games timeframe.

[The Old One]

If only that was a rule for the RPG, but that LV-223 Rumor Control section is in the Corebook.