Are they worth it for lore hounds? Or is it basically just for people who intend to play the rpg? I dont have anyone who would be interested in playing it unfortunately but id be interested in the new lore and stories I have heard about, such as the abominations etc.
I'm basically buying them for the lore myself, and the corebook's insane value in that respect.
I haven't gotten around to reading the Colonial Marines Op Manual yet, but the corebook is fantastic purely from a lore perspective. It's a fantastic amalgamation of all the disparate areas of the franchise's history into a very coherent whole. Very worth it even if you don't want to play the game - but the game is fantastic and you should give it a look at.
Yeah what he said.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on May 11, 2022, 08:04:54 AMI haven't gotten around to reading the Colonial Marines Op Manual yet, but the corebook is fantastic purely from a lore perspective. It's a fantastic amalgamation of all the disparate areas of the franchise's history into a very coherent whole. Very worth it even if you don't want to play the game - but the game is fantastic and you should give it a look at.
Id love to play the game, I just have nobody else who would want to sadly.
I'm in the same boat. Don't have anyone around interested in playing. So bought it purely for the lore. So worth it.
I ordered the colonial marines book, hopefully ill be happy with it and pick up the others
Ok this was worth it for sure. Gonna pick up the others.
So, sounds like getting the RPG books for the lore is totally worth it. How many are there that I'm going to need to track down?
All of the RPG books have great lore, the core rule book is a must, but for anyone that hasn't yet got the CMOM, it is unbelievable how good the lore is. History of different battles and corporations and nations, the fictional politics there fit in perfectly with the Alien IP IMO. I wish Gaska could write a novel... But I'm happy with the huge lore we're getting with so many of these books, I have been thoroughly sucked in to the RPG just cause of the lore. Have never heard of or played RPGs before. I haven't even played yet, but the worth of the lore alone is beautiful if you ask me.
Quote from: Still Collating... on Jul 03, 2022, 11:26:42 AMAll of the RPG books have great lore, the core rule book is a must, but for anyone that hasn't yet got the CMOM, it is unbelievable how good the lore is. History of different battles and corporations and nations, the fictional politics there fit in perfectly with the Alien IP IMO. I wish Gaska could write a novel... But I'm happy with the huge lore we're getting with so many of these books, I have been thoroughly sucked in to the RPG just cause of the lore. Have never heard of or played RPGs before. I haven't even played yet, but the worth of the lore alone is beautiful if you ask me.
Thanks for the info! Guess I'm going to have to see how much these all cost now...lol
For those who don't have anyone interested in playing IRL, it's possible to play online with only minor hassle.
Quote from: lightsyder on Jul 02, 2022, 01:24:55 PMSo, sounds like getting the RPG books for the lore is totally worth it. How many are there that I'm going to need to track down?
There are a five books/releases out at the moment. There's the Core Rulebook, which, as the name implies, features the full rules for the game plus the "core" lore about the universe of the game, info on the corporations, major factions, most popular/well-known weapons and ships/vehicles, a map of the galaxy etc.
Then there's the Starter Set, which is essentially a cut-down version of the core rules which mostly focuses on everything a player needs to know in order to play the game (but not how to create their own characters; that's only in the Core Rules). It's also got less lore than the Core Rules and is mostly intended for people who maybe aren't sure about whether or not they want to go all-in, as it allows them to play the game without needing to spend a ton of money on anything else.
However, it can still be worth getting even if you've already got (or are planning to get) the Core Rulebook too, since it comes with a whole bunch of other stuff like themed dice, players cards and handouts, a big physical map, and the Chariot of the Gods cinematic scenario - the first in a trilogy of adventures for the Alien RPG.
After those (going in order of release), there's the Destroyer of Worlds cinematic scenario, the second part in the trilogy. This one's unlike the previous books in that it's aimed pretty much entirely at "Game Mothers" aka the people who want to actually run the games for themselves. As a result, while it does feature lore and new weapons, vehicles etc., it's all presented in terms of how it relates to the Destroyer of Worlds adventure, so reading through this one without actually playing it first - if you don't intend to run it - is going to totally ruin all the surprises for you if you ever end up playing it at some point down the line.
Next to release was the Colonial Marines Operations Manual, which, as the name suggests, focuses on the Colonial Marines. This is another great one to get even if you're not planning on actually running games yourself as the first half or so is purely lore-based, giving a much more expanded look at the history, structure, weapons, vehicles and combat history of the CM than the Core Rulebook does.
It also has expanded rules for creating more diverse Marine characters to play. The back half of the book is intended for Game Mothers and features a six-part plus finale Marine campaign.
Finally there's the most recent one, Heart of Darkness, another cinematic scenario which caps off the initial main trilogy of cinematic scenarios. Like Destroyer, this one is also aimed mainly at people who want to actually run the game, so again there'll be new lore, but to read it you'll basically have to spoil the adventure for yourself if you're ever hoping to play it (not run it) in the future.
That one's out in PDF format at the moment and should be having a physical release sometime soon.
Stuff we've heard talked about for the future are a "Building Better Worlds" colonist/explorer source book, which will be going in-depth on the colonist side of things in the same way that the Ops Manual does for the Marines, another cinematic scenarios, and a "space trucker" source book.
There's also been talk of a possible android source book too, but since Heart of Darkness isn't even out in a physical version yet, those are all likely a pretty long way off.
the books for the rpg are, in my opinion, essential items for any Alien fan.
Just curious: I bought the core book a while back and haven't had a chance to read it yet. I'm really interested in playing the game but have never played a role playing game of this kind before (only text based forum RP in the past). On fear of sounding silly - how do these things pan out? Do most players actually 'act' their character, as if a character in a movie? (Like do you really get into the role) Or is it simply spoken like "I go here and press this" kinda deal?
I noticed a lot of others here are keen to play too but don't have anyone else to play the game with. What are the chances of being able to play over something like zoom or Microsoft teams? I'm keen to learn and get a game going! :-D
It's really up to you how you play. You can get all in, or you can not. It depends what you feel comfortable with.
In this day and age, there's always remote groups that do it via Discord. Timezones are the most difficult thing to manage, but it can be done!
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Dec 29, 2022, 03:57:31 AMDo most players actually 'act' their character, as if a character in a movie? (Like do you really get into the role) Or is it simply spoken like "I go here and press this" kinda deal?
It's usually a mixture of both.
Thanks for the info guys 😁👍