Non OTU: AT - Alien Traveller

[Supplement Four]

I love the Alien movies. The look, the feel of the universe--it all feels very Traveller to me.

I've written about this before, but HBO is showing all four Alien movies in order, back to back, right now, starting with the Director's Cut of Alien, so I'm inspired.

I think you could easily use the Classic Traveller rule set with an ATU set in the universe of the Alien movies very easily. You just need to change a few assumptions about the OTU.

Of course, it's no longer feudal, and no alien races have been encountered. You'd base your universe off the movies, of course.

I think you'd have to change a CT law about the Jump drive. In stead of one week in jump, the ship would jump one week per X amount parsecs, where X = the ship's jump number. Thus, a Jump-3 vessel would jump 3 parsecs per week but could stay in jumpspace indefinitely, allowing the ship to travel vast differences.

In the first movie, the ship's navigator says that they haven't even hit the outer rim yet when Mother brings all of the crew out of cold sleep to investigate the alien signal. That tells you, right there, that the jump space tech in that universe is capable of extremely long jumps. It just takes time. Lots of time. That's why they put the crew into cold sleep.

BTW, CT low berth units would have to be better at keeping people alive.

And, to match the Alien universe, the TL for human-like cyborgs would have to be lowered from TL 16 to that of the universe.

It'd be a pretty easy ruleset to use to create your own Alien universe. I'm thinking it'd be neat to run a game set right after Alien 3. Ripley is dead, and now the story moves on with the players' crew.

Maybe they're a supply ship that came and went during the events of Alien 3.

I've also thought about combining the Alien universe with that of Blade Runner and Outland. I thought all three of those would work together nicely.

Maybe even take some stuff from the old RPG, High Colonies.





EDIT: Oh, and don't forget that there's CT stats on the Alien in The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society.

2nd EDIT: For campaign ideas, look no farther than the various Alien novels or the five comic book omnibuses--these are all full of ideas that a crafty GM could use in a game. Next year, a new novel is coming out that will serve as an immediate prequel to the first Alien movie. Alien: Out of the Shadows is supposed to return us to Ellen Ripley and to never-before-revealed secrets of the Weyland-Yutani Corporations...secrets that lead into the events of the second film, Aliens. I think even the novelizations of the movies would probably be worth reading for an enterprising GM who wanted to mine some material.

 

[Supplement Four]

1. Alien Adventure Idea


If you want to read a FANTASTIC Alien story, try the story titled Sacrifce, contained in the Aliens Omnibus vol. 3. It BLEW ME AWAY.

Great piece of writing. And, the art is haunting.

I was thinking. You could take that tale and make a pretty cool adventure out of it--one with a great story that will intrigue your players.

First, I'd suggest that you allow your players to run more than one character. Maybe three each, depending on how many players you have. If you've got three players, that would make for nine crew members. Like the CT Broadsword Adventure, you'll have the entire crew generated.

You can have the player roll up each of his characters. This is what I would do. You want your players to have an attachment to each character he plays. From the few that he rolls up, he selects which will be his main character, running the other two as player-run NPC types.

But, if that seems a bit much, then allow your players to roll up their main character, as usual, then you, as GM will supply the rest of the crew as NPCs. Even then, I'd assign these NPCs to players--because that's a lot of characters for the GM to run, and you want the spotlight to shine on the players (no matter which character they are playing), and not the GM.

Why allow a player to have more than one character? Simple. This is a science fiction horror story in the Alien tradition. If the players are attached to more than one character, then they will feel it when that character dies.

And, the point here is that the GM will have the Alien kill off a lot of the crew.

We're playing out an Alien story. The big question is: Who will survive?

 

[rancke]

There are only three Alien movies. #1, #2, and #4.


Hans

 

[Supplement Four]

2. Alien Adventure Idea


First, we'll need to get the PCs to the planet. Read the story. It truly is a great piece of writing. It deals with some BIG ISSUES as well as being an Alien story. It's good stuff.

You can brainstorm different ways to start the adventure. Get creative.

One idea I have keys in on the distress signal sent by the survivors on the planet. Why not start the adventure off the same way that the crew of the Nostromo was lured to LV-426. They come out of cold sleep when the computer picks up the distress signal. Like the crew of the Nostromo, your players are still a long way from home--or from their destination.

Your players' ship lands on the planet. The ship needs to be destroyed, or it needs to be damaged so badly that it will take a long time to repair (maybe a drydock is needed).

You could set this up real quick. The ship lands, and a party is sent out to find the source of the distress signal. The focus will stay with this scout party--comprised of the player characters.

Off-camera, the alien strikes at the downed ship. When the players get back, they see the ship, wrecked, the people gone (taken by the Alien) or murdered by the Alien.

There will be survivors--these will be the GM's cannon fodder for the Alien as the game progresses.

The ship may become the new abode for the Alien. Now, the characters have limited gear--only what the scouting party took with them. Limited ammo. Limited food and water.

If they want more, they'll have to fight their way into the ship. And, soon, there may be more aliens--or not. This could be a soliatary alien running around. We won't need eggs or a queen.

With limited gear, the single (or a few) aliens will be enough.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

En garde!

There are only three Alien movies. #1, #2, and #4.


Hans

Look, I think you have a typo in there, sir. It is there are only three ALIEN movies: ALIEN, ALIENS and ALIENS 3. Not sure where you got that four thing? :devil:

 

[rancke]

Look, I think you have a typo in there, sir. It is there are only three ALIEN movies: ALIEN, ALIENS and ALIENS 3. Not sure where you got that four thing? :devil:

Well, there was some sort of travesty produced where everything that ALIENS had achieved was reversed in the prologue, so I never saw that as legitimate. As for #4, it was by far the poorest of the three, but it did have the redeeming feature of a classic Traveller free trader adventurer band, for which I'm prepared to forgive a lot. But I admit that there is a lot to forgive, so I would be perfectly willing to compromise on the proposition that there are only TWO Alien movies.


Hans

 

[Supplement Four]

3. Alien Adventure Idea

Next, as the scouting party and what's left of the crew venture out, they'll most likely still try to find the source of the distress signal.

Man, I'm thinking of a fantastic action sequence here. Imagine the PCs and the few NPCs survivors, running through the woods on an uncharted world. It's dark now. And there's some Aliens in these woods, chasing them.

This would be particularly effective if the players keep trying to regain the ship. Have a few aliens--multiple aliens--kicking the crap out of them so that there is no chance but to flee.

Darkness. Low ammo. Aliens leaping up into the limbs of trees, then down on another poor soul.

Blood splatters everywhere.

Do we stop for him?

No, it's suicide. Keep running!

It seems like hours they run. Stragglers from the crew get torn to bits. But, finally, it seems that the aliens have had enough for the night. The PCs aren't sure when, but they seem to be alone know.

Keep moving or camp? Keep following the distress signal?

Here's where the players end up with a number of characters that the GM thinks is fitting to play out the adventure. Each player should have his main character and one or two NPCs that (the player doesn't know) will give the player enough characters to "lose" to the aliens later on.

In the forest, the ship's survivors come across a carved stone in the center of a clearing. It's a monolith with a flat top. It might remind one of the characters of the standing stones in Scotland, on Earth. Inspecting the pillar will reveal a reddish stain, as if someone has spilled port wine.





NOTE

Remember that it is important for the PCs to be very limited on their equipment and supplies, especially ammo. Give the player no hint of what is about to happen to the ship when the PCs go off to scout. Play the game from the scouting party's point of view. Maybe allow them find some native creatures. Move the discovery of the stone pillar (above) to this encounter instead of later, if you want. Maybe even give them a hit of the alien by allowing the scouting party to find deep claw marks on a tree trunk (where an alien has climbed up), or maybe some of that gooey stuff that they excreet on a batch of leaves.

The scouting party will not find the source of the distress call yet. And, they will return to the ship either because it is starting to get dark, or because they receive a short, frantic message on the comm as the aliens start to attack the ship. Then the comm goes dead.

Either way, the scouting party will return to the ship after the attack--or during the end of it.

Don't let the players get back inside the ship. The point is to keep equipment very limited. Don't give the PCs anything to fight the aliens. And, if the scouting party left the ship heavily supplied, make sure most of those supplies are used up (ammo depleted, NPCs carying equipment downed by the aliens) as the aliens start to come after them.

If the PCs stand to fight the aliens that have ransacked their ship, simply kill several NPCs until the players realize that it's not a fight that they can win at this point. Force them into the wood. Do the running battle with the aliens chasing them. Throw natural obstacles at them--a stream. A cliff to jump from.

At some point, the aliens will no longer be chasing them, and the survivors will stumble into the clearing with the standing stone.

 

[Supplement Four]

Well, there was some sort of travesty produced where everything that ALIENS had achieved was reversed in the prologue, so I never saw that as legitimate. As for #4, it was by far the poorest of the three, but it did have the redeeming feature of a classic Traveller free trader adventurer band, for which I'm prepared to forgive a lot. But I admit that there is a lot to forgive, so I would be perfectly willing to compromise on the proposition that there are only TWO Alien movies.


Hans

I'm not a huge fan of Alien 3, but I do like it better than Alien Resurrection.

For me, the only true Alien films are Alien and Aliens. But, Alien 3 works to kill off Ripley and the survivors from the Sulaco in order to carry on with a new crew.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Touché

Well, there was some sort of travesty produced where everything that ALIENS had achieved was reversed in the prologue, so I never saw that as legitimate. As for #4, it was by far the poorest of the three, but it did have the redeeming feature of a classic Traveller free trader adventurer band, for which I'm prepared to forgive a lot. But I admit that there is a lot to forgive, so I would be perfectly willing to compromise on the proposition that there are only TWO Alien movies.


Hans

Well, I think we have found something to agree on for once, my good man!

For me the only redeeming feature of A3 was that it went back to the horror aspect and got back to eating and scaring folks.

 

[Supplement Four]

4. Alien Adventure Idea

After a harrowing night in the woods (whether the PCs camp or push forward until dawn), the PCs will exit the forest onto a plain and come to a makeshift town. Instead of a pre-fab installation, they see a tall, wooden barricade made from tree trunks. The place is all a mixture of higher tech parts and whatever the colonists can scavenge and convert from the planet.

Note the various scratches and burn marks, patched holes and wretched shape of the barricade.

What the hell happened here?

Inside are the survivors (all of them more fodder for the GM to destroy with the aliens). They're a scared, weary bunch.

"Are you the Marines?"

They sent out a distress call nine months ago. No one has come yet. The PC ship is the first to respond. And, we see how well that's gone.

There are few survivors among these colonists. They'll tell a story of how a cargo trader crashed on the world, bringing the alien with it. They know that there's several of them out there. Sometimes, the aliens band together and test the barricade. It's getting close to a breach. Food is low. All supplies are low. They're completely out of ammo. All they have now is spears that they've made. Bow and arrows. Bolas. Slings and rocks. All mostly ineffective against the alien. They've managed to create a type of chain mail armor--it's a little protection, but not much. And, they've got one grenade left amongst them.

The colonists themselves are harried. They're haggard. Mostly men. All of stories of how their wives, children, friends and families have been taken by the aliens over the last nine months. You can see it in their faces. Some are maimed. There are only one or two children left. One, in particular, has have his face dissolved by acid.





At this point, the adventure is driven by the players' actions. Here's a couple of ideas for events that can take place.

Event: An expedition to the downed merchant trader vessel. It burned. There's not much left, and the colonists have already taken some parts from it for their barricade and other things. But, if a player gets a good idea about building a piece of tech that will help them against the aliens, the GM could allow the players to find the parts that they need from this wreck--at the price of attack from the aliens or some other hostile animal on the world.



Event: "...or some other hostile animal on the world." To spice things up, use the CT Animal rules to create something other than the alien for the PCs to encounter. This could hinder their progress as well as an alien.



Event: There is a door in the compound that the colonists guard and keep locked. If asked, the colonists are vague about it unless the PCs make an issue of it, then the PCs are told that they are guests here. And, if they can't follow the rules, then they are not welcome here and can try their luck outside the barricade.



Event: The colonists seem to be tight lipped about their predicament. This can easily be chalked up to battle fatigue, stress, and shock. But, on one of the nights in the colonist enclosure, one of the PCs will notice that several of the colonists sneak out of the compound at night, using torches, and go into the wood.

If a PC follows them, they will see that they carry something small, like a large loaf of bread, wrapped in a towel or blanket.

If the PC keeps following them and is not caught, that PC will see the colonists put the blanket item on the standing stone, then all of those colonists will run like hell away from the clearing, back to the compound.

If, after the colonists leave, the PC investigates what was left, unwrapping the blanket on the stone reveals...a baby. A human baby. This baby does not cry and barely moves, as if it were drugged.

If the PC remains in the area for long (and definitely if the PC takes the baby), an alien will appear from the woods. The PC will have to battle the alien alone. Or, if the PC remains hidden, he may see the alien go to the standing stone, rip something out of the blanket, and see that it is a human baby that it takes with it as it runs off back into the woods--and the PC will not be able to follow this fast moving creature without being caught by the alien.



Event: If the baby sacrifice is discovered, the colonists will come clean. The PCs will be taken to the locked door mentioned above. Inside are several vats with babies in them. These babies are grown here--something the colonists crated to help keep the aliens at bay. The babies are just skin and genetic make-up. They don't live for more than 4 hours--which is why babies are used and not larger items. The babies move, breathe, but make little noise (and move slowly, as if drugged). The colonists have found that the babies seem to satiate the aliens for a time. Sacrifices must be made once or twice a week.



Event: The PCs ship carried a group of passengers. Only one has survived to reach the colonist enclave. Unknown to everybody, these passengers are missionaries--priests--bound for the outer colonies (or returning home--whichever best fits with the GM's story).

One of these has survived--a female. As a great twist and reveal, it would be interesting for the GM to reveal that one of the NPCs from the PCs ship is actually a priest.

Imagine how this priest will act when it comes out in the open that the colonists have geneered babies to sacrifice to the demons in the woods.

Played right, THIS will be a real breath-taker in your game.



Event: I thought this would be neat. What if, at some point during the story--probably close to the end of the adventure--that the surviving priest is actually a...

...wait for it...

...replicant?

Wow. Think of the moral implications! A man's construct teaching the word of God!

Deep story.

Note: The GM should use the priest character as an input into the PC's decisions. The high road is not always the easiest road, and won't be in this adventure. If the PCs won't, the Priest will not allow any of the babies to be sacrificed--even if they are geneered constructs.



Event: When the babies stop showing up on the altar, the aliens will attack the compound en masse. Make this a hell of a fight--one that the PCs and Colonists all but loose. The barricade is breached, and the aliens rip those inside to shreads. Remember, the PC are fighting with spears and arrows at this point--they may have saved a few rounds of ammo and the single grenade.


Event: The survivors of the colonist camp obliteration will eventually find each other in the woods. And, it will be clear that they've got to figure a plan to defeat the aliens, or everybody is going to die.

At this point, the GM should have wittled down most of the NPCs, leaving just the main characters--and maybe one or two NPCs just for effect.

Make the priest a hero--sacrificing herself for a PC, if need be. That'd be a great way to "save" a PC about to be killed--and have the shocking discovery that the priest is really an artifical human! White milk-like substance goes EVERYWHERE!

The PCs fight in the makeshift chain mail with whatever weapons they've managed to acquire--spears and such.

Maybe if all of the aliens could be lured into the PC ship, the grenade could be used, next to some combustable item on the ship, to blow the ship, and everything in it--hopefully all of the aliens--to smithereens.

Or, maybe the GM has whittled the aliens down to just one or a few, and the players figure a way to capture it. In the story I mention in #1 above, the colonists used a net to throw over the alien, then they all circled it and jabbed at it with their spears. Still, the alien ripped out of the net and chased them, when it fell into a pit with spike. This didn't quite kill it, and the alien was starting to wiggle off the spikes, when one of the characters in that story jumped into the pit with the thing and shoved the one grenade into its mouth--blowing up the alien and the hero at the same time.

Let any good creative idea work. The players have been the underdogs through this entire adventure. They've lost their ship and a butt load of NPCs. Let them be heroes and win the day at the end. You'll have a memorable adventure that way.



CLOSING EVENT: Once it's all done--once the PCs have overcome the aliens, they're stuck on the planet, no way to get home. Yet...there are lights in the sky. It's a ship!

As it lands, the ramp comes down, and the Colonial Marines appear. They've finally arrived in response to the distress signal!

Finito.

 

[aramis]

I'm not a huge fan of Alien 3, but I do like it better than Alien Resurrection.

For me, the only true Alien films are Alien and Aliens. But, Alien 3 works to kill off Ripley and the survivors from the Sulaco in order to carry on with a new crew.

I like all 5... tho' Res was the worst of the lot, counting prometheus...

 

[Marchand]

I would definitely bring in the Predators. Although I have to admit to failing to suppress a chortle during Alien vs Predator (the bit where Weyland introduces an image of a pyramid by saying, "our experts think it's some kind of pyramid...")

The party could be working a scientist researching the old / suppressed records of Predator activity on Earth three hundred years ago in the 20th century.

It might be fun - if the players like that sort of thing - to give PCs conflicting agendas. One could be the Weyland-Yutani agent who wants to bring an alien egg back. This would help bring out the atmosphere of the films, I think.

 

[warmaster40k]

The cold sleep could be used to reduce the ussage of food and water over long journeys due to the fact that not every system is inhabited, and its possible that their jump drives are fractional, so the ship has to make multiple jumps across the void.