CINEMATIC GAMEPLAY

From the Official Newsletter for the Upcoming Alien Tabletop RPG

A Cinematic scenario emulates the dramatic arc of an Alien film.

Designed to be played in one or a a few sessions, this game mode emphasizes high stakes and fast and brutal play.

Conflict between player characters is likely, and you are not all expected to survive.

Cinematic scenarios come with pre-generated characters, specifically tailored for the story.
A Cinematic scenario is divided into three Acts.

For each Act, each player character is given a Personal Agenda, that is kept secret from the other players.

A Personal Agenda can go against the interests of other characters or the group as a whole, but that's not always the case – the point is that you can never be sure about the motivations of the other characters.

Personal Agendas for Act 1 and Act 2 are generally carefully phrased, to avoid overt confrontations between player characters to early in the story.

Act 3 Agendas tend to push characters to a climactic endgame, sometimes pitting player characters in direct confrontation against each other – just like Ripley against Ash in Alien and Burke in Aliens.

CHARIOT OF THE GODS

One Cinematic scenario, Chariot of the Gods, is included in core rulebook. This pre-generated scenario provides all the tools necessary to run your first Alien roleplaying game, and it’s a fun and easy way to learn how to play and tell your own stories on the Frontier.

In Chariot of the Gods, the players take the roles of the crew of the USCSS Montero starfreighter.

It’s designed to introduce the game to the players while at the same time take them for a thrilling, terrifying ride into space where no one can hear them scream.

The scenario is designed for 3–5 players plus GM, and takes at least 4-5 hours to complete.

Chariot of the Gods is written by author Andrew E. C. Gaska, lead setting writer for the Alien RPG and franchise consultant on Alien for 20th Century Fox, with editing and added gameplay aspects by game director Tomas Härenstam.

More Cinematic scenarios will be published by Free League Publishing in the years to come. Some will be linked into longer narratives, where the outcome of one Cinematic scenario can impact the setup of the next – even if all player characters are replaced.

Stay tuned – and tell all of your friends to also sign up to this newsletter at Alien-RPG.com!