Start The New Year On A Better World

The next supplement for Free League's ALIEN RPG, Building Better Worlds, will launch on January 16.

Read all about the long-awaited guide to creating explorer and colonist characters and running an "open-world" style campaigns here, then get your order in here.

Now Your Player-Characters Can Explore Dark Corners of The Universe

Alien Day (April 26) seems an apt date to open pre-orders for the next supplement for Free League's wildly popular Alien roleplaying game.

All the wonder and danger of the stars is yours - if you can just wipe the grime off your face and dig the dirt out from under your fingernails first.

Building Better Worlds is the long-awaited guide to creating explorer and colonist characters and running an "open-world" style campaign.

Airless moons circle swirling gas giants, eager to be transformed into tomorrow’s paradise. Dark ancient mysteries wait to be unearthed beneath a millennium of debris. Searing solar flares boil your flesh and blacken your bones as you harness their power to light a hundred worlds. Long lost mysteries lie entombed in the frozen hearts of icy comets. Unstable tectonic plates shift to drown iridium mines in scalding lava. Even the truth of humanity's origins awaits you out there, orbiting some dying star. And out there amongst it all is something truly horrifying - something that nature never intended. Something alien.

This new book for the multi award-winning game system contains:

● History of Colonization – the story of humanity’s reach for the stars.

● Creating Explorers & Colonists – expanded character creation rules for life on the frontier.

● Gear & Ships – an extensive chapter with new gear and spaceships, gloriously illustrated.

● Extrasolar Species Catalog – new Xenomorphic creatures to encounter.

● The Lost Worlds – the framework and backstory for a frontier campaign.

● Expeditions – six thrilling expeditions into uncharted space, playable in any order.

● The Endgame – the final showdown with everything at stake.

Signing Off!

In a desperate attempt to focus my blogging activities into a single place (i.e. HeroPress), Game Over, Man! Game Over! is going into hypersleep.

However, rather than nuking it from orbit, this blog will remain here, although all the posts have now been exported over to HeroPress (my main blog), and future Alien-themed articles will simply be posted there.

Thus, for the time being, I invite anyone who has been following my occasional posts here to switch their attention to HeroPress, where they will encounter a broader range of geeky posts, but still with the elements of Alien goodness in there.

On the miniscule chance that I somehow get an Alien RPG game going - or even bust out my Aliens boardgame - then Game Over, Man! Game Over! might flicker back into life.

However, for the moment, it is, indeed, Game Over, Man! Game Over!

"Ripley, You've Blown The Transaxle! You're Just Grinding Metal!"

Looking to beef up your games of Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps?

Then you need this detailed model of the iconic M577 APC from the movie, to act as an eye-catching piece of terrain.

Available only direct from the Gale Force 9 webstore, for $50, this is a multi part resin kit, so assembly is required and it doesn't come pre-painted.

Produced to order, and in limited numbers, delivery of the APC may take up to 120 days from the time of ordering.

Completed 160mm x 65mm x 60m model shown with figures for scale

Alien TV Series In Development

 

During yesterday's four-hour Disney Investors presentation, it was revealed that Fargo and Legion's Noah Hawley was developing an Earth-based Alien television serial for Hulu.

Ridley Scott is in talks to executive produce.

Osprey Hopes You Find Those Dark Places Stuffed In Your Stocking

 

Renowned military history publisher Osprey has selected Jonathan Hicks's recently published Those Dark Places: Industrial Science Fiction Roleplaying as one of its Seven Stocking Stuffers From Osprey Games this year. 

The list describes the new game as:

"... a rules-light, story-focused roleplaying game about the darker side of space exploration and the people who travel the stars in claustrophobic, dangerous conditions. Starships, stations, and outposts aren't havens of safety with clean, brightly lit corridors - they're potential deathtraps, funded by budget-conscious corporate interests and running on stale, recycled air and water. The stars may be the future of humanity, but they are also home to horrors and terror the human mind cannot comprehend."

Marvel Age of Alien Begins In March

Arriving from the cold depths of space, a whole new life cycle for the universe's most-terrifying xenomorphs begins next March with the publication of Alien #1 from the new shepherds of the franchise, Marvel Comics.

Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, creator of DC Comics' stunning dark fantasy series The Last God, with art by Salvador Larroca, this new tale will feature "both new and classic characters from Earth and beyond" and is aimed at both "longtime fans and newcomers to the legendary horror/science-fiction saga".

According to Marvel.com:

"The new story will feature a Weyland-Yutani mercenary named Gabriel Cruz as he battles a deadly new breed of xenomorph with the survival of his child hanging in the balance."

New RPG Supplement For Pre-Order: Time To Enrol In The Colonial Marines

Armour piercing rounds sizzle through raw flesh as plasma beams sear swollen retinas. Acrid smoke chokes down your throat before you realize what’s burning is you.

Chemical attacks melt your armour, simmer your eyeballs, and fuse your helmet to your skull, while bioweapons turn your insides out and pulp you into a quivering mound of black jelly.

Welcome to war on the razor edge of space, marine—where nukes are yesterday’s news, pulse rounds are cheap and a human life is only worth its weight in stock options.

It’s a living hell—but none of that’s as bad as the flashes of gnashing metal teeth that terrorize you every time you try to close your eyes—like some monster just split your head open and crawled inside your dreams. Sometimes you’ve gotta wonder what the hell it’s all for.

But no one pays you to ask why, only to follow orders. You’re just a grunt—no offense. So lock and load your pulse rifle, marine—you’ve got a job to do. Protect and serve the citizens and colonies of the Outer Rim colonies—no matter what the cost.

The next highly-anticipated supplement for the Aliens RPG is now available to pre-order from Free League: The Colonial Marines Operations Manual.

As the pre-order page explains:

"The book will be shipped to you in March, 2021. You will get a complete PDF of the book prior to shipping. As a further pre-order bonus, you get at PDF art book collecting stunning high-res art pieces made by Martin Grip, Gustaf Ekelund and Jarek Kubicki. Perfect to have on a device at the gaming table, to set the mood of the gaming session!"

The Colonial Marines Operations Manual gives you all the tools you need to run a full open-world campaign as the iconic Colonial Marines.

The book's contents include:

• History & Organization – the inside story of the illustrious Colonial Marine Corps. 
• Creating Marines – expanded character creation rules for grunts of all kinds. 
• Weapons & Vehicles – an extensive chapter with new gear, gloriously illustrated. 
• The Frontier War – the framework and backstory for a Colonial Marines campaign. 
• Factions on the Frontier – the powers that be and their dark agendas. 
• Marine Missions – six thrilling missions for your Marines, playable in any order. 
• The Endgame – the showdown against a deadly enemy, finally revealed. 

The book will set you back approximately $39.99, with the exact price dependant on currency rates.

Xenomorphs and Laser Swords - China's Variant Knows Its Target Audience!

Bloody Disgusting has this breakdown of Variant's wild plot:

“It was told that Jamie, who was born in space, followed his parents in search of an unknown creature in the universe.

“After a long period of searching, the unknown creature was finally captured by the crew of the Thunder and named “Baal”. Under the lure of Baal, the young Jamie released it.

“Baal” who escaped from the experimental tank killed all the crew and Jamie’s parents, and the young Jamie escaped back to Earth in an escape capsule alone.

“Twenty years later, a variant of “Baal” has now appeared on earth. Jamie must save mankind and find self-redemption.”

GM Ideas: Hell Planet

It may sound like Mustafar, from the Star Wars Universe, but the very real 'hell planet' of K2-141b could give WASP-76b a run for its money as one of the most extreme yet discovered by astronomers.

According to an article on CBS News, this tidally-locked planet boasts rock-vaporising temperatures of over 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 3,000 degrees Centigrade) on its "day side" while its permanently dark "night side" is a balmy negative 328 degrees Fahrenheit (or minus 200 degrees Centigrade).

As well as a thin, inhospitable atmosphere, the larger-than-Earth-sized planet - which is 202 light years away - rains rocks into 60-mile deep oceans of lava.

The article explains:

"The sodium, silicon monoxide, and silicon dioxide on K2-141b evaporate into mineral vapor, which is carried to the dark side of the planet by supersonic winds that rage over 3,100 miles per hour. From there, rocks "rain" back down into the 60-mile-deep magma ocean, which flows to the bright side to restart the cycle."

Rehomed Predators To Return Late 2021

Cover art by Iban Coello

The first Predator omnibus from Marvel Comics is scheduled to hit stores in August next year, according to the AVP Galaxy website.

Reprinting old Dark Horse comics, Predator: The Original Years Omnibus Vol. 1 will include:

PREDATOR (1989) #1-4, PREDATOR 2 #1-2, PREDATOR: Big Game #1-4, PREDATOR: COLD WAR #1-4, PREDATOR: THE BLOODY SANDS OF TIME #1-2, PREDATOR: RACE WAR #1-4, PREDATOR: BAD BLOOD #1-4, PREDATOR: INVADERS FROM THE FOURTH DIMENSION, PREDATOR: DARK RIVER #1-4, PREDATOR: STRANGE ROUX, and PREDATOR: KINDRED #1-4 – Plus material from DARK HORSE PRESENTS (1986) #46, #67-69, and #119: DARK HORSE COMICS #1-2, #4-7, #10-14, #16-18 and #20-21; and A DECADE OF DARK HORSE #1

As well as the standard cover, featuring cover art by Iban Coello (pictured above), there is to be a direct market variant with a cover from original Predator comic artist Chris Warner.

While the Predators are most definitely not part of the official Alien canon, there's still an enormous overlap in the fandoms and there's nothing to stop Game Mothers from including the Yautja in their campaigns.

These reprints may provide crucial inspiration fuel for those who missed the numerous Dark Horse comics on their first publication.

Mini Epics from Weta Workshop

In 2019, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Alien by unleashing the Xenomorph into our Mini Epics mix. We lost a few Executive Officers in the process. Luckily, our heroine has arrived to get the situation back under control.

The Nostromo’s initial resident is now joined by Ripley and the Facehugger.

Gale Force Nine Launches Dedicated Website For Its Aliens Game

With Gale Force Nine's Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps due to land in stores by the end of the year - along with its two expansion sets (Get Away From Her, You Bitch and Ultimate Badasses), the publisher has launched a dedicated website for the game.

Check it out here - for all the latest info on the game, as well as PDF donwloads of the rules (to get your mind in shape for the actual release of the box sets).

This is a good way for you to get a real taste of the game before you decide whether to pull the trigger on it or not.

Looking For Some Real, Terrifying Sounds Of Space For Your Games?

NASA · Sinister Sounds of the Solar System

Just in time for Halloween, NASA has released a new playlist of sounds — or other types of data that have been converted into audio — recorded by a variety of spacecraft and instruments, ranging from the agency’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to the InSight Martian lander.

We didn't mean to frighten. It's just that our new @SoundCloud playlist captures all the creaks and howls of our amazing universe and we want to share it all with you! This #NASAHalloween, enter the deepest depths of space: https://t.co/unCW8BG9SN

— NASA (@NASA) October 28, 2020

What's Canon And What's Not

Alien RPG author and franchise mythology guru Andrew EC Gaska has penned a definitive guide to the canon of the universe where the official Alien roleplaying game (and the movies) takes place.

You can read it in all its glory here:

https://roguereviewer.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/defining-canon-in-an-alien-world/

Before you ask: no, Predators aren't part of the official Alien canon and, yes, it's your game universe, so you can have Predators if you want to stat them up and throw them at unsuspecting colonial marines.

Of particular interest to me is the tier of "myths and legends", which is sort of what I was getting at with my Space Beast ruminations the other month.

Author Jonathan Hicks Runs An Online Game of Those Dark Places

As the release of Osprey's latest roleplaying game, Those Dark Places, draws ever closer, creator Jonathan Hicks runs an online one-shot for members of Garblag Games.

Aliens: Last Stand

Aliens: Last Stand is a fan made film by German directors Felix Berner and Dieter Joppich. Berner and Joppich who are both sci-fi enthusiasts and fans of the ALIEN franchise started filming in 2017.

They were supported by the German Colonial Marines, a Germany-based group of Alien fans founded by Berner in 2016. The two filmmakers filmed most of the material in front of a green screen.

Aliens: Last Stand takes place on board the military ship USS. Yotumo where Sgt. Davis (played by Ricco Ross from the movie Aliens) sends out a distress signal into space.

A troop of marine raiders stationed on moon LV-446 head immediately towards the USS. Yotumo. Little do they know that arriving on board of the ship will not only seal their fate but also end their lives.

Deep inside the ship there are creatures already lurking for their next price.

Will the marines survive against the xenomorphs? And how did Sgt. Davis manage to send a distress signal in the first place? Reload your pulse rifles and buckle up, because in space nobody can hear you scream.

Come November, You Too Can Eat Like A Xenomorph

Due to hit UK bookstores on November 10, Alien: The Official Cookbook, by genre-themed cooking expert Chris-Rachael Oseland, promises:

"Thrill your friends and frighten your family with 50 delectable recipes inspired by the cult sci-fi Alien series! Delight your friends with a journey through the Xenomorph s terrifying life cycle.

Alien: The Official Cookbook collects together 50 recipes inspired by the cult Alien franchise; featuring recipes such as avocado Xenomorph eggs and chicken facehugger cordon bleu, there s something to whet every appetite, no matter how monstrous. Whether you re a fan of the Alien franchise, or you re just looking for the perfect quirky appetizers, this cookbook will thrill the eyes and the tastebuds.

At last, it is your turn to be space s greatest apex predator."

Check some sample pages below to get a taste:

ALIEN STARTER SET AND DESTROYER OF WORLDS RELEASED BY FREE LEAGUE TODAY!

Free League has released two new box sets in support of its award-winning Alien RPG today: the Starter Set and the Destroyer Of Worlds adventure.

Pre-orders are being packed and will be dispatched shortly, and you can now order the box sets from the Free League store or, if you prefer PDFs and just want it all in digital format, via DriveThruRPG.

The Starter Set is designed to be the perfect entry point into the game and the Alien universe.

It contains everything needed to start playing:

• A 104-page condensed rulebook
• The 48-page complete Cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods by Andrew E.C. Gaska
• Five pre-generated characters to play
• A huge full-colour, double-sided map, with one side depicting chartered space in the year 2183 and the other floor plans for the Chariot of the Gods scenario
• 84 game markers for keeping track of characters, motion tracker pings, and more
• 56 custom cards for weapons, personal agendas, and initiative in combat
• A set each of ten engraved Base Dice and ten Stress Dice, designed specifically for the Alien roleplaying game.

Destroyer of Worlds is a complete Cinematic scenario, written by sci-fi novelist Andrew E.C. Gaska just like the previous Chariot of the Gods.

In Destroyer of Worlds, players take the roles of Colonial Marines.

The scenario is designed for three to five players plus the Game Mother, and it’s a gauntlet of one hell after another.

Expect it to take three sessions to complete.

This boxed set contains:

• The main Destroyer of Worlds scenario book
• A huge double-sided map of the Ariaricus moon colony on one side and the Fort Nebraska space elevator ground base on the other
• Seven pre-generated characters to play
• Custom cards for weapons, vehicles, and personal agendas
• Player maps and handouts

You Could Own The Original Nostromo

The 11-foot Nostromo principal filming model miniature from Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror film Alien is coming up for auction in Los Angeles at the end of the month.

According to the auction catalogue, the estimate is $300,000 - 500,000