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ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook

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"The real horror of Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi flick Alien has always been the creeping, slithering fear of the unknown. It’s impressive, then, that Free League has been able to craft a tabletop roleplaying game that can conjure up that same pitch-dark dread from the safety of your kitchen table." –Dicebreaker

Space is vast, dark, and not your friend. Gamma rays and neutrino bursts erupt from dying stars to cook you alive, black holes tear you apart, and the void itself boils your blood and seizes your brain. Try to scream and no one can hear you—hold your breath and you rupture your lungs. Space isn’t as empty as you’d think, either—its frontiers are ever expanding. Rival governments wage a cold war of aggression while greedy corporations vie for valuable resources. Colonists reach for the stars and gamble with their lives—each new world tamed is either feast or famine. And there are things lurking in the shadows of every asteroid—things strange and different and deadly.

Things alien.

This is the official ALIEN tabletop roleplaying game—a universe of body horror and corporate brinkmanship, where synthetic people play god while space truckers and marines serve host to newborn ghoulish creatures. It’s a harsh and unforgiving universe and you are nothing if not expendable.

Stay alive if you can.

The ALIEN tabletop roleplaying game is a beautifully illustrated full-color book of 392 pages, both presenting the world of ALIEN in the year 2183 and a fast and effective ruleset designed specifically to enhance the ALIEN experience. The game supports two distinct game modes:

  • Cinematic play is based on pre-made scenarios that emulate the dramatic arc of an ALIEN film. Designed to be played in a single session, this game mode emphasizes high stakes and fast and brutal play. You are not all expected to survive. The core rulebook contains one introductory Cinematic scenario, Hope’s Last Day.

  • Campaign play is designed for longer continuous play with the same cast of player characters over many game sessions, letting you explore the ALIEN universe freely, sandbox style. The core rulebook contains random tables and other powerful tools to quickly create star systems, colonies, missions, encounters, and NPCs for your campaign.

The rules of the game are based on the acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as Tales from the Loop and Mutant: Year Zero, but adapted and further developed to fully support and enhance the core themes of ALIEN: horror and action in the cold darkness of space.

™ & © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.


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Frank M February 25, 2023 9:15 pm UTC
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Is the recently uploaded "Remediated" version mostly just small errata? Or does "remediated" signal some major reorganization or new content? (Yes, I'm too lazy to compare two PDFs side-by-side. Sue me.)

Thanks in advance.
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Derek H September 20, 2022 9:25 am UTC
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One of the best Systems To play Online on a VTT...Great fast paced Deadly Combat full of Stress and Fear. Wonderfully Dark Horror Universe Full of Peril and Anxiety.The Year Zero Engine Keeps the Action Fast and the Consequences Heavy...Plenty of Room for Creativity in a Growing Campaign.Well worth the price however i would get the Vtt Bundle...you will want to play this..and get the Physical Beginner's box From Free League
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Daniel K August 09, 2022 8:42 am UTC
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Hi, I bought the core rulebook as pdf. Unfortunately, the ToC section "Last Days of Hadleys Hope" does not work - all links end up with Novgorod Station. Has anybody experienced the same problems? If so, FLP should provide a fixed version of the pdf asap.
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Kimi K October 27, 2022 7:44 am UTC
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I've the same issue and am about to write to their customer service about it.
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August 07, 2023 12:17 pm UTC
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As of the February 24, 2023 update, this issue still exists. It makes running Last Days of Hadley's Hope using the PDF very annoying. Hopefully they can fix this issue for the next update.

Otherwise, it is a great PDF.
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julina H July 19, 2022 3:10 am UTC
i purchased the physical copy at my LGS. Do i get the free pdf version as well?
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James L March 07, 2024 2:00 pm UTC
You can if your LGS is a member of the Bits and Mortar program
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Jonathan M January 06, 2022 6:48 pm UTC
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the starter rules pdf has a black background on most pages. I wanted to change this so it wouldn't use a massive amount of printer ink. But when I try to modify the pages, I am told I need a password to edit the document. Is the core rulebook the same, or is there a more printer friendly version?
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Irian M November 17, 2023 8:51 am UTC
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Interested in this as well, please could someone comfirm this PDF is allowed to be easily modified to be turned into a printer friendly version by removing the dark background while still keeping the text visible?
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Ed S August 16, 2021 3:57 am UTC
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Are the stress and panic rules/tables only found here or are they also included in the Starter set? What about in Vaesen?
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Ed S October 12, 2021 1:33 pm UTC
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*whistles while walking through the graveyard........*
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Matthew F December 08, 2021 9:34 pm UTC
I own physical copies of the Alien Core Rule book and Starter Set and the Roll20 copy of the Starter Set, the starter set rulebook is basically Chapters 1-5 of the core book which is the player information without any of the Game Mother world building chapters and the Hope's Last Day Cinematic chapter (6-13). The Starter Set would include the rules on Panic and Stress as that is Chapter 5.
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Ed S December 11, 2021 4:45 pm UTC
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Thanks Matthew!
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Nathan B August 11, 2021 11:31 pm UTC
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Any chance of a Print On Demand for this?
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Eric U July 10, 2021 6:59 pm UTC
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I haven't bought this yet, but I'm always on the lookout for a good one-shot game, to fill in those nights when our regular game can't happen for some reason (usually either GM missing or more than two of six players missing). So I was really excited to see a game that strongly supports one-shot play, what they call "cinematic play" here. That said, all the reviews I've read of the published cinematic scenarios make it clear that they are not "one-shot" in the sense of being one session, they're just not meant to be long-running campaigns with lots of character development. The two published so far seem to need at least a dozen hours of game play, which is roughly 3 sessions for my group. Apparently _Chariot of the Gods_ claims to be playable in 4-5 hours but the reviews I've seen say that's _way_ off, if they mention time to play at all.

I need something that can be played in a single night of roughly 4 hours of play, from introduction to satisfying conclusion. Because there's...See more
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Matthew F December 08, 2021 9:40 pm UTC
Chariot of the Gods is a module I am currently running and even I thought that the 4-5 hours of estimated play time was a little short. If you have people that know the system and want to zip through it then I think it can be done but if you want your players to explore then plan on it taking longer than 8 hours depending on how much they get done in a session.

The Core rule set has a Cinematic called Hope's Last Day in Chapter 13 that is about 15 pages total with maps that should be a more compact time frame for you but also depends on how much your players want to get done or explore. If you are running the game you get to determine the pace at which your players progress and the events at your disposal can be used to push things along slower or faster at your discretion.
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Joseph B February 22, 2021 8:34 pm UTC
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My physical book says Third Printing, but the PDF from Drivethru says Second. Will there be an updated PDF?
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Euan F March 08, 2021 11:53 pm UTC
While I can't be 100% sure this applies here, generally, 3rd printing doesn't mean 3rd edition, it just means it's the 3rd production run. It is common for typos and errata to be fixed by the 2nd printing (to match your pdf). The 3rd printing just means they sold out of 2nd printing copies and thought there was sufficient demand for more physical sales.
This is why you'll sometimes come across things like popular novels or long-lasting textbooks that say things like "20th printing", the contents themselves probably haven't changed in years.
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Fred P July 18, 2020 3:13 am UTC
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I curious to know. Will you ever make a supplement dealing exclusively with the Colonial Marines, including the weapons and vehicles? I love to see something that draws inspiration from the Colonial Marines Technical Manuel.
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Stanislav S December 18, 2020 9:53 am UTC
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That's exactly what Free League announced last week. The next book for the Alien RPG is called The Colonial Marines Operations Manual, to be released next March.
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Fred P December 19, 2020 5:00 am UTC
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I'll be looking for it then. Thanks!
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Daniel C April 29, 2021 12:52 am UTC
Sorry, I do not see it in the list. Do we know what the ETA is for the book?
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RONALD P May 13, 2020 6:10 pm UTC
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If you love ALIEN and its franchise, then this is for you. If you are looking for an excellent Sci-fi setting and system but dont care for Alien, this is still for you. It is more hard sci-fi, but it has everything in you need in it managed in such a way as to make it easy to create giant ships and deep characters
It is true to the setting, the system is innovative and interesting. I used to be old school in my dice conventions, but have now come around to new dice systems. Alien has a system that is simple to use and condenses several aspects of play into one roll as what would normally be several, so it plays fast and brutal.
Make no mistake, this is a brutal setting. Not for those who cant handle blood and gore and constant death. Space is harsh, and the addition of aliens and human greed makes it even more brutal.
Can't recommend this high enough. Another excellent creation from Fria Ligan.
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Jon H May 01, 2020 7:26 pm UTC
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This is an amazing game. This was my first exposure to Free League's Year Zero Engine, and I found it to be very engaging, easy to learn, easy to teach at the table, and it really allowed the game to be played and the horror to escalate without bogging down the game and slowing the pace. I am a huge fan of the Year Zero Engine, now!
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智鲲 ? March 11, 2020 10:44 am UTC
Is there any intention to release the Chinese version?
Chinese science fiction fans will love this rule!
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溪 ? March 24, 2020 4:31 pm UTC
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Second this! A Chinese language version is in huge need!
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David W J February 04, 2020 1:47 pm UTC
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Devs, you got a tough crowd in the comments. I think the game looks interesting and only a moron would give up and just “play traveler” instead. I’m gonna buy the core book now to support you guys.
Customer avatar
Jonathon C January 31, 2020 10:51 pm UTC
I'm potentially interested in this product... how much variety is there in the Xenomorphs? I was a youth at the height of the xeno-variant frenzy of the 90s; I played with toys for things like the mantis alien, snake alien, flying alien, etc. Any of those guys making an appearance here?
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Product Information
Adamantine seller
Rule System(s)
Pages
392
ISBN
978-91-88805-90-4
Publisher Stock #
FLFALE010
File Size:
62.49 MB
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File Last Updated:
February 24, 2023
This title was added to our catalog on December 10, 2019.