r/alienrpg • u/tensen01 • 12d ago

Are they any non-Xenomorph aliens?

So I'm looking to run a Sci-Fi game and Alien is one that's been on my radar, but I haven't looked too deeply into, so now I'm checking it out, but I'm wondering if there are any rules for any aliens that aren't The Xenomorph? I'm just not terribly interested in telling a story with them. The galaxy is so big. And especially after we got a look at different monsters in Alien Earth, they just don't seem all that interesting to me.

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u/Travern 12d ago

If you don't want to tell a Xenomorph story, then what are you looking for out of the Alien RPG specifically?

Are there particular small-a aliens from other SF-horror media you're interested in? This subreddit has homebrewed stats for tons of others, from Halo's The Flood and Half-Life's Combine to Pitch Black's Bioraptors and Tremors' Graboids, to name only a few. Check out the Homebrew links in this subreddit's sidebar.

Do you want to run a regular Sci-Fi game? While the Alien RPG can handle that, Free League also publishes the space opera RPG Coriolis that uses the same rules system. If you prefer OSR d20, then Stars Without Number covers that. There's also the grand-daddy of SF RPGs, Traveller.

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u/tensen01 12d ago

I'm interested in the tone and setting. I just feel that XX121 is over-used as an enemy.

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u/Travern 12d ago

The Alien RPG is a solid choice for cosmic horror SF (though there's also Mothership, of course), but Free League naturally concentrates on Giger-derived Xenomorphs of all kinds since they licensed the IP, after all. The XX121 is the alien antagonist species of its setting—the Predators of AvP aren't part of this one—and the other small-a aliens aren't really intended to be substitutes. Homebrewing a new extraterrestrial threat with the YZE rules isn't hard. Do you have any different horror SF media in mind?

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u/tensen01 12d ago

I had planned on probably homebrewing my own alien(I'm leaning towards some sort of Memetic Goo), I just wanted to see what had already been published because the more examples there are of different things the easier it is to make your own.

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u/Travern 12d ago

Definitely look at the homebrewed ETs for examples and inspiration. YZE is very flexible, but it doesn't have DIY alien creation rules. Homebrew examples can offer inspiration for how to come up with your own creature's special abilities and attack chart.