ALIEN RPG — Year Zero sci-fi horror RPG

"In space no one can hear you scream."

DiceПул d6 (горсть шестигранных кубиков)

Players3–5

Prep~20 min

Foundry VTTOfficial контент

Complexity

What is this system

The official RPG set in the Alien universe. Year Zero Engine with a unique stress mechanic: the more you panic, the more dice you roll. More dice = higher chance of success, BUT also higher chance of a panic attack. Two modes: campaign (long-form space game) and cinematic (one-shot horror, just like the movies).

Setting

Year 2183. Corporations colonize space. Weyland-Yutani extends its tentacles to every inhabited system. Behind the facade of progress — contract workers on forgotten stations, smugglers, colonial marines, and xenomorphs waiting in the dark. The lore covers all the films and expands the universe.

What it looks like at the table

Stress: 4. You hear something in the vents. You roll Observation — 3 regular dice and 4 stress dice. Two successes! But a stress die shows the facehugger icon. Panic. You roll on the table... 'You grab the nearest weapon and aim it at an ally.' Behind the bulkhead — noise. Your secret order reads: 'Bring back the specimen alive.'

Playstyle

Horror Survival Mystery Space

Key mechanics

Stress mechanic

Stress grants extra dice. But a facehugger icon on a stress die = panic roll (d6 + stress level; 7+ triggers a table effect). The panic table ranges from freezing up to 'you shoot the nearest person.'

Cinematic mode

Ready-made scenarios with pre-gens. Each character has a hidden agenda. Betrayal is built into the system.

Hidden agendas

Every character gets a card with a secret objective. 'Bring the specimen aboard' or 'Make sure nobody returns.'

Campaign mode

A full campaign: ship, crew, space exploration. Alien, but in sandbox format.

What people say

Stealth mode is by far my favorite part of the Alien RPG. It's the height of the game's tension and the closest we get to the cinematic horror of the Alien movies.— Mollie Russell, Wargamer

Stress is essential in Alien. You don't count bullets or uncinematic concerns like that, but once your character is stressed enough they'll stop firing their gun and, well, start to be cannon fodder.— Andrew Girdwood, Geek Native

Art & materials