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The Alien universe has held a special place in our collective hearts since the first (and best) movie hit movie screens back in 1978. I am no exception, in fact I would go as far as to say that I’m something of an obsessive. I adore Alien, love Aliens, dislike Alien 3, have a fondness for Alien: Resurrection and can find many things to like (and dislike) about Prometheus & Covenant. And as for Alien vs Predator, I will die on any hill defending that movie…..loves it. However, Alien vs Predator: Requiem can go an do one.
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So you can imagine my delight when the good people at Free League Publishing agreed to send me a physical & PDF copy of the latest expansion to their hit Alien RPG game, Alien: Heart of Darkness.
Free League Publishing is a Swedish game creator and publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. They have published a wide range of award-winning tabletop roleplaying games and acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.
Their game portfolio include the upcoming games: BLADE RUNNER RPG, CY_BORG RPG, Into the Odd RPG, Tales From the Loop – The Board Game and The One Ring™ RPG.
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Needless to say, regardless (or possibly, because of) of my Alien obsession, this will be an honest and objective review of the game……any warts and all will be discussed.
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The company found a new lifeform, and they want you to study it. Their offer’s uncharacteristically generous—you catalog this organism, determine how they can use it, and bring it back so they can slap their patent on it. Fairly routine stuff. In exchange, they’ll hook you up with a cushy corporate department head position, secure you a book deal, and make sure the institute of your choice gives you tenure. Did I mention the money? There’s a lot of it. Simple survey, sample, and anal- ysis job. Seemed too good to be true.
Of course, it is.
They neglected to tell you this alien life was found by a work crew on a lonely space station sitting on the razor edge of a black hole. They also forgot to mention that the station crew is a prison workforce—composed of murderers, thieves, and the robot guards who wrangle them.
This isn’t some minor singularity. It’s devouringits sister stars in a cacophony of swirling plasma, gamma rays, and death. Extremophile or not, what the hell can live in all that? Whatever it is, it’s got to be different from anything we’ve encountered before—something strange. Something alien.
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Heart of Darkness is a complete Cinematic Scenario for the ALIEN roleplaying game. It requires either the ALIEN RPG core rulebook or the boxed Starter Set to play. In this scenario, players take the roles of an extrasolar science team with a mystery to solve. While it is a stand- alone adventure, Heart of Darkness also serves as a conclusion to the Draconis Strain Saga begun in the cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods and continued in Destroyer of Worlds. Alien: Heart Of Darkness is a stand-alone adventure, all written by Andrew E.C Gaska. Heart of Darkness is designed for 3–5 players plus the Game Mother and is a spiraling descent into soul- crushing madness. Expect it to take at least three sessions to complete.
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CHARACTERS
This scenario comes with seven pre-generated characters for the players to choose from—a science team with their corporate wrangler, security guard, and pilot. Weyland-Yutani tapped the Geholgod Institute for the very best science experts in their fields, regardless of nationality.
The company has sent them to the Erebos trawling platform and energy depot to investigate signs of life where there shouldn’t be any—in the swirling plasma streams circling a black hole. Located beyond the recognized Frontier of space, this lonely station sits precariously on the razor edge of an event horizon. Together with the station’s small crew and a prison work detail, the team must solve the mysteries of this lifeform and its connection to the black hole before it devours them all.
Filled-in character sheets for the PCs can be found in the boxed set.
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PERSONAL AGENDAS
Each character has a Personal Agenda for each of the three Acts of the scenario. More so than in previous ALIEN RPG Cinematic scenarios adventures, conflicting agendas play a major role in Heart of Darkness. These Agendas are printed on playing cards included in this boxed set. At the start of each Act, each player is given their new Agenda for the Act about to start, they are not to reveal it to the other players.
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MAPS
The boxed set contains a giant fold-out map with flfloor plans of Erebos Station. Show this map to the players when they approach the station (the Cetorhina’s ship A.I. provides it). A smaller map also depicts the Cetorhina on one side and the Cheiron on the other.
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So what do we think?
The Heart of Darkness booklet comes in a softback version, though the paper is of good strong sound quality that should put up with a good number of uses. This entire booklet is solely for the GM, to be read before the game begins. Players should NOT read the scenario text beforehand to avoid spoiling the horror of what is in store for them. The information contained in the booklet is clear and informative, while the artwork throughout is quite simply breathtaking in it’s quality. Emotional, atmospheric and gorgeous.
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The glorious artwork is on full display on the covers of the pre-generated character sheets. This is a bountiful amount to keep one going for an age…though I feel that the non-inclusion of adventurer creation rules and guidelines is a mistake. I appreciate that for many like myself who are familiarising themselves with Alien, the character creation rules we’re omitted possibly in order not to overwhelm new visitors such as myself. I understand that reasoning, though I still would have preferred they were included. I know that many RPG aficionado’s enjoy creating and crafting their own characters – believe me I’m no exception. In fact I have been known to simply do no more some weeks than just sit with a pile of blank D&D character sheets and while away the hours designing character after a character (often a variation on a Drow. I like Drows, ok?. It’s an obsession). They all come complete with an elaborately detailed back story, most of which I will probably never use….. but that’s not the point.
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Even the greenest of Alien RPG newbies or more experienced enthusiasts will find the Heart of Darkness set both accessible and yet challenging enough to use the time to immerse themselves in this world, though remember, It requires either the ALIEN RPG core rulebook or the boxed Starter Set to play. The basic rules of the narrative are designed with potential conflicting group dynamics in mind – in other words, conflicting agendas play a major role in the game. – both physical and psychological in nature. If this sounds like the complexity of hidden themes that run through the various movie narratives then this is more than coincidence from the game designers and writers – very cunning. As is the fact that agendas will not be revealed until the end of the game…. inspired. Both layout and artwork throughout the booklet is a genuine delight.
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As yet I’ve only so far dipped my eager Xenomorph toe into planning my first GM game – and so far it’s been the perfect opportunity to understand how the mechanics of this game work as well as familiarising oneself with the world one finds oneself in.
Hopefully this game. will please both the avid fans of Alien and the more casual RPG fan. If you want my final thought – this game promises to an absolute joy. In future weeks I’ll post a summary of the game we play
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Alien: Heart of Darkness can be pre-ordered at https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/store/?product_id=7621164597506
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