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aramis
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Who's gotten it to table so far?

Fri 21 Jun 2019, 08:48

I got one session down, of what will probably be 3, at my FLGS. 

I'm curious who else has actually gotten this ruleset into play, and initial reactions.

I'll note that the xenos are rather tough...  
one juvenile took out a crewman, and 4:1 resulted in 3:0 exiting.
The killing shot was by a guy obeying the skipper's order to retreat - against the player's wishes - but perfectly in the spirit of the rules. He had to retreat. He didn't have not shoot on the way out. And he got lucky...
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decanox
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Fri 21 Jun 2019, 09:47

I am exactly in the same case: 1 session of probably 3. And more or less the same conclusions for now.

- The neomorphs are pretty tough, considering it's not difficult to roll a lethal injury in a signature attack. Nothing to complain here, it's the Alien universe.
- The rules are easy but really immersive. The signature attacks, the critical injuries, panic rolls, etc tables are a really good add-on for this immersion.
- This is a personal opinion but I love the hidden roles.
- I like the combat: fast and intuitive. And I really like the idea that characters can't evade (we save a lot of time in combat and it's more realistic). 

- As I have said in other thread, it's a bit annoying to turn pages constantly from maps, notes, locations, events and tables. I suppose that the Game Screen should solve that.
- I am being worried (I already said in other thread) that PCs could split in different groups constantly (keeping in mind their agendas). In this first session, I have already had three different groups exploring the ship, plotting against the others, etc. which could slow the pace of the game. Nothing serious because they enjoyed the game but I will try to avoid splitting too much.  
 
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CynicalMo
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Fri 21 Jun 2019, 21:00

I'm scheduled for running a session at one of my LGSs on July 1st. Been doing lots of reading of various novels set in the franchise to help me find the tone I'm looking for. 
Just curious as to what you've found your runtimes to be? Have you made it all the way through the scenario? I was planning on 3-4 hrs of gameplay for my first session.
Also, how experienced were your PCs? Did the less experienced ones pick the system up fairly well? Were there any mechanics you glossed over or did you run it by-the-book?
 
adrianplanet
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Fri 21 Jun 2019, 23:58

Just curious as to what you've found your runtimes to be? Have you made it all the way through the scenario?
I'm curious about this as well. How long were your sessions? How far did the players get in that time?
 
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aramis
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sat 22 Jun 2019, 01:51

I'm scheduled for running a session at one of my LGSs on July 1st. Been doing lots of reading of various novels set in the franchise to help me find the tone I'm looking for. 
Just curious as to what you've found your runtimes to be? Have you made it all the way through the scenario? I was planning on 3-4 hrs of gameplay for my first session.
Also, how experienced were your PCs? Did the less experienced ones pick the system up fairly well? Were there any mechanics you glossed over or did you run it by-the-book?
My players took 3.5 hours to get through most of act 1.
G is 18, gamer for about 2 years
J is 40's, gamer for decades
R is 40's, gamer for decades.
all have played multiple systems with me as GM. J & R are experienced multi-system GM's.
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Smith & Wesson: the original point and click interface...
 
decanox
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sat 22 Jun 2019, 09:45

We took 2.5 hours (more or less) and we have not finished the act yet (but they are really near).

In my group, I have an experienced player (playing since the 90s) the most of them are more intermediate (playing for 2-3 years) and one is totally inexperienced.

Anyway, the rules were so simple to explain: success is 6 on a die, rolls are Attribute + Skill (or Attribute alone if you don't have one) and Stress mechanic. I explained Combat when the PCs had one. 

I only had to keep an eye on stunts, modifiers (difficult, range, combat, etc), actions and hazards (I wrote a small summary for these rules). I left marks on pages with tables (Stress, Critical Injuries, Xenomorphs).

That's all. It's really simple and it's easy to understand for anybody. 
 
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CynicalMo
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sun 23 Jun 2019, 15:23

So are you not able to get through the whole scenario in one setting? How many of the events were you skipping? I was hoping to do a one-shot but it sounds like it might not be possible.
 
decanox
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sun 23 Jun 2019, 19:09

I try to put every event in the game (it's a habit to try to squeeze all the material an adventure gives to me... so I try to include all).

Anyway, if you see Chariots of the Gods, the events are not much longer (the PCs hear a strange ping, a check for piloting, etc). I suppose you know some of them are mandatory and if you remove many of the other events maybe you lose the flavour.

I think It's possible to play Chariots of the Gods in two sessions. I don't know since I have played only one session and we have not finished the I Act... but I think it's really, really, difficult to play Chariots in one shot without risking to lose the Alien atmosphere.

It's my opinion.
 
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The1TrueFredrix
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sun 23 Jun 2019, 20:48

So are you not able to get through the whole scenario in one setting? How many of the events were you skipping? I was hoping to do a one-shot but it sounds like it might not be possible.
I ran it in one session of three hours, but we skipped through it, I ignored all the spore etc, and concentrated on just a couple of threats (the transforming Doctor and one adult Neomorph)
Effekt - A fan podcast celebrating Swedish RPGs including, but not limited to: Alien; Coriolis; Forbidden Lands; Symbaroum; and Tales from the Loop. Featuring discussion magazine episodes and Actual Play recordings. https://effektpodcast.org/
 
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aramis
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Re: Who's gotten it to table so far?

Sun 23 Jun 2019, 22:38

So are you not able to get through the whole scenario in one setting? How many of the events were you skipping? I was hoping to do a one-shot but it sounds like it might not be possible.
No way I can see to run it all in the 3 hours of session time I had.  Rushing, maybe 6
Part of it is that I'm a "slow-pace" GM. A 4 hour D&D module takes me 6 hours.
Part of it was teaching the system as we went (reminds me - need to make the action cards.)
Part of it was noisy environment (A 1x tractor-trailer (40') bay), with 2 other groups totaling some 20+ people in room
Part of it was in-character banter.
Part of it was allowing the brooding pace of Alien, rather than the gotcha-gotcha-gotcha-breath feel of Aliens
I was not skipping encounters.

The fight with the 1 abomination was around 30-40 minutes, in no small part because EVERY character panicked.
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Smith & Wesson: the original point and click interface...

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