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The Aliens universe, IMO, is very, very deadly. How do you, as a GM, create a campaign environment that allows for a good amount of longevity?

Don't call for too many rolls; the math punishes it.
Note that Evolved separates simple stress from terror... and that helps, too.
Encourage collaboration - especially on the ship's maintenance.

The Aliens universe, IMO, is very, very deadly. How do you, as a GM, create a campaign environment that allows for a good amount of longevity?

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If you're running a campaign, the characters should (and I do mean should) die less often. There are fewer xenomorphs in campaigns than in cinematics. The focus is more on the companies (like the Weyland-Yutani Company) and stories involving synthetics. If you feature fewer xenomorphs, the characters should cope better.

Arthur.

The Aliens universe, IMO, is very, very deadly. How do you, as a GM, create a campaign environment that allows for a good amount of longevity?

...

If you're running a campaign, the characters should (and I do mean should) die less often. There are fewer xenomorphs in campaigns than in cinematics. The focus is more on the companies (like the Weyland-Yutani Company) and stories involving synthetics. If you feature fewer xenomorphs, the characters should cope better.

Arthur.

Ive been thinking about something centering round a corporate asset retrieval unit. Para-military-esque with an npc synthetic for the pc's.

If you feature fewer xenomorphs, the characters should cope better.

This should be true, almost as a tautology, but if your PCs face skilled combatants with automatic weapons in open firefights they're also going to die.

Personally, while I think ALIEN is the single best one-shot/cinematic-scenario game in existence, I don't see a way to run it as a real campaign while keeping it tense and exciting (on a combat level). But it's entirely possible I'm just not a skilled enough GM.

If you feature fewer xenomorphs, the characters should cope better.

This should be true, almost as a tautology, but if your PCs face skilled combatants with automatic weapons in open firefights they're also going to die.

Personally, while I think ALIEN is the single best one-shot/cinematic-scenario game in existence, I don't see a way to run it as a real campaign while keeping it tense and exciting (on a combat level). But it's entirely possible I'm just not a skilled enough GM.

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I agree with you (Jeff Wilder), and I've put in many hours as a Game Mother. My group of four players prefers to switch characters when we play the cinematics. It's only during campaigns using the specialized books (Colonial Marines Operation Manual + Building Better Worlds) that we keep the same characters for all seven episodes. Sometimes it's not easy to keep all those characters alive (but we try).

P.S. I'm leaving a comment for FREE LEAGUE, hoping it resonates. I would have loved to have the starter set (or a special package) with the Hope's Last Day cinematic-act, along with the other two cinematic acts by Dave Semark and Matthew Tyler-Jones (Hope's Last Hand and Hope's Last Stand cinematics, all with the accompanying maps). Perhaps this could be released in a special 3-acts-cinematics pack someday. The request has been made, hahaha!

Arthur.

The Aliens universe, IMO, is very, very deadly. How do you, as a GM, create a campaign environment that allows for a good amount of longevity?

 
The GM has total control over time, space, mind and matter. You decide what happens and what not. The rules are your guidelines, not your restraints. You can literally do whatever you please, without even breaking the rules... Not because you can't... Because you CAN break or ignore the rules if you want... It's because you don't even need to, since you are what exist beyond the rules.

Nothing forces you to kill a character if you don't want to... And no player can survive if you want to kill them. Chance is only a manifestation of your whims, and the most clever plot from your players, is nothing more than their delusion of control.

You just have to realize that you are no longer a "player".

The Aliens universe, IMO, is very, very deadly. How do you, as a GM, create a campaign environment that allows for a good amount of longevity?

 
The GM has total control over time, space, mind and matter. You decide what happens and what not. The rules are your guidelines, not your restraints. You can literally do whatever you please, without even breaking the rules... Not because you can't... Because you CAN break or ignore the rules if you want... It's because you don't even need to, since you are what exist beyond the rules.

Nothing forces you to kill a character if you don't want to... And no player can survive if you want to kill them. Chance is only a manifestation of your whims, and the most clever plot from your players, is nothing more than their delusion of control.

You just have to realize that you are no longer a "player".

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We’re going to call you "The Philosopher," Jehan Menasis, if you keep this up—hahaha!

I agree with Jehan Menasis. I’d add the following note regarding the rules: The guests (players) arrive at your place (Game Mother). They’ve got their bags of chips, peanuts, and drinks. They’re all ready to have a good time. The evening lasts two hours—maybe two and a half. As the Game Mother, I view the rules as a toolbox. I use them when needed, but in other situations, I go with logic. The idea is for everyone to have a good time (players and Game Mother alike). If a run-in between players and a Xenomorph happens early in the evening, the Xenomorph might snatch (kill) a character to drag them off to the Hive and leave the others alone. I might even use an NPC in that moment to show the players just how terrifying the situation is. During the game, if the players act without thinking, they’ll pay the price. If their actions are cautious and wise, they’re more likely to make it through. You get the idea. I cut them some slack here and there, but I play it deadly at other times. You have to strike a balance for the evening—for the players' enjoyment and your own as the Game Mother.

Arthur.