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bfm75
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon 10 Jun 2019, 20:22

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 06 Sep 2022, 12:34

The upcoming Blade Runner game has a really interesting approach to damage and critical hit. It is closely related to T2K, and perhaps this system could be adopted to Alien too. For those of you that haven't read the new BR game, then critical hits are triggered by a good shot/well placed hit, you get an excess number of success on your hit. The critical hit table is listed from 1 to 12, the dice type (d6, d8, d10 or d12) you roll on the critical hit table is based on weapon used. In BR a subcompact pistol uses as d8, a magnum revolver a d10, the blade runner blaster d12.

The crit tables have instant fatal results on a result of 8, 10 and 12, so a d8 have a 1 in 8 chance of being instantly fatal, a d10 a 1/5 and a d12 a 1/4.

So what is needed to to create a crit table for xenos (I wouldn't use the same as for humans, but you could) and then set the crit dice type for the diffranet weapons, a VP70 probably a d8, Shotgun and magnum revolver ... d10? and M41A firing amour piercing explosive runds? defiantly a d12.

The explosive/blast system in BR is the same as in T2K and I think that is much better than the system in Alien, but that is another story.
 
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Vader
Posts: 944
Joined: Fri 15 Nov 2019, 14:11
Location: The Frozen North

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 06 Sep 2022, 13:05

VP70 probably a d8, Shotgun and magnum revolver ... d10? and M41A firing amour piercing explosive runds? defiantly a d12.

Shouldn't the Smartgun and Sentry Gun deliver a notch greater damage than the Pulse Rifle?
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
bfm75
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon 10 Jun 2019, 20:22

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 06 Sep 2022, 13:29

VP70 probably a d8, Shotgun and magnum revolver ... d10? and M41A firing amour piercing explosive runds? defiantly a d12.

Shouldn't the Smartgun and Sentry Gun deliver a notch greater damage than the Pulse Rifle?
Perhaps, but they would have a higher base damage. I would keep the pulse rifle at d12, but that is just me.
 
Makhfi
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon 26 Apr 2021, 07:19

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 06 Sep 2022, 13:35

Hi, in the rules, the pulse rifle and smart gun (and a bunch of other guns) shoot exploding tip, armor piercing rounds, but no distinction is made between standard AP-ammo and HEAP-ammo (they do one more point of damage, compared to a pistol...).

In the first Alien rpg, made by Leading Edge, both ammo types had the same penetration and damage, but for explosive ammo, damage after armor reduction, was multiplied by 4. Maybe a bit much in this version of Alien, but worth considering since there should be a difference. Also, it was illegal to use HEAP against human targets.
The rules on aliens stated that on open ground vs a human with a pulse rifle, the alien didn't stand a good chance, if any. But they were very good at stealth and laying in ambush, which my players learned. They also learned that shooting an alien up close with HEAP sure killed it, but it also sprayed acid all over the place :twisted:

/Makhfi
 
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Vader
Posts: 944
Joined: Fri 15 Nov 2019, 14:11
Location: The Frozen North

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Thu 08 Sep 2022, 14:52

In the first Alien rpg, made by Leading Edge, both ammo types had the same penetration and damage, but for explosive ammo, damage after armor reduction, was multiplied by 4. Maybe a bit much in this version of Alien, but worth considering since there should be a difference. Also, it was illegal to use HEAP against human targets.

I don't recall, but was it really that bad? Did they actually have small calibre HEAP ammunition in the "ALIENS Adventure Game" (as LE for some obscure reason called it)? I only remember the electric Aliens...
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
Makhfi
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon 26 Apr 2021, 07:19

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Thu 08 Sep 2022, 20:54

Are, just like they explain in Aliens, the pulse rifles fire 10mm armor piercing explosive ammo, did a lot of damage with those :)
 
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Jeff Wilder
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed 31 Aug 2022, 01:58

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Mon 03 Oct 2022, 20:53

In our second session of Chariot of the Gods, the house rule for weapons (each additional success can be stunted to add the weapon damage again) proved way too powerful.

We're still having fun, but they had no real problem at all with the adult [redacted], the smaller [redacted], and the three [redacted] they've faced.

Going forward the house rule is only going to apply to weapons with burst-fire capability. (Maybe even full-auto only; still evaluating.)
Jeff Wilder | San Francisco Bay Area
"And if you bore me, you lose your soul to me." | Belly
 
VicariousReality
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri 23 Apr 2021, 03:37

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 18 Oct 2022, 22:33

On principle, I don't disagree. However, there is another factor to take into account:

The game tries to do two slightly incompatible things at the same time: it tries to encompass both the milieu of the claustrophobic horror of ALIEN and the action of ALIENS in the same package. The former precludes anything so crass as a firearm being able to dent the creature, whereas the latter, with an army of creatures against a "pocket platoon" of soldiers, demands that the soldiers' firearms are effective against them, on an individual basis.

I am not sure any amount of math is able to resolve that genre conundrum satisfactorily. I am inclined to believe that the exact effectiveness of weapons might best be adjusted on a scenario-by-scenario basis — that weapons in a "Space Truckers" campaign are less effective, and the opposition more ... personally horrifying, while in a "Colonial Marines" campaign, weapons are more effective and the opposition less scary and more of a tactical problem. Like the movies.

This was more or less the solution I came up with. When the players are Colonial Marines with training and high-power weapons and ammunition every success adds the weapon's base damage. The goal was to reflect the tremendous firepower of the M41A pulse rifles and M56 smartguns in Aliens. Against xenomorphs it still makes them a challenge and makes human enemies quite easy to kill, as we can probably expect.

For non military characters/games they get the stock rules. And as Ash said - “you have my sympathies.”

It’s worked great for us. It’s easy to remember, and the “rule” fits on a sticky note in the physical guide, and as a note in VTT.
 
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Jeff Wilder
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed 31 Aug 2022, 01:58

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Thu 20 Oct 2022, 18:32

When the players are Colonial Marines with training and high-power weapons and ammunition every success adds the weapon's base damage.

[...]

For non military characters/games they get the stock rules. And as Ash said - “you have my sympathies.

I think my solution is the same idea from a different angle: if a weapon is a (1) specifically military weapon, (2) capable of full-auto, each extra success can add base damage again.

This way I simply control by the weapons I allow the characters to have.
Jeff Wilder | San Francisco Bay Area
"And if you bore me, you lose your soul to me." | Belly
 
Matt_B_76
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun 04 Dec 2022, 23:26

Re: Xenomorph and Pulse Rifles

Tue 06 Dec 2022, 15:00

Hello all!

Like the OP, I too am disappointed by the lack of effectiveness of M41s, M56s, etc. against Aliens in general as I am WAY more a fan of Aliens than the other movies and much prefer to make my Alien games more ACTION-horror than HORROR-action in style.

With that in mind, we made some of the following changes and they've served us well in capturing that feel (apologies if others have suggested the same or similar changes....it was a long thread, I confess I didn't read every post)...

For guns, the general damage values are:

1: Light/Standard Pistols

2: SMGs, Heavy Pistols, typical Rifles

3: Assault Rifles, Heavy Rifles, Shotgun slugs

4: MGs (Smartguns, UPP equivalent....i.e. any kind of MG that can be carried or is on most 'pintle' mounts on vehicles, etc.

5: Rocket/Missiles, Heavy MGs (like the Sentry Gun)

I also saw absolutely ZERO need to nerf shotguns by having armor doubled against them.....I think AP and non are distinct enough....instead for Shotguns I just made them Medium range and either had a flat 3 damage for slugs (No Bonus) or 4/2/1 damage (Engaged Range, Short Range, Medium Range) for Buck Shot with the bonus going from 0 to +1 to +2 at each range band (for the spread).

We also changed Grenades to do a base damage of 2/1 (in the zone it explodes in, adjacent zones) and then a Blast of 6/3 (in the same zone, then the zones its adjacent to) as we've found them under-whelming to say the least.

Finally, we changed Auto-fire as it just didn't really do much game-wise save to give that +2 bonus.....so for us, we changed it to read; "You can attack up to 3 targets in the same zone (or within 1 zone range if in separate zones but close to the adjacent edges if that makes sense).....make a standard attack roll against each at -1 and gain 1 stress after the roll". This makes fully auto weapons dangerous for a group of closely-packed targets...which is as it should be IMO....with serious damage against multiple targets a possibility as opposed to sometimes giving an extra damage point to 1 other target....which is usually the in-game 'best case' that may happen when using Full Auto on more than 1 target; it really makes those Smartguns and Pulse Rifles...and even the other SMGs and Assault Rifles seem a big step up from say.....a Heavy Pistol....which in the RAW, they frequently aren't much better than.

Finally, I also think some of the Xenos as written are just ridiculously over-powered.......I think making them something like Armor 6 and 5-7 Health is plenty.....this 8 and 10 Armor thing to me is just nuts....but to each their own. The OCCASIONAL Alien that is really bad-ass and stalking the party with a Jason from Friday the 13th 'won't go down!' kind of ability is one-thing...as a matter of course; not my cup of tea....

Again, these are all just MY OPINION....use what works for your game....but yeah, if you're more into the Sci-Fi Action with horror elements vs the HORROR (with Sci-Fi elements), some of these changes might be for you as well.

Have fun!
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