Forum

On page 95 of the core rulebook one of the options is to pin an opponent using a ranged attack.

In the text it says that NPCs lose their next slow action.

Can this be done against Xenomorphs?
Can it be stacked by multiple characters shooting at the same Xenomorph? In this way you can remove multiple slow actions in advance.

Interested to understand if this has ever been clarified.

The rules for NPCs (p214) refer exclusively to humanoid characters; Xenos are a whole other deal. And, as we see in Aliens Special Edition, they have absolutely no issue with walking straight into gunfire in service of the Hive. So both mechanically and narratively, I'd say they can't be pinned down.

Having said that, if I had a single Xeno that the PCs want to pin down, I'd let them attempt it - only to have the thing escape through a floor vent (or similar) so it can circle around and catch them out later.

That’s great! Thank you

Ninchilla is right, xenomorph can't be pinned down.
it's a beast with max agility and strenght.
You may think it's pinned down but the second later you find out that it's loose again and coming at you ....

Arthur.

I disagree: Xenomorphs are NPCs even if they're not humans or androids. They would lose the next slow action same as any other enemy.

However, it is only the next slow action that is lost - since every xenomorph has a speed of at least 2, there's no reason why it can't still close the distance with a fast action and then use its next slow action on its next initiative in the Round. The way I see it, it is entirely plausible that a savvy group of players could prevent a xenomorph from using signature attacks or sprinting with good spacing in the initiative order and a bit of luck basically indefinitely, but unless they're fine with risking their buddies to death by a thousand acid splashes the tactic is only viable as long as the xenomorph doesn't close to Engaged range - once it's in the player's faces their only options would be to retreat and shoot and hope they keep rolling well enough to keep it pinned (and that's assuming optimal combat conditions, i.e., nobody has suffered a critical injury or a stress effect that would make it more difficult to keep pace or keep shooting). Eventually the luck will run out and somebody is going to get hurt - the only question is when.

Besides that, think like a xenomorph; if they don't have the numbers advantage to just keep throwing bodies at the players (like in Aliens - no standard-sized party can realistically keep more than 3 xenos pinned indefinitely, and even then the amount of continuous stunt successes required is statistically improbable) then have the xeno(s) retreat, use ambush tactics, anything to keep the players from feeling too comfortable with their ability to keep the beasts at bay. Remember, they're horrible unknowable slimy monsters, but they're not stupid.

That's a fair point!

But ... this is what I think ... the moment your xenomorph is too easy to kill or too easy to neutralize ... that moment your game becomes less horror and less stressful (I would even say pointless) ... why ... because the xenomorph is the heart and soul of this horror / sci-fi / gore game.

You lose all the momentum when your xenomorph becomes weak. The xenomorph is your lead ACTOR.

That's my point of view. That's the strenght of my game.

P.S. Pin you mean Grappling ... In my mind I see Ripley with the Queen Xenomorph at the end of Aliens, we can say that the Queen Xenomorph in this case is pinned down but It has a loader over her + Ripley. Strenght (loader and ripley) VS Strenght (xenomorph) is acceptable in this case I guess. But I still don't want to neutralize too much the Xenomorphs in my game. Go as the narrative go I would say. Health (Strenght) is 14 for a Queen and she has speed 2, pretty hard to catch.

Arthur.

But ... this is what I think ... the moment your xenomorph is too easy to kill or too easy to neutralize ... that moment your game becomes less horror and less stressful (I would even say pointless) ... why ... because the xenomorph is the heart and soul of this horror / sci-fi / gore game.

You lose all the momentum when your xenomorph becomes weak. The xenomorph is your lead ACTOR.

That's my point of view. That's the strenght of my game.

I agree with your premise completely, hence why I emphasized a Game Mother should never let the players get that comfortable - either there needs to be more critters than the players can comfortably manage or they need to act in ways that always keeps the players on the back foot. To draw an analogy to the recent video games, I believe combat encounters with xenomorphs should feel like Dark Descent rather than Fireteam Elite - that is to say, careful and tense with everyone fighting for their lives vs. human lawnmowers enacting a power fantasy.

As for Grappling with a xenomorph, with RAW stating that only humans and androids can be Grappled, I wouldn't even entertain that idea unless the PC was in a power loader like Ripley. The film fight is tricky to put into in-game mechanical terms for a variety of reasons (mainly that nobody in 1986 was worried about it translating into a TTRPG system over 35 years later), but I reckon an opposed Strength check (maybe allowing Close Combat to be included on the PC's side, otherwise the power loader is basically set dressing) would be a good way to go about it. If we're talking about the scene where the Queen is literally pinned down and unable to move underneath a large piece of industrial equipment at the bottom of an airlock shaft, I personally would rule that the Queen would have to spend at least one of her initiative turns using two fast actions to get free - one for a Strength check to push the loader off of herself (which I would probably set at a -2) and one to stand up. The situation is still tense and threatening and there is still a strong possibility that Ripley in this scenario doesn't survive.

Those are very good points Lappydore486.

As you told, difference between xenomorph in Dark Descent and Fireteam Elite ... xenomorph in ALIENS were too easy to kill compared to the ALIEN 1979. I agree with all game mechanics you bring.

We should always consider the xenomorph's strength somewhere between aliens and alien 1979.

Enjoy your games.
Arthur

The Sentry guns in Aliens certainly did a good job Pinning the Xenos. snicker. More to the point that Pinning/suppression is NPC human aspect rather than the head charging potential of Xenos.