baldrick0712
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Thu 19 May 2022, 02:52

The reason why fans of the movies believe there is a connection is because a lot of the same art and design people worked on "Blade Runner" and "Alien". Some of them also worked on "Outlander". In some cases the sets and props look almost identical. In addition, some "in-joke" easter eggs were strewn across the movies, making it look like they were connected. Having said that, I see no reason for GMs to limit themselves. Feel free to think of all these movies as pieces of one big, future dystopia puzzle, in which Corporations now have more power than governments. I just finished watching "Rollerball" (1975) and it's the same theme there too. And if you look at where we appear to be going ("You will own nothing, and be happy") these dystopian future scif-fi movies don't seem to be too far off the mark!
 
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ExileInParadise
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 05:04

The Alien pen and paper RPG is published by Free League Publishing. They're also releasing a Blade Runner RPG that uses the same system. What are some scenarios that combine the best of both worlds?
As others have indicated, the timelines really don't match up if you stick to canon.

The Prometheus special edition disk has the Peter Weyland files that even includes a memo that tries make Tyrell into a mentor of Peter Weyland.

Placing Peter Weyland's TED talk into the BLADE RUNNER timeline has Peter Weyland pitching for the David series of androids right after the Black Out - not very likely...

How ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER can / do work together because of the shared *vision* behind them.

At the simplest: BLADE RUNNER is future Earth. ALIEN is future "off Earth"

You can also mix in SOLDIER and have Replicants, Androids, specifically trained and genetically engineered human-based super-soldiers and more.

So - corporations at war. Colonies at war. Evolutionary pressure of humanity and its creations outdoing each other. And oh yeah - the dark heart of space stabs iys jaws through your face from time to time.

The "sweet spot" in this is likely Colonial Marshals - not marines. So, a scenario could be a Marshal Team investigating some form of android or replicant or super-soldier out of control transgression ... and as the Marshals are dealing with it - boom. ALIENS make things worse.

Or the Marshals are investigating a grisly series of deaths caused by aliens but suspected originally of being caused by replicants/etc.

The movie PROMETHEUS is one example of a mixing of ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER themes - much of David-8's dialogue with Holloway for example.
We live, as we dream -- alone. ~ Joseph Conrad
 
paladin2019
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 07:44

Soldier was mentioned. The DVD commentary specifically says the creators envisioned it as taking place in the Blade Runner universe. ;)
 
Bengt Petter
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 17:40

As ExileInParadise just said: BLADE RUNNER is future Earth. ALIEN is future "off Earth". So why put them together?
 
CitizenZero
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 18:41

The Alien pen and paper RPG is published by Free League Publishing. They're also releasing a Blade Runner RPG that uses the same system. What are some scenarios that combine the best of both worlds?

The "sweet spot" in this is likely Colonial Marshals - not marines. So, a scenario could be a Marshal Team investigating some form of android or replicant or super-soldier out of control transgression ... and as the Marshals are dealing with it - boom. ALIENS make things worse.
Marshalls you say? Sounds like Outland, which a lot of folks think has a similar vibe to Alien (same designer I think).

I appreciate those who don't want to mix things up, or want to adhere to the timeline, but I think it's fun to pull other stuff in as long as it has a similar sort of feel. Like, I wouldn't want my Blade Runner hunting down Darth Vader, but I think there are fun ways to mingle Alien, Blade Runner and maybe some others if that sort of thing interests you.
 
baldrick0712
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 18:49

As ExileInParadise just said: BLADE RUNNER is future Earth. ALIEN is future "off Earth". So why put them together?
Well, technically, the "Off-World" part of Blade Runner was featured pretty prominently, even if you didn't see it. The central premise of the movie is that replicants were manufactured to have superhuman strength for use as slaves in the Off-World colonies but were banned on Earth. In the movie all this is just background fluff but in an RPG I can see the players wanting to know more about these Off-World colonies. What do you do as GM? Just tell them that it would take a lifetime's wages to afford the ticket so you are stuck in LA?
 
Bengt Petter
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 18:57

As ExileInParadise just said: BLADE RUNNER is future Earth. ALIEN is future "off Earth". So why put them together?
Well, technically, the "Off-World" part of Blade Runner was featured pretty prominently, even if you didn't see it. The central premise of the movie is that replicants were manufactured to have superhuman strength for use as slaves in the Off-World colonies but were banned on Earth. In the movie all this is just background fluff but in an RPG I can see the players wanting to know more about these Off-World colonies. What do you do as GM? Just tell them that it would take a lifetime's wages to afford the ticket so you are stuck in LA?

Well, I’d rather say that it’s better to make L. A. interesting enough so you don’t need to go off world. You could work with backstories that have a off world connection, just like in the first movie.

However, I’m quite sure many fans will continue to ask for off world supplements, so they might come. But how should they be made interesting and still feel like Bladerunner and not just like generic sci fi in space? That will be tricky.
 
baldrick0712
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 19:09


Well, I’d rather say that it’s better to make L. A. interesting enough so you don’t need to go off world. You could work with backstories that have a off world connection, just like in the first movie.

However, I’m quite sure many fans will continue to ask for off world supplements, so they might come. But how should they be made interesting and still feel like Bladerunner and not just like generic sci fi in space? That will be tricky.
I at least hope they explain what Roy Batty was talking about in this famous speech...

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like... tears... in rain".

Is Tannhäuser Gate some sort of stargate for instantaneous travel across multiple light years? What is a C-beam? Apparently the movie "Soldier" has some deleted scenes that reference this. I might have a look on YouTube. Even if the players stay on Earth their characters would presumably know about these things.
 
Bengt Petter
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sat 21 May 2022, 19:26


Well, I’d rather say that it’s better to make L. A. interesting enough so you don’t need to go off world. You could work with backstories that have a off world connection, just like in the first movie.

However, I’m quite sure many fans will continue to ask for off world supplements, so they might come. But how should they be made interesting and still feel like Bladerunner and not just like generic sci fi in space? That will be tricky.
I at least hope they explain what Roy Batty was talking about in this famous speech...

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like... tears... in rain".

Is Tannhäuser Gate some sort of stargate for instantaneous travel across multiple light years? What is a C-beam? Apparently the movie "Soldier" has some deleted scenes that reference this. I might have a look on YouTube. Even if the players stay on Earth their characters would presumably know about these things.

I’m sure there are many fans who want to know more about what it means that ”C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate”. But the Bladerunner movies are Earth based and urban and neo noir. What genre should off world supplement be? How should they be made to still feel like Bladerunner? Why isn’t L. A. enough?
 
paladin2019
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Re: RPG campaign ideas for Alien and Blade Runner

Sun 22 May 2022, 00:02

Tannhauser Gate and Shoulder of Orion are campaign tattoos on Todd's arm in Soldier. It's diegetically meant to be linked to Blade Runner.
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As far as making off-worlding look and feel like Blade Runner, don't. It's functionally a different setting. The differences should be stark and jarring, like Kovacs moving between the different worlds (both literal and figurative) in Altered Carbon.

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