Frontinus
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Inferno's Fall and EVAC Scenario - Inspirations and Black Goo Variants

Sun 28 Aug 2022, 22:14

Finished the book and am looking forward to running the EVAC scenario. It has me thinking about variant Xenomorph lifecycles and representation within the game system. I said the following on the unofficial Discord and am reposting here to see if I can get any further discussion going. Spoilers ahead for Inferno's Fall, EVAC, Destroyer of Worlds, Colonial Marines Operation Manual/Frontier War, and Alien: Cold Forge and Alien: Into Charybdis:

My interpretation of Inferno's Fall is that the Xenos created by the black goo bombing are closer to Neomorphs (with the Eitr in the ecosystem causing the red tinge which overpowers the corpse white coloring we saw in Covenant) as opposed to Baseline Xenomorph XX121. There are references in the text to secondary jaws, but those could be Neomorph style "goblin shark" jaws. The Inferno's Fall bombing has notable differences from other black goo bombings:

1. This black goo bombing seems to cause creation of Neomorph, not spore related incubation within victims as we see in Covenant, nor Anathema transformation as we see in DoW and CMOM.

2. These Xenos are described as more heavily armored than the Jackals are used to dealing with (notably by Mae during the holding perimeter action in the final act). Neomorphs generally appear less armored than typical XX121 and the RPG stats support that. This extra armor could be a consequence of a. the base wildlife as the native lifeforms are described as having armored crests etc. and this could be a the black goo merely expanding or otherwise enhancing that feature, b. again related to Eitr contamination as we see descriptions of the durable nature of Eitr (the Giger Xeno Crucifix mural found in the Engineer Ruins) and the armor is a result of additional Eitr in the wildlife's bodies being positioned as armor by the black goo mutagen properties, or c. this variant of the black goo creates more hardy Xenos?

3. In EVAC we get description of the direct transformation of the scientist Alexi into a creature represented with Stalker Xenomorph stats (aka the Praetomorph from Covenant). This I'm willing to view as a game mechanic representation of the armored red Neomorph style creature, though this being a hint of the relationship between David's Stalker/Praetomorph and the Shanmen creatures is also worth considering. We have similar precedent from Fallout of an Imp Xenomorph stats being used to represent a rat birthed Xeno and there is no indication of a David connection there, so I think the "armored Neomorph" option seems more likely to be author's intent.

4a. The black goo found in the Engineer Ruins (a different source than the bomber released black goo) seems to cause the exposed Engineers to transform into Black Xenomorphs that more strongly resemble the XX121 variant. These two Engineer derived Xenos are hostile towards the bombing derived red Xenos, possibly because they are a. derived from different black goo sources, or b. because they are not Eitr infused like the native creatures which otherwise are not shown to attack each other. Either way, this is likely an homage to the Black vs. Red Xeno XX121 hive conflict from the old Dark Horse Comic Aliens: Genocide. This seems to me to be strong evidence for multiple strains of black goo in the story.

4b. Conversely, the Engineer Ruins black goo causes the archaeologist Antonijevic to become a pale monster with black eyes more consistent with the Holloway Anathema and the Anathemas seen in DoW/CMOM. No red tinge mentioned but how much of that is attributable to the victim not being contaminated with Eitr, the black goo not being the bombing black goo, or the creature just not being alive long enough to go completely black Xeno Bodyburster?

Regardless, I think this book provides inspiration for two exciting new monster pathways to catch experienced Alien RPG players and scientist characters by surprise. I truly believe unpredictability adds to the horror:

1. Black goo on another Eitr heavy planet leads to direct transformation into Stalker stat blocks described as armored looking red Neomorphs.
2. Ruins black goo that follows a pathway of Anathema to Bodyburster (instead of Stage IV disintegration) without the need for Chestburster and 26 Draconis inoculation as we saw in DoW.

Am I missing any other key examples from the book? What was your interpretation on reading? Neos, Xenos, something in between, multiple black goos, something else? Would you try any of these new "lifecycles" with your group?
 
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ExileInParadise
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Re: Inferno's Fall and EVAC Scenario - Inspirations and Black Goo Variants

Wed 31 Aug 2022, 04:36

Stepping back a bit - with Covenant, Destroyer of Worlds, and Inferno's Fall ... we have examples of entire ecosystems being bombed with the Engineer-variant (black) nanoparticle plague.

How many possible types of life forms could be transformed?

Basically - all of the "meat" to use David's description.

On Earth, how many species are there?

If a colony world has even a significant fraction of that number - then you have an endless supply of variants.

Let's not even get into what happens if/when xenomorphs infest Tartarus and start hybridizing with harvesters.

So, yes, I'd say you're not only on track, but that you're barely scratching the surface of how widespread the possibilities can get.
We live, as we dream -- alone. ~ Joseph Conrad
 
pfarland
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Re: Inferno's Fall and EVAC Scenario - Inspirations and Black Goo Variants

Wed 31 Aug 2022, 16:37

Ok, couple of questions here:

1. I've heard the novels were... ...lacking. How decent are the scenarios and who are they geared towards (i.e. Truckers, Scientists, Marines, etc.)?
2. What is Eitr?
3. Is there anything that is a 'must have' in these?
"Load up, strap in, lock and load, and save the last bullet for yourself."
 
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ExileInParadise
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Re: Inferno's Fall and EVAC Scenario - Inspirations and Black Goo Variants

Wed 31 Aug 2022, 21:44

1. Lacking or not?

I've seen/heard some of the same commentary - and I don't personally agree - but that is only my opinion - I can see where a lot of people may have specific expectations that these books or scenarios don't meet.

There's also a lot of different opinion on what "the best alien stuff" is across all of the various movies and media are - so there's bound to always be "someone* not happy with some particular view - for example, even the crew who made ALIENS were not at all happy someone was making a sequel ... took them a long time to come around.

I also think that is more for the passively-entertained reader rather than a more active-entertainment / imagination type like a GM or their tabletop group.

The Fallout scenario is a cinematic with scientists on a raid - a trader/pilot, a biologist, a chemical engineer, and an academic android on a sneaky mission to rescue some folks, grab some samples, record some evidence, and skedaddle ... but that does not mean it's an eggheads-only scenario.

The Evac scenario is Marines based with a combat surgeon/CO, a rifleman, combat synthetic, and a dropship pilot on an evacuation mission for a colony under siege.

2. Eitr is a valuable mineral used in hyperdrive shunts. It's also a bit much to mine: explosive, poisonous to be exposed to, and it has a bit of a mutagenic effect on wildlife.

3. Controverisally, I'll say there's been nothing "must have" in anything since ALIEN (1979) - that said, there's lots of "nice to have".

I am really liking the novel + scenario tie in, least of all because these are effectively "new canon" ALIEN universe stories that also expand the RPG.

The scenarios are both decent, IMO, and far more detailed / extensive than some early RPG tie-in things I've seen the past.

Basically, they are one-act scenarios, tied around a core colony or outpost.

You get pre-gen characters and some new vehicles or equipment to go with them.

You get a pretty flexible situation to run the PCs through with a mix of challenges - including bits of skullduggery.

And, of course, you get xeno variants to play with.

The books AND scenarios have lots you can make your own stories out of - as well as plenty of background details about the Weyland Isles sector of the RPG map to drop in and use as you like in your own campaigns.

Well worth the price of the ride in my view - bought both - and enjoy both as Alien stuff in that universe and for use in the RPG.
We live, as we dream -- alone. ~ Joseph Conrad
 
Frontinus
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Re: Inferno's Fall and EVAC Scenario - Inspirations and Black Goo Variants

Sat 03 Sep 2022, 17:38

Spoilers Destroyer of Worlds, CMOM, Heart of Darkness, Cold Forge, Into Charybdis, Aliens Fireteam Elite, Infiltrator, Inferno's Fall:

Follow up line of discussion, possibly inspired by something Gaska said in an interview, but I don't recall exactly where: The black goo is supposed to put the mystery back into the Xenomorphs. It returns an element of the original movie's horror when you don't know exactly what can happen and what the Xenos can and can't do. Thus we have:

1. the LV-223/Prometheus black goo that makes anathemas and the Deacon lineage,
2. the gold goo that seeds life from the prologue of Prometheus,
3. the 26 Draconis strain modified to create the innoculation which generates abominations and Bodybursters,
4. the Covenant spores that make Neomorphs,
5. the CMOM damaged samples that create Gorebursters when attempting to replicate the Rodina Station Bodyburster,
6. the Cold Forge produced strain from Facehugger which bodybursts a rat
7. and with Queenscode upregulated transforms Blue,
8. the LV-991/Hasanova Strain from the underground lake that makes multiple Neomorphs with acid blood from a single submersed victim,
9. the LV-895/Fireteam Elite strains that have been modded with radiation to produce Leons, Poppers, and Pathogen Husks and the recombinant properties which mix DNA between species to produce things like the human/rat Fairbanks monster, and the Neomorph/Xenomorph Hive/Queen
10. the Inferno's Fall black goo bombing that seems to cause direct Neomorph transformations
11. the black goo from the Interno's Fall Engineer Ruins that seems to cause direct transformation into black bodyburster Xenomorphs.

The black goo is freeing and reviving for the franchise by reinjecting the fear of the unknown and unpredictable. It always produces monsters, but beyond that the details vary. It is thematically inconsistent for the black goo to be completely prescribed and understandable. The horror comes from the unknown and the unknowability and characters trying to control that which they arrogantly believe they understand, but do not.

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