Putting together a scenario for the Alien RPG, what are some things xenomorphs would be researched and experimented on BESIDES as a bio-weapon (since that’s a plot well-worn, and there’s been a lot about how xenomorphs would actually make bad bio-weapons)
Ideas I’m already considering:
- the xenomorphs apparent telepathy
- the DNA reflex
monstergirls
The ability of the Xenomorph to adapt and imitate its host species would have all manner of uses for things like genetic engineering, limb and organ grafting, terraforming, as well as agricultural uses. Imagine if the years it takes to cultivate different plant hybrids and cultivars could be reduced to weeks or even days? Have the Xenomorph genes act as an intermediary between plants ala a bioorganic CRISPR.
Tons of possibilities with the genetic mimicry bit.
Yeah, the ability to blend with the host's genetics and create fully functional (even optimised) organisms is a huge deal.
Other desirable traits:
Can grow really, really fast. They seem to go from chestburster to adult in a matter of hours.
Can possibly eat stuff which isn't otherwise useful. What did the one on the Nostromo feed on while growing? Could have just got into the larder, I guess.
Sometimes described as a biomechanical organism, so could maybe serve as the basis for new generation of synthetics.
'Maybe they don't show up on infra-red at all': new stealth materials. Especially important if in conflict with Predators.
Secreted resin could have all kinds of industrial uses. Again, they seem to generate a lot of it in a short time.
Could be key to understanding some space-jockey / engineer / precursor technology.
Might want to study them to develop defences against future bioweapons. Especially if in conflict with space jockeys, etc.
Black goo in Prometheus seems to be a miracle substance. Alien RPG campaigns focus on that rather pure aliens, although mostly as a bioweapon rather than for the amazing forced-evolution elements.
Rogue synthetics may not give a shit about letting a messy bioweapon loose so long as they are safe (either due to inherently not being seen as prey, being able to disguise themselves as aliens to alien senses, or not caring about planets since they are able to handle living in space).
Damn goo's clearly capable of terraforming and altering the enviroment.
Have some group or company researching how to use that for a less weaponized task.
I mean Weyland Yutani did make it's money on terraforming planets.right?
So... Have some competitor working on what is for all tense and purposes a terraforming bomb. Launch the fricker at a planet, give it a decade or two, BAM insta colonizable world with water and atmosphere on the cheap.
Side effects may vary.
What are you doing here, making the black goo an actually interesting plot element
I'm a normie who occasionally pops by to suggest things, and pick up a few ideas to improve my games.
The black goo spawns all sorts of biomechanical horrors. The xenomorph is one of them, with a single drive, that is to survive and reprodouce.
The horrifying thing is that the xenomorph is still a killing machine, in a very literal term. It's meant to be one step higher on the food chain than the players, and have none of that pesky independent consciousness to get in the way.
The only time that rule was ever violated was the xeno-human hybrid that was terrifyingly impressive for all of a few minutes before getting vented out the airlock.
Because that consciousness was still turned towards predation.
If I had to throw in an intelligent human-like xenomorph, I'd go along the lines of the hybrid an make him/her/it just human enough to be unsettling.
Because the other thing that disturbed a lot of people at the time other than meeting a species possibly superior to our own. Was the only use giger's biomachine horror had for humans was either as food, or a secondary gestation womb for it's lifecycle. In this cold lifeless galaxy your intelligence does not matter, your sentence doesn't matter, your humanity, does not matter.
and there's nothing you can do about it but survive harder motherfricker.
Maybe its acid blood can be used to make some kick ass batteries?
the blood is a different kind of acid
One of the comics unironically did that with the pheromones instead.
In a campaign we ran we tried to set up a zoo using the xenos. Didn't go very well but was amazing fun trying to capture the bastards
I think canonically the Queen's royal jelly is used to make "Xeno-Zip", an age-moroning drug.
There's something even worse that they're growing and have the xenomorphs there to kill whatever the thing is in case of a breach.
An interesting fan theory is that the xenomorph is the predator that keeps the alien from John Carpenter's The Thing in check (corrosive blood prevents assimilation, the thing is a blood disease) so you could do something like that.
Specimines for study to figure out how their biology works at the most basic of levels. If they can make something work with such alien chemistry they can make whole new branches of designer extremophile microbes to increase the scope of viable terraforming candidates.
The alien rpg sucks ass
How so?
It's very hard to run without it being boring. Also, players don't have fun when the xenomorph sneaks up behind them and instakills them
>It's very hard to run without it being boring FOR MY PLAYERS.
>Also, MY PLAYERS don't have fun when the xenomorph sneaks up behind them and instakills them
You fricked up by running a horror game without player buy in (alternately, your players are shit).
You're right. No one gave a shit but me.
How do you even run an Alien horror rpg? Everyone already knows the plot.
>crew of normals
>xenomorph kills them
>corpo bad
>maybe some marines
Its like a game for people who want to buy a name brand franchise product.
PCs all start with hidden agendas (some benign) & other PCs as rivals (so you're not just looking out for the bugs). Other adversaries I can think of off the top of my head:
>rogue synthetics
>mercs/pirates
>rebel colonists
IDK if you can get a campaign out of any of that, but there's enough to at least switch a plot up.
The game isn’t really built for the campaigns, that’s true. Some of the scenarios form an overarching campaign (for example, Chariot of the Gods, Destroyer of Worlds, and Heart of Darkness), but they’re connected by plot elements (the previously mentioned campaigns all revolve around the Draconis strain, for example), and the players are expected to be playing different PCs (CotG is about roughnecks, DoW is about marines, and HoD is about scientists, for example).
*previously mentioned scenarios, not campaigns, sorry I’m moronic
Literally just jebait your players and don't have xenomorphs. Play it like you're playing Traveller.
...why not play Traveller at that point?
Because then your players aren't expecting a Xenomorph.
Royal Jelly from the queens. Dark Horse had a storyline with Humans developing all kinds of drugs and horrible shit from it.
Studying their biology for medical and even construction purposes. From their acid blood to how their vision works to even their ability to survive in zero g.
Facehugger's ability to keep a host alive and dormant.
Study the different stages of Xenomorph life cycle. Each form offers something unique
If you want to really get crazy, use them to bait Preds to start poaching their tech.
The transformative ability of drones to change form to fill certain roles in the hive, becoming Praetorians and other breeds.
Replicating the queen/drone bond to create better means of communication between things like computers, prosthetics, and even between people. If you really want to get fricked up, experiment with using it in concerns to being able to always be in contact with your children or significant other for 'protection' or even artificially creating romantic bonds.
Well that Alien TV series is coming out, but actually frick that. Might have some interesting ideas but the setting sucks balls. Earth in the not too distant future? Goddammit, just set it in a fricking shake'n'bake colony. I don't care if it's a Hadley's Hope prequel to Aliens or some other soon to be Xeno'ed dump, but it's not fricking hard to do that on the cheap. You can use abandoned industrial parks for their used future, dress it up in some 70s era looking computer terminals, and you're good to go. Hell, the fricking anniversary shorts managed it.
JFC I hate them all.