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Making Marines

Back to Your Character

*“How many drops is this for you, Lieutenant?”*

*“Thirty eight... simulated.”*

*“How many combat drops?”*

*“Uh, two. Including this one.”*

*—Lt. Ellen Ripley, Lieutenant Scott Gorman, and Private Jenette Vasquez*

Either via draft, free will, or at gunpoint, you signed up for the Colonial Marines. Congratulations. Your recruiter probably gave you a pretty story about a paid education, learning a trade, traveling to beautiful new worlds, and getting off your boring ass colony. Probably even told you that the Americas haven’t been in an open conflict since the Dog War ended, almost twenty years ago. Definitely told you you’d get to shoot a nice big gun. Well marine, that last part is 100 percent true. The rest, well—lets just say those little gems ain’t as shiny as you thought.

If you’ve signed up thinking you’re going to be taking on enemy platoons by yourself and slow motion running away from explosions like some goddamn action hero nonsense—just stop that shit right now. You’re embarrassing yourself and you are embarrassing the Corps. Modern warfare is a dangerous business. Once you step off that dropship and onto a battlefield, you’ll run into more ways to die than there are for you to stay alive. Just remember that war is more Nuts and Gory than Guts and Glory.

On the Ready Line

Creating Your Marine

The Basics

* Military Occupational Specialty (Overview)
* Attributes (MOS)
* Skills (MOS)
* Talents (MOS)

Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)

* AFV Marine
* Assault Marine (Breacher)
* Automatic Rifleman (Smartgunner)
* Comtech Marine
* CBRN Specialist
* Dedicated Marksman
* Dropship Crew Chief
* Hospital Corpsman
* Forward Observer
* Rifleman

Field Events

New Talents

Final Preparations

* Rank
* Personal Stuff
* Starting Gear
Planetfall

Back to Spacecraft Basics

Ships built for atmospheric entry and planetary surface landings (with the Planetfall Capacity upgrade) can be used to land on any rock in space you like—but expect it to be a bumpy ride. Planetfall usually takes about one Shift to complete, and requires a PILOTING roll. If the roll fails, the ship suffers minor component damage (roll D66 on the table on page 198). You can now choose to abort the landing and try again next Shift. If you continue, roll for PILOTING again. If the second roll fails too, the ship suffers major component damage (roll 2D6 on the table on page 199). If you suffer engine failure or a reactor breach, the ship will crash—hurry to those EEVs! If the ship is still operable, you again have the choice to abort or to continue the landing, making a third PILOTING roll. If this third roll also fails, the ship crashes hard, killing all on board.
Scientist Talents

Back to Talents

* Analysis - You can roll for Observation to gain insight regarding strange and alien artifacts or creatures that you encounter and get a chance to study for at least one Turn. For every (target) you roll, you get to ask the GM one of the questions below.
	+ Is it human or alien?
	+ Is it dead or alive?
	+ How old is it?
	+ What is its purpose?
	+ How does it work?
	+ What problems could it cause?

\*NOTE: The GM must answer truthfully, but is allowed to give vague or incomplete answers in order to avoid spoiling the scenario. A successful Analyze roll also reduces the Stress Level of all other PCs within SHORT Range by one, while a failed roll increases other PCs' stress levels by one

* Breakthrough - You’ve done it! Once per game session, you automatically pass an OBSERVATION roll of your choice, without needing to make the roll. In order to avoid spoiling the scenario, the GM has final say on whether or not this talent can be used for a particular roll.

* Inquisitive - You are always seeking to expand the boundaries of your knowledge. You can push any skill roll based on Wits twice, not just once like other characters. Each push increases your STRESS LEVEL by one.
Regular Maintenance

Back to Spacecraft Basics

Every week, a member of your crew needs to make one HEAVY MACHINERY roll and one COMTECH roll to service your ship. Each roll takes one Shift of work. Only one person can roll, but others can help. If you’re all in cryo sleep, get a synthetic to do the work for you. A ship A.I. like MU/TH/UR can handle the COMTECH service, but not HEAVY MACHINERY. If a service skill roll fails, or is not made during a particular week, your ship will suffer minor component damage. Roll D66 on the table on page 198.
Prefab Meals

Back to Food and Drink

The average meal in space is pre-prepped flash-frozen rations. Typical meals aboard a starship include pastas, cereals, freeze-dried vegetables, stews, meatloaf and something resembling cornbread. Corporations make their employees pay for these prefab meals, despite the fact that there are few, if any, other choices and the workers are in space on company time. Increases your Food Supply one step (see page 34).
Stickmania

* Flag
* Map

**Stickmania** is a sovereign country located in Eastern Meitria. It borders Baconia and Chacya.

## History

During the 630s Islam was created in that country, Stickmanian people adopted the religion soon after.

### Stickmania (908-today)

The nation itself was created in late 908 after migration era was over, both Kerbalistan and Baconia created their own states before. In 951 Nuorian War began and it ended 4 years later with Stickmania annexing Nuoria. In 1008 Nuorian Rebelion began and in 1012 it ended after Stickmanian ruler promised them autonomy.

## Politics

Nuoria is a autonomous part of Stickmania and it's capital is Ancien City.

## Demographics

### Language

There are two major languages in Stickmania, first is Stickmanian which is spoken in the north. Second one is Nuorian which is spoken in the south.

### Religion

Stickmanian people practice Islam while Nuorians practice Capanillea.

### Ethnicity

Stickmanian people live in the north while Nuorians in the south.

## Trivia

* People from that country are known to be great mathematicans often breaking limits of what was possible in math.
* Most buildings in this country are perfect cubes or rectangles with 2:1 ratio.

## Cities

* Sodjay City
* Luna Annabelle City
* John Sambal City
* Bassels City
* Acepogs City
* Kerbalista City
* Ancient City
* Kaper City
* Sapotich City
* Choice City
* Aqua Vista City
* Putong City
* Jairo City
Personal Medkit

Back to Medical Supplies

A Personal Medkit contains what you need to stop bleeding, disinfect a wound and cauterize it, some Pharmax bandages to wrap it up and a stim boost to keep you on your feet. A Medkit is not a permanent solution, it’s more of a band aid to keep your guts from spilling out until you reach an Auto–Doc. Gives a +2 modification to MEDICAL AID rolls, but can only be used once.
Third Base

Back to Core Systems

A classified USCMC research base situated on a small undesignated moon, Third Base is located within a short jump distance from both New Eden Sector and Sol system. Third Base is a pressurized facility designed for advanced bioweapons research, and maintains an expansive hanger that is able to accommodate several large military transport and cargo vessels, along with a well stocked vehicle depot and extensive armory. The Colonial Marine forces stationed there are trained and positioned to launch a first strike on any ICSC world if necessary. Despite its classified status, Third Base sits adjacent to the civilian colony and atmospheric processing plant on the moon. A series of caverns and former ice reservoirs honeycomb the surface and served as temporary housing while the colony was established. The colony itself is cut off from the rest of the galaxy. All communications are handled on military channels and must be approved. They are monitored with a built-in delay for censorship, and any and all supplies are imported via military cargo runs only.
Living Quarters

Back to A Hard Life Amongst the Stars

In space, no one can hear you snore… in hypersleep, at least. When not in stasis, however, you need a place to bed down and call your own. Here are your options.

ON ROTATION: As a mining and construction worker, you are often on rotation, and therefore do not rate for full quarters. Instead, you bunk in communal sleeping areas called cages. These facilities have stacked levels of meshed enclosures just long enough for a bedroll and tall enough to sit up in. A small locker and personal effects area is built into the headboard, and privacy is accomplished through the use of blinds. Just as on starships, showers and toilet facilities are shared.

LONG HAULS: On military and commercial starship runs, most of your sleep time is done in stasis pods. For personal time while traveling in system, many freighters have a common area with recessed bunks built into the walls. Like the cages, these accommodations can be closed off with blinds or curtains, and can be decorated according to your discerning tastes (or lack thereof). Showers, the bathroom, galley and mess area are all communal on these service ships, so the coffin- like bunks offer the only private place for most military and long-haul crews.

CRAMPED QUARTERS: On some space stations, populations are high, and space is optimized. Don’t expect to get too comfortable in such places. The lower levels of stations like Gateway have tight hallways and cramped studio apartments with kitchenettes and bathroom facilities all in the same small area. These apartments can be so small that it is uncomfortable for two people to navigate one at the same time.

GALAXY STANDARD: Crew quarters on colony and scientific exploration ships are often more roomy, consisting of a standardized studio area with a small private bathroom. If you’re skilled enough, you might even rate your own viewport.

LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS: Don’t expect to spend much time in any of these. Lavish to the extreme, these penthouse apartments on starships and stations are sometimes located on a separate module with its own support system and supplies. They are spacious, extravagantly stocked with food, drink, and whatever its occupants might need to survive for up to two years on their own.
Millenarian Doomsayers

Back to Religion

Fundamentalist groups that believe the end times are near, millenarian doomsayers await their final judgment and the coming of God. Vowing celibacy, members of these apocalyptic brotherhoods seek to atone for their past sins through hard labor and devout penance. Unsurprisingly, the largest fanatical followings are on prison colonies, where the population has nothing to do but await apocalyptic redemption. As such, doomsayer groups often attract reformed murderers and rapists. Punishment for those who stray is often severe, ranging from isolation to starvation, severe beatings, and even mutilation.
Stun Baton

Back to Close Combat Weapons

Basically a cattle prod, these electroshock devices are designed to keep pests and livestock in order on the Frontier. While the charge isn’t strong enough to kill a human, a touch can incapacitate the target. If you see something lurking underfoot, hit it with it. Shouldn’t damage the little bastard, unless its skin is thinner than ours…

Anyone hit by a stun baton who takes one or more points of damage must make an immediate STAMINA roll (doesn’t count as an action) or be stunned for one Round. After each attack, you need to make a Power Supply roll. The battery has a Power Supply level of 5 when fully charged.
Pull Rank

Back to Officer Talents

You can use your Command skill to order other non-officer PCs and NPCs around, as long as they belong to the same organization as you. To force someone to follow your orders and perform a specific action, roll COMMAND against the target’s Manipulation. If successful, the target must follow your order, even if it means harm or danger to themselves. Your Stress Level increases by one each time you do this. Note also that each roll only covers one specific action. You cannot stop actions triggered by Panic Rolls using this talent.
Starting Attributes

Back to Core Concepts, Attributes

When you create your player character for Campaign play, you may distribute a total of 14 points across your attributes. You may assign no less than 2 and no more than 4 points to any attribute. However, you may assign 5 points to the attribute listed as the “key attribute” for your career.

ANDROIDS: Synthetic characters get a +3 bonus to two attributes of their choice after the 14 attribute points have been assigned, and can reach a maximum score of 8 in these two attributes. However, androids have other drawbacks. See Playing an Android.
Systems and Planets

Back to ALIEN: A Whisper in the Dark Wiki

*"I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the Network will pick me up."*

*-Lt. Ellen Ripley*

Space is full of demons, and they want your blood. In any number of the locations cited below, you might run into a shady Colonial Marshal looking for his take, a greedy corporate XO who finds you expendable, or a psychopathic synthetic with a god complex. You could be waylaid by pirates or betrayed by a megalomaniacal military commander. You might find plague-ridden treasures and run afoul of a dangerous organism or a hostile alien species. The seeds of these encounters are planted in the planetary systems presented here—it’s up to you to determine which bear fruit and where.

The Core Systems

* Sol Sector
* New Eden Sector
	+ AG-4550 System
	+ Heske 337 System

The Outer Veil

* Sector 3847
	+ JPG-770 System

* Neroid Sector
	+ POL-5362 System
	+ Fiori 16 System

* Bao Sau Sector
	+ 17 Phei Phei System

The Outer Rim Territories

* Borodino Sector
	+ Requist System
	+ Gliese 326-3827 System
	+ 8 Eta Boötis System

* Tartarus Sector
	+ GJ229A System
	+ GL3000 System

Frontier

* Khadaji System
* Alpha Caeli System
* Gamma Leporis System
* GL259 System
* Epsilon Reticuli System
* Tanaka System
* Zeta Reticuli System

**UNCLAIMED**

* Barghest Pulsar
	+ Barghest Station

* Sector 117
	+ Achilles System
Just in Town for Supplies

Back to A Hard Life Amongst the Stars

While most Frontier jobs are colony-based, they all interact in one way or another. Prospectors and wildcatters survey the terrain, staking claims to mineral deposits and drilling exploratory wells in unexplored regions. Miners often serve a one-year contract at a particular colony site before being rotated out. Farmers grow produce, maintenance engineers keep the atmospheric processors running, general managers oversee it all, and the marshals keep everyone in line. Space truckers deliver supplies to the colony and bring that world’s exports back to the Inner Core Systems. Many corporate cargo haulers are former Colonial Navy veterans who are down on their luck. The Colonial Marines and Navy protect these worlds, also rotating in and out along the Frontier. Finally, corporations will send security and assessment teams to ensure their resources are being well cared for. Taken all together, it represents the well-oiled machine of commerce—and everyone in it is just a cog, a replaceable cog.

Then there is the fringe element.

Mercenaries, vagabonds and privateers move from colony to colony, looking to eke out a living on the fringe of normal society. Some are criminals on the run, others are just disenchanted with colonial and corporate bureaucracy. Many are dangerous.
Pharmaceuticals

Back to Other Equipment

There are a number of prescribed and under the table drugs that are common on the Frontier.

Neversleep Pills - Fast acting supplement that keeps you going well past your bedtime. Excessive use can cause stroke or heart attack. Each dose increases your STRESS LEVEL one step but removes the need for sleep for one day. During that day, you cannot relieve stress (see page 104).

Hydr8tion - An electrolyte solution that counteracts the dehydrating effects of hypersleep (see page 151), Hydr8tion is one of the few pharmaceuticals of the space age with no side effects.

Naproleve - An injectable instant pain reliever for all strains, stresses, and irritations. Recommended for use during any self-inflicted cesarean performed to extract an unconventional fetus from your womb. Immediately reduces the patient’s STRESS LEVEL to zero. Warning: an overdose of Naproleve can have an intoxicating effect. Each dose beyond the first in the same Shift gives a –1 modification to all AGILITY-based skill rolls until the end of the Shift.

Recreational Drugs - Get ‘recked. Cannabis, tobacco, and certain doses of steroids, benzodiazepines and methylenedioxymethamphetamine are all legal drugs prescribed for recreational use by corporate physicians. Price varies from $5 for a pack of cigarettes to $60,000 for a kilo of benzoylecgonine.

X-Drugs - These are the more extreme drugs out there that most ethical corporations work to keep off their colonies. These X-drugs increase strength, endurance, and the senses, but prolonged use can result in severe side effects such as hallucinations, seizures, psychosis, and stroke. The Colonial Marine Corps is rumored to be experimenting with new powerful X-Stims for its soldiers, and some unscrupulous companies quietly supply their workers with similar illegal stimulants in an effort to increase productivity. Effects and prices vary.
Spaceship Attributes

Back to Spacecraft Basics

FTL Rating - Denotes how many days it takes for the ship to travel one parsec.

Signature - Determines how difficult it is for enemies to lock their sensors onto the ship. See page 191.

Thrusters - The modification you get to your PILOTING rolls when maneuvering the ship. See page 193.

Hull - How much damage the ship can take before becoming Disabled. See page 197.

Armor (Spacecraft) - The Armor Rating of the ship.

Armaments - The number of armaments of each size that the ship can be fitted with. See page 176.

Modules - The number of internal modules of each size that the ship can hold. See page 170.
Practitioners of the Holy Immolation

Back to Dominion Over the Stars, Religion

A quasi-religious pacifist group in direct opposition to the corporate domination of the colonies, the Practitioners of the Holy Immolation first emerged during the Tientsin Campaign. Since then, these fanatics have become known for staging protests where one or more of their members will immolate themselves in the name of a free Frontier. Mostly a threat to themselves, they sometimes endanger others when their fires grow out of control in sensitive areas, such as in a biodome or on a space station.
Mechanical Cutting Torch

Back to Close Combat Weapons, Tools

A utilitarian blowtorch used for both welding and cutting through metal. In a pinch, a cutting torch can be used as a weapon. The Rexim EVA pistol started life as a laser cutting torch. You want to stay alive? You need to improvise. You need to make a Power Supply roll after every use. Its battery has a Power Supply level of 5 when fully charged.

When used as a tool, the cutting torch gives a +2 modification to HEAVY MACHINERY in relevant situations. The cutting torch consumes a lot of electricity, and you need to make a Power Supply roll after every use (see page 36). Its battery has a Power Supply level of 5 when fully charged.
Panic Roll

Back to Stress & Panic

As long as you keep your stress in check, you can use it to your advantage. But if the tension grows too strong it can explode, sending you into a wild panic. You need to make a Panic Roll when any of the following happens:

* You roll one or more (facehugger) on your Stress Dice in a skill roll. If this happens, you can't push the skill roll—instead, roll for panic.
* You witness a friendly character suffering from a certain panic effect (see the table).
* You are pinned down by a ranged attack.
* You suffer a critical injury.
* You’re attacked by a strange alien creature that you’ve never seen before.
* A truly horrifying event occurs, as determined by a scenario or the GM.

RESOLUTION: Roll a D6, add your current STRESS LEVEL, and check the table to the right.

PANIC ACTIONS: If you roll a 10 or higher on your Panic Roll, you will be forced to perform a specific action. If the Panic Roll was the result of a skill check for an action, the action is cancelled and immediately replaced by the forced panic action, even if you rolled (target).

MORE PANIC: If you are suffering from a panic effect (7+ on the Panic Roll) and are forced to make another Panic Roll, the new panic effect replaces the previous one. If the new roll is lower than the previous effect, however, it is automatically adjusted to one step more severe than the previous effect.

OVERKILL: The Overkill talent lets you replace the effect of a Panic Roll result of 11 or higher by the Overkill effect, if you have any enemies in sight. When triggering Overkill, you must immediately attack your enemies and you won’t stop until you or all enemies in sight are Broken. Also, all other PCs in SHORT range of you must make an immediate Panic Roll.

* NPCs AND PANIC - Stress levels are only tracked for PCs, never for NPCs, and NPCs never make Panic Rolls - instead NPCs panic when the GM deems it appropriate. Panicking NPCs can increase the Stress Level of PCs nearby. This is up to the GM's judgment.
MU/TH/UR

Back to Computer Mainframes

Most starships, space stations, and military facilities are run via a sophisticated computer system called MU/TH/UR. Originally developed by Weyland Corporation at the end of the 21st century, the MU/TH/UR system soon became the standard for running complex automated systems and facilities. Affectionately nicknamed “Mother” by the crews who utilize these computers, over the decades various models have sported different levels of AI packages. While both the MU/TH/UR 1000 and 9000 series are sophisticated interactive models that over time can develop rudimentary personalities, most military, cargo, and utilitarian craft of today are equipped with the standard 5000 through 8000 series.

While these machines can communicate through the ship’s intercom system, most of them can only be directly accessed through the computer core. Card and punch code entry to this secure and static free chamber is only granted to the vessel’s commanding officer. The computer core also allows the commanding officer to issue alternate commands and overrides to "Mother’s" automated routine.
Personal Agenda

Back to Personal Stuff

You might be a team, but each individual PC in your group also has an angle of their own—a Personal Agenda. How personal agendas work differs between Cinematic and Campaign play.

CINEMATIC AGENDAS : In Cinematic play, the PCs’ Agendas are predetermined by the scenario. At the beginning of each of the three Acts of the scenario, the GM gives each PC a handout with a new Agenda for the Act. The Agendas are hidden, you should not show them to other players or write them down on your character sheet.

At the end of each Act, the GM evaluates the actions of each PC. If you took any specific actions to further your Agenda during the Act, you are awarded one Story Point (see page 61). Acts, Agendas, and Story Points are further explained in detail in the Game Mother Section of this book (see page 216).

CAMPAIGN AGENDAS : In Campaign play, you can pick one of the suggested Personal Agendas listed with your career, or you can come up with an agenda of your own. At the end of each game session, discuss the agendas of all PCs together. If you have taken some concrete action to further your agenda during the session, despite risk or cost, you gain a bonus Experience Point (see page 35).
Particle Beam Weapon

Back to Armaments

These weapons accelerate particles in a kinetic energy wave that causes damaging ionization, and can overheat electronics to the point of shutdown. Particle beam weapons function differently from other ship armaments. First, countermeasures have no effect against them. Second, their base Damage rating is reduced one step for each range category beyond CONTACT. Third, they inflict no hull damage, only component damage.
Officer (Career)

Back to Your Character

*When everything is going to shit— the Company’s holding your crew’s pay hostage, there’s a mountain of reports to file from that last incident near Thedus, and who knows how many family members back home are weighing on everyone’s minds—it’s a good thing you spent all those years training to do this for a living. You’re the authority figure, the role model, the voice of your superiors, and the enlisted crew’s advocate. You’re also the butt of all of their jokes around the mess hall… until it all gets so much worse, and they’re looking to you for what to do next. Better hope your training has a solution to this one.*

TYPICAL NAMES: Eugene Proctor, Oliver Bryant, Lloyd T. Darrington, Wendy Stern, Julia Kwang, Camille Kirschner

* KEY ATTRIBUTE: Empathy
* KEY SKILLS: Ranged Combat, Command, Manipulation
* CAREER TALENTS: Field Commander, Influence, Pull Rank

YOUR PERSONAL AGENDA - Choose from the options below or decide for yourself.

* You come from an officer family. You need to gain promotion or an award -- soon.
* You messed up in the past. Avoid taking the blame for any more mission screw-ups.
* Mistakes are deadly, so don't let anyone under your watch screw up. Make sure they understand why.

SIGNATURE ITEM - Choose one of the following or come up with one yourself.

* Ship's cat
* Letter of recommendation
* ICC Commercial Flight Officer license

APPEARANCE - Choose from the options below or decide for yourself.

* Hair in a crew cut, or tied-back
* Serious, intense expression
* Spotless uniform
* Overworked and "strung-out"
* Stiff body posture
* Relaxed and soothing voice
* Jumpsuit with mission patch
* Impatiently taps a foot

GEAR - Choose two of the starting items below. You also get $2D6x100 in cash.

* M4A3 Service Pistol OR Rexim RXF-M5 EVA Pistol
* Samani E-Series Watch OR Binoculars
* M314 Motion Tracker OR IRC MK.50 Compression Suit
* Seegson P-DAT OR IFF Transponder
Pauling MedPod

Back to Medical Supplies

If you are going to get nearly dead, do it near a Pauling. The answer to space medicine, the Pauling MedPod is an autonomous medical scanner and surgical unit capable of performing bypass surgery. The Pauling MedPod can diagnose and treat infections through concentrated antibiotic injections. It can perform basic wound repair and pre-programmed surgical procedures such as an appendectomy, laparoscopic ablation and cesarean section.

The Pauling MedPod has gone through several iterations. The newest model is the Pauling MedPod 1080i. Although still cost prohibitive, the 1080i is much more prolific than its 720i predecessor. All models of the Pauling MedPod feature an airtight operating shield, comfortable limb restraints, a laser scalpel, computer controlled robotic surgical arms, liquid spray anesthetic and vital signs sensors, all mounted on an adjustable titanium base. The MedPod can be programmed with a simple (+2) COMTECH roll and has a MEDICAL AID skill level of 10 (roll for the skill level only), but can’t push its rolls.
Space Is Hell

Back to ALIEN: A Whisper in the Dark Wiki

Space is vast, dark, and not your friend. Gamma Rays and neutrino bursts erupt from dying stars to cook you alive, black holes tear you apart, and the void itself boils your blood and seizes your brain. Try to scream and no one can hear you -- hold your breath and you rupture your lungs.

Space isn't as empty as you'd think either -- its frontiers are ever expanding. Rival governments wage a cold war of aggression while greedy corporations vie for valuable resources. Colonists reach for the stars and gamble with their lives lives -- each new world tamed is either feast or famine.

And there are things lurking in the shadows of every asteroid -- things strange and different and deadly.

Things alien.

This is the ALIEN roleplaying game -- a universe of body horror and corporate brinkmanship, where synthetic people play god while space truckers and marines serve as hosts to newborn ghoulish creatures.

It's a harsh and unforgiving universe and you are nothing if not expendable.

Stay alive if you can.

What's the Story, Mother?

Frontier Life

* Territories of the Frontier
* Dominion Over the Stars
* This is Rumor Control
* Here Are the Facts

Careers on the Frontier

* Frontier Colonists
* Space Truckers
* Colonial Marines
* Company Reps

Roleplaying ALIEN

* The Game Mother

Game Modes

* Cinematic Play
* Campaign Play

Key Themes

Tools of the Game

* Character Sheets
* Dice
	+ Rolling Dice
* Cards

What is a Roleplaying Game?
Water

Back to Food and Drink

Shipboard company supplied water ($2) is rationed, cloudy, recycled, and tastes metallic, but gets you through the day. Bottles of purified water ($10) are luxury items on some worlds, and can fetch as much as $100/bottle on a barren rock. Increases your Water Supply one step (see page 34).
Modification

Back to Rolling Dice

Sometimes, external factors help you to succeed. This gives you extra Base Dice to roll. Other times, something hampers your action. This gives you fewer Base Dice to roll than normal. This is called a *modification*. Modification +1 means you roll one extra Base Die, +2 means you roll two extra Base Dice, and so on. Modification –1 means you roll one Base Die fewer than normal, –2 means two fewer, and so on.

Several modifications can apply to the same roll, simply add them together. A modification of +2 and one of –1 add up to +1. If you don’t have enough Base Dice to remove after a modification, remove Stress Dice. If you end up with no dice at all, you have no chance to succeed at this action—time to rethink your strategy!

You can get modifications in several different ways:

* Gear (see Chapter 5)
* The difficulty of the action itself
* Help from others
M316 Motion Tracker

Back to Vision Devices

The drawback to the M314 is its size and weight—you can't fire your weapon and operate the tracker at the same time. An experimental pulse rifle mounted upgrade— the M316—is currently being field tested. The good news? It is compact, lightweight and easy to glance at in a firefight. Of course, with good news always comes bad. While the M316 operates about the same as the M314, it has a much more limited range—LONG outdoors and MEDIUM indoors. Your results may vary, but that’s what you grunts are for—cannon fodder to help the big corporations figure out how to perfect their new toys. Power Supply level 3 when fully charged.
Tanaka System

Back to Frontier

The Tanaka system has six worlds, four of which are so close to the system’s blue star that they are little more than burning lumps of slag in space. The sixth planet—a frigid ball of methane—is so far removed from the Tanaka star that on the first pass through surveyors didn’t even notice it. The fifth planet lies barely within the star’s habitable zone and is detailed below.

***TANAKA 5:*** An arid desert planet prone to deadly sandstorms, Tanaka 5 was surveyed briefly in the 2170s and determined to be a likely resource for thulium, terbium, gold and manganese. This report has yet to be confirmed, but that hasn't stopped some prospectors from scouting the world and setting up temporary settlements. A 2-3 meter long scorpion-like creature has been found to be indigenous to the planet, which has been both a curse and a blessing. While highly aggressive, the lifeform’s neurotoxin has proven to be a counteracting agent for several ailments— making the planet a resource for medicinal needs. There is also talk of strange ruins amongst the underground springs beneath the deserts, but these reports have not been substantiated.
Retreat

Back to Close Combat

If you have an active enemy at ENGAGED range, you must make a MOBILITY roll to move away to SHORT range from them. If you fail, you still move but your enemy gets a free close combat attack against you. The free attack doesn’t count toward their actions in the Round and you can’t block it.
Living in Space

Back to A Hard Life Amongst the Stars

So, you want to try your hand at surviving on the Frontier. The average blue-collar worker here is a farmer, a pioneer, a maintenance engineer, a wildcatter, a prospector, a miner, a space trucker, a marshal, a manager or a soldier—all dirty and hard-working professions. Only a select few get to call themselves explorers.

The best long-term option available to the common human is to become a Frontier colonist. The vetting process isn’t easy—in addition to competency and physical prerequisites, candidates must endure an intense psychological screening process that many potential colonists fail. However, once you are approved for a colony, you are essentially set up in that position for life, assuming you don't screw up royally. Corporations and the colonial administration can’t be bothered to replace a farmsteader or terraforming maintenance engineer like you for minor infractions. Also, the job has the added bonus of your descendants inheriting your position.

Unfortunately, there is no glory or glamour to be had as a colonist—the colonies on the Frontier are experiencing an economic depression while the companies in the Core Systems grow fat off of the hard labor of others. Supplies are limited and more often than not, colonists are told to ration and improvise.
Mars

Back to Sol Sector

Along with Earth and Titan, Mars is one of the three capital worlds of the Three World Empire. Valles Colony on Mars was the former headquarters of Weyland Corp before they merged with Yutani. Terraforming has made the planet home for over 20 million colonists. Weyland-Yutani still maintains offices there, and operates a weapons testing facility on the moon of Phobos.
Officer Talents

Back to Talents

* Field Commander - You can use Command to give orders in combat as a fast action instead of a slow action. This in effect means you can give orders twice in the same Round.

* Influence - With rank comes certain privileges—being obeyed is one of them. You can push any skill roll based on Empathy twice, not just once like other characters. Each push increases your Stress Level by one.

* Pull Rank - You can use your COMMAND skill to order other non-officer PCs and NPCs around, as long as they belong to the same organization as you. To force someone to follow your orders and perform a specific action, roll COMMAND against the target’s Manipulation. If successful, the target must follow your order, even if it means harm or danger to themselves. Your STRESS LEVEL increases by one each time you do this. Note also that each roll only covers one specific action. You cannot stop actions triggered by Panic Rolls using this talent.
Player Vs Player

Back to Your Character

In the ALIEN roleplaying game, your PC can end up in direct confrontation with another PC. This is quite common in Cinematic play, less so in Campaign play.

In Cinematic play, it’s up to the GM to call out when a Player versus Player situation escalates beyond the point of no return. When the GM has “called PvP,” the players involved play out the current conflict to its conclusion. After that, the PC who has “turned traitor,” if they are still alive, become an NPC and is from now on under the control of the GM. The player in question is given a new PC to play, if one is available. This means that you should be think very carefully before acting against the common interest of the group, even if you think it’s in line with your Agenda— it may cost you your PC. You are strongly recommended to wait until the third and final Act of the scenario before taking such drastic action.

In Campaign play, PvP is less common and any such situations are resolved in the group without specific rules—you’ll just need to work out your differences if you are to continue in the same crew of PCs.
Slow Actions

Back to Slow & Fast Actions

ACTION - PREREQUISITE - SKILL

* Crawl - You are prone – N/A
* Close combat attack - N/A – Close Combat
* Shoot firearm - Firearm - Ranged Combat
* Burst of full auto fire - Firearm - Ranged Combat
* Throw weapon - Thrown weapon - Ranged Combat
* Reload - Firearm – N/A
* First aid - Broken or dying victim - Medical Aid
* Stop panic - Panicking character - Command
* Give orders - Character who can hear you - Command
* Persuade - Your opponent can hear you - Manipulation
* Use signature item - Signature item – N/A
* Climb into space suit - Space suit - Mobility
* Start engine - Vehicle – N/A
This is Rumor Control

Back to Frontier Life

Stories spread faster than light on the Frontier. Some scouts tell tales of priceless artifacts found in ancient ruins on distant moons -- ruins that predate humanity by millennia. Others talk of derelict spacecraft -- and a race of giants that once stalked the stars in them. Still others whisper about hostile lifeforms that overrun entire worlds -- terrifying parasitic creatures that are beyond our comprehension and wholly alien.

Many believe Weyland-Yutani and other corporations are covertly developing new and dangerous biological weapons, ranging from plagues and drug-controlled psychopathic cyborgs to genetically-engineered monsters. If these weapons really are being developed, one has to wonder who the company is designing them for, and if a war is on the horizon.

Over the past century, ships, stations, and even colonies have simply disappeared from the Frontier. Some attribute these losses to natural disasters or acts of God, others believe those involved fell prey to pirates or rival governments. Rumors of entire colonies being wiped out by a plague or nuked off the face of a planet have everyone on the Frontier living on the edge. Some even believe that man was never meant to leave Earth, and that space itself can swallow you whole.

Shutter your storm blinds and seal the airlocks -- something alien just might be out there, hiding in the dark.

It's waiting for you.
Rolling Dice

Back to Dice, Skills

The rules sometimes ask you to roll D6, D3, 2D6 and D66. D6 means rolling a Base Die and reading the number, ignoring any symbols. D3 means you roll a D6 and divide the result by two, rounding up. 2D6 means you roll two D6 and add the results. Another type of roll is the D66, which means you roll two D6s— consider the first die as the tens digit and the second die the ones digit. That gives you a result between 11 and 66.

There are twelve skills in total in the game, all described later in this chapter. Three skills are connected to each of the four attributes: STRENGTH, AGILITY, WITS, and EMPATHY. Skills are measured in skill levels, from 0 to 5.

As mentioned in Chapter 1, two types of six-sided dice are used in this game, each available for purchase separately: Base Dice and Stress Dice. You can play this game with any normal six-sided dice, but it helps if you have them in two different colors to tell Base Dice and Stress Dice apart.

Rolls Without Skill: If you don’t have the skill required for the particular action you want to perform, you can roll anyway— simply roll a number of Base Dice equal to your attribute as well as any Stress Dice.

NPCs and Skills: Non-player characters use skills in the same way as player characters, with the one major difference being that NPCs never push rolls. The GM rolls dice for NPCs, but should only roll for actions that affect a PC directly—for example, if the NPC is attacking a player character or is attempting to save them. When an NPC performs an action that does not directly affect a PC, the GM can simply decide what happens, without rolling dice

GEAR: Gear can give you extra Base Dice to roll, but not always; sometimes a specific piece of gear is needed just to perform the action.

* Mean Success
* The Art of Failure
* Chance of Success
* Describe Your Action
* Pushing Your Roll
* Stress Level
* Panic
* Story Points
* Only Once Chance
* Group Rolls
* Modification
* Difficulty
* Help From Others
* Opposed Rolls
Subdue

Back to Colonial Marshal Talents

You’re skilled at subduing an opponent without harming them. When you attack a humanoid opponent in close combat, you can declare that you are trying to subdue them. You then get a +2 modification to the attack, but if it hits, you don’t inflict any damage. Instead, you hold your opponent in a grapple. Extra (target) rolled have no effect.
Quinitricetyline Explosive Accelerant (QTC)

Back to Chemical Weapons

Often called QTC for short, quinitricetyline is a volatile toxic chemical usually found in liquid form. Similar to twentieth century napalm, QTC is often mixed with a gelling agent and used to firebomb an area containing enemy forces, dangerous indigenous life forms, or infectious disease. In 2163, a single drum of QTC was dropped into a beachhead bunker during the Tientsin Campaign. The blast not only incinerated the bunker itself but put a nearby tug in drydock for four months with significant damage.
Modules

Back to Spaceship Attributes

The number of internal modules of each size that the ship can hold.

Reworking Your Ship: To mount new modules or armaments to your ship, or to make upgrades to it, you’ll need to find a dry dock on a major space station or planetside colony. The cost of a module or armament typically includes the work of fitting it to your ship. The work can take a week or more, depending on the size of the module and if you’re willing to pay extra to get it done faster.
Money and Identification, Please

Back to A Hard Life Amongst the Stars

Just whose money are you spending, anyway? Identification and credit accounts are linked in the colonies, and can be accessed in a variety of ways. Most colonists carry a metal and transparent plastic prism ID account card that is encoded to the owner’s thumbprint—debits only occur when the proper recipient is holding the card. Other forms of ID in the colonies include access codes, retina scans, genetic breath analyzers, plastic or metal barcoded dog tags, and barcode tattoos—although the latter are usually reserved for convicted criminals.

COLD CASH: Credit accounts constitute the majority of transactions throughout the territories, but life on the Frontier can be different. What if you want to make a private purchase? Often, a transaction without a record is favorable. Most accepted cash is in denominations set by particular corporations, and their worth goes up and down based on the value of company stock. This can lead to problems when a particular business only accepts specific forms of currency. Rather than bank notes, these are corporate notes. National currencies are usually in electronic credit accounts only, as most governments prefer to keep track of all their citizens’ transactions. However, as the United Americas has grown disenchanted with their reliance on corporations like Weyland-Yutani and Lasalle Bionational, the Federal Reserve has proposed resurrecting the United American Dollar as paper currency.

CURRENCIES: All debits and credits are measured in, and converted to, United American (UA) dollars, Three World Imperial (3WE) yen, or Union of Progressive Peoples (UPP) yuen. Bills are available in different denominations, such as 5, 10, 20, 100, 1,000, and 10,000—there are no singles. Some corporate paper currencies include:

* W-Y COLONY DOLLARS: (Pronounced Why) Weyland-Yutani currency—the hundred W-Y dollar bill has a security hologram imprint of Peter Weyland on its face. Other bills depict company pioneers such as Meredith Vickers, and both Jenny and Hideo Yutani.
* SEEG BILLS: Not as widely accepted as W-Y dollars, these bills bear only the Seegson logo and a holographic denomination.
* BINAT COINS: These tokens are made of a mixture of standard and precious metals, ranging from steel, copper, and platinum to even rarer earth metals.

Conversion rates are always in flux, but as a rule of thumb, W-Y dollars maintain their value, and thus are the most sought after.
Taking Orders?

Back to Declaring Actions

Typically, crew members are expected to follow the orders of the captain and perform the action they are told to. However, individual crew members can of course disobey orders and perform another action of their own choice. The consequences of such disobedience need to be roleplayed.
Stress Level

Back to Rolling Dice, Stress & Panic

Pushing yourself builds tension to a point where you risk going into wild panic or a violent outburst. When you push a roll, your STRESS LEVEL immediately increases by one point. Mark this down on your character sheet before you re-roll your dice.

When making skill rolls—including the immediate re-roll when pushing—add a number of Stress Dice to your dice pool equal to your current STRESS LEVEL. This means the stress actually increases your chances to succeed at skill rolls—it makes you more sharp and alert. However, if you roll a (facehugger) symbol on one or more Stress Dice during a skill roll, you risk panic.

The mounting tension in your character is measured by their STRESS LEVEL. It usually starts at zero, and increases during the course of the game. Your STRESS LEVEL increases by one whenever one of the following happens:

* You push a skill roll.
* You fire a burst of full auto fire (see page 96).
* You suffer one or more points of damage.
* You go without sleep, food, or water.
* You perform a coup de grâce (see page 99).
* A Scientist in your team fails to use the Analysis talent (see page 77).
* A member of your own crew attacks you.
* A person nearby is revealed to be an android.
* You encounter certain creatures or locations, as determined by the scenario or the GM.

Gaining Stress Dice - Whenever you make a skill roll (see page 58), you must add a number of Stress Dice equal to your current STRESS LEVEL to your roll—your stress makes you more focused, increasing your chance to succeed. There’s a flip side to this though—if you roll one or more (facehugger) on your Stress Dice, you must make a Panic Roll.
Marking Your Actions

Back to Slow & Fast Actions

As reactive actions such as blocking and overwatch fire break the initiative order, it can be hard to keep track of how many actions a combatant has performed in the Round. A tip is to keep track of this by turning the initiative card 90 degrees for every performed action. Turn it to the left for a fast action and to the right for a slow action, and all the way around 180 degrees once both actions in the turn are used up.
UD-4B Production Model

Back to UD-4 Cheyenne Series VTOL Tactical Dropship

Discontinued by the USCMC as of 2172, UD-4B is the original production model and is now only in use in the private sector. The 4B has no provisions for nose guns and no deployable weapon bays. Those in paramilitary use are equipped with the main missile array, but civilian models are stripped of all weapons. Additionally, the dropship has a smaller cargo capacity and as such has no provisions for an APC. The UD-4B can carry eight passengers.
Remote

Back to Colonial Marine Talents

You are qualified to set up, control and repair remote sentry guns and other remotely controlled battlefield devices, and to pilot remote vehicles and Pups. Receive +2 to Comtech rolls to carry out these tasks. The correct equipment is needed in all cases. A PR-PUT Portable Remote Pilot Uplink Terminal, for example, is needed to remote pilot a dropship, EVAC fighter or APC.
Tools

Back to Other Equipment

Watatsumi DV-303 Bolt Gun - Read more under Weapons above. When used as a tool, the bolt gun gives a +2 modification to HEAVY MACHINERY in relevant situations.

Mechanical Cutting Torch - Read more under Weapons above. When used as a tool, the cutting torch gives a +2 modification to HEAVY MACHINERY in relevant situations. The cutting torch consumes a lot of electricity, and you need to make a Power Supply roll after every use (see page 36). Its battery has a Power Supply level of 5 when fully charged.

Maintenance Jack - A common tool used to open unpowered airlocks and divert power to or from electrical junction boxes. Gives a +1 modification to HEAVY MACHINERY in relevant situations.
Magnetic Tapes

Back to Data Storage

A two-hundred-year-old technology, magnetic tape cassettes have become popular on the Frontier simply because they are both disposable and cheap. Utilizing sputter deposition technology, these cassettes can hold between 60, 90, or 120 terabytes (TB) of information each. While easily disrupted by a strong magnetic pulse, the benefit of magnetic tapes is that the archaic technology that runs them produces no easily detected wave signals. Most security sensor grids are set to detect more sophisticated electronic hardware. All these factors combined have managed to keep magnetic tapes in vogue for the past fifty years.