Alien Xenomorphs for Traveller?

[gloriousbattle]

You know, the kind that Ellen Ripley is always beating the crap out of? I'd most like the see a CT version, but anything would be fine.

I do seem to remember an old Judge's Guild Traveller product called Darthanon Queen that had rules for rolling up a creature called a Dyson, which was essentially a "starship dungeon crawl" monster. Do those rules still exist?

Thanks

 

[Seriayne]

You know, the kind that Ellen Ripley is always beating the crap out of? I'd most like the see a CT version, but anything would be fine.

I do seem to remember an old Judge's Guild Traveller product called Darthanon Queen that had rules for rolling up a creature called a Dyson, which was essentially a "starship dungeon crawl" monster. Do those rules still exist?

Thanks

The Chamax adventures were kinda modelled in the ZOMG acid blood, super eater insect swarmers with a QUEEN! - very much in the same spirit, though without the creepy 'gothic horror' element. That aside, there's quite a few older entries in these forums dealing with xenomorphs I believe.

But, I'll take a shot at the classic Xenomorph.

I'd just base stat them as UPP FAA300, give them jack body armor with a grenade splash of acid in their immediate squares (1d6/rnd CT or 1/rnd MT) if they take more than half their HP in damage. Burns each round until neutralized with a strong base. Shed the armor before it burns through (1 round per armor point MT) otherwise or it'll eat to the PC. Certain armors may have ceramic layers which may stop the acid, though likely after some degredation of the armor involved (TL 15 Battledress might not be destroyed, but it may lose 5 points or so of effective armor for example.)

Base creature skills: Brawl 3, Recon 1, Tactics 1
Weapons: Spike (2d6), claws (1d6), acid improved bite (2d6).

Though not tool users, some are very quick studies. Locks, elevators, doors, windows and the like are not effective barriers. Also that suicide rush into your automated machinegun mounts might just be a diversion while the real assault comes from the +/- Z coordinates.

Special abilities to note: Aliens that want to get to you can 'bleed' themselves voluntarily or sacrifice members of their group for instantaneous acid sources. Figure they can burn a breach through a ship's bulkhead in about 4 hours, +1 hour per 10 points of ship armor, though they may give up or look for other ways in if its taking too much energy or the perceived threat of the PC's is low, or they think there might be a faster way 'in'.

Tactics implies they can put a big force at one location, while sending scouts around to flank or seek alternate routes past a checkpoint/barrier.

Note that telepaths and other sensitive psions coming within even a lightyear of their location may start to have bad dreams well in advance of even encountering such creatures. Very useful for the whole mood setting of a bughunt piece.

 

[gloriousbattle]

Thanks for that! I'll also take a look through the fora and see what else is out there.

 

[Hemdian]

You know, the kind that Ellen Ripley is always beating the crap out of? I'd most like the see a CT version, but anything would be fine.

Ah, you want the "Reticulan Parasite" as detailed in JTAS 4. Just be aware that this article was written before the 2nd film and thus does not include the queen.

     Animal type  Weight  Hits   Armour    Wounds & Weapons
100  Eggs            3kg   0/5   jack       0  none     A0 F0 S0
100  Larvae         200g   1/2   none       3  none     A0 F7 S0.5
  1  Parasite        2kg   0/8   jack          special  A0 F0 S0
  1  Parasite        6kg   9/4   jack      12  teeth    A0 F0 S3
  1  Parasite      120kg  20/15  battle     9  teeth    A0 F0 S3
                                            6  teeth-1
Attacks with surprise; flees if surprised                                         12  stinger
Acid blood inflicts 100-600 points of damage                                            8  claws

 

[gloriousbattle]

Ah, you want the "Reticulan Parasite" as detailed in JTAS 4. Just be aware that this article was written before the 2nd film and thus does not include the queen.

     Animal type  Weight  Hits   Armour    Wounds & Weapons
100  Eggs            3kg   0/5   jack       0  none     A0 F0 S0
100  Larvae         200g   1/2   none       3  none     A0 F7 S0.5
  1  Parasite        2kg   0/8   jack          special  A0 F0 S0
  1  Parasite        6kg   9/4   jack      12  teeth    A0 F0 S3
  1  Parasite      120kg  20/15  battle     9  teeth    A0 F0 S3
                                            6  teeth-1
Attacks with surprise; flees if surprised                                         12  stinger
Acid blood inflicts 100-600 points of damage                                            8  claws

Thanks, but "Acid blood inflicts 100-600 points of damage"

 

[aramis]

Thanks, but "Acid blood inflicts 100-600 points of damage"

Takes 100 points to burn through a partition wall big enough for a man to get through; 500 for a bulkhead. That answer why?

 

[gloriousbattle]

Takes 100 points to burn through a partition wall big enough for a man to get through; 500 for a bulkhead. That answer why?

Just seems a bit excessive. If that were the case, I think an exploding alien would have killed all the marines in their ATV, rather than just burning Hicks a little.

 

[far-trader]

Just seems a bit excessive. If that were the case, I think an exploding alien would have killed all the marines in their ATV, rather than just burning Hicks a little.

I think this was explained in some Alien forum or magazine (IF it wasn't just my own musings). As I recall it the acid was a two part (or more) secretion. Each part was harmless (relatively) enough on its own (such as in the XM or sprayed when it exploded) but when properly secreted (possibly only during one stage of development) it was capable of dissolving darn near anything.

Witness also, iirc, the XM drooling in one scene (above Ripley iirc) and no acidic reaction.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I seem to remember somebody making a .pdf of the Aliens a while back. Might have been for Alternity. I'll look around my hard drive.

EDIT: Found it. Google should be able to tell you where you can download it. It's called

Aliens
Game Over
by Michael Tresca

Unfortunately, it's for the d20 system, so it would work with T20 (with some minor conversion) but have to be converted to any of the other Traveller systems.

 

[Gray Lensman]

Aliens
Game Over
by Michael Tresca

Michael Tresca did alot of D20 Stuff (Aliens, Predator, Terminator Ad Nauseum)

http://michael.tresca.net/

Look under the freebies section.

 

[toddaroo]

I'm a fan of the original asexual concept of the Alien, rather than the alternate hive/queen version that was used. Several scenes were cut from the original Alien to remove references to the asexual Alien and to promote the hive idea - which I've always thought a shame. The hive Aliens are too familiar and thus loose a lot of their... alien qualities as a result.

Regardless, I really like Seriayne's version.

When I get home from work today, I think I'll write up the version of the Alien I favor for both CT and RTT both, just to add variation to the wonderful fistful of Aliens we have here already.

 

[gloriousbattle]

I'm a fan of the original asexual concept of the Alien, rather than the alternate hive/queen version that was used. Several scenes were cut from the original Alien to remove references to the asexual Alien and to promote the hive idea - which I've always thought a shame. The hive Aliens are too familiar and thus loose a lot of their... alien qualities as a result.

Regardless, I really like Seriayne's version.

When I get home from work today, I think I'll write up the version of the Alien I favor for both CT and RTT both, just to add variation to the wonderful fistful of Aliens we have here already.

I agree. The second version also doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Why does a sexually parasitic lifeform even need a female sex?

 

[jawillroy]

Why does a sexually parasitic lifeform even need a female sex?

Because the screenwriter needed the Big Fight to become a conflict of Human Mother vs. Alien Mother, that's why. ALL HAIL THE PLOT!

 

[gloriousbattle]

Because the screenwriter needed the Big Fight to become a conflict of Human Mother vs. Alien Mother, that's why. ALL HAIL THE PLOT!

Probly.

 

[toddaroo]

Because the screenwriter needed the Big Fight to become a conflict of Human Mother vs. Alien Mother, that's why. ALL HAIL THE PLOT!

Pretty much. I'll never forgive James Cameron his director's artistic license in this instance.

 

[toddaroo]

Ah, you want the "Reticulan Parasite" as detailed in JTAS 4. Just be aware that this article was written before the 2nd film and thus does not include the queen.

Nice! That is pretty much spot on to the original concept! They even list The Book of Alien as one of the sources. This book lays out the original concepts quite nicely. I remember biking to the library and sitting for hours looking at the pictures in this book and reading it from cover to cover to cover.

 

[toddaroo]

I'd begun writing up my own version when I stumbled upon this. I don't see the need to duplicate an excellent offering for Riki Tiki Traveller, since this is pretty much spot on. It definitely needs to be shared.

 

[gloriousbattle]

I'd begun writing up my own version when I stumbled upon this. I don't see the need to duplicate an excellent offering for Riki Tiki Traveller, since this is pretty much spot on. It definitely needs to be shared.

Another really good version that I found is in Space Gamer #37. That version of the Alien is one tough hombre.

Curious though. When that old version, as well as the JTAS version was written up and published, everybody was a lot less touchy about copyright than they are now. I wonderif Mongoose should really be doing this?

 

[aramis]

Another really good version that I found is in Space Gamer #37. That version of the Alien is one tough hombre.

Curious though. When that old version, as well as the JTAS version was written up and published, everybody was a lot less touchy about copyright than they are now. I wonderif Mongoose should really be doing this?

It's not a copyright issue at all. It is a Trademark issue.

 

[toddaroo]

Another really good version that I found is in Space Gamer #37. That version of the Alien is one tough hombre.

Thanks for the tip.

Curious though. When that old version, as well as the JTAS version was written up and published, everybody was a lot less touchy about copyright than they are now. I wonder if Mongoose should really be doing this?

I'm not so sure it is that big a deal really. I'm not an IP lawyer, thankfully; but I just don't see a fan write up like that on a gaming forum violating anything, you know? If the author tried to publish it for sale I'm sure 20th Century Fox might have something to say... but writing up fewer than 2500 words about the Alien (not the current franchise version either, mind you) with some stats for a gaming system on a RPG forum seems pretty 'fair use' to me. But then, what do I know?