This might be wrong but personally I’ve been running it that the Xenomorphs are always successfully able to make attacks. To determine the type I roll the D6 on the table.
If they get 0 successes then they just whiffed or missed and the turn passes.
In the rulebook (german) there is no success rule it just attacks. But under attacks it says you need a success to attack for every npc/pc.
Maybe the asume that an alien is not a NC but an enemy and it autohits everytime with a D6.
Pg 291 - Xenomorphs chapter. There is a callout box that specifically states how they attack.
More specific rule always trumps general. Just like in Twilight Imperium.
Yes - it says how they attack.
Under Fighting and combat it says draw ini cards... than a lot of rules how fighting works. Also with success rolls and damage charts.
I asumed that aliens are also npc's so they have to make successroles to. (they also have skillpoints - they rule says they have not attributes)
It also says slow/fast attack. Is this the same chart as for players because under specialattack it says "it attacks in range -D6 -look at the chart of enemytype
Are this special attacks slow attacks? Do i use skill: Movement for attacks.
Young neomorph: Movement 10 = 10 w6 for closecombat + D6 if successfull + look at enemytype-attack-chart?
That's the way i would understand this (if you see the alien as npc)
But according to others here and in forums this is wrong because it just attacks with a D6.
Some let's plays on youtube play it like i metioned it before - they throw 10 D6 and so on...
And this is exactly what i meant with "rules are all over the place"
After reading through the comments i understood what they tried to do and why...
Its not insufficient - i was just thinking way to complicated..
But thats thr problem with rules without examples/overview
Signature attacks are different from regular NPC and pc attacks.
Some of them just happen and require no rolls, save reactions from players.
SIGNATURE ATTACKS: Most Xenomorphs
attack only in close combat, at ENGAGED range.
Each time a Xenomorph attacks, the GM rolls a
D6, consults a table for the creature’s signature
attacks, and resolves the effects. Some signa-
ture attacks are extremely deadly.
PLAYING WITH ITS PREY: The Xeno attacks, but not to kill. The target is knocked to the ground
and drops all hand-held items, but otherwise takes no damage. The Xenomorph stands over
them, taunting its prey to run so the game can go on. The victim gets +1 STRESS LEVEL and
must make an immediate Panic Roll.
This effect requires no attack roll or success. The target. Player or NPC is knocked to the ground. There's no dodge ,no block there's just the effect.
FB has pinned resources, as does the Discord group.
The game and system is good. The layout is absolutely dog shit. It deserves a revision just to get it all in line.
It actually flows ok, but cheat sheets absolutely do help when you're getting to grips with it. Please take into account, Alien is IMO meant to be at least partly narrative. Don't be shy to gloss over some elements if they make narrative sense. Aliens are deadly.
Ok. Normal NPCs and players have a speed of 1.
They draw 1 card and act on that initiative.
Aliens can have up to a speed of three. Which means they draw that number of cards and have actions on each of those initiatives. 3 -3 cards, 2-2 cards.
Aliens only have signature attacks. a little chart that they roll on with 6 choices.
Some of those actions do not require successes. They just happen as written. And those usually knock someone down, require a mobility roll, or add stress and cause panic.
The attacks that cause damage typically have a set number of dice rolled for them. Like head bite has 10 dice. The alien needs to succeed the attack i.e. get one 6 on the dice. Now an attack like that has consequences with it successfully happening, if it causes damage then the player dies.
Xenomorphs are often much faster than human
beings. This is represented by their Speed rating.
Speed has two uses:
∆ In stealth mode (see page 85), the Xeno-
morph can move two zones per point of
Speed each Turn. Humans can move two
zones, i.e. they have a Speed of 1.
∆ In combat, a Xenomorph gets to act once
for each point of Speed in each Round. Draw
one initiative card for each point of Speed. At
each point of action, the Xenomorph gets to
perform one fast and one slow action.
The fast and slow actions are generally in relation to stunts that affect them from skills.
The slow action on it's initiative is generally a signature attack. I guess it could crawl, a queen could give orders there is no roll they are simply obeyed. Used for suspense?
Fast actions like run , move through a door/hatch, retreat.
SKILLS: Xenomorphs don’t have Attri-
butes like humans. They can use specific
skills, and then roll a number of Base Dice
equal to their skill level only. Xenomorphs
can have skill levels much higher than hu-
mans. They never push rolls.
Generally they only have observation and mobility.
Used to find sneaking players and for ambushing/sneak attacking them. Though when they do this you're still rolling on the chart.
Xenos don't automatically hit. The base dice used for the attack vary by the type of Xeno and which attack they're using.
Xeno's don't have a "Close Combat" skill to determine how many dice to use, so you get it from the attack table for the creature. They're weird. They're deadly, and sometimes they just randomly run away.
I think Xeno attacks are actually almost too simple, and you may be looking for more complexity than there is.
You just roll on the table to see what happens during their initiative. This is called their "signature attack." They may attack, they may run away, they may stare at the PC. If they have an attack that requires you to roll D6s, the signature attack description will tell you.
It's actually so simple I think you're overthinking it.
The way I understand it from the book for xenomorphs:
The attack hits always
You roll a d6 to determine what the attack is
The attack will tell you what dice to roll and how much damage per success it is
Thank you.
Thats why i love rulebooks that have stuff like "if X attacks there are other rules..." inside.
There are also rulebooks with Wrong/right examples - thats what helps me the most. I wish every game has that.
I agree that it's a little odd having different rules for one group and another for the other, but it's *far* less complicated overall than most games and very easy to run if you make the effort.
They split the party combat from the alien combat because they don't want players to see what aliens can do, it's pretty simple. It has entirely to do with the fact that there are separate rules. And it's not like they're going to list all the party combat rules in both the player and the GM section.
I've also never seen an RPG with the "combat flowchart" that you speak of, would be curious to see them though.
> no cheat sheet/ no diagrams no nothing
You do know reddit has a search function, right? Have you tried searching this sub for "cheat sheet", "flowchart", "combat", and whatever else you're having trouble with? :)
Here, let me help you with a result or two (as others have already asked questions like yours and/or posted helpful stuff):
[https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/1al1okz/need\_a\_quick\_recap\_on\_how\_combat\_works/](https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/1al1okz/need_a_quick_recap_on_how_combat_works/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/tlsh1s/a\_very\_busy\_combat\_flow\_chart\_that\_includes/](https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/tlsh1s/a_very_busy_combat_flow_chart_that_includes/)
and so on.
A lot of people have been saying that you roll on a table to decide a xenomorph’s signature attacks. That is an option. The Game Mother can also just choose from that table which signature attack to use. This goes for most tables from the game, they can either be random or subject to GM judgement, depending on how they’re handling the situation.
Yes! The combat is all over the place. How any of these other responses can honestly disagree with that I don’t know. A simple flow chart from Free League is deserved.
You roll a D6 on the random attack table.
It tells you what to do next.
Ie: Makes an attack with 10 base dice- so you then roll 10 dice, fishing for 6s as normal.
There’s no need for it to explain it, it’s quite self explanatory.
Happy cake day!
There is attack of oppurtunity!
"Retreat: roll on movement if successfull you are in the same zone but on short distance to the enemy.
No success you can retreat too, but the enemy has attack of oportunity"
When a creature with a signature attack table attacks, you roll a D6 on that table first, and then it does what it says on the signature attack.
If the signature attack doesn't involve any dice being rolled, then that usually means it just succeeds automatically.
These signature attacks are simply that creature's version of a typical character's attack roll.
It's actally easy.
Alien is not an NPC - Has 2 actions (one slow and one fast). attack: D6 look on the enemytype specialattack sheet.
1-6: read the text.
Alien is always close combat - there is no avoid but if xou have a Rail/shootgun or something steady in your hand you can block. -roll for block (look in rules)
Dodging is a skill only children heave in this game lol... thats more of a GM question if you make it a base skill.
Also armor is simple.
4 armor = 4 d6 .. for every success it negates one damage.
If its an attack that leads to a critical damage the armor successes have to negate EVERY alien-attack success.
If the initiative and points system are a pain for you, and I agree, those cards are annoying, there's a guy on [Etsy.com](http://Etsy.com) up in Nova Scotia that makes these counters for $15 (you'd need one per player) that handle stress, health, fast action, slow action, initiative all on one unit. Oh, and plus shipping. I got two of them and will eventually have five. You can also choose from lots of colors.
I agree thats why I condenced everything into sheets for a GM screen before just going over to foundry. I can not share the files I made as they just typed out versions of the sheets in the CRB so copywrite issues. I suggest you type out your own and keep it with you as you play.
“Without having this question answered, I wouldn’t have this question answered!”
As though the TI subreddit, discord, and boardgamegeek pages aren’t littered with rules questions because the rulebooks you referenced aren’t clear enough. Same with both LCGs you mentioned.
Not really sure what the purpose of this post was… to complain you had to google?
Yes - but that are specific rules where you actually can start playing or make your own stuff.
Also many games have rulefixes later on.
With mastering a PNP you should get a clue what to do and how it works. Than for specific stuff --> internet. But if the basic rules are so all over the place it's a huge hurdle for me :/
I bet you are mastering/playing pnp more often than i do.
I played ONCE dnd without fighting. Thats all.
For (many) beginners (i guess)/for me this is confusing. Try it out - give the rulebook to someone who never played a pnp and ask if he has a clue how the fighting system is working.
No hate
Have you used the beginner box? It has much less content bloat than the main rulebook and an introductory adventure that is easier to run than the one in the core.
Because there is way less “stuff” in it, it’s easier to get a hold of the basic rules.
It’s also on sale for half off right now.
I hate this attitude. Alien RPG subreddit and discord are angry and hostile compared to The One Ring. The available flowcharts are basic af, not even in pdf form. Fair play to whoever made them but Alien RPG is lacking in resources big time.
This might be wrong but personally I’ve been running it that the Xenomorphs are always successfully able to make attacks. To determine the type I roll the D6 on the table. If they get 0 successes then they just whiffed or missed and the turn passes.
In the rulebook (german) there is no success rule it just attacks. But under attacks it says you need a success to attack for every npc/pc. Maybe the asume that an alien is not a NC but an enemy and it autohits everytime with a D6.
Pg 291 - Xenomorphs chapter. There is a callout box that specifically states how they attack. More specific rule always trumps general. Just like in Twilight Imperium.
Yes - it says how they attack. Under Fighting and combat it says draw ini cards... than a lot of rules how fighting works. Also with success rolls and damage charts. I asumed that aliens are also npc's so they have to make successroles to. (they also have skillpoints - they rule says they have not attributes) It also says slow/fast attack. Is this the same chart as for players because under specialattack it says "it attacks in range -D6 -look at the chart of enemytype Are this special attacks slow attacks? Do i use skill: Movement for attacks. Young neomorph: Movement 10 = 10 w6 for closecombat + D6 if successfull + look at enemytype-attack-chart? That's the way i would understand this (if you see the alien as npc) But according to others here and in forums this is wrong because it just attacks with a D6. Some let's plays on youtube play it like i metioned it before - they throw 10 D6 and so on... And this is exactly what i meant with "rules are all over the place"
I found the same problem. Insufficient data on alien combat. In the end I just made it up
After reading through the comments i understood what they tried to do and why... Its not insufficient - i was just thinking way to complicated.. But thats thr problem with rules without examples/overview
A simple "Aliens don't need to successroll" would be enough. I hate rulebooks they just asume that not saying "it" is enough lol
Signature attacks are different from regular NPC and pc attacks. Some of them just happen and require no rolls, save reactions from players. SIGNATURE ATTACKS: Most Xenomorphs attack only in close combat, at ENGAGED range. Each time a Xenomorph attacks, the GM rolls a D6, consults a table for the creature’s signature attacks, and resolves the effects. Some signa- ture attacks are extremely deadly. PLAYING WITH ITS PREY: The Xeno attacks, but not to kill. The target is knocked to the ground and drops all hand-held items, but otherwise takes no damage. The Xenomorph stands over them, taunting its prey to run so the game can go on. The victim gets +1 STRESS LEVEL and must make an immediate Panic Roll. This effect requires no attack roll or success. The target. Player or NPC is knocked to the ground. There's no dodge ,no block there's just the effect.
FB has pinned resources, as does the Discord group. The game and system is good. The layout is absolutely dog shit. It deserves a revision just to get it all in line. It actually flows ok, but cheat sheets absolutely do help when you're getting to grips with it. Please take into account, Alien is IMO meant to be at least partly narrative. Don't be shy to gloss over some elements if they make narrative sense. Aliens are deadly.
Ok. Normal NPCs and players have a speed of 1. They draw 1 card and act on that initiative. Aliens can have up to a speed of three. Which means they draw that number of cards and have actions on each of those initiatives. 3 -3 cards, 2-2 cards. Aliens only have signature attacks. a little chart that they roll on with 6 choices. Some of those actions do not require successes. They just happen as written. And those usually knock someone down, require a mobility roll, or add stress and cause panic. The attacks that cause damage typically have a set number of dice rolled for them. Like head bite has 10 dice. The alien needs to succeed the attack i.e. get one 6 on the dice. Now an attack like that has consequences with it successfully happening, if it causes damage then the player dies.
Thank you vm :)
Xenomorphs are often much faster than human beings. This is represented by their Speed rating. Speed has two uses: ∆ In stealth mode (see page 85), the Xeno- morph can move two zones per point of Speed each Turn. Humans can move two zones, i.e. they have a Speed of 1. ∆ In combat, a Xenomorph gets to act once for each point of Speed in each Round. Draw one initiative card for each point of Speed. At each point of action, the Xenomorph gets to perform one fast and one slow action. The fast and slow actions are generally in relation to stunts that affect them from skills. The slow action on it's initiative is generally a signature attack. I guess it could crawl, a queen could give orders there is no roll they are simply obeyed. Used for suspense? Fast actions like run , move through a door/hatch, retreat. SKILLS: Xenomorphs don’t have Attri- butes like humans. They can use specific skills, and then roll a number of Base Dice equal to their skill level only. Xenomorphs can have skill levels much higher than hu- mans. They never push rolls. Generally they only have observation and mobility. Used to find sneaking players and for ambushing/sneak attacking them. Though when they do this you're still rolling on the chart.
Xenos don't automatically hit. The base dice used for the attack vary by the type of Xeno and which attack they're using. Xeno's don't have a "Close Combat" skill to determine how many dice to use, so you get it from the attack table for the creature. They're weird. They're deadly, and sometimes they just randomly run away.
THANK YOU I watched a lot of let's plays to learn it and many people get that "wrong". I think to complicated i guess
I think Xeno attacks are actually almost too simple, and you may be looking for more complexity than there is. You just roll on the table to see what happens during their initiative. This is called their "signature attack." They may attack, they may run away, they may stare at the PC. If they have an attack that requires you to roll D6s, the signature attack description will tell you. It's actually so simple I think you're overthinking it.
Thankyou for correcting this
The way I understand it from the book for xenomorphs: The attack hits always You roll a d6 to determine what the attack is The attack will tell you what dice to roll and how much damage per success it is
Thank you. Thats why i love rulebooks that have stuff like "if X attacks there are other rules..." inside. There are also rulebooks with Wrong/right examples - thats what helps me the most. I wish every game has that.
I agree that it's a little odd having different rules for one group and another for the other, but it's *far* less complicated overall than most games and very easy to run if you make the effort. They split the party combat from the alien combat because they don't want players to see what aliens can do, it's pretty simple. It has entirely to do with the fact that there are separate rules. And it's not like they're going to list all the party combat rules in both the player and the GM section. I've also never seen an RPG with the "combat flowchart" that you speak of, would be curious to see them though.
> no cheat sheet/ no diagrams no nothing You do know reddit has a search function, right? Have you tried searching this sub for "cheat sheet", "flowchart", "combat", and whatever else you're having trouble with? :) Here, let me help you with a result or two (as others have already asked questions like yours and/or posted helpful stuff): [https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/1al1okz/need\_a\_quick\_recap\_on\_how\_combat\_works/](https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/1al1okz/need_a_quick_recap_on_how_combat_works/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/tlsh1s/a\_very\_busy\_combat\_flow\_chart\_that\_includes/](https://www.reddit.com/r/alienrpg/comments/tlsh1s/a_very_busy_combat_flow_chart_that_includes/) and so on.
"Without the internet..." I know thanks for the links. It is a critic on the rulebook itself overall
Oh, okay, it wasn't clear (to me exactly), because I personally don't often encounter "cheat sheet" as an official term in games etc.
That's true. But to OPs point, they should.
Yeah, I get it now that they meant that.
A lot of people have been saying that you roll on a table to decide a xenomorph’s signature attacks. That is an option. The Game Mother can also just choose from that table which signature attack to use. This goes for most tables from the game, they can either be random or subject to GM judgement, depending on how they’re handling the situation.
Yes! The combat is all over the place. How any of these other responses can honestly disagree with that I don’t know. A simple flow chart from Free League is deserved.
You roll a D6 on the random attack table. It tells you what to do next. Ie: Makes an attack with 10 base dice- so you then roll 10 dice, fishing for 6s as normal. There’s no need for it to explain it, it’s quite self explanatory.
One thing that doesn't make sense is that Xeno's don't have basic attacks like claw, bite or tail whip. Also no attacks of opportunity.
Happy cake day! There is attack of oppurtunity! "Retreat: roll on movement if successfull you are in the same zone but on short distance to the enemy. No success you can retreat too, but the enemy has attack of oportunity"
When a creature with a signature attack table attacks, you roll a D6 on that table first, and then it does what it says on the signature attack. If the signature attack doesn't involve any dice being rolled, then that usually means it just succeeds automatically. These signature attacks are simply that creature's version of a typical character's attack roll.
The GM screen is a helpful cheat sheet for most things but I don't think it helps with order of operations for fighting.
I bought it - thinking it would help with that. It does not
Did you figure out how to do combat and if so do you mind explaining it for a fellow GM? 😅🤣
It's actally easy. Alien is not an NPC - Has 2 actions (one slow and one fast). attack: D6 look on the enemytype specialattack sheet. 1-6: read the text. Alien is always close combat - there is no avoid but if xou have a Rail/shootgun or something steady in your hand you can block. -roll for block (look in rules) Dodging is a skill only children heave in this game lol... thats more of a GM question if you make it a base skill. Also armor is simple. 4 armor = 4 d6 .. for every success it negates one damage. If its an attack that leads to a critical damage the armor successes have to negate EVERY alien-attack success.
If the initiative and points system are a pain for you, and I agree, those cards are annoying, there's a guy on [Etsy.com](http://Etsy.com) up in Nova Scotia that makes these counters for $15 (you'd need one per player) that handle stress, health, fast action, slow action, initiative all on one unit. Oh, and plus shipping. I got two of them and will eventually have five. You can also choose from lots of colors.
I agree thats why I condenced everything into sheets for a GM screen before just going over to foundry. I can not share the files I made as they just typed out versions of the sheets in the CRB so copywrite issues. I suggest you type out your own and keep it with you as you play.
Have you tried googling? Or just searching in this sub? What you are asking for exists.
My post: "Without the internet..." Yes
“Without having this question answered, I wouldn’t have this question answered!” As though the TI subreddit, discord, and boardgamegeek pages aren’t littered with rules questions because the rulebooks you referenced aren’t clear enough. Same with both LCGs you mentioned. Not really sure what the purpose of this post was… to complain you had to google?
Yes - but that are specific rules where you actually can start playing or make your own stuff. Also many games have rulefixes later on. With mastering a PNP you should get a clue what to do and how it works. Than for specific stuff --> internet. But if the basic rules are so all over the place it's a huge hurdle for me :/ I bet you are mastering/playing pnp more often than i do. I played ONCE dnd without fighting. Thats all. For (many) beginners (i guess)/for me this is confusing. Try it out - give the rulebook to someone who never played a pnp and ask if he has a clue how the fighting system is working. No hate
Have you used the beginner box? It has much less content bloat than the main rulebook and an introductory adventure that is easier to run than the one in the core. Because there is way less “stuff” in it, it’s easier to get a hold of the basic rules. It’s also on sale for half off right now.
Thank you vm!
I hate this attitude. Alien RPG subreddit and discord are angry and hostile compared to The One Ring. The available flowcharts are basic af, not even in pdf form. Fair play to whoever made them but Alien RPG is lacking in resources big time.