Free League announces official Alien RPG

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
I started playing D&D in the 4th grade so by the time Dungeon Master had any other meaning to me, it was too well established to go back and make fun of it. Of course it could be fun to take my wife shopping before the next convention so she can be a properly attired Dungeon Mistress. :devil:
 
I think "Game Master" dovetails a little with the term "Master of Ceremonies." The GM really is a kind of MC since he or she is basically directing the flow of a conversation and enforcing its structure. I've also thought that my ideal GM has something in common with a talk show host. The job is to create this dialog that brings out the other participants. You're both a facilitator and a referee.

Of course, the term MC suggests specific genres, so GM seems fine with me for general usage. But yeah, "dungeon master" was always a little goofy.
 
My hardcopy pre-order came in. The Free League puts out quality stuff.
 
I think "Game Master" dovetails a little with the term "Master of Ceremonies." The GM really is a kind of MC since he or she is basically directing the flow of a conversation and enforcing its structure. I've also thought that my ideal GM has something in common with a talk show host. The job is to create this dialog that brings out the other participants. You're both a facilitator and a referee.

Of course, the term MC suggests specific genres, so GM seems fine with me for general usage. But yeah, "dungeon master" was always a little goofy.

The game was Dungeon and Dragons, it started out with dungeons and there’s one player who creates and designs the dungeon and runs the whole game. DM fits, even though it’s eyeroll worthy.

Most of the terms fit in some way, even the most ridiculous ones.

While any X-Master or God term simply refers to the GM’s ultimate authority over the game, Referee and Master of Ceremonies provide an interesting comparison. Being tied to other activities, they bring with them connotations that more specifically define the role.
 
My copy was waiting for me when I got home. Haven't had a chance to give it a good read through yet, but it is pretty. The artwork reminds me a little bit of Twilight 2000 with its kind of grainy retouched photos, and is similarly suitable for Alien's perpetually wet and grimy vibe.
 
I dunno why Michael Biehn wasn’t a superstar. He played Reese and Hicks, two of the most badass heroes in Sci-Fi and Action movie history, he can act, women liked him...

It’s like Alien 3 cursed him or something.
 
And Coffey in Abyss. He played crazy MF very well.
 
Some guys just come at the right time and in the right role, like Arnold in Terminator. It opens up all kinds of doors elsewhere.
 
and the SEAL team leader in Navy SEALS and The Rock.

I'd say he did ok, and if you look at his list of credits he certainly hasn't been hurting for work. That he failed to make mega star status may have been due more to him not providing the tabloids with juicy gossip.
 
I dunno why Michael Biehn wasn’t a superstar. He played Reese and Hicks, two of the most badass heroes in Sci-Fi and Action movie history, he can act, women liked him...
Also the lead in the Magnificent Seven tv series, which no one but me seems to have ever seen. :sad: I swear I like every project he's been a part of.
 
Some guys just come at the right time and in the right role, like Arnold in Terminator. It opens up all kinds of doors elsewhere.

I'd say Conan was Arnold's big break, but Terminator certainly sealed the deal for him.

You know originally Arnold was supposed to be Reese and OJ Simpson was being considered for the role of the Terminator?
Arnold kept coming up with good suggestions for how the Terminator should be played so the producers forced him into the role. Arnold didn't want the part because it had very few lines and he was worried that it would be a step backwards and could hurt him getting future roles.
 
I'd say Conan was Arnold's big break, but Terminator certainly sealed the deal for him.

You know originally Arnold was supposed to be Reese and OJ Simpson was being considered for the role of the Terminator?
Arnold kept coming up with good suggestions for how the Terminator should be played so the producers forced him into the role. Arnold didn't want the part because it had very few lines and he was worried that it would be a step backwards and could hurt him getting future roles.

Ha, didn't know that.

"Kaarm with mee if you vaunt to leeve!"
 
Sometimes I wish The Running Man had a remake or sequel. But then I think a big part of it's appeal is Arnold (as with most of his films) and such a project would probably be a flop.
 
An Arnold, Alien film would be interesting. Not sure if I would prefer something more down to earth Arnold like Predator or over the top Arnold like in Commando.

Oh, I've got it Alien vs Predator vs Terminator Arnold. :heart:
 
I'd say Conan was Arnold's big break, but Terminator certainly sealed the deal for him.

You know originally Arnold was supposed to be Reese and OJ Simpson was being considered for the role of the Terminator?
Arnold kept coming up with good suggestions for how the Terminator should be played so the producers forced him into the role. Arnold didn't want the part because it had very few lines and he was worried that it would be a step backwards and could hurt him getting future roles.
Lance Henriksen was going to be the Terminator. To the point where they allegedly had battle damage makeup tests of him. James Cameron talks about it on one of the Terminator DVD commentary tracks.
 
Lance Henriksen was going to be the Terminator. To the point where they allegedly had battle damage makeup tests of him. James Cameron talks about it on one of the Terminator DVD commentary tracks.

They were looking at quite a few actors, Tom Selleck and Mel Gibson were also mentioned as possibles. Interesting, if they had Lance Henriksen then that would have been 3 of the major secondary characters from Aliens. Bill Paxton was one of the thugs who get mixed up with the terminator early on (blue hair punk hairdoo).

 
They were looking at quite a few actors, Tom Selleck and Mel Gibson were also mentioned as possibles. Interesting, if they had Lance Henriksen then that would have been 3 of the major secondary characters from Aliens. Bill Paxton was one of the thugs who get mixed up with the terminator early on (blue hair punk hairdoo).


Henriksen would have been amazing as an understated infiltration and assassination cyborg. Almost polar opposites to Ahnuld and his physicality. Which was amazing in its own right. But of the could have been, I think Henriksen would have brought something special to the part.

Not that Paxton wasn't a great actor, but under playing was never really his thing.
 
I went in rather aggressively on the Alien preorder, and got my books about a week ago. Great looking stuff, but I've yet to crack any of the materials. I'll need to give the system a thorough read-through over the holiday break. That'll help me determine whether I'd want to use the system as-is, or just use it as inspirational material with another system.
 
Henriksen would have been amazing as an understated infiltration and assassination cyborg. Almost polar opposites to Ahnuld and his physicality. Which was amazing in its own right. But of the could have been, I think Henriksen would have brought something special to the part.

Not that Paxton wasn't a great actor, but under playing was never really his thing.

I agree, he tends to play understated menacing well, and would have made an interesting Terminator. Even as Bishop who turns out to be a good guy you really didn't know right up until the end. It wouldn't surprise me if when Aliens came along Cameron just called him up and told him to put his robot face back on.

There is a making of interview, where James Cameron said casting Arnold completely changed the movie and how they depicted the Terminator without changing one part of the script. Initially he said their thought was the Terminator would be shown blending in and disappearing in a crowd. Arnold doesn't blend...


Getting back to the Alien RPG, the lack of detail on synthetics is an omission that bugs me. At least on my initial (admittedly brief) skimming of the rules, other than having stats for a couple of NPCs I haven't seen any mention of them. They played key parts in 3 of the 4 movies and several of the AvP video games. Hopefully this is just because they are saving them for a supplement.
 
They need to have a new Predator movie with Dutch and Harrigan as two old badasses who are leading a new team.
Just forget every other AvP and Pred movie happened and just call it Predator III.
 
I dunno why Michael Biehn wasn’t a superstar. He played Reese and Hicks, two of the most badass heroes in Sci-Fi and Action movie history, he can act, women liked him...

It’s like Alien 3 cursed him or something.

His high profile roles all ended up being supporting roles, and he just got overshadowed. In Terminator he faded into the shadows because Arnold was so memorable. In Aliens while seemingly the "main" marine, he got overshadowed by Bill Paxton simply having more quotable lines. In Tombstone, although he was great, he's not even the main villain until way into the movie, serving as a sort of backup villain to Powers Boothe's character, and even as a character actor he's far overshadowed by Val Kilmer in the movie. Then there was simply how bankable the big action stars of the era like Arnold and Stallone were. While Biehn was a better actor than both, that's not what action movies of the era were about (sad but true).

Biehn had the "misfortune" of being in really good popular movies where he was shining bright, but others were shining brighter.
 
His high profile roles all ended up being supporting roles, and he just got overshadowed. In Terminator he faded into the shadows because Arnold was so memorable. In Aliens while seemingly the "main" marine, he got overshadowed by Bill Paxton simply having more quotable lines. In Tombstone, although he was great, he's not even the main villain until way into the movie, serving as a sort of backup villain to Powers Boothe's character, and even as a character actor he's far overshadowed by Val Kilmer in the movie. Then there was simply how bankable the big action stars of the era like Arnold and Stallone were. While Biehn was a better actor than both, that's not what action movies of the era were about (sad but true).

Biehn had the "misfortune" of being in really good popular movies where he was shining bright, but others were shining brighter.
Biehn is a master of authentic subtlety. It's a really hard thing to do, but it is easy to overlook. He was perfectly cast in The Terminator because he can deliver a completely bonkers warning about time travel and killer robots and make it sound believable. As audience members we are ready to believe the backstory because that is what we came to see, but not all movies like this make it entirely convincing.
 
His high profile roles all ended up being supporting roles, and he just got overshadowed. In Terminator he faded into the shadows because Arnold was so memorable. In Aliens while seemingly the "main" marine, he got overshadowed by Bill Paxton simply having more quotable lines. In Tombstone, although he was great, he's not even the main villain until way into the movie, serving as a sort of backup villain to Powers Boothe's character, and even as a character actor he's far overshadowed by Val Kilmer in the movie. Then there was simply how bankable the big action stars of the era like Arnold and Stallone were. While Biehn was a better actor than both, that's not what action movies of the era were about (sad but true).

Biehn had the "misfortune" of being in really good popular movies where he was shining bright, but others were shining brighter.

Some of my favorite actors are / were character actors. Some leading actors can carry a weak film, but good supporting actors can carry a weak lead or make an average movie great. Aliens wouldn't be the half the movie it was without solid actors playing Apone, Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez and Bishop.
 
Lance Henriksen was going to be the Terminator. To the point where they allegedly had battle damage makeup tests of him. James Cameron talks about it on one of the Terminator DVD commentary tracks.

I would have liked to have seen him in the role. It would have made more sense for the machines to send back someone who had a more common physical build than Schwarzenegger's.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top