Sorry I got delayed. Our news server has been down a long time. I intend to follow this up with an updated article, including GURPS stats and more recent rules. This is reproduced without permission. Original appearance was in The Space Gamer, Issue 37, March 1981. The article is by Andrew Elovich and Forrest Johnson. The article predates AD&D and Aliens. Many of the rules may be out of date (I haven't played any of the games listed below since not long after this article came out). A following post will suggest alternate rules for GURPS, and I also intend to suggest rules for parts of the Alien's life cycle that have become apparent since the first movie: Movie fans will have a hard time forgetting the creature that had the title role in Alien. In the movie (and the book), the crew of the ship Nostromo found the Alien in a derelict ship in an unlisted system near Zeta II Reticuli. They brought it on board their ship where it proceeded to kill all but one of them. This article offers rules for using the Alien as a monster in TFT, D&D, and Traveller. Care and Feeding An adult Alien stands about 3 meters tall. Its black, slimy form includes four limbs, a tail (used for climbing) and an elongated head with lots of sharp teeth. An adult Alien may be regarded as very intelligent. It exhibits considerable curiosity, craftiness, and an ability to learn from experience. However, it will never use any kind of tools or artifacts. It is immune to poison, Sleep, Charm, and all cold-based attacks. It cannot disbelieve illusions. It is vulnerable to fire, taking +1 damage from any heat-based attack. The blood of an Alien is highly acidic. Any metal weapon which damages it will become corroded wand useless in one minute. An Alien will regenerate damage (even fire damage) at the rate of one point a minute. However, it will not regenerate if it is killed. Aliens are very rare. They have no treasure, except what their victims may have possessed. Since they often drag their victims back to their lairs, some quantity of treasure will accumulate there. An Alien may be found almost anywhere, but it will tend to establish its lair in a deep cavern, or an obscure chamber in a ruin. In the lair, one may find a number of leathery cocoons, a meter or so in height. They might be taken for urns or vases. Inside each cocoon is a large, hand-shaped creature with a retractable tube emergin from the "palm" and a tail coilded beneath it. If a creature of living flesh touches it, the cocoon will become transparent and the hand-shaped Alien may be observed moving within. If there is still a living, breathing creature of appropriate size within 3 meters, a minute later the cocoon will open and the hand-shaped Alien will spring out. The Alien will try to attack itself to the victim's face. It will penetrate a visor (if any)in about 30 seconds. It will wrap its tail around the victim's neck, force the tube down his (or her) throat, and try to subdue him by suffocation. While the Alien is fastened to the victim, damage done to it will be shared by the victim. When the victim becomes comatose, it will no longer be possible to remove the Alien. However, in 12 hours, the creature will crawl off and die without further encouragement. Two hours later, the victim will wake up. He will be ambulatory, but confused, helpless and very hungry. Within an hour, a pre-adult Alien will emerge from his chest, probably killing him in the process. The pre-adult Alien is only about the size of a large lizard, but it will grow to full size in about 24 hours, if food is available. (An Alien can eat anything a human can, including other humans.) The Alien will attack almost any creature it encounters. However, it will avoid big parties and creatures twice its size or larger. It will also avoid creatures which look unappetizing -- undead, slimes and molds, demons, elementals, and siliceous or ethereal creatures. [Poster's note: I'm not sure they'd be quite that finicky] The Alien may postpone an attack to gain surprise, if possible. It will attempt to pin its victim and then attack with its jaws. But if it is in a hurry, it will use its claws. It cannot make both attacks at once. If thee Alien is hungry (50% chance), it will consume its victim on the spot. Otherwise, it will drag him back to its lair, not caring whether his is dead or only unconscious. The Alien will lay an egg in the victim. In about 24 hours, the egg will grow into a larva, consume the body and form a cocoon. Then, it will wait for someone else to come along. . . TFT [Melee, Wizard, Advanced Melee, Advanced Wizard, and In the Labrinth: For you who haven't been gaming forever, this is a game design Steve Jackson made in 1977 or so. There's no HT stat, but otherwise the stats will work pretty well for GURPS.] A cocoon stops 3 hits. The skin of the hand-shaped creature within stops an additional 2 hits. It may be considered ST = 4, DX = 13, IQ=1, MA =6. The spring from the cocoon is automatically successful, unless the victim makes a 5-die roll vs. adjDX. If he succeeds, the Alien cannot spring again. It is basically harmless, and can be killed at leisure. (It will die in a few hours, anyway.) [Poster's note: A DX-3 skill roll replaces the 5-die roll etc. . . . Also, we now know that the hand-shaped Alien is more capable than this says. I'd say it attaches itself if it can make a successful attack before being killed.] If he misses his roll, the Alien is on his face, and he will suffer 4 points of exhaustion a turn until his ST is reduced to 1. During this time, he may attempt to remove the Alien once a turn, rolling 5 dice vs. ST. Someone else may try, but only one person per turn. If the Alien is removed, some of the victim's flesh will go with it. He will take 1+1 damage. If the Alien is killed or removed before he becomes unconscious, and he survives the process, he will suffer no further effects. If the victim becomes comatose, and is not killed, the pre-adult Alien will grow within him. It may be considered ST = 10, DX = 15, IQ = 8, MA=12. Skin stops 4 hits; bite does 1+2, claws 1-1. It will do 4 dice damage when it emerges. It will immeddiately become competent (no teaching it to walk, no toilet training), and will seek food and a lair of its own. A fully grown Alien is ST = 40, DX = 15, IQ = 13, MA = 5. Skin stops 6 hits; bite does 3 dice, claws 2. It may be considered to have the following talents: climbing, alertness, acute hearing, tracking, silent movement, tacctics, and spying. It may be considered a 1-hex creature for movement purposes, 3-hex for combat. D&D Some elaborations and modifictations are necessary for this game: Cocoon Frequency: Very Rare Number Appearing: 10-200 AC: 5 Move: 0 Hit Dice: 0 In Lair: 100% Treasure: A No. of Attacks: 0 Damage/Attack: 0 Special Attack: See Below Special Defense: None Magic Resistance: Standard Inteligence: Non- Alignment: Patient Size: S Psionic Ability: None Assuming you hit a cocoon, it is necessary to make a second roll against the creature inside: Hand-shaped Alien Frequency: Very Rare Number Appearing: 1 AC: 7 Move: 8" Hit Dice: 1+2 In Lair: 100% Treasure: None No. of Attacks: 1 Damage/Attack: Special Special Attack: Suffocation Special Defense: Acid Blood, Regeneration Magic Resistance: Standard Inteligence: None Alignment: Aggressive Size: S Psionic Ability: None To dodge the Alien, the victim must save vs. breath weapons with a penalty of 2. He may attempt to remove the Alien once a round by making the same save. (Someone else may roll instead, as per TFT) Also, he must save vs. poison once a round or become comatose. If the Alien is removed physically, it will do 2 dice damage to the victim. The Alien mayalso be affected by Remove Curse, but it should be allowed a saving roll. Once the victim is comatose, the Alien within may be destroyed only by a Cure Disease cast by a cleric of patriarch rank or higher. Otherwise, you get a: Pre-adult Alien Frequency: Very Rare Number Appearing: 1 AC: 3 Move: 15" Hit Dice: 3 In Lair: 50% Treasure: None No. of Attacks: 1 Damage/Attack: 1d8(bite) or 1d4(claw) Special Attack: Surpises on 1-2 Special Defense: Acid Blood, Regeneration Magic Resistance: Standard Inteligence: Average Alignment: Hungry Size: M Psionic Ability: None The pre-adult Alien will do 6 dice damage emerging, and will eat what's left if undisturbed. Soon, you will have to deal with an: Adult Alien Frequency: Very Rare Number Appearing: 1 AC: 0 Move: 18" Hit Dice: 10 In Lair: 15% Treasure: A No. of Attacks: 1 Damage/Attack: 4d6 (bite) or 2d8 (claw) Special Attack: Surprises on 1-3, Overbearing (DM's Guide, p. 73) [Whoops, I suppose it doesn't predate AD&D] Special Defense: Acid Blood, Regeneration Magic Resistance: Standard Inteligence: Very Alignment: Hungry Size: L Psionic Ability: None Traveller Briskly juggling apples and oranges, we offer these descriptions: Cocoon Trapper (?) Weight: 8 kg Hits: None Armro: Cloth Weapons: See below A0F0S0 If youhit the cocoon, it is necessary to make a second roll to hit the creature inside. Hand-shaped Alien Pouncer (?) Weight: 3 kg Hits: 6/2 Armor: Jack Weapons: See below A0F0S1 To dodge the hand shaped Alien, the victim must roll his dexterity or less on three dice. If the Alien succeeds in attaching itself to his face, he will lose two points of endurance per combat round. When his endurance is reduced to zero, he is comatose. A roll of three dice versus strength removes the Alien, and also does 2 dice to the victim. The Alien within may be removed by a surgeon (Book 1, p. 20) on ar oll of 2 dice vs. his dexterity. A bad rol kills the victim. Low Passage will arrest the growth of the Alien within. If nothing interferes, the pre-adult Alien will do 6 dice of wounds when it emerges. Pre-adult Alien -- Adult Alien Hunter Weight: 7 kg -- 100 kg Hits 10/5 -- 35/15 Armor: battle Weapons: Teeth(2d6-1 -- 4d6) Claws (1d6-1 -- 2d6+2) A7F5S2 -- A4F8S2 For combat purposes, presume the Alien has Tactics 2 and Zero-Gee Combat 2. It has skill level of 5 with its teeth, 3 with its claws. To strike with its teeth, it must first make a successful (zero damage) attack with its claws. An individual so struck is pinned and helpless until he makes a roll of 3 dice vs. his strength. He may try once per combat round. (In practice, if he misses his first attempt, he can probably forget all the rest.) Note: These rules are based largeley on the movie, with some details from the book. The two versions are not completely compatible. An alternate set of rules for Traveller may be found in The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society, issue 4. -- These opinions are not those of my employers. In fact, they are not mine. They're yours, and you're projecting them on me because you're unable to take responsibility for your own thoughts. Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc Subject: Alien Stats Summary: Followup-To: Distribution: world Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Keywords: "The Nostromo's Alien is unique among all encountered species in that it is a sexual parasite. Basically omniverous, the Alien would be no worse than other predators. However, the Alien is especially agressive because it uses its prey, not (exclusively) as a food source, but to provide the genetic variety normally given by sexual reproduction. "At the end and beginning of a complex cycle, the Alien plants a larva in a host. The larva borrows genetic material from its host while growing, and the grown form is a combination of the original Alien's DNA and the host's." --Bishop II "Notes on Encountered Xenomorphs" Should a GM wish to play with this format of adopted DNA from a host, the Alien stats below will be given in two forms. The standard one is if the alien is hatched from a human. In parentheses is the stat for other races. RA is an abbreviation for 'Race Average'. GURPS stats All aliens have acidic blood. Any impaling melee weapon used on an Alien will become crushing weapons instantly, unless the weapon is made of virtually indestructable material. Any other weapon will become useless in about 30 seconds. If a person is in the same hex as an Alien taking damage from gunfire or sharp melee weapons, he must defend (dodge or block) or take two dice damage. If the character blocks, his shield will lose two dice body and one die DR. Cocoon DR 3, Body 5 Parasite ST 14 DX 13 IQ 3 HT 14/5 Stealth - 16 The Parasite will leap from the cocoon if anyone stays in close proximity for more than ten seconds or so. Treat the first leap as a slam attack. The Parasite gets +2 on both the DX and ST roll. If the Parasite wins, it is attached to the victim's face. Since the parasite's claws and coil get placed to full advantage, treat the parasite as double strength against all attempts to remove it. If anyone attempts to remove the parasite, it will strangle the victim. If the Parasite does not succeed on its first leap, it will run for cover and try again. To attach itself, the parasite must climb up a person (treat as grapple) and grab the victim's face (quick contest of DX and quick contest of ST). See first paragraph for what happens if the parasite does attach itself. Please note that these are the only tactics a Parasite will use. If the GM decides to make it do something else, remember that the ST 14 only works in specific circumstances (the parasite can't use a pole arm, swing a baseball bat for 2d6-1, can't carry 280 lbs. . .) Pre-Adult Alien ST 10 (RA) DX 15 (RA+5) IQ 7 HT 15/8 (RA+5/8) Move 12 (RA+7) DR 4 PD 3 Claws 1d6 cutting Teeth 1d6+2 impaling Stealth 16 (or DEX + 1) The pre-adult alien emerges some time after the host has been attacked by a parasite. When is basically up to the GM. It takes more than an hour, less than a year. If the host is in suspended animation, the alien within will be as well. On emerging, the Alien does 3d6 impaling damage to the host's vitals. Unless there is a good reason not to, the Pre-Adult alien will stay and devour the corpse. Adult Alien ST 40 (RA*4) DX 15 (RA+5) IQ 7 HT 15/30 (RA+5) MA 5 (or RA) DR 6 PD 4 Claws 4d6 crushing Bite 3d6 impaling Plus racial advantages Alertness + 6 Acute hearing +2 Tracking - 12 (+2 for hosts that have good smell or tracking ability) Stealth - 14 (or RA DX - 1) Tactics - 12 Due to a second, interior mouth which can extend some ways, the adult Alien can bite at one hex range. It takes only a day or so for a pre-adult alien to grow into an adult. An adult alien will usually stop moving until there are people nearby. It will then stalk the people. If there is no queen around, the alien will kill some for food. If there is a queen, the alien will drag the prey back to the hive, where the subject will be tied to a wall (Aliens are capable of metabolizing and excreting almost any element, creating some very intricate designs in their nest; since these designs resemble the Aliens themselves, they are at +2 stealth in their nest). A cocoon will be put before the victim, and the rest is history. The Alien is about eight feet tall, but it is fairly flexible and can fit through spaces about two feet wide. Queen Alien ST 60 (or RA * 6) DX 14 (or RA + 4) IQ 8 HT 15/60 (or RA + 5) MA 4 DR 8 PD 4 Claws 6d6 crushing Bite 3d6 impaling Skills and ads of adult alien The queen is usually immobile. She can lay about a hundred cocoons a day. Most of these cocoons will act as above. Every so often (or whenever the nest is in danger), the queen can lay a cocoon with a parasite which can implant another queen into its host. If the queen is threatened, she might detach herself from her egg sack, giving her the move listed above. The queen is about fourteen feet tall and six feet wide. -- These opinions are not those of my employers. In fact, they are not mine. They're yours, and you're projecting them on me because you're unable to take responsibility for your own thoughts.