Drat And Cat Suggest…

“Alien The Roleplaying Game Starter Set”

 By Talia Heart

            The Alien Starter Set by Free League Publishing is a great investment any way you look at it. For the inexperienced player, or someone just not sure of the “Alien RPG”, this starter set is a way to sample and own some of the best things the line has to offer.  For the serious fan, and people who may already have a copy of “Alien The Roleplaying Game” (core rulebook, sold separately by Free League Publishing), this set is a great way to add more flavor to your game as it includes aids that don’t come with the core book.

            So, what’s in it? Opening “Alien The Roleplaying Game Starter Set” (hereafter called “The Starter Set”), you’ll discover a 10-piece bag of custom Alien D6 Dice (black), as well as a 10-piece bag of custom Stress D6 Dice (yellow) which retail even on Amazon *on sale* at about $32.00 (at the time of publishing this review); while (again on Amazon, on sale) “The Starter Set” sells for just about $39.00 (at the time of publishing this review). As you continue to examine the contents, you’ll find a set of 56 custom cards for combat initiative position, weapons, personal agendas, and small cards of the 5 pre-generated characters included; the pre-generated characters also get their own full character sheets with portraits.  These are characters you can use in the included cinematic module “Chariot of The Gods” by Andrew E.C. Gaska. The module book totals 48 pages including some art and diagrams among the text of the adventure.  But you won’t be done there, you’ll also find 84 pop-out circular tokens for characters, motion tracker pings, and more, plus aliens in Face-Hugger, Adult, and Queen stages of development. Next you should find the core of “The Starter Set”, a 104-page condensed version of the rules found in “Alien The Roleplaying Game” (core rulebook), along with some of the best art as well as many of the tables (from the core book) that the “Game Mother” (GM) will likely need to reference often (A "GM Screen” is also available separately from Free League Publishing). However, I personally find the crown-jewel of this set to be the GIANT “Map of The Middle Heaven”’ a full-color map which is of great use in not only the included module, but for many adventures to come as it’s printed on good, thick poster paper; the map includes the core systems, the outer rim, and beyond with all the planets, outposts, and sectors marked for reference.

Above: Everything included in “Alien The Roleplaying Game Starter Set”, available now at your Friendly Local Gaming Store,Tthe Free League Publishing Store (which includes a free PDF copy with physical set purchase) and major online retailers such as Amazon.com.

            Now, what ISN’T in “The Starter Set”? The character creation rules from the core rulebook. You will not be able to create your own “Alien RPG” characters with just what is included in this set. To create your own characters, you will need the core rulebook (sold separately and reviewed elsewhere on this site), which runs to 392-pages, so some major cuts had to be made to condense the rules, which are complete enough to run cinematic campaigns like the one included with “The Starter Set” as well as “Alien RPG Destroyer of Worlds” (also sold separately by Free League Publishing).

            Concluding my review of what is and isn’t included in “The Starter Set” I believe you will find it full of indispensable aids to your campaigns as well as enough material for up to 6 people (5 characters plus 1 “Game Mother”) to have a long night full of amazing, cinematic fun. And using pre-generated characters instead of your own creations simply makes it all the easier to let them go if they get “face-hugged” or otherwise killed. After your character’s death, you can simply sit back and enjoy the carnage of the game and the time with your fellow players. So we rate “The Starter Set” at 4.5 stars (out of 5.0) and believe it’s a must-have for both the serious and casual “Alien RPG” players. Lastly, Hillary would like to remind you to bring a ship’s cat – for luck.

UPDATE (12-24-22): With nearly 400 reviews by purchasers on Amazon, the “Alien The RPG Starter Set” has a 4.9 rating! So whether at the Official Free League Store, your Friendly Local Gaming Store, or Amazon.com, grab yourself a copy of this. It’s one of my top three favorite titles & worth every penny! And, to see the game in action, I can endorse no continuing game as much as the campaigns run by @Little_Red_Dot on unMadeGaming HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJkCkNWTtbw&list=PLPQJhQ7kamKyCBlvB_xwjS2k2UD0bLkic