I’m starting to put some thoughts together on running a survival horror game for Halloween and I’d like to get some GM feedback on using aliens from the movie Aliens. I’ve seen some attempts at stats, but no follow-up on how it went. Would blasters and lightsabers, for example, create the same amount of acid spray that a slug thrower would? I can’t imagine that there would be a cauterizing effect so it seems that it would tantamount to suicide to play a character with a lightsaber. Your thoughts?

I watched this video a very long time ago so I can't vouch for how good it is, but I remember liking it, and it might be helpful:

Thanks, that's a really interesting video. Given Star Wars lore (lightsabers cauterize wounds on all creatures), one might argue that the xeno would be no different. Looking at the movie Aliens, their blood seems to be under considerably higher pressure. That said, human blood sprays in horror films so maybe it's an artistic thing. Having a few of these things in in a ship/facility with the PC would be creepy, but using the above video as a guide, it would not be fun to play a Jedi.

I'm still pretty new to FFG Star Wars (I love the system) so I often have to ask other GMs how they have/would handle something like this so I'm definitely open to the opinions of GMs with more experience than me.

I'll cross post a summary of my replies from the other thread. Basically, don't worry about different weapons causing different reactions. Don't shy away from making the Xenomorphs a real threat especially in a survival horror setting.

Have a bite attack with high Pierce to represent the mouth and the little mouth. Give them an ability like...

ACID BLOOD: If a combat check against the creature generates two Threats, any non-Alien creature within Engaged range suffers 3 Wounds. If the check generates a Despair, the effect increases to Short range.

Up close they'll be lethal, but they're supposed to be. A lightsaber will still be a formidable threat to them.

How deep do you want to go down the Alien rabbit hole?

Not too far down. I'm looking at best guess estimates on how it could it play out. Do either blasters or lightsabers prevent acid splash? Reduce it? No effect? If the consensus is that the PC's won't have fun, then I'll pick another topic. This is for Halloween, which is why I'm starting early.

1 hour ago, Dejon said:

Not too far down. I'm looking at best guess estimates on how it could it play out. Do either blasters or lightsabers prevent acid splash? Reduce it? No effect? If the consensus is that the PC's won't have fun, then I'll pick another topic. This is for Halloween, which is why I'm starting early.

I would say not prevent. maybe limit it look at Ponda Baba in A New hope. Blood on the floor from his limb. But not big gouts of blood.

Rules for eggs, huggers, drones, queen?

Blood spray and cauterized wounds?

Any thing else?

Just blood spray and cauterized wounds. I'm comfortable handling the rest.

high Pressure Acid Blood

If character is hit with an attack that deals damage, without triggering the Burn quality; each character in engaged range is attacked by Acid Blood as an out of turn incidental.
Acid Blood: Damage 3; Critical 2; Range [Short]; Blast 3, Burn 3, Pierce 5

Something like this?

Prioritize the Burn mechanic, force range considerations, damaging.

9 hours ago, Lord Dust said:

high Pressure Acid Blood

If character is hit with an attack that deals damage, without triggering the Burn quality; each character in engaged range is attacked by Acid Blood as an out of turn incidental.
Acid Blood: Damage 3; Critical 2; Range [Short]; Blast 3, Burn 3, Pierce 5

Something like this?

Prioritize the Burn mechanic, force range considerations, damaging.

Two changes I would recommend considering:

1. Instead of Pierce 5, I would give it Breach 2 and Sunder. It feels like it should be able to wreck armor that a person is wearing or any gear they have, and also be a danger no matter what protection you are using. (that may be broken, but so are Xenomorphs)
2. I would be tempted to give it planetary-scale as well as personal scale stats. Perhaps 1 ship damage with the 2 breach would be appropriate? I'm not sure though, because I know I'm terrible at running ship combat.

4 hours ago, SufficientlyAdvancedMoronics said:

Two changes I would recommend considering:

1. Instead of Pierce 5, I would give it Breach 2 and Sunder. It feels like it should be able to wreck armor that a person is wearing or any gear they have, and also be a danger no matter what protection you are using. (that may be broken, but so are Xenomorphs)
2. I would be tempted to give it planetary-scale as well as personal scale stats. Perhaps 1 ship damage with the 2 breach would be appropriate? I'm not sure though, because I know I'm terrible at running ship combat.

No, planetary-scale damage is way too much. Sunder makes sense. I think Breach 1 max, as you don't actually gain any benefit from extra Breach. It is highly unlikely that a PC is going to have more than 10 Soak, and Cortosis blocks all Breach, not just a single rank (I would houserule it to one rank of Breach).

34 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

No, planetary-scale damage is way too much

Would you just do the acid eating through the deck as narrative then?

8 minutes ago, SufficientlyAdvancedMoronics said:

Would you just do the acid eating through the deck as narrative then?

Yes.

Besides, internal/superficial damage isn't going to do too much to the actual integrity of the ship.

On 8/12/2020 at 3:25 AM, Dejon said:

Thanks, that's a really interesting video. Given Star Wars lore (lightsabers cauterize wounds on all creatures), one might argue that the xeno would be no different. Looking at the movie Aliens, their blood seems to be under considerably higher pressure.

Xenomorphs seem to have fairly low blood pressure compared to humans. Have you ever seen a real arterial spray?

7 minutes ago, micheldebruyn said:

Xenomorphs seem to have fairly low blood pressure compared to humans. Have you ever seen a real arterial spray?

That's an interesting perspective. The most vivid memory that I have of Aliens is the scene where Vasquez shoots one and the spray kills Drake. Given that Drake is more or less at right angles to her shot at the alien, I don't know how else to explain it.

Along the same lines, how quickly would the acid blood degrade? If it inflicts harm every round and doesn't degrade, getting splashed would be KIA.

5 hours ago, SufficientlyAdvancedMoronics said:

Two changes I would recommend considering:

1. Instead of Pierce 5, I would give it Breach 2 and Sunder. It feels like it should be able to wreck armor that a person is wearing or any gear they have, and also be a danger no matter what protection you are using. (that may be broken, but so are Xenomorphs)
2. I would be tempted to give it planetary-scale as well as personal scale stats. Perhaps 1 ship damage with the 2 breach would be appropriate? I'm not sure though, because I know I'm terrible at running ship combat.

In the movies, it seems to do massive damage to inorganic materials, but relatively minor damage to organic stuff, including people.

It's going to need its own specials rules where it eats through ship floors and hulls and personal armour, including Cortosis/Beskar like tissue paper, but organic people still get to use their basic soak from Brawn.

Acid Blood: Damage 6; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Blast 3, Burn 3; Sunder; Vicious 3; ignores all efects of the character's armour. If a significant amount is spilled abourd a vehicle [GM's call on what is and isn't significant, based on vehicle silhouette] the vehicle suffers an automatic critical.

8 minutes ago, Dejon said:

That's an interesting perspective. The most vivid memory that I have of Aliens is the scene where Vasquez shoots one and the spray kills Drake. Given that Drake is more or less at right angles to her shot at the alien, I don't know how else to explain it.

Vasquez riddles the Alien with bullets, pretty much cracking its exoskeleton into splinters, so yeah, 360° shower of blood. But it looked like a very localised shower of blood. And it's not as if the thing is standing still for any of this.

48 minutes ago, micheldebruyn said:

In the movies, it seems to do massive damage to inorganic materials, but relatively minor damage to organic stuff, including people.

It's going to need its own specials rules where it eats through ship floors and hulls and personal armour, including Cortosis/Beskar like tissue paper, but organic people still get to use their basic soak from Brawn.

Acid Blood: Damage 6; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Blast 3, Burn 3; Sunder; Vicious 3; ignores all efects of the character's armour. If a significant amount is spilled abourd a vehicle [GM's call on what is and isn't significant, based on vehicle silhouette] the vehicle suffers an automatic critical.

It's the acid blood that kills Drake and messes up Hicks. Why don't you think it harms organics?

19 minutes ago, Dejon said:

It's the acid blood that kills Drake and messes up Hicks. Why don't you think it harms organics?

I didn't say it doesn't harm organics.

But if it did the same thing to people that it does to metal, Hicks would be a puddle instead of merely injured, nothing recognisable as human left behind.

Also, Drake is one of very few people to actually get killed by the acid. He just had bad luck and got a massive critical, I guess.

The reason for pierce rather than breach is a rule on the sonic scope from Special Modifications. The sonic scope has rules for shooting through walls. If a target is behind a wall they gain defense and/ or soak at GM ruling. Pop a Xeno behind a wall and still get hit.

I should have added sunder.

Low damage and high Burn recreate the scenes of having to discard damaged and melting armor.

Revised Edition

Acid Blood: Damage 3; Critical 2; Range [Short]; Blast 3, Burn 4, Pierce 5, Sunder
Note that this attack can be used as a regular ranged/spit attack as well as an out of turn incidental. That is why the range is longer than the ability High Pressure Blood.

High Pressure Blood
If this character is hit with an attack that deals damage, without triggering the Burn quality; each character in engaged range is attacked with Acid Blood as an out of turn incidental.

The fact that a Xeno's acid blood is a defensive ability must be remembered. This is free damage when it is hurt, it still has Claws, Jaws, and a Bladed Tail to use offensively.