Alien RPG Heart Of Darkness Expansion Review (Tabletop)

by Jim Smale · December 13, 2022

For our Alien RPG Heart Of Darkness Expansion Review, we sit down with Heart of Darkness a complete Cinematic Scenario for the ALIEN roleplaying game, written by sci-fi novelist Andrew E.C. Gaska. It is a stand-alone adventure but also serves as a conclusion to the Draconis Strain Saga begun in the cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods and continued in Destroyer of Worlds. The scenario is designed for 3–5 players plus the Game Mother and is a spiraling descent into soul-crushing madness. This is the PDF digital version that we cover.

Alien RPG Heart Of Darkness Expansion Review

Alien RPG Heart Of Darkness Expansion Review Pros:

Standalone or can be attached to previous game scenario expansions.
Amazing art.
The style of the book is the same in looks and presentation as the other scenarios and main game rule book.
3 – 5 players.
The PDF fits perfectly on readers.
You get 7 printable character sheets for each preset character.
Personal agenda card printouts.
The flavour text outlying the game is mouth-wateringly good and sucks you straight in.
Any leftover characters become NPC controlled by the Game Mother (DM).
USCSS Cetorhina handout is included for each player.
The game is split into 3 scenarios that generally dictate that this would be played over 3 sessions.
Personal agendas are given to each player at the start of each act. These are a player’s personal agenda and must be kept to themselves.
The determination of if a player achieved their agenda lies with the Game Mother.
Story cards are like personal agendas except a player gets one when they trigger the specific scenario and again keeps the info to themselves.
Story points are what you earn through playing and doing personal agendas and story cards.
Maps are included as a printout.
Takes place in the 26 Draconis system.
Famous quotes from in-game characters are presented throughout the book.
You get a lot of flavor text and background info so you can be confident and knowledgeable about elements of the world.
Leaves enough room for you to expand and improvise.
Your ship is the USCSS Cetorhina which is a relatively new ship and has its own stash of weapons and gear.
The Cetorhina is of the Rorqual class and is designed to collect plasma energies from stars and comets.
Quick select contents page making it so easy to find rules etc.
If you played the others then you can jump straight in.
Replayable with many random aspects and alternative routes and solutions.
Playing as a different character does change it all up in itself.