Destroyer of Worlds

Destroyer of Worlds is the second part of the Alien role-playing campaign that began with Chariot of the Gods. This time, however, the players take on new roles, namely that of Colonial Marines stationed on Ariarcus in the Kruger 60 system. The base is located on a cold moon, far away in the frontier. Originally, Ariarcus was a successful oil production colony, but there was unrest that led to the military taking over the moon and adding a garrison. After the neighboring system is invaded by the Union of Progressive People (UPP), most of the troops stationed on the moon are sent out for a counter-offensive. Although a large part of the civilian inhabitants has long abandoned the colony, the remaining colonists now want to flee from a possible invasion by the UPP.

Against this backdrop, the player characters are sent out on a special mission to track down four deserted Marines who have stolen military secrets. But this is only the prelude to a three-act horror story. Finding the deserters in a colony full of disgruntled colonists who cannot leave the moon due to a blockade is no easy task. After locating the Marines, however, the story really picks up: not only does the war reach the colony, but dangerous alien creatures turn the mission into a brutal fight for survival.

Destroyer of Worlds, as the second part of the trilogy, has clear parallels to the second film in the original Alien series. Here, the focus is on a group of Marines, and the subtitle of Alien 2 “This time it's war” would fit Destroyer of Worlds perfectly. Chances are that one or more of the pre-generated characters will not survive the story. The personal goals of the various characters also help to increase the challenge through additional tensions. A new element, the story cards that come into play as the game progresses, complicating things even further. Similar to the personal agenda, players earn points if they follow the story cards.

The setting is extensively described and offers various maps of the major facilities. While there is an overarching story arc, there is a large number of optional scenes that depend heavily on the actions of the player characters. Included are various handouts in the form of maps, pre-generated characters, and equipment cards in the usual format for Alien.

Those who enjoyed Chariot of the Gods will find a fresh and even harder challenge in Destroyer of Worlds. Although the story is only vaguely connected to the first adventure from the player's perspective, this adventure confronts the players with an exciting conflict and a good dose of horror from the Alien universe. Moreover, the additional material such as the maps, the equipment cards but also the personal agenda cards and intrigues of the various players and non-player characters greatly enrich the story. Conveniently, all necessary information about the Xenomorphs is once again summarized in this adventure. From my point of view, Destroyer of Worlds is definitely worth a recommendation, provided the players are willing to let their characters suffer (and probably die) and the game mother is willing to spend some time to prepare the complex and multi-faceted setting.

(Björn Lippold)