Xeno

XenoisintendedtobeaoneshotFateAcceleratedEditionsessionmeanttotellastoryinthe
sameveinasmoviesasAlien,Predator,orTheThing,videogameslikeDeadSpace,or
possiblyevensettingslikeStarshipTroopersorJohnSteakleysArmor.Thecharactersare
assumedtobepartofamilitaryorparamilitaryuniteitherbeingsentintoasituationorpartofa
developingone.Theyareexpectedtohavethetypesofhardwareseeninthesemoviespulse
rifles,smartguns,exoskeletons,VTOLaircraft,armoredpersonnelcarriers,drones,
cybernetics,etc.

SETUP
Setuphasthreesteps:
1.EachplayerandtheGMsuggestsasettingforthescenario,andtheGMdecidesonwhich
one.TheGMcanpickmore,butitsprobablybesttolimitittotwo.Xenoscenariosalmost
alwaystakeplaceindark,cramped,clutteredenvironments.Thiscanbeaspaceship,space
station,undergroundtunnels,etc.,althoughtheycouldalsotakeplaceinurbanenvironmentsor
nearlyanyconfinedspace.
2.NexteachplayersuggestsaGoalforthescenarioandaComplication.Thegoalcanbeto
DiscovertheMissingColonists,InvestigateaStrangeSignal,JustAnotherBughuntor
EscapeFromaStation.TheComplicationcanbesomethingthatisgoingtohappen,suchasa
DeadlySolarStorm,oralimitlikeAirSupportIsntAvailableorDontRuptureTheCooling
System.
3.Next,theplayerseachwritedowntwolocationstheywouldliketoseeduringthescenario.
TheGMchoosewhichlocationsareusedandcomesupwithsceneaspectsforeach.Scenes
inXenomorphshouldfeaturemachinery,steam,ventilationandaccessshafts,multiplelevels,
drippingwater,waterpools,hatches,airlocks,controlrooms,tubing,conduit,mazelike
corridors,etc.
Oncethisisdone,theGMcandosomequickprepworkforthescenario.Xenoscenarioshave
fourscenes:
1. Insertion:Whethertheteamisthrustinthesituationortheyaresenttoitintentionally,
thissceneiswhentheyfirstarrive.Itmayormaynotincludeinitialcontactwiththe
xenomorphs
2. Discovery:Thisiswhentheteamdiscoverstheexactnatureofthexenomorphthreat
orthexenomorphsdiscoverthem.
3. Survival:Nowtheteam(orthexenomorphs)muststrugglefortheirsurvival.

4. Escape/Extraction:Duringthefinalscene,theteameitheraccomplishesitsgoal,
acceptsanewgoalandattemptstocompletethat,orabandonsthegoalaswellas
escapesorotherwiseexitsthemission.

CHARACTER CREATION
CharactersarecreatedperFateAcceleratedEdition.Heresasummaryofcharactercreation.
1. Chooseahighconceptandatroubleaspect.Highconceptsarelikelywhatthecharacter
doeslikeToughAsNailsSergeantorCockyTechSpec.Troubleaspectsshouldbe
somethingthatapplyduringthemission,likeThirtyEightDrops...Simulatedor
LowGeeColonist.
2. Chooseathirdaspect
3. Nameyourcharacter,andfillindetailslikerank,unit,appearance,etc.
4. ChooseoneGood(+3),twoFair(+2),twoAverage(+1)andoneMediocre(0)approach
5. Startwith3refresh.
6. Chooseorcreateastuntifitfitsyourcharacter.Youalsowillhavetwootheraspectsthat
arefilledinduringplay..

Approaches

Wary
Technical
Reckless
Driven
Violent
Deceitful

Sample Stunts
BFG:BecauseIhavealotoffirepoweratmydisposal,oncepersessionIcantakeoutonexeno
whenIviolentlyattack.
DuctRat:BecauseIknowthehiddenaccesspointsandpassageways,Igeta+2bonuswheni
deceitfullycreateanadvantagetouseductsorventstosneakaround.
Focused:BecauseIamcompletelyfocusedontheobjective,Igeta+2bonuswhencreating
advantagesthatdrivemetowardattainingitattheexclusionofothergoalsorcircumstances.
HalfBakedIdea:BecauseIamverygoodatunconventionalsolutions,Igeta+2bonuswhen
recklesslycreatingadvantagesthathaveachanceofbackfiring.

MotionTracker:BecauseIhaveaMotionTracker,Igeta+2bonuswhenIwarilydefend
againstanattackbyxenosIwasunawareof.
RoomSweeper:BecauseIhaveaweaponwithahighrateoffire/wideangleofattack,onceper
sessionIcanviolentlyattackallxenosinazone.
TechSpec:BecauseIamatechnicalspecialist,Igeta+2bonuswhenItechnicallyovercome
obstacleswhenIampresentedwithalockeddoor,protectedcomputersystemorsimilar
obstacle.
Torch:BecauseIhaveaflamethrower,Igeta+2bonuswhenIviolentlycreatetheadvantage
OnFire.

The Xeno
Averyimportantpartofthescenarioisthenatureofthexenosthatthecharacterswillface.
Whethertheyaresolitaryhunters,bioengineeredweapons,oraninsectlikehivemindhasa
greatimpactonhowthegamewillplayout.
Theclassesgivenbelowarebroadexamples,andarecenteredmorearoundtheiroveralltheme
overwhattheycanactuallydo.Feelfreetomixthingsupandinventnewaspectsorstunts.For
example,aHuntercouldeasilybeclosertoaBioterrorinabilitiesthedifferenceiswhythey
huntandhowintelligenttheylikelyare.

Hunter
HunterofOtherSpecies,AlienCodeofHonor
Skilled(+2)at:Stalkingandhuntingthings,settinguptrapsandambushes,fadingawayafteran
attack.
Bad(2)at:Survivingwithoutitstechnology.
Stunts:
CloakingDevice:Becausethehunterhasacloakingdevice,itgetsa+2bonuswhenstalking
orfadingaway.
ImagingSystems:Becausethehunterhasadvancedimagingsystems,itgetsa+2bonus
whentrackingorhuntingitsprey.
Stress:OO
Theseintelligentxenoshuntotherspecies,eitheraloneorinsmallgroups.Theynearlyalways
useadvancedtechnology,andplanelaboratehunts.Theirpreymayormaynotrealizetheyare
beinghunted.Becausetheymayoperateontheirowncodeofhonorormorals,unlikeother
xenosthereissometimesawaytocommunicatewiththem.

Bioterror
AlienMonster,ApexPredator
Skilled(+2)at:Killingthings,blendinginwithitssurroundings,climbingandcrawlingthrough
confinedspaces.
Bad(2)at:Defendingagainstflamethrowers,electricityorotherburningattacks.
Stunts
BioDefenseMechanism:Becausethebioterrorhassomekindofbiologicaldefense
mechanism,itcanautomaticallycounterattackwhenattackedbyanykindofpenetratingattack.
Stress:OOO
Whethertheyaresimplyanextremelyaggressive,highlyevolvedapexpredatororanengineered
biologicalweapon,thesexenosarehighlyadaptableandabsolutelyfearless.Theyoftenuse
ambushtacticsandeveniftheyaren'tsapient,theyarehighlyintelligent.Bioterrorsalmost
alwaysoperateinsmallgroupsthosethataremorecooperateorevenmorelikeswarmsare
extremelydangerous.Bioterrorsalwaysrelyonnaturalweaponry,armourorotherabilities,but
thosecanrangefromsimpleclawsandteethtochemicalattackstoshapeshifting.

Swarms
WarriorDrone,Hivemind
Skilled(+2)at:Attackingenmasse,defendingthehive,overwhelmingdefenses
Bad(2)at:Actingindividually,strategicthinking
Stress:None
Individuallythesexenosarentmuchofathreat,buttheyneverappearindividually.Theyare
communalcreaturesthatareoftenpresentinoverwhelmingnumbers.Tomakemattersworse,
morespecializedversionsoftenappearthathaveenhancedabilitiessuchasflight,ranged
attacks,orjustbeingbiggerandtougherthantherest.

Tenion and Pacing

MaintainingconstanttensionisimportantduringaXenosession,asismaintainingproper
pacing.Thetensionshouldcontinuallybuildthroughallfourscenes,withreliefonlycomingatthe
veryend(ifthen).Thereareacoupleofwaystobuildingthistension.

Tension as an Approach
ThisisanapproachavailabletoyouastheGMtousethroughoutthegame.Atleastonceper
scene,youcanattackeachofthePCswithTension,whichtheydefendwiththeirDriven
approach.TheskillstartsatMediocre(0)inthefirstsceneandincreasesby1rankeachscene.

Tension as an Aspect
Tensioncanberepresentedasascenarioaspect.Itwilloftenbesomewhatspecific,suchas
TheClockIsTicking,althoughitshouldbeseparatefromthescenarioscomplicationaspect.

The Xeno Clock

ThisideaisstolenfromJohnWicksTheShotgunDiaries.TheXenoclockisa3boxStress
track.Every10minutesofrealtime,stressisinflictedonthetrack.Theamountofstress
dependsonthescene:1stressduringInsertion,2stressduringDiscoveryand3stressduring
Survivaland2stressduringEscape/Extraction.Theplayerscandecidetotakeconsequences
tosoakthestresstheGMdecideswhatthoseconsequencesare,buttheyarealwaysrelated
tosomekindofcomplicationsuchasUnderneathTheHeatExchangers.Stressandminor
consequencesclearfromtheXenoclockattheendofthescene.