ALIEN RPG vs Ashen Stars
Compare ALIEN RPG and Ashen Stars side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| ALIEN RPG | Ashen Stars | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi, Horror | Scifi |
| Tags | Fear & Stress Mechanics, Survival, Deadly, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Gritty, Licensed IP | Investigation, Mystery, Mission-Based, Ship-Based, Space Opera, Resource Management, Character-Driven, Strong GM Support, Skill-Based, Crunchy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Stress adds extra dice: better odds, but stress dice that roll 1 trigger panic. Push rolls to reroll failures but gain stress. Cinematic mode for one-shots, Campaign mode for long-form play. | Ordinary tests roll a d6 plus ability-pool points spent before rolling, succeeding by meeting or beating the difficulty. Investigative abilities work differently: a core clue is simply given when the right ability is used, no roll needed, with point spends buying extra benefits. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved (20th Century Studios license) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — GUMSHOE Community on DriveThruRPG |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Pelgrane Press |
| Year | 2025 | 2011 |
| Languages | English, Swedish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese | English |
| Best For | Sci-fi horror campaigns and one-shots in the Alien universe, with a stress/panic system that mechanically drives tension. Supports both deadly cinematic one-shots and long-form campaign play. | Groups who want episodic space mysteries with a shared ship and recurring personal subplots. Cases put the crew's pursuit of justice in tension with its need to earn a living. |
| Highlights | Stress and panic system mechanically reinforces horror tension, two distinct play modes (Cinematic and Campaign), Evolved Edition streamlines rules and improves layout, well-supported licensed setting | Automatic core clues keep missed information rolls from blocking a case. Reputation changes the wait between contracts, connecting ethical choices to the crew's upkeep bill. Ship combat assigns different attack modes to crew stations, spreading decisive actions across specialists. |
| Considerations | Tightly bound to the Alien IP with limited genre flexibility, stress mechanics can feel punishing at high levels, Evolved Edition changes are modest over 1st edition | Investigative pools normally refresh only when a case ends, making extra benefits a case-long budget. The rules assume a working Laser crew; fugitive campaigns require changes to that framework. Ship battles use abstract goal-point races rather than positional movement on a tactical map. |