ALIEN RPG vs DayTrippers
Compare ALIEN RPG and DayTrippers side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| ALIEN RPG | DayTrippers | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi, Horror | Scifi |
| Play Style | Horror, Survival, Deadly, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Gritty, Licensed IP | Rules-Light, Skill-Based, Narrative, Exploration, Weird, Collaborative, Ship-Based, Character-Driven, Improvisation, Open Source, One-Shot Friendly |
| 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. | Roll a number of d6s equal to the relevant Stat score (1–6), keep the highest, and add any Skill and Item bonuses. Compare to a Difficulty Level (1–10) or an opposed roll. Results are interpreted narratively on a five-tier table: miss by more than 1 (No, And), miss by 1 (No, But), hit exactly (Yes, But), exceed by 1 (Yes), exceed by more than 1 (Yes, And). Progressive Character Generation lets players spend character points during play rather than all at creation. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | High | Low |
| License | All Rights Reserved (20th Century Studios license) | CC BY-NC 3.0 |
| Cost | $$ | $ |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | As If Productions |
| Year | 2025 | 2015 |
| 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 surreal sci-fi adventures exploring dream worlds, alternate Earths, and pocket universes, with a fiction-first resolution system that rewards creative narration. |
| 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 | Five slip types (Cartesian, Paraterran, Temporal, Subjective, Compound) create wildly different mission structures from space travel to dream worlds. Progressive Character Generation reveals character details through play rather than front-loading backstory. LifeShaping system ties character motivations (beliefs, goals, relationships) directly into mechanical bonuses. SlipShip construction rules let players design their own interdimensional vehicles. |
| 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 | 44-page core rulebook covers the essentials but leaves significant rulings to GM interpretation. Combat system is lightweight with limited tactical options. Surreal tone assumes GM comfort with improvising bizarre interdimensional encounters on the fly. GameMasters Guide sold separately for expanded tools and adventure generation. |