ALIEN RPG vs Delta Green
Compare ALIEN RPG and Delta Green side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| ALIEN RPG | Delta Green | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi, Horror | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Horror, Survival, Deadly, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Gritty, Licensed IP | Investigation, Deadly, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Gritty |
| 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 d100 under your skill percentage to succeed. Matched doubles (11, 22, etc.) are critical successes or failures. Six stats (STR, CON, DEX, INT, POW, CHA) derived from percentile rolls. Bonds represent personal relationships and can be damaged as agents lose SAN. Sanity tracks Breaking Points: cross enough and you develop disorders. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved (20th Century Studios license) | All Rights Reserved |
| Cost | $$ | Free (Need to Know) / $$ |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Arc Dream Publishing |
| Year | 2025 | 2016 |
| 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 modern-day investigative horror where federal agents sacrifice everything (careers, relationships, sanity) to protect humanity from threats that should not exist. |
| 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 | Bonds and sanity mechanics create personal drama, Need to Know quickstart is free and complete, strong atmospheric design, profession-based characters feel grounded, well-regarded published scenarios |
| 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 | Dense investigative scenarios require significant GM prep, limited character advancement between operations, bond deterioration can feel mechanically punishing, SAN loss mechanics can remove player agency |