Earth is targeted by ET Attack

[JmOz]

in 8 days,

 

So how do you run an alien invasion? this is the first one I have done and would love some pointers...I already have the alien race chosen, need to stat at the cannon fodder and the LT's (different sub-races)

[Blue]

Consider this...

1) Do we see it coming or not? Maybe NASA (or someone else) sees the invasion coming, or maybe they just show up overnight like The Day the Earth Stood Still

 

2) Is there another alien race that shall intervene? Someone with knowledge of these other aliens? Perhaps victims of their previous aggressions.

 

3) What's the goal? Mining the Earth's resources, Using humans as breeders, revenge for killing their peaceful emissary (at Roswell, many years ago), because they have made a bargain with the Russians back whent here was still a USSR.

 

4) Do they start off attacking or do they come at least pretending to be peaceful? If they're feigning peace, call this the "To serve man... It's a cookbook!" approach.

 

I'm still considering all of these things for my pending invasion in my game. I have a few sessions to run between now and then.

[McCoy]

Open hostility or stealth?

 

In a couple of weeks in my campagine, Skrulls disguised as the Avengers are going to demand all nuclear weapons be disassembled and Reed Richards be arrested and exicuted.

[Chromatic]

Is this a campaign epic event that will run for many sessions, or a one shot deal (that might take 2 or 3 sessions at most)?

 

If the game is going to be hevaily effected by the invaders, ala V or Taken, then you have a lot of other sub plots you can work with. If it's just an "Oh my God, aliens are landing and we have to stop them" type of situation, then its simply a twist on the typical figure out the nefarious plot, stop it, and defeat the bad guy. Kinda ho hum actually, since all the bad guys will be basically the same.

 

I'll presume you are starting up an epic event that will change the scope of the campaign.

 

Step one: are the aliens defeatable? Do they have some major weakness that can be discovered and exploited? Are the unstoppable psionic creeps with vast arrays of technological gadgets that will decimate the heros completely? Hopefully, they do have some sort of weakness that can be discovered with some skills use by the PC's. I wouldn't have it as common and drastic as having the aliens melt into goo when they are doused by salt water, but that's your choice of course.

 

Step two: why are they here? Are they friendly explorers (unlikely) or war mongering conquerers? Or maybe they are looking for something they are missing? It could be anything from a new food source (humans breed too slowly to make a good one) or perhaps they have a process that can turn the Earth's oceans into heavy water and then use it to fuel their ships.

 

Step three: how are the PC's supposed to react? You shouldn't put too much emphasis on this one, since what ever you plan, will be completely warped, twisted around, and basically screwed up by the players. Remember, Players never do what's in the GM's script for them unless they are forced, kicking and screaming all the way. You might be one of those GM's that likes the railroad plotline, if so, sorry (to your players).

 

Step four: set up the clues for success. The hidden gems of information or happenstance that will need to be discovered by the players in order to defeat the aliens. Don't make it too difficult--PC's are surprisingly stupid when it comes to mysteries. All the 23- rolls in the book are not going to help the player jump to the conclusion needed if they aren't looking at all the facts in a single piece of paper. Chances are having all the facts in one piece of paper will never happen. Plan on this. Sprinkle the clues throughout the planned timeline of game sessions--doesn't matter if its a single session or if its every fourth adventure.

 

Step five: build mini events around the clues for PC success. This can be foiling a hijack of a secret government ship from Area 51, or finding a journal from a abductee with very lucid memory of their captures in a used book store, or even a knock down drag out battle on one of the invading ships and gaining access to their computer systems.

 

Step six: for the final event, double it and add 30%. Take a guess for the power level you want the "boss" alien situation to have, then double the power and add 30% in agent fodder. You have one brain to controll the entire invading force. Your players are cooperating with eachother, and focusing on a single character each. They will be able to out think you. It's a given, so plan on it by beefing up the competition in raw power. DO THE MATH when you are working out the power level. Calculate the average that will get through on your aliens based on what a typical attack your PC's will have. Make sure that the big bad can stand toe to toe for at least a turn.

 

I've toyed around with running a campaign based on alien invasion, and even did a bunch of background work set for a PBEM. Time has always been an agent against this happening.

[levi]

Let me just throw in here that the Mass Combat Rules in Fantasy HERO work great if you want to pit a PC Hero-lead Battalion of UNTIL agents against Alien Lieutenant-lead Battalion of Alien Soldiers.

[JmOz]

More details:

 

I want it to run for about 5 sessions

 

It will be quite "In the open" as far as the invsion goes

 

It is centered around an amnesic pcharacter one of my players is playing (It's his people attacking)

 

It is a global invasion: Other Heroes will be involved with the fighting elsewhere.

 

My biggest problem is I have no idea about pacing, I know the first ship will land on X-Mas Eve, I want at least some of it to take place in space, etc...

[farik]

I'd suggest a small mostly automated invasion force. You have several "leutenants" in large spacecraft equipped with hordes of robots which while easily destroyed by "Heroes" but are more than a match for a normal human.

 

1st session:

the "saucers" arrive and the heroes have to deal with the invaders (robot hordes) and manage to clean up a city block or save an orphanage but they quickly realize the problem is too widespread and there are too many of them.

 

2nd session:

the characters will stumble across the goal of the invasion and can try to stop an example of this specific action (fight the humans who have been made into cyborgs; destroy the factory consuming the planet's water; etc.) and at the same time discover the raltionship to your PC.

 

3rd session:

move to space and assault the ship a nice session fighting automated defenses, robot minions, and trying to bust into one of the "saucers"

 

4th session:

After fighting more robot minions (maybe higher quality since they are defending a key figure) the PC get to the Lt who is equal to your alien PC but equipped with better tech (and more minions) to make him a challenge for the whole team.

 

5th session:

Using the captured "saucer" and/or info from the defeated Lt the team assaults the real big Boss who is hiding behind the moon. The players could use the captured saucer's robots to fight the big boss's robots allowing them to move ot the real fight with the ultra powerful Alien Leader. When he's defeated the other aliens flee at the awesome display of power the PC's have made and/or self destruct their project to stop these wily earthlings from tracking the aliens back to their homeworld.

 

End result: the invasion is stopped the world is in ruins and all the worlds supers were occupied locally which is why they couldn't come to help your PCs (maybe they even showed up in their own captured saucers right after the PCs defeat the Big Boss)

[Lord Liaden]

I suppose there's not enough time for you to find a copy of the 4E Champs supplement Invasions: Target Earth? It goes into a great deal of detail on how to run various comic-book-style invasions, and I would recommend it. Because of copyright considerations I don't want to transcribe too much of it here, but I'll try to summarize some of the salient points:

 

The minimum events that make up most open comic-book invasions include:

 

ARRIVAL: the invader hopes that the massive display of force will crush its opponents' will to resist.

 

INVADERS WIN BATTLES: it's important that they gain some ground early on or they won't be taken as a credible threat.

 

DEFENDERS WIN BATTLES: resulting from better organization, more knowledge of invader's capabilities, a new weapon, or dissension among the invaders. If you want the campaign to focus around the amnesiac PC, then his/her regained memories or relationship to the invaders should be key to turning the tide.

 

FINAL BATTLE: this will often feature a "big plan" or new weapon which the invaders hope will win the day for them. Stopping this plan is usually key to the final defeat of the invaders. In your case this is probably the best place to put space-based action.

 

Since this is a relatively short campaign, you probably wouldn't want to cover much more than this. Here are a few other issues I'd suggest keeping in mind as you play:

 

Decide at the start what the goal of the invader is: gaining territory or resources, neutralizing a perceived threat, "saving" humanity from itself, etc. Knowing the goal can often be key to stopping the invasion if the invader can be convinced that it's unattainable or not worth the effort.

 

Develop the leadership cadre. Is the overall leader one who leads from the front and can be confronted, or stays in the background plotting and has to be sought out? Will he try to crush the opposition in one massive blow, or spread out slowly and methodically? The leader's style will be reflected in the tactics of his troops. Also try to make the leader's lieutenants interesting and challenging to the PCs, since they'll be the ones the heroes encounter most often before the finale.

 

If the invasion is worldwide, and your PCs aren't the most powerful heroes on the planet, make sure that their battles make a noticeable difference on their local scale - you want them to have a sense of accomplishment even before the finale.

 

Consider the aftermath of the invasion: how much long-term effect do you want on your campaign world? How much destruction will have to be rebuilt? Do the invaders pack everything up when they leave, or will there be supertech lying around to be scavenged by heroes, villains or the government? (Potential origins there.) Any aliens left behind to be new heroes, villains or "citizens," maybe as POWs?

 

Hope that helps.

[Ghost who Walks]

I must have run a dozen of these things by now, each one different. A lot depends of if you are doing a comic book style invasion, or a sci-fi based one. Comic book ones are usually stopped by force, while sci-fi ones are often stopped byt the aliens themselves or human cleverness.

 

Here are some things to consider:

1) What are the aliens numbers? Are there several million of them aboard a colony ship, or are there 2 guys and one babe in a flying mirror?

2) Can the aliens retreat if defeated? Do they want to make Earth their new home?

3) Why are the aliens invading? Do they percieve humanity as a threat? Do they want our resources? Are they looking for food? I once did one where the aliens were after our chocolate, which to them was a drug. Drug smuggling aliens had been visiting our planet for decades, to harvest their illicit crop. The aliens wished to put a stop to it.

4) What "rules of war" will the aliens follow? Will they try to prevent civilian casulaties? or do they nuke any resistance?

5) Give the aleins strategic objectives, and try and see things from their eyes. How will they achieve victory? If they arehierarchy/aristocracy they may try and capture our leaders, in the belief we will surrender. A military style invasion will attempt to destroy our military. An economy based one may attempt to grab a strategic resource, like oil.

6) Does earth have any allies? This could include magical onces, or enemies of the aliens invading.

 

So far as what you need to do:

1) Have some idea of a layout for at least one alien ship. If they don't have a ship of their own, at some point the players will try to steal it.

2) Do at least one military officer who will lead the conventional forces during the war. He will get the general perk, and if the players are lucky, the tactics skill. If the resistance is organized, someone may be assigned to lead the superpowered people as well. (easier for you if this is an NPC)

3) At least one politician will cave into the aliens, and attempt to make peace by selling out the planet. Who this is will depend on your campaign area. I used Bill Clinton once, but then his guards killed him.

4) At least one alien leader has to be done, preferably two. Make them rivals of each other.

5) Decide if you want to give the aliens the "Superweapon". This is the weapon that can devastate the Earth unless the people surrender. If it is destroyed, the enemy will most likely retreat. My favoriite Superweapon is an orbital EMP cannon, when fired it will "black out" huge sections of the world.

6) How do the villains react? Do they lay low, or side with the invader? Does Doctor Destroyer volunteer to lead Earth's defenders if given authority?

 

The game purpose of the alien invasion is several:

1) It allows the players to defend their homes.

2) Players are able to participate in big battles, with real stakes.

3) Changes are able to be done to the campaign world.

 

Sample invasion outline:

Alien goal: to establish colony on the planet, and force the naatives to purchase their high-tech goods at greatly inflated prices (high-tech goal). A secondary goal is to prevent the inhabitants from becoming a threat to the aliens.

 

Timeline:

1) Aliens establish base on the moon (if unoccupied in campaign). This is where they put all their supplies they will need for the invasion, and build hospitals and such.

2) Earth astronomer discovers aliens on the moon, is widely disbelieved by the media. Several governments notice, and do pay attention.

3) Aliens send scouting vessels to Earth to find the best location for their goal.They decide upon Kazakhstan, where a lot of infrastructure remains from the soviet days, including the largest space center in the world.

4) Aliens kidnap Kazakh leader and replace him/mind control him/blackmail him. The only purpose of this is to give them some sort of ally on Earth.

5) Alien forces land in Kazakhstan and establish control, proclaiming their peaceful intentions.

6) (several weeks pass, aliens may show up in the campaign city, posing as tourists) Russia claims the aliens have hostile intent, have built sweat-shop factories, are mindcontrolling the populace, building WMD, and being bad neighbors. Russia demands aliens leave, or submit to UN observors.

7) Conflict breaks out between Russian military and aliens. The PCs are sent by their country to help, or they just show up so they can blast things.

8) Aliens suffer defeat and withdraw to moon. They plan their revenge by moving a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth. They theorize that they will be able to gain control over the shattered survivors and gain control of the world, at least satisfying their secondary goal.

9) Earths heroes must divert the asteroid, and fight the ship that is involved in moving it. This deeat will probably demoralize the aliens, setting the stage for the final act.

10) Earth's heroes travel to the moon and defeat the aliens there. This battle should be the big one, moral choices may happen when the heroes find that many of the aliens on the some are civilian workers for alien companies. Some army guys will go along, to plant the nukes. End of Invasion.

[Enforcer84]

Man you should write a book. Please.

[Southern Cross]

Agreed.I also suggest that the originator of this thread provide more details on the invasion force.Some examples:

(1)What powers do they have (or do they just have ultra-tech gadgets)? A race with innate superpowers has more options than one without.

(2)What kind of technology do they have? A race which relies on bio-tech (such as the Zygons from Doctor Who) has a whole different feel than the traditional space invaders.More to the point,it's easier to justify the PCs not getting cool alien toys if the base technology is sufficiently strange.Given that one of the PCs is an amnesiac member of this race,though,you probably intend for the PCs to at least get at least one alien gadget.

(3)Since one of the PCs is an amnesiac invader,it's safe to say that the invaders must not be innately evil.At least some of the higher-ups should be prepared to listen to reason.

(4)What are the invader's primary and secondary objectives? Unless the player wants to retire the PC in question,retrieving the PC in question should be ,at best, a secondary objective.

[assault]

Originally posted by Ghost who Walks

6) ... Russia claims the aliens have hostile intent, have built sweat-shop factories, are mindcontrolling the populace, building WMD, and being bad neighbors. ...

 

What, they accuse them of being Americans?

 

No, seriously, good post. It would be quite playable.

 

I may have to consider my own invasion scenario. I was considering starting a game, and an invasion would be a good way to start. At least, it worked for the JLA and the Fantastic Four (the first two superteams of the Silver Age).

 

Of course, those invasions were pretty much one-session wonders, but hey, you can't destroy the world _too_ many times.

 

Hmm...

 

Alan

[JmOz]

Originally posted by Southern Cross

Agreed.I also suggest that the originator ofb this thread provide more details on the invasion force.Some examples:

(1)What powers do they have (or do they just have ultra-tech gadgets)? A race with innate superpowers has more options than one without.

(2)What kind of technology do they have? A race which relies on bio-tech (such as the Zygons from Doctor Who) has a whole different feel than the traditional space invaders.More to the point,it's easier to justify the PCs not getting cool alien toys if the base technology is sufficiently strange.Given that one of the PCs is an amnesiac member of this race,though,you probably intend for the PCs to at least get at least one alien gadget.

(3)Since one of the PCs is an amnesiac invader,it's safe to say that the invaders must not be innately evil.At least some of the higher-ups should be prepared to listen to reason.

(4)What are the invader's primary and secondary objectives? Unless the player wants to retire the PC in question,retrieving the PC in question should be ,at best, a secondary objective.

 

Wow some great posts (Especialy the Ghost who Walks, pet devil for me)

 

The race is a Caste system:

 

Lv 1: Bulk of the force, Some armor, stronger than humans (Str 20-30?). some resistant defenses, HKA (Claws). They will have some extra defenses in armor and Blasters

Lv 2: This is what the PC is, pretty much bricks

Lv 3: Add Flight, EB:Cones

Lv 4: Bigger, Stronger, faster, more powerful

Lv 5: A LOT BIGGER, No fine manipulation, a little slower

 

2) High Tech

 

3) No they are just conquest minded, and are concerned about the PC (The level 2's can evolve into higher levels)

 

4) They want to conquer the planet, as it has great strategic value, secondary goal includes making sure that Thud (the PC) is not a threat to the Queen Mother

[Lord Liaden]

Does the planet's strategic value include something the PCs could exploit to help them? For instance, location near an enemy of the invader's, one whom Earth might ally with?

 

Why might Thud become a threat to the Queen Mother?

[JmOz]

Because he is related to her...

[Ghost who Walks]

Just a couple of quick comments:

 

1) When the first alien body is recovered, have an "alien autopsy" scene. I once had aliens invade during thanksgiving, and my Captain America clone got to do some carving...its surprisingly fun.

 

2) The aliens may have been planning the invasion for some time (strategic value of the Earth), but have moved up the time table due to the presense of Thudd.

 

3) As soon as the invaders are revealed to look like Thudd, the heroes may be visited by men in black suits.

 

4) I've used a caste system invader before, they are great fun. In my case, they were a reptialian race. Earth may have joined them peacefully, except they insisted on putting humans at a low level on their "Caste Organization Chart". Humans of course fought, insulted that they weren't ranked higher.

 

5) If Thudd has amnesia, he may have friends among the invasion fleet that he doesn't know. Could be interesting.

[Space Cadet]

Another source of ideas for an Alien Invasion campaign, if you

can find it or know someone who has it, is the Adventurer's

Club article "Death From The Skies!", which appeared in

Issue #11 of that publication. It's got some good ideas on how

to run an Invasion campaign, particularly one which starts out

as a covert invasion before eventually becoming an overt invas-

ion.

 

Space Cadet

[Southern Cross]

Drat,I'll now have to search through my collection of old AC's to see if I have issue #11.Remember, though,as all the Adventurer's Club were published before FREd,some conversion will be necessary (especially as I think that the BBB (Big Blue Book) came out about the same time as issue #15) .