Aliens vs. Predator, Thoughts on using both races in SR. Options

[Wonazer]

I have been playing alot of AvP2 lately and am thinking of a way to include one, if not both races, in my campaign. Since I have NOT read the Renraku shutdown adventure, I am going to make up something on my own.

Consider this. A Xenomorph is taken for bio studies by Renraku. Studies had been going smoothly and the nature of the beast was apparent. There was an accident and as a precaution the arcology was shutdown. A predator had come to play and somehow got trapped inside a security door when the shutdown happened. Renraku has been very tight about info leaks regarding the Xenomorph and wants to deal with the problem before they open the doors again. They want to make sure that word does not get out, considering the ramifications from government and corporations.

The PC's are on a run to discover what Runraku is being so secretive about. I think you can imagine what happens next.

What I would like from you guys is a leak test. Is there some important fact that I am missing? Comments, questions?

Also, what statistics would you give a standard Predator, and a Drone Xenomorph?

[Velocity]

[Siege]

Instead of introducing aliens (or Aliens) into your game, you might go with the "escaped biowar project" that has taken up residence in the Barrens.

It'll result in the same bughunt atmosphere without making a massive departure from existing SR genre.

Hell, an augmented bandersnatch will result in the requested bodycount. (which actually mentions "Predator" in the color description)

-Siege

[Wonazer]

Actually, I am not interested in bodycount. I am interested in atmosphere.

Basically, I want the PC's to experience suspense. Similar to the Marine campaign on AvP2. IF you have played it you will remember the rush of the first few levels. The first level has NO fighting at all. You see the three-dot-traingle laser sight of the Predator once and hear their hiss/growl. You hear the pain scream of the alien, but never see one.

Anyhow, I want to keep the Xenomorphs/Predators at a distance. Close enough to tease the PC's, but not enough that they could kill one (Not until the end of the session.)

To add to the effect, (since I GM from the computer in my dining room) I have extracted the sound effects from the AvP2 game files.

What part of the storyline would I be hurting if I changed the reason Renraku shuts down?

[Siege]

Not storyline per se, but genre -- aliens have never manifested in the SR universe. That being said, it's not a complaint on my part but a suggestion.

Feel free to disregard at will.

-Siege

[Backgammon]

Bio-engineered war creatures are however mentionned in SR. In SoNA, in the Tsimshiman (however the hell you spell that) border war, the shadowtalks mention rumours of a bio-engineered war critter. That could work for an Alien.

Predator is just wacky. A Tir Ghost or something like that might do the trick.

[Velocity]

[TinkerGnome]

Lo! From the depths of the old forum, something else Nova and Sunday Gamer shouldn't see!

[ Spoiler ]

This old topicdiscussed this at length.

[Wonazer]

Well, there is the main difference. My players only know the history/introduction in the SR3 main book.

To be honest, I was not even aware that an AI did the shutdown. That could make things really interesting.

[Velocity]

[TimeKeeper]

To add in my own senses,
Either on the ShadowRN mailing list or back in the archives (not THE Archives, but the forum ones) a few people posted their stats/takes and revisions of the Xenomorph. As for the Hunter, you're on your own.

[Boondocker]

I posted some a long time ago on ShadowRN, but it all got lost in a crash. It was met with very little enthusiasm (perhaps rightly so) so I didn't bother trying to retrieve it from the RN archives, which I find irritating to use. So you can go digging if you want. :)