Top 4 space horror TTRPGs
So, continuing with the trend of making blog entries and rankings of things I like, I’m a huge sci-fi fan. It has to be my favorite media genre, and I’m always looking for new sci-fi stories, movies, games, etc. I’m also a huge coward and don't like horror that much in general, which makes my love of space horror a nice paradox.
Today, I will rank the best four TTRPGs for space horror, similar to the previous one about games to play as Power Rangers.
I will list them and provide their basic characteristics this time, including Death rate, because part of what ups the tension in horror games is how often you can die, how hard it is to make other characters, and where to find them. Also, it has to be the core of the game, not counting supplements, which allows me to explore and show games designed from scratch for that special experience.
Alien: The Roleplaying Game
System: Year Zero Engine
Main Focus: Survival, Horror
Mortality: High
Books required to play: 1+
Ease of play: Medium.
Summary:
As with Power Rangers, the official licensed game for Alien is a great place to start. The game offers a great Alien experience where you need to survive and fulfill your mission. It's a great game for one shots, I think this is where the game shines the most, because as much as we want to be Ripley and survive 3 movies against the Xenomorphs the vast majority of us are the crews of the multiple ships that encounter the aliens and that gives it a special flavor.
Mothership. Sci-Fi Horror Roleplaying Game
System: Simple d100 Panic Engine
Main Focus: Survival
Mortality: Medium
Books required to play: 1 box
Ease of play: Easy.
Summary:
Everything about this game hits the perfect spot for space horror, it gives you a great deal of liberty plus not being linked ot any property you can give it any kind of flavor of space horror, Alien, Dead space, Event Horizon (although any of the Warhammer 40k might be better to play that one), Cloverfield Paradox). that is why it also has different supplements 3rd party to enhance the game experience.
Caligaes’ Xeno
System: Xeno system
Main Focus: Infiltration, Conquest
Mortality: Low
Books required to play: 1 zine
Ease of play: Easy
Summary:
Do you want to play Carrion, the RPG, or The Thing RPG? Well, we've got news for you. Caligaes’ Xeno is a unique game as it is one of the few options where you can play as the monsters, where you are not the victim of the space horror but the instigator, complete with horror mechanics that make targets easier to catch the more they fear you. It is super easy to play, has a unique system, and character creation is quick and straightforward. Your Xenos are on a mission from Mother to conquer Earth, but humans won’t go down that easily.
Eclipse Phase
System: d100/percentile system
Main Focus: survival and exploration
Mortality: High
Books required to play: 1+
Ease of play: Hard
Summary:
An excellent space horror setting with many creative and original ideas, that I’m shocked there isn't much more media about it. The game experience can be fun to play, and it's best enjoyed by either knowing nothing of the setting or knowing everything about it. That being said, it can be a little rougher on the GM because they need to know the lore in depth. It's a game where deaths can mean almost nothing but the trauma, as you can make backups although your bodies are lost, so now you need to make use of the recycled bodies that Firewall has available. The game can be run as a conspiracy game, an investigative horror game, or a space exploration game with the portals that exist. You will face terrible AI s called T.I.T.A.N.S that pushed humanity off Earth and experimented with the survivors.
That is all for this week. See you next week with another set of magic inspired by another anime or manga. The Kamen Rider subclass is in the works, and it will take another week. As for which one will be, I’m between Ranger or Barbarian.
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I am Sergio Ake, also known as Axo Red, the main writer and co-creator of Tezca Sentai. I do project managment at Axo stories, and development editing for writers