Hope's Last Day | Learn To Play Alien: The Roleplaying Game

Creating your character

Hope’s Last Day uses five pre-generated characters. Before the session, I will contact the group, and we will decide how characters are assigned. This may be done by player choice, by a random d6 roll using a hidden assignment table, or by full random assignment. For this scenario, my preference is random assignment, as it keeps onboarding fast, avoids stakeholding in a specific character, and prevents delays if multiple players want the same role. Although this is a pre-written cinematic scenario, I introduce additional twists and variations, and no two runs are the same. Players are welcome to join future sessions if they would like to experience the story from a different character’s perspective. While the characters are depicted visually as male or female, this has no mechanical or narrative impact. Sex and gender can be ignored during play. Characters are referred to by name or using they/them pronouns to preserve comfort and immersion.

Preparing for the session

To keep onboarding smooth and get us into the game quickly, please complete the following steps before the session. None of this is difficult, but doing it ahead of time helps avoid technical delays once we start. If possible, create your Roll20 account using the same email address you plan to use for Demiplane. Roll20 can be used to create and link a Demiplane account, which makes syncing much easier. What we are using • Roll20: The virtual tabletop where we play, roll dice, and move characters. • Demiplane: A rules and character management platform where you will access shared rulebooks and control your character sheet. Steps 1. Create a free Roll20 account: https://roll20.net/ 2. Create a free Demiplane account: https://app.demiplane.com/home 3. Link your Roll20 and Demiplane accounts using this guide: https://help.roll20.net/hc/en-us/articles/30156598786327-Demiplane-and-Roll20-Account-Integration 4. Before the session, send me a direct message on Discord with the username or email associated with your Demiplane account. This allows me to share rulebooks and assign character control. 5. I will send you a direct invitation link to the Roll20 game. Once you join, your character will be assigned and ready to play. Roll20 may be new to some players, but the learning curve is gentle. If you want to get comfortable ahead of time, this quick guide walks through the basics: https://app.roll20.net/editor/?embedded=0&spectator=0 NOTE: You DO NOT need to create a character in your Demiplane account. You will be assigned a pre-generated character sheet in Roll20. That said, creating a character (free) from the Alien Nexus and getting familiar with the character sheet layout can be useful before the session starts.

What Dan brings to the table

Hope’s Last Day is a highly immersive introduction to Alien: The Roleplaying Game (Evolved Edition). This one-shot includes custom graphics, NPC character voices, ambient music, and bespoke sound design to reinforce atmosphere and tension. My focus is on mood, pacing, and psychological pressure. I run the game largely Rules as Written to preserve player agency, risk, and real consequences, but I am flexible when Rule of Cool meaningfully serves the story. Combat is dangerous and often brief, but the heart of the experience lies in dread, stress, and the psychological toll of being trapped in a desperate situation with limited options. This scenario uses pre-generated characters, each with a personal agenda revealed across the scenario’s three acts. These agendas are private and optional to share. They exist to give players an internal compass and narrative momentum, especially for those new to roleplaying. You decide when, how, or if your character’s motivations come into conflict with the group. Because Hope’s Last Day is designed for newer players, I run a supportive table. Players are always free to take space, but I also check in regularly, inviting each person to share what their character is thinking, feeling, or considering next. If the group feels stuck, I will help frame options without removing agency. The goal is not performance, but engagement and discovery. Out of character, table comfort is non-negotiable. I am strict about maintaining a respectful, collaborative environment. Belligerent or deliberately disruptive behavior that makes others uncomfortable will receive one gentle warning. If it continues, I will remove the player from the game at my discretion. This is never personal, but the experience of the entire table will always take priority over any individual. Above all, the intent is simple: a tense, memorable, fun experience where players can let go of self-consciousness for a few hours and test themselves against an impossible situation.

Homebrew rules

COMBAT INITIATIVE In Alien: The Roleplaying Game (Evolved Edition), initiative is handled by drawing cards rather than rolling dice, a common feature of the Year Zero Engine. Rules as written, initiative cards are shuffled and redrawn at the end of every combat round. This keeps combat unpredictable and dynamic, but it also adds an extra step each round that can slow things down, especially in an introductory scenario. For this scenario, initiative is drawn once at the start of combat and remains fixed for the duration of the encounter. This keeps pacing tight and helps new players stay oriented while still preserving tension. The Holding Off mechanic is still in play. Before your turn in a round, you may choose to Hold Off and swap initiative cards with another player character, NPC, or even a hostile. This swap cannot be refused. It adds flexibility, agency, and a more fluid, reactive feel to combat. If you have a strong idea or see an opening, you do not have to wait helplessly for “your turn” to act. SIGNATURE ITEM In Alien: The Roleplaying Game (First Edition), PC's could use their character's signature item once per session at a time of their choosing to remove 1 point of stress. This was eliminated from the Core Rules of the Evolved Edition, but I believe this to be a useful inclusion, especially for new players, so this rule is being carried forward.

How Dan creates a safe table

Player comfort always comes first, but so does clarity. My approach as a GM is to treat players as adults, making an informed choice about the experience they are stepping into. Think of this as buying a ticket to a hard-R science fiction horror film: the content warnings are real, the tone is sustained, and the material may go further than expected. ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game is rooted in gothic horror, dread, stress, and desperation. This scenario includes body horror, substance use, factional violence, cult dynamics, and human-on-human conflict, including potential PVP. If those elements aren't something you want in your game, this likely isn't the right setting for you, and that is completely fine. The TTRPG space is large, and no single game or setting is meant for everyone. During play, there are multiple ways to pause or redirect the game if something feels uncomfortable. Players may speak up at the table, DM me the letter X via Discord, use Roll20’s whisper-to-GM feature, or drop a digital Safety Card in Roll20. Any of these can be used at any time, with no explanation required. If a safety tool is used, the content will be adjusted or skipped, and play will continue. I also make space after each session to decompress and step out of character. My job is to keep the horror in the fiction, not at the table. The intensity is intentional, but the environment is always controlled, respectful, and collaborative.