Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a sci-fi horror scenario for Alien: The Roleplying Game, writen by Andrew E.C. Gaska and Tomas Härenstam and published by Free League Publishing.
By Aaron T. Huss
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Heart of Darkness is a location-based cinematic scenario in the design that I like to call a playground setting – the setting in general is a sandbox, but there are prescribed events that move the storyline along to reach the climactic event. The location is a dark, brooding space station will all the sci-fi horror you could ask for in an Alien movie-style scenario. Additionally, the scenario sticks to the general look and feel of the Alien franchise, making it feel like the players are truly a part of this universe. It is possible, and likely, that PCs will die and only the lucky one or two will survive, but ultimately it paves the way for a campaign with an overarching storyline whereas the decisions made by the players in this scenario could be a boon or bane for the next one. As with many franchises, there are many characters from one event to the next and maybe only one or two stars of the show actually survive from one to the next. It’s very much like a trilogy where the players are connected to the overarching storyline and not any one particular character within the campaign.
Heart of Darkness has a timeline of its own with prior events leading up to and influence directly the plot points within this scenario. Each PC might have a different presence within these plot points based on their personal agendas. Cinematic scenarios aren’t necessarily a homogeneous group of characters, which adds to the intrigue of the scenario. Additionally, these prior events take place within a previous Alien scenario, tying them together with an extended setting storyline that could take place in a very large area across decades of in-game time. However, it’s definitely not a setting where the players should be thinking about how they plan to advance and develop their character. Get more attached to the story and not so much on the character!
Heart of Darkness is a boxed set that includes fold-out maps and pregenerated characters (in case you want to jump right into the game to avoid all that player character backstory and attachment). If you like the cinematic style of gameplay of Alien, this is definitely a scenario to add to your library!