TEXT: “A” is for “Aliens” 
  A
  Strange visitors from other planets have been a staple of the comic books 
  from the very beginning, including various heroes Not of This Earth. 
  Certainly, superheroes have faced off against alien foes from rampaging 
  monsters to invading armies or the heralds of cosmic catastrophe. 
  ALIEN ORIGINS 
  “Alien” is a fairly common origin for comic book heroes, usually falling 
  under the Unearthly origin in ICONS. For players and Game Masters looking 
  for a little more when it comes to creating alien heroes, consider the 
  following. 
  If you decide a hero’s Unearthly origin means the character is from another 
  planet (and, presumably, another species) then the hero’s traits may tell 
  you something about the species as well as the hero. The abilities you 
   
   
                                               
  
  choose to increase are generally higher for that species and one or more of 
  the hero’s powers may be innate species abilities. This is not a hard-and-
  fast rule, but a guideline for thinking about where the hero comes from. 
  If you use the Villain Creation option from ICONS, a villain associated with an 
  alien hero might be a member of the same species, or an alien from a 
  different (rival or opposed) species, and could share some abilities in 
  common with the hero. 
  Most of the other origins in ICONS can also represent alien characters. A 
  Birthright, for example, can be someone born from an alien heritage (either 
  on Earth or away from it) while an Artiﬁcial character might have been 
  constructed by aliens, perhaps as an emissary to humanity or a probe to 
  study other worlds like Earth. The Trained and Gimmick origins assume the 
  character has traits similar to humans, but that could be a case of a 
  humanoid alien very like Earthly life or the application of suitable alien 
  qualities. 
  RANDOM ALIENS 
  If you need a random alien for your game, roll on this table and follow the 
  directions given, or just choose an alien type from the table and go from 
  there. 
  Humanoids look very much like humans. They may have some minor 
  cosmetic differences. Roll 1d6: 1 = unusual skin color or texture, 2 = unusual 
  ear or brow shape, 3 = unusual eye color or shape, 4 = Extra Body Parts 
  (roll type and level normally), 5 = roll twice, ignoring results of 5-6, 6 = 
  virtually identical looking to humans. 
  Bipeds are humanoid, in that they have two arms, two legs, and at least one 
  head and stand upright on their legs. Choose a creature type from the 
   
   
                                              
  
  Creatures section in ICONS and raise one of its below average abilities to 3. 
  You can then also roll for cosmetic differences as humanoids, previously, if 
  you wish, with a 6 meaning there are none. 
  Example: The GM randomly picks a hippo, making it a humanoid and 
  increasing its Weak (1) Intellect to Average (3), for a hippo-like race 
  of alien bipeds. The GM then decides to roll for a cosmetic difference, 
  getting a 3, and choosing to give the race compound eyes like an 
  insect’s. 
  Alternate Life forms have the Alternate Form power from ICONS. Roll 
  randomly or choose one; this is the alien’s “natural” form. So, for example, 
  there might be alien energy beings, gaseous beings, and so forth. 
  Psychic Life forms are Astral Projections (as the power) with a randomly 
  determined level except they have no physical body. A psychic life form 
  also has 0-4 (1d6–2) Mental Powers, rolled randomly or chosen by the GM. 
  Protean Life forms have the Fluid Form power (from Alternate Form) at a 
  random level as well as the Transformation power at a random level and 0–
  2 Transformation extras (1d6: 1–2 = 0, 3–4 = 1, 5–6 = 2). 
  Machine Life forms are Artiﬁcial in origin and created just like other 
  Artiﬁcial characters in ICONS. 
  ALIEN QUALITIES 
  “Alien” can be a quality for otherworldly characters, possibly reﬁned with 
  reference to a particular planet, species, or type of alien, such as “Alien 
  Gladiator” or “Amorphous Alien” (or even “Amorphous Alien Gladiator”…). 
  Advantages associated with an alien quality may include access to superior 
  technology or scientiﬁc knowledge, connections with the greater universe 
  beyond Earth, and unusual alien traits or physiology for stunts (“My species 
  does not require as much oxygen as yours,” etc.). 
  Trouble can include a lack of familiarity with Earth culture and customs, 
  troublesome ties with the alien’s home world, unusual biology causing 
  problems with medical treatment, or differences in customs causing social 
  problems (“I don’t understand the human obsession with wearing clothing 
  all of the time…”). 
  ALIEN INVASIONS 
  “Aliens invade” is a classic comic book plot and a suitable threat for a team 
  of heroes. Using the random plot element tables from the Assembled 
  Edition of ICONS, things like Attack, Control, Inﬁltrate, Seize, Conquer, 
   
   
                                              
  
  Possess, Eliminate, and Capture could all indicate alien activity, with almost 
  any of the elements on Table 2 as subjects, particularly Country, City, 
  World,  Head of State, and Resource. 
  STAGE 1: EARLY WARNING SIGNS 
  The invaders scout out whether or not Earth is suitable for invasion. They 
  might looking for some particular resource, or studying Earth’s technology 
  and defenses to see if a conquest will be easy. Scouting may include long-
  range observation (from high orbit or even further out, if the aliens have 
  sophisticated sensors) or close observation by probes or alien scouts. 
  Naturally, the aliens take precautions not to be discovered during this 
  stage. They may have advanced masking or cloaking technology or 
  shapeshifting powers to conceal their presence. Still, heroes may encounter 
  alien scouts in the pursuit of their mission: perhaps a series of unexplained 
  crimes is the result of alien scouts going after samples of technology or 
  resources, or abducting people for study and experimentation. 
  How the heroes confront the invaders during this stage may inﬂuence the 
  progress of the invasion, or whether it even happens at all. On the one 
  hand, a quick and decisive response by the heroes may convince the 
  invaders Earth is too well-defended. Perhaps they can even feed false 
  information back to the invaders via their scouts or probes, encouraging 
  them to give up on their plans. 
  On the other hand, interference from Earthlings may convince the aliens 
  they need to invade, especially if their initial overture was to determine 
  whether or not Earth constitutes a threat—if the heroes prove the answer is 
  a deﬁnite “yes” then the invaders have no choice but to respond! 
  STAGE 2: INVASION! 
  When the actual invasion begins, it may come as a complete surprise. 
  Unless the aliens are completely conﬁdent in their invulnerability to Earth’s 
  defenses, they are likely to at least try the element of surprise, hoping to 
  knock out as many of those defenses as possible before humanity can 
  attempt to ﬁght back. If heroes discovered the invasion plan in Stage 1, the 
  aliens may act quickly to invade before Earth can marshall much of a 
  defense. 
  The classic ﬁrst wave of an invasion is the ominous appearance of a ﬂeet of 
  alien ships in the sky, or giant motherships hovering over capitol cities, 
  disgorging ﬁghters and ground troops. Preceding them may be some type 
  of distraction: a massive energy pulse that disrupts power systems around 
  the world, for example, or a meteor shower engineered by the aliens. The 
  meteors themselves might be “landers” for the invaders, a planetary 
   
   
                                              
  
  bombardment to soften up Earth’s defenses, or just a harmless distraction 
  to cover their approach. 
  In a “secret invasion” scenario, the ﬁrst wave may not even be noticeable 
  until it’s too late and the invaders have made their move. They might 
  already be amongst us, wearing human guises, or the aliens might arrive 
  openly, declaring their friendship and desire to help humanity, but covering 
  up their sinister plans until they are ready to move on to the next stage. In a 
  secret invasion, this stage may overlap with Stage 1, as the aliens continue 
  gathering information and making preparations in secret, leaving clues for 
  the heroes to discover their true intentions. 
  STAGE 3: OCCUPATION 
  If the invasion is successful, the aliens establish a beachhead and 
  consolidate their gains. They may assume effective control over the whole 
  planet, rather than just a region of it. Once an occupation has begun, the 
  invaders work to quell and eliminate resistance and begin pursuing their 
  goals for invading in the ﬁrst place, whether it is taking humans for genetic 
  experimentation, slave labor, breeding, or food, stealing Earth’s resources, 
  or building a hyperspace bypass on a strategic planet as their next move in 
  an interstellar war. 
  How long the occupation lasts depends on the scenario, and the actions of 
  Earth’s defenders. Some alien occupations last no longer than a single 
  adventure, others can last longer, perhaps much longer (see the Our Alien 
  Overlords for some ideas). The length of the occupation also depends on 
  the aliens’ goals, and may impose another deadline: If the invaders plan to 
  destroy Earth, or humanity, once they have seized control, then the heroes 
  have to act quickly! 
  STAGE 4: THE TURNING POINT 
  The turning point in the invasion is when the heroes (or their allies) uncover 
  an important quality of the aliens or their plans that they can use to their 
  advantage. 
  The clues may have been planted during the ﬁrst stages: The mysterious 
  sabotage of the world-wide communications grid is not only to disrupt 
  human response to the invasion, but because the invaders are sensitive to 
  speciﬁc radio wavelengths, which disrupt their own technology or nervous 
  systems. In assuming human forms, the aliens also take on a “Human” 
  quality that can be appealed to. Alien technology has an exploitable 
  weakness, and so forth. 
  The turning point gives the heroes a potential weapon to turn against the 
  invaders, and one they can share with others to do the same. This stage is 
   
   
                                              
  
  typical for fairly short invasions, intended to last for just an adventure or 
  two, with the potential to end quickly. For longer invasion scenarios, the 
  turning point may involve a long and drawn-out struggle, with no easy way 
  of getting rid of the invaders. 
  STAGE 5: THE FINAL BATTLE 
  Whether the culmination of a long and difficult struggle or a lightning 
  reversal after the turning point, the ﬁght against the invaders comes down 
  to a ﬁnal battle that decides whether they will be ousted from Earth or 
  break all resistance (at least for now) perhaps leading into an Our Alien 
  Overlords scenario. 
  Given the challenges the heroes have faced up until this point, they should 
  have built up their Determination Points and learned or created some 
  useful qualities to spend them on in order to gain advantages. This is a 
  good thing, since the ﬁnal battle is usually a ﬁght against all odds. 
  Of course, it doesn’t have to be a “battle” at all. It might be a daring 
  commando raid to seize an alien command center or leader, or to neutralize 
  an alien power source or weapon, forcing the invaders the retreat when 
  they have lost the upper hand. It could likewise be a desperate ﬁnal 
  negotiation with a potential ally, a debate with alien leaders, or resolving a 
  conﬂict or misunderstanding between the invaders and Earth, such as 
  proving to an invading force that humans are not what they have been led 
  to believe. 
  A
   
   
   
                                              
  
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  Fudge System Reference Document Copyright 2005, Grey Ghost Press, Inc.; Authors Steﬀan 
  O’Sullivan and Ann Dupuis, with additional material by Peter Bonney, Deird’Re Brooks, Reimer 
  Behrends, Shawn Garbett, Steven Hammond, Ed Heil, Bernard Hsiung, Sedge Lewis, Gordon 
  McCormick, Kent Matthewson, Peter Mikelsons, Anthony Roberson, Andy Skinner, Stephan Szabo, 
  John Ughrin, Dmitri Zagidulin
  FATE (Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment), Copyright 2003 by Evil Hat Productions LLC; 
  Authors Robert Donoghue and Fred Hicks.
  Spirit of the Century, Copyright 2006, Evil Hat Productions LLC. Authors Robert Donoghue, Fred 
  Hicks, and Leonard Balsera.
  ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying, Copyright 2010, Steve Kenson.
  Icons A to Z: A is for Aliens, Copyright 2014, Ad Inﬁnitum Adventures, Author; Steve Kenson.
   
   
                                              
  
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