Alpha Omega RPG (Atomic Array 012)
Alpha Omega RPG (Atomic Array 012)
We discovered Alpha Omega, the post-apocalyptic cyberpunk horror game from Mind Storm Labs, back in April. We were immediately impressed, both by the production values and the content of the core book. Ever since AA001, we’ve been trying to get creators David Carter and Earl Fischl on the show. Finally, they’re here! Mind Storm President, Tom McLaughlin, also joined in the conversation.
Special Discount For Atomic Array listeners:
$15.00 off Alpha Omega!!!
Discount Code: “Atomic”
New World Science & Engineering Commission (NWSEC): The Alpha Omega community site has a setting wiki, a collaboration section where players and GMs can rub shoulders, an internet player finder, and much more. You can even follow the ongoing exploits of NWSEC field operatives, such as the intrepid Roger Traffler.
Mind Storm Labs: Mind Storm Labs.com
Mind Storm Twitter Feed: @MindStormLabs
Alpha Omega RPG: Alpha Omega the Game.com
New World Science & Engineering Commission (NWSEC): NWSECom.com
Roger Traffler Twitter Feed: @RogerTraffler
Are you a freelance author or artist? Feel free to contact Mind Storm Labs at info@mindstormlabs.com for information about how you can contribute to Alpha Omega.
Ed’s Pick
Flip Ultra
Rone’s Rant
“My Lead Foot, Part I”
We wrap up the Shadows of Cthulhu give away, and tell you how you can win one of two Alpha Omega book sets. Each set will include the Core Rulebook, Milk Run (the first AO adventure) and The Encountered: Volume I (the AO monster manual). Don’t forget, you still have a week to enter the Pathfinder give away.
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Want to learn more about Alpha Omega? Read on…
- Atomic Array: Episode 012: Alpha Omega
- Gamer Dome: Interview with Roger Traffler of the NWSEC
- Mad Brew Labs: AO: The Evolution of Sci-Fi Roleplaying
- Gnome Stew: Alpha Omega: How to GM this New RPG
- RPGAggression: Rudis Review: Alpha Omega
- Mind Storm Labs: Alpha Omega Core Rulebook (Sample)
- Mind Storm Labs: The Encountered, Vol. 1 (Sample)
Special Offer from Atomic Array: $15 off Alpha Omega when you enter the coupon code “Atomic” during purchase. Drop by Mind Storm Labs to pick up your copy today!
Atomic Array Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24533625043&ref=share
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There is a lot more to Alpha Omega than we could fit into this one episode. Feel free to ask questions, or leave a comment on the site. You can also share Atomic Array with a friend, or contact us directly. In fact, we’d love to hear what you think about Alpha Omega. Tell us what you like (or don’t), and what you’d like to see from Mind Storm in the future.
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Comments
[…] released The Encountered, Vol. 1, a monster manual for the Alpha Omega RPG, which we featured on Atomic Array 012. We met up with them at Gen Con (see the video, below) and were blown away by the quality of this […]
So my housemate bought Alpha Omega and we really dig the background and world presented. He put a group together to try out the rules and ran into issues. There is no mechanism for throwing things, like, say, GRENADES. When ranged combat happens, the first shot will always hit as the DC is much lower than average rolls. This can be keen, but EVERYONE hits on the first shot, PCs, security goons, small children with BB guns. The target numbers for hitting are so low that mooks with autofire weapons can be guaranteed to hit at least 2 times automattically and usually up to 4 times with minimal difficulty.
There is also an issue with the intro adventure. The PCs are not skilled enough to do anything except shoot things and an abusive NPC does everything else. The read-aloud text makes assumptions on PC actions. There is no explanation of how PCs divine certain bits of crucial info. When the abusive NPC gets the McGuffin, the PCs have to argue hard to get a chance to make the Trusts the boss NPC stated was part of their payment. As written, the PCs are supposed to be verbally abused throughout the entire adventure and just meekly take it or “their reputation will be damaged”.
Really?
We are regular players of Shadowrun and Cyberpunk and really could not work out why we’d take this job without a lot of extra work by the GM to give us story reasons to take it. When the abusive NPC got the McGuffin, my character decided we didn’t need him and his abuse anymore and shot him. The other PCs (who did not know this was about to happen) blinked once and then drew and shot the NPC, killing the SOB before he could get a shot off. Afterwards, the PCs all agreed he needed killing and no one else on the team would be shot. My character took the McGuffin and we headed out.
Our GM could not work out from the text why this was not an expected outcome. Our only guess is that’s not what the writer’s friends did in the playtest.
Afterwards, we took the setting as-is and ported over to the Saga-edition Star Wars RPG and things are running better. We really dig the Alpha Omega setting.
Thanks for letting me vent a bit.
Were you adding +8 to the target number for ranged weapons? It’s been a while since I played, but if I remember right, you typically needed around a 14 or 15 to hit someone with your first ranged attack, which is by no means guaranteed.
I agree with your assessment of the intro adventure. It had a lot of style, but at the cost of railroading the players.
[…] of Mind Storm Labs commented that book is actually available for $44.95, and if you happen to be an Atomic Array listener, you can score a copy for $15 dollars less than that. Which makes this 400 page behemoth […]
[…] released The Encountered, Vol. 1, a monster manual for the Alpha Omega RPG, which we featured on Atomic Array 012. We met up with them at Gen Con (see the video, below) and were blown away by the quality of this […]