Drop Pods (2022)

Drop Pods is a roll and write, print and play, solo player, tabletop game. You will need two six sided dice, a pencil, the rule book, contract and map.

The world has changed….

These are dark times. The world is being battered by an alien threat. We did not know what to call it at first but now it is known as Pod Fall. A wave of unidentified objects, hundreds of thousands of pods, carried by a solar current, struck the planet atmosphere and rained down upon the lands. Where they came from nobody knows but it was soon clear that the pods carried aggressive alien creatures bent upon terraforming the world in their own image. To our horror the pods were too numerous to repel, the outer shells hard to crack and the aliens within monstrously difficult to fight. But they had one vulnerability. They take time to hatch and so traps can be set up around the pods and as they emerge, they are triggered, and the aliens would have an unexpected and often lethal welcome to our world.

The fight back began. There were too many pods for the military to destroy by themselves though and the tide turned against us. So, the general public came forward and formed Pod Task Forces, small groups that went in and setup improvised traps around the pods the army did not have the resources to deal with. Even lone fighters embraced what was being called the Human Responsibility. Now the future has a chance as the tide has been slowed as fewer aliens can break free to seed the world in their terrible image. But it is on a knife edge as circumstances could easily turn in the enemy’s favour. So, until enough of the newly emerged aliens have been exterminated, the Pod Task Forces must continue their work for the sake of humanity.

Your Role

You have gathered together some willing volunteers and formed a small Pod Task Force and will be taking available Pod Contracts. These are issued at the town hall by Sarge, the resident Warrant Officer. By setting up the Pod Contracts the government acknowledges that, as well as doing their duty, ordinary civilians should be rewarded for carrying out the trapping of pods and therefore the killing or injuring of aliens. If completed these contracts reward the player with Experience Points and Resources Coupons. The world has come out of a ravaging few months and resources are in short supply and the government needs to distribute these who they can trust to do the job properly.

“We must be seen to be helping the cause and when the time comes, and the world is free of the vile alien grip, then those who have fought the invasion will be rewarded.”
Sarge reminds you of your responsibility.

Aim

The aim of the game is to eradicate as many aliens as possible, through the use of traps, in your allocated Pod Contract location. Pods will attempt to hatch when they sense movement nearby so there is a small window in which to construct the trap and then see it triggered as the alien attempts to confront the intruder. In each session you have one Pod Contract and encounter one location but once cleared there are plenty more and your Pod Task Force can continue on their campaign of eradication. You can keep the same characters and try harder maps as they become more experienced.