The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories: E is for Extraterrestrials on EarthGetting back to some of the aliens I want to talk about some of the aliens found on Earth and how they can be used in the game.
There are some generally accepted aliens in UFOlogy (yeah that is a word I typed). Let's go over them here and then see what we have.
Nordics
These aliens are called this because they, generally speaking, are tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, human-looking aliens. Seriously I can't help but think about how many of these ideas are so steeped in racism and these are the Poster Boys. Though, and to be fair, maybe they are more like the Asgardians of the Marvel Universe? Nah, that is giving them too much credit.
The Nordics supposedly come from the Pleiades star cluster. They seem to have a more benign nature that the other aliens.
Reptilians
OR Reptoids I have mentioned already this month and they have a much more sinister motive here. They have infiltrated various levels of government (more on that later this month), but their true purposes are still unknown. They can shape-shift and appear to be human and are believed to be somewhere from the Alpha Draconis system.
Greys
These guys are jerks. They visit trailer parks in the middle of the night and abduct people. Ok that is a bit glib. These aliens are some of the most seen and are responsible for many of the close encounters. Indeed they were featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (one of my favorites), Roswell, Strieber's "Communion," and the various "Alien Autopsy" movies.
Popularly they are considered to be from Zeta Reticuli. This is based on a drawing from one of the most famous alien abductees ever, Betty Hill.
While generally believed to be benign, there is the opinion that they see humans as little better than animals to be experimented on.
LGMs
The Little Green Men are common in Sci-Fi but have not featured much in conspiracy theories or alien sightings for a while. They were commonly believed to have been from Mars.
As their name implies they are shorter than humans, even shorter than greys.
Insectoids
These aliens are spotted far less frequently than the others. The Selenites are often depicted as insectoids. Because of this, I am tempted to give them a temporary base on the moon. It was just set up.
For NIGHT SHIFT
These five alien species all are active on the Earth of NIGHT SHIFT, in particular Weirdly World News. Their motivations are pretty simple. Nordics are observing and helping where they think is best. Greys and LGMs are abducting humans and trying to figure out what makes them tick. Insectoids are new to Earth and are rivals with the Reptoids. Their true motivations are still unknown.
That leaves the Reptoids. They are going to be detailed in more posts here, but basically, they are here to take control of the Earth and its people. There is a lot of speculation on what they want here from human slaves, or they are draining our psychic energy, to needing a new home after their world was destroyed.
Like the Ophidians I mentioned on Monday, the Reptilians/Reptoids can't use magic. Nordics do use magic, or at least they do something that seems similar to magic.
There are a couple of good game resources that cover all these aliens. First, there is the DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - The Cryptid Manual (review) a great resource on all sorts of cryptids and aliens. And secondly an old favorite of mine, The Unexplained (review) a Fudge-based RPG.
Both are excellent resources.
The NIGHT SHIFT RPG is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).
