Main Topic: Alien

Since its release in 1979, Alien has become a fan favourite, spawning any number of spin-offs across every medium. But what is the secret of its enduring appeal? How well does it stand up after almost five decades of imitators and pastiches? And what can we take from its strange DNA for our own games?

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Holly back to the Good Friends! Holly co-hosts RPG Reanimators, a podcast focusing on providing resources for GMs and players of horror RPGs. She’s also a regular on Into the Darkness, an actual play YouTube channel. In addition to RPGs, she’s an avid board gamer, space nerd, and all-around trivia enthusiast. You can find Holly over on the RPG Reanimators Discord.

Holly has previously joined us to discuss:

News

Patreon Changes

Patreon has announced that they are discontinuing the option for creators to charge per creation (per episode, in our case). This is the model we have always used, as it was the only option available when we started. Instead, we now have switch to a monthly subscription.

We are also taking this opportunity to change from US dollars to British Pounds, as, again, this wasn’t an option when we started.

From September 2026, our three basic tiers will be £3, £6 and £10 per month, replacing the old $1, $3 and $5 per-episode tiers. Higher tiers will simply be double the current cost, but in Pounds. This works out as roughly the same cost. The rewards for each tier will also stay the same.

This change additionally allows us to enable annual subscriptions, although we are still looking into these. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please let us know.

Thank You to ENnie Voters

While we didn’t end up winning an ENnie award this year, we would still like to thank everyone who voted for us. Just being nominated was amazing, and we were moved by all the support from listeners. It’s all been rather wonderful.