I played Xenolanguage at Gamicon Bromine 2026. It’s Arrival the RPG.

You’re a member of a team, translating an alien language. The core question is, “How will we and our relationships change?” - not, “Will we succeed?” The game is quite emotionally evocative.

An ordered “story deck” of cards paces the plot. A Ouija board with alien symbols is the centerpiece. There are many character archetypes, relationships, and alien symbols to choose from. It’s essentially GMless.

I don’t think I’ll add it to my collection, but I’m really glad I played. I wonder how the character archetypes and relationships (both on cards) could be integrated into other genres, like fantasy.

includes 5 archetypes and 7 relationships

archetypes

The Analyst

Structured. In control. Everything in its place. You find order in chaos. You find order in people.

Why you were chosen for the mission (pick one):

• …the mind
• you keep secrets for…
• you were the first to know they…
• something of your choosing

The Legacy

You represent something bigger than yourself. When it talks, you must listen. You do your duty. Who would you be without it?

Why you were chosen for the mission (pick one):

• your family’s connections
• your time in government
• your faith
• something of your choosing

Epilogue

• confronting the past
• new bonds forged together
• use the meaning of the alien symbol

The Dreamer

Dreaming is a living—at least for you it is. You keep dreams alive in yourself and others.

Why you were chosen for the mission (pick one):

• your work with language
• you invented something
• you study the stars
• something of your choosing

The Fighter

The Hero

Charismatic. Comfortable in the spotlight. You look for problems to solve and for victims to save—even where there are none, even when you shouldn’t.

Why you were chosen for the mission (pick one):

• you wrote a bestseller
• you study chaos
• you run a company
• something of your choosing

Epilogue

• hero and antihero, all in one
• a plan is made
• use the meaning of the alien symbol

relationships

a connection to the land

This place was a home for you both. You were connected to the land and, through the land, to each other. It shaped you, for better or for worse. You loved it. But then something changed. One of you stayed behind and dedicated yourself more to your adopted home. The other left abruptly and has never returned.