The XCOM initiative was founded as a multinational response to any threat that went beyond the jurisdiction of a single nation and needed the flexibility to operate where they were needed, when they were needed. A base of operations was established in every continent on Earth, with the central command located somewhere in the Sahara Desert away from major population centers. The personnel selected for the foundation are among the best in their fields, living their daily lives waiting for the call to arms while a skeleton crew mans each base. The threat could have been zombies, demons, ghosts, or otherwise and it would be fall to XCOM to put up the defense. These possibilities however were very unlikely but the threat of an extra-terrestrial invasion was unlikely as well but more realistic.
XCOM's experience with the aliens prior to the official start of the war was in covert operations encountering solely the aliens known as 'Thin-men'. Once they have confirmed their first encounter, the council made sure the foundations of the XCOM project were properly laid in preparation for the inevitable. The first major strike by the aliens came without warning and without mercy, striking the heart of a heavily populated European city. Local police were almost immediately overwhelmed and unprepared for such an attack. XCOM forces were scrambled and the call was made world-wide, the council of nations had approved the XCOM project. XCOM suffered a near defeat in their first battle, the unknown enemy was nothing they could have prepared for but the war had begun. Within one week, the system of XCOM bases came online and personnel staffed from all over the world. The best of the best to save humanity from the brink of destruction. You are one of the soldiers recruited for XCOM due to your performance record and past missions successes. Humanity is not about to take this lying down.
The highest ranked officer in XCOM called 'The Commander' heads the entire project from XCOM's central base in Europe. Additional notable figures are Doctor Vahlen, the Research Department Head across all XCOM facilities, and Doctor Shen, the Engineering Department Head across XCOM facilities. The survivors from the first battle merged into one squad called the 'Grim Crows' yet are in need of an additional squad member.
Doctor Moira Vahlen: The scientist in charge of XCOM's research division. She expresses an unusual enthusiasm towards adapting alien technology to forward human scientific advancements. All aliens captured alien are to be delivered to her lab per the doctor's request. Dr. Vahlen is also a member of the commander's advisors.
Doctor Raymond Shen: Dr. Shen is the head engineer of XCOM's development team and the creator of the A.I. matrix in each base. He is one of the more senior members of XCOM with decades of experiences and is world renowned. His views on the extent in which XCOM should utilize alien technology often conflicts with Dr. Vahlen. Dr. Shen also advises the commander on alien materials and components.
Central Officer Bradford: Bradford is the second-in-command in the XCOM project and is in charge of the organization's communications across the several bases and organization on the more specific level. All Base Commanders report to Bradford. He is dedicated to ending the alien menace and helps the commander with battle strategy.
Spokeman: A mysterious figure that represents the council of nations responsible for funding the XCOM Project. All council concerns and request will be voiced through him as well as a monthly report on the organization's effectiveness as a whole.
XCOM Commander Martin Anderson: The commander is the head of the XCOM project and responsible for all major decisions including research and strategy. A veteran of conflict in the middle-east, Commander Anderson was selected for his flawless record and comparatively young age. He often keeps to himself when not over-seeing missions but is incredibly charismatic and intelligent.
Skyranger: The Skyranger is XCOM's primary method of troop transport. A vertical take-off jet, it can hold up to twenty-four solider and land in urban areas for fast response times.
Raven: The most advanced fighter jet developed by XCOM, it is capable of operation in the upper atmosphere. Its speed and maneuverability are the main strengths of the Raven coupled with the avalanche missile system.
Infantry:
The core of XCOM's miliary personnel, those with this specialization are focused on medium range engagements. Their primary weapons are usually carbines, assault rifles, and battle rifles. They perform multiple roles on the battlefield and as such are good overall. Assault:
Close-quarters specialists who primary role is to breach structures and break-through enemy lines. Their primary weapons are usually assault rifles, sub-machine guns, and shotguns. They also come outfitted with a sword for engagements with aggressive aliens or silent take-downs. Demolitions:
Operator who handles high-explosives such as C4 and rockets. They specialize in taking down hard targets or clearing out large structures. Their primary weapons are assualt rifles, smgs, or carbines. The payload of their explosives varies per mission but C4 and a rocket launcher are always part of their equipment. Gunner:
The soldier with the biggest gun on the battlefield, they are tasked with holding key positions and suppressing enemy fire. Their primary weapons is the heavy machine gun and a smg. They are also given thicker armor since the classes requires much strength. Scout:
Specialists in remaining undetected by enemy forces, their role is to spot targets and report intel back to the squad. Their primary arms are battle rifles, assault rifles, carbines, and smgs. A scout is required on every mission. Medic:
Field-doctors trained in fast, effective treatment and ensuring the safety of the squad. Their training is similar to infantry. Primary arms include assault rifles and smgs. A medic's main tool is the special med-kit developed by XCOM, able to stop bleeding immediately and numb pain. Sniper:
The best marksmen in XCOM, snipers give covering fire to the squad and work with the scout to mark targets. Their primary weapon is a sniper rifle and a smg.
Specialist: These operatives have a direct link to the base's A.I. matrix and are able to quickly scan and hack into enemy systems. Their primary weapons are smgs, shotguns, and assault rifles.
Engineer: Engineers carry portable emplacements such as small auto-turrets and mobile cover. Their primary weapons include assualt rifles, carbines, smgs, and shotguns. They are also responsible for retrieving alien devices and tech.
Ranger: Experts in melee combat and sneaking behind enemy lines, these soldiers are not afraid to get up close and personal. Primary weapons are smgs and shotguns. Additional equipment includes a full-length sword and an expanding small shield on either arm however have lighter armor.
Every class comes equipped with a combat knife and a side-arm, which you can choose. I might allow a couple people to be interceptor pilots if they are really interested. (More classes will come as the RP progresses and changes will be available)
The character you play as will be one of eight squad members(each squad has a code-name i.e. 'Hell-Cats') and will have a specialization within that squad based around classes in the video-game XCOM: Enemy within including a few variants I will design myself. Threats other than aliens, such as EXALT, will appear throughout the RP that will also require XCOM's attention. The nature of the game itself is very harsh on poor decisions and that will be reflected in the RP. If you go Rambo trying to take-down a entire squad of aliens you are most likely going to die. All that will mean is that particular character is now dead and will appear on the 'Memorial Wall' and you will need to make a new character to continue. Unlike in the game, There will be two to three squads sent on each mission. That means character interaction is very possible, especially if two people are in the same base, and means that there will be NPC squads as well. The template for a character will look something like this:
Name: Age: (21 or above) Nationality: Base of Operations: (Any of the seven Continents) Bio: (Make sure to describe why you were selected by XCOM) Appearance: (Images preferred but feel free to write one out) Class: (Will Determine your role within the squad, for example Heavies will handle larger guns and explosives) Squad: (Names follow the rule, adjective + animal like Demon Dogs or Steel Vipers) Rank: (Squaddie-1st rank to start but this will change the more you accomplish) Utility Skills/Strengths: (Any skills unrelated to your class that can be helpful in combat) Personal Skills: (Any specific skills that don't necessarily have an application in combat) Weaknesses: (Any flaws to your character that might affect an important situation)
@Whoami I really enjoyed the short story in your bio. I hope you don't mind that I included it in my character's bio. It makes me realize how hard I have to work :D
@Whoami I think of a challenge :D I'm always looking to improve. Anyways, I'm working on the intro post now so I should hopefully have that done soon and we can get started.
Hmmmm.... I'm having the problem I always have... I see several classes that I 'really' want to play as... But I've whittled it down to two that I'm really feeling... Those being Engineer and Ranger. I'm not exaggerating when I say I 'love' being 'that guy that puts down the turrets and such' >3> I 'wish' the game itself had that setup! D:
But I also 'really' wanna do one of a guy that gets up close and personal, sneaking around and sowing a little chaos in the enemy ranks >3>
Is it possible to do 'two' of the members in a squad? >3>
I went on and 'made' my characters in Xcom 2 :D ... Ignore the sword on the second guy, I had to choose ranger to get a shotgun in the image XD
First one's done :D
Name: Pytor Gusev Age: 36 Nationality: Russian Base of Operations: North America [MURICA!] Bio:
Pytor is a living embodiment of Russian stereotypes, a beast of a man standing among the tallest of soldiers, Muscular [albeit leaning more towards lean than 'bulk'.], Grew up in the frigid North of Russia, Wrestled bears and killed wolves with his bear hands, literally! With the 'bear' hands that he had re-purposed as weapons!
...
Okay, that might be some form of embellishment... maybe? He behaves as a big friendly giant of a man with a habit of telling fantastical stories and who knows whether they're true or not, the entertainment is more important!
Although... this does leave the truth of his background a bit mysterious, though some could be disproved through investigation, he 'did' appear first in northern Russia, which would fit with some kind of birth in a house-hold that lived in the wild... Or, he this could simply be a thorough yet fabricated back-story to protect the identity of Former special agents serving the government, as many are wont to do when said agents leave their service.
Either way, his background shows him traveling the world, exploring many different environments and the experiences of living in them... Truthfully, America hadn't been high on his list, he may not be the best educated individual and let the many stories discolor his interest, but inevitably it became the only big country that he hadn't visited, and thus did he visit a nation typically known to have a lot of rivalry with his home-land.
Turns out, the urban jungle can be as exciting as the natural ones, though many people didn't seem to see it the way he did, in his experience it followed the same theory, if much more organized, the trees and mountains were much thinner and more arranged, the rivers and herds followed lines and pipes, and the 'predators' were different as well, both more dangerous in some ways, yet easier to deal with as well. He learned to blend in as he always had, which in an American city means shaving and cleaning up.
Who knows if it's just another embellishment of his stories or not, but he didn't actually have time to reach a point where he'd need to settle in and get whatever job would take him to survive as the Invasion itself actually interrupted his exploration of American life, or perhaps, more accurately, the 'pre-invasion' interrupted it.
The strange 'G-man cliche' looking thin men did well blending in, for a creature born of an unknown species trying to squeeze into a human skin, or whatever they were, but they behaved more like animals that he had hunted in the past that were trying to go unnoticed, and even after his first glimpse of the creatures in disguise he had a feeling of something being 'wrong' with those so called people... Of course, he didn't know 'what' they were, he only thought they were really suspicious and regardless of nationality it didn't sit right with him to ignore what could be some bunch of crooks out to hurt 'little people'... There were few things he disliked more than big men who got by picking on targets that couldn't defend themselves.
Who would ever think such a tall man would be so capable of sneaking around? Sure, they found him out, but he didn't 'know' about abilities they had that got him found out... Of course, 'they' didn't know what kind of human was sneaking after them either, and neither of them knew that Xcom had been preparing a raid in the same place...
It was a perfect occurrence of 'right place, right time', although the fight that took place before Xcom moved in to 'save the idiot civilian that stumbled into an operation' was already over. It had been loud, plasma had hit a few walls, but it seemed as if upon realizing that what he'd tried to ambush hadn't even been human he'd fallen back on his 'kill or be killed' experience and the alien's had under-estimated the lone human with a knife... In truth, if they'd just 'spit' at him immediately he would've gone down from their poison, arrogance played into his survival of that situation even though he had to stumble half dead out of the poison clouds that had poured out of the scrawny corpses.
Lucky the bugger was that Xcom moved in instead of waiting to see what happened, he received proper treatment that was directly responsible for surviving the fast acting poisons, and he woke up strapped to a bed in an X-com Facility that still looked like it was under-construction... Heeee... really couldn't blame them for tying him down, if he'd had the opportunity to jump up and find a sharp thing he might've killed the first person who'd come along out of survival instinct.
As it stood, he'd been stuck until someone showed up to explain what had happened and why he was there... Really, there's not much more to tell after that, He'd displayed useful skills and Xcom needed every able body didn't it? Granted, he may or may not have any official military training, but he got plenty with Xcom after his recruitment.
Appearance: (Images preferred but feel free to write one out)
Class: Ranger Squad: Diamond Dogs Rank: Squaddie-1st rank Utility Skills/Strengths: Bush Man Physique - He's not as 'big' as he could be if he worked on purely building strength, nor as lithe as one who'd trained solely for sneaking, but his body reflects his life-style of travel and living off of nature, strong, fast, flexible, inferior in any one field compared to a specialist, but trained life-long in using every field together to his greatest advantage.
Naturalist - He's built incredible endurance over the years, as well as a number of oddball skills associated with a love of living in different challenging environments. Cold and heat won't bother him so much, he'll tire less easily, need less to eat [though he has a huge appetite by choice it seems!], and is very much used to lying in wait for long periods of time waiting to ambush his target, as well as both observing and learning new signs of threats around him... He's also a bomb ass cook! though his current prey aren't very edible.
Brutal Survivalist - He prefers to be the hunter, to wait for the right moment to strike and take down his target and cause as much damage as possible, but when push comes to shove he'll fight like a man possessed to ensure his own survival, quite possibly fiercely enough to imbalance whatever he's fighting. In his mind, if his life is in immediate danger, especially by these aliens, he won't have time to turn and flee anyway, so he may as well tear into them and be the last one standing.
Personal Skills: Story-telling - He has a long and vibrant history of wild experiences to share with other people!... who cares if he adds a few embellishments?! Wildman - not in the 'nature' sense, he's actually surprisingly well adjusted for someone who spent so long wandering in and out of Civilization for half of his life, but he 'loves' excitement, entertainment, parties, games, drinks.
Weaknesses: Arrogantly Protective - He has a habit of looking at smaller people around him as something he can protect, as something that needs 'protection'... This is obviously less the case in a squad of soldiers, but there's still an undertone of 'I'm tougher than everyone else' with him.
Uneducated - He lacks a lot of official education that most Xcom operatives might have, recruited more for his skills than his brain, not 'stupid' per se, just lacking a low of knowledge that may cause him to question or misunderstand basic things, sometimes to comical effect.
Incomplete.
Name: Jonas Braun Age: 28 Nationality: German Base of Operations: (Any of the seven Continents) Bio: (Make sure to describe why you were selected by XCOM) Appearance:
Class: Engineer Squad: (Names follow the rule, adjective + animal like Demon Dogs or Steel Vipers) Rank: (Squaddie-1st rank to start but this will change the more you accomplish) Utility Skills/Strengths: (Any skills unrelated to your class that can be helpful in combat) Personal Skills: (Any specific skills that don't necessarily have an application in combat) Weaknesses: (Any flaws to your character that might affect an important situation)
@Shoryu Very well done with the first character and I can't wait to see the second one finished. I think I might have to make an additional character so everyone who join doesn't end up in the North American base XD
@Shoryu Side-arms I would count as any pistol or micro-smg. As for grenades, Everyone gets standard frag grenades while classes like infantry and medic get smoke grenades and Specialists and Scouts get flash-bangs. I suppose Rangers could have throwing knives as well. Engineers would get emp grenades.
@Whoami I'm actually quite impressed you nailed nearly all the nationalities of your squad members. Hengeveld is Dutch by the way. So far loving the personalities you've given them. What do think of your team's insignia? (the picture above their names)
@Whoami I'm actually quite impressed you nailed nearly all the nationalities of your squad members. Hengeveld is Dutch by the way. So far loving the personalities you've given them. What do think of your team's insignia? (the picture above their names)
Thank you! You'll be happy to hear then that I was originally going to write Hengeveld as saying 'Stront' instead of 'Shit' when they all realized Sara was there. Stront is Dutch for shit. :P
LOL nice. I have a feeling I'm going to learn a few more words like that in the future. Any suggestions on a first mission for your squad? I have a few ideas already but would like your input :D
@Ithradine Alright, got my guy cranked out finally.
Name: Ansgar Staudinger
Age: 32
Nationality: Germany
Base of Operations: Europe
Bio: Ansgar was raised as part of a rather diverse family. From doctors to street rats, one could find the vast majority of the spectrum of the average people within Germany within his family. Ansgar himself was part of a rougher part of the family, living in a machinist shop working on everything from military equipment, when contracted out, to farming equipment and your every day family vehicles. When he wasn't working in the family shop, he was picking fights in the streets of his hometown. As such, he ended up having two options when he came of age, join the military and straighten out his life, or stick to his current path and end up in jail. It really wasn't much of a choice, and off he went to the German military, enlisting into the German Navy as a member of the MSK, or in English, the Naval Protection Force. However, as soon as Ansgar could, he was submitting paperwork to undergo screening for the German Kampfschwimmer, Combat Swimmers or commonly spoken as German frogmen. While the requirements and training were tough and broke a great deal of fellow applicants, Ansgar stuck to his determination to not give up and made his way into the ranks of the KSM.
Ansgar's first few missions were resounding successes, whether he was deploying from the tubes of a submarine to parachuting into urban combat situations, his unit was utilized as a recon element, heading into places or boarding questionable ships to figure out what was going on. However, a fateful boarding action would put him in contact with an organization that seemed impossible. A Naval vessel carrying the seized wreckage of a UFO, the vessel in question operated by Thin Men and guarded by stashed away aliens that survived the crash, and the vessel got flagged for intridiction before XCOM could intervene. The resulting boarding action was a slaughter, the KSM unprepared for the advanced weapons and tactics employed by the aliens. Most of the Commandos were dead before the XCOM forces arrived to take over, finding Ansgar barricaded into the bridge, several dead aliens in front of where they had punched holes into the cover and had gotten a shotgun blast in the chest for their troubles. His actions had prevented the aliens from bringing the ship out of range of XCOM assets, obviously unintentional as it was, by preventing them from getting into the bridge and changing course. Between the first contact performance by Ansgar and the resulting information from the raid, Ansgar was given an option, the alternative not even bothered with. Join with XCOM, as a Europe based team, the Sea Hounds, needed a fresh body. Ansgar agreed without delay, seeing the intermingled dead of aliens and his dead comrades as proof enough these things needed to be stopped.
Appearance:
Casual Wear:
Combat Wear:
Class: Ranger
Squad: Sea Hounds - Urban and Maritime Combat Experts based out of Europe, utilized in Recon and Vanguard actions.
Rank: Squaddie
Utility Skills/Strengths: Expert in CQC/Close Range Engagements Trained and Skilled in Aquatic/Swamp Environments Affinity for Dark/Low Light operations
Personal Skills: (Any specific skills that don't necessarily have an application in combat) Adaptable - Capable of rapidly shifting to changing conditions Task Orientated - Always working outside of sleep or other necessities for living
Weaknesses: Adrenaline Junkie - Enjoys the rush of a fight Experimental - Unusually interested in cutting edge application of newfound tactics and equipment
