XCOM Ideas?

[TJByrum]

There's so many places you can take XCOM, and each one can be interesting. I'd like to discuss the ideas and possibilities of an XCOM RP, but whether or not I'll host one remains uncertain (have obligations elsewhere, at the Hallows Inn). Co-hosting, or passing the RP on, whatever suits us. I'd like to put our own original touch to it, but still keep it within the boundaries of XCOM.

The initial idea is set in contemporary times. A small group known as 'the Agency' deals with extraterrestrial sightings, reports, etc. They firmly believe aliens (Sectoids at least) exist and are on Earth, but they lack the necessary evidence to prove to the world they exist. But a tourist in Brazil captures a picture of a supposed 'alien' and the Agency questions him. They then form a small covert tactical team to drop in Brazil, search for this 'ET' and capture it - alive if possible. If the team can successfully extract the Sectoid, the Agency can present it to world leaders and effectively form the Council, who will then fund the XCOM Project.

The other two ideas take place in different time periods, with already-formed XCOM programs. One is in the early to late 1900's, whatever interests you guys most. WWII themes, Cold War themes, 1970's etc. Or we can go into the future, where XCOM is fighting the aliens in a long war, colonizing planets as they do so.

And a final idea is (post-)apocalyptic. The aliens attack Earth without warning, and it's up to a group of survivors to take Earth back. Or the aliens have controlled Earth for a long time, enslaving the humans and forcing them to harvest resources; XCOM is formed as an underground covert operation that seeks to overthrow the alien order.

[BelatedGamer]

I'll keep an eye on this.

[Darkraven]

Just some tips for you from a guy who failed badly at making an XCOM RP. Try to keep it simple and economical, otherwise it would be too much to handle and the moment something in real life comes waltzing in, it'd fall apart. With XCOM, it seems tempting to make the RP as epic as possible because, you know, it's XCOM, so I guess while this tip applies to alot of RPs, it's gonna apply especially to XCOM.

On a more positive note, when I presented my own set of ideas (somewhat similar to yours), people do love the idea of a contemporary XCOM, and one that goes through the origins of the organisation. They seem to like the idea of starting out as an organisation that barely is, assaulted from all directions by problems with funding, getting enough (competent) manpower, or even trying to function from day to day. In my XCOM RP, politics is a real problem, the ruined world economy with the US becoming third world and China becoming really rich is a real problem, and the UN viewing XCOM as a very minor branch of itself is also crippling.

Also, alot of mystery, alien-ness and deadliness to the aliens seems to be well-liked too, rather than having aliens that could be dispatched by primitives who are outnumbered two to one. I'm talking about turning the tables, and instead having aliens that could win even when heavily outnumbered.

[Solace]

Interested!

[Lady Lavender]

...would there still be Chryssalids?

[TJByrum]

...would there still be Chryssalids?

Oh god, please no!

@Darkraven: Thanks for the tips. Link to your RP?

I was going to add a -few- twists to the aliens. The Thin Men, for example, would have minor shape-shifting abilities. They were meant to be an infiltration unit in the games, so I figured I would give them an added boost. Some missions would include the tracking down and careful elimination of Thin Men in public places without alerting the populace.

And EXALT would be in the RP too.

Should I use some sort of hit% system? Should characters die? Should we manage resources?

[Apollosarcher]

@TJByrum I would think maybe base it off the new trailer? Have it set with sort of rag-tag group of soldiers who refuse to let aliens control the earth. Maybe have us be troops from other squads with losses and get re-organized into one squad.

[TJByrum]

That's a possibility Apollo, and I'll keep it in mind.

[Satoshi Kyou]

i think we should keep the theme of characters dying because thats what xcom is about

i am interested but im quite new to rp'ing

[TJByrum]

The biggest question now, however, is whether or not we should use a 'system'. Hit percentages, aiming values, defense values, HP, etc. Are you guys interested in doing something like that, or no?

[Satoshi Kyou]

i know i wouldnt mind something like that... but how beginner friendly would it be?
like keep it simple and everything otherwise it gets really confusing...
if you make it certain weapons always have a % then yeah why not but the bigger question is...
how do we deal with visibility and how does that affect the %
im not a active xcom player but i did play a fair share of games that use % based on vision

i would say something simpler... what about dice rolls...?
alien rolls a die you roll a die if your roll is higher than alien then alien gets hit
perhaps add modifier depending on position and weapon... say snipers have a +2 modifier and shotguns have a -4 on long distance

[TJByrum]

That's my problem with systems, Satoshi, I've always wondered how I would go about doing something.

I think every character should have Vitality, Defense, and Aim. Equipment like Armor and Weapons would increase these attributes, and surviving characters would be able to 'grow', adding permanent bonuses to either of the three attributes.

Before a battle I would give specific descriptions of the area (and further descriptions can be explained via OOC, if asked). Are you on high ground or low ground? What's ahead of the group, to the left, to the right, behind them? What's in the area? Trees, brush, cars, buildings, etc? 'Full cover' increases Defense more than Partial Cover, and No Cover confers no bonuses at all. Each player needs to explain in their post where they're going and what they're trying to do. I'll also provide details as to how far away certain pieces of cover are and such.

During a battle, I want to keep a nod to the 'turn-based' gameplay present in the games. So everyone posts once, explaining their actions. Then, I post once, detailing each action and its consequences, and explaining the alien's/EXALT's actions.

Let us say you want to shoot an alien. First, take your Aim. Let's say it is 6. Now roll a d20; you get an 8. 8+2=10. Now the alien/EXALT rolls a d20 and adds it to their defense (equals 6). Since 10 is greater than 6, your shot connects. You look at your gun's damage value and the alien/EXALT's Vitality is reduced by that amount.

[Satoshi Kyou]

what about you roll the dice yourself to prevent cheating?
like you let everyone post their action but you resolve everything

Edit: oh wait that's what you are saying arent you...

also english isn't my first language...

but yeah that could work

[TJByrum]

If you're interested.

Silence. Some think it's peaceful, soothing, relaxing. It lets you concentrate, lets you focus on the things running through your mind. But to others, silence was loud. Very loud. It was louder than a battlefield. It could drive you crazy, make you feel alone, make you feel paranoid. And in this large, bright, white room, with only a desk and three chairs, silence was about to drive this man crazy. He bounced his leg up and down, trying to pass the time. His breathing fluctuated with his frustration.

Finally a door behind him suddenly opened. Two men walked in and then the door slammed shut. They circled around the table and sit in the two empty chairs on the other side of the desk. One of them threw down a file folder before sitting down in his seat.

"Hard man to find," the older man said with a smirk on his face.

"That's why I've lived as long as I have," the captive replied.

"Well. You're here now. Open the folder. Tell me what you see."

The captive looked down at the folder and then, after a moment, slowly leaned forward and opened the file. A bunch of papers and a picture held together by a paperclip was inside. The jumble of typed letters didn't much catch his attention, but the picture did. I was some sort of strange, oddly-shaped creature behind a tree in a wooded area. "Am I suppose to know what this is," the captive asked after examining the photo.

"Not likely," the older man said. "This was taken seventeen days ago somewhere along the Brazilian-Venezuelan border. The photographer was a 'Michael Edwards'. American tourist, upper class. Apparently he was on some sort of vacation in Brazil when caught sight of the... creature. We brought him in for further questioning, but he didn't give us much. He was pretty shaken up from some sort of previous trauma, but we did catch 'Brazil'. After some further investigation into the area, we have confirmed the picture was indeed shot there."

"What's this got to do with me then? You want me to kill it?"

"Not exactly. We'd like to capture it, alive if possible."

"Alright... so you need me to drop in and find this... this thing?"

"Yes, but not alone. We're assembling a team of.. 'professionals'. You're just one of them, but the others are waiting nearby. We'll drop your team in the Brazilian wilderness and you'll need to trek to the last known location of the specimen. We'd drop you closer, but we can't afford scaring the creature off. We'll be giving you some firepower, but you need to exercise restraint and capture it alive - if possible."

"Alright, sounds easy enough. Is it an animal? An endangered species? You some wildlife preservationists?"

"Not exactly," the old man said in an annoyed tone. "We're part of the Agency, now a small, covert branch of the United Nations. Formed in 1958, the Agency was tasked with formulating contingencies in case alien life existed, as many people became paranoid of extraterrestrials after the launch of Sputnik-1."

The younger man then spoke up. "At least the ET movie helped calm things down, huh?"

The old man didn't bother to acknowledge the comment and continued speaking. "We believe this creature is an extraterrestrial. And if it's here on Earth, we need to capture it. Doing so will give us the credible and necessary evidence we need to present to the United Nations."

"Then what?"

"Well, then a Council is formed. And then XCOM will have all the necessary support, manpower, and funding required to investigate more of these... aliens."

The captive sighed and stretched his arms and legs, leaning back in his chair unprofessionally. "Well. When do we start?"

[Satoshi Kyou]

is that a backstory?

[TJByrum]

It's a pretty rough outline of the first post. The Agency tracks down some of the most hardcore, badass people around the globe, brings them to their headquarters, and briefs them on the situation. They then drop them into Brazil and task them with finding the Sectoid. If they do this successfully the Agency can present an ideal case to the UN, who will then form the Council, and allow XCOM to be operational.

Hopefully people wonder why the photographer was pretty shaken up as well.

EDIT: I'm trying to establish a good case for why XCOM is funded.

[Satoshi Kyou]

wasnt the original case why they were funded that the aliens attacked first?

[TJByrum]

Yes, but in this game they didn't attack first.

[BelatedGamer]

I have time to devote to this now.

[Satoshi Kyou]

since im going to lose my job (man that sucks) next month i think i'll have time for this.