How would you go about making a TTRPG version of XCOM? Or rather than building the system from the group up, what system would you refluff?
Im thinking I would either use D20 modern or Only War as my framework system, depending on player preference and refluff from there.
Things to consider: >Troops Dying - Most players like to bring in new characters at party level when their previous character dies, this is distinctly not XCOM in flavour My tentative solution is allowing plays to build up a character roster meaning they can choose to bring a "rookie" to the table rather than their main character. If it survives, they have a secondary character at squaddie rank within there roster that they can bring to the table for future sessions. >Base Building - Pain in the ass or awesome chance for strategy and planning, depends on group Not sure if there is a system suited to base building that could be ripped off. My personal approach would be to do this between sessions on a FB page or something allowing for debate and consensus before approving choices, however that won't necessarily work for all groups, just my group tends to say they like long form strategy and decisions to make, but when they play the moan until they get action. >Time Passing- would you have it work in real time and update your players on what happened since your last session, or have a "fast forward" function at the table to facilitate multiple research/engineering projects and missions per game session? Personally, I would opt for the real time setup and handle research and such on the aforementioned fb page, allowing me to focus my efforts on a larger, more involved and nuanced "main mission" for my players to deal with at the session.
But enough about my methods, what are your thoughts my fellow fa/tg/uys? Anything i have missed out? Anything you would add/change/forego in your version?
If you like the modern Xcom games, Strike! combat is modeled on them. Character creation is also fairly fast, so if you want tactical meatgrinders, it's rather good.
Not a lot of equipment management or base building in the main game though.
John Walker
I did an XCOM oneshot using Savage Worlds. It worked pretty well, although the squad managed to butcher a buildingful of Sectoids and a trio of EXALT agents with no real casualties. Bonus points for the team heavy bulldozing a Sectoid into the ground, knocking it out and hauling its ass in for interrogation.
Mason Butler
bump for XCOM
Brandon Russell
Only War would be my recommendation, since XCOM runs on a percentile system and shares several mechanics with the 40k RPGs (or at least similar ones). The lethality of OW compliments XCOM as well.
My main question for this is how to the PCs fit into this game? Are they the soldiers fighting the battles or are they Commander, Bradford, Shen, and Vahlen/Tygan?
>Troops Dying - Most players like to bring in new characters at party level when their previous character dies, this is distinctly not XCOM in flavour Just use the comrade system from OW; it's pretty similar to what you've described here.
>>Base Building - Pain in the ass or awesome chance for strategy and planning, depends on group Yeah, I'm not really sure about how to do this either. Perhaps some kind of a hybrid between Ship Construction in Rogue Trader and Colony Management in Stars of Inequity?
>>Time Passing- would you have it work in real time and update your players on what happened since your last session, or have a "fast forward" function at the table to facilitate multiple research/engineering projects and missions per game session? I'd write in multiple ways to do this, since GMs and campaigns are going to have different styles. Have one way be for the GM to just roughly guesstimate how much time passes during each session and another so that a set amount of things can be accomplished each session (for example, the players say what they're going to research at the beginning of a session, and the GM lets them know how many sessions will pass before the research is done).
Hudson Wright
Don't forget that XCOM2 has a huge difference with the older ones in that you are now the rag tag RESISTANCE instead of actually/properly trained soldiers.
Also, Vipers.
Jonathan Turner
I'd base it around a D100 system just for the fact that It simply feels right. XCOM was always about managing risk and reward with a linear percentage of success. D20 thus would be fine if you prefery your modifiers to be less granular.
So yeah, I'd brew it based off Only War, if only to fill out that sheet full of deceased XCOM members that is the regiment sheet they give you there. In terms of grid-combat other options might be better, OW is more fore the full on simulation approach I think.
One thing I'd change for sure would be the crit mechanic, giving each roll a certain sub percentage to give crit results instead of triggering it per damage dice. If you just want more damage or a roll on the crit chart is depending on how close you want it to either video game or reality. Also side-initiative might me a thing to use.
Honestly there's so much in XCOM that you might want to take inspiration from all of those sources instead of restricting you to one of them.
Wyatt Wright
You could compensate for that by having a rank system that ranges from absolute rookie (XCOM 2 level 1 soldier) to trained soldier (XCOM 1 level 1 soldier) to experienced badass (high level char from either game) with gradations in between each. That way, the GM can assign a "base rank" for all recruits based on the setting/timeline of the campaign. We'd have to figure out how this would work with abilities and such though.
Julian Sanchez
This is what makes XCOM2 a good candidate for setting an RPG in. A resistance group has to do a lot more stuff than just fight; your players will have a good excuse to be infiltrators, spies, mechanics, scientists etc. on top of being fighters.
Also, post XCOM2, man forges an alliance with liberated ayys against TFTD Chtulhu
Hunter Reed
I've heard Strike! was specifically designed for the Boots on the Ground sections of Xcom.
>Perhaps some kind of a hybrid between Ship Construction in Rogue Trader I've never read Stars of Inequity, but Rogue Trader's ship system seems right on the money.
The limiting factors are power and space, just like in Rogue Trader, but unlike Rogue Trader, you can buy more space using time and money, and more power by also using space and money.
After that its just giving them the options of rooms.
Im tempted to try and hammer out a simple base building game myself. It doesn't even need to be in depths really. Its enough if the players decide the amenities their base contains, and by extension what their version of xcom specializes in.
Carter Murphy
>I've heard Strike! was specifically designed for the Boots on the Ground sections of Xcom.
Ayupp. Although it has a lot of 4e-isms, but you can just restrict things to the simpler classes, until the players earn the crazy.
Brandon Thompson
The book is ugly as sin though.
Hunter Sanchez
Stars of Inequity deals more with managing settlements that aren't directly under your control, but are managed by a colonial governor of your choosing. It would be a good system for managing a resistance network, or if you were playing a campaign with multiple XCOM bases like the OG enemy unknown.
John Diaz
So is OG X-COM. That can be a lot of fun too.
Chase Gonzalez
How would you stat the ayys for Only War?
Connor Howard
In regards to how the players are going to fit into the game, why not do both? You could have them controlling both a command staff during the base building/research/strategic aspects of play, and then have them control grunts during the tactical fire fights.
The command staff is composed of various head scientists, researchers, engineers, generals, communications specialists, council envoys / resistance-cell diplomats, spymasters, logistics specialists, and so on. Thus, players who's strategic characters are more focused around information gathering may find themselves better off finding aliens and allies, but less likely to capitalize on the information, while characters who are more research and development oriented might lack the military expertise (and ensuing bonuses) to apply their technological might as effectively. Thus, the way x-com is run and the strategic focus will differ from campaign to campaign. Additionally, having different players have different strategic focuses amidst limited financial and spatial resources adds the nice little feeling of department heads competing over funding, even as they work together to save the world.
Jayden Gonzalez
>How would you stat the ayys for Only War?
>Mutons I'd take heavy inspiration from the Ork Profiles, but give them decent BS.
>Thin Men/Vipers Maybe take a look at Eldar stats? High Ag and mobility skills I guess, still a bit thougher than baseline stuff, lot's of poison&toxic shit?
Got no time now but might think up more later.
Jacob Morgan
Just use GURPS.
Oliver Wright
Conspiracy X has everything you ask for.
Asher Butler
>How would you go about making a TTRPG version of XCOM?
I wouldn't. Everything in that universe was designed with a squad-based strategic game in mind, a game that's like 90% combat. A normal TRPG is 90% non-combat.
Charles Thompson
For those interested...
Nathaniel Garcia
So it would be an abnormal ttrpg. I don't see the problem with that.
Anthony Turner
I WAS curious, thanx muchly!
Tyler Evans
God I love beagle. His sense of humor hits all the right notes for me.
Benjamin Richardson
It was surprising how well XCOM 2 could handle this many soldiers when he first streamed it.
Ayden Sullivan
bump
Jacob Cox
Wish I could post the full core, but it is just a bit over the 8mb file limit.
Hudson Harris
No worries, m8! If I like what I see, I can always find either the old stuff or the new stuff. Usually. Probably. Either way, thank you for the effort and for showing me a new rpg to check out!
Dominic Flores
There's a game called Contact. I haven't played it but it's supposed to be an X-Com-like RPG
Ian Robinson
I use 4e DnD with a lot of refluffing since the actual dev team did the same. Works surprisingly well, especially the skill challenge part which I used for everything dangerous outside of combat. But the death rate is too much for my friends and they are quite tick off about that part.
Zachary Torres
They've released a quickstart apparently. Can't say I'm terribly impressed by it but it also happens to lack rules for base-building and research that the full game supposedly has and that are my main stumbling point
Kayden Moore
>since the actual dev team did the same. Can you expand on this a bit?
Sectoids are cowardly and will attempt to hunker down in heavy cover at range disabling opponents with hallucinations or working as a team to Dominate an opponent into submission while another comes in close to execute them.
Dylan Hill
Probably a single use tox grenade for their spit, immunity to poison, and the tox grenade sets itself off if they die with it unused. Same amount of wounds as your average Guardsman with Talents for climbing and Unnatural Agility. Give them an Accurate weapon and 40 something BS. >Ag: 32 >Unnatural Agility(2) >Acrobatics(+20)
Christian Hill
You could make it a troupe game. So every player has one or more operative characters and a character for administrative part of the game. Administrative roles could be base building, research, construction, interception, maybe diplomacy if there's multiple factions
Aiden Cox
Seconding this.
I know the games share quite a lot of similarities, but I didn't think they'd be actually down to just playing 4e.
Ryder Price
Have you considered infinity? The system and miniatures are pretty close to X-com
Aiden Scott
It's more of the "commander" experience but things like cover, overwatch and using weapon range bands are core in game
Colton Fisher
There is a mode called "spec ops" where you pick an unit and give it upgrades bought with XP giving a more "rpg-y" feel, the unit stays super fragile though, the game makes it so a single die roll can be lethal (much like the xcom game)
Chase Bell
There is also an actual RPG coming out "soon" so you might want to look into it
Okay, I'm done shilling
Easton Roberts
2d10 dice rolls, time-unit-based combat, wargame-derived cover mechanics (you must use minis while playing) and a computer/phone-based way of implementing hidden movement.
I am actually in the middle of bolting XCOM onto the Planes and Mercs rules and the space combat (read: orbital mechanics) is a pain to translate into a playable system.
Blake Young
Just realized I didn't put a link. Here we go, though it's really nothing special
