X-Com was a line of computer games based on a group fighting a gradual alien invasion. You began by running out to alien landing sites, killing them and taking their stuff, and followed up by researching that stuff, interrogating surviving aliens, and gradually building up to being able to fight them on their home ground and destroy them utterly. Xenocide.

I think this could make an interesting roleplaying game. You could emphasise different aspects, according to what the players were into. There's tactical combat stuff, of course. There's building and group organisation, as the group negotiates with cabinet Ministers, visiting Generals and bureaucrats for funds and freedom of action. In these aspects, it could be a bit like Stargate: SG-1 sometimes was. Along with those negotiations, there's also potential for PC-NPC relationships of love, friendship, rivalry and hatred, both within the base and outside it.

There could even be a bit of police-style work, if perhaps some mad cult found out about the aliens and decided to welcome them.

I think a roleplaying game of it would probably be a bit darker than was the computer game, simply because players will have just one character, rather than being the invisible intangible manager running the whole team - so if a character is killed, it really matters! Of course there could be Ars Magica-style play with each player having three characters - one soldier, one researcher, and one support staff sort of person - though in the spirit of Stargate: SG-1 characters could cinematicaly fulfill all the interesting roles - "he fights and he does research science and he speaks thirteen languages including two alien ones and also he has hobbies."

It would probably have to be a little bit cinematic, especially if psionics stuff was going to come into it.

This is just thinking about my next campaign... it's always good to toss around ideas early on

What do you lot reckon?

Funny you should mention Ars Magica, as my first thought when I saw you mention X-Com was that the base-building and research bits could be done in a similar way to the... er... what do they call their wizardy hideouts? Chantries? Manses? You know, them.

You could also perhaps run sessions a bit like Pendragon, with each session covering a ground mission and the behind the scenes stuff. It would probably be best to shrink the turn length from a year down to either a week or two weeks.

Ars Magica called them "covenants." I think I would go for a "gradual improvement" thing with the base, rather than Ars Magica's thing of having it built, then it's basically unchanged for decades. The PCs could begin with (say) a couple of million bucks worth of stuff - some existing government agency reckons they've got a handle on the problem, the PCs' group is just a somewhat covert one in another agency or branch of the military. They could be a token force, like the EU's European Brigade - but of course, thanks to the PCs, would perhaps become more significant. Success gives them more funds which helps them have more success, etc.

I don't know Pendragon at all, I'm afraid.

Ah, right, Pendragon. The way it works is that each session (usually) covers a year of the PCs' lives. They go adventuring, to tourneys, to court etc etc during the spring and summer and then there's the "winter phase" (IIRC), wherein you determine things like children being born (who are often later replacement PCs), crop successes/failures, events in the PCs' manors and so on.

The X-Com equivalent of that winter phase would be all those little pop-up boxes like R&D/production completions, Iceland bumping up their contribution, or South Africa signing on with the aliens. It might be a bit too involved, but if could be fun to have points awarded and deducted for things that go on in the missions and then roll on some sort of chart to see what international reaction you get. (e.g. Mission failure/civilian deaths BAD; recovered alien tech/successful interceptions GOOD)

Covenants, that was it. I'd forgotten they don't change much. I was thinking more of the fun of building (dragging and dropping on the grid...)  

I don't know what 2nd ed is like but Conspiracy X's original edition had a cool system of "Pulling Strings" where each PC used their different kinds of influence to get favourable locations, equipment and various goodies for their shared base. Different career backgrounds (e.g. FBI/Army/DIA) gave points in various influence pools, which were something like Science, Medical, Military, Intelligence and The Other One.

Well if the players were interested in that then the base could be built with XP, you get more XP for your character when mission objectives are achieved or when you shmooze a visiting Minister, and less xp when you accidentally blow up farmer Joe's barn with his daughter in it - the local police are unhappy at being involved in the coverup. You could spend your XP just on your character, or on your base. The XP would have a bigger effect on the base than on you, but of course you only get a part of that good stuff... So you could end up after a year or two as uberninjas still in overalls with rifles in a shed, or not so uber guys but in a marvellous facility.

But I was thinking more about the feel of the thing, the sorts of adventures or scenes or stories PCs could have. The mechanics I'm not too concerned about.

GURPS : Black Ops is pretty much X-Com mixed with a dash of supernatural bogeymen thrown in. IIRC there are one or two X-Com fan conversions out on the interweb, GURPS being one and I think the other was D20.
The lethality of X-Com combat in the game suggests using Cp2020/Interlock rules to me - adapt the COOL stat for use as morale and change TECH to PSY, and Bjorn Stronginthearm's your uncle.

Quote from: JimBobOzWell if the players were interested in that then the base could be built with XP, you get more XP for your character when mission objectives are achieved or when you shmooze a visiting Minister, and less xp when you accidentally blow up farmer Joe's barn with his daughter in it - the local police are unhappy at being involved in the coverup. You could spend your XP just on your character, or on your base. The XP would have a bigger effect on the base than on you, but of course you only get a part of that good stuff... So you could end up after a year or two as uberninjas still in overalls with rifles in a shed, or not so uber guys but in a marvellous facility.

But I was thinking more about the feel of the thing, the sorts of adventures or scenes or stories PCs could have. The mechanics I'm not too concerned about.

Conspiracy-X 2.0 is my go-to game for X-COM, being a big fan of the original computer games myself.

You do get points to spend on your base as you play, which are called Resource Points and are acquired through downtime.  The game is rather interesting in that downtime is a major game commodity.  You can spend downtime to train for character benefits, spend downtime acquiring Resource Points, building base facilities, researching alien technology and species, developing psychic powers, and extending your influence.

The game even has alien/human hybrid technology that you can develop, including a UFO/fighter and UFO/transport.

There's multiple alien species out there, with unique physiologies and attitudes.  There's secret backroom pacts with aliens.  There's fighter planes vs. UFO dogfights,  and crashed spacecraft and abduction sites to investigate.  There's alien bases to raid, and secret agendas to uncover.

Since it's Unisystem, it takes very little effort to come up with new alien species or convert your own from other sources, such as Sectoids or Ethereals.

The game has a robust Headquarters-building system.  Dave Chapman, who frequents rpg.net, is the developer. He's been very helpful and talkative about the game.

Quote from: JimBobOzBut I was thinking more about the feel of the thing, the sorts of adventures or scenes or stories PCs could have. The mechanics I'm not too concerned about.

Well you could borrow from the movies.

Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter version) - Aliens corner and attack the PCs in a soon to be closed operations base.

Dark City - The PCs are have to escape a "holding" facility run by the Aliens to discover how humans "tick"

All The Kings Men - Taking off from your cult idea, the PCs have to investigate an influential populist politican who may be an Alien collaborator.

The Thing - An Alien biotech weapon escapes in a remote "spy outpost" during a freak storm of some kind.

Die Hard - Euro Trash Alien terrorist take over a facility but they have other motives then just the war, could be linked to the King's Men idea. The PCs just happen to be there.

I'm in a cheeky mood so, I may just one day run something like this where the PCs think they are playing X Files/Independence Day but rather they are reliving Mars Attack .

Regards,
David R

XCom was one of the inspirations for my home-brewed Spycraft setting. The aliens are a bit more subtle than in XCom... I didn't just want a tactical squad game... but it's in there.

Ah yes, X-Com was the closest thing to the official game for the old UFO show.  For years I've been seeking the Grail of the perfect system to do a UFO/X-Files/X-Com RPG right.  I have Conspiracy X, both 1st and 2nd editions, but I was very disappointed by it (I need to finish my review of the 2nd ed. book and post it, one of these days).  

I think I would prefer a single character rather than troupe-style, but I can see the advantages of both.  I would definitely go re-read the GM advice in Keith Senkowski's Conspiracy of Shadows for how to create atmosphere in a game of that type.  System-wise, I would probably go for something very simple like Over The Edge or InSpectres.  Or d4-d4.  

Remember you'll need a high turnover of soldiers until you can get them high enough rank or better gear.  Those guys died faster than the landing parties from Star Trek.

a buddy of mine was planning on doing an x-com campaign years ago, first using CoC, then switching to millennium's end (still his favorite system).  nothing ever came of it, tho.  

i'm still playing the playstation version on my ps2.  just had to start over again, and had aliens assault my base the 2nd week of feb. 1999.  fuckers :mad:

i always end up naming my first base "shado" :cool:

Some of the X-Com adaptations out there:

• Savage X-Com - Some of the locals from my game club used Savage Worlds a few years ago.  I can ask Johnzo if he still has his notes.
  
• X-Com D20 - not the official WotC version that was rumoured about a year agol that one apparently never materialised
  
• X-Com: Tactical - a homebrew tabletop wargame
  

Bumpity-bump. As the Roman campaign comes to an end, it's time to take a fresh look at these old ideas.

Listening to the Starship Troopers soundtrack right now has nothing to do with it