X Com

X-COM

Running Time

Tuesdays, CET 8PM.

This goofy-ass clock should show the current time in the correct time zone. Sadly I couldn't figure out how to implement a digital clock on Wikidot.

Setting

In mid-2020, reports of UFO sightings, abductions and cattle mutilations start to spike after an unusually violent first quarter of the year, involving multiple high-profile political assassinations, often in broad daylight and without obvious motivation. Soon thereafter, credible evidence is released that national militaries are taking these sightings seriously. Abduction victims are interrogated by intelligence services, military scientists investigate sites of crop circles and cattle mutilations, and military aircraft are involved in high-speed engagements near and sites of human settlement, despite ostensible peacetime.

Small frictions threaten to blossom into full-scale conflict as militaries skirmish over supposed UFO crash sites near borders, or air forces cross into closed airspaces in the heat of UFO interception.

Even to casual observers, it's obvious that the nations of the world are reacting to a slow, creeping alien interference with, or interest in, the Earth. What's less obvious is a third party in this conflict… X-COM. Funded by shadowy sources and occasionally their own enterprises, operating from hidden bases concealed around the globe, with their own air force, combat units, mercenary contacts and investigators tracing down leads on alien infiltration. X-COM opposes both nations and aliens, dedicated to preventing any nations signing a pact with the invaders, or acquiring too much of their technology and thereby upsetting the global status quo.

You've only recently been contacted by the conspiracy as one of their mercenary contractors, for the jobs where X-COM can't risk sending in their own heavy troops, often because they require more subtlety than the average X-COM trooper has… other times because you're more expendable and less of a liability if you get caught.

System

Unisystem, which backs AFMBE, Witchcraft and several other games. The basic mechanic is as follows:

You roll 1d10+skill+stat(any other modifiers if applicable), usually this will be against a TN of 9, occasionally it will be an opposed roll where the highest over 9 wins. For every 2 points you roll above 9, you get another "degree" of success, which is primarily relevant to combat, where it affects the damage you do, but otherwise just determines how well you succeed(a flat 9 means you only barely do it, a solid 15 means you do a really damn good job).

Dice are also both exploding and imploding. On a natural roll of 10, you roll again, this time 1d10-5. If the end result is positive, you add it to your first roll(and if it's another nat 10, you do the same thing again). On a natural roll of 1, you roll again, 1d10-5 again, if the end result is negative, you subtract it from your first roll(and if it's another nat 1, you do the same thing again).

Combat Mechanics

First off, everyone rolls initiative, which is 1d10+Dexterity+Modifiers, order goes from highest to lowest. Anyone can technically take as many actions in a round as they want, though every action beyond the first adds a cumulative -2 penalty to all actions taken that round.

The roll to hit is 1d10+skill+stat+situational modifiers, a 9 or higher hits. Anyone can attempt a Dodge against a non-firearm attack, though every successive Dodge in a round, suffers a -2. Attempting to Dodge firearms, grenades or the like requires diving for cover, however, penalizing your next action by -4. Dodging is an opposed 1d10+Dodge+Dexterity+Modifiers, and if it succeeds and rolls higher than the attack, it misses. Explosive weapons that only slightly miss may still do some damage, however.

Once you've hit someone, then you roll damage. Usually this will be a single die multiplied by a static modifier which, in the case of melee attacks, is your Strength. Armor(if any) is subtracted, and then most attacks are multiplied by 2 if any damage remains after armor. Armor-piercing and blunt melee attacks ignore half of armor and do not multiply by 2 afterwards. Hollow-point ammo double armor reduction but multiply by 3 afterwards. Some hit locations(like the head) increase the final multiplier. Explosive weapons are treated like armor-piercing at ground zero(half armor, no multiplier) and at farther blast ranges are subject to full armour(since it's mostly shrapnel and not shockwave) but still have no after-armor multiplier. Fire completely ignores armour unless it's a specifically flame-resistant suit.

A total roll of 15 or better also increases your damage before the first multiplier. At 15, you get a +1 pre-multiplier, at 17 a +2, and so on upwards. So for instance if your attack would do 1d8*4 and you rolled a 15, you'd be doing (1d8+1)*4.

Ranged attacks can be Aimed, which eats up a full round of actions and prompts a 1d10+(Weapon Skill)+Perception roll. If this roll succeeds, it grants +1 to hit, and a further +1 per 2 points over 9. So a roll of 13 would be a +3, to the next ranged attack, if it's made in the next round and nothing interrupts the character's aim(for instance, having to dive for cover, getting kicked off a cliff, getting flashbanged, etc.).

Automatic firearms also have access to some special fire options:

Bursts use 3 shots, and rather than getting bonus damage for high rolls, land an additional hit for every 2 points rolled above 9, up to a maximum of three. Bursts add a cumulative action penalty of -3 rather than -2.

Rock 'n' Roll uses 10 shots and work like bursts, except with a higher number of bullets that can hit. Rock 'n' Roll attacks add a cumulative action penalty of -4 rather than -2.

Suppressive Fire takes up the entire weapon's magazine(or 50 shots for large, belt-fed weapons), and sweeps an area the size of a street, hitting anyone there who doesn't dive for cover with 1d4 shots automatically. Diving for cover doesn't require a dodge roll, but does result in the -4 penalty that dodging firearm attacks always do.

Aimed attacks can target body parts, occasionally because you want to disarm someone without(or before) killing them, or sometimes because they have squishy, unarmoured parts in between all their armor. -4 penalty for aiming for the head, -2 for aiming for the arms/legs, -4 penalty for aiming for a hand or foot. Doing more than 15 damage to a human limb with a single attack cripples it, at least temporarily, or perhaps severs it. Headshots do double damage. Non-aimed attacks roll a d10 to randomly determine hit location.

Hit Location Diagram
1 Head/Neck
2 Right Arm
3 Left Arm
4-6 Torso
7-8 Right Leg
9-10 Left Leg

Every turn that you're on fire, you must make a Willpower+Resistance roll to not panic, with penalty equal to half the burning damage you're taking per turn. Any round where you maintain self-control, you can choose to stop, drop and roll to extinguish yourself. Anyone who can knock you to the ground(successful Brawling+Strength roll) or splash you with water can put out the fire on their turn, though some advanced incendiaries may take more than a bucket of water to permanently smother.

Heavy weapons require a full round to reload, other weapons simply count reloading as a normal action, i.e. you will suffer cumulative multiple action penalties for doing something else(like shooting) in the same round.

Chargen

Equipment

Ufopaedia

X-Contracts

Global Status Report

Any countries not mentioned by name are to be assumed hostile territory for aliens and X-COM both.

Alien Infiltrated/Controlled

These countries are actively aiding and supporting the aliens while targeting X-COM. Their governments may have actively thrown in their lot with the aliens, or simply be so thoroughly infiltrated by the Church of Sirius and similar traitors to humanity that it may as well be the same.

Argentina
Belarus
Iceland
Japan
Korea
South Africa
Taiwan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Kingdom
Venezuela

X-COM Allied

These countries will, at the very least, not shoot at X-COM personnel without good reason, and may be offering supplies and funding. All of them consider the Church of Sirius to be a terrorist organization and have made moves to seize its property and arrest its local leadership.

Australia
Chile
Cuba
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
European Union
Iran
Iraq
Libya
Mexico
People's Republic of China
Peru
Somalia
Sudan

Agent Roster

Doc Bruno, played by DisgruntledFerret. CODENAME: HIPPOPOTOMASTER

Serge Alexandre, played by Fivemarks. CODENAME: BISONIC

John "Johnny" Jonathan Johnson, played by Sanev_Khan. CODENAME: CAMELTDOWN

ISSYL'S CHARACTERS, played by Issyl. CODENAME: BUFFARONIN

Camille Harding, played by Zeplin. CODENAME: GIRAFTERSHOCK

Edward "Mentak" Whitehead, suffered to live by nimzy

Dirk "Hit Bigly" Diggley, a direct to VHS adapation of the real life best seller by Margly We only have the intro left ever since Dad recorded X-Files over it.

Roland "Top Gun" Andersson, as portrayed on the silver screen by Della in the 1995 adaptation. CODENAME: ALPACASTER

Available codenames: -
Mandatory codename to be used after those are gone: GLITTERHOOF

XP Expenditure

Attributes can be improved by a max of 1 point by spending XP. It costs 5 XP if the stat is between 1 to 5, 10 XP if the stat is 6 or greater.

Skills cost the same as the next level, i.e. upgrading a skill from 3 to 4 costs 4 XP.

Qualities cost 2 XP per quality point.

New skills cost 4 XP to learn at level 1.

Even if you miss a session, you get the same XP gained during ops as players who didn't miss anything.

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