XCOM RPG


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XCOM 2 RPG Posts (2015)

News of the upcoming XCOM 2 game by Firaxis resurrected my interest in a tabletop RPG system that offered players all the emotion, tension, strategy, and desperation of the XCOM franchise. In recent years, I have learned to love a number of other system possibilities, such as Savage Worlds, ORE, and some kingdom-management systems. The following posts are my attempts to re-visit the XCOM rpg effort through some new system lenses.

  1. XCOM 2 as a Tabletop RPG? (Savage Worlds)

 

Original X-Com RPG posts (2011)

EDIT (Dec. 2012): The 2012 release of XCOM Enemy Unknown by 2K Games and Firaxis for modern consoles and computer is an extremely admirable remake of the original with a more modern, cinematic feel. Of course there’s always something about the original that can’t be replicated, but I will say 2K’s XCOM Enemy Unknown  goes a great way toward offering the agonizing anxiety and hard-won triumph to modern gamers.

Here are all the original (and now old) X-Com RPG posts in chronological order. Some of the ideas and details in earlier entries have now been modified. Enjoy and please give me your feedback! I have compiled a workable System Reference Document, and am making some final decisions before alpha testing it.

If you’re not familiar with Cortex Plus, you can check out the Primer linked below the articles. Also, if you want to play the originals for computer, I believe you can find packages with the whole series on Steam for about $5 (I could be wrong). Another way to play this game is by downloading the free UFO: Alien Invasion (check out screenshots below).

Original Posts (2011):

  1. Theory and Initial Ideas: Stories that Shape Us – Vulnerable Heroes
  2. Initial Ideas: Drop-Team Gameplay (with video)
  3. Theory: Design Decisions: Building Tension with Time
  4. Beyond Combat: Running the Organization
  5. Game Structure: So How Does this Work?
  6. Game Structure: Play Progression
  7. Game Structure: Campaign Considerations
  8. Research: Embracing an Infinite Tech Tree
  9. Character Generation: Making the Grunts Matter
  10. Trooper Combat: Mayhem & Madness: Morale & Injury
  11. One Roll Invasion Pool

Not familiar with CortexPlus?

About the Author

I'm a husband, father, explorer of the inexhaustible, and synergy cultivator. Starting with D&D, my explorations into role-playing and game design have brought me to savor mining diverse systems, initially Cortex Plus, then PbtA, ORE, Forged in the Dark, and now anything I can get my hands on.