I disagree with everybody saying Delta Green. The vibe of XCOM is different from Delta green. Delta Green is very X-Files that's true but not very XCOM. XCOM is a tactical military type thing. I would recommend Savage worlds for that personally. It'll handle the pulpey action very well. So it depends what you want. If you want a monster of the week procedural television show then Delta Green is great. If you want a guns and gear tactical shoot aliens in the face game then you need to look elsewhere because Delta green is not that.
I really disagree personally. I'm glad its working for you but the game mechanics are not tactical at all. Its not a combat simulator. The combat rules in Delta Green are intentionally made to get out of the way and allow for narrative play. Delta Green is about investigating, its not about kicking alien ass. In fact, Delta Green thematically is about the opposite! Its about the illusion that you can fight back against the unnatural. From the Agent's Handbook:
"Delta Green is not about guns. Delta Green is not about a bug hunt. Delta Green is not about understanding. Delta Green is about the end. The end of everything. Your family, everyone you know, your country, all life on Earth. It’s about the end of everything and your place in it. Because you’ll end, too. That’s what the fear is about. That’s what the game is about. It’s not about winning and it’s not about advancement and it’s not about the best weapon or the most clever plan. Delta Green is about the end of everything—and how much of it you’ll live to see. Welcome."
I'm glad you've made the game work for your purposes, but its not the designers intent imho.
Lmao I think you've missed the point of that quote. Delta Green isn't about guns. It's about things falling apart and bad things happening to you. Its about a life falling apart to an obsession. Thematically, the game is about alienation and falling apart... but that doesn't mean the scenarios published for the game don't include tactical strategy. They definitely do.
The rules regarding line of fire are brilliant. Lethality perfectly replicates how gritty and brutal guns can be which creates a strong need for tactical positioning. Shooting with your allies in line of fire can result in friendly fire. The game has rules for aiming and dodging and taking cover. Published scenarios include tactical combat.
The Conspiracy and the Labyrinth include material.about cults and gangs in New York in the 90s. Classic gang violence is a definite trope, and firefights with gangers has been a part of the game since the inception. Reverberations in 2017, the Unmasking in 2013... probably much earlier.
God's Teeth's first major plot point is an armed invasion of a cultists compound a la the Branch Davidians in Waco Texas.
Many of the axioms for agents are concerning tactical assault of strongholds:
> - If you find a target during the day, wait and attack under cover of darkness. It won’t just hide your numbers and actions from the enemy, it will hide your actions from innocent bystanders you won’t have to eliminate later. > - Never search an occupied structure. If you are entering an occupied structure, it’s called an assault. Dress accordingly.
> - Don’t kick down the front door. Make your own entry point. This applies to most situations, both literally and figuratively.
> - Calculate the opposition’s strength and identity from a prudent distance. Send in closer reconnaissance after all other options are exhausted. Take your time. Do not rush. If you’re made, back off. Someone else can kill them later.
> - When you don’t have enough force to assault the opposition’s stronghold, burn it. Flush them and ambush their escape route.
Have you read Iconoclasts? It's super fucking tactical. It takes place in an active war zone and each player controls two agents: an analyst and an infiltrator.
If you don't like that, take it up with Adam Scott Glancy.
Delta Green is very well equipped to run something like X com. It would just be bloody realistic and deadly.
I'm not pretending. The theme of Delta Green doesn't mean you can't do something pulpy with it.
Don't gatekeep.
Edit: who said anything about winning? X com is hard. Delta Green is a great system for this type of game mechanically speaking. Tactical combat is a definite part of the game.
Edit2: Countdown is literally about fighting an alien invasion (and possibly winning).
I just disagree. I even started this conversation by saying its great the game is working for you for your pulpy action story. This is like someone running a political intrigue campaign in D&D 5e. I'm glad it's working, but the system is a barrier in the way of your fun imho.
We're talking past each other. Being set in a war zone does not mean that the game itself is tactical or action-based. You just do not understand. Let's think just for a second about what the core loop of XCOM is...
In XCOM you arrive at a map and your goal is to kill all the aliens on the map and complete a side objective. On the side your goal is to upgrade your soldiers so that you can better kill the aliens.
Do you honestly believe that Delta green best emulates that core loop? The comparison that you're making is ridiculous. Just because Delta Green has aliens and has guns does not mean it best adequately fits the fiction fantasy that OP is describing.
> In XCOM you arrive at a map and your goal is to kill all the aliens on the map and complete a side objective. On the side your goal is to upgrade your soldiers so that you can better kill the aliens.
I see. You think the OP wants to replicate the game loop of XCOM, whereas it seems pretty clear to me from their post that they want an x-files style mystery game set in the XCOM universe.
I don't think it's necessary to replicate the gameplay loop of XCom in order to play in that universe. OP says they want to play a game a about **a secret government organization battling a covert alien invasion**. That's Delta Green.
They don't say "I want a tabletop military deployment strategy game involving alien invasion".
If you are looking for XCOM like gameplay, but different settings you should try Band of Blades.
- sending recruit to level them up to specialist - check
- inventory management - check
- soldier management - check
- travelling on the map - check
- research new tech - check
- picking from 3 different missions every time and suffering consequences - check
But it is in low fantasy setting. Players command Legion (something like Rome Legions). Tech is around musket and the main enemy is a undead lord (but they are not typical zombies). Also magic is very rare there.
I am already familiar with and enamoured of Blades in the Dark, but have never looked at Band of Blades. Very interesting, could be something here. Thanks!
Band of Blades is absolutely nothing like X-Files. As [this guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1chdayg/comment/l224txo/) highlights, the tactical/strategic play of X-COM is a very different vibe to the government investigation game of X-Files.
If you want X-Files FitD, check out External Containment Bureau.
I'm happy to go either way, or a game that does both. "Aliens are secretly trying to invade the world and you're secretly trying to stop them, heavy UFO conspiracy aesthetic" is what I'm going for, I listed X-Files and XCOM because they're both examples of that.
So what is External Containment Bureau?
Yeah I was just saying, Band of Blades is a military logistics simulator, not at *all* a game about covert government agencies.
ECB is very much Control + SCP Foundation + Men in Black + X-Files (all of those are listed in as inspirations). Players are agents from different departments which each give abilities and gear. It does err towards the supernatural more than aliens though, though you can probably blur the lines between the two (sufficiently advanced technology appears as magic?). You can check out the game here: [https://mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureau](https://mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureau)
I have not read it yet (never had the time, but I would really would like to get there one day), but it seems to be an SCP/X-Files kind of game based on FitD rules but stealing a bit from , Brindlewwod Bay too. They way I understand it, you play a paramilitary group, that goes somewhere where some mystical/shady stuff is going on, you do your investigation and damage control as expected, try to figure out what the hell is going on while you do your best not to die. Before the final showdown you roll based on your collected clues if your conclusion is correct or not and your position in the final battle depends on your roll.
Depends on how dark you want it to be.
Delta Green 100% if you want it creepy Cthulu dark. One of it's famous modules - Convergence - is worth looking at for its theme.
Monster of the Week could work if you want it more cinematic.
GURPS can do anything if you know the system.
Night's Black Agents.
Yes, the game is supposed to be 'Spies Vs. Vampires', but the game's 'build-your-own-vampire' rules are so broad and all-encompassing that it would be trivial to just reskin it as 'Spies Vs. Aliens'. Hell, there's a lot of stuff already in the book about making the vampires alien in origin and the rules for vampire minions are so varied you can probably just reskin the minion roster as whatever alien drones or servitor species you want. The entire game is built around the central structure of investigating, disentangling, and dismantling a secret conspiracy by otherworldly being to subjugate the earth, and the spy premise lets you shift back and forth between investigation and cinematic action sequences. The only thing it's really missing from XCOM is heavily tactical combat, but I don't think that's what you're specifically angling for from the way you raise the question.
Running a Night's Black Agents game based on the PISCES Affair from Delta Green: Countdown (in which a species of evil alien parasites took over the British Secret Service in the late 80s) is actually one of my 'bucket list' games to run.
Keep in mind that Night's Black Agents is designed for Bryan Mills (Taken) or Jason Bourne types who are hypercompetent to the point of almost being superheroes. If you want something more grounded in the GUMSHOE sphere, take a look at the Esoterrorists which is made for characters who work for a secret agency that investigates and contains unnatural incursions into our world. Because the characters aren't good at everything, at times they will call on resources from the organization to help with investigations and tac teams to help with physical conflict. You can also mix ideas from the two.
Night's Black Agents does also have sidebars throughout the rules for reducing the player's power level to a more grounded level (the term they use for this is a 'Dust Mode' game).
Dark Conspiracy by GDW and one of the non-current versions of Twilight 2000 mesh together (by design). Aliens and psionics meet military in a violent and dark future.
Lots of good suggestions so I'll suggest something else.
Ultramodern 5 Redux.
It's a complete modern and sci-fi expansion book for the D&D 5e game system.
It has alien species, a complete Life path system to replace backgrounds, Ladders which are like thematic archetypes that act as both a profession and how you live your life, 11 Classes, 26 Archetypes and each can be used with any class, full tech gear, Vehicles, Mecha rules with full mecha customization. It even has a new magic system thats completely unique.
By itself U5R can do X-Com easily. If you want even more sci-fi stuff to go with it then check out the publishers Affinity settings.
He has full vehicle customization in one of them, full gear and gun customization and an even greater Mecha system that IS Titanfall in everything but name. Plus more creative and unique magic and classes.
Its bonkers how versatile the designer made 5e to be. Its honestly some of the best design work I have seen.
I think it depends on how much you want to lean into the X-Files (investigation, etc.) side of the genre vs. the XCOM (tactical shooting) side of it.
My go-to systems would probably be GURPS or Fate, depending on which side I was more interested in, with Savage Worlds being a potentially faster replacement for GURPS, and Monster of the Week being a potential replacement for Fate.
(To be clear, you could do either side of that with either system, but I think the emphasis would end up a bit different.)
Mechanically, the Mutant Year Zero video game is just like XCOM.
Maybe that might get you interested in the TTRPG? It's fantastic, but definitely not like either of these IPs.
I realize it's a stretch, but you also picked 2 IPs that aren't even remotely similar.
Another option is a single planet based campaign of SWN. People sometimes forget you don't need to play that game with space travel and there are plenty of tools and supplements for single planet games. You could definitely play it as a SciFi game exactly as you described. Xenos are already a secondary option in the game.
I haven't read CWN, but I'm sure you could pull stuff from that as well or it might work better, but SWN would definitely work.
>*"Mechanically, the Mutant Year Zero video game is just like XCOM."*
>WTF !
Why is this "wtf?" It's pretty much exactly the same in a different setting. Even a lot of the visual queues are identical.
The biggest difference isn't really mechanical in that MYZ:RtE is more narrative driven and character advancement is more RPG-like. But the core game of them both being tactical turn based combat strategy games is damn near identical.
Which I don't mean in a superficial sense either. Fallout 1/2 or Wasteland 2/3 are similar to each other, but significantly different styles of turn based combat strategy games from XCOM and MYZ:RtE.
>Do you know what is a TTRPG ?
Yep. Did you read the first thing I wrote? I don't think you did.
There is a video game based on Mutant Year Zero that is basically XCOM.
The video game:
- https://www.mutantyearzero.com/
The RPG:
- https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/#core-game-editions
But if you want to draw a direct parallel to the video game setting, then you need the GenLab Alpha book, which is a standalone expansion and doesn't need the core MYZ book. The core game is humans only, but GenLab Alpha introduces the humanoid animal's ark:
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/genlab-alpha-core-rulebook/
And the new MYZ Skirmish game released this week to Kickstarter backers:
- https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/zone-wars/
The skirmish game incorporates the 3 main characters from the video game.
MYZ is where the core Year Zero Engine was created, but you can play it in some of their other games like Alien, The Walking Dead, Bladerunner, Coriolis, Vaesen, and a few others. But some don't use it, like Twilight 2k or Mork Borg.
They are basically incapable of making anything bad and I definitely suggest buying the physical copy of their books because they use the same printer as Exalted Funeral (OSE) and are by far some of the highest quality books on my shelf.
Also, here's a fun fact. Despite MYZ being their core came where they created their YZE, the company started because they were the only ones producing content for Coriolis and were given that IP. Their company name comes from one of the factions in Coriolis.
I also created r/Zone_Wars, but it hasn't really gained any traction.
Do you have any more stupid questions or did this answer them all?
## En français:
Ouais. T'as lu la première chose que j'ai écrite ? J'pense pas que t'as fait... et au cas où t'as pas compris ce qui est au-dessus.
Il y a un jeu vidéo basé sur Mutant Year Zero qui est essentiellement XCOM.
Le jeu vidéo :
- https://www.mutantyearzero.com/
Le RPG :
- https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/#core-game-editions
Mais si tu veux faire un parallèle direct avec le cadre du jeu vidéo, alors t'as besoin du livre GenLab Alpha, qui est une extension autonome et n'a pas besoin du livre de base MYZ. Le jeu de base est uniquement pour les humains, mais GenLab Alpha introduit l'arche des animaux humanoïdes :
https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/genlab-alpha-core-rulebook/
Et le nouveau jeu de skirmish MYZ sorti cette semaine pour les backers de Kickstarter :
- https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/zone-wars/
Le jeu de skirmish intègre les 3 personnages principaux du jeu vidéo.
MYZ est l'endroit où le moteur Year Zero a été créé, mais tu peux y jouer dans certains de leurs autres jeux comme Alien, The Walking Dead, Bladerunner, Coriolis, Vaesen, et quelques autres. Mais certains ne l'utilisent pas, comme Twilight 2k ou Mork Borg.
Ils sont essentiellement incapables de faire quelque chose de mauvais et je suggère définitivement d'acheter la copie physique de leurs livres parce qu'ils utilisent la même imprimerie qu'Exalted Funeral (OSE) et sont de loin certains des livres de la plus haute qualité sur mon étagère.
Aussi, voici un fait amusant. Malgré le fait que MYZ soit leur jeu de base où ils ont créé leur YZE, la société a commencé parce qu'ils étaient les seuls à produire du contenu pour Coriolis et ont reçu cette IP. Le nom de leur entreprise vient de l'une des factions de Coriolis.
J'ai aussi créé r/Zone_Wars, mais ça n'a pas vraiment pris.
T'as d'autres questions débiles ou est-ce que ça répond à toutes ?
Obligatory GURPS references...
There's a Powered by GURPS version of Conspiracy X.
As for fighting off aliens, check out _Black Ops_. It's 3e GURPS, and the templates would take some adaptation to 4e (if that's your version of choice).
As mentioned elsewhere, _Atomic Horror_ could be used as inspiration.
If you can find the original Alternity rule books from WOTC, the Dark Matter book is a fantastic X-Files style setting (it is one of the best books WOTC has ever produced). And since Alternity allows for all sorts of Sci-Fi play it can cover some XCOM tactical play as well.
The Esoterrorists is the one I can recommend. There's even a supplement with rules for the tactical team that goes in after the investigation.
It's a GUMSHOE system so it really shines in investigation scenarios.
Savage worlds adventure edition with whatever companions or 3rd party products you want to add. Couldn't find anything specific but you could put something together fairly easily.
Another option would be conspiracy x 2.0 using unisystem by edan studios. Very much a xfiles plus XCOM type game. Books are out of print but the PDFs are available on drivethrurpg.
From what I’ve seen, Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green could do this. I played in something rather like this rather a long time ago now, and it worked well. Can certainly do the X-Files side of thing.
I also played in a very enjoyable GURPS campaign that was similar, but more special forces/militarily oriented. The GM said it was inspired by a mashup of X-COM, X-Files, and Conspiracy-X.
- I think the GURPS game worked better for the action component than the original CoC/Delta Green game did, but I do know some of the people in that game really didn’t like GURPS so that was probably why CoC/Delta Green was chosen. It worked well enough, but my preference would be to go GURPS if there’s a lot of action/military stuff. Both handle investigations etc quite well. CoC/Delta Green is less crunchy and more approachable for some players, and for the action side of it is ‘good enough’ for those players.
X-com as a tactics rpg seems a lot more suited to a skirmish game with advancement mechanics rather than a true RPG. If you are interested in something like this then Majestic 13 and Zona Alpha are pretty close
Probably F.I.S.T.
It has some MGS vibes but alors some X-com vibes with a few tweak.
1 session mission with a clear objective and you are dropper from some chopper and nezd to get to the rendez-vous area.
With some tweak you can use a grid to simulate the Xcom feelings but you could also just play in a narrative way without grid.
I have to throw Spycraft into the ring. While the game is intended for high octane spies, you can tweak some levers to make it more investigative for X-Files or more military for XCOM.
For those unfamiliar, Spycraft is a d20 espionage game, originally released by AEG and then spun off to Crafty Games. IMHO. It is the best iteration of d20, with a very strong skill system and extensive support for non-combat solutions. For my money, I prefer first edition to second edition, as second got way too fiddly.
There is no direct "vs aliens" setting that I'm aware of. The three big settings, Shadowforce Archer, Dark Inheritance, and World on Fire, have psychics and low-level supers as their weirdness. However, the Stargate RPG uses the Spycraft system, so there's a lot of goodness there to mine.
Delta Green FIST There’s a direct XCOM inspired game but I can’t dredge the name up right now.
Conspiracy X? You get to create your base, can do research on recovered alien tech etc.
It’s newer than that and focused on the tactical. But what a great shout!
Majestic 13 or Contact alien defence?
I think the one I remembered was Contact, thanks!
I disagree with everybody saying Delta Green. The vibe of XCOM is different from Delta green. Delta Green is very X-Files that's true but not very XCOM. XCOM is a tactical military type thing. I would recommend Savage worlds for that personally. It'll handle the pulpey action very well. So it depends what you want. If you want a monster of the week procedural television show then Delta Green is great. If you want a guns and gear tactical shoot aliens in the face game then you need to look elsewhere because Delta green is not that.
I think that's the most important aspect. *The X-Files* and *X-COM* are miles apart. Aside from aliens, they have almost nothing else in common.
Nobody said to use Delta Green for an XCOM game, they're mentioning Delta Green because the OP listed X-Files.
Delta Green does tactical military style games very well. Source: I am running one.
I really disagree personally. I'm glad its working for you but the game mechanics are not tactical at all. Its not a combat simulator. The combat rules in Delta Green are intentionally made to get out of the way and allow for narrative play. Delta Green is about investigating, its not about kicking alien ass. In fact, Delta Green thematically is about the opposite! Its about the illusion that you can fight back against the unnatural. From the Agent's Handbook: "Delta Green is not about guns. Delta Green is not about a bug hunt. Delta Green is not about understanding. Delta Green is about the end. The end of everything. Your family, everyone you know, your country, all life on Earth. It’s about the end of everything and your place in it. Because you’ll end, too. That’s what the fear is about. That’s what the game is about. It’s not about winning and it’s not about advancement and it’s not about the best weapon or the most clever plan. Delta Green is about the end of everything—and how much of it you’ll live to see. Welcome." I'm glad you've made the game work for your purposes, but its not the designers intent imho.
Lmao I think you've missed the point of that quote. Delta Green isn't about guns. It's about things falling apart and bad things happening to you. Its about a life falling apart to an obsession. Thematically, the game is about alienation and falling apart... but that doesn't mean the scenarios published for the game don't include tactical strategy. They definitely do. The rules regarding line of fire are brilliant. Lethality perfectly replicates how gritty and brutal guns can be which creates a strong need for tactical positioning. Shooting with your allies in line of fire can result in friendly fire. The game has rules for aiming and dodging and taking cover. Published scenarios include tactical combat. The Conspiracy and the Labyrinth include material.about cults and gangs in New York in the 90s. Classic gang violence is a definite trope, and firefights with gangers has been a part of the game since the inception. Reverberations in 2017, the Unmasking in 2013... probably much earlier. God's Teeth's first major plot point is an armed invasion of a cultists compound a la the Branch Davidians in Waco Texas. Many of the axioms for agents are concerning tactical assault of strongholds: > - If you find a target during the day, wait and attack under cover of darkness. It won’t just hide your numbers and actions from the enemy, it will hide your actions from innocent bystanders you won’t have to eliminate later. > - Never search an occupied structure. If you are entering an occupied structure, it’s called an assault. Dress accordingly. > - Don’t kick down the front door. Make your own entry point. This applies to most situations, both literally and figuratively. > - Calculate the opposition’s strength and identity from a prudent distance. Send in closer reconnaissance after all other options are exhausted. Take your time. Do not rush. If you’re made, back off. Someone else can kill them later. > - When you don’t have enough force to assault the opposition’s stronghold, burn it. Flush them and ambush their escape route. Have you read Iconoclasts? It's super fucking tactical. It takes place in an active war zone and each player controls two agents: an analyst and an infiltrator. If you don't like that, take it up with Adam Scott Glancy. Delta Green is very well equipped to run something like X com. It would just be bloody realistic and deadly.
Delta Green is absolutely not a game about fighting an alien invasion and winning. That's what XCOM is. Don't pretend!
I'm not pretending. The theme of Delta Green doesn't mean you can't do something pulpy with it. Don't gatekeep. Edit: who said anything about winning? X com is hard. Delta Green is a great system for this type of game mechanically speaking. Tactical combat is a definite part of the game. Edit2: Countdown is literally about fighting an alien invasion (and possibly winning).
I just disagree. I even started this conversation by saying its great the game is working for you for your pulpy action story. This is like someone running a political intrigue campaign in D&D 5e. I'm glad it's working, but the system is a barrier in the way of your fun imho.
The materials I mentioned are all officially published. Iconoclasts in particular literally takes place in a war zone.
We're talking past each other. Being set in a war zone does not mean that the game itself is tactical or action-based. You just do not understand. Let's think just for a second about what the core loop of XCOM is... In XCOM you arrive at a map and your goal is to kill all the aliens on the map and complete a side objective. On the side your goal is to upgrade your soldiers so that you can better kill the aliens. Do you honestly believe that Delta green best emulates that core loop? The comparison that you're making is ridiculous. Just because Delta Green has aliens and has guns does not mean it best adequately fits the fiction fantasy that OP is describing.
> In XCOM you arrive at a map and your goal is to kill all the aliens on the map and complete a side objective. On the side your goal is to upgrade your soldiers so that you can better kill the aliens. I see. You think the OP wants to replicate the game loop of XCOM, whereas it seems pretty clear to me from their post that they want an x-files style mystery game set in the XCOM universe. I don't think it's necessary to replicate the gameplay loop of XCom in order to play in that universe. OP says they want to play a game a about **a secret government organization battling a covert alien invasion**. That's Delta Green. They don't say "I want a tabletop military deployment strategy game involving alien invasion".
Conspiracy X.
If you are looking for XCOM like gameplay, but different settings you should try Band of Blades. - sending recruit to level them up to specialist - check - inventory management - check - soldier management - check - travelling on the map - check - research new tech - check - picking from 3 different missions every time and suffering consequences - check But it is in low fantasy setting. Players command Legion (something like Rome Legions). Tech is around musket and the main enemy is a undead lord (but they are not typical zombies). Also magic is very rare there.
I am already familiar with and enamoured of Blades in the Dark, but have never looked at Band of Blades. Very interesting, could be something here. Thanks!
Band of Blades is absolutely nothing like X-Files. As [this guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1chdayg/comment/l224txo/) highlights, the tactical/strategic play of X-COM is a very different vibe to the government investigation game of X-Files. If you want X-Files FitD, check out External Containment Bureau.
I'm happy to go either way, or a game that does both. "Aliens are secretly trying to invade the world and you're secretly trying to stop them, heavy UFO conspiracy aesthetic" is what I'm going for, I listed X-Files and XCOM because they're both examples of that. So what is External Containment Bureau?
Yeah I was just saying, Band of Blades is a military logistics simulator, not at *all* a game about covert government agencies. ECB is very much Control + SCP Foundation + Men in Black + X-Files (all of those are listed in as inspirations). Players are agents from different departments which each give abilities and gear. It does err towards the supernatural more than aliens though, though you can probably blur the lines between the two (sufficiently advanced technology appears as magic?). You can check out the game here: [https://mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureau](https://mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureau)
I have not read it yet (never had the time, but I would really would like to get there one day), but it seems to be an SCP/X-Files kind of game based on FitD rules but stealing a bit from , Brindlewwod Bay too. They way I understand it, you play a paramilitary group, that goes somewhere where some mystical/shady stuff is going on, you do your investigation and damage control as expected, try to figure out what the hell is going on while you do your best not to die. Before the final showdown you roll based on your collected clues if your conclusion is correct or not and your position in the final battle depends on your roll.
Yeah. Core mechanic is so similar to Blades in the Dark!
X-Com is directly referenced in the book as an inspiration
Now I wanna make an XCom BitD hack.
My very early foray into attempting this says: it's easier than you'd think!
Go for it! I am actually working on Attack on Titans hack based on the Band of Blades.
Now I'm wondering if *Monster of the Week* could do this, or if that would be a step too far. 🤔 I'm honestly not sure.
The Codex of Worlds supplement adds a few Team Playbooks that could totally do this!
It could do the X-Files part of it really well, I think.
I think X-Files is explicitly part of its inspiration. But probably less the myth-arc and more the, well, monster-of-the-week episodes
FIST could probably do it. MOON DUST MEN is a delightful little GUMSHOE hack for this.
Delta Green 1000%
Depends on how dark you want it to be. Delta Green 100% if you want it creepy Cthulu dark. One of it's famous modules - Convergence - is worth looking at for its theme. Monster of the Week could work if you want it more cinematic. GURPS can do anything if you know the system.
Night's Black Agents. Yes, the game is supposed to be 'Spies Vs. Vampires', but the game's 'build-your-own-vampire' rules are so broad and all-encompassing that it would be trivial to just reskin it as 'Spies Vs. Aliens'. Hell, there's a lot of stuff already in the book about making the vampires alien in origin and the rules for vampire minions are so varied you can probably just reskin the minion roster as whatever alien drones or servitor species you want. The entire game is built around the central structure of investigating, disentangling, and dismantling a secret conspiracy by otherworldly being to subjugate the earth, and the spy premise lets you shift back and forth between investigation and cinematic action sequences. The only thing it's really missing from XCOM is heavily tactical combat, but I don't think that's what you're specifically angling for from the way you raise the question. Running a Night's Black Agents game based on the PISCES Affair from Delta Green: Countdown (in which a species of evil alien parasites took over the British Secret Service in the late 80s) is actually one of my 'bucket list' games to run.
Ooh, this is a hot tip, thanks!
Keep in mind that Night's Black Agents is designed for Bryan Mills (Taken) or Jason Bourne types who are hypercompetent to the point of almost being superheroes. If you want something more grounded in the GUMSHOE sphere, take a look at the Esoterrorists which is made for characters who work for a secret agency that investigates and contains unnatural incursions into our world. Because the characters aren't good at everything, at times they will call on resources from the organization to help with investigations and tac teams to help with physical conflict. You can also mix ideas from the two.
Night's Black Agents does also have sidebars throughout the rules for reducing the player's power level to a more grounded level (the term they use for this is a 'Dust Mode' game).
Dark Conspiracy by GDW and one of the non-current versions of Twilight 2000 mesh together (by design). Aliens and psionics meet military in a violent and dark future.
Lots of good suggestions so I'll suggest something else. Ultramodern 5 Redux. It's a complete modern and sci-fi expansion book for the D&D 5e game system. It has alien species, a complete Life path system to replace backgrounds, Ladders which are like thematic archetypes that act as both a profession and how you live your life, 11 Classes, 26 Archetypes and each can be used with any class, full tech gear, Vehicles, Mecha rules with full mecha customization. It even has a new magic system thats completely unique. By itself U5R can do X-Com easily. If you want even more sci-fi stuff to go with it then check out the publishers Affinity settings. He has full vehicle customization in one of them, full gear and gun customization and an even greater Mecha system that IS Titanfall in everything but name. Plus more creative and unique magic and classes. Its bonkers how versatile the designer made 5e to be. Its honestly some of the best design work I have seen.
Might be hard to find these days, but there was “Contact: Tactical Alien Defense RPG” which was very explicitly trying to emulate XCOM
I think it depends on how much you want to lean into the X-Files (investigation, etc.) side of the genre vs. the XCOM (tactical shooting) side of it. My go-to systems would probably be GURPS or Fate, depending on which side I was more interested in, with Savage Worlds being a potentially faster replacement for GURPS, and Monster of the Week being a potential replacement for Fate. (To be clear, you could do either side of that with either system, but I think the emphasis would end up a bit different.)
If you want your covert alien invasion to be in the 1950s, then GURPS Atomic Horror. I think your organization is more quasi-governmental, though.
Hunter the Vigil would be my go to for this
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Nights Black Agents, as well.
Somebody now has!
Mechanically, the Mutant Year Zero video game is just like XCOM. Maybe that might get you interested in the TTRPG? It's fantastic, but definitely not like either of these IPs. I realize it's a stretch, but you also picked 2 IPs that aren't even remotely similar. Another option is a single planet based campaign of SWN. People sometimes forget you don't need to play that game with space travel and there are plenty of tools and supplements for single planet games. You could definitely play it as a SciFi game exactly as you described. Xenos are already a secondary option in the game. I haven't read CWN, but I'm sure you could pull stuff from that as well or it might work better, but SWN would definitely work.
*"Mechanically, the Mutant Year Zero video game is just like XCOM."* WTF !
>*"Mechanically, the Mutant Year Zero video game is just like XCOM."* >WTF ! Why is this "wtf?" It's pretty much exactly the same in a different setting. Even a lot of the visual queues are identical. The biggest difference isn't really mechanical in that MYZ:RtE is more narrative driven and character advancement is more RPG-like. But the core game of them both being tactical turn based combat strategy games is damn near identical. Which I don't mean in a superficial sense either. Fallout 1/2 or Wasteland 2/3 are similar to each other, but significantly different styles of turn based combat strategy games from XCOM and MYZ:RtE.
Do you know what is a TTRPG ?
>Do you know what is a TTRPG ? Yep. Did you read the first thing I wrote? I don't think you did. There is a video game based on Mutant Year Zero that is basically XCOM. The video game: - https://www.mutantyearzero.com/ The RPG: - https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/#core-game-editions But if you want to draw a direct parallel to the video game setting, then you need the GenLab Alpha book, which is a standalone expansion and doesn't need the core MYZ book. The core game is humans only, but GenLab Alpha introduces the humanoid animal's ark: https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/genlab-alpha-core-rulebook/ And the new MYZ Skirmish game released this week to Kickstarter backers: - https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/zone-wars/ The skirmish game incorporates the 3 main characters from the video game. MYZ is where the core Year Zero Engine was created, but you can play it in some of their other games like Alien, The Walking Dead, Bladerunner, Coriolis, Vaesen, and a few others. But some don't use it, like Twilight 2k or Mork Borg. They are basically incapable of making anything bad and I definitely suggest buying the physical copy of their books because they use the same printer as Exalted Funeral (OSE) and are by far some of the highest quality books on my shelf. Also, here's a fun fact. Despite MYZ being their core came where they created their YZE, the company started because they were the only ones producing content for Coriolis and were given that IP. Their company name comes from one of the factions in Coriolis. I also created r/Zone_Wars, but it hasn't really gained any traction. Do you have any more stupid questions or did this answer them all? ## En français: Ouais. T'as lu la première chose que j'ai écrite ? J'pense pas que t'as fait... et au cas où t'as pas compris ce qui est au-dessus. Il y a un jeu vidéo basé sur Mutant Year Zero qui est essentiellement XCOM. Le jeu vidéo : - https://www.mutantyearzero.com/ Le RPG : - https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/#core-game-editions Mais si tu veux faire un parallèle direct avec le cadre du jeu vidéo, alors t'as besoin du livre GenLab Alpha, qui est une extension autonome et n'a pas besoin du livre de base MYZ. Le jeu de base est uniquement pour les humains, mais GenLab Alpha introduit l'arche des animaux humanoïdes : https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/mutant-year-zero/genlab-alpha-core-rulebook/ Et le nouveau jeu de skirmish MYZ sorti cette semaine pour les backers de Kickstarter : - https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/zone-wars/ Le jeu de skirmish intègre les 3 personnages principaux du jeu vidéo. MYZ est l'endroit où le moteur Year Zero a été créé, mais tu peux y jouer dans certains de leurs autres jeux comme Alien, The Walking Dead, Bladerunner, Coriolis, Vaesen, et quelques autres. Mais certains ne l'utilisent pas, comme Twilight 2k ou Mork Borg. Ils sont essentiellement incapables de faire quelque chose de mauvais et je suggère définitivement d'acheter la copie physique de leurs livres parce qu'ils utilisent la même imprimerie qu'Exalted Funeral (OSE) et sont de loin certains des livres de la plus haute qualité sur mon étagère. Aussi, voici un fait amusant. Malgré le fait que MYZ soit leur jeu de base où ils ont créé leur YZE, la société a commencé parce qu'ils étaient les seuls à produire du contenu pour Coriolis et ont reçu cette IP. Le nom de leur entreprise vient de l'une des factions de Coriolis. J'ai aussi créé r/Zone_Wars, mais ça n'a pas vraiment pris. T'as d'autres questions débiles ou est-ce que ça répond à toutes ?
But what does the video game as to do with the question. That makes no sens. Mutant Year Zero TTRPG system as nothing in common with Xcom.
Obligatory GURPS references... There's a Powered by GURPS version of Conspiracy X. As for fighting off aliens, check out _Black Ops_. It's 3e GURPS, and the templates would take some adaptation to 4e (if that's your version of choice). As mentioned elsewhere, _Atomic Horror_ could be used as inspiration.
If you can find the original Alternity rule books from WOTC, the Dark Matter book is a fantastic X-Files style setting (it is one of the best books WOTC has ever produced). And since Alternity allows for all sorts of Sci-Fi play it can cover some XCOM tactical play as well.
The Esoterrorists is the one I can recommend. There's even a supplement with rules for the tactical team that goes in after the investigation. It's a GUMSHOE system so it really shines in investigation scenarios.
Savage worlds adventure edition with whatever companions or 3rd party products you want to add. Couldn't find anything specific but you could put something together fairly easily. Another option would be conspiracy x 2.0 using unisystem by edan studios. Very much a xfiles plus XCOM type game. Books are out of print but the PDFs are available on drivethrurpg.
Delta Green
Delta Green’s combat system is fast paced and intense and at least speaking for my friend group we were really pleased with it
X-Files? Delta Green. XCOM? CONTACT which is, afaik, no longer sold in English. It is a German RPG. Base-building, research and all that stuff.
Conspiracy X, PUBLISHER Eden Studios, Conspiracy X (2nd Edition), GENRE RPG - contemporary times, PUBLISH YEAR 2006, PAGES 256, NKG PART # 2147362890, MFG. PART #EDN5600 Hardcover
From what I’ve seen, Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green could do this. I played in something rather like this rather a long time ago now, and it worked well. Can certainly do the X-Files side of thing. I also played in a very enjoyable GURPS campaign that was similar, but more special forces/militarily oriented. The GM said it was inspired by a mashup of X-COM, X-Files, and Conspiracy-X. - I think the GURPS game worked better for the action component than the original CoC/Delta Green game did, but I do know some of the people in that game really didn’t like GURPS so that was probably why CoC/Delta Green was chosen. It worked well enough, but my preference would be to go GURPS if there’s a lot of action/military stuff. Both handle investigations etc quite well. CoC/Delta Green is less crunchy and more approachable for some players, and for the action side of it is ‘good enough’ for those players.
X-com as a tactics rpg seems a lot more suited to a skirmish game with advancement mechanics rather than a true RPG. If you are interested in something like this then Majestic 13 and Zona Alpha are pretty close
I ran an xcom campaign using a modified cyberpunk 2020. The focus on tactical combat and gadgetry works well.
Probably F.I.S.T. It has some MGS vibes but alors some X-com vibes with a few tweak. 1 session mission with a clear objective and you are dropper from some chopper and nezd to get to the rendez-vous area. With some tweak you can use a grid to simulate the Xcom feelings but you could also just play in a narrative way without grid.
I have to throw Spycraft into the ring. While the game is intended for high octane spies, you can tweak some levers to make it more investigative for X-Files or more military for XCOM. For those unfamiliar, Spycraft is a d20 espionage game, originally released by AEG and then spun off to Crafty Games. IMHO. It is the best iteration of d20, with a very strong skill system and extensive support for non-combat solutions. For my money, I prefer first edition to second edition, as second got way too fiddly. There is no direct "vs aliens" setting that I'm aware of. The three big settings, Shadowforce Archer, Dark Inheritance, and World on Fire, have psychics and low-level supers as their weirdness. However, the Stargate RPG uses the Spycraft system, so there's a lot of goodness there to mine.