XCOM - The Beginning

Characters

• Mathias Friedrichs, veteran soldier (played by Tiefling Sage)
• Rev. Sandra Kisi MacDougall, priest (played by neutrondecay)
• Theodore Reyes, cybercrimes detective (played by Sylbrarian)
• Kate Reeves, criminal troublemaker (played by coelocanth)
• Chae Seon "Jason" Im, med student (played by coelocanth)
• Officer Gerard "Gerry" Hadley, beat cop (played by Mr. Kent)
• Dr. Grace Garcia, biology professor (played by Mr. Kent)

Character Creation

Backgrounds

• Jack of All Backgrounds - Pick any Four Skills
• Civilian - Culture/Any, Profession/Any, Steward, Any (1)
• Politician - Culture/Any, Leadership, Persuade, Steward
• Priest - Culture/Religion, Leadership, Persuade, Religion
• Researcher - Culture/Any, Perception, Science, Tech/Any
• Scholar - Culture/Any, History, Instructor, Science
• Soldier - Combat/Projectile, Combat/Unarmed, Culture/Any, Tactics
• Technician - Computer, Culture/Any, Tech/any (2)
• Worker - Culture/Any, Profession/Any, Vehicle/Any, Any one skill
• Military Heritage - History, Tactics, Culture/Any, Combat/Primitive or Unarmed

Training Packages

• Archaeologist - Combat/Any, Culture/Any, History, Language, Perception, Science, Tech/Any, Vehicle/Any
• Army - Athletics, Combat/Projectile, Combat/Unarmed, Combat/Any, Leadership, Tactics, Vehicle/Any, Any (1)
• Assassin - Athletics, Combat/Any (2), Culture/Criminal, Security, Stealth, Tactics, Any (1)
• Bounty Hunter - Combat/Any, Culture/Any, Navigation, Persuade, Stealth, Survival, Tactics, Vehicle/Any
• Criminal - Business, Combat/Primitive , Culture/Criminal, Gambling, Perception, Persuade, Security, Stealth
• Pilot (Military) - Combat/Gunnery, Culture/Any, Navigation, Perception, Survival, Tech Aeronautics, Vehicle/Air
• Scientist - Bureaucracy, Culture/Any, Perception, Science, Tech/Mechanical, Tech/Any, Vehicle/Any, Any (1)
• Special Forces - Athletics, Culture/Any, Combat/Any (3), Stealth, Survival, Tactics
• Law Enforcement - Athletics, Bureaucracy, Culture/Any, Combat/Any (2), Perception, Persuasion, Tactics or Security

Skill Changes

• Culture - Continents - Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Central/South America, Russia, Middle East, Mediterranean, Criminal, Religion (choose one)
• Combat - all except Energy and Psitech
• Exosuit - Not allowed
• Tech
  • Aeronautics - ability to work on all types of aircraft
  • Mechanical - the catch all. Mechanical and electronic technology including almost all of the technology in use in modern society
  • Medical - per book
• Vehicle - Air, Land, and Water only

Weapons

• Civilian Weapons - Legal in most areas.
• Military Grade Weapon - Illegal without a license or part of the military/law enforcement. Military grade are any weapons with burst or that require Gunnery Skill to use. Also includes any weapon systems that uses an explosives (grenades). Civilian versions of these weapons (except gunnery weapons and explosives) are available. They cost the same but the "burst" capability has been removed.

Agency

Turn orders

Each agency turn, each NPC organization is allowed to take one action, while the PC agency is allowed to take two actions. The player agency always goes first, and the GM might choose to end the session after the players have acted, in order to have more time between sessions to consider likely rival responses. The players should discuss their actions, but the final decision is made by a single player. Rotate this player through the group as each action is taken, allowing each to have their own final say in turn.

• Attack: Make a Resources, Mobility, Muscle, or Connections strike against an enemy element, indicating an overt push to neutralize the rival’s resources. The target may choose to defend either with the attribute of the attacked element or with half of their Security score, rounded down. The target may choose to spend its upcoming actions to Block the attack, or they may just trust to their existing defenses. On a successful attack, the element is Compromised, but the target is aware that it has been Compromised. The agency must know that the element exists before it can be struck, usually requiring a Scout Element action beforehand to learn its details. Attacks can only be launched if the target element is on a planet with an agency Station, or within reach of an agency Transport element.

• Block: An agency can sacrifice its upcoming action to Block incoming Attack actions. Once this action is sacrificed, an unlimited number of Blocks can be made against different Attacks that turn as the agency has bunkered down into a defensive posture. An agency that Blocks forces the attacker to take a penalty to their attack roll equal to half the agency’s Security score, rounded down. Agencies can declare Blocks at the start of the turn, outside of the order of play. If the PC agency Blocks, it still has one action left for performing other activities. Blocking does not defend against Sabotage,Discern Plans, or other offensive actions.

• Build Element: The agency creates or improves an element. Only one Build Element action can be taken each turn, regardless of how many actions are available. Each attempt to create or boost an element requires 1 turn of effort per level of the new element, with a Build Element action being taken each turn. Any interruption forces a restart of the process. Once a sufficient amount of time has been spent building the element, the agency then rolls its relevant attribute versus 11, 15, or 19 depending on the level being built. On a failure, the process must begin again from the start. On a success, the new element is now available and usable by PCs. Elements may be attacked or sabotaged while they are being built or improved. If the attack or sabotage is successful, the build process must start over and any existing level of the element is Compromised.

• Discern Plans: The agency selects a rival organization and makes an Infiltration attack against it, opposed by the rival’s Security score. On a success, they are informed of the actions the rival takes the next time its turn comes up, grants a free Block against that agency’s Attacks next turn, and causes their Sabotage attempts to automatically fail. If the check is failed, no benefit is gained.

• Internal Sweep: After taking this action, the agency becomes aware of one element that has been Sabotaged by a rival, assuming any such exist in the organization. Repeated use of this action reveals additional sabotaged elements.

• Plant Station: The agency attempts to place a station on some distant world or remote outpost. With an agency station in place, the PCs have access to all plausible agency resources while in that location or solar system, including money, equipment, vehicle access, criminal ties, and whatever else might be reasonably dispensed through a planetary station. Even Legitimacy might carry over if the agency has excellent relations with the host planet and the station’s presence is known. To plant the station secretly, at least a level 2 Transport element is necessary to smuggle in the requisite resources and personnel. If the agency is willing for the station to be publicly known and the target world’s government does not object, it can use commercial services. If the target world or location is so remote that there is no commercial transportation available to it and no Transport element is available, the PCs are going to have to take up a mission to blaze a trail there before the station can be constructed. Constructing a level 1 station requires three turns of work, each turn requiring the expenditure of one Plant Station action. Only one station can be planted at a time. At the end of the work, if the incipient station has not been successfully Sabotaged or Attacked, the world gains a level 1 Station. Note that only the highest-leveled Station possessed by an agency counts toward its Mobility score.

• Reform Element: The agency works to pull together an element that has been Compromised by an attack or by sabotage. The agency rolls the attribute associated with the element against 11 for a level 1 element, 15 for a level 2 element, or 19 for a level 3 element. On a success, the element is no longer Compromised.

• Sabotage: Make a Connections, Infiltration, or Tech check against an enemy element, at a -4 penalty to the roll. The target defends with the higher of the attribute of the attacked element or with half of their Security attribute, rounded down. If successful, the attacker Compromises it. The target is not aware that their element has been compromised until they make a roll that involves its attribute or the PCs attempt to make use of its benefits. The Internal Sweep action can also detect sabotaged elements. The agency must know that the element exists before it can be struck, usually requiring a Scout Element action beforehand to learn its details. Sabotage requires the same Station or Transport access to the target that is required by a more direct attack.

• Scout Element: The agency scouts a rival for the presence of a specific element, making an Infiltration check opposed by the enemy's Security attribute. If the check is successful, they learn whether or not the rival has an element of that kind and if so, what level it is and what location it occupies. On a failure, nothing is learned.

Parts of an Agency

Agencies are composed of elements. An element is a particular kind of resource, connection, or governmental blessing that the agency finds useful in carrying out its mission. An element might be "Legitimacy", which allows an agent to ignore certain laws in pursuit of his quarry, or it might be "Transport", which gives an agent access to smugglers and trafficking rings that can get her to a distant world without alerting the locals of her arrival. All of these elements have their own benefits to PC agents. Elements come at three different levels, measured from one to three. A level one element provides a modest benefit or small advantage level one Legitimacy, for instance, allows the agent the privileges of a local security officer. At level three, the advantage is very great, with level three Legitimacy giving operatives of the agency the license to act without fear of any power short of the agency itself. Aside from elements, agencies also have attributes. There are seven attributes: Connections, Infiltration, Mobility, Muscle, Resources, Security, and Tech. Attributes are measured on a scale of zero, indicating that the agency has no aptitude whatsoever in that field, up to fifteen or higher, meaning that the agency is remarkably gifted in that regard. Attribute scores are determined by adding up the bonuses that each element gives to a particular attribute.

• Connections refer to the agency's links with outside powers, be they governmental officials or gang bosses. A low Connections attribute suggests that the agency is isolated. Perhaps it's not an official government agency at all, but instead a private investigation company or freelance troubleshooter organization. They may be a formal part of the state security apparatus but have a drastic lack of human intelligence on the ground. High Connections suggests that the agency knows everybody of importance and probably has dirt on them as well.

• Infiltration shows the agency's talent at poking its nose where it’s not wanted. Insinuating agents into enemy agencies, placing operatives inside government offices and street gangs, or simply managing to get people into an ultramax asteroid prison or past a panopticon sensor array all relate to the agency's talent for Infiltration. Agencies with a low attribute here simply aren't very good at getting their people inside.

• Mobility relates to the reach and speed of agency responses. Agencies with poor Mobility have a hard time getting to the action and struggle to place their agents in distant locations or get them there in time to make a difference. Some might even be forced to fly commercial, with all the difficulties related in getting illicit hardware past the customs agents of a hostile world. High Mobility is usually the result of agency-owned vehicles and starships, and extensive connections with the smuggling and mercantile community that serves a world.

• Muscle is a measure of the sheer physical violence available to the agency. While any government agency can theoretically hand off their findings to the civilian police or try to convince the military to get involved in a situation, there's no substitute for having their own supply of assassins and legbreakers. While these men and women are usually not trained to work alongside PC operatives, they can pin down enemy agents or provide deniable deaths to troublesome people.

• Resources reflects the raw financial and material support available to an agency. An agency might have a proud and storied history and vast reserves of legitimacy among the populace, but if it's established on an impoverished world, it might simply be unable to get its operatives all the hardware and financial support they might want for their missions. Even the poorest agencies can usually manage to cover their agents' minimal necessities, but pretech artifacts, powered armor, and disposable gravcars for decoys don't come cheap.

• Security is a measure of the agency's resistance to outside infiltration and interference. Security is rarely a popular branch among agents, with their constant checks and surveillance for infiltrators, but they are a vital resource when dueling with rival agencies. A high level of agency security makes it much more difficult for enemies to launch a successful intrigue against the organization.

• Tech is the attribute that indicates the availability of sophisticated science and advanced hardware for the agency. An organization strong in Resources can afford to buy the best on the market, but an agency with well-developed Tech can make things that simply cannot be found for sale. A low Tech attribute implies that the agency is reliant on the existing scientific resources of their homeworld, and can't easily reverse-engineer more exotic devices.

Elements

• Armory Most agencies of any size have at least some reserves of weaponry, body armor, and gear relevant to their duties. An armory element allows the agency to assign its members a wide range of equipment. This equipment is not the agent’s personal property. He is expected to turn it in between missions, though sidearms and other standard issue gear may be on standing loan, and loss or breakage of the gear is apt to bring scolding. Outright sale of it had best be justified by extreme and exigent need, or else a lengthy discussion about proper equipment handling will be the least of the agent’s concerns.
  • Tier 1 - Armory each player is issued a civilian longarm and a sidearm. (+1 Resources)
  • Tier 2 - Armory each player is issued a military grade longarm and a sidearm. May also be issued explosives and/or heavy weapons. (+3 Resources)
  • Tier 3 - Armory each player is issued an advanced tech or alien tech longarm and sidearm, if available. (+5 Resources)

• Contractors Any agency has access to private contractors. Agencies with private contractors have a force of mercenary soldiers directly under their control. While launching them against foreign worlds or directly engaging rival powers is out of the question, they can provide vital muscle for guarding safe houses, protecting important people, and hitting targets that lack the political protection of a recognized power. These private contractors are usually military in nature, but can be any profession that the agency needs. Each tier allows for the support of a certain amount of people. All their needs will be covered from month to month
  • Tier 1 - Agency is allowed a 5 man squad of contractors armed with weapons equal to the agencies Armory (+1 Muscle)
  • Tier 2 - Agency is allowed a three 5 man squads of contractors armed with weapons equal to the agencies Armory (+3 Muscle)
  • Tier 3 - Agency is allowed a five 5 man squads of contractors armed with weapons equal to the agencies Armory (+5 Muscle)