Gradine
🏳️⚧️ (she/her) 🇵🇸
That is the one thing missing and the reason I didn't suggest it myself. It is in all other ways a really good fit, and it might be worthwhile mining for its downtime rules, if nothing else
Which "Tactical" TTRPG Would Work Best As An X-Com Like?
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
Ahzad
Explorer
For something like this I would go with an older game that came out during the D20 era of the early 2000's and that would be Crafty Game's Classic Spycraft or Spycraft 2.0 both would do what you are looking for easily. You can find the entire product line on DriveThruRpg pretty cheap.
My group is currently trying out classic Spycraft right now, but they want to try out Spycraft 2.0 as well doing something like a GI Joe/Ghost Recon Wildlands type of game in the near future. I had intended going with something with a much lighter ruleset for the modern game that was up on the docket, and had some great choices in another thread, but the group ended up voting for this crunchy tactical game. I was surprised by their choice I was sure that this wouldn't be their cup of tea. I loved the Spycraft games back in the day. It was one of my favorite rulesets that came out back then.
My group is currently trying out classic Spycraft right now, but they want to try out Spycraft 2.0 as well doing something like a GI Joe/Ghost Recon Wildlands type of game in the near future. I had intended going with something with a much lighter ruleset for the modern game that was up on the docket, and had some great choices in another thread, but the group ended up voting for this crunchy tactical game. I was surprised by their choice I was sure that this wouldn't be their cup of tea. I loved the Spycraft games back in the day. It was one of my favorite rulesets that came out back then.
aramis erak
Legend
Seconding Phoenix Command... All the reasons given by Snarf are quite true.
Aliens Adventure Game (Leading Edge, out of print) is a better rendition of the engine, with slightly lower fidelity, but much faster playtime.
I'll point out Hero System as a very solid universal engine with strong tactical play. It also can be simple to upgrade gear... let the signature gear be built as character point stuff, while the issue is cash value (points for ballance purposes, perhaps) The narrative factors are in character gen, as is most of the complexity - a hallmark of many of the games of it's starting era. It can handle far more granularity than Savage Worlds,
Twilight 2000 4e can readily be played highly tactically, but the X-com type combat will need Urban Operations as well as core.
Twilight 2000 2.x and Dark Conspiracy: these two are the same game engine, but with different careers and equiment. Aliens are right up the setting of Dark Conspiracy. The GDW pdfs are on Drive Thru, and the CDs/thumb drives from FarFuture.net. (If you want thumb drive, you need to mention that in the order.) Likewise, Traveller: The New Era is the same system, mostly, but isn't quite the same. Uses 2m gridded combat by default, phased actions, and more "modern" weapons than you should need... they're current to about 1990.
GURPS While I dislike it, it's well suited, but the combats are unrealistically fast, and generally, it doesn't reward tactical play as strongly as Hero or AAG.
Aliens Adventure Game (Leading Edge, out of print) is a better rendition of the engine, with slightly lower fidelity, but much faster playtime.
I'll point out Hero System as a very solid universal engine with strong tactical play. It also can be simple to upgrade gear... let the signature gear be built as character point stuff, while the issue is cash value (points for ballance purposes, perhaps) The narrative factors are in character gen, as is most of the complexity - a hallmark of many of the games of it's starting era. It can handle far more granularity than Savage Worlds,
Twilight 2000 4e can readily be played highly tactically, but the X-com type combat will need Urban Operations as well as core.
Twilight 2000 2.x and Dark Conspiracy: these two are the same game engine, but with different careers and equiment. Aliens are right up the setting of Dark Conspiracy. The GDW pdfs are on Drive Thru, and the CDs/thumb drives from FarFuture.net. (If you want thumb drive, you need to mention that in the order.) Likewise, Traveller: The New Era is the same system, mostly, but isn't quite the same. Uses 2m gridded combat by default, phased actions, and more "modern" weapons than you should need... they're current to about 1990.
GURPS While I dislike it, it's well suited, but the combats are unrealistically fast, and generally, it doesn't reward tactical play as strongly as Hero or AAG.
Joshua Randall
Legend
Honestly? 4eD&D. Both XCOM EU/EW and XCOM2 combat feel very much like 4e combat. You could map many of the XCOM abilities directly to encounter or daily powers.
Reynard
aka Ian Eller
I did not play 4E a ton. Does it have systems that would map easily to the whole R&D and basebuilding aspects?
Campbell
Relaxed Intensity
Draw Steel does. Very detailed project rules and you get followers as you get reputation to help with projects. Pretty easy to make that get attached R&D support as you earn recognition in the company.
Jacob Lewis
Ye Olde GM
I wasn’t going to get involved here because I didn’t want to interrupt anyone else’s fun, but this topic is too appealing for me to pass by. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’m a huge fan of XCOM, having bought it for myself about a year ago, and I’m now on my 54th campaign of War of the Chosen in Ironman mode. It’s still my favorite go-to game because it’s satisfying, deceptively simple, yet complex and random enough that it never gets old.
Naturally, I’ve often wondered how to bring that experience to the table. Could I design something playable by more than one person with the same sense of tension and satisfaction? Could I make something similar for a fantasy setting?
For me, the process doesn’t begin with “which existing system works best.” XCOM isn’t built on complex mechanics or sprawling character options. More importantly, it maintains a singular campaign theme with a single win/loss condition: succeed or fail. There are many paths to victory, and just enough variation to make each playthrough different without being unrecognizable.
If I were approaching this, I’d see two viable paths. The first is treating it more like a boardgame than an RPG. XCOM doesn’t need elaborate combat subsystems or deep character builds. Its key ingredient is that soldiers are expendable and not narratively central. That’s the big difference between party-based and squad-based play. Most tactical RPGs have far more rules and features than needed here—you’d be better off borrowing the simplest mechanics or writing your own.
The other option is to insert more XCOM into an existing ruleset. You’d create a structure that supports the actual game loop: tactical missions, simple progression, base upgrades, finite arms and armor, layered resource management, random perks/events, and an overarching storyline. In that case, the work isn’t adding complexity but stripping the rules down to their most core elements so they emulate what makes XCOM tick.
In the end, I think the question isn’t which published RPG can be bent into the shape of XCOM, but how much of XCOM’s DNA you want to bring to the table in the first place. My own thoughts lean more toward building something original, or at least carving down an existing system until it’s light enough to let the core loop breathe. That’s probably a bigger conversation than what this thread is aiming for, though—so I’ll leave it there.
Naturally, I’ve often wondered how to bring that experience to the table. Could I design something playable by more than one person with the same sense of tension and satisfaction? Could I make something similar for a fantasy setting?
For me, the process doesn’t begin with “which existing system works best.” XCOM isn’t built on complex mechanics or sprawling character options. More importantly, it maintains a singular campaign theme with a single win/loss condition: succeed or fail. There are many paths to victory, and just enough variation to make each playthrough different without being unrecognizable.
If I were approaching this, I’d see two viable paths. The first is treating it more like a boardgame than an RPG. XCOM doesn’t need elaborate combat subsystems or deep character builds. Its key ingredient is that soldiers are expendable and not narratively central. That’s the big difference between party-based and squad-based play. Most tactical RPGs have far more rules and features than needed here—you’d be better off borrowing the simplest mechanics or writing your own.
The other option is to insert more XCOM into an existing ruleset. You’d create a structure that supports the actual game loop: tactical missions, simple progression, base upgrades, finite arms and armor, layered resource management, random perks/events, and an overarching storyline. In that case, the work isn’t adding complexity but stripping the rules down to their most core elements so they emulate what makes XCOM tick.
In the end, I think the question isn’t which published RPG can be bent into the shape of XCOM, but how much of XCOM’s DNA you want to bring to the table in the first place. My own thoughts lean more toward building something original, or at least carving down an existing system until it’s light enough to let the core loop breathe. That’s probably a bigger conversation than what this thread is aiming for, though—so I’ll leave it there.
hawkeyefan
Legend
It has no grid based rules, but it has everything else X-Com has that you mentioned, so I figured it was worth bringing up.
Not that I think it’s needed to get what you want, but I think you could likely add gridded combat pretty easily if you wanted.
zarionofarabel
Hero
You could use it for all the TTRPG elements except for combat, then find a minis combat game that emulates X-Com style engagements, and just switch between the two systems as needed.
Reynard
aka Ian Eller
Except it is literally a major element of what I want.
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