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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andor" data-source="post: 6427338" data-attributes="member: 1879">Those are some very interesting thoughts. The first is one I had not thought of, but you're right. OTOH that applies to the routine X-Com battle. In an RPG there are so many more possibilities. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Vingette scenes where you play a bunch of campers/townies/researches dealing with an alien abduction or assault. Survivors may be recruited. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Actual interactions with the Aliens.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skill challenges like bomb defusing, or dealing with panicked civilians or aiding local military forces in containing a chryssalid infestation.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hotwireing a vehicle so you can introduce a muton to Mr Big Red Truck.</li> </ul>I dunno about two. I kind of like the richer character options of the newer X-Com:EU/EW games. Have you tried the Long War mod? It's amazing.As for the third, the aliens are pretty terrifying, playing X-com for laughs would be weird. Granted Sectoids are kind of a joke in EU/EW but in the earlier games that extended night-vision they had was enough to make them terrifying, as green bolts of death just came at you out of the darkness.I think the proper way to do it it to assign each player a role as a department head. Engineering and Research are the obvious big ones, but there is also room for roles like Intelligence, Diplomacy, Public Affairs, Logistics, Training, Military/Corporate Liaisons, etc. I think the answer to two will depend on the alien motivation and resources. As you say the strategic game can be mostly lifted but I think you're right that the EU/EW economic model is dumb. I think a lot could be done to improve that, and in doing so give some weight to those alternate department heads like diplomacy and corporate liaison.Oh yes. In fact I'm kind of itching to write that chapter. So many juicy possibilities. I think the key thing is that the Aliens actions have to make sense, but only from the aliens perspective. I agree that the franchise has always been weak on the aliens motivations, to the point of ignoring them in the earlier games. EU/EW tried, but it didn't try very hard. I plan to write up a whole list of possible motivations with notes about how each one will effect the aliens strategy and progress.As I said, troupe style play would be the way to do it IMO. You would have a roster of troops and when the ball goes up each player chooses one or a few and you load up the skyranger and go.A simple system would be best in some ways, but you don't want to over do it. I might try making an E6 version of 5e and then rejiggering the classes and feats for the setting. However I think  I'll just leave the tactical level for last and worry about the strategic layer first.</blockquote>

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