XcomFiles RPG Campaign (Using Dark Heresy 2nd Edition ruleset)

[Blood Raven 117]

   Hello everyone! I hope that this thread will not be in vain, but I feel that it would be entertaining for others, and perhaps useful as well, to share my campaign and player's progress in an XComFiles Styled Dark Heresy campaign.

   About a year ago I discovered XComFiles, an already avid player of Xpirates I was eager for a new an interesting challenge. I was not disappointed. Since that first game where I admittedly got to promotion II then got myself creamed by Sectoids, I was remined of an old game I tried to run. An Xcom Game using the Contact Tactical Alien Defense Role Playing Game.

   A little spoiler, Contact's ruleset is absolutely terrible and suffers from failure to properly translate from German. Sadly enough it took only one session between me and my players to realize that the system was at its center, unusable. Fortunately for the system it had a lot of good ideas, from world building to little subsystems like its fully usable Base Building, research, engineering mechanics, rules for dogs, AI, and even playable aliens! These things I kept.

   I then made efforts to convert the Dark Heresy 2E ruleset to an Xcom flavored setting. Dark heresy for those unaware is the inquisitor gamebook for Fantasy Flight Game's Warhammer 40k run of RPGs, using a d100 system set in the dark future of the 41st millennium.

   This conversion took a while as I had to build the weapons, the equipment, and item lists from scratch, translate the character generation to something that was in lore, and using crude methods of extraction, copy the UFOpedia from XcomFiles as best I could to cobble together encounters using entirely home brewed encounters (Until I discovered the wiki for Xcomfiles and felt really dumb). I took inspiration from the video game Mercenaries and have made a ranked hierarchy of officers for a faction for my party to fight against, or deal with as they see fight in the name of Omega and Earth.

   I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish with this thread, maybe I want suggestions, validation, or to be told its not worth my time and to leave you all alone. But perhaps its to have an audience outside of my gaming group of friends, and to share my homebrew resources with other enthusiast of tabletop gaming. If anyone has any request to see my work to use in their own campaigns, have questions, or perhaps just to tell me how much I suck at game mastering (Which by the way, I suck at a lot) feel free. I'll be happy to discuss and learn from others.

   Without further ado, This is Season 1, the prologue.

"Omega was formed in 1982 in response to a drastic uptick in cult activity, villages disappeared, politicians were assassinated, a 1,000% increase in strange creature sightings, and over a hundred confirmed UFO sightings. 

Omega's roots are in the OSS, on the Eastern front with intelligence sharing between Russia and America, including the deployment of a division of commandos. With their assistance, several vital, but downplayed engagements went splendidly for the Russians, resulting in an estimated million lives saved for the Russian war machine.

Since that day, a small but strong link has been forged between the east and west where vital but secret information was shared for everyone's betterment. One of those subjects was the supernatural and unexplained. In an atmosphere where a mistimed rocket launch could spell doom for earth, knowing when even the other side didn't know about an object could bring a deep sigh of relief.

Now, however, they take supernatural and cold cases, secretive even to the UN, answerable only to the security council and immediate circles. They have gained great political power after their warnings that disastrous political upheaval will strike the Soviet Union. Their words were prophetic, and as the smoke settles, the situation grows more grim.

You are a fresh recruit, taken in during a great influx of personnel to the rapidly growing organization."

 

[Blood Raven 117]

  As of the start of this campaign it is the 3rd of February 1993, Great Britain.

The introductory mission is set in a secret research facility with ties to Omega. While I had my players make their own characters, I wanted to give them a taste of power, and danger, using multiple different playstyles, skills, and weapons to give them an idea of what you can do and make. So I made 4 "veteran agents" to play as for the duration of this prologue mission.

Background information:

Data information:

The base was developing a high level AI using something called an Alenium shard. Its job would be to control a drone platform and fight alongside human soldiers as a relatively expendable combatant.

Development started on police bomb defusal and breaching units, but Anama Dennings had something better in mind. Having served with many units throughout his lifetime he was trying to develop practical prosthetics and mechanical aids for those wounded in battle. Gaining wind of the project he offered his services and within a week had drawn up a blueprint for an augmetic arm that would interface with the human body.

Due to the complexity of its programming an outsider, Julia Rotenye was brought on board. Rotenye was a leading expert in complex mathematical variables and had released a paper detailing how the human mind could interface with machines through an interface.

Together the two made a new side project to the main mission of the base. They realized that they could make a man shaped mechanical analogue for the AI core to pilot, and if they could do that then they could allow unheard of cybernetic modification to the human body.

It was then that Omega took command and the staff were apprised of the threat facing earth, and even met a few survivors who had become bed ridden due to their injuries. With a new purpose they set out to develop cybernetics and a human analogue to send alongside their agents.

Primary data packets

1: The Alenium shard itself
2: Prosthetic and cybernetic prototypes and data
3: Primary programming for machine and biological interface.

Most of this is stored inside the “Cube” a massive two by two foot server that holds all the relevant information as a backup. But denying the enemy all the assets, especially the Alenium Shard is important.

---

Characters for this starting adventure

   Gabbro Garibaldi (His picture for the game on roll20 is Max Payne in Max Payne 1. he is played by L4oftheWest, claled L4 from now on): A French Foreign Legion veteran of five tours all around the world he then joined Interpol's Response Team as a lieutenant specialized in firearms. Gabbro ("Ga-Brow") is a troubled killer who has nearly seen it all. He was picked up by Omega after his entire response team was wiped out by an alien incursion in '89 at Saudi Arabia. The only survivor, his already existent alcoholism and drug abuse was compounded. He has outlived five Omega investigation teams who have either died or been too terribly wounded to continue their duties.

   He has been assigned as security for Cyber Dynamics' Omega joint project. The only things he knows is that he's to play babysitter and make sure no one starts talking about their work outside of these walls. This coding and computer stuff is way beyond him. Killing goons though? That's his field of expertise.

Notable skills: Acrobatics, athletics, Sleight of hand.

---

   Carol Wright (Her picture is a slight auburn haired woman with a pendent, played by my friend Necro Raven, referred to as Necro from here on in), 31, Female, detective for Scotland yard for three years before being delivered an offer she could never refuse. She joined the UN Paranormal investigation unit in '90 as a field agent, before folding into the secretive Omega unit.

   Why was this offer impossible to refuse? You dream, you dream things that are to be, you dream things that are thought impossible. You've made a killing in the stock market at least, but your minds eye is focused on one thing: Your death, and how to avoid it.

   Your clock ticks close to midnight.... You're called to the office, Omega is jumpy, and so are you.

Notable Skills: interrogation, Psynisicence

---

   Julia Rotenye (Stereotypical punk, played by me for this opening session as the original player couldn't make it), hacker, computer expert, conscript in Omega's little war. You don't care, you want to get your fingers above things you'd never even dreamed of experiencing, seeing alien code with your own eyes, and get paid an embarrassing amount of cash doing it as well.

   Course you haven't exactly gotten that yet, as an agent for Omega you've been stuck in this stuffy British office building in the middle of no where writing code. At least Anama's little drone project is cool.

Notable skills: Logic, Stealth, computers, electronics

---

   Anama Dennings (Pictured is an older man in a hard hat, played by my old friend SomeEmoKid, named Smoke from here on out), 42, Male, member of the Royal Corp of Engineers for her majesty's army. Brought into this project due to his own interests in robotics, and robotic fighting machines. To Anama, today is different, the last finishing touches on your baby is complete.

   Course now you got a couple of government agents snooping around, one more than before, but fuck it, one is dumb as rocks, and the other is quiet as a mouse.

   But what you're working on? Well, it will change the world just as surely as aliens invading will. If only Doctors Jacque and Kipling will see.

Notable Skills: Command, Security, and electronics.

[Blood Raven 117]

   The game begins with the four agents in their offices on the base. Carol and Gabbro were woken up by telephone and told to be aware of any mishaps for the night. Julia and Anama are working late finishing up the last touches of their recent breakthroughs.

   I give my players about five minutes to read their character profiles and appraise themselves on their skills and traits. I made sure to not give much indication on how to roleplay these characters, preferring to give them freedom to act as they see fit and to see how they would play these people I just handed them. I'm not disappointed as L4 proceeds to get into a bickering argument with Carol wright across the hall from his office as he starts drinking whiskey.

   Once I felt my players had gotten used to their characters, I as Julia get out of her office and ask Anama if he lost internet and server access as well. Smoke had elected to ask me information on his project and I provided him some documents to read. When his character tried to access new documentation he couldn't access it. I then asked for a perception or awareness check, as no one had awareness trained, perception became the defacto. Everyone but Anama failed. Smoke had rolled a natural 1 in 100, a critical success.

   Gunfire and explosion were raging throughout the facility. The facility is shaped like a horseshoe, with the offices on one end and the top secret labs at the exact opposite end. Anama detected from the slight tremors in the office, an office that was closer to a concrete box, that somewhere in the facility was probably rammed open by a heavy duty truck of some kind as had happened to his own posting a decade or so ago. The gunfire served to show the place was under attack.

   He tells Julia to start enacting the fail safe program IE start burning confidential documents and destroy the hard drives to their computers. Julia, in shock (As she is the only civilian in the party) watches in amazement as Anama pulls out his PC tower from his desk, rips open the siding, removes his harddrive, pockets it, then starts using the computer as a bin to start burning secret documents from his filing cabinets. His immediate thought is the IRA is attacking the facility.

   It takes a few minutes for Gabbro and Carol to realize what is going on and investigate, to which Gabbro proceeds to call security to see what's up. Security had already been overtaken by their attackers, and so an Osiron Commando picks up the phone and starts impersonating a guard, telling them nothing is wrong. Gabbro sees through this, and the Commando realizing he is had, starts laughing and insulting him, then shooting a injured security guard. L4 swears that he will kill the intruder as soon as he finishes his mission

   Anama has to use a command test on Julia to get her to snap to action, he succeeds and she begins to also start destroying her documents. Carol is confused, and L4 has Gabbro of all people produce a bag of weed and start to smoke it and drink after destroying his documents. After hijinks ensue as they trash this office space, they embark out into the facility.

   They get to a hallway between the living quarters and storage when the first party disagreement starts. Anama wants to secure his research and personal projects in storage, Gabbro wishes to complete his mission by getting to the top secret labs. I as Julia advise the party is going in blind and should take security to arm up and get intelligence. This viewpoint is agreed upon as everyone only has handguns.

   A quick firefight in the security room against 3 osiron commandos occurs, as they get the drop on them by avoiding the cameras of the base and killing all three in one turn by a lucky combination of a headshot, a "Righteous fury" (critical hit) on another's chest, and the last one being shot in the legs so badly he died near instantly.

   The most humorous incident here is my usage of Julia, the hacker, as she has never seen real dead bodies before, she is appalled by the carnage inside and proceeds to back out of the room and dry heave. Anama tries to make several command test and failed until the third try, by which point Julia has emptied the contents of her stomach and had a mini panic attack. The security locker are mostly bare, with only two shotguns, and two uzis with limited ammo. Julia navigates the carnage to access the security cameras. At least those that aren't covered in blood and guts. She identifies that there are roughly a hundred intruders, with helicopter support and a ferret armored car, which in retrospect is fucking hilarious cause its the armored car model used by XcomFiles and I pulled the model out of my ass purely from "My little armalite" IRA song.
 
   Anyways Julia unlocks the panic rooms, and secures her hacking laptop from a security bin to keep accessing the cameras. Julia secures some of the video tape footage and has Carol hide the tape under the body of the man with Shepard's pie for guts.

   Anama now has a shotgun, Carol keeps her Kludge revolver, Julia takes one of the enemies SMGs, and Gabbro takes both Uzis to use them akimbo.

   Next is the Storage room. The first real fight of the campaign, they unfortunately don't get a successful sneak up on the enemy as Anama suffers an accidental discharge from his new shotgun. A brutal gunfight ensues as L4 uses gabbros abilities further than I expected, proceeding to kill several in the gunfight in the same turn. They take damage but they use the enemies medical injectors I gave them to regenerate some health. I realize now I probably needed to beef up these encounters. oops. They find a Medical kit and diagnostor (three uses), a full set of riot armor, two of their office compatriots hiding in a crate, and Anama finds his prized bomb defusal drone with door breacher shotgun that counts as a bolter, and under it in a secret compartment, the Alenium shard. His baby.

   Next is the Barracks. A more damaging fight, first to shoot is typically the first to kill. Carol is almost killed by a shotgun blast from point blank range, when a surviving commando hides on a bed and successfully makes a stealth test. Carol takes a lot of damage but survives as the last foe is killed. They find three compatriots hiding at the end of this barracks wing, and are told to escape to the panic rooms.

   They skip liberating the refectory and the bulk of people there and instead focus on their primary goal, and arrive in the lobby. This ends the first session as it is monday and many people have work the next early morning.

   Also holy shit I almost lost this entire post because the forum wanted me to relog in. Talk about dodging a fucking bullet.

[Solarius Scorch]

Sounds pretty fun. I wish I could join this game!

Enjoy!

[Blood Raven 117]

Sorry for the *looks at watch* three week delay folks, work and other life stuff contributed to laziness. And Rimworld. Without further ado to the last session, session 2, the boogaloo.

If you're interested solaris, I can share my documents with you after the completion of the campaign, if you know someone who likes running campaigns.

We resume where we left off, entering the lobby. Here we see the introduction of another player, BlancoSquave, or Blake in this case, playing Sergeant Otto,a  stereotypical British security guard who only wants to go home and watch the Spain and Morocco game. He lost most of his squad outside when that armored car came up and started blasting, then had to flee the lobby when an armored truck came in and rammed the security shutters.

So we come to the main party as they enter the lobby refectory/plaza for the cleaning closet and bathrooms. A safe room for the party to get its bearings in the new map and prepare. Also to find our Sergeant Otto and two others hiding in the cleaning closet.

After introductions, during which Gabbro proceeds to kick open the bathroom doors to investigate them, the osiron commandos in the lobby foyer hear him and proceed to stack up on the door separating the two parties and prepare to breach.

Carol notices this and gets Anama to help her eliminate them, starting the map’s encounter.

A sharp firefight occurs at the doorway as the two flanking commandos lose the initiative roll and get shot first. The remainder retreat using their full turn actions and other commands on the map, hearing the gunfire rush to the lobby.

From here, the party rushes to the lobby with little cover while the commandos use the lobby desk as cover to fire from. Necro, in all her wisdom, proceeds to palace Carol right in front of the desk and fire at her enemies. She wounds two of them but they don’t go down. The rest of the party is trying to get bearings on the enemy forces and move up to support Carol. They’re at least a turn and half away from covering Carol.

*Confused head scratching* Alright, as they’re within point blank range, they fire fully automatic and aim right for you. And Carol goes down like a sack of bricks. Not dead or crippled but heavily wounded and bleeding out.

The firefight continues as the team moves up, the reception desk is made up of plywood and other light materials, providing only a light amount of armor, the desk in parts is quickly blown away and its users as well. However the fight is still bloody, and is only decided when Anam uses his bomb defusal drone to snake around the side and flank the enemy and fire with its powerful gun. The commandos lose eight of their number and inflict some damage but retreat out the back door.

In Preparation of this session I had just about tripled the guards in the area, and I barely made my players flinch. More on this later.

The party regroups itself and starts healing and scavenging for healing canisters. Carol in particular has two uses of the medkit applied to her and returned to “full” health alongside some levels of fatigue. Sergeant Otto moves to the break room to look for survivors, and finding none, puts his feet up on the desk and turns on the mini TV to the game. Morocco up one point to make it even in his favor.

Anama checks out the interior of the armored truck’s rear cabin, it looks to be a command center. He makes tech use check but fails, and so can’t complete a task in time before the surviving commandos get into the truck and start it and drive away.

After that they get in marching order and approach the laboratories!

I’ll end this session here and resume the laboratory encounter in the next post.

[Dadimus_Maximus]

Oh, I've done something similar but in the GURPS system instead. Had a wonderful session where one player boarded a train occupied by the Red Dawn, took a bunch of Storm, and proceeded to tear shit up and hijack the train after it started moving, with the rest of the squad desperately trying to follow in a humvee.