The ride to the landing zone is often the hardest part of the fight, and sometimes a gentle reminder never hurts.

XCOM: Gray Dawn is a new experimental alien invasion game testing some variants of the Cyberpunk 2020 system.

Premise

A meteor shower approaches Earth out of the blue. Astronomers believe it must be a long-period orbital cloud that has not been seen in hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. Amateur sky-watchers prepare for a surprise mid-winter light show, and no one is much alarmed.

The first meteors strike, and a significant portion of London is destroyed. As the Earth rotates, the stream of meteors continues to pepper our planet's surface, sweeping from one time zone to the next. The East coast of America is hit a few hours later. Within a day, no corner of the world is left untouched.

Unbeknownst to the people of Earth, this meteor shower is not a natural phenomena. It is an alien planetary assault program unleashed in pursuit of The Mercenary that landed undetected on our planet a few days before. In his possession is the superweapon stolen from his enemies that could be their undoing. They will stop at nothing to get it back.

The Mercenary's plan, which has slowly been unfolding across the galaxy for hundreds of our years, did not take into account one important variable: Humanity. He did not--could not--know Earth was populated before he embarked on the long, slow voyage to our world across three-quarters the span of our galaxy. When he absconded with the weapon nearly a century ago, the people of Earth had just barely made it into the skies with airplanes; radio waves that could be detected by alien long-range probes would not come for many years.

Earth is The Mercenary's hot landing zone, and he realizes that he has placed this innocent civilization in great peril. He knows that his enemies would gladly destroy humanity in pursuit of him, but even worse, they would enslave us first. We are just the sort of specimen they are looking for.

The alien Collective is not the only threat, though. The Mercenary sent advance scouts to Earth several decades ago to establish bases and gather resources that would allow him to use Earth as the launch-point of his counterattack. Those bases were never built, that part of his plan failed. Certain factions have not been so ignorant of the existence of extraterrestrial life, and those ripples of influence in the shadows have created even more Byzantine agencies to hide among them.

A group of civilians find The Mercenary's hiding place on Earth, and with The Mercenary's help, they become the heart of the resistance against the Collective. X-Com: Gray Dawn is the story of this group of resistance fighters.

Game Mechanics

In X-Com: Gray Dawn we will use the Cyberpunk 2020 game system with a few modifications. For further details, check out the X-Com: Gray Dawn Player Handout.

There are no classes or "special abilities." There are no solos, no fixers or medtechs, etc. One's "class" will largely be determined by their chosen skills and proclivities. Additionally, there is a list of perks to help further customize each character.

Some modifications to the combat system are made to honor the "spirit" of the original PC game so many grew to know and love, with certain nods given in recognition of the more recent reboot. Major features include: a tactical cover system to encourage combatants to play it safe; mechanics for suppression to reflect that getting shot at will rattle a combatant in ways other than just getting hit and doing damage; an alternate damage system that allows for heroic (or lucky) survival in the face of overwhelming punishment and lastly, a more "tactical" feel to the move and action system.

Dramatis Personae

(Listed alphabetically)

Alonzo Jerome "AJ" Kamastafall...played by Jason

Brock Jankins...formerly played by Scott, now an NPC

Douglas "Doug" Wilson...played by Dieter

Fayth Wilson...played by Rumi

Marie Curie "Curry" Kjelstad...played by Anna

Supporting Cast

75th Rangers, 2nd Battalion Alpha (Rifle) Company, 1st Platoon
Abigail Blythe
Alistair Bancroft
Bob the UH-60 Pilot
Captain John Newton
1st Lieutenant Caesar Ramierez
Chief Danforth
Daniel Pershing
Dave Monroe
Dean Vickers
Draco
Dr. Emil Richards
The Elma Resistance Cell
Ernie the Pharmacist
Fayth's Litter
Harlan Ruger
Ian Church
Janelle
Janice Faraday
Governor Jay Inslee, deceased...?
Jules Saint
Lillian Kjelstad
General MacArthur Nils
1st Lieutenant Marshall Spiers
Mayor Osgood
Naomi Agincourt
Officer Cristelli
Peter Kjelstad
Professor Jenkins
Professor Marlowe
Scott "Scotty" Watson
Master Sergeant Feargus Carville
The Eggheads of the Elma Resistance
Trevor Kamastafall
Vladimir Gurov

Alien Technology

This is a running list of technologies the human resistance has researched, captured or has interacted with (in a position of some control or understanding).

Available Manufacture Projects

When a project has been thoroughly researched, it may become available for manufacture. This may also be dependent on resources, facilities and personnel available.

Lizardman Detector
Composite Body Armor

Available Research Projects

This is a list of some technologies available for research. Some devices encountered cannot be researched because prerequisite technologies are not yet understood (e.g., some weapons research may require a greater understanding of exotic power systems or interface devices.)

Advanced Field Medicine
Alien Weapon "Needler"
Alien Weapon "Ray Gun"
Alien Weapon "Stun Bomb"
Alien Weapon "Stunner"
Attack Drone
Assault Drone Stage 2
Behemoth autopsy--Completed!
Chryssalid autopsy--Completed!
Construction Drone "autopsy"
Electroreactive Myomer Fiber
Gray autopsy--Completed!
Neural Interface Helmet, stage 2
Power Systems

Power Transmission--Completed!

Elerium

Alien Fabric Enhancement--Completed!

Principles of Nanotechnology--In progress!
Scout Drone Stage 2
Snakeman autopsy
Thin Man autopsy--In progress!

Alien Species and Factions

The Collective

"The Collective" is the name given to a militaristic, expansionist starfaring "government." The name was bestowed on them by Draco, the Mercenary. Reportedly, the Collective is made up of many varied species. Most of these have been somehow enslaved by one or more "master" or "core" species that form the intellectual nexus of the Collective.

The Collective is said to be a "hive mind," though how this relates to their psychology or actions remains to be seen.

The following are known member species within the Collective:
Grays
Behemoth
Snakemen
Floater
Lizardmen??
Thin Man
Chryssalid

The Mercenary

Draconian

Project Covenant

The Red Hand

Vladimir Gurov

The Pershing Clan

Human

The Washington State Patrol

Human
Lizardmen

Arsenal of the Elma Resistance

The following is a working list of resources gathered by and/or available to the Elma Resistance. This does not include personal gear owned or in the specific possession of the players or NPCs.

Weapons
Armor
Vehicles
Facilities
Specimens
Miscellaneous Gear

Current Projects

This is a good place for the players to chime in and make notes of any particular projects or plans their characters might be working on, you know, in case the Ref loses the scrap of paper you wrote that secret note on three game sessions ago.

Research Projects:
Manufacturing Projects
Building/Facilities Projects
Public Relations Projects
Infrastructure Projects
Personal Projects
Miscellaneous Projects

Recaps

Starting with our second game session, I began reciting to all the players a quick recap of the events of the previous game, told in the style of a serial radio program. I started off doing this because in my recent gaming experiences (as a player), it was too easy to forget what the hell was going on without a bit of a reminder, especially when a couple weeks or more had passed since we met last (I greatly appreciate the fact that our current group meets with such regularity, and I hope the trend can continue!) I haven't heard any complaints about eating up a few of the players' minutes at the beginning of each session while I talk at them, so I will probably continue until they tell me to shut up.

There is also the added advantage that this kind of prop/supplement for the players also gives me/us a relatively detailed written record of the PCs adventures.

Season One

Episode 1:Before the Gray: Dawn Cometh From Above
Episode 2:The Dawn Breaks
Episode 3:To Gray or Not to Gray
Episode 4:Gray New World
Episode 5:Operation Torchlight
Episode 6:Volare!
Episode 7:Shades of Gray
Episode 8:Gray Matters
Episode 9:Uneasy Alliances
Episode 10:The Delicate Art of Treason
Episode 11:The Last Suit You'll Ever Wear: Welcome to X-Com
Episode 12:The War Hits Home
Episode 13:Operation: Repo!
Episode 14: Mouths to Feed
Episode 15:Terror from the Deep
Episode 16:The Crawling Chaos
Episode 17:News from the Front
Episode 18:Faraday Cage
Episode 19:Recruitment Drive, part I
Episode 20:Recruitment Drive, part II
Episode 21:Recruitment Drive, part III
Episode 22:O Brother, Who Art Thou?
Episode 23:
Episode 24:(Season finale!)

Season Two

Coming soon!

Project Covenant After Action Reports

01/31/14: Operation Torchlight
02/11/14: Operation Trespass
02/11/14: Operation Antidote
02/12/14: Operation Repo

On the Horizon...

Gathering 'round the campfire and listening to the stories of the Elma Resistance is a fine way to pass the evening, but what do our heroes have in store for them next? Here, we can find clues as to where the story might take us next.

In next week's episode:

XCOM: Gray Dawn

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