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XCOM

2018-04-17T05:13:33Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F: /* X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen */

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This is a [[Dan Abnett|rare treat]]. '''X-COM''', or as it's called across the pond, ''UFO: Enemy Unknown'' is a turn-based strategy game that is, to put it simply, about as close to a game of [[Dark Heresy]] as one can get in isometric 3D. Note that X-COM is significantly older than [[Dark Heresy]], and older than all but the first edition of [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], so it'd be better to say [[Dark Heresy]] is a lot like X-COM on the tabletop. Dating back to the much-lamented Microprose, it set a gold standard for atmosphere and playability that has, frankly, not been breached in ages.

The game is [[Dwarf Fortress|old as balls]] and in isometric view, which, paired with the Dark Heresy similarities, makes it more /tg/ material than /v/.

==A General Gist==

A general synopsis is that in [[grimdark|the not-so-distant future, there is war - and aliens]]. Aliens are arriving, and they are most assuredly hostile. It falls upon the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or the eponymous X-COM, a multi-national task-force, to deal with the invasion by blasting the fuck out of the Aliens, stealing their shit, researching their technology, and using it to fucking kill them off, all the while fighting off terror attacks and trying to figure out where in Uranus these fucking things are coming from (as it turns out, from Mars, and if you win, the final mission involves you going to Mars and dropping an [[Exterminatus]] on their asses).

It kicked ass. It was good enough to spawn a sequel, ''Terror From The Deep'', which was basically the same game, but underwater and infinitely harder. Story-wise, the destruction of the Martian base activated a fail-safe in the aliens' system that woke up T'leth, their 'secondary' (and mobile) base buried deep under the seas of Earth. X-Com now again must protect the people while finding out about where exactly T'leth is and go in to blast it to smithereens with extreme prejudice. It was hard. Really hard. Not only do aliens have a major advantage technology-wise at the start and they tear through your recruits with impunity, but later in the game when you catch up they start using a nasty trick to take control of your troopers, leading to sometimes hilarious and [[rage|extreme rage-inducing]] turn one [[TPK]]s as your heavy weapon trooper gets controlled and fires his heavy weapon inside the transport while the team is busy disembarking. Oh, and did we mention that the only way to research the best armour in the game was to capture a live specimen of a rarely-appearing alien? And that to capture a live specimen you had to send a poor redshirt in armed with an oversized cattleprod to stun it in close quarters? And that said alien was [[rip and tear|able to tear a human apart effortlessly]] in close quarters? And (as if all that wasn't bad enough already), that the poor redshirt then had to pick up and to carry the damn unconscious thing back to the human ship praying [[rape|that the specimen didn't wake up with a grudge before he got there and the mission ended]]? Yeah, it was kinda like that.

It then spawned a second, somewhat different but still appreciated sequel, ''X-Com Apocalypse''. Destruction of T'leth fucked up Earth biosphere and humanity retreated to quickly built mega-arcologies to survive. Unlike the two first game, there's a bigger political aspect to things as you have not only to make sure you deal with the damn aliens coming to fuck your shit up, but remain best buds with the other humans while doing so. All in all, a decent, if not overwhelmingly good game.

Then Microprose was bought by [[Hasbro|that which must never be named]], who proceeded to nose-dive the IP with games like [[AIDS|X-COM: Interceptor]] and [[Shit Twinkie|X-COM: Enforcer]].

Fucking [[RAGE|Hasbro]].

Anyway. Combat is a lot like Dark Heresy's in that it's exceedingly lethal; at the game's outset, you have no armor beyond jumpsuits with Kevlar stuffed into them, and your firearms are the best and most powerful weaponry that chemical propelled explosives can provide only moderately capable against alien forces (though quite diverse). In order to properly take these fucking things on on anything remotely resembling their own terms, you need upgrades. Upgrades come through research, and research comes by shooting down UFOs, landing a ground assault, killing the surviving aliens, and stripping the UFO like the [[Blood Ravens]] do other chapters' shiny bits. Once brought back to base, your researchers can look into what makes the alien's gear work, research your own weapons and tech, and develop technologies to help in the fight against the Aliens. Eventually, you can load your forces up with [[Space Marine|Power-armored bad-asses]], but starting out, your forces are fragile, and fighting smart is ''vital''. You ''will'' suffer casualties early on - guaranteed - but such is war, and you must press on, allowing the survivors to grow into [[Colonel Greiss|manly badasses]].

The Aliens themselves are diverse, ranging from the Sectoids (conventional "gray" aliens), to Chryssalids (horrifying abominations that inject targets with eggs that turn them into mindless drones which will explosively birth new Chryssalids thereafter). Nightmare fuel = yes. The game manages to be exceedingly creepy for one so simple, and is one of many reasons that X-COM works so well.

==Tales of Heroism==

In accordance with /tg/'s love of war stories about [[your dudes]], several examples of awesome have been compiled:

''Instant'' death doesn't ''always'' happen. Occasionally, one Rookie will be touched by God and succeed against all odds. After that, he will die horribly. [[Just as Planned]].

X-COM agent of note: [[Marc Lecointe]]. Lecointe survived numerous missions, got the highest kill count on most missions, killed a Snakemen leader and his bodyguards (despite losing over half the squad), and got shot in the face and back with plasma and lived. He eventually was hit with return fire in an alley and began bleeding. He returned fire and killed the Snakeman, but bled to death before help could arrive. Lacointe lives on in our hearts.

Another agent of note is Gristle McThornbody, a Rocket-Toting Team-Killing asshole who refuses to die OR be mind-controlled. He's so badass, that even when he has 85% or more to hit on a 2x2 alien, he'll still hit the wall twenty tiles to the left.

== New Stuff and Things ==
According to things [[/v/]] likes to watch on the Internet, a new X-Com game is in the pipes, set to be made in the gameplay and spirit of the old games, with new graphics and updated for the new generation of gamers to be introduced into the X-Com game style. It lost the dash along the way someplace, and got re-named ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown''. This new game, which has spawned joy boners in many on /v/ and /tg/ alike, is believed to stem from the utter, burning [[RAGE|fury]] that was originally spawned from 2K's simply-titled ''XCOM'' game, which, near as we can tell, is an FPS that takes place in the 1960s and has exactly ''nothing'' to do with the actual X-COM franchise. Seriously, don't look into 2K's game if you're a fan of the series on any level - it will cause veterans to spontaneously transform into [[Angry Marines]] and/or [[Khorne|Khornate Berserkers]]. Apparently, those in charge had the wherewithal to note that if they didn't make a ''proper'' X-COM game, [[/tg/]] (and by extension, [[/v/]]) would [[Anal Circumference|leave their asshole in ruins]]. They even went ahead to declare the two games take place in separate universes. If only [[Games Workshop]] had [[Matt Ward|that much sense]]...

== XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis ==
[[File:XCOMGameplay.jpg|200px|thumb|An in-game screenshot of the new game.]]
And Firaxis came to the rescue, promising to return to the roots of XCOM (note the lack of a hyphen this time around, although the logo ''does'' have a horizontal stripe taken out of the "COM"). Since Firaxis has a lot of ex-MicroProse people, a lot of them have had to do with the original as well, and the original musical score will make a return. Although it's changed a few things to avoid hurting the brains of [[/v/|delicate little console kiddies]] like removing time units, removing ballistic simulation, cutting down on your maximum amount of squad members (4 at the start and 6 maximum) and limiting us to one base (though each base location gives its own unique bonus), it still somehow manages to be a good game in its own right. If the original X-COM is like Mordheim, then XCOM is like Space Hulk: massively simplified and more heavily dependent on the luck of the die, but with less micromanagement and long-term planning required.

If you haven't bought the game and you're a TBS fan, everyone in /tg/ that isn't [[That guy]], would highly recommend you give it a whirl at the modest price of <strike>
$39.99 </strike> $16.49 for all the good remade XCOM games because of our father Gabe Newell on PC,
still is 39.99 for console/Non-Steam or $9.99 on mobile/tablet devices. Like always, we have footage for vidyas: https://youtu.be/qDhuZ4b51hA https://youtu.be/-SKoS5BYVuY https://youtu.be/bxuzLyR-000

===XCOM: Enemy Within===
[[File:MectoidMEC.jpg|200px|thumb|Did we mention melee combat with exosuits?]]
''Enemy Within'' is an expansion pack (and unlike most "horse armor" tier DLCs with the name this one actually deserves it) that completely re-defines how the game progresses, compared to the original one. The game's story still progresses like the original game, but expands on it for a more entertaining experience.

It adds the "meld" resource to the game, a type of alien organic/synthetic-hybrid nanomachine that allows you to unlock two powerful technologies: MEC and genetic modification. MEC allows your troops to interface with a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit, a heavy exoskeleton that brings the heaviest of weapons to the field (Including the option for a powerfist equivalent called a "Kinetic Strike Module". Yes, make your own faux [[Terminator]] squad! Especially when the Tier-3 Paladin upgrades bulks up your suit's armor that you look vaguely similar to Termies.). Genetic modification allows you to augment your troops using data gathered from dissected aliens, making them killier than ever before. Infact, you can create your own equivalent of an Imperial [[Space Marine]] with the list of available modifications you can do (Two of these specific upgrades are a second heart and the ability of self-regeneration) .

It also adds new aliens to the xenos' side, like a cloaking squid robots that chokes your troops to death and their own brand of exosuit troops. It also introduces another enemy into the game: EXALT. EXALT are a bunch of power-mad blokes who sees the alien's invasion as a way to gain power by adapting their technology for themselves, inching them closer to world domination. They see you as an obstacle and are determined to undermine your efforts to defeat the aliens by disrupting your operations through a number of ways and sowing panic amongst XCOM-member nations, generally making your already hectic life even more hectic. You must now defeat this new threat through a combination of [[Ork|cunning brutality and brutal cunning.]] They have most of your technologies to go toe-to-toe with you (Except for their own exosuits) and they are well hidden, so bringing them down won't be an easy affair.

=== XCOM 2 ===
[[File:People%27s_reaction_to_XCOM_2%27s_Vipers.png|200px|thumb|Turns out they ''are'' poison glands. Hee.]]
A direct-ish sequel to EU/EW, XCOM 2 seems to decide that what's canon is not: not "you killed all the aliens, now here's more aliens", but "you know that Impossible Ironman game you played for a laugh and got utterly stomped? That's the canon ending". (The utterly stomping part takes place in the base assault, and it is so bad that two of the most important things got taken: The Commander, and more importantly, central officer Bradford's sweater). The aliens won before humanity even got to laser weapons, taking over the world and unifying humanity (read: ruling over them in a pseudo-utopia "Brave New World"-style), and basically preparing to turn them into another of their slave races (not that most of humanity knows this).

XCOM refused to back down even after the Council of Nations ceased to exist and instead went underground, hijacking an alien supply ship to act as a mobile base for hit-and-run operations against the alien occupiers, in the hopes of toppling the ADVENT (the puppet government aliens've set up) and exposing the true purpose of their supposedly ideal society to the world.

New features include:
The Assault class has been given a makeover to focus even more on [[Rip and Tear]], replacing the sidearm with a sword and changing title to the Ranger. The Sniper has been renamed the Sharpshooter and given a pistol-focused skill-tree-route that turns the soldier into Clint Eastwood (literally, like you can have a stand-off by firing 3 pistol-shots in the same turn). The Support class has been renamed the Specialist and been given a drone to hack, heal, shield and/or zap shit remotely. The Heavy has been given a nice grenade launcher to act as your cover-stomper, and been renamed the Grenadier. Psi-operatives are their own class now as well, and get hate-hair and [[Cadia|purple eyes]] because that makes sense and all psychically talented people look like neo-punks. Troops can be captured, and then rescued, which also reclaims any expensive gear they had on them (but it's never the captured troops you actually need back).
New enemies (without spoilers), including human ADVENT security troops (who really love to say "bitch" and pointing towards your soldiers) with magnetic weapons who look like humans till you get their armor off, sectoid-human hybrids with teeth, thumbs, and belly buttons (which can be really creepy if you '''really''' think about it), and transsexual Snake-women called Vipers (which is what the Thin Men actually look like without their disguises). Yes, there were snaketits on the thread that announced this to /tg/. Yes, /d/ has drawn porn of them. Yes, it will be added to the gallery.

Moving on.

XCOM 2 also contains an in depth explanation for the aliens' motives that many fans felt was lacking or too ambiguous in Enemy Within. Apparently, the Ethereals have some kind of fatal disease they can't cure, so they've been trekking around the galaxy culminating genes to form the ultimate bodies for themselves, while amassing a genetically supreme army. When the Ethereals found humanity, they found their genes to be so awesome and powerful that just adding some of them to a lowly sectoid turned it from a pathetic 3' tall creature you could kill with basic weapons, to an 8' tall psionic rape machine that could raise the dead and withstand salvos of bullets to the face. They then set up an alien government on Earth so they could discretely process humanity's best genetic material and slowly form new bodies for themselves that don't die called Avatars. And by don't die, we mean have copious amounts of health, teleport every time they're injured, regenerate like crazy, are guaranteed to successfully mind control anything, and are immune to any of your psychic abilities. And the boss fight involves killing three of these dick-butts and an endless wave of alien reinforcements. Using human DNA is also where their ADVENT troops came from, they grew armies of human spliced with unspecified alien to act as their public face to the humans. But humanity wins anyway, because humans are just that fucking awesome.

The game is also notable for abandoning the usual conditions for losing. The norm for the series is for your funding to get cut if too many countries lose faith in XCOM. Since you're fighting a guerilla war and your support are humans fighting to survive outside the aliens' control zones, that isn't happening. Instead you lose if the aliens complete the Avatar Project, their goal to mass produce the bodies for the etherals. If they do you get treated to a scene of almost all resistance being crushed because the Avatars are dangerous enough in small numbers and army of them would unstoppable. You can slow progress, but can only stop it by finishing the game.

So far there have been recently four DLCs for XCOM 2. "Anarchy's Children" added new customization features for your soldiers, most of which you wouldn't ever really use. "Alien Hunters" adds a new mission, weapons, and alien rulers who you have to hunt down. The alien rulers get to take an action every, single, time, one of your soldiers does. This is even more infuriating then it sounds. Some more customization options are added too. "Shen's Last Gift" adds another mission and the SPARK class soldier. SPARKs are robots you have to make in the proving ground. War of the Chosen finally allows players to add modifications to their guns, gave them better aim and a health boost. So now they're worth taking. If your Grenadier is injured or has low morale. While their weapons are much larger and more powerful-looking than the other squad specialized weapons, they don't do more damage than the regular specialized weapons. This is stupid, as an auto-cannon would naturally do much more damage than a 7mm Gatling Gun. They are also prohibitively expensive so you have no choice to do the mission if you want one for cheap. Optional mods have improved their balance to out right making them a super unit if you wish.

And here comes the fun part; if you read the developers blog, their idea of "balance" is to actually nerf plenty of stuff...so the game is harder after having a buffed-up alien lord chase your dudes all over the game. Was old-school really this hard?

You think that's bad, the end game unlocks second wave options, like increasing all Health by 50%, having your guys get worse as they get injured, have their stats rolled at random, so you can make the game even HARDER! Because dying is ''fun''.

====XCOM 2: War of the Chosen====

This brand new expansion gives us three new allies to aid us.

*Reapers: Stealthy hunters who are armed with nothing but a rifle and explosives. It's enough. They wear [[Shadowrun|trench coats and gas masks]]. Have a special ability where they have a chance to not reveal themselves upon attacking. Enemies have vastly reduced detection ranges against Reapers, and Reapers can detonate explosives on the map without revealing themselves. They can also throw an environmental explosive. [[Dakka|They also have an ability that lets them shoot at an enemy until they run out of ammo.]] Long story short, these guys are only slightly less powerful than the Reapers from Mass Effect.

*Skirmishers: ADVENT defectors who are armed with a grappling hook that can pull them to a rooftop and pull themselves to the enemy or vice versa and at max level allows them to have the [[Awesome|alien rulers ability to gain action points Everytime. The. Enemy. Moves]] Except it only works three times a turn, and doesn't trigger on non-move actions. [[fail|The game doesn't tell you this.]]

*Templars: [[Grey Knights|a resistance group made of only psionics]] that wield psi blades and machine pistols, but you'll probably never use those. They're fast, hard to kill, and hit like a brick. Like the [[rip and tear]] half of the Ranger, but with psionic powers. They're also fantastically hammy and roll their Rs.

But these new allies come with a catch as you now have to fight the titular chosen who can adapt to your soldiers abilities with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the Lost ([[tarpit|zombie swarms]]) that attack both you and ADVENT. Along with these new allies and enemies is trying to get the three resistance groups to work together, as well as a new fatigue and relationship system.

=== XCOM: Long War ===

What, the new XCOM wasn't complicated enough for you? There's a mod called "Long War" which goes into lots more detail, a bit more like the classic game. Now, the aliens will advance their plans and escalate their forces and assaults based on their own progression system, and the game is rebalanced around the expectation that you will not succeed at every mission (and you won't -- the aliens are plenty tough to see to that).

=== XCOM: The Board Game ===

From [[Fantasy Flight Games]], there's a board game adaptation of XCOM (in fact, ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' was quite inspired by board games, with the two-actions-per-turn system instead of the old 'time units'). There's a companion app for smartphones, tablets, and computers which controls the aliens and informs players of events, a bit like a [[Game Master]], but without exposing the players to too much bookkeeping. Amazing what games can do with computers these days -- just imagine if such a thing had been available for [[FATAL]]! On second thought, don't.

Players (1-4) take on different roles in the XCOM organization. The Commander keeps an eye on the budget and allocates interceptors. The Chief Scientist directs research efforts. The Central Officer works the app and solicits input from the others (if there are any) to make decisions (many of which are time-critical). The Squad Leader manages troops and base defense. Together, they need to allocate their resources, judge when to push risky but rewarding avenues (inviting retribution from the aliens if they fail), and defend humanity. Like the games, successes are rare -- a die only has a 1/3 chance of coming up with a success, and tasks may need multiple successes. There is also an "enemy die", a [[d8]] that is rolled against the number of times that task has been attempted. If it rolls equal to or under that number, something bad happens. So, do you pool resources for critical tasks (neglecting anything else, and hoping that your priorities are correct), in order to most likely be successful before the threat level climbs too high? Or do you stay flexible but push your luck? Your call, commander.

=== XCOM 2: Long War 2 ===
If you thought XCOM 2 was ''already'' hard, thanks in part to the involvement of the original Long War modders in the game's development, said modders come back with a sequel mod for the game. Not only does this go even further than the first Long War in going into a lot of detail, such as new graphical touches, significant rebalancing and completely overhauling the global map to be more reminiscent of classic X-com. But the difficulty is amped up even more, with missions even requiring you to send in potentially fatal scouting parties to make sure your ''other'' squads don't die on the spot. Also, rather than launching parties directly into battle, missions spawn on the geoscape with an expiration timer. The player ''can'' launch immediately, but the enemy presence will be drastically increased! Instead, the idea is that the squad can spend time infiltrating, to let ADVENT get complacent and draw troops elsewhere. Having more Resistance folks working Intel increases mission expiration times, but the bigger and heavier the squad, the more infiltration time is require. And vice versa -- short-staffing a squad can allow a player to infiltrate to high percentages on short notice...but now you've only got like four guys on the ground, and that might not be enough firepower if activations go badly...

This mod requires dramatically more strategic thought and care. Weapons, armor, and equipment are all purchased individually, forcing you into decisions like 'do I continue the rollout of my newly available armor-piercing coilguns, or do I buy armor for the two rookies I've trained up?' and 'do I send my last seven man team to secure me an engineer, commit them to a long infiltration to wipe out an advent tower, or hold them in reserve for a better opportunity?' The difficulty is likewise much higher, but you have dramatically expanded options to combat it with special weapons, squad leaders, extra inventory slots packed with flashbangs, veteran troop skills, chooseable bonus perks, a psi advancement training regime that makes some actual sense, and many, many more troops and mission opportunities. Minor reinforcement on that last one, in fact: in stock XCOM 2 you'll likely end the campaign with fewer than twenty soldiers, whereas here it's pretty common to have a hundred active-duty troopers at a time.

The Shinobi ([[Derp|all the Ninja IRL schools have closed up shop]]) is the most overpowered class. Making missions easier then they should be as he can [[derp|bypass Overwatch]] and has a very low impact on infiltration. Making missions unrealistic for players who hate RNG and want a pure stealth game.

The Devs of Long War have said there will not be making a Long War for War of the Choosen. As Firaxis added a ton of crap that would take years for Long War Studios to shift though it and make the mod playable.

== The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ==
Despite having the name XCOM in the title, the game really has little relation to the series. The reason behind this is because 2K passed this game on to the lovely people that brought you Bioshock 2; meaning it was made by a studio that makes more or less decent games. It's supposed to be a prequel, set in the 1960s during the Cold War era. The protagonist, William Carter, was a CIA agent just delivering a suitcase of classified "documents" until an Outsider disguised as a female agent got ahold of it. Not long after that, an alien invasion commenced!

The Bureau is a RPG that plays like Mass Effect, but not as good for a variety of reasons. One reason is in the dialog scene, you're given choices of what to ask/say. They really don't impact the game, nor changes it for the most part, so you can skip a majority of it if you want to. The agents in your squad are pretty dull, sure you can change their names and how they dress, but really doesn't offer any friendship/foe engagements. If they die, you will need to recruit another agent and start him off from scratch, but really, leveling them up isn't fun and customizable, so just restart a checkpoint if they do die.

The agents in your squad have bad AI if you don't babysit them and give commands on what they should do, and their skills at fighting Outsiders are... Well, okay. The best they can offer is their abilities, so spamming them and you taking care of the killing is an effective way to go (Some recommend starters to start their first mission with a Recon to cause critical damage on certain enemies and a Commando for [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|taunting the grunts and make them easy picking for you.]]

There would be more to go on, but if you want to know more about the game, you can search up reviews of XCOM Declassified. In short, it's a decent prequel that fans can find some enjoyment, but it's not as good as Enemy Unknown. Without going into spoilers, there's also a reveal during the last few levels that's surprisingly meta and well-written. Still worth looking into if you can find it for cheap or rent it.

Interestingly enough, turns out that the universe in XCOM Declassified is the same as that of Enemy Unknown/Within's. After the events in The Bureau, all records were wiped. This explains why the player had to start from scratch at the beginning of Enemy Unknown. When the Ethereals of Unknown/Within spoke of their [[Derp|own failure to ascend,]] they really meant that they wanted to be like the Ethereals from The Bureau. Either way, only time will tell exactly [[Grimdark|what the hell they were preparing humanity for.]]

== Xenonauts ==

X-Com coded by [[Reasonable Marines]].

A faithful remake of the original, with time units and all that. Changes a few things (like lack of Psionics on your side) and adds vehicles (yes, blowing up half a building with a rocket jeep is awesome) and controllable dogfights. Basically the alien invasion is during the Cold War and makes everyone shit themselves simultaneously when THOUSANDS of spaceships are openly in orbit and fucks humanity's shit up in creative ways. Every day the UFO's are left wandering, news bulletins full of terror emanate from the screen, worrying you further.

The ending is very creative, particularly concerning the plot of how an inferior species can even bother to defeat a powerful empire. Stunningly well-made, desperate final mission which may result in a glorious ending, or a bittersweet ending where you still win but the assault team is martyred.

Other differences between it and the original include:

Maps are mostly pregenerated, not fully procedural.

Fewer weapon and ammo types. Seriously, you've got the big five (pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and LMG) and a rocket launcher. No variant ammo types, although the weapons do have researched tiers (which are simply damage-ups).<s> This means no unfairly powerful weapons like the Rape Launcher or the Stun Grenade Launcher.</s> There *are* a few super weapons but seriously, if you waste a "Singularity Generator" which is an ENTIRE CAPTURED BLACK HOLE (a hot commodity salvageable from alien battleships) for a 50 kilogram (without ammo) glorified grenade launcher that doesn't even one shot its AoE, you are a fucking moron.

More basic inventory control. You don't micromanage producing and storing individual missiles, and you can have as many magazines, grenades, and med-kits as you want, limited by carrying limit. You just build the alien-based laser or plasma gun, base gives you ammo made fashioned from a melted-down alien cells. (Alenium is basically a quantum-grade battery aliens came up with. Usually it powers the alien craft, you simply creatively salvage the spent ones into explosives because [[HFY]].)

Smaller team sizes. Max troop count on a mission is 12, with the best drop-ship.

Fewer oddball items, like the motion scanner or psi-ball, but there is now an assault shield, so your dudes don't immediately die when popping open a UFO. Said shield gets upgraded with Alien alloys, and even the final mission sees use of it. Trust me.

Rookies are better out of the gate, but are still shit compared to your colonels. Still, they have a decent chance of killing an enemy in a turn, doubly so if carrying a missile launcher. No longer to operatives miss the broad side of a barn. They *will* miss the spot but will still shake it badly.

Explosive weapons damage items, lowering the amount of money you receive from selling. This is for the best, because explosives are stupidly powerful and are probably the most reliable way of putting a fool down. Considering Reaper, the expy for Chyrssalids are even faster and crazier, you *are* going to need them.

Saveable, customizable loadouts for all of your troops, and obviously no engine-based limit on the amount of items you can bring into a mission.

Aliens don't really hide in corners or really hard to find spots, which makes flushing them out a lot easier. I said flushing out mind you, as they DO charge out and deal extremely serious amounts of damage before going down, to say nothing of teleporting aliens that burst fire in your face if they are lucky.

Troops remain vulnerable a lot longer. You are never at the point where you can float an invincible army of death-dealing demigods over a cowering cadre of snakemen, raining death and destruction down with maddened glee. Even if you do, weird aliens will teleport close and blow you out of the sky, or your flyer will fry a nerve from psionics.

Country relations are more important than after-mission loot.

You can kick or pistol whip an enemy to death. Cue surrounding an annoying alien marksman and beating him to death with riot shields.

You can call airstrikes to cancel boring UFO raids.

=== Xenonauts 2 ===

Now with 3D graphics! A demo is available through GOG.com, with the release planned to be later in 2017.

== UFO: Alien Invasion ==

The most detailed opensource version of XCOM based on the Quake 2 engine.

Buildings are not destructible and it doesn't have a great fog-of-war. It doesn't have unmanned vehicles like the current iterations and sadly doesn't have any sort of Chryssalids yet.

Has a better world map than any other XCOM in that you can fully explore it like google-earth, even showing ship movement on the globe in real time. The campaign is more forgiving in that it does not force you through Acts like Enemy Unknown where you can't possible keep everybody happy, or has nations constantly bitching at you for radar coverage like in Xenonauts. Instead you get to bid captured UFOs and give preference to unhappy nations that feel neglected or where you haven't been saving civilians frequently.

The camera is completely free in battlescape mode just like in Enemy Unknown, complete with zoom capabilities. Lots of different weapons, though you will find yourself a fool if you don't immediately start using alien weapons. Also levels tend to have more floors than other iterations, such as one mission in which you're going through an office building or another where you're entering a subway.

The only major problem with the game is that the smoke grenades are so overpowered your guys will be coming out of your drop ship like Snoop-Dogg out of his trailer. Otherwise you'll find aliens are more than happy to shower your guys with plasma from across the map.

After a general huge update smoke is now useless and aliens are much, MUCH more powerful.

Oh, and its free. Still, fuck it. Final version is broken, often locking the game, and developers have been keeping silent, the fucking FAGGOTS.

== Phoenix Point ==

A spiritual successor by Julian Gollop himself. As of the time of this edit, fully funded and in development with a backer pre-alpha coming quite soon. The basic idea is; some kind of strange virus has been dug up in the permafrost and has had two outbreaks so far, each escalating in severity. Now it's invading the land a third (and fatally final) time, most of humanity is gone (Partly cus of the virus, partly cus of WW3 happening during the second outbreak), and you must defend the survivors from both the creatures and each other, you poor sap.

The virus morphs all life into Lovecraftian horrors. Literally Lovecraftian; it is implied that [[H.P. Lovecraft|Howard the Great]] was inspired by ancient findings describing an outbreak of the same virus a few million years ago. It even came from Yuggoth. Humanity being humanity, there are several factions with drastically differing ideas on how to deal with it; there is a faction based around a religion [[Genestealer Hybrids|worshipping the mutations that is also capable of retaining human conscioussness despite said mutations]], another is [[Eclipse Phase| high-tech anarcho-communists trying to coexist with the virus and other factions]] while the third faction [[Starship Troopers|Is a high-tech PMC turned millitaristic civilization with "Service Guarantees Citizenship" that just wants to destroy the virus and any of its sympathizers.]].

So far, the game has managed to gather enough funding and reach one stretch goal for a floating base that will be given as FREE DLC, along with other stretch goals at a later date should the game be succesful.

Expected; large bosses, your own mutated soldiers with crippleable limbs, the option of saving a group of people by [[Dawn of War II|landing on a giant creature and injecting it with poison]], Deep Lore, A hybrid of the old TU and new Two-Action system, unique tech trees for each faction (which you can also get in on by either allying with or stealing from them) and randomized global events (ala Crusader Kings 2).
Oh, and there are [[Flamer|flamethrowers]], Shoulder-Mounted missiles, power armor, gauss rifles and other goodies, such as a mutant mount for the cultist faction.

== XPiratez ==

What XCOM 2 was to XCOM: Enemy Within, XPiratez is to X-COM: UFO Defense. Made of pure [[Awesome|awesome]], you lead a crew of female mutants on a quest to kick ass, gain riches, and fuck bitches. A mod for OpenXcom, it's completely free and gets constant updates. Go check it out! Nothing's more satisfying then crushing a pureblood's head in with a sledge hammer and then mowing down his mates with your [[Dakka|custom Boarding gun]]. To say more would be to spoil its unique atmosphere and feeling of exploration as you uncover what has happened to the world. Let's just say it's a long, long time after the events of XCOM: UFO Defense.

== The Tabletop Game ==

Yes, there was a Tabletop game, made by [[Fantasy Flight Games]], so this article has some direct /tg/ relevance. The problem is, [[Derp | you need a cell phone app to play it]].

==Aliens==
Needless to say, in this game, there are many different types of aliens that your teams are going to have to fight.

===Original Continuity===
{{stub}}

Sectoid

Cyberdisk

Floater

Reaper

Snakeman

Chryssalid

Muton

Celatid

Silicoid

Ethereal

Sectopod

Aquatoid

Gillman

Lobsterman

Tasoth

Bio-Drone

Calcinite

Deep One

Hallucinoid

Tentaculat

Triscene

Xarquid

Brainsucker

Multiworm

Hyperworm

Chrysalis

Anthropod

Psimorph

Spitter

Megaspawn

Popper

Skeletoid

Micronoid Aggregate

Queenspawn

Overspawn

===Reboot Continuity===
{{stub}}

The reboot continuity has its own array of different monsters, with some changes in variety between the first and second game.

====X-COM Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within====

'''Sectoid''': Tiny little grey men in the first game, these are the first Psionic enemy you'll meet, with the ability to boost each other in combat. This can be rather nasty giving them an extra hit point and a +10 to hit and dodge, although if you kill the booster, you'll kill whatever Sectoid they're boosting as well thanks to Psychic feedback.

'''Sectoid Commander''': Only in the first game, these guys are Sectoids on psychic steroids. You'll see one on the tutorial mission and get a taste of what they can do, even if you don't fight it. They're stronger, tougher, and more psionically powerful than the basic section, and are the first unit that can possess your guys mid firefight.

'''Thin Man''': Apparently an "Infiltrator Unit" nobody would mistake these guys for human at close distance as they have snake scales running up their necks, and are skinny enough to make a super-model jealous. Apparently they were made from genetically modifying Snake-Men as they can spit clouds of poison at great distance, and will explode into one when they're killed. Otherwise they're real flimsy.

'''Muton''': How you know the aliens are stepping up their game. Everything up till now has been child's play (for a particularly psychotic child), then these guys come along. Big, tough, "smart", and dangerous, these guys will mulch a squad equipped with regular weapons and armour without breaking a sweat, and capturing one of these guys alive brings one of the better upgrades. Have fun.

'''Muton Berserker''': Ha, ha, ha. These guys are melee monsters, capable of soaking up bullets by the magazine, and slowly getting angrier and angrier as they do. If they can get in close they'll unleash the melee hurt, but thankfully they're not amazingly fast. Thankfully, their instinctive charge of the last person who shot them means you can set them up to run a gauntlet of Overwatch fire, with a bit of luck.

'''Muton Elite''': As much health as the Berserkers, plus armor, and lacking the berserk charges. Instead, they carry heavy plasma cannons.

'''Floater''': Apparently reject Mutons, stripped down to an upper torso and fitted up with cybernetic implants, mainly a jetpack. They're your first hint that the aliens may not be one big happy family, as they have an idle animation consisting of them ripping at their flesh and bionics until blood spurts. They're basically the fastest unit in the game, great Overwatchers, and pack about s much punch as a standard Muton. They have a special ability that sacrifices all their actions for the turn to instead fly to any single spot on the map, which they love to use to get the drop on your team.

'''Heavy Floater''' A tougher, armored version of the standard Floater, with a bigger gun. Basically just replace floaters in the late game to keep them competitive, but they've got no new tricks up their sleeves.

'''Outsider''': Strange "digital" lifeforms that serve as the technicians of the alien forces. You need to capture one of these in order to advance the game. They're wimpy, but their light plasma rifles are deadly accurate, so they can gun down whole teams if you're careless.

'''Sectopod''': The aliens' equivalent of a tank; an enormous, heavily armored killer robot with insanely high health, high armor, a 50% damage reduction ability, and the ability to blaze away with both a fuck-off huge laser and to launch showers of cluster bombs. They also blow up when you kill them. Your most hated enemy.

'''Cyberdisk''': A ridiculously fast flying robot that can shapeshift between a flying saucer-like flight-mode (in which it's harder to hit) and its unfurled combat mode. Not quite as killy as the sectopod, but still really adept at ruining your day.

'''Drone''': Small flying robots that basically zip around like laser-spitting wasps. They don't do much damage, but they can repair mechanical aliens and they explode like a grenade when killed. And they're extra-hard to hit, for added nuisance factor.

'''Chryssalid''': An absolute fucking nightmare, just like the original series. These bugs are lightning fast, vicious, and if they kill anyone they'll automatically plant an egg in the corpse, which will turn into a zombie before hatching a new chryssalid three turns later. And these zombies are tough enough to weather several turns of shooting. One of the standout points of the first game is a pre-baked mission where you get to investigate a whaling ship that crashed ashore in Alaska after being infested by Chryssalids who turned the catch into their personal hive. Your job is to first investigate the area, and then light the place up for your bombers so they can nuke it from orbit.

'''Ethereal''': The leaders of the alien forces, physically frail but masters of [[psionics]], which they can use to ''really'' fuck up your day.

'''Seeker''': A relatively weak squid-like robot that uses camouflage to sneak up on its prey and then tries to crush it to death with its tendrils. They like to go after isolated members of your squad, which can be used to bait them into going after Assault troopers with Close Combat Tactics for hilarious effects.

'''Mechtoid''': An armored exoskeleton piloted by a sectoid, carrying twin plasma mini-cannons. Sectoids can use their mind merge ability to give a layer of shielding to mechtoids; killing the sectoid removes the shield and causes some damage to the mechtoid.

====X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen====

'''ADVENT'''

The end results of what the Ethereals want to do with humanity. Puppet soldiers controlled by a series of psionically linked chips that feed back to command nodes. It's stated that the commander was supossed to be one of these before XCOM manages to rescue him in the tutorial mission.

*'''Trooper''': The grunts, they come in three flavours, with increasing HP, Dodge, and Accuracy. Challenging only in numbers, and then only thanks to the fact that a shot will hit you at some point, and they can take fire away from the actual threats.

*'''Officer''': These guys aren't a threat on their own, however they can Holo-Target one of your guys for free, granting their allies a +10 to hit against that soldier. either take out everyone around them, or take them out, before that becomes a problem.

*'''Shield-Bearer''': The most annoying ADVENT type in the base game, these guys can pop a shield that gives avery ADVENT and Alien soldier in range +3 or +5 temporary HP. Combined with their armour these guys can take a licking and keep on ticking. Take them out pronto otherwise the fight is going to take far longer than it should. They also kinda look like Robocop so they have that going for them.

*'''Stun-Lancer''': Melee focused, these guys are noticeable by the fact they were far less armour than any other ADVENT soldier. They'll charge forwards if in range, and attempt to stun your guys for a turn with their Melee beatsticks. Otherwise they've just got regular ADVENT Rifles.

*'''Priest''': Introduced in WotC, these guys are the ADVENT Psions, they can boost another ADVENT soldier, much like Sectoids could in Enemy Unknown (and like that game if you kill the priest the soldier will suffer psionic feedback and die), or they can put one of your guys in Statis for a turn, preventing them from doing anything. Advanced and Elite priests have additional tricks that allow them to Mind-Control your guys, and place themselves in Statis if they would be killed, instead staying around with 1 HP for another turn.

*'''Purifier''': Flamethrower wielding ADVENT troops that only appear in WotC. The guys are kept "secret" from the public (despite that fact they can appear in any mission if the RNG says so) as they are supossed to hunt down and kill the lost in the old, abandoned cities. As stated they use flamethrowers, alongside incendiary grenades, and when you kill them there's a good chance they will explode, so don't kill them with melee unless you want to lose your eyebrows. Athough that can lead to some hilarious chain reactions if you're lucky.

*'''General''': Only appears in assassination missions in WotC. Essentially just a beefed up Officer with a shit ton of HP, and the ability to throw Flash-Bangs.

*'''MEC / Heavy MEC''': The first truly heavy ADVENT Unit. These things come with an absurd amount of HP for the early game, and multiple armour pips. They're not particularly smart however and do not use cover at all, instead relying on their durability to weather your shooting so take advantage of this. Remember not to bunch your guys up as they have a shoulder mounted missile launcher that they will use on your guys if they're clustered together. MECs can also use suppression at the end of their turn if they can't target a group. The Heavy MEC is just tougher and more accurate, you can think your way through this fight. The best way to deal with them is hacking or anti machine equipment such as EMP rounds and grenades.

*'''Turrets / Heavy / Superheavy''': It's a turret. What more do you want? They have some armour and a decent amount of HP, but they can't move, and are fairly easy to hack to your side. If all else fails tossing a frag grenade at it is a guaranteed kill. As they are never encountered on the ground and will almost always be mounted on top of buildings. With few exceptions.

*'''Sectopod''': The final, and toughest ADVENT unit. It's just as much of a nightmare as it was in the first game. With the ability to shoot and enter overwatch, extend its legs to give itself a height advantage while standing on the ground, and use a charged-up laser blast that will kill anyone it hits. When they are finally defeated it will explode. Likely killing or injuring any unit for months next to them. As with any robotic unit they can be hacked by a properly specced specialist, although its nearly impossible to turn these guys to your side, so settle for stunning them for several turns. Anti mechanical weapons and equipment a must for defeating Sectopods if you don't have Plasma Weapons.

'''Aliens'''

*'''Sectoid''': Tougher than you remember due to the infusion of human DNA. Now have the ability to resurrect dead troopers - yours and ADVENT - as zombies, and all sectoids from the get-go can lay a mind whammy on your troops, randomly panicking, disorientating or controlling them.

*'''Chrysallid''': Because why the fuck wouldn't the Ethereals keep their most effective terror weapon. These guys have changed from scuttling horrors, to burrowing, venomous, scuttling horrors, capable of turning anyone they kill, either with their venom or their claws into a slowly metamorphosing cocoon that, if it reaches maturity, will spit out '''THREE''' new chryssalids, because Firaxis hates you. They are rendered mostly harmless by being set on fire, so if you think you're going to run into them bring incendiary rounds, fire bombs, and hell weave vests.

*'''Viper''': The most famous of the new aliens because they look like [[serpentfolk|humanoid snake-women]] with [[furry|nice tits and a sweet pair of hips]]. Appear pretty early in the game; not much tougher than sectoids, but quite annoying. They can drag you out of cover with their tongue whip attack, spew toxic clouds like the Thin Men, and strangle you in melee like a Seeker. These gals represent the true form of the Thin Man alien from the last game.

*'''Andromedon''': One of the cooler new alien designs, it could almost have been ripped out of the old X-COM series. It looks like combination of an old diving suit and an iron lung, filled with green sludge, and a single pickled alien who apparently needs that sludge to live. When you kill it the first time the suit reboots and come to life by itself, dropping its heavy plasma cannon and charging into melee. In its first form an Andromedon is a tough customer, with more armour & health than a Muton while packing the same firepower. In its second form it will only ever try to hit you with its fists, but it leaves behind trail of acidic and poisonous sludge that hurts your guys if they try to move through it (because jumping isn't a thing, despite the ability to haul yourself up drainpipes) which makes navigating the battlefield a hassle, especially in densely packed urban missions. Thankfully their second form will be easier to deal with. As these Powered Armor wearing little shits will Overwatch to hamper squad mobility and toss Acid Bombs at [[your_dudes]] if not killed ASAP.

*'''Faceless''': A new enemy that should only appear in Terror Attack missions. Shapeshifters that look like ordinary humans until your troops get too close, then they turn into ''fucking huge'' moaning melted-wax men with claws the length of shotguns. Can take quite a beating and will literally tear down houses to get at your troops. They can be seeded in regular missions if you pull the Dark Event that allows them to mingle with the regular citizens during missions. Isn't that lovely.

*'''Muton''': Remaining as the ethereal's shock infantry, these Mutons have apparently been crossbred with humanity, making them smaller, faster, and deadlier. Apparently they're smarter too, but considering just how badly the A.I can flub up sometimes, you have to wonder about that. They aren't packing any more HP, but they're now armoured, so they'll soak up more damage unless you can shred their armour with heavy weapons and explosives. They'll still be a threat until you get Plasma weapons, and 3rd their armour, but once you're there, they pretty much become chaff beneath the scythe. They also like tossing grenades if they don't have a direct line of sight on your troops. Along with the ability to use suppression if a Muton can't get into melee. Making them an annoyance well into the late game.

*'''Berserker''': Now visually more distinct from the regular muton insted of just having a fancy costume. Still the same extremely tough melee combatants with the same instinctive berserker charge. Apparently, these are actually the muton ''women''. Gives a whole new meaning to the term [[amazon]], huh?

*'''Codex''':A replacement for the Outsider, but far more annoying. The Codex first appears when you Skulljack an ADVENT officer, and it looks like a wierldy sexy woman made of pure energy, but with a cybernetic brain & spinal column. They can teleport around the battlefield, and when struck by an attack that fails to kill them, they split into two Codexes with half of their remaining health. They can also create temporary zones of energy that suck all the ammo out of your guns, and then close with deadly force. Naturally you want Snipers or Magnetic/Plasma Weapon chain attacks to kill them quickly. Which you should have by the time of encountering them.

*'''Specter''': Another WotC specific enemy. These guys look like the Codex if they were made out of Necron Scarabs rather than pure energy. It's fitting too as they are a collection of Psionic nanobots that can grabs your guys, stun them, and create a shadowy doppelgänger with all of your guy's skills and gear, and none of their bad luck. Thankfully killing the Specter will also kill this doppleganger and bring your guy back into the fight, but if you're not ready losing a guy and the enemy gaining that guy can turn the tides right back against you. Oddly, attacks that harm biological targets without requiring a will test can harm the Specter.

*'''Gatekeeper''': A giant, floating, psionic ball. No, we're not joking. For all the goofiness of trying to summarise this thing, it's a shockingly vicious threat. That big metal ball contain a psionic powerhouse in the shape of several fleshy tentacles, which if it gets close will shed its armour, and proceed to bitchslap your soldiers into the ground. And you'll want it to do this because it has 4/5 pips of armour that need shredded away depending on difficulty. It also has the ability to mind control your guys, raise the dead, and fire a insanely powerful laser beam, and it'll try to use cover despite being a 2x2 giant, floating, metal, psychic ball of doom. One of them is are always encountered during the Psi Gate and will likely be the first time seeing them. As a final FU. When killed they explode with a blast that will reach all tiles around them. Heavily wounding or outright killing any of your squad next to them. So melee units should be kept far away unless their a fully upgraded Templer. Hilariously these tiny Eldridge Abominations can be mind controlled by Psi Operatives. Other ways of dealing them is using explosives and heavy weapons that shreds their armor. These would be the first targets to use Frost Grenades on if you encounter them early in the maps. You should have Magnetic or Plasma Weapons by the time Gatekeepers start showing up or they will be nearly impossible to defeat.

*'''Archon''': So someone in the Alien's side realized that having a heavily mutilated torso mounted on jetpacks, which actively tore at its implants and constantly mounted suicide charges so it could be put out of its misery was bad for PR, so they replaced the Floaters with these guys. They look almost angelic, and their design incorporates a lot more white and gold and less obviously chop-shop cybernetics. The nigh-constant pain going away has made them far smarter too.They still like to jump around the battlefield, but now they can also rain rockets down on your guys after a turns delay and will actually take advantage of cover.

*'''Avatar''': The Ethereals' plans are revealed when you discover these creatures. Avatars are genetically engineered lifeforms created from the genes of the most psi-capable humans, crafted to house the essence of the Ethereals, whose own bodies are breaking down irrevocably. Extremely tough, powerful psionics, kill on sight. The Commander gets one of his own at the end of the game. This is because they plugged him/her into their psionic network and never bothered to remove or change anything after XCOM recovered them. [[Fail|As the Ethereals are really quite stupid despite claiming to be a superior race.]] While lacking the full skill set of the Psi Operative. They have useful abilities. Their equivalents doing more damage or allowing multiple uses of mind control. Avatars also come with a pretty cool gun that ignores armor values and can be acquired through modding.

'''The Alien Rulers''':
If you played the previous game, you may have been wondering: "what happened to Dr. Valen?" Well, the first DLC for XCOM 2, "Alien Hunters" reveals that she went off and set up her own base in an abandoned alien genetics lab, where her experiments in undoing the genetic suppressants on three cryogenically suspended subjects created three amped-up alien variants so powerful that the Ethereals couldn't control them. Great work, doc! Alien Rulers have a huge health bar and many unique abilities, but one of their more bullshit traits is that they get a free turn in reaction to ''every'' action your troops take. The best way to deal with is using Venom Bombs that damages them every turn and prevents them from taking an action. Along with abilities that allow your troops to take use multiple attacks that count as one action. Something you should have before facing them in mid to late game. Because fuck these guys. While you could choose face them as early as your first Blacksight mission in WOTC. Doing so means missing out on controlling Banford and seeing his gun with [[cheese|every possible upgrade in action.]] The only real way to use it outside of the Alien Ruler introduction mission is through using game mods.

*'''The Viper King:''' The only male Viper in existence, this creature shows why the Ethereals removed the male gender from the viper species with how rampantly he set about fertilizing every female viper he could encounter, filling an entire base with a huge array of hatchling vipers you have to fight through. His unique abilities allow him to spit a freezing gas instead of the normal venom. The weakest of the Alien Rulers, the Viper King is usually the first one you encounter. If you manage to tag 'n' bag Subject Gamma, you can turn his carcass into a unique Spider Suit, the Serpent Suit, that can scare the scales off of normal vipers and lash out with freezing whips.

*'''The Berserker Queen:''' Even bigger and scarier than normal Berserkers, Subject Beta can not only unleash a howl that can panic your whole squad, but is equipped with cybernetically integrated hammers she can use to create earthquakes. From her carcass you can build the R.A.G.E Suit, which not only terrifies mutons and berserkers, but lets your trooper make a berserker-style charge attack themselves.

*'''The Archon King:''' Subject Alpha is the nastiest Alien Ruler in the game, and has the most health. His special attack "Devastate" is a version of Blazing Pinons (the Archon's "shower an area with rockets" ability) that does less damage, but which can also disorient, stun and knock unconscious. Worse, it hits on the next Ruler Reaction, meaning you have no chance to get away from it the way you do from Blazing Pinons. He also has a unique attack where he grabs a trooper, hauls them into the air, and then power dives them into the floor. If you can take down this asshole, his corpse can be refashioned into the Icarus Armor, a superior Warden Armor suit that grants the Vault ability and the ability to pull off the Archon's "move to any point on the map you wish" twice per mission. Give it to your best Sniper. As this allows them to keep up with the rest of the squad and find the nearest vintage point.

'''The Chosen''':
The new Dragons aka Second in Command below the Ethereals. Coming with a bunch of BS abilities that can wreck your troops at lower levels. You also want to find their base ASAP as they gain upgrades through the game like you do and can hurt your income. Getting their OP shit is also a nice bonus.

When first encountered they'll attempt to stun and capture one of your troops. If they appear during a Blacksight mission, The Chosen AI will just straight up murder a squad member. [[Rage|Despite the game not giving hints to this change in behavior.]] So if counting on manipulate their AI into kidnapping a soldier who is near death during those missions. The Chosen will just slaughter your squad like the rest of Advent. Because all bets when are off when your trying to kill mommy? and/or err daddy? Shklee? Maybe?
Thankfully, the game rolls to give them permanent weakness, along with an arch enemy who will deal extra damage to a Chosen among the new Hero classes. They will also roll for one immunity and a special ability, though the immunities are things that many players will hardly ever use against a boss regardless. The special power can either be meh, or fuck you right over. Good thing for the player the summoning powers are mutually exclusive and can't gain strengths that counter most of their weaknesses.

They can also be countered by researching Mindshields, your own (fully upgraded) Psi operatives and the buffed Sparks. When you have the latter two the Mindshields are redundant as the last two are right out immune to being stunned and mind controlled. Too bad there isn't new lines for a Spark with Julian's voice. As hearing a GlaDOS expy with the attitude of Bender snark back at The Chosen would have been hilarious.

*'''The Assassin''': The first of the Chosen you'll meet if you're playing the "Lost and Damned" mission to introduce yourself to the new mechanics introduced in WotC, the Assassin is a dark reflection of the Ranger class. The biggest [[Weeaboo|weeb]] in all of Advent. She attacks mostly with her Katana (although she does have a rarely used shotgun called Arashi, and you'll thank the programmers she rarely uses it), striking out of concealment to stun one of your guys (Who you'll then have to revive or risk them getting kidnapped), before running away. In the same turn. Because the Bad Guys get to move, shoot, move, but the player doesn't get nice things. To top this all off she's immune to overwatch so you either have to try and escape from the current mission, or take the fight back to her just as hard. Oh yeah, and avoid bunching your guys up, or she will stun half the squad at a time with an area of effect special attack, but don't get too spread out or you won't be able to revive stunned soldiers before she kidnaps them. Thankfully, her concealment works by the same rules as yours, and it'll break if one of your guys flanks her, so if you've got a good idea of where she is, you can move someone in to reveal her, and then light her up with the rest of the squad. To make her easier to deal with make sure to take a Specialist with Scanning Protocol.

*'''The Hunter''': While you would expect a roided up [[Space Wolves|Craven the Hunter cosplaying furfag]] by name alone. He is instead a more or less a [[Vindicare|hit man armed with a pistol and sniper rifle]] with an Affably Evil personality. He's also known to have team killed some of the weaker Advent aliens when he got bored. Unlike his siblings he outright admits that he is a psychopath who likes killing things. The Hunter's abilities are a bit mundane compared to the other Chosen. While still being effective non the less. His Tracking Shot can aim at your troops from the other side side of the map, and if they don't move he will kill them the next. This makes mind controlling Advent and hacking MECs for recon useful for once. He also come with a grappling hook with no cool-down, stun grenades and pistol tranq shots that never miss. So don't be stupid and send in a lone Reaper. Even if he rolls them as a weakness. As they don't put out enough damage to out snipe him and will end up killed or captured instead.

*'''The Warlock''': Probably the most dangerous of The Chosen, if you don't have Mindshields. If you do he's about as dangerous as the final boss of the game. If you don't he's damned near impossible as he'll mind control your entire squad a once. Otherwise he'll summon waves of exploding spectral zombies, or psionic copies of Stun Lancers. On his direct offense he has a buffed up plasma rifle that will do extra damage to psionics (i.e. your Psi Operative and Templar), a mind bullet that will split off to affect up to two additional targets, and the ability to teleport his own allies into flanking positions. Sometimes his AI does some stupid shit such as teleporting an Advent next to him. Bonus points if said Advent is the target your supposed to kill during the mission. Once you get his rifle, it has every possible upgrade in the game. Though only Rangers, Psi-Operatives and Specialist can take it. A waste on the latter two as abilities make having a 3.5 tier weapon redundant.

'''The Lost'''

*'''Regular''': Introduced in WotC, these are the zombie horde style enemies of the game. They have a unique mechanic where if you kill one, you get a free action point to continue killing. A soldier with decent Aim, an auto-loader, and an extended mag can decimate entire swarms if lucky.

*'''Dasher''' Faster, and with slightly more HP (4-5, as opposed to 2-3) these guys aren't exactly more of a threat than the regular lost. They're just more likely to pull off a successful ambush.

*'''Brute''' These guys have a lot of HP for a Lost, and can actually deal some melee punishment, and will start coming out in decent numbers by endgame. Then again, by endgame you'll have the best weapons and armour, so once again... only really a threat if you're unlucky, and there's a lot of them.

== See Also ==

*[[X-Com Play By Post]], experimental rules for playing X-Com on a forum.
*[[XCOM: Tomorrow's War edition]], a conversion of [[Tomorrow's War]] for playing X-Com on the tabletop.

== Gallery ==
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== External Links ==

* [http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page UFOpaedia.org], a wiki dedicated to X-COM (and sequels, and mods, etc.).
* [http://openxcom.org/ Open Source engine for the original game]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=269&enmi=XCOM:%20The%20Board%20Game Fantasy Flight Games's official X-COM game.]
* [http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/? Long War main page.]
* [http://ufoai.org/wiki/About UFO: Alien Invasion]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BqoEJUWKVRFSKXOA2Ks3Ce7Kvphmg0kAFKcuXJHgmr0/mobilebasic?pli=1 Things X-COM operatives are not allowed to do], a list in the vein of Mr. Welch's list. Occasionally hilarious
* [https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=5026.0] A 40k mod for openxcom NO idea as to why it hasn't shown up here.
[[category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Software]]

XCOM

2018-04-17T04:57:50Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F: /* X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen */

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[[Image:Xcom_2.png|thumb|right|]]

This is a [[Dan Abnett|rare treat]]. '''X-COM''', or as it's called across the pond, ''UFO: Enemy Unknown'' is a turn-based strategy game that is, to put it simply, about as close to a game of [[Dark Heresy]] as one can get in isometric 3D. Note that X-COM is significantly older than [[Dark Heresy]], and older than all but the first edition of [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], so it'd be better to say [[Dark Heresy]] is a lot like X-COM on the tabletop. Dating back to the much-lamented Microprose, it set a gold standard for atmosphere and playability that has, frankly, not been breached in ages.

The game is [[Dwarf Fortress|old as balls]] and in isometric view, which, paired with the Dark Heresy similarities, makes it more /tg/ material than /v/.

==A General Gist==

A general synopsis is that in [[grimdark|the not-so-distant future, there is war - and aliens]]. Aliens are arriving, and they are most assuredly hostile. It falls upon the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or the eponymous X-COM, a multi-national task-force, to deal with the invasion by blasting the fuck out of the Aliens, stealing their shit, researching their technology, and using it to fucking kill them off, all the while fighting off terror attacks and trying to figure out where in Uranus these fucking things are coming from (as it turns out, from Mars, and if you win, the final mission involves you going to Mars and dropping an [[Exterminatus]] on their asses).

It kicked ass. It was good enough to spawn a sequel, ''Terror From The Deep'', which was basically the same game, but underwater and infinitely harder. Story-wise, the destruction of the Martian base activated a fail-safe in the aliens' system that woke up T'leth, their 'secondary' (and mobile) base buried deep under the seas of Earth. X-Com now again must protect the people while finding out about where exactly T'leth is and go in to blast it to smithereens with extreme prejudice. It was hard. Really hard. Not only do aliens have a major advantage technology-wise at the start and they tear through your recruits with impunity, but later in the game when you catch up they start using a nasty trick to take control of your troopers, leading to sometimes hilarious and [[rage|extreme rage-inducing]] turn one [[TPK]]s as your heavy weapon trooper gets controlled and fires his heavy weapon inside the transport while the team is busy disembarking. Oh, and did we mention that the only way to research the best armour in the game was to capture a live specimen of a rarely-appearing alien? And that to capture a live specimen you had to send a poor redshirt in armed with an oversized cattleprod to stun it in close quarters? And that said alien was [[rip and tear|able to tear a human apart effortlessly]] in close quarters? And (as if all that wasn't bad enough already), that the poor redshirt then had to pick up and to carry the damn unconscious thing back to the human ship praying [[rape|that the specimen didn't wake up with a grudge before he got there and the mission ended]]? Yeah, it was kinda like that.

It then spawned a second, somewhat different but still appreciated sequel, ''X-Com Apocalypse''. Destruction of T'leth fucked up Earth biosphere and humanity retreated to quickly built mega-arcologies to survive. Unlike the two first game, there's a bigger political aspect to things as you have not only to make sure you deal with the damn aliens coming to fuck your shit up, but remain best buds with the other humans while doing so. All in all, a decent, if not overwhelmingly good game.

Then Microprose was bought by [[Hasbro|that which must never be named]], who proceeded to nose-dive the IP with games like [[AIDS|X-COM: Interceptor]] and [[Shit Twinkie|X-COM: Enforcer]].

Fucking [[RAGE|Hasbro]].

Anyway. Combat is a lot like Dark Heresy's in that it's exceedingly lethal; at the game's outset, you have no armor beyond jumpsuits with Kevlar stuffed into them, and your firearms are the best and most powerful weaponry that chemical propelled explosives can provide only moderately capable against alien forces (though quite diverse). In order to properly take these fucking things on on anything remotely resembling their own terms, you need upgrades. Upgrades come through research, and research comes by shooting down UFOs, landing a ground assault, killing the surviving aliens, and stripping the UFO like the [[Blood Ravens]] do other chapters' shiny bits. Once brought back to base, your researchers can look into what makes the alien's gear work, research your own weapons and tech, and develop technologies to help in the fight against the Aliens. Eventually, you can load your forces up with [[Space Marine|Power-armored bad-asses]], but starting out, your forces are fragile, and fighting smart is ''vital''. You ''will'' suffer casualties early on - guaranteed - but such is war, and you must press on, allowing the survivors to grow into [[Colonel Greiss|manly badasses]].

The Aliens themselves are diverse, ranging from the Sectoids (conventional "gray" aliens), to Chryssalids (horrifying abominations that inject targets with eggs that turn them into mindless drones which will explosively birth new Chryssalids thereafter). Nightmare fuel = yes. The game manages to be exceedingly creepy for one so simple, and is one of many reasons that X-COM works so well.

==Tales of Heroism==

In accordance with /tg/'s love of war stories about [[your dudes]], several examples of awesome have been compiled:

''Instant'' death doesn't ''always'' happen. Occasionally, one Rookie will be touched by God and succeed against all odds. After that, he will die horribly. [[Just as Planned]].

X-COM agent of note: [[Marc Lecointe]]. Lecointe survived numerous missions, got the highest kill count on most missions, killed a Snakemen leader and his bodyguards (despite losing over half the squad), and got shot in the face and back with plasma and lived. He eventually was hit with return fire in an alley and began bleeding. He returned fire and killed the Snakeman, but bled to death before help could arrive. Lacointe lives on in our hearts.

Another agent of note is Gristle McThornbody, a Rocket-Toting Team-Killing asshole who refuses to die OR be mind-controlled. He's so badass, that even when he has 85% or more to hit on a 2x2 alien, he'll still hit the wall twenty tiles to the left.

== New Stuff and Things ==
According to things [[/v/]] likes to watch on the Internet, a new X-Com game is in the pipes, set to be made in the gameplay and spirit of the old games, with new graphics and updated for the new generation of gamers to be introduced into the X-Com game style. It lost the dash along the way someplace, and got re-named ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown''. This new game, which has spawned joy boners in many on /v/ and /tg/ alike, is believed to stem from the utter, burning [[RAGE|fury]] that was originally spawned from 2K's simply-titled ''XCOM'' game, which, near as we can tell, is an FPS that takes place in the 1960s and has exactly ''nothing'' to do with the actual X-COM franchise. Seriously, don't look into 2K's game if you're a fan of the series on any level - it will cause veterans to spontaneously transform into [[Angry Marines]] and/or [[Khorne|Khornate Berserkers]]. Apparently, those in charge had the wherewithal to note that if they didn't make a ''proper'' X-COM game, [[/tg/]] (and by extension, [[/v/]]) would [[Anal Circumference|leave their asshole in ruins]]. They even went ahead to declare the two games take place in separate universes. If only [[Games Workshop]] had [[Matt Ward|that much sense]]...

== XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis ==
[[File:XCOMGameplay.jpg|200px|thumb|An in-game screenshot of the new game.]]
And Firaxis came to the rescue, promising to return to the roots of XCOM (note the lack of a hyphen this time around, although the logo ''does'' have a horizontal stripe taken out of the "COM"). Since Firaxis has a lot of ex-MicroProse people, a lot of them have had to do with the original as well, and the original musical score will make a return. Although it's changed a few things to avoid hurting the brains of [[/v/|delicate little console kiddies]] like removing time units, removing ballistic simulation, cutting down on your maximum amount of squad members (4 at the start and 6 maximum) and limiting us to one base (though each base location gives its own unique bonus), it still somehow manages to be a good game in its own right. If the original X-COM is like Mordheim, then XCOM is like Space Hulk: massively simplified and more heavily dependent on the luck of the die, but with less micromanagement and long-term planning required.

If you haven't bought the game and you're a TBS fan, everyone in /tg/ that isn't [[That guy]], would highly recommend you give it a whirl at the modest price of <strike>
$39.99 </strike> $16.49 for all the good remade XCOM games because of our father Gabe Newell on PC,
still is 39.99 for console/Non-Steam or $9.99 on mobile/tablet devices. Like always, we have footage for vidyas: https://youtu.be/qDhuZ4b51hA https://youtu.be/-SKoS5BYVuY https://youtu.be/bxuzLyR-000

===XCOM: Enemy Within===
[[File:MectoidMEC.jpg|200px|thumb|Did we mention melee combat with exosuits?]]
''Enemy Within'' is an expansion pack (and unlike most "horse armor" tier DLCs with the name this one actually deserves it) that completely re-defines how the game progresses, compared to the original one. The game's story still progresses like the original game, but expands on it for a more entertaining experience.

It adds the "meld" resource to the game, a type of alien organic/synthetic-hybrid nanomachine that allows you to unlock two powerful technologies: MEC and genetic modification. MEC allows your troops to interface with a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit, a heavy exoskeleton that brings the heaviest of weapons to the field (Including the option for a powerfist equivalent called a "Kinetic Strike Module". Yes, make your own faux [[Terminator]] squad! Especially when the Tier-3 Paladin upgrades bulks up your suit's armor that you look vaguely similar to Termies.). Genetic modification allows you to augment your troops using data gathered from dissected aliens, making them killier than ever before. Infact, you can create your own equivalent of an Imperial [[Space Marine]] with the list of available modifications you can do (Two of these specific upgrades are a second heart and the ability of self-regeneration) .

It also adds new aliens to the xenos' side, like a cloaking squid robots that chokes your troops to death and their own brand of exosuit troops. It also introduces another enemy into the game: EXALT. EXALT are a bunch of power-mad blokes who sees the alien's invasion as a way to gain power by adapting their technology for themselves, inching them closer to world domination. They see you as an obstacle and are determined to undermine your efforts to defeat the aliens by disrupting your operations through a number of ways and sowing panic amongst XCOM-member nations, generally making your already hectic life even more hectic. You must now defeat this new threat through a combination of [[Ork|cunning brutality and brutal cunning.]] They have most of your technologies to go toe-to-toe with you (Except for their own exosuits) and they are well hidden, so bringing them down won't be an easy affair.

=== XCOM 2 ===
[[File:People%27s_reaction_to_XCOM_2%27s_Vipers.png|200px|thumb|Turns out they ''are'' poison glands. Hee.]]
A direct-ish sequel to EU/EW, XCOM 2 seems to decide that what's canon is not: not "you killed all the aliens, now here's more aliens", but "you know that Impossible Ironman game you played for a laugh and got utterly stomped? That's the canon ending". (The utterly stomping part takes place in the base assault, and it is so bad that two of the most important things got taken: The Commander, and more importantly, central officer Bradford's sweater). The aliens won before humanity even got to laser weapons, taking over the world and unifying humanity (read: ruling over them in a pseudo-utopia "Brave New World"-style), and basically preparing to turn them into another of their slave races (not that most of humanity knows this).

XCOM refused to back down even after the Council of Nations ceased to exist and instead went underground, hijacking an alien supply ship to act as a mobile base for hit-and-run operations against the alien occupiers, in the hopes of toppling the ADVENT (the puppet government aliens've set up) and exposing the true purpose of their supposedly ideal society to the world.

New features include:
The Assault class has been given a makeover to focus even more on [[Rip and Tear]], replacing the sidearm with a sword and changing title to the Ranger. The Sniper has been renamed the Sharpshooter and given a pistol-focused skill-tree-route that turns the soldier into Clint Eastwood (literally, like you can have a stand-off by firing 3 pistol-shots in the same turn). The Support class has been renamed the Specialist and been given a drone to hack, heal, shield and/or zap shit remotely. The Heavy has been given a nice grenade launcher to act as your cover-stomper, and been renamed the Grenadier. Psi-operatives are their own class now as well, and get hate-hair and [[Cadia|purple eyes]] because that makes sense and all psychically talented people look like neo-punks. Troops can be captured, and then rescued, which also reclaims any expensive gear they had on them (but it's never the captured troops you actually need back).
New enemies (without spoilers), including human ADVENT security troops (who really love to say "bitch" and pointing towards your soldiers) with magnetic weapons who look like humans till you get their armor off, sectoid-human hybrids with teeth, thumbs, and belly buttons (which can be really creepy if you '''really''' think about it), and transsexual Snake-women called Vipers (which is what the Thin Men actually look like without their disguises). Yes, there were snaketits on the thread that announced this to /tg/. Yes, /d/ has drawn porn of them. Yes, it will be added to the gallery.

Moving on.

XCOM 2 also contains an in depth explanation for the aliens' motives that many fans felt was lacking or too ambiguous in Enemy Within. Apparently, the Ethereals have some kind of fatal disease they can't cure, so they've been trekking around the galaxy culminating genes to form the ultimate bodies for themselves, while amassing a genetically supreme army. When the Ethereals found humanity, they found their genes to be so awesome and powerful that just adding some of them to a lowly sectoid turned it from a pathetic 3' tall creature you could kill with basic weapons, to an 8' tall psionic rape machine that could raise the dead and withstand salvos of bullets to the face. They then set up an alien government on Earth so they could discretely process humanity's best genetic material and slowly form new bodies for themselves that don't die called Avatars. And by don't die, we mean have copious amounts of health, teleport every time they're injured, regenerate like crazy, are guaranteed to successfully mind control anything, and are immune to any of your psychic abilities. And the boss fight involves killing three of these dick-butts and an endless wave of alien reinforcements. Using human DNA is also where their ADVENT troops came from, they grew armies of human spliced with unspecified alien to act as their public face to the humans. But humanity wins anyway, because humans are just that fucking awesome.

The game is also notable for abandoning the usual conditions for losing. The norm for the series is for your funding to get cut if too many countries lose faith in XCOM. Since you're fighting a guerilla war and your support are humans fighting to survive outside the aliens' control zones, that isn't happening. Instead you lose if the aliens complete the Avatar Project, their goal to mass produce the bodies for the etherals. If they do you get treated to a scene of almost all resistance being crushed because the Avatars are dangerous enough in small numbers and army of them would unstoppable. You can slow progress, but can only stop it by finishing the game.

So far there have been recently four DLCs for XCOM 2. "Anarchy's Children" added new customization features for your soldiers, most of which you wouldn't ever really use. "Alien Hunters" adds a new mission, weapons, and alien rulers who you have to hunt down. The alien rulers get to take an action every, single, time, one of your soldiers does. This is even more infuriating then it sounds. Some more customization options are added too. "Shen's Last Gift" adds another mission and the SPARK class soldier. SPARKs are robots you have to make in the proving ground. War of the Chosen finally allows players to add modifications to their guns, gave them better aim and a health boost. So now they're worth taking. If your Grenadier is injured or has low morale. While their weapons are much larger and more powerful-looking than the other squad specialized weapons, they don't do more damage than the regular specialized weapons. This is stupid, as an auto-cannon would naturally do much more damage than a 7mm Gatling Gun. They are also prohibitively expensive so you have no choice to do the mission if you want one for cheap. Optional mods have improved their balance to out right making them a super unit if you wish.

And here comes the fun part; if you read the developers blog, their idea of "balance" is to actually nerf plenty of stuff...so the game is harder after having a buffed-up alien lord chase your dudes all over the game. Was old-school really this hard?

You think that's bad, the end game unlocks second wave options, like increasing all Health by 50%, having your guys get worse as they get injured, have their stats rolled at random, so you can make the game even HARDER! Because dying is ''fun''.

====XCOM 2: War of the Chosen====

This brand new expansion gives us three new allies to aid us.

*Reapers: Stealthy hunters who are armed with nothing but a rifle and explosives. It's enough. They wear [[Shadowrun|trench coats and gas masks]]. Have a special ability where they have a chance to not reveal themselves upon attacking. Enemies have vastly reduced detection ranges against Reapers, and Reapers can detonate explosives on the map without revealing themselves. They can also throw an environmental explosive. [[Dakka|They also have an ability that lets them shoot at an enemy until they run out of ammo.]] Long story short, these guys are only slightly less powerful than the Reapers from Mass Effect.

*Skirmishers: ADVENT defectors who are armed with a grappling hook that can pull them to a rooftop and pull themselves to the enemy or vice versa and at max level allows them to have the [[Awesome|alien rulers ability to gain action points Everytime. The. Enemy. Moves]] Except it only works three times a turn, and doesn't trigger on non-move actions. [[fail|The game doesn't tell you this.]]

*Templars: [[Grey Knights|a resistance group made of only psionics]] that wield psi blades and machine pistols, but you'll probably never use those. They're fast, hard to kill, and hit like a brick. Like the [[rip and tear]] half of the Ranger, but with psionic powers. They're also fantastically hammy and roll their Rs.

But these new allies come with a catch as you now have to fight the titular chosen who can adapt to your soldiers abilities with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the Lost ([[tarpit|zombie swarms]]) that attack both you and ADVENT. Along with these new allies and enemies is trying to get the three resistance groups to work together, as well as a new fatigue and relationship system.

=== XCOM: Long War ===

What, the new XCOM wasn't complicated enough for you? There's a mod called "Long War" which goes into lots more detail, a bit more like the classic game. Now, the aliens will advance their plans and escalate their forces and assaults based on their own progression system, and the game is rebalanced around the expectation that you will not succeed at every mission (and you won't -- the aliens are plenty tough to see to that).

=== XCOM: The Board Game ===

From [[Fantasy Flight Games]], there's a board game adaptation of XCOM (in fact, ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' was quite inspired by board games, with the two-actions-per-turn system instead of the old 'time units'). There's a companion app for smartphones, tablets, and computers which controls the aliens and informs players of events, a bit like a [[Game Master]], but without exposing the players to too much bookkeeping. Amazing what games can do with computers these days -- just imagine if such a thing had been available for [[FATAL]]! On second thought, don't.

Players (1-4) take on different roles in the XCOM organization. The Commander keeps an eye on the budget and allocates interceptors. The Chief Scientist directs research efforts. The Central Officer works the app and solicits input from the others (if there are any) to make decisions (many of which are time-critical). The Squad Leader manages troops and base defense. Together, they need to allocate their resources, judge when to push risky but rewarding avenues (inviting retribution from the aliens if they fail), and defend humanity. Like the games, successes are rare -- a die only has a 1/3 chance of coming up with a success, and tasks may need multiple successes. There is also an "enemy die", a [[d8]] that is rolled against the number of times that task has been attempted. If it rolls equal to or under that number, something bad happens. So, do you pool resources for critical tasks (neglecting anything else, and hoping that your priorities are correct), in order to most likely be successful before the threat level climbs too high? Or do you stay flexible but push your luck? Your call, commander.

=== XCOM 2: Long War 2 ===
If you thought XCOM 2 was ''already'' hard, thanks in part to the involvement of the original Long War modders in the game's development, said modders come back with a sequel mod for the game. Not only does this go even further than the first Long War in going into a lot of detail, such as new graphical touches, significant rebalancing and completely overhauling the global map to be more reminiscent of classic X-com. But the difficulty is amped up even more, with missions even requiring you to send in potentially fatal scouting parties to make sure your ''other'' squads don't die on the spot. Also, rather than launching parties directly into battle, missions spawn on the geoscape with an expiration timer. The player ''can'' launch immediately, but the enemy presence will be drastically increased! Instead, the idea is that the squad can spend time infiltrating, to let ADVENT get complacent and draw troops elsewhere. Having more Resistance folks working Intel increases mission expiration times, but the bigger and heavier the squad, the more infiltration time is require. And vice versa -- short-staffing a squad can allow a player to infiltrate to high percentages on short notice...but now you've only got like four guys on the ground, and that might not be enough firepower if activations go badly...

This mod requires dramatically more strategic thought and care. Weapons, armor, and equipment are all purchased individually, forcing you into decisions like 'do I continue the rollout of my newly available armor-piercing coilguns, or do I buy armor for the two rookies I've trained up?' and 'do I send my last seven man team to secure me an engineer, commit them to a long infiltration to wipe out an advent tower, or hold them in reserve for a better opportunity?' The difficulty is likewise much higher, but you have dramatically expanded options to combat it with special weapons, squad leaders, extra inventory slots packed with flashbangs, veteran troop skills, chooseable bonus perks, a psi advancement training regime that makes some actual sense, and many, many more troops and mission opportunities. Minor reinforcement on that last one, in fact: in stock XCOM 2 you'll likely end the campaign with fewer than twenty soldiers, whereas here it's pretty common to have a hundred active-duty troopers at a time.

The Shinobi ([[Derp|all the Ninja IRL schools have closed up shop]]) is the most overpowered class. Making missions easier then they should be as he can [[derp|bypass Overwatch]] and has a very low impact on infiltration. Making missions unrealistic for players who hate RNG and want a pure stealth game.

The Devs of Long War have said there will not be making a Long War for War of the Choosen. As Firaxis added a ton of crap that would take years for Long War Studios to shift though it and make the mod playable.

== The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ==
Despite having the name XCOM in the title, the game really has little relation to the series. The reason behind this is because 2K passed this game on to the lovely people that brought you Bioshock 2; meaning it was made by a studio that makes more or less decent games. It's supposed to be a prequel, set in the 1960s during the Cold War era. The protagonist, William Carter, was a CIA agent just delivering a suitcase of classified "documents" until an Outsider disguised as a female agent got ahold of it. Not long after that, an alien invasion commenced!

The Bureau is a RPG that plays like Mass Effect, but not as good for a variety of reasons. One reason is in the dialog scene, you're given choices of what to ask/say. They really don't impact the game, nor changes it for the most part, so you can skip a majority of it if you want to. The agents in your squad are pretty dull, sure you can change their names and how they dress, but really doesn't offer any friendship/foe engagements. If they die, you will need to recruit another agent and start him off from scratch, but really, leveling them up isn't fun and customizable, so just restart a checkpoint if they do die.

The agents in your squad have bad AI if you don't babysit them and give commands on what they should do, and their skills at fighting Outsiders are... Well, okay. The best they can offer is their abilities, so spamming them and you taking care of the killing is an effective way to go (Some recommend starters to start their first mission with a Recon to cause critical damage on certain enemies and a Commando for [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|taunting the grunts and make them easy picking for you.]]

There would be more to go on, but if you want to know more about the game, you can search up reviews of XCOM Declassified. In short, it's a decent prequel that fans can find some enjoyment, but it's not as good as Enemy Unknown. Without going into spoilers, there's also a reveal during the last few levels that's surprisingly meta and well-written. Still worth looking into if you can find it for cheap or rent it.

Interestingly enough, turns out that the universe in XCOM Declassified is the same as that of Enemy Unknown/Within's. After the events in The Bureau, all records were wiped. This explains why the player had to start from scratch at the beginning of Enemy Unknown. When the Ethereals of Unknown/Within spoke of their [[Derp|own failure to ascend,]] they really meant that they wanted to be like the Ethereals from The Bureau. Either way, only time will tell exactly [[Grimdark|what the hell they were preparing humanity for.]]

== Xenonauts ==

X-Com coded by [[Reasonable Marines]].

A faithful remake of the original, with time units and all that. Changes a few things (like lack of Psionics on your side) and adds vehicles (yes, blowing up half a building with a rocket jeep is awesome) and controllable dogfights. Basically the alien invasion is during the Cold War and makes everyone shit themselves simultaneously when THOUSANDS of spaceships are openly in orbit and fucks humanity's shit up in creative ways. Every day the UFO's are left wandering, news bulletins full of terror emanate from the screen, worrying you further.

The ending is very creative, particularly concerning the plot of how an inferior species can even bother to defeat a powerful empire. Stunningly well-made, desperate final mission which may result in a glorious ending, or a bittersweet ending where you still win but the assault team is martyred.

Other differences between it and the original include:

Maps are mostly pregenerated, not fully procedural.

Fewer weapon and ammo types. Seriously, you've got the big five (pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and LMG) and a rocket launcher. No variant ammo types, although the weapons do have researched tiers (which are simply damage-ups).<s> This means no unfairly powerful weapons like the Rape Launcher or the Stun Grenade Launcher.</s> There *are* a few super weapons but seriously, if you waste a "Singularity Generator" which is an ENTIRE CAPTURED BLACK HOLE (a hot commodity salvageable from alien battleships) for a 50 kilogram (without ammo) glorified grenade launcher that doesn't even one shot its AoE, you are a fucking moron.

More basic inventory control. You don't micromanage producing and storing individual missiles, and you can have as many magazines, grenades, and med-kits as you want, limited by carrying limit. You just build the alien-based laser or plasma gun, base gives you ammo made fashioned from a melted-down alien cells. (Alenium is basically a quantum-grade battery aliens came up with. Usually it powers the alien craft, you simply creatively salvage the spent ones into explosives because [[HFY]].)

Smaller team sizes. Max troop count on a mission is 12, with the best drop-ship.

Fewer oddball items, like the motion scanner or psi-ball, but there is now an assault shield, so your dudes don't immediately die when popping open a UFO. Said shield gets upgraded with Alien alloys, and even the final mission sees use of it. Trust me.

Rookies are better out of the gate, but are still shit compared to your colonels. Still, they have a decent chance of killing an enemy in a turn, doubly so if carrying a missile launcher. No longer to operatives miss the broad side of a barn. They *will* miss the spot but will still shake it badly.

Explosive weapons damage items, lowering the amount of money you receive from selling. This is for the best, because explosives are stupidly powerful and are probably the most reliable way of putting a fool down. Considering Reaper, the expy for Chyrssalids are even faster and crazier, you *are* going to need them.

Saveable, customizable loadouts for all of your troops, and obviously no engine-based limit on the amount of items you can bring into a mission.

Aliens don't really hide in corners or really hard to find spots, which makes flushing them out a lot easier. I said flushing out mind you, as they DO charge out and deal extremely serious amounts of damage before going down, to say nothing of teleporting aliens that burst fire in your face if they are lucky.

Troops remain vulnerable a lot longer. You are never at the point where you can float an invincible army of death-dealing demigods over a cowering cadre of snakemen, raining death and destruction down with maddened glee. Even if you do, weird aliens will teleport close and blow you out of the sky, or your flyer will fry a nerve from psionics.

Country relations are more important than after-mission loot.

You can kick or pistol whip an enemy to death. Cue surrounding an annoying alien marksman and beating him to death with riot shields.

You can call airstrikes to cancel boring UFO raids.

=== Xenonauts 2 ===

Now with 3D graphics! A demo is available through GOG.com, with the release planned to be later in 2017.

== UFO: Alien Invasion ==

The most detailed opensource version of XCOM based on the Quake 2 engine.

Buildings are not destructible and it doesn't have a great fog-of-war. It doesn't have unmanned vehicles like the current iterations and sadly doesn't have any sort of Chryssalids yet.

Has a better world map than any other XCOM in that you can fully explore it like google-earth, even showing ship movement on the globe in real time. The campaign is more forgiving in that it does not force you through Acts like Enemy Unknown where you can't possible keep everybody happy, or has nations constantly bitching at you for radar coverage like in Xenonauts. Instead you get to bid captured UFOs and give preference to unhappy nations that feel neglected or where you haven't been saving civilians frequently.

The camera is completely free in battlescape mode just like in Enemy Unknown, complete with zoom capabilities. Lots of different weapons, though you will find yourself a fool if you don't immediately start using alien weapons. Also levels tend to have more floors than other iterations, such as one mission in which you're going through an office building or another where you're entering a subway.

The only major problem with the game is that the smoke grenades are so overpowered your guys will be coming out of your drop ship like Snoop-Dogg out of his trailer. Otherwise you'll find aliens are more than happy to shower your guys with plasma from across the map.

After a general huge update smoke is now useless and aliens are much, MUCH more powerful.

Oh, and its free. Still, fuck it. Final version is broken, often locking the game, and developers have been keeping silent, the fucking FAGGOTS.

== Phoenix Point ==

A spiritual successor by Julian Gollop himself. As of the time of this edit, fully funded and in development with a backer pre-alpha coming quite soon. The basic idea is; some kind of strange virus has been dug up in the permafrost and has had two outbreaks so far, each escalating in severity. Now it's invading the land a third (and fatally final) time, most of humanity is gone (Partly cus of the virus, partly cus of WW3 happening during the second outbreak), and you must defend the survivors from both the creatures and each other, you poor sap.

The virus morphs all life into Lovecraftian horrors. Literally Lovecraftian; it is implied that [[H.P. Lovecraft|Howard the Great]] was inspired by ancient findings describing an outbreak of the same virus a few million years ago. It even came from Yuggoth. Humanity being humanity, there are several factions with drastically differing ideas on how to deal with it; there is a faction based around a religion [[Genestealer Hybrids|worshipping the mutations that is also capable of retaining human conscioussness despite said mutations]], another is [[Eclipse Phase| high-tech anarcho-communists trying to coexist with the virus and other factions]] while the third faction [[Starship Troopers|Is a high-tech PMC turned millitaristic civilization with "Service Guarantees Citizenship" that just wants to destroy the virus and any of its sympathizers.]].

So far, the game has managed to gather enough funding and reach one stretch goal for a floating base that will be given as FREE DLC, along with other stretch goals at a later date should the game be succesful.

Expected; large bosses, your own mutated soldiers with crippleable limbs, the option of saving a group of people by [[Dawn of War II|landing on a giant creature and injecting it with poison]], Deep Lore, A hybrid of the old TU and new Two-Action system, unique tech trees for each faction (which you can also get in on by either allying with or stealing from them) and randomized global events (ala Crusader Kings 2).
Oh, and there are [[Flamer|flamethrowers]], Shoulder-Mounted missiles, power armor, gauss rifles and other goodies, such as a mutant mount for the cultist faction.

== XPiratez ==

What XCOM 2 was to XCOM: Enemy Within, XPiratez is to X-COM: UFO Defense. Made of pure [[Awesome|awesome]], you lead a crew of female mutants on a quest to kick ass, gain riches, and fuck bitches. A mod for OpenXcom, it's completely free and gets constant updates. Go check it out! Nothing's more satisfying then crushing a pureblood's head in with a sledge hammer and then mowing down his mates with your [[Dakka|custom Boarding gun]]. To say more would be to spoil its unique atmosphere and feeling of exploration as you uncover what has happened to the world. Let's just say it's a long, long time after the events of XCOM: UFO Defense.

== The Tabletop Game ==

Yes, there was a Tabletop game, made by [[Fantasy Flight Games]], so this article has some direct /tg/ relevance. The problem is, [[Derp | you need a cell phone app to play it]].

==Aliens==
Needless to say, in this game, there are many different types of aliens that your teams are going to have to fight.

===Original Continuity===
{{stub}}

Sectoid

Cyberdisk

Floater

Reaper

Snakeman

Chryssalid

Muton

Celatid

Silicoid

Ethereal

Sectopod

Aquatoid

Gillman

Lobsterman

Tasoth

Bio-Drone

Calcinite

Deep One

Hallucinoid

Tentaculat

Triscene

Xarquid

Brainsucker

Multiworm

Hyperworm

Chrysalis

Anthropod

Psimorph

Spitter

Megaspawn

Popper

Skeletoid

Micronoid Aggregate

Queenspawn

Overspawn

===Reboot Continuity===
{{stub}}

The reboot continuity has its own array of different monsters, with some changes in variety between the first and second game.

====X-COM Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within====

'''Sectoid''': Tiny little grey men in the first game, these are the first Psionic enemy you'll meet, with the ability to boost each other in combat. This can be rather nasty giving them an extra hit point and a +10 to hit and dodge, although if you kill the booster, you'll kill whatever Sectoid they're boosting as well thanks to Psychic feedback.

'''Sectoid Commander''': Only in the first game, these guys are Sectoids on psychic steroids. You'll see one on the tutorial mission and get a taste of what they can do, even if you don't fight it. They're stronger, tougher, and more psionically powerful than the basic section, and are the first unit that can possess your guys mid firefight.

'''Thin Man''': Apparently an "Infiltrator Unit" nobody would mistake these guys for human at close distance as they have snake scales running up their necks, and are skinny enough to make a super-model jealous. Apparently they were made from genetically modifying Snake-Men as they can spit clouds of poison at great distance, and will explode into one when they're killed. Otherwise they're real flimsy.

'''Muton''': How you know the aliens are stepping up their game. Everything up till now has been child's play (for a particularly psychotic child), then these guys come along. Big, tough, "smart", and dangerous, these guys will mulch a squad equipped with regular weapons and armour without breaking a sweat, and capturing one of these guys alive brings one of the better upgrades. Have fun.

'''Muton Berserker''': Ha, ha, ha. These guys are melee monsters, capable of soaking up bullets by the magazine, and slowly getting angrier and angrier as they do. If they can get in close they'll unleash the melee hurt, but thankfully they're not amazingly fast. Thankfully, their instinctive charge of the last person who shot them means you can set them up to run a gauntlet of Overwatch fire, with a bit of luck.

'''Muton Elite''': As much health as the Berserkers, plus armor, and lacking the berserk charges. Instead, they carry heavy plasma cannons.

'''Floater''': Apparently reject Mutons, stripped down to an upper torso and fitted up with cybernetic implants, mainly a jetpack. They're your first hint that the aliens may not be one big happy family, as they have an idle animation consisting of them ripping at their flesh and bionics until blood spurts. They're basically the fastest unit in the game, great Overwatchers, and pack about s much punch as a standard Muton. They have a special ability that sacrifices all their actions for the turn to instead fly to any single spot on the map, which they love to use to get the drop on your team.

'''Heavy Floater''' A tougher, armored version of the standard Floater, with a bigger gun. Basically just replace floaters in the late game to keep them competitive, but they've got no new tricks up their sleeves.

'''Outsider''': Strange "digital" lifeforms that serve as the technicians of the alien forces. You need to capture one of these in order to advance the game. They're wimpy, but their light plasma rifles are deadly accurate, so they can gun down whole teams if you're careless.

'''Sectopod''': The aliens' equivalent of a tank; an enormous, heavily armored killer robot with insanely high health, high armor, a 50% damage reduction ability, and the ability to blaze away with both a fuck-off huge laser and to launch showers of cluster bombs. They also blow up when you kill them. Your most hated enemy.

'''Cyberdisk''': A ridiculously fast flying robot that can shapeshift between a flying saucer-like flight-mode (in which it's harder to hit) and its unfurled combat mode. Not quite as killy as the sectopod, but still really adept at ruining your day.

'''Drone''': Small flying robots that basically zip around like laser-spitting wasps. They don't do much damage, but they can repair mechanical aliens and they explode like a grenade when killed. And they're extra-hard to hit, for added nuisance factor.

'''Chryssalid''': An absolute fucking nightmare, just like the original series. These bugs are lightning fast, vicious, and if they kill anyone they'll automatically plant an egg in the corpse, which will turn into a zombie before hatching a new chryssalid three turns later. And these zombies are tough enough to weather several turns of shooting. One of the standout points of the first game is a pre-baked mission where you get to investigate a whaling ship that crashed ashore in Alaska after being infested by Chryssalids who turned the catch into their personal hive. Your job is to first investigate the area, and then light the place up for your bombers so they can nuke it from orbit.

'''Ethereal''': The leaders of the alien forces, physically frail but masters of [[psionics]], which they can use to ''really'' fuck up your day.

'''Seeker''': A relatively weak squid-like robot that uses camouflage to sneak up on its prey and then tries to crush it to death with its tendrils. They like to go after isolated members of your squad, which can be used to bait them into going after Assault troopers with Close Combat Tactics for hilarious effects.

'''Mechtoid''': An armored exoskeleton piloted by a sectoid, carrying twin plasma mini-cannons. Sectoids can use their mind merge ability to give a layer of shielding to mechtoids; killing the sectoid removes the shield and causes some damage to the mechtoid.

====X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen====

'''ADVENT'''

The end results of what the Ethereals want to do with humanity. Puppet soldiers controlled by a series of psionically linked chips that feed back to command nodes. It's stated that the commander was supossed to be one of these before XCOM manages to rescue him in the tutorial mission.

*'''Trooper''': The grunts, they come in three flavours, with increasing HP, Dodge, and Accuracy. Challenging only in numbers, and then only thanks to the fact that a shot will hit you at some point, and they can take fire away from the actual threats.

*'''Officer''': These guys aren't a threat on their own, however they can Holo-Target one of your guys for free, granting their allies a +10 to hit against that soldier. either take out everyone around them, or take them out, before that becomes a problem.

*'''Shield-Bearer''': The most annoying ADVENT type in the base game, these guys can pop a shield that gives avery ADVENT and Alien soldier in range +3 or +5 temporary HP. Combined with their armour these guys can take a licking and keep on ticking. Take them out pronto otherwise the fight is going to take far longer than it should. They also kinda look like Robocop so they have that going for them.

*'''Stun-Lancer''': Melee focused, these guys are noticeable by the fact they were far less armour than any other ADVENT soldier. They'll charge forwards if in range, and attempt to stun your guys for a turn with their Melee beatsticks. Otherwise they've just got regular ADVENT Rifles.

*'''Priest''': Introduced in WotC, these guys are the ADVENT Psions, they can boost another ADVENT soldier, much like Sectoids could in Enemy Unknown (and like that game if you kill the priest the soldier will suffer psionic feedback and die), or they can put one of your guys in Statis for a turn, preventing them from doing anything. Advanced and Elite priests have additional tricks that allow them to Mind-Control your guys, and place themselves in Statis if they would be killed, instead staying around with 1 HP for another turn.

*'''Purifier''': Flamethrower wielding ADVENT troops that only appear in WotC. The guys are kept "secret" from the public (despite that fact they can appear in any mission if the RNG says so) as they are supossed to hunt down and kill the lost in the old, abandoned cities. As stated they use flamethrowers, alongside incendiary grenades, and when you kill them there's a good chance they will explode, so don't kill them with melee unless you want to lose your eyebrows. Athough that can lead to some hilarious chain reactions if you're lucky.

*'''General''': Only appears in assassination missions in WotC. Essentially just a beefed up Officer with a shit ton of HP, and the ability to throw Flash-Bangs.

*'''MEC / Heavy MEC''': The first truly heavy ADVENT Unit. These things come with an absurd amount of HP for the early game, and multiple armour pips. They're not particularly smart however and do not use cover at all, instead relying on their durability to weather your shooting so take advantage of this. Remember not to bunch your guys up as they have a shoulder mounted missile launcher that they will use on your guys if they're clustered together. MECs can also use suppression at the end of their turn if they can't target a group. The Heavy MEC is just tougher and more accurate, you can think your way through this fight. The best way to deal with them is hacking or anti machine equipment such as EMP rounds and grenades.

*'''Turrets / Heavy / Superheavy''': It's a turret. What more do you want? They have some armour and a decent amount of HP, but they can't move, and are fairly easy to hack to your side. If all else fails tossing a frag grenade at it is a guaranteed kill. As they are never encountered on the ground and will almost always be mounted on top of buildings. With few exceptions.

*'''Sectopod''': The final, and toughest ADVENT unit. It's just as much of a nightmare as it was in the first game. With the ability to shoot and enter overwatch, extend its legs to give itself a height advantage while standing on the ground, and use a charged-up laser blast that will kill anyone it hits. When they are finally defeated it will explode. Likely killing or injuring any unit for months next to them. As with any robotic unit they can be hacked by a properly specced specialist, although its nearly impossible to turn these guys to your side, so settle for stunning them for several turns. Anti mechanical weapons and equipment a must for defeating Sectopods if you don't have Plasma Weapons.

'''Aliens'''

*'''Sectoid''': Tougher than you remember due to the infusion of human DNA. Now have the ability to resurrect dead troopers - yours and ADVENT - as zombies, and all sectoids from the get-go can lay a mind whammy on your troops, randomly panicking, disorientating or controlling them.

*'''Chrysallid''': Because why the fuck wouldn't the Ethereals keep their most effective terror weapon. These guys have changed from scuttling horrors, to burrowing, venomous, scuttling horrors, capable of turning anyone they kill, either with their venom or their claws into a slowly metamorphosing cocoon that, if it reaches maturity, will spit out '''THREE''' new chryssalids, because Firaxis hates you. They are rendered mostly harmless by being set on fire, so if you think you're going to run into them bring incendiary rounds, fire bombs, and hell weave vests.

*'''Viper''': The most famous of the new aliens because they look like [[serpentfolk|humanoid snake-women]] with [[furry|nice tits and a sweet pair of hips]]. Appear pretty early in the game; not much tougher than sectoids, but quite annoying. They can drag you out of cover with their tongue whip attack, spew toxic clouds like the Thin Men, and strangle you in melee like a Seeker. These gals represent the true form of the Thin Man alien from the last game.

*'''Andromedon''': One of the cooler new alien designs, it could almost have been ripped out of the old X-COM series. It looks like combination of an old diving suit and an iron lung, filled with green sludge, and a single pickled alien who apparently needs that sludge to live. When you kill it the first time the suit reboots and come to life by itself, dropping its heavy plasma cannon and charging into melee. In its first form an Andromedon is a tough customer, with more armour & health than a Muton while packing the same firepower. In its second form it will only ever try to hit you with its fists, but it leaves behind trail of acidic and poisonous sludge that hurts your guys if they try to move through it (because jumping isn't a thing, despite the ability to haul yourself up drainpipes) which makes navigating the battlefield a hassle, especially in densely packed urban missions. Thankfully their second form will be easier to deal with. As these Powered Armor wearing little shits will Overwatch to hamper squad mobility and toss Acid Bombs at [[your_dudes]] if not killed ASAP.

*'''Faceless''': A new enemy that should only appear in Terror Attack missions. Shapeshifters that look like ordinary humans until your troops get too close, then they turn into ''fucking huge'' moaning melted-wax men with claws the length of shotguns. Can take quite a beating and will literally tear down houses to get at your troops. They can be seeded in regular missions if you pull the Dark Event that allows them to mingle with the regular citizens during missions. Isn't that lovely.

*'''Muton''': Remaining as the ethereal's shock infantry, these Mutons have apparently been crossbred with humanity, making them smaller, faster, and deadlier. Apparently they're smarter too, but considering just how badly the A.I can flub up sometimes, you have to wonder about that. They aren't packing any more HP, but they're now armoured, so they'll soak up more damage unless you can shred their armour with heavy weapons and explosives. They'll still be a threat until you get Plasma weapons, and 3rd their armour, but once you're there, they pretty much become chaff beneath the scythe. They also like tossing grenades if they don't have a direct line of sight on your troops. Along with the ability to use suppression if a Muton can't get into melee. Making them an annoyance well into the late game.

*'''Berserker''': Now visually more distinct from the regular muton insted of just having a fancy costume. Still the same extremely tough melee combatants with the same instinctive berserker charge. Apparently, these are actually the muton ''women''. Gives a whole new meaning to the term [[amazon]], huh?

*'''Codex''':A replacement for the Outsider, but far more annoying. The Codex first appears when you Skulljack an ADVENT officer, and it looks like a wierldy sexy woman made of pure energy, but with a cybernetic brain & spinal column. They can teleport around the battlefield, and when struck by an attack that fails to kill them, they split into two Codexes with half of their remaining health. They can also create temporary zones of energy that suck all the ammo out of your guns, and then close with deadly force. Naturally you want Snipers or Magnetic/Plasma Weapon chain attacks to kill them quickly. Which you should have by the time of encountering them.

*'''Specter''': Another WotC specific enemy. These guys look like the Codex if they were made out of Necron Scarabs rather than pure energy. It's fitting too as they are a collection of Psionic nanobots that can grabs your guys, stun them, and create a shadowy doppelgänger with all of your guy's skills and gear, and none of their bad luck. Thankfully killing the Specter will also kill this doppleganger and bring your guy back into the fight, but if you're not ready losing a guy and the enemy gaining that guy can turn the tides right back against you. Oddly, attacks that harm biological targets without requiring a will test can harm the Specter.

*'''Gatekeeper''': A giant, floating, psionic ball. No, we're not joking. For all the goofiness of trying to summarise this thing, it's a shockingly vicious threat. That big metal ball contain a psionic powerhouse in the shape of several fleshy tentacles, which if it gets close will shed its armour, and proceed to bitchslap your soldiers into the ground. And you'll want it to do this because it has 4/5 pips of armour that need shredded away depending on difficulty. It also has the ability to mind control your guys, raise the dead, and fire a insanely powerful laser beam, and it'll try to use cover despite being a 2x2 giant, floating, metal, psychic ball of doom. One of them is are always encountered during the Psi Gate and will likely be the first time seeing them. As a final FU. When killed they explode with a blast that will reach all tiles around them. Heavily wounding or outright killing any of your squad next to them. So melee units should be kept far away unless their a fully upgraded Templer. Hilariously these tiny Eldridge Abominations can be mind controlled by Psi Operatives. Other ways of dealing them is using explosives and heavy weapons that shreds their armor. These would be the first targets to use Frost Grenades on if you encounter them early in the maps. You should have Magnetic or Plasma Weapons by the time Gatekeepers start showing up or they will be nearly impossible to defeat.

*'''Archon''': So someone in the Alien's side realized that having a heavily mutilated torso mounted on jetpacks, which actively tore at its implants and constantly mounted suicide charges so it could be put out of its misery was bad for PR, so they replaced the Floaters with these guys. They look almost angelic, and their design incorporates a lot more white and gold and less obviously chop-shop cybernetics. The nigh-constant pain going away has made them far smarter too.They still like to jump around the battlefield, but now they can also rain rockets down on your guys after a turns delay and will actually take advantage of cover.

*'''Avatar''': The Ethereals' plans are revealed when you discover these creatures. Avatars are genetically engineered lifeforms created from the genes of the most psi-capable humans, crafted to house the essence of the Ethereals, whose own bodies are breaking down irrevocably. Extremely tough, powerful psionics, kill on sight. The Commander gets one of his own at the end of the game. This is because they plugged him/her into their psionic network and never bothered to remove or change anything after XCOM recovered them. [[Fail|As the Ethereals are really quite stupid despite claiming to be a superior race.]] While lacking the full skill set of the Psi Operative. They have useful abilities. Their equivalents doing more damage or allowing multiple uses of mind control. Avatars also come with a pretty cool gun that can be acquired through modding.

'''The Alien Rulers''':
If you played the previous game, you may have been wondering: "what happened to Dr. Valen?" Well, the first DLC for XCOM 2, "Alien Hunters" reveals that she went off and set up her own base in an abandoned alien genetics lab, where her experiments in undoing the genetic suppressants on three cryogenically suspended subjects created three amped-up alien variants so powerful that the Ethereals couldn't control them. Great work, doc! Alien Rulers have a huge health bar and many unique abilities, but one of their more bullshit traits is that they get a free turn in reaction to ''every'' action your troops take.

*'''The Viper King:''' The only male Viper in existence, this creature shows why the Ethereals removed the male gender from the viper species with how rampantly he set about fertilizing every female viper he could encounter, filling an entire base with a huge array of hatchling vipers you have to fight through. His unique abilities allow him to spit a freezing gas instead of the normal venom. The weakest of the Alien Rulers, the Viper King is usually the first one you encounter. If you manage to tag 'n' bag Subject Gamma, you can turn his carcass into a unique Spider Suit, the Serpent Suit, that can scare the scales off of normal vipers and lash out with freezing whips.

*'''The Berserker Queen:''' Even bigger and scarier than normal berserkers, Subject Beta can not only unleash a howl that can panic your whole squad, but is equipped with cybernetically integrated hammers she can use to create earthquakes. From her carcass you can build the R.A.G.E Suit, which not only terrifies mutons and berserkers, but lets your trooper make a berserker-style charge attack themselves.

*'''The Archon King:''' Subject Alpha is the nastiest Alien Ruler in the game, and has the most health. His special attack "Devastate" is a version of Blazing Pinons (the archon's "shower an area with rockets" ability) that does less damage, but which can also disorient, stun and knock unconscious. Worse, it hits on the next Ruler Reaction, meaning you have no chance to get away from it the way you do from Blazing Pinons. He also has a unique attack where he grabs a trooper, hauls them into the air, and then power dives them into the floor. If you can take down this asshole, his corpse can be refashioned into the Icarus Armor, a superior Warden Armor suit that grants the Vault ability and the ability to pull off the archon's "move to any point on the map you wish" twice per mission.

'''The Chosen''':
The new Dragons aka Second in Command below the Ethereals. Coming with a bunch of BS abilities that can wreck your troops at lower levels. You also want to find their base ASAP as they gain upgrades through the game like you do and can hurt your income. Getting their OP shit is also a nice bonus.

When first encountered they'll attempt to stun and capture one of your troops. If they appear during a Blacksight mission, The Chosen AI will just straight up murder a squad member. [[Rage|Despite the game not giving hints to this change in behavior.]] So if counting on manipulate their AI into kidnapping a soldier who is near death during those missions. The Chosen will just slaughter your squad like the rest of Advent. Because all bets when are off when your trying to kill mommy? and/or err daddy? Shklee? Maybe?
Thankfully, the game rolls to give them permanent weakness, along with an arch enemy who will deal extra damage to a Chosen among the new Hero classes. They will also roll for one immunity and a special ability, though the immunities are things that many players will hardly ever use against a boss regardless. The special power can either be meh, or fuck you right over. Good thing for the player the summoning powers are mutually exclusive and can't gain strengths that counter most of their weaknesses.

They can also be countered by researching Mindshields, your own (fully upgraded) Psi operatives and the buffed Sparks. When you have the latter two the Mindshields are redundant as the last two are right out immune to being stunned and mind controlled. Too bad there isn't new lines for a Spark with Julian's voice. As hearing a GlaDOS expy with the attitude of Bender snark back at The Chosen would have been hilarious.

*'''The Assassin''': The first of the Chosen you'll meet if you're playing the "Lost and Damned" mission to introduce yourself to the new mechanics introduced in WotC, the Assassin is a dark reflection of the Ranger class. The biggest [[Weeaboo|weeb]] in all of Advent. She attacks mostly with her Katana (although she does have a rarely used shotgun called Arashi, and you'll thank the programmers she rarely uses it), striking out of concealment to stun one of your guys (Who you'll then have to revive or risk them getting kidnapped), before running away. In the same turn. Because the Bad Guys get to move, shoot, move, but the player doesn't get nice things. To top this all off she's immune to overwatch so you either have to try and escape from the current mission, or take the fight back to her just as hard. Oh yeah, and avoid bunching your guys up, or she will stun half the squad at a time with an area of effect special attack, but don't get too spread out or you won't be able to revive stunned soldiers before she kidnaps them. Thankfully, her concealment works by the same rules as yours, and it'll break if one of your guys flanks her, so if you've got a good idea of where she is, you can move someone in to reveal her, and then light her up with the rest of the squad. To make her easier to deal with make sure to take a Specialist with Scanning Protocol.

*'''The Hunter''': While you would expect a roided up [[Space Wolves|Craven the Hunter cosplaying furfag]] by name alone. He is instead a more or less a [[Vindicare|hit man armed with a pistol and sniper rifle]] with an Affably Evil personality. He's also known to have team killed some of the weaker Advent aliens when he got bored. Unlike his siblings he outright admits that he is a psychopath who likes killing things. The Hunter's abilities are a bit mundane compared to the other Chosen. While still being effective non the less. His Tracking Shot can aim at your troops from the other side side of the map, and if they don't move he will kill them the next. This makes mind controlling Advent and hacking MECs for recon useful for once. He also come with a grappling hook with no cool-down, stun grenades and pistol tranq shots that never miss. So don't be stupid and send in a lone Reaper. Even if he rolls them as a weakness. As they don't put out enough damage to out snipe him and will end up killed or captured instead.

*'''The Warlock''': Probably the most dangerous of The Chosen, if you don't have Mindshields. If you do he's about as dangerous as the final boss of the game. If you don't he's damned near impossible as he'll mind control your entire squad a once. Otherwise he'll summon waves of exploding spectral zombies, or psionic copies of Stun Lancers. On his direct offense he has a buffed up plasma rifle, a mind bullet that will do extra damage to psionics (i.e. your Psi Operative and Templar), split off to affect up to two additional targets, and the ability to teleport his own allies into flanking positions. Sometimes his AI does some stupid shit such as teleporting an Advent next to him. Bonus points if said Advent is the target your supposed to kill during the mission.

'''The Lost'''

*'''Regular''': Introduced in WotC, these are the zombie horde style enemies of the game. They have a unique mechanic where if you kill one, you get a free action point to continue killing. A soldier with decent Aim, an auto-loader, and an extended mag can decimate entire swarms if lucky.

*'''Dasher''' Faster, and with slightly more HP (4-5, as opposed to 2-3) these guys aren't exactly more of a threat than the regular lost. They're just more likely to pull off a successful ambush.

*'''Brute''' These guys have a lot of HP for a Lost, and can actually deal some melee punishment, and will start coming out in decent numbers by endgame. Then again, by endgame you'll have the best weapons and armour, so once again... only really a threat if you're unlucky, and there's a lot of them.

== See Also ==

*[[X-Com Play By Post]], experimental rules for playing X-Com on a forum.
*[[XCOM: Tomorrow's War edition]], a conversion of [[Tomorrow's War]] for playing X-Com on the tabletop.

== Gallery ==
{{Promotions}}
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Image:X-Com_(1).jpg
Image:X-Com_(2).jpg
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</gallery>

== External Links ==

* [http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page UFOpaedia.org], a wiki dedicated to X-COM (and sequels, and mods, etc.).
* [http://openxcom.org/ Open Source engine for the original game]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=269&enmi=XCOM:%20The%20Board%20Game Fantasy Flight Games's official X-COM game.]
* [http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/? Long War main page.]
* [http://ufoai.org/wiki/About UFO: Alien Invasion]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BqoEJUWKVRFSKXOA2Ks3Ce7Kvphmg0kAFKcuXJHgmr0/mobilebasic?pli=1 Things X-COM operatives are not allowed to do], a list in the vein of Mr. Welch's list. Occasionally hilarious
* [https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=5026.0] A 40k mod for openxcom NO idea as to why it hasn't shown up here.
[[category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Software]]

Castlevania

2018-04-17T04:53:10Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F:

{{/vg/}}
[[File:Castlevania Logo.gif|thumb|center|900px]]
:''"Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!"
::''—Richter Belmont

''Castlevania'' is a classic series of platform games, where the player controls a vampire/monster hunter that fights vampires(with a whip), other undead, and most everything else you can think of. Early games were infamous for the difficulty, but when the series took a turn to what people call "metroidvania" the difficulty dropped in favor of exploration, cool level design, and (somewhat rarely) [[Awesome]] story ideas. The newer games are a bit too [[/v/]] for most of [[/tg/]]'s liking (as well as the bulk of the Castlevania fanbase).

Like [[Metal Gear]] and [[Silent Hill]], Castlevania is a dead franchise. As not only Kojima was treated like shit by Konami. Koji Igarashi was quickly demoted after the poor sales of only one game. So except not only shitty pachinko kiosks or shitty zombie games to be made in its graven image. [[What|But shitty waifu simulators as what their doing too Bomberman.]] To give obese horny otaku and those who are not claiming to be weebs in sarcasm to masterbait too. #fuckonami

Since the series is popular, [[/tg/|some people]] decided to come up with a [[Dungeons and Dragons]] style datasheets for stuff from the series, effectively turning the franchise into a setting.

[[/tg/ gets shit done|The usual]] resulted.

=Gameplay=
The earliest Castlevanias are known for their challenging difficulty as the appeal of the gameplay is comparable to that of other platformers like Mega Man; although mobility and attack options are limited, they are such that games are won by <s>skill</s> banging your head on bullshit puzzles that are impossible to solve unless you buy the Official Strategy Guide, which was Nintendo's plan all along, not luck. Starting with Symphony of the Night, the series took on a more exploratory and RPG approach not completely dissimilar to the Metroid series, which lead to the coining of the phase, "Metroidvania" or "Igavanias" (from Koji "Iga" Igarashi, the producer of the series).
Being sidescrollers, early Castlevanias have the player advancing from left to right as they're assaulted by various creatures of the night with the player's main method of attack being a metal whip, the Vampire Killer, the iconic weapon of the game. This whip has moderate range, such that enemies can be dispatched from a safe distance and is the main weapon of most Castlevanias. When the Vampire Killer isn't present, player characters tend to make use of a variety of weaponry ranging from various swords and shields to spears and staves.
Common gameplay mechanics throughout the series include smashing sources of light to collect hearts (which don't recover health) and/or secondary weapons which are fueled by said hearts. Common sub-weapons include throwing-daggers, throwing-axes, crosses that function as boomerangs, holy water that causes fire to erupt from the ground, and watches that stop time. Starting in Rondo of Blood/ Dracula X, players gain an ability called "Item Crash" which unleashes a powered-up version of the equipped sub-weapon at the cost of a chunk of hearts. While the sidescrolling Castlevanias tend to be linear with players going level to level, exploration-based Castlevanias naturally have save points in various areas. Beyond these common mechanics, there are numerous game mechanics that only appear in specific games such Castlevania 64's day & night cycle and time limit or Portrait of Ruin's dual protagonists.

It can go without saying that 3D Castlevanias are overall not nearly as well received as any of the classic Castlevanias or Igavanias, try as they might to translate the 2D gameplay to a 3D format. Most of the 3D Castlevanias suffer from poor or stiff controls and camera problems which coupled with recycled environments and repetitive hallways, can be off-putting. Players will find themselves locked in rooms, facing various mobs and doing precarious platforming with varying levels of annoyance. Regardless, all of these games contribute something noteworthy to the legacy of Castlevania and its evolution before the series was tragically slain and its corpse converted in to various [[Derp|pachislot games]].

= Storyline =
The Story of Castlevania takes place over centuries, covering the heroic efforts of many in their attempts to fight back the creatures of the night and defeat the Lord of Darkness himself, Dracula. A basic plot of many Castlevanias comes down to: Dracula has been revived and must be defeated at all costs, with the current heroes setting out to accomplish this goal. Even then, when Dracula isn't the main antagonist, he is either close to being revived or the villains of the time are actively trying to revive him using sacrifices and convoluted schemes. Story-wise, the Belmont Family are the main characters of the games as they wield the Vampire Killer, but many installments involve the absence of the Belmonts and the need for substitution.

The very first Castlevania is not the first slaying of Dracula in the overall story, as there are many prequels that detail events that transpired between Dracula's birth and his defeat by Simon Belmont. There are several retcons that occur throughout the history of the series with certain games being completely removed from the timeline or events being vague in their placement (Castlevania Judgement). All in all, most Castlevania games can be placed in one unified timeline starting with the Belmonts' Eternal Vow to defeat the Forces of Darkness to Dracula's final death and defeat of his successors.

===Lament of Innocence (Castlevania 0)===
A long time ago, during the year 1096, there were two knights who were friends; Baron Leon Belmont, and Baron Mathias Cronqvist. Leon was the fighter, Mathias the tactician and scholar. Together they lead a company of knights who were greatly successful during the First Crusade. During the crusade, Mathias's wife Elisabetha had taken ill and died. Mathias cursed God's name, and decided that if He would take away Mathias's wife while he was fighting God's war, Mathias would defy him and live forever. Using his knowledge of alchemy, specifically in utilizing the souls of beings to grant power and gain dominion over them, Mathias created a magic gem called the Crimson Stone which, when filled with the soul of a Vampire, would grant him immortality without being bound to any master.

Mathias baited a powerful Vampire named Walter Bernhard, known for kidnapping the loved ones of powerful mortals to bait them into his great castle to fight for his amusement, into kidnapping Leon's future wife Sara Trantoul. Walter possessed the Ebony Stone, the twin to the Crimson Stone (the two together being a corrupted, unmerged version of the Philosopher's Stone), which granted many powers that the Vampire did not understand. He knew that it created a shroud of eternal night and believed it would allow him to control Death himself (a property actually belonging to the Crimson Stone). Believing himself to be immortal and unbeatable, he anxiously awaited the fun a knight of the Church would bring. Mathias, feigning illness, informed Leon the Vampire had taken his bride-to-be and where Walter's castle could be found.

However, Leon was forbidden from pursuing the Vampire due to the Church pursuing punishment of heresy before destruction of monsters. Forced between love and duty, he broke his oaths and entered the Forest of Eternal Night on foot. There he met an Alchemist named Rinaldo Gandolfi (a former adventurer who had failed to rescue his own daughter from Walter in the past) who enchanted his armor and gave him a whip formed of Alchemy that was particularly strong against magical beasts.

Leon battled through Walter's castle, arranged in a grand hall with a room filled with magical elevators leading to other portions of the castle. Within the Anti-Souls Mystery Lab, an Alchemy wing filled with libraries and furnaces, he fought an unfinished Golem. In the Garden Forgotten By Time, he fought through prehistoric and unnatural flora and fauna before killing an extremely large [[Medusa]] that resembled a [[Beholder]]. In the House of Sacred Remains, the former chapel that was in a state of terrible disrepair even before Walter's minions converted much of it into a torture maze, he fought a mass of flesh and demon insects feeding on it from the former slaves. In the Dark Palace of Waterfalls, a massive underground series of chambers and sewers connecting to aquifers and complexes inspired by Escher, he fought Joachim Armster, a Vampire servant of Walter's imprisoned within the maze of water for trying to usurp him who wielded multiple swords telepathically. In the Ghostly Theater, a massive complex of rooms and halls decorated anachronistically for grand performances with cast and audience stuck forever in a show, Leon found a suspiciously vacant stage with only one seat; here, a Succubus posed as Sara and attempted to assassinate him.
After clearing the castle, Leon assembled the key to the Pagoda of the Misty Moon where Walter confronted him, congratulating him and returning Sara. Leon attempted to use his whip on Walter, who was unaffected claiming that Death could not take him. Leon returned Sara to Rinaldo's cottage where he discovered she had been turned into a Vampire by Walter. The only way to save others from her and Leon's fate was to kill her and bind her soul within the whip. Thus was born the Vampire Killer whip.
Leon, enraged and heartbroken, battled his way through the castle keep where he discovered the key to a hidden room behind a painting depicting a powerful monster. Entering the Prison of Eternal Torture, which consisted of a bloodstained hallway, a miles-long staircase in almost pitch-black darkness, and finally a room covered in spikes and chains housing the upper half of a gigantic monster that was flayed alive and left to rot and be consumed by giant maggots yet was still alive; the Forgotten One, which in it's youth challenged God and almost destroyed the world. Leon tested the Vampire Killer by killing the Forgotten one by destroying it's exposed organs, then it's remaining hand, then finally collapsing it's skull (yes, the VK is that fucking powerful).
Satisfied Sara's sacrifice was not in vain, Leon destroyed the last of Walter's servants and challenged him in his throne room. Leon defeated the arrogant Vampire, who was shocked to find Death take his soul and deliver it into the Crimson Stone. Mathias appeared, reclaiming the Ebony Stone for himself, and revealed his plot to Leon. He offered Leon immortality at his side, which was then rejected (apparently Mathias thought doing what God had done to him would make someone else come to the conclusion God was to blame for that too). Mathias fled, leaving Leon to fight and banish the grim reaper himself with a message for Mathias; the Belmont clan would use the Vampire Killer to hunt him, and all other monsters, forever. The castle fell apart and the sun returned to the forest.
Leon's family no longer had the support of the Church. Although not branded outright heretics, they became pariahs and their wealth and prestige diminished greatly. Despite this, they continued to hunt and destroy monsters, using the Vampire Killer and passing it between father to son and brother to brother. The spirit of Sara within the whip refused to be wielded by the impure or one not of her lost love's family; any who attempted to claim the Vampire Killer wasted away as Sara fed on their life force.
But every beast destroyed by the Belmonts was claimed by Mathias unbeknownst to them. With his alchemy, Mathias absorbed the powers of the Crimson and Ebony Stones, making the power of Dominion his own. Every creature he claimed became an extension of his own will, although Walter's soul within him gave Sara's power the ability to harm him and any pawn of him with ease.

Mathias traveled far and wide, even journeying to Hell itself to battle Lucifer for the title of Prince of Darkness. Mathias traveled to the realm of [[Chaos]], absorbing the energies of the beings within and forcing [[Chaos Gods|them]] into the shape of a great and ever-changing castle who's very grounds can be the size of a province and who's immensity defies the laws of physics, the titular Castlevania.
Mathias even dominated abominations and unknowable horrors, pressing beings such as [[Cthulu]] and the kin of Walter's Forgotten One into service as mere guards within his halls. Taking on the name of Vlad Tepes, or Dracula, he claimed Walachia as his own and dared God to move against him. God indeed responded, by giving Vlad hope of redemption.
Within his new kingdom was born a woman named Lisa, the reincarnation of Elisabetha. Vlad fell in love with her as he had her past life, and married her. After she gave birth to a son whom he dubbed Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, Vlad retired from gathering the forces of darkness and ruled his people wisely and justly. Lisa was skilled with the healing arts, and with the spread of the Black Death in the 1400's did her best to ease the suffering of the people. But in a frightened riot, Lisa was burned at the stake as a witch.
Vlad finally became Dracula, and enacted a war of genocide against the human race. He selected humans with dominant personalities and a talent for Alchemy, called Devil Forgemasters, to lead his armies as the forces of darkness were unleashed and caused immense suffering on every continent. Dracula sipped wine served by Succubi to the wails of the hundreds of dead and dying within dungeons below. The rivers of blood nourished Castlevania, and hellish weapons were forged using the souls of the doomed. Anywhere his minions treaded was cursed, a spreading toxic influence of evil that warped the wildlife into twisted beasts, filled men's hearts with sin, and rendered the landscape inhospitable.
Adrian, who was told by his dying mother that mankind suffered more than enough hardship, was unwilling to be a part of his father's evil and vanished for a time before returning using the holy blade of his mother's ancestors and using the name Alucard to wage a one-man war on Dracula.

In a silly non-canon (maybe) side story, a small boy (or monster) in burlap clothes wearing a pumkpin on his head trick-or-treated Walter's castle.

===Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (Castlevania 1)===
[[File:CV 3.png|thumb|right|400px]]
The Eastern Orthodox Church sends the armies of Europe to slay Dracula, who become additions to Dracula's army of the undead. Without any other option, the Church secretly calls upon the Belmonts, who have been pushed to the fringes of society by the fearful populace, to put Dracula to death. In 1476, Trevor Belmont reached the edge of Dracula's castle and fought his way through. Along the way, he was joined by a former thief named Grant Danasty (who's entire family had been killed by Dracula when the nobles of Wallachia rebelled against him, followed by Grant being turned into a giant hulking brute when he attempted to get revenge), Sypha Belnades (a witch who's parents were killed by the same riots that killed Lisa, who grew up at a monastery and befriended the remaining Feyfolk unaligned with Dracula before becoming an official assassin of the Church), and finally Alucard. Trevor's path was long (and in fact during a playthrough multiple times players have the options to choose one level over another) and lead from Warikiya town outside Dracula's castle to the town clock tower, through the forests surrounding the countryside, through a marsh where Dracula's fishmen navy breeds, on a ghost pirate ship (which is for some reason located in Dracula's lake) which they used to reach the island Castlevania is located on, through a sunken city populated by ghosts (which floods as you reach the end of it) then through the mines (which are being washed away as you cross them) and mountains on the cliffface (which are crumbling) and into Dracula's dungeons, tower leading to Dracula's gates, across Dracula's bridge and aqueduct, through the catacombs and into the ramparts then the castle armory, through the main hall (where once again, Death has his ass beaten) and into Dracula's own clocktower, then finally into his keep and throne room to confront him. Dracula initially fights by teleporting and causing magical flames to shoot out of the floor, but after enough strikes with the Vampire Killer he assumes a form more befitting the new lord of Chaos; six grinning faces that vomit poison blood topped with an exposed brain. After whipping the flesh from the skulls of those faces, Dracula assumed a final form; that of a giant Demon man-bat which warped reality around him and shot lasers from his hands and eyes. After being defeated in this form, both Dracula and his castle as well as the bulk of his armies were pulled back into the realm of Chaos. Trevor and his allies watched the castle crumble and the dawn finally return to the world. Grant and Trevor became rivals for Sypha's affection, although in the end it was Trevor who won her over causing succeeding Belmonts to inherit her magical affinity. Grant became the leader of the new Wallachia and rebuilt the towns and villages destroyed by Dracula's armies. Alucard, ashamed at taking part in patricide and guilty over being unable to save his father, took to a long sleep within his coffin.

Trevor, Sypha, Grant, and Alucard also spent a great deal of time eating fully-cooked porkchops they found whenever the Vampire Killer was able to break through a wall. You know, because video games.

===Curse of Darkness (Castlevania 2)===
[[File:Castlevania Exterior.png|thumb|400px|right|Castlevania's entrance in Curse of Darkness]]
During the events before Dracula's Curse, one of Dracula's Devil Forgemasters named Hector began to question his loyalty. Hector was born with the ability to communicate with spirits and animals, and was neglected by his devout mother who believed him to be a wicked being and his father who's only interest was in politics and economy. His fey friends became enraged at mankind's neglect of their friend and caused the local Church to catch fire, giving him a chance to escape to a being they said would understand him; Vlad. His surrogate father positioned him as the controller of the myriad horrors within his castle during the days of sanity and taught him the advanced arts of Alchemy including those which allowed the creation and manipulation of life through chemical reactions, and with the death of Lisa commanded Hector and his fellow Forgemaster Isaac to send forth the beasts under their command to raze Europe while Death commanded the armies remaining in Wallachia. He also sent them whatever they required to forge greater beasts and weapons including souls and blood. Isaac and Hector, both runaways feared for their abilities who found prestige and respect as Dracula's generals, would diverge in ideology. Hector became disgusted with Dracula's slipping sanity and cruelty, and simply abandoned his position to live under an assumed alias in a village after Dracula ordered him to track down and wipe out the Belmonts, leaving his army to infest the countryside and block Trevor's path from time to time instead. Isaac by contrast became obsessed with impressing their master, forging more and more wicked weapons and creatures and inventing horrors never before seen in heaven or hell. Isaac becomes gradually unhinged, and his impressive uniform falls to tatters as Isaac continues to wear the remains (which, bizaarely, gives him the appearance of a tall, lanky pretty-boy wearing a bondage harness and tight, TIGHT leather pants.). Hector's disappearance concerns Dracula, who at this point still has the capacity for human attachment (not to Isaac though), and sends Isaac with several cultists and a werewolf to find Hector's body for honoring, or his treachery and return him for torture. Isaac decides instead to simply off Hector either way, and ensure Dracula's favor would fall on him alone. As the werewolf tracked Hector's scent to the village where he'd taken shelter, it decided to prey on some of the townsfolk. The screams of a small boy who's parents had previously been eaten by Hector's werewolf forces brought the former general to reveal himself by killing the werewolf. Isaac and Hector engaged in battle, although the death of Dracula at Trevor's hands caused Isaac enough of a shock that Hector was able to beat him and leave him for dead.
For three years Hector lived in the village, and became engaged to a woman of faith named Rosaly. Although the curse of Dracula continued to spread, making mankind hateful and fearful, the small village remained untouched by it's taint. Sheltering himself in the ruins of the countryside surrounding Dracula's former castle, Isaac was left a ranting and wailing mess clothed only in the tatters of his former uniform and tattooed in the emblems that once adorned the coat. He blamed Hector for the death of Dracula, waited until he had achieved happiness before spreading the rumor that the apples Rosaly sold in the next village were poisoned. Hector came to the town that day to find the village square empty save Rosaly's charred skeleton hanging in the town square, having been burned by a fearful mob, while Isaac stood atop a nearby building and cackled insanely. By the time that Hector reached the roof, Isaac was long-gone. Hector returned to the chapel and dug out his old uniform, then set out in pursuit of his former ally.

At the start of the game, Hector finally catches up to Isaac at their former base of operations now abandoned (called the Abandoned Castle as a result), a fragment of Castlevania left in the mortal world. Isaac taunts Hector, and goads him into pursuit (flat-out admitting that he's going to lead Hector into the path that results in him regaining his full strength in order to avenge Dracula). Hector then fights his way through the remnants of his own former army haunting the walls, first through the primary part of the castle which had begun to show signs of neglect. When Hector reached the stairway that would have lead to Dracula's chambers he instead discovered a room still partially within the realm of Chaos where the soul of one of Dracula's army was contained. He claimed it as a servant using his power of Devil Forging, gaining the loyalty of a small infant fairy which assisted him greatly in pointing out things he otherwise would not have seen as well as opening locked chests. As he completed the ritual, a man in a purple robe calling himself "Zead" appeared and was amazed at his display of strength. Zead claimed to be a monk seeking to end Dracula's Curse and informed Hector that Isaac had fled out the back of the castle will take refuge in a chapel in the ruined town of Cordova through the mountains. Hector continued on through a small pond to reach the overly large catacombs, and after breaking a pillar and entering through a portion of the collapsed floor above reached the castle dungeons/laboratory where many skeletons were chained to the wall and dried bloodstains covered most surfaces. Hector then reached the higher reaches of the castle decorated with lordly furnishings such as lopsided paintings, burning fireplaces with lit candles, decaying curtains, gilded surfaces and carved ornamentation on the wall, ceiling, and floors, Hector reached a large decorated room where he faced a giant clockwork knight which when stripped of it's armor was revealed to be a creation of the former Devil Forgemasters; a demon occupying the metal gears within. After defeating it he used a chair lift to reach the rear exist to the castle into the mountains where he discovered another soul within Chaos; this time, a molten golem who's strength allowed him to break through walls and lift objects.

While exploring the paths of the Baljhet Mountains that had been carved with pillars, decorated walkways, eternal braziers, and stairs to aid travelers in happier times, Hector reached a crossroads with an elaborate door to the massive aqueduct complex Dracula erected in his benevolent period where a young woman was digging herbs from the ground. Hector was amazed at how much like Rosaly she appeared, and asked her if she had seen a man with the same symbols as he wore crossing though. She was cautious until Hector confirmed the man to be his enemy, whereupon she offered to keep the creatures that he freed from Dracula's power safe. Identifying herself as Julia, a prophesying witch who had fled western Europe due to the Church's relentless persecution of any they deemed heretical regardless of affiliation, she offered him hospitality at her home further up the mountain. Hector continued his journey, reaching a fortress that used to protect the path into Wallachia with cannons and a barricade protecting it. Hector utilized a cannon outside the walls manned formerly by skeletons to blast his way in, and defeat the garrison of creatures within. At the summit of the mountain, he faced a Wyvern that had kept travelers out of Dracula's lands and killed it.

Upon reaching the other side of the mountain ranges, Hector made his way to a former monastery called the Garibaldi Temple built along the road to Cordova, passing by a massive tower which seemed to reach the clouds and could not be entered. At the entrance to the temple, a man dressed very strangely approached Hector. Wearing spats, a coat with bronze buttons, a top hat, golden chains, white gloves, and a flamboyant red coat with tails, with shoulder-long blond hair and a curled mustache, he identified Hector by name and occupation and requested that he cease his journey immediately to preserve the wishes of a "greater will". He claimed to know much although he could not reveal how nor actually act on what he knows due to an arrangement that gave him his power. He then vanished in a blink of golden light. Completely disregarding the situation, Hector entered the monastery to find it had been taken over by Dracula's former minions. There was no indication of the fate of the humans that once resided within, and the temple entrance halls were either completely intact with stained glass windows celebrating the faith of the Church or portions that are damaged including smashed windows, large holes in walls, bloodstains both large and small, and rubble suggesting a small battle occurred at some point involving something large and wounded. Further into the monastery, he found long hallways wrapped around square gardens that once boasted the herbs and food the monks grew which were now simply barren lifeless dirt. Beyond that was much more somber hallways, dimly lit by tinted candles where motifs were more depictions of the grim reaper and angels, which had windows to view the outside gardens where only trees and a worn statue of an angel were still visible. Within the main chapel, a room full of tinted windows and depictions of heaven, Hector encountered Trevor Belmont who had continued in his destruction of Dracula's minions wherever they could be found. Recognizing Hector as a Devil Forgemaster, Trevor attacked and the two battled until Hector was exhausted. Surprised that Hector had been so easy to defeat when the Forgemasters were the equals to Death, he remembered that one of the Forgemasters had betrayed Dracula and enabled the warriors to reach his castle with minimal resistance. Hector asked if Trevor was the one who had beaten Dracula, which he confirmed before leaving. Hector continued into the catacombs, fighting Demons and Slogras (skeletal bird-like servants of Death) until he could empower his Golem.

After having his Golem open the entrance to the Mortvia Aqueduct, Hector begins by walking along aqueduct pathways lined with hooded statues. There he encounters Zead who says he saw "him" and thought that Hector was dead. Believing him to be referring to Isaac he asks if he saw him, and Zead claims Isaac was headed towards the forest towards Cordova and that the root of the Curse-and all evil-lies with Isaac. Zead appears distracted however, and appears to sense something causing him to stop talking mid-sentence and excuses himself to attend to a matter that he has forgotten. Saint Germaine then appears from nowhere as soon as Zead is gone, and appears surprised to see Hector, claiming that he expected to see someone else before asking if Hector spoke to him. Mistrusting the strange man, Hector refuses to answer and disregards his advice to avoid seeing or speaking to Zead. Germaine claims that Zead is manipulating him, and that the monk is not within Germaine's knowledge of things. He then vanishes again. Hector travels though the aqueduct canals, each ending in a large tower with aesthetic fountains within until he reached another large fortress occupied by monsters armed with cannons, this one to control sea travel into Dracula's realm. Hector once again commandeered an artillery piece with which to blast away the beasts, destroying a tower to create a bridge across in the process allowing him to enter the aqueduct fortress keep. He continued through the fortress interior, decorated with further hooded statues and fountains of various shapes and sizes depicting everything from lions to dragons and tattered banners of Dracula's reign hanging in windows, while fighting various aquatic and wild foes lead by more of Death's servants, the giant demons called Gaibons. Finally exiting the fortress, he reached the edge of a lake where Dracula's castle once stood. Continuing on past the old remnant he entered a large room with a pool and a walkway leading over it, which collapsed as he tried to cross leaving him on a small patch of land around which patrolled a skeleton shark mounted by a skeleton wildman, who used to execute prisoners for Dracula's spectatorship. After defeating the pair, he discovered another entrance to Chaos where he freed the spirit of a giant crow who carried him across the water to the entrance to the Forest of Jigramunt.

As soon as he set foot in the forest, Hector heard voices and ducked behind a tree to watch the exchange. He witness Saint Germaine and Zead speaking. Zead threatened that Germaine must not act on anything that goes contradictory to fate, to which Germaine questioned Zead's assistance of Hector as being extremely out of the ordinary. Zead claimed he was only assisting in already-decided matters, much how he was acting in regards to Dracula's Curse. Germaine claimed that he couldn't simply make up new rules for himself, infuriating Zead and causing him to turn his right hand into a long blade which he attempted to kill Germaine with. Germaine simply teleported out of the way effortlessly, claiming he will continue to return until the day Zead surrendered. Zead, infuriated, used his blade hand to cut open a hole in reality leading to the realm of Chaos proclaiming "No one escapes from me." and left. He continued through the forest made up of paths similar to those in the Baljhet Mountains, former sites of small fortifications in extreme states of disrepair, a burned-out windmill by a river, a length of actual forestland with a barely-visible path, and a series of caves including a former mine and an underground Colosseum where he fought a massive Minotaur who's back was split, exposing it's spine.

From the back of the Colosseum Hector entered the town of Cordova (where Trevor began his journey), finding it completely devoid of life with undead such as Zombies, Ghosts, and horrible patchwork beings formed of multiple corpses alongside warbands of Lizardmen. Every building was completely vacant and boarded up, with the roofs crumbling and falling inwards (although the fires that had raged when Trevor prayed at the fountain no longer raged). When Hector reached the church, no longer the giant cathedral that Trevor has scaled but instead merely the walls of the first story and a facade, he encountered Isaac who stated it was still too early for Hector to face him, but would test his abilities instead. The two (along with Hector's Innocent Devil companion and Isaac's demon Abel) battled, culminating in Hector delivering a FALCON PUNCH to Abel and leaping back. Isaac commented his powers were returning as expected and rushed forwards to continue the duel until Julia appeared and begged her (big reveal moment) brother to stop. Isaac, annoyed, stated it's still too early to finish off Hector anyway and disappeared in a magic circle on the ground with Abel. Julia stands in Hector's way to prevent pursuit, and after being accused of manipulating Hector for Isaac she told him that she wants to see her brother freed from Dracula's Curse and that to do that Hector has to grow stronger both in his capacity for combat and his spirit as well. She claimed that the only being she could trust to free Isaac instead of merely slaying him is Hector due to their history, and that if it did come down to slaying him Hector is the only being she would accept doing it. Hector then left the cathedral, contemplating her words, and found another of the gateways into Dracula's Chaos. This one contained a Mage-type Innocent Devil, who had the power to stop time for a short few moments. This allowed him to pass through the street that lead to the Eneomaos Machine Tower (possibly the same Clocktower Trevor freed Grant from due to it's location, although the Clocktower in that game fell apart at least to some degree due to having to escape as debris fell from the ceiling after the defeat of the possessed Grant; this may be another tower in the same location, or was rebuilt either by monsters or the lingering influence of Castlevania, or may possibly only appear to be standing as it currently exists outside of time. It's all open to interpretation) which was lined by enchanted fires that blew out and sealed the door to the first courtyard if he tried to approach normally.

The path to the Eneomaos Machine Tower was made up of three garden courtyards leading up to the entrance with brown grass and dried fountains and squatting monsters such as Orcs. The courtyards were bordered with buildings long since collapsed, with only a few shattered walls standing and barely visible from the walkway. Hector encountered another obstacle, this time a twisting path of stairs that raised from the ground at the pull of a lever but withdrew back into the ground after a mere three seconds. Once again, the aid of the Mage enabled him to reach the doorway to a short stairway that lead into a very, VERY tall tower. The inside of the tower was quite old, and a few pieces of information within said that a mad nobleman named Eneomaos built the tower in ages past for an unknown reason. Everywhere behind cages and inside walls where damaged had exposed the hollow interior was machine components still moving in time for an unknown purpose, from cogs to springs to chains to weights. Hector was able to skip exploring much of the tower due to his use of a room on the first floor where a disk was lifted by a screw mechanism as a kind of elevator. By jamming his weapon into the screw, he was able to turn it and use the elevator to reach the much higher in the complex. At the higher reaches of the tower, it became apparent that it was once part of a much larger building as walls trailed off from the already massive building at a height where the ground could no longer be seen over the mists, and windows that appeared to stretch into large dormitories could be seen below the exterior walkways. Upon going around the outside of the complex from the exit of the first elevator, Hector reached a second within a small side tower. Once again using a screw-elevator mechanism, he exited near the top of the tower. The upper chambers were much more intact than the lower ones, with intricate cages and complex machinery still running at full strength. Upon reaching a room with a large engine and a store of replacement parts, Hector dislodged a lose cog that set in action a Rube Goldberg device of machine components breaking down until a piston was sent flying through a wall, exposing a hallway. Through this hallway he reached the stairs leading to the very rooftop courtyard of the massive tower, where he found Saint Germaine casually leaning on a small tower at the center on which was a clock face. Hector noted that Zead hadn't killed him yet, with Saint Germaine showing amusement at Hector's eavesdropping and claiming he is an expert at miraculous escapes although Zead had finally trapped him at the top of the Eneomaos complex which existed outside of time and thus prevented Germaine from escaping. He then asked Hector how he'd managed to enter the rooftop, to which Hector replied that there was no barrier preventing him from entering. Germaine was astounded, realizing that since the tower top existed out of time the things that prevented Saint Germaine and Hector from interacting had no effect. He then drew a saber from out of thin air, telling Hector he had no interest in stopping his mission but merely discovering something that the fight would reveal to him. Germaine made use of his teleportation during the duel, as well as the ability to freeze Hector in place, to alter the passage of time allowing vines to grow from the ground rapidly and engulf him, as well as poison on his saber which worked it's damage while Hector was frozen in place. Plus he shot at Hector a few times with his pistol. Upon being defeated initially, he reversed time to regain his strength and continue the fight. Upon being beaten the second time, he fell to the ground and quickly surrendered, promising not to interfere with Hector's fate again. he then commented on how interesting time and fate are, and when asked by Hector who he really is he stated he is a "traveler" who is "only half here" and "not allowed to speak the truth" who "is not allowed to act upon reality" and "knows all". He then stated to Hector he "felt a new destiny flowing through him" and that he is "no longer alone" and to "walk his path without fear". He then asked Hector to give Zead his regards, tipped his top hat to Hector, and vanished into golden light once again, and with him the timeless nature of the tower roof faded (ending the second strangest side plot to any Castlevania game). Past the tower roof on the other side lay another portal into Chaos, where Hector discovered a small loyal Devil to bring under his control. This Innocent Devil allowed him to use Isaac's trick of turning into a symbol on the ground and move almost anywhere, easily crossing the rubble and hidden passages of Wallachia. Hector finished exploring the top of the tower, which was increasingly showing it's advanced state of disrepair now that the time warp had ended as he progressed.
Hector retraced his steps to the Temple, where he was able to use his Demon to reach a second catacomb hidden behind a wall. Within, the stacks of bones gave appeared to be covered in purple ooze the further down he progressed until the final path, far below the surface, gave way to flesh and cancerous growths on the bones leading further still while Demon fetuses within floating eggs drifted through. At the end of the pathway was the door to a nightmarish room, lined with flesh and with a floor made entirely of an unknowable number of naked human corpses. On the sides of the walls was a staircase made of bone, leading up to a gigantic ball called "Legion" of pure evil made of similar bodies to the ones below at the top of the room. He ascended the staircase, attacked by corpses that stood from the floor to block his progress while filling with a pus-like acid until they burst, and hacked away at the corpse-ball until the core was exposed. The core then cracked and exploded, with a being made of pure light emerging. The being was called the Nuculais and was in the shape of a humanoid although it lacked any form of features barring an exposed heart. It morphed it's hands into blades and leaped into the floor, leaving behind a surface of plasma, to get around the room and attack Hector. Upon defeating it the creature exploded into pure light.
He then returned to Cordova, and used the abilities of the Devil to travel beyond the magical gates at the top of the village hill that kept the bulk of Dracula's forces trapped within the Aiolon Ruins.

The Ruins consisted of a deep and ancient forest which had overtaken the ruins of a previous civilization, which blends real-world architecture and iconography of different kinds into the general feel of a long-abandoned city in the hills. He once again encountered a fortress protected by cannons, this time an ancient fort of times long past that had become a bastion of Dracula's forces. Once again, Hector commandeered a cannon and blew the piss out of the fortifications and stormed the gates, pacifying all resistance. Utilizing an underground tunnel full of statues and carvings where more Slogras and Gaibons appeared, Hector found Isaac and Trevor locked in combat and evenly matched. After seeing Hector, Isaac claimed to have already gotten what he needed and taunted Trevor by saying that his defeat of Dracula was only a fluke before claiming that he would kill both of them and using Abel's rune ability to escape. Trevor noted he fled when he saw Hector and finally believed he was against Isaac, but (uncharacteristically) claimed that Hector was only meddling in his pursuit of the last Devil Forgemaster. The moment Trevor had left, Zead appeared out of nowhere from behind Hector and noted it was unfortunate that Hector lost his chance to kill Isaac, although at Hector's claim that Isaac must die by his hand alone he then told him that Isaac could be found in a hidden room below where they first met, the Abandoned Castle. Hector informed Zead that Saint Germaine had sent his regards, which caused him to panic and claim it was impossible and he had much to do "complete the final touches". Hector then returned to the Abandoned Castle, to the long open stone staircase up to the top tower where he encountered the Golem and found that a metal staircase had been lowered. In the higher room, Hector found Trevor and told him what Zead had said. Trevor claimed it was impossible, that only the blood of a Belmont would be able to open that chamber before realizing that was why Isaac had attacked him and sliced his cheek in the duel. Trevor then attacked Hector to test how much stronger he'd become, and noted that Hector fought almost as if an entirely different person. He claimed only those who are very powerful could survive where Isaac had gone and that Hector had to be tested. Trevor then cut his hand with a dagger and allowed his blood to fall on the floor, which caused a magical rune to appear.

After stepping on the rune, Hector found himself in a room not unlike anything else in the castle, although in a much better preserved state. Upon exiting it however he found himself standing on a path of stone leading upwards from the room, which was externally the bottom floor of a massive tower, floating in a void of purple with ghostly lanterns lining the path; the Infinite Corridor, which lay within the Chaos Abyss where Dracula had been banished. He followed the path to another similar tower, then a third, then to a small portion of battlements all floating within the nothingness. Past that, stone walkways lined with running water with cracks in said walls also somehow leaking water despite nothing being behind them. In the sky, large chunks of what had also once been Castlevania floated in stormclouds. He continued through these upwards paths, towers, and waterways until he reached an apparent dead-end of a shattered stone walkway. But upon walking partway up, Hector found himself in a totally new landscape, floors and partial walls that appeared to be made of bismuth with carved pillars, tiles depicting strange designs, and candles situated atop root-like organic structures which floated in a maelstrom of wind and floating debris despite being calm within. Each "room" ended in another staircase to nowhere which when ascended somehow lead to another such room. He eventually reached a large example of such rooms, which lead to more debris from Castlevania, then to more bismuth rooms, then finally to a four-way hub lit by iron lanterns on dead trees and at the center of which lay a large lavender crystal formation, which lead to a bismuth room where a seemingly infinite number of the skulls of some animal blocked his progress (which the Mage was able to stop time to enable him to cross), leading finally to a final walkway. At the end, he entered a bizarre room lined by shelves filled with jars in which severed heads floated and was lined by columns that appeared to be spinal cords erupting from a fleshy entrance in the floor. The master of the chamber which had been left by Trevor due to it's lack of loyalty regarding who it slays, the Dullahan, appeared and attacked him. After it's defeat, the souls it had consumed escaped and it burned to nothingness. After it vanished completely the rune at the center of the room began to glow, and Wallachia shook and buckled as massive vortexes in the sea caused the water levels across the country to recede, and with the breaking of the seal completely Castlevania reformed and returned from the depths to the world. Back in the Abandoned Castle, Trevor was horrified and exclaimed "Was I too late?" before being stabbed through the back by Isaac, who revealed he had baited Trevor into sending Hector to the seal (which could only be broken by a great deal of demonic magi) and by fighting the Dullahan, he had broken it simply by being near it. Isaac then cackled like a madman as he left Trevor to bleed to death on the decaying carpet. Hector managed to return to the mortal world, and quickly made his way to the bridge from the Aqueduct that lead to the castle. As he approached the bridge Julia came and implied that Dracula's Curse would continue to spread as it's source was never banished. She told him to give up his grief and regret and focus on cleansing the castle and if necessary defeating Dracula again. Hector knew his knowledge of demons would enable him to find where the Curse originated, but Julia explained that she found Trevor near dead and he would not be able to help. She warned him that being a Devil Forgemaster made him much more susceptible than anyone else to the Curse and that he could fall easily to it's influence. As he walked away, she expressed the wish under her breath for him to survive.

Hector's Golem forced open the gate to Castlevania for him to enter, where he found himself in beautiful marble hallways populated by Dracula's strongest servants. After fighting through the gatehouse and ramparts, he entered the main hall and battled through Dracula's elite. Exiting through a side staircase, Hector came to Dracula's torture chambers; chambers lined only by iron maidens with wire floors above large pits, every surface somehow covered in blood and gore. The connected hallways were lined by long corridors where giant spiked mechanisms separated segments above further blood-collection channels. Empty cells, stacks of bones, and shackles on the walls to force people to watch their friends and family reduced to pulp decorated other areas. Past that was the dungeons proper and the catacombs (conveniently in one place) where Dracula likely entombed the bloodless remains of the humans he found particularly interesting. Above that, Dracula's inner hallways which were decorated with statues of demons, highly elaborate carvings of demons in flight, painted frescoes with iconography of Wallachia's nobility, carvings that depicted humans suffering or weeping with altars surrounded by candles and obscured by piled skulls, and candle holders in the shape of a coffin containing a vampire in rooms with high tiled ceilings and dark hallways lit only by moonlight against curtains. After a great many such hallways, Hector reached the entrance to the Pinnacle; a shattered staircase leading from the main castle keep to a tower that only existed from the place the staircase reached it and upwards. Within was Dracula's inner sanctum, a dark room decorated with black and gold engravings where black magic bled like water, where marble pillars lay between sconces where candles burned purple light, where on the walls lay four glowing orbs held up by golden statues of hands and a large statue of demons kneeling before teeth and eyes; one had cracked open, revealing a (still alive) incubating demon akin to those floating freely in the catacombs of the Gaibaldi Temple. On the ground lay a swirling purple energy contained by the iron wire floor. Here Isaac had waited, congratulating Hector on his restoration of Castlevania. Promising Hector's gruesome death was at hand, he attacked while cackling insanely. Hector defeated each of his Devils, and slammed Isaac to the floor ready to stab him to death with his own glowing purple (a recurring evil color apparently) sword before he recalls Julia's warning not to let the Curse take hold of him. He falls to his knees, recognizing that the bloodlust in him was Dracula's will trying to control him. Zead stepped into the room, clapping and wondering out loud if the Curse had failed to take hold because his desire for revenge was weak or his spirit was strong as a magical coffin rose from the floor and pulled the unconscious Isaac into it then sunk back into the floor with Zead's claim that the single moment of weakness in Hector was all he needed. Zead explained that since Devil Forgemasters are the only beings infused with Dracula's magic, one of them would need to become his new body. He voiced regret that Hector, the stronger of the two, had been able to resist the Curse before revealing Dracula's soul was now taking control of Isaac's body. He withdrew the hand blade he had used before against Saint Germaine, fully pulling it from his cloak and revealing it to be a scythe. Hector correctly identified him as Death before he was pulled into the Chaos Abyss where the bottom of the Pinnacle tower resided permanently and Death had been banished by Trevor and his allies. Standing on the hems of Death's massive cloak, he battled the Grim Reaper's body and avoided his blades. After severely weakening the Reaper, Hector was pulled back to reality and exited the chamber to reach the last staircase, which had not yet emerged from the Chaos Abyss and lay within a maelstrom of purple smoke and clouds. At the top of the stairs was the floating structure that Hector saw far above in the Infinite Corridor, Dracula's Throne room which was still incomplete with the walls and ceiling having not reformed. Only the back wall, a few pillars depicting vicious draconic serpents, and the throne itself still existed. As Hector entered the coffin that had drawn Isaac in opened and revealed the reborn Dracula.

Dracula greeted Hector, asking why he had betrayed him. Hector replied that Dracula's persecution of mankind and indiscriminate slaughter forced him to. Dracula was outraged, claiming humans are not worth the air they breath and that the world was being cleansed of their taint. Hector stated that it was not Dracula's place to judge them. Dracula claimed that it is the place of the strong to judge the weak, and humanity had foolishly judged him and for that he had sentenced them to extinction before attacking Hector. Hector beat Dracula's first form, the usual fly/teleport/shoot fireballs (and now lasers) with the added power of forcing bloody spikes from the ground that chased Hector around the room. After taking significant punishment, Dracula shattered the remnants of Castlevania around him save a single piece of ground and transformed into a massive demonic black dragon with four feathered wings. Dracula attacked with various powers using black magic of all kinds as well as his own claws before succumbing to his own power in Hector's control. Dracula, defeated and near death, returned to the throne room with Hector and realized he had not fully merged with the impure and damaged Isaac. He claimed that although he could be temporarily banished again from the world, his Curse could never be lifted and would cause the wickedness in mankind's hearts to obliterate themselves. Hector replied that being a Devil Forgemaster he had the power to diminish it into a harmless state. With that, Dracula was pulled back into the Chaos Abyss and Isaac's body collapsed lifeless. Hector drew the Curse (which was apparently all of the purple glowing shit everywhere) into one final Innocent Devil (the form of which is not shown), and with the loss of the energy Castlevania was again pulled into the Abyss with it's master. Hector felt revealed and prepared to be pulled into the Abyss as well when Julia appeared. Realizing she would be pulled in as well if he tried to stay, Julia created a magical rune on the floor with her staff which returned them to ;as they disappeared, she said one final goodbye to her brother's body. Castlevania shattered once more into lifeless stone and dust back in the material plane, and remnants of the Curse disappearing into the world around. The dark clouds around Wallachia departed and the sun shone again for the first time since the death of Lisa. Viewing the crumbled remains of the castle Hector and Julia acknowledged the Curse had touched the heart of every human, but both still had "faith in the morrow". Something that Saint Germaine, in the uncorrupted and intact state of the Eneomaos clock where Hector fought him, repeated and stated that wasn't the kind of thing for him (either to himself, or the audience playing the game) due to his different perception of time due to visiting the "morrow". He felt relief time had been stabilized, and said he would travel far into the future where the final battle between man and Dracula would be fought. He wondered if they would remember "your" fight, or start it anew then tipped his hat and vanished again.
Hector and Julia are then seen walking the road to her shop in the mountains. Upon being asked what he intended to do now, he replied that he had to find some hidden place for his free-willed monsters. She offered him to stay with her which he happily accepted. It's unknown if they had any children or what happened to his many Innocent Devils after his death (or even if he did die, as he still has the power of Dracula and Julia is a witch) as Curse of Darkness came near the end of the series and thus can't be referenced later without retcons.

Throughout his journey, Hector collected many chairs. Many were anachronistic, and likely were somehow involved with Saint Germaine. Hector stored them within a pocket dimension where he could happily sit in Dracula's throne and play Pachinko with a flush toilet nearby all day erryday. Because vidya.
Within Dracula's Castle, he found a special Innocent Devil; Pumpkin, the non-canon hero from Leon's time, had somehow been forced into servitude under Dracula and was freed by Hector! Adorbz.

Hector also fought his way upwards through one giant tower, the Tower of Eternity in the Forest of Jigramunt, then flew to the Tower of Evermore outside the Garibaldi Temple from it's top and fought his way down to the bottom. There was no real purpose for this except to kill more shit.
<gallery>
Image:Abandoned Castle.png|The Abandoned Castle exterior.
Image:Garibaldi Temple.png|The Garibaldi exterior.
Image:Damaged Garibaldi.png
Image:Mortvia Aqueduct 1.png|The Mortvia Aqueduct entrance.
Image:Forest of Jigramunt.png|The Forest of Jigramunt entrance.
Image:Infinite Boss.png|Dullahan's collection.
Image:
</gallery>

===Castlevania: The Adventure/Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy (Castlevania 3)===
[[File:Castlevania Adventure Castlevania.jpg|thumb|right|400px]]
Originally a Gameboy (not Color, not Advance, not DS; that big blocky black and white screen Gameboy that sucked batteries like Dracy himself during a heatwave) game, the story was later retold in a short comicbook series released by IDW. Initially there was confusion as to who the main character was, since the English version of the game box, manual, and advertising stated that Simon (a later Belmont) was the main character when in fact it was Christopher, a new member of the family. Since this was around the time that Castlevania's storyline was actually beginning to link game to game, Konami had to clear up the mystery of the Belmont family and timelines by clarifying it goes Trevor, then Christopher, then Simon (the original Belmont video game hero) with Leon being added later as the one that preceded Trevor.

Exactly 100 years after Trevor defeated Dracula, the powers of Dracula's Curse return to the world. The Belmont clan had grown powerful and rejoined the nobility of the rebuilt Wallachia after Dracula's first defeat, although the people were still highly superstitious and believed the magic that the Belmonts were able to use was black magic rather than holy. Cultists have spread, worshiping Dracula instead of God, and their nightly heretical rituals and sacrifices (initially animal, later human) strengthened the returning Curse.

The vidya version is extremely basic. Christopher fights his way through a forest, then a graveyard, then the mountains until he encounters an evil knight which he fights and kills. He then entered the dungeons of the castle, then made his way into the caverns below it, and fought a small army of Flea Men. He then progressed into the castle itself and was menaced by constant spike traps in floor and advancing wall varieties before fighting a Harpy. He then progressed into the castle courtyard, through the halls, then confronted Dracula himself who first did the standard "teleport around the room and throw fireballs" trick he always does before turning into a giant bat that shot smaller bats. After being defeated, Castlevania (this time resembling more a giant insect hive than a castle proper) crumbled as Christopher watched from a nearby cliff. After he left however, Dracula (in bat form) burst from the rubble and flew off...

The comic story is CONSIDERABLY more complicated. The Belmonts are local nobility, and the past heroes of the clan are regarded as saints and are immortalized within the Church. Dracula himself had three wives at some point in the past, which was never previously shown. Christopher Belmont shook off his recurring dreams of finding his young son turned into a vampire by Dracula, and married a woman named Illya the same day as cultists within the town, lead by a noble family that were the descendants of the mortal servants of Dracula, secretly resurrected him with sacrifices of cultists. While Christopher consummated his marriage, Dracula broke into the family cemetery and defiled the corpses and graves of the clan, in particular Christopher's parents, with the symbol of Dracula's dragon heraldry carved into the walls of the tomb.
Ilyana and Christopher armed themselves with the Belmont relics (the axe, watch, holy water, cross, and dagger-the subweapons of every game) while Gaspar, the patriarch of the Totoya clan that had been entrusted to keep the Vampire Killer safe and hidden, returned it to the two warriors. Gaspar, his grandchildren Viktor and Pascha, the Belmont family servant Deimos, and the two wedded Belmonts set off on horseback towards the location where the traitor nobles were located. In the meantime Sona, the eldest daughter of the traitor clan, had resurrected Dracula's form from an emaciated skeleton bat to his blue-skinned red-eyed glory using her own blood before becoming his lover.
As the heroes entered the lands of Dracula's spreading curse they were attacked by zombies. Viktor's throat was torn open by Dracula himself before he captured Ilya and flew to await the return of Castlevania itself. Viktor, now a vampire, attacked the heroes. Gaspar allowed himself to be bitten in order to use the time of transformation to relay information to Christopher about Dracula's current actions and strength. The heroes killed Viktor and forced the transformed Gaspar to lead them to the cave where Dracula had made a home in the skeleton-filled section of subterranean caverns normally used by Belmonts to reach his castle with Sona, whom he had been callously draining for sustenance and otherwise forced her to walk naked through the caves until needed.
As Dracula attempted to turn Ilya into a new bride the heroes attacked him. Gaspar's last act of freedom before using Pascha's holy blade strike at Sona to take his own life was to break the chains holding Ilya in place. Sona was beheaded, but Dracula escaped in bat form while dragging Christopher through the ceiling. In midair, Christopher used the Vampire Killer to break Dracula's neck and ride the disintegrating corpse to safety.
Viktor and Gaspar were buried in the Belmont cemetery while Pascha was made a vassal of the clan. However, when Christopher and Ilya conceived a child it was shown to have Dracula's pointy ears and glowing red eyes...

===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Castlevania 4)===
[[File:Adventure 2 Castle.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Top left: Sunken Temple. Bottom left: Plant Castle. Top right: Cloud Castle. Bottom right: Rock Temple. Center: Castlevania.]]
Yet another original Gameboy game.

Christopher's son, Soleiyu Belmont, had been turned into a demon/vampire by Dracula on the day he was to be passed control of the family and the Vampire Killer in 1591. Christopher first had to conquer four castles held by Dracula's minions.

* The Crystal Castle is an elaborate series of halls full of waterfalls, with the sunken city that Trevor once braved now having risen to surround it. The boss of the area was the Dark Side, an elemental wizard.
* The Rock Castle, partially formed out of the same caves where Christopher fought Dracula before, full of hieroglyphics and ancient traps. The boss was the Iron Doll, a goat-headed demon wearing a suit of armor.
* The Plant Castle was not a physical building so much as a marsh with vines and branches making a massive palace, with rope bridges and ropes forming the pathways between sections. Kumulo and Nimbler were the bosses of the castle, a pair of living statues with goatlike heads attached to moving walls.
* The Cloud Castle was a fortress resting in the mountains surrounding Castlevania that resembled a decrepit eastern monastery (possibly the Garibaldi Temple). The castle boss was the Angel Mummy, a humanoid being stuck to the wall with a human skull and a dragon head on the tail, both of which breathed fire and swapped vertebrae by firing them like boomerangs to each other. In the middle of the body was a scowling face which roared at Christopher.

With all four castles conquered and the orbs the bosses dropped collected, the hive-like Castlevania rose again from the lake in the same way it had for Hector. Once again he braved the courtyard, this time pursued through the main hall by a giant tunneling serpent-like Bone Dragon. He then traveled through the chapel and encountered his son in the keep, ready to die to buy Dracula enough time to be fully resurrected. Soleiyu fought the same as Christopher using a dark whip, but was unable to defeat his father and was cleansed of Dracula's control by the Vampire Killer and the spirit of Sara. Christopher left his son to recover and traveled through an outdoor hall decorated with statues of the Grim Reaper bowing to their master before descending on a rope to the same place he had (in the previous game) fought Dracula before. Using the souls of the four beings Christopher defeated, Dracula reclaimed his old form and attacked Christopher by...teleporting around the room and telepathically juggling energy balls and throwing them at him. This time, Dracula was defeated without taking a second form.
Christopher and Soleiyu watched Castlevania crumble again into the lake. This time, no giant bat or vampire baby was seen and Soleiyu spent the rest of his life dedicating himself to cleansing the land of any presence of Dracula or the Curse.

===Castlevania (Castlevania 5)===
[[File:Castlevania 1 Awesome Art.jpg|thumb|right|500px]]
The very first Castlevania game, starring a Belmont that looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan The Barbarian and He-Man had a lovechild that stole Indiana Jones's whip.
First released for the floppy disk (look it up, kids) peripheral for the Famicom, AKA Japanese NES. Americans then Europeans got it as a cartridge game later, before it was ported back to Japan as a cartridge not long before the launch of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. To date, the game has had a grand total of seven rereleases with the most recent ones being graphical and control upgrades.

Dracula's Curse has never been weaker thanks to the efforts of Christopher and Soleiyu, but as the strength of Jesus Christ grew on Easter 1691, the power of Dracula grew in the hearts of the wicked as well. Cultists held a Black Mass on the ceremony of the hundred years since he had been defeated, which succeeded in resurrecting him and making Castlevania manifest once more in the lake in Transylvania (no mention of Wallachya).

== Monsters ==

The following are statblocks for Castlevania monsters, should you want to convert the Castlevania vidya games into a Dungeons-and-Dragons type of system.

*'''Spittlebone'''
<pre>
Small Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12(13hp)
Initiative:
Speed: 20ft, Climb 20ft
AC: 17(+4 Dex, +2 Natural, +1 Size), Flatfooted 13, Touch 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +1 / -2
Attack: Slam +5 Melee (1d4+1)
Full Attack: Slam +5 Melee (1d4+1)
Face/Reach: 5ft / 5ft
Special Attacks: Venomous Spittle
Special Qualities: DR 5/Bludgeoning, Undead Traits, Spider Climb
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 19, Con -, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: -
Environment: Any underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: -
[[Alignment]]: Always Neutral
Advancement: 3-6HD(small)
</pre>

''"A skittering sound above you makes you look up. You see a bundle of bones clinging to the wall, almost like a spider. Drops of green ichor trail down from it."''

Spittlebone are the reanimated remnants of the bones of those who died by poisoning. They have a single skull and spine surrounded by a network of ribs from several bodies. They have four short limbs, apparently all hands, who end in bony fingers that let them grip wall and ceilings with ease. Their skulls constantly exude a thin, dripping ooze which is highly toxic to those who come in contact with it.

'''Combat'''

Most spittlebones prefer to lie in wait and ambush prey, dripping venom down on them from above. they are not above attacking foes directly in combat however, though their slam is relatively weak.

''Venomous Spittle(Ex)'': Spittlebone skulls constantly produce a thin liquid poison that drips from the eye and nose sockets of the creature. This is a contact poison (DC 10) with initial and secondary 1d4 points of strength damage. They can deliver this poison in one of two ways. In melee they spin their head around, splashing the poison on all adjacent targets. Alternately they cling to a high ceiling or wall and wait for a foe to come underneath them, then they tip over and dribble poison down over their foe. Both of these are ranged touch attacks. When dripping the poison downward the range increment is 20ft. The save DC for this poison is constitution based.

''Spider Climb(Sp)'': A Spittlebone can traverse any surface, even vertical ones, with perfect ease as though permanently affected by a Spider Climb spell. If this effect is dispelled for any reason the Spittlebone may resume it as a free action on its turn.

*'''Venus Weed'''
<pre>
Large Fey
Hit Dice: 18d6+90(153)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 0ft (Immobile)
AC: 21(-1 Size, +2 Dex, +10 Natural), Flatfooted 19, Touch 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +9 / +24
Attack: Briar Whip +15 melee (1d8+7 Bludgeoning and Piercing plus Blood Drain)
Full Attack: 4 Briar Whip +15 melee (1d8+7 Bludgeoning and Piercing plus Blood Drain)
Face/Reach: 5ft x 10ft / 30ft*
Special Attacks: Alluring Scent, Spell-like Abilities, Chaparral Lash, Blood Drain
Special Qualities: Passive Form, Damage Reduction 10/Cold Iron, Low Light Vision, Regeneration 5, Tremor-sense 120ft, Cold Iron Shear
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +12
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 22
Skills: Bluff +27, Concentration +26, Diplomacy +28, Sense Motive +24, Listen +22, Spot +22
Feats: Alertness, Awesome Blow, Negotiator, Improved Bullrush, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-like Ability x2(Spike Growth, Entangle)
Environment: Any Forrest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Neutral Evil
Advancement: -
</pre>

What appears at first glance to be simple white rose in the midst of a patch of briars sways briefly as you come closer. The rose suddenly begins to grow in size, exploding in girth as the figure of a beautiful woman with blue-white hair rises from the center of the now enormous rose. She casts a sly wink in your direction as as a flurry of thorny briars lash out at your party.

Venus Weeds are dangerous and devious fae creatures that enjoy luring humanoids to be their doom. They appear to be human or elven females rising from the center of an enormous rose, surrounded on all sides by thorny briar. Despite their appearance as plants, these creatures are Fey, and quite intelligent, and can lay surprisingly devious traps via their unique abilities.

Venus Weeds feed only on blood, and will attack just about anything that gets near them if they are hungry. If not hungry they can be quite charming and personable, but make no mistake, they have no sense of friendship or camaraderie with other creatures and will just as easily consume someone who's done them favors in the past of other food is scarce.

Occasionally, however, they will lure in a suitable subject for a dalliance to satisfy their need to reproduce. Such subjects generally do not survive the process, but certain softer-hearted Venus Weeds may keep them around as pets if they prove competent and complacent enough. Such unions cause the venus weed to expand in much the same way as human would in pregnancy, however they do not deliver a single child, but rather expel a cloud of diaphanous seeds, each of which with a the tiny figure of a female held aloft by a small, feathery seed stem. These seed children scatter to the winds, and few ever take to germination. Those who do will spend a good 5 years underground developing a network of roots(using a natural Diminish Plants effect to kill off existing vegetation) before rising up from the earth and taking their first look around. Such young Venus Weeds are often the target of those who would attempt to harvest them for guardians. (See below). They typically reach full maturity in about 15 more years, and can live for up to 200 years, though their age never shows on their beautiful, timeless faces.

Venus Weeds speak Sylvan and usually common.

'''Combat'''

Because of their vine's unique animated properties they can effectively fight at quite a range from their actual bodies, and they make use of this ability to thwart foes, Using Bull Rushes and Awesome Blows to knock adventurers back while grappling with spellcasters and ranged attackers, all the while protecting themselves with Spike Growth and Wall of Thorns.

''Alluring Scent(Su)'': The Venus Weed's signature weapon is their beautiful and deadly fragrance. This scent can travel for a half mile or more, depending on wind conditions, and permeating a large selection of its hunting grounds. All vermin and animals with an intelligence score of 2 or less that are exposed to this scent are inexorably lured toward the source of the scent with no saving throw. All other creatures that smell it must make a Willpower save (DC 25) or become complacent and calm, suffering a -2 to all skill checks, attack and damage rolls, and to initiative rolls for 1d4 hours. Any male Humanoid or Monstrous Humanoid that comes within 60ft of a Venus Weed must make an additional save, at the same DC, or become Charmed, as the spell, for one day. A creature that succeeds their save against this effect is immune to that particular Venus Weed's Alluring Scent for 24 hours. This is a Mind Affecting Effect. Creatures who do not breath are immune to this effect. The save DC is Constitution Based.

''Spell-like Abilities'': At will: Entangle, Detect Animals and Plants, Snare; 5/Day: Diminish Plants, Plant Growth, Spike Growth; 1/Day: Greater Magic Fang, Speak with Plants, Wall of Thorns. Caster level 20th, Save DC 16 plus Spell Level.

''Chaparral Lash(Ex)'': A Venus Weed grows at the center of a wide network of thorny vines, woody roots, and lashing tendrils. These are a mix of the Venus Weed's body and natural plants that they have co-opted into a symbiotic relationship. In either cast, they are able to fight effectively against any creature within 30ft. They may take all normal combat options(including special attacks such as Trip, Disarm, Grapple, or Bull Rush) as if they were anywhere within 30ft of their central stalk. Attacking the Vines and plants does little as their regeneration, coupled with their Plant Growth ability can reinvigorate their surroundings, however making an attack on the vines performing a special action(like those Grappling an ally) that deals at least 10 points of damage will disrupt the attack. That damage, however, is not transferred to the Venus Weed. Only attacking the main stalk can damage a Venus Weed.

''Blood Drain(Ex)'': The briar thorns on a Venus Weed's tendrils are hollow and drain blood from their foes. A Venus Weed deals 1 point of constitution damage from blood loss with each successful melee hit as well as each successful grapple check. On a critical hit this increases to 2 points of constitution damage.

''Passive Form(Ex)'': A Venus Weed can assume the form of a small, simple rose to conceal themselves. They cannot see, but can still hear and use their tremorsense ability. Changing form one form to another is a move action.

''Regeneration(Ex)'': Only fire and cold iron weapons with at least a +1 enhancement bonus deal normal damage to a Venus Weed.

''Tremorsense(Ex)'': A Venus Weed can detect the location of any creature that is in contact with the ground within 120ft of it.

''Cold Iron Shear'': Young Venus Weeds, those who have established themselves and have just sprouted above ground but have not yet reached maturity, can be controlled by careful pruning like a plant, however the tools used must be made of Cold Iron. These Dwarfed Venus Weeds(see below) are generally easier to control than Wild Venus weeds, or even domesticated Venus Weeds left unchecked.

Venus Weeds have a +4 racial Bonus on Grapple Checks. This bonus in included in the stat block above.

'''Capturing a Venus Weed'''

Gathering an Adult Venus Weed from the Wild is very, very problematic. Between their offensive capabilities, not to mention their ability to charm, simply approaching them is difficult. Even then, harvesting them is amazingly difficult as their roots can extend for 50ft or more outward from their central body, and up to three times as far downward. It's generally much easier to harvest them while young.

Harvested when they have just sprouted, an Immature Venus Weed is much more tractable. (Diminutive Fey, 1d6+1 HP, Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12; AC 15 (+2 Size, +2 Dex, +1 natural) Spot +4, Listen +4, Alertness. No attacks, DR 1/Cold Iron, Spell-like Abilities: 5/Day: Entangle, Diminish Plants). In this smaller form, they usually rely on their fragrance to draw forth insects and small rodents which they feed on while establishing their Chaparral network of roots and vines. When harvested in this stage, they can be pruned back(see Cold Iron Shear) into a Dwarfed Venus Weed.

<pre>
Dwarfed Venus Weed
Medium Fey
Hit points: 18d6+54 (117 hp)
AC: 21 (+3 Dex, +8 Natural)
Attack/Grapple: +9 / +18
Attack: Briar Whip +14 Melee, 1d8+5 range 10ft
Stats: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 19
Replace Improved Bullrush and Awesome Blow with Sidestep Charge(Psionics Handbook) and Combat Reflexes
</pre>

Abilities: Dwarfed Venus Weeds no longer have the Chaparral Lash Ability. Their Tremorsense is limited to 60ft. The Saves for their Alluring Scent ability is reduced to 23. Their Spell Like Abilities are caster level 15th, and the Save is 14 plus spell level.

Other than these changes, they are identical to their Wild Cousins. Dwarfed Venus Weeds, however, are generally instructed to slay anyone they cannot charm, and send their charmed charges to their doom in other traps, or to incapacitate intruders for their masters to deal with. If they have been roughly or improperly treated, however, they may be willing to aid a party in order to get revenge on their former masters... this is rare, however, as Dwarfed Venus Weeds are just as immobile as their wild counterparts and not likely risk being discovered as traitors if they cannot escape. Dwarfed Venus Weeds speak Sylvan, Common, and whatever language or dialect their masters generally speak, as well as possibly other common local languages.

The Dwarfing process, sadly, renders these Venus Weeds sterile and unable to reproduce.

*'''Axe Armor'''
<pre>
Large Construct
Hit Dice: 3d10+30 (45 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20ft
AC: 21 (-1 size, +0 Dex, +2 natural, +8 adamantine full plate, +2 heavy steel shield) Touch 9, FF 21
BaB/Grapple: +2/+6
Attack: +1 Large Throwing Axe +3 (ranged) or +1 Large Throwing Axe +7 (melee) or Slam +6
Damage: +1 Large Throwing Axe 1d8+6 or Slam 1d8+5
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 5/adamantine, Construct Traits
Saves: Fort +1 , Ref +1 , Will +1
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 11, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Feats: --
CR: 3
Alignment: Neutral
</pre>

*'''Flea Men'''
<pre>
Small monstrous humanoid
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 20ft
AC: 20 (+1 size, +7 Dex, +2 natural) Touch 19, FF 13
BaB/Grapple: +1/-3
Attack: Medium Dagger +9 (ranged) or medium dagger +9 (melee)
Damage: Dagger 1d6+1
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Sneak Attack +1d6
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft, Amazing Leaper, Uncanny Dodge
Saves: Fort +1 , Ref +9 , Will +2
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 25, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats: Improved Initiative, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse, Leap Attack
Skills: Climb +5, Jump +30, Spot +2
Equipment: Medium Dagger
CR: 2
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
</pre>

''Amazing Leader (Ex)'': A Flea Man has a +30 racial bonus to jump checks, and can take 10 on such checks even when distracted.

''Uncanny Dodge (Ex)'': As per the Rogue class feature.

= Weapons and Items =
Like the monster conversions above, these are weapons and items which exist in the various Castlevania games, now D&D-ified for your dice-rolling, Cheetos-munching pleasure.

==Holy Rod==

This blessed and anointed rod functions as a +1 Alchemical Silver Holy Light mace when used in combat. Additionally, it allows its wielder to Smite Evil (as a 5th level Paladin) once per day. If the wielder is a Paladin, or otherwise has a Smite Evil ability, they gain the ability to use this power one additional time per day as a 5th level Paladin or their character level, whichever is more beneficial.

==Moon Rod==

This weapon appears at first glance to be a heavy silver and iron rod with a moon and stars motif. It grants the wielder low light vision(or Doubles the range of their existing Low Light Vision) when held. While out of direct sunlight(at night, underground, inside large buildings, etc) the wielder of this staff can touch a series of runes(as a move action) and transform it into a +2 Heavy mace, each of its bladed fins appearing to be a crescent moon. Twice per day, while the rod is in weapon mode, the wielder of this staff can command the blades on the staff to fly out, dealing 3d8 points of slashing damage to everything in a line 30ft long and 10ft wide (reflex save DC 14 for half) before returning to the Moon Rod's Head.

==Shield Rod==

This simple looking iron rod functions as a +2 Defending Light Mace and grants its wielder several advantages when using a shield. While a character wields a Shield Rod, the shield bonus to armor gained from wielding a Shield(and only that from a shield, not the bonus gained from the Two Weapon Defense feat tree or other source) is increased by +1. A character wielding a Shield Rod can invoke the Shield spell with a command word twice per day. Additionally, up to three times per day as a full round action, a character can use the power of the Shield Rod to draw out the magic of any spell 4th level or lower that was used to enchant their shield, casting it as a Spell-like Ability at a caster level equal to their character level or the shield rod's caster level, whichever is higher. (For example, a 10th level Cleric with the Shield Rod and a +1 Blinding Heavy Shield of Bashing could use the shield rod to cast either the Searing Light spell(from the blinding enchantment) or the Bull's Strength spell(from the Bashing enchantment). This ability can be used on specific shield enchantments (like Bashing) as well as armor enchantments that can have been applied their shields (Such as Energy resistance).

==Fist of the Tulkus==

These heavy blue leather and silver gauntlets give their wielder the ability to Produce Flame, as the spell, at will as a swift action at first caster level. In the hands of non-monk, they gain the unarmed damage and flurry of blows ability of a 5th level monk. A Monk who dons these gauntlets improves his or her unarmed damage and flurry of blows ability as though they were five levels higher.

==Holbein Dagger==

This +2 Keen Dagger slices the air so cleanly that it leaves a crescent shaped "blade" of vacuum behind it. Attacks with the Holbein dagger can re-roll any miss chance due to concealment on, as the dagger's crescent lash may strike where the blade would not.

==Werebane==
This +3 Alchemical Silver Bane Shapechanger Rapier is considered Keen when wielded against a Lycanthrope. Additionally, the weapon grants its wielder the following special ability: As a standard action with the Werebane you may lash out in a flurry of thrusts. As a standard action, you may make two attacks against a single opponent with the Werebane. Both attacks use the same attack roll (with a -4 penalty) to determine success and deal damage normally, however you may apply precision damage only once. If the attack roll was a critical hit, only the first attack was a critical hit, all the rest deal normal damage.

For every five points of base attack bonus you have above +6, you may add one additional thrust to this attack, to a maximum of four attacks at a base attack bonus of +16. However, each attack after the second adds a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll (for a total penalty of -6 for three attacks and -8 for four).

Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each attack.

==Shotel==
This blade appears to be a scimitar at first glance, though its curve is much deeper and the weapon is edged along the concave of the blade. Said to be weapons of the wild Wind Dervish of the East, this weapon is more dangerous when thrown. The Shotel functions as a +1 Thrown, Returning Scimitar. When used as a thrown weapon, however, the weapon's Enhancement bonus increases to +3 and it gains the Keen special quality.

==Jewel Sword==
This +1 Platinum Sabre (Platinum follows the same rules as gold for Heavy Weapons, Magic of Faerun 179. It deals 1d8 points of damage and has a critical threat range of 18-20. Any character without Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Heavy Weapons) takes a -4 penalty on attacks with the Jewel Sword. They may wield the Jewel Sword in two hands to avoid this penalty.) has a heavily jewel encrusted pommel and crossguard, and a line of priceless jewels long the spine of the blade. The weapon glows with a silvery light whenever it's within 30ft of unclaimed gold, silver, or jewels(this includes hidden, buried, unattended or forgotten money, but not coinage or jewelry currently held or carried by a person). Additionally, if the Jewel sword delivers the final blow on an enemy, there's a chance it will conjure a small gemstone. There's a 20% chance that any time the Jewel Sword slays a foe that a random jewel(or jewels) will be formed from the wound. The jewels would be worth 1d4-1(chance of 0) + the creature's HD total times 10 in gold. (i.e, if it slew an ogre, a 4 HD creature, then you would roll 1d4-1(chance of -0) and add the ogre's HD total(4,) multiplying the final total by 10 to determine the price. If the roll's total was 3, then (3 + 4) x 10 = 70gp; one or more small gems whose total is 70gp will be found in the wound.) This ability can only affect creatures with 4 or more HD. Class levels do not count toward a creature's HD total for the purposes of this effect.

==Stone Sword==
This exceptionally heavy +3 Longsword is actually made of a polished and alchemically treated stone. It has hardness 15 (8 for Stone, +1 for Alchemical treatments, and +6 for the enhancement bonus) and 35 HP (2 HP base plus 3HP for alchemical treatments plus 30hp for Enhancement bonus). When the Stone Sword scores a critical hit, the victim must succeed a fortitude save (DC 22) or be petrified by the curse of the blade as a Flesh to Stone spell.

==Marsil==
This powerful blade of flame was said to have been crafted by demons long ago. It functions as a +4 Inferno* Bastard Sword. Twice per day, with a command word, the wielder of Marsil can call down a Flamestrike spell, caster level 10th, centered on himself. This spell will not damage the wielder of Marsil.

==Inferno==
<pre>
Price: +3 bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Flaming Burst
</pre>

This weapon's hilt is decorated with extensive flame and fire motifs in gold and brass and always feels warm to the touch

An inferno weapon functions in almost all cases as a flaming burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the flaming effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of white hot flame. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its flaming burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by an inferno weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be fire damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the flaming property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

An inferno weapon cannot also be enhanced with glacial or tempest.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Wall of Fire

Cost to Create: Varies

==Gurthang==
Known as "Gurthang the Bloody", this vicious weapon hungers for the life of its foes. It functions as a +2 Vampiric, Wounding Longsword. Additionally, for up to 10 rounds per day, it can allow its wielder to restore lost life as though they had Fast Healing 3, so long as they make at least one successful attack and deal damage to a living creature with a normal circulatory system(humanoid, monstrous humanoid, animal, giant, magical beast) each round with Gurthang.

==Mablung==
Mablung, the Sword of Defense, was created by the same ancient master who devised the Shield Rods. Mablung is a +4 Defending Longsword, but otherwise has all of the same functions as a shield rod.

==Mormegil==
Mormegil the Dark is an unholy blade forged with evil intent. It is a +2 Unholy Bastard Sword in most people's hands. In the hands of an Undead, however, the blade becomes a +4 Unholy Surge Bastard Sword. All intelligent undead who hold Mormegil are considered fully proficient with it and can use it one or two handed.

==Mourneblade==
This rune etched +2 Cold Iron Bastard sword howls when wielded, and can draw energy from the spirit and magical essences that animate give life to all beings. Every time this weapon strikes a foe, its wielder heals one hit point worth of damage as though with the Fast Healing ability.

==Obsidian Sword==
This deadly blade is carved from a massive spike of pure obsidian and imbued with dark magics. This +4 Unholy, Keen, Mighty Cleaving Greatsword is preternaturally sharp. The Obsidian Sword gains a +4 circumstance bonus to cleave attacks, and a +4 circumstance bonus the roll to confirm a critical hit. These bonuses stack.

==Terminus Est==
An ancient executioner's weapon, this +3 Brutal Longsword is permanently covered in a deadly poison. Every time the weapon strikes a foe, that creature must make a fortitude saving throw(DC 14) against initial and secondary 1d4 points of Constitution damage. If used in a Coup de Grace attack, the base fortitude save DC versus death is 15+damage dealt. Terminus Est can be used, when held in two hands, to perform Executions and grants a +10 competence bonus on Profession(Executioner) Checks (See Book of Vile Darkness for Execution rules).

==Brutal==
<pre>
Price: +1 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 18) necromancy

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
Activation: -
</pre>

This weapon is set with bronzed spines and embossed runes of battle. It feels very heavy for its size.

A Brutal weapon deals particular ferocious telling blows in combat. A brutal weapon automatically deals maximum weapon damage when a critical hit occurs. For example a Battle axe (normally a x3 critical weapon) would deal 3d8 damage on a successful critical hit. A +1 Brutal Battle axe would deal 27 damage on a successful critical hit just as though you had rolled the maximum value on each of the dice(3d8+3 maximized for 27). This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect (such as keen, impact, cruel, or savage.)

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Heaven Sword==
These +4 Thrown, Returning Longswords of Distance are always crafted in pairs, though not always found together. Anyone who acquires a matched pair of Heaven Swords may utilize their special ability. As a standard action at will they can hurl both blades at once while speaking a command word, duplicating the effects of a Twinned Whirling Blade spell. The Heaven Swords will return to their wielder after this attack as if they had been thrown normally.

==Red Rust==
This dull and rusted falchion's blade is bright red with vivid rust, though it never seems to degrade further or fall apart. While it seems to function for tests as a Masterwork Falchion, when wielded in combat it becomes a -1 Cursespewing Falchion. While some will be tempted to continue using it for its unique abilities, beware, for its curse is not restricted to those whom it strikes. There is 10% chance that a player will lose their action when wielding Red Rust as though they were affected by Bestow Curse. Also, on a roll of a natural 1, a character wielding Red Rust automatically strikes himself.

==Claimh Solais==
A weapon crafted for the explicit purpose of destroying evil and impurity, this +4 Large Alchemical Silver, Axiomatic, Holy Greatsword is considered medium size for the effects of wielding it. Its unique cross-shaped blade also allows it to function as a Holy Symbol.

==Masamune==
Masterwork Bastard Sword
Masamune lowers your AC by ten. Every time you slay an enemy while wielding Masamune, roll 1d10. On a 10, Masamune gains an additional +1 enhancement bonus.

In addition, you gain the Flurry of Blows class feature of a 14th level Monk, but this Flurry can only be used while wielding Masamune two-handed.

==Glacial==
<pre>
Price: +3 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Icy Burst
</pre>

This weapon's hilt is enameled in white and blue with many crystals on dangling silvery-white chains and feels icy cold to the touch

A glacial weapon functions in almost all cases as an icy burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the frost effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of crystalline cold. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its Icy Burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by a glacial weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be cold damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the frost property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

A glacial weapon cannot also be enhanced with inferno or tempest

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Wall of Ice

Cost to Create: Varies

==Tempest==
<pre>
Price: +3 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Shocking Burst
</pre>

This weapon has lightning jags in gold and copper across its form and hums with power when picked up.

A tempest weapon functions in almost all cases as an shocking burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the shock effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of arcing lightning. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its shocking burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by a tempest weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be Electricity damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the shock property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

A tempest weapon cannot also be enhanced with inferno or glacial.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Lightning Bolt

Cost to Create:Varies

==Cruel==
<pre>
Price: +1 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 12th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 21)Necromancy
Activation: -
</pre>

This weapon is enameled in brilliant red that makes it look as though it is covered in fresh blood. A trio of large spikes jut from its pommel.

A Cruel weapon deals telling blows in combat with grim efficiency. All critical threats are considered automatic successes(meaning that every threat is an automatic critical hit). This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect(such as keen, impact, Savage, or brutal) and does not stack with feats or class abilities that improve critical hits such as Improved Critical, though a character can use the more advantageous ability on a given attack roll.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Savage==
<pre>
Price: +1
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 12th
Aura: Strong, (DC 21)necromancy
Activation: -
</pre>

This black, rune-glyphed weapon is covered with jagged edges and sharp spikes. It seems eager for battle.

A Savage weapon deals a much more dangerous strike when a telling blow occurs. The critical multiplier for weapons with a x2 multiplier increase to x3, the multiplier for a x3 weapon increases to x5, and the critical multiplier for a x4 or higher weapon increases to x7. This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect(such as keen, impact, Savage, or brutal) and does not stack with feats or class abilities that improve critical hits such as Improved Critical, though a character can use the more advantageous ability on a given attack roll.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Soul Blades==

Soul Blades are a name for spirit with a dual nature, very like ghosts, who dwell on the ethereal plane, but manifest on the material plane in the guise of an animated physical weapon. Soul blades are related to poltergeist phenomena in that they are not a single spirit. Rather they occur whenever a a large number of creatures of the same race, or with the same purpose, have died in a certain area. The trailing wisps of spiritual energy that once bound their soul join together to form a Veilegeist, a Spirit made of many undead spirits. While the Template specifies using a single creature as the "base" creature, understand that Soul Blades are composed of the undead energy of thousands of creatures, the "base creature" was simply the most dominant bit of soul present.

'''Creating a Soul Blade'''

Soul Blade is an inherited template which can can that can be added to any fae, giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid. A Soul Blade uses the base creatures statistics except as noted here.

'''Size and Type'''

The creature's type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate Hit Dice, base attack bonus, or saves. Size is unchanged.

'''Speed'''

Soul Blades are ethereal creature, even when they incarnate. They have a fly speed of 30ft with perfect maneuverability.

'''Armor Class'''

Soul Blades are Ethereal Creatures. On the Ethereal plane they have a Deflection Bonus to Armor Class equal to their Charisma Bonus(minimum of +1). See their Incarnate ability below for more information about Soul Blades on the Material Plane.

'''Attack'''

As Base Creature

'''Special Attacks'''

As base Creature.

'''Special Qualities'''

A Soul Blade retains the Special Abilities of the base class and gains the following Abilities.

''Incarnate(Su)'': Soul Blades normally exist on the Ethereal Plane, much like ghosts. As a Standard Action they can Incarnate, taking a semi-physical form of a ghostly, immaterial humanoid figure wielding a large, physical weapon. Their body is immaterial to anything which does not affect ethereal creatures and weapons and spells both pass through it without harm. Their weapon, while physical, is actually an extension of their body. Attacking the weapon is like attacking the creature itself, and the weapon has an Armor Class equal to the Base Creature(with a size modifier as if two sizes smaller than the base creature). Damaging the weapon is like dealing damage to any other creature, not an object. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity for attacking the weapon as you would with a sunder attempt. A Soul Blade in Incarnated form cannot be disarmed, and cannot be tripped or grappled by creatures not on the ethereal plane.

The weapon that forms when a Soul Blade incarnates is empowered by their spiritual essence. It assumes the form of a single magical weapon of the type and abilities of the Soul Blade's choice, though it always forms with the same powers. Once a power has been applied to the Blade, it cannot be changed. The weapon's total market price bonus cannot exceed one half the Soul Blades hit dice total(rounding down), and its Enhancement bonus to attack and damage cannot exceed their Hit Dice total divided by four, rounding down(minimum of +1).

When Incarnated a Soul Blade attacks with its weapon as though it were wielded by a creature of the Base Creature's size and abilities, including strength. The attack is physical, but can strike incorporeal creatures as though always enhanced with the Ghost Touch special quality, regardless of enhancement bonus.

''Rejuvenation(Su)'': A Soul Blade cannot be disposed of merely by destroying its physical, or even ethereal, form. A Soul Blade that is destroyed will reform in 2d4 days, returning automatically to the location it was created at. The only way to permanently set a Soul Blade to rest is to fully placate the Veilegeist, the multitude of pained spirits that give it power.

''Veilegeist'': Soul Blades are made up of the combined spiritual energy and the emotional suffering and pain of hundreds, or even thousands, of dead beings. This emotional energy is powerful, but unstable. Creatures may attempt to bargain or reason with, or placate the Veilegeist with a diplomacy check. The Soul Blade's initial reaction is Hostile to most creatures, depending on the nature of the Veilegeist.

During each round of combat there is a 5% chance that some aspect of their opponents will remind some component of the spirits that make up the Soul Blade of their past life. In such a situation the Soul Blade will take no offensive action, as though dazed, though it will still defend itself. If a Diplomacy check is made to influence the Soul Blade during such a round it gains a +4 bonus.

Setting a Soul Blade to rest requires discovering what is still driving the spirits to prowl the mortal realm. Some Veilegeist are made up of the victims of wars, soldiers and innocents alike slain by greed and a lust for power. Such spirits may seek vengeance on the powers that killed them, or on those who emulate them, or they may seek to protect others from suffering a similar fate. Still other Soul Blade are the result of the deaths of guardians of some great purpose. More than one city or castle has a ghostly, patrolling Soul Blade which still stands guard over its masters demesne, even if its master has long since passed away.

''Hardness(Ex)'': The weapon that a Soul Blade Incarnates as has a hardness score of 10 plus 2 points per +1 enhancement bonus.

''Spell Resistance(Su)'': Soul Blades have a spell resistance equal to 15 plus Hit Dice.

'''Abilities'''

Str +4 , Dex +4, Con -, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2

'''Skills'''

As a creature with the Augmented Subtype, it retains the features(and thus skill points per HD) of the base creature. Do not include Hit Dice from class levels in this calculation. Treat skills from the base creature痴 list as class skills, and other skills as cross-class.

'''Challenge Rating'''

As Base Creature +2

'''Level Adjustment'''

- (as in, Not a chance)

Sample: Hunting Girl
<pre>
Soul Blade Elven Ranger 4
Medium Undead(Augmented Elf)
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30ft (Fly 30ft, Perfect)
AC: 22 (+2 Size*, +5 Dex, +1 Deflection), Flatfooted 13, Touch 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +4 / +8
Attack: +11 Rapier (1d8+5 plus Bane Humanoid[Shapechanger])
Full Attack: +11 Rapier (1d8+5 plus Bane Humanoid[Shapechanger])
Face/Reach: 5ft / 5ft
Special Attacks: Favored Enemy(Shapechanger), Spells
Special Qualities: Combat Style, Elven Traits, Hardness 12, Incarnate, Rejuvenation, SR 19, Undead Traits, Veilegeist, Wild Empathy
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +2
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 20, Con -, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 12
Skills: Handle Animal +8, Hide +12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge(Nature) +8, Listen +8, Search +8, Spot +8
Feats: Endurance (B), Improved Initiative, Track(B), Weapon Finesse.
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Advancement: By Character Class
</pre>

You see an ornate silver rapier hovering in the air in front of you, surrounded by the wispy outline of a nude female. As you approach, the blade springs to attention, wielded by the steady hand of the ghostly figure in front of you.

The Hunting Girl, as such spirits are called, are the spiritual essence of the tortured innocents slain by evil were creatures, often mixed with the emotional energy of those who hunt such evil beasts and failed. While they do not always appear as women, the spirit which commands this Soul Blade is female. The Hunting Girl seeks to slay were-beasts of all ilk, and her unique Soul Blade manifests as a form of spiritual silver, rather than steel, to combat their damage reduction. The Hunting Girl, if startled or confronted by any living creature will seek to defend itself, especially against unnatural creatures such as undead and those with the tint of evil. The Hunting Girl can, however, be reasoned with if treated with dignity and respect.

The Hunting Girl speaks Elven, Common, and Sylvan.

'''Combat'''

The Hunting Girl, if confronted by by were creatures of any ilk, will almost move to attack, and will strike with great hatred. Otherwise the Hunting Girl singles out the most likely looking target and flies down to strike. The Hunting girls spellcasting is weak, but it usually uses Summon Nature's Ally I to call forth enormous blue ravens (treat as a Hawk).

''Favored Enemy Humanoid(Shapechanger)(Ex)'': The Hunting Girl gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against humanoids with the Shapechanger subtype. Likewise, it gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.

''Spells'': The Hunting girl casts spells as a fourth level ranger. It knows one first level spell per day, and usually prepares Summon Nature's Ally I.

''Combat Style(Ex)'': The Hunting girl has chosen the Two-weapon Fighting Style, but does not use a second weapon.

''Incarnate(Su)'': The Hunting Girl is an ethereal creature, but it incarnates on the Material Plane as a +1 Alchemical Silver Bane(Humanoid[Shapechanger]) Rapier.

''Rejuvenation(Su)'': If slain or destroyed, either on the Material or Ethereal plane, The Hunting Girl reforms in 2d4 days. Attempts to put the spirit to rest have all failed, and it's likely that The Hunting Girl will only ever reach true peace if all Were-creatures are destroyed.

''Veilegeist'': The Hunting Girls Ideologist shows a strong empathy for elven characters, and any elven character who attempts a diplomacy check against it gains a +4 bonus. Comparatively, it seems to fear and distrust undead creature, and such beings suffer a -8 penalty to diplomacy checks to influence the Veilegeist. Even though the Hunting Girl is hostile to most creatures, it will not usually attack unless provoked.

==Armor Lord==
<pre>
Large Undead
Hit Dice: 20d12 (130hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20ft
AC: 33(-1 size, +20 Natural, +4 Shield*), Flatfooted 33, Touch 9
Base Attack/Grapple: +10 / +24
Attack: +20 Mwk Bastard Sword (2d6+10)
Full Attack: +20/+15 Mwk Bastard Sword (2d6+10)
Face/Reach: 10ft / 10ft
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60ft, DR 15/Bludgeoning and Adamantine, Low Light Vision, Force Shield, Turn Immunity, Undead Traits
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +12
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: Power Attack(B)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Gear(Large masterwork Bastard Sword)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: -
</pre>

''"You see what appears to be a large suit of armor, holding a massive blade, blocking your path. Runes of binding are etched into the blue-enameled steel and flare to life as the armor begins a menacing advance on your position."''

Armor Lords undead crafted from the spectral remains of knights who died in service to their master. Their souls are collected and bound to an immense suit of armor, animating it as a defender. These soulbound suits of armor are the perfect guards for sensitive areas. They cannot be reasoned with, placated, deceived, or easily destroyed. They have no intelligence to speak of, and can follow only simple orders.

'''Combat'''

If threatened, most Armor Lords will use their Force Shield ability first to gauge the power of their attackers before moving to strike the most dangerous down first. They are methodical, and once they have chosen a target only that target's destruction will stay their hand as long as they can reach it.

''Blindsight(Ex)'': An Armor Lord's preternatural sense allows it to maneuver and fight without benefit of its visual senses. Invisibility and darkness don't affect their attack rolls, and they don't need to make spot or listen checks to notice any corporeal creature within the range of their blindsight.

''Force Shield(Su)'': At will as a swift action an Armor Lord can manifest a 10ft diameter translucent Wall of Force attached to their left arm. They may use this as a Tower Shield for all purposes, including using it for cover, but it has no maximum dexterity bonus, no armor check penalty, and no arcane spell failure chance. This shield is immune to all forms of attack except for the following: Disintegrate or Mordenkainen's Disjunction will both destroy the shield. It can, however, be restored as a swift action on the Armor Lords next turn.

''Turn Immunity(Su)'': An Armor Lord's binding magic is extremely powerful. It cannot be turned by a cleric with fewer levels than it has HD.

'''Creating an Armor Lord'''

Armor Lords are created by binding the spirits of the dead to a suit of armor. In order to create an armor lord you need a large suit of masterwork platemail (1,150gp), a Large Masterwork Bastard Sword (370gp), and the bodies of at least 10 humanoids whose souls will be co-mingled into the Armor Lord, and a number of Onyx gemstones worth 1,000gp

Creating an Armor Lord requires a 20th level spellcaster with the spells Create Greater Undead, Wish/Miracle, Wall of Force and costs 7,000xp.

'''Guardian Lord'''

Rumors of a more powerful Armor Lord, known as an Armor Guardian or Guardian Lord, circulate among the whispered rumors of necromantic circles. Guardian Lords are said to be twice as powerful as Armor Lords (40 HD, BAB +20, 60 Str, 260hp) with enchanted blades (large +5 Vorpal Bastard Sword: +49 melee; 2d6+30 19-20, x2 and vorpal) great defense (Immune to Fire, Cold, and Lighting, DR 20/Adamantine and Bludgeoning and Magic, SR 55) and the ability to create towering infernos at will (Spell-like Ability: At will: Wall of Fire [Caster level 40th])

Castlevania

2018-04-17T01:32:02Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F:

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[[File:Castlevania Logo.gif|thumb|center|900px]]
:''"Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!"
::''—Richter Belmont

''Castlevania'' is a classic series of platform games, where the player controls a vampire/monster hunter that fights vampires(with a whip), other undead, and most everything else you can think of. Early games were infamous for the difficulty, but when the series took a turn to what people call "metroidvania" the difficulty dropped in favor of exploration, cool level design, and (somewhat rarely) [[Awesome]] story ideas. The newer games are a bit too [[/v/]] for most of [[/tg/]]'s liking (as well as the bulk of the Castlevania fanbase).

Like [[Metal_Gear]] and [[Silent Hill]], Castlevania is a dead franchise. As not only Kojima was treated like shit by Konami. Koji Igarashi was quickly demoted after the poor sales of only one game. So except not only shitty pachinko kiosks or shitty zombie games to be made in its graven image. [[What|But shitty waifu simulators as what their doing too Bomberman.]] To give obese horny otaku and those who are not claiming to be weebs in sarcasm to masterbait too. #fuckonami

Since the series is popular, [[/tg/|some people]] decided to come up with a [[Dungeons and Dragons]] style datasheets for stuff from the series, effectively turning the franchise into a setting.

[[/tg/ gets shit done|The usual]] resulted.

=Gameplay=
The earliest Castlevanias are known for their challenging difficulty as the appeal of the gameplay is comparable to that of other platformers like Mega Man; although mobility and attack options are limited, they are such that games are won by <s>skill</s> banging your head on bullshit puzzles that are impossible to solve unless you buy the Official Strategy Guide, which was Nintendo's plan all along, not luck. Starting with Symphony of the Night, the series took on a more exploratory and RPG approach not completely dissimilar to the Metroid series, which lead to the coining of the phase, "Metroidvania" or "Igavanias" (from Koji "Iga" Igarashi, the producer of the series).
Being sidescrollers, early Castlevanias have the player advancing from left to right as they're assaulted by various creatures of the night with the player's main method of attack being a metal whip, the Vampire Killer, the iconic weapon of the game. This whip has moderate range, such that enemies can be dispatched from a safe distance and is the main weapon of most Castlevanias. When the Vampire Killer isn't present, player characters tend to make use of a variety of weaponry ranging from various swords and shields to spears and staves.
Common gameplay mechanics throughout the series include smashing sources of light to collect hearts (which don't recover health) and/or secondary weapons which are fueled by said hearts. Common sub-weapons include throwing-daggers, throwing-axes, crosses that function as boomerangs, holy water that causes fire to erupt from the ground, and watches that stop time. Starting in Rondo of Blood/ Dracula X, players gain an ability called "Item Crash" which unleashes a powered-up version of the equipped sub-weapon at the cost of a chunk of hearts. While the sidescrolling Castlevanias tend to be linear with players going level to level, exploration-based Castlevanias naturally have save points in various areas. Beyond these common mechanics, there are numerous game mechanics that only appear in specific games such Castlevania 64's day & night cycle and time limit or Portrait of Ruin's dual protagonists.

It can go without saying that 3D Castlevanias are overall not nearly as well received as any of the classic Castlevanias or Igavanias, try as they might to translate the 2D gameplay to a 3D format. Most of the 3D Castlevanias suffer from poor or stiff controls and camera problems which coupled with recycled environments and repetitive hallways, can be off-putting. Players will find themselves locked in rooms, facing various mobs and doing precarious platforming with varying levels of annoyance. Regardless, all of these games contribute something noteworthy to the legacy of Castlevania and its evolution before the series was tragically slain and its corpse converted in to various [[Derp|pachislot games]].

= Storyline =
The Story of Castlevania takes place over centuries, covering the heroic efforts of many in their attempts to fight back the creatures of the night and defeat the Lord of Darkness himself, Dracula. A basic plot of many Castlevanias comes down to: Dracula has been revived and must be defeated at all costs, with the current heroes setting out to accomplish this goal. Even then, when Dracula isn't the main antagonist, he is either close to being revived or the villains of the time are actively trying to revive him using sacrifices and convoluted schemes. Story-wise, the Belmont Family are the main characters of the games as they wield the Vampire Killer, but many installments involve the absence of the Belmonts and the need for substitution.

The very first Castlevania is not the first slaying of Dracula in the overall story, as there are many prequels that detail events that transpired between Dracula's birth and his defeat by Simon Belmont. There are several retcons that occur throughout the history of the series with certain games being completely removed from the timeline or events being vague in their placement (Castlevania Judgement). All in all, most Castlevania games can be placed in one unified timeline starting with the Belmonts' Eternal Vow to defeat the Forces of Darkness to Dracula's final death and defeat of his successors.

===Lament of Innocence (Castlevania 0)===
A long time ago, during the year 1096, there were two knights who were friends; Baron Leon Belmont, and Baron Mathias Cronqvist. Leon was the fighter, Mathias the tactician and scholar. Together they lead a company of knights who were greatly successful during the First Crusade. During the crusade, Mathias's wife Elisabetha had taken ill and died. Mathias cursed God's name, and decided that if He would take away Mathias's wife while he was fighting God's war, Mathias would defy him and live forever. Using his knowledge of alchemy, specifically in utilizing the souls of beings to grant power and gain dominion over them, Mathias created a magic gem called the Crimson Stone which, when filled with the soul of a Vampire, would grant him immortality without being bound to any master.

Mathias baited a powerful Vampire named Walter Bernhard, known for kidnapping the loved ones of powerful mortals to bait them into his great castle to fight for his amusement, into kidnapping Leon's future wife Sara Trantoul. Walter possessed the Ebony Stone, the twin to the Crimson Stone (the two together being a corrupted, unmerged version of the Philosopher's Stone), which granted many powers that the Vampire did not understand. He knew that it created a shroud of eternal night and believed it would allow him to control Death himself (a property actually belonging to the Crimson Stone). Believing himself to be immortal and unbeatable, he anxiously awaited the fun a knight of the Church would bring. Mathias, feigning illness, informed Leon the Vampire had taken his bride-to-be and where Walter's castle could be found.

However, Leon was forbidden from pursuing the Vampire due to the Church pursuing punishment of heresy before destruction of monsters. Forced between love and duty, he broke his oaths and entered the Forest of Eternal Night on foot. There he met an Alchemist named Rinaldo Gandolfi (a former adventurer who had failed to rescue his own daughter from Walter in the past) who enchanted his armor and gave him a whip formed of Alchemy that was particularly strong against magical beasts.

Leon battled through Walter's castle, arranged in a grand hall with a room filled with magical elevators leading to other portions of the castle. Within the Anti-Souls Mystery Lab, an Alchemy wing filled with libraries and furnaces, he fought an unfinished Golem. In the Garden Forgotten By Time, he fought through prehistoric and unnatural flora and fauna before killing an extremely large [[Medusa]] that resembled a [[Beholder]]. In the House of Sacred Remains, the former chapel that was in a state of terrible disrepair even before Walter's minions converted much of it into a torture maze, he fought a mass of flesh and demon insects feeding on it from the former slaves. In the Dark Palace of Waterfalls, a massive underground series of chambers and sewers connecting to aquifers and complexes inspired by Escher, he fought Joachim Armster, a Vampire servant of Walter's imprisoned within the maze of water for trying to usurp him who wielded multiple swords telepathically. In the Ghostly Theater, a massive complex of rooms and halls decorated anachronistically for grand performances with cast and audience stuck forever in a show, Leon found a suspiciously vacant stage with only one seat; here, a Succubus posed as Sara and attempted to assassinate him.
After clearing the castle, Leon assembled the key to the Pagoda of the Misty Moon where Walter confronted him, congratulating him and returning Sara. Leon attempted to use his whip on Walter, who was unaffected claiming that Death could not take him. Leon returned Sara to Rinaldo's cottage where he discovered she had been turned into a Vampire by Walter. The only way to save others from her and Leon's fate was to kill her and bind her soul within the whip. Thus was born the Vampire Killer whip.
Leon, enraged and heartbroken, battled his way through the castle keep where he discovered the key to a hidden room behind a painting depicting a powerful monster. Entering the Prison of Eternal Torture, which consisted of a bloodstained hallway, a miles-long staircase in almost pitch-black darkness, and finally a room covered in spikes and chains housing the upper half of a gigantic monster that was flayed alive and left to rot and be consumed by giant maggots yet was still alive; the Forgotten One, which in it's youth challenged God and almost destroyed the world. Leon tested the Vampire Killer by killing the Forgotten one by destroying it's exposed organs, then it's remaining hand, then finally collapsing it's skull (yes, the VK is that fucking powerful).
Satisfied Sara's sacrifice was not in vain, Leon destroyed the last of Walter's servants and challenged him in his throne room. Leon defeated the arrogant Vampire, who was shocked to find Death take his soul and deliver it into the Crimson Stone. Mathias appeared, reclaiming the Ebony Stone for himself, and revealed his plot to Leon. He offered Leon immortality at his side, which was then rejected (apparently Mathias thought doing what God had done to him would make someone else come to the conclusion God was to blame for that too). Mathias fled, leaving Leon to fight and banish the grim reaper himself with a message for Mathias; the Belmont clan would use the Vampire Killer to hunt him, and all other monsters, forever. The castle fell apart and the sun returned to the forest.
Leon's family no longer had the support of the Church. Although not branded outright heretics, they became pariahs and their wealth and prestige diminished greatly. Despite this, they continued to hunt and destroy monsters, using the Vampire Killer and passing it between father to son and brother to brother. The spirit of Sara within the whip refused to be wielded by the impure or one not of her lost love's family; any who attempted to claim the Vampire Killer wasted away as Sara fed on their life force.
But every beast destroyed by the Belmonts was claimed by Mathias unbeknownst to them. With his alchemy, Mathias absorbed the powers of the Crimson and Ebony Stones, making the power of Dominion his own. Every creature he claimed became an extension of his own will, although Walter's soul within him gave Sara's power the ability to harm him and any pawn of him with ease.

Mathias traveled far and wide, even journeying to Hell itself to battle Lucifer for the title of Prince of Darkness. Mathias traveled to the realm of [[Chaos]], absorbing the energies of the beings within and forcing [[Chaos Gods|them]] into the shape of a great and ever-changing castle who's very grounds can be the size of a province and who's immensity defies the laws of physics, the titular Castlevania.
Mathias even dominated abominations and unknowable horrors, pressing beings such as [[Cthulu]] and the kin of Walter's Forgotten One into service as mere guards within his halls. Taking on the name of Vlad Tepes, or Dracula, he claimed Walachia as his own and dared God to move against him. God indeed responded, by giving Vlad hope of redemption.
Within his new kingdom was born a woman named Lisa, the reincarnation of Elisabetha. Vlad fell in love with her as he had her past life, and married her. After she gave birth to a son whom he dubbed Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, Vlad retired from gathering the forces of darkness and ruled his people wisely and justly. Lisa was skilled with the healing arts, and with the spread of the Black Death in the 1400's did her best to ease the suffering of the people. But in a frightened riot, Lisa was burned at the stake as a witch.
Vlad finally became Dracula, and enacted a war of genocide against the human race. He selected humans with dominant personalities and a talent for Alchemy, called Devil Forgemasters, to lead his armies as the forces of darkness were unleashed and caused immense suffering on every continent. Dracula sipped wine served by Succubi to the wails of the hundreds of dead and dying within dungeons below. The rivers of blood nourished Castlevania, and hellish weapons were forged using the souls of the doomed. Anywhere his minions treaded was cursed, a spreading toxic influence of evil that warped the wildlife into twisted beasts, filled men's hearts with sin, and rendered the landscape inhospitable.
Adrian, who was told by his dying mother that mankind suffered more than enough hardship, was unwilling to be a part of his father's evil and vanished for a time before returning using the holy blade of his mother's ancestors and using the name Alucard to wage a one-man war on Dracula.

In a silly non-canon (maybe) side story, a small boy (or monster) in burlap clothes wearing a pumkpin on his head trick-or-treated Walter's castle.

===Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (Castlevania 1)===
[[File:CV 3.png|thumb|right|400px]]
The Eastern Orthodox Church sends the armies of Europe to slay Dracula, who become additions to Dracula's army of the undead. Without any other option, the Church secretly calls upon the Belmonts, who have been pushed to the fringes of society by the fearful populace, to put Dracula to death. In 1476, Trevor Belmont reached the edge of Dracula's castle and fought his way through. Along the way, he was joined by a former thief named Grant Danasty (who's entire family had been killed by Dracula when the nobles of Wallachia rebelled against him, followed by Grant being turned into a giant hulking brute when he attempted to get revenge), Sypha Belnades (a witch who's parents were killed by the same riots that killed Lisa, who grew up at a monastery and befriended the remaining Feyfolk unaligned with Dracula before becoming an official assassin of the Church), and finally Alucard. Trevor's path was long (and in fact during a playthrough multiple times players have the options to choose one level over another) and lead from Warikiya town outside Dracula's castle to the town clock tower, through the forests surrounding the countryside, through a marsh where Dracula's fishmen navy breeds, on a ghost pirate ship (which is for some reason located in Dracula's lake) which they used to reach the island Castlevania is located on, through a sunken city populated by ghosts (which floods as you reach the end of it) then through the mines (which are being washed away as you cross them) and mountains on the cliffface (which are crumbling) and into Dracula's dungeons, tower leading to Dracula's gates, across Dracula's bridge and aqueduct, through the catacombs and into the ramparts then the castle armory, through the main hall (where once again, Death has his ass beaten) and into Dracula's own clocktower, then finally into his keep and throne room to confront him. Dracula initially fights by teleporting and causing magical flames to shoot out of the floor, but after enough strikes with the Vampire Killer he assumes a form more befitting the new lord of Chaos; six grinning faces that vomit poison blood topped with an exposed brain. After whipping the flesh from the skulls of those faces, Dracula assumed a final form; that of a giant Demon man-bat which warped reality around him and shot lasers from his hands and eyes. After being defeated in this form, both Dracula and his castle as well as the bulk of his armies were pulled back into the realm of Chaos. Trevor and his allies watched the castle crumble and the dawn finally return to the world. Grant and Trevor became rivals for Sypha's affection, although in the end it was Trevor who won her over causing succeeding Belmonts to inherit her magical affinity. Grant became the leader of the new Wallachia and rebuilt the towns and villages destroyed by Dracula's armies. Alucard, ashamed at taking part in patricide and guilty over being unable to save his father, took to a long sleep within his coffin.

Trevor, Sypha, Grant, and Alucard also spent a great deal of time eating fully-cooked porkchops they found whenever the Vampire Killer was able to break through a wall. You know, because video games.

===Curse of Darkness (Castlevania 2)===
[[File:Castlevania Exterior.png|thumb|400px|right|Castlevania's entrance in Curse of Darkness]]
During the events before Dracula's Curse, one of Dracula's Devil Forgemasters named Hector began to question his loyalty. Hector was born with the ability to communicate with spirits and animals, and was neglected by his devout mother who believed him to be a wicked being and his father who's only interest was in politics and economy. His fey friends became enraged at mankind's neglect of their friend and caused the local Church to catch fire, giving him a chance to escape to a being they said would understand him; Vlad. His surrogate father positioned him as the controller of the myriad horrors within his castle during the days of sanity and taught him the advanced arts of Alchemy including those which allowed the creation and manipulation of life through chemical reactions, and with the death of Lisa commanded Hector and his fellow Forgemaster Isaac to send forth the beasts under their command to raze Europe while Death commanded the armies remaining in Wallachia. He also sent them whatever they required to forge greater beasts and weapons including souls and blood. Isaac and Hector, both runaways feared for their abilities who found prestige and respect as Dracula's generals, would diverge in ideology. Hector became disgusted with Dracula's slipping sanity and cruelty, and simply abandoned his position to live under an assumed alias in a village after Dracula ordered him to track down and wipe out the Belmonts, leaving his army to infest the countryside and block Trevor's path from time to time instead. Isaac by contrast became obsessed with impressing their master, forging more and more wicked weapons and creatures and inventing horrors never before seen in heaven or hell. Isaac becomes gradually unhinged, and his impressive uniform falls to tatters as Isaac continues to wear the remains (which, bizaarely, gives him the appearance of a tall, lanky pretty-boy wearing a bondage harness and tight, TIGHT leather pants.). Hector's disappearance concerns Dracula, who at this point still has the capacity for human attachment (not to Isaac though), and sends Isaac with several cultists and a werewolf to find Hector's body for honoring, or his treachery and return him for torture. Isaac decides instead to simply off Hector either way, and ensure Dracula's favor would fall on him alone. As the werewolf tracked Hector's scent to the village where he'd taken shelter, it decided to prey on some of the townsfolk. The screams of a small boy who's parents had previously been eaten by Hector's werewolf forces brought the former general to reveal himself by killing the werewolf. Isaac and Hector engaged in battle, although the death of Dracula at Trevor's hands caused Isaac enough of a shock that Hector was able to beat him and leave him for dead.
For three years Hector lived in the village, and became engaged to a woman of faith named Rosaly. Although the curse of Dracula continued to spread, making mankind hateful and fearful, the small village remained untouched by it's taint. Sheltering himself in the ruins of the countryside surrounding Dracula's former castle, Isaac was left a ranting and wailing mess clothed only in the tatters of his former uniform and tattooed in the emblems that once adorned the coat. He blamed Hector for the death of Dracula, waited until he had achieved happiness before spreading the rumor that the apples Rosaly sold in the next village were poisoned. Hector came to the town that day to find the village square empty save Rosaly's charred skeleton hanging in the town square, having been burned by a fearful mob, while Isaac stood atop a nearby building and cackled insanely. By the time that Hector reached the roof, Isaac was long-gone. Hector returned to the chapel and dug out his old uniform, then set out in pursuit of his former ally.

At the start of the game, Hector finally catches up to Isaac at their former base of operations now abandoned (called the Abandoned Castle as a result), a fragment of Castlevania left in the mortal world. Isaac taunts Hector, and goads him into pursuit (flat-out admitting that he's going to lead Hector into the path that results in him regaining his full strength in order to avenge Dracula). Hector then fights his way through the remnants of his own former army haunting the walls, first through the primary part of the castle which had begun to show signs of neglect. When Hector reached the stairway that would have lead to Dracula's chambers he instead discovered a room still partially within the realm of Chaos where the soul of one of Dracula's army was contained. He claimed it as a servant using his power of Devil Forging, gaining the loyalty of a small infant fairy which assisted him greatly in pointing out things he otherwise would not have seen as well as opening locked chests. As he completed the ritual, a man in a purple robe calling himself "Zead" appeared and was amazed at his display of strength. Zead claimed to be a monk seeking to end Dracula's Curse and informed Hector that Isaac had fled out the back of the castle will take refuge in a chapel in the ruined town of Cordova through the mountains. Hector continued on through a small pond to reach the overly large catacombs, and after breaking a pillar and entering through a portion of the collapsed floor above reached the castle dungeons/laboratory where many skeletons were chained to the wall and dried bloodstains covered most surfaces. Hector then reached the higher reaches of the castle decorated with lordly furnishings such as lopsided paintings, burning fireplaces with lit candles, decaying curtains, gilded surfaces and carved ornamentation on the wall, ceiling, and floors, Hector reached a large decorated room where he faced a giant clockwork knight which when stripped of it's armor was revealed to be a creation of the former Devil Forgemasters; a demon occupying the metal gears within. After defeating it he used a chair lift to reach the rear exist to the castle into the mountains where he discovered another soul within Chaos; this time, a molten golem who's strength allowed him to break through walls and lift objects.

While exploring the paths of the Baljhet Mountains that had been carved with pillars, decorated walkways, eternal braziers, and stairs to aid travelers in happier times, Hector reached a crossroads with an elaborate door to the massive aqueduct complex Dracula erected in his benevolent period where a young woman was digging herbs from the ground. Hector was amazed at how much like Rosaly she appeared, and asked her if she had seen a man with the same symbols as he wore crossing though. She was cautious until Hector confirmed the man to be his enemy, whereupon she offered to keep the creatures that he freed from Dracula's power safe. Identifying herself as Julia, a prophesying witch who had fled western Europe due to the Church's relentless persecution of any they deemed heretical regardless of affiliation, she offered him hospitality at her home further up the mountain. Hector continued his journey, reaching a fortress that used to protect the path into Wallachia with cannons and a barricade protecting it. Hector utilized a cannon outside the walls manned formerly by skeletons to blast his way in, and defeat the garrison of creatures within. At the summit of the mountain, he faced a Wyvern that had kept travelers out of Dracula's lands and killed it.

Upon reaching the other side of the mountain ranges, Hector made his way to a former monastery called the Garibaldi Temple built along the road to Cordova, passing by a massive tower which seemed to reach the clouds and could not be entered. At the entrance to the temple, a man dressed very strangely approached Hector. Wearing spats, a coat with bronze buttons, a top hat, golden chains, white gloves, and a flamboyant red coat with tails, with shoulder-long blond hair and a curled mustache, he identified Hector by name and occupation and requested that he cease his journey immediately to preserve the wishes of a "greater will". He claimed to know much although he could not reveal how nor actually act on what he knows due to an arrangement that gave him his power. He then vanished in a blink of golden light. Completely disregarding the situation, Hector entered the monastery to find it had been taken over by Dracula's former minions. There was no indication of the fate of the humans that once resided within, and the temple entrance halls were either completely intact with stained glass windows celebrating the faith of the Church or portions that are damaged including smashed windows, large holes in walls, bloodstains both large and small, and rubble suggesting a small battle occurred at some point involving something large and wounded. Further into the monastery, he found long hallways wrapped around square gardens that once boasted the herbs and food the monks grew which were now simply barren lifeless dirt. Beyond that was much more somber hallways, dimly lit by tinted candles where motifs were more depictions of the grim reaper and angels, which had windows to view the outside gardens where only trees and a worn statue of an angel were still visible. Within the main chapel, a room full of tinted windows and depictions of heaven, Hector encountered Trevor Belmont who had continued in his destruction of Dracula's minions wherever they could be found. Recognizing Hector as a Devil Forgemaster, Trevor attacked and the two battled until Hector was exhausted. Surprised that Hector had been so easy to defeat when the Forgemasters were the equals to Death, he remembered that one of the Forgemasters had betrayed Dracula and enabled the warriors to reach his castle with minimal resistance. Hector asked if Trevor was the one who had beaten Dracula, which he confirmed before leaving. Hector continued into the catacombs, fighting Demons and Slogras (skeletal bird-like servants of Death) until he could empower his Golem.

After having his Golem open the entrance to the Mortvia Aqueduct, Hector begins by walking along aqueduct pathways lined with hooded statues. There he encounters Zead who says he saw "him" and thought that Hector was dead. Believing him to be referring to Isaac he asks if he saw him, and Zead claims Isaac was headed towards the forest towards Cordova and that the root of the Curse-and all evil-lies with Isaac. Zead appears distracted however, and appears to sense something causing him to stop talking mid-sentence and excuses himself to attend to a matter that he has forgotten. Saint Germaine then appears from nowhere as soon as Zead is gone, and appears surprised to see Hector, claiming that he expected to see someone else before asking if Hector spoke to him. Mistrusting the strange man, Hector refuses to answer and disregards his advice to avoid seeing or speaking to Zead. Germaine claims that Zead is manipulating him, and that the monk is not within Germaine's knowledge of things. He then vanishes again. Hector travels though the aqueduct canals, each ending in a large tower with aesthetic fountains within until he reached another large fortress occupied by monsters armed with cannons, this one to control sea travel into Dracula's realm. Hector once again commandeered an artillery piece with which to blast away the beasts, destroying a tower to create a bridge across in the process allowing him to enter the aqueduct fortress keep. He continued through the fortress interior, decorated with further hooded statues and fountains of various shapes and sizes depicting everything from lions to dragons and tattered banners of Dracula's reign hanging in windows, while fighting various aquatic and wild foes lead by more of Death's servants, the giant demons called Gaibons. Finally exiting the fortress, he reached the edge of a lake where Dracula's castle once stood. Continuing on past the old remnant he entered a large room with a pool and a walkway leading over it, which collapsed as he tried to cross leaving him on a small patch of land around which patrolled a skeleton shark mounted by a skeleton wildman, who used to execute prisoners for Dracula's spectatorship. After defeating the pair, he discovered another entrance to Chaos where he freed the spirit of a giant crow who carried him across the water to the entrance to the Forest of Jigramunt.

As soon as he set foot in the forest, Hector heard voices and ducked behind a tree to watch the exchange. He witness Saint Germaine and Zead speaking. Zead threatened that Germaine must not act on anything that goes contradictory to fate, to which Germaine questioned Zead's assistance of Hector as being extremely out of the ordinary. Zead claimed he was only assisting in already-decided matters, much how he was acting in regards to Dracula's Curse. Germaine claimed that he couldn't simply make up new rules for himself, infuriating Zead and causing him to turn his right hand into a long blade which he attempted to kill Germaine with. Germaine simply teleported out of the way effortlessly, claiming he will continue to return until the day Zead surrendered. Zead, infuriated, used his blade hand to cut open a hole in reality leading to the realm of Chaos proclaiming "No one escapes from me." and left. He continued through the forest made up of paths similar to those in the Baljhet Mountains, former sites of small fortifications in extreme states of disrepair, a burned-out windmill by a river, a length of actual forestland with a barely-visible path, and a series of caves including a former mine and an underground Colosseum where he fought a massive Minotaur who's back was split, exposing it's spine.

From the back of the Colosseum Hector entered the town of Cordova (where Trevor began his journey), finding it completely devoid of life with undead such as Zombies, Ghosts, and horrible patchwork beings formed of multiple corpses alongside warbands of Lizardmen. Every building was completely vacant and boarded up, with the roofs crumbling and falling inwards (although the fires that had raged when Trevor prayed at the fountain no longer raged). When Hector reached the church, no longer the giant cathedral that Trevor has scaled but instead merely the walls of the first story and a facade, he encountered Isaac who stated it was still too early for Hector to face him, but would test his abilities instead. The two (along with Hector's Innocent Devil companion and Isaac's demon Abel) battled, culminating in Hector delivering a FALCON PUNCH to Abel and leaping back. Isaac commented his powers were returning as expected and rushed forwards to continue the duel until Julia appeared and begged her (big reveal moment) brother to stop. Isaac, annoyed, stated it's still too early to finish off Hector anyway and disappeared in a magic circle on the ground with Abel. Julia stands in Hector's way to prevent pursuit, and after being accused of manipulating Hector for Isaac she told him that she wants to see her brother freed from Dracula's Curse and that to do that Hector has to grow stronger both in his capacity for combat and his spirit as well. She claimed that the only being she could trust to free Isaac instead of merely slaying him is Hector due to their history, and that if it did come down to slaying him Hector is the only being she would accept doing it. Hector then left the cathedral, contemplating her words, and found another of the gateways into Dracula's Chaos. This one contained a Mage-type Innocent Devil, who had the power to stop time for a short few moments. This allowed him to pass through the street that lead to the Eneomaos Machine Tower (possibly the same Clocktower Trevor freed Grant from due to it's location, although the Clocktower in that game fell apart at least to some degree due to having to escape as debris fell from the ceiling after the defeat of the possessed Grant; this may be another tower in the same location, or was rebuilt either by monsters or the lingering influence of Castlevania, or may possibly only appear to be standing as it currently exists outside of time. It's all open to interpretation) which was lined by enchanted fires that blew out and sealed the door to the first courtyard if he tried to approach normally.

The path to the Eneomaos Machine Tower was made up of three garden courtyards leading up to the entrance with brown grass and dried fountains and squatting monsters such as Orcs. The courtyards were bordered with buildings long since collapsed, with only a few shattered walls standing and barely visible from the walkway. Hector encountered another obstacle, this time a twisting path of stairs that raised from the ground at the pull of a lever but withdrew back into the ground after a mere three seconds. Once again, the aid of the Mage enabled him to reach the doorway to a short stairway that lead into a very, VERY tall tower. The inside of the tower was quite old, and a few pieces of information within said that a mad nobleman named Eneomaos built the tower in ages past for an unknown reason. Everywhere behind cages and inside walls where damaged had exposed the hollow interior was machine components still moving in time for an unknown purpose, from cogs to springs to chains to weights. Hector was able to skip exploring much of the tower due to his use of a room on the first floor where a disk was lifted by a screw mechanism as a kind of elevator. By jamming his weapon into the screw, he was able to turn it and use the elevator to reach the much higher in the complex. At the higher reaches of the tower, it became apparent that it was once part of a much larger building as walls trailed off from the already massive building at a height where the ground could no longer be seen over the mists, and windows that appeared to stretch into large dormitories could be seen below the exterior walkways. Upon going around the outside of the complex from the exit of the first elevator, Hector reached a second within a small side tower. Once again using a screw-elevator mechanism, he exited near the top of the tower. The upper chambers were much more intact than the lower ones, with intricate cages and complex machinery still running at full strength. Upon reaching a room with a large engine and a store of replacement parts, Hector dislodged a lose cog that set in action a Rube Goldberg device of machine components breaking down until a piston was sent flying through a wall, exposing a hallway. Through this hallway he reached the stairs leading to the very rooftop courtyard of the massive tower, where he found Saint Germaine casually leaning on a small tower at the center on which was a clock face. Hector noted that Zead hadn't killed him yet, with Saint Germaine showing amusement at Hector's eavesdropping and claiming he is an expert at miraculous escapes although Zead had finally trapped him at the top of the Eneomaos complex which existed outside of time and thus prevented Germaine from escaping. He then asked Hector how he'd managed to enter the rooftop, to which Hector replied that there was no barrier preventing him from entering. Germaine was astounded, realizing that since the tower top existed out of time the things that prevented Saint Germaine and Hector from interacting had no effect. He then drew a saber from out of thin air, telling Hector he had no interest in stopping his mission but merely discovering something that the fight would reveal to him. Germaine made use of his teleportation during the duel, as well as the ability to freeze Hector in place, to alter the passage of time allowing vines to grow from the ground rapidly and engulf him, as well as poison on his saber which worked it's damage while Hector was frozen in place. Plus he shot at Hector a few times with his pistol. Upon being defeated initially, he reversed time to regain his strength and continue the fight. Upon being beaten the second time, he fell to the ground and quickly surrendered, promising not to interfere with Hector's fate again. he then commented on how interesting time and fate are, and when asked by Hector who he really is he stated he is a "traveler" who is "only half here" and "not allowed to speak the truth" who "is not allowed to act upon reality" and "knows all". He then stated to Hector he "felt a new destiny flowing through him" and that he is "no longer alone" and to "walk his path without fear". He then asked Hector to give Zead his regards, tipped his top hat to Hector, and vanished into golden light once again, and with him the timeless nature of the tower roof faded (ending the second strangest side plot to any Castlevania game). Past the tower roof on the other side lay another portal into Chaos, where Hector discovered a small loyal Devil to bring under his control. This Innocent Devil allowed him to use Isaac's trick of turning into a symbol on the ground and move almost anywhere, easily crossing the rubble and hidden passages of Wallachia. Hector finished exploring the top of the tower, which was increasingly showing it's advanced state of disrepair now that the time warp had ended as he progressed.
Hector retraced his steps to the Temple, where he was able to use his Demon to reach a second catacomb hidden behind a wall. Within, the stacks of bones gave appeared to be covered in purple ooze the further down he progressed until the final path, far below the surface, gave way to flesh and cancerous growths on the bones leading further still while Demon fetuses within floating eggs drifted through. At the end of the pathway was the door to a nightmarish room, lined with flesh and with a floor made entirely of an unknowable number of naked human corpses. On the sides of the walls was a staircase made of bone, leading up to a gigantic ball called "Legion" of pure evil made of similar bodies to the ones below at the top of the room. He ascended the staircase, attacked by corpses that stood from the floor to block his progress while filling with a pus-like acid until they burst, and hacked away at the corpse-ball until the core was exposed. The core then cracked and exploded, with a being made of pure light emerging. The being was called the Nuculais and was in the shape of a humanoid although it lacked any form of features barring an exposed heart. It morphed it's hands into blades and leaped into the floor, leaving behind a surface of plasma, to get around the room and attack Hector. Upon defeating it the creature exploded into pure light.
He then returned to Cordova, and used the abilities of the Devil to travel beyond the magical gates at the top of the village hill that kept the bulk of Dracula's forces trapped within the Aiolon Ruins.

The Ruins consisted of a deep and ancient forest which had overtaken the ruins of a previous civilization, which blends real-world architecture and iconography of different kinds into the general feel of a long-abandoned city in the hills. He once again encountered a fortress protected by cannons, this time an ancient fort of times long past that had become a bastion of Dracula's forces. Once again, Hector commandeered a cannon and blew the piss out of the fortifications and stormed the gates, pacifying all resistance. Utilizing an underground tunnel full of statues and carvings where more Slogras and Gaibons appeared, Hector found Isaac and Trevor locked in combat and evenly matched. After seeing Hector, Isaac claimed to have already gotten what he needed and taunted Trevor by saying that his defeat of Dracula was only a fluke before claiming that he would kill both of them and using Abel's rune ability to escape. Trevor noted he fled when he saw Hector and finally believed he was against Isaac, but (uncharacteristically) claimed that Hector was only meddling in his pursuit of the last Devil Forgemaster. The moment Trevor had left, Zead appeared out of nowhere from behind Hector and noted it was unfortunate that Hector lost his chance to kill Isaac, although at Hector's claim that Isaac must die by his hand alone he then told him that Isaac could be found in a hidden room below where they first met, the Abandoned Castle. Hector informed Zead that Saint Germaine had sent his regards, which caused him to panic and claim it was impossible and he had much to do "complete the final touches". Hector then returned to the Abandoned Castle, to the long open stone staircase up to the top tower where he encountered the Golem and found that a metal staircase had been lowered. In the higher room, Hector found Trevor and told him what Zead had said. Trevor claimed it was impossible, that only the blood of a Belmont would be able to open that chamber before realizing that was why Isaac had attacked him and sliced his cheek in the duel. Trevor then attacked Hector to test how much stronger he'd become, and noted that Hector fought almost as if an entirely different person. He claimed only those who are very powerful could survive where Isaac had gone and that Hector had to be tested. Trevor then cut his hand with a dagger and allowed his blood to fall on the floor, which caused a magical rune to appear.

After stepping on the rune, Hector found himself in a room not unlike anything else in the castle, although in a much better preserved state. Upon exiting it however he found himself standing on a path of stone leading upwards from the room, which was externally the bottom floor of a massive tower, floating in a void of purple with ghostly lanterns lining the path; the Infinite Corridor, which lay within the Chaos Abyss where Dracula had been banished. He followed the path to another similar tower, then a third, then to a small portion of battlements all floating within the nothingness. Past that, stone walkways lined with running water with cracks in said walls also somehow leaking water despite nothing being behind them. In the sky, large chunks of what had also once been Castlevania floated in stormclouds. He continued through these upwards paths, towers, and waterways until he reached an apparent dead-end of a shattered stone walkway. But upon walking partway up, Hector found himself in a totally new landscape, floors and partial walls that appeared to be made of bismuth with carved pillars, tiles depicting strange designs, and candles situated atop root-like organic structures which floated in a maelstrom of wind and floating debris despite being calm within. Each "room" ended in another staircase to nowhere which when ascended somehow lead to another such room. He eventually reached a large example of such rooms, which lead to more debris from Castlevania, then to more bismuth rooms, then finally to a four-way hub lit by iron lanterns on dead trees and at the center of which lay a large lavender crystal formation, which lead to a bismuth room where a seemingly infinite number of the skulls of some animal blocked his progress (which the Mage was able to stop time to enable him to cross), leading finally to a final walkway. At the end, he entered a bizarre room lined by shelves filled with jars in which severed heads floated and was lined by columns that appeared to be spinal cords erupting from a fleshy entrance in the floor. The master of the chamber which had been left by Trevor due to it's lack of loyalty regarding who it slays, the Dullahan, appeared and attacked him. After it's defeat, the souls it had consumed escaped and it burned to nothingness. After it vanished completely the rune at the center of the room began to glow, and Wallachia shook and buckled as massive vortexes in the sea caused the water levels across the country to recede, and with the breaking of the seal completely Castlevania reformed and returned from the depths to the world. Back in the Abandoned Castle, Trevor was horrified and exclaimed "Was I too late?" before being stabbed through the back by Isaac, who revealed he had baited Trevor into sending Hector to the seal (which could only be broken by a great deal of demonic magi) and by fighting the Dullahan, he had broken it simply by being near it. Isaac then cackled like a madman as he left Trevor to bleed to death on the decaying carpet. Hector managed to return to the mortal world, and quickly made his way to the bridge from the Aqueduct that lead to the castle. As he approached the bridge Julia came and implied that Dracula's Curse would continue to spread as it's source was never banished. She told him to give up his grief and regret and focus on cleansing the castle and if necessary defeating Dracula again. Hector knew his knowledge of demons would enable him to find where the Curse originated, but Julia explained that she found Trevor near dead and he would not be able to help. She warned him that being a Devil Forgemaster made him much more susceptible than anyone else to the Curse and that he could fall easily to it's influence. As he walked away, she expressed the wish under her breath for him to survive.

Hector's Golem forced open the gate to Castlevania for him to enter, where he found himself in beautiful marble hallways populated by Dracula's strongest servants. After fighting through the gatehouse and ramparts, he entered the main hall and battled through Dracula's elite. Exiting through a side staircase, Hector came to Dracula's torture chambers; chambers lined only by iron maidens with wire floors above large pits, every surface somehow covered in blood and gore. The connected hallways were lined by long corridors where giant spiked mechanisms separated segments above further blood-collection channels. Empty cells, stacks of bones, and shackles on the walls to force people to watch their friends and family reduced to pulp decorated other areas. Past that was the dungeons proper and the catacombs (conveniently in one place) where Dracula likely entombed the bloodless remains of the humans he found particularly interesting. Above that, Dracula's inner hallways which were decorated with statues of demons, highly elaborate carvings of demons in flight, painted frescoes with iconography of Wallachia's nobility, carvings that depicted humans suffering or weeping with altars surrounded by candles and obscured by piled skulls, and candle holders in the shape of a coffin containing a vampire in rooms with high tiled ceilings and dark hallways lit only by moonlight against curtains. After a great many such hallways, Hector reached the entrance to the Pinnacle; a shattered staircase leading from the main castle keep to a tower that only existed from the place the staircase reached it and upwards. Within was Dracula's inner sanctum, a dark room decorated with black and gold engravings where black magic bled like water, where marble pillars lay between sconces where candles burned purple light, where on the walls lay four glowing orbs held up by golden statues of hands and a large statue of demons kneeling before teeth and eyes; one had cracked open, revealing a (still alive) incubating demon akin to those floating freely in the catacombs of the Gaibaldi Temple. On the ground lay a swirling purple energy contained by the iron wire floor. Here Isaac had waited, congratulating Hector on his restoration of Castlevania. Promising Hector's gruesome death was at hand, he attacked while cackling insanely. Hector defeated each of his Devils, and slammed Isaac to the floor ready to stab him to death with his own glowing purple (a recurring evil color apparently) sword before he recalls Julia's warning not to let the Curse take hold of him. He falls to his knees, recognizing that the bloodlust in him was Dracula's will trying to control him. Zead stepped into the room, clapping and wondering out loud if the Curse had failed to take hold because his desire for revenge was weak or his spirit was strong as a magical coffin rose from the floor and pulled the unconscious Isaac into it then sunk back into the floor with Zead's claim that the single moment of weakness in Hector was all he needed. Zead explained that since Devil Forgemasters are the only beings infused with Dracula's magic, one of them would need to become his new body. He voiced regret that Hector, the stronger of the two, had been able to resist the Curse before revealing Dracula's soul was now taking control of Isaac's body. He withdrew the hand blade he had used before against Saint Germaine, fully pulling it from his cloak and revealing it to be a scythe. Hector correctly identified him as Death before he was pulled into the Chaos Abyss where the bottom of the Pinnacle tower resided permanently and Death had been banished by Trevor and his allies. Standing on the hems of Death's massive cloak, he battled the Grim Reaper's body and avoided his blades. After severely weakening the Reaper, Hector was pulled back to reality and exited the chamber to reach the last staircase, which had not yet emerged from the Chaos Abyss and lay within a maelstrom of purple smoke and clouds. At the top of the stairs was the floating structure that Hector saw far above in the Infinite Corridor, Dracula's Throne room which was still incomplete with the walls and ceiling having not reformed. Only the back wall, a few pillars depicting vicious draconic serpents, and the throne itself still existed. As Hector entered the coffin that had drawn Isaac in opened and revealed the reborn Dracula.

Dracula greeted Hector, asking why he had betrayed him. Hector replied that Dracula's persecution of mankind and indiscriminate slaughter forced him to. Dracula was outraged, claiming humans are not worth the air they breath and that the world was being cleansed of their taint. Hector stated that it was not Dracula's place to judge them. Dracula claimed that it is the place of the strong to judge the weak, and humanity had foolishly judged him and for that he had sentenced them to extinction before attacking Hector. Hector beat Dracula's first form, the usual fly/teleport/shoot fireballs (and now lasers) with the added power of forcing bloody spikes from the ground that chased Hector around the room. After taking significant punishment, Dracula shattered the remnants of Castlevania around him save a single piece of ground and transformed into a massive demonic black dragon with four feathered wings. Dracula attacked with various powers using black magic of all kinds as well as his own claws before succumbing to his own power in Hector's control. Dracula, defeated and near death, returned to the throne room with Hector and realized he had not fully merged with the impure and damaged Isaac. He claimed that although he could be temporarily banished again from the world, his Curse could never be lifted and would cause the wickedness in mankind's hearts to obliterate themselves. Hector replied that being a Devil Forgemaster he had the power to diminish it into a harmless state. With that, Dracula was pulled back into the Chaos Abyss and Isaac's body collapsed lifeless. Hector drew the Curse (which was apparently all of the purple glowing shit everywhere) into one final Innocent Devil (the form of which is not shown), and with the loss of the energy Castlevania was again pulled into the Abyss with it's master. Hector felt revealed and prepared to be pulled into the Abyss as well when Julia appeared. Realizing she would be pulled in as well if he tried to stay, Julia created a magical rune on the floor with her staff which returned them to ;as they disappeared, she said one final goodbye to her brother's body. Castlevania shattered once more into lifeless stone and dust back in the material plane, and remnants of the Curse disappearing into the world around. The dark clouds around Wallachia departed and the sun shone again for the first time since the death of Lisa. Viewing the crumbled remains of the castle Hector and Julia acknowledged the Curse had touched the heart of every human, but both still had "faith in the morrow". Something that Saint Germaine, in the uncorrupted and intact state of the Eneomaos clock where Hector fought him, repeated and stated that wasn't the kind of thing for him (either to himself, or the audience playing the game) due to his different perception of time due to visiting the "morrow". He felt relief time had been stabilized, and said he would travel far into the future where the final battle between man and Dracula would be fought. He wondered if they would remember "your" fight, or start it anew then tipped his hat and vanished again.
Hector and Julia are then seen walking the road to her shop in the mountains. Upon being asked what he intended to do now, he replied that he had to find some hidden place for his free-willed monsters. She offered him to stay with her which he happily accepted. It's unknown if they had any children or what happened to his many Innocent Devils after his death (or even if he did die, as he still has the power of Dracula and Julia is a witch) as Curse of Darkness came near the end of the series and thus can't be referenced later without retcons.

Throughout his journey, Hector collected many chairs. Many were anachronistic, and likely were somehow involved with Saint Germaine. Hector stored them within a pocket dimension where he could happily sit in Dracula's throne and play Pachinko with a flush toilet nearby all day erryday. Because vidya.
Within Dracula's Castle, he found a special Innocent Devil; Pumpkin, the non-canon hero from Leon's time, had somehow been forced into servitude under Dracula and was freed by Hector! Adorbz.

Hector also fought his way upwards through one giant tower, the Tower of Eternity in the Forest of Jigramunt, then flew to the Tower of Evermore outside the Garibaldi Temple from it's top and fought his way down to the bottom. There was no real purpose for this except to kill more shit.
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Image:Abandoned Castle.png|The Abandoned Castle exterior.
Image:Garibaldi Temple.png|The Garibaldi exterior.
Image:Damaged Garibaldi.png
Image:Mortvia Aqueduct 1.png|The Mortvia Aqueduct entrance.
Image:Forest of Jigramunt.png|The Forest of Jigramunt entrance.
Image:Infinite Boss.png|Dullahan's collection.
Image:
</gallery>

===Castlevania: The Adventure/Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy (Castlevania 3)===
[[File:Castlevania Adventure Castlevania.jpg|thumb|right|400px]]
Originally a Gameboy (not Color, not Advance, not DS; that big blocky black and white screen Gameboy that sucked batteries like Dracy himself during a heatwave) game, the story was later retold in a short comicbook series released by IDW. Initially there was confusion as to who the main character was, since the English version of the game box, manual, and advertising stated that Simon (a later Belmont) was the main character when in fact it was Christopher, a new member of the family. Since this was around the time that Castlevania's storyline was actually beginning to link game to game, Konami had to clear up the mystery of the Belmont family and timelines by clarifying it goes Trevor, then Christopher, then Simon (the original Belmont video game hero) with Leon being added later as the one that preceded Trevor.

Exactly 100 years after Trevor defeated Dracula, the powers of Dracula's Curse return to the world. The Belmont clan had grown powerful and rejoined the nobility of the rebuilt Wallachia after Dracula's first defeat, although the people were still highly superstitious and believed the magic that the Belmonts were able to use was black magic rather than holy. Cultists have spread, worshiping Dracula instead of God, and their nightly heretical rituals and sacrifices (initially animal, later human) strengthened the returning Curse.

The vidya version is extremely basic. Christopher fights his way through a forest, then a graveyard, then the mountains until he encounters an evil knight which he fights and kills. He then entered the dungeons of the castle, then made his way into the caverns below it, and fought a small army of Flea Men. He then progressed into the castle itself and was menaced by constant spike traps in floor and advancing wall varieties before fighting a Harpy. He then progressed into the castle courtyard, through the halls, then confronted Dracula himself who first did the standard "teleport around the room and throw fireballs" trick he always does before turning into a giant bat that shot smaller bats. After being defeated, Castlevania (this time resembling more a giant insect hive than a castle proper) crumbled as Christopher watched from a nearby cliff. After he left however, Dracula (in bat form) burst from the rubble and flew off...

The comic story is CONSIDERABLY more complicated. The Belmonts are local nobility, and the past heroes of the clan are regarded as saints and are immortalized within the Church. Dracula himself had three wives at some point in the past, which was never previously shown. Christopher Belmont shook off his recurring dreams of finding his young son turned into a vampire by Dracula, and married a woman named Illya the same day as cultists within the town, lead by a noble family that were the descendants of the mortal servants of Dracula, secretly resurrected him with sacrifices of cultists. While Christopher consummated his marriage, Dracula broke into the family cemetery and defiled the corpses and graves of the clan, in particular Christopher's parents, with the symbol of Dracula's dragon heraldry carved into the walls of the tomb.
Ilyana and Christopher armed themselves with the Belmont relics (the axe, watch, holy water, cross, and dagger-the subweapons of every game) while Gaspar, the patriarch of the Totoya clan that had been entrusted to keep the Vampire Killer safe and hidden, returned it to the two warriors. Gaspar, his grandchildren Viktor and Pascha, the Belmont family servant Deimos, and the two wedded Belmonts set off on horseback towards the location where the traitor nobles were located. In the meantime Sona, the eldest daughter of the traitor clan, had resurrected Dracula's form from an emaciated skeleton bat to his blue-skinned red-eyed glory using her own blood before becoming his lover.
As the heroes entered the lands of Dracula's spreading curse they were attacked by zombies. Viktor's throat was torn open by Dracula himself before he captured Ilya and flew to await the return of Castlevania itself. Viktor, now a vampire, attacked the heroes. Gaspar allowed himself to be bitten in order to use the time of transformation to relay information to Christopher about Dracula's current actions and strength. The heroes killed Viktor and forced the transformed Gaspar to lead them to the cave where Dracula had made a home in the skeleton-filled section of subterranean caverns normally used by Belmonts to reach his castle with Sona, whom he had been callously draining for sustenance and otherwise forced her to walk naked through the caves until needed.
As Dracula attempted to turn Ilya into a new bride the heroes attacked him. Gaspar's last act of freedom before using Pascha's holy blade strike at Sona to take his own life was to break the chains holding Ilya in place. Sona was beheaded, but Dracula escaped in bat form while dragging Christopher through the ceiling. In midair, Christopher used the Vampire Killer to break Dracula's neck and ride the disintegrating corpse to safety.
Viktor and Gaspar were buried in the Belmont cemetery while Pascha was made a vassal of the clan. However, when Christopher and Ilya conceived a child it was shown to have Dracula's pointy ears and glowing red eyes...

===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Castlevania 4)===
[[File:Adventure 2 Castle.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Top left: Sunken Temple. Bottom left: Plant Castle. Top right: Cloud Castle. Bottom right: Rock Temple. Center: Castlevania.]]
Yet another original Gameboy game.

Christopher's son, Soleiyu Belmont, had been turned into a demon/vampire by Dracula on the day he was to be passed control of the family and the Vampire Killer in 1591. Christopher first had to conquer four castles held by Dracula's minions.

* The Crystal Castle is an elaborate series of halls full of waterfalls, with the sunken city that Trevor once braved now having risen to surround it. The boss of the area was the Dark Side, an elemental wizard.
* The Rock Castle, partially formed out of the same caves where Christopher fought Dracula before, full of hieroglyphics and ancient traps. The boss was the Iron Doll, a goat-headed demon wearing a suit of armor.
* The Plant Castle was not a physical building so much as a marsh with vines and branches making a massive palace, with rope bridges and ropes forming the pathways between sections. Kumulo and Nimbler were the bosses of the castle, a pair of living statues with goatlike heads attached to moving walls.
* The Cloud Castle was a fortress resting in the mountains surrounding Castlevania that resembled a decrepit eastern monastery (possibly the Garibaldi Temple). The castle boss was the Angel Mummy, a humanoid being stuck to the wall with a human skull and a dragon head on the tail, both of which breathed fire and swapped vertebrae by firing them like boomerangs to each other. In the middle of the body was a scowling face which roared at Christopher.

With all four castles conquered and the orbs the bosses dropped collected, the hive-like Castlevania rose again from the lake in the same way it had for Hector. Once again he braved the courtyard, this time pursued through the main hall by a giant tunneling serpent-like Bone Dragon. He then traveled through the chapel and encountered his son in the keep, ready to die to buy Dracula enough time to be fully resurrected. Soleiyu fought the same as Christopher using a dark whip, but was unable to defeat his father and was cleansed of Dracula's control by the Vampire Killer and the spirit of Sara. Christopher left his son to recover and traveled through an outdoor hall decorated with statues of the Grim Reaper bowing to their master before descending on a rope to the same place he had (in the previous game) fought Dracula before. Using the souls of the four beings Christopher defeated, Dracula reclaimed his old form and attacked Christopher by...teleporting around the room and telepathically juggling energy balls and throwing them at him. This time, Dracula was defeated without taking a second form.
Christopher and Soleiyu watched Castlevania crumble again into the lake. This time, no giant bat or vampire baby was seen and Soleiyu spent the rest of his life dedicating himself to cleansing the land of any presence of Dracula or the Curse.

===Castlevania (Castlevania 5)===
[[File:Castlevania 1 Awesome Art.jpg|thumb|right|500px]]
The very first Castlevania game, starring a Belmont that looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan The Barbarian and He-Man had a lovechild that stole Indiana Jones's whip.
First released for the floppy disk (look it up, kids) peripheral for the Famicom, AKA Japanese NES. Americans then Europeans got it as a cartridge game later, before it was ported back to Japan as a cartridge not long before the launch of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. To date, the game has had a grand total of seven rereleases with the most recent ones being graphical and control upgrades.

Dracula's Curse has never been weaker thanks to the efforts of Christopher and Soleiyu, but as the strength of Jesus Christ grew on Easter 1691, the power of Dracula grew in the hearts of the wicked as well. Cultists held a Black Mass on the ceremony of the hundred years since he had been defeated, which succeeded in resurrecting him and making Castlevania manifest once more in the lake in Transylvania (no mention of Wallachya).

== Monsters ==

The following are statblocks for Castlevania monsters, should you want to convert the Castlevania vidya games into a Dungeons-and-Dragons type of system.

*'''Spittlebone'''
<pre>
Small Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12(13hp)
Initiative:
Speed: 20ft, Climb 20ft
AC: 17(+4 Dex, +2 Natural, +1 Size), Flatfooted 13, Touch 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +1 / -2
Attack: Slam +5 Melee (1d4+1)
Full Attack: Slam +5 Melee (1d4+1)
Face/Reach: 5ft / 5ft
Special Attacks: Venomous Spittle
Special Qualities: DR 5/Bludgeoning, Undead Traits, Spider Climb
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 19, Con -, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: -
Environment: Any underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: -
[[Alignment]]: Always Neutral
Advancement: 3-6HD(small)
</pre>

''"A skittering sound above you makes you look up. You see a bundle of bones clinging to the wall, almost like a spider. Drops of green ichor trail down from it."''

Spittlebone are the reanimated remnants of the bones of those who died by poisoning. They have a single skull and spine surrounded by a network of ribs from several bodies. They have four short limbs, apparently all hands, who end in bony fingers that let them grip wall and ceilings with ease. Their skulls constantly exude a thin, dripping ooze which is highly toxic to those who come in contact with it.

'''Combat'''

Most spittlebones prefer to lie in wait and ambush prey, dripping venom down on them from above. they are not above attacking foes directly in combat however, though their slam is relatively weak.

''Venomous Spittle(Ex)'': Spittlebone skulls constantly produce a thin liquid poison that drips from the eye and nose sockets of the creature. This is a contact poison (DC 10) with initial and secondary 1d4 points of strength damage. They can deliver this poison in one of two ways. In melee they spin their head around, splashing the poison on all adjacent targets. Alternately they cling to a high ceiling or wall and wait for a foe to come underneath them, then they tip over and dribble poison down over their foe. Both of these are ranged touch attacks. When dripping the poison downward the range increment is 20ft. The save DC for this poison is constitution based.

''Spider Climb(Sp)'': A Spittlebone can traverse any surface, even vertical ones, with perfect ease as though permanently affected by a Spider Climb spell. If this effect is dispelled for any reason the Spittlebone may resume it as a free action on its turn.

*'''Venus Weed'''
<pre>
Large Fey
Hit Dice: 18d6+90(153)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 0ft (Immobile)
AC: 21(-1 Size, +2 Dex, +10 Natural), Flatfooted 19, Touch 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +9 / +24
Attack: Briar Whip +15 melee (1d8+7 Bludgeoning and Piercing plus Blood Drain)
Full Attack: 4 Briar Whip +15 melee (1d8+7 Bludgeoning and Piercing plus Blood Drain)
Face/Reach: 5ft x 10ft / 30ft*
Special Attacks: Alluring Scent, Spell-like Abilities, Chaparral Lash, Blood Drain
Special Qualities: Passive Form, Damage Reduction 10/Cold Iron, Low Light Vision, Regeneration 5, Tremor-sense 120ft, Cold Iron Shear
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +12
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 22
Skills: Bluff +27, Concentration +26, Diplomacy +28, Sense Motive +24, Listen +22, Spot +22
Feats: Alertness, Awesome Blow, Negotiator, Improved Bullrush, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-like Ability x2(Spike Growth, Entangle)
Environment: Any Forrest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Neutral Evil
Advancement: -
</pre>

What appears at first glance to be simple white rose in the midst of a patch of briars sways briefly as you come closer. The rose suddenly begins to grow in size, exploding in girth as the figure of a beautiful woman with blue-white hair rises from the center of the now enormous rose. She casts a sly wink in your direction as as a flurry of thorny briars lash out at your party.

Venus Weeds are dangerous and devious fae creatures that enjoy luring humanoids to be their doom. They appear to be human or elven females rising from the center of an enormous rose, surrounded on all sides by thorny briar. Despite their appearance as plants, these creatures are Fey, and quite intelligent, and can lay surprisingly devious traps via their unique abilities.

Venus Weeds feed only on blood, and will attack just about anything that gets near them if they are hungry. If not hungry they can be quite charming and personable, but make no mistake, they have no sense of friendship or camaraderie with other creatures and will just as easily consume someone who's done them favors in the past of other food is scarce.

Occasionally, however, they will lure in a suitable subject for a dalliance to satisfy their need to reproduce. Such subjects generally do not survive the process, but certain softer-hearted Venus Weeds may keep them around as pets if they prove competent and complacent enough. Such unions cause the venus weed to expand in much the same way as human would in pregnancy, however they do not deliver a single child, but rather expel a cloud of diaphanous seeds, each of which with a the tiny figure of a female held aloft by a small, feathery seed stem. These seed children scatter to the winds, and few ever take to germination. Those who do will spend a good 5 years underground developing a network of roots(using a natural Diminish Plants effect to kill off existing vegetation) before rising up from the earth and taking their first look around. Such young Venus Weeds are often the target of those who would attempt to harvest them for guardians. (See below). They typically reach full maturity in about 15 more years, and can live for up to 200 years, though their age never shows on their beautiful, timeless faces.

Venus Weeds speak Sylvan and usually common.

'''Combat'''

Because of their vine's unique animated properties they can effectively fight at quite a range from their actual bodies, and they make use of this ability to thwart foes, Using Bull Rushes and Awesome Blows to knock adventurers back while grappling with spellcasters and ranged attackers, all the while protecting themselves with Spike Growth and Wall of Thorns.

''Alluring Scent(Su)'': The Venus Weed's signature weapon is their beautiful and deadly fragrance. This scent can travel for a half mile or more, depending on wind conditions, and permeating a large selection of its hunting grounds. All vermin and animals with an intelligence score of 2 or less that are exposed to this scent are inexorably lured toward the source of the scent with no saving throw. All other creatures that smell it must make a Willpower save (DC 25) or become complacent and calm, suffering a -2 to all skill checks, attack and damage rolls, and to initiative rolls for 1d4 hours. Any male Humanoid or Monstrous Humanoid that comes within 60ft of a Venus Weed must make an additional save, at the same DC, or become Charmed, as the spell, for one day. A creature that succeeds their save against this effect is immune to that particular Venus Weed's Alluring Scent for 24 hours. This is a Mind Affecting Effect. Creatures who do not breath are immune to this effect. The save DC is Constitution Based.

''Spell-like Abilities'': At will: Entangle, Detect Animals and Plants, Snare; 5/Day: Diminish Plants, Plant Growth, Spike Growth; 1/Day: Greater Magic Fang, Speak with Plants, Wall of Thorns. Caster level 20th, Save DC 16 plus Spell Level.

''Chaparral Lash(Ex)'': A Venus Weed grows at the center of a wide network of thorny vines, woody roots, and lashing tendrils. These are a mix of the Venus Weed's body and natural plants that they have co-opted into a symbiotic relationship. In either cast, they are able to fight effectively against any creature within 30ft. They may take all normal combat options(including special attacks such as Trip, Disarm, Grapple, or Bull Rush) as if they were anywhere within 30ft of their central stalk. Attacking the Vines and plants does little as their regeneration, coupled with their Plant Growth ability can reinvigorate their surroundings, however making an attack on the vines performing a special action(like those Grappling an ally) that deals at least 10 points of damage will disrupt the attack. That damage, however, is not transferred to the Venus Weed. Only attacking the main stalk can damage a Venus Weed.

''Blood Drain(Ex)'': The briar thorns on a Venus Weed's tendrils are hollow and drain blood from their foes. A Venus Weed deals 1 point of constitution damage from blood loss with each successful melee hit as well as each successful grapple check. On a critical hit this increases to 2 points of constitution damage.

''Passive Form(Ex)'': A Venus Weed can assume the form of a small, simple rose to conceal themselves. They cannot see, but can still hear and use their tremorsense ability. Changing form one form to another is a move action.

''Regeneration(Ex)'': Only fire and cold iron weapons with at least a +1 enhancement bonus deal normal damage to a Venus Weed.

''Tremorsense(Ex)'': A Venus Weed can detect the location of any creature that is in contact with the ground within 120ft of it.

''Cold Iron Shear'': Young Venus Weeds, those who have established themselves and have just sprouted above ground but have not yet reached maturity, can be controlled by careful pruning like a plant, however the tools used must be made of Cold Iron. These Dwarfed Venus Weeds(see below) are generally easier to control than Wild Venus weeds, or even domesticated Venus Weeds left unchecked.

Venus Weeds have a +4 racial Bonus on Grapple Checks. This bonus in included in the stat block above.

'''Capturing a Venus Weed'''

Gathering an Adult Venus Weed from the Wild is very, very problematic. Between their offensive capabilities, not to mention their ability to charm, simply approaching them is difficult. Even then, harvesting them is amazingly difficult as their roots can extend for 50ft or more outward from their central body, and up to three times as far downward. It's generally much easier to harvest them while young.

Harvested when they have just sprouted, an Immature Venus Weed is much more tractable. (Diminutive Fey, 1d6+1 HP, Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12; AC 15 (+2 Size, +2 Dex, +1 natural) Spot +4, Listen +4, Alertness. No attacks, DR 1/Cold Iron, Spell-like Abilities: 5/Day: Entangle, Diminish Plants). In this smaller form, they usually rely on their fragrance to draw forth insects and small rodents which they feed on while establishing their Chaparral network of roots and vines. When harvested in this stage, they can be pruned back(see Cold Iron Shear) into a Dwarfed Venus Weed.

<pre>
Dwarfed Venus Weed
Medium Fey
Hit points: 18d6+54 (117 hp)
AC: 21 (+3 Dex, +8 Natural)
Attack/Grapple: +9 / +18
Attack: Briar Whip +14 Melee, 1d8+5 range 10ft
Stats: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 19
Replace Improved Bullrush and Awesome Blow with Sidestep Charge(Psionics Handbook) and Combat Reflexes
</pre>

Abilities: Dwarfed Venus Weeds no longer have the Chaparral Lash Ability. Their Tremorsense is limited to 60ft. The Saves for their Alluring Scent ability is reduced to 23. Their Spell Like Abilities are caster level 15th, and the Save is 14 plus spell level.

Other than these changes, they are identical to their Wild Cousins. Dwarfed Venus Weeds, however, are generally instructed to slay anyone they cannot charm, and send their charmed charges to their doom in other traps, or to incapacitate intruders for their masters to deal with. If they have been roughly or improperly treated, however, they may be willing to aid a party in order to get revenge on their former masters... this is rare, however, as Dwarfed Venus Weeds are just as immobile as their wild counterparts and not likely risk being discovered as traitors if they cannot escape. Dwarfed Venus Weeds speak Sylvan, Common, and whatever language or dialect their masters generally speak, as well as possibly other common local languages.

The Dwarfing process, sadly, renders these Venus Weeds sterile and unable to reproduce.

*'''Axe Armor'''
<pre>
Large Construct
Hit Dice: 3d10+30 (45 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20ft
AC: 21 (-1 size, +0 Dex, +2 natural, +8 adamantine full plate, +2 heavy steel shield) Touch 9, FF 21
BaB/Grapple: +2/+6
Attack: +1 Large Throwing Axe +3 (ranged) or +1 Large Throwing Axe +7 (melee) or Slam +6
Damage: +1 Large Throwing Axe 1d8+6 or Slam 1d8+5
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 5/adamantine, Construct Traits
Saves: Fort +1 , Ref +1 , Will +1
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 11, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Feats: --
CR: 3
Alignment: Neutral
</pre>

*'''Flea Men'''
<pre>
Small monstrous humanoid
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 20ft
AC: 20 (+1 size, +7 Dex, +2 natural) Touch 19, FF 13
BaB/Grapple: +1/-3
Attack: Medium Dagger +9 (ranged) or medium dagger +9 (melee)
Damage: Dagger 1d6+1
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Sneak Attack +1d6
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft, Amazing Leaper, Uncanny Dodge
Saves: Fort +1 , Ref +9 , Will +2
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 25, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats: Improved Initiative, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse, Leap Attack
Skills: Climb +5, Jump +30, Spot +2
Equipment: Medium Dagger
CR: 2
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
</pre>

''Amazing Leader (Ex)'': A Flea Man has a +30 racial bonus to jump checks, and can take 10 on such checks even when distracted.

''Uncanny Dodge (Ex)'': As per the Rogue class feature.

= Weapons and Items =
Like the monster conversions above, these are weapons and items which exist in the various Castlevania games, now D&D-ified for your dice-rolling, Cheetos-munching pleasure.

==Holy Rod==

This blessed and anointed rod functions as a +1 Alchemical Silver Holy Light mace when used in combat. Additionally, it allows its wielder to Smite Evil (as a 5th level Paladin) once per day. If the wielder is a Paladin, or otherwise has a Smite Evil ability, they gain the ability to use this power one additional time per day as a 5th level Paladin or their character level, whichever is more beneficial.

==Moon Rod==

This weapon appears at first glance to be a heavy silver and iron rod with a moon and stars motif. It grants the wielder low light vision(or Doubles the range of their existing Low Light Vision) when held. While out of direct sunlight(at night, underground, inside large buildings, etc) the wielder of this staff can touch a series of runes(as a move action) and transform it into a +2 Heavy mace, each of its bladed fins appearing to be a crescent moon. Twice per day, while the rod is in weapon mode, the wielder of this staff can command the blades on the staff to fly out, dealing 3d8 points of slashing damage to everything in a line 30ft long and 10ft wide (reflex save DC 14 for half) before returning to the Moon Rod's Head.

==Shield Rod==

This simple looking iron rod functions as a +2 Defending Light Mace and grants its wielder several advantages when using a shield. While a character wields a Shield Rod, the shield bonus to armor gained from wielding a Shield(and only that from a shield, not the bonus gained from the Two Weapon Defense feat tree or other source) is increased by +1. A character wielding a Shield Rod can invoke the Shield spell with a command word twice per day. Additionally, up to three times per day as a full round action, a character can use the power of the Shield Rod to draw out the magic of any spell 4th level or lower that was used to enchant their shield, casting it as a Spell-like Ability at a caster level equal to their character level or the shield rod's caster level, whichever is higher. (For example, a 10th level Cleric with the Shield Rod and a +1 Blinding Heavy Shield of Bashing could use the shield rod to cast either the Searing Light spell(from the blinding enchantment) or the Bull's Strength spell(from the Bashing enchantment). This ability can be used on specific shield enchantments (like Bashing) as well as armor enchantments that can have been applied their shields (Such as Energy resistance).

==Fist of the Tulkus==

These heavy blue leather and silver gauntlets give their wielder the ability to Produce Flame, as the spell, at will as a swift action at first caster level. In the hands of non-monk, they gain the unarmed damage and flurry of blows ability of a 5th level monk. A Monk who dons these gauntlets improves his or her unarmed damage and flurry of blows ability as though they were five levels higher.

==Holbein Dagger==

This +2 Keen Dagger slices the air so cleanly that it leaves a crescent shaped "blade" of vacuum behind it. Attacks with the Holbein dagger can re-roll any miss chance due to concealment on, as the dagger's crescent lash may strike where the blade would not.

==Werebane==
This +3 Alchemical Silver Bane Shapechanger Rapier is considered Keen when wielded against a Lycanthrope. Additionally, the weapon grants its wielder the following special ability: As a standard action with the Werebane you may lash out in a flurry of thrusts. As a standard action, you may make two attacks against a single opponent with the Werebane. Both attacks use the same attack roll (with a -4 penalty) to determine success and deal damage normally, however you may apply precision damage only once. If the attack roll was a critical hit, only the first attack was a critical hit, all the rest deal normal damage.

For every five points of base attack bonus you have above +6, you may add one additional thrust to this attack, to a maximum of four attacks at a base attack bonus of +16. However, each attack after the second adds a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll (for a total penalty of -6 for three attacks and -8 for four).

Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each attack.

==Shotel==
This blade appears to be a scimitar at first glance, though its curve is much deeper and the weapon is edged along the concave of the blade. Said to be weapons of the wild Wind Dervish of the East, this weapon is more dangerous when thrown. The Shotel functions as a +1 Thrown, Returning Scimitar. When used as a thrown weapon, however, the weapon's Enhancement bonus increases to +3 and it gains the Keen special quality.

==Jewel Sword==
This +1 Platinum Sabre (Platinum follows the same rules as gold for Heavy Weapons, Magic of Faerun 179. It deals 1d8 points of damage and has a critical threat range of 18-20. Any character without Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Heavy Weapons) takes a -4 penalty on attacks with the Jewel Sword. They may wield the Jewel Sword in two hands to avoid this penalty.) has a heavily jewel encrusted pommel and crossguard, and a line of priceless jewels long the spine of the blade. The weapon glows with a silvery light whenever it's within 30ft of unclaimed gold, silver, or jewels(this includes hidden, buried, unattended or forgotten money, but not coinage or jewelry currently held or carried by a person). Additionally, if the Jewel sword delivers the final blow on an enemy, there's a chance it will conjure a small gemstone. There's a 20% chance that any time the Jewel Sword slays a foe that a random jewel(or jewels) will be formed from the wound. The jewels would be worth 1d4-1(chance of 0) + the creature's HD total times 10 in gold. (i.e, if it slew an ogre, a 4 HD creature, then you would roll 1d4-1(chance of -0) and add the ogre's HD total(4,) multiplying the final total by 10 to determine the price. If the roll's total was 3, then (3 + 4) x 10 = 70gp; one or more small gems whose total is 70gp will be found in the wound.) This ability can only affect creatures with 4 or more HD. Class levels do not count toward a creature's HD total for the purposes of this effect.

==Stone Sword==
This exceptionally heavy +3 Longsword is actually made of a polished and alchemically treated stone. It has hardness 15 (8 for Stone, +1 for Alchemical treatments, and +6 for the enhancement bonus) and 35 HP (2 HP base plus 3HP for alchemical treatments plus 30hp for Enhancement bonus). When the Stone Sword scores a critical hit, the victim must succeed a fortitude save (DC 22) or be petrified by the curse of the blade as a Flesh to Stone spell.

==Marsil==
This powerful blade of flame was said to have been crafted by demons long ago. It functions as a +4 Inferno* Bastard Sword. Twice per day, with a command word, the wielder of Marsil can call down a Flamestrike spell, caster level 10th, centered on himself. This spell will not damage the wielder of Marsil.

==Inferno==
<pre>
Price: +3 bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Flaming Burst
</pre>

This weapon's hilt is decorated with extensive flame and fire motifs in gold and brass and always feels warm to the touch

An inferno weapon functions in almost all cases as a flaming burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the flaming effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of white hot flame. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its flaming burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by an inferno weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be fire damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the flaming property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

An inferno weapon cannot also be enhanced with glacial or tempest.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Wall of Fire

Cost to Create: Varies

==Gurthang==
Known as "Gurthang the Bloody", this vicious weapon hungers for the life of its foes. It functions as a +2 Vampiric, Wounding Longsword. Additionally, for up to 10 rounds per day, it can allow its wielder to restore lost life as though they had Fast Healing 3, so long as they make at least one successful attack and deal damage to a living creature with a normal circulatory system(humanoid, monstrous humanoid, animal, giant, magical beast) each round with Gurthang.

==Mablung==
Mablung, the Sword of Defense, was created by the same ancient master who devised the Shield Rods. Mablung is a +4 Defending Longsword, but otherwise has all of the same functions as a shield rod.

==Mormegil==
Mormegil the Dark is an unholy blade forged with evil intent. It is a +2 Unholy Bastard Sword in most people's hands. In the hands of an Undead, however, the blade becomes a +4 Unholy Surge Bastard Sword. All intelligent undead who hold Mormegil are considered fully proficient with it and can use it one or two handed.

==Mourneblade==
This rune etched +2 Cold Iron Bastard sword howls when wielded, and can draw energy from the spirit and magical essences that animate give life to all beings. Every time this weapon strikes a foe, its wielder heals one hit point worth of damage as though with the Fast Healing ability.

==Obsidian Sword==
This deadly blade is carved from a massive spike of pure obsidian and imbued with dark magics. This +4 Unholy, Keen, Mighty Cleaving Greatsword is preternaturally sharp. The Obsidian Sword gains a +4 circumstance bonus to cleave attacks, and a +4 circumstance bonus the roll to confirm a critical hit. These bonuses stack.

==Terminus Est==
An ancient executioner's weapon, this +3 Brutal Longsword is permanently covered in a deadly poison. Every time the weapon strikes a foe, that creature must make a fortitude saving throw(DC 14) against initial and secondary 1d4 points of Constitution damage. If used in a Coup de Grace attack, the base fortitude save DC versus death is 15+damage dealt. Terminus Est can be used, when held in two hands, to perform Executions and grants a +10 competence bonus on Profession(Executioner) Checks (See Book of Vile Darkness for Execution rules).

==Brutal==
<pre>
Price: +1 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 18) necromancy

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
Activation: -
</pre>

This weapon is set with bronzed spines and embossed runes of battle. It feels very heavy for its size.

A Brutal weapon deals particular ferocious telling blows in combat. A brutal weapon automatically deals maximum weapon damage when a critical hit occurs. For example a Battle axe (normally a x3 critical weapon) would deal 3d8 damage on a successful critical hit. A +1 Brutal Battle axe would deal 27 damage on a successful critical hit just as though you had rolled the maximum value on each of the dice(3d8+3 maximized for 27). This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect (such as keen, impact, cruel, or savage.)

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Heaven Sword==
These +4 Thrown, Returning Longswords of Distance are always crafted in pairs, though not always found together. Anyone who acquires a matched pair of Heaven Swords may utilize their special ability. As a standard action at will they can hurl both blades at once while speaking a command word, duplicating the effects of a Twinned Whirling Blade spell. The Heaven Swords will return to their wielder after this attack as if they had been thrown normally.

==Red Rust==
This dull and rusted falchion's blade is bright red with vivid rust, though it never seems to degrade further or fall apart. While it seems to function for tests as a Masterwork Falchion, when wielded in combat it becomes a -1 Cursespewing Falchion. While some will be tempted to continue using it for its unique abilities, beware, for its curse is not restricted to those whom it strikes. There is 10% chance that a player will lose their action when wielding Red Rust as though they were affected by Bestow Curse. Also, on a roll of a natural 1, a character wielding Red Rust automatically strikes himself.

==Claimh Solais==
A weapon crafted for the explicit purpose of destroying evil and impurity, this +4 Large Alchemical Silver, Axiomatic, Holy Greatsword is considered medium size for the effects of wielding it. Its unique cross-shaped blade also allows it to function as a Holy Symbol.

==Masamune==
Masterwork Bastard Sword
Masamune lowers your AC by ten. Every time you slay an enemy while wielding Masamune, roll 1d10. On a 10, Masamune gains an additional +1 enhancement bonus.

In addition, you gain the Flurry of Blows class feature of a 14th level Monk, but this Flurry can only be used while wielding Masamune two-handed.

==Glacial==
<pre>
Price: +3 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Icy Burst
</pre>

This weapon's hilt is enameled in white and blue with many crystals on dangling silvery-white chains and feels icy cold to the touch

A glacial weapon functions in almost all cases as an icy burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the frost effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of crystalline cold. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its Icy Burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by a glacial weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be cold damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the frost property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

A glacial weapon cannot also be enhanced with inferno or tempest

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Wall of Ice

Cost to Create: Varies

==Tempest==
<pre>
Price: +3 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) Evocation
Activation: Standard(Command) and -
Synergy Prerequisite: Shocking Burst
</pre>

This weapon has lightning jags in gold and copper across its form and hums with power when picked up.

A tempest weapon functions in almost all cases as an shocking burst weapon. However, when the command word to activate the shock effect is uttered the weapon's primary striking portion(the blade, axe head, tip, etc) transforms into a flickering sheet of arcing lightning. This does not change the weapon's hardness, hit points, or weight, nor does it prevent the weapon from being sundered or disarmed. In addition to its shocking burst properties, all weapon damage dealt by a tempest weapon(the base weapon damage and its enhancement bonus, positive strength bonus, precision damage, and similar damages) is considered to be Electricity damage. Speaking the command word to turn off the shock property reverts the weapon to its normal form.

A tempest weapon cannot also be enhanced with inferno or glacial.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Lightning Bolt

Cost to Create:Varies

==Cruel==
<pre>
Price: +1 Bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 12th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 21)Necromancy
Activation: -
</pre>

This weapon is enameled in brilliant red that makes it look as though it is covered in fresh blood. A trio of large spikes jut from its pommel.

A Cruel weapon deals telling blows in combat with grim efficiency. All critical threats are considered automatic successes(meaning that every threat is an automatic critical hit). This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect(such as keen, impact, Savage, or brutal) and does not stack with feats or class abilities that improve critical hits such as Improved Critical, though a character can use the more advantageous ability on a given attack roll.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Savage==
<pre>
Price: +1
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 12th
Aura: Strong, (DC 21)necromancy
Activation: -
</pre>

This black, rune-glyphed weapon is covered with jagged edges and sharp spikes. It seems eager for battle.

A Savage weapon deals a much more dangerous strike when a telling blow occurs. The critical multiplier for weapons with a x2 multiplier increase to x3, the multiplier for a x3 weapon increases to x5, and the critical multiplier for a x4 or higher weapon increases to x7. This enhancement cannot be added to any weapon that already has a critical enhancing effect(such as keen, impact, Savage, or brutal) and does not stack with feats or class abilities that improve critical hits such as Improved Critical, though a character can use the more advantageous ability on a given attack roll.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Slay Living or Circle of Death

Cost to Create: Varies

==Soul Blades==

Soul Blades are a name for spirit with a dual nature, very like ghosts, who dwell on the ethereal plane, but manifest on the material plane in the guise of an animated physical weapon. Soul blades are related to poltergeist phenomena in that they are not a single spirit. Rather they occur whenever a a large number of creatures of the same race, or with the same purpose, have died in a certain area. The trailing wisps of spiritual energy that once bound their soul join together to form a Veilegeist, a Spirit made of many undead spirits. While the Template specifies using a single creature as the "base" creature, understand that Soul Blades are composed of the undead energy of thousands of creatures, the "base creature" was simply the most dominant bit of soul present.

'''Creating a Soul Blade'''

Soul Blade is an inherited template which can can that can be added to any fae, giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid. A Soul Blade uses the base creatures statistics except as noted here.

'''Size and Type'''

The creature's type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate Hit Dice, base attack bonus, or saves. Size is unchanged.

'''Speed'''

Soul Blades are ethereal creature, even when they incarnate. They have a fly speed of 30ft with perfect maneuverability.

'''Armor Class'''

Soul Blades are Ethereal Creatures. On the Ethereal plane they have a Deflection Bonus to Armor Class equal to their Charisma Bonus(minimum of +1). See their Incarnate ability below for more information about Soul Blades on the Material Plane.

'''Attack'''

As Base Creature

'''Special Attacks'''

As base Creature.

'''Special Qualities'''

A Soul Blade retains the Special Abilities of the base class and gains the following Abilities.

''Incarnate(Su)'': Soul Blades normally exist on the Ethereal Plane, much like ghosts. As a Standard Action they can Incarnate, taking a semi-physical form of a ghostly, immaterial humanoid figure wielding a large, physical weapon. Their body is immaterial to anything which does not affect ethereal creatures and weapons and spells both pass through it without harm. Their weapon, while physical, is actually an extension of their body. Attacking the weapon is like attacking the creature itself, and the weapon has an Armor Class equal to the Base Creature(with a size modifier as if two sizes smaller than the base creature). Damaging the weapon is like dealing damage to any other creature, not an object. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity for attacking the weapon as you would with a sunder attempt. A Soul Blade in Incarnated form cannot be disarmed, and cannot be tripped or grappled by creatures not on the ethereal plane.

The weapon that forms when a Soul Blade incarnates is empowered by their spiritual essence. It assumes the form of a single magical weapon of the type and abilities of the Soul Blade's choice, though it always forms with the same powers. Once a power has been applied to the Blade, it cannot be changed. The weapon's total market price bonus cannot exceed one half the Soul Blades hit dice total(rounding down), and its Enhancement bonus to attack and damage cannot exceed their Hit Dice total divided by four, rounding down(minimum of +1).

When Incarnated a Soul Blade attacks with its weapon as though it were wielded by a creature of the Base Creature's size and abilities, including strength. The attack is physical, but can strike incorporeal creatures as though always enhanced with the Ghost Touch special quality, regardless of enhancement bonus.

''Rejuvenation(Su)'': A Soul Blade cannot be disposed of merely by destroying its physical, or even ethereal, form. A Soul Blade that is destroyed will reform in 2d4 days, returning automatically to the location it was created at. The only way to permanently set a Soul Blade to rest is to fully placate the Veilegeist, the multitude of pained spirits that give it power.

''Veilegeist'': Soul Blades are made up of the combined spiritual energy and the emotional suffering and pain of hundreds, or even thousands, of dead beings. This emotional energy is powerful, but unstable. Creatures may attempt to bargain or reason with, or placate the Veilegeist with a diplomacy check. The Soul Blade's initial reaction is Hostile to most creatures, depending on the nature of the Veilegeist.

During each round of combat there is a 5% chance that some aspect of their opponents will remind some component of the spirits that make up the Soul Blade of their past life. In such a situation the Soul Blade will take no offensive action, as though dazed, though it will still defend itself. If a Diplomacy check is made to influence the Soul Blade during such a round it gains a +4 bonus.

Setting a Soul Blade to rest requires discovering what is still driving the spirits to prowl the mortal realm. Some Veilegeist are made up of the victims of wars, soldiers and innocents alike slain by greed and a lust for power. Such spirits may seek vengeance on the powers that killed them, or on those who emulate them, or they may seek to protect others from suffering a similar fate. Still other Soul Blade are the result of the deaths of guardians of some great purpose. More than one city or castle has a ghostly, patrolling Soul Blade which still stands guard over its masters demesne, even if its master has long since passed away.

''Hardness(Ex)'': The weapon that a Soul Blade Incarnates as has a hardness score of 10 plus 2 points per +1 enhancement bonus.

''Spell Resistance(Su)'': Soul Blades have a spell resistance equal to 15 plus Hit Dice.

'''Abilities'''

Str +4 , Dex +4, Con -, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2

'''Skills'''

As a creature with the Augmented Subtype, it retains the features(and thus skill points per HD) of the base creature. Do not include Hit Dice from class levels in this calculation. Treat skills from the base creature痴 list as class skills, and other skills as cross-class.

'''Challenge Rating'''

As Base Creature +2

'''Level Adjustment'''

- (as in, Not a chance)

Sample: Hunting Girl
<pre>
Soul Blade Elven Ranger 4
Medium Undead(Augmented Elf)
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30ft (Fly 30ft, Perfect)
AC: 22 (+2 Size*, +5 Dex, +1 Deflection), Flatfooted 13, Touch 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +4 / +8
Attack: +11 Rapier (1d8+5 plus Bane Humanoid[Shapechanger])
Full Attack: +11 Rapier (1d8+5 plus Bane Humanoid[Shapechanger])
Face/Reach: 5ft / 5ft
Special Attacks: Favored Enemy(Shapechanger), Spells
Special Qualities: Combat Style, Elven Traits, Hardness 12, Incarnate, Rejuvenation, SR 19, Undead Traits, Veilegeist, Wild Empathy
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +2
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 20, Con -, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 12
Skills: Handle Animal +8, Hide +12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge(Nature) +8, Listen +8, Search +8, Spot +8
Feats: Endurance (B), Improved Initiative, Track(B), Weapon Finesse.
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Advancement: By Character Class
</pre>

You see an ornate silver rapier hovering in the air in front of you, surrounded by the wispy outline of a nude female. As you approach, the blade springs to attention, wielded by the steady hand of the ghostly figure in front of you.

The Hunting Girl, as such spirits are called, are the spiritual essence of the tortured innocents slain by evil were creatures, often mixed with the emotional energy of those who hunt such evil beasts and failed. While they do not always appear as women, the spirit which commands this Soul Blade is female. The Hunting Girl seeks to slay were-beasts of all ilk, and her unique Soul Blade manifests as a form of spiritual silver, rather than steel, to combat their damage reduction. The Hunting Girl, if startled or confronted by any living creature will seek to defend itself, especially against unnatural creatures such as undead and those with the tint of evil. The Hunting Girl can, however, be reasoned with if treated with dignity and respect.

The Hunting Girl speaks Elven, Common, and Sylvan.

'''Combat'''

The Hunting Girl, if confronted by by were creatures of any ilk, will almost move to attack, and will strike with great hatred. Otherwise the Hunting Girl singles out the most likely looking target and flies down to strike. The Hunting girls spellcasting is weak, but it usually uses Summon Nature's Ally I to call forth enormous blue ravens (treat as a Hawk).

''Favored Enemy Humanoid(Shapechanger)(Ex)'': The Hunting Girl gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against humanoids with the Shapechanger subtype. Likewise, it gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.

''Spells'': The Hunting girl casts spells as a fourth level ranger. It knows one first level spell per day, and usually prepares Summon Nature's Ally I.

''Combat Style(Ex)'': The Hunting girl has chosen the Two-weapon Fighting Style, but does not use a second weapon.

''Incarnate(Su)'': The Hunting Girl is an ethereal creature, but it incarnates on the Material Plane as a +1 Alchemical Silver Bane(Humanoid[Shapechanger]) Rapier.

''Rejuvenation(Su)'': If slain or destroyed, either on the Material or Ethereal plane, The Hunting Girl reforms in 2d4 days. Attempts to put the spirit to rest have all failed, and it's likely that The Hunting Girl will only ever reach true peace if all Were-creatures are destroyed.

''Veilegeist'': The Hunting Girls Ideologist shows a strong empathy for elven characters, and any elven character who attempts a diplomacy check against it gains a +4 bonus. Comparatively, it seems to fear and distrust undead creature, and such beings suffer a -8 penalty to diplomacy checks to influence the Veilegeist. Even though the Hunting Girl is hostile to most creatures, it will not usually attack unless provoked.

==Armor Lord==
<pre>
Large Undead
Hit Dice: 20d12 (130hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20ft
AC: 33(-1 size, +20 Natural, +4 Shield*), Flatfooted 33, Touch 9
Base Attack/Grapple: +10 / +24
Attack: +20 Mwk Bastard Sword (2d6+10)
Full Attack: +20/+15 Mwk Bastard Sword (2d6+10)
Face/Reach: 10ft / 10ft
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60ft, DR 15/Bludgeoning and Adamantine, Low Light Vision, Force Shield, Turn Immunity, Undead Traits
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +12
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: Power Attack(B)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Gear(Large masterwork Bastard Sword)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: -
</pre>

''"You see what appears to be a large suit of armor, holding a massive blade, blocking your path. Runes of binding are etched into the blue-enameled steel and flare to life as the armor begins a menacing advance on your position."''

Armor Lords undead crafted from the spectral remains of knights who died in service to their master. Their souls are collected and bound to an immense suit of armor, animating it as a defender. These soulbound suits of armor are the perfect guards for sensitive areas. They cannot be reasoned with, placated, deceived, or easily destroyed. They have no intelligence to speak of, and can follow only simple orders.

'''Combat'''

If threatened, most Armor Lords will use their Force Shield ability first to gauge the power of their attackers before moving to strike the most dangerous down first. They are methodical, and once they have chosen a target only that target's destruction will stay their hand as long as they can reach it.

''Blindsight(Ex)'': An Armor Lord's preternatural sense allows it to maneuver and fight without benefit of its visual senses. Invisibility and darkness don't affect their attack rolls, and they don't need to make spot or listen checks to notice any corporeal creature within the range of their blindsight.

''Force Shield(Su)'': At will as a swift action an Armor Lord can manifest a 10ft diameter translucent Wall of Force attached to their left arm. They may use this as a Tower Shield for all purposes, including using it for cover, but it has no maximum dexterity bonus, no armor check penalty, and no arcane spell failure chance. This shield is immune to all forms of attack except for the following: Disintegrate or Mordenkainen's Disjunction will both destroy the shield. It can, however, be restored as a swift action on the Armor Lords next turn.

''Turn Immunity(Su)'': An Armor Lord's binding magic is extremely powerful. It cannot be turned by a cleric with fewer levels than it has HD.

'''Creating an Armor Lord'''

Armor Lords are created by binding the spirits of the dead to a suit of armor. In order to create an armor lord you need a large suit of masterwork platemail (1,150gp), a Large Masterwork Bastard Sword (370gp), and the bodies of at least 10 humanoids whose souls will be co-mingled into the Armor Lord, and a number of Onyx gemstones worth 1,000gp

Creating an Armor Lord requires a 20th level spellcaster with the spells Create Greater Undead, Wish/Miracle, Wall of Force and costs 7,000xp.

'''Guardian Lord'''

Rumors of a more powerful Armor Lord, known as an Armor Guardian or Guardian Lord, circulate among the whispered rumors of necromantic circles. Guardian Lords are said to be twice as powerful as Armor Lords (40 HD, BAB +20, 60 Str, 260hp) with enchanted blades (large +5 Vorpal Bastard Sword: +49 melee; 2d6+30 19-20, x2 and vorpal) great defense (Immune to Fire, Cold, and Lighting, DR 20/Adamantine and Bludgeoning and Magic, SR 55) and the ability to create towering infernos at will (Spell-like Ability: At will: Wall of Fire [Caster level 40th])

XCOM

2018-04-16T21:07:55Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F: /* X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen */

{{/vg/}}
{{Oldschool}}

[[Image:Xcom_2.png|thumb|right|]]

This is a [[Dan Abnett|rare treat]]. '''X-COM''', or as it's called across the pond, ''UFO: Enemy Unknown'' is a turn-based strategy game that is, to put it simply, about as close to a game of [[Dark Heresy]] as one can get in isometric 3D. Note that X-COM is significantly older than [[Dark Heresy]], and older than all but the first edition of [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], so it'd be better to say [[Dark Heresy]] is a lot like X-COM on the tabletop. Dating back to the much-lamented Microprose, it set a gold standard for atmosphere and playability that has, frankly, not been breached in ages.

The game is [[Dwarf Fortress|old as balls]] and in isometric view, which, paired with the Dark Heresy similarities, makes it more /tg/ material than /v/.

==A General Gist==

A general synopsis is that in [[grimdark|the not-so-distant future, there is war - and aliens]]. Aliens are arriving, and they are most assuredly hostile. It falls upon the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or the eponymous X-COM, a multi-national task-force, to deal with the invasion by blasting the fuck out of the Aliens, stealing their shit, researching their technology, and using it to fucking kill them off, all the while fighting off terror attacks and trying to figure out where in Uranus these fucking things are coming from (as it turns out, from Mars, and if you win, the final mission involves you going to Mars and dropping an [[Exterminatus]] on their asses).

It kicked ass. It was good enough to spawn a sequel, ''Terror From The Deep'', which was basically the same game, but underwater and infinitely harder. Story-wise, the destruction of the Martian base activated a fail-safe in the aliens' system that woke up T'leth, their 'secondary' (and mobile) base buried deep under the seas of Earth. X-Com now again must protect the people while finding out about where exactly T'leth is and go in to blast it to smithereens with extreme prejudice. It was hard. Really hard. Not only do aliens have a major advantage technology-wise at the start and they tear through your recruits with impunity, but later in the game when you catch up they start using a nasty trick to take control of your troopers, leading to sometimes hilarious and [[rage|extreme rage-inducing]] turn one [[TPK]]s as your heavy weapon trooper gets controlled and fires his heavy weapon inside the transport while the team is busy disembarking. Oh, and did we mention that the only way to research the best armour in the game was to capture a live specimen of a rarely-appearing alien? And that to capture a live specimen you had to send a poor redshirt in armed with an oversized cattleprod to stun it in close quarters? And that said alien was [[rip and tear|able to tear a human apart effortlessly]] in close quarters? And (as if all that wasn't bad enough already), that the poor redshirt then had to pick up and to carry the damn unconscious thing back to the human ship praying [[rape|that the specimen didn't wake up with a grudge before he got there and the mission ended]]? Yeah, it was kinda like that.

It then spawned a second, somewhat different but still appreciated sequel, ''X-Com Apocalypse''. Destruction of T'leth fucked up Earth biosphere and humanity retreated to quickly built mega-arcologies to survive. Unlike the two first game, there's a bigger political aspect to things as you have not only to make sure you deal with the damn aliens coming to fuck your shit up, but remain best buds with the other humans while doing so. All in all, a decent, if not overwhelmingly good game.

Then Microprose was bought by [[Hasbro|that which must never be named]], who proceeded to nose-dive the IP with games like [[AIDS|X-COM: Interceptor]] and [[Shit Twinkie|X-COM: Enforcer]].

Fucking [[RAGE|Hasbro]].

Anyway. Combat is a lot like Dark Heresy's in that it's exceedingly lethal; at the game's outset, you have no armor beyond jumpsuits with Kevlar stuffed into them, and your firearms are the best and most powerful weaponry that chemical propelled explosives can provide only moderately capable against alien forces (though quite diverse). In order to properly take these fucking things on on anything remotely resembling their own terms, you need upgrades. Upgrades come through research, and research comes by shooting down UFOs, landing a ground assault, killing the surviving aliens, and stripping the UFO like the [[Blood Ravens]] do other chapters' shiny bits. Once brought back to base, your researchers can look into what makes the alien's gear work, research your own weapons and tech, and develop technologies to help in the fight against the Aliens. Eventually, you can load your forces up with [[Space Marine|Power-armored bad-asses]], but starting out, your forces are fragile, and fighting smart is ''vital''. You ''will'' suffer casualties early on - guaranteed - but such is war, and you must press on, allowing the survivors to grow into [[Colonel Greiss|manly badasses]].

The Aliens themselves are diverse, ranging from the Sectoids (conventional "gray" aliens), to Chryssalids (horrifying abominations that inject targets with eggs that turn them into mindless drones which will explosively birth new Chryssalids thereafter). Nightmare fuel = yes. The game manages to be exceedingly creepy for one so simple, and is one of many reasons that X-COM works so well.

==Tales of Heroism==

In accordance with /tg/'s love of war stories about [[your dudes]], several examples of awesome have been compiled:

''Instant'' death doesn't ''always'' happen. Occasionally, one Rookie will be touched by God and succeed against all odds. After that, he will die horribly. [[Just as Planned]].

X-COM agent of note: [[Marc Lecointe]]. Lecointe survived numerous missions, got the highest kill count on most missions, killed a Snakemen leader and his bodyguards (despite losing over half the squad), and got shot in the face and back with plasma and lived. He eventually was hit with return fire in an alley and began bleeding. He returned fire and killed the Snakeman, but bled to death before help could arrive. Lacointe lives on in our hearts.

Another agent of note is Gristle McThornbody, a Rocket-Toting Team-Killing asshole who refuses to die OR be mind-controlled. He's so badass, that even when he has 85% or more to hit on a 2x2 alien, he'll still hit the wall twenty tiles to the left.

== New Stuff and Things ==
According to things [[/v/]] likes to watch on the Internet, a new X-Com game is in the pipes, set to be made in the gameplay and spirit of the old games, with new graphics and updated for the new generation of gamers to be introduced into the X-Com game style. It lost the dash along the way someplace, and got re-named ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown''. This new game, which has spawned joy boners in many on /v/ and /tg/ alike, is believed to stem from the utter, burning [[RAGE|fury]] that was originally spawned from 2K's simply-titled ''XCOM'' game, which, near as we can tell, is an FPS that takes place in the 1960s and has exactly ''nothing'' to do with the actual X-COM franchise. Seriously, don't look into 2K's game if you're a fan of the series on any level - it will cause veterans to spontaneously transform into [[Angry Marines]] and/or [[Khorne|Khornate Berserkers]]. Apparently, those in charge had the wherewithal to note that if they didn't make a ''proper'' X-COM game, [[/tg/]] (and by extension, [[/v/]]) would [[Anal Circumference|leave their asshole in ruins]]. They even went ahead to declare the two games take place in separate universes. If only [[Games Workshop]] had [[Matt Ward|that much sense]]...

== XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis ==
[[File:XCOMGameplay.jpg|200px|thumb|An in-game screenshot of the new game.]]
And Firaxis came to the rescue, promising to return to the roots of XCOM (note the lack of a hyphen this time around, although the logo ''does'' have a horizontal stripe taken out of the "COM"). Since Firaxis has a lot of ex-MicroProse people, a lot of them have had to do with the original as well, and the original musical score will make a return. Although it's changed a few things to avoid hurting the brains of [[/v/|delicate little console kiddies]] like removing time units, removing ballistic simulation, cutting down on your maximum amount of squad members (4 at the start and 6 maximum) and limiting us to one base (though each base location gives its own unique bonus), it still somehow manages to be a good game in its own right. If the original X-COM is like Mordheim, then XCOM is like Space Hulk: massively simplified and more heavily dependent on the luck of the die, but with less micromanagement and long-term planning required.

If you haven't bought the game and you're a TBS fan, everyone in /tg/ that isn't [[That guy]], would highly recommend you give it a whirl at the modest price of <strike>
$39.99 </strike> $16.49 for all the good remade XCOM games because of our father Gabe Newell on PC,
still is 39.99 for console/Non-Steam or $9.99 on mobile/tablet devices. Like always, we have footage for vidyas: https://youtu.be/qDhuZ4b51hA https://youtu.be/-SKoS5BYVuY https://youtu.be/bxuzLyR-000

===XCOM: Enemy Within===
[[File:MectoidMEC.jpg|200px|thumb|Did we mention melee combat with exosuits?]]
''Enemy Within'' is an expansion pack (and unlike most "horse armor" tier DLCs with the name this one actually deserves it) that completely re-defines how the game progresses, compared to the original one. The game's story still progresses like the original game, but expands on it for a more entertaining experience.

It adds the "meld" resource to the game, a type of alien organic/synthetic-hybrid nanomachine that allows you to unlock two powerful technologies: MEC and genetic modification. MEC allows your troops to interface with a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit, a heavy exoskeleton that brings the heaviest of weapons to the field (Including the option for a powerfist equivalent called a "Kinetic Strike Module". Yes, make your own faux [[Terminator]] squad! Especially when the Tier-3 Paladin upgrades bulks up your suit's armor that you look vaguely similar to Termies.). Genetic modification allows you to augment your troops using data gathered from dissected aliens, making them killier than ever before. Infact, you can create your own equivalent of an Imperial [[Space Marine]] with the list of available modifications you can do (Two of these specific upgrades are a second heart and the ability of self-regeneration) .

It also adds new aliens to the xenos' side, like a cloaking squid robots that chokes your troops to death and their own brand of exosuit troops. It also introduces another enemy into the game: EXALT. EXALT are a bunch of power-mad blokes who sees the alien's invasion as a way to gain power by adapting their technology for themselves, inching them closer to world domination. They see you as an obstacle and are determined to undermine your efforts to defeat the aliens by disrupting your operations through a number of ways and sowing panic amongst XCOM-member nations, generally making your already hectic life even more hectic. You must now defeat this new threat through a combination of [[Ork|cunning brutality and brutal cunning.]] They have most of your technologies to go toe-to-toe with you (Except for their own exosuits) and they are well hidden, so bringing them down won't be an easy affair.

=== XCOM 2 ===
[[File:People%27s_reaction_to_XCOM_2%27s_Vipers.png|200px|thumb|Turns out they ''are'' poison glands. Hee.]]
A direct-ish sequel to EU/EW, XCOM 2 seems to decide that what's canon is not: not "you killed all the aliens, now here's more aliens", but "you know that Impossible Ironman game you played for a laugh and got utterly stomped? That's the canon ending". (The utterly stomping part takes place in the base assault, and it is so bad that two of the most important things got taken: The Commander, and more importantly, central officer Bradford's sweater). The aliens won before humanity even got to laser weapons, taking over the world and unifying humanity (read: ruling over them in a pseudo-utopia "Brave New World"-style), and basically preparing to turn them into another of their slave races (not that most of humanity knows this).

XCOM refused to back down even after the Council of Nations ceased to exist and instead went underground, hijacking an alien supply ship to act as a mobile base for hit-and-run operations against the alien occupiers, in the hopes of toppling the ADVENT (the puppet government aliens've set up) and exposing the true purpose of their supposedly ideal society to the world.

New features include:
The Assault class has been given a makeover to focus even more on [[Rip and Tear]], replacing the sidearm with a sword and changing title to the Ranger. The Sniper has been renamed the Sharpshooter and given a pistol-focused skill-tree-route that turns the soldier into Clint Eastwood (literally, like you can have a stand-off by firing 3 pistol-shots in the same turn). The Support class has been renamed the Specialist and been given a drone to hack, heal, shield and/or zap shit remotely. The Heavy has been given a nice grenade launcher to act as your cover-stomper, and been renamed the Grenadier. Psi-operatives are their own class now as well, and get hate-hair and [[Cadia|purple eyes]] because that makes sense and all psychically talented people look like neo-punks. Troops can be captured, and then rescued, which also reclaims any expensive gear they had on them (but it's never the captured troops you actually need back).
New enemies (without spoilers), including human ADVENT security troops (who really love to say "bitch" and pointing towards your soldiers) with magnetic weapons who look like humans till you get their armor off, sectoid-human hybrids with teeth, thumbs, and belly buttons (which can be really creepy if you '''really''' think about it), and transsexual Snake-women called Vipers (which is what the Thin Men actually look like without their disguises). Yes, there were snaketits on the thread that announced this to /tg/. Yes, /d/ has drawn porn of them. Yes, it will be added to the gallery.

Moving on.

XCOM 2 also contains an in depth explanation for the aliens' motives that many fans felt was lacking or too ambiguous in Enemy Within. Apparently, the Ethereals have some kind of fatal disease they can't cure, so they've been trekking around the galaxy culminating genes to form the ultimate bodies for themselves, while amassing a genetically supreme army. When the Ethereals found humanity, they found their genes to be so awesome and powerful that just adding some of them to a lowly sectoid turned it from a pathetic 3' tall creature you could kill with basic weapons, to an 8' tall psionic rape machine that could raise the dead and withstand salvos of bullets to the face. They then set up an alien government on Earth so they could discretely process humanity's best genetic material and slowly form new bodies for themselves that don't die called Avatars. And by don't die, we mean have copious amounts of health, teleport every time they're injured, regenerate like crazy, are guaranteed to successfully mind control anything, and are immune to any of your psychic abilities. And the boss fight involves killing three of these dick-butts and an endless wave of alien reinforcements. Using human DNA is also where their ADVENT troops came from, they grew armies of human spliced with unspecified alien to act as their public face to the humans. But humanity wins anyway, because humans are just that fucking awesome.

The game is also notable for abandoning the usual conditions for losing. The norm for the series is for your funding to get cut if too many countries lose faith in XCOM. Since you're fighting a guerilla war and your support are humans fighting to survive outside the aliens' control zones, that isn't happening. Instead you lose if the aliens complete the Avatar Project, their goal to mass produce the bodies for the etherals. If they do you get treated to a scene of almost all resistance being crushed because the Avatars are dangerous enough in small numbers and army of them would unstoppable. You can slow progress, but can only stop it by finishing the game.

So far there have been recently four DLCs for XCOM 2. "Anarchy's Children" added new customization features for your soldiers, most of which you wouldn't ever really use. "Alien Hunters" adds a new mission, weapons, and alien rulers who you have to hunt down. The alien rulers get to take an action every, single, time, one of your soldiers does. This is even more infuriating then it sounds. Some more customization options are added too. "Shen's Last Gift" adds another mission and the SPARK class soldier. SPARKs are robots you have to make in the proving ground. War of the Chosen finally allows players to add modifications to their guns, gave them better aim and a health boost. So now they're worth taking. If your Grenadier is injured or has low morale. While their weapons are much larger and more powerful-looking than the other squad specialized weapons, they don't do more damage than the regular specialized weapons. This is stupid, as an auto-cannon would naturally do much more damage than a 7mm Gatling Gun. They are also prohibitively expensive so you have no choice to do the mission if you want one for cheap. Optional mods have improved their balance to out right making them a super unit if you wish.

And here comes the fun part; if you read the developers blog, their idea of "balance" is to actually nerf plenty of stuff...so the game is harder after having a buffed-up alien lord chase your dudes all over the game. Was old-school really this hard?

You think that's bad, the end game unlocks second wave options, like increasing all Health by 50%, having your guys get worse as they get injured, have their stats rolled at random, so you can make the game even HARDER! Because dying is ''fun''.

====XCOM 2: War of the Chosen====

This brand new expansion gives us three new allies to aid us.

*Reapers: Stealthy hunters who are armed with nothing but a rifle and explosives. It's enough. They wear [[Shadowrun|trench coats and gas masks]]. Have a special ability where they have a chance to not reveal themselves upon attacking. Enemies have vastly reduced detection ranges against Reapers, and Reapers can detonate explosives on the map without revealing themselves. They can also throw an environmental explosive. [[Dakka|They also have an ability that lets them shoot at an enemy until they run out of ammo.]] Long story short, these guys are only slightly less powerful than the Reapers from Mass Effect.

*Skirmishers: ADVENT defectors who are armed with a grappling hook that can pull them to a rooftop and pull themselves to the enemy or vice versa and at max level allows them to have the [[Awesome|alien rulers ability to gain action points Everytime. The. Enemy. Moves]] Except it only works three times a turn, and doesn't trigger on non-move actions. [[fail|The game doesn't tell you this.]]

*Templars: [[Grey Knights|a resistance group made of only psionics]] that wield psi blades and machine pistols, but you'll probably never use those. They're fast, hard to kill, and hit like a brick. Like the [[rip and tear]] half of the Ranger, but with psionic powers. They're also fantastically hammy and roll their Rs.

But these new allies come with a catch as you now have to fight the titular chosen who can adapt to your soldiers abilities with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the Lost ([[tarpit|zombie swarms]]) that attack both you and ADVENT. Along with these new allies and enemies is trying to get the three resistance groups to work together, as well as a new fatigue and relationship system.

=== XCOM: Long War ===

What, the new XCOM wasn't complicated enough for you? There's a mod called "Long War" which goes into lots more detail, a bit more like the classic game. Now, the aliens will advance their plans and escalate their forces and assaults based on their own progression system, and the game is rebalanced around the expectation that you will not succeed at every mission (and you won't -- the aliens are plenty tough to see to that).

=== XCOM: The Board Game ===

From [[Fantasy Flight Games]], there's a board game adaptation of XCOM (in fact, ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' was quite inspired by board games, with the two-actions-per-turn system instead of the old 'time units'). There's a companion app for smartphones, tablets, and computers which controls the aliens and informs players of events, a bit like a [[Game Master]], but without exposing the players to too much bookkeeping. Amazing what games can do with computers these days -- just imagine if such a thing had been available for [[FATAL]]! On second thought, don't.

Players (1-4) take on different roles in the XCOM organization. The Commander keeps an eye on the budget and allocates interceptors. The Chief Scientist directs research efforts. The Central Officer works the app and solicits input from the others (if there are any) to make decisions (many of which are time-critical). The Squad Leader manages troops and base defense. Together, they need to allocate their resources, judge when to push risky but rewarding avenues (inviting retribution from the aliens if they fail), and defend humanity. Like the games, successes are rare -- a die only has a 1/3 chance of coming up with a success, and tasks may need multiple successes. There is also an "enemy die", a [[d8]] that is rolled against the number of times that task has been attempted. If it rolls equal to or under that number, something bad happens. So, do you pool resources for critical tasks (neglecting anything else, and hoping that your priorities are correct), in order to most likely be successful before the threat level climbs too high? Or do you stay flexible but push your luck? Your call, commander.

=== XCOM 2: Long War 2 ===
If you thought XCOM 2 was ''already'' hard, thanks in part to the involvement of the original Long War modders in the game's development, said modders come back with a sequel mod for the game. Not only does this go even further than the first Long War in going into a lot of detail, such as new graphical touches, significant rebalancing and completely overhauling the global map to be more reminiscent of classic X-com. But the difficulty is amped up even more, with missions even requiring you to send in potentially fatal scouting parties to make sure your ''other'' squads don't die on the spot. Also, rather than launching parties directly into battle, missions spawn on the geoscape with an expiration timer. The player ''can'' launch immediately, but the enemy presence will be drastically increased! Instead, the idea is that the squad can spend time infiltrating, to let ADVENT get complacent and draw troops elsewhere. Having more Resistance folks working Intel increases mission expiration times, but the bigger and heavier the squad, the more infiltration time is require. And vice versa -- short-staffing a squad can allow a player to infiltrate to high percentages on short notice...but now you've only got like four guys on the ground, and that might not be enough firepower if activations go badly...

This mod requires dramatically more strategic thought and care. Weapons, armor, and equipment are all purchased individually, forcing you into decisions like 'do I continue the rollout of my newly available armor-piercing coilguns, or do I buy armor for the two rookies I've trained up?' and 'do I send my last seven man team to secure me an engineer, commit them to a long infiltration to wipe out an advent tower, or hold them in reserve for a better opportunity?' The difficulty is likewise much higher, but you have dramatically expanded options to combat it with special weapons, squad leaders, extra inventory slots packed with flashbangs, veteran troop skills, chooseable bonus perks, a psi advancement training regime that makes some actual sense, and many, many more troops and mission opportunities. Minor reinforcement on that last one, in fact: in stock XCOM 2 you'll likely end the campaign with fewer than twenty soldiers, whereas here it's pretty common to have a hundred active-duty troopers at a time.

The Shinobi ([[Derp|all the Ninja IRL schools have closed up shop]]) is the most overpowered class. Making missions easier then they should be as he can [[derp|bypass Overwatch]] and has a very low impact on infiltration. Making missions unrealistic for players who hate RNG and want a pure stealth game.

The Devs of Long War have said there will not be making a Long War for War of the Choosen. As Firaxis added a ton of crap that would take years for Long War Studios to shift though it and make the mod playable.

== The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ==
Despite having the name XCOM in the title, the game really has little relation to the series. The reason behind this is because 2K passed this game on to the lovely people that brought you Bioshock 2; meaning it was made by a studio that makes more or less decent games. It's supposed to be a prequel, set in the 1960s during the Cold War era. The protagonist, William Carter, was a CIA agent just delivering a suitcase of classified "documents" until an Outsider disguised as a female agent got ahold of it. Not long after that, an alien invasion commenced!

The Bureau is a RPG that plays like Mass Effect, but not as good for a variety of reasons. One reason is in the dialog scene, you're given choices of what to ask/say. They really don't impact the game, nor changes it for the most part, so you can skip a majority of it if you want to. The agents in your squad are pretty dull, sure you can change their names and how they dress, but really doesn't offer any friendship/foe engagements. If they die, you will need to recruit another agent and start him off from scratch, but really, leveling them up isn't fun and customizable, so just restart a checkpoint if they do die.

The agents in your squad have bad AI if you don't babysit them and give commands on what they should do, and their skills at fighting Outsiders are... Well, okay. The best they can offer is their abilities, so spamming them and you taking care of the killing is an effective way to go (Some recommend starters to start their first mission with a Recon to cause critical damage on certain enemies and a Commando for [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|taunting the grunts and make them easy picking for you.]]

There would be more to go on, but if you want to know more about the game, you can search up reviews of XCOM Declassified. In short, it's a decent prequel that fans can find some enjoyment, but it's not as good as Enemy Unknown. Without going into spoilers, there's also a reveal during the last few levels that's surprisingly meta and well-written. Still worth looking into if you can find it for cheap or rent it.

Interestingly enough, turns out that the universe in XCOM Declassified is the same as that of Enemy Unknown/Within's. After the events in The Bureau, all records were wiped. This explains why the player had to start from scratch at the beginning of Enemy Unknown. When the Ethereals of Unknown/Within spoke of their [[Derp|own failure to ascend,]] they really meant that they wanted to be like the Ethereals from The Bureau. Either way, only time will tell exactly [[Grimdark|what the hell they were preparing humanity for.]]

== Xenonauts ==

X-Com coded by [[Reasonable Marines]].

A faithful remake of the original, with time units and all that. Changes a few things (like lack of Psionics on your side) and adds vehicles (yes, blowing up half a building with a rocket jeep is awesome) and controllable dogfights. Basically the alien invasion is during the Cold War and makes everyone shit themselves simultaneously when THOUSANDS of spaceships are openly in orbit and fucks humanity's shit up in creative ways. Every day the UFO's are left wandering, news bulletins full of terror emanate from the screen, worrying you further.

The ending is very creative, particularly concerning the plot of how an inferior species can even bother to defeat a powerful empire. Stunningly well-made, desperate final mission which may result in a glorious ending, or a bittersweet ending where you still win but the assault team is martyred.

Other differences between it and the original include:

Maps are mostly pregenerated, not fully procedural.

Fewer weapon and ammo types. Seriously, you've got the big five (pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and LMG) and a rocket launcher. No variant ammo types, although the weapons do have researched tiers (which are simply damage-ups).<s> This means no unfairly powerful weapons like the Rape Launcher or the Stun Grenade Launcher.</s> There *are* a few super weapons but seriously, if you waste a "Singularity Generator" which is an ENTIRE CAPTURED BLACK HOLE (a hot commodity salvageable from alien battleships) for a 50 kilogram (without ammo) glorified grenade launcher that doesn't even one shot its AoE, you are a fucking moron.

More basic inventory control. You don't micromanage producing and storing individual missiles, and you can have as many magazines, grenades, and med-kits as you want, limited by carrying limit. You just build the alien-based laser or plasma gun, base gives you ammo made fashioned from a melted-down alien cells. (Alenium is basically a quantum-grade battery aliens came up with. Usually it powers the alien craft, you simply creatively salvage the spent ones into explosives because [[HFY]].)

Smaller team sizes. Max troop count on a mission is 12, with the best drop-ship.

Fewer oddball items, like the motion scanner or psi-ball, but there is now an assault shield, so your dudes don't immediately die when popping open a UFO. Said shield gets upgraded with Alien alloys, and even the final mission sees use of it. Trust me.

Rookies are better out of the gate, but are still shit compared to your colonels. Still, they have a decent chance of killing an enemy in a turn, doubly so if carrying a missile launcher. No longer to operatives miss the broad side of a barn. They *will* miss the spot but will still shake it badly.

Explosive weapons damage items, lowering the amount of money you receive from selling. This is for the best, because explosives are stupidly powerful and are probably the most reliable way of putting a fool down. Considering Reaper, the expy for Chyrssalids are even faster and crazier, you *are* going to need them.

Saveable, customizable loadouts for all of your troops, and obviously no engine-based limit on the amount of items you can bring into a mission.

Aliens don't really hide in corners or really hard to find spots, which makes flushing them out a lot easier. I said flushing out mind you, as they DO charge out and deal extremely serious amounts of damage before going down, to say nothing of teleporting aliens that burst fire in your face if they are lucky.

Troops remain vulnerable a lot longer. You are never at the point where you can float an invincible army of death-dealing demigods over a cowering cadre of snakemen, raining death and destruction down with maddened glee. Even if you do, weird aliens will teleport close and blow you out of the sky, or your flyer will fry a nerve from psionics.

Country relations are more important than after-mission loot.

You can kick or pistol whip an enemy to death. Cue surrounding an annoying alien marksman and beating him to death with riot shields.

You can call airstrikes to cancel boring UFO raids.

=== Xenonauts 2 ===

Now with 3D graphics! A demo is available through GOG.com, with the release planned to be later in 2017.

== UFO: Alien Invasion ==

The most detailed opensource version of XCOM based on the Quake 2 engine.

Buildings are not destructible and it doesn't have a great fog-of-war. It doesn't have unmanned vehicles like the current iterations and sadly doesn't have any sort of Chryssalids yet.

Has a better world map than any other XCOM in that you can fully explore it like google-earth, even showing ship movement on the globe in real time. The campaign is more forgiving in that it does not force you through Acts like Enemy Unknown where you can't possible keep everybody happy, or has nations constantly bitching at you for radar coverage like in Xenonauts. Instead you get to bid captured UFOs and give preference to unhappy nations that feel neglected or where you haven't been saving civilians frequently.

The camera is completely free in battlescape mode just like in Enemy Unknown, complete with zoom capabilities. Lots of different weapons, though you will find yourself a fool if you don't immediately start using alien weapons. Also levels tend to have more floors than other iterations, such as one mission in which you're going through an office building or another where you're entering a subway.

The only major problem with the game is that the smoke grenades are so overpowered your guys will be coming out of your drop ship like Snoop-Dogg out of his trailer. Otherwise you'll find aliens are more than happy to shower your guys with plasma from across the map.

After a general huge update smoke is now useless and aliens are much, MUCH more powerful.

Oh, and its free. Still, fuck it. Final version is broken, often locking the game, and developers have been keeping silent, the fucking FAGGOTS.

== Phoenix Point ==

A spiritual successor by Julian Gollop himself. As of the time of this edit, fully funded and in development with a backer pre-alpha coming quite soon. The basic idea is; some kind of strange virus has been dug up in the permafrost and has had two outbreaks so far, each escalating in severity. Now it's invading the land a third (and fatally final) time, most of humanity is gone (Partly cus of the virus, partly cus of WW3 happening during the second outbreak), and you must defend the survivors from both the creatures and each other, you poor sap.

The virus morphs all life into Lovecraftian horrors. Literally Lovecraftian; it is implied that [[H.P. Lovecraft|Howard the Great]] was inspired by ancient findings describing an outbreak of the same virus a few million years ago. It even came from Yuggoth. Humanity being humanity, there are several factions with drastically differing ideas on how to deal with it; there is a faction based around a religion [[Genestealer Hybrids|worshipping the mutations that is also capable of retaining human conscioussness despite said mutations]], another is [[Eclipse Phase| high-tech anarcho-communists trying to coexist with the virus and other factions]] while the third faction [[Starship Troopers|Is a high-tech PMC turned millitaristic civilization with "Service Guarantees Citizenship" that just wants to destroy the virus and any of its sympathizers.]].

So far, the game has managed to gather enough funding and reach one stretch goal for a floating base that will be given as FREE DLC, along with other stretch goals at a later date should the game be succesful.

Expected; large bosses, your own mutated soldiers with crippleable limbs, the option of saving a group of people by [[Dawn of War II|landing on a giant creature and injecting it with poison]], Deep Lore, A hybrid of the old TU and new Two-Action system, unique tech trees for each faction (which you can also get in on by either allying with or stealing from them) and randomized global events (ala Crusader Kings 2).
Oh, and there are [[Flamer|flamethrowers]], Shoulder-Mounted missiles, power armor, gauss rifles and other goodies, such as a mutant mount for the cultist faction.

== XPiratez ==

What XCOM 2 was to XCOM: Enemy Within, XPiratez is to X-COM: UFO Defense. Made of pure [[Awesome|awesome]], you lead a crew of female mutants on a quest to kick ass, gain riches, and fuck bitches. A mod for OpenXcom, it's completely free and gets constant updates. Go check it out! Nothing's more satisfying then crushing a pureblood's head in with a sledge hammer and then mowing down his mates with your [[Dakka|custom Boarding gun]]. To say more would be to spoil its unique atmosphere and feeling of exploration as you uncover what has happened to the world. Let's just say it's a long, long time after the events of XCOM: UFO Defense.

== The Tabletop Game ==

Yes, there was a Tabletop game, made by [[Fantasy Flight Games]], so this article has some direct /tg/ relevance. The problem is, [[Derp | you need a cell phone app to play it]].

==Aliens==
Needless to say, in this game, there are many different types of aliens that your teams are going to have to fight.

===Original Continuity===
{{stub}}

Sectoid

Cyberdisk

Floater

Reaper

Snakeman

Chryssalid

Muton

Celatid

Silicoid

Ethereal

Sectopod

Aquatoid

Gillman

Lobsterman

Tasoth

Bio-Drone

Calcinite

Deep One

Hallucinoid

Tentaculat

Triscene

Xarquid

Brainsucker

Multiworm

Hyperworm

Chrysalis

Anthropod

Psimorph

Spitter

Megaspawn

Popper

Skeletoid

Micronoid Aggregate

Queenspawn

Overspawn

===Reboot Continuity===
{{stub}}

The reboot continuity has its own array of different monsters, with some changes in variety between the first and second game.

====X-COM Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within====

'''Sectoid''': Tiny little grey men in the first game, these are the first Psionic enemy you'll meet, with the ability to boost each other in combat. This can be rather nasty giving them an extra hit point and a +10 to hit and dodge, although if you kill the booster, you'll kill whatever Sectoid they're boosting as well thanks to Psychic feedback.

'''Sectoid Commander''': Only in the first game, these guys are Sectoids on psychic steroids. You'll see one on the tutorial mission and get a taste of what they can do, even if you don't fight it. They're stronger, tougher, and more psionically powerful than the basic section, and are the first unit that can possess your guys mid firefight.

'''Thin Man''': Apparently an "Infiltrator Unit" nobody would mistake these guys for human at close distance as they have snake scales running up their necks, and are skinny enough to make a super-model jealous. Apparently they were made from genetically modifying Snake-Men as they can spit clouds of poison at great distance, and will explode into one when they're killed. Otherwise they're real flimsy.

'''Muton''': How you know the aliens are stepping up their game. Everything up till now has been child's play (for a particularly psychotic child), then these guys come along. Big, tough, "smart", and dangerous, these guys will mulch a squad equipped with regular weapons and armour without breaking a sweat, and capturing one of these guys alive brings one of the better upgrades. Have fun.

'''Muton Berserker''': Ha, ha, ha. These guys are melee monsters, capable of soaking up bullets by the magazine, and slowly getting angrier and angrier as they do. If they can get in close they'll unleash the melee hurt, but thankfully they're not amazingly fast. Thankfully, their instinctive charge of the last person who shot them means you can set them up to run a gauntlet of Overwatch fire, with a bit of luck.

'''Muton Elite''': As much health as the Berserkers, plus armor, and lacking the berserk charges. Instead, they carry heavy plasma cannons.

'''Floater''': Apparently reject Mutons, stripped down to an upper torso and fitted up with cybernetic implants, mainly a jetpack. They're basically the fastest unit in the game, great Overwatchers, and pack about s much punch as a standard Muton. They have a special ability that sacrifices all their actions for the turn to instead fly to any single spot on the map, which they love to use to get the drop on your team.

'''Heavy Floater''' A tougher, armored version of the standard Floater, with a bigger gun.

'''Outsider''': Strange "digital" lifeforms that serve as the technicians of the alien forces. You need to capture one of these in order to advance the game. They're wimpy, but their light plasma rifles are deadly accurate, so they can gun down whole teams if you're careless.

'''Sectopod''': The aliens' equivalent of a tank; an enormous, heavily armored killer robot with insanely high health, high armor, a 50% damage reduction ability, and the ability to blaze away with both a fuck-off huge laser and to launch showers of cluster bombs. They also blow up when you kill them. Your most hated enemy.

'''Cyberdisk''': A ridiculously fast flying robot that can shapeshift between a flying saucer-like flight-mode (in which it's harder to hit) and its unfurled combat mode. Not quite as killy as the sectopod, but still really adept at ruining your day.

'''Drone''': Small flying robots that basically zip around like laser-spitting wasps. They don't do much damage, but they can repair mechanical aliens and they explode like a grenade when killed. And they're extra-hard to hit, for added nuisance factor.

'''Chryssalid''': An absolute fucking nightmare, just like the original series. These bugs are lightning fast, vicious, and if they kill anyone they'll automatically plant an egg in the corpse, which will turn into a zombie before hatching a new chryssalid three turns later. And these zombies are tough enough to weather several turns of shooting. One of the standout points of the first game is a pre-baked mission where you get to investigate a whaling ship that crashed ashore in Alaska after being infested by Chryssalids who turned the catch into their personal hive. Your job is to first investigate the area, and then light the place up for your bombers so they can nuke it from orbit.

'''Ethereal''': The leaders of the alien forces, physically frail but masters of [[psionics]], which they can use to ''really'' fuck up your day.

'''Seeker''': A relatively weak squid-like robot that uses camouflage to sneak up on its prey and then tries to crush it to death with its tendrils. They like to go after isolated members of your squad, which can be used to bait them into going after Assault troopers with Close Combat Tactics for hilarious effects.

'''Mechtoid''': An armored exoskeleton piloted by a sectoid, carrying twin plasma mini-cannons. Sectoids can use their mind merge ability to give a layer of shielding to mechtoids; killing the sectoid removes the shield and causes some damage to the mechtoid.

====X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen====

'''ADVENT'''

The end results of what the Ethereals want to do with humanity. Puppet soldiers controlled by a series of psionically linked chips that feed back to command nodes. It's stated that the commander was supossed to be one of these before XCOM manages to rescue him in the tutorial mission.

*'''Trooper''': The grunts, they come in three flavours, with increasing HP, Dodge, and Accuracy. Challenging only in numbers, and then only thanks to the fact that a shot will hit you at some point, and they can take fire away from the actual threats.

*'''Officer''': These guys aren't a threat on their own, however they can Holo-Target one of your guys for free, granting their allies a +10 to hit against that soldier. either take out everyone around them, or take them out, before that becomes a problem.

*'''Shield-Bearer''': The most annoying ADVENT type in the base game, these guys can pop a shield that gives avery ADVENT and Alien soldier in range +3 or +5 temporary HP. Combined with their armour these guys can take a licking and keep on ticking. Take them out pronto otherwise the fight is going to take far longer than it should. They also kinda look like Robocop so they have that going for them.

*'''Stun-Lancer''': Melee focused, these guys are noticeable by the fact they were far less armour than any other ADVENT soldier. They'll charge forwards if in range, and attempt to stun your guys for a turn with their Melee beatsticks. Otherwise they've just got regular ADVENT Rifles.

*'''Priest''': Introduced in WotC, these guys are the ADVENT Psions, they can boost another ADVENT soldier, much like Sectoids could in Enemy Unknown (and like that game if you kill the priest the soldier will suffer psionic feedback and die), or they can put one of your guys in Statis for a turn, preventing them from doing anything. Advanced and Elite priests have additional tricks that allow them to Mind-Control your guys, and place themselves in Statis if they would be killed, instead staying around with 1 HP for another turn.

*'''Purifier''': Flamethrower wielding ADVENT troops that only appear in WotC. The guys are kept "secret" from the public (despite that fact they can appear in any mission if the RNG says so) as they are supossed to hunt down and kill the lost in the old, abandoned cities. As stated they use flamethrowers, alongside incendiary grenades, and when you kill them there's a good chance they will explode, so don't kill them with melee unless you want to lose your eyebrows. Athough that can lead to some hilarious chain reactions if you're lucky.

*'''General''': Only appears in assassination missions in WotC. Essentially just a beefed up Officer with a shit ton of HP, and the ability to throw Flash-Bangs.

*'''MEC / Heavy MEC''': The first truly heavy ADVENT Unit. These things come with an absurd amount of HP for the early game, and multiple armour pips. They're not particularly smart however and do not use cover at all, instead relying on their durability to weather your shooting so take advantage of this. Remember not to bunch your guys up as they have a shoulder mounted missile launcher that they will use on your guys if they're clustered together. MECs can also use suppression at the end of their turn if they can't target a group. The Heavy MEC is just tougher and more accurate, you can think your way through this fight. The best way to deal with them is hacking or anti machine equipment such as EMP rounds and grenades.

*'''Turrets / Heavy / Superheavy''': It's a turret. What more do you want? They have some armour and a decent amount of HP, but they can't move, and are fairly easy to hack to your side. If all else fails tossing a frag grenade at it is a guaranteed kill. As they are never encountered on the ground and will almost always be mounted on top of buildings. With few exceptions.

*'''Sectopod''': The final, and toughest ADVENT unit. It's just as much of a nightmare as it was in the first game. With the ability to shoot and enter overwatch, extend its legs to give itself a height advantage while standing on the ground, and use a charged-up laser blast that will kill anyone it hits. When they are finally defeated it will explode. Likely killing or injuring any unit for months next to them. As with any robotic unit they can be hacked by a properly specced specialist, although its nearly impossible to turn these guys to your side, so settle for stunning them for several turns. Anti mechanical weapons and equipment a must for defeating Sectopods if you don't have Plasma Weapons.

'''Aliens'''

*'''Sectoid''': Tougher than you remember due to the infusion of human DNA. Now have the ability to resurrect dead troopers - yours and ADVENT - as zombies, and all sectoids from the get-go can lay a mind whammy on your troops, randomly panicking, disorientating or controlling them.

*'''Chrysallid''': Because why the fuck wouldn't the Ethereals keep their most effective terror weapon. These guys have changed from scuttling horrors, to burrowing, venomous, scuttling horrors, capable of turning anyone they kill, either with their venom or their claws into a slowly metamorphosing cocoon that, if it reaches maturity, will spit out '''THREE''' new chryssalids, because Firaxis hates you. They are rendered mostly harmless by being set on fire, so if you think you're going to run into them bring incendiary rounds, fire bombs, and hell weave vests.

*'''Viper''': The most famous of the new aliens because they look like [[serpentfolk|humanoid snake-women]] with [[furry|nice tits and a sweet pair of hips]]. Appear pretty early in the game; not much tougher than sectoids, but quite annoying. They can drag you out of cover with their tongue whip attack, spew toxic clouds like the Thin Men, and strangle you in melee like a Seeker. These gals represent the true form of the Thin Man alien from the last game.

*'''Andromedon''': One of the cooler new alien designs, it could almost have been ripped out of the old X-COM series. It looks like combination of an old diving suit and an iron lung, filled with green sludge, and a single pickled alien who apparently needs that sludge to live. When you kill it the first time the suit reboots and come to life by itself, dropping its heavy plasma cannon and charging into melee. In its first form an Andromedon is a tough customer, with more armour & health than a Muton while packing the same firepower. In its second form it will only ever try to hit you with its fists, but it leaves behind trail of acidic and poisonous sludge that hurts your guys if they try to move through it (because jumping isn't a thing, despite the ability to haul yourself up drainpipes) which makes navigating the battlefield a hassle, especially in densely packed urban missions. Thankfully their second form will be easier to deal with. As these Powered Armor wearing little shits will Overwatch to hamper squad mobility and toss Acid Bombs at [[your_dudes]] if not killed ASAP.

*'''Faceless''': A new enemy that should only appear in Terror Attack missions. Shapeshifters that look like ordinary humans until your troops get too close, then they turn into ''fucking huge'' moaning melted-wax men with claws the length of shotguns. Can take quite a beating and will literally tear down houses to get at your troops. They can be seeded in regular missions if you pull the Dark Event that allows them to mingle with the regular citizens during missions. Isn't that lovely.

*'''Muton''': Remaining as the ethereal's shock infantry, these Mutons have apparently been crossbred with humanity, making them smaller, faster, and deadlier. Apparently they're smarter too, but considering just how badly the A.I can flub up sometimes, you have to wonder about that. They aren't packing any more HP, but they're now armoured, so they'll soak up more damage unless you can shred their armour with heavy weapons and explosives. They'll still be a threat until you get Plasma weapons, and 3rd their armour, but once you're there, they pretty much become chaff beneath the scythe. They also like tossing grenades if they don't have a direct line of sight on your troops. Along with the ability to use suppression if a Muton can't get into melee. Making them an annoyance well into the late game.

*'''Berserker'''

*'''Codex''':A replacement for the Outsider, but far more annoying. The Codex first appears when you Skulljack an ADVENT officer, and it looks like a wierldy sexy woman made of pure energy, but with a cybernetic brain & spinal column. They can teleport around the battlefield, and when struck by an attack that fails to kill them, they split into two Codexes with half of their remaining health. They can also create temporary zones of energy that suck all the ammo out of your guns, and then close with deadly force. Naturally you want Snipers or Magnetic/Plasma Weapon chain attacks to kill them quickly. Which you should have by the time of encountering them.

*'''Specter''': Another WotC specific enemy. These guys look like the Codex if they were made out of Necron Scarabs rather than pure energy. It's fitting too as they are a collection of Psionic nanobots that can grabs your guys, stun them, and create a shadowy doppelgänger with all of your guy's skills and gear, and none of their bad luck. Thankfully killing the Specter will also kill this doppleganger and bring your guy back into the fight, but if you're not ready losing a guy and the enemy gaining that guy can turn the tides right back against you. Oddly, attacks that harm biological targets without requiring a will test can harm the Specter.

*'''Gatekeeper''': A giant, floating, psionic ball. No, we're not joking. For all the goofiness of trying to summarise this thing, it's a shockingly vicious threat. That big metal ball contain a psionic powerhouse in the shape of several fleshy tentacles, which if it gets close will shed its armour, and proceed to bitchslap your soldiers into the ground. And you'll want it to do this because it has 4/5 pips of armour that need shredded away depending on difficulty. It also has the ability to mind control your guys, raise the dead, and fire a insanely powerful laser beam, and it'll try to use cover despite being a 2x2 giant, floating, metal, psychic ball of doom. One of them is are always encountered during the Psi Gate and will likely be the first time seeing them. As a final FU. When killed they explode with a blast that will reach all tiles around them. Heavily wounding or outright killing any of your squad next to them. So melee units should be kept far away unless their a fully upgraded Templer.
Hilariously these tiny Eldridge Abominations can be mind controlled by Psi Operatives. Other ways of dealing them is using explosives and heavy weapons that shreds their armor. These would be the first targets to use Frost Grenades on if you encounter them early in the maps. You should have Magnetic or Plasma Weapons by the time Gatekeepers start showing up or they will be nearly impossible to defeat.

*'''Archon''': So someone in the Alien's side realized that having a heavily mutilated torso mounted on jetpacks, which actively tore at its implants and constantly mounted suicide charges so it could be put out of its misery was bad for PR, so they replaced the Floaters with these guys. They look almost angelic, and their design incorporates a lot more white and gold and less obviously chop-shop cybernetics. The nigh-constant pain going away has made them far smarter too.They still like to jump around the battlefield, but now they can also rain rockets down on your guys after a turns delay and will actually take advantage of cover.

*'''Avatar''': The Ethereals' plans are revealed when you discover these creatures. Avatars are genetically engineered lifeforms created from the genes of the most psi-capable humans, crafted to house the essence of the Ethereals, whose own bodies are breaking down irrevocably. Extremely tough, powerful psionics, kill on sight. The Commander gets one of his own at the end of the game. This is because they plugged him/her into their psionic network and never bothered to remove or change anything after XCOM recovered them. [[Fail|As the Ethereals are really quite stupid despite claiming to be a superior race.]] While lacking the full skill set of the Psi Operative. They have useful abilities. Their equivalents doing more damage or allowing multiple uses of mind control. Avatars also come with a pretty cool gun that can be acquired through modding.

'''The Chosen''':
The new Dragons aka Second in Command below the Ethereals. Coming with a bunch of BS abilities that can wreck your troops at lower levels. You also want to find their base ASAP as they gain upgrades through the game like you do and can hurt your income. Getting their OP shit is also a nice bonus.

When first encountered they'll attempt to stun and capture one of your troops. If they appear during a Blacksight mission, The Chosen AI will just straight up murder a squad member. [[Rage|Despite the game not giving hints to this change in behavior.]] So if counting on manipulate their AI into kidnapping a soldier who is near death during those missions. The Chosen will just slaughter your squad like the rest of Advent. Because all bets when are off when your trying to kill mommy? and/or err daddy? Shklee? Maybe?
Thankfully, the game rolls to give them permanent weakness, along with an arch enemy who will deal extra damage to a Chosen among the new Hero classes. They will also roll for one immunity and a special ability, though the immunities are things that many players will hardly ever use against a boss regardless. The special power can either be meh, or fuck you right over. Good thing for the player the summoning powers are mutually exclusive and can't gain strengths that counter most of their weaknesses.

They can also be countered by researching Mindshields, your own (fully upgraded) Psi operatives and the buffed Sparks. When you have the latter two the Mindshields are redundant as the last two are right out immune to being stunned and mind controlled. Too bad there isn't new lines for a Spark with Julian's voice. As hearing a GlaDOS expy with the attitude of Bender snark back at The Chosen would have been hilarious.

*'''The Assassin''': The first of the Chosen you'll meet if you're playing the "Lost and Damned" mission to introduce yourself to the new mechanics introduced in WotC, the Assassin is a dark reflection of the Ranger class. The biggest [[Weeaboo|weeb]] in all of Advent. She attacks mostly with her Katana (although she does have a rarely used shotgun called Arashi, and you'll thank the programmers she rarely uses it), striking out of concealment to stun one of your guys (Who you'll then have to revive or risk them getting kidnapped), before running away. In the same turn. Because the Bad Guys get to move, shoot, move, but the player doesn't get nice things. To top this all off she's immune to overwatch so you either have to try and escape from the current mission, or take the fight back to her just as hard. Oh yeah, and avoid bunching your guys up, or she will stun half the squad at a time with an area of effect special attack, but don't get too spread out or you won't be able to revive stunned soldiers before she kidnaps them. Thankfully, her concealment works by the same rules as yours, and it'll break if one of your guys flanks her, so if you've got a good idea of where she is, you can move someone in to reveal her, and then light her up with the rest of the squad. To make her easier to deal with make sure to take a Specialist with Scanning Protocol.

*'''The Hunter''': While you would expect a roided up [[Space Wolves|Craven the Hunter cosplaying furfag]] by name alone. He is instead a more or less a [[Vindicare|hit man armed with a pistol and sniper rifle]] with an Affably Evil personality. He's also known to have team killed some of the weaker Advent aliens when he got bored. Unlike his siblings he outright admits that he is a psychopath who likes killing things. The Hunter's abilities are a bit mundane compared to the other Chosen. While still being effective non the less. His Tracking Shot can aim at your troops from the other side side of the map, and if they don't move he will kill them the next. This makes mind controlling Advent and hacking MECs for recon useful for once. He also come with a grappling hook with no cool-down, stun grenades and pistol tranq shots that never miss. So don't be stupid and send in a lone Reaper. Even if he rolls them as a weakness. As they don't put out enough damage to out snipe him and will end up killed or captured instead.

*'''The Warlock''': Probably the most dangerous of The Chosen, if you don't have Mindshields. If you do he's about as dangerous as the final boss of the game. If you don't he's damned near impossible as he'll mind control your entire squad a once. Otherwise he'll summon waves of exploding spectral zombies, or psionic copies of Stun Lancers. On his direct offense he has a buffed up plasma rifle, a mind bullet that will do extra damage to psionics (i.e. your Psi Operative and Templar), split off to affect up to two additional targets, and the ability to teleport his own allies into flanking positions. Sometimes his AI does some stupid shit such as teleporting an Advent next to him. Bonus points if said Advent is the target your supposed to kill during the mission.

'''The Lost'''

*'''Regular''': Introduced in WotC, these are the zombie horde style enemies of the game. They have a unique mechanic where if you kill one, you get a free action point to continue killing. A soldier with decent Aim, an auto-loader, and an extended mag can decimate entire swarms if lucky.

*'''Dasher''' Faster, and with slightly more HP (4-5, as opposed to 2-3) these guys aren't exactly more of a threat than the regular lost. They're just more likely to pull off a successful ambush.

*'''Brute''' These guys have a lot of HP for a Lost, and can actually deal some melee punishment, and will start coming out in decent numbers by endgame. Then again, by endgame you'll have the best weapons and armour, so once again... only really a threat if you're unlucky, and there's a lot of them.

== See Also ==

*[[X-Com Play By Post]], experimental rules for playing X-Com on a forum.
*[[XCOM: Tomorrow's War edition]], a conversion of [[Tomorrow's War]] for playing X-Com on the tabletop.

== Gallery ==
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== External Links ==

* [http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page UFOpaedia.org], a wiki dedicated to X-COM (and sequels, and mods, etc.).
* [http://openxcom.org/ Open Source engine for the original game]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=269&enmi=XCOM:%20The%20Board%20Game Fantasy Flight Games's official X-COM game.]
* [http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/? Long War main page.]
* [http://ufoai.org/wiki/About UFO: Alien Invasion]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BqoEJUWKVRFSKXOA2Ks3Ce7Kvphmg0kAFKcuXJHgmr0/mobilebasic?pli=1 Things X-COM operatives are not allowed to do], a list in the vein of Mr. Welch's list. Occasionally hilarious
* [https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=5026.0] A 40k mod for openxcom NO idea as to why it hasn't shown up here.
[[category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Software]]

XCOM

2018-04-16T21:07:07Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F: /* Reboot Continuity */

{{/vg/}}
{{Oldschool}}

[[Image:Xcom_2.png|thumb|right|]]

This is a [[Dan Abnett|rare treat]]. '''X-COM''', or as it's called across the pond, ''UFO: Enemy Unknown'' is a turn-based strategy game that is, to put it simply, about as close to a game of [[Dark Heresy]] as one can get in isometric 3D. Note that X-COM is significantly older than [[Dark Heresy]], and older than all but the first edition of [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]], so it'd be better to say [[Dark Heresy]] is a lot like X-COM on the tabletop. Dating back to the much-lamented Microprose, it set a gold standard for atmosphere and playability that has, frankly, not been breached in ages.

The game is [[Dwarf Fortress|old as balls]] and in isometric view, which, paired with the Dark Heresy similarities, makes it more /tg/ material than /v/.

==A General Gist==

A general synopsis is that in [[grimdark|the not-so-distant future, there is war - and aliens]]. Aliens are arriving, and they are most assuredly hostile. It falls upon the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or the eponymous X-COM, a multi-national task-force, to deal with the invasion by blasting the fuck out of the Aliens, stealing their shit, researching their technology, and using it to fucking kill them off, all the while fighting off terror attacks and trying to figure out where in Uranus these fucking things are coming from (as it turns out, from Mars, and if you win, the final mission involves you going to Mars and dropping an [[Exterminatus]] on their asses).

It kicked ass. It was good enough to spawn a sequel, ''Terror From The Deep'', which was basically the same game, but underwater and infinitely harder. Story-wise, the destruction of the Martian base activated a fail-safe in the aliens' system that woke up T'leth, their 'secondary' (and mobile) base buried deep under the seas of Earth. X-Com now again must protect the people while finding out about where exactly T'leth is and go in to blast it to smithereens with extreme prejudice. It was hard. Really hard. Not only do aliens have a major advantage technology-wise at the start and they tear through your recruits with impunity, but later in the game when you catch up they start using a nasty trick to take control of your troopers, leading to sometimes hilarious and [[rage|extreme rage-inducing]] turn one [[TPK]]s as your heavy weapon trooper gets controlled and fires his heavy weapon inside the transport while the team is busy disembarking. Oh, and did we mention that the only way to research the best armour in the game was to capture a live specimen of a rarely-appearing alien? And that to capture a live specimen you had to send a poor redshirt in armed with an oversized cattleprod to stun it in close quarters? And that said alien was [[rip and tear|able to tear a human apart effortlessly]] in close quarters? And (as if all that wasn't bad enough already), that the poor redshirt then had to pick up and to carry the damn unconscious thing back to the human ship praying [[rape|that the specimen didn't wake up with a grudge before he got there and the mission ended]]? Yeah, it was kinda like that.

It then spawned a second, somewhat different but still appreciated sequel, ''X-Com Apocalypse''. Destruction of T'leth fucked up Earth biosphere and humanity retreated to quickly built mega-arcologies to survive. Unlike the two first game, there's a bigger political aspect to things as you have not only to make sure you deal with the damn aliens coming to fuck your shit up, but remain best buds with the other humans while doing so. All in all, a decent, if not overwhelmingly good game.

Then Microprose was bought by [[Hasbro|that which must never be named]], who proceeded to nose-dive the IP with games like [[AIDS|X-COM: Interceptor]] and [[Shit Twinkie|X-COM: Enforcer]].

Fucking [[RAGE|Hasbro]].

Anyway. Combat is a lot like Dark Heresy's in that it's exceedingly lethal; at the game's outset, you have no armor beyond jumpsuits with Kevlar stuffed into them, and your firearms are the best and most powerful weaponry that chemical propelled explosives can provide only moderately capable against alien forces (though quite diverse). In order to properly take these fucking things on on anything remotely resembling their own terms, you need upgrades. Upgrades come through research, and research comes by shooting down UFOs, landing a ground assault, killing the surviving aliens, and stripping the UFO like the [[Blood Ravens]] do other chapters' shiny bits. Once brought back to base, your researchers can look into what makes the alien's gear work, research your own weapons and tech, and develop technologies to help in the fight against the Aliens. Eventually, you can load your forces up with [[Space Marine|Power-armored bad-asses]], but starting out, your forces are fragile, and fighting smart is ''vital''. You ''will'' suffer casualties early on - guaranteed - but such is war, and you must press on, allowing the survivors to grow into [[Colonel Greiss|manly badasses]].

The Aliens themselves are diverse, ranging from the Sectoids (conventional "gray" aliens), to Chryssalids (horrifying abominations that inject targets with eggs that turn them into mindless drones which will explosively birth new Chryssalids thereafter). Nightmare fuel = yes. The game manages to be exceedingly creepy for one so simple, and is one of many reasons that X-COM works so well.

==Tales of Heroism==

In accordance with /tg/'s love of war stories about [[your dudes]], several examples of awesome have been compiled:

''Instant'' death doesn't ''always'' happen. Occasionally, one Rookie will be touched by God and succeed against all odds. After that, he will die horribly. [[Just as Planned]].

X-COM agent of note: [[Marc Lecointe]]. Lecointe survived numerous missions, got the highest kill count on most missions, killed a Snakemen leader and his bodyguards (despite losing over half the squad), and got shot in the face and back with plasma and lived. He eventually was hit with return fire in an alley and began bleeding. He returned fire and killed the Snakeman, but bled to death before help could arrive. Lacointe lives on in our hearts.

Another agent of note is Gristle McThornbody, a Rocket-Toting Team-Killing asshole who refuses to die OR be mind-controlled. He's so badass, that even when he has 85% or more to hit on a 2x2 alien, he'll still hit the wall twenty tiles to the left.

== New Stuff and Things ==
According to things [[/v/]] likes to watch on the Internet, a new X-Com game is in the pipes, set to be made in the gameplay and spirit of the old games, with new graphics and updated for the new generation of gamers to be introduced into the X-Com game style. It lost the dash along the way someplace, and got re-named ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown''. This new game, which has spawned joy boners in many on /v/ and /tg/ alike, is believed to stem from the utter, burning [[RAGE|fury]] that was originally spawned from 2K's simply-titled ''XCOM'' game, which, near as we can tell, is an FPS that takes place in the 1960s and has exactly ''nothing'' to do with the actual X-COM franchise. Seriously, don't look into 2K's game if you're a fan of the series on any level - it will cause veterans to spontaneously transform into [[Angry Marines]] and/or [[Khorne|Khornate Berserkers]]. Apparently, those in charge had the wherewithal to note that if they didn't make a ''proper'' X-COM game, [[/tg/]] (and by extension, [[/v/]]) would [[Anal Circumference|leave their asshole in ruins]]. They even went ahead to declare the two games take place in separate universes. If only [[Games Workshop]] had [[Matt Ward|that much sense]]...

== XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis ==
[[File:XCOMGameplay.jpg|200px|thumb|An in-game screenshot of the new game.]]
And Firaxis came to the rescue, promising to return to the roots of XCOM (note the lack of a hyphen this time around, although the logo ''does'' have a horizontal stripe taken out of the "COM"). Since Firaxis has a lot of ex-MicroProse people, a lot of them have had to do with the original as well, and the original musical score will make a return. Although it's changed a few things to avoid hurting the brains of [[/v/|delicate little console kiddies]] like removing time units, removing ballistic simulation, cutting down on your maximum amount of squad members (4 at the start and 6 maximum) and limiting us to one base (though each base location gives its own unique bonus), it still somehow manages to be a good game in its own right. If the original X-COM is like Mordheim, then XCOM is like Space Hulk: massively simplified and more heavily dependent on the luck of the die, but with less micromanagement and long-term planning required.

If you haven't bought the game and you're a TBS fan, everyone in /tg/ that isn't [[That guy]], would highly recommend you give it a whirl at the modest price of <strike>
$39.99 </strike> $16.49 for all the good remade XCOM games because of our father Gabe Newell on PC,
still is 39.99 for console/Non-Steam or $9.99 on mobile/tablet devices. Like always, we have footage for vidyas: https://youtu.be/qDhuZ4b51hA https://youtu.be/-SKoS5BYVuY https://youtu.be/bxuzLyR-000

===XCOM: Enemy Within===
[[File:MectoidMEC.jpg|200px|thumb|Did we mention melee combat with exosuits?]]
''Enemy Within'' is an expansion pack (and unlike most "horse armor" tier DLCs with the name this one actually deserves it) that completely re-defines how the game progresses, compared to the original one. The game's story still progresses like the original game, but expands on it for a more entertaining experience.

It adds the "meld" resource to the game, a type of alien organic/synthetic-hybrid nanomachine that allows you to unlock two powerful technologies: MEC and genetic modification. MEC allows your troops to interface with a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit, a heavy exoskeleton that brings the heaviest of weapons to the field (Including the option for a powerfist equivalent called a "Kinetic Strike Module". Yes, make your own faux [[Terminator]] squad! Especially when the Tier-3 Paladin upgrades bulks up your suit's armor that you look vaguely similar to Termies.). Genetic modification allows you to augment your troops using data gathered from dissected aliens, making them killier than ever before. Infact, you can create your own equivalent of an Imperial [[Space Marine]] with the list of available modifications you can do (Two of these specific upgrades are a second heart and the ability of self-regeneration) .

It also adds new aliens to the xenos' side, like a cloaking squid robots that chokes your troops to death and their own brand of exosuit troops. It also introduces another enemy into the game: EXALT. EXALT are a bunch of power-mad blokes who sees the alien's invasion as a way to gain power by adapting their technology for themselves, inching them closer to world domination. They see you as an obstacle and are determined to undermine your efforts to defeat the aliens by disrupting your operations through a number of ways and sowing panic amongst XCOM-member nations, generally making your already hectic life even more hectic. You must now defeat this new threat through a combination of [[Ork|cunning brutality and brutal cunning.]] They have most of your technologies to go toe-to-toe with you (Except for their own exosuits) and they are well hidden, so bringing them down won't be an easy affair.

=== XCOM 2 ===
[[File:People%27s_reaction_to_XCOM_2%27s_Vipers.png|200px|thumb|Turns out they ''are'' poison glands. Hee.]]
A direct-ish sequel to EU/EW, XCOM 2 seems to decide that what's canon is not: not "you killed all the aliens, now here's more aliens", but "you know that Impossible Ironman game you played for a laugh and got utterly stomped? That's the canon ending". (The utterly stomping part takes place in the base assault, and it is so bad that two of the most important things got taken: The Commander, and more importantly, central officer Bradford's sweater). The aliens won before humanity even got to laser weapons, taking over the world and unifying humanity (read: ruling over them in a pseudo-utopia "Brave New World"-style), and basically preparing to turn them into another of their slave races (not that most of humanity knows this).

XCOM refused to back down even after the Council of Nations ceased to exist and instead went underground, hijacking an alien supply ship to act as a mobile base for hit-and-run operations against the alien occupiers, in the hopes of toppling the ADVENT (the puppet government aliens've set up) and exposing the true purpose of their supposedly ideal society to the world.

New features include:
The Assault class has been given a makeover to focus even more on [[Rip and Tear]], replacing the sidearm with a sword and changing title to the Ranger. The Sniper has been renamed the Sharpshooter and given a pistol-focused skill-tree-route that turns the soldier into Clint Eastwood (literally, like you can have a stand-off by firing 3 pistol-shots in the same turn). The Support class has been renamed the Specialist and been given a drone to hack, heal, shield and/or zap shit remotely. The Heavy has been given a nice grenade launcher to act as your cover-stomper, and been renamed the Grenadier. Psi-operatives are their own class now as well, and get hate-hair and [[Cadia|purple eyes]] because that makes sense and all psychically talented people look like neo-punks. Troops can be captured, and then rescued, which also reclaims any expensive gear they had on them (but it's never the captured troops you actually need back).
New enemies (without spoilers), including human ADVENT security troops (who really love to say "bitch" and pointing towards your soldiers) with magnetic weapons who look like humans till you get their armor off, sectoid-human hybrids with teeth, thumbs, and belly buttons (which can be really creepy if you '''really''' think about it), and transsexual Snake-women called Vipers (which is what the Thin Men actually look like without their disguises). Yes, there were snaketits on the thread that announced this to /tg/. Yes, /d/ has drawn porn of them. Yes, it will be added to the gallery.

Moving on.

XCOM 2 also contains an in depth explanation for the aliens' motives that many fans felt was lacking or too ambiguous in Enemy Within. Apparently, the Ethereals have some kind of fatal disease they can't cure, so they've been trekking around the galaxy culminating genes to form the ultimate bodies for themselves, while amassing a genetically supreme army. When the Ethereals found humanity, they found their genes to be so awesome and powerful that just adding some of them to a lowly sectoid turned it from a pathetic 3' tall creature you could kill with basic weapons, to an 8' tall psionic rape machine that could raise the dead and withstand salvos of bullets to the face. They then set up an alien government on Earth so they could discretely process humanity's best genetic material and slowly form new bodies for themselves that don't die called Avatars. And by don't die, we mean have copious amounts of health, teleport every time they're injured, regenerate like crazy, are guaranteed to successfully mind control anything, and are immune to any of your psychic abilities. And the boss fight involves killing three of these dick-butts and an endless wave of alien reinforcements. Using human DNA is also where their ADVENT troops came from, they grew armies of human spliced with unspecified alien to act as their public face to the humans. But humanity wins anyway, because humans are just that fucking awesome.

The game is also notable for abandoning the usual conditions for losing. The norm for the series is for your funding to get cut if too many countries lose faith in XCOM. Since you're fighting a guerilla war and your support are humans fighting to survive outside the aliens' control zones, that isn't happening. Instead you lose if the aliens complete the Avatar Project, their goal to mass produce the bodies for the etherals. If they do you get treated to a scene of almost all resistance being crushed because the Avatars are dangerous enough in small numbers and army of them would unstoppable. You can slow progress, but can only stop it by finishing the game.

So far there have been recently four DLCs for XCOM 2. "Anarchy's Children" added new customization features for your soldiers, most of which you wouldn't ever really use. "Alien Hunters" adds a new mission, weapons, and alien rulers who you have to hunt down. The alien rulers get to take an action every, single, time, one of your soldiers does. This is even more infuriating then it sounds. Some more customization options are added too. "Shen's Last Gift" adds another mission and the SPARK class soldier. SPARKs are robots you have to make in the proving ground. War of the Chosen finally allows players to add modifications to their guns, gave them better aim and a health boost. So now they're worth taking. If your Grenadier is injured or has low morale. While their weapons are much larger and more powerful-looking than the other squad specialized weapons, they don't do more damage than the regular specialized weapons. This is stupid, as an auto-cannon would naturally do much more damage than a 7mm Gatling Gun. They are also prohibitively expensive so you have no choice to do the mission if you want one for cheap. Optional mods have improved their balance to out right making them a super unit if you wish.

And here comes the fun part; if you read the developers blog, their idea of "balance" is to actually nerf plenty of stuff...so the game is harder after having a buffed-up alien lord chase your dudes all over the game. Was old-school really this hard?

You think that's bad, the end game unlocks second wave options, like increasing all Health by 50%, having your guys get worse as they get injured, have their stats rolled at random, so you can make the game even HARDER! Because dying is ''fun''.

====XCOM 2: War of the Chosen====

This brand new expansion gives us three new allies to aid us.

*Reapers: Stealthy hunters who are armed with nothing but a rifle and explosives. It's enough. They wear [[Shadowrun|trench coats and gas masks]]. Have a special ability where they have a chance to not reveal themselves upon attacking. Enemies have vastly reduced detection ranges against Reapers, and Reapers can detonate explosives on the map without revealing themselves. They can also throw an environmental explosive. [[Dakka|They also have an ability that lets them shoot at an enemy until they run out of ammo.]] Long story short, these guys are only slightly less powerful than the Reapers from Mass Effect.

*Skirmishers: ADVENT defectors who are armed with a grappling hook that can pull them to a rooftop and pull themselves to the enemy or vice versa and at max level allows them to have the [[Awesome|alien rulers ability to gain action points Everytime. The. Enemy. Moves]] Except it only works three times a turn, and doesn't trigger on non-move actions. [[fail|The game doesn't tell you this.]]

*Templars: [[Grey Knights|a resistance group made of only psionics]] that wield psi blades and machine pistols, but you'll probably never use those. They're fast, hard to kill, and hit like a brick. Like the [[rip and tear]] half of the Ranger, but with psionic powers. They're also fantastically hammy and roll their Rs.

But these new allies come with a catch as you now have to fight the titular chosen who can adapt to your soldiers abilities with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the Lost ([[tarpit|zombie swarms]]) that attack both you and ADVENT. Along with these new allies and enemies is trying to get the three resistance groups to work together, as well as a new fatigue and relationship system.

=== XCOM: Long War ===

What, the new XCOM wasn't complicated enough for you? There's a mod called "Long War" which goes into lots more detail, a bit more like the classic game. Now, the aliens will advance their plans and escalate their forces and assaults based on their own progression system, and the game is rebalanced around the expectation that you will not succeed at every mission (and you won't -- the aliens are plenty tough to see to that).

=== XCOM: The Board Game ===

From [[Fantasy Flight Games]], there's a board game adaptation of XCOM (in fact, ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' was quite inspired by board games, with the two-actions-per-turn system instead of the old 'time units'). There's a companion app for smartphones, tablets, and computers which controls the aliens and informs players of events, a bit like a [[Game Master]], but without exposing the players to too much bookkeeping. Amazing what games can do with computers these days -- just imagine if such a thing had been available for [[FATAL]]! On second thought, don't.

Players (1-4) take on different roles in the XCOM organization. The Commander keeps an eye on the budget and allocates interceptors. The Chief Scientist directs research efforts. The Central Officer works the app and solicits input from the others (if there are any) to make decisions (many of which are time-critical). The Squad Leader manages troops and base defense. Together, they need to allocate their resources, judge when to push risky but rewarding avenues (inviting retribution from the aliens if they fail), and defend humanity. Like the games, successes are rare -- a die only has a 1/3 chance of coming up with a success, and tasks may need multiple successes. There is also an "enemy die", a [[d8]] that is rolled against the number of times that task has been attempted. If it rolls equal to or under that number, something bad happens. So, do you pool resources for critical tasks (neglecting anything else, and hoping that your priorities are correct), in order to most likely be successful before the threat level climbs too high? Or do you stay flexible but push your luck? Your call, commander.

=== XCOM 2: Long War 2 ===
If you thought XCOM 2 was ''already'' hard, thanks in part to the involvement of the original Long War modders in the game's development, said modders come back with a sequel mod for the game. Not only does this go even further than the first Long War in going into a lot of detail, such as new graphical touches, significant rebalancing and completely overhauling the global map to be more reminiscent of classic X-com. But the difficulty is amped up even more, with missions even requiring you to send in potentially fatal scouting parties to make sure your ''other'' squads don't die on the spot. Also, rather than launching parties directly into battle, missions spawn on the geoscape with an expiration timer. The player ''can'' launch immediately, but the enemy presence will be drastically increased! Instead, the idea is that the squad can spend time infiltrating, to let ADVENT get complacent and draw troops elsewhere. Having more Resistance folks working Intel increases mission expiration times, but the bigger and heavier the squad, the more infiltration time is require. And vice versa -- short-staffing a squad can allow a player to infiltrate to high percentages on short notice...but now you've only got like four guys on the ground, and that might not be enough firepower if activations go badly...

This mod requires dramatically more strategic thought and care. Weapons, armor, and equipment are all purchased individually, forcing you into decisions like 'do I continue the rollout of my newly available armor-piercing coilguns, or do I buy armor for the two rookies I've trained up?' and 'do I send my last seven man team to secure me an engineer, commit them to a long infiltration to wipe out an advent tower, or hold them in reserve for a better opportunity?' The difficulty is likewise much higher, but you have dramatically expanded options to combat it with special weapons, squad leaders, extra inventory slots packed with flashbangs, veteran troop skills, chooseable bonus perks, a psi advancement training regime that makes some actual sense, and many, many more troops and mission opportunities. Minor reinforcement on that last one, in fact: in stock XCOM 2 you'll likely end the campaign with fewer than twenty soldiers, whereas here it's pretty common to have a hundred active-duty troopers at a time.

The Shinobi ([[Derp|all the Ninja IRL schools have closed up shop]]) is the most overpowered class. Making missions easier then they should be as he can [[derp|bypass Overwatch]] and has a very low impact on infiltration. Making missions unrealistic for players who hate RNG and want a pure stealth game.

The Devs of Long War have said there will not be making a Long War for War of the Choosen. As Firaxis added a ton of crap that would take years for Long War Studios to shift though it and make the mod playable.

== The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ==
Despite having the name XCOM in the title, the game really has little relation to the series. The reason behind this is because 2K passed this game on to the lovely people that brought you Bioshock 2; meaning it was made by a studio that makes more or less decent games. It's supposed to be a prequel, set in the 1960s during the Cold War era. The protagonist, William Carter, was a CIA agent just delivering a suitcase of classified "documents" until an Outsider disguised as a female agent got ahold of it. Not long after that, an alien invasion commenced!

The Bureau is a RPG that plays like Mass Effect, but not as good for a variety of reasons. One reason is in the dialog scene, you're given choices of what to ask/say. They really don't impact the game, nor changes it for the most part, so you can skip a majority of it if you want to. The agents in your squad are pretty dull, sure you can change their names and how they dress, but really doesn't offer any friendship/foe engagements. If they die, you will need to recruit another agent and start him off from scratch, but really, leveling them up isn't fun and customizable, so just restart a checkpoint if they do die.

The agents in your squad have bad AI if you don't babysit them and give commands on what they should do, and their skills at fighting Outsiders are... Well, okay. The best they can offer is their abilities, so spamming them and you taking care of the killing is an effective way to go (Some recommend starters to start their first mission with a Recon to cause critical damage on certain enemies and a Commando for [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|taunting the grunts and make them easy picking for you.]]

There would be more to go on, but if you want to know more about the game, you can search up reviews of XCOM Declassified. In short, it's a decent prequel that fans can find some enjoyment, but it's not as good as Enemy Unknown. Without going into spoilers, there's also a reveal during the last few levels that's surprisingly meta and well-written. Still worth looking into if you can find it for cheap or rent it.

Interestingly enough, turns out that the universe in XCOM Declassified is the same as that of Enemy Unknown/Within's. After the events in The Bureau, all records were wiped. This explains why the player had to start from scratch at the beginning of Enemy Unknown. When the Ethereals of Unknown/Within spoke of their [[Derp|own failure to ascend,]] they really meant that they wanted to be like the Ethereals from The Bureau. Either way, only time will tell exactly [[Grimdark|what the hell they were preparing humanity for.]]

== Xenonauts ==

X-Com coded by [[Reasonable Marines]].

A faithful remake of the original, with time units and all that. Changes a few things (like lack of Psionics on your side) and adds vehicles (yes, blowing up half a building with a rocket jeep is awesome) and controllable dogfights. Basically the alien invasion is during the Cold War and makes everyone shit themselves simultaneously when THOUSANDS of spaceships are openly in orbit and fucks humanity's shit up in creative ways. Every day the UFO's are left wandering, news bulletins full of terror emanate from the screen, worrying you further.

The ending is very creative, particularly concerning the plot of how an inferior species can even bother to defeat a powerful empire. Stunningly well-made, desperate final mission which may result in a glorious ending, or a bittersweet ending where you still win but the assault team is martyred.

Other differences between it and the original include:

Maps are mostly pregenerated, not fully procedural.

Fewer weapon and ammo types. Seriously, you've got the big five (pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and LMG) and a rocket launcher. No variant ammo types, although the weapons do have researched tiers (which are simply damage-ups).<s> This means no unfairly powerful weapons like the Rape Launcher or the Stun Grenade Launcher.</s> There *are* a few super weapons but seriously, if you waste a "Singularity Generator" which is an ENTIRE CAPTURED BLACK HOLE (a hot commodity salvageable from alien battleships) for a 50 kilogram (without ammo) glorified grenade launcher that doesn't even one shot its AoE, you are a fucking moron.

More basic inventory control. You don't micromanage producing and storing individual missiles, and you can have as many magazines, grenades, and med-kits as you want, limited by carrying limit. You just build the alien-based laser or plasma gun, base gives you ammo made fashioned from a melted-down alien cells. (Alenium is basically a quantum-grade battery aliens came up with. Usually it powers the alien craft, you simply creatively salvage the spent ones into explosives because [[HFY]].)

Smaller team sizes. Max troop count on a mission is 12, with the best drop-ship.

Fewer oddball items, like the motion scanner or psi-ball, but there is now an assault shield, so your dudes don't immediately die when popping open a UFO. Said shield gets upgraded with Alien alloys, and even the final mission sees use of it. Trust me.

Rookies are better out of the gate, but are still shit compared to your colonels. Still, they have a decent chance of killing an enemy in a turn, doubly so if carrying a missile launcher. No longer to operatives miss the broad side of a barn. They *will* miss the spot but will still shake it badly.

Explosive weapons damage items, lowering the amount of money you receive from selling. This is for the best, because explosives are stupidly powerful and are probably the most reliable way of putting a fool down. Considering Reaper, the expy for Chyrssalids are even faster and crazier, you *are* going to need them.

Saveable, customizable loadouts for all of your troops, and obviously no engine-based limit on the amount of items you can bring into a mission.

Aliens don't really hide in corners or really hard to find spots, which makes flushing them out a lot easier. I said flushing out mind you, as they DO charge out and deal extremely serious amounts of damage before going down, to say nothing of teleporting aliens that burst fire in your face if they are lucky.

Troops remain vulnerable a lot longer. You are never at the point where you can float an invincible army of death-dealing demigods over a cowering cadre of snakemen, raining death and destruction down with maddened glee. Even if you do, weird aliens will teleport close and blow you out of the sky, or your flyer will fry a nerve from psionics.

Country relations are more important than after-mission loot.

You can kick or pistol whip an enemy to death. Cue surrounding an annoying alien marksman and beating him to death with riot shields.

You can call airstrikes to cancel boring UFO raids.

=== Xenonauts 2 ===

Now with 3D graphics! A demo is available through GOG.com, with the release planned to be later in 2017.

== UFO: Alien Invasion ==

The most detailed opensource version of XCOM based on the Quake 2 engine.

Buildings are not destructible and it doesn't have a great fog-of-war. It doesn't have unmanned vehicles like the current iterations and sadly doesn't have any sort of Chryssalids yet.

Has a better world map than any other XCOM in that you can fully explore it like google-earth, even showing ship movement on the globe in real time. The campaign is more forgiving in that it does not force you through Acts like Enemy Unknown where you can't possible keep everybody happy, or has nations constantly bitching at you for radar coverage like in Xenonauts. Instead you get to bid captured UFOs and give preference to unhappy nations that feel neglected or where you haven't been saving civilians frequently.

The camera is completely free in battlescape mode just like in Enemy Unknown, complete with zoom capabilities. Lots of different weapons, though you will find yourself a fool if you don't immediately start using alien weapons. Also levels tend to have more floors than other iterations, such as one mission in which you're going through an office building or another where you're entering a subway.

The only major problem with the game is that the smoke grenades are so overpowered your guys will be coming out of your drop ship like Snoop-Dogg out of his trailer. Otherwise you'll find aliens are more than happy to shower your guys with plasma from across the map.

After a general huge update smoke is now useless and aliens are much, MUCH more powerful.

Oh, and its free. Still, fuck it. Final version is broken, often locking the game, and developers have been keeping silent, the fucking FAGGOTS.

== Phoenix Point ==

A spiritual successor by Julian Gollop himself. As of the time of this edit, fully funded and in development with a backer pre-alpha coming quite soon. The basic idea is; some kind of strange virus has been dug up in the permafrost and has had two outbreaks so far, each escalating in severity. Now it's invading the land a third (and fatally final) time, most of humanity is gone (Partly cus of the virus, partly cus of WW3 happening during the second outbreak), and you must defend the survivors from both the creatures and each other, you poor sap.

The virus morphs all life into Lovecraftian horrors. Literally Lovecraftian; it is implied that [[H.P. Lovecraft|Howard the Great]] was inspired by ancient findings describing an outbreak of the same virus a few million years ago. It even came from Yuggoth. Humanity being humanity, there are several factions with drastically differing ideas on how to deal with it; there is a faction based around a religion [[Genestealer Hybrids|worshipping the mutations that is also capable of retaining human conscioussness despite said mutations]], another is [[Eclipse Phase| high-tech anarcho-communists trying to coexist with the virus and other factions]] while the third faction [[Starship Troopers|Is a high-tech PMC turned millitaristic civilization with "Service Guarantees Citizenship" that just wants to destroy the virus and any of its sympathizers.]].

So far, the game has managed to gather enough funding and reach one stretch goal for a floating base that will be given as FREE DLC, along with other stretch goals at a later date should the game be succesful.

Expected; large bosses, your own mutated soldiers with crippleable limbs, the option of saving a group of people by [[Dawn of War II|landing on a giant creature and injecting it with poison]], Deep Lore, A hybrid of the old TU and new Two-Action system, unique tech trees for each faction (which you can also get in on by either allying with or stealing from them) and randomized global events (ala Crusader Kings 2).
Oh, and there are [[Flamer|flamethrowers]], Shoulder-Mounted missiles, power armor, gauss rifles and other goodies, such as a mutant mount for the cultist faction.

== XPiratez ==

What XCOM 2 was to XCOM: Enemy Within, XPiratez is to X-COM: UFO Defense. Made of pure [[Awesome|awesome]], you lead a crew of female mutants on a quest to kick ass, gain riches, and fuck bitches. A mod for OpenXcom, it's completely free and gets constant updates. Go check it out! Nothing's more satisfying then crushing a pureblood's head in with a sledge hammer and then mowing down his mates with your [[Dakka|custom Boarding gun]]. To say more would be to spoil its unique atmosphere and feeling of exploration as you uncover what has happened to the world. Let's just say it's a long, long time after the events of XCOM: UFO Defense.

== The Tabletop Game ==

Yes, there was a Tabletop game, made by [[Fantasy Flight Games]], so this article has some direct /tg/ relevance. The problem is, [[Derp | you need a cell phone app to play it]].

==Aliens==
Needless to say, in this game, there are many different types of aliens that your teams are going to have to fight.

===Original Continuity===
{{stub}}

Sectoid

Cyberdisk

Floater

Reaper

Snakeman

Chryssalid

Muton

Celatid

Silicoid

Ethereal

Sectopod

Aquatoid

Gillman

Lobsterman

Tasoth

Bio-Drone

Calcinite

Deep One

Hallucinoid

Tentaculat

Triscene

Xarquid

Brainsucker

Multiworm

Hyperworm

Chrysalis

Anthropod

Psimorph

Spitter

Megaspawn

Popper

Skeletoid

Micronoid Aggregate

Queenspawn

Overspawn

===Reboot Continuity===
{{stub}}

The reboot continuity has its own array of different monsters, with some changes in variety between the first and second game.

====X-COM Enemy Unknown / Enemy Within====

'''Sectoid''': Tiny little grey men in the first game, these are the first Psionic enemy you'll meet, with the ability to boost each other in combat. This can be rather nasty giving them an extra hit point and a +10 to hit and dodge, although if you kill the booster, you'll kill whatever Sectoid they're boosting as well thanks to Psychic feedback.

'''Sectoid Commander''': Only in the first game, these guys are Sectoids on psychic steroids. You'll see one on the tutorial mission and get a taste of what they can do, even if you don't fight it. They're stronger, tougher, and more psionically powerful than the basic section, and are the first unit that can possess your guys mid firefight.

'''Thin Man''': Apparently an "Infiltrator Unit" nobody would mistake these guys for human at close distance as they have snake scales running up their necks, and are skinny enough to make a super-model jealous. Apparently they were made from genetically modifying Snake-Men as they can spit clouds of poison at great distance, and will explode into one when they're killed. Otherwise they're real flimsy.

'''Muton''': How you know the aliens are stepping up their game. Everything up till now has been child's play (for a particularly psychotic child), then these guys come along. Big, tough, "smart", and dangerous, these guys will mulch a squad equipped with regular weapons and armour without breaking a sweat, and capturing one of these guys alive brings one of the better upgrades. Have fun.

'''Muton Berserker''': Ha, ha, ha. These guys are melee monsters, capable of soaking up bullets by the magazine, and slowly getting angrier and angrier as they do. If they can get in close they'll unleash the melee hurt, but thankfully they're not amazingly fast. Thankfully, their instinctive charge of the last person who shot them means you can set them up to run a gauntlet of Overwatch fire, with a bit of luck.

'''Muton Elite''': As much health as the Berserkers, plus armor, and lacking the berserk charges. Instead, they carry heavy plasma cannons.

'''Floater''': Apparently reject Mutons, stripped down to an upper torso and fitted up with cybernetic implants, mainly a jetpack. They're basically the fastest unit in the game, great Overwatchers, and pack about s much punch as a standard Muton. They have a special ability that sacrifices all their actions for the turn to instead fly to any single spot on the map, which they love to use to get the drop on your team.

'''Heavy Floater''' A tougher, armored version of the standard Floater, with a bigger gun.

'''Outsider''': Strange "digital" lifeforms that serve as the technicians of the alien forces. You need to capture one of these in order to advance the game. They're wimpy, but their light plasma rifles are deadly accurate, so they can gun down whole teams if you're careless.

'''Sectopod''': The aliens' equivalent of a tank; an enormous, heavily armored killer robot with insanely high health, high armor, a 50% damage reduction ability, and the ability to blaze away with both a fuck-off huge laser and to launch showers of cluster bombs. They also blow up when you kill them. Your most hated enemy.

'''Cyberdisk''': A ridiculously fast flying robot that can shapeshift between a flying saucer-like flight-mode (in which it's harder to hit) and its unfurled combat mode. Not quite as killy as the sectopod, but still really adept at ruining your day.

'''Drone''': Small flying robots that basically zip around like laser-spitting wasps. They don't do much damage, but they can repair mechanical aliens and they explode like a grenade when killed. And they're extra-hard to hit, for added nuisance factor.

'''Chryssalid''': An absolute fucking nightmare, just like the original series. These bugs are lightning fast, vicious, and if they kill anyone they'll automatically plant an egg in the corpse, which will turn into a zombie before hatching a new chryssalid three turns later. And these zombies are tough enough to weather several turns of shooting. One of the standout points of the first game is a pre-baked mission where you get to investigate a whaling ship that crashed ashore in Alaska after being infested by Chryssalids who turned the catch into their personal hive. Your job is to first investigate the area, and then light the place up for your bombers so they can nuke it from orbit.

'''Ethereal''': The leaders of the alien forces, physically frail but masters of [[psionics]], which they can use to ''really'' fuck up your day.

'''Seeker''': A relatively weak squid-like robot that uses camouflage to sneak up on its prey and then tries to crush it to death with its tendrils. They like to go after isolated members of your squad, which can be used to bait them into going after Assault troopers with Close Combat Tactics for hilarious effects.

'''Mechtoid''': An armored exoskeleton piloted by a sectoid, carrying twin plasma mini-cannons. Sectoids can use their mind merge ability to give a layer of shielding to mechtoids; killing the sectoid removes the shield and causes some damage to the mechtoid.

====X-COM 2 / War of the Chosen====

'''ADVENT'''

The end results of what the Ethereals want to do with humanity. Puppet soldiers controlled by a series of psionically linked chips that feed back to command nodes. It's stated that the commander was supossed to be one of these before XCOM manages to rescue him in the tutorial mission.

*'''Trooper''': The grunts, they come in three flavours, with increasing HP, Dodge, and Accuracy. Challenging only in numbers, and then only thanks to the fact that a shot will hit you at some point, and they can take fire away from the actual threats.

*'''Officer''': These guys aren't a threat on their own, however they can Holo-Target one of your guys for free, granting their allies a +10 to hit against that soldier. either take out everyone around them, or take them out, before that becomes a problem.

*'''Shield-Bearer''': The most annoying ADVENT type in the base game, these guys can pop a shield that gives avery ADVENT and Alien soldier in range +3 or +5 temporary HP. Combined with their armour these guys can take a licking and keep on ticking. Take them out pronto otherwise the fight is going to take far longer than it should. They also kinda look like Robocop so they have that going for them.

*'''Stun-Lancer''': Melee focused, these guys are noticeable by the fact they were far less armour than any other ADVENT soldier. They'll charge forwards if in range, and attempt to stun your guys for a turn with their Melee beatsticks. Otherwise they've just got regular ADVENT Rifles.

*'''Priest''': Introduced in WotC, these guys are the ADVENT Psions, they can boost another ADVENT soldier, much like Sectoids could in Enemy Unknown (and like that game if you kill the priest the soldier will suffer psionic feedback and die), or they can put one of your guys in Statis for a turn, preventing them from doing anything. Advanced and Elite priests have additional tricks that allow them to Mind-Control your guys, and place themselves in Statis if they would be killed, instead staying around with 1 HP for another turn.

*'''Purifier''': Flamethrower wielding ADVENT troops that only appear in WotC. The guys are kept "secret" from the public (despite that fact they can appear in any mission if the RNG says so) as they are supossed to hunt down and kill the lost in the old, abandoned cities. As stated they use flamethrowers, alongside incendiary grenades, and when you kill them there's a good chance they will explode, so don't kill them with melee unless you want to lose your eyebrows. Athough that can lead to some hilarious chain reactions if you're lucky.

*'''General''': Only appears in assassination missions in WotC. Essentially just a beefed up Officer with a shit ton of HP, and the ability to throw Flash-Bangs.

*'''MEC / Heavy MEC''': The first truly heavy ADVENT Unit. These things come with an absurd amount of HP for the early game, and multiple armour pips. They're not particularly smart however and do not use cover at all, instead relying on their durability to weather your shooting so take advantage of this. Remember not to bunch your guys up as they have a shoulder mounted missile launcher that they will use on your guys if they're clustered together. MECs can also use suppression at the end of their turn if they can't target a group. The Heavy MEC is just tougher and more accurate, you can think your way through this fight. The best way to deal with them is hacking or anti machine equipment such as EMP rounds and grenades.

*'''Turrets / Heavy / Superheavy''': It's a turret. What more do you want? They have some armour and a decent amount of HP, but they can't move, and are fairly easy to hack to your side. If all else fails tossing a frag grenade at it is a guaranteed kill. As they are never encountered on the ground and will almost always be mounted on top of buildings. With few exceptions.

*'''Sectopod''': The final, and toughest ADVENT unit. It's just as much of a nightmare as it was in the first game. With the ability to shoot and enter overwatch, extend its legs to give itself a height advantage while standing on the ground, and use a charged-up laser blast that will kill anyone it hits. When they are finally defeated it will explode. Likely killing or injuring any unit for months next to them.
As with any robotic unit they can be hacked by a properly specced specialist, although its nearly impossible to turn these guys to your side, so settle for stunning them for several turns. Anti mechanical weapons and equipment a must for defeating Sectopods if you don't have Plasma Weapons.

'''Aliens'''

*'''Sectoid''': Tougher than you remember due to the infusion of human DNA. Now have the ability to resurrect dead troopers - yours and ADVENT - as zombies, and all sectoids from the get-go can lay a mind whammy on your troops, randomly panicking, disorientating or controlling them.

*'''Chrysallid''': Because why the fuck wouldn't the Ethereals keep their most effective terror weapon. These guys have changed from scuttling horrors, to burrowing, venomous, scuttling horrors, capable of turning anyone they kill, either with their venom or their claws into a slowly metamorphosing cocoon that, if it reaches maturity, will spit out '''THREE''' new chryssalids, because Firaxis hates you. They are rendered mostly harmless by being set on fire, so if you think you're going to run into them bring incendiary rounds, fire bombs, and hell weave vests.

*'''Viper''': The most famous of the new aliens because they look like [[serpentfolk|humanoid snake-women]] with [[furry|nice tits and a sweet pair of hips]]. Appear pretty early in the game; not much tougher than sectoids, but quite annoying. They can drag you out of cover with their tongue whip attack, spew toxic clouds like the Thin Men, and strangle you in melee like a Seeker. These gals represent the true form of the Thin Man alien from the last game.

*'''Andromedon''': One of the cooler new alien designs, it could almost have been ripped out of the old X-COM series. It looks like combination of an old diving suit and an iron lung, filled with green sludge, and a single pickled alien who apparently needs that sludge to live. When you kill it the first time the suit reboots and come to life by itself, dropping its heavy plasma cannon and charging into melee. In its first form an Andromedon is a tough customer, with more armour & health than a Muton while packing the same firepower. In its second form it will only ever try to hit you with its fists, but it leaves behind trail of acidic and poisonous sludge that hurts your guys if they try to move through it (because jumping isn't a thing, despite the ability to haul yourself up drainpipes) which makes navigating the battlefield a hassle, especially in densely packed urban missions. Thankfully their second form will be easier to deal with. As these Powered Armor wearing little shits will Overwatch to hamper squad mobility and toss Acid Bombs at [[your_dudes]] if not killed ASAP.

*'''Faceless''': A new enemy that should only appear in Terror Attack missions. Shapeshifters that look like ordinary humans until your troops get too close, then they turn into ''fucking huge'' moaning melted-wax men with claws the length of shotguns. Can take quite a beating and will literally tear down houses to get at your troops. They can be seeded in regular missions if you pull the Dark Event that allows them to mingle with the regular citizens during missions. Isn't that lovely.

*'''Muton''': Remaining as the ethereal's shock infantry, these Mutons have apparently been crossbred with humanity, making them smaller, faster, and deadlier. Apparently they're smarter too, but considering just how badly the A.I can flub up sometimes, you have to wonder about that. They aren't packing any more HP, but they're now armoured, so they'll soak up more damage unless you can shred their armour with heavy weapons and explosives. They'll still be a threat until you get Plasma weapons, and 3rd their armour, but once you're there, they pretty much become chaff beneath the scythe. They also like tossing grenades if they don't have a direct line of sight on your troops. Along with the ability to use suppression if a Muton can't get into melee. Making them an annoyance well into the late game.

*'''Berserker'''

*'''Codex''':A replacement for the Outsider, but far more annoying. The Codex first appears when you Skulljack an ADVENT officer, and it looks like a wierldy sexy woman made of pure energy, but with a cybernetic brain & spinal column. They can teleport around the battlefield, and when struck by an attack that fails to kill them, they split into two Codexes with half of their remaining health. They can also create temporary zones of energy that suck all the ammo out of your guns, and then close with deadly force. Naturally you want Snipers or Magnetic/Plasma Weapon chain attacks to kill them quickly. Which you should have by the time of encountering them.

*'''Specter''': Another WotC specific enemy. These guys look like the Codex if they were made out of Necron Scarabs rather than pure energy. It's fitting too as they are a collection of Psionic nanobots that can grabs your guys, stun them, and create a shadowy doppelgänger with all of your guy's skills and gear, and none of their bad luck. Thankfully killing the Specter will also kill this doppleganger and bring your guy back into the fight, but if you're not ready losing a guy and the enemy gaining that guy can turn the tides right back against you. Oddly, attacks that harm biological targets without requiring a will test can harm the Specter.

*'''Gatekeeper''': A giant, floating, psionic ball. No, we're not joking. For all the goofiness of trying to summarise this thing, it's a shockingly vicious threat. That big metal ball contain a psionic powerhouse in the shape of several fleshy tentacles, which if it gets close will shed its armour, and proceed to bitchslap your soldiers into the ground. And you'll want it to do this because it has 4/5 pips of armour that need shredded away depending on difficulty. It also has the ability to mind control your guys, raise the dead, and fire a insanely powerful laser beam, and it'll try to use cover despite being a 2x2 giant, floating, metal, psychic ball of doom. One of them is are always encountered during the Psi Gate and will likely be the first time seeing them. As a final FU. When killed they explode with a blast that will reach all tiles around them. Heavily wounding or outright killing any of your squad next to them. So melee units should be kept far away unless their a fully upgraded Templer.
Hilariously these tiny Eldridge Abominations can be mind controlled by Psi Operatives. Other ways of dealing them is using explosives and heavy weapons that shreds their armor. These would be the first targets to use Frost Grenades on if you encounter them early in the maps. You should have Magnetic or Plasma Weapons by the time Gatekeepers start showing up or they will be nearly impossible to defeat.

*'''Archon''': So someone in the Alien's side realized that having a heavily mutilated torso mounted on jetpacks, which actively tore at its implants and constantly mounted suicide charges so it could be put out of its misery was bad for PR, so they replaced the Floaters with these guys. They look almost angelic, and their design incorporates a lot more white and gold and less obviously chop-shop cybernetics. The nigh-constant pain going away has made them far smarter too.They still like to jump around the battlefield, but now they can also rain rockets down on your guys after a turns delay and will actually take advantage of cover.

*'''Avatar''': The Ethereals' plans are revealed when you discover these creatures. Avatars are genetically engineered lifeforms created from the genes of the most psi-capable humans, crafted to house the essence of the Ethereals, whose own bodies are breaking down irrevocably. Extremely tough, powerful psionics, kill on sight. The Commander gets one of his own at the end of the game. This is because they plugged him/her into their psionic network and never bothered to remove or change anything after XCOM recovered them. [[Fail|As the Ethereals are really quite stupid despite claiming to be a superior race.]] While lacking the full skill set of the Psi Operative. They have useful abilities. Their equivalents doing more damage or allowing multiple uses of mind control. Avatars also come with a pretty cool gun that can be acquired through modding.

'''The Chosen''':
The new Dragons aka Second in Command below the Ethereals. Coming with a bunch of BS abilities that can wreck your troops at lower levels. You also want to find their base ASAP as they gain upgrades through the game like you do and can hurt your income. Getting their OP shit is also a nice bonus.

When first encountered they'll attempt to stun and capture one of your troops. If they appear during a Blacksight mission, The Chosen AI will just straight up murder a squad member. [[Rage|Despite the game not giving hints to this change in behavior.]] So if counting on manipulate their AI into kidnapping a soldier who is near death during those missions. The Chosen will just slaughter your squad like the rest of Advent. Because all bets when are off when your trying to kill mommy? and/or err daddy? Shklee? Maybe?
Thankfully, the game rolls to give them permanent weakness, along with an arch enemy who will deal extra damage to a Chosen among the new Hero classes. They will also roll for one immunity and a special ability, though the immunities are things that many players will hardly ever use against a boss regardless. The special power can either be meh, or fuck you right over. Good thing for the player the summoning powers are mutually exclusive and can't gain strengths that counter most of their weaknesses.

They can also be countered by researching Mindshields, your own (fully upgraded) Psi operatives and the buffed Sparks. When you have the latter two the Mindshields are redundant as the last two are right out immune to being stunned and mind controlled. Too bad there isn't new lines for a Spark with Julian's voice. As hearing a GlaDOS expy with the attitude of Bender snark back at The Chosen would have been hilarious.

*'''The Assassin''': The first of the Chosen you'll meet if you're playing the "Lost and Damned" mission to introduce yourself to the new mechanics introduced in WotC, the Assassin is a dark reflection of the Ranger class. The biggest [[Weeaboo|weeb]] in all of Advent. She attacks mostly with her Katana (although she does have a rarely used shotgun called Arashi, and you'll thank the programmers she rarely uses it), striking out of concealment to stun one of your guys (Who you'll then have to revive or risk them getting kidnapped), before running away. In the same turn. Because the Bad Guys get to move, shoot, move, but the player doesn't get nice things. To top this all off she's immune to overwatch so you either have to try and escape from the current mission, or take the fight back to her just as hard. Oh yeah, and avoid bunching your guys up, or she will stun half the squad at a time with an area of effect special attack, but don't get too spread out or you won't be able to revive stunned soldiers before she kidnaps them. Thankfully, her concealment works by the same rules as yours, and it'll break if one of your guys flanks her, so if you've got a good idea of where she is, you can move someone in to reveal her, and then light her up with the rest of the squad. To make her easier to deal with make sure to take a Specialist with Scanning Protocol.

*'''The Hunter''': While you would expect a roided up [[Space Wolves|Craven the Hunter cosplaying furfag]] by name alone. He is instead a more or less a [[Vindicare|hit man armed with a pistol and sniper rifle]] with an Affably Evil personality. He's also known to have team killed some of the weaker Advent aliens when he got bored. Unlike his siblings he outright admits that he is a psychopath who likes killing things. The Hunter's abilities are a bit mundane compared to the other Chosen. While still being effective non the less. His Tracking Shot can aim at your troops from the other side side of the map, and if they don't move he will kill them the next. This makes mind controlling Advent and hacking MECs for recon useful for once. He also come with a grappling hook with no cool-down, stun grenades and pistol tranq shots that never miss. So don't be stupid and send in a lone Reaper. Even if he rolls them as a weakness. As they don't put out enough damage to out snipe him and will end up killed or captured instead.

*'''The Warlock''': Probably the most dangerous of The Chosen, if you don't have Mindshields. If you do he's about as dangerous as the final boss of the game. If you don't he's damned near impossible as he'll mind control your entire squad a once. Otherwise he'll summon waves of exploding spectral zombies, or psionic copies of Stun Lancers. On his direct offense he has a buffed up plasma rifle, a mind bullet that will do extra damage to psionics (i.e. your Psi Operative and Templar), split off to affect up to two additional targets, and the ability to teleport his own allies into flanking positions. Sometimes his AI does some stupid shit such as teleporting an Advent next to him. Bonus points if said Advent is the target your supposed to kill during the mission.

'''The Lost'''

*'''Regular''': Introduced in WotC, these are the zombie horde style enemies of the game. They have a unique mechanic where if you kill one, you get a free action point to continue killing. A soldier with decent Aim, an auto-loader, and an extended mag can decimate entire swarms if lucky.

*'''Dasher''' Faster, and with slightly more HP (4-5, as opposed to 2-3) these guys aren't exactly more of a threat than the regular lost. They're just more likely to pull off a successful ambush.

*'''Brute''' These guys have a lot of HP for a Lost, and can actually deal some melee punishment, and will start coming out in decent numbers by endgame. Then again, by endgame you'll have the best weapons and armour, so once again... only really a threat if you're unlucky, and there's a lot of them.

== See Also ==

*[[X-Com Play By Post]], experimental rules for playing X-Com on a forum.
*[[XCOM: Tomorrow's War edition]], a conversion of [[Tomorrow's War]] for playing X-Com on the tabletop.

== Gallery ==
{{Promotions}}
<gallery>
Image:Don_t_mess_with_humanity_by_Jaekyu.jpg
Image:Get_Some_by_IronShrineMaiden.jpg
Image:Public_Display_of_Affection_by_Jaekyu.png
Image:Rookie_Shooter_by_Jaekyu.png
Image:X-Com_(1).jpg
Image:X-Com_(2).jpg
Image:X-Com_(3).jpg
Image:X-Com_(4).jpg
Image:X-Com_(5).jpg
Image:X-Com_(6).jpg
Image:X-Com_(7).jpg
Image:X-Com_(8).png
Image:X-Com_(9).jpg
Image:X-Com_(10).jpg
Image:Snek.png
</gallery>

== External Links ==

* [http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page UFOpaedia.org], a wiki dedicated to X-COM (and sequels, and mods, etc.).
* [http://openxcom.org/ Open Source engine for the original game]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=269&enmi=XCOM:%20The%20Board%20Game Fantasy Flight Games's official X-COM game.]
* [http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/? Long War main page.]
* [http://ufoai.org/wiki/About UFO: Alien Invasion]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BqoEJUWKVRFSKXOA2Ks3Ce7Kvphmg0kAFKcuXJHgmr0/mobilebasic?pli=1 Things X-COM operatives are not allowed to do], a list in the vein of Mr. Welch's list. Occasionally hilarious
* [https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=5026.0] A 40k mod for openxcom NO idea as to why it hasn't shown up here.
[[category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Software]]

Chapter Master Slamguinius

2018-04-16T20:01:52Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F: /* The Jamguinius a.k.a. Slamguinius and the Bloody Bastards of Butchery a.k.a. The good shit */

After countless Aeons of staring forlornly at a our sub-tier [[Blood Angel]] lists and drooling with envy every time [[Chapter Master Smashfucker]] or his [[Tau|Ilk]] would [[Eldar|Devastate]] our [[Ultramarines|armies]]. We were even beaten by our own codices there for a while, from Mephiston's sword bouncing off of TEQ's, to Dante's insanely high Initiative being turned into a joke with how Axes worked, not only that we still were gimped by receiving none of the new toys our cousins from codex chapters got and our best units were perpetually gimped by the piss poor charge rules of 6th and 7th ed.

==8th edition and the beauty that followed==
Then a new day dawned for the much maligned Sons of Sanguinius. The 8th edition of 40k dropped and we dared to hope.Then the Codex dropped, and our hope was and given form. The name of our new lord and master?Chapter-Master Slamguinius. Welcome to the Jam, Brothers.

Like every good thing that comes into /TG/'s baleful notice, Slamguinius started out as a just a thought experiment--starting out on the DakkaDakka forums and 4chan boards, eventually leaking into Reddit where the munchkins and powergamers did what they do best. Try to squeeze ever bit of cheese out of the dick of the new Blood Angels Codex. By the Blood, one of our errant brothers in an effort to maximize points while remaining cost effect as possible built the (un)holy combo. Said brother then shared his build--wistfully naming his creation Slamguinius in the foregone hope that it would somehow stand up to the beasts that came before.

Then the Miracles occurred.

Batrep after batrep of Slamguinius single handedly punching the everloving FUCK out of a greater daemon of Khorne. Slamguinius laying low our [[Roboute Guilliman|Spiritual Liege]] in single fucking combat with one bumfuckingly good charge. The most fabled of foes fell at his feet, as he ass-rammed imperial knight titans that were unable to overwatch this amphetamine fueled bastard. And for the low, low price of 5-7 CPs (holy shit...) he can even pimp-slap Mortarion's pustuled ass back to the warp. Brother Slamguinius is the perfect spoiler against any army relying on a big nasty to ruin your day. Small enough to get in where a squad can't, hard enough hitting to thoroughly wreck whatever he's fight in a single shot with enough CP. Like a scalpel duck-taped to a stick of dynamite. Not bad for a 129 point mook.

Hope was rekindled for the Scions of Sanguinius, as a new day dawned as the faintest embers of a thought entered our collective souls

"Hey, hot damn, we might even be competitive again someday at this rate. At least until GW FAQ's it out."

==How to build Brother Slamguinius, the Slambane, 9th lord of Slamfuckery==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Chapter Master Slamguinius, The Slambane, 9th Lord of Slamfuckery
! Points !! WS !! BS!! S !! T !! W !! I !! A !! Ld !! Sv
|-
| 129 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 5 || 9 || 3+/3++/6+++
|}

;Wargear
:'''Relic: Angel's Wing (jump pack)'''
:'''Storm Shield'''
:'''Thunder Hammer'''
:'''Bolt Pistol'''
:'''Frag/Krak grenades'''

;Special Rules
:'''Warlord Trait: Artisan of War'''
:'''And They Shall Know No Fear'''
:'''Rites of Battle'''
:'''Chapter Tactics (''The Red Thirst'')'''
:'''The Black Rage'''
:'''Fly'''
:'''Deep Strike'''

You start with your basic BA captain template and make sure to make him your warlord. You trade out his Master Crafted Bolt-gun for a Thunder hammer from the Melee Weapon list then trade out his chainsword for a Storm shield (you can go for an Inferno Pistol instead, but it's your call to see if a 17% drop-off in survivability is worth it) which is critical for surviving multi-damage shots after you've annihilated your initial target, or even just surviving an opponent's shooting phase. You even get to keep a pistol for shooting.
The real meat comes in when you Slap a Jump Pack on him so you can get a free upgrade to Angel's Wing and Artisan of War on his Thunder hammer. Most batreps have you slap on Death Visions of Sanguinius for 1CP and honestly, it's worth its weight in CP gold. You get a 3+/3++/6+++ melee beatstick that can't be overwatched and gets a natural re-roll to charges. With 5 attacks base hitting at x2 str -3 ap and d4 for each wound that makes it through you can guarantee most things will feel get the fear of Sanguinius in them after the first time they underestimate your little 129 point model. Doing some quick mathhammer, with a modest CP expenditure you can use the 3d6 from Descent of Angels and the Re-rolls from Angel's Wing to guarantee a charge at 9" at about 94% to absolutely make sure this guy gets stuck in attacking whatever it is you want to make dead on the turn you decide to bring him in, presumably after you've frag missiled the enemy's screens to nothing.

He can get mighty expensive CP wise and really shines at games that are 1500 pts and up where you have the leeway to make those kinds of expenditures. With an average roll on Red Rampage (2) you get 7 attacks re-rolling the 1's to hit and always improving your wounds due to the Red Thirst, so anything up to T7 will get wounded on a 2+. We're looking pretty good, and that's just us getting started!

There's maybe one or two other ways to build this beautiful bastard.

The first is to not take Death Visions of Sanguinius and replace

:'''Warlord Trait: Artisan of War'''

with

:'''Warlord Trait: Gift of Foresight'''

and have one of your dudes in his entourage be an Ancient (preferably Sanguinary Guard Ancient) and carry:

:'''Relic: Standard of Sacrifice (Banner)'''

Slamguinius' sheer damage output drops (you'd be surprised how much that extra point of damage can pull off) But Since Gift of foresight can stack with Standard of Sacrifice you end up with a tankier build looking like:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Captain Slamguinius, The Slambane, 9th Lord of Slamfuckery
! Points !! WS !! BS!! S !! T !! W !! I !! A !! Ld !! Sv
|-
| 129 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 3+/3++/6+++R1/5++++
|}

Giving up the Black Rage is also a kick in the teeth when it comes to damage output but if you can afford a Librarian you can bring your base attacks up to 5 with Unleash rage. However, without Black Rage you are then able to stack GoF and SoS together to make sure you will be virtually immune to any small arms fire or even multi-wound shots, Making the Captain version of Slamguinius ideal for taking on the Tau.

==The Jamguinius a.k.a. Slamguinius and the Bloody Bastards of Butchery a.k.a. The good shit==
But what kind of gamebreaking section would this be if we left it at that?

Properly played, Slamguinius is the surgical counterstroke right into the vulnerable spots your enemy has left open. Well, as surgical as a freight train full of butcher knives and c4 can truly get. I digress though, reserved properly you can drop ol' Slammy down next you what you want to make dead along with his posse aim it at that direction and wave goodbye to that section of the horizon as some of the combos you can get are biblical in their exchanges of output.

Drop Slamguinius down (hopefully into cover!) with a bodyguard of [[Sanguinary Guard]], some Inceptors to your taste, a jump librarian, a Sanguinary Ancient with the Standard of Sacrifice and have your gunline guarded with a Company Ancient with a regular banner. The increase to Morale doesn't stack across both banners, which is a shame, but the effect of the Company Banner applies to all units with the Blood Angel, and Ancient key words, not just the unit bearing it (The standard of sacrifice however remains solely around the unit carrying it, so don't insist that THAT transfers or else you're just being [[that guy]]) so your Deep Striking units can get a last hurrah off on a 4+. Heirs of Azkaellon for the SG plus Rites Battle for the Inceptors to clear a bloody path to the biggest, nastiest gribbly your enemy can field. Pop Red Rampage, have the librarian cast Unleash Rage on Slamguinius so you have a range of at worst 7 attacks to at best 9--unless you wanted to be a real bastard about it and found a way to include The Sanguinor somehow. THEN you'd be at 8 attacks minimum and 10 attacks tops.
The Standard of Sacrifice unfortunately won't work on Slamguinius but the Chapter Banner will, so at least you'll have a re-roll of 1's to wound which is a stellar bonus to put with his re-rolls of 1's to hit. With each wound punching through with a solid 4 damage each time and a 16%(ish) chance of getting exploding dice if your target is a Heretic Astartes you can reliably punch the everloving fuck out of even the most prevalent 16+ wound models in the game. Against something like a Knight or other super-heavy, you just picked it up in one-fell-swoop. Land Raider? Also dead. Greater Daemon? Yep, dead too. Granted, against a harder target like Mortarion, the numbers drop off, and you'll likely only put 8 to 12 wounds on target (before disgustingly resilient kicks in) if you're lucky. Still, doing 10+ wounds to Mortarion in a single round is something to make your opponent sit up and set their target priority to HOLY SHIT, mode. Not to mention if you brought The Sanguinor along for the ride.

And that's not even the best part!

The best part is that you've got a nice friend in Honour the Chapter if you feel a bit skittish about not making your damage quota, you can pull that one out to fight again to make for damn sure that you kill whatever big nasty it is on the first try.
Even if you fail at taking out whatever gribbly you're fighting survives your onslaught and kills you in return you have the banner around you for a 4+ roll to see if you can attack one more time. If you fail that, THEN you spend 2CP for Only in Death Does Duty End (the two don't stack together unfortunately, and while it'd be neat to get off two fight phases once slain it'd be horribly horribly broken--you can however spend points for the latter if the former fails) the cherry on top is that the extra fight phase you get after getting slain keeps all the bonuses you used for his previous fight phase. So if whatever you're fighting survived Slamguinius the first time, it certainly isn't again.

If you DO make it on the first try, you can still use Honour the chapter after consolidating 3" do activate Slamguinius another 3" to get him 1" away from another squad so he can tuck in and fight again--preventing overwatch for his entourage and protecting him from the wave of retaliatory fire that's most definitely going to come his way after your opponent just watched his army's centerpiece just suffer terminal existence failure.

Before one of [[That_guy|those guys]] claims this Slamguinius is OP. Remember to point out the many weaknesses that he shares with [[MURDERWINGS]]. Since he has a jetpack he automatically gains the FLY keyword. With all that it entails. Making him rather vulnerable to units that get bonuses against flyers. Such as anti air vehicles and interceptors. It would be best to avoid picking fights against multi wound aircraft. As like bikers their movement is superior to his. Jetbikers especially can fuck him over. He also sucks at range with just a bolt pistol. So he can be Overwatched by infantry blobs and walkers quite easily. Of course you should also already have counters in your army for this. If your not playing a tank or flyer heavy list. Why bother playing Blood Angels in the first place?
He should be given a Combi-weapon to counter units with superior movement and firepower. The Combi-Melta or the Combi-Flamer works best due to being a jetpack unit. As the autohits are great against flyers. If you want to use Orbital Bombardment it costs 3CP and if he's the warlord he won't be able to move during the preceding turn. CP is already at a premium as Slamguinius requires using the Armoury of Baal Stratagem.

==Image Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Slamguinius.jpg|Now in golden [[Primaris Space Marines|Primaris]] flavor
File:Slamguinius_1.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_2.jpg|Eh, close enough
File:Slamguinius_4.jpg|Really embracing the Death Visions Schtick, also, [[THIN YOUR PAINTS]]
File:Slamguinius_5.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_6.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_7.jpg|This one was well painted, but needed proper lighting.
File:Slamguinius_8.jpg|Here we have [[/v/|Guile]] in Black power armor
File:Slamguinius_9.jpg|
</gallery>

==See also==
*[https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/746294.page It all started here]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uints81YYMc You are obligated to play this when he makes his first charge]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwv_2OKxZr8 Play this after you've cast Unleash Rage, used Red Rampage and Honour the Chapter]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Space Marines]] [[Category:Gamebreaking]]

Chapter Master Slamguinius

2018-04-16T05:30:34Z

2601:147:4200:6280:59D5:296:EB6:2A3F:

After countless Aeons of staring forlornly at a our sub-tier [[Blood Angel]] lists and drooling with envy every time [[Chapter Master Smashfucker]] or his [[Tau|Ilk]] would [[Eldar|Devastate]] our [[Ultramarines|armies]]. We were even beaten by our own codices there for a while, from Mephiston's sword bouncing off of TEQ's, to Dante's insanely high Initiative being turned into a joke with how Axes worked, not only that we still were gimped by receiving none of the new toys our cousins from codex chapters got and our best units were perpetually gimped by the piss poor charge rules of 6th and 7th ed.

==8th edition and the beauty that followed==
Then a new day dawned for the much maligned Sons of Sanguinius. The 8th edition of 40k dropped and we dared to hope.Then the Codex dropped, and our hope was and given form. The name of our new lord and master?Chapter-Master Slamguinius. Welcome to the Jam, Brothers.

Like every good thing that comes into /TG/'s baleful notice, Slamguinius started out as a just a thought experiment--starting out on the DakkaDakka forums and 4chan boards, eventually leaking into Reddit where the munchkins and powergamers did what they do best. Try to squeeze ever bit of cheese out of the dick of the new Blood Angels Codex. By the Blood, one of our errant brothers in an effort to maximize points while remaining cost effect as possible built the (un)holy combo. Said brother then shared his build--wistfully naming his creation Slamguinius in the foregone hope that it would somehow stand up to the beasts that came before.

Then the Miracles occurred.

Batrep after batrep of Slamguinius single handedly punching the everloving FUCK out of a greater daemon of Khorne. Slamguinius laying low our [[Roboute Guilliman|Spiritual Liege]] in single fucking combat with one bumfuckingly good charge. The most fabled of foes fell at his feet, as he ass-rammed imperial knight titans that were unable to overwatch this amphetamine fueled bastard. And for the low, low price of 5-7 CPs (holy shit...) he can even pimp-slap Mortarion's pustuled ass back to the warp. Brother Slamguinius is the perfect spoiler against any army relying on a big nasty to ruin your day. Small enough to get in where a squad can't, hard enough hitting to thoroughly wreck whatever he's fight in a single shot with enough CP. Like a scalpel duck-taped to a stick of dynamite. Not bad for a 129 point mook.

Hope was rekindled for the Scions of Sanguinius, as a new day dawned as the faintest embers of a thought entered our collective souls

"Hey, hot damn, we might even be competitive again someday at this rate. At least until GW FAQ's it out."

==How to build Brother Slamguinius, the Slambane, 9th lord of Slamfuckery==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Chapter Master Slamguinius, The Slambane, 9th Lord of Slamfuckery
! Points !! WS !! BS!! S !! T !! W !! I !! A !! Ld !! Sv
|-
| 129 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 5 || 9 || 3+/3++/6+++
|}

;Wargear
:'''Relic: Angel's Wing (jump pack)'''
:'''Storm Shield'''
:'''Thunder Hammer'''
:'''Bolt Pistol'''
:'''Frag/Krak grenades'''

;Special Rules
:'''Warlord Trait: Artisan of War'''
:'''And They Shall Know No Fear'''
:'''Rites of Battle'''
:'''Chapter Tactics (''The Red Thirst'')'''
:'''The Black Rage'''
:'''Fly'''
:'''Deep Strike'''

You start with your basic BA captain template and make sure to make him your warlord. You trade out his Master Crafted Bolt-gun for a Thunder hammer from the Melee Weapon list then trade out his chainsword for a Storm shield (you can go for an Inferno Pistol instead, but it's your call to see if a 17% drop-off in survivability is worth it) which is critical for surviving multi-damage shots after you've annihilated your initial target, or even just surviving an opponent's shooting phase. You even get to keep a pistol for shooting.
The real meat comes in when you Slap a Jump Pack on him so you can get a free upgrade to Angel's Wing and Artisan of War on his Thunder hammer. Most batreps have you slap on Death Visions of Sanguinius for 1CP and honestly, it's worth its weight in CP gold. You get a 3+/3++/6+++ melee beatstick that can't be overwatched and gets a natural re-roll to charges. With 5 attacks base hitting at x2 str -3 ap and d4 for each wound that makes it through you can guarantee most things will feel get the fear of Sanguinius in them after the first time they underestimate your little 129 point model. Doing some quick mathhammer, with a modest CP expenditure you can use the 3d6 from Descent of Angels and the Re-rolls from Angel's Wing to guarantee a charge at 9" at about 94% to absolutely make sure this guy gets stuck in attacking whatever it is you want to make dead on the turn you decide to bring him in, presumably after you've frag missiled the enemy's screens to nothing.

He can get mighty expensive CP wise and really shines at games that are 1500 pts and up where you have the leeway to make those kinds of expenditures. With an average roll on Red Rampage (2) you get 7 attacks re-rolling the 1's to hit and always improving your wounds due to the Red Thirst, so anything up to T7 will get wounded on a 2+. We're looking pretty good, and that's just us getting started!

There's maybe one or two other ways to build this beautiful bastard.

The first is to not take Death Visions of Sanguinius and replace

:'''Warlord Trait: Artisan of War'''

with

:'''Warlord Trait: Gift of Foresight'''

and have one of your dudes in his entourage be an Ancient (preferably Sanguinary Guard Ancient) and carry:

:'''Relic: Standard of Sacrifice (Banner)'''

Slamguinius' sheer damage output drops (you'd be surprised how much that extra point of damage can pull off) But Since Gift of foresight can stack with Standard of Sacrifice you end up with a tankier build looking like:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Captain Slamguinius, The Slambane, 9th Lord of Slamfuckery
! Points !! WS !! BS!! S !! T !! W !! I !! A !! Ld !! Sv
|-
| 129 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 3+/3++/6+++R1/5++++
|}

Giving up the Black Rage is also a kick in the teeth when it comes to damage output but if you can afford a Librarian you can bring your base attacks up to 5 with Unleash rage. However, without Black Rage you are then able to stack GoF and SoS together to make sure you will be virtually immune to any small arms fire or even multi-wound shots, Making the Captain version of Slamguinius ideal for taking on the Tau.

==The Jamguinius a.k.a. Slamguinius and the Bloody Bastards of Butchery a.k.a. The good shit==
But what kind of gamebreaking section would this be if we left it at that?

Properly played, Slamguinius is the surgical counterstroke right into the vulnerable spots your enemy has left open. Well, as surgical as a freight train full of butcher knives and c4 can truly get. I digress though, reserved properly you can drop ol' Slammy down next you what you want to make dead along with his posse aim it at that direction and wave goodbye to that section of the horizon as some of the combos you can get are biblical in their exchanges of output.

Drop Slamguinius down (hopefully into cover!) with a bodyguard of [[Sanguinary Guard]], some Inceptors to your taste, a jump librarian, a Sanguinary Ancient with the Standard of Sacrifice and have your gunline guarded with a Company Ancient with a regular banner. The increase to Morale doesn't stack across both banners, which is a shame, but the effect of the Company Banner applies to all units with the Blood Angel, and Ancient key words, not just the unit bearing it (The standard of sacrifice however remains solely around the unit carrying it, so don't insist that THAT transfers or else you're just being [[that guy]]) so your Deep Striking units can get a last hurrah off on a 4+. Heirs of Azkaellon for the SG plus Rites Battle for the Inceptors to clear a bloody path to the biggest, nastiest gribbly your enemy can field. Pop Red Rampage, have the librarian cast Unleash Rage on Slamguinius so you have a range of at worst 7 attacks to at best 9--unless you wanted to be a real bastard about it and found a way to include The Sanguinor somehow. THEN you'd be at 8 attacks minimum and 10 attacks tops.
The Standard of Sacrifice unfortunately won't work on Slamguinius but the Chapter Banner will, so at least you'll have a re-roll of 1's to wound which is a stellar bonus to put with his re-rolls of 1's to hit. With each wound punching through with a solid 4 damage each time and a 16%(ish) chance of getting exploding dice if your target is a Heretic Astartes you can reliably punch the everloving fuck out of even the most prevalent 16+ wound models in the game. Against something like a Knight or other super-heavy, you just picked it up in one-fell-swoop. Land Raider? Also dead. Greater Daemon? Yep, dead too. Granted, against a harder target like Mortarion, the numbers drop off, and you'll likely only put 8 to 12 wounds on target (before disgustingly resilient kicks in) if you're lucky. Still, doing 10+ wounds to Mortarion in a single round is something to make your opponent sit up and set their target priority to HOLY SHIT, mode. Not to mention if you brought The Sanguinor along for the ride.

And that's not even the best part!

The best part is that you've got a nice friend in Honour the Chapter if you feel a bit skittish about not making your damage quota, you can pull that one out to fight again to make for damn sure that you kill whatever big nasty it is on the first try.
Even if you fail at taking out whatever gribbly you're fighting survives your onslaught and kills you in return you have the banner around you for a 4+ roll to see if you can attack one more time. If you fail that, THEN you spend 2CP for Only in Death Does Duty End (the two don't stack together unfortunately, and while it'd be neat to get off two fight phases once slain it'd be horribly horribly broken--you can however spend points for the latter if the former fails) the cherry on top is that the extra fight phase you get after getting slain keeps all the bonuses you used for his previous fight phase. So if whatever you're fighting survived Slamguinius the first time, it certainly isn't again.

If you DO make it on the first try, you can still use Honour the chapter after consolidating 3" do activate Slamguinius another 3" to get him 1" away from another squad so he can tuck in and fight again--preventing overwatch for his entourage and protecting him from the wave of retaliatory fire that's most definitely going to come his way after your opponent just watched his army's centerpiece just suffer terminal existence failure.

Before one of [[That_GUY|those guys]] claims this Slamguinius is OP. Remember to point out the many weaknesses that he shares with [[MURDERWINGS]]. Since he has a jetpack he automatically gains the FLY keyword. With all that it entails. Making him rather vulnerable to units that get bonuses against flyers. Such as anti air vehicles and interceptors. It would be best to avoid picking fights against multi wound aircraft. As like bikers their movement is superior to his. Jetbikers can fuck him over He also sucks at range with just a bolt pistol. So he can be Overwatched by infantry blobs and walkers quite easily. Of course you should also already have counters in your army for this. If your not playing a tank or flyer heavy list. Why bother playing Blood Angels in the first place?
He should be given a Combi-weapon to counter units with superior movement and firepower. The Combi-Melta or the Combi-Flamer works best due to being a jetpack unit. As the autohits are great against flyers. If you want to use Orbital Bombardment it costs 3CP and if he's the warlord he won't be able to move during the preceding turn. CP is already at a premium as Slamguinius requires using the Armoury of Baal Stratagem.

==Image Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Slamguinius.jpg|Now in golden [[Primaris Space Marines|Primaris]] flavor
File:Slamguinius_1.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_2.jpg|Eh, close enough
File:Slamguinius_4.jpg|Really embracing the Death Visions Schtick, also, [[THIN YOUR PAINTS]]
File:Slamguinius_5.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_6.jpg|
File:Slamguinius_7.jpg|This one was well painted, but needed proper lighting.
File:Slamguinius_8.jpg|Here we have [[/v/|Guile]] in Black power armor
File:Slamguinius_9.jpg|
</gallery>

==See also==
*[https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/746294.page It all started here]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uints81YYMc You are obligated to play this when he makes his first charge]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwv_2OKxZr8 Play this after you've cast Unleash Rage, used Red Rampage and Honour the Chapter]

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]] [[Category:Space Marines]] [[Category:Gamebreaking]]