Alien Design TurnThe Ophanim provide an interesting opportunity for us. A sapient, Gifted mind in such a compact and simple body. Though they may be weak on their own, they provide an excellent base to improve. Enter, the Chariot; A combination of organic mind and mechanical body. At the core of the Chariot lies an organism based upon the DNA of the Ophanim, a blob of spongey flesh wider than the Ophanim and substantially thicker, to be closer to a sphere, and with a majority of the eyes removed to provide more space for cybernetic implants. The purpose in the increase in size is to facilitate a larger, more complex brain, with greater capacity for the Gift.
The Chariot itself is, in some ways, like a miniaturize version of a human 'tank'. A set of treads as mobility, permitting the Chariots armor to be heavier than if it where instead to hover. Atop those treads sits the body, a sleek structure that rounds out as it goes forward, with space for a large, dense mechanical orb closer to the rear. This orb contains the being, directly attached to the Chariot through its implants to allow it to be controlled mentally, the organism acting as organic hardware and software. The orb an pivot a full 360 degrees horizontally, and possesses a series of cameras allowing it to see its surroundings. On the 'front' of the orb, is a pair of plasma PDWs attached together in a vertical formation, and connected to a rail built into the orb to allow them to move vertically along its surface, permitting the Chariot to aim in any direction... excluding down, but it's on treads, so the chances it will be in a position where such is necessary are very low.
While this makes the Chariot well defended, its true draw is in its abilities with the Gift. Though not particularly stronger than a Sectoid on its own, it possesses the ability to access the Ophanim choir, allowing it to draw upon their combined psychic effort, and focus that power into more direct psychic attacks. Striking at the minds of their targets to cause direct pain or even harm, or even to see their allies as enemies for a time.
(For scale, I'm imaging the XCom Hover SHIV. As for squad size, we're aiming for cheapness. So as few as is necessary for it to cost 1, unless a single Chariot costs more than that, then just 1)
Normal: 2 +1( Buggy Mess)
The Ophanim sing, but new music tears through their choir. They sing of fear, of loss, or joy, but most importantly, they sing to drown out the beat. The Charioteer, the modified Ophanim we created to pilot the Chariot, does not harmonize with it's fellow Ophanim. It's song is too different, the low heavy drones penetrating harmony of the choir and wresting control away from it's creators. The Ophanim resist and resent this intrusion, trying to restore their previous harmony.
This is not the only problem. The Charioteer knows that it is not a regular Ophanim, but it longs to be. It seeks freedom from it's mechanical cage, to see the world through it's own multitudinal eyes, rather than a camera. Left alone, it will try to open it's cage, even though it universally expires soon after.
The chariot itself is not without problems. Without a Charioteer in control, the fusion cells destabilize and lose power, shorts and overheating spreads through the circuitry, and tracks and weapons jam constantly. With, most of these problems are somewhat mitigated, only to return with a vengeance whenever the Charioteer looses it.
Chariot : A single tracked armored vehicle equipped with twin Plasma PDW with a 360 degree firing radius. Controlled by a charioteer, a suicidal mutated Ophanim that horifies all nearby Ophanim, even as it seeks to become one of them. [1.5 UP or 1 EP, 0.5 UP]
The invasion commences.
A small alien armada emerges from hidden exits or descends from the skies upon an unsuspecting planet, seeking to terrify it's population, capture it's men,women and children, and engage in highly destructive amateur archeology.
Rumors and Opportunities from EarthWe've detected an strange signal originating from an area that the humans call "Algonquin Radio Observatory", located in the Northern region known as Canada. Origins, purpose and nature of the signal are completely unknown, but it is pointed in the general area of our command relay satellites. It could be a coincidence.
Vehicles
Small scout : One of the tiniest vessels at your disposal, the Small scout is both cheap and reliable. Powered by a single Elerium core, the vessel makes decent speed, while carrying up to 2 units to their destination. It's equipped with a plasma turret for self defense . Cost : 1 VP
Equipment
Plasma Pistols : A basic simple sidearm that has been used in many pacification operations. The plasma pistol is a dependable bit of equipment that is light but not particularly powerful.
Plasma PDW : An enlarged version of the plasma pistol, capable of firing small bursts of plasma bolts. (0.5 EP)
Elerium Grenade : The elerium grenade is powerful handheld explosive. Cost : 1 EP
Meld Container : A container filled with the precious Meld, a substance that consists out of billions of cybernetic nanomachines that automatically capture, catalogue and analyse any foreign DNA they find. Greatly increases the effectiveness of recovery operations. If capture threathens, the container will perform an auto-sterilization cycle. Cost : 1 EP
Aliens
Sectoid : A weak species with a limited capability for the gift. Nonetheless, their simple biology allows to easily clone these creatures and deploy them in great numbers.
Cost 1 UP
Orphanim : A tiny pancake shaped alien with way too many eyes. Floats using the gift, and can stun enemies. Unit cost : 0.5
---Orphanim Choir : In groups, Orphanim can sing, creating a stronger Gift based effect that can stun, disorient or panic enemies.
Chariot : A single tracked armored vehicle equipped with twin Plasma PDW with a 360 degree firing radius. Controlled by a charioteer, a suicidal mutated Ophanim that horifies all nearby Ophanim, even as it seeks to become one of them. [1.5 UP or 1 EP, 0.5 UP]
Misc
Mercurial Shipyards +1 VP next turn, +3 VP thereafter
Mission Profiles
Abduction : A basic mission that focuses on acquiring genetic material by abducting humans
Raid : A basic mission that focuses on spreading fear by engaging in rampant destruction
Infiltration : A basic mission that tries to subtly contact sympathetic elements on Earth
Acquisition of Ancient DNA Samples : A simple smash and grab mission directed at stockpiles of ancient and interesting human DNA.
Alien Resources
3+1 VP
6 UP
3 EP
1 Adaptive Gene
1 Superior Gene
Bases
Nigeria (Africa)
India (Asia)
Africa
---> Egypt
---> South Africa
---> Nigeria
Asia
--->Australia
--->China
--->India
--->Japan
Europe
--->France
--->Germany
--->Russia
--->United Kingdom
North America
--->Canada
--->Mexico
--->United States
South America
--->Argentina
--->Brazil
Please write and vote for a cohesive invasion plan. Each mission (multiple of which can be launched per turn), should contain the following information
1) Which UFO types are deployed>
2) Which units are deployed?
3) Which equipment is deployed?
4) Which nation does the mission take place in? [Poke me if it's a nation near a base, and where you want the bonus]
5) What is the mission
TURNTURNTURN
Author
Topic: XCOM Arms Race II : Ethereals (Read 19501 times)