How about something relating to EXALT?
They were my favroite part of the first game.

We have a couple already, but feel free to submit a more ideas.

"After the aliens destroyed EXALT's headquarters, its operatives scattered around the globe and went to ground (<NAME> among them). Lacking the coordination and leadership that allowed them to act as an army, they were reduced to lone insurgents. <NAME> has had enough of that, and is willing to work for XCOM to strike back in a more efficient manner.
Central recommends monitoring him closely, as he might still harbor loyalties to EXALT."

<NAME> likes to shoot big guns. <NAME> enjoys the touch of green blood on <HIS/HER> fingers. <NAME> got <HIS/HER> first taste of the blood when <HE/SHE> shanked an Archon from behind after jumping off a two-story office building. <HE/SHE> rode the alien down to safety and the cheers of <NAME>'s neighbors. ADVENT leveled <HIS/HER> town, of course, but by then the local resistance had evacuated all those willing to join.

Here's a couple of bios for soliders!

1) [NAME] was one of the few survivors to the fated Newfoundland Site Recon Mission back in 2015. [HE/SHE] was on mental health leave when XCOM's HQ was attacked by the aliens, and since then [HIS/HER] difficults adjusting to the 'ADVENT way of life' made [HIM/HER] seek out the Resistance and avenge [HIS/HER] fallen comrades.

2) [NAME] should have been refined into DNA material at an ADVENT facility in [COUNTRY], however [HE/SHE] lucked out when the Resistance attacked the train [HE/SHE] was on. [NAME] wants to repay the kindness by fighting for XCOM.

EXALT
(I wrote these mostly as references to gene mods. No EXALT name drops so as to not confuse people who haven't played EW)


Iron Skin:
[name] used to belong to a pre-invasion secret society that performed reckless genetic modifications with recovered alien tech. [His/her] skin is unnaturally thick and unyielding, a symptom of vigorous, but discontinued gene therapy. Dr. Tygan assures us that contrary to [his/her] claims, [he/she] is not bulletproof.


Regen Pheromones:
As a former member of a pre-invasion secret society dabbling in alien tech and genetic modifications, [name] claims to be able to regrow any limb. [He/she] has even offered to personally demonstrate it. Though Dr. Tygan was initially intrigued, he quickly declined this offer.


Adrenaline Surge:
Dr. Tygan has confirmed that [name] can secrete small amounts of epinephrine at will - a side effect of pre-invasion genetic experiments conducted by secret societies with recovered alien tech. The leading theory is reverse-engineered Berserker DNA, though Tygan has assured us [he/she] is a normal human, save for bouts of severe insomnia.

Submissions received with thanks!

@CS_Frankenbite Love the idea of bringing in Gene Mods and EXALT without it being too reliant for players to be familiar with Enemy Within.

This bio references some stuff found in the archives file on the Chosen Warlock.

[name] is the survivor of an attack on a resistance haven that occured a long time ago. One of [his/her] memories of the event was an ADVENT soldier carrying a young boy into an ADVENT transport. [name] was new to the haven at the time, so [he/she] does not know if this boy had any significance to ADVENT.

Trying my hand at non-heroes for once. Not sure if I should go for something believable or go for refuge in audacity so I'll start with some boring stuff.

1) NAME hasn't exactly had a good few weeks. S/he was nearly shot by a passing resistance operations team for dressing up in a homemade costume of the Speaker, then arrested by ADVENT for impersonating the Speaker, and when s/he was finally sprung from jail, still in his/her costume, everyone looked at him/her with expressions that one gives to a very dumb child. And, to top it all off, s/he was nearly kidnapped by a crazy Skirmisher who attempted to drag him/her to a - get this - LOVE DUNGEON. S/he hopes that running off to join XCOM will at least give him/her a break from all the insanity.

2) The resistance sees NAME as a hero, a former officer of the COUNTRY military that fought off the aliens and now helps train fighter and coordinate operations. His/her glamorous exterior hides a dark secret, though - s/he was one of the first Dark Collaborators, who abandoned ADVENT once s/he realized the full scale of his/her betrayal. S/he is well aware that for his/her crimes, s/he may never be forgiven - but all the same, s/he feels that s/he owes it to those s/he betrayed to try.

3) It's not well-known, but the resistance sometimes fights non-ADVENT humans who are opposed to the resistance for whatever reasons. NAME is one of the top troubleshooters. As far as s/he is concerned, everything is black and white - you are either with the resistance or you are against it, and if you are against it, you deserve to die, no questions asked. His/her brutal tactics have suppressed most of the non-ADVENT, anti-resistance groups in COUNTRY, but since s/he has joined XCOM, they are beginning to come out of the woodwork once more, a fact that visibily worries him/her.

These were good.

@A.Dornan I built upon your story foundation:

"When [name] was little, she remembers a series of attacks on the remote community that she grew up in. With each attack, she would run and hide with her childhood friend, Elijah, until the gunfire faded away and they could both stop shaking. Her clearest memory though is the terrible day an ADVENT soldier burst into their hiding place and seized Elijah. The image of the young boy being carried away to an ADVENT transport still haunts [name]'s dreams to this day.

After Elijah was taken, the attacks stopped. She still does not know what significance Elijah has to ADVENT, but she has been seeking the answer all her adult life."


@RacingM3GTR I snipped the Love Dungeon reference to be an easter egg:

"And, to top it all off, he was nearly kidnapped by a lone Skirmisher who attempted to drag him away to who knows where."

The story is called 'Avoided the Love Dungeon' in the game files.

Pls halp, I dunno what I'm writing

1) Once upon a time, NAME adored the Speaker, and would've given anything to be his boy/girlfriend. Then ADVENT started shooting into the crowd during a recent Speaker speech, killing dozens of his/her fellow Speaker fans. Hurt and betrayed, NAME abandoned his/her love for the Speaker and ran away to the resistance. NOTE FROM CENTRAL: This sounds really familiar...

2) ADVENT arrested NAME during a routine house check for apparently plotting to assassinate the Speaker. S/he had a bulletin board that contained a detailed list of all of the Speaker's events in COUNTRY, as well as what times he was supposed to appear and give his speeches. When the resistance broke him/her out of prison, it turned out that the 'planning board' had just been a ramshackle shrine. Despite being considered persona non grata by ADVENT, NAME has not given up on his/her obsession, and there are a surprising number of Speaker fans in the resistance.

3) The resistance broke NAME out of an ADVENT prison in COUNTRY under the belief that s/he was a high-profile, ADVENT-hating assassin. Yes, it's true that NAME did attempt an assassination with a resistance-issue sniper rifle, but it wasn't for the usual reason. S/he was a love-struck and incredibly unstable Speaker groupie who despised the fact that someone who wasn't him/her was speaking with the Speaker and was standing on the same stage as him. While s/he did successfully kill the guest speaker, ADVENT arrested NAME not long after, and here we are.

4) NAME is apparently the treasurer of what can be described as a Speaker Cult that is now defunct. The Speaker Cult apparently turned against ADVENT and went rogue when a particularly bullheaded ADVENT hybrid knocked over a mini-figure of the Speaker during a firefight with the resistance. Most of the cultists are now dead, but NAME still lives on, preaching the wonders of the Speaker to anyone who'll listen - which, quite frankly, isn't a lot of people.

5) A resistance team stumbled across a heavily armed and armored NAME performing a disturbing ritual - crying out for the love of the Speaker and sacrificing a Muton. Apparently s/he was part of a Speaker fan club in COUNTRY that has since completely lost their marbles and has taken to competing with the local Reapers for aliens to hunt. NOTE FROM CENTRAL: What is it with all these weird Speaker fan groups as of late?

6) According to the resistance cell that we talked to about NAME, s/he has been completely obsessed with the idea that there is not just more than one Speaker, but that there is a cloning facility that specifically grows Speakers - after all, as s/he reasons, people have to have taken their best shots at killing him over the years, and some of those attempts have to have succeeded. NAME being... what s/he is, s/he treats this as a positive revelation, and has been trying to get a team of equally-obsessed Speaker fans together to raid this hypothetical facility. For him/her, a world flooded with Speakers is like a dream come true.

I like the idea of Central being the one drafting up these profiles while getting a recruitment roster up for the Commander. Also, as much as I love the Speaker Love Dungeon, how about some love for VAN DOORN?!


1) (Exerpt from Commander's Quarters, via Central's Comm): "Commander. Commander, are you sure we're this desperate? Commander [NAME] has killed people. No, not like that, Commander. I think [NAME] is a serial killer. Yes, Commander... I know we need people who know their way around a gun. I'll get Shen to tag this one for extra suveillance."

2) [NAME] was one of the guards escorting General Van Doorn on that faithful day twenty years ago, when the aliens ambushed their UN convoy. Witnessing the raw power and combat bravado that is Van Doorn, [NAME] was inspired to take a greater action against the alien incursion and joined XCOM. [HE/SHE] has been a loyal veteran since then; praising the Commander, XCOM and Van Doorn with each victorious mission.

3) [NAME] has been back in the recruitment roster several times since being kicked out of XCOM forces for reckless endangerment. Each time, [NAME]'s disguise to try and trick the recruiter gets more and more elaborate and ridiculous. It's like something out of an Old World cartoon...

4) [NAME] is a close relative of our contacts on the Black Market in [COUNTRY], however don't get your hopes up that we'll get any special discounts for having [HIM/HER] among our troops. In fact, you'll want to keep [NAME] away from any out trips to the Black Market, as there is still some bad blood between [HIM/HER] and our suppliers. Apparently [NAME]'s antics were the reason the Black Market had to go dark before we rescued you, Commander.

Originally posted by Manda_of_the_6:

1) (Exerpt from Commander's Quarters, via Central's Comm): "Commander. Commander, are you sure we're this desperate? Commander [NAME] has killed people. No, not like that, Commander. I think [NAME] is a serial killer. Yes, Commander... I know we need people who know their way around a gun. I'll get Shen to tag this one for extra suveillance."

This one is really cracking me up for some reason. Gotta love all the raging psychos we're putting together :P

I do not have time to update any more today, but PRAISE DOORN for the Private Friendly backstory.

And yes, Van Doorn is Earth's Greatest Hero and always features in my campaigns:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=975296810

I will go over these submissions tomorrow.

Originally posted by Cato Heresy:

"When [name] was little, she remembers a series of attacks on the remote community that she grew up in. With each attack, she would run and hide with her childhood friend, Elijah, until the gunfire faded away and they could both stop shaking. Her clearest memory though is the terrible day an ADVENT soldier burst into their hiding place and seized Elijah. The image of the young boy being carried away to an ADVENT transport still haunts [name]'s dreams to this day.

After Elijah was taken, the attacks stopped. She still does not know what significance Elijah has to ADVENT, but she has been seeking the answer all her adult life."

Pretty gud