The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I used to love the old Dark Conspiracy game. In a near-future where all that was good in the world seems to be slowly dying, and all of our darkest predictions about the ecology and the economy are unfolding, small groups of people have made a startling discovery. Mankind is no longer alone. Creatures from our myths and nightmares are hunting us from the shadows, and much of what our legends tell of them is distorted or mistaken, if not deliberate misinformation. Our best lead on these creatures is the supermarket tabloids, who will report what the reputable papers scoff at, or sometimes actively suppress. The trick is to winnow out fact from fiction, and face an opponent who has only a passing resemblance to the stories they may have inspired. All this must be done without drawing the attention of the corporations or the government, who are more than likely to side with the things you hunt…

The second edition collects the rules from the first edition and five supplements - some of which are almost impossible to find now, and collates them into two volumes - one for the players, which contains the bulk of the rules system, character generation and equipment, and what a starting character would know about the world Dark Conspiracy is set in. the second book tells the referee what is really going on, and gives stats and rules for what the players don't know about. This preserves one of the games biggest strengths - that the players are never sure what they're up against. Even if they've come across a "vampire" before - there's no guarantee that this is even remotely similar apart from its need (or perhaps desire) to feed off the living.

The rules have all been updated to the d20 system introduced in the Empathic Sourcebook, and also used in Twilight 2000. Because all the material is updated, there's more scratching around trying to convert difficulties. Also, with all the rules in two books, even if the ref does go for the referees guide - there's no immediate giveaway of what's going on, as opposed to when the Ref picked up Dark Races in the middle of a conversation with an NPC, and every player suddenly got nervous. (There are tricks to get around that, of course, but its so much easier not to have to worry about it.)

Overall, the second edition is well worth a look, but there are a few pitfalls. DPI has sent an edited version of its rules to the distributors, reserving the full rules (over twice as many pages - none of it filler) for direct sale over the internet. Those who buy the edited rules (The Basic Edition) may get less than they expected.

For those who have done this, DPI have an upgrade program where sending in the back covers of your Basic Edition books lets you buy the Masters Editions for $10.oo each, plus postage. This is what I did, and I have no complaints apart from the fact that postage from America to Australia takes too long, even via air mail. ;)

The ratings given are for the Masters Edition.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Dark Conspiracy Second Edition
Author: Lester W. Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Dynasty presentations, Inc. Line: Dark Conspiracy Second Edition Page count: n/a Capsule Review by David Lucardie on 08/02/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Horror Conspiracy	I used to love the old Dark Conspiracy game. In a near-future where all that was good in the world seems to be slowly dying, and all of our darkest predictions about the ecology and the economy are unfolding, small groups of people have made a startling discovery. Mankind is no longer alone. Creatures from our myths and nightmares are hunting us from the shadows, and much of what our legends tell of them is distorted or mistaken, if not deliberate misinformation. Our best lead on these creatures is the supermarket tabloids, who will report what the reputable papers scoff at, or sometimes actively suppress. The trick is to winnow out fact from fiction, and face an opponent who has only a passing resemblance to the stories they may have inspired. All this must be done without drawing the attention of the corporations or the government, who are more than likely to side with the things you hunt… The second edition collects the rules from the first edition and five supplements - some of which are almost impossible to find now, and collates them into two volumes - one for the players, which contains the bulk of the rules system, character generation and equipment, and what a starting character would know about the world Dark Conspiracy is set in. the second book tells the referee what is really going on, and gives stats and rules for what the players don't know about. This preserves one of the games biggest strengths - that the players are never sure what they're up against. Even if they've come across a "vampire" before - there's no guarantee that this is even remotely similar apart from its need (or perhaps desire) to feed off the living. The rules have all been updated to the d20 system introduced in the Empathic Sourcebook, and also used in Twilight 2000. Because all the material is updated, there's more scratching around trying to convert difficulties. Also, with all the rules in two books, even if the ref does go for the referees guide - there's no immediate giveaway of what's going on, as opposed to when the Ref picked up Dark Races in the middle of a conversation with an NPC, and every player suddenly got nervous. (There are tricks to get around that, of course, but its so much easier not to have to worry about it.) Overall, the second edition is well worth a look, but there are a few pitfalls. DPI has sent an edited version of its rules to the distributors, reserving the full rules (over twice as many pages - none of it filler) for direct sale over the internet. Those who buy the edited rules (The Basic Edition) may get less than they expected. For those who have done this, DPI have an upgrade program where sending in the back covers of your Basic Edition books lets you buy the Masters Editions for $10.oo each, plus postage. This is what I did, and I have no complaints apart from the fact that postage from America to Australia takes too long, even via air mail. ;) The ratings given are for the Masters Edition. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Dark Conspiracy Second Edition