The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Before I begin, I should tell you that I received this package in the mail from the fine folks at Dynasty Presentations, Inc.

Dark Conspiracy is a world where big corporations have supplanted governments and most people either have no voice or sell their voting franchise for a meal and board to the corporations. In the background, an evil has awakened and threatens to overwhelm the populace. This book actually tells you what went wrong. Funny thing I noticed was that this book was based in the year 1997. Heh.

This book is actually the more useful of the two core Dark Conspiracy (DC) books as it actually explains the world around the PCs. It actually explains why people in the near future are driving vintage 50s cars and using outdated tech. It gives a brief history of the world and explanation of the Demonground (Areas where the dimensional barrier has been breached and has warped the surrounding land).

The book (a 6" x 9" format printed by Lightning Press) includes the information in the 1st ed books, "Dark Races" and "Proto-Dimensions"

I'm not sure why most of this information isn't in the Player's handbook since it gives a clearer picture of the PC's world. Sure, the information about the empathic undergroun a GM might want to keep close to their vest but the actual description of your typical city (Mike-town, Ant Hills etc) should be known to the players beforehand.

Stats are given for over 50 dark minions (creatures that serve as the hands of the Dark Ones, the individuals responsible for the state of the world) as well as stats for normal creatures in the world (wolves, dogs etc.) One question I do have is, aren't there any friends of humanity? With over 50 dark minions, I don't think a GM should use all but pick a few as frankly if all the dark minions where used, the dark ones should have rolled over the planet a long time ago.

Fortunately, neither the dark races or beasties or human NPCs use the full hit location table but a simplified split score A/B where damage is taken from A first (considered slight wounds) and damage crossed off from B means that the creature in question is seriously wounded.

There is an extensive (and I do mean extensive) discussion on dimensions. 160 pages relating to the use, and interaction of empathic skills with regard to dimensions in the world of DC. With 12 dimensions fully fleshed out with adventure seeds, a GM will have little trouble constructing their own dimensions (as soon as they read that chapter, reading through that chapter was slow going since most of the material tended to put me to sleep)

There is also a chapter on the equipment of the Dark races and the use of said equipment by human PCs. The biggest problem I had was the rules on robots. For some reason, vechicular robots can't take part in melee combat. Why?

Rounding off the book, we have 4 adventures and a discussion on how to GM a DC campaign.

While I can't actually recommend the DC PH, I do recommend this book for those interested in a near future horror campaign where the PCs actually have a chance of defeating the opposition. It is good source material to mine if you need creatures and help in running extra-dimensional campaigns.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dark Conspiracy Referee's Guide: 2nd Edition, Master's edition
Author: Lester W. smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Dynasty Presentations Line: Dark Conspiracy Cost: 30.00 Page count: 462 ISBN: 1-892886-01-4 SKU: DP1 1010 Capsule Review by Allister Huggins on 11/20/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Conspiracy	Before I begin, I should tell you that I received this package in the mail from the fine folks at Dynasty Presentations, Inc. Dark Conspiracy is a world where big corporations have supplanted governments and most people either have no voice or sell their voting franchise for a meal and board to the corporations. In the background, an evil has awakened and threatens to overwhelm the populace. This book actually tells you what went wrong. Funny thing I noticed was that this book was based in the year 1997. Heh. This book is actually the more useful of the two core Dark Conspiracy (DC) books as it actually explains the world around the PCs. It actually explains why people in the near future are driving vintage 50s cars and using outdated tech. It gives a brief history of the world and explanation of the Demonground (Areas where the dimensional barrier has been breached and has warped the surrounding land). The book (a 6" x 9" format printed by Lightning Press) includes the information in the 1st ed books, "Dark Races" and "Proto-Dimensions" I'm not sure why most of this information isn't in the Player's handbook since it gives a clearer picture of the PC's world. Sure, the information about the empathic undergroun a GM might want to keep close to their vest but the actual description of your typical city (Mike-town, Ant Hills etc) should be known to the players beforehand. Stats are given for over 50 dark minions (creatures that serve as the hands of the Dark Ones, the individuals responsible for the state of the world) as well as stats for normal creatures in the world (wolves, dogs etc.) One question I do have is, aren't there any friends of humanity? With over 50 dark minions, I don't think a GM should use all but pick a few as frankly if all the dark minions where used, the dark ones should have rolled over the planet a long time ago. Fortunately, neither the dark races or beasties or human NPCs use the full hit location table but a simplified split score A/B where damage is taken from A first (considered slight wounds) and damage crossed off from B means that the creature in question is seriously wounded. There is an extensive (and I do mean extensive) discussion on dimensions. 160 pages relating to the use, and interaction of empathic skills with regard to dimensions in the world of DC. With 12 dimensions fully fleshed out with adventure seeds, a GM will have little trouble constructing their own dimensions (as soon as they read that chapter, reading through that chapter was slow going since most of the material tended to put me to sleep) There is also a chapter on the equipment of the Dark races and the use of said equipment by human PCs. The biggest problem I had was the rules on robots. For some reason, vechicular robots can't take part in melee combat. Why? Rounding off the book, we have 4 adventures and a discussion on how to GM a DC campaign. While I can't actually recommend the DC PH, I do recommend this book for those interested in a near future horror campaign where the PCs actually have a chance of defeating the opposition. It is good source material to mine if you need creatures and help in running extra-dimensional campaigns. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dark Conspiracy Referee's Guide: 2nd Edition, Master's edition