The Inside Scoop on Gaming

First off let me convey the impressions given by the book itself ratherr than content. This damn thing is dense. The typeface is small and there is little white space. The margins are filled with a little design that doesn't take up much more space than actual margins should and the paper is off-white in a way that evokes pulp novel stock while remaining sturdy.

Things start of with a little chapter on the feel and a little bit of setting. It's really sparse but since it's filling the role of an introduction it's not much of a problem.

Next comes the REAL setting info. If you remember 1st edition, this is essentially the stuff players weren't supposed to read. The different tech levels are explained. RetroTek (sic) is the most interesting and will be encountered most. Essentially the folks who aren't rich get black and white Philcos instead of Philips flat screen TVs and the PCs get to drive Studebakers. I'm all for this since Studebakers are cool. Richer folk get HiTek (sic) which is basicly what we have now only neater. Demonground and Proles are also given enough description to work into the game without feeling forced.

Next comes half the monsters. That's right half. The chapter on the Dark Ones and their monsters is completely separate from the chapter on more mundane "beasties," separted, in fact, by three chapters. The DarkTek (sic) chapter provides some nifty ideas but at times seems a little gratuitous particularly in the area of weapons. How many freaking Death Rays do we need. It's creepy enough but rules for referees to create these sort of monstrosities would be more than enough.

The rest of the book makes up for that by providing lots of plot hooks and advice for making whatever you need and keeping it consistent with the setting. The method for making NPCs using a deck of cards worked well and the examples of various types of occult secret societies was much better than a comprehensive laundry list.

The sample adventure hooks in the back are taken from the likes of Weekly World News sometimes conflicting with the game's otherwise grim tone, but a bunch of HIGH-larious fun for this old timer who loved Pandemonaeon (sorry I have trouble spelling that name sometimes).

This game isn't really in the same league as Cthulhu and never was, but with this book you can easily put Dark Conspiracy into the same league as any John Carpenter film from Them to Big Trouble in Little China. All in all a top notch effort that gets the execution it deserves.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dark Conspiracy Referee's Guide
Author: Lester Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Dynasty Presentations Inc. Line: Dark Conspiracy Cost: $18.00 Page count: 180 ISBN: 1-892886-03-0 SKU: DPI 1011 Capsule Review by Bailey Watts on 01/27/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Horror Conspiracy	First off let me convey the impressions given by the book itself ratherr than content. This damn thing is dense. The typeface is small and there is little white space. The margins are filled with a little design that doesn't take up much more space than actual margins should and the paper is off-white in a way that evokes pulp novel stock while remaining sturdy. Things start of with a little chapter on the feel and a little bit of setting. It's really sparse but since it's filling the role of an introduction it's not much of a problem. Next comes the REAL setting info. If you remember 1st edition, this is essentially the stuff players weren't supposed to read. The different tech levels are explained. RetroTek (sic) is the most interesting and will be encountered most. Essentially the folks who aren't rich get black and white Philcos instead of Philips flat screen TVs and the PCs get to drive Studebakers. I'm all for this since Studebakers are cool. Richer folk get HiTek (sic) which is basicly what we have now only neater. Demonground and Proles are also given enough description to work into the game without feeling forced. Next comes half the monsters. That's right half. The chapter on the Dark Ones and their monsters is completely separate from the chapter on more mundane "beasties," separted, in fact, by three chapters. The DarkTek (sic) chapter provides some nifty ideas but at times seems a little gratuitous particularly in the area of weapons. How many freaking Death Rays do we need. It's creepy enough but rules for referees to create these sort of monstrosities would be more than enough. The rest of the book makes up for that by providing lots of plot hooks and advice for making whatever you need and keeping it consistent with the setting. The method for making NPCs using a deck of cards worked well and the examples of various types of occult secret societies was much better than a comprehensive laundry list. The sample adventure hooks in the back are taken from the likes of Weekly World News sometimes conflicting with the game's otherwise grim tone, but a bunch of HIGH-larious fun for this old timer who loved Pandemonaeon (sorry I have trouble spelling that name sometimes). This game isn't really in the same league as Cthulhu and never was, but with this book you can easily put Dark Conspiracy into the same league as any John Carpenter film from Them to Big Trouble in Little China. All in all a top notch effort that gets the execution it deserves. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dark Conspiracy Referee's Guide