The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Conspiracy X is a game of dark lies and darker truths. The true history of our nation, even our world, since the 1930's, is suspect; only a handful of privileged (or cursed) men know of it, fewer know much of it, and perhaps no one knows it all. The premise is simple: since the 1930's, at least one secret society has existed, keeping their activities hidden from the rest of the world, and killing to protect them. The scope of the game extends past aliens and government conspiracies to psychics (and government conspiracies) and magic (which is very poorly defined). The strong point of this game is its setting; the weak point is the system and the core rulebook. I'll probably buy the expansion books, but only if they focus more on the setting than on the game mechanics. The system sucks, and you'd be better off using another system, preferably Shadowrun, with this as setting material. (Yes, the system is that bad.) The book is divided into eight chapters, each of which I will, briefly or not, address.

Chapter 1 is titled "Indoctrination" and is perhaps the coolest chapter so far as enjoyment goes. The chapter focuses on the history of the twentieth century according to Conspiracy X. Major events include WWII, Area 51/Roswell, the Kennedy assassination (committed by the "good" conspiracy), and the Challenger explosion. The chapter is so good that I really can't write much for fear that I'll just summarize it. (It's that good.)

Chapter 2 is "Personnel", and guides players through the character creation process. This is a mistake, as there is no explanation of what the numbers mean or why things are the way they are. Here the system first rears its ugly head, and it's hideous indeed. The listing of traits is impressive, however, and the advancement system for skills, tied though it may be to the core system, is actually interesting and is reminiscent of skill checks from CoC. (And for once, skills are just as expensive at character creation as if gained in-game.)

Chapter 3 is "Ops Center", and a damn good chapter, too. Since Aegis (the PC conspiracy) agents work in cells, there is very little private property-equipment belongs to the cell, not the individual agent. This is an excellent idea and one of the best in the book.

Chapter 4, "Tradecraft", is by far the worst chapter, as the designers try to be original and fail. The system is fleshed out, and it sucks. All Attributes, Skills, and tasks (Difficulty Levels) are rated from 1-5. If the skill/att is higher than the Difficulty (Df), then the action is automatically successful. If they are equal, then you must roll a 7 or lower on 2d6 to succeed. If the Df is one higher than the skill/att, then you need a 4 or lower. If the Df is two or greater above the skill/att, the action is an automatic failure without a luck roll. Luck is usually 2/12, good luck being a 2 and bad luck being a 12, but that can be modified. The only thing I really like about the chapter is the unarmed combat system, consisting of the skills "Brawling", "Martial Arts", and "Gun Fu". The system is based on moves and combos and the designers of several other games would be advised to have a look at this. Sadly, however the combat rules, which also covers death and dying, is pathetic. I really wish there were some guidelines for telling exactly when someone's dead. The system isn't really very clear.

Chapter 5 is "Psychics". I love how Conspiracy-X handles psychic ability checks. You guess a Zener deck card and then draw a certain number of cards. If your card is in there, you succeed. They could have done the whole game like this, and it would be much more playable. The abilities range from Telepathy to Pyrokinesis. This is a very-well done chapter and deserves much praise. I would have liked to see a few more abilities, but the selection given is suitably diverse for a corebook.

Chapter 6 is "Magic". This chapter gets an A for presentation and general game world information, and an F for actual game mechanics information. It's in the form of a book, annotated by an Aegis member. Good reading, but don't expect to be able to use magic in your game just with this chapter.

Chapter 7, "Extraterrestrials", is a good one. The information is in the format of a download from the Aegis computer system, and describes the major C-X aliens: Saurians, Atlanteans, and Grays. The most recognizable are the Grays: the short, hairless guys with big eyes that every UFOlogist is familiar with. The chapter is useful for PC's, as it can be reasonably assumed that all of them have scanned it, so the game doesn't turn into Call of Cthulhu (i.e. 9 parts research to 1 part action).

Chapter 8 is "Gamemastering" This contains all the background information the GM needs, and then some. There is still ridiculously little on magic, however, aside from some notes on the Incarnate, insane magicians. The info on the Black Book, the "bad" conspiracy, is well-done.

At the end is a short scenario, which is done better than most of the book, followed by a terrible index and some Zener cards. (With a Xerox machine and some of those white stick-on nametags, you're ready to go!)

In conclusion, Conspiracy-X is a great world crippled by a terrible system. If you must, try hybridding with Shadowrun or some other system. If you plan on GM'ing, buy the Aegis Handbook; its information is invaluable.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Conspiracy X
Category: game Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Line: Conspiracy X Cost: about $30 Capsule Review by Andrew Ketrow on 09/12/00. Genre tags: Science fiction Modern day Espionage Conspiracy	Conspiracy X is a game of dark lies and darker truths. The true history of our nation, even our world, since the 1930's, is suspect; only a handful of privileged (or cursed) men know of it, fewer know much of it, and perhaps no one knows it all. The premise is simple: since the 1930's, at least one secret society has existed, keeping their activities hidden from the rest of the world, and killing to protect them. The scope of the game extends past aliens and government conspiracies to psychics (and government conspiracies) and magic (which is very poorly defined). The strong point of this game is its setting; the weak point is the system and the core rulebook. I'll probably buy the expansion books, but only if they focus more on the setting than on the game mechanics. The system sucks, and you'd be better off using another system, preferably Shadowrun, with this as setting material. (Yes, the system is that bad.) The book is divided into eight chapters, each of which I will, briefly or not, address. Chapter 1 is titled "Indoctrination" and is perhaps the coolest chapter so far as enjoyment goes. The chapter focuses on the history of the twentieth century according to Conspiracy X. Major events include WWII, Area 51/Roswell, the Kennedy assassination (committed by the "good" conspiracy), and the Challenger explosion. The chapter is so good that I really can't write much for fear that I'll just summarize it. (It's that good.) Chapter 2 is "Personnel", and guides players through the character creation process. This is a mistake, as there is no explanation of what the numbers mean or why things are the way they are. Here the system first rears its ugly head, and it's hideous indeed. The listing of traits is impressive, however, and the advancement system for skills, tied though it may be to the core system, is actually interesting and is reminiscent of skill checks from CoC. (And for once, skills are just as expensive at character creation as if gained in-game.) Chapter 3 is "Ops Center", and a damn good chapter, too. Since Aegis (the PC conspiracy) agents work in cells, there is very little private property-equipment belongs to the cell, not the individual agent. This is an excellent idea and one of the best in the book. Chapter 4, "Tradecraft", is by far the worst chapter, as the designers try to be original and fail. The system is fleshed out, and it sucks. All Attributes, Skills, and tasks (Difficulty Levels) are rated from 1-5. If the skill/att is higher than the Difficulty (Df), then the action is automatically successful. If they are equal, then you must roll a 7 or lower on 2d6 to succeed. If the Df is one higher than the skill/att, then you need a 4 or lower. If the Df is two or greater above the skill/att, the action is an automatic failure without a luck roll. Luck is usually 2/12, good luck being a 2 and bad luck being a 12, but that can be modified. The only thing I really like about the chapter is the unarmed combat system, consisting of the skills "Brawling", "Martial Arts", and "Gun Fu". The system is based on moves and combos and the designers of several other games would be advised to have a look at this. Sadly, however the combat rules, which also covers death and dying, is pathetic. I really wish there were some guidelines for telling exactly when someone's dead. The system isn't really very clear. Chapter 5 is "Psychics". I love how Conspiracy-X handles psychic ability checks. You guess a Zener deck card and then draw a certain number of cards. If your card is in there, you succeed. They could have done the whole game like this, and it would be much more playable. The abilities range from Telepathy to Pyrokinesis. This is a very-well done chapter and deserves much praise. I would have liked to see a few more abilities, but the selection given is suitably diverse for a corebook. Chapter 6 is "Magic". This chapter gets an A for presentation and general game world information, and an F for actual game mechanics information. It's in the form of a book, annotated by an Aegis member. Good reading, but don't expect to be able to use magic in your game just with this chapter. Chapter 7, "Extraterrestrials", is a good one. The information is in the format of a download from the Aegis computer system, and describes the major C-X aliens: Saurians, Atlanteans, and Grays. The most recognizable are the Grays: the short, hairless guys with big eyes that every UFOlogist is familiar with. The chapter is useful for PC's, as it can be reasonably assumed that all of them have scanned it, so the game doesn't turn into Call of Cthulhu (i.e. 9 parts research to 1 part action). Chapter 8 is "Gamemastering" This contains all the background information the GM needs, and then some. There is still ridiculously little on magic, however, aside from some notes on the Incarnate, insane magicians. The info on the Black Book, the "bad" conspiracy, is well-done. At the end is a short scenario, which is done better than most of the book, followed by a terrible index and some Zener cards. (With a Xerox machine and some of those white stick-on nametags, you're ready to go!) In conclusion, Conspiracy-X is a great world crippled by a terrible system. If you must, try hybridding with Shadowrun or some other system. If you plan on GM'ing, buy the Aegis Handbook; its information is invaluable. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)