The Inside Scoop on Gaming

They are among us...and they are not our friends. Forget everything you think you know about aliens. You have become one of those beyond the system, fighting to protect earth from all infestations of extraterrestrial life. There are those humans who would sell out the human race just for the power they can gain. They are the Black Book, your enemy. Your task is to repel the invaders from our soil and to keep the populace from knowing about the danger for they cannot handle the knowledge.

Conspiracy X, or as some have called it--"X-files: the Role-Playing Game" is one of the products riding on the trend of anti-government, alien coverup paranoia popular among so many today. In it you play a member of Aegis, a super-secret agency intent on protecting humanity from aliens that would exploit us if given half a chance. Unlike most other game systems, you actually play a normal person without superhuman abilities. Knowledge and a position of influence are your only weapons.

Conspiracy X, the debut RPG release from Eden Studios, is definitely an interesting book. Printed in black-and-white and with a distinctly noir-esqe feel, Conspiracy X would make a great sourcebook for someone running a government conspiracy, "Man in Black" type of a game. The only thing keeping it from being a first-rate RPG of its own is the game mechanics. The system is, at once, both overly simplistic and needlessly complex.

The task-resolution is based on the difference between your skill or attribute rating (from 1 to 5) and the difficulty rating of the task (also from 1 to 5). In only two cases, when the task is one point higher than your skill or when the two ratings are equal, do you even have to roll. In all other cases, it is either an automatic success or failure. A little too simplistic for my tastes.

The damage system on the other hand is made too difficult by the distinction of six different types of damage (ranging from Twack to Splatter) and a damage resolution section that requires traversing these levels to determine the actual damage sustained by a character. A simple hit-point based system (with a Stun and Physical gauge) would have been much better.

One of the best aspects of the game is the cell-creation system. Each of the member of the group is a professional in some area of government or the private sector and brings to their cell a measure of their resources and this determines what their group is equipped with (everything from chem-suits to an SR-71).

The book is very nicely put-together. The art is good and fits very well with the over-all feel of the game. The text is well written and is an interesting read. Conspiracy X is a great sourcebook for someone wanting to run a "behind the scenes" alien game, but you might want to convert the mechanics over to another game system.

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

Conspiracy X
Author: Ernst - Madewell - Pallace Category: game Company/Publisher: Eden Studios, Inc. Cost: 28.00 USD Page count: 232 ISBN: 1-891153-23-4 Playtest Review by David Davenport on 03/12/98. Genre tags: none	They are among us...and they are not our friends. Forget everything you think you know about aliens. You have become one of those beyond the system, fighting to protect earth from all infestations of extraterrestrial life. There are those humans who would sell out the human race just for the power they can gain. They are the Black Book, your enemy. Your task is to repel the invaders from our soil and to keep the populace from knowing about the danger for they cannot handle the knowledge. Conspiracy X, or as some have called it--"X-files: the Role-Playing Game" is one of the products riding on the trend of anti-government, alien coverup paranoia popular among so many today. In it you play a member of Aegis, a super-secret agency intent on protecting humanity from aliens that would exploit us if given half a chance. Unlike most other game systems, you actually play a normal person without superhuman abilities. Knowledge and a position of influence are your only weapons. Conspiracy X, the debut RPG release from Eden Studios, is definitely an interesting book. Printed in black-and-white and with a distinctly noir-esqe feel, Conspiracy X would make a great sourcebook for someone running a government conspiracy, "Man in Black" type of a game. The only thing keeping it from being a first-rate RPG of its own is the game mechanics. The system is, at once, both overly simplistic and needlessly complex. The task-resolution is based on the difference between your skill or attribute rating (from 1 to 5) and the difficulty rating of the task (also from 1 to 5). In only two cases, when the task is one point higher than your skill or when the two ratings are equal, do you even have to roll. In all other cases, it is either an automatic success or failure. A little too simplistic for my tastes. The damage system on the other hand is made too difficult by the distinction of six different types of damage (ranging from Twack to Splatter) and a damage resolution section that requires traversing these levels to determine the actual damage sustained by a character. A simple hit-point based system (with a Stun and Physical gauge) would have been much better. One of the best aspects of the game is the cell-creation system. Each of the member of the group is a professional in some area of government or the private sector and brings to their cell a measure of their resources and this determines what their group is equipped with (everything from chem-suits to an SR-71). The book is very nicely put-together. The art is good and fits very well with the over-all feel of the game. The text is well written and is an interesting read. Conspiracy X is a great sourcebook for someone wanting to run a "behind the scenes" alien game, but you might want to convert the mechanics over to another game system. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)