The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Conspiracy X, by Eden, is the first great in the relatively new conspiracy genre. It deals with the subject of aliens on earth, studying humanity for their own uses. The players take on the roles of Aegis operatives, part of a super-secret organization dedicated to protecting humanity from the invaders.

If this sounds a lot like the X-Files, well, that's because it is. The setting is almost exactly that of Chris Carter's show, with everything from the alien Grays to the "bad guys" who keep everything a secret. What makes this game so fun, however, is that the PC's get to be those bad guys. They know all about the alien invaders and they know that the rest of the world can never get that knowledge.

The premise of the game is this: The players work for Aegis, performing UFO cover-ups and fighting a continuous battle against the Black Book. The Black Book is basically the bad guys; they want to sell out humanity to the aliens in exchange for technology.

Originality: Conspiracy X would have gotten a five for originality if is wasn't for the simple fact that the X-Files came first. It barrows so much from the show that is almost impossible to look at the X in Conspiracy X and not think about the X-Files (where is that X from, anyway?). The reason for the four stars is that this game goes far beyond the X-Files. First, there are three alien races: Grays, Saurians, and Atlantians. Second, they explain the history of the alien presence on earth quite well (their account of the Roswell incident is just a little too real). Overall, the game has enough new ideas to please any UFO fanatic.

System: Three stars. Simple, effective, nothing new. The whole system is based around a role of 2D6. Basically, you check your level in a stat and compare it to the GM's difficulty. You then have to roll below a certain number. If you do, you succeed. If you don't, you fail. The main problem I have with it is the automatic success/automatic failure rule. If your stat is quite a bit higher or lower than the difficulty, you will automatically succeed or fail. While it does serve to speed up the play, it removes a little from the realism. Combat, on the other hand, is great. It uses much the same system of damage as Shadowrun and Cyberpunk. The main advantage to this is that it's very easy to die. You get shot, you're out. This will discourage players from using combat to solve all problems.

Writing: Pretty good. While not as great as some things (White Wolf springs to mind) it is well written and easy to understand. It doesn't take a long time to figure it all out and entire book is laced with examples of everything. It also has sidebars that cover lots of issues with a little more depth than the main text. It's kinda fun to go back and read some of those after playing a few times.

Art: Average. Some of the pictures are cool (pictures of Grays running around dead bodies are just plain fun). Others are terrible. Don't buy this book for the art, buy it for the...

Fun: This is one of the best RPG's I've ever played. If the GM is willing to take the time to come up with complex adventures - and not stuff along the lines of "aliens are attacking the town of Williamsville, Montana; go kill them." (X-Com?) then it can be extremely fun and very addicting. Get into it and start looking for those big eyes in the dark.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

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 Capsule Review by Aaron Powell on 03/12/98. Genre tags: none	Conspiracy X, by Eden, is the first great in the relatively new conspiracy genre. It deals with the subject of aliens on earth, studying humanity for their own uses. The players take on the roles of Aegis operatives, part of a super-secret organization dedicated to protecting humanity from the invaders. If this sounds a lot like the X-Files, well, that's because it is. The setting is almost exactly that of Chris Carter's show, with everything from the alien Grays to the "bad guys" who keep everything a secret. What makes this game so fun, however, is that the PC's get to be those bad guys. They know all about the alien invaders and they know that the rest of the world can never get that knowledge. The premise of the game is this: The players work for Aegis, performing UFO cover-ups and fighting a continuous battle against the Black Book. The Black Book is basically the bad guys; they want to sell out humanity to the aliens in exchange for technology. Originality: Conspiracy X would have gotten a five for originality if is wasn't for the simple fact that the X-Files came first. It barrows so much from the show that is almost impossible to look at the X in Conspiracy X and not think about the X-Files (where is that X from, anyway?). The reason for the four stars is that this game goes far beyond the X-Files. First, there are three alien races: Grays, Saurians, and Atlantians. Second, they explain the history of the alien presence on earth quite well (their account of the Roswell incident is just a little too real). Overall, the game has enough new ideas to please any UFO fanatic. System: Three stars. Simple, effective, nothing new. The whole system is based around a role of 2D6. Basically, you check your level in a stat and compare it to the GM's difficulty. You then have to roll below a certain number. If you do, you succeed. If you don't, you fail. The main problem I have with it is the automatic success/automatic failure rule. If your stat is quite a bit higher or lower than the difficulty, you will automatically succeed or fail. While it does serve to speed up the play, it removes a little from the realism. Combat, on the other hand, is great. It uses much the same system of damage as Shadowrun and Cyberpunk. The main advantage to this is that it's very easy to die. You get shot, you're out. This will discourage players from using combat to solve all problems. Writing: Pretty good. While not as great as some things (White Wolf springs to mind) it is well written and easy to understand. It doesn't take a long time to figure it all out and entire book is laced with examples of everything. It also has sidebars that cover lots of issues with a little more depth than the main text. It's kinda fun to go back and read some of those after playing a few times. Art: Average. Some of the pictures are cool (pictures of Grays running around dead bodies are just plain fun). Others are terrible. Don't buy this book for the art, buy it for the... Fun: This is one of the best RPG's I've ever played. If the GM is willing to take the time to come up with complex adventures - and not stuff along the lines of "aliens are attacking the town of Williamsville, Montana; go kill them." (X-Com?) then it can be extremely fun and very addicting. Get into it and start looking for those big eyes in the dark. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)