Goto [ Index ]

GURPS Conspiracy X

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

I was, and remain, a fan of Conspiracy X. I started with the New Millennium Entertainment edition. Now, I am also a fan of the GURPS system. So, I had my hopes for this conversion. I knew it might not be smooth, having seen enough settings converted to other systems with less than stellar results. I was terribly impressed and amazed. Enough so that I plan to run the game using the GURPS sourcebooks instead of the other versions.

For this review, though, I don't plan on comparing GURPS Conspiracy-X to its predecessors. Rather, I'm going to cover it on its' own merits. There may still be the occasional comment about how it was done before.

Then We'll Begin.

Conspiracy X Characters are built with 175 points. This may seem a little high to many GURPS players, but the characters in Conspiracy-X are exceptional. Besides, 75 of those character points must be spent on contacts and other social features, to represent the characters reach of influence.

GURPS Conspiracy-X is a role-playing game set in a world where aliens walk among us, hidden from the public. They must want something, but, mostly, we don't know what. At the same time, the supernatural threats of our nightmares also take form. Players take on the roles of government officials who have been brought into Aegis, an organisation that doesn't exist. Aegis has its' roots in the aftermath of the Roswell, NM alien sighting. It is dedicated to countering alien and supernatural menaces whenever they arise. And any means are acceptable in this covert war.

There are three different alien species on earth. The Greys are non-technological and psychic, they are the most familiar to Aegis operatives. The Atlanteans have a great facility with nanotechnology and they appear as golden, unaging metahumans... The Gna-Tall, or Saurians, are the lizard-like aliens familiar to us from the TV miniseries so long ago, "V". Each race is here on earth for a reason. It would be one thing if there were only one. But three? The discovery of three distinct alien races means something's going on and it's going on now.

Prologue

It starts with a fiction piece. While it is a fairly large piece--13 pages--for a RPG introduction, it gives a very good description of the world in which Conspiracy-X is set and the type of mood the game evokes. Some of the fiction is, I think, from previous Con-X books, but much of it is new. Some of the accompanying graphics are a little dark, but this is a printing issue and not a content issue.

Indoctrination

This section sets about giving you the basic background. Set up as a series of computer downloads from HERMES, the clandestine information network that is the primary method of communication between cells in the conspiracy. This section provides the basic what-all-the-characters-would-know information. What is Aegis? What is HERMES? Why the secrecy? What kinds of aliens are out there? What about the Bogeyman or psychic powers? Good, solid reading make it engaging and informative at the same time. Anyone new to the setting will have no difficulty getting up and running after reading this section.

Operatives

This section goes over the extensive options available for developing a character. In addition to the standard GURPS options, there a fair bit more available.

Sphere of Influence Patron
Central to the character development is the introduction of a Sphere-of-Influence (SOI) Patron. This patron represents special "ins" to other areas of influence. This directly affects the kind of things the character can requisition on the sly, and the kind of strings he can pull, when necessary. The SOI Patron is built in a similar way to building a Patron in the standard GURPS setting, but with special attention to frequency of appearance and reliability.

Pulling Strings
In addition, each character can take a certain amount of "Pulling Strings" advantages. Usually, this is a result of their profession or the SOI Patron, but it can come about from other means. These Strings can include things like requisitioning a base of operations, vehicles, and equipment. Ever wonder why it costs $50.00 for the US Military to buy a hammer? It's because so much more is purchased and re-routed to clandestine operations. Like Aegis. There is an 18-page list of sample strings that can be pulled--from money to mind control drugs, or from translators to alien technology...

New Skills, Advantages and Disadvantages
A handful of new skills are introduced. Some are already covered in GURPS Compendium I, but the ones that appear here have additional info that either supplements or supersedes the GURPS basic information. A number of new advantages unique to the Conspiracy-X setting are introduced. Most were introduced in the earlier versions of Conspiracy-X, but having them together in one spot is wonderful.

Character Templates
Collected in these 20 pages are 35 character templates based on the organisation the character is employed with and the job he does with that organisation. Templates are not mandatory, but each template covers a likely range of attributes and skills that such an individual would have. Such templates typically cost between 140 and 175 character points. While I'm typically not a fan of packages, it makes sense here. They've also made it clear that there is room to move.

Ops Center

This chapter talks about the next step in character creation--cell creation. This is done by buying and spending "Resource Points" acquired through their own efforts at funding or manipulating their SOI Patrons.

Each Resource Point gained can only be spent in the sphere of Influence in which it was acquired. So, to acquire better quality or greater amounts, it's up to the players to work together by pooling their Resource Points. There is a 30-page listing of stuff that can be purchased to outfit the cell, and this serves as an excellent jumping-off point to further outfit your cell.

Paranormal

Psychic powers in GURPS Conspiracy-X are very similar to how it's done in GURPS Psionics. However, there are further limitations on the use of psychic powers, and there is a change in how draining the use of such powers are.

Magic & Seepage
One of the things I really like about Conspiracy-X is the introduction of the idea of Seepage. Seepage is the trace amounts of psychic energy that have leaked from humans throughout the ages, combined. It has its' own semi-sentience. Manipulating this seepage allows for the production of Magic and more often than naught, seepage can corrupt people and things and make them more than they once were. There are eight pages of sample rituals that can be performed using seepage.

Secrets

This is the GM section. There is 85 pages of information here. The chapter begins with a history of the United States since World War II, concentrating on Aegis and other conspiratorial activity. A discussion of special resources, such as alien technology and psi-drugs follows. Then it ends with background information on Aegis' archenemy conspiracy, The Black Book, more information on supernatural threats and aliens.

History
There are 13 pages of history here, reflecting what the upper echelons of Aegis know. It's not complete, of course, and some of it may even be outright wrong. But that's the nature of conspiracies.

Special Resources
This section details some of the alien technology primarily from the Saurians and the Atlanteans. It also touches upon various mind-control drugs and psychotrons.

Backgrounds
There is a brief background of the Black Book, the Greys, Atlanteans, and the Saurians with an impressive 1-page-each description of aircrafts augmented by alien technology. I'm not sure I'd ever use this information myself, but it is impressive. The chapter goes on to talk about issues with the supernatural--how corruption happens and people become monsters. There is also information on enchanting items, on spirits, and various supernatural powers. It's interesting to note that the aliens show varying levels of interest or distaste for the supernatural manifestations.

There is 10 pages of background on the Greys with insight into why they continue with their abductions and experiments on humans. There are only seven pages of information on the Atlanteans and eight on the Saurians, representing the limits of our knowledge.

Appendix

The Appendix discusses the process of converting characters from the previous system to GURPS, and to balancing characters. Any reservation I had about converting characters was mollified by this well-thought-out discourse on balancing characters. Attribute-averages are discussed and comparative skills and advantages are touched upon.

In addition, ther are tables in the appendix for pulling strings, rituals, equipment, and a character creation summary.

Finally, there is a 3 page index, which seems to be accurate and useful--a nice change from so many other RPG game-books I've seen. And in a book this size--even one as well organized as this one--an index is worth the space its' printed on.

Bottom Line

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.