In Short

The Conspiracy of Shadows Companion is truly a collection of GM tools. Focusing on GM support and making tales of horror and mystery even better, this short supplement delivers plot hooks, example monsters, example conspiracies, and general discussion that all comes together to provide a storyteller with a better idea of how to support the mood Conspiracy of Shadows strives for.

The Physical Thing

At a tiny 32 pages, this supplement offers the same pros and cons that the Conspiracy of Shadows corebook does. The same black and white artwork and engaging writing can be found here.

Some products are better as PDFs than print books, as the content/cost is a little skewed for the print versions. I think this is very much the case for the Companion unless you’re a die hard fan who must have a print copy. As of this writing the PDF is available for the much more favorable cost of $7, and the nature of the book is such that it’s very unlikely it will ever be pulled out in play.

My Take

There is only one small portion of the book that relates to mechanics at all. Everything else here is meant to be inspirational for GMs. For example, if you have a tough time thinking up how to create cults then the three pages on creating cults is sure to help. Not only does it walk the reader through creating goals, a cult leader, and everything else but it also briefly discusses the introduction of the cult to the game. The writing throughout demonstrates a good deal of brevity, packing a lot of neat ideas into a small product.

For me the ultimate measure of any supplement is “will I use it?” My answer to the Companion is a solid “Yes.” It helps crystallize the game it supports, ordering the ideas and just showing a GM how to set up a Conspiracy of Shadows game. I like the monsters, I like the plot hooks, and I even enjoy reading stuff like city creation which I’ve read a dozen times in a dozen other products. All that said, this is very much an optional product. A lot of folk aren’t going to have any trouble at all building cults, and if you have a fountain of ideas already then I can’t say you’ll be taking anything new away from the Companion.

The bottom line is that if you already like Conspiracy of Shadows but need some help bringing the game into conceptual focus then pick up the Companion. Just walking through cult or city creation alone should fire up your imagination, and the plot hooks and monsters presented do an excellent job of demonstrating the sort of magical horror the heroes are fighting against.