Dark Conspiracy RPG – The Horror Begins

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An introduction to the horror classic the Dark Conspiracy RPG. Cover the creators, the premise, and some of the modules you can get for it.

Dark Conspiracy RPG – The Beginning

The Dark Conspiracy RPG is a supernatural horror tabletop RPG, mixing high tech sci-fi with dystopian elements. The game was conceptualized and developed by Lester Smith, who envisioned a world where paranormal phenomena and shadowy organizations shape the course of human history. 1st Edition was released in 1991 by Game Designers Workshop, the game publishing company who created the granddaddy of all scifi tabletop RPGs, Traveller. It was a 366-page tome combining both player and gamemaster material.

One of the key features that set the Dark Conspiracy RPG apart was its emphasis on the supernatural and conspiracy themes, similar to games like Vaesen. It blends elements of cyberpunk, horror, and espionage into a unique and immersive experience. The game presents a vision of a future Earth plagued by environmental degradation, political corruption, and supernatural threats lurking in the shadows. What’s not to like?

Mechanically, the Dark Conspiracy RPG utilized a percentile-type system using 1D10 for resolving actions (mostly. Sometimes it is percentile), with characters possessing attributes and skills that influenced their chances of success. Combat is lethal and realistic, reflecting the dangerous nature of the game’s setting (I plan on writing a character creation series that show this in detail).

The supernatural/horror aspect of the Dark Conspiracy RPG introduced innovative mechanics for handling fear, madness, and the psychological toll of confronting the unknown.

The Dark Conspiracy had several different companion products that released around that time. The adventure modules included New Orleans, Heart of Darkness (arguably the most popular), Hellsgate, Among the Dead, Ice Daemon, and Nightsiders.

In addition to that, they released multiple campaign sourcebooks to expand your Dark Conspiracy world — the PC Booster Kit, Darktek (again, probably the most popular one out of the bunch), Dark Races (which said Volume I but another volume was never released), Empathic, and Proto-Dimensions.

To top it off, a Dark Conspiracy board game called Minion Hunter was released with a companion called Minion Nation.

Struggling to Survive

When Game Designers Workshop closed its doors, the rights to Dark Conspiracy reverted to Dark Conspiracy Enterprises. DCE licensed the rights to publish another edition of Dark Conspiracy to Dynasty Presentations Inc. DPI decided to release a 2nd Edition of Dark Conspiracy in 1997 with a print-on-demand model. They also separated the player and GM sections into separate publications.

There were two versions of 2nd Edition — basic and masters. The basic set was the bare bones. The Player’s Basic was 184 pages. The GMs Basic was 180 pages. The expanded Master’s release was substantially more content. The Player’s Book was 400 pages, while the Gamemasters Book was 462 pages.

Only three adventures were released for that, part of campaign called Sin City.

However, the print-on-demand model was not tenable at the time (probably would be today). The same year, 2nd Edition Dark Conspiracy production was shut down.

It Gets Darker

Things languished until 2005 when a New Zealand company, the Gamer’s Conglomerate, announced plans to create a 3rd edition. Well…that fell through (starting to see a pattern here). Then in 2009, another publisher came onto the scene with interest in making a 3rd edition. It kinda, sorta released.

DCE gave the license to Kinstaff Media to publish the game. They created a division called 3 Hombres Games which released a PDF only version that updated the character creation and combat rules and that’s it. They had a full core book under development before 3 Hombres went out of business.

3rd Edition had more fan-made material than the original. One is Tampete, released in 2017.

This was not the end, however. Another iteration of Dark Conspiracy, DC4, was slated for release. However, that’s a story for another time, a story all on its own..

Dark Conspiracy – The Series

RPG Elite is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of classic tabletop RPGs. The Dark Conspiracy RPG falls into that category. Follow along as we take you into the nuts and bolts, nooks and crannies, of this hidden gem of a tabletop RPG.