Challenge Magazine was first produced in 1986, as a re-imagining of Game Designers Workshop’s existing Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (JTAS) publication (which at the time supported  GDW’s  most popular game – Traveller).  In order to maintain continuity with this earlier magazine, Challenge’s first issue appeared as #25, and although these early issues continued to focus on Traveller, over time material for other GDW’s gaming systems (including Twilight: 2000, 2300 AD, and Space 1889) began to appear.

Becoming increasingly popular, the magazine expanded to 64 pages by issue #30 and also began to publish material for games not produced by GDW (such as Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu or West End Games’ Star Wars). In 1996 the changing landscape of gaming forced GDW to stop publishing Challenge (after attempts to make it more viable), just prior to the closure of the entire company later that year. Over its entire production run, a total of fifty-three issues of Challenge were released (through issue #77).

The first material for Dark Conspiracy was first included in issue #47 (1990) and would continue to appear in almost every copy until the magazine’s closure. This content ranged from adventures through to fiction and everything in between.

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Issue #47 (December 1990)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #47

The first sample of GDW’s upcoming game ‘Dark Conspiracy’ it also includes a sample of their other new game ‘Cadillacs and Dinosaurs’ (as seen on the cover of this issue). Issue #47 also includes content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Torg, GURPs, Star Wars, Battletech, Renegade Legion and even Warhammer 40,000! Of some interest is the list of Origins Awards winners that year (1990) on page 18.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • Challenge Briefs (page 18), lists a brief description of Dark Conspiracy.
    • “DARK CONSPIRACY, the roleplaying game of modern horror, releases from GDW in February (Ed. note this was delayed until June). A lurking horror feeds on human pain, provoking chaos and disaster in the world. Dark minions from another reality lurk in the ruins of Earth’s decaying cities and carrying out the fiends’ evil bidding; border wars rage between high-tech hovertanks and armies of dusty trudging infantry; street gangs and cyberenhanced mercenaries battle in the cities. Only a few men and women see the pattern that runs behind the chaos. They must marshal their inner strength and rally the best of 21st-century technology to battle the unspeakable nightmare that lurks on the threshold of our universe. Intrigued? See the eight-page pullout section in this issue of Challenge (Ed. see below).”

Dark Conspiracy Special Insert

Blurb – Chaos reigns in the near future, driven by the Darklings who have invaded Earth. How can we fight their insidious plans?

Article Type – Promotional Colour Pull-out
Author – Lester Smith & Frank Chadwick
Page Count – 8 pages

An Ancient Horror Grips the Earth – A glossy, colour pull out promoting the upcoming release of Dark Conspiracy. It provides fiction (both the opening story from the Core Rulebook, as well a vignettes of various archetypes – Reporter, Astronaut, Prole, etc.), in addition to outlining the game’s core aspects (detailing the high concept, the coming of the Darklings/Minions and why you fight them, etc.). It also highlights the key selling points of the game – the system being based on Twilight: 2000, a ‘fascinating environment’ and ‘comprehensive support’.

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Issue #48 (January/February 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #48

From Issue 48 Challenge moved to a monthly release schedule (from its existing bi-monthly)  and was graced with a cover that related to the issue’s Dark Conspiracy content ‘Zombies of the Bayou’.  This issue also had content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Call of Cthulhu, GURPs, Star Trek, Battletech, Renegade Legion and once more Warhammer 40,000!

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • On the About the Cover section of the table of contents/credits page – “David O. Miller brings to life the terror of the Dark Conspiracy universe. For more on GDW’s new roleplaying game of modern horror, don’t miss “Zombies of the Bayou” on page 50.”

Zombies of the Bayou

Blurb – A mysterious parasite takes control of unwary humans.

Article Type – Dark Minions
Author – Frank Chadwick
Page Count – 2 pages (starting on page 50).
Rating – This article was rated as a 3.5 (out of 5) by readers (this rating appeared in Issue 50).

The following bestiary encounter information may be used as background to generate Dark Conspiracy adventure ideas. Dark Conspiracy, the new roleplaying game of modern horror, releases next month from GDW (March 1991) (Ed. note would be delayed until June).

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Issue #49 (March/April 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #49

Although Issue #49 was released before Dark Conspiracy hit the shops, it still had at least one advert for its upcoming publication. This issue also had content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Trek, Battletech, Silent Death and an article on ‘How To’ – timesaving tips for the busy referee.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • A full page (page 39) black & white advertisement for the Dark Conspiracy core rulebook.
  • In the Cowabunga! – It’s the Beach! insert (a pullout section highlighting GDWs crop of excellent artists), Dell Harris provides a tribute with Vampire in the Shade. The reference (see bottom right) to Dark Conspiracy is a ‘dead’ giveaway and the blurb reads ‘Hey, swinging vampires! Tired of that burning sensation when the sun hits your flesh? Try new Sunblock 3000, the suntan lotion for photoreactive skin, on your Bermuda Triangle vacation. Artist Dell Harris recommends the Diet Plasma Cola, by the way. He says all his vampire friends swear it has no iron aftertaste.’

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Issue #50 (May/June 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #50

Challenge reaches Issue #50! Although Dark Conspiracy still wasn’t available to the public by its publication, it was obvious by – at least – the advertisement (on page 9 and the back cover) that GDW was going all out on the game and setting. This issue also had content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Trek, Battletech, Silent Death and an index of issues 1-49 (noting that issues 1-24 were the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society, and issues 25-49 were Challenge).

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • A full page (page 9) black & white advertisement for Michael Stackpole’s soon to be released first novel in the Fiddleback trilogy – A Gathering Evil.
  • Challenge Briefs (page 63) had two Dark Conspiracy mentions:
    • A GATHERING EVIL: A novel of deceit, paranoia, shadowy conspiracies and unspeakable horror, set in the world of Dark Conspiracy. By Michael A. Stackpole. GDW: 2150. $4.95. (note the typo was present in the original copy text).
    • DARK CONSPIRACY: When an ancient, brooding evil is released from its dimensional prison, humanity’s worst nightmares come to life. Can you turn back the
      forces of darkness? GOW: 2100. $22.
  • A full page colour advertisement for the Dark Conspiracy core rulebook appeared on the back cover of this issue.

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Issue #51 (July 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #51

Although Issue #51 didn’t contain any specific Dark Conspiracy articles, it had one of the most DC related covers to appear across all 77 issues of Challenge (ed. shame it was never to appear elsewhere). This issue also had content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, , Star Trek, Battletech, Silent Death and an article on ‘How To’ – timesaving tips for the busy referee.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • A full page black & white advertisement (on page 1) appears for the Dark Conspiracy core rulebook.
  • Under the heading About the Cover on the table of contents/credits page (page 2) the following written to describe the issue’s cover “From this moment on, you will do as I bid,” were the last words Martin Spade heard before his mind clouded and his vision grew dark. Martin’s friend, Carla, strains to glimpse the process the insectoid extraterrestrial is using to subvert Spade to its own, dark purposes in this Dark Conspiracy scene brought to us by Nick Smith.
  • On the Feedback page (page 72) for Issue #51 – under the Free Draw incentive heading it is noted “Send us your feedback, and you will automatically be entered in our drawing for a FREE copy of Dark Conspiracy. GDW’s new roleplaying game of modern horror.”

 

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Issue #52 (August/September 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #52

With Dark Conspiracy’s release in June 1991, information and support for the game returned to the pages of Challenge with ‘Things that Go Bump in the Night’. In the Memo from the Management section, Steve Bryant was announced as the magazine’s new Art Director. This issue also contained content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Ghostbusters International, NightLife, Star Trek, Tales from the Floating Vagabond, and Dark Future (more GW material, huh?).

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • One of the Letters to the Editor (page 4), sent in by Rich Ostorero of Sacramento, CA, makes mention of Dark Conspiracy – “I’m delighted to hear that Challenge
    is going to be published monthly. That’s good news for those of us who write. I can imagine that the expansion of GDW’s game line (Dark Conspiracy, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs) made an increased publication schedule for Challenge inevitable. Keep up the good news-and the good work!”
  • A full page black & white advertisement (on page 29) appears for the Dark Conspiracy core rulebook.
  • In Challenge Briefs (page 31), both the New Orleans and Heart of Darkness supplements/campaigns are mentioned.
    • NEW ORLEANS: The misty swamps of the MIssissippi Delta and the ancient streets of New Orleans form the backdrop for this scenario. People are disappearing, and something out there is responsible. And it’s tired of waiting. 64-page Dark Conspiracy trade paperback. GDW: 2101. $10.
    • HEART OF DARKNESS: Track a 1000-year-old wizard and his magical talisman. Can you destroy this ancient evil – or will you be consigned to an unimaginable fate? 64-page Dark Conspiracy trade paperback. GDW: 2103. $10.
  • On the Feedback page (page 80) for Issue #52 – under the Free Draw incentive heading it is noted “Send us your feedback, and you will automatically be entered in our drawing for a FREE copy of Dark Conspiracy. GDW’s new roleplaying game of modern horror.”

Article – Things That Go Bump in the Night

Blurb – A semisentient, semicohesive mist, choking off the air supply of its victims. A giant rat trained to seek out and attack prey. A fast, durable raven which specifically targets the eyes of its quarry. This trio is sure to add a little spice to your Dark Conspiracy campaign.

Article Type – Dark Minions
Author – Lester Smith
Page Count – 2 pages (starting on page 32)

One of the most important themes of Dark Conspiracy is that everything changes, continually. Consequently, players ought to find their characters facing new plots, new creatures, new challenges every time they play. It is in that spirit that we present to you the following trio of new beasties for use in your Dark Conspiracy adventures.

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Issue #53 (October 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #53

With Dark Conspiracy now firmly ensconced in the GDW catalogue Challenge will begin a run of hosting regular scenarios in each issue, starting with Eric W Haddock’s ‘A Grisly Harvest’. This issue also contained content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, and Renegade Legion.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • In the Challenge Opinion section (page 5) – Lester Smith discusses the issue of ‘not winning’ in roleplaying games with a special reference to Dark Conspiracy.
    • It’s no secret that I think Star Wars: The RPG is one of the best roleplaying games ever designed. By that, I mean that Star Wars recreates the feel of the movies admirably, is extremely easy to play, and is incredibly easy to run. Recently, however, I ran across a review that begins like this: “Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game sucks. No, really, it stinks on wheels.” I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine how someone could hate the game so thoroughly. Come to find out, the reviewer liked everything about the game-except its background. His complaint was that West End set the game between the first and second movies, placing players in a position in which they knew what was fated to occur with Darth Vader and the Emperor but were helpless to do anything about it. In other words, the PCs were relegated to “second-class” hero status; they could never become a Luke Skywalker. I read a similar complaint recently about Call of Cthulhu and Dark Conspiracy (two other RPGs very dear to me), saying the PCs can never really win, so what’s the point? I guess the answer to this question depends on why you’re playing the·game in the first place.As a Star Wars player, I know I can’t defeat Darth Vader (Luke’s going to), but I also know that there are whole planets out there whose fates I can change. In Call of Cthulhu, I know that humans possess the Earth for a paltry few millennia, yet I can hold the dark off for awhile by defeating Nyarlathotep’s latest plan.And in Dark Conspiracy, I know there are way too many plots going on for me to ever figure them all out, but that doesn’t stop me from destroying a local bloodkin vampire and his minions. I don’t need to kill Darth Vader and the Emperor, obliterate Cthulhu and his cronies, or seal all the Dark Ones forever from the Earth to feel like a hero. That would end the game-and what fun is that? Lester W Smith
  • In Challenge Briefs (page 31), the upcoming release of the ‘Darktek Equipment Guide’ is noted.
    • DARKTEK EQUIPMENT GUIDE: A handbook of equipment used by and against the disciples and minions of the Dark Ones. From HiTek ET weaponry to hideous biological devices to survival tools. By Charles E. Gannon. GDW: 2102. $12.
  • On page 53 a half page advert appears for GDW (in general) using an iconic piece of Earl Geier’s Core Rulebook art.
  • On the Feedback page (page 80) for Issue #53 – under the Free Draw incentive heading it is noted “Send us your feedback, and you will automatically be entered in our drawing for a FREE copy of Dark Conspiracy. GDW’s new roleplaying game of modern horror.”

Article – A Grisly Harvest

Blurb – Parents told their children to stay away from the house on White Chapel Lane. Strange things went on there …

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Eric Haddock
Page Count – 7 page (starting on page 33)

Parents told their children to stay away from the house on White Chapel Lane. Strange things went on there, and strange people visited. Strangest of all, there seemed to be a lot of package delivery – the type of packages a hearse might deliver…

The frequency of missing persons cases in the United States has increased drastically lately. People fear that no streets of any city are safe to walk during the day or night-no class of person is immune to abduction. At the height of this paranoia, an entrepreneur has started a very successful agency to find missing people-the Missing Persons Location Agency.
The MPLA is essentially a large private detective agency, with a large staff of private investigators who accept any cases having to do with disappearances of any sort. The agency has had a large pool of cases to chose from and has quickly become overloaded. Its success rate is phenomenal, even considering the high number of disappearances lately and now there’s a branch office in almost every city with a population of 80,000 or more. One person finds the MPLA’s success story a little too good to be true, and he contacts one of the player characters. “Something has to be done to stop MPLA,” he says. If only it was that simple for the PCs. If only the MPLA were the only thing to stop ….

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Issue #54 (November 1991)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #54

Blessed with a fantastic Dark Conspiracy-themed cover (which strangely only ever seemed to have been used in advertising outside of this), Issue #54 also includes a Lester Smith DC adventure. This issue also included content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020 and Battletech.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • The cover art is most obviously inspired by Darl Conspiracy. To quote “This month, artist Dell Harris shows us the hazards of protodimensional beings showing up for dinner with “Into the Darkness.”
  • In the Challenge Opinion page (page 4) there are two readers letters referring to Dark Conspiracy.
    • “I wanted to let you know how well Dark Conspiracy is selling for us. It’s super! Mind you it’s not doing as well as the Desert Shield Factbook, but it has to be our best-selling single item since Origins. Which naturally makes me rather pleased. Three different groups have really taken to the game, and we expect that two of them will run it in-store, while the other runs games at the home of one of the players. I suspect that we will continue to do well with this type of activity. The customers who have purchased the book have only good things to say about it. The store staff has been making sure that everyone with roleplaying interests sees the book, with particular attention to customers looking at Twilight: 2000 and Shadowrun. Customers and staff have both mentioned that Twilight: 2000 source information already available is an asset. The only negative comment I have heard is in regard to miniatures for the system. We have shown those customers the Future Shock miniatures, which have picked up some.” Kevin Fitzpatrick Games, Crafts, Hobbies & Stuff St. Louis, MO
    • “I just purchased Dark Conspiracy, and I wanted to let you know I think it’s great! It actually lives up to the advertising, which is amazing in and of itself. The artwork and presentation are in a class by themselves and add a lot to the book. They are much appreciated. While I really like the system, there are still a few bugs. For example, the explosive damage system could have been referenced better, especially for bursts. I think this could be avoided by a page reference or two, saying what they are at the beginning of that section. Or a definition. Either one would do it. Thanks for a great game, and I hope to see more of it in the future.” Trey Palmer Jackson, MS
  • The Twilight: 2000 scenario Seeing is Believing (page 6) by Legion G. McRae makes mention that despite the horror elements “No, this isn’t Dark Conspiracy – let’s call it Twilight Zone: 2000.”

Your Own Worst Enemy

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Lester Smith
Page Count – 5 pages
To the world at large, Abraham Sylvester is known only as a reclusive billionaire (albeit one with a propensity for openhanded donations to charity). But a select few individuals know Sylvester as one of Earth’s most cunning opponents to the Dark Ones.

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Issue #55 (December 1991)

The Thing on the Bike Path

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 5 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #55

It’s like something out of those spooky books by that old Maine horror writer. People… are disappearing off the University of Maine bike trail, and only pieces of them have found. The police think it might be bears. But I know bears, and bears don’t do stuff like what was done to those bodies. It’s something else, something from a long time ago.

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Issue #56 (January 1992)

Gnawlings

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Charles E. Gannon
Page Count – 5 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #56

The Minion Hunters comes across a strange message while hopping from one datanet to the other, searching for interesting goings-on – disappearances in the grand old city of N’awlins! Are they brave enough to face the ‘ld South?

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Issue #57 (February 1992)

Patron

Article Type – Scenario (includes sidebars on Cost of Living and Finding Work)
Author – Craig Sheeley
Page Count – 7 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #57

Monsters walk the Earth? Sure. Vampires? Right. Creepy things that go bump in the night? Tell me another one. I need the laugh.

Patron is an introductory scenario intended for use as a campaign beginning and aid. Set in a fictional 2013 it also provides optional rules concerning the cost-of-living and wages that era.

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Issue #58 (March 1992)

The Only Good Monster is a Dead Monster

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Craig Sheeley
Page Count – 5 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #58

General Rockard was one of those guys who generated rumors-rumors that couldn’t be proved or disproved because if he even sneezed, it was top secret. He’d been a hitter since ‘Nam, a sniper.

The Only Good Monster is a Dead Monster is an adventure for 2-6 players (including one PC with a military or exmilitary background and at least one psychic-either PC or NPC). It involves the Minion Hunters being hired to assault a military base full of… monsters.

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Issue #59 (April 1992 – April Fools Issue)

I Hate Mondays

Article Type – Scenario (appears in Issue 59 &1/2, the April Fools Special Insert)
Author – Adam Geibel
Page Count – 2 pages
PDF – Challenge Issue #59 (currently unavailable)

A lifetime ago – or was it only a few minutes? – I  stumbled like a zombie into the bathroom, intent on my morning ritual. Boy was I in for a change of plans.

A humorous short scenario written for a single player. It provides for a little light entertainment amidst a Dark World…

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Issue #60 (May 1992)

Samedi Night Fever

Article Type – Scenario
Author – David Schuey
Page Count – 3 pages
PDF – Challenge Issue #60 (currently unavailable)

A short scenario luring the Minion Hunters into the Mid-West where they discover the truth behind the Voodoo Warriors. Will their efforts be a success or will they to be plagued by images of death and the dark of Baron Samedi?

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Issue #61 (June 1992)

Out of the Depths

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 7 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #61

The old house had been in my friend’s family for generations, I remember her telling me dark stories about it and the side of the family that owned it. I always thought they were just stories. But now she and her husband are missing, and strange tidings are afoot.

A short scenario set in Maine, where a disappearance and strange events on the sea sets off a confrontation with a new group of Dark Minions. This scenario introducts the Ampharks – a new Dark Race – and a few new bits of Darktek (the Organic Needler & Shellsuit), along with statistics for the Sea Hawk patrol craft.

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Issue #62 (July 1992)

Also look at Things go Weirder.

Kafka

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 4 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #62
Rating – This article was rated as a 3.5 (out of 5) by readers (this rating appeared in Issue #66).

Description to come.

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Issue #63 (August 1992)

Enemy of My Enemy

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Craig Sheeley
Page Count – 4 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #63

A short scenario where the characters investigate the aftermath of a ‘battle’ between a UFO and something hidden under the ground.  This investigation will lead the group to encounter a Mark III Symboid and find themselves in a three-way war between a group of humanoid ETs, the government and their new ‘friend’.

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Issue #64 (September 1992)

Shadow Over New Brunswick

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dustin Browder
Page Count – 6 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #64

Designed as brief ‘encounter’ for travelling Minion Hunters, this scenario involves the group stumbling across a Dark Minion experiment – the ‘Dreamaker’. Locked into a nightmare battle against this device and its illusions of evil, the characters must struggle both in a dream world, as well as the real one to save the village of New Brunswick.

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Issue #65 (October 1992 – Halloween Issue)

3rd Annual Horror Issue
PDF
Challenge Issue #65

Dark Halloween

Article Type – Mini Scenarios (Scarecrow, Down to New England, and The Bet)
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 2 pages each

It Plays with its Food

Article Type – Fiction
Author – Charles E. Gannon
Page Count – 2 pages

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Issue #66 (November 1992)

Purchase this issue (PDF) –Challenge Issue #66

Now well into its production run and with supplements coming thick and fast, Issue #66 was to include an iconic Dark Conspiracy scenario and plenty of advertising. This issue also had content for Twilight:2000, MegaTraveller, Space:1889, Shadowrun, 2300 AD, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Trek, Battletech, Silent Death and an article on ‘How To’ – timesaving tips for the busy referee.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • Page 1 (the first page a reader sees after opening the front page) presents a full page advert for Dark Conspiracy. The ‘Welcome to Everyone’s Nightmare… Welcome to Dark Conspiracy’ would be standard advertising for a period in 1992. The copy lists both the PC Booster Kit and Minion Hunter as obvious recent releases and notes the Empathic Sourcebook is ‘coming soon’…
  • In the ‘and furthermore…’ section (reader’s questions), in response to a query about new editions of Traveller, Dave Nilsen (the Traveller Line Developer) wrote:
    • ‘Another is the PC Booster Kits that we are issuing for Dark Conspiracy and Twlllght: 2000 2nd edition games to upgrade their core systems to a new improved D20 system from the less flexible D10 system. Future printings of both Dark Con and Twilight will have the booster kit rules entered into them, but any players who have already purchased the booster kits will already have everything that’s in the new printing, and will not need to buy anything else.’ 
    • ‘The system has proved so phenomenally popular among our players that we went on to incorporate the system into Dark Conspiracy and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. And now the time has come to incorporate the same rules system (already upgraded to booster kit standards) into our Traveller background. The advantages of having several different roleplaying backgrounds that are all accessible to the same core rules system are obvious, and players of Dark Con and T2K2 have told us that they are excited that they will soon be able to play classic science fiction with the same rules that they like so well.’
  • A full page, black and white advertisement for the Empathic Sourcebook also appears on page 17 (it notes the Empathic Sourcebook as ‘coming in 1993’).
  • A full page, black and white advertisement for the Protodimensions (Volume 1?) appears on page 47.
  • A colour advertisement for Challenge subscriptions – using the same Dark Conspiracy themed image that appeared on the cover of Issue #54 – appears on page 62.
  • A full colour advert for the final novel of the Fiddleback trilogy – Evil Triumphant appears on page 76.
  • Dark Conspiracy appears alongside the other GDW House System games (on the back cover) in a full colour advertisement.
  • In the Players Wanted section of the issue’s Classifieds (starting on page 86):
    • Benjamin J Rogers writes ‘LOOKING FOR gamers in southeast Nebraska, southwest Iowa, northeast Kansas or northwest Missouri. Preferred game system is Shadowrun, although I also enjoy GURPS, Vampire and Dark Conspiracy. Also looking for playtesters for adventures/ sourcebook material for these systems.’
    • Steve Enzor asked ‘LOOKING FOR players/GMs for Twilight:2000 or Dark Conspiracy in Pinellas County, FL or Baltimore area (moving this fall).’
    • Nick Christenson noted ‘NEED PLAYERS of Dark Conspiracy, Cyberpunk or any Palladium game (Rifts is okay but hard to run). Have experienced game master.’
  • In the For Sale section, Steve Matovski was offering ‘ITEMS FOR BattleTech (Compendium, Technical Readout 3025, Mech warrior 1st ed.) and Dark Conspiracy (rulebook, PC Booster Kit). Also Middle-Earth boxed set.’ 
  • Noted in the Fanzine’s section ‘HORROR GAMING APAZINE seeks participants. Focus will be on Dark Conspiracy, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire and Chill. Fiction and other games accepted. For more information, please write to Dan Snuffin’ (ED. Dan was to write the scenario Dusted, which would appear in Issue #71)

Article – Trick or Threat

Blurb – “Times have changed. So have Halloween pranks.”

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Craig Sheeley
Page Count – 6 pages

Remember when Halloween pranks were limited to tipping over outhouses, soaping windows, decorating trees with toilet paper and so on? Times have changed. So have Halloween pranks.

This scenario makes a perfect introduction to Dark Conspiracy. It tends to work best if the PCs have no knowledge of each other; there’s nothing like being stranded in a strange situation with a bunch of total strangers to heighten the tension and feelings of alienation.

This open-ended introduction-style scenario can involve demongrounds, dark elves and even a leprechaun!?!

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Issue #67 (December 1992)

Mall Rats

Article Type – Scenario
Author – James L. Cambias
Page Count – 5 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #67

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Issue #68 (Quarter 1 1993)

Challenge returned to being ‘bi-monthly’ with this issue, but rather seemed to move to a quarterly zine.

Window of the Mind

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 6 pages
Rating – 2.2 out of 5 (Reported in Issue 72).
PDF – Challenge Issue #68 (currently unavailable)

 

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Issue #69 (Quarter 2 1993)

Road Work

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 6 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #69

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Issue #70 (Quarter 3 1993)

Fear and Loathing

Article Type – Rules Variants
Author – Craig Sheeley
Page Count – 2 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #70

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Issue #71 (Quarter 4 1993)

Dusted!

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dan Snuffin
Page Count – 3 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #71

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Issue #72 (Quarter 1 1994)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #72

The first issue of 1994 Frank Chadwick provides a detailed look at the future of GDW’s various lines (and specifically Dark Conspiracy). Unfortunately this does not bode well for our favourite game (despite previous mentions of a 2nd Edition being in development) with Frank stating “We’re going to retire the line for a while” (see below for more details on this statement and reason for the decision).

This issue also includes content for for Twilight:2000, Traveller:TNE, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk,  Space:1889, Cthulhu (as in Call of Cthulhu), Star Trek, and Star Wars.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • Dark Conspiracy appears alongside the other GDW House System games (on the inside cover) in a full colour advertisement.
  • On the ‘all the credit’ page (page 3) details of the Dark Conspiracy related cover are note – “This month’s cover, by Paul Jaquays, shows your friendly neighbourhood human flesh- (and bone-) eating ravager emerging from his folder pod into our world. Unfortunately, he was in such a rush to get to the office this morning that he skipped breakfast. Lunchtime (if he can hold out that long) should be an adventure.”
  • In the Advanced Infantry Weapons article (for Twilight: 2000) – under the statistics for the Colt M16A4 ACR – the following Editors not appears – “The author’s treatment of duplex rounds differs from that used in Dark Conspiracy”
  • A half page black & while advertisement for the Protodimensions sourcebook appeared on page 75.
  • In the Ask Commodore Bwana section – a Traveller: The New Era regular column – (on page 84) a reader asked “5) How to resolve an exceptional hit to the head by a HEAP RAM grenade (hey, it happened)”.
    • Commodore Q.E.D. Bwana answered –  5) Your final question is the HEAP grenade to the head. The answer is “Ouch!” It reminds me of an account from the 101 st Airborne
      Division In France where a paratrooper took a German 88 round In the chest. There is a prescribed technique in the house system for handling such events. It came about because of Dark Conspiracy, because some of the nasty critters in that game could only be brought down by serious firepower. When a living target receives a direct hit by a direct fire exploding round (HE or HEAP), roll a number of 06 damage dice equal to that round’s constant penetration value (in this case, 30C or 35C) or twice its concussion value, whichever is greater, and apply the entire damage rolled to the hit location that received the impact. After that, roll for concussion and fragmentation normally for everyone within the appropriate burst radius.
  • In the Fanzine area of the Classifieds section the following was posted “DARK TIMES, a quarterly newsletter dedicated to Dark Conspiracy, features new proto-dimensions, equipment, adventures and darktek. The Darklords and evil minions will also be covered in detail. Each issue will have a complete adventure ready for play. Contact Mike Kelly”

Opinion – What the New Year will Bring by Frank Chadwick

As this is the first issue for 1994, Frank provided a view of the life and the future of various lines at GDW. With the company’s focus on Traveller: The New Era (quote “we told you when
we released Traveller The New Era that our aim was to make Traveller our flagship game again, and that’s exactly what we’ve done”) and a variant of Twilight:2000 called Armour 21, he recognises that something needed to change…

To quote:

All this activity on Traveller and Twilight doesn’t come without price, however. For the last year, Dark Conspiracy™ has been stumbling along without a firm hand at the wheel, and has really shown it. To be honest, while we are very happy with the game itself, the support material went in a different direction than the game was originally aimed. This is not the fault of the people writing the support material at all – it’s just what can happen when there isn’t a firm guiding vision for the game. I think the last couple projects we did for Dark Conspiracy – Empathic Sourcebook and Proto-Dimensions -were outstanding, but customer interest in the whole line has declined and those two products haven’t seemed to turn that around.

So what are we going to do? We can’t manage major renovation of the game line and still devote the time and attention to Traveller and Twilight that we want to. On the other hand, we still have a fair number of loyal Dark Conspiracy fans who we don’t want to just abandon. Besides, the idea behind Dark Conspiracy is too cool to just throw away.

So here’s the plan. We’re going to retire the line for a while. The material already in print will stay in print while quantities last, but won’t be reprinted, and we won’t be doing any new Dark Conspiracy freestanding products. However, we have a fair quantity of really good stuff that has never been published whole additional proto-dimensions, additions to the Empathy system, more Dark Races-that we’re going to publish in Challenge over the next couple years. While we do, we’re going to keep looking at the best way to bring Dark Conspiracy back in a new format, once we have the time to do a really good job with it.

Article – Last Stop

Blurb – In three hours, four people have entered the store, but none have come out.

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 5 pages (starting on page 12 of the issue)

This adventure can be set almost anywhere that has functioning highways. A group of insectoid extraterrestrials has taken over an off-highway convenience store and is using it as a base for scientific experiments on humans. The aliens capture travellers who they deem fit for their experiments and who can be captured with minimal risk. It is up to the PCs to expose the aliens’ operation and put a stop to it.

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Issue #73 (Quarter 2 1994)

PDF – Challenge Issue #73 (currently unavailable)

Ice, Ice, Baby

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 5 pages

Action/Reaction

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Christopher Ziegler
Page Count – 5 pages

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Issue #74 (Quarter 3 1994)

Globules

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 6 pages
PDFChallenge Issue #74

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Issue #76 (Quarter 1 1995)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #76

The penultimate issue of Challenge, which is graced by a Dark Conspiracy themed cover (by our friend and fellow DC fan Bradley K. McDevitt). In the opening opinion piece by Frank Chadwick, he notes that GDW had a rough time in 1994 (with the issues with TSR), but that they were on the road to recovery by focusing on Traveller: The New Era. Unfortunately, it seemed that GDW would never quite return to its heyday, and would close its doors in early 1996.

This issue also includes content for for Twilight:2000, Traveller:TNE, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, Call of Cthulhu, Space:1889, and Star Wars.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • The cover by Bradley K. McDevitt is described as “Some intrepid citizens, aware of the threat posed by cyborgs in Dark Conspiracy, have tried to capture one inside an abandoned building moments before its destruction. All they’ve accomplished is amusing it in this collaboration between artist Christina Wald and art director Brad.”
  • In the Classifieds For Sale section Ross Mackenzie listed – “SOURCEBOOKS AND SUPPLEMENTS for many games, including Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0., JO, Shadowrun(and DMZ), Dark Conspiracy, 2300 AD, MegaTraveller, Twilight: 2000 and others.” 
  • In the Fanzine area of the Classifieds section the following was posted “DARK TIMES, a quarterly newsletter dedicated to Dark Conspiracy, features new proto-dimensions, equipment, adventures and darktek. The Darklords and evil minions will also be covered in detail. Each issue will have a complete adventure ready for play. Contact Mike Kelly”
  • On the Next Issue page it notes that adventures from both Dr Michael C LaBossiere (The Beast under the Bed) and Dave Schuey (The Shroud), but only The Beast Under the Bed scenario would be included in Issue #77.
  • A full page ‘Subscribe to Challenge’ advertisement includes reference to Dark Conspiracy.

Article – Way Down Atlantis

Blurb – An ancient treasure leads to high adventure beneath the deep sea. Includes new equipment, beasties, characters, maps and a new Dark Race.

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere
Page Count – 10 pages

An American submarine on a routine patrol was lost two weeks ago during a rather odd incident. Ships in the area reported a bright flash of light, as well as disruption of the
electrical systems. When the USS Washington failed to report in, US Naval vessels suspected she might have suffered a disaster. Search vessels soon found the shattered vessel, and a rescue submarine patched to the area.

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Issue #77 (Quarter 2 1995)

Purchase this issue (PDF) – Challenge Issue #77

The final published issue of Challenge magazine (complete with a cover by John Zeleznik – an artist I’ll always associated with Dark Conspiracy) it has an adventure by another regular DC contributor Dr Michael C LaBossiere. Issue #77 also includes content for Twilight:2000, Traveller, Lost Souls, Cyberpunk, Call of Cthulhu, Space:1889, Shadowrun, Star Wars, GURPs,  and an article on creating town and placenames.

Mentions of Dark Conspiracy

  • Page 85 has a checklist of Game Designers’ Workshop productions, including the listing of all the released Dark Conspiracy line.
  • In the Classifieds For Sale section Ross Mackenzie listed – “SOURCEBOOKS AND SUPPLEMENTS for many games, including Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. , JO, Shadowrun(and DMZ), Dark Conspiracy, 2300 AD, MegaTraveller, Twilight: 2000 and others.” 

Article – The Beast Under the Bed

Blurb – It’s a time for worry, a time for dread. That scratching’s not your imagination; its not in your head. It’s the beast under the bed.

Article Type – Scenario
Author – Dr Michael C LaBossiere (art by Bradley K. McDevitt)
Page Count – 5 page

Centuries ago, a proto-dimension inhabited by a peaceful, advanced race was overwhelmed when evil creatures surged from adjoining dimensions through gateways. The inhabitants resisted for some time, but they eventually fell before the onslaught. The leader of the attackers, a Dark Lord, vented its anger and hatred upon the surviving beings by transforming them into vile creatures. Some of these creatures were given the power to create gateways to other dimensions, and after some time, these creatures, known now as Shadow Snatchers, discovered earth. Prior to the start of the adventure, a small group of Shadow Snatchers found its way into earth’s dimension and began hunting for prey. Since these creatures are fairly weak, they choose to go after sleeping children. They will have taken a dozen victims from a small town before the PCs are brought in to investigate.

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Issue #78 (Unpublished)

Issue 78 was never released by GDW. After years of changes to the magazine, and increased production costs, Challenge came to an unexpected end in late 1995. The following info on what would have appeared in this issue was detailed in the end pages of Issue 77.

Flashback

The PCs, now alone, stand back-to-back to face the final assault in the temple ruins

Article TypeScenario?
AuthorH. Michael Lybarger & Theodore J. Kocot
Page CountN/A

The Shroud

Can the PCs recover a mysterious shroud stolen from an alien corpse?

Article Type – Scenario?
Author – David W. Schuey
Page Count – N/A

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