A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Any and all discussion about Dark Conspiracy, the RPG of modern conspiracy horror
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Marcus Bone
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A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Post by Marcus Bone »

So what do you use for background inspiration in your DC games? Are you based under the great shade of Phoenix (as in Stackpole's Fiddleback Trilogy) or do you look to the great dystopia besetting the UK (as with Lee William's material from the Demonground days)? Do you have no background at all, and run your DC as a dark reflection of today?

Please share...
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Re: A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Post by Morthrai »

As it happens, I have always run my games in what I guess we can call "DC Default" - that is, the general first edition setting along with Mike Stackpole's Frozen Shade from his trilogy of novels 8) As Marcus mentioned, I created the "Republic of Britain" setting way back in Demonground days but I must admit that even I have never run a full game in that milieu. Looking back after this long, I guess I just wanted to share the whole idea that it wasn't just north America that had changed.

Of course, now it's been mentioned I have a brain itch telling me I should do a one-off convention scenario in that setting :twisted:
Lee Williams.
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ReHerakhte
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Re: A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Post by ReHerakhte »

I had the situation where I was thoroughly jaded with nearly every modern/near-future genre RPG, being about Americans or being set in the United States. I completely understand that those RPGs where writen by Americans for an American audience and the writers focused just on America because it was easy (and easily accessible to an audience brought up on the mostly US fodder found on television and in movies) - unfortunately when the majority of them do that, you make the audience believe the only country that exists in the entirety of the world is the USA.
Like Lee, I wanted to show that it wasn't just the United States that was affected. Even the intro blurb in the main book mentioned that there were major, and quite incredible, events occuring in other parts of the world.

"Something very strange is going on.
Stranger than usual, I mean.
Hell, I'm used to eco-commandos dynamiting oil refineries. I'm used to riots in the Farm Family Relocation Camps. I understand the wars that street gangs and corporate security goons are fighting for the inner cities. I can accept the steady breakup of the old nations, even if I can't pronounce half the names of the new ones. I'm even used to grave robberies and blood bank heists in California. After all, it's California, right?

But a few days ago, the Eastern Australian Air Force nuked Melbourne, and refuses to explain why. Black, spiky things that only vaguely resemble fish are attacking people in the Great Lakes. A radio station in Chicago is broadcasting only a single, oscillating tone — all day long. Whole blocks of Mexico City have been abandoned — by people, anyway.

My contact in the Michigan Secret Service said we're being invaded, part of a centuries-old plot. I wanted to find out more, but before we could meet, he turned up headless in a park.
Now I have this feeling I'm being followed..."


I would typically set my campaigns in Europe because I wanted the tradition, folklore and myth available from countries that had existed for centuries. This was one of the better aspects of the adventures Heart of Darkness and Among the Dead, they had major scenes set in countries other than the USA. I'd be willing to set my next campaign in the USA (if I can ever get enough Players interested in something that is not heroic fantasy), to make use of some of the weirdness that is highlighted by websites such as http://weirdnj.com however I would just as likely set a new campaign in any other part of the world.
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It's whether I win...
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Re: A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Post by Phulish »

The Dark Atlas we talked of a while back. I'm fiddling with expats in the U.S. and Britain.
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Linden
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Re: A Question a Day #5 - Background Inspiration?

Post by Linden »

Used Lee's Republic of Britain setting, plus the Cyberpunk UK book which is utterly dreadful in many ways but has some golden nuggets in amongst the dross.

Recycled various scenarios from Challenge for games other than DC. Cyberpunk and Shadowrun adventures quite often lent themselves to being given a DC style spin on things. Call of Cthulhu not so much, unless the scenarios were fairly generic (e.g LaBossiere).

Assorted films and novels of widely varying quality e.g my view of future London very much influenced by Split Second. The rural areas outside the cities something like that depicted in the late Julian Rathbone's novel Trajectories.
"There's a lot of dignity in that, isn't there? Going out like a raspberry ripple."
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