Over the years many different companies and authors have published material compatible with Dark Conspiracy. In our reviews we attempt to provide an objective comment on each product, it design, art and content, allowing you, the reader to determine whether or not you should add this product to you collection.

  • [Review] PC Booster Kit

    Written by Lester Smith, with additional design by Frank Chadwick (1992, GDW)

    The PC Booster Kit was one of the last releases for Dark Conspiracy, and as such sits in a rather strange space in the overall legacy of the gaming. I say this as the PC Booster KIt isn’t your traditional type of release, acting instead as a sort of halfway-house between a rules update and a simple FAQ. To quote Lester directly “This booster kit is designed to enhance your fight. In it, you’ll find rules for expanding character creation, incorporating the results of social status into initial character design, and thereby increasing both skill levels and personal history. There are also a number of new careers that can be followed, including ones that allow the creation of renegade ETs. rogue androids, and canny street urchins.”

    But the question, as always, is – was it successful in this mission statement? Does it add to your Dark Conspiracy gaming experience, or is it nothing more than a misguided grab for few more dollars from GDW? Let’s find out together, shall we, as we take a deep dive into this interesting smorgasbord of diverse and complex content for our favourite RPG.

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  • [Review] Evil Ascending – A Dark Conspiracy Novel

    … “Fiddleback is but one of many. Pygmalion, DeadTongue, Baron Someday and a dozen others all operate here on Earth. Fiddleback has been the most ambitious to date, but all are effective in their spheres of influence” … 

    Evil Ascending is the sequel to Michael Stackpole’s A Gathering Evil and the second novel in Dark Conspiracy’s Fiddleback trilogy. Be warned spoilers follow!

    Plot Summary

    Set in the immediate aftermath of the events detailed in A Gathering Evil, Evil Ascending continues the adventures of Tycho Caine (now known by many names, including Michael Loring and Coyote) in the fight against his old master, the Dark Lord Fiddleback. Having successfully thwarted the Dark One’s plan to use the Phoenix Transport Loop as a dimensional doorway into Earth’s reality, Caine and his allies now look to strike back at Fiddleback in any way they can. To achieve this goal, new allies will be discovered, and new enemies revealed, in a mixing pot of stories that sees the novel span the world – from Arizona to Tibet, and finally to Tokyo, Japan.

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  • [Review] Challenge Magazine – The Scenarios (Issues 57-58)

    Two Scenarios by Craig Sheeley

    From the release of Dark Conspiracy in 1990 through to the closure of its doors in 1995, Game Designers Workshop supported our favourite horror game not only through a variety of official supplements but also within the pages of their inhouse magazine Challenge.  Although the magazine existed prior, it was over this run of 5 years (which spanned about 40 issues) that we received a plethora of new scenarios, fiction and other great Dark Conspiracy articles. Here at DCtRPG.info we plan on reviewing each of these ‘releases’, looking back fondly on the foundation of our game and how this material built on (or – please excuse the pun – ‘challenged’) the Dark Conspiracy setting and system.
    For those following closely, we’ve previously reviewed the first few offerings found in issues 53 through 56 and so this time round we move on to the two scenarios that appeared in issues 57 (February 1992) and 58 (March 1992) respectively. Interestingly, both of these adventures were written by Craig Sheely, an author who would quickly become a key contributor on many future Dark Conspiracy supplements. So, let’s read on and see what awaits us!

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  • [Review] Acute Care

    Written by Dave Schuey (2011, 3Hombres)

    Acute Care was the third and final adventure released during 3Hombres Games tenure as the publishers of the Dark Conspiracy 3rd Edition roleplaying game. Primarily focused on a series of suspicious events occurring at a large fictional hospital – Pangate Memorial – it was, as the author notes, written to be either an introductory mission for potential new Minion Hunters, or utilised as a reoccurring location available to an experienced party of Investigators (and what group of Minion Hunters isn’t in constant need for good medical facility?).

    So does Acute Care live up to its stated goals? Is it an ‘operation’ needing urgent undertaking, or simply a product that survives simply on ‘life support’? Grab your surgical kit, load up on (legally prescribed) drugs and let’s find out!

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  • [Review] Nightsider – A Folio Adventure in Three Parts

    Written by Michael C. LaBossiere (1992, GDW)

    Nightsider was the second and final ‘folio’-style adventure released by Games Designer Workshop (GDW) in the Dark Conspiracy line. Well, when I say adventure, I actually mean a collection of three loosely connected scenarios based in Maine, New England (but easily transferable) that all involve an otherworldly invasion by the the titular Nightsiders. These creatures, beings able to inhabit the bodies of the dead, are slowing but surely infiltrating our dimension, and, as always, it falls on the Minion Hunters to stop this invasion before it is too late.

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  • [Review] A Gathering Evil – A Dark Conspiracy Novel

    Awakening in a speeding ambulance, with the scream of its undulating siren ripping your brain apart, is not a pleasant experience. It becomes even less so when you realize you’re in a body bag zipped up tight and you can’t move. Trapped in suffocating darkness, with the rubberized canvas pulling at your flesh, you realize that if this is death, eternity in a grave will be hell itself.

    And so begins A Gathering Evil, Michael Stackpole’s first novel in what was to become the Fiddleback trilogy. Be warned spoilers follow!

    Plot Summary

    As quoted from above, A Gathering Evil starts in the most dire of circumstances, but then moves into a classic romp through a vibrant post-depression world. It is through the eyes of the protagonist, Tycho Caine (a man who knows nothing of his past, not even if Tycho is his real name), that we learn about this alternate 2010s; from the depths of the Eclipse (the name given to the massive solar panel array that now covers most of downtown Pheonix) all the way to the top of the most prestigious of corporate towers. Much like Dark Conspiracy itself, the story is one of fighting back against an unknowable enemy, a universe where it seems it is always left to a collection of misfits and social outcasts to make right when others can, or will, not.

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  • [Review] Minion Hunter – The Dark Conspiracy Boardgame

    Minion Hunter

    With Game Designers’ Workshop starting life as a boardgaming company, it was probably little surprise that Dark Conspiracy eventually got its own boardgame – Minion Hunter – in 1992. Created by Lester Smith, and developed with both a solo and co-operative style play (for up to six players) in mind, it pits the namesake Minion Hunters against a number of Dark One plots across the breathe and width of Dark America. In a race against time, the players need to upskill, and fit out their characters before it is too late!

    So, is the career of a Minion Hunter everything they say it is? Does it lead to a life of wealth and glory, or simply madness and death? More over, are the players themselves going to be able to survive a game that offers as much balance and consistency as a lost marble? Let’s find out!

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  • [Review] New Orleans

    Written by Eric W. Haddock (1991, GDW)

    GDW2101 - Dark Conspiracy - New Orleans (MJS)New Orleans hit the shelves in 1991 as the first book produced by Game Designers Workshop (GDW) in support of their new Dark Conspiracy game-line. More than simply an adventure, New Orleans is part scenario, part city supplement, and in many ways the blueprint for the books that were to follow.

    Note that this review accompanies an interview darkconspiracytherpg.info conducted with the author of this supplement, Eric Haddock. This can be found here – Eric Haddock – Author of New Orleans

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  • [Review] Challenge Magazine – The Scenarios (Issues 53-56)

    By Eric W Haddock, Lester W. Smith, Dr Michael C LaBossiere, & Charles E. Gannon

    From the release of Dark Conspiracy in 1990 through to the closure of their doors in 1995, GDW supported our favourite horror game through their in house magazine ‘Challenge’.  Over 40 issues and five years this magazine provided numerous scenarios, stories and other support material for the Dark Conspiracy, and saw the emergence of numerous well respected authors. As an ongoing feature, DCtRPG.info will be reviewing this material and giving our frank and honest opinions on how it pertains to the game today…

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  • [Review] Darktek – The Sourcebook of Technology & Terror

    Written by Charles E. Gannon (1991, GDW)

    The Darktek sourcebook is a bit of a departure for this site and its reviews; it is the first non-adventure (or campaign) that we have looked at. Weighing in at just over 100 pages, the Darktek sourcebook is a collection of devices, tools and weapons that are examples of the advances in technology that have come about since the arrival of the ET races and the Dark Minions.

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  • [Review] Detour

    Written by the 3Hombres Team (2011, 3Hombres)

    Detour is a 14 page Dark Conspiracy adventure that explores portions of New BosWash and the Outlaw lands that surround it. The first by the new DC licensee, 3 Hombres Games, it is available only as a pdf (via DrivethruRPG), for a price point of $6.99 USD (as part of a bundle). With a new and interesting approach, it offers an insight into the direction that 3 Hombres Games is to take Dark Conspiracy in the future.

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  • [Review] Ice Daemon

    Written by Creede and Sharleen Lambard (1992, GDW)

    Ice_Daemon_fullIce Daemon is a 16 page adventure published in 1992 by Game Designers Workshop for the Dark Conspiracy gameline. It is the first of a new type of folio style adventures produced by GDW, and was indicative of a shot-lived change to the company’s publishing methodology (this format would be used in one other Dark Conspiracy adventure – Nightsider – and at least one adventure for the company’s MERC: 2000 gameline). Generally well received at the time of publication, Ice Daemon remains a good addition to the line, especially as an introduction to new players entering the world of Dark Conspiracy!

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  • [Review] Among the Dead

    Written by Mark Galeotti and Loren K. Wiseman (1992, GDW)

    Among the Dead is an 82-page adventure published in 1992 by GDW for the Dark Conspiracy game line. Complete with GDW’s higher-than-average quality of layout and art (at least for the time), this scenario is one of the best ever produced for DC, although its not without its flaws.

    The one-line summary Among the Dead is “a cracking good read, bringing  Russia — at least Russia as it exists in the world of Dark Conspiracy — to life”. However, while the story begins strong, with a detailed introduction and hook, the scenario soon fades as with the initial mystery is lost among a variety of competing agendas.

    That said, its hard to do this scenario justice in one simple sentence, so let’s look at Among the Dead in a little more detail…

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