The new Dark Conspiracy RPG, a game of horror in the modern world, is on its way this summer. It is time to crack open the chest and see what is inside!
So, what will your players be doing in this game?
Well, for a start, they are not Travellers - they are all handpicked Operatives, chosen specially for their skills and experience to act as a cell in fighting against the Dark Minions who have started pressing through dimensions onto the Earth.
Operative Creation
If you have played Traveller, there will be much here familiar to you - after you roll for your characteristics, you will choose some background skills, and then choose whether you will go to university or not.
Then, onto your career!
You do not need to qualify for a career in Dark Conspiracy, you just have to choose one. After all, you have been specially selected for the life of an Operative, so you are obviously someone who is capable and gets what they want in their working life!
The Careers
As with Traveller, each career has three assignments, chosen when you enter the career in your first term.
Agent: Covers Corporate, Government and Military. This includes law enforcement, corporate operatives, analysts and spies. You will be doing the sneaky stuff and uncovering the intelligence that no one else has access to.
Empath: Empathic powers have started emerging amongst humanity, though they are rare, obviously linked to the Dark Dimensions... and no one really knows anything about them, least of all the Empaths themselves. Here, you can choose to be a Mystic (basically an untrained hippy), the Military Empath (trained as well as you can be to use Empathic powers offensively), or the immensely powerful Test Subject. Being an Empath is a raw deal for anyone, but a Test Subject will start their new life carrying... a lot of baggage.
We will be diving into how Empathy works in a future Planet Mongoose post!
Mercenary: Either a Bodyguard, Fixer or Warfighter, you do violence for money. Or make a living from others doing violence for money...
Military: Covering Frontline, Aircrew and Sailor. You have been trained to do violence, but it is done with honour and for your country. You may be a natural leader for your cell of Operatives.
Scientist: You will choose to work as a Field, Laboratory or Theoretical Researcher - and all three will be powerful forces when it comes to working out the secrets of the Dark Minions and the magnitude of threat they pose.
Technical: Practical solutions for real world problems, that is your strength. You will be working as a Computer Tech, Engineer or Medical Tech. Cutting edge technology in specific fields are your weapons, and you make them potent.
Underworld: It is not just the 'good guys' who are recruited to fight the Dark Minions. Bounty Hunters, Enforcers and Thieves all have special skill sets that can be used in defence of the Earth.
'Special' Careers
As well as this list of careers, Dark Conspiracy includes two more in its appendices.
Prisoner: Even someone guilty of heinous crimes could be essential to protect humanity, and going to prison for a good portion of your life will not automatically eliminate your chances of being recruited. Underworld careers risk this step, obviously, but Mercenaries can all too easily fall foul of the law too...
Civilian: This is the 'Everyman', the poor Joe or Jane who, somehow, got mixed up in Dark Minion activity, could not get past that experience, and so started digging further. They ran into one or more of the Operatives and so are already known to them, and have been dragged into the cell without really knowing what the hell they are doing there. However, they are also the 'heart' of the cell, binding everyone together when the fight is at its toughest. They also have access to 'normal', real world skills that super-serious Operatives may well lack.
Events and Mishaps
Operatives run through Events and risk Mishaps as much as Travellers do. However, in Dark Conspiracy, these can have a decidedly nasty (and supernatural) twist to them. Chances are, when your Operative becomes ready for duty, they will have already encountered some manifestation of the Dark and will likely be wanting to learn more...
The Civilian/Everyman is a special case here. Most of their life is humdrum, ordinary... a bit boring. Right up until they get their 'inciting event', the encounter with the Dark that shatters all their illusions of what the world really is.
This is the point at which they leave 'civilian' life and join a new cell of Operatives to fight against what is so obviously the ultimate evil.
Skill Packages
Dark Conspiracy is no one-trick pony, and campaigns can be adapted for a variety of playing styles. The Skill Packages applied after all the Operatives are about to embark on their new lives are a part of this.
You will get the choice of a 'general' Operative package, but also Diplomat, Explorer, Investigator and Warfighter.
So, you can lean into spies/intelligence operatives, military-style special operations, archaeologists trekking into remote areas of wilderness, a bunch of civilians clustered around one semi-knowledgeable scientist (or librarian, probably not in a school... but you do you), a secret cabal within a mighty but hidden corporation, or a group of conspiracy theorists travelling the world in their van, recreational vehicle or boat.
This all works perfectly well in Dark Conspiracy. We made sure of it.
Check back on Planet Mongoose next week to see another reveal!
