Conspiracy X

Pray its only a game

Setting

Conspiracy X's gaming concept is based in three pillars: aliens, supernatural powers and mysterious agencies.

Aliens are just what they are generally believed to be: extraterrestrial creatures from distant solar systems who, for one reason or another, made it to our to settle down, strike a bargain or otherwise have a good time. Among them are, for instance, the well-known Grays, slender humanoids with unproportionally big heads, big eyes and smalls mouths - the kind of fellows all fans of the X-Files know perfectly well. And, indeed, the Grays do what their reputation would expect them to and what they are best known for: they abduct innocent people to use them for their experiments, or even worse treatment. There are several other alien races and it stands to reason that all of them are superior to us humans. Otherwise, they would hardly have covered the vast distances between their and our beloved world.

Some individuals, even some of us humans, possess powers that ordinary people, who are used to television, doughnuts and traffic jams, would most certainly call "strange". We are talking powers here that are controlled by sheer will, powers scholars would somehow circumscribe with psionic, or divine. The actual effects of these powers differ from person to person and the number of those to posess any is very, very low, not to speak of the ones who are able to effectively master their talents. There is no doubt that bearers of such powers are considered valuable and being looked for by the different parties on the chess board.

Of the latter, quite a number exists, though most are just fractions and branches of organizational wings of a few major masterminds. The two most important are The Black Book and Aegis. The Black Book is made up of the kind of white-collared guys in black suits you might know from countless movies. They are the bad guys, operating from a central camp in the Nevada desert. The other side, Aegis, the good guys, are organized in a hierarchical structure, reaching down as far as to small independent groups called Cells. This is where the player characters fit into to deal with and against TBB, the aliens and all types of bad manners.

It should be mentioned that both, The Book as well as Aegis, once belonged to a single organization formed during WW2 to counter Germany's attempt to win the war by employing nasty, supernatural means. After the war, these intelligence agencies survives to monitor and control mysterious incidences in general. After a disagreement of its members of how to deal with the well-known Roswell incident, the organization split up, its former members becoming vicious enemies on opposite sides.

Playing the game

Conspiracy X offers its players a versatile system to compile and customize their characters with attributes, skills, abilities and disadvantages. That way, you can expect to be able to play exactly the kind of character you like most. Skills and equipment mostly depend on the kind of organization your are part of, before or after you be have been chosen a member of Aegis.

The game superbly combines the contemporary high-tech setting with the cloak-and-dagger aspects of the unknown, be this extra terrestrial creatures and technology or mundane humans practising forbidden magic rituals. This all is served in a well-defined manner: while shocked (or amused) by the incidents going on around you, you rarely get the impression of being an unworthy bystander, unable to make a difference. Instead, you are part of the game every minute and are let to believe that your presence and actions are required for the very plot to proceed.

C-X's rules set and game mechanics convey the scenario's idea quickly and swiftly. The rules are easy to comprehend and neither stand in your way, nor restrict your actions when you are right in the middle of tracing and following the mysterious enemy's tracks, tracks he might have left behind while commiting a crime or doing harm to a society you are (in a certain way) supposed to protect and to serve.