<+DC-Jason> I’m Jason Durall, line editor for the new Dark Conspiracy game. I’ve been a gamer for about 38 years, since convincing my parents to buy the 1st edition D&D from the Sears catalog at Christmas. I’ve been working in the pen-and-paper game industry as a freelancer for about 25 years on and off and worked in computer games for 15 years.
<+DC-Jason> I also moonlight as the line editors for Conan, from Modiphius, and RuneQuest, from Chaosium.
<+SilentPat> Okay – my name is Patric Goetz and i’m the owner of Clockwork Publishing (Uhrwerk Verlag) in germany. We publish 2-3 books each month for various game lines. I’m more of a sidekick in this chat, since Jason our main editor knows way more about the new DC then me. I CAN however answer “technical” questions about the crowdfunding, i hope 😉
<+DC-Jason> The game is Dark Conspiracy, based on the original Lester Smith game first published in 1991 by GDW. It’s an action-horror game with an emphasis on investigation and combat, set in a dystopian future world where an alien horror is infiltrating human society and destroying the world.
<+DC-Jason> This is the 4th edition, the first to make significant changes to the rules and setting.
<+DC-Jason> We’re staying true to the themes and tone of the original, and it’s definitely the same game, but we’re modernizing some of the treatment of the setting and the rules have been streamlined and updated for easier, faster play.
<+DC-Jason> (done)
<+DC-Jason> Fire away!
<~Dan> Thanks, guys! The floor is open to questions!
<~Dan> How have you updated the system for this edition?
<+DC-Jason> We’ve gone to a d20-based system first proposed in the PC Booster Kit published for 1st edition, and streamlined it from there. Character creation is easier and has more options, without the clear and overwhelming dominance of military characters.
<~Dan> How does task resolution work in this edition?
<+DC-Jason> Combat has been simplified somewhat so it’s, again, not overwhelmingly dominated by military characters.
<+DC-Jason> Stat + Skill with a modifier for difficulty, roll under. 1s always succeed, 20s always fail. 10 below the target number are outstanding successes, and 10 above are outstanding failures. (crits and fumbles)
<+DC-Jason> Damage is d6s plus modifiers.
<+Griff> Did you get rid of the multiple damage rules?
******Session 2 starts here******
<+SilentPat> My name is PAtric Goetzt and i’m a poleplayer since 1984 (when i was twelve). I’m the owner of Clockwork Publishing in germany. We do about a dozend different rpg lines in german, both creations of our own and translations.
<+SilentPat> we publish about 2-3 books each month.
<+Jason-DC> I’m Jason Durall, line editor for Dark Conspiracy. I’m a freelancer for Uhrwerk Verlag/Clockwork. I’ve been bouncing around the pen-and-paper industry for about 25 years, working on many, many games. Right now I’m a line editor for RuneQuest, Dark Conspiracy, and Conan.
<+SilentPat> Dark Conspiracy will be our second line we do in english, besides Space: 1889.
<+SilentPat> done
<+Jason-DC> Dark Conspiracy is a new version of the game first released in 1991, one of the first few horror game lines and one of the more successful ones in its time.
<+Jason-DC> It’s dystopian horror set in a near-future with an emphasis on investigation and action.
<+Jason-DC> The new system is simplified and the setting is updated to modern sensibilities.
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<&Beelzedude> Thanks, SilentPat, Jason-DC. The floor is open to questions.
<&Beelzedude> What kind of system does the game use and is there a significant change from the old one?
<+Jason-DC> It’s a roll-low stat+skill+modifier d20-based system (not the OSR/WotC one).
<+Jason-DC> The original system used a d10 and was scaled quite differently.
<+Jason-DC> Take a character’s relevant stat, add their relevant skill, modify those by a difficulty modifier (anywhere from -9 for impossible and +6 for dirt simple) and roll under.
<+Jason-DC> A 1 is always a success, a 20 always fails. Roll 10 lower than what you need and it’s an outstanding success, roll 10 higher and it’s an outstanding failure.
<+Jason-DC> Damage uses d6s.
<+Jason-DC> Some of the original game’s DNA is in there, but combat has been made much easier to run, and much fairer for non-military characters.
<+Jason-DC> In the old system anyone without military experience was pretty much useless in a fight.
<+Jason-DC> Now normal people have a fighting chance.
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<+Dan> How have you simplified combat
<&Beelzedude> Talking about damage and this being a near-future game, what kind of weaponry is present in the game?
<+Jason-DC> Many, many guns, explosives, etc. There’s a bit of a retro-tech feeling, where tech kind of reached an apex when the world changed for the worse, and now people don’t trust high-tech stuff as much.
<+Jason-DC> The world is basically in the middle of an invasion from otherworldly forces, alien entities of immense power and “evil” who are slowly “terrorforming” the world into something they can inhabit.
<+Jason-DC> They are pretty monstrous. Reality as it stands basically tries to keep them out, so they need to work through their henchmen, dark minions, and use human collaborators to help achieve their goals.
<+Jason-DC> These humans have cut deals with these beings for various reasons of their own – power, wealth, psychological reasons, nihilism, etc. – and they’re forming the dark conspiracy of the game’s title.
<&Beelzedude> Are we talking your basic Cthulhus and Nyarlathoteps or something different?
<+Jason-DC> The incursion of these monstrous otherworlds into our own are called demongrounds. In and near demongrounds, tech doesn’t always work right, things can’t be trusted.
<+Jason-DC> Something different… a bit more Hastur if you’re thinking of the Mythos. But this is its own thing.
<&Beelzedude> Nice, own things are good. 😀
<+Jason-DC> Yes.
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<&Beelzedude> Did you see Dan’s question?
<+Jason-DC> Ah… combat as it stood went in a turn based system where military characters had more actions than anyone else. It made waiting around to act extremely dull for non military characters.
<&Beelzedude> Can you tell us a bit more about the setting and what kid of characters players are expected to play?
<+Jason-DC> Now it’s a rolled initiative plus modifiers for skills, and you go in order. Outstanding successes do extra damage. NPCs are simpler than minion hunter characters, so they’re easier to run.
<+Jason-DC> The more damage you take, the more negative modifiers to your actions.
<+Jason-DC> So, characters…
<+Jason-DC> As mentioned, the world is ours but there’s a divergence… sometime in the late 20-teens the early stages of the invasion became overt. It was happening for a long time, but was much less subtle and people just didn’t really understand or believe it was happening.
<+Jason-DC> The abandoned places between cities became the first incursion, where the demongrounds started to manifest. They tainted the areas with their presence, causing normal people to leave.
<+Jason-DC> Police and the governments stopped enforcing the laws in these between spaces and they became lawless. Cities grew into to immense sprawling metroplexes. The line between the haves and have-nots got wider and wider.
<+Jason-DC> Corporations stepped in, essentially replacing most government services. People sold their rights to vote to the corporations in return for sustenance living in dreary cell blocks that were at least better than being homeless.
<+Jason-DC> The rich have become more insulated from the poor, and surround themselves with security, walls, and will do almost anything to maintain that status quo.
<+Jason-DC> Meanwhile, now that the corporations pretty much control the governments, they can do whatever they want.
<+Saurbaum> Sounds very Dredd
<+Jason-DC> The dark forces that work within are slowly infiltrating human settlements the same way they’ve taken over parts of the countryside, and some of them are quite adept at walking among us. Some of those humans who’ve joined ranks with them are no longer entirely human.
<~Dan> Okay! I’m here for reals.
<+Jason-DC> Yeah… I think Judge Dredd was probably an early inspiration for Lester Smith’s original creation of the setting.
<~Dan> How much does the tech level of the new version resemble that of the old?
<~Dan> I notice that there’s a full-blown cyborg in the promo art, for example.
<+Jason-DC> Somewhat, but modernized. There are smartphones and the internet and all of the things that Smith hadn’t anticipated, and a lot less of the cyborg stuff, robots, and space travel.
<+Jason-DC> He’s pretty special… the average human doesn’t have access to cyberwear the way the old game allowed them to. That feels more like Shadowrun’s turf.
<+Jason-DC> That said, “Escaped Military Cyborg” is indeed a character archetype.
<~Dan> Well, in the old game, cyborgs were abductees, weren’t they?
<+Jason-DC> Yep.
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<~Dan> Is that still the case?
<+Jason-DC> They’re more military experiments than alien abductees.
<+Jason-DC> We’re drawing a pretty clear line between humankind and the stuff of the “dark ones”, so darktech is still pretty nasty and mysterious.
<~Dan> Ah, I see. The cybernetics didn’t seem to fit that well into the whole Darktech stuff anyway.
<+Jason-DC> It’s hard to keep that special and unique when a player has half their body augmented with it.
<+Jason-DC> Yes.
<+Jason-DC> Darktech definitely still exists – it’s even in the quickstart – but it’s not really something anyone wants to have or use.
<~Dan> Has the backstory changed at all regarding the E.T.s and the origin of the downturn of society?
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<+Jason-DC> Somewhat. It’s a bit more mysterious, and we’re leaving some of it up to the GM to determine, with alternate explanations for what is happening and why.
<&Beelzedude> Do you, perchance, have a link to a character sheet and/or could tell us something about character creation?
<~Dan> Are the E.T.s still a thing, though? I loved the fact that the original version had honest-to-God flying saucers. 🙂
<+Jason-DC> Let me catch up… so society is having a big downturn because of the influence of the dark ones. Their presence is causing extreme emotional and psychological distress on humankind, just as their presence torments reality itself.
<+Jason-DC> There are aliens who are antithetical to the dark ones, but we’re going a bit weirder with them.
<~Dan> Ah…. No more Humanoid/Insectoid/Tentacular/Energy?
<+Jason-DC> In a world where we’ve got X-Files, Supernatural, and Fringe, it’s a bit less interesting to do the kitchen sink approach for What’s Out There.
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> I can see that.
<+Jason-DC> The character sheet is still being designed. We’re finalizing some stuff with rules and the skill list and then will have it.
<~Dan> Have you done away with the “Conan the Marksman” issue? 🙂
<+Jason-DC> Character creation is straightforward and reminiscent of the old… you can pick a social class or background, one or more professions, learn some skills and gain some contacts, then age appropriately. Then you have an inciting incident that turned you into a minion hunter vs just living your life normally.
<+Jason-DC> We’ve let it be more player choice-driven, so it’s a lot less rolling to see if you can join another profession. Some have pre-reqs, but that’s about it.
<+Jason-DC> As noted, the biggest change to the combat system was getting things under control so that certain types of characters didn’t dominate to the detriment of everyone else.
<~Dan> But are firearms still Strength-based?
<+Jason-DC> Some attribute and skill pairings have been re-assigned towards that.
<+Jason-DC> Nope.
<~Dan> Oh thank God. 🙂
<+Jason-DC> They are in fact Agility-based.
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> (Howdy, GenoFoxx!)
<+GenoFoxx> hiya Dan, Azander, Beelzework
<+Jason-DC> Some guns may have Strength requirements that minion hunters will be penalized for if they don’t meet.
<~Dan> While we’re on the subject, what are the attributes?
<+Jason-DC> Right now it’s all in fine-tuning.
<+Jason-DC> STR, CON, AGL, INT, EDU, CHA, and EMP (Empathy).
<~Dan> In terms of Empathy, how have Empathic powers changed in this edition? (And for those unfamiliar, perhaps you should explain what Empathic powers are first?)
<~Dan> (Howdy, Akyla!)
<+Jason-DC> Empathic powers are pretty similar. Part of the thing that’s happening to humankind is that the tension of the dark ones’ influence on the world is causing a rise in “strange mental powers” and abilities. People are becoming more sensitive to the unnatural, and some more acutely so. As this is the same world we’re in now, the governments are naturally trying
<~Dan> (cut off at “naturally trying”)
<+Jason-DC> to exploit this and have re-activated their old ESP/TK etc. powers.
<+Jason-DC> (yep)
<+Jason-DC> or rather, “power research departments.”
<~Dan> So can PCs have TK, for example? IIRC, that was initially reserved for the Dark Ones.
<+Jason-DC> Not initially. As things evolve those sorts of things will begin showing up. The Paranormal Sourcebook has guidelines for letting that stuff come in earlier, if the referee wishes.
<~Dan> Speaking of the Paranoramal Sourcebook, will it have new rules for Sorcery, Psionics, and Mysticism (IIRC)?
<+Jason-DC> Empathy is useful, but comes at a cost, and definitely isn’t superpowers.
<+Jason-DC> We’re looking at how those three things might just be different ways of accessing the same actual phenomena.
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> So you’ll likely have the same basic rules for each, instead of unique rules for each?
<+Jason-DC> (a bit like how Charlie Stross handled magic as basically being incredibly advanced mathematics)
<+Jason-DC> Same basic principles, but different paths to access the powers.
<+Jason-DC> Again, we’re dialing back the “everything goes” approach.
* ~Dan nods
<+Jason-DC> Referees will still be able to tell the same types of stories they like, but we’re compartmentalizing the flavors of weirdness, basically. 🙂
<~Dan> 🙂
<~Dan> (Howdy, Teylen!)
<+Jason-DC> (have I missed any questions so far?)
<+Teylen> (Howdy Dan)
<~Dan> Speaking of weirdness, most of the creatures in the original editions were based on mythology-except-not-really. To what extent will that be the case in this edition, and will you be introducing unique creatures?
<~Dan> (I don’t think so, re: questions.)
<+Jason-DC> We’re going a bit bespoke with the creatures, and dialing way back on the mythological ones.
<+Jason-DC> These days, mummies and vampires and Egyptian monster snakes don’t carry the same “oomph” as something like the Demogorgon.
* ~Dan nods
<+Jason-DC> We want a lot more “What the hell is that?!?” before minion hunters open fire.
<~Dan> The art looks much more Lovecraft/Clive Barker than it did in earlier editions
<+Jason-DC> (I have no idea why Egyptian was green)
<~Dan> (Probably because a guy named egyptian is in here. 😀 )
<+Jason-DC> Yes, more Lovecraft, more weirdness… more squicky stuff, more things that cannot be described. There’s also the notion that we’re not necessarily seeing these things the way they really appear, like, for example, people in the Bible described angels in these totally weird terms.
<+Jason-DC> (mystery solved)
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<+Jason-DC> Some of the classic original creatures from DC will be here, though, and the Unnatural Sourcebook will have a lot more weird creatures and maybe some things that look like mythology/folklore-but-not-really.
<~Dan> I forget what the mini-dimensions were called in the earlier editions… Are those still a thing, or do the Dark Ones come from other full-blown dimensions?
<+Jason-DC> There are multiple other dimensions, some full and some almost fleeting and miniscule, but they’re a bit amorphous. Again, we’d like to keep things a bit mysterious. Not so much of a straightforward “Dark One is boss of their own dimension” setup.
<+Jason-DC> There’s also the notion that the other dimensions are completely weird, and that humans have a hard time even perceiving them. Hence, madness.
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> Oh, you mentioned earlier the PCs opening fire on the monsters… One thing that bothered me about previous editions was that no matter how much investigation the PCs did, the answer always seemed to be “shoot it lots”. Has that changed?
<+Jason-DC> No more robed, bat-winged demon lord with his demon babe.
<+Jason-DC> We’re going with a bit more subtlety in how missions can be accomplished. Some of the threats can’t be dealt with using physical means, for example.
<~Dan> That’s good to know.
<+Jason-DC> Action is still a part of the setting – one of the core design pillars – but we don’t want to turn every scenario into an inevitable firefight.
<~Dan> (Mind if we pause for just a moment? Bio-break time.)
<+Jason-DC> So scenarios can have alternate means of solving the problems.
<+Jason-DC> Sure!
<+Jason-DC> (done)
<~Dan> Thanks!
<~Dan> If anyone else has questions, please feel free to continue!
<+Jason-DC> I would be remiss in not posting the link to the crowdfunding campaign: (Link: https://www.gameontabletop.com/crowdfunding-189.html?)https://www.gameontabletop.com/crowdfunding-189.html?
<~Dan> Ah, yes! Speaking of which, what led you to choose that over Kickstarter?
<+Jason-DC> I summon the presence of SilentPat!
<+SilentPat> we choose gameontabletop, because we had very good experiences with it in the past
<~Dan> Ah, I see…. How is the funding going so far?
<+SilentPat> it is quite well known in germany, but to be honest we underestimated the exposure we would have gotten if we had used Kickstarter
<+SilentPat> so the funding is.. okay, but would probably have been better IF we had used Kickstarter
* ~Dan nods
<+SilentPat> we reached our second bonus goal (stretchgoal) yesterday with a littel bit over a week to go, so we can still reach some more 🙂
<~Dan> That’s good!
<~Dan> As I recall, the rationale for retro-tech was that people couldn’t afford high-tech items anymore, and that (for example) vacuum tubes have come back into use. Is that still the case?
<+Jason-DC> In some cases, yes. Both out of fashion and because they’re more reliable than digital mediums.
<~Dan> Is that due to Demongrounds?
<+Jason-DC> A running concern is that everyone has stopped trusting tech to the degree they used to.
<+Jason-DC> Yes, and more…
<+Jason-DC> Older machinery is generally more reliable when the unnatural are around. It’s more durable (in many cases) and less traceable.
<~Dan> Are fashions retro as well?
<+Jason-DC> We’re going lower-key with that. I think that the retro-fashion doesn’t work that well, visually.
<+Jason-DC> But there are certainly some retro trends.
<~Dan> Oh? Like what?
<+Jason-DC> Just in fashion. But it’s not the overall aesthetic.
<+Jason-DC> Basically, from a psychological sense, people are taking comfort in the past, even if it’s not one they experienced firsthand, or even at all.
<+Jason-DC> So there might be retro food chains, design sensibilities, cars made to look like they’re vintage, etc.
* ~Dan nods
<+Jason-DC> Radios vs. smartphones when on investigations, etc.
<~Dan> On the flipside, how high does high tech get among the rich?
<+Jason-DC> A lot of people fearing what they’re signing away in EULAs.
<~Dan> EULAs?
<+Jason-DC> End User Licensing Agreement… the things you just click “agree” on when you buy a piece of tech these days, then find out later that your camera app has the right to own and distribute photos of your kids.
<+Jason-DC> Rich people can buy better versions of everything, but one thing they’re also able to afford is things that don’t come with strings attached.
<+Jason-DC> Someone who’s sold their vote to a corporation might be able to own a smartphone, but half the screen will be filled with constantly streaming ads and it sometimes definitely seems to be listening in and responding via targeted advertising and potentially informing police.
<~Dan> Ah, gotcha.
<+Jason-DC> The rich will have nice clean smartphones that aren’t traceable and don’t report their location history.
<+Jason-DC> Their clothes might be made of real fibers and cloth, and their furniture out of real wood.
<~Dan> How extensive is the game’s bestiary?
<+Jason-DC> Their townhouses and apartments have electronically altered views and probably screen out the toxins from the air.
<+Jason-DC> Ah, here’s a partial list: Stock NPCs (Average/Generic, Cops, Bikers, Cultists, Derelicts, Gangers, Government Agents, Guards, Soldiers), Animals, Handling Animals, Animals (Ant Swarms, Bears, Bee Swarms, Great Cats, Dogs, Horses, Snakes, Wolves), Minions, Handling Minions, Minions (Bloats, Blood Vultures, Cerberoids, Chimeras, Giant Roaches, Slithers, Spongi
<+Jason-DC> es), Designing Your Own Dark Minions, Dark Races | Darklings, Handling Dark Races, Dark Races (Animated Objects, Bloodkin, Trolls, Vampires, Changelings, Daemons, Extraterrestrials [Energy, Humanoid, Insectoid, Tentacular], Ghosts, Morlocks, Nukids, Undead [Mummies, Zombies])
<+Jason-DC> That’s from the crowdsourcing page… some things are similar in name only to their original versions.
<+Jason-DC> And there’s some new stuff.
<~Dan> Are vampires and trolls still the same species (bloodkin)? Or is that too much of a spoiler to say here? 🙂
<+Jason-DC> No, and no.
<~Dan> Good to know. 🙂
<~Dan> Going back to combat for just a moment: Did you get rid of the ridiculously complicated rules for auto-fire or (God help us all) auto-shotguns?
<+Jason-DC> Yes.
<~Dan> You are a saint, sir.
<~Dan> Given all the changes, how backwards-compatible will the new rules be with the old stuff?
<+Jason-DC> We’ll do a conversion guide. You can certainly run the older stuff with the new rules, but you’d need to adjust monster/NPC stats.
* ~Dan nods
<+Jason-DC> No mathematical formulae for determining blast damage, either.
<~Dan> Thank you!
<~Dan> How IS damage determined, btw? Random, with extra damage for criticals?
<+Jason-DC> d6s plus modifiers, with extra damage for outstanding successes.
<~Dan> Cool.
<~Dan> So in the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
<+Jason-DC> I’d like to save some secrets for the game itself. 🙂
<~Dan> And I’ll just remind folks that if you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee, you can do so at (Link: https://ko-fi.com/gmshoe)https://ko-fi.com/gmshoe 😀
<~Dan> Thanks very much for joining us, Jason-DC and SilentPat!
<+Jason-DC> Thanks for having us (again)!
<~Dan> I’m glad things went according to plan (pretty much) this time. 😀
<+Jason-DC> All good.
<~Dan> If you’ll give me just a minute here, I’ll get the log posted and link you. 🙂
<+SilentPat> 🙂