When we started work on Dark Conspiracy, we knew if should be/would be Traveller-based (in terms of the rules). However, Traveller is more than just 'roll two dice, add modifiers, try to get 8 or more.' Traveller is effectively a set of interconnected mini-games that allow a Referee to create adventures without serious preparation. You never need be at a loss for adventure!
But how to do this in Dark Conspiracy?
Well, we had the mission structure as far as the Company is concerned (showcased in the last update), and we had the name of the game - Dark... Conspiracy...
How would it be if we blended those together? What if it were the players who were uncovering their own conspiracy, independent of the Referee?
Could we get that to work?
Starting the Conspiracy
We knew this needed to have minimal Referee-input. As much as possible, it would be driven by the players alone. So, we had the idea that the Operatives would dig around, doing their research, and the Referee would award them with 'conspiracy headlines'.
These would be short one-liners that could be gleaned from the Internet, conspiracy-focussed magazines (you know the ones), or drawn from random in the Core Rulebook (we have an Appendix filed with them - everything from 'Weird radio pulses detected under the Antarctic ice' to 'They're turning the fricking frogs gay!'). The more sensationalist, the better.
It starts so simply...
The Referee then takes a step back and lets the Operatives get on with it.
Everyone is Missing This!
The Operatives start by making Investigate checks. If successful, the Referee gives them a headline. This headline has a Veracity equal to Effect of the check.
Headline in hand, the Operatives decide whether it relates to an Event, Location, Entity, Obfuscation, Beneficiary or Victim. They are given a Conspiracy Web chart (that, coincidentally, looks like a six-spoked spider's web), and places that headline at the outermost edge of the web, on the spoke that relates to one of those categories.
So, if the Operatives heard about radio pulses at the South Pole, they might decide that is an Event or a Location, perhaps, and place it there.
They need to fill each of those categories with a headline, so will need to get six before they can really start investigating.
As the campaign continues, they will 'finesse' those headlines with a variety of checks, representing them trawling the internet, talking to contacts, visiting locations and performing reconnaissance, and so on. This will, hopefully, improve the Veracity of a headline.
Bringing it All Together
Operatives will have the chance to swap headlines between conspiracy categories, and add new ones. The goal is to improve the Veracity of each headline and bring it closer to the centre of the web while constructing a narrative of how everything fits together.
Who knows what they find when they go off piste?
When the centre of the web is surrounded on all six categories, the Operatives then present their grand conspiracy to the Referee, showing how everything fits together and ready to take action on a mission of their very own, with no Company involvement!
Complications
Finding headlines and improving their Veracity is easy at first, requiring only a few hours between Company-assigned missions. However, as the Operatives get drawn ever deeper intwined with their conspiracy, it begins to take over their lives, with checks taking days, weeks... months of all-consuming research and explanation.
The truth is out there! It must be!
At some point, deep into their investigations, the Referee can present them with a Breakthrough. This is purely optional (and is really just a method for the Referee to stick their oar in), and is done by the Operatives being contacted by a stranger 'in the know' who can give them new leads and let them know that they are close... very, very close.
If you have seen the episode of The X-Files where Deep Throat is first introduced or Donald Sutherland’s character in the film JFK, you will know exactly how to portray this.
Conversely, the Operatives can try to discard a headline that is not working for them. However, this requires a check too, and failure will mean that, maddeningly, they cannot see the connection but just know it is part of the conspiracy!
It is possible we may be right...
Over to the Referee
When the Operatives present their grand conspiracy, the Referee is free to knock it back and tell them to try harder with their narrative - it has to make some sort of sense!
However, if it all seems... somewhat plausible, the Referee takes the Veracity score of each headline the Operatives have been massaging, and converts it into a Truth score - secretly determining whether the Operatives are just plain wrong... or right on the money (ranging from The Complete Opposite to The Unvarnished Truth, with levels in-between).
We then help the Referee to create a mission (or several missions!) that will allow the Operatives to uncover the truth, whatever it may be, and end the evil they (think) they have uncovered, using he framework that the Operatives themselves created.
But.... String?
We have given an optional rule for Operative-Generated Missions. Instead of the Conspiracy Web, the Operatives are (physically) given a white board... and red string.
In this version, the white board gets filled with handouts and scrap notepaper, with the Operatives trying to connect headlines by red string to show how they are all related.
This method is much more... confusing, but very much in the theme of Operative-Generated Missions!
You sure we thought this through>?
To a great extent, this is our favourite part of the Dark Conspiracy Core Rulebook. Some groups may ignore it completely, we think most will dabble as part of an on-going campaign, but some... well, there is every chance that Operative-Generated Missions will become the sole focus of a few groups!
