Don't Play With The Dark Tek ~ An Overview & Commentary About The Dark Conspiracy Rpg

"Behind the shadows of our world, the Dark Ones lurk, plotting humanity's ruin. Their Dark Minions stalk us, armed with horrific devices, the products strange and hideous sciences. Human agents capture what they can, hoping for weapons that will aid them in their fight. And in some secret strongholds, individual ETs who have escaped the darkness labor side by side with human scientists, creating items to hold the Dark Ones off.

Meanwhile the megacorporate sector pursues technologies that pander to the wealthy. For many, HiTek is the truest symbol of high status. Worn like a coat of arms, it distinguishes the movers and shakers from the increasingly disenfranchised hordes of 'commoners' below.

In this volume, you will find items ranging from the gruesome biologic weapons of the Dark Minions, to the futuristic constructs of the ETs, to the most advanced in human technology. But all belong to the world of Dark Conspiracy, a world that is itself ever more a product of DarkTek"

1991 ... Charles E. Gannon ... 104 pages ... GDW 2102 ... ISBN 155878084X

Dark Conspiracy was a game whose time ran out way back in the heady days of 1991 & really didn't have a chance to shine at all. One of the best books for the series was one which I constantly still turn to called Dark Tek. The game shined in three areas one was the alien technology, the second was the retro tech that was a part of the pulpy Great Depression setting of the game, & the third was the weird bio- mechanical stuff of the Dark Minions. 

Dark Tek is nasty stuff the book really shines through with over a hundred & four pages worth of weird stuff. Time & again this technology  has appeared in Mutant Future, Call of Cthlhu, & other horror rpg when I need something really special. There's a certain corruption factor to each & every item. 

The game really wasn't given its proper due & now still has a cult following among horror gamers. When you need something weird or out there this is a great book to turn to. 

The problem is as it was explained to me tonight that the game is way out of date when it comes to technology. Or is it? The background of the game is a general break down of society in a Greater Depression setting amid a United States indeed a world that is more Kult rpg then Dungeons & Dragons. Yet has the feel of a science fiction Saturday morning show. 

The artwork is decent the technology has the feel of a hybrid of alien/their corporate allies. An enterprising DM could adapt it for both Mutant Future or any game set in the Shadow Years of Metamorphosis Alpha or Gamma World 1st edition where a bit of extra punch was needed. 

 The artwork is typical of the Game Designers Workshop stuff of the time & there is a somewhat of a later 80s & 90s Dragon magazine science fiction feel to whole book. Some of the technology is weird & archaic now with a retro feel to it. But basically its good stuff for using this as a science fantasy horror jump off point.
There is a ton of stuff to mine here. 

 With the latest release of the X Com video game & the season of Halloween I've been taking a look at this who series again. The OSR market lately seems pretty closed up with the gothic horror motif being done to almost death so I wanted to look into something different.

 Using Dark Tek

 

At three dollars on Amazon its really a no brainer that the book is excellent value for the money.
With stuff like this on the back of the book: 

"Human agents capture what they can, hoping for weapons that will aid them in their fight. And in some secret strongholds, individual ETs who have escaped the darkness labor side by side with human scientists, creating items to hold the Dark Ones off.

Meanwhile the megacorporate sector pursues technologies that pander to the wealthy. For many, HiTek is the truest symbol of high status. Worn like a coat of arms, it distinguishes the movers and shakers from the increasingly disenfranchised hordes of 'commoners' below"
The game could well be set in an alternative Earth pretty damn close to our times with the Greater Depression lurking like some sort of pulp bully leaning over the whole setting. The monsters of Dark Conspiracy have a definiative  OD&D feel to them. The technology of the book feels like a nightmarish science fantasy source book & this is exactly how I've used it. Mutant Future easily adapts some of the technology & the setting is very stark & somewhat depressing.
Basically it cries out for heroes & dare I say super heroes or pulp heroes to inspire the masses. The whole thing is very Xfiles years before the xfiles were even around. Instead it feels like this old television show. 

The old War Of The Worlds television show 

The beauty of the setting is that it adapts to any science fiction horror rpg trope quite easily. With the usual GDW stats adapting to your favorite post apocalyptic game is a snap.
 I've heard rumors that the reason that the game has an OD&D feel is because a number of Tsr folks worked on this one. There's bits of Aliens in here, the Terminator, & any number of mid night science fiction movies as well. Dark Elves, Goblins,4 weird alien races including the greys, cyborgs, & various pieces of 50's weirdness. Dark Tek is great for filling in the missing bits & hardware for Mutant Future & giving a cyberpunk edge to a metric ton of OSR games. 

1d20 Random Dark Technology Corruption table 

1. The user begins to hear voices of various Dark Minions within his mind & to understand the insane ramblings of the unholy creatures. Save vs wands or being to slip bits & pieces of their dark tongue into your every day speech 
2. Strange marks appear upon your body & boils roll under your skin. They smell weird & bad minus 2 on Charisma 
3. Weird hallucinations keep happening & mutations seem to form randomly in these dreams. Unless a wisdom check is made they may happen in real life as well 
4. You have a random telepathic event. The whole world seems to crash in upon your mind. Random thoughts not your own happen for 1d4 rounds then happen again in 40 minutes the cycle continues for 1d4 hours 
5. You have dreams about demons & then people around you turning into them. You attract type 1&2 demons to you 
6. You can now speak the dark tongue. You no longer speak common at all. You must make a wisdom roll everytime you speak lest you lapse back into it again
7. A random circuit board pattern traces itself painfully across your skin each night & glows at night but by morning its gone 
8. There are aliens from another plane following you across every surface you see them. In every mirror their there again. Even now in the back of your mind their there & they mean to do you harm 
9. You are attracted to weapons & violence. You've become in sensed to the suffering of others. You have sadomasochistic tendencies. You must make a wisdom check each time you encounter a social situation to snap out of it or you lapse into the moment of enjoying or having imaginary waking dreams about the suffering of others. 
10. You grow 1d4 demonic or devil like minor features nothing that gives you bonuses but small mutations that take -2 to your Charisma immediately 
11. Holy water & symbols cause you pain. When confronted with these objects you must make a saving throw vs wands or be stunned for 1d4 rounds 
12. Your skin becomes translucent & grows thin. Weird alien organs roll under this strange flesh. Then after 4 rounds the illusion is gone or is it? Within 1d4 hours the mutations come back there is a 40% their real
13. Your reality matrix breaks down & you gain 1d4 mutations as you change to a horrifying monster from beyond the Outer Darkness 
14. There are voices in your head that are telling you to kill & kill again with a successful saving throw you banish these voices. For now 
15. You become apathetic to any high technology & are only comfortable around greenery & low tech items. There is a 20% of you wanting to smash any high technology around you. Should this happen you are unaware why you've done this 
16. You may only use Dark Tek as all other technology breaks down in your hands. You will deal 1d4 points of damage automatically to anything more complex then a ball point pen 
17. You must make a random mutation check otherwise gain 1d4 mutations. These are permanent
18. Your eyes can now truly see the real world beyond the illusion & there are things there that wish you dead. Your eyes are now sensitive to light 
19. A fine coat of tentacles sprouts across your body. You gain +1 on all observation & navigation checks. You perceive the reality beyond the pale in the Outer Darkness 
20. You become a demon fully please turn your character over to the DM as you become a lowly soul given to the powers of the abyss