Conspiracy X

In t r o d u c t io n Welcome Welcome to th e Conspiracy X dem o pack. Inside Inside you w ill ill find find everything you need to begin p laying laying the p remier mod ern-day, conspiracy roleplaying roleplaying gam e. Simply Simply take home one of these p acks (they’ (they’re re free), free), read it through , gather your friends, friends, some six-sided six-sided d ice, ice, and five five different different cards from a regu lar or CCG d eck, eck, and you ar e ready to play. Interested Interested Gam e Masters should should read throu gh this wh ole pack. They will find find introdu ctory remarks on the setting, setting, characters characters and backgroun ds of Conspiracy of Conspiracy X. X. After After that, a quick sum mary of the rules is presented. All this informainformation can be shared with the p layers. layers. The latter latter half of the pack contains a read y-to-run y-to-run mission mission for the pre-generated characters. characters. We hope you enjoy enjoy your introdu ction ction to th e Conspiracy X roleplaying roleplaying gam e. Further Further information information on the Conspiracy X line line of prod ucts can can be found at the end of the demo p ack, or by visiting visiting ww w.conspiracyx.c w.conspiracyx.com. om.

S et t in g

T h e Wo r l d o f C o n s pi pi r a c y X

On the sur face, face, the wor ld looks very mu ch like like the one outside your bed room w indow . The same people walk the same dirty streets. The same mind less drivel is is shown on the sam e TV stations. But But som etimes that just doesn’t seem right. Why do certain certain figures figures app ear out of nowhere and become become famous overnight? Why d o others disapp ear, never to be seen seen again? Just Just w hat is the government paying for w hen it shells shells out $75 for for a screwdriver? Why is it that the more qu estions you ask the less satisfi satisfied ed you are w ith the an swers? This is the natu re of conspiracies. This is the nature of Consp of  Consp iracy iracy X. X.

For the most part, the world of Consp of  Consp iracy iracy X is very mu ch like our own. Behind Behind the scenes, scenes, however, it is is a good deal more sinister (or so you h ope). The following following timeline traces key elements know n to all characters. characters.

In Consp iracy iracy X, X, the players assum e the roles of operatives and conspirators of Aegis, a secret organ ization at work w ithin the United States government. Aegis has been aw are of extraterrestrial and supernatural forces on Earth for over forty years. Aegis forms a secret bulwark against these menaces. Any m eans mu st be employed to stop these insidious forces. forces. Any m eans mu st be emp loyed to keep the war secret --- to keep pan ic from spread ing. Aegis agent stay in commu nication nication th roug h their H ERMES ERMES links. links. These palmtop computer terminals are linked by intricate encryption codes to each other and the main HERMES database. HERMES links are DNA coded to a single user and are often disguised as norm al items items (cell (cell phon es, Gameboys, PDAs, and elecelectronic phon e books). Aegis agents are expected expected to up load repor ts on all activities to HERMES.

At variou arious s point point s in t he follow following ing t ext , cert cert ain convent conve nt ions are used. 1D or 2D means means one or t wo six si x-s -sided ided dice di ce respect respect ive ively. ly. Df f ollowe ollowed d by a number number indicat es a Dif Difff icult y Lev Level. el. t me means ans Target Target Numb Number. er. Ot he hers rs will be det ailed as t he hey y are nee needed.

1 9 3 0 s : Wa W a t c h ma ma k e r Walter Stein Stein w as a British British intelligence intelligence agent w orkin g inside German y before World War II. Stein Stein was also an accomp accomp lished lished occultist, occultist, and wh at he learned abou t the grow ing Nazi occult pow er sent him fleeing fleeing back to England . T There, here, he convinced Chu rchill that m easures had to be taken. With Roosevelt’ Roosevelt’ss help, a secret secret organization, codenamed the Watch, was established established to combat th e occultists occultists of the N azi Secret Secret Doctrine. Doctrine. The Watch w as instrumental in halting or reversing Nazi occult gains before the war, and paving th e way for an Allied Allied m ilitary ilitary victory victory once hostilities began.

1 9 4 0 s : Th Th e S c h i s m After the war , the Watch shifted shifted direction. It It investigated the curious rep orts, arising arising from both Axis and Allied Allied p ilots, ilots, about Uniden tified tified Flying Objects Objects (UFOs), (UFOs), otherw ise know n a s Foo Fighters. Fighters. Over th e next couple of years, the Watch became convinced th at aliens were active on Earth. The Watch Watch began to direct its efforts toward investigating the UFO phenomena. In 1947, 1947, Watch psychics experim experim enting w ith long rang e commu nication nication contacted stran ge, unearthly m inds. Shortly thereafter, thereafter, advan ced ced guidance systems operators began tracking tracking a UFO moving erratically erratically over the White Sand Sand s Proving Groun d in N ew Mexico. Mexico. Once the contact became became r egular, the Watch decided to act. A vocal minority argu ed that the craft shou shou ld be groun ded , and examined. Only then could mankind meet the aliens aliens on equal footing, footing, and av oid being overwhelmed ph ysicall ysically y or psychically. chically. The minority w as ou tvoted in favor of p eaceful eaceful contact.

The Watch set up Op eration Dove, a psychic comm un ication team at the Proving Ground. Meanwhile, the opposition secretly arran ged for a m issile battery to be located n earby. They labeled their mission Operation Pigeon Shoot. Both m issions w ere successful. As soon as the Op eration Dove team m ade p ositive contact, the Op eration Pigeon Shoot team blasted the UFOfrom th e sky. The craft touched d own once, leaving a long gou ge in the Earth and scattering debris over a large stretch of a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. It then slam med into a cliff, spilling out its extraterrestrial occup ants. Both factions of the Watch ru shed to contain the craft and its od d passeng ers. The cover-up w as not wh olly successful. From the events at Roswell, the Watch splinted into two antagonistic organizations. The members of Operation Dove regro up ed and named themselves Aegis. Operation Pigeon Shoot was labeled the Black Book by Aegis op eratives in the know .

1 9 6 0 s -- Pr es e n t : A n Ev o l v i n g Th r ea t The modern era of Aegis and the Black Book began with President Kenn edy’s discovery of the secret consp iracies. Once all was said and don e, the President had been assassinated, and neither group knew exactly who was respon sible. The w hole incident remind ed the conspirators of the paramou nt need for secrecy, and the delicate nature of their position and operations. At pr esent, Aegis maintains its Cell structure, and prov ides significant au tonom y to its agents. Aegis’ pr imary goa l is the investigation of the aliens’ motives and activities, and their physiology, technology and psychology. Aegis intends to develop weapon ry and methods to combat the aliens. The Black Book perp etuates its strict comm and structure, and attemp ts to control, to the greatest degree p ossible, the actions of  its operatives. The pacts with th e aliens h ave evolved to includ e abduction of human subjects, genetic experiments, sabotage and military espionag e. More than one Directorate officer has begun to qu estion the need , or desirability, of the alien treaties.

Aegis structured itself in a typ ical cell mann er. Each m ember knew his recruiter, and wh o he recruited, but little else about the conspiracy. This minimized security risks, and prom oted d eniability. Aegis concentrated on the n ewly created A ir Force and CIA, but grad ually spread to a num ber of Federal law enforcement agencies. The Black Book, which calls itself the Directorate, assumed a more h ierarchical structure, and bu ried itself deep in the Department of Defense, the Army, and related agencies. The Book too has sp read to oth er Federal agencies.

The two conspiracies pu rpor t to have the sam e goals -- the protection of mankind against alien and sup ernatur al menaces. Their methods, means and make-up are very d ifferent, however. An intense, and o ften dead ly rivalry exists. The schism remind s all that, more than ad vanced tech and secret plots, the divisions among h um ans are the aliens most potent weapon .

1 9 5 0: New Pr o j ec t s

Th e Ch a r a c t er s

Aegis and the Black Book expand ed significantly d uring the 1950s. The UFO craze was at its peak, and millions of governm ent dollars were channeled into secret pr ograms.

Characters are generated by purchasing attributes and traits. Consp iracy X characters are regular, but impor tant, people and creating a rich, interesting character is very r eward ing. For pu rposes of the Consp iracy X demo p ack, however, we have done the job for you to get you p laying as qu ickly as possible. Players will take the role of Aegis Cell members.

One o f the m ost extensive, and most h orrific, was Pr oject MKULTRA. On e of in a series of MK-designa ted secret CIA pro gram s, MKULTRA focused on mind control, human behavior modification and psychic powers. Over time, some of the MKULTRA data came to light, but m uch still remains hidd en. Aegis watched the experim ents closely, quietly taking contr ol of those with significant results. Bowing to public pressure, the Air Force created an official investigation of the UFO p henom ena, Project Bluebook. Bluebook was never m ore than a cover for a wholly Aegis-controlled p rogram called Pr oject Moond ust. Moon du st’s official rationa le was “the retrieval and exploitation of crashed foreign spacecraft.” This pu rpose cleverly covered both dow ned Eastern Bloc and extraterrestrial craft. Fed carefully screened d ata by Moond ust’s personnel, Project Bluebook o fficially conclud ed th at “no su bstan tial evidence” sup ported the existence of extraterrestrial craft. Finally, the 1950s saw th e establishm ent of the closest thing to an Aegis HQ -- the Groom Dry Lake Research Facility at th e Nellis Bombing and Gu nnery Range in Nevad a. Otherwise known as Area 51, Dreamlan d, S-4 and the Ranch , the Research Facility also hou ses the core databases of the H ERMES system. This sup ersecret comm un ications netw ork is the life-blood of Aegis, and enables the loose Cell structure to w ork efficiently. On th e Black Book side, express ties and treaties were form ed with th e psychic Greys and th e lizard -like Saurians. The Book  benefited from ad vanced technology; the aliens enjoyed access to know ledge about m ankind. With help from their alien allies, the Book constructed a vast u nd erground base of operation near Dulce, New Mexico.

Each character’s attributes (Strength, Size, Agility, Reflexes, Intelligence, Willpow er, Perception, Luck and Influence) are detailed. All these stats have a range from 1 to 5 (except Luck). Almost all hum ans h ave attribu tes of 3; a level 1 attribute is crippling, a level 5 attribute is truly extraordinar y. Luck has tw o values, listed as Good Luck/ Bad Luck. Aegis agents have imp ortant an d influential “day jobs.” If they did n’t, they w ou ld hav e little value to Aegis. These day jobs are called p rofessions, and they ran ge from th e FBI, to the DEA, to the U.S. Arm ed Forces, and man y m ore. The chara cter’s position i n h i s d a y j o b i s m e a s u r e d b y h i s I n f lu e n c e a t t r i b u t e . T h i s attribute usu ally governs the individu al’s ability to “pull strings” and otherw ise get things d one. Each character’s pu lling strings are listed in th e character description. Traits are skills, trainings and ba ckgroun d flaws and a dv antages. Three is consid ered a Pro fessional sk ill level3; a level 1 skill is limited, passing kn owled ge, a level 5 skill is near complete und erstanding. Trainings repr esent abilities that are learned relatively qu ickly and are tested u sing attributes. Trainings, such as SCUBA Diving, hav e no level. In the chara cter description s, the attribute to be tested w ith the training is listed in parentheses. Flaws and advantages are also described in each character description. Remember, these characters are abbreviated versions of wh at players can create in the fu ll Consp iracy X system. Characters generated using the Consp iracy X sourcebooks will most likely have m ore traits and pu lling strings.

K r is t en Mc B r a dy

Riggs

MKULTRA Scientist

Former Secret Service Agent

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 4 Wil 3 Per 3 Luck 3/ 11 Inf 3

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 4 Ref 4 Int 3 Wil 3 Per 3 Luck 4/ 10 Inf 1

Sk il l s

Sk il l s

Brawlin g 2 Com pu ter Use 1 Drive 2 First Aid 3 Med ical: Gener al 2 MH IC-EDOM 2 Research 2 Science: Psych ology 3 Small Arm s: Pistol 1 UFOlogy 2

Drive 2 Martial Arts 3 Lockpicking 2 Melee Weapo n: Knife 3 Shad ow 2 Small Arm s: Pistol 3 Small Arm s: Rifle 2 Stealth 2 UFOlogy 3

Tr a in i n g

Tr a in i n g

Awa reness: Mental Instability (Per)

Awa reness: Surveillance Activity (Per)

Tr a it

Tr a it s

Cautious: Kristen mu st make a N ormal Willpow er test to rush any task.

High Pain Threshold: The Difficulty Levels of Rigg’s stun and KO tests are reduced by one.

Pu l l in g St r in g

Homicidal Tendencies: Riggs must succeed at a Variable Willpow er test to avoid taking th e most lethal action in an y fight or high tension situation.

MH IC-EDOM Device: On a Df3 Influence test, Kristen can secure a MHIC-EDOM device for one week. This flashlightshaped object can be u sed in tw o w ays. To a ran ge of 30 meters, it can ind uce one of thr ee mental states: rage (target lashes out at nearest target for 2D roun ds), trance (target lapses into stup or for 1D minutes; damage w ill end tran ce), or fear (target runs or cowers for 2D rou nd s). In this case, the MHIC-EDOM skill is tested against th e target’s Willpow er. To a range of 10 meters, the d evice can erase short-term m emory for a h alf hour before, and a half  hou r after, the d evices u se. In this case, the skill test is Df2.

Ro l epl a yin g Kristen is a born leader. She is also a worka holic and h as little time for a social life. She lost her p arents you ng, and she has been alone most of her life. The team is her family and she is overpr otective at tim es. Kristen carefully analyzes a ll options before acting. She always stays in control and stays objective. There’s an optimal response for every situation.

Comm un ications (Int)

Pu l l in g St r in g UFO Group Connection: Over time, Riggs has gained some contacts among the UFO enthusiasts. All part of keeping ready.

Ro l epl a yin g Paranoid just scratches the su rface of Rigg’s men tal state. He work s out constantly to keep ready. H e carries no identification or items revealing his past. That’s all behind him now -- all but t h e h o r r i d m e m o r i e s . Ri g g s is a l iv i n g w e a p o n b e n t o n t h e destruction of those that wronged him.

The Awareness t raining provides a -1Difficult y Level bonus t o Percept ions t est focusing on t he t raining’s specialization. For example, Riggs’ Percept ion t est s f or detect ing surveillance act ivit y would gain a -1Df bonus.

Y an g S o

Ma l ek L e v in e

FBI Field Agen t

MKULTRA Outsider Psychic

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 4 Wil 2 Per 3 Luck 3/ 12 Inf 2

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 3 Wil 4 Per 3 Luck 3/ 11 Inf 2

Sk il l s

Sk il l s

Comp uter Use 3 Comp uter Programm ing 3 Cryptology 3 Drive 2 Martial Arts 2 Repair/ Build: Electronics 3 Research 2 Small Arm s: Pistol 2 UFOlogy 2

Braw ling 2 Drive 1 Occult 2 Small Arm s: Pistol 1

None

Tr a in i n g Surveillance (Per)

Tr a in i n g

Awa reness: Spot Hid den (Per)

Tr a it s Strong ESP: Hu nches: Once each d ay, Yang can d raw one extra Zener card d urin g a Hu nch Basic ESP test. Media Connection: Yang kn ows som e influen tial peop le in the med ia. On a Df1 Influence test, he can get press p asses for three. On a Df2, Yang can get backgroun d inform ation on almost any s u b j e ct ( a t l ea s t w h a t w o u l d b e k n o w n b y a n i n v e s t ig a t i v e reporter). On a Df3, he can get certain news equ ipment, such as cameras, news van s, even a “eye in the sky” helicopter.

Pu l l in g St r in g FBI Forensic Laboratory Analysis: Whenever he w ants, Yang can get a samp le priority analysis treatment. The report w ill be returned in 24 hours.

Ro l epl a yin g Knowledge is everything. Without it, even the most p owerful man is weak. Yang is a small man with a h ead full of facts. What he d oesn’t know off hand , he can get to shortly via the laptop comp uter tha t he always carries. Whatever th e situation , Yang mu st know all the facts and will go to extremes to get them.

Tr a it s Lesser Clairvoyant: On an R2 test (see Rhine Tests, pg. 8), Malek  can ask three “yes or no” questions abou t the present events at any location. If he spend s a Clairvoyance Psi Point (he has four each w eek), the Rhine test is au tomatically su ccessful. Lesser Psychometry: On an R2 test, Malek can ask th ree “yes or no” qu estions about the p ast events surroun ding an object he is touching . If he spend s a Psychometry Psi Point (he has four each week), the Rhin e test is au tomatically su ccessful.

Pu l l in g St r in g Psi-Drugs: On a Df2 Influ ence test, Malek can secur e a vial (6 doses) of psychic enhan cing d rug s each w eek. Each d ose of the dru g sup plies a Psi Point for four minu tes. After the d rug wears off, Malek must roll Luck to check on harmful side effect. On Bad Luck, Malek suffers brain h emorrhaging with a Wou nd Level of  Fw and a Damage Level equal to the num ber of doses taken in the last 24 hou rs.

Ro l epl a yin g Malek is a spiritual m an. He believes he has been gran ted a vision concerning a struggle between beau tiful angels and lizard -like dem ons. He wo rks for Aegis on the side of the angels. All must be calm, in control and u nited; violence never solved any thing.

C a s s a n d r a Ga s per

Ma l c o l m S c h mid t

DEA Field Agen t

Project Moon du st Blue Fly Pilot

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 4 Int 3 Wil 3 Per 3 Luck 4/ 10 Inf 2

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 3 Wil 4 Per 3 Luck 2/ 12 Inf 3

Sk il l s

Sk il l s

D r i v e 1 L o ck p i c k i n g 3 M a r t i a l A r t s 3 Shadow 3 Small Arm s: Pistol 3 Stealth 2

Photogr aph y 3

Drive 3 Martial Arts 2 Pilot 3 Photograph y 2 Repair/ Build: Electronics 2 Small Arms: Pistol 2 Small Arms: Rifle 2

Tr a in i n g

Tr a in i n g s

Surveillance (Per)

Parachu tist (Agl) Comm un ication (Int)

Tr a it s

Tr a it s

Adrenaline Surge: Once per mission, Cassandra can work h erself into a frenzy, effectively raising her Strength and Willpow er to five each for 1D rou nd s. She ignor es all dam age pen alties (short of death) du ring this time. Once the surge w ears off, all dam age effects are applied at once, as well as an ad ditional Tw2.

No Records: Part of a su per-secret spacecraft retrieval project, Malcolm’s past has been erased. No record s about h im exist.

Distinguishing M ark: Cassandra has a vivid and memorable scar over her right eye that d isfigures her face.

Pu l l in g St r in g No Q uestions Asked: DEA agents can warn off other investigative bod ies. A Df2 Influence test for local or state p olice, and a Df3 test for federal agencies shuts down any unwanted investigation. Police Connection: Cassand ra know s several detectives on the local police force. On a Df1 Influence test, she can get a squad car as backup in 1D+10 minu tes. On a Df2 test, she can get a safehou se. On a Df3 test, Cassand ra can get a DMV check revealing the owner, background information, vehicle details and traffic violations. On a Df4 test, and couple d ays, she can get p olice uniforms and credentials for three that w ill hold u p for 24 hours.

Ro l epl a yin g Cassandra w as a m odel before the accident that scarred her. She avoids relationships an d is very conscious of h er d isfigurement. Throu gh sh eer force of will, Malcolm h as befriended her.

Atlantean Nanotech: Pilot Interface System: Malcolm was injected with experimental Altantean molecular-sized machines. By touch, Malcolm can pilot any craft with an Atlantean interface. The system also allows him to increase his Reflexes to 4 for 2D roun ds w ith a Df3 Willpow er test. Due to its experimental nature, the system sh orts ou t on a roll of 1 on 1D every time it is used . When it shorts ou t, Malcolm blacks out for 2D comb at roun ds.

Pu l l in g St r in g Satellite D ata: Malcolm can tap into the NIMA surveillance satellite system. These satellites are capable of 10cm resolu tion -enou gh d etail to recognize the model of vehicles and to track the movements of individuals. The satellites have normal and infrared capabilities. A Df1 Influence test will secure a satellite ph oto of any 2Km by 3Km area on the planet. The age of the inform ation var ies (Df1=24 hour s, Df2=12hou rs, Df3=6 hour s, Df4=3 hou rs). A Df4 test and 1Dx3 hou rs w ill get the character a live satellite feed th at lasts 1D hou rs on ce a week. A satellite up link an d m onitor must be available to display the feed.

Ro l epl a yin g Malcolm, a top gu n, is typically flamboyan t and egotistical.

The Equ ipment There are hund reds of items that Cell members can siphon off  their day jobs. The following are those that h ave been “requ isitioned” by th e Cell. The gam e details are explained in the ru les section later in the p ack. 6 Shotguns: range 15/ 50/ 75/ 100/ 125; dam age Wn3; rate of fire 2 shots; amm o 2 shots 6 Auto pistols: range 5/ 40/ 60/ 70/ 80; damage Wn3; rate of fire 1 shot or short bu rst; ammo 9 shots

For purposes of t he t his demo pack, all guns should be considered t o have an unlimit ed number of replacement clips, shot s or rounds. Of course, reloading does t ake time (1combat round).

6 Knives: damage Fw3

Th e Cel l Aegis is organized in sma ll operational u nits called Cells. Each Cell know s little about the r est of the organization to m inimize security risk. All are aware th at, at some point or an other, everyone is expendable. In a normal Conspiracy X gam e, the Cell is created as a grou p project once all the characters have been gen erated. Again, in the Consp iracy X dem o pack, we have taken care of that task for you. The Cell presented in th is demo is led by Kristen McBrad y. She is a w ell-respected d octor engaged in a research project secretly funded by Project MKULTRA, an Aegis mind control operation. Kristen recruited her star p up il, Malek Levine, and trained h im to use h is psychic abilities. Riggs w as assigned to the Cell for tw o reasons: Kristen migh t need h is combat ab ilities and h er training as a psychiatrist might keep him u nd er control. Further combat and investigative capacity was provided w hen Cassandra w as relocated by the DEA so she wou ld be available to the Cell. Malcolm jum ped at the opp ortunity to join a field team and be freed of the top secret base w here Project Moond ust stationed him. Just recently, a bright you ng FBI compu ter scientist infiltrated Aegis’ ultrasecure HERMES communication network. That hacker, Yang, has since been recruited. H e was assigned to Kristen’s Cell. The Cell partially op erates out of Kristen’s hosp ital and has secured an am bulance and m edical supp lies for emergency situations. Cassandr a broug ht in a surv eillance van stocked w ith various equipm ent, including a satellite uplink and several monitors. Malek bough t a small estate outside of town w ith money earned from h is former “p ublic” show ings of his p sychic abilities. The Cell gu tted th e basement an d installed a sm all electron ics work shop and mini-hospital. Malek, Kristen, Riggs and Malcolm stay at the estate. Cassandra an d Yang have hom es in town in order to m aintain their covers.

6 Kevlar vests: Ar 4 12 Han dcuffs 6 Silencers 6 Each Utility worker un iforms, Paramedic uniforms and DEA uniforms 6 Flashlights 6 Nightvision goggles 3 Lock p ick kits (cann ot perform Lockpicking skill withou t kit) 3 Micro-video cameras (must h ave Surveillance training to use properly) 6 A u d i o v i s u a l b u g s (must h ave Surveillance training to use properly) 6 Audio Bugs (must have Surveillance training to use properly) 3 Bug Detectors (must have Surveillance training to use p roperly) 6 Hands-free personal radios: range ha lf kilometer (mu st have Commu nication training to set up p roperly) Vehicle radio: range 20 kilometers (must h ave Comm un ication training to use properly) First aid k it: gran ts +2t on First Aid skill tests Laptop computer Surveillance van: with m onitors, recorders an d satellite uplink  for surv eillance devices (mu st hav e Surveillance training to use properly) Ambulance

Th e Ru l es B a s ic T es t s In a basic test, the attribute or skill is comp ared to a Difficulty Level (Df) that ran ges from 1 to 5. This compa rison yield s a Target Num ber (t). Two six-sided d ice (2D) are rolled and if the result is equal or less than the Target Nu mber, the task su cceeds.

Df1t asks are very simple; Df5 t asks are ext raordinarily difficult . Df3 at t ribute test s are relatively difficult for normal people. Df3 skill t est s are relat ively diff icult even for professionals in t hat skill. Easy Test: If the attribute or skill is one level higher th an th e Df, no Target Nu mber is used ; the test is an au tomatic success. Norm al Test: If the attribute or skill is equal to the Df, the Target Nu mber is 7 (rough ly 67% chance). Hard Test: If the attribute or skill is one level lower th an th e Df, the Target Nu mber is 4 (rough ly 17% chan ce). Impossible Test: If the attribu te or skill is two levels lower th an the Df, no Target Num ber is used; the test is an autom atic failure (a Luck test may be m ad e). When “ru shing,” a task may be perform ed in half the time necessary at one Df level higher. When “taking you r time,” a task  requ ires twice the time and gains a one Df level redu ction. Two or mor e people may act together on a task as long as their skills are within one level of each other. The second p erson w orking on a task gr ants a one Df level reduction. Thereafter, other helpers grant a +1t bonu s each.

Va r ia bl e Tes t s In a Variable test only Target Nu mbers are u sed. The base Target Number is 7. The attribute or skill level is added to this number, and the resu lt of one six-sided die (1D) roll is subtra cted from it. The final Target Nu mber is tested by rolling 2D.

Luck

a +1t bonus. Thus, successful test results always p rovid e a benefit even if no breakthroug h occurs. Every research project m ust be designed an ap prop riate skill or attribute, and a set num ber of  breakthroughs before success is achieved. For example, hacking into a government mainframe might be a short-term Compu ter Program ming (x3) research pr oject.

C o mb at Ro u n d s a n d I n it ia t iv e Combat rou nd s are roughly 5 second s long. Combat or other time sensitive actions are perform ed in ord er of the participan ts Reflexes, the h igher acting ear lier. When Reflexes attribut es are equal, all actions, except close comb at, are simu ltaneous and dam age is simu ltaneous. In close combat, participants with equ al Reflexes roll 1D. The high roller acts first.

Evading Character may sacrifice all actions du ring a rou nd to evade. Evad ing char acters test their Reflexes against th e Reflexes of their opp onent. If successful, that attack is nullified regard less of w hen du ring a round it occurs. Only one attack may be evaded du ring a roun d, but the extreme action of evading m ay grant a negative mod ifier to other attacks (-2t) targeting the evad er.

Rang ed Co mbat The Df of a ranged attack dep ends on the range. Point blank is Df1, close is Df2, effective is Df3, long is Df4, and extrem e is Df5. Weapon ran ges are listed in the weap on d escription and are expressed in meters. Aiming decreases the Df by one, a snap shot (treat Reflexes as on e level higher) increases the Df by one. Short bursts ad d 1t, use 1D bu llets and increase the DL by one. Dim light subtracts 2t. Other mod ifiers should be ap plied as the Gam e Master sees fit.

C l o s e C o mb a t Melee comb at is close combat w ith weap ons. The character’s Melee Weapon sk ill is tested against Df2, modified by th e circumsta nces as the Game Master d esires. Melee attacks may b e evaded , dod ged or blocked by other melee weapons (Df equals op po nen t’s Reflexes or skill level).

When faced w ith an Impossible task (or whenever the Game Master feels it is app rop riate), the player m ay take a Luck test. Two six-sided d ice (2D) are rolled . If the resu lt is less than o r equal to th e character’s Good Luck value, something beneficial hap pens. If the result is greater than or equal to the Bad Luck  value, some really bad hap pen s. Otherwise, no special result occurs (i.e., the Impossible task r emains im possible).

Han d to h and combat is close combat w ithout weapon s. The app licable test depend s on the m ove chosen by the attacker. Those with Brawling may use any Brawling (B) mov e; those with Martial Arts have access to these moves and more (M).

Res ea r c h

Haymak er (B): Df3; damage Tw(Str).

Consp iracy X often calls for a research project to be completed. Research projects are either short-term (one d ay) or long-term (one w eek). The chara cter chooses a Project Value (PV) representing h ow aggressive her research effort will be. A PV of 1 is very cau tious; a PV of 6 is crazy exper imen tal. The PV becomes the Df of wh atever test is approp riate. For example, a conservative (PV: 2) research project on the Internet would be a short-term Df2 Computer Use task. A character gains a Target Num ber bonu s (if app licable) equal to his Research skill level.

Kick (M): Df2; damage Tw(Str).

If the skill test is successful, the character th en checks for a br eakthrou gh. On e six-sided die (1D) is rolled. If the resu lt is less than or equ al to the PV, a breakthrou gh is achieved. If no br eakthroug h occurs, another skill test may be attempted and it gains

Punch (B): Df1; da ma ge Br(Str). Dodge (B): Df equals opp onent’s skill; avoids attack; may be p erformed ou t of initiative ord er but uses that rou nd’s action.

Disarm (M): Df2; opp onent forced to drop weapon. Sweep (M): Df3; opponent is rend ered p rone (+1Df to your n ext attack; +1Df to opp onent’s action u ntil she spend s a round standing up).

Damage Damage is expressed by a Wound Level (WL) and a Damage Level (DL). Lethal Woun d Levels are Flesh (Fw), Wou nd (Wd) and Splatter (Sp). Non -lethal (but still very ha rmfu l) Wou nd Levels are Bruise (Br), Twack (Tw) an d Break (Bk). The D amag e Level is a num ber from 1 to 6.

A successful First Aid skill test against the DL of the w oun d lowers the n ext stabilization or h ealing test by 1Df.

A r mo r All body arm or has an Armor Rating (Ar). This Ar is tested against the DL of the w oun d. If successful, the arm or shifts lethal dam age to non-lethal dam age (Fw becomes Br; Wd b ecomes Tw; Sp becom es Bk).

S t a g i n g D a ma g e Once damage is taken, both sides check for variations caused by tough ness or lu ck. The attacker tests the DL against the target’s Size. If successful, the Wound Level shifts one level higher (e.g.., Wd b ecomes Sp). Then th e target tests his Size against the DL of  the injury . If successful, the Wou nd Level shifts one level lower (e.g., Bk becomes Tw). Fw and Br stage d ow n to n othin g. Br stages up to Sp. Sp stages up to instant death.

D ama g e Ef f ec t s Damage Levels are cum ulative. If an injured character su ffers a Wd2 before her previous Wd 3 has healed, the new injury is treated as a Wd5 for pu rposes of stun and KO. Once enough wou nd s have been tak en to raise a category’s DL over 6, a new wou nd at the next Wou nd Level is imposed. For examp le, if a character with a Wd 4 takes a Wd3 injury, a Wd 6 and a Sp1 is tested. Once the d ama ge code(s) is set, the injured character suffers the effects of the wou nd . The effects are sum marized in the Effects of  Damage Table (see below).

R h i n e T es t s Psychic abilities are gov erned by Rhine tests. Rhine tests are expressed as R and a n um ber. The num ber indicates how m any Zener cards are d rawn . Zener cards have five different symbols, one on each card. The character picks a symbol, the Game Master s h u f f le s t h e ca r d s a n d t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n u m b e r o f ca r d s a r e draw n. If the symbol chosen app ears on any of those num bers, the p sychic ability w orks.

For purposes of t his demo, Game Mast er can make t heir own Zener cards by drawing t he proper symbols (shown below) on five regular playing cards or old CCG cards. Alt ernat ively, t he Game Mast er can choose any five dif ferent cards from a playing or CCG deck and have t he players choose one of t hose cards before conduct ing a Rhine t est .

B a s i c E SP All characters h ave access to Basic ESP. This repr esents p sychic abilities natu ral to all hu man s. There are fou r Basic ESP abilities that m ay be u sed su ccessfully once per w eek. All Basic ESP tests are R1.

The Usage Penalty is imposed un til the character is healed. Stun cancels the chara cter’s next action un less they succeed in testing their Size against the Df ind icted by the table. KO rend ers the character u nconscious for a certain time p eriod u nless they succeed in testing their Size against the Df ind icated.

Hunch: The character may ask one “yes or no” qu estion abou t her current situation.

A Lethal wou nd m ust be stabilized within a certain period of  time. Otherwise, the DL for that w oun d increases by one as the character bleeds to death. A stabilization attempt tests the character’s Strength against the DL of the wou nd (modified as indicated). Once a wound is stabilized (if necessary), it may be healed after a certain p eriod of time by similarly testing Strength against the DL of the wou nd (modified as ind icated).

Second Sigh t: The chara cter may ask one “yes or no” qu estion about the future.

Read Aura: The character may ask on e “yes or no” qu estion about the current feelings or nature of another person.

Sixth Sen se: The character may replay the previous rou nd , taking into account wh at is about the hap pen.

EFFECTS OF DAMAGE Wound Level

Usage Penalt y

St un Avoid

K.O. Avoid

K.O. t ime

St abilizat ion Healing t ime t ime

St abilizat ion & healing/Df mod

Flesh (Fw) Wound (Wn) Splat ter (Sp) Bruise (Br) Thwack (Tw) Break (Bk)

-2t +1Df unusable -2t +1Df unusable

Normal Size(Wil) Aut omat ic st un Aut omat ic st un DL-2 DL DL+2

DL-2 DL DL+2 DL-3 DL-1 DL+1

1D rounds 1D minut es 1D hours 1D rounds 1D minut es 1D hours

1hour 1minut e 1round N/A N/A N/A

-2Df -+2Df -2Df -+2DF

1hour 1Day 3 Days 1minut e 1/2 hour 1Day

D ama g e C o n t r o l by Davi d Chart 

The following m ission can be run by n ew Game Master and p layers using the pr e-generated characters detailed elsewhere, or using th eir own char acters (if they ow n the Con spiracy X main rulebook). This adv enture shou ld not take more than one playing session to complete. Those who intend to play throu gh this dem o pack, rather than Game Master it, should stop reading now . This mission can be located any wh ere in the U.S. We recommend that the Gam e Master locate the story in his hom e town , or a nearby city. That makes d escription of the locales and even ts easier, and familiar to the p layers.

The Missio n The characters learn that a grou p of amateu r UFOlogists, with no known connection to Aegis, have obtained some fairly solid eviden ce of alien activity, and are plann ing to mak e it public. The goal of this mission is simple: to stop th em from doing so. Things are mad e a bit mor e comp lex by the fact that this grou p is convinced that there is a g overnm ent conspiracy willing to kill to keep th is sort of thing secret. They’re right, of course, but th at’s not th e point. Unless the Cell proceeds carefully, and d oes its homew ork, they could m ake matters even worse. The Cell learns, throu gh regu lar contacts among UFO watchers, that the Indep end ent Guard ians of a Free Earth (IGFE) group h as pictures show ing treacherous meetings between government officials and the ad vance scouts for an alien inv asion force. They are able to see a portion of one picture, in IGFE’s teaser literature, and it looks like a kno wn alien type, a Saurian. The Cell notifies Aegis that they will suppress publication.

Wh a t H as Go n e B ef o r e The four-member IGFE is a fairly new group on th e UFO scene, and occup y themselves in the usual w ays: scanning old pictures,

denoun cing government cover-up s, and chasing rou nd the country after sightings of UFOs. Three d ays ago, they stru ck gold. They were staking ou t an area wh ere one of their num ber had seen something (a weather balloon, as it hap pens), and saw a meeting between Saurians and government agents. This was p u r e l u c k , a n d t h e a l ie n s d i d n o t g u e s s t h a t t h e y h a d b e e n observed and photographed. Terribly excited, they rushed to develop th e film, and d ecide what to do n ext. One w anted to r elease everything immed iately, but o thers were in favor of gathering some m ore UFOlogists first, to make it hard er for “The Conspiracy” to make th em d isapp ear. They thought about simply sending copies to everyone, but realized that they w ould g et less credit and fame that way. Thus, they prep ared a carefully (they though t) censored photograp h and a flyer, and sent those ou t, before retreating to the Fort to hid e and wait for the m eeting. Their hope is that a w eek will not be long enoug h for the governm ent to find them an d act, but w ill be long enoug h for a large group of UFOlogists to gather. They also hop e that th e p icture will be sufficiently interesting to pique interest, without giving aw ay the extent of their know ledge.

The Hoo k The Cell needs to obtain a copy of IGFE’s flysheet. Those w ith UFO group contacts do so autom atically, because this is big news in the commu nity. Otherwise, Aegis’ commu nications netw ork  HERMES will alert them to th e situation. From th e time they get the flysheet, the characters have a w eek to do something before IGFE releases its information at a big conference. Even a m inimal amou nt of d igging will reveal that most m ajor UFOlogists plan to be present, along with several new spap ers and even a TV station (making a docum entary that could be bigger than they imagine). More d igging (Df2 Influence test for anyon e with links to app ropr iate places) will let the characters kn ow th at IGFE is plann ing to have lots of witnesses wh en it makes the ann oun cement, to make it harder for the government to m ake them d isapp ear. In the mean time, the IFGE members are lying low.

Th e F l y s h e et

Attend the meeting at the Hilton Convention Center, Swan Room on Friday to find out more. Independent Guardians of a Free Earth: Holding the Fort

In it ia l In v es t ig a t io n The first step is to find ou t wh o, and wh ere, the IGFE is. The flysheet does not carry a contact add ress or any nam es — they are par anoid , after all. There are two w ays to do th is: pu lling strings and research. Media and police contacts may b e checked, and players may come u p w ith other w ays to use their abilities. In general, these methods w ill take a coup le of days to come u p w ith all the pu blicly available information below. Research could take many forms: examining newspaper file morgues, printers’ records, records of past UFOlogy meetings, and so on. Treat as a short-term UFOlogy(x2) or Com pu ter Use(x2) research pr oject. Each breakthrou gh provides the information indicated below. Breakthrou gh 1: Basic information on IGFE itself. The nam es of  the m embers of IGFE, and the information noted as pu blicly available in the group member’s descriptions.

Ma r t in D u bo is

Breakthrough 2: The location of the Fort.

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 3 Wil 3 Per 4 Luck 4/ 12

The Cell may stop research after the first breakthrough. How ever, one day investigating their homes and places of work  will reveal that they hav en’t been aroun d for several days — they vanished three d ays before the Cell got hold of the flyer, telling people that they w ould be back in a coup le of weeks.

Sk il l s

If the Cell decide to search th eir houses, let them. They all have sophisticated (Df3) alarms and locks, except that Martin, the most par anoid , has Df4. These Dfs shou ld be used for Perception tests to find all the alarm triggers an d contro l boxes, and for deactivation tests. Most of the locks are mechanical, and thus Lockpicking is appropriate, but for those noted as electronic, use Repair/ Build: Electronics. Use the same Dfs for any other skills that the Cell use to gain access, if you jud ge that they are ap pr opriate. Internally, the houses are fairly n ormal: anything special that may be found is listed with the character. Make up the floorplans as you go. They are not essential and wou ld take a lot of  space here. Dfs are also given for searching: these ap ply to Perception tests, or to Photogr aph y, if used . Note that, in the latter case, the Cell would probab ly have to return to th e house to follow up . The base times for searching r esult in the Dfs listed. For every three hou rs less than the base time spent searching, increase the Dfs of the search time by on e.

Awar eness: Tails and Surveillance (Per)

Once they hav e nam es, the Cell can also perform m ore detailed background checks on the various members. Using FBI, DEA or police connections, this is a sh ort-term Influence research p roject, but it m ust be p erformed separately for each individual. The more breakthroug hs obtained the more information is gathered. The Fort may be researched in the same m anner.

IGFE Each character has stats followed by notes. The notes cover p ub licly available informa tion (found by general r esearch), what is at home, the results of a background check, secret information that the characters can’t find ou t (barring mind scan), and current appearance. IGFE is a small grou p, relatively new in the UFO field. They ar e generally thoug ht to be a bit wacko, as they are convinced th at the aliens plan to inv ade, and that the US governm ent is going to help them. People don’t dismiss them ou t of hand , but they are definitely tow ard s the lunatic fringe.

Brawling 2 Drive: Au to 3 Escape 2 First Aid 3 Photo grap hy 3 Small Arm s: Pistol 2 UFOlogy 3

Tr a in i n g s Tr a it s Strong ESP Read Aura: Once a week, Martin may draw an extra Zener card wh en performing a Read Au ra Rhine test.

Equipment Jeep, Camera, Auto pistol (range 5/ 40/ 60/ 70/ 80; dam age Wn3; rate of fire 1 shot or shor t bu rst; amm o 9 shots), Kevlar vest (Ar4), First aid kit

N o t es Publicly available information: Martin has been an active UFOlogist for aroun d six years, and th e most recent photograph that can be found on record is seven years old . He is black, and was rather overweight when the photograph was taken. He wou ld now be 32. He doesn’t have a driving license anym ore, although th e photograp h is taken from one. He work ed as a clerk  in a local store, but h e quit his job. He lived in an ap artmen t, and his neighbors hard ly ever saw him. The Apartment: The place has Df4 locks and alarms. If the alarms are triggered, h is neighbors w ill call the p olice, but stay in their apartm ents. The characters will have about tw enty minu tes, un less they can p ull strings to keep the cops away. It takes eight man -hour s to thorou ghly search the apartm ent (i.e. base time for the d ifficulties given; for every two hou rs less spent ad d +1Df). It is obvious that h e has a lot of UFO and conspiracy literature. Df2: Everything is comm ercially p ublished, with n one of the typ ewr itten gray literature so comm on in th e area. Df3: He left in a hu rry, as perishab le food r emains u neaten. Df4: There is a secret draw er in his desk, built into the top. It is empty. Background Check: First Breakthroug h: Martin changed his name ten years ago, and seems to have don e nothing significant apart from get involved in UFOlogy since. Second Breakthrou gh: Martin changed his nam e from “William Myers”. William Myers was a m ember of a commun ist group at college. He w as investigated by the FBI, but they conclud ed that the grou p was harm less. It did hu rt his employm ent prosp ects, though, so he changed his name to shed h is past.

Secret Stuff: Martin is the real d riving force behind IGFE. He is convinced that th e U.S. governm ent w ants to sell most of the hu man race into slavery to aliens, and is gathering information to pr ove it. He is sur e that the FBI has been after him for years, and has w orked on leaving the smallest possible records trace possible. He took the photograp hs of the Saurian meeting, developed them, and set up th e meeting. He also convinced h is friends in the group that they were in d anger, and that they should hide out at the Fort. Appearance: Martin has lost weight and gotten into shap e. He looks younger n ow th an in the p hoto, althou gh h e is still recognizable. He w ears casual clothes -- noth ing to dra w attention .

Background Check: Paul is clean. The IRS aud ited him , but found nothing. He d oes sell some of the porn he makes him self, but it’s all legal and / or not worth the bother of shutting down . Secret Stuff: Paul is in IGFE for the adren aline rush. Deep dow n, he doesn’t think that the government could betray everyone, and he su spects that they h ave only just contacted aliens — after all, they couldn’t manage a major cover-up stretched over several years. He also likes the loyalty within the gr oup : he really wan ts a steady relationship, but the wom en wh o are into S&M d on’t seem to be into fidelity (he need s to stop tr ying to m eet girls in fetish bars, but he hasn’t quite worked this out). His low Willpow er makes him, po tentially, a weak link. Appearance: Six feet tall and very slightly overw eight, with thinning brow n hair and green eyes, Paul is a fairly good looking Caucasian. He is dressed casually at the moment, although he normally wears suits, as his wardrobe attests.

Pa u l v a n L eh n Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 3 Wil 2 Per 4 Luck 2/ 11

Sk il l s Braw ling 2 Drive: Auto 2 Escape 3 First Aid 1 Ph otograp hy 1 Small Arm s: Pistol 2 UFOlogy 2

Ma r i an Gi d d en s

Equipment

Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 4 Int 3 Wil 3 Per 4 Luck 2/ 12

Auto pistol (range 5/ 40/ 60/ 70/ 80; dam age Wn3; rate of fire 1 shot or short burst; ammo 9 shots), Camera

Sk il l s

N o t es

Brawlin g 3 Heavy Weap ons 2 Small Arms: Rifle 3 UFOlogy 2

Pub licly available inform ation: Paul, 35, gradu ated from Boston College. He run s a bookshop in the city, and lives in a small house in the subu rbs. He is involved w ith UFOlogy and the shop (which is open , being looked after by his assistant Richard Ham bly) has a large selection of books on UFOs and govern ment conspiracies. He d oesn’t seem to hav e don e anyth ing significant. The House: Locks and alarms ar e Df3. If the alarms are set off, the p olice arrive in ten minu tes. The h ouse is tidy. It takes sixteen man -hours to search (Perception test) the place thorou ghly. Au tomatic: a large collection of p ornog rap hy, m ostly S&M stuff. Df1: S&M gear, stashed in a box u nd er his bed . Some of the p orn is amateur. Df2: Some of h is pornog raph y is illegal in a nu mber of places in the U.S. (possibly w here h e is, but not if he’s in, say, metro politan New York — it’s really kink y, not sick). Df3: Some of the amateur p hotos were taken in this hou se, using the gear un der the bed. His darkroom was used recently, and there’s a failed p rint on the floor wh ich looks like the flysheet ph oto. Df4: There is a w ell-hidden secret compartm ent behind the d arkroom sink. It has an electronic lock, and contains a map of the Fort and its groun ds, a list of UFO contact add resses, and a record book  containing n otes on sightings. The last entry is about a w eek old and says simply “The Big One”. A note underneath says “Duplicate everything”.

Small Arms: Pistol 2

Tr a it s Awaren ess: Governm ent Agents (Per) Wildern ess Survival (Per)

Equipment Camou flage Fatigues, Kevlar vest an d helmet, Surv ival Kit, Magnum Revolver (range 5/ 40/ 60/ 80/ 90; damage Wn4; rate of  fire 1 shot; amm o 6 shots), Assault rifle (range 10/ 50/ 70/ 80/ 90; dam age Wn4; rate of fire 1 shot or shor t bur st; amm o 30 shots) with underbarrel grenade launcher (range 10/ 30/ 50/ 75/ 80; dam age see grenad e; rate of fire 1 shot; ammo 1 shots; use Heavy Weapon s skill), 5 high explosive (Sp4 on contact, Wn4 w ithin ten meters) and 5 ripp er grenades (Fw3 to all within ten m eters of  front of gun ), SMG (range 5/ 40/ 60/ 65/ 70; dam age Wn3; rate of  fire 1 shot or sh ort bu rst; ammo 30 shots).

N o t es Pub licly Available Inform ation: Marian doesn’t have much to do with p eople: she’s a bit of a su rvivalist nu t. She is convinced that some of her friend s were abdu cted by aliens a few years back, and h angs arou nd the UFO scene. She lives at a small farm some way out of town.

The Farm: Df3 locks and alarms, but if the alarms go off they w ill  jus t a nnoy th e ch ar act er s u ntil t hey sm ash th em . It t ak es t w en ty man-hou rs to thorou ghly search th e entire farm. Automatic: She lives alone, and there is no pow er sup ply. She has lots of hand pow ered equ ipment. Df1: The basement has a Df4 mechanical lock, and contains a small armory. Df2: A few large han dgu ns, an SMG, and a rifle are missing, along w ith amm un ition. Half a dozen pistols and three rifles remain. Df3: The missing rifle has a grenad e laun cher, and th ere were probably grenad es for it. She doesn’t seem to have the stand ard books on conspiracy theories. Df4: One of the outbuildings is used on a frequent basis, althou gh pains hav e been taken to hid e the fact. One hour search of the shed (and a Df3 Perception test) will find th e hidd en cupbo ard wh ich contains a lot of consp iracy literatur e, much of it unp ublished, and many, many plans for overthrowing the government, some of w hich hav e a chance of success. A list of codewo rd s is also here, but without any indication of meaning. Df5: She has a lot of maps of the surroun ding area. The one for the area aroun d her farm is very n ew, and only one other sh ows signs of significant use. Although not mar ked p recisely, this map show s the gener al location of the the Fort. It is possible to see which p anel is most used, and this cuts the area to a few squ are kilometers. Backgroun d Ch eck: Marian is monitored by the FBI and ATF. They don’t know abou t all her weapons, and have not n oticed any links to dangerou s group s. Accord ingly, she is not un der particular investigation. The evidence at the farm w ould change this, of course. Secret Stuff: Marian w asn’t sure that she b elieved in aliens: she though t that they might be some elaborate government disinformation scheme. Now she’s sure, and she thinks that the invasion is imminent. She is jum py, p aranoid, and heavily armed . She also goes out of the Fort to sweep the surrou nd ing area every 2 hou rs, so characters with th e map (from the farm) and satellite surveillance may be able to pin the Fort down th at way. Appearance: Marian looks thin, even a bit waif-like, althou gh she doesn’t quite h ave the looks to pu ll it off. This is misleading, as her bod y is almost solid mu scle. She d oesn’t d o w eight training, and she doesn’t have the bu lk. She looks rather odd wielding an assault rifle. She is wh ite, with d irty blond e hair.

Tr a it s Communication (Int)

Equipment Laptop computer, Auto pistol (range 5/ 40/ 60/ 70/ 80; damage Wn3; rate of fire 1 shot or sho rt bu rst; ammo 9 sh ots), smelly clothes, six-pa ck of beer.

N o t es Pub licly Available Information: Frank has a w eb page. He’s a program mer for a local compan y, and he w as owed a lot of holiday, so they are coping w ith the fact that he took it on sh ort notice. His web p age is about p rogram ming, the X-Files, government conspiracies, and h ow aliens speak C++. He h as a nice apartment in th e center of town. The Apartment: Df3 locks and alarms, and the police turn up in ten minu tes if the alarm is triggered. The place is a dive, with fast food d ebris all over the place. It takes sixteen man-hou rs to search th oroug hly, du e to all the rubbish. Autom atic: Lots of conspiracy stu ff. Lots of soft porn . Racks of anime videos. High capacity intern et conn ection. Df1: His desktop compu ter is password protected an d encrypted . A short term Cryp tology(x3) research p roject is necessary to crack it. If they do , there is all the norm al stuff, a lot of net.porn, and a folder called “Con spiracy Secrets”. This contains m ore encryp ted files, wh ich req uire the same effort to crack. If this is d one, they pr ove to b e X-Files scripts, and a small ap plication that flashes “Suckers!” on the screen. Df3: (If the characters search h ere with in three d ays of getting the flyer.) Frank wear s contact lenses, and has left most of the solutions here (see below). Df4: Buried und er junk w hich seems to have cascaded off a desk, and stuck to the bottom of an old pizza carton, is a photogr aph show ing three Saurians talking to two men in d ark suits. Background Check: Frank is mon itored occasionally, du e to paran oid ran tings, but he isn’t par ticularly bad for a netizen, so little is done. He is a good p rogramm er, and know s encryption. Secret Stu ff: Frank doesn’t think that the governmen t has eyes everywhere, although he d oes think there’s a big conspiracy. He susp ects that the conspiracy is about as well organized as m ost government bu reaucracies, and spends the first three d ays of the adventu re badgering Mar tin to let him go back for his lens solutions. Eventu ally, he just sneaks out, and any characters mon itoring the ap artment can follow him b ack to the Fort. He w ill be utterly terrified if he realizes that governm ent agents h ave been through the apartm ent in his absence, and w ill run (actually dr ive) straight back to th e Fort, kicking h imself as soon as he gets there. Appearance: Unw ashed, unshaven, overweight comp uter geek. Wears a tee-shirt wh ich is too small and says “They Are Here”, un der a bad p icture of a Grey.

Th e Fo r t F r a n k L e wis Str 3 Siz 3 Agl 3 Ref 3 Int 3 Wil 3 Per 3 Luck: 2/ 12

Sk il l s Compu ter Use 3 Compu ter Programming 3 Cryptology 2 Small Arm s: Pistol 2 UFOlogy 3

All the members of IGFE are currently holed u p h ere. Note that IGFE have cleared all brush by the hou se and m ade a few alterations to the hou se (see map key). Satellite photogr aph y will show this, although the bricked-up windows are a Df4 Perception test to spot.

The IGFEists have settled into a fairly p aranoid rou tine. Each one spends six hours on w atch from the lookout, and they all sleep dressed, with gu ns by the bed . The alarm system is Df4 to bypass, and is active on all window s and doors at all times. There is a keypad by each door, allowing th e group to deactivate it before using them . There are also panic buttons, wh ich are on a separate circuit from the main sensors (a Df4 Perception test to realize and deactivate along w ith the oth ers). Every p ossible entry is locked (Df4 locks) and all windows are bricked up.

Spying If the characters spy on the Fort, make sure that they m ake app ropriate Stealth checks. Remember that laser bugs w ill not w ork on the bricked u p w indow s. If they do man age to overhear conversations, the grou p is excited abou t the u pcoming p ress conference, wor ried abou t the possibility of governm ent interference. Occasionally they ask Martin if the “insu rance” is secure. H e always says th at it is. There is a ph one-line to the Fort, and th e char acters could tap it. It is used once per day, wh en Martin phones a certain nu mber (555-8678) and says “H ello, I’d like to ord er a larg e pizza w ith anchovies and p ineapple”, the guy at the other end replies “I’m afraid you m ust have dialed the wron g num ber”, and p uts the phon e dow n. This ph one call is always mad e between 3-4 p.m.

Pl an s The characters could d o so many different things that it w ould b e futile to try to cover them all here. Enoug h informa tion has been pr ovided here to ad jud icate the details of most plans, so this section w ill concentrate on likely consequ ences. If the characters go in like a SWAT team, they will probably w ipe out m ost of IGFE, although Martin w ill get out (see The One That Got Away ) unless they are incredibly clever. They shou ld be able to manu facture a cover story that gives them good cause, but man y p eople will be convinced -- rightly -- that the IGFE was wiped out by the Consp iracy because they knew too mu ch. The characters may also get a nasty shock shortly afterwar ds w hen the d up licates are released. If they sneak in , steal the evidence, and leave, withou t it turning into a bloodbath, the IGFE will work w ith the du plicates and u se the bu rglary as furth er evidence. If the characters were spotted (or worse ph otograp hed ), they will be fingered as agents of the Conspiracy. This is pretty much a worst-case scenario, although they do get the pictures. One of the better plan s is to sneak in, steal the eviden ce, plan t incriminating eviden ce, and call in the p olice. The group could be framed for revolutionar y activity or for por n trafficking — other charges are possible, but w ouldn’t have the sam e grip on their real backgroun ds. This will destroy their credibility, and will make it easier to track Martin. The players will doubtless come up w ith something else, but make sure that they keep in m ind that the p rimary goal is to keep the information u nd er wra ps not to kill all the members of IGFE.

Th e On e t h a t Go t A wa y When th e characters act, either in person or by send ing in the police or other author ities, Martin w ill be warn ed by his Strong ESP, and will run . Make it difficult to stop him: Df5 or so, with bonuses if they come up w ith a very good plan.

Martin w ill climb ou t of his rear w indow , drop into h is jeep, and leave, head ing for the trees to the w est. These extend off the map , and Martin has h is route planned . Following h im is a Df4 Drive test just to av oid th e trees. If that is successful, they w ill need to succeed at thr ee Drive tests against a Df equal to Mar tin’s Drive skill. If the Cell is not th ere in p erson, he w ill definitely get away. Martin w ill spend five d ays calling in all the favors h e can, before vanishing. The Cell will not be able to find him after this withou t launching a full scale manh un t, which is pro bably excessive. The one thing that remains constant is his d aily p hone call. The contact is Geoffrey Phillips, a friend in th e conspiracy business, wh o has been given a sealed packet that he is to open an d d istribute if  the p hon e call fails to arrive. The call is to a pu blic call box, so the characters will need to stak e it out to catch th e contact. Geoffrey is comp letely average, and just abou t any vagu ely plausible scheme for leaning on h im will make him give up th e package, still un open ed (it has a security seal, which is untou ched). On th e fifth da y, Martin w ill collect the package, since he need s the evidence more than the insurance, but the characters should have retrieved it by then. If the characters try to b urg le Geoffrey’s hou se, the locks and alarms are Df3, and it takes four hour s to search. The p ackage may be foun d o n a D f4 Perception test. Geoffrey is still in residence, althoug h he w orks d uring th e day. If they talk to Geoffrey, and Martin is currently wan ted for some crime, he w ill be happ y to give the package up to “the au thorities.” He d oesn’t wan t any more trou ble than he h as already. Threats will also obtain it, for the same r eason. (Remember that Geoffrey doesn’t know just how interesting th e contents are.) Martin w ill be mak ing a lot of pho ne calls, and talking to a lot of  peop le, wh ile he tries to disapp ear. Thu s, various strings and skills should enable to characters to track him do wn . Anything sensible will allow them to find him once: catching h im m ay be slightly har der, bu t shou ld still be possible. If they m iss their first chance, make th em w ork for a second: new schemes, better die rolls, and so on. This section is a coda to th e main m ission, so it isn’t as d etailed. The main pu rpose is to drive home to the players the importan ce of tying u p loose ends, not to give the Game Master an opp ortunity to wr eck their lives even if they d id w ell in the main p art.

Tr o u bl es h o ot in g The main p otential problem with th is mission arises if the characters take too long to find the initial data on IGFE. Once that is found , there are many leads to the Fort, so that things should un fold ap prop riately. Accordingly, fud ge die rolls so that it doesn’t take them more th an thr ee days to find the basics. After that, let them mess up if they w ant. (This assumes they are m aking an effort, of course.)

A f t er ma t h This will vary greatly, depend ing on w hat hap pens. The characters could hav e been identified as agents of the Consp iracy, or they could have hu shed everything up and obtained some of the best photograph s of Saurians in Aegis’s hand s. The p hotographs and tape (see map key) are genu ine, but will only contain really interesting information if you want to use them as the lead-in to another mission.

Th e Fa r m

11 2 3

5

8

7

6 9

4

1

10

1: Porch. The front door is very heavy.

9: Paul’s room . Nothing of note.

2: Hallw ay. The back door has been bricked u p.

10: Watchtow er. IGFE has built a watchtower over the p orch. The top, w hich is enclosed, rises over the roo fline, allowing 360º surveillance. The w alls are thick brick an d access is by a lad der from the up stairs hallway. The floor is supp orted on catches, and the panic button u p h ere. When p ushed , it sets off the alarms, and drops the floor by four feet, putting the lookout below the brickline in less than a second. There is a searchlight m oun ted inside a box-shaped roof, and the roof is mad e of bulletpr oof glass.

3: Marian ’s room . She keeps the gu ns in here wh en she is not carrying them. In the event of an assault, she will, given time, collect the SMG and give it to someone else. 4: Frank ’s room . It is already a m ess, and his laptop is on a table. The laptop h as encrypted files on it, scanned copies of the ph otograp hs and digital versions of the tape (see 11). It is as hard to decrypt these as the ones on the computer at his apartment. Note that the release of these is less worry ing: everyon e know s how easy it is to fake compu ter grap hics. 5: Kitchen . 6: Din ing and p lannin g area. There’s a TV in her e as well, and most of IGFE will norm ally be here. 7: Darkroom/Bathroom. The used su pp lies indicate that photograph s have been d eveloped here recently. There is no sign of  wh at may h ave been don e, except a checklist with the num bers 136, all ticked . 8: Martin ’s room . His jeep is normally parked u nder the rear window, and he has a rope ladder coiled und er that window. The door h as a heavy security bar on the inside: Df4 to break it down .

11: The stairwell. Stairs lead up to the second floor. A door in the stair well leads to th e basement stairs. The basemen t (not show n) is un der the kitchen and d ining area. The door at the bottom of  the stairs is th ick steel, w ith a Df4 lock. (The combin ation is 51194718.) The basemen t contains a set of 36 ph otograp hs (prints and negatives) and an aud io tape, recording a meeting between two Saurian war-techs and government officials. A Df3 Perception test w ill notice that on e of the ph otograph s is identical to the one in Frank’s apartment (assuming that th ey found that one). It takes an hou r to search the room thorou ghly. Df1: the ph otos and tape. Df2: The w rapp ing from a cassette box, of a different make from the one found . This was around the tape used to mak e the second copy, now in Geoffrey Phillips’ possession.

Con sp iracy X™ Main Rulebook (revised) Product Code: EDN00023 Price: $28.00 The world as you know it gets a hell of a lot more p aranoid . This premier conspiracy roleplaying game is set in the w orld hiding just aro und t h e corner. The players are p art of Aegis, a national conspiracy dedicated to fighting a covert war against extraterrestrial and sup ernatu ral threats. The main ru lebook includ es character creation, Cell form ation, combat and everything else needed to introdu ce your p layers to a world full of UFOs, aliens, psychics, sup ernatu ral horrors and a w hole lot of lies. The revised edition comes comp lete with a new character sheet, detailed ind ex and a new mod ule. 232 pag es - softcover . ISBN 1-891153-23-4

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Shadows of the Mind™ The PSI/INT Sourcebook  Product Code: EDN00004 Price: $17.00 For over 50 years, the intelligence commu nity searched for the p erfect w ay of controlling the mind, testing every drug known to man, pu shing hypnosis to its ultimate limits and d eveloping technologies to bend man ’s will to their knee. They succeeded beyond their expectations. They sou ght control and found pow er! Using psychics as paw ns in their struggle for world dom ination, Aegis has developed the m ost successful p rograms to develop an d utilize psychic powers. All of this pow er and control has been hidd en behind masks of secrecy -- masks that are now burned away to reveal the terrifying truth . This book includ es the full story of MKULTRA’s hor rific experiments a nd its un savory find ings, the secrets behind the governm ent’s p rograms to develop psychic powers, the Soviet connection that brought a wh ole new world of discoveries to the governmen t, detailed descriptions of new and old psychic disciplines, new p layer backgroun ds complete with psych profiles that w ill literally blow you r m ind. 112 pages - softcover. ISBN: 1-891153-96-X

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Exodus The Saurian Sou rcebook  Product Code: EDN00005 Price: $18.00 Before the daw n of time, they rose to rule their world. Sixty-five m illion yea rs ago , they fought a war so d evastating that it nearly dest royed th at wor ld and everything on it. Those who survived fled into the vast night of space, looking for a new hom e. Today they are here, among u s. Those who know them call them th e Sau rians, viscous looking lizard men with technology centuries beyond our ow n. For the moment they wa lk among u s, hidden within false flesh, barely recognized as their ow n. Soon m ore will arrive, many, man y

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Cryptozoology™ Dossier of the Unexplained Product Code: EDN00026 Price: $18.00 The study of unknown terrestrial lifeforms is called cryptozoology. We know them as Big Foot, Sasquatch, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabras and Yeti. All these and more are revealed in this sourcebook, including all the information needed to integrate cryptozoological phenomena and more common anima ls into your campaign. Cryp tozoology™ also details tw o new organ izations from w hich player characters can be recruited: The Royal Cryptozoological Society and the mysterious Titandae. New advantages and disadvantages, and new pu lling strings a re also provid ed. 128 pag es - softcover. ISBN : 1-891153-03-X

Bodygu ard of Lies 1: Psi Wars™ A m ission/sourcebook  ED N 00008 $16.00

Bodygu ard of Lies 2: M okole™ A mission/sourcebook  ED N 00011 $16.00

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