Author: Marcus Bone Page 4 of 7

[Review] Bodyguard of Lies 3 – Synergy

On December 7, 2020

It’s been way too long, but I thought I’d return to my rambling evaluation of the Conspiracy X line with one of the game’s lesser known publications – Bodyguard of Lies 3 – Synergy. And yes, because I like to be contrary, I thought I’d leap right into the third book of the series…

This review is written with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the setting and themes of the Conspiracy X RPG (or Con X as it is often abbreviated). For those of you reading this review who may not be so educated, the one sentence summary of this game would be – in Con X the players take on the roles of agents within Aegis, a clandestine organization tasked with hiding the truth of aliens, monsters and the supernatural from the fragile minds of humanity.

For those who do not know, the Bodyguard of Lies (BoL) was a series of three supplements released during 1998 and 99 by Eden Studios to support the 1st edition of Conspiracy X. Designed as part magazine, part splatbook, I get the impression they were aimed at maintaining the interest in the game line while longer, more traditional, game supplements were being written. This format also provided an opportunity to explore subjects, and provide scenarios, that were either too brief, or perhaps too tangential, to the core Con X setting to warrant their own dedicated release. These days I’d imagine such material might well appear on publisher’s website as a freebie or as a quick and easy PDF release via Drivethrurpg, so seeing these articles and adventures in physical print format is quite cool (even I do have some reservations on the form factor of the books).

Now, I can only speak for myself, but I missed the original publication of all three issues of BoL, which seems strange, especially given my interest in conspiracy and horror gaming. I do, however, wonder if my personal overlooking of this line may well be a pointer as to why only 3 books were released? In any case it’s a shame we didn’t see more of these, especially – as I note later – there seemed more material awaiting the wings.

[Review] CryptoZoology: Dossier of the Unexplained

By Marcus Bone

On August 12, 2020

In Conspiracy X, Review

So, I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of mixing my cryptids with my aliens. Sure, the X-Files did it with their ‘Monster of the Week’ style offerings, but I like my extraterrestrials and Jersey Devils to stay in their own sandpits, thank you very much! It was therefore with some trepidation that I unsealed my (long unopened) copy of CryptoZoology: Dossier of the Unexplained for Conspiracy X First Edition.

A Note – This review is written with the assumption that the reader is familiar with the setting and themes of the Conspiracy X RPG (or Con X as it is often abbreviated). For those of you who don’t, the one sentence summary would be – in Con X the players take on the roles of agents within a clandestine organization (known as Aegis) and are tasked with hiding the truth of aliens – and the like – from humanity.

[Conspiracy X] Collection Schedule – An Introduction to ConspiracyX 2nd Edition

By Marcus Bone

On April 21, 2018

In Conspiracy X, Intro Adventure

Introducing new games is always difficult for a Game Master, often a table already has its favourites, or prefers a specific type of setting or mechanics. Often, especially in this age where new games come out every other day, just getting the time to create simple characters, or complete a basic scenario can be a challenge. This is why Collection Schedule has been written, to be a sampler (or a taster if you’d prefer) to the Con X 2nd Edition Unisystem rule set, and allow potential players see just want sort of fun this great game brings to the table!

Collection Schedule

A short introductory adventure designed to be run as a filler or demonstration scenario to be run at gaming conventions or when Chroniclers are looking to try out Conspiracy X second edition.

With a plot focused on character interaction and thinking outside the square, it should be completed by even the most inexperienced gamers in less than an hour or so. To assist new players and Chroniclers, 3 pre-generated characters are included, ensuring everyone can get to the table as quickly as possible.

Collection Schedule – An Introductory Scenario for New Players of ConspiracyX 2^nd Edition (PDF, 10 pages, 646KB)

You can also download this and other Conspiracy X material I’ve created over at the ConX hub found here…

[Conspiracy X] Welcome to a New Bodyguard of Lies

By Marcus Bone

On September 2, 2017

In Conspiracy X, One-off Adventures

A few years back I rediscovered Eden Studios’ interesting game of aliens and the supernatural; Conspiracy X (now in a superb 2nd edition). As was my want at the time, I threw together a little website to collect together my thoughts on the game and to act as an outlet for a few creative Con X ideas that I had bobbing about. While this did result in a number of articles being thrown up, the approach as a whole never really went anywhere, competing as it does with my various other projects (such as this very site – unboundbook.org!). However, rather than just abandon everything I have created, and with a view towards consolidation, I have now transferred everything of real interest to pages within Unbound Publishing.

To ‘celebrate’ this event I’ve also released one of the many ConX scenario ideas I’ve tinkered with over the years – Blue on Blue – along with – from that old site – an interview I did with the 2nd Edition author Dave Chapman, and a rather harsh review of the aforementioned core Conspiracy X 2nd Edition Rulebook.

[Review] Conspiracy X Second Edition Core Rulebook

By Marcus Bone

On August 26, 2017

In Conspiracy X, Review

It seemed logical to start the review entries of this blog covering the book that brought about the rebirth of Conspiracy X in the middle of the 2000s – Conspiracy X 2nd edition. Written and compiled by the ever friendly David F. Chapman (Dave to his friends and fans – see our interview with him here), it not only converts the game into Eden’s Unisystem mechanics, but also blends together material from numerous first edition supplements into a definitive post 9/11 edition.

I should warn you, this review is probably different from others you might have read on this game, I say this, as it doesn’t go into the background and premise of Conspiracy X, and nor will it directly compare this edition to the first. Instead it simply focuses on the various elements that I, the reviewer, have found of most interest within its pages – from the good to the not so good.

In the future, we’ll return to this book to look deeper into its contents, as well as examine what elements it brings to the gaming table and how they might be used in play.