[Review] The Hand Unseen – 1st Edition

Let me tell you again, AEGIS nothing more than a cult and we, I’m afraid to say, have been lied to for far too long…

From its release in early 1996, Conspiracy X had always operated under one simple premise – the player’s characters, as members of a secret conspiracy known as AEGIS – are humanity’s last hope, the final protectors of mankind… the so-called ‘bodyguard of lies’. This book, The Hand Unseen, whips away that veil of half-truths and rumours and simply asks – What if AEGIS aren’t the ‘good guys’ we all believed them to be? What if their approach to the existential threat of extraterrestrial invasion and the rise of supernatural dangerous phenomenon as nothing more than closed-eyed, fear mongering? And if that is all true, then who will stand as the champions all of humanity?

That, my dear reader, is why this book exists, to tell you that there is another way, and that a programme for humanity’s salvation is already underway… whether you like it or not!

This review is written with the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the setting and themes of Eden Studio’s Conspiracy X roleplaying game (or Con X as it is often abbreviated to). For those of you who may not be aware, the ‘back of napkin’ summary for the game would be – the players usually assume roles as agents within AEGIS, a clandestine organisation tasked with hiding the truth of aliens, monsters and the supernatural from the fragile minds of humanity. In other words, think the X Files, but where you’re working for the Cigarette Smoking Man rather than alongside Mulder or Scully!

Here, in The Hand Unseen, however, we get to explore the other side, the official, black budget government organisation tasked with the same goals AEGIS… but one with the will and power to achieve their ambitions in their own unique way!

About the Book

Published in 2002, The Hand Unseen – The Black Book Sourcebook, was the last official standalone release for the Conspiracy X 1st Edition line. (Interestingly, it was published a good three years after the previous Con X supplement saw the light of day, and I believe this delay must have been the result of Eden Studios’ shifting their focus to game lines that were more profitable than the now aging Conspiracy X, the then new hotness of games like All Flesh Must be Eaten and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Regardless, it – like all of Eden’s publications – is a well written and presented book, one that is packed full of details on the enigmatic, and elusive enemy of AEGIS – The Black Book.

Physically The Hand Unseen comes in at 128 pages in length and is one of the few 1st Edition supplements to still be available as a PDF (via DrivethruRPG¹). Apart from the cover – which is full colour – all the images in the book are black & white and it has a layout and design that is closer in the style to that we’d soon see in the 2nd Edition books (which is to say it’s all neat, tidy, and using few embellishments in its page design).

Content wise, the book is broken into six chapters, and these are structured in a way as to reflect the security access structure the Black Book organisation itself utilises in disseminating information to its people (i.e. as you progress through the book you gain access to more and deeper insights into the modius operandi of Black Book – including details which either expand on or even contradict information presented earlier in the book!). Each chapter begins with a single page of fiction (which in sequence follows the progression of a couple of Black Book agents as the rise in the organisation over a period of a few years) and this is well written and readily highlights the organisation’s more brutal methods in the field when compared to, say, the way AEGIS is known to operate.

Taken in totality the information present in the book provides a Game Master with everything they may want to know to get a Black Book team playing at their table, from how the supplement itself should be used, through the process of creating unique Black Book character agents, and – most obviously – the inner workings of the organisation itself. As mentioned above, all the material on Black Book itself is all nicely segregated on a ‘need to know’ basis, just as you’d expect from a government conspiracy, so each layer of truth is nicely peeled away as you read further into the supplement. All in all, we get plenty of great, detailed content on agency, that up until this book was released was – ah, like the title suggests – the hand unseen acting against the AEGIS player characters!

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But what is Black Book?

So, I’m sure by now some of you reading this review will have been shouting at me about my use of the name ‘Black Book’. You see, for those of you unaware, I’ve not really been using the correct name for the organisation this supplement details. The Black Book is really the National Defence Directorate (or simply the Directorate or NDD), a government sponsored black budget agency tasked with managing the Extraterrestrial threat facing the United States (and the Earth in general, I suppose). Black Book is simply the name given to it by AEGIS and its agents (based on the government project that created the agency – Project Blue Book/Black Book, get it… well, some of you into the real world history of UFO investigations will I’m sure). The National Defence Directorate was created by Harry Truman in 1948, when the extent of the alien threat was fully appreciated and since then, they have operated under a remit to do what they must, in any manner they must, to fulfil their responsibility to protect humanity now and into the future. After reading this supplement cover to cover, I can’t say that are any less principled or loyal to humanity than AEGIS is (I mean, AEGIS are the ones who ordered Kennedy’s assassinated, after all), but rather I’d think of them as willing to do ANYTHING (and I mean anything) to fulfil their duty.

And that, of course, is why we discover in The Hand Unseen that what AEGIS (and by default all the Conspiracy X material released to date) has been telling us is nothing more than simply half-truths and lies. The NDD aren’t the ‘bad guys’ nor are they puppets of the extraterrestrial forces arrayed against humanity (well, maybe), but rather they are simply an organisation dedicated to the same goals as AEGIS. It’s just that they use a different tool set and are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in their duty (even if that means making unholy pacts with the Saurians or giving up victims to the Greys for experimentation, etc!).

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The Breakdown

With that revelation out of the way, I suppose I better return to the actual supplement and give you all a rundown of what you find inside. Beginning with the obligatory Introductory chapter (explaining how to use the book and its purpose), we are introduced to the organisational structure of the National Defence Directorate, in the matter in which a new inductee might get to know it. This not only covers how NDD agents are initiated to the organisation (the US Army being a large source for recruitment) and what training is provided, but we also get the first hints that not everything is above board as initially believed. We learn of the use of the Sentinel Implant, a device used to track and identify (and even kill) an agent remotely and told of the organisation’s credo (and mantra) that reinforces (brainwashes?) an operative’s loyalty to the Directorate above everything else!

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Another Aside

As mentioned early all the information presented in most chapters is also divided into the ‘Above Top Secret’ security ratings used by the Directorate. These are known as Majestic or MJ clearances and are graded from … wait for it… 1 to 12 (again this is a nice call back to real world UFO mythology). This design approach not only allows the reader to fully appreciate the strict compartmentalisation of knowledge that NDD works under, but I imagine just how a Game Master might use this information as handouts or in game revelations as the player agents advance in rank and responsibility.

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After an agent’s training is covered, the next chapter presents all the game mechanics required for building Directorate characters. Coming in at around a quarter of the book’s page count, character creation process is based on the updated generation system (first seen in another Con X supplement, Sub Rosa), and outlines the various professions and traits available to NDD agents (as well as some unique tools – or is that ‘toys’ – available to members of the agency).

It is from this point on in the text we start to get into the real secrets hidden within the Directorate, learning more about how the organisation came to be (after the split up of The Watch post the events of Roswell in 1947²) and how Black Book operates out in the field. We are also informed of NDD’s dealings with two of the extraterrestrial races, the Reticulans (or Greys), and the Saurians (specially the Gna-Tall), although the full extent of these relationships are not fully explained until later in the supplement. Here we are introduced to other conspiracies/groups influenced by the NDD, such as ODESSA (Nazi industrialists and officers looking to rebuild their powerbase) and the Laager (a South African government sponsored organisation split on the matters of aliens and politics). I have to say, if the reader wasn’t convinced early on the willingness of NDD to walk that line between prudence and purpose, their relationships with groups such as these should be the final clue!

In these later chapters we are introduced, also, to just how the nine Divisions within the Directorate work (there were 12 Divisions once – again harking back to the Majestic 12 UFO mythology – but these have been paired back over the past few decades). Each Division operates mostly in its own independent sphere of responsibility and influence, but all require input and support from the others to succeed, which obviously results in more than a little infighting over resources, remits, and authority. Key here are the various projects and programmes being run by each Division, such as Division 1’s (Intelligence and Analysis) efforts to infiltrate all foreign governments to discover what they know of the threats facing humanity or Division 8’s (Scientific Research and Developments) exploration into pharmacological substances and their effects on the wider population. It should go without saying that the NDD seems to have very few qualms in doing whatever they think is necessary – whenever they think it necessary- to manipulate the world at large or its citizens. In some ways, this makes sense – when you have the brief of protecting humanity from unknowable forces of seemingly unlimited power how can you limit yourself to operating within some sort of arbitrary code of ethics or with moral compunction – but it does make you question just what
NDD might ultimately be willing to do to achieve its self-governing goals.

Unsurprisingly, it isn’t until the final full chapter of the supplement that we truly uncover the Directorate’s deepest and darkest secrets, revealing that the organisation knows a lot more about the threats facing humanity than they are letting on. Here we also get a taste of the various protocols and special projects the organisation has underway across the globe. Suffice to say that the NDD has set on a series of actions – and various fail safes – they believe will allow mankind to successfully ‘resist’ the extraterrestrials’ varied agendas for our plant… and no one, let me repeat, no one, is going to stand in their way of achieving them.

Beyond such ‘mundane’ things as the above, this chapter also details Black Book’s opinion and official policy when dealing with other rival organisations such as AEGIS. However, where one might believe the NDD would treat such groups as some sort of active enemies ‘operating on home soil’ and doing all they can to root them out, the truth of the matter is that they see AEGIS as nothing more than – and I quote – a “poorly organised, undisciplined” organisation that is “rife with significant security risks”. As such they do not see them as much of a threat, and indeed operate under the hope of incorporating them into the overall structure of National Defence Directorate in the future. This, of course, doesn’t mean they won’t fight back – aggressively – if threatened by such parties, but ultimately, they are much more willing use AEGIS (and other like-minded groups) to further its own agendas than waste resources on trying to wipe them out.

The final, not insubstantial, section of the book is the Appendices. Here we have profiles for the National Defence Directorates 12 directors, and most importantly their personal agendas and desires for the organisation (all of which is revealing and adds yet another interesting layer of intrigue to the Directorate’s purpose and way of operating). We also get a few brief rules on creating Saurian or Reticulan-Human hybrid characters, which again adds something new to the setting as both bring special tools and abilities into play (I love this idea by the way – adding such characters to a campaign would build even more intrigue or doubt to the overall story arc – who are they really working for, what is their agenda, and what will be their fate if humanity falls to the alien threat in the end?)

Rounding out the appendices is an overview of the Directorate’s Headquarters (in Dulce, New Mexico, which yes, is also home to some Greys… yet one more call back to good old UFO mythology) and probably the most absorbing are the few paragraphs on the various factions and secret compacts that operate within the NDD itself. Although only a few hundred words in length, this brief section immediately undermines the otherwise united front of the organisation, and I have to say that instantly inspires a dozen different scenario ideas I could throw at players of a Directorate campaign!

My overall thoughts?

As you might have gleaned while reading through this review, I’ve intentionally attempted to be quite vague when presenting much of the detail revealed in The Hand Unseen. The reason for this isn’t because I don’t want to spend time on such things (although as an aside I do think I prattle on way too long in these reviews already) but rather because of the nature of this supplement itself. The fact is, like most conspiracy horror games, Conspiracy X and by extension this sourcebook, lives and dies by its atmosphere and aesthetic… and most importantly, the secrets it keeps. As such, if I did dive too deep into all the rumours and wonders that are hidden in this book then I’d be spoiling it for everyone. And that just not me …sorry about that!

But does that mean I recommend The Hand Unseen or not? Well, that’s an easy one to answer – unequivocally YES! Even ignoring the sizeable amount of 1st edition mechanics present in the book (which have been superseded by the vastly superior Unisystem rules of 2nd Edition), you get so much quality content packed that its nigh impossible to put down. Not only does it turn the Conspiracy X setting on its head (especially if your only exposure to the game to date has been through the eyes of AEGIS) but it also fleshes out so much of what the future will potentially hold for humanity especially if the struggle against the alien, supernatural and even human threats is not maintained.

Thinking about, the whole text is bloody good read, even if you aren’t a dedicated Con X fan, and I can’t think of too many weak points in book as a whole (maybe that’s a positive arising from its long development period?).

Ah, but isn’t there a Conspiracies Sourcebook for 2nd Edition? You are indeed correct, there is a Conspiracies Sourcebook for 2nd Edition (also available on DrivethruRPG) and it does incorporate (and in some places updates) a lot of the content from The Hand Unseen. However, given that that supplement is doing double, if not triple duty (having to provide room for details on not only AEGIS but other secret societies as well) it never really can reveal or explore as much as this standalone sourcebook does. My advice? Go get yourself a PDF copy of The Hand Unseen (it’s only US $8.05 from DrivethruRPG at the time of this review), so you too can learn the secrets of the Black Book first hand!