Mongoose Publishing has launched a crowdfunding campaign to revive the classic modern-era horror roleplaying game Dark Conspiracy. Adapting the original 1991 setting to Mongoose’s established Traveller 2d6 rules engine, the project surpassed its £20,000 initial goal within hours and has generated over £104,000 from more than 860 backers.
The game transports players to an alternate modern setting where the dimensional boundaries separating humanity from nightmarish alternate realms have started to fracture. Taking on the roles of Operatives recruited into secretive cells by hidden benefactors, players must investigate paranormal incursions, confront extradimensional invaders known as Dark Minions, and maintain strict public ignorance to prevent human civilisation from descending into panic.
Demonground and Modern Tabletop Mechanics
The core release centres on three hardback books alongside a dedicated Referee’s Screen. The Dark Conspiracy Core Rulebook transitions traditional modern conspiratorial horror into the Traveller mechanical framework, utilising the classic career-based character creation system. Players can select from distinct backgrounds such as Agent, Empath, Mercenary, Military, Scientist, Technical, and Underworld, as well as appendix options including Prisoner and Everyman.
The setting is further expanded through two standalone campaign books. Field Ops provides short scenario missions that take Operatives from cult investigations in Nevada to demonic incursions in Norwich and the Italian Alps. The second supplement, Dread Earth, is a full-length campaign set across the corrupted wilderness of Appalachia where a powerful Minion Lord attempts to shatter dimensional boundaries entirely.
Extradimensional incursions manifest as Demonground: localised regions of twisted physics where terrain morphs, structures grow organic passageways, and gravity distorts. Operatives investigating these zones can develop supernatural Empathic abilities or utilise strange DarkTech, but doing so triggers Dark Influence. This mechanical corruption offers temporary physical strength and psychic talents at the cost of visible bodily mutations, psychological cravings, and the eventual risk of permanently losing an Operative to another dimension.
Pledge Tiers
- Pledge £1: Everyman. A digital support tier offering backer updates and access to project communication.
- Pledge £35: Virtual Operative. Digital PDF editions of the Dark Conspiracy Core Rulebook and the Referee’s Screen.
- Pledge £60: Commissioned Operative. Hardcover print and digital PDF editions of the Dark Conspiracy Core Rulebook and the Referee’s Screen.
- Pledge £85: Virtual Defender of the Earth. Digital PDF editions of the complete four-item library: the Core Rulebook, Referee’s Screen, Field Ops mission collection, and the Dread Earth campaign book.
- Pledge £140: Defender of the Earth. Complete physical hardback collection and digital PDF bundle, including the Core Rulebook, Referee’s Screen, Field Ops, and Dread Earth.
Unusually for international physical fulfilment, Mongoose Publishing is offering free worldwide shipping across all physical tiers, with digital rewards fulfilled through DriveThruRPG.
The Kickstarter campaign operates on an all-or-nothing funding basis and concludes at 2:00 PM BST on Friday, 11 September 2026. Physical and digital fulfilment is scheduled to ship by 30 June 2027.
Quick Links
- Download the free Dark Conspiracy Operative Induction Dossier on DriveThruRPG
- Back Dark Conspiracy on Kickstarter
Independently covering Dark Conspiracy since 2019. Our archive includes 8 entries connected to this topic.
Latest entry: August 2026
