Tempus Fugit: The Dark•Matter Campaign Setting Turns 20 This Year

Two of my favorite tabletop RPG campaign settings of all time have reached significant milestones this year, and since they both fall within the purview of Chilling Tales Horror Roleplaying, I though I'd revisit them both before 2019 comes to an end.

First up is Dark•Matter from TSR/Wizards of the Coast and designed by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker. Published in 1999, Dark•Matter is a "modern" day setting for the Alternity science fiction RPG system and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The setting was inspired by the conspiracy theories, occult studies, parapsychology, and alternative fringe science popular in late 1990s culture and explored on television shows like The X-Files and Millennium. In Dark•Matter, it's all true: every conspiracy theory, alien abduction, the Illuminati, demonic possession, cattle mutilations, the writings of Charles Fort, ESP, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, Mothman, and Bigfoot. All of this high strangeness correlates to high concentrations of dark matter particles and the ebb and flood tides of dark matter concentration throughout Earth's history.

Dark•Matter is a well-crafted campaign setting that provides tons of information and inspiration for creating fun to play characters and adventures for them to experience. Like the episodes and seasons of The X-Files, it has an underlying story arc to unravel but also provides monster of the week style interludes as well. The authors really did their homework to give us a comprehensive primer on real world conspiracy theories, cryptids, UFOlogy, and paranormal activity. One reoccurring and appreciated feature are the alternative motives provided for the secret societies and other elements of the setting that you could use, ignore, or have the truth be somewhere in between. The offerings for "real" world magic and psionics (what Alternity calls SFX) is comprehensive and compelling as well, with spells and powers for ESP, telepathy, telekinesis, diabolism, Hermeticism, Enochian magic, monotheistic faith magic, shamanism, and Voodoo.

Additional Alternity rule supplements for the game include a "monster manual" of additional cryptids and threats called Xenoforms: Aliens, Demons & Aberrations and the Arms and Equipment Guide featuring cool new weapons and tech. A supplement about one of the secret societies featured in the core rulebook called The Final Church was planned but never printed, although Wizards eventually ended up giving it away as a free PDF download. Several tie-in novels were released as well during the Alternity Dark•Matter era.

In Dark•Matter, the default campaign setting assumes the player characters are working for the Hoffmann Institute, a mysterious organization that publicly claims to be an alternative energy think tank but is secretly investigating all instances of bizarre and unexplained occurrences that come to its attention. Like the other secret organizations featured in the core rulebook, it is highly detailed with multiple possibilities to choose from for its true motivations. It makes great resource for the player characters to turn to for mission briefings, equipment, and backup.

Etoile

My personal favorite adversaries to use were the extremely alien and nearly-incomprehensible Etoile and their Sandman servitor creations. In my campaign, I had an Etoile NPC who lived in the sub-basement of The Subway Inn (a dive bar I used to frequent when I lived in New York City). Known by the local street people as Geppetto, he had gone completely insane and was a concern not only to the Hoffmann Institute (as many homeless people in the area were going missing) but other members of his alien species as well. Rival NPC priest investigators from the Order of St. Gregory (another secret society featured in Dark•Matter ) were also investigating the case, and one of the priests was infected with lycanthropy and responsible for several recent werewolf attacks in Central Park. So many layers and players, but that was what made this game so enjoyable!

Wizards of the Coast pulled the plug on Alternity and its associated campaign settings including Dark•Matter when they released Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition and the d20 System in 2000. Due to its continued popularity, it did see re-release in bits and pieces through the d20 Modern game system (2002) and supplements, was featured as a "mini" setting in DUNGEON 108/POLYHEDRON 163 Magazine (March 2004), and eventually got its own hardcover d20 Modern campaign setting book in 2006 at the tail end of d20 Modern's print run. While it was nice to have these d20 Modern conversions, they never really captured the same magic and feel of the original Alternity hardcover setting book.

And I think there are several reasons for that. Sure, the d20 Modern Dark•Matter offerings didn't quite match the production values and presentation of the original Alternity game. But remember, Dark•Matter was set two years into the future when it was first released; the campaign starts in 2001. September 11, 2001 was a major cultural turning point in the United States, if not the world, after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC. The world was now different and so was the way we perceived and consumed conspiracy. When Dark•Matter saw re-release after 2001, it no longer had the same impact. Fast-forward to 2016 until now where the ramblings of conspiracy nuts like Alex Jones get the same attention and consideration as mainstream media news outlets. Then again, maybe Dark•Matter was trying to warn us about something all the way back in 1999...

If I were to run Dark•Matter now in 2019, I wouldn't set it in the present day but keep it in that late 90s where it is definitely at home, a more "innocent" time to explore dark secrets, forbidden knowledge, and hidden truths as it were. I wouldn't use Alternity or d20 Modern either; instead I would opt for something like Fate Core or adapt and mash together several GUMSHOE games like Fear Itself, The Esoterrorists, and Night's Black Agents. It's still a great go-to if you are looking for something that feels like classic X-Files.

All in all, Dark•Matter still holds up today, and is worthy of a re-visit by longtime fans or a first look if you've never experienced it.

Mr. Sandman bring me a dream!