this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2026
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Back in the 1990s and the Oughts, I loved conspiracy-based RPG settings and material. I devoured GURPS Illuminati, Delta Green, Kenneth Hite's Suppressed Transmission columns, and so on.

But in the last decade, I've moved away from them. Part of it may be that I realized that how many conspiracy theories ultimately originated in antisemitic slanders. Part of it might be their mainstreaming by the resurgent fascist right and their supporters. And, of course, the great villains of our day perpetrate all their villainy in the open, rarely even bothering to hide what they are doing.

So I no longer enjoy settings where "The Conspiracy" and their schemes are the main focus of the setting. While I don't mind having "small-c" conspiracies in a game, I don't like it when there is a secret cabal of conspirators running everything.

How about you? Do you still enjoy Conspiracy-based setting, or have you lost your taste for them as well?

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[–] Ziggurat@jlai.lu 4 points 4 days ago

The thing that changed in 2001, is that conspiracy went from optimistic and fun (US and Soviet gov, are talking with aliens and getting some secret technology from-it), Elvis is still alive in a secret island. To a bit too real and dark, Like US actually blew-up the WTC tower, then Vaccine are actually a poison and more

IMO it makes the whole theme less fun