ESRB Games Ratings

The gaming sections are rated according to the ESRB Ratings used for music and video games, as it is most appropriate and many of those who are concerned with such things (parents, et.al.) are already familiar with the system. Ratings of the content provided by The Weirding in no way reflect the ESRB Rating of the game itself, nor are they an attempt to assign such a rating to the game or the publisher(s) of material for the game; it is a self-imposed rating, reflecting only the content provided by The Weirding. This is also, in no way, an attempt to infringe on any copyrights.

The rating for all materials is prominently displayed on key pages, though it may not appear on every page within a section. For example, the rating may appear on index pages for a game but not the individual pages within the section (beneath, or branching off of, the indeces). The Weirding leaves it to parents and guardians to make themselves aware of the ESRB rating for every section and all materials presented by the site; The Weirding is not responsible for minors or others accessing materials and you agree to this as part of the TOS.

Most of the gaming content provided by The Weirding is Mature or Adults Only. Parents are strongly cautioned.

ESRB Ratings Descriptors

• Alcohol Reference - Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages
• Animated Blood - Cartoon or pixilated depictions of blood
• Blood - Depictions of blood
• Blood and Gore - Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts. Representations of blood and/or gore in realistic or photographic-like detail.
• Cartoon Violence - Violent actions involving cartoon-like characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted
• Comic Mischief - Scenes depicting slapstick or gross vulgar humor
• Crude Humor - Moderately vulgar antics, including bathroom humor
• Drug Reference - Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs
• Edutainment - Content of product provides user with specific skills development or reinforcement learning within an entertainment setting. Skill development is an integral part of product
• Fantasy Violence - Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life
• Gambling - Betting like behavior
• Informational - Overall content of product contains data, facts, resource information, reference materials or instructional text
• Intense Violence - Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons, and depictions of human injury and death
• Mature Humor - Vulgar and/or crude jokes and antics including "bathroom" humor
• Mature Sexual Themes - Provocative material, possibly including partial nudity
• Mild Language - Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol, or drug use
• Mild Lyrics - Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol, or drug use in music
• Mild Violence - Mild scenes depicting characters in unsafe and/or violent situations
• Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity
• Partial Nudity - Brief and mild depictions of nudity
• Sexual Violence - Depictions of rape or other sexual acts
• Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed - Early Childhood Descriptor only
• Strong Language - Profanity and explicit references to sexuality, violence, alcohol, or drug use
• Strong Lyrics - Profanity and explicit references to sex, violence, alcohol, or drug use in music
• Strong Sexual Content - Graphic depiction of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity
• Suggestive Themes - Mild provocative references or materials
• Tobacco Reference - Reference to and/or images of tobacco products
• Use of Drugs - The consumption or use of illegal drugs
• Use of Alcohol - The consumption of alcoholic beverages
• Use of Tobacco - The consumption of tobacco products
• Violence - Scenes involving aggressive conflict

Titles rated "Teen (T)" have content that some parents may not find suitable for children under the age of 14. These selections may include violence, adult language, and adult situations.

Titles rated "Mature (M)" have content suitable for persons ages 17 and older. These products may include more intense violence or language than products in the Teen category. In addition, these titles may also include mature sexual themes.

Titles rated "Adults Only (AO)" have content suitable only for adults. These products may include graphic depictions of sex and/or violence. Adults Only products are not intended to be sold or rented to persons under the age of 18.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Dark Conspiracy System Notes

This is not a review of the Empathic Sourcebook; this is just a quick note as to the sweeping system changes the book provides. I had heard about the d20 system just recently; the PC Booster Kit apparently contained a d20 system "upgrade," which addressed many of the issues in the original, d10-based system found in the core rulesbook. Since I did not own it, I just continued using the d10 system - though I created a lot of expansion sets to make-up for all the shortcomings.

The Empathic Sourcebook completely overhauls everything presented in the core book, as well as the d20 system presented in the PC Booster Kit. I mean, the entire first chapter is dedicated to these changes, which are vast and numerous. It addresses skills, attributes, rolls, crits and fumbles, melee specialization - literally the entire system.

This is why there needs to be a real, substantial resource which explains which RPG books offer what. You do not need to purchase the PC Booster Kit is what I'm telling you; you do need to pick up the Empathic Sourcebook ASAP, because the entire Dark Conspiracy department is going to be updated to be compatible with the d20 system and other rules contained within.

I honestly wish there were a resource detailing what all these books offer! It is with no small disappointment I realize all the time spent trying to fix the flawed system presented in the main book was simply wasted; apparently, certain key books in the line did this for us. Minion Nation is specifically mentioned as containing a list of terms used in the game, for example.

I suppose I will do this, but I am of course limited as to which books I can include. I will have things to say about each book in the series, as I get them, and I plan to get most all of them in time.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Dark Conspiracy New Orleans

There are a lot of nits one can pick with Dark Conspiracy, but I think my biggest is how everything is just thrown together without a single thought as to how, or even if, all these elements work together. One example is the inclusion of modern cellphones - cellphones capable of providing the Data Services available in Dark Conspiracy (DarkTek, p. 31) - when the book is clear as to how 80% of the people have moved to metroplexes (p. 67) and the only ones left in the Out-Law are gangs, agricorps, and "a scattering of die-hard farm families" (p. 71). If everyone is in the metroplexes, then who needs a cellphone?

That probably isn't the best example, and I go into more detail on such inconsistencies elsewhere, so I'll leave it at that for now; my point is that the designers threw in any- and everything and a lot of it is incongruent. Unfortunately, the same can be said of Dark Conspiracy New Orleans.

New Orleans is far more than an adventure: it is a campaign guide, extended (multi-session) adventure, campaign setting and sourcebook, and resource. Several new Minions are introduced, but all of them are merely variations of those found in the Dark Conspiracy core rulesbook. However, New Orleans does provide one new Darkling Skill, as well as UV sunglasses.

Much like the rulesbook itself, New Orleans reads as though the designer got lost halfway into it and just started improvising. It never seems to settle on being an adventure or a sourcebook. When done correctly, these are the best kinds of tomes, but New Orleans is not done correctly.

While it provides several maps, only one is of the metroplex itself and it provides next to no information; for all the map on p. 12 tells you, you can do just as well with a general map of the city online. Maps for the specific sets in the adventure are given, though at least one seems unnecessary (Lou's house), but I think they gave it to provide referees with an example map to use for all such houses... except that the text specifically states Lou is one of only a handful who has such an estate - all the rest have been made into duplexes and apartments. Outside of this adventure, you are unlikely to ever use the map again. And even though it has keyed entries, the map is unnumbered (though it's easy to determine, using the entries as a guide - just an editorial oversight). I would have preferred the city be detailed to all these generic maps.

Like the rest of the game, the main problem with New Orleans is that literally everything has been thrown in; PCs will encounter almost everything from Apeps to Zombies. Really! And while the Insectoid ETs are expounded upon, it's all rendered moot because that information applies only to the ETs in this specific adventure.

What I found really cool about New Orleans is that this is the first time I've ever read it, yet you would think I ripped it off several times over - the dark vines and the focus on Insectoid ETs and Cobra People. But again, this is the first and only time I've ever even held the book in my hands! So I used this new information - welcome content I did not expect - to improve my material. In these regards, the book covers a lot of ground and includes a little bit of everything, so its greatest flaw is also what makes it worth the investment.

As for that point, New Orleans involves no fewer than nine Dark Minions! While the entire thing is powered by some kind of Darkling mind control (Nexus of Evil), there is still no good reason for all these Minions. Even if we accept that this Nexus of Evil has overcome their predispositions toward working together, there are still too many Minions and this Nexus of Evil is the only thing keeping them from turning on one another. Excepting the Insectoid ETs, none of the coverage brings anything new to these Minions - again, it seems like they just kept adding them for no real reason, never stopping to consider how or why all these many Minions would ever be working together or active in such close proximity to one another. Furthermore, the encounters with these Minions are designed like video game encounters: the PCs face lesser-powered Beasties on their way to "The Boss." This is probably why they included so many minions.

There are so many Minions, so much Minion activity, that almost every NPC they talk to has seen or heard something. If your whole DC world is like that presented in this book, then there is no conspiracy! If everyone knows there are Dark Minions - even if they don't understand what that means - then there is nothing to cover-up!

All said, New Orleans fails as an adventure, mainly due to a lack of focus. While it provides some great new material - such as UV Sunglasses (p. 14) and the prices of airplane tickets to New Orleans (p. 8), not to mention the names of many metroplexes - it should have provided much more. Boat stats, a jazz club/bar, something on Vodoun - there are many things for which the area is known, and Dark Conspiracy New Orleans explored none of them.

As a sourcebook however, Dark Conspiracy New Orleans is fantastic! The information on poor houses and a corrupt mayoral council is superb and the author did an incredible job of packing so much information in so little space. I really wish the book had been more about this kind of information than the mediocre adventure. In fact, though there are two megacorps at the center of the whole thing, neither is given an actual profile - hell, they're really only barely mentioned! Norleans BioChem has a few, short paragraphs of history which provides no meta-information.

Overall, Dark Conspiracy New Orleans is a great resource to have, but not essential. It definitely adds to the game, but does not expand it much. As there are so few books in the line, this is one of those that you can live without but will improve your game and enjoyment immensely.

As a side-note, I don't think the adventure should be run as written. You should ditch almost all of the Minions outside of the Insectoids and minor Beasties (Swamp Apeps, Wolf-Like Creatures, etc.) - no Cobra People (although this is precisely their environment), Harpies, etc. - for a stronger game. Better yet, focus on how the Minions from one corporation are against those from the other, but still keep the Minion count down to a modest three or so. Even then there's too much going on! As I said above, this is no mere adventure - there is enough information here to make an entire campaign set in the (now flooded) city.

You can do without it, but Dark Conspiracy New Orleans is worth purchasing. Recommended.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Divine Trash

We here to The Weirding are proponents of basically anything out of the ordinary. We eschew the modern concept of homogenization. Maybe life is easier if you just don't "rock the boat," and maybe a mugging isn't so bad if you just give the mugger what he wants, but that whole system has not really done us any good as a society or world, now has it?

We have few real pleasures - maybe a vice or two along the way - but fashion is one of those things that tells people a little bit about yourself without giving it all away and can be a real joy to interest yourself in. Take Fly53 clothes - in particular, check out the Witch Hunt jacket. Now that there's a seriously cool accessory that says something about the person wearing it. Wear it with a pair of faded jeans from Jack & Jones and people will generally avoid you - at least the kind of people you would like to avoid anyway.

Divine Trash is the ultimate uk clothes shop for all your fashion needs. And everything can be purchased online! Guys, turn your girlfriends on to Divine Trash and never spend an entire day waiting for her again!

Seriously cool shop with some really heavy clothing and accessories. Check it out and see what you have been missing!