Fading Suns

Fading Suns

Designer(s)	Bill Bridges, Andrew Greenberg
Publisher(s)	Holistic Design, Inc.
Publication date	1996 (1st edition) 1999 (2nd edition) 2001 (d20 edition) 2012 (3rd edition)
Genre(s)	Science fiction
System(s)	Victory Point System, d20 System

Fading Suns is a science fiction space opera role-playing game published by Holistic Design. The setting was also used for a PC game (Emperor of the Fading Suns), a live action role-playing game (Passion Play), and for a space combat miniature game (Noble Armada).

Game setting

The action is set in a future medieval-analogue empire built on the remains of a previous, more sophisticated human galaxy-spanning civilization made possible by ancient "Jumpgates". The Jumpgates are relics left over from an ancient civilization or civilizations, the mysterious Anunnaki, who seems to have influenced the evolution of the lesser species (such as humans) for their own end, and waged a devastating war many millennia ago using the lesser species as tools of war.

The atmosphere is strongly reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune and of the Hyperion stories by Dan Simmons, but borrows from many other science fiction books and movies as well.

Power is administered by noble houses, guilds and by the monolithic Holy Church. Psionic powers exist but psionicists are often hunted down and killed by the Church (or led back to orthodoxy and enrolled in the Church's ranks). The Church is also capable of producing miracles through Theurgic rites, a kind of divine sorcery.

While most roleplaying situations arise from the strict codes regulating the everyday life of the empire's citizens, the imperial age is rife with opportunities for adventure: following the fall of the old regime and the following centuries of darkness and warfare, many worlds have slipped back to a pre-civilized state, and a number of alien threats lurk in the shadows.

Players take the roles of members of the aristocracy, of the various merchant guilds or of a number of religious sects, and alien characters are also available.

A large library of supplements provides description of locales (planets, space stations, whole sections of space), alien societies, minor houses, guilds and sects, monsters and secret conspiracies, thus expanding the thematic possibilities offered by the setting. The products have been increasingly hard to find in recent years. After several years with very few additions to the line, RedBrick LLC has been granted a license to continue development of Fading Suns products.

Game system

The Fading Suns engine uses a simple attribute & skill, level- and classless, dice-pool powered system, called Victory Point System (VPS). The second edition of the game rules has solved many of the issues raised by the earlier rulebook, while increasing the amount of data available.

While generally stereotypical in their template-like form, characters are easily personalized. In 2000, an adaptation of the setting to the popular 3rd edition OGL system was also been published - D20 Fading Suns. For several years, supplements carried rules for both systems. RedBrick LLC, which took over development of the line in February 2007, has announced that it will initially support only the VPS version of the system. RedBrick is currently working on a third edition of the VPS system.

Holistic Design has released a LARP version of Fading Suns entitled Passion Play.

Authors

Fading Suns was written by Andrew Greenberg and Bill Bridges, known for having been involved with the original Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse role-playing games which were published by White Wolf.

Sourcebooks

Victory Point System:

• 1996 First Edition Rulebook, ISBN 978-1-888906-00-4 (OOP)
• 1996 Gamemasters Screen First Edition, ISBN 978-1-888906-01-1 (OOP)
• 1996 Forbidden Lore: Technology, ISBN 978-1-888906-03-5
• 1996 Byzantium Secundus, ISBN 978-1-888906-02-8
• 1997 Players Companion, ISBN 978-1-888906-07-3
• 1997 Lords of the Known Worlds, ISBN 978-1-888906-11-0 (OOP)
• 1997 The Dark between the Stars, ISBN 978-1-888906-08-0
• 1997 Merchants of the Jumpweb, ISBN 978-1-888906-09-7
• 1997 Weird Places, ISBN 978-1-888906-05-9
• 1997 Priests of the Celestial Sun, ISBN 978-1-888906-06-6 (OOP)
• 1998 Children of the Gods, ISBN 978-1-888906-10-3
• 1998 Sinners & Saints, ISBN 978-1-888906-11-0
• 1999 Second Edition Rulebook, ISBN 1-888906-19-9 (OOP)
• 1999 Gamemaster's Screen and Complete Pandemonium, ISBN 978-1-888906-19-6
• 1999 Legions of the Empire, ISBN 978-1-888906-16-5
• 1999 Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs, 1-888906-15-4 (OOP)
• 1999 Imperial Survey 2: al Malik Fiefs, ISBN 978-1-888906-17-2
• 1999 War in the Heavens: Lifeweb, ISBN 1-888906-23-4
• 2000 Star Crusade, ISBN 978-1-888906-20-2
• 2000 War in the Heavens 2: Hegemony, ISBN 978-1-888906-25-7
• 2000 Imperial Survey 3: Hazat Fiefs, ISBN 978-1-888906-22-6
• 2001 Alien Expeditions: Vorox, ISBN 978-1-888906-27-1
• 2001 Secret Societies: Spies & Revolutionaries, ISBN 978-1-888906-29-5
• 2001 Into the Dark, ISBN 978-1-888906-28-8
• 2001 Imperial Survey 4: Li Halan Fiefs, ISBN 978-1-888906-26-4
• 2001 Imperial Survey 5: Decados Fiefs, ISBN 978-1-888906-30-1
• 2002 Star Crusade 2: Lost Worlds, ISBN 978-1-888906-21-9
• 2002 Secret Societies: Heretics & Outsiders, ISBN 978-1-888906-31-8
• 2002 Lord Erbian's Stellar Bestiary, ISBN 978-1-888906-34-9
• 2003 Alien Expeditions: Orphaned Races Hironem & Ascorbites, ISBN 978-1-888906-38-7
• 2003 Imperial Survey 6: Imperial Fiefs (PDF, as a free download)

Collections:

• 2000 Aliens & Deviltry, ISBN 1-888906-23-4 (contains Children of the Gods and The Dark Between the Stars)
• 2002 Worlds of the Realm, ISBN 978-1-888906-35-6 (contains: Hawkwood Fiefs, al Malik Fiefs, Hazat Fiefs, Li Halan Fiefs, and the previously unprinted Imperial Fiefs)
• 2002 Lords & Priests, ISBN 978-1-888906-35-6 (contains Lords of the Known World and Priests of the Celestial Sun)

d20 System:

• 2001 Fading Suns: d20, ISBN 978-1-888906-32-5
• 2003 d20 Character Codex, ISBN 978-1-888906-37-0

Passion Play:

• Passion Play: Fading Suns Live-Action Roleplaying, ISBN 978-1-888906-23-3

Fiction:

• 1998 Tales of the Sinful Stars, ISBN 978-1-888906-14-1 (OOP)

RedBrick LLC Publications

• 2007 Second Edition Revised Rulebook, ISBN 978-1-877451-10-2
  • Editors/Writers: Carsten Damm, Kathy Schad, James D. Flowers
  • Description: Mostly identical with Second Edition main rulebook. The layout was changed slightly, the index was expanded, important tables were gathered and printed in an appendix. Another adventure (called Pandemonium unchained) was added.
• 2007-2008 Interstellar Dispatches, (Free web publication) .
  • Author: Angus McNicholl
  • Description: A series of in-game news reports, social column entries and advertisements by the Town Criers Guild, featuring articles running for 20 volumes from 30th May 5007 to 30th December 5008 (in-game time).
• 2007 A Road So Dark, ISBN 978-1-877451-16-4 (PDF release)
  • Author: Angus McNicholl
  • Description: an adventure about a previously unknown jumproute between two stellar systems.
• 2007 Imperial Survey Vol. 7: Church Fiefs, ISBN 978-1-877451-21-8
  • Author: Mat Wakefield
  • Description: this details the Church planets Artemis, Holy Terra, Pentateuch, De Moley, and Pyre
• 2007 Kraken's Loom, ISBN 978-1-877451-29-4 (PDF release)
• Author: Angus McNicholl
  • Description: this adventure leads the characters in to barbarian space in search of a lost heirloom, but the situation is complicated by being the strangers in a strange land.
• 2008 Arcane Tech, ISBN 978-1-877451-31-7
  • Authors: Bill Bridges, Alan Bryden, Brian Campbell, Andrew Greenberg, Lee Hammock, Dave Harrison, Samuel Inabinet, Bill Maxwell, Angus McNicholl, Angelus Michaels, Laura Poplin, Rustin Quaide, Sandra Schneider, Nicky Rea, Jay Verkuilen, James Walker-Bumcrot, Mat Wakefield, Martin Welnicki, Alex Wichert, Gabriel Zarate
  • Description: this sourcebook contains reprinted and refreshed material from "Forbidden Lore: Technology", which has been discontinued, as well as new technological items, ranging from alien technology to weird tech to new weapons and gear.
• 2008 Ruinous Folly, ISBN 978-1-877451-35-5 (PDF Release)
  • Author: Angus McNicholl
  • Description: this adventure takes the characters from a private auction to the turbulent atmosphere of Gargantua in search of a lost treasure, but the treasure has ideas of its own.
• 2008 Dead End, no ISBN (PDF Release)
  • Author: Thomas Baroli
  • Description: this adventure takes the characters from a religious ceremony, to an obscure plot of murder and intrigue
• Prisoners & Exiles (announced)
• League Worlds (announced)
• Fading Suns Third Edition - Players' Guide (announced, Q1 2012)
• Fading Suns Third Edition - Gamemasters' Guide (announced, Q2 2012)
• The Kiss of Dawn (Drama Shard) (announced)
  • Author: Thomas Baroli

External links

• Holistic Design - The Publishers of the Fading Suns line of products.
• RedBrick LLC - The current licence holders of Fading Suns
• Review of the 2nd Edition Fading Suns Core Rulebook
• Empire of the Phoenix Throne
• Fading Suns at the Open Directory Project
• Fading Suns Wiki at WikiCities
• Fading Suns MUSH Webpage
• Interview with Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg
• Strontium Dog Fading Suns