Fading Suns

Infobox RPG
title= Fading Suns


caption= "Fading Suns (2nd edition)" cover
designer= Bill Bridges, Andrew Greenberg
publisher= Holistic Design, Inc.
date= 1996 "(1st edition)"
1999 "(2nd edition)"
2001 "(d20 edition)"
genre= Science fiction
system= Victory Point System, d20 System
footnotes=

"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-style empire built on the remains of a previous, more sophisticated human galaxy-spanning civilization made possible by ancient "gates", themselves the relics of an even older, not necessarily human civilization. The atmosphere is strongly reminiscent of Frank Herbert's "Dune" and of the "Hyperion" stories by Dan Simmons. 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 - where psionics are considered miracles of faith). The Church is also capable of producing miracles, Theurgic rites.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 Limited, a New Zealand company, 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 Limited, 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.cite web|url=http://www.fading-suns.com/index.php?categoryid=22&p2007_articleid=2
title=State of the Brick: A Review of 2007
date=2008-3-6
accessdate=2008-7-23 ]

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 created the original ' and ' role-playing games for White Wolf.

Sourcebooks

Victory Point System:
* 1996 First Edition Rulebook, ISBN 1-888906-00-6 (OOP)
* 1996 "Gamemasters Screen" First Edition, ISBN 1-888906-01-4 (OOP)
* 1996 "Forbidden Lore: Technology", ISBN 1-888906-03-0
* 1996 "Byzantium Secundus", ISBN 1-888906-02-2
* 1997 "Players Compendium", ISBN 1-888906-07-3
* 1997 "Lords of the Known Worlds", ISBN 1-888906-11-1 (OOP)
* 1997 "The Dark between the Stars", ISBN 1-888906-08-1
* 1997 "Merchants of the Jumpweb", ISBN 1-888906-09-X
* 1997 "Weird Places", ISBN 1-888906-05-7
* 1997 "Priests of the Celestial Sun", ISBN 1-888906-06-5 (OOP)
* 1998 "Children of the Gods", ISBN 1-888906-10-3
* 1998 "Sinners & Saints", ISBN 1-888906-11-1
* 1999 Second Edition Rulebook, ISBN 1-888906-19-9 (OOP)
* 1999 "Gamemaster's Screen and Complete Pandemonium", ISBN 1-888906-19-7
* 1999 "Legions of the Empire", ISBN 1-888906-16-2
* 1999 "Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs", 1-888906-15-4 (OOP)
* 1999 "Imperial Survey 2: al Malik Fiefs", ISBN 1-888906-17-0
* 1999 "War in the Heavens: Lifeweb", ISBN 1-888906-23-4
* 2000 "Star Crusade", ISBN 1-888906-20-0
* 2000 "War in the Heavens 2: Hegemony", ISBN 1-888906-25-1
* 2000 "Imperial Survey 3: Hazat Fiefs", ISBN 1-888906-22-7
* 2001 "Alien Expeditions: Vorox", ISBN 1-888906-27-8
* 2001 "Secret Societies: Spies & Revolutionaries", ISBN 1-888906-29-4
* 2001 "Into the Dark", ISBN 1-888906-28-6
* 2001 "Imperial Survey 4: Li Halan Fiefs", ISBN 1-888906-26-X
* 2001 "Imperial Survey 5: Decados Fiefs", ISBN 1-888906-30-8
* 2002 "Star Crusade 2: Lost Worlds", ISBN 1-888906-21-9
* 2002 "Secret Societies: Heretics & Outsiders", ISBN 1-888906-31-6
* 2002 "Lord Erbian's Stellar Bestiary", ISBN 1-888906-34-0
* 2003 "Alien Expeditions: Orphaned Races Hironem & Ascorbites", ISBN 1-888906-38-3
* 2003 "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 1-888906-33-2 (contains: "Hawkwood Fiefs", "al Malik Fiefs", "Hazat Fiefs", "Li Halan Fiefs", and the previously unprinted "Imperial Fiefs")
* 2002 "Lords & Priests", ISBN 1-888906-35-9 (contains "Lords of the Known World" und "Priests of the Celestial Sun")

d20 System:

* 2001 "Fading Suns: d20", ISBN 1-888906-32-4
* 2003 "d20 Character Codex", ISBN 1-888906-37-5

Passion Play:

* "Passion Play: Fading Suns Live-Action Roleplaying", ISBN 1-888906-23-5

Fiction:

* 1998 "Tales of the Sinful Stars", ISBN 1-888906-14-6 (OOP)

RedBrick Ltd. 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 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, (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.
* "Prisoners & Exiles" (announced)
* "League Worlds" (announced)
* "Fading Suns Third Edition" (announced)

References

External links

* [http://www.holistic-design.com/ Holistic Design] - The Publishers of the "Fading Suns" line of products.
* [http://www.redbrick.co.nz RedBrick Limited] - The new licence holders of "Fading Suns"
* [http://www.fading-suns.com RedBrick's "Fading Suns" site] - The new home of "Fading Suns"
* [http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10580.phtml Review of the "2nd Edition Fading Suns" Core Rulebook]
* [http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/gallows/954/fsuns/ Empire of the Phoenix Throne]
*dmoz|Games/Roleplaying/Genres/Science_Fiction/Fading_Suns/
* [http://fadingsuns.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page Fading Suns Wiki at WikiCities]
* [http://www.fadingsuns.org Fading Suns MUSH Webpage]
* [http://www.rpg.net/sf/interviews/interviewHRI.html Interview with Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg]