Author: Bill Bridges & Andrew Greenberg
Category: game
Company/Publisher: HDI
Line: Fading Suns
Cost: $34.95
Page count: 306
ISBN: 1-888906-18-9
SKU: fs202
Capsule Review by beliah black on 09/02/99.
Genre tags: Science_fiction Gothic

I think its proper to start this review for you with a little background on the writers. the writers of fading suns edition secundus are bill bridges and andrew greenberg. these are the people that MADE white wolf. these were the original developers. i actually had a recent IM-conversation with andrew greenberg and i commented on the style and layout of the book and how it was reminiscent of "the white wolf persuasion" which he quickly replied, "it's more like they are of our persuasion". which i found is very true. the similarities in layout for fading suns and WoD are undeniable - and if you were happy with the early work of white wolf then you'll love holistic design.

the review will be a chapter by chapter review of the book. it will recount the high and low points of each section.

PROLOGUE: ALUSTROs JOURNAL -

as with most all of the books that holistic design puts out there is a journal entry or letter written by a fictional character that is "partially based" off of an ongoing character that bill bridges plays (i believe). the encounters that brother alustro (a priest in the eskatonic order of the church) sets up each of there books quite well, usually.

the bad news:

i wasnt to happy about this one. i was looking at it as a) someone who knows nothing of the game, and then b) a critic. as person a&b, it was a little fake. it cant be helped though. im sure the author of the piece was trying to make it accessible for critics as well as new people to the game. there were parts that seemed like elements of the setting were being defined to me (and thats a big no no in the world of prose).

the good news:

it was a shorter prologue than the first edition which allows the reader get to the meat of the genre a lot sooner and entices you to read more.

overall rating from 1-10: 4

INTRODUCTION -

the news:

there isnt really a good or bad to this part. its a straight forward introduction to what you can expect in the book. to any player that has read lots of different roleplaying games, you can immediately tell that this is a game for mature games that have been playing a good long while.

overall rating: 9

CHAPTER1: THE UNIVERSE -

the bad news:

there wasnt much of a lead between the historical events and contemporary life among the fading suns. i felt that there should be more information on how the dueling culture of nobles works. my own personal knowledge helped me there (as it matters in gamemastering)but for someone who didnt write a report on the history of sword-fighting in europe, it might not be enough.

the good news:

WOW! you are immediately immersed into a universe of: fantastic techonolgy, magic-like theurgy, psi powers, aliens, nobles (reminiscent of house harkonnen[the decados] and house atriedes[the hawkwoods] from frank herbert's dune), the church (in the name of the rose, stigmata, last temptation of christ) which is modeled off the pre-schism catholic church, the guilds(which is a healthy mix of brash pilots and traveling circi[the chrioteers], ferengi minded business persons[the reeves],a mafia like thieves guild[the scravers], soldiers of fortune[the muster] and the techno-wizards of a forgotten second republic...the supreme order of engineers).

it was well put together and the accenting of the layout was great. the watermarked heraldry for each groups description. the short stories before each major section added a real personal flavor to the game that allowed you to feel like you were enjoying a really good episode of a science fiction episode. the art in this section and all has been brought to you from very talented artists (many of whom youll recognize from MtG and white wolf). the spacing of all the art and writing was VERY well done.

for a background overview: http://www.holistic-design.com/FS/Universe/Universe.htm

aside- you immediately develop favorites:

fave house: house al-malik, middle eastern business savvy nobility.

fave guild: the scravers, a thieves guild that hides under the respectability of a scavengers guild.

fave sect: brothers battle, shao-lin catholic monks with bo staffs.

fave alien species: the symbiots, mix aliensTM and the beings from the movie mimic and the art of h.r. giger and ron spencer....*salivating sounds*

overall rating: 9

CHAPTER 2: RULES

the bad news:

the likelyhood of taking damage increases from energy from first ed to second ed.

the good news:

it has been simplified and the rules are better structured for the instruction of new players. the d6(only dealing with damage and armor) change went in the direction of practicality instead of the d20 neeto-ness factor. (the mechanics are definitely workable especially with the example of play presented later on.)

for a rules overview: http://www.holistic-design.com/FS/Game/Game.htm

overall rating: 8

CHAPTER 3: CHARACTER CREATION

the bad news:

the art in the corresponding first ed section is much better.

the GOOD news:

there are great similarities between character creation in white wolf and fading suns. however, they have added a very new and very quick way of making charcters. this new method helps new players churn out a character in no time and there is a background that most gamemasters can be proud of. you can help but have ideas for a background. its great for concept generation. the new questing knight addition is really great for players that like to see new political atmospheres in their settings and an actual time change in the setting. (like how shadowrun kept their story going between all three editions) the custom creation method is still there for those of you that like controlling every little detail of their character. the addition of the sample characters are nice for players as well as good little npcs for beginning gamemasters. and the example of character creation is great for gamers that get easily lost.

overall rating- 8

CHAPTER 4:TRAITS-

the news:

its a real step by step exlanation of how the traits are incorporated into the game setting and the explanation of almost everything that has to deal with numbers in the game.

the gearing, or theme of the rules, is the more you know the potential better you acn do...but i guess most games are like that.

overall rating- 8

CHAPTER 5:OCCULT-

the bad news:

theres gonna be a lotta flippin back and forth during games figuring what to roll and how effective certain powers become.

the good news:

the decriptions of the powers are really neeto and you can defintely see the usefulness of all the powers. there isnt all that much extraneous like in a lotta games. that have [spells] that youll never ever get.

overall rating - 9

CHAPTER 6:COMBAT-

the bad news:

the art was better in first ed.

the GOOD news:

theyve got really cool things called combat actions. for example, you can have different fencing or martial arts actions. the martial arts section is really original, they have martial arts unique to the genre . everything is well explained with the addition of the d6-rules. all the charts have been updated to post-players companion. the example of play is original and really fun to read. the layout was also greatly improved.

overall rating: 8

CHAPTER 7: TECHNOLOGY-

the bad news:

the only REAL big problem someone (not me) might have is the reoccurence of very common science fiction themes in this chapter. like cybernetics and the equivalent of a light-sabre (called a flux-sword). if that kinda stuff really gets you, then you might not like this whole game. (they have jumpgates like in B5 and master of orionII.) there are just a lot of different things they draw from and add their own holistic spin to.

the good news:

the firebird(unit of currency) costs were much helpful in character creation. now, you cant buy flux swords with freebie points you have to buy them :) which i liked a whole lot because im the kind of gamemaster that likes to see what my players can do with nothing (like macgyver) it promotes resourcefulness...

overall rating - 7

CHAPTER 8: GAMEMASTERING-

the bad news:

it can be completely skipped if you're an experienced gamemaster.

the good news:

its a good source for newbies.

overall rating: 10

CHAPTER 9:PLANETS-

"wretched hives of scum and villainy"

this is surprisingly my favorite section. it helps give the little details of the universe that many successful science fiction writers have incorporated into their works. the planet construction section is great for epic level gaming.

overall rating - 10!!!!!

APPENDIX: PANDEMONIUM -

i never really pay all that much attention to pre-made games (like box-sets) but if i ever got bored enough and i had players, id run this one. its well written and MUCH better than the one in the first ed.

overall rating - 6

CHARACTER SHEET

quite often an ovelooked part of game reviews. i think that character sheets compliment the game greatly. and this is an okay one.

overall rating : 5

if you would like to learn more about the greatest science fiction game ever made, contact: www.holistic-design.com

legalese to save my stuff: the mention of or reference to any companies or products in these pages is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned.

have a nice day people!!!

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)