The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The 2nd edition GM's screen and Complete Pandemonium for Fading Suns are two separate products packaged together. Consequently, I will review them separately.

The 2nd edition GM's screen is a tremendous improvement over the 1st. The 1st edition screen was made out of an extremely flimsy material that did not hold up well to repeated use. I think mine was in three separate pieces within a month of buying it. The 1st edition screen also included an arms and equipment guide that has since been incorporated into the 2nd edition main rulebook.

The new screen is made out of sturdy cardboard, and the exterior has a laminate finish. It seems very sturdy, and I hope to be able to put it to the test very soon. The exterior of the screen has a lovely, panoramic scene done in color by John Bridges, whose artwork continues to define the Fading Suns universe.

The interior of the screen is done in a sort of pale purple ink that I personally find atrocious. The interior features almost all charts a GM might need in the course of running a Fading Suns epic. The charts are well placed, with the most commonly used ones taking center stage on the middle panel. The only problem I have with the charts is the inclusion of a listing of all the learned skills on one panel. The space this listing takes up would be put to much better use if it contained the combat summary chart or a chart of basic combat actions. Other than that, I wholly approve of the chart selection.

2nd Edition GM's Screen ratings Style- 4 Substance- 4

I have mixed feelings about The Complete Pandemonium. This book is split into three separate sections, two of which are adventures. Now, I'm going to go ahead and get my personal biases out of the way. I despise published adventures. For the most part, they are not worth the paper they are printed on. I have had fun with some published adventures, but that was almost entirely due to the people I was playing with. I think game companies would be much wiser if they devoted their time to publishing supplements and new games instead of adventures.

Okay, having gotten that out of the way, I can move on to reviewing this book. As I said the book is divided into three sections. The sections are well, if sparsely illustrated, with John Bridges' excellent character portraits and gorgeous cover art leading the way. The first section provides an overview of Pandemonium and its system, which is partially detailed in the main rulebook for Fading Suns. This section also goes into greater detail about the Hub, the capital of, and sole "safe" city on, Pandemonium.

For the most part, the information provided in this first section is up to HDI's traditional high standards. The overview section follows the same format used in the Imperial Survey books, and includes a map done in the same style as those books. The Hub section is very well done, giving an overview of the city and its various inhabitants. Some of the more important NPCs are detailed here. The information provided here is interesting and relevant, and includes several nifty adventure seeds.

Unfortunately, the information is poorly edited and a little thin, particularly when dealing with the entire planet. The thin part I can excuse, because the short intro to this book makes it clear that the authors intend for most encounters and adventures to take place in the Hub. The poorly edited part I can't excuse. For some reason, editing has become a real problem in the last few Fading Suns products. I am confident that HDI will right their ship and improve in this area.

The second section of this book is an adventure entitled "Everlight." The basic plot of the adventure covers three hectic nights inside the Hub and in the slums just outside the walls. Riots break out as a rumor, purposely spread by an al-Malik lord, rips through the town like wildfire that Everlight, Pandemonium's largest moon, is going to crash into the planet. The rumor is spread so that the al-Malik can accomplish two things: strike at a Decados enemy of his and smuggle a cache of 2nd Republic tech off the planet. The PCs are hired by this Decados to locate a missing Engineer, whom it turns out is responsible for the initial Everlight rumor. As the PCs do this, panic grips the town, and the al-Malik strikes in the confusion. The PCs have pretty much free reign during the course of the adventure, and their actions determine where they stand when the dust settles.

As published adventures go, this one doesn't seem too bad. It is not excessively linear, at least not in the sense that the characters have limited options as to what to do at various points. The only part of the adventure where the characters are railroaded onto a certain path is the very beginning, when they are given little choice about working for the Decados. After that, they are given a great deal of latitude in choosing their actions, though the adventure calls for several set events at certain times as the action progresses.

My main problem with this adventure is that it is organized poorly. There are sections that you will not understand until you read the entire adventure. A section called "The Truth About Everlight," which is one of the very last sections, illuminates most of these sections. Until you read this section, you will be scratching your head and wondering about a number of parts of the adventure. I would have put this section earlier in the text, or explained the areas in question in greater detail. There are also some important details that are left out or implied.

Other than organization, this adventure seemed pretty interesting. I would probably alter a few things, particularly the beginning, if I were going to run it. It features some interesting twists and ideas, including a very non-traditional Decados, one of the most stereotyped factions in the game. One other thing I would have liked to see is some recommendations on how to handle the aftermath of the adventure. The aftermath is covered, but not in sufficient detail. I feel that it could have been fleshed out in a paragraph or two, which would have improved the adventure.

The third section contains an adventure titled "A Healing Draught." This adventure takes the PCs away from the Hub and into the Badlands on a quest brought on by the vision of a Hesychast monk. The PCs come across this monk being beaten by a group of thugs and are expected to save him. After saving him, the monk persuades them to accompany him into the Badlands to recover a holy relic. Along the way, there are several random encounters which give the PCs an opportunity to show the monk either virtue or sin, two subjects he rants about continuously. Depending on what sort of showing the PCs make of themselves prior to the adventure's climax, they are either left with a worthless tin cup or a valuable holy relic that can bring healing to Pandemonium and its people.

This adventure is a perfect illustration of a number of things I dislike about published adventures. It is linear in the extreme. The PCs are left with little choice throughout the adventure. It is simply a matter of moving from plot point A to plot point B to plot point C, ad nauseaum. The only choices the PCs have along the way are whether or not they will behave like villains or heroes. Other than that, there are several instances of pick your poison, but the choice not to drink is not included.

The Complete Pandemonium ratings Style- 4 Substance- 3

Overall, I would recommend these products to any Fading Suns GM, particularly any GM new to the trade. The screen is an excellent overall product. The Complete Pandemonium contains several useful bits of information, most of which could be adapted to fit any GM's purpose. I may not like published adventures, but this book contains one fairly decent one and one that can be cannibalized with ease. All in all, the two products are easily worth the $12.95.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Gamemasters Screen & Complete Pandemonium
Author: Bill Bridges, Brian Campbell, Bill Maxwell, James Moore Category: game Company/Publisher: Holistic Design, Inc. Line: Fading Suns Cost: US $12.95 Page count: ~35 ISBN: 1-888906-19-7 SKU: FS #203 Capsule Review by Rich Harkrader on 12/31/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Far_Future Space	The 2nd edition GM's screen and Complete Pandemonium for Fading Suns are two separate products packaged together. Consequently, I will review them separately. The 2nd edition GM's screen is a tremendous improvement over the 1st. The 1st edition screen was made out of an extremely flimsy material that did not hold up well to repeated use. I think mine was in three separate pieces within a month of buying it. The 1st edition screen also included an arms and equipment guide that has since been incorporated into the 2nd edition main rulebook. The new screen is made out of sturdy cardboard, and the exterior has a laminate finish. It seems very sturdy, and I hope to be able to put it to the test very soon. The exterior of the screen has a lovely, panoramic scene done in color by John Bridges, whose artwork continues to define the Fading Suns universe. The interior of the screen is done in a sort of pale purple ink that I personally find atrocious. The interior features almost all charts a GM might need in the course of running a Fading Suns epic. The charts are well placed, with the most commonly used ones taking center stage on the middle panel. The only problem I have with the charts is the inclusion of a listing of all the learned skills on one panel. The space this listing takes up would be put to much better use if it contained the combat summary chart or a chart of basic combat actions. Other than that, I wholly approve of the chart selection. 2nd Edition GM's Screen ratings Style- 4 Substance- 4 I have mixed feelings about The Complete Pandemonium. This book is split into three separate sections, two of which are adventures. Now, I'm going to go ahead and get my personal biases out of the way. I despise published adventures. For the most part, they are not worth the paper they are printed on. I have had fun with some published adventures, but that was almost entirely due to the people I was playing with. I think game companies would be much wiser if they devoted their time to publishing supplements and new games instead of adventures. Okay, having gotten that out of the way, I can move on to reviewing this book. As I said the book is divided into three sections. The sections are well, if sparsely illustrated, with John Bridges' excellent character portraits and gorgeous cover art leading the way. The first section provides an overview of Pandemonium and its system, which is partially detailed in the main rulebook for Fading Suns. This section also goes into greater detail about the Hub, the capital of, and sole "safe" city on, Pandemonium. For the most part, the information provided in this first section is up to HDI's traditional high standards. The overview section follows the same format used in the Imperial Survey books, and includes a map done in the same style as those books. The Hub section is very well done, giving an overview of the city and its various inhabitants. Some of the more important NPCs are detailed here. The information provided here is interesting and relevant, and includes several nifty adventure seeds. Unfortunately, the information is poorly edited and a little thin, particularly when dealing with the entire planet. The thin part I can excuse, because the short intro to this book makes it clear that the authors intend for most encounters and adventures to take place in the Hub. The poorly edited part I can't excuse. For some reason, editing has become a real problem in the last few Fading Suns products. I am confident that HDI will right their ship and improve in this area. The second section of this book is an adventure entitled "Everlight." The basic plot of the adventure covers three hectic nights inside the Hub and in the slums just outside the walls. Riots break out as a rumor, purposely spread by an al-Malik lord, rips through the town like wildfire that Everlight, Pandemonium's largest moon, is going to crash into the planet. The rumor is spread so that the al-Malik can accomplish two things: strike at a Decados enemy of his and smuggle a cache of 2nd Republic tech off the planet. The PCs are hired by this Decados to locate a missing Engineer, whom it turns out is responsible for the initial Everlight rumor. As the PCs do this, panic grips the town, and the al-Malik strikes in the confusion. The PCs have pretty much free reign during the course of the adventure, and their actions determine where they stand when the dust settles. As published adventures go, this one doesn't seem too bad. It is not excessively linear, at least not in the sense that the characters have limited options as to what to do at various points. The only part of the adventure where the characters are railroaded onto a certain path is the very beginning, when they are given little choice about working for the Decados. After that, they are given a great deal of latitude in choosing their actions, though the adventure calls for several set events at certain times as the action progresses. My main problem with this adventure is that it is organized poorly. There are sections that you will not understand until you read the entire adventure. A section called "The Truth About Everlight," which is one of the very last sections, illuminates most of these sections. Until you read this section, you will be scratching your head and wondering about a number of parts of the adventure. I would have put this section earlier in the text, or explained the areas in question in greater detail. There are also some important details that are left out or implied. Other than organization, this adventure seemed pretty interesting. I would probably alter a few things, particularly the beginning, if I were going to run it. It features some interesting twists and ideas, including a very non-traditional Decados, one of the most stereotyped factions in the game. One other thing I would have liked to see is some recommendations on how to handle the aftermath of the adventure. The aftermath is covered, but not in sufficient detail. I feel that it could have been fleshed out in a paragraph or two, which would have improved the adventure. The third section contains an adventure titled "A Healing Draught." This adventure takes the PCs away from the Hub and into the Badlands on a quest brought on by the vision of a Hesychast monk. The PCs come across this monk being beaten by a group of thugs and are expected to save him. After saving him, the monk persuades them to accompany him into the Badlands to recover a holy relic. Along the way, there are several random encounters which give the PCs an opportunity to show the monk either virtue or sin, two subjects he rants about continuously. Depending on what sort of showing the PCs make of themselves prior to the adventure's climax, they are either left with a worthless tin cup or a valuable holy relic that can bring healing to Pandemonium and its people. This adventure is a perfect illustration of a number of things I dislike about published adventures. It is linear in the extreme. The PCs are left with little choice throughout the adventure. It is simply a matter of moving from plot point A to plot point B to plot point C, ad nauseaum. The only choices the PCs have along the way are whether or not they will behave like villains or heroes. Other than that, there are several instances of pick your poison, but the choice not to drink is not included. The Complete Pandemonium ratings Style- 4 Substance- 3 Overall, I would recommend these products to any Fading Suns GM, particularly any GM new to the trade. The screen is an excellent overall product. The Complete Pandemonium contains several useful bits of information, most of which could be adapted to fit any GM's purpose. I may not like published adventures, but this book contains one fairly decent one and one that can be cannibalized with ease. All in all, the two products are easily worth the $12.95. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Gamemasters Screen & Complete Pandemonium