The Good: Great experience system, faithful to the source game, novel takes on various rules in order to make the game more true to the feel the designers seek.
The Bad: Cybernetics system is nonexistent and the example cyberware is poor, no starship combat rules or stats, and no Prestige Classes or neat monstrous adversaries. No conversion rules between the original and this version. Recycled setting material may decrease value for existing Fading Suns players, but it had to be there.
Buy it if: Buy it if you liked Dune, or are looking for a setting of incredible depth and a well-run backstory. Buy it if you like Fading Suns and want to run it for d20 fans.
Fading Suns is a science-fiction game set at the end of history, produced by Holistic Design. Players take the roles of nobles, priests, guildsmen, and aliens, all part of an empire called the Known Worlds, which is only the ashes of a greater civilization. At odds with the Known Worlds are the barbaric Vuldrok, the strange Kurgan Caliphate, the inscrutable Vau, and the organic Symbiot menace.
The Fading Suns d20 rulebook is a 192 page rulebook that provides the essence of the setting as well as rules for playing in the Known Worlds through the D20 rules, the majority of which come from Dungeons and Dragons, 3rd edition. These D20 rules should be distinguished from the normal Fading Suns rules, which also use a 20 sided die as the core roll, and which Holistic has taken to referring to as “the Victory Point” system, based on one of the its key mechanics.
The cover is a painting by Brom of the Emperor Alexius. The art is well done throughout, particularly the signature characters. The last two pages of the book consist of a short index and a character sheet. The interior front cover is a color map of the Known Worlds and the jumpgates that link them. While the rulebook’s margins are somewhat large, the text is dense and two column throughout—this is a very rich book. Throughout it, normal text denotes setting material while a different font specifies Open Gaming material—there’s a lot of the latter, although the switch between the two fonts is somewhat jarring.
The book begins, as does the majority of the Fading Suns line, with an entry in “Alustro’s Journal,” which serves to provide a feel for the universe of Fading Suns. Newcomers to the setting will certainly get a sense of the game in this color fiction, and like the rest of Alustro’s journals, it’s exceedingly well written. Following the journal is an introduction that sums up the concept of a Passion Play.
Chapter One consists of the history of the Fading Suns universe, and if any of it’s new, I couldn’t tell. To the best of my knowledge, it’s taken word for word from the Second Edition rules, with few exceptions. On the plus side, it’s thorough, and brings the date of the game world to 5001, a couple of years after the “start date” of second edition, which was a few years forward from the first edition. Not much has changed, and Fading Suns is the most metaplot light game you may ever find; the game developers deal in plot hooks for the players to solve, rather than events that drive the setting. In addition to the history, there is a summary of the Known World’s society, and the powers that drive it. This section flows well and is very complete.
Chapter 2 is “Characters,” and provides race information for the psychic Ur Obun and Ur Ukar, the bestial six-limbed Vorox, and humans. The other races of the Known Worlds are mentioned but no stats are provided.
The classes are mostly what you would expect if you were familiar with Fading Suns’ setting, with a few very surprising extras. The classes are:
Beastfriend, a mystic who attunes with a companion animal and gains powers and shapechanging abilities as they rise in level.
Brother Battle, the warrior-priests of the Fading Suns setting.
Guilder, a guild class, representing pilots, traders, mercenaries, and the like.
Knave, the Rogue equivalent that encompasses thieves, assassins, and spies.
The Living Weapon, a monk-like class that revolves around martial arts.
The Noble, essentially a class for the rulers of the Known Worlds.
The Priest, denoting priests rather than “magical clerics.”
The Psychic, a class for those who want to develop psychic powers.
The Soldier, a basic fighting type.
The Starwolf, a class for the barbaric Vuldrok that seems something like the 3rd addition D&D barbarian.
The Techie, a class for those interested in the arcane (for Fading Suns) art of technology;
And the Theurgist, a specialist in the religious magic of the setting.
There is also an NPC "catch-all" class called the Yeoman.
There are some important changes to both the feel of the setting and the standard D20 rules. Characters gain a 1 bonus to Armor Class every few levels, in addition to new Feats and Attribute points, to simulate experience and wariness. The rules advise starting PCs out at 3rd level, and discusses (briefly) why and when to vary levels. The two surprises in the book are the Beastfriend and the Starwolf. While I enjoyed the Beastfriend, there’s nothing like them, to the best of my knowledge, in existing Fading Sun material. As for the Starwolf, I had a problem with the inclusion of (what amounts to) a Vuldrok specific class but the complete lack of even throwaway rules for the Vau, Symbiots, and others. Still, there’s nothing wrong with the Starwolf, per se.
Each of the “core” classes to the setting—Noble, Guilder, and Priest—all provide “knacks” to members of specific Houses, Guilds, and Sects, to distinguish a Hawkwood Noble from a Decados one. The knacks are essentially equivalent to a free Feat, but apply in only very specific circumstances, and so aren’t unbalancing.
Chapter 3 discusses new skills and changes to old skills. The only thing to really note about this section is the inclusion of Starship Gunnery as a skill, though the book lacks any starship combat rules.
Chapter 4 discusses Feats—which D20 Feats are allowed, which are changed, and the concept of Social Feats. Social Feats are given out with some regularity to the character classes, and consist of setting-hooks, most of which will be familiar to standard Fading Suns players as Benefices and Afflictions. In the D20 version, there is no equivalent to “Afflictions,” since all of the Social Feats are good, although some bear with them a certain amount of responsibility. It is through Social Feats that PCs gain Noble or Guild rank, start out with a certain title, or gain special perks. There are plenty of Social Feats throughout the section, although the “Saint” Feat undermines one of the old hallmarks of the setting by placing a level requirement on being able to call down miracles, and the “Secret Agent” Feat, in my opinion, should have been presented as a Prestige Class.
Chapter 5 explains Technology and goods in the Fading Suns universe, including a welcome conversion system between modern dollars, Firebirds (the Known Worlds’ coinage) and D&D coins. It also adds two extra levels of Masterwork items. This chapter is splendid—finally, in the d20 version of Fading Suns, do Wireblades (monomolecular wire swords) get their due. The firearm rules are very well done, with some neat permutations for scopes and the like, as well as attacks of opportunity. There are also some Known Worlds specific poisons presented, as well as other equipment, including medical supplies, restrains, Vehicles and vehicle combat rules, which are light and adequate.
The rules for Fading Suns’ energy shields are very well done—this is the one section of the rules I most wanted to see pulled off, and it works. I’ll leave the “how” of it as a surprise to purchasers. On the heels of that success however, comes the revelation that the Cybernetics construction system in the Second Edition rules has been shortened to a brief explanation of “Cyber Sin” and some rather hokey examples of cyberware, one of which is poorly worded and some of which bear odd mentions of tech levels, though no rules for cybernetics of different tech levels are provided. In addition, there are no rules for starships or starship combat, although there are some for combat on a starship and what happens when a bulkhead is damaged, as well as passage costs and a summary of jumpgates. Mention is made that rules for starships will appear in a later book, but I felt the absence of them here.
Finally, there are rules for psychic artifacts and the like, as well as artifacts of the Ur, the ancients who roamed the stars before man and who shaped the Ur Obun and Ukar.
Chapter 6 goes over the occult arts of Theurgy and Psychic powers. Theurgy is religious magic, while Psychic powers are what we’re all familiar with. Each type of psychic power, such as telekinesis (or Far Hand, as its called) is keyed to a different attribute and each level is bought as a skill. There are three to four levels of each power, and you rise in a power level as you rise in class level; when you reach the third level of a power, you begin to learn a whole new power. Powers are fuelled by “Wyrd,” which is equivalent to an attribute’s modifier, and increases by level depending on which class you pursue. The system is the same for Theurgic powers, except it’s keyed into Rites and Canons. Psychics and Theurgists gain Urge and Hubris, respectively, when they commit sins. The only way to rid themselves of these traits, which grow increasingly severe until they’re world threatening, is to atone for them.
I liked this system, found it more subtle than the typical “I throw a fireball!”
type of thing seen in d20, although fans of Magic Users may be disappointed at the lack of reams of powers gained per level. At first glance these rules work well, although I felt the conditions for gaining Urge and Hubris were more frequent than in the normal Fading Suns rules and that, despite a level-based clause in those rules, it seems very easy for a Theurgist to reach the point where he’s sickening a planet through his own Hubris.
Chapter 7, labeled Gamemastering, includes NPCs as foes and friends, animal companions for Beastfriends (including the Doggoth, a personal favorite) and a few monsters, including a Husk, a Golem (robot) and a Hull Rat. At the end are experience rules which are not wholly based on combat, and which reflect a Fading Suns motif concerning affecting the entire universe—the more wide-reaching the effects of a deed are, the more XP it’s worth. XP is also awarded for doing normal things like governing or working on a ship, and based on the difficulty of the task. While the XP rules are very short, I found them particularly interesting and very well handled—they’re a highlight of the book. Finally, there’s an appendix with brief descriptions of the Known Worlds and their neighbors.
One thing to note is that there are no conversion rules between the original game and this version. This might be because of the d20 license, but Rokugan, another recent purchase, did have them, which makes me feel the loss here.
All of which allows me to briefly segue into my sole complaint about d20 Fading Suns. The single criteria by which I judge the success of a product is in whether or not it meets its goals. D20 Fading Suns sets out to provide rules for running a game in the Known Worlds using the D20 rules, and it succeeds—looking at this book, I can honestly say that a D20 player would be able to run a Fading Suns game to the same level of ability that a person buying only the Fading Suns Second Edition rules would be able to, only with a different system. Yes, there are classes and levels, yes there’s a certain change in the feel of the game based on mechanics, but all of that is really minor; only true diehards of the Victory Point system are going to make a fuss about that.
On the other hand, I didn’t really get the impression that the writers wanted to do enough with the d20 system. I would have liked to see a Prestige Class or two; I would have liked to see some Template creatures or monsters that were different than the ones provided, including the Husk, which is just a Zombie by another name. Fading Suns does what it sets out to do, to be sure; I just wish it had reached a little further. Still, that’s just a feeling I get; the hard fact is that I don’t hesitate to recommend it to any D20 fan who’s interested in a subtle and deep universe or a Fading Suns fan unhappy with the Victory Point system or who wants to introduce the game to a wider audience.
Style: 3
Substance: 4
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