Before I go on, let me be forthright with the reader of this review: I'm probably not objective enough to be writing this. I liked Fading Suns 1st Edition, enjoying (and confused by) it's novel resolution system. I was just as impressed and confounded by its background. But if I was really charmed by Fading Suns when it originally came out, let me tell you that this edition floors me. It will be a long time before I run anything else, and if the quality seen in this edition is maintained I may never run another game. Strong words, but Second Edition Fading Suns is the best game I've seen in years.
For one thing, it's a true second edition. It's not the first edition with a hardcover thrown on and some new art. It's not a merely "revised" edition. It takes the original and learns from its mistakes. Reading the original Fading Suns, you knew the writers had something to say; sometimes they were just unable to spit it out. This time around, every sentence in this book is an arrow straight into the heart of the game, to paraphrase.
The Setting:
Fading Suns 2nd Ed. takes place in the Year 4999, three years after the time of the first edition. Emperor Alexius has cemented his rule, the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun stands as powerful as ever, even though some cracks have appeared in it's foundation. The game is set in the ashes of a utopia, called the Second Republic. Some people, namely players, seek to bring back that utopia or if nothing else make the ashes taste a little less bitter. But others believe that the time for aspiration is over; that as the very suns fade to dark that history is ending and there is nothing left to do but make sure the soul is in order and prepare for the end.
It's the same setting as the first edition, but described clearly, and more knowledgeable about what the writers want to say. The Church and its sects are no longer paper thin, and descriptions of them are more detailed and focussed. You could tell the writers of 1st edition wanted to treat religion realistically and in a balanced manner, but they got off on the wrong foot, emphasizing the stifling, corrupt side of it. Now it's made very clear from the beginning that without the Universal Church that humanity would be worse off. This is one of Fading Suns' strengths…it adds to the realism of the setting that its Church is a monolithic entity out to save the universe from itself, viewing it only barely with the jaded eyes of the 20th century.
In essence, the setting of Fading Suns is clear enough now that you can see what the writers really wanted you to see all along. It allows for a massive amount of room to move, allowing a game-master to run a post-apocalyptic scrounge-fest, then an AD&D style dungeon crawl next to an intrigue-laden court story. Fading Suns' background doesn't limit what the GM can accomplish, while at the same time providing a solid footing for GM's who don't know what they want to accomplish.
The Rules:
As before, Fading Suns uses a single d20 for task resolution, while introducing a d6 for combat resolution. Stat+Skill = Goal, is the heart of the system, although the old accenting rules are still here, optional, firmed up and better described. For those who don't remember or newcomers, grades of success in Fading Suns are measured by how close the player got to the "goal," or sum of his stat + skill. Depending on what the player rolls he gets a certain number of victory points; if he rolls exactly his goal number on the d20 then his Victory Points are doubled. Simply explained in this book, it's easy to use and demonstrate to newcomers. You can also accent the roll, meaning you increase your goal number but sacrifice the resulting victory points, or vice-versa. As an aside, the addition noted earlier of 6 siders for combat resolution is well chosen.
Character generation has changed a bit, integrating the revised points for aliens used in the Player's Companion. They've also added a new type of character generation besides the old points based one…this one uses a life-path like system to generate full, complex characters.
Two areas either missing entirely or woefully developed in the 1st edition were starships and cybernetics. Both are here, and well done. Cybernetics has been cleaned up, while the starship system is an "RPG friendly" version of Holistic Design's great Noble Armada rules.
Presentation:
Even in this department Fading Suns doesn't suffer. A decent font size, reasonable borders, and some fantastic art make this book seem full to bursting even at its $35.00 price tag. $35? That's a ton of cash to lay down, you say. But as I've said before, this is for everything. There's no GM's guide to buy later, and the various factions are detailed enough that a splatbook is far from necessary. Everything a GM needs is here.
Summary:
I can't help but say it-- If you think my review spills over with superlatives, buy the game and see for yourself. It's awesome. I found it worth every penny, and feel that here, finally, is a 2nd edition that's worthy of the name. Here is the game that Fading Suns' 1st edition should've been, if only it knew how.
Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)
