A New Fading Suns Blog Post (2022)!

I don't know who needs to hear this -- but the newest Fading Suns edition is out!

Figured I'd post this update since one of the topmost blogposts is about Fading Suns -- perhaps fellow fans who are looking for the latest news.

Strangely enough, the more recent posts about Fading Suns haven't gotten the same foothold (just click on the Fading Suns label just under the title of this blog post to see them -- especially the embedded YouTube videos). But as a Fading Suns fan, I know what it can be like to fade out of the universe for a while then suddenly wonder if there's something new!

For great information on the latest Fading Suns edition go the official page on the Ulisses Spiele site! Do you want to know the latest set of books that you might be interested in to get caught up? Here's the skinny on that:

The first three books you should pick up are the Character Book, the Gamemaster Book, and the Universe Book.

The purpose of each should be fairly obvious. All together, they should give you either a strong introduction to the universe, or a quick acclimatization to the current status quo (rules, setting, and tips and tricks to running the game).

After you've got those, there's a bunch of other books you can pick up based on the direction you're taking your campaign -- or whatever you're interested in reading about, honestly.

Dig in, and maybe I'll see you at the next Jumpgate.

Reference Post: About the Fading Suns Kickstarter

So, as a Fading Suns fan, I wanted to create a bunch of references for people trying to keep updated on it. Aside from the Kickstarter page, you can check out some other resources about this latest edition:

Videos on YouTube

The Fading Suns Q&A

Robert Adducci interviews Bill Bridges about Fading Suns, and the Kickstarter in particular. There's a good rundown of the setting, system, and Kickstarter.

Heretical Musings

Heretical Musings 1

(After the opening animation from Emperor of the Fading Suns,
and some minor technical issues, Bill Bridges & Andrew Greenberg --
creators of the Fading Suns RPG, chat about the game, the setting, and the Kickstarter!)

Heretical Musings 2

(Another great session, wherein Bill Bridges & Andrewgreenberg dive into
the Known Worlds of the Fading Suns!)

Follow all the newest Fading Suns Blog Entries

The Ulisses Spiel website for the U.S. has all the latest blog entries for Bill Bridges here. Check out some designer posts, and how they're doing with the Kickstarter!

Rising from the Ashes: A Fading Suns Kickstarter!

There's a Kickstarter for Fading Suns!

Yes, Fading Suns fans! At long last, we have a chance at seeing a new version of one of our favorite Science Fantasy settings and games.

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ulissesspiele/fading-suns-pax-alexius

Updates from Ulisses Spiele: https://www.ulisses-us.com/games/fading-suns/

Here's what you can get if you back at the Digital Apprentice level (50 Euros or about 55 USD):

• The Universe Book (112 pages) presents the setting for Fading Suns: its history, society, and astro-geography. Herein you will encounter nobles, priests, guilders, aliens, psychics, cyborgs, and more.
• The Character Book (272 pages) presents the game system and player characters for Fading Suns. This book includes character creation rules for all the major factions, as well as technological equipment, starships, psychic powers, and theurgic rites.
• The Gamemaster Book (96 pages) presents people, places, and plots for Fading Suns. Herein are guidelines for creating dramas for the player troupe and how to populate them with all manner of non-player-character allies, rivals, and foils. An example drama is included, as well as a roll-by-roll description of play.
• plus, any applicable stretch goals.

How do you feel about this Kickstarter? Will you be backing it?

Tradecraft Tuesday: Night's Black Agents in Fading Suns?

There are, of course, intelligence agencies mentioned in the Fading Suns setting. The ones that initially hooked me were the Hidden Martyrs of House Li Halan -- faceless spies who put together a steady diet of intelligence for their masters.

But a recent re-watching of Brotherhood of the Wolf (and the brief reminder of the absurdist Hudson Hawk) reminded me of the possibilities of a Church-based intelligence agency.

Monica Bellucci (pictured above) portrayed a dangerous, ruthless character strongly hinted at being in the service of the Vatican, helping the protagonist along in his efforts to discover the secrets of the Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Why not something similar in Fading Suns?

There's no shortage of suspects, mystical, mutant, alien, or otherwise, in the setting that could take the place of the Vampire Conspiracy.

I plan to put together a mini-campaign for this, but I need to find a strong hook for the campaign. In the meantime, here's a snapshot of one of my notes for it from last year:

Because of the procedural-friendliness of Gumshoe systems, I was trying to figure out a kind of "monster of the week" approach, intertwined with a spooky X-files feel against a dark space opera campaign.

Perhaps with a bit more discipline, I'll be able to finish mini-document of it and post it online.

Fading Sundays: FATE of Humanity Amongst the Stars

I've been looking at the various FATE rulesets / implementations for various settings, and have been looking at doing niche Fading Suns campaigns using these rulesets.

After considering looking at the FateWorlds books, the Toolkit, and interesting takes like Atomic Robo and the FATE Freeport Companions, I began searching online for some existing conversions.

Also, RIFTS FATE conversions, but that's another story -- I digress.

So here are some that I've been able to find; do you know any others?

Samhaine's Blog: dude named Stephen (according to his "About" page) worked on a FATE conversion. There's also some interesting musings of the similarity in mechanics between the original Fading Suns ruleset and Pendragon.

At Evil Hat's Wiki, there a couple of links to FATE + Fading Suns:

• Pablo Moro's FAE conversion for Fading Suns (nice looking PDF) which seems to only cover character creation
• FATE of the Known Worlds (Google docs text file) which seems to be around 24 pages and has some handling of the Theurgy and some sample character builds.

Fading Sundays: Using Ashen Stars (and Hideous Creatures)

Ashen Stars is a GUMSHOE-powered SF RPG that could be used for Fading Suns. The races might require a bit of tweaking, and of course the background would have to hew closer to Fading Suns (particularly with the importance of investigation and the presence of religion).

The primary adventuring group centers around licensed troubleshooters on the frontiers that are legally empowered to taken on 'law enforcement / problem resolution' jobs.

However, it has something else going for it that makes it quite palatable for an Inquisitorial Seal-powered set of Lazers on a ship: the presence of Kenneth Hite's series of Hideous Creatures for Trail of Cthulhu (another GUMSHOE-powered RPG dealing with, er, Cthulhoid adventures).

Here are some initial suggestions that you may wish to look at:

• Hounds of Tindalos -- great for a near-encounter while transiting via Jumpgate! And then when they begin following you throughout the void by materializing in the corners of your ship -- or even on ground... I guess it just adds to the dangers of jumpgate travel. And perhaps that's the real reason for the Sathra dampers? Perhaps the minds of Sathraists have intersected in some way with those of the Hounds -- or their masters?
• Star Vampires -- an invisible creature whose horrible inhuman visage is slowly revealed by the splattering blood of victims that it feeds on? Perfect for a shadowy encounter on a planet -- perhaps in a town that has ceased to communicate with the main colony of the planet. And initial sorties that have gone to investigate haven't returned.
• Ghouls -- Lazers coming in, expecting to deal with a husk outbreak will be woefully unprepared for these cunning predators. Far more interesting is to introduce them in one of their aspects are denizens of the Dreamlands, and their hints as to how they've been able to colonize the stars via Jumpgates and human exploration. Is there, perhaps, an empire of space-faring ghouls beyond one of the Jumpgates? One shudders at the thought.

Fading Sundays: Different Settings?

Fading Suns, if you hadn't noticed from past posts in this blog, is one of my favorite RPG settings of all time. I've run a number of campaigns in this setting, and still follow the RPG to this day.

Now, what often comes up is the issue of the system (which was recently -- depending on your interpretation of recent -- revamped in a newer edition) as needing some tweaking or overhauling.

However, few people ever talk about tweaking the setting. I suppose part of this is because people take setting tweaking for granted -- part and parcel of GMing.

On my part, I have occasionally wished for more radical changes, such as:

• a bigger (or just different) map of the Known Worlds, with different factions and mixes;
• slightly different take on the Universal Church of the Pancreator, with a slightly less "inquisitorial" feel and more of the "cultural expectation and norm" feel -- especially bringing back the concept of people actually feeling obliged to tell the truth (regardless of their actual guilt in a crime) because they're swearing on the equivalent of a Bible;
• a different way of handling "in-system" travel, with slightly less opportunities to do space battles (because fuel expenditure is expensive, and pre-programmed burn times and revectoring is key for profitability and actually getting to your destination) and allowing for some fighter + point defense work to be used in space combat;
• a way to address the issues of the inter-system economy (more finished goods being shipped, key technologies, no raw materials, and perhaps an emphasis on shipping being more supplies to help the current worlds expand their colonies);
• an adventuring party culture that supports Questing Knights and other Wandering Knight orders;
• a system of nobility split between the classic definition, and the Traveller approach to nobility (in a universe that has known MegaCorps);
• a setting less terrified of exploration, to allow for more traditional ship-based exploration adventuring;
• a less "spell-list" oriented interpretation of the clergy's abilities, and a more investiture / rank oriented gaining of authority over things Seen and Unseen (dependent on faith and faithfulness to the Pancreator, of course).

And perhaps that's what future Fading Sundays posts will cover.

Mining Firebirds: Grimjack 01 - The Suspects

In Part 02 of this series for Grimjack #01's story (titled "A Shade of Truth"), we tackle the suspects, revelations, and red herrings encountered while investigating the suicide.

In Part 01, we learned the premise of the story: One Ms. Sondra Grant, former wife of Cynosure's Finance Minister, engages the services of John Gaunt, also known as Grimjack, to discover the true circumstances surrounding the suicide of her daughter.

Through this setup, we also learn more about Cynosure -- a pan-dimensional city where various realities meet and intersect, but not always reliably or peacefully.

A favorite line of mine from the series: "Guns work here. Magic works there. Swords work everywhere."

A great rationale for a setting where swords still have some relevance.

The Former Lover turns out to be an athlete so full of himself as to be instantly unlikeable. He tries to blow off Grimjack with a combination of an "I don't know her" and "Take a hike". This encourages Grimjack to use more physical means to persuade him to spill information about poor Marcie.

John "Grimjack" Gaunt, aware that this young buck would easily take him in a fair fight, uses a combination of cheap shots and overwhelming violence to triumph. He discovers that Marcie was on drugs, but knows that there's more -- more that won't be forthcoming yet.

Firebird 1: this encounter would give PCs a challenge, since the person being questioned is physically and socially capable of defending himself in civilized company (contender for the tri-sector boxing championship; backed by the University). Even resorting to violence, he won't reveal everything given that he'll lose everything if his involvement with drugs is revealed. And a murder is certainly going to bring its own kind of heat on the PCs.

The Father of Marcie, and Ex-Husband of Sondra Grant, is Finance Minister Honesworth -- who has a reputation for honesty. Quite important, as any hint of favoritism would result in a trade war (something we'll see in future issues).

Firebird 2: this type of character is useful to establish as a) a squeaky-clean suspect who is quite powerful on many levels, surrounded by less honest or scrupulous, but very loyal retainers; and b) a future ally or antagonist depending on the behavior of the PCs.

The New Wife is exotic -- an Ethayr woman of a race that exists across separate planes simultaneously. She drops sparse but concrete hints, but seems a bit distant to be a direct suspect.

Firebird 3: mostly a nice way to re-inforce the scope of the setting. Another race, different realities, matched with issues of prestige and power. However, it's also a good technique to drop hints to the PCs if they're floundering a bit.

Firebird 4: this would be a good fit for the Ur-Obun or (perhaps more controversially) Ur-Ukar in the Fading Suns setting. A window into another culture, as well as an insight into how they're becoming more and more integrated into the Known Worlds.

The Friend & Advisor is a dangerous one. Not only does Heinrich Krupp stop Grimjack's snooping around (while Sondra commiserates with Honesworth), but he also gives a powerful thrashing.

Firebird 5: a fantastic way to introduce a heavyweight race into the adventure -- intelligent and dangerous in combat, killing this individual will certainly mark the PCs as dangerous people, and perhaps earn them the enmity of the people he represents and has befriended.

Firebird 6: You go the obvious route, by dropping in a Vorox noble into this role. Alternately, however, you can hew closer to the visual representation of Krupp, by choosing a rare sub-race of the Etyri with serious physical power.

The Candyman is dangerous. He represents the another dark side of society: crime. He reveals suggests that Marcie delivered drugs and acted as his call-girl for a time.

He used to be small time, but now has serious muscle behind him -- muscle that's looking to find some kind of leverage on Honesworth. It seems like he probably would've killed Gaunt if he'd come alone, but the presence of Sondra probably stayed his hand. But perhaps he still has need of Grimjack in some way?

A lot of things will crystallize, and the portrayal of Marcie gets darker and darker, driving Sondra to the edge -- she wants to stop the investigation.

John Gaunt, however, doesn't do that. He has an obsession with the Truth, and must find out what really happened.

Firebird 7: Almost at the end of the trail, the PCs should have a clear idea of what's been going on, and perhaps have some idea of how high the stakes are.

They should also know about the powerful backing of the Candyman -- in Fading Suns terms, this would be the equivalent of a particular Guild getting a destabilizingly exclusive patent on certain services.

Firebird 8: This should also let the PCs know how much they should be ready for the inevitable resolution. Careful planning and sufficient firepower and contingencies would be wise.

Next post: The conclusion!

Mining Firebirds: Grimjack 01 - The Setup

The inaugural issue of Grimjack was not the first Grimjack story. He'd already appeared as a backup feature in Starslayer, and quickly proved that he could stand on his own. But I start here for several reasons: because it's issue number 01, and that carries some weight with me; because it's a solid story, and made an impression on me in terms of the writing by Ostrander and the visual storytelling by Tim Truman; and because it's one of my fave Grimjack stories.

Now, let's get on with mining some plot, character, and setting elements from this issue for use in Fading Suns! I hope it goes without saying: SPOILERS galore for those who've not read this 30 year old story.

Here's part 01 of Grimjack #1: A Shade of Truth -- the adventure setup.

We start with a suicide. A young girl plummets to her death in a place that is clearly not Earth (note the satellites or planets above the building). That's because Grimjack's default setting is on Cynosure -- a place where dimensions meet, and where ultimately, every dimension or bit of the multiverse will intersect eventually.

Firebird 01: This kind of matches the Fading Suns setting, with its mix of low tech and high tech, psychic abilities and theurgical rites, and other hidden secrets of magic and science.

A bit mysterious at the beginning, but deaths and suicides are possible in the Fading Suns universe. In the Known Worlds, there are limits to healing, limits to technological regeneration -- and if the suicide was very thorough despite access to miraculous healing tech, that says something too about the desperation or the purpose of the death.

Of course, in the tradition of many great RPG adventures, someone wants to find out why the victim took her own life and drags the PCs into it.

In the case of the late Marcie, her mother (Mrs. Sondra Grant) wants to find out the truth about her daughter's suicide. She wants it bad enough to go into one of the roughest parts of Cynosure -- the Pit -- and seek out one of the oldest and toughest guys with a rep for solving difficult problems: John Gaunt a.k.a Grimjack.

I like the line "She looked like an angel slumming." It really drives home the disparity between the quality of her clothing, the care of her skin and hair, and the breeding that must show in her body language, in her poise, and in her speech.

Of course, that's to be expected. The ex-wife of Cynosure's Finance Minister would certainly be of excellent stock and upbringing.

Firebird 02: Of prime importance is this type of character -- one that the PCs are unlikely to ignore out of principle, or curiosity, or profit, or personal interest. She becomes the embodiment of the problem they're trying to solve, the one who helps facilitate things that may be out of reach, and the one who pushes them when they're stuck.

Also, she has ties to very powerful people that are somewhat blunted by the implied severance (or perhaps weakening) of those ties. And she's motivated by very strong emotions to keep close to the PCs to find out the truth.

Of particular interest is this bit: the ghost of Marcie. Her mother, Sondra, went to her former room to look for clues to her suicide.

There, she finds an apparition of her deceased daughter scribbling furiously before taking a step out into the open air. It keeps repeating until dawn.

Now while this may seem tragic and *ahem* haunting, Sondra is also a sharp and practical woman. She searches for the note, paper, or diary that her daughter must have been writing on, but she cannot find it.

Someone must have taken it: why?

Firebird #03: this is the McGuffin that the PCs will be after. Sure, in the process of investigation they'll probably get a lot of additional information from witnesses and antagonists. But the diary will be the words of Marcie -- a deathbed confession of sorts -- to give her own version of events that led up to her extreme actions.

Firebird #4: In the Fading Suns universe, given the religious themes and elements, engaging in activities that will lay a soul to rest would be of critical importance to many. However, this may be balanced against the secrets that some one like to keep. And perhaps some would argue that some souls do not deserve peace -- but that won't sit well with her mother, and probably not with the PCs as well.

NEXT: Grimjack 01 -- The Investigation. Wherein we see how the progress in this case introduces us to different corners and players in the setting of Cynosure, and how such a framework might be used for Fading Suns adventures as well.

Mining Firebirds: Grimjack

Way back in 2011, I mentioned how I'd been using Grimjack as an inspiration for some of the Fading Suns games that I'd run in the past.

And that I might do a series of posts mining the ideas in the comic for adventure seeds, characters, and setting ideas.

Given the sudden ton of work that has descended on my head, I think I'll be doing more of that in the future.

It'll work nicely with my returned fascination with comics in general.

I'll try to go sequentially through the series, but be advised: this comic didn't start with an origin story. In fact, the protagonist is already old and ageing, and comes with a ton of backstory between him and many of his supporting cast.

Any other Grimjack fans out there?

Fading Suns: A Priestly Path -- Part 01

"Has it never struck you that a man who does next to nothing but hear men's real sins is not likely to be wholly unaware of human evil?" -- Father Brown

Two From Life, One From History, One From Fiction

In a past post (also titled A Priestly Path), I talked about creating new characters using the current version of the Fading Suns system -- inspired by real priests.

I decided to pattern the first two on priests I've actually met:

• a priest I knew in school who taught us math, and held our class to a very high standard. For most of the year, we hated him -- but toward the end, we began to appreciate his methods as we experienced a jump in our mathematical skills. He was a Jesuit, very smart, told corny puns, and was very protective of the trees on campus. He passed away years ago, and is still remembered by our class with fondness.
• another priest associated with my alma mater who is in administration, but also teaches on campus. His path through the priesthood is very interesting: with a Bachelor of Science in Physics, he entered the Society of Jesus and got another set of degrees in Philosophy and Sacred Theology, before moving on to the U.S. to get a Master's Degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics at two different universities there.

The next one would probably drain all possible points, unless I start him off from an earlier point in his career. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) is someone whose mark on the world cannot be underestimated -- though reading through his achievements and those of the Society sound like an epic campaign, straining credulity. Despite the limitations, I'll definitely run out of points.

The last one might be a bit more reasonable -- inspired by the literary character Father Brown.

The real trick is to tweak them so that they might be found in a noble's entourage -- or perhaps tie them all together as an adventuring party? Too bad there's no Brother Battle in the mix for combat. But I did know an ex-military man who became a priest in the U.S. at my parish...

Play On Target takes on Settings with Serial Numbers Filed Off

So this post is a set of reactions to Play On Target's podcast episode on Settings with the Serial Numbers Filed Off. As always, these are one sentient's opinions and not meant to be a review or critique -- in the hopes that this feedback will help the podcast creators gauge how their podcasts are impacting their audience.

Stuff that I Really Enjoyed

Great!

Play On Target provides useful information in the podcast site about the episode in question!

Not only does it tell you what the episode is about -- "we talk about the pros and cons of releasing a product that is obviously a licensed property with the numbers files off" -- it also gives a list of relevant links to each of the games mentioned in the podcast.

Great for research, and to figure out how a game's name might actually be spelled, especially if composed of a homonym friendly play on words (I'm looking at you InSpectres).

I'm also grooving to the fact that my opinions on the Fading Suns reactions (It's not Dune with the serial numbers filed off. Nor is it Warhammer 40k with the serial numbers filed off.) match my own. I also find it hilarious that my reactions to the 'almost-Highlander' RPGs (Legacy: War of Ages,
Immortal: The Invisible War) were so similar, despite the fact that I never bought either -- just looked 'em over in the game shop. To be honest I felt that purely on visual appeal alone, Legacy: War of Ages was clearly the superior product -- but neither convinced me to shell out money.

Dread. That game again. I must buy it -- when I have the money.

I liked the reversal of the premise also -- just before the middle of the podcast -- that led into the discussion of the murky issue of vampire / werewolf / frankenstein's monster / world of darkness / new world of darkness intellectual property.

Bounty Head Bebop. Cute and Fuzzy Seizure Monsters. Really? Frickin' A! Thanks!

And yes, Fiasco & Hollowpoint are also things I must play soon.

All this stuff in the space of an hour! Amazing!

Stuff that I Found Interesting

Interesting.

I didn't know that d6 Space was effectively Star Wars with the numbers scraped off. I mean, I know that the d6 systems are really close to that original system -- a friend of mine picked up the Metabarons RPG, and I could really see the Star Wars D6 system that I knew and loved underneath everything -- but I didn't know it was that close in the generic system as well. I should really go through it now that they're free on RPGNow.

I also agree it would be cool to find out about the 'cease-and-desist' rumor about either or both 'almost-Highlander' RPGs. Keep us posted on that, guys!

I also found it interesting that InSpectres came across to some folks as more of a Ghostbusters-alike RPG, rather than as the indie game / collaborative RPG approach. Which is how I know about it -- and I'd pretty much dismissed the analog to Ghostbusters, because of that confessional mechanic that was mentioned. But it's true -- it really owes a lot of its inspiration to Ghostbusters.

Lords of Gossamer & Shadow is also interesting, because of its original incarnation as Amber: The Diceless Roleplaying Game, and because of its expanding sources of inspiration. In fact, I was immediately thinking of integrating an equivalent of the TimeLords and the Daleks into the list of other factions to run into. It has a different feel that the other forked setting / ruleset -- Lords of Olympus -- which is really more in the vein of gods and demi-gods and politics and epic universe-shaking and -shaping adventure.

With one exception -- see below in Stuff I Didn't Like -- I got a nostalgic thrill on the rundown of the X-files inspired RPGs. I was surprised that C.O.R.P.S. 1st Edition wasn't mentioned, but I guess I'm one of the few remaining BTRC fans.

When talking about Cyberpunk, I flashed back to the Fading Suns RPG and wondered how much some RPGs are less [insert property here] with the serial numbers filed off, and are just very niched genre/sub-genre emulation games / game systems. Cyberpunk 2020 certainly qualifies, and so does the Mekton series of games.

Burning Sands: Jihad. There is such a thing?

It's interesting that the Price of Freedom still has that stigma to it. Greg Costikyan has mentioned before that he really didn't believe everything in Price of Freedom, or at least to the extremes described in it. He seems to have been going for a Paranoia type of vibe for it in modern day(especially since it was also under the West End Games banner), but I think it was too close to reality to jump over to the humorous side of things.

I also like Crimson Skies, and enjoyed reading Warbirds. I wasn't as put off by the setting. Just think that it's not an alternate dimension but an alternate dimension timeline. Besides, they might have been trying to avoid the whole intellectual property landmine just waiting there.

The brief discussion on why getting licensed properties can be difficult for RPG companies, and thanks for the "Blake's 7 RPG" link reference. Although, I would posit my suggestion for such a game: Cold City / Hot War + Stars Without Number.

Stuff I Didn't Like

Whoa.

I know that this is all by fans for fans, and that we're not all professionals here, but consider this constructive criticism -- and just imagine me making these expressions while listening.

There was a point where the podcast crew was trying remember the game 3:16 Carnage Among The Stars that made me cringe a bit, and I was trying to figure out why. God knows the same thing happens to me on occasion, and it can be annoying. I do suggest that in the future, you can just say you'll put it into the the show notes and move on -- I felt that we wasted some time there remembering (subjective, because I KNEW what you meant guys, but screaming it across space and time wouldn't help). I also cringed at the mention of Hot War, because it was such a different type of game from what was being discussed -- but that's just me.

Also: come on, guys. Delta Green was written that way before X-files came out, everybody knows that. It's in the preface thingy in the book. As hard core Call of Cthulhu enthusiasts (which you are, right?) at least one of you would have known that bit of geek trivia. But, to be fair, it was very much in the vein of that conspiracy-laden zeitgeist.

Suggestions

You may wish to...

Technical stuff. Sometimes the difference in the audio quality can be jarring. Early on, some of it was choppy -- and then some times staticky. Mostly okay though, don't get me wrong.

Also, because there are so many of you guys -- rather than just a duo -- I kind of lose track of who's talking. Not that it matters, since most of the time I'm listening to the content -- but perhaps once in a while an identification of sorts might be great, 'cause in my mind I don't want to keep score of whose talking by labeling them (in  my mind only): Lowell; Not Lowell; Lowell again, maybe; Sam? Not Sam -- wait no, Sam, so who was the other guy?; Brian???; Not Brian, definitely not Sam, maybe Andrew????

Be careful when you guys end up talking over each other -- the volume can be painful to folks with earphones!

Structuring. Perhaps you can try to group things together and create artificial breaks at various arbitrary points (Sci-Fi, then Fantasy, the Horror OR 80s, 90s, 2000's) so that folks like me who squeeze the show in can feel like we're finishing a chapter or two and then come back to it later taking on the next chapter and so on.

Fading Suns: Fief Dreams

The completist in me wants a complete compilation of all Fiefs, including the Church ones -- and perhaps the ones for the Guilds. All in one book.

And with some stats for movers and shakers in each of these areas. I did like the conceit of having each one written by a Questing Knight consolidating information, but perhaps a standard format for the report can include some non-system specific assessments of different places.

And will there be ones for the minor houses? Perhaps a single mini-book for all minor houses would be good for the newer edition with its updated timeline.

Ah, Fading Suns. Someday, we shall return to your darkening stars.

Fading Zones: Tech from the Zones

There are a number of fairly common hyper-technological items that seem to be based on Zone Technology. Their relative ubiquitousness might cause people to dismiss their unusual origins, but the literature on what early zone tech was like points to a link.

Shields: The manipulation of fields of energy for protective purposes belies a precision and incredible amounts of power. Shield technicians are a secretive bunch, actually comprising a sub-guild of the Engineers. They guard their patent zealously, and a fair number of them have exhibited low-level abilities that might be considered psychic in origin.

Flux Swords & Mist Swords: Flux swords are capable of storing a 'blade' of super-heated plasma -- already suggestive of zone-originated tech. However, mist swords -- with their psychic-enhancing abilities -- suggest and even stronger link. Given the high prevalence of psychic abilities erupting from Zone Stalkers, and, of course, from the bloodlines of Sathra cultists and from frequent jumpgate travelers using the earliest Sathra dampers, zone tech influence on these rare artifacts is almost a certainty.

Sathra Effect artifacts: These can be a holographic mandala, a deck of animated cards, a zone string banjo -- early Sathra cultists seem to have found a way to create / recreate the high from the Sathra effect. Most of these have been confiscated by the Church, and probably studied by Penitents and Engineers in an attempt to stop the effects and hopefully find the creators.

Fading Zones: Husks

The influence of the Zones allows us to revisit the Husks of the Fading Suns and cast them in different lights.

A passable half-life

It's rumored that early into the exploration of the Zones, the dead rose and took their place once more among the living. There might have been a graveyard within one of those early zones, and this might be why the overall effects were benign (as far as records tell us).

Once dead relatives came back to life, incapable of speech, but able to effect painfully slow movement.

There are no stories similar to the husk outbreaks in the era of the Fading Suns, so it's assumed that these people eventually perished along with their loved ones.

The incredible husks

In the era of the Fading Suns, outbreaks in major cities are unheard of -- they are relegated to lesser provinces and rural areas. It's suggested that damaged or malfunctioning Zone tech (or even improperly disposed of Zone tech) is responsible for this, echoing its effect from centuries before.

However, rather than bringing the dead back to life -- it seems that only their bodies are returned, and that their minds -- and souls, as all Pancreator-fearing members of the faithful will attest -- are absent and replaced by something that hungers for the living.

The reanimation also lacks the regenerative abilities of the earliest Zone records on resurrection -- the dead are often rotting or decaying, unlike their precursors, who were able to eke out a slow, silent living without rotting to death in the houses of their loved ones.

It is also suggested that the malevolence points to the influence of the dark intelligences that hunger for and hate humanity in the blackness between the stars. Or perhaps, the Zones have spawned a new form of life that might yet compete with our own.

Wandering Immortals

And there may also be those who have been granted full immortality -- blasphemy -- by the effect of the Zones. Were they these resurrected humans who managed to fade into humanity, changing locations and identities, or perhaps constantly living at the fringes of humanity to mask their longevity.

What mundane secrets might they keep close to their chests?

Fading Zones: A Nightroadside Picnic?

Hoping to contribute to the Zones community project, I began with reading the novel and pouring through source material (canon and fan-made) to get a feel for it. (Thanks for the starting logo, Hereticworks!)

As usual for me, one of the most immediate reactions is to drop it into the Fading Suns setting, one of my favorite kitchen sink settings.

Basic Premise: Aliens Among Us

In the setting of Fading Suns, humanity has encountered at least one enigmatic and powerful alien race: The Vau.

It's been hinted that they are carefully watching humans, for some reason unfathomable to the citizens of the Known Worlds. Perhaps, in addition to all the reasons cited in the books, it's because they know that we've been gifted or touched by a power that they have also encountered -- and fear.

That power is evident in the many artifacts that come from the Zones. It's rumored that the ability to activate the Jumpgates comes from technology that originated in the Zones.

Other alien races -- especially the Ur-Obun and Ur-Ukar -- are kept in the dark about the very existence of the Zones, and only a select few of the powerful factions on Terra know about the long-sequestered Zones on Earth.

On the Front Lines: Scravers & Charioteers

The Killroy sub-faction of the Charioteers therefore serves a dual purpose. Not only do they protect the value of the jumpgates for their guild; they also work to safeguard people from the potential consequences of unrestrained use of Zone technology.

Scravers have strict protocols and rumors about black technology coming from the Zone, with strict and harshly enforced rules about swift notification regarding the unauthorized use or surprise discovery of these things. In this manner, they may actually have a strange hybrid of Stalkers and Zone Police that are sent out when a new world is discovered, and evidence of Zone technology is present. There may even be an intelligence organization that exclusively tracks the flow of these items, before turning them over to the Engineers in the Guild.

Unknown Agendas: The Annunaki

Of course, one of the continuing mysteries of the setting centers around the old 'gods', the Annunaki, who are assumed to have built the jumpgates and were responsible for the Ur-Obun and Ur-Ukar races.

If they are indeed tied to the Zones, one can see the power of the lowest levels of their abilities -- creating artifacts that defy the conservation of energy, warping gravitic fields, and the strange corruptions of the strands of human fate that can result in the delayed (or passed on) fatality of many a human line.

Future Posts: Greater Detail

So these are just the broad strokes. More detailed examples will be forthcoming in this series of posts.

Another Lens: Halloween & All Saints

Playing with expectations -- especially cultural ones -- is always something I like to do in RPGs, particularly ones that are set in worlds and times other than our own. I often dip into my experiences stemming from living in the U.S. in the past, and living here in the Philippines now. The thing is, until you have that experience of being in a very different place -- sometimes a different country, sometimes just across the tracks, sometimes at your friend's household -- you don't realize something's out of the ordinary.

So here's another post on something that might be lifted for local color in your setting (perhaps on some world in the setting of Fading Suns).

Halloween

The Halloween experience (costumes, kids trick or treating, etc.) is a relatively new experience in the Philippines. When growing up, my knowledge about this type of celebration came primarily from all the TV shows and movies imported from the U.S. via our local channels and the stuff we watch on Betamax (that's right, Betamax was THE format in the Philippines when I was growing up).

Our knowledge of this time of year growing up was mostly about the All Saints / All Souls days. Can you imagine what it might be like to be at that transition point when the commercial marketing aspect of a formerly solemn (well, not really, more on that later) holiday takes over?

You can have traditionalists clashing with the newer generation, you can have the day traditionally saved for preparations for All Saints / All Souls suddenly usurped by what might be considered another holiday. Like having Thanksgiving the day before Christmas Eve and Christmas.

All Saints' Day

Here's what Wikipedia currently has to say about All Saints' Day in the Philippines:

Hallowmas in the Philippines is variously called "Undas" (based on the word for "[the] first"), "Todos los Santos" (literally "All Saints"), and sometimes "Áraw ng mga Patáy" (lit. "Day of the Dead"), which refers to the following day of All Souls' Day but includes it. Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting the family dead, often cleaning and repairing them. Offerings of prayers, flowers, candles, and even food are made, while Filipino-Chinese additionally burn incense and kim. Many also spend the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the graves, playing music or singing karaoke.

For Fading Suns, you may use this in three ways:

• it's a time for a mini-pilgrimage to your home planet, or wherever all your family members are buried. If a noble, it's likely that different sub-factions have different family mausoleums. It's like a time for reunions, for catching up with family gossip, for reconnecting with familial allies, and so on.
• it's a time for the family spirits to revisit a PC, especially those who were unable to attend the reunion; to berate them for not honoring the family, to make revelations about family secrets, to give warnings about something they're facing in the future -- and then follow that up with scenes involving family members that have missed him at the reunion and want to reconnect.
• there are unspeakable sects that worship their ancestors; this is a special time for them to perform their rites -- but during a period of excruciating scrutiny by the Church.

Inspiration: Father Brown

As I cast about for various real world and fictional anchors for my Fading Suns priest PCs, one fictional one immediately came to mind: G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown.

This fictional detective is not cut from the same cloth as Holmes, as his solutions tend to be arrived at from an understanding of human nature -- culture, prejudices, desires, and weaknesses. Furthermore, he runs counter to the 'exceptional detective' template, as the author has taken great pains to underline Father Brown's unexceptionalness. As very succinctly put in his Wikipedia entry, "Father Brown is a short, stumpy Catholic priest, 'formerly of Cobhole in Essex, and now working in London', with shapeless clothes and a large umbrella, and an uncanny insight into human evil."

My first encounter with him was high school short story reading: "The Blue Cross". It was apparently the first story of the series, and ran counter to the mysteries I'd read up until that point (I was a big detective novel buff, before Madeleine L'Engle introduced me to Science Fiction & Fantasy via A Wrinkle In Time.) in that both the inspector and criminal were outwitted by Father Brown.

I never read anything else until about six years back when I started writing fiction again. I picked up a G.K. Chesterton anthology of his works and was charmed by them again.

Upon reflection, there might be an argument for a priest
to have his own entourage, just like a noble might.

Father Brown would be an interesting character to create and play as a PC or NPC. His intellect is quite keen; after all, his more intuitive and empathic approach to crime solving does not preclude an ability to reason.

In fact, his debut highlights his high esteem of the use of ratiocination when he tells Flambeau -- a culprit that he's helped arrest -- the giveaway in his attempt to impersonate a priest: "You attacked reason. It's bad theology."

Religion figures into every story, even if it's just the unique perspective of this very Catholic priest. He has a stinging condemnation of one of those bad priests we encounter often in fiction, delivered in an indirect manner as he attempts to convince the same priest to confess:

"I knew a man who began by worshiping with others before the altar, but who grew fond of high and lonely places to pray from, corners or niches in the belfry or the spire... He thought it was given to him to judge the world and strike down the sinner. he would never have had such a thought had he been kneeling with other men on the floor."

Throughout the stories, he is concerned about addressing injustice -- but his first priority is the salvation of a soul. In the stories I've read, he never intimidates someone into a confession. He comes across more as a stern, but sympathetic confessor rather than an avenging servant of the Lord.

Refreshingly, he is portrayed as genially passionate about his beliefs, but is also quite humble about himself. Quite likely, hearing the sins of the world so often has not turned him cynical, but reminds him constantly how we are all a misstep away from evil.

Most importantly, he always comes across a true man of the cloth, rather than someone merely playing a role.

The new Father Brown mysteries (with Mark Williams as the lead role), seems to really capture that essence of the character in a slightly more modern era -- though I must admit ignorance of the prior portrayals. The almost comedic, very friendly, but unyielding Father Brown will surely inform some of the Fading Suns priests I build.

Fading Suns: A Priestly Path -- Part 00

I've tried to read through the latest incarnation of Fading Suns (known as the Fading Suns Player's Guide - Revised Edition) from start to finish. And failed. Multiple times.

Ultimately, I'm so familiar with the Fading Suns material that reading through the first chapter really goes through a lot of material I already know. So I'm skipping ahead to the character creation section instead, and will start getting into it that way.

In fact, I think I'll create a character for each 'faction', starting with the priests.

Priests of a Feather

So, an Urth Orthodox, Brother Battle, and Eskatonic walk into a Cathedral...

One of the most common stereotypes I run into is the 'bad priest'. It's in books, movies, comics, TV shows. And some portrayals are not without basis, I'm sure. Another common stereotype: the 'wise priest'. He's warm, insightful, and almost a smiling saint every time we see him. Sadly, this one is a lot rarer to encounter in real life.

But priests are an integral part of the Fading Suns setting, so it should be interesting to create several characters that are meant to be Player Characters without falling into either.

Yes, I've known a number of priests in my life. And I've also heard about a number of those who passed before my time as well -- and I've read about a number of truly interesting ones as well. We'll see how many of them make it into the final characters I build. I'd love to recreate a Father Brown or an Inigo de Loyola, but I might not have enough points.

"Has it never struck you that a man who does next to nothing but hear men's real sins is not likely to be wholly unaware of human evil?" -- Father Brown

Dredd and Javert: We are the law!

The past two nights, I've watched two different movies: Dredd 3D (in 2D) and the new Les Miserables movie. Perhaps due to the juxtaposition, I was struck by the two characters who identified so strongly with the law that, at key points in both movies, they were moved to say the phrase "I am the law!"

There are other parallels, of course. Both characters are situated in unstable urban settings, where violence is ready to erupt. Both are unswerving in their missions to uphold the law. Both find their adherence to their moral codes tested.

Of course, one survives and the other doesn't. If you don't know which is which, I'll just keep that a secret for now.

In any case, both movies stirred up gaming inspiration.

Dredd 3D triggered several things upon viewing, the strongest one being the desire to run the 200+ floor high City Blocks of Mega-City 1 as mega-dungeons. You could use Stars Without Number as the ruleset, look for some geomorphs or city street generation rules from various RPGs to help create the north, south, east, and west corridors, apartments, offices, industrial zones, etc. as your Judges patrol and investigate and mete out justice for crimes. Another thing I enjoyed was the infusion of psychic abilities into a grittier version of the 2000 AD setting, with Judge Anderson as its primary (and most powerful) representative.

Les Miserables has always been, for me, a musical. The book and the non-music movies resonated with their characters and messages, but not as powerfully as the music and lyrics in the musical -- a triumph of translating a story from one medium to another. The movie, however, was less triumphant -- but I did enjoy it. It gave some fantastic visual grit and weight to the more stylized (and, by necessity, more compact) visualizations that are normally seen on stage. The obvious inspiration is to a Fading Suns campaign, where laws are different for the nobility and the serfs -- and for the growing number of freemen on some cities in the Known Worlds.

The plight of Valjean is surely one that many citizens of the various worlds might empathize with -- being branded a criminal for life, struggling to be an honest man in a system that discourages it, suffering because of the weight of a merciless implementation of the law.