umanity's once-bright future is fading. The ambition that propelled it to the stars and inspired two great republics has died, replaced by a fear of technology and a hunger for stability. Royalty and serfdom have overtaken enlightened republican rule, and most of humanity cowers before the might and sermons of the Universal Church. The church decries technology as sinful and—as proof that man has usurped of powers best left to the Pan-Creator—points to the very real fading of the suns, a phenomenon allegedly caused by mankind's excesses.
This is the future of Holistic Design's Fading Suns d20, a role-playing game that is based on its original product of the same name, but that uses the d20 rules outlined in Wizards of the Coast's Open Gaming License. The Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition Player's Handbook, the core of the d20 rules, is required to play this game.
Fading Suns combines the mysticism, questing knights and blasters of Star Wars with the scheming houses, guilds and emperor of Dune. The game eschews all of the traditional fantasy races found in the D&D Player's Handbook save human, but adds three new races: Ur-Obun (peaceful, spiritual humanoids), Ur-Ukar (the Ur-Obun's cruel and psychic cousins) and the Vorox (four-armed, two-legged creatures renowned as warriors). Players can choose one of nine character classes, from "Brother Battle"—warrior-monks who serve the Universal Church—to the Knaves, spymasters who serve anyone, to Guilders—masters of technology and trade who serve only themselves and anyone who can afford their fees.
All of the skills and feats featured in D&D are used in the game, with a few modifications. The book also adds a half-dozen new skills, such as "Starship Gunnery" and "Use Think Machine," as well as an impressive 75 new feats.
Wizards and priests don't exist as such in Fading Suns. Instead, occult powers are divided between theurgists, who channel divine power, and psychics, who manifest supernatural powers using strength of will. In both cases, the mechanics behind these powers are radically different from D&D. Instead of receiving a certain number of spells per day based on class level, theurgists and psychics receive "wyrd points" each day, which they can use to manifest a handful of powers. These powers can be improved like skills; more ranks in a power make it easier for occultists to manifest an effect and harder for others to resist.
Common rule set, unique universe
As a stand-alone game, Fading Suns presented a rich, engrossing universe that drew on some of the best traditions in science fiction and fantasy. The game mechanic was refreshingly different, relying on the familiar 20-sided die, but instead of trying to exceed a given number (as with d20), the goal was to come as close to a target number as possible. It also spawned more than two dozen rule books.
It was—and is—a good game, but its biggest drawback was that it used its own rule set, and because of that, finding enough players who wanted a break from D&D could be a challenge.
Fading Suns d20 changes that.
Using the d20 rule set makes Fading Suns just another campaign setting, albeit one that's been heavily tweaked. Players can create characters using rules they already know, relying on a book they already own. It's excellent for game masters who want to try something different but have a few die-hards in their group who refuse to play anything other than D&D. It's also good for those players who view adventuring in the Star Wars universe as some sort of high heresy.
The game's greatest strength lies in the numerous special abilities that characters can acquire as they advance in level. They range from the social and martial, allowing nobles to call in powerful favors, while letting swordsmen evade stabbing daggers with swirls of their cloaks.
The new version isn't without its blemishes. The rules for using automatic weapons and laser blasters in combat are OK, but don't adequately explain the ever-present d20 questions about attacks of opportunity. The book could also have made better use of charts to summarize information such as which skills are class or cross-class for its home-grown character classes. The lack of detailed starship rules—included in the original—is a drawback for a space-based game, but one that Holistic promises to address in a future rule book.
These are minor flaws. The game successfully incorporates science-fiction elements in space fantasy without getting bogged down in the details, something that can't be said for Wizards' own d20 space opera, Star Wars. The game's Dark Ages feel makes it perfect for weaning folks off their hack 'n' slash fantasy biases, and its drool-worthy feats will excite anyone who likes Wizards' premier gaming system.
My players were pretty ho-hum about playing Fading Suns, and the original hardcover sat on my gaming shelf for two years. After playing a d20 one-shot, though, they're eager to try an entire campaign.
— Kenneth
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