History TabletopGame / FadingSuns

* ''Emperor of the Fading Suns'', a turn-based computer strategy game that takes place during the Emperor wars that ended with Alexius's coronation. Perhaps less well-known that it deserved due to rushed production, it gathered a small if friendly fan community that patched up the bugs and issues. Initially a mainstay of [[invoked]] {{Abandonware}} sites, it eventually got a [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG]] release in 2020.

* MagicOrPsychic: ''Fading Suns'' has both Psychics and Theurgists. Theurgists are priests of the Urth Orthodox Church who believe that they're channeling the divine power of the Pancreator, while Psychics are considered witches by the Church and forced to serve "penance" if not burned at the stake. Though it's not clear where either gets their power.
** It's also notable that Gjarti, an animistic religion common to "barbarians", also has priests with theurgic abilities.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: Ur-Obun and ur-Ukar are pretty much space elves and space dark elves.
** It's actually far closer to the Vulcan/Romulan relationship than simply something in space.

* PointBuildSystem: The original Victory Point System. Yay for making your character miss a leg to get that lovely monofilament sword. A d20 version also exists, but the players tend to be... more enthusiastic for the original VPS system.

* SpaceOpera: The game is also drawing a lot from PlanetaryRomance[=/=]SwordAndPlanet and DyingEarth genres of sci-fi on the low end of hardness scale.

* BalkingSummonedSpirit: A handful of nobles still participate in an [[IllegalReligion underground]] [[AncestorVeneration ancestor worship]] with [[ReligionIsMagic attached magical practice]]. A high-level practitioner may get to the point where they can summon a ghost of a great ancestral hero. The catch? It can mean a devoutly pious man who almost eradicated the practice from your house. Sure, he'll grudgingly lend you a hand, since family is family, but you can expect a thorough scolding for taking part in this pagan nonsense.

* BurnTheWitch: We've got the Church, we've got feudalism, so don't say you didn't see the Inquisition coming... But this time they come with their own flamethrowers.
* CasualInterstellarTravel: In the form of [[PortalNetwork the Stargates]]. Though still too expensive for the planet-bound serfs who make up 80% of the population.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: There are many alien races, but usually restricted to reserves. Guess why. On the other hand, at least one alien race, the Ukar, could have been [[AliensAreBastards just as nice]] if they won.

* ''Emperor of the Fading Suns'', a turn-based computer strategy game that takes place during the Emperor wars that ended with Alexius's coronation. Perhaps less well-known that it deserved due to rushed production, it gathered a small if friendly fan community that patched up the bugs and issues, and can be found on an occasional {{Abandonware}} site.

* FeudalFuture: That's a big draw of the setting. For sure there's enough place for a typical dungeoncrawling adventurer, but a huge part of {{splatbook}}s and other setting descriptions is devoted to descriptions of how does the feudal society of the Known Worlds work.

* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: An inversion: hyperspace (what is between the Stargates) actually is the ''safe'' way. It's the interstellar space (beyond Kuiper's Belt) which is filled with shapeless Cthulhoid monstrosities going by the lovely name of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Void]] [[SpaceIsAnOcean Kraken]]. Still, spaceships jumping through hyperspace need to be protected by special shields, because otherwise people experience a strongly addictive quasi-religious epiphany, known as the Sathra effect.

* MegaCorp: The Guilds (at least the biggest ones) are descendants of such and may share some traits.

* {{Pacifist}}: The vast majority of Amaltheans follow the old rule of pacifism, despite one Dark Ages Archbishop who abolished it as a rule. What form this pacifism takes depends on the Amalthean; some are [[ActualPacifist Actual Pacifists]] who would never raise a weapon in their own defense, while others are [[MartialPacifist as willing to defend the weak as to heal them]].
* PointBuildSystem: Yay for making your character miss a leg to get that lovely monofilament sword. A d20 version also exists, but the players tend to be... more enthusiastic for the original VPS system.

* SingleBiomePlanet: The {{splatbook}}s devoted to descriptions of specific planets generally try to avert it by pointing out they too have their climate zones, but still, most of these worlds have a theme to them -- and in-universe Church teachings paint Earth as exceptionally diverse as a sort of Pancreator's Paradise Garden for humans. (Whether they're also [[PlanetOfHats planets of hats]] is actually more nuanced.) A few notable examples:

** A few planets such as the Decados-owned Severus and the Vorox homeworld Ungavorox are {{Jungle World}}s.

** The Charioteers are a coalition of [[DangerDeadpan space pilots]] and [[IntrepidMerchant interstellar traders]], holding a monopoly on jumpkey production, a device necessary to open a jumpgate;

''Fading Suns'' is a role-playing game by Holistic Design, Inc., designed by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg, also known for their work on ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'' games. It's a soft, {{space opera}}tic science-fiction game notable for its unusual, well-developed setting that is as teeming with action as it is with politics and courtly antics.

The discovery of alien civilisations was a blow to already weak organised religions, and various sects, Anunnaki cults and others sprang up. Among them, the most notorious (and most hunted, due to its dangerousness to corporate and social order) was the Sathra cult, popular among starship pilots. In the 28th Century, Zebulon, a Christian - either Catholic or Orthodox - priest took to the stars, hoping for some kind of sign. The illumination he found was beyond his dreams. He became the Prophet of a new, ultimate faith, preaching to humans and aliens of the Diaspora, performing miracles and gathering Apostles and followers, who after his death wrote the Omega Gospels and started the [[CrystalDragonJesus Church of Celestial Sun]].

* AristocratTeam: The tabletop game is a FeudalFuture setting where player characters are generally assumed to be nobility, clergy (who know space magic), or part of the mercantile guilds.

* FeudalFuture

* PortalNetwork: Stargates again.
* {{Precursors}}: And occasional AncientAstronauts, responsible for the Jumpgate network.

* SpaceOpera

In [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture the near future]], Earth unified politically under the aegis of [[MegaCorp international megacorporations]]. Corporate rule quickly turned oppressive, yet the First Republic also saw exploration and economic development in the Solar System. Then, in the 24th Century, humans discovered the Stargate, the first proof (excluding several dubious findings on Mars) of extraterrestrial civilization. What's more important, the huge artifact opened the door to the [[PortalNetwork Jumpweb]] left by [[{{Precursors}} the ancient race]], dubbed Ur or Anunnaki.

In [[ExtyYearsFromNow the near future]], Earth unified politically under the aegis of [[MegaCorp international megacorporations]]. Corporate rule quickly turned oppressive, yet the First Republic also saw exploration and economic development in the Solar System. Then, in the 24th Century, humans discovered the Stargate, the first proof (excluding several dubious findings on Mars) of extraterrestrial civilization. What's more important, the huge artifact opened the door to the [[PortalNetwork Jumpweb]] left by [[{{Precursors}} the ancient race]], dubbed Ur or Anunnaki.

* MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness: The system tries to act tough once in a while, but is a big softie.

* TheFederation: The old (Second, the First barely existed except as an instrument of MegaCorp influence) Republic.

* InterfaithSmoothie: The Church has a general ChristianityIsCatholic feel on the surface, but was [[{{UsefulNotes/Islam}} set up by a prophet]], the biggest sect is called [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity the Orthodoxy]], the main philosophical factions are called [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} the Hinayana and the Mahayana]], and there are plenty of minor sects and factions that are all over the place. The most popular alternative religion, Gjarti, was engineered from a mix of neopagan, New Age and Buddhist beliefs spliced with psychological science and theurgy.

* InterfaithSmoothie: The Church has a general ChristianityIsCatholic feel on the surface, but was [[{{UsefulNotes/Islam}} set up by a prophet]], the biggest sect is called [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity the Orthodoxy]], the main philosophical factions are called [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} the Hinayana and the Mahayana]], and there are plenty of minor sects and factions that are all over the place.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: In particular, House Decados has scheming as favorite pastime, also obviously the Imperial Court.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' and ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun''. However, it's like [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Warhammer Fantasy]] and its relation to Creator/JRRTolkien and Renaissance Europe - at first glance it's almost a ripoff, but when you begin to explore it, you discover it is quite worthy of interest on its own.
** On another level, the backstory occasionally sneaks in jokes alluding to RealLife. For example, a popular genre of fiction in the later years of the Second Republic was the BuddyCopShow involving a pairing of a human and an Ukar; the description rather clearly spoofed {{Blaxploitation}}, the preference for a WhiteMaleLead, and several other modern-day media tropes.