A Game of Suns

7/27/2019 A Game of Suns

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A Game of Suns—Phenomenon 2013 By Andrew Smith and Xole Karman•1•

The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Known Worlds

The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Known Worlds.......... 1

Not Quite Canon 1

The Known Worlds 1

Those Who Rule 1

Those Who Pray 2

Those Who Trade 2

A Rabble 2

Aliens, Psions, Changed and Other Filth 2

Byzantium Secundus 3

A Time of War 3

History 3

Game stuff ...................................................... 4

Characters 4

Turns 5

Ruling Worlds: Princes 5

The High Table: Diplomats 6

War: Warlords 6

Church: Lives of the Saints 8

Guilds: President of the League of Guilds 8

Not Quite Canon This game is set in a variant Fading Suns universe. In this one,

Vladimir Alecto was not assassinated at his coronation. He

crushed his enemies and ruled for 250 years before the assassins

caught up with him.This is not his story.

The Known WorldsIt is AD 4800. Once upon a time, humanity's greatestand most advanced nation, the Second Republic,united twice a hundred worlds across space throughancient Annunaki jumpgates. But then the stars began tofade. The Second Republic’s science fell before newsuperstition and fearful anarchy. Most jumpgates wereshut and their jumpkeys lost. In the shattered core only a

few dozen worlds remained connected. A new Dark Ageis upon them. Science and progress have betrayedhumanity, and the faithful cleave to the UniversalChurch to save their souls in these Last Days. TheEskaton is arrived.

The last 250 years have been dominated by a single man:Emperor Vladimir Alecto, last child of House Alecto.He survived the betrayal and destruction of his family bythe other Houses Major and built a mercenary army thatavenged his losses on them. For generations he steeredthe Empire of the Known Worlds, preserving peace andcivilisation. He was unbeatable, unequalled, seemingly

undying: until the very end.

The Emperor is finally dead. This is the end.

Vladimir’s enemies are emboldened: vain nobles rulingworlds of poor, superstitious serfs; power-hungry priestspreaching creeds of fear and submission; greedymerchants growing richer while everyone else gets poor.

There are even worse threats: alien races bitter withhumankind for age-old insults, and rival human star-nations who denied the emperor and his church. Thereare also hungry demons born of ancient technologicalhubris and the chill darkness between the stars.

In the Known Worlds, only a few brave souls out of every thousand dare take their destinies in their ownhands and travel between the stars. And only a fewamong these ever achieve enough to make a mark uponthe Known worlds.

This is their story.

Those Who Rule

The Known Worlds are run as feudal fiefs by the nobles.The Church's Doctrine of the Privilege of Martyrs allowsthem to use high technology to defend their people andestates. However, most are little more sophisticatedthan their subjects, and prefer swordplay to lasers. Theremaining Houses Major each rule large estates acrossa number of worlds:

House Hawkwood — proud, honourable and dutiful,as demanding of their serfs as they are of themselves.The House is rich and powerful, seemingly poised foreven greater things.

House Decados — decadent and treacherous butclever monsters. The Decados worlds are poor andviolent, hard-up against the marches of the Vau worlds,and the Decados must look for opportunities elsewhere.

House Li Halan — strongly pious and desirous of anordered society under Heaven, living down a history of demonic deals and horror. The Li Halan worlds aretranquil but rustic, apart from Rampart, whereRepublican revolutionaries foment unrest.

House Al Malik — graceful and enigmatic, the heirsto the Second Republic's riches—and weaknesses. Theystay apart from their serfs in their jewelled palaces andprivate islands, writing poetry and practicing swordplayas if life itself were a game.

The Hazat — martially proud and somewhat touchy of honour, trapped in an unending war with the barbarianKurga Caliphate over the world of Hira. The Hazat usedto be the army of former House Chauki, whom they

overthrew shortly before the fall of the Second Republic.




House Gesar — now out-law and extinct, they weredevastated by the Symbiotes and attempted to assassinatethe Emperor when he refused to help their recovery.

Those Who Pray

The Universal Church is the only source of salvationacross the Known Worlds. Although founded on theOmega Gospels of the humble Prophet Zebulon and hiseight saintly disciples, it has become a juggernaut of cathedrals, church estates and richly garbed priestsarguing points of doctrine rather than saving souls. Thefive most powerful orders within the Church are:

Urth Orthodoxy — the broad mainstream of theChurch, collectively rich and complacent. Their doctrineis time-tested and worthy: they treat innovation withsuspicion at best.

Sanctuary Aeon — the Amaltheans are healers,carers and compassionate teachers.

Eskatonic Order — mystics and magicians seekinganswers to the Pancreator's enigmas, and seeminglypoised to take the leadership of the Church from theOrthodoxy since their successes in the Symbiote War.They covet the mysteries of the World Machines, theterraforming engines that have made most of the KnownWorlds habitable at all.

Brothers Battle — warrior-priests, among the best-trained and best-equipped soldiers in the KnownWorlds. As guardians of pilgrims they have becomeguardians of wealth as well: bankers to the pious who aresuspicious of Reeve services.

Temple Avesti — fanatical scourges of sin anddarkness, but simple, good, pious folk on weekends.They were crushed on their first holy jihad by an allianceof noble houses and guilds, and only survived byswearing penitent obedience to the Orthodoxy. They areoften now seen as just the Orthodoxy’s bully-boys.

Those Who Trade

Although the Church suppresses technology, the KnownWorlds’ economy requires hardy persons to take the

burden of its use upon themselves for the good of all: theDoctrine of the Privilege of Martyrs again. These souls arethe inheritors of the megacorporations of the fallenSecond Republic. They are accused of plotting a new

technological utopia, the Third Republic. They belong toLeague of Guilds, each of which controls a professionor technology. The five most powerful Guilds are:

Charioteers — masters of starships and the keys to the jumpgates that unite the Known Worlds. TheCharioteers control trade and transport.

Engineers — builders and investigators of machinesand the keepers of what science still remains. TheEngineers rival the Eskatonic Order for mastery of theWorld Machines.

Muster —professional mercenaries and a labour cartel,the Muster can supply workers for any job... whetherthey want it or not. Muster mercenaries are particularlysought-after.

Reeves — administrators and jurists, bankers andfinanciers. A reeve can double your money, or leave youdestitute.

Scravers — criminals, entertainers and treasurehunters. The Scravers satisfy appetites, be they therefined desire of a duke for a rare vintage, or a serf

village’s desire for the latest Teddy Valenti: secret agent magic lantern show.

A RabbleAlthough there are a few free independent commoners(the yeomanry), the vast majority of people among theKnown Worlds are unfree serfs, peasants and slaves.They have hardly any rights. Their lives range from hardto brutal. To their privileged betters, they are scum.

Aliens, Psions, Changed and

Other Filth

Only the humanity of the Known Worlds has been saved by the Church. Humans living in the Kurga Caliphate and Vuldrok Star-nations are heretics to be hated andfeared.

Aliens, such as the mystical Ur Obun and treacherousUr Ukar, are lesser beings. Even if they profess tofollow the Church, they are at best to be pitied, at worst

to be lynched. The Vau are much more technologicallyadvanced than humanity, which makes attempts tochastise their sins difficult. The Symbiotes are terriblemonsters who can make humans into monsters likethemselves.

Some aliens, and even some humans are Psions: theyuse psychic powers to effect the world around them.They are monitored by the Church, for Psions easily fallto daemonic influence.

There are also the Changed: blighted products of perverted science or environmental pollution, or bearersof cybernetic perversions of the holy human form. Theyare to be avoided — what if they are contagious?




Byzantium SecundusThe capital of the Empire of the Known Worlds, theworld Byzantium Secundus (‘Byz 2’ or ‘B-Z’) isdominated by the Imperial Palace and its intrigues.

A Time of War

Even though Vladimir united the Known Worlds, he didnot end war. He could not demilitarise the great houses,nor pull the fangs of the Guilds or the Church. Instead hemade them all his vassals, neatly outsourcing his ownmilitary requirements.

Wars between nobles are common. The (unwritten)Rules of War make warfare a kind of large-scale duel.Captured officers are almost always ransomed back totheir lords. Battles are fought only between militaryforces: non-combatants and civilian assets are nottargeted in battle, although they can be raided by

‘pirates’. An estate can change hands in a war and mostof its inhabitants will barely notice: they will pay taxes tosoldiers in a different uniform, perhaps. There is nonationalism. Nobody wants serfs believing in anythingother than their own humility.

Peasant armies

Armies are recruited from the peasantry. Peasant-leviesare given basic training in pike and variable-ammunitionmuzzle-loading firearms, and set against their lord’senemies in the simple, slow manoeuvres that they arecapable of following. They will live off the land between

battles. Warfare is the art of breaking the foe’s forcesinto fleeing rabble and seizing their strongholds. Moreadvanced doctrines like Total War and Blitzkrieg areonly practised by the Muster and the Brothers Battle—if you can afford them.

Elite forces are professionally trained and equipped witheverything from repeating rifles to blasters. These cadresare vastly expensive to maintain and field: losing such aforce is a great loss of prestige for their lord.

The fleets of space

Starships capable of travelling from world to world arerare and valuable: almost irreplaceable, since only ahandful are still built in any year. The Houses Major andthe Church jealously maintain their small stocks of working starships. The Charioteers own more ships, and

better ones. Charioteers also have the monopoly onproduction of jumpkeys, necessary to open the jumpgates that connect world to world.

History

AD4000–4500 (800 years ago)

Collapse of the Second Republic.Rise of the ten noble houses: Alecto (now extinct), Al-Malik, Chauki (now extinct and replaced by The Hazat),

Decados, Gesar (now extinct), Hawkwood, Justinian(now a house minor), Li Halan, Van Gelder (now ahouse minor), and Windsor (now extinct).

The Stars begin to fade.

4520 (280ya)

Vladimir Alecto is born on Holy Terra.

4525 (275ya)

The Barbarian Invasions begin: Vuldrok raiders andKurgan janissaries sack the Known Worlds.

4535 (265ya)

Houses Windsor, Van Gelder, Justinian and Decadosattack Alecto. Windsor assassins infiltrate the Alectopalace at Kiev kill all the Alectos except for the youthVladimir.

Vlad flees Holy Terra incognito, becoming a mercenary

and quickly assembling a mercenary army.

4540–4550 (260-250ya)

Vladimir’s mercenary empire grows with scary speed ashe never loses a battle. He becomes a major ally of theMuster, a Church crusader against the barbarians, and he

begins to avenge himself on his family’s mortal enemies.

The few survivors of his attack on Windsor are adopted by Hawkwood. House Van Gelder becomes a minorclient of Decados. Justinian survives as an independentHouse Minor by swearing direct allegiance to Vladimir.House Decados surrenders and swears fealty toVladimir. He strips it of its military and much of itswealth, but leaves it enough to claim Major status.

House Gesar, traditional allies of Alecto, swear fealty toVladimir.

Vladimir plays the other Houses against each other whilehe builds an overwhelming military advantage: one byone the remaining Princes swear fealty to him as the onlyalternative to utter destruction.

4550 (250ya)

Vladimir Alecto is crowned Emperor of the KnownWorlds and survives an assassination attempt.

4700 (100ya)

The Hira jumpgate reopens to Vera Cruz. The Hazatattempt to take the world from its heretical rulers, theKurga Caliphate, and the Hiran War begins.

4780 (20ya)

The Symbiotes arise on the Gesar world Chernobog.Symbiotes assault the other Gesar worlds: Daishan,Absolution, Stigmata, possibly Nowhere.

Daishan’s surface is burned to ash by the Hawkwood andGesar fleets. Absolution, the Gesar capital world, is lostto the Symbiotes. The Stigmata garrison barely holds

back the horror.




4780–4785 (20–15ya)

Emperor Vladimir marshals the forces of the KnownWorlds: the house troops of the Nobles, the starshipsand tanks of the Guilds, and the theurges and holywarriors of the Church, to purge the Symbiote menace.

The Eskatonic Order, previously regarded as little better

than heretics, are particularly effective against thehorrors, and gain immense prestige and full acceptanceinto the Universal Church.

House Gesar is crippled by the war.

The effort of the war costs Vladimir more than anythingever has before. It is as if for the first time people realizehe is over 200 years old…

4785 (15ya)

Malignatius is lost by the Li Halan to the Decados.

The Emperor does not intervene until General Chihiro

Li Halan kills Prince Malevik Decados in a duel. TheEmperor adopts Sevastyan, Malevik’s heir, as anImperial Ward, and places Malignatius underImperial/Reeve administration.

4790 (10ya)

Hot-headed elements in House Gesar attempt toassassinate the Emperor.

Vladimir acts with unexpected ruthlessness. He sendsUkari assassins and the Brothers Battle against Gesar.The Gesar worlds become Imperial protectorates. Theother Houses pick off Gesar estates on their own worlds.The Gesar themselves are killed or disappear: rumourshave it they were sold into slavery, exiled to Chernobog,or fed to daemons.

4795–4800 (>5ya)

Emperor Vladimir becomes increasingly secluded, beingseen by few people apart from his Ukari bodyguard, hisconfessor, and a few personal servants.

The ‘High Table’ increasingly gains status as theEmperor’s counsel, and there is perception of growingrivalry between it and the Church for influence over the

Emperor.

4800

An election comes due for the Presidency of the Leagueof Guilds. Symbiotes arise once more across theSymbiote Front. Increased raiding by the Vuldrokoccurs. The Iver jumpgate reopens from Pandemonium.

Sevastyan Decados comes of age.

Emperor Vladimir is assassinated.

Start of play.

Game stuff

Characters

Roles

Each character has a role in their faction:

• Prince (House Princeps, Church Ecclesiarch, GuildDoge). This is the head of the faction, holds thepurse-strings, and is the most ambitious role.

• Warlord (House General, Church Exarch, GuildCondottieri). The warlord runs their faction’smilitary aspects via the wargame.

• Diplomat (House Ambassador, Church Nuncio,Guild Advocate). The Diplomat is the faction’slong-term representative in the Imperial Court, andtogether they have formed the High Table as aUnited Nations style forum.

Some factions do not have all three roles. There is noExarch among the Eskatonics, for instance.

Background

The characters are what happens after campaigns end(and after they’ve risen to the top of their factions andmaxed out their stats...). In the old days, they teamedup with their four best friends to quest across the KnownWorlds, and those friendships are still strong.

Opinions and Quests

These are what the character brings into the game, and

will (and should) change as the situation changes.

Faction position

A higher level summary of your faction’s situation andobjectives. You share this with other faction members.

Potence

Characters have 4 stats:

• Fray (F) —hitting things, from an interpersonal to astrategic level. Also surviving being hit.

• Connections (C) —how widespread the

character’s friends are across the Known Worlds.How easy it is to get (or find) NPCs to do favoursfor them.

• Tech (T) —how well the character understandstech, and how much general tech they are easily ableto get their hands on.

• Weird (W) —how powerfully supernatural thecharacter is.

Each stat is ranked from 1 (the highest) to 5 (thelowest, but still pretty good, considering). A higher rankwins conflicts against a lower rank.

Each stat is accented: this is the field in which the statis advantaged or pre-eminent. When characters tie in anapplicable stat, these accents will determine who has the




edge. Hopefully players will agree who has the moreapplicable accent. If not, a GM will.

Conflicts can sometimes be between different stats: Techvs Weird for instance. This should work as above.

Objects and NPCs also have ranks (they may not have allthe stats) and accents (which may be across all stats),

however:1. They automatically lose ties

2. A character matching their accent will always win

The palace Ukari Bodyguards [F1 C2 T3 W1 / (Ukari,Imperial)] can be fast-talked against Connections 2(Ukari, Imperial). Anyone with Connections 1 or 2 will

be able to get by them, as will anyone withConnections/Ukari or Connections/Imperial.

A Vau psychic device might be [T1 W3 / (Vau)].

Gear: action at a distance

Some of your quests can only be advanced by youremployees and agents in the Known Worlds, since youare pretty much stuck in the Imperial Palace. Welcometo senior management!

You can order military units, or spend Espionage cards(and some others) to send teams of crack NPCs to doyour bidding. Put these orders in to the GMs by the endof a turn (see below) and you will get a result during thenext turn.

Apart from this, you can always ask for favours fromyour Contacts. Contacts are less reliable, however.

TurnsOver the two sessions there will be 4 game turns:

First session (4.30 – 7.30pm)

Turn 1 begins 4.30pm, ends 5.30pm

Turn 2 begins 6pm, ends 7pm

Second session (8.30 – 11.30pm)

Turn 3 begins 8.30pm, ends 9.30pm

Turn 4 begins 10pm, ends 11.00pm

The half-hour gaps are there for the sim GM(s) toprocess orders and update the situation.

There will be a turn/countdown display.

How to deal with each turn

1. Your Prince collects your faction envelope from theGM desk.

2. Distribute the contents: your Prince should keep theworld orders sheets, give the military orderssheets to your Warlord, and pass any new scepter cards to your Diplomat.

3.

Plan with your faction how you want to change thesituation.

4. Negotiate with other factions.

5. Your Prince fills out the world orders sheets for thenext turn. Your Warlord fills out the militaryorders sheets for the next turn.

6. Put the orders and any money or cards supportingyour orders back in your faction envelope and giveit back to the GM table before the end of the turn.

Ruling Worlds: PrincesControl of entire worlds makes the Great Houses theinterstellar powers they are. The Orders of the Churchand the Guilds also control a few worlds, and there areothers that start unaligned: ripe for the plucking.

World attributes

Name Not everywhere is called “This Land”.

Owner Worlds can be conquered or traded

Cathedral C Which Order the world prays to.

Each Cathedral gives that Order 0.5Fb/turn.

Agora A Which Guild runs the world’s trade.

Each Agora gives that Guild 1Fb/turn.

Garrison G Rated 1–5 — adds to your faction’s maximum

number of military units (fleets and armies).

Income Fb Contributes this to your factions income per turn.

(millions of Firebirds)

Orders

For each turn, the Prince can order the following thingson each world:

• Reassign Agora (to a different Guild)

• Reassign Cathedral (to a different Order)• Increase Garrison by 1 (spend a Tech card)

• Increase Income by 1 per Tech, Relic or Cargocard (maximum 2 cards per world per turn)

• Change Owner (i.e. give the world away)




The High Table: DiplomatsThe Diplomats of the imperial court have created aforum, the High Table, to coordinate action andresolve disputes between their factions in the absence of leadership by the Emperor. Although having no writtenconstitution nor any binding legal power (particularlyover the Emperor), the High Table has often succeededat resolving disputes between factions before they couldcome to the attention of the Emperor.

The High Table could become a parliament for theKnown Worlds.

Voting

A long-standing tradition, each world in the KnownWorlds is represented by a ceremonial World Scepter.Each scepter is worth one vote on the High Table.Naturally, this favours the Houses Major:

5 Al Malik

5 Decados

5 Hawkwood

5 Li Halan

3 The Hazat

2 Urth Orthodox (including the Avestites’ scepter)

1 Amaltheans (Artemis)

1 Eskatonic Order (Pentateuch)

1 Brothers Battle (De Moley)

0 Temple Avesti (Urth Orthodox hold Pyre’s scepter)

1 Engineers (Leagueheim)

1 Muster (Bannockburn)

1 Reeves (Madoc)

0 Charioteers

0 Scravers

House Gesar’s scepters are up for grabs: Absolution,Stigmata, Daishan, Chernobog, Nowhere.

The neutral worlds Grail, Byzantium Secundus,Tethys and Iver are available.

The scepter of Hira is available if the Kurgans relinquishthe world.

Conquering Vau worlds is also possible, butconsidered highly risky.

War: WarlordsWarlords command the armies and fleets of the KnownWorlds.

Garrison

A faction can control a number of units (fleets andarmies) equal to the total of its worlds’ Garrison ratings.Each unit can have a strength of 1, 2 or 3.

If a faction ends up with excess units, it must disband/scuttle the excess in its next order. If this is not ordered,units will be removed at random by the GMs.

The Guilds pool their Garrison to support all Guild unitsas a single uber-faction.

Orders

As you are all stuck in the Imperial Palace, you controlyour forces by issuing orders rather than leading them

directly yourself.

You issue your orders for the next turn via the orderssheets. The GMs will collate your orders and work outwho succeeds at what. All orders are processedsimultaneously: nobody goes first.

Resolving battles

Add up all the strengths of the attacking units andcompare that to the total of the strengths of thedefending units. Apply any modifiers to these totals fromTech, Relics or other special effects.

• Major win: If one side’s strength is greater thanthe other side’s by 3:1 or more, all units on the

other side are destroyed. (A≥3D, D0)

• Minor win: If one side’s strength is greater thanthe other side’s strength, but less than 3:1, the otherside loses one unit (one of the weakest ones).

(3D>A>D, DD–1)

• Drawn battle: If the totals are equal, the battle isindecisive and nothing changes. Nobody losesanything. (A=D, 0)

Effects of fleets at war on worlds

If a world ends a turn containing navies at war, neitherthe Cathedral nor the Agora produce income for theChurch or Guild next turn.

Effects of armies at war on worlds

If a world ends a turn containing armies at war, itproduces no income for that turn. The Church and Guildincome from Cathedral and Agora are unaffected.

Shutting a Jumpgate

An unopposed fleet can shut down a world’s Jumpgate.This removes the world, any units in it, and the jump

web links joining it to other worlds, from the KnownWorlds. It will reopen in a decade. Or a century. Or amillennium. In short: it’s gone.




Armies

Armies defend worlds, and can be transported by fleetsto attack new worlds.

Armies start at Strength 1. They can be upgraded tostrength 2 or 3 by Tech or Relics.

Upgraded armies require maintenance.

Army orders

(In the phase they will be processed—one action per phase)

1 Create new

army

A new Strength 1 army can be created atany world your faction owns, if you have

the Garrison to support it.

1 Upgrade Use 1 Tech or Relic card to increase thearmy’s strength by 1, once per turn per

army.

1 Disband The army will disband.

Issue this order if you have more units than

Garrison and want to choose which ones

disappear.

1 Transferallegiance to

[Faction]

The army changes sides. The new owner

pays any maintenance.

2 Pay

maintenance

Strength 1 army: 0Fb.Strength 2 army: 2Fb.

Strength 3 army: 5Fb.

An unpaid army loses 1 strength (to min.

1).

3 Embark [#] The specified number of armies (1–3) will

embark on a fleet in orbit over its world.

5 Support

[Faction]

The army’s strength is added to the strength

to armies belonging to the specified faction.

5 Defend (against[Faction1],

[Faction2]…)

The army opposes any attempts (or justthose by the specified faction) to conquer

the world, to bombard it from orbit, or to

ravage it.

6 Assault The army will land on the world and fight

to conquer it.

7 Ravage world If unopposed, the army ravages the world.This splits its next turn’s income between

the attacker and the defender (50/50,

round in attacker’s favour), and reduces its

Garrison by 1.

7 Special orders Capture locations, buildings or items, arrest

NPCs, that sort of thing. Check with a GM.

Fleets

Fleets attack and defend worlds, and transport armies.

Fleets move from world to world at a rate of 1 jumpweb line per turn. Faster transit can be bought from theCharioteers.

Fleets start at strength 1. They can be upgraded tostrength 2 or 3 by Tech or some Relic cards. Higherstrength fleets also require maintenance.

One fleet can carry up to 3 armies.

Fleets cannot be created—only destroyed.

Fleet orders

(In the phase they will be processed—one action per phase)

1 Upgrade Use 1 Tech or Relic card to increase thefleet’s strength by 1, once per turn per

fleet.

1 Scuttle fleet The fleet will disband. Toss a coin: onheads, the fleet goes pirate instead

(controlled by GMs).

1 Transferallegiance to

[Faction]

The fleet changes sides. The new owner

pays any maintenance.

2 Pay

maintenance

Strength 1 fleet: 0FbStrength 2 fleet: 3FB

Strength 3 fleet: 6FB

An unpaid fleet loses 1 strength (to

min. 1).

3 Embark

armies [#]

The fleet will take the specified number of armies (1–3) from the world it is at.

(Can be assumed from army orders).

4 Move to[World]

The fleet will move 1 jumpweb segmenttowards the world, or more with

Charioteer Expediting.

Armies being carried on a fleet will move

with it.

5 Attack([Faction1],

Faction2],…)

The fleet will attack any fleets in thesystem, or just those belonging to

specified factions.

Fleets will not stop other fleets using a

world’s jumpgate without this order.

5 Support

[Faction]

The fleet’s strength is added to fleets

belonging to the specified faction.

5 Defend world(against[Faction1],

Faction2],…)

Add the fleet’s strength to defendingarmies on the world, or just against

particular enemies.

The fleet also opposes attempts to shut

down the Jumpgate, Orbital

bombardment and Piracy.

5 Land armies The fleet will land armies on the world

6 Orbital

bombardment

If unopposed, the fleet will bombard theworld. This will reduce its income by half

(round down) for the next turn, and its

Garrison by 1.

6 Privateering If unopposed, the fleet loots the world’s

Fb production for the next turn.

7 Shut down Jumpgate

If unopposed, the fleet will shut down the Jumpgate, removing that world, all units,

and jumpweb lines, from the game.

7 Special orders Anything not covered above. Check with

a GM.

Other forces in the Known Worlds

Independent worlds

The neutral worlds have their own governments anddefences. These will defend against conquest or raidingand are controlled by the GMs.

Barbarians

The Vuldrok and Kurga Caliphate possess armiesand fleets. The Kurgans are a player character faction.




The Vuldrok are NPCs, and may randomly send raidersinto the worlds connected to their space.

Aliens

The Symbiotes are rumoured to be on the rise oncemore, so it’s probably a good idea to keep strong forcesin the former Gesar worlds.

On past experience, the Vau will retaliate savagelyagainst any faction that assaults their worlds. Their

jumpgates otherwise offer free passage to human militarytraffic.

Church: Lives of the Saints Every year the Church admits two new saints to itshagiography, Lives of the Saints. The Orders of theChurch nominate their own prospective saints, but theSynod —all Church nuncios and ecclesiarchs — decides between them.

Some characters have cards witnessing saintly miracles— gain these cards to support your saints. There are also afew examples of antinomian hubris to blight a holy life— use these cards to damage the fanciful claims of yourrivals’ saints.

The Synod should meet in turn 3 or 4 to judge the claimsfor each prospective saint. It is up to the Synod whetherto judge on just the number of miracles performed byeach saint, or on the best story told through them.

The Claimants

Sanctuary Aeon —Theodosia, the Amalthean Exarch(PC), is credited with stopping the spread of theSymbiotes with quarantine regimes at Stigmata.Theodosia is also supposed to have cured several peopleof Symbiote infection through prayer.

Temple Avesti —Avestite Father Efraim Digeneres of Pyre (NPC), slayer of a thousand demon worshippersamong the Ukari on Kordeth.

Brothers Battle —Brother James of the Gate (NPC)fell at Criticorum defending the jumpgate there againstdaemons (and possibly a void kraken!). There arereports that his Cassock Superior spontaneously vanishedfrom the chapterhouse at the moment of his death.

Urth Orthodox 1 —Archbishop Gerald Li Halan,Metropolitan of Kish (NPC), dutiful servant of theChurch for 99 years.

Urth Orthodox 2 —Prioress Katlina Zabriski, of theFalling Blossom Abbey on Madoc (NPC), who savedhundreds of foundlings from Muster ‘apprenticeships’.

Eskatonic Order —The Eskatonics have come late(and some say, reluctantly) to hagiography and offer nosaints of their own this year.

Guilds: President of the

League of GuildsThe Presidency of the League of Guilds, the Doge of Doges, is also up for grabs. Apart from the great prestigein the role, the President:

• is Commander-in-chief of the Guild military (i.e.

gives high-level direction to the Guild Condottieri)

• decides which Guild manages Leagueheim, Madocand theoretically, Bannockburn (although pryingthis world away from the Muster’s cold dead handshas never been attempted…)

• has final say on inter-Guild disputes over Agoras,contracts, trade-routes, markets etc.

• coordinates League relations with the Emperor andthe Church.

Voting for the Presidency is a bid for tender to control

the League budget: candidates put into escrow themoney to keep Guild business ticking over, and thelargest (final) bid takes all.

Croupier

The Reeves nominate one of their own to be thecroupier: announcing the opening and closing of biddingrounds, taking and recording the bids, announcing theresults at the end of each round. The croupier may nototherwise directly participate in the bidding as acandidate or supporter.

Bidding roundsThe croupier oversees 3 rounds of bidding, in turns 2, 3,and 4. Each round:

1. Put together a monetary bid with your guild (orother partners) and give it to the croupier, tellingthem who it is a bid for. You can bid for any Guildmember, with or without their consent.

2. The croupier adds this amount to any previous bidsfor that name.

3. At the end of the round, the croupier announces the bids in descending order, but not their actual

amounts, nor who put in the money.

At the end of the third round, the name on the highest bid becomes President, and takes the entire pot.

A Game of Suns

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