As I'm learning DH I often make comparisons to one of my absolute favorite RPGs of all time, Fading Suns. For those familiar with both games, how far off am I? What's alike and/or different?

BTW, for those who don't know what Fading Suns is, shame on you!

Fading Suns is a LOT like 40k... only much smaller and less grand. To 40k anything you crank it to eleven so to speak while Fading Suns is cranked to about 6. It's kind of like 40k's small geeky little brother which fallows big brother around trying to be just like him, but he's just a little kid.

• Fading Suns is set approximately 3,000 years in the future. 40k is set approximately 39,000 years in the future.
• Both had a golden age of technology that was ended by Man Playing God With Science!
• Fading Suns lost hundreds of worlds during the dark age. 40k losses hundreds of worlds all the time.
• The known worlds of Fading Suns' comprises some 40 odd planets. The known worlds of 40k number in the millions.
• A section of space consisting of 3 planets are infected with an alein race that "converts" other races almost like a disease and has a thing for the food chain and hunting. 40k has an alein race from another galaxy that's presumed limitless in number who converts other races and then eats them, their planet, and all other planets who's intent is to eat the whole damned galaxy!
• Fading Suns has the Brothers Battle, tough warrior monks hardened through a lifetime of training making them the hardest men around. 40k has the Space Marines who are not only hardened through a lifetime of training but genetically modified to be even harder on top of that, and then tossed into power armour just to be sure they's the hardest things around.
• They both have crazy-assed cyborgs who worship machines and kill anyone who knows too much about those machines.
• Fading Suns is dominated by a very catholic like church who, in their number, have a small intolerant faction of fire eyed zealots who like to burn things. In 40k, not only is there a similar fire brand wild eyed zealot group who likes to burn everything (the Red Redemption) but there's also the Sororitas (who really love burning things), the Inquisition (burn baby, burn), and Intolerance is preached as a virtue (usually while something burns... preferably something that can scream while it burns).
• In Fading Suns, special shields were developed to ward off bad mental effects that had some unknown but undesirable effects on those ships which which used FTL technology (gates in this case) unshielded. In 40k, special shields were developed to ward off bad mental effects that would **** your mind and eat your soul, then your body, then your ship, when said ship used FTL technology (in this case, entering the warp).
• In Fading Suns, the Ur did it. In 40k, the Slaan and C'tan did it.
• In Fading Suns, some mysterious war destroyed the Ur. In 40k, a war between the Slaan and C'tan destroyed the Slaan and just made the c'tan go to sleep for a bit so they can wake up and have a supper happy fun buffet time again.
• In Fading Suns, the end is coming as the suns fade out. In 40k, the end is coming as the light of the astronomical fades, the ancient enemy of all life wakes up hungry, the great devourer slowly arrives, eating the galaxy chunk by chunk, Chaos keeps corrupting everything around it, orks keep breading...
• In Fading Suns, the stuck up ancient direct children (Obun) of Those Who Mucked Around have an evil cousin race which isn't all that evil. In 40k, the the stuck up ancient direct children (Eldar) of Those Who Mucked Around have an evil cousin race which really are.

And I can go on and on. Suffice to say, there are an incredible amount of similarities between the two universes. One is just a lot milder then the other. Now, don't get me wrong, i love Fading Suns and ran some great games in it, but when comparing it to 40k, it really dose come off as 40k lite.

You can pretty much take fading Suns and crank everything up 5 more notches, pump it full of growth hormones, soak it in blood, paint it black, then set it on fire and you'll have 40k to the tee ;-)

Dude, that is the BEST comparison I think I've ever read! I'm suggesting you make that an official...something!

Graver said:

Graver, you just won the internets. That was brilliant.

In my opinion Fading Suns (awesome game btw) is a lot more like Dune than 40k is, and also has a lot more 'hope' to the setting. There is more chivalry and honour, and not so much death and loss.

It really reminds me of the tongue-in-cheek version of 40k, Brighthammer40k (linky)

Evilscary said:

BRILLIANT.......................................................................that is all

I'm going to have to dig it out of the garage. I read it (and bought it) when it first came out, but I never got anyone to play it with me, so in a box it went and it's been there for ...15-20-25 years?!? Long time.

If anyone is interested in playing, I'll be running LARPs based on Fading Suns and 40K at this years Origins Game Fair.

That sounds cool! I've never been to Origins. Where's it at this year?

Columbus, Ohio, June 24th-28th. http://www.originsgamefair.com/

**** living in Yuma, Arizona!!! (I actually love it here, but I so want to 'Con!)

Thats a shame, cause ORIGINS is the best CON IMHO. Less pretentious then GENCON.

Peacekeeper_b said:

It's funny how we games can be such when in the end, we're all just playing pretend! LOL

I was wondering how cons can be said to be pretentious or unpretentious.

I will be honest. I dont like cons all that much. Mostly because I do not like Crowds of people. ( we wont go into why, but lets just say its service connected)

Also Larps tend to weird me out more and more each year. Hell I dont even like going to SCA events with my Girlfriend cuz she makes me dress up.

i love a good CON i have GenCON which means i get to see Rouge Trader first this year hopefuly when i go. the crowds do stink in a bad way but not if you have a few friends to clown around with...or chainmail bikini clad wemon to stare at like last year hehe

Y'see, as someone who has worn chainmail, and for long periods of time (including a weekend when I slept in it), and has a girlfriend who does rather esoteric live-blade fencing in period gear, I have to wonder why anyone would wear a chainmail bikini. Sure, I suppose it could be properly lined and padded so it wouldn't chafe, but I have it on good authority that they are generally cold and uncomfortable.

That said, they do look **** cool...

I GM'd at an Irish con- WARPcon last year, and it was great fun, but I really wish GM's could vet players before they join. next year I'm definitely putting an over 18's only tag on it.

Locque said:

Well its not just about "pretending" to be characters at the con. There is a certain air or attitude in the staff, the events, the guests and the general populace of a con. I find ORIGINS to be more open, friendlier and less haughty then GENCON.

Thats what I mean.

I had figured that's what you meant, unless some cons aspired to convince people that they were more than gaming conventions. That gaming was a lifestyle choice, rather than a hobby, or that gamers themselves were a specific breed of person. (looking around some cons, if this is true, then it's nothing to be bragging about)

My Girl Friend has a chainmail bikini. However she is getting it padded and lined. Personally I dont see what the big deal about them are.

Ranek7212 said:

Are you kidding? Why, they's the coolest things since Eskimo Pies! Anyone who wears them is instantly dead sexy just like the Vallejo girls and are the envy of all! Hell, I'm gonna cash in on it all and get me a chainmail banana-hammock!

I think that many gamers seem pretentious because they're rabid fans of "X" and when somebody doesn't like "X", they get upset. Really upset. I've seen it many, many times. I've seen near-violent and verbally-abusive rants when you say why you don't like "X", no matter how sound your reasoning and and polite your delivery.

Now herd hundreds of these types in a conference center where their egos collide and KABOOM! It's not different than sports fans, really.

Story: Back in the day some coworkers were making fun if a friend and me about gaming. They'd ask us if we were going to go pretend we were elves and hold hands and skip, if we were fags, etc.. First of all, we were playing Exalted, where the "elves" don't skip. They eat your soul. Secondly, they all gathered to watch wrestling. MY comment was, "So, you're going to kick your wives out and get drunk with men while watching half-naked and sweaty men jump on and hug each other? And WE'RE gay?" Not that gaming, wrestling or being gay are bad things, but you all get my point.

Gaming has a stigma and some of us support that image.

Dark Heresy ROCKS!

TalkingMuffin said:

Honest to god I'd never "come out" as a gamer to most of my friends. Then again, I wouldn't come out about my sexuality to some of them either, so it all works out.

Locque said:

Sounds like you have the wrong "friends"