FADING SUNS EMPEROR WARS
INTRODUCTION
Card game for 5 players.
Based on the 1995 SF PC Game Emperor of the Fading Suns.
DISCLAIMER
Fading Suns is a copyrighted, licensed property.
This is merely a fan site.
VICTORY
You win if you hold the position of Regent for 4 consecutive turns.
Upon winning, you are declared Emperor.
DICE
Six and 10 sided dice are used.
FACTIONS
There are 5 Noble Houses, the Church, and the Guild League.
Each player takes the Role of 1 of the 5 Houses.
Non-Imperial Factions include Rebel Sectors, and the alien Symbiots and Vau.
The 5 Houses include:
1. House Hawkwood
2. House Decados
3. House Hazat
4. House Li Halan
5. House Al Malik
HOUSE HAWKWOOD
In Fate Phase Hawkwood gets to draw an extra card.
HOUSE DECADOS
House Decados gets +5 to the Intrigue Bid.
HOUSE HAZAT
House Hazat gets 5 free Research Points per turn.
HOUSE LI HALAN
They gain a free 5 Church Influence points per turn.
HOUSE AL MALIK
They gain a free 5 Guild Influence points per turn.
PLANET DECK
Planets are represented by cards from the card deck.
Each planet starts with a similar economic potential.
FATE DECK
Players share a common Fate Deck.
The Fate Deck contains Event cards and Tech cards.
SCEPTERS
Scepters are represented by Tokens.
There are 35 scepters.
Each scepter grants one vote in the Imperial Vote Phase.
FIREBIRDS
Firebirds are represented by Poker Chips.
Firebirds are the base unit of currency.
HOUSE COUNTERS
Each player has a unique set of counters called house counters (HC).
House Hawkwood counters have a Lion symbol
House Decados counters have a Mantis symbol
House Hazat counters have a clawed fist symbol
House Li Halan counters have an ornate cross symbol
House Al Malik counters have a circular saw symbol
House counters (HC) are used to represent Nobles, Fleets, Cities, and
As markers for Influence and Research.
WAR FLEET CARD
Each player has a War Fleet card.
The number of HC on the card indicates how many Fleets the House has.
HOUSE NOBLES CARD
Each player has a House Nobles card.
The number of HC on the card indicates how many Nobles the House has.
If a player is ever loses all his Nobles, he is eliminated from play, and
All his planets become Rebel Worlds.
RESEARCH CARD
Each player has a Research card.
The number of HC on the card indicates how many Research Points the House has.
TECHNOLOGIES
Players have to record with paper and pencil which Technologies they have acquired.
CHURCH INFLUENCE CARD
Players share a common Church Influence card.
Players place HC on the card to indicate how much influence they have with the Church.
The player with the most Influence is said to have the Churches Favor.
GUILD INFLUENCE CARD
Players share a common Guild Influence card.
Players place HC on the card to indicate how much influence they have with the Guild.
The player with the most Influence is said to have the Guilds Favor.
SETUP
Each player takes the role of 1 Noble House.
Each player starts with 5 random Planet Cards.
Each player starts with 5 Scepter Tokens.
Each player starts with 5 HC on his War Fleet Card.
Each player starts with 5 HC on his House Nobles Card.
Each player starts with no Industry or Military Tech.
TURN SEQUENCE
All turns are simultaneous.
Each turn has 14 Phases:
1. Fate Phase
2. Production Phase
3. Upkeep Phase
4. Intrigue Phase
5. Event Phase
6. City Phase
7. Technology Phase
8. Fleet Phase
9. War Phase
10. Symbiot Phase
11. Church Donations Phase
12. Guild Bribes Phase
13. Imperial Vote Phase
14. Ministry Assignments Phase
FATE PHASE
Each player draws 1 card from the Fate Deck.
Pay 5 FB to draw an extra card.
If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard and draw from it.
Draw 1 card from the Planet Deck and place it face up on the table.
This planet is not owned by any player and is considered to have
Rebel status. Any player may attack it to try to take control of it.
Max hand size is 4 cards. At end of phase discard excess cards.
PRODUCTION PHASE
Each planet you control earns X + Y + Z Firebirds.
X = The Terrain Type of the World
Y = The number of Cities on that planet
Z = Your Industry Tech Level
UPKEEP PHASE
Pay 1 FB (Fire Birds)for each of your Fleets.
Unsupported Fleets are Disbanded.
INTRIGUE PHASE
Players secretly bid FB’s.
The player with the highest Bid rolls 1D10 (The Intrigue Table):
1D10 Result: Notes:
1 Assassination Kill Target Noble
2 Rebel Rousing Random Planet of Target House goes Rebel
3 Instigate Duel See Notes
4 Spy Look at opponents Fate hand & steal 1 card
5 Sabotage Opponent must discard 3 Random Fate cards
6 Betrayal Steal Target Noble
7 Steal Tech Gain 1D10 Research Points
8 Leverage Gain 1D10 Guild Influence
9 Extortion Steal 1D6 Fire Birds from target player
10 Blackmail Gain 1D10 Church Influence
In a Duel pick 2 Houses. Both roll 1D6.
You get +1 to your roll if you pick your own House.
The Higher Roll wins the Duel. The loser has 1 Noble killed.
In case of a tie, both Nobles are killed.
CITY PHASE
Pay 5 + X Firebirds to put 1 HC counter on one of your planet cards.
X = the number of HC already on that planet.
An HC on a planet card represents a new city on that planet.
TECHNOLOGY PHASE
Pay X FB to get X Research Points (RP)
You may buy 1 Technology card from your hand.
Each Tech card costs 20 RP.
Record your technologies with paper and pencil.
Discard the Tech card after it is played.
FLEET PHASE
Pay 20 FB to gain a new Fleet.
Place an HC on your War Fleet card.
WAR PHASE
Players take turns in this phase.
Roll high on 1D10 to see who goes first (Initiative Roll).
Reroll ties for first. Then proceed clockwise.
You may attack a Planet controlled by an opposing House or a Rebel or Symbiont Planet.
Make sure to declare specifically which target house you are attacking.
You may attack with 1 or more of your Fleets.
The Defending House must defend with all of it’s Fleets.
(If it is a rebel or symbiot world a random opponent does its fighting actions)
Each side draws 8 cards from the War deck.
The side with more fleets draws 2 extra War cards.
Players may discard up to 5 cards and redraw.
There are 4 types of War cards: A side may only use 2 cards of a given type.
Each sides adds up the Force value of their War cards to get a Force Total.
Some technologies give bonuses to certain types of War cards.
The Higher Force Total wins. Defender wins ties.
The loser loses 1 Fleet
The winner loses 1 Fleet on a roll of 4+ on 1D6.
If the Attacker won roll 1D6 (Conquest Table):
1-2 Take the Planet card from opponent
3-4 Take 1 Scepter Token from opponent
5-6 Take the Planet card and 1 Scepter Token from opponent
Symbiots will defend a World they have conquered with 5 Fleets with no tech bonus.
If defending Symbiots/Rebels are defeated, the attacking House does not roll on
the Conquest table, it simply gains control of the Planet.
SYMBIOT PHASE
Roll 1D6. On a roll of 1 the Symbiots attack a random planet.
Roll 1D6 to see whom they attack:
1 House Hawkwood
2 House Decados
3 House Hazat
4 House Li Halan
5 House Al Malik
6 Planet Stigmata
They attack with 1D6 Fleets.
If they win they capture the planet: It becomes barren and all cities are removed.
Note: they don’t roll on the Conquest Table and they don’t take Scepters.
The Symbiots use the Symbiot deck instead of the War deck and are
Played by any other random player except the defender.
CHURCH DONATIONS PHASE
Pay X FB to gain X Church Influence.
Place X of your HC on the Church Influence card.
The player with the most Influence is said to have the Churches Favor.
If you are Excommunicated you lose all your Church Influence and
cannot game any more during your excommunication.
GUILD BRIBES PHASE
Pay X FB to gain X Guild Influence.
Place X of your HC on the Guild Influence card.
The player with the most Influence is said to have the Guilds Favor.
Players may trade cards, FB, Technologies, Scepters, Fleets, Worlds,
Influence, etc. during this phase.
IMPERIAL VOTE PHASE
A Vote is conducted to see which house becomes the new Regent.
Players may vote for themselves or another player.
Players vote with the Scepters they control.
Each Scepter is equal to 1 Vote.
The player with the Churches Favor gets to use their 5 Scepters.
The player with the Guilds Favor gets to use their 5 Scepters.
The player with the most Votes wins the Regency.
If there is a tie, no player becomes Regent, and no Ministers are selected.
(If Tied the Regent from the previous turn DOES NOT retain control: it reverts
to neutral status)
An Excommunicated house cannot vote or become regent or hold a
Ministry position.
MINISTRY ASSIGNMENT PHASE
The Regent assigns the 3 Ministry positions to 3 of the other Houses.
The ministries are:
-The Imperial Eye
-The Imperial Fleet
-The Stigmata Fleet
THE IMPERIAL EYE MINISTRY
The Minister gets a free roll on the Intrigue Table in Intrigue Phase.
THE IMPERIAL FLEET MINISTRY
The Minister gains 2 Fleets and all Starship Unit cards played by him in a
battle using these Imperial Fleets get an extra +2.
If destroyed, the Fleet is rebuilt at no cost at next Regency vote.
This Fleet may be used to defend a planet or to attack a Rebel planet.
This Fleet may not be used to attack a House unless it is excommunicated.
THE STIGMATA FLEET MINISTRY
The Minister gains 2 Fleets and all Starship Unit cards played by him in a
battle using these Stigmata Fleets get an extra +2.
If destroyed, a Stigmata Fleet is rebuilt at no cost at the next Regency vote.
If any player is attacked by the Symbiots, these fleets must defend.
If any Planets are under Symbiot control, these fleets must attack.
These Fleets may not be used to attack a House.
The Minister gains control of planet Stigmata.
Stigmata is the planet closest to Symbiot space.
It is a Barren planet (income 2 FB)
Defending Infantry Units and Mechanized Unit cards on Stigmata get an extra +2.
REGENCY
The Regent gets control of the planet Byzantium Secundus.
This is a Megacity World.
The Regent gets the income from this planet (10 FB).
It is protected by the Imperial Guard:
When defending Byzantium II the Regent may draw 2 extra cards, and
Defending Infantry Units and Mechanized Unit cards on Byzantium II get an extra +2.
REGENCY COUP
As Regent, you may declare yourself to be Emperor early.
If you do so, you become a Rogue Regent.
All Votes are suspended.
You lose all Influence.
If you remain in posession of Byzantium II for 5 turns, you become the new Emperor.
ATTACKING BYZANTIUM II
If you attack Byzantium II and conquer it, you automatically become a rogue regent.
You may only attack Byzantium II if it is controlled by another player.
REBEL PLANETS
A Planet may become a Rebel Planet as a result of an Event.
The Planet becomes neutral, under no players control, but still in play.
The Planet is defended by 1 Rebel Fleet with no tech bonus.
The Rebel uses the War Deck and is played by any other player.
On the first turn a Planet goes Rebel, only the player it previously
belonged to may attack it.
The first player to destroy the Rebel Fleet gains control of the Planet.
If your last remaining Planet goes Rebel, you automatically lose.
Note: Byzantium II and Stigmata can never go Rebel.
LAST PLANET DEFENSE RULE
If you are down to your last planet, it cannot be taken from you in
Battle until you have lost your last remaining fleet.
Note: You can lose your last house by it going Rebel or if Byzantium II is
your last planet and you are voted out.
HOLY WARRIORS
Some units in the War deck have a "Holy" designation.
You can use these only if you have a higher Church Influence than your opponent.
PLANET TYPE TABLE
Type: Abr BP GD MC
Temperate T 6 0 4
Barren B 2 0 8
Desert D 2 +1 8
Jungle J 4 +1 6
Frozen F 2 +2 8
Megacity M 10 +3 0
Abr = Abbreviation
BP = Base Production: Number of FB this World produces per turn.
GD = Bonus Defending Ground Units get (Infantry and mechanized)
MC = The number of cities needed to be built on this world to convert it
to a Megacity world.
BARREN WORLDS
Barren worlds have been destroyed in wars from previous ages.
They contain Ruins. Human and sometimes Alien technologies will be found.
For each Barren world you start the game with, you get 20 Research Points.
MEGACITIES
You may not build cities on a Megacity world.
Any world that achieves its MC (see Table) becomes a Megacity world.
(Remove city counters (HC’s) on a newly formed Megacity)
PLANET DECK
Name: Type:
Cadiz T
Severus B
Cadavus D
Malignatus J
Pandemonium F
Midian T
Rampart B
Icon D
Kish J
Absolution F
Delphi T
Ravenna B
Gwynneth D
Leminkaisen J
Stormhold F
Criticorum T
Shaprut B
Istakihr D
Aylon J
Chernobog F
Aragon T
Sutek B
Vera Cruz D
Daishan J
Xanadu F
Hope T
Rodan B
Aridor D
Balarek J
Frost F
Additional cards are needed for Byzantium Secondous and Stigmata.
WAR DECKCARD LIST TYPE NOTATION
S = Starships
M = Mechanized Units
I = Infantry
T = Tactics
THE WAR DECK
Name: Force Type Notes
Special Forces 3 I Stealth
Cybercorps 7 I Pilot
Fanatics 3 I Holy
Blademasters 8 I -
Trackers 4 I Stealth
Dervishes 4 I Holy
Xyl Warbeast 8 I Bioweapon
Doppelgangers 6 I Stealth
Assassins 7 I Stealth
Mercenaries 5 I Cost 1 FP; Draw another card
Power Armor Legion 6 I -
Marauder Legion 7 I -
Chemical Shock Legion 6 I Bioweapon
Rangers 5 I Stealth
Genetic Warriors 5 I Bioweapon
Assault Legion 9 I -
Shock Legion 10 I -
Assault Tanks 3 M -
Plague Guns 6 M Bioweapon
Cloaking Tanks 5 M Stealth
Scout Tanks 7 M Stealth
Necrosis Plague Bombs 9 M Bioweapon
Mega Tank 8 M -
Missile Launchers 5 M -
Assault Guns 3 M -
SP Artillery 7 M -
Meson Cannons 10 M -
Tank Killers 4 M -
Atmos Fighters 4 M Pilot
Atmos Bombers 5 M Pilot
Morph Fighters 6 M Pilot; Stealth
Morph Bombers 7 M Pilot; Stealth
Space Fighters 3 S Pilot
Cyber Fighters 5 S Pilot
Space Carrier 6 S -
Battle Carrier 8 S -
Space Bombers 4 S Pilot
Holy Bombers 6 S Pilot; Holy
Star Base 7 S Defender only
Meson Star Base 10 S Defender only
Assault Landers 3 S Attacker only
Stealth Ships 6 S Stealth
Space Frigates 7 S -
Space Cruisers 8 S -
Space Dreadnaught 9 S -
Surprise Attack 9 T -
Treachery 10 T -
Prepared Defenses 5 T Defender only
Ambush 8 T -
Concentration of Force 7 T -
Decisive Action 8 T -
Rear Attack 6 T -
Logistics Strategy 5 T Defender only
Reserves 2 T Draw 1 extra War card
Fanaticism 4 T Holy Units F+4
Military Blunder 7 T -
Attrition 3 T -
Overrun 6 T -
Military Disaster 5 T Opponent loses 1 extra Fleet
Battle Casualty 3 T Opponent loses 1 Noble
SYMBIOT DECK
Name: Type Force
Pod Ship S 4
Spore Ship S 6
Grappler Ship S 8
Blow Ship S 10
Nester I 3
Reaver I 5
Minder I 7
Butchers I 9
Spitters M 3
Tanks M 6
Arcers M 9
Contagion T 4
Hive Mind T 7
Infestation T 10
FATE DECK CARD LIST NOTATION
T = Technology
E = Event
FATE DECK CARD LIST
Name: Type Cost Notes:
Quantum Mechanics T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Psychosocial Engineering T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Nanotech T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Microbiogy T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
High Energy Physics T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Cybernetics T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Hydroponics T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Molecutronics T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Medicine T 20 Industry Tech Level +1
Jump Drive Tech T 20 Fleets cost 2 FP less
Theurgy T 20 Fleets cost 2 FP less
Ceramsteel T 20 Starship Units F+1
Meson Cannons T 20 Starship Units F+1
Fusion Beams T 20 Starship Units F+1
Composite Armor T 20 Mechanized Units F+1
Hover Tech T 20 Mechanized Units F+1
Megachassis T 20 Mechanized Units F+1
Fusion Rifles T 20 Infantry Units F+1
Powered Armor T 20 Infantry Units F+1
Combat Drugs T 20 Infantry Units F+1
Wetware T 20 Pilot Units F+1
Discontinuity Generator T 20 Stealth Units F+1
Mnumonic Armor T 20 Stealth Units F+1
Genetics T 20 Bioweapon Units F+2
Xenobiology T 20 War Cards F+1 vs. Aliens
Exploration E - Gain 1 new Planet card
Prosperity E - Gain 10 Firebirds
Ancient Relic E - Gain 10 Research Points
Holy Writ E - Gain 10 Church Influence
Free Trade Agreement E - Gain 10 Guild Influence
Industrialization E - Gain 1 City
Intrigues E - Roll once on the Intrigue Table
Peace Treaty E - Target House may not attack you this turn
Guild Declares Third Republic E - The next Vote is canceled: Treat as Tie
Economic Collapse E - Target player Loses 10 Firebirds
Steal Scepter E - Steal 1 Scepter from target House
Rebellion E - Target Planet becomes a Rebel Planet
Excommunication E - Excommunicate target House for 1D6 turns
Treachery E - Get +10 to your Force Total as attacker
Inquisition E - House w least Church Influence loses target Tech
Vau Meddling E - Draw 2 Fate Cards
Coming of Age E - Gain 1 Noble
Heresy E - Target House loses 10 Church Influence
Peace E - No one may attack this turn
Patriarchal Election E - Remove all Church Influence of all Houses
League Upheaval E - Remove all Guild Influence of all Houses
Guild Embargo E - House with least Guild Influence loses 20 FB
Diplomacy E - Negate an Event card just played
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