It's the changes in religion that interest me in this period, with the rise of an order from heretics to sect. With that in mind, I quite fancy the idea of playing an ex-orthadox priest turned soldier and stationed at Stigmata.

Personally I quite like the idea of fighting the Symbiots but I'm amicable to adventures using that as a backdrop too.

Of course, with people still to vote, we might not be playing in this time period, and I'm ok with that too. Just thought I'd post my thoughts seeing as I actually had some!

I think you could play as Soldiers of Stigmata or you be Explorers who did something else, it just happens to take place during the stigmata wars. That being said it would be more difficult to be able to travel during that time frame do to parinoia(sp?) of fear of infection. However i would be more than happy to do whatever fits the group.

Okay, granting that we may not end up playing in the Symbiot Wars era if the remaining players vote differently, it might still help if I provide some details about the year in which we'd begin the game if we do choose that period. As I don't have an exact timeline of the Symbiot Wars, I've had to piece together some conclusions based on a combination of tidbits from the 2nd ed corebook and the Worlds of the Realm sourcebook. Below are some stated pieces of info that help narrow down the timeframe:

"4900  Symbiot Wars begin. Symbiots attack outlying worlds. Parasitic forces convert many planets, forcing the human populations to evacuate. They are halted at Stigmata." (FS 2nd Ed, pg 17)

"Fifty years after the Symbiot Wars had calmed, leaving a tense and fearful populace waiting for the next alien expansion, House Hawkwood made its bid for power." (FS 2nd Ed, pg 28)

"4956-4995  The Emperor Wars" (FS 2nd Ed, pg 17)

From the above, we can deduce that the Symbiot Wars "calmed" at about 4906 (fifty years before the beginning of the Emperor Wars in 4956). So the Symbiot Wars would have spanned from 4900 to about 4906 before reaching a stalemate. Following are the major events that would have transpired within those seven years (the year-benchmarks themselves being mostly guesses on my part):

4900  A Symbiot ship passes through the jumpgate at Absolution and lands in an outlying city. Symbiots attack the residents, leaving the resource extraction industry in shambles and the human population decimated. More attacks follow. Symbiots secretly convert whole ecosystems on Daishan and Stigmata to assault human forces. Humans resort to firebombing and ecodestruction to eliminate the Symbiots, but are unsuccessful. Masseri colonists are forced to evacuate Daishan, scorching the planet from orbit in their retreat. The regent moves quickly to defend Stigmata. The Imperial Fleet is dispatched and battles begin.

~4901  Battles continue without victory. The regent forms the office of Stigmata Garrison Commander to oversee the war.

~4905  Friar Berthold of the Eskatonic Order and Damiana of the Charioteers lead a rebellion against the Symbiot invaders, using theurgy and psionics to mount a guerrilla defense and push the Symbiot forces back. Covert deals are made with the Church to allow the use of occult powers against the Symbiots. The Church is given credit in return for accepting the Eskatonic Order into the fold.

~4906  Game begins as the Church unleashes the Manifest Light Legion onto Stigmata, composed of contracted Eskatonic Order Inquisitors and Dervishes promised absolution for their service.

If anyone else has more, or conflicting details with the above, please let me know. If you are interested in playing characters involved directly in the Symbiot conflict, some possible character types include:

Noble Officer, Stigmata Legionnaire, Muster contract soldier, Charioteer fighter pilot, Combat Engineer, Native ranger, Brother Battle warrior-monk, Avestite Inquisitor, Eskatonic Inquisitor, Orthodox priest, Amalthean medic, Manifest Light Dervish, Coven warlock, Vorox shock trooper, Ukar hunter, Obun psychic, Etyri scout, Shantor warrior, Gannock scout, Symbiot mole.

I would be interested in playing a Vorox Shock Trooper if we have too many wishing to play as nobles. In fact I still might go that route.

So, what's our current status?  (This is directed more towards the other players than the GM for the moment.)

-We have a few people who haven't voted yet, which could (?) possibly change the theme from the symbiot conflict to one of the other front runners, such as the rise of Alexius.  I think it'd be good if we could get that settled soon, so that we can move on to character creation.  Those of you who haven't voted:  How soon do you think you'll be able to vote, and is there any help you need that the rest of us might be able to provide?

-We also need to decide on what the party will be like, and possibly why we'd all be working together.  This depends somewhat on the theme of the game, so the last few votes could change things, but I think it's good to start on roughly the same page.  The more we start out on the same team, so to speak, the easier it is for us to get going on the plot that the GM comes up with.  Nobles and their entourages make for an easy way to get a group of people together.  In a symbiot war-themed game, small combat teams would also make sense.  A noble would probably lead such a group as well.  Does anyone have their heart set on a certain character type yet, or at least have a good idea of what they're likely to play?  Exalt7212 mentioned playing a Vorox, and Dazmondal had mentioned the idea of playing an (ex?) orthodox priest.  I had considered playing a theurgic priest of some type or another, but I'm still juggling other ideas, and am perhaps leaning away from a theurge right now.

Anyway, how 'bout we all check in and let each other know what we're thinking, even if it's not much?  For my part, I'm trying to come up with a character concept, but am hoping to learn a bit more about what the groups motivation will be first (ie, we're adventures, we're a combat team, we're missionaries, whatever).

right gunna make this short and sweet. my votes are as follows:

Explorers of the Republic: 5
Age of Miracles: 1
Attack of the Ukar: 4
Dawn of the Golden Age: 2
Fall of the Golden Age: 3
The Dark Times: 6
The Barbarian Invasions: 7
The Symbiot Wars: 10
The Emperor Wars: 9
Rise of Alexius: 8

there we go. well not got alot to say on the matter really. to be honest i will play in any setting in fs.

Well I havent caught up on everything, but t seems to me that only the following 5 really need my answer on, as theyre kinda tied.

Fall of the Golden Age: (6.25)
The Barbarian Invasions: (6)
The Symbiot Wars: (9.25)
The Emperor Wars: (6.75)
Rise of Alexius: (8.25)

So, my preferences lie in The Emperor Wars and Rise of Alexius. If you need me to finish reading up and give numbers for the rest I can do that.

The scores have been updated as of ike2k's ratings. Symbiot Wars is strongly in the lead, with Rise of Alexius running second, and Emperor Wars third. Tileira, go ahead and finish up reading, no need to rush your votes. As for the rest who have voted, feel free to start brainstorming character concepts. Assume for the time being that we will be playing in the beginning of 4906, immediately following the Church's acceptance of the Eskatonic Order and dispatching of the Manifest Light Legion to Stigmata.

Explorers of the Republic: 2
Age of Miracles: 3
Attack of the Ukar: 7
Dawn of the Golden Age: 4
Fall of the Golden Age: 1
The Dark Times: 6
The Barbarian Invasions: 8
The Symbiot Wars: 5
The Emperor Wars: 10
Rise of Alexius: 9


you know, its hard putting some of the lowers ones in the right order.

Scores have been updated as of Tileira's ratings. Symbiot Wars is not a sure thing as of now - Rise of Alexius is a very close second. Three of you haven't voted yet - Zahir, thecrazydwarf, and zombie-mike. As soon as enough have voted that one or two votes won't really change the outcome, I'll announce the chosen time-period. In the meantime, keep working on your character concepts. Also, try to have a "backup" concept, in case we end up playing in the period of Consolidation or the Emperor Wars, for example.

Good thing is that a vorox can be easily changed into a Guild member. Muster or Scaver anyone?

Having to rate things is very hard, but... I'll see what I can do.  I'm willing to try whatever we end up with, regardless, and please don't count these ratings as being set in stone.


Explorers of the Republic: 8
Age of Miracles: 4
Attack of the Ukar: 1
Dawn of the Golden Age: 3
Fall of the Golden Age: 6
The Dark Times: 7
The Barbarian Invasions: 5
The Symbiot Wars: 2
The Emperor Wars: 9
Rise of Alexius: 10
This message was last edited by the player at 04:36, Mon 22 Oct 2007.

That puts the Rise of Alexius in the lead, with Emperor Wars second, and Symbiot Wars a very close third. thecrazydwarf and zombie-mike, your votes will determine the final result.

After some digging, I found a further detailed timeline of Known Worlds history:

http://www.stront.f2s.com/fadi...age=177/article.html

Below are the specific year benchmarks pertaining to the Symbiot Wars. This information is mostly moot if we play during the Rise of Alexius, but I thought it best to set the record straight. Besides, it always pays to know your history. ;)


4900 The Symbiot Wars. Symbiots attack outlying worlds. Parasitic forces convert many planets, forcing the human populations to evacuate. The Regent moves quickly to defend Stigmata. The Imperial Fleet is dispatched and fierce battles begin.

4905 Doctrine of Exemption Exceptional and Doctrine of Temporal Exception. These documents allowed freemen and even serfs a greater (though still-limited) access to technology (mostly agricultural technologies and weapons for war against Symbiots and other aliens).

4908 Doctrine of Alien Rights. Aliens loyal to Humanity and the Church are allowed to operate with limited freedom. (This doctrine was passed mainly to increase the military recruitment of aliens to fight in the Symbiot War). The Church went too far with this in many people's eyes, and a conservative backlash quickly ensued, bringing the era of aggressive reform to an end (lasting from 4665 to 4908, only suffering a brief setback under Patriarch Halvor).

4948 Occultism is discovered to be a very efficient weapon against Symbiots.

4950s The Symbiot Wars come to a standstill, the Symbiots kept back at Stigmata. A purge of Symbiot groups and forces within the Known Worlds begins and is seemingly quite effective once Stigmata is "secured". Some call this the end of the Symbiot Wars.

4955 The Eskatonic Order is recognized by the Universal Church.


So there you have it. So much for my estimates! That'll teach me to trust a one-liner out of the corebook for dating the timeline of a war. If we do still end up playing during the Symbiot Wars, the game will begin in the year 4955, following the Church's recognition of the Eskatonic Order and dispatchment of the Manifest Light Legion to Stigmata - a year before the start of the Emperor Wars.

Hi my rough order of preference would be:

Explorers of the Republic: 4
Age of Miracles: 6
Attack of the Ukar: 7
Dawn of the Golden Age: 1
Fall of the Golden Age: 8
The Dark Times: 9
The Barbarian Invasions: 5
The Symbiot Wars: 10
The Emperor Wars: 2
Rise of Alexius: 3

Looks like symbiot wars are back in the lead again!

One thing I just thought of today, since two of the top choices (symbiot wars and the rise of alexius) aren't actually separated in time by that much, is a compromise in which we play a game set on Stigmata (and nearby planets, perhaps), but in the time of the rise of Alexius.  The symbiot war would have long been at a stalemate, but the GM is can introduce a new wave of attacks by the symbiots, or perhaps Alexius has ordered the garrison to press the attack, and move through the jump gate, or something along those lines.  The main advantage (as I see it), would be that all the sects and houses and such would be in the state described in the main rule book, rather than in some more vaguely described past state.  That would make it a bit easier to keep track of which groups exist, which don't, who's at war with whom, and that sort of thing.  Anyway, just a thought I figured I toss out there.  What do you guys think?

Funny you should mention that, Tycho. It just so happens that, according to Fading Suns canon:

4991  Countess Carmetha Decados, Commander of the Imperial Stigmata Garrison leaves post to fight Battle of Rudaki. Subsequent Symbiot invasion is held back by Brother Battle whose Prayer to Zakhayelos results in appearance of two Grypheans and arrival of Alexius Hawkwood's forces.


In Worlds of the Realm, the book also describes how Alexius' forces beat back the Symbiots in his famous "Three Victories". This is prior to Alexius' ascent to the throne. If you guys are interested in playing during this period, let me know.

Hey. Finally I will cast my vote. I think it's a tie for Dark Ages (4000-4525 AD) and Symbiot Wars. Those both sound too cool.

The votes are in. Following Dwarf's ratings, these are the scores:

Explorers of the Republic: (5.0)
Age of Miracles: (3.8)
Attack of the Ukar: (3.9)
Dawn of the Golden Age: (2.1)
Fall of the Golden Age: (5.4)
The Dark Times: (5.8)
The Barbarian Invasions: (6.1)
The Symbiot Wars: (8.0)
The Emperor Wars: (7.1)
Rise of Alexius: (7.9)


Symbiot Wars lead with Rise of Alexius inches behind. zombie-mike didn't give actual numbers but since he stated his two favorites as Dark Ages and Symbiot Wars, Symbiot Wars is the clear victor. Now, per Tycho's suggestions, one question remains: Do you guys want to play in 4955 or 4991?

I am game for either. I just cant wait to start playing.

4991 has more scope for characters so my vote goes there.

I like 4991, but either is fine.

I was tempted to play an Eskatonic priest so 4955 would probably be slightly more interesting but I'm more than happy to play in 4991

An Eskatonic is a viable character type in either year. The main difference is that in 4955, the Eskatonics have only recently been admitted into the fold, where as in 4991, they've been an official Church sect for some time.

In an interest to get things moving, the beginning year has been decided, and the Game Intro has been updated accordingly. The time for voting is at an end. It's time to begin creating characters. Here's looking forward to an exciting game!