Pyramid Reviews
Imperial Survey 3 & 4 (for Fading Suns RPG)
Imperial Survey: Hazat Fiefs
Written by Andrew Greenberg
Imperial Survey 4: Li Halan Fiefs
Written by Rustin Quaide
Published by Holistic Design, Inc.
32 pages each; $6.95 each
These two slim volumes are the latest installments in Holistic Design's ongoing "Imperial Survey" series. Each book describes a handful of worlds for their Fading Suns science fiction roleplaying game. The unifying principle of these surveys is the noble house to which they owe allegiance. This is a nice approach as it kills two birds with one stone: detailing each planet, as well as fleshing out the major noble factions of the Known Worlds setting. In its latter role, the Imperial Surveys are also great props for the game. The Game Master could easily allow his players access to the description of each world, as a kind of in-game primer of the planet in question. That's because game information is kept to a minimum, allowing each GM to determine for themselves how best to employ the data in these books.
Physically, the latest volumes are much like their predecessors: 32 page staple-bound books with glossy color covers. The interior art is sparse, but generally well done. Both Alex Sheikman (in Hazat Fiefs) and John Bridges (in Li Halan Fiefs) do an excellent job of capturing the feel of their subject matter. Sheikman's dark but kinetic illustrations capture the spirit of the Iberian-inspired Hazat, while Bridges' softer and contemplative images recall . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 11, 2001
Copyright © 2001 by Steve Jackson Games. All rights reserved. Pyramid subscribers are permitted to read this article online, or download it and print out a single hardcopy for personal use. Copying this text to any other online system or BBS, or making more than one hardcopy, is strictly prohibited. So please don't. And if you encounter copies of this article elsewhere on the web, please report it to webmaster@sjgames.com.