Of Faith and Fences - A Visit to Saxherm

What is this? A few days ago Christmas Knight over at Grand Commodore threw together a 'Maximalist dreampunk weird fiction city-state creator'. I got out the dice, and over the course of a sunny afternoon put together the following. 

The below was originally posted on Grand Commodore in the comments of the original post. I have presented it here in one package, with screenshots of some of the comments for context. It will be of use to read or at least skim the city-state creator first.

A herm is, of course, a sort of statue 
- and saxum, saxi is Latin for rock.
An unsubtle name, but it sounds right.
[Source]

(2) Name Afterwards: Saxherm

Government

70          69-71 Religious Order

Religious Demography

65      61-75 Majority/Minority                     5%

Religions

74         74-76 Exemplar Polytheism (Maj)

95            93-97 Tutelary Deity   (Min)

Sources of Wealth

54     53-55 International Black Marketeer         3. Stolen goods

11         8-11 Beauty                                                            4. Ubiquitous statuary 

Distinctive Cultural Elements

94     93-100 Traditional Costumes  

Prevailing Conditions

53             52-53 Massive Economic Surplus

69         68-69 Predatory Entity                                 4. Destroying their memories

Biome

22     22-25 Distributed over several walled hilltops with bridges and/or tunnels

Most Prominent Architectural Feature

84     81-84 Theatre 

The city of Saxherm was founded on a series of hilltops, each with its own guardian spirit. As the burgeoning city spread between the hills, each court - each garden - each road - earned its own tutelary, carved in a distinctive style. Saxherm became known as a city of statues.

In the third century after its founding, flooded with the teachers and sophists of a neighbouring polity, the local faith was transformed. There were not countless gods of the road, there was one god of all roads. Then there was not a god of all roads, but a god of communications and travel - an archetype of trade and wayfaring. 

    The new faith found a home in the wealthy of the city - those who wished to look up-to-date and could afford the tutelage. The informal associations of sacred masons, iconographers and artisans gave way to well-connected sacred fraternities. The old Assembly and district regiments had bowed to the iconographers or been led by them in many matters. Assemblymen, municipal officials and regimental leaders saw a way to escape that influence now. 

    Through the fourth century, low-level conflict between the new faith and the old was the rule, as were ongoing spats between high and low. In time, however, temples to each of the archetypical deities were erected on each of the fortified hills, cementing their place in the hearts of Saxhermenes. The Assembly now largely overlapped the sacred fraternities; rather than blossoming in its own right, it withered once again into a junior partner.

    Each from their hilltop districts, the fraternities extend their rule of the city. Rather than all bowing to a given hierarch, a governing council made up of the heads of each regularly changes their chairman according to the calendar. (This is a complex thing, taking both lunar and solar influences into account, along with certain anniversaries and seasonal observances. Alterations to the calendar are fraught constitutional debates.) For a week it may be the shrewd-eyed grey-locked Matriarch who casts the final vote, then the sinister Grand Psychopomp, then a pale Vestal chosen by lot, then a masked Oracle from the copper domes of the Vatic Quarter.

    However, in the depths of the Plebeian districts, there are those who have never forgotten the Tutelary Deities. They petition for funds to maintain the statues and for a legal protected status, they decorate them with garlands of flowers, they leave coins in outstretched hands, they touch sponges soaked in wine or milk to stone lips. If this is condemned, it is generally as an unfortunate and stubborn superstition rather than as an appalling heresy. This minority is protected by a measure of civic pride in the statues, which are now an inseparable part of the city's character. The wealthy Assemblyman who has spent a lifetime in the Brethren of the Armed Ploughman will happily delve into his coffers to repair the statue of a tutelary deity he has only ever walked past. 

The traditional garb of Saxherm has taken a rather strange turn. A translation of philosophy into costume has taken place, and the custom is (for those who are not in some other uniform or practical garb) to wear an indication of the abiding technological influence on one's life on the person. This can be as simple as a smith wearing a sash decorated with hammers - but the owner of a textile company could as equally wear an embroidered badge showing a loom or a ledger. Foreign scholars have sometimes suggested that this Saxhermene custom could be an evolution of the tutelary concept, although all but the highest of the fraternities and religious societies embrace this form of dress. 

Aside from the numerous statues, Saxherm has been known as a clearing house for stolen goods. The Sodality of the Broken Threshold has long acknowledged the valour of the thief in challenging the wealthy and complacent; to steal, to trick, to count coup - these are sacred and praiseworthy acts. And the Sodality, in benevolent fraternal agreement with its peers, does not encourage too many sacred and praiseworthy acts in Saxherm itself, but will happily protect and assist the faithful of other lands. 

All this has meant that Saxherm is now a very well-to-do place (the Sodality of the Broken Threshold does not consider itself to be at all wealthy or complacent, but acknowledges its recent good fortune). Great wealth may be seen on the corners of the street, or in the new theatres. But someone must have stolen something they should not have. There are those in the Vatic Quarter who scream in the night with premonitions of what lurks among them. Plebeians and Society members alike have been set upon in the night and wake without knowledge of who they are. The lucky ones can still walk and eat. 

The statues have seen something, no doubt. But they aren't saying anything.

Beyond Cuir Bouilli

[Thought about entitling this 'Alternatives to Leather'. I suspect that would mislead some people searching online....]

Recent posts have focused on a series of equipment lists for a proposed Enlightenment-inspired setting. Among other things, I hoped that these lists would provide a variety of light armour variants - as indicated by the number of civilian roles listed, and the title of the first such list. 

However, I hope to do something a little different here. Firstly, I want to list light armour variants, but I also want to list their 'upgrades'. Certainly, I can use the hide of the Zinc Owlbear of the Bloodmarsh Dale to create light armour with a +4 bonus instead of a +1, but I'm hoping to do something a little distinct, similar to Gus L's +1 Swords.

Also, distinct from other equipment lists, this is intended to be.....well, if not bland, vanilla. Able to be slotted neatly another setting, or inspire else something in a more specific cultural context. This sets it aside from my previous lists and their inspirations (though some of the work for this list has clearly been done in those).

A quick note also to point readers in the direction of Fitzgerald's post on various armours, which almost ought to be a standard text on this sort of subject.

***

I don't suppose I have to formally define 'Light Armour' for readers of this blog, but given I'm ringing the changes in this post, I will set out a few points to clarify things a little.

Light Armour....

1. Offers some protection from blows, but considerably less than other sorts of armour.
2. Doesn't weigh too much.
3. Allows the wearer to move fairly freely (IE, allows for athletics, acrobatics, stealth, drawing a longbow, &c)

The list below hopefully always adheres to at least two out of the three of these. Point One will always be one of these points. 

***

	Standard	Upgrade
1	Furs - A coat of dense, warm furs. A boon in cold weather, but a serious handicap in the heat. These are also somewhat more encumbering than other light armours.	Mountain Man's furs - A complete, carefully modelled set of furs, that manage to keep the head and claws of the bear they were taken from intact. Bonuses to prestige/charisma (it looks quite impressive, though perhaps other bears may not think so) and provides a set of d4 melee weapons in the shape of the claws.
2	Guerrilla's Blanket - A thick blanket, slung around the body in a broad loop. This provides a small quantity of protection. The blanket loop can also be widened to form an impromptu padded 'shield' (half the protection of a regular shield), wrapped around one hand.  (This isn't quite a regular blanket - the blanket has to be aptly sized, of suitable thickness and a few internal straps added, quite apart from the need for proper technique).	Flying Carpet offcuts - Offcuts from a flying carpet have been woven into this Guerrilla's Blanket. This means that falls will damage the wearer less, as their speed is slowed by the carpet patches.  The blanket can also be folded into a small (one foot square) bundle that will hover about two feet off the floor.
	Padded Cloth Armour - Tough-packed cloth armour, worn next to the skin. It will slow and trap attacks, rather than strictly deflecting them. Lightweight and breathable, this is ideal for warmer climes - though perhaps not for midwinter.	Discretion Suit - a full set of cloth armour, stained in drab, shadowy colours, complete with pads for the feet and hands. The wearer can move very quietly indeed, and stifle shouts with the gauntlets - but the pads make gripping with the feet and hands more difficult. Activities that require precise footwork or manipulation are at a disadvantage.
4	Oilskins - The tough surface of this waterproof cloak will tangle and blunt blows, as well as repelling water and other fluids. However, in order to get the full benefit of the armour, it must cover most of the body, and will interfere with drawing a bow.	Gallant's cloak - this is an ornate outer garment, designed to repel water. If cast over a body of water, you can walk on top of the cloak and not sink (this is like walking on thick mud - it can be difficult to keep your footing). Secondly, the cloak will attract other traces of dirt, keeping the wearer's other garments clean. This also applies to anyone walking on the cloak, especially one's lady-love.
5	Smith's apron - a heavy, rigid apron of leather with accompanying gloves. This provides insulation from sources of heat, and the leather has been treated to make it fireproof.  Whatever protection this offers, it is still a little cumbersome, unlikely to bend effectively. The wearer will struggle to crouch or perform athletic feats wearing it.	Mockdrake jacket - Actual dragon scales are hard to come by, even if you have the money. Therefore, wizards examining those scales have developed their own lightweight, fire- and heat-proof material, derived from ceramics.  These tend to be attached to a tough jacket to form a more flexible garment, suitable for firefighters or anyone else who need to move fast around naked flames.  Quite what the dragons think of these is anyone's guess.
6	Cavalryman's coat - a warm coat, cut for riding, with projectile pouches and loops sewn into the chest.  This means less than a dozen projectiles can be carried without taking up an inventory slot, but they will be damaged or deformed beyond use if the wearer takes a critical hit.  The wearer of the coat will also unmistakably be marked as one following the profession of arms.	Houndstooth vest - A cuirass covered in numerous studs, each a dog's head in miniature. These have been enchanted; when patted on the head, they will open their jaws and then close them on whatever the wearer puts between them. Thus, if you don't object to tiny tooth marks on your possessions, they can carry a number of items for you, freeing perhaps two inventory slots.
7	Banner pole - this suit of armour features a banner, totem or trophy rack fixed on the back, with straps across the front. This hampers attacks from the rear (no backstabbing bonuses!) and allows a warrior to communicate across the battlefield....with the natural consequences to stealth.	Martial Splendour - in addition to the imposing bulk of a banner, this armour features a number of noisemakers - sistrum rattles, small bells or similar such items. These can be set in motion at will in order to only intimidate one's opponents, or (with the correct enchantments) distract spellcasters. Of course, anyone with both broad banners and chiming bells is more of a target than ever.
8	Ghost Armour - These are frequently issued to lesser inquisitorial agents, or are worn by travelling folk-exorcists.  A tough coat is lined with wires of blessed silver, or rune-stones, or paper charms, or carved bones - all different ways of discouraging ghosts. Malignant spirits are prevented from wreaking the full force of their powers against the wearer. However, this is the cheap form of ghost protection. If the wearer takes a critical hit from a mundane foe, the anti-ghost measures will be deformed and must be replaced.	Grave Armour - If you can't beat them, join them. This coat, looking much like Ghost Armour, was made by a magical artificer who definitely has never ever met any necromancers, and does not even know what a liche is. Like Ghost Armour, it protects against fell spirits, but does this by keeping a ghost on your person at all times. You become, effectively, a walking tomb. Again, like Ghost Armour, if too badly damaged, the ghost will probably depart. However, the ghost on your person provides certain benefits. It can act as a second set of eyes, or intimidate potential adversaries; a sufficiently motivated wraith can even carry small objects. But this is all rather dependant on a good working relationship with the ghost in question.  There are those that will imagine the wearer of this coat to be a rather morbid person. Further, there are those that might think it blasphemous so to shackle a departed spirit to this mortal realm.

***

Various inspirations, illustrations, &c

Gazyrs: a delight to Cossacks and Scrabble players alike.

From True Grit, Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen, 2010

(I have only seen The Pride and the Passion once many years ago, but it made an impact. Though for some reason, I recall the scene in rather more Goya-esque tones.)

Fading Suns: Passion Play

Fading Suns came into my awareness as a baroque space fantasy RPG, something in the vein of the feudal futures of Frank Herbert's Dune, Wolfe's Book of the New Sun or Warhammer 40,000. It struck me there could well be, in theory, a good space for such a thing. The Westworld RTS video games of Dune have long indicated that there is a space for people looking to explore elements of the Dune universe without the central element of Arrakis. The New Sun is maybe a little too convoluted to provide good RPG fodder (yes, there was the GURPS book); and a step away from the grimdark militarism (and ridiculous 'Which Primarch is the strongest/best fighter/best at flower-arranging?' narrative elements) of 40k is probably worthwhile. 

In addition to this, it emerges that Fading Suns aims to let players engage in a 'Passion Play' about the Redemption of Mankind. Well, I'm an easy mark for high-concept pieces apparently and Easter has just gone, so I decided to investigate.

I'm working from a PDF of Fading Suns's second edition (found here). Fading Suns was developed by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg, once of White Wolf.

++++

The setting and features of Fading Suns will probably not surprise you, based on the influences listed above. Humanity spread to the stars as part of a great, technologically advanced republic. Psychic powers were developed and a network of ancient portals discovered. This collapsed and in its place grew up a series of feudal lordships. These were eventually unified into a single empire under the new Emperor, Vladimir I. He was assassinated at his coronation in the new capital, Byzantium Secundus (formerly New Istanbul...), giving way to a regency - that would be eventually filled by the current occupant of the Phoenix Throne, Alexius Hawkwood. It is the dawn of the sixth millennium. Mankind has risen and fallen, and the stars are beginning to fade in the sky.

(You may care to watch this triumph of CGI from the video game Empire of the Fading Suns.)

Those Who Rule

Several great houses govern the stars; others have fallen by the wayside (apparently the House of Windsor - or something with that name - lasted until 4550). The greatest are five in number - noble Hawkwood, the proud Hazat, the deceitful Decados, the pious Li Halan and the celebrated, popular Al-Malik.
(Hawkwood and Decados might as well be Atriedes and Harkonnen. Incidentally, the logo choice for the Decados is a praying mantis, which feels hilariously on the nose.)

"Trusssst ussssss....."

Those Who Trade 

Remnants of the old republic remain embedded in the world of the Empire. The Engineers and Charioteers will seem familiar as hoarders of technological lore and starfaring navigators and pilots, respectively. The Muster and the Reeves are somewhat novel, as interstellar mercenaries/labour guild and lawyers/bankers. The Scravers are effectively a crime syndicate, ostensibly dedicated to scavenging and reclamation but with numerous other, less-than-salubrious sources of wealth. Other guilds exist, but these are the greatest and most potent.

Those Who Pray

Founded by the Prophet Zebulon following his vision of the Holy Flame in 2723, the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun has grown over the centuries throughout human society. Following the death of the Prophet, his teaching were collected in the Omega Gospels and the Church was gradually formalised under the first Patriarch, Palamedes. Later Patriarchs and Matriarchs would continue the process, railing against the luxuries and alienation of the Second Republic and eventually casting their support behind Vladimir Alecto in his bid for power. It comes equipped with a full cast (or caste!) of priests (both orthodox and heretic), a knightly order, pyromaniac inquisitors and saintly healers. Ritual powers - 'Theurgy' - are also at the priesthood's disposal, with bonuses if you wear the correct vestments.

Those Who Differ

Aliens exist in Fading Suns, both as external interstellar powers and subjects of The Empire of the Phoenix Throne. The threats of alien invasion, the pace and greed of human expansion and the teachings of the Universal Church (the Prophet Zebulon had alien disciples and spoke against their mistreatment, but their place in the Church's teachings has been occluded over time) have created a constrained place for non-humans within the Empire. Xenophobia and suspicion is the norm, but several species have their appointed place in the human cosmos. 

(You may care to look over these websites for more details)

++++

Some of this feels pretty stock, and I've glossed pretty quickly on the above, but I want to emphasise that a really good point about Fading Suns is that it gives approximately the same weight to Merchants and Priests as Nobles. The D&D cosmopolitan melange of faiths (possibly deriving from Fritz Lieber's story 'Lean Times in Lankhmar') maximises choice but reduces social impact, and doesn't quite get in the way of Parson Brown having a second career as a murderhobo.

The Street of Gods, from Chaykin and Mignola's comic book adaption of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.
You will have to translate the dialogue yourselves.

Fading Suns takes its religion seriously. We have details of the faith's foundation, the variety of interpretations the founding teaching have been put to, the social functions it finds itself in and the good and bad it has done. There's a useful piece of boxed text detailing the stereotypes of Priests and emphasising that this is not a universal rule (we get this for nobles and merchants as well, but the priestly text is the most extensive).

Looking past the catechisms, robes and rosaries, each priest approaches his or her faith differently. While some try as hard as they can to follow the party line, many do so in the way they best see fit. Not all Avestites are screaming fanatics; some may be calm and introspective, truly compassionately worried about the collective sins of the universe. Likewise, not all Orthodox priests are intolerant to non-doctrinal points of view; some are fascinated with the new ideas and perspectives cropping up on the many worlds of the Pancreator. 

Despite the Church’s often iron-handed role in politics, the priests who preach at the cathedrals through- out the Known Worlds are, for the most part, truly devout and unconcerned with worldly power. It is the state of the soul they concentrate upon, and the fate of the soul as it leaves its mortal coil. Without the selfless acts and counsel of Church priests, the populace of the Known Worlds would surely be worse off and deeper in despair. 

Here's something more, from the notes on playing an orthodox priest:

Priests are needed to provide witness to the Church’s truth for the Pancreator’s creations. However, there are many worlds, each with their own particular problems. Lack of rapid communication prevents direct answers from Holy Terra. The training a priest receives is designed to give him a broad framework with which to interpret any of the myriad trials of life; it is a priest’s responsibility to have the courage to make his own interpretations based on experience, with doctrine as guidance. Those priest’s whose answers to religious problems are most in line with the current patriarch’s beliefs (some say political needs), are those who rise the highest in the Church hierarchy. 

Nonetheless, while a priest owes respect and obedience to those above him, she has the duty to rely on her own experiences and convictions (as long as she does not slip too far into mysticism). Creation is ongoing, and the Pancreator reveals himself to his children in different ways at different times. Priests must be ever alert for these omens and be ready to provide the correct interpretation of them for the laity. Others look to the Church for answers; a priest must be prepared to give them boldly. 

Various priests, knights and devotees of the Church.
Their symbol is a stylised jumpgate, looking rather like a Celtic Cross.

You will have noticed that the working man, the Peasant, the Labores have been excluded from this list. I quote from page 30

There are two main social classes in the Known Worlds: freeman and serf. Seventy-five percent of the Known Worlds populace are serfs, the common folk working the fields on far-flung planets. Their lives are regimented and unchanging; few ever leave their home village. Of the twenty-five percent of freemen, eighteen percent are yeomen, folk of low class but more socially mobile than serfs. They do not necessarily owe allegiance to anyone, and if they do, it is usually through a willing contract of service. Artisans, learned scribes and rural officials make up this class. The remaining seven percent of the populace are nobles, Churchmen and League members. 

Player characters in Fading Suns are usually freemen. They are not forced by birthright into an unwilling servitude to a noble lord, a Church sect or a guild. Instead, they can choose their own destiny — as far as they are willing to fight for it. 

A working class origin is presumably possible for Priests and Guildsmen, but even if the average D&D party is made up of unusual individuals, this does seem to push the Man on the Clapham Omnibus a little far from centre stage. 

++++

A few other points I enjoy, or think are worthy of comment:

• The use of jumpgates induces a religious experience (separate from the doctrines of the Universal Church) known as Sathraism. This produces 'a sublime moment of ecstasy and profound remembering of some deep truth once known and since lost. When [the pilots taking a jumpgate] arrived on the other side, the memories again faded, but their afterglow remained.' Sathraism was surpassed by the First Republic via the production of a forcefield for spaceships. 

This is a nice contrast to the terrors of the Warp or the anodyne hollowness of hyperspace.

• There are a set of rules for play in Fading Suns. It looks fairly clunky to Yours Truly, after so long dipping into the OSR but I'm not going to touch on it much here. 
• Traits selected at character creation include Blessings and Curses, which 'represent a character’s psychological quirks or physical endowments and/or handicaps.' Referring to page 126 I note that curses include 'Gullible', 'Haughty', 'Mammon' and 'Subtle'. This might almost demand a rather unsubtle response.
• There's a fair list of skills including Academia, Bureaucracy, Physick, Drive (Aircraft, Beastcraft, Landcraft, Spacecraft, Watercraft), Remedy (First Aid against Physick's more general medicine), Ride, Tech Redemption and Xeno-Empathy. 

Languages include human and alien tongues. Urthish is the general human language, but others exist: the guild dialect Urthtech and the Church's Latin. Latin is detailed as being: 

A nearly forgotten tongue from Holy Terra, Latin is used for all Church rituals, documentation and official communication. Actually, Dark Age Latin is also composed of many Greek and even Sanskrit words — all languages known to have been spoken and written by the Prophet — but consists mainly of classical Latin. 

• Quote, page 67

Time in Fading Suns is measured in five units, ranging from the smallest to the largest. These are: the turn, the span, the act, the drama and the epic. Note that time in Fading Suns is measured in cycles rather than exact, standard amounts; plot advancement, rather than an exact hour- minute-second count, determines the flow of time. 

The Hobbit is a Drama, within the Epic of Middle Earth. An Act sees the resolution of a major plot point. I'm not sure how useful this is a mechanic, but it indicates and supports the narrative focus of Fading Suns.

• Wages are given for Chauffeurs, Performers, Butlers, Courtesans, Assassins, Aides de Camp, Starship Gunners, Magic Lantern operators and Authors (both Successful and Moderately Successful).
• Urth, Holy Terra itself, is normally the seat of the Holy Patriarch (if not the Emperor). This is apparently in 'Rio Brasilia'.

Urth is an overcrowded planet, not because of rampant population growth or technological decay or ecological destruction or what have you - but because vast portions of it are preserved as wilderness, demonstrating the wonders of the Pancreator.

• Other worlds include the aforementioned capital of Byzantium Secundus, Aragon, Cadiz, Bannockburn, Delphi, Chernobog, Grail, Icon, Pyre, Leagueheim, Leminkainen, Midian, Pentateuch, Ravenna, Stigmata and Vril-ya. Would have thought the cross-cultural background of Fading Suns would have mandated at least one world with a world named Confucius Prime, or the like.
• Stereotypical inspirations for the Hazat include a military officer, a commando and the Sheriff of Nottingham. The Li Halan are likened more to Thomas a Becket or Joan of Arc than Televangelists, though Aramis, the Fisher King and secret diabolists like Gilles deRais are also mentioned. The al-Malik are specifically likened to champagne socialists.

Stereotypical inspirations for Mendicant Monks include (quote) 'Sean Connery in “The Name of the Rose,” or Brother Cadfael' 

Is the name William of Baskerville so unmemorable?

Stereotypical inspirations for Engineers include 'Cyberfetishists'.

• The art in this edition makes me think slightly more of Moebius and The Incal than (say) John Blanche and the 41st millennium. A little smoother, the occasional more obviously 21st century image. The distinction might be between a world that forgets or neglects a technological heritage and one that has utterly lost it.  But it never quite strikes me as a world like that described in the following quote (page 13):

The atmosphere of the dramas played out in Fading Suns is one of tragic ignorance. Civilisation is in decline, and superstition and fear are everywhere. New ideas and frontiers are spurned by a nervous populace, fearful of change for the harm it brings. But it is just this sort of wilful ignorance that keeps civilisation from rising again. It is such fear that keeps hope buried and great challenges from being met. The player characters represent the heroes who can break the bonds of this ignorance and bring something new and great to their culture, to reawaken and invigorate life.

Yet I'm not sure we ever get an image of this as strong as (say) those in the Book of the New Sun - the towers that were once starships, the strange melding of the tales of Mowgli and Romulus. I don't believe we even get a ruined Statue of Liberty on the beach.

Art by John Blanche, found here.

++++

So, what's a Passion Play?

A Passion Play is a performance dramatising the Passion of Jesus Christ. The concept is almost one with that of the Mystery Play.

Such plays are Medieval in origin, and popular in form. These were (seemingly) Church sanctioned - after all, they communicated the Gospels quite nicely - but performed by the populace rather than any given corps of sacred actors. Certainly in Britain, Guilds would provide the players and props for given scenes. The Saddlers might do one episode of the Easter narrative, the Butchers another. Given the variety of episodes and locations that have to be included, there is some need to have a fair number of backgrounds available.

The Mystery plays cover a number of Biblical scenes and indeed more, for the Chester Cycle has a play detailing the Fall of Lucifer, the York and Towneley Cycles portray the Harrowing of Hell, and the Ludus Coventriae cycle has a scene before the Annunciation portraying a Parliament in Heaven and the debate of virtues such as Peace, Mercy and Justice.

The Agony in the Garden, Andrea Mantegna, c. 1458-1460
To be found in the National Gallery.

The texts of the plays we have step beyond the text of the Gospels. Dialogue is added, action is expanded. Here's Jesus in the Garden of Gethesmene, from the Ludus Coventriae cycle:

O, Fadyr, Fadyr, for my sake
This gret passyon thou take fro me
Wech arn ordeyned that I xal take
Gyf mannys sowle savyd may be.
And gyf it be-hove, Fadyr, for me
To save mannys sowle that xuld spylle,
I am redy in eche degre
The vyl of the for to fulfylle.

For contrast, here's that scene in Matthew 26.39:

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Authorised version)

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. (New International Version)

...and Mark 14.36:

And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Authorised version)

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (New International Version)

The next page over in the play, an angel descends to Jesus, bearing a chalice.

This chalys is thi blood, this bred is thi body
For mannys synne evyr offeryd xal be.
To the Fadyr of hefne tat is al-mythty
Thi dyscipulis and all presthood xal offere fore the.

The Agony in the Garden, Giovanni Bellini, c. 1458-1460
To be found in the National Gallery.

Characters address the audience; here, at the start of the Ludus Coventriae Passion Play, is the Devil:

I am your lord Lucifer that out of helle cam
Prince of this werd, and gret duke of helle,
Wherefore my name is clepyd Sere Satan,
Whech aperyth among yow, a matere to spelle.

I am norsshere of synne to the confusyon of man,
To bryng hym to my dongeon, ther in fyre to dwelle.
Ho-so-evyr serve me reward hym I kan
That he xal syng wellaway ever in peynes felle.

Scenes that the gospels might deal with in a few verses are expanded to full episodes - the Council of the Chief Priest and Elders, say, or the Dream of Pilate's Wife. An episode from the Towneley Cycle 'The Buffeting', largely concerns the dialogue of Christ's torturers, as well as their assistant, and both Caiaphas and Annas.

I've dealt with the English cycles of plays above, for I know them best, but plays of this kind existed across much of Europe (the Oberammergau Passion perhaps being the most famous). Indeed, after the Reformation, the English plays would either be banned, or fall into disuse. Anyway, that's likely enough background.

++++

What does Fading Suns say about Passion Plays?

I quote from page 13.

Fading Suns is a passion play of sorts, a story about the triumphs and even tragedies of its characters that takes place in an imagined future. Many possible stories can be told here, from galaxy- spanning epics to the most personal of tales. 

Like medieval passion plays, Fading Suns deals with grand themes universal to human experience. Its main theme is the Seeking. This is the mythological role all heroes play: the knight on quest, seeking power to vanquish his enemies or the secrets of self-discovery. 

...and page 277, a section entitled: Option: Passion Play Roleplaying 

Historical passion plays were about the sufferings of Jesus, while morality plays displayed the triumphs of Christian virtue over sin. Fading Suns uses the term passion play in a somewhat new sense: as a morality play of the future concerning the lives of the player characters, whether they be heroes or villains. 

So 'grand themes universal to human experience.' The events the players undergo are taken to be of unique import and grave significance. Page 278:

A Passion Play roleplaying drama or epic is meant to go over-the-top and play up the medieval stageplay elements to the hilt. 

(Rhyming dialogue and fourth wall-breaking demons it is, then.)

The characters are thrust into a universe where their every action and decision has momentous consequences for good or ill. They may not be aware at first of their pivotal roles or the ramifications of their deeds but it eventually comes clear through the intervention of strange coincidence or even the appearance of Empyrean angels or demons to guide, warn or harass the destined characters. 

There's a sense of intentionality inserted into this, a 'mandate from heaven, that colours the physical (and supernatural) universe of the drama.....In short, it allows the gamemaster — and players — to cheat a little bit with the dice.' 

This isn't just a way for players to win '...critical failures become just as mythic. The character’s gun doesn’t just jam on a fumble, it becomes the story of Erian’s Failure at the Cave, or Alustro’s Fall from Grace.'

A number of grand themes are suggested: the Triumph of Good or Evil, the Restoration of Balance, a Fisher-King like Redemption, Transcendence - and the aforementioned Seeking, which seems to be the designers favourite. The Emperor even has an organisation of Questing Knights. 

At the end of a game session, the gamemaster and players review the recent events and weave a morality play from them, deciding the meaning of what may have been random or spontaneous choices during gameplay, but which are now examples of destiny in action. 

The Grand Theme is slowly revealed to the players, by clues within the drama.

Street signs seem to repeat the same name or books opened randomly reveal the same message, although reworded or in different form. Dialogue overheard between strangers eerily echoes meaningful events in the drama.

An indication of some of the philosophy behind this:

dice rolling simply embellishes the tale. Dice provide a game’s unexpected moments of glory or tragedy, its surprise and shock value, but they do not substitute for actual roleplaying. 

++++

Does this work?

This is really two questions. One, Do I think that Fading Suns is analogous somehow to the process of acting in or seeing a Passion Play? Two, Do I think that this could work as written?

Well, I don't really think this is much like a Passion Play, either in a medieval or modern context. If nothing else, because the majority of the audience and actors of a Passion Play know the story - this can be a reminder, or an education, but it's not only that. Nor are the actors making it up as they go along (maybe there was some improvisation regarding demonic turmoil and so forth, but not the actual plot).

As for the second point....there's that popular image of What I Played/Expected/Got with the segments filled with (say), D&D, Lord of the Rings and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There's a true word spoken in jest. And now we are taking our actual play - Monty Python - and trying to extract Le Morte d'Arthur from it. 

Fine, yes, a good parody or pastiche should contain identifiable elements of the original within it, and so one should somehow be able to translate back from one to the other. But this still seems an unlikely prospect.

Perhaps I'm not being entirely fair. Dorothy L Sayers's 1943 The Man Born to Be King was a radio play cycle of the life of Christ, and was written in realistic dialogue. I could write quite a lot about this, but this post is already too long. Anyway, as an earlier essay 'Divine Comedy' and the final play cycle indicate, she felt there should be comic elements in the Biblical narrative. The Disciples bicker and squabble; the risen Lazarus is possessed of a 'secret, both of laughter and terror' and is seen by onlookers laughing with Jesus. 'Divine Comedy' (in addition to referring to 'the freedom of Oberammergau or the medieval stage') also refers to making 'the "bridge" between "gentle Jesus" and the wrath of the Lamb; we shall no longer be able to keep the Godhead and the Manhood in watertight compartments, since the same actor will have to deal with both of them'. Sayers, it must be said, was not as such an unorthodox Christian; her approach is summed up in the title of one of her other essays: the Dogma is the Drama. 

The problem of getting each player onboard with the same theme remains, I rather think. 

++++

So, I suppose I'm interested in Fading Suns. It offers, in some fashion, the Romanesque space fantasy that I looked for. But I'm not enchanted by it. I want some more hints of particularity to it: a few fascinating locales, organisations or people. The ninth chapter with its list of planets functions best at this. Maybe this is something where I have to sit down and roll up my own characters, from their own unique religious orders and noble houses. There was, it seems, a book of short stories, Tales of the Sinful Stars (sounds like indecent literature!). Maybe that's something to pursue. There's also a new and spruced-up edition on the way; maybe that's something to look out for.