Burning Empires (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Burning Empires is an American science fiction
role-playing game
, designed by Luke Crane and published by Key 20 Publishing in 2006. The epic game is based on Christopher Moeller
's two critically acclaimed Iron Empires
graphic novel
s, Faith Conquers and Sheva's War
. It was awarded Best Licensed RPG of 2006 by Ken Hite, and the Origins Award
for Best RPG of 2006.
The core book is a digest size
d, 656 pages, hardcover book in full colour, including almost 400 pieces of artwork.
Burning Empires builds on the highly successful Burning Wheel game mechanics, while adding in new rules such as:
The game builds on some of the sci-fi elements and scene structure from an earlier Burning Wheel supplement, Burning Sands: Jihad. The game fiction assumes a race of sentient wormlike creatures called Vaylen which infect humans and take over their brains. This infection happens on a massive scale, eventually taking over whole planets in the process.
The phases of a Burning Empires campaign are: infiltration, usurpation and invasion. And these correspond to the stage of the Vaylen infection on the planet.
Typically, the GM or Game Master will take on the role of the Vaylen invaders, while the players will take the role of mostly humans who are trying to actively stop this invasion.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, designed by Luke Crane and published by Key 20 Publishing in 2006. The epic game is based on Christopher Moeller
Christopher Moeller
Christopher Moeller is a writer and painter, specializing in fully painted graphic novels. Moeller's signature creation is the Iron Empires science-fiction universe, comprising two fully painted graphic novels Faith Conquers and Sheva's War, a short story in Dark Horse Presents, and a second in...
's two critically acclaimed Iron Empires
Iron Empires
Iron Empires is a comic series written and painted by American artist Christopher Moeller. It consists of two parts: Shadow Empires: Faith Conquers, first published as a limited series by Dark Horse in 1994, and Sheva's War, published by Helix in 1998....
graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s, Faith Conquers and Sheva's War
Sheva's War
Sheva's War is a five-issue fully painted limited series graphic novel published in 1998 and was the final title to be released under the short-lived DC Comics imprint, Helix....
. It was awarded Best Licensed RPG of 2006 by Ken Hite, and the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best RPG of 2006.
The core book is a digest size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
d, 656 pages, hardcover book in full colour, including almost 400 pieces of artwork.
Burning Empires builds on the highly successful Burning Wheel game mechanics, while adding in new rules such as:
- World Burner
- Technology Burner
- Infection mechanics
- Firefight
- Psychology
- Alien Life-Form Burner
The game builds on some of the sci-fi elements and scene structure from an earlier Burning Wheel supplement, Burning Sands: Jihad. The game fiction assumes a race of sentient wormlike creatures called Vaylen which infect humans and take over their brains. This infection happens on a massive scale, eventually taking over whole planets in the process.
The phases of a Burning Empires campaign are: infiltration, usurpation and invasion. And these correspond to the stage of the Vaylen infection on the planet.
Typically, the GM or Game Master will take on the role of the Vaylen invaders, while the players will take the role of mostly humans who are trying to actively stop this invasion.