"That Without Shadow" is my first Fading Suns story, and my first time running FS, in fact, it was the first thing I ever really had to do with FS. The first few planets had a lot of combat, dice-rolling, and system-testing, mainly because I wanted my players and myself to become familiar with the system. We tweaked rules here and there, decided to use accenting, added some other stuff, and finally we're (sorta) comfortable with it.
Unfortunately, this means that the starting planets, Shaprut, Bannockburn, and even up to Criticorum, didn't have much substance to them, and there were only a few seeds planted for future events.
Keep in mind that some rules have changed since we started playing. For example, Noble Armada came out, which changed certain spaceship combat rules, so the destruction of the Assault Lander on the way to Stigmata and the Alejandro's Fist on Bannockburn may not have happened quite the way the rules say they would, but hey, it was fun...
The name itself originally had to do with the stars, which are (to my knowledge) the only things without shadows. However, recent story developments have caused me to re-evaluate the meaning, as was hinted at on Aragon, and later, on Leagueheim. If you get far enough into it (when I finally write it), certain events surrounding the ancient Ur are revealed involving their quest to be "without shadow," but I'll let you find that part yourself (if you even care that much).
The names of the Acts - The Savage State, the Consummation of Empire, and Rebirth, are sorta general ideas I have - the game currently resides in the Consummation of Empire phase, where certain plots come to fruition, other plots seeded, and the stage set for the final act. Rebirth, depending on how it happens, can be a destructive cleansing, or another consummation on a higher level, we'll have to wait and see how it turns out I guess. The Savage State was full of a lot of violence and was a lot more raw than the other sections. Consummation brings in the Vau, the Emperor and Patriarch, and explains what happened to the Ur (sorta). Note : these do not directly correspond to the time-frame "acts" as is laid out in the Fading Suns rulebook, but are more like ends of eras in the story. The reference comes from Thomas Cole's series of paintings, "The Course of Empire."
Ok the above statement was written a while back. Now Rebirth is a reality - we've seen Kantarra die and be (sorta) reborn (twice even!), we've seen the Prophet (sorta) be reborn, and we're about to see the great War in the Heavens become renewed on a different scale, not to mention some other things that have yet to happen... Rebirth is taking a lot longer than I thought because there were a LOT of extra plot-lines that need tying-up, but I've still got the whole epic scheme in mind, or at least in the backdrop. If I decide to run again, I'll probably do a mini-epic, with more focus on character interaction and character decision. It'll be a new kind of epic for me, one with a lot less planning and probably less combat too, if it even happens...
That's another issue I wanted to address - combat. I don't mind combat. I don't like too much of it, and in fact I hate dice-rolling because I'm SO incredibly poor at it. I love social interaction, especially between characters, but sometimes you just gotta whip out something automatic and go to town. I used a lot of combat in the beginning to get a feel for the system, and some of my players made characters that were very combat-able.
Sister Kantarra is an NPC, well, she's actually more of a story device than an actual character. She does a lot of important things but that's because she is supposed to one day become an important person. She happens to be named after a Dead Can Dance song, "Cantara," which is, strangely enough, on an album entitled "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun."
Though some disagree, I thought the idea of chasing Ur artifact pieces was a great way to explore the Known Worlds, taking the characters to many places and keeping the story moving while I add-in subplots. However, it has grown a bit tiresome, and some sections, like Ukar, Aragon, and Leagueheim, will have little to do with the overall story.