From the back of the book:

A Far-Future Passion Play

It is the sixth millennium. Humanity spread across the stars and built a republic of advanced technology and universal emancipation - and then squandered it, fought over it , and lost it. As the light of the stars began to slowly fade, a New Dark Age descended upon the Known Worlds. Then, from the ashes of war and ruin, Emperor Alexius rose to power and ushered in a new era of hope. He calls now for brave knights, wise priests, and resourceful guilders to bring his peace to all the worlds, known and unknown.

The Character Book presents the game system and player characters for Fading Suns. In the Victory Point System, each player uses a single 20-sided die and a handful of victory point tokens to enact their character's dramatic feats before the winds of fate. This book includes character creation rules for all the major factions, as well as technological equipment, starships, psychic powers, and theurgic rites.