News:

"Wings and a Prayer [L-E]"
Congratulations OfferedToEros & Random for completing your RP!

Main Menu

Interest Check - Eclipse Phase Naughtiness

Started by AnneReinard, January 11, 2016, 10:46:03 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AnneReinard

http://strawpoll.me/6519300: Strawpoll Regarding Choice of Rules for Interest Check

So. One of my absolute favorite settings for a roleplaying game is Eclipse Phase. And one notable fact about Eclipse Phase is that with the introduction of immortality and a rapidly changing morality after a near extinction event for humanity, there is a lot changing from our modern world, like a loosening of repression of sexual ideas in the public eye, no doubt. Couple this in with cosmic horror, throw in some robo-tentacles, and you have quite an interesting setting for a smut game!

Even better: since the game is under OGL, it is readily accessible to everybody. Downside: it is rules chunky and I do not know if people would be interested in running through that gamut just for the setting.

So, the question is: would anybody be interested in playing (or running, I would not be opposed to being a PC) an Eclipse Phase game with a particularly smutty bent? My initial thought is that the PCs would fit well as newly resleeved infugees in the slums of either Mars or Luna, where they could get in all sorts of trouble from there. Perhaps ultimately becoming a member of an organization known as Firewall. Could be great fun.

A second question: for people interested in playing, there is a FATE conversion of Eclipse Phase currently in testing. At the risk of having to deal with the FATE dice, would you prefer having the lighter rules FATE version of the game or the standard version of the game, which is a percentile based system.

For those who need more resources: https://robboyle.wordpress.com/eclipse-phase-pdfs/ has all the PDFs currently released under the OGL. Reading the Core Rulebook for setting alone is absolutely amazing. I love them so.
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

Ace Flyer

Hm...I've never been much of a fan of system games, if not playing them IRL with a group of people, but...I love this setting! I've never had a chance to play in it though, due to lack of interest when I had an IRL group, and just never really feeling up to trying it online.

But, if you want to run something, I'm on the hook enough for a good sci-fi game to join in :)

I have the core rule book I can start reading through to familiarize myself with the setting again. The makers of it also had a bunch of short stories posted somewhere to help set the scene and mood of the setting, I think...What rules system the game goes with doesn't matter to me, though, I'm either with whatever people want to use.

Blythe

I am incredibly interested in this, depending on posting rate/expectations! I absolutely adore Eclipse Phase. I have a slight preference for the EP percentile system over FATE.

And I'd love to eventually shack up (no puns...or maybe all puns intended  ;D) as a Firewall Sentinel or proxy.

I just bought the EP anthology that came out, too, which has seriously whetted my appetite for Eclipse Phase in general.

Kunoichi

Tentatively throwing in my interest for this game, and I know of one or two others who might also be interested in getting in on this game as well, once they see it.

Hexed

Eclipse Phase is an awesome setting that I've luckily gotten to play once. So I'd like to toss my hat in.

Sadly I'm finding myself not very good at the GM hat so I can't help much there.

I can't remember the name of it but if anyone gets the flechette/shotgun thing be very careful! A fumble can wipe the party with that. :)


wander

I already have a character sheet in my request thread, check my sig and have a looksy! ^^

So YES I am very interested in playing this! I have the FATE beta playtest, I downloaded it a while ago, so I don't know if they've updated since, however I prefer the original system and would like to play using that if possible... I don't rate FATE too highly, I'm afraid.

Also, I can tweak my character sheet some if Fox (my character) is unsuitable in some aspect, though he kinda fits in most games. Also please note he has barely any gear on him, as I'm a fan of dling blueprints and nanofabbing in-game. *nods*

AnneReinard

I... was not expecting quite this degree of interest so quickly! It IS a fantastic setting that I do not get to play enough though. So it makes me warm with happiness.

Anywho. For more thoughts on the matter. My main concern with running the normal, raw Eclipse Phase is that I feel that it has an overwhelming amount of complexity for a newer player. I somewhat wanted to shelter people from that. Also, I do not want to have people spend the four hours making a character sheet for the game potentially. So there is a little bit of that too.

On the flip side, I feel FATE keeps the setting nice and dandy for the most part, but removes most of the simulationist rules bloat. That might be the best for a PBP format. The flipside to that is special dice, which are a pain in the arse. Also, I do not know how well the Eclipse Phase FATE rules work out - I remember in the last beta I looked at, there were some concerns about Hacking and how they were running Morphs and I do not quite know how those ended up getting resolved.

I would probably try to make a strong set-up to tie initial characters together, with a twinge toward a smuttier start. ...but hopefully that would be done in such a way that people would be able to slip most concepts into. So that is a thing.
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

ReijiTabibito

You know, it's weird.  But I always end up seeing Eclipse Phase interest threads pop up in clusters.  It'll be something like...for six months, nothing.  And then, whammo!  In two weeks there'll be four different threads advertising for EP.  That being said, I'm in.  And I've already got a handful of characters that I can play with - though I might need to pull some of them down, as I built them for games with smaller player amounts, so I had something like 1200-1500CP, in addition to other things, to work with when I built them.

Of course, Anne, you could always boost up the amount of points we're allowed to use.

Anne, I've actually been rather involved in EP (I'm not part of the game team, to clarify) for the last couple of years.  I know of a bunch of helpful resources - like a character sheet that auto-fills in various things, as well as an online character generator - for newer players to use, and if you'd like the assistance, I can hang around as a co-GM and general EP reference desk for questions to be asked.

wander

On the subject of FATE dice, you can simulate them with d6s on the local dicebot here.

Minus symbols are 1 and 2, blank sides are 3 and 4 and Plus signs are 5 and 6.

Crash

I have thought many times of doing a freeform Eclipse Phase game because the rules would be brutal to do online.  FATE could be fun.  Nova Praxis is a transhuman FATE game you might be able to borrow rules from.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

ReijiTabibito

Another possibility is to do what I have coined 'System-Lite'.  That is, you create your character, with their skills and stats - and then use that as a general guideline for what they can do and what they can't do.  That can have the effect of making opposed tests a bit trickier - how does your Kinetic Weapons skill of 80 (60 + smartlink + Homing Rounds) stack up against the enemy's Fray skill of 60 (technically only 30, against a gun attack)?

FATE can have its own issues, especially with the Aspect system.  If you can't wrap your mind around that, then you're in for a rough ride.

Also, would like to point out that FATE doesn't post its stuff online for free.

Crash

I think FATE core and FAE pdf are available as a pay what you want.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Kunoichi

The Final Playtest Packet for the Eclipse Phase Fate conversion.  I'm looking it over right now, myself.

wander

Quote from: Kunoichi on January 11, 2016, 04:56:56 PM
The Final Playtest Packet for the Eclipse Phase Fate conversion.  I'm looking it over right now, myself.

Saved, though I'd still like to play the original system, though if FATE is what it is, I'll play that too.

Crash

Quote from: Kunoichi on January 11, 2016, 04:56:56 PM
The Final Playtest Packet for the Eclipse Phase Fate conversion.  I'm looking it over right now, myself.

Thanks Kuniochi!  I would definitely play a FATE version.  I love aspects.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Blythe

I'd rather play the original system, although I could very much be persuaded to do what Reiji suggests and go System-lite.

I'm reading the FATE playtest, and it doesn't quite seem like my cuppa tea, so if this goes FATE, I'll bow out and happily just read along to see what awesome stuff gets written. ^^ (It's mostly that I tend to use FATE only for Dresden Files nowadays, so I don't get excited about FATE the way I do the original EP system)

Re Z L

This is definitely interesting to me as well, though I'd prefer the original system over a FATE adaptation personally.

I'll keep my eyes on this  :)
A&A

Kunoichi

I'm good with either the original option or Fate, myself, though I will note that that's largely because I don't have much experience with either system.  I have done character creation for the base Eclipse System before, though, so I won't be completely overwhelmed by all the options available or anything like that.

AnneReinard

I'm quite fond of FATE for the Aspect method... but I'll do some research before deciding upon that. It did ALSO occur to me that it is actually easy to make a FUDGE dice in this format by just the fact that it is 1d3-2. ...I don't know why that didn't occur to me further.

I would have to make a character or two with FATE to get a sense if it works for me. Last I looked both hacking and morphs had some concerns for me in that system. If I don't like how the final version turned out in those, I'll go straight to the original system. Ultimately, I think morphs as a system are essential to giving the world the feel it has.

Also, I MIGHT choose to make people go through the build system in Transhuman for ease of my tracking + ease of character creation. That's another option.
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

ReijiTabibito

I'm more onboard for the traditional setup, myself.

Also, the Transhuman system - whether Lifepath-based or Packaged-based - isn't really conducive to making a good character.  It's mainly for people who want to generate a character without putting too much time into the process, or for GMs who want a one-off character that they can just do up and run away with.

Crash

#20
It is good for making a balanced party.  Experienced players can min/mix where it is harder for inexperienced players to so. Going the Transhuman methods doesn't give you the best character stat wise but it is still a fun character to run.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

wander

As a note, the character I have built uses the standard amount of points for character creation, no bonus points in there and it'll be a right bastard to add bonus points to him if we go down that road. I think base characters are pretty darned capable without bonus points, but that's just my opinion.

I used some elements of Transhuman outside of chargen to figure out why he has the stats he does and make an interesting background for him. Feel free to total him up if needed. :)

Kunoichi

I think that I'd probably prefer standard character creation, myself, but that's mostly because I'm not sure I'd be able to work out one of the character concepts I've got in mind (an Async AGI hacker sleeved into a pleasure pod) with the packets in Transhuman.

That said, I do have a friend who might wind up joining this game, and if she does I might wind up coordinating character creation with her a bit to create a mother-daughter duo, so the Transhuman character creation methods could work fairly well for that one.

AnneReinard

My personal impression with the packages in Transhuman are that while they do restrict character creation to a degree, they allow more broadly focused characters rather than highly optimized min-maxing. It is my impression that this comes across a little better in the system, especially for new players, as a result of the fact that the system does allow for quite a few positive modifiers on a normal roll. I find when players tend to use the standard character creation focus, they often find themselves feeling useless in many areas. That being said, if somebody absolutely cannot make the concept of their dreams in it, I am willing to work around that! I'm pretty sure both Package and Full creation come out to similar point buys.

Also, as stated, the difference between a heavily optimized character and a new character can be pretty painful to new players. I like the package system because it puts everybody roughly on the same playing field. On top of that, I kind of feel like the normal character creation has people undervalue how much a skill is worth compared to the average person, feeling like they aren't good at a skill unless they cap it up at 60-80. That is just kind of my thoughts on it.

I am NOT fond of the life path buy system due to the fact that it has wild variance on the character creation. You end up with characters that are totally incompetent and ones that are godly.
Ons and Offs

Always free for a little teasing back and forth. Or suggestions to titles to make this exhibitionist squirm! I adore silly little PMs.

ReijiTabibito

Generally speaking, though, it sounds like a significant portion of the group - Sherlock, myself, wander, Kunoichi, ReZL - already has a solid grasp of what it takes to make a character, or has a character already made (in wander's case).  The whole idea of the Package creation is to make a character equal to your typical EP starter.  If the people who aren't familiar with making an EP character want to, they certainly can use the Package system, but I know at least for myself, I would prefer the flexibility of a standard creation setup.

The reason people don't feel like they're good at a skill unless they boost themselves up to the cap is quite simple - while it may be true that, for example, Kinetic Weapons 40 is equal to army rifle certification (not a simple task), it doesn't necessarily feel that way.  With a 40, you're going to fail 3 times out of 5 when you're asked to roll.  A common reply to I hear to that is 'well, just buy up Moxie, it lets you flip dice rolls.'  The problem there is that buying Moxie, while good, isn't quite the boon some make it out as.  Yes, with Moxie you can flip dice rolls.  But unless you're using the Motivational Moxie option from TH, or your GM has some houserule that lets you gain back Moxie, you get to use it a grand total of once per number.  4?  You get to use it 4 times.  In a span of maybe 4-8 hours?  And when the bullets are flying, so are the dice - and unless you have Moxie 10, you're probably not going to be spending Moxie every time.

Plus, Moxie is expensive - 15CP per point.  Invest that same 15CP in a skill, let's say the one starting at 40?  You have increased your chance to-hit from 2/5 to a little over 1/2.  That's a lot better odds.

Also, worth pointing out.  Firewall doesn't just recruit anyone.  They want the best, they want badasses as part of their org.  Why?  Because your average transhuman can't take what Sentinels are supposed to.