Any interest in Eclipse Phase 2E?

[Nicolae]

Your mind is software. Program it.

Your body is a shell. Change it.

Death is a disease. Cure it.

Extinction is approaching. Fight it.

I've been looking for an Eclipse Phase 2E game for years now, and seeing none, I'm considering running one. Is there any interest for playing Firewall agents in an Eclipse Phase 2E game?

Since it's released under the Creative Commons license, sharing/downloading PDFs is legal and encouraged by the creators. If you're curious about the setting or the system, check out the 2E quickstart rules and character creator below, or send me a PM and I'll answer any questions you have.

What Is Eclipse Phase?

In Eclipse Phase, you play a secret agent protecting the scattered remnants of transhumanity from threats that could wipe it out once and for all. You are transhuman. You are genetically modified, physically and mentally augmented, and functionally immortal. Your mind can be digitally backed up, like a save point. If you die, you can be brought back, your ego — both consciousness and memories — physically restored. You may also copy your mind and download into a body of your choice. This new body — your morph — can be biological, a synthetic robotic shell, or a digital infomorph. Your body is essentially gear that you customize according to your mission and requirements.

Eclipse Phase takes place in a future of exponentially accelerating technological progress. Developments in the key fields of artificial intelligence, neuroscience, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and information science have converged into an impressive feedback loop. Bodies and minds are shaped and augmented. AIs and animals are uplifted to human levels of sapience. Everything and everyone is laden with sensors, networked, and online. Your mind can communicate with every electronic device around it. Almost anything can be 3D-printed from constituent atoms with a nanofabber and blueprints. Technology allows people to live happier, healthier lives, emancipated from need.
Such advances also have their downsides. The wonders of the future are not yet evenly distributed — the immortal rich continue to concentrate their wealth and power while others struggle to survive. Surveillance is omnipresent, and the means exist to hack people’s minds and memories, copy them entirely, and/or commit them to virtual slavery. Many technological advances are super-empowering, putting the means for mass devastation in everyone’s hands. Efforts to restrict such tools are doomed to fail; only our own maturity as a species can save us.

Exemplifying these dangers, Eclipse Phase takes place ten years after transhumanity has lost a war with a group of super-intelligent, self-improving AIs. 95% of the population was lost during this apocalyptic conflict, many of them forcibly uploaded by the TITAN machine "gods" before they disappeared. Thousands more were corrupted and transformed by an alien exsurgent virus. The Earth is ruined and off-limits, overrun by machines and monsters. The survivors evacuated the planet and spread throughout the Solar System, expanding our off-world colonies out of desperation and necessity. Many escaped only as infugees, with nothing but their bodiless minds.

The nations and super-powers of the old world are gone, decapitated and dismantled. New political blocs and factions have formed, loosely divided between the inner and outer systems. The capitalist economies of the inner system — Luna, Mars, and Venus — continue to enforce scarcity and intellectual property. They are dominated by the Planetary Consortium, a hypercorp-led entity that prioritizes business interests and that has declared Mars the new homeworld of transhumanity. Their habitats are identified by the influence of media and memetic conflict on civil discourse, the legalities and security restrictions that keep their populations safe, a lingering distrust of AIs and uplifts, and sharp class divisions. While socialites and hyper-elites play and prosper, many infugees have resorted to selling their labor as indentured servants to afford cheap, mass-produced synthetic bodies — the clanking masses.

The outer system is the stronghold of the Autonomist Alliance, a mutual-aid network of anarchists and techno-socialists. In these communalist territories, currency is obsolete and unrestricted nanofabrication means that everyone has the necessities and tools they need. People create rather than consume. Reputation, not wealth, mediates the exchange of information and services. Many habitats operate without government, laws, or police, relying instead on voluntary and cooperative structures, real-time online referendums, and collective militias. The outer system is a patchwork of political, economic, and social experimentation.

Intersticed among these major factions, other transhuman clades build their own societies. Criminal cartels feed black markets, radical scientists work to democratize science, aesthete mercenaries offer their services, pirates prey on the unwary, and isolationists filter their communities from outside influences. Even bioconservatives — distrustful of transhuman technologies — thrive on, fearing for our species’ future.

The war with the TITAN AIs scarred more than Earth. Zones on Luna, Mars, and Saturn’s moon Iapetus remain under machine influence. Of greater impact, however, are the mysterious pandora gates discovered around the system. These wormhole gates open to extrasolar systems — thousands of exoplanets and alien mysteries. Intrepid gatecrashers explore these new horizons, colonizing worlds and uncovering the remnants of extinct civilizations. While no living sapient species has been found beyond the gates, transhumanity has had its first encounters with alien life within our own Solar System. A star-faring species known as the Factors visits regularly, though the true nature and intentions of these laconic ameboid merchants remains unknown.

Ultimately, Eclipse Phase is a game of transhuman survival. Aside from the threat that the TITANs will return, we face existential risks — x-risks — that endanger our future as a species. These include weapons of mass destruction, artifacts from beyond the Pandora gates, salvaged TITAN technology, exsurgent infection breakouts, alien threats, stellar phenomena, and the dangers we pose to ourselves. Our species is in a deteriorating orbit around the black hole of extinction. Will our conflicts steer us into the event horizon, or will we evolve and cooperate to escape the gravity well and reach new frontiers? Will we be recognizable when we get there? Eclipse Phase is an exploration of uncertain futures. This is more than a tabletop roleplaying game, it’s a detailed science fiction setting that thoroughly investigates issues that affect our future as a species. The crux of Eclipse Phase emphasizes the nature of transhumanity as it transforms itself, mentally and physically, on the edge of becoming something posthuman. This is a setting that speaks to the immense dangers that technology offers us — but that balances this outlook by considering how science can be used to improve ourselves, enhance cooperation, counteract these risks, and prosper. There is danger — but also hope.

Eclipse Phase Lore: General Overview

Quick Start Rules

How to Play Eclipse Phase 2E

Eclipse Phase 2E Primer and Character Creator

[Hexed]

When did they make a 2e version?
Holy crap this is news to me. I'm gonna have to go through the stuff. Thanks for the links!

Firewall agents though... Well I'll have a focus for lore reading at least.

[AndyZ]

I have an interest and I have the core book but I don’t really know the game system at all.

[Nicolae]

I have an interest and I have the core book but I don’t really know the game system at all.

That is totally fine. I've got the basics, but I'm still learning the system myself. The main mechanic is that it's a d100 system where rolling low is good and rolling high is bad. You're trying to roll lower than your skill level (so the higher your skill, the better chance you have of succeeding), and rolling doubles (rolling an 11, or a 66, for example) will either be a critical success or a critical failure, depending on whether you roll below or above your level in that skill. For everything else, I'd recommend the Quick Start Rules. 

[Felina]

What sort of campaign were you wanting to run?  Transhumanism, obviously, but were you planning on leaning more into the horror side of the setting (ala Event Horizon or Dead Space), something more intrigue-themed (Total Recall), or even a space western (Firefly or Cowboy Bebop)?

There's a lot you can do even within the context of Firewall agents in terms of themes and how extreme you want to go.

[Nicolae]

I'm considering running a short campaign to get everyone familiar with the ins and outs of the rules (and make sure that I understand them well enough to run a campaign) and the setting, and then I'd like to run a much longer campaign. Ideally, they'd both involve a mix of horror, intrigue, and space western (with the agents being the "Big Damn Heroes" when possible).

[AndyZ]

So what are other people making?  I have a few ideas but want to make sure we don’t end up doubling up.

Edit: Also, will we be making a Discord?

[gingerbred]

I haven't heard of this system before, but the idea is intriguing.
So, I'm potentially interested.
I'll take a look.

[c0i9z]

Sure, I'm up for it!

[AndyZ]

Working on making a combat character named Violet who prefers Furies.  I’m going to need help with some things, though, like Motivations or whether Enhanced Vision stacks from Fury and the Soldier pack.

Edit: If I’m reading the book correctly, you can trade in pack stuff, so could I get enhanced smell and enhanced hearing instead of the second enhanced vision?

[Nicolae]

I haven't heard of this system before, but the idea is intriguing.
So, I'm potentially interested.
I'll take a look.

And the great part is that you can view the PDFs for free and totally legally (and encouraged by the game devs, who have actively seeded their own material on torrent sites and made them as available as possible). I did that for a few years, and now I'm growing my collection of physical books because 1) I like having physical books, and these EP2 books are high quality, and 2) I like supporting Posthuman Studios because they're an awesome group of people doing an interesting thing, and doing it under the Creative Commons license.

Working on making a combat character named Violet who prefers Furies.  I’m going to need help with some things, though, like Motivations or whether Enhanced Vision stacks from Fury and the Soldier pack.

Edit: If I’m reading the book correctly, you can trade in pack stuff, so could I get enhanced smell and enhanced hearing instead of the second enhanced vision?

Absolutely, as long as it's an equivalent cost, go for it, just the same way you would with a D&D 5e Adventurer's Kit. If one costs more or less, adjust your credits at the end of character creation the same way you would gold pieces.

[AndyZ]

And the great part is that you can view the PDFs for free and totally legally (and encouraged by the game devs, who have actively seeded their own material on torrent sites and made them as available as possible). I did that for a few years, and now I'm growing my collection of physical books because 1) I like having physical books, and these EP2 books are high quality, and 2) I like supporting Posthuman Studios because they're an awesome group of people doing an interesting thing, and doing it under the Creative Commons license.

Absolutely, as long as it's an equivalent cost, go for it, just the same way you would with a D&D 5e Adventurer's Kit. If one costs more or less, adjust your credits at the end of character creation the same way you would gold pieces.

Cool.  I have most of a sheet done but I’m going to need help with Faction and Motivations still.  I just don’t know enough about the setting to give good stuff for those.

My idea is someone who sticks to Furies and dies a lot, and thus makes a lot of money taking risky jobs to build up high Resources.

[Angie]

I'm down for some Eclipse Phase. I never got to play it the one time someone else started up a group. I'll have to check the books, but I don't think I'll have too much trouble 

[c0i9z]

I'm thinking of doing an infomorph. Maybe representing herself like folows as default, though, of course, as an infomorph, her appearance is malleable.

[AndyZ]

What language should we all have in common?  English?  Japanese?

[Angie]

What language should we all have in common?  English?  Japanese?

I grabbed English and French as my two, I can throw a point into another if needed.

[Nicolae]

Cool.  I have most of a sheet done but I’m going to need help with Faction and Motivations still.  I just don’t know enough about the setting to give good stuff for those.

My idea is someone who sticks to Furies and dies a lot, and thus makes a lot of money taking risky jobs to build up high Resources.

Ok, excellent. I'm way more knowledgeable about the setting than the specific rules in 2E. Feel free to ask me any questions you have here or via PM.

What language should we all have in common?  English?  Japanese?

English would be fine. I'm not too hung up on that.



BTW, I'm thinking about running this on our own Discord server.

[Angie]

So I've built an Infolife that's actually essentially someone who was made from a backup of a brain scan who barely remembers their old life (could have been Earth before the Fall or whatever we think is cool) and is reconnecting with transhumanity while piloting a synthmorph body. Career is Mindhacker, mostly because I thought it looked cool but I also have the idea that she tries to connect with people by learning about their problems and helping them move past them in whatever form that may take. I took restricted behavior at Level 3 but I'm debating whether or not to make it "Cannot tell a lie" or "Cannot express anger". Galatea synthmorph, so she looks pretty.

I think I have the sheet more or less ready and I just need to somehow pull these choices into a cohesive character, but I've been here before, it won't be too hard for me. So far she's heavy on mental skills, and seems to favor hacking (She has an effective 70 in Infosec, Interface, and Program, with an 80 if it's in her specialization). DOn't let that stop anyone though, hacking seems to enjoy a group effort.

As for her look, I've got an old picture hanging around I love using, what do people think of this? (Spoilered for size)

Picture

[c0i9z]

Oh, that's good, because my build has me running an 80 in all of those. She's a full infomorph who was born human but completely rejected the idea of staying as anything but pure data. I wonder, though. It' says 'everyone has a muse'. Does that mean we get one for free or that it's recommended we buy one?

[AndyZ]

This is what I have so far.  It’s very possible I made some mistakes along the way so feel free to point them out.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Violet
https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/52/Violet2.jpeg


Enclaver
Athletics 40
Interface 40
Kinesics 30
Persuade 20
Pilot Ground 20
Program 20
Know Sports 60
Know Psychology 30

Soldier
Fray 40
Guns 60
Melee 30
Know Security Ops 60
Know Gambling 30

Jack of all Trades
Guns 25
Infosec 25
Persuade 25
Research 25
Know Mercenary Groups 40


Faction: Reclaimer

Survivor
Cog 15 Int 10 Ref 15 Sav 10 Som 20 Wil 20

Final Skills:
Athletics 60
Fray 70
Guns 80
Infosec 40
Interface 55
Kinesics 40
Melee 70
Perceive 35                      ( 3 CP )
Persuade 55 -10 =45
Pilot Ground 35
Program 35
Research 35


Know Gambling 45
Know Mercenary Groups 55
Know Psychology 45
Know Reclaimers 45
Know Security Ops 75
Know Sports 75

Languages: English and Japanese

Flex: 3            ( 4 CP )

Rep: 60 c-rep, 40 i-rep

Initiative: 5
Aptitude check: value*3    -    WIL -10
Lucidity: 40
Trauma Threshold: 8
Insanity Rating: 80

Morph: Fury with Respirocytes
Toughness - 2 MP
6 MP - Avail 40
WT 12 - DUR 60 - DR 90 - Hold breath for 4 hours
Insight 1 Moxie 1 Vigor 4 Flex 2

Movement Rate: Walker 4/20
Ware: Biomods, Bioweave Armor (+2/+3), Clean Metabolism, Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts

Cyberbrain, Access Jacks, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock ( 1 MP )

Morph Traits: Enhanced Behavior (Aggressiveness 2 Cooperation 2)

Total: Insight 1 Moxie 1 Vigor 6 Flex 5

Anonymizer, Armor Vest (Light), Fale Ego ID, Medium Pistol Firearm, Smart Clothing, Tacnet App, VPN App

Assault Rifle Railgun, Clean Metabolism, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Smell, Meds (5 doses), Neurachem

Armor: 6 Energy, 13 Kinetic

Motivation: Find a Purpose, Thrill-Seeking, Wealth



Danger Sense                          ( 1 CP )

Hardening (Violence)                ( 1 CP )

Morph Familiarity (Fury)          ( 1 CP )

Pain Tolerance (Level 2)          ( 4 CP )

Resources (Level 3)                  ( 6 CP )

Blueprints:

Anonymizer, Armor Vest (Light), Fale Ego ID, Medium Pistol Firearm, Smart Clothing, Tacnet App, VPN App

Assault Rifle Railgun, Clean Metabolism, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Smell. Meds (5 doses), Neurachem

Respirocytes

[gingerbred]

That is totally fine. I've got the basics, but I'm still learning the system myself. The main mechanic is that it's a d100 system where rolling low is good and rolling high is bad. You're trying to roll lower than your skill level (so the higher your skill, the better chance you have of succeeding), and rolling doubles (rolling an 11, or a 66, for example) will either be a critical success or a critical failure, depending on whether you roll below or above your level in that skill. For everything else, I'd recommend the Quick Start Rules.

Am I correct in assuming that this is sort of like blackjack, wherein you want to roll as high as you can but without going over the target number?

[Angie]

Am I correct in assuming that this is sort of like blackjack, wherein you want to roll as high as you can but without going over the target number?

Sort of. In the "opposed tests" you want to be as close to your number as you can to settle ties of "you both succeeded, who wins", but I think in the usual checks you just wanna be super low? EDIT: I was forgetting the changes, you're actually correct!

[Nicolae]

Am I correct in assuming that this is sort of like blackjack, wherein you want to roll as high as you can but without going over the target number?

Close, but since rolling 00 on a d100 counts as 0 for Eclipse Phase, rather than 100, you need to roll under the number. If you meet it, that's considered a failure (since if you have a skill of 30, rolling a 0-29 would constitute a 30% chance of success).

And in opposed skill rolls, you want to roll higher than the other person, but still below your skill level.

[Angie]

Here's my sheet, I believe I have it mostly figured out, I will try to make it as clean as possible, here goes:

Sarah Bellerose

Aptitude Configuration: Inquirer (COG 20, INT 20, REF 10, SAV 15, SOM 10, WIL 15)
Background: Infolife
Career: Mindhacker
Interest: Networker

Active Skills:
Deceive: 30 (Networker)
Fray: 70 (Base x2 REF, +50 from CP)
Guns: 30 (Swapped from Infosec: 30 granted by Mindhacker)
Infosec: 50 (Infolife)
Interface: 50 (Infolife)
Medicine: Pharmacology: 40 (Mindhacker)
Medicine: Psychosurgery: 60 (Mindhacker)
Perceive: 40 (Base x2 INT)
Persuade: 40 (Networker)
Program: 50 (Infolife)
Provoke: 30 (Networker)
Research: 20 (Infolife)

Know Skills:
Computer Science: 30 (Infolife)
Medical Services: 30 (Mindhacker)
Psychology: 60 (Mindhacker)
Rep-Nets: 30 (Networker)
Sys-Admin: 60 (Infolife)

Faction: Titanian
Motivations: Titanian Goals, AGI Personhood, Connection with Transhumanity
Reputation: @-rep: 60, r-rep: 40
Languages: English, French

Morph: Galatea
Extra Trait: Empathy 1 (+5 to SAV checks)
Pools: Insight 1, Moxie 2, Vigor 1, Flex 4

Customization:
+50 to Fray (10)
Good Instincts 3 (+15 to INT Checks, 3 CP)
Stalwart 3 (+30 to Will to resist fear, 3 CP)
+2 Flex (4 CP)
Specialization: Firearms (Guns) (1 CP)
Specialization: Motivate (Persuade) (1 CP)
Specialization: Malware (Program) (1 CP)
Specialization: Spoof (Infosec) (1 CP)
Specialization: Scan (Interface) (1 CP)
Specialization: Calm (Provoke) (1 CP)
Restricted Behavior: Cannot Feel Anger (-4 CP)
Real World Naivete (-2 CP)

I have a backstory in mind but I wanted to make sure my sheet was good, and I'm leaving out gear as well as all the stuff the Galatea mod has-we can add that in once we know the campaign pack and I can copy the Morph stuff over later.

[c0i9z]

I've got this (It would be nice if I could export the sheet from that site in a nice format):

Kayla

Name: Kayla
Aliases: Hot Kitty
Background: Freelancer
Career: Hacker
Interest: Jammer
Faction: Mercurial
Languages: English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish
Motivations: +Hedonism, +Immortality, +Find a Tribe

Morph: Infomorph: Agent
Positive Traits:
Digital Speed
Pain tolerance: 2

Negative Traits:
Exotic Morphology

Ware:
Enhanced Security
E-Veil
Mnemonics
Drone Rig
Persistence


Bots:
Gnat
Guardian Angel


Ego:
Lucidity: 30
Trauma Thresh.: 6
Insanity Rating: 60
Stress: 0
Traumas: 0
Initiative: 7
Rez Points: 0


Cog: 30
Int: 25
Ref: 10
Sav: 15
Som: 10
Wil: 15


Skills:
Athletics                 0    SOM    0    10   
Deceive                   0    SAV    0    15   
Fray                      0    REF    0    20   
Free Fall                 0    SOM    0    10   
Guns                      0    REF    0    10   
Infiltrate                0    REF    0    10   
Infosec                  50    COG    0    80   
Interface                50    COG    0    80   
Kinesics                 20    SAV    0    35   
Melee                     0    SOM    0    10   
Perceive                 30    INT    0    80   
Persuade                 45    SAV    0    60   
Program                  50    COG    0    80   
Provoke                   0    SAV    0    15   
Psi                       0    WIL    0    15   
Research                 55    INT    0    80   
Survival                  0    INT    0    25   
Hardware: ?               0    COG    0    30   
Medicine: ?               0    COG    0    30   
Pilot: ?                  0    REF    0    10   
Know: Pop Culture        20    COG    0    50   
Know: Accounting         50    COG    0    80   
Know: Martian Techno     30    COG    0    60   
Know: Computer Science   50    COG    0    80   
Know: Data Processing    30    COG    0    60   
Hardware: Robotics       50    COG    0    80   
Pilot: Air               40    REF    0    50   
Know: Bot Models         40    COG    0    70   
Know: Mercurial          30    COG    0    60


Gear:
Exploit
Gray Box
Radio Booster   
Sniffer   
Spoofer   
Tracker   
Exploit   
TacNet   
Private Server


Ego Traits:
Positive:
Drone Affinity
Acumen (3)
Situational Awareness
Superior Numeracy (2)
Stalwart (2)

Negative:
Morphing Disorder (3)