Rate this book

Eclipse Phase: The Roleplaying Game Of Transhuman Conspiracy And Horror (2009)

by Lars Blumenstein(Favorite Author)

4.42 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1934857165 (ISBN13: 9781934857168)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Catalyst Game Labs

review 1: I got this game not knowing what to expect, being vaguely acquainted with transhumanism. I had heard some things about the game but nothing that piqued my curiosity. Then, on a whim, I bought it.WHAT DO THE CHARACTERS DO IN THIS GAME?The default assumption is that they are part of a shadow organization called Firewall, whose main goal is to defend transhumanity from threats within and without. However, the setting is so good and flexible that a lot of other campaigns are possible (the book includes suggestions, but I'm sure inventive GMs can come with many more) from traders in space, to settlers of a new colony, to explorers of the Pandora Gates (see below), to news teams in search of the next scoop, to private detectives in mars, to scientists investigating diseases caus... moreed by TITAN viruses (see below), and so on and so forth.THE GOOD STUFFThe system is a straight percentile system where you roll a d100 and you succeed if you roll equal or under the value of your skill. It's simple and intuitive. I am a big fan of Call of Cthulhu which is also a percentile system so I was at ease. There is the advantage that the system takes little or no time to explain to a beginner. You just show him a character sheet and each skill value is a percentile. Everyone knows what Beam Weapons 75% means. There are a few additional rules, mainly cooperative rolls and competitive rolls, but nothing that slows down the game. Many call it bland, I call it a system that fades into the background and let's you play your story.The setting is the thing that makes this game really shine. It's an inventive and complex look at what humanity becomes after a particular nasty Artificial Intelligence - TITANS - destroys the Earth, takes Humans to the brink of extinction and disappears without a trace. At this point, Humanity has evolved into something else: transhumanity. People can digitize their minds (Ego) like software and copy them into new bodies (morphs). Most morphs are biological morphs with some enhancements but others are completely mechanic or uplifted animals. Humanity has spread throughout the solar system and split into several factions. Given the profound changes in the way people live and perceive their ego/morph, society also changed to something else.This is all explained in the first 100 pages or so, touching upon all aspects of society: sex, entertainment, news, law enforcement, economy, religion, etc. The authors create a possible future for humanity based on a few hard sci-fi concepts such as the ubiquitous Internet (called Mesh in this game), nanotechnology and the singularity, ego uploading and downloading, etc. It made me want to read more about this stuff and there's an extensive nonfiction and fiction bibliography in the back of the game.Because now transhumanity can upload their ego to new bodies, death is virtually non-existent. Characters will die easily if they are not careful, but they can upload their ego into a new body as easily. Consider this like a saved game that you load when you die. Very nifty.THE NOT SO GOODThe character creation system, although not overly complex, is a bit convoluted. It takes a bit of practice and it may be daunting to first time players. Fortunately, the game's website has a lot of resources that simplify this process such as fillable character sheets or Excel sheets with automatic calculations. The good thing is that the book is choke full of pre-written characters. There's something to everyone.Even though the character sheet is quite complete, it can still be a chore to rewrite stuff when the characters change morphs. My advise is to have prepare additional character sheets in advance with the data filled in so that the game won't grind to a halt when someone dies and uploads into a new morph.There's no introductory scenario. Granted, the book is lengthy as it is and there is a free introductory adventure that you can download from the website. I consider this a very minor gripe mentioned only for completeness sake.THINGS PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT ENJOY (SPOILERS)After all the setting, rules and gear, there is a smaller GM section where secrets are revealed. Some parts of this take the game beyond what is a hard sci-fi setting. There are portals that take people across the universe and alien races that interact with transhumanity. I enjoyed these parts, however some may not.VERDICTGet it now! It's one of the best sci-fi roleplaying games out there and one of a handful with transhumanist themes (the other two being Transhuman Space for GURPS and Nova Praxis for Strands of Fate). This is no Star Wars or Star Trek, but a very coherent and logical extrapolation of the future with plenty of room for chase scenes, gunfight, explosions and octopus in space.
review 2: Majstersztyk w dziedzinie tworzenia gier. Książka powinna być modelem tego, jak je pisać, wydawać i promować. Wszystko w niej nomen omen, współgra: język, koncepcje, ilustracje, sposób dystrybucji. Co najbardziej mnie ujęło, to żelazna konsekwencja. Jeśli wprowadzany jest jakiś pomysł, to przedstawiane są też jego skutki, nie istnieje w próżni.Dla graczy i czytaczy science-fiction to pozycja obowiązkowa. less

Download links for: Eclipse Phase: The Roleplaying Game of Transhuman Conspiracy and Horror

Advertising