Eclipse Phase

Eclipse Phase is a science fiction horror[1] role-playing game with transhumanist themes.[2] Originally published by Catalyst Game Labs,[3] Eclipse Phase is now published by the game's creators, Posthuman Studios, and is released under a Creative Commons license.[4][5][6][7]

This article is about the roleplaying game. For the virology term, see Viral life cycle.
Eclipse Phase
Publisher(s)Posthuman Studios
Publication date2009-08-23
Genre(s)Science fiction
System(s)d100/percentile
Random chanceDice rolling
Websitehttp://www.eclipsephase.com/

Setting

Eclipse Phase is a post-apocalyptic game of conspiracy and horror.[8] It takes place after a World War III project to create artificial intelligence known as TITANs has gone rogue, resulting in the deaths of over 90% of the inhabitants of Earth.

Earth is subsequently abandoned, and existing colonies throughout the Solar System are expanded to accommodate the refugees. The setting explores a spectrum of socioeconomic systems in each of these colonies:

  • A capitalist / republican system exists in the Inner System (Mars, the Moon, and Mercury), under the Planetary Consortium, a corporate body which allows the election of representatives but whose shareholders are nominally most powerful.
  • An Extropian/Propertarian system is established in the Asteroid Belt. The Extropians are split into two subfactions, an anarcho-capitalist group, more closely related to the Hypercapitalists and a mutualist group, related closely to the Anarchists.
  • A military oligarchy rules the moons around Jupiter.
  • An alliance of Scandinavia-style social democracy and Collectivist anarchism are dominant in the Outer System.

From there, the setting explores various scientific advances, extrapolated far into the future. Nanotechnology, terraforming, Zero-G living, upgrading animal sapience, and reputation systems are all used as plot points and background.

With all of this, the game encourages players to confront existential threats like aliens, weapons of mass destruction, Exsurgent Virus outbreaks, and political unrest.

Mechanics

Eclipse Phase uses a simple roll-under percentile die system for task resolution.[9] Players roll the percentile dice (by rolling two ten-sided dice with one of the dice representing a 10 value), and compare that roll to a target number with the goal being to match or go under that number with the roll. Unlike most similar systems, a roll of 00 does not count as a 100. In addition, any roll of a double (11, 22, 33 etc.) is a critical. If the double is under the target number it is a critical success, while being over the target number constitutes a critical failure.

For damage resolution (whether physical damage caused by injury or mental stress caused by traumatic events), players roll a designated number of ten-sided dice and add the values together, along with any modifiers.[10]

Books
  • Eclipse Phase (Core Rulebook) (2009)
  • Sunward (2010)
  • Gatecrashing (2010)
  • Panopticon (2011)
  • Rimward (2012)
  • Transhuman (2013)
  • Firewall (2015)
  • X-Risks (2016)
  • Eclipse Phase (Core Rulebook, Second Edition) (2019)

Creative Commons License

The Eclipse Phase roleplaying game was released under a Creative Commons license; the text found on the Eclipse Phase website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.[5] As stated on their website, the publishers encourage players and gamemasters to recreate, alter, and "remix" the material for non-commercial purposes. Further, copying and sharing the game's electronic versions is legal.

Reception

In 2010, it won the 36th Annual Origins award for Best Roleplaying Game of 2009.[11] It also won three 2010 ENnie awards: Gold for Best Writing, Silver for Best Cover Art, and Silver for Product of the Year.[12]

References
  1. Randol Hooper, Jaime Pittenger and William Stull (2009-08-09). "Gencon 2008 - Defining the Future: Eclipse Phase Part I". BlueAlien.org. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. Huling, Ray (26 August 2009). "Eclipse Phase - Posthuman Studios Has a Game for You". h+ magazine. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  3. "Posthuman Studios Officially Takes Full Control of Eclipse Phase Production". Catalyst Game Labs. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  4. Ken, White (2009-09-01). "Hoosier Daddy? GenCon 2009 Indianapolis Con Report". Indie Press Revolution. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  5. Posthuman Studios. "Creative Commons License | Eclipse Phase". Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  6. Stidham, Neal (2009-08-25). "PDF, Hard Copy Preorder for Eclipse Phase – and Creative Commons License". Game Journal. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  7. Doctorow, Cory (2009-08-12). "Eclipse Phase: CC-licensed tabletop singularity RPG". BoingBoing. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  8. Posthuman Studios. "The Game | Eclipse Phase". Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  9. Eclipse Phase Core Rulebook, Posthuman Studios, p. 114, ISBN 978-0-9845835-0-8
  10. Eclipse Phase Core Rulebook, Posthuman Studios, p. 192, ISBN 978-0-9845835-0-8
  11. "2010 Origins Awards Winners". Origins. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  12. "2010 ENnie Winners". ENnie Awards. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
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