Need to Know

Eclipse Phase incorporates a lot of science-fiction concepts.

Here's a summary for new players.
NEED TO KNOW

characters: ego ¼ morph ¼ resleeving

Your mind, including your personality and memories, is called Your body is called a morph. There are three broad
your ego and can be backed up like a computer file. You can leave categories of morphs: biomorphs, synthmorphs,
backups in secure storage facilities, like a save point. You also and infomorphs. Biomorphs are grown in vats and
have an implant in the back of your head called a cortical stack are genetically engineered and enhanced. They
that keeps an up-to-date backup. If you die, your stack can be age slowly, regenerate wounds, do not suffer from
physically retrieved so that your backup is preserved, including all diseases, and avoid many of the genetic ills that
of your memories up to the moment you died. You are effectively plague us today. Synthmorphs are robotic in nature
immortal. The drawback is that you will remember your death, and can be anything from a mechanical dragonfly to
which can be traumatic. If you are restored from an older stored a large spider tank. Infomorphs are virtual ”bodies”
backup, there may be a gap and lost experiences, known as lack. that exist entirely within computer systems.

Your ego can be downloaded into a new morph, a process called resleeving. People resleeve when they die or when they want
to change their look or capabilities — your body is essentially customizable gear. People also travel by uploading their ego and
downloading into a new morph at their destination — called farcasting. Some people also create copies of their ego, known
as forks. Forks are usually virtual infomorphs sent to handle remote tasks, but they can also sleeve into physical bodies. Forks
can be merged back with their originating ego, combining their memories.

always online: mesh ¼ muses Your whole life you have had a personal AI assis-
The mesh is the future internet. You have implants that allow you tant called a muse. It is your constant companion,
to directly connect to it wirelessly. You can send messages, hold knows you intimately, and can anticipate your
video calls, view files, and run searches entirely within your head. needs. It runs searches for you, makes appoint-
Information from the mesh is also be displayed into your vision, ments, and handles all of the other online menial
hearing, and other senses as augmented reality (AR). You can use stuff you don’t want to bother with.
AR to “skin” over your perceptions of the physical world.

technology: nanofabrication ¼ reputation scores

Transhumanity has the ability to construct things You have reputation scores in different online social networks.
at the molecular level with nanofabrication — like People can see your rep scores in AR and will ping or ding you based
advanced 3D printing. If you want new shoes, you on your interactions. If you’re cool, do interesting things, or help
just need the blueprint and access to a fabber. people out, your rep goes up. If you’re a jerk, boring, or don’t help
This means basic necessities like food and out, your rep goes down. Your rep scores determine your ability to
clothing are freely available. Some societies still get favors and information from others. In areas that no longer rely
run on money — blueprints must be bought, they on money, your rep scores impact your ability to get what you need.
can’t be shared, etc. Others make the fabbers and
blueprints freely available, so everyone has access
to almost everything they need.

26¹ NEED TO KNOW

new life: uplifts ¼ AIs
Humans are not the only ones in the transhuman family. We
have upgraded the smarter animals, like ravens and apes
and octopi, to human levels of intelligence. They are called new threats: ASIs ¼ TITANs
uplifts. We have also created different levels of artificial Transhumanity also created artificial super intelligences
intelligence. Artificial limited intelligences (ALIs) have (ASIs) known as the TITANs, who turned against us. 10
narrow capabilities but are included in most electronics, years ago, transhumanity lost a war with the TITANs. Earth
vehicles, etc. and can operate them for you. Artificial was ruined and had to be evacuated — an event called the
general intelligences (AGIs) are equivalent to humans and Fall. 95% of the transhuman population was lost. On the
are raised, socialized, and educated in similar ways. verge of wiping us out, the TITANs suddenly disappeared,
taking untold numbers of forcibly uploaded egos with them.

new frontiers: solar system ¼ pandora gates ¼ factors

Transhumanity has expanded out and colonized
Shortly after the TITANs disappeared, 5 wormhole gates were
the rest of the Solar System. We live in a variety of
discovered within the Solar System. Dubbed Pandora gates,
habitats and colonies on Luna, Mars, Venus, and in
these connect to a mysterious network of wormhole portals
space itself. There is no faster-than-light travel, so
on exoplanets and in alien star systems. Transhumanity is
ships can take days, weeks, or even months to get to
in the process of exploring these worlds and establishing new
their destinations (many people opt to farcast their
colonies there. We have found evidence of several long-extinct
egos instead).
alien civilizations.

There is a growing political rift between the inner and outer parts of the Solar System. The inner system still prac-
tices capitalism and is dominated by hypercorps and undying oligarchs. The outer system is a patchwork of radical
and experimental social systems, usually anarchist/socialist in character. A bioconservative military junta controls
Jupiter and is critical of transhumanity’s embrace of resleeving, nanotech, and AI.

The only aliens transhumanity has encountered so far are the strange slug-like Factors. A handful of these
alien ships have appeared within our own Solar System, offering to trade. Their origins are unknown.

default campaign: firewall creative commons

In the default campaign, you play agents of Firewall, a Lastly, Eclipse Phase is Creative Commons BY-NC-SA licensed.
secret cross-faction conspiracy that works to protect trans- You can download a copy for free if you like at robboyle.info.
humanity from extinction threats, or x-risks. If you enjoy the game and would like to reward the creators,
we encourage you to buy it from either our online shop
In this book we present a team of four interlinked Firewall (Posthuman.Shop; this option is best for us), or DriveThruRPG
characters: Chi, Killjoy, Njál, and Zahiri. We've created this (DriveThruRPG.com), or from your friendly local gaming store.
team as a balanced party that has the abilities needed to
Our Patreon (patreon.com/posthumanstudios) is another way
take on most encounters. If you need more characters there
to support us on an ongoing basis and to get access to playtest
are 12 more in Eclipse Phase Second Edition, and they're
material, early drafts, and other ongoing projects.
also a free download at WelcomeToEclipsePhase.com
This QR Code will take you to updated links:

NEED TO KNOW
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