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Eclipse Phase (first edition) $20.00 $19.99
Average Rating:4.7 / 5
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Eric H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/27/2019 20:16:32

I purchased the hardcover copy of this rulebook. I will not be discussing the actual content of the book (i.e. the Eclipse Phase RPG) since I am already familiar with it through the widely-available digital publication. I wanted a physical copy of the rulebook, because I find physical rulebooks far more ergonomic (while playing the game) than digital copies.

The condition of the book is excellent, having only recieved a tiny dent to the edge of the front cover during shipment. The pages were printed cleanly and exactly on good quality paper, which feels like actual paper to the touch. Compare this to a National Geographic magazine, which feels smooth and like plastic. The pages had a slight tendency to curl sinusoidally from the spine to the right edge of the book when it was first delivered, but that has begun to smooth out after a few days of use.

The printing made the colors slightly less vivid in comparison to the digital copy, which is by no means a bad thing and is certainly not a publishing flaw. I attribute matte-ness of the book's colors to the fact that it is not a computer screen, and thus not projecting the image directly into my eyes. The one flaw in printing that I have found is the section of sample characters, which was printed slightly too high on the page. The top few millimeters of the character's archetype title are cut off by the top of the page, and there is a 2mm line of brighter red at the very bottom edge of the page. I don't intend to complain or ask for any reimbursement, due to the fantastic customer serivice of the DriveThruRPG team.

When I first ordered this book, I mis-typed my area code. When the original book was mailed to me, it seems to have gotten lost in the mail as a result. When I contacted DriveThruRPG about this (after reading their FAQ and following their issue reporting procedure), they immediately contacted their publishing house and sent me a duplicate hardcover rulebook, free of charge! That kind of unthinking generosity earned them a maximum-score review, and a potential return customer should I need another hard-to-find RPG rulebook. Thank you DriveThruRPG!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Deven B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/03/2016 15:14:16

Eclipse Phase is a dystopian future rpg through and through, and I love it.

The most unique aspect of this game is the history of well, everything. The writers have thoroughly considered the whole of the worlds and the impacts on the varying societies. Provocative, creative, inspiring and heartbreaking, the story of Eclipse Phase takes you through most likely the darkest times of humanity's history.

Probably one of my favorite buys, I highly recommend this game for other science fiction enthusiasts.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Christoph S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/01/2016 09:51:07

My favorite Sci Fi game. If you are looking for something that allows you lots of character options and stories in terms of themes, then Eclipse Phase is the right thing for you.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Lonnie H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/10/2014 13:17:34

I really really REALLY wanted to run this so bad that I'm GMing for the first time in over 20 years. The background (and implications thereof for the players) just hooked me right in.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Aaron H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/02/2014 21:12:53

The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=45290.

Eclipse Phase, the gaming system and universe developed by PostHuman Studios is, essentially, “Transhumanism, the roleplaying game.” For those who are not familiar, transhumanism is the ideology that humans will soon use technology to evolve and become something more than what we currently are. Eclipse Phase has this in spades. It presents a world where your body is replaceable, skills can be purchased as software and death is regularly little more than an inconvenience. The result is something very different than your usual roleplaying experience: you can be an octopus uplifted to human-level intelligence in a robot body as part of an art exhibit on Mars, or you can be a former human engaged in a heady philosophical debate with a digitized version of yourself and be losing.

There has been an incredible level of detail, work, and vision put into the game system; which can be both a great opportunity and a heavy burden on gameplay. The sheer volume of detail and options makes it very easy for players and GM alike to be swamped. In an early play through of the game with my gaming group, players routinely found that they were unaware as to all the options that they had, resulting in gameplay screeching to a halt as someone reached for the book. Paying attention to all the moving parts, however, is extremely rewarding. The depth can be one of the most amazing parts of the game. In my experience, deciding which aspects of the game to set aside for your play sessions is rewarding.

The system works extremely well. It’s a d100 based system with some tweaks to it, like the capacity for players to critically succeed or critically fail. It also addresses one of the ongoing problems that I had experienced with Call of Cthulhu using the d100 system, namely how to determine who has succeeded in actions that are opposed. Eclipse Phase resolves this through a simple and easy to understand mechanic that keeps the speed of play going. There are also some interesting mechanics, in particular one called Moxie which allows players to either re-roll a dice, or switch the 10’s and 1’s digits on their d100, to assist players in ensuring that they have agency.

Ultimately, the system and the background materials present a wide swath of content and a flexible system that can serve whatever your gaming group wants; whether it is a space opera, exploring the universe in a Stargate-esque gatecrashing scenario, or even something relatively mundane like spying for hypercorporations in the future, Eclipse Phase has the mechanics and the tools for you to use. Where the game really shines, however, is wedding the mechanics and the mythos that is provided within the books. The Eclipse Phase canon blends Lovecraftian-esque mythos in the form of things that cannot be understood by mere humans with advanced, singularity level artificial intelligence. When memories can be hacked or altered, or weeks of your life can disappear with a computer glitch, Eclipse Phase shines. It also shines when it is handled in a mature manner, but it can definitely be used in any manner of different scenarios. Tackling major philosophical and existential horrors is where this game excels. To get a better idea of how this can be handled, I highly recommend picking up one of the free scenarios that have been posted online to see the cosmic horror that Eclipse Phase can realize.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Todd C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/29/2014 21:41:40

Probably the most provocative settings I've read to date. Beautiful art and background. Unfortunately my only negatives are that the system is not to my taste and there is not enough solid adventure material to help GMs run this complicated, yet interesting, setting.

When there are more 'stories' to use for adventures and the FATE version is available, I believe it will get a stronger following.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Scott M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/24/2014 20:20:43

Quite honestly, this is one of the best games that has ever been written--period. The amount of work and dedication by the authors and artists must do to just publish a game like is immense; that Eclipse Phase is the quality that it is, given this, is amazing.

This is a hard-science fiction game depicting a Transhuman future. Human consciousness need not now be confined to a single body, and humanity now has the potential for "immortality." The game takes place a decade after humans were nearly destroyed by both themselves, and their creations. Now humans, and your players, must struggle against the silence of the void. Humanity must survive, and quite possibly only the PCs stand in the way of forces that will lead to our destruction.

On an intellectual level this game is brilliant. It creates a universe where many themes can be explored, but only as many as you want to. For example, it invites players to struggle with notions of ego and identity. What does it mean to be "you" when you are no longer confined to your body. For example, are you the same person if all of your life you've been a man, and suddenly you find yourself in an electronic shell with no body at all? What if you have a body, but the face is not one you remember? What if you were a man who suddenly found themselves in the body of a woman? Similarly, since you "uploaded" your consciousness, are you still you, or a copy? These are issues you could choose to explore in this game, or you could not explore them and just think of the bodies characters inhabit as specialized gear.

Eclipse Phase uses the setting to also set up a political world, which explores alternative modes of organizing societies and what happens when economies are no longer confined by scarcity. This is fertile ground for stories the explore these issues in depth, or just an amazing set piece for stories that stay away from the politics of the future.

And it Eclipse Phase does not end there. The game is so deep, addressing issues ranging from the meaning of sapience to animal rights, that it would take me 20 pages to do it justice. All I can say is that I have never regretted purchasing into this game line. It's genius and of the highest quality. The universe of Eclipse Phase is one of the most robust ever produced for a game, and Eclipse Phase books are filled with wonderful short stories, amazing art, and detail that just brings the setting to life.

The only downside to the game is the game mechanics, and they are not really that big of a downside. The system is a percentile "blackjack" system, where the goal is to roll under a target number while getting as close to that target as possible. People familiar with Call of Cthuhulu, Warhammer 40k RPG, or Palladium should have no trouble adapting to it's system. Plus, if you do not like the system, there a number of Eclipse Phase approved hacks of the Eclipse Phase universe to other RPG systems out there.

But, even if this were a d2 system that relied on non-linear or boolean algebra to run, I would still give it five stars. The depth and quality of the fiction and world building materials alone qualify Eclipse Phase to easily hold a position in my mind as one of the greatest RPGs ever written.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Joseph M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/01/2013 11:55:23

One of the best sci-fi rpgs out there in the last decade. And that's saying a lot when you factor in GURPS: Transhuman Space. But, the team at Posthuman Studios loves their work and they really graps the transhuman/posthuman elements of modern sci-fi. This setting has elements of Mythos horror, but handles it differently. Less strange magical aliens, and more strange technologies that we just don't understand yet. As far as settings go, it's not as hard as Transhuman Space was, but that leadway fixes one of the few problems that THS had. Lack of focus.

The key issue, the drive for PCs in Eclipse Phase is survival. Either on a personal level in the post TITANS era of dispora from earth, or on a species level when humanity kissed a singularity event and came away bloody but still living. Technology is your salvation and damnation. The real key, is how your characters deal with it.

Body swapping, AI life, aliens that are REALLY alien, and just enough WOW factor to make the game exciting. There is PSI powers, but they are handled interestingly...a dangerous legacy left behind by the alien AIs the TITANS became.

Mechanically it uses a d100 system that flows smoothly, but takes a little getting use too. It's serviceable. And that's GREAT! The 3rd Printing of the corebook (which the pdf is a copy of) has little mechanical tweeks and fixes that fix most of the weird early errata bugs.

The core gameplay has the PCs as members of Firewall, a 'save humanity at any cost' type group...and it works. But you will have the freedom to just explore the setting and culture.

Worth the price. Hands down. Fine book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Luca N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/22/2013 07:30:12

The setting is amazing, intriguing and well written. The rules are easy, based on a 1d100, and they permitt to go from a fast (and extremely deadly) firefight to an hacking mission using the same concepts and mechanism. The character creation is based on few, important choises and Points to spend. it permitts to generate very interesting profiles and to play any kind of PG you like. Trauma and Stress enable to play horror stories and to see your players going crazy. The books are well made, well written and with amazing images. It's a mature game and I really love it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by john f. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/24/2012 00:15:33

Simply put, an epic science-fiction roleplaying game written with a deep sense of human mind and culture and a sense of what technology does FOR and TO the human race. This is such a fresh and original take on the concept of 'post-apocalypse' that it truly deserves to be set apart from games that fit that description. Indeed, 'Eclipse Phase' is merely leaning on the 'post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror' handle because there's no descriptor for something this innovative, at least for now. Let me try:

'Post-human Survival/Technological Paradigm (sci-fi)'.

Do I really propse such a genre moniker? Well, no, it's rather unweildy. What I attempt to do is make my reader understand that just like the Jimi Hendrix Experience's first album, 'this one makes you wider'. Learning the world of this game introduces you to so many issues, existing and potential, in such a graceful and accessible way, that I believe the authors have succeeded in making the RPG (and here I mean the hobby) a true venue for social discourse and the contemplation of social and technological theories.

I'm sure the writers themselves could explain this better; they all have PhD's or will shortly. This core book could sit next to discussions of technology and society by people like Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov and even works, for example, of Noam Chomsky. There is even a tongue-in-cheek reference to Zinn's 'A People's History of the United States', which pleases me to no end.

Have no fear, for while the world created in this book is fully developed, and a highly evolved animal, the gaming mechanics have been kept reasonably simple. The GM and her or his players will be free to explore Transhuman Society post-apocalypse without getting weighted down with too many charts and die rolls. (The game runs on d100 percentiles.)

I'm also impressed that the authors open-sourced the game and encourage players to modify their work to taste.

'Eclipse Phase' is one of the most masterful, powerful classics in gaming, and even succeeds in being a literary touchstone. In the right hands, it will generate contemplation and conversation that will expand minds.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Jeremy B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/13/2011 11:38:09

The art is what initially caught my eye on this book. Both the cover and interior artwork are extremely evocative. The creative commons licensing is another big plus -- I really admire the trust that they're willing to place in their fans. A third perk is that Posthuman incorporates any errata into their PDFs very quickly, so there's no cross-referencing multiple documents when you play.

But those are just icing, really. The most important elements are the system and the setting. The game uses the short fiction, Lack, to draw the reader in, and then goes on to detail a very nuanced post-singularity future in which transhumanity is recovering from near-extinction at the hands of their own creations. While I found myself most drawn to the socioeconomic conflict at the heart of the Martian terraforming effort, there's a little something for everyone in the setting, from the corporatist Planetary Consortium to the autonomists and anarchists of the outer system.

Character creation can be complex if you're not using one of the sample characters, so be prepared for that to take a little time (and ideally, track down an Excel character sheet to help keep track of things), but the system runs very quickly in actual play. The game is flexible enough to handle virtually any type of character, with normal characters including humans, AIs, and animals raised to sapience who may have an assortment of biological or synthetic bodies (or exist as an infomorph, with no physical body at all.)

An interesting and evocative setting, a system that runs quickly in play, and a company that's extremely fan-friendly? I'm hooked.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by NB N. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/22/2011 15:07:33

I'm going to do this book a SERIOUS injustice with a relatively short review. Considering the price tag of $15 (at least when this was written), it's a steal. The book is huge. It's detailed. It's well written.

The basis of the game is that people are basically just minds now or souls or whatever you want to think of them as. They are called Egos in the game. You can then inhabit Morphs that are bodies made in a tremendous number of shapes, sizes, and capabilities. So the game obviously deals with some very dense subject matter and has an encyclopedic overview of the terms, what the world is like, and how people get along in the universe. Most of the game centers around political conspiracies, horror elements, and investigation and exploration.

In one game, you may inhabit a sexy assassin body and the next a non-humanoid mech. You can be a space fighter if you want. To some degree then, character creation is what your mental capabilities amount to. Things like strength are determined more by what Morph you are in. That is cool because you can just switch out (if you have the cash) to whatever you need to get your job done.

There are a lot of mechanics, so I would recommend just taking it slow and trying to use the base rules to teach yourself and your group the game. The PDF is judiciously bookmarked with hotlinks embedded in the text that will take you to references directly. That is a HUGE help when navigating the book. No "check pg. 209" to slow you down there.

The game and game world are complex, so be ready to read through a couple of times. The production value is amazing though, so it's fun to work through. But be warned, this is about a rules heavy as you can get without it being a joke. It's not a bad thing, it's just not for everyone.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Jeramy T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/11/2011 01:54:04

Absolutely a great work. This book is well written and contains excellent art work to set the tone and mood of the game. The book is well organized and easy to follow allowing for easy searching during games and the system is really solid. I can't wait to see more products for Eclipse Phase.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Sebastian B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/02/2011 10:50:53

This book really brings you some new playing experiences. You need a good round with a little education, because it really dive into matter where you have to think. "Cyberpunk" or better Tranhumanism on a grown up, depp but still fun to play way.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Eclipse Phase (first edition)
Publisher: Posthuman Studios
by Marcus M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/09/2010 20:57:07

I can't speak highly enough about this product. As a gamer with years of experience I can say this is the full package. Nice game balance, great writing style and tons of originality. As a cognitive scientist, I can tell these folks have done their homework. They broach a number of difficult and intriguing scientific and philosophic issues with a grace and style that makes them approachable without being simple. Add to that the fact that they stand behind their product with an open source license and I was compelled to happily offer them my hard earned cash. Buy it. Read it. Play it!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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