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Eclipse Phase: Thebes

Core Concepts

The Narrative

The narrative is all important. This is the fiction generated between the Player Characters (PCs) and the Game Master (GM). The PCs describe what their characters are doing, saying, sometimes even thinking. The GM describes how the world reacts to the PCs. If there’s some question about the outcome of events, the players roll dice to determine the outcome using one of their moves (see below). The GM then can respond with one of his moves based on the outcome of the die roll. Moves are both prescriptive and descriptive. If the narrative fiction would disallow a move, that move isn’t allowed. If a move creates certain narrative outcomes, those outcomes happen. Go with the flow.

Time

Game play is divided into Sessions. A session is a single, contiguous period of play. For example, a single weekend may consist of multiple sessions, one for each day of play.

A session is composed of multiple scenes. A scene is a single narrative complete element such as a social interaction, a battle or a infiltration attempt. Scenes can be of variable lengths. Many moves have effects that span or refresh based on the passing of scenes. The MC will announce when a scene is complete.

Stats

Each character has 6 Stats associated with their Ego :
Cognition – Your mind’s ability to find and apply information quickly.
Intuition – Your mind’s ability to efficiently process external stimuli
Reflex – Your ego’s ability to fully integrate with your morph for fine motor skills
Hard – Your ego’s ability to control your morph for physical optimisation, strength, and hardiness
Savvy – Your personality’s ability to smoothly interact with others
Willpower – Your ego’s stability, resistance to degradation over time

Characters also have 2 Stats associated with their Background:
Rep – Your personality’s aggregate reputation among all social media
Resources – Your access to wealth in the form of credits and other physical assets

Ego stats are static, unless improved through Advancement. Background stats, however, will fluctuate permanently as you rely on your Resources or Rep to procure goods or services, and as you perform actions that increase your Resources and Rep.

Moves

Game mechanics are expressed as “Moves.” Most moves require you to “roll +(Stat)” wherein you roll 2d6 and add the appropriate stat. A 10+ is a total success, a 7-9 is a partial success, granting the GM some power to complicate matters, and a 6- is a failure, granting the GM even more power to make the narrative go in ways not altogether to your liking. The GM never rolls dice, but rather reacts entirely to your die rolls as appropriate to the fiction.

Roll Modifiers

  • +(n)forward = apply “n” to your next die roll.
  • +(n)ongoing = apply “n” to all die rolls until the situation granting the bonus goes away.
  • +boosted = die rolls that result in 6- are raised to 7. You cannot fail. If you are boosted from more than one source, you are now +elevated.
  • +elevated = die rolls that result in 6- become a 7-9. Die rolls that are 7-9 become 10+. Die rolls at 10+ become 12.
  • +glitched = die rolls that result in 10+ are reduced to 9. You cannot fully succeed. If you are glitched from more than one source, you are now +degraded.
  • +degraded = die rolls that result in a 10+ are reduced to 7-9. Die rolls that are 7-9 are reduced to 6-.

Exceptional Success

If the roll on a move is 12+, it counts as an exceptional success. The GM and the player are encouraged to come up with some manner in which the character succeeds even more stylishly or effectively than normal.

Modifier Cancellation

If your roll is modified by both a +boosted tag, and a +glitched tag, they cancel each other out and you roll normally. If your +elevated die roll is +glitched, it becomes merely +boosted.

Hold

A number of moves generate a “currency” called hold. If you roll that move and generate one or more points of hold, you can spend those points at an appropriate point later in the narrative to achieve an effect as determined by the move. The GM also collects hold over PCs whenever a PC fails a roll. This hold can be used to activate GM Moves.

Flex

Flex represents your transhuman abilities. It might be near superhuman speed, or an artificially augmented intelligence, perhaps it is simply you wide array of personal contacts made possible only by your Muses careful tending of your contact list. Whatever it is, it makes you special and enables you to do incredible things.

You may spend a point of Flex to make any roll a 10, at any time. You may declare you are spending Flex after your roll.

You get 2 points of Flex for each session of gameplay. Flex does not carry over between sessions, and there is no way to gain more during play. Use it wisely.

Damage and Sanity

You have two condition tracks corresponding to the physical damage taken by your Morph and your long-term sanity. Each level of the condition track has a Tag associated with it.

Damage Track

[] +scuffed [] +scuffed [] +scuffed [] +stunned [] +wounded [] Dead

Sanity Track

[] +odd [] +odd [] +odd [] +eccentric [] +dissassociated [] Insane

When you take physical damage, you will roll the Damage Move. When you suffer mental trauma from horror or an ego-hacking attempt, you will roll the Trauma Move. Both of these moves are Basic Moves.

Damage can be healed with medical attention. Sanity can never be healed except through Psychosurgery or taking certain Advances.

Data Points

Data Points are small but critically useful bits of information about a particular subject, which can be leveraged to tip the scales during a tense moment. Each Data Point concerns a specific topic or subject, and can be spent to grant +1 forward to any roll that directly involves or leverages the information in that Data Point. Only one Data Point can be spent per roll, no matter how many would apply.

Data Points are rewards for successfully completing certain activities, like research or investigation. There are no limits to how many Data Points a character can have, or how many they can have about the same or similar subject, but the freshness and validity of the information must be maintained; Data Points quickly expire if they are no longer pertinent or are rendered obsolete/out-of-date.