Last Updated: Feb 12, 2022.
Contents
Rules FAQ
Q. When a rule refers to a skill rating, does it include the aptitude bonus?
A. Always. Whenever we talk about skills, assume it incorporates the linked aptitude.
Q. Can you raise a skill over 100?
A. No, 100 is the max skill rating (including aptitudes) for PCs. You may have a modified target number that is temporarily raised over 100 with modifiers, but a 99 will still be a critical failure.
Q. Can I use Flex to get any of the effects offered by other pools, such as going first in a turn like Vigor or refreshing rep favors like Moxie?
A. No, you can use flex for basic dice roll manipulation (the 6 bullet points under Using Pools, p. 34, EP2) for any skill test, aptitude check, or rep test, regardless of what aptitude it is linked to. You can''t use Flex for any of the special Insight, Moxie, or Vigor pool effects.
Q. Does the Acumen/Empathy/Fitness/Good Instinct/Quickness/Resolve/Stalwart trait give a bonus to skills linked to that aptitude?
A. No, Acumen and similar aptitude check traits only give a bonus to that specific aptitude check (as defined under Aptitude Checks, p. 37), not to skills. For example, Acumen (Level 1) gives you +5 to COG Checks, not skills linked to COG.
Q. Can an infomorph be stored and used later?
A. Yes, an infomorph can be stored in an inactive state (i.e., not conscious, just digital files), which can be moved and transmitted just like any other digital file. Note that many infomorphs have digital restrictions that prevent the files from being copied; these may be cracked like blueprints (p. 314, EP2).
Q. If you roll for the influence effect for an async's infection and you roll one that is already in effect, what happens?
A. This is up to the GM, but some options would be:
- Increase the level if a trait
- Take the next higher effect on the table
- Increase the duration of the influence
- Apply a new influence effect, like a different motivation
Q. If an async is affected by an Enhanced/Restricted Behavior trait,the level of which is based on the async's current Infection Rating, what happens if the Infection Rating goes up?
A. If the IR increases past one of the thresholds listed (33 or 66), increase the level of the trait.
Q. What are a muse's aptitudes?
A. A default muse has 15 for INT, 10 for the rest. GMs can of course allow muses with different aptitudes as special items, but they cannot have an aptitude over 15.
Q. Can you use pool points on task actions? Can those points be recharged before the task is finished?
A. Yes and yes.
Q. What happens when you apply a complexity increase to something that is already Major/3?
A. It becomes Rare Complexity. In most cases, the GM can simply treat this as a 4 GP thing. However, depending on the item, the GM may want to make it harder to acquire.
Q. How Can PCs Acquire Gear/Morphs of Rare and/or Restricted Complexity
A. This is entirely up to the GM and the needs of the story.
Rare goods are usually listed as such because they are either legitimately scarce, require an immense output of resources, or may simply be disruptive to gameplay. Sometimes these sort of disruptions can be good or even necessary for the story. The PCs may need a neutrino transceiver to fulfill part of the plot, or giving PCs access to a hardsuit or battlesuit may help them take on a particularly powerful enemy.
The simplest way to handle this acquisition is with the expenditure of rep favors to track the goods down, or perhaps some extra time and effort spent in the form of legwork to get something the PC really wants. Even better, make acquiring the rare item the focus of a scenario. The PCs want to get their hands on their own senty bot? Well, there's only one on the hab, owned by an oligarch, but they're willing to trade it for an alien artifact they've heard rumors about ...
Rare goods are also great for handing out as rewards to the players. This is particularly ideal when it fits the story. A team that stops a rabid pirate crew may suddenly find themselves in possession of their own ship.
Restricted items are usually considered dangerous and outlawed (or collectively discouraged in autonomist spaces). This means that one must turn to your local black or red market to acquire these goods. Because they are illegal/disfavored and there is a risk to providing them, the cost to acquire them is likely to be higher than in a habitat where they are unrestricted. Depending on how secure the habitat is and how resourceful the local smugglers are, restricted goods might be harder or impossible to locate. Often the goods are stolen from authorities. This means it may take extra favors, a bigger GP/MP expenditure, or some actual roleplaying and legwork to track the items down. Once the restricted goods are acquired, having them in your possession makes you a target for law enforcement actions (or censure/intervention from local autonomists).
Restricted goods can sometimes be legally acquired with the proper permits or certification. This may require expending favors or GP to undergo the proper training courses and exams, or perhaps simply greasing the right palms. Fake IDs also sometimes come with such permits and authorizations (usually at an increased cost/complexity).
Ultimately, it all comes down to the GM's call. If it won't disrupt the game too much, and the players really want it, let them work for it. If it doesn't fit or will impact the story too severely, then don't allow it.
Q. Do modifiers from wounds and trauma apply to aptitude checks, Stress Tests, and other resistance-type tests?
A. Yes, they apply to almost everything. One exception would be async Infection Tests -- that is technically a test for the infection itself (though the player rolls it), which is why you can't spend pool on it.
Q. If you spend a pool point or two to boost all skills linked to an aptitude, does that also means you cannot spend any pool points on any tests made with those skills, since there is a restriction against using more than one pool point on a test?
A. Yes. The ongoing bonus does modify every test with that skill for 24 hours or until your next long recharge, which is a significant bonus. That invalidates other uses of pools to modify those tests.
Q. How does burst fire work with cone weapons?
A. You have three options.
- Hit an extra target with a meter of another within the cone.
- Use concentrated fire for a +10 bonus to hit.
- Use concentrated fire to inflict extra damage of +1d10 DV. Note that this damage is cumulative with the damage modifier due to the cone's range (normally +1d10 Point-Blank/close and -1d10 Beyond Range), so you get +2d10 DV at Point-Blank/Close, +1d10 DV at Range, and no damage modifier Beyond Range.
Setting FAQ
Q. What year is Eclipse Phase set in?
A. We don't specify, on purpose. Somewhere between 2100 and 2150. Some people have speculated dates based on the current season we listed for Uranus (which would put it around \~2144), orbital locations on maps, or the distance of certain Kuiper-Belt objects from the sun, but don't read too much into that — we had to put those places somewhere in their orbits.
Game FAQ
Q. What are the differences between first edition and second edition Eclipse Phase?
A full breakdown can be found here.
Q. What first-edition (EP1) books are compatible with Eclipse Phase Second Edition (EP2)?
A. Sourcebooks such as Sunward, Rimward, Gatecrashing, Panopticon, Firewall, Argonauts, The Stars Our Destination, and Zone Stalkers are 95% compatible — we refer to these as SolArchive sourcebooks. Some of the morphs, gear, and other rules provided in their Game Information sections will be outdated, but are easily convertible. Any sample characters will also need to be converted. Our first-edition adventures and X-Risks are less compatible, but shouldn't take too much adjustment to use with second edition.
Transhuman and the Morph Recognition Guide are not compatible with second edition — but material from each has been incorporated into EP2.
Q. What typefaces does EP2 use?
A. The EP2 body typeface is Sina Nova. The header is Stratum1. The sans-serif is Retina/Retina Condensed. The logo is hand-modified Nikona X2 + Gris. All of them are commercial typefaces.
Q. Is Eclipse Phase supported on any VTTs (virtual tabletops)? Are there any scenarios read to play on VTT?
A. Yes, see our VTT page for a breakdown of what is available. There are no adventures or compendium material yet available, though that is currently being worked on.
Q. Can I use the Eclipse Phase logo on my homebrew website/Creative Commons BY-CA-SA release?
A. Yes, you have permission to include the EP logo on homebrew content as it long as your content adheres to our Creative Commons licensing guidelines. The Eclipse Phase logo is a trademark of Posthuman Studios LLC. Please use the following versions:
Q. How should I communicate with Posthuman Studios?
A. Best place to reach us is via email at info@posthumanstudios.com
Errata
Try as we might, every book has errors. You can find errata for the following books here:
- Eclipse Phase Second Edition Errata — version 1.3, Jan 2022