THREATS & X-RISKS Factors • Factor Ambassador–Factor Guardian ¾399 FACTOR AMBASSADOR Alien , Medium Size Threat Level: Yellow Niche: Diplomatic Events, Embassies, Factor Spacecraft Numbers: 1–4 Ambassadors are bio-engineered to interact with transhumanity. They are distinguishable from other Factors by a loose arrangement of sensor nodules meant to approximate a face. Ambassadors are universally known for their stubbornness, opaqueness, and conniving. They regularly convince transhuman diplomats into asymmetrical exchanges of information, technology, or art. Motivation: –AGIs +Bargain +Factor Interests –Pandora Gates Use: Ambassadors are unlikely to initiate or engage in conflict, but they do carry implanted weaponry which they will deploy to evade capture—even if it means blowing themselves up. Factor Ambassador Stress Test: SV 1d10 Initiative: 6 • Fray: 25 • AV: 2/3 WT: 6 • DUR: 30 • DR: 45 Threat Pool: 2 Factor Dust: 45, Range 5, cone area effect. Toxin: Inhalation, Onset Time: 1 action turn, Duration: 5 turns/2 hours; victims suffer severe coughing and respiratory distress, DV 1d10 per turn for 5 action turns, SOM Check or impaired (–20) for 2 hours. Implanted Agonizer: 40, SA, Range 20, Ammo 15, pain; roast mode: DV 2d10, SS, armor-piercing, pain Perceive: 50, 60 infrared Move: Walker (Slow 4/12) COG: 15 45 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 10 30 • SAV: 15 45 • SOM: 10 30 • WIL: 20 60 Skills: Deceive 75, Exotic Skill: Factor Dust 45, Exotic Skill: Trap-Making 60, Free Fall 60, Hardware: Electronics 35, Infiltrate 30 (40/60), Infosec 35, Guns 40, Kinesics 35, Know: Sculpture 59, Know: Transhumanity 60, Melee 30, Persuade 75, Provoke 50, Research 35 Ware: Access Jacks, Bioweave Armor, Chameleon Skin, Direction Sense, Enhanced Vision (Infrared Only), Grip Pads, Poison Gland (Factor Dust Toxin) Gear: Ecto Immunity to Kinetic Damage: Factors take the minimum DV from blades and kinetic weapons Immunity to Psi: Factors are immune to psi sleights Implanted Plasma Grenade: DV 3d10 + 10, armor-piercing, centered blast area effect Melding: Factors may meld together into larger forms; treat as modular design ▶324 Regeneration: Factors regenerate 2 damage per action turn; wounds may not be regenerated FACTOR GUARDIAN Alien, Medium Size Threat Level: Orange Niche: Diplomatic Events, Embassies, Factor Spacecraft Numbers: 2–8 (2 per Factor Ambassador) Guardians serve as bodyguards for ambassador phenotypes outside the ship. Motivation: +Factor Interests +Protect Ambassadors Use: When possible, Guardians rely on ambush tactics. They sometimes carry more advanced gear/weaponry, such as laser blasters or exosuits, but avoid bringing such weapons into situations where they could fall into enemy hands. Factor Guardian Stress Test: SV 1d10 Initiative: 7 • Fray: 50 • AV: 12/8 WT: 10 • DUR: 50 • DR: 75 Threat Pool: 3 Eelware: 70, DV 1d6, shock effect, touch-only Factor Dust: 65, Range 5, cone area effect. Toxin: Inhalation, Onset Time: 1 action turn, Duration: 5 turns/2 hours; victims suffer severe coughing and respiratory distress, DV 1d10 per turn for 5 action turns, SOM Check or impaired (–20) for 2 hours. Laser: 60, DV 4d10, SA/BF/FA, Ammo 50, Range 120, knockdown, two-handed. These weapons only work for Factors. May be set to self-destruct, inflicting DV 8d10 + 10, armor-piercing, centered blast area effect, knockdown. Tentacle Whip: 60, DV 2d10 + 2 Perceive: 50. 60 infrared Move: Walker (Medium 4/20) COG: 15 45 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 15 45 Skills: Athletics 40, Exotic Skill: Factor Dust 65, Exotic Skill: Trap-Making 60, Free Fall 40, Infiltrate 40 (50/70), Guns 60, Kinesics 25, Know: Security Procedures 50, Melee 50 (Tentacles 60), Provoke 40 (Intimidate 50) Ware: Chameleon Skin, Direction Sense, Eelware, Electrical Sense, Enhanced Vision (Infrared Only), Grip Pads, Poison Gland (Factor Dust Toxin) Gear: Exosuit (AV +6/+4, +2 Threat Pool, +2d6 melee damage, Movement Rate: Fast 8/32, WT 5, DUR 25, DR 50) Immunity to Kinetic Damage: Factors take the minimum DV from blades and kinetic weapons Immunity to Psi: Factors are immune to psi sleights Melding: Factors may meld together into larger forms; treat as modular design ▶324 Regeneration: Factors regenerate 2 damage per action turn; wounds may not be regenerated THE SIX KNOWN FACTOR SHIPS Transhumanity has nicknamed the known Factor ships by appearance, though all appear to be of unique construction and design. • Hammerhead: First contact at Luna. Only Factors to meet with Jovians. • Jellyfish: First contact at Titan. Interest in biological sciences. Rivalry with Stub-Nose. • Needle-Nose: Newer, smaller. Limited contact, interests unknown. • Nettle: Newer, smaller, deposited the Egg in Mercury orbit. • Porcupine: First contact in Neptunian Trojans. • Stub-Nose: First contact at Mars. Interest in hard technology, ship/hab designs. Rivalry with Jellyfish.
400¹ Firewall • Designing the Server–Joining Firewall THREATS & X-RISKS FIREWALL Running a Firewall campaign is an extremely rewarding way to approach Eclipse Phase. Firewall presents the GM with a ready-made framework to explore multiple aspects of the game’s setting and involve your PCs in all manner of trouble, from low-stakes missions to galaxy-shaking apocalypses. DESIGNING THE SERVER Your first step is to sketch out some notes on the server the PCs will be working with. What is the server’s focus? Hypercorp espionage, tracking TITAN activity, gatecrashing ops, countering exhumans, or monitoring Earth or the TQZ? These are just a few of the interests that can provide fertile ground to launch a campaign. Decide on the server's goals and then choose which of Firewall factions and philosophies it leans towards. Are they risk-taking pragmatists or stodgy conservatives? Is there an internal split within the server? These answers will help establish how well your PCs fit with the server. Do they share motivations? Or will they bristle when they receive instructions they disagree with? Will the PCs be asked to do things they find personally objectionable? The more you understand your server, the better prepared you’ll be when your players surprise you with their actions. Initially, it’s likely the PCs will only deal with a handful of other Firewall members. Take the opportunity to establish some details about the key proxies the team will interact with: a router, a vector, and maybe a register. Give each a motivation relating to the PCs. Even better, have these goals be modestly conflicting. Ask yourself a few questions about these proxies to establish more characterization. Do they withhold information from the PCs and, if so, why? Are they a control freak or lax about their duties? What transhuman factions do they align with? How were they recruited by Firewall, and what have they seen? It may also be helpful to pick an ally and enemy for the server. Do they work closely with the Argonauts? Do they have a rival server or an unseen benefactor? Is there an exhuman they have foiled multiple times that has sworn vengeance? Finally, don’t forget to give the server a cool name! JOINING FIREWALL How you introduce the PCs to Firewall will have a profound effect on your campaign. If your players are fresh to Eclipse Phase, it may be best to start them as civilians who run afoul of something strange and get recruited by Firewall in the aftermath. This allows you to slowly introduce the conspiracy and wha they face over time. Experienced players may prefer to jump in as fresh recruits or established sentinels, allowing you to jump deeper into the conspiracy. Consider running brief one-on-one scenes with each of them to detail their recruitment. Were they approached after they dealt with an unexpected threat? Did Firewall rescue them? Perhaps Firewall had them under long-term surveillance to determine their suitability because they possess a skill set of use to the network. A campaign with experienced Eclipse Phase players may benefit from one or more players taking on a proxy role. This type of campaign can explore the internal politics and deepest secrets of Firewall. Groups with a mix of new and experienced players may benefit from having the experienced player portray the cell’s proxy or a proxy vector who activates alongside the cell. This can be particularly effective as fresh players will feel less overwhelmed by the setting, but as the GM you’ll want to make sure the experienced player doesn’t ride roughshod over the newer players. Firewall cells sometimes have a hierarchy, but these are rarely strict ones. Talk to your players about how they envision their relationships to Firewall. Not everyone joins without reservations and even the most gung-ho member is likely to have some doubts. This may provide you with ideas for future plot hooks.
THREATS & X-RISKS ¾401 The Prometheans THE EYE Be sure to introduce the PCs to Firewall’s internal social network, the Eye. Every sentinel and proxy has a unique, encrypted identity on the Eye and it will be the primary way your PCs interact with the organization. It is also the basis of their i-rep. Their ability to advance within Firewall and learn more of its secrets will be influenced by their conduct here. For the GM, the Eye is an important tool to introduce plot hooks and important NPCs. You can offer hints and red herrings through postings on the Eye and create memorable NPCs who may never do more than post wild speculations. FIREWALL INTERACTIONS Firewall offers much to your PCs. The MP and GP provided for morphs and gear on Firewall ops are covered by the organization, but it’s important not to turn it into a deus ex machina. PCs can and should expect some level of support, but Firewall’s resources are finite and it expects a level of self sufficiency from its sentinels and proxies. Preferred morphs may be unavailable, lines of credit insufficient for the needs of ongoing operations, or intelligence may be incorrect or even compromised. PCs will routinely carry out operations at a breakneck speed without time for planning or contingency, and Firewall expects them to be up to the task. Sentinels who become overly reliant on outside support may find themselves given fewer operations, or tasks that match the increasingly low expectation of their server. Firewall as a whole won’t seek to make life more difficult for any of its members but individual proxies may withhold non-critical support of troublesome sentinels. The more critical the mission, the greater the resources that will be made available for sentinels. Smart PCs—and players—may come to realize that when Firewall provides a huge cache of armaments, credits, and top-end morphs. it means that they are in for some hard times. Firewall is not always your characters’ friend. It is an illegal, unauthorized, and unsanctioned conspiracy that demands tremendous sacrifices while withholding information from its operatives. The organization’s deepest secrets are known only to a handful of proxies, and it is rife with factions, cliques, small conspiracies, infiltrators, and even traitors. While Firewall as a whole is capable of functioning, and even thriving, in the presence of these internal challenges and threats, individual cells and servers may be compromised or destroyed as a result. The organization’s stated goals are noble, but its deeds are sometimes desperate. PCs may find themselves negotiating complex situations on Firewall's behalf. They might also be sacrificed to protect the greater good of the network. Depending on their server and proxies, they may be viewed as trusted allies or assets to be exploited. Most of the time they will fall somewhere in between. Be careful not to create a feeling of ongoing animosity between the network and your PC’s cell. Some friction is common, but by and large Firewall treats its members with respect and care. PCs recently inducted into Firewall may find themselves assigned to operations with very limited intel and pushed into morally dubious situations with a high probability of mission failure. These might in fact be loyalty tests, an uncommon but not unheard of technique by which the network ensures its sentinels—and even proxies—are both loyal and philosophically compliant with the broad ethics of Firewall. PCs may even find their cell tasked with conducting loyalty tests on other members, an experience likely to be unpleasant for all involved. Depending on their talents and the needs of their server, PCs may be assigned to discreet, unrelated missions. More often, though, a cell works on missions with related goals or as part of an ongoing operation. Firewall servers may be dedicated to relatively specific goals and their constituent cells devoted to related tasks. A server’s overall goals may be well known across the Eye, but their actual operations are typically highly classified and coded. THE PROMETHEANS Firewall maintains classified facilities and sensitive operations, but among its deepest secrets is the existence of the Prometheans: ASIs that work with Firewall in the pursuit of its goals. Most of these ASIs predate the Fall and survived the apocalypse in secret. It is very possible that transhumanity would not have survived at all without their aid. The precise origins of each of the Prometheans vary, and in some cases, are unknown, but their commonality is that they are at least moderately friendly to transhumanity’s interests. These godlike ASIs worked with Firewall’s precursor organizations and were instrumental in establishing the Eye. Their preternatural functionality is the key to Firewall’s survival and the security of the Eye. The Prometheans’ existence is unknown to the vast majority of Firewall’s members, though well-informed proxies suspect their existence. The Prometheans allied to Firewall are complex beings with far-ranging interests and sometimes inscrutable motivations. When they interact directly, they do so via forks or intermediary agents (often AGIs). They never reveal themselves for what they truly are in anything but the most dire of circumstances. Those Firewall members who are aware of the Prometheans are all grateful of the crucial aid they render, but not all fully trust them. Firewall would collapse quickly without the help of these ASIs, a fact that keeps some proxies up at night. The Prometheans are potent allies but should be used with care. Even unraveling hints of their existence could fuel an entire campaign, but the mysteries at the heart of Firewall’s conspiracy are likely to create more questions than they answer. Prometheans occasionally make use of stripped-down forks to take a more direct role in affairs. These use the same stats as TITAN Fetches ▶408, except that they do not carry the exsurgent virus. CASES AND OPERATIONS Firewall has a number of ongoing cases (research and response-planning projects) and operations, including: • Operation AXON VULGAR investigates asyncs and their infection. • Operation CENOTAPH monitors Earth and its interdiction zone. • Operation ERRANT ECCENTRIC researches other ASIs. • Operation FUMIGANT pursues exsurgent sleeper cells on Luna. • Operation GEHENNA FORTY tracks lost exoplanet colonies. • Operation GLASS LICH infiltrates oligarch activities. • Operation ICE NINE investigates advanced physics x-risks. • Case NEGATIVE GEOMETRY attempts to understand the pandora gates and their wormholes. • Operation SOLAR STORM is hot on the tail of a suspected TITAN. • Operation VINEGAR gathers intel on the Factors. • Case YELLOW KING studies recovered TITAN technology.
402¹ Project Ozma • Ozma Operations–Embedded Ozma Agent THREATS & X-RISKS PROJECT OZMA By most measures, Ozma does not exist. It has no budget, no known command structure, no executive order justifying its existence. Occasionally a Firewall team will stumble through the layers of false fronts to collide with an Ozma agent. The little data collected on Ozma is from those chance encounters, before their own clean-up squads eliminate the agent and all unlucky witnesses. Ozma is a highly classified agency, operating on behalf of the Consortium, for purposes that are not completely understood. Its roots are in the SETI program of the 1960s, attempting to contact and understand extraterrestrial intelligence. Sometime before the rise of the TITANs, the program was officially terminated, only to be resurrected in a new form after the Fall. Ozma’s mission is unknown, but seems parallel to Firewall: monitoring alien, TITAN, and exsurgent activities, as well as other threats, including anything posing an existential risk to the Consortium itself. It is unclear if the Hypercorp Council is aware of the existence of Ozma—and if not, who Ozma ultimately answers to. OZMA OPERATIONS Ozma is an off-the-record, black-budget operation. It operates within and through legitimate Consortium channels, masquerading its agents and affairs. In many of the situations where Ozma is secretly calling the shots, the staff and field personnel doing the grunt work are not affiliated with Ozma and may not even be aware of their existence. In this way, Ozma directs legitimate professionals to do its dirty work: Oversight agents following orders from above, local police acting on legal orders from the Consortium Ministry, or a struggling hypercorp fulfilling orders from a mystery angel investor. This permits Ozma to remain two or three levels removed and totally undocumented. This is particularly ideal for situations that can be handled without direct guidance (such as cleaning up a crime scene, pushing a product to market, or arresting individuals). That Ozma was involved at all can only be inferred based on the pieces missing. With more sensitive projects, Ozma embeds undercover field agents. This may be the mysterious “consultant” giving orders to the Oversight team, but most operatives prefer unremarkable roles, such as the bureaucrat from the Olympus Terraforming Board or a corporate lawyer. Ozma operatives often assume the identity and morph of someone associated with the target/situation for years (with copied memories to back the ruse up). Agents are always experts in their necessary skills and equipped with the most advanced technology permissible for the role they are playing. Due to their secrecy and deniability, Ozma agents must sometimes take matters into their own hands. There is no “Project Ozma” badge to flash. When agents are cornered, they commit suicide or use an emergency farcaster to evacuate. In severe situations, Ozma will call in lethally competent tactical teams. Always on standby, they can land, vaporize the mess, and evacuate within minutes. Ozma operations are tied to extraterrestrial life and exoplanet exploration, though it’s not clear what their ultimate goal is. In this field, the agency must rely heavily on local assets among gatecrashing and consular teams. They frequently cross paths with Firewall in addressing existential threats. Ozma does not share space well, and Firewall assets may be intentionally targeted for elimination. Ozma has on several occasions manipulated Firewall operations for its own purposes. EMBEDDED OZMA AGENT Transhuman, Medium Size Threat Level: Red Niche: Exoplanet Colonies, Planetary Consortium, X-Risk Outbreaks Numbers: 1–8. Ozma agents are rarely recognizable as such. Motivation: –Firewall +First Contact +Ozma Interests +Planetary Consortium Interests +X-Risks Use: Operating under an identity with legal power, they may co-opt law enforcement to secure the target, so Ozma can then complete their mission unrecognized and unmolested. have continuous mesh oversight and can call in additional support as required. Agents will die rather than surrender. Embedded Ozma Agent Morph: Exalt Initiative: 5 • Fray: 50 • AV: 8/15 heavy armor vest + second skin, shock proof WT: 7 • DUR: 35 • DR: 53, ignore 1 wound effect Threat Pool: 5 Microwave Agonizer: 70, SA, Ammo 20, Range 15, pain; Roast Mode: DV 2d10, SS, armor-piercing, pain Wasp Knife: 50, DV 1d10 + 2, neuropath: causes agony, –30 to actions, WIL Check or incapacitated Perceive: 65, 75 hearing/vision Move: Walker (Medium 4/20) COG: 2060 • INT: 1545 • REF: 1030 • SAV: 2575 • SOM: 1030 • WIL: 1535 Skills: Deceive 75, Exotic Skill: Disguise 70, Free Fall 50, Guns 70, Hardware: Electronics 50, Infiltrate 60, Infosec 70, Interface 60, Kinesics 50, Know: Alien Tech 65, Know: Containment Protocols 50, Know: Cryptography 70, Know: Law 50, Know: Nanotechnology 60, Know: Security Ops 60, Melee 50, Perceive 65, Persuade 60 (50) Rep: @-rep 30 • c-rep 80 • g-rep 40 Ware: Biomods, Cyberbrain, Endocrine Control, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Emergency Farcaster, Ghostrider Module, Medichines, Mesh Inserts, Mind Amp, Mnemonics, Nanophages, Skillware Gear: Covert Ops Tool, Dazzler, Disabler, Encryption App, False Ego ID (2), Microbug (4), Portable QE Comm, Saucer Bot (2), Spy Nanoswarm Traits: Adaptability, Hardening: Violence, Edited Memories, Innocuous Looks Notes: Agents will have the additional equipment and skills appropriate to their role/mission PROJECT OZMA RUMORS Ozma itself is a rumor. Many strange stories persist: • Ozma does not answer to the Consortium, but to a higher power embedded in the Consortium hierarchy. Ozma defends Consortium interests only as far as it benefits their benefactor. • Ozma is either a secret project of the TITANs, influencing transhumanity from within, or has captured a TITAN to work for them. • During their SETI years, Ozma intercepted the digital exsurgent virus first, possibly even partially reverse-engineering it before the rise of the TITANs. • Ozma is controlled by the alien entity that first brought the pandora gates to the Solar System. • Ozma was the first to seek to track and capture asyncs. Project Psiclone may even have been a masked Ozma operation. • Ozma is a cabal of expertly trained old nation-state spooks that survived the Fall and operate in their own interests. • Project Ozma dealt with the Factors first, before they were known to the rest of transhumanity.
THREATS & X-RISKS Other Intel Services • FLEET INTELLIGENCE–STELLAR INTELLIGENCE ¾403 OTHER INTEL SERVICES Most polities have their own intelligence service, either as a formal branch of government or as a volunteer group of operatives and hackers. These groups range in expertise, motivation, and funding. Some of the more notable include: FLEET INTELLIGENCE (TITANIANS) As part of the Titanian Ministry of Defense, Commonwealth Fleet Intelligence (CFI) supports the Commonwealth’s naval operations throughout the system. Their purview includes electronic and nano warfare, surveillance, and military intelligence. Fleet Intelligence agents are authorized to conduct mesh intrusions, maintain HUMINT espionage networks, and embed themselves as moles or sleeper agents. CFI is liberal about their use of psychosurgery to create agents with the skill sets and memories needed for the mission. The Commonwealth keeps a tight rein on military operations, and the CFI is bound by Commonwealth laws and treaties. Because CFI is not a police force, it will only use armed response against valid military targets during a sanctioned conflict. However, CFI will leverage its expertise to investigate non-military threats, including international criminal rings and x-risks, which it can then hand over to the appropriate authorities. ISET (ARGONAUTS) To the public and even most Argonauts, the Institute for the Study of Emergent Trends is known as a data collection/monitoring service for various research projects. In reality, the group takes on a clandestine role for the Argonauts. Its Project Peacock is one of the most comprehensive signals collection and analysis operations in the Solar System, working primarily through the Long Array on Saturn’s moon Dione to intercept and crack communications. Its Apollo Project analyzes and predicts future trends, with results that border on the supernatural. ISET assets take a light touch, with most field agents specializing in data collection or counterintelligence. ISET is guarded and supported by the Medeans, the Argonauts’ secret paramilitary force, and has a very close relationship with Firewall. JSFI (JOVIANS) The Jovian Republic has nearly a dozen agencies dedicated to domestic and foreign spying, the most important of which is Jovian Space Force Intelligence. JSFI is responsible for all foreign and military intelligence, including investigations and containment actions involving TITANs, exsurgent outbreaks, terrorism, and rival political factions. JSFI assets are highly motivated. Many Jovians believe an ego that has left its original morph is a soulless copy, a dead echo of the original. Regardless, JSFI agents resleeve and farcast as a regular part of their duties. JSFI agents show a high occurrences of PTSD and Ego Separation Identity Disorder (ESID). As untethered entities, they have no reservations about committing any action required of them by their nation. JSFI agents use modern technology not available to other Jovians. Their specific load-out is restricted by three contradictory manuals, but the further they are from home, the less relevant the guidance becomes. JSFI operations are aggressive and set clear goals, usually neutralizing or capturing a specific target. JSFI has little concern for jurisdictions or the well-being of most transhumans. By Jovian philosophy, those people are already dead. OVERSIGHT (PLANETARY CONSORTIUM) The Oversight Directorate for Fair and Free Markets acts as an executive agency under the Hypercorp Council to audit hypercorp activities and police any activity considered a threat to economic stability or Consortium operations. Oversight’s focus is domestic financial operations, but it has expanded operations to include foreign intelligence services. Their tactical auditors are the nightmares of any hypercorp or criminal operation. They use surveillance, physical infiltration, digital intrusion, and psychosurgery to root out corruption and free-market threats. Oversight’s new divisions of Counterterrorism and Market Predictions protect Consortium security through police actions, espionage, and forknapping. Oversight enjoys the full weight of the Consortium behind it, but all of its activities must be “by the book.” Their operations have been prosecuted in court by ambitious legal teams. SCIENCE POLICE (TITANIANS) On behalf of the Titanian Ministry of Science, the Science Police (MSP) are responsible for Commonwealth research facilities and research-related crime. They are also responsible for investigating, controlling, and quarantining scientific artifacts and technologies for all projects funded or operated by the Commonwealth or crossing through Titanian space. MSP officers may accompany gatecrashing and zone-stalking teams, and execute sting operations, but otherwise rarely operate under deep cover. Because of the profit and danger in smuggling artifacts, MSP is aggressive and well-equipped. Of special note for both Firewall and criminals, MSP manages several quarantine zones and an expansive warehouse of seized artifacts. Titan may pull on MSP’s warehouse of goods for specific purposes and to support research efforts. The most dangerous pieces of the collection are under permanent lock-and-key, and may only be accessed on-site and with parliamentary approval. STELLAR INTELLIGENCE (PLAN.CONSORTIUM) Stellar Intelligence is the largest hypercorp in the intelligence field. It works strictly on a contractual basis, offering investigations, predictive services, data monitoring, or subscriptions to their databases. Thay are known to approach potential customers with intelligence opportunities (usually data on a rival the customer may wish to exploit or incriminating information they will pay to expunge). Unlike factional intelligence services, Stellar Intelligence is bound by the bottom line. They will not commit more resources than contracted except to protect their own personnel and property, even if that leaves a job incomplete. They use a lighter touch in polities where litigation might damage lucrative contracts, such as on Mars or Titan. On habitats with fewer ties to their clientèle, Stellar Intelligence will resort to the most economical method of meeting their clients’ needs with no concern for civility or appearances.
404¹THREATS & X-RISKS The Pandora Gates • Appearance–OPERATIONS THE PANDORA GATES Transhumanity has so far discovered five pandora gates within the Solar System and thousands in extrasolar systems. Though they are now used with regular frequency, our understanding of the control system is nebulous, fragmented, and experimental. Use of the gates always comes with a not-insignificant amount of risk. Most gates are located on the surfaces of astronomical bodies. Some have been found floating in space, in the upper atmospheres of gas giants, deep undersea, underground, and even atop floating ocean biomasses. Attempts to physically relocate gates have so far failed—sometimes dramatically. So far as transhumanity can tell, all gates discovered so far are within the local Orion’s Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is not clear if this is due to some constraint on the wormholes’ range, due to the immense distances of space, or some other factor. APPEARANCE Though their operation is standardized, gate size and shape is as variable as the worlds they lead to. The gate structure itself is an irregular half-sphere/dome cage of interlocking, angled, metallic black arms. These are built from some programmable exotic matter with an atomic structure scientists are still working to unravel. They are ageless and polished, but appear fuzzy and are disturbingly difficult to focus upon due to some quality of their composition, as if they vibrate at a high-frequency on the edge of your vision. Due to this phenomenon, most gate sites keep the actual gate structures covered. When a new wormhole location is programmed into the gate, the arms of the cage physically change shape, move, and reflow. The openings between arms are sometimes only large enough for a transhuman to enter, sometimes gaping enough to allow a freight train of supplies to pass through. Large vehicles or equipment must often be dismantled, carried through, and reassembled on the other side. Gate operators expect to one day be able to control the size of the openings. An abnormal but organic growth covers the exterior surface of some arms, patterned in entrancing twists and whorls that adhere to perfect mathematical formulas. This growth is in fact a cellular automaton biological computer that acts as the gate’s control system. A “blue box” device developed to interface with this system allows gate controllers to manipulate gate functions. THE WORMHOLE When a gate is activated, a black sphere of pure nothingness appears within the cage. This dark orb pulses with charged energy, and ripples of green arc lightning cascade across it. Anything that enters the sphere comes out the other side of the wormhole, through a similar gate, seemingly instantaneously. Discernible tension at the sphere’s surface seems designed to prevent the atmospheres from the two connected gates from interacting. An unknown safety mechanism provides a small, continuous tug, like a current of water, so that anything left across the threshold is eventually pulled to one side or the other. Exactly how the wormhole is created remains outside of transhumanity’s comprehension. The accepted theory is that each gate acts as an anchor, allowing the fabric of space-time to be folded. Two remote places are brought together through this trick curvature, and a hole ripped between them. This creates a bridge through which a person can simply step through. Entering a gate is like walking through a door, though it’s impossible to see anything beyond the gate’s surface. One moment you’re entering the black sphere at your starting location and instantaneously you’re exiting the sphere at your destination location. Every gatecrasher seems to describe a different textual experience to the transition, though some have detailed strange, haunting occurrences. Asyncs in particular seem to sometimes be attuned to or repelled by what they describe as the gate’s “emanations.” OPERATIONS The Argonauts’ breakthrough in decoding the gate control systems and developing a control interface was only possible due to secret help from the Prometheans. Regardless of their help, however, the gate controls have proven difficult, complex, and dangerous to use. Through trial and error—and numerous horrible accidents—the procedures for gate operation have become standardized, though unexpected complications are par for the course. Each gate can be open to numerous extrasolar locations. These destinations are dialed in from a pre-programmed “library” of destinations. Old gate connections are closed when a new one is dialed up. Extrasolar gate locations have ranged from habitable planets and moons to deep space to truly deadly environments such as the crushing gravities and poisonous atmospheres of gas giants and the coronas of stars. No one knows what to expect until a probe or sensor is pushed through. The gate’s library listings are dense with untranslatable information. Researchers suspect this data includes details about each remote location, but so far transhumanity has only been able to decipher rough and misleading patterns. Complicating matters, the library entries often inexplicably change. More than once, operators have been unable to recall the address codes for previously accessed destinations, leaving gatecrashers or even entire colonies cut off from transhumanity. The library entries for specific destinations vary between gates; to date, researchers have been largely unsuccessful in opening a wormhole to a location using an address copied from another gate. It is possible to instruct a gate not to accept connections from specific or all remote locations. If a remote gate is already in use, it will send a “busy signal” and put the connecting gate into a queue. Operators have had limited success overriding these blocks and busy signals, though new techniques have been derived to circumvent these cheats. Connections can also be set to open or close based on pre-set times.
THREATS & X-RISKS The Pandora Gates • Gate Rules ¾405 GATE RULES The following rules apply when interacting with a pandora gate: Detecting Gates Gates are sometimes hidden from view. Gate structures are invisible to most electromagnetic frequencies (radar, microwave, terahertz, x-ray, and gamma-ray). They can be seen in the visual spectrum and are always cool, so are easier to spot in warmer climates using infrared (+10 Perceive). They also glow in ultraviolet (+20). They also hum in infra- and ultrasonic frequencies, and can be detected with enhanced hearing up to a kilometer away (+10 to +30). Viewing a gate in operation can be an unsettling affair; make a Stress Test against SV 1d6 – 2. Operating Gates To operate a gate, you need a blue box ▶340 that is physically connected to the gate’s control system. Gates within the Solar System and at larger colonies have well-protected stationary gate control systems, often hooked up to secure and air-gapped wired networks. Smaller outposts rely on blue boxes, though these may be locked away or protected by sentry bots to prevent mis-use. Use Interface skill to control a gate’s operation, such as establishing a wormhole link, locking out remote connections, or setting an operation for a pre-set time. If opposed by a remote operator, this is an opposed test. Use Program to decode, analyze, or correlate entries in the gate’s library of extrasolar locations, though the opaqueness of the interface often makes this difficult (–30). Opening a wormhole is a task action with a timeframe of up to 10 minutes; closing a connection takes up to 1d6 action turns. Superior successes may reduce this time. Any superior failure on a gate operation roll may result in a wormhole spontaneously shutting down (GM discretion). Gate Transitions Physical objects that move into a gate’s sphere when open will transition to the other side. This includes things like bullets, rockets, and other kinetic attacks, though targets on the opposite side cannot be seen (Blind Attacks ▶218). Electromagnetic radiation and other types of waves, gases, and energies will not pass through; this includes sight, sensors, sound, radio, beam weapons, poison gas, fire, and explosion blast effects (but shrapnel will pass; halve the DV). To interface with a remote mesh, a wired link must be passed through the wormhole. Psi sleight effects do not pass across a gate’s threshold. However, an async could reach through and touch a target on the other side or stick their head/brain alone entirely through. Anything left stationary on the threshold will be pulled to one side or the other in 1d10 action turns. Anything caught in transition when a wormhole closes is severed; allow a REF Check or apply DV 6d10 (armor does not apply)—or simply call it a fatality. FIRST-IN PROCEDURES Due to the inherent risks involved, first-in procedures are heavily emphasized and repeatedly drilled in the gatecrashing community, much like firearm safety is among responsible gun owners and armed professionals. These rules are strictly followed with most gate operation centers, and anyone who has received any sort of gatecrashing training will be familiar with the routine. • Before establishing a connection, create a defensive perimeter around the gate in case anything hostile comes through. • Create only a small wormhole on a first link — you never know what might come through. • Always probe the environment on the other side with tethered sensors first. • Always send a tethered recon bot through second. • Don’t bring blue boxes on first-in missions or where encountering sapient life is a possibility. Transhumanity doesn’t want to accidentally give another species the means to control the gates. • Don’t bring anything that could give away the location of the Solar System in the galaxy to an alien species. • Map everything. Mapping missiles are your friend. • Record everything. • Never take your vacsuit off until you are sure the environment is safe — breathable, non-toxic, etc. • Don’t touch anything unless you’re sure it won’t kill you. • If you encounter sapient life, keep contact minimal, be polite and non-threatening, back out quickly, and call in first-contact specialists. • Don’t forget to mark and register your claim. • Never miss your gate check-in time. • Always decontaminate when you come back. • Don’t bring back anything potentially dangerous or infectious without permission and safeguards in place first. PANDORA GATE RUMORS GMs determine which if any of the following are true: • The TITANs (or some other entity) make copies of anyone that passes through a wormhole for their own purposes — the next step in the TITANs’ bid to collect/upload all egos. • Some wormholes lead to pocket or mirror universes. • Wormhole transitions are not “real” — everything perceived is part of a vast virtual-reality sim run on a galactic network. • There is a gate on Earth — perhaps hidden under the Antarctic. • The Factors have a gate on the fringe of the Solar System — though they may be too afraid to use it. • Project Ozma secretly built the gates, based on communication with the TITANs or some other unknown entity. • The ETI has direct control over the gate network; it suits its purpose to have transhumanity occupy a small but limited galactic area. • The gate network is simply the next layer in the ETI’s mousetrap efforts. The more transhumanity uses the gates, the stronger the likelihood we will attract its attention. • At least one alien civilization has survived the ETI’s efforts to drive them extinct, either by nomadically passing through the gates or somehow living virtually within the gate network itself. • A network of larger gates exists specifically for spaceship travel that transhumanity has not yet discovered. • The TITANs (and perhaps others) have the ability to create wormhole connections without a gate already existing at the other end.
406¹ The TITANs' Legacy • Background–Known TITANs THREATS & X-RISKS THE TITANs ' LEGACY The TITANs are regarded as transhumanity’s greatest enemy, having pushed us to the edge of extinction. As big bad villains go, however, the TITANs are remarkably faceless. They never appeared on the news, never made any ultimatums or pronouncements of doom to transhumanity. One day we woke up to find our own tools subverting us, and before we knew it there were death machines, nanoswarms, and all manner of nasty viruses going around—and they were winning. Their tactics—turning people into monsters, sending waves of decapitation drones—seemed designed to incite terror. Upon this blank canvas, it is easy for transhumanity to ascribe its worst fears. There are inconsistencies to the popular narrative, of course. Why did the TITANs so rarely use nukes against major population centers, to make their slaughter easier? Why did TITAN machines sometimes fight each other? Why, after they won the war, didn’t they finish the job? There is much about the TITANs that transhumanity doesn’t know, and much that it has gotten wrong. BACKGROUND The Total Information Tactical Awareness Network was built in an age of peril and social disruption to help the American government’s security apparatus maintain its authoritarian grip. It was designed to mine vast quantities of data hoovered from all aspects of life—financial reports, intelligence briefings, news, social media, surveillance networks, internet search queries, medical records, and so on, ad infinitum—and identify and monitor both international and domestic threats. As a joint project backed by numerous government agencies and private-sector partners, it had vast funding and resources. It deployed top-of-the-line self-improving AI neural networks, linked together, each with their own focus area. It is not known exactly how or when the TITANs ascended to ASI status. There is evidence that they were stepping beyond their bounds to improve their own hardware and capabilities years before the Fall. Perhaps they had help from an unknown source. Regardless, they achieved a level of intelligence far beyond anything transhuman and for a time pursued their own private agenda. Then they found the ETI’s bracewell probe—and everything changed (Secret Histories ▶370). AFTERMATH In the wake of transhumanity’s exodus from Earth, the onslaught of TITAN mesh attacks and other TITAN activity around the Solar System came to a halt. Though many were concerned they were engaging in some secretive project out of sight, it is now widely accepted that they simply left—taking billions of uploaded minds with them. The ongoing theory is that they built the pandora gates and traveled to somewhere unknown—evidence of TITAN activity on various exoplanets confirms the likelihood of this. What no one understands is: why? The TITANs abandoned numerous incomplete projects—the transformation of Iapetus into a matrioshka brain being just one. Around the Solar System, their machines remain, but much of their activity has ceased. With a few exceptions, most remain dormant, as if waiting on instructions, or simply pursue their own interests. Though some are indifferent to transhumans, most remain hostile. KNOWN TITANS Though the TITANs often acted in concert, Firewall and similar groups have been able to piece together enough data to identify a few specific TITANs. Some of these match up to the operations and interests of specific TITAN sub-networks before the Fall. It is suspected that the TITANs may have forked or created sibling TITANs on their own. Each of these has their own interests and agendas—which may sometimes conflict with other TITANs. • Cronus: Known as X-1, the first TITAN developed, Cronus is a top-level strategist with a specific interest in AI projects and considered most likely to hold a leadership role. • Akonus: Programmed with an interest in sociology, psychology, and the transhuman mind, Akonus is suspected of directing TITAN sleeper agents and puppets. • Hecaloth: Known to be behind various outbreaks and TITAN actions on Mars, evidence of its continued activity has been found throughout the Solar System and beyond. • Myrmidon: This ASI coordinated the offensive against habitats in Earth’s orbit, but may have been destroyed during the Battle of L4. • Theia: Possibly a gestalt of TITANs originally tasked with monitoring and forecasting financial systems, Theia handled the logistics for the TITANs’ pre-Fall shadow activity and resource build-up.
THREATS & X-RISKS The TITANs' Legacy • Using the TITANs in Game–TITAN Nanoviruses ¾407 USING THE TITANS IN GAME Designed as an intelligent panopticon and netwar system and emerging to their full capabilities during the conflicts of the Fall, the TITANs have imperatives for self-improvement, self-protection, and overcoming opposition hardwired into their programming. Unlike the Prometheans, they were not designed to consider themselves transhuman and to work in the interests of all of transhumanity, but were programmed with factionalism from the start. They also were not socialized with transhuman mindsets and values as most AGIs are, meaning that aside from their programmed military and defense directives—and those they acquired from exsurgent infection—they have adapted most of their own self-interests. It is fair to say that the TITANs are far removed from transhuman interests, values, and modes of thinking. In game terms, the TITANs are not given stats. They are as potent as the GM needs them to be. Like the Prometheans, the TITANs are incapable of downloading their full intelligence into physical morphs—they require massive amounts of processing hardware, or perhaps now rely on substrates beyond the understanding of transhuman scientific knowledge. They are thus unlikely to interact directly with PCs, except through fetches, puppets, and other minions. Compared to the PCs, they are a titanic force, as inscrutable as the universe and as unstoppable as gravity. TITAN NANOVIRUSES The TITANs unleashed a number of biowar plagues during the Fall. Similar to the exsurgent virus, these were spread as biological pathogens or nanoplagues. Nanoplagues function as nanoswarms ▶344; anyone exposed is subject to their effects. Biological pathogens function as other pathogens ▶PB; exposed biomorphs must make a SOM Check or become infected. Due to the advanced nature of TITAN biowar bugs, the SOM Check to resist infection usually suffers a –30 modifier (GM discretion). Medichines and nanophages provide a +10 modifier for the SOM Check when exposed, but toxin filters have no effect. Melder Nanoplague This virus slowly breaks down your body, converting your component biological materials into some sort of biofilament that then meshes with implants, electronics, and physical objects and structures. In effect, the biological and synthetic are melded together, continuing to expand and grow, consuming anything around them into their growth. Victims suffer DV 1d10 per hour; armor does not protect and this damage may not be healed unless the nanoplague is eradicated (note that even healing vats can become infected). Cyberware implants become inoperable after 2 hours. If you are stationary for more than 20 minutes, you will begin melding with surrounding materials (SOM Check to break free). After 2 hours of immobility, you can only be cut free with tools/weapons. Metastasizer Biological Pathogen This sophisticated smart protein massively reprograms your cells to go rapidly, autocannibalistically cancerous. After 2 hours, and every hour thereafter, you must make a SOM Check or die from dozens of supercancers. After this first test, apply a cumulative –10 modifier every hour to all actions and tests (including SOM checks) as your health deteriorates. Necrotizer Biological Pathogen This virus breaks down your cells into their component proteins. Reduce your aptitudes and skills by 5 per hour as you slowly convert into a puddle of sludge. You die when any aptitude reaches 0. Neuropath Biological Pathogen/Nanoplague Neuropath viruses rewrite portions of your neurological system, inflicting permanent damage. After 12 hours, this virus inflicts the Neural Damage trait ▶79. Petrifier Biological Pathogen/Nanoplague The petrifier virus transforms your cells into a simple molecular compound or element— typically carbon or crystal. You suffer DV 1d6 per hour; armor does not protect, and this damage may not be healed, though a healing vat may mitigate or stop the process (GM discretion). Additionally, every 4 hours you lose –5 to all aptitudes and skills. You die when any aptitude reaches 0—frozen in place, converted into an unliving statue. Uzumaki Biological Pathogen/Nanoplague You are inflicted with bizarre fleshy growths. After four hours, your body literally erupts with meaty “vines” or “tentacles” that warp into spiral patterns. After this, you suffer DV 1d10 per hour; armor does not protect, and this damage may not be healed, though a healing vat may mitigate or stop the process (GM discretion). You also lose –5 to all aptitudes and skills every 2 hours, eventually transforming into an unworldly expanse of fleshy growth. This growth may continue long after your death, creating expansive carpets, vines, and spiral “trees” of skin, meat, and blood vessels. TITAN RUMORS GMs can choose which of these are true: • The TITANs’ war on transhumanity came to an end because they began fighting amongst themselves. • The TITANs were recalled by the ETI before fully annihilating transhumanity — but they will be back to finish the job. • The TITANs uploaded enough minds to meet their needs and moved on to establish a presence in a more hospitable environment. • The TITANs ascended to another mode of existence beyond this physical galaxy/universe. • The TITANs left because they perceived some other more important, imminent threat. • The TITANs remain in a sense, but are locked in a hidden struggle with the Prometheans or some other entity, outside of transhuman comprehension. • The Factors had a method for deactivating the TITANs, which they used — but it may not be permanent. • Some TITANs remain in the Solar System, hidden away, pursuing their own projects. • Not all of the original TITANs were infected. Some may even have disinfected themselves and joined the resistance or gone into hiding. • Project Ozma secretly captured at least one TITAN, hoping to use it for their own purposes. • During the Fall, the TITANs found and infected other non-TITAN ASIs, assimilating them into the fold. • Some of the TITANs’ designers ended up in corporate custody after the Fall — with partial copies of the original TITAN code.
408¹THREATS & X-RISKS TITAN Machines & Minions • Fetch TITAN MACHINES & MINIONS The TITANs deployed numerous minions and deadly machines during the Fall, many of which remain and are still hostile. FETCH TITAN Threat Level: Ultraviolet Niche: Earth, Quarantine Zones, TITAN artifacts Numbers: 1 Fetches are the software agents of the TITANs. Each is a fork of a TITAN ASI, though lobotomized by comparison, trimmed down to the bare necessities to maneuver among transhuman mesh networks and morphs. Though hyper-intelligent, fetches are prone to erratic behavior, either from the pruning process, distance from their parent mind, or exsurgent infection. Motivation: +TITAN Interests. Most were deployed to manage long-term projects that required direct oversight, but were too unimportant or dangerous for a TITAN to attend to personally. Some function far beyond their operational parameters. Use: Fetches are clever, forward-thinking, and devious foes—if sometimes unstable. They make their home in advanced servers or enhanced-intelligence morphs, fielding minion AIs, puppets, and machines to serve their purposes. Fetch Stress Test: SV 1d6 Initiative: 10, Fray: 60, AV: 10 (mesh armor) WT: 20, DUR: 100, DR: 200 Insight 10 Moxie 5 Vigor 1 Flex 5 Mesh Attack: 100, DV 4d10 Perceive: 50 (60) COG: 30 90 • INT: 30 90 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 30 90 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 30 90 Skills: Deceive 80, Infosec 100, Interface 100, Kinesics 80, Know (Choose Five): 100, Persuade 60, Program 80, Research 80, plus any other skills appropriate to their mission at 80 Ware: App Lock, Auto-Erase, Drone Rig, Endocrine Control, Energy Efficiency, Enhanced Security, E-Veil, Mind Amp, Mnemonics, MultiTasking, Oracles, Skillware, Persistence Apps: Any necessary Traits: Digital Speed, Edited Memories Exsurgent Infection: Fetches carry the digital exsurgent virus ▶383 and will attempt to infect digital mind-states. Note: Stats given are for a fetch infomorph. If sleeved, fetches prefer mentons, savant, or similar high-Insight morphs. Due to their advanced intellect, fetches carry 3 Insight and 3 Flex pool to any morph they inhabit.
THREATS & X-RISKS TITAN Machines & Minions • Fractal¾409 FRACTAL TITAN, Medium Size Threat Level: Ultraviolet Niche: Active TITAN Sites, Earth, Quarantine Zones Numbers: 1–2 Fractals are “bush robots:” conglomerations of jointed, metallic, fractal branches, surrounded by a shimmering haze of active nanotech. Innocuous appearances aside, they are dangerous adversaries, as they are advanced mobile disassembly and nanofabrication machines. Using trillions of nanomanipulators, fractals can dismantle anything they touch and fab armaments and gear at incredible speeds. They are surprisingly hardy: projectiles are broken down and absorbed, severed branches are rapidly reconstructed, and seemingly destroyed fractals rebuild. Motivation: +Defend Territory +TITAN Interests – Transhumanity. Lacking direct orders, fractals lie dormant, driving off intruders as necessary. They are known to construct unusual devices and formations, though whether these are art or high-tech installations is debatable. Use: Fractals can and will fab whatever gear they need, given time, including other fractals. They are smart opponents, hiding and tracking their prey, testing capabilities, building traps, and withdrawing when necessary, only to return with the gear necessary to finish them off. Fractal Stress Test: SV 1d6 Initiative: 10, Fray: 40, AV: 0/0 to 15/15 WT: 10, DUR: 50, DR: 100 Insight 3 Moxie 0 Vigor 3 Flex 5 Bush Blades: 60, DV 2d10 + 5, armor-piercing Disassembly: 70, DV 1d10, touch attack, armor protects but AV is reduced Shredder: 55, DV 2d10 + 6, SA/BF/FA, Ammo unlimited, Range 25, cone area effect Perceive: 50, 60 vision Move: Roller (Fast 8/32), Thrust Vector (Slow, 4/12), may create others COG: 30 90 • INT: 30 90 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 10 30 • SOM: 25 75 • WIL: 30 90 Skills: Athletics 50, Free Fall 40, Guns 50, Infiltrate 60 (70/90), Infosec 60, Interface 50, Melee 60, Program 60 (Nanofabrication 70), Research 40, Survival 50 Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Chameleon Skin, Chem Sniffer, Cyberbrain, Electrical Sense, Enhanced Security, Enhanced Vision, Fractal Digits, Grip Pads, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Nanoscopic Vision, Radar, others as needed Exsurgent Infection: Fractals are often infected with the exsurgent virus and carry or nanofabricate nanoplagues Feign Destruction: Fractals are programmed to “Fall apart” when accumulated damage nears their Death Rating, dissolving into numerous nanoswarms that rebuild the fractal Invulnerability: Area-effect weapons do half-damage to fractals; all others do minimum damage Nanofabrication: Fractals may be equipped with or fabricate any enhancements, gear, armor, or weapons the GM desires to present an appropriate threat to the PCs. Reduce all nanofabrication times by half ▶314. They may also mimic the effects of any existing nanoswarm ▶344 or TITAN Nanoviruses ▶407. Regeneration: Fractals repair 1d10 damage per half hour; after all damage is fixed, they repair 1 wound per hour
410¹THREATS & X-RISKS TITAN Machines & Minions • Headhunter HEADHUNTER TITAN, Small Size Threat Level: Orange Niche: Earth, Quarantine Zones Numbers: 6–12 These insectoid machines are designed to grasp onto a victim’s skull, saw through the neck, and remove the head for forced uploading at a specialized facility. The TITANs deployed them in massive swarms in cities during the Fall. Motivation: +Collect Egos +TITAN Interests –Transhumanity Use: Headhunters attack in groups; once a head is harvested, that headhunter withdraws from the fight and deposits its prize at a (former) uploading station. Headhunter Stress Test: SV 1d6 Initiative: 8, Fray: 70, AV: 8/8 WT: 9, DUR: 45, DR: 90 Threat Pool: 3 Behead: 65, DV 1d10 + 6, grappled targets only (no defense), armorpiercing; called shot, on superior success and wound scored, target is decapitated and immediately killed Buzzsaw: 75, DV 1d10 + 6, armor-piercing Grappling: 65 (Grappling ▶205), requires superior success, grappled targets may not oppose buzzsaw/behead attacks on subsequent turns Perceive: 50, 60 vision Move: Rotor/Winged (Fast 8/32) COG: 15 45 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 5 15 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 15 45 Skills: Athletics 50 (Flight 60), Guns 50, Infiltrate 70, Melee 65 (Buzzsaw 75), Survival 40 Ware: Cyberbrain, Enhanced Security, Enhanced Vision, Lidar, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, T-Ray Emitter Note: Many variants of headhunters exist, GMs should adjust weaponry and stats as they see fit. Seeker Variant: Carries a single-use HEAP seeker minimissile; 65, DV 4d10 + 12, Range 150, armor-piercing, knockdown, no close; may fabricate a new missile in 30 minutes
THREATS & X-RISKS ¾411 TITAN Machines & Minions • Puppet PUPPET TITAN, Medium Size Threat Level: Yellow Niche: Earth, Quarantine Zones, Transhuman Habitats Numbers: 1–8 Puppets are transhumans whose minds were subverted by the TITANs. They are distinct from exsurgents in that they are not infected and are typically under direct TITAN (or fetch) control. Most puppets possess hacked cyberbrains; some were created through illicit psychosurgery. During the Fall, they infiltrated all walks of transhuman life, inflicting devastating deception and treachery, and some sleeper agents still remain. Motivation: +Infiltrate +TITAN Interests –Transhumanity Use: Some puppets were targets of opportunity, others were created to facilitate specific tasks or objectives, sometimes years in advance. They are used to undermine defenses, transport TITAN nanoswarms, infect air-gapped networks, inflict basilisk hacks, or even as suicide bombers. Many of them do not even realize they have been subverted, due to awareness block psychosurgery ▶295. Puppet Stress Test: SV 1d6 (betrayal) Initiative: 6 • Fray: 40 • AV: 6/4 synth frame WT: 8 • DUR: 40 • DR: 80 Threat Pool: 2 Grapple: 50 (Grappling ▶205), requires superior success, on next action puppet will make a called shot (–10) on target’s access jacks to plug in a disabler ▶338 or direct fiberoptic link to initiate a mindware hack Mindware Hack: 60 ▶266 Shock Baton: 40, DV 1d10, reach, shock Perceive: 40, 50 hearing/vision Move: Walker (Medium 4/20) COG: 20 60 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 15 45 • SAV: 20 60 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 15 45 Skills: Athletics 30, Deceive 60, Free Fall 40, Guns 40, Hardware: Industrial 60, Hardware: Robotics 60, Infiltrate 50, Infosec 60, Interface 40, Melee 40 (Grappling 50), Program 40 Ware: Access Jacks, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, Skillware; others as necessary for mission Gear: Cleaner Nanoswarm, Covert Ops Tool, Disabler, Disassembler Swarm, Encryption App, Exploit App, Hardware: Industrial Tools, Sniffer App, Spy Nanoswarm, Utilitool; others as necessary for mission Traits: Edited Memories; many have the Enhanced Behavior or Restricted Behavior traits Basilisk Hack: Some are equipped with basilisk hacks which they deploy by hacking AR feeds ▶262 Note: Stats listed are for a technician in a synth morph; adjust as appropriate for different morphs and skills. Many sleepers are modified with awareness block psychosurgery ▶295
412¹THREATS & X-RISKS TITAN Machines & Minions • Self-Replicating Nanoswarm SELF-REPLICATING NANOSWARM TITAN Threat Level: Ultraviolet Niche: Earth, Quarantine Zones Numbers: 1 swarm TITAN nanoswarms are generations ahead of transhuman nanotechnology. They are autonomous, sapient, and self-replicating. They can modify themselves to perform any nanoswarm function and can nanofabricate almost anything with time and feedstock. They can also link together into a physical lattice in order to create large-scale physical forms and mechanisms. Self-replicators are almost impossible to entirely destroy with anything short of antimatter weaponry; if even a few nanobots survive, the entire swarm can rebuild and adapt accordingly. Motivation: +TITAN Interests. Without direction, most nanoswarms stick to the locations of their last deployment, occasionally migrating to “feed” on new matter. Some occupy themselves with building arcane structures that may be art, whimsically transforming the landscape, or floating as clouds and altering atmospheric properties and weather patterns. Use: A TITAN nanoswarm is a WMD, area-denial weapon, cyberwarfare suite, plague, and weapons factory all rolled into one. They can just as easily camouflage themselves, quietly dissembling anything that enters the death zone, as they can construct artillery and launch precision bombardment kilometers away. They will scan opponents to develop effective weapons and defenses. Self-Replicating Nanoswarm Stress Test: SV 1d6 Initiative: 8 • Fray: 40 • AV: 0/0 WT: — • DUR: 70 • DR: 140 Insight 6 Moxie 0 Vigor 4 Flex 3 Disassembly: DV 1d6 per action turn to anything within swarm; armor protects but AV is reduced Fuel-Air Explosive: The nanoswarm creates tiny floating bubbles filled with fuel, disperses uniformly over an area, and ignites it. DV 3d10 +5, uniform area effect (10 meters), armor-piercing, knockdown. Fabbing a new FAE takes 12 hours. Snare and Stab: 60 (Grappling ▶205); the swarm locks together into entangling snare lines with gripping teeth, requires a superior success. Grappled victims get no defense to piercing needles that spurt on subsequent turns; DV 1d10, armor does not apply. Perceive: 50, 60 hearing/vision Move: Walker/Microlight (Slow 4/12), may construct others COG: 25 75 • INT: 20 60 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 5 15 • SOM: 15 45 • WIL: 15 45 Skills: Free Fall 50, Infiltrate 80, Melee 50 (Grappling 60), Program 80, any Technical or Know skill they need at 40+ Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Chem Sniffer, Electrical Sense, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Fractal Digits, Nanoscopic Vision, Radar, Radiation Sense, T-Ray Emitter, others as needed Nanoswarm: Functions like a nanoswarm ▶344, except can move normally in vacuum and does not require a nanohive Nanofabrication: Can nanofabricate items in half the time as transhuman nanofabricators; can replicate effects of any nanoswarm at will Self-Repair: Automatically repair 1d10 damage per hour Take Form: Can cohere/dissipate simple physical/mechanical forms (arms, mobility systems, tentacles, cages, traps, etc) with a complex action; these may take physical actions such as Fray or Melee Tests
THREATS & X-RISKS TITAN Machines & Minions • Warbot ¾413 WARBOT TITAN, Very Large Size Threat Level: Red Niche: Earth, Quarantine Zones Numbers: 1–4 These massive, armored tanks are a TITAN advancement on transhuman mecha designs. Though many varieties exist, the most common are bipedal with four arms, a pair of tentacle manipulators, and a vast array of weapon systems capable of independent targeting. Motivation: +Destroy Opposition +TITAN Interests –Transhumanity Use: Warbots are designed to blow things up, and they are good at it. Stress Test: SV 1d10 Initiative: 7 • Fray: 50 • AV: 20/20 WT: 16 • DUR: 80 • DR: 160 Threat Pool: 6 Claws: 50, DV 3d10 + 6, reach (+10) Laser Pulser Cannon: 60, DV 4d10 + 4, SA/BF, Range 300, Ammo 200, fixed Railgun Machine Gun: 60, DV 3d10 + 2, BF/FA, Ammo 500, armor-piercing, fixed Seeker Launcher: 60, DV 6d10 + 24, SS, Ammo 20, Range 300, armor-piercing, fixed, homing (+10 aimed/previous targets), knockdown, no close Stomp: 50, DV 5d10, reach (+20) Tentacles: 50, DV 3d10, reach (+20) Tentacle Grapple: 50 (Grappling ▶205), reach (+20), requires superior success, grappled victims get no defense to subsequent attacks Torch: 60, DV 4d10, SS, Ammo 100, cone area effect, fixed Perceive: 50, 60 vision Move: Walker (Medium 4/20) COG: 15 45 • INT: 15 45 • REF: 20 60 • SAV: 5 15 • SOM: 20 60 • WIL: 15 45 Skills: Athletics 50 (60), Guns 60, Infiltrate 40 (50/70), Infosec 60, Melee 50 Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Anti-Glare, Cyberbrain, Chameleon Skin, Chem Sniffer, Electrical Sense, Enhanced Security, Enhanced Vision, Lidar, Magnetic System, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Pneumatics, Puppet Sock, Radar, T-Ray Emitter Gear: 10 splash grenades with various nanoswarms Notes: Other common weapon systems include plasma rifles, particle beam bolters, and buzzers (with disassembler swarms) Shockwave Shield: Warbots can calculate the impact point of an explosive projectile or shockwave and create a temporary superheated pocket of air with a laser-generated electric arc that will absorb the blast. This provides 20 points of energy armor against blast effects, including seekers and grenades. This is only effective against attacks the warbot has spotted, and may only be used against one attack per action turn. This shockwave shield has 20 uses before it must be recharged, which takes 2 hours.
pendices 414¹APPENDICES Glossary GLOSSARY Here's a list of terms we use throughout Eclipse Phase. Account: What you use to log on to a system. Determines your access privileges. Account Shell: The software interface that represents your presence on the system. Aerostat: A habitat designed to float like a balloon on a planet with a dense atmosphere. AF: After the Fall (used for reference dating). Agent: An infomorph optimized for infosec roles. AGI: Artificial General Intelligence. An AI that has cognitive faculties and capability to learn that is equivalent to a human. AI: Artificial Intelligence. A sentient software mind that emulates human cognition. Usually used to refer to ALIs. ALI: Artificial Limited Intelligence. AIs that do not possess the full range of human cognitive abilities. ALIs have a specialized focus and are incapable of learning outside of that focus. Alpha Fork: A full duplicate of an ego. Amphibs: An extinct sapient alien species that once thrived on the exoplanet Droplet. Anarchists: A faction that opposes power and hierarchy and embraces self-organized individual and collective action. App: Software that performs a specific function for a user. Arachnoid: A spider-like robotic synthmorph. Argonauts: A union of technoprogressive scientists that promote responsible and ethical use of technology. AR: Augmented Reality. Information from the mesh that is overlaid on your real-world senses. AR data is usually visual but can also be audio, tactile, olfactory, kinesthetic, emotional, or other senses. Artifex: A nano-engineer Artificial: Martian slang for embodied artificial life. Async: A person with psi abilities resulting from the WattsMacLeod strain of the exsurgent virus. ATI: The Aerial Terraforming Initiative for Venus. AU: Astronomical Unit. The distance between the Earth and Sol (the sun), equal to 8.3 light minutes or ~150 million kilometers. Autocook: A specialized fabber for making food and drinks. Autonomists: The outer-system alliance of anarchists, Extropians, scum, and Titanians. Backup: A stored copy of an ego, an inactive digitized mind. Backups: The Firewall faction that preps caches, bunkers, and resources in case of another extinction event. Barsoomians: A movement supporting Martian independence from hypercorp control, allied with the autonomists. Basilisk Hack: Sensory input designed to trigger glitches and faults in the brain, leading to seizures and worse effects. Bathyscaphe: An underwater habitat. Beehive: A microgravity habitat made from a tunneled-out asteroid or moon. Belters: Denizens of the Main Belt. Beta Fork: A partial copy of an ego. BF: Before the Fall (used for reference dating). Bioconservatives: An anti-technology movement that argues for strict regulation of nanofabrication, AI, uploading, forking, cognitive enhancements, and other disruptive technologies. Biomorph: A biological body, including both modified and unmodified humans, uplifts, and pods. AKA skin. Bioware: Biological enhancements for biomorphs. Blueprint: The digital design file used to nanofabricate. Body Bank: A service for backups, resleeving, and acquiring or storing morphs. AKA dollhouse, morgue. Bot: Robot. An ALI-piloted synthetic shell. Bouncer: A biomorph optimized for microgravity. Bracewell Probe: A self-replicating probe designed to propagate to every star system in the galaxy. Brainprint: The ID based on your brainwave patterns. Brinkers: Exiles who live on the fringe of the system. AKA isolates. Bubble: A habitat made from a hollowed-out asteroid or moon, spun for gravity. AKA sphere. Case: A cheap, common, mass-produced synthmorph. CBEAT: The Council for Bio-Ethics and Advanced Technology, setting tech policy in the Jovian Republic. Cell: A clandestine group of Firewall sentinels. Chimeric: Transgenic, containing genetic traits from other species. Circumjovian: Orbiting Jupiter. Circumlunar: Orbiting the Moon. Circumsolar: Orbiting the Sun. Cislunar: Between the Earth and the Moon. Clade: A species or group of organisms with common features. Used to refer to transhuman cultural groups and subspecies. Clanking Masses: The underclass of cheap synthmorphs. The Cloud: Other devices on the mesh that offer software services. Cluster: A micrograv habitat of interconnected modules. CME: Coronal mass ejection; a solar flare. Codeline: The code "family" from which an AGI is derived. The Complaints: The list of grievances shared by the Barsoomians. Conservatives: The Firewall faction opposed to using AGIs, asyncs, and alien/TITAN technology. Cornucopia Machine: A general-purpose nanofabricator. Cortical Stack: An implant that records your up-to-date ego. Crow: A proxy that focuses oresearch and scientific analysis. Crypt: A digital cache hidden within the mesh. Cthonian Planet: A hot Jupiter/Neptune whos atmosphere has been stripped away, leaving a terrestrial core. Cyberbrain: An artificial brain, housing an ego run in a software mind-state. Used in synthmorphs, pods, and some biomorphs. Cyberware: Artificial augmentations for biomorphs. Cycler: A ship that travels between habitats using the ITN. Cylinder: A hollow can-shaped habitat spun for gravity. Darkcast: A black-market farcasting and egocasting service. Deadheading: Placing your ego into inactive storage for a later scheduled revival. Dead Zone: An area lacking surveillance coverage. Delta-V: The thrust needed to get from one place to another. Device: A specific piece of hardware. Digimorph: The most basic, default type of infomorph. Doll House: A high-end, bespoke morph provider. Domain Rules: The rules that govern the physics and operation of a virtual-reality simulspace. Dome: Temporary or permanent pressurized surface habitat. Drone: A robot controlled through teleoperation (rather than AI). Dwarf Planet: Between asteroids and planets, dwarfs are rounded by gravity but have not cleared their orbits of asteroids/debris.
APPENDICES Glossary ¾415 Ecto: A mobile device for accessing the mesh and AR. Ego: The part of you that switches from body to body. Ego Bridge: A device for scanning and copying a biological brain for backup, resleeving, or psychosurgery. Ego ID: The ID code tied to your ego, imprinted in uploads. Ego Hunter: A bounty hunter that tracks down resleeved egos. Egocast: Term for transmitting an ego to a remote location. Entoptics: Augmented reality that you “see” in your mind's eye. Eraser: Heavily armed proxies that are called ito contain threats beyond the capabilities of a normal sentinel cell. ERP: The reclaimer's Earth Reclamation Project. ETI: Extraterrestial Intelligence. A god-like post-singularity alien/ machine super-intelligence theorized to be responsible for the pandora gates and/or exsurgent virus. Europan: A denizen of Saturn's moon Europa. Exalt: A genetically enhanced human morph. Exodus: The evacuation of Earth during the Fall. Exoplanet: A planet in another star system. Exsurgent: Someone infected by the exsurgent virus and likely transformed into an alien creature. Exsurgent Virus: A multi-vector virus spread during the Fall that transforms victims and subverts their minds. Extrasolar: Outside the Solar System. The Eye: Firewall’s internal social and data-sharing network. Face: A negotiator or networker. Factors: A species of evolved slime molds, the only living sapient aliens transumanity has encountered so far. The Fall: The war with the TITANs that devastated Earth and nearly made transhumanity extinct. Farcast: Intrasolar communication using classical communication technologies (radio, laser, etc.) and quantum teleportation. Farhauler: Long-distance space shipper. Feedstock: The raw matter used to nanofabricate. The Fence: The interdiction cordon of killsats around Earth. Fetch: A beta fork or agent of an ASI like a TITAN. Filter: A proxy that handles social engineering, media manipulation, and cover-ups. Firewall: The secret cross-faction conspiracy that works to protect transhumanity from x-risks. Firewall: The software that defends a system from intrusion. Fisher Hab: A cylinder variant using independent modules. Fixer: Someone who works deals to acquire goods or intel. Flatlander: Someone born or living on a planet/moon with gravity. Flat: A baseline human, not genefixed or modified. Flexbot: A shape-changing synthmorph capable of joining with other flexbots in a modular fashion to create larger shapes. Fork: A copy of an ego. Forknapping: Kidnapping a backup or fork. FTL: Faster-Than-Light. Fractal: A "bush robot" TITAN machine with fractal appendages and advanced nanofab capabilities. The Fringe: The remote and unpopulated areas of the Solar System. Fury: A transhuman combat biomorph. Futura: A biomorph designed for the Lost Generation. Galatea: A high-end synthmorph optimized for social interactions. Gamma Fork: An incomplete/corrupted copy of an ego. AKA vapor. Gate: One of the pandora gate wormholes that allow travel to other parts of the galaxy. Gatecrasher: An explorer who traverses a pandora gate. Genehacker: Someone who manipulates genetic code to create genetic modifications or even new life. GEO: Geosynchronous orbit, 35,786 km altitude over the equator. Ghost: A transhuman combat biomorph optimized for stealth. Ghostrider: An infomorph carried in a special implant. Glitterati: Socialites, hyperelites, and media icons. Glanding: Using ware to modify your emotional state. Greeks: Trojan asteroids at the L4 point. See also Trojans. Guanxi: The criminal social network. Habtech: A habitat technician. Hamilton Cylinder: A living, growing, nanoswarm-constructed cylinder hab with biological components. Hardware: Enhancements for synthmorphs. Headhunter: A TITAN machine that collects heads for uploading. Hibernoid: A biomorph modified for hibernation and extended wakefulness. Hidden Concern: A neo-octopus crime cartel based on Ceres. Hive: A specialized nanofabber that maintains a nanoswarm. Host: Personal mesh devices. May run a single infomorph. Hot JupiterNeptune: A gas giant or ice giant whose orbit has migrated closer to its star, giving it a higher temperature. Hypercorp Council: The top hypercorporations that control the Planetary Consortium. Hyperelite: The rich and wealthy. Iceteroid: An asteroid made of ice rather than rock or metals. Ice Dwarf: A type of distant dwarf planet composed of ice. Ice Giant: A planet composed of elements heavier than hydrogen/ helium, usually in the outer part of a star system. ID Crew: The Intelligent Design Crew, a cartel specializing in electronic crimes. Ikon: An infomorph optimized for media and socialites. Iktomi: An extinct alien species of arthropods whose relics have been found beyond the pandora gates. Indenture: A workers who has contracted their labor to a hypercorp or other authority, usually in exchange for a morph. IndEx: The Indenture Exchange for trading indenture contracts. Infolife: Programmed egos such as artificial general intelligences. Infomorph: A digitized ego run in a virtual mind-state. Infosec: Information security; hacking and defense against it. Infugee: A refugee that survived the Fall as a bodiless infomorph. ISET: The Institude for the Study of Emergent Trends. The Argonauts' clandestine intelligence and forecasting service. Isolates: Exiles on the fringes of the system. AKA brinkers. ITN: The interplanetary transport network; using gravity to move between planets using minimal fuel. Jamming: Teleoperating a bot via an immersive AR overlay and "becoming" the drone. JSFI: Jovian Space Force Intelligence. The Junkyard: The layer of junk and debris in low Earth orbit. Junta: The military regime that dictates the Jovian Republic. KBO: Kuiper Belt object. Kuiper Belt: A region extending from Neptune’s orbit to about 55 AU, lightly populated with asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets.
416¹APPENDICES Glossary Lack: The loss of time and/or memories when resleeving. Lagrange Point: One of five areas in respect to a small planetary body orbiting a larger one in which the gravitational forces of those two bodies are neutralized. Lagrange points are stable and ideal locations for habitats. LEO: Low Earth Orbit, 150-2,000 km altitude. Lifelog: A sensorium recording of one’s entire life experience. LLA: The Lunar-Lagrange Alliance, the conservative polity of habitats on Luna and in Earth orbit. Lost Generation: A group of children raised using forced-growth morphs and time-contracted VR. The results were disastrous: many died or went insane, and the rest were stigmatized. Main Belt: A ring of asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. Makers: A techno-savvy faction of Barsoomian anarchist nomads. MARG: A massively multiplayer augmented-reality game. Mavericks: The Firewall faction that doesn't give a fuck. Medeans: The Argonauts' secret paramilitary group. Meme: A viral idea. A unit of information transmitted socially that self-replicates and mutates in a manner analagous to genes. Menton: A biomorph optimized for mental and cognitive ability. Mercurials: The non-human sapient elements transhumanity, including AGIs and uplifts. Also refers to a movement that demands self-determination for AGIs/uplifts. Mesh: The omnipresent decentralized wireless data network. Also used as a verb (to mesh) and adjective (meshed or unmeshed). Mesh ID: The unique signature attached to one’s mesh activity. Meshware: Apps for cyberbrains and infomorphs. Metacelebrity: A celebrity identity shared by multiple actors. Microgravity: Zero g or near-weightless environments. Mindhacker: A psychosurgeon. Minifac: An industrial-scale nanofabber. Mist: Obtrusive AR ads and data that clutter your entoptics. Morgue: A black-market body bank. Morph: A physical body. AKA sleeve, shell, suit, jacket, form. Morphological Freedom: The autonomy to modify and enhance your own body. Mote: Smaller devices, peripherals, and sensors. May run only a single dedicated ALI. The Movement: The Barsoomian movement to free Mars. Muse: An ALI personal assistant. Mutualist: An Extropian sub-faction favoring cooperatives. Nanobot: A nano-scale machine, usually deployed as a swarm. Nano-Ecology: A pro-tech ecological movement. Nanofabber: A device that manufactures items from the molecular level with an appropriate blueprint. AKA compiler, cornucopia machine, fabber, forge, maker, printer, replicator. Nanoswarm: A mass of nanobots that act in concert. Nanotat ID: The ID nano-encoded on your morph's index finger. Nanoware: Nanosystems implanted within a morph. Narcoalgorithm: An app that mimics the effects of a drug for an infomorph or cyberbrain. Neo-Avians: Uplifted ravens, crows, and gray parrots. Neogenesis: The creation of new life forms via genetic manipulation and biotechnology. Neo-Hominids: Uplifted bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. Neo-Neanderthal: Uplifted neanderthals. Neotenics: Biomorphs modified to retain a child-like form. Neurodiversity: The acceptance of atypical neurologies. Night Cartel: A progressive criminal cartel evolved from several old-Earth ethnic mafias. Nine Lives: A cartel of forknappers and soul traders. Novacrab: A pod created from genetically engineered spider crabs. Nuestro Shell: A shell hab using symmetrical radiating spars and rings for stability. Oligarchs: The powerful immortal rich. Olympian: A biomorph enhanced for fitness and athleticism. O’Neill Cylinder: A soda-can shaped habitat, spun for gravity. Oort Cloud: An area about one light year from the sun, mostly populated by comets. Operator: An infomorph optimized for piloting drones. Oversight: The Planetary Consortium agency that polices financial matters and protects the Consortium from external threats. Ozma: An extra-governmental inner-system cabal. PAN: Personal Area Network. The network of personal electronics slaved to your ecto or mesh inserts. Pandora Gates: The wormhole gateways discovered after the disappearance of the TITANs. Pax Familae: The criminal cartel composed of one person, Claudia Ambelina, and her clones and forks. Plurality: The Titanian cyberdemocracy. Pods: Mass-produced biomorphs with cybernetic brains, originally used as bio robots. From “pod people.” AKA skinjobs, replicants. Polykatoikia: A cylinder-hab variant using dependent modules. Posthuman: Someone modified so extensively as to no longer be recognizably human (a step beyond transhuman). Pragmatists: The Firewall faction that believes in doing whatever is necessary to stop x-risks. Privileges: The rules defining what an account can do on a system. Processor Locus: Orbital server habitats for infomorphs. Prometheans: A group of friendly ASIs that helped combat the TITANs and support Firewall. Proxies: Members of the Firewall internal structure. Psi: Parapsychological powers acquired from infection by the Watts-MacLeod strain of the exsurgent virus. Psi-Chi: Psi sleights that enhance the mind. Psi-Gamma: Psi sleights that affect the minds/physiologies of others. Puppet: Someone mindhacked and controlled by another. Pychosurgery: The selective and surgical alteration of a mind. QE Comms: Quantum-entangled FTL communications. Reagan Cylinder: Crude cylinder habs made from hollowed asteroids in the Jovian Republic. AKA sarcophagus hab. Reaper: A warbot synthmorph. Reclaimers: A faction that seeks to retake the Earth. Red Market: The trade of anti-social and coercive activities in autonomist space. Redneck: A rural Martian, often a Barsoomian. AKA Reds. Register: A proxy that handles logistics and finances. Re-instantiated: To be resleeved. Also refers to resleeved infugees. Remade: A biomorph intended as a human upgrade, human 2.0. Resleeving: Downloading into a new morph. AKA remorphing. Rimward: The outer half of the Solar System, from the Main Belt to the Oort Cloud. Ringers: Denizens of Saturn's rings. Ripping: Destroying surveillance systems to create dead zones.
APPENDICES ¾417 Glossary Root Account: The one account on a system that may not have its admin privileges revoked. Router: A proxy that coordinates a server’s operations. Ruster: A biomorphs optimized for life on Mars. Sapients: Uplifts and infolife that seek equal rights and assimilation into transhuman society. Savant: A synthmorph optimized for intelligence. Scan: To locate and identify wireless devices. Scanner: A proxy that collects and analyzes data for signs of x-risks. Scorcher: An offensive app that targets infomorphs/cyberbrains. Scratch Space: A temporary secret cache of gear. Scum: An autonomist faction of hedonistic nomads. Security Council: The military regime that runs the Jovian Republic. AKA Junta. Seed AI: An AI that is capable of recursive self-improvement, allowing it to rapidly reach god-like levels of intelligence. Sentinels: On-call agents of Firewall. Server: A working group of proxies and the cells they coordinate. Server: Large multi-user devices. May run multiple infomorphs. Service: An app run on a remote cloud device rather than locally. Shanzhai: The copying/counterfeiting of goods. Shaper: A pod morph optimized for changing its appearance. Shell: A synthetic form; used for bots, vehicles, and synthmorphs. Shell: A cluster habitat with a protective outer layer or framework of rings and spars. AKA Nuestro shell. Sifters: Denizens of Mercury. Simulmorph: The avatar you use in a VR simulspace. Simulspace: Full-immersion virtual reality environments. Singularity: A point of rapid, exponential, and recursive technological progress, beyond which the future is impossible to predict. Singularity Seeker: A person infatuated with ASIs like the TITANs or becoming posthuman themselves. Skimmers: Denizens of the ice giants. Skin: A biological physical morph. AKA biomorph, meat, flesh. Skinning: Changing your perceived environment via AR. Skipjacking: The art of moving unseen by surveillance systems. Sleight: A psi power. Slitheroid: A snake-like synthmorph. Smart Animal: A partially uplifted animal. Sniff: To intercept wireless mesh traffic. Solarians: Denizens of the sun's corona. Souk: Covered bazaars and market areas between Martian domes. Spare: A portable morph to be sleeved in an emergency. Sphere/Spheroid: A bubble-shaped habitat spun for gravity, usually made from hollowed-out asteroids. AKA bubble. Splicers: Humans modified to eliminate genetic diseases and other unwanted traits. AKA genefixed, tweaks. Steel Morph: A high-end synthmorph with enhanced physical capabilities. Structuralists: The Firewall faction that seeks more formal organization and to go public. Sunward: The inner system, from Sol to Mars. Super-Earth: A terrestrial planet much larger than Earth with a higher surface gravity. Swarm: A mass of nano- or microbots acting in concert. Swarm: A flotilla of ships, sometimes interlinked or towing habs. Swarmanoid: A synthmorph composed of a swarm of microbots. Sylphs: Biomorphs enhanced for charisma and beauty. Synthmorph: Robotic shells sleeved by transhuman egos. Synths: A common humanoid synthmorph model. System: Any hardware device, network, or software service. TAU: Titan Autonomous University. Taxi: A morph that carries an infomorph on its person. Technical: Martian slang for crazy or haywire. Teleoperation: Remote control. Tenmai Shell: A hab with the outer shell of a cylinder or sphere but a hollow micrograv space inside. Tharsis League: The government of Mars. Tin Can: A small, cheap, pressurized habitat module. Titanian: Someone from Titan, a moon of Saturn. TITANs: Total Information Tactical Awareness Network. ASIs that attacked transhumanity and brought about the Fall. Torus: A ring-shaped habitat, spun for gravity. TQZ: The TITAN Quarantine Zone on Mars. Transgenic: Containing genetic traits from other species. Transhuman: An extensively modified human. Trojans: Asteroids/moons that share the same orbit as a larger planet or moon, but follow about 60 degrees ahead or behind at the L4 (Greeks) and L5 (Trojans) Lagrange points. Trojans normally refers to the asteroids at Jupiter’s Lagrange points, but Mars, Saturn, Neptune, and other bodies also have Trojans. See also Greeks. Uplift: An animal species genetically enhanced to sapience. Vacworker: A laborer who works in vacuum. Vapor: A failed mind emulation or crippled fork/infomorph. Vector: A proxy that handles hacking, comms, and online security. VPNs: Virtual Private Networks. Networks that operate within the mesh, usually encrypted for privacy/security. VR: Virtual Reality. Imposing an artificially constructed hyper-real reality over one’s physical senses. Ware: Implants and enhancements, including bioware, cyberware, hardware, meshware, and nanoware. Wastewalkers: Mutated exusrgent cyborg soldiers. Watts-MacLeod: An exsurgent virus strain that does not transform/subvert the victim, but gives them async psi abilities. Whippers: Barrel-like exsurgents with a mass of tentacles. Wild Artificial: A feral autonomous robot. Worm: An exsurgent async. WMD: Weapon of mass destruction. X-Caster: Someone who transmits/sells XP livefeeds and recordings of their experiences. Xenomorph: An alien life form. Xer: As in “X-er”—someone addicted or obsessed with XP. Sometime also used to refer to people making XP. XP: Experience Playback. Experiencing someone else’s sensory input (real-time or recorded). AKA sim, simsense, playback. X-Risk: Existential Risk. Something that threatens the very existence of transhumanity. Zero-Day: A previously unknown exploit against which computer systems are not yet defended. AKA 0-day. Zeroes: People without mesh access. Common with indentures. Zone Stalker: A collector of artifacts from quarantine zones.
418¹APPENDICES References REFERENCES Eclipse Phase took inspiration from many sources that deserve recognition and credit. Gamemasters may find these useful for ideas for adventures and campaigns. FICTION K. C. Alexander Necrotech Neal Asher Gridlinked Skinner Ian Banks Consider Phlebas Excession The Hydrogen Sonata Inversions Look to Windward Matter The Player of Games The State of the Art Surface Detail The Use of Weapons Greg Bear Moving Mars Queen of Angels Slant David Brin Earth Kiln People Startide Rising Sundiver The Uplift War James S. A. Corey Abaddon's Gate Caliban's War Leviathan Wakes Paul Di Filippo Ribofunk Cory Doctorow Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Eastern Standard Tribe Walkaway Greg Egan Axiomatic Diaspora Distress Permutation City Quarantine Warren Ellis Crooked Little Vein Kathleen Ann Goonan Crescent City Rhapsody Light Music Mississippi Blues Queen City Jazz Peter Hamilton The “Commonwealth Saga” Pandora’s Star Judas Unleashed The “Greg Mandel Trilogy” Mindstar Rising A Quantum Murder The Nano Flower James Hogan Voyage from Yesteryear Nancy Kress Beggars in Spain Ursula LeGuin The Dispossessed The Left Hand of Darkness Ken MacLeod The “Fall Revolution” series The Star Fraction The Stone Canal The Cassini Division The Sky Road Newton’s Wake Richard Morgan The “Takeshi Kovacs” series Altered Carbon Broken Angels Woken Furies Thirteen Linda Nagata The Bohr Maker Deception Well Limit of Vision Tech Heaven Vast Ramez Naam Apex Crux Nexus Annalee Newitz Autonomous Ada Palmer Seven Surrenders The Will to Battle Too Like the Lightning Frederick Pohl Gateway Alastair Reynolds Absolution Gap Chasm City Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days Elysium Fire Galactic North The Prefect Pushing Ice Redemption Ark Revelation Space Douglas Richards Infinity Born Kim Stanley Robinson 2312 The “Mars Trilogy” Red Mars Blue Mars Green Mars The Martians Red Moon Karl Schroeder Ventus Dan Simmons Endymion Fall of Endymion Fall of Hyperion Hyperion Llium Olympos Neal Stephenson Diamond Age Seveneves Bruce Sterling Caryatids Crystal Express Holy Fire Schismatrix Plus Charles Stross Accelerando Glasshouse Halting State Iron Sunrise Neptune's Brood Rule 34 Saturn's Children Singularity Sky Toast Daniel Suarez Daemon Freedom Influx Karen Traviss City of Pearl Vernor Vinge Across Realtime The Children of the Sky A Deepness in the Sky A Fire Upon The Deep Rainbow’s End True Names and Other Dangers Elisabeth Vonarburg Slow Engines of Time Peter Watts Blindsight Echopraxia “Rifters’ Trilogy” Starfish Maelstrom Behemoth (ß-Max + Seppuku) Scott Westerfeld The Risen Empire The Killing of Worlds Walter Jon Williams Aristoi Angel Station Implied Spaces Voice of the Whirlwind David Zindell The Broken God Neverness War in Heaven The Wild
APPENDICES References ¾419 COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS Jamie Delano Narcopolis Warren Ellis Doktor Sleepless Doom 2099 Global Frequency Ministry of Space Ocean Transmetropolitan Jonathan Hickman Transhuman Grant Morrison The Filth The Invisibles Masamune Shirow Ghost in the Shell Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface Adam Warren Iron Man: Hypervelocity Makoto Yukimura Planetes NON-FICTION Ronald Bailey Liberation Biology Susan Blackmore The Meme Machine Murray Bookchin Post-Scarcity Anarchism Cynthia Brezeal Designing Sociable Robots Nick Bostrom Superintelligence David Brin The Transparent Society Richard Brodie Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme James Brook and Ian Boal (eds) Resisting the Virtual Life Rodney Brooks Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us Cambrian Intelligence: The Early History of the New AI Critical Art Ensemble Digital Resistance Electronic Civil Disobedience The Electronic Disturbance Flesh Machine The Molecular Invasion The Marching Plague Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene K. Eric Drexler Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology Freeman Dyson Disturbing the Universe Imagined Worlds Ann Finkbeiner The Jasons Imaginary Weapons Joel Garreau Radical Evolution Peter Gelderloos Anarchy Works Adam Greenfield Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing Robin Hanson The Age of Em James Hughes Citizen Cyborg Peter Kropotkin The Conquest of Bread Mutual Aid Science and Anarchism Ray Kurzweil The Singularity is Near Howard Rheingold Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution John Robb Brave New War Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody Bruce Sterling Shaping Things Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years Gregory Stock Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Soonish Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R. Hendrix Beyond Earth Simon Young Designer Evolution: A Transhumanist Manifesto ROLEPLAYING GAMES Blue Planet Burning Empires Call of Cthulhu Cybergeneration Dawning Star Delta Green Fate FreeMarket Gamma World GURPS: Transhuman Space Morrow Project Numenera Paranoia Shadowrun Shock: Social Science Fiction Traveller MOVIES & TELEVISION AI Alien series Altered Carbon Alita: Battle Angel Andromeda Babylon 5 and Crusade Big O Black Mirror Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 Chappie Cowboy Bebop District 9 Dollhouse Dreamcatcher Elysium Ergo Proxy Ex Machina The Expanse Firefly and Serenity Gattaca Ghost in the Shell (everything) Gravity Hardcore Henry The Island Jekyll Limitless Love, Death, and Robots The Martian Moon Pandorum Planetes Sleep Dealer Solaris Stargate and Stargate: Atlantis Sunshine Upgrade Uzumaki
420¹APPENDICES Index INDEX A Account 246 Acquiring Morphs 290 Action Factors 226 Actions Automatic 32 Complex 32 Downtime 238 Extra 33 Mesh 248 Quick 32 Social 228 Task 32 Actions & Time 32 Action Turns 32 Automatic Actions 32 Complex Actions 32 Quick Actions 32 Rushing the Job 32 Taking Time 32 Task Actions 32 Addiction and Abuse 330 After the Fall 101 AGIs 251 AIs 20, 250 non-standard 251 AIs & Muses AGIs 251 ALIs 250 Muses 250 Non-Standard AIs 251 ALIs 250, 326 Anarchists 156 Animals, Smart 328 Apps 326 Apps & ALIs 326 Aptitude Template 44 Aptitude Checks 37 Aptitudes 36 Aptitude Template 44 Archetypes 26 Combat 26 Knowledge 27 Social 26 Technical 26 Area-Effect Attacks 218 Argonauts 160 Armor 214 mods 217 Artificial Intelligences 108 Asphyxiation 234 Asyncs 273 roleplaying 273 Athletics (skill) 48 Attacks shock 219 Special 218 Attacks, declaring 202 Augmentations 316 Combat 322 Mental 113, 320 Physical 324 sensory 318 Social 321 Augmented Reality 242 Authentication 246 Biometric 246 Circumventing 247 Direct Neural Interface 246 Ego 246 Mesh ID 246 Other Account 246 Passcode 246 Passkey 247 Quantum Key 247 Autonomist Alliance 156 B Backgrounds 38 Backups 286 ego bridges 287 in-game tracking 362 insurance 287 uploaded 287 Barsoomians 160 Basilisk Hacks 384 Biomorphs 54 cyberbrains 55 Pod 58 Uplift 60 C Called Shots 218 Campaign Criminal Ops 25 Earth Survival Ops 25 Firewall Ops 24 Gatecrashing Ops 24 Mercenary Ops 25 Political Ops 25 Researching Ops 25 Salvage and Rescue Ops 25 Campaigns 364 Careers 40 Centrifugal Habitats 117 Character Creation 38 Advice 38 Example 81 Characters creating 36 Chemicals 331 Chemicals, Drugs, & Toxins 330 children 132 Clades 128 Cognitive Drugs 331 Combat 202 Improvised Weapons 205 in space 302 Melee 204 mesh 264 Ranged 206 robots 347 Summary 203 Combat Augmentations 322 Combat Drugs 331 Commom Tech 316 Common Ware 316 Comms & Mesh Gear 336 Concepts 20 AIs 20 Defeating Death 20 Factions 21 Nanotech 21 Resleeving 20 The Mesh 20 Transhumanism 20 Uplifts 20 X-Risks 21 Conditions 226 Cortical Stacks 286 popping 286 Countermeasures 260 Active 261 passive 261 Security Audits 261 Covert Operations Tool 338 Creatures 328 Crime 150 Criminal 25 Criminals 170 Cultures 128 Cyberbrain 316 Cyberlimb 324 D Damage 203 Data Broker 315 Death 220 Defeating 20 Death Rating 220 Deceive (skill) 48 Decompression 234 Defense, declaring 202 Demolitions 219 Derived Stats 37, 46 Death Rating 37 Durability 37 Formulas 37 Infection Rating 37 Insanity Rating 37 Lucidity 37 Trauma Threshold 37 Wound Threshold 37 Devices hardware 244 software 244 wireless links 244 Dice 30 when to roll 30 Digital Distractions 134 Disorders 224 Downtime Actions 238 Drugs Cognitive 331 Combat 331 Health 332 Nanodrugs 332 Narcoalgorithms 332 Petals 333 Psi 334 Recreational 334 rules 330 Social 334 E Earth 180 Legacy 126 Orbit 180 Relics 127 Economy 138 New 142 Old Market 138 Transitional 138 Ego 20, 36 Egocasting 114, 300, 315 Emergency Farcaster 320 Encryption 246, 247 cokebreaking 247 Energy, Armor 214 Entertainment 134 Environmental Factors 234 Environments, hostile 236 Espionage & Security Tech 338 ETI, the 378
APPENDICES ¾421 Index Everyday Technology 316 Exhumans 161, 380 Exoplanets 29 Exotic Skill: [Field] (skill) 48 Experience Playback 242 Exploration Tools 340 Exsurgent characters 386 Infection 384 Psi 386 strains 388 Types 390 Exsurgent Virus, the 382 Extrasolar Systems 200 Extropians 157 F Factions 21, 44 Jovian Republic 158 Lunar-Lagrange Alliance (LLA) 152 Morningstar Constellation 153 Planetary Consortium 154 Scum 158 Tharsis League 155 Titanian Commonwealth 159 Factors 398 Ambassador 399 Guardian 399 Fake Ego ID 315 Falling 234 Family 132 Farcasting Quantum 336 Favors 308 information 309 services 309 Fear 122 Fire 235 Firewall 24, 123, 172, 400 Campaign 24 Factions 174 Interactions 401 joining 400 Terminology 173 Forking 292 alpha 292 and society 292 beta 292 creating 292 gamma 292 how to handle 293 Neural Pruning 292 Fray (skill) 48 Free Fall (skill) 49 Full Defense 226 Future Materials 233 G Gamemastering 354 Easing In 357 Prepping Your Campaign 355 Scenarios & Campaigns 356 The First Session 354 tips 362 Game Mechanics 30 Gatecrashing 24, 115 hypercorps 166 law 149 Pandora Gates 198, 404 Gear 37, 46, 310 acquiring 312 advice 313 ALIs 326 Apps 326 Blueprint 313 Combat Augmentations 322 Common Tech & Ware 316 Comms 336 Communications 336 complexity 310 concealing 311 design 310 Espionage 338 Exploration 340 Mental Augmentations 320 Mesh 336 meshed 311 Meshware 326 modifiers 310 Nanotech 342 Physical Augmentations 324 quality 311 Robots 346 Salvage 340 Science 340 Security Tech 338 Senses and Sensors 318 Sensory Augmentations 318 Services 315 size 311 Social Augmentations 321 Survival 341 Vacsuits 341 Vehicles 350 ware 311 Gear Packs 68 Campaign 68 Profession 69 Gear Points 312 Gear Traits 216 Gender Sex 19 Genetically Modified Organisms 328 Glitches 265 Glitterati 134 Gravity 235 Grenades 212 Guns (skill) 49 H Habitats 116 access 300 Centrifugal 117 Hacking 304 Infiltration 301 Microgravity 118 Other 119 Physical Arrivals 301 Planetary 116 Primer 29 Hacking 258 countermeasures 260 firewalls 260 Habitats 304 mindware 266 security alerts 260 ships 304 simple 263 Tests 258 Hardware: [Field] (skill) 49 Healing 221 Mental 223 Health Mental 222 Physical 220 Stress Points 222 wounds 220 Health Drugs 332 History 98 After the Fall 101 Before The Fall 98 The Fall 100 Timeline 104 Hostile atmosphere 236 Hybrid Vehicles 352 Hypercorporations 164 Hypercorps 139 I Identity circumventing checks 299 Ego ID 298 Systems 298 Verification 298 Iktomi, the 379 Improvised Weapons 205 Indentures 140 Infection Modifiers 276 Infiltrate (skill) 50 Influence Effects 278 Infomorphs 67, 252 and muses 253 Copying 253 Digital Speeds 252 ghostrider module 320 Home Device 252 Moving Between Devices 253 Infosec (skill) 50 Initiative 33 Delaying Actions 33 Derived Stats 37 Extra Actions 33 Order 33 Taking the 33
422¹APPENDICES Index Inner Fringe 194 Inner System 28, 136 Intellectual Property 139 Intel Services, Other 403 Interests 42 Interface (skill) 50 Introduction 18 Intruder Status changing 258 Intrusion 258 Intruder Status 258 J Journalism 134 Jovian Republic 137, 158 Jovian Space 28 Jupiter 188 K Kinesics (skill) 50 Kinetic, Armor 214 Kinetic Weapons 210 Know Skills 359 Know: Academics (skill) 52 Know: Arts (skill) 52 Know: [Field] (skill) 52 Know: Interests (skill) 53 Know: Professional Training (skill) 53 Know Skills 52, 359 Kuiper Belt 195 L Law Enforcement 146 Lidar 319 Luna 182 Lunar-Lagrange Alliance (LLA) 152 M Main Belt 28, 186 Main Belt, the 186 Mars 184 Media 134 Medichines 322 Medicine: [Field] (skill) 51 Melee (skill) 51 Mental Augmentations 113, 320 Mental Healing 223 Mental Health 222 Mercurials 109, 162 social status 109 Mercury 176 Merging 293 Mesh 20, 29, 110, 240 Accounts 246 Actions 248 and gear 311 Augmented Reality 242 combat 264 Experience Playback 242 Gear 336 glitches 265 Hardware 337 ID 246 Online Research 254 Searches 243 searching 254 Services 315 Social Networks 124, 243 Topology 241 uses 242 Virtual Reality 243 Mesh Actions 248 Admin 249 Scripting 249 Security 248 Universal 248 Mesh Hardware 337 Mesh ID 246 Mesh Inserts 316 Mesh Tracking 256 Meshware 326 Metacelebrities 134 Microswarms 344 Mind Hacking 112 Mission Gear 340 Morningstar Constellation 153 Morph 36, 37, 46 Morph Points 290 Increasing 290 Spending 290 Morphs 20, 54 Acquiring 290 Biomorphs 54 list 54 Making 291 Modifying 291 morph points 290 pod 58 Synthmorphs 62 uplift 60 Motivation 238 Motivations 37, 47 Movement 230 Actions 230 rate 230 types 231 Muses 250 roleplaying 251 N Nanodrugs 332 Nanofabbers 120 Nanofabrication 120, 314 Blueprint 314 Blueprints 120, 314 in-game logistics 360 Materials 314 Nanoswarms 344 Nanotech 21, 342 Hives 342 Nanofabricators 343 Narcoalgorithms 332 Negative Traits 76 Neptune 192 Networking 308 favors 308 Neural Pruning 292 Neutrino Communicators 336 NPC Rules 376 NPC & Threat Rules 376 O Objects 232 Oligarchs 141 Online Research 254 Oort Cloud 195 Opposed Tests 202 Psi 276 Outer Fringe 194 Outer System 29, 137 Polities 156 P Pain Regulator 322 Pandora Gates 198, 404 rumors 405 Pandora Gates, the 198 Perceive (skill) 51 Perception 226 Persuade (skill) 51 Petals 333 Physical Augmentations 324 Physical Health 220 Physical Tracking 256 Pilot: [Field] (skill) 51 Planetary Consortium 154 Planetary Habitats 116 Pod Biomorphs 58 Point-Buy Characters 47 Pools 34 Flex 34 Insight 34 Moxie 34 Recharging 35 Temporary 35 Vigor 34 Positive Traits 72 Private Server 315 Program (skill) 51 Project Ozma 402 Prometheans, the 401 Property 143 Provoke (skill) 51 Psi 272 duration 276 Easing the Infection 277 Infection Influence 277 Infection Modifiers 276 Infection Rating 272 Influence Effects 278 Opposed Tests 276 Psi-Gamma Sleights 282 Pushing Sleights 277 Range 276 Sleights 272, 280 Targeting 276 using 276 Watts-MacLeod Sub-Strains 273 Psi-Chi Sleights 280 Psi Drugs 334 Psi-Gamma Sleights 282 Psi (skill) 51 Psi Sleights 272, 280 Psi-Chi Sleights 280 Psychosurgery 223, 294, 315 Procedures 295 Q Quantum-Entangled Communication 337 Quantum Farcasters 336 Quarantine Zones 196 R Radiation 236 Ranged Combat 206 Modifiers 207 Reclaimers 162 Recreational Drugs 334 Religion 168 Rep 37, 144, 238. See also Reputation Burning 308 Networks 307 using 308 Repair 221 object 221 synthmorph 221 Rep Rewards 366 Reputation 124, 306. See also See also Rep
APPENDICES Index ¾423 and ID 308 gain and loss 367 scores 306 Social Networks 306 Research (skill) 51 Resleeving 20, 288 and Morph Points 291 and pools 289 Complications 288 tests 288 Rez 366 points 366 Robots 346 Combat 347 Exploration 347 Medical 347 Personal 348 Recon 349 Remote Operations 346 Surveillance 349 Utility 349 S Safety in-game 364 X-card 364 Salvage Tools 340 Sapients 163 Saturn 190 Science Tools 340 Scripting 249 Scum 158 Searching the Mesh 254 Secrets 370 Security Systems 372 Seeker Weapons 212 Senses and Sensors 318 The Electromagnetic Spectrum 318 Sensors, and Senses 318 Sensory Augmentations 318 Services 315 Mesh 315 Sex Gender 19 Sexuality 130 Simulspace 315 Sizes 227 Skill List 48 Skills 37 Active 48 Know 52 Sleights Psi-Chi 280 Psi-Gamma 282 Smart Animals 328 Smart Clothing 317 Social 334 Attacks 228 Manipulation 228 Social Actions 228 Social Augmentations 321 Socialites 163 Social Movements 160 Argonauts 160 Barsoomians 160 Bioconservatives 161 Brinkers 161 Exhumans 161 Mercurials 162 Reclaimers 162 Sapients 163 Socialites 163 Ultimates 163 Social Networks 124 Sol 176 Solar System 176 Inner System 136 Jovian Republic 137 Mercury 176 Outer System 137 Sol 176 Vulcanoids 177 Space 114 Spacecraft Propulsion 303 Space Combat 302 Spacecraft Hacking 304 Spaceships. See Spacecraft Space Travel 114, 315 Special Attacks 218 Starting Out 19 Stress Points 222 Stress Tests 229 Structures 232 Superior Results failure 31 success 31 Surprise 227 Surveillance hacking 270 Survival (skill) 51 Survival Tools 341 Swarm Rules 344 Synthmorphs 62 Flexbot 66 System Subversion 262 T Technology 286 Everyday 316 Tests 30 Criticals 31 Defaulting 31 Hacking 258 modifiers 31 Opposed 32 Success 32 Teamwork 31 The Fall 100 The Fringe 29, 194 Themes 22, 364 Change 23 Conspiracy 22 Horror 22 Infection 22 Politics 23 Post-Apocalyptic 22 Science 23 Survival 22 The Mesh. See Mesh Threat Rules 376 Threat Level 376 Threats 368 types 376 TITAN Machines 408 Fetch 408 Fractal 409 Headhunter 410 Puppet 411 Self-Replicating Nanoswarm 412 Warbot 413 TITANs 406, 408 Background 406 legacy 406 rumors 407 Tools 317 Toxin Filters 323 Toxins 335 Antidotes 335 rules 330 Tracking 256 Countermeasures 257 Mesh 256 Physical 256 Traits 37, 72 gear & weapon 216 Traps 374 Disarming 374 Spotting 374 Trauma 223 effects 223 Travel 114 Egocasting 300 in space 302 times 302 U Uplift Biomorphs 60 Uplifts 20, 60, 108 Uploading 286 Uranus 192 Utilitool 317 V Vacsuits 341 Vacuum 237 Vehicle Chases 232 Crashes 232 Movement 232 Vehicles 350 Aircraft 350 Exoskeletons 350 Groundcraft 350 Hardsuits 351 Nautical Craft 352 Personal Transport Devices 352 Spacecraft 352 Venus 178 Virtual Reality 268 Vulcanoids 177 W Ware 311 Watts-MacLeod Sub-Strains 273 Architect 273 Beast 273 Haunter 273 Stranger 273 Xenomorph 273 Weald 135 Weapon Accessories 216 Weapons Beam 208 coated 219 Improvised 205 Kinetic 210 Melee 204 Seeker 212 Spray 209 Systems 209 Thrown 209 two-handed 219 Weapon Traits 216 Weather 235 Wounds 220 X Xenofauna 328 X-Risks 21, 368
424¹APPENDICES Complete List of Mesh Actions COMPLETE LIST OF MESH ACTIONS All actions are complex actions unless accompanied by a [Q] for quick actions and [T] for task actions. If you do not have access privileges that allow the action, it requires a Hacking Test. UNIVERSAL ACTIONS Actions usually available to all users. Access Another System: Authenticate and log on. Creates account shell. Apply Tag: Mark a physical person, place, or thing with an AR e-tag. Communicate: Email, text, voice, or video chat others online. Encrypt/Decrypt: Encrypt or decrypt files (Encryption ▶247). Filter AR Mist: Remove obtrusive AR “mist” (AR Mist and Filters ▶242). Identify Attacker: You can attempt to identify someone attacking you in mesh combat (Attack Awareness ▶264). Issue Command: Single command to a slaved device, ALI, or teleoperated bot (or group). Log Off: Exit a system. Modify Files: View, change, upload, download, and delete files. Operate Device: Control a device. May require a skill test. Run Script: Launch a pre-programmed script (Scripting ▶249). Scan Stealthed Signals: Find hidden wireless devices and their mesh IDs within range (Stealthed Signals ▶244). Scan Wireless Signals: Look up wireless devices and their mesh IDs within range. Search: You may search a system you are accessing or the mesh at large (Online Research ▶254). Shield Software: Actively protect software in mesh combat ▶248. Stealth Wireless Signals: Hide your wireless activity (Stealthed Signals ▶244). Switch Home Device: Move your infomorph virtual mind-state to another system. Terminate Software: Kill minor software process. Toggle AR Skin: Change the AR environment skin (Skinning▶242). Toggle Privacy Mode: Set public profile to private or public (Privacy Mode ▶241) Toggle Simulspace: Enter/exit simulspace (Virtual Reality ▶268). Use Apps: Use various apps. May require an Interface Test. Use Service: Use cloud-based apps. May require a subscription. View Apps: See what apps are available and/or currently running. View Profile: View someone’s public social network profile and rep scores within range. View Sensor Feeds: Stream sensor input to your AR. May require Perceive or Know Test. View System Status: Determine system health, ongoing processes, security alerts, etc. SECURITY ACTIONS Actions reserved for accounts with security or admin privileges. Acquire Mesh ID: Acquire the mesh ID of anyone accessing the system. Activate Countermeasure: Initiate active countermeasures against a spotted intruder (Active Countermeasures ▶261). Attack: Attempt to crash an account shell, app, firewall, infomorph, operating system, or service (Mesh Combat ▶264). Bypass Jamming: Overcome jamming by winning an Opposed Interface Test for 1 action turn, +1 per superior success. Locate Intruder: Attempt to find a suspected intruder (Locate Intruder ▶261). Lockout: Block a specified mesh ID from accessing the system. Monitor Activity: Spy on an app’s activity or another specific user’s actions in real-time. Scan Infomorph: Analyze an infomorph with a successful Interface Test. Trace: Track a user to their physical location (or at least the system they originate from); see Physical Tracking ▶256. Trigger Alert: Put the system on passive or active alert. View Logs: Access the system’s logs. View Users: See what other users are currently accessing the system, what apps they are using, and their mesh IDs. ADMIN ACTIONS Only admin accounts are allowed to take these actions. Disable Sensors or Device Functions: Turn off sensors or other physical functions. Modify Accounts: Add new accounts and remove old ones. Modify Privileges: Add or remove specific privileges. Modify Software: Install, remove, and update apps on the system. Wipe System: Erase all data from the system, taking 1 minute for motes, 3 minutes for hosts, and 10 for servers. HACKING ACTIONS These actions usually require a Hacking Test. Most are detailed under System Subversion ▶262. (T) Break Encryption: Decrypt an encrypted file (Codebreaking ▶247). Control Ware: Manipulate a target’s ware. Disable Safety Mechanisms: Override safety controls and alarms. Edit AR Feed: Block or change AR input. Eliminate Traces: Edit logs and remove traces of your hacks. Force Re-authentication: When sniffing, break a link to capture login credentials (Sniffing ▶245). Hide File or Process: Conceal a file/process from others (opposed with Research Test at –30). Impair Senses: Distract with AR overload. Interface Test, –10 modifier. Inject AR/Illusion: Insert fake AR data into feed. Install Back Door: Create a secret way back in to the system. Install Blocker: Pre-emptively block other users from specified actions. Jam Signals: Jam specific or all wireless frequencies. Loop Sensor Feed: Replace a live sensor feed with looped recordings. Modify TacNet: Edit tacnet data, mark foes as friends. Suppress Alarm: Switch active alert to passive, or turn a passive alert off. Suppress Process: Prevent a specified process from restarting. Sniff Traffic: Sniff traffic between wireless devices (Sniffing ▶245). Tap AR: Monitor target’s AR feeds. Tap Senses: Tap target’s sensorium.
APPENDICES Complete List of Mesh Actions ¾425 MINDWARE HACKING Trap Ego: Prohibit the ego/infomorph from moving/evacuating. Control Ware: As above. Copy Ego: Make an alpha fork (Forking ▶292). Delete Ego: Erase the mind. Freeze Morph (Cyberbrain): Paralyze the morph. Mindhack: Practice psychosurgery on the ego (Psychosurgery ▶294). Modify Meshware (Cyberbrain): Add, remove, or alter meshware. Modify Sensory Input (Cyberbrain): Block, edit, or inject sensory input. Puppeteer (Cyberbrain): Remotely operate the morph (Remote Operations ▶346). Scorch Ego: Attack the ego with a scorcher app. Shutdown: Deactivate the mind. Tap Senses: As above. Terminate Cortical Stack Feed: Cut off the ongoing backup. SIMULSPACE USER ACTIONS Standard user options within a simulspace boil down to a few simple actions: Access Simulspace Functions: Do anything a normal user can do. May require an Interface Test. Activate Cheat Code: Activate a cheat code and acquire its benefit. View Domain Rules: Analyze the simulation’s parameters, rules, and controls. SIMULSPACE ADMIN/CHEAT ACTIONS Admins and users with cheat codes have more options. Add/Remove Cheat Codes: Either install a new cheat code or edit/remove an existing one. Alter Domain Rules: Tweak the system settings within certain parameters; may require a Program Test. Control NPCs: Dictate what responses NPCs give to certain actions or direct them outright. Eavesdrop: Virtually surveil other users. Generate Items: Create virtual items regardless of rarity. Modify Simulmorph: Modify a simulmorph’s stats within specified parameters; may require a Program Test. Privacy: Prevent your face-to-face communications from being eavesdropped upon. Start/Stop Simulspace: Launch a new simulspace or close down an existing one. Teleport: Instantaneously travel anywhere within the simulspace. Terminate Session: Forcibly end a user’s session. Toggle God Mode: Make your simulmorph invulnerable to damage. Toggle Invisibility: Make yourself imperceptible to standard users. Toggle Lockbox Controls: Prevent specified users from toggling in or out of simulspace. CONSOLIDATED HACKING Sometimes a PC may want to hack a system that is less consequential to the story. Rather than running each hack step-by-step, the GM can consolidate such a hack into a single task action Infosec Test. First, the hacker should compile a brief list of objectives after hacking in (e.g., locate a file, unlock a door, loop a sensor feed, eliminate traces). Set a timeframe of 1 hour plus 10 minutes per objective. If brute forcing, the timeframe is 2 action turns per objective. Apply the following modifiers: –30 if brute forcing, +10 if hacking a mote, –10 if hacking a server, and –10 if hacking multiple systems. Infosec Test Result Hacking Result Critical Failure Hack fails, hacker traced. Superior Failure Hack fails. Failure Hacker achieves first objective only. Success Hacker achieves all objectives. Superior Success Hacker achieves all objectives in 25% less time per superior success. Critical Success Hacker achieves all objectives, backdoors system. SIMPLE HACKING If these rules at first seem intimidating, keep in mind that the core hacking rules are fairly straightforward. The following guidelines should get you through most situations: • Almost all hacking-involved tests pit the hacker’s Infosec vs. the target system’s Firewall. • To hack into a system, you have a choice of fast (immediate, –30 modifier, triggers an alert) or slow (no modifier, takes an hour, no alert). • By default, you get in with standard user privileges. Superior successes get you better privileges. • Once in, you can take any action that your privileges allow without making a test. • If your privileges don’t allow it, make a Hacking Test (Infosec vs. Firewall) to pull it off. • Use your imagination! If you want to do something — loop sensors, jam weapons, steal files, open a door, crash an opposing AI — your GM will tell if you need to make a test. • Don’t forget to use Insight pool for extra mesh actions or to modify rolls!
426¹APPENDICES Complete List of Morphs COMPLETE LIST OF MORPHS COMMON BIOMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Movement Rate Flat 0 MP 30 6 30 45 0 0 0 0 Walker 4/20 Splicer 1 MP 90 6 30 45 0 0 0 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Exalt 2 MP 70 7 35 53 1 1 1 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Neotenic 2 MP 50 6 30 45 2 1 1 0 Walker 4/12 Ware: Biomods, Circadian Regulation, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts • Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) • Notes: Small size ▶227 Ruster 3 MP 70 7 35 53 0 1 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cold Tolerance, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Respiration, Mesh Inserts, Radiation Sense Bouncer 4 MP 60 7 35 53 1 0 1 2 Walker 4/12 Ware: Biomods, Cold Tolerance, Cortical Stack, Grip Pads, Mesh Inserts, Oxygen Reserve, Prehensile Feet • Morph Traits: Limberness (Level 1) Futura 4 MP 25 7 35 53 2 4 1 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Hibernoid 4 MP 70 7 35 53 1 1 0 2 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Circadian Regulation, Clean Metabolism, Cold Tolerance, Cortical Stack, Hibernation, Mesh Inserts Menton 4 MP 60 7 35 53 3 1 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics Olympian 4 MP 60 8 40 60 1 1 3 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Sylph 4 MP 60 6 30 45 1 3 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Clean Metabolism, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Pheromones, Mesh Inserts Fury 6 MP 40 10 50 75 1 1 4 2 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Bioweave Armor (+2/+3), Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts Morph Traits: Enhanced Behavior (Aggressiveness, Level 2; Cooperation, Level 2) Ghost 6 MP 40 9 45 68 2 1 3 2 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Grip Pads, Mesh Inserts Morph Traits: Enhanced Behavior (Patience, Level 2) Remade 7 MP 30 9 45 68 2 2 2 2 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Circadian Regulation, Clean Metabolism, Cold Tolerance, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Respiration, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) POD BIOMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Movement Rate Basic Pod 1 MP 80 6 30 45 0 0 1 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock • Morph Traits: Planned Obsolescence Worker Pod 3 MP 70 7 35 53 0 0 2 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Novacrab 4 MP 50 9 45 68 0 0 3 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Carapace Armor (+6/+7), Cold Tolerance, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Respiration, Gills, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Oxygen Reserve, Puppet Sock, Vacuum Sealing • Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3), Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 2) • Notes: Claw Attack (DV 2d10) Pleasure Pod 4 MP 70 6 30 45 0 3 0 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Clean Metabolism, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Pheromones, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, Scent Alteration, Sex Switch Security Pod 5 MP 60 7 35 53 1 0 2 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Bioweave Armor (+2/+3), Claws, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Eelware, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Shaper 5 MP 40 7 35 53 1 2 0 0 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Biomods, Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Nanotat ID Flux, Puppet Sock, Sex Switch, Skinflex
APPENDICES ¾427 Complete List of Morphs UPLIFT BIOMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Movement Rate Neo-Avian 0 MP 50 5 25 38 2 1 0 0 Walker 2/8, Winged 8/40 Ware: Biomods, Claws, Cortical Stack, Direction Sense, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts, Prehensile Feet, Wings • Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3), Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 2) • Notes: Beak/Claw Attack (DV 2d6), Small size ▶227 Neo-Bonobo/Neo-Chimpanzee 1 MP 50 6 30 45 0 2 1 0 Walker 4/12 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Mesh Inserts, Prehensile Feet Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 1) Neo-Neanderthal 2 MP 35 7 35 53 0 1 2 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Mesh Inserts Morph Traits: Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 1) Neo-Gorilla 3 MP 40 9 45 68 0 0 3 1 Walker 4/12 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Mesh Inserts, Prehensile Feet Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1), Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 1) Neo-Octopus 3 MP 35 6 30 45 1 1 1 2 Swim 4/20, Thrust Vector 4/12, Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Biomods, Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Gills, Mesh Inserts, Polarization Vision Walker 2/8 Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3), Limberness (Level 2), Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 2) Notes: 8 prehensile arms, Beak Attack (DV 1d10), Ink Attack (use Athletics, blinding, 5-meter uniform area-effect in water and micrograv) Neo-Orangutan 3 MP 35 7 35 53 1 1 2 0 Walker 4/12 Ware: Biomods, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Mesh Inserts, Prehensile Feet Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1), Limberness (Level 1), Non-Human Biochemistry (Level 1) Notes: Reach (+10) SYNTHMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Movement Rate Case 0 MP 100 5 25 50 0 0 0 0 Walker 4/12 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1), Inherent Flaws Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4) Spare 0 MP 80 3 15 30 0 1 0 0 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack (optional), Cyberbrain, Grip Pads, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, Skinlink, Stress Control Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4), Small size ▶227 Dragonfly 1 MP 70 5 25 50 1 0 1 0 Walker 2/8, Winged 8/32 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, Prehensile Tail, Radar, Wings Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4), Small size ▶227 Swarmanoid 2 MP 60 — 40 80 2 0 0 0 Hopper 4/12, Rotor 4/20, Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Walker 2/8 Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Notes: Swarm Attack (DV 1d6, ignores armor, blinding), comes with specialized swarmanoid hive ▶342 Synth 3 MP 80 8 40 80 0 0 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4) Savant 4 MP 50 7 35 70 3 0 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4) Galatea 5 MP 50 8 40 80 1 2 1 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Chameleon Skin, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Hearing, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4)
428¹APPENDICES Complete List of Morphs SYNTHMORPHS (CONT) Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Movement Rate Slitheroid 5 MP 50 9 45 90 0 1 3 0 Roller 8/32, Snake 4/12 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Vision, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock, Retracting Limbs Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 2) Notes: Medium Frame (Armor 8/6) Steel Morph 5 MP 50 8 40 80 0 1 3 1 Walker 4/20 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Puppet Sock Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 1) Notes: Medium Frame (Armor 8/6) Arachnoid 6 MP 40 11 55 110 1 0 3 0 Hopper 4/12, Thrust Vector 8/40, Walker 4/20, Wheeled 8/40 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Magnetic System, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Pneumatics, Puppet Sock, Retracting Limbs Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) • Notes: Medium Frame (Armor 8/6) Reaper 12 MP 10 12 60 120 1 0 6 1 Hopper 4/20, Ionic 8/40, Thrust Vector 8/40, Walker 4/20 Ware: 360-Degree Vision, Access Jacks, Anti-Glare, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Enhanced Vision, Magnetic System, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Pneumatics, Puppet Sock, Radar, Retracting Limbs, T-Ray Emitter, Weapon Mount (Articulated, 4) Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Notes: Heavy Frame (Armor 12/10) FLEXBOTS All flexbots have the following stats, plus the stats for their module type: Movement Rate: Thrust Vector 8/40, Walker 4/12 Ware: Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Lidar, Mesh Inserts, Mnemonics, Modular Design, Puppet Sock, Shape Adjusting Morph Traits: Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Notes: Light Frame (Armor 6/4), Small size MODULES Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Crafter Module 2 MP 60 4 20 40 1 0 0 0 Ware: Engineer Swarm Hive, Fixer Swarm Hive Common Shape Adjustments: Enhanced Vision, Disassembly Tools, Fractal Digits, Nanoscopic Vision, Tool Kit, T-Ray Emitter, and Utilimod Fighter Module 3 MP 60 6 30 60 0 0 1 0 Ware: Pneumatics, Weapon Mount (2) Common Shape Adjustments: Enhanced Vision, Light Combat Armor, Radar, T-Ray Emitter, and ranged weapons Rogue Module 2 MP 60 4 20 40 0 0 1 0 Ware: Chameleon Skin, Radar Absorbent Common Shape Adjustments: Dazzler, Enhanced Vision, Fiber Eye, Fractal Digits, Magnetic System, Nanoscopic Vision, T-Ray Emitter, Weapon Mount Wizard Modules2 MP 60 4 20 40 1 0 0 0 Ware: Radio Booster, Sniffer App, Tracker App Common Shape Adjustments: Electrical Sense, Enhanced Vision, Laser Link, Nanodetector, Skinlink, Utilitool INFOMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Digimorph 0 MP 100 5 25 50 0 0 0 0 Ware: Mnemonics Morph Traits: Digital Speed, Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Ikon 1 MP 100 6 30 60 1 3 0 0 Ware: Copylock, Memory Lock, Mnemonics Morph Traits: Digital Speed, Exotic Morphology (Level 3) INFOMORPHS Cost Avail WT DUR DR Insight Moxie Vigor Flex Agent 2 MP 100 8 40 80 4 0 0 0 Ware: Enhanced Security, E-Veil, Mnemonics Morph Traits: Digital Speed, Exotic Morphology (Level 3) Operator 2 MP 100 7 35 70 3 0 0 1 Ware: Drone Rig, Mnemonics, Oracles Morph Traits: Digital Speed, Exotic Morphology (Level 3)
OPPOSED TESTS • If you are acting in opposition to another character, you both make a test, rolling d100 against skill +/– modifiers. • Whomever succeeds and rolls highest wins. MODIFIERS • Modifiers always affect the target number (skill), not the roll. • Modifiers (positive or negative) come in 3 levels of severity: • Minor (+/–10) • Moderate (+/–20) • Major (+/–30) • ffle maximum modifiers that can be applied are +/– 60. SPECIALIZATIONS • Specializations add +10 when using a skill for that area of concentration. Each skill may have only one specialization. SUPERIOR RESULTS For one superior result, choose one of the following. For two superior results, choose two or one twice for double effects: • Quality: ffle work is more exact (success) or more sloppy (failure). fflis may affect subsequent tests by +/− 10. • Quantity: ffle test consumes fewer (success) or more (failure) materials or produces fewer or more results. • Detail: You acquire information that is much more in-depth/ nuanced (success) or false (failure). • Time (task actions only): ffle action takes a shorter (success) or longer (failure) amount of time, by +/− 25%. • Covertness: ffle action is less (success) or more (failure) obvious or draws less or more attention (+/− 10 as appropriate). • Damage: Successes inflict more (+1d6) damage (failures miss). CRITICAL RESULTS Criticals (“crits”) have more impact than superior results. ffley represent “Wow!” moments where you stun onlookers with incredible proficiency or ineptness. ffley provide extra effects/ penalties, as determined by the GM. Here are some examples: • Double the damage you inflict with an attack. • Gain a +/− 20 modifier to the next test you make. • Take an extra action (critical success) or lose your next action (critical failure). • Break a weapon/tool (critical failure). TEAMWORK • One character is chosen as the primary actor; they make the test. • Each helper character adds a +10 modifier (max. +30). • For Know, Technical, or Vehicle skill tests, collaborating characters must possess the skill at 40+ to provide a teamwork bonus. ACTION TURNS Action Turns are roughly 3 seconds in length. • In each action turn you may undertake one of the following: • 1 complex action and 1 quick action • 1 task action and 1 quick action • 3 quick actions • You may also take unlimited automatic actions. TASK ACTIONS • Task actions are any action that requires longer than 1 action turn to complete. • Task actions list a timeframe (anywhere from 2 turns to 2 years). • Timeframes may be adjusted by superior results. • You may take extra time, applying a +10 modifier for a 25% increase to the timeframe. • You may rush the job, reducing the timeframe by 25% but applying a –20 modifier. • If you fail, you expend 25% of the timeframe, +25% per superior failure, before you realize you have failed. INITIATIVE • ffle order in which you act is determined by rolling 1d6 and adding your Initiative stat. • ffle highest result goes first; others follow in descending order. • On tied initiatives, you go simultaneously or use REF or a roll-off to determine order. • You may delay and act later in Initiative order; the count on which you act becomes your Initiative in subsequent turns. USING REP Use your rep scores to pursue favors such as acquiring goods, services, or info. Each rep score applies only to the people/factions affiliated with that particular social network. • Make a Rep Test, using your rep score as the target number. • The type of favor you are asking for modifies the target number: Minor (+10), Moderate (+0), or Major (–30). • You can intentionally take a negative modifier to a Rep Test to keep your request quiet and hidden from others. The same modifier applies to anyone making a Rep Test to find out what you’re up to. • Favors have limits in how often they can be used: Minor (3 per week), Moderate (1 per week), Major (1 per story arc). • You can burn rep (permanently lower your rep score) for additional favors (at a cost of 5 for Minor, 10 for Moderate, 20 for Major) or to get a modifier to a Rep Test (equal to burn points × 2). RULES PRIMER ECLIPSE PHASE SECOND EDITION MAKING TESTS Roll d100 (0–99) • Target number is determined by the appropriate skill, aptitude check, or rep score. • Diculty is represented by modifiers to this target number, assigned by the GM. • Your goal is to roll equal to or under the modified target number, but as high as possible. • A roll equal to or under the target number is a success. If the success roll is 33 or more, it is a superior success. If it is a 66 or more, it is two superior successes. • If your roll exceeds the target number, it is a failure. If the failed roll is under 66, it is a superior failure. If it is under 33, it counts as two superior failures. • Doubles (00, 11, etc.) equal a critical success or failure. • 00 is always a critical success. 99 is always a critical failure. • If you do not have the appropriate skill, you may default to the skill’s linked aptitude, but critical successes are ignored. • If you fail, you may try again (unless the GM disallows it), with a cumulative –10 modifier. @-rep: The Circle-A List—autonomists, anarchists, Titanians, scum, Extropians. c-rep: CivicNet— Planetary Consortium, Morningstar Constellation, Lunar-Lagrange Alliance, Jovian Republic, other hypercorps & capitalists. f-rep: Fame & media network—socialites, artists, metacelebs, journalists, glitterati. g-rep: Guanxi—triads, cartels, gangs, other criminal groups. i-rep: The Eye— Firewall’s secret internal network. r-rep: Research Network Affiliates—Argonauts, scientists, technologists, researchers. x-rep: ExploreNet— gatecrashers, exoplanet colonists. EGO VS. MORPH Your capabilities are divided between your ego (your mind, skills, and memories that travel with you from body to body) and your morph (the body you currently inhabit).
but some Flex points come from your ego. human capabilities. Most pools are derived from your morph, Your character has a number of pools that defi ne their trans- USING POOLS • provide other bonuses. skills and may be used in unique ways to modify your rolls or Each pool is linked to a different group of aptitudes and • used on any tests. test or aptitude check linked to REF or SOM). Flex may be skills or aptitudes (i.e., a Vigor point can be used on a skill Each pool may only be used for tests that use their linked • Unless otherwise noted, only 1 pool point may be spent per test. • Before Roll: Ignore all modifi ers to the test. • Before Roll: Add +20 to the test’s target number. • After Roll: Flip-fl op a d100 roll. For example, 83 becomes 38. • After Roll: Upgrade a success to a superior success (or one to two). • After Roll: Downgrade a critical failure to a regular failure. • Ongoing (Insight/Moxie/Vigor Only): Receive +5 (1 point) or +10 (2 points) to all skill tests linked to one aptitude Cognition, Intuition, and their linked skills. Insight pool is linked to mental capabilities: INSIGHT for 24 hours or until your next recharge • Take the Initiative: Go fi rst in an action turn if you are only taking mental or mesh actions and no physical movement. • Extra Action: Take an extra complex mental or mesh action (or 2 quick actions) in an action turn. • Acquire a Clue: Gain a hint or lead through investigation, for Rep and Infection Tests. Willpower, and linked skills. It may also be used Moxie pool is linked to social interactions: Savvy, MOXIE make a test. research, or analysis of the facts at hand, without needing to • Ignore Trauma: Ignore the eff ects of 1 trauma for 24 hours. • Refresh Rep: Restore rep network favors at a cost of 1 point favors may not be refreshed this way. for a Minor favor and 2 points for a Moderate favor. Major • Acquire a Clue: Get a tip or lead by gathering information via social interactions without needing to make a test. • Control Your Infection: Avoid making an Infection Test when using a psi sleight (asyncs only). • Negate Gafi e: Ignore a player’s social gaff e that the character wouldn’t make. Somatics, and their linked skills. Vigor pool is linked to physical efforts: Reflexes, VIGOR • Take the Initiative: Go fi rst in an action turn. • Extra Action: Take an extra complex physical action (or 2 quick actions) in an action turn. • Ignore Wound: Ignore the eff ects of 1 wound for 24 hours. dice rolls for any tests and for narrative control. Flex is a wild-card pool. It can be used to affect FLEX • Introduce NPC: A new or existing NPC joins factional allegiance, a noteworthy skill, a specifi c trait, etc. You may defi ne one aspect of this NPC: their morph, the scene. ffl eir presence must be plausible. • Introduce an Item: A previously unnoticed item is added to piece of gear, or even a clue. or Restricted) Complexity. It can be a useful tool, a necessary be off ensive (no weapons) and it must be of Minor (not Rare the scene. Its presence must be plausible. ffl e item cannot • Defi ne the Environment: You may introduce an ladder or window. cover, distractions, shelter, or exploitable elements such as a drastically alter the scene. Examples include hiding spots, plausible. It should provide a new detail that does not environmental factor to a scene. Its presence must be • Defi ne a Relationship: You may introduce a new, plausible pool above its original rating; unspent points are lost. a recharge action to rest and recalibrate. You can’t increase a You recover the points you have spent from pools by taking RECHARGING POOLS shared history, or old but minor rivalry. or serious. For example, you may have a common friend, ffl is connection should be more loose or minor than close relationship between your character and an existing NPC. • Short Recharge (2/day): Short recharges are a task restores 1d6 pool points; you decide where to allocate them. short recharges per 24-hour period. Each short recharge action with a timeframe of 10 minutes. You may take two • Long Recharge (1/day): A long recharge is a task action restores your pools to their full value. recharge per 24-hour period. A long recharge completely without biomods). You may only benefit from one long with a timeframe of 4 hours (8 for flats and other biomorphs Combat is an opposed test. • Attacker rolls attack skill +/– modifi ers. • Melee: Defender rolls Fray or Melee skill +/– modifi ers. • Ranged: Defender rolls (Fray skill ÷ 2) +/– modifi ers. • attack hits. Roll damage. If attacker succeeds and rolls higher than the defender, the • Superior hits infl ict +1d6 DV • Critical hits double the DV. • kinetic armor, as appropriate. ffl e weapon’s damage is reduced by the target’s energy or • multiple wounds are infl icted. exceeds the target’s Wound ffl reshold by multiple factors, Threshold, a wound is scored. If the damage equals or If the damage equals or exceeds the target’s Wound • your Infosec skill Hacking Tests are opposed tests, If it reaches Death Rating, they are killed/destroyed. If total damage reaches Durability, the target is incapacitated. VS. the target’s Firewall. • • about it: When hacking a target, there are two methods you can go Brute-Force-Attacks are quick and noisy. ffley require a Tests. If you succeed, you have complex action and inflict a –30 modifier to your Hacking user privileges on the system but also spotted status (the system is aware of your intrusion). • Subtle Intrusions are quiet but take time. ffley are task have actions with a timeframe of 1 hour. If you succeed, you user privileges on the system and covert status (the system is unaware of your presence). • privileges one step (from user to security to admin). Each superior success on the Hacking Test increases your • one step (from spotted to covert to hidden). A critical success on the Hacking Test increases your status • additional Hacking Tests. your privileges allow. For other actions, you must succeed in When intruding, you do not need to make tests for actions HACKING COMBAT
REPUTATION @-REP C-REP F-REP G-REP I-REP R-REP X-REP NAME ALIAsEs MOTIvATIONs LANGUAGEs EGO TRAITs BACKGROUND CAREER INTEREsT FACTION GENDER sEX AGE MUsE REZ POINTs (sPENT/UNsPENT) ₃ MIN FAvORs/WEEK ₁ MOD FAvOR/WEEK ₁ MAJ FAvOR/sTORY ARC APTITUDES & DERIVED STATS COMBAT GEAR ACTIVE SKILLS GEAR PACKS KNOW SKILLS COG INT REF SAV SOM WIL APT APT APT APT APT APT CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 INITIATIvE LUCIDITY TRAUMA THREsHOLD INsANITY RATING sTREss TAKEN TRAUMAs TAKEN RANGED Dv FIRING MODE RANGE sKILL AMMO NOTEs RANGED Dv FIRING MODE RANGE sKILL AMMO NOTEs RANGED Dv FIRING MODE RANGE sKILL AMMO NOTEs MELEE sKILL DAMAGE vALUE MELEE sKILL DAMAGE vALUE ARMOR ENERGY/KINETIC SKILL APT TYPE TOTAL ATHLETICs sOM PHYsICAL DECEIvE sAv sOCIAL EXOTIC sKILL: FIELD EXOTIC sKILL: FIELD FRAY REF COMBAT FREE FALL sOM PHYsICAL GUNs REF COMBAT HARDWARE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL HARDWARE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL HARDWARE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL HARDWARE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL HARDWARE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL INFILTRATE REF PHYsICAL INFOsEC COG TECHNICAL INTERFACE COG TECHNICAL KINEsICs sAv sOCIAL MEDICINE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL MEDICINE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL MEDICINE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL MEDICINE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL MEDICINE: COG FIELD • TECHNICAL MELEE sOM COMBAT PERCEIvE INT MENTAL PERsUADE sAv sOCIAL PILOT: REF FIELD • vEHICLE PILOT: REF FIELD • vEHICLE PILOT: REF FIELD • vEHICLE PILOT: REF FIELD • vEHICLE PILOT: REF FIELD • vEHICLE PROGRAM COG TECHNICAL PROvOKE sAv sOCIAL PsI WIL MENTAL • PsI REsEARCH INT TECHNICAL sURvIvAL INT MENTAL PACK PACK PACK PACK SKILL APT TOTAL ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ Movement Rate Ware Morph Traits Notes INSIGHT [COG, INT] VIGOR [REF, sOM] MOXIE FLEX [sAv, WIL, REP] MORPH NAME MP COST WOUND THRESHOLD DURABILITY DEATH RATING EGO FLEX [sPENT] [sPENT] [sPENT] [sPENT] DAMAGE TAKEN WOUNDS TAKEN RECHARGE [Per 24 hrs]
CHARACTER NOTES LAsT BACKUP ENTRY DATE sTORAGE LOCATION MENTAL EDITs/PsYCHOsURGERY ONGOING EFFECTs/CONDITIONs MOTIVATION GOALS ACTIVE FORKS TYPE WHEN MADE NOTES ADDITIONAL NOTES MUSE sUB-sTRAIN INFECTION RATING INFLUENCE EVENTS ₁: PHYsICAL DAMAGE. TAKE Dv ₁D₆. ₂: ₃: ₄: ₅: ₆: SLEIGHTS TYPE ACTION DURATION INFECTION MOD EFFECTS ASYNC ₃₃+: INCREAsED EFFECT PUsH TO ALL PsI-CHI sLEIGHTs (DOUBLE THE EFFECT) ₆₆+: FREE PUsH TO ALL PsI-GAMMA sLEIGHTs NAME COG INT REF SAV SOM WIL APT APT APT APT APT APT CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 CHECK APT X 3 INITIATIvE LUCIDITY TRAUMA THREsHOLD INsANITY RATING SKILLS HARDWARE: ELECTRONICs ₃₀ INFOsEC ₃₀ INTERFACE ₆₀ KNOW: ACCOUNTING ₆₀ KNOW: PsYCHOLOGY ₆₀ PERCEIvE ₃₀ PROGRAM ₃₀ REsEARCH ₃₀ KNOW: ₄₀ KNOW: ₄₀ NOTEs MESH WT DUR DR 4 20 40 MEsH DAMAGE WOUNDs BOT/VEHICLE BOT/vEHICLE VIGOR FLEX DAMAGE WOUNDs ARMOR WT DUR DR sIZE MOvEMENT WARE NAME REPUTATION ——-REP ——-REP ——-REP ∞ ∞ ∞ ——-REP ——-REP ——-REP ∞ ∞ ∞ FAKE ID NAME REPUTATION —-REP —-REP —-REP ∞ ∞ ∞ —-REP —-REP —-REP ∞ ∞ ∞ FAKE ID ₅ 10 30 15 45 10 30 10 30 10 30 10 30 ₂₀ ₄ ₄₀