Welcome to the Crowdfunding Carnival for October! We’re in spooky season, but more importantly, con season has wound down and the game designers have wound up. Tons of solid campaigns are on Kickstarter and Backerkit, and we have a few majors and some interesting tie-ins as well.
Before we get going here, it’s worth noting that as of today, Kickstarter United, the union representing Kickstarter employees, is going on strike as they have been working without a contract since July. The union is looking to enshrine working hour expectations, especially important as Kickstarter has been working on a four-day workweek for the last three years. Any allowances to ‘revert to normal operations’ by management would effectively constitute a 25% increase in workload with no adjustment in compensation. As seen on their website Kickstarter United is not asking anyone to boycott Kickstarter or withhold support from creators, so our normal monthly review will go on. That said, please visit the union’s website to see what you can do to support. With that news out of the way, let’s look at some campaigns.
Eclipse Phase has been in my gaming shelf ever since it first came out. The transhuman horror game has one of the best original settings available in the sci-fi RPG world, but its take on d100 mechanics were dense and difficult to work with, especially when it came to figuring out character creation. Now, Posthuman Studios has finished their work on the second edition of Eclipse Phase, taking notes from the community on the first edition and the reception of their Fate version, Transhumanity’s Fate. Eclipse Phase Second Edition (2e) is not intended to be a simpler or less complicated game than First Edition (1e) was, but what it does do is take the crunch and streamline it, including a significantly easier character creation system, revised faction rules, and a combat chapter which is an easier read while still doling out some ludicrous weapons and cybernetic enhancements. For me though, the discussion of Eclipse Phase begins with the core of what makes the game pop, the setting.
An Uplifted Scientist who dreams of reclaiming Earth for Transhumanity and securing equal rights for all his kind. A baseline human who crashes through Pandora gates to leave the solar system behind, and believes transhumanity needs to limit its excesses. A soldier of fortune who lives for her own wealth and independence, but still realizes that x-threats could take it all away. A smiling socialite who is really a covert operative for Firewall, determined to fight the anarchy consuming transhumanity. Eclipse Phase is a game of transhuman science fiction horror where death is usually temporary but there are far worse things besides. The Kickstarter for Second Edition just successfully funded, which means new ways to make characters, so get ready to sleeve into a new Morph and let’s Meet the Party!
Welcome to System Split! Today, our very own Level One Wonk will examine two very similar systems to see what sets them apart. When the genre, complexity, and even rules system are exactly the same, what makes a game unique? Today we take a first look at the modern dual-statting phenomenon with Eclipse Phase, a game that started out as a percentile system but was later released in Fate Core.
Cannibal Halfling Gaming 