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Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual

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Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Hello everyone. Well I might need a hand with a couple of things I've written. The first one. I got what's basically a remix of the QSR that I'm calling my Eclipse Phase Player's Primer. Basically it's what you need to get in character for people who don't know what's going on. There's no rules, just basically EP concepts to get the juices flowing for character creation. In essence the text is a quick and dirty version of what's going on in EP universe in a way that makes it more accessible who haven't had much experience with post singularity type fiction. I have a shortend version of what Transhumanism is about followed by hypercorps and political factions, with examples. I have a bit out the mesh and how wired everything is. I also took the Lexicon out of the QSR for some of the most used words so that newcomers aren't too lost. An explanation of the old/transitive/new economies. The EP timeline so that they can understand what's come before and finally an abridged version of the solar system so that they can get a quick idea of the essence of each place. The second one. One of the really fun parts of creating a new character is visualizing how cool your character is for that little movie that you make up in your head when dreaming it up. That's where my Morph Recognition manual comes in. It's really easy: a compilation of what the morphs look like using artwork from Eclipse Phase, Sunward and who knows, maybe even other Creative Commons artwork sources (could be a fun net hunt)! The artwork has a the stats for the morph under it. I'm wishy washy about using the description text. On one hand a picture is worth a thousand words but the descriptions are good and have unique information, on the other hand the longer the description the smaller the image... So what I need from you guys: I need to know are you interested by these two projects? I made them for my players for my upcoming campaign. So they are done, just sitting here on my :/C drive. Critiques: once it's out in the open tell me if anything need changing, constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms. (Note: "This sucks Neo-octupus gonads!" is not constructive :D) Layout: There's only so much I can do with Word...:P. Anyone that could make this look like something that belongs in the EP universe would be awesome! Pictures: For the Recognition Manual I took some pictures from here and carved some from the PDF and the QSR. Some of the pictures I carved look like they were hacked out by an amateur because they *ARE* carved out by an amateur, namely me. I have neither the software or the knowledge to take the pics and clean them. So if anyone with knowledge could clean up the pictures (take the text out from around the Venusian Glider, the Salamander and the Lunar Flier for example.) Even more helpful would be if our good friends from Transhuman could release the raw artwork for use. After all the blog is where where I got my flexbot from and it looks great! Hosting: Again, I've never released anything like this into the wild (I usually send to an editor and it becomes their problem), so anyone that could either tell me of a nice stable host to put the finished product on or even better, some free space on a server somewhere. Creative Commons License: I realize that it's pretty easy to use but if someone could take a second look at my creative commons legalese and make sure I don't insult anyone that would be awesome. And if I do inadvertently please forgive me in advance my heart is in the right place. Oh and one last thing: Where should I put the document? Just send it to interested parties? As I said earlier I'm used to: send manuscript and it gets automagically turned into awesome layout and sent to the printer after galley proofs. Thanks in advance!
ScienceGuy ScienceGuy's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Hi Rhyx, Those both sound like awesome ideas! I play in an EC game and I know quite a few of the other players would really appreciate both of these (esp the Players' Primer). If you're willing to release these into the wild (and I'm sure a load of us would be very grateful if you did!), putting them on Google Sites is probably a good way to do it. It's free to get an account and (reasonably) easy to use. You could put the files on there and circulate the URL on this forum. It should be a pretty stable way of making the files available. Looking at the 'Resources' page on this site, at least one of the links to fan-created material is a Google Sites page. (I don't have any particular expertise to help with the layout or to comment on the CCL, but I'd be very happy to give feedback on the docs themselves) Thanks for a couple of top ideas! SG
MysterFord MysterFord's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
I've been searching the web for these very sorts of resources. I, and my players, would greatly benefit from your generosity. (in other words, I want these in my grubby digital hands as soon as is transhumanly possible. If it requires seed AIs, I'm ok with that, in this one case) Oh, and it the spirit of cooperation and collaboration: I would be happy to proof-read anything you send my way. I can give constructive criticism on both style and content.
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Thanks for the support! I'm doing revisions and touch ups on the Player's Primer so that's almost done and so is the Morph Recognition Manual. However I did run into a little snag with the Morph, I'm trying for extra credit tracking down the artists' websites to put them in with the art attribution in the credits but I hit kind of a wall. I'm missing who the artists are for the following pieces from Sunward: Worker pod, Dragonfly, Case, Neotenic, Neo-hominid, Neanderthal, Lunar Flier, Salamander, Venusian glider, Pleasure pod (from Melt) and that fine, fine, Martian Alpiner. :D I'll try to dig more but if anyone knows any of these I'd appreciate it!
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Well Thanks to Scienceguy who gave me the idea I did set myself up a little website. It has little on it other than a Rhyx-styled "Hello World" but the Primer is right there in the files waiting to be downloaded. https://sites.google.com/site/rhyxslair/home Please let me know about any changes or ideas you'd like to see implemented as I'm open to suggestions.
TBRMInsanity TBRMInsanity's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Awesome work on the EP Primer. +1 r-rep
Jovian Motto: Your mind is original. Preserve it. Your body is a temple. Maintain it. Immortality is an illusion. Forget it.
MysterFord MysterFord's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Rhyx, the Primer looks really good. I just skimmed through it, and it looks to contain everything I would want my players to know to get going. Combining this with the quick start rules to give them a good idea of the game mechanics, and I think when I'm ready to run EP, I'll be able to get my players up to speed quickly. Thanks for your contribution to the EP community!
Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
I'm gonna translate it and hands it to my players ^^ it's really well done! congrats and thanks +1 rep
[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...
Captain Piranha Captain Piranha's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Great work Rhyx, I will definitely use this the next time I am starting an EP game. Sounds like you have some experience of the publishing process. I myself am a final year publishing student and could offer my services in helping with layout. I have two years experience working with InDesign and a project like this would be good practice. If you are interested give me a shout.
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Wow all this outpouring of love! Well darn... I guess I'll have to keep doing more of these documents. I have a few (million) ideas in mind. So I guess I'll keep them coming! So just for fun, what kind of things would you like to see? I have an idea for little book-(let) called "So Many Ways to Die" where I basically go through the gory details of what happens when a certain type of death occurs i.e. so called "explosive decompression" (its gonna happen), nanophagia (being eaten alive by nanites), radiation sickness (for those long space trips when the radiation shield fails), loss of oxygen (most of the eclipse phase universe is vacuum). I'd also talk about different weapons (many energy types not covered in the core book, those crazy TITANS sure are creative!) how they work and what exactly they do to a person. And to top it all off I always thought the Eclipse Phase guns were a little generic so I might add in a few guns, sights, weapons systems and assorted nasties! My rationale for writing about such unpleasantness is thus: is if you get spaced and someone recovers your cortical stack and you reintegrate, you are going to be "living" your death (perhaps over and over as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). So since it's an event that makes your character lose lucidity, GMs might as well capitalize on it by making the player lose a few points too... In any case thanks again for the support! Rhyx
Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
I'm halfway translating the Primer, just finished translating the New Economy paragraph what my players would really like are exemples of carreers, concepts, jobs, etc I'd like that too, since I'm planning on making them juggle between their everyday life, working, giving time to the habitat, etc, and their secret life as Firewall sentinel. That's something I have kept from my Mage games, both Ascension and Awekening, especially Awakening. the way I see Firewall, it's like an urban legends for most people. The Men-in-Black of the After Fall, the mothmen announcing bad omen (let's face it, if Sentinels are around on a mission, that means there's something fucked up going on not far!)
[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...
ScienceGuy ScienceGuy's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Hey Rhyx, Top, top effort with the Players' Primer! Totally the sort of thing that our gaming group will find super-useful :-) Have you thought about the following? - putting entries in the 'Key Concepts' section for 'Ego' and 'Morph'. - maybe also having brief key concept entries for thee three types of economy? (by way of a brief intro to the concepts, before the reader reads the whole section on them) These are some of the concepts it took our group (and maybe still is taking us) a while to get our collective heads around! :-) Thanks again for a fantastic doc! SG
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
All very awesome ideas SG and you are right about the Morph/Ego as key concept (I think they might be the "key-est" concepts of them all.) Yeah, the economics part is perhaps the most abstract part of EP, I know my players hit a wall there too. The old economy and the transitive are more like the model we are used to with the use of credits and hourly wages, but the new economy..yowzers. As usual the trouble comes in the step from concept to implementation (how does a rep based economy work when you are on vacation in the inner planets, for example). I'll try to find a way to sweeten those and put them in digestible point format and share the results.
urdith urdith's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Rhyx - thank you very much for taking the time to compile this primer. It's a great resource and I hope to use it in explaining the game to folks. +1 r-rep

"The ruins of the unsustainable are the 21st century’s frontier."
— Bruce Sterling

mds mds's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Rhyx wrote:
how does a rep based economy work when you are on vacation in the inner planets, for example
"Hey Bob-1253, I'm going to be visiting Venus next week on vacation. I've heard you have some credits leftover from selling that comet ice to the Martians. Could you do me a favour and give me some?" "Sure. I wasn't using it anyway." Credits are just like any other good you can acquire with rep, and the better your rep, the more cash you can get your hands on. If you run out of the credits that you brought with you, it might take a bit longer to get more, but that's the same today when traveling in a foreign country.
CodeBreaker CodeBreaker's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
The Lunar Banks also do quite a lot of work in exchanging for the Rep Economy. I imagine you contact a bank, they check out your background, you owe them a favour or two and they give you some credits. Or they put you in touch using a networking service with someone who can. And when you refuse to perform that favour for them they break your knees :D
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urdith urdith's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
CodeBreaker wrote:
The Lunar Banks also do quite a lot of work in exchanging for the Rep Economy. I imagine you contact a bank, they check out your background, you owe them a favour or two and they give you some credits. Or they put you in touch using a networking service with someone who can. And when you refuse to perform that favour for them they break your knees :D
Or trash your reputation - the equivalent of breaking knees.
Quote:
New Topic: [color=red]LunaBank993[/color] - Siobhan Takamura has reneged on an in-kind promise to LunaBank. Check the transcript [u]here![/u] Reply 01: [color=green]Anonymous[/color] - n00b. l3rn to bank Reply 02: [color=red]Administrator[/color] - [b]Post removed for violation of ToS[/b]

"The ruins of the unsustainable are the 21st century’s frontier."
— Bruce Sterling

King Shere King Shere's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
CodeBreaker wrote:
And when you refuse to perform that favour for them they break your knees :D
Sheesh, give The Lunar Banks some credit. They have business to run, they don't have time to chase bothersome people around. Lunar banks doesn't need to break your legs; just that your unfortunate eventuality would be considered a favour to them, open for anyone. If you break your legs yourself, that may count too. ;) [i]Rewarding loyalty & private initiative are good for business.[/i]
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Wow who knew economics could be so much fun! By the way I did add some point format guidelines to tell the differences between the economies and added in the info on Egos and Morphs as SG requested. (...I also added my name to the credits... 0_o talk about self effacing! ) Oh and also I wonder if one could make a profit writing bad checks to the Lunar bank and then kneecapping one's self as bounty. Do that often enough and you could afford your own healing vat!
The Doctor The Doctor's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Nicely done. I like how everything is short, sweet, and flows together nicely. It looks ideal for new players. I may convert it to .pdf and give it to a potential new player in a few weekends' time to see what they think of it. (repmanager: r-rep++)
Quincey Forder Quincey Forder's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Great additions! I copy-pasted them on my translation file to translate it this weekend if I may make a suggestion, give a more general description of the gazeteer in the prymer, and keep the current material plus the exoplanets in another file repmanager: @-rep +1
[center] Q U I N C E Y ^_*_^ F O R D E R [/center] Remember The Cant! [img]http://tinyurl.com/h8azy78[/img] [img]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg205/tachistarfire/theeye_fanzine_us...
Rhyx Rhyx's picture
Re: Player's Primer and Morph Recognition Manual
Quote:
if I may make a suggestion, give a more general description of the gazeteer in the prymer, and keep the current material plus the exoplanets in another file.
If I understand what you mean correctly, you believe I should take out the gazeteer parts away from the primer and make another document with it? If so I can see why you would say so, it would make the document tighter, but one of the main reasons for making the document is so that a new player can look at the concepts of Eclipse Phase and situate his or her ideas in the universe itself. Knowing about the events happening in the solar system is central to the idea of making a character that will fit within the established boundaries of the world. That's why the gazeteer was included, in order to be able to give the players an idea of what is going on around them. If you notice, I did not put many of the minor habitats or the exoplanets in the document because, at least in my mind, these places are ancillary and are not truly necessary to basic character building.