While the drafts trickle out, let's get this thread started. A lot of you probably have changes that you'd like to see. Hopefully we've addressed many of these already. if not, there's still time. We won't be making any fundamental changes to the core mechanic of course, and we won't be touching the setting much unless something is majorly broken, but other things are fair game.
So what's on your mind to fix?
Edit: Please do not turn this into a discussion thread -- no back-and-forth posts about what you want vs what someone else wants. There are other threads for that!
—
Rob Boyle :: Posthuman Studios
A clearer distiction between Academics, Interests, and Professions.
I have Academics: Physics, and Interest: Physics, and Profession: Physicists.
Whats the difference?
Some of this will always be adhoc between player and GM, and I think this is for the best, as the possible number of knowledges and the number of BS knowledges are quite large.
But during play, I never quite knew how to present information differently, or what kind of quality information between Interest: Titans and Academics: Titans. Often this doesnt matter as during play you often dont have players with both.
But from an RP propesctive, I dont quite know how to play it differently.
is there a link somewhere for the backers of the Kickstarter to get the playtest file(s)?
As to what I'd like to see in EP2 is concrete fluff example of the Mesh. that's what always gives me trouble describing
Remember The Cant!
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/211293/Eclipse-Phase-Second-Edition-Open-Playtest
I'd a good summary of what most people know about Firewall's interests. It's sometimes hard to say how much a person knows about TITAN tech/Exsurgents/Basilisk hacks/etc.
I don't want setting changes, but I would like more variety in how setting fluff is presented. Seeing some sympathetic stances on the PC and Jovians would be lovely, as would seeing folks who point out the flaws in Autonomist and Scum living. As it stands now, the game sometimes stumbles into "flawless anarchists fight cartoonishly evil hierarchies," which cheapens the entire conflict; more nuance would be lovely.
On the fluff end personally I think I would like to see some maybe better consistency or at least revision to remain consistent between 2E core and what will be prior 1E content. "Early Installment Weirdness" like the Jovians offering penal morph rentals and like Trapped says with clarification on what exactly people in general know about a lot of X-Risk stuff would be good to clear up.
Assuming Knowledge skills are not already simplified I'd second maybe a better clarification on what exactly each type of skill represents and how they can be used, I always found them a great driver for character detail but not always easy to bring into the game other than players milking that complementary skill bonus.
I really want to see what direction 2E is taking with mesh activities/actions and hacking and some other technical aspects. I feel like a general theme with this new edition between the first playtest doc, the sample characters outline and the stretch goals so far is "Solid examples of what to actually do" and that's something I say is a huge help in general and I want to see more of it. EP is sometimes very hard to make approachable to people.
EDIT: Also, something I definitely would like to see is hopefully keeping variety on some types of gear like weapons - I have concerns with Guns (and presumably melee) being collapsed into a single skill that there will lack a mechanically sound reason to keep weapon options diverse because in 1E there are clearly non-optimal choices which just happen to be separated out by skill (e/g, you'll make due with a Particle Bolter because you have the skill for it and might get a Plasma Rifle, even though SMG+hollowpoints is better in every respect) and given that combat is a pretty normal response to threats I'm hoping it doesn't get even more generic and repetitive.
(Also if Shredders are still a thing can we like, add a couple sentences to explain how they actually work I never got what they were supposed to be like except a shotgun but sci-fi)
H-Rep: An EP Homebrew Blog
http://ephrep.blogspot.com/
I have a whole laundry list of things I'd love to see changed, but I can't remember them in the slightest, so I'm just going to say this for now:
Suggestions on open-ended skill things, like Knowledge skills. You wouldn't believe the amount of time I've wasted on character generation, just staring at the sheet and thinking "okay, so what skills would be useful?" I'd dearly love some examples of useful Knowledge/Piloting/Hardware skills, and where they might be useful. Include some esoteric ones too, if you like.
Absolutely, completely, 100% this. Please.
EDIT: Also nuking Exotic Weapon skills into dust would be much nice :D
The playtest references a single "Guns" skill so I think you're gonna luck out on this one.
H-Rep: An EP Homebrew Blog
http://ephrep.blogspot.com/
PRAISE THE SUN
Instead of Knowledge Skills requiring you to take the skill multiple times, have a single Interest, Profession, Academics, Art and Language skill, and make it so that they require specializations to be useful (they don't grant bonus points, only access to the skill in that context). So basically, you can take Interest at 50, then get the hypercorp specialization to use the Interest skill in an area where the hypercorp specialization is relevant. And you can take multiple specializations, expanding the skill without requiring more skills added to the game.
Basically, the new definitions would be thus.
Academics: How well you understand your chosen fields in an academic sense. Can be an academic field (Geology specialization means an understanding of Geology, duh) or even a faction or region (Hypercorp specialization means being well-versed in Hypercorp sciences, policies and law).
Profession: How well you understand your chosen fields in a practical or business sense. It can be specialized to a specific faction or region (Hypercorps specialization teaches you how the hypercorp workforce goes), or a specific occupation (Aerospace Technologies teaches you how to be a part of said industry).
Interest: How well you understand your chosen fields with regards to socializing and entertainment. Can be specialized to a specific hobby (Simgames specialization gets you knowledge to all the big meets and major events that occur for simgames) or faction/region (Hypercorps specialization means you know how to have fun in the busiest districts of the inner system). Is distinct from Profession based on connections more than talent... a professional simgamer would have the simgame specialization in Profession, not necessarily Interest (though probably both).
Language: Shows talent for linguistic nuance and linguistic manipulations in chosen specializations. Unique to this skill, Language can be used to decrypt a language specialization you don't have, but is limited to basic interpretation without the entendre, subtlety and potential secondary meanings it might have to a fluent speaker.
Art: Talent for art from a specific field, or art which appeals to a specific region or faction, depending on the specialization. Knowledge of art is Academics. Knowing where all the big art gatherings are happening is Interest. Art is talent for crafting it oneself.
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
I would love to see an overhaul of hacking. In particular breaking it down into action phases, even if the initial hacking remains a task action.
The current hacking system is suitable if you never leave the mold of a PC hitting some server that's passively defended. But it also got complex and fell apart if it ever turned into a hacker vs hacker situation.
In short I'd like to see hacking become a more codified type of combat system. If you end up having to deal with an admin or someone is trying to hack your cyberbrain you can actually "fight" them.
Things I've considered when trying to houserule some changes is an access level number. A basic action/attack would be to try and lower another user's access level or raise your own. Depending on the difference between your levels it lets you perform other actions against them. Like trace their location, identify them, or if your level difference is enough even just lock out the account they're using.
I'd be thrilled if you gentlemen could contrive a less fiddly method of implementing armor and armor penetration. It's a perfect example of something I love in principle and hate in practice. While I rather liked the granularity of having a rail sniper rifle that didn't come into its own until the badguy resleeved in a reaper morph, it came at the expense of lots of hemming and hawing during every fight while players and GMs had to adjust weapon damage by the energy or kinetic armor value after they had first modified the kinetic or energy armor value by the weapon's penetration.
I don't really know what the most appropriate fix would be. Armor could just float on top of durability and get plinked away first, with high penetrations weapons dealing extra damage to armor. That would be an awfully gamist approach. Perhaps armor simply ablates a die roll worth of damage every attack such as a d6 or a d10, and penetration likewise negates something like a d6 or a d10 worth of armor each attack. At least that would just be another die in your hand when you make the roll, rather than having to look something up in your inventory. Anyhow, you're the boffins, I'm sure you can think of something elegant to improve it.
Some time ago I made a flowchart for making attacks in Eclipse Pase. It looks like this.
It's long been my opinion that this is far too complicated for an action that occurs multiple times (at least once per character) in a combat round. I'd like to see combat streamlined somewhat; I have some specific ideas in mind, but I'll hold off on sharing them until I see what you fine folks at Posthuman have been working on. No sense in reinventing the wheel.
Thermonuclear Banana Split - A not-really-weekly Eclipse Phase campaign journal.
In Eclipse Phase 1, morphs cost hardly anything and give massive bonuses, but you don't get to own them. That makes sense for the science horror genre, but it doesn't fit very well with the whole 'point buy' concept: it's totally unbalanced with everything else. I'd like an option for a character-building campaign where your morph is more like a classic point buy: you own it and usually have it for scenarios if you spend the points; it's temporarily lost / upgraded by in-game events. Same for REP: you can do TONS with high Rep but it doesn't feel very permanent. Also money / corporations / starships / weapon access.
If you got hold of (or lost) something cool, the scenario would typically give xp for part of the value and then you could either save up for the full amount until it's paid off, or take a REP hit to compensate. If you lose something you can either re-allocate points (gradually or immediately depending on what makes sense thematically), or you get it back through a REP refresh mechanism.
So you pay a stack of points, you get the whole hyper-elite thing: great morph, good backup, money etc. etc.
EDIT: This post got long and is starting to sound like a list of demands, so I'm breaking this up a bit...
So first things I'd personally like to see are quality of life things:
Firstly, clarity on the interactions regarding Complex/Quick/Mental actions, especially where implants that deal with them work (mental speed/multitasking). I understand how they work but I find it difficult to explain to my players at times because the rules as written aren't exactly straightforward.
Secondly, anything that makes it easier as a GM to handle rep/credits, especially favour tracking and morph brokerage.
Hell, anything that makes GMing easier is a win in my books.
Everything that follows is more my 'things that would be nice to see' list, I've hidden it in the spoiler tag because:
a) this post is getting quite long and
b) I don't want to come across as too demanding.
I second this sentiment. I've expressed in numerous threads and a homebrew writeup a desire for an exhuman clade who is something other than 'here's why transhumanity is weak, therefore eat all the transhumans'.
I just like the idea of an exhuman clade that views humanity as something to be protected in a ruthless, alien and condescending kind of a way - 'No, no, sit back down little transhuman, let us deal with this x-risk, we can do it right'
(Yes I'll keep shamelessly ranting about my work, I'm allowed to be proud of it)
As a GM one thing I'm fond of doing is coming up with psi sleights, alien/exhuman tech, TITAN traps, etc. But perhaps there could be rules for putting those sorts of tools together as a GM?
I had an NPC that used a slingshot as a delivery method for minigrenades and I basically had to make up stats for it on the spot as there wasn't much to go on.
Another thing I think could use a look is the idea of a rep network that makes more sense for Out'ster and Exhumans and people way out on the fringe. As current a hodgepodge of G and @ seem to be what's used, but given the tone the in-game description had for both of them, it sounded like they still weren't quite suited to the needs of those folk.
I've been using Emobob's homebrew because imho it's perfect for that need, but I've had players who... get really, really touchy about how 'official' the fluff in their campaign is.
Homebrew Exhuman Clade - The Stewards
Homebrew TITAN Traps
First of all, I'm really looking forward to EP, 2nd edition.
One thing that really confused me is why transhumans would sleeve into biomorphs over synthmorphs when going into dangerous situations. I know transhumans frequently choose biomorphs for cultural reasons, but why would ones choose a biomorph over a synthmorph on Firewall ops, gatecrashing expeditions, police/combat actions, or any other jobs with significant risks (other than biological brains not being susceptible to hacking)?
I wouldn't mind seeing stronger in game explanations for why someone would choose a biomorph over a synthmorph when expecting danger (choosing a Fury when expecting combat instead of a Reaper or Slitheroid, for example).
So I've never actually played the game though I'd love to. The problem for me is that I'm the only one I know that has to the game, so it'd fall to me to GM it, but the game is quite intimidating. In part because the system seems quite complicated, hopefully this will be fixed by the streamlining. And in part because the genre is quite hard to GM well.
Which is why the thing I'd see improved is the GMing bits of the book. In the current core book there appear to be only 3.5 pages on how to GM the game (the GM practicalities part), which hardly seems enough. Guidance on how to do horror and/or investigation style game well would be nice. The point is that a lot of RPGs seem content to leave a GM to their own devices and not provide much beyond a setting and rules, it'd be nice if EP wasn't like that.
I also vouch for this. I wouldn't want to ask to change the setting. I just want more in-character voices from different factions and lifestyles. And not have these voices be caricatures or inherently unlikable just because they're not autonomists, Titanians, argonauts, "Robin Hood" type criminals, etc. The Panopticon and Gatecrashing books were really good at this.
"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.”
-Abraham Lincoln, State of the Union address
Hmm... A few ideas come to mind.
I would like it if some terms got renamed in the second edition:
-XP (Experience): Conflicts with xp used in RPGs and video games. Maybe rename it to LM (Life Media).
-Jamming (bots): Conflicts with jamming radio signals and the like. Maybe rename it to Ghosting.
A better distinction between aptitude bonuses to SOM and a morph's physical strength. Some morphs have aptitude bonuses to SOM. However, in some arguments on these forums, it has been argued that aptitude bonuses to SOM are due to physical qualities of the morph, and not the brain. It can also be confusing to use small morphs, which have SOM caps, and jamming. It is possible for a neotonic's aptitude cap to hinder strong morphs when jamming, such as jamming a Reaper or Daitya.
Improvements to remote control and jamming of bots and morphs. I get a little confused at times.
Improvements to Flexbots. I found that its often much better to strip away aptitude bonuses to keep the costs down. That way you can afford to use multiple Flexbot modules.
Bigger guns, heavy artillery, and tanks. I know the focus of this game is more character scale, but sometimes players might have to face off against actual war machines. More damage, big seekers with multiple units of ammunition, and DUR/armor that will allow them to take a serious beating. And maybe a few defense systems shown in X-Risks.
Have to second the need for simplified hacking. It should be the same as any other skill, not a game unto itself.
Character Generation
1000 points!
Character generation in EP1E was a process of assigning 1000 points where the smallest possible division was 0.1 (for Rep) but for most intents and purposes the smallest useful chunk was 5 points, since all modifiers in the game were ±5, with the vast majority ±10.
I'd like to see a game where character generation is simpler!
The value of Permanence
It's fairly easy to "lose" character generation by investing CP in things that you can lose, such as morphs and gear. Losing those things or being unable to find a buyer for them when egocasting was a quick way to lose a lot of utility from one's character.
I'd like to see a game where characters don't lose CP/Rez just because they made poor, uninformed choices in character generation.
Skills
EP1E was very vague on how skills functioned. Combat skills, hacking skills - any skill that had a dedicated subsystem - had well-defined utilities, but Academic skills, Professional skills, social skills many Technical skills, etc. were left largely up to the GM.
More robust support how how non-combat, non-hacking skills are actually used would be nice.
Combat:
I felt that combat in EP1E was a bit of a chore because it came down to slugging it out with ablative weapons and getting big damage numbers.
Something either vastly simpler or less about slugging it out and more about accomplishing things would be nice.
@-rep +2
C-rep +1
Just thought of another thing: Explicit rules for how much computer you need to accelerate a simspace or infomorph. It's hard to say how hard it is to get 60x time acceleration, but that's pretty powerful trick, so it'd be nice to know if it's hard to easy.
I'ma expand on this request: can we get some more concrete rules on computer hardware in general? I'm not asking for exact stats of computers, but there must be some way to quantify the processing power of any given mesh, because every mesh will be different depending on the total number of devices and quantity of processing traffic.
For example, I could never find out how many devices one had to distribute their ego across in first edition to gain the benefits of distributed computing. Is it two? Three? I know the point was to handwave it, but the numbers matter when you're, for example, trying to maintain an encrypted and isolated mesh with egos actively running.
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
I really like Hacking and wish some of the game's other stuff was as robust. I wanna second all of LatwPIAT's points, her ideas are exactly what I'd like to see for EP2e.
Character Abilities.
Can we please have traits/gear that are more flexible and modular?
Instead of "This piece of equipment gives this trait" or "This piece of gear is only usable by biomorphs but there's an identical piece that's usable by everyone", can we just have the Ability along with it's cost to acquire it as a trait, psychosurgical implant, augmentation, program and so forth, and/or have them arranged by what types of morph can take it?
I'd really like to, say, give my AGI characters/NPCs software as Traits, or give Technoprogressives Mental Augmentations via psychosurgery, or have my Gunmonkey have his rifle blueprint embedded in his mind... that sort of thing.
Secondly I'd like to see more levelled gear, or gear with optional upgrades listed.
V1 mentions that better gear can exist, but leaves the details up to the GM... and it keeps coming up.
Gunmonkeys want individualised rifles, Tech support wants proprietary software, the social character wants a fancy suit... meanwhile, I'm trying to work out what my alien creatures should have for their melee damage and think of ways to make them stand out.
Also, have things like claws and other natural attacks as gear.
Not having these options from the get-go simply makes me have more work to do.
On the flip side, can we have fewer pieces of gear which are redundant? We don't need 6 different augmentations to grant a morph innate armour, we need two levelled augmentations.; one that stacks with clothing, and one which doesn't.
Finally, maybe make Knowledge skills into … not skills? Make them Specialisations?
General Setting
I'd really like to see the more Futuristic and Transhuman parts of the setting have a more direct presence in the rules.
Things like having Skillsofts be a basic character ability, Mesh inserts/biomods being able to simulate drug effects or repair damage, your Muse and other AIs being part of how you use your skills instead of a separate entity... that sort of thing.
I don't necessarily want to see drastic rule changes, but these things can easily be used to justify abilities that characters have because they're RPG characters or otherwise aid game flow.
Characters should feel like Transhumans from the get-go - the GM (aka Me) shouldn't have to work to make it clear.
Another simple example: get rid of specific Languages - everyone is fluent (or can fake it) in all 'normal' languages with dialects or artificial languages being handled by a single Linguistics skill.
Either this or make it clear that things like time dilation or spinning off forks is already incorporated into your interactions.
In the past we've had to compensate for weaknesses, finding quick solutions that only benefit a few.
But what if we never need to feel weak or morally conflicted again?
Oh! Here's another thing, assuming traits/disorders like Addiction still exist and operate the same way, can we get some more explicit framework to running down some everyday costs in the system? With the new "Complexity" rules this sounds like it would be kind of easy to sketch out, like how long it takes you to run down a pack of smokes or a cup of coffee. Since there's a mechanical component to addiction, the lack of support for "mundane" ones was always a little weird and required GM workarounds.
H-Rep: An EP Homebrew Blog
http://ephrep.blogspot.com/
Just dumped a big writeup in the feeback discussion, so I'll leave some thoughts here...
Things Already In the Playtest, WOO:
Additional Wishes:
That Mesh Pool could be used for Research, Interface and Infosec. It wouldn't be tied to the type of gear you have (type of mesh implants, exolink, Muse and scorcher software)
The Pool would translate the quality of the equipment you have. A hacker could be the best, most skilled one in the world, but with a badly configurated PC, off the shelves OS and a lousy Ping, they'd be limited in what they can do
transhuman with basic implants and stuff would have the minimum, AGI would have more and the T.I.T.A.N.s would have tensfold that
The way it could be used, aside from re-roll and swap:
-remove a trace
-scramble security
-ping target
-add trace
-add spoof
-find extra data starting at one for [trival] value, and double for each level of value
Remember The Cant!
Another one, Skillware. I think skillware was unclear in first edition. It didn't explain how skill points were allocated, it didn't explain whether or not aptitudes factored in the equation at all, or even if you could boost the skills beyond 40 with aptitudes (or some other factor). I would like it if skillware boosted 3 to 5 skills to rank 40 (maximum), or something as clear and simple as that.
Insight Pools cover hacking.
This isn't a mechanical thing so much as a formatting thing, but as a GM I'd love to see some way to toggle something like a spoiler blackout of text of the sort found in the Game Information section of 1E Core, so that I can show it to players without them finding out about stuff like the ETI.
"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head."
- Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop
I'd prefer a variant PDF, one lacking the GM material pages entirely. Simply censoring them will make some people seek them out. That's why I deleted the text in the Player's version I modded for the forums.
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
I'd expect if we hit the "Player's Guide" stretch that'll kind of be what that is for. Hand somebody that and A Time of Eclipse and they have their 10c version of the game to run with.
H-Rep: An EP Homebrew Blog
http://ephrep.blogspot.com/
I'd like to see some changes to combat to make things a bit more balanced. As it stands, loading up on things like speed, ambidexterity, and drones to increase your attacks per round is by far the most effective tactic to taking down anything. Now with Vigor allowing an extra complex action I worry that will only be more prevalent.
Keep in mind that vigor is replacing speed, not augmenting it...
Hacking in 1st edition EP feels like a linear sequence of opposed tests with hard-to-interpret results and not much room for "maneuver".
Combat hacking could have a combat-like set of actions to be chosen from (think of "cover", counter-attacks, strategic gain of "digital terrain"). It does not need to be a long sequence - a few strategic choices based on the "knowledge of the terrain", good skills, tool set and decent rolls are enough to determine the winner.
I really miss mesh/server/software "topology maps" that could be used in hacking.
As a variant: group pool sharing (refresh by achieving goals, motivations, milestones) and reduced individual pools.
The mechanics introduced for flexbots and swarmanoids in Transhuman are exciting concepts. Second edition should keep those ideas, even if they need to be streamlined a bit.
A distinct feel in terms of mechanics/gameplay between biomorphs, synthmorphs and infomorphs.
Some alternative mechanic for pools with regards to NPCs. Managing pools of resources on the other side of the GM screen can be a real chore, especially if you're using a lot of enemies.
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
...between biomorphs and synthmorphs. Some people like to feel the wind on their face, eat, drink, and screw, and while you can get all of that in AR and VR, it's not the same. Moreover, the fidelity and span of different morphs' sensoriums should make a difference, and there's no way a Case will be as "comfortable" as a Galatea.
Or, to put it another way, as someone pointed out above, there's very little reason not to take a synth into every firefight (you can generally forgive Social modifiers when the bullets start flying), and this could do with some balancing, in the form of mental problems, physical limitations, buggy code, etc. Arguably, this flies in the face of the trans/posthuman ethos of progress irrespective of if that means leaving our old, soft, fleshy bodies behind, but from a balance perspective there's definitely a need.
Discontinuity is a lifestyle choice
An evolving timeline of events, like Shadowrun--doesn't need to be fancy, just a list of bullet points, maybe even just moving the AF to 17 and increasing population numbers to match. A map of the city of Olympus, the dominant hypercorps besides Skinaesthesia, some smaller corps, and how the PC deals with dome/hab security and how much liberty corpsec has in a metropolis it shares with other hypercorps. Oh! and some example layouts for other forms of hab, like Nuestro Shells or a district in Atlantica.
Thank you to all yall at PHS for all your work. It's been awesome following EP over the last bunch of years and I can't wait to see what else yall have. Thanks!
The new pools might provide some options. For example, perhaps synthmorphs will have the largest pool capacities around, but less access to Flex (this is what I originally thought Flex was gonna be for, myself).
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
Biochauvanism rears its ugly head again! ;-)
I would really like to see some more stuff for spaceships, making them more than just plot devices that take you from point A to point B. I'm running essentially a transhuman version of the Expanse, but the lack of spaceship rules mean my campaign is a kitbash of Eclipse Phase, M-Space, and some Traveller. Which isn't always an easy sell to players.
Regarding advancing the timeline, remember a lot of very smart people are running their brains at 60x normal speed, with super-AGI best friends and seed AI enemies.
I wouldn't advance the timeline 7 years. I'd advance it by 7 months. There would be enough new tech, new polities (and shifting alliances) to make the world feel completely new. By AF17 you've gone full posthuman.
That's a damn fine idea. If the new pool attributes are as vital as I'm hoping they are, Synths providing more of one specific pool, allowing them to, for example, tank and fight harder at the expense of being handicapped in all or most other areas, at levels differing depending on how well engineered they are, would give them distinct niches.
Tangential thought: break down the bonuses already outlined further, for example giving Synths access to pool bonuses that biomorphs don't have, or to which they only have limited access?
Discontinuity is a lifestyle choice
My guess is that sub-pools and other complications won't be added, but additional uses of pools specific to certain morphs, gear, etc will be. At least, I'm hopin'.
Ehh..... kinda 25% this. I, for one, appreciate the respect for the reader's intelligence demonstrated by the subtlety of the little clues in EP 1ed4pr that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. For those who didn't get it, the sledgehammer-to-the-face unreliable narrators on p.28 (Welcome to Firewall) and p.29 (What You Really Need to Know) would have hopefully driven the point home. The PC and Autonomists as portrayed are just fine.
The only remaining justification for bias might be the lack of pro-Jovian lore; an obviously pro-Jovian blue page might round things out on their end. Perhaps an example of cautious, crazy-prepared Jovians weathering a TITAN attack particularly well or something of the like. So long as you don't fall into "everybody sucks exactly the same" grimderp.
Either way, do NOT lose the in-universe voices. They're an extremely efficient way to present exposition, immersive factoids, in-universe mindsets, and the niggling doubts that make great adventure/escapade scenes. And they're a fun and immersive read, even--perhaps especially--when their opinions clash with the reader's own.
1) As much as I appreciate the difference between skill at manoeuvering within a given social circle (Networking skill) and their current opinions on someone at a given time (Rep rating), unifying the rep thingees really does simplify things.
2) Do indeed thank Jesus, but he'll remind you that they're Firearms, not Guns. Unless you walk around with a 105mm slung over your shoulder everywhere you go.
3) I always knew Second Shots and their ilk rubbed me very slightly the wrong way, but I didn't get it until I saw this. Perfectly said.
I, for one, hope to see the tradition of ruthless, uncompromising, tense combat maintained through its intrinsic inequality.
Do note that a gun is defined as any tubular device designed to discharge projectiles and material. It technically encapsulates everything from taser weapons to rifles to pistols to gauss weapons... and technically even lasers since it is discharging photon projectiles.
Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age.
Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.
It's fluffy to break out pilot by type, but...
As a GM, it means that nobody but the designated "pilot" has any useful amount of pilot skill (especially in a setting like EP, where from session to session the "default" Pilot skill can vary, from Venus's aircraft to the cars on Mars ). This is a problem if you have a "pilot" scene staged, and the "pilot" is unexpectedly hors de combat. Unlike with combat, where when the gun bunny is down, the team's firepower is degraded, because everyone should have some skill with a pistol or what have you, when the pilot is down, there's no backup, because it's expensive to cover all the bases.
I'd like to see the ability to spend a couple of points in skill points Pilot and have it be worthwhile.
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