History TabletopGame / EclipsePhase

* AsskickingLeadsToAuthority: Among Ultimates, you're not going to get any serious rep without being a RenaissanceMan, with nearly exhuman levels of competence in your specialty and broad competence in several areas. And even if you're not a fighter by specialty, the Ultimates are a warrior society, so you'd better be able to throw down.

** In ''Rimward'', Legba is described as being even worse than the average scum barge - and that describing it as a [[StarWars hive of scum and villainy]] is [[InsultToRocks an insult to scum and villains]]. Given that the Nine Lives crime syndicate is easily one of the nastiest in the setting, it's hard to disagree. It's a hab made up of whatever could be bolted together, the decks are filled with gore, piss, shit, and various grisly shrines of still-bloody cortical stacks, and millions and millions of egos are used as slave labor, gladiator fighting rings, sex slavery, and gruesome experiments done for shits and giggles.

** Anarcho-capitalists and most other groups under the "Extropian" banner (except mutualists, who internally function more like collectivists) have their own rules. You aren't protected by community, you're protected by a payoff to a security company and a private court, and tourists without such a court have no rights that they can't defend[[note]]Yes, there are gangs who prey on idiots who think they can go it alone[[/note]], but in general, Extropian habs are at least as safe as scum barges so long as you watch your step. If a court or security company doesn't recognize another court's judgment (to a greater or lesser extent), they'll get their rep trashed, and ''their'' judgments won't be respected.

* HellHolePrison: The Jovian Junta's Maui Patera Rehabilitation Center on Io (Jupiter's moon covered with volcanoes). Despite hellish conditions, the prison has an incredibly incongruous Hawaiian/surfer theme, to the point where inmates are greeted with "Aloha," and guards greet each other with the thumb and pinky "hang ten" sign, and pineapple cups are listed as a common PTSD trigger for former inmates. This came about when a would-be prison reformer wanted to raise morale for the inmates and introduced the Hawaiian theme; his eventual replacement realized that it was in fact a particularly twisted element, and [[{{Sadist}} gleefully]] kept it in place.

* HellHolePrison: The Jovian Junta's Maui Patera Rehabilitation Center on Io (Jupiter's moon covered with volcanoes). Despite hellish conditions, the prison has an incredibly incongruous Hawaiian/surfer theme, to the point where inmates are greeted with "Aloha," and guards greet each other with the thumb and pinky "hang ten" sign, and pineapple cups are listed as a common PTSD trigger for former inmates. This came about when a would-be prison reformer wanted to raise morale for the inmates and introduced the Hawaiian theme; his eventual replacement realized that it was in fact a particularly twisted element, and gleefully kept it in place.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs:
** The Opteryx morph resembles a archeopteryx (hence the name) or some of the smaller dromeosaurs. Its fluff also indicates there is a "dinosaur identity" subculture among neo-avian uplifts.
** X-Risks include stats for a ''resurrected Tyrannosaurus rex,'' courtesy of Sky Ark.
** Some homebrews on the forum also cooked up a [[RaptorAttack morph that is modeled on maniraptors and dromeosaurs.]]
** One of the children's programs for Muses is a trip to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

* SpaceNomads / SpaceCossacks: The Scum are this, with an added flavor of Romani.

* Transhumanity's Fate: A “rules-light” adaptation of the game based on the ''[[TabletopGame/{{FUDGE}} Fate Core]]'' system.

* CastFromSanity: In the TabletopGame/{{Fate}} conversion asyncs can boost their [[PsychicPowers psi-sleights]] by risking mental stress, which can lead to mental disorders as consequences. In contrast to the original EP rules, where asyncs risk their [[CastFromHitPoints hit points]] and go permanently insane in the process of gaining their [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity powers]].

* UltimateEvil: [[spoiler:The ETI are being portrayed as this right now, though their seemingly-sinister actions may be caused by their BlueAndOrangeMorality.]]

* FutureSocietyPresentValues: The game offers a rather unusual case of this trope. There's an in-universe "faction" (if they may be called so) collectively known as Anons. Yes, the ImageBoards kind -- or, more accurately, a future incarnation of [=4chan=]'s anons. The game depicts them in a mildly favourable light, as whistleblowers and vigilante social gadflies striking against stuffy establishment figures. Had this depiction been developed in the era of "memeing for Trump", one figures we'd see them presented as wannabe {{Black Shirt}}s for the Jovians or even worse.

* GenderIsNoObject[=/=]PurelyAestheticGender: Since you can switch into a new body that has a gender more to your choosing, or can have an implant that point-blank lets you switch genders, issues of gender politics have somewhat fallen by the way side. Where they do exist, it's a result of a hab's particular aesthetic and usually comes across as pretty damn weird, if not ultraconservative.

* {{Utopia}}: Several individuals[=/=]factions exploit the relative isolation of space habitats and exoplanets to try and create such places.

** The alliance of Minervan Fleet and Special Intelligence Secretariat. The former is a Jovian deserter fleet of military men who wanted a more pro-active, permanent, and ''much'' more harsh policy against transhumanity and technology, while the latter are former Jovian Space Force Intelligence personel who lost the power struggle in Jovian politics. Both of them see themselves as the true Jovian government. The Minervan Fleet works like a fleet of {{Space Pirate}}s, attacking transhuman habitats and ships and performing terrorist attacks, while being even more hardcore than the most conservative of Jovians - even the loss of a limb is, at best, replaced by a prosthetic no more technological than a pegleg.

* LeParkour: One of the standard skills, evidently quite useful in many habitats. Taken UpToEleven with the vast number of zero-G habitats and accompanying morphs designed to operate in them.

* [[DeathIsCheap Death Is Expensive]]: Thanks to mental uploading, personality backups, and cortical stacks, most people are able to simply "resleeve" if their body is killed. However, there are costs involved (both mental/spiritual and economic), and with so many indentured infomorphs waiting to be resleeved, bodies are a moderately scarce and valuable commodity.

Compare TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace, another SpaceOpera RPG focused on Transhumanism.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Plantery Consortium.

** At one point, this is discussed with regard to how Firewall acts on Locus. Locus' most respected militia leader is aware of Firewall and considers them a group of dangerous vigilantes. The author of the section that mentions her explains that that might seem hypocritical, but in fact she holds legitimate authority based on the consensus of the community. Firewall doesn't, so they're as criminal on Locus as they are in the inner system.

* {{Space Nomads}}/{{Space Cossacks}}: The Scum are this, with an added flavor of Romani.

* {{Ubermensch}}: Manu Bhattacharya, founder of the Ultimates, who developed a philosophy of [[SocialDarwinist survival of the fittest]], [[ToBeAMaster a continual search for physical and mental perfection]], [[RenaissanceMan capability in all areas]], and [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke radical genetic reconstruction of humanity]]. [[BadassBoast ''"His words are pearls, his attacks do not miss, he weeps at beauty and laughs at war. He dares you to surpass him."'']]

* {{Ubermensch}}: Manu Bhattacharya, founder of the Ultimates, who developed a philosophy of [[SocialDarwinist survival of the fittest]], [[ToBeAMaster a continual search for physical and mental perfection]], [[RenaissanceMan capability in all areas]], and [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke radical genetic reconstruction of humanity]].
** complete with BadassBoast: ''"His words are pearls, his attacks do not miss, he weeps at beauty and laughs at war. He dares you to surpass him."''

** All dates are given in terms of BF (Before the Fall) and AF (After the Fall), in order to maintain the setting as being TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture without falling into ExtyYearsFromNow.

* BaldOfAwesome: Remade morphs are bald, and they're normally inhabited by Ultimates, who style themselves as the baddest warriors in the Solar System.

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Generally tends toward the "hard" end, with most scientific advances being logical extrapolations of modern, in-development, or currently-proposed technologies. The primary exceptions are the [[CoolGate Pandora Gates]] and anything created by the [[AIIsACrapshoot TITANs]], largely due to their creations being [[ClarkesThirdLaw sufficiently advanced]].

Humanity stood on the cusp of a new age, with accelerated technological growth converging toward a singularity point, promising an undreamt-of future. Despite the ecopocalypse and social upheavals on Earth, humanity had conquered the solar system and partially terraformed UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}. Advancements in biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science transformed our lives. Everyone was wirelessly networked with the world around them, {{AIs}} processed vast amounts of information, and nano-fabrication enables people to print complex devices on the molecular level at home. Biotechnology allowed people to genefix, enhance, and clone their bodies, while others pursued body modifications to adapt to new environments or make themselves into something no longer quite human. People's minds and memories could be digitized, uploaded, transferred over long distances, and downloaded into new bodies (biological or synthetic). Death had been defeated... for those who can afford it.

In just a few years, transhumanity was nearly wiped out with nuclear strikes, biowarfare plagues, destructive nanoswarms, infowar attacks, mass uploads, and other unexplained singularity events, ripping the superpowers of old to pieces. Our planetary home­­—Earth—was transformed into a toxic and strange hellhole, while many major habitats were left frozen sarcophagi in the vacuum of space. Just as quickly as they came, the [=TITANs=] disappeared, taking millions of uploaded minds with them, leaving behind a network of wormhole gateways. Known as Pandora Gates, these poorly-understood devices allow instantaneous teleportation to distant star systems... often one-way and/or fatal. Though only a handful of Pandora Gates are known to exist—each highly contested—the foolish, brave, curious, and desperate are already risking certain death to enter and explore what lies beyond.

Though most claim the Fall was carefully orchestrated by the out-of-control [=TITANs=], others whisper that the driving powers behind the wars—both AI and transhuman—were infected by a mutating virus with multiple infection vectors—biological, information, nano—dubbed the Exsurgent virus. Whatever its source, this virus has been known to sometimes transform its victims into something unexplainable... something monstrous and reality-altering. Whatever the truth, the remnants of the [=TITANs=] and this virus were left to the desolated ruins or driven to the edges of the system, where they remain hidden away in dark corners, quietly waiting to infect the minds of the scavengers and explorers who find them...

** Flesh Parties are exsurgent-infected who are liquefied and splattered across an area as a means of area denial... still alive and fully aware of what's being done to their bodies, along with any damage they take from others trying to move through the area.

* CannotTellALie: Subverted with Factors-they are ''physically'' incapable of concentrating enough on giving a "verbal" message of scents and releasing scents in a way that goes explicitly against what they know... but not only do they have a concept of ''[[HalfTruth deception]]'', they are biologically predisposed to [[ConsummateLiar being deceptive all the time]], even to close friends who aren't part of the MindHive-they evolved from ambush predators, for whom tricking prey is a matter of survival.

* EmpathyPet: Somewhere between this and ImaginaryFriend, muses are AI programs granted to virtually all children as an assistant intended to stay with them for the rest of their lives. Their personalities change to best suit their owner's desires, and they do many menial tasks for them... all while existing inside their owner's mesh inserts.

* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: Defilers, which are practically xenomorphs, are a type of exhuman... and instead of facehuggers, the stinger tail implants a chestburster. Being exhumans, the embryos they inject are explicitly of a human-based ServantRace for the original, human Defilers.

* KillSat: Earth's quarantine is enforced by a number of armed satellites. However, nobody's quite sure who put them there... More accurately, pretty much everyone put some of them there, but who controls what is too proprietary for anyone to coordinate the knowledge in any way, at least some are run by mutually antagonistic factions, and some are probably on autopilot from factions that haven't existed since the singularity.

* NewsParody: In universe, Titan's Monster Raging Goblin Cock News Network ([[AlphabetNewsNetwork MRGCNN]]), hosted by Momo von Satan and a giant, fanged, viking... phallus. Although "The Cock" is not actually a person but instead a CGI dummy that Momo stages arguments with. (It says something about the setting that we actually have to ''specify'' whether or not the giant animated penis is a person or a prop.)

** The Venusian strain of Exsurgents are humanoid - said to be like the Digger morphs... save for the fact their faces are piles and piles of sensory organs.

* NothingIsScarier: A lot of the horror of gatecrashing relies on the aliens who aren't there, and the question of why they aren't. Best exemplified on one planet in the Gatecrashing sourcebook, which has a massive computerised reality capable of holding an entire population of egos... but it's ''empty'', and no-one quite knows why.

* OneFederationLimit: Jovian Republic, Morningstar Constellation, Planetary Consortium... This is played straight with one exception-- the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance and the Autonomist Alliance. Arguably Titan and [=TITANs=] are a second exception.

** Those who brave TITAN-infested Earth (and other TITAN-infested places) - with environmental hazards that defy time, space, science, and logic, and often come with strange visual anomalies, infested with mutants caused by a HiveMind, in turn caused by a human conspiracy to unite humanity, under a strict military quarantine - to retrieve bizarre artifacts that are potentially useful/deadly and also defy scientific laws are known as [[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} stalkers]]. The book the video game is based on also receives a bit of reference, as one of the theories behind the Fall is that [[Literature/RoadsidePicnic the alien... things that destroyed the Earth may have been doing the equivalent of getting rid of their junk, regardless of whether or not it harmed the local wildlife and their toys]].

** The Maker and Sufi Nomads are [[Franchise/{{Dune}} desert-dwelling nomads that are slowly terraforming their hostile environment into something more lush and liveable.]]

* SkilledButNaive: [[AIIsACrapshoot Infolife (that is, AGI)]] Hackers can be ''amazingly'' good even compared to exceptional Transhuman Hackers, but probably have very little field experience, ''very'' poor social skills and likely still haven't gotten used to not having been told everything about transhumanity during their upbringing. Characters with the Watts-[=McLeod=] strain of the Exsurgent virus can be lacking in social skills... and be skilled in tearing your head to fleshy ribbons with their mind.

** Then there's also the [[spoiler:[=ETI=] and their Exsurgent virus]], some truly alien and horrifying concepts, to be sure, but still absent but for their tools. What drives them and what's the higher goal of their actions is largely unknown (as in its for the gamemaster to decide).