Eclipse Phase Transhumanity’s Fate: RPG Spotlight
Eclipse Phase Transhumanity’s Fate is a far-future post-apocalyptic game of horror and adventure in space with the FATE system backing it up.
To be very honest with you, the first thing that drew me to Eclipse Phase was the cover art. I know, I know, judging books by their cover and all of that, but this one looks so cool right from the start. At first glance, I was reminded of some other properties that I already know and love like Alien and The Expanse. It had that same, “Hey, maybe space and the future are both low-key terrible?” vibe to it and I had to check it out right away. And it turns out this assumption was right on the money. Eclipse Phase as a whole is a far-future science fiction horror game with themes including post-apocalyptic, conspiratorial, and transhumanity. Hence the title of the FATE version that we’ll be focusing on today.
In Transhumanity’s Fate players are secret agents protecting the scattered remains of what was humanity from extinction, only what it means to be human has changed quite a bit since the time we were familiar with. Some people are psychic or heavily genetically modified, others are intelligent animals or brains piloting robot bodies. Y’know, transhuman. Human adjacent. You could be fighting aliens, hyper-intelligent computers, or even just humanity’s continued penchant for self-destruction. Because the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Eclipse Phase usually uses a somewhat crunchy percentile dice system with a few interesting twists. I wouldn’t call it difficult, but it’s a tad bit crunchy. Transhumanity’s Fate changes things a little and uses the much simpler FATE system which relies on a small collection of plus and minus dice. There are bonuses to make rolls easier and a collection of high-tech and futuristic skills to chose from as long as a glossary of language to keep the world immersive, but FATE is a system made to be relatively simple. And in a game like Eclipse Phase where you’re meant to interact with other people and aliens and question the meaning of humanity a little, the FATE system takes the pressure off of the dice rolls to dictate how players interact with the world and lets them just interact.
For an established fan of Eclipse Phase, I can honestly highly recommend checking out Transhumanity’s Fate. It will be a low-risk and high-reward one-shot-if-not-more in a universe that you already enjoy and understand. If you’ve never played any version of Eclipse Phase before, Transhumanity’s Fate may be the perfect place to start. The FATE system is perfect for pulling players in, showing them a good time in an incredibly interesting setting, and leaving them wanting to see more of the universe.
If you’d like to check this game out you can find Eclipse Phase on its official website and Transhumanity’s Fate on the Posthuman Studio website for more information and where to download and/or buy.
Have you played Eclipse Phase or Transhumanity’s Fate? Which system do you enjoy playing in more? What sort of transhuman far future secret agent would you create for this mission? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
