Eclipse Phase: how complex are its rules in practice?

[Space Jockey]

So I'm stuck in one of those limbos where I really like a setting but can never find anyone interested in playing it. So until that day comes I'm curious, how complex are Eclipse Phase's rules in actual gameplay? I'm not talking about character creation, since I'm well aware of it and the alternate character creation rules in the Transhuman book. I'm talking about the actual game itself.

Like, how fast does combat happen? Do you find yourself bogged down in stuff like modifiers or rules lookup that you might find in, say, D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder? My impression of the game is that the rules actually don't seem that difficult. Even the hacking rules seem harmless, but I've never had a chance to try the game.

I want to know this because if I end up being able to wrangle some players at the university I go to, it's almost guaranteed that none of them will have played Eclipse Phase before or be familiar with the setting's themes. It's bad enough I have to integrate them into a setting that's not your average sci-fi setting, being burdened by a ruleset that plays out badly in practice is something else.

And just for reference I'd like to stick to Eclipse Phase's ruleset, ie I know Savage Worlds and FATE are alternatives but I'd rather not pursue those.

 

[Imhotepthewise]

I too really like the setting, but, the ruleset doesn't excite me. I think you could work your go to ruleset into it, since it is a d100 system to begin with. D100 is dependable, but, generally boring. I think considering the richness of the setting, your work will be worth it.

 

[Iron Sky]

I ran a game for a while year ago and while the setting is mind-bending and the rules aren't too hard to keep track of (similar to Warhammer Fantasy 2e) there are a couple main issues I had:

1) Starting players are exceptionally good with very little room to advance. Crits/exceptional successes are boring since there seem to be 2-3 players rolling them every turn.
2) Character advancement is incredibly slow. If I remember correctly it was something like 1000 points for a starting character, then you gain 5 a session. It would be like rolling a level 18 D&D PC as your starting character, then gaining a level once every year or two.
3) I remember hacking rules being a pain to keep track of and just winged it instead
4) Trying to determine motivations is difficult given the transhuman, post-capitalist, semi-immortal nature of the game.

I wrote a storyhour about the game I ran until we gave up if you want to see what it's like in play (narratively at least).

 

[Jhaelen]

I didn't quite understand why they used a d100 at all. IIRC, with a single exception, everything is using 5% steps anyway. But, yeah, I never got to play it, and after reading the rules I thought it would require some house-rules before I'd actually _want_ to play it. I also didn't like the granularity of the skill system; I prefer systems with fewer skills.

 

[TerminalVentures]

WHen I first encountered the setting/system I was really excited about it. I tend to do so with anything involving space. I haven't been able to play it anywhere near as consistently as I'd like but for me the rules seemed complicated and unruly until we actually started to play. Character building was just tedious and intricate, but the combat and challenges really worked out once played. Even running through the example in the book was easier once we actually took markers and the play mat and moved them around and attempted the actions with our new characters. Realistically if it's the setting you like you can use almost anything for it I tend to use d20 modern when I want to something in that settings but don't want to teach ppl how to play eclipse phase. On the other hand if it is the system that intrigues you I'd definitely say teach and play is it's well worth the effort.

 

[Edo DV]

A friend of mine is a big fan of the game and wanted to run a demo session so bad, so one night we sat at the table and tried it.
We ended up rolling dice like twice or so, and never really understood what we were rolling for.
I think it's a game that needs a lot of dedication and time to learn. Which is a pity because the setting is amazing and mindblowing!
Or maybe is just me having so little time right now that I can't enjoy complex games anymore

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I also didn't like the granularity of the skill system; I prefer systems with fewer skills.

Likewise. My group played it for a bit and that was one of critiques of it.