MOTH-e-RSHI-p Core System Adaptations

"You are disposable workers, explorers, and mercenaries scraping by in the cold void of space, where corporations own everything, technology is unreliable, and death lurks in every shadow."

The implied setting of Mothership RPG emerges from its mechanics, modules, and tone. It is not a rigidly defined universe but rather a toolkit that reinforces a consistent sci-fi horror atmosphere of desperation, survival, and existential dread. It is modular, dynamic, and horror-driven, focused on blue-collar space survival, corporate greed, technological terror, and existential dread. The game gives just enough structure to create a compelling world, while leaving room for improvisation and player agency.

Mothership is a critique of late-stage capitalism, corporate control, and the dehumanizing nature of technological progress. It reflects:

• Economic Horror – Workers exploited for profit, forced to take deadly jobs to survive.
• Paranoia & Existential Dread – The fear that reality is not what it seems, that we are not in control.
• The Consequences of Automation – The dangers of unchecked technological advancement and AI.
• The Human Condition – Isolation and loneliness in the expanse of space.

"You are transhuman operatives, exiles, and survivors navigating a fractured solar system where death is a temporary inconvenience, corporations hoard immortality, and the greatest threats are the ones we create ourselves."

The setting of Eclipse Phase emerges from its themes, technology, and the consequences of transhumanism. It is not a rigidly defined narrative but rather a framework for exploring identity, autonomy, and survival in a post-apocalyptic future shaped by AI cataclysm, existential risk, and political intrigue. It is modular, high-concept, and horror-driven, focused on posthuman survival, conspiracy, technological body horror, and the fragility of self-awareness. The game presents a rich setting filled with factions, conflicts, and philosophical dilemmas, while leaving room for improvisation and player-driven storytelling.

Eclipse Phase is a critique of technological hubris, post-scarcity inequality, and the erosion of identity in an age where minds are just data. It reflects:

• The Horror of Impermanence – If you can be copied, edited, and replaced, what does it mean to be you?
• The Illusion of Freedom – Even in a post-scarcity world, power is hoarded by those who control access to technology, resources, and information.
• The Consequences of Posthumanism – We have cast off our biological limits, but at what cost?
• Survival Against an Unknowable Future – Whether hunted by TITAN war machines, infected by memetic plagues, or navigating exhuman enclaves, every choice has consequences beyond what the human mind was built to comprehend.

There is deep compatibility between the setting of Eclipse Phase and the rules of Mothership. Many of the necessary mechanics to fully engage the Eclipse Phase setting have already been created in modules and can be used with minimal tweaking (typically using different words). Converting Eclipse Phase to Mothership sometimes feels like reapplying serial numbers that were already filed off. In many cases, adapting one to the other isn’t about reinventing ideas, but rather resurfacing what is already there.

A Pound of Flesh introduces Cybermods, which are cybernetic and software-based enhancements that characters can install in Mothership. These mods are split into Cyberware (physical augmentations) and Slickware (software-based enhancements installed into a Slicksocket, a neural interface). A Pound of Flesh also introduces Resleeving, which is the process of transferring a consciousness (or digital mind) into a new body. This concept is a perfect fit for Eclipse Phase, where minds (Egos) can be backed up, copied, or transferred into different Morphs.

While A Pound of Flesh doesn’t provide a full Eclipse Phase-style morph system, resleeving can be easily adapted into Mothership’s Stress and Panic mechanics:

1. Resleeving Requires a Sanity Save – Transferring into a new body can cause disorientation, lost memories, or existential panic.
2. Ego Drift – The more times a character resleeves, the higher the risk of psychological instability.
   • Each resleeve might alter personality, cause skill loss, or create false memories.
   • Failed saves could increase Stress, cause Panic, or even induce an identity crisis.
3. Cheap Sleeves Come with Consequences – Budget bodies might be faulty, unhealthy, or even stolen, leading to legal and social complications.
4. Black Market Sleeving Risks – Criminals might alter memories, add hidden programming, or install unwanted cyberware as part of the deal.

In Eclipse Phase, resleeving is a normal part of life, but in Mothership (and A Pound of Flesh), it’s more body horror and economic horror:

• Not everyone can afford backups, making death a real consequence for the poor.
• People sell their bodies for resleeving experiments or debt repayment, leading to horrific corporate abuses.
• Identity isn’t stable—who are you after resleeving 50 times? Are you even the same person?

Forking is the process of copying a digital mind (Ego) into multiple instances, creating separate versions of the same person. These forks can act independently, be re-integrated later, or exist permanently as split entities. Forking is a powerful but dangerous tool, as it raises profound questions about identity, continuity, and the nature of self.

In Gradient Descent, The Bends is a psychological condition that erodes a character’s sense of self, similar to Mothership’s Stress & Panic system, but focused on identity horror. It represents the slow, horrifying realization that you may not be who you think you are—that your memories might be false, your body might not be your own, and your consciousness might be compromised. For an Eclipse Phase adaptation, The Bends is perfect for exploring the horror of transhuman identity loss—the creeping doubt that, after too many resleeves, too many forks, and too much exposure to rogue AI, you are no longer the person you were born as... or maybe never were.

In Eclipse Phase, the Mesh and Simulspaces represent the ubiquitous digital network and fully immersive virtual reality environments that shape transhuman life. These systems enable instant communication, hacking, and even full consciousness transfer into digital realms. To translate these concepts into MOTHeRSHIp, we can use The Hacker’s Handbook for the Mesh (hacking and digital warfare) and VR Dead for Simulspaces (virtual horror and mind-bending experiences).

In Eclipse Phase, an Async is a transhuman infected with the Watts-MacLeod strain of the Exsurgent virus, granting them psionic (psychic) abilities at the cost of mental instability, paranoia, and potential corruption. Unlike traditional psychic powers, Async abilities feel alien, intrusive, and uncontrollable, often leading to body horror and existential dread.

The "New Psionic Ability" rules from Warped Beyond Recognition are perfect for Asyncs in MOTHeRSHIp because they capture the unpredictable, corrupting nature of psionics while integrating seamlessly into Mothership’s Stress and Panic system.

Reputation Economy: Mothership focuses on credits and corporate exploitation, but Eclipse Phase has post-scarcity communities where value and access is reputation-based. This replaces traditional currency with Favors, Debt, and Reputation, turning social standing into a high-stakes survival mechanic. More on this later...

Jump Drives = Pandora Gates: Mothership’s Jump Drives allow for controlled FTL travel, but in Eclipse Phase interstellar travel occurs through Pandora Gates. I have a draft system where instead of spending fuel to jump, Gatecrashers use a Pandora Gate and undergo a Gate Transition Check — a dangerous, uncertain process where survival is never guaranteed. More on this later...

Eclipse Phase has Uplifts, genetically engineered animals granted transhuman-equivalent intelligence. There are also Infomorphs—sentient software. Unlike Mothership’s Androids, they move between physical bodies, run on servers, or exist as data ghosts. Maybe both are modified Android classes... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯