Movement

Movement in Eclipse Phase is handled like other types of actions. The more complex the movement, the more effort it requires.

Movement Rate

It may be important to know not just how you’re moving, but how far. Every morph, shell, and creature lists a Movement Rate; this applies to whatever inherent form of locomotion it is capable of: walking, slithering, crawling, rolling, hovering, gliding, flying, vectored thrust, etc. Movement Rates list two numbers: your base move and full move, respectively, in meters per action turn. Most humanoid morphs, for example, have a Movement Rate of 4/20.

Movement Actions

Each action turn, you can take one type of movement action (with the exceptions of jumping and standing up, which may be combined with others) or choose to stay put. The movement action you take may inflict modifiers on your physical actions, so you must declare it at the beginning of your initiative. You cannot act and then decide to move, for example, as you will have bypassed applicable modifiers. You can split the distance you move into smaller parts and intersperse them with other actions you take during the turn (i.e., you can move partway, attack, and then move the rest). Extra actions in a turn do not allow you to cover more distance, but you can cover any of the remaining distance you are allowed in that turn with those actions.

Base Move

[Automatic]

Base moves represent leisurely, unhurried motions analogous to casual walking. This is the maximum distance you can move in a single action turn without incurring a modifier.

Full Move

[Automatic]

Full moves are akin to running or moving with effort and speed. This is the maximum distance you can move in meters in a single action turn without rushing (see below). Full moves impede your aim and other physical tasks requiring coordination: apply a −20 modifier as appropriate.

Rushing

[Complex]

Rushing is going all-out to move as far as possible. It requires a complex action and an Athletics, Free Fall, or Pilot roll as appropriate. If you succeed, increase your full move rate by your base move. For example, if your morph’s Movement Rate is 4/20, you rush 24 meters. Increase this by an additional base move amount for each superior success. If you fail, you spend a complex action and simply full move. Rushing applies the same −20 modifier as full moves.

Jumping

[Quick]

You can jump once a turn with a quick action while also making another movement action. You can cross 2 meters with a horizontal standing jump, 6 meters with a running jump. Vertical jumping height is 1 meter. These distances are halved for small-size morphs and increased by half for large-size morphs.

If rushing, you can make an Athletics, Free Fall, or Pilot roll (as appropriate) to cross more distance with your jump. If successful, you cross an additional meter (running jump), 0.5 meters (standing jump), or 0.25 meters (vertical jump), plus an equal additional amount per superior success.

Standing Up

[Quick]

If you are prone, you can stand up with a quick action and take another movement action in the same action turn. However, your Movement Rate is reduced by half for that turn (i.e., 4/20 becomes 2/10); jumping distance is also halved.

Non-Standard Movement

[Complex]

To climb, swim, belly-crawl, or otherwise move in a way that isn’t your morph’s typical method for getting around, take a complex action and move a distance equal to your base move. Certain ware, such as grip pads when climbing, may increase this to your full move. Note that some types of movement are simply impossible for certain morphs, depending on their design; most human morphs, for example, fly with the grace of bricks.

Difficult Movement

[Task]

Some movement is far more challenging: climbing a sheer wall, sneaking quietly, swimming against strong currents, traversing a thin beam over a chasm, or navigating a maze of live wires in micrograv. Handle any movement that requires a test as a task action with a timeframe set by the GM. As a general rule, the timeframe should be double or more the time it would take the character to cross an equal distance by normal means.

Movement in Different Gravities

The listed Movement Rates assume standard Earth gravity (1 g). If you’re moving in a low-gravity, microgravity, or high-gravity environment (Gravity), things change.

If you are climbing, pulling, or pushing yourself along in micrograv, you move at half your walker Movement Rate (i.e., 4/20 becomes 2/10). You can also jump any distance, though you cross at a rate equal to your movement action when you launched.

In low gravity (0.5 g and less), it is harder for walkers to push against the ground, and you may need to switch from a pendulum gait to a bouncing gait, so your full move decreases by half (i.e., 20 becomes 10). You can, however, jump twice as far.

The various effects of high gravity (1.2 g and more) on walker movement balance out, meaning walker Movement Rate remains unchanged. Moving is more tiring, however; the GM may call for SOM Checks to avoid impairment modifiers from fatigue.

It is beyond the scope of this book to assess the impact of different gravities on all of the movement types. GMs should use their best judgment when applying modifiers.

Movement Types

The rules above are biased towards humanoid morphs, but there are many morphs, shells, and creatures with different body plans and/or other mobility systems. Synthmorphs can add mobilty systems as ware. The movement types below list the skill used to maneuver and a default Movement Rate, though GMs should adjust this as appropriate to account for size, bulk, extra limbs, etc.

To keep the movement rates simple for GMs handling action scenes abstractly, we have mapped each movement type to a speed range: very slow (2/8), slow (4/12), medium (4/20), fast (8/32), and very fast (8/40). Many shells are capable of even faster movement; this is discussed under Vehicle Movement.

Boat

[Pilot: Nautical • Fast 8/32]

Boats use sails, propellers, paddles, or similar systems to generate thrust to move across a liquid surface.

Hopper

[Athletics • Slow 4/12]

Hoppers use two or more legs to propel the morph forward or up, like a frog or grasshopper. Double their jumping distance, but they get no jump distance benefit from rushing.

Hover

[Pilot: Ground • Fast 8/32]

Hovercraft impellers blast high-pressure air to repel off the surface below. Most hover a meter or so above the ground, but can temporarily levitate themselves higher. In microgravity, impellers function as a one-directional thrust vector (use Pilot: Air). They do not function in vacuum unless equipped with an air supply.

Ionic

[Pilot: Air • Very Fast 8/40]

Ionic shells use magnetohydrodynamics to levitate and fly, ionizing surrounding air into plasma to create lift and momentum while spinning for stability. This system does not work in vacuum, but an underwater version uses the same mechanics for propulsion in liquid environments (use Pilot: Nautical).

Microlight

[Pilot: Air • Fast 8/32]

This category encompasses all ultralight or lighter-than-air systems, such as powered paragliders, autogyros, balloons, aerostats, and blimps. Though they are popular in low-gravity habitats, these systems do not work in vacuum.

Roller

[Athletics • Very Fast 8/40]

Rolling like a ball is an option for spherical shells, those that can adjust their shape into a sphere or circle, and limbed shells capable of a fast cartwheeling rotation. The shell rolls around an interior axle, propelled by a motor-driven pendulum. Most can unfold or extend limbs/lifts to clear stairs or other obstacles or to crawl along surfaces in micrograv.

Rotor

[Pilot: Air • Fast 8/32]

Rotating blades create lift, allowing the shell to move and hover like a helicopter. Most models use tilt-rotors or tilt-wings so that the rotorblades can be moved forward (for faster propeller-like propulsion) and for better maneuverability in zero g. Rotor systems do not work in vacuum.

Snake

[Athletics • Slow 4/12]

Slitheroids and similar shells use lateral undulation, flexing their body from left to right and waving their frame forward. Such shells can also use sidewinding or a concertina motion (straightening forward, then retracting the rear) to move.

Submarine

[Pilot: Nautical • Fast 8/32]

Designed for undersea mobility, submarine shells use propellers or pumpjets to push through water.

Swimmer

[Athletics • Medium 4/20]

Swimmers use fins, limbs, or waterjets to propel themselves through water or similar liquids.

Thrust Vector

[Pilot: Air • Very Fast 8/40]

Thrust vector has 3 subtypes. Turbojet (and turbofan) engines push you forward and create lift in atmosphere with a set of wings. They can also be pointed to generate thrust in different directions for vertical takeoffs/landings and better maneuverability in zero g. Turbojets (but not turbofans) work in vacuum if equipped with an air supply. Gas Jets are used in micrograv, ejecting gas in one direction to push you in the opposite direction (use Free Fall, 4/12 bio or 8/40 synth). Similarly, Rockets eject heated reaction mass for thrust (use Pilot: Space, 8/40).

Tracked

[Pilot: Ground • Slow 4/12]

Tracked shells use smart rotating treads to work their way across surfaces that would bog down other ground vehicles. They can prop themselves up in order to overcome taller obstacles or to lay themselves down to bridge across a ditch or crevice.

Walker

[Athletics • Medium 4/20]

Walkers use two or more limbs to walk or crawl across a surface. Many use grip pads or magnetic systems to stick to surfaces.

Wheeled

[Pilot: Ground • Very Fast 8/40]

Most wheeled shells feature smart spokes that allow the wheels to conform their shape to obstacles and even climb stairs. Some low-grav shells feature puncture-resistant and self-repairing compressed-gas tires.

Winged

[Athletics • Fast 8/32]

Winged morphs and shells use limbs that produce lift when moving through air (they do not function in vacuum). Systems with multiple independently controlled wings can hover or move rapidly in any direction. Fixed-wing propeller-driven planes use Pilot: Air instead.