=Motivation Alternatives=
These next two optional rules present some different methods for handling motivations in your gaming group.
==Group Motivations and Group Moxie==
The motivation system detailed in the core book serves as a roleplaying aid and a way to regain Moxie, but it is geared towards individual characters. This system introduces motivation and Moxie for the entire gaming group.
Similar to personal motivations, each group of player characters can choose three motivational goals that inspire all of the characters as a team. In many cases, these motivations will be tied to the speciﬁc scenario at hand, but they could also apply to long-term interests or objectives that the characters all share in common, such as aiding the mercurial cause (+AGI or Uplift Rights), seeing the universe via gatecrashing (+Exploration), or countering major threats to transhumanity (–X-Risks or –TITANs). These motivations can and should change over time, particularly when starting out on a new mission or uncovering some new information or secret in a campaign. A newly formed group may only start out with a single shared motivation, picking up others over time as they progress and the scenario unfolds.
For example, a group of new Firewall agents brought together to investigate the mysterious murder of a proxy on Mars may start out with a single motivation of +Discover Murderer or +Justice. When the trail of clues they are following leads them to uncover the possible involvement of a group of smugglers bringing contraband TITAN tech out of the TQZ, they may then add a second motivation of +Stop Smugglers or –TITAN Tech.
Any player in the game can suggest a new group motivation for the characters. If all of the other player characters agree, it is adopted by the entire group. If the group already has three motivations, one of the current ones must be “deactivated” for a new one to be adopted. The gamemaster should only allow the group to take on motivations that will take some effort for the group to achieve; a group on the verge of defeating a major enemy should not be allowed to suddenly adopt an –Enemies motivation as a cheap ploy.
Like personal motivations, group motivations are rewarded with Moxie points when they are achieved. Each group, however, starts with zero group Moxie points. When the group reaches a motivational goal, they gain 1 new group Moxie point. No group may ever have more than 5 group Moxie points at a time. Group Moxie may be spent like any other Moxie point. The caveat, however, is that all members of the group must agree to the Moxie point being spent.
The advantage of group motivations is that group Moxie builds up over time, as the team reaches goals, usually as each character’s personal Moxie points are being spent. Group Moxie can be very useful in the end-game of a scenario, when the characters are tied up in an important boss ﬁght and have spent all of their own Moxie already. Group Moxie is also useful in conjunction with the investigative Moxie rule.
At the gamemaster’s discretion, a group’s Moxie pool may be depleted if a character leaves the group or even split apart if the individual characters part ways and pursue different missions.
RELATIONSHIPS AND SHARED MOTIVATIONS
==Relationships and Shared Motivations==
Would your Eclipse Phase group prefer to begin play with a tightly interrelated team of player characters? Before sitting down to generate stats, get together and create some relationships among the team members. This system can be used before or after players have created concepts for their characters. Some players may want to use this system in a way that plays to a concept they already have in mind. Others may ﬁnd that it inspires a character concept or offers a new angle on one they already had been considering. Keep in mind that this system is intended to bootstrap group creativity, not limit it.
To use this system, you’ll need:
* a stack of index cards
* a list of relationships (we’ve provided some below)
* a list of motivations
* a table to sit at
Then, follow these steps:
# Put an index card between each pair of players at the table. This card is shared by those players’ characters.
# Agree upon a relationship for each pair of characters, and write it on the card. See Relationships, below.
# Have the other players tie a motivation to each relationship, and write it on the card. Both characters will have this motivation.
===Relationships===
The following relationship pairings are based partly on social networks. They work well in a default, Firewall-based campaign, though they don’t assume the characters to be Firewall agents already. The relationship could be in the past, but it should have been strong enough to bind the characters together in the present.
Because characters take effort to create, most players will want to pick relationships themselves. This isn’t to say that the rest of the group should stay silent. Suggestions about which way to go and open discussion about how the different relationships tie the team together should be part of the process. For players who are up for anything, it’s also possible to use these relationships lists as a random table. 
Roll a d10 to determine a relationship category; then roll a d10, divide by two (round up), and run with the relationship that came up on the die.
====1. @-LIST==== 
# Social Theorist & Adherent
# Judicial Freelancer & Security Contractor
# Revolutionary & Supporter
# Roboticist & Test Pilot
# Body Mod Artist & Canvas
====2. CivicNet: Corporate Sphere==== 
# Indenture & Owner
# Oligarch & Retainer
# Attorney & Client
# Black Marketeer & Smuggler
# Kept Person/Thing & Paramour
====3. CivicNet: Civil Service==== 
# Detective & Informant
# Ex-cop Ego Hunter & Former Boss
# Hab Engineer & Ops Coordinator
# Customs Agent & Spaceport Worker
# Tax Assessor & Local Ofﬁcial
====4. Ecowave==== 
# Nano-Ecologist & Terraforming Technician
# Reclaimer Field Scientist & Bodyguard
# Preservationist Eco-Guerrilla & Weapons Merchant
# Activist Lawyer & Litigant
# Journalist & Whistleblower
====5. Fame==== 
# Celebrity & Entourage Member
# Heir & Hanger-on
# Artist & Patron
# Impresario & Talent
# XP Dealer & Self-Recorder
====6. Guanxi==== 
# Hacker & Client
# Lieutenant & Soldier
# Genehacker & Xenobiology Bootlegger
# Outlaw Microfacturer & Blueprint Runner
# Fixer & Freelancer
7. The Eye
# Sentinel & Proxy
# Sentinels, Both Missing Memories of That One Mission
# Recruit & Indoctrinator
# Factional Allies
# Patsy & Handler
====8. RNA==== 
# Uplift & Creator
# Gatecrashing Teammates
# Emerged AGI & Person Helping Them Stay Hidden
# Researcher & Test Subject
# Academic & Student
====9. Outer System==== 
# Ultimate & Aspirant
# Jovian Envoy & Contact
# Prospector & Resource Planner
# Comrades in the Militia
# Argonaut Consultant & Government Contact
10. The Brink
# Singularity Seekers Sharing Research
# Grew up in a weird Isolate community together
# Divergent forks of the same person
# Scum Barge Roommates
# Rogue Muse & Former Owner
TYING MOTIVATIONS TO RELATIONSHIPS
===Tying Motivations to Relationships===
By themselves, motivations are general, abstract, and impersonal. They say a lot about a character’s politics and social stances, but they don’t say much about why the character follows them. Tying them to a relationship makes them more concrete, while also creating shared history between the characters.
After tying a motivation to each pair of characters, take some time to detail how it plays out in their relationship. Here again, other players at the table should feel free to voice suggestions. If sharing a motivation creates a clear, driving need for the two player characters to work together, it’s a good one. If it feels lukewarm or iffy, it’s probably not.
Finally, though the two characters will share the motivation and should probably share some experiences motivating them both in that direction, their reasons for adhering to that motivation might be totally different. For example, in a pair whose relationship revolves around gatecrashing, one might be in it for the money, while the other cares more about the thrills.
Once each character has two relationships with associated motivations, proceed with character creation as normal.
===Adding New Characters to an Existing Group===
When a new character joins the group, repeat the process above. Pick two other characters for the new player character to have relationships with. If the new character is replacing a character who died, pick relationships with whomever the player’s previous character had ties. Do the same if it’s a new player replacing a departing player. If adding a new player to the group, tie their character to the characters of the players to their left and right at the table or determine ties randomly.
===Sidebar: The Bottom Has The Power===
Some of these relationships imply unequal power relationships. While challenging, unequal relationships can be very interesting to roleplay. Try to detail relationships with ostensibly unequal power relations such that they add drama to the game without derailing play. The owner of an indenture, for example, might control the indentured character on paper, but be totally dependent on them for crucial services. The same might be true of an alpha fork and their beta. Someone Firewall is using as a patsy might be too useful to risk casually and might become a sentinel in time. The key is for the players involved to agree on how the relationship will be handled before play commences.

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