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Posted by: The Horror Jan 22 2006, 07:48 AM

1) Say you load an agent into your commlink. You then put it in control of your skillwire system, and load up a dodge skillsoft. Can your agent control your body while you are in full VR mode to dodge for you?


2) If you leave an agent in a node and the agent gets destroyed. Can you just load up another copy of that agent for use elsewhere?


3) Can you make copies of agents much like you would copy programs?




The Horror

Posted by: Angelstandings Jan 22 2006, 01:01 PM

Good questions.

Better yet, #1: After your commlink is hacked, can I upload my agent into your commlink which forces you into VR and controls your body through your skillwires?

Questions 2 and 3 are really the same: There's no difference in the RAW between Agent/Pilots and other software in regards to copying them. If they were legally purchased, you have to crack them before able to make copies of them. If you coded the software yourself, then you won't have that problem. But either way, making a copy takes time, and once copied needs a home since it exists seperately. (pgs. 228 and 240)

But I guess storage space isn't much of an issue anymore... (I kinda miss that).

Posted by: mintcar Jan 22 2006, 01:19 PM

1) No way!!! Skill softs do not roboticly control your body, even with skill wires. They help out with the subconsious signals that would normaly guide your movements if you knew the skill for real.

If you want to allow skillwires to be able to go on auto-pilot when the user is doing something else, then skillwires in your game always take complete control of your body when using an active soft. I don´t think many would buy them then. It seems rather scary.

2) Sure

3) I don´t see why not

Posted by: Angelstandings Jan 22 2006, 01:27 PM

Posted by: The Horror Jan 22 2006, 01:41 PM

Something about this really bothers me.

Talk about technology depersonalising people. Blah.

Posted by: mintcar Jan 22 2006, 01:43 PM

Whatever . The purpose of skillwires is to provide a user with the ability to do something they would be incapable of otherwise. Let´s say it´s weaving a basket. Now, you could propably get started weaving that basket just by looking at illustrated instructions. However to do it skillfully, your fingers would have to remember what to do. For skillwires to accomplish what they are made for they would only have to provide that subconsious, corporeal memory (or whatever you like to call it), in addition to the theoretical knowledge of what to do. They would not need to control your movements entirely. Giving them the ability to do that would be dangerous and overkill.

That´s my interpretation.

Hacking someone´s skill softs could give you the opportunity to cause seizures or have the user do something differently when they later use them. That´s about what I would allow.

So the text says they override muscular movement. But to what degree? Are they powerful enough to sever a limb from consious control for an extended time? To snatch control over the entire body even? It doesn´t say. I guess we have to go with common sense.

Posted by: nick012000 Jan 22 2006, 01:44 PM

You can pull this sort of stunt with Muscle Replacement, as well.

Posted by: mintcar Jan 22 2006, 01:57 PM

Posted by: Angelstandings Jan 22 2006, 02:05 PM

Posted by: mintcar Jan 22 2006, 02:18 PM

I think there´s a desire to make these things possible for the same reason people regularily ask for more incentive to get a full body cyber replacement. Some people are always looking for ways of making their characters into robots. If that´s what you desire, you should go that route. In the setting so far, the only really robot like individuals are cyber-zombies, and I like it that way personaly. It´s certainly not hard to increase the significance of muscle replacement and skillwires to get a more inhuman feeling from those modifications if you want a more high sci-fi setting, though.

Posted by: Angelstandings Jan 22 2006, 02:23 PM

Posted by: mintcar Jan 22 2006, 02:35 PM

Naa. You don´t seem that eager. You´re having a discussion . And further more I don´t think it´s munchkinism that has people thinking about things like this, it´s what they concider cool. If commonly used cyberware made people into robots, the setting would be very different. Propably even more frightening and dark. It´s not the Shadowrun I know though.

I would allow a hacker to get a highly customized combination of muscle replacements and skillwires and other stuff to make his body into a drone, maybe. For a character, that would have to be part of a very compelling concept for me to allow it. It´d be just right for NPCs though, but even then very uncommon. I don´t see why any combination of ´ware would even be capable of this kind of stuff out of the box.

Posted by: Angelstandings Jan 22 2006, 03:03 PM

I always look at things from the GM's perspective (since I always GM). I usually allow players to come up with interesting slants on old tech -- but only if I can use it against them, too.

So, in this case... I'd allow either skillwires or muscle replacement to be used in this way, but I'd make it so having it done against you was more frightening than using it was beneficial.

Which in this case, I think it is. It gives me another tool to use against the players... It's a fate worse than death, which is great for me!

As far as player concept goes: What if they start out this way? Their character is the Agent who was put into someone's body. Hell, I could come up with quite a few variations on that theme... Asks a lot of interesting moral questions. Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?

But now we're moving into Transhuman Space (which, imo, isn't altogether bad). It could be argued that commlinks and AR were completely ripped from Transhuman Space RPG.

EDIT: On second though... They'd effectively have High Pain Threshold 18 unless voluntarilly using a simrig. Oh well, it's the realm of NPCs then ::

Posted by: The Horror Jan 22 2006, 05:46 PM