The Idiot's Guide To The Matrix Thread, Support for the Matrix-challenged Options

[TinkerGnome]

[Kurukami]

True enough. I tend to set up with a "standard" set of programs, with some checked ahead of time as "non-vital". Stuff like Defuse, or Evaluate, or Validate, or the like. I mark each program with its Mp size, including those that I have in my Storage. Swapping out is a pretty simple matter, since I've done some groundwork ahead of time and know what can come in and what can go out.

For example, I typically have two different Attack programs loaded in storage memory for Lady Cheng. One's a single-shot Attack-D program (icon'd by a old-fashioned wheel-lock duelling pistol), which I use under the theory that I'm usually high-DF enough that I won't get noticed. Additionally, the single-shot option makes it small enough that I can reload the program without too much trouble. That one I keep in active memory. The other is a Attack-S program with Area (icon'd by a cutlass that she uses in sweeping attacks to strike more than one opponent at once), which I'll pull out (after a quick Evade Detection and Swap Memory) if I'm getting swarmed. Of course, I'll often have to drop some Operational Utility to do so, but when getting swarmed lowering my target number on removing a worm from a file usually isn't my first concern.

[Kurukami]

Synner? You planning the specifics of the Matrix overwatch still?

[Synner]

Finished with that, but since DSF was down most of yesterday I decided to wait.

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
To start off I need to know how/where you're going to be jacking in and what type of jackpoint you'll be using. Note that though the research facility is in Snohomish, you'll have to hack it through the Yamatetsu PLTG since it isn't linked directly to the open net.

[Kurukami]

OK. Let's see... well, I'd probably go in through the Tukwila LTG having found a nice spot to set up my illegal high-speed jackpoint with my rating-8 dataline tap. I'd run a Redirect Datatrail op on the LTG, then Logon to the Seattle RTG (Green-5/6/9/6/6/6), where I'd do the same. (No harm in covering my tracks as well as I can, particularly with my DF high enough to help prevent the LTG or RTG from adding to my security tally.)

First, of course, is setting up the jackpoint. (I'm unable to find any details on TNs for setting up an illegal jackpoint in either SR3 or Matrix, so I'm presuming that it's a TN 4 Electronics B/R test.) Her B/R skill is 3 (+1 due to enhanced articulation), which adding in Task Pool (from the cerebral booster) gives me five dice to roll -- resulting in 10, 5, 5, 2, 1. Three successes should be more than enough to get me rolling in fairly short order.

Next, I perform a Logon to LTG operation to get onto the Tukwila LTG. It, like the Seattle RTG, will probably have a Green-5 Security Rating, with Access 6, Control 9, Index 6, Files 6, Slave 6. I prep my Deception-6 program and roll my Decking (7) against a TN of (6 - 6, minimum 2) 2 without bothering to use Hacking Pool for something this basic. -- 16, 11, 5, 5, 2, 2, 1. Six successes.

I then Redirect Datatrail on the local grid to confuse any Trace programs that may decide to come after me while I'm sitting in the target host. This one'll be tougher -- my Camo-4 program against the grid's Control value of 9 gives me a TN of 5. I roll 4 of my 8 Hacking Pool dice along with the 7 dice of Decking I have, and get 11, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1 -- squeaking in with two successes. Both of them came from the extra Hacking Pool dice, so spending them was well worth it. What effect does this have? Since I performed the operation successfully (and it's something you can do on each particular grid you logon to), the TN for Trace IC or a Track utility to hit me in cybercombat is increased by 1.

After camoflauging my trail, I Logon to RTG to get to the Seattle regional telecom grid. No Hacking Pool dice this time, just a straight Decking roll against TN 2 -- and 11, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 1 gets me onto the RTG easily. I perform my Redirect Datatrail on the Seattle RTG, again with 4 Hacking Pool dice and against a TN of 5, and this time do substantially better than on the Tukwila LTG -- 11, 7, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 -- with four successes. Of course, all you need is a single success, but hey, I did it with flair -- and the second successful Redirect Datatrail again raises my TN if I confront Trace IC. :D

I'd have done a bit of research ahead of time -- tracking down the Yamatetsu PLTG's address, for one thing -- which would allow me to go straight there and attempt to sneak in with a Logon to PLTG. (This presumes, of course, that the Yamatetsu PLTG is connected to the Seattle RTG -- which isn't unreasonable, since Yamatetsu does have a branch in the Seattle metroplex.)

I Logon to Host and enter the Yamatetsu PLTG.

And, of course, I'm in Masking mode -- which moves my Masking from 8 to 12 and decreases my Bod from 5 to 3, and makes my DF (12 + 5, divided by 2, rounding up) 9.

[Synner]

Kurukami - As this is meant as walkthrough aid for anyone unfamiliar with the Tests involved please try to identify System Operation Tests with italics and try to descriminate what is rolled, what are the modifiers, what Utilities come into play and what are the Target numbers (edit these into your previous post if you can).

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
And now back to the run...

You locate the Yamatetsu Corporate Eyecon floating over the Downtown grid at the LTG# you looked up. The sparkling eye leisurely opens and closes sending off sparks of neon pixels as it slowly rotates around it's vertical axis. The open iris is obviously the SAN point and since this is an open client support and routing Host you walk right in (GM rules that the Access Test doesn't count towards your Security Tally here).

Inside you find yourself standing in a massive two-level mall arcade with different stores for different Yamatetsu subsidiaries and affiliates lining the concourse (these are Online Stores for anyone who's interested - each is either a linked Host or a subsection of this big Host). Several other Personas and Icons are about windowshopping or floating up and down from the stores on the second level. Ocassionally a courier icon (that strangely resembles a speeding blue hedgehog) comes through the cycling iris door you came through and shoots down the concourse to the opposite end.

At the opposite end of the mall concourse stand a set of 3 elevator doors. These are obviously the Access subsystems for other PLTG Hosts and each is flanked by two Greek statues (roll Matrix Etiquette and has a plaque with undecipherable word printed on it over the sliding doors (probably the results of Scramble IC).

As you watch a courier Icon comes out of one such elevator door and shoots past you and out the iris leaving a blue streak afterimage behind him for a nanosecond.

[Synner]

Orient - As far as I know there is no other way to handle this, although you may want to check some of the Programming Options in Matrix for some tricks to change program size and I/O speeds. The other possible way to handle this is to use a Dumb Frame (it's a waste of a Smart Frame) to act as a bagcarrier for other programs.

[satcong]

Can we go back a couple of steps?

I'm interested in how this Redirect Datatrail works, it's benefits and such. Also, if it's a System Operation on a TG, does the TG still get to roll against it?

Also, how do you know that your DF is sufficiently high-enough to make you immune from an increasing security tally on the LTG and RTG - or is this just hope and statistics?

I also thought that we were going in through a satallite?

[Kurukami]

Not a problem. I've updated my first post (further up on this page) to better reflect the details of what I've done so far. :)

Yes, Redirect Datatrail is a System Operation against a TG. Basically, I roll my Decking against the Control value (in this case, 9) minus any Camo program that I have. In this case, I have a Camo of 4 -- which means that I had to roll 5s or better to successfully camoflauge my datatrail. (An excellent example of why it's good to have high-rating utilities!)

You can only successfully perform Redirect Datatrail once on a particular TG. When I succeeded on the Tukwila LTG, I raised the future TN of any Trace IC or Track utility trying to attack me in cybercombat by 1, and when I did so on the Seattle RTG, I raised it again. Therefore, any Trace IC trying to lock onto me in the future of this run will need to add 2 to its TN to attempt to track me down.

As for my DF being "high enough" -- yup, it really is a matter of statistics. Since I'm running in Masking Mode (which effectively multiplies my Masking persona chip by 1.5, rounding down), my Masking goes from 8 to 12. My Sleaze-5 thus makes my DF (12 + 5 / 2, rounding up) 9. That's the TN that the grids and hosts need to roll to "see" anything suspicious... so the odds are on my side, particularly with such pushovers as the Tukwila and Seattle general-access grids.

And I think we're going in through just a standard telecom sneak, not a satellite.

[satcong]

Thanks kurukami, that clears things up.

I understand that you can only Redirect once/TG but is there a limit to the number of TGs that you can place a Redirect Datatrail on? For instance, If I wanted to, could I jump from RTG-to-RTG and leave a track around the world before dropping into the relavent LTG and thereby rack up a huge modifier for the TRACE IC?

What are the draw-backs to doing this?

[Kurukami]

Now that I'm on the Yamatetsu PLTG, I need to track down the particular host I'm going to be providing Matrix overwatch for. But first, determining a few secrets about this particular PLTG might offer some insight. I roll my Etiquette (Matrix) 4 to see if I can puzzle out something about those Greek statues, and get 4, 4, 3, 2.

While Cheng is waiting for her grey matter to dredge up the recollection of just what that statuary might entail, she'll also try to determine whether or not those elevator doors are the key to accessing the host she wants to reach. Cheng reaches into an inner pocket of her greatcoat and pulls out a smoldering stick of incense. As she exhales upon it, the ember on its tip flares to life and puts out an ephemeral trail of lavender smoke. She sketches a somewhat complicated pictogram in midair with smoke as she faces the elevators, and as she completes the drawing the glyph briefly glows and (hopefully) transforms into a floating, translucent display of the data she requested. A brief moment later, she inhales sharply and the smoky data is drawn into her mouth, leaving no trace behind for the casual observer to see.

I attempt an Analyze Subsystem against the Access portion of this PLTG with my Analyze-6, hoping to determine just what might be unusual about the PLTG accesses and whether or not they are the path to my target. I throw in a pair of Hacking dice just to juice my luck. I do alright, but nothing special -- 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 -- I'm relying on my Analyze program to pull out any specific details.

And, just to remind you, my Analyze program has sneak-2 as a program option. That means that, while she's using it, her DF is raised by 2 -- from 9 to 11 -- making it substantially more difficult for the system I'm on to notice my action.

After I attempt to examine the elevators in that way (and, um "digest" the information :) ), Cheng would also consider whether one of the "stores" (hosts) in the mall might be the host she's looking for. It seems unlikely, since the target is likely to be fairly high security, but nonetheless she'll try to Locate Access Node.

After pinching the ember to mostly extinguish it, she replaces the stick of incense in her greatcoat and, from a pocket on the other side, brings forth a rice-paper scroll rolled around a sandalwood core. She cautiously unrolls it, whispering to it what she wants to find (in this case "the security and surveillance system for a Yamatetsu research facility in Snohomish", or just "a Yamatetsu research facility in Snohomish" if the first search fails to turn up anything), and watches with interest as a detailed map with landmarks and notations inks itself in on the scroll's smooth surface.

In game terms, I decide to attempt a Locate Access Node operation on the Yamatetsu PLTG with my Browse-6 utility. Just as with the Analyze utility, my Browse has sneak-2, raising my DF to 11 for purposes of being detected. I try to specify just what I'm looking for, as a specific inquiry will lower the TN (while a general one will probably raise it). Think of how Google will turn up an absolute ton of sites if you only give it a single, not unusual word or phrase to search by. :) I roll my 7 decking dice along with two more Hacking Pool dice, giving me 9 dice in all against an undetermined Index TN (after all, I probably haven't been on this system before, so I don't know just how hard this grid is to deck), minus 6 for my utility. Result? 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1. Not a great roll. But unless this grid is bursting with security (unlikely) probably enough to find me what I need to know.

[Kurukami]

[TinkerGnome]

You should be able to bounce between RTGs and leave quite a trail without aquiring a tally. Tally gained on a grid don't carry past the RTG unless that RTG is a satellite RTG.

[Kurukami]

[Kurukami]

*bumps thread to keep it on the first page for Synner's response*

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Back to the Yamatetsu Eyecon Virtual Mall...

Cheng suddenly recalls the Hacker Hoosier House catalog she skimmed through back in '62, that introduced the Greek statuary iconography as a hallmark of the YamCore IC series. Mostly Whites and Greys if she recalls correctly but Cheng must have skimmed the file to fast because she cant remember the details. (Results of the Matrix Etiquette Test. Suffice it to say that more successes would have produced more information on specific IC types used in this particular non-custom series).

At almost the same time the incense-relayed data kicks in Cheng's eyes mist for a second as the information rearranges her Persona's perception of the scene. The elevator doors change colour, one to Red the other two to Orange while floating neon gothic calligraphy appears over each. Over the Red door the writing reads Local Branch Administration Host, over the first Orange door it reads North NorthAm IntraGrid and the second door reads International IntraGrid. All are locked with Scramble IC. The Host rolls only one success (a 15) against Cheng's net successes on the Analyze Subsystem Test.

The Locate Access Node analysis on the stores fronts however returns no hits on any of the search parameters and the effects of the incense vanish before they have time to take hold. The Host system rolls no successes.

Over to you.

[hobgoblin]

hmm, i would have said that some sort of iconographics knowledge skill would be more fitting then ettiquette (matrix) when it comes to those statues but then again i may have the wrong image of what that skill does...

isnt it about what to say and what to do (and dont say and do) to get what you want from someone? how does that connect to identifying icons?

[Gorath]

[Synner]

I should have explained better. In the absence of an appropriate Knowledge skill (ie. possibly Popular IC Configurations or ICspotting), I assumed that an experienced decker would have read something interesting when "shopping for programs" (hence the HHH reference in the use of the Etiquette Matrix Specialization) and might remember it (hence the vague recollection but no details).

[hobgoblin]

ah, so details would require a knowledge skill while the vague recollection is more recalling that some corp or other have a connection to them :)

and to gorath:
iwould allow for ettiquete(street) as iding what gang your about to run into is a integrated part of street person to person interaction while i see iding a icon to be more of a software knowledge skill then a ettiquete skill as the person is trying to id what kind of security software a host is running, hardly a person to person interaction...

[Gorath]

@ Hobgoblin:

I see your point. The question is could you know of this gang without every having a person to person interaction? So Etiquette Street represents time on street and learning/seeing facts about the street. So, if you are chatting in decker bar, you might get some informations about the newest hottest IC too. But we must not discuss this:

[Kurukami]

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Here's something that I find often needs clearing up. The Scramble IC (even though its visible from the public Host) is encrypting the Access subsystem (SAN point) of the next system in the PLTG. In practical terms what this means is that the elevators (or any other system link iconography) is a representation of an Access subsystem of the next Host, much like the Yamatetsu Eyecon or Mitsuhama Pagoda in the Downtown Seattle LTG include representations (ie. the iris doorway) of the Access subsystems of the Hosts "behind" them.

With this in mind Kurukami may want to revise the dice roll since he's assuming the next Host is a chokepoint.

[Dashifen]

[TinkerGnome]