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

[Synner]

Dashifen - Yes. Scramble IC is "different" from many other reactive IC in that it (SR3 page 228) can be programmed "to protect a specific component of a subsystem" (ie. a file in the Files subsystem) or "the entire subsystem" (as is the case above).

Many people simply assume that Scramble IC are only placed on Files or Files subsystems, but in truth they can be just as easily be placed on specific Access subsystems (as described above), Control, Index or Slave subsystems or individual components (ie. the office manager's hidden sec-camera that he uses to spy on the office pool and which is located in the Slave subsystem).

As to your other question, one reason you may want to save on Hacking Pool when doing any actions involving IC is that (unAnalyzed) IC may be trapped with Tar Pit or Tar Baby, and you may find yourself needing those Hacking Pool dice to use right away when you inadvertedly trigger it and it initiates an Opposed Test to crash your Utility.

[Kurukami]

Actually, that's a good point about the Access for the next host being a significant bit tougher. So, instead of rushing through things, I'll take my time to craft a better codebreaker, and take a full Turn on each task. That'll allow me to use my entire Hacking Pool for each.

Thus, I have an extra six dice to roll for the Decrypt Access, and an extra two dice to roll for the Logon attempt.

For the Decrypt, the extra six dice come up: 11, 8, 7, 3, 2, 1.

That adds to my current roll to give me a final roll of 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1.

For the Logon, the extra two dice come up: 5, 1.

That makes my final roll 13, 9, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1.

I sure hope that 5s are successes with Deception-6, but against a chokepoint they may not be. Hopefully those higher rolls will be enough to crack through.

Over to you, Synner.

[Link]

Something that's been mentioned in this topic previously and would best be covered in the present matrix overwatch run - to help clear it up for me if no one else :) is matrix actions whilst not in combat, initiative and null operations.

In the previous matrix run the decker would roll initiative when IC turned up. However, in a matrix overwatch simultaneous with the real world, IC may turn up mid-initiative, with the GM having to resolve the PC's combat phases in order.

Also, the decker may have to perform null operations at some stage to maintain synchronicity with the real world runners.

[Kurukami]

It is somewhat surprising to me that, given my programs with the Sneak option, my DF is actually higher when analyzing or browsing than while performing a null operation.

Aha... looking at p. 218 of SR3, the Null Operation actually uses Deception as the utility against Control rating. Thus, obtaining Deception with a Sneak option would actually be quite worthwhile -- particularly since it would also help with Logon and Graceful Logoff operations as well, and everyone wants their DF as high as possible when attempting that.

Additionally, Null Operation is a Control roll -- which means that for Cheng, at least, there's an additional die to roll against the TN.

Fortunately, I probably wouldn't have to run a Null Op every single turn... rather, it would become necessary only over significant periods of time. Unless, of course, some sadistic GM decides he wants you to roll twenty Null Ops every minute of "game" time. :vegm:

[hobgoblin]

hmm, every command in both sr3 and matrix have a combat action tued to it (some are fre, some are simple and some are complex). sr3 or matrix (i swear its sr3) contains info on calulating the numbr of actions a decker getswithout needing to roll initiative if combat is going on in the real world but not the matrix. as for handeling ic showing up in mid combat, just roll for initative and then remove as many passes as have allready gone by, simple and clean...

[The White Dwarf]

Youre correct, it does contain a generic "formula" for number of actions. I dont have the exact reference handy, I read it in passing. Iirc it was something like "2 matrix actions per intiative die" or "2 matrix actions for one physical action"; basically it was like matrix goes twice as fast as physical. So if the non-deckers are spending a combat turn, the decker gets two.
Disclaimer: thats an approximation of a rule I remember reading, and may resemble the actual rule in no way. Anyone know where it actually is? I know theres something like that in there somewhere.

[Link]

The non-combat actions rule - A decker gets a number of actions equal to the decker's reaction, augmented by response increase, divided by 10. Add 1 action for each extra initiative die beyond the first.

I see you blokes know the rules, I just think the decking example needs to cover these elements.

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Picking up where we left off...

The (next) Host manages to roll 2 successes rolling Security rating (10) against Cheng's DF of 9 to oppose her attempt to Decrypt Access.

So, looking up through the virtual incense smoke she reads the coded pictograms above the elevator door clearly. After that it only takes a second of sorting through the keys and finding the one with the right combination pictogram. Lady Cheng chooses a keycard from her key range and presses it to the door sensor to kick off the Logon to Host operation. The system barely resists her invasive code which morphs into the appropriate Access protocol and opens the door into the waiting elevator.

In practical terms the Host rolled its Security Value (10) and came up with only one success against your Detection Factor (9), Cheng succeeds but her Tally goes up yet again.

Note - You will note that unlike the previous walkthrough I am not giving away the Host ACIFS Ratings, the Security Tally or the successes. This mimics what actually happens in games since you normally require Analyze Host tests on the appropriate Host to discover those subsystem ratings. This also means that the decker is unsure of how many successes he actually rolled. I am however saying how many successes the Host rolled, normally a GM would not and without that info a decker would find it difficult to calculate his Security Tally. Nasty, init?

Cheng steps into the elevator and the doors ping shut the ride seems to take a minute but the decker knows it's a sofisticated programming illusion, a nice bit of code designed to make the wageslaves feel more comfortable. What must be only a second later, the doors ping open onto what looks like a sterile-looking hospital floor. Numerous other doors open on to the corridor and a nurses' station sits a few meters ahead where the corridor you are on seems to branch into two others forming a Y shape. The nurses desk at the center of the Y looks crowded and several Icons in coloured labcoats and suits bustle around, walk off and or join the group.

Standing just off from the desk you can see the shape of a lumbering troll decked out with so many flashy cyberreplacements that he'd be a cyberzombie two times over if this were flesh and blood reality. His chromed and spiked horns glint evily as glowing red cybereyes track the Icons bustling to and fro around the counter.

Some Icons walk, others float and yet others seem to skate over the floor, moving briskly between the counter and different doors vanishing inside before you can catch a glimpse inside. Most carry Readertablets, some carry dark leather suitcases or sci-fi pocket secs on wrist gauntlets and the doorways they vanish into slide open and closed with a delicate whoossh. Each door has a small barcode and number on it.

Cheng notices several bright-coloured stripes drawn on the floors leading to and from the nurse's station down the different corridors and leading to different doors. It's also obvious that each of the other corridors ends in an elevator door just like the one Cheng is about to step through.

Your go...

[Kurukami]

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Lady Cheng is confident and lucky, the GM rolled a 10 but no 11 (the decker's modified DF because of the Sneak option on the Analyze utility), even though the Analyze Icon operation is a Control subsystem op which is always necessarily one of the toughest to crack on a chokepoint Host, this is one of those easy operations even a newbie shouldn't be able to botch.

The small puff of Analyze smoke clears quickly and she can now make out VeritaSct_v10.2 (Scout IC - 10) tattooed on the troll's hulking chest. Since he doesn't seem to have been triggered its likely he's there for intimidation purposes. Feeling a little reassured Cheng turns back to the Browse Scroll.

In game terms she racked up 3 successes to the Host's zero (which the GM wouldn't say since it gives a ballpark for the Control rating).

A thin trail of pixels float away from the nurses' station, snaking between the bustling Icons, climbing on to the scroll and arranging themselves into the answer to the query Cheng had made: "Host 12 - Access 1x33yt". As Cheng reads this through the semi-transparent scroll she sees one of the lines on the floor light up all the way to the right hand elevator indicating the way for her.

Unfortunately as she watches the troll lumbers in front of her offering an outstretched cyberclaw for her system ID, the chrome shining evil and deadly with the light from some pseudo-lightsource.

On her reroll Cheng chalked up 3 net successes, but the Host rolled an 11. While this means Cheng's Locate Access Node System Operation worked, it increased her Security Tally just enough to trigger the Scout IC. The GM secretly makes a Sensor Test for the decker (SR3, page 209) against the IC rating (10) for the decker to notice that the IC has been triggered. With Sensor of only 5 Cheng is lucky to notice the IC with 1 success. If she had failed the test, the troll/Scout IC would have 'tagged' her without her knowing instead of moving to block her her.

Note - In this case the aggressive looking IC exploits the metaphor to trick the decker. Most deckers will assume that if the troll hasn't attacked, then it hasn't been triggered, when in fact it may well have become active and tagged him - after all, that's the true function of Scout IC.

Over to you Kurukami...

[hobgoblin]

and drek just hit the powersupply!

run cheng RUN!

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
This is exactly why chokepoint Hosts are a nasty security feature. Cheng is up against Scout IC and she hasn't even hit the Host she wants yet! Plus when she does move on she gets to keep the Security Tally, she's already carrying because this is a PLTG.

Note for Newbies - this is one Very Good Reason to make an onsite infiltration and hack when possible. You skip all the flak on the way in and only have to contend with the stuff in the Host you want. Of course this isn't really an option if you're on Overwatch since you can only get into Overwatch mode after the insertion and by then half the damage may already be done.

[Kurukami]

In this situation, the Scout IC could be quite nasty if I allow it to get a grip on me. The trick in situations just like these is -- DON'T PANIC!!! Remember your basic bag of tricks, the stuff that every decker has access to regardless of what utilities you've got loaded. Combat maneuvers!

I pray you, ancestors, may the Cloaking code of Hong Kong's Silicon Alchemists not fail me now... Cheng smiles benignly up at the massive figure bulking above her, offering up a cupped left hand as her other hand flicks a small grey capsule at the floor. A large cloud of smoke instantly erupts near her feet with a sharp bang, enveloping her and a few nearby icons. She attempts to use the cover of the noise and visual distraction to slip behind and among the other icons travelling through the node, and her greatcoat shifts color so as to more closely resemble the icons she's dodging past.

In game terms, what I'm going to try to do is Evade Detection -- match Cheng's Evasion (6) against the host's Security Rating (10) in a contested roll, modified by her Cloak utility (rating 5). Killing the IC is a dicey proposition at best, if you'll excuse the pun -- I need 6's to hit it in cybercombat, and it needs 3's to hit me. Proactive Scout IC doesn't actually do damage, but it does add to the successes of anything that may load into the node while it's upping my Security Tally. If I do manage to kill it with my one-shot Attack program, I either sacrifice a point of DF or my security tally goes up by the IC's rating: 10! On a Red host, that would almost certainly spell an unpleasant death.

Evasion, in this situation (no heavy attack programs readily on hand) is my best hope. Until the IC relocates my position in the node (a process which will take a number of Combat Turns equal to the number of net successes I get on this test), it can't affect me. I will roll six dice (Cheng's Evasion rating) against a TN of 10 (the host's Security rating) minus my Cloak utility's rating of 5 -- so I'll need 5s on my dice to successfully avoid it. The host will roll ten dice against a TN of Cheng's Evasion rating -- 6. Since this isn't a System Test, Scout grants the host no additional dice to roll against Cheng's DF. I presume my Hacking pool hasn't refreshed yet, so I'll only be able to add two dice from it to my combat maneuver roll. It'll be a tough trick to pull off, but Cheng gets a good roll: 16, 7, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2.

Three successes -- will it be enough for Cheng to duck away from the Scout IC and make a quiet run for the target Host's SAN? I still have a Simple Action left, so if it manages to block my first attempt as I dodge right I'll most likely double back and try again.

Oh, and should I need it in determining how many actions I might take in a single Cybercombat Turn after I (oh please oh please) evade successfully, my Matrix Initiative is 14 + 4d6 -- and I roll 6, 5, 5, 2, for a total Initiative of 32.

Your move, Synner.

(Note to self... upgrade Cloak utility ASAP before running through another Red-Hard host.... :ork )

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Initiative turns out to be important since Evading Detection is a Combat Maneuver (and technically only available after you engage in cybercombat. This is really quite dangerous because all IC on a Red Host are nasty fraggers - which translates to being really fast in combat (4D6 + IC rating, SR3 page 223). The good news is that Hacking Pool refreshes at the beginning of combat (roll the extra dice and I'll edit the Turns below accordingly).

However, Cheng gets lucky again, the Host only rolls 25 for the IC's Initiative which allows her to go first and try to Evade Detection at 32. Cheng throws the digital smokebomb and jinks to the side. The Host rolls it's end of the Opposed Test (Security Rating 10 vs Cheng's Evasion 6) and only gets one success. This lowers Cheng's net successes to two, but means she's bought 2 full Combat Turns worth of actions while the Scout IC tries to reacquire its target.

The menacing cybertroll circles round in combat posture trying to find Cheng while her Persona dodges through the other Icons milling about near the nurse's station and in the real world the decker barely feels the cold sweat trickle down her neck and thinks about her next move.

Your luck is holding, what next?

[Kurukami]

Thankfully, evading gives me a number of Combat Turns free of targetting equal to the net successes... and at four complex actions per combat turn, Cheng should hopefully be able to make her way over to the desired access point before the IC-troll recovers from my flash-bang and reacquires her. First things first...

Ducking and dodging through the press of icons, Cheng quickly slips down the indicated corridor towards the elevator SAN. She can hear the troll's puzzled growl from behind her as it swipes through the smoke, expecting to get a grip on the target that was just right in front of it. It's only a matter of time before it turns around and manages to spot me in this press... best make use of it while I can. She dekes around the node's virtual corner and slips towards the elevator SAN. Now if it were up to me, I'd have a few blocks of IC protecting any egress from this fun little playground.

So, Cheng managed to give the cyber-troll the slip, and now she's approaching the SAN she wants to get inside of. Her first Simple Action of this combat pass was to Evade Detection. Now, as she's approaching the SAN she wants, she'll need to determine whether or not the Access to it has been Scrambled.

Cheng reaches into her greatcoat to pull out the widely-utilized incense stick, blowing it to life frantically and painting an analysis smoke-rune in the direction of the SAN doorway. The rune streaks towards the elevator to perform its inquiry, begins its transformation, and then swoops back to meet Cheng en route.

Since my Hacking Pool won't refresh until the beginning of my next Combat Turn, I'll have to use it sparingly. So far I've used only two dice in my Evasion attempt, leaving six dice available for my needs. Now, from what I've inferred via Synner's comments, the Access system in this host has a rating of no greater than 15. However, when all I've got is Analyze-6, I'll still most likely need 9's to not be blocked by the host's verification routines. With that in mind, I'll put three dice from my Hacking Pool to add to my Decking, giving me ten dice to roll against the Host with my sneaky Analyze.

Additionally, it should be noted that Hosts tend to load on multiples of the same Tally number. From what I can guess from Synner's description (which GMs might or might not reveal), the Scout IC popped up when my Tally hit 4. If I can get through the SAN before the system turns up four more successes against me (in any combination), I can avoid any further IC entanglements and hopefully emerge on the Snohomish host without having any IC laying in wait for me.

Cheng rolls, and... ouch. 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1. Nothing even remotely near 9. At a glance, the Host will block my attempt -- but the question now is, was Cheng noticeable enough while making the attempt to give the Scout a heads-up as to her location?

On the other hand... when logging on from the previous PLTG to this chokepoint, my Access TN was determined by the target Host's rating. Thus, this next link in the chain could be easier to manipulate than the one I'm standing on right now. I have my doubts that a 5 will be enough to sneak my code-query in, but who knows? I might well get lucky in that regard.

Over to you, Synner.

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
The Analyze rune floats back to Cheng and bursts in a blue grey cloud. A faint voice whispers in her ear, "Query failed. Please insert specific address."

The Analyze failed. The system rolled 2 successes using its Security Value against the deckers DF against the decker's 0 successes.

As she closes on the elevator Lady Cheng notices there is a keypad besides the sliding doors, probably to insert the SAN address. The elevator must represent a link to multiple systems. Some might be Scrambled, others not, depending on which address you insert. Looking round Cheng confirms the smokey tendrils of her Evasion code is still cloying to the troll, confounding his targeting.

Chose your move wisely...

[Kurukami]

Uh-oh. Bloody hell. Glancing over her shoulder, Cheng sees the IC-troll peer in her direction through the fading remnants of the smoke-Cloak. It'll be able to reacquire her within a few fractions of a second, and then ... well, best not to dwell on that for too long.

As quickly as she can, she manipulates the keypad to set up access to the proper Host. What was that code? Host 12 - Access 1x33yt? Yes, that was it. She primes the keypad with the appropriate SAN address and hits the "Go" button, hoping that the SAN activates and allows her to log on before her sensorium is forced to absorb a few megapulses of biofeedback virus. A quick inhalation of smoke from the incense generates another cloud of lock-persuading tools, which immediately begin to pry at the elevator's doors.

In the background, over the hospital's PA system, she can hear the faintly irritating strains of muzak adapted from some obscure twentieth-century band -- Live and Let Die, by Guns and Daisies, wasn't it? She blanks the irrelevant thought from her head and concentrates on pulling up the SAN.

So... game-wise, for my second of four Complex Actions this Combat Turn (which goes off during the second pass at an effective Initiative of 22), I'm going to hope that I can persuade the SAN to allow me to Logon to Host. Now, metagaming, I know that since the PLTG rolled two successes against my DF (must've been a damned good roll to get two 11's!) not only is my Tally at a minimum of 6, my lead time away from the Scout IC has been wiped out. It'll reacquire me at the end of this Combat Turn, which'll make life all manner of unpleasant. I'll throw an extra Hacking Pool die into my attempt to Logon, and pray that I roll well enough to get past this chokepoint before it nails me to the wall. The dice come up 10, 8, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1.

That should be enough for one success, possibly two if the Access rating of the target Host is significantly lower than the chokepoints. Here's hoping I don't see something just as nasty waiting for me on the other end of that SAN...

[Synner]

Apologies for the delay but I've just had a small family tragedy and I'm really not clear headed enough to pick this up today. I'll be back tomorrow evening at the latest though.

[SugarDog]

I wanted to thank ou guys for doing this thread. As a newbie SR player (and GM), this has been extremely helpful. Matrix stuff has been by far the most daunting subsection of the SR ruleset to get into, but it also seems that every run we've done so far would have benfitted greatly from the presence of a decker. This thread has made it so now I actually sort of understand both MAtrix interaction and host design. It's going to be a contest now to see who can get their character killed the fastest so they can make a decker :)

Matrix virgins of the world unite and pay homage!! :notworthy:

[Synner]

SugarDog - Thanks for the praise. It's for people like you that we started the thread in the first place and I really hope it helps people overcome some of the problems with the Matrix. The key to overcoming the most common difficulties people encounter when trying to play Matrix runs is preparation on the part of both the GM (rules and iconography) and the player (rules) . I can't stress this enough. Having pages 162 thru 167 of the Matrix at hand as crib sheets is invaluable when you're new to the rules.

You may also find the Hosts'R'Us thread interesting since it showcases some sample Host iconography breakdowns as well as the usual ratings (including the "Office Host" iconography for the first run walkthough in this thread).

[Solidcobra]

now, oh thou great lord and master of all things matrix (synner)..... may i, a humble matrix newbie ask you a question? What kind of tragedy? "My dog got ran over"?, "My family got ran over"?, "My aunt is coming to live in my room"?, "My granny is coming and staying overnight"?

what kind?

[Synner]

Solidcobra- Despite your rather flippant tone, and for the benefit of those who've asked privately (btw thanks all); the Persian cat that's been the family pet for five years now, fell from an 11-storey window and was admitted in critical condition to a pet hospital yesterday at noon. While some people may not be as sensitive to that sort of accident befalling a pet, my companion and I are particularly attached to this cat for a number of sentimental and personal reasons and we were/are quite shaken by his condition.

[Synner]

Matrix Overwatch Walkthrough
Kurukami - Since we're still counting time within the original combat turn that you Evaded Detection, you've actually still got 2 Action Phases (12 and 2) after the current one in this Turn and 2 full Turns after that, before the Scout reacquires Cheng (it lost her at 32, you've just made your actions at 22 so...).

So back to the action...

Looking over her shoulder for possible pursuit, Cheng runs the keycard her Access-breaker produces through the slot in the keypad and sighs with relief as the elevator doors ping open.

Cheng rolled her Computer skill (6 dice) plus Hacking Pool (1 die) against a target number equal to the new Host's Access Rating minus the rating of his Deception Utility (6) and got two successes. The (new) Host on the other hand scored one success against the decker's Detection Factor. Fortunately for Cheng all she needs is one success for the Logon to Host operation to work. Unfortunately this also adds another point to her Security Tally.

Cheng steps inside the elevator and the doors close on the image of the cybertroll Scout still trying to fight his way free of the smoke bomb code and locate the rogue Persona.

The elevator drops what feels like several floors and quickly shudders to a stop. The doors whoosh open with the usual ping and open on a clinically clean and empty corridor that leads to double doors like those in a hospital ward. Stenciled on the doors are the letters YCAP, acronym for the Yamatetsu Advanced Cognition Program (the labs the team was meant to hit). As Cheng steps past, the elevator doors shut and she finds the corridor is shorter than it originally seemed, so much so that she can see a scrubbing room through the glass segments of the swinging double YCAP doors, several icons are obviously moving around beyond the doors. No obvious IC lies in wait and her Persona realtime display indicates she has a 10 minute lead on the ground team.

Important Note - Remember however that Cheng has arrived here with all the Security Tally she acumulated on the PLTG so far. This means that if she had, for example, an accumulated Security Tally of 9 she would activate all the IC present on this Host's Security Sheaf up to and including Step 9.

Your move, Kurukami

[Dashifen]

Interjecting a question:

Constructs. They are a "combination" of forms of IC to add the special little twist to the security of a host. I understand how they are created and how they work, but I'm not sure about it how much to add to the security tally if they are crashed without supressing them. For example, you have a construct { killer (9) sparky (6) } and the crack Decker PCMCIA has beaten it in combat. She opts not to suppress it ... what's added to the tally? Is it 9, 6, 7 (the average), 15 :eek: or is it the frame core size of the construct?

Thanks!

-- Dashifen --

[hobgoblin]

i dont have my books at hand but i belvie that the contruct have a max level set and that is used to raise the tally (it basicly is one icon that have the functions of more then one IC system). remeber that hte contruct have one damage track, kill it and you kill all the IC it holds...