Free Sprites....Anyone used them yet? Options

[stevebugge]

So I was going through the section on Technomancers again and was thinking about free sprites, and how a free machine sprite could (among many other things) end up like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit. Basically it looks like free sprites have great potential as a plot wrinkle, maybe even as NPC's, much the way free spirits do. Anyone actually incorporated this in to their game yet? If so how did it go over?

[Big D]

Ewww... evil thought.

Mutated bits of Deus, not quite sentient, running across the matrix.

[emo samurai]

I've had one in my game, it looked like a wolf puppy and jumped into a TM player's head.

[FanGirl]

Emo gave my TM a free sprite that manifests as a wolf puppy. I'm guessing that the pup is a powerful ally, but he quite literally gives her a headache if she doesn't store him in her commlink.

EDIT: And once again, Emo beats my initiative.

[emo samurai]

It's soooooo cute... but it came to her under very scary circumstances.

Edit: My initiative is 73|-| |-|4><><0Rz.

[FanGirl]

Yeah, he's very awesome. I've decided to name him Rudy--short for Rudolf.

[emo samurai]

He won't be a wolf puppy forever, though. :D

[Abschalten]

I'm actually cooking up a plotline that involves a vengeful free Machine Sprite initiating some real world murder when its technomancer lover gets killed by some Vory. Should be pretty interesting.

[emo samurai]

Is the sprite Dikoted, or is it just Hardened?

[stevebugge]

I believe that unlike Free Spirits and ally, Sprites would not be able to manifest. A Machine Sprite could certainly inhabit a robotic body but that would be more akin to the Homonculus rules from SR 2-3.

So I think the Dikoted AVS Ally Sprite is right out.

[Lebo77]

[emo samurai]

OH NO NOT THE WOLF PUPPY!!! >.(.... (Judge Dredd Crying)

[stevebugge]

Probably even more frightening would be if a Free Machine Sprite took up residence in your Skillwires.

[Lindt]

Gahhhh scary thoughts can come from that one...

[FanGirl]

[emo samurai]

Oh thank god... > ) (Judge Dredd Smiling)

And how would a sprite take up residence in your skillwires unless you had them wireless? If you have them wireless, you deserve to have your face shot off by your own hand.

Oh, and speaking of taking over skinlinked skillwires, if you attached a wireless transceiver to their skin with, say, a gun or something, wouldn't you be able to hack their skillwires?

[stevebugge]

Sure you wouldn't be too smart to leave your skillwires subscribed to your commlink in an undefended wireless mode, but that isn't the only way a sprite could get in. Imagine that you are really short on cash and someone offers you a really good deal on a set of slightly used skillwires.......

[Monnock]

Ork4life, don't read this =P (Contains plot spoilers for later on in my game)

[ Spoiler ]

I actually latched on to the idea of using free spirits early on in my game, though my players have only made passing contact with one (and the player that did retired his character and never mentioned it to anyone), and it will play a much bigger part later on in the game if the players decide to stick with the current line of missions they are taking.

The free sprite in my game comes from the theory that some of them are the 'souls' of people who were trapped in the Matrix during one of the Matrix crashes. I would say more, but I don't want to run the risk of spoiling anything just in case my player reads this.

[Aaron]

Encapsulated in a spoiler to protect Monnock's game.

[ Spoiler ]

In my opinion, and from what I've read, the whole concept of getting one's soul trapped in the Matrix is a smoke screen at best, a load of hooey at worst. First off, people's souls don't even stick to astral space; why would they somehow stick to the Matrix? Second, all of the "ghosts in the Matrix" have turned out to be either AIs or personality copies as with JackBNimble.

It's brought up occasionally as one of those Things In The Sixth World We Don't Understand. I think, though, that it's not going to go anywhere. When you die, you're dead, regardless of what Microsoft thinks. Anything else is just William Gibson.

[Monnock]

More secret stuff

[ Spoiler ]

Well, I guess I can elaborate a bit. The sprite that was created wasn't created 'normally.' Essentially she was part of a research project that went FUBAR when the crash of '64 hit. Her 'soul' isn't in the Matrix, per say, however there is a psudo-digital copy of her subconsious that was ripped from her when the crash fried her while she was in the system.

The result is a creature that is very confused, to say the least, as it is only a small fragment of the person that it was born of. Also, in addition to this, there is something else going on in the background that is my own personal 'take' (I don't feel that is how the Matrix was supposed to be intended, but I think this way is kinda my approach).

I could post more information if anyone is interested, just so long as my player doesn't get a hold of it =P. I've been working pretty hard on it, which translates to reams and reams of text that my players will find throughout the course of the adventure if, as I said, they chose to take that path - no biggie if they don't, still fun to come up with this stuff.

[Dranem]

[Kremlin KOA]

every time I read that, I think of Memento

[James McMurray]

That is quite possibly one of the top 5 psychological thrillers of all time.

[Kremlin KOA]

the other four?

I would put Pi up there

[James McMurray]

I never saw Pi. I'm not sure what the other 4 would be, but I knew if i said it was the best I'd think of something better mere moments later. :)

Silence of the Lambs is towards the top of the list for sure.