[X] My Assistant

[booklord]

I worked out this matrix house rule list.
Most of these are not true house rules and are instead my opinion on how the rules are supposed to work or should work in areas where the book was rather unclear such as messing with cyberware. Some of them though are true house rules like my rule on augmented reality initiatitive.

Tell me what you think.....

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COMMON SENSE HOUSE RULES

A character cannot switch modes after being hit by a Black Hammer or Blackout attack. In addition the Black Hammer or Blackout attack will jam all open connections. So if a runner is connected to six other nodes he can't log off or take any action in any of them until the program or user that hit him with that attack is crashed.

Once a hidden node is detected, a hacker may attempt to hack into it. The rules are unclear on this point so I will be.

Someone may set his commlink so it only accepts security access(+3) or admin access(+6). Most set it for admin access.

The +4 active alert bonus to firewall does not apply to resisting the Attack program. Using the Attack program automatically triggers an active alert on most systems assuming the system is still up to give one.

Upon entering a node, a hacker must do a Datasearch+Browse to locate any file or program that he wants to analyze, edit or attack. The exception is for active agents or IC which can be detected by a Computer+Analyze Perception test, In a simple node it may be a very simple test but it still must be done. It's not uncommon for a hacker to just default to his Datasearch skill and not use his Browse program to save on his program load when hacking simple nodes.

A drone that has a user logged in and currently running a command program is completely immune to spoofed internet traffic and editted wireless signals aimed at the drone. This is especially true of drones whose owner is "jumped in".

If a character's matrix condition monitor is filled up then his commlink crashes and everyone, friend or foe, who is currently in the commlink node is logged off. If the character is knocked unconscious or dying then the commlink remains active until someone shuts it off.

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AUGMENTED REALITY HOUSE RULES

Switching from one node to another is a free action, but you cannot take a simple action in one node and then a simple action in another node or in the physical world during the same initiative pass! I gotta draw the line somewhere.

One of the quickest and meanest things you can do to someone once hacked into their commlink is simply download an advertisement virus program. The maximum dice pool modifier you can inflict on the poor soul is -3. To aim for a modifier worse than that you'll need to hack his sim module. Can you imagine forcing an XXX BTL download in the middle of a fight?

Physical reaction has a limited affect on augmented reality initiative. If the player chooses to take an Augmented Reality action during an Initiative pass then subtract his Reaction from his initiative for that initiative pass. In addition he forfeits the right to take an action in any of the remaining initiative passes that combat turn. This is the best I can think of for limiting Augmented Reality initiative without resorting to more dice rolls.

If any enemy hacker or agent manages to hack his way into a character's commlink and is detected breaking in then his icon appears as part of the normal visual overlay of the commlink. The commlink wearer's icon is always visible and present in his commlink's node and cannot be hidden by a stealth program. If a hacker breaks in undetected and the commlink wearer suspects he is in there then he may try to find using a Matrix Perception test.

When accessing another node with Augmented Reality than the user takes a -2 distraction penalty for any defensive real world actions he's forced to take. If the character is performing an augmented reality action within his own commlink node the penalty does not apply.

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MESSING WITH CYBERWARE HOUSE RULES

Just to be clear. You cannot do an Electronics Warfare-signal intercept or jamming on any piece of cyberware. Nor can it affect any device which is currently connected by a skin link. All cyberware is considered connected to a character's electrical field whether it comes in contact with the skin or not. The skin link is only needed for connecting to external devices like smart linked guns.

A Character's PAN counts as a single integrated network. It isn't possible to hack into someone's cyberware or skin-linked electronic equipment without going through the commlink unless the commlink is down. The firewall program of a character's commlink applies to the whole network. But it cuts both ways. Once a hacker gets into the commlink they can simply find the cyberware control program with a Datasearch+Browse action and then may try to analyze or crash it. If the hacker has analyzed either the program, node traffic or the owner then they can use a Spoof+Hacking Test to try to issue fake commands.

Note that there are limits to how much havoc a hacker can do to a runner's equipment and cyberware. You can turn off the smartlink system, fool with the targeting data, or command the gun to eject its clip but you can't command the gun to fire. That's what triggers are for and they haven't gone as far as to get rid of them yet. Likewise a cyberarm can't be forced to work against its owner. It's controlled by a direct neural interface. But you could trigger an overheat alarm and cause it to shutdown.

If the commlink or the cyberware control program goes down then the cyberware or electronic device goes into independent mode and will have to be hacked seperately. The firewall and system rating for normal, alpha, beta, and delta cyberware is 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. (Administrator mode only) However the response is 1 and the signal is 0. (Though it still can't be jammed or have its signals intercepted) The cyberware will even try to maintain communication with other nodes such as a smart-linked gun it was connected to before and do other tasks as best it can until the connection to the commlink is reestablished.

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ISSUING FAKE COMMANDS HOUSE RULES

A hacker cannot order a drone or agent to do anything that he does not have the command codes for. For example a hacker intercepts the wireless signal of a drone and its owner orders the drone to move forward and scan the area. The hacker cannot order the drone to fire its weapons on its owner because he has not intercepted those command codes for using the weapons yet. Likewise a hacker cannot send a signal commanding a drone to change its subscription list unless he intercepts a message from its owner giving it that command. (As such you can imagine many hackers never transmit such vital command codes) The same holds for intercepting traffic between a Hacker and his agent. The command codes can be gained doing an Analyze on an agent or a drone's pilot program.

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MANIPULATING YOUR SIGNAL HOUSE RULES

The satellite link may used to send out a directional signal. For example a hacker near a corporate facility in a remote area may use a sattelite link to send a signal out the other direction and connect to the maatrix without the corporate facility learning of their presense.

A commlink signal may be set to work at a lower signal strength to prevent others from overhearing the signal. It can either be done through a software command or a hardware switch. Anyone connected to the node who is no longer in range will lose their connection. If done through a software command a connecting hacker may try to stop the action using the same method of resisting having his connection terminated. In done by a hardware switch, as might be done by an AR user, then nothing can be done to prevent the connections of all those out of range from being terminated. A signal reduction software command cannot be done by anyone under the effects of Black Hammer or Blackout while a hardware switch under these circumstances will cause the user to crash and suffer dumpshock.

A hacker, node or drone may change their signal by first shutting down all outside connections, and then rebroadcasting on a different ID. Note a hacker may try to prevent having his connection severed and if successful will stop the signal change unless the signal change is being done by a hardware switch. Once changed anyone intercepting traffic from the hacker, node, or drone will have to start all over from the beginning. As a last resort the signal ID can be changed as part of a system reset.

[ShadowDragon8685]

I like, I like.

[Serbitar]

Some interesting stuff. Have you read my SGM (see signature) maybe you find some stuff in there usefull.
(some rules are also in SHP, the augmented reality action for example)

[Abbandon]

Im not proclaiming these as facts or anything but they are things i would question with your rules.

Normal hack path...

Decript signal -> perception test to find node -> hack node. Then once your inside you Decript data -> perception test to find whatever -> whatever program you wanna run on it.

Intiative while AR...

Why would taking an action in AR drop your intiative?? ok your in the middle of a fight and you have 3 init passes. On the first one you try to edit a file and as a consequence you lose the rest of your init passes?? Thats...extreme and i think totally unnecessary?? I dont know i guess i dont understand when you are gonna implement this. Can you give an example of it being used?

Cyberware.....

I think a body's electrical field(skin) is different than its nervous system. I think you should have to skinlink any cyberwear you want to communicate with something that is using your electrical field(skin) to pass data like a commlink or a gun.

Oh yeah... You sure as hell can fire a smartgun without pulling the trigger So if you have your smart weapon linked through your comm and some hacker gets access they should easily be able to fire the gun. But yeah you cant move cyberlimbs.

[ornot]

Hacking cyberware is something that is hinted at in the rules but not explicitly explained. I imagine such information will be in Unwired. Until such time as it comes out, these rules (like many of Booklords other musings) appear considered and well presented. I shall definately take them into consideration when running my games. Kudos!

[booklord]

[Abbandon]

Does that initiative thing happen with mages who are using astral perception? Because they are suppose to be the same thing and its probably been heavily covered in magic before.

Lets say a hacker turns off a players cybereyes. How long or what kind of actions would it take for a player to turn them back on or counter whateverthe hacker did to them?

If a hacker with a skinlinked comm touchs somebody else he can hack all their cyber? Forget the commlink on the target, how easy is it for a hacker to disrupt a piece of cyber like that? Would he have to waste a turn finding the node?

[WorkOver]

I like your rules also, I am so hella weak on this matrix stuff, I just don't get it.

[booklord]

[deek]

I think I agree with your last statement about not being able to hack cyberware without going through the commlink...

I mean, I think you could hack the commlink by entering through the wi-fi (or whatever connection) of cyberware, but in order to do anything to it, you have to go through the commlink. I haven't completely finalized my thoughts on this, but I kinda think of it as a security camera, connected to the security system via wi-fi.

The security camera could be a entrance point to the rest of the system, but you really can't hack into the camera by itself, because it really doesn't do anything on its own by "see". So maybe you could subscribe it to your commlink and see what it is seeing, but actually doing something to it...you would either need to intercept some commands then spoof them, or access the controlling node and do your actions from there...

So, the same thing for the cybereye (or any cyberware). Hacking just the eye, you would have actually had to intercept a "shutdown" command in order to spoof one. The other option would be to hack the commlink via the cybereye, get a list of commands then spoof them or attempt to run them from the node...so still, you really need to get to that commlink to cause any sort of damage...

All understanding is subject to change:)

[Abbandon]

For example...

Bob has cybereyes and they run with wi-fi turned off 99% of the time. He uses skinlinks for his smartguns so there is no need for a comm.

Now a hacker with a skinlinked comm touchs bob. The hacker wouldnt even see the node for Bobs comm unless bob had it skinlinked which he does not. Now if things are not part of your comm then they are indidivual nodes?? And most likely in hidden mode. So the hacker would have to try and find the node? Such as bob's cybereyes.

???

[booklord]

[Abbandon]

You can turn wi-fi OFF on cyberware. So if its not connected to a comm its turned off and you cant even detect it. But thats not what im asking.

A hacker with a skinlinked comm can turn the wi-fi off on all his cyberware and as long as he has a skinlinked datajack he could still be in total control of it all. Because his body acts as the medium for the data.

Now if he touches somebody else, he should be able to have access to all the cyber in his opponent that is skinlinked or not (seems like people keep flip flopping on this). Even if his opponent has no comm and his crap has its wi-fi turned off because its using his body as the means to transfer data which the hacker is now tapping into.

Instead of hacking through wi-fi he is trying to hack through skinlink?

[Samaels Ghost]

I don't that IP's gained from other sources ('ware or magic) should be thrown out the window when using AR. THink about what Wired Reflexes are, for example. They augment your perception of the world around you.Things slow down like bullet-time and you can react to threats and have more time to make decisions. When using AR the only time I think you should be moving at "meat-body" speeds is if you're using stupid AR gloves to manipulate ARO's. But what if Mr. Sammy is using a straight sim module hook up? Here's what he's using speifically:
-Sim Module
-Datajack (for DNI)
-Comm (duh)
He can interact with his AR display by merely thinking about it (via partial sim sense feed of his AR). Why would how fast his body is affect those commands? If I'm using my Wired system for those 4 IP's then the world and my AR display is slowed down considerably. Why couldn't I shoot my grenade launcher and then make a mental comand without penalty? SHooting a freakin' gun takes time to aim, move your arm and pull the trigger. Thinking "close the gate" takes less if not the same amount of time as shooting that gun.

[booklord]

[Samaels Ghost]

But Hot Sim VR and Wired Reflexes are both designed to boost the time you have to react to a situation. Being as Wired 3/Synaptics 3 costs so much I think its safe to say the the technology is on par with hot simsense. if not superior. It's possible that they are actually paralell technologies. The book may say that Hot sim is faster than AR, but it never says that it is faster than a Wired sammy. You're making that assupmtion. The two are never really compared. From the way it is described both Hot SIm and Wired systemsboost mental reaction time. Why can't AR be at least as fast then?

[booklord]

But Hot Sim VR and Wired Reflexes are both designed to boost the time you have to react to a situation. Being as Wired 3/Synaptics 3 costs so much I think its safe to say the the technology is on par with hot simsense. if not superior. It's possible that they are actually paralell technologies. The book may say that Hot sim is faster than AR, but it never says that it is faster than a Wired sammy. You're making that assupmtion. The two are never really compared. From the way it is described both Hot SIm and Wired systemsboost mental reaction time. Why can't AR be at least as fast then?

How I view the reaction boosters......

Reaction Enchancers = boost reaction by replacing part of the spinal column with conductive metal
Wired Reflexs = Runs wires through the body to speed up the nervous system.
Synaptic booster = An enhancement to the motor reflexes part of the brain

Heck for that matter even a non-cybered AR user is not significantly slower than a hot sim user. Hardly the "Lightning Fast" Compared to "AR users" described in the book.
Reaction+Intuition
vs.
Response+Intuition+1


Now the reason I suspect that the writers did this was because a significant intiative dice penalty would prove crippling when it came to surprise tests. That's something I agree with. Which is the house rule I came up with doesn't affect surprise tests. It also allows reaction to play some role as when the initiative dice are rolled successes from the dice from reaction are included. The penalty comes into play during the initiative pass that the AR user decides to act on the matrix and any subsequent initiative passes which are then lost.

[Samaels Ghost]

Yes, but why lose IPs? You said it yourself, the book seems to exaggerate the speed of hot sim. Why wouldn't IP enhancers affect matrix actions?

I do see why physical reaction (and therefore REA) might go out the window during AR manipulation, but whole IPs?

If the world really "slows down" around me when I click on my Wired, why can't I use AR with those IPs?

[booklord]

Because from my point of view the character has two Init Pass scores:

Say in Hininjai's case it would be

Physical IP : 4
Matrix AR IP : 1

As long he keeps to physical actions from Init Passes 1 - 3 Hininjai has another init pass coming. But once he switches to an AR action Hininjai only has 1 init pass and when its over then he's done for the combat turn.

The obvious solution then for Hininjai is to do the AR action on his last Init Pass unless an emergency situation like charging Barghests arises.

[Samaels Ghost]

Oh, well see there you go. I was trying to argue the point of veiw, not the rule persay. I don't understand why the rule is neccesary to begin with. I know there is a perceived problem, just not what that problem is. Could you explain why a houserule for this particular situation is neccesary? (AR and Phys IP's conflicting)

[booklord]

[Samaels Ghost]

But if you've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on enhancements don't you deserve to have that buffer between you and biofeedback? And having that buffer by no means makes you an invincible hacker. Your node will crash just like anyone else's and will get locked open to IC attacks just like anyone else's. After you get owned it doesn't hurt as much. Those IP's won't help you out much either if you've spent all your money on them instead of programs. Wired 3 costs $100,000, Synaptics 3 cost $240,000! With all that money down the tubes you're not going to have enough to keep your comm on the cutting edge either. The hypothetical Wired Hacker is very cost prohibitive. Considering hot-sim costs you all of 300ish nuyen to use, that damage seems to balance it out. If players are actually using this combo they have far too much money to begin with. That's the balance issue here. Where is all that nuyen coming from? Sure if you give your players enough money to pay for bleeding edge programs AND insanely expensive implants there is going to be a balance issue. Flooding character with money always has that effect.

Sure VR is fast and the book even says that it is superior to AR. It doesn't seem to take into account that the AR user "interfacing with augmented reality while walking down the street" might just be able to shoot 8 guys dead in 3 seconds flat. Sure Wired is bodyware but the "fluff" description mentions that the user is in "a whole new world where everything seems to move in slow motion." It also says the the use of adrenaline is part of the system. That has to have some pretty major effects on how a wired character interacts with AR. Synaptics are actual augmentation to the nervous system. The spell Inc Reflexes is pretty cheap, I'll admit. That seems to be more of an issue of balance for the spell than AR IPs.

Don't get me wrong, I understand where you're coming from. I'm just playing devil's advocate here. There doesn't seem to be enough of a problem here to warrant a rules adaptation, though. It's not as clear cut as, say, changing the attribute rigging uses from AGI to INT. And there doesn't seem to be a balance issue. Let sam's use their wired and chastise hackers for hoarding so much money that it makes the game unbalanced.

[booklord]

[Ranneko]

Gah, the delete button is missing, and I didn't think before responding to someones post when this page had been opened for a while, ignore this post.

[Serbitar]