Hacker Theory, Why this is possible. Options

[Rotbart van Dain...]

It's a nice thought, but as CFs are used like skills, not spells, it isn't streamlined.

[Serbitar]

Not if you further streamline and roll Logic+Skill with programm/CF as limit!
I call that ultra stream lined, convenient and 1337.
Not to say that I am really convinced of my matrix system . . .

But even without that you can put at least the "balanced" tag on it.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

In that case, it would be Resonance+Skill, as that is similar to Magic use.

[Serbitar]

Well, do that if you like. I tend to not make all the hackers out there very upset . . .
But it may be a nice "TM only" option. I personally think that rules consistency gains more from having both hackers and TMs rolling the same stats. But thats a very minor point.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

In which case you are back to Skill+CF.

[Serbitar]

Well no, as I am suggesting logic + skill for hackers. (Notice that I wrote CF/program above, so this necessarily had to apply also to hackers)

[Serbitar]

[Dashifen]

I'm still here :) I just didn't feel the need to respond. I've ready your house rules and I do like the concept of making CF/Proggies work as limitations to hits on a Logic + Skill test. To be honest, I've not had much problem with the RAW rules for the matrix in-game. I understand and agree with the loopholes and contradictions within the RAW but in 15 or so months of playing, it's not been an issue. Thus, I see no reason to include house rules at this time.

[Serbitar]

Sure, things are never an issue if you dont want them to be one. As I wrote somewhere in this post: Even a RPG with only one rule "the GM decides everything" would work.

The question is what you expect of rules (which is for everybody himself to decide) and how demanding your players are.

[Cheops]

Of course we are missing the one major equalizing factor for TMs...

Resonance Quests.

It's an ability that any TM who undergoes submersion gets.

Now it kinda depends on how willing your GM is willing to go on this one but the potentials are there. Need an untraceable tap? Get the TM to go to the Cosmic Switchboard and hunt down the phone line you want to tap. Need some help cracking a big firewall? Send the TM to the Crack Realm to find the code for a powerful Free Crack Sprite.

I've mentioned this on the boards before but I ran a game with a player who had a Private Eye TM. They had to track down and recover a senator's son who'd run off to militia boot camp. So the TM took a jaunt down to the Data Archive Realm and picked the kid up in Pittsburg. Followed the data trail to the airport, onto the plane, to Sea-Tac, and finally to the Boot Camp's firewall where a bunch of IC kicked him out finally.

[Dashifen]

I've never even thought of using the Resonance Realms in that way. Interesting. I'm holding out for Emergence before I do much with the such things in the hope that information therein might enhance my understanding of exactly what the devs wanted to do with them other than make a matrix-version of the metaplanar quest.

[Cheops]

At the very least they'd be one hell of a Redirect Trace action.

[Slump]