Matrix questions, My search-fu has failed me Options

[raggedhalo]

Hi folks,

For a long while, the PCs in the game I GM have just used agents to deal with everything in the Matrix, as none of them wanted to take it as a specialty. However, a new player joined the group and wanted to play a Matrix-based character. He eventually decided on an AI (we're playing through Emergence and just finished Tlaloc's Pox before he joined, so it worked nicely). Anyway, having a PC who's dedicated to the Matrix has brought up some questions.

1. How good are Agents? Specifically, do you have to "wind them up and let them go" - i.e. give them their orders to hack into some node and save the princess of whatever - or can you keep in touch with them and thus effectively just use them as a direct proxy for your PC? Thus meaning that the most efficient approach would be to buy a Rating 6 Agent and let it do everything. That seems wrong to me but I can't find a reference to contradict one of my munchkin-esque players.

2. Dave the Hacker switches on his commlink, loads up his programs, and goes VR. He hacks into Mr. Badguy's commlink and sets off an Active Alert in the process, causing an IC to be launched and start kicking his ass. Where are Dave's programs etc. running? Are they running on his sweet Response 6, System 6 internal 'link (meaning that he can use Attack 6 on this IC) or are they running on Mr. Badguy's Response 4, System 4 commlink, meaning that his Attack program is impaired? If it's the latter, doesn't that mean that sec-hackers just need to monitor program load and notice when the Response of the node drops because a tooled-up hacker turned up? I know that this is how agents work (and therefore AIs) but what about fleshy hackers?

3. ECCM adds its rating to your commlink's Signal to resist jamming. Does it add its rating to the Signal to oppose wifi negation, such as by wireless-inhibiting wallpaper or paint? One of my players is convinced that it should.

4. The size listing for various Signal ratings seems to indicate that a cybernetic commlink shouldn't have a Signal of more than about 2 (headware transceiver) and a normal one shouldn't have a Signal more than 3 (average commlink). Now, off-the-shelf links (i.e. the Fairlight) have Signal ratings of up to 5. What's up with that?

Many thanks!

[Ryu]

Hey.

1. You can run an Agent inside your persona (counts as one program), and use a (assuming Response 6) dicepool of 12 for everything. The munchkins will have to go the full way though. You can use ergonomic, optimised programs to have all required programs running at rating 6. Add a hacking skill of 6, a specialisation, the hot sim bonus and possibly the codeslinger quality. Then there is cyberware. Dicepools of around program 6 + Hacking 4 (group) + Hot Sim 2 = 12 are somewhat of the lower boundary for a hacker.

2. All those programs are running on Daves tricked out link. Have fun. Some programs can even run on other nodes Dave owns, see Unwired.

3. ECCM adds its rating to your commlink's Signal to resist jamming. If you need more sending power your only bet is a Retrans Unit (Arsenal)

4. You can have very small signal transmitters in SR, but cost/benefit consideration result in very few devices having high-end units. I don´t need more than a G net for my home wireless network, but I could have bought a stronger one.

[raggedhalo]

Thanks for the answers!

1. You can run an Agent inside your persona (counts as one program), and use a (assuming Response 6) dicepool of 12 for everything. The munchkins will have to go the full way though. You can use ergonomic, optimised programs to have all required programs running at rating 6. Add a hacking skill of 6, a specialisation, the hot sim bonus and possibly the codeslinger quality. Then there is cyberware. Dicepools of around program 6 + Hacking 4 (group) + Hot Sim 2 = 12 are somewhat of the lower boundary for a hacker.

Sure, but what therefore is the point of all the stuff in Unwired about agent competence, decision-making power, and agent scripts?

2. All those programs are running on Daves tricked out link. Have fun. Some programs can even run on other nodes Dave owns, see Unwired.

Awesome. So the hacker is considered to always be in "their" commlink for the purposes of System/Response ratings and so on? Even if they've hacked through the firewall and are therefore "in" the other node?

Presumably that's different for an AI PC, though? Do they use the System and Response of their home node, or of the node they're in?

3. ECCM adds its rating to your commlink's Signal to resist jamming. If you need more sending power your only bet is a Retrans Unit (Arsenal)

To resist jamming, yes, but my question is whether ECCM adds its rating to your commlink's Signal to resist wifi negation (as per the wallpaper in SR4 or the security measure in Unwired).

And what's the point of a retrans unit? Can't you just use a drone with Signal 6 for its onboard commlink?

4. You can have very small signal transmitters in SR, but cost/benefit consideration result in very few devices having high-end units. I don´t need more than a G net for my home wireless network, but I could have bought a stronger one.

Fair enough. So, in fact, the size-guide table is just a bit redundant, except that it gives ranges?

[Ryu]

- The limitations of agent intelligence are more important for independant agents, and for their ability to interpret more complex orders. Micro-managed agents depend mostly on the intelligence of their user (for better or for worse).

- Dave is always in the node of his comlink. Even independent agents, and - to my somewhat limited understanding of that set of rules - AIs use the stats of the node they are loaded on. So you always count the ratings of the "home node", in the hackers case the comlink. See Unwired pg. 110.

- ECCM does not help with anything but jamming. The advantage of a retrans unit is that you get an extended broadcasting area for your primary link, without establishing a connection between your drones. The trick of the retrans unit here is the cop-out regarding possible ratings (Standard nodes only repeat signals if set to active mode, but that was not my concern here. Dave might prefer to care (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ).

- The signal rating table can IMO be read as "this is the kind of power we are talking", but not as "this is the size of the equipment we are talking".

[hobgoblin]

funny enough, im recently reading a series of books that has a hacking concept that seems like a mix of a agent and a asist interface.

http://immunitysec.com/resources-dkm.shtml

specifically "the long run" gives a good impression of this concept.