"No Sir, I am not a Technomancer", Pre-Emergence Options

[CodeBreaker]

OK. I have a decent amount of knowledge about Technomancers, enough to easily get me through a game. But what I haven't had to deal with is playing a Pre-Emergence game where being a Technomancer is a "Bad Thing". I have been challenged by my GM to keep me being a Technomancer secret from my group (Its a new group, they are not aware of my tendencies towards them) both In Character and Out. So I have to pretend I am just your everyday Hacker doing his thing.

What I am not sure about is how I can go about hiding the fact that I can seemingly magically push my Programs past the SOTA, pull “Agents� out of my hat, and am basically a Matrix Ninja (Silly high Stealth). I can hopefully keep these things secret just through misinformation. The group has another Hacker, but the Player himself is not that experienced so might not ask that many questions. Any suggestions? If my group does find out my GM has told me “Bad Things� might happen.

[Brazilian_Shinob...]

Just tell everyone you have a commlink installed in your head and don't EVER let anyone scan you to make sure of that.
If anyone ask how you "pull" Agents out of your hat, just tell them that you spent a LOT of money AND time coding them.
OOC, I don't know how long you will be able to keep them from knowing, but this basics should work IC, of course, the moment someone try to Nuke and see that it didn't work, your cover is blown.

[RunnerPaul]

What I am not sure about is how I can go about hiding the fact that I can seemingly magically push my Programs past the SOTA, pull “Agents� out of my hat, and am basically a Matrix Ninja (Silly high Stealth). I can hopefully keep these things secret just through misinformation.

This is where you take the fine hacker tradition of boasting of ones own skills and run with it. Just be the stereotypical hacker who's a Legend in His Own Mind and won't shut up about it. If anyone calls you out on a boast, you have demonstrable skills to back it up. If anyone starts questioning how you can do what you do so well, misdirect them with more boasting and more outlandishness. Think "Big Lie".

[Ravor]

While normally I don't like to play these types of OOC games, the way that you described what your DM said raises a couple of alarm bells so I'd have a plan to kill all of your teamates and inform him that you aren't afraid to pull the trigger at a moment's notice if you are found out and those "bad things" start to happen just becaues your teammates discovered your secret.

Hell, I'd agrue that having such a plan is not only smart, but IC for a techno, even pre-Emergence.

[CodeBreaker]

While normally I don't like to play these types of OOC games, the way that you described what your DM said raises a couple of alarm bells so I'd have a plan to kill all of your teamates and inform him that you aren't afraid to pull the trigger at a moment's notice if you are found out and those "bad things" start to happen just becaues your teammates discovered your secret.

Hell, I'd agrue that having such a plan is not only smart, but IC for a techno, even pre-Emergence.

If you remember the thread we had a few months bad, the contingency plan one. My post was the one that involved melting their brains with Trodes, hacking their Cars, and generally being dangerous. Having a plan is something I always do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Ravor]

I remember it, but I was vague on who had what plan. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)

[Mäx]

If my group does find out my GM has told me “Bad Things� might happen.

Why
Your team mates propably won't have any idea what a tecnomancer even is, only think they know is that your very good at what you do and that should be all they need to know.
Is there a reason for "bad things" happening if the rest of the team finds out.

[Jaid]

i'm not seeing how this can even work. sooner or later, you're going to have to (OOC) use some technomancer abilities in front of everyone else. you can't just say "i'm going to thread my stealth up to 12" and expect that nobody else will know OOC. and if you *don't* use your technomancer abilities on a regular basis, then you are going to suck. a lot. in a big way. you will suck in the matrix, you will suck at combat, and you will in general be nothing more than a burden to the team.

keeping it a secret IC is possible. but unless you develop some sort of codewords for the GM, keeping it a secret OOC is not. well, i should clarify... not possible unless you're doing a PBEM or some other form of virtual gaming.

[CanRay]

Run your code through an External CommLink. Boom, everything that goes beyond your PAN is through your CommLink, and noone's the wiser. You'd have to buy a high-end 'Link, however.

[Malachi]

i'm not seeing how this can even work. sooner or later, you're going to have to (OOC) use some technomancer abilities in front of everyone else. you can't just say "i'm going to thread my stealth up to 12" and expect that nobody else will know OOC. and if you *don't* use your technomancer abilities on a regular basis, then you are going to suck. a lot. in a big way. you will suck in the matrix, you will suck at combat, and you will in general be nothing more than a burden to the team.

keeping it a secret IC is possible. but unless you develop some sort of codewords for the GM, keeping it a secret OOC is not. well, i should clarify... not possible unless you're doing a PBEM or some other form of virtual gaming.

It can be done if the GM trusts the player to play fair. I know its hard, but the few times I have been able to pull off an OOC surprise on the group, the IC surprise has been much more satisfying. To keep the OOC stuff secret the GM would need to trust the player to roll their own Threading, Compiling, and Fading rolls and honestly mark off any Stun or Physical damage they take in the process. Then the player can turn and simply report the number of hits that they get on the test. Beyond that the player and GM should develop some "codewords" or an "understanding" that they have for certain things (like Sprite powers) and hopefully slide things past the other players.

[the_real_elwood]

OOC, players (especially the hacker) are going to see you doing matrix things using different mechanics than they are. Once they get curious, they'll take a look at the book and figure out what's going on. In-character, if other players ask you how you do it, just tell them that you're just that damn good. No matter how tight a shadowrunning team is, no one is going to spill all their secrets, and (in-character), your teammates shouldn't expect you to.

[CodeBreaker]

I guess I should be thankful that I decided to play my Technomancer and not my AI Rigger. That would of been even harder to hide (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[BlueMax]

My team is currently experiencing some of the Emergence plotline.

Just this week on our group mailing list.

"I will head out to get cheap commlinks so we can look like normals"

Good luck boys, the mages will know better.


BlueMax

[Totentanz]

I get worried any time a GM starts implying things about other PC's. I can understand how you being a techno could you get marked by a corp or whatnot, but when it comes to the group, eventually they will find out IC and OC. Are most of the players experienced? If so, it doesn't matter what you do. If they are all nubs then just pass it off as advanced play and hope for the best.

[Jaid]

My team is currently experiencing some of the Emergence plotline.

Just this week on our group mailing list.

"I will head out to get cheap commlinks so we can look like normals"

Good luck boys, the mages will know better.


BlueMax

actually, the mages probably won't know better. 5 hits on an assensing test which they're going to have to deliberately choose to make against that specific person? good luck. most mages are going to have a dicepool ranging from 6-9, if that.

[BlueMax]

actually, the mages probably won't know better. 5 hits on an assensing test which they're going to have to deliberately choose to make against that specific person? good luck. most mages are going to have a dicepool ranging from 6-9, if that.

Sorry, I missed where it said Assensing tests had to be done on each object. I thought it was just like Perception in that I could scan a crowd of people for say "red eyes".

And, it may be a matter of scale but our Forensics adept rolls 18 Dice for Assensing and Perception. 400 BP no Karma. The bad guys from Bad Moon Rising have Magic 8, so I can imagine a Witch Hunter style NPC rolling a measly 15 dice for Perception.

Which would catch TMs most of the time.

BlueMax

[Particle_Beam]

Nah, the base-line for average NPCs shouldn't be stats that can be produced with BP, but what page 108 and 109 in the rulebook say, and the NPC-section. 6-9, perhaps even 11 dices is good enough for standart NPC mages.

[BlueMax]

Nah, the base-line for average NPCs shouldn't be stats that can be produced with BP, but what page 108 and 109 in the rulebook say, and the NPC-section. 6-9, perhaps even 11 dices is good enough for standart NPC mages.

Yes, the base book has the LoneStar luey at 11 Dice for Perception, so I am pushing at least the same number on members of D.I.P.S.

However, my group was not mechanically challenged by any of the published adventuers until Bad Moon Rising. Thus now I am using the bad guys there as a standard , so to say.


BlueMax