Resonance Realms, Anybody have ideas for more types? Options

[Krojar]

I really enjoyed the idea of "Resonance Realms" but was disappointed that we only got a few examples, the City in Conflict, the Digital Library of Alexandria, and the Matrix World Tree. I thought I'd throw out another one and see what everyone else had in mind as well.

[ Spoiler ]

There is a Game beyond the near BTL-level cranked premium MMOs or even the dangerous bio-feedback games circulating in the Matrix underground. It is a Game like none other, one running at UV capacity hidden away in dark corners of the Matrix, constantly moving around.
All are welcome to play The Game, whether they be Technomancers, Hackers, Sprites, or AIs so, much like Haven, it is a relatively well populated Realm. There are unique aspects to the Realm though. Unlike other Realms, once entered the user is granted a passcode that allows them to access The Game without having to go through the Event Horizon a second time. It is theorized that the mysterious Game Masters running The Game seems to encourage "returning players" because it believes that if there are more players in a game the better it is. The downside is that navigating the realm to accomplish one's goals is more lengthy and risky than normal, as being killed in the game shuts the player out until the next “reboot” (see below).
There is always an overriding "theme" to The Game. It may be a 1920s noir gangster city, the American Old West, a vast space station with aliens and robots, or an Arthurian fantasy land. Whatever it is, it always has many of the things one would expect from any game: points, character building, levels, NPCs, items, and even cheats, but it is lacking one important thing: an objective. There doesn’t seem to be a known way to win the game, frustrating those with astronomical amounts of points and god-like characters. The objective may be something mundane like completing all the missions available (a Herculean task as nobody has ever seemed to have "run out" of missions to complete) or to kill a certain powerful NPC. Others believe it's more esoteric such as discovering the person (or thing) running the Game or even discovering the objective of the game is the objective in and of itself. Nobody is sure what happens when the game is won (assuming it can be won) but it has been theorized that the persona is "upgraded" to Xenosapient or even old-school AI level Matrix consciousness. (Deus, Maegera, Mirage) Alternatively, the persona might be included into the rarely seen, but infinitely powerful, Game Masters who oversee the Game, leaving their old lives (including meat bodies if they have one) behind.
One clue is that, every so often, The Game is “rebooted” dumping all the current players. It reappears almost immediately but in a completely new theme and requiring all players to cross the Event Horizon again to get a new passcode. All returning players start with new characters and zero points. It is generally believed, but never confirmed, that this is done only when a player wins, though because of the time dilation involved when exploring the Resonance Realms it is unclear exactly how often this occurs.

Game Information: The Game is found the usual way (see Unwired p. 173-174) but after crossing the Event Horizon users are granted a passcode that allows them to access The Game without crossing it again (unless there is a reboot). Additionally, players do not have to spend the entire time needed to accomplish a goal at once, as they can leave and return later rather easily with all their progress “saved.” Note that this passcode is personalized and giving it to someone else will not allow them to enter, forcing them to cross the Event Horizon as normal.
The downside is that the amount of time needed to accomplish a goal is doubled. Additionally, if the GM is requiring an extended test for the search (and not roleplaying it out), a glitch means that the player has been killed in The Game and may not reenter until it reboots (this can happen at the gamemaster’s discretion). A critical glitch means that the players have violated the rules of The Game somehow and are permanently banned. They may never reenter short of successfully beseeching Mancala (see below) itself.
If the gamemaster is running the entire search use rules for UV Nodes (Unwired, p. 171) except reduce the dice roll for any addiction roll by -2 to reflect the addictive nature of a game combined with UV-level power.

New Paragon
Mancala

Mancala is the embodiment of electronic interactive entertainment (i.e. games). Whether it’s simple card games or complex simsense MMOs Mancala is there to spread enjoyment, fun, and excitement. Mancala sees almost all Matrix actions, hacking or otherwise, as part of a Cosmic Game where every sentient being is a player. He is the Ultimate Game Master and while his connection to The Game is murky (nobody is sure whether or not he is the creator, the sysop, The Game itself or some combination) the two are definitely intertwined.
Advantages: +1 dice to any Matrix action taken against another icon (Persona/Agent/IC/Sprite/AI).
Disadvantages: Mancala believes that simsense is the key to the ultimate gaming experience and expects its followers to use it often. Followers gain Mild Addiction, Simsense but without the Build Points. If the character already has an addiction to simsense, increase it one level (without gaining BP or Karma).

This post has been edited by Krojar: Sep 8 2010, 02:13 AM

[sabs]

Caprica for the win?

[Krojar]

LOL, I was going to add that it was a mix of New Cap City and Tron.

[jaellot]

Read Tad Williams' "Otherland" series. It's 4 huge books about a VR world that is more "R" than "V". Instead of coming and going freely, people get locked in and have to be hospitalised (think Crash 2.0). I think some of the descriptions in it would be rather awesome in regards to Resonance Realms and such.

[Neraph]

+1 to all actions in the Matrix (just about)? That bonus is way better than all other bonuses. I'd tone that down.