Trying to make a technomancer, need help! Options

[joe15552]

So, I have a few things in the rules that are just making my mind spin.

Those few things are: Access ID's, Subscriptions, Nodes, Personas, and Icons

The book says that Technomancers do not have a matrix damage meter. Does that mean that anything that does matrix damage is useless on technomancers?
Do technomancers have Icons that pop up in the nodes they subscribe to?
Does anyone have an example, rolls included, of a technomancer subscribing to a node?
Core says that Sprites have the same Access ID as the Technomancer. Unwired says that they have their own Access ID. I'm confused... Can someone help?
What does Response do for Technomancers besides give them more dice in their defense pool and better initiative?
Is the Technomancer's Biofeedback Filter rating limited by Resonance, or does a Technomancer with 7 charisma and 5 resonance have a rating 7 biofeedback filter?

If you know the answer to any of these questions and have a good link to follow to get the answer, that would be helpful as well.

I have all the books, so page numbers are useful, too.

This post has been edited by joe15552: Jan 4 2011, 05:14 PM

[Sephiroth]

So, I have a few things in the rules that are just making my mind spin.

Those few things are: Access ID's, Subscriptions, Nodes, Personas, and Icons

The book says that Technomancers do not have a matrix damage meter. Does that mean that anything that does matrix damage is useless on technomancers?
...
...
...
...
Is the Technomancer's Biofeedback Filter rating limited by Resonance, or does a Technomancer with 7 charisma and 5 resonance have a rating 7 biofeedback filter?

If you know the answer to any of these questions and have a good link to follow to get the answer, that would be helpful as well.

I have all the books, so page numbers are useful, too.

No, they use their own Stun and Physical damage tracks. They are MORE vulnerable in the matrix than hackers because of this, not less.

Yes.

See SR4A pg 239, second paragraph of The Living Persona and, underneath that, Technomancers and Condition Monitors.

[Fortinbras]

So, I have a few things in the rules that are just making my mind spin.

Those few things are: Access ID's, Subscriptions, Nodes, Personas, and Icons

The book says that Technomancers do not have a matrix damage meter. Does that mean that anything that does matrix damage is useless on technomancers?
Do technomancers have Icons that pop up in the nodes they subscribe to?
Does anyone have an example, rolls included, of a technomancer subscribing to a node?
Core says that Sprites have the same Access ID as the Technomancer. Unwired says that they have their own Access ID. I'm confused... Can someone help?
What does Response do for Technomancers besides give them more dice in their defense pool and better initiative?
Is the Technomancer's Biofeedback Filter rating limited by Resonance, or does a Technomancer with 7 charisma and 5 resonance have a rating 7 biofeedback filter?

If you know the answer to any of these questions and have a good link to follow to get the answer, that would be helpful as well.

I have all the books, so page numbers are useful, too.

It seems all these answers can be gleemed by simply reading your book. If you don't have a book and just want to get the stats off the forums, I suggest you seek help elsewhere.

[joe15552]

No, they use their own Stun and Physical damage tracks. They are MORE vulnerable in the matrix than hackers because of this, not less.
See SR4A pg 239, second paragraph of The Living Persona and, underneath that, Technomancers and Condition Monitors.

Thanks, Sephiroth. I guess I got hung up on the fact that later on in the chapter, it states technomancers do not have a matrix condition monitor. You helped clear my mind up there.

Yes.

I am not sure what you are answering yes to. Can you clarify?

@ Fortinbras: I have read all the books, but there are a few elements that contradict in my mind. I have found that only by asking questions can I find the true intent of the authors of Shadowrun. If you are lucky enough to read the books and completely understand the rules in their entirety, then I bow to you. HOWEVER! I do want to be respected as a fellow player. I have the same interest as you: playing the game. Why would you post something so discouraging, disrespectful, and spiteful as, "Seek help elsewhere"?

[Sengir]

Do technomancers have Icons that pop up in the nodes they subscribe to?
Does anyone have an example, rolls included, of a technomancer subscribing to a node?

Depends on what you are doing to cause that subscription. If you access a node, then there is an icon. If you simply keep open a command channel to a drone, you will not have an icon in that drone's node.
Similarly, what (if anything) you roll to establish a subscription depends on the activity which creates said subsription.

In general, all you need to know about subscriptions, slaving, and all that stuff is on p. 55 Unwired.

Core says that Sprites have the same Access ID as the Technomancer. Unwired says that they have their own Access ID. I'm confused... Can someone help?

Core also says agents can't access more than one node at once, UW says they can. Both both books say sprites and agents can control drones, but neither says what they roll (our rule: let the Pilot rating replace the drone's Pilot). The rules for autonomous programs are not exactly the high point of SR4...

What does Response do for Technomancers besides give them more dice in their defense pool and better initiative?

Isn't that enough already? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Is the Technomancer's Biofeedback Filter rating limited by Resonance, or does a Technomancer with 7 charisma and 5 resonance have a rating 7 biofeedback filter?

All Living Persona stats are capped by Resonance.

[joe15552]

Sengir:

Depends on what you are doing to cause that subscription. If you access a node, then there is an icon. If you simply keep open a command channel to a drone, you will not have an icon in that drone's node.

I think that the part about the icon not having to be in the drone's node to keep a command channel open is the part that was missing in my brain. Do you mind giving me a page # reference for that so I can see if there's anything else I missed?

Core also says agents can't access more than one node at once, UW says they can. Both both books say sprites and agents can control drones, but neither says what they roll (our rule: let the Pilot rating replace the drone's Pilot). The rules for autonomous programs are not exactly the high point of SR4...

Arg... okay. Well at least now I know that my confusion is not completely due to my lack of cognition. I do want to have my sprites control drones. I have found opinions, but no page number references, that say that sprites cannot jump into drones. I side with that opinion, because it seems like it would cause too many rules complications, but I would at least like my sprites to control drones via remote. I suppose I will have to discuss it with my GM to see how he/she wants to handle that in their game... then I'll probably need to make them a martini and give them a massage to deal with the stress.

[Jaid]

remotely controlling drones is done using the command CF. if the sprite has a command CF, it can remotely control (but not necessarily jump into) a drone.

personally, i'd just allow a machine sprite to jump into a drone and take the place of the pilot program as well, but that's not clearly defined.

[Sephiroth]

Thanks, Sephiroth. I guess I got hung up on the fact that later on in the chapter, it states technomancers do not have a matrix condition monitor. You helped clear my mind up there.



I am not sure what you are answering yes to. Can you clarify?

Not a problem. The paragraph I mentioned shows that I was answering the first part of your question. Sengir also answered it for you.

[Sengir]

I think that the part about the icon not having to be in the drone's node to keep a command channel open is the part that was missing in my brain. Do you mind giving me a page # reference for that so I can see if there's anything else I missed?

BBB, P 224:
While online, you can access one or more nodes. Much of the time,
you simply request information from nodes, like you do when you use
the modern World Wide Web. You send a message to the node for
some data, and the node sends it back to you. If you want to actually
visit the node in the Matrix, whether to do some “on-site” research,
hack the node, or just hang out with other icons, you need to log on
to the node.

So you really only need to go into a node (and hence project your icon there) under certain circumstances. If you just want to remote control a drone, I see no need to do that.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

BBB, P 224:
While online, you can access one or more nodes. Much of the time,
you simply request information from nodes, like you do when you use
the modern World Wide Web. You send a message to the node for
some data, and the node sends it back to you. If you want to actually
visit the node in the Matrix, whether to do some “on-site” research,
hack the node, or just hang out with other icons, you need to log on
to the node.

So you really only need to go into a node (and hence project your icon there) under certain circumstances. If you just want to remote control a drone, I see no need to do that.

Agreed... There is no reason to "Jump In" to a Drone when Remote Control works just fine...

Of course, control goes to he who is jumped in, as it were, so you may need to do so at some point, but why do so if you do not need to do so... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

[Sengir]

Agreed... There is no reason to "Jump In" to a Drone when Remote Control works just fine...

Of course, control goes to he who is jumped in, as it were, so you may need to do so at some point, but why do so if you do not need to do so... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Just to avoid confusion on the OP's side, being inside a drone's node is different from being jumped in. A hacker could for example try to alter sensor feeds or something else the drone sends, this requires him to be in the drone's node, but not jumped in.

Also, bear in mind the difference between issuing a "command" to a drone and using the "Command" program/CF. The former is aking to telling a dog "Fetch!", the other is essentially a remote control in software.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Just to avoid confusion on the OP's side, being inside a drone's node is different from being jumped in. A hacker could for example try to alter sensor feeds or something else the drone sends, this requires him to be in the drone's node, but not jumped in.

Also, bear in mind the difference between issuing a "command" to a drone and using the "Command" program/CF. The former is aking to telling a dog "Fetch!", the other is essentially a remote control in software.

True... Sorry for any confusion...