AR vs. VR, Getting my head on straight about these technologies? Options

[Wakshaani]

Sortakinda, but some areas replace "Lock yoru ID" with "Melt your brain" necause MCT is an ass like that.

Regardless, this is why you have things like a host having different levels of response as a decker builds up more failures. Each one brings more scrutiny and the penalties for failure get more harsh. When the host finally sighs and goes, "Alright, this monkey has failed one verification after another. FLag 'em." and goes into ICE mode, it has to dedicate resources to swatting the bug. If more things crop up, it goes into red alert mode, figuring that it's not just an intrusion but an *attack* and then the gloves come off.

Sr5 and 6 add in GOD, who get contacted and boot a user, but same general concept.

When it comes to Matrix activity, deckers aren't gods anymore … they're mice. They're mice scuttling through a big house full of things going on that don't care about them at ALL, but if they make themselves known, they get scooped up and tossed outside by most homes. Others set out traps.

Regardless, metahumanity don't really belong in the current Matrix (Matrix 3.0 for the record) … it's for computers and metahumans are just sort of hitchhiking on it.

[Iduno]

So, if you will forgive me for asking, how does Shadowrun handle this aspect. Unwired is first on my reading tablet but, well, work.

Unwired is one of the weird books where using it makes the archetypes it interacts with less powerful. So ignore it unless your decker is starting out with level 5/6 stuff and will need a challenge (and then, you'd still need to integrate Unwired in chargen). It also requires more resources just to exist as a decker with Unwired, so make sure you have enough players that the decker can afford to be less useful doing anything else.

FWIW, I have the privilege of working with people in the security industry. Our last discussion was talking about modelling "defense in depth" (and how I wanted to use Venn Diagrams for this) and how he preferred to use Systems Theory.

I think the in-game explanation is that you're using autonomous programs who are handling all of that in the background, and the VR is just showing you a metaphor/representation of what is going on so your metahuman brain can understand it. The out-of-game explanation is that it's a lot of game slowdown for little to no gain. Same reason you don't have a lockpicking or spell research minigame, it's just a skill roll.

[SpellBinder]

Regarding the traps in common hallways, I was reminded of a more obscure entry of Murphy's Laws: "Make it hard for the enemy to get in and you make it hard to get out." or something like that.

[Wakshaani]

Yeah, this is why chokepoints are the better method.

Slow things down in the bottleneck, let people inside the bottle do whatever. Repeat for each "bottle" of secure areas and feel free to use "fake" security inside … for instance, a simple ID reader at the elevator, or a front desk where a secretary note sall who come. go, and so on, who has a panic button, so everyone feels secure knowing that "If there's a problem, security will handle it".

[Ka_ge2020]

Yeah, this is why chokepoints are the better method.

Slow things down in the bottleneck, let people inside the bottle do whatever. Repeat for each "bottle" of secure areas and feel free to use "fake" security inside … for instance, a simple ID reader at the elevator, or a front desk where a secretary note sall who come. go, and so on, who has a panic button, so everyone feels secure knowing that "If there's a problem, security will handle it".

Which is where Shadowrun does well with creating an analog for physical security.