OK, this is the player handout for my new Matrix: Reloaded campaign.

First we will do the hard rules, fluff later.

1) Characters will have 18 points to distribute among their attributes

2) Magic and Essence ratings have no bearing in the matrix campaign.

3) Characters will begin the game with 20 points of skills.

4) Characters can put no more than 2 points in ANY combat skill. (Zion-born are an exception to this rule, and will be covered later.)

5) Try to come up with a non-combat history for you character; such as an artist, construction worker, or student. IT specialist is especially appropriate!

Matrix rules

When "jacked in" to the Matrix, characters receive the following modifications. (Zion-born are again treated differently)

1) Add 4+2d6 to your reaction rating.

2) Add your Intelligence score to your Strength. Add your Willpower score to your Body. Add your Charisma score to your Quickness.

3) You automatically receive these skills: Skill totals MAY begin at totals higher than 6 with these additions

Unarmed: add 4/6 (must pick a specialty: Kung Fu, Savate, ETC.)
Armed: add 4/6 (must pick a weapon type)
Pistols: add 6
SMG's: add 4
Rifles: add 4
Drive, Car: add 6
Drive, Motorcycle: add 6
Athletics, add 6

4) Add 6 dice to your combat pool. For ease of use, your new combat pool won't be derived from your new stats. A flat 6 extra dice will do.

5) All characters have a base armor rating of 3/3. Additional armor is discouraged, being incongruent with the flavor of the campaign.

6) All damage taken in the Matrix applies first as stun. This means that even gunshot wounds will have to fill your stun box before you begin to take damage. In addition, you suffer no ill effects from attacks until after your stun boxes have been filled.

7) You get to pick one "package" to differentiate you from the other characters. Try to work this into your character concept. I have worked out a few packages here, but I am open to input for others.

Physical package: 3 points of Phsyical adept packages

TK package: These spells at force 3, Animate, Deflect, Magic Fingers, Light.

PK package: these spella at force 3; Ignite, Flamethrower, Powerball

CK package: these spells at force 3; Ice sheet, Petrify, Shape Water.

Healer package: force 3 Treat wounds, Detox, Hibernate, Diagnose

Claudience package: Catalogue, Detect Individual, Detect Life, Analyze Device.

OK, now for some fluff! First of all, make sure that each of your characters is cool, and has his own style. Think of Morpheus's suit or Neo's fitted trenchcoat.

Remember that this style is about kicking ass and shooting LOTS of bullets. Medium pistols are the name of the game, the biggest weapon you will likely ever see is an assault rifle.

For God's sake, don't think you can kick an agent's ass. Your whole group MAY in rare circumstances kill one, but you will most likely die trying.

You will be starting off as new recruits, just recently allowed to go on missions alone in the Matrix. It is a couple years before the discovery of Neo. Your most common missions will be either searching for other potentials such as yourself, or hunting Renegades. Renegades are people like you who have decided they LIKE the Matrix, and the power it brings them. They aren't nescessarily allied with the Matrix or the Agents, but they would hate to see it destroyed. Some of them, of course, ARE alied with the Matrix. These Renegades are especially powerful, in line with the Agents themselves!

OK guys, please tell me what you think!

Not interesting, huh? I worked a good little bit on it.

I can see you put a lot of effort in but it's just approaching it from the wrong angle if you ask me. Here are some points, there meant to be constructive not narky please read them that way.

Thanx for the reply..I'll answer as best as I can...

You are right about allowing them a set points number to play with...but I didn't know off the top of my head how much an average joe should get. So I just gave them a low number. Any suggestions for a number of points to give a person for just attributes and skills?

I am having the characters start as new to Zion and the Matrix. They haven't been around for more than a year or so. So the origional characters will have grown up like you or me. That's why the origional combat skills have to be so low.

You mentioned the idea of having two different personas for each character. I thought about that, and decided against it. The players are all new to SR, and I am trying to keep it simple. That being said, they practically HAVE two characters. The physical increases, spells, and skills are available only while jacked in.

The characters will be able to DL skills from their operator as needed in game. The ones I listed are just the baseline all characters have.


I thought long and hard about giving the characters spells before I decided on doing it. It is the only real departure I have made from the movie canon. I decided to go with it because without it the characters would all be too similar. In the movie neo has extra powers because he is special. I want all of my characters to be special as well. And it opens up tons of new opportunities for enemies.

I completely understand what you say about Keanu's charisma! But I wanted the players to have inducement to make super cool looking characters.

Morpheus is definatley keeping an eye one them!

I have tweaked the storyline enough so that individual powers are far from unknown. Infact, Trinity (in my world) would be considered to have the phys-ad package.

Seoherim, I think it's safe to say that me and you approach this completely differentlyI The only points I want to address are a few things we may have got our wires crossed on.

[QUOTE]Not logical, almost eeryone is awakened as childs, maybe with the exceptions of Neo, Kid and a couple more. So, most of them would have been trained in Sion before everything starts for them, and they should be part of a more veteran crew.
[QUOTE]

They are recent inductees to Zion because that's the best way to do it. We really don't know a whole lot about Zion from the movies. After the third one comes out, I will be intorducing more Zion plots. That way I will both have more knowledge, and I won't mistakenly represent something wrong.

[/QUOTE] I'd change all this, maybe with the exception of adding attributes. I'd put it all in relation to their Computer (Programming) skill, since that's what Neo and company do inside Matrix, they hack Matrix itself to obtain improvements. Maybe obtain 1 point per point of skill, or something like it. And, of course, it'd be WAY harder to rise.[QUOTE]



I may be wrong here, but I don't remember one instance in either movie where any of the characters "hacked" anything. Whenever they were in a tight spot, they called their operator, and he hacked it for them. My characters, too, will be able to get this from their operator. I do know that both Trinity and Neo were both skilled hackers, but you never see them doing it in the movie (with the possible exception of the first two minutes of the first movie)

This also allows the players the freedom to make characters that aren't nescessarily computer techs.

[/QUOTE]Matrix is way more deadly. If you die in Matrix you die in the real world. Maybe damage in Matrix is used as lethal damage normally. If you disconnect, THEN it translates to stun (and you might even suffer some phisical damage due to the excess damage).[QUOTE]

We may have our wires crossed here. My Matrix is definatley deadly! If you die in the Matrix, you die in real life. I just made attacks start doing damage as stun rather than deadly to give my game a more cinematic feel. If you die in the matrix, don't expect to wake in your ship!

[/QUOTE]Not really, each one can load in the weapon they choose. Of course, they might call the attention of police officers passing by... and so, Agents.
[QUOTE]

Another flavor consideration. I don't want my game to be dominated by M16 firefights, is all.