I'm still working on digesting FrankTrollman's alternate Matrix rules (hell, the Matrix rules in general!), and was wondering if someone (or preferably multiple someones) could give me a rundown on the major differences between the two. Ignore brainhacking please, I don't want to start a flame war.

I'm especially interested in how he handled sprites, since I want to create a TM who focuses on the stuff that hackers can't replicate. I love the idea of a TM who doesn't actually go into the Matrix and hack things, but instead travels with the team and compromises devices on the fly, with drones for versatility and combat oomph. Is this doable?

[Edit]: Fixed the link to point to the more recent version. Thanks, Sma!

quite doable, and from the statements of some, the preferred way to play TM's as they "suck" in direct matrix confrontations.

machine sprites being the name of the game

Details PLEASE. I haven't gotten around to digesting the whole of the Matrix rules, so although I'm fairly familiar with the game as a whole, treat me as a neophyte when it comes to this. PLEASE. Seriously, spoon-feed me here

[EDITED}

I'm going to come back to this when I can make my thoughts a li'l clearer, but yeah, Tyro, TMs under the standard rules work rather well as a generals for their sprites because their persona and meat bodies share the same tracks, so it's generally a better idea to have your sprites stick their neck out instead of you whenever possible. Plus, TMs just have a hard time covering all the bases on their own anyway.

So it's viable to have a TM who never actually hacks systems himself? Call him a General. He commands armies of Sprites and uses them for his dirty work. I love the concept; I just don't know how to build such a character. I just don't have the rules knowledge yet, and could use some pointers in the right direction.

Absolutely. First I'll redirect you to the updated version though.

Grabbing Machine, Crack, Archive, Flirt and Sentry Sprites covers most of the Matrix tasks, while giving you the Machine sprite hobgoblin already pointed out.

Next put some points into Compiling (=Summoning) and Registering (=Binding) to allow you to keep a stable of sprites. Finally learn the Ostraka Form to dislodge devices (like drones) from their networks. You'll also want to learn the electronic warfare skill for signal defense and Cybercombat for defense as well.

So your character walks into signal range of a drone and makes it a orphan device by successfully using Ostraka on it. At that point the device is basiclaly up for grabs to whomever wants to take it over. which in your case would be a helpful machine sprite holding it's action and using the Merge power on it which is similar to possession for machines. So a skeletal build might look like this:

Mental attributes at about 4 across the row
Resonance 5

Compiling 4
Registering 4

Data Search 3
Cybercombat (defense) 3
Electronic Warfare (Signal Defense) 3
Cracking 4

CF's:
Ostraka
Jedi Trick
Master Control
Misplace
Armor
Taxman
Redundant Biofeedback Filter

This allows you to subvert cameras and go around locks with misplace and jedi trick covering the most common tasks that would be a huge drain on sprite services otherwise. Ostraka make devices bait for your sprites or any rigger in your team. Master Control lets take over control of a device, while Taxman allows you to siphon off information off anyone or anything. Your dicepools for anything you do yourself likely won't be as high as a hacker who'll benefit from logic augmenting cyber but that is made up by the versatility you gain through sprites. This means you're likely to blow through all your registered services in the course of a run but them's the breaks. There are also some examples and sample characters in this thread.

Thanks so much! I'll definitely run with this.

Oh, and FYI I use 600-point Karmagen with free Knowledge as in BPgen, free Contact points equal to twice Charisma, and racial costs equal to double BP value.

[Edit]: Which paragon would you suggest for the above build?

[Edit 2]: Is it worthwhile to get a point of cyber/bio? A nanohive and a cerebral booster seem like a good idea. Maybe even a synaptic booster, since he's going to be spending most of his time in AR, not VR. Thoughts?

Sma, can you get a Redundant Biofeedback Filter? I thought that TM could not take that as a complex form because it's built into their Living Persona.

While Firewall assumes a level of biofeedback filtration, the Redundant BF is supposed to go beyond that. On a quick skim I did not find anything that says otherwise. The Living Persona pretty much is the equivalent of the commlink, providing most of the defensive dicepools and limiting the amount of complex forms they can sustain. Forbidding the use of RBF's would hurt Technomancers in an area that they are already weak in, so I don't see the gain in it.



The Great Tree Paragon seems to fit that character to a tee:

The Great Tree
The Great Tree is a master planner and creates a song which resonates deeply in the core of the Matrix, far beneath the surfaces which ordinary users interact with.
Advantages Followers of the Great Tree gain a +2 to Registering and Reregistering; +2 to Leadership tests.
Disadvantages Followers of the Great Tree have a tendency towards megalomania, believing that their plans are “perfect�. When confronted with information that implies that a plan they have concocted is unraveling or insufficient to cover the responses of an enemy, they must make a Willpower + Charisma (3) test or continue ahead with their original plan, confident that their plan cannot be stopped by the peons arrayed against it.

More IP's never hurt but the other cyber/bio heavily depends on how the rest of the character turns out, since there is very little ware that directly benfits a TM in a meaningful way. Extra Logic from cepbral booster will add to the number of sustained CF's but since you plan on letting a sprite army do the heavy lifting the extra one or two programs you can sustain seems like a minor benefit. Remember that Technomancers roll Resonance + Skill for nearly every task so any of the +x dice for <attribute> based skills wares are not going to help.

ugh, to much mixing of trollman and books for me to hang on, have fun...