Call me crazy, but I can't figure out what happens if an intruding decker fails a null op. It seems to me that a null op is nothing but a way to increase the tally. I understand that nothing happens if a decker succeeds except for the tally increase for system successes, but why the TN modifiers? Do decker successes counter system successes? If the decker gets 3 successes and the system gets 3 successes, is a null op null perspiration?

Confused.

If a null op fails, the decker fails at doing nothing and is then forced to do something

Seriously, if a decker failed a null op I'd make him or her do another null op and thus risk increasing tally further. Canon offers nothing that I've found.

~J

I've always looked at Null Op as trying not to make any waves while waiting. Like how long you can sit still without making noise or knocking something over.

i've always seen null op as siting some place you don't belong and seeing how long you can blind in before some one takes note of you and dose something about it. Go sit in a bank with a laptop and blind in. after 2-3 min they will ask if you need help you say no they go away thinking nothing off it (you pass your null op test) after 3-60 min they will ask again. good luck telling them no a 2nd time. it might work but after 2-3 hours they are going to kick you out.

the GM is supposed to use your net successes you achieve to determine how long you are able to null before your security tally is raised. for instance, if you're doing a null op for 10 minutes, and you get 4 net successes, the GM might decide that's good enough for 8 minutes of inactivity before any security tally you generated in the null ops test are applied. if you get 0 net successes on your null ops test, then no time at all passes before your security tally is raised. your GM may or may not require you to make another null ops test at that point.

Oh fine, back up my thoughts with canon.

fine! i will, then !!

Where is that in the book, out of interest?

~J

the final paragraph of the Null Operation listing, on page 219. it says the gm should use his discretion in activating the response, and suggests (in a roundabout way) using the successes to see how long it takes for the response to occur. what i posted above is, admittedly, extrapolation from vaguely-worded text, so don't take it as actual canon.