Ready
10 PRINT "Hello and welcome! I am happy that you have expressed interest in this Play by Post game!"

20 INPUT "Would you like to hear about and discuss the current structural incarnation of the concept? (y/n)", A$

30 IF A$ = "y" THEN GOTO 80

40 INPUT "Would you like to see the suggested Character Creation rules? (y/n)", B$

50 IF B$ = "y" THEN GOTO 70

60 PRINT "The purpose of this thread is BASICally to be a place for interested players to ask questions and make suggestions. As of now, this Fully Matrix Based Game concept is still swimming in my head and it will require specialized house rules and further clarification. Because of this, it behooves potential players to clarify as much as possible before breaking out their spreadsheets. So, if you are interested in playing, please do ask as many questions as you can. They help me as well as you.

70 PRINT "Character Creation, as it stands, will be accomplished with the Karmagen system using modified German rules. This means that you will be paying 5x rating for Attributes and 1x BP cost for standard Races (2x for non-standard races.) Also, your Edge and Resonance stats will fall under the same cap as the rest of your Attributes. Characters should be made using 700 karma + bonus Knowledge skill Karma = 12(Log + Int) but your Attribute cap will still be 375 karma in total (plus a matching amount equal to race cost.) Starting Submersion Grades are allowed for TMs and Software up to availability 15 will be allowed to Mundanes, allowing for program options and custom Software above 6. All other gear should be availability 12 unless acquired with the Restricted Gear quality. Contacts and Lifestyle should not be an issue, but do not assume that there will be no interaction with the meat world. It also bears mention that I will not be using Reality Filter, since I don't want to describe every setting to fit each individual's Metaphor Set. Speaking of which, personas will be more important than bios, so don't worry too much about history."

80 PRINT "The game concept is that a Network of Technomancers from the Pueblo Corporate Council are on a "Great Hack" Submersion Task. All of the players should be either Technomancers or their Mundane friends who are tagging along to study the nature of Resonance in more depth. The game will begin "in medias Res" with the group already past a choke point gateway into a very thick piece of Trix which they have yet to identify. At this point, their only contact with the outside world will be Tether, who is watching their meat-world bodies. As this will be a Matrix dungeon of sorts, there will likely be multiple choke points and downtime in the form of Probing. I'm playing with the idea that, as time inside accumulates, characters will likely need to sleep while still jacked into this hostile network. For Technomancers, this will get a bit strange. Having just watched Inception (twice ) I want to play with the idea of 'what happens in the unconscious mind of a person whose brain is constantly jacked into the world's collective digital knowledge.' Any Mundanes will just have to sleeze their way back in as needed and hold down the path with Agents. Mundanes will largely fill the role of Anchors, who keep the pathways open and guard the flanks with swarms of Mooks. Mancers will play Point Men and Faces, mainly concerning themselves with getting deeper and handling the local fauna. I'm still plotting everything out, but this should be a progressive-difficulty closed-ended game consisting of three Acts and involving meatspace only through remote. If you want to become intimate with the Matrix rules, this should be a good exercise."

90 PRINT "Thanks for listening! Goodbye!"

100 END
Run

Plot related spoilers (if you want to maintain the element of surprise, skip this):


This is.. this is going to get surreal..

Almost forgot to mention, as I plan on doing this game/story on a scene by scene basis with whomever joins me, I'll also be DJing a soundtrack to go along with each portion.

What good is a story without a musical score?

Here is a recruitment song.


OH SNAP: Forgot to mention, AIs are welcome as well.

Rating 15 software? That's leaps and bounds above anything a TM is going to even hope to achieve, just so you know. Or did you mean availability 15, which gives up to rating 5 software, which would be about in line with a TM.

Can those free knowledge points be used on complex forms at all?

Edit: And I'd heard the German version had race cost in karma equal to BP cost, not double it. Did I get that wrong?

As I mentioned before, I would be interested, if only to figure out how this all works

Interesting. I have always liked the idea of TM, but never felt I had the MatrixFoo down enough to try one.

Hi, I am interested, if only to learn about SR4 in general and specifically about technomancers and the matirx rules.

I am a SR newb, though I do have the corebook and soon unwired

Availability 15, but I'm still considering moving it back down to 12. Mundane hackers should still have the points to get multiple Restricted Gear Qualities to cover an exceptional Agent or a 7+ stealth program. I do have to do something to make Mundanes seem a bit less appealing since they can have such breadth of function over the TM. So, let's try and figure out an equitable distribution of power before we get to building. I need to sort this out so I can get back to plotting out Nodes.

As to knowledge skills used for CF, sorry, but no. I know Karma is really harsh on CFs and Technomancers in general, which is actually why I chose it. I'd like players to organize a bit and hyper-specialize. Typically, a matrix-focused character can rock absolutely everything in the Trix, but in order to avoid overlap, I want to encourage specialization. Maybe one TM is a Cybercombat specialist and another focuses on break-ins, cleanup and providing authentication to the rest of the crew. If everyone is good at everything, then there'll be (tentatively) 5 people all doing the same thing. Except there *will* be realms of Resonance which can't be accessed by Mundanes.

What I'd optimally like to see is a traditional specialist team with characters who have taken the time to excel as healers, riggers, B&E guys, Fighters and Faces - Just digital.

EDIT: Oh, and as to race cost, sure, 1x BP in Karma for all standard races. 2x for AIs and other non-standard races.



Well, if you want to learn, I can help you dig into this thing. Like I said, this is going to be progressive in difficulty, so you are going to have a learning curve. Also, if I notice your build is deficient in any area, I'll make sure to point it out.



Well, the Matrix is definitely the hardest part of SR4. If you want to dive in, head first - first time, I'm not going to recommend it, but I won't shoo you away either.

But, Unwired is key for a deep understanding of the Matrix, and it's pretty dense..

EDIT, also, the Karma rules are in Runner's Companion, so, normally you'd need that as well. Luckily, the spreadsheet Damien Knight has been keeping up in the Community Projects section of DumpShock is a feature-rich automagical means of calculating Karma builds. Still.. you might learn just as much from watching as doing.

Karmagen isn't that complex. You get 700 karma and you spend it like you would normal karma for the most part. 1 karma = 2500 nuyen, and otherwise just look in the advancement section of the book for other costs. Oh, and no more than 375 karma spent on stats (including special stats).

We'll see what I come up with, but I know from past experience that making a competent TM is exceedingly difficult. One suggestion I have for everyone is to make sure you have a decent stealth CF, as it improves defense and makes you harder to find in the first place.

I'm working on two different TM concepts, one is a threader and the other is a summoner, either way I should be fulfilling a 'backup' sort of roll, able to help out in nearly any area, but not going to be great in any area.

P.S. A healer type isn't particularly viable since living persona can't be healed. Sprites can be though, so I suppose there is some viability there.

I think I should heed your advice, what do you think if I play of the mundanes? (assuming that means a non-technomancer members of the group).

Any suggestion on what would be most helpful here?

Yeah, mundane would mean any non-technomancer.

Lets see, I'd suggest going heavy with 'ware to boost skills. Things like encephalon, PuSHeD, Neocortical Nanites, Simsense Boosters. Try and make sure that you have the full 5 IPs, because that is going to be hard for a TM to manage. Given that, cybercombat is likely a good spec for a mundane. Its easier for a mundane to get rating 6 programs with some options (Area, AP, Rust, and targeting for attack), and a mundane won't get totally trashed if they lose combat, they just need to load up a new persona. Remember, when a TMs persona takes damage, it is real damage for the TM and can't be healed without the TM having taken a special Echo.

Make sure to have a competent agent program as an assistant, similar to sprites. Utility programs (data bomb, decrypt, etc) would also be good, as TMs don't have the same access to programs that mundanes enjoy.

Your main advantages here are going to be having a large library of programs, being able to get higher DPs in general, and not having to worry as much about getting injured. Your disadvantages are that the agent is going to be somewhat less useful than a sprite, and you're going to be outclassed by specialists. A TM is more of a specialist within the matrix, and a Hacker is more of a (very good) generalist.

I'd be incredibly interested in this, if there are still any openings available. I've had the idea for an elven technomancer/face with a passion for old school tech. He finds everything before the wireless matrix. He just doesn't get how people used to survive without it so he tried to find everything he can on old computer systems, DVDs, hell sometimes he might even get a hand on a VHS and if he gets really lucky he may find a beta He's specialized towards spoofing and fraud, manipulation of data and whatnot.

It's worth noting that I don't expect TMs to need to learn different Cracking skills for Programs and Complex Forms. That is a stupid rule what oughtta get a guy slapped.

And, since the game is beginning without any prep time, I'm considering giving TMs free Registered Sprites equal to their max amount minus one. It makes no sense for a TM to start a Great Hack task with no prep. Does 2 services seem like a fair amount? You're really not going to have the time to register any while on the task, so what you start with is all you're likely to have.

Final build consideration. All players will begin the game with 16 karma and be able to build on that amount as they dig deeper. This hack is meant to be a challenging affair to help the characters grow in their understanding and skill, so there will be points along the way where you can spend your karma to improve skills without all that usual downtime. This is the crash-course.

Final bit: Karoline, I trust your judgment. If you can't build a TM who is exceptionally good at a handful of tasks and equivalent to an unaugmented Mundane in others, then it simply can't be done. See where you are at 700 Karma, and then add 25 Karma and see how much that affects things. Here is a tip though, Nanites don't reduce essence, and this game isn't going to last long enough for them to be flushed. 6 BP for +3 to all Logic linked skills besides cybercombat and high-threat cracking isn't a bad deal. It should still help with Analyze, Spoof and other assorted tasks. Since Threading is tied to Software and Software is linked to Logic, I'd give it the bonus as well..



Well, if you're going to rely on a Hacker or an AI to tank for you then throwing a fistful of cubes can be pretty crucial in the Medic position. Luckily for the TMs though, they've got a body-sitter in the form of Tether, who should be able to give them First Aid as soon as bio-monitors start chirping.

So far you're the third person to post a general character concept and the fifth to show interest, so you're in for sure. Like I said to Karoline, if you're hitting a wall in your build and just feel like a gimp when you're finished, let me know. A Face is a good thing to be since you're going to be in a pretty densely populated system.

I've actually made a quite good TM for 700 karma, she just doesn't have much in the way of real world skills or physical stats. Oops, got to run, will post more in a few hours.

Question about karma gen? This is my first time doing it, so I'm not sure on a few things. After I buy my metatype, do I start with my natural minimums, so a 2 in agi and a 3 in cha? Or do I buy them up from 1 and have higher maximums?

And do negative qualities give double the BP value in karma?

You start with your natural minimums yes. However it is worth mentioning that it still costs you 5x the rating to buy up from there, so moving from Cha 3 to Cha 4 would still cost 20 karma, not 10.

Yeah, qualities are 2x BP value whether negative or positive.

Okay, just wanted to make sure. I should actually be able to post a character sheet by tonight or tomorrow. He's already written out in BP form, so it's just transferring and making sure things add up.

GM Call here. What do you think Compulsive:Talker is worth in BP? 5, 10, or 15?

Ah, since you brought up things like needed to sleep during this hack, and some other things that seemed to indicate a longer time frame, I thought registering a sprite might be viable. I took widget crafting with the hope of increasing my ability to shift focus on my threader, but if we won't have a few hours of down time every now and then I should likely drop it for something else.

Now here is a question for you, if we have to sleep, doesn't that drop the TM out of the Matrix? How will that affect the questy part of things?

It really depends on how you play it.. Just gabbing, 5BP. Has a hard time censoring what he says and thoughts generally come out his mouth just as soon as he has them, 10BP. Check out the Moderate Media Junky entry. That sort of effect is what I would expect from a 10BP talker. Someone who has trouble organizing his thoughts unless he can articulate them, so he gets a -1 penalty to all mental stats when he too long refrains from thinking out loud. If you want to take 10, I say okay, but I want you to "play it" to whatever you choose.



Well, the problem with Registering, as of the book, is that it has to be done in a TM's Bionode, which would require a retreat from within the gated, wired network. I could even waive that to compensate for the plot restrictions, but a body can burn through Sprite services way faster than one can register them. Widget crafting, however, has no such restrictions on where you have to be to make them, and they last for hours rather than turns, so they should be fine to work with. Gotta have a different ruling on the RAM widget though. It's a good concept, but the idea of resisting 12S drain just to hold a CF which has been threaded to a whopping 6 rating? That's no bueno. I say double capacity sounds better than half the drain. That should save on time as well as make it not worthless. Or, would you rather it just be that it can sustain an increase of 1 level per rating? I'm fine with either.



Normally, yes. But you're all jammed open.
Like I said, this is going to be Powered by Plot, so don't worry too much about the details.

TMs can be at multiple places at once. They can be in this great hack, and also ordering food at stuffer shack, and also in their own bionode to register a sprite, just like a hacker can be in multiple nodes at once.

I do still like the idea of some free sprites though, as there won't be much time to register sprites.

Alright, here is Flow. Not 100% done, still need to pick out negative qualities, lifestyle, and some other little bits of equipment, but just figured I'd post something.

Her main idea is being able to thread up her CFs to fairly impressive numbers. She has at least 22 dice for threading, and 14 dice for fading resistance (And a trauma damper to lower the damage by 1) so she should be able to pull up a rating 6 CF of any program needed, and the swaps means she doesn't suffer a sustaining penalty. Her biggest weakness is the physical world. Also, while she is unlikely to get hit in combat, she'll have trouble actually injuring anyone.

Sorry for taking so long with my character. This is my first time doing karma gen so I'm trying to make sure all my math is right.

I suppose your home node should always be accessible, but do remember that this isn't the Matrix proper. It's a Fully-wired Private Local Telcom Grid with thousands of workstations, so you're looking at an oldschool Layered Host architecture With multiple internal Tiers. This system is worlds deep. Since SR4 has woefully inadequate rules concerning massive wired networks, I'm pulling up the great old tech of SR3 to make this interesting. UV nodes and Trapdoor codes. That's what I mean by this needing some special rules. SR4 made the Matrix dead boring, and I want to take it back.

Right, but it is still possible to be in multiple nodes, just like you can have multiple windows open on the internet at once. The problem with doing so is that it is hard to keep an eye on multiple 'windows' at once, and for a technomancer in particular, getting caught unaware in a node can be dangerous.

Since I am still trying to get the hang of TM's and this is the first time on KarmaGen, I am going a bit slow but I am working on it. I am thinking elven techno-shaman, expert on conspiracy theories and info junky. Skills pointed towards getting in and out unseen and getting the info. A TM B&E guy so to speak. Any suggestions?

A couple of questions:
When paying for submersion can we assume we are (1) part of a group, and (20 using the various submersion tasks? If so do we round up or down?

While it hurts my spirit to make a character with physical stats of 1, is there any real reason to raise them for this particular game?

Good stealth program, good exploit program, and consider getting the mute option on your exploit (Takes an extra turn or something for an alarm to sound if you trip one while using the program). Other CFs to consider would be browse, edit, and analyze.


My character was made using the assumption that we could, but no official word on that.

Yeah, makes me sad too. At least you'll have a 2 in agility. He did mention something about there being a possibility of having to do stuff in the meat world. If someone got a few drones and has access to machine sprites, that could make working there easier.

That was actually what I had in mind. A moderate Command CF, a few drones, and Machine sprites. I guess it depends on what he has in mind for us.

Don't forget Decrypt and Defuse. Grabbing data isn't of much use if you can't read it, or if, when you try, it blows up and kills you dead.

As to network submersion discounts, I leave that up to you. Just write it into your backstory. Doesn't even need to be this current Network. They could have been part of a different one and moved on or over to this one for whatever reason you choose.

And, on the side of physical stats, it makes plenty of sense for many of you to neglect your physical bodies. The Pueblo Corporate Council has always been friendly and helpful towards Technomancers. So your group would basically be funded by a research grant, taking care of all your physical needs. Though, UV hosts bend the laws of reality...



Don't bother with buying Drones. You won't be able to get them on-site. A Private Local Telecommunications Grid like the one you're in has Nodes and Nets which span the globe. You may start in a network with its Nodes in Tir Tairngire, hit a Server then hop it to another Network, and suddenly, you're in the Boston branch. That's not to say that the place you're hacking won't have Drones on site which you can requisition for needed tasks.

There's still room, right? I think I'll be rolling up a mundane hacker for this one (I still don't quite have the hang of technomancers). Probably I'll be combat focused, as it was pointed out that this is better.

For fluff purposes, are we allowed to be current corp employees? It seems as though that's feasible in this game.

EDIT: If I want to, say, play a pixie and need to buy off Uneducated, does that count against my Quality limit? Is there a Quality limit
EDIT2: Also, would you all Three-Dimensional Memory to apply to the Matrix?
EDIT3: Last question for now, because I'm going to sleep: would you be willing to permit starting with deltaware if the Restricted Gear Quality is taken?

Thought there was some indication that we were somehow going to be funded by The Pueblo Corporate Council, so don't know how that'll interact with being a corp employee.

Buying off uneducated doesn't count towards the 35 BP limit on qualities. As for the other two, I'd think three-dimensional Memory would work on the matrix, but that's a GM call. The deltaware is fully a GM call.

Well, a Pixie would be a bit strange in the setting already. The Desert isn't exactly Pixie turf, so the PCC wouldn't have facilities for doing implants on wee folk. So, being a Pixie Hacker with the resources to get Delta implanted is a bit much. If the sleep issue is all that's of concern, just do what Little Billy Hacker does and dose up on Long Haul. You should be able to stay awake for 8 days on two doses, which ought to be plenty of time inside.

If you're dead set on the concept, I'd say just focus on the Adept side of things with a healthy dose of Viral Agent goodness. Nothing covers your ass in multiple nodes at once like playing Johnny Appleseed with Agents.

As to Three-Dimensional memory, well that's not really going to be very helpful in the Matrix. Everything is an artificial Metaphor, an illusion. There is no actual space so memorizing it won't really be useful. You perceive objects, and you experience interactions, but all that is actually happening is a transfer of 1s and 0s. The Matrix tells you you've walked up some stairs, cracked a safe and grabbed the info inside, but all that's happened is that you've searched for data, decrypted it and then copied it.

Oh, and good news everyone!

The esteemed Tymeaus Jalynsfein has signed on to play the role of your Real world contact, Tether.
So, as you dig into this system, you'll be able to contact him for advice or assistance while you work your way through the digital mazework. So, if you hit a dead end in your investigations or need a new Skillsoft chip to pilot an Antrhoform, he'll be there to help you out. He'll have a set of dice for various tasks and an operations budget to help with this and that.

I'm not dead-set on the pixie hacker, and most of the things you just said "No," to were more idle fancies. My current spec is Michel "Bloody Nose" Laennec, a Breton pixie who earned his sobriquet because of his predilection for using Black Hammer to kill and/or hurt people. He has, unsurprisingly, an enormous chip on his shoulder and people tend to be a little weirded out by his obvious glee at hurting people, but he's one of the best.

The focus will be, as recommended, combat and agent stuff, though it looks like I'll be able to max out all programs to 6. Are you still allowing Agent 5?

If you don't like the pixie, I'll just make him some meta. Hell, I could even try for my first ever technomancer - probably one focused on searching.

Yikes! I guess I could see that kind of character being a last resort cleaner type to try and turn aside an international incident by disguising it as a terrorist attack, but I really don't think that this is the type of operation looking to leave a trail of corpses... It's a mission of exploration first and foremost, and killing spiders is a quick way to get a system shut down. Seems like an odd fit to hire on a guy with a reputation as a psychopathic international terrorist to watch your back is all I'm saying..

Fine, I'll tone it down. I always thought Shadowrun was about playing sociopaths, but the last two such characters I tried were both vetoed!

Bloody Nose is still a combat expert, but he does it more for the thrill of the game, and takes perverse joy out of taking out IC and agents. His alias comes from a time that he buzzed an Aztechnology archive and got a bloody nose from the IC for his trouble.

I wouldn't normally object, but, you know, time and place.

How about as a compromise, I'll let you tack on a Psycotropic effect to one of your Biofeedback attacks. Seems pretty appropriate for a Pixie to hit a guy with something and send him into Simsense Vertigo or give him Incompetency: Cybercombat for [rating] hours. That way, you can still bloody a guy up, but he'll be out of the fight before loss of life becomes such a concern that the sysadmin has no choice but to cut feed to mitigate it.

Sound closer to your liking?

You know, I think I actually like the newer, fluffier Nosebleed better (Bloody Nose was getting annoying to type out every time). It also explains why he's along, if he specializes in icing IC, as that's a large part of the Task, isn't it?

IC can be relatively easy. Only one piece of IC can run on a single node at any time. But Spiders can come in packs if the call goes out. One of the many reasons to stay undetected for as long as possible and to pull your punches until you need some real force. If you can't be undetected, you want to at least be underestimated.

Hi,

Iam working on my character, I got a copy of unwired

I have decided to make an AI, since it seems to be vacant.

I have a few questions about the Karma system:

Metasapients have a 110BP, which means 220 Karma correct?, Does this 220 count towards the 375 limit for attribute purchase? so effectively I have 155 Karma to purchase attributes?

When you say: "bonus Knowledge skill Karma = 12(Log + Int)" means if I have a Logic and Intuition of 5 each, 12 * (10) = 120 Karma to spend in bonus knowledge skils?

thanks

Also It will be an AI specialized in encryption/decryption, as the origin will be an application related to super secure communications. (though I might change my mind before we start, right now I am overloaded with info lol)

No, goes the other way actually. You get to spend 375 + 2xrace BP cost. So you could (if you had the karma) spend 595 karma on stats.

Entirely this.

You won't even have enough Karma to reach your attribute limit.

However, you should really focus on using karma to increase your integral programs. That's where the juice is.

Damian Knight's more recent .xml character build spreadsheet has a fully realized A.I. build option, including increasing your integral program options. Do you have Runner's companion? If not, I can reproduce the full page and a half it has on A.I.s for you.

Yes I have the runner companion, thanks for the clarification

I'll put my character up soon. He's been done for a day, I've just been too lazy to put him up.

OK, here is what I came up with numbers wise. Background will be up momentarily.

You don't need to worry about the mute option on Spoof since it can't set off any alarms. A failed spoof is ignored.

Maybe if you crit glitch it (very unlikely,) it'll set off an alarm, but a failed Spoof attempt is just digital noise.

Just a quick update, I think I have my attributes, qualities and skills set.

I still need to work on everything else (home node, programs, etc)

I am starting to agree with the complexity of the task, given the time I have to work on this character. lots and lots to

I'm happy to help you along if you'd like to post a "work-in-progress" build. It's a whole lot to take in and then even more to figure out.