Okay, let me be clear on one thing right off the bat: This is going to take more than one post to cover everything going on with the Matrix.

Designing a new edition of Shadowrun would be a lot easier if there was nothing cool about the Matrix. If it didn’t play an integral part in runs, or if it didn’t present some great scenes with vivid cyberpunk atmosphere. Because if that were the case, we could just take the sometimes problematic (speaking charitably) Matrix rules and excise them, put them in an expansion, and call it a day.

But the Matrix is more than just cool and useful—it’s an integral part of the Shadowrun setting. So we knew that one if the primary tasks of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition was making a more fun, user-friendly Matrix.

As was the case throughout the development of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, we set out goals that would help guide us. Here’s the first group, with commentary on what we did about those goals.

1) As much as possible, Matrix rules should follow the patterns of other rules, meaning that tests are done with dice pools determined by skill + attribute. In rules, exceptions cause confusion, so as much as possible we avoided exceptions. This means Matrix actions follow the same pattern as other tests in Shadowrun.

2) Hackers should be able to do cool things at approximately the same pace as other players. Hacking can play an important role in combat, in infiltration scenarios, and in all sorts of situations—but not if the hacker is still fiddling around with dice rolls after the rest of the group has gotten where they are going, or after all the opponents are dead or fled. We worked to reduce the number of dice rolls hackers make, making it simpler for them to focus on what they want to do and then try to get it done—without making them overly powerful, of course. We also avoided having hacking actions require Extended Tests.

3) Wireless is not going away. The Matrix of Shadowrun, Fourth Edition made the leap to wireless technology, and that made substantial improvements to the Matrix. With the Matrix everywhere, hackers didn’t have to be tied to a particular location to get their work done. They could be mobile. The wireless Matrix also better reflected how current technology is evolving, and we saw no reason to take a step backward.

4) Hackers should be encouraged to be with the rest of the team as much as possible. The wireless Matrix helped solve the problem of having the hacker of a team sit in the basement while everyone else is out working, but it didn’t take away the issue entirely. It was still possible, even desirable, for the hacker to stay safe out of the line of fire while the rest of the team put themselves in the path of enemy bullets. Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is all about risk-reward. If hackers get are willing to get out there in the field and mix it up with the rest of their team, they should be rewarded. This comes through a mechanic called noise—the closer you get to your target, the less noise you have to deal with, and the stronger the signal will be, making it easier to hack through whatever you’re hacking through.

5) We like decks and cyberdecks. “Deckers” was one of the iconic terms of Shadowrun, and we missed it. So we decided to bring it back. The term “hackers” remains in the game–it’s an umbrella term covering those who hack the Matrix with the power of their minds (technomancers) and those who hack it with cyberdecks (deckers). These are not, however, the cyberdecks of early Shadowrun. They’re smaller, sleeker, they don’t have big, bulky keyboards, and they’re wireless-enabled.

So what do cyberdecks do, and why did they need to come back? Well, that has to do with the changing nature of the Matrix and the corporations’ desire to bend the network to better serve their ends. We’ll cover that next time!

Hm...a little worried about how this noise on the matrix is going to work out. I kind of like the stay at home quadriplegic that lives a fully immersed life style.

Someone is hanging tight onto the 'hackers' crap, probably because they came up with the change in the first place.

As for noise, it might have something to do with how many systems you route through, or something. I am curious as to what its exact mechanical impact would be, though... Might just be a dice pool mod, even.

If Matrix tests are going to be closer in line with other tests, then my guess is Noise is the equivalent of the new Accuracy stat for weapons. Like you said, probably something to do with how many systems you route through to get to the target.

Or, you know, it's because as an umbrella term it makes it a lot easier for new players to understand.

Call them all deckers, you'll have to explain what that is. Call mundane hackers deckers, you just have to explain that they're hackers who use a piece of hardware called a cyberdeck.

Call them all Matrix specialists, and you have the same issue of explanation, and it sounds lame to boot.

Call them all hackers, and new players will just get it. Plus, "decker" doesn't intrinsically mean anything to players who only know SR4.

Any new edition must be designed to do two, maybe three things (from a business standpoint, which should be important to us because it impacts the new material that gets put out as well):

1) Get existing players of the current edition to adopt the new edition.
2) Bring in new players who haven't played previous editions, and might even be entirely without experience in the genre and/or tabletop gaming at large.
3) In some cases (all edition numbers greater than 2), there's an edition prior to the current one that still has some people playing it, because they prefer it for various reasons over the current one. If possible, you want to get some of these players to make the change as well.

Using the term hacker is good for 1 and 2. Using the term decker is good for 1 and 3. Obvious solution? Do both!

Obvious lame solution you mean

As opposed to what? And what's so lame about the use of the RL term?

They already admit a mistake in removing one of the core terms from the game. Now instead of just fixing it, they come up with a dumb idea to keep both. Nobody is going to give a crap if 'hacker' goes away.

I for one would like deckers being able to launch "attacks" that afflict the technology of the opposing forces.

Like blinding a foe by momentarily causing his cybereyes to stop working, or creating an electrical strike by quick hacking the street lamp next to a target.

Ideally, something that can be done as one or two rolls like a firearm attack or spell would, rather than having to do the whole "I spend a good chunk of time hacking my way into the target's PAN".

Such attacks should be short duration and transitory, of course. More permanent or large scale effects would need formal hacking and infiltration of networks.



-k

...

So I guess when I outlined reasons why getting rid of the term would be a bad thing, you decided to just ignore that, then? And don't claim to speak for everyone, because I've certainly seen some people saying that they like having the term hacker simply because it better grounds the game in the real world. For what reason should they remove the term "hacker"?

I for one would like deckers being able to launch "attacks" that afflict the technology of the opposing forces.

Like blinding a foe by momentarily causing his cybereyes to stop working, or creating an electrical strike by quick hacking the street lamp next to a target.

Ideally, something that can be done as one or two rolls like a firearm attack or spell would, rather than having to do the whole "I spend a good chunk of time hacking my way into the target's PAN".

Such attacks should be short duration and transitory, of course. More permanent or large scale effects would need formal hacking and infiltration of networks.



-k

Saying hacker to ground the game in the real world is like using driver instead of rigger. It's not as cool.

How many people really bought 4E because they called them hackers? Not enough to make a difference I'd imagine.

Saying hacker to ground the game in the real world is like using driver instead of rigger. It's not as cool.

How many people really bought 4E because they called them hackers? Not enough to make a difference I'd imagine.

There are probably more people who convinced their groups to play Shadowrun with the simplified 4E than stopped at SR3 because they changed terminology.

So...nothing to do with the term hacker then

Yeah, "Hacker" is to both Decker and Technomancer as "Warrior" is to Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, and Ranger. Just an umbrella.

As for the hacking rules themselves, lots of comments have been looked at before work started, and as playtesting has broadened, more work has been done. Is this too strong? Is this too weak? Does this read well? Can Bob the Neve-Played-Shadowrun-Gamer pick the book up, read the Matrix section, and be jazzed to be a Decker? It's a section that I'm passionate about, since I rate the holy trinity of Shadowrun as Street Sam, Decker, and Rocker. Yes, Rocker. Get thee behind me.

There's nothing I want more than for Deckers to be COOL, dangit. I want every group to have a PC Decker, integrated right in with teh rest of the yahoos. That the game went 3 editions of "NPC Decker" is ... heartbreaking. Gotta have faith, yo.

...sooo this Noise mechanic is essentially supposed to be Signal degradation?

Got a Decker in my group who's been playing SR since 1st ED. He's never used term hacker and still refers to technomancers as those damn kids.

Well, there goes a chunk of my interest in that. Keeping the absurd 'combat hacking' mechanics and wireless really means I don't want to deal with them. Even moreso than the occasional headaches that having a decker in the party brings up.

You'd rather the world jump back to wired matrix for some reason?

If the alternative is having hacking happen at combat speeds? Yes.

Think about it. If, as mentioned in the example, it is possible to hack cyberware in combat, the game balance problem is immediately obvious. Suddenly, you have a method of taking down street sams, who already pay double for their advantages in both cash and essence, which does not apply to anyone else. Physical adepts are suddenly even more powerful because they are outright immune to this, yet still reap combat benefits like a sammy -and- have the option of getting magical defense as well.

Not to mention the in-game silliness of breaking an encrypted system faster than someone with a dedicated neural link can trigger a second shot out of a smartgun.

So anyone serious about combat or security ends up running 2050's era 'vintage' tech that's not capable of being wireless enabled, and wired and shielded smartguns, thus making even having the rules pointless.

Why would you have your cyberware wireless enabled to begin with? No good can come of that. And you don't need to hack a wireless smart gun to disable it. A directional jammer should do the same. Which we usually use to prevent them from calling for help anyway. So a wired smartgun already is a good idea.

But you don't know the setting point of the new book. You're making a guess, deeming it stupid and running with just how stupid it is. lol

Yes there's some kludge in the game. There is in all games. Just wait and see how it is in application to see if it works, rather than seeing a few bits and hints, deeming it dumb, running with the assumption and claiming it broken.

2) Hackers should be able to do cool things at approximately the same pace as other players. Hacking can play an important role in combat, in infiltration scenarios, and in all sorts of situations—but not if the hacker is still fiddling around with dice rolls after the rest of the group has gotten where they are going, or after all the opponents are dead or fled. We worked to reduce the number of dice rolls hackers make, making it simpler for them to focus on what they want to do and then try to get it done—without making them overly powerful, of course. We also avoided having hacking actions require Extended Tests.

3) Wireless is not going away. The Matrix of Shadowrun, Fourth Edition made the leap to wireless technology, and that made substantial improvements to the Matrix. With the Matrix everywhere, hackers didn’t have to be tied to a particular location to get their work done. They could be mobile. The wireless Matrix also better reflected how current technology is evolving, and we saw no reason to take a step backward.

Did you bother to read the OP?

Yeah. I read it. Did you see where it said they could do EVERYTHING in combat? No... Just some things right? Did you see the part where it said specifically that these changes were made with OUT making them too powerful?

They're making it so hackers aren't sitting around for a half hour rolling dice while the other 4 people at the table are losing intrest or even up and walking off to do other things.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill, a molehill you haven't even really seen yet, but have just had some one describe a few bits of what it's like.

It's either that or go back to having deckers having to hack a system by themselves, go on essentially their own adventure by themselves, while the rest of the group has to sit on their ass playing with themselves while the decker does his thing. Good LORD was that a terrible idea to implement!

I'm projecting from what they can do in current edition, and explaining reasons why I personally don't want to deal with it as a GM. Past experience tends to lead me to believe that the folks at Catalyst will miss big, gaping problems via insufficient playtesting anyway, so there is reason for concern.



Or God forbid someone either have to make a well rounded character with skills outside of their specialty, or accept that skill in other areas precludes being the combat monster.

I'm projecting from what they can do in current edition.