Using the rich history of Tarot, the artists evolved the imagery to reflect the futuristic fantasy world of The Sixth World Tarot, as if it were one great continual magical mystery through time and space. Jimmy Kincaid, burned-out mage, P. Maybe he can make it all work. Maybe he can find the right balance, share the right truths, and make something good out of a whole lot of bad. Of course, the problem with a house of cards is it just takes one good hit to bring it all tumbling down….
Kazuma Tetsu is a technomancer—one of the rare people who can manipulate the Matrix without technology, using only the power of their mind.
But they barely touch down on-planet when a Lyran Commonwealth general contacts the GDL, intent on hiring them to track down and capture Draconis Combine agents behind a daring raid on Lyons. Tracking the Kurita raiders to the Draconis border system of Valdis—better known as Wheel—Grayson and his people have their work cut out for them. Its structure means a direct assault with BattleMechs will be extremely risky, both because of the tight quarters and the very real danger of an errant shot or missile depressurizing and destroying the entire station.
Managed by his mother, a legendary Urban Brawl player until her forced retirement, and fitted with top-line cyberware that makes him better than human, Redlock is on the fast-track to super-stardom—until it all comes crashing down around him. But the lure of Urban Brawl is too seductive to ignore, and when his mother lines up another opportunity for him, all her son has to do is go against every instinct he has… Will he sacrifice his one shot back to the majors for the scrappy team that adopted him when he had nowhere else to go, or will Redlock pull the ultimate ambush play on his own teammates?
DocWagon—saviors of the needy, rescuers of the desperate. But will they survive long enough to remember that in the Sixth World, nothing is truly random?
Full of memorable characters and rich Sixth World flavor, DocWagon 19 is a thrilling ride with the people struggling to save lives in a sprawl with a million ways to make people dead. Strap in, hold on, crank up the siren, and get ready for a crazy ride-along through the full chaos of the Shadowrun setting.
Only something of great magic would do the trick. It was this quest that took him to a mystical citadel in Australia, where, with the aid of his shadowrunner friends, he recovered a strange artifact he hoped would prove helpful. And while the evil kept growing, inexorably drawing him into battle, the curse's power over his sister was also growing, bringing her closer and closer to death.
Soon a truly desperate Sam realized that the last and only hope for saving his sister was to find the greatest shaman of the Sixth World, former leader of the Great Ghost Dance—a man who may no longer exist Struggling under the influence of the Old One's omnipotent powers, Wolfgang's only ally is Dr.
Richard Raven, the elf and do-gooder vigilante Seattle turns to when all else fails. There are many fee-for-search services o u t there that collect information, and many traditional information-businesses, such as credit bureaus, will sell nearly anything in their database for the right price.
All people do not have their privacy invaded equally, though. Those in the upper classes are the safest, because money can buy some privacy. For the right amount, you can hire individuals to remove your name from sales lists, screen access to your SIN and associated individuals, and otherwise keep your name out of the limelight.
Those in the middle classes are the most vulnerable to having their lives completely exposed, because they are of the most interest to the business world. The middle-class consumer has money to spend and makes up the majority of the con. Therefore, they are the prime targets. The lower classes are not of nearly as much interest to business as a whole.
They typically are not heavy consumers, given the lack of disposable income common to their situations. Also, they use the Matrix actively to a lesser degree. Those that are heavy Matrix users rarely enter useful data when asked, because their physical location and situation can change very rapidly, rendering the information useless.
Therefore, there is very little incentive to track them closely. School, immunization, public assistance, welfare, unemployment, tax records, Immigration, customs, flight records, car rentals, trideo and sim rentals, gun registration, vehicle registration, permits of every kind, professional certifications, toning variances, police activity summaries in the daily paper, credstick purchases and more: all of it is out there just waiting to be sorted and sifted and analyzed.
Still, while all this information is being gathered and used, the average individual never notices an effect. So while privacy may be an imaginary concept in , no one has yet gone out of their way to disprove the myth Online games, chat rooms, themed text-based environments: these were just a few of the available entertainments to which people had access. In there are a myriad of different sim-based and trid-based entertainments out there whose addictive powers blow anything previously encountered completely out of the water.
Escapism and the tools to make it happen are at an all-time high in the Sixth World, thanks to the Matrix. However, it says something about the degree to which the Matrix has been incorporated into society that such activities, even regarding their addictive qualities, are not feared, but embraced.
The Matrix world is real enough that becoming immersed in the Matrix is viewed as a common, everyday occurrence. Chief among these are forms of recorded entertainment. Recorded entertainment on the Matrix can take many forms.
Digital music, usually with a trideo Ihese are available with a standard MSP account see p. At last count, there were over a hundred thousand different channels available on the Matrix. Simsense Recordings Simsense entertainment is in a class by itself. The movement from trideo to slrn was a giant leap in recording technology, allowing someone to record not only a visual image, but also the sensory and emotional input associated with it.
Needless to say, this form of entertainment has become extremely popular. The rise of sim technology has also set off a new life for both sports features and pornography. The chance to experience the power and emotion ofyour favorite urban brawl player or a diff diver from Aztlan is a powerful draw, as are the opportunities afforded by full sensory-immersion pornography films.
The ability to get the sensations without any of the risks is a rush to many people, so films such as these have skyrocketed in sales legality notwithstanding, in the case of pornography.
For those to whom a pre-programmed sim flick is boring, there are the interactive possibilities of the online experience. These are almost always sim-enabled, and being jacked-in gives you a definite advantage. These are sculpted environments that are modeled on a theme, often a historical period or a popular film or fiction setting.
The participants act out the lives of a persona they create, with the specific possibilities limited only by the environment. VR settings can also be modern-day settings.
The possibilities of sim and VR settings have also given rise to virtual bordellos, which have caught on as well. The cottage industry of Matrix prostitution is now a growing one, and due to the fact that their sites are invariably on private hosts, the legal issues have been tricky to sort out. Still, virtual sex has become commonplace since the turn of the century, if still a poor substitute for actual human contact.
The education of children has fallen to a greater and greater degree into the realm of the cyberterminal. Matrix education programs focusing on reading comprehension, mathematics, computer and technical skills and hand-eye coordination are considered a necessity by every school.
There are clubs and hosts set up especially for children and their interests, and the average child is involved with them to a moderate degree. When you take a few million people and cram them into a space the size of the plex, it takes in-depth coordination to keep all those essential systems functioning. Telecom Service The Sixth World relies on communications. Thus, the Matrix carries a heavy load in its telecom service duties. Phone service today is handled through private companies that either own or lease telecom services on the Matrix.
So, no matter who you have your phone service through, it all comes down to the same thing. Those same companies are responsible for the public access telecom units you see on almost every street corner, with the maintenance of any specific unit falling to the company that owns it.
Most of the cars sold for urban travel today are fitted with this intelligent traffic management system. Grid-Guide roads are standard throughout Seattle, with the Barrens area being the exception. When a car enters a Grid-Guide compatible highway and activates its Grid-Guide system, the system sends the c a r on the most efficient and timely route possible. Power and Utilities The Matrix is also responsible for keeping the lights on, as well as keeping the gas and the water flowing.
All of these systems use the Matrix to read meters, measure consumption, arrange for maintenance and troubleshoot computers. The use of natural gas has decreased, given the rise in cost and the increasing rate of natural resource depletion, so more homes and businesses are turning into allelectric facilities. This means that most modern structures are completely wired for the Matrix, giving a homeowner a previously unmatched level of control over her environment.
The Matrix also issues the commands for the remote drones, units that handle many of the routine physical jobs of city management, such as trash collection and superstructure maintenance.
Law Enforcement While you might not think of Lone Star having much, if anything, to d o with the Matrix, a high level of interaction actually occurs.
They use the Grid-Guide system to track vehicles, sometimes overriding the standard routing protocols to direct the car into a waiting road block or a dead end.
Alarms on private property, silent or otherwise, alert Lone Star through the Matrix, including the security information the system has been able to gather on the intruders during the intrusion. Most users are confused about Matrix law, to say the least. There are some things that are almost universally illegal, such as piracy, trespassing and hacking. Otaku tribes beginning 0th in the Matrix and the down for a span of eight mrnites, dumping most users and driving some insane.
Originally thought to be V A Piracy laws are based on the idea that it is or should be illegal for an individual to copy and distribute a work be it text, music, video, or software that another individual created and sells.
So, making a copy of the music file of the latest release by your favorite band and putting it on your pocket player for your own use is okay. Putting that same copy in a public file and making it available to anyone who comes in contact with it, whether for free or at a cost, is illegal. The same applies to anything that could be considered intellectual property. This is also sometimes called copyright infringement. The penalties for this crime vary greatly. Not all copyright owners pursue infringement with equal fervor, though violating the law with material that belongs to a corporation is likely to carry a stiff sentence.
Trespassing Most hosts that are open to public visitors have a public-access area in their host f o r just such a purpose. Trying to get from that public-access area into the offlimits places is called trespassing, and most corporations look on it with an unkind eye. Most off-limits areas are clearly marked, and nearly all of them require effort to get into. It is unlikely that the average user will be able to simply wander into an area that will get him into trouble.
Hacking Laws Hacking is defined as using a cybertermfnal to willfully deface, destroy, or tamper with Matrix property belonging to another individual or corporation. It is also defined as using a cyberterminal equipped with Masking or Evasion programs in other words, a cyberdeck without the licenses to do so.
Those utilities block the tracing procedures used by the Matrix and hosts connected to it. Because of what they do, those utilities are heavily restricted and require licenses for legal use, which are given only to security deckers and those with a similar professional requirement.
Hacking is something that is almost always prosecuted, if the suspect is traced and apprehended. It is not taken lightly, and penalties are harsh, to say the least. Thankfully, this is an area of law that most legal users never encounter, as hacking is difficult to do accidentally.
This SIN is attached to their bank account, medical records, school transcripts, licenses, print and DNA records, and anything else for which they have to fill out paperwork. Privacy laws are intended to keep anyone from modifying your information without your permission. To do so is considered a serious crime, and incarceration is usually the sentence handed down. Hand-in-hand with the privacy laws are the identity laws, which make it a crime for any individual to steal or delete the identity of another.
This is also counted as a serious crime, and often the guilty party is not only sentenced to incarceration, but is forced to make restitution to the victim, up to and including the costs associated with starting a new legal identity, if necessary. T o access the virtual reallty of the Matrlx, three things are required: a speclailzed computer called a cybertenninal,a jackpoint, and either an account with a Matrix Setvice Provider MSP or programs that will allow you to fake an account.
The computer interface is detailed in this chapter; the latter two requirements are discussed in Accessing the Matrix p. A cyberterminal is a computer with an ASlST interface and a suite of specialized programs called the persona. A persona allows the user to interact with other icons in the Matrix. In effect, a cyberterminal allows the user to experience the sensory input of the virtual world. Note that the cyberdeck commonly used by deckers is merely a souped-up cyberterminal.
For clarity and ease of use, cyberterminal will be used to refer to both cyberterminals and cyberdecks, except where the rules specifically apply to cyberdecks only. It is possible to access the Matrix without using simsense and virtual reality in fact, millions of people do it everyday when they make telecom calls. This use is described under Tortoise Mode p. The following rules describe the use of cyberterminals and cyberdecks.
Most users prefer to access computer systems by creating a direct link to their brain, which allows for high-speed mental control. Two devices may be used to create this link: trodes and datajacks. These contact points read and send electronic impulses to the brain and nervous system.
Trodes come in various styles, from simple, functional nets to discreet and fashionable hairnets and headbands to flashy, stylized designs; trodes are often built into wigs and helmets as well. I Matrix I 17 I Trodes are connected to the cyberterminal through a simple fiberoptic cable.
Trodes are commonly used by the Awakened and others who avoid cybernetic implants. A trode user receives a maximum Matrix Initiative dice of 2D6. It also takes a bit of time to adjust trodes for a proper fit and to calibrate them. Perhaps the most common implant in the world of , the datajack allows the user to mentally link himself to devices that are equipped for direct neural input DNI.
The datajack must be connected to the cyberterminal via a fiberoptic cable. Datajacks are fully described on p. Pure DNI Even with a datajack, most users still use keyboards.
Switching from pure DNI to standard partial-manual mode and back again requires only a Simple Action. The signals transmitted from computer systems are translated into simsense, allowing the user to directly experience the Matrix via virtual reality. Because simsense signals tend to hog bandwidth, each ASIST interface control program comes with a compressed library of standard recorded sim sensations.
Rather than transmitting direct simsense to the user, the accessed system transmits instructions to use and combine these sim samples to help create an experience; non-standard sim sensations are transmitted directly. Thus, it is easy to distinguish between a basic system that takes advantage of sim samples and a novahot system that has the processing power to feed all its simsense direct to the user.
All of these are described below. In effect, it uses the legal levels of simsense. Legally purchased cyberterminals are equipped with this interface. Advantage: A cold ASIST interface protects the user from taking lethal damage from black IC, because the interface cannot amplify biofeedback to brain-frying levels. Treat lethal black IC as non-lethal black IC p.
Psychotropic black IC and other IC effects are not changed. The intensity of this input allows the user to experience the Matrix in better-than-real conditions.
It may seem like sheer madness to redline an ASIST interface this way, because even random line noise could potentially be translated into lethal amounts of feedback.
Many deckers, however, rely on the boosted signal strength to provide them with the speed they need. Simply put, the human mind is not designed to comprehend data at a rate fast enough to be competitive with a computer. With a hot ASIST, the user becomes hyper-alert, as every sense and every neuron become sensitive to the translated machine code coming through the Matrix.
The user can literally feel the code of a program running under his fingers, as the persona translates a wider degree of data that simply could not be perceived through the basic senses alone.
In addition to the standard methods of visual and auditory clues, relevant data may be felt as other sensations. For example, the warning message about an incoming attack program may be experienced by the user as if his skin were on fire. First, it allows the user to take advantage of Response Increase. Second, it allows the user to gain an extra speed bonus by running pure DNI.
Third, it provides the user with Hacking Pool see p. Disadvantages: It also has two drawbacks. First, the user becomes vulnerable to lethal damage by black IC. Second, hot ASlST interfaces are also illegal, and so the user risks legal problems i f caught using one.
The new interface kicks in at the beginning of the next Combat Turn. Switching interfaces while under attack by black IC requires the same tests as attempting to jack out see Black fC,p. It is possible to build a cyberterminal without an RAS override or to disconnect one already in place. However, attempting to function in two sensed environments simultaneously is extremely disorienting.
In other words, the reality filter imposes a metaphor on the Matrix. The user does not see the system and icons as they are designed to appear. For example, a user with strong Christian belief3 may program their reality filter so that icons appear as angels or devils, hosts appear heavenly, and menus appear as scrolls written in Latin.
A user with a taste for early twentieth-century airplanes may design a reality filter so that she experiences movement through the Matrix as flying a propeller plane through the clouds grids or barnstorming hosts ; naturally, Matrix combat would be represented by dogfighting. The Reality Filter Advantage Because reality filters are personalized to the user, they allow the user to operate in the Matrix more quiddy and effi I Matrix I 19 I ciently.
Reality filters are custom-designed for each user. The user may have to reduce his persona and utility programs to keep them within acceptable limits.
Note that certain sculpted systems may interfere with the function of a reality filter. See Sculpted Systems and Reality Filters, p. The speed bonus provided by Response Increase is cumulative with the bonuses from reality filters and running pure DNI. While the ASIST interface allows the user to experience virtual reality, the persona allows the user to interact with it.
In effect, the persona powers the icon that represents the user. The persona itself is really a combination of processes and programs. The MPCP is the heart of the circuitry, like the motherboard in a standard microcomputer. Therefore, the MPCP determines the maximum ratings for these subordinate programs.
No utility or persona program run on the cyberterminal can have a base rating greater than the MPCP. In most locales, the MPCP of a cyberterminal is legally limited to rating 4 or less. This serial number-called the signatureis required for almost all interactions between the cyberterminal and other computers. Aside from numerous authentication and accounting purposes, this signature also creates a detailed datatrail.
Matrix systems log all operations conducted on them; every time a user logs on, edits a file or touches a control system, the system queries the MPCP for its signature and logs the event, recording it alongside a timestamp and code indicating the operation performed. Every legally manufactured cyberterminal MPCP contains a unique signature that cannot be removed.
Many deckers manufacture their own MPCPs and leave out the damning signature. However, as the majority of systems will simply refuse to interact with an MPCP that lacks a signature, even these decks require masking programs to forge a signature or something equivalent when necessary.
Evasion and masking are programs only used by those trying to conceal their identity and datatrail or who are expecting to engage in cybercombat. Bod Bod measures the stability and structural integrity of the persona. Evasion Evasion defines the agility of the persona-its ability to maneuver in cybercombat and escape the attentions of trace IC. Evasion works by constantly changing and altering the memory space used by the persona as well as rerouting connections, generating false log entries and creating misleading trace paths.
It is not installed in standard cyberterminals, though no decker would be caught without it. Masking is usually illegal Legality 2 4. It is by far the most useful illegal modification made by deckers. Some security deckers are required by their employers to use their signatures on home systems. These security specialists make use of system-aware signature suppression SASS masking programs, so their signatures are automatically used on some systems and masked on others.
Hardening includes programs that redirect attack code and restore glitched programs, as well as built-in redundancy and electrical surge protection systems. They protect the user by blocking dangerous high-level ASIST signals and interfering with unsafe biofeedback. The filter also allows a user to make two separate Damage Resistance Tests against lethal and non-lethal black I C - o n e test with Body and one with Willpower.
Karma Pool dice added to the test are rolled separately and augment the chosen Resistance Test. Hacking Pool dice cannot be used for these tests. However, it does buffer the decker from the physical side effects of sparky IC programs see p.
Sensor The sensor persona program translates the crushing amount of data flowing through the Matrix into a form understandable by a metahuman user. A high rating denotes advanced signal discrimination features, the capability to monitor system processes for changes and new features, and excellent machine code and simsense translation speeds. The program translates mental speech and transmits it to other specified icons, whose sensor programs then translate it to their users as if they were hearing it spoken.
This figure represents the speed at which utilities and datafiles are uploaded and downloaded, in Mp per Combat Turn. The appearance of this icon depends on the icon chip within the cyberterminal. It may be a factory default UMS icon, a custom-ordered creation or a self-programmed representation of the user.
A Rating 1 icon is going to look like a bad, low-res black-andwhite photocopy at best; a Rating I2 icon is going to move seamlessly and look more real than real. Multiplexing does not use any extra actions other than that required by the system operation and requires no tests.
To lessen these dangers, many I Matrix 1 21 1 n the world of S h a d o w n , almost everyone uses the Matrix. While the two are bound to hold several characteristics in common merely by their joint use of virtual reality, deckers and security sysops are much more focused and specialized. This chapter describes the relevance of certain attributes, skills, dice pools and other factors to all Matrix users, but to deckers in particular. Any character who plans on using the Matrix should take note here, especially those who enter the realm of hacking and cybercombat.
The children of the Matrix known as otaku are described in the chapter beginning on p. Consequently, certain character attributes take on extra importance and others become less important when a character operates in the Matrix. This holds true even for deckers. Enough Quickness For a decent Reaction is useful, but frankly, most hot deckers depend on their decks, not their meat, for speed.
Mental attributes, on the other hand, become more important. Intelligence is especially important, because all technical and knowledge skills are linked to it. And for deckers, Intelligence is crucial to their Hacking Pools. However, for deckers and other Matrix fanatics, the Computer skill and various complementary Knowledge sltills are a necessity. Computer Skill The idiot-proof nature of modern computers allows anyone to use computers at a basic level without causing damage.
However, Computer s l d l is a prerequisite for any character who wishes to manipulate programs and systems and generally get the most out of the Matrix. As the specializations indicate, the Computer skill encompasses knowledge and use of hardware, haclting, programming, conducting searches and the interface between man and machine.
Decking: The Decking specialization is used for any nonauthorized system operation or improvised attack, though deckers will suffer if they increase skill in Decking at the expense of programming ability. Hardware: The Hardware specialization is useful when the character is using regular computers, mainframes and other computer devices.
Programming: The Programming specialization is the best friend of deckers and sysops everywhere. The maximum rating of any utility a character can design is equal to her Computer Programming skill. Search Operations: The Search Operation specialization includes the mastery of search engines and databases. The sltill is used whenever conducting Matrix information searches see p. For more details, see Cyberterminal Construction, p.
Etiquette Matrix Specialization The Matrix specialization of the Etiquette sltill is used whenever interacting with other personas in virtual environments, whether scouring for gossip, shopping for programs or talking your way into gaining access to a Shadowland node. It also keeps the user current on who the major players are in cyberspace and lets him pick up the latest rumors in the global gossip of the Matrix.
See p. Small Unit Tactics Matrix The Matrix specialization of the Small Unit Tactics skill allows the user to take advantage of group tactics and coordination within the Matrix. To use this skill for the benefit of others, both the user of the sltill and the recipient of the bonuses must be linked via a BattleTac Matrixlinlt program see p. For more information on the use of Small Unit Tactics, see p.
Each System Familiarity sltill focuses on a particular type of Matrix system as described on p. Having a particular sltill provides the user with knowledge of common features, vulnerabilities, security tricks, bugs and other anomalies of a particular system. This test does not require an action. Only one System Skill Test may be made per system, and the test must be repeated if the user leaves and returns at a later point. System Familiarity skills may have specializations.
Generally, these relate to the owner, maker or Security Code color of the host. In addition to the System Familiarity skills described below, gamemasters may allow players to use skills that focus on other types of systems. Automated Factory Familiarity The Automated Factory Familiarity skill applies to any host that primarily manages and controls the functions of automated and robotic factory systems.
Cellular Network Familiarity The Cellular Network Familiarity skill makes the user aware of the ins and outs of the Matrix host portion of cellular networks. This skill allows the user to more easily access the Matrix via cellular networks, tap and triangulate cell phones and so on.
Chat Room Familiarity The Chat Room Familiarity skill imparts a knowledge of the hosts and software typically used for Matrix chat and meeting rooms, persona social clubs, message boards and other systems created specifically for interaction via persona.
Chokepoint Famlllarity A user with Chokepoint Familiarity is accustomed to the features and idiosyncrasies of firewalls, killing jars and other chokepoint hosts that act as security checkpoints against users attempting to access the next host down the line. Communication Satellite Familiarity The Communication Satellite Familiarity skill gives the user an edge when hacking and manipulating satellites and satellite constellations that manage data traffic. Note that this skill does not apply to the hosts of orbital habitats and factories.
Data Archive Familiarity The Data Archive Familiarity skill applies to any host that acts as a database or information archive, whether a virtual library or searchable host of a data haven.
Use of this skill can also help the user in data-oriented Search Tests see p. Came Host Familiarity The Game Host Familiarity skill is prominent among the virtual heroes who spend hours each day playing in one of the multitude of commercial virtual-reality game universes. This skill is also useful on PLTGs, though gamemasters may rule that some private networks use proprietary systems that require their own System Familiarity skills.
Matrix Bank Familiarity A user with the Matrix Bank Familiarity skill knows all about the structure, organization, protocols and security of hosts that deal with the accounting, transferal and issuing of credit and virtual bank accounts. Security Network Familiarity A user with the Security Network Familiarity skill is acquainted with the inner workings of hosts specifically designed to monitor and control the security of an installation.
Program Design Knowledge skills allow a chpracter to create a program plan, which is an invaluable first step to creating a new program of any kind see The frogran Plan, p. This skill is used for the Design Test when a character builds their own cyberterminal parts see Design Test, p.
It allows the otaku to recognize patterns, associations and hidden details when sorting through massive amounts of data. These include but are not limited to: Data Brokerage see Evaluate, p. Certain pieces of cyberware may affect this pool. The character may be using a cyberterminal or cyberdeck, trodes or datajack-all that matters is that the sensory input and biofeedback are cranked to the max.
The maximum number of Hacking Pool dice that may be used for any test is equal to the base number of skill or attribute dice in use. The Hacking Pool refreshes in accordance with standard dice pool rules see p.
Hacking Pool may also be used for improvised attacks and defenses see p. The Task Pool provided by a chipjack expert driver with a Computer activesoft would also be used as additional Hacking Pool dice.
The only bioware that may affect Hacking Pool is the cerebral booster p. Adept powers such as combat sense have no effect on Matrix interactions. In certain situations, System Familiarity skills see p. All of these Hacking Pool modifiers are cumulative. This allows the character to continue operating without increasing the risk of raising his security tally.
Hacking Pool dice sacrificed in this way cannot be used again until the IC is unsuppressed. Optional Rule: Hacking Pool and Detection Factor If the gamemaster allows this rule, a character can increase his Detection Factor on a temporary basis by sacrificing dice from his Hacking Pool.
A character who wishes to do this must announce that h e is allocating Hacking Pool dice at the beginning of the Combat Turn. Hacking Pool dice allocated in this fashion cannot be used for anything else that turn. For every 2 dice aliocated, the character increases his Detection Factor by 1.
A character with the Matrix Addiction flaw is addicted to spending time in the Matrix. On a basic level, the character attempts to jack in as much as possible, often for a length of time considered unhealthy. The character becomes adept at finding excuses for spending time online and easily becomes cranky if deprived of Matrix access.
Because the character spends so much time in the Matrix, he or she also tends to let their real-life social skills lapse. At the very least, most characters will be accustomed to using the Matrix for email, news services and basic information searches.
Most characters will also be accustomed to using the Matrix for meetings, business, games and basic entertainment. In the past, the Matrix may have been presented as an environment that only deckers traveled in and took advantage of similar to magicians and astral space : that perception should now be altered to present the Matrix as an arena used by all, although deckers should retain a distinct advantage in it.
For example, if the Matrix were the highway and road system, everyday users would be standard run-of-the-mill drivers and deckers would be NASCAR race drivers. There are many ways that a gamemaster can bring the Matrix into game play.
Johnsons and contacts may request virtual meeting spots, rather than risk a meeting in the flesh. Finding information and clues may require that a character perform a Matrix search, rather than working his or her contacts.
If runners are researching someone or something, the trail may be virtual rather than physical, requiring legwork Almost any aspect of the worfd can be tweaked to involve the Matrix in some way; consult the Matrix World section for more ideas see p. Deckers are also capable of hacking, a task that even the most intrepid non-decker MaMx user should approach carefully. Given these considerations, gamemasters should be careful to ensure that the decker does not monopolize all Matrix interactions.
While the decker may be better at Matrix operations, the decker is also quite suited for assisting other Matrix users. Deckers can program frames and agents for other Matrix users to use for info searches and can also program utilities that other characters can use to perform minor hacking tasks. Following are just a few examples of decker activities.
This is the r m n most shadowrunning teams include or hire a decker. Running ciuerwatch can k more complicated than it sounds, because the decker must also fend off Matrix security while watching out for others. If the host is not accessible from the Matrix, it means that the decker will have to infiltrate the site as well and physically hide out once he jacks in.
The highlight of lurking is when an unauthorized user busts into the system. Almost every home and business has a basic MPCP Rating 1 cyberterminal, allowing non-decker members of a runner team to take on easier Matrix tasks, freeing up the decker for the hard stuff. Non-deckers could even accoppany the decker on hacking runs, serving as a distraction or even performing critical operations while the decker scrapes away the IC.
While anyone with a cyberterminal can dig for data, deckers do it faster and better. Searches can be crucial for a runner team, as the decker digs up clues, chases down leads or turns up the real identity of their mysterious Mr.
Most deckers have a variety of tools t o aid them in searches, from browse utilities to smart frames. Searching also involves a social element, as many deckers will have a network of Matrix contacts that they can work, in the same way that other runners hit the streets and chat with their pals. For more details on Information Searches, see p. Phone Games With the Matrix at their fingertips, free phone calls are just the first advantage of having a decker around.
Given the prevalence of surveillance gear and hostile hackers, deckers can ensure that phone calls remain untapped and untraced. They can also generate free phone service under assumed names, or use their skills to monitor the communications of opposing forces.
Free Stuff Nothing will get that package of hard-to-find gear to your doorstep faster than a healthy dose of Matrix credit fraud. Even more to the point, deckers also have access to the online black market, where just about anything imaginable is for sale to the highest bidder. This same 2s Matrix Though riggers also use datajacks to interact with machines, the nature of rigging and vehicle control rigs makes them an entirely different animal from standard deckers.
A rigger can bypass these negatives by installing a reflex trigger see p. However, Awakened characters may have flaws or traits that inhibit their Matrix use. For example, most Awakened avoid the damaging effects OF implanted datajacks, instead preferring to use trodes.
Because the Matrix is a virtual reality that does not physically exist in the normal sense and cannot be seen, magic does not work there.
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