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Shadowrun: For Us It Was a Tuesday [OOC]
- Thread starter CanadienneBacon
- Start date
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
The next post might take awhile to write because it will be the first time that I'll be narrating what is happening in three different dimension in a single game. We have:
- Our meatbags walking down a halfway looking for danger, while a fourth Runner guards our technomancer and magic-user.
- Our technomancer connecting herself to the security system and trying to get the layout of the Matrix security.
- Our spellcaster detecting life as he can now act inside the astral barrier.
Fun and interesting to have to think in three different but parallel fields of view. So again, bear with me. I hope to have a decent post by later today or tomorrow.
- Our meatbags walking down a halfway looking for danger, while a fourth Runner guards our technomancer and magic-user.
- Our technomancer connecting herself to the security system and trying to get the layout of the Matrix security.
- Our spellcaster detecting life as he can now act inside the astral barrier.
Fun and interesting to have to think in three different but parallel fields of view. So again, bear with me. I hope to have a decent post by later today or tomorrow.
Deuce, any cameras or drones or anything on the network Echo can use to get eyes anywhere?
Also, is the host currently running any defenses, or does she have free reign at the moment?
Oh oh, also, does she sense any other personal network nodes? Commlinks or communication devices on the premises that could indicate the location of personnel?
Need a Matrix Perception roll, or anything?
Also, is the host currently running any defenses, or does she have free reign at the moment?
Oh oh, also, does she sense any other personal network nodes? Commlinks or communication devices on the premises that could indicate the location of personnel?
Need a Matrix Perception roll, or anything?
Last edited:
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
You would have to make a Matrix Perception roll to find those things, is my understanding... and the more failures you accrue, the more you will find those defenses the hard way.
Hm, is that a house rule? This is how I have seen the 5th Ed hacking rules work so far, but admittedly I've only played one other game...and in that game I wasn't the hacker, so I am not as up to snuff on those rules as I might otherwise be.
Matrix Perception is opposed by icons who are running silently. Any icon not running silently has no defense. Successful checks allow the hacker to learn attributes of any icons noticed, limited by the number of successes. However, there's no risk involved in making perception checks...failing just means you don't get any information. A botch could be ruled as accidentally calling attention to oneself, I s'pose...but it seems like getting false information would be equally, if not more, appropriate.
The system would not notice Echo automatically as she is running silently, however any icon within it that is making Matrix Perception checks (usually an IC program or a security-employed hacker) can try to find her. How often such checks are made, and how large the dice pool is depends very much on the level of Matrix security. It's possible they rely mostly on the faraday cage and physical security. It's also possible they're very vigilant and have Patrol IC sweeping the system every initiative pass. Someplace in between is most likely.
Echo's next action will most likely be to start trying to mark the host, in an attempt to A) Map the devices in the network, and B) Progressively gain control over the network as a whole. Marking the host, if I recall right, effectively marks all the devices slaved TO the host. Without Grid Overwatch, the main risk in doing so is that the marks themselves can potentially be noticed. This doesn't necessarily mean Echo will be found...but it does mean they'd know someone was in the system without permission, and could escalate the security response.
SO...to sort of answer my own questions a little bit:
Any icon in the network that's not running silently, Echo should be able to at least 'see.' Whether or not she can learn anything more about them than their mere existence would be up to a Matrix Perception check. That check might also reveal the presence of icons that are running silently within the network. An 'icon' is any device or program that is active within the Matrix.
She wouldn't have any ability to access an icon's functions without first getting a mark on it...either by marking it directly via hacking, or through hacking the host and getting a mark on it. So she could see a camera on the network, but not THROUGH a camera, until she has it marked. She could see an IC program if it was active, but couldn't take actions against it without either a mark, or cybercombat.
Matrix Perception is opposed by icons who are running silently. Any icon not running silently has no defense. Successful checks allow the hacker to learn attributes of any icons noticed, limited by the number of successes. However, there's no risk involved in making perception checks...failing just means you don't get any information. A botch could be ruled as accidentally calling attention to oneself, I s'pose...but it seems like getting false information would be equally, if not more, appropriate.
The system would not notice Echo automatically as she is running silently, however any icon within it that is making Matrix Perception checks (usually an IC program or a security-employed hacker) can try to find her. How often such checks are made, and how large the dice pool is depends very much on the level of Matrix security. It's possible they rely mostly on the faraday cage and physical security. It's also possible they're very vigilant and have Patrol IC sweeping the system every initiative pass. Someplace in between is most likely.
Echo's next action will most likely be to start trying to mark the host, in an attempt to A) Map the devices in the network, and B) Progressively gain control over the network as a whole. Marking the host, if I recall right, effectively marks all the devices slaved TO the host. Without Grid Overwatch, the main risk in doing so is that the marks themselves can potentially be noticed. This doesn't necessarily mean Echo will be found...but it does mean they'd know someone was in the system without permission, and could escalate the security response.
SO...to sort of answer my own questions a little bit:
Any icon in the network that's not running silently, Echo should be able to at least 'see.' Whether or not she can learn anything more about them than their mere existence would be up to a Matrix Perception check. That check might also reveal the presence of icons that are running silently within the network. An 'icon' is any device or program that is active within the Matrix.
She wouldn't have any ability to access an icon's functions without first getting a mark on it...either by marking it directly via hacking, or through hacking the host and getting a mark on it. So she could see a camera on the network, but not THROUGH a camera, until she has it marked. She could see an IC program if it was active, but couldn't take actions against it without either a mark, or cybercombat.
Last edited:
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
I thought I had read that the host program was not normally able to put out IC until it suspected danger, and then it could only put out one type of IC at a time. So I thought the Matrix runner had to trip alarms of a sort. Let me review my Shadowrun pub again and get back to you.
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
Shayuri, I'm posting the little I have on the Matrix, and I wish it was more spelled out. It seems we are both right in a way. I can have active IC looking for potential hackers, but that's a limited defense almost like rolling for wandering monsters. You have to really trip up for the system to go on full alert and really start deploying IC:
Hosts in the Matrix are like a mini-Matrix on the grid.
From the outside, it is a large icon, often sculpted to look
like a building or some other place you can actually visit.
Most are floating above the Matrix’s virtual airspace, but
some are tethered to physical locations, mostly stores,
clubs, local venues, and other places that are heavily associated
with a particular site in meat space.
The virtual space inside a host is separate from the
outside grid. When you’re outside of a host, you can’t interact
directly with icons inside it, although you can still
send messages, make commcalls, and that sort of thing.
Once you’re inside, you can see and interact with icons
inside the host, but not outside (with the same caveat for
messages, calls, etc.).
When you enter a host, your persona actually enters
the host icon. This can be through a door or other portal,
but some hosts let you just pass through its outer skin.
The inside of a host isn’t limited by its external size, and
it usually ranges between the size of a large house and
that of a large metroplex. The higher the host’s rating, the
bigger it tends to be, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
Each host is on a specific grid. Like the rest of the Matrix,
a host can be accessed from any grid. Hosts are part of
the Matrix, so once you’re inside a host, the grid you’re on
doesn’t really matter. The Grid Overwatch Division tracks
traffic to and from a host, which means it’s still watching
you when you’ve entered a host, though it does not
closely monitor what you do there.
Hosts don’t have to depend on GOD for protection.
A host can run intrusion countermeasures, or IC, to defend
itself. These programs are personas that seek out
and repel or punish hackers. IC is ruthless and efficient,
with the personality of a heart attack and the mercy of
an empty clip in a firefight. You can fight off IC, but the
host can always spawn more, so you can’t really win
against IC. You can just hold it off long enough to get
things done.
HOST ARCHIVES
Hosts have areas called archives that hold files that aren’t
in use. File archives are deep in the host’s code, inaccessible
to the average hacker. If you want an archived
file, you’ll have to convince someone who already has a
mark on the file to bring it out of the archive first.
HOST ATTRIBUTES
Hosts have a Host rating. Unlike the ratings of devices,
the Host rating ranges from 1 to 12. Hosts also have all
four Matrix attributes: Attack, Sleaze, Data Processing,
and Firewall. The ratings of these attributes are usually
(Host Rating), (Host Rating + 1), (Host Rating + 2), and
(Host Rating + 3), in any order. For example, a Rating 4
host might have Attack 5, Sleaze 4, Data Processing 7,
Firewall 6.
A host’s attributes are shared by itself and its IC programs.
HOST CONVERGENCE
GOD doesn’t track personas inside a host, but it still
keeps tabs on the traffic to and from the host. This
means your Overwatch Score doesn’t change when
you enter a host, and it continues to accumulate while
you’re in the host. If you’re in a host when you reach
convergence, you’re not burned and dumped like you
are out on the grid (Overwatch Score and Convergence,
p. 231). Instead, the host gets three marks on
you and starts deploying IC.
If you leave a host after convergence, the grid’s
demiGOD converges on you immediately. You’re better
off just jacking out from the host.
INTRUSION
COUNTERMEASURES
Intrusion countermeasures, or IC (pronounced “ice”), is
a type of program that runs in hosts. The purpose of
an IC program is to defend its host from attack, and it
tends to be cold-heartedly ruthless about it.
Each IC program has a persona with its own Condition
Monitor and Initiative Score. It should be treated as
if it is in hot-sim, so it gets a total of 4D6 Initiative Dice in
Matrix combat. IC uses the Matrix attributes of its host.
The IC in a host and the host itself share marks, so if one
IC program marks, they all do, and so does the host itself.
Similarly, the IC and host instantly share spotting
information, so if the host spots you, so does all its IC.
Which usually turns out not well for you.
Individual IC programs alone can be a threat, but
multiple IC programs working together can be deadly.
Once the host starts to launch IC, it’s time to finish up
and buzz out of there.
SECURITY RESPONSE
When a host spots you doing something unauthorized,
illegal, or just something it doesn’t like, it informs its
owner (or its owner’s designee, like an employed security
spider) and launches whatever IC programs it has to
fight off the intruder. A host can launch one IC program
per Combat Turn, at the beginning of each Combat
Turn. The host can have up to its rating in IC programs
running at once, and it can’t launch more than one of
each type of IC program at once. When an IC program
takes enough damage to brick it, it crashes and vanishes
from the host. The host can then run another copy of
the IC at the start of the next Combat Turn if it wants to.
Most hosts don’t have intrusion countermeasures
running all the time. While IC is mercilessly efficient,
it’s not very bright. The added safety of omnipresent
IC is outweighed by the cost of paying (or covering up)
wrongful injury and death lawsuits, especially since IC
can be deployed in seconds at the first sign of trouble.
Typically, the only IC that remains active 24/7 is Patrol
IC, which is mostly harmless to the innocent.
Hosts in the Matrix are like a mini-Matrix on the grid.
From the outside, it is a large icon, often sculpted to look
like a building or some other place you can actually visit.
Most are floating above the Matrix’s virtual airspace, but
some are tethered to physical locations, mostly stores,
clubs, local venues, and other places that are heavily associated
with a particular site in meat space.
The virtual space inside a host is separate from the
outside grid. When you’re outside of a host, you can’t interact
directly with icons inside it, although you can still
send messages, make commcalls, and that sort of thing.
Once you’re inside, you can see and interact with icons
inside the host, but not outside (with the same caveat for
messages, calls, etc.).
When you enter a host, your persona actually enters
the host icon. This can be through a door or other portal,
but some hosts let you just pass through its outer skin.
The inside of a host isn’t limited by its external size, and
it usually ranges between the size of a large house and
that of a large metroplex. The higher the host’s rating, the
bigger it tends to be, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
Each host is on a specific grid. Like the rest of the Matrix,
a host can be accessed from any grid. Hosts are part of
the Matrix, so once you’re inside a host, the grid you’re on
doesn’t really matter. The Grid Overwatch Division tracks
traffic to and from a host, which means it’s still watching
you when you’ve entered a host, though it does not
closely monitor what you do there.
Hosts don’t have to depend on GOD for protection.
A host can run intrusion countermeasures, or IC, to defend
itself. These programs are personas that seek out
and repel or punish hackers. IC is ruthless and efficient,
with the personality of a heart attack and the mercy of
an empty clip in a firefight. You can fight off IC, but the
host can always spawn more, so you can’t really win
against IC. You can just hold it off long enough to get
things done.
HOST ARCHIVES
Hosts have areas called archives that hold files that aren’t
in use. File archives are deep in the host’s code, inaccessible
to the average hacker. If you want an archived
file, you’ll have to convince someone who already has a
mark on the file to bring it out of the archive first.
HOST ATTRIBUTES
Hosts have a Host rating. Unlike the ratings of devices,
the Host rating ranges from 1 to 12. Hosts also have all
four Matrix attributes: Attack, Sleaze, Data Processing,
and Firewall. The ratings of these attributes are usually
(Host Rating), (Host Rating + 1), (Host Rating + 2), and
(Host Rating + 3), in any order. For example, a Rating 4
host might have Attack 5, Sleaze 4, Data Processing 7,
Firewall 6.
A host’s attributes are shared by itself and its IC programs.
HOST CONVERGENCE
GOD doesn’t track personas inside a host, but it still
keeps tabs on the traffic to and from the host. This
means your Overwatch Score doesn’t change when
you enter a host, and it continues to accumulate while
you’re in the host. If you’re in a host when you reach
convergence, you’re not burned and dumped like you
are out on the grid (Overwatch Score and Convergence,
p. 231). Instead, the host gets three marks on
you and starts deploying IC.
If you leave a host after convergence, the grid’s
demiGOD converges on you immediately. You’re better
off just jacking out from the host.
INTRUSION
COUNTERMEASURES
Intrusion countermeasures, or IC (pronounced “ice”), is
a type of program that runs in hosts. The purpose of
an IC program is to defend its host from attack, and it
tends to be cold-heartedly ruthless about it.
Each IC program has a persona with its own Condition
Monitor and Initiative Score. It should be treated as
if it is in hot-sim, so it gets a total of 4D6 Initiative Dice in
Matrix combat. IC uses the Matrix attributes of its host.
The IC in a host and the host itself share marks, so if one
IC program marks, they all do, and so does the host itself.
Similarly, the IC and host instantly share spotting
information, so if the host spots you, so does all its IC.
Which usually turns out not well for you.
Individual IC programs alone can be a threat, but
multiple IC programs working together can be deadly.
Once the host starts to launch IC, it’s time to finish up
and buzz out of there.
SECURITY RESPONSE
When a host spots you doing something unauthorized,
illegal, or just something it doesn’t like, it informs its
owner (or its owner’s designee, like an employed security
spider) and launches whatever IC programs it has to
fight off the intruder. A host can launch one IC program
per Combat Turn, at the beginning of each Combat
Turn. The host can have up to its rating in IC programs
running at once, and it can’t launch more than one of
each type of IC program at once. When an IC program
takes enough damage to brick it, it crashes and vanishes
from the host. The host can then run another copy of
the IC at the start of the next Combat Turn if it wants to.
Most hosts don’t have intrusion countermeasures
running all the time. While IC is mercilessly efficient,
it’s not very bright. The added safety of omnipresent
IC is outweighed by the cost of paying (or covering up)
wrongful injury and death lawsuits, especially since IC
can be deployed in seconds at the first sign of trouble.
Typically, the only IC that remains active 24/7 is Patrol
IC, which is mostly harmless to the innocent.
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