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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeph" data-source="post: 864294" data-attributes="member: 6738">Re: Re: When players don't show, turn to The MatrixWe're all SBEmail junkies. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />Okay, I got my thoughts organized and down on paper, and fleshed out characters a bit. If I ever run this game again, I'll probably use these rules:The Matrix RPGBy Jeffrey S. SchecterCharactersEverything you need to know about your character should be able to fit on a single index card. The first step to creating a character is making a short description. Write this in the lines provided on the front of the card. Describe how your character looks, give them a name, explain their history, and go into detail about their fighting style. Use this paragraph as a basis for the rest of your character.On the back of the index card, write Matrix, Mind, Real World, Skill, and Motivation. Next to Matrix, write 2. Choose to put a 2 next to either Mind or Real World. Put a 1 next to the other. Write some talent or knack, such as knives or flirting, next to Skill. For motivation, put down the thing that drives your character: the need for revenge, love of someone still trapped in the matrix, or something similar. That’s it. You’re done.Doing StuffWhen your character attempts an action, you get 1 die. For each Embellishment that you add, you get 1 extra die. For example, saying “I hit him” just gives you the base die, while saying “As Zero runs up the wall (+1D), time seems to slow (+1D) as he whips out a pair of throwing knives from his trench coat (+1D) and hurls them at the Agent (+1D)” would get you 5 dice. If the action relates to your Skill, you receive l one extra die for free.It may seem hard to come up with Embellishments in real world or when performing social actions. Actions in the real world are just like they are in the matrix, but without the running on walls and flying leaps. When describing social actions, be sure to include your characters tone, what they say, and how they gesture.Now, roll your dice. Decide weather the action is a Matrix, Real-World, or Mind action. Discard all dice that rolled over the relevant score. If the action related to your Motivation, treat your score as if it were 1 higher than it actually is. Then, total up the values of the remaining dice. If this total equals or exceeds a Target Number set by the GM, the task succeeds. If you do not meet or beat the Target Number, you fail. If the action was resisted by another character, they describe how they resist the action, and you compare totals.FightingFighting is the central part of any  game set in the Matrix. When engaged in combat, players should keep two things in mind: Agents will kick their asses thoroughly, and they can rip through  normal people, even highly trained police, like a blender Ehrlich cottage cheese.There is no initiative sequence when fighting. Instead, the player to the GM’s left describes their action first, and action proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion. Players should be sure to remember their totals. At the end of this round, each character compares their total to that of their target. If their total was equal to or higher than their targets, the target takes a point of damage. If they have any points left over, they can apply those against another target, and continue to do so until they run out of points. If their total is lower than the target’s, they deal no damage.When a normal person has taken one point of damage, they are out of the fight. When Agents or Free Minds, such as the player characters, take three points of Damage, their Matrix is reduced by one. For every two points after that, their Matrix is reduced by another point. If a Free Mind’s Matrix has reached zero, extra point loss is applied to their Real-World. If their Real-World reaches zero, they die. When an Agent’s Matrix reaches zero, they simply switch bodies (which heals them fully), and proceed with the kicking of asses.Free Minds may choose to, instead of attempting to damage another character, reduce the damage that they have taken. This has a Target Number equal to the amount of damage that the character currently has, and is a Real-World task. If they succeed, their damage total is reduced by one. This can restore points of Matrix, but not points of Real-World.Game Master CharactersGame Master Characters, or GMCs, are everyone not controlled by one of the players. In general, there are five types of GMCs: Agents, Normal People, Noncombatants, other Free Minds, and Machines. Agents have common last names, plain features, muscular bodies, fancy suits, and dark shades. They also happen to be able to kick any Free Mind’s ass, although it is foretold that The One will be able to stand up to and defeat them. Agents have a Matrix of 3, a Mind of 2, and no Real-World. They are also able to switch into the body of any Normal Person or Noncombatant. Agents in general do not have any Motivation or Skill.Normal People are the cannon fodder that Free Minds must kill in large quantities in order to keep the action flowing--I mean, help liberate those stuck in the Matrix. They are out of the fight after taking one point of damage, and have a Matrix, Mind, and Real-World of one. Unless they are an important character, Normal People shouldn’t have a Motivation or Skill.Noncombatants are just props. Treat them as such. They can be lively and have vivid personalities, but they will never amount to more than stage dressing.Other Free Minds are just like the player characters. They live on a hovercraft, occasionally hook into the matrix, and carry out missions while attempting not to get caught and then cause havoc when they’re seen red-handed. Free Minds are created in the same way that the player characters are, although the GM may leave out a Motivation or Skill if they wish.Machines live outside of the Matrix, using the humans that live in and fuel it as an energy source. They have no Matrix, Motivation, or Skill, but have a Real-World of 3 and a Mind of 2. Machines can be shut down by a strong electromagnetic pulse. Most hover craft are equipped with an EMP shock wave generator, but if this device is used while the craft’s Free Minds are in the matrix, they will be killed.</blockquote>

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