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Lyrcyon
2010-05-30, 02:00 PM
Hi there, everyone; this is my first post on the forums here, and I had a couple questions about Shadowrun 4e.

I managed to get my hands on the core book and Unwired a while back, and while the entire setting is fascinating, the hacking/technomancy is the most interesting part to me offhand. The section on Matrix actions, attacks, programs, etc., is incredibly cool, but oddly enough simultaneously in-depth and vague; a gameplay example of a hacking procedure would have been nice, but c'est la vie.

So I thought what I'd do is, chart out what would be involved in a simple hacking procedure as I understand/imagine it, and ask any nice experienced players to tell me what's wrong with it :smallsmile: Also, if you have links to any hacking gameplay examples, they'd be more than welcome!!

I'm going to spoilertag this to avoid wall o'text.


The job: A technomancer, Mr. Black, is contacted by Johnson from Corporation A. It should be a simple job; Johnson just wants a personnel file from a low-security node at Corporation B. Johnson specifies that this branch office of Corporation B is fairly new, and has not yet set up active IC (no spiders, roving IC programs, or the like) but may have set up data bombs. The node is currently only protected by a low-strength Firewall. Black accepts the job.

Step 1, I think, would be to subscribe to the node. The methodology on this is a little more unclear; the text says that you can subscribe to a node by either being in mutual Signal range or by "establishing a route through the Matrix." The first is quite clear, the second could use some more explanation; is it possible for Black to subscribe to Corporation B's node from the comfort of his condo? Or does he need to physically be near the node's broadcast source? Does it make a difference if the node is Hidden? Would a small branch of a corporation employ a hidden node, practically speaking? If a hidden node does require you to be nearby to find it, could this be bypassed by having Johnson provide Black with the node's Matrix location?

Now, the basic subscription is made with a public account, but Black needs at least a User account in order to gain access to the requested file. He has plenty of time, so he probes the target (an extended test, Hacking + Exploit vs. the node's System + Firewall) to create a user account through a backdoor. He then logs onto the node using that account.

Step 2, finding the file. To find the personnel file in the database, Black would need to use an action for Data Search (Data Search + his Browse Complex Form rating, threshold of 12 or so, probably?)

Step 3, checking the file; Black is worried about the possible data bombs that Johnson mentioned. Does he need to make a Matrix Perception test to detect it, or are data bombs plainly visible?

He finds one, and needs to defuse it; however, he does not have the Defuse complex form, nor does he have a sprite with that skill. He opts to thread the form, with Software + Resonance, and gains a temporary Defuse rating high enough to easily disarm the bomb. (He then makes a Willpower + Resonance test to resist fading damage equal to his new Defuse rating) Wanting to leave no tracks, however, Black would ideally like to merely bypass the bomb, so that it will remain in place and no security will question its sudden removal. Can he do this with a Hacking vs. Disarm test? If so, is the threshold higher? If not, can he set his own data bomb afterwords without any major differences between the original bomb and his copy that would hold up to at least casual inspection?

Step 4, copying the file. Having gotten around the data bomb, either by bypassing or disarming it, he uses a transfer data simple action to transfer the file to an external drive he has with him.

Step 5, finishing touches. Black wants to eliminate all traces of his presence. As a technomancer, does his living persona leave a datatrail? I can tell from the text that threading the Defuse complex form would leave a resonance signature; Black could engage in a test to eliminate these, but gauges the likelihood that Corporation B will have a technomancer sniffing around this node to be extremely low, and doesn't bother. If his living persona doesn't leave a trail, can he just jack out and have committed a perfect undetectable hack? If it does, how would the trail be eliminated? Not with stealth; that's a passive form for eluding active monitoring, I think, right? Would he use spoofing to cover up the access ID signatures and access logs?

Regardless, he logs out of the node. (The account that he created with his probe will remain available for him to subscribe to until the node is restarted or security finds and eliminates it, correct?)

Step 6, decryption. The file on the drive is encrypted, so he uses an initiate cryptanalysis complex action to make an electronic warfare + decrypt extended test. He succeeds, and the file is decrypted. He delivers the drive to Johnson and accepts his pay.

Further question: How would this sequence be different for a traditional hacker, as opposed to a technomancer?



If anyone has the time and inclination to answer this, I'd be very grateful! It seems like such a fun setting, and I'd like to get a firmer grasp on some of these concepts. If someone is interested, there are a few more scenarios I have in mind (including cybercombat) that I'd like to put forth, as well. Thanks in advance!

Another_Poet
2010-05-30, 09:20 PM
Even as an experienced SR4 player I can't really answer your question except to say this:

1) Your interpretation works fine, and the areas you're unclear on (finding the node, finding the data bombs) can be handled however you see fit.

2) In our games we quickly found out that Hacking was one of several aspects of SR that is rules-heavy, even rules-overladen, and not much fun. Generally you have the hacker doing a long series of checks with the GM that take 5 times longer because the GM is constantly trying to find the rules to see if it is being done right, and the rulebook is poorly organized. Result: 20-50 minutes of all the other players being bored.

3) I recommend you do what our GM did, which is simplify the process. Figure 1 check to get in, 1 check to look for various types of "traps" and 1 check to disarm them & get the goods. This may involve condensing the skills that are used by hackers into a smaller set (data search and hack being plenty on their own - the equivalent of Search and Disable Device, essentially).

4) If you don't simplify the process, then I recommend making some kind of 1-page handout for your hacker PCs which outlines the process. There are some of these floating around on the net. It won't make it less frustrating but it will make it quicker :)

I hope this helps. I know it's not the most optimistic, but SR is a hard game to GM. Make it easy on yourself from the beginning with a few house rules.

ap

Lyrcyon
2010-05-30, 10:01 PM
Thanks so much for your help! The streamlining certainly makes sense; if/when I manage to get a group together, I'll probably end up eliminating/combining several of the checks. I mainly wanted to make sure I had the fundamentals down before I started house-ruling changes to them.

Out of curiosity, what other areas of the game have you found to be overladen?

Another_Poet
2010-05-30, 11:48 PM
It depends. Going astral isn't a problem in general, but astral combat can be a bear. One of the big problems of SR is that the group tends to fracture: you have 1 or 2 people who are heavy hitters who just want to fight. But then you have your hacker who might be somewhere else trying to hijack surveillance, your mage who might be with the combat team or might be somewhere else scoping for spirits on the Astral, your rigger in a 4th location who is wanting to do a chase scene, etc....

Pretty soon you have 3 or 4 different groups who each have an hour's worth of stuff they want to do - which means each group has to sit through 2-3 hours of other people doing stuff that doesn't directly affect them.

In general, we simplified down Matrix and Astral so that PCs weren't essentially leaving the party all the time and going off on their own sojourns. That seems to help the pace.

Other rule areas that can be tricky for the new players are: summoning spirits; casting spells and figuring out Drain; hacking of course; and, at least at the beginning, just making attack rolls. It sounds funny but when you look at the variety of burst fire versus single shot, armour value, etc. it's nice to have a cheat sheet ready.

I believe that there is a Shadowrun forum hosted by the company the makes the product, google them up - I bet they can put you in touch with the cheat sheets our GM printed out for us.

ap

edit: One of the things that makes the rules feel heavier is the poor layout of the book. It can be hard to find things, and some things are totally glitched. For instance one section mentions flamethrowers but there are no rules governing them and no stat block or price for them. There is however a spell that does a flamethrower effect and that is where the index will point you. Just poor layout... try to become really familiar with the book and mark pages as needed for quick reference.

GreyMantle
2010-05-31, 10:54 AM
I read once that no two groups handle the Matrix the same way, primarily cuz the written rules kinda blow for them. As such, it's really up to you (and the people with whom you're playing) to decide what you want hackers and technomancers and riggers to be able to do.

Also, I don't know if you've seen this, but here's a link to The Ends of the Matrix (http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=48836). Basically, one of the writers of Street Magic and Augmentation felt that the rules presented in the basic book were so bad (and that the Anniversary Edition and Unwired just made things even worse) that he wrote an entirely new set of rules for handling the Matrix.

The rules themselves might be slightly more complicated than the normal ones, but they require a lot less dice rolling (which is a good thing) and are far more solid and reliable in just about every way possible.

Lyrcyon
2010-05-31, 02:58 PM
Oh, wow, no, I hadn't come across that! Thanks so much; this looks like exactly what I needed. I'll have to spend some time going through it, but to a quick appraisal, it looks much more intuitive and well laid-out.

Thanks again!