PDA

View Full Version : [Shadowrun 4e] Hacking rolls question



Kaulesh
2011-01-08, 12:57 AM
I've been playing Shadowrun since September sometime but there's still one bit I'm not quite sure on. The DM and I can't find this mentioned in the rulebook anywhere.

My character is a hacker. For my rolls, is it skill ranks + attribute + program rating or just skill ranks + program rating? I think it's more intuitive the former way, but the GM thinks it's the latter. If anyone could set me straight with a page number, I would really appreciate it. I've just, with my GM's permission, redone my character with the correct number of points and would like to have this figured out as well before we get together for another game.

For a small example, let's say I wanted to hack on the fly. The rulebook says Hacking + Exploit. Does the PC's attribute really not figure in at all? That seems wrong.

I'm not a hardcore optimizer or anything. This is just a fairly standard character in our game. I can think of a few situations where another hit or two would have prevented the crap from impacting the fan for a short while longer. Our GM isn't out to kill us and encourages us to correct him on rules as none of us are experts with the system. I'm sure he wouldn't mind increasing our survivability as long as he's not treading into houserule territory.

Dimers
2011-01-08, 01:03 AM
No, it really is just (skill + program), no attribute involved. There are very few instances in Shadowrun 4e when three ratings are added together. While it's often the case that items and circumstances will add bonuses to two ratings' base die pool, there's rarely an actual third rating involved.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-08, 01:10 AM
I'm afraid your meat-body Attributes almost never factor into your Matrix rolls. :smallfrown: IIRC, Matrix Initiative still uses Intuition, but it's an exception rather than the rule.

Program ratings, skills, and Matrix Attributes are the most commonly-used things for your various Matrix misdeeds.

Kaulesh
2011-01-08, 01:12 AM
Many thanks to both of you. You answered my question much sooner than I expected.

I suppose I better go fix my sheet again.

Trekkin
2011-01-08, 01:58 AM
Technically, resisting damage from Black IC uses your real-world attributes, so it's not a bad idea to keep Body and Willpower high.