How Would You Create a Matrix RPG

[Easy e]

Greetings all,

I recently finished V5 of my Highlander themed RPG game, played it, and had a really good time. The group will probably play it as one-shots again until our Curse of Strahd game gets done.

I also went to see the new Matrix movie. I have long wanted to create a Matrix themed RPG that captured both the Real World/Matrix world elements of the films. I have always struggled with how to do this mechanically. Recently, I have come to some decisions about how to approach it, after reading some Monster of the Week, and the fun, free There is No Spoon rules.

However, before I get into that; how would YOU go about trying to make a Matrix RPG that captured the real/matrix world together in the game? There is no official Matrix RPG, so now it your chance to make your pitch! :)

[Wintermoot]

Greetings all,

I recently finished V5 of my Highlander themed RPG game, played it, and had a really good time. The group will probably play it as one-shots again until our Curse of Strahd game gets done.

I also went to see the new Matrix movie. I have long wanted to create a Matrix themed RPG that captured both the Real World/Matrix world elements of the films. I have always struggled with how to do this mechanically. Recently, I have come to some decisions about how to approach it, after reading some Monster of the Week, and the fun, free There is No Spoon rules.

However, before I get into that; how would YOU go about trying to make a Matrix RPG that captured the real/matrix world together in the game? There is no official Matrix RPG, so now it your chance to make your pitch! :)

WOD Mage: The Ascension, but you can only play Virtual Adepts.

Seriously.

M:TA is a seriously flawed game and the WOD system has it's known issues, but when the first Matrix movie came out and I saw the previews I was CONVINCED they were making a movie based on this property. And disappointed when it turned out to be more banal and less though provoking.

You can even bring in vampires, werewolves and ghosts as the Merovingian's henchmen.

[Old Harry MTX]

I was thinking of Cyberpunk 2013/2020, but maybe WOD have a better game system and mood.

[Anonymouswizard]

Honestly, most point buy systems would probably work. I could see using Mutants & Masterminds, build a PL4-6 character and then enhance them to PL10 while in the Matrix.

[Easy e]

I was thinking more along a rules light system..... I was thinking the basic attributes would be something like:

Move: Ability to get from Point A to Point B
Brains: How a person thinks
Brawns: Their meat bag body
Cool: How they deal with others
Matrix: How they respond in the Matrix

I think they would get a -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2 to spread around over these 5. This system would have no skill checks at all, it would all be based on attributes.

Tests would be simple 2d6 + Attribute. If you had suitable Equipment you might be able to add +1 for basic, +2 for high quality, and +4 for something unique.

2 is Crit Fail- Lots of bad things happen
3-6 is Failure - You can not do what you are trying to do, and some complications occur because of it.
7-9 is a Complicated success. You do what you were trying to do, but not without some challenges.
10-11 is a success. You succeed and nothing bad happens.
12+ is a Crit success. You succeed and good things happen too!

Pretty simple.

To help build out characters I would also have them choose two attributes and add a Drove sentence. If the Drive sentence is tied into the test, you roll +1d6 and choose the two highest dice. On the flip side, you would have two attributes with a Fate sentence. If it applies, you would also roll +1d6 but you have to choose the lowest result of the three dice.

Actions would be Matrix themed, but follow the basics of Fight, Spy, Maneuver, Equip/Acquire, Intrigue, Protect, Help out, Investigate, etc. Space would be broad abstractions called zones.

This allows for actions outside and inside the Matrix for your RPG, or even both at the "same" time. Pretty basic and high level, but a good start.

[olskool]

Greetings all,

I recently finished V5 of my Highlander themed RPG game, played it, and had a really good time. The group will probably play it as one-shots again until our Curse of Strahd game gets done.

I also went to see the new Matrix movie. I have long wanted to create a Matrix themed RPG that captured both the Real World/Matrix world elements of the films. I have always struggled with how to do this mechanically. Recently, I have come to some decisions about how to approach it, after reading some Monster of the Week, and the fun, free There is No Spoon rules.

However, before I get into that; how would YOU go about trying to make a Matrix RPG that captured the real/matrix world together in the game? There is no official Matrix RPG, so now it your chance to make your pitch! :)

I actually ran an RPG game like the Matrix for 2 years using the rules from GDW's Twilight2000 V2.2 rules. This is a skill-based system where you add an Attribute rated from 1 to 10 to a Skill level (also rated from 1 to 10) and then roll under that total for an AVERAGE task. The irony of this Matrix style game was that we did it in '92, long before the Matrix was shot.

If you wanted to run a game on modern rules, I'd look at CyberPunk, The latest TRAVELLER (from Mongoose Publishing), or perhaps Free League's new version of Twilight2000.

[ngilop]

I watched the matrix and thought 'Oh hey these guys must have played Shadowrun a whole lot"


SO, maybe like... try shadworun?

[Pandamonium]

I was thinking more along a rules light system.....

I think World of Darkness has everything you need if somewhat more crunchy.
Shadowrun also comes to mind but that is also on the crunchier side.

What you describe could be done with the Cinematic Unisystem ruleset, for example the Angel RPG (spinoff from the buffy RPG), it has simple rules d10+attribute+skill and a varied array of supernatural abilites to use. In and out of Matrix could be as easy as having some skills that you only can use in the Matrix etc. Combat is super deadly though :D

Another alternative is the FATE system, it's a little more descriptive of an rpg but ridiculously easy to adapt to any setting.

[Anonymouswizard]

I think World of Darkness has everything you need if somewhat more crunchy.
Shadowrun also comes to mind but that is also on the crunchier side.

Yeah, Storyteller, Storytelling, or Storypath could pull this off easily. I could build it pretty easily with the 2e Trinity games (limit Gifts and possibly Skill Tricks to those currently in the Matrix, characters like Neo are built as low Quantum Novas instead of Talents).

The big issue I'd have with running this with Shadowrun or the like is that characters are doing action movie stuff. Characters in the Matrix are basically going from a gritty sci-fi world to an action movie world when they plug themselves in. I'd argue just treating the Matrix as a place, albeit one that allows less realistic, actions is better than treating it as an actual computer system.

[Easy e]

I have played a LOT of Shadowrun 2E and 3E in my day, and that is not the Matrix experience I am looking for. The thought did cross my mind though. The Shadowrun experience is no longer what I am looking for.

I see a lot of folks talking about edges/flaws/talents/other mechanical tricks but I am not sure they are really needed for such a game system. I think it is bolting on more chrome than is strictly needed for a functioning Matrix style RPG. Of course, that could be my bias for stripped down rules systems, where less is more. Others may feel differently.

I should pick up "Core Fate" and tinker around with it. I also have the Fudge system so could probably bodge something out of that too.

[Olffandad]

I put some thought into this subject over the years, but never came up with anything actionable.

It is definitely two different tiers of power/reality in the same game, the "Real World" and "The Matrix" (and possibly "The One" tier).

Looking at Trinity, the movies don't show us that "real" Trinity has unusual abilities compared to her shipmates. However "Matrix" Trinity is the third-most powerful/capable human after Awakened Neo and Morpheus.

So it seemed to me that their was some kind of "Matrix power" that separates common crew like Cypher or Switch from elites like Trinity or Morpheus (other than being a PC). Having some basic level of "Belief" or proficiency allows a person to recognize and exceed the boundaries of humanity, like mastering the Jump program. "No one makes it the first time."

Similarly, for the Machines, there's a difference between un-awakened humans, armed cops or human soldiers, regular Agents, and Agent Smith (and ultimately Awakened Smith).

So the system would have to somehow accommodate regular Humans (protagonists) who can usually beat up regular humans but get wiped by Agents. Some Elite Humans can grow into fighting Agents or even Upgrades (like Morpheus fighting an Agent one on one on the highway). Then there's some ultimate level of power that exists (maybe not for PCs) for The One or Super-Mega-Smith.*

* with The Machines being able to send a swarm of Sentinels to swarm your hovercraft and slaughter everyone with tentacles no matter how OP you are in The Matrix. :)

So I can sort of picture what the game would feel like - "Black Leather! Guns! Explosions! Weird Matrix Mythos! Bullet Time!" but who knows what such a system would actually look like. :)

[Anonymouswizard]

I see a lot of folks talking about edges/flaws/talents/other mechanical tricks but I am not sure they are really needed for such a game system. I think it is bolting on more chrome than is strictly needed for a functioning Matrix style RPG. Of course, that could be my bias for stripped down rules systems, where less is more. Others may feel differently.

Because honestly at that point there's really nothing to discuss. I could pull out Fate Accelerated Edition or Fate Condensed and have it up and running without any work.

I should pick up "Core Fate" and tinker around with it. I also have the Fudge system so could probably bodge something out of that too.

Fate Core, as well as FAE and Fate Condensed are PWYW in pdf.

[icefractal]

Thinking about Matrix stats / broad-skills first, because I'm not sure how important the outside-world ones are (depends on the campaign) -

Sense - normal perception, but also the ability to sense changes occurring, recognize shifts in the Matrix, etc.

Modification (not everyone has all/any of these):
> Self - allows superhuman abilities like impossible speed, strength, flight, shapeshifting.
> Other - modify other sapient entities, like the Agent sealing Neo's mouth shut, or renegade Smith overwriting other Agents.
> World - modify the world, from coincidences to blatantly making bullets stop in mid-air.

Blending - ability to make your actions seem natural. Could act as a maximum for how powerful your Modifications can be without being blatant and attracting attention. The difference between "whoa, that was wild how he managed to jump at the exact right moment to avoid the bullets and land on that truck" and "he suddenly levitated through the air at crazy-fast speed, WTF did I just see?!"

Creation (not everyone has this) - creating new objects or entities from nothing. At a simple level, this could be "lots of guns". At an extreme level, creating a sapient program.

Social - still applicable even if you're The One. This would cover raw social ability but also knowledge about the different factions in the Matrix and having connections.

Physical / Mental - if you wanted to distinguish between someone's 'normal' level of ability and what they can achieve using Mod/Self. Personally, given that downloading skills is totally a thing, I don't know if this is necessary as a separate stat, it seems reasonable to say that having action hero capabilities is just having high Mod/Self and Blending.

[Amechra]

If you're willing to fiddle with something that's a bit... unfinished, I stumbled on these very indie rules for a Matrix-style game a little while ago. From an initial skim, the system it's built off of is reasonably light and flexible, and it has a very interesting damage system...

[olskool]

I should pick up "Core Fate" and tinker around with it. I also have the Fudge system so could probably bodge something out of that too.

Have you ever heard of Conspiracy X? It uses a system called the Unisystem. In that system, you buy skills and attributes so it would work for a character who has disparate "real world" versus "matrix" skills. The system works like this... You roll a 1D10 against a target number set by the GM. To that die roll, you add any applicable skills or attributes. If the modified score Equals or EXCEEDS the target number, you succeed. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

[Easy e]

So, Skills and the Matrix are interesting to me.

It looks like there is room in the "Real World" for skills, but in the Matrix people can get any skill uploaded in a turn. It also sounds like once uploaded, they just "know" it.

I am unsure how a "skill" approach to this style game should work.

[RandomPeasant]

The big issue I'd have with running this with Shadowrun or the like is that characters are doing action movie stuff. Characters in the Matrix are basically going from a gritty sci-fi world to an action movie world when they plug themselves in. I'd argue just treating the Matrix as a place, albeit one that allows less realistic, actions is better than treating it as an actual computer system.

If you were running The Matrix on Shadowrun rules, I assume you'd do that with a declaration along the lines of "magic only works in the Matrix" rather than trying to run if off Shadowrun's hacking rules. Because those are notoriously ... not great.

[olskool]

So, Skills and the Matrix are interesting to me.

It looks like there is room in the "Real World" for skills, but in the Matrix people can get any skill uploaded in a turn. It also sounds like once uploaded, they just "know" it.

I am unsure how a "skill" approach to this style game should work.

This is how we did our "Matrix" game (with the name taken from Shadowrun) in 92. Keep in mind that we were using GDW's Twilight2000 v2.2 rules which combined an Attribute (STR, INT, AGL, etc...) rated from 1 to 10 with a Skill (also rated from 1 to 10) to get an AVERAGE chance of success when you rolled this number or less on 1D20. You might have to modify your skill system to replicate what we did below.

The Twilight system is a "lifepath system" where you acquire skills over a period of years with new skills being learned and older skills being improved as you take more and more "terms" before you start to play (this was system was originally from GDW's Traveller game and they just carried it over to the Twilight and 2300AD RPGs). This is how we did the "real-life" skills for PCs in the game.

The game possessed the following Attributes: STR, AGL, CON, INT, WILL, EDU (education), CHA. We then added another Attribute (see below) as well. These were rolled for the PCs' "real world" characters and modified when they entered the "Matrix."

We then added the Matrix Familiarity ATTRIBUTE [MA] (in this system Attributes can be increased like skills). This Attribute (rated from 1 to 10) represented the character's ability to adapt either their Attributes or their Skills to the reality of the Matrix. Their real-world skills transferred into the Matrix BUT skills "downloaded" to their Matrix avatars did NOT translate into real-world skills because many of those skills have a physical component to them that the PCs had never done "in reality." We DID allow a sort of "familiarization" (0-Level of skill) for the mental aspects of most skills. Each trip into the Matrix earned you 1 exp on your Matrix Familiarity Attribute. Once you got 10 exp, you could roll to see if your Attribute improved by rolling OVER your current score on a 1D10.

While skills in the "real world" could take MONTHS to improve, the Matrix allowed the downloading of skills to an Avatar very quickly. To succeed at this, the PC had to make a roll on a task. This task was [the average of INT/WILL/EDU rounding down + Matrix Familiarity]. The number of "experience points downloaded" was never allowed to be more than your MATRIX FAMILIARITY score. When the Avatar called the "Operator" (we originally called this position the Administrator after the Computer Adm that EVERY college campus had) and asked for a Download, the Operator rolled his [Computer Skill + the average of INT & EDU] to succeed in planting the downloaded information. An Avatar could NEVER download more Skills in a Matrix trip than either their [MA] or the average of their CON & WILL without suffering neural (ie STUN) damage. In training sims, the Avatar would be limited to CON + WILL in Skill exp points but could NOT put more points into a Skill than their Matrix Attribute [MA] score. Keep in mind that this was YEARS before the Matrix, but some limit must have been present in the movie. This is because Tank said of Neo: "He's a machine. We've been at this for 10 hours straight."

Experience Points were spent (in both the Matrix and real-world) as follows:

New Skill (at Level 0) = 2 exp
Level 1 = 1 exp
Level 2 = 2 exp
Level 3 = 3 exp
Level 4 = 4 exp
...and so on...

Once you got exp in a Skill that exceeded its score, you could roll to raise the skill. The exp cost was equal to the new Skill level and EVERY LEVEL of a Skill had to be bought. So to raise a Skill from 2 to 4 would cost 7 exp. This scale also applies to Downloaded Skills in the Matrix.

Characteristics/Attributes (characteristics included things like Initiative, Melee Damage, and Coolness Under fire [CUF]... basically a morale system) could also be modified in the Matrix. We used Attribute tests to increase an Avatar's base Attributes. A roll against [WILL + MA] could boost CON. A roll against [INT + MA] could boost AGL. A roll against [CHA + MA] could boost STR. Initiative, CUF, and Melee Damage could all be boosted with tests. When we played, the Matrix movie didn't exist, so we never thought about Special Abilities. If I were doing it today, I'd set it up so you could "unlock" special abilities by using exp from your MA score to buy them (at the expense of an increased MA).

That's basically how we did the Matrix in 92...

[olskool]

If you were running The Matrix on Shadowrun rules, I assume you'd do that with a declaration along the lines of "magic only works in the Matrix" rather than trying to run if off Shadowrun's hacking rules. Because those are notoriously ... not great.

I'd do this too.

I changed Shadowrun after 2e came out to make it simpler. IF you wanted to use those rules here's what I did...

I upgraded to a D10 roll. Between all the games that had begun using the D10 and Twilight2000, I had enough D10s for a "dice pool" game. To cut down on "dice bloat," I ELIMINATED all of the dice pools. You simply rolled on your skill or defaulted to a Characteristic score, without the bloat of added dice from a pool. Cyberware and Magic simply added DICE directly to any appropriate skill tests.

I then set any task's TARGET NUMBER between 2 and 10. Nothing higher, so you didn't have to do math to determine the number of SUCCESSES rolled. I DID allow rolls of 10 to "explode"... allowing you to roll ANOTHER D10 for added SUCCESSES. D10s could "explode" indefinitely, allowing a low-skilled character or NPC the chance to succeed at a very difficult task.

In addition to the TARGET NUMBER, I gave each task roll a DIFFICULTY LEVEL. This was a color-coded system based on the Matrix color codes that we used to indicate the NUMBER OF SUCCESSES NEEDED to complete a task.

Green = 1 Success
Yellow = 2 Successes
Orange = 3 Successes
Red = 4 Successes
Black = 5 Successes

Thus, with a simple statement like "opening that door is a 5 Red task." You knew the Target Number and the number of Successes needed to complete the task.

That's all the 2e system needed to streamline Task Resolution, which you COULD use to develop a Matrix game off of Shadowrun 2e.

[Dienekes]

If I were doing a Matrix game, I would make each character have two different tracks/classes/whatever you want to call them.

In Matrix, and Out of Matrix.

In Matrix is your magic and kung fu and super powers.

Out of Matrix is your job in running and maintaining a ship. Captain, Pilot, Engineer, Gunner, etc. All things that would make the players take an active role when doing encounters involving dealing with sentinels or whatever real world violence comes up.

One character on each team is allowed to replace their In Matrix track with the "Guy in the Chair" track. Where they get to modify the Matrix in various ways to help the party. If this position isn't picked by a player, that's fine it's just an NPC then.

The main goal for all of this is to not allow the players to fall into the trap where they don't have a means of interacting where the action is.

[Amechra]

Coming back to this...

I, personally, would only have stats for the stuff you did inside the Matrix. That's where the real action happens, after all. I'd also avoid having skills be something that you have to buy, since "the operators can just download kung-fu into your brain or whatever" is a big setting thing.

[Easy e]

Coming back to this...

I, personally, would only have stats for the stuff you did inside the Matrix. That's where the real action happens, after all. I'd also avoid having skills be something that you have to buy, since "the operators can just download kung-fu into your brain or whatever" is a big setting thing.

That is how "There is no Spoon" handles it, and that would be a good way to go.

However, when I watched the trilogy, so much of the "action" happens outside the Matrix. I think you are handicapping yourself if you can not cover both areas in a Matrix RPG.

[Anonymouswizard]

If you were running The Matrix on Shadowrun rules, I assume you'd do that with a declaration along the lines of "magic only works in the Matrix" rather than trying to run if off Shadowrun's hacking rules. Because those are notoriously ... not great.

Yeah, but there's really no reason to use Shadowrun over anything else. It'll work, but I'd recommend focusing on a system with action movie rules that could easily be edited out.

Coming back to this...

I, personally, would only have stats for the stuff you did inside the Matrix. That's where the real action happens, after all. I'd also avoid having skills be something that you have to buy, since "the operators can just download kung-fu into your brain or whatever" is a big setting thing.

It's been a while since I've seen the films, but I remember Reloaded and Revolutions having decent amounts of 'real world' action. I'd probably run it as characters having the same stats and skills when plugged or unplugged, but they can access martial arts rules or cinematic mechanics in the Matrix

[Easy e]

The Matrix has a lot that happens in the "Real World" too with the Cypher story line.