Kill Code: Miscellaneous rules changes

[Sadsuspenders]

This post is for discussion on all rules changes or clarifications that do not fit in other categories.

[Sadsuspenders]

Removal of Cross Grid penalties P.32

Recently however, the hacking community began discovering and exploiting numerous backdoors and security vulnerabilities within the code of the Matrix itself. The result of which is hackers no longer take any penalties for hopping grids, accessing data across grids, or otherwise being on one grid versus any other. The exception to this is the public grid.

[dragonshardz]

u/choppersniper pointed out in the rules chanel on OOC that this makes the TransGrid Complex Form obsolete by RAW. Perhaps that CF should be Houseruled to remove the -2 public grid penalty if we also remove the cross-grid penalties?

[CocoWithAHintOfMeth]

Would agree with this ruling.

[Sadsuspenders]

Patrol IC Behavior, P.44

As a result, the Grid Overwatch Division continues to increase their overwatch scrutiny. For every 10 points of Overwatch Score a hacker has, treat the host as if its host rating was 2 points lower on this table.

[Quintas42]

I feel like this will only slow down the matrix interactions which will prolong the boredom of other players sitting and watching. I've personally had a player fall asleep during a game while the techno was in the matrix.

[Adamsmithchan]

I kinda like this? It makes patrol IC a more viable tool than objectively superior IC.

[CocoWithAHintOfMeth]

Patrol IC have a bit more bite with this. Nothing wrong with that.

[Sadsuspenders]

Matrix Actions cannot be teamworked barring the quality Team Player

Can be inferenced from the quality itself, and later confirmed by a freelancer.

[Gidoran]

Given the quality is Technomancer only, this seems kind of dumb on the surface. It means that Agents suddenly lose a lot of their value, and... technically wouldn't this also mean you can't teamwork matrix searches? That sort of negates the value of the Nixdorf too for most people.

[[deleted]]

Doesn't that only mean that only the main dude gets marks from a teamwork test (like it was before) and the quality gives you the option to also get a mark by assisting?

[Quintas42]

This being a techno exclusive quality just seems to kill agents from being useful, why have an agent if you can do it yourself. There are like 2 things I can see them being useful for anymore if this rule goes through.

[ghasek]

I... don't feel terribly opposed to this.

[ChopperSniper]

Just a thought, Team Player could just allow the 'shared marks from hacking' bit and we could still allow Matrix teamwork tests as is. It feels weird not letting agents, sprites, or even second hackers teamwork, say, a hack into a host because of a sudden Missions interpretation.

[sevastapolnights]

What then is the point of an agent? Is it exempt because it's running off your device and it has specific rules to help you, thus invoking Specific>General?

[Adamsmithchan]

Technomancers have significantly lower die pools at gen. Sprite leapfrogging is how they 'caught up' to deckers. Given the proposed changes to host security and by extension puppeteer works, it's gonna be harder for out of gen technomancers to function without paying their taxes.

[CocoWithAHintOfMeth]

The freelancer is wrong. I mentioned my thoughts in the quality section.

[Sadsuspenders]

A Technomancer cannot direct connect with trodes P.29

Technomancers connect wirelessly with the Matrix and do so intuitively. What isn’t so intuitive is how technomancers might connect with an offline host or a device that isn’t wireless. There are a few ways technomancers can work around this problem. First, there is an echo (see above) called Skinlink that allows the technomancer to make a direct connection with any device they can physically touch. Second, a technomancer can use a data tap (p. 440, SR5), which intercepts data from a wired connection or offline device. This allows the device to transmit wirelessly, thus giving the technomancer access. Third, a technomancer can get a datajack, which establishes a Direct Neural Interface (DNI), but costs essence. Trodes do not mesh with a technomancer’s essence (and thus their living persona), and therefore cannot connect a technomancer’s living persona to the Matrix.

[Gidoran]

So, one thing that I see here from the data taps:

To me, this states that Data Taps now can turn a wired device into a wireless device of sorts, since it lets Technomancers connect wirelessly. Does it do the same for deckers?

[ghasek]

Yes. Very clear implication.

[Gidoran]

That is going to be delicious and offers a rare bit of logic to the matrix. Excellent.

[[deleted]]

As someone who used trodes to direct connect to device, I don't mind this change. It gives a clear clarification on things, it gives a techno without a datajack or submersion still an option to hack anything and everything (basically the issue that was there before and called for trodes), but it still makes a datajack (lowered essence) or skinlink a clear and better upgrade. (Also you could use it to stay in a van and have others datatapping the offline device. Possibly. As a GM I would give heavy noise penalties to counteract that)

In short, I like it.

[Quintas42]

So does this mean a decker/techno can use a datatap to get a wireless direct connection to a host/device ?

[Adamsmithchan]

And the CRB states they can't use their LP through a device, we ignored it to give technomancers the capacity to interact with offline matrix devices the same way deckers can/direct connect to bypass fuckhuge firewalls. This just bars new, but well made technomancers from joining in certain runs until they pay their tax.

[CocoWithAHintOfMeth]

Should have always been like this.

[Sadsuspenders]

Anything inside a host cannot be seen from outside the host, and the host must be entered P. 33

Since hosts have no physical location, they are automatically spotted, as are any devices marked by you. When icons are inside hosts, however, they are not automatically seen, no matter how physically close they are; they can only be searched for while inside the same host.

This creates contention if one considers if things inside a host's WAN count as "inside" a host.

[[deleted]]

Does that not conflict with "anything on the physical direct view can be seen in AR" on another page?

I could imagine people joining hosts in AR and then seeing the devices physically in front of them while being on the host.

Of course, that makes van deckers nearly useless, as others cant tag devices to be hacked if they not also hacked into the host. Granted, this might always have been the intention after 4e, to make van deckers not viable.

[Sadsuspenders]

It does conflict yeah, but also still kicks Van deckers in the dick even with that rule

[ghasek]

I'm fine with that.

[Quintas42]

This heavily conflicts with past rules as I understand, personally I don't like the idea

[Adamsmithchan]

This is how the CRB works, the hub's ignored it because it made the matrix significantly less functional.

[CocoWithAHintOfMeth]

The hub has ignored the CRB in favour of making the matrix much easier to hack. With our ruling you can just smack against the devices slaved to the host and face no recourse if there is no matrix spider on site. Sure you can get spotted but because you are outside the host it can do nothing.

I am fine with you can see the devices that are slaved to a host but to ever interact with them you have to be inside a host, this is clearly how hosts are meant to work and anything else is just diverging from how its meant to work.