Looking through the Foundation rules in
Data Trails, I have to say... I love the concept, but the execution seems awful. I don't know how anyone could actually do it. Even just the rules themselves are confusing, but that's not the problem... It's finding the nodes.
The book mentions constantly that nodes most often give no hints to even being nodes; so how the hell do you identify something as a node
besides trial and error (which the chapter says is a terrible idea)? How can you learn the vague logic that connects nodes if you don't know what's a node and what isn't?
For instance, in the example for a Foundation based on
Pride & Prejudice. The logic connecting the nodes is that the characters have relationships with each other, but that is meaningless. Anyone who's even heard of the "six degrees of separation" can tell you basically everyone has some connection to someone else. And there's many more characters, how would you even know which ones are nodes...?
I ask for some examples of people
who have either run or played a foundation-based mission to know if and how people have actually made this work. Everything mentioned in the book, whether as examples or remarks from characters seems completely illogical. Even the easy example where "hey, here's a conspicuous group of exactly seven machines" still gives
no information about what node is what. Leaving only trial and error, a 1/7 chance to
not risk pissing off literally everything around you into trying to kill you.
I especially like:
Some data trails must be one-way and some two-way. Two-way trails run between null and master control, portal and scaffolding control, and master control and security control; one-way paths run from security control to archive, slave control to security control, and master control to scaffolding control.
How do you make that work unless it's incredibly literal? Can anyone tell me how that fits the Pride and Prejudice one? What's the
one-way connection from Jane Bennet to George Wickham?
It just seems like such a shit show. I can't imagine running one without all the players getting confused and frustrated and nobody willing to try anything.
