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Technomancer feedback for a new book!

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Darrek Workman

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« Reply #465 on: <05-02-17/2002:51> »
O.K. It seems to me that giving GMs advice on how to run a game with technomancers is very important. Beyond that here are some Ideas

1. something like a reverse cyberdeck specific to technomancers: something that might allow them to use regular programs while at the same time letting them use their living personas, a cyberdeck that essentially reverses the paradigm of the decker jacking into the deck into the deck being jacked into the technomacer and letting the technomancer use it's programs while in the matrix.  This could give the technomancer something to spend nuyen on and still keep the flavor of the character (plus given all the technomancers trying to use fake commlinks and cyberdecks someone is bound to figure out a way to use it for their advantage)

2. Free the sprites: rules on free sprites would go a long way and introduce a new menace/friend to the party.  To make it really fun include advice and rules that allow resonance entities (including technomancers) to mess with the real world through machines.  Sprite pacts might prove amusing to.

3. More matrix weirdness: with resonance realms and more technocritters the gm can be given new options to keep an otherwise poor character type relevant to the game.  Mages are needed to deal with magic and technomancers need to have challenges the group needs them to handle.  More challenges that just leave the deckers and riggers scratching their heads in the matrix means the technomancers become a more viable character build.

4. Nano or something like it: small machines that technomancers could use to become more capable in meatspace. There's a wide range of possibilities here and the great thing is that some of it could be resonance specific toys (like foci are for magic).  Or maybe new technopets that respond well to TMs.  This could fill the role of foci without stepping on the mages toes.

5. More diverse options for TMs: allow players to play up the weird way TMs relate to tech. The weirder the better.  This will also make it easier for other characters because the more options TMs have the less they will be stepping on other players toes (deckers, riggers, and rarely mages).

6. Resonance/ Magic interaction or is it: give advice to GMs to handle games that have both mages and TMs in it.  Play up possible connections and rip them down.  How does power bleed affect technocritters powers anyway?  Can a possession spirit access the matrix?  Give GMs advice on how to answer the odd questions that varies rules create and ways to bring divergent parts of the game into one story.  The resonance/magic divide is a great place to put the characters right in the middle and having some help figure that out could go a long way to giving mages and TMs a better roll in the game.  This would also help to distinguish the TM as not being just a decker/rigger substitute character but give them a flavor all their own. 

Darrek Workman

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« Reply #466 on: <05-02-17/2152:11> »
Add suggestion

Having a section on spirits interaction with mundanes (TMs) would be interesting.  Some spirits should have a fascination with the matrix and TMs are notorious for being jealous of mages. Their natural allies. TMs have a reason to keep their essence so magic still affects them and they don't have access to most of the nasty things that mages can do to spirits.  A section on new spirit pacts and how non-magic characters might form such alliances give all characters a new why to advance their characters. Just having a spirit use hidden life on a character makes the character immune to normal weapons. Formula pact gives the character the ability to summon the spirit at any time (and makes it so the spirit isn't getting bound without the character knowing about it).  Life pact gives the character a different healing ability and the karma goes to the spirit so it's not getting wasted, it goes to making your good buddy stronger.  The magic pact might allow a mundane character the ability to cast the occasional spell. I would introduce a rule that lowered essence affects spirit pacts the same way it does other magic, it keeps this from getting abused and still gives other characters an even better reason to be jealous of TMs.

Spirits open up a whole different way to advance a character and can give a mundane character access to the arcane side of the house.  TM might give spirits access to the matrix.  There is a lot of room for interesting roleplaying and lots of room for stories to be told here.  The possibilities for GMs to create a story around a TM/spirit team up are vary interesting and could be a way to include all the character types.

The rules about TMs seem unfair to those who like the concept of the TM, but that's more about finding ways of including the concept in the adventure.  There's still lots of room to make it an interesting character type and a compelling part of shadowrun.

&#24525;

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« Reply #467 on: <05-02-17/2330:41> »
Cacheless
Target: Device
Duration: I
Fade Value: L
This Complex Form dumps all excess running programs and forces a device to function solely on its operating system. Make a Threading test vs. Willpower + Firewall. If you win target device unloads all running programs and cannot load any for net hit Combat Turns or until it reboots. When used against an AI they make an additional test with Willpower + Firewall + Depth against the same Threading test (you do not reroll). If they lose they are disrupted, otherwise they continue running. If they are disrupted they lose Essence points equal to your net hits.
//edited Level for balance

Whitespace
Target: Self
Duration: S
Fade Value: L
By altering your Living Persona, you can evade detection from wireless on Sensors. Make a Threading test and note your hits. Sensors within [Level] x 2 meters of you must make a Device Rating x 2 Opposed test against your hits. If you win you are invisible, soundless, heatless, etc to Sensors. Any recordings will not have you present, however your Resonance Signature will be. This also will affect cybereyes, cyberears, ultrasound, etc for as long as they are wireless on or you either stop sustaining this or move out of range.
« Last Edit: <07-11-17/2117:13> by 忍 »

Finstersang

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« Reply #468 on: <05-03-17/0654:55> »
Whitespace
Target: Self
Duration: S
Fade Value: L
By altering your Living Persona, you can evade detection from wireless on Sensors. Make a Threading test and note your hits. Sensors within [Level] x 2 meters of you must make a Device Rating x 2 Opposed test against your hits. If you win you are invisible, soundless, heatless, etc to Sensors. Any recordings will not have you present, however your Resonance Signature will be. This also will affect cybereyes, cyberears, ultrasound, etc for as long as they are wireless on or you either stop sustaining this or move out of range.

This.
Fuckin´ this!
Basically, the Laughing Man hack from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. You can also add versions where the Perception isn´t removed but altered and/or blurred instead, like a TM version of the Mask spell.

Plus: I really love that name! My take would have been something boring like "Digital Invisibility".

Edit: Removed the salt. Forbidden Arcana gave me some unexpected hope for the system.
« Last Edit: <05-04-17/2112:12> by Finstersang »

Zweiblumen

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« Reply #469 on: <06-20-17/1245:48> »
So I've taken a bunch of the suggestions in here and things I found on Reddit as well, and tweaked a few things from 4th to try and flesh out stuff for TMs.  I've got a crappy .txt document with a lot of it and I'm working my way through creating HeroLab .user files for it.  It's still very much a work in progress, but if you're interested I've a github repo and I'm happy to take any pull requests. https://github.com/ttheune/sr_tools
If you aren't the geek-type that is familiar with making changes or just want to give some feedback not through the github system, feel free to PM me or post in here.
Speech, Thoughts, Comm/Text, Subvocal

dragrubis

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« Reply #470 on: <06-22-17/0425:11> »
So... is the real book  forgotten?

Therlen

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« Reply #471 on: <06-22-17/0647:37> »
It's not forgotten. It'll just need more time.

https://twitter.com/amyveeres/status/874895749443727361

dragrubis

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« Reply #472 on: <06-22-17/0724:14> »
I didn't see the post thanks for the update!

Novocrane

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« Reply #473 on: <06-22-17/2214:30> »
Still, we're past the 'two years later' mark.

Marcus

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« Reply #474 on: <06-22-17/2252:23> »
Still, we're past the 'two years later' mark.

Yeah I'm pretty much at a loss on this one. The part that kills me the most is we still don't even have a title after 2 years ;-;
*Play-by-Post color guide*
Thinking
com
speaking

Finstersang

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« Reply #475 on: <06-26-17/0735:09> »
New Idea:

Inflame/Flamewar
Target: Persona/Multiple Personas
Duration: I
Fade Value: L/L+2
These Complex Forms use a mixture of highly effective social media clickbait algorithms, suppreme meme magic, the concentrated power of countless trolls and strategicly placed gramar errors to force anyone hidding within the matrix to imediately respond to any given topic. Inflame works on a single Matrix User, Flamewar against any Number of personas in [Level] Meters or inside a host. Strangely enough, these forms work on AR users and even conventional early 2000 desktop users just as they would work against VR- or Hot-VR users, almost as if they trigger some inner, primordial drive....

*Clears throat*
I summon thee from the depths of twitter, Amy of house Veeres!
Couse, you know: Millenials really are kinda lazy and whiny, and here´s 10 reasons why.
Also, here´s 10 reasons why Undertale is not the best game ever.
Anime sucks.
Maybe you all deserved Trump.
#Gamergate
Reeeeeeeeee!


Phew. Took quite some fading, but maybe it works  8)

&#24525;

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« Reply #476 on: <06-26-17/1732:03> »
First, that complex form has no mechanical function within its description.
Second, I understand where you're coming from.
Third, I don't see that what you're doing is productive.

Lastly, I like the idea of a CF "marking" someone for the trolls to pester incessantly.

&amp;#24525;

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« Reply #477 on: <07-11-17/2015:56> »
Honeypot
Target: Host
Duration: I
Fade Value: L
You construct a near-like digital icon of you, except this clone is coded to be irresistible to IC. This copy of you does not need to "visually" appear as you as its likeness is purely digital. This Complex Form lasts for a number of minutes equal to your hits. Whenever an IC attempts to target you it must roll a Matrix Perception test with a threshold equal to the Complex Form's Level. If it fails it attempts to target the Honeypot instead of you with no recourse from the IC itself. If an IC deals damage to the Honeypot, the Complex Form will dissipate upon taking its Level in damage.

Hollowgrafix
Target:
Duration: S
Fade Value: L - 1
Through folding the 1's and 0's into each other, you create a digital image of your design. This can exist in either AR or VR. In AR cameras, microphones, sensors, or any image/sound link device will see, hear, or touch (or even smell and taste if you feel like it) what ever entity you bring "into existence". This deception can be recognized as fake with an Opposed Perception test against your Threading test, otherwise the image seen or sound hear is just as real as all other inputs occurring. In VR this illusion will have an associative icon and can be determined as fake with an Opposed Matrix Perception test. Failure to beat your hits means that the devices and personas treat the icon as real. General matrix interactions occur as normal, but offensive actions (such as placing a MARK) can prompt another Matrix Perception test to see through it.
The deception may be created with small, simple instructions such as pace back-and-forth or speak a short conversation. Controlling or re-instructing the Complex Form requires a Simple Action.
Examples include a giant T-rex rampaging through downtown (in AR) or a crowd of club-goers storming Dante's digital dance floor (VR).

Déjà-view
Target: Device
Duration: S
Fade Value: L
By capturing recent recordings, you loop a small clip of video footage, audio track, or sensor reading to continually play instead of the live inputs. Make an Opposed Threading test against the target's Intuition + Data Processing. Success allows you to replay a recent reading of up to your net hits in minutes for as long as your sustain it. While sustained a user may reroll a Intuition + Data Processing test if any suspicion is aroused. If the opposed device beats your hits it suffers no looping, although there are slight influences of the data. Small flickers of color, quite background static, or a constant oscillation of the current temperature will occur as long as sustained.

More still to come.
« Last Edit: <07-20-17/2247:47> by 忍 »

Mörkblå

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« Reply #478 on: <07-21-17/0117:55> »
Déjà-view
Target: Device
Duration: S
Fade Value: L
By capturing recent recordings, you loop a small clip of video footage, audio track, or sensor reading to continually play instead of the live inputs. Make an Opposed Threading test against the target's Intuition + Data Processing. Success allows you to replay a recent reading of up to your net hits in minutes for as long as your sustain it. While sustained a user may reroll a Intuition + Data Processing test if any suspicion is aroused. If the opposed device beats your hits it suffers no looping, although there are slight influences of the data. Small flickers of color, quite background static, or a constant oscillation of the current temperature will occur as long as sustained.

Question: would you know if the CF was resisted or not?
Would be helpful to know but might feel a bit OP and would open up for opportunities where a Techno just sits there messing around until he makes it, provided no one notices that is.

&amp;#24525;

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« Reply #479 on: <07-21-17/2233:42> »
Currently the idea is that the TM does not know. Originally the intent was to make it known if the CF worked or not, but I wanted to play around with the idea that regardless of the result something happened. I'm not opposed to it working either way however.