[DeciusRagnos]

Hi there, I will soon be running my very first game of Shadowrun and was hoping to get a few pointers on some subjects that I am lacking in.

Long story short I'm having an issue wrapping my head around the matrix and how it coexists with the regular world and all the ways it can be interacted with.  I have a PC who is trying to be a Rigger/Hacker and as GM I just don't know the ways in which I can best utilize this type of Character and all the tests involved.  I've read the core book and am reading through Unwired now, but I'm still coming up short. 

I suppose to be more specific I suppose I'm more confused about the "How does he do it"  I understand that things can be hacked  and I understand the tests and how to roll them but I'm unsure as to how a character begins to hack something, when he can hack something and what he needs in order to do it.  I'm also a little foggy on Agents and IC but that will come with time.

I just don't want the only hacker in the group to run out of control so any advice would be very appreciated

[Neurosis]

First off: you are not alone. At all.

Secondly...I could try to field this, but let's see if someone more expert than myself would like to try first.

[DeciusRagnos]

Thanks. I'm glad I signed up for this forum.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me to join sooner.  I wonder how this rule in shadowrun works.  Don't know......well I guess I had better read it 3 more times and talk myself in circles about it.

Yeah this place is great

[FastJack]

Okay, first things first. Know your environment.

In 2074, EVERYTHING (let me say that again - EVERYTHING) has a matrix connection. From your TriD to your cyber to your toaster to your toothbrush (yes, I'd even toss in the plain toothbrushes. They probably have a chip in them to monitor your usage, let you know when it's wearing out and how much your breath stinks.)

Now that that's clear, picture your hacker as your average joe with a smartphone. Now, ramp up the smartphone to the power of a 300 Terabyte computer that runs a 10 terabyte quadro processor and links directly to your brain.

Add to that, the fact that hackers are much like your typical techno-junkie in today's day and age; where they want to customize their system with apps and such to their own personal liking.

So, now that you're picturing all that. Toss the hacker/technomancer into your game where, when they look into AR/VR, they see everything like you might see your enemy in World of Warcraft. Hover your mouse over it and get info on the person's public information, or hack into the signal and find the really good stuff.

[Medicineman]

And don't fall for that Urban Legend: every Cyberware is Hackable
Most of the Shadowrunners I know of (including my own) switched the WiFi off or removed it completely
But Joe Wageslave who doesn't know it better still has all his WiFi "wide open " and is still hackable
 
Hough!
Medicineman

[farothel]

AR is like an overlay.  Some examples: in Seattle all skyscrapers have an emerald overlay.  So if you look with your normal eyes, you see a grey, aging building, but if you look with AR enabled, you see a nice, shining emerald monolith.  As said, you can get more information about it by selecting the building.  Another example is advertising.  Most restaurants don't have physical boards outside with the specialties of the day, now it's an ARO (AR object, called arrow) that pops in your field of vision telling you about the chef's special.

VR is complete immersion.  There you can compare it a bit with a Star Trek holodeck, but it's all in the character's head (as his body is limp at the time).  How a node looks depends on what the designer of the node wants it to look like (meaning you as GM get to choose).  Most Japanacorps go with a samoerai theme, where IC and analyse programs are Samoerai warriors, the browse program looks like a scribe helping you go through a library, and more of that.  In VR you can do whatever you want.
With a reality filter, the hacker can override the sculpting of the node with his own (if he wins the test). That means he sees the node as he wants, but other users still see the original theme.  For instance my hacker character uses a jungle theme (her persona is a black panther) where other animals and certain trees all have a meaning.  Using the track program for instance for me is stalking a prey.

[DeciusRagnos]

Ok so AR makes everything Clickable and VR takes you "inside" the node.  But now in game terms when a PC wants to hack something he just says "I'm logged on to this node now and I'm trying to hack it"?

[Neurosis]

Well, he either needs to physically be in wireless signal range of it (handshake range) with his meat body (i.e. he is within range of whichever Signal range is the lowest, his or the Device's) to start hacking into the node, and to successfully detect the node, especially if it is hidden. Or he needs to connect through the Matrix (from the comfort of home, but possibly more security). Or he could use a signal bridge (but that's complicated).

And of course, when facilities use faraday cages and wireless negating paint, he'd need to be physically inside the building to hack any of the notes inside, since Signal cannot penetrate those surfaces.

That's my understanding at a glance of what I think is the answer to what I think is the question you're asking.

If you're asking how the actual hacking works in terms of which dice pools to roll, that is actually described pretty clearly in the rulebook. Hacking On The Fly vs. Probing The Target, etcetera.

[DeciusRagnos]

Ok well this has been very informative.  Thank you all very much.  This will make my game go so much more smoothly.