[JoeNapalm]

I, personally, have used it to great effect in many campaigns - specifically with Matrix stuff, because you're not splitting the party.

If your hacker isn't part of the same general timeline as everyone else, you're making a mistake - nor do you need to split the party for Matrix stuff, between AR hacking and being "virtually there".

No, you don't HAVE to - but if no one is interested in that aspect of the game, then you're not dedicating cycles to resolving Matrix-related activity in realtime with the rest of the group.

It can be very bare bones, because no player is involved directly in those actions.

-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

I was merely objecting to the implication that doing things that way was required to avoid splitting things off.

Agreed - it has come a long way in that regard.

-Jn-
City of Brass Expatriate

[Wolfboy]

honestly the current rules are not that bad, especially when compaired to what they used to be in earlier editions, its one of the few things i like about the current edition.

as for how to handle it, so far i've read a lot of good ideas and of them, i would have to say that NPC hacker would probably be your best route, it keeps things flowing and allows you to wave teh group past problem spots that would have eaten up a lot of game time.

that said i really think that having a PC hacker is the best, and thats coming from someone who used to play a gunslinger adept and was stuck with a technomancer for his current game, i'm actually starting to like it

[Automaton]

Well, I have had to make a choice and went for the Npc hacker.

I added a young teen elf who is a serious rooky at the whole running business but an excellent hacker and an okay medic. She has taken a firm spot within the party and the group does their best protecting and training her (she's got no combat skills whatsoever) while she does her part in missions and I can use her for some nice role playing and throwing hints or clues at the party through an in game proxy.

[Prodigy]

Good choice.when I GM (frequently) I use an NPC techno like 90% of the time. Don't even roll for them, just make up what happens. As someone said earlier, that NPC is a plot element just like all other NPCs.