Can non-deckers run silently in 6e?
In 6th edition you can set your commlink (or RCC or cyberdeck or living persona) to silent running mode. This will in effect make it harder for people to notice your [entire personal] network.
View this as the matrix version of using stealth.
While using regular stealth you typically take a Stealth + Agility test and then you use the net hits as a threshold for potential observers when they later take their Perception + Intuition test to see if they spot you.
Similar when running silent you typically take a Willpower + Sleaze test (if your network does not have a Sleaze attribute you just roll Willpower as a dice pool of its own) and you use the net hits as a threshold for potential observers when they later take their Electronics + Intuition test to see if they spot you.
For example, if a guard is patrolling a dark alley where two ninjas are sneaking around the guard would take a single Perception + Intuition test. And depending on how many hits he or she got on the test he or she might spot both ninjas, just one of them or none of them.
You resolve matrix perception in a similar way. If a spider is patrolling a host where two hackers are sneaking around the spider would take a single Electronics + Intuition test. And depending on how many hits he or she got on the test he or she might spot both silent running hackers, just one of them or none of them.
Note that similar to how trying to sneak around in the middle of the day in the middle of a mall will probably attract
more attention to yourself than if you didn't try to sneak, there are also several situations where running silent will probably attract more attention to yourself than if you don't run silent (openly walking through a SIN verification checkpoint while your PAN is running silent, for example).
I'm going to reply to my own thread with my gut instinct, which is that it's only possible with DNI, where you only get your willpower?
DNI is not really part of the equation...
It have been said that the mental attribute in the opposed test typically reflect the user's previous security settings and if the user have been updating to latest security patches etc.
This is why the owner will also typically oppose the test using his or her mental attribute even while sleeping (or if knocked unconscious etc).
It have been suggested that a device might count as 'unattended' and no longer get to defend with the owners mental attributes if it have been physically away from its owner for a longer period of time.
In 6th edition You never roll device rating. A completely undefended device rolls 0 dice.
Yes.
Having said that, It have also been suggested that if a device is not part of a network and does not have any matrix attributes of its own still at least get to use its Device Rating to stand in for it's Firewall (but not Data Processing or mental attributes).
Then again, as Hobbes said, would you ask your players to actually roll their 12+ dice against 1-2 (or perhaps 3) dice where they win on a tie, when there is typically nothing at stake and they can simply roll again if they against all odds fail the test....?
What about stuff ordinary people own?
It have been suggested that device rating x 3 applies to 'smarter' devices such as drones, smart firing platforms and vehicles etc as well as important devices you might wish to keep part of your PAN even if you are not actually wearing them on your body. But that an unlimited amount of electronic devices you carry with you are also part of your mobile personal network.
5th edition actually have the same dilemma... where you have several pages (such as SR5 p. 217 and SR5 p. 219) talking about a PAN as (potentially) hundreds of electronic devices you carry on your body and other pages (such as SR5 p. 233 and SR5 p. 266) talking about a PAN as the strict combination of a single master device (commlink/cyberdeck/RCC) and a handful devices (such as drones) slaved to the master device.the CRB basically just assumes everything is networked and doesn't directly discuss hacking un-networked devices.
In SR5 devices were often assumed to be stand alone (due to the direct connection exploit only devices that could be physically protected were assumed to be slaved to a host). All devices had their own firewall and they even caused unresisted matrix damage on a failed attack attempts against them. In 5th edition you always had to gain access on individual devices, even if you already had access on the network they were part of.
In SR6, however, devices (at least devices that matter) are assumed to (almost) always be part of a network. There is no longer any direct connection that let you bypass network ratings. Devices no longer have firewall of their own. Failed attack actions no longer cause unresisted matrix damage. Gain access on the network. Do your thing. If you already have access on the network the device is part of, do your thing directly.