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Run Silent and Matrix Perceptions: Hombrew?

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Mollari

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« on: <12-10-18/1732:36> »
Hi there guys

I know this topic has been discussed to death, but I'm struggling with balancing run-silent devices.

Here's the layout:

Rules Official:
As the rules are written, a run silent device can be detected within 100 meters of a device that performs the matrix perception action. 1 hit is required to notice that there are run silent devices in the area. To identify what they are, the searcher needs to do another matrix perception vs the devices' sleaze + intuition (I think). If there are multiple devices running silent the GM chooses randomly.

Problem with this is that it can kill the action economy of a decker. All they want to do is hack a smartlink and it takes a bunch attempts to just find it amongst other run silent devices.

Unofficial Homebrew:
What a lot of other pages recommend is that the matrix is an overlay of the physical world. You know there are run silent devices, and know there is one over that gun, so you can make an educated guess that it's a smartlink and can therefore choose to perceive that one.

Problem: the problem with this is that it makes stealth tech silly. That infiltrator with ruthenium polymer is invisible to the naked eye, but on a matrix perception they have a run-silent icon moving about the matrix (overlaid on the physical). "How odd that I don't see anyone moving across this empty lawn, but a run silent device is moving along just fine..."

Help
So how do you balance it out? I've recommended a slight homebrew that allows the matrix perception to be conducted on a narrow band. So you choose to only focus on that gun, so you only detect one run-silent device. I would love to have you guy's input. How do you handle it, and do you foresee any unbalanced things in my homebrew? I don't like to homebrew where possible, but when a sec team may have all their smartlinks, eyes, and a pocket full of stealth tags each, it's impossible for a decker to be effective.

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #1 on: <12-10-18/1744:46> »
It's totally not official but I like the notion of only things that actually have a Sleaze value are allowed to Run Silent.  Running Silet without a Sleaze attribute only serves to make hackers waste an action anyway.. no way are they gonna fail the Matrix Perception roll opposed by Logic + 0.

It's elegant and streamlines things immensely.

Edit: @ the Roll of Stealth Tags defense against being spotted: It's RAW (in one place) that you have to pick at random vs which Silent Running icon you try to spot, but in the lengthy play example they quite specifically spell out that one test is made and compared against every Silent Running icon in range.  There's a mention in Data Trails addressing that the "roll of Stealth Tags defense" doesn't work against being spotted, as well. So carrying around 100 stealth tags just means technically that you have the chore of rolling 100 defense tests every time a Hacker gets curious about his surroundings.
« Last Edit: <12-10-18/1758:13> by Stainless Steel Devil Rat »
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

Kiirnodel

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« Reply #2 on: <12-13-18/0646:33> »
My understanding of the way the Matrix is described is that the Matrix geography is laid out in a roughly "real-world" way, but that it isn't 100% accurate or literally layered on top if you were to use AR displays. This actually came up in another thread quite recently when it came up that the fiction never describes seeing Matrix personas moving around with people, even when it describes seeing other Matrix-iconography.

My reasoning:
1. We know that just spotting a device in the Matrix does not automatically give us the physical location. There is an action specifically for getting the physical location of a device that you are targeting in the Matrix, it requires 2 MARKs to attempt.
2. While it has been commented on that wireless devices can be detrimental to hiding (Gillie suit) it only describes it as drawing attention, not giving away your location. There hasn't been any retraction for the Wireless bonus on the Chameleon Suit, so presumably this note is because a Gillie Suit is designed to be used in open wilderness (where there being any devices would be odd) while in an urban environment this is less of an issue.
I could probably come up with more if I really wanted to.

My solution is very similar to the one that you suggest, Mollari.
One of the things that it talks about in the Matrix Perception is the idea that you can spot your target as long as you know a detail about it. It also mentions in the description of the matrix and icons in general that filters are used to help keep the matrix from being a huge headache of random icons. So in my games, I combine these two concepts and allow a Decker to "attempt to spot that guy's smartlink."

Just spotting silent devices in general won't mean that you notice every little device icon running around your vision in real-time, but if you do spot a person and want to ask the question "is he running anything interesting" you can do it.

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #3 on: <12-13-18/1126:15> »
I like to imagine that putting weapons in Silent Running mode (or turning wireless off completely!) is tantamount to concealing them... I.e. if it's legal at all, you'll need a concealed carry license to explain why you have silent running guns....
« Last Edit: <12-13-18/1128:00> by Stainless Steel Devil Rat »
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.