[Sendaz]

I´m just wondering if we´re all beating a dead horse here.

At least with wireless ON, beating said dead horse is a free action.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

No offense, Finstersang, but do you understand what an NDA means?  Sometimes it means 'I can't talk about this in any way, shape, or form, including saying whether or not it's being worked on.'  People will believe anything and everything; this is the internet.  Whether that means they believe that there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll, or that the Moon landings were faked, or that the project has been completely abandoned and there won't ever be something that expands on Technomancers, that's up to them.  Their belief, or bitching about their belief, or someone who is or is not involved with the project saying something, honestly isn't going to make a whit's worth of difference.

So really, bitch if you want. Believe what you want.  One way or another, though, a technomancer book will come out.  And the author or authors of it might or might not listen to what's been posted about TMs here.

[Finstersang]

First: No offense, The Wyrm Ouroboros, but saying "no offense" and then accuse someone of "bitching" doesnt´t go well together in my book. I´m not bitching. Well, at least I´m not trying to. But I can understand where you got the notion from. I have yet to come back to the more productive part of making positive suggestions

Second: So there is an NDA on this? I could understand it, it´s common practice, but still, it would be nice to know. (Although, would admitting that there is an NDA break said NDA? Oh, what a dilemma )

Third: I like your optimism. Let´s stick to that: The book will come and it will be awesome.

Last: As said before, whether we believe this book is still happening or not, using this thread as way of gathering ideas for improvement is still a good choice. So, my honest apologies on that one: I should have foreseen that those chirping crickets and "bitching" about the general information policy (if there is one) would kinda derail the thread. Let´s get it back on track again.

Suggestions?

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Look, when you start saying, "It's been eight whole days!!" on a project that is going to take four, six, twelve months to put together, then yeah, it's bitching.  And if there's a project in the works, then it's being worked on in-house, and of course there's an NDA on it.  And there are levels of information distribution with Catalyst, as with any corporation; the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing, and while that can be a problem, well, it's the editor's problem. 

But I never said it would automatically be awesome.  It'll happen, though; sort of inevitable.

[Finstersang]

You´re right, that sounds kinda bitchy if you put it that way...

In my defense, I was referring to this 8 days moment of awkward silence with people staring at the Amy and the gang like: "Aaaand? There still will be book? Right?" But I guess we would at least hear a word if the book is cancelled, so this notion is quite irrational. Let´s assume it´s just NDA. Maybe a bit of lazyness. Maybe both.

Again: Let´s put out more suggestions and/or (constructive) criticism.

[Finstersang]

So: Sprites.

New Resonance Streams (the TM equivalent of Magic Paradigms) will probably allow TM to compile a different set of sprites. At least, that´s how it was in the good old 4th Edition Matrix Rulebook "Unwired". The questions is: what kind of additional Sprites could a TM need?

One Sprite from Unwired that definitely deserves a comeback is the Paladin Sprite: Strong Firewall and the Ability to redirect attacks/matrix Damage to itself, maybe also some offensive capability, but not as strong as the Fault Sprite. This ability could be implemented very nicely through the 5th Ed. interrupt Actions.

The Sleuth Sprite was good at tracking down targets in the Matrix and hunting for incriminating data. Another good one.

Then there was the Code Sprite (kind of a general support Sprite), the Tank/Boss Sprite (a more "brutish" alternative to the Fault Sprite) and the Tutor Sprite (that provided you with skillsofts or knowledge skills). So far, so good. Since the Matrix rules changed drastically from 4th to 5th, a simple copy-paste-job would probably not be enough, but the general ideas for these Sprites seem to be pretty nice.

What other kind of Sprites would be neat?

- Psycho/Bio/Black/Grey Sprite: Another Attack-heavy Sprite, but unlike the Fault Sprite, these Sprite(s) are specialized for dealing Biofeedback damage (Physical or Stun) or even inflicting certain psychotropic effects. While the Fault Sprite is to be used against Devices and Personas, these aim directly at the Wetware.

- Translator Sprite: Helps by, well, translating. Mostly to be used as an aid in social encounters. Since it can probably also help by translating between encodings and programming languages, there could be also a secondary bonus for some Matrix Actions.

- Meta/Weaver Sprite: A bit like the Sprite version of a Spirit of Man: Depending on the Level, the Sprite can "inherit" a number of Complex Forms known to the TM and thread them with the Software ability. It can also use Software to kill Komplex Forms and could  even be able to decompile other Sprites. 

- Pilot Sprite: This one brings back the part of the Machine Sprite that was cut from 4th to 5th Ed.: It can actually pilot a Drone by "jumping" into it. The Dronomancer´s new favourite.

Oh, and of course: Dissonant Sprites. These should be devastating to man and machine alike. Let the GMs have some fun 

Edit:
Also, why not something like a Sprite Version of Great Form Spirits, unlockable through Submersion?

[Fariq]

I would be thrilled with live examples of a technomancer in play; show us, from a design perspective, what you want them doing in their environment! Show us the actual archetype in the world. Show us why its better to be a technomancer in various examples and how they should play.

[Zweiblumen]

I would be thrilled with live examples of a technomancer in play; show us, from a design perspective, what you want them doing in their environment! Show us the actual archetype in the world. Show us why its better to be a technomancer in various examples and how they should play.

This!  Many of us have worked out a few methods of making a playable version of this archetype and many of us love the concept.  Show us how the developers imagined the Technomancer to interact with the world the same way you've shown us how the decker and street sam interact.

[korusef]

This!  Many of us have worked out a few methods of making a playable version of this archetype and many of us love the concept.  Show us how the developers imagined the Technomancer to interact with the world the same way you've shown us how the decker and street sam interact.

Something like Technomancer Tactics: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=21487.0 ?

[Zweiblumen]

This!  Many of us have worked out a few methods of making a playable version of this archetype and many of us love the concept.  Show us how the developers imagined the Technomancer to interact with the world the same way you've shown us how the decker and street sam interact.

Something like Technomancer Tactics: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=21487.0 ?

No, something from the developers who designed it in the first place to give examples of how they see it working.  Not how we the players have had to guess at the best way to make them work.

I would love to see how the designers intended Technomancers to interact with the Matrix and the Meat worlds.  How they would balance that and still be useful in one or the other.  Deckers are expected to do certain things, are Technomancers expected to do the same (because if that's the case, it's *really* hard to get them on even footing) or are they expected to do different things?  The community has managed to find great ways to use Technomancers, but if we have missed the mark on how the designers thought they would be used that would be insightful to us.  Help deal with the "one true build" situation.

[Kincaid]

I wasn't on the design team for the core book (and I'm not working on the pdf), but I started that thread because I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about TMs (and all things Matrix-y), so to that extent, it represents the thoughts of one freelancer.

[Zweiblumen]

Thanks Kincaid, I was under the impression you'd done that as a player.

[Kincaid]

In many ways, it is.  It's not like that represents anyone else's take on things, it's just something I threw together for the community since I see a lot of questions about what TMs are good for and wanted to start a dialogue beyond the typical "nothing!" response.

[Zweiblumen]

I've played a TM in very much the same vein (though slightly less sprite heavy, though still very sprite dependent).  More use of Resonance Veil and I lean heavily on Assist Threading for most of my threading.

[Rule of Three]

Thanks Zweiblumen!

Happy someone agrees with the idea. I feel like the game would benefit significantly from us understanding more what the "paradigm" of the developers was intended. It is incredibly hard to do in a rulebook and even more so with an IP containing such a complicated and rich history like SR.