Zenobytes:
Type: Dissonant AF
Themes: Depravity, Decadence, Hedonism, Sadism
Description: Widely percieved as the most corrupted and warped even by other dissonant Technomancers, Zenobytes are the embodiment of the most extreme and immoral stimuli the Matrix has to offer: From bizarre and violent Fetishes up to Black BTLs, from Pedophilia to full-blown Snuff Pornography - Zenobytes are always on the hunt to up the ante on their own depravity. Out on their personal quest to push their physical and moral boundaries further and further, they rarely stay passive consumers, but will soon start to create and disseminate their own footage, both in the physical world and in the Matrix. In their own warped sense of “empathy”, they will also seek to subject themselves to the delicate agony they love to witness and in inflict in others, and in a form of quasi-religious apotheosis, many Zenobytes will also actively seek out, recruit and “enlighten” likeminded individuals.
Benefits: All Complex forms that affect sentient Personas are performed at a Fading Value of 2 less than normal. Zenobytes also recieve +2 dice for Intimidation Skill Tests.
Deamon: Down the Abyss. The further Zenobytes delve into the depths of metahuman depravity and suffering, the more desensitized they become, until pain, fear and disgust are nothing more than vaguely delightfull experiences to them. They gain their Submersion Grade as Levels of the Pain Resistance Quality and also add the same number as Bonus dice to Composure Tests.
Complex Form: Snuff Surge. Target: Persona. Fading: Level. This Complex Form blast the Target with a jolt of abhorrent visuals, sounds and other stimuli puzzled together from all the footage the Zenobyte has consumed. Make Software + Resonance [Level] VS Willpower + Firewall test. If at least one net Hit is achieved, the target next has to make a Composure Test, with the Net Hits of the Complex Form as Threshold. The Threshold is further adjusted as follows: +1 if the target uses Cold VR or DNI-based AR, +2 for Hot VR, -1 for non-sapient targets, -1 for Artificial Intelligences and Sprites. Failing the Composure Test decreases the targets Willpower Attribute by an amount equal to the missing Hits for [Level] Minutes. Note that this affects all Tests using the Willpower Attribute, including Matrix Tests and further Composure Tests. If the Willpower Attribute is decreased to 0 or below, the target becomes catatonic for the duration of the effect. The effects of multiple Snuff Surges are not cumulative, only the highest penalty applies (However, it is a viable strategy to abuse the decreased mental defenses of the target for additional attacks). On a glitch, the duration becomes [Level] Hours, while on a critical glitch, additional long-lasting psychological traumata (f.i. flashbacks, shaky hands, phobias...) may arise.
Note: Group-oriented Zenobytes sometimes use Snuff Surge as recruitment tool for their twisted cause: At the Gamemaster´s discretion, targets with violent, psychopathic, and/or extreme sadomasochistic tendencies (be they open or surpressed), will instead feel a sinister fascination and lust for more instead of the Nausea effect. Likewise, the experience may trigger violent mental states, like the rage of a bear shaman.