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Persona Borrowing and Sockpuppets (Post-Kill Code House Rule)

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Finstersang

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« on: <09-19-18/0935:28> »
Repost after the original was potatoed from orbit. Luckily, there was still a cached version, but itīs a pitty for the replies...

As a >90% GM, I have a lot of Matrix Houserules flying around - Most simply for new stuff, some for things Iīd really like to be a different and some clarifications for things that havenīt been clarified yet. I have planned to share some of them for a while now, but I dicided wait for Kill Code and see how these work together first and adjust them to taste. So, expect more "Post-Kill Code" from me in the next weeks. One little disclaimer beforehand: Despite some issues, I like Kill Code. These Houserules are not meant to be nitpicky "See how crappy the official rules are?!"-type of post, but enhancements to the game that build upon official pieces of fluff and crunch. So, without further ado:

The Problems with being someone else
As you may or may not have known (you should!), Personas are not bound to a certain Device, but to a certain Person. As you also should know: Personas are pretty much unhackable. You canīt just steal them, claim ownership for devices you donīt own or easily pose as someone else. Never ever. For a long time, this was pretty much explained by game logic alone (Incredibly complex Passwords... yeah right  ::)), but Kill Code now offers a better explanation: In addition to "Incredibly Complex Passwords", thereīs also a mix of Biometrics, Global Metadata, Behaviour Patterns and even "Brainwaves" derived from DNI and VR users that are used for permanent, failsafe authentificiation by a system made out of tortured Technomancer Souls. The Matrix will instantly know if you try to "wear" someone elseīs Persona - Which is a scary and somewhat realistic vision of future technology and thatīs why I actually love it  ;D

But hereīs the thing: Logically, a lot of these things can still be circumvented: The "Incredibly Complex Password" can be simply given to you by the legitimate owner (by force or simply because he/she wants to), Biometrics can be faked and Brainwaves donīt matter if you donīt use a DNI or VR interface. Also, sometimes a User might want for someone else to take over and hands them their AR Glasses and their Gloves: "Hey Frank, can you help me edit this File? You can use my persona, Iīm already logged in." And of course, "Frank" might not be Frank, but you, a Shadowrunnner in disguise  ;) The only thing left now is Behavioural Patterns - and you canīt tell me that these are sufficient for the unfathomable will of the Matrix to instantly recognize a "stolen" account! But the Matrix can, and will, creep up on you - even if youīre not doing anything illegal.

Persona Borrowing
The idea: You canīt steal a Persona, but if you play your cards right, you might be able to "borrow" it and fiddle around with it before GOD catches up. Hereīs how - and why itīs never permanent.

  • To "borrow" a Persona, you have to fool every single bit of authentification linked to the account. Itīs mostly up to the GM how far this reaches. Some idiot on the street might not be smart enough for more than a 6-digit password, but any high-value target will probably have multiple authentification methods at once.
  • Of course, people can also "lend" you access to his/her persona by free choice whenever they please, see the example above. Sometimes, this may be also be a choice between giving you access and not getting shot in the head, though.
  • However: You canīt use VR or even DNI-based AR for this because of the "Brainwave" problem. If you try to, you will immediately switch to your real persona (or be rejected if you are some caveman who doesnīt have one yet.)
  • This also means that there still is one last unhackable failsafe left for the most paranoid Matrix Users (i.e. a way for to GM to just say "No."): Anyone can configure his/her persona to be accessible by DNI only. This is absolutely unhackable, safe for some really rare, story-driven exceptions (like Twins and Clones īn shit...). The drawback of this method is that you canīt "lend" your persona to anyone as long as this failsafe is active, and that you canīt control your persona of you lose you trode net.
  • Once you borrowed the Persona, the "Behavioral Pattern" thing comes into play. That quirky little wiggle with your Pinky that you always do when swiping left, the stuff you are searching for, your phrasing: The Matrix will notice it. For every hour you are borrowing the Persona, the threshold for Convergence is reduced by 1W6 - and thatīs both for the borrowed Persona and for your actual persona!
  • The threshold reduction for the borrowed persona is lifted if the legitimate owner uses it for more than 24 hours. The threshold reduction for your persona is lifted after 24 hours of using your, and only your own persona.

Sockpuppets
You may now ask yourself: What if I just donīt want to be me ? Can I just make a new Persona - A Sockpuppet? Partially, yes. But you will encounter similar problems as with borrowing a Persona, simply because the Matrix still has the data of your old one.

  • Making a secondary "Sockpuppet" account is illegal. Itīs still pretty quick though, and takes about 2W6 Minutes as a base time. You have to convince the Algorithms of the Matrix that you are a totally new Person by making up information and fake credentials. For this, you need to succeed both in a Forgery+Logik(1)[Mental]-Test and a Con+Charisma(1)[Social]-Test. That seems easy, but each time you attempt to make another sockpuppet, one of these thresholds permanently increases by one - the Matrix even sees patterns in the ways people try to outsmart it. Failure of one of these tests will get the authorities involved.
  • You can also buy a Sockpuppet on the black market (5000 Nuyen, Availability 8F).
  • Once you have your Sockpuppet ready, you have to be aware that the Matrix still has data on your old persona. It may not have gathered sufficient metadata for the Sockpuppet, but it will, sooner or later, recognize your own patterns. Thus, you treat the Sockpuppet the the same as a borrowed account - you canīt control it via DNI or VR, you will get your OS threshold(s) reduced, and since there is no legitimate owner of a Sockpuppet, you cannot regenerate its own OS threshold.

Bonus Rule for Magic interaction:
If you control the mind or movements of a Matrix user by magical means, the Matrix will notice that as well!

  • If you control the the Mind or the Movement of an AR user, the Matrix will notice the difference in the behavioural patterns and start to reduce the OS threshold, as above. Of course, if your victim uses DNI-based AR and VR interfaces, you cannot hijack their Persona via controlled Movements alone!
  • If you control the mind, you can control DNI-based AR and VR interactions as well, but the Matrix quickly notices that the "Brainwaves" are getting manipulated in addition to the pattern analysis - The OS threshold of the Persona starts to decrease at a rate of 1W6 per Minute instead of an hour.
  • The OS threshold of the victim regenerates when he uses his/her own Persona without being under magical control for 24 hours.
    This only affects Spells and other Magical Powars that exert total control over the Mind and/or Movement of the victim. Suggestive or mood-altering Powers are not affected.
« Last Edit: <01-31-19/1402:20> by Finstersang »