Hey Hamish and other MC’s,
I’ve just started MCing the Sprawl and we’re having a great time. However, I was having trouble making life interesting for our Hacker. Looking at the main series of Matrix moves, I noticed a chain that doesn’t really give the opportunity for the MC to make netrunning very interesting. Example: Sypher has Programming on the Fly, Programs: Manipulate & Lockdown, +2 Mind, +2 Synth (which means that he’ll only be missing 1/6th of the time). Sypher Jacks In (7-9) and he chooses his own complication, which he can immediately solve with a hit on Console Cowboy. He then gains 3 Hold with Compromise Security on a weak hit, allowing him to activate enough routines to get the job done and still have left over to deactivate any ICE on any future misses.
For the Compromise Security (Mind), Manipulate Systems(Synth) or Search for Paydata (Mind) moves, I would propose the following and am interested in feedback.
10+ 1 hold
7-9 +1 hold, but choose one:
*Passive Trace
*ICE is activated
*Alarm is triggered (advance mission clock)
I would also suggest that you cannot spend hold to cancel an alarm (if clock is advanced it stays advanced) or deactivate ICE (use Melt ICE).
What about combining Login and Console Cowboy into one roll?
Login (Synth)
10+ Choose 3
7-9 Choose 2
*Avoid a Passive Trace
*ICE isn’t activated
*Access isn’t restricted (restricted: -1 ongoing to Matrix Moves)
*Alert isn’t triggered
*Gain +1 hold over Compromised security or Manipulated Systems
Console Cowboy: +1 choice even on a miss when making the Login Move
I know that I as an MC I can use other player’s misses to make Moves in the Matrix, but that takes away opportunities to make the missers lives interesting…
You know you don’t have to let him roll Manipulate Systems as soon as he jacks in, right? You can make him fight his way through a complex matrix system just like you make the other players fight through a real facility.
Try it out and let us know how it goes, especially the modifications to Compromise Security, Manipulate Systems & Search for Paydata!
So is the player actually complaining about being a badass hacker or is this all originating from you not wanting them to succeed?
Anyway, are you imagining all of the matrix systems in your game to be very simple or flat?
If systems are nested inside of each other… what’s the fictional justifications for the hold from the outer layer that got comprised to automatically apply to the completely separate system inside that hasn’t even been logged into yet?
The Matrix is just a digital representation of how physical assets could be secured:
There can be a compound were all valuables are housed in one warehouse and it has multiple levels, each with independent security…
Or each asset gets there own individual warehouses with their own separate guards, security cameras, laser-tripwire alarms, etc.
Adam Bloom, not a bad idea. I didn’t include Act Under Pressure (or other general Moves) in my example because it isn’t explicitly a Matrix Move. Though, the MC still needs an opportunity to make a Move to have him Act Under Pressure.
Omari Brooks, this is coming from me, in so much as I’m trying to make an interesting game. It was my impression that with PbtA games the narration was shared to make a more interesting story.
The fictional flavor of the Matrix in my example shouldn’t matter, it could be 3/4 view neon wire-frame to full immersion with haptic feedback. I’m more interested in how the Matrix Move mechanics generate narrative flow.
Nesting systems within the Matrix would encourage the Hacker to make more Moves and roll more dice. With the 5/6ths success rate he would have to make six rolls for the MC to get one Move on average. Most other playbooks don’t generally roll more than once to determine a critical narrative point.
Geoff McCool I think you read to much into my analogy about the Matrix: I’m using warehouse’s because that’s something that exists in the real world (unlike an actual Matrix) & I’m not actually telling you how to skin it in your game.
I think you also missed the part were I’m inferring that different systems can have varying levels of security/layers. Fictionally why would a mom & pop shop have the same level of security on their servers as a multinational corporation?
I think you already solved your problem by making a custom move right? For anybody else tuning in to this post, that wants to use the stock moves, thinking about Matrix systems as things that don’t fit a cookie cutter mold can be useful.
As others have alluded to, I don’t think the presence of ICE is dependent on there being an alert. It can just be a feature of the particular node the hacker is hacking. Much like the physical team has to find a solution for physical security.
I’m also partial to only allowing one roll per relevant opening. Which means that if they need two manipulate systems actions close in time during a particular scene and they roll 7-9, they have to choose one or the other. They’re free to continue hacking away, but it will be too late to be of benefit to whatever they were trying to do.