From: ward1@husc8.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: Shadowrun FAQ: Decking.txt
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 14 Sep 1992 08:38:26 -0400
Organization: UUNET Communications
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

                   ****************************************
                   *              SHADOWRUN               *
                   *      Frequently Asked Questions      *
                   *               Decking                *
                   ****************************************

Post Name: ShadowFAQ -- Decking
As of: July 1, 1992
Version: 0.4
Compiled by: Wordman (ward1@husc.harvard.edu)

This post contains FAQ (frequently asked questions) and standard house 
rules about the Decking portion of the Shadowrun gaming system.  Posted 
simultaneously with this post is a post titled 'Shadowrun: FAQ General' 
which contains more information on what the point of this list is, where 
it came from, et cetera.

Outline
I. Starting Deckers

*******
D1. Using Virtual Realities rules, how does a starting decker use Tech 
to get a deck?  Does he pay street costs?  What about programs?
*******
VANILLA: Continue to use the prices in the original rules for purposes 
of beginning equipment.

HOUSE 1: Use street costs in Virtual Realities for decks and programs.  
Remember street decks do not come with MPCP chips.

HOUSE 2: Use tech money to buy hours of deck-making/programming time.  
300Y will give you one day of time.  There are no skill rolls to cut the 
time nor can time overlap (i.e. no saving days by designing one 
component while another's chips are cooking).

*******
D2. How to you keep non-decking players from being bored while decking 
is happening and vice-versa?
*******
VANILLA:  Use the quick and dirty resolution system from Virtual 
Realities.

HOUSE 1: The Practical Approach:  Create deckers that have combat or 
other skills.  This keeps them in the action.

HOUSE 2: The Practical But More Limiting To Your Players Approach:  Use 
only NPC deckers.  Have all decking happen behind the scenes.

HOUSE 3: The Theatric Approach:  Handle decking as a role-playing 
encounter, rolling dice only occasionally.  A creative GM can keep all 
the players interested in the description of the place (use lots of 
sculpted systems) as well as have the decker interact with the Matrix 
the way it is intended to be -- on a human level.

HOUSE 4: The Intellectually Unsatisfying but Very Effective Approach:  
Have the decker character run by himself.  Literally.  Give the player 
the node map (or make him make one up using the random tables in SR) and 
let him make all rolls for himself as well as IC.  This requires trust 
worthy players, but works well for many campaigns.

*******
D3: Do Persona programs take up storage space?
*******
No. They are hard-coded into optical chips in the deck.  The size 
ratings given in the rules are useful only when you are writing one of 
these programs.

*******
D4: What, exactly, makes up the hacking pool?
*******
Hacking Pool = Natural React + Skill + (2*Response Increase Level).  
Cyberware (except for some of the new goodies in Shadowtech like the 
Math SPU) has NO effect on hacking pool. This includes cyberware which 
increases reaction unless otherwise stated (e.g. Wired and Boosted 
reflexes don't help at all).

*******
D5: How the hell does decking work?
*******
This example uses full Virtual Realities rules, inc. modes and load.
Decker with Reaction: 5, Computer: 6, Intelligence: 6, Hacking Pool: 11
Deck:
 MPCP:      6   Attack: 6 (72Mp)
 Bod:       6   Auto-Execute: 4 (16Mp)
 Evasion:   6   Deception: 4 (32Mp)
 Masking:   6   Sleaze: 4 (48Mp)
 Sensors:   6   Hardening: 3    Response: 0
[Note, this deck is actually illegal. The sum of the persona ratings 
can't exceed 3 times the MPCP (in this case, 18). This error will not be 
fixed to keep the numbers a bit more managable.]

Decker loads all utils to start with.  Enters in Masking Mode with MPCP 
set at 6.  This gives effective ratings of:
Bod/Eva/Msk/Sen: 3/3/9/3      Load: 5 (MPCP/2 + (Mp in active mem)/100))

Decker tries to sleaze into a Green-4 SAN with an Access-4.
SAN       Green: 2 Threshold     Rating: 4
          Max Load: 8            IC Load: 2
Decker enters node to contact range, Load goes to 7 which is 'normal 
load'.
  SLEAZE with Auto-exec:
     Execution Test: none.  SAN Rating - Auto-exec rating = 0.  No T#
         penalty.
     Opposed Success Test            Decker                  IC
         # of Dice            4 (Sleaze Rtg) + pool       4 (IC Rtg)
         Target Number             4 (Node Rtg)      9 (Deckers Masking)
     Decker wins if Her Succ - Node Succ > 2
     The node wins if the same value is < 0
     All other results (difference being 0,1 or 2) are 'ties'.

  SLEAZE without Auto-exec:
     Execution Test:                  Decker                 Node
         # of Dice            4 (Sleaze Rtg) + pool    4 (Node Rtg)
         Target Number             4 (Node Rtg)      9 (Deckers Masking)
     Decker wins if Her Succ - Node Succ > 2
     The node wins if the same value is < 0
     All other results (difference being 0,1 or 2) are 'ties'.
     Then as Opposed Success Test above. Pool does not refresh.


Next situation: Datastore with Black IC:4.  Black IC swarms out and 
attacks.

This situation will almost never happen.  The Black IC needs a trigger, 
like Access or Barrier or it will either a) never activate, or b) always 
activate when anyone -- even legitimate users -- enter the node.  It 
could also come in, activated by an alert.  If activated by alert, the 
Black IC acts as Probe IC, and would interrogate the decker when it 
found  her.  For the sake of the argument, let's say the decker failed 
to sleaze or deceive the Black IC.  Since she was in a datastore 
scanning for data, she was probably in Sensor Mode. All utilities are 
still in active memory, giving her a load of 7.

Let's say the Black IC has Shifting Defence (VR pg.22)

When the IC activates, its load gets added to the node's. Assuming that 
its load rating is 2*rating, its load is 8; however, it also has 
Shifting Defence which increases the rating (ONLY for the purpose of 
determining load) by one, making the rating 5, giving a 10 load. When 
the IC activates, this 10 load is added to the 7 of the decker. 17 is  2 
more than the Maximum Load of the node (see below). This sends the node 
into overload. This triggers a passive alert (but since the decker is 
being attacked, this is somewhat academic). IC behaves as if it were 2 
rating points lower than normal, as do utilities. For simplicity (too 
late!), the events of this paragrph will be ignored in the following 
example.

Datastore    Orange: 3 Threshold     Rating: 5
             Max Load: 15            IC Load: 10
COMBAT

   Initiative:
      Decker gets 1d6 + Reaction.  No pool.
      IC gets 7 (Orange Node) + 4 (IC's rating) = 11  (IC probably wins)

   IC Attack (The VR Black IC says "once the Black IC scores a hit the
        decker may Hang Tough or Jack Out."  I take this to mean that
        the IC needs to score a hit in normal combat before it gets 
        nasty; like having to touch someone for Poison Touch to work.  
        This is not explicit in the rules, but my guess is the IC needs 
        one net to start its process and DOES, incidentally, damage the 
        DECK when it does so):
      Resisted Success Test:
          IC Attack:  T# = 3 (Deck's current Bod (in Sensor Mode))
                      dice = 4 (IC Rating)
          Decker Resist: T# = 5 (Node Rtg)
                      dice = MPCP + pool.  Deck's hardening gives 3
                             auto-successes.
          If Decker gets more successes, no damage, Black IC hasn't got 
            hold of her.  Decker gets to attack.
          If the IC gets more successes, net successes apply to the 
            damage track of the deck, Black IC gets hold.  Black IC 
            Effects (see below).

   Decker Attacks (w/ Auto-exec)
      Decker's pool refreshes
      Execution Test: none.  Node Rating - Auto-exec = 1, so +1 to all 
        Decker's T#s with the attack utility.
      Opposed Success Test
          Decker Attack:              Decker                  IC
         # of Dice            6 (Attack Rtg) + pool     4 (IC Rtg)
         Target Number        8 (5(Node Rtg) + 2 due    3 (Deckers Bod)
                            to IC's Shifting Defence
                             + 1 due to Auto-exec)

      Side with greater number of successes damages the other.  Decker 
      must overcome threshold, IC must overcome hardening.  If the 
      attack program had a staging and Decker did damage, the damage 
      would be the staging plus the net successes.  If the Black IC 
      hits, it gives the net successes in damage to the deck.  Black IC
      Effects (see below).

   Decker Attacks (without Auto-exec)
      Decker's Pool refreshes
      Execution Test (aka Aiming): 
            T#: 5 (Node Rating)
            dice: pool
      Total successes - 3 (for Node Threshold) add to the Attack 
        Program's Rating for next step.  If 0 net successes, attack 
        misses.
      Resisted Success Test for Damage
         Decker: T# = 5 (Node rating)
             dice = 6 (Attack rtg) + # successes from Execution test
                    + remaining pool.
         IC: T# = 6 (Decker's Computer skill)
             dice = 4 (IC Rating)
      Net successes apply to IC.  If the Utility had a staging, the 
        damage would be base staging plus net successes.

   Black IC Effects
      Decker's pool doesn't refresh
      Hang Tough
         Resisted Success Test
            IC: T# = Decker's Body (not Int in Virtual Realities)
                dice = 4 (Rating)
            Decker Resist: T# = 4 (IC Rating)
                dice = Her Body + remaining pool, Hardening Auto-succ.
         IC net successes do damage (one box/succes) to Decker.
      Jack Out
         Unresisted Test
            Decker: T# = 4 (IC Rtg)
                dice = willpower
         Any successes and she's out, but must use Body to resist 4M2 
           stun damage.  Then she must resist Dump Shock (SR 102).