THE MATRIX RPG
V2.0
By Bryan Rantala
CHARACTER DESIGN AND ADVANCEMENT
Attack Bonuses and Defense Ratings
Establishing A Hold On An Opponent, or Disarming An Opponent
“There is
no spoon.”
A discipline is a type of power that a character has over
the Matrix—a way in which he can manipulate it. All of the twelve disciplines
are combat-oriented. They are:
Agility
Awareness
Balance
Endurance
Energy
Evasion
Flight
Matrix Warping
Regeneration
Speed
Strength
Telekinesis
A
character’s advancement in each discipline is usually measured from 0 to 3
(Endurance has 4 levels, and Matrix Warping has 5). All player characters have
at least a 0 in every discipline. Slaves (humans that don’t know that they are
in the Matrix) have a -1 in each discipline. A score of -1 is equivalent to an
average human’s abilities.
Characters
get 12 points during creation to choose which disciplines they are more
advanced in. At character creation, characters can have a maximum of only three
disciplines that they may put points in. A discipline costs 1 point per level
to advance. For instance, going from 0 to 1 costs one point, while advancing
from 1 to 2 costs two points.
As
characters advance in experience, they gain more points to spend. However,
after character creation, advancing in disciplines in other than the ones you
specialized in during character creation costs a little more—you have to spend
2 points to get to Level 1, rather than just one point. After you have five
disciplines in which you have at least 1 Level, gaining Level 1 in a new
discipline then costs 3 points.
For
instance, Phobe starts the game with Speed Level 3 (which cost her 6 points),
and Level 2 in both Agility and Awareness (each of which cost her 3 points, for
a grand total of 12).
Later on,
she wants to gain a level in Strength. This is not one of the disciplines that
she began the game with, so going from Level 0 to Level 1 costs her 2 points.
Eventually,
Phobe has Speed, Agility, Awareness, Strength, and Endurance. However, she
wants to gain Level 1 in Evasion. She already has five disciplines aside from
Evasion, so it will cost her 3 points to gain Level 1 in Evasion.
Note: At
character creation, you must spend all of your points. You cannot save any for
later. However, when you begin advancing, you may save points however much you
like.
As noted before, there are twelve disciplines—only three of
which a character can begin play with at a level above 0. Furthermore, some
disciplines require that you have certain levels in other disciplines before
you can begin to advance in them (Energy, Evasion, Flight, Matrix Warping,
Regeneration, and Telekinesis).
Make no mistake—disciplines are the most important thing
about any character. You can bring all the rocket launchers and M-16s that you
want—without the right disciplines, you’ll still get burned.
Keep in mind that many of the disciplines are important for
getting other ones. You should decide ahead of time what you want your
character to be good at—because it’ll be a long while before he’s good at
everything. Having a long-term plan for your character’s development never
hurts.
No sooner did Officer Johnson yell
for the lady to drop the sword in her hand, than she began jumping all over the
place. Johnson couldn’t believe it—where did these terrorists learn to bounce
around like that?
. . . But he didn’t have time to
wonder about that right now. He opened fire with his service revolver, trying
desperately to shoot somewhere near her—but by the time he fired one bullet,
she was already on the other side of the room, ready to dodge the next.
Within moments, six bullets were lodged in the wall behind
the girl, who was now just standing there in her black leather jump-suit, not
even panting. She raised the katana, and smiled.
-----
Agility
deals with your ability to move quickly. Characters with high agility are
near-impossible to score a hit on in hand-to-hand combat, and can transcend the
speed of bullets when they need to, moving with lightning reflexes and blinding
speed—sometimes, they even look like they’re in two places at once. Being able
to move at the speed of thought has saved more than one hacker.
Technical
Data: Your Agility
determines your base dodge rating (DR). It is also a major factor in your Base
Attack Bonus (BAB).
LEVEL –1: -You are a
normal human.
-Base DR 10.
-Base Attack Bonus +0.
LEVEL 0: -Your reflexes and ability to dodge
incoming blows is roughly that of the most well-trained (but ordinary) human.
Although you may not be able to beat him, a kung fu master would find your
agility noteworthy.
-You can
maneuver your vehicle in a car chase with some expertise, though you are not
infallible by any means.
-Base DR 13.
-Base Attack
Bonus +1.
LEVEL 1: -A kung fu master would find you
challenging—your agility is on an even level with his.
-Situations
in a car chase that would be death for lesser people would be only a close call
for you. The odds have to be really bad before you’re truly screwed.
-Base DR 16.
-Base Attack
Bonus +3.
LEVEL 2: -The kung fu master has a new master.
-You could
drive down the wrong lane in a 70 mph freeway with very little difficulty.
-You can
catch throwing knives and the like with very little effort.
-Base DR 20.
-Base Attack
Bonus +6.
LEVEL 3: -That’s
a kung fu master? He’s so. . . Slow!
-Car chases
are getting boring. Where’s the danger?
-People
who whip throwing knives at you are annoying, but little else.
-Base
DR 25.
-Base
Attack Bonus +10.
Lancer pulled back the safety on his MP5 while he looked at
the clock on the side of the room. “Hurry up. We’re on our last two minutes,
here.”
Ion paused, looking up from the control panel with an intent
look on his face, staring at nothing. Lancer snarled. “What are you doing? We
don’t have time to think!”
Ion only looked at his partner. “We don’t have two minutes.
They’re coming. . . Now.”
-----
Your
Awareness is your ability to augment your senses by “feeling” the Matrix code
churning around you. Every action in the Matrix has a reaction, and people who
become attuned to certain actions can see the reactions coming. While some
might see only a brick wall, others see a plane of streaming code—and perhaps
the SWAT team sneaking around behind it.
Awareness is
perhaps the most important discipline for gaining the more advanced
disciplines.
Technical
Data: Your Awareness
determines the radius of your Anomaly/Threat Detection (ATD), as well as how
often the detection check picks up anything.
In order to
make an Anomaly/Threat Detection check (ATD check), a character must spend four
actions. If there is any anomaly or threat that could be detected by the
character (such as an agent or a change in the Matrix’s code—GM’s discretion),
there is a percentile chance of successful detection based on the character’s
Awareness level. This percentile chance can be modified at the GM’s discretion,
based on how serious and/or imminent the anomaly or threat is.
ATD checks
can only be used to detect shifts in the Matrix code and the actions of
sentient programs. You cannot use an ATD check against a human, who is simply
not part of the Matrix. Any information that Awareness gives you about the
actions of people, or premonitions, are at the GM’s discretion. Each level of
Awareness describes general guidelines for this alternate use of Awareness.
ATD checks
also have a variety of other uses, many of them related with the Matrix Warping
discipline.
Finally, your
Awareness also increases your Defense Rating in combat.
LEVEL –1:
-You are a normal
human. In effect, you have absolutely no “Awareness.”
-You cannot
make Anomaly/Threat Detection checks.
-You gain no
bonus to your DR (Defense Rating).
LEVEL 0: -Your senses are heightened—normal
humans who try to sneak up on you have very little chance of success, and you
miss very little of what goes on around you.
-The
effective radius of your ATD check is fifteen feet. You have a 5% chance of
success.
-You gain no
bonus to your DR (Defense Rating).
LEVEL 1: -A normal human has no chance of
catching you unaware. Even if the person is perfectly silent and stealthy,
you’ll simply be able to tell that
someone’s behind you.
-On rare
occasions, you will get mild premonitions—such as danger, do this, etc.
-The
effective radius of your ATD check is thirty feet. You have a 15% chance of
success.
-DR +1.
LEVEL 2: -If someone is taking out a gun to
shoot you from behind, or is aiming at you with a sniper rifle, you will instantly
become aware of it.
-Occasionally,
you will get premonitions. These will be more specific than in Level 1—for
instance, Someone is coming up behind you, or Someone was just
killed.
-The
effective radius of your ATD check is sixty feet. You have a 35% chance of
success.
-DR +2
(overlaps the bonus from Level 1).
LEVEL 3: -You are a wonder-kind. If people
even consider hostile acts against you, you have a good chance of detecting
their intentions (40-50%).
-Frequently,
you will get premonitions. You may have a frequent dream that eventually comes
true, though you may be able to alter what happens when the time comes.
-You can see
the aura of other beings in the Matrix. You will be able to tell if a person or
creature is a slave (someone who is unaware of the Matrix), a rebel (someone
who knows he is in the Matrix), a program (like an agent), or an exile (a
free-willed program). You have to concentrate for a moment to see an aura—when
you are viewing auras, the world around you just looks like swirling streams of
code.
-The
effective radius of your ATD check is 180 feet. You have a 65% chance of
success.
-DR +3
(overlaps bonus from Level 2).
Tyche looked out the window, the
agent coming up right behind her. Between her and the safety of the phone in the
next building over, there was only that clothesline.
She leapt as the agent closed in, and
began moving. As she pranced nimbly across the one-inch thick wire, she felt
the line buckle a little more as the agent tried to follow her over it.
Tenacious, but stupid.
“Wrong move, numb-nuts,” she said
quietly, turning around on the other end of the line with a grace beyond even
that of a cat.
The agent paused, a snarl on its
face, betrayed only by the confusion in its eyes.
Tyche leapt straight up and came back
down on the clothesline perfectly. The agent realized what was going on, and
tried to move forward to get her—but it was already too late.
Tyche maintained her balance easily,
but Agent Harris was not so well prepared. The tension created in the clothesline
as she came back down suddenly released, and the agent lost his footing.
He had twenty stories to go before he
hit bottom.
-----
Balance is a measure of a character’s ability to keep her
footing, as well as her over-all grace and precision when moving. Balance can
be extremely useful in combat, especially if an opponent’s balance isn’t as
good as yours—if you can take his feet out from under him, the advantage is
yours.
Technical Data: If you have a Balance of 2 and a Speed of at least 2, you
can move along walls (See Speed).
You suffer penalties to your Defense Rating and Base Attack
Bonus if you are not on steady ground, become disoriented, or if you are in an
area with lots of obstacles (such as a floor covered with marbles, an extremely
windy place, or on the edge of a cliff). This is called a Circumstance Penalty.
This penalty decreases based on your Balance.
Minor Difficulty: -1 to Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating. Area swarms with
non-biting insects, dozens of pigeons are moving along on the ground, etc.
Moderate Difficulty: -3 to Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating. Terrain
is not flat—rocks jut out in many places, but rarely more than by five feet.
Or, it is dark in the area, though not so dark you can’t see.
Major Difficulty: -5 to Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating. Not only is the
terrain not flat, but it’s also pretty dark; complete darkness; grease has been
spilled all over the floor; or you’re on top of a slow-moving semi.
Insane Difficulty: -7 to Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating. Floor is
slippery and it is pitch black; you’re on top of a semi on an interstate
highway.
Balance also aids you when you make Stealth checks (see
Talents).
LEVEL –1: -Normal
human balance. You gain no modifier to your Circumstance Penalty.
LEVEL 0: -You have good balance, but not
perfect. People cannot succeed at tripping you when you walk by. You gain no
modifier to your Circumstance Penalty.
LEVEL 1: -You never trip. Ever.
-Whenever you jump (and you can see the place you are
jumping to), you always land on your feet, assuming no one hits or tackles you
in mid-air.
-Combatants have almost no chance of tripping you.
-You gain a +2 bonus to your Circumstance Penalty.
LEVEL 2: -You don’t even have to see the
surface you are jumping on to land on it perfectly, meaning you can jump
backwards or off of walls with no difficulty.
-Even if someone hits or tackles you in mid-air, you still
have an excellent chance of maintaining your balance (60-99%).
-Walking on a tight-rope would take only a bare minimum of
concentration.
-Even if an explosion went off behind you, causing the earth
to quake as you were fighting an agent, you’d still have a very good chance of
maintaining your footing (50-70%).
-You can hang on to the ceiling of a small room as a method
of hiding and getting the drop on an enemy. Your ability to hold yourself in
place with very little support is impressive.
-You gain a +4 bonus to your Circumstance Penalty.
LEVEL 3: -You can land on one foot or hand
without difficulty as you move.
-Being tackled or hit in mid-air usually has a less than 10%
chance of messing you up.
-You can walk tight-ropes effortlessly.
-You can use moving people as stepping stones when jumping
from point to point if you want to, often even if they are attacking you.
-An explosion going off behind you is only a bump in the
road. You’d have to move and probably leap in that instance, but you could keep
fighting, because you don’t have time for distractions.
-You can
jump from moving car to moving car on a freeway with little difficulty.
-You never
suffer a Circumstance Penalty.
The agent grabbed hold of Lancer’s
throat and lifted him off the ground, a look of pure hatred on its face.
“You give me no choice, Mr. Copes.”
Lancer went head-first through the
car’s windshield, shattering it completely. Before he could even get his
bearings, the agent grabbed him by the legs and threw him in the opposite
direction, directly into a brick wall. When Lancer landed, the wall had a
massive crunch mark in it.
The agent straightened his tie, and
waited for its human enemy to beg for mercy.
“Do you still want to do this the
hard way, Mr. Copes?”
“Hard way,” Lancer repeated, in a
confused tone, as he began to stand up. “You call that hard?”
-----
To put it bluntly, Endurance measures how much it takes to
kill a character. Hackers, enlightened to the Matrix as they may be, are still
mortal, and their enemies know it. However, to a practiced Zionist, the idea of
mortality is a flexible one. After all—you’re not really being shot, are you?
Endurance also governs how much stamina a character has.
Endurance is the only discipline with 4 levels. The fourth
level bestows the character with near-indestructibility, and is available only
after the character becomes experienced in many other forms of Matrix
manipulation.
Technical Data: Your Endurance determines your hit points (HP) and Fortitude
Rating. Whenever you suffer damage, you lose hit points—but you subtract your
Fortitude Rating from the damage dealt. Note that until you reach Endurance 4,
you still take a minimum of 1 point of damage from bullets, explosions, fire,
and other purely lethal forms of damage.
LEVEL –1: -You are an ordinary human.
-3 hit points, Fortitude Rating 0.
LEVEL 0: -You are over twice as hard to kill as
an ordinary human.
-A blow
from a burly (but ordinary) man would harm you, but your resilience would
surprise the guy—you may not even be knocked down.
-You can go just as long and hard as a championship boxer,
though you’ll need significantly more stamina to go head to head with an agent
for any reasonable length of time.
-You can move at running speed (double normal foot-speed)
for 3-5 rounds before you have to catch your breath.
-7 hit points, Fortitude Rating 0.
LEVEL 1: You are over three times as hard to
kill as an ordinary human.
-That burly guy could do some damage—but not much. He could
hit you ten times, and you’d still be good for a while. At any rate, he’d
probably have to hit you with a chair to put you on one knee.
-A single bullet has only a small chance of killing you,
assuming it doesn’t go straight into your brain or heart.
-You could box three championship fighters in a row, or all
at once, and still have some energy left over when you finish.
-You can move at running speed for 6-8 rounds in a row
before you have to catch your breath.
-10 hit points, Fortitude Rating 1.
LEVEL 2: Compared to an ordinary human, you
are practically invincible.
-That burly guy’s punches are like those of a child. You
could go all day with him and then some.
-An agent would probably have to hit you ten times before
you finally went down.
-Bullet wounds to vital organs will still kill you, but a
wound that hits only muscle and/or tissue would be mostly painful to you, and
little else—after a few seconds, you could ignore it like it wasn’t there.
-Ordinary humans can barely hold a candle to your outrageous
stamina. Even an agent would have a hard time wearing you down.
-You can move at running speed for 9-11 rounds before you
have to catch your breath.
-13 hit points, Fortitude Rating 1.
LEVEL 3: Your fortitude is god-like.
-That burly guy is irrelevant. It’s like he’s not even
there.
-If you fought with an agent, you could take almost as many
hits as he could. Only with an especially well-placed blow could an agent knock
you over.
-Even bullets aren’t guaranteed to kill you. You have a 60%
chance of ignoring a bullet wound that would otherwise be fatal.
-If you ever get tired, it’ll only be because you’ve been
utterly pummeled in ways you never thought possible. You have completely
transcended human stamina, and are far beyond any normal human.
-You can move at running speed indefinitely.
-16 hit points, Fortitude Rating 2.
LEVEL 4 (Prerequisite:
Awareness 3, Strength 3): -At level 4, you become close to indestructible. An agent had better
bring his friends along, because it’ll take a brutal amount of physical
punishment to even begin to wear you down.
-Falling off the top of a skyscraper and hitting the street
below will harm you, but it will only be like a car running into you at about
thirty miles an hour—you will be able to recover after a few minutes, though
you will be hurting. If you were already badly injured when you fell, you may
still die.
-20 hit points, Fortitude Rating 2. You no longer suffer a
minimum damage of 1 from lethal effects, such as bullets and explosions.
The sky-scraper extended well above
the rest of the city, and the wind whipped Lancer’s tie into his face at times.
He didn’t want to think of what it would be like to fall off.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the
man said, dressed in an elegant, shiny suit. “You’re thinking, how did an
outdated program, of all things, defeat me?”
Lancer could just barely sit up. His
pelvis and legs were broken.
“I’m not really sure either, to be
honest,” the man said. “Luck, maybe? . . . Naw, there’s no such thing as luck
here.”
“Why don’t you get it over with, and
kill me? That’s what the Duke sent you up here to do, isn’t it?”
“That is correct. But I don’t get to
meet people like you very often, and I like to have a nice chat before I part
ways. But, as I was saying—“
Lancer kept his eyes on the man’s
face as Locke moved in from behind, leaping through the air. Locke’s drop-kick
struck the man right in his lower back, sending him flying.
Lancer watched the program’s body
shoot over his own, twirling through the air. The top of the man’s head skipped
against the edge of the building, breaking his neck horribly and cutting his
angry scream short, before the body went plummeting downward, lifeless.
Locke’s kick had blown the man thirty
feet out the other direction.
“That’s a shame,” Locke said. “That
guy didn’t live quite long enough to feel what it would be like to fall all
that way.”
“Get me to a phone, damn it!”
-----
Energy is a measure of your character’s ability to channel
the additional reserves of power that he can get from both adrenaline and the
force of his own thought in the Matrix. It is not the same thing as
Strength—using Energy is to trigger a burst of power within your avatar in the
Matrix.
Prerequisites For
Energy 1: Awareness
2, Endurance 2, Strength 2
Technical Data: All characters move at a base speed of 15 feet per action
(30 when running). Characters with higher Energy gain a bonus to this movement
rate, as listed in each level. Furthermore, when a character with the Energy
discipline jumps, the maximum length of his jump is enhanced by an amount equal
to twice his movement bonus. For instance, if the character’s movement bonus is
+5, then his jump bonus is +10.
In addition, characters with an Energy level of at least 1
can deliver power strikes. Whenever the character catches an opponent
temporarily defenseless (even for a moment), unprepared, or hits him from
behind, he can deliver a blow that deals additional damage, as listed in each
level of Energy. A character may only use his power strike against a single
opponent once during his turn—he cannot use a power strike more than once on
the same target in a single turn, though he may use a power strike on a
different target in the same turn, as well as continue attacking with normal
blows.
At the GM’s discretion, the victim of a power strike may be
thrown backward by the force of the hit, knocked down, or be given a
Circumstance Penalty for a short period of time.
Take careful note that power strikes cannot be made with
weapons of any kind, even melee weapons. They can be used only with unarmed
attacks.
LEVEL –1: You can’t use Energy.
LEVEL 0: -You still can’t use Energy.
LEVEL 1: -You gain a +5 bonus to your movement
rate.
-You deal +2 damage with your power strikes.
LEVEL 2: -You gain a +10 bonus to your
movement rate.
-You deal +4 damage with your power strikes.
LEVEL 3: -+15
movement.
-+6 damage with power strikes.
-You gain
miraculous cohesion. Your bones never break, and only people with Strength 3
and at least Energy 2 can knock you over when you are standing on level ground.
A car that hits you at a speed of less than 45 mph will not knock you
over—it’ll stop the car in place (although you’ll take normal damage).
Locke turned around, watching the
elevator.
Pling. Pling. Floor
13, Floor 14. . .
Someone was coming to see him.
Locke drew his Glock pistols and
waited.
The door opened. Out stepped the
absolute nemesis of every hacker—perhaps every hacker that had ever lived.
“Mr. Locke, I presume,” Smith said,
smiling. “The only hacker I’ve ever
met with the nerve to use his real name. I respect that, Mr. Locke.” The
agent’s accent on the word ‘hacker’ was one of disgust.
Locke had the pistols pointed right
at him.
“Well, Mr. Smith—here’s what I think of your respect.”
Locke opened fire. The barrels of the
pistols exploded with yellow-orange light as the bullets sped toward his
target.
And then, it was like Agent Smith was
in three places at once. He didn’t even move his legs—the top half of his body
simply shifted from place to place, an impossibly fast blur.
34 bullets later, and the elevator
was riddled with bullet holes. Smith, however, wasn’t.
“You’re right, Mr. Locke. My respect
means nothing,” Smith said, cracking his fists in anticipation. “But then
again. . . You mean nothing.”
-----
Evasion is a character’s ability to simply avoid attacks—the discipline goes beyond
a combination of Agility and Speed, to an ability to simply dodge and weave at
unbelievable alacrity. This alacrity comes from an enhanced comprehension of
the Matrix that allows a character to move at the speed of thought—far faster
than a bullet will ever go.
Prerequisites for
Evasion 1: Awareness
1, Speed 3
Technical Data: A character with Evasion gains a bonus to his Defense
Rating. This bonus always applies, unless the character is completely helpless,
is caught completely by surprise, or is shot at point-blank range.
LEVEL –1: -You can’t
use Evasion.
LEVEL 0: -You still can’t use Evasion.
LEVEL 1: -Defense Rating +3.
LEVEL 2: -Defense
Rating +5 (overlaps bonus from Level 1).
LEVEL 3: -Defense
Rating +8 (overlaps bonus from Level 2).
Ion struggled feebly under the weight
of the capture net that the soldiers had shot over him.
“Don’t kill him,” he heard one say.
“Smith wants him alive. . . For interrogation.”
All right,
Ion thought. I’ve had about enough of
this.
Ion, capture net and all, shot into
the air. As he flew into the night sky, he could hear the M-16s going off
behind him.
-----
As any Zion freedom fighter would tell you, flying is a
difficult thing to master. Few can move about the Matrix so freely that not
even gravity affects them. The ability to fly is the mark of a highly skilled
hacker.
Prerequisites for
Flight 1: Awareness
1, Endurance 2, Speed 3, Strength 2
Technical Data: Flying
confers a special bonus to your Defense Rating as listed with each level,
provided you are aware that you are being attacked.
LEVEL –1: -You can’t
fly at all.
LEVEL 0: -You still can’t fly.
LEVEL 1: -With a running start (2 actions),
you can leap and then take off, soaring through the air at about thirty miles
an hour.
-You can keep up this flight indefinitely, though you cannot
exceed an altitude over 2,000 feet.
-If you are shot or badly wounded while you are flying, you
have a 30% of losing your concentration and plummeting.
-You fly like a humming bird, though you cannot float—you
will begin to fall if you stop moving, though you will be able to resume flying
during the fall.
-If you don’t possess a Balance of at least 1, there’s no guarantee that you won’t
take a hard landing when you come down.
-DR +0. You are not flying that fast.
LEVEL 2: -If you concentrate for a moment (1
action), you can simply take off. You can fly at about a hundred miles an hour.
-You can go to an altitude of 10,000 feet.
-If shot or badly wounded while flying, you have only a 5%
chance of losing your concentration.
-You are capable of floating.
-Despite the blistering speed, you don’t take heat damage
from terminal velocity as long as you still have your concentration with you.
However, you have to slow down before you land, or you’ll splatter.
-DR +4.
LEVEL 3: -You can match speed with a jet if
you wish, although flying this rapidly is disruptive to the world around you.
At top speed, you blow out windows and create a wind-force like that of a
tornado in your wake—you can exceed the speed of sound, which will obviously
cause a lot of destruction if you are only flying ten feet off the ground.
-As long as you are unencumbered, you can begin flying
almost at will at the rate described in 1.
To fly any faster, you will have to spend one action preparing. If you want
to fly at jet-speed, you will have to spend five actions.
-If you want to land, you can do so at any speed, though you
have to concentrate heavily (six actions) before you land at maximum speed. You
can inflict heavy damage to things you land on, though you’ll have a hard time
aiming at anything much smaller than a car.
-Your amazing speed does not confer invulnerability to collisions.
Smashing into a building at the speed of sound will be the end of you unless
you have Endurance 4, and even then,
you risk death (60% chance).
“Where is he?”
“We tracked him to this location,”
the other agent said. “He has to be here somewhere.”
They looked around. The alleyway was
empty.
“Perhaps the tip was bogus.”
“Impossible. I’ll contact Thomps—“
Agent Harris turned around to look at
the opposite wall, and finally saw it—the words were lost in his mouth.
The Zionist was here, all
right—coming right out of the wall for them, as if the concrete were made of
hot, rippling butter.
The man leapt through the air before
Harris could even move, leather jacket billowing in the wind, and struck
outward, one boot for each agent’s face. Harris felt the mechanical equivalent
of aggravation as the kick shattered his glasses and sent him flying backward
through the air. First that woman on the clothesline—and now this.
-----
Matrix Warping is a highly advanced ability. Few in the
history of Zion have attained any real skill in it—and those that did were
often referred to as “The One.” It is the most primal of abilities—the power to
bend the reality of the Matrix to your will.
Prerequisites for Matrix Warping 1: Telekinesis 3, GM’s permission (You
may only take levels in Matrix Warping if your GM allows you to).
Technical Data: Matrix
Warping works differently than other disciplines. Your level in Matrix Warping
determines how many points you have to spend on Matrix Powers (MPs). Matrix
Powers are special abilities that transcend the advantages given to you by
lesser disciplines.
You can attain more levels in
Matrix Warping than in other disciplines; up to 5. At the GM’s discretion, you
may go even higher than that.
Matrix Power Points, as determined
by Matrix Warping Level:
-1: 0
0: 0
1: 2
2: 4
3: 7
4: 11
5: 16
If your GM allows you to progress
farther in Matrix Warping than Level 5, your total number of MPs increases by 5
for each additional level.
Your points can be spent on a wide
variety of special enhancements and abilities (Matrix Powers). However, once
you spend a point, you cannot un-spend it and use it on another Matrix Power.
Unless otherwise noted, you cannot buy the same Matrix Power more than once. Some
Matrix Powers have prerequisites.
Matrix Powers:
Prerequisite: Agility 2
Cost: 2 Points
Your opponents never gain
additional bonuses to hit when they attack you from behind or flank you.
Prerequisite: Speed 3
Cost: 5 Points
You permanently gain an additional
action on each round.
Prerequisite: Energy 3
Cost: 5 Points
If you succeed at a power strike
against a sentient program, you can attempt to utterly destroy that program,
forever erasing it. You momentarily “leap inside” of the program, overloading
it with the force of your own willpower alone. Roll 1d4+1. If your result is
more than the program’s Endurance, you have a 75% chance of destroying that
program.
If you fail to destroy the program, you cause it only 2d6
points of damage, although it may still be forced to re-manifest somewhere else
(if this occurs, you have no way of knowing whether you actually destroyed the
program or not). In very rare cases, an attempt to destroy a program can
instead simply disconnect it from the Matrix, causing the program to become
free-willed. This can have untold consequences.
Programs that can become incorporeal, as rare as they are,
are still subject to Annihilate Program if you can make physical contact with
their incorporeal forms.
Prerequisite: Corporeality
Shift
Cost: 1 Point
The maximum number of rounds that
you can spend in incorporeal form before having to wait for another hour
increases by 1. Improved Corporeality Shift can be purchased multiple times for
additional rounds.
Control Created Program
Prerequisite: Create
Lesser Artificial Organism
Cost: 2 Points
Using force of will alone, the
creator of an artificial organism or human can mentally will its creation to do
its bidding. The creator must use 2 actions in the attempt and must make an ATD
check. The program to be controlled must be within 180 feet and visible to the
controller. The chance of success for the ATD check is reduced by 15% if the
program is an animal, and by 30% if the program is a human. Extended periods of
control over the same program gradually increase the controller’s chances of
success, as he grows used to dominating the will of the program, and the
program’s in-built defenses wear down against the constant effort exerted on
it.
On a successful check, the
controller can give one five-word, telepathic command to the program. The
program is compelled to obey to the letter of the command. For every two
actions above the minimum two that the controller uses in attempting to control
the program, he may add five more words to the command. The more general the
command is, the more an intelligent program can subvert the purpose of the
command if it so desires. Programs of lesser intelligence are also more likely to
misinterpret a command based on how broad it is. A command can be no greater
than 25 words.
If the controller makes a second
successful ATD check after a controlling attempt, at a –40% penalty, the
program does not realize that it is being controlled. Otherwise, the program
realizes what is going on, even if the attempt at control failed.
Control can only be exerted with
this ability over programs that were created by the character. This ability
grants no ability whatsoever to exert influence over programs that were created
by the Matrix or another character with a creation ability.
Prerequisites: -
Cost: 4 Points
By concentrating deeply for three
rounds, you can change the weather around you in a kilometer radius to change.
You must make a successful ATD check to successfully alter the weather pattern
in the Matrix. You can change the weather to one of the following conditions:
-Very cold temperature (Minor
Circumstance Penalty, not negated by Balance)
-Moderate temperature
-Very hot temperature (Minor
Circumstance Penalty, not negated by Balance)
-Raining lightly
-Raining hard/storming (a Minor
Circumstance Penalty)
-Stops raining
-Snowing lightly
-Snowing heavily
-Hailing (a Medium Circumstance
Penalty)
-Hailing violently (Major Circumstance
Penalty, characters in affected areas suffer 1 point of damage per round).
If multiple characters with
Control Weather work together and concentrate intently for five rounds, they
have a chance of generating a tornado (-20% ATD check penalty) or even a
hurricane (-40%). These conditions can have untold effects on the environment,
but the characters cannot control a tornado or hurricane in any way once they
have created it, except by negating it through another use of Control Weather.
Whenever a character changes the
environment, agents immediately notice and will almost always investigate.
Unless negated or changed by another character with Control Weather or a
powerful programming entity, changes that a character makes to the weather
remain for ten minutes before conditions return to the way they were before.
A single character may use Control
Weather only three times per hour.
Corporeality Shift
Prerequisites: Energy 1,
Regeneration 3
Cost: 5 Points
By using one action, you can
instantly become corporeal or incorporeal. In incorporeal form, the physical
world of the Matrix does not effect you in any way—you can move through any
physical barrier, and all physical forces pass through you as if you weren’t
there, inflicting no harm on you. However, just as the physical world has no
effect on you, you have no effect on the physical world while incorporeal.
Other incorporeal beings can interact with you normally, as if you were both
still in the physical world. While incorporeal, you regenerate 2 hit points per
round and are not subject to any Telekinesis ability.
You may only assume incorporeal
form once every so often. Once you spend a total of 3 rounds in incorporeal
form, you are forced to immediately return to corporeal form. Once this occurs,
you cannot become incorporeal again for one full hour.
While incorporeal, you cannot
return to corporeality if you are occupying the same space as another solid
object. If you are forced to return to corporeal form, you are displaced out of
the solid object.
Prerequisites: Endurance
3, Create Lesser Artificial Organism, GM’s Permission
Cost: 5 Points
Using Create Artificial Human, you
can create a program that emulates a human being. This human has an effective
IQ of about 100 (or less, at the creator’s option), and can be of any age. The
program’s height cannot exceed seven feet, and its weight cannot exceed 300
pounds. Regardless of the human’s size, all of its discipline levels are at –1.
The artificial human can have any
conceivable physical features, though it cannot have features that do not exist
in nature for humans (you cannot create any sort of monster or “mutant”). You
can give it any clothing you want, or none at all.
Your artificial human, upon
creation, has a random personality and mindset. Unless you furnish it with
other lesser programs, such as some sort of identification and a wallet, it has
no “place” inside the Matrix—it does not belong. Using the Control Created
Program ability, you can gradually alter your artificial human’s mental state
to your will, eventually instilling a “deeper purpose” in its existence. For
instance, you may transform your created human into a soldier-type to help you
on your tasks with extra firepower, or use the creation as a butler and door-man
for some kind of house that you own inside the Matrix. There are limitless
possibilities, and all of them can make the program's "place" inside
the Matrix irrelevant, as far as your character is concerned.
The process of creation takes at
least twelve hours, and requires a successful ATD check at a –30% penalty. A
failed check indicates that the human never comes into existence, instantly
dies or even disintegrates only moments after existence, is horribly warped, or
comes into existence as nothing more than a steaming puddle of artificial
protoplasm.
Creating an artificial human is an extremely strenuous, incredibly
difficult activity that drains the creator’s stamina. It requires the creator’s
full attention for the entire process, who in effect is willing new matter into
being and giving it life and intellectual capability near his own, by all means
a deific achievement. The creator suffers at least a –4 penalty to his Base
Attack Bonus and Defense Rating for at least three hours after the creation (even
if he failed to create anything). Creating more than one organism in a
month-long period increases the time of exhaustion to at least a day, and has a
good chance of causing the creator to simply collapse from exhaustion. Creating
any more than that is highly dangerous and may lead to the creator’s untimely
death.
The character’s exhaustion remains
with him even if he leaves the Matrix.
High levels in Endurance and
Regeneration, at the GM’s discretion, lessen these penalties, but never
completely negate them.
Multiple characters with the Create Artificial Human ability can create
beings of greater and greater power, artificial humanoids that may start with
discipline levels near, matching, or even exceeding their creators’ in some
cases. They may even give their creation abilities that are unique to it,
possessed by no other being, even actual humans. However, even with multiple
participants in the process, the exhaustion penalties remain the same for each
collaborator, and it is amazingly difficult to develop an artificial human with
any discipline scores above 0.
Note that agents seek out and
terminate user-created sentient programs with extreme prejudice, regardless of
how significant they are.
Prerequisites: Endurance
2, Create Lesser Program, GM’s Permission
Cost: 3 Points
Using Create Lesser Artificial
Organism, you can create a single, sentient organism that is actually a
self-automated program within the Matrix. This organism cannot be a human,
smaller than a fly, or larger than a chimpanzee, and cannot have intellectual
capabilities roughly beyond that of a dog or cat (in rare exceptions, such as
that of the chimpanzee, it may be somewhat more intelligent than that).
The organism to be created must be
a creature that occurs in nature. The creator cannot construct a creature of
his own devising, nor can he build a mythical or monstrous organism. The
creator must be familiar with what the creature is—if he has never seen an
octopus in the Matrix before, he cannot create one. Under no circumstances can
the creator build a robot or any other non-organic sort of life-form. The
creator cannot give the creature any properties that are highly unusual or that
it simply would not have (such as a dog with acidic saliva, an exploding rat,
or a Doberman that can understand, or pretend to understand, simple
mathematics).
The process of creation takes at
least an hour, and requires a successful ATD check. A failed check indicates
that the creature never comes into existence, instantly dies or even
disintegrates only moments after existence, is horribly warped, or comes into
existence as nothing more than a steaming puddle of artificial protoplasm.
Creating an organism is an unusually strenuous, highly difficult
activity that drains the creator’s stamina. It requires the creator’s full
attention for the entire process, who in effect is willing new matter into
being and giving it life, an almost god-like achievement. The creator suffers
at least a –2 penalty to his Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating for at least
twenty minutes after the creation (even if he failed to create anything).
Creating more than one organism in a six-hour period increases the time of
exhaustion to at least two hours, and has a good chance of causing the creator
to simply collapse from exhaustion. Creating any more than that is highly
dangerous and may lead to the creator’s untimely death.
The character’s exhaustion remains
with him even if he leaves the Matrix.
High levels in Endurance and Regeneration, at the GM’s discretion,
lessen these penalties, but never completely negate them.
Once the organism takes existence, it can begin at any stage of life,
and has a normal life-span for its species. It cannot come into being with
instructions or loyalty to its creator or anyone else, and may even have a
random temperament, at the GM’s discretion. The creature behaves normally for
its species.
Multiple characters that each possess this ability can pool their
stamina and energy into creating organisms of greater size, though never any
larger than an adult elephant.
Note that agents seek out and terminate user-created sentient programs
with extreme prejudice, regardless of how significant they are.
Prerequisites: Endurance
1, GM’s Permission
Cost: 3 Points
By concentrating for 3 full rounds
(or more, at the GM’s discretion), you can create new matter in the Matrix. The
“program” you create must be a non-sentient object weighing no more than 10
pounds, and can be no larger in size than 2 cubic feet.
If the program involves complex
chemicals, machinery, or other details that have to be very specific for the
object to function correctly (GM’s discretion), you must make a successful ATD
check to create the item. A failed check results in either a complete failure
to create the program, or the creation of a program that does not do what you
want.
Examples:
-A plate of food, containing items
of your choosing. If you succeed at an ATD check, you can specify that the food
is a drug or contains a drug. You can also specify, without needing an ATD
check, if the food is spoiled, fresh, frozen, or in some way unusual.
-An unloaded gun (with an ATD
check).
-Enough ammo to completely fill
any type of gun, so long as the ammo fits in the size and weight constraints of
the program.
-Any type of liquid (if the
program does not include a container for the liquid, then it immediately
manifests in mid-air and spills to the floor in front of the creator).
You cannot create any item that
you would not ordinarily know how to create by the standard, real-life method,
or any item that you do not understand the inner workings of. If your character
does not know exactly how a gun works, he cannot make one, though he can
eventually learn with enough study and some practice, in both the Matrix and
the real world. Likewise, he could not create a specific key or pass-card for a
door unless he understood both how the key or pass-card worked, and what
precise properties the key or pass-card would need to work properly (the second
of the two requirements being highly unlikely, to say the least).
The GM retains final ruling on
what the character can and cannot create with Create Lesser Program, regardless
of what these rules say, though the GM should never allow the player to
create an object of greater weight or dimension than specified.
Creating programs is a strenuous, difficult activity that drains the
creator’s stamina. It requires the creator’s full attention for the entire
process, who in effect is willing new matter into being. The creator suffers at
least a –2 penalty to his Base Attack Bonus and Defense Rating for at least ten
minutes after the creation (even if he failed to create anything). Creating
more than 3 lesser programs in a ten-minute period renders the character
completely exhausted, unable to undertake any strenuous activity for at least
an hour. Creating more than 5 lesser programs in a thirty minute period doubles
the time of exhaustion to at least two hours, and has a good chance of causing
the creator to simply collapse from exhaustion. Creating any more than this is
highly dangerous and may lead to the creator’s untimely death.
High levels in Endurance and Regeneration, at the GM’s discretion,
lessen these penalties, but never completely negate them.
The character’s exhaustion remains with him even if he leaves the
Matrix.
Multiple characters that each possess the Create Lesser Program ability
can pool their stamina and energy into creating programs of exponentially
greater mass and dimension, at the GM’s discretion. These combined attempts can
never be used to create sentient programs. At least five characters working
together can use this ability to construct a vehicle, at the GM’s discretion.
You cannot use Create Lesser Program to create a hard-line phone (a
phone that can take you out of the Matrix), or to create a computer of any
kind, even if you have help. You can use it to create cell-phones, calculators,
or other electronic devices that do not have the capability to perform
automated functions (actions without direct input from their user).
GM’s Note: Create
Lesser Program is potentially one of the most powerful abilities that any
character can possess. Be very careful what you allow players to create. Very,
very few characters will be able to construct even a simple firearm or
explosive, and none will be able to do it without extensive training.
Energy Resistance
Prerequisites: Endurance 2
Cost: 2
Points
You suffer only half damage from fire, electricity, acid, and freezing
effects, as well as a wide variety of other environmental hazards, at the GM’s
discretion.
Enhanced Aim
Prerequisites: Agility 1, Balance 2
Cost: 1
Point
You gain a permanent +1 modifier to your Ranged Attack Bonus.
Prerequisites: N/A
Cost: 1 Point
Your chance of successful ATD
checks increases by 10%. Greater Awareness can be purchased up to 3 times.
Greater Cohesion
Prerequisites: Endurance
3, Energy 3
Cost: 3 Points
Your Fortitude Rating permanently
increases by 1.
Greater Endurance
Prerequisite: Endurance 4
Cost: 1 Point
You permanently add 1 hit point to
your maximum total. Greater Endurance can be purchased multiple times.
Prerequisite: Morphing
Cost: 2 Points
You can assume the exact form and
voice of any humanoid that you have seen in the Matrix during the last hour.
You must actually see the person, not just a photograph or video footage.
Assuming this person’s form counts toward your allowed total of two alternate
forms.
Prerequisite: Control
Created Program
Cost: 4 Points
You can exert your influence over
any sentient program in the Matrix, not just ones that you created. To attempt
control over a program that you did not create, you make an ATD check with a
–45% penalty (or more, at the GM’s discretion).
Programs that you did not create
do not become less resistant to your domination over time. No matter how often
you exert control over them, it remains just as difficult to control them as
the first time you attempted it, if not more.
Prerequisite: Morphing
Cost: 2 Points
By spending your full turn in
concentration, you can become visible or invisible to the naked eye. Infrared
and thermal vision can still pick you up. Only your body and clothing become
invisible; any weapons that you have remain visible, as they are not an actual
part of your Matrix avatar. Touching or being touched by a human or sentient
program while invisible immediately makes you visible again.
You cannot be invisible and
incorporeal at the same time.
When invisible, a character gains
+4 modifiers to his Melee Attack Bonus and Defense Rating.
Prerequisite: -
Cost: 2 Points
You gain the ability to pass through solid matter as if it
wasn’t there. After concentrating for 1 action, you can make a running start at
a solid surface (usually a wall) and pass completely through to the other side,
without damaging the surface at all. The thickness of the wall is irrelevant,
although it will take you longer to run through it based on the thickness. You are
not capable of traveling straight downward or upward with this ability; only
forward. You cannot stop while you are inside the object or if you occupy the
same space as it; if you do, you are forcefully ejected from the object in a
random direction.
Prerequisite: N/A
Cost: 4 Points
By spending 2 actions, you can
alter your appearance in the Matrix so greatly that you appear to be a
completely different person. You can transform into any gender, change your
anatomy (though you cannot enlarge or reduce yourself by more than 10% of your
normal height, grow or remove limbs, or gain any physical benefits or abilities
that you do not already possess), and alter your voice. You cannot use Morphing to specifically
impersonate anyone else. At best, you can transform yourself into someone who
looks sort of like the person you are attempting to impersonate.
Furthermore, you cannot morph into anything besides a humanoid—you cannot
become an animal, or an inanimate object, for instance.
If you choose to maintain your
morphed appearance in combat, you must give up one of your actions each round
in order to do so. If you are damaged during combat, there is a 60% chance that
you will instantly revert to your normal appearance.
For
every visit to the Matrix that you make, you can only assume a maximum of two
different forms. Each time you leave and re-enter the Matrix, you can select
two completely new forms if you wish. You do not have to choose which forms you
take ahead of time, but you can never have more than two, not including your
normal appearance.
Whenever
you are incorporeal, you cannot assume any other form.
Open Programmer Door
Prerequisites: Portal
Manipulation
Cost: 3 Points
Programmer
Doors are special gateways that to most users of the Matrix appear normal.
However, anyone with an Awareness of 3 can see the door’s unusual “aura” of
code, indicating its special nature. If such a character also has the Open
Programmer Door ability, he can potentially use the door to access the Inner
Hallway, a network of such doors that lead to dozens of important locations
throughout the Matrix.
However,
Programmer Doors often only function with their true purpose under a very
specific set of conditions, and for only a very short period of time. This is
because the Inner Hallway is an extremely important place, as its most
knowledgeable and experienced users can find their way to the Architect through
the Inner Hallway, though this is difficult even for them.
The
conditions that must be met for a Programmer Door to function correctly are the
Game Master’s responsibility to decide.
Characters
that possess the Open Programmer Door ability can choose to completely ignore
Portal Manipulation effects that have been set on doors, moving through them
normally.
Portal Manipulation
Prerequisites: Matrix Warping
3
Cost: 4 Points
You
are capable of altering any ordinary doorway in the Matrix so that it leads to
a predetermined location. You select this location after you have entered the
Matrix. After that, you cannot change the location until you leave and re-enter
the Matrix again. The location that you choose must be one that you have
visited within the last month.
After
using 3 actions to concentrate on a door within fifteen feet of yourself, you
make an ATD check with a +15% bonus. If successful, you alter the door so that
opening it from one side (your choice of which) will lead to your predetermined
location. You may only alter a door in this way once per hour. A manipulated
portal remains altered for one hour.
You
may use an ATD check at a –10% penalty to return a door’s properties back to
normal. You must be within fifteen feet of the manipulated door, and you spend
2 actions in concentration when you use the ability for this purpose. If
successful, the door returns to normal, leading you to the adjoining area, just
like any other door. You may only use this form of Portal Manipulation three
times per hour.
Only
solid doors with no windows or holes are subject to Portal Manipulation. You
may not use Portal Manipulation on any sort of entryway that is smaller than a
standard door. Furthermore, you may not use Portal Manipulation on Programmer
Doors.
Potent Attack
Prerequisites: Energy 3, Strength
3
Cost: 3 Points
Your
unarmed attacks do 1 additional point of damage.
Speed Attack
Prerequisites: Speed 3
Cost: 2 Points
If
you devote all of your actions in a round to making melee or thrown weapon
attacks, and nothing else, you may then take a -2 penalty to your Melee Attack
Bonus in exchange for another action on your turn. This additional action may
be used toward any activity that you choose, not just attacking.
Strength Burst
Prerequisites: Energy 1, Strength
3
Cost: 3 Points
If
you give up all of your actions on your turn except for one, you can use that
action to perform a tremendous feat of strength. If you use the action to make
a melee attack, your Melee Attack Bonus and damage both gain a +4 modifier.
Your strength is at least thirty times that of an ordinary human—you could move
through a brick wall as if it were made of Styrofoam; you could leap an
incredibly great distance; if a group of football linebackers tried piling onto
you, you could move through them as if they weren’t there. What exact sort of
capabilities that a Strength Burst would give you is up to the GM, though the
capabilities would undoubtedly be amazing.
“This is Squad Foxtrot. It’s a mess
down here—we have confirmation of tangos in—”
Lieutenant Franklin’s body suddenly
bulged and warped in a distinctly grotesque manner, and within seconds, Agent
Harris was standing in his place.
The ball-room, as Harris expected,
was a war zone. Slaughtered government troops lay everywhere, amidst broken
tables and chairs, bullet-ridden walls, and shattered glass.
Harris took out a cloth from his breast-pocket
and rubbed his shades as he spoke.
“You don’t have to hide from me. I
know you’re all in here.”
Tyche came out from behind one of the
marble pillars holding up the room—the pillar was pock-marked with bullet
wounds. Tyche had one herself—right in the stomach.
“You’ve been shot,” Harris said, as
if he cared. He put his shades back on.
Tyche smirked. “Ain’t the first
time.”
“And it won’t be the last,” Harris
added, as he went for his Desert Eagle.
-----
Regeneration measures a character’s ability to miraculously
recover from wounds that would be severely painful and disabling, if not fatal,
to normal humans. This ability is a must for hackers who may need to spend a
lot of time in the Matrix during their missions, or that expect to get beat up from
time to time.
Prerequisites for
Regeneration 1: Endurance
2. For Regeneration 2, you need Endurance 3, and so on.
LEVEL –1: -Being that
you are a normal human, you don’t “regenerate” in any way that is the least bit
spectacular.
LEVEL 0: -You gradually recover from physical
blows over a sustained period of time in the Matrix, regenerating 1 hit point
every 2 hours. However, your injuries heal normally—a broken bone will still
take weeks to mend, and a bullet in the leg will still make it difficult to walk.
LEVEL 1: -You regain
2 hit points per hour.
-After every two hours of inaction, you heal any one of your
injuries (you select which one). For instance, if you have a broken bone and a
bullet wound, you select which of those two injuries is to be repaired.
LEVEL 2: -You regain 4 hit points per hour.
-You can spontaneously recover from your wounds. You can
spend three actions to heal one injury or restore 2 hit points. You can only
spend 20 actions in this way for each chunk of time you spend in the Matrix—in
other words, once you spend those 20 actions, you have to leave the Matrix and
come back again before you can regenerate like that again (note that you will
be fully healed when you leave and re-enter the Matrix, regardless).
Visual evidence from spontaneously regenerated wounds stays
until it heals at the normal human rate. You will still have bullet holes and
the like in your body until then, although they will not hurt (your bones do
not heal normally, mending whenever you regenerate the injury to them).
You cannot spend actions on spontaneous regeneration if you
are in the middle of combat.
LEVEL 3: -The amount of actions you can spend
on spontaneous regeneration increases to 40. You can spend up to six of those
actions at any time, even in the middle of combat.
-If you maintain physical contact with another person in the
Matrix, you can also spontaneously heal them in the same way that you do
yourself. You spend actions on regenerating them just as you do, and actions
that you spend in this way count towards your allowed total of 40.
-If you have all 40 of your actions remaining, you can
resurrect yourself or another person from death by using all of them. In order
to do this, most of the body must remain intact—if you were hit by a train or
killed in a massive explosion, you are permanently dead.
There is a 50% chance that your resurrection attempt will
not work, in which case, all your available spontaneous regeneration actions
are still spent.
You have to maintain physical contact with the person to be
resurrected. The resurrection does not regenerate lost limbs or other visible
physical damage, but a resurrected person will not bleed to death from wounds
sustained before the resurrection. You can’t resurrect a program.
You can’t resurrect someone else while you are engaged in
combat.
-You never bleed to death.
The soldiers closed in from every
imaginable direction, some wielding combat knives. Ion leapt straight up,
kicking two in the chest as he came down. As he landed, he slid into a crouch
and tripped another before balancing himself on one hand and delivering a
superhumanly powerful kick to a fourth soldier’s groin. He rose back to his
feet in an instant, backhanding a man that was coming up behind him and
head-butting another that was facing him.
The seventh man almost got to within
striking range before Ion’s open palm struck into his throat like a knife,
sending him reeling. Ion kicked the pistol out of the eighth soldier’s hand
even as he drew it, before using the same leg to pummel the man in the chest
and stomach.
Ion kicked a soldier in the face as
he tried to get up, and then all was done. Eight of the government’s finest lay
fallen before him, incapacitated.
That was a fun five seconds, he thought.
-----
Speed is quite possibly the most important discipline—in the
Matrix, you aren’t limited to the less mundane physical movement that
unenlightened humans are restricted to. You can go just as fast as you can think to go. An exceptionally quick
freedom fighter can lay waste to an entire platoon of the agents’ best minions
in a matter of seconds.
LEVEL 0: -You can take three actions on your
turn.
LEVEL 1: -You can
take four actions on your turn.
LEVEL 2: -You can take five actions on your
turn.
-If you have a Balance of 2 or more, you can run across
walls for a length of ten feet at a time just as if you were moving on flat
ground. At the end of the ten feet, you land back on the ground. You can move
any direction on the wall.
LEVEL 3: -You can take six actions on your turn.
-You can move along walls just as in 2, but for a length of twenty feet.
The three agents strode forward, confident that they finally
had the hacker where they wanted him. The hacker simply stood there, his hand
resting on the parking meter.
“You guys just don’t get it, do you?”
The agents stopped for a moment. One
even cocked his head.
“You just can’t beat me.”
“Your termination is a foregone
conclusion, Mr. Locke. It is inevitable.”
It didn’t take long for the agents to
see where this lanky, bald terrorist got his confidence from. The hacker simply
grabbed the parking meter with both hands and pulled it out of the side-walk.
The first agent attacked immediately.
Locke wielded the parking meter like it was made out of Styrofoam, parrying the
agent’s every blow, until at last he got his chance, and speared the agent in
the gut before hammering down on his head. The agent’s skull caved in like it
was a ping-pong ball, and the agent transformed back into a soldier—albeit a
dead one.
The next two agents, irritated looks
on their faces, came at him, and Locke was ready.
-----
Strong characters aren’t just mighty—they can achieve
terrifyingly powerful feats of strength. With a superior strength, you can put
a hurting on just about anything—from an agent, to a car door, or even a brick
wall. It comes in handy.
Technical Data: You receive a bonus to your Melee Attack Bonus (MAB) and the
damage you inflict with melee attacks according to your Strength level. Your
Strength also determines the base distance you can leap, which is further
augmented if you possess levels in Energy. Note that these bonuses also apply
to objects and weapons that you throw.
LEVEL –1: You suffer a –1 penalty to your MAB and melee damage (you
always inflict a minimum of 1 point of damage). Human weakling.
-You can leap five feet in any direction, maybe ten
if you get a running start.
LEVEL 0: -You gain
no modifiers to your Melee Attack Bonus or damage.
-You can leap five feet in any direction—fifteen if you
concentrate or get a running start.
LEVEL 1: -You gain a +1 bonus to MAB and melee
damage.
-You can punch through a car’s window almost as if it were
not even there.
-You can leap ten feet in any direction—thirty if you
concentrate or get a running start.
LEVEL 2: -You gain a
+2 bonus to MAB and melee damage.
-Your blows can smash bricks.
-If you swung a stop sign at someone, something that is
easily within your power to do, you could probably cleave them in half.
-You can leap twenty feet in any direction—sixty if you concentrate
or get a running start.
-Car windows are nothing. With a good strike, you can punch
through the car’s roof or hood, and with a second strike, you could punch
through a door.
-By mustering up the full force of your strength on your
turn (preparing with 3-4 actions), you stand a good chance of breaking through
a brick wall.
LEVEL 3: -You gain a +3 bonus to MAB and melee
damage.
-You could throw a stop sign through the air like Sammy Sosa
hits baseballs—maybe even a little farther. When it comes into contact with
whatever you threw it at, it’ll probably go through a car and generally cause a
big mess.
-You can leap thirty feet in any direction, ninety if you
concentrate or get a running start.
-If you have to, you can simply
rip a car door completely off. If you focus and concentrate intently during
your turn (5 actions), you can probably pick up a car.
The two soldiers waited patiently
from around the corner, the stink of the sewer all around them—why did Smith
send them down here, anyway? No terrorist, no matter how insane, would have a
hideout in this dump. Boley thanked God that he had a gas mask on.
And then he heard something. Making a
motion with one gloved hand, he indicated to his partner that he was going
around the corner to check it out.
He rounded the corner and spotted Ion
immediately, who was coming straight for him. Boley fired a burst of 9mm fire,
expecting to see the terrorist fall in a bloody heap.
Ion simply held his hand up, and the
five bullets stopped in mid-air, as if under his command.
Lieutenant Boley couldn’t believe
what he was seeing—every rule of physics had just been violated, and this guy
didn’t make it look that hard.
Boley didn’t have much time to ponder
it all. The bullets came shooting straight
back at him, pounding his body armor. Boley fell in the water behind him,
bewildered, but still alive.
He could tell his partner wasn’t sure
of what was going on, and he wanted to say something—but it was all too much.
Leiland rounded the corner, gun raised, and took a sharp kick to the chest.
Boley watched as Leiland flew into
the wall ten feet behind him, and didn’t get up.
Within seconds, Boley came to his
senses, and tried to climb out of the water, but Ion already had a Colt .45
pointed at him.
“What. . . What are you?”
“Not important. But I wouldn’t mention this to anyone, if I
were you. Your boss and I don’t get along.”
-----
Prerequisites for Telekinesis 1: Awareness
3, Level 2 in at least three other disciplines
LEVEL -1: -You can’t use Telekinesis.
-You can generate a telekinetic force by using 1 action.
Using this ability, you can “grab” any object weighing 10 pounds or less that
is not being held by someone else and is within 20 feet, and move it at a speed
roughly equal to that of a thrown weapon if you so desire (and therefore
inflict thrown weapon damage with it). Alternatively, you can generate a
telekinetic force against a person or object that deals 1 point of melee
damage.
LEVEL 2: -The maximum size of your field increases to 100
square feet, and the range at which it can be created increases to 10 feet.
Unlike a Level 1 force field, it also provides some measure of protection
against any kind of force effect (such as an explosion), increasing your
Fortitude Rating by 2 for purposes of resisting the damage. Even if you are
damaged, the explosion will not knock you over.
At your option, you can specify that your force field
deflects objects rather than just stopping them. Deflected objects immediately
turn to a random trajectory once they reach the force field, moving in that
direction at equal velocity (this trajectory is always away from the force
field). Each deflected object has a roughly 20% chance of hitting someone else.
If the deflected object threatens to hit another person, the GM makes an attack
roll with a +4 bonus against that character’s Defense Rating to determine a
hit.
-Your telekinetic “grabbing” ability increases in potency.
You can now grab any object weighing 25 pounds or less that is within 30 feet.
If you generate the force against a person or object, you inflict 1d3 points of
damage, and automatically knock over any opponent with a Balance of less than
2.
LEVEL 3: -The maximum size of your field increases to 225
square feet. Furthermore, you can specify a cube-like shape for the field. In
other words, you can create the force field around yourself or another person
or object, effectively using it to encircle them and provide complete
protection from all sides.
At your option, you can specify that the force field
reflects objects, rather than simply stopping them (you can also give it the
deflection ability as described in 2 if you wish). Reflected objects
immediately reverse their trajectory and threaten to hit their origin point
(almost always an opponent). If the opponent has moved since he launched the
object, the object does not follow him to his new position. Use the rules for
deflected attacks to determine whether the opponent is hit or not.
If you give your force field the reflective property, it can
only have a maximum size of 64 square feet.
-Your telekinetic grabbing ability becomes even more
powerful. You can grab any object weighing 50 pounds or less that is within 50
feet. If you generate the force against a person or object, you inflict 1d4+1
points of damage, and automatically knock over any opponent with a Balance of
less than 3.
-At this level of Telekinesis, you can concentrate for 1
full round, and then spend three actions on the next round, to stop or move any
object or person that weighs less than 3,000 pounds that is within 150 feet. No
matter what the object’s velocity, you can cause it to completely stop and
remain in place, even in mid-air. Note that this does not dampen the effects of
inertia; stopping a car that is going 60 miles an hour will cause un-belted
passengers to fly out the windshield, for instance.
Once you have the object or person under your control, you
can either move them 30 feet in any direction that you want by spending 1
action, or focus physical energy on them that will eventually become great
enough to crush them. In either case, victims of this ability gain an ATD check
with a +20% bonus to resist the telekinetic force. If they fail, they move as
you desire. When you crush them, they take 1 point of damage, and cannot move.
If you are damaged or otherwise distracted while you are
using this form of Telekinesis, your control over the person or object
immediately ends.
Multiple characters with Telekinesis 3 can all work together
to crush the same object or person at an exponentially faster rate of damage,
at the GM’s discretion.
“That’s a nice trick.”
Talents aren’t quite as important as disciplines, but
everyone has talents, and they do come in handy. . . Often where disciplines do
not and cannot. There are thirteen talents:
Alertness
Charisma
Craft/Profession
Driving
Education
Intimidation
Language
Matrix Lore
Medicine
Stealth
Street Smarts
Thievery
Zion Politics
You have 18 points to spend on the various talents. You may
begin play with no more than two talents that are rated “Exceptional.” Point
costs for talents:
0 Points: Poor (-7 Modifier To Checks)
1 Point: Below Average (-3 Modifier To Checks)
2 Points: Average (+0 Modifier To Checks)
3 Points: Above Average (+3 Modifier To Checks)
5 Points: Exceptional (+7 Modifier To Checks)
Talent Checks: The GM usually sets a number that the
character needs to get on a twenty-sided die roll in order to accomplish something
with a particular talent. Here are some guidelines for setting difficulties:
3-6: Effortless. This is something that
almost any character could do, unless they suffered from extraordinarily bad
luck.
9-11: Mildly challenging. There is a chance
for failure for most characters, though anyone with a reasonable talent can
almost always succeed.
14-16: Challenging. Though highly talented
characters can do this, even they fail around a third of the time, sometimes
more.
19-21: Highly challenging. Even the most
talented character stands a good chance of failure.
24-26: Near impossible. Even the best will
almost always fail.
27+: All but impossible. Generally, only a
natural 20 on the die roll will result in success, meaning that failure occurs
95% of the time.
A natural 1 on the die roll is always a failure, regardless
of the character’s talent. A natural 20 is always a success, likewise.
If a character rolls a natural 1, and his rating in the
talent is Poor, then his failure is disastrous. If the character rolls a
natural 20, and his rating in the talent is Exceptional, his success is
phenomenal.
And now, for the talents:
“Why do my eyes hurt?”
“You’ve never used them before.”
This is your ability to notice what’s going on around you in
the Matrix—including things that other people don’t want you to notice. This
talent can be enhanced by the Awareness discipline, though a person with Poor
Alertness and Level 3 Awareness is probably just going to see lots of things
that he thinks nothing of until it’s too late.
You use Alertness to detect people who are trying to avoid
your notice. To make an Alertness check, you add your Alertness modifier and an
Awareness modifier (+2 per level of Awareness) to your roll. If your result is
higher than their opposed Stealth check, you detect their presence.
Poor: “You need to snap out of it and pay
attention, buddy. What is with you? I hope you know you’ve got work to do—and
it pays to pay attention to what you’re doing.” OK, so maybe you want to pay
attention, but that Attention Deficit Disorder never seems to go away. You may
not be totally unreliable for watching someone’s back, but no one in their
right mind ever asks you to do it.
Below Average: You do your best, which isn’t very
good, but hey, every once in a while you’ll catch something that Neo missed
(he’s over-rated, anyway—or so the commander says).
Average: You’re not the sharpest nail in the
wall, but you’re good enough.
Above Average: “Hey—you’re not too bad to have
around, kid. Keep those eyes open, and they might see something interesting one
of these days.” You may be paranoid, or just careful; whatever it is, you’re
observant. You commonly detect that which others miss.
Exceptional: People can’t figure out how you always see it coming before they do.
It’s almost disturbing, the way you pick up on things.
“You’re cuter than I thought. I can see why she likes you.”
“Who?”
“. . . Not too bright, though.”
Your Charisma is a measure of how likeable you are and how
forceful your personality is. This carries weight among both the humans in Zion
and those in the Matrix. Your Charisma is also a measure of how much control
you have over what your residual self-image looks like (your avatar in the
Matrix).
Poor: All around, you’re pretty much ugly
and meek. No one stops to listen to what you say, and to put it bluntly, no
one’s interested in having sex with you. You have no control of what your
avatar looks like—it probably looks just as you do outside of the Matrix, minus
the implants. It will never look attractive. Sometimes, you end up with
“normal” clothing in the Matrix—a t-shirt and jeans.
Below Average: Some people pay attention to you, but
not many. You’re not exactly ugly, but you’re not really fun to look at,
either. Your avatar probably has the haircut of your choice, and comes standard
with a fairly nice jacket. Big whoop.
Average: People listen to you, and many like
you, but they’re not especially compelled to do either. You typically enter the
Matrix wearing the clothing of your choice. Police officers that you meet can
tell that there’s something different about
you.
Above Average: You’re a smooth one. People tend to
like you quite a bit more than they like other people, and somehow, you always
look sharp.
Exceptional: You have a style all your own—one
that sticks out, and for the better. People can’t seem to take their eyes off
you, and pay you respect that you didn’t earn. If you wanted to, you could run
around the Matrix and score hot dates, though you’ve got better things to do, as
your captain is sure to remind you.
"The time has come to make a choice, Mr. Anderson.
Either you choose to be at your desk on time, from this day forward, or you
choose to find yourself another job. Do I make myself clear?"
While you were good with computers, that may have just been
a heavy secondary interest, or what you did with every spare moment. You also
had a job that paid money. But how good were you at it? Having a unique
profession can come in handy—you know certain people that may at times be able
to help you, and you may have unusual skills.
Poor: You skipped from job to job, usually
lasting no more than two weeks at a single one. You sucked at what you did for
a living, or you just didn’t care.
Below Average: You did your best—but it was always
the other guy who got the promotion.
Average: If you stuck it out, you might’ve
made something of yourself in the profession. Or, you might not have. Who
knows? It’s behind you now, anyway.
Above Average: The boss liked having you around. And
you liked the money.
Exceptional: A star was born in you, as far as
your day job went. You could’ve made the big money.
“You told me never to get on the freeway. You said it was suicide.”
“Then let us hope that I was wrong.”
How good you are at driving a car, or any vehicle. In a car
chase, this might come in handy. Note that you can “download” the ability to
drive any vehicle, though you can’t download the ability to drive it well—nothing beats learning through
experience. A high Agility also augments your driving skills—when you make a
Driving check, you add 2 points to the roll for every level of Agility that you
have.
Poor: “Have you even seen a steering wheel
before? Listen, this is ridiculous. I’m hailing a cab.”
Below Average: You learned how to drive—you may have
had to take the driver’s test a couple of times before you passed—but you just
don’t seem to be a person who was meant for the gas pedal. Before Morpheus
showed you the Big Picture, you had already crashed your car a couple of times,
in accidents that were your fault.
Average: You can drive. If someone doesn’t
like how you drive, you usually give them the finger, because you know you’re
doing it right, and they aren’t.
Above Average: You probably experimented with how
fast that pickup truck could actually go a few times; and maybe you even risked
your life in the process. The end result is that you’re not too terribly
intimidated by the idea of three squad cars tailing you down the highway.
Exceptional: You can drive like a racer if you
want to—maybe you just have a natural affinity, or maybe you have experience in
that sort of thing for some reason. The point is, you’re damn good at it.
“Still using all the muscles except the one that matters?”
How much schooling you got, and/or how much you bothered to
learn on your own. A character with a high Education may find everything he
knows to suddenly be irrelevant, given the revelation that he’s been living in
a fish-tank his whole life—but it pays to know what’s going on, even in a fake
world.
Poor: No one seems to know how you made it
out of the 1st grade. You just don’t know a damn thing about
anything.
Below Average: You may have gone through school, but
you weren’t paying attention. Simple math is usually no problem—but you like to
stay away from multiplying fractions and anyone who says words that end in
“ology.”
Average: You pulled Bs, and maybe even went to
college. That being said, you generally know what you’re talking about, though
there is that occasional subject that eludes your understanding.
Above Average: You graduated from college with
honors. People find your superior knowledge to be both helpful and
annoying—after all, no one likes a know-it-all. Anyone who bests your
comprehension of a subject embarrasses you.
Exceptional: Elementary, my dear Watson. You
probably went to an Ivy League school, and perhaps even further than that.
Obviously, you picked something up along the way.
“Touch me, and that hand will never touch anything again.”
Your ability to get people to do things that they wouldn’t
ordinarily do for you—out of fear of what you might do if they don’t. Your
ability to intimidate others might come from the way you yell when you’re
angry, or simply how you carry yourself.
Poor: “Seriously, is that supposed to be
some kind of joke? ‘Or you’ll beat me
up?’ I’ve eaten little snots like you for breakfast.” People can usually
tell that you mean what you say, but they see no evidence to suggest that you
have any capability or actual will to follow through on your words.
Below Average: On a rare occasion, you might be a
little scary. But there are scarier things than you out there, and most of them
have more influence to begin with.
Average: You may have been in a few good
shouting matches in your life, and perhaps you even won occasionally.
Above Average: You look nasty, you talk nasty, and
you damn well mean what you say. So listen up.
Exceptional: Even agents sometimes find your
bravado perplexing enough to consider for a moment, though they are generally
unafraid of humanity.
“Don't you love the French language? I have sampled every
language, French is my favorite. Fantastic language. Especially to curse with.
Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta
mère. It's like wiping your ass with silk, I love it.”
This is a measure of your character’s vocabulary, his
mastery of the English language, and his knowledge of other ones. Yes, there
are people speaking different languages in the Matrix.
Poor: It’s a wonder you even learned to
speak English, because you can’t even spell ‘articulate,’ let alone do it.
Below Average: You stay clear of spelling bees, but
you know plenty of English. You avoid reading End User License Agreements,
however.
Average: You know how to say what you want to
say, and you may be able to say several things in other languages.
Above Average: You’re very knowledgeable in the
English language, and you can probably speak one or two other ones.
Exceptional: You almost certainly know four or
five languages, maybe more. Out of those, you know about three of them like the
back of your hand.
“We're not here because we're free. We're here because we're
not free. There
is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without
purpose, we would not exist.”
There’s the fake world, the real world, and then the world
within the fake world. The Matrix isn’t just about humans vs. the agents—there
are many forces at work. Knowing of them and understanding them is key.
Characters with a high Matrix Lore are students of the Oracle, and are well
aware of the prophecy of the One, even if they don’t advocate it. Furthermore,
they know about the “exiles,” the outdated programs that have become
free-willed, and what they’re all about. Sometimes, when the Oracle tells them
things, they even understand what she’s saying.
Poor: “Holy shit! Did
you see that? How did he. . .?” Most if not all of the disciplines you’re
capable of came to you naturally. You have no idea how they work. Furthermore,
you don’t understand how an agent can take that many blows, or why everyone
places so much faith in that hokey Oracle.
Below Average: You’re not clueless, but you don’t
get it yet. Blind faith in what you’re doing is probably your main motivation,
because it seems like the only real thing to do at all.
Average: You know why you’re doing what you’re
doing in the Matrix, but the big picture still eludes you. You know that the
Oracle’s trustworthy, and that she’s worth listening to—well, maybe. But what’s
the natural conclusion to all this?
Above Average: You know about all the prophecies,
and have your own educated opinions about them. You are aware of forces beyond
the obvious in the Matrix, though they quite often remain mysterious, despite
your curiosity. Occasionally, the Oracle makes sense to you when she’s talking.
Exceptional: It’s almost all within your grasp
now. The fathomless inhumanity of the Architect, the anomalies disguised as
natural occurrences, and at least some of the Matrix’s history—perhaps
extending back to the last version. Though you’ll likely never meet the
Architect or the Keymaker, you know enough to believe that they are very real,
and you have a true sense of purpose.
“Am I dead?”
“Far from it.”
How skilled you are in mending injuries and curing
ailments—and how much you know about that sort of thing in general.
Poor: “CPR? What’s that stand for?” If
someone breaks something, they can’t count on you for help.
Below Average: You may have taken a CPR course in
your life, but you don’t really remember it at all. If one of your team-mates
takes a bullet, there’s very little you can do about it. . . At least, without
killing them in the process.
Average: You know CPR and First Aid, though
it’s not your profession at all. If someone says that they can’t feel their
right leg, you can only guess why.
Above Average: You’re probably something of a
physician. You may have actually learned the medical arts while in Zion, as
many take training in it (there is a war on, after all), and there’s little
time for such things when you’ve been busy messing around with computers for
most of your life. You know what to do in a wide variety of medical
emergencies.
Exceptional: The brain surgeon is in the building.
Your understanding of medicine is masterful, and you’re helpful to have around
when someone flat-lines.
“There's a difference between knowing the path and walking
the path."
Your ability to move about without attracting attention, and
to go unseen. Having both a high Stealth and Balance can make you virtually
undetectable.
When rolling a Stealth check, you add both a Balance
modifier (+2 per level) and your Stealth modifier. To evade someone’s
attention, you have to roll equal or higher than their opposed Alertness roll.
Poor: A deaf guy could notice you coming,
and a blind guy could figure out where you are in a room.
Below Average: If you’re lucky, you can get past the
night watchman. Real lucky.
Average: You know how to keep quiet and out of
sight, though your talent is nothing special.
Above Average: You’re almost like a ninja—it’s a
rare day when they see you coming.
Exceptional: Your team-mates like to call you
“Ghost.”
“If you get caught using that—”
“—I know. This never happened. You don’t exist.”
“Right.”
How many friends you’ve got down at the corner. How many
drug dealers you know—and how many drug dealers you know that you don’t want to
know. Where to buy guns. How to carry yourself in front of a bunch of “homies”
if you want to stay out of trouble with them.
Poor: “You must’ve been raised under a rock
or something, chump. And for God’s sake, you’re white; stop pretending to be a
‘gangsta.’ You make me wanna gag.” You might know one drug dealer, who puts up with you, but doesn’t really like you.
And no, he’s not interested in telling you anything useful, though he’s been
thinking about mugging you lately.
Below Average: You may have lived near the projects
as a kid, but you were smart enough to stay out of there. In dealings with real
“street people,” you can generally only guess about how you should conduct
yourself.
Average: You were raised in the Bronx, and
while you didn’t get into that whole ‘scene’ down on “Crack Avenue,” you knew a
couple of people who did. If you have to, you can make your way around in that
kind of place.
Above Average: Maybe you were raised in the
projects, but left when you were 15. You’ve generally forgotten about all those
guys back there, but if you came back, they’d remember you.
Exceptional: You were the guy to go to if someone needed help getting something from
somebody—drugs, guns, information.
"There are two ways out of this building. One is that
scaffold, the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way. I leave
it to you."
This talent measures your ability to get into our out of
things that weren’t meant for you to be in (or to escape from). A character
who’s skilled in Thievery can pick locks, hot-wire cars, deactivate alarms,
crack safes, and the like.
Poor: It wouldn’t take much at all to keep
you in or out of a room—usually a lock and key will suffice quite well.
Below Average: Oh, you can try to pick that lock all
you want; fat chance you’ll get anywhere, though.
Average: You may have done this a couple of
times before, you naughty boy, you.
Above Average: You’ve been doing things you
shouldn’t have, that’s for sure, because you know your way around most any
security system. And if someone ties you up, they’d better do it right.
Exceptional: There may never have been anything
invented that you can’t get past. Breaking and entering is second nature to
you.
“If it were up to me, you'd never step foot in another
ship!”
”Then I am grateful, Commander, that it is not up to you.”
Though the Matrix itself is controlled by the insidious
machines, Zion is in human hands. And those humans have a defined hierarchy.
From the lowliest grunt in the war against the machines, to the most respected
council member, there is something to be said for knowing the right people.
Poor: It’s unlikely that even the captain
of your ship really knows you—he may not even like you. You’re probably a fresh
recruit, and even your team-mates may seem intimidating. . . After all, they
probably know a lot more about what’s going on than you do.
Below Average: You’re a more or less respected
member of your team, though you probably don’t have a close affiliation with
your captain. All in all, you’re still a newbie as far as most people are
concerned.
Average: Your team knows that you’re trustworthy
and skilled. You may even be the
captain. Still, you aren’t favored among the other captains, though some may
know of you. To a council-member, you’re just another face in the crowd.
Above Average: You’re quite famous. The other
captains know you’re a stand-up guy, and your words carry more weight with the
council than those of many other captains.
Exceptional: Not only are you famous, you’re
probably downright legendary. Though you aren’t a council member, you’re
practically just as important in the political hierarchy of Zion. Many of the
civilians of Zion think you’re a true hero.
“Do I have the strength to know
how I’ll go? Can I find it inside to deal with what I shouldn’t know?”
Your character can essentially be anyone, although they have
to be both highly proficient with computers (in order to make contact with the
Zion rebellion) and motivated towards fighting the machines.
Keep in mind that learning about the Matrix is a highly
traumatic experience. Once a character learns of it, he can never go back, and
he knows it, for better or worse.
Each time a character levels, she gains 1 point to place in
disciplines. Every 2 levels, the character gains a point to advance in talents
(learning how to manipulate the Matrix and becoming a generally more talented
person are two different things).
So, on even numbered levels, you gain only a discipline
point; on odd-numbered levels, you gain both that and a point to place in a
talent.
There is no set experience chart that determines when you level up; that’s completely at the discretion of your GM.
“Stop
trying to hit me, and hit me!”
Players get a number of actions in each round according to
their Speed (though through certain Matrix Warping abilities, they may get a
few more actions). No character can achieve more than 8 actions in a round.
Any of the following qualifies as one action:
-Punching or kicking someone.
-Hitting someone with a melee weapon.
-Drawing a weapon.
-Firing a revolver, rifle, or shotgun 1-2 times.*
-Firing an automatic weapon 1-3 times.*
-Firing a heavy machine gun 1-5 times.*
-Leaping somewhere (according to your Strength).
-Putting someone in a hold of some kind.
-Moving fifteen feet.
-Running thirty feet.
Some actions, such as reloading a weapon, may take more time
depending on the circumstances. Many disciplines also give characters access to
abilities that take a certain amount of actions. If a character uses an ability
that requires more actions than he has in a given round, he is assumed to be
performing that action for 1 full round, plus the extra time needed in the
additional round.
*You cannot
perform this action more than three times in a single round.
Every
character has a Base Attack Bonus, which branches out into a Melee Attack Bonus
and a Ranged Attack Bonus. Every character also has a Defense Rating, which his
opponents must get on their attack rolls to hit him.
When making
an attack, you roll 1d20 and add the applicable attack bonus. A natural 1 is an
automatic miss, and a natural 20 is an automatic hit (at the GM’s option, a
natural 20 may inflict double or even greater damage than normal).
If you are
attacking a single opponent in coordination with two or more people (in other
words, flanking them), all of you gain +2 bonuses to hit. If you attack an
opponent from behind, you gain a +4 bonus to hit (the bonus for attacking from
behind overlaps the bonus for flanking).
Important: Attacking with a gun automatically incurs a –5 penalty
to your Attack Bonus.
If you
attack with a thrown weapon, you use your Ranged Attack Bonus, but add
modifiers to the damage as if you made a melee attack.
If you want to restrain an opponent, or take their weapon
away, you make a melee attack roll at a –4 penalty. On a successful hit, you
deal no damage, but you must make opposed Strength rolls on 1d20 to determine
the outcome of the hold or disarm attempt.
The opposing characters each roll 1d20, adding 3 for each
point of Strength that they have. If the attacker wins, he has successfully
established a hold on a character, or disarmed him.
Held Characters: A held character cannot move the
part of his body that is being held, and thus has a very difficult time
defending himself. He suffers a –10 penalty to his Defense Rating. The person
holding the held character can choose to automatically deal unarmed melee
damage to the held character without making an attack roll, by spending 1
action.
A held character can use 2 actions to attempt to break a
hold, initiating another opposed Strength roll.
Disarmed Characters: A disarmed character immediately
loses his weapon. There is a 60% chance that the opponent who disarmed him now
carries the weapon, though the opponent must spend an action to manipulate the
weapon in his hands so that it can be used against the character. An opponent
who disarms a character may elect to simply have the weapon fall to the ground
without making a percentile roll.
A successful
unarmed attack deals 1 damage, plus any modifier from the attacker’s Strength
and other abilities. Whatever the case, this is never less than 1 point of
damage.
Melee
weapons typically inflict a higher base damage than unarmed attacks. Some
examples of damages by weapon type:
1d2: Knife/Dagger, Lead Pipe
1d3: Baseball Bat, Machete
1d4: Katana, Spear, Steel Baseball Bat
1d4+1: Stop Sign, Parking Meter
Some
examples of damages by weapon caliber/type:
1d2: 9mm round
1d3: .45 round, shotgun shell from a
distance of 15 feet or more
1d3+1: .50 round, .357 round, heavy machine
gun round, shotgun shell from 5-15 feet away
1d3+2: As 1d3+1 listing, except from point-blank range.
There’s a
limit to how many weapons and various objects a character can hold. Even if you
have the strength of a rhinoceros, you still only have two hands.
½ Size Point Examples: Extra
Ammo Magazines
1 Size Point Examples:
2 Size Point Examples: Silenced Pistols, Compact , Nunchakus. Eight Shotgun Shells
3 Size Point Examples: Katanas, Lead Pipes, Short Swords, Silenced Compact
Sub-Machine Guns, Larger Sub-Machine Guns (such as a P90)
4 Size Point Examples: Assault/Sniper Rifles,
5 Size Point Examples: Silenced Assault/Sniper Rifles, Chainsaws
Name-
Gender-
Age-
Height-
Weight-
DISCIPLINES
1st-
2nd-
3rd-
4th-
5th-
6th-
7th-
8th-
9th-
10th-
11th-
12th-
Hit Points (HP):
Fortitude Rating (FR):
Dodge Rating:
Melee Attack Bonus (MAB):
Ranged Attack Bonus (RAB):
ATD Radius:
ATD%:
Circumstance Penalty Modifier:
Matrix Power Points Spent/Remaining:
TALENTS
Charisma-
Craft/Profession-
Driving-
Education-
Intimidation-
Language-
Matrix Lore-
Medicine-
Stealth-
Street Smarts-
Thievery-
ATD Check: Anomaly/Threat Detection check. A
power related to the Awareness discipline. See Awareness in the discipline
rules.
Base Attack Bonus (BAB): Your modifier to attack
rolls to hit opponents.
Melee
Attack Bonus (MAB): Your Melee Attack Bonus is a combination of your Base
Attack Bonus and any additional modifiers you receive when you make a
hand-to-hand attack.
Ranged
Attack Bonus (RAB): Your Ranged Attack Bonus is a combination of your Base
Attack Bonus and any additional modifiers you receive when you make a
hand-to-hand attack.
Circumstance Penalty: A Circumstance Penalty is applied to your Defense
Rating and Base Attack Bonus if you are not on steady ground, become
disoriented, or if you are in an area with lots of obstacles (such as a floor
covered with marbles, an extremely windy place, or on the edge of a cliff). See
the Balance discipline for more information.
Defense Rating (DR): The number that attackers have to
get or exceed on their attack rolls to successfully hit you.
Fortitude Rating (FR): Whenever you suffer damage, you lose hit points—but
you subtract your Fortitude Rating from the damage dealt. Note that until you
reach Endurance 4, you still take a minimum of 1 point of damage from bullets,
explosions, fire, and other purely lethal forms of damage. See the Endurance
discipline for more information.
Game Master (GM): Player who runs the game for the
rest of the players.
Hit Points (HP): The amount of damage you can take
before the character dies.
Matrix Power (MP): A special ability that the
character has gained through the Matrix Warping discipline.
Movement Rate: The amount, in feet, that a
character can move by expending 1 action. The base movement rate for all
characters is 15, but can be increased by Energy (see that discipline for more
information).
Power Strike: A special ability granted by the
Energy discipline.