Will we be using social and athletics pools?

Just curious about that.

In reply to warlock4u (msg # 180):

there are no social or athletic pools in 3rd edition

In reply to Snow (msg # 181):

Oh GD, I didnt even _KNOW_ that. Ive always run 3rd edition with those pools.

They didn't get carried over.

now if the gm wants to house rule them in....

In reply to Snow (msg # 183):

_I_ would be PERFECTLY happy with that. IDK about everyone else :)

I really don't see the need for them?  just adds more dice to everything.

In reply to Twitch (msg # 185):

I happen to _LIKE_ dice. The more of them I roll, the happier I am! DICE! Nothing like rolling 18 body dice for your troll when somebody attempts to shoot him with something as puny as a panther cannon.

My issue with those is that you're rarely if ever going to split them. For instance, with combat pool, you split between taking multiple shots, dodging, and soaking. Social pool just dumps on your one test.

And that is very true. I am not going to put up a big fight here to try and shoehorn them in. They will most directly effect my character, so I am totally ok with letting them R.I.P.

I laughed so hard reading about St. V getting felt up by a blind man.  Hilarious!  I think it made my night.

Do any of you guys have pointers on using the matrix?  St. V knows the basics, but I don't.  At least not from a game mechanics perspective.  Any pointers would be helpful.  Like what sorts of skill tests (if any) should I have him perform?

I would guess that the Gm can help you?  I do not know how he is going to run it.  It could be a few dice rolls or an entire new thread.

Probably depends what you're going to do.  Just some general research probably won't require more than a roll or two.  Breaking into the security company's database to insert a few of us as employees is going to take a bit more :>

Hopefully I did that right.  If not, let me know.

In reply to St. Velveteen (msg # 193):

Define right. That was a pretty drekky roll.

Yes, not a good roll at all.  Luckily Velveteen doesn't know that. ;)

Hacking uses the Computer skill almost exclusively.

If you're just doing research, I figure out the TN and the number of successes tells me how much you learn.

For hacking, I try to keep it to basically a 'realistic' network architecture, but network features are represented by whatever the VR metaphor the system uses. So a file store looks like a library perhaps and you'd search for a particular 'book' to find that file.

Matrix only has a limited set of actions. They each fall into a category (so reading files falls into the FILE category). The categories are Access, Control, Index, File, and Slave, or ACIFS. The matrix system defines the basic difficulty (TN) for each of those ACIFS. The programs you have on your deck reduce those TNs. So a super-skilled decker can run without programs, but he'll be rolling against TNs of 9 or 10. Programs bring those TNs down to something more reasonable.

The system has defenses located in different places. They also almost always have an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which notes suspicious activities. Every time your hacker does anything, the host rolls against your Masking rating. The number of successes is added to the security tally. As the tally goes up, it tells the host that it may be under attack and it begins activating more defenses.

Hosts also have a general rating, for instance Green-4 or Red-9. The number indicates how twitchy it is (how sensitive the IDS is), the color how deadly the host's defenses are.

I think that sums it up in a nut shell :)

That clears up a lot of the basics that I was unsure about.  Thanks!  I still don't think I fully understand it (and I probably won't until I see an actual scenario played out at some point) but I do feel like I have a much better grasp now.

What about for the Shadowrun equivalent of a basic (but very specific) google search?  Would Velveteen be able to use his electronics skill if isn't really hacking, but trying to find obscure information that's probably sitting out there somewhere?  Like, say, a basic map of the hotel from an old travel brochure or something.

SR3 and later, you can roll a Computer skill test. The TN depends on how tough the information is to find. This is just to find information that's publicly available.

SR1 and SR2, there is no 'google search', and the Matrix is not available for casual browsing like the Internet is, so no mechanic for it exists.

Of course, if the information isn't available, it isn't available. Succeeding on the test still won't net you anything. (Blueprints are almost never posted online, for instance.)

Wait, did you just name the rival gang the Cutie Mark Crusaders?
Excuse me a moment, I need to sigh extra long this time.

I'm kinda unsure what i should be doing. I can case the joint with my Security Systems skill, but other than that I'm waiting for the right opportunity to roll up.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Tue 11 Feb 2014.

Is there a pun here I'm missing?

It's a My Little Pony reference, if I'm right.

Also, I finally updated my character description in The Cast section, so I stop getting described as a 28 year old girl.

that definitely explains why I didn't catch it.

That's alright. There's no accounting for taste.

Carver, you should be telling people to get a wiggle on. I can say straight out, the data I'm about to provide is about all I've got written. Regarding the whole 'who owns the company, what's up with the contestants', Firefox will probably get the most, since she's asking pretty specific questions, and no one has any special contacts in media that could provide anything deeper.

Poor Snow will never know how cool Scootaloo is. Also that it's spelled the 'Mane six' (Michelle assumed that I was cracking a joke when I explained this - this time it's not my fault)

Yeh, if I can roll my Security Systems knowledge skill off of photos and blueprints, I'll be happy to Leverage it.