From:	Marc A Renouf <jormung@*****.umich.edu>
Subject:	Re: Decking Dangers
Date:	Wed, 25 Sep 1996 12:50:52 -0400 (EDT)

On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, Steven Ratkovich wrote:

> >Am I the only one that noticed that in vr2.0 gray ice is almost
> >useless? it's just too easy to resist.
> >
> >
> Actually, Black Ice gets a little pathetic too, but then, I've got something
> like 12 dice in decking and mostly rating 8-10 programs...:)

It shouldn't matter. A well-planned piece of IC, series of IC,
or construct can dampen your day in a hurry. Throw in a few options
here or there and IC becomes a lethal menace to almost any decker.
Remember that Hardening works like personal armor in SRII.
Regardless of how much Hardening you have, the minimum target number for
Bod or MPCP resistance tests is 2. Eventually, you'll reach a point
where you can't get enough successes to stage the damage all the way
down, especially if the IC's damage rating starts out higher (like
Serious on Orange and Red systems). You'd need like six more successes
than the system to take no damage. All in all, a losing proposition on
some of the tougher systems. Take into consideration Ripper-style progs
that reduce your deck's attributes, and you can be in the hurt locker in no
time.

Marc