| From: | runnerpaul@*****.com runnerpaul@*****.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | NPC Deckers [was: Construction of items...] |
| Date: | Wed, 25 Aug 1999 12:42:21 -0400 (EDT) |
At 10:07 AM 8/25/99 +0200, Bruce wrote:
:>> Do you guys allow your deckers to build their decks?
:>Well..normally deckers are NPCs..But sure
:
:Here it is again. I wonder how FASA feels having spent years and
:breaking their necks to put together the only semi decent cyberspace
: rules in the RPG industry and we relegate them to NPC status. What
:a pity. Thats like making mages NPC because "they use up too much
:time, always in the Astral"
Sure mages go on the Astral, which requires the same kind of GM to
Player one-on-one interaction that deckers require, but mages also
have lots of mage-specific things they can do that don't require the
GM's 100% attention. They can cast spells, they can use their
spirits, and so on.
Deckers however are more limited. Unless you get hyper-creative,
nearly all the decker-specific activities require that one-on-one.
When they're not jacked in, the decker is relegated to doing the
generic tasks that really anyone on the team can take care of, like
using electronics skill to pick locks, negotiating with the Johnson,
pulling a gun and shooting people and so on.
While a decker might be good at some of these auxiliary tasks, and
possibly better than anyone else on the team, they're not dependent
on the character being a decker. Decker players have to strike a
delicate balance: if they focus on trying to be the best decker they
can be, they're not as effective in the meat world.
A large part of the problem comes from the fact that a decking
requires either a connection to the telecommunications grid or
internal network the target host is on, or a bulky satlink dish. The
decker either needs to remain stationary, or tap out a series of
connections as the team moves from location to location. It would be
nice if deckers were allowed to use some form of wireless
communication.
The other big part of the problem, a decker needs to drop into an
immersive VR simulation to do anything on the matrix. While normally,
this is a good thing, it'd be nice if they could do some stuff
without having to go into their own little world all the time. Really
clever use of smartframes can help with this some, but that's not the
easiest decker trick in the book to pull off.
Because of these two issues, a PC Decker usually gets stuck with the
feeling of "just being along for the ride" during a high action run.
They'll probably be contributing to what the team is doing, but they
don't get many real chances to be the shining star of the team. The
other character types will be dominant in the activity that goes on
in the meat world such as combat, and when the decker does get a
chance to go for the glory, none of the other players get to
interact.
Is it any wonder why even the players who think decking is cool and
the matrix rules are spectacular don't usually play deckers, and GMs
get in the habit of using NPC deckers?
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