Rulings/Matrix

Banned Matrix Content

Banned Matrix Actions

• Haywire (KC 38)
• Intervene (KC 39)
• Masquerade (KC 39)

Banned Emerged Content

Banned Complex Forms

• Host Emulator (KC 94) (including by GMs)

• Pinch (KC 95) (including by GMs)

• Resonance Cache (KC 95) (including by GMs)

• Search History (KC 95) (including by GMs)

Dissonant Ban

• Dissonant streams, powers, echos, forms etc. are for NPCs only

Banned Echos

• Draining Spike (KC 101) (including by GMs)

Banned Mechanics

• All content relating to submersion groups, tribes and flash tribes

Banned Qualities

Positive Qualities

• Groveler (KC 96) (including by GMs)
• Team Player (KC 97)
  • This quality was written under the assumption that Matrix actions cannot be teamworked. Notably, teamwork CAN be done with Matrix actions. Matrix actions may be teamworked given the following:
    • Everyone involved is inside the same host or on the same grid.
    • Everyone has the required number of marks.
    • Overwatch Score is applied to all participants based on the opposing hits.
    • Only the leader gets the benefit.

Negative Qualities

• Code of Honor: Black Hat (Kill Code, Page 99)
• Echo Chamber (Kill Code, Page 78)
• Information Auctioneer (Kill Code, Page 78)
• Lazy Fingers (Kill Code, Page 79)
• Resonant Burnout (Kill Code, Page 99)
• Well, Actually... (Kill Code, Page 79)

Altered Matrix Content and Rulings

Dual-Natured Entities

• Dual-natured entities created have no special difficulties interacting with the Matrix.
• Spirits are not capable of entering AR or VR.
• While in VR, one cannot activate astral perception or astrally project, just like no other magic-dependent ability like spells can be used. If one is permanently dual-natured for whatever reason, while in VR they do not have access to their astral sight, though they are still active on the plane.

Accessories

• Commlinks can receive program carriers and other cyberdeck modules, but only through the device mod rules.
• The satellite link is applied by effectively merging the range brackets above 100 km into the 10-100 km bracket.
• Data taps may send and receive data wirelessly. Consider a data tap to have a device rating of 1 for the purposes of noise. A data tap slaved to your PAN benefits from your noise reduction.

Programs

• The noise generated by Smoke and Mirrors can be canceled out by noise reduction. The noise generated by Smoke and Mirrors explicitly does not apply to any actions taken against you except for the trace icon action. At no point does Noise Reduction or Smoke and Mirrors indicate that noise reduction also reduces Sleaze rating.
• One cannot benefit from multiple instances of the same program on a device.
• Market scan has no effect on ShadowHaven at this time.
• The Sneak program protects the technomancer from the location effect of GOD converging on their sprites.
• Virtual Machine can only be run on cyberdecks and RCCs. It cannot be put onto a commlink or other device by any means.
• RCCs may run a number of Cyberprograms equal to the rating. In addition, they have slots times rating which must be split between Sharing and noise reduction. Sharing slots may only run autosofts. Cyberprogram slots may only run cyberprograms.

Agents

• Agents must be paid for in full in addition to the cost of the program carrier module if they are to be on a program carrier. This is in direct and intentional contravention of the module's text indicating the program is free and included with the module. Additionally, the availability for the program carrier is the higher of the base availability for the program carrier or the program on the carrier, including any Restricted or Forbidden codes as part of the program. An agent may only run on a device that is capable of running a persona. Commlinks, RCCs and cyberdecks are the only devices natively capable of running personas. Other devices may be modded to have the capacity to run a persona, but it is unlikely that they are also able to run a Program Carrier at that point, as you are limited to one oddmod on a given device. Device Rating is not typically used for opposition rolls to Matrix perception when running silent. The test is Logic + Sleaze. If there is an agent running on a device, the agent would roll the Logic + Sleaze defense using their own Logic and the device's Sleaze, if applicable.
• The agent coming with the Nixdorf cannot be upgraded to increase its rating. However, you may upgrade their cosmetic and personality software at any time to suit your thematic needs at no cost.
• Agents are able to perform any Matrix action which uses Computer, Hacking or Cybercombat - as long as it does not require any knowledge of the real world. Any action taken by the agent adds to its own overwatch score. Any damage sustained by the agent or convergence occurs on the device the agent is running on. Agents act on their own initiative and need to be given instructions.

Hosts

• Bloodhound IC cannot place marks. Like the Track IC, it relies on marks from other IC to function.
• A persona running no programs hit by Crash IC does not have any programs to crash and thus does not suffer the drawbacks of such. A technomancer with the Resonance Program echo who has a program they are running through this echo crashed by any source may reactivate that program in the same manner as any other persona - that is to say, generally after rebooting their persona.

Odd-Modding

• It is not possible to decrease an attribute to zero using the device modification rules.

Qualities

Note on Kill Code Qualities

Except where noted, all Qualities listed from KC 96-100 shall be permitted for any matrix PC, not just technomancers. This also applies to the positive and negative qualities on KC 76-79.

• Code of Honor: Like a Boss does not impede Foundation runs.
• Codeslinger (Control Device) only applies its bonus dice when rolling Electronic Warfare + Intuition [Sleaze] against Intuition + Firewall.
• If you have the Otaku to Technomancer quality at chargen, your character must have been an otaku in their backstory: they should either have a datajack, an essence hole of at least 0.1, or thematically appropriate reason they underwent Revitalization therapy (at the discretion of the Chargen reviewer). If your character does not fit this narrative, having this quality means your character was taught by a former otaku at some point, transferring old knowledge of the Deep Resonance from otaku to technomancer. It may be acquired after chargen in this manner. This does not require a run or otaku contact; simply pay the karma cost (10 at chargen, 20 postgen).
• Sprites do not benefit or interact with a character's Paragon quality. The benefit of 01 allows technomancers to perform matrix actions as if they had one more mark than they have as long as they have at least one mark on the icon, but this does not increase damage dealt due to marks. For the sake of reckless hacking, the technomancer is considered to have the extra mark for the sake of penalty calculation. A technomancer with 3 marks cannot be considered to have 4 by this benefit.
• For Gearhead, after pushing the vehicle, you may not push it again until you've had some time to get the vehicle back to a garage and work on the engine. This is tracked on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis.
• AVRSE shall apply a -4 penalty to all actions taken while in VR, regardless of location. VR is how you get your brain fried, chummer.
• Better on the Net shall only be permitted for technomancers and only affect their living persona.
• Brittle negative quality ("Kill Code" p. 99) shall only be permitted for technomancers and only affect their living persona.
• Big Baby shall function as written, except that the penalty is -1 to all actions and will always fade when you next would regain edge.
• The Data Hog negative quality shall only be permitted for technomancers. Deckers are encouraged to examine "Wanted By GOD" instead, from DT.
• Discombobulated shall instead apply a -2 penalty to all actions when acting outside of VR.
• Frostbite shall only be permitted in abilities for which the character has at least 4 ranks. It also may not be applied to any skill in the Tasking group.
• Hi-Rez does not permit a character possessing the quality to make a Matrix Perception test to detect hidden icons as a free action.
• Hold the Door shall be permitted for use. It provides a stacking, cumulative +2 bonus to the Data Spike action when targeting Persona or IC. The bonus is gained upon filling a persona or IC's matrix condition with a Data Spike or Brute Force. This bonus is retained until the character takes a Simple or Complex Action other than Data Spike or until a Data Spike action is taken that does not fill the condition monitor of a Persona or IC.
• Instinctive Hack shall be permitted for use on the ShadowHaven, however, the user may not gain any benefits from teamwork from either sprites or agents for this action. The user also does not get any free actions to shift deck attributes or swap programs before this action. It is made as a sudden reflexive action.
• Know Your Limit shall only be permitted for technomancers.
• Natural Hacker shall only be permitted for technomancer characters.
• One With The Matrix shall only exist at the 8 karma level. The 2 and 10 karma versions are not permitted for use on the Haven in any capacity.
• Resonant Discordance, despite being a Mastery Quality, this does not require a Magic score. It may be taken by any technomancer who has submerged at least once, by paying the appropriate karma cost.
• Silence is Golden functionally provides 2 noise reduction to all devices and personas within a 10 meter radius of the character with the quality.
• Sprite Combustion shall only be permitted for technomancers with at least 6 combined ranks in Compiling and Registering.

Ware

• The datajack plus does not grant program slots to a technomancer's living persona. It will still grant the noise reduction.

Complex Forms

• Any changes to the attribute altered by an Infusion complex form causes the complex form to drop immediately.
• The Pulse Storm complex form should be treated as Sustained
• The Edit File complex form may used instead of the Crack File action to examine the contents of a secured file if they possess the Curiosity Killed the Cat negative quality.
• Technomancers lack a Matrix condition monitor and therefore are not valid targets for the Redundancy complex form.
• The number of complex forms a technomancer may know is no longer limited after chargen; simply pay the normal karma cost whenever you learn one.
• The FAQ complex form gives you the sort of information the spell Analyze Device (CRB 285) would provide. More detail will give more technical, more precise answers. Make a Software + Resonance [Level] test; you must get at least one hit or the test fails. Then, you are given information which you can interpret with a Computer + Intuition + (Level/2, round up) [Level] test.

Echos

• Skinlink allows a direct connection between yourself and any of your cyberware as well as anything else you touch. This qualifies for connecting a smartlink to a smart gun you are holding.
• Replace the RAW technoshaman daemon with the ability to gain +1 Task when successfully compiling or registering a sprite.
• The MMRI echo may benefit from control rig optimization, but not from control rig boosters.

Sprites

• Machine sprites do not inhabit electronics, mechanically speaking. The cannot use devices to perform matrix actions as they cannot run their persona through a device. They are their own persona.
• Technomancers can use their edge for their sprites. If desired, they may even burn edge for their sprites.
• Sprites have Matrix mental attributes equal to their level.
• Diagnostics will not function on devices which have an entity jumped in.
• A deck with a persona run through it is still a valid target for Diagnostics.
• Diagnostics on an RCC will not add dice to the tests performed by drones sharing autosofts from that RCC.
• Gremlins may be targeted at a device, even if that device has someone jumped in.
• Diagnostics can be used with skillwires per the RAW conditions. They must be wireless-on for the sprite to connect with them, and the bonus dice of the teamwork test cannot exceed the skillwires' rating. Diagnostics cannot be used to aid Software tests used for Resonance actions in this manner, though it can be used to aid mundane uses of Software.
• A sprite can use Diagnostics on cyberware. In order for this to work, the cyberware must be wireless on, and the sprite is visible in both AR and VR on the device (unless it's running silent, in which case it takes a -2 on the teamwork test and can be spotted normally) and can be subject to the Matrix or Resonance actions of other personas. In order for a piece of cyberware with a sprite using Diagnostics on it to benefit a roll, the cyberware must be actively related to the roll. Cyberlimbs can have Diagnostics performed on them to benefit both repair and whatever they were optimized for, but not for other actions. In general, cyberware may have Diagnostics apply to any repair rolls, but when using the item apply the bonus narrowly. The GM in question has final say on whether or not a particular piece of cyberware can benefit from diagnostics for a particular action. As a teamwork test, a character is limited in the number of bonus dice they can take from Diagnostics to their ranks in the skill for skills (or the level of the sprite if that is lower). For attribute-only tests the only limiter is the level of the sprite. Additionally, a character may only benefit from one Diagnostics on any given roll. A service may be spent to apply Diagnostics to a different skill.

Matrix Actions

• Invited marks do not travel up the stream like marks gained via hack on the fly/brute force do.
• Matrix search is not an extended test. Within a host, it may be run as an extended test with short duration, such as to find a file, but to glean information off the Matrix in general, it follows its normal rules.
• There are no "decryption keys". In order to use the edit file action on a file, you must first bypass any protection it has. If you are the owner of a file, it does not have to roll any defense dice against your crack file action, however, you still need to have an Attack attribute. GMs, please note the impact this has on the Matrix ecosystem.
• Technomancers may use the jam signals action. The point of origin is their brain.
• You cannot send a file with a data bomb.
• Confuse pilot is a Data Processing action.
• Drones qualify as allies for the purposes of Tag, I am the firewall and calibrate.
• You may use the Resonance for the control device action for remote operation. However, you must select a single skill this will apply to (such as Gunnery or Pilot: Groundcraft). You will still need the relevant skill in question and you do not benefit from any Intuition-linked or Logic-linked skill bonuses.
• You may use the Go Big or Go Home quality on the erase marks action.
• Probe Encryption is a custom Matrix action as follows:
  • Action: Special (Two Minutes)
  • Requires: 3 marks
  • You may spend two minutes attempting to quietly break a file's encryption, at the end rolling Hacking + Logic [Sleaze] vs Protection Rating x2 to see if you succeed. If you do the encryption is removed without alerting the file's owner.