Matrix Hero

[Herolover]

Okay. I gotta ask. With the new Matrix movies coming out I am wondering if anyone is going to be doing a Matrix Hero? If you are or plan to do a Matrix Hero how are you going to do it?

In the "real world" (ie not the Matrix) I would say make the characters up as 150 point characters with NCM or, if you assume that things "loaded into you" stay with you than you could base it on more points, but I have no idea how many you would need. You could run that part of the campaign as your basic sci-fi, post apocolypse campaign.

The Matrix would be easy to run since it is basically extra dimensional movement where the characters are basically built as 350-400 point characters.

What does everyone else think?

[MarkusDark]

Originally posted by Herolover
Okay. I gotta ask. With the new Matrix movies coming out I am wondering if anyone is going to be doing a Matrix Hero? If you are or plan to do a Matrix Hero how are you going to do it?

In the "real world" (ie not the Matrix) I would say make the characters up as 150 point characters with NCM or, if you assume that things "loaded into you" stay with you than you could base it on more points, but I have no idea how many you would need. You could run that part of the campaign as your basic sci-fi, post apocolypse campaign.

The Matrix would be easy to run since it is basically extra dimensional movement where the characters are basically built as 350-400 point characters.

What does everyone else think?

I might do things as follows:

Have a VPP in the Matrix mode, for skills only, for the upload. From what it looked like in reality, they didn't have the skills. At least, I didn't see anything looking like H-T-H mastery/dodging while the weasel was about to be shot. I think that maybe the skills only stay in the Matrix. Although Neo did open his eyes and say "I know Kung Fu!" Maybe this will be shown a bit better in Reloaded.

I might make the character have a multiform/duplication ability - with the limitation of 'only works in the Matrix'. Although the original multiform might be expensive, you can load up whoppers of limitations on it (must be unconcious and plugged into the Matrix. Does not affect the 'real world', etc.)

[Intrope]

I kind of assumed that the skills are 'real' but not necessarily useful outside. For one thing, the real bodies of the hackers aren't all that fit (hey, they spend all day laying on their backs!) Also, I suspect that they derived their kung-fu program from Hong Kong action theater (which isn't known for usable real-world techniques).

Along the same lines, Trinity probably really could fly a V212 helicopter--if she had one.

Actually, that makes me think: why do they have programs for all these different things (like vehicles)? Maybe the technology was originally developed by the military to reduce training costs/time?

[Jhamin]

Originally posted by Intrope
Actually, that makes me think: why do they have programs for all these different things (like vehicles)? Maybe the technology was originally developed by the military to reduce training costs/time?

I sort of assumed it was a combination of hacking the matrix (taking the appropriate skill packages out of the digital recreations of pilots and formatting them for easy upload) and copious file sharing (if one hacker team scores a good program, they distribute it to everyone from Zion.)

[Heroman]

Definately seems like a Duplication, probably alot along the lines of Astral Projection with the duplicate tied to the Matrix dimension.
If the 'true' form could retain learned skills, he would probably need a VPP for skills only. I am guessing that 90% of the new character would be a VPP since they seem to be reconfigurable, though I do not see them being able to augment Int or Ego. One thing which is curious is if the Matrix form's non-skill abilities (superleap, DR, etc) are fixed or can be augmented. While MA packages and skills could be picked up, it was not clear if they durability and agility were fixed (so non VPP powers/chars in the duplicate).

[SuperBlue]

Cyber Hero

Just make a skilled normal as the "Real World" PC, and then use Cyber Hero's rules for Net Running. This allows you to have a character with an infinite number of skills/powers/whatever existing in a computer program.

[Armitage]

Originally posted by Herolover
Okay. I gotta ask. With the new Matrix movies coming out I am wondering if anyone is going to be doing a Matrix Hero? If you are or plan to do a Matrix Hero how are you going to do it?

Or in a different vein, a combination of The Matrix and an episode of Red Dwarf that I can't remember the title of (usable for Champions).
The heroes are defeated by a vilain and apparently killed. They then wake up in advanced VR pods and discover that the entire campaign has actually been an advanced computer game and they have now lost. Unfortunately, due to a glitch in the neural interface, the PCs can't remember their real lives. They begin to investigate their world and discover that each is a person that their character would absolutely loath.
And of course they eventually discover that the "real world" is actually a computer simulation that the villain placed them in when he defeated them and they have to find a way to escape.

[AnotherSkip]

It was the Red Dwarf episode with the Psychadelic Squid as the villian if that helps at all..........

the cutscenes were hilarious.

[Jhamin]

Originally posted by Heroman
One thing which is curious is if the Matrix form's non-skill abilities (superleap, DR, etc) are fixed or can be augmented. While MA packages and skills could be picked up, it was not clear if they durability and agility were fixed (so non VPP powers/chars in the duplicate).

Durability and Agility seemed to have alot to do with the individual. If you could just upload superleap then the rest of the team wouldn't have been as interested in whether or not Neo could make the just across the street on the first try or not.

A duplicate with some powers and a VPP is probably the way to go. You might also look at extra dimensional movement, leaves body behind. It is the most direct, but then you have to deal with all the powers that are limited to not work outside the Matrix. That would get messy real quick.

It seemed like equipment and sensory powers couldn't be simulated, you had to bring them with you and if you lost one it was gone, so you probably want to limit the VPP to skills only. It seemed like training (ie XP) could improve your jumping and durability and that you still needed to know how to apply your uploaded skills even after you had them. Therefore, you may also want to force people to buy CSLs outside the VPP as well.

[tengu]

The title of the Red Dwarf ep was Back to Reality , from series V. (If you get the videotapes, the episode is actually supposed to be the last one of the series, not the first.)

However, the "reality" was an illusion brought on by a toxin in the ink of a Suicide Squid.

[Chris Goodwin]

I don't think Hero is the best choice for a Matrix game.

You can treat the Matrix as another dimension if you want, with different properties that allow characters to do different things, or you can build every ability ever demonstrated by someone in the Matrix and give the PCs VPPs to allow them to do those things....

But that's a lot of work.

It could be done, sure, but there are other systems in which you wouldn't have to do nearly as much work to get it to feel right.

[Blue]

"BLUE" is a hacker, one of only a few in the champions campaign. She's normal in this world and a superhero in the net. Most of the beings she encounters on the net are programs or "avatars" of real life hackers, wheras in her case her consciosness is actually uploaded to the web, thereby giving her incredible speed and strength denied other programs on the web. There, she's basically a Goddess, unlike the real world. So naturally, she's addicted to jacking-in.

Among the campaigns I proposed to my players when I decided to run a Hero Games system was the following rejected campaign:

The characters are "agent level" normals with cyberpunk skills and abilities, but on the net they are all heroes. Players build two characters: One for real life at agent level and one at super-powered level for when they are plugged in. Essentially this would give me the chance to shift gears, switching between superheroic and dark-champions level characters during the same campaign. One day you're shooting it out on a street (and not instantly dying like in Cyberpunk) and the next minute you're an avenging angel, dragon, toad, etc. on the net duking it out with sysops and black-ice. Would have been fun. I think it finished 3rd in the 4 campaign settings I suggested.

[Heroman]

Really, I think Hero is one of the better systems to run a Matrix style game in. The whole EDM and alternate Matrix world is not complex; heck the real world is where you probably have virtually (ha!) no work in creation since people are so isolated.
As far as VPPs and scale, I do not see huge VPPs. One thing which has not been mentioned is 'how much can 1 person know at once anyways'?
Yeah, they can learn MA, insta-pick up helicopter piloting, but how many skills can they concurrently know? I am guessing not alot and they have probably never pressed themselves too hard, being able to DL skills on the fly.

Actually, this style of game would be perfect for 'over the net' gaming, using something like IRC, OpenRPG, or WebRPG. Maybe the team actually is not all on a 'ship', but scattered around different human cities. Makes it easier to 'logout' people who cannot attend sessions.

I do also like the 'rejected' game idea; I think it could have good versitility.

I would probably make some changes from the movie. It should not be as easy for agents to pick up on you (give the players a wee bit more flexibility) and maybe add in a middle level force; something between normal human and agent, for the players to womp on.

[RDU Neil]

Kind of a "been there, done that" with the Matrix, concept. I played a lot of "Cyber Hero" though I changed a lot of the overly complex and downright wrong rule interpretations from that supplement.

I had a number of 150 or so point NCM characters in the "real world" who were mercs and drivers and fixers, etc. The problem came up when one person wanted to be a hacker, and the others were street runner types. The hacker got left behind, or went off into their "net world" and it was tough to keep the group heading in the same direction. We did do "hacking and jacking in" type scenarios, but it required the GM to be describing two worlds at once... one the "real world" with guards and cops... and the other the "net world" or "matrix" where the hacker was in avatar form, battling through nodes to simulate hacking into systems to let the real world guys enter a building, or something.

We did it with a similar idea as to posted above. Anyone could connect to the "net" with simple electrodes, but you were just a "normal" in that mode. Few skills. If you had paid points for a "headjack" then you could have an avatar that had 10 pts for every 1 you spent on the "headjack" (or something like that). Your avatar could be anything, with any powers/skills/etc. except "computer programming" The idea was that your avatar's "powers and skills" were metaphors for the programs you could access. If you battled a dragon in a security node made out to look like a castle, and were able to raise the portcullis... you had bypassed security and unlocked the back door of a corp building in real life... that kind of thing.

We did this all based on William Gibson's Neuromancer trilogy... or Stephenson's Snow Crash... long before the Matrix came out. We were, in fact, done with this campaign when the Matrix came out, and only played one more game, inspired by how much we enjoyed the movie.

It was fun, and I'd like to return to that kind of game... but it's kind of outdated now (despite the popularity of the Matrix) and I only have time for one game these days, and that's my supers campaign.

[Heroman]

That, actually, is the single greatest reason why I did not like Punking or introduce cyberpunking into my SH campaign; it splits up the group and story or worse, makes 1 person the focus in punkland and pretty useless outside of it. Bleh. It would work well for a movie, but not a gaming group, IMHO. This is, however, where I could see Matrix Hero excel since *everyone* would be punking and pretty puny outside of it. Plus, with the worlds disjoint, there is no reason for some to punk and others to remain in the real world. (Note: I would NPC people like the guys who monitored people since that would be a rather boring job).
If you were to run real world missions (maybe a roaming ship broke down, needs rescue before tentacled things show up, etc), everyone would pitch in. Missions in the Matrix would include all people, etc. Again, this could be really cool in a Internet based game environment....hrm....maybe I will have to finish up my OpenRPG mods and think about the format for this
Plus, no where near 300 pts, at least not based on the chars in the movie (no, you are not Neo, heh).....