287 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
287 lines
16 KiB
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: Earth's Dreamlands : Info on: RPG's, :(313)558-5024 : area code :
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:RPGNet World HQ & Archive: Drugs, Industrial :(313)558-5517 : changes to :
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: 1000's of text files : music, Fiction, :InterNet : (810) after :
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: No Elite / No porn : HomeBrew Beer. :rpgnet@aol.com: Dec 1,1993 :
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:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
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Chapter 3:
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NETROAMING
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CYBERSPACE AND NETROAMING
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Any character can travel through Cyberspace by using a
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gadget called a cyberdeck (see p.00). The character must
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jack into the cyberdeck by a headset or pinky slot. The
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deck, in turn, must be connected to anything that plugs into
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the wall. If you don't have a computer handy, just jack into
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the toaster. It's all part of the Net.
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Why go to cyberspace? Because it's the "place" that
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connects all the phones and computers in the world. When you
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call your buddy in another city, neither of you moves, but
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you meet in cyberspace. With a cyberdeck, though, you don't
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just send your voices -- you can see! Basic cyberspace looks
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like the inside of a gigantic neon jungle-gym. There are
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bars of light in all colors and shapes. Each character,
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place and program is represented by a different splash of
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color, which is constantly changing. It can be very
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confusing. Make a Smarts Roll any time you see something, to
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understand what it is. If you roll a 12, you're
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automatically Boggled.
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Therefore, all but the most experienced Netroamers use a
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Worldgram (see p.00). This is a chip that makes cyberspace
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look and act just like an "ordinary" TOON world. Characters
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look (sort of) like themselves, programs look like buildings
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or animals, attack programs look like weapons, valuable data
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looks like money, and so on.
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Netroamers must follow the rules of the worldgram that
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they are in -- unless the Animator decides otherwise, or
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creates a worldgram with no rules. No matter what program a
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Netroamer has, they must blend in with the worldgram unless
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the Animator thinks they'd be funnier if they didn't.
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GETTING AROUND IN A WORLDGRAM
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Once in the Net, just act as though everything you see
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is real. It is... kind of. You can buy special programs
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(see p.00) to serve you as weapons, armor, and so on.
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The things that you see are metaphors for the things
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that are really happening in the Net. The Animator tells you
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what you see and you have to figure out what it means. Some
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Skills will help; when in doubt, make a Smarts roll. For
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instance, suppose you're raiding the Skratchanichi Megacorp
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to swipe a data file of suspected Toonpunks, and replace it
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with a file of chicken jokes. You're using the Dungeons and
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Toons worldgram.
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When you plug in, the first thing you see is a deep,
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dark forest (the Net). You figure out the way to
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Skratchanichi and start walking. Soon you are attacked by
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wolves (random defensive programs). You defeat them and go
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on.
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Before long, you see a great black tower (Skratchanichi
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Megacorp). In front is a huge dragon (the main defense
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program). Maybe you try to fast-talk it to let you by; maybe
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you fight it (good luck!), or maybe you walk around to look
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for a back door (which netroamers call a "back door." Go
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figure).
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Once you're past the guardian, you explore the rooms of
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the castle (the different Skratchanichi computers). Every so
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often you may be noticed by a castle guard or a monster (more
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defense programs). Deal with them quickly, or they may give
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the alarm (setting off lots of security programs). Programs
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which Fall Down won't bother you again on that run.
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Eventually you find the room you want. There are no
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guardians, but the door looks funny. Looking closely, you
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see a string (a Trapgram!) With a Set/Remove Traps roll, you
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get past it.
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Inside the room, the high-security databank is
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represented by a strongbox with a funny lock (another
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trapgram). You fail your Set/Remove Traps roll, and a spear
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pops out, doing 4 points of damage to your cyberbody. (When
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you take all the damage you can to your cyberbody, it Falls
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Down and yu get booted from the Net by a large steel-toed
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work boot.) But you get in and grab the huge, musty book
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(the data file). In its place you leave the bag of bats
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(your joke file). Perhaps you grab a few jewels (other
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interesting information) while you're at it.
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Now you've got to get out again. If you just "unplug",
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you'll be safe, but you won't have your loot. So you have to
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get past the guardians, out of the castle, and back to the
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place where you entered the Net.
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But as you leave the strongroom, you see a huge, shadowy
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form -- a gigantic tiger in black armor, holding an enormous
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broadsword. It's Yugota Skratchanichi himself! Uh oh...
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SKILLS AND SHTICKS IN CYBERSPACE
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A Netroamer keeps his normal attributes and skills, and
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can even get program chips (p.00) to improve them! He does
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not get to take his Shticks into cyberspace. But he can buy
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Shtickgrams to replace them -- or to give him new Shtciks --
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as many as his deck will hold!
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EXTRA ACTIONS
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Time passes faster in cyberspace than it does in
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realspace, so once a Netroamer plugs in, he gets more than
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one Action per turn! How many Actions he gets is based on
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what type of cyberdeck he's using. See p.00.
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PROGRAMMING
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In cyberspace, you can temporarily change an existing
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program by making a Fast-Talk roll (to convince it to
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change). So, when you hack a security program, you can talk
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it out of attacking you -- at least right then! A failed
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roll will usually cause problems. Outside of cyberspace,
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just programming on an ordinary computer, make a Read roll to
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make a small change.
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To make a big change, or to create a brand-new program,
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requires the Weird Science Shtick (p.00). Everything on the
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Net is by definition Weird.
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THE DENIZENS OF CYBERSPACE
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Everything in Cyberspace looks like something else --
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something normal to the worldgram. The skills
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See/Hear/Smell, Hide/Spot Hidden and Identify Dangerous Thing
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will be very useful for avoiding booby-trap programs
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(including those that look harmless but aren't).
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Most of the creatures in Cyberspace are really programs,
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there to protect Corporate secrets. This will mean that most
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of them have Resist Fast-Talk scores of 9 or better. They
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will also have fairly high Fight rolls.
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A Netroamer might also encounter:
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Other Netroamers. They may be friendly, hostile or just
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silly. They may have programs that disguise them!
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Cops. A cop in the Net may be a total poser, or he may
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be very skilled, able to Boggle you and track you home.
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AIs. An AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is a computer
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character. Max Playroom (p.00) is an AI. An AI won't have a
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real body outside the net (Max is an exception, but he's
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special.) But an AI will have high Netroaming skills, and as
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many programs as the Animator wants to give it.
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Natives. Nobody knows where these folks came from, but
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there are creatures actually living in cyberspace. Sometimes
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they get irritated with Netroamers...
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THINGS TO DO IN CYBERSPACE
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A good Netroamer can get into any computer anywhere. Or
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any toaster, washing machine, electric toothbrush... anything
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that's plugged into the wall... and make it do whatever he
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wants. (Look out, because if it's unplugged while you're
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inside, you're Boggled.)
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Inside a computer, you can get it to do strange
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things... read, change or delete data files... insert new
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files, including interesting virus programs... anything to
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shake up those serious Corps.
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NETROAMER STUFF
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CYBERDECKS
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Cyberdecks are small, black boxes that allow a Netroamer
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or Programmer to interface with the Net, either in Program
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Mode or in Cyberspace. Decks are rated by their speed factor
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and the number of chipdips they have, as well as how many
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optional features they have. A deck with a speed factor of 2
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lets you do 2 actions per turn, while a speed factor of 4
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allows _4_ actions. The Net Profits Catalog lists several
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types of Cyberdecks, from stripped-down cheapies to state-of-
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the-art, fully-loaded, luxury models.
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PROGRAMS
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There are 12 basic kinds of grams, or programs,
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available to the public. Their cost depends on how reliable
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they are and what they do. Each one is contained on a little
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chip. These don't count against any limit on possessions;
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you can have as many as you can get your hands on.
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Some programs, like Shtickgrams, reqire a die roll to
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use. The normal off-the-shelf chip has a skill of 6.
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Programs that are created or stolen might have a higher die
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roll, but no program can be better than 11. The basic types
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of programs are listed below.
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Worldgram
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These generate a specific world in cyberspace. Without
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a worldgram, cyberspace is different every time you enter it
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and always very strange. Worldgrams are usually pretty
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cheap.
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Weapongrams
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You use these to fight your way into databases.
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Weapongrams have no intelligence and must be actively used by
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the Netroamer. This means if your weapongram is a gun, you
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must use the Fire Gun skill to use it. The price of
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weapongrams depends on how much damage they do.
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Armorgrams
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These simulate armor, force fields or whatever
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protection the worldgram allows. These programs are also
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unintelligent, but you don't need to concentrate on using
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them. Cost depends on how much protection you get.
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Shtickgrams
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Since your natural Shticks don't come with you into
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cyberspace, you need these to replace them. If you want, you
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can buy Shtickgrams that are different from your normal
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Shticks. Basic Shtickgrams don't cost too much, but if you
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want a better level than 6, you'll have to pay more for it.
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Boostergrams
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Your attributes and skills _do_ come with you into
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cyberspace, but you can improve them. A boostergram gives
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you a plus on either a single skill or an attribute. As you
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probably guessed, boostergrams for one skill are much cheaper
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than attribute boostergrams. Of course, +1 also costs less
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than +2.
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Bogglegrams
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Bogglegrams don't do actual damage, they just boggle
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things. They cost more if they do Maximum Boggling (see p.
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00). Bogglegrams are often found as defensive programs,
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linked to Trapgrams.
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Creaturegrams
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This is the intelligent version of a weapongram. Once
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you tell them what to do, they will do it until they've
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accomplished the goal or been destroyed. Price is based on
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the type of creature.
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Buddygram
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With a buddygram, you have a travelling companion that
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can help you out by doing simple tasks. Buddygrams aren't
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very smart, but they can be very useful. Buddygrams are
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pretty expensive.
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Gadgetgrams
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You can't take gadgets into cyberspace, so these
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programs do the job of simulating them. You can buy a
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gadgetgram to reproduce anything from a ping pong ball to a
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starship. Some gadgetgrams can be dozens of different
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things, but they're generally all of the same type. The more
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complex the gadget, the more expensive the gadgetgram. The
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cost of gadgetgrams is up to the Animator.
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Trapgrams
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These programs are designed to do something to other
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programs, databases, hardware or even someone using a deck.
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Netroamers will usually encounter them as part of the
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defenses when they attack a Megacorp system.
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An Identify Dangerous Thing roll will spot a Trapgram; a
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Set/Remove Trap roll will let you get past it. If you fail,
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_something awful happens_. It may call creaturegrams or live
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Netroamers. It may cost your cyberbody Hit Points (it can't
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hurt your real body).It may throw you out of cyberspace. It
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may Boggle you or do something silly to you. The worst ones
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can Mindfry you or even Zero you Out.
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All Trapgrams are very expensive. The worse the
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results, the more costly they are. An Animator who is
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concerned with realism (what's that) will have only a few of
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the really nasty trapgrams, and they'll be right at the heart
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of the megacorp's defenses.
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They are often combined with one of the other types of
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programs or even a _virus_. A turn or two after the main
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program activates, the Trapgram goes off. Only a few
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Trapgrams are legal. All the rest are both illegal and
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dangerous.
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Gigglegrams
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Gigglegrams cause all sorts of problems, but none of the
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damage is really bad. One example is a gigglegram that
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causes a series of "knock knock jokes" to flash onscreen
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during an important speech by a Corp executive. Another
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might have the machines that build car bodies make them in
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the shape of bananas. They would still work, but they'd look
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really screwy. It goes without saying that all gigglegrams
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are _highly illegal!_ Despite this, they are fairly
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inexpensive on the Street.
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Viruses
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A virus is a very special program designed to duplicate
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itself inside a deck, database or program and then move
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through the Net looking for others to infect. A virus can
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contain one or more other programs and can set them off in
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any order the programmer wants. Viruses are even more
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illegal than gigglegrams and are a lot more expensive and
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harder to find.
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