[SgtBoomCloud]

Kinda nerd science dry humor, but here.

"We just spent over a month in stasis with a machine that identified your malabsorption condition--the reason why you're under 50 kilos--and actively worked around it.  Do you honestly think you can still use low-fat references for yourself?"
...or something to that effect.

[Jack_Spade]

I guess Datatrails would be very useful right now. But as long as I have to make this up as I go along:

The Kerberos is an easy to spot rating 6 Agent, tasked with protecting the system against intruders. It has access to all hacking, cyber combat and computer actions, as well as the benefits of all cyberprograms (six active at a time) with 12 dice

The Host has A9 S8 D7 F10 active

The jammer file is a self replicating executable with admin rights that updates it's copies permanently with new instructions, relying on emergent behavior to cause maximum chaos and preventing an easy deletion. 

As long as the file is active, Kerberos has only two dice to detect bnc.

[Volker]

Okay. Since I'm working on a deck that is not part of the system and I have a direct link I assume I don't have to worry about noise, right? That's pretty much the definition of a direct link. If it's different in this special case, lemme know.

Okay, before I attack Fluffy I try to mark him twice first:
Initiative: 4d6+9=22

Turn 22: Hacking on the Fly: 19d6.hits(5)=8
Turn 12: Hacking on the Fly: 19d6.hits(5)=6
Turn   2: Switching to combat mode with a Free Action (loaded by Configurator)
Data Spike at Kerberos: 17d6.hits(5)=5

DV = Attack [6] + 2 per mark [hopefully 4] + Hammer [2] + net hits [up to 5].
Bzzz!

Can I undo the jamming by simply editing the file?

[Volker]

I just realized that the first two rolls h appen while I'm still running silent, so I have "only" 7 and 6 hits.

[Jack_Spade]

You might want to rethink that course of action.
Agents are not like IC: Any damage you do to the agent you do to the system it's running on, in that case the host. It's one of the reasons you usually see only IC as protection, since those have their own condition monitors.

The good news is: The Kerberos Agent needs only one matrix action to be disabled: Crash Progam with one mark

[Volker]

That makes sense.
Okay, can you just take my first Fly on the Hack and either ignore the second one or reuse it against the host once I've chopped off Kerberos' heads?

Dataspike and Crash program use the exact same dice pool. So please kindly imagine it says "Crash program" instead of "Data spike" in my previous post.

[Jack_Spade]

Ok, let's see:

Defense hotf 1:
16d6.hits(5)=4
Defense hotf 2:
16d6.hits(5)=3

Ok, you have two marks with out the mark knowing

Crash program
16d6.hits(5)=7

Would you like to spend edge?

Otherwise Kerberos is still unaware of you:
Initiative 13+4d6= 13+4d6=32
His actions:
Matrix Perception (2 dice) at 32 2d6.hits(5)=0
Matrix Perception (2 dice) at 22 2d6.hits(5)=2 Agend finds marks
Full defense (w/ 22 dice) at 12
Erase Mark action (12 dice) at 2 12d6.hits(5)=4 vs. 11d6.hits(5)=6

You retain your marks and the Agent is still unaware of your location, but he knows somethings not right.

Edit:
Just realized: Crash program is an attack action and your failed attempt would gain you two points of matrix damage + two points of biofeedback

[Volker]

Hoi!

Sorry 1 that I couldn't post yesterday. After a long time of peace Kathmandu chose to remind me where I am.

Sorry 2 to keep this with rule discussions, but I'm quite sure it doesn't work like this. I wasn't able to look the rules up before because I didn't have access to my laptop.

Agents share a Condition Monitor with the device it's running on. I don't think Hosts actually have a Condition Monitor, otherwise they would be just too damn vulnerable. Thus, I should be able to attack it as I wanted in the first place. The Data Spike action is opposed by the Agent, not the Host. It has a maximum dice pool of 12 if it's the finest gear you can buy.


If you don't agree about this and there is no way I could kill that beast without crashing the whole system, I would have to run Crash Program against either the Host or the work station. Now there are two possibilities
 1) Kerberos is hosted on the primary workstation. This seems the most logical thing for me. If this is the case, I have a direct connection and the Host rating has no relevance. I would just attack the device itself. The Host is powerless in a direct link situation.
 2) Kerberos is hosted somewhere else. Then I'd like to find out where with a Matrix perception test (not sure whether this is possible, but I think so). In that case, as long as I don't physically get there, I have to fight the host.

Either way, Kerberos can't go into full defense, because I'm not attacking Kerberos, but its device.


If I can attack it which Data Spike, it can, of course, go into full defense if it survived my attack with its 12 (or less) dice.

[Jack_Spade]

Good to see, that you are still alive 

Here the relevant rules for the Agent:

Agents are autonomous programs that are rated from 1 to 6. Each agent occupies one program slot on your deck. Agents use the Matrix attributes of the device they run on, and their rating (up to 6) for attributes. Agents also have the Computer, Hacking, and Cybercombat skills at a rating equal to their own. An agent runs as a program and can use programs running on the same device as them. You can have your agent perform Matrix actions for you. When an agent is running, it has its own persona (and icon). An agent is about as smart as a pilot program of the same rating (Pilot Programs, p. 269).
Any attack on an agent damages the device on which it is running, rather than the agent itself (which is, after all, merely a program). This means that if you’re running an agent on your deck, you and it share the same Matrix Condition Monitor.

There are no definitive rules regarding Hosts running programs, but I'd rule they have the capacity to run almost everything - even if they have to emulate a deck. That's how I rule this.
This virtual deck has a device rating of 7 and a matrix monitor of 12. In essence the Kerberos agent is like a spider without the biological vulnerability.


So no, the Agent does use the firewall attribute of the host it runs on (Just a emulated one). The Agent can use Full Defense.

The easiest thing to do now, would be to spend one point of edge, reroll or add some dice and shut the Agent down.

At the moment you have one legitimate mark on the host (by entering through the still open connection of the dwarf) and two illegal marks on the agent and therefore the virtual deck it's running on.

You can dataspike the virtual deck, but that would only mean the virtual deck is reloaded shortly afterwards. You could of course overwrite the boot sector first, preventing the virtual deck from loading again.

Regarding the file: It's self replicating and modifying (meaning, it reads, copies and edits each other permanently). If you delete one, it will be replaced shortly afterwards. You can edit or encrypt each file to stop this replication mechanism, but that would mean thousands of edits.
An elegant solution would be to modify one file in such a way, that it will destroy itself and all others by itself.
That would be an extended Software+Logic[mental] test with (18, 1 Combat Turn)

[Volker]

Okay, my decision depends on what you think about my thoughts.

I will definitely accept any decision of you without further discussion, but I'd like to point out that I'm quite positive it wasn't intended to work that way because a automatically self-regenerating agent with full protection of the Host, simultaneous immunity to a direct connection and in addition the faculty of going into Full Defense appears to be rather powerful to me. It combines the strengthes of IC (the capacity to reload again and again), Hosts (powerful dice pools) and decks (Full Defense which adds even more dice to the already high number) without the weaknesses of any of these (direct access to circumvent the Host protection). This makes it a solution much more powerful than the standard solution and should be mentioned somewhere if it was possible.

Independent from how you rule Kerberos, I would also like to point out that the agent / Host / virtual deck has not yet noticed me since a failed Attack option doesn't give me away. Thus, unless it just goes into Full Defense for good measure in its leisure time, I at least should only roll against 16 dice.

Depending on your decision I will
 - if I would have to roll against a full 22 dice (6 Agent level + 10 Firewall + 6 Full Defense), then I need to spend Edge to avoid this (Second Chance): 12d6.hits(5)=3. Due to the Rule of the Six I have one more roll (1d6.hits(5)=1) and yet one more roll (1d6.hits(5)=1).
That way, I lose one point of Edge, but get 5 extra hits (yeah), crumbling Kerberos to dust.

 - if it doesn't notice me (because Attack actions don't give me away) or can't go into Full Defense (because Hosts can't), I'd take the 2+2 damage and retry to attack that beast:
17d6.hits(5)=7

 - if it has any other amount of dice less than 17, see above.

Assumung (and hoping) that the beast either has less than 7 scores on his Defense roll or even more that I don't have to spend my Edge point, I'll continue IC on the assumption that I blasted a big nasty whole in each of its ugly heads.

And if you are a very, very nice Game Master you would take the first Opposed roll (4 hits) for my mark and the second (3 hits) for the Crash Program action, save us the trouble and me the damage and the Edge spending and making me very happy. In that case, I would bring you a candy, a Weißbier and a Weißwurst as soon as I come to Bavaria Deal? *winning smile*

[Volker]

Ah, here's the Extended test:

17d6.hits(5)=7
17d6.hits(5)=8
17d6.hits(5)=1 (this comes as a surprise)
17d6.hits(5)=4

4 Combat turns before I delete Sarah.

[Sabato Kuroi]

I may be wrong , but I think you have to  remove one dice after each roll (when it comes to extended tests)

[Volker]

You're absolutely right. Thanks for pointing it out.
In that case, I have only 7, 7, 1 and 3 hits. So it doesn't change the outcome but it's less elegant

[Jack_Spade]

You know what: Scratch the Full Defense. (Not that it could not use it, but as long as it didn't detect you, it probably wouldn't)

But I want you to note: This is a secret research installation. Expect them to employ cutting edge stuff 

In other news: I don't want to keep the rest of my players waiting unnecessary.

Never let it be said, that I can't be bribed with Weißwurst 

[Volker]

Understood. So I note two points of Matrix and Stun Damage, da?

Did the host already find our location? I assume that there happened something like an automatic Host convergence. If that's the case, my Sneak program would prevent them from automatically finding me. I have 2 additional dice to defend against Trace User.

Just tell me so that I can warn my fellow runners IC-wise.

I won't forget Brezel and Weißbier if I don't have any crosses on my Condition Monitor