[JackVII]

Alright, so I spent a few days reading through the AI rules and feel like I have a decent grasp on them now. I attempted several times to build an AI, but always hit a wall. I found it a bit too difficult to get the resources needed for a solid deck while still getting to play with reasonable Depth, Edge, and Skills. I tried a commlink, but I felt the lack of program slots made that a little challenging. I found that the RCC makes for a very nice compromise, cheap with good stats and with the capability of running a decent number of cyberprograms. By no means do I claim mastery over the AI rules, so if anyone sees anything obviously wrong, please let me know.

The build is as close to RAW as possible.
- I paid for SVEN's few cyberprograms with karma, per Data Trails, p. 157-158
- No dongles for the RCC, per Kincaid, just the Cyberdeck Module Modification

(Priorities - A: Meta, B: Attributes, C: Skills, D: Resources, E: Depth)

Handle: SVEN
Name: Sanitation Vehicle Enhancement Network
Race/Nationality: Metasapient/None
Gender Identity: Male
Role: Hacker/Dronejacker

ATTRIBUTES (10/10)
BOD   -   WIL   5
AGI   -   LOG   6
REA   -   INT   3
STR   -   CHA   1
EDG   2   ESN   6
DEP   4
Matrix Initiative (Core): 6 + 4D6
Matrix Initiative (Device): 9 + 5D6
Limits (M/P/S)   7 (6)/-/5 (6)
Monitor (C/D)   10/10

Comments: I'd prefer a higher Edge, but I had too many other things to spend karma on. I could have gone for EDG/DEP 3/3, but really wanted to explore the usefulness of Emulation without necessarily going to the Edge well to have decent limits. Since Depth requires, for some reason, 10 more karma to improve than every other Attribute, I wanted to avoid having to invest in it post-Chargen if I could help it.

SKILLS (28/28, 2/2) (7 Karma)
Active
Technical: Computer/Matrix Perception (2), Cybercombat/Devices (6), Electronic Warfare/Communication (6), Hacking/Devices (6), Hardware (2), & Software (2)
Vehicle: Gunnery (3), Pilot Aircraft (2), Pilot Groundcraft (2)

Comments: Heavily focused on Matrix activity, with a primary role of getting a MARK on a drone in order to load on to it, Reset Ownership, slave the drone, and turn it on its former owners, quickly returning to the safety of the RCC. I took Electronics SG for 2 and then broke it during the karma spend phase to add a Matrix Perception specialization to Computer as it tends to be one of SVEN's weaknesses. With the specialization, SVEN rolls 10 dice normally. The vehicle skills are for using the Control Device action in the event "liberated" drones have no onboard autosoft, possibly likely if they are protected by an RCC.

Knowledge (18/18)
Interests: Urban Brawl (3)
Professional: Drones (4), Matrix Security (3), Sanitation Systems (4)
Street: Artificial Intelligences (4)
Language: English (N)

QUALITIES (25 – 11 + 11 = 25)
Positive: Codeslinger [Hack on the Fly], Designer, Ninja Vanish, Photographic Memory, & Speed Reading
Negative: Persnickety Renter [>= DR4], Real World Naiveté, SINner [PCC]

Comments: Took Designer as it is pretty much too good to pass up. 6 karma for +1 Data Processing & Noise Reduction 2 for SVEN's home device? Yeah! I grabbed Ninja Vanish as a last ditch defense. Since I only have two points of Edge, I wouldn't get many uses out of it. For negatives, I took Persnickety Renter requiring the home device to be DR 4 or greater. The Maersk Spider meets the requirement and I really don't plan to change it. Finally, I grabbed SINner [PCC] for 5 karma. I like the idea of how the PCC seems pretty open to AIs, even if it could cause SVEN problems in the future.

CONTACTS & REP (3/3) (3 Karma Spent)
Ryan “Black” Smith, Male Dwarf Repair Technician (1/5)
Current Karma (0), Total Karma (0), Street Cred (0), Notoriety (0), Public Awareness (0)

GEAR (Starting Nuyen: 49,905/50,000) (15 Karma spent on programs)
Maersk Spider (4) [-/-/6/9] w/Multidimensional Coprocessor Mod: 35,900
Cyberprograms: Armor, Encryption, Toolbox
Maglock (3): 300
Microfilament Data Cable: 5
Medium Lifestyle: 5,000
Fake SIN (3): 7,500
Fake License (3) [RCC]: 600

Comments: Not much in the way of gear. SVEN's an AI after all. The Maersk is SVEN's home device, optimized for Firewall, which gives a beefy 9 Firewall when including Encryption. Data Processing benefits from both the Toolbox program and the Designer PQ for a total of 6. Since the Maersk has a free slot, it can be used to gain another constant point of Noise Reduction for a total of 3, with the other two coming from Designer. Distinct lack of drones, but I figured SVEN would pick them up during the run, otherwise SVEN just hacks stuff through emulation, preferably through a direct connection as the dice pool penalty from Emulation and the lack of a Hot-Sim bonus puts SVEN behind a meat decker by at least 4 dice.

Physical Description: Physically, SVEN resides in a Maersk Spider Remote Control Console. The device is contained in a ruggedized case with a bitchin’ (in SVEN’s opinion) tiger stripe camouflage design. The interior of the case is protected by a biometric maglock. While SVEN is generally unhappy about anyone seeing inside of the case, the AI realizes the meter length of microfilament data cable contained inside is the only way to establish a direct connection between the RCC and other devices.

Matrix Iconography: SVEN’s icon is a steampunk-inspired dwarf, which happens to look an awful lot like his best friend and number one repair chummer, Ryan “Black” Smith.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Did Kincaid mention that cyberdeck modules were allowed on RCCs? I can't image they would allow cyberdeck modules but not commlink dongles... Odd mods, sure.

As for the character, I like it. Is the idea that someone would carry it around on the run with them?

[JackVII]

Did Kincaid mention that cyberdeck modules were allowed on RCCs? I can't image they would allow cyberdeck modules but not commlink dongles... Odd mods, sure.

Going with the RAW on that one, it says a module can be modded "into a device" so I am going with that including RCCs. Considering the module in question only really helps devices that can form a persona, I think commlinks, decks, RCCs, and drones (not sure if it would help them though, unless their physical initiative is also considered matrix initiative) would be the only devices that would benefit from that particular modification.

As for the character, I like it. Is the idea that someone would carry it around on the run with them?

Yup, SVEN currently has no mobility. He could potentially load onto a drone, but given the lowish firewall ratings for drones, I'd be worried about getting bricked.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Where does it say device? Page 64 says the following about cyberdeck modules (emphasis mine):

A cyberdeck module is a prefabricated component that extends the capabilities of your deck. Each cyberdeck has one module slot inside its case. Inserting, removing, or swapping modules requires a Hardware + Logic [Mental] (1) Test and about half a minute of time (10 Combat Turns).

As for loading into drones; you might be able to use Emulation with the Full Matrix Defense standard matrix action to get the drones firewall up to the AI Depth.

[JackVII]

Where does it say device? Page 64 says the following about cyberdeck modules (emphasis mine)...

Check Device Modification - Add a Module on pg. 67

As for loading into drones; you might be able to use Emulation with the Full Matrix Defense standard matrix action to get the drones firewall up to the AI Depth.

That should work, FMD is a Matrix Action, so it should be eligible (although it would only work on drones where SVEN is the owner, although that shouldn't be too terribly challenging to solve). But I think the emulation penalty would apply. While I would gain 4 dice to the Drones Firewall from Depth, I'd lose 2 dice due to the Emulation penalty. Still, assuming OS wasn't stupidly high, that would be an extra 6 dice in addition to Willpower/Intuition and the Drone Firewall (probably a 3 unless it was slaved). Hmmm... going to have to think about how all of that interacts. Going to dig through some rules tonight.
Scratch that, most drones have a Firewall of 3 and SVEN has a depth of 4. Adding in the emulation penalty, I would actually lose a die from the test, I think. I do need to check to see if a home device retains the optimization bonuses even if the AI is not loaded on it. It would be nice to have a Firewall of 9 to defend with if a drone SVEN was loaded on and had slaved was attacked in the Matrix.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Aha, very good. Yeah, then the lack of commlink plugins make even less sense to me. Carry on!

[Csjarrat]

Interesting! Different take on it, how you feel about it in terms of playability? Xx

[JackVII]

Interesting! Different take on it, how you feel about it in terms of playability? Xx

I think it could work decently enough.

Hacking: The main weaknesses I see are low Matrix Perception (10)/Matrix Search (5) dice pools and a near complete inability to deal with databombs.  Another potential problem is link-locking. I'm not quite sure how that works, all DT says is that AIs on the grid are immune to it, so I guess if it is in a device, it has to be attempt a Jack Out action. But since an AI can't jack out of the matrix, I'm not sure what happens. Additionally, with any AI that doesn't have a native Attack or Sleaze rating, OS management is kind of a must. Data Spike and Hack on the Fly dicepools comes out to 12 and 14 dice versus devices due to the emulation penalty and is limited to 4 successes due to Depth. Getting that first MARK would probably be something to spend Edge on to break the limit, even if it might mean higher OS. Preferably, the team would be able to get in close enough to get a direct connection to a device slaved to the Host. 14 dice should be able to beat most innate devices.

Rigger-Stuff: That Reset Ownership thing is pretty hilarious if you can pull it off. If you get into the Host and there are drones slaved to it, that's even better. Once the AI is the owner, the drone could be slaved to the RCC and benefit from the RCCs Firewall. The AI could then either just issue orders or Control Device from the RCC.  While the dicepool is pretty bad, suppressing fire would probably still do the job. Plus it creates more targets for the opposition.

[Kincaid]

I expect to see a lot of RCCs with added Sleaze and Smoke & Mirrors.  The RCC can probably offset most, if not all, of the extra noise through sharing and there are various other ways of dealing with whatever noise is left over.  This would mean the AI only needs to use Emulate for Attack actions, which can be avoided in many cases.  Ninja Vanish replaces Erase Mark, leaving Crack File as the only other fairly common Attack action to work around via Emulate.  Rigger AIs probably don't have a ton of need for Crack File on a regular basis.

[RiggerBob]

Speaking of RCCs with added Sleaze... Which devices can be equiped with a dongle?
"Commlink dongles that attach to a universal data port to give extra functionality..." could mean anything from commlinks only to nearly every device 

[JackVII]

Comlink only per the editor. You can add Sleaze to an RCC through the Modification rules, up to a total of 2, then run Smoke & Mirrors to boost the Sleaze up further.

[Herr Brackhaus]

You can also houserule that, in my very personal opinion, ridiculous ruling so that any device with a universal access port can take commlink dongles.

If any device can receive a CYBERDECK module as a modification, it should not be a stretch to add a commlink module to a device through a simple plug-n-play interface or, at worst, another modification.

But, that would of course be completely in house rule territory as the editor of the book has made his stance very clear as per JackVIIs link. I just strongly disagree with that ruling in every possible way.

[Kincaid]

I should once again point out that I'm not on the rules team and I'm very much on the lower end of the freelancer totem pole.  I don't have the authority to make rulings--I just hang out here more often than other freelancers.  Sometimes I can communicate the decisions of others (like KS freebies for Life Modules), but often I'm just expressing my own take on an issue.  Exactly what my own take on an issue is largely depends on my involvement with its creation--I can talk all day with you about GI/GO since I wrote that.  I can't really speak to the echoes since I didn't write that and I don't want to misrepresent someone else's work by accident.

Now, having said all that, the idea of dongles on something other than a commlink has been nixed from above.  That doesn't preclude to possibility to riggers getting some sort of functional equivalent come Rigger 5 (I have no idea--that's a pure guess on my part), but the idea that you can get a 4/5/5/6 RCC for about 100,000 nuyen less than roughly equivalent cyberdeck makes me nervous about how the costing all plays out.  Personally, I'm not against riggers getting a way to mark.  What I wouldn't want to see is a riggers getting a way to mark that suddenly makes an iconic piece of gear (cyberdecks) somehow obsolete.  Cool toys are awesome.  Cool toys that make someone else feel crappy about their own cool toys are less awesome.

It's not your job to worry about ripple effects when it comes to rules, so if you want the rigger at your table to mark, toss him a dongle (that somehow sounds dirty) and call it a day.  I've got houserules too--the only time I play strict core is when I'm in Missions.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Thanks for the clarification, Kincaid; good to know. And I want to make sure you know that I do really appreciate your comments; on this one I happen to disagree strongly, but it's all good given we all can house rule whatever we want. RAW is only important for missions, and since I personally don't play those I don't particularly care about RAW.

Back on topic: I wonder if the character would benefit from some specializations if possible. All depends on whether or not you intend to actually rig multiple different vehicle types or take them over and let auto pilot figure itself out. You might be able to up your hacking skills by sacrificing some pilot or gunnery skills if you went that route, making you marginally more effective at one and worse at the other.

[JackVII]

Back on topic: I wonder if the character would benefit from some specializations if possible. All depends on whether or not you intend to actually rig multiple different vehicle types or take them over and let auto pilot figure itself out. You might be able to up your hacking skills by sacrificing some pilot or gunnery skills if you went that route, making you marginally more effective at one and worse at the other.

Well, SVEN can't actually jump into drones. It can load itself onto them, but there's a distinction between the two. One of the big ones being that an AI who is unable to jump into a drone (through the Pilot Origins PQ) can't use the drones onboard autosoft. If the drone has onboard autosoft, the AI could always send commands, but it's also possible the drone wouldn't have any autosoft if slaved to an RCC (with the RCC pulling the weight).

Unfortunately, I can't really improve any of the skills. Note that Computer, Hardware, and Software were all part of Electronics Skill Group (2) that was broken during the karma spend phase to get the Matrix Perception Specialization. I can't actually use the Gunnery and Pilot Skill Points to improve any of those skills. The hacking skills are already maxed with specializations.