[SR5] Matrix rules summary

Opti has a neat flowchart for Matrix actions here.

Anything in curly braces {{{ }}} is a house rule. Usually the original rule or an explanation as to why is listed right after it.

• Everything in the Matrix is an icon
• Rules prevent icons from not resembling their actual identity (e.g. must look like a person, or a file)
• Matrix appears by default as a "black flatland under a black sky"
• Typically displays one icon per PAN
• But will still display dangerous devices on that network separately
• Terminology
• Hosts are a "self-contained place in the Matrix... [with] no physical location, as they exist purely in the Matrix cloud"
• Everything in the matrix is one of these six things: persona, device, PAN, file, host, or a mark
• Datastream visibility is filtered out by default but can be shown (but are useless without snooping)
• Personas are usually based on a commlink, cyberdeck, rigged vehicle/drone, or technomancer
• Devices represent electronic devices (such as cars, music players, maglocks, etc.). Typically they do something in the physical world
• Files are a collection of data, or possibly a collection of files (a "folder")
• Marks (matrix authentication recognition key) "keeps track of which personas have access to which devices, files hosts, and other personas"
• Grids are a Matrix Service Provider
• All public and global grids are accessible at any time
• Local grids are only accessible if you are physically in the area
• Hopping between grids is still confined to what is available in your area
• Grid by lifestyle:
• Low or lower = public grid
• Middle = local grid
• High = global grid (pick a Big Ten megacorp as provider)
• Luxury = any grid you want
• Commlinks are a "combination computer, smartphone, media player, passport, wallet, credit card, Matrix browser, chip reader, GPS navigator, digital camera, and portable gaming device"
• Data Processing and Firewall are = commlink's Device Rating
• Cyberdecks (p. 227)
• about the size of a small tablet or notebook
• built-in sim module
• Direct Neural Interface is required for VR
• This can come from trodes or having an implanted (datajacks|commlink|cyberdeck)
• Matrix Attributes
• Attack, Sleaze, Data Processing, Firewall
• Matrix Condition Monitor
• Every device in the Matrix has health = 8 + (Device Rating / 2)
• Damage is resisted by Device Rating + Firewall
• No wound modifiers (except Technomancers since they take Stun damage)
• Filling the Matrix damage track "dumps" you
• Repairing device Matrix damage requires:
• toolkit
• an hour of work
• Hardware + Logic [Mental] test (every hit repairs one box or cuts future repair session times in half)
• Device is not usable during the repair process
• Critical glitches permanently break the device
• IC and sprites also take matrix damage but cannot be repaired
• Biofeedback damage
• Resisted by Willpower + Firewall
• Stun if cold-cim, Physical if hot-sim
• Dumpshock
• If you disconnect from the Matrix while in VR without going to AR first, you get dumpshock
• 6S or 6P depending on cold/hot sim
• Resisted as normal Biofeedback (but if you got dumped due to a bricked deck you don't get Firewall to help resist)
• You also suffer 2 to all actions for (10 - Willpower) minutes
• Link-locked
• Any persona (includes agent, techno, sprite) can be link-locked
• When locked, you cannot use Switch Interface mode, Enter/Exit Host, or Reboot actions on your device
• You can escape with a successful Jack Out (p. 240) action but you still suffer dumpshock
• Typically falling unconscious during VR will switch you to AR automatically, but link-lock prevents this
• IC will keep attacking you even when unconscious
• User Modes
• AR
• Can be used without falling into a trance
• -2 to Perception tests in physical space
• Cold-sim VR
• All physical senses blocked (as if asleep)
• Initiative is Data Processing + Intuition + 3d6
• Biofeedback damage is Stun
• Hot-sim VR
• All physical senses blocked (as if asleep)
• Initiative is Data Processing + Intuition + 4d6
• Biofeedback damage is Physical
• +2 to all Matrix actions
• Noise
• Caused by distance, nearby electronics, natural/artificial dampening, cosmic background radiation, etc.
• Spam zones has huge Matrix traffic and everything is slowed
• Static zones have electromagnetic blockage (tunnels, sewers, deep in a steel building) or are far away from civilization (deserts, north pole, in the middle of the ocean)
• Noise penalty = distance + situational - noise reduction
• Penalty never applied to defense or resistance tests
• Distance table (p.231):
• Direct connection = 0
• 0 - 100m = 0
• .1 - 1.0km = 1
• 1.01 - 10km = 3
• 10.01 - 100km = 5
• > 100.01km = 8
• Situational modifier table:
• Faraday cage = no signal
• Salt water = 1 per cm
• Fresh water = 1 per 10cm
• Dense foliage = 1 per 5m
• Metal-laced earth or wall = 1 per 5m
• Wireless negation (wallpaper or paint) = Rating
• Spam or Static zone = Rating
• 1 = City downtown | Abandoned building
• 2 = Sprawl downtown | Abandoned neighborhood, barrens
• 3 = Major event or advertising blitz | Rural area, abandoned underground area, heavy rain/snow
• 4 = Commercial area in a city | Wilderness, severe storm
• 5 = Commercial area in a sprawl | Remote place with satellite access only
• 6 = Massive gathering or widespread emergency | Remote enclosed place (cave, desert ruin)
• {{{For Spam and Static Zones, take the worst of the target and the source. If the target is in a 4 noise spam zone and the source is in a 2 Static zone, they both have 4 noise to interact with each other.}}}
• Illegal Actions
• Failed Attack deals 1 damage per net defense hit (UNRESISTABLE)
• Failed Sleaze puts a mark on you and informs host, who launches IC
• Overwatch score
• Accumulates whenever you perform an illegal action
• Rebooting clears your marks and score
• Each hit on a defense test (regardless of test success or failure) adds to the score
• Every {{{5 + 3d6}}} minutes from the first tally, it increases another 2D6 (rolled in secret by the DM)
• Rules-as-written: 15 minutes
• If outside a host or when leaving a host with score 40+, convergence occurs
• You get hit with 12 DV Matrix damage (resist normally)
• forced to reboot (dumpshock applied if in VR)
• This even applies to technomancers
• physical location reported to owner of the grid and your current host
• Can use the Check Overwatch Score action or Baby Monitor program to check your score
• DM should not tell player how many hits the defense is getting
• PANs & WANs
• Can slave (Device Rating x 3) devices to your commlink or deck
• Whenever slaves defend, they can use master's firewall or their own rating for the test
• Marks on slaves apply to master as well
• In reverse, if you fail a sleaze on a slaved device only its owner marks you, not the master as well
• WANs can slave unlimited devices
• Being inside a host that has a WAN makes you "directly connected" to all devices in the WAN
• Only devices can be slaves/masters/part of a PAN (not personas, files, etc.)
• When directly connected to a device: (p. 358-359)
• you can target a device on a network independently without being on the host
• the device cannot use the host rating in tests
• Grids
• Targets must always be on a grid
• Megacorps would be on their global grid
• Smaller companies and wealthier people would be on the local or private grid
• Lower class people/organizations would be on the public grid
• Matrix actions against a target on a different grid have a -2 penalty (including trying to grid jump!)
• Changing grids requires either Grid-Hop (if you have access) or Brute Force/Hack on the Fly
• Penalties only apply when you're outside of a host
• The public grid has a -2 penalty always, even in a host (on a public grid)
• Typical Device Ratings
• 1 = General appliances, public terminals, entertainment systems
• 2 = Standard personal electronics, basic cyberware, vehicles, drones, weapons, residential security devices
• 3 = Security vehicles, alphaware, corporate security devices
• 4 = High-end devices, betaware, military vehicles and security devices
• 5 = Deltaware, credsticks, black-ops vehicles and security devices
• 6 = Billion-nuyen experimental devices, space craft
• Matrix Spotting Table
• Not running silent
• < 100m = Automatic
• 100+ m = Simple Computer + Intuition [Data Processing]
• a host (any distance) = automatic
• Running silent
• Must first check if there are any silent icons in the vicinity (within 100m or in the same host)
•  Opposed Computer + Intuition [Data Processing] vs. Logic + Sleaze (1 net hit = detect)
• If there are multiple silent running icons, you roll once against a random one
• {{{If you know "a feature" of an icon running silent (e.g. the last one who attacked you), you can look for a specific one}}}
• Matrix Perception
• Autospot anything within 100m that is not running silent
• Spotting beyond 100m or any silent device requires a test (see Matrix Spotting Table)
• Any marked icon is always visible
• Any spotted icon will stay visible even if it starts running silent
• Icon can use the Hide action or reboot/jack out
• If you are running silent you have a -2 modifier to all Matrix actions
• Sample things you can perceive per hit:
• Spot a target
• The most recent edit date of a file.
•  The number of boxes of Matrix damage on the target’s Condition Monitor.
• The presence of a data bomb on a file.
• The programs being run by a persona.
• The target’s device rating.
• The target’s commode.
• The rating of one of the target’s Matrix attributes.
• The type of icon (host, persona, device, file), if it is using a non-standard (or even illegal) look.
• Whether a file is protected, and at what rating.
• The grid a persona, device, or host is using.
• If you’re out on the grid, whether there is an icon running silent within 100 meters.
• If you’re in a host, whether there is an icon running silent in the host.
• If you know at least one feature of an icon running silent, you can spot the icon (Running Silent, below).
• The last Matrix action an icon performed, and when.
• The marks on an icon, but not their owners.
• Running Silent
• Switching to silent running is a Simple Action
• -2 to all Matrix Actions while running silent
• See "Matrix Spotting Table->Running silent" for spotting rules
• Any owner can set a Matrix object to silent running
• Noticing Hackers
• A successful Attack or a failed Sleaze will result in detection
• IC may be launched (only if in a host)
• Recognition Keys (marks)
• Marks are individualized to their owner
• Icons can invite other icons for 1-3 marks (Invite Mark action)
• Otherwise, Brute Force and Hack on the Fly are the only other options
• Marks are invisible to everyone but the mark owner, but can be spotted with Matrix Perception
• All marks you have and are on you are removed when you reboot
• Marks can never be given or transferred
• Owners
• Every device, persona, host, and file has an owner.
• Each Matrix object can only have one owner.
• "For all intents and purposes, owning an icon is the same as having four marks on it." (p.236)
• Owning a device and being its owner are not necessarily the same (e.g. if you steal someone else's commlink)
• Matrix Ownership is registered with the device and the grids
• Ownership can be transferred (if you are the owner) in a ~1 minute process
• You can illegally change a device's owner with:
• Hardware toolkit
• Extended Hardware + Logic [Mental] (24, 1 hour)
• Glitch results in an alert sent out to the authorities
• Note that changing a file's ownership can be done with Edit File to copy, then delete original
• Personas and hosts can never have ownership changed
• Matrix Teamwork Tests
• Assistants perform the same test, and each hit gives the leader +1 to their limit and dice pool (max is the Assistant's skill rating)
• {{{There is no specific ruling on how teamwork should work on Matrix actions, so all of the below is a house rule}}}
• When trying to assist another on a Matrix action, they both must be in the same host (if any)
• If they are on different grids, the normal "different grid" penalty applies
• Both characters accrue overwatch score from the action
• Add 1 to OS for both characters for each hit on the teamwork test
• Programs
• Come in Common and Hacking types (Hacking programs are illegal)
• Cannot duplicate programs on the deck
• Only provides benefit while the program is running
• Programs appear as icons connected to your persona
• Agents
• Autonomous programs rated from 1-6
• Take up one program slot on your deck
• Can use programs running on the same device as them
• Use the Matrix attributes of the device they run on (e.g. your cyberdeck)
• Use their own rating for other attributes (e.g. Mental)
• Intelligence is equivalent to Pilot Programs (p. 269) of the same rating
• Attacks on the agent are attacks on you
• Agents can run independently of you and have their own persona when doing so
• Hosts (p.246)
• No physical spot, but could be tethered to one (e.g. clubs, stores)
• Entering a host requires going through the actual host icon
• Always on a specific grid, but once inside the originating grid is irrelevant
• Can run IC
• Patrol IC behavior and host security levels
• Have file archives that hold files that aren't in use, cannot be hacked
• Hosts have a Host Rating (HR)
• Attack, Sleaze, Data Processing, Firewall
• Ratings are typically (HR + 3), (HR + 2), (HR + 1), (HR)
• IC have the same ratings as their host
• Host Convergence
• Overwatch Score accumulates while inside the host
• When convergence occurs, host gets three marks on you and deploys IC
• Leaving a host after convergence results in immediately grid convergence (should just jack out)
• Intrusion Countermeasures (IC)
• {{{Data Processing + Host Rating + 4D6}}}
• Rules-as-written is (Initiative = Data Processing + Intuition + 4D6)
• Hosts can launch one IC per turn, at the START of the turn
• Hosts typically have Patrol IC running all the time
• Hosts can run # of ICs equal to their Rating
• Hosts are capped to only one per type of IC at a time
• IC condition monitor = 8 + (Host Rating / 2) (p.228)
• IC resist attacks with Device Rating + Firewall
• IC attacks are:
• (Host Rating) * 2 [Attack]
• Complex Action
• Note that failed attacks damage the IC as normal

Matrix Actions

• Brute Force
• attack and add a mark
• Change Icon
• Check Overwatch Score
• Control Device
• Crack File
• Crash Program
• Data Spike (Complex Action)
• Cybercombat + Logic [Attack] v. Intuition + Firewall
• Matrix Damage = Attack + 1/net hit + 2/mark
• If you are Data Spiking an icon you are the owner of, that counts as 4 marks (+8 DV)
• Disarm Data Bomb
• Edit File
• Can be used to protect files
• Enter/Exit Host
• Erase Mark
• Erase Matrix Signature
• Full Matrix Defense
• Grid Hop
• Hack on the Fly
• Stealth add a mark
• Hide
• Invite Mark
• Jack Out
• Jam Signals
• Jump Into Rigged Device
• Matrix Perception
• Analyze an object or vicinity
• Matrix Search
• Search matrix for info
• Can be public info, or private info on this host
• Info:
• General = 1 (1 minute)
• Limited = 3 (30 mins)
• Hidden = 6 (12 hours)
• Modifiers:
• -1 intricate or specialized
• -2 obscure
• -2 on another grid
• Reboot Device
• if mark = 3, reboot device (specify delay to start back up 0-infinite)
• only works on devices
• Doesn't work on link-locked
• Send Message
• Set Data Bomb
• Snoop
• if mark >=1, intercept traffic to and from target
• Spoof Command
• if mark >=1, send a command
• only works on devices and agents
• Switch Interface mode
• Trace Icon
• Find physical location of device or persona if mark >= 1
• Doesn't work on hosts or IC (no physical presence)