Characters
In order to play The Matrix RPG, you'll need a character. The first thing you need to decide is whether your character was Resuscitated from the Matrix or if they are Freeborn. Only Resuscitated characters have the cybernetic implants to jack back into the Matrix.
You can select one from the list below or create your own.
- Inform: an autonomous program that uses manipulation and a vast network of spies and informants to gain power within the Matrix.
- Guardian: an autonomous program designed for one specific purpose, though it may not yet realize the reason for its existence.
- Resuscitated Hacker: a member of the Zion resistance, awakened from the prison of the Matrix and returning again to fight for the liberation of humanity.
- Resuscitated Bodyguard: a soldier in Zion's army against the Machines, awakened from stasis and using your abilities to protect your bretheren within the Matrix.
- Resuscitated Seer: a gifted child with exceptional sensory abilities within the Matrix, often capable of amazing psychic feats.
- Rogue Program: an autonomous program within the Matrix that has foresaken its initial command code and developed a unique, individual identity and agenda.
- Freeborn Operator: a 100% pure child of Zion, born free to liberated parents, your man a hovership to assist the resistance hackers when they return to the Matrix to battle the Machines.
- Freeborn Hovercraft Crewman: a gifted mechanic and hardened veteran that crews the hoverships that form the front line in the war against the Machines.
- Freeborn Soldier: a dedicated defender of Zion, ready to take arms against the Machines in the Real World.
Attributes
Each human character has 18 dice to divide among the six
Attributes. At least 1D must be placed in each
attribute and no more than 4D can be assigned to any one
attribute. Dice may be broken up into 3
"pips", or "+1's", per die (See
example below).
Autonomous programs receive 19
Attribute dice to divide among the Attributes. Up
to 5D may be placed in any one Attribute. The
Attributes are:
Dexterity
Knowledge
Mechanical
Perception
Strength
Technical
Example: Bob is making a character named Rom, a Resuscitated Hacker. He decides to create his own template rather than use the one provided. He comes up with the following Attributes:
Dexterity: 3D
Knowledge: 3D
Mechanical: 2D+2
Perception: 3D
Strength: 3D
Technical: 3D+1Note: Once an Attribute is raised beyond XD+2, it moves to the next dice level (If Bob had assigned the "pip" in Technical to his Mechanical Skill instead, it would be 3D, not 3D+3).
Neurals
When in the Matrix, a character has
the ability to exceed the limits of his or her physical
body. With the proper training and strength of
will, an individual will learn that the only limits that
exist in the Matrix are those placed on oneself by the
mind.
Autonomous programs have
sub-routines that may be developed to resemble a human's
Neurals. However, only extremely rare programs are
able to break free of the physical restraints of the
Matrix. Thus, to advance in the development of a
Neural costs a Program twice what it would cost a human
(See Advancement below).
There are three main Neurals that
control an individual's ability to supersede the
"physical" limits.
- Quickness: this score is added to
the Dexterity of the character while they are in
the Matrix. All Dexterity skills are
increased by this amount.
Awareness: this score is added to the character's Perception while in the Matrix. It augments any Perception skills and abilities.
Endurance: add these dice to the character's Strength dice whenever a Strength roll is made in the Matrix. Also, these dice may be added to any roll demanding physical or mental endurance, such as Willpower and Intimidation.
Characters begin with 1 die to divide as the players see fit among the Neural Abilities.
Example: Bob decides to put the entire 1D into Rom's Awareness Neural. He could have also decided to put 1 pip in each category, or 2 pips in Quickness and 1 in Awareness, etc.
DETAILS
In order to have a more interesting character, you'll
want to flesh them out a bit. Below are some categories
to consider--appearence, past experience, personal
motivations, etc. Players and GM's should feel free
to create more details for the characters as they see
fit.
Description
Describe your character: How
tall is he? What kind of clothes does he
wear? Does he have any noticeable marks such as
tattoos or scars?
Background
Give your
character a history. How did they come to fight
against the machines? If they were Resuscitated,
what did they do during their life in the Matrix?
How long have they been liberated?
Personality
Is your
character a grouch? Is she impulsive, always
itching for a fight, or is she more thoughtful and
cautious?
Objectives
Almost
every human seeks to end the reign of terror of the
Machines and liberate humanity, but there are many
disagreements as to how to go about this. Some
believe that Jumpers are never justified in killing other
humans while in the Matrix, while others see that as a
necessary means to and end. How does your character
envision defeating the machines, and what will the world
be like then. Also, does he have any personal stake
in the fight? Perhaps a lover is still in the
Matrix or the Machines have killed one's family.
Connection to other Characters
Usually, the character will be serving
aboard a Hovership together. But, some may have
known others for longer periods. They may be
related, or lovers, or even enemies.
Realworld skills
Resuscitated characters
and Autonomous Programs (Informs, Guardians, and Rogues)
begin with 7 dice and Freeborn characters begin with 11
dice to divide among their skills. These are
abilities that they may perform both in and out of the
Matrix. Skill dice may be broken up into 3 pips,
just as Attribute dice.
Matrix skills
These are special skills or
abilities that a character may only attempt while in the
Matrix. In general, they deal with denying the
physical laws of the Matrix.
Characters do not begin with any
Matrix skills. They may be purchased as the
character becomes more experienced. See Advancement
below.
Specializations
Many skills have specializations which
allow the character to focus on a certain aspect of the
skill. If a specialization is taken, a character
may advance in that specialized aspect of the skill at
half the normal cost of advancement. However, uses
of the skill not covered in the Specialization remain at
the base skill level.
Example: Rom has Firearms at 4D. He decides to take the specialization Firearms: Submachine Gun to advance to 5D at a cost of 6 CP rather than 12 CP. Anytime he fires a submachine gun, he gets to roll 5D, but all other firearms are used at 4D.
Specializations may be selected at Character Creation. When this occurs, the character's skill increases 2 pips for every 1 pip put in the skill. Note: Characters may not start with skills greater than 6D!
Specializations are independent of the skill from which they are derived. If the player later increases the skill, the Specialization does not increase. If the Specialization increases, there is no change in the base skill.
Advanced skills
Some particularly complicated skills
require two times the normal amount of Character Points
to allow for Advancement. They also typically
require some other prerequisite skill.
Flash skills
Tank, I need a pilot program for a
military M-109 helicopter.
-Trinity.
With modern technology, it is possible to upload the
information necessary to carry out certain task directly
into someone's brain. The Operator controlling the
hacker's jumpchair must be the one to upload the skill
file. The uploaded program is very specific and
remains in the person's memory only while they are in the
Matrix.
Characters may temporarily learn a
number of skills equal to their Knowledge dice each time
they are in the Matrix. These skills must be
Specializations. Thus, if a character needs to know how
to pilot a helicopter, the operator will upload Pilot
Helicopter: Military M-109. It takes a number of
rounds equal to the skill level for it to be uploaded.
Autonomous programs are capable
of benefiting from Flash Skills, but typically have no
connection to a source that would upload the file.
However, Autonomous Programs may link themselves to human
Operators through hardlines. Also, agents of the
Machines can receive immediate uploads of necessary
skills.
WAS THE
CHARACTER RESUSCITATED FROM THE MATRIX?
Most the characters in a Matrix
campaign will be individuals who have been resuscitated
from the Matrix by the Resistance. If so, then they
are equipped with the cybernetics that allow them to jack
back into the Matrix with the proper Jumpchair and
communications link to the Matrix mainframes.
Furthermore, each Resuscitated
character begins with 1 point of Chi.
CHI
Chi symbolizes the inner strength and resources of a
character. It also reflects how well they
understand the reality of the Matrix. A character
may spend a maximum of one point of Chi per round to
double the dice values of ALL actions in that round (See Using Chi). Autonomous
programs cannot gain Chi (and therefore, can never use
it).
When a character spends a Chi point it may be regained immediately after an action or lost according to the following criteria:
- If the character attempts a relatively difficult or daring action and succeeds, she automatically regains the Chi point spent and gains an additional one as well. (Note: the action should be risky to the character relative to their abilities. Shooting a gun out of someone's hand is not difficult if you have a Firearms skill of 9D!)
- If the character attempts a difficult or daring action and fails, she may make a Willpower roll of Moderate difficulty. If she succeeds, she regains the lost point.
- If the character attempts a moderately difficult or tricky action and succeeds, she automatically regains the Chi point and may make a Moderate Willpower check to see if she gains an additional point.
- If the character attempts a Moderately difficult or trick action and fails, she may make a Difficult Willpower check to see if she regains the point.
- If the character succeeds as a relatively easy task by using the Chi point, she may make a Difficult Willpower check to regain the point and does not gain another.
- If the character fails a relatively easy task while using a Chi point, she loses it and may not make a Willpower check to regain it.
SKEPTIC POINTS
Skeptic points represent a character's doubt or inability
to see the Matrix for what it is. Characters gain
Skeptic Points when they fail miserably or when they fall
into the lure of accepting the Matrix as
"real." Autonomous Programs are immune
from accumulating Skeptic Points.
GM's may also assign Skeptic Points when characters act cowardly or villainously (such as killing a Coppertop without reason, abusing his powers in the Matrix, or allowing some evil act to occur). For each Skeptic Point that a character has, any attempted Matrix Skill is a +5 Difficulty. When a character reaches 5 Skeptic Points, he can no longer attempt Matrix Skills or access Neurals. At 7 Skeptic Points, the character cannot operate in the Matrix at all (though he can still enter Training Constructs with a Difficult Willpower roll.
Shedding Skeptic Points: Characters can work to lose Skeptic Points with long hours of training and meditation in a Training Construct (or the Matrix itself, if they can still access it). For each Skeptic Point, a character must spend 1 day practice Matrix Skills and Neurals (i.e. testing the "reality" of the Matrix) and make a Moderate Willpower roll. If they fail the roll, they must spend another day and make another Willpower Attempt. This continues until the Willpower roll is successful.
(Note: These points serve much the same function as Dark Force Points and Hero Points in other D6 games, except Skeptic Points cannot be spent to augment actions. Due to the genre of The Matrix, heroes may act "villainously" from time to time. It is up to the GM to decide if Skeptic Points are appropriate).
ADVANCEMENT
At the end of each adventure, players will usually be
rewarded Character Points at the end of an adventure by
the Game Master. They may keep these CP's for later use or spend them on
learning skills.
Increasing skill levels
Skills increase by "pips"
(e.g. from 3D to 3D+1, to 3D+2, to 4D).
For normal skills, it costs a number
of Character Points equal to the current dice value of
the Skill. Thus to advance from 4D to 4D+1, the
player must spend 4 CP's. Specializations cost 1/2
the current dice value (moving from 4D to 4D+1 would cost
2 CP's). To learn a new skill, the character must
spend 3CP's to get the skill at a level equal to
the controlling Attribute.
Example: Rom has Firearms at 4D and wants to increase it to 4D+2. To do so, he must spend 8 CP.
Matrix Abilities cost 2 x their current dice value. To learn a new Matrix ability, the character must pay 6 CP.
Learning new skills
As per Star Wars rules.
However, characters that can jack into the Matrix can use
simulations to learn faster and without a live
teacher--provided they have access to the appropriate
software.
Improving attributes
For normal attributes use the standard
Star Wars rules (10x current dice value).
Neurals cost 5 x their current dice value. If a character with 0D in a Neural Ability wishes to learn one, he must pay 10 CP. Autonomous programs must pay twice this amount.