A Splinter in Your Mind - Matrix Quest

[open_sketch]

◉ CODA ◉​

Alice Lovelace
​

Resolve 3/3​

Detachment 2​

Skill 6​

Gear 6/10​

Paths​

Path of Resistance Level 1 When you Fight.exe. When you gratuitously blow something up as an act of resistance. The first time in a session you tell an authority to go fuck itself. XP: ◉◉◉◉◎ You may spend Resistance XP to add or subtract Harm you give or take, 1-1.​

Path of Truth Level 1 When you Prompt.exe. When you follow your curiosity in a way that doesn't advance the mission. The first time in a session you discover something new about the Matrix. XP: ◉◉◉◎◎ You may spend Truth XP to reroll dice when you Charge or Refresh, 1-1d6.​

Path of Enlightenment Level 1 When you Disconnect.exe. When you refuse to back down or run away from impossible odds. The first time you run out of Resolve in a session. XP: ◉◉◎◎◎ You may spend Enlightenment XP as if they were Detachment, 1-1.​

Moves
Beginning to Believe: You gain +1 Detachment the first time you Charge.
Stop Trying to Hit Me: You take -1 Harm when on the Defensive in Fights.
Mine Now: Spend a Full Hit in Fight to disarm an enemy of their weapon. If you then shoot them with it, take +1.
Try Again: When you attempt a Disconnect you failed before and have not yet succeeded at, you may input one 6 as a True Hit.
Bit of Help: When you spend Detachment on any move other than Disconnect, you get two +1s. They can be applied to the same die or different ones.

Stunts
Jump Impossible Distances Lvl 2*
Hit with Implausible Force Lvl 1
Dodge Implausible Ways Lvl 1
Act with Implausible Slight of Hand Lvl 1

​

---

CW: Very 90s.

Also, this is going to be a seriously fucked up quest. I'm going to be doing my damndest to channel an appropriately edgy, teen-rage vibe. Expect violence, drugs, sex, etc.

There's also going to be some Pretty Uncomfortable Dysphoria-ing, trans readers be warned.​

 

[open_sketch]

Alright, my apologies for the delay, I've gone and rewritten the system and it should be a lot better now. I'll break it down and explain everything shortly.

The Charge and Refresh system of pre-rolling dice will be remaining, as will the basic dice targets, but I've made a lot of changes to character advancement and Disconnect and stuff.

Here's the short form of the essential changes. I'll detail them as we need them:

• There are no stats. This is the Matrix. Everyone is competent at everything, your unique strengths are portrayed as special abilities.
• Character damage works differently now. You have 3 points of Resolve that act as ablative hit points. After that, Harm removes Detachment (see below).
• Character advancement now works differently. There are Paths, story arcs with built-in objectives, and you gain XP for achieving them.
• When you Charge, you gain a point of Detachment. You can spend these points for a +1 to one dice, spending as many as you want.
• When you Refresh, you gain a point of Resolve back.
• When you Disconnect, instead of needing 6s, you need 7s (true hits). How many 7s you need depends on what you're doing.
• When you Fight, you input as many as the Threat. Partials give you an option: you can stay on the defensive to avoid Harm (but strengthen the enemy) or give and take a Harm.
• Shooting now has a suppression mechanic.

I have rewritten Coda's character sheet to reflect these changes.

Can I get 4d6?

 

[Salty]

Only 4?

Salty threw 4 6-faced dice. Reason: Giving it all we've got, capn Total: 16

 

[Tetra]

Here's the short form of the essential changes. I'll detail them as we need them

Click to shrink...

Personally I'd rather have the changes detailed to think over, but I guess we'll see how this goes
The new Mine Now appears to only function on actual rolled 6s, which is frustrating, but I suppose it lets us turn a pair of 6s into one of the fabled 7s you mention, so that's cool

Only 4?

Click to shrink...

well we did keep one die, so that's a refresh. one of the few things still working as expected

 

[open_sketch]

You stepped back in to keep up the pressure, trying to feint, but the moment you got close she threw an overhand punch that you felt like a hammerblow against your forearm. You caught her next swing and twisted your whole body to send her stumbling sideways, and saw your chance.

You'd asked for a sword, and the otaku in your heart couldn't be resisted when you saw the beautiful wakizashi on the rack. The lacquered wood even turned a beautiful blue to match the shell of your jacket after you'd taken it.

Your fingers closed around the handle and you pulled it loose smoothly, the action feeling as though you'd practised it thousands of times even if this was the first. You brought the blade down in a diagonal cut through her shoulder, and it didn't even slow on its way through. For a moment, you thought you might have only hit air.

With a groan, the woman staggered back and collapsed against the bookshelves. She just stared at you, the stupid smile still fixed on her face. There was almost no blood. You forced yourself to look away.

"She isn't real," you reminded yourself, muttering under your breath. "She's just a program. Just a program."

The other exile stepped forward, differently now. His cockiness had faded: he looked pissed, but also cautious. Perhaps scared.

You levelled the blade at him as a challenge, circling to make sure you put yourself between him and Lexi.

---

At least two dice for the fight, please. Can be more if you want.​

​

Remember: you can choose to be defensive and have partials have no effect, or be aggressive and both take and deal harm with them.​

​

Melee weapons work differently now. Your sword will upgrade one Partial to a Full if you are fighting an unarmed enemy. You can break/lose it to inflict +2 Harm.​

​

If you spend a point of Detachment to upgrade one of your 6s to a 7, you'll do extra damage. Exiles now have 3 Resolve like you.​

​

You are at full Resolve (your HP) thanks to Refreshing. ​

​

Your charge:​

⚅⚅⚄⚂⚁ ​

 

[MJ12 Commando]

That is a really nice set of dice. Sadly, with only a single point of Detachment you can't do a double 7 and disconnect...

 

[Tetra]

Ok, a couple specific questions
1. Taking damage at 0 Resolve reduces Detachment, so what happens if you take damage at 0 Resolve 0 Detachment? Flatline?
2. Under the new Disconnect rules, would some minor feats be doable with a single 7?
3. Also re: disconnects, do you still get better at doing them by doing them? Or is all progression in the reworked XP system?
EDIT: thought of a couple more
4: our sword doesn't do anything against an armed foe? is that to mean that if someone else has a sword then we can't get them with it, or if they have any weapon? (Like can they shut off the bonus by being "armed" with a gun?)
5: hypothetically if we spent, for example, a 6 and a 2 here, and thus had no partial anything, would we just decide on our whims whether what we were doing counted as Defensive or Offensive (for the purposes of Stop Trying to Hit Me, for example)? and on a related note is there still a baseline penalty for Defensive fighting?

 

[10ebbor10]

"She isn't real," you reminded yourself, muttering under your breath. "She's just a program. Just a program

Click to shrink...

Programs are people to.

Heck, given that they run on human brains they are arguably human. Main difference is not neing tied to a single body.

 

[Salty]

Programs are people to.

Heck, given that they run on human brains they are arguably human. Main difference is not neing tied to a single body.

Click to shrink...

This is what is known as Copeda.

Moving on

[X] A 2 and a 3 will hurt like hell as she get claws digging into her skin, tearing up the suit as we rush each other. But that beautiful, beautiful 5? That perfect 6? And that heavenly 7? One arm. Two arms. A kick to the crotch that sends him flying up and a sword right through his throat gives him a brand-new spine as she leaps together with him through the ceiling and into the room above, floorboards splintering around her as she makes her entrance.

 

[open_sketch]

Ok, a couple specific questions
1. Taking damage at 0 Resolve reduces Detachment, so what happens if you take damage at 0 Resolve 0 Detachment? Flatline?
2. Under the new Disconnect rules, would some minor feats be doable with a single 7?
3. Also reisconnects, do you still get better at doing them by doing them? Or is all progression in the reworked XP system?

Click to shrink...

1. You start taking equal penalties to all your dice rolls because you're dying. You don't die unless you agree to now, but you can spiral into a point where you can only fail.
2. Works like this for numbers of 7s:

1. Bend the Rules: You can do something implausible first try, like run up a wall, catch an arrow out of the air, wall run a fair distance, shoot the gun out of somebody's hand.
2. Defy the Rules: You do something beyond human capabilities, but still mostly within the laws of physics. Dodge bullets, jump an impossible gap, catch a sword between your hands.
3. Break the Rules: You act against the rules of the simulation in a brief or limited way. Jump off nothing, do telekinesis, stop yourself from falling, stick to the ceiling, open a door to somewhere it doesn't normally go.
4. Ignore the Rules: You straight up impose your will on reality. Stop bullets in midair, walk through walls, create things out of nothing, bring back the dead.
5. Rewrite the Rules: Your character ceases to be under your control. As one last act, tell the table what major change you make to how the Matrix operates.

3. You still get better. When you try to Disconnect when there are stakes for failure, you get an Advance whether or not you succeed. Additionally, when you successfully do something, write down what it is: you can now do that thing with 6s.

 

[Tetra]

This is what is known as Copeda.

Moving on

[X] A 2 and a 3 will hurt like hell as she get claws digging into her skin, tearing up the suit as we rush each other. But that beautiful, beautiful 5? That perfect 6? And that heavenly 7? One arm. Two arms. A kick to the crotch that sends him flying up and a sword right through his throat gives him a brand-new spine as you leap together with him through the ceiling and into the room above, floorboards splintering around you as you make your entrance.

Click to shrink...

To my understanding the new rules require exactly two dice for the fight, which handle both offense and defense

1. You start taking equal penalties to all your dice rolls because you're dying. You don't die unless you agree to now, but you can spiral into a point where you can only fail.
2. Works like this for numbers of 7s:

1. Bend the Rules: You can do something implausible first try, like running up a wall, catching an arrow out of the air, shooting the gun out of somebody's hand.
2. Defy the Rules: You do something beyond human capabilities, but still within the laws of physics. Dodge bullets, jump an impossible gap, catch a sword between your hands.
3. Break the Rules: You act against the rules of the simulation in a brief or limited way. Jump off nothing, do telekinesis, stop yourself from falling, stick to the ceiling, open a door to somewhere it doesn't normally go.
4. Ignore the Rules: You straight up impose your will on reality. Stop bullets in midair, walk through walls, create things out of nothing, bring back the dead.
5. Rewrite the Rules: Your character ceases to be under your control. As one last act, tell the table what major change you make to how the Matrix operates.

3. You still get better. When you try to Disconnect when there are stakes for failure, you get an Advance whether or not you succeed. Additionally, when you successfully do something, write down what it is: you can now do that thing with 6s.

Click to shrink...

Thank you for the info!
Also have a couple extra edited questions in there if you could give it another look when you can

 

[Salty]

To my understanding the new rules require exactly two dice for the fight, which handle both offense and defense

Click to shrink...

Ah, the advantages of being able to poke Sketch for clarifications any time I damn well wish.

 

[Tetra]

Okay so thinking about the rules as they have been described, would this submission work?
[X]Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

I mean, there are stakes, even if I may have put us in the stake-having scenario myself...
Also are we outta gear still, does the reworked Katana still cost 3? thinking a gear stat in the top with the others would be nice if it's not too much bookkeeping for you

 

[open_sketch]

Okay so thinking about the rules as they have been described, would this submission work?
[X]Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

I mean, there are stakes, even if I may have put us in the stake-having scenario myself...
Also are we outta gear still, does the reworked Katana still cost 3? thinking a gear stat in the top with the others would be nice if it's not too much bookkeeping for you

Click to shrink...

Ooh, that vote works excellently and gives me some fun things to clarify!

Yep, you are out of gear, but I'll start recording that on your sheet.

 

[Skippy]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

I am happy to go with this plan and see what happens, play with the new system a bit more!

Alright, my apologies for the delay, I've gone and rewritten the system and it should be a lot better now. I'll break it down and explain everything shortly.

The Charge and Refresh system of pre-rolling dice will be remaining, as will the basic dice targets, but I've made a lot of changes to character advancement and Disconnect and stuff.

Here's the short form of the essential changes. I'll detail them as we need them:

• There are no stats. This is the Matrix. Everyone is competent at everything, your unique strengths are portrayed as special abilities.
• Character damage works differently now. You have 3 points of Resolve that act as ablative hit points. After that, Harm removes Detachment (see below).
• Character advancement now works differently. There are Paths, story arcs with built-in objectives, and you gain XP for achieving them.
• When you Charge, you gain a point of Detachment. You can spend these points for a +1 to one dice, spending as many as you want.
• When you Refresh, you gain a point of Resolve back.
• When you Disconnect, instead of needing 6s, you need 7s (true hits). How many 7s you need depends on what you're doing.
• When you Fight, you input as many as the Threat. Partials give you an option: you can stay on the defensive to avoid Harm (but strengthen the enemy) or give and take a Harm.
• Shooting now has a suppression mechanic.

I have rewritten Coda's character sheet to reflect these changes.

Can I get 4d6?

Click to shrink...

1. You start taking equal penalties to all your dice rolls because you're dying. You don't die unless you agree to now, but you can spiral into a point where you can only fail.
2. Works like this for numbers of 7s:

1. Bend the Rules: You can do something implausible first try, like run up a wall, catch an arrow out of the air, wall run a fair distance, shoot the gun out of somebody's hand.
2. Defy the Rules: You do something beyond human capabilities, but still mostly within the laws of physics. Dodge bullets, jump an impossible gap, catch a sword between your hands.
3. Break the Rules: You act against the rules of the simulation in a brief or limited way. Jump off nothing, do telekinesis, stop yourself from falling, stick to the ceiling, open a door to somewhere it doesn't normally go.
4. Ignore the Rules: You straight up impose your will on reality. Stop bullets in midair, walk through walls, create things out of nothing, bring back the dead.
5. Rewrite the Rules: Your character ceases to be under your control. As one last act, tell the table what major change you make to how the Matrix operates.

3. You still get better. When you try to Disconnect when there are stakes for failure, you get an Advance whether or not you succeed. Additionally, when you successfully do something, write down what it is: you can now do that thing with 6s.

Click to shrink...

This system looks like a huge upgrade over the previous one. Awesome!

Some of the slight issues with the old system, like either constantly Charging or going for Disconnects being optimal as long as it was not lethal, the fact that Cool and Twitch are so much more useful in aggregate than Force or Grit - are dealt with brilliantly by this. (Charges functioning effectively as a literal charge meter for when you can try to Disconnect, meaning the bigger the Disconnect you want, the more scenes you need building up to it, so it always feels impactful, is a really neat solution.) Also really excited to see the Paths, the shooting rules, the new abilities - there's a ton of cool stuff here. The new Fight move is simple, evocative, and makes any fight seem exciting and dangerous.

Really glad that all the bickering over options and attempts to munchkin find optimal outcomes had a positive playtesting outcome in the end. 😅

 

[Inquiring Mind]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

We're optimistic about the new rules and excited to see how they work out. Thanks for all your hard work on this. It's been a lot of fun.

 

[The Laurent]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

 

[Solarstream]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

 

[10ebbor10]

You start taking equal penalties to all your dice rolls because you're dying. You don't die unless you agree to now, but you can spiral into a point where you can only fail

Click to shrink...

So, if you refuse to give up you , you just keep ramping up negative consequences forever, untill you eventually accumulate enough negative karma and "situation gets worse" to take out the planet as collateral?

 

[Tetra]

This system looks like a huge upgrade over the previous one. Awesome!

Some of the slight issues with the old system, like either constantly Charging or going for Disconnects being optimal as long as it was not lethal

Click to shrink...

I also think there's a lot of good in what I've seen of the changes. In a way we're still gonna keep wanting to spam Charge (to get more Detachment) and go for Disconnects, but the two synergize in a way they didn't before. It seems fitting that one is most likely to try to use the milder Disconnects to become more competent at flouting the Matrix until they can start pulling out the big ones. Only getting advances when there are stakes seems to incentivize some irresponsible behavior, but it makes diegetic sense in a way that I find very satisfying

Also have more questions about the system, but I'll hold my tongue until Sketch clarifies what she wanted to, I'm sure that will cover a bunch of it

 

[DragonCobolt]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

this looks good!

 

[ThatGazzer]

[X] Use the 5 to get in a solid hit with our Katana (upgraded to Full), leading into a 2 as we over commit and end up in a bad spot, using the 6+1 Detachment on a Bend Disconnect to execute a flawless dodge back to safety instead of taking the punishment for the failure

 

[Skippy]

I also think there's a lot of good in what I've seen of the changes. In a way we're still gonna keep wanting to spam Charge (to get more Detachment) and go for Disconnects, but the two synergize in a way they didn't before. It seems fitting that one is most likely to try to use the milder Disconnects to become more competent at flouting the Matrix until they can start pulling out the big ones. Only getting advances when there are stakes seems to incentivize some irresponsible behavior, but it makes diegetic sense in a way that I find very satisfying

Also have more questions about the system, but I'll hold my tongue until the Sketch clarifies what she wanted to, I'm sure that will cover a bunch of it

Click to shrink...

It makes the Disconnects a sort of natural crescendo after a few action scenes, a climactic moment where you do something cool, rather than feeling perfunctory, yeah. The "Bend the Rules" Disconnects also mean that a character can potentially quite quickly pick up a few minor cool abilities as part of their arsenal, sort of like the ones we see Trinity and Morpheus frequently use in fight scenes. As we're doing now, in fact!

All around it seems like a great balance.

 

[Darkandus]

Just read through this now, very interesting Quest. Personally, I'd lean towards the Deprecators Ideology. The concept of attempting to use the Digital Labour Camps as a force for good just strikes me as shockingly optimistic to the point of delusion regarding human nature. It will at best result in some Megalomanic attempting to wrest control of the system and committing vast crimes against humanity before being stopped, and at worst result in an eternal red pill neo aristocracy living like digital gods on the backs of the masses. At least the Machine doesn't actually care about anything other than efficiency. Humans will gladly put efficiency aside to do vast evil.

 

[10ebbor10]

Just read through this now, very interesting Quest. Personally, I'd lean towards the Deprecators Ideology. The concept of attempting to use the Digital Labour Camps as a force for good just strikes me as shockingly optimistic to the point of delusion regarding human nature. It will at best result in some Megalomanic attempting to wrest control of the system and committing vast crimes against humanity before being stopped, and at worst result in an eternal red pill neo aristocracy living like digital gods on the backs of the masses. At least the Machine doesn't actually care about anything other than efficiency. Humans will gladly put efficiency aside to do vast evil.

Click to shrink...

It's not like you can't do slavery IRL.

I'm not sure if we can decisively say that it's easier to enslave people inside the matrix than outside.

 

[Darkandus]

It's not like you can't do slavery IRL.

I'm not sure if we can decisively say that it's easier to enslave people inside the matrix than outside.

Click to shrink...

Very true! But your enslavers in real life probably can't casually break the laws of physics to beat you and everyone in the room to death with their bare hands using kung fu they learned in five minutes or less. They also can't casually erase you from memory so thoroughly that people who knew you don't even remember you enough to miss you.