Network Actions
Incidental
Attempt Access (Incidental) -
Attempt access is an incidental that characters perform when they want to
access a sub-system within the system. If the character is a runner and a
system is protected by ice, they immediately encounter the first piece of
ice protecting the sub-system (see page an128). If the sub-system is not
protected, the runner has access to that sub-system and may use the enact
command manoeuvre to manipulate that portion of the system.
Sysops (or anyone who has permission to be in the system) do not encounter
ice when performing this incidental.
Action
During a run, characters can perform a number of actions to accomplish
their goals in cyberspace. Below, we describe those actions, listing their
difficulty and whether they can be performed by a runner or sysop (or both),
and we provide a description of how the actions work.
Access System (Action - Runner) -
Difficulty to activate varies based on security with a Computers – Hacking
check.
Once the runner has a direct link to the system, they need to access the
system. This action represents the runner establishing a way into the system,
giving them some measure of control so that they can attempt to fully control
it later.
As an action, the runner may make a Computers (Hacking) check to gain access
to the system. The difficulty of the check is based on the system’s security
protocols and overall complexity. See System Security for some example
difficulties.
Once a runner has successfully accessed a system, they can move around the
system with an attempt access incidental and use the enact command
manoeuvre to make the system do what they want (within the system’s limits).
Burn System (Action - Runner/Sysop) -
Difficulty to activate Daunting (four purple) Computers – Hacking check.
Sometimes, all a runner or sysop wants to do is sow destruction. This is
very difficult, as system programs are generally very robust and can even
be self-repairing.
As an action, a runner or sysop may attempt a Daunting (four purple)
Computers (Hacking) check to damage a system they currently have access
to (in the case of a sysop, this includes a runner’s own computer rig
if the sysop has already located it with a successful trace user action).
If the check is successful, the system is damaged one step, plus one
additional step for every additional two Successes. Damage follows the
rules found in the Item Maintenance section on page 89 in the Genesys
Core Rulebook; apply the penalty found on Table I.5–4: Repairing Gear
to all checks made to do anything within the system.
Break Ice (Action - Runner) -
Difficulty to activate Average (two purple) Computers – Hacking check.
Once a runner has successfully performed the access system action, its
sub-systems may still be protected by ice. To interact with those parts
of the system, the hacker must override the security program.
Each piece of ice has a program strength. To break the ice, the runner’s
attempt must generate a strength that exceeds the strength of the ice
they are targeting. To determine that strength, the runner makes an
Average (two purple) Computers check. If the check succeeds, their
strength is equal to the number of net successes generated on the check.
Often, a runner is using an icebreaker to help them break the piece of
ice. If the runner is using an appropriate icebreaker, they add the
icebreaker’s strength to the strength of their override check (this
works similarly to calculating damage with a ranged weapon on a
successful combat check).
If the runner fails, something (usually bad) happens. What happens is
determined by the ice. If the runner succeeds, the security program shuts
down and cannot be reactivated until the end of the runner’s next turn.
Runners can spend Advantages or Triumphs to keep a program shut down
longer, or to completely disable it.
Trace User (Action - Sysop) -
Opposed Computers – Sysop vs Computers – Hacking check.
Once the sysop knows that their system is being hacked, they still
need to know where the run is coming from. The more they know about
the origin of the run, the easier it is to lock the runner out of
their system.
To find out where the run is coming from, the sysops needs to trace
the runner by performing the trace user action. The sysop makes an
opposed Computers (Sysops) versus Computers (Hacking) check targeting
the runner. If the sysop is successful, they gain one traces
(narrowing down the runner’s location). This makes it easier to lock
the runner out of the system or even destroy the runner’s gear (see
the lockout and burn system actions). It also provides information
about the runner’s real-world location. See the Trace Information
section, for what information a successful trace provides.
Besides using this information to lock the runner out of the system,
the sysop can also use it for other purposes, such as reporting the
runner to the NAPD or sending a blackops team to the runner’s
apartment. Your GM can also have the sysop perform the trace user
action to learn other key details about the runner, such as how to
access the runner’s computer over the Network. Your runner can even
use this action to learn the physical location of someone else online,
such as an enemy sysop or rival runner. (In this case, this would be
a special exemption of the action only being available to a sysop, and
subject to approval by your GM.)
Lockout (Action - Sysop) -
Difficulty to activate Formidable (five purple) Computers – Sysop check.
Since the sysop has direct control over the system being hacked, they
can lock any users out of the system. As long as they can find a runner,
they can give them the boot.
Once the sysop is aware of the runner’s presence, the sysop may make a
Formidable (five purple) Computers (Sysops) check. If the sysop is
successful, the runner targeted by this action loses access to the
system. At the GM’s discretion, the runner may be able to regain access
to the system by performing the access system action again.
However, if they don’t do something to disguise their signal (such as
routing it through another server), the difficulty of the access system
action increases by 2.
Reduce the difficulty of the lockout action once for every successful
trace against the runner, to a minimum of Easy (one purple)
Sweep (Action - Sysop) -
Difficulty to activate Hard (three purple) Computers – Sysop check.
Even when the sysop doesn’t know if there’s an intruder in their system,
they can use their own programs to sweep for intruders. This is similar
to a guard checking to make sure everything is all right (and is
thematically similar to a Perception check to spot someone sneaking
around).
If the sysop fails, they do not do a thorough job checking, and do not know
if there are any intruders on their system or not. If they succeed, they
spot one intruder who has access to their system, plus one additional
intruder for every additional Success.
Manoeuvres
During a run, there are also certain manoeuvres a character can
perform while interacting with a system. They follow the same format
as Network actions, but without the difficulty, since they don’t
require a check.
Enact Command (Manoeuvre - Runner/Sysop) -
This manoeuvre is what characters use to do things within a system after
accessing it. What they do with this manoeuvre depends on the capabilities
of the system, and could range from looping footage, to opening doors, to
downloading data, to resetting a guard drone’s targeting parameters.
The enact command manoeuvre only lets your character perform a single
command within a system (if what your character wants to do is too
complex, your GM may require them to spend two or more enact command
manoeuvres to do it).
Characters can only perform this manoeuvre after they have successfully
performed the access system action. Remember that some parts of a system
may be protected behind ice, which must be encountered and passed before
the character can enact commands affecting that part of the system.
Activate Program (Manoeuvre - Runner/Sysop) -
Characters use this manoeuvre to activate (or reactivate) ice and
icebreakers, as well as programs that do not fall into either category.
If a sysop activates or reactivates a piece of ice, a runner can’t access
(or can no longer access) any of the subsystems behind it until they
break through the piece of ice (or break through it again). If a runner
activates an icebreaker, all of their other icebreakers automatically
deactivate. A runner may only have one icebreaker active at a time.
You can think of this manoeuvre as similar to drawing and readying a
weapon in the real world, except that in cyberspace, your character’s
weapons are ice and icebreakers.