The Audition: Hackers

The audition's for hackers applying for Suileor's team will be head here.

After replying to Suileor's initial posting, you find a message in your inbox. "Your audition will take place at LTG-DEN-UCAS-11A4-44256723 at 1 AM on 4/21. Use this passcode to gain entrance, and come ready for combat. - Suileor"

Surveying the address beforehand, its Matrix construct is a huge roiling storm, shot through with frequent blasts of electronic lightning. It's in the Denver Nexus. The IC in front is of a comic-book caveman - small legs, tremendously thick arms, simian in appearance, wearing a leopard skin, and sporting a tremendous club. When you show him the passcode early, he grunts, "Victim too early. Come back later." Running your Analyze utility matches your intuition: the caveman is Gray IC you wouldn't want to casually tangle with. You take his advice.

At the appointed time, you return to the Matrix node, passcode in hand. Grudgingly, the caveman IC steps aside and you materialize in a circular right of pure white. You see two other constructs swaying slightly (OOC: Please post a construct description for your character!), and you see a large missile-looking construct in front of a Victorian-style double-door. In the middle of the room is a raised pedestal, with a golden key on it.

A disembodied voice sounds forth at conversational volume. "Thank you for attending this audition. You are here because you excel at manipulating computers. Hackers, deckers, technomancers, whatever you call yourselves, you're an integral part of a successful shadowrunning teams. But often, your job is the hardest on the team, and you have to make snap decisions. Will you fight or flee? Is the IC more dangerous, or is that corp security decker? You have to be sharp and constantly aware of your surroundings."

"Your test here is straightforward. In the center of this room is a key to the exit. Whoever is first out that door wins. You have to pick up the key first, which will take 2 complex actions to download. And that nuclear missile in front of the door is gray IC. It will activate as soon as someone approaches the door and will attack anyone who tries to leave."

"Battle is joined. Commence."

Matrix Combat, Round 1.

Post Initiative using Invisible Castle (http://www.invisiblecastle.com). Use the form

Initiative Roll:

Initiative Passes: 3 (Wired Reflexes 2)
Reaction 5 + Intuition 3 + Reaction Enhancers 2 = 10d6.hits(5) = 4
Initiative Score = 10+4 = 14

As soon as all three opponents have submitted their scores, the highest can post, followed by the next. Let's keep it moving. I'll post a new map as necessary.

Skuld stood before the neanderthal in the loin-cloth, and sighed. It was a decent enough construct, but she just didn't care for the style. Her face hidden under her hood's shadow, she started a soft chant under her breath. The black-chrome cloak that enveloped her slight form billowed out behind out, and matching gown shimmered, it's black length turning silver as small chain links emerged out of the weave. Reaching one hand over to red silk belt tied at her waist, she drew her athame. In her other hand materialized a heavy stone hammer, it's intricately carved reverse pentagonal head made of dark granite. Lightning crackled about it as she held it tight by her side.
She stepped into the node.

Looking about, she listened to the voice. “And they say I have a sense of the dramatic!”

She spoke, quietly. “Ratatosk, koma hér!” Bounding up, the small sprite came up to her side. It brushed at its face with its paws, then held its head against her, nuzzling her side.

(OOC: Programs loaded: Armor, Attack, Blackhammer. What's the response of the node we're in right now? For the sprite's initiative.)

3 Passes + 1 (VR + Overclocked) = 4
Matrix (VR) Initiative = Response 7 + Intuition 5 = 12
12 + 4 hits = 16

Raziel called on his Sensei Ivy to watch his back she would wake him or slap him as the case maybe, if something went wrong. “Why little one? Your kung-fu is still weak” she asked and stated. Digit frowned at that. “You mean as strong as yours, and can we call it what it is I’m trying out for a team. So I can get money to build more drones like I love” he shot back. “Besides as an added benefit it pleases Daedalus and as long as our goals are the same to build. I need this gig. Now you gonna watch me or what? Cause I’m going.” Ivy sucked her teeth “Very well go…” Digit smiled looking like a child he winked at her, and munched down one more bite of his candy bar. Then handed it to Ivy, and sat down in a chair in his doss. His arms stretched out on the soft synthleather his palms came up and the tip of his thumbs touched the tip of his pinkies, his head leans back against the comfy one seat chair. He closed his eyes and let the constant buzzing in the back of his head take over…

His icon a Romulan warbird (a green space ship if you don’t know.) took form on the trix ivy told him no one around would get it when they saw it but Digit insisted. He had recently taken a liking to old TV shows but like most things these days he was new at that too. He thought over the destination running the address through his mind, and it was all ahead full. He came to the Denver nexus and then his destination the rolling thunder and flashes of lighting was spookier then the caveman but it was IC and he had no reason to doubt that club. Come ready for combat the message had read. So he went to yellow alert and armed his attack and armor program shields up he thought anyone viewing in VR would see momentarily a small energy bubble surround the ship. He also loaded his stealth program but did not activate it yet. Ping front and center he called to the void and sure enough a bright light appeared out of that light a black orb entered the scene and hovered over to the right of the Romulan ship the glass metallic look to the orb would remind one of a marble or a metal bead. Way bigger though. About one third the size of the ship itself. Which was basic icon size. The sprite was here and ready to go. Digit could feel it eager to do its job. All ahead maneuvering speed he thought as he pulled up to the caveman and transmitted the entry code. The cave man moved aside and he willed the icon in. The node he entered reminded him of gladiatorial arenas, or octagons rings. He saw the other two icons and took up a position away from the cloaked warrior, and that crackling hammer. The rules were given and the flag waved and Digit went to red Alert!

Matrix initiative: Response 5 intuition 4 = 9dice = 5hits 14 3/passes

(Ooc: forgot to roll for the sprite ill brb)

Pete wished those two would shut up already.

When he had built Dedalus, he hadn't set out to make a full AI, just a program with learning capabilities. The result is something that only kinda barely passes for being sentient in a bad light. When he made Dalek, he was pissed off and had just watched half a season of some 60-year-old show with omnicidal fascist aliens in pepper shakers. Neither were built to be even remotely tolerable company. In fact, Dalek was specifically designed to be terminally intolerable company.
>>WE ARE SUPERIOR! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
>>Node 3-A-499RV-W1KK3N-12332984 passed. Next node LTG-DEN-UCAS-11A4-44256723. The time is 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 52 seconds.
>>The time is 12 hours 45 minutes and 5 seconds. The ti
>>SHUT! UP!
>>P.D.
As he said, intolerable.

He slipped into the node, trying to focus his crowded mind on the task at hand. His icon, that of a koala in a yellow shirt, approaches the neanderthal.
>>Victim too early. Come back later
>>?
"Victim"? How nicely paranoia inducing. But then, that's probably the point.

Fifteen minutes later, Pete returns and presents his key. He enters the node and listens to the instructions. He looks at the other icons. Great. Well, here goes...

(OOC: Response + Intuition = 5+5 = 10 = 4 hits., 14 Initiative, 3 Passes
Loaded Programs: Attack, Black Hammer, Armor, Medic)

(OOC: I’ve not got a node response time yet, so I’m going to use Skuld’s (unaugmented) own for Ratatosk. Rating 5 + Response 5 = 10 + 4 hits = 14 (what were the odds? About 3:1 it would seem).
Further, I forgot to mention what CF Ratatosk took when I compiled him. He’ll use Attack, and is limited to it only (shoulda gone for R6, but it was difficult enough to get him as is.)

Skuld examined the two avatars on opposite ends of the node. Something green that looked a bit like an airplane (why did it seem familiar?) and a fuzzy bear in a yellow shirt, of all things. Then her eyes stopped on the key in the center, the prize of the fight. Tsking under her breath, Skuld ordered the squirrel at her side, “Mín gæludýr, go, attack the green one. Send him to Óðinn.”
Ratatosk went bounding off, it bushy tail flying up into the air with each leap. It jumped, aiming to land on the back of the Bird of Prey.

Complex Action: Ratatosk Attack (Electron Storm)
Cybercombat 5 + Attack 5 - 1 wounded = 9 = 5 hits

While Ratatosk set out to liven the party, Skuld took the opportunity to ready her analyze form. The prize was right in front of her, but she didn’t want to bet that the only thing keeping it from her hands was the competition alone.

Complex Action: Skuld: Ready CF.

Pings initiative pilot 5 response 7 = 12 dice = 3hits 15

The small bushy tale darted for digit on command of its master. That was all he could make out, but just because the thing was small and cute Digit did not underestimate it. He was also small and often looked over. He called to ping it was as if the sprite was already on an intercept (free action) Corse for the bounding rodent and fired green rays (attack) at the Able sprite running down its position.

Attack 5 Cybercombat 5 = 10 dice = 4 hits

(Ooc: This is my first cybercombat So if i did it wrong no worries ill edit i was trying to run interferece since the sprites are on in each others paths anyway that was my goal if i did not do this right or i can not do this then someone message me please.)

Defense Roll:

Response 5 + Firewall = 10 = 1 hit

Damage Resistance:

System 5 + Armor 5 = 10 = 5 hits

Damage:

Damage (Attack 5 + 4 net hits) - 5 hits = 4

The other sprite's beams hit Ratatosk, burning through the code of its defense algorithms. They managed to minimize the damage, but not all.

(Ooc: i did my rolls backwards so yeah the timeing is off but i kept both rolls and noted what they were for.)

Defense roll
Response 5, System 4 = 9 dice = 1 hit crit glitch ouch!

Dmg resistance roll

System 4 Armor 3 = 7 dice = 1 hit

(Ooc: ill post what i do if im still alive after paradox dose his post for the glitch roll if i read corectly there is not much for me to do im now trapped by the sprite so i gotta get out some how lol to paradox im not sure if thats a crit glitch it just looked real bad lol) (i was informed there was no crit glitch so thank god lol )

Digit was frantic for a least a moment. His meat body could be seen dripping perspiration. Ivy was worried but she wanted him to learn his lesson so she did not interfere. When he got back if he got back she would make him pay for worrying her so… back in the cyber arena Digit was trying to shake off the electron storm the rodent was producing.

Opposed roll to free himself.

System x2 = 8 dice = 1 hit this sucks

(Ooc: Three rolls i made in a row they all came out 1's lol i can't catch a break. lol)

He tried to reverse tractor beam the squirrel but it stayed. Held on tight and continued to reek havoc on his systems...

Ghostmaker wrote:

Response 5, System 4 = 9 dice = 1 hit crit glitch ouch!

# 1s was 3 (less than 1/2 of total dice (9)) => no glitch

Ghostmaker wrote:

System x2 = 8 dice = 1 hit this sucks

Now that one WAS a glitch. The melee drifts close enough to the IC to activate it next turn.

Pete sighed. Great. Sprites. Which meant those two were Technomancers. Black Hammer might work, but either way, this is going to suck.
>>EX-TER-MI-NATE!
>>P.D.

(OOC: Black Hammer at Skuld. 5 Cybercombat + 5 Program Rating = 10; 4 hits)

Defense Test:

Response 7 + 2 Hot sim = 9 = 1 hit

Damage Resistance:

Willpower 5 + Biofeedback Filter 5 = 10 = 3 hits

Skuld's meat body jerked as the black IC poured harmful levels of signal into her brain. Her avatar mirrored her pain, the pixels it was composed of blurring for a moment. Her eyes flashing from beneath the shadow of her cloak, she looked over at the bear. "Farðu í rassgat, lille jævla bjørn! Har du røyka sokka dine, to make such an attack against me?! If you want to join the Einherjar so soon, I shall send you there myself! It will be better than you deserve, anzvítið þitt!"

Threading Test: Black Hammer CF: Complex Action:

Resonance 5 + Software 3 + 2 Hot Sim - 2 wounded = 8 = 1 hit

Resisting the Fade:

Resonance 5 + Willpower 5 -2 threading - 2 wounded = 6 = No hits, critical glitch.

Results: ?

Pete watched the obsidian streams of his program constrict satisfyingly around the target. Still conscious. Oh, well, I expected that. Oh look, now she's hurling a black hammer at me. Monkey see, monkey do, I suppose.

The black stone slams into the icon, the murderous code seeking out something, anything, with a pulse that it can hurt. Instead, it finds nothing. Nothing but endless tracts of copper and silicon.

Pete prepares to throw another hammer. He had the advantage. Time to press it.

(OOC: Black hammer hitting an AI; no effect. Quick question: T_Hawk, shouldn't you have a -1 wound penalty since you took 5P damage? Don't mean to nitpick, but I was just curious because I'm new to the Matrix rules.)

(OOC: Don't worry about nitpicking. To err is human, and I like to think I'm a bit more human than most
I couldn't find your blackhammer prog on your sheet, and you didn't have a link to the roll for me to check on it that way. All I could see was "4 hits." Hmm.. It's actually up now, so I must have overlooked it the first time.
Since you've got a R4 BH prog, then yeah, she'll take 6P damage. I'll alter my rolls to reflect this.
And I did know the attack wouldn't have an effect, but Skuld wouldn't know that. She's not aware that there's not a person behind the persona, so to speak. She's not actually made an attack yet though (the complex action this turn was spent threading for the prog.) )

(OOC: Yeah, my sheet's confusing. Sorry about that. I was trying a new Chargen program that turned out to have the worst export feature ever made. I have a rating 6 version of all the hacking progs, though since my response is only five it only acts as an R5 Black Hammer. At least, I think that's how it works. Also, yeah, I figured you already knew it wouldn't work. I was just recording it for the look of the thing.)

(OOC:I'll read up on how node response acts on progs. For now, though, gotta get some shut-eye.)

The node's Response rating is 5.

Ping saw his master Caught in the electronstorm and took another shot trying to free him from the other sprites grip.

Attack 5 Cybercombat 5 = 10 dice = 3 hits

Once again Green beams struck out from the black orb at the squirrel and....

meanwhile Digit still caught in the digital rodents grip tried to think of somthing to get him away from the sprite and the deadly ic...

ill wait for t to roll then ill post for digit tonight.

DF Roll for Ratatosk:

Response 5 + Firewall 5 - 1 wounded = 9 = 3 hits

Again he tried to free himself reverseing his direction and trying to push the rodent off of him with that beam.

opposed test to shake the lil bugger off.

System x2, wound -2 = 6 dice = 3hits

Opposed Roll vs. Break Free:

Response 5 x 2 - 1 wounded = 9 = 1 hit, glitch