USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006- Preview thread

Welcome to the preparation thread for my new Matrix game.

The purpose of this thread is to get as many things as possible ready before the time the game launches. The game itself is still under testing right now and a completed storyline is still some way off. But previous experience shows that getting everyone ready for a game like this can take some time, and so best we start to deal with that now than waste any time from when the game is actually ready.

If you are interested in playing my Matrix game, then thank you very much! But it is a game that requires a certain amount of attention and commitment, so I highly recommend you read this thread carefully to see if the game would suit you or not.

This thread will deal with several issues:

a. An explanation of the game in general
b. A discussion of the actual plot set-up
c. Some guidance to help people put together characters
d. Some discussion of how the system works

At some point when I am satisfied that people know where they are, we can then commence character creation. The system for creation is actually finished; there are just some worries about possible exploits for it. Soon, they should either be fixed or simply ignored in lieu of seeing what you guys make of it and adjusting if necessary.

Thanks for your interest.

IN GENERAL…

A rough overview of the whole idea

Those of you who have played my games before will know the type of game I try to run.

The objective here is to role-play inside the Matrix universe. However, there is much more to that than simply going wild imagining bullet time manoeuvres wiping out four hundred bad guys with no effort. Victory must be fought for to be achieved, inside a rules-based environment.

Vital to the whole experience is capturing the mood and feel of the films, as much as that is possible from text alone. To that end, the themes and style of the films very much exist in the game- questions about self, about purpose, about reality, but also a heck of a lot of kick-ass combat.

All of this requires a set plotline. But the plotline is not that of the films- it uses the setting of the films, but tells its own story. As players, you have the chance to influence that storyline, either by victory on the field of battle, or through intelligent play.

What do the players do?

The players are ship crew members. There are two ships that are used by players in the game. The main ship is the Scheherazade, a full-on Neb-sized ship that is really the central ‘plot’ ship of the game, and also the Persepolis, a smaller reconnaissance vessel. The Percy was originally designed as an extra designed to take more casual players, but eventually became a full plot ship in its own right as well.
All of you are soldiers of Zion, going into the Matrix and doing your cool Matrix things. Perhaps more important to note than what you are, is what you are not:

You cannot be Agents. Aside from being much better antagonists than protagonists, Agents simply defy useful play by people and neither do they face the questions Humans do, which is what the game is about

You cannot be Operators. They cannot engage with the plot properly. Operators are provided for each ship.

You cannot be Captain. It causes too much argument and it is also useful, plotwise, for the Captains to be non-player characters. The phenomenon that is Captain Dallas takes command of the Shez, whilst the more reserved Captain Marduk heads the Percy. However, the position of First Officer aboard each ship is available.

Look further down for details on what kinds of characters you can be.

When is the game set?

Between the first and second film. The One has been found (with all the argument that entails), but the invasion of Zion has not yet begun. Nonetheless, with The One around and more and more minds being freed, everyone is aware that these are significant times.

Does this have anything to do with The Matrix Online?

Most definitely not. All the source material comes from the films, not the game. There are two ways in which this is emphatically not line Online:

1. The plot has no connection at all
2. This game totally rejects interpretations that Online makes about what players can do in the Matrix- i.e. ‘code;’ attacks on others, and the like. They are not in the films and so they are not in this game.

Where did the system come from?

It was designed entirely by my brother based on much previous work in this area, both off-line and here on-line. It has no connection to any officially releases system (though weirdly, no-one seems to have done an official Matrix RP yet), but it is designed for smooth and easy play rather than bookkeeping, which is where a lot of official games get bogged down.

How hard is it to deal with?

Rules based gaming on-line always takes some effort. I can say that this is definitely the easiest basic rules system we have had on-line yet, and is is many times easier than the last one to get to grips with. However, an important factor in The Matrix are its combats; in many ways, combat fighting is the very point of things, not just an entertaining way to pass time. There is, therefore, a certain tactical complexity to fighting combats, without which the game would be greatly diminished.

Therefore, I would have to say that you do need to put the effort in, rules-wise. It is not needlessly complex but there is something to learn. I’ll take care of as many mechanics as possible and try and help people out, but without some effort on your side it simply will not work out.

I am a bit hazy about this talk about purpose. Am I going to get a French guy talking nonsense to me all day?

The philosophical side of the Matrix is very important. Many deride it as ‘cod’ philosophy, but I think it is important to note a distinction between being flippant and between simply only having time for a surface treatment, which is all the time they have in the films. The films raise questions and deal with concepts, but have no time for detailed debates and definitely nothing approaching an answer.

Everyone in the game, therefore, will experience questions that give you pause for thought. However, it is absolutely not the intention of the game that people that really do not want to engage with this kind of thing are forced to against their will- after all, there really is no point if you are not willing.

The game is, therefore, split into two different storylines- a Combat Path, and a Philosophy Path. Only those on the Philosophy Path have to engage with the questions and situations that arise.

How does this path split work? Is it two different games?

No, it is all the same game. For a good part of the game, the two Paths will travel together and experience all the same things.

However, there will come a point in the game where the Philosophical issues go from being background tidbits to being very very vitally important. At this point, the two paths split. The Philosophy path goes down one part of the story, engaging with these concepts, whilst the Combat path go down another way, with their own problems to deal with.

The Paths are there to be won or lost. The Philosophy Path involves a point of choice, where you must bear in mind all you have experienced and learnt. The Combat Path probably involves a battle situation or big bad guy that must be defeated.

Isn’t it a bit odd, one part of the story being all kick-ass whilst the rest go sit and read books in a library somewhere?

It is important that this idea gets trampled upon. The Philosophy Path is not really like that, though to be sure, there is a lot of discussion in it.

The best way to make all of this clear is to look at the second film, Matrix Reloaded. This uses the exact principle that we are using here. Neo is on the Philosophy path, whilst Morpheus and Trinity are on Combat. Note that Neo keeps bumping into people that give him ideas on choice and destiny and the like, setting up his plotline- The Oracle, Smith, the Elder, and so on.

But come the adventuring part, all three are together. They all meet the Merovingian, and they all hear his spiel. Only Neo HAS to bear it in mind, but they all hear it.

Not long after is when they split. They criss cross over each other for the rest of the film, but their basic objectives in the plotline now differ.

Neo’s plotline is all about his final choice- on the room with the Architect. Does he take the door ro save Humanity, or to save Trinity? His ‘Philosophy Path’ comes to a head when he is talking with the Architect, but it has been foreshadowed all the way through.

Morpheus and Trinity aren’t worrying about that- they have purely military objectives. Their huge fight on the highway is their centrepiece, with the objective of getting the Keymaker out alive, but there is other action to, including Trinity’s fateful decision to re-renter the Matrix despite warnings of her death.

So you see, the Philosophy Path isn’t about reading about philosophers, and the combat Path is not about being a violent thug. Probably the two most important things to bear in mind are:

1. Being on the Philosophy Path does not mean you no longer fight! Neo fought Agents, Smith and all those Exiles! And in the last Matrix game, the biggest bad guy- Captain Jericho- was fought by the Philosophy Path
2. Being on the Combat Path does not make you a brainless idiot. It needs a lot of smart play to win at.

It is all about style in the end- what style of game do you want to play? You are given the choice.

I have played your games before- is this any different?

In the way it is run, no. But in how it plays… a little, in two ways. First of all, there really is more of an emphasis on tactical choices in combat, combat being so central to all that is Matrix. Secondly, the set-pieces are far more railroaded into happening- the plot is more ‘choreographed’. If a fight is planned a fight will happen, unlike in Star Wars where player actions just bypassed a possible fight. In The Matrix, player choice and the chance to change things comes in other areas. The fights are too important to miss!

THIS GAME

Broadly, the system can handle a Matrix game set at any time- before Neo, in previous Matrices, after the third film, and so on. On-line here, we are running one particular story using this system set, as mentioned above, between the first and second films.

The game concerns the antics of a crew under the leadership of Captain Dallas. Dallas is the polar opposite of Morpheus. He is not at all thoughtful, introspective or prone to dispense wisdom. He is reckless, careless, and fast to suggest a violent solution to any problem. He often runs headlong intro trouble and will drag others with him, and the term ‘forward planning’ to him means ‘bring enough big guns’. And he really, really hates Morpheus.

In fact, one of the first plot points of the original game was to work out how Dallas ever made Captain at all, seeing how dumb and careless he seemed to be. The truth is that Dallas is simply brilliant. One way or another, he gets away with it every time, and underneath the façade of a fool lies a fantastic intuitive intelligence. In fact, ‘façade’ is not a good word, because that suggests it is deliberate deception. It’s not, Dallas really IS like that, but he is so loud and brash that most people miss how smart he really is. The proof of it is in his record- Dallas has never, ever failed a mission. He has a 100% track record, and every time he makes a reckless or insane decision, he justifies it by saying he thinks it will be alright, and so far he has been right every time. His confidence is not just personal- he extends it to everyone he works with, having absolute faith in his crew as well. Eventually, it becomes so infectious that people working with Dallas cannot believe they will ever fail.

The irony, of course, is how alike Morpheus and Dallas really are, under the surface. Their personalities may wildly differ, but both have an absolute dedication to the cause of Zion, and both have a fanatical self-belief in their own inevitable success.

Dallas, incidentally, is a Texan almost to the point of parody. Perhaps brought up on too many clichéd tv shows whilst in the Matrix, or perhaps just wanting to recreate what once was, Dallas plays the cowboy image to the limit, including the hat. In fact, he owns a genuine ten gallon hat from the old times, found on a surface expedition earlier in his career.

Aiding Dallas is his Operator, Ariadne. Ariadne is perhaps the most brilliant programmer in Zion- she can do amazing things with coding, and has a brilliant natural aptitude to understanding what she sees. She is young and inexperienced, and perhaps given to shouting and panicking a little on the phone, but she knows her business damn well.

Dallas has often worked with Captain Marduk, an Iranian who acts as Dallas’ foil. Marduk is careful, considered and reserved, and has a reputation as a great tactical planner. A good friend of Dallas, it has often been Marduk who has rescued Dallas from some of his more foolish plans, and sometimes has even talked him out of a few things.

Marduk’s operator, Finn, is an Irishman who has been doing the job for almost three decades. He’s seen everything, including many crews come and go, normally fatally. Finn may not have Ariadne’s talent with coding and programming, but he knows the Matrix inside out and he is ice cool in an emergency, giving sensible and accurate advice that you always know will get you out of trouble.

The plot events of the first game are too detailed to go into here (but see here: http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f41/t406481.html) but basically involved Dallas’ and Marduk’s crews getting involved in some very, very strange stuff in the Matrix, amidst rumours of a dead Zion crew still walking around inside the Matrix, and faceless monsters that could disappear and re-appear at will. But aside from introducing an interesting bad guy by the name of Melitus, the objective of the first game was to find a way to acquaint the crews with the existence of Exiles- programmes that do not work for the System and who live in the Matrix. Neo and the others, of course, interact with them in the films, but that has not happened yet.

As a result of the first game, Dallas has been giving a roving brief to find out about the existence of Exiles and to see if they pose a threat to Zion. It is hoped that whilst doing so he might tie up some loose ends from the last game- finding Melitus would be nice, but the existence of ‘Captain Jericho’ is a definite security threat, as he knows all about Zion’s defences.

Captains pick their crews each time they leave, so chopping and changing is not uncommon. If you played in my last game, then Dallas or Marduk have simply picked you again as you know what this is all about. If you are a new player, then you are being thrown in the deep end, being given a vague briefing about ‘strange stuff’ in the Matrix, and being told not to tell anyone else, and just to follow your Captain’s lead. Only from the other players can you gleam information about what has happened before. As the new game starts, the crews have finally found a solid lead about Exile activity in the Matrix, and the first assignment is about what happens when you catch up with them. Safe to say that you get caught up in rather more than you bargained for!

The game involves a wide variety of locations and bad guys, including, of course, the dreaded Agents, for those who want to try their luck. As ever, the Agents cannot be stopped, but you can get the chance to escape if you fight them hard enough. There is a pretty hefty small war to be won for those on the Combat Path, whilst those on Philosophy have a choice with the real sting of the ‘this could go horribly wrong’ about it- and unlike last time, this one might have consequences for everyone, not just yourself. How much are you willing to risk?

CHARACTERS

So, who are you?

Character creation will flesh out the specifics, but you can get many things ready in advance.

1. Your name. Sometimes easy, sometimes the hardest thing you will ever do. Matrix names have three main sources- a reference to computing or hacking (Switch, Cipher), a combat pilot callsign style name (Mouse, Apoc), or a mythological reference (Morpheus, Trinity).

2. Your ‘template’. This is a game mechanic that broadly defines what type of solider you are. The basic type is the ‘Hacker’, an elite at the peak of bodily excellence, similar to Trinity. Then there is the ‘Veteran’, an older solider who is not as fast as s/he was, but has skill, knowledge and wisdom to compensate, best exemplified by Morpheus. Then there is the Natural, a new recruit, still learning skills, but with a fantastic natural aptitude towards focussing and freeing his mind in the Matrix to pull off spectacular effects. He is most similar to Neo, BEFORE he became The One!

3. Your ‘role’. This is not a fixed decision but if people want to put crews together, you might want to think about defaults. Your ‘role’; is your job in the group. There are three available- Fighter, All-Rounder and Gunner. The Fighter specialises in melee, the Gunner at range, whilst the All-Rounder is not left behind, being capable of having more moves available to him, but not being quite as directly skilled in either direction. Generally speaking, Gunners are better at killing Mooks, the innumerable, unnamed basic enemies you meet (though new gun powers for the game give them character-killing options as well), whilst Melee is the way to take on major villains. However, your ‘Role’ is part of what is downloaded into you, and hence can vary each assignment, so as I say, this is more about defaults.

4. Your personality. Nice to know who you are and what you did and what you wear (very important in the Matrix!)

5. Your Prediction. This is the part that takes a lot of effort. As part of character development, each player has one plot ‘hook’, to draw them into the game. In this game, the hook is in the form of what the Oracle told you when you first met her. This bit is very difficult to get right, and it is best if you can sum it up in a short sentence that leaves open possibilities or choices. Here are four such Oracle predictions from the films:

You will find The One

You will fall in love with someone, and that person will be The One

You must choose between your life and Morpheus’

You must choose whether to save Trinity or not

This area always caused controversy and all ideas have to be carefully vetted by me. Predictions have to have an element of doubt and uncertainty, but they must also have the possibility of referring to something specific. You will die in seven days time fighting three Agents is too closed to be any good for role-playing, but You will be really great one day is too vague to be of any use either! It is also worth noting that the Oracle gives predictions for good reason- so you can think about it and make the right choice. She will never give one that simply is not any use. Later on I shall probably open a thread designed to deal with this issue, but please feel free to think about it.

THE NEW SYSTEM

For those that care…

The new Matrix system is completely divorced from earlier systems, except in that some of the Path names are the same. It runs entirely by rolling lots of six-sided dice. Dice that score five or higher give you successes. The better you are at something, the more dice you roll, and so the more successes you are likely to get.

There is a small amount of stats that combine with skills- downloaded or naturalised- to give you final skill and combat totals.

You can take much more damage than before, but things are far less defensive- misses are rare. Unlike in the first game, where your fancy moves had a habit of going nowhere, now it is almost impossible to miss. How hard you hit is a different question- the game is normally about finding ways to maximise damage rather than seeing if you hit at all. This fits the films well, where most blows do indeed connect.

The Paths still exist, but there are no individual powers- you simply buy the Path. Each character has a wide variety of Paths available for use. However, you can only have a small amount active at any one time. Each turn, you can swap out one Path and introduce another as you shift your fighting style. Active Paths give continuous benefits, you do not need to specify their use. For example, the Path of the Hands of Light simply increases your Martial Arts pool, if you are barehanded, for as long as you have it activated.

When you want to make extreme efforts, Paths can be ‘tapped’, which supercharges them for one turn. For example, Hands of Light normally increases your Martial Arts pool by 3. Tap it, and for one turn it will increase it by 10! However, a tapped Path then stops working, so you then get no benefit at all! You will have to swap it for an unused Path that still works. ‘Tapping’ a power is the point in the films where you would go into Bullet Time.

Every so often- there is a random factor here- you get a chance to refresh tapped powers so that they can be used again. But they do not all untap at once- it depends on your character. Naturals, for example, are very good at untapping their used powers, but Hackers are not.

Hence, Hackers fight better in general, but cannot ‘push the limit’ and tap their powers very often else they might run out of having anything to use! Naturals do not fight that well, but instead they can keep on tapping their powers for spectacular effects, knowing they are much better at getting them back again.

And that, basically, is it!

Feel free to discuss, character design, or ask questions.

Did all of our Oracle predictions used last time around, or are some of them forgotten about or used this time through?

None of them were actually used up, though some were referenced.

My Oracle prediction was crap, I'm definitely going to redo that.

I'm also going to tell my brother about this thread.

I definitely like the rolling lots of dice thing, hehe.

Stabby thing!

I'm definitely joining this. I've always wanted to RP in a Matrix setting...

I now have a character partially ready. Of course, this is so far based on that summary post of character creation...

Spades - Natural - Philosophy

Default Role: Gunner
Prediction: "Your affliction will become your saving grace." (I really want to have this one)

Umm... I couldn't think of where to put this, but Spades is a chronic gambler (his name is a reference to the ace of spades). And, of course, that's what the Oracle would be referring to in the prediction.

Burn will be making his heroic Gun-toting comeback...
Is XP going to be ported over? or do I have to start alll over...
Might have to make another one off his more crazy gun character evolution.

As long as I have my kick ass kung-fu and my katana (or 2) I'll be happy 😛

There will be some kind of bonus given to characters from the first game to represent an xp advantage.

Hmm this seems interesting..........

Originally posted by Ushgarak
There will be some kind of bonus given to characters from the first game to represent an xp advantage.

awesome, the onyl way I wouldnt go crazy wiating for thsi, was to forget aboot it lol, but im glad its almost here, I'll getto beat up some police officers, hopefully some Agents ,==, before we get any farther I call, Natural: All-rounder

Testing/playing of this has been going at some speed! Which bodes well.

Wheee!
Any idea when we'll get this one going?
Burn is one of my favorite characters....

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Testing/playing of this has been going at some speed! Which bodes well.

I want to get to stab more things 😄