Runner's Companion.pdf - Free

Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9alternative character concepts . . . . . . . . . . .90Quality AssuranceDue to their unique nature, AIs may not take certain qualities.The qualities available for metasapient PCs are listed in the AIQualities sidebar. AIs have the same limits on purchasing qualitiesthat metahuman characters have. A full list of qualities can befound starting on p. 182.Node Sweet NodeEvery metasapient has its own home node. This home couldbe a nexus, or a commlink, or a vending machine, or even a drone(which would allow it to interact more effectively with the physicalworld). An AI needs a home to maintain its connection to theMatrix. An AI’s Rating is reduced by 1 for every week it is withouta home of any kind.An AI’s home node is definitely its castle. The metasapient’spresence improves the node while it resides there, optimizing thedevice. The home node’s Matrix attributes are increased by theamount listed on the Home Node Adjustmen table.Being the home of an AI puts a strain on the node’s resources,both hardware and software. A node must be kept in top condition,with the latest upgrades and technology, in order for it tocontinue to serve without breaking down. This cost is analogousto metahuman lifestyle costs, and an AI must arrange payment ofthis upkeep or risk losing its home.A home node’s base Device rating and its lifestyle cost arelinked. The Home Node Lifestyle table gives the lifestyle cost appropriateto the base Device rating of the AI’s home node. If thehome node does not have a generic Device rating, use the highestMatrix attribute rating (not including Signal) as the Device ratingwhen reading the table. Note that the rating increase due to thenode being the AI’s home does not count in this calculation.Use the standard rules for keeping up the payments (p. 262,SR4). If the AI’s lifestyle is downgraded, so is its home node.Should an AI find that it needs a new home, or wishes tomove out of its current digs, it may do so by performing the followingsteps. First, if its old home node has not been destroyed, ithome node adjustment TABLENode Matrix AttributeResponseSignalSystemFirewallRating Increase(round up)AI’s INT/2AI’s CHA/2AI’s LOG/2AI’s WIL/2home node lifestyle TABLEBase Device RatingLifestyle1 Squatter2–3 Low4–5 Middle6 High7+ Luxurymust spend a Complex Action in that node to remove itself fromthe premises. When this happens, the node immediately loses thebonuses it gained from the AI’s presence. Next, it must enter thenew home node and gain an admin account there. It then makesan Extended Intuition + Reality Filter (10, 1 day) Test, after whichit has its new home and grants its bonuses to the new node.An AI may only have one home node at a time. Any givennode may only be home to a single AI at a time.Realignment and RestorationMetasapients have maintenance subroutines that work withcode created within its home node to repair damage. While in itshome node, an AI may make an Extended Rating + System testwith an interval of one day, healing one box of Matrix damage foreach hit. The Medic program is also an effective means of healingthe AI, but, due to the complexity of the AI’s code, the programmay only be used once on any given set of damage (similar to FirstAid on metahumans).If an AI’s Matrix Condition Monitor is filled, it begins aprocess called realigning; this process is described on page 166,Unwired. Additionally, if the damage taken by the AI ever overflowsits Condition Monitor by more than its Willpower rating,it must succeed in a Willpower + Edge (2) Test or have its highestratedMental attribute reduced by 1 immediately before realigningbegins (if there is more than one highest-rated Mental attribute,choose randomly). If this results in the AI’s Rating being reduced,the AI also loses an inherent program, chosen at random, that maynever be recovered.If a node in which an AI is running shuts down, the AI isstored in memory and trapped. When the node restarts, the AIbegins the process of realigning immediately.An AI can only be destroyed under three circumstances. First,if its home node is shut down while the AI is present and in theprocess of realigning, it is slain. Second, the AI is killed if thenode in which an AI is running or trapped is physically destroyed.Third, the AI is destroyed if attribute loss from Matrix damageoverflow reduces one of its Mental attributes to zero. Metasapientsmay escape destruction by burning a point of Edge (p. 68, SR4).Artificial intelligences are intricate, dynamic programs and cannotbe copied or have backups made.Metasapient AdvancementMetasapients do not gain Karma, at least not the karmicenergy that metahuman characters gather in their adventures.They do learn and grow, however, and the disorder in their hyperdimensionalcognitive matrices is highly analogous to Karma.AI characters earn Karma as do normal characters. However,this is not normal Karma, and cannot be drained by Energy Drain,given to spirits, or otherwise transferred. For all other intents andpurposes, it is real Karma.Metasapients may improve attributes, improve or buy newskills, and buy or buy off qualities as would a metahuman. Whenan AI’s Mental attributes are increased, its Rating and Matrix attributesare recalculated accordingly. Additionally, AIs may improvean inherent program rating by 1 for a Karma cost equal to thenew rating; the upper limit of the rating of an inherent programis equal to twice the AI’s System rating.Runner’s Companion