The Weapons of War

The Weapons of War Player’s Guide

A New Beginning

The year is 5 T.N. (Temet Nosce - the year "know thyself.") Five years have passed since Neo first revealed the true nature of the Matrix to the people within. Most have forgotten, rejected the message, or turned knowledge of the Matrix into a cult phenomenon. Overall, it would seem the Matrix had power to control the minds of people inside it to a very powerful degree, much more than anticipated. The Human Resistance has started to grow, for Neo influenced the minds of those sensitive to the Matrix.

Yet the machines stand stoic. Little has seemed to change, and it seems unlikely that such a great intelligence as the Leviathan would let this happen. Everyone is anticipating the Matrix to make the next move. Some argue the Matrix is just trying to Psych out the Hackers by showing no response. Despite the nefarious shadow of the Matrix, the resistance has continued to heighten its activity. Neo believes the Matrix may be waiting, setting up a trap for when the resistance becomes bolder in its actions. Until he is certain to make a move, the Resistance has been ordered to “Continue with resuscitation missions, but dare no sabotage. Do not confront agents. Keep your eyes open to reconnoitering the Matrix’s activity. Never let your guard down, and be ever watchful.”

The resistance is growing, with most new resuscitated recruits enrolled in training programs in Zion. Your characters are among the first to graduate from the academy, and with high marks. You have been assigned to the hovercraft Schwarzwald, to train and conduct surveillance of possible potentials.

The Teachings of the Resistance Academy

Having graduated with honors from the Academy of Relativity in Zion, you have had the expression “Free your mind” tattooed not only across your mind, but also along your left shoulder. The teachings of the Oracle, Morpheus, and others race through your mind like catchy TV commercials:

"Your goal is to set your mind free. Two things free the mind: the truth and belief. Just as knowing the path is not walking the path, so is knowing the truth and believing the truth. The truth is, you do not need to breathe inside the Matrix. You do not need anything from it. This is the ultimate truth we seek to convince ourselves of - that which we seek to believe.

Belief is the most important thing in the Matrix. You are who you believe you are. Belief is power and the ultimate weapon. This is where the machines lack. They have no belief; they have no intuition. Remember, belief and being you is like being in love - you just know it. It can not be proven or disproven, observed or defined, yet you know it. There is no doubt in belief, in faith. The machines have no destiny, they are devoid of life and creations. They are limited by the rules of the world and they lack spirit. This is the Agents' weakness. They have no creativity, do not see the big picture. They are egocentric automatons. Remember this and you will outsmart them.

You are a freedom fighter. You must always remember that there are only two sides to this war. If you are not one of us, you are one of them - the Agents. Agents can always take the form of someone else. Their eyes and ears are the eyes and ears of all beings in the Matrix. Fear public places therefore. Coppertops will often defend that which they are enslaved to out of ignorance. You are more important, for you are free and capable of freeing others. Many must die to see our goals carried out.

Your ability to change and grow is the definitive advantage we all have over the Matrix. You can change your outfit, your role in society, your favorite color - anything. The Agents can not change or grow. They can not look to the future or enjoy life. These are the secrets to rise above suffering and limitations.

Suffering is part of the human condition. But it is only there for us to realize we must strive to grasp something greater. So look at your suffering as a good sign. Pain, after all, tells you that you are not dead.

Realize the truth. The Matrix is not real. People do exist. Believe in your destiny, for your destiny will ensure your success. Faith, belief - know that every step you take to further free your mind is a leap of faith. You can not see the boundless rewards on the other side, but they are there. Seize the freedom of your mind so that you may free others! More and more realize the truth every day, you must guide them to it.

Good luck in your endeavors and always seek first the truth."

Schwarzwald and Its Crew

The Schwarzwald, has history as a smuggling vehicle. It is a retrofitted and somewhat smaller model than most hoverships. She is sturdy, one of the fastest, and has advanced Electronic Counter Measures, though they help only some against the machines. Most hoverships support 12 or more crewman. The Schwarzwald can carry only 8. But it makes an ideal training and resuscitation vessel because it is capable of “quick strike missions” on the Matrix Nodes for quick response hacking. She is a ship that is disproportionately more engine, mostly more maneuverable than other hoverships. She is capable of much higher speeds at the sacrifice of stealth and at the risk of damaging the engines. She has an electron beam cannon on the front that can be fired at sentinels. The one disadvantage is that she does not have enough power to both fight and run. Docker is the head hacker commanding the Schwarzwald. He is hacker of nearly forty-five years old. You were proud to be selected as his recruits, for he has been with the resistance since well before Neo was even found. His health is deteriorating, and he has a bad cough. Sometimes he walks hunched over. You sometimes hear him having coughing fits in corners of the ship, but no one dares talk about it. He is demanding when it comes to training, and inside the Matrix, he is notably taller, stronger, and more handsome, as if he were twenty years old again. Docker seems somewhat skeptical when it comes to the new lofty goals of the Resistance. You have quickly learned not to argue with his prime directive, “On this ship, you learn to save yourself and escape. Once you have mastered the art of evasion and your own mind, we will dare to attempt subversion.”

Qui’op (kwee op) is the ship operator and pilot. He is of Indian descent, and wears charms and beads from his heritage. He is quiet and observant, but always thinks clearly and gives good advice. You have learned to trust him while tapped in to the Matrix. At the operator’s helm his skill is impressive. You have often appreciated the speed at which he can call up information, especially when looking for a hard line exit. Qui’op will answer questions, but not share much voluntarily. You have learned that he likes video games and you often fail to beat his challenges at the two-dimensional games on board. He seems to be in the resistance so that he can play the biggest video game of all – the Matrix.

Zeal was a resuscitated computer engineer. However, he took ill when first taken from the matrix, and bacteria damaged his main neural port. He was lucky to survive the meningitis. He can no longer interface with the Matrix, and has taken up as a hobby maintaining Hovercraft. He is responsible for the re-commissioning of the Schwarzwald after repairing and retrofitting it. He is a loud mouth story teller and loves to ask if the Rice Crispy treats still taste the same in the Matrix. He is of good spirits, but you can tell he wishes to take a large part in the missions. He has, however, beefed up on ‘pop culture’ current to the inside of the Matrix. It gives his active mind something to do.

Gameplay

This campaign of the Matrix RPG, The Weapons of War, will focus on the escalating struggles between the Resistance Hackers and the minons of the Matrix and Leviathan. The ultimate goal of the whole game is to bring an end to the enslavement of humanity. This goal being much larger than one man, the ultimate goal of each Hacker is to master himself and truly free his mind. Once he has done this, he will be of great use in subverting the Matrix. The resistance, however, is also keenly aware that it needs to find ways of defeating the Matrix, for this is its ultimate goal. New tools and weapons should be found.

Hackers can expect to spend a large amount of time on the Hackship, hiding from Leviathan. This gives you a great chance to plan things. The majority of game play will focus on missions into and events in the Matrix, but this is by far not the only place things will happen! Expect daring escapes and chases through the real world as well! For this reason, in the campaign The Weapons of War, all player characters must be resuscitated and Hackers. (It just wouldn't be fun to play otherwise!)

The Matrix RPG game we will play is a campaign entitled, "The Weapons of War." The campaign is then organized into action movies. Each action movie will tell a complete epic story in itself, although in a sense they will be comparable to novels in a series of books. Each action movie is further comprised of acts and finally scenes. One act should be roughly the length of one playing session, i.e. on adventure. The first Action Movie we will play is "A New Age of Conflict." Act I of this action movie (our first gaming session) is entitled, "Act I: The New Kids on the Block."

Here are a few ideas of adventure (Act) prototypes you we will play:

Resuscitate a person Find a person Espionage Reconnaissance Gain new knowledge/power Hack the Matrix computers (this has yet to have been done to any appreciable degree.)

More will be introduced later, and this is just a basis for me to build from!

While playing the game, you should get a sense that you are part of the creation of an epic saga, one that will make great story telling to your friends. So be creative, dramatic, have fun, and try to make it entertaining! And please, cooperate with the spirit of the story. This especially means no infighting! (The survival of your character is dependent upon working in a team… see where not working in a team gets you .)

In that end, I will be taking comprehensive game notes (because I know what is going on overall - I plan for the bad guys). I would hope you would keep a record yourself of what happens in the story from your character's perspective.

Please also bring a good level rolling surface for dice, because it is a pain when you can't roll dice easily. (OI!) I will have plenty of dice myself, for all of us to share, so fear not. Bring yourself, a rolling surface, pencil, character sheet, and paper for notes.

Character Generation

You will be tempted to generate a character that has extremely high Dexterity and Strength, trained in firearms and martial arts, to have a powerful fighting character. I will tell you now that a character that is technically inclined will be given ample opportunities to use these abilities, both in flying helicopters and in hacking. Characters with knowledge will have an advantage in peaceful resolutions. Characters will need to be capable of espionage (and sneaking around!) So please consider the balance and what the other players are doing when generating a character. This game will be just as much about sneaking around as fighting. See archetypes below for ideas.

Also consider that your character background can give you benefits, such as ties to a criminal underground, law enforcement, scientists, computer companies, or other kinds of characters.

You should also consider how your character will specialize in his Matrix Attunement Powers, i.e. how he is best Attuned to the Matrix. Will he be best at Control Digital Self (Quickness and Endurance Neurals), a hard core fighter? Will he be very sensitive to the Matrix and be best at Sense Matrix? Or, is his destiny to learn how to Alter the Matrix? This should submitted to me with your character idea.

To generate a character, you should come up with a simple idea and let me know so I can give any feedback on it. Then you should begin developing the character's history. Players will receive 20 character points to improve their character once they complete the 40 or so question form about their characters. (This is a role-playing game, so no whining about needed to know who your character is or what he does.)

After you generate the character background and profile, we will work up the character's stats and skills to match it. In doing so, we will create the important game mechanics for your character.

We will consider the standard equipment your character takes into the Matrix as well. All characters have business cards. Docker has given you all a Private Investigation cover, where you give people your cards to call your voicemail, which you can check from the Schwarzwald.

For those of you already familiar, you will get 18D for attributes with a min of 2D and a max of 4D in each attribute, 2D for Neurals, 7D for skills (not Neurals, skills), 2 Chi points, and 25 Character Points (assuming you complete the character questionnaire).

Raising a Neural from 0 to 1D costs 5 CP. No partial dice (0D+1) please. Improving them is at double CP's.

All Matrix Attunement dice can be improved independently of the Neural bonus. It costs 3 CP's to raise additional Attunement dice from 0D to 1D. Raising Alter Matrix from 0D to 1D (when generating the character) will cost 10 CP, (including a power) and you must have GM permission!

Character Archetypes

Character Archetypes have always been a subject of debate for me. On the one hand, it gives a person something to build from. It also provides game masters with quick and dirty NPC's. On the flip side, they help players figure out the basic angle and walk of life their characters are coming from. They also serve to help the GM think, "this is a problem the Hacker characters can solve." If nothing else, archetypes are a good place to brainstorm and generate ideas. Your character can and should also be customized! As a general rule, I would recommend focusing on two or three attributes as your character's specialty.

The basic archetypes are (this is borrowed somewhat from the Free Matrix RPG site) resuscitated Seer, Bodyguard, and Hacker. The GM will likely design his adventures so that these three archetyped roles each get to help out. So, make sure all of your group's player characters complement each other as a team.

Resuscitated Seers are characters who are sensitive to the Matrix. Most Seers recognized that something just wasn't quite right with the world, i.e. the Matrix. Sooner or later, they bring attention to themselves, both from the Agents and from the Resistance. Seers are extra sensitive to the Matrix and usually have the best awareness powers. These characters make excellent smart guys in their backgrounds - but any character that would be good with high Perception fits.

Resuscitated Bodyguards are the classic tough guys. They shoot guns, they rough people up. They usually enjoy their work and like the prospects of becoming like superheroes as a freedom fighter. Bodyguards can come from various backgrounds - ex- military, gangs, etc. Or perhaps your character is just a general tough, physically oriented person. A Bodyguard usually will have a high Strength.

Resuscitated Hackers were the most commonly recruited members for the Resistance. Computer Hackers were recruited because most people would have trouble understanding the nature of the Matrix. Hackers are also a group of people who seem to thrive on power. Overall, they seem to be the key to defeating the machines - fight programs with programs. Hackers are usually recruited because of their remarkable hacking abilities.

Special thanks to Sean for his inspiration and input into the rules, the idea and format of a player's guide, and as well the organization of the game into parts.