In world, everything is powered by, and connected to, the grid. It is omnipresent and to some degree omnipotent. However, it comes in two "flavors": Augmented Reality (AR, what is in the rulebook) and Virtual Reality (VR or Full Dive).
AR lives as a second reality overlapping our physical one. It is made of holographic projections, AR constructs, and direct interactions with the physical. You see and work with it the most around NANs. However, that is only the surface. To see it all, you need to take a dive.
Accessing The Grid
If you want to access the grid, it is a lot like regular decking. You need a datajack to make the connection and if you aren't hotseating it in a nerve rig everything is at -2. However, there are alternative methods of entering the grid.
- Nerve Wreath (AKA: Feeder Rig) - With this, you are using electrodes connected to your scalp to get similar effects to a datajack without actually needing one. If you want to lug one around, they are weight 3 and take a complex action to set up. Anything more complex than a simple action breaks the connection and you need to reposition the electrodes. However, while you are using one you cannot hotseat and take an additional -1 (So effectively at -3). Work with your Agonarch on pricing.
- Terminal - Usually directly part of a NAN, it is possible to work in the grid through an actual terminal - usually some form of touch screen with specialized helper software for the old people who insist on using it. While using the terminal, you get access to a special simple action: operate terminal. You cannot take any actions with a terminal without having previously taken an operate terminal action, and each operate terminal action is only good for a single action (simple or complex). Also, you still can't hotseat and take an extra -1 (effectively at -3 always). However, there are a couple benefits. Unlike a feeder rig or datajack, you can't be harmed by damage to your avatar in the grid (but AR entities can still attack you like normal). And, you are never unaware of your surroundings since you aren't actually diving in.
Topology of the Grid
Everything in the grid is classified as one of the following:
- Hosts - Areas you can visit, the computer systems you are navigating
- Nodes - Things you can interact with, connections to things in the physical
- Entities - Avatars, ICE, AIs, etc.
By default, every NAN is represented as a publicly available host (that is they are directly accessible from the root host with no security restrictions). However, many corporations will "conglomerate" a number of their NAN hosts into a single larger host.
The framework of the grid also makes it very easy to create "virtual" hosts, which are identical to normal hosts--just without any relation to the physical.
By its very fundamentals, the Grid is closely entwined with the physical. In fact, it has its own set of coordinates, created by laying a hex grid over the globe (offworld gets special handling). This grid has hexes only a few feet across, so it is very precise. The coordinates for this grid are given as a set of 3 words, which can uniquely locate any single hex. In fact, you only need 2 of the 3 words to identify a single hex, but like this it also gives the ability to define a roughly triangular area. Each of the 3 directions you can navigate on a hex grid has a set of words with places close by having similar words (as much as it can be). In reality, these coordinates are just numbers that get translated for people to use.
These coordinates are very important, because it means that if someone gets your coordinates, they have your location to within a couple feet. And every NAN has both its own coordinates and the coordinates of everything connecting through it. However, these coordinates aren't just openly available. The NAN codes its own coordinates into a special NAN Key, that it gives to each avatar that connects through it. This key is unique for each avatar and is good for the duration that they are logged on, but it is not exclusive to them (that is, you can steal someone else's NAN key). The only way for someone to get your specific coordinates, is to figure out which NAN you are connecting from (not trivial) and request your coordinates from it.
NAN Keys are important, because many hosts are configured to only accept connections that come from a prepared list of NANs. A NAN Key is how you prove that, and it can't be faked. Corporations use this a lot to section off subnets of hosts to only allow on-site connections (and sometimes even from specific locations on site too!). As mentioned earlier, you can use someone else's key, but that key breaks when they log out (which doesn't kick you out, but can block your progress).
Handing over your NAN key is dangerous too, since if you provide it you are identifying the NAN you are connecting from. If there is an active trace on you, this means you have until the end of your turn before the trace locks onto you. However, if you provided a NAN key previously and a trace starts after you are safe (unless you provide the key again).
So, an example network for a shopping mall might look like so:
Code: Select all
Onsite NAN Requirement:
| *Security Office NAN
|
[ Public Host ] | [ Security Host ]
[GRID]-----[Almost all NANs]--|--[All cameras and security ]
[in the mall. ] | [controls route here ]
|
Nodes
While hosts are the spaces you navigate in VR, Nodes are what you are interacting with. Any system connected to the grid, creates an associated node in the host the NAN it connects through is associated with. This node will offer all the remote controls you would expect for that specific system (EX: A camera node would let you view the feed and control it).
There are a few types of nodes:
- Physical Nodes - Nodes connected to something in the physical, with the controls you would expect (though it can be moved and replaced with a Pointer node)
- Connection Nodes - Nodes representing connections to other hosts
- Virtual Nodes - Nodes with no physical connection, usually something like files, software, or games (which might be full virtual worlds)
- Pointer Nodes - These nodes appear as Physical or Virtual nodes, but instead point to where it can be found. Using this node, you can get there faster than regular navigation. Pointers should only point to things 1d6 nodes away.
Nodes can be encrypted, which means that they cannot be interacted with until they are decrypted. Even for people who can decrypt the node, it is still a simple action to decrypt the node (but re-encryption is free!). Because of how onerous it is to work with, this is not usually done despite the security benefits.
Taking Action in the Grid: Macros
Macros represent the common actions people take in the grid. Every character peforming a dive is assumed to have these set up (minimum rating 1). The rating of these macros is based on TODO: Something from the brand Grid, the Decker's skills, or something else.
Performing any macro is a simple action. These are the basic macros:
- Logoff - General - Logoff as gracefully as possible, cleaning up traces while you do so
- Contact - General/Entity - Attempt to securely contact (text, audio, and video all possible) someone whose contact info you have, or who is present in your host.
- Analyze - Host/Node/Entity - Figure out what a thing is (even if it is trying to appear as something else) and checks out its security
- Key - Host/Node/Entity - Provide a key or otherwise validate credentials
- Search - Host - Try and locate something. Extra successes can expand the search to connected hosts (1 success=1connected host). You can also spend an extra success to create a one-time-use pointer node
- Map - Host - Map out the connections from the host. Extra successes add extra depth to the mapping (i.e., following connections in connected hosts too)
- Locate - Host - Retrieve the coordinates of the NAN(s) this host represent. Fails (but still takes an action) in Virtual Hosts.
- Connect - Node - Follow a connection node, enter a virtual world with a virtual node, or follow a pointer node (success => number of hosts moved, assuming you actually can enter those hosts)
- Modify Security - Host/Node - Attempt to modify the security permissions of a host or node (Control what Macros can be used on/in it). Some Hosts/Nodes have this ability split off into its own virtual node, so directly attempting to Modify Security will fail (still taking an action)
- Read - Node - Read data/info from a node. For non-traditional nodes (e.g., a Game), this may provide a summary of what it is about or some view of what is going on inside it.
- Write - Node - Attempt to write data to a node, edit its contents, or delete it
- Control - Node - Attempt to use a node to control something it is intended to control (e.g., locks or a camera feed)
- Shift - Node/Entity - Bring yourself and the target into or out of the AR field of a host's NAN (e.g., drag some ICE into the AR field so your buddies in the physical can fight it for you)
- Attack- A general assault on an entity
- Disguise - Pretend to be a node or another entity (does not let you fabricate credentials)
- Steal key - Automatically succeeds on suppressed entities
- Force Access - Attempt to break security restrictions. This lets you perform Basic macros you normally would not. This macro CANNOT force access past a NAN key requirement and it cannot be used to enable Modify Security if that macro is controlled by an external node.
TODO LIST
- Expand on the illegal macros
- Software Entities
- Security measures (like Tracing!)
- Logout and dump rules
- Your avatar?