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This document describes mechanics; for the high-level concepts refer to
NET Content.
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MINDSCAPE MECHANICS
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Mechanically a Mindscape is simply another mini-campaign setting, a game within
a game, with whatever campaign ground rules the creator choses to impose. Typically
this is the GM, but could be a player if a PC programmer were to program a custom
Mindscape.
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Put simply the GM (or other creator) simply defines a separate campaign setting
as if it were any other HERO System setting suitable for use as a campaign or mini-campaign,
setting the power level (point range), genre, allowed races, and so forth. Alternately,
published and community provided settings can also be used as is or as jumping off
points.
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MINDSCAPE SPECS
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A combination of convention and requirements provides a system for describing and
categorizing Mindscapes, allowing would-be users to identify what a particular Mindscape
is about and to communicate any restrictions upon its use to would-be users. Towards
those ends, Mindscapes must disclose their Theme, Rating, Exclusivity, Accessibility,
and Interactivity.
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Additionally, Mindscapes vary in quality, referred to as Fidelity. While Mindscapes
do not have to self-disclose their quality, users quickly weigh in on the
subject and such information can usually be ascertained with a little NET research
(though, obviously, not so much on a new or private Mindscape). The quality of a
Mindscape affects the overall user experience; poor quality Mindscapes can impose
penalties on resolutions within them.
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THEME
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All Mindscapes have a theme, though they can vary widely in their scope and inclusiveness.
A theme is sometimes as simple as a genre (Sci-Fi, Fantasy) or sub-genre (In-Period
China Kung Fu Action Theatre Simulation). Themes can also be utilitarian (Commercial,
Adult), or extremely specific (High Fantasy RPG in the ever-expanding Orb of Kreigerkraft
setting).
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RATING
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A Mindscape's rating indicates the relative capabilities of the Avatars that can
be used within it. A Mindscape's rating and an Avatar's rating directly correlate
such that an Avatar with a rating lower or higher than a given Mindscape's is unable
to be used in that Mindscape.
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In the MetaCyber setting Mindscapes are rated in minimum and maximum ratings. Rating
is indicated verbosely as Rating Min and Rating Max and compactly as R-Min and R-Max,
with a number designation of 1 or higher indicating a level.
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Mechanically each rating level represents +50 character points; thus a Mindscape
that lists itself as having R-Min: 1 (Minimum Rating: 1) and R-Max: 5 (Maximum Rating:
5) is indicating that it allows Avatars with between 50 and 250 character points.
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- Rating Min (R-MIN): 1+
- Rating Max (R-MAX): 1+
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EXCLUSIVITY
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Some Mindscapes require proprietary Avatars to be custom-built solely for use with
that Mindscape. Other Mindscapes are completely open and allow any Avatar within
it's power level range to be used. Most are somewhere in between, allowing externally
created Avatars to be used within the Mindscape, but with some imposed limits.
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The most common limits usually revolve around Theme. Thus a Mindscape with a strict
Epic Fantasy Theme would predictably only allow Avatars with a compatible Theme
to be used there in.
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Some Mindscapes might allow external Avatars, but only after each such Avatar has
gone through a review process and been approved.
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Choice of Avatar is not always permitted by a Mindscape.
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Many corporate Mindscapes restrict users to a bonded Avatar that is essentially
a direct facimile of themselves, with only minor cosmetic improvements allowed;
not only does this provide a more professional environment, it is also a security
deterent as it removes anonymity.
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Some games, "historical simulations", "BroadNET" plays, and "immersive novel" Mindscapes
don't allow the user to provide an Avatar, and instead offer up "dramatis personae"
or "roles" for users to take on. A few even go so far as to have casting calls and
essentially force a user to demonstrate an ability and willingness to play a role
"in-character" before issuing an Avatar.
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Mechanically, it is up to the GM to decide which Avatars are allowed in which Mindscapes
and whether there is any red tape involved or not.
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By convention, Mindscapes that require proprietary Avatars also provide an Avatar
creator designed specifically to produce Avatars suitable to that Mindscape.
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ACCESSIBILITY
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Mindscapes differ in their openness to usage.
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Some Mindscapes are free to the public, many are fee or subscription based, and
some are private or by invitation only.
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- Public: some Mindscapes are free to the Public, at least to access. For instance,
most commercial store fronts are open to the public to enter, but to partake of
their services probably costs money.
- Club: users must create an account and provide some form of identifying information,
but there is no subscription involved.
- Subscription: a user must set up an account and pay a reoccuring expense.
- Fee: A "door charge" of some kind must be paid. This might be a one-time
or a per-use charge.
- Invitation: a user must be invited by another user to get in.
- Private: only specific individuals on a white list (perhaps even just one
user) are allowed.
- Hybrid: Accessibility can be mixed in various combinations, even seemingly
mutually exclusive ones such as Public and Private. For instance, a Mindscape might
have a Public area for most people and a Private area only accessible to users with
a Subscription or who have paid an entry fee.
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Hacking a private Mindscape is generally a nearly impossible proposition requiring
either direct access to the hosting hardware or access to a NET entry point of the
Mindscape to even attempt.
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INTERACTIVITY
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There are five levels of interactivity allowed within a given a Mindscape, defined
by the NEC standards. Generally a given Mindscape will be permanently set at a specific
level, but it is permissible for a Mindscape to be sub-zoned into areas of different
interaction levels so long as users are clearly notified in an unambiguous way before
entering into a zone with a different setting. The "None" setting is also permissible
to apply to individual Avatars under various circumstances.
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The five levels are:
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- None: Avatars cannot interact with each other at all. Visibility is usually
often altered one way or another in conjunction with this setting.
- Communication: Avatars are able to communicate with each other, but cannot
conduct financial transactions or affect one another.
- Commercial: Avatars are able to communicate with each other and conduct commercial
transactions. They cannot affect one another otherwise. This is the typical setting
of commercial and corporate Mindscapes.
- Combative: Avatars are able to affect one another, but an Avatar cannot be
permanently damaged or destroyed, and Avatars either reset or respawn in a pristine
state under various circumstances. This is the default setting of most casual or
arcade style NET games.
- Persisted: As Combative, but Avatars can be permanently modified in both
positive and negative ways. If an Avatar is "killed" it is usually rendered permanently
inaccessible (at least within that Mindscape). This is the typical setting of most
serious NET games. Note that many such games have one or more schemes by which a
"killed" Avatar can be "resurrected".
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It is possible for a decker to manipulate the interactivity of a Mindscape, but
its a very difficult task requiring administrative priveleges within the Mindscape
or access to the configuration files of the Mindscape on its host, and it will be
noticed very quickly.
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FIDELITY
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As is true with all media, quality is not an absolute quantity. Mindscapes vary
in the quality of their content and resolution. The best Mindscapes offer versimilitude
and immersion indistinguishable from the meat reality (or even "hyper-real"), but
that level of perfection doesn't come cheap or easy, and most Mindscapes fall short
of that ideal.
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This difference in quality is represented mechanically as a flat penalty that can
apply to various resolutions at the GM's discretion if it seems appropriate. The
GM should be equitable; if the penalty applies to one character to do a particular
action, it should be applied to all characters attempting that same action. Consistency
is also called for.
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Very Poor
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-6
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Poor
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-5
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Very Low
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-4
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Low
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-3
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Standard
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-2
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High
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-1
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Very High
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0
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Excellent
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+1
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Perfect
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+2
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Fidelity modifiers are most applicable to physical actions requiring finesse, and
to perception where the lack of finer detail and rendering limitations can interfere.
However, some Mindscapes with lower Fidelity might attempt to overcome their limitations
by "helping" certain things to resolve (particularly entertainment based Mindscapes);
for instance in a RPG Mindscape a "thief" Avatar's attempt to pick a lock may not
require actual manual dexterity and simply come down to a probability based resolution
handled by the Mindscape's logic.
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For purposes of opposed roles, including OCV vs DCV attack rolls, the GM shouldn't
bother applying the penalty as it applies equally to all participants. For instance,
if one character were attacking another in a Poor Fidelity Mindscape a -5 penalty
might be applied, but it would be applied both to hit and to not get hit and thus
effectively cancel out.
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To experience Fidelity beyond Standard requires a NETDeck.
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The concept of Fidelity is presented for completionary purposes, to better model
a concept. It's primary side effect simply serves to allow characters that invest
in better NET gear to have an edge over those who don't (as their gear helps them
to offset such penalties). However, it is complicated and might be overly finicky
for most groups. A GM is free to totally ignore the concept, or simply represent
it via description and fluff.
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AVATAR MECHANICS
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Avatars are represented mechanically as a full-blown HERO System character write
up (in fact, just about any published or fan created character write-up could serve
as an Avatar with GM permission).
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Avatars do not cost character points.
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As they are such a ubiquitous concept in the MetaCyber setting, are available to
all characters (both PC and NPC), and there is no stipulation allowing MetaCyber
characters with more character points to have more powerful Avatars than characters
with fewer character points, there is no purpose to accounting for Avatars in terms
of character points.
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Your character might be a real bad ass in the meat reality, but in the Orb of Kreigercraft
Mindscape their noob Orc Fighter is puny compared to some 10 year old kid's mighty
high-level Elf Ranger.
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AVATAR PERSISTENCE
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Avatars are stored either on NETDecks (NETDecks are described in the
NET GEAR section), or hosted on remote servers (a trivial concern).
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There are literally dozens of hosting companies that will persist peoples Avatars
for a generally reasonable and market-driven montly fee (as is true of all hosting
services). There are even some free hosts on advertising or spam-list business models
(but you get what you pay for).
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A typical cost would be 100 credits per month per Avatar; a more "secure" host with
better privacy features would cost 300 to 800 credits per month, and impose a -1
or -3 penalty respectively on attempts to trace a user by their Avatar. In the MetaCyber
setting, the top end hosting service is run by a medium-sized but privately owned
company in Switzerland called Avidtar, which guarantees total privacy; it
costs 5000 credits a month per Avatar and imposes a -5 penalty to attempts to identify
a user via their Avatar.
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AVATAR SPECS
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Similarly to Mindscapes, a combination of convention and requirements provides a
system for describing and categorizing Avatars. Each Avatar has a Name, an AvatarId,
Theme, Rating, and Origin.
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Avatars also differ in quality, but the ramifications of this are generally only
cosmetic and social (cheap, ugly Avatars are often the target of mockery by users
with more elaborate Avatars), but some choosier Mindscapes will reject an Avatar
based solely on it's lack of quality.
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NAME & ID
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Each Avatar has a unique identifier issued to it upon creation. Avatars that can
be used NET-wide must have a NUID (NET Unique ID) issued to it from an issuing authority,
while Proprietary Avatars that are only usable within one Mindscape can use any
ID that is unique within that Mindscape. Acquiring and assigning an ID is part of
the Avatar creation process and not under the user's control.
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Each Avatar also has a Name, which generally is under the user's control at time
of creation. There are no restrictions on uniqueness in general, though individual
Mindscapes might levy such an additional requirement and thus within a given Mindscape
an Avatar might also have a unique Alias so as to enforce such a rule.
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There are some decency standards applied to Avatar Names, and many hosts wont host
Avatars with various vulgar or offensive names, but some will. Similarly, individual
Mindscapes can vary widely in this regard.
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THEME
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All Avatars have a Theme. Sometimes an Avatar will have more than one Theme, but
one is always primary and all others are secondary. There are some odd-balls, but
the mainstream Themes are:
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- Professional: a pseudo-theme attached to practical, workaday Avatars used
to conduct business and commerce. Most non-entertainment Avatars are of this Theme.
- Social: a pseudo-theme attached to Avatars used for socially oriented activities,
such as online dating, NETHoods, online clubbing, and so forth.
- Adult: a pseudo-theme attached to Avatars used for mature, online activities,
including sexually oriented content.
- Entertainment: a catch all group for various kinds of Avatars intended for
entertainment oriented use, such as games. An open category, the most common Themes
are:
- Genre-Fantasy: an entertainment based Theme indicating the popular Fantasy
genre. Avatars representing elves, dwarves, dragons, and so forth fall into this
category.
- Genre-SciFi: an entertainment based Theme indicating the popular Science
Fiction genre. Avatars representing space marines, starship captains, and so forth
fall into this category.
- Genre-Modern: an entertainment based Theme indicating a genericized concept
of "modern" settings, with a wide range of variations.
- Genre-Historical: an entertainment based Theme indicating a genericized concept
of "period" settings, with a wide range of variations.
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RATING
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There is a Rating system for Avatars that assesses their overal competence and capabilities
of the Avatar to derive a number between 1 and 50 with 1 being the lowest and 50
being the highest. Avatars at the extreme ends are simply floored or ceilinged at
1 or 50.
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An Avatar's Rating corresponds to a Mindscapes Rating to determine if that Avatar
can be used within that Mindscape. In practice though, Rating generally only matters
in Mindscapes that allow Interactivity beyond Commercial use, which generally means
Entertainment venues only.
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In practice, most Avatar's Ratings are in the single digits, and it is unusual to
see an Avatar with a Rating higher than the teens in general usage. However, some
gaming Mindscapes cater to "high-end play" and specifically feature Avatars with
very high Ratings.
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Mechanically, simply divide the total character points of an Avatar by 50 to derrive
the Avatar's Rating. If an Avatar is less than 50 points their Rating is 1, if an
Avatar has more than 2500 total points their Rating is 50.
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ORIGIN
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Each Avatar is flagged with an Origin, which is signed as part of the Avatar's creation.
This generally has no bearing, except for Mindscapes that only allow Avatars created
with their own tools, or a white list of allowable creators. A user can opt to hide
their Avatar's Origin from other users, but not from Mindscapes.
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NET GEAR
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The NET is a technological marvel, but no one can interact with it without the proper
gear. Though there are a variety of commercial options and accessories, the most
essential gear consists of VR Goggles, Brainjacks, and NETDecks.
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VR GOGGLES
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VR Goggles are essentially somewhat bulky eye glasses and ear phones (some fancier
versions also include nose plugs) which allow the user to experience Neurally Enabled
Content via their normal senses. VR Goggles are considered to be Standard / Street
Equipment in MetaCyber, equivalent to an MP3 player in their commonality and expense.
Quality is graded by cost rather than mechanics.
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Due to the indirect nature of the NEC feed using VR Goggles, users suffer some drawbacks.
In interactive Mindscapes, VR Goggle users suffer a -1 penalty to all resolution
rolls made by their Avatars and lose any tied rolls to opponents who are using Brainjacks.
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VR Goggles are considered to be Equipment and are paid for in a character's Equipment
Resource Pool. There is also a credit cost that varies based on qualities.
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VR GOGGLES
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VR Goggles: Computer Link; Focus (OAF; -1)
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Real Cost: 2 points
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Low Quality: ~150 credits; Standard Quality: ~300 credits; High Quality: 500+ credits.
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BRAINJACKS
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Brainjacks are a minor Cybernetic device installed into the users head, which splices
Neurally Enabled Content directly into the brain, bypassing the normal senses. They
come in shieled and un-shieled (ie "standard") varieties. Shieled Brainjacks are
not affected by EMP's while standard Brainjacks are; they are otherwise identical.
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Brainjacks allow NEC to be piped directly into the sensory apparatus of the brain,
granting the most immersive possible NET experience.
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Brainjacks are Cybernetic devices and cost both character points and credits.
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BRAINJACKS
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Shielded Brainjack: Computer Link
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Real Cost: 5 points; ~60,000 credits
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Standard Brainjack: Computer Link; Restrainable (EMP; -1/4)
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Real Cost: 4 points; ~40,000 credits
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NETDECKS
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In addition to being a more convenient and private means for the storage of Avatars,
NETDecks can also enhance a users experience on the NET, boost graphic content quality,
and optimize the human / machine interface.
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Terminals are rather spartan in their features, have no storage, and offer a standard
level of processing power and rendering capabilities. While that's sufficient for
the mainstream, some powerusers want more. NETDecks are specialized portable mini-computers
that essentially supplement the basic features of Terminals by adding physical storage,
buffering capabilities, and extra processing power that is particularly useful for
rendering higher fidelity Mindscapes.
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Rather than plugging directly into a Terminal, a user instead plugs their NETDeck
into the Terminal, and then plug themselves into the NETDeck.
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NETDecks have a finite amount of storage, but its generally large enough to persist
all of a typical user's personal files, music, videos, and Avatars if they choose
not to host such content via one or more hosting services, or if they just want
a local copy. A user can interact with their NETDeck even when not connected to
the NET, but obviously can only access items persisted locally and not anything
remote.
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Two or more users can also link their NETDecks together and share files. Additionally,
by linking NETDecks secondary users can "piggy-back" a primary user as they access
the NET, able to observe whatever the primary user is sensing. The secondary user(s)
can only observe, they cannot themselves interact or take any actions themselves
unless the primary user relinquishes control to them.
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NETDecks are considered to be Equipment and are paid for in a character's Equipment
Resource Pool. There is also a credit cost that varies based on quality.
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In the MetaCyber setting, Laptops and Computers (built using the actual Computer
rules rather than using a convenient Custom Perk handwave) are assumed to include
the equivalent to NETDeck functionality in addition to their other features for
no additional cost. The quality of the overall device also determines the Fidelity
level of this free functionality; thus a bleeding edge elite laptop is equivalent
to an elite NETDeck when used in such a fashion.
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NETDeck
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NETDeck: Custom Perk (local storage, improved NET Fidelity); Focus (OAF;
-1)
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Real Cost: 2 points
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Economy (High Fidelity): ~500 credits
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Mainstream (Very High Fidelity): ~1000 credits
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Premium (Excellent Fidelity): ~2000 credits
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Elite (Perfect Fidelity): ~3000+
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For the truly hardcore, Cybernetic versions of NETDecks exist though they are substantially
more expensive. A significant cranial installation, a user cannot have both a Cybernetic
NETDeck and a Combat
Assist Computer, though they can have a SkillSoft Chip Reader. All such
Cybernetic NETDecks are shieled.
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A character must also have a Brainjack (at full normal cost) to have a Cybernetic
NETDeck.
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Cybernetic NETDecks are not Equipment; like all Cybernetic devices they cost both
character points and credits.
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Cybernetic NETDeck
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Cybernetic NET Deck: Custom Perk (local storage, improved NET Fidelity)
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Real Cost: 5 points
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Economy (High Fidelity): ~5000 credits
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Mainstream (Very High Fidelity): ~10000 credits
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Premium (Excellent Fidelity): ~20000 credits
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Elite (Perfect Fidelity): ~30000+
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FIDELITY
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If the GM is enforcing the Fidelity modifiers described for Mindscapes, quality
NET Gear can help offset penalties but not provide bonuses. The adjoining chart
indicates the Penalty Skill Levels granted by NET Gear to offset Fidelity penalties.
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As an example, a user with a Brainjack and an Elite NETDeck entirely offsets the
penalties associated with Poor Fidelity content, and suffers only minor hindrances
using Very Poor Fidelity content.
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