Smutty Deckers

Hey folks, its been a while. Quite honestly, I didn't think anyone was even reading my blog but apparently its referenced now and then. So I guess I will try to get back to adding content every couple weeks. I figure even with my lazy nature I can whip up a post that often. So without further ado lets talk about decking and smut.

As a decker its your job to be proactive, you need to be on point always looking to leverage an advantage for your team. Right up there with a Face, a decker is top of the list when it comes to legwork. While the face, and the rest of their team (hint hint) are working their connections, the decker is delving brain first into the matrix during the legwork phase to find out any sort of information they can find.

Legwork's done, information is found and maybe a host or two was invaded. The job's not done though for our decking friend though. The team goes in and they're under attack, decker bricks a gun and then the enemy goes wireless off. Its at this point a passive decker throws up their hands and says, "Good luck guys, I can't do anything."

They're so, so wrong.

Deckers have high intuition to do their job. So there's absolutely no reason they shouldn't have the knowledge skill Small Unit Tactics. That knowledge skill gives a team everything from bonuses to avoid ambush, to bonuses for attacks.

Seize the initiative, most things are wireless, and have been since 4th edition. Think beyond bricking enemy gear.

The team is inside a facility, jump into the host and control doors, funnel the enemy into choke points, limit their access to retreat and advancement options. Grab camera control, let your team know where they're going. If you can hear them through sound sensors, maybe you can hear them planning. Distract them with sounds, I'm not saying "hur hur, I play fart noises," I mean something useful. Maybe over the speakers in another part near by play the sound of a gun racking, or the rattle of gear approaching. If they hear this phantom coming they might divert forces to protect about this 'ambush' giving your team less people to fight. Set off the sprinklers, not only does that impose a vision penalty for them (your team too, keep in mind) but it'll give any fire spirits something to think about.

The team outside on the streets? Try a little vehicular manslaughter. The tier of control goes Manual>Pilot>Remote>Rigger. So unless the driver is jacked in, the traffic is your oyster, sure its a bastard move, but crash some hapless citizen into the opposition. If its gangers then they just got crushed by a car. If its cops, well now they have an injured citizen to protect as well as lead to dodge.

Lastly, brush up on your social skills. If anything the media has fed us a steady stream of the awkward, quirky hacker that the cool guys come to because they need a little nerd power. Even if you're perpetuating that work on you social skills. Specifically, leadership. You throw some dice and you can give your team bonus dice to actions, composure, initiative, as well surprise tests. That is, if they accept your leadership.

If they don't, well that's on them, but at least you're in the fight not waiting for it to end because some schmuck on the other team switched off his wireless.