Cyberspace combat

Cyberspace combat in GURPS. Comes up more often than you think - lockpicking after TL8, taking on rouge AIs, deactivating turrets, stealing money or data. Here's the thing. There's three ways we can do this, each with increasing levels of accuracy and awesome. But also taking longer.

Normal roll. Same as ever. Roll 3d6, try to get under your skill. Modifiers applied for the software used - bonuses for good software on your end, penalties for good software on their end. Pros: nice and fast, simple. Cons: not too interesting or difficult at higher skill levels.

Opposed roll. You roll 3d6 under skill, with bonuses for your software. The enemy does the same, bonuses for theirs. Whoever passes by most succeeds. Pros: more realistic. Cons: slightly trickier, still too simplistic.

Full on combat. This requires a bit of change. You get a fairly small combat map, your computer hacking skill takes the place of your normal weapon skill, I stat up different hacking programs as weapon, you fight against their security systems. Pros: more realistic still, much more interesting. Cons: takes longer, harder to master.

Anyone is free to vote, even those who haven't played GURPS. I want to get a general feel of what you guys think of it. Obviously, I'll be needing Darkness' and Dorian's opinion, since they'll be using it soonest. But everyone's thoughts are valid, so let me know. No need to post with your vote, unless you're one of the two I said.

Personally, I'd say opposed roll, as a normal roll can get rather boring after a while, especially if you've got a skill of 18 or something. On the flip side, the combat sounds intriging, but a long and time consuming process that'd break the fourth wall/immersion too much. Sound fair?

Also, in this cyberpunk campaign you're running, would it be ok for me to take a wildcard skill?

I've written up a quick thing, it's fairly quick and fast paced - slimmed the combat system down to the following. Move, attack, run program. Choose two. In addition, you have virtual HP equal to your computer operation skill, meaning that the usual average will be around 15. And none of this -HP lark, when it hits 0, you're logged out. Programs range in effect from "gives DR 4 vs cyber attacks" for encryption, and "next attack has divisor (2)" for password crackers. Then there's ICE. Goddamn, but is ICE sexy. Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics. Normal ICE just blocks movement and attacks, Black ICE fights back, dealing REAL damage. Not virtual damage. Grey ICE does virtual damage.

It does break immersion a bit, but I don't think any more than a normal dimension shift - teleportation or timeports. If you want, I can send/post the draft of the rules.

Wildcard skills are cool - one of the NPCs has Computers! 21, for example. Though, she is a hacker. So fair's fair. Let me know which you choose, and you'll need unusual background to take Guns!, but most are okay with permission.

... Wow. That is a lot of awesome, right there. Seems like it'd work absolute wonders, if being a little simmilar to the FF I battle system (not necessarily a bad thing, depends on your point of view). I hereby change my vote to the system detailed above!

Also, I was gonna take Guns!, as I was also gonna ask you if I could play as someone with the 'Spartan' Bio-mod template (Bio-Tech, page 74), but I sorta have a better character concept now. If you wanna know what, put it this way: Have you ever seen Ghost in the Shell? Yeah, Batou from that.

Thank you, I'll send the rules at some point in the near future, let you get acquainted with them. So, you'll be a melee focused corpsman? That could be fun.

Well I was gonna be melee focused, and then I rewached Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (a brilliant anime movie, right there) and, after seeing what Batou is like, I thought "That'd be an ace character to play as in a cyberpunk campaign!" (Ghost in the Shell effectively being 'Cyberpunk: The Anime). Basically, what he is, is a state-of-the-art cyborg police officer that is more or less 100% machine by now, leaving his only human part remaining being his 'Ghost' (kinda like his soul). Now, I don't know if that sounds OP or not, but I bet it'd be a fun character to play as, don't you?

Also, thanks for those rules! I'll be sure to read them ASAP, k?

I'd go for Opposed roll my self..plus aftor Dorian mentioned Ghost in the Shell I carnt get the Tachikoma them out of my head
And now I remember the scene where they sang it as they sacrifeced themselves...and now i want to cry...

Oh and if Dorian is playing as Batou then i'm playing as a Tachikoma. That way we can have this scene:

Batou's face at the end of it says it all

Huh. Never did get around to watching the SAC. Better get on with it, then, hadn't I?

I really only watched it for the Tachikoma. THey are so cute!

So, you wouldn't like the films, then. Not one of those 'Tachikoma' or whatever in them. There are, however, a selection of the single creepiest gynoids on the mother-fucking planet, all of which are specifically designed for the machinophiles among this shit-hole of a species we belong to. Yes, I'm technically an Omnicidal Maniac. Why do you ask?

Naw, I like the films as much as the anime. But the Tachikoma keep me coming back to re-watch parts of the anime when I've only wathced the films once or twice. that all.
ANd I too like a bit of Omnicidal Manic

Omnicidalism is fun! Let's go burn something! YAYS!!!!

SOunds like a good weekend out

Maybe we can take one of these:

Japan, I am no longer dissapoint.

Err..excuse me I need to go wipe up this drool...I WANT ONE!!