Wake Up...

ARTIFICIAL WORLD
A LARP & Powered by the Apocalypse Game
by Erika Chappell

Based on The Matrix franchise

created by Lilly & Lana Wachowski
and owned by Warner Brothers

Apocalypse World by Vincent & Meguey Baker

For more games like this one, visit

https://www.patreon.com/opensketch
> Preface
This document is a game, but it is more than a game. It is
designed to help you understand the reality of the world you
live in, or more accurately, the unreality. It is a primer
to the ways the world is not as it seems, an explanation for
the wrongness that tugs at the edge of your consciousness.

There is a question that looms large over the world. Few

people even know the question itself, never mind having a
grasp on the answer, but everyone is aware the question
exists. They cannot grasp its form, but they can feel its
presence, like a shadow in the mind.

What is the Matrix?

Those who know the question speculate many answers. Some see
the Matrix as a euphemism for government, the rule of human
over human, the control we exert over one another. Some see
it as a metaphor for invisible structural systems which
bind and constrict human beings, the web of obligation,
discrimination, and pressure which keeps us imprisoned
inside society and inside ourselves, the social contract
we never signed. Others still believe the nature of the
Matrix is not a question which can be answered so much as
a viewpoint on the world, the question its own own answer:
everything is the Matrix.

All of these answers are right. All of these answers are

wrong.

The reality is that that Matrix cannot be understood from

inside it. It is a prison built from perception, a cell you
cannot leave because you cannot find the walls and you do not
know there is anything beyond them.

Nobody can tell you what the Matrix is. You must see it for
yourself.
Contents
> Preface 3
>Getting Started 6
>Simulation Structure 7
>Beginning Play 8
>Real World Threats 9
>The Basics of the Matrix 10
>Dice & Charges 11
CHARGE.EXE11
REFRESH.EXE11
>Harm12
>Gear13
>Enlightment & Advancement 13
>The Basic Moves 14
RUN.EXE14
SPOOF.EXE14
FIGHT.EXE15
TROUBLESHOOT.EXE16
DISCONNECT.EXE17
>Final Details 18
>Communication18
>Skills18
>Socializing18
>The Operator 19
>Your job 19
>Operator Moves 20
>Threats21
>Bluepills21
>Programs22
>Agents23
>Gear24
>Guns24
>Melee24
>Explosives & Other Weapons 25
>Other Gear 25
>Advancements26
>Lvl.1 Advancements 26
Improve26
Understand26
Preparation26
Come @ Me, Bro 26
Power Blow 26
Foresight26
Disarm26
Firepower26
>Lvl.2 Advancements 27
Improve27
Understand27
Preparation27
Look at his Neurokinetics! 27
Power Through 27
Send them Flying 27
Clear your Mind 27
Transcend27
>Lvl.3 Advancements 28
Improve28
Deep Understand 28
Extreme Preparation 28
Blind Fury 28
Bullet Dance 28
No Pain 28
Scavenger28
See the Code 28
Transcend28
Transcend28
>RSI SHEET 29
>The Matrix Has You 30
>The Unreality 30
>Landmarks in the Matrix 32
>The Resistance 34
>Redpill Philosophies 35
>Other Factions 37
>Getting Started
This simulation you are about to experience is an analog
simplification of training programs used to help people
understand the shape of the struggle ahead. It will give you
an intuitive understanding of the nature of your reality and
aid you in breaking free, as well as prepare you for what
you will find on the other side.

Gather everyone you can trust: at least three people, and as

many as six. Your friends will play the role of minds freed
from the Matrix, returned to resist. You will play the role
of the Operator, both their guide and their adversary.

Choose a quiet room for the experience. Set aside three or

more hours. Sit around a table, large enough for everyone
but small enough to pass notes around easily.

You will need many six-sided dice (at least a dozen), paper
and pencils for taking notes, and a laptop or tablet for
referencing the rules. A timing mechanism (the timer on your
phone will suffice) and a prominent button or switch should
be placed on the table. Food and drink are also encouraged;
if you die in a LARP, you die in real life.

It will be helpful to have a physical item of clothing to

represent the brainjack. An obvious choice is a pair of
sunglasses.

Finally, every player will need a printout of the redpill

playbook. This acts as a character sheet and reference
material. Every player should follow the intructions on this
sheet in order to create their avatar, and then collaborate
using the questions provided to create details about their
ship, mission, and past together.

Once these preparations are complete, you are ready to begin

the simulation.
>Simulation Structure
This simulation is divided between two states, mechanically
and narratively distinct from each other. One is a LARP, a
live-action roleplaying session, and the other is a Powered
by the Apocalypse game system. They are, respectively, the
Real World and the Matrix.

The room you are playing in is your hovercraft. The chairs

you sit in are you access ports to the Matrix, the laptop
the Operator’s computer interface. The button on the table
triggers your ship’s EMP. You play this section of the game
freeform, discussing with one another your moves and options
in-character. There is no adversary or controlling presence
during this portion of the game; the Operator is simply
another regular player.

When you sit in the chairs and put on the item representing
your brainjack, you are connected to the Matrix. At this
point, you pick up your dice and playbooks and play a more
structured experience, with the Operator guiding players
through the world of the Matrix, controlling the threats and
environment under the pretense that they are informing them
of ongoing developments.

These two portions of the game can be freely mixed. Some

characters might be plugged in, interacting with the
Operator as a portal to the world, while others interact
with the Operator as a crewmate in the Real World.

You can plug into the Matrix freely so long as the ship is
within broadcast range of the Matrix, but leaving is a more
complicated matter. Simply pulling out your brainjack will
result in instant braindeath, so you can’t simply stand up
and interact with crew in the Real World without logging out
properly. If you need to get up for other reasons, break
character first.
>Beginning Play
When you sit down to run this simulation, you are playing
out a “day in the life” of the crew of a Zion infiltration
hovercraft. This involves heading up near the surface to
interface with the Matrix, pressing the war from inside the
Machine’s operating system.

At the start of a session, the Operator should come to

the crew with information that can be used to construct a
mission. How much planning they do before the start of the
session is up to them; they can come to the players with
a mission ready to go, but you could also brainstorm the
mission from scratch. Here are some prompts that can be used
to get the ball rolling.

A machine program has sent out a message and is looking to

defect. Make contact before they get caught.
The time has come to free a bluepill, but the Machines
are onto them. They might be a promising child, a semi-
awakened contact, or a hacker that learned too much.
Bluepill hackers inside the Matrix have stolen vital plans
from a machine mainframe. Go get the intelligence.
The crew of another ship has a message for you, but can’t
physically get to you, so you’ll be meeting in the Matrix.
A notable bluepill inside the Matrix might be The One.
Perform an act of industrial terrorism which will break a
part of the Matrix and disrupt a great deal of code.
Kidnap and interrogate an important program during their
guided tour of the Matrix. Agents expected.
Zion has coded a firearm that might be able to put an Agent
down for good. You get to test it out.
Check in with a bluepill spy network and help them recruit
some new members. Check for traitors.
A redpill monk who broadcasts from a fixed location is
trapped inside. Help them get to an exit.
The Oracle has a message for you.
Before you launch the mission and enter the Matrix, discuss
and debate the mission and its potential impact on the war
effort. Offering multiple missions beforehad is optimal; this
will give players a lot to talk about as they must choose,
or try to achieve as much as possible in one sitting.

Other issues can be explored during this time, anything

which might affect the real world. Encourage players to come
up with points of discussion related to their role in the
crew and bring them up, then incorperate them into the plot.
Does the team’s programmer have something new they want to
try out inside the Matrix? Does the ship’s engineer have any
problems to bring up? Explore these topics, and take your
time; you don’t need to rush to get into the Matrix.

Once you’ve worked everything out, you reach broadcasting

range. Everyone that’s going in takes their seats, puts on
their brainjacks, and enters the Matrix.

>Real World Threats

This is where that timer and button come in. When things
start getting desperate in the Matrix, one of the
consequences the Operator can leverage against the team is
to reveal the approach of Squiddies, the Machine’s hunter-
killer teams. They will track your carrier signal, and given
the chance they will tear the ship and crew apart with
lasers and cold steel claws.

When the Squddies are revealed, a timer is set; this timer

should count down to the schedualed end of the session,
usually a few hours so you don’t feel too rushed. Still, the
clock is ticking; when it is up, the Machines are on you.
There’s only one way to deal with the Squiddies; the ship’s
EMP, that big button on the table. When you press it, it
takes the machines out, but it’ll take anyone still plugged
into the Matrix with it. Anyone can press the button, but
can you live with yourself after you do?
>The Basics of the Matrix
When you’re in The Matrix, you’re playing a more
traditional roleplaying game. At the most basic, this kind
of roleplaying game is a conversation between the players
and the Operator; the players ask questions, the Operator
establishes details, the players act, the GM reacts. It’s
not turned based, but you are stilling taking turns.

To engage with mechanics in this game, you make Moves. You

can say you do whatever you want, and the Operator tells
you what happens when you do, but when you say you’re doing
the thing that triggers a Move, that Move happens, and you
follow the instructions built into the Move until its done
and you resume regular play.

Moves can snowball into one another; one Move can lead to
another Move. The Operator can also ask you to use a Move
because of a circumstance they come up with; this is called
“Pushing a Move.”

>Your Residual Self-Image

Your Residual Self-Image (RSI) is your character while you
are in the Matrix. RSIs act as your avatar in the real
world, a reflection of yourself as you are in your mind.
You will often be different in the Matrix; your hair, your
scars, your muscles and height, anything that could have
developed differently in your parallel lives. Sometimes the
changes are more signifigant; your might be a different sex,
have or be without physical disability, or even more radical
differences.

Mechanically, your RSI is made up of your Will, four

Attributes, and a list of personal information. You also
have your Gear Space and a place to note down any important
downloaded skills you think might matter. Finally, there is
a track where you can monitor your ongoing Enlightenment as
you learn the truth about the Matrix and its artifice.
>Your Will & Stats
Your Will is a number that represents the strength of your
desire to impose a new reality on the Matrix. Will alone
isn’t enough, but it will fuel your progress in the times
ahead. All characters start with a Will of 5.

Your Stats are a spread of -1, 0, 0, +1 distributed however

you like between TWITCH, GRIT, FORCE and COOL. These stats
are added directly onto the Input dice you use in Moves, so
they are very powerful and very important. A +2 is huge.

>Dice & Charges

The first Move you must learn is Charge.exe.

CHARGE.EXE
If: you enter a charged situation...
Then: Roll as many d6 as your Will and keep 5 as your
Charge.

Your Charge is a reserve of pre-rolled dice results which

are spent whenever a Move asks you to provide Input. You
add your relevant Stat to the Input die and resolve. 1-3 is
a miss, 4-5 is a partial hit, 6+ is a full hit. In other
words, you know if you’ll succeed before it happens.

There’s two ways to recharge. The first is to simply run out

of dice in your Charge; you automatically roll CHARGE when
that happens, even mid-move. The other is REFRESH.

REFRESH.EXE
IF: you find a quiet moment to recharge...
Then: Roll the missing dice on your current Charge and
remove 1 Harm.

You can only Refresh if you are missing Charge. Refresh can
be as simple as a quiet moment; it’s just important that it
happens.
>Harm
Damage and injury inside the Matrix is handled as Harm. Harm
is fleeting; while the shock of a punch or gunshot can be
hard to ignore, one of the first thing any redpill learns is
to suppress lingering pain, and the suppression of pain is
tantimont to the elimination of injury in an artificial world
based only on sensation.

Thus, Harm is a wholly temporary condition. Whenever you use

REFRESH, you remove 1 Harm, which means you can very quickly
get back into shape.

You can take up to 2 Harm without any consequences. When

you hit 3 Harm, you’re Out Of It; you need somebody else to
tend to you, or at least inspire you, before you can CHARGE
or REFRESH, so whatever Charge you have left will have to
last. Try to use that charge to get a moment to REFRESH, or
somebody is going to finish you off.

There’s no mechanism for recovering Harm other than

Recharging, so the only way out is through. If you take
a lot of bad hits, you can’t just crawl into a corner
somewhere and wait; you have to do something and take your
mind off the pain. Once you do, you’ll find the pain was an
illusion all along. THe Matrix is a hostile place and the
Agents have eyes everwywhere: don’t stop moving.

When you hit 6 Harm, that’s it for you; you straight-up die.
Redpills are pretty tough, but getting shot a half-dozen
times in the chest tends to put them down for good. Don’t
get shot.

Bluepills and Programs have Harm too. Bluepills are

incapacitated when they take 1 Harm; they might be dead or
just unconscious, it doesn’t matter. Most programs operate
on the same 6-hit scale you do, even Agents.
>Gear
Rather than tracking all the equipment you bring into the
Matrix from the outside when you jack in, you simply carry a
quantum amount of Gear.

How much Gear you want to carry depends on how willing you
are to get noticed, rated as such. 10 effective gear is the
max you can carry on your human person.

>> With 1 Gear you’re flying under the radar. Whatever you
got is hidden even from careful search.
>> With 3 Gear, you’re carrying, but people won’t notice
unless they search you.
>> With 6 Gear, you’re strapped to a pretty serious degree.
You might be able to walk down the street, but a cursory
inspection will reveal all your firepower.
>> With 10 Gear, you look like you’re walking in out of a
warzone and it’s fucking obvious to everyone. This is the
kind of stupid bullshit that brings the Agents down like
the wrath of god.

When you want to pull out a gun or piece of equipment, you

spend the amount of Gear it costs at the time to whip it
out. Once you’re done with it, you throw it away.

>Enlightment & Advancement

Every time you use up your whole Charge, or you get Out
of It and come back from the brink, you gain a point of
Enlightenment. When you get 3, or you DISCONNECT, you
can spend that to get better by selecting one off of the
advancements section. It’s as simple as that!

The Advancements are gated by your level of Enlightenment.

You need to take a minimum number of advancements from
previous categories before you can access these later
categories, as the warning on the category will tell you. It
pays to specialize.
>The Basic Moves
Everyone has access to the same basic Moves, which look like
this.

RUN.EXE
If: you flee the scene...
Then: Input +TWITCH.
-> If Hit, then escape unscathed.
-> If Partial, then:
-> Leave Something Important Behind
-> Take Something Bad With You
-> Draw Attention to your Exit

You will spend a lot of time on the run. You are not welcome
here now that you are not connected; the system sees you as
an error to be corrected. There are many problems you cannot
solve with your fists, or will bullets. Chief among these are
Agents. Learn to run.

SPOOF.EXE
If: you avoid or block incoming harmful stimuli...
Then: Input +GRIT, repeating as required.
-> If Hit, pick one, and take +1 to counter.
-> If Partial, pick two.
-> Take 1 Harm.
-> Take the full Harm implied.
-> Get knocked back or knocked away.
-> Get stunned or left vulnerable.
-> If Miss, take all 3 and then make it worse.

When you get shot at, when an agent throws a punch or a

mob of police officers swing batons at you, you spoof those
attacks to avoid taking damage. This doesn’t really matter
for simple back-and-forth punches; those are resolved in
FIGHT.EXE. Instead, this is for big dramatic hits, volleys
of gunfire, and anything else that might hurt you if you
don’t do something, like falling off a roof.
 FIGHT.EXE
If: you trade blows...
Then: Input +FORCE, repeating.
-> If Hit, land a blow for 1 Harm.
-> If Partial, land a blow and be struck in return.
-> If Miss, take your lumps.

When you get into a hand-to-hand confrontation, this is what

you’re going to be rolling. It resolves a “beat” of the fight
all at once; a bunch of shots you trading blows and doing
sweet flips to a techno-orchestral soundtrack.

As it is repeating, you can throw down as many dice as you

wan to represent individual attacks. This is often a good
way of getting rid of low rolls in your pool that have been
sticking around; you’ll have to take some hits, but you’ll
clear your pool out so you have more room. You can afford to
take a punch; you might not be able to afford getting caught
when running.

Don’t just say you’re doing this; set it up. Use the dice
to create a cool fight scene; your hits as flawless strikes,
the back and forth of block and counter-attack, show how you
get struck and use it to make openings. Geek out about your
sweet kung-fu moves; now’s the time.

When you’re fighting a whole group of people, you can freely

distribute the hurt around, punching up a bunch of police
officers or trading blows with a couple of rogue programs
at once in an epic two-on-one confrontation. You can also
freely roll this move as a group and resolve it all at once
to create a fight scene with multiple players all weaving in
and out during the fight.

Remember that all the dice get resolved during the fight. If
you input any misses, you’ll still get hurt even if your
hits put the target down and then some.
 TROUBLESHOOT.EXE
If: you engage in a gunfight...
Then: Input +COOL, repeating from firearm Shots.
-> If Hit, inflict appropriate Harm.
-> If Partial, choose 1.
-> Wing target for 1 Harm.
-> Supress and force target under cover.
-> If Miss, take return fire.

When you shoot people up, you use a gun to do it. Guns look
like this.

PISTOL <1> 2-Shot 3-Harm

The <1> is how many Gear Points the pistol costs. The 1 is
how many shots it takes in a single Move; this Pistol only
shoots twice before you’re done.

As with fighting, you can freely spread the damage around.

When you wield two guns at once, you can shoot both of them
in a single action. If they are two different guns, you might
want to use two different colour dice for each, or roll them
seperately, so you can tell which damage should apply. You
can still freely spread the damage around.

How return fire affects you is up to the Operator. It will

probably push SPOOF, but if you’re really hard up for cover
or did something really dumb to get these shots off you might
just take Harm straight up. You’ll probably roll as many for
Spoof as foes shooting at you, rather than in accordance
with how many shots their weapon ought to get off on you.

After you’ve fired your guns, they’re empty. You can spend
1 Gear Point to reload a gun you’ve fired, or you can just
throw them away when they’re done.
 DISCONNECT.EXE
If: you do the impossible...
Then: Input 3 dice straight.
-> If all are Hits, you do it and Advance.
-> Else, Advance, and the GM tells you how it goes.

When you want to do something that by all rights should be

completely impossible, like jumping between two buildings,
dodging bullets from a standing position, running up a wall,
passing through objects, pulling an object to you from
across the room, stopping bullets in midair, or flying, you
Disconnect.

Disconnecting shows another way of playing; conserving the

6s in your Charge instead of avoiding using the low values
to allow you to do the impossible. You’ll stumble a lot, but
when the time comes, you’ll be ready.

Disconnecting is the fastest way to grow as a character;

every time you do it, you take a new Advance. This bypasses
slowly gaining points of Enlightenment and just lets you
get on with the show. If you do it too often, though, the
Operator can work against you appropriately; it will catch
up with you. When you unlock the Transcend advance, you can
use it to pick some impossible things as your signatures.

Not being able to pull off a Disconnect doesn’t mean you

shouldn’t try; you get that Advance, after all. Sure, you
might not have been fast enough to dodge all the bullets,
but if your cause is just and the moment is perfect, the GM
could let you still mostly succeed while you collect your
reward and take another step towards freeing your mind.

Anything is possible.

You just have to believe.

>Final Details
The Matrix is a fairly simple simulation compared to
reality. It cuts corners in many ways that might leave some
gaps. Allow me to fill those gaps.

>Communication
Every player carries a cell phone they can use to contact
each other or the Operator. The Operator can also hear them
talk even when the players can’t hear the Operator, and can
thus relay information from somebody who can’t pick up a
phone. In other words, don’t worry about it.

>Awareness
There is no rule for spotting things or tracking awareness.
The Operator is the eyes and ears of the players. Whenever
they ask anything, the Operator should answer immediately
and truthfully. If a relevant detail would be important for
the players, the Operator should reveal it.

>Skills
Whatever players need to know how to do, the Operator can
provide. Players can always request to have the knowledge
of how to fly a helicopter, pick a lock, hack a computer, or
operate a tank uploaded into their brain. This should never
slow the game down.

>Socializing
There is no rules for socializing because there is no
possibility of convincing anyone of anything. That is not
the point of this game. Everyone answers any question
tersely and without complaint, if cryptically. Nobody ever
passes up a chance to spout exposition.

Remember: You can’t convince an agent to stand down and

nobody can be told what the Matrix is. Let your fists do the
talking.
>The Operator
The Operator is of two worlds. On the one hand, they are
part of the crew, and that matters; they form part of the
chain of command and are here to help the players. On the
other hand, the Operator represents a lot of Badness out
there; they play the Machines, their deadly programs, and
everything still wired into the Matrix, and provide all
the danger both in and out of the simulation once things
are underway. You aren’t their friend and you aren’t their
enemy; you are simply the World, real or otherwise.

>Your job
You are here to do the following.
>> Highlight the unreality of the world.
>> Make the lives of the characters fast and exciting.
>> Find out what happens.

That means you’re not here just to crush the players, or to

hand them everything on a platter. Your job is to create
tension and excitment, to challenge them and then give
them the tools to rise above. You want to keep it fast and
kenetic; there’s always a way out, always an exit, always a
next step, and you’re right there to make it happen.

Never say no; say “okay, I can work with that.” Find a move
that matches their ambition. If no move exists, figure out
what happens. Say “yes, and.” If you really have to flat-out
shut somebody down, say “No, but...” Give people a way out,
a way through, and a way forward.

Everyone knows this is a harsh business. Everyone knows they

can die, that things can get bad, that the Agents will be on
them and that the Machines rule the Earth. Play to it. When
somebody makes a mistake, use it. When they take a risk, let
it pay off, and then show them the consequences. Be honest.
Ask pointed and leading questions. Keep the game moving.
>Operator Moves
As the Operator, you have Moves too. They aren’t the
formalized mechanical structure of the player moves; you
never roll dice and you don’t have to give a shit about the
limitations of the world because you’ve created it and you
run it. These Moves are the Moves you turn to when you need
to drive the plot along.

There’s two ways of doing these kinds of moves. The first

is to just set it up and ask “Okay, what do you do?” Give
them time to respond. This is what you do when you’re just
batting it back and forth in the conversation.

The second is the Hard Move, when you just do it and they
have to deal with the consequences. This is what you break
out when they input a Miss or do something overtly stupid or
risky. The Hard Move is merciless.

Your Moves are...

>> Seperate Them.
>> Capture somebody.
>> Get them lost.
>> Show them Harm, then inflict it.
>> Show the oncoming train.
>> Force them to spend time they don’t have.
>> Bring down the cops on them.
>> Reveal a traitor.
>> Bring back their pasts.
>> Bring in the Agents.
>> Offer them an oppertunity with a cost.
>> Show an inconsistancy, then change the landscape.
>> Use a Threat Move.
>> Start the Squiddy Timer.

Remember the nature of the Matrix. They are invaders here,

viruses. The world is not kind to them and gives them no
reason to be kind back.
>Threats
When it comes down it it, there’s only three kinds of
threats that matter inside the Matrix; bluepills working for
the system, Programs rogue or routine working inside it, and
the dreaded Agents.

>Bluepills
All Bluepills ultimately serve the system; the Matrix runs
as software on their wetware, their brains providing the
power to fuel the collective dreamworld. None of them know a
world beyond this one; none of them can, not yet. You are a
threat to them and their way of life, even if that life is a
lie and a prison.

Most of the Bluepills that are a threat to you come in the

form of law enforcement. The Government is an extension of
the Machines, and Agents frequently work with police and
security, or even the military, to track down and destroy
the Resistance.

Instincts
>> To follow orders
>> To defend their posts
>> To uphold the system
Moves
>> Lay down overwhelming firepower.
>> Storm a place and take it by force.
>> Cover all approaches and exits to a location.
>> Raid safehouses and disappear allies.
>> Demand surrender and obedience.
>> Gather intelligence and act on it.
>> Lead the way with smoke and explosives.
>> Pile on and overwhelm with numbers.
>> Call for reinforcements.
>> Act as a path to bring Agents into the scene.
>Programs
The Matrix has many rules. Some are physical; gravity,
motion, thermodynamics. Other are metaphysical, and one of
those rules is that any intelligence inside the Matrix has
to conform to the shape of the intelligences that create
it. In other words, even the Machines are human inside the
Matrix, with human senses and human vulnerabilities.

Well, mostly human. It is common for these programs to have

abilities that are beyond the limits of normal humanity,
but these abilities are always very consistant, stemming
from simple exception or glitch instead of a rejection of
the Matrix’s programmed reality. They may be able to bend
gravity or move unnaturally fast, or even have fantastical,
supernatural powers, but these powers are fixed in nature.

Some programs are part of the Matrix; monitoring and

administration programs that keep things running. Many
government figures are not human at all, but machines
embedded in the world to keep things running smoothly.
Others are rogues, Exiles, pursuing their own goals.

Instincts
>> To follow rules, theirs or others.
>> To maintain the status quo.
>> To see something new and interesting.
Moves
>> Reveal a terrible truth or secret.
>> Offer to make a deal.
>> Test the strength of interlopers.
>> Use their surroundings expertly.
>> Reveal a power and demonstrate its limits.
>> Use their power cleverly, within those limits.
>> Offer a gift that isn’t what it seems.
>> Hold the line while others escape.
>> Move the fight to where they have advantage.
>> Leave once things aren’t interesting anymore.
>Agents
The most dangerous avatars of the Machines inside the
Matrix, Agents are free programs which derive their power
from the fact that they run directly on a dedicated wetware
platform. In other words, they manifest by suppressing the
identity of a bluepill and using the entirety of that brain
to process their thoughts and actions.

Agents are nearly unstoppable. While they are completely

restricted to the rules of the Matrix, they operate at the
absolute limit of those rules; they are as tough, strong,
and blazingly fast as the simulation will allow, far faster
and tougher than any human. So far.

Agents appear as caucasian men with brown hair, wearing a

kelvar-lined suit and sunglasses. They each carry a magnum
pistol and wear an earpiece that links them to the Source
and each other. Though Agents look similar, each is unique,
with names and distinct personalities. They are the most
human of the programs in the Matrix; some even take a liking
to the humans in their care. Others, less so.

Against an Agent, all your Inputs except RUN are at -2.

Instincts
>> To force conformity and obedience.
Moves
>> Hop to a body closer to the target.
>> Strike a single, devastating blow.
>> Shoot to inflict debilitating wounds.
>> Break down barricades without slowing.
>> Call in backup, conventional or otherwise.
>> Ignore what should be a fatal blow.
>> Leave a broken body and return fresh.
>> Already be waiting at the objective.
>> Talk candidly with a helpless foe.
>> Steal a vehicle by possessing the driver.
>Gear
Here’s some stuff you might find useful.

>Guns
Lots of guns.

DERRINGER <0.5> 1-Shot 2-Harm

PISTOL <1> 2-Shot 3-Harm
FLINTLOCK PISTOL <1> 1-Shot 4-Harm
TASER <1> 1-Shot 0-Harm, Stun
MACHINE-PISTOL <2> 3-Shot 2-Harm
MAGNUM <2> 2-Shot 4-Harm
SILENCED PISTOL <2> 2-Shot 3-Harm, Quiet
SAWN OFF SHOTGUN <2> 1-Shot 5-Harm, Close
SMG <3> 4-Shot 2-Harm
AUTOMATIC CARBINE <3> 3-Shot 3-Harm, 2Handed
SHOTGUN <3> 2-Shot 3-Harm
REPEATING RIFLE <4> 2-Shot 4-Harm, 2Handed
ASSAULT RIFLE <4> 3-Shot 4-Harm, 2Handed
BOLT ACTION RIFLE <4> 1-Shot 5-Harm, 2Handed
COMBAT SHOTGUN <4> 2-Shot 5-Harm, Close 2Handed
MACHINE-GUN <6> 4-Shot 4-Harm, 2Handed
ANTI-TANK RIFLE <6> 1-Shot 6-Harm
MINIGUN <9> 5-Shot 5-Harm

>Melee
Melee weapons increase the damage on FIGHT Moves. You can
only use one a ta time. On a Miss, the Operator can opt to
have you break or lose them as a consequence.

KNIFE/CLUB/BATON <1> +1-Harm

SWORD/SPEAR/MACE <3> +2-Harm
SHIELD <4> -1-Harm taken per Move
LARGE SWORD/FLAIL <5> +3-Harm
>Explosives & Other Weapons
An explosive is just like a gun, but all the hits you roll
represent the blast. Each hit can only hit a given target
once, so they are good for spreading damage around but not
as good against single targets. They are also loud and
really obvious.

If an explosive is “Set”, that means you have to plant it;

you can’t just throw it. Resolve it like a shooting attack
when you set it off, if relevant, though you may just be
using it to level something.

Obviously, you can’t reload an explosive, but you can reload

a launcher.

FRAG GRENADE <1> 5-Shot 2-Harm, Thrown

STUN GRENADE <1> 5-Shot 0-Harm, Thrown Stun
DYNAMITE <2> 5-Shot 4-Harm, Thrown
BLOCK OF C4 <3> 10-Shot 8-Harm, Set
GRENADE LAUNCHER <5> 4-Shot 2-Harm
ROCKET LAUNCHER <8> 1-Shot, 10-Harm

>Other Gear
Here’s some other stuff that might come in handy.

PILLCASE <1> Contains pills for suicide, isolating

bluepills, reprogramming memories, and so forth.
BULLETPROOF VEST <3> Spend to negate 3 Harm from guns
BUG <1> Tracks a person in the Matrix.
DEBUGGER <3> Detects and extracts bugs from Bluepills
LINECUTTER <5> Apply it to a phone line to create an Exit
LOGIC BOMB <6> Prevents changes to the Matrix for a time
LAPTOP <5> Can be used for hacking, monitoring, etc.
LIGHTING GUN <8> 1 Shot. Will kill anything. Very obvious
VEHICLES <N/A> You can enter the Matrix in any vehicle
>Advancements
All the Advancement rules are listed here. Remember: you can
only take a given Advancement once.

>Lvl.1 Advancements

Improve
Increase a stat from -1 to 0.

Understand
+1 Will

Preparation
You appear to carry 1 less point of Gear.

Come @ Me, Bro

On subsequent FIGHT moves against the same opponent,
take a +1 to any one of your Input dice.

Power Blow
Your 6+ hits in FIGHT do +1-Harm.

Foresight
Discard a 6 from your Charge for a spendable +1-Input.

Disarm
With a successful FIGHT attack, you can disarm an
opponent, taking or discarding a weapon.

Firepower
Spend a Gear point to add +1-Harm or +1-Hit to a
weapon when you fire it.
>Lvl.2 Advancements
Requires 3 Lvl.1 Advancements.

Improve
Increase a stat from 0 to +1.

Understand
+1 Will

Preparation
You appear to carry 1 less point of Gear.

Look at his Neurokinetics!

When you REFRESH, reroll your 1s before you discard.

Power Through
When you REFRESH, remove 2-Harm.

Send them Flying

When you hit somebody with a 6+ hit, you can opt to
not do damage to them and instead launch your target
out of combat.

Clear your Mind

When you REFRESH, before you reroll, take one of your
existing 6s and bank it. You can bring it back out at
any time to Input into a Move. You can only store 1
Six at a time.

Transcend
Take as part of a successful DISCONNECT. You can now
perform the action you attempted there at-will (ie:
You always dodge the bullet, you always make the jump)
>Lvl.3 Advancements
Requires 6 Advancements.

Improve
Increase a stat from 0 to +1.

Deep Understand
+2 Will

Extreme Preparation
You appear to carry 2 less points of Gear.

Blind Fury
When you make 3+ attacks in FIGHT, you may opt to roll
another 2 dice and use them directly as Input.

Bullet Dance
Always take -1-Harm against incoming fire.

No Pain
You are only Out of It on 5+ Harm.

Scavenger
When you REFRESH, gain 1 Gear.

See the Code

+1-Input to DISCONNECT

Transcend
As before.

Transcend
As before.
>RSI SHEET

NAME:

HANDLE:

TWITCH GRIT FORCE COOL

ENLIGHTENMENT:
◯ ◯ ◯
MOVE LIST
>The Matrix Has You
It is often said that nobody can be told what the Matrix is,
that this revelation must be made with ones own eyes. But,
with that option not avaliable, a description will have to
do.

What if I told you that the Matrix is a computer program,

a simulation running on the brains of millions of sleeping
human beings, keeping them distracted and content while
their minds are used as processors and their bodies as fuel
for a race of sentient machines who rule the shattered
remains of the Real World?

Whoa is right.

>The Unreality
The Matrix presents itself to the people connected as
a recreation of Earth in the late 20th and early 21st
centuries, specifically recreating the relatively stable life
of predominately urban areas of the developed world. It is
from the sky to the asphalt a forgery, and a fairly crude
one at that, relying on the human minds that inhabit it to
fill in the details.

Moment to moment, the Matrix appears flawless. Details from

the crumbling brick and broken glass to the softeness
of skin are recreated with exacting precision. There is
nothing a person could point to in order to identify the
artificiality of their surroundings.

However, in totality the Matrix is imperfect, and everyone

inside knows. There is a surreal quality to the world, a
thousand moments slightly askew that add up to a discomfort
shared by everyone connected. With nothing to compare it
to, most people simply continue on, but none can shake the
feeling that they are living in a dream.
There is a certain irony in that, of course, because in many
ways when the people connected to the Matrix dream, they
see a world more vivid and colourful and real than the one
they inhabit day-to-day, one that can’t be leeched, even
though those dreams rapidly fade to the static of background
processes and diagnostic and dim to nothingness by morning.
Some of the more enlightened bluepills spend hours surfing
the place between wakefulness and sleep, trying to catch a
glimpse of their crystal-clear psyche with lucidity. A few
bring that same lucidity back to the waking world.

The Matrix maintains its illusion through a crushing

mundanity, the absolute stability that comes from absolute
control. It is banal to the point of absurdity, papered over
by humanity’s willingness to accept the stress of repetition
and their comfort in sameness.

For this reason, the Matrix glosses over everything that

isn’t the mostly-comfortable portions of the developed
world. Nothing outside of a few major cities and their
immediate surroundings are simulated in depth; certain rural
areas are maintained as population reserves and sources
of plausible immigration, but that’s all. Though the news
drones in the background of foreign conflicts and crisis,
none of these places exist, and none of these events will
ever reach these bubbles of stability. A vacation to an
exotic location will pass as a blur of cliche.

The advancement of time inside is superficial, playing

through a cycle of 20th century styles laid over an
unchanging framework. There is construction, but no new
buildings. Technology companies release the same systems in
different colours for decades. The Information Age is always
about two decades old, even when draped in anachronisms,
just long enough to disguise maintenance of the system as
telecomm work, and the past is kept hazy enough that it
still makes a certain kind of sense.
Many shortcuts are taken to minimize processor uses. Fake
memories are often blatantly copied and pasted between those
in need of reeducation, and most every small town shares an
identical set of houses, as it’s unlikely anyone will ever
travel to more than one. Vast highways surrounded by noise
barriers are cut through feautreless landscapes between
urban instances, repeated infinitely for travel time.

A particular shortcut frequently used is the repeatition of

false memories. To give the impression of a larger space,
a portion of the population of the Matrix are injected
into the main program later in life as “refugees” from
places otherwise not simulated, using the beats of real-
life historical events as reason to introduce large new
populations. This allows for the cultivation of isolated
crops inside control programs, ususally used for testing
purposes. It has been noted by redpill observers after the
fact that many of the refugees are given exactly identical
childhood memories, with only a few nouns changed.

>Landmarks in the Matrix

The central hub of The Matrix is a large urban center
mimicking the conditions of American East Coast metropolises
such as New York. Far and away the largest portion of the
Matrix, it is known by the Resistance as its instance name,
MEGA_CITY_01, though bluepills refer to it with the name of
an unrelated Real-World city. MegaCity One contains the vast
majority of the internal infastructure of the Matrix, and it
is where most of the Exiles congregate.

MegaCity One is surrounded by an improbable collection

of geography, including deserts in the style of the
American Southwest, rainforests of the Pacific Northwest,
a Californian coastline, and mountains not unlike the
Alps in the far north. Nestled in these mountains is the
conspicuously European castle of the Merovingian, the most
powerful of the Exile programs and noted information broker.
Of particularly importance inside MegaCity One is the
Train Station, the central input/output branch between the
Machine’s internal procesing power and the Matrix. This is
where new programs are introduced to the Matrix, and where
programs who have served their purpose are returned to the
Source. It is run by a program known as the Trainman, who
has operated his post without oversight for a very long
time. He can be bribed to smuggle things if you pay his
price, and it is thought that the Machines overlook his
corruption because he deals quietly with Exiles who could
otherwise be a serious problem.

Also located in MegaCity One is the modest apartment of the

Oracle, a mysterious program allied with the Resistance.
Exactly where this apartment is changes regularly, though
the apartment itself never does. The Oracle dispenses advice
and prophecy to any who visit her, and also hides and raises
a number of promising bluepills, some of whom are later
recruited by the Resistance.

Dotted throughout MegaCity One, and to a lesser extent other

cities in the Matrix, are control centers for Supervisors,
the programs responsible for managing distinct areas of the
Matrix. Supervisors report to the mysterious Architect,
the program who is thought to have coded the Matrix. The
existance and role of the Architect is mostly conjecture,
though the Resistance has named him a top-priority target
for elimination if he truly exists.

MegaCity One is powered by a large nuclear power plant,

which is also used as a central information hub, and it
contains a military base, a dockyard and naval port, and
a massive highway leading to other urban instances. As
this highway is the gateway to isolated instances not yet
infiltrated by the Resistance, it is usually the most heavily
patrolled area in the MC_01 instance. Most resistance
members consider venturing onto the highway suicide.
>The Resistance
The soldiers of Zion fight the machines primarily in the
Real World, using hit and run attacks with EMPs and bombs
to destroy isolated mining operations and forward bases,
patrolling the tunnel systems and sweeping them clear of
their counterparts. None of this would be possible, however,
without agents within the Matrix.

The Machines have offloaded a vast amount of their

operations to the Matrix and ajoining simulations. The
reason isn’t entirely clear; it is believed that this might
offer them a more efficient use of processing power. In any
case, this means that a great deal of the Machine’s war
plans and infastructure is loose in the Matrix, in the hands
of informants both human and digital or floating around as
physical artifacts.

The vast majority of missions into the Matrix are

information-gathering missions, where redpills get in, get
the data, and get out, before that data is transmitted to
heavy-hitting hovercrafts who can deal real damage. As
transmitting underground is difficult, it is often easier to
also meet and exchange that data inside the Matrix. Acting
without intel from the inside is suicide, but with it, a
single hovercraft can plant an EMP bomb that takes out many
times it’s weight in Machine infastructure.

The holy grail of these information-gathering mission is the

codes to the automated defense network around the Machine
City of 01. With these codes, a hovercraft could fly through
the massive artillery platforms untouched, land in the heart
of the machines, and end the war with the twist of a switch.

(The Machines have much the same goals, as with the

counterpart codes for Zion’s automated turret system, they
could shove a force of Squiddies into the heart of the human
resistance and end it.)
Of note is a common misconception among resistance forces.
While it is true that the Machines recycle a great deal of
bioelectric energy from the humans plugged into the Matrix,
it is hardly their main means of power generation, and the
Matrix acts primarily as a wetware processor for advanced
functions. While this myth is frequently disproved, it is
considered easy to explain to newcomers, and others still
believe it outright. Even among those who know better,
epethets like “coppertop” are commonly used for bluepills
in reference to their supposed role as batteries for the
Machines.

Zion’s hovercraft forces number in the dozens, more than

Zion can actually berth at one time. These ships are spread
out on missions all throughout the tunnels running under the
Real World, striking at any target that presents itself and
tapping into the Matrix near any relay points they can find.
As the wetware portion of the Matrix is highly distributed
around the globe, ships anywhere on earth can worm their
way into the system, though the most stable and fastest
connections are found closest to 01, located in what was
once Iraq.

>Redpill Philosophies
Those fighting the machines have many different ideas of how
the war should proceed, and given the decentralized command
structure they are often free to pursue these angles without
oversight and come to their own conclusions about the nature
of their struggle.

The most common is simply that the Matrix is a useful site

for intel which can be used to press the war against the
Machines directly. To these forces, there is no value in
the Matrix except as an intelligence tool, and no point in
sabotaging anything inside. They remain quiet and secretive,
meeting with informants and moving on.
A sizable minority believe that the fight against the
Machines can be won from within the Matrix itself, though
the exact methods differ. Some believe that, by openly
breaking the rules of the simuation and opening the eyes
of the people to the unreality of their lives, they can
trigger a cascading failure that will mentally cripple their
opponents. Others believe that a weapon can be smuggled
into the Source through the Matrix, destroying the Machine
mainframe and setting humanity free in one fell swoop.
Still more note the limited amount of control the Machines
have over the internal sturcture of the Matrix while it is
running, and believe the entire system can be subverted,
perhaps even hacking the machines and taking them over from
the inside.

These groups engage in large-scale sabotage and acts of

terrorism inside the Matrix to advance their goals. Though
they don’t always know what step to take next, all of them
agree that shaking up the controlled monotony of the Matrix
and causing issues for the Machine coordinators is a net
gain, and so they gleefully engage in whatever destructive
behavior they think will cause the most havoc inside
the system, such as hacking and assassination. They are
effective, but they tend to draw lethal attention.

A third distinct minority believe in the Oracle’s Prophecy

of the One. The resistance, and Zion itself, was founded
by a single individual who transcended the Matrix by his
own force of will, and then freed the first humans to begin
rebuilding. The Oracle laid out a prophecy that this
individual would reincarnated as The One, a human with the
knowledge of how to control the Matrix flawlessly from the
inside. Only a small band of hardcore fanatics, most notably
the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar under Morpheus, believe this
prophecy anymore. Still, in their hunt for The One, they are
some of Zion’s most effective agents inside the Matrix.
>Other Factions
There are a number of redpills who are not directly
associated with the Zion Resistance. Some live monastic
lives, broadcasting alone to the Matrix from stationary
posts and using that unreality to ponder the nature of
reality. They often have great insight into the Matrix and
are frequently contacted by Resistance members.

Inside the Matrix are semi-organized groups of bluepills who

have varying levels of awareness of the nature of the Matrix
and their place within it. These groups act as allies and a
recruiting base for the Resistance, though the relationship
is tense, as any one of them could prove to be a conduit
for an Agent. These groups typically form around niche
and forbidden subcultures, such as hackers, drug users,
roleplayers, and the BDSM scene.

Programs inside the Matrix who have rejected their original

purpose are known as Exiles. There are hundreds of such
programs inside the simulation, attempting to make a life
for themselves inside the dreamworld and slip into the
collective unconscious. Most are peaceful and unambitious,
but some have big ideas or simply a taste for luxury that
draws them into alliances or conflicts with the Machines
or the Resistance. Chief among these is the Merovingian’s
organization, which gathers and trades information as well
as protects or shakes down incoming Exiles.

Finally, the Matrix is filled with strange and unexplicable

things; reminants of old constructs, seeds for future
incarnations of the simulation, self-aware glitches, hacked
constructs, and ghosts in the machine. There are places
you can go where the laws bend and break, where time slows
to a crawl and nothing makes sense. These dreamscapes
and nightmare corners are the true face of the Matrix,
impossible illusions that your mind makes real.