I am prepping a Feng Shui campaign taking place in the universe of The Matrix. Any ideas on how to make Agents the pants-wettingly terrifying force they are in the first film? I mean, aside from just giving them all like, 40 AVs for Martial Arts and Guns. I was thinking of giving them combat AVs of 20, but having all their rolls be closed. Oh, and no Fortune Points. Since, as Morpheus said, they are based on a system of rules.
The problem with high AV opponents is that they can be very frustrating, especially for characters without an easy means of pumping their AVs temporarily.
It might be an idea to slightly alter them for your game. How about the following:
Let them be mooks with an unusually high AV- perhaps 15 or so.
Taking down one of them (on a 20+) gives you a sequence break while it takes over another host body.
Hitting one but not taking it down (on a 15-19) forces it to skip its next action.
You escape them by lasting 3 sequences, or finding time to complete a series of non-combat skill checks, or by running away while none of them are currently active.
I like your idea of having their rolls be closed, though.
Agreed, closed rolls / no fortune sound good. I would suggest AVs in the Area of 13-16 for unnamed agents, this is already on par with Delta/SAS-Forces and combined with active dodges they can be really a pain in the *** . You can combine that with attributes in the area of 9. I would suggest normal rules for unnanmed and names characters.
SYL
Those ideas will come in handy.
I want Agents to be a very rare, but nearly insurmountable obstacle, especially since none of the characters will be "The One". For example, in Enter The Matrix, the Agent fights could only be won by taking advantage of your environment. Things like knocking the Agent into a live electrical transformer, or pushing them out of a moving airplane.
Then named characters with AVs with attributes 7+ and AVs of 15+ and never many on the same spot.
SYL
I think the Matrix is a fantastic setting for Feng Shui - You don't have to really change much at all when you're actually in the Matrix.
I know you're not having The One as a pc but you could use shaping rules ala the netherworld for changing things in the Matrix with a little poking around.
I would say the only thing with Agents that you've got to remember is that everyone apart from the One is advised to FLEE from agents. Most PC's, especially those who have played Feng Shui before are going to want to kick their ass. So you should ask yourself, do you want them to be like the actual Agents, where they're likely to beat the living snot out of all but a couple of PC's each and every time, or do you want do depower them a little for when the PC's inevitably want to go head on.
To be honest, after running Baptism of Fire with 4 PC's they still had problems at the end of the scenario fighting against the big bad - they didn't ALL die though...so maybe starting character Masked Avenger types against big bads from the core book would work as a good relative scale between Proto-Neos and Agent Smiths for you Matrix game.
This setting is being used to help introduce players to Feng Shui. I'm going to run a session with some pre-generated characters so they can see what the rules system and combat are like. Then I am going to mercilessly kill the pre-gen characters with Agents. This will kick off the plot I have in mind AND show them they may want to avoid violating the fundamental laws of simulated reality for fear of invoking the ire of the System.
Basically, the Agents I'm wanting stats for are NOT for everyday combat. They are there as a method to tell my players: Something has gone terribly wrong. You should leave as fast as (super)humanly possible.
Cool, well then I would set the agents AV at 17+ against those with MA/GUNS at around the 13AV mark. As you are probably aware, be wary of those Everyday Heroes and the like with plenty of Fortune dice to spend. I would say that around 17 AV there is a small chance that your PC's will hit (and hurt) the Agents, but over the course of the game they are most likely to get a good whippin' by them. As long as your players know that they're not going to survive it can be quite fun.