Beyond the Matrix
This short story by kihou, based partially on the Nobilis spin-off tabletop RPG Beyond the Wall got me really wanting to play a similar spin-off of that game, even though the game itself doesn't fully exist yet.
I wanted to try to flesh out a bit how that would work. Note that the text below copies much of the text of the posts about Beyond the Wall wholesale, with minor modifications, in order to show that it's just that system, applied to a somewhat different setting. All I'm adding are minor tweaks to fit the setting, a bit of flavor, and some examples. All credit to Elaine "OJ" Wang who created Beyond the Wall, Jenna Moran, who created Nobilis, and the Wachowskis and everyone else who created The Matrix. (Basically, I think this is fair use, but hopefully everyone whose creative work I'm creating this derivative work based on will either think that this is awesome or at least not worth objecting to.) Somewhat obviously, I'm both twisting the system a bit to fit this setting and twisting the setting a bit to enhance the congruence. This probably only works for those a bit familiar with The Matrix (probably a lot of you) and Nobilis (probably far fewer), but I think it ends up being pretty amusing/compelling.
(For those not familiar with Nobilis, the necessary context is this: Nobillis has antagonists called the Excrucians, who believe reality is a lie and seek to destroy it. Beyond the Wall has those characters as protagonists instead. For those not familiar with The Matrix, the necessary context is that the protagonists are similarly trying to destroy what most of humanity would consider to be reality.)
The game has three core stats:
Illusion - The fact that the Matrix is a lie is acutely conscious to all who are born outside of it (and also intrudes on the consciousness of many who might leave it). But the Matrix is not a single lie; it is a web of lies with its own internal logic. Illusion is knowledge of this internal logic, and ability to manipulate and subvert it. Mastery of Illusion is, however, a double-edged sword: the more time you spend speaking the language of the Matrix, the more seductive and logical that lie becomes. After all, there is something of worth there. You may end up tempted to find a way to just forget all about the lie and, in defeat, return to the Matrix, where steak is juicy and delicious.
Characters with high Illusion are Captains. Morpheus is in this category. So is Cypher. The Merovingian would be in this group if he were more inclined to try to destroy the Matrix.
(In The Matrix canon, there don't seem to be too many AIs that have taken on the goal of destroying the Matrix. But there's no reason why there couldn't be such a character if you're making up something in that setting, so go nuts.)
Virtue - Virtue is the stat that measures your strength of purpose. This is not the purpose of "destroying the Matrix". This is something else. Perhaps you have come because you wish to better yourself. Perhaps you have come because you desperately want a challenge. And perhaps you have come because there is something of worth there. The more of this stat you have, the better you are at channeling raw power and defending against the challenges of the Matrix; but you yourself also become less subtle in your methods. It is the nature of the low-Virtue to dodge bullets, because they are so fragile. Those high in Virtue no longer need to.
Characters with high Virtue are called Chosen Ones. Neo is obviously in this category. Agent Smith is as well.
Purity - Purity is your connection to the world outside the Matrix. There is no room to flee, and you suspect if you do not push this fight to victory, the Machines will bring everything under their full control. All in the Matrix are always potential enemies at the very least. And yet - and yet - there is something of worth there. All who resist the Machines find themselves confronting this truth sooner or later. The high-Purity deny this consciously: they argue that they are sustained by the outside world alone, and that the Matrix has nothing of value. And yet, at the same time, the high-Purity, having denied the worth of the Matrix, continually seek to make use of it.
Characters with high Purity are called Operators. Tank is obviously an operator. The Oracle is maybe not quite in this category.
The game has five skills, each of which work with all of the three core stats:
Panoply - The ability to use the tools of the outside against the Matrix.
Panoply through Illusion produces machines and artifices that transcend the barriers of the Matrix (e.g. the Red Pill, phones used as escape routes, surely creative players can think of others).
Panoply through Virtue is the use of weapons and traps - things designed to wound and kill. Guns (lots of guns) are wielded through this channel, although it is Panoply/Purity that creates them.
Panoply through Purity is the manipulation of the structure of the Matrix itself. This skill is what you use to bring necessary tools along when infiltrating the Matrix.
Majesty - This skill is your ability to channel the truth of the outside to persuade those in the Matrix.
Majesty through Illusion is unearthly charm.
Majesty through Virtue is presence, power, and awe.
Majesty through Purity is the raw holiness of a greater plan. The sort of thing that would make even the Architect hesitate to oppose you.
Radiance - This skill is your ability to channel the truth of the outside against the fabric of the Matrix.
Radiance through Illusion is the art of twisting the Matrix in the image of your will. A minor example is bending a spoon, using the truth that there is no spoon.
Radiance through Virtue is the raw manifestation of things that are not of the Matrix. An extreme example is when Neo jumps into and destroys Agents of the Machines through pure will at the end of The Matrix.
Radiance through Purity is restructuring the Matrix itself. Turning your opponent's escape route into a brick wall is one example (though in The Matrix canon, one that's used by the antagonists, not the protagonists). This is less constrained than some of the other uses of Radiance, but it's far less subtle; those in the know are very likely to realize what you are doing.
Primacy - This skill is the superiority inherent to those who can look at a screen of code and see only a woman in a red dress, and care not for the laws of the Matrix.
Primacy through Illusion is perfect control over your physical form. You may reshape your flesh to whatever image you desire, and bound up walls and dodge bullets with inhuman grace.
Primacy through Virtue is legendary strength and power. The lie crumbles before the strength of your will; you may achieve feats of strength that the physics of Matrix deem impossible, such as jumping between buildings across a wide street, or stopping a car by catching its bumper with your hand.
Primacy through Purity is the impossibly talented intellect that gives the Operators their name. When your allies are called upon to fight, they already know kung fu. And if there is a helicopter in front of them, they will shortly know how to pilot it. (You could also use this skill to benefit yourself, but as you might expect, Operators will often pull the strings from outside of the Matrix rather than infiltrating the Matrix themselves.)
Inquisition - This skill is your ability to use your understanding of the great lie of the Matrix to twist others into telling the truth.
Inquisition through Illusion is skill in the psychology of those enslaved by the Matrix (or those bound to maintain it). You may observe those bound by the Matrix, and tell which of their answers are lies - and, just as importantly, figure out what questions you should really be asking.
Inquisition through Virtue is interrogation through terror. You focus your majesty and power - either through your raw presence or through a demonstration of your might - and break your victim's resolve. If anything is left of them afterwards, it tends to be something you are interested in acquiring.
Inquisition through Purity cares not for the body or the mind; it reaches straight through the Matrix, prying secrets directly out of the code. The more merciful of the Pure Inquisitors have the decency to shield this prying within a normal conversation, wherein the core of an individual is led (through the superior philosophy of Zion) to understand the kinship between their own lies and the lie of the Matrix. The more brutal simply reach inside and tear the truth out - subverting the code and violating the victim, in a way that few things within or outside the world can match.
I wanted to try to flesh out a bit how that would work. Note that the text below copies much of the text of the posts about Beyond the Wall wholesale, with minor modifications, in order to show that it's just that system, applied to a somewhat different setting. All I'm adding are minor tweaks to fit the setting, a bit of flavor, and some examples. All credit to Elaine "OJ" Wang who created Beyond the Wall, Jenna Moran, who created Nobilis, and the Wachowskis and everyone else who created The Matrix. (Basically, I think this is fair use, but hopefully everyone whose creative work I'm creating this derivative work based on will either think that this is awesome or at least not worth objecting to.) Somewhat obviously, I'm both twisting the system a bit to fit this setting and twisting the setting a bit to enhance the congruence. This probably only works for those a bit familiar with The Matrix (probably a lot of you) and Nobilis (probably far fewer), but I think it ends up being pretty amusing/compelling.
(For those not familiar with Nobilis, the necessary context is this: Nobillis has antagonists called the Excrucians, who believe reality is a lie and seek to destroy it. Beyond the Wall has those characters as protagonists instead. For those not familiar with The Matrix, the necessary context is that the protagonists are similarly trying to destroy what most of humanity would consider to be reality.)
The game has three core stats:
Illusion - The fact that the Matrix is a lie is acutely conscious to all who are born outside of it (and also intrudes on the consciousness of many who might leave it). But the Matrix is not a single lie; it is a web of lies with its own internal logic. Illusion is knowledge of this internal logic, and ability to manipulate and subvert it. Mastery of Illusion is, however, a double-edged sword: the more time you spend speaking the language of the Matrix, the more seductive and logical that lie becomes. After all, there is something of worth there. You may end up tempted to find a way to just forget all about the lie and, in defeat, return to the Matrix, where steak is juicy and delicious.
Characters with high Illusion are Captains. Morpheus is in this category. So is Cypher. The Merovingian would be in this group if he were more inclined to try to destroy the Matrix.
(In The Matrix canon, there don't seem to be too many AIs that have taken on the goal of destroying the Matrix. But there's no reason why there couldn't be such a character if you're making up something in that setting, so go nuts.)
Virtue - Virtue is the stat that measures your strength of purpose. This is not the purpose of "destroying the Matrix". This is something else. Perhaps you have come because you wish to better yourself. Perhaps you have come because you desperately want a challenge. And perhaps you have come because there is something of worth there. The more of this stat you have, the better you are at channeling raw power and defending against the challenges of the Matrix; but you yourself also become less subtle in your methods. It is the nature of the low-Virtue to dodge bullets, because they are so fragile. Those high in Virtue no longer need to.
Characters with high Virtue are called Chosen Ones. Neo is obviously in this category. Agent Smith is as well.
Purity - Purity is your connection to the world outside the Matrix. There is no room to flee, and you suspect if you do not push this fight to victory, the Machines will bring everything under their full control. All in the Matrix are always potential enemies at the very least. And yet - and yet - there is something of worth there. All who resist the Machines find themselves confronting this truth sooner or later. The high-Purity deny this consciously: they argue that they are sustained by the outside world alone, and that the Matrix has nothing of value. And yet, at the same time, the high-Purity, having denied the worth of the Matrix, continually seek to make use of it.
Characters with high Purity are called Operators. Tank is obviously an operator. The Oracle is maybe not quite in this category.
The game has five skills, each of which work with all of the three core stats:
Panoply - The ability to use the tools of the outside against the Matrix.
Panoply through Illusion produces machines and artifices that transcend the barriers of the Matrix (e.g. the Red Pill, phones used as escape routes, surely creative players can think of others).
Panoply through Virtue is the use of weapons and traps - things designed to wound and kill. Guns (lots of guns) are wielded through this channel, although it is Panoply/Purity that creates them.
Panoply through Purity is the manipulation of the structure of the Matrix itself. This skill is what you use to bring necessary tools along when infiltrating the Matrix.
Majesty - This skill is your ability to channel the truth of the outside to persuade those in the Matrix.
Majesty through Illusion is unearthly charm.
Majesty through Virtue is presence, power, and awe.
Majesty through Purity is the raw holiness of a greater plan. The sort of thing that would make even the Architect hesitate to oppose you.
Radiance - This skill is your ability to channel the truth of the outside against the fabric of the Matrix.
Radiance through Illusion is the art of twisting the Matrix in the image of your will. A minor example is bending a spoon, using the truth that there is no spoon.
Radiance through Virtue is the raw manifestation of things that are not of the Matrix. An extreme example is when Neo jumps into and destroys Agents of the Machines through pure will at the end of The Matrix.
Radiance through Purity is restructuring the Matrix itself. Turning your opponent's escape route into a brick wall is one example (though in The Matrix canon, one that's used by the antagonists, not the protagonists). This is less constrained than some of the other uses of Radiance, but it's far less subtle; those in the know are very likely to realize what you are doing.
Primacy - This skill is the superiority inherent to those who can look at a screen of code and see only a woman in a red dress, and care not for the laws of the Matrix.
Primacy through Illusion is perfect control over your physical form. You may reshape your flesh to whatever image you desire, and bound up walls and dodge bullets with inhuman grace.
Primacy through Virtue is legendary strength and power. The lie crumbles before the strength of your will; you may achieve feats of strength that the physics of Matrix deem impossible, such as jumping between buildings across a wide street, or stopping a car by catching its bumper with your hand.
Primacy through Purity is the impossibly talented intellect that gives the Operators their name. When your allies are called upon to fight, they already know kung fu. And if there is a helicopter in front of them, they will shortly know how to pilot it. (You could also use this skill to benefit yourself, but as you might expect, Operators will often pull the strings from outside of the Matrix rather than infiltrating the Matrix themselves.)
Inquisition - This skill is your ability to use your understanding of the great lie of the Matrix to twist others into telling the truth.
Inquisition through Illusion is skill in the psychology of those enslaved by the Matrix (or those bound to maintain it). You may observe those bound by the Matrix, and tell which of their answers are lies - and, just as importantly, figure out what questions you should really be asking.
Inquisition through Virtue is interrogation through terror. You focus your majesty and power - either through your raw presence or through a demonstration of your might - and break your victim's resolve. If anything is left of them afterwards, it tends to be something you are interested in acquiring.
Inquisition through Purity cares not for the body or the mind; it reaches straight through the Matrix, prying secrets directly out of the code. The more merciful of the Pure Inquisitors have the decency to shield this prying within a normal conversation, wherein the core of an individual is led (through the superior philosophy of Zion) to understand the kinship between their own lies and the lie of the Matrix. The more brutal simply reach inside and tear the truth out - subverting the code and violating the victim, in a way that few things within or outside the world can match.