Three-plane pools & Black ICE

Game: Orion Corridor — 2277 · Rules: GURPS 4e. Companion: Lattice Netrunning

Three-plane durability (locked)

Each track uses its own pool — specialists cannot be equally tanky everywhere.

Track	Pool	What damages it	Programs / magic
Meat (physical)	10 + HP	Guns, blades, fists, toxins, meat security	Mundane armor (DR)
Lattice (persona)	10 + FP	Attack, Blackout, ICE, data bombs	Armor = ablative DR (depletes before pool)
Astral (form)	10 + Will	Astral combat, spirit attacks, astral hazards	Spells, wards — astral DR/ablative

Lattice: Armor DR first (if running), then persona pool (10 + FP).
Persona at 0: Dumped from host; overflow may biofeedback to meat.
Astral at 0: Form collapses — mage returns to meat, often stunned or FP debt.
Meat at 0: Unconscious / dying per GURPS injury — independent unless biofeedback bridges.

Mode	Overflow
Cold sim	Excess → FP loss on meat (max = margin)
Hot sim (Khesret default)	Excess → meat pool (10 + HP) first; past that → real HP injury

Diver stacks FP → fat Lattice persona.
Mage stacks Will → durable astral form; thin Lattice persona unless FP bought.
Muscle stacks HP → fat meat pool; jacked persona is a liability.

Programs are not extra pool — Armor is ablative DR only.

Setting	Effect
Cinematic	Lattice persona damage only; biofeedback = FP on meat
Standard (Khesret)	Persona pool → meat pool → injury
Grim	Hot sim skips meat pool; margin = HP injury directly

Always allow Biofeedback Filter contest first (active defense).

Black ICE = killer ICE running Black Hammer. Exists to flatline — vault cores, not lobby kiosks.

Normal ICE (Attack)	Black ICE (Black Hammer)
Damages persona pool (10 + FP)	Ignores persona pool
Armor absorbs hits	Armor does not help (neural channel)
Overwatch Filter optional	Filter is the only Lattice defense
Dump at 0 persona	Filter fail → damage straight to meat

Blackout (between): Filter contest; on fail → FP on meat, not HP.

Trigger: Vault ICE, failed Stealth, or admin spawns Black ICE on trace.
ICE rolls Black Hammer (skill 15–18 on serious hosts; margin = damage).
Active defense: Diver or overwatch runs Biofeedback Filter — Quick Contest vs Black Hammer.

Margin 5+: Fright Check (+1 per margin beyond 5); check Major Wound if threshold crossed.

Filter fail → margin × 2 FP on meat (no HP) unless host is military-grade (GM flag: cold sim treated as hot for this ICE only).

While Black ICE hammers the diver:

Hold the room — unplug jack = Ready action; ends dive, may lose partial steal.
Kill the spider — destroy meat-space server running ICE.
Overwatch — Filter each pulse; Attack ICE if traced.
No astral save — unless warded jack / lodge talisman (bought, not free).

Asset	Black Hammer skill	When you see it
Guard Black	14–15	Mid-tier vault
Vault Black	16–17	Core files, extradition evidence
Apex Black	18–20	Concord registry, Dermidine stacks

One Black ICE per lethal host. Two Vault Blacks = run plan failure, not rules surprise.

Diver: FP 12 → persona 22, HP 11 → meat pool 21. Hot sim. Vault Black skill 17. Overwatch Filter fails by 4.

GURPS injury math enters when meat pool breaks.