Questions about ICE, please!

[GreenFlame 0]

Hi everybody, new player here

I've played around 15 games with the core set, but today I found myself with these questions:

1- Can you do a Run against a server without ICE when you have no Icebreakers?

2- Can you do a Run against a server with ICE without Icebreakers? (to see what is the ICE or to force the Corp to use it)

3- The values of strenght in both ICE and ICEBREAKERS are only for purposes of the Icebreaker having the chance to break the subroutine? Or an Icebreaker must have equal or superior strenght to an ICE to go THROUGH it?

I mean, for example, the Runner runs against HQ, protected with the ICE that has strenght 4 and Trace 3 as subroutine (Hunter?). The Runner has an Icebreaker of strenght 2, so he doesn't have the strenght to interact with the ICE, so the subroutine is activated. Then, there are no more subroutines, but the strenght of the Icebreaker is lower than the ICE's. Does he still pass this ICE ?

Thank you very much in advance!

[Saturnine 47]

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. The strength of an icebreaker is only relevant if you wish to use its abilities to interact with the currently encountered ice (which is most cases will be to break its subroutines). If you do not break the subroutines on the encountered piece of ice, you suffer the subroutines' effects. If no subroutine ended the run, you pass the ice and then have the option to jack out, encounter the next ice (if there still is ice) or access the cards in the server (if there is no more ice).

[GreenFlame 0]

Thank you very much for your answer and the speed of it, Saturnine

[plasticvicar666 0]

I'm still new to the game and have only played a few games with a friend. I'm still trying to get the hang of ICE and Icebreakers.

If the Runner makes a run against a server and the Corp rezzes ICE (let's say Sentry type) and the Runner doesn't have an Icebreaker that can break that particular type of ICE; can the Runner break any of the subroutines on the ICE or do they all trigger?

[Saturnine 47]

I'm not following your train of thought. If the runner doesn't have an appropriate icebreaker, how is he or she supposed to break any subroutines?

[plasticvicar666 0]

I'm not following your train of thought. If the runner doesn't have an appropriate icebreaker, how is he or she supposed to break any subroutines?

Sorry, that was my question. If you don't have the specific Icebreaker, do you automatically trigger all subroutines without the opportunity to bypass any of them?

[Saturnine 47]

Rules, page 16:

 

"If the Runner encounters a piece of rezzed ice and does not or cannot break its subroutines, the unbroken subroutines trigger and resolve one by one."

[etherial 62]

Breaking subroutines is optional. Sometimes it's preferable or necessary to just let it happen. They don't need ICE for you to run, you don't need an ICEbreaker for you to run.

Edited July 11, 2013 by etherial