Tracing

There's another reason to pick your LDLs carefully. Besides having a Security Level, each LDL also has a Trace Value. The trace value represents the difficulty of tracking your cybersignal through that particular LDL. Each LDL you pass through has it's own Trace Value; the total value of all LDLs passed through in a Net run represents the Difficulty of tracing your signal back to it's source. By picking the right LDLs, or by going through a lot of them, you can make it nearly impossible to trace your point of origin.

This is important, particularly if you are being attacked by a program with some type of tracing function built into it. For example, if a Hellhound fails to nail you before you jack out, it must attempt to trace your signal in order to execute it's backup program (find out where the Netrunner entered the Net and wait till he reenters - then kill him).

To trace you, the program must roll a 1D10 + Strength value equal to or greater than the total of all the Trace Values you have passed through on your trip. If the program fails this roll, it will not be able to get a trace on your signal.