Privacy is an illusion in the New World, but it's an illusion that many people find comforting and useful. If a corporation really wanted to know something, then it could certainly find out. Virtual private networks are therefore less about being truly anonymous than they are about making the process so time-consuming and costly that it's only worth it for truly serious matters. Modern VPNs rely on the phase-shifting properties of surgetech to make their connections difficult to trace, a side-effect of the matter state being quantum-indeterminate. Streamers who take a VPN corp as their sponsor can get all manner of interesting surgetech at their disposal.
Bound Surge
You are always considered to be bound to the phased state of matter. At the end of each long rest, choose one of the other four surges - aqueous, gaseous, plasmic, or solid. You gain the expanded techs and other benefits associated with that surge until the next time you take a long rest.
Expanded Tech List
At 1st level, the VPN Corp lets you choose from an expanded list of techs when you learn a streamer tech.
Expanded Techs
Tech
Level Phasic Aqueous Gaseous Plasmic Solid
1st Threat Detector Smoke Grenade Shockwave Flame Vent Target Disruptor
2nd Implanted Meme Phase Shift Sonic Blast Scorching Ray Hardlight Spikes
3rd Insta-Shop Coolant Storm Sonic Barricade Incendiary Grenade Land Mind
4th Neurosynaptic Scrambler Control Water Greater Cloaking Burning S/Shield Stone Reconstitute
5th Creation Nitrogen Blast Hardlight Second Skin Hellfire Strike Wall of Stone
Virtual Vessel
Also at 1st level, your sponsor gifts you a special peripheral that grants you a measure of privacy. The vessel is a Tiny object, and you can use it as a tech focus for your streamer techs. You decide what the object looks like.
While you are touching the vessel, you can use it in the following ways:
- Virtual Respite. As an action, you can vanish and enter your vessel as a digital entity, which remains in the space you left. The interior of the vessel is an extradimensional space in the shape of a 20-foot-radius cylinder, 20 feet high, and resembles your vessel. The interior is appointed with cushions and low tables, and is a comfortable temperature. While inside, you can hear the area around your vessel as if you were in its space. You can remain inside the vessel up to a number of hours equal to twice your proficiency bonus. You exit the vessel early if you use a bonus action to leave, if you die, or if the vessel is destroyed. When you exit the vessel, you appear in the unoccupied space closest to it. Any objects left in the vessel remain there until carried out, and if the vessel is destroyed, every object stored there harmlessly appears in the unoccupied spaces closest to the vessel's former space. Once you enter the vessel, you can't enter again until you finish a long rest.
- Surge Wrath. Once during each of your turns when you hit with an attack roll, you can deal extra damage to the target equal to your proficiency bonus. The type of this damage is determined by your patron: bludgeoning (solid), thunder (gaseous), fire (plasmic), or cold (aqueous).
The vessel's AC equals your tech save DC. Its hit points equal your streamer level plus your proficiency bonus, and it is immune to poison and software damage.
If the vessel is destroyed or you lose it, you can petition to receive a replacement from your patron. This petition takes an hour and can be performed during a short or long rest, and the previous vessel is destroyed if it still exists. The vessel vanishes in a surge of power when you die.
Surge Resistant
At 6th level, your sponsor's gifts make you resistant to harm from surges. You now have resistance to a damage type determined by your bound surge: bludgeoning (solid), thunder (gaseous), fire (plasmic), or cold (aqueous).
In addition, as a bonus action, you can give yourself a flying speed of 30 feet that lasts for 10 minutes, during which you can hover. You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Digital Sanctuary
At 10th level, when you enter your Virtual Vessel via the Virtual Respite feature, you can now choose up to five willing creatures that you can see within 30 feet of you, and the chosen creatures are drawn into the vessel with you as digital entities.
As a bonus action, you can eject any number of creatures from the vessel, and everyone is ejected if you leave or die or if the vessel is destroyed.
In addition, anyone (including you) who remains within the vessel for at least 10 minutes gains the benefit of finishing a short rest, and anyone can add your proficiency bonus to the number of hit points they regain if they spend any Hit Dice as part of a short rest there.
Direct Entreaty
At 14th level, you entreat your sponsor to grant you a minor favor. As an action, you can speak your desire to your Virtual Vessel, requesting the effect of one tech that is 6th level or lower and has a casting time of 1 action. The tech can be from any class's tech list, and you don't need to meet the requirements in that tech, including costly components: the tech simply takes effect as part of this action.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish 1d4 long rests.