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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Finding a Node
Posted by: Dv84good Jun 19 2006, 09:10 PM
OK so there was a commlink we need to find and to was in an upstairs room in a crowded bar. So I am wonder what I would need to do to find it if it was active and also if it was in hidden mode?
Posted by: Dr. Dodge Jun 19 2006, 09:18 PM
as per the BBB p.225:
"Locating a particular active or passive wireless node within range (or all of them, for that matter) takes only a Free Action, no test required."
and
"Finding a wireless node in hidden mode (see p. 211), however, is more challenging. Even if you know what you’re looking for, you must still succeed in an Electronic Warfare + Scan (4) Test. If you’re just scanning for hidden nodes in general, or trying to pick the hidden nodes out from the non-hidden one, make the same Extended Test noted above but with a much higher threshold: 15+."
Posted by: Dv84good Jun 19 2006, 09:36 PM
Basically I am not sure when which rule to use. Since it was upstair in an uncrowded area by itself would be easy and I could look for a particular node or do I need to do the extended test and pick it out from hidden and nonhidden.
Posted by: James McMurray Jun 19 2006, 09:38 PM
If it's active and you know which node you're looking for you just grab it with a free action. If it's hidden you have to do the EW + Scan test.
Posted by: BobAlmighty Jun 19 2006, 10:20 PM
What if, for example you don't know what node you are looking for but you know it's within range. This happened in the last session I ran. The players were in a bar and they knew the person who they were looking for was there, but didn't have his commcode or anything. To look for him, the hacker started scanning nodes (The guy they were looking for did has his active). But since he didn't know exactly what he was looking for I ruled that it was something similar to finding a hidden node, just not as hard. So I had him roll Scan + Electronic Warfare extended test, but with a low thresh hold.
Posted by: Nim Jun 19 2006, 10:26 PM
| QUOTE (BobAlmighty) |
| What if, for example you don't know what node you are looking for but you know it's within range. This happened in the last session I ran. The players were in a bar and they knew the person who they were looking for was there, but didn't have his commcode or anything. To look for him, the hacker started scanning nodes (The guy they were looking for did has his active). But since he didn't know exactly what he was looking for I ruled that it was something similar to finding a hidden node, just not as hard. So I had him roll Scan + Electronic Warfare extended test, but with a low thresh hold. |
I'd probably have used Data Search instead of Electronic Warfare for that. The nodes he was searching were all active, so he wasn't trying to bypass / defeat anyone's security. It was just a needle-in-a-haystack problem of recognizing the right node when he saw it.
Posted by: Dr. Dodge Jun 19 2006, 10:30 PM
the way i interpret it, if someone has there commlink on active then they are broadcasting data such as their profile, SIN, etc. so it should be pretty easy to find (hence the free action)
afterall if they are in active mode, then they are interested in being found.
Posted by: BobAlmighty Jun 19 2006, 10:38 PM
That's a good point. I guess I didn't consider all the information an active node is broadcasting. To me (as someone who actually works in computer programming and security) I find the thought of broadcasting anything like that silly 
but then again, I'm not the average Joe. Also, I agree data search would have been a better choice.
Posted by: Nim Jun 19 2006, 10:40 PM
| QUOTE (Dr. Dodge @ Jun 19 2006, 05:30 PM) |
| the way i interpret it, if someone has there commlink on active then they are broadcasting data such as their profile, SIN, etc. so it should be pretty easy to find (hence the free action) afterall if they are in active mode, then they are interested in being found. |
Right. An actual roll (again, I think I'd use Data Search) would only come up if you were in a very crowded location, you didn't have any uniquely-identifying data about the person you were looking for, AND it was important to know how long it took to find them. You know, something like 'the contact I'm meeting is a bearded man with black hair and sort of a funny-shaped nose, and he's somewhere in the stands at this playoff game'. The data isn't hidden, but finding the RIGHT node could still take a minute.
Posted by: Dr. Dodge Jun 19 2006, 11:24 PM
ok here we go:
p.220 BBB
"In some cases, Data Search actions may be handled using other programs. If you wanted to pick out a particular person’s PAN in a crowded club, for example, you’d roll Data Search + Scan program."
Posted by: Dv84good Jun 19 2006, 11:59 PM
So to clarify,
active comm alone= free action
active comm in crowd= data search
hidden comm in crowd= EW
Any thing else?
Posted by: hobgoblin Jun 20 2006, 12:30 AM
| QUOTE (BobAlmighty @ Jun 20 2006, 12:38 AM) |
| That's a good point. I guess I didn't consider all the information an active node is broadcasting. To me (as someone who actually works in computer programming and security) I find the thought of broadcasting anything like that silly but then again, I'm not the average Joe. Also, I agree data search would have been a better choice. |
think of it this way, each comlink owner have its own myspace profile that the comlink broadcasts to anyone interested...
people put the silliest things on myspace...
SR have allways been hard on that privacy as a factor of money kind thing. the more money you have the more "privacy" you can afford. for the wageslave, privacy is something they dont know what is any more.
think minority reports and how every billboard poster was able to speak directly to the person, by name and all.
basicly SR is a world where the EFF dont exist, where ease of use trumphs privacy and security.
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