On Jack's request, Mel will do an AR Matrix Perception for any/all silent devices on Bai's person.

Ok:
Comp + Int + Codeslinger
13d6: 50 [13d6=3, 6, 2, 5, 2, 6, 6, 3, 5, 6, 1, 3, 2] = 6 hits, reduced to 5 by limit

Icon
11d6: 37 [11d6=2, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 6, 4, 5, 6, 1]= 3 hits

It takes 2.5 to 4 hours on average to empty half of the stomach so that gives us about a 50/50 that inducing vomitting will get rid of the tracking device.

Of course, Mel could try and brick it.

It has to be on wirelessly, otherwise the tracking feature would be of no use.

Of course, I'm assuming he swallowed a tracking device and not something else. It would have to have been pretty small for him to eat it without noticing.

Can Mel tell if it's in his stomach?

No - even though you know that it is on him somewhere because of how you narrowed your search area, you don't know where the icon is in the real world - it could be in his pocket, or in his stomach, or sewn into an article of clothing.

You could Mark the item twice and then do a Trace Icon, but that just gives you its real world location - which would be on/in him somewhere, and you would then have to frisk him to find it physically.

I think from a strictly RAW viewpoint, you can't even do what you did, i.e. I believe you have to search for all hidden icons within 100 meters, but it seems silly that you can't narrow your focus, so I allowed you to do so.

As was alluded in IC, aura reading on Bai, and obviously taking a long look for any sign of an active spell/spirits/whatever.

An asssensing of Bai shows he is a mundane, and has several implants, all appear to be delta-grade. All are headware.

His mood seems a mix of nervous, scared, and excited.

Ok - Jack pats Bai down:

Int + Perception + Visual Enhancment 2, normally -6 for the size of the object, but in this case it is halved since you are patting him down.

So 6 dice:
6d6: 25 [6d6=1, 4, 6, 6, 2, 6] = 3 hits

You pat him down very well, but are unable to find the item. (Meaning either someone hid it VERY well on him, or he swallowed it.)

Do you want me to IC post the above? I had left off my IC post with a question to Huiquing about whether I had permission to check Bai for bugs.

I was leaving that up to you - sorry, I should have made that clearer, my bad.

Yes, Huiquing says yes, as does Bai, allowing you to pat him down.

We need a Faraday cage!

More seriously, how do you lose a signal in 2075? Are there zones without wireless where they'd lose the signal (like a place with no infrastructure ala Warrens)? How about a place with tons of noise? Can we insulate a target to prevent anything from getting out, using EM shielding?

I have a jammer [4] that can generate 4 points of noise, Mel can also try and generate noise

Here is what it says in the book: (page 421)

"Because nearly every piece of gear and ’ware is wireless capable, it means nearly every piece of gear and cyberware benefits dramatically from being “meshed” into your wireless personal area network and the Matrix as a whole.
When an item has additional functionality when connected to the Matrix, it’s described under the “Wireless” entry in the item’s description. This functionality only applies when the device has access to the Matrix, which is most of the time unless your gamemaster says otherwise, like if you’ve entered a wireless static zone. If there is a Noise Rating from a situation that is greater than the item’s Device Rating, not including distance, the item temporarily loses its wireless functionality (see Noise, p. 230). These benefits only apply when the item’s wireless mode is on. Your Ares Alpha can’t auto-adjust for the wind direction and speed if it can’t download local upto-the-second weather conditions, and your Eurocar Westwind 3000 doesn’t know the status of the next three traffic lights if it’s not connected to GridGuide. A wireless device is always vulnerable to subversion and control by a hacker within wireless handshake range.
You can defend your gear with a good commlink and a personal area network (see PANs and WANs, p. 233). Even better, defending against threats from the Matrix is part of your team hacker’s job. If she’s not available, you
might occasionally want to turn wireless off."

So, what seems to make the most sense is that if the Noise rating of the area is greater than the Device Rating of the icon, it loses its wireless functionality - i.e. it is no longer considered to be connected to the Matrix, and can't actually transmit a signal, etc.

I have, however, seen it clarified on the official forums that the above paragraph simply means that it loses any "wireless bonuses" that it might get, and to actually block the signal altogether, you need a Faraday cage.

However, the one thing to keep in mind if you rule it such that if the Noise is greater than DR, then it means that the device is blocked from the matrix, is to look at the table on page 231.

Heavy Rain or Snow has a Noise Rating of 3. The device rating of drones (which includes most cars, trucks, etc), standard personal devices, and cyberware is 2. This means that if it is raining heavily out, your car can't connect to the Matrix, unless you have a Datajack running wirelessly.

The Commercial Area of a Sprawl has a Noise Rating of 5. That means even if you play with a house rule allowing your commlink to run non-hacking programs such as Signal Scrub, most devices will not work, and I can't imagine everyone in the area being cut off from the Matrix on daily basis, it seems counter-intuitive.

So I am left with the dilemma of wanting Noise to be able to cut someone off from the Matrix, without the current Noise table on page 231 meaning that inside a city no one can use the Matrix.

Personally, my thought is this: not all Noise is equal. Noise from something specifically designed to jam signals, so Jammers, Faraday Cages, Wireless Negation Paint/Wallpaper, etc, if the Noise Rating is greater than the DR of the item, the item loses access to the Matrix (as well as the wireless bonuses obviously).

Noise from Static and Spam Zones, or from the Public Grid, if the Noise is greater than the DR, then the item loses all wireless bonuses. If it is greater than the DR+1, then you lose access to the Matrix.

For example, you've put a Sensor Tag on your target (DR 2), and he is in his apartment in the city, Noise Rating of 1. Not only is the Sensor Tag connected to the Matrix, so that you can access it and download the recordings to your commlink or deck, but you can also use its wireless bonus to monitor the feed in real time. The target steps out of his house and gets in his car, going on a road trip. He drives out of the city into a rural area, bringing the Noise Rating up to a 3. The interruption from the Static Zone interferes with it enough so that you can no longer monitor the feed in real time (the wireless bonus has been lost), but you can still retrieve the data by download if necessary.

An unexpected bit of weather hits the target, a squall blowing in from the coast, bringing the Noise Rating to 4. The connection to the Matrix is too tenuous for the tag, and while it continues to record, so long as the subject remains within the storm, you cannot access it via the Matrix at all.

Or, someone who is down on their luck and can only afford access to the Public Grid, and who lives in the Warrens has a problem. Without getting a Datajack, or running Signal Scrub, they can't even get their commlink to work (DR 2) - and the 2 points for the Public Grid along with the 2 points for the Warrens means that the commlink simply won't connect to the Matrix, the signal is too terrible.

Does that sound reasonable?

Sounds reasonable to me.

For the purposes of our game, very much! I don't think we could come up with anything better without departing too much from the rules.

I just wish the rules were different, or at least the noise table or something... High traffic might give some noise, but not significantly. THe high commercial area isn't actually noisy in terms of static and the like, actually you should be getting an even better line than anywhere else. You get tons of spam, penalties using AR and probably VR too, stuff like that, but not noise, I don't think. These areas have an abundance of users, but an even bigger abundance of powerful servers, normally. It's the dead zones in the Barrens/Warrens that should have terrible connectivity, even though there are next no one connected to the matrix. Also, rain/snow should have very minimal effects on signal strength imo. It's not a TV antenna we're dealing with here, it's the super advanced futuristic matrix.

Mel will go back into VR (hot) and go after that device.

Any change of stats/programs? Running Silent? Are you going to Mark it first or simply Data Spike it?

Silent.

ASDF = 6,5,3,5

Virtual Machine
Signal Scrub
Stealth
Exploit

Mark it once...let me see what its DR is, then decide if I want to Spike it or Mark it again.

Okey dokey - assuming you jump on the local grid just to avoid the noise Penalty:

Putting a Mark on the local Grid
12d6: 45 [12d6=2, 2, 5, 3, 4, 5, 1, 3, 6, 6, 5, 3]= 5 hits

Local Grid Resists
4d6: 8 [4d6=2, 2, 1, 3]= no hits, no problem

So you jump on that grid:

Putting a Mark on the device:
Hacking+Logic, your Signal Scrub and Datajack cancel Noise penalty.
12d6: 41 [12d6=4, 5, 2, 2, 4, 5, 4, 4, 2, 4, 1, 4] = 2 hits

The device resists
Int+Firewall (Remember that since you are not directly jacked into it, it does not use DR*2)
8d6: 32 [8d6=2, 4, 3, 5, 3, 6, 5, 4]=3 hits

Bad roll - sorry (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

So the owner of the device now has a Mark on you.

Are you jacking out or are you initiating Matrix Combat (which will require Initiative tests)?

Grr. Jack out, then back in and try again.

Ok, so:

Hacking onto the local Grid: (you should have had 1 less die last time, since you are on the Public Grid to start, but it didn't matter)
11d6: 35 [11d6=6, 3, 2, 3, 5, 6, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1] = 3 hits

Grid Resists
4d6: 19 [4d6=6, 4, 6, 3] = 2 hits, so you are successful.

Hopping over to the local Grid, you again try to put a Mark on the icon
12d6: 46 [12d6=4, 2, 4, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 5] = 4 hits

It resists
8d6: 27 [8d6=3, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2, 4, 4] = 1 hit

You are successful in putting a Mark on the target.

Just as an aside, the owner of the device is alerted that you attempted to put a Mark on it.

Much better.

Matrix Perception...I want to find out what the last action(s) this device took. Whether or not I get the info, Spike it.

What kind of device is it? Or, I guess, what kind of device does it appear to be in case its protected by a Wrapper program?

Mel's Perception:
13d6: 44 [13d6=1, 5, 2, 3, 5, 5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 1, 3] = 5 hits

Icon Resists
8d6: 29 [8d6=4, 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 5] = 3 hits

So you get 2 questions:

1) Last matrix Action - Send Message
2) You have one more question to ask

You Data Spike it:
9d6: 31 [9d6=5, 6, 4, 1, 3, 1, 4, 3, 4] = 2 hits

It resists
8d6: 27 [8d6=4, 2, 5, 2, 3, 4, 2, 5]= 2 hits

So you don't damage it, but you don't take any feedback damage either.



It appears to be an RFID tag/Sensor Tag

What grid is it on?

Spike it again...