How do you 'clean' a vehicle?, RFID chips are a massive pain in the carjacker's ass. Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[ShadowDragon8685]

Okay, so, my group of 'runners wound up capturing a Stuffer Shack big rig. Or rather, what happened was that they counter-captured it in a crime of opportunity, having found another hacker had already captured it and was driving it to an unknown location in the Barrens.

I figured they'd just turn it right around and drive it back to its owners to score some easy, fast "nuyen" - 10% of the value of the hauler, the trailer and the load seemed about right to me, you know, salvage and all. They considered that, then ultimately decided that because none of them had a Stuffer Shack contact, they couldn't figure out how to make the approach without seeming like they were the ones who stole it in the first place and hence, were trying to extort money from them.

None of them wanted to seem like they were trying to extort money from a company owned by those friendly guys down south who rip people's beating hearts out of their chests on a regular basis to fuel their harvests, so instead they decided to just gank the whole damn thing.

So, now they have an AM Burro (same stats as the big rig from Arsenal,) with a trailer and loaded down with all sorts of Stuffer Shack goods, from sundries to the caf-pow machines.

They also aren't going to just go out right away and find a fence for it. They've decided to process it, since they have a huge junkyard in the barrens where they can easily hide it from aerial surveillance and ECM will let them squelch any squealers on the thing. So they're going to hand out the food to the local gangs and squatters, keep the household sundries and stuff to themselves play with the machines, and nuke absolutely every single RFID chip on the mother.


I reckon this is going to be a long, drawn-out process involving at least partial dismantling of the truck. Probably a long extended test.

I just haven't found any rules for it. Are there any printed as-yet on how long and what kind of skills are necessary to 'clean' a stolen vehicle?

[ShadowDragon8685]

Hrm... Well, this calls for some deliberate action.

Also, one of the players is a serious wizzer, and he was wondering if any spirits could help.. I'm wondering that myself.

Also, might it be worth it to develop a Demolish (RFID Chip) spell?

Anyway, as I'm thinking now, the steps to getting this thing sorted are:

1: Acquire the master factory specs that include the locations of all the RFID chips. That's probably not going to be easy, and would require the AI to start searching Shadowlands and shit, and they'll have to pay for them. What would be a fair price for these, 5%, 10% of the vehicle's base cost, up or down depending on negotiation, I guess? Extended Computer + Browse test with a threshold of something like 20 and an interval of an hour or something?

2: Manually access the RFID chips, since they're sure as hell going to be read-only wirelessly, and either manually replace them with ones you bought, or manually reprogram them with a consistent serial number and shit? That'd be what, an extended Logic + Automotive Mechanic test, probably with an interval of eight hours and a threshold of the vehicle's body, since you're literally disassembling the entire fucking big rig. It's a good thing they have a big garage. An RFID chip, even Security or Stealth, probably wouldn't stand any chance against an AI with hardware access, so I'll call that one a wash.

3: Clean out the computers, all of the computers. The simple way to do this would simply be to junk all of them and replace them with ground-up new systems, or at the very least reformat all the nodes and feed them programming you gave them. Or you could go through them line-by-line, decompiling all of the software to find the computerized gotchas. Basically, three ways to do this:

a: Easy but godawful expensive: buy whole-new systems off the shelf or build the rig's computers piecemeal as either a commlink or a nexus and buy the appropriate programs to go on it, plus any extras you may want, like some nice Black IC.
b: Cheaper but less versatile: Format all the drives, buy new programming. You save on the device costs, but you're limited to the rig's own basic System ratings for everything, which seems to be Rating 2. It'll get you back on the road, but the AI had better move from the Citymaster to the big rig and be ready to actively counter-hack anything that comes your way.
c: The long approach. Build the hardware piecemeal and then have the AI program it by hand. You'll save on program costs, but it will take a long time before you're ready to roll out in this bad boy.


4: Make it so Stuffer Shack wouldn't recognize the rig if you drove it right up to them. New paint scheme, maybe some cosmetic detailing on the outside to make it look like a different model year, throw in a Spoof Chip and the adaptive license plates.

It might well be simpler in the long run and more profitable in the short run to just fence the damn thing for 30% of the purchase price. 33K is nothing to sneeze at, especially when there's lifestyle costs to keep up...

That said, I have some very innovative players. I'm interested in what they'll do with a semi, so... Should be fun.

[JanessaVR]

Also, might it be worth it to develop a Demolish (RFID Chip) spell?

Yes, that.

I utterly despise RFID tags and thus took decisive action against the annoying little buggers some time ago.

Step 1 – I had a previous mage character (I only play mages – why on earth would anyone play anything else? – but I digress) go to the trouble of creating the Detect [RFID Tags] and Demolish [RFID Tags] spells.

Step 2 – I had the team’s technomancer publish these spells all over the matrix. Even if the public copies end up censored, the shadows will still have them readily available. Information Wants To Be Free in action. This way, even new characters can justify having access to these spells from character creation, on the grounds that they are both publicly known and freely available.

Step 3 – I noted on my Standard Security Precautions sheet that my character, along with a whole page of other daily / situational / continuous security precautions uses these spells at least twice per day (morning and night) on herself, her house, and everything she owns, as well on any food purchased before eating it. Yes, I *am* that paranoid – you should see the rest of my standard security precautions; I think every PC should live their lives according to the Moscow Rules, and then some.

Step 4 – Kick back and enjoy your new RFID-free life. Problem solved.

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