Meat for the Hacker, Still trying to absorb... Options

[Kanada Ten]

And who really wants to feel the full fizz of the Fizzypop Blackhammer? Can't you just see the little Fizzy Fuzz pulling a can from behind his furry back, shaking the fraggin' thing like mad and unloading some liquid whoopass down your throat? "Argh, it was *gruggle* just *fuggle* one *blurrrg* soda..."

Feels like a caffeine high and headache having a boxing match in your skull for the next week.

[edit] I imagine the most embarassing part of being a security hacker is the persona the corp makes you wear. "Sure, you got to wear a Eight Headed Medusa Succbus at D'Isis Horrorworks, but here at Rad Dog your expected to suit up as Happy Herb the Hotdog, at all times. Got it?"

[Kyoto Kid]

...this is getting better and better...

I like the disguised combat drone, and the Fizzy Black Hammer.

Actually in RL there is an energy drink made by Jones Soda called WhoopAss, I kid you not. My players tremble in fear if I bring more than one can to a game...(IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Feshy]

You know what would be even more devious? A whole rack of 20 or so cans that can't be accessed by the normal menu, and only show up as inventory if you hack in. What hacker is going to check the inventory against the ARO display? Especially if he's hitting a bunch of machines real fast?

Those extra 20 cans should all be minidrones, with a mix of micro-lasers, crude cutting impliments, and tasers. And they should keep pretending to be cans until discovered (unlikely) or the hacker falls asleep.

[Kyoto Kid]

...and some filled with cutter nanites. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

[Feshy]

...and some filled with cutter nanites. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

Nice.

How about those practical joke snake-in-a-jar cans?

Except with monowire?

[Kanada Ten]

Sweet zombie Jesus! Couldn't they just be exploding nanospy paint cans, like bank dye packs, or something? Embarrassing and effective, but not, you know, messy messy. It could just be some kid who wanted a soda really bad. It's not his fault Fizzypop has the same addiction rates as novacoke!

[Feshy]

Sweet zombie Jesus! Couldn't they just be exploding nanospy paint cans, like bank dye packs, or something? Embarrassing and effective, but not, you know, messy messy. It could just be some kid who wanted a soda really bad. It's not his fault Fizzypop has the same addiction rates as novacoke!

What can I say, I'd make a terrible corp peon.

"Sir, I've got some good news and some bad news."
"Bad news first please."
"The bad news is, we expect some lawsuits with our new promotional campaign for the breakfast cereal."
"You mean the 'free miniature monowhip in one of every five boxes' promotion? Kids love that stuff. What's the good news?"
"We've partnered with Docwagon, so we think we can make up the lawsuit expenses."

[ArkonC]

What can I say, I'd make a terrible corp peon.

"Sir, I've got some good news and some bad news."
"Bad news first please."
"The bad news is, we expect some lawsuits with our new promotional campaign for the breakfast cereal."
"You mean the 'free miniature monowhip in one of every five boxes' promotion? Kids love that stuff. What's the good news?"
"We've partnered with Docwagon, so we think we can make up the lawsuit expenses."

If I ever get my own megacorp, you're hired...

[Feshy]

I had another thought on this subject.

All the defensive / offensive additions to these fizzypop machines are expensive. It would be good if we saw some ROI other than loss prevention. I think the solution is dual-purpose equipment.

For instance, a pyrotechnic display / flame thrower.

Kids love fire, hackers hate being burned alive. It's a win/win!

[Kanada Ten]

Well, if we want to go crazy, then figure that Fizzypop doesn't own the machines; they sell the soda to distributors and vendors to "concentrate on making quality thirty quenching products" (and limit liability, maximize liquadatability). The vendors give them access to their specific dispensing machine, to customize marketing, but AVM manages product distribution (having paid for the soda at wholesale).

AVM manages lots of vending machines and kiosks in any given location, and stacks them in circles, like food courts. The food court floor is made of compacted, colorful sand, and in addition to hiding an earth spirit, it can convert into a sandtrap/sinkhole (though only deep enough to drown a baby). Because the drone guards ten or more machines, it has a pretty impressive rating, along with group bonuses from the attached agents. Each of the variously themed courts also contains harmless Swarm IV drones in appropriately styled insects, usually butterflies, which act as sensor augmentations for the - say in the AVM Jungle Brunch court: MadMax Monkey biodrone, which (while normally adorable and friendly to the kids) can go apedrek insane when he detects theft.

[Slymoon]

Of course Little Tommy the 2 yr old who is actively digging in the machine gets slaughtered by the drones or shock or spirit when the hacker who is 20m away finishes his hack.

Tommy doesn't know any better just that yummy drinks come from there. Who know Little Tommy may be some high muckety mucks son and out with the nanny.

So then, who gets it and how, and is it safe enough to not cause major lawsuits.

[BRodda]

Of course Little Tommy the 2 yr old who is actively digging in the machine gets slaughtered by the drones or shock or spirit when the hacker who is 20m away finishes his hack.

Tommy doesn't know any better just that yummy drinks come from there. Who know Little Tommy may be some high muckety mucks son and out with the nanny.

So then, who gets it and how, and is it safe enough to not cause major lawsuits.

I made some stats for a vending machine that adress those issues in a sperate post.

Vending machine stats

Having an agent and max damage of 5S as well as the ability to tell Tommy to back away from the machine without a comlink helps a lot. I'm trying to work on a drone that restocks the vending machines as well. Might just write up a whole stinking concessions dispencing company with stats and specilized drones, warehouse, key personel and some black market aplications for vending machines and the drones that restock them.

I have a loooonggg communte each day and I need somethign to think about on the 2+ hours I spend in the car.

[Slymoon]

ah yes the good old 5S, see me with my implanted SR1-3 info made that a 5 Serious.
Which by rules wouldn't kill the kid, was a bit over the top. Particularly since most most orks and all trolls would soak that to nil.

SR4, 5 stun gotcha!

[Kanada Ten]

Of course Little Tommy the 2 yr old who is actively digging in the machine gets slaughtered by the drones or shock or spirit when the hacker who is 20m away finishes his hack.

Tommy doesn't know any better just that yummy drinks come from there. Who know Little Tommy may be some high muckety mucks son and out with the nanny.

So then, who gets it and how, and is it safe enough to not cause major lawsuits.

Drones are actually fairly intelligent in Sr4. Tommy digging in the sand would have MadMax goofily coming over to play with him and keep him occupied while the system tried to match his RFID up with a parent/guardian to warn them about leaving children unattended. The earth spirit would be there to conceal the sandtrap drone, and repair damage to the sand. When the system detects a hack it uses Track to identify the hacker, not sensors.

[Feshy]

I suppose you could also have a non-lethal response, like that quick-hardening foam glue from Arsenal.

"Hahaha... my vending machine spree is on a roll now. And you didn't think I could pull it off."
"Umm... Ed, did the last vending machine having a video clip of a fizzipop soda being shaken up violently?"
"What? Whatever. Just another quick edit, and we'll have another trunk full..."
"Ed... Ed, it's pointing the can graphic straight at us. That's not normal, is it?"
"Fizzipop is mine!"
*sploosh* -- liters of quickly expanding foam burst from the machine centered on the can graphic and instantly coats the two startled hackers and begins to harden
"...hey Ed, this stuff actually tastes a little like fi--"
"Shut up."

Optionally, you could make the foam flammable as well. Just in case it needs to be...

AVM manages lots of vending machines and kiosks in any given location, and stacks them in circles, like food courts.

Is it a bad sign than when I thought of multiple vending machines all standing together like that, my first thought was "That's great! If you had three to five of them, you could connect them all with some hidden hydraulics, and with a few modifications to add joints in the middle, you could turn it into a humongous hand to restrain or crush would-be hackers!"