How do you hide your 'ware from scanners?, Augmentation? What augmentation, officer? Options

[Jolly]

Hi All,

How do you hide your characters' forbidden cyber/bioware, and what stories do your SIN data reflect for the restricted ware?

It's something we... less charismatic... individuals struggle with sometimes. Yes, I'm referring to my troll hacker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

RFID tags being edited or disabled is a given. Bribery is usually an option (that can cause it's own problems).

Isn't it possible for the hacker to edit the live data return on a scanner result - changing it from positive to negative? (And conversely, edit a nearby scanner to return a positive result as a distraction?)


Thus far, all I've come up with is:

Muscle Augmentation/Toner - required for degenerative muscular disease, licensed for sports
Move-by-Wire - pass for skill wires


Adrenaline Pump, Tailored Pheromones, and Damage Compensators would seem to be the hardest to hide or fast-talk through.

Thanks!

[Yerameyahu]

Bioware is all but undetectable anyway. They'd have to have you in a hospital and do extensive tests. Technically, sniffers/pheromone scanners don't detect Tailored Pheromones; instead, they detect the presence of people by scent. They're relatively expensive anyway.

Cyberware depends heavily on the grade, but it's pretty hard to hide. If they tag you, they get basically full info: what implants, where, etc. And, a rating 6 scanner is cheap (450¥), so anywhere secure would have several. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

Hacking the scanners is reasonable, though either slow (ahead of time) or tough (on the fly); spoofing might be reasonable and effective, though crude. You would expect such devices to have Device Rating of 3 or 4 at minimum, so it's a moderate hack. It's possible they'd be isolated from the network anyway, which all but precludes any hacking/spoofing.

[Elfenlied]

Sometimes, Wi-Fi negating does the trick, at least against some scanners.

Failing that, plausible cover stories and the right paperwork. E.g.:
Wired Reflexes/MbW: Professional Athlete, Law Enforcement, Private Security
Muscle Replacement: Construction worker, medical condition
Eyes/Ears: medical condition
Implanted Comlink/Math SPU/Encephalon/Cerebral booster/Skillwires: IT personnel/most white collar professions
Dermal Sheathing/Plating/Bone Lacing/Damage compensators: Stuntman, Bodyguard
Tailored pheromones: corporate Exec
Adrenaline pump: tricky... medical condition (depression, bi-polarity, whacky metabolism) could do the trick

Now, justifying any kind of implanted cyberweapons is really trick. Your best bet would be to see if your GM allows something akin to the ceramic components modification available to firearms (to fool MAD), and wifi-negating paint on the limb (to fool cyberware scanners).

[Fyndhal]

My general fallback:
Fake License: Rating as high as possible.

[HunterHerne]

Wi-fi can be disabled on all cyberwear, regardless of where it is. The millimeter-wave cyberware scanners are almost impossible to fool, so you'd better have your paperwork (for restrcicted gear), or an ECM for forbidden cyber. Considering how easy it is to find Cyber-weapons (threshold of 1) you really need to have the paperwork.And if you have any forbidden cyberweapons, either don't participate, or get ready for a fight.

Another good possibility, invest in your own transportation.

[Yerameyahu]

Elfenlied, you can remove everything from your list there that's not even R to begin with, though. No need to justify normal things: eyes, ears, commlink, etc.

[Elfenlied]

Elfenlied, you can remove everything from your list there that's not even R to begin with, though. No need to justify normal things: eyes, ears, commlink, etc.

Actually, I was just thinking about adding "Cyber Spurs: Sushi Chef", but that's probably pushing it.

[Yerameyahu]

Haha, worth a shot.

[KCKitsune]

I would say not to carry any ranged cyber weapons. They're bulky, limited on ammo, and, as you said, hard to conceal. Cyber spurs & hand razors should be easy to conceal.

[Halflife]

Everything can be justified with the right medical condition (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Yerameyahu]

Yes, there's basically no reason to get cyberguns in the first place (although, as R-class items, you can get licenses just like normal guns).

Wires is the main thing people would try to conceal, I guess. It's only R, so you can simply get a license. Ditto for a Smartlink, Muscle Replacement, and other normal things.

Bone Lacing is basically un-concealable as well as Forbidden, unless the GM house-rules that the scanner can't see it. Voice Mask, Retinal Dupe, etc. are F, and technically have no immunity from the scanner; tough sell.

Honestly, I can't think of anything else you'd have to justify; everything else is either unrestricted, or unneeded. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Elfenlied]

If all else fails, have your mage mindrape the personnel operating the scanner. If there's no personnel, then use physical illusions to get past them.

[Yerameyahu]

Good point: hacking is a possibility, but magic is always there. If they have magical defenses, then that's a whole nother issue. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[KCKitsune]

Ditto for a Smartlink

If you have it as part of your cybereyes, then how will the security goon even know you've got it?

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Delta Grade for a High Threshold... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

If you have it as part of your cybereyes, then how will the security goon even know you've got it?

It is likely that they will not know... beauty of a cybereye system package. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Yerameyahu]

For 'real users', they can probably ask the cybereyes. For runners, obviously not an issue. Like I said, anything that's not F isn't really an issue (if you're not trying to hide the existence). The same goes for retinal duplication, I assume, and so on.

That's why the issue of *explaining* 'ware isn't half as important as *hiding* it.

[Eimi]

There is some painful humor inherent in Spy Games giving us new (f) cyberware that allows for changing your face and fingerprints...which totally falls flat thanks to the "cyberware scanners anywhere secure" part of the setting. I mean, yeah, you can do things to try and get around the ultra-cheap ubiquitous scanners, but by taking the ware, you're making your life as an infiltrator HARDER than it would've been without any augmentation.

[Modular Man]

You could ask your GM for permission to mask it as something harmless, using the given rules from "Arsenal" (are there any new ones in "Spy Games"?). That fingerprint-changing nano-cyberware? No, no, those wires are in there to keep my bones stabilized, I broke my hand a few weeks back.
Well, that will get pricey pretty soon...
You can interpret the thing about "getting general information" (scanner achieved treshold, but got no net hits) a little, too. Maybe the scanner doesn't list every function of the 'ware instantly... otherwise it's damn hard to hide those.
I still don't get why cyberware scanners get bonus dice for more cyberware to find...

[Socinus]

I created a custom item that helps.

Hider Nanites are nanites that can imitate or hide (Enough to fool some sensors) internal cyberware, adding their rating to any opposed test for the scanner to see the cyberware. They cant help with something like a full cyberarm, but for basic stuff they can help.

I can post the full write-up for it if you want

[CanRay]

Smuggle the Street Samurai through airport security one piece at a time?

[Christian Lafay]

Smuggle the Street Samurai through airport security one piece at a time?

Long story short, that is what full cyber body is for. And he didn't like it.

[Teulisch]

the modular street sam, now availible as a c3p0 backpack for the troll mage!

[CanRay]

Long story short, that is what full cyber body is for. And he didn't like it.

the modular street sam, now availible as a c3p0 backpack for the troll mage!

"This isn't my arm."

"Um, yeah, you see, we kinda had to do... Um, yeah..."

"Where is my arm. You know, with all the cybernetic systems that I paid meganuyen for?"

"Hawai'i."

"WHAT? We're in TORONTO!"

"Yeah. The arm kind of got put on the wrong plane. We also didn't get all the parts for the cybertorso, which is in, um, where again?"

"Tracking it in London."

"ENGLAND?"

"No, here in Ontario. It got transferred onto a prop plane for some reason that I can't figure out. Honestly, they must hire drunk Trolls to do the loading and unloading!"

"HEY!"

"Sorry Tyke. No offense, but we all know Trolls do most of the aircraft loading."

"Yeah, I guess..."

"So, fine, anything else?"

"Your feet."

"If I had my right right arm right now, I'd skewer you."

[Christian Lafay]

And a new way to score some newones, reroute parts of competing teams for resale.