Fake SINs with licenses, Suspicious combinations of licenses: A houserule proposal Options

[Sponge]

As I'm looking over a character submitted to me by a player (and whittling down the number of licenses the character has, since IMO one license can cover multiple pieces of "related" Restricted material), it occurs to me that while any one particular license may seem pretty innocuous, but if one looks at a whole collection of licenses registered to a single SIN, that SIN becomes a lot more suspicious and could be subjected to increased scrutiny.

For example, a security guard may not raise an eyebrow at a SIN that has a gun license, or a SIN that has a license for performance-enhancing 'ware, or a SIN that has a locksmith license... but if he's looking at a SIN that has all of those, plus a demolitions license, a smartlink license, and a Chameleon Suit license, the guard would probably contemplate doing a more thorough check of that SIN just to be on the safe side.

While I probably wouldn't use it in this particular game (the focus is not on that sort of operational detail), I'm thinking of something along the lines of this would work as a house rule for a more gritty/detailed planning style of game: "For every separate license attached to a Fake SIN beyond its rating, add 1 to the rating of any SIN verification performed on it (up to the capabilities of the hardware and/or the availability of more thorough verification)."

I realize that the whole "SIN Verification" rating is meant to abstract away some of these details, and a lot of it is probably computerized with no operator intervention, but at the same time I think there's plenty of potential situations where a SIN verification system is not used to its full extent by harried operators who are just trying to get people through as fast as possible/are bored and just waiting to go home/etc, but those operators might pay more attention to apparently-legal-but-still-suspicious SINs.

What do you think?

[toturi]

As I'm looking over a character submitted to me by a player (and whittling down the number of licenses the character has, since IMO one license can cover multiple pieces of "related" Restricted material), it occurs to me that while any one particular license may seem pretty innocuous, but if one looks at a whole collection of licenses registered to a single SIN, that SIN becomes a lot more suspicious and could be subjected to increased scrutiny.

For example, a security guard may not raise an eyebrow at a SIN that has a gun license, or a SIN that has a license for performance-enhancing 'ware, or a SIN that has a locksmith license... but if he's looking at a SIN that has all of those, plus a demolitions license, a smartlink license, and a Chameleon Suit license, the guard would probably contemplate doing a more thorough check of that SIN just to be on the safe side.

While I probably wouldn't use it in this particular game (the focus is not on that sort of operational detail), I'm thinking of something along the lines of this would work as a house rule for a more gritty/detailed planning style of game: "For every separate license attached to a Fake SIN beyond its rating, add 1 to the rating of any SIN verification performed on it (up to the capabilities of the hardware and/or the availability of more thorough verification)."

I realize that the whole "SIN Verification" rating is meant to abstract away some of these details, and a lot of it is probably computerized with no operator intervention, but at the same time I think there's plenty of potential situations where a SIN verification system is not used to its full extent by harried operators who are just trying to get people through as fast as possible/are bored and just waiting to go home/etc, but those operators might pay more attention to apparently-legal-but-still-suspicious SINs.

What do you think?

I think such verification will occur not at operator level but at HQ or some higher authority level, which would have been/should have been included in the cost of getting the license. The bribe/hack/whatever to get the license approved for that SIN (background check on the SIN for example could have turned up all those other licenses), so once you get the license, you're home free. Or I'd simply say that being able to accumulate all those gear for a license has already been factored in their legality.

[SpellBinder]

Agreed on the operator/HQ level deal.

Though a critical glitch on a background check could flag a SIN for an audit, which can bring up the oddities.

[nezumi]

Never thought about it before (my runners almost never register anything). But it makes sense. I imagine at higher levels, they'll flag something for investigation, but a Lone Star checkpoint will see he has X number of handgun licenses and may consider that warranting a bit of additional patting down.

[Sponge]

I think such verification will occur not at operator level but at HQ or some higher authority level

Hmm this makes sense, whether it's the guy in the booth who is being more thorough or the backend software that decides to do additional checks, it comes to the same thing.

The bribe/hack/whatever to get the license approved for that SIN (background check on the SIN for example could have turned up all those other licenses), so once you get the license, you're home free.

It's not a matter of license approval, it's the fact that fake licenses are known to exist, but are not perfect fakes, thus the verification in the first place. If the sum total of the licenses seems improbable, it may encourage the checker (whether human or software) to "verify harder".

[toturi]

It's not a matter of license approval, it's the fact that fake licenses are known to exist, but are not perfect fakes, thus the verification in the first place. If the sum total of the licenses seems improbable, it may encourage the checker (whether human or software) to "verify harder".

To me it is a matter of license approval. The licenses tied to good fake SINs are better able to resist verification, but in the first place, the hardest test would have been the initial "approval" of the fake license to that fake SIN. If the sum total of the licenses seems improbable, then it would have been checked harder at the approval stage and if something would have gone wrong, it would have gone wrong at the approval.

[garner_adam]

I run my games with the "suspicious activity" clause. Having been arrested in real life for simple suspicion I know for certain this is how these things work. Knight Errant could easily take a guy in to the drunk tank for an entire evening just to ensure public safety and the city prosecutor wouldn't even blink an eye. Page 84 in SR5 describes the dystopian future of UCAS legal system as an assembly line therefore it's probably even worse. So personally I'd simply tell your players that they should think up some really really good explanations before they stuff their vehicle full of restricted gear.

Also on a side note I have CPL in Washington State and just cause you can legally carry doesn't mean they have to let you in. In the modern era I can't even enter a municipal court room with out a thorough shake down. You can expect with the real danger that cyborgs and wizards represent (LOS any one?) that there would be a lot of circumstances in which they will either turn the licensed away or provide them "special" accommodations (escorts and RFID tracking badges being the most common).

[Sponge]

To me it is a matter of license approval. The licenses tied to good fake SINs are better able to resist verification, but in the first place, the hardest test would have been the initial "approval" of the fake license to that fake SIN. If the sum total of the licenses seems improbable, then it would have been checked harder at the approval stage and if something would have gone wrong, it would have gone wrong at the approval.

There IS no approval for a fake license, you just pay your (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to the shady gentleman and that's it. No approval, no background checks, no SIN verification. Sure, if the person was applying for a real license for their fake SIN, all of what you're saying would make total sense.

If you're instead proposing that making additional fake licenses is more difficult with each one, but once they're made you're set, then they should have an escalating cost.

[toturi]

There IS no approval for a fake license, you just pay your (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to the shady gentleman and that's it. No approval, no background checks, no SIN verification. Sure, if the person was applying for a real license for their fake SIN, all of what you're saying would make total sense.

If you're instead proposing that making additional fake licenses is more difficult with each one, but once they're made you're set, then they should have an escalating cost.

The shady gentleman has to create that fake license that is linked to your fake SIN. Sure, you can say that there is no approval, background checks etc associated with the creation of the fake license, but to me, the creation of the fake license/s does have approval, background checks, except that it is handled as a black box and off camera.