It sounds like the ordinary commlink can be used much the same way the BattleTac systems from Fields of Fire were used (assuming everyone has a commlink and is subscribed to a given network) I'm not sure if there are any specific rules for bonuses doing this yet in SR4, anyone up on this yet?

Once inside a comlink, a hacker should be able to force it into hot ASSIST most to make the target vulnerable to black IC.

It doesn't matter what you make a commlink do if the user hasn't done the mental flick to be connected to it, matter of fact regardless of what you do to the commlink the DNI would allow the user to reboot it at any given point.

And if we're talking about non-dni commlinks, well there's jack and shit you can do to the user other then barrage any sensory output he has linked to it (glasses/cyber eyes)

Most people (ie 99.8% of the population) in SR won't have a simrig, and a simlink won't allow the input to go beyond the tolerable thresholds, now a datajack you can patch ice through no problem, but a simlink as the one guy excused himself through won't do jack or shit to anyone.

you could put a chip thats looking for a mental off command outside of the main circuitry of the comlink. basicly its only hooked to the powersupply of the comlink and to the brain, nothing else.

kinda like that power switch on the back of a atx power supply...

same kind of cut-off could in theory be put on the RAS, the simlink, and other stuff...

Some good info here, but things have swayed away from what I was really wanting, which was phish for tricks that a hacker could actually pull in combat to help his team gain an edge.

Something I was able to pull off recently was bugging the communications of my team's opponents. It helped warn us about an impending drive-by.

well a) you can't spoof a command to log onto VR since that requires a active mental command, you could with the datajack but it'd conflict with actual nural data, which would cause a conflict message.

b) it could easily be assumed unless otherwise stated that only DNI signals are accepted by the cyber.


The only thing that's logically linked to comlink/ar is the visual/audio areas or a simlink.

The RAS override(which no one has linked to AR) and the simlink are the only two things to be able to manipulate with matrix actions.

I'm not going to go into if you can or can't hack a smartlink/cyberarm/toxin extractor (ack imagine that hacked, everything is a toxin and gets filtered, grats you're dead in a bit) cause that could happen if linked.

The only question of what you can hack is if it's linked and why.

The book clearly stats cyber loaded with ice, so it is a issue with some, even if thier IQ is in the teens.

as a last note, which is the most *tre chic* way of using AR is through emotive pulses, you can send a emotion of FEAR through the AR link, since emotions are a popular thing to use THROUGH AR.

=)

Expanding on Liper's idea, could you upload a sim-ship or a BTL to a simlinked Comm? I'm thinking a "Benedict Arnold" Personafix could be quite the invention (not necessarily good for combat but think of the possibilities)

Battletac was highly abuseable (as was the small unit tactics skill), now it's open and left to as much abuse as the gm is willing to.

The AR is a nice touch to team communication that allows table talk to not be innane like say in DnD where tabeltalk = telepathy.

When hacking in Combat, AGENTS are where it's at. You only need to load them up and give them orders.

Also, AR initiative is your physical initiative. Just give your combat hacker wired 2 and you are good to go.

As for hacking a skinlink: Sure, you can't maintain a handshake for as long as it would take to gain access, but you COULD plant an skinlinked Transmitter which would route your wireless signals into their skinlinked PAN. All it takes is a signal 1 RFID tag with the skinlinked modifier.

Heck, you could even modify a stik'n'shock round, replacing the capacitor with the skilinkeed RFID tag, and shoot someone with a hacker bullet.

Hmm, if that hacker bullet had a processor with an Agent on it, it could even do the hackign for you.

Yay! Hackerguns!

Don't RFID tags (non sensor ones) send fixed data unless an Edit program is used to update them? I suppose you could use an agent to use the Edit program to route data through an RFID tag, but I'm not sure the RFID tag can run anything on it. Otherwise, why would you ever use a commlink, when you could just have an RFID tag?

As for loading them in bullets, I wish the rules supported this somehow. At the very least, the ability to fire a bulelt with a tag in it would give you a sort of a "tracker" bullet. Shoot the guy's car. You won't bypass the armor, but if the bullet sticks, you can follow him home. I think SR3 acutally had something exactly like this, but the SR4 rules don't give you a way to do it yet.

The blowy thing is that RFID tags have a Signal of 1, which is only 40m. So you'd have to set them to talk to the Matrix rather than a P2P kinda deal.

That is to say, it's convenient that they can be globally tracked, but unfortunate that anyone in the globe can see them.

Ah yes, stealth tags. I like it.

Of course, in theory, your commlink only responds to someone with the right passcodes, as well, and people can hack that... so I wouldn't be surprised if a Hacker couldn't locate, decrypt, and spoof your stealth tag too... but it'd take effort... and at least you're not broadcasting it to the entire matrix.

I suppose. Wish I could get that sort of technology on the REST of my devices. Seems like they basically just say "Yeah, hackers can hack jsut about anything, including the kitchen sink... oh yeah, except for stealth tags... which are how GMs explain the bad guys hunting down the party!"

But, hey, as a player, you can use them too, and by RAW they are the only 100% secure method of communication.

You could have you and your buddy both with stealth tags... and monitor each other's tag data... and then when you want to communicate just use the edit program to modify your data... I imagine it like a chat-room But no one can ever find it unless they know the magic codes - even if you're using them during a Shadowrun... wait... this isn't such a bad idea...

Stealth Tags can border on a GM fiat tool to allow tracing some item. Perception checks can be extremely difficult to detect them in the meat, especially if they were built right into solid parts of the item.

Although they won't leave a trail across matrix nodes like a normal tag would (because they don't broadcast their presence), it is nearly undetectable when leaving a trail to someone that knows it is there, knows the code, and is following it. The tracker just needs to be able to continue jumping node to node to stay within range. How tough this would be to do kinda depends on how the Matrix is ruled. The "easy" way is if you are allowed to manually control packet routing yourself to utilize a node's transmission ability without logging into the node itself. If this wasn't allowed you'd need to log into node to node, which would be extremely difficult to do without valid login on all or most of the nodes since you'd be constantly hacking on the fly.

It might appear in the logs on the nodes where it was checked from, so the tracker would want to leave have an Agent or a partner busy cleaning up afterward to keep the person being trailed via the secure tag from finding this out by breaking into the node's logs.

In theory a Scanner might eventually manage detect the raw radio signals (even off normal frequency ones), but if you don't have it on an active list and the requests made to the stealth tag are very sporatic, success it would be very difficult and a long time coming.

A specialization of a Locate Object spell could possibliy find them too, but it needs a large number of hits to actually find the secure tags (distinguishing it from a disabled normal tag would be tough too, depending on GM ruling, so you might have to find and remove ALL tags if you don't get enough hits) to be able to remove it.

The only thing that seems a sure-fire way to be able to get around Secure Ids quickly and safely is popping the item that is possibly tagged a jammer. Preferably a head jammer that doesn't create a huge red flag as you walk around stomping on all transmissions.

As for the bullets: Yes, I know an RFID tag can't run an agent. And I know that there are none of these bullets in the rules.

I am making these up based on a few assumptions I've made regarding the technology level.

Assumption 1: RFID tags are little dots smaller than a penny and as thin as a sticker. If a signal 1 device plus data storage can be that small, a larger device can include more.

Assumption 2: If a Stick and shock round has room in it for a capacitor capable of doing significant damage to an opponent in the size of a normal bullet, Plus the sticky stuff, then it has a lot of room for our electronic bug.

Assumption 3: Miniturization of electronic devices make the size of a commlink based largely on user interface and not on hardware.

Assumption 4: Even with the above stated, only a very rudimentary, specialized processor could do what we want in the space we have it, and even then only at a low rating.

None of these are facts, or rules supported. They just seem reasonable to me.

Hacker bullets are not commercially made or sold. They must be custom built using the armorer skill. They come in two grades. The simple version is just a secure RFID tag in a stick round, with skinlink. The base cost is the stick n shock round, the secure RFID tag and the skinlink. Then the armorer chack must be made ( I have no book, so I won't even guess at threshold.) All and all, a pretty expensive bullet.

The hacker in a bullet model would require the sticky round, the hardware for a Response 1 or 2 commlink, the skinlink, an appropriate operating system and programs/agents. It would require a hardware test with a high threshold to construct the computer, and an armorer check to add it to the bullet. It would also require a software check to configure the system to operate properly. A rediculously expensive bullet that will work worse than trying to hack thourgh the first type, but feasable and possibly useful if you want to overwhelm your opponent with hacking attempts.