As I understand the Data Search skill, the interval to search the entire matrix is one minute.
The RAW says Data Search can be used to find out "Mr. Johnson's real identity" or the "paydata file you were hired to snatch". Pretty important stuff, probably qualifying as "Extreme" on the Search Table, and requiring 16 accumulated hits.
So somebody with Data Search 1 and a Browse 2 program will discover Mr. Johnson's real identity in half an hour, and that's with a lot of bad rolls.
Full Version: Data Search Difficulty
Provided the information is publicly available (meaning no ice need be hacked), and assuming the player doesn't do a critical glitch.
Even then, a player can come to the wrong conclusion with the right data.
Even then, a player can come to the wrong conclusion with the right data.
This has been brought up numerous times for different instances, but once again please read the entire 3rd paragraph of the EXTENDED TESTS section on page 58. The one that begins with the sentence.
Though it may seem that characters are guaranteed of success
in an Extended Test over time, that is not always the case.
Make sure to also followup its reference the Extended Tests and Glitches section. It simply is NOT the case that Extended Tests are guaranteed to succeed just by rolling, rolling, rolling.
Though it may seem that characters are guaranteed of success
in an Extended Test over time, that is not always the case.
Make sure to also followup its reference the Extended Tests and Glitches section. It simply is NOT the case that Extended Tests are guaranteed to succeed just by rolling, rolling, rolling.
Exactly, just that the limit to the number of rolls you take is: a) half an hour or b) rolls=dice pools. (sans glitches) c) your Gm decides you can't do it. Sometimes this have lead to unwanted consequences.
But I assume it's beyond discussion already, isn't it?
BTW: Hello Brahm, Zenshooter01
Cheers,
Max
But I assume it's beyond discussion already, isn't it?
BTW: Hello Brahm, Zenshooter01
Cheers,
Max
[QUOTE]This has been brought up numerous times for different instances, but once again, for you little people, and though it pains me so, I will give you the information that you seek...[QUOTE] sort of
My original statement overshot, but the skill is still overpowered. At chargen a hacker can easily have Data Search 4, Browse Program 5, roll nine dice nine times, taking nine minutes of game time, and expect 27 hits. Minor glitches might subtract a few hits, but when 16 is all you need to get the most cryptic information, there's a large margin for error there. And with a 9 dp, the chances of a critical glitch are small.
| QUOTE (MaxHunter @ Feb 26 2006, 02:14 AM) |
| But I assume it's beyond discussion already, isn't it? |
It is if you haven't actually been paying attention to the discussion of RAW.
d) Set a fixed limit rolls, 3 or 4 works pretty well for they types of checks and pools deckers have.
You could also have a variation on GM intervention in c),
e) GM redifines what Success means. They succeed at locating where the are confident the information is. But it is going to require some extra decking to break in and grab, some more interpretation to be useful along the lines of AH's post, or perhaps even an extra sidestory run that could include meatbodys to go aquire.
use the simple house rule, that you are only allowed "skill" number of re-rolls. Fixes about everything.
I haven't tried all the Data Searches yet, but using the Skill rating to limit rolls work poorly with Decrypt Extended Tests, and pretty much everywhere else I've seen it suggested. I suspect the same would occur here because of the roughly squaring effect on the total number of dice rolled. It isn't quite as bad as using the total dice pool, but still bad enough.
It isn't really a house rule in the nomal sense because RAW explicitly leaves it open to the GM what if any limit to put on it.
It isn't really a house rule in the nomal sense because RAW explicitly leaves it open to the GM what if any limit to put on it.
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