I'm new to SR4 and will be GMing it for the first time shortly. I have a couple questions that I've been butting heads over with one of my players and I could really use the community's help in getting a definitive answer.

My player claims her character will be holding down a security corp day job with a Fake SIN. Personally, I feel with the types of background checks a security corp would run on a prospective employee, not even a Rating 6 Fake SIN would hold up. Am I right? Or just being small minded?

This player also claims that her character will be working for said security corp without the Day Job Negative Quality. Is that possible? If so, how would that work rules-wise?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Depends on the Security Corp.

Lone Star or Knight Errant? Hell no.

Bob's Mall Security? If the SIN looks even semi-legit...

By RAW, anytime your SIN gets scanned it rolls its rating against the scanner's rating, if it wins it goes undetected. This leads to even a rating 6 SIN being really really unreliable. Especially since a background check from a corp will probably have some form of intelligence guiding the scan, giving a decent dice pool. Given this, I would be wary of even getting a job as a mall cop.




Of course, not many people like to admit how easy it is for a rating 6 SIN to be burned, one of the most common shadowrun houserules I've encountered is the fake SIN/Licenses acting as a threshold rather than dice being rolled. This makes a average scan only pick up a rating 6 on the rarest of occasions (when's the last time you saw 6 successes on 6 dice?), but a thorough background check might have a better chance of picking it up (I'd run it something like a Logic+Scanner extended test, giving the scanner 4 attempts before declaring it clean and moving on. So there's a chance a fake SIN will make it through, but highly unlikely)

Considering a rating 2 fake SIN is enough to be able to get a Middle Lifestyle (Runners Companion p160 Being SINless), I’d say that a rating 6 fake SIN would allow someone to work for Lone Star or Knight Errant, but not for one of the truly high-end companies (like Wolverine or the others in that area). Figure LS and KE are the 4-star security companies if for no other reason than they are so big it’s hard to keep close tabs on everyone. I could also see a really small-time (or low-budget) security company hiring someone without taking too close of a look at their credentials. However if you “flash you badge” from an agency of that nature, expected to be treated as low-rent.

As for having a “day-job” without the NQ; I don’t see a big problem with it. The character is a free-lance agent with the low-rent security company. I would make the player buy at least one manager type contact within the company however. Think of the contact as the person that calls on occasion to say “hey we need you for a gig.” It could be a Mr. Johnson or a Fixer type of contact.

The player could also simply opt to purchase along with the fake SIN several fake licenses for the weapons (s)he is carrying, and maybe one more that is a Private Security License.

Just my thoughts and advice. YMMV.

Also some companies, particularly multinationals, use Mind Probe for their security audits or new-hires.

My 2 cents?

Without the day job quality, I'd say that the fake SIN *claims* that the character works for that company, and a cursory check with a 3rd party (like a landlord) will ping back saying "yes, he does", and it might be good enough to give a couple of bonus dice when dealing with real employees of that corp when they are met in the field.

But without taking the quality, they don't get the actual job. So no pay, but at the same time, no boss asking awkward questions about where you were yesterday, or why you've shown up to work with a plasti-cast around your wrist.

****

That said, your player seems to be happy to take all the disadvantages of a day job - having a boss, having to show up to work every day or face awkward questions, being recognisable to that corps facial recognition software - without any of the in game benefits of extra build points and a small income, so if that's what they want to do, why not let them? At least they then have no mechanical issues to work out when they get fired

Why not take the SINner NQ for an extra few points, hold down the day job legit, and moonlight as a runner? Of course, if your team knows about your day job, your loyalties might be called into question, and $deity help you if you get IDed on a run... But it would let you roll up a security worker, no problem.

If the only reason the player isn't taking the NQ is his NQ points are filled up, one of my standard houserules is "Oh, NQs? Take as many as you like. You don't get any points over 35 though."

Realistically, higher ends corps would most likely be too thorough to make the fake hold up to inspection for too long, but then some supplementary social engineering and hacking might be able to alleviate that. In practice, I couldn't really think of any objections on why not to allow it. Does the player have a reason to want this beyond flavour? Be sure to let him know that pulling a "I'm an employee of XYZ" to get stuff done is a sure way to get a real Criminal SIN fast.

Oh, and realise that a Rating 6 Fake SIN isn't starting-legal without the Restricted Gear quality.

Define security job.

Mall Cop, local corporation bulk goods warehouse watchman, other figures with marginal authority and at best non-lethal resources? Don't see why not, though its going to be a good chunk of hours (easily 30+ a week, in shifts) at often inconvenient times...and normally those inconvenient times are when the fewest personnel are on duty, your absence will be missed the most, and will garner angry management questions. "Why weren't you at the camera room midnight saturday? I had to pay bob triple overtime for that shift, and those damn kids got to skateboard in the parking lot and broke a window!" Its also not likely to open up a whole lot of cool-dude information, contacts, or gear - unless you count your addittional spam to subscribe to Gun & Ammo of Fortune. Management might also wonder why the meter monitor has wired reflexes III. The good news is that the SIN data trail won't be much more than what any other worker bee would generate.

Low caliber security guard (basically what single As or well off regionals hire for normal stuff if they don't have affiliated corp sec and can't afford LS/KE). Mmm...probably, without any test. It will have an increased level of scrutiny for absences and discrepancies in addittion to all of the disadvantages listed above. You'll probably be leaving an enhanced data trail attached to that SIN but you'll get legitimate licenses for some issue weapons, armor, maybe some R ware and gear. It might net you a handful of contacts in terms of preferred company suppliers for things like pistols, a legit doc, some tech heads who you can question around the water-cooler...but you would have to use them discretely and subtly.

Corp sec equivalent PSC. GM call, but possible if the SIN and your biometrics have a clean history. That SIN has better stay freakin spotless though, and your work performance better be solid. Long hours, tight disicipline, large data trail, professionalism expected, events outside of work will reflect poorly. Oh, and getting fired from here will effectively end your legitimate access to security goodies with that SIN, because if you got cashiered for performance...who the hell is going to deal with you above the table? The upside is you probably do have a lot of information on the trade, a wide range of knowledgeable folks to question, either company docs or preferred contract docs, and a reasonable ear to the industry trends. You don't get to take the company SMG home though. And expect the SIN to be re-examined in full every now and again, leading to extended tests.

Corpsec AA+. Extremely unlikely without a real SIN proving your a corporate citizen, or extensive hack work helping your fake SIN out to that effect. Other than that, as above, only with all the might of a Mega to keep you in line. The gain is of course that you have a much better insight and access to that Corp. This is the highest choice you can realistically get as a source of defensive security info.

KE/LS: These guys are contract law enforcement. They have massive, sprawling databases and lots of invetsigating stuff. Getting in with a Fake SIN, especially for a runner who has probably managed to leave some trail in their past may be possible, staying in liekly won't be, but the sheer amount of info may save you for a while. Of course, if there's ever a real detailed investigation, its going to come up. You can get in with NO SIN, but then they'll make you one, and now your a SINner.

Elites: If you work for them, they know your a shadowrunner, or were. They pay extremely well, but they take that no-compete clause pretty seriously. And the day your traced to them running, is the day you die.


On the lines of what other people have mentioned, if your player really wants to hold down a security job, reccommend the following:

SINner
Files on Record (anyone bigger than the Mall Cop)
Day Job (40 Hrs) - If you want space for personality quirks or the such, maybe you run it like a day Job without the bonus points to negative.

Oh, and final note: Generally speaking, security interacts with the public and the rest of the corp. If your more than 1 standard deviation from human, good luck with the hiring thing. Metas already aren't thought of all that fondly. A 0.1 essence remaining minotaur is not who you want checking IDs at the desk...he might be on the HTR, but the HTR is going to probably break your SIN.

As a centaur your worth much more cut up in a mega-lab than as another guard...you get the drift.

And mages are right out. Precious and powerful, the people who can afford them are the people who can afford to check into them.

I've found it easier just roll 2*Fake SIN rating vs 2* scanner rating. It helps to avoid awkward stuff like Rating 1 scanners breaking rating 6 Fake SINs.

I don't understand why both statements can't be correct.

Yes, the security corp knows the sin is a fake. And they don't care. He's off the books, gets the worst jobs, and is 100% expendable.

He doesn't get the points or the disadvantages. It's just character background. He has no salary or set hours. Every now and then the corp calls him in as a substitute or when they overbook or when they need a fall guy who isn't on the books.

I really, really like this... but in order to do anything with it they'd have to be some solo "runs" or somesuch.

Though it might be nice for them to treat him normally until he has built up some skills, and then say "Oh, by the way, we know you have a fake SIN, and we could have you arrested and your assets seized, but instead, why don't you and your friends do this job for us? For free..."

Three cheers for Mayhem!

AWESOME!

-D

I too use the SIN rating as a threshold for discovery. A scanner simple uses it's rating as a dice pool, and if someone is analyzing the SIN, they use forgery+scanner rating.

I also just allow the characters to do certain things based on their SIN rating. Holding down a normal job in a metroplex is usually rating 3(unless they intentionally do a poor job scanning in which case it's probably 2), but a security job would likely require a rating 4 fake SIN, and a job with knight errant public security would require a rating 5 or 6 fake SIN.

Thanks for the feedback folks, especially the clarification on analyzing fake SIN's.

I guess I should have explained in my original post that the player in question is playing a combination decker/drone rigger. That being said, I can't see the bottom tier SecCorps even employing her. Also, her type of role would definitely require her to show up to work. I can't think of anything for a SecCorp hacker to do besides being a spider, a role that I imagine would require greater scrutiny considering the amount of responsibility that goes along with it. I could be wrong though. Either way, you guys have already given me lots to think about. Thanks!

To add a few dustspecks to the boulders above:

If she's a hacker/decker, telecommute. And as noted it's not even necessarily the company, it's the job.

Even though it's Corpsec++, they don't put their top lines on the daily grind of watching the mall's public grid. Not to say one of the top lines won't drop in, but she's just first line of defense in one of the known insecure zones -- a tripwire to keep the script kiddies under control.

And as noted there's a decent chance they know and DO NOT CARE. It gives them a scapegoat in place when something goes wrong. If you'll accept the analogy, she's the company's cheap commlink.

Software installation and updates. Running the remote vunerability scanner (the Shadowrun version of Metasploit® Framework). If she has mechanics skills, drone repair. On-site evaluation for prospective clients' needs.

Note that the remote scanner doesn't require showing up to work.

When she's playing the techy type, actually low grade security companies should have plenty use for her. Remember that after SINless, drones are the cheapest workforce available. They might not be very versatile, but they never complain about such petty things as overtime, lunch breaks or paychecks, and only require a skeleton staff to keep running. A spider to control them and keep the scriptkids out, a maintenance drone to give them a checkup once in a while, and a mechanic to give the maintenance drones a checkup once every other while.
The luxury of a wireless Matrix also enables most low-tier security riggers to do their work from pretty much everywhere. And since most of what they do is check up on camera feeds once in a while, and respond to alarms from the automated Analyze Agent, this should give her sufficient opportunity to actually do the job with a minimum ammount of hassle. Short of staying in touch with the Matrix.

I'd also expect her to have sufficient skill in her schtick to tell the company's system she's already been checked on, or tell a Human Resources man's 'link that his SIN scanner is reporting a valid SIN.
Of course, she might well qualify for the mechanic's job as well.

I would only allow it as a contact that would work as a Johnson, not as a guarenteed source of income like the Positive Quality.

Dayjob is a negative quality, it forces you to spend X hours a week elsewhere for a paltry amount of income. Most runners have better things to do with their time even during downtime.

"I would go and do the Footwork to make sure Mr. Johnson isn't screwing us, but I gotta pick up another shift at the Stuffer Shack. Seems Gra'kah decided to pop her litter tonight of all nights, and it's take her shift, unpaid, or lose my job."

"Dude, you make more in one job with us than you do in three months there! Why do you keep working there?"

*Robotically* "Must work at legitimate job."

"Oh, right, what they did to you in prison."

I agree. There should be no consistant pay from this without the NQ. Occasional "paying jobs" however could be possible.

-D

Maybe they drive taxi for Amish?

Eh, something that pays you while you're not 'running.