Yeah. I may have sent Overkill a text asking him to look up the commcode for the office. I don't remember, it's been several days...

ETA: OK, I mentioned that we should contact them in conversation but never sent a text. As we're getting close to a time synch, we can probably send Overkill a text now. Actually, if Grease has any decent computer skills, he could probably do a Matrix Search for the business' commcode (I probably wouldn't succeed given Public Grid and unmitigated noise penalties).

A quick matrix search will pull up her telephone number - it is published, so you won't have to roll (this is one of those times I use this method instead of Buying hits)

@DrZ: If you want to post up an attempt to contact her, be my guest.

Going to be out for the evening in a couple of hours. Back to business tomorrow

Tried my best "Cool kid" approach to the situation; if you really want their attention, act like you are too good to even pay attention to them.

Especially drives them crazy when one of the reasons you are ignoring them is because they are not grown-ups.

I WILL allow you guys to use the phonebook and a basic Matrix search engine while I am your hacker...


...but anything more complex than that and I will rain digital vengeance upon your very souls.

Getting into a car for a while. Will try to respond this evening.

Thanks,
-DrZ

P.S. I have demonstrated I can't be trusted with a matrix search.

Ok, so a quick Con check for Overkill

Char + Con = 4d6 - I'll give you a bonus die for the "too cool for you" attitude

5d6.hits(5)=1 - so that's a glitch

vs the kid

Char + Con = 2d6

2d6.hits(5)=1


I don't even know what to say. I can only hope that all these crappy die rolls are just happening now when the consequences aren't dire - and all your good luck comes later when the drek hits the fan.

So, you failed to convince him (because you didn't beat him on the Con check), and it is a glitch. IC post up in a few moments.

Good... fragging... god...


...apparently Drave should be hidden away behind a monitor somewhere.

Well I think I have done all the damage I can today, headed to visit my Grandma, then over to my friends to play some D&D (3.5 ed)

Feel free to drag the dead weight leash Drave along as needed

Wow.. misfire

I read the IC first and I was like.. wtf

Let's see what Amy can do at this point, but I doubt this can be salvaged

So, I know we're not really supposed to opine on events where we aren't really there, but I just wanted to say that I totally think Overkill should hack that little dick's commlink and find all of his porn, then threaten to tell his mother if they don't help.

Hehe

Anyway, here's an Etiquette roll to try to diffuse the situation, and get the other kid(s) to maybe talk to her.

9d6.hits(5)=2

@Chrome,

Sorry - the little kid you are referencing ran away with the others.

Basically, my interpretation of the Con check would be:

Success for Overkill - the older boy convinces the younger boy to talk to you
Failure for Overkill - the older boy remains pseudo-defiant, and uncooperative, but would allow for Amy (or Overkill) to try and fix things
Success and Glitch for Overkill - the older boy allows Overkill to talk to the younger kid, but it would reduce what the kid was willing to say
Failure and Glitch for Overkill - the older boy leaves, and brings the other kids with him, ending the scene - i.e. what happened.
Critical Glitch for Overkill - the boys scatter and call Lone Star, convinced you are child predators.

With Overkill gone for the rest of the day IRL, what are your plans IC - to now just wait for the manager of the Stuffer Shack to get back, or do you just lick your wounds and wait for the others to come back from the Hub?

Overkill, despite Invisible Castle's apparent hatred of your character, you are far from dead weight.

Enjoy Grandmas and D&D

All right no worries. I can change the IC post if it didn't make sense.

IC, I think we're only left with trying to convince the Stuffer Shack manager to give us the footage when he comes back from break. Other than that, I don't see much else to do. We'll receive the 12:30 message from Grease and respond with the latest developments on our side.

Ok - sounds like a plan. Just change your IC to the two of you leaving and arriving at the Stuffer shack around 12:35 - which is right after you would receive Grease's message.

Overkill can easily find her number and send it to him. (I can put that in a post if you want) - you can then IC interact with Jack and Grease and determine if you want Amy to make the main approach on the manager or wait until Overkill comes back online tomorrow and let him do it.

I think we've had quite enough of Overkill rolling for now. LOL

I changed my IC post and sent an update to the rest of the team. I will post later with interactions with the manager. Are there wards around that place? Because I was thinking maybe I could pre-emptively Influence the manager if I can see him through the window. Hiding the fact that she's casting a spell should be very easy then, even from cameras that might see her. Would make asking him for footage very smooth. We could even ask him for a direct matrix access on his account for Overkill to double-check all the files before opening them.

What do you guys think?

The only issue I see is that Influence naturally fades over (Net Hits) minutes, so y'all are going to have to be quick. Actually, the way the whole thing is written is kind of weird. I'd ask Lobo how he plays it first. As a Permanent spell, you have to sustain the spell for (F) Combat Turns. It's also Mental which means the target theoretically can make a Logic+Willpower test every Combat Turn to resist. That seems like a really high number of defense rolls to me. I would think this spell might work a little differently, something like the target gets one roll during the sustaining period to resist and then can only break free if the suggestion is really wrong (like the spell example), although it fades normally over (net hits) minutes.

ETA: ...and I think we're synched now. I just modified the time of my post to incorporate the information Amy sent. So next steps: Stuffer Shack and Sanders?

@Chrome,

There are no wards around the Stuffer Shack. You will be able to cast a spell through the window, as long as you can catch a glimpse of the manager - which you probably will be able to do, just you won't be sure when you'll be able to catch sight of him.

Hmmm.... I was contemplating giving Sanders a call myself, but I seem to not have purchased a burner comm. Looks like one more thing to ask Mrs. Honeypot to acquire, LOL.

ETA: Ugh, and the Street Index adjustment kicks the cheapest one up to the 1 day acquisition period.

So - again I quote the section from the Missions FAQ

"Some spells are subtler, and they simply guide and suggest. These are covert spells, and while they’re more risky to use
since they allow the target some free will and choice, they also won’t always realize that the idea wasn’t their own unless it’s
something wildly out of character. Using Influence to suggest a guard wants to grab some coffee or use the head is normal, but
suggesting they shoot their coworker in the head is likely out of character for him, so he will stop and wonder where that thought
came from. If you’re lucky, he’ll simply disregard it. If not, he’ll blame magic and pull an alarm."


So here is my take on it - I don't have a problem with doing it the way Jack suggests - otherwise you are looking at a Force 6 Influence spell being resisted every 3 seconds for 6 minutes that is WAAAY to many rolls.

So, for me, this is something we may need to discuss on a case-by-case basis.

So, let's say you cast it on the manager, and suggest that he give a discount to a woman complaining she got a defective product at his store. This is the sort of thing he will resist once, and that's it (you still have to sustain it).

If you give him the suggestion he should just give away a free tv, he is going to resist it initially, and then resist it again. If it is something that is wildly out of character - like picking up a flashlight from Aisle 4 and clubbing Steve to death with it, I'm thinking of just not letting it work - for that level of control outside of the person's norm, then it would require control actions or control thoughts.

Street Index will affect price - but does not affect the amount of time it takes to get it. (So roll for availability, and then just apply the Street Index when it comes time to pay for it.)

Hot damn, I may send you a PM.

That sounds reasonable and consistent with the spell's description, where the target resists again once he's faced with the wrongness of the suggestion (so like when he's actually giving away the TV, he'd roll before going through with it, as you said). If I get a glimpse of the manager, I'll try it IC.

@Grease,

You are using your Metalink to contact Emily Sanders. What SIN is it currently using? I.e. if someone tries to run a backtrace on the id of the caller, what are they going to get?

I'm not saying they will run a backtrace mind you...

Hmmm... looks like I won't be requesting a burner commlink. I figured largely anonymous pay-to-go comms existed like in the real world.

Henry Moss. (Fake SIN Rating 4)

Also, that wasn't my idea you wouldn't like. I'm not saying you liked that idea, but the idea Grease was referring to involved the Widow Manuel.

-DrZ

Oh, I (OOC) know.

Sorry - I wasn't clear on this initially.

My understanding of the world of 2075 is that Big Brother is trying to watch everything - hence GODs and DemiGods, drones in sky, mandatory SINs for all purchases, etc.

So, having a commlink work without having an associated SIN flies in the face of that - untraceable telecommunications is bad news for the pseudo-fascist state.

Now, this doesn't mean you can't get around it - that is part of what you are paying for when you pay the street index - you are purchasing an item without a SIN, however, there are upsides and downsides to that.

So, basically, with commlinks, you are looking at communicating in 3 ways:

1) Using a legally purchased commlink with your SIN - upside, any checks into the commlink will pass, because it is a legal phone bought with an actual SIN - downside - don't threaten people with it or talk about crimes on it, otherwise it might cause you to be charged with a crime and now you have a criminal SIN.

2) Using a legally purchased commlink with a fake SIN - upside - cursory checks will show it as a valid commlink with an associated SIN - downside, if they have cause to run down the SIN associated with the phone, then it is possible your fake SIN gets burned, and you are now out at least 2500 - if not more.

3) Using commlink purchased illegally through a fixer - upside - you can call someone or leave a message, or give someone the commlink's number, and no one will be able to find out who you are. If they try to examine the commcode you gave them, it will come up as unregistered, which is a no-no. Again, for most situations, this isn't an issue at all, and is preferred when dealing with criminals.

So, again, I wanted to bring this up when stakes were relatively low - you contacting Emily Sanders using a commlink purchased during char-gen - since I didn't specify all this before, it is up to you - do you want it to be a legal commlink, or an illegal one?

Benefits of having it be illegal - Emily (or anyone monitoring her phone - if there is anyone) - would not know who was calling. However, if she, or her lawyer, checks into the commlink, they are going to know it is illegal, and perhaps might be suspicious considering you are telling her you are acting in an official capacity.

Benefits of it being legal - a cursory check of the phone would show that it was a legal commlink registered to Henry Moss. She may not believe you that you work for Lone Star, but she won't be alerted that you clearly are breaking the law.

Ideally, you would have a legal commlink purchased with a fake SIN saying you worked for Lone Star, or were a private investigator, or something like that.

Ultimately, bear in mind you are calling a citizen of a foreign country, asking her to cross over to your country where her rights are not the same - and at the same time stating that you cannot be sure of her safety due to the fact that the criminal organizations who may have murdered her boyfriend have infiltrated your official communications.

So - and this goes for everyone, since this was not adequately explained, you can purchase 1 commlink of your choice (using normal char gen restrictions due to availability) at 120% of its cost. We will assume you would have purchased this during char gen. Just let Jack know and he can update the money (and then each of you should update your character sheets to include the new item).

Sorry for the long winded explanation In light of the above:

1) Does anyone have any questions?
2) Who is purchasing a new commlink?
3) Will you still be contacting her using a legal phone using the Henry Moss SIN?

If I can get a burner that doesn't connect to a SIN, I'm going to buy one (but I'll just get it through Honeypot IC). LEOs use cover numbers on the regular today, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they do it in the future. Maybe we can talk our way past it.

Thanks for the explanations, I like the gist of it. There's no reason for my character to have any additional commlink btw, nor would it make sense.

So this won't affect my character, at least not for a while, but I always thought that you could load a different SIN on a commlink, or unload the SIN completely from your 'link. A skilled electronics specialist must have a software and/or hardware way to pull this off, no? Maybe it's not easy, but there has to be a way to change this somehow, I'm sure. So let's say your fake SIN got burned, you wouldn't have to ditch the commlink altogether. Maybe you don't want to allow this however, but I would find that just a bit strange.

Sooo...

Well, Drave is pissed... surprise surprise. (took everything he had not to ask that kid if he had ever heard of this place called Columbine...)

To lighten his mood, Drave WILL be hacking into that little hellspawn's commlink, and I am gonna Brick the frak out of that little toy his mother gave him, and turn it into a fancy paper weight.

Other than that, we will see what strange new disasters I can get us into today, suppose the next stop is the Stuffer Shack.

LOL, that seems a little petty.

Ok - excellent question. There aren't rules for this in 5e - although there probably are in 4e (I never played 4e, so I can't comment on that).

My take on it would be yes you could probably by a commlink legally using a SIN, and then somehow (I have the original 4e, not 4a rulebook somewhere - maybe it says it there) use it while transmitting a different SIN or no SIN at all.

Two things:

1) If you aren't transmitting a SIN, again, that is a tip off to anyone that you are doing something illegal (although as I said, probably not a big deal for many communications).

2) You can't scrub the initial transaction. So if you bought that commlink legally, you used a SIN - whether fake or real. So if that commlink is ever compromised, then the SIN used to purchase that commlink would also be compromised - the same way if you bought a gun using a SIN, and the gun was compromised, the SIN that bought it would be as well.

Does that make sense?

Ultimately, my goal here is not to play "gotcha" - I will never screw you guys over for a rule or ruling that wasn't understood or fully explained, or where I had a different interpretation than you. That isn't fun for you guys, or for me, and since none of us are getting paid for this, if we aren't having fun, what's the point

PS - although since at least Jack and I do this while at work, I guess technically we are getting paid to do it - but you get the idea.

Ok - so only question is are you going to mark the commlink first in order to do more damage, or are you just going to hit it with a Data Spike?

Will be afk until around 9:15 EST - if you want, you can decide and make the rolls.

Marking it is Hacking+Logic limit Sleaze
Data Spike is Cybercombat +Logic limit Attack

As always, let me know what programs and ASDF your deck has.

I suppose it does seem a little petty...

But I have never done this before, perhaps this would be good, motivated practice?

How much damage do I need to do to brick a commlink?

(See this is good stuff to know)

LOL, that's actually an interesting question. The book goes willy-nilly with the term "Device Rating" and throws it all over the damn place. For instance, while the commlinks have DRs listed from 1 to 7, if you reference the Device Rating chart, that would mean that the 5000 Transys Avalon is on par with "Billion-nuyen experimental devices and space craft." The Fairlight Caliban is literally off the charts.

My personal interpretation is that for anything that doesn't require a Firewall/Data Processing test, all commlinks are DR 2 (Standard Personal Electronics level). Obviously, that's a GM call.

All devices have matrix condition monitors of 8 + (DR/2), so it generally ranges from 9 to 11.

ETA: The best way to do it, IMO, is to Sleaze three MARKs on it and then mug the shit out of it with a Decryption, Hammer, and Mugger Alphastrike. If you prioritize your Attack attribute once you get the MARKs on it, you should be doing Attack (7) + Hammer (2) + Mugger (9) = 18 Base DV before net hits...

Agreed that the device rating is used too often

It is used to determine how many dice it rolls, how resistant it is to disruption by noise, etc.

For right now we'll call it DR 2 for calculating Matrix condition monitor. The advantage of having a rating 6 commlink instead of a rating 1 commlink woudl be the number of dice it rolls for defense.

Yeah I noticed how liberally that term "Device Rating" was used in there.

But seriously, I don't think Drave would actually do this, (kid could have a 90 year-old grandma on oxygen at home he is supposed to be keeping an eye on...) but thinking about this has made me very interested to see how it worked.

This would be my very first Data Spike, after all.


Here is my ASDF and Program loadout- meant for causing Max Matrix Damage

A-6, S-5, D-3, F-5
Programs: Signal Scrub, Decryption, Virtual Machine: Hammer, Baby Monitor

Please give critiques and suggestions, I like the input.

Like would I even want to bother with baby monitor if I can brick it fast enough? (I would be dealing a base of 9 Matrix damage+ successes)

See my edit above. I can get you to 18 Base DV if you're willing to Sleaze a little...

ETA: Here's a good way to play this. First, Matrix Perception to determine what "DR" the commlink is. Commlinks are simple so once you know the Firewall or Data Processing, you know the other value since it is the same. That gets you one part of the resistance test. Since it is being "attended" the kid's Willpower/Intuition should probably stand in for the commlink's mental attributes. I would assume an average of 3 for both. That should give you an idea on how many dice the comm is going to be defending against. That way, if you want, you could try to hack two or three MARKs with one test, although that's probably not necessary. Just hack them one by one (once you MARK him, you can spot him from anywhere), then swap your programs and light up his commlink. He will probably roll four resistance tests (MARKS and Data Spike), but I don't see how your OS would go up high enough to get converged in that timeframe.

Jack has it covered as far as mechanics are concerned

Now, some follow up questions:

1) I can tell you that unless you roll like you have been rolling, there is no reason you can't brick this kid's commlink (unless you roll like you have been rolling )

2) Are you actually going to do it? No problem either way - just checking.

3) If so, then we can adjudicate that. If not, I could adjudicate it for you anyway, just to show you what would happen - and then you could post your next IC post about getting to the Stuffer Shack - at which point we can roll for Amy's spell

4) Jack and Grease, you probably won't get a response from Emily for a little bit - should I assume you just sit at Rita's until you do?

That's pretty much my plan. Let me know if that takes us to 1PM so I can sort out any text messages. Given my meeting tonight is going to interfere with our planned meeting at Nic's at 1700, I'll need to let the team (and Nic) know. Although, that could be OBE if we decide to get together earlier to go voer what we've learned and make plans for Manuel's widow and checking out MJ Kelly's house.

Alright, Drave has had a rough go of it the past few days. Time to for him to let off some steam, and knock one snarky little fragger down a peg.

A-5, S-6, D-3, F-5
Programs: Signal Scrub, Hammer, Virtual Machine: Decryption, Mugger

Opening up with Matrix Perception to determine the DR

Once that is done, I begin MARKing the target with Hack on the Fly


Lets see how easy the first mark is to get before deciding if I want to try for 2 Marks in one roll on my next IP

----------------
As per the following recommendation; I will check for what grid the comm is on and jump there first before beginning the Hack on the Fly Phase

Double post- my mistake.

Oops, I forgot to mention that you need to jump to whatever grid he is on first. But since there hasn't been any rolling yet, you can probably do that first... Ask what Grid he is on w/your first Matrix Perception hit.

Ok, so you switch to AR, and roll Initiative

First you perform a Matrix Perception - losing 2 dice for being on the public grid

6d6.hits(5)=2

So your two hits determine he is on the local grid, and he has a firewall of 2.

Next, you put a mark on the local grid

14d6.hits(5)=4

vs the Grid's roll

4d6.hits(5)=1

Then you enter the grid.

Next you put a mark on his commlink

16d6.hits(5)=4

vs his defense

5d6.hits(5)=0


So now it is marked, and he doesn't know you have done it yet.

what next? Hack on the Fly again, or just Data Spike him?

double post

One more Hack on the Fly for a second MARK, then drive the point home with a Data Spike.