First Gil... "Rating 0 sensors include rangfinders, as well as ultrasound and laser proximity detectors. Rating 1 sensors include proximity detectors, rangefinders, video (not trideo) cameras, basic radar, signature-recognition software, low-light & telecopic magnification." At level 5, you add flare comp. Otherwise, the only difference is between 0 and 1."

Also: "All sensors include magnification power equal to 50 times the sensor rating."

So, no, optical imaging won't save you. Also, don't forget, depending the sensor rating, it can go.... (for the dobermans starting 1 sensor you could upgrade it to 2, but I won't calc that out.) It can detect you up to, 2km away. (Ratingx1.5 round up). If you upgraded it, to level 2 sensors, it can spot you from 4km away. Lovely isn't it?

Oh, Something I just noticed... sensor modifier...: "Concealed by spell: Certain physical illusion spells, such as Improved Invisibility or Trid Phantasm, require a Resistance Teset to pierce the illusion. Consult individual spell descriptions for details."

I really wish I had MITS to consult so I can see exactly what it means. I read it as if MITS says you need half the OR to affect the object, there you go.

Well, as I understand Spell Defense, one doesn't know the nature of the magic being used. But, yes, the magician would know magic was a foot...

Just had an inspired thought, folks.

How about having a Mage/Shaman teleport a large charge of C-12 (triggered by a remote detonator) directly onto the Doberman drone's turret/top armor?

(That's the weakest spot in the armor of current Main Battle Tanks, so it stands to reason that a combat drone's weak spot would be in that vicinity as well.)

Failing that, I suppose that an Ally Spirit could do the same thing.

You could also try a mini-kamikaze attack with either a smaller drone loaded with explosives, or a remote-controlled toy airplane/car with a similar payload, a la the chase scene in THE DEAD POOL (1988), in which Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) and his partner, Inspector Al Quan (Evan C. Kim), are chased through the streets of San Francisco by an explosives-laden remote-controlled model car (IIRC, it was about a 1:8 scale 1965 Corvette Stingray coupe, but I'm not quite certain of (1) the model's scale, or (2) the exact year of the Corvette that was being copied. )

Just a couple of suggestions that might be worth considering.

--Foreigner

Teleport does not exist at all in Shadowrun canon.

As for using a Spirit of any kind to do what you suggest, the material (explosives in this case) does not take on an Astral-only form when the Spirit does, but retains its physical form. This means that the Spirit could not place said material inside the drone.

Whoops.

My bad, Fortune.

I really need to go back over my rulebooks.

As the saying goes, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

P.S. : Would my other idea (the remote-controlled toy/small drone packed with explosives) be feasible under the canon rules?


--Foreigner

The gangers aren't stupid!

Well... OK, they are, but they're also clever enough to achieve positions of illegally-held power whilst sly enough to evade capture by Lone-Star. IE: They're stupid in the right way.

Ever seen America's Dumbest Criminals? Would it surprise you if an ork or troll (or even a human, elf, or dwarf after having seen ADC) called the cops to the gang hideout? Average Orc/Troll intelligence? 2 and 1 respectively.

Result: Gang in custody for BTL dealing. Doberman taken-out by police forces.

It'd be an interesting turn of events and I'm sure it would make the players laugh. (and the rigger cry, as a bonus)

I can't believe that I forgot this...

From an ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game I read about on the 'net.

Here's the link:

Lach mal wieder!!!

A party of mostly clerics and magic users, who noticed in the midse (sic) of an assassination attempt, that Silence, Darkness, and Fireball all have roughly equivalent radiuses. Cast them all simultaneously, and you get:

"Dwarmigi's Inconspicuous Fireball--I don't know what it was, but it sure hurt like hell..."

Would that spell combination be possible--and, more importantly, legal under the rules, in SR?

If so, its usefulness against both living and non-living targets would make it pretty handy for eliminating sentries as well as drones.

--Foreigner

you'd have to cast multiple simultaneous spells, foreigner--the damaging spell, and one or two spells to cover the visual and audio. and the smell, come to think.

mfb:

Thanks.

Truth be told, I sort of expected an answer like that.

I just thought that I'd mention it, because it sounded like it might be useful.

--Foreigner

of one wants to destroy the drone useing magic, use a ram or powerblot. they are not elemental effects so therefor only have the effect that the drone crumbles.

...And the target number is really, really high.

and so it is for a comboed fireball, darkness and silence spell to...

Good luck with a fireball. Elemntal manipulations are treated like normal attacks. That means against a doberman you'll need a force 13 fireball and you can't do more than a serious.

S base. you can stage it up. and, actually, it'd be force 7: 10 OR, +2 body, +(6 armor x0.5), halved.

edit: oops, vehicle armor. right, force 13.

I don't have my book in front of me. Does vehicle armor lower the damage level by one before or after staging and soaking?

Also, the TN would be 8 (base) + 2 (body) + 3 (1/2 armor). While doable with a lot of pool dice being spent, 13 is a tough nut to crack. Granted, you only need one success, but you're far from gauranteed to get one, and you're soaking some hefty drain just to try.

Basically mages are crap at fighting drones with damage dealing spells, and should probably focus on any living targets whie their buddies take on the drones.

no, the TN would be 4, same as any other target for an elemental manipulation. the damage reduction for attacks against vehicles is mentioned before it talks about staging and whatnot, so i assume the base damage is reduced, not the staged damage.

Can anybody tell me or think of a way to track back from the drone to controlling rigger using magic? Afterall the rigger is essense connected to some of the hardware.

From the drone? No. Because there is no essence lost to connect to any specific drone. Unless magic can track the encrypted frequency hopping drone signal, you can't track down the rigger directly using magic from the drone.

Oops, yeah the firebal has a TN of 4. I was thinking combat spell and not elemental manipulation. But since it is a manipulation, even if the force is high enough the rigger can still attempt to dodge (assuming he's controlling just the drone in question of course).

Well, if you can take the drone intact. If the Rigger has done much work on it, it could theoretically act as a rutual link to the Rigger, but that's unlikely. I know I have at least one rigger character thet purposely dones't handle the drones much to prevent that. I have a drone just for re-loading and maintaining the guns.

thats a nasty use of ritual magic nikoli, me likes

Be a troll W/bone lace, dermal plating and a load of impact armor
Get a IPE grenade on a stick, tie a string to the pin.
Place the end of the stick under the drone, pull the string, wait a few seconds
Watch drone go into orbit as chunky circutry with the floor comes into effect.
Hope you're tough enough that you survive the remaining shockwave

Modify a grenade so that it has a Radio Detonator (SR3.283) for a trigger.
Place it in the frount door, and wait for the metal doggie to come through
Press the button, then repair the door frame.

Of course, I might be misremembering the rules for explosions and armor, but at the least the drone would get knocked about, and maybe flipped over

The whole issue of magic VS inanimate targets is a headache, and IMHO the part of the rules most in need of revision. Blackjack has/had a rant on it on his page in the archives.

No, the gloves are a part of your clothing, which we all know does nothing to protect against aura contamination. My drone idea (Mr. Fix-it, comes with a tool kit and a robot brain) leaves you a virtual impassive party as you never have to touch the drones, I can direct repairs virtually, which will not leave my aura on what is being worked on.

Three words to solve everything: Tactical Nuclear Strike.

Well.........

That's a might drastic. even for Lonestar in a Z zone.

Hey! It (sorta) worked in Chi-town! I would think the precedent has been set.

I have a simpler solution: Realize these things don't respond well to fire elementals appearing inside them and melting their circuitry in the process.

Except a fire elemental cannot appear inside an object without the proper amount of space. And even if it could, at best it's an Engulf on the drone, which follows all the normal rules.

Hmm. I need to go over that again...