Shadows over Baltimore Using Computer Skill
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Using
Computer Skill Whenever you undertake a task using
a computerized electronic device within its standard working parameters, odds are you’ll be using Computer
skill. Examining a file for traces of tampering? Doctoring up an image for blackmail purposes? Editing the logs to eliminate
traces of your activities? These and similar tasks all call for Computer Tests. When you are dealing with a particular
device, you roll Computer + Logic against an appropriate gamemaster-determined threshold. When you are utilizing a particular
program, you roll Computer + program rating. Standard situational modifiers may apply, as decided by the gamemaster. In addition to Matrix Perception, Computer skill plays
a particular role in the following Matrix actions. Note that Computer only applies when you have authorized access—if
you are trying to manipulate a node, program, or file illicitly, then you make the test with Hacking skill instead. Edit You can take a Complex Action to create,
change, or erase a file. You can only make minor changes to a file on the fly per action—manually altering
one line of print or one image, for example, subject to gamemaster approval. You may also copying some or all of a file, or
insert pre-readied material. More extensive changes require longer periods and/or an Extended Test. Use Computer skill + Edit
program for Edit Tests. You can also alter a device’s
output—video taken by a security camera, for example, or telemetry data taken by a vehicle sensor. A single Edit action
only alters output for a short period (one Combat Turn). In order to alter output for a longer period, you must first take
control of the device prior to the Edit action. Edit can also be used for creative output, such as crafting a life-like 3-D
holo to use as a distraction, or forging a convincing set of fake credential printouts. Repair
Icon You can repair Matrix damage an icon
has taken in cybercombat with a Repair Icon action. Make a Computer + Medic (1 Combat Turn) Extended Test;
each hit heals one box of Matrix damage on the icon’s Matrix Condition Monitor. Track With a Track action, you can trace
a user’s datatrail from his icon back to his physical location. This is different from a Data search action (which is
like looking up someone’s commcode in a directory); a trace follows the target’s current connections node-by-node
all the way back to the source. Note that you must have detected the target with a Matrix Perception Test in order to trace him. Make an Extended Computer + Track Test (10, 1 Initiative Pass), applying modifiers
from the Track Modifiers Table. If the target performs a Redirect action, add the hits from this action to the threshold.
If the target is running a Stealth program, apply it as a dice pool modifier. Once you’ve scored hits equal to the threshold,
you’ve identified the target’s originating node and access ID (see Authorized Access). If the node is wired to the Matrix,
you’ve ascertained its physical location. If the node is a mobile wireless device, the device’s rough current
physical location has been triangulated (to within 50 meters). You can continue to monitor the device’s location if
it moves, as long as the device stays on and maintains a wireless connection. System security will often trace hackers
this way, and then either dispatch a corporate threat response, notify the police, or launch their own hacking attack on the
hacker’s home node (either by dispatching a security specialist or IC programs) to give the hacker a taste of his own
medicine. Transfer
Data You can transmit or receive data from
one node to another—including uploading and downloading files, sending messages, and so on—with a Transfer Data
Simple Action. If the gamemaster calls for a test to accomplish this, use Computer + Edit program. Note that bandwidth and
transfer speeds in the modern Matrix are fast enough to make all but the largest of file transfers almost instantaneous. Unless
the gamemaster rules otherwise, transfers complete at the end of the Combat Turn in which they were started. A transfer can
be terminated at any time with a Free Action.
Dice Pool Modifier Situation -Rating Target
Running Stealth Program Threshold Modifier Situation +1 Each
hit on a redirect action -2 Users
connection jammed open by Black IC |
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