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Tracking device in secure briefcase

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KE1Games

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« on: <02-05-18/1228:20> »
Hi there... I am new to Shadowrun GM'ing although I have played a lot over the years but I have never really messed with the matrix and devices before as a player.

So, my group has a job where they need to secure a briefcase which is handcuffed to someone (Ronin). The contents in the briefcase are very sensitive and would have the best security available. I have some ideas on how to set up the briefcase, but not sure what to prepare for when the team gets it.

1. It would have a decoy mid-rating tracking device
2. It would have the best type of AOD tracking device I can find (Tracking Signal-AOD on this page but I cannot find it in any book: http://denver.wikidot.com/info:surveillance-gear)
3. I like the idea of the carrier of the briefcase having his hand locked "in" the briefcase instead of the old-fashioned handcuff

Basically, I don't want the team to find the real tracking device but I guess I need to make it possible (although extremely difficult) for them to find if they think to search for a second and manage to roll high enough. But my issue right now is that I cannot find the right information to set this all up such as device ratings and how a hacker would locate and remove it... Any advice?

Thanks!

ShadowcatX

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« Reply #1 on: <02-05-18/1239:28> »
Would it not just be an RFID tag running on silent?

Marcus

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« Reply #2 on: <02-05-18/1330:46> »
Most teams with a clue will Faraday cage anything like that until they tag killed anything that might be an Transmitter or ID tag.

But I do think several stealth ID tags as wells as an active transponder is a good idea, just in case the team is careless. 

A small explosive charge in the brief case that goes off, if it's not opened with the correct mechanical Combination.

If your looking for something more secure then a hand cuff, it could get a little complicated. It old standby for list of reasons.

My real suggestion isn't to make the brief case super tricky to detach,  put good security on it, put the tags and transmitter on it, make it a good fight to get it.

Then make whatever is inside to be some kind of Matrix encrypted memory storage device, and with some Altered icons that send it's location via the matrix as soon as the thing is accessed.  The ol'double layer macguffin.  See how good their decker is, opens up the chance for a cool chase scene or a fight the retrieval team, or something more subtle and dangerous. 
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Jack_Spade

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« Reply #3 on: <02-05-18/1533:55> »
Per the rules, there are very few things that can't be cut through with a micro welder.

If you really want a nearly undetectable tracker, you need a very high sleaze rating. You can achieve that by slaving a stealth tag to a very powerful deck that's also running smoke and mirrors and is used by someone with a very high logic rating.
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KE1Games

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« Reply #4 on: <02-05-18/1547:30> »
Thanks everyone for the feedback so far. Yes my intention is to create a "chase scene"; the safehouse they need to bring the package to will be compromised and will need to wing their options. I do not want to railroad them into a fully designed chase scene as I know that they will divert from it anyway.  So I just want to put them into this situation and have to run from groups of go-gangers and and others, and find the right opportunities to strike and/or find a place to lay low.

Would it be unethical just to add an "undetectable" tracker to the case to justify the enemy knowing where they are? I mean let them find the decoy but refuse to let them find the "real one"?

If it is "unethical", then let's put some things aside and focus on my main issue. I do not know how to deal with device ratings (sleaze as well) and how to play through the process of a decker searching for such a high rated device. The info I find is vague... so if someone could explain the process simply, then that would be great!

PiXeL01

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« Reply #5 on: <02-05-18/1606:28> »
To find a device that is hidden the decker needs to make an opposed Matrix Perception test (Computer + Intuition [Data Procesing] versus Logic + Sleaze if owned Device Rating + Sleaze if not.

If the decker wins he’ll find something hidden.
If Tom Brady’s a Spike Baby, what does that make Brees and Rodgers?

ShadowcatX

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« Reply #6 on: <02-05-18/1700:47> »
You say you don't want to railroad them but then ask if it is unethical to cheat the rules of the game so you can put them on your railroad. That makes no sense.

And yes it is unethical. Imagine a similar scenario, you are a street samurai, no matter how good you roll, my NPC beats you. I don't roll dice, I just say he  beats you. Would that upset you? (Hint: Yes, it would.) Also, at that point, why bother playing a game, just write a book.

The truth is, you're not going to be able to hide anything from your decker if he rolls even moderately well, if he looks. Don't depend on it. Have your story unfold some other way and stop being railroady.

PiXeL01

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« Reply #7 on: <02-05-18/1813:00> »
Have a magical trinket hidden within the case or a ritual sample and then use ritual magic to locate the case
If Tom Brady’s a Spike Baby, what does that make Brees and Rodgers?

KE1Games

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« Reply #8 on: <02-05-18/1819:13> »
You say you don't want to railroad them but then ask if it is unethical to cheat the rules of the game so you can put them on your railroad. That makes no sense.

And yes it is unethical. Imagine a similar scenario, you are a street samurai, no matter how good you roll, my NPC beats you. I don't roll dice, I just say he  beats you. Would that upset you? (Hint: Yes, it would.) Also, at that point, why bother playing a game, just write a book.

The truth is, you're not going to be able to hide anything from your decker if he rolls even moderately well, if he looks. Don't depend on it. Have your story unfold some other way and stop being railroady.

Blunt and to the point. I needed this... Thanks!

Mollari

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« Reply #9 on: <02-05-18/1922:31> »
Hey there

Something I've been bringing into my games is deliberately low tech devices. Hackers and B&E experts rely too much on something being of a high technology or wireless.

I love the idea that the briefcase has a tracker to be found, but think of all the other possibilities:

1) The briefcase material radiates at a low frequency. It is largely masked by comlink traffic, but is actively been tracked through the Grid. Pass a holographic advertisment and it places a spam mark on your pan. The world is full of these sensors. Let them think laterally. It's an easy hack to get into any Grid marketing display interface. They could figure it out, but they have to think of it first. Did they ask what their Geiger counter reads?

2) The briefcase releases an odorless material that can be traced by scent. High threshold for mundane senses, easier for olfactory boosters.

3) The briefcase is made of a infrared reflective material. Examples are like where thermal pictures of cities can spot when marijuana plants are hidden among normal ones because they have a different refractive index. The Grid and other basic level visual sensors are picking up a bright glowing briefcase that looks completely normal within normal frequencies.

4) The briefcase emits an ultrasonic burst of information in packets. It can be linked to mercury sensors inside for motion and only bursts every hour or so.

See the technology in this world is built to interface with the matrix, but there's a ton of ways that information can be communicated. Think outside the box. This will reward runners who similarly think laterally, and it'll be a good learning experience when they figure it out.
« Last Edit: <02-05-18/1924:31> by Mollari »

PiXeL01

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« Reply #10 on: <02-05-18/2022:57> »
a gm should be fair to the players the sense that they need to know what countermeasures are available against various forms on tracking. Punishing them for something they didn’t have a chance to prevent is simply cruelty and bullying, especially with new groups.

So instead of making this into a “who outsmarts who first” or “who is most familiar with the source material” irl look at the characters. Would they know how to prevent being followed or tracked properly? If not, then why were they hired in the first place if the Mr Johnson was aware of the stacks, unless he is throwing them deliberately to the wolves of course.

You can set up chase scene further down the line or at least differently. Maybe someone saw them, maybe they were picked up by cameras or traffic drones. However give them a chance to get away.
If Tom Brady’s a Spike Baby, what does that make Brees and Rodgers?

Mollari

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« Reply #11 on: <02-05-18/2032:57> »
That's a good point.

I always have three ways that a plot point can be countered, but there's also an element that these are shadowrunners. Paranoia should be baked into them. So yes always come up with ways that an ordinary character can identify. Perhaps you tell them that:
1) the material is peculiar to the touch
2) something rubs off the surface
3) it eminates a low level of noise (for the radioactive method)

So yes they should always, always, have a chance to prevent it, and I certainly don't like it when it's a game of who memorised the material better.

What'd also be cool is that perhaps whilst the shadowrunners don't know what's going on, you emulate the world reacting to these methods. The GRID system will start advertising perfumes and commenting that they appear to have a peculiar taste in cologne etc.

Maybe if it passes through any scanners for weapons/cyber the guards do a second pass over it because something was strange but their sensors don't know what.

Even things like the internal atmo scanner of their car turning the AC colder because the radioactive material is sitting right next to the heat register... I dunno, but yeah there should be plenty of evidence

Rooks

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« Reply #12 on: <02-06-18/1211:27> »
we had our mage turna  guy to goo to remove the handcuff to the briefcase but run and gun has a tracker for their gun which doubles as a stealth tag and a security tag so it runs stealth and cannot be destroyed using a tag eraser