[Wildcard]

So, bit of a problem. Got a player with some decent observation drones. Chameleon coating, sensors out the ass, laser mikes, all that jazz, and a sattelite uplink to boot. I don't really have a problem with him owning the drones, but I'm not sure how to handle a constant stream of "You know where everyone is and what they're talking about" without losing a large chunk of fun and adventure. When the drones are hitting 8's and 9's on perception checks, it kind of takes the point out of designing anything elaborate for an infiltrator to come across.

So what are some ways to deal with drones on a day-to-day basis with a reasonable budget? I can pretty much handwave the measures a high-sec corp building could use, but if raiding a yak house or taking the fight to a hovel of halloweeners, is there anything they can reasonably do to defend themselves from being spotted by a rigger half a city away?

[Mirikon]

Tell us what size the drones are, what movement modes they have, and what sensors they have, and we can tell you easy ways to beat them.

[Wildcard]

Ford LEBD-1,

w/

Chameleon Coating,
Sat Com
Response 4

Medium Drone Sensor
-Camera
--Smartlink, Vision mag, thermographic
-Radio signal scanner
Most of the drone softs
Hardening 6

M23 colt, w Chameleon coat as well.

Or, an

FB Kull,
Lighter then air mod
chameleon coating
sat com
ECM 6
Hardening 6
Laser Mike (W audio enchancement 3)
Camera W usual assortment of enhancements and mods

Flyspy,
SatCom
Cham coat
Improved Sensor Array
Hardening
Sensors out the ass.

Like, If I want these things blown out of the sky, I can just make a mage lightning bolt it. But If I want something less drastic, or at the least, have a building not have every inch of it spotted and mapped before the team gets there, I'm not sure what to do.
   

[Mirikon]

All right. First, the Fly-spy is breaking rules. Body 1 means 1 slot to modify with. It has 4 slots worth of modifications. Chameleon Coating is 2, the other two are 1. That right there tells me you need to go back through and audit the drones, to make sure that not only are their modifications legal, but also that they aren't over their sensor capacity, and that all those autosofts aren't dropping their response. Remember, autosofts that come with the drone don't have to be paid for, but they still count against processor loads.

Second, Chameleon coating is great for visual scans. It does jack against other sensors, such as Ultrasound, or radar.

Third, chameleon coating does jack against keeping the drone from being hacked. And even if a hacker can't see it, it will turn up when they're doing a detect hidden node extended test.

Fourth, the only drone really capable of doing surveillance inside a building would be the Fly-spy, as even if the LEBD-1 can't be seen, that doesn't mean it doesn't make noise or that people won't walk into it.

Fifth, Chameleon Coating does jack against spirits and astral observers. There goes that whole 'surprise' thing.

Sixth, Jamming/interference. Try getting a satellite link from inside that underground bunker, in the middle of that jamming field, or inside the shielded research area.

Seventh, physical illusion spells. If you can't think of ways to have fun with illusions, then you've never hidden a pit trap filled with spikes and acid under an illusion of a floor before.

Eighth, Countersurveillance drones. You know those nice powerful satellite uplinks? Other things can detect them too. See how those drones like a dragonfly swarm.

Ninth, backtracing. So the Yakuza have a hacker. He noticed a drone nearby, watching their warehouse. He hacks in, and tracks the signal back to the source, before uploading malware, and informing his buddies of an annoying person who ought to be paid a visit, if he doesn't just Black Hammer them.

Tenth, MAD scanners. Metal drones set them off nicely.

I can think of more, but that should be enough to get you started.

[Wildcard]

Odd, chummer's showing 4 slots for the fly-spy. Don't think the player was trying to cheat there, just a quirk of using char-gen software I suppose.

Thanks for the rest of the suggestions though, those should help a lot. I don't want to fuck the guy over, I just want to keep the game interesting for all parties.

[Kiirnodel]

Vehicles/Drones have 4 slots for modification or Body Attribute, whever is higher. Arsenal p.129

EDIT: added additional thoughts to avoid double posting:
Also, For your "Fifth" Spirits and Astral Observers would have trouble seeing/noticing drones. Without any life force or emotional backing to their actions, they are a) noticeable only as vague shadows on the Astral, and b) likely to be overlooked or ignored by many spirits. Bigger Spirits might be able to be told to pay attention to drones, but they would at least have a penalty to notice them if they aren't Materialized. But Watchers, with their 2 dice for just about anything (and the inability to Materialize) probably won't notice most non-living objects.

[Carz]

All right. First, the Fly-spy is breaking rules. Body 1 means 1 slot to modify with. It has 4 slots worth of modifications. Chameleon Coating is 2, the other two are 1.

Chameleon Coating is actually 1 slot, per the eratta.
Other's have noted drones get 4 slots for mods.

However, Fly Spy is a Minidrone so it is breaking the rules for Satellite Communication (Standard).

Arsenel, pg 131:
Terminology
Size and Type: Each modification is either a microdrone,
minidrone, standard, or all modification. Microdrones can only
be equipped with microdrone modifications; minidrones can
only be equipped with microdrone and minidrone modifications;
all other drones and vehicles can only be equipped with
standard modifications. All means that the modification is available
for all vehicle sizes. Additionally, some modifi cations are
only available to certain types of vehicles, such as groundcraft ,
aircraft , or watercraft , as noted.


I tend to agree with Mirikon's other suggestions except Astral. My understanding of astral is that you see non-living things as shadows, not as a clear image of what they actually are. So I'd still make it hard to see using Astral (i.e. I' d apply the normal Minidrone perception penalties, without Chameleon Coating, of course).

[Wildcard]

Any tips on dealing with Radar?

[dertechie]

Normal Radar can give you an excellent map of the surface.  It will not penetrate very well into buildings.  In particular, it has problems with cluttered terrain, like urban environments.  It can still tell you what's moving down there, which can be dead useful.

Ultrawideband Radar is kind of Applied Phlebotinum, and does all sorts of fun things.  UWB Radar devices have a Signal rating of 2 though, per Arsenal, so they only have 100m effective range.  That's close enough for more sophisticated targets to maybe get suspicious of the drone that's just hanging out there Chameleon Cloaked overhead.  A Halloweeners hideout on the other hand probably wouldn't notice.

All Radar can be jammed, though few facilities can get away with just blanketing the airwaves with static 24/7, so Smart Jammers with good scripts would be the order of the day here.

[I_V_Saur]

Technomancer punk kids off the street, bored out of their minds.

That is all.

[Mantis]

Don't forget, without Improved Economy, Sun Cell or extra Fuel tanks, these drones have a maximum loiter time of 6 hours. Yeah the Kull with LTA mod can hang out for a long time but I can't imagine it can do so without being noticed eventually. The Ford LEBD is restricted and is a law enforcement drone so you could imagine KE or Lone Star checking the things credentials every so often if it is loitering. It is also a rotor craft so not exactly silent. Chameleon coating doesn't remove a perception check nor, as has been pointed out, does it do anything against non visual detection systems (UWB Radar, Ultrasound, hearing, etc). There are plenty of ways to detect these if they are just hanging around, especially in areas with restricted airspace.

[Sichr]

As posted before, drones can have 4slots. Jamming can be effective but not in urban area, where it would be quite disruptive for standard traffic.
Active countermeasures are the way IMO.
Build the network of active/passive countermeasures. Spider with TI overlay, Tacnet and multiple Radar/Ultrasound detectos built in the building, Radio signal scanner equiped drones flying around, equiped with Datasearch able agent to find out rigger signals. And, of course, smart sensor package equiped guards linked to TacNet. Wifi inhibited walls means any drone that made it inside should also be able to get out to deliver data, this means no live feed for runners, unless they made a breach to get the line and transponder in. Then, HERF gun or AV loaded smart firing platforms in strategic points would be the offensive line.
TM kids on the streets, bored and hacking everything interresting usualy find themselves soon in the MCT care. Brains in jars.

[Wildcard]

The advice given here helped a bunch, thanks all.

[I_V_Saur]

TM kids on the streets, bored and hacking everything interresting usualy find themselves soon in the MCT care. Brains in jars.

Cyborgs? They lose all MAG and RES attributes.

[Mirikon]

TM kids on the streets, bored and hacking everything interresting usualy find themselves soon in the MCT care. Brains in jars.

Cyborgs? They lose all MAG and RES attributes.

Someone hasn't read Corporate Intrigue yet.