[Ralff11]

Been following Shadowrun for a long, long time and I've finally been able to put together a group and GM some sessions.

In my last session, I had a rigger who had sent his microdrones into a building to try and map the layout.  While maneuvering the drone through the building, the drone got spotted on the Matrix by a decker monitoring the area.  When the rigger realized that his drone had been caught, instead of getting it out of there, he wanted to command it to shut off wireless and finish mapping the building then return to some designated location.  When I questioned whether the drone can actually shut off the connection ("Drones are devices, so they show up in the Matrix." - pg 269) he instead wanted to have the drone break it's antennae/disable communications/etc.

Didn't see a whole lot of information in the corebook about it (could have missed it), so I let it slide.  He was mapping a house that wasn't pertinent to the module anymore anyway 

But I'm curious for future reference:

Can a drone turn off its connection? And still perform actions?

Regardless of whether the connection could be turned off, were the commands that the rigger had left for the drone too complex for the "dog-brain" pilot program to complete (turn off connection, scan building, return to designated location)?  In this example, what would be your threshold on the pilot test? 

Thanks in advance

[SamTwist]

I'm a relatively new GM so here's my take on it :

The device could run silent in order to prevent being spotted, although, running silent after being spotted won't change much since you were already spotted.  He could use a hide action to try to lose the target that spotted you.

I would allow a rigger to sever his connection to his drone and shut it down from the matrix, but that means you cannot communicate with the device anymore. And be advised, Drones rely on the matrix, if the connection is shut down, how can it return do a designated location?

As for the dog-brain pilot program, I had fun with my rigger :p   First time he gave his drone a command to shoot everything on sight, first thing that happened was the drone targeting him.  He realized he needs to give precise yet not too complicated commands to his drone.  If he were to ask the drone to scan the building, drone would scan everything, carpets, microwaves, lights, posters... etc...    he would need to ask to have a blueprint of the building to get what he wants...   But that is only my personnal take as a GM.

Hope this helps!   I'm sure more experienced GM will provide better tips.

[Namikaze]

Autosofts and Pilot rating handle things when the drone is on a remote task.  So it could run silently, but the rigger loses all communication with the drone.  If the drone gets caught, the rigger won't know it until the drone simply doesn't reconvene where and when it's supposed to.  If you're feeling particularly nasty when the drone gets caught, the security team could allow the drone to continue its task, and then follow it to the rigger.  Of course, the rigger could simply tell his drone to communicate back in bursts periodically, and leave the drone behind.

[Ralff11]

The intention was to load the drone up with all of the commands it needed (disable wireless, map this building, deposit yourself in this bush in the park), then have it run its errands without risk of getting spotted.  Even running silent has the possibility of being seen on the Matrix, right?

Also, how complex do you feel these commands are?  Seems like an awful lot for the drone to do on its own, but I don't have a whole lot to use for reference.

He realized he needs to give precise yet not too complicated commands to his drone. 

Expecting more details from PCs is definitely something I'm trying to improve on

If you're feeling particularly nasty when the drone gets caught, the security team could allow the drone to continue its task, and then follow it to the rigger.

Didn't even think about this one.  I'll have to remember this. 

The whole point of this post is to make sure I'm not setting a precedent that's going to bite me later when this is used in every situation that has the potential for the drone to be caught.

Thanks again

[RHat]

So it could run silently, but the rigger loses all communication with the drone.

Er, small terminology quibble - it sounds like you're talking about wireless off, which is not the same as running silently in game terms.

[Namikaze]

Er, small terminology quibble - it sounds like you're talking about wireless off, which is not the same as running silently in game terms.

Spot on, I messed that up.  Yes, I gave the wrong definition of running silently.  When you silently, the rigger can still issue remote commands or even jump in.  If he wanted to disable the wireless capability of the drone, it reverts to the Pilot and Autosofts to perform tasks.

The intention was to load the drone up with all of the commands it needed (disable wireless, map this building, deposit yourself in this bush in the park), then have it run its errands without risk of getting spotted.  Even running silent has the possibility of being seen on the Matrix, right?

Also, how complex do you feel these commands are?  Seems like an awful lot for the drone to do on its own, but I don't have a whole lot to use for reference.

The Pilot and Autosoft ratings provide the necessary dice pool for determining the success of the drone carrying out its mission.  So if Rigger Bob sends in a drone to scout the building's layout and report back, he should issue it a command and turn off the wireless on the drone.  It then rolls Pilot + Maneuvering for basic navigation, Pilot + Evasion to avoid detection, and Pilot + Clearsight to retrieve any sensor feeds.  Assuming all went well with the drone's tests, the drone will return to the rigger.

For thresholds on the tests, remember that 1 is considered easy, 3 is considered moderately hard, and 5 is considered hard.  I'd consider lowering the threshold if the drone doesn't have much chance of getting lost - which, without schematics and such, the rigger is running a VERY high probability of losing his drone.

[RHat]

I should mention, too - this task is actually extremely simple; the drone already has a map from it's present position back to the rigger, so returning to the rigger is as simple as reversing its path.

[Booze]

Erm,... About running silent and wireless off.

Isn't this in the Core Book itself? That drones can not be wireless off? [not sure, as I'm AFB,... again]

Running silent didn't turn off wireless bonuses off, too?

[RHat]

Erm,... About running silent and wireless off.

Isn't this in the Core Book itself? That drones can not be wireless off? [not sure, as I'm AFB,... again]

Running silent didn't turn off wireless bonuses off, too?

Any device can run wireless off.

[Ralff11]

I should mention, too - this task is actually extremely simple; the drone already has a map from it's present position back to the rigger, so returning to the rigger is as simple as reversing its path.

The rigger actually wanted the drone to go to some drop point in Seattle so he could pick it up later (not a safehouse.  More like a park, abandoned building, etc)  Him and his teammate were currently on the move, fleeing a bunch of pissed off Yakuza.

[Ralff11]

@Namikaze -- I really like your idea of breaking up the command and adjusting the difficulty for each component.  I was thinking of the whole thing as one command and trying to apply a threshold there.  And if one of them fail then the drone just doesn't return (and could potentially get caught depending on what part it failed).

[Namikaze]

@Namikaze -- I really like your idea of breaking up the command and adjusting the difficulty for each component.  I was thinking of the whole thing as one command and trying to apply a threshold there.  And if one of them fail then the drone just doesn't return (and could potentially get caught depending on what part it failed).

Which helps to reinforce the risk :: reward aspect of SR5, I think.  If the rigger wants to let the drone do it's thing automatically, he runs the risk of losing the drone.  If he's willing to risk his physical presence being traced, he can do the tasks via remote control.  And if he's willing to risk his brain in cybercombat with a security spider, he can jump into the drone.

[RHat]

I should mention, too - this task is actually extremely simple; the drone already has a map from it's present position back to the rigger, so returning to the rigger is as simple as reversing its path.

The rigger actually wanted the drone to go to some drop point in Seattle so he could pick it up later (not a safehouse.  More like a park, abandoned building, etc)  Him and his teammate were currently on the move, fleeing a bunch of pissed off Yakuza.

So long as it already has a map out of the facility (by knowing its way in), that's still very simple.

[Namikaze]

So long as it already has a map out of the facility (by knowing its way in), that's still very simple.

Initially Ralff11 had mentioned the scenario included the drone not having a map in advance, and in fact using the drone to create the map.