[Tecumseh]

We didn't look at the AR game on Chino's commlink, no. It's a parkour game. I don't think anyone else knows about it.

Wednesdays are my busy day so I'll be a bit slow today. I hope to get more posts up this afternoon. If not, then later tonight.

[Tecumseh]

"Ralph Hendrix" is the SIN that Sam was using with the Johnson and to rent the house in Boulder.

"Frank Muntz" is Sam's clean SIN, so far as you know.

Doc finds the billing database and the prescription database, no problem.

He also sees Patrol IC wandering about, looking for illegal activity. It is not running silent, nor is its function concealed in any way. If anything, they seem to be making it blatantly obvious.

The average red blood cell transfusion for a metahuman is about 1.5 liters, or about 30% of the average metahuman's blood volume. An average troll would have 22 liters of blood, and a particularly large one like Sam might have up to 30 liters. Thus, Doc thinks he could get up to 9 liters of blood for a troll without raising too much suspicion, although that troll would be expected to have some significant injuries (e.g. car crash).

In other words, if Doc is listing "Frank" as the patient, you probably shouldn't send "Frank" inside to pick up the goods.

Adding Sam as a patient will be an Edit File action. The files are protected so Doc will need to perform the Crack File action first. You'll have to beat the watchful gaze of the Patrol IC while doing so too.

[Zweiblumen]

Hrm, why was the matrix perception test opposed?

Some questions on how this sort of thing works...

If you succeed with an Attack action, your target becomes aware that it is under attack by another icon, but it doesn’t automatically spot you.

That implies that you are running silently.  If I do an attack action, the host notices that it's under attack, but how does it identify *me* as the attacker?  Especially if I'm not appling new marks?

Basically what do I need to do to avoid notice?

And I should have asked what the protection rating on the files were   That should actually be an unoppsed check right?  These files aren't hiden?
I'd like to use my second MP check there (hitting my limit of 6) either opposed or unopposed to find out the protection rating of the files.

Depending on the ratings I may need to reconfigure my deck.

[Tecumseh]

The test was an opposed check to see if Doc noticed any silent icons in the area. He didn't. But, you're right, since he didn't notice anything he should have been granted three more pieces of information instead. You asked for protection rating, so that's one. The protection rating of the files is 3.

And, yes, that's a good question about how to avoid notice when cracking a protected file. Does the Crack File action necessitate a smash-n-grab approach? Crack File is listed as a Sleaze action (as well as an Attack action) on the table on p. 244, but unfortunately the Errata specifically removed the Sleaze entry.

I suppose one approach would be to find the file's owner (we'll say the local spider), get a mark on him or her, then spoof him or her to make the edits. This is bending one of my previous rulings a bit (namely that the Spoof command cannot be used for any matrix action that requires Ownership, which is technically the case here since you need to be an owner to edit a protected file without cracking it), but it seems to be a reasonable compromise. Editing a protected file seems like something you should be able to do without tripping every alarm in the place automatically.

[Zweiblumen]

I like your compromise.  This is totally in your realm, but I could see the host being the owner of the files (and then delegating ownership to spiders as needed... this is totally House Rule territory as there is nothing about how hosts deal with ownership vs persona).  Also as a compromise, needing two marks on the owner to get "owner specific" things done?  I don't want to have to get another mark on this host that is regularly rolling a 50% hit rate, but I think it's a good compromise.  Otherwise you'd need to come up with some method for discovering an icons owner as there is RAW on that:

• The marks on an icon, but not their owners.

So I could see all of the employee's marks, but not the owners... which actually leads me to another idea...
Obviously employees can update these files as needed, so I MP to find marks, then I need to come up with some way of discovering who owns a given mark, then spoof *that* person giving the command to the icon/file.  That isn't owner specific and seems more in-line with what would happen in the real world.
When hacking into a system, I don't need root privileges to make an update to an encrypted database, I just need to have valid user credentials.  I find a person who has that, and then steal their credentials in some way (this is current).  In SR, I find that person, and get a mark on them, then Spoof Command to immitate them.

So, things needed to update the DB:

• Mark on Host to get access to the host
• MP to find a valid user (at least)
• Mark on valid user
• MP to find the files
• Spoof Command on valid user to edit file

So, essentially I need to find a user, presumably a doctor, that has the right access (most of them) and nick a mark on him.  Presumably, his equipment is owned by the Host, so I'll be going against the hosts FW and device rating again to get a mark on it.

Lets use some of my MP rolls to find me a Doc and then I'll throw an HotF at him:
HotF a Dr on the Hospital Host (Log 9 + Hack 6 + VR 2 + Exploit 2 = 19): 19d6t5 6
I'm gonna edge that to re-roll misses just to CMA
re-roll misses 13: 13d6t5 4
8 is my limit, so wasted 2 hits, but yeah.

[Tecumseh]

That sounds like a good approach. We'll go with that.

Bad luck?: 1d6 6, no

Resist Hack on the Fly: 13d6t5 2 hits, good thing you Edged.

Doc gets a mark on a doc.

[Zweiblumen]

Deck Configuration:
A: 4 S: 7 (8 ) D: 5 (6) F: 6
Agent; Toolbox; Exploit; Stealth

(it's been a few posts want to keep it easy)
Spoof Command doc to edit (Int 4 + Hack 6 + Ganglia 1 + VR 2 = 13): 13d6t5 6 (limit
(that's the doctor, not spoofing himself ;p)

Then he'll leave the host, log out and reboot!

[Tecumseh]

Resist Snoop: 13d6t5 9 hits, waa waa

Don't feel too bad. None of your limits are high enough to beat a defense roll like that. Just wasn't meant to be.

Doc gets a fat mark slapped on his forehead. The Patrol IC, predictably, goes bonkers.

[Zweiblumen]

*sigh*  Yeah, that roll is sick... all of the hosts' defensive rolls except for one (which I wasted edge on ;p) have been over the top.  It happens... entropy has decided it would not favor me this time

Okay, guessing it's initiative time.
initiative (Int 4 + DP 6 = 10 + 4d6): 4d6+10 27
Agent Initiative (Rating 6 + DP 6 = 12): 4d6+12 21
If I'm not first, I'll use a point of edge to jump to the front.  I want to get the order in regardless of being caught

CT1 IP1:
Doc:
Free Action: [send message] @Agent [Doc] Keep marks off me!
Complex Action: Spoof Command doc to edit (Int 4 + Hack 6 + Ganglia 1 + VR 2 = 13): 13d6t5 5 (limit 8 )
Edge to re-roll misses re-roll misses 8: 8d6t5 1
Well, that sucks   6 net hits.
Agent:
Free Action: [send message] @Doc [Agent] On it!
Complex Action: Agent removing mark (14 dice): 14d6t5 5

Also, thanks for that IC post.  I was working on how I wanted to write that up, but your writing is GREAT!

[Poindexter]

Sam is still down for the ole smash and grab.

[Tecumseh]

Let's talk this through a bit, just so we're on the same page of envisioning how things work in the setting.

Despite rolls to the contrary, Doc is actually a decent hacker. He could probably complete the smash-and-grab version of the hack, but the end results are questionable. Namely, now that the alarms are going off, the element of surprise is lost. Even if Doc spoofs someone's name into the patient and billing systems - or uses the noisy Crack File approach - the bogus data is going to be ferreted out relatively quickly because the system will be on the lookout for such anomalies. This won't give you the opportunity to saunter in and pick up the blood like a take-out order. And even if the bogus data isn't uncovered, they hospital staff will likely know about the intrusion and will be triple-checking everything.

The physical smash-and-grab is viable, but Katsina would be horrified at the prospect. First, she doesn't want to mess with SecForce. Two, the rental van is a terrible getaway vehicle, and being ID'd in it would burn Ohanzee's SIN that he used to rent it with. Three, there are other viable options, such as going hungry for a short while. Fourth, her feeding isn't necessarily a violent act. It's possible for her to feed without killing someone and also without them becoming Infected, so she's got a lower moral threshold to cross than most vampires do. She definitely does not want to incur any significant risk for what she considers to be an inconvenience. It's not an existential crisis.

[Poindexter]

Sam and his gallons upon gallons of blood is also willing to be the feedbag, risk of infection be damned. He's pretty sure no one is making it out alive anyways.

[Malevolence]

Yeah, this time we'll have to wait longer than 20 minutes before trying again. I think it is best to just move on to a different hospital on a different day.


As an option for our next try, we might just have Kat vape in and change the expiration dates on a few bags, then just hit the biohazard disposal van for them when they toss them. We get to do the smash-and-grab we're so good at, and we leave a little less of an obvious trail indicating our presence.

[Tecumseh]

Dumpster diving!

Vaping in and out is very valid for individual meals but it does mean you're tethered within a certain radius.

Changing expiration dates is a great idea but such things are likely handled by RFID rather than Sharpie pen. Kat can't vape in and out with a tag eraser, so it's back to Doc for hacking.

[Malevolence]

Maybe just drop the bags into the biohazard waste receptacle a few minutes before a collection? Unless they scan RFIDs on outgoing waste...