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P-Tac's (tac-nets) from Run & Gun

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adzling

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« on: <03-18-15/1718:17> »
Sooo anyone care to venture whether the P-tac cost is per person or for the entire network up to maximum user number?

For example I see in the errata that the Novatech Tactician costs $325,000 and has a rating of 5.
You will get the bonii of

Is that per user or as many users as you want up to the maximum of 8 users (max users = rating x 1.5).

Also it notes that it will add one half of it's rating to the firewall of the host device.
What does this mean (no host device is indicated, of course)?
Does it enhance the firewall of the users Commlink or Deck?
All users commlinks and decks or just the leaders?
etc...
As usual vaguely written crunch means dissecting on the forums is required.
Sigh.

some more details below for you to refer to:
• Host unit enhancement. One half the device rating can be used to enhance either the firewall or processing ratings of the host device.
• Trauma module. Worn on the chest under any armor, this flat plastic plate can be loaded with one dose any drug of the users’ choice and programed to automatically deliver the drug under user-set conditions.
• Enhanced situational awareness. Provides a +2 to all Perception Tests, including audio and visual, along with a +1 bonus to all Sneaking tests.
• Enhanced Team Leader Coordination. This allows a designated team leader to coordinate combat maneuvers as a simple rather than complex action and to transfer five initiative points to one select team member on the network.
• Combat Mode. + 1 to one of the following com- bat skills of the player’s choice: Armed Combat, Automatics, Longarms, Pistols, Unarmed Com- bat. Player can switch to a different skill during combat as a simple action.

Shaidar

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« Reply #1 on: <03-18-15/1827:54> »
Quote from: R&G pg105
PI-Tacs are self-contained, plug-in units designed from the ground up to integrate with a commlink, cyberdeck, or rigger command console to form a shared PAN/WAN.

Tac-Nets are software loaded on 'links, decks or RCCs. All references to device should apply to whichever of these the player has the software loaded onto.

Is that per user or as many users as you want up to the maximum of 8 users (max users = rating x 1.5).

That sounds very much per user to me.

Malevolence

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« Reply #2 on: <03-18-15/1853:13> »
My reading of it is as thus:
The cost includes a hardware piece that attaches to your commlink/deck/RCC enabling it to act as a sort of Super Master. It can (in addition to its  normal duties) create a TAC network with Rating x 1.5 devices (which need no additional hardware), which in turn can also be masters of a PAN. The TAC master's Firewall Rating is shared with the other members of the TAC and the members of their PANs. Apparently you can (depending on the Pi-Tac) assign half/all of the Pi-Tac DR to the Firewall and/or DP, in which case I'd assume that the DP boost only applies to the master. But I can see how one could interpret that the Firewall bonus only applies to the master device as well.


The reason why I interpret it this way is that if you were limited to 1.5xPi-Tac DR team members and each device had to be a slave on the master device's PAN, you could have no more than DRx3 devices total. Since the highest DR of any commlink/deck is 7, that means 21 devices shared among 8 team members for a Pi-Tac III, that's less than 3 devices per team member, which would hardly cover the biomonitor, one weapon, and one sensor (for the audio video feeds). Any paramilitary unit is likely to have multiple weapons per team member, a biomonitor, and multiple other devices providing sensor feeds (cyber-eyes or glasses/goggles/contacts, cyber-ears or earbuds, and so on), not to mention drones and each team member's communication device. This makes placing an entire squad's worth of gear under a single device impossible.


ETA: Each "team member" is a persona, so the the slaves to the Pi-Tac device will be drones/vehicles or commlinks/decks/RCCs. In most cases, the drones/vehicles should probably be a device under another team member to more efficiently use the slots, but if needed, any persona should be able to act as a team member. Technomancers could also be a team member (but not the master) depending on whether you rule that the member devices must run software or simply need Matrix connectivity to take part.
« Last Edit: <03-18-15/1858:36> by Malevolence »
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adzling

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« Reply #3 on: <03-18-15/1914:21> »
Thanks Malevolence that makes the most sense the way I read it.
$325,000 per user would be a bit nutty.

I would require each device that is granted a bonus to be it's own member of the network.

So if you want your drones to get the bonuses then they take up a member slot.

Your member slots = DR x 1.5.

And I agree that each member could have his own devices slaved to his "member" device (a comlink or deck).

I also think your breakdown of the firewall bonus and how it is applied makes sense.

Syntetesh

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« Reply #4 on: <03-19-15/1620:16> »
The TAC master's Firewall Rating is shared with the other members of the TAC and the members of their PANs.

I don't think the PI-Tac change how PAN work and shouldn't offer the same firewall bonus, teammate already got huge bonus from it