Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Rules and such => Topic started by: CyberKumiko on <08-31-17/1626:07>
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Can anyone break down Spoof for me please? I mean I know it's fooling a device into thinking your access is authentic BUT why use it ? i really need some examples from play.
I,m not getting the difference between spoof and control device
Thanks All
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The biggest difference is that to spoof, you need to mark the owner whereas with Control Device, you mark the device you're attempting to manipulate. Since you can't directly connect to a person (and the owner's persona isn't always readily available), it's a more difficult roll. To offset this, it only requires one mark versus the tiered mark requirements of Control Device.
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I always thought you should be able to spoof without a mark as I think it should be a one action task not 2. Hopefully you are in vr so 2 passes happens fast I guess. That was a good explanation Kincaid I'll use that when my players ask.
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Spoof also allows you to make a device take Owner-only actions, whatever those may be. Mainly though it is flexible; if you have a mark on someone's commlink/persona, you can now use Spoof Command on every device they have without having to mark them individually. This is a massive time saver and allows you to react quickly-- Does your target pull out another gun that you hadn't previously detected? Spoof it without having to spend an action marking it (which would give them an action to fire it). A persona who has a lot of access can save you a load of effort by allowing you to spoof you way through an area, instead of having to hack every door and camera you come across, taking several actions and accruing more Overwatch Score-- And that's worth noting; less actions saves you more than just time.
It's also usable for different kinds of things. Control Device on an enemy rigger's drone will control it for one combat turn at the most (less if the rigger goes back to controlling it themselves). If you want a drone to act on new commands (such as telling a security drone to go patrol a different area) you will want to use Spoof Command. That way the drone isn't just being forced to do something else until it corrects itself, it is acting of its own accord on new orders.
In a less purely-mechanical sense, your GM may present situations where Spoof Command will have things go differently then if you just try to mark something and use Control Device. The lasting implications, for instance, of a corpsec's boss finding out that the command to open the back door to the facility for the runners came from that corpsec's commlink... Or other situations where there can be a small difference in effect and implications. They are like the difference between lying to someone and tricking them into doing what you want (Spoof Command) and intimidating someone and forcing them to do what you say (Control Device).
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Thanks Guys, well explained. I think i,m getting there.
So if i get a mark on a host, i could potentially use spoof on all the devices in that host? So i could breeze through maglocks, mess with cameras, operate lifts (sorry i mean elevators, i,m from England!)
Of course, the mark might not last as the host detects and erases my mark ? Oh wait, you can't spoof a host i,ve just remembered. Presume you could spoof a security spider though ?
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Careful: Just because something is slaved to a device doesn't mean that's the owner.
For commercial setups it can be very difficult to determine the owner.
Spoof works best with stuff belonging to one individual (like a car owner)
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I don't think that "Spoof Command" works on Host. It is funny that you have a hard time grasping this action, because for me it is maybe the only one that spoke to me the first time I read the book ! :)
Some example on how I allow Spoof command on my game:
- fire with a remote gun (frrom the bad guy)
- open a door or a maglock key[/li
- make a vehicle fails a control test (assuming no rigger, nor human actually drives it)[/i]
I have one more, probably controversial, usage for Spoof Command but that is going to a separate thread.
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I would allow Spoof Command to work with a mark on the host. A security rigger or spider basically has to get permission from the host when he logs on in order to assume his role as overseer, which implies the host's code comes first. Marking the rigger or spider would also work for a lot of things too. In the very least, one of the three would allow you easier access to the security system, reducing the number of roles needed drastically.
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I'd like to add that a good houserule to run with, if your group is comfortable with the rules enough to houserule, is to allow Spoof to work similarly to how it did in 4e. That is, you can spoof anything the persona you marked could do. For example, you could mark the persona of a suit's personal maid and spoof the staff entrance maglock and maybe various appliances, low-level security and such even though the suit, his host, or his hired spider may be the actual Owner.
Note:
This does habe balance breaking potential if you don't keep it in mind when planning sessions as the security team's gear might now be susceptible to spoofing even though the session was created to have all their gear have an off-site owner.
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I don't really think that's even a houserule-- That's just part of how Spoof works. You can get around security clearance issues by using Spoof Command with a mark on someone who does have clearance. That's just part of the basic function.
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That's how it worked in 4e, but unfortunately in 5e, you need a mark on the device's Owner.