[firebug]

I thought the data server in Splintered State had the purpose you describe : It's only there to store data,and workds as a digital lockbox that has more than enough physical protection ( guards,sensors etc).And IMHO it worked perfectly.At least it did in my table.

So cutting a device off from all communication makes it  more vulnerable once the decker has access to its physical location.Which is not an easy task for the decker.That's why the greatest banks on the planet are  in orbit , right?(At least I think they are, I may be wrong )

It's much harder to get someone into an orbital bank than a terrestrial building--  Let me put it this way.  Early runners are supposed to be able to pull it off (with some assistance, but that's largely transportation).  A place where people work and enter and leave, even well watched, it still hundreds of times easier to penetrate.

And, no.  The decker doesn't have to be next to it, actually.  Someone or something with a data tap needs to be.  There's no benefit to plugging right into it, since either way you're going against its host attributes.  Sure, there can be some Noise...  But not that much.  Not more than 3, which every decker can ignore completely.  At most you'll have a relatively small penalty to your die pool.

In Splintered States the thing is even in a Faraday cage, meaning it's ensured that it has no possible way to communicate to anyone what you're doing to it.  This does protect it from my data tap idea, however.  Unless whomever places the data tap turns off the Faraday cage as well...

Despite all the hustle and bustle the book presents, this job would likely be best performed by one Face approaching the server room (with a microtransceiver letting them talk to the decker on the team) and then doing as I said.  Have them pose as IT with the decker filling them in with technical terms they need if it comes up during conversation.  None of the employees know about the secret server you're looking for, so it's unlikely they'd have any reason to suspect you.  I doubt there's even a camera pointed at the Faraday cage for the same reason--  It's hidden.

Heck, an elf technomancer/face could probably do this by themselves.

[Adder]

Thank you so much for replying everyone! Especially Namikaze, with very detailed answers.

So how should I implement something like the train? Is it just going to be a device?


Also, I have a question about the physical world/matrix interweaving. If I'm on a street, I can see (through AR) many symbols, signs, etc. If I'm in front of a store, I can access their host (maybe?) and make purchases "online".

If I am physically in front of an office building, and they are not intentionally trying to broadcast their matrix location, can I find it out?

[Kincaid]

Thank you so much for replying everyone! Especially Namikaze, with very detailed answers.

So how should I implement something like the train? Is it just going to be a device?


Also, I have a question about the physical world/matrix interweaving. If I'm on a street, I can see (through AR) many symbols, signs, etc. If I'm in front of a store, I can access their host (maybe?) and make purchases "online".

If I am physically in front of an office building, and they are not intentionally trying to broadcast their matrix location, can I find it out?

A train will be an icon just like a car is an icon.  It will probably be on the grid of its owner (assuming a megacorp owns it).

You don't even need to be physically near the store to buy items off the Matrix as long as you have some sort of way of seeing in AR.  I would have some sort of SIN check occur, depending on the type of store.

An office building broadcasting nothing at all would be pretty unusual and may draw more attention than the presumably-secretive owners want.  A Matrix Perception check can be used to spot things running silent.  It's possible that the building has aspects running publicly and other parts of it running silent.  There are also examples of Matrix-dead buildings running all their traffic through relay boxes.

[Sabato Kuroi]

I thought the data server in Splintered State had the purpose you describe : It's only there to store data,and workds as a digital lockbox that has more than enough physical protection ( guards,sensors etc).And IMHO it worked perfectly.At least it did in my table.

So cutting a device off from all communication makes it  more vulnerable once the decker has access to its physical location.Which is not an easy task for the decker.That's why the greatest banks on the planet are  in orbit , right?(At least I think they are, I may be wrong )

It's much harder to get someone into an orbital bank than a terrestrial building--  Let me put it this way.  Early runners are supposed to be able to pull it off (with some assistance, but that's largely transportation).  A place where people work and enter and leave, even well watched, it still hundreds of times easier to penetrate.

And, no.  The decker doesn't have to be next to it, actually.  Someone or something with a data tap needs to be.  There's no benefit to plugging right into it, since either way you're going against its host attributes.  Sure, there can be some Noise...  But not that much.  Not more than 3, which every decker can ignore completely.  At most you'll have a relatively small penalty to your die pool.

In Splintered States the thing is even in a Faraday cage, meaning it's ensured that it has no possible way to communicate to anyone what you're doing to it.  This does protect it from my data tap idea, however.  Unless whomever places the data tap turns off the Faraday cage as well...

Despite all the hustle and bustle the book presents, this job would likely be best performed by one Face approaching the server room (with a microtransceiver letting them talk to the decker on the team) and then doing as I said.  Have them pose as IT with the decker filling them in with technical terms they need if it comes up during conversation.  None of the employees know about the secret server you're looking for, so it's unlikely they'd have any reason to suspect you.  I doubt there's even a camera pointed at the Faraday cage for the same reason--  It's hidden.

Heck, an elf technomancer/face could probably do this by themselves.

An elf technomancer/face wouldnt go near Brackhaven Investments for obvious reasons :p
Unless he has face sculpt
 
Anyway, getting in and out of a building with good matrix and physical security and different levels of clearance in order to find a datafile which is stored separately is not a walk in the park.At least it wasnt for my players and I should say that even though they are new in shadowrun, they  are experienced gamers.There were motion sensors in the server room, guards were patrolling each floor and there was no way you could obtain clearance for all the HQ floors.

[Adder]

An office building broadcasting nothing at all would be pretty unusual and may draw more attention than the presumably-secretive owners want.  A Matrix Perception check can be used to spot things running silent.  It's possible that the building has aspects running publicly and other parts of it running silent.  There are also examples of Matrix-dead buildings running all their traffic through relay boxes.

I guess what I'm asking is what is the typical matrix security setup of an average non-retail office? One that has no reason to make themselves accessible outside of the building (since work is all done by employees in house).

[Namikaze]

I guess what I'm asking is what is the typical matrix security setup of an average non-retail office? One that has no reason to make themselves accessible outside of the building (since work is all done by employees in house).

There would be a host for the building, though the host might be rented cloud space.  The host would manage (at a minimum) the security systems, access logs, archival, and probably employee programs (since you wouldn't want any data being stored on the employee's commlink or whatnot).  There have been numerous references in the fiction of terminals still existing, though we have no rules for terminals.  Assume that the employees come in to work using their commlinks for identification purposes.  They would maybe have physical keycards, biometric locks, or combination pads to access the more secure parts of the building.  These would, of course, be the parts the shadowrunners want to get into.  Once the employee is in the building, their presence is logged and tracked as they go to their terminal to begin work.  The employee most likely works in AR for normal work, but might pop into VR with trodes or a datajack for more intense stuff, like collaborative programming and research simulations.  At the end of the employee's shift, probably 10-12 hours, the employee leaves the way they came in.

From the outside, the building would have a host (probably silent, but maybe not if they're expecting visitors like delivery people).  The commlinks of the employees would be visible, though the building might use wifi-negating paint to block the signals for security reasons.  Any devices in and around the building, like security cameras and access points (maglocks, etc.) would definitely be running silently.  The device is probably slaved to the host, but might not be if it's easily accessible.  Any device that can be connected to physically is a back door into the host, so expect any devices that are slaved and accessible to be using motion detectors on their cases at the minimum.

Some security devices are passive and don't necessarily require access to the host in order to function.  Examples would be pressure plates and induction pads (typically found in grassy areas).  A great security setup will minimize access points, maximize visibility, and attempt to funnel a would-be intruder to a pre-determined location.  For instance, you might put up a bunch of bushes that hide monowire.  If the intruder notices the monowire, they skirt around the bushes.  But the only access points between the bushes have induction material to detect weight and the body's electromagnetic field.  All of these devices are passive, meaning they really don't need to be online at all and won't have any kind of matrix presence.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Some security devices are passive and don't necessarily require access to the host in order to function.  Examples would be pressure plates and induction pads (typically found in grassy areas).  A great security setup will minimize access points, maximize visibility, and attempt to funnel a would-be intruder to a pre-determined location.  For instance, you might put up a bunch of bushes that hide monowire.  If the intruder notices the monowire, they skirt around the bushes.  But the only access points between the bushes have induction material to detect weight and the body's electromagnetic field.  All of these devices are passive, meaning they really don't need to be online at all and won't have any kind of matrix presence.

How would such devices (pressure pads more than monowire) communicate an alarm to the host, though?

For an "average, non-retail office", that seems like a lot of security to my mind.

[8-bit]

How would such devices (pressure pads more than monowire) communicate an alarm to the host, though?

For an "average, non-retail office", that seems like a lot of security to my mind.

The magic of wires! Just kidding. Kind of. It is a good question.

I would agree, it seems a bit over the top for an average office; then again, the "average office" that a runner would go against is likely above average.

[Namikaze]

Oh I wasn't thinking of just Joe Wageslave's office - I was thinking of "Joe Wageslave's office that houses crucial files".  And also just talking about security in general.

As to how it communicates - wires.  There are only disadvantages to having pressure pads and other passive security measures wirelessly active.

[Darzil]

As to how it communicates - wires.  There are only disadvantages to having pressure pads and other passive security measures wirelessly active.

And the disadvantage of wires is datataps !

[Namikaze]

And the disadvantage of wires is datataps !

Which is why for pressure plates and pressure meshes, I bury the wires. 

[Herr Brackhaus]

Parachutes, man. Parachutes.

[Namikaze]

And levitation!  And zip lines!  Actually, I think zip lines are the most fun way to enter a facility.  Especially if it's over a large distance and I get to do a thing where some of the rope begins to fray over time.  *cackle*

[Adder]

Well, I think you guys probably figured this one was coming... Resonance Veil.

Very vaguely defined in the rulebook. What exactly is it capable of? How do I prevent it from being abused? The technomancer in my group wants to go buy a super expensive object and then RV the cash register to make it look like the transaction is approved.

[Namikaze]

Well, I think you guys probably figured this one was coming... Resonance Veil.

A preemptive warning: Resonance Veil's ambiguity leaves it very much in the GM fiat realm.  All the answers I'll provide will be what I do at my table.  We have a TM who does use the ability, and I think we've found a nice balance with it.

Very vaguely defined in the rulebook. What exactly is it capable of?

It's capable of almost anything that fits the description of "make the target believe something has happened in the Matrix."  So basically, you can disguise an icon (not that it helps a LOT because icons can already look like almost anything), but the best uses are for things like making the target think your icon has logged off the Host or jacked out completely.  It's also useful for making an icon (like say a Patrol IC) think that another icon (best if it's a user) is attempting to hack something.  It's a great distraction.

How do I prevent it from being abused?

You have to sit down and talk with your player about what kind of expectations you have.  That's always the first step to stemming any potential abuse.  More specifically, the illusion can be broken, and will be broken the second the technomancer stops sustaining the complex form.  And there are logs of almost every action in the Matrix - if the character uses the ability for something overt that can be easily contradicted, the character's actions might come back to bite them in the ass.

The technomancer in my group wants to go buy a super expensive object and then RV the cash register to make it look like the transaction is approved.

Case in point of something incredibly overtly obvious.  The cash register might come up as approved, but it would be pretty easy to notice that the item hasn't actually been paid for.  Assume that all of these transactions (particularly expensive ones) use some form of escrow.  Escrow is a transactionary element that all shadowrunners should become familiar with anyway.  Mr. Johnson can deposit the whole payment for a run into escrow, and that way everyone can keep their eyes on the prize so to speak.  It's not unrealistic for someone to use a PayPal type system for payment verification.  This would be a VERY fast escrow, but it's still escrow in the strictest sense.  Player is supposed to pay for item, and convinces the escrow account that the payment has been sent through.  Escrow account attempts to send money through to the payee, and finds the money's not there.  Unless the technomancer is hacking the escrow account they won't be able to control both points of the transaction.