[George]

Hoi chummers!

Here's what the players of our technomancer and secondary hacker discuss ingame:

How to "fool" empathy software.

To be specific:

They don't want to have a software to counter empathic software, regular lie-detection software will give apropriate pool modifiers, the game provides enough of those opportunities. What they want is to fool the empathy software that "reads" ppl, into giving the owner false input, not just hide from it. Practically one would use psychology, IR-senders, sweat-simulating glinter and so on.

What would you say, how to integrate something like that into gameplay?

My initial idea would have been to let the empathy software and the fool-software make an opposed test, winner gives the info. But it doesn't feel right yet. Let me have your thoughts, pls.

[James McMurray]

Running your own empathy software is the counter for the other guy's empathy software. The die pools counter each other out except that neither side will be able to tell if the other side is lying.

If you mean some sort nega-Empathy software that gives penalties instead of bonuses, what about having the team's hacker get into the other person's commlink and edit the output of the empathy software on the fly?

[CanRay]

Beat the person using it to death with his own commlink?

[Yorick]

in the case of an emotoy, either hack or spoof the emotoy. its a node with sensors, not everyone will know to skinlink it and turn off wireless.

i could see using composure to control your facial expressions. on the other hand, you have the choice of Ware, drugs, or magical illusion to change how your face shows emotion. also, theres persona chips. slot the right chip and change how you think and act.

[CanRay]

Slot the right chip, and it doesn't matter how good the software is.

You can't tell a lie when you're absolutely sure it's the truth.  Makes that former Bunraku Parlor Playmate an interesting opponent against this apparently overpowering software advantage.

[James McMurray]

It doesn't matter how well (or poorly) you lie when dealing with emotion software (and the much maligned toys that use it). It can't tell lies. Lie Detection software can, but it's a replacement die pool not an adder, so it's nowhere near as troublesome.

[Xzylvador]

I don't think it's too far-fetched to say that if a hacker has broken into a comm/sensor running the software, he could use Edit to change to programs output to give false readings, turning (part of) its dicepool modifier into a negative.

[James McMurray]

Say a Computer + Edit roll, with the hits becoming the negative modifier (replacing the positive the program normally gives). Maybe even cap theiir Edit by their Etiquette, or roll Charisma + Etiquette (capped by Edit), since you have to know something about the proper cues if you're going to send false ones.

A glitch means the target figures out what's up and can ignore their software completely. A critical glitch accidentally infuses valid information into the stream, increasing the program's die bonus by half the number of ones rolled.

[Xzylvador]

Maybe even cap theiir Edit by their Etiquette, or roll Charisma + Etiquette (capped by Edit), since you have to know something about the proper cues if you're going to send false ones.

Disagree. The program doesn't send its user the cues. It reads cues and sends its user the translation.
Like: chin pointing forward => "Person showing sign of aggression". Rapid blinking => "Person might be making things up".
The edit test doesn't have to change the cues, it just has to intercept the "translation" and change the messages to something different: "Person seems perfectly calm" or "Person seems confident."