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Hacking a Synthmorph

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Tue, 2014-02-11 19:38

consumerdestroyer consumerdestroyer's picture

Hacking a Synthmorph

I am new to Eclipse Phase and have some questions! Or, rather, I have a request followed by a question, if it's not too much to ask: can anyone show me an example in play of a hacker in combat trying to figure out someone in a synthmorph's Mesh ID (assuming the precautions in place are average for that ego/morph), then trying to hack the synthmorph? The follow up question to that example would be: what can someone do when they hack someone's morph? I only ask because I know the people I'm going to be gaming with, and I know the kinds of things they will want to try...and I couldn't figure out what this looks like from flipping back and forth in the core book looking for the rules for it. I learn better seeing an example than having the rule cited. Format it how you like, but in case what I'm asking for is confusing, I mean something like this: Bob: I'm going to roll to figure out the Mesh ID of this dudebot taking potshots at us. GM: Here is the thing you need to do. Bob: *rolls* Ok, did it! (combat rolls on to Bob's next turn) Bob: Ok, now I'm going to hack the dudebot. GM: This is what you roll now. Bob: Got it! *rolls* (combat rolls around to Bob and/or the dudebot's action, depending on what admin access to a synthmorph brain is all about) Bob: Ok, what can I do here? GM: These are the things. Bob: Ok, I'll do this hilarious thing! Eat it dudebot! So, you know, that kinda thing.

Tue, 2014-02-11 20:16

Undocking

First, the hacker in question

First, the hacker in question would Scan his local networks (EP 251), and if the synth is on a shadowed network then a roll must be made. You can track unknown users by physical location (research test) or track a user's mesh ID (research test). After establishing direct wireless contact, you must gain authentication (EP 255). You can spoof or forge authentication. If that isn't your bag, you can intrude aka actual hacking. Once you are inside, all subversion rules are from page 259-61. Combat examples are useless, because you cannot hack fast enough. You need 1 minute to brute force hack and 10 minutes to hack normally. Someone with a crowbar and a decent swing would wreck a hacker in that amount of time. Or the hacker would pull out his stunner. Any hacker can breach a system in advance and leave a hole for themselves the next time, leave a trojan virus in a known shadow net, or have a couple useful encryption keys on hand for a fight. And hacking or subverting an ego is at -30. Access to the habitat's systems are much much more useful, and subverting mostly requires a task action. Check out panopticon for all the juicy bits on hab hacking.

Tue, 2014-02-11 22:19

Decimator

Undocking wrote:Combat

Undocking wrote:
Combat examples are useless, because you cannot hack fast enough. You need 1 minute to brute force hack and 10 minutes to hack normally. Someone with a crowbar and a decent swing would wreck a hacker in that amount of time. Or the hacker would pull out his stunner.

This is not entirely true. It does require significant effort, though. Cumulative modifiers cannot exceed plus or minus 60. Note the keyword cumulative. Total percentage modifiers are added together. Base skill of 90, with brute force specialization for 100 effective skill rating. Brute force to drop timeframe to a minute: +30 Three helper ais: +30 Complementary skill or skills of some sort: +10 or more Rush the job for -100% time, but you'll still have to take an action, of course. -100 Total cumulative modifier: -30 Effective skill rating for single-action hack: 70 You can upgrade your exploit software to improve that number, too. There's also the intuitive cracker trait, but since it messes with the base time it doesn't really help you. If I'm reading it right, it applies before other percentages.

Tue, 2014-02-11 22:26

consumerdestroyer consumerdestroyer's picture

Ah, so in order for someone

Ah, so in order for someone to take over another ego's synthmorph/pod, they'd have to pretty much deal with the muse, lock the ego away from cyberbrain functions and [i]then[/i] they'd have unimpeded access to puppet the morph...but all that, according to the puppeteering sections, only if the cyberbrain has a puppet sock?! Wow, that'd take some [b]ace[/b] hacking skillz.

Tue, 2014-02-11 22:27

consumerdestroyer consumerdestroyer's picture

Decimator wrote:Undocking

Decimator wrote:
Undocking wrote:
Combat examples are useless, because you cannot hack fast enough. You need 1 minute to brute force hack and 10 minutes to hack normally. Someone with a crowbar and a decent swing would wreck a hacker in that amount of time. Or the hacker would pull out his stunner.
This is not entirely true. It does require significant effort, though. Cumulative modifiers cannot exceed plus or minus 60. Note the keyword cumulative. Total percentage modifiers are added together. Base skill of 90, with brute force specialization for 100 effective skill rating. Brute force to drop timeframe to a minute: +30 Three helper ais: +30 Complementary skill or skills of some sort: +10 or more Rush the job for -100% time, but you'll still have to take an action, of course. -100 Total cumulative modifier: -30 Effective skill rating for single-action hack: 70 You can upgrade your exploit software to improve that number, too. There's also the intuitive cracker trait, but since it messes with the base time it doesn't really help you. If I'm reading it right, it applies before other percentages.

Thanks for this, this is really helpful!

Tue, 2014-02-11 23:12

Undocking

Decimator wrote:

Decimator wrote:
This is not entirely true. It does require significant effort, though.

As you've shown. That's a pretty neat setup, actually. But you can only reduce the total Rush Job to a maximum of 60% the total time. You could do it in 8 complex actions, but not one. If you had 4 mental actions a round, it would be 2 rounds. Faster than the usual minute, but I wouldn't call it practical.

Wed, 2014-02-12 00:15

Decimator

Undocking wrote:Decimator

Undocking wrote:
Decimator wrote:
This is not entirely true. It does require significant effort, though.
As you've shown. That's a pretty neat setup, actually. But you can only reduce the total Rush Job to a maximum of 60% the total time. You could do it in 8 complex actions, but not one. If you had 4 mental actions a round, it would be 2 rounds. Faster than the usual minute, but I wouldn't call it practical.

Note that the -60% limitation is a mirror of the normal difficulty modifier rules. I think it's entirely reasonable to read that limitation as a reiteration of the normal modifier rules. Now that I think about it, this would be a great thing to post in the 4th printing thread.

Wed, 2014-02-12 00:18

Undocking

Decimator wrote:Undocking

Decimator wrote:
Undocking wrote:
Decimator wrote:
This is not entirely true. It does require significant effort, though.
As you've shown. That's a pretty neat setup, actually. But you can only reduce the total Rush Job to a maximum of 60% the total time. You could do it in 8 complex actions, but not one. If you had 4 mental actions a round, it would be 2 rounds. Faster than the usual minute, but I wouldn't call it practical.
Note that the -60% limitation is a mirror of the normal difficulty modifier rules. I think it's entirely reasonable to read that limitation as a reiteration of the normal modifier rules. Now that I think about it, this would be a great thing to post in the 4th printing thread.

EP 120: "For every 10 percent they wish to reduce the timeframe, they incur a –10 modifier on the test (to a maximum reduction of 60 percent with a maximum modifier of –60)." You would suffer the -60 up to a maximum of -60, but the maximum reduction to the time taken off is 60%.

Wed, 2014-02-12 00:24

Decimator

Yes, I know what it says. It

Yes, I know what it says. It's a mirror of the Difficulty and Modifiers section. "Any number of modifiers may be applied, as the gamemaster deems appropriate, but the cumulative modifiers may not exceed +/– 60."

Wed, 2014-02-12 04:55

#10

Smokeskin

If you run combat

If you run combat realistically, combat isn't over fast and that makes combat hacking much more viable. Sure, sometimes you do dynamic room clear and that is fast and brutal. But many firefights consist of everyone spending most of their time sitting behind cover, laying out some suppressive fire, ducking back, delaying actions to shoot anyone instead of charging, going on full defense when shot at. People don't want to get shot after all, and that drags things out. I also have people spend a reasonable amount of actions on observing and planning. Even with a tacnet, you're not going to just go from shooting at those guys over there then straight into a perfectly orchestrated 5-man flanking maneuver. I did the squad leader thing in the army, and even when everyone has the procedure drilled into them, it takes time to decide on the maneuver, communicate it, and synchronize everyone for execution. I alse did it playing airsoft, and when the guys you're working with it aren't trained for it, it takes much longer and often the execution gets screwed up and you need to correct as you go.

Wed, 2014-02-12 05:44

#11

zombiak

Combat hacking is a viable

Combat hacking is a viable option and CAN be done in one or two turns using the Speed rules from Transhuman and/or having a great roll, as explained in the Task Action section in core:

Quote:
The timeframe determines how long the task takes to complete, though this may be reduced by 10 percent for every 10 full points of MoS the character scores on the test (see Margin of Success/Failure, p. 118). If a character fails on a Task action test roll, they work on the task for a minimum period equal to 10 percent of the timeframe for each 10 full points of MoF before realizing it’s a failure.

Brute-force hacking takes 60 seconds/one turn, but this can be reduced by -10% per every point of Speed over one (due to the Complex Action going along with it) and further -10% by every additional Mental Action dedicated to the action. Therefore a character with Neurachem (Speed 2) and Mental Speed (additional 2 Mental Actions per point of Speed) would need: 60 seconds -10% (Speed) -40% (4 additional Mental Actions) = 30 seconds.This is still too long (10 turns), but a VERY successful roll of 30 or more could reduce it to 1-4 turns, and it is totally feasible to have such a result since brute-force hacking grants +30 do Infosec. You can also choose to rush the job (-10 to roll per -10% of time) - dropping the +30 bonus and reducing the timeframe by additional 30% (80% in total) gives you 4 combat turns. An infomorph (Speed 3) with Mental Speed can notoriously brute-hack devices in 1 turn: 60 seconds -20% (additional speed) -60% (6 additional Mental Actions This gives you 4 combat turns. Any roll over 10 reduces it to a 2 turns, anything over that would probably get it down to 1 turn, and I'd allow it just for the fun of it.

Wed, 2014-02-12 07:19

#12

Smokeskin

Aret ou sure you add up those

Aret ou sure you add up those percentages like that?

Wed, 2014-02-12 08:08

#13

zombiak

Well, I do interpret it that

Well, I do interpret it that way - the rules are sometimes contradictory, but it's much more fun for the players and more dynamic when you let the modifiers cumulate that way. For example

Quote:
Similar to Taking Extra Time(p. 117), a character may rush the jobon a Task action, taking a penalty on the test in order to decrease the timeframe. The character must declare they are rushing the job before they roll the test. For every 10 percent they wish to reduce the timeframe, they incur a –10 modifier on the test (to a maximum reduction of 60 percent with a maximum modifier of –60).

Quote:
COMBINED EFFECTS Timeframe-reducing effects such as Speed, rushing the job, and gaining an MoS on the Task Action are treated cumulatively; add the reductions together before applying to the timeframe. As noted above, Speed and extra mental actions also have a cumulative effect; more Speed means more mental actions in an Action Turn. A character with Speed 2 (10% reduction) and mental speed (20% Reduction per Action Phase, so 40% with Speed 2) that scored an MoS of 20 (20% reduction) would reduce the timeframe on a mental Task Action by 70%. Even when combined, however, accelerated mental and physical speed only go so far. No timeframe can be reduced lower than 10% of its base timeframe.

Therefore, rushing the job with brute-force hacking can shorten it by 60% (with a -60 modifier, compensated by +30 from brute-force), and two additional actions from Mental Speed can shorten it by additional 20%. This gives us 4 turns to brute-hack someone. If the hacker rolls higher than 10, this will drop to 2 turns. I'd say that a roll higher than 20 (or maybe 30, since it's an Exceptional Success) could reduce it to 1 turn. Or maybe a Critical Success could do it, since they do nothing for brute-force hackers right now. Anyway, a hacker with Speed 1 and Mental Speed can do that in 1-4 turns (or 2-4 turns, if you ignore my homerule), suffering only a -30 modifier. An Infomorph without Mental Speed can do exactly the same thing (dedicating all three actions available). A character with Speed 2 and Mental Speed (1 action to initiate and -50% time) doesn't need to rush the job that much - they only need a 30% boost, suffering a -30 modifier, completely compensated by brute-force bonus. If you're even faster (Speed 3), you don't need to rush the job anymore, and you retain the +30 bonus from brute-force. So yeah, combat hacking works. It isn't as efficient as in, say, Ghost in the Shell, but still you can hack somebody in 2 turns, try not to be locked out of the system (beating a Muse won't be that hard, and the person you're trying to hack is probably to busy shooting at you to do it by themselves) and then drop some AR illusions in there, or severe their wireless connections, or try to get into their cyberbrain - much more risky with the fixed -30 modifier, but still doable. Therefore, hacking an synth could look like this:

Quote:
Player Charater (PC) - Speed 2, Mental Speed, Oracles (no penalty for distraction), Infosec 70, Synth (S) - no Infosec, defended by Muse (Infosec 30) PC: I'm gonna run after the synth and try to hack his mesh inserts (Quick Action for running, all Complex/Mental actions for hacking - 80% reduction, 4 turns, no skill penalty) *PC rolls over 30, reducing the timeframe to 2 turns* *after the second turn, the PC is in, although his status is Locked - all tests suffer -20; furthermore, the Muse knows about their presence and engages in active countermeasures* S: I want him out of my head right now! *Muse attempts to lock the PC out of the system; Muse rolls 45 (failure), PC is still in* PC: Do they know about my presence? AR illusions will be of no use. I'm going to hack his brain and scorch it! *the PC attempts to hack the cyberbrain - again, this will take 4 turns, this time with a fixed -30 modifier. The roll is 40, phew! shortening the hack to 2 turns* *during the 2 turns, while the hacker's getting into the cyberbrain, the Muse attempts to lock him out - the rolls are 98 (failure) and 21 (success), although the second roll is beaten by an opposed roll of 59 by the PC* PC: Yeah, I'm in! I'm gonna upload a scorcher into his brain. *uploading a scorcher takes one Complex Action and is an Opposed Infosec Test; the PC suffers a fixed -30 modifier. The PC uploads a scorcher (roll of 21), but the Muse defending it automatically deletes it (roll of 30)* *the Muse decides that drastic measures should be taken and severes all wireless connections, effectively ending the hack* PC: Darn it. S: I miss my TacNet so much right now.

Wed, 2014-02-12 14:54

#14

Trinary

Infomorphs

With Transhuman out; Infomorphs simply do it better. :) "Intuitive Cracker" trait (Transhuman pg 84) level 2: Reduces timeframe to 12 action turns Increased Speed Upgrade (Transhuman pg 141) Mental Speed Upgrade With sixteen complex mental actions per turn, an infomorph set up like this can scan for a wireless connection, brute force hack, and still have three actions left for causing havoc. Crashing the muse (2 actions) and executing a script being a personal favorite.

Wed, 2014-02-12 16:34

#15

consumerdestroyer consumerdestroyer's picture

Trinary wrote:With Transhuman

Trinary wrote:
With Transhuman out; Infomorphs simply do it better. :) "Intuitive Cracker" trait (Transhuman pg 84) level 2: Reduces timeframe to 12 action turns Increased Speed Upgrade (Transhuman pg 141) Mental Speed Upgrade With sixteen complex mental actions per turn, an infomorph set up like this can scan for a wireless connection, brute force hack, and still have three actions left for causing havoc. Crashing the muse (2 actions) and executing a script being a personal favorite.

...woah, that's some mind-blowing haxxor skillz!

Wed, 2014-02-12 18:07

#16

zombiak

Indeed, although personally,

Indeed, although personally, I handicapped Speed/Mental Speed in my game a little bit - when you have a hacker with 9-12 actions, it's VERY easy for other players to nod off while the hacker acts. In my game, Speed 1 grants one universal (physical/mental) Complex Action, Speed 2 grants one universal and one mental only, Speed 3 grants 2 universal and 1 mental, Speed 4 - 2 universal and 2 mental. This way, a player can't burst-fire 8 times a turn if they have Speed 4 (which is very unusual but CAN happen with Neurachem and some drugs). Mental Speed adds 2 Mental Actions per point of Speed, but only for shortening the time of them (since it's about Speed, not multitasking, really). This way, an infomorph player ends up with 3 actions and -60% time reduction which can be dedicated to one or several actions. They can still brute-hack things like crazy and any kind of intrusion is much faster, but actual subversion attempts after getting into the system have to be more thoughtful. Plus, the other players can stand 3 actions instead of 9, it really helps the pacing.

Thu, 2014-02-13 00:56

#17

nick012000 nick012000's picture

Trinary wrote:With Transhuman

Trinary wrote:
With Transhuman out; Infomorphs simply do it better. :) "Intuitive Cracker" trait (Transhuman pg 84) level 2: Reduces timeframe to 12 action turns Increased Speed Upgrade (Transhuman pg 141) Mental Speed Upgrade With sixteen complex mental actions per turn, an infomorph set up like this can scan for a wireless connection, brute force hack, and still have three actions left for causing havoc. Crashing the muse (2 actions) and executing a script being a personal favorite.

No, you've got it wrong. That's Action Turns, not Actions or Action Phases. Additionally, the way the Intuitive Cracker trait is worded, it doesn't actually modify the time directly, it provides a percent reduction to the base time, the same way Speed and Extra Mental Actions do. So, you get a -80% reduction being an Infomorph with Mental Speed, and then you can pick up another -10% from somewhere else (reduced TN modifier, margin of success, increased Speed, or the Intuitive Hacker trait), and then you've hit the cap.

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