[center][b][h2]Factions[/h2][/b][/center] Factions provide roughly the same amount of skill bonuses as backgrounds, though with a higher prevalence of Networking: [Field] and movement skill options. This means that ratings in this section are less definitive and more dependent on the type of campaign the character is being played in. Factions also play a large role in who your character is, and their most recent affiliations, so if you don’t want to play a character somewhat distant from the core of transhumanity, you might avoid the Ultimate and Mercurial backgrounds, even if they are highly rated. [h3]Core Book[/h3] [b][color=blue]Anarchist[/color][/b]: A free small bonus to any skill and a large bonus to Networking: Autonomists is pretty good. For an Infolife background hobbled on social skills, having that large bonus is especially nice, treat as [b][color=skyblue]Sky Blue[/color][/b] for a character with the Infolife Background. [b][color=blue]Argonaut[/color][/b]: The skill bonuses for Argonauts are restricted to technical, Academic: [Field] and Profession: [Field] which is a rather good selection for a hacker, just not as good as free choice. A good Networking: Scientists bonus is good, especially if your GM agrees with me they’re more likely to be able to give you access to a secure simulspace server, quantum computer, or other items a hacker needs at times but has trouble carrying around. [b]Barsoomian[/b]: The problem with the small Freerunning bonus here is it’s not a highly valued skill for most hackers, unless you’re unlucky or bad enough to get traced in the middle of a habitat and put on the run. The bonus to Networking: Autonomists and small bonus to a skill of choice finishing out this background’s advantages are good options though. [b]Brinker[/b]: The small bonus to Pilot: Spacecraft has limited uses, but being able to choose where a Networking: [Field] and small skill bonus go without restrictions helps make up for it. [b]Criminal[/b]: Pure social skill bonuses, after all, crime is a people business! Hacking and crime go hand in hand so the large bonus to Networking: Criminals is nice for a wide range of things: Cracked software, darkcasting, illegal tech, or selling those perfect-for-blackmail files you got from that “secure” server. The small Intimidation bonus isn’t as good for most backgrounds as a free skill choice, but the overall background is still a good choice. Treat as [b][color=blue]Blue[/color][/b] for a character with the Infolife Background. [b]Extropian[/b]: A bonus to Networking: Autonomists and small bonuses to Persuasion and Networking: Hypercorps doesn’t give much towards a hacking role, but offers some good support (Especially to those who frequent both sides of the asteroid belt) if you’re willing to put CP/RP into raising both up to decent levels. [b]Hypercorp[/b]: A bonus to Networking: Hypercorps and a small bonus to a Networking: [Field] of choice aren’t bad, but that it finishes off with protocol doesn’t make this faction anything special. [b][color=red]Jovian[/color][/b]: A Networking: Hypercorps bonus, and small bonuses to Fray and two weapon skills of choice isn’t bad, especially since as a hacker you’ll still want Fray and at least one weapon skill. However the morph restrictions and no nanoware or advanced nanotech at the start really hurts a hacker themed character. They could change and pick it up after character creation of course, but in the short term before that level of character development would probably occur the bonuses just aren’t worth it. [b][color=red]Lunar[/color][/b]: Loonies “We speak gud” have a small bonus to a Language: [Field] of choice that’s arguably useless given the real-time translation capabilities. While their bonus to Networking: Hypercorps is certainly helpful, the small bonus to Networking: Ecologists probably won’t help a hacker as much another skill. If hanging out with ecologists is your character’s thing though, treat this as [b][color=purple]Purple[/color][/b]. [b][color=skyblue]Mercurial[/color][/b]: Complete freedom with the skills, not so much for character motivations. A Networking: [Field] bonus of choice and two small bonuses to any skill are a fantastic set of advantages. [b]Scum[/b]: Networking: Autonomists, a small bonus to Freefall, another to a skill of choice, and a no-holds-barred exploration of what it means to be alive. Freefall is a good skill for a number of situations, but if your character’s feet are always going to be planted on something solid, or your character doesn’t have a physical morph, treat as [b][color=purple]Purple[/color][/b]. [b][color=purple]Socialite[/color][/b]: Small bonuses to Protocol and Persuasion aren’t bad, but the Networking: Media bonus is pretty specific to a certain archetype of character. [b][color=blue]Titanian[/color][/b]: Small bonuses to two Technical or Academic skills of choice plus a bonus to Networking: Autonomists is a pretty good selection for a hacker. The voting responsibilities of a citizen in the Titanian socialist cyberdemocracy are kind of an unwritten disadvantage if you have to go into hiding for a while and your GM makes you keep up with them (RW. 199, behind a “Other Secrets and Notes” section: Players be warned!). [b][color=skyblue]Ultimate[/color][/b]: Same as the Mercurials in advantages with a Networking: [Field] bonus of choice and two small bonuses to any skill, different flavor. This background does have disadvantages the Mercurial background doesn’t, but unless you’re planning to spend as little as possible on your morph or play an uplift (Both poor choices for a hacker) it really doesn’t matter. [b]Venusian[/b]: A Networking: Hypercorps bonus with small bonuses to Pilot: Aircraft and one skill of choice isn’t bad. Pilot: Aircraft helps to open up jamming flying robots for combat and other purposes. If that’s a side-skill you’re planning for your hacker to have, consider this faction [b][color=blue]Blue[/color][/b]. [h3]Transhuman[/h3] [b]Belter[/b]: Small bonuses to any two Networking: [Field], a Profession [Field] of choice, and Freefall are a decent set of advantages, but doesn’t do much for a hacker. [b][color=red]Bioconservative[/color][/b]: A bonus to a Profession: [Field] of choice as well as small bonuses to Networking: Hypercorps and a Pilot: [Field] of choice isn’t terrible on it’s own, but the morph requirements are just as bad as the Jovians with only Flats and Splicers and no nanoware or advanced nanotech. Still, Jovians have a higher networking skill bonus and better skills, making this the worst hacker starting faction in the game. [b][color=purple]Europan[/color][/b]: The Swimming bonus and small bonuses to Pilot: Watercraft and Academics: [Field] of choice make it very clear this is a niche background. If you’re mainly playing in aquatic habitats, upgrade to [b]White[/b]. [b][color=purple]Exhuman[/color][/b]: Bonuses to a Combat skill of choice plus either an Exotic Ranged Weapon: [Field] or Exotic Melee Weapon: [Field] plus small bonuses to Fray, Psychosurgery, and a Medicine: [Field] of choice. The exotic weapon skill is a little pointless at the start of the game unless you have some exotic weapon or you really want to use a monowire garrot, but if that’s the kind of character you want to play, why are you reading this? The disadvantages are almost as extreme as the advantages, giving you a mental disorder, modified behavior (Level 2), and Social Stigma (Exhuman). [b]Orbital[/b]: Small bonuses to two Networking: [Field] and a Pilot: [Field] of choice offers a wide spread of options to pick from, and the small Freefall bonus can come in handy. Overall though this faction doesn’t do much for a hacker outside of robot or vehicle jamming, and two small Networking bonuses is rarely better than if they were combined. [b][color=purple]Out’ster[/color][/b]: While this faction does offer a Moxie boost, a small bonus to Interfacing, and another bonus to Freefall, the Pilot: Spacecraft and permanent penalty to all Networking tests from the Shut-In trait just isn’t worth it. [b]Precautionist[/b]: Small bonuses to any two Networking: [Field] skills, an Academic: [Field], and a Profession [Field] doesn’t give much to a hacker archetype. [b][color=red]Reclaimer[/color][/b]: A Networking: Ecologists bonus is disappointing, but the small Language: [Field] bonus is laughable. The one decent quality of this faction is a small Pilot: [Field] bonus. [b][color=purple]Ringer[/color][/b]: The small bonus to a Networking: [Field] of choice is standard, but the Flight bonus and small bonus to Pilot: Spacecraft make this background very specific in the opposite manner as the Europan faction. [b]Sapient[/b]: The small bonus to any skill is good, and the remainder to Protocol, any Networking: [Field], and a Profession: [Field] are passable. While solid, there’s nothing special enough here to raise it beyond White. [b][color=purple]Sifter[/color][/b]: Right off the bat the Profession: Mining limits this faction’s potential. The small Pilot: [Field] and Networking: [Field] of choice are reasonable, but unless your hacker is moonlighting with a hardhat consider something different. [b][color=blue]Singularity Seeker[/color][/b]: This faction offers a medley of advantages useful to a specific kind of hacker. The small bonus to Interest: TITAINS tends to be valuable in any campaign that visits a few of the more dangerous places in the solar system, while the small bonuses to Interfacing and Networking: Criminals help on the outside. The bonus to Psychosurgery however comes in particularly handy for cyberbrain hacking and pruning forks. The Social Stigma (Singularity Seeker) disadvantage isn’t hard to keep quiet if your character has the good sense not to go telling people who don’t need to know. Raise this to [b][color=skyblue]Sky Blue[/color][/b] if your character is picking up Psychosurgery anyways. [b][color=purple]Skimmer[/color][/b]: The small bonus to Flight is very morph specific, and while none of the morphs that come standard with those capabilities are particularly suited for a hacker, they can be used with minimal detriment. The bonus to Pilot: Aircraft is particularly useful to a hacker who intends to teleoperate a flying robot during combat, and the advantages round out with a Networking: [Field] of choice. Upgrade to [b][color=blue]Blue[/color][/b] for a character with a preference for flying morphs and robots. [b][color=purple]Solarian[/color][/b]: While the small bonus to Perception is good, and the bonus to Freefall has its place in zero-gravity, the small navigation bonus is generally underwhelming.

[center][b][h2]Skills[/h2][/b][/center] [h3]Core Skills[/h3] [color=gold][b]Infosec[/b][/color] The very core of hacking. This skill is what you will use most of the time to attack and modify a target system. It’s important to have this skill as high as possible because not only will it affect if you get into a system, but it’s what will decide if you get to stay in there. Most systems will be defended by at least an AI, and if you’re seen you’ll be facing opposition until you can shut that defender down (Which takes, you guessed it: Infosec checks). Do not skimp on this skill and do not skimp on any way you can boost its effectiveness because it’s not unusual to be faced with stacking penalties that can reach up to -50 before external factors like wounds. This will also be your defense skill for keeping your own system secured from somebody trying to hack you to wreak havoc on your system. [color=gold][b]Interfacing[/b][/color] Before you can hack something, you have to find it. If they’re not broadcasting their mesh ID on the street, this is what you’ll use to find them. This skill is also used to get through radar jamming or to jam radio or radar frequencies yourself. Lastly it’s used in certain cases to scan or rifle through the contents of digital egos, like you’re a digital async. [color=gold][b]Programming[/b][/color] Without this skill you’ll be relying on others to write and upgrade your many different software tools that are so critical to your ability to succeed, as well as lose out on the benefits of the backdoor and scripting actions. This skill also provides the side benefits of being able to program infomorph plug-ins, upgrades, and eidelon shells. [color=skyblue][b]Hardware: [Electronics][/b][/color] When hacking gets off the mesh and onto secure hardwired systems this skill is at the very least your first step towards intrusion, or the whole package. Additionally it provides the opportunity to build, repair, and modify all computerized devices with GM determined timeframe actions. [b]Hardware: [Industrial][/b]: While the only written action for this skills use in hacking is physically hacking airlocks, it can be a pretty valuable asset on a habitat for other purposes, and is worth at least considering. [h3]Secondary Role Skillsets[/h3] [center][u][b]Teleoperators[/b][/u][/center] [color=blue][b]Pilot: [Field][/b][/color] For direct control, the mode of movement on the shell will determine which field of piloting used to control it. This decides the shell’s movement, defense, and melee attacks. Given that all actions with direct control are at an automatic -10, keeping these high will help to keep your investments intact and effective. [color=blue][b]Gunnery[/b][/color] Any ranged attacks made using a shell are done using the gunnery skill rather than whatever weapon skill they might fall under. The advantage to this is only one skill is required for investment to use a broad array of weaponry. The disadvantage is an automatic -10 to all actions. If you’re choosing Pilot: [Field] skills over movement mode skills (See below), treat this skill as [color=skyblue][b]Sky Blue[/b][/color]. [color=blue][b]Freefall/Freerunning/Flight/Swimming/Climbing[/b][/color] The various skills for movement modes are used with jamming a shell since the teleoperator controls it as if it were their own morph. Freefall, Swimming, and Climbing are all skills that govern their movement types, while Freerunning and Flight only apply to special situations like navigating obstacles and aerial maneuvers (See specific entries for details). While somewhat skill-intensive it does have the side benefit that these skills can be used when not jamming as well. [color=blue][b]Weapon Skills[/b][/color] Like the skills for movement modes, a jamming teleoperator needs the weapon skills required for utilizing a shell’s weapons. If you’re choosing to use movement modes over Pilot: [Field], treat the weapon skill(s) of your choice as [color=skyblue][b]Sky Blue[/b][/color]. [color=skyblue][b]Hardware: Robotics[/b][/color] Free license to build, repair, and modify an army of customizable shells? Unless you’re planning on buying robots and then running them into the ground or disposing of damaged ones after every fight this is a required skill. Remember that fabbers and cornucopia machines can make parts, and if you lack the blueprints needed to get what you want to build, repair, or modify your current stock, your programming skill can be used to make your own nanofabrication blueprints. [center][u][b]Intel Specialist[/b][/u][/center] [color=skyblue][b]Perception[/b][/color] The king skill of noticing things, Perception is used for almost every type of sensor out there. From common spimes to high-tech radar this is the skill used to operate them. Since hyperspectral imaging isn’t always available, a high Perception can mean you see the shifting light around a chameleon cloaked infiltrator when they’re moving past a standard video spime when nobody else does. [color=skyblue][b]Research[/b][/color] Finding information on a public or private device (Even rifling through the contents of a cyberbrain) and tracking a target’s physical location or digital activities to find useful data falls under the Research skill. This skill doesn’t just let you gather large amounts of data, it also allows you to analyze your results into actionable intelligence. [color=blue][b]Academics: Chemistry[/b][/color] This knowledge skill is required to work a chemical imager or sniffer in order to properly identify chemical compounds. A small investment to be able to gain forewarning of toxins, explosives, and other important substances. [b]Investigation[/b] While Research is technically the skill used for sifting through electronic data to find what’s needed, two aspects of Investigation are evidence analysis and logical deduction. As an intel specialist it’s not unlikely that your GM could call on you to make a connection. It also gives you some extra abilities to investigate and track in meatspace if a situation calls for it. [b]Kinesics[/b] Seeing something is only half the picture, knowing what it means gets you the full story. Being able to judge a target’s state of mind when they go into or out of a blind spot can sometimes be correlated with their other actions to allow an inference into what they were doing when you went blind. If there’s somebody else on your team who can do this for you or you’d rather depend on AI’s to handle this for you, treat this skill as [color=purple][b]Purple[/b][/color]. [b]Networking: [Field][/b] Beyond the function of getting what you need, one lesser used function of this skill can help you reach into a particular network to find out what they know. Be prepared to pay 1,000-10,000+ credits or use up level 3-5 favors to get any information you couldn’t get by yourself. Skillsofts can give you fields you wouldn’t otherwise have access to, though getting those levels of favors may be impossible or extremely unlikely with the penalties you’ll be under. For most hackers the better option for this technique will be to lean on the party’s contacts as a whole or a socially-focused character, in these cases downgrade this skill to [color=purple][b]Purple[/b][/color]. [color=blue][b]Hardware: Robotics[/b][/color] The best sensor is often the one you place yourself, and having a robot to scout or place devices helps keep you out of notice and harm’s way. While a surveillance specialist can usually rely on the robot’s AI to travel and conduct simple tasks, the ability to customize your robots with the latest and best surveillance gear you can get your hands on is invaluable. [center][u][b]Social Engineer[/b][/u][/center] [color=skyblue][b]Research[/b][/color] Getting background information on your target, whether it’s a single person or an entire group with its own facilities, will help you develop a plan of attack and bed of information to support your impersonations, deceptions, and manipulations. It can also help with things like implanting memories in a synthmorph drone you’ve hacked into that they’re supposed to open a door for a delivery man at a certain time, scanning through the data files of an employee’s family servitor robot to see where the hypercorp passkey is kept, or find out who has kids/pets so you can bond over the little rascals… or threaten them for help if things get really bad (You’re a terrible person, you). [color=blue][b]Impersonation[/b][/color] Establishing a relationship with a target is a critical phase in any social engineering attack, and who you are heavily affects that dynamic. Since being a hacker looking for the VPN passcode or hypercorp secrets rarely goes over well, you’ll need to be somebody different. Impersonation can help you be anyone or anything: A colleague from another station, a daft employee who just needs a break this one time, or a system security technician who needs their information right now to secure their devices from a hacker. While more useful across the mesh where nobody can see your morph, it serves the same function in face to face interactions. Since this skill is always an opposed check versus kinesics you’ll want this as high as possible. Successive or even one failed check can mean a lot of trouble if your real identity and intentions are discovered. [color=blue][b]Protocol[/b][/color] Protocol is an amazing support skill for any social character. Since social engineering generally requires a lot of roleplay and during that time you might make a mistake that your character wouldn’t. Protocol is what you roll to have your character cover up for your mess. It also gives your character an opportunity to set angered or suspicious people at ease, potentially giving a social engineer an easier time against security-conscious targets. Since it’s an opposed check versus WIL+WIL+SAV, two traits that few morphs give bonuses to, as well as a social skill which can gain a few flat bonuses from certain implants and traits it can be lower than other skills in a build if need be. [color=skyblue][b]Deception[/b][/color] While the rest of your skills will get your lie most of the way there, Deception will take you all the way. A very important note for this skill is it is a standard success check against your own skill level unless the target is actively searching for deception. The more you have backing the base of your lie the more likely you’ll be avoiding their Kinesics check, which is why every other skill up until now has been important. In a pinch just Deception could be used, but likely at a penalty for anything big while also opposed versus a Kinesics check. Recovering from a bad Research, Impersonation, or Protocol check may require Deception, but removing as much chance from the equation then lying is usually the best strategy if you have the time. [color=blue][b]Persuasion[/b][/color] Persuasion is the act of giving away something… for a price. Pleasure, power, information, services, equipment, association with a movement or group, or even just a chance to feel good about oneself for a moment are all can all be brought to the table… as long as they believe you have it (And vice versa). The skill itself however is being able to leverage the minimum amount given for what you need, or trade for as much as you can get. From trading chocolate bars for passwords to convincing a hypercorp indentured security AI that you can spring them from their contract prison if they install a backdoor for you, Persuasion has a wide range of uses that can apply to many of a hacker’s exploits. The check is an opposed Persuasion check versus WIL+WIL+SAV when trying to convince a target to do something for you, so if you pick your targets carefully there should be little difficulty. If your target is negotiating back, things can become a little trickier with an opposed Persuasion check. Persuasion is rated above Intimidation because it is a reciprocal relationship, and as long as the other party doesn’t feel screwed over by the end result of the deal, there is likely to be any attempts at revenge and can even become a standing relationship for later and deeper use. If consistently used in ways that are or could become disproportionately detrimental to the other party, downgrade this skill to White. [b]Intimidation[/b] Intimidation is the act of threatening to take something away. Security, privacy, resources, reputation, relationships, memories, or even one of the rarest of losses in Eclipse Phase: Existence. With so much in Eclipse Phase running on an electronic substrate and so much of the physical world being replaceable, hackers are in a unique position within Eclipse Phase to attack what is most special to their target. There are two prerequisites to an intimidation: The belief that you can damage or destroy something that is precious to them, and that you are willing to. The threat to delete someone’s muse might work, but can become much more effective if you’ve already dropped a DoS attack on it, forcing its user and life-long partner watch it run poorly and glitch under the strain of your assault. While effective in the sense that the hacker doesn’t have to give anything up to get what they want, there are many problems with making this skill a primary tool. If the intimidation is called as a bluff, if you follow through with the threat you must quickly raise the stakes or lose your leverage. If the target calls for help, you may fall under threat yourself. If the request would hurt your target more than your threat would, they’re likely to choose the lesser evil. Unless you can maintain the threat against the party and remind them you can hit anytime you want, they might reveal the loss later. Even if you can maintain subjugation or your target, they will likely look for ways to covert or even overt ways of getting back at you, especially if they believe themselves to be important to your plans. Strictly inside the mechanics of Eclipse Phase however, the test is only ever opposed by WIL+WIL+SAV, which is good. If the detrimental aspects of your intimidations will rarely come into play, upgrade to [color=blue][b]Blue[/b][/color].

[center][b][h2]Traits[/h2][/b][/center] [color=Gold][b]Digital Ghost[/b][/color] While an optimized hacker should almost never fail at an Infosec test while covertly subverting a system, there are a number of other tests that can be called for such as Interfacing and Research that can be more challenging to make. Have this in your back pocket is an ace card when you want to save your moxie or when you’ve burnt it all that session. With both a standard failure and critical failures, it’s even better than moxie, which for less CP than a single moxie point would cost you, makes this a very economical trait despite its limited scope. Found in TH. 83 [color=blue][b]Expert[/b][/color] Being able to bump a skill (Hint: Infosec) from 80 to 90 at character creation can take a good chunk of CP, but if the campaign is going to be short it effectively treats your character as if they had an additional 10 months of training behind them. Since the maximum total penalty you can take on a skill check is -60, getting a skill like Infosec to 89 right off the bat and then tossing in a morph’s +10 for a COG bonus will put you up from a 20% chance of success to a 39% chance against the hardest systems in the galaxy (GM’s can make it even harder though by adding multiple defenders, so don’t think it’ll be just a slight challenge to crack into Titian Commonwealth Intelligence servers). Can be found in EP. 146. [color=blue][b]Faster Learner[/b][/color] For longer campaigns, being able to increase all your skills in faster timeframes will help round out the character rather than focus on one specific skill for advanced training. Treat as [color=skyblue][b]Sky Blue[/b][/color] for campaigns with story arcs that take months in game due to spacecraft travel or other long circumstances. Found in EP. 146. [color=gold][b]Intuitive Cracker[/b][/color] A permanent 40% decrease to brute-force hacking task actions for the level 2 version is more than well worth the 20 CP it costs. Without this you’d have to rush the action and then depending on your MoS spend between two and eight rounds brute forcing a single target, just an unacceptable amount of time mid-combat. At level 2 it even drops the penalty you have to take for rushing the action from a -60 to a -50, effectively giving you a +10 to all your brute-force intrusion rolls on top of the time-frame decrease. Take at level 2, don’t look back. Found in TH. 84.

[center][h3]Implants[/h3][/center] [b][u]Bioware[/u][/b] [color=blue][b]Circadian Regulation[/b][/color]: There are a number of long-term task actions a hacker may undertake such as programming software or crafting a new robot. Per the task action rules (EP. 120) task actions with a duration of a day or longer assume eight hours of work per day, and characters that work more hours than that modify the time the task action takes accordingly. This rule works outside of the timeframe reduction rules for a 90% cap, as the timeframe has already been applied to the action. Since this implant allows a biomorph to sleep only two hours a day, or four every two days, it can help reduce task actions that take weeks or months to much more manageable durations. Found in EP. 304 for a [Moderate] cost. [color=skyblue][b]Neurachem[/b][/color]: More speed, more actions, more fun. Take at Level 2, but take an implant that gives extra mental actions each turn first. Remember that the Level 2 version can be used as Level 1 if you want to avoid the nervous system fatigue penalty. This bioware is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs and robots but not informorphs. Found in EP. 305 and costs [High] Credits for the Level 1 version and [Expensive] for the Level 2. [b][u]Secondary Skillset Bioware[/u][/b] [color=blue][b]Emotional Dampeners[/b][/color]: Touted as a low-cost alternative to the Endocrine Control implant, this “downgrade” in fact offers a higher bonus to Deception and Impersonation, which (And perhaps this is in error, GM’s take note) seems to stack with the bonuses from the Endocrine Control implant. It does however force a penalty on all other social skill tests, but can be turned on and off at will with a quick action. This implant is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots but not to infomorphs. Found in EP. 304 for [Low] cost. [color=blue][b]Endocrine Control[/b][/color]: A lower bonus to Deception, and nothing to Impersonation. No penalty to other social skill tests, and a large bonus to resisting emotional manipulation, likely including Intimidation. This implant is available only to biomorphs and in the form of an upgrade for infomorph characters. Found in EP. 304 for [High] cost. [color=blue][b]Enhanced Pheromones[/b][/color]: A bonus to all social tests that that involve trustworthiness and respect and names Persuasion (Though why Deception isn’t mentioned I don’t know, GM’s, consider adding it) is particularly good for a skillset that doesn’t get a lot else. Doesn’t affect uplifts and xenomorphs, and GM’s might go ahead and throw AGI characters into the pile as well. Can only be used by biomorphs. Found in EP. 305 for [Low]. [color=blue][b]Drug Gland (Hither)[/b][/color]: More bonuses for Persuasion against targets that can be seduced, with options for Deception, Impersonate, and Networking if the GM feels it applies. With the Sex Switch biomod (EP. 305) and other implants or disguises this bonus can work on almost anything. While the Hither addiction modifier is -10 the addiction is purely physical, so if you switch morphs to one that doesn’t have it you won’t have to worry about a thing. Drug Gland can be found in EP. 304 and Hither can be found in EP. 320. Can be used by biomorphs, synthmorphs, robots and in the form of an upgrade for infomorphs (You know, in case people find that kind of thing sexy) though for infomorphs the addiction is mental. The implant as a whole comes at a [Moderate] cost. [b][u]Cyberware[/u][/b] [color=blue][b]Electrical Sense[/b][/color]: Offers a bonus to involving analyzing, repairing, or modifying electrical equipment, and could easily be used for physical hacking with the Hardware: Electronics and Hardware: Industrial skills. Available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots but not infomorphs. Found in EP. 306 for [Low] cost. [b]Access Jacks[/b]: Go one step above encryption and make your close-range communications un-sniffable. Available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots but not infomorphs. Found in EP. 306 for [Low] cost. [color=skyblue][b]Ghostrider Module[/b][/color]: For particularly difficult hacks having a few extra AI or forks to help will boost your abilities tremendously. While there is no limit to the number of modules you can technically have (GM’s, limit this), for the sake of your own sanity and the amount of book keeping you have to do with too many extra characters, limit yourself. Available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots but not infomorphs. Found in EP. 307 for [Low] cost. [color=skyblue][b]Reflex Boosters[/b][/color]: Increases speed and REF constantly. More actions and higher initiative. Available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots but not infomorphs [color=skyblue][b]Parallel Processor[/b][/color]: Trade lowering the Trauma Threshold of each character using this implant for a small COG bonus and teamwork bonuses for each member up to a +30 maximum without any member having to take actions, and you have a very powerful implant. AI’s with 40 Infosec working in concert with the maximum teamwork bonus effectively have a respectable 75 Infosec skill to assist you on hacks, hack their own targets, or defend the home system. This implant is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, robots, and in the form of an upgrade for infomorphs. It can be found in RW. 189 for [High] cost. [b][u]Secondary Skillset Cyberware[/u][/b] [color=blue][b]Mnemonic Augmentation[/b][/color]: A useful mod for intel specialists who want to be able to review scenarios they’ve already experienced or share their memories to someone else to show or prove something. Well worth the [Low] cost of the implant. Found in EP. 307. [color=skyblue][b]Multitasking[/b][/color]: One of the two implants that offer two extra mental actions per action phase. For teleoperators intent on being able to jam multiple bots at one time (Rule clarification in TH. 115) or intel specialists wanting to make use of the Panopticon upgrade (See Secondary Skill Set Infomorph Upgrades), this implant is superior to the Mental Speed nanoware. While the implant states that the extra actions come from forks and the forks operate independently, the rules as written state that the character receives extra actions which would make it impossible to assist yourself, rather than how the rules as intended would treat your forks as being able to assist. If you’re considering this implant, it’s worth a conversation with your GM. Keep in mind this implant is incompatible with Mental Speed. This implant is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots, but not infomorphs. Can be found in EP. 307 for [High] cost. [b][u]Nanoware[/u][/b] [color=gold][b]Mental Speed[/b][/color]: Often the better of the mental complex action granting implants, mental speed is the top implant any hacker wants (Unless they’d rather have Multitasking cyberware). Two extra mental actions per action phase, a small initiative bonus, unlimited duration of use, and additional benefits such as reading text faster and seeing the world in slow motion, make this a powerful implant. Seeing the world though slow motion does have its disadvantages however, and can make things such as normal verbal communication difficult. Messaging through more instant forms such as text though is an easy way of getting around this during combat or sequences when the implant is in use. This implant is available to all biomorphs, synthmorphs, robots, and in the form of an upgrade for infomorph characters. Found in EP. 308 for [High] cost. [color=blue][b]Skillware[/b][/color]: Allows the use of skillsoft software, providing moderate levels of skills that can be swapped in and out as the situation demands as long as the software related to the skill is available to you. This implant is available to all biomorphs, synthmorphs, robots, and in the form of an upgrade for infomorph characters. Found in EP. 309 for [High] cost. [color=purple][b]Skinlink[/b][/color]: A more expensive but covert alternative to access jacks. The greatest disadvantage to this implant however is you connect to any electronic device you touch automatically. This could potentially set off an alarm, open you up for a connection to hacking or malware, or just set off an alarm for an unauthorized connection. Just a bad idea. If you really want to though, this implant is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots, but not infomorphs. Found in EP. 309 for [Moderate] cost. [color=blue][b]Wrist-Mounted Tools[/b][/color]: A Utilitool, Fiber Eye, and Bioware Claws with the added bonus of a good bonus to repairing or modifying devices with mechanical parts and a few other situations. Nice for physical hacking, working on repairing robots or synthmorphs, and any of the other hands-on work a hacker might have to do. This implant is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and robots, but not infomorphs. Found in EP. 309 for [Moderate] cost. [color=skyblue][b]Neural Enhancers[/b][/color]: For any morph with less than a +10 COG bonus, this implant can increase the COG bonus by a small amount. While the implant text specifies it is available to biomorphs, synthmorphs, and pods, the Robotic Enhancements paragraph on the following page adds it as a robotic enhancement for robots. This implant can be found on RW. 189 for an [Expensive] cost. [b][u]Secondary Skillset Nanoware[/u][/b] [color=skyblue][b]Oracles[/b][/color]: Elimination of distraction penalties for Perception is a great boon to intel specialists, and the investigation bonus is icing on the cake. The memory bonus is nice, but will likely be overridden by another implant. This implant is available to all biomorphs, synthmorphs, robots, and in the form of an upgrade for infomorph characters. Found in EP. 309 for [Moderate] cost. [b][u]Robotic Enhancements[/u][/b] [color=gold][b]Brain Box[/b][/color]: For those wanting all the benefits of a synthmorph without the risk of brainhacking, this is how it’s done. Taking this implant removes the Cyberbrain, Mnemonic Augmentation, and Puppet Sock of any synthmorph it’s installed into, and require the addition of a small about of nutrients once per month. The implant can be found in TH. 149 for a [Moderate] price for installation, though the implant does not change the CP or credit cost of a purchased morph. [b][u]Secondary Skillset Robotic Enhancements[/u][/b] [color=skyblue][b]Sensors[/b][/color]: All of the sensors on EP. 311 can be useful to an intel analyst, though a robot they can carry and jam when they require the senses may be just as, if not more useful since you can’t use sensors on transmissions. These sensors are only available to robots and synthmorphs, and cost between [Low] and [Moderate] depending on the sensor in question. [b][u]Infomorph Upgrades[/u][/b] [color=skyblue][b]Increased Speed[/b][/color]: How to get Speed 4 as an infomorph. Simple, constant, and [Expensive]. Only affects Infomorphs. Found in TH. 141. [color=blue][b]Active Countermeasures[/b][/color]: More bonuses to defend against brainhacking is always a good thing. This can also benefit others assisting with the security of the infomorph’s mind-state. Available to Infomorphs and egos in Cyberbrains. Found in TH. 140 for a [High] cost. [b][u]Secondary Skillset Infomorph Upgrades[/u][/b] [color=blue][b]Impersonate[/b][/color]: Passively provides a bonus to Impersonation tests with verbal or avatar interactions, and a large bonus to Deception and Impersonation when simply trying to hide your own identity. An hour of interacting with a target and a successful Kinesics test however can give you a large bonus to Impersonate when acting as that person in the future. Found in TH. 140 for a [High] cost. [color=blue][b]Panopticon[/b][/color]: This upgrade allows you to use detailed perception on up to three locations at once, five if you have multitasking. For normal perception the infomorph can view as many locations as they want to at once, with a small distraction penalty to Perception. This penalty however can be mitigated with the Oracles upgrade, making it very tempting to be an Infomorph as an intel specialist. Can be found in TH. 141 for [High]. [b][u]Additional Infomorph Upgrades and How to Get Implants[/u][/b] The full list of physical augmentations available to infomorphs as Upgrades can be found on TH. 141. To go beyond that list, install a ghostrider module onto a morph with the implants you want to be able to use. As long as the ego sleeved into the morph (AI’s under your command can be loaded onto cyberbrains) allows it, you can use whatever you want, though some may only effect the ego sleeved into the morph (Neurachem and Reflex Boosters come to mind). Some GM’s may require that implants can only be used by one ego at a time, so keep that in mind when looking to share physical implants with another player.

[center][h3]Robots[/h3][/center] [color=purple][b]Wobblycat[/b][/color]: There are only ever two reasons to use this robot: 1) You want to apply the Wobblycat AI’s specializations for Fray and Infiltration, or B) You need a 60 meter max velocity walker and no other type of movement will do. Since the AI has no weapon skills, the Nonlethal Loadout is useless. The Explosive Loadout is better done with a cheaper robot, and the Surveillance Loadout still only gives you 13,250 credits worth of gear including the cost of the AI, for an [Expensive] cost. If using the Surveillance Loadout with a Wobblycat AI, upgrade to [color=blue][b]Blue[/b][/color]. Found in FW. 176 for [Expensive]. [color=skyblue][b]Speck[/b][/color]: Now this is a stealthbot done right. An innate -30 penalty to Perception checks to see it, sensors for the entire auditory spectrum and most of the visual, and an innate bonus to REF and COO, increasing skills in both if the AI has them but not maxed. The SOM penalty does hurt some, but as the primary design use around this bot is to infiltrate a location, surveil, and exit without being caught slow careful movement may be preferred. Add a Wobblycat AI, Chameleon Skin, Radar Absorbent, Reduced Signature, 360 Degree Vision, and other sensors (Excluding Radar) for a perfect intel specialist robot with an effective 60 Infiltration when moving slowly or not moving, -30 Perception to see, and -80 Perception to see by Radar or Terahertz when not hopping. Without all the extra mods, a basic Speck is [Low] cost and is found in EP. 346. [color=blue][b]Bughunter[/b][/color]: A great deal on a self-mobile guardian swarm, with some good seeker missiles (Note that it does not count them as micromissiles) and tools to back it up. The stock AI fits decently, however the whole package lacks anything representing defense. To make this robot combat viable, add in some skillware and a 40 Fray Skillsoft, some Heavy Combat Armor, and if the AI and teleoperator can handle the COO and movement speed loss some Extreme Pressure Adaption (SW. 167) to increase durability. It doesn’t make for much of a combat robot, but the utility is hard to beat with small robots like this. The base model is found in PO. 157 for a [Moderate] price. [color=skyblue][b]Guardian Angel[/b][/color]: The best of the small combat robots that can follow you through most terrain and smaller environments, this morph is such a good deal it’s almost worth buying just to salvage parts from to upgrade other robots. Frontloaded with Light Combat Armor and Neurachem right off the bat, enhanced sensory arrays, a REF bonus, and more, this little guy is just amazing for coming in at a [Moderate] price tag. Raise its defensive capabilities, strap on some weapons, and go to town. Found in EP. 345. [color=skyblue][b]Reaper[/b][/color]: Hey wait, isn’t this a morph? Really this entry is mostly to point out that there are some great opportunities for non-standard robots. Anything with a puppet sock: Synthmorphs, biomorphs, smart animals, etc can be used as a robot or biodrone. Get creative. That said Reapers have some great bonuses, and if you stack on some heavy armor they start getting pretty close to indestructible. Found in EP. 144 for [Expensive (50,000+)].

(Reserved for even more future equipment)

[center][h3]Connecting – Always the First Step[/h3][/center] Regardless of the type of action a hacker takes when trying to affect another device, they must always be able to connect to it. There are three methods for connection: [b]Physical[/b] If a system is hardwired, you must obtain a physical connection to the network by accessing devices or cables on the network with a Gray Box, Skinlink Nanoware, or a Fiber Optic Cable connected to a wireless device or one you’re going to hack from (Ecto or Access Jacks to Mesh Implants). Relevant Rules for physically accessing a device are found in EP. 254 under “Preconditions.” [b]Direct[/b] If your device and the target device fall within radio range of each other, you can achieve a direct connection between the two devices. If one device’s range does not reach the other however, it will be unable to send and the other will be unable to receive, making the connection useless except for DOS, Jamming and similar actions. If one device disables its wireless capabilities, it effectively becomes a hardwired device. While most devices can be found and connected to trivially (Likely a Quick Action), a common defensive tactic for electronic warfare in EP is to stealth wireless signals. To find these, a hacker or their muse must search for the signal with a complex action and a -30 Interfacing test, or an opposed Interfacing test with the scanner suffering a -30 penalty. If successful the device can be found and it’s transmissions received normally, as well as the scanner receiving other normal information such as associated Mesh ID’s and the device’s voice. A device stealthing its signals can still send and receive signals normally. A table of devices and their radio ranges can be found on EP. 299. Relevant rules for direct connection can be found on EP. 251 under “Wireless Scanning.” Relevant Rules for obtaining Mesh ID and voice data upon detection of a radio signal can be found on EP. 251 under “Wireless Scanning” and on EP. 299 under “Meshed Gear.” [b]Mesh[/b] When a device is connected to the Mesh, it can be connected through that peer-to-peer network as long as there are no airgaps. Lag for extremely long distance hacks however can make most actions impossible unless the lag is eliminated with a quantum communicator or similar method. For this to work however, the target must be online, and it’s Mesh ID known. This last requirement can make using this method unreliable, as targets may be prone to switching their Mesh ID periodically for security purposes. Details and suggestions can be found on EP. 255. [center][h3]Alternative Methods of Authentication[/h3][/center] Before jumping straight into intrusion attempts to access a device, it’s important to consider other ways of getting access to the device that do not require you to worry about bypassing active security and sometimes defeating the target’s firewall. Remember that taking actions that the hacker’s account (Legitimate, stolen, spoofed, or forged) does not have rights to on a PAN does not require a hacking attempt to defeat the firewall or get past active monitors, simply an Infosec check with the appropriate penalty. Hackers can still have their status downgraded by scoring severe or critical failures on tests manipulating the system. [b]Spoofing[/b] Rules for spoofing can be found on EP. 255. It’s important to note that the quality of sniffing software can add bonuses or penalties the Infosec test to secure an account and mitigate the penalty for getting a security or admin account. The quality of spoofing software can raise or lower the test to defeat the target system’s firewall (Whose quality will also affect your test) with your sniffed credentials. If your GM rules the process of sniffing to be a task action then rushing/taking time modifiers can also apply to the test and timeframe, and for the latter the MoS for a successful test. Your GM may allow sniffed encrypted transmissions to be decrypted by a quantum computer and an account to be formed from that. [b]Forging[/b] The section under Circumventing Authentication suggests that the means and techniques are beyond the core rulebook (EP. 255), and while we may eventually see rules for it, much can be gathered by looking at the authentication options on EP. 253. [b]Account[/b] This is one of the most common methods you’ll use to gain access to a device you haven’t hacked. Essentially if your GM isn’t requiring your target to take an action to log in to a device they’re using, you should be able to reasonably argue that if you hack them you should have access to the account. Be willing to back down though, you don’t want to piss off your GM in a role that has so many judgement calls. [b]Mesh ID[/b] Probably the worst of authentication methods given that Mesh ID’s associated with the device are immediately offered when the device is scanned, though it can be much more secure if using a Mesh ID that’s never on a wireless-enabled system. If the account is logged into wirelessly through a VPN, it could still be sniffed and decrypted by a quantum computer, or the devices sending or receiving the credentials could be hacked to obtain data in plain format. If the device allows you to log in with your own Mesh ID, don’t forget to eliminate traces. [b]Passcode[/b] While a poor form of security, this is a great thing for those wanting to remain unassociated with the account they’re logging into. This method of authentication faces a lot of the same security problems as an unassociated Mesh ID, but also consider the option of brute-forcing the combination if there aren’t a high number of combinations, though if login attempts are limited this becomes very difficult. Stealing the passcode from where it’s written, interrogation, social engineering, or taking it from someone’s memory directly are additional methods of getting a passcode. [b]Biometric[/b] For a hacker that’s not focused on impersonation with an impersonation-based morph that allows them to mimic physical characteristics, this can be a difficult method to fool even with morph measurements from an authenticated user. Outside of stealing DNA, growing a morph clone, or getting/forcing a user to authenticate for you, the best option a hacker has here is to try and intercept the data between the measuring portion of the device that scans the biometric data and the authentication portions that compares that data to approved users, then passing that data through at the same point later when you want to use it. This is one of the most frustrating methods for a hacker, but luckily also one of the least common outside of bioconservative circles. [b]Passkey[/b] Essentially an encrypted passcode that can also carry physical security elements. The digital version cannot have quantum encryption, so decryption should be possible according to the standard rules. The physical version for hardwired systems is much harder, and would require copying the key, the data, and the transmission pattern or any other unique features. Of course the alternative methods of compromising the hardwired system beforehand, stealing, social engineering, and the like apply as other methods for defeating this authentication. [b]Ego Scan[/b] While this initially looks like a near impossible method to defeat, there’s actually a number of tools to defeat it, though it can be difficult. Brain patterns can be defeated by cyberbrain character and infomorphs with the Fake Brainprint Plug-In (PO. 156), and Nanotat ID’s can be faked with the Nanotat ID Flux. The difficulty then lies with getting authentic and approved brainprints and numerical Ego ID’s. Both require tricking or convincing an authorized user to submit to a Brainprint Scanner (PO. 152) or an ID Scanner (PO. 153). Work arounds of hacking the scanner itself and social engineering do apply. [b]Quantum Key[/b] Technically unhackable, and even more secure since even if you do get the data from the sending party before it is encrypted by the key, the receiving party will try to decrypt it with the quantum key (Which will have changed) but it will be wrong. The only way around this would be to hack the receiving device, catch the raw information after it’s been decrypted by the quantum key, and before it’s authenticated. Hacking and stealing the key are additional options of circumventing this authorization method.

[center][h3]Subversion Actions[/h3][/center] Once inside a system, the real fun begins. Between the Subversion Examples on EP. 259 and the compiled Action Index above, there are an enormous number of opportunities to manipulate the system even before players and GM’s come up with their own clever ideas. The entries in this section serve to consolidate relevant rules and point out opportunities that may not be immediately obvious or considered. [b]Augmented Reality Illusions[/b] About as close to digital wizardry as you can get, by rules as written this action can add visual, auditory, tactile, and emotional illusions. While the loss of taste and smell (Both senses that can be augmented according to the AR entry in EP. 239) is unfortunate, the addition of emotional illusions can be incredibly powerful and is definitely something to work out with your GM before trying to put it into play. AR Illusions software on EP. 331 is supposed to give a database of realistic illusions, and AR illusion software programs are mentioned alongside the hyper-realistic illusions paragraph, though it does not specifically reference the purchasable software. AR Illusion software is again mentioned on the next paragraph noting that some template illusions can be modified and controlled in real time. Injecting AR illusions is listed on the Subversion Examples table on EP. 259 with a moderate penalty to the Infosec test if the hacker doesn’t have appropriate rights on the system. Filtering out illusions the hacked individual is aware of without turning off AR does not have exact rules, but the rules for AR Mist on EP. 248 may be appropriate. Rules for AR Illusions begin on EP. 259. [b]Backdoors[/b] While definitely great for preparing a system for immediate intrusion later without suffering the penalties or chance of brute-forcing the system, it also has the potential of negating some of the negative effects of brute-force intrusions or Locked status. According to rules as written, disconnecting from the system then using the backdoor to log back in will always give you covert status. The difficulties with this however is the double skill test of Programming and Infosec, both of which must be successful for the backdoor to be inserted, and how many action turns it requires, which is entirely unclear in the text. While the Infosec test does need to be passed, most of the penalties (Including being under Locked status or a passive alert) and benefits run off your Programming skill. It can be worth keeping a list to share with your GM of what systems you’ve loaded backdoors onto and which you’ve scored Excellent Successes on, forcing a large penalty on attempts to find it. Alternatively your GM might want to keep that list themselves so they can remove backdoors from it as they are found and removed. The shortest possible duration a Security Audit could be completed in would be 2.4 hours and only finds backdoors on a successful Infosec test, so as long as the backdoor is successfully loaded it has that long before even the possibility of discovery exists. Rules for Backdoors are found on EP. 260. [b]Crashing Software[/b] Great action economy when combat hacking since it requires only a complex action, and allows no opposition unless crashing AI, AGI, or Infomorphs. Crashing Tacnets, Firewalls, or Encryption software can soften up your target for further pummeling or you can crash an opponent hacker’s Exploit, Scorcher, or AR Illusion software to declaw them for a moment. Crashing a target’s Muse and Firewall software can completely obliterate most opponent’s defenses until they boot back up. Downtime can be between very short at one Action Turn to quite long at a full minute, which is equivalent to roughly 20 Action Turns. While TH. 149 suggests that crashed infomorphs only take 1 Action Turn to reboot, that appears to only be for crashes due to DOS attacks. For this action use the specific rules under the Crashing Software entry on EP. 260. [b]Eliminating Intrusion Traces[/b] Since this only applies if you avoid entering Locked status, it’s unlikely to be particularly useful for combat hacking. However if using a backdoor entry after brute-forcing, it should clean up anything you do afterwards. While the only concrete example of information you could be tracked by is Mesh ID (Easily switched out or anonymized and discarded) other possible identifying methods could include things like Voice data from meshed gear, records of code run on the device pointing towards specific versions of Exploit software, or any number of other possibilities. This is a tabula rasa for all of that, as long as Locked status has not been hit, likely due to automatic backups on read only devices. Of course the ultimate trace elimination isn’t digital, if you get where I’m going with it. Quick and easy complex action with an Infosec test that is only opposed under actively monitored systems. Exact details found on EP. 260. [b]Hacking VPNs[/b] Rather than sniffing traffic, decrypting for a few days, then getting into the VPN with whatever scraps you managed to pick up, getting a foothold on any device that is part of the VPN can get you access to the entire thing. Sometimes this is easy, for example picking up on a slaved piece of mesh gear to hack a target’s ectos where their VPN node is running. Other times you may have to get through physical security, inside a radio-insulated room, and cut through a wall to get to an otherwise hardwired node running only VPN traffic. The prerequisite for hacking into the VPN is having an account on a device running part of it (Sending and receiving VPN traffic), and if they don’t have access due to access only being available to a higher level of account, a Infosec test with a -10 penalty. From there it’s treated just like a normal network, and you can connect to any other piece, though you may have to hack access. Details for Hacking VPNs is found on EP. 260. [b]Scripting[/b] Rules as written, this is a fairly overpowered ability. “Once the script is activated, it carries out the programmed sequence of actions. The programmer’s [u]Infosec skill is used for any tests[/u] those actions call for.” Wow, so by RAW if you script a turret to shoot at the next thing that comes down the hall, it doesn’t use its weapon skill, or yours for that matter. It uses your (Probably very high) Infosec skill. Let’s just all take a moment and call that more or less unreasonable, since it would just make Infosec the king of all skills. I’m not going to tell you how the game should be run, but consider just having it use the programmer’s base skills, which could make scripting an important part of the black market if you need high probability of success on a certain action. All that said, scripting is otherwise a pretty well balanced and well designed action. Scripts can be pre-written with a Programming test in a timeframe determined by the GM, and loading requires a successful intrusion and Infosec test, or opposed Infosec on an actively monitored system. While there is no listed action requirement or timeframe given for the loading portion, adding basic software to a digital consciousness (Narcoalgorithms, standard software, andd plug-ins, TH. 139) is a complex action, which might serve as a good guide for your GM’s decision. One of the major benefits to scripting is it can perform actions independently, and doesn’t suffer from Locked penalties (Though passive alert may apply) so it may be more economical than inserting backdoors or similar actions. Like backdoors it can be found through security audits, and is not eligible to cause the Infosec penalty to security audits to discover it. It is unclear if the script can run repeatedly, or if an Eliminate Intrusion Steps action is required to delete it from the system. A good example of scripting is found on EP. 261, just under the scripting entry. [center][h3]Brain-Hacking[/h3][/center] So for all those poor clanking masses and infomorph that didn’t get my previous warning about skipping the organic thinking noodles, you get to teach them a lesson and convince them to be one less vector for exsurgent infections. Once you establish a connection to an infomorph’s home device and have their mesh ID, or have access to a cyberbrain through Skinlink nanoware, a Fiber Optic Cable plugged into their access jacks, or ectos, you can cause some interesting effects. Some of these can only be done to cyberbrained targets, others only to infomorphs, but most can affect both. Other similarities are the -30 penalty to Infosec tests to infiltrate, and no penalty for obtaining an admin account. [u][b]Brainhacking Options[/u][/b] After intruding into a digital consciousness there are many options available for manipulation and control. Some of these are restricted to certain types of digital consciousnesses, the specifics of which are discussed in their own section. The options common to cyberbrain and infomorph targets are presented here. [b]Entrapment[/b] This is a weird one. For the Entrapment entry on EP. 261, this option allows a hacker to entrap the ego onto the device it’s running on (Cyberbrain, server, etc) and keep it from transferring itself to another device. It requires an opposed Infosec test with the defending ego or muse and any account including an entrapped ego with rights on the system can free the ego, though no information is in the rules on that process. To prevent this the accounts need to be Locked-Out with the active countermeasure which requires them to be in Locked status on their own device, a very difficult series of requirements for a hacker. Entrapping an ego sleeved into a cyberbrain is difficult, but possible. For infomorphs however, the rules governing the Lockout active countermeasure against them on TH. 149 makes entrapment of a locked-out infomorph entirely impossible. Entrapment is still possible, but in TH. 149 it says “A locked-out infomorph may take its next action to make an Interfacing Test at -30 to rapidly move itself to another networked device. If it fails, the infomorph is essentially deleted from the system.” If the infomorph is entrapped before the Lockout, it would automatically fail the move, and be deleted. If it was not, then it could move to a new device essentially ad infinitum (Given the plethora of devices in most transhuman habitats), where it would have or could hack rights to free itself from Entrapment. House-rule until errata comes out, or use other techniques such as shut-down, copy inactive infomorph onto a lockbox, and delete the original. [b]Memory Hacking[/b] Hackers can read, alter, and delete digitally recorded memories with a successful Research or Interfacing test with the -30 penalty for brain-hacking. There’s no action requirement or timeframe listed, but the Online Research entries beginning on EP. 249 may provide some guidelines for finding certain memories. The Memory Editing psychosurgery procedure on EP. 232 may initially appear as a guideline for timeframe, though the procedure depends on monitoring memory recall rather than a digital search of archives, which would likely take much longer. The other effects of the procedure may be appropriate however when considering the results of Memory Hacking. Entry is found on EP. 261. [b]Scorching[/b] Malware for the mind. Hackers must deploy a specific scorcher program and succeed on an Infosec test (With the -30 penalty for brain-hacking) opposed by the defending ego to force the effects of the scorcher. No action requirement or timeframe is suggested in the rules, and given that this is one of the few ways a hacker can cause direct damage with digital attacks, it can be worth coming to a decision with your GM in case scorcher programs are ever needed. Scorcher programs and their effects can be found on EP. 332. Scorcher rules begin on EP. 261. [b]Shutdown[/b] One of the most simple and effective brain-hacks, Shutdown requires only a complex action and no test. It follows the same rules as the Reboot/Shutdown active countermeasure on EP. 258. There is no indication of exactly how long the shutdown or reboot actions take for a cyberbrain, but it should fall within the one action turn to one minute guidelines in the rules. The reboot time for AI/Infomorphs crashed with the Crashing Software subversion on EP. 260 may provide a good guideline. Entry found on EP. 262. [b]Terminate Cortical Stack Feed[/b] This brain-hacking option allows you to force the cyberbrain to stop providing backup data to the cortical stack. It functions similarly for infomorphs by terminating their backup recording, and can be found on TH. 149 under Brainhacking Infomorphs. It requires an opposed Infosec test with the brain-hacking penalty, potentially indicating that the defender, regardless of what status the hacker is in, will be aware of the attempt. While the entry does not offer an action requirement or timeframe, it’s arguably crashing the software that feeds backup data to the cortical stack, so the Crashing Software time of one complex action may be a good guideline. While the entry does seem to indicate the connection can be turned back on, it does not indicate how long or what process that requires. Details found on EP. 262. [u][b]Cyberbrain Hacking[/u][/b] Cyberbrain hacking generally targets pods, synthmorphs, sleeved robots, sleeved vehicles, biodrones, and even habitats. All but habitats (Which require a special kind of cyberbrain) can potentially be replaced with the Brain Box enhancement which removes the cyberbrain. X-Ray vision may help reveal if your target has one before you begin working towards such a hack. Rules for cyberbrain hacking can be found on EP. 261. [b]Puppeteering[/b] If the cyberbrain equipped morph also has a Puppet Sock, you can use one of the more versatile brain-hacks. While it requires a constant fight for control with a -30 penalty on the opposed Infosec test unless the defending ego is locked away, even a single turn of teleoperation or jamming can pull their morph out from behind cover and into ally or enemy fire or whatever creative use you have for them. It requires only a complex action to take or wrest back control, so it requires little to make an attempt. The Habitat Cyberbrain Hacking entry on PO. 174 suggests that puppeteering a habitat cyberbrain allows the hacker to effectively replace the ego with full control of the habitat’s systems, but the Puppeteering requirement of a Puppet Sock is not met by any of the sample habitat morphs or the habitat cyberbrain morph gear, so it’s likely rare to find a habitat morph with this option. Full rules found on EP. 261. [u][b]Infomorph Hacking[/u][/b] According to TH. 138 an infomorph is any active software mind emulation. This means you can brain-hack any digitized/disembodied egos, forks, AGIs, AI (Including muses), and theoretically seed AI. Inactive stored egos and simulmorphs however are not valid targets. To conduct a brain-hack of an infomorph you must have security or admin rights on the device (Or one of the devices, in the case of distributed infomorphs), that the infomorph is running on, and know their mesh ID. Hacking an infomorph leaves logs like with a standard intrusion, so Eliminating Intrusion Traces can be a good decision. Beyond other brain-hacking options, a hacked infomorph can be forcibly resleeved, forked, have their plug-ins and upgrades disabled or removed, and be subjected to psychosurgery according to the full rules beginning on TH. 148. [b]Narcoalgorithms[/b] A successful brain-hack opens up the opportunity to force a narcoalgorithm on an infomorph. While extremely easy to do, only requiring a single complex action, it’s even easier to undo as it counts as a plug-in and can be deleted with a quick action. So unless you’re planning to keep them on a Lockbox you need to keep them from being aware of and deleting the narcoalgorithm. It’s unclear exactly what control an infomorph would have over its digital state while under the effects of a narcoalgorithm with catatonic effects, but Linkstate, certain petals, and perhaps even custom-designed narcoalgorithms could be useful for this. It’s unclear if chemicals and toxins can be made into narcoalgorithms as while they do not fall under the drugs header on EP. 318, they are mentioned as drugs and chemicals for offensive use under that same header. Consider working out the details with your GM, though realize that many of the effects of the chemical and drug entries in the book would be difficult to adapt to a purely digital consciousness. Full rules found on TH. 149. [u][b]Biodrone Puppeteering[/u][/b] According to the Subverting Biodrones entry on PO. 175, puppet socks can be subverted by a hacker in the same manner as a cyberbrain, though biomorphs such as smart animals are not vulnerable to entrapment, memory hacking, or scorching. Since Shutdown and Terminate Cortical Stack Feed actions only affect cyberbrains, the only remaining possibility for a hack is the puppeteering action. Given this entry it’s not clear if a cyberbrain actually has to be hacked before puppeteering can occur at all, if just the puppet sock needs to be subverted, or if intruding into the puppet sock on a morph without a cyberbrain is the same process as subverting a cyberbrain itself. Discuss with your GM. Puppeteering requires a complex action and a successful Infosec test opposed by the defending ego or AI, and jamming and teleoperation rules are as written in the core rulebook.

(Reserved for future rules)

[center][b][h2]Final Notes and Thanks[/h2][/b][/center] Wow, you’ve made it! Over 22,000 words are above this point, so thanks for sticking with it for as much as you did. If you liked it, please drop a line down below as it would mean a lot to know this little project of mine was actually enjoyed by some people! Additionally if you have thoughts, opinions, suggestions, or anything else please do reply with those as well, I will be reading. If you’d like to talk on the side, I do read my PMs, so you can reach me there. Finally there’s some people I’d like to thank: Emo_Duck, for asking the question so long ago that sparked the minds of many. Trappedinwikipedia, for showing me the RAW of Multitasking, and being ready to engage any questions with good logic and understanding of the game. And of course the Eclipse Phase Creators, Writers, Artists, Publishing Partners, and really anyone associated with making this fantastic game. Especially those who have continued to refine and add to the hacking and electronic warfare elements of EP over the years. [u]Attribution and Reuse Request[/u] Full attribution to Posthuman Studios, LLC for the rules, mechanics, and quotes from their awesome game. Please feel free to cut apart, remix, share, and generally do whatever with the content from this thread. It would be awesome of you to credit me, but even cooler to point people back to this site to help build this game and community.