Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:39 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| garhkal wrote: | | That whole wiping memory issue is also a good way to force the party to spend oodles of cash on their droids.. Either to set up the skills inputted as hardwired, OR to have a 'hidden memory spot' they can copy themselves to, so they can avoid memory wipes. |
This is something I've dealt with briefly before. The nearest thing in the official rules which relates is espionage droids (not a specific model, i.e. the MerenData RM-2020, but referring to a particular use of various droid models.) These are designed to be immune (at least partially) to memory wipes. A good description of those can be found in the Dark Force Rising sourcebook (pg. 100-101.) In the case of these, the droid actually has two primary function modules, and the programming of the second (the one which covers its espionage functions) is immune to memory wipes. Whether this is because those instructions are hardwired or because that module is designed to reject memory wiping instructions isn't clear, but they're also very difficult to spot (you actually have to be specifically looking for this sort of modification in order to have any chance of finding it, and make a Very Difficult Droid Programming roll on top of that) and removal actually involves taking the droid apart and physically pulling those modules.
The method a friend of mine used (actually, paid an outlaw tech to implement for him) to make his astromech immune to memory wiping was to install a second droid brain into the droid, which remained inactive unless the standard programming port (the REAL port for accessing the main droid brain was hidden inside a compartment which the fire extinguisher folded into) was accessed, at which point it became primary and the main droid brain switched off. The tech would then perform a memory wipe on the secondary brain, confirm that its memory had been erased, and the droid would begin a ten minute countdown and then switch back to its primary brain. (The droid obviously understood what the tech had attempted to do, and had a couple levels of Con skill installed to help it continue the act of having been memory wiped as long as necessary.) It was also necessary to let the "false" brain operate from time to time, just in case someone had the presence to check it before performing a memory wipe so its non-permanent memory wouldn't look suspiciously empty.
This method would hold up quite well unless someone actually took the droid apart and noticed that it had two brains, which wouldn't be difficult to spot. An actual droid engineer could probably create a proper memory wipe protection module which would not only prevent the instructions from being carried out, but send exactly the feedback signals the equipment would expect to find upon a memory wipe being completed. (This would probably have to be tailored to the exact model of droid, however.)
One other question which was once raised is, what happens if a droid decides to resist a memory wipe (attempted by someone who is not its owner, presumably their programming doesn't allow them to resist this treatment by legitimate owners.) This happened in the case of a droid PC on one occasion, and I allowed the player to resist with a Technical (would have allowed Droid Programming) roll, which succeeded, and make a Perception (would have allowed Con if he'd had it) roll to fake having been wiped. The latter roll only barely succeeded.. leaving the tech slightly suspicious that a few bits and bytes might have been left in there, but he was in a rush and not well compensated for his job in the first place.. |
|
garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14359
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'd say if they have no protection module or otherwise capabilities to resist, it would not matter what skill they 'roll' to try and avoid it. For a PC droid i might go with willpower.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk! |
|
