How to Deal With a Hacker?

[shootingwomprats]

I have a character who has Computer Programming/Repair 6D+1 and is a slicer. He consistently cracks security on just about everything. Even when I set difficulties at 31+.

I am wondering if perhaps Slicing should be a specialization of the Computer skill? Suggestions on how to better implement mechanics for this type of game? I am open to suggestions.

At this time I am naming tasks, giving them a time, make him roll after the time has elapsed and depending on his roll give him the information, etc.

Has anyone else had a player like this?
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Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[griff]

(A) Slicing

Computer Prog/Rep. minimum 5D

Difficult varies on complexity of system. datapad Easy, Imperial Star Destroyer encoded security overrides Defficult
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"EXECUTE ORDER 67. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like order 67..... No, wait. Yes, yes it does. EXECUTE ORDER 68" Palpatine's last moments - robot chicken.

[shootingwomprats]

Thinking of setting some difficulties for gaining access to a system:

Civilian [Moderate (11-15)]: hotel, motel, gas station, etc.
Civic [Difficult (16-20)]: courthouse, local power plant, traffic control, etc.
Local Government/Military [Very Difficult (21-30)]: air traffic control, income taxes.
Galactic Government/Military [Heroic (31+)]: Holonet access, Death Star, etc

One the the hacker has gained access he must search for what he is looking for. This would probably best done using the Search skill.

Making an opposed Slicing roll every round to hide his tracks?

Modifiers:
Familiarity with the system
Type of information looked for
Is there a SysOp and if so does he have an advantage in his home network?

Just brainstorming.
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[griff]

Other Modifiers could include access codes, but that would only get you into the system, not the knowledge to navigate the system. Difficulties look great.
_________________
"EXECUTE ORDER 67. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like order 67..... No, wait. Yes, yes it does. EXECUTE ORDER 68" Palpatine's last moments - robot chicken.

[Luwingo_Spince]

Slicing probably could be a specialization of Comp/repair but you don't want to go down that path since he will just up his skill even faster.

How is the pc getting to all these secure locations? Is he doing it remotely? if so start by making him actually having to get to the mainframe in order to hack it. This might help him to diversify his skills in stealth, combat, con and dodge skills.

Maybe make it into a puzzle game so that he has to actually apply himself instead of rolling his skill every time perhaps his skill roll gives him more time or hints.

Common GM trope: if his skill is so good perhaps this gets the attention of certain organizations that he doesn't want to associate with or gets a bounty placed on him.

[griff]

A word on difficulty, R2-D2 able to interpret the entire imperial networt in episode 4 just by plugging into a terminal onboard the Death Star. Was that because of physical contact with the system, was it because R2 is a droid, or was it because he's R2? But we only see him find the location of the terminal to deactivate the tractor beam, learn that Leia was on board and was scheduled to be exicuted, and shut down the garbage smashers. None of this seems to be top secret or critical.
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"EXECUTE ORDER 67. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like order 67..... No, wait. Yes, yes it does. EXECUTE ORDER 68" Palpatine's last moments - robot chicken.

[Lane Arroway]

You should consider having a systems monitor, like a droid, watching for slicers. Then you could see if he's able to "sneak" by the monitor. If not you could do opposed rolls as the player tries to either blow through the defenses or get out of there without revealing himself. Either way, he's detected so now their's alarms, closing blast doors and security guards on the way.
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"This job is 90% talking to people and 10% shooting at them."

[Centinull]

I have one player currently who tried to slice everything. My solution was to limit access points.

Star Wars is 70's scifi, there is not an ever present wifi connection.

Want to hack the ships registration information ?[/b] Sure, fine. Find and infiltrate a BOSS registry office.

Want Imperial Files ? Be prepared to go undercover

[shootingwomprats]

I have looked at the idea of making a new skill called (A) Slicing placed under TEC. The problem with it, is that at the beginning of character creation the best a player could have is 2D, hardly useful at all.

Perhaps splitting Computer Programming/Repair into Computer Tech (TEC) and Computer Ops (KNO). Hacker would use Search (PER) to find the information he wants on a system before he can hack it.

Thoughts?
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[CRMcNeill]

You might also want to institute some non-skill conditions, such as only allowing the roll has access to a specific pass code (which is almost impossible to acquire). Hacking isn't just about knowing what to type into a keyboard; a lot of the best hackers are also con men who know how to get information out of people, and researchers who know how to look up obscure details in a persons background in the hunt for passwords.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[lurker]

Hmmmmm I wonder if I can guess the name of the character you are talking about .... As he is in the Monday night group I say the rule should be he knows everything in the computer just by looking at the computer

Ok seriously, I like

[shootingwomprats]

Currently his Search defaults to his PER 3D+2. So not much a slow down. I started implementing time per action. Kind of hard to say is not successful when he is rolling freakin 27s and 28's and immediately spends a Character Point to make sure he rolls 31+, Heroic.

I really need some help coming up with logical rules for hacking computer/systems to include situational modifiers and such.
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[DougRed4]

I hear you, SWR, and your post is fortuitously timed, as I am adding a new player to my group, and we just made his character (a slicer).

In our Star Trek campaign, I had the same exact problem with one PC, who was a hacker. His skill with computers was such that he could literally shut down the shields of any opposing ship (remember how they did that with access codes in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan?)!!! It really became a challenge to keep him from being a GM's worst nightmare, especially in the world of Trek, where technology is more of a 'wireless'-type.

OTOH, I agree that the tech in Star Wars tends to be less 'wireless' and more "I access files by sticking something into a scomp link". There's been some great ideas tossed out here already regarding making him learn actual passcodes, stealth places, and other obstacles.

I think an important thing to remember is to let this 'ultimate hacker' type be a god of slicing under most circumstances. When it's not relevant to the plot or major plans of the bad guys, let him get away with hacking into whatever he needs to. He'll end up getting plenty of enemies on his trail soon enough that way anyway. But then when a pivotal moment in the campaign happens, despite his capabilities to get 31+ on his rolls, there's still a 1 chance in 6 that something bad will happen. If you do what has been suggested, and make him have to succeed on a roll to get back out of the system (and hide his tracks), the odds are now that 1 in 3 that he could be spotted!
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Quetzacotl]

Well, you can simply limit the amount of information he can get from one station.

Might be that on the Hardware level something prevents that station to acces information above a certain level. Maybe it's not even connected to the full net, only a part of it.
If it's on the hardware level, he can't just "hack" through that.

There is a reason why in most stories you hear that they need to go to the mainframe, because that is the only place where they can get all the information they want... if the information is in that compley at all.


And, btw. consider making it more difficulty. The + on the 31+ for Heroic is there for a reason, there is no real upper limit. If the information is so extremely secure and protected, make it a 50 or higher for difficulty.
Of course you shoudln't do that on a regular basis, but as I said, you can simply regulate how much information there are accessible from a certain station.
Perhaps it's not a station that can access anything because it's a one way connection. Sopmething sends Information to that station but the station itself can't send anything back (or anything send from there is simply dumped and not processed at all).
There is no way you then that you can get more information then the terminal receives.

[garhkal]