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MrNexx
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 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:32 pm Post subject: "Track your comm signal" |
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Your player has just said this to another character. What do you require them to have in terms of equipment? What do you require them to roll?
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Bren
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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A little context would help on the situation. Is there some reason the character can't just tell their friend where they are rather than needing their com signal tracked?
But if tracking needs to be done, I'd want gear better than a simple comlink, e.g. a full communications suite on a ship or other vehicle, alternatively ship or other sensors, or possibly an R2 unit if the detection range is not too long.
Depending on the circumstances (e.g. continuous broadcasting, no jamming or other interference, well inside comm range) no roll may be required or a roll may only be needed to determine how long it takes to track their signal. If a roll is needed or desired then I'd want a communications roll or alternatively a sensors roll. |
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MrNexx
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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No context because it's an abstract question... I was watching Clone Wars, and in this case, the characters were in contact, but they didn't really know where they were, much less the other person.
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Bren
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| MrNexx wrote: | | No context because it's an abstract question... I was watching Clone Wars, and in this case, the characters were in contact, but they didn't really know where they were, much less the other person. |
* I assume that on civilized planets even a civilian comlink can tell you where you are via global positioning, locator beacons, satellite bounceback, in-built compass, downloading a map, or some such.
* If those devices are being jammed, I'd question whether they could communicate at all.
* If those devices don't exist on the planet in question and the characters are lost, and they can't describe recognizable landmarks to each other, see my original answer.
* In addition, somewhere in one or more of the various equipment lists locator beacons and tracking devices are mentioned. Those might provide some guidelines for what to roll or the difficulty. |
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S-Foil
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Joined: 21 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:21 am Post subject: |
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In the real world it's pretty easy to track a radio signal. A directional antenna can tell you the bearing of a particular signal. Many modes of radio operation will have the radio send short identifier signals. So there's some regular signals to track with a directional antenna.
In the game if the character has a comlink turned on I'd say they could be tracked by dedicated tracking equipment or just the general sensors on a ship. A "tracking beacon" would just be an automated signal generator sending off short bursts regularly. The average comlink would probably listen for any GPS-like signals as well so it might be able to explicitly send its coordinates to anyone listening. Maybe a switch to toggle on a "track me" feature. |
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