Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: westiex@********.net (Aramis)
Subject: Deckers playing around with Riggers
Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2005 08:20:49 +1000
Have been thinking of creating a drone or two for a charcter whose
primarily a decker and would like some help on the rules.

1. The character connects to Vehicle A using a datajack, which gives
them access to the virtual dashboard. Could they use a remote link from
the vehicle (radio or otherwise) to then 'hop' into the drone and use
its virtual dashboard? (Rigger, P11)

2. I seem to remember some sort of addon for a deck that allowed them to
access rigger networks. Any hints on page numbers?

3. What sort of skill would be required to 'pilot' a UAV or mini blimp
through a virtual dashboard?

Aramis
Message no. 2
From: maxnoel_fr@*****.fr (Max Noel)
Subject: Deckers playing around with Riggers
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 23:57:03 +0100
On Jan 1, 2005, at 23:20, Aramis wrote:

> Have been thinking of creating a drone or two for a charcter whose
> primarily a decker and would like some help on the rules.
>
> 1. The character connects to Vehicle A using a datajack, which gives
> them access to the virtual dashboard. Could they use a remote link
> from the vehicle (radio or otherwise) to then 'hop' into the drone and
> use its virtual dashboard? (Rigger, P11)

No, as virtual dashboard driving still relies heavily on manual
controls. Actually, the way I understand the virtual dashboard, all it
does is to display a HUD in your field of vision, as in a video game
(which is why it doesn't require the vehicle to have sensors). The
Reaction and TN modifiers are solely due to the greater awareness this
provides.
Remote operation without a VCR is limited to issuing orders to the
drone pilot.

> 2. I seem to remember some sort of addon for a deck that allowed them
> to access rigger networks. Any hints on page numbers?

Don't remember the exact name and page numbers (don't have my books
with me), but it's in Rigger 3, and IIRC it only allows you to
penetrate CCSS networks (or more precisely, to get your ass kicked
trying to do so).
A common misconception is that you need to be a rigger to use drones
in any way. That's wrong: a VCR is only needed if you intend to "dive"
into a drone. However, doing so almost cuts you off from the rest of
the RC network, forcing you to focus on a single vehicle.
Most of a drone rigger's time is actually spent in captain's chair
mode (a/k/a "C&C mode"), issuing orders to drones and analyzing the
information they return. And captain's chair mode is accessible to
anyone with a datajack and a RC deck. You don't even need any skills.
In fact, FASA/Wizkids never clearly defined how a RC deck works (or
even how it looks like), so theoretically you might not even need a
datajack.
In any case, to MIJI a drone network, all you need is a remote-control
deck and the Electronics(Electronic Warfare) skill. High-powered signal
boosters are a good idea too. A VCR (or lack thereof) has no influence.

> 3. What sort of skill would be required to 'pilot' a UAV or mini blimp
> through a virtual dashboard?

Theoretically, the appropriate vehicle skill (Blimps for the
mini-blimp, Rotor Crafts/Airplanes/Vector-Thrust Craft for the UAV,
depending on its kind). However, as explained in 1., V-dashboard
piloting still requires the use of manual controls, which UAVs and
mini-blimps don't have (they'd be of no use as they're too small for
anyone to fit in). Therefore, the actual answer is "none".

-- Wild_Cat
maxnoel_fr at yahoo dot fr -- ICQ #85274019
"Look at you hacker... A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting
and sweating as you run through my corridors... How can you challenge a
perfect, immortal machine?"

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Deckers playing around with Riggers, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.