Slicing Encounters
T-SM p. 86
About Slicing Encounters
A full slicing encounter should be conducted in structured time (see: Combat & Encounters) with participants taking Actions in turn to try to establish control over the system using Slicing Actions. As with a combat encounter, the GM can use the rules for Initiative to determine the order in which the characters act.
Intruders and Defenders
During a slicing encounter, any character attempting to break into or subvert the system is considered an "Intruder." Any character actively working to protect the system from unintended influence is considered a "Defender." Some Actions and uses of symbols are only available to an Intruder or Defender.
The most common configuration for the encounter includes one Intruder and one Defender. At the GM's discretion, however, an encounter might feature multiple Intruders, no Defender, or other configurations of Intruders and Defenders as appropriate. Whether any Defenders are aware of the intrusion at the start of the encounter depends on the circumstances and GM's discretion.
Access
Generally, characters need direct access to a computer system to slice it. In some cases, certain systems might be accessible via regional HoloNet hubs or other local networks with multiple access points.
Whether an Intruder or Defender, a character must have access to a system to be able to perform any other Slicing Actions and participate in a Slicing Encounter. A character can gain access by using the Access System Action, and can lose access in various ways, including being on the receiving end of the Expel User Action. A character who loses access must take the Access System Action to participate in the encounter again.
Security Programs
Security Programs are static defenses that keep users from running amok on a computer system. A computer can have any number of Security Programs, as determined by the GM, but only the most secure system would have more than a few such programs active at any given time due to the load they put on the system.
While one or more Security Programs are active on a system, the Intruder cannot perform several of the most useful Slicing Actions. An Intruder can disable a Security Program with a Computers check, the difficulty for which can be determined using the guidelines set forth in the System Security table:
System Security
| Example Systems | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Unsecured/Passcode Known | Simple (—) |
| Cantina Terminal, Datapad | Easy () |
| Common Shipboard Computer | Average () |
| Local HoloNet Hub, Military Base/Starship Network | Hard () |
| Imperial Datavault, Regional HoloNet Hub | Daunting () |
| Ancient Archive | Formidable () |
| System Administrator has Defensive Slicing talent | Add equal to ranks in Defensive Slicing. |
| System Administrator has Improved Defensive Slicing talent | Upgrade difficulty a number of times equal to ranks in Defensive Slicing. |
Spending and in Slicing Encounters
These symbols may be spent narratively as usual, and as additions to general suggested usage.
| Cost | Result Options |
|---|---|
| or | Opportunity Identified: The slicer finds gaps in the structure of the system that can assist in the execution of another task. Add to the slicer's next Computers check in this system. Valuable Data (Intruder Only): While searching for vulnerabilities in the system, the slicer encounters unrelated data that could prove useful or valuable. The nature of the data is up to the GM, and additional may be spent on this result to indicate a particularly interesting find. |
| or | Temporary Bypass (Intruder Only): The slicer creates a temporary bypass into the system that helps avoid a specific element of the security. The slicer may add to a single future check to slice this system. This bonus may be saved for any future check. Cover the Tracks (Intruder Only): A weakness in the system's defenses allows the slicer to leave minimal evidence, adding to any checks by Defensive slicers to uncover the Intruder's slicing signature in this system. Signature Spotted (Defender Only): A portion of the Intruder's slicing signature is discovered in the system, with the advantages that this entails. |
| or | Spread Decoys: The slicer uses false data to misdirect foes. Add to the next check to use the Expel User or Trace User Action against the slicer. If the slicer attempting the check fails with or , it can be spent to cause that slicer to acquire a piece of false data (such as an erroneous location or a fake name for the targeted slicer). Permanent Backdoor (Intruder Only): The slicer sets up a permanent means or accessing the system without needing to deal with its verification protocols. The PC may perform the Access System Action on this system as a Maneuver and without performing a check, so long as the character has access to a hard line or a connected network. Telltale Sign (Defender Only): The Defender looks for a known user hidden amongst junk data. Downgrade the difficulty of the character's next check to use the Expel User or Trace User Action once for each portion of the target's slicing signature the Defender possesses. |
| Scripted Command (Intruder Only): The next time that the Intruder successfully performs the Enact Command Action this encounter, the character may resolve two commands instead of one. Custom Encryption (Defender Only): The Defender chooses an Action that the Intruder has already attempted. Increase the difficulty of the Intruder's Computers checks for that Action by two until the end of the encounter. |
Spending and in Slicing Encounters
These symbols may be spent narratively as usual, and as additions to general suggested usage.
| Cost | Result Options |
|---|---|
| or | Evidence of Presence: careless access results in a trace of the slicer's signature being left in the system. Add to checks to acquire the slicer's signature. Authorized Access Only (Intruder Only): The slicer stumbles into a particularly secure subsystem and must take care to avoid triggering alarms. Add to the Intruder's next Computers check in this system. Dummy Signatures (Defender Only): A false trail or leftover signature confuses efforts to identify the attacker. Add to the next Computers check made against the Intruder. |
| or | Limited Access (Intruder Only): The Defender chooses one Slicing Action; the Intruder cannot perform that Action during the next round this encounter. Accidental Backdoor (Defender Only): Moving quickly through the system to respond to the threat causes the Defending slicer to unknowingly leave important access routes into the system. The Intruder may add to a single future check to slice this system. This bonus may be saved for any future check. |
| or | Major Alert (Intruder Only): All users with full access to the system becomes aware of the presence of an Intruder, potentially alerting defensive slicers or dispatching security teams to deal with the Intruder. Encryption (Defender Only): A muddle of encryption ruins any elements or the attacker's signature that have been gathered. The Defending slicer loses all fragments of the Intruder's slicing signature, along with all from possessing them. |
| Automatic Lockdown (Intruder Only): Emergency security measures are triggered across the whole system. The entire system shuts down as if a slicer successfully performed the Lockdown Action. Key Vulnerability (Defender Only): Efforts to defend one area of the system leave another critically vulnerable. The Intruder may Immediately resolve a command as if the Intruder had successfully performed the Enact Command Action (even if the system has active Security Programs). |