Interface Zero Hacking 2.0

8/18/2019 Interface Zero Hacking 2.0

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Tis gam rfrncs t Savage Worlds Deluxe gam systm, avail-abl from pinnacl entrtainmnt Grou at www.ginc.com. Sav-

age Worlds an all associat logos an tramarks ar coyrigts of

pinnacl entrtainmnt Grou. Us wit rmission.

pinnacl entrtainmnt maks no rrsntaon or warranty as to

t quality, viability, or suitability for uross of tis rouct.

©2012 Gun Mtal Gams. Interface Zero an all rlat marks an

logos ar tramarks of Gun Mtal Gams. Unlss otrwis stat,

all intrior artwork, graics, caractr nams, an con ar pro-

uct Inty of Gun Mtal Gams.

Wrg: [Curs an Sara Lyon, davi Jarvis, davi Viars]

Edg: [Aric Wir, L langston, davi Jarvis]

Artwork: [Sam Manly(Minigt Illustraons)]

Layu: [davi Jarvis]

Play esg ad feedbak: [L Langston, Curs an

Sara Lyon, Josua Maows, Jrson dunla, Aric Wi-

r, Norman hnsly, Ron Blssing]

noticE: Tis is a layr pdF. You can turn any of t

layrs on or o in any combinaon to mt your rint-

ing ns. To o so, just click t layrs tab on your f

viwr.

Tis pdF is bst viw wit t most rcnt vrsion of

t Aob Rar, wic can b ownloa r:

://gt.aob.com/rar/

Persmission is granted to print out a copy of this PDF for

personal use only.

credits

the deepIn 2088, t Tnril Accss procssor conncts ol to

t yr-ral worl aroun tm lik nvr bfor. ps

on’t just scan at t MedIAwb on an arcaic ‘utr—

ty ownloa it into tir brain an s it ovr in front

of tm as a igital ovrlay of t worl. But for all t

convninc an conncvity t Tnril Accss procs-sor rovis, tr ar rawbacks, lik gng your brain

ack an turn into a ulsing blob of gry jlly.

That’s right, omae. One wrong turn, one misstep in a

hack and you could end up a quivering lump of brain dead

flesh and bone. If you want to avoid that, you need this

Mediafile. You Need Hacking 2.0.

Hacking 2.0 brings a much needed update to the In-

terface Zero game setting, streamlining the old system,

taking it in directions never seen before in the cyberpunk

milieu! Herein you’ll find quick-easy rules for hacking any

system you can imagine. We also introduce a new compo-

nent to the game; the hyper glove.

So what are ya waiting for? Grab your hyper glove, dive

into the Deep, and go raid that corp!


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INTROdUCTION 1

BASIC RULe ChANGeS 2

SKILLS 2

ChANGeS TO eXISTING edGeS 2

NeW edGeS 2NeW hINdRANCeS 3

hACKING FOR N00BS 4

hYpeR ReALITY 4

The hYpeR GLOVe 4

deSIGN TheORY 4

hYpeR GLOVe TRAITS 5

hACKING BONUS 5

VR ARMOR 5

dAMAGe 5

RANGe 5

hYpeR GLOVe MOdeS 6

CONTROL MOde 6

edIT MOde 6

deSTRUCTION MOde 6MOde MOdULeS 8

hACKING The SYSTeM 9

hACKING IN hYpeR ReALITY 9

SUCCeedING ON The hACKING ROLL 9

FAILING The hACKING ROLL 10

SYSTeM deSIGNATION COdeS 10

hYpeR GLOVeS ANd phYSICAL COMBAT 12

MULTIpLe ACTIONS 12

table of contents

introduction


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introductionIt's bn narly two an a alf yars sinc Intrfac Zro

was rst rlas for t Savage Worlds gam systm. dur-

ing tat m, I'v a t oortunity to talk wit many

fans of t gam sng an gt tir oinions of t gam

an t sng ruls. Wil t fback I'v rciv

about t sng as bn ovrwlmingly osiv, onsourc of frustraon tat coms u m an m again

is t comlx natur of t d—t worl-wi com-

utr ntwork as it xists in 2088.

I'v bn tol ovr an ovr again crtain ascts of t

gam worl, wil intrsng an cool, bcom vry mu-

l in actual lay, not so muc bcaus t cor gam

mcanics ar ncssarily ar to gras, but bcaus of

a blur btwn yr rality an virtual rality. In an at-

tmt to livr somting tat was (an I bliv sll is)

conctually uniqu, w cross a lin an ma it ovrly

comlicat, wic in turn ncssitat t craon of

gam ruls wic a mor lvls of granularity tanwr ncssary or— for t most art—vn want. I

say for t most art bcaus intrsngly, wil numr-

ous ol wr saying tat t acking systm n to

b stramlin, a numbr of fans av tol m tat it was

too siml. In ligt of ts commnts, my growing conun-

rum on ow to gt t concts of yr an virtual ral-

ity across in a siml yt funconal way bcam vn mor

uzzling as I cam to raliz tat, in amng to arss

t ns of on grou of ol, I woul b simultan-

ously alinang anotr.

So, wat to o?

For startrs, I av ci tat it's m to look at t

cor conct of t d an stramlin it, tossing out

confusing an somwat alin concts in favor of a mo-

l insir by various ntrtainmnt mia as wll as cur-

rnt (an mrging) tcnologis, wil also rtaining t

ol-scool cybrunk fl w all know an lov. T main

cang is t aional of tr mos of t Tnril Ac-

css procssor, an a nw vic us by ackrs to n-

trat systms an control objcts; t hyr glov.

hyr glovs link a usr's TAp wit comutr ntworks in

2088, allowing tm to maniulat tings lik yr objcts or ack irctly into comutr ntworks. put simly,

tnril accss rocssors ar t ys tat allow a rson

to s yr rality, an yr glovs ar t ans wit

wic s maniulats it.

Lik any ic of tcnology, yr glovs can b moi

an ugra to suit t usrs’ rfrncs, aing a lvl

of t wic ks tings intrsng witout bcoming

ovrly comlx. If you'v vr lay t Mass ect vio

gams, or watc Iron Man (scically t scns wn

Tony Stark is using scial glovs to maniulat olograms

in is work so), or if you'v watc Minority Rort,

you'v sn yr glovs in acon.

In trms of t actual gam mcanics, w crat twosystms, a basic systm, an an avanc systm, T ba-

sic systm lays vry fast, wic is sur to aal to t

avrag Savage Worlds fan wo osn't want a ton of nw

ruls, yt at t sam m rovis a lvl of xibility

an tail fans of acking can arciat. K in min,

owvr, tat any gam systm is always going to av

som gr of abstracon, rgarlss of ow accurat

a signr intns it to b. In trut, it's bst to tink of

t basic systm as "acking lit," or "cinmac acking"

ratr tan a ralisc mol of t subjct.

T cor of t basic systm is a vry siml us of t

acking skill roll comar to a targt numbr. T tar-gt numbr varis ning on t ty of systm b-

ing ack; mor icult systms av igr nals,

an asy systms lowr nals. Tis aroac rovis

a lvl of vrsality wic soul las GMs wo on't

want to larn a ton of nw ruls or constantly i troug

a book uring a gam sssion just to n a scic numbr

for a crtain comutr systm. T xibl nals act

lik a ial, allowing you to trmin t iculty for any

givn comutr ntwork on t y.

Failur on a acking roll mans not only os s not suc-

c in r task, but somting otnally nasty ans

as wll. S migt simly gt lock out of t systm or,in t cas of rally aly comutr ntworks ( Lik Mili-

tary Accss Ntworks), s migt gt brain fri an n

u a vgtabl for t rst of r lif. T consquncs

ar trmin by making a siml roll on a failur cart

for ac systm. Obviously tis introucon is an ovrsim-

licaon of t basic ruls an sng twaks you'll n

in tis ocumnt, but in gnral, tings arn't muc mor

comlx.

T largr book on acking will introuc avanc ack-

ing concts wic augmnt t Basic rul st; brain ack-

ing, waon acking, an vicl acking. Aionally,

w'll introuc a comrnsiv systm for laying nr

gams in T d.

In closing, I want to tank vryon wo as bn in-

volv wit tis rojct u to tis oint. You all av bn

vry lful wit your fback an suggsons for tis

nw incarnaon of t ruls, an I can't fully xrss ow

gratful I am tat you wr a art of t rocss.


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BAsic ruLe chAnGesBlow you’ll n t rul cangs to t cor I.Z. book for

t Basic acking ruls.

sKiLLs

Hakg (Smars): As t nam imlis, t hacking skill

is us wnvr a caractr wants to ack a comutr

ntwork. Caractrs in Intrfac Zro no longr start wit

an automac 4 in acking. Aionally, caractrs wo

wis to us t d for vryay uross suc as r-

sarc or ning nws rtaining to t d o so wit

tir xisng Invsgaon an Strtwis skills.

Kwledge (Prgrammg) (Smars): Tis skill is no longr us.

chAnGes to eXistinG edGesT following gs av bn cang or rmov.

AdvAnced proGrAmminG (hAcKinG edGe)Tis g is rmov.

eXpert hAcKer (hAcKinG edGe)Requremes: Vtran, hackr profssional eg, hacking d10+

You’r a vtran of t d an know its arkst scrts.

You gain +1 to all hacking rolls. Your VR armor an Firwall

rangs ar incras by 1.

hAcKer (professionAL edGe)

Requremes: Novic, Smarts d8+, hacking d8+Som ol just lay aroun in t d. You r-writ it

on a wim. Unlik otr scrit kiis wo just wanna look

cool, your hyr glov is mor tan a fasion statmnt—

it's t tool of your tra: hacking. An lt's fac it, you’r

LeeT, oma—a mastr of hyr Rality, a glacial ic-ick, a

nural gunslingr— t to of t igital foo cain. You

gain a +2 to hacking rolls. Aionally, you gain a +1 to

your VR armor rang.

proGrAmminG 101 (hAcKinG edGe)Tis g is rmov.

virtuAL reAch (hAcKinG edGe)Virtual Rac an all of its rlat subsqunt gs no

longr xist.

neW edGes

cooL under pressure (hAcKinG edGe)Requremes: hroic, hackr profssional eg, exrt

hackr, hacking d10+

Wn tings ar at tir worst, you ar at your bst. You

ignor u to a -2 nalty ali to rwalls wn a sys-tm gos on Acv alrt.

hArdeninG (cyBer comBAt edGe)Requremes: Novic, Vigor d6+

You’v grown us to t biofback gnrat by IC

(Intrusion Countrmasurs) an osl ackrs. Rais

your VR armor rang by +2.

improved cooL under pressure (hAcKinGedGe)Requremes: Lgnary, Cool Unr prssur, hackr

profssional eg, exrt hackr, hacking d12+Wn tings ar at tir worst, you ar at your bst. You

ignor u to a -4 nalty ali to rwalls wn a sys-

tm gos on Acv alrt.

interference (BAcKGround edGe)Requremes: Novic

Somting about your lctromagnc signatur maks

you arr to ack. All amts by oonnts to ack you

ar ma at a -1 nalty.

mode speciAList (hAcKinG edGe)

Requremes: Novic, hacking d6+Coos on of t following hyr glov mo sngs

(Control, dstrucon, eit; s t yr glov for mor

informaon). Your caractr gains a +1 to all hacking rolls

wn acking in tis mo. Tis g may b takn onc

for ac mo ty.

mode eXpert (hAcKinG edGe)Requremes: Vtran, Mo Scialist, hacking d8+

Rais t bonus you rciv wit t Mo Scialist

g from +1 to +2. Tis only alis to a singl mo. To

gain tis bonus for an aional mo you must tak tis

g again an aly t bonus accoringly.

BAsic ruLe chAnGes


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neW hindrAnces T following hinrancs ar mant to aly to ackr

caractrs. GM’s ar in tir full rigt to rstrict layrs

from taking ts hinrancs if ty fl ty’r bing

abus.

BAd fiLters (minor/mAjor)Your sam ltrs ar glitc. You’r constantly bing

bombar by sam, viruss an otr malwar. Tis

stay barrag maks it mor likly tat vntually SOMe-

ThING nasty will ntrat your rwall. Consquntly, all

rolls by otrs to hack your TAp ar ma at a +1 bonus for

t minor vrsion of tis inranc, an a +2 bonus for t

major vrsion.

mode deficiency (minor/mAjor)You av a ar m grasing t funamntals of ack-

ing in on of t 3 basic mo tys (control, it, struc-

on). You sur a -1 nalty to all hacking rolls wn ack-ing in tis mo. Wit t major vrsion of tis g, t

nalty is incras to -2.

sensitive neurons (mAjor)Your synac systm osn’t anl biofback vry

wll. Your tougnss is consir 1 lowr for wn taking

VR amag.

BAsic ruLe chAnGes


7/20

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hAcKinG for n00BsSo ya tink ya got wat it taks to lay wit t big boys,

éngyou? W'll s about tat.

First tings rst.

I on't know you for squat. I on't sak your strt slang,I on't ang wit your als, w on't rss t sam, an

w crtainly on't swa sit, so w'r going to go ovr a

fw common trms just so you an I know w'r scannin'

t sam ata f, míngbáil ma? Ya, I know I coul

av just sai " unrstan?," but y, tis is 2088. Ya bt-

tr gt a fw irnt languags unr your blt if you

want to communicat cvly in tis brav nw worl.

Just sayin'.

Anyways, back to tis acking alio.

Now, t way I scan it, you n to know t basics—goalarn to walk bfor you run an all tat cra… I know, it's

a clicé' but it's no lss tru. S, I'm not only oing YOU

a favor, riyatl', I'm also watcing t backs of my frins

out tr. Wil you an I may nvr work togtr, t

os ar br tan vn tat at som oint in your carr

you migt b rsonsibl for somon I know, an I on't

want to n out tat a al i just bcaus you couln't

loo a scurity f or surss an alarm systm. So o m

a favor—ay anon to tis gouì, oma; it migt sav

your lif (an a frin of min's) som ay.

hyper reALityLik I sai bfor, w'r going ovr t basics, an tat

mans all of tm. If you know wat yr rality is, just

ski aa; it’s no swat o my wrinklis. If you'r knowl-

g is a bit fuzzy, tn r ar t Cli's Nots.

hyr rality is a igital ovrlay of t worl aroun

us. It's informaon rsnt in countlss ways, most

of wic ar so commonlac tat you on't vn tink

about tm. If you av a TAp (Tnril Accss procssor),

tn you s it vry ay, bcaus t TAp is t ic of

cybrwar wic allows you— an narly 9 billion otr

ol— to viw t yr worl of 2088.

hyr rality is tr wn you riv your car or walk

own t strts. It's tr wn you'r working, an vn

wn you'r rlaxing at om. evry m you s, o, a

olograic avrsmnt, a igital strt sign, or a com-

utriz kiosk in a mall (just to nam a fw xamls);

you'r looking at t yr-ral worl. For most ol,

tat's all yr rality is; informaon viw across a wi

rang of miums ning on its uros. But for o-

l lik you an I, yr rality is t mans by wic w

ack systm ntworks. In orr to ack yr rality ow-

vr, w av to us an intrfac call t hyr glov.

the hyper GLoveBack in t ay, nginrs, scinsts an rogrammrs

of all stris snt ours an ours slaving ovr comutr

trminals, using comlicat fabricaon macins or r-

ing into various scinc oo-as to analyz comouns,

microorganisms an suc. Nowaays, w can o all of tat

stu using yr glovs. hyr glovs mak it ossibl to

maniulat an vn crat igital rrsntaons of ob-

jcts (lik vicl scmacs, scurity camras, oor lans,

dNA, cllular organisms, locks on oors, tc.). Wil yr

glovs wr originally sign for lgimat uss, ty

can also b us to ack, bcaus acking maks us of

t sam funamntal rincils. Simly ut; Wat ty

can o lgally, w can o illgally.

It's sorta lik a 'ark si/ligt si of t forc kina

ting— ¿sabs?

desiGn theorySo you'r robably wonring ow tis lil gagt works,

n? Wll, witout gng TOO tail, t yr glov

acts as an intrfac btwn your TAp an a yr objct

(you can us t glov to o otr tings bsis acking,

but I'll gt to tm latr on in tis ata f). T glov

translats t nural signals in your brain into commans

wic ar ky by an gsturs, lik tying, or oling

somting— only insta of grabbing somting soli (lik

a co cu), you'r maniulang wirlss signals wic

t transmit blocks of co tat ar t framwork of t

yr objct. In otr wors, t yr glov allows you to

tak ol of a igital objct an maniulat it in som way.

Wn you ack tos signals, you ar rlacing t xist-

ing co blocks wit ons you crat. So, using t abov

co cu xaml, wn you ack t co block tat

crats t igital co cu, you can o tings lik cang

t color of t cu, mak it tallr, sortr, tc. Back in t

ol ays, ol woul sn ours, vn ays acking

into scur comutr systms. But now, tanks to yrrality an Incribly dns Slf Moifying Co— IdSMC

for sort¬— t rocss is fastr by svral orrs of mag-

nitu an innitly mor intuiv.

In, rogramming as volv to t oint wr

ol wo sign co mouls (s blow) no longr

us ala numric -bas languag for t usr-intrfac.

T unrlying co is sll bas on t ol rogramming

the hyper GLove


8/20

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languags, but in raccal, vry-ay us, it's all about

symbols oma. Toay blocks of co rsmbl icons tat

rrsnt univrsally acct concts.

For xaml, if you'r riving own t roa an you s

a r octagon (or a r ligt), you know tat mans you

n to sto. Similarly, if you s a r cross on an objct,you know tat objct as a mical funcon of som sort.

Signs wit goln arcs or a r-air girl in ig tails

tll you you'r aroacing oular fast foo rstaurants.

Ts symbols an multus of otrs

ar so ly ingrain in your syc tat

you on't vn n to tink about wat

ty man. Tis is wat maks tir us as

co blocks so cv. You'r not sning

ours wring a languag, you'r arranging

icons bas on t intn funcon. Wn

ty ar arrang in t corrct arns, t symbols

form blocks of co tat tll an objct wat it ns to o.

If you know ow to altr tos icons, you can ack tatobjct; it's tat siml.

hyper GLove trAitsNow, lt’s gt into t nuts an bolts of t yr glov.

Just lik any ic of tc, t yr glov as a numbr of

comonnts tat allow it to o t tings it os. W call

tm traits. Tr ar four imortant traits wic mak u

vry yr glov; hacking Bonus, VR Armor, damag, an

Rang.

hAcKinG BonusAll yr glovs giv ackrs a crtain gr of controlovr t objcts ty ar maniulang. Tis translats into

a bonus to tir hacking rolls. Tis acking bonus will vary

ning on t quality of a yr glov.

vr ArmorOn of t scurity faturs of a yr glov is its ability

to gnrat a amning l tat rotcts against arm-

ful bio-fback signals gnrat by IC (Intrusion Coun-

trmasurs) an aacks by otr ackrs. Tis amn-

ing l is t caractr’s bas Virtual Armor rang. T

VR armor rang is a to t caractr’s bas Toug-nss scor to trmin t moi Tougnss aribut.

dAmAGeWn a ackr gts into combat, s can o amag to

otr ackrs, intrusion countrmasurs an vn vic-

s if r glov is st to strucon mo (s blow).

rAnGeWit a yr glov, caractrs can ack yr objcts

tat arn’t clos to tm. Tis trait trmins t maxi-

mum istanc in gam incs an objct can b an sll b

ack. eac rang incrmnt imoss a nalty to t

hackr as if ty wr making a rang aack as r t

Savage Worlds dlux eion ruls.

A Basic hyr glov as t following stascs:

moduLAr desiGnhyr glovs ar sign to b moular an asily u-

graabl. hackrs tn to ugra tir own yr glovs

to mak tm mor owrful tools for acking. eac abovt afor-mnon traits may b iniviually ugra

to a maximum valu, as inicat in t carts blow. T

ric r trait rais is also not.

Hakg Bus: +10,000 Crits r Lvl to a Maximum of +4.

table 1:a: Hyper Glove stats

HackinG

bonus

vr

armorDamaGe ranGe cost

+0 +1 2D6 6/12/18 10,000

table 1:b: HackinG bonus

HackinG

bonus

total

aDDitional cost

+1 10,000 Crits

+2 20,000 Crits

+3 30,000 Crits

+4 40,000 Crits

VR Armr irease: +3,000 Crits r Lvl to a Maximum of +6.

table 1:c: vr armor bonus

vr

armor

total

aDDitional cost

+2 3,000 Crits

+3 6,000 Crits

+4 9,000 Crits+5 12,000 Crits

+6 15,000 Crits

the hyper GLove


9/20

7

Damage irease: +5,000 Crits r di St to a Maxi-

mum of 212.

table 1:D: DamaGe increase

DamaGe

Dice

total aDDitional

cost

28 5,000 Crits210 10,000 Crits

212 15,000 Crits

Rage irease: +3,000 Crits r 6'' Bas incras to a

Maximum of 30/60/90.

table 1:e: ranGe increase

ranGe total aDDitional

cost

12/24/36 3,000 Crits

18/36/54 6,000 Crits

24/48/72 9,000 Crits

30/60/90 12,000 Crits

hyper GLove modesevry yr glov coms wit tr mos— control

mo, it mo an strucon mo. Switcing from

on mo to anotr is a fr acon.

controL modeControl mo allows a ackr to irctly control an itm

s as ack. In tis mo, ackrs can tak control of

tings lik vio camras, gun turrts, vicls, lvators,

tc. If a ackr taks control of a vic tat is normally o-

rat by us of a skill (lik pilong for a lan or Soong

for a gun turrt) s must av tat skill to us t vic.

edit modeT most vrsal of t tr fault mos of a yr

glov, it mo allows t caractr to cang t x-

isng funcons of a scic itm or systm. Wil in it

mo, ackrs can o countlss tings. Ty can rwrit,

uloa, or coy ls on a atabas, loo camra fs tomask t assag of r tam, cang t ming of strt

ligts, altr t igt at of a satllit, moify t "frin/

Fo" signaons for gun turrts tc.

destruction modeSomms, a ackr osn't want to tak control of an

objct or maniulat ata. Somms, t goal of a ack

hyper GLove modes


10/20

8

is to wrak as muc avoc as ossibl or rvnt objcts

from bing us against otr mmbrs of t arty. Tis

is wr strucon mo coms into lay. Wn in -

strucon mo, a caractr can stroy an objct by in-

srng malicious rogramming into its circuitry tat cor-

ruts t original rogramming of t vic, rnring it

unusabl.

Succss on a hacking roll incaacitats siml itms (cam-

ras, vning macins, strt ligts, tc).Ts itms can

b x wit a succssful Rair roll. If t ackr gts a

rais on t inial hacking roll t itm is comltly -

stroy an must b rlac.

Objcts suc as drons, Auto-Turrts, an otr vics

caabl of inicng arm on t ackr an tir allis ar

rnr sakn wit a succssful hacking roll. A rais in-

icts t amag rang of t ackr's yr glov on t

objct, ignoring ysical armor only. If t vicl as any

VR armor, it sll as to its Tougnss. t Tis mo isalso usful wn amng to act an nvironmnt. In

strucon mo, ackrs can altr t ysical worl by

stroying controls for tings lik iing systms, contain-

mnt ls, ligts, tc.

eXAMpLe OF The ThRee hYpeR GLOVe MOdeS IN ACTION

[For t uross of tis xaml, w’r not worri about

tings lik iniav, acons, targt numbrs an moirs.

T goal is to illustrat t ossibl uss of a yr glov.]

Neon_Bright and her team have penetrated deep into

the research and development wing in the basement

of AGI Tech in search of samples of a weaponized strainof ebola7. They’ve just entered the hallway leading to

the containment facility and tesng labs when they

trip a pressure acvated alarm system. Loud, blaring

screeches pierce their ears and a gun turret drops from

the ceiling at the end of the hallway.

“Shut that turret down and kill the alarm before it

wakes up everyone in the city!” The team leader yells.

Neon_Bright makes a quick scan of the gun turret

(Noce roll) and locates the hyper panel (visible be-

cause her Tendril Access Processor recognizes the digi-

tal signature and displays it in her eld of vision) hover-

ing just to the le of the weapon— a green rectangular

digital display with a list of funcons on the screen.

Luckily, the turret is within range of Neon_Bright’s

hyper glove, or she’d have to move closer to hack it;

which means pung herself directly in the sights of the

menacing weapon spraying the hallway with armor

piercing rounds—not fun omae.

Neon_Bright makes a grabbing gesture and a glow-

ing yellow logon screen appears in front of her with a

prompt for a username and passcode. Neon_Bright

shis her glove to edit mode, wiggling her ngers as

she types fake passcodes into the hyper panel (Neon_

Bright makes a Hacking roll and succeeds). The yellow

screen shis to green and the other digital panel withthe list of commands ashes back to the foreground.

Since she’s in edit mode, Neon_Bright has access to a

variety of funcons. She doesn’t have me to play with

the gun, however, so Neon_Bright simply turns it o

(Since she’s already hacked her way into the controls,

she doesn’t need to make another Hacking roll). The

sentry gun shuts down with a whirring noise and rises

up into the ceiling.

Neon_Bright turns her aenon to the blaring alarms.

The alarm was acvated by a pressure sensor in the

oor, so she quickly scans the oor (another Noce roll)

and nds a digital line leading from the pressure sen-sor to a hyper panel on the wall. With another ick of

the wrist, Neon_Bright pulls up the panel and hacks the

digital login screen (a successful Hacking roll). Sll in

edit mode, Neon_Bright shuts the alarm system down,

but the damage has already been done. Midway down

the hall, a door opens and three heavily armed security

guards rush out, guns blazing.

Two guards bravely (or perhaps stupidly) stand in the

center of the hallway, wildly ring their SMGs at the

team. The third security guard takes cover in an alcove

behind a receponist’s desk. As her pals return re,

Neon_Bright decides she can help the team and maybewreak a lile havoc at the same me by over- pressur-

izing the steam lines running through the hallway.

She shis her hyper glove to destrucon mode, targets

a steam pipe running along the wall(a Noce roll) and

hacks the hyper object controlling the pressure regu-

lator valve (Another Hacking roll). Neon_Bright over-

writes the valve’s programming with a virus, crashing

the regulator controls and sending the pressure sky-

rockeng. The pipe bursts in a number of places, oods

a secon of the hallway with super-heated steam, and

sends the guards running for cover. Unfortunately, the

steam makes it dicult for her team members to see

the security guards.

Next, Neon_Bright decides to take control of the gun

turret at the end of the hallway and bring it to bear

on the security guards. She shis back to edit mode,

pulls up the hyper panel for the turret, and turns it

back on (Neon_Bright doesn’t need to make anoth-

er Hacking roll since she’s already hacked it once.).

hyper GLove modes


11/20

9

Neon_Bright quickly shis to control mode and tar-

gets the security guards, sending a burst of armor

piercing rounds into their backs (Neon_Bright needs

to make a Shoong roll to actually re the gun. This

is handled like any regular Shoong roll).

mode moduLesMo mouls— or MOdS— ar a-ons tat xan on

t ulity of t yr glov. Conctually, mo mouls

ar vry similar to alicaons (commonly known as As)

for t smart ons wic wr so oular at t turn of

t cntury. Wil som mo mouls (suc as t l-

tal MOd) a nw tools to t ackr’s rrtoir, otrs

allow caractrs wo on’t ack to o som ry nat

tings.

For instanc, t Mical exrt MOd iagnoss wouns

an lists ror rocurs for tratmnt, wic translats

to a +2 bonus to haling rolls. T NAVbuy MOd ro-vis a +2 bonus to Invsgaon (or Strtwis) rolls wn

amng to n a scic locaon in t srawl.

ne: If you us a MOd for skill rolls, you can’t bnt

from co-o rolls from otr layrs.

table 1:f: cost for eacH aDDitional moD

Cost 8,000 Crits

ApprAisAL modUs by autncators an art tivs t worl ovr,

t araisal mo rovis a atabas of valuabls, anq-

uis, rcious commois, an otr valuabls, lisng

various scinc ata suc as t wigt of a iamon,

t matrial comosion of a rar Ming ynasty vas, t

amount of carbon molculs tat av sca from t

aint on a rnaissanc ic, tc. Micro matrial analyz-

rs witin t glov comar t itm to t atabas an

calculat t autncity an montary valu of t itm.

T araisal mo rovis a +2 to all rolls to autncat,

ric an forg an itm.

fieLd survivAL mod

Wit a built in atabas of lant lif an animal lif, tismo moul allows you to analyz foo itms to s if

ty'r saf to at. It also tacs you basic ways to n

an construct sltr, buil rs wit lil mor tan a

rock an scks, ow to urify watr, an all sorts of ai-

onal informaon you n to surviv in t wil. T l

survival mo givs +2 to all survival rolls.

forensic modTis mo installs a sris of micro-analyzrs witin t

ngrs of t glov. Ts analyzrs— snsiv noug

to ra dNA samls— scan vinc an comar it to

an onboar atabas of various samls ranging from bul-

lt casings an fabrics to air follicls an ngrrints. T

Fornsic mo givs a +2 to all rolls involving t analysisof otnal fornsic clus. Tis bonus also alis to a-

roriat Noc rolls, an Knowlg: Biology rolls.

LethAL mod Tis MOd is ratr limit in sco, but its cts can-

not b unrstat. A ltal mo moul allows t usr

to gnrat noug bio-fback to inict ltal amag

against otr ackrs in Virtual combat. VR armor sll

sils against tis bio-fback, but all amag takn is

ltal.

medicAL eXpert modUs by Doctors Without Borders an combat mics t

worl ovr, t mical xrt mo coms wit built-in

SMARTknowlg™ mical ls, ortabl X-ray vics,

ui analyzrs, an various snsors tat infy a ant's

wouns an rovi instrucons for ror tratmnts.

T Mical exrt mo givs a +2 to all haling rolls.

nAvBuddy modUs by rofssional wlmn an rivrs vrywr,

t NAVbuy mo is an ssnal tool for navigang

mgasrawls all ovr t glob. T NAVbuy MOd ro-

vis a +2 bonus to Invsgaon (or Strtwis) rolls wn

amng to n a scic locaon in t srawl.

tooL eXpert modTis mo installs tousans of blurint ra outs, 3d

maing tools, ajustabl microligts, an otr minor

moicaons usful to tos wo work wit macins.

T Tool xrt will analyz a macin an islay a 3d

yr-rality imag of t itms ning to b rair

wil guiing t usr troug a st-by-st tutorial. T

usr gains +2 to all rair rolls.

vr overLAy modA willy oular mo moul, t VR ovrlay mo syncs

u wit your TAp an gnrats a rality ltr wic rn-rs t worl aroun you into a tm of your coosing.

Tyical VR ovrlays inclu Fantasy simulaons, or sac-

ora-tm ovrlays. Wn running tis mo, it is as-

ir to infy yr objcts. Usrs gain a +2 to Noc rolls

wn looking for yr objcts.

mode moduLes


12/20

10

hAcKinG the systemOkay priyatel ', now tat w'r u to s on yr ral-

ity an t yr glov, lt's gt into t mat of tis ata

f—acking.

hAcKinG hyper reALityT majority of all acking taks lac in t "mat" worlwn a caractr acks a yr objct— tat is, s gts

witin rang of t ting s wiss to ack, ulls u t

yr objct's virtual comman scrn an intrfacs wit

it via t yr glov. Rmmbr, if t caractr os not

av a TAp (Tnril Accss procssor) install, s won't

b abl to s hyr Rality an cannot intract wit it.

Wn you ack anyting (a gun turrt, a comutr nt-

work, a vning macin, tc.) in yr rality, you n

to brak troug its rimary lin of fns; t rwall.

Onc you'v on tat, t yr objct is yours to com-

man oma.

Som yr objcts av strongr fnss tan otrs.

Vicious intrusion countrmasurs caabl of frying your

brain or nova-ot scurity ackrs watcing for any unau-

toriz intrusion into t ntwork ar all ossibl fns-

s a ackr must contn wit. Ts fnss translat

to a nalty to t hacking roll your caractr must mak

bfor s can accss t objct's controls. Onc an objct

as bn ack, owvr, it stays ack for t uraon

of t scn an can b us again an again unl t GM

cis t scn as n.

succeedinG on the hAcKinG roLLT Bas targt numbr of vry Firwall is 4 moi by

t iculty of t systm ty (S t Systm dsigna-

on Cos at t n of tis scon for aroriat moi-

rs). Soul t ackr succ on t roll, t ack is a

succss an t caractr accomliss wat s st out

to o. Making a hacking roll is a rgular acon.

Gnrally, caractrs may only amt to ack on ob-

jct r roun. Tat sai, if a caractr is waring two y-

r glovs an wiss to amt to ack mull objcts

simultanously, s surs a -2 nalty to hacking rolls forac objct s is amng to ack. S may not ack

t sam objct twic in a singl roun (S Using Mull

hyr glovs on ag 12).

Example 1: Hakg a sgle bje

Neon_Bright is aempng to hack into a security

panel and open blast doors so her team can enter

the containment room where the ebola7 virus is

held. The controls for the blast door are protected

by a Corporate Access Network (CAN) which has a

variable penalty to Hacking rolls ranging from -3 to

-5. The Game Master decides that the blast doors

are more heavily protected than other areas in the

installaon, but not as much as others, and imposes

a -3 penalty to the roll.

Neon_Bright’s Kensei Cyberstorm Hyper glove is

set to control mode. The glove provides a +2 bonus

to Hacking rolls. Neon_Bright also has the Hacker

Professional edge, which gives her +2 to Hacking

rolls. The combined bonuses cancel out the penal-

es imposed on Neon_Bright’s Hacking rolls by the

Corporate Access Network and gives her a net +1

bonus to her Hacking rolls, so all she needs to do

is succeed on a Hacking roll at a modied TN of 3.

Neon_Bright rolls her Hacking skill dice (D8) and a

wild die (D6) and gets a 5 and a 3, respecvely—Suc-

cess! The Blast doors open with a loud hiss and the

team moves into the room beyond.

Example 2: Hakg mulple bjes smulaeusly

As the team moves into the room, Neon_Bright

makes a Noce roll to see if there are any Hyper Ob-

jects in the room she might need to hack. She gets

a success with one raise, and the Game Master in-

forms her that she sees two hyper panels in the ceil-

ing that look to control sentry guns, a hyper panel

controlling a roboc arm, and a few other hyper

panels controlling various funcons such as lights,

air condioning, re exnguishers and decontami-

naon systems.

Knowing that me is of the essence and wanng

to avoid a repeat of the situaon in the hallway

(See the hyper glove modes example), Neon_Bright

decides to hack both gun turrets at the same me,

which imposes a -2 penalty to her Hacking rolls. The

turrets are milspec hardware and have a MAN (Mili-

tary Access Network) rang with variable penales

hAcKinG hyper reALity

rAnGe And hAcKinGA caractr can amt to ntrat any systm

witin t rang of r yr glov (s t rang

trait for t yr glov for mor informaon). K in

min; s must also b abl to s t objct.

For xaml, wil t scurity camra on t otr

si of tat lock oor is tcnically witin t ackr's

rang, s can't ack it bcaus it isn't visibl to r.


13/20

11

ranging from -6 to-8. The GM decides to apply a -6

penalty in this case for a total penalty of -8 to Neon_

Bright’s Hacking rolls. As before, Neon_Bright’s hy-

per glove gives her a +2 bonus to Hacking rolls and

her Hacking Professional Edge gives a +2 bonus,

cancelling out 4 points worth of penales to make

the nal modier to her Hacking Roll a -4. Since thebase TN to hack anything is 4, Neon_Bright will need

to score 8’s or beer to hack the gun turrets.

Neon_Bright rolls her Hacking dice(D8) and a Wild

Die(D6) twice. For the rst gun, she scores a 4, but

her Wild Die aces twice and she ends up with a 15,

easily hacking the rst gun. One the second roll how-

ever, she scores a 2 and a 3, failing miserably. Neon_

Bright decides not to spend a Bennie, as she might

need those later, and the Game Master rolls on the

Failure Chart for a Military Access Network(See Fail-

ing the Hacking Roll for more informaon).

fAiLinG the hAcKinG roLLIf t caractr fails r hacking roll, s tris t sys-

tm’s scurity masurs an surs som sort of ct.

T Gam Mastr maks a 1d12 roll on t aroriat

cart (S Systm dsignaon Cos) an alis t f-

fct, if any. If t rsult of t d12 roll os not um t

ackr from t systm, s can k trying to ack it. Sub-

squnt failurs a a cumulav +1 moir to t d12

roll, nsuring an vntual systm sut own, owvr.

Example f sequees f a Faled Hak

Neon_Bright has failed to hack into one of the gun

turrets in the above example, and the Game Mas-

ter rolls 1D12 on the MAN failure chart (See System

Designaon Codes below) to see how the Military

Access Network responds to the threat. The GM

scores an 11 on the roll and informs Neon_Bright

that the system responds to her failed aempt to

hack the gun turret with a nasty surge of lethal bio-

feedback energy. He rolls 3d10 to determine dam-

age. Since this is a Military Access Network, any

damage Neon_Bright might take is lethal. The GM

scores a 2, 4, and 8 for a total of 14. Neon_Bright

has a Toughness of 6 (Vigor D6[3] +2 +1[VR armor

bonus]), so she is Shaken and takes one Wound asthe bio-feedback signal shoots through her hyper

glove and fries her brain.

Interface Zero uses Griy Damage rules (see the

Interface Zero seng book, page 32 for more infor-

maon), so it’s quite possible that Neon_Bright will

take further injuries as a result of her failure to hack

the gun turret, but for the purposes of this example

we won’t get that detailed. Suce it to say that the

gun turret’s Intrusion Countermeasures just gave

Neon_Bright a really bad day.

system desiGnAtion codesBlow you will n t rwall rang rangs for vry

ty of accss ntwork, as wll as a systm rsons cart.Soul t hackr fail a ack, a roll on t rsons cart

will trmin wat ans. GM’s soul fl fr to

coos wat ans from t carts blow, or vn cr-

at tir own carts bas on t xamls rovi.

PUBLic AccESS nEtWoRKS: -0 to -2 FiREWALL MoDiFiER.

public Accss Ntworks, also known as pANs, ar t

most common tys of comutr ntworks. Foun in most

ublic lacs, pANs rovi a basic lvl of scurity against

unwant intrusion.

Rll: 1d12. For ac aional vnt tat ans byon

t rst failur a +1. If you roll an vnt wic as alray

an, rlac it wit t nxt igst “sock” ct.

1: Noting ans

2: Noting ans

3: Sock! hackr taks 1d6 non-ltal VR amag.

4-5: VR Alrt, Firwall Moir incrass by 1.

6: Sock! hackr taks 1d8 non-ltal VR amag.

7: Sock! hackr taks 1d8+2 non-ltal VR amag.

8: Autoris inform of susicious acvity, Scurity

contractors if any, may also b task to invsgat.

9: Sock! hackr taks 1d10+2 non-ltal VR amag.

10: Acv Alrt, alarms go o witin t builing. Firwall

moirs incras by 1 an ysical scurity tams rson.

11: Sock! hackr Taks 1d12+2 non-ltal VR amag.12: Systm sut own, hackr must succ in an x-

tn tst against t Firwall rang of t ntwork.

Failur rsults in an acv Alrt, Autoris an scurity

rsonal bing alrt, all scurity funcons in t ara

bing triggr, t hackr taking 1d12+2 non-ltal VR

amag, an vryting In t builing turning o an

locking unl autoris arriv.

system desiGnAtion codes


14/20

12

HoME AccESS nEtWoRKS: -2 to -4 FiREWALL MoDiFiER.

hom Accss Ntworks ar gnrally foun in any lac

wr ol liv. Som con motls also av tm.

Mor xnsiv otl cains tn to us Cororat Accss

Ntworks for scurity.

Rll: 1d12. For ac aional vnt tat ans byon

t rst failur a +1. If you roll an vnt wic as alrayan, rlac it wit t nxt igst “sock” ct.

1. Noting hans

2. Sock! hackr taks 2d6 non-ltal VR amag.

3. Sock! hackr taks 2d6+2 non-ltal VR damag.

4. VR alrt, Firwall Moir incrass by 1.

5. Scurity Contractors alrt to susicious acvity, will

com to ara to invsgat.

6. psycotroic ICe aack, hackr must mak a succss-

ful sirit roll or gain a obia of t systm for on ay.

7. Sock! hackr taks 3d6 non-ltal VR damag.

8. Scurity hackr invsgats an iniats VR combat.

If t hackr loss or “Jacks out” bfor fang t

hackr, a Systm Sutown gos into ct, an scurityis alrt to t hackrs osion.

9. Sock! hackr taks 2d6 Ltal VR amag.

10. Acv Alrt, alarms go o in t builing, ysical

scurity faturs acvat.

11. Sock! hackr taks 2d6+2 Ltal VR amag.

12. Systm sut own, hackr must succ in an x-




bing triggr, t hackr taking 2d6+2 ltal VR am-

ag, an vryting In t builing turning o an lock-

ing unl autoris arriv.

coRPoRAtE AccESS nEtWoRKS: -3 to -5 FiREWALL MoDiFiER.

As t signaon imlis, Cororat Accss Ntworks

ar foun in cororat builings all ovr t worl. Carac-

trs wo amt to ack a Cororat Accss Ntwork can

xct to ncountr s rsistanc to tir orts. Many

brainrs av i trying to ntrat Cororat Accss

ntworks.

Rll: 1d12. For ac aional vnt tat ans b-

yon t rst failur a +1. If you roll an vnt wic as

alray an, rlac it wit t nxt igst “sock”

ct.

1. Sock! hackr taks 2d6+2 non-ltal VR amag.2. Sock! hackr taks 3d6 non-ltal VR damag.

3. VR alrt, Firwall Moir incrass by 1.




ful sirit roll at -2 or gain a obia of t systm for on

wk, an t “loyalty” hinranc towar roucts cr-

at by t Cororaon in quson.

6. Sock! hackr taks 2d6 ltal VR damag.

7. Scurity hackr invsgats an iniats VR combat.


hackr, a Systm Sutown gos into ct, an scurity

is alrt to t hackrs osion.

8. Wilcar Scurity hackr invsgats an iniats VR

combat. If t hackr loss or “Jacks out” bfor fat-ing t hackr, a Systm Sutown gos into ct, an

scurity is alrt to t hackrs osion.




11. Sock! hackr taks 3d6+2 Ltal VR amag.








GoVERnMEnt AccESS nEtWoRKS: -5 to -7 FiREWALL MoDiFiER

Govrnmnt Accss Ntworks rotct t scrts of t

Naons of t worl. Scurity is ar cor an t nalty

for failur is suc tat only t most skill ackr vn

amts to ntrat ts systms.




ct.

1. Sock! hackr taks 3d6 non-ltal VR amag.

2. Sock! hackr taks 3d6+2 non-ltal VR amag.



wk, an t “loyalty” hinranc towar t country

in quson.

4. VR alrt, Firwall Moir incrass by 1, an hackr

taks Sock! damag of 3d6 Ltal.





wk, an t “loyalty” hinranc towar t country

in quson.

7. Sock! hackr taks 3d6 ltal VR damag.8. Scurity hackr invsgats an iniats VR combat.


hackr, a Systm Sutown gos into ct, an scurity

is alrt to t hackrs osion.

9. Wilcar Scurity hackr wit Ltal mo mo, in-

vsgats an iniats VR combat. If t hackr loss

or “Jacks out” bfor fang t hackr, a Systm

Sutown gos into ct, an scurity is alrt to t



15/20

13

ackrs osion.






Failur rsults in an acv Alrt, Autoris an scurityrsonal bing alrt, all scurity funcons in t ara




MiLitARY AccESS nEtWoRKS: -6 to -8 FiREWALL MoDiFiER

On rfrr to as “Gost Ntworks,” or “Black Zons”

Military Accss Ntworks ar ultra scur systms sign

to fry t brains of any brainr suicial noug to amt

acking tm. MANs rotct anyting vn rmotly r-

lat to t military incluing avanc waons systms,

satllit ntworks, military bass, tc. It’s vn sculat

tat Govrnmnt ocials av tir TApS rotct bymilitary-gra ntworks.




ct.

1. Sock! hackr taks 3d6 ltal VR amag.

2. Sock! hackr taks 3d6+2 ltal VR amag.



wk, a pobia of hacking in gnral for on wk, an

t “loyalty” hinranc towar t country in quson.

4. VR alrt, Firwall Moir incrass by 1, an hackr

taks Sock! damag of 3d6+2 Ltal.

5. Scurity Contractors alrt to acvity, will com to

ara to invsgat.



wk, pobia of hacking for on wk, an t “loyalty”

hinranc towar t country in quson.

7. Sock! hackr taks 3d8 ltal VR damag.

8. Scurity hackr wit Ltal mo mo, invsgats

an iniats VR combat. If t hackr loss or “Jacks

out” bfor fang t hackr, a Systm Sutown

gos into ct, an scurity is alrt to t hackrs

osion.9. A Wilcar Scurity hackr wit max out hyr

glov valus, Ltal mo mo, an a hacking skill of

at last d10, invsgats an iniats VR combat. If t

hackr loss or “Jacks out” bfor fang t hackr,

a Systm Sutown gos into ct, an scurity is alrt-

to t hackrs osion.






Failur rsults in an acv Alrt, Autoris an scu-

rity rsonal bing alrt, all scurity funcons in t

ara bing triggr, t hackr taking 3d10+2 ltal VR

amag, an vryting In t builing turning o anlocking unl autoris arriv.

hyper GLoves And physicAL comBAthyr glovs arn’t mant to b us in ysical combat

lik boxing glovs or mival gauntlts. Tat sai, you

nvr know wn you av to unc somon in t fac,

n? Wit tat in min, r is a gnral guilin to g-

ur out wat ans if you unc somon or somting

wil waring a yr glov.

hyr glovs av a bas Tougnss of 4. Wnvr a

caractr uncs somon wil waring on, t glovautomacally taks 14+1 amag. If t amag roll x-

cs t glov’s tougnss, t glov is brokn an must

b rair bfor it can b us again.

muLtipLe ActionsCaractrs wo own two yr glovs may us bot to

tak two sarat acking acons or may us a singl

glov an a waon in t otr an. Normal oan an

mul-acon nals aly.



16/20

14 virtuAL hAcKinG

virtuAL hAcKsU unl now, w'v iscuss t rocss for acking a

comutr ntwork wn your caractrs ar ysically at

t ting ty wis to ack. Wat follows ar two quick

mtos for acking via Virtual Rality. T avanc ruls

at t n of t book will go into mor tail, roviing a

soli framwork for crang virtual caractrs (also knownas avatars) so you can lay nr gams in virtual rality.

A pre-hAcK A caractr may ci ty wis to ntr Virtual Rality

an ack a systm aa of m bfor tir tam movs

in. If tis is t cas, t ackr iniats a ramac task

against t Firwall rang of t systm in quson. Suc-

css allows t hackr to ct a numbr of itms witin

t systm aa of m qual to alf tir acking di

ty. examls inclu turning o or canging camras,

canging atabas ls, giving clarancs at cckoints

ct.

Failur tyically rsults in t hackr taking rogrssiv

“Sock!” amag as scrib on t carts abov, a num-

br of ms qual to t amount of succss ty fll sort

of. Aionally. t Systm gos on ig alrt for t nxt

24 ours.

A pr-hack must b on witin 24 ours of t mission,

otrwis t systm will rboot an all of t ackr's

work will b ras.

vr overWAtch hAcKinGOvrwatc hacking is anotr tool in t hackr’s arsnal.

T ackr "gosts" into t systm an rmains insi

wil tir ysical boy rmains lswr. T ackr

tyically rmains in contact wit tir tam troug VR

mssaging, an acks iniviual itms as tir tam coms

across tm.

Wil mor risky for t ackr in t sns of bing -

tct, ty n u ysically safr by not aving to ntr

t builing in t rst lac.

Ovrwatc acking is anl abstractly an is vry simi-

lar to a pr-hack. T caractr bgins by ngaging in a

dramac task wit t systm in quson, following all of

t ruls of a pr-ack, incluing t rsults if a caractr

fails. Soul t caractr succ owvr, t rsults

ar irnt.

Ratr tan sng u a numbr of r-conion itm

rsonss lik a VR ack, t caractr as insta suc-

cssfully inltrat t systm untct. From r t

caractr as accss to vry itm controll by t nt-

work’s srvr box. T caractr may mak a hacking tst

against vry itm link to t ost ntwork, wnvr

ty wis, following all of t stanar acking ruls, x-ct ysically t caractr is not rsnt.

Tis allows t caractr to turn o Camras as tir

tam aroacs tm, accss t lvators as tir tam

aroacs tm, on lock oors, turn o t co

macins, rwrit ls, an o anyting ls n all

from t comfort of bing safly lswr. Soul t

caractr vr fail in a hack, ty sur t rsults from

t hacking tabls just lik ty woul normally, but wit

an a angr…Givn t ur raw f of running in

VR, all “Sock!” amag cts gain an xtra i.

GM’s an layrs alik soul also k in min, not v-ry Systm is ackabl from t outsi, an many ig

n systms ar clos ntworks, rvnng anyting but

a ysical ntraon an ysical acking.

hAcKer vs. hAcKer comBAtOccasionally ackrs may ci to ngag in combat

wit on anotr in Virtual Rality, or t rsult from a

acking failur may caus a scurity ackr to ngag in

combat wit a pC. If tis ans, t hackrs roll oos

hacking rolls against on anotr ac roun. T losr

taks t winnr’s hyr glov amag rang. damag

can b Ltal if t usr’s hyr glov as t ltal mo

moul install.

T avanc ruls at t n of t book rovi mor

tail informaon on combat in virtual rality, an in-

trouc a nw vic: t hackack. Gam Mastrs migt

consir using t ruls for t hackack insta of t y-

r glov wn running hackr VS ackr combat in virtual

rality (S ag XXX for mor informaon on ackacks).


17/20

15BrAin hAcKinG

hAcKinG the BrAinhacking somon's brain box—or TAp for tos of you

wo arn't u on t jargon¬— is a lil irnt from t

stanar rocss w us to ack otr tings. Wy, you

ask? Wll, bcaus you'r mssing wit somon's brain,

tat's wy.

You migt b wonring wat I man by tat. Tink about

it for a nano-scon.

T Tnril Accss procssor is ovr y rcnt organic.

It was sign tis way to ruc t risk of rjcon af-

tr surgry, but at its cor t TAp is STILL a wirlss mo-

m tat transmits igital signals, ownloas tm, an

tn rnrs tm into igital imags w can s an

vn(wit a yr glov)intract wit. Tat also mans it

can b ack by folks lik you an I. An, bcaus w can

ack t TAp, w can o tings lik ownloa, uloa, an

vn rwrit informaon. Now, r's wr it gts intr-

sng.

All of tat informaon isn't stor in som silicon mm-

ory moul tuck natly unr your iocamus (tat's

t art of your brain tat als wit sort trm mmory,

long trm mmory an saal navigaon); it's stor IN

your iocamus. Wll, iocami to b xact—w

av two.

But I igrss.

Wn you ack somon's TAp an maniulat t ata,

you ar litrally altring t brain. An tat's just scratc-

ing t surfac ami. Bcaus you av accss to somon's

brain, you can imlant suggsons into t conscious an

subconscious min of t rson wom you av ack.

In fact, you can o mor tan just imlant suggsons;

you can control ol wom you av ack. I know. It

souns crazy, kina lik somting out of a Sci-Fi MedIA-

l, but is it rally all tat ar to bliv?

All t snsory informaon w rciv vry scon of

vry minut of our livs is basically just ata rocss

by our brains. Wn a junki soots u rugs, 's altring

t way is brain intrrts all of tat snsory informaon.

Wn w viw yr rality, w'r augmnng wat ourbrain rcivs as wll. It's not so farftc to suggst

tat our brains can't b ack.

case P: T putr Murrs.

Rmmbr tat grusom string of murrs back in 2071?

T ol t autoris arrst (som say fram) all

comlain of aving nigt trrors an ntring fugu

stats wr ty wrn't abl to rmmbr wr ty

wr uring t murrs. Altoug tr was no ysical

vinc to rov it, a numbr of ol irctly involv

wit t invsgaon claim t rtrators of t

crims wr somow controll troug tir TAps by a

tir arty— nc t "utr" monikr. No furtr

arrsts wr ma, owvr, an t cas was clos.

Sll not convinc? Wat about projct Wisring

Win?

Last yar, t folks wo ut out t dclassi Mi-

astram rlas t infamous "projct Wisring Win"

ocumnts; a sris of MedIA an dATls cronicling

a sris of xrimnts in an allg sur-scrt Nort

Amrican Coalion military installaon. exrimnts wr

rform on cimanzs wit TAps. In t tsts,

t cims wr forc to rform various tasks. At rst,

t tasks wr mnial in natur; using vacuums, cooking

ggs, laying gams, tc. But as t rojct wnt on, trimats wr rcor using ig tc waonry in com-

bat situaons. T grisly MedIAl ortray zombi-lik

cimanzs soong ac otr wit assault ris, lob-

bing an grnas an vn ilong rmot controll

rons.

Of cours, t Nort Amrican Coalion catgorically -

ni t xistnc of projct Wisring Win. So-call

"xrts" in t ls of cybrncs an torcal com-

ung wnt on mia sows lik 24/7 LIVe!, CSpAN an

TotalAccssNOW claiming tis sort of tcnology was im-

ossibl. Zoologists an animal bavior xrts argu

tat any cim coul r a gun or trow a grna, butconsiracy torists (many of tm x-military) wr quick

to oint out tat t cims wr using squa-bas tac-

cs takn straigt out of t NAC Marin Combat Manual.

Furtrmor, tir on slow, xaggrat movmnts

suggst t rimats wrn't fully in control of tir mo-

tor funcons.

prictably, animal rigts grous lik peTA (pol for

etical Tratmnt of Animals) various olical watcog

organizaons suc as t Nort Amrican Nw dmoc-

racy Movmnt (NANdM), t Socity For Fr Amricans

(SFFA), an otrs a a l ay wit t footag. T or-

ganizaons lobbi for a congrssional inquiry into projct

Wisring Win, t rsult of wic of cours, was t

nacon of t TAppA¬ (Tnril Accss procssor protc-

on Act) — a law rquiring t tr manatory sngs

(Oin, hin an Acv) w now av install in our

Tnril Accss procssors.

Grant, t aion of t tr sngs is a ramac

imrovmnt ovr t ol TAp— wic a non— but


18/20

16BrAin hAcKinG

som nfoil ars claim tis is lil mor tan anotr

way for t govrnmnt to xan t olic stat. Ot-

rs insist tis is a cas of mgacororaons (Knta Cybr

dynamics bing t rimary bnciary) rong o t

masss. Ar all, t installaon of t nw sowar isn't

fr, is it? Absolutly not. W'r all aving to ay for t

latst atcs to t ol orang systm…Most of us atlast. I know tr ar many of you out tr wo av

irat vrsions of t sowar, but I won't commnt on

ThAT. ;)

If you want to larn mor about t olical an co-

nomic fallout of projct Wisring Win, or t pu-

tr Murrs for tat mar, you can o t rsarc. But,

rgarlss of wat you migt bliv about t viability of

acking t brain, t following informaon will l you

in your acking carr. Lt's mov on to t TAp's tr

sngs.

the three tAp settinGsYour Tnril Accss procssor sns an rcivs igital

signals from otr TAps an comutr ntworks aroun it.

In tis fasion, comutr ntworks — on rfrr to as

clous— form btwn you an vryting aroun you.

Ts clou ntworks stor vry basic informaon (your

nam, sx, rsonal intrsts, contact informaon, tc),

crang a igital rol wic is accssibl by otr com-

utr ntworks an ol currntly aart of t clou.

Furtrmor, as you mov troug t worl, t clou

ntwork is constantly uang itslf to rct your currnt

locaon an tat of ol an tings aroun you an vic

vrsa. Tis mans, wn you walk into a stor, lik, say,

t local Malmart, your TAp will sync u wit t stor's

comutr ntwork an lt it know you ar rsnt. T

Malmart ntwork will tn cross-rfrnc your nam

against a atabas wic contains ata rlat to your

rvious visits an us tat informaon to tailor avrs-

mnts to your rsonal tasts.

Tanks to TAppA¬, tr ar now tr sngs for t

Tnril Accss rocssor— acv, in, an oin.

Ts sngs wr a to t TAp to rovi ol

wit a masur of rivacy, allowing tm to i tir on-

lin status from otr usrs, or vn turn t TAp o wn

ty go to sl at nigt. Wat follows is a brif look at t

tr TAp sngs.

• Ave: Wn a caractr's TAp is st to acv

mo, otr comutr ntworks "s" t TAp,an can accss basic informaon lik t car-

actr's nam, sx, an limit rsonal informa-

on, suc as t caractr's soing istory at

a local malmart, or r mail arss an My-

Fac ag. Tis ata is ublically availabl an

any cororat ntwork(Or rson) can accss it

at any m.

• Hdde: hin mo is all of t caractr's

TAp from comutr ntworks, only broacasng

t signal an saring ata it if t caractr al-

lows it to b sar. Amts to tct a Tnril

Accss procssor's signal in in mo ar

ma at a nalty qual to t rang of t TAp. Ift Noc roll fails, t caractr cannot acquir

t targt's signal an no amt to ack t TAp

can b ma. S t brain acking ruls blow

for stats an rics for Tnril Accss procssors.

• oe: Your TAp is sut own. In tis sng,

you cannot b ack, but nitr can you x-

rinc yr rality or virtual rality.

BrAin hAcKinG ruLeshacking somon’s TAp is a dramac Task, as xlain in

t Savage Worlds ruls… but it ain’t an asy task, tomo.

First of all, a TAp as safguars built into t ting to is-

sua tis kin of acking from vn taking lac, an sc-

on of all, most s on’t tak too kinly to tir nural

atways bing rwir an tn to intuivly rsist tat

sort of tamring.

A Brain hack its your hacking skill against t igr of

your targt’s Smarts or hacking skill. Wors yt, you’r o-

ing it at a nalty of -3 lus an aional minus qual to

t Lvl of t targt’s TAp (so a Lvl 1 TAp starts at a -4

nalty; a Lvl 4 TAp starts wit -7(!)). A irct link b-

twn your TAp an your targt’s TAp wit somting lik

Nural Intrfac Cabls will ruc t nalty by 2, but

table 1:G tHe tenDril access processor

tap levelpenalty to Hack

tHe tap

notice

penalty cost

Level 1 -4 -1 Free

Level 2 -5 -2 15,000

Level 3 -6 -3 40,000

Level 4 -7 -4 70,000


19/20

17

goo luck gng an unwilling vicm to allow you to lug

tos ba boys in.

If you can’t comlt t ack in v asss, you’r SOL

– t targt TAp is going to sit you out, an you’ll tak a

lvl of Fagu for your troubls.

Ad remember: Tis is a dramac Task. Tat mans

you’r rawing a car for vry ass, an a Club mans

troubl. Asi from t usual nals, if you com u

wit a Failur on any roun tat you’v rawn a Club, t

fcal mar is going to it t rotang blas – in t bst

cas, you migt just tak a Woun from som nasty nural

fback as you gt uk back into rality; in t worst

cas, you migt n yourslf on t rciving n of t

ack if your vicm as t skills an t sir. Rally, it’s

u to t GM wat ans, but you can bt your ass it

won’t b goo.

So wy mss aroun wit acking somon’s brain?

Bcaus if you’r ac noug wit tis stu an can suc-

c, you’v got accss to somon ls’s tinking ma-

cinry.

For t nxt fw momnts, as a Fr Acon, you can us

t eit Mo on t TAp to accss your vicm’s mmoris

– itr lucking out somting usful (lik a ass co),

or ing tings so ty rmmbr somting irntly…

or not at all.

Or, if you’r rally fling ballsy, you can tak your nxt

acon to amt to ominat t TAp an tak control oft rson on a mor ‘rmannt’ basis. At tat oint, it

turns into somting of a contst of wills, wit your hack-

ing skill bing oos by your targt’s Sirit. Wovr

wins t roll als a lvl of Fagu to t otr – lus on

aional Fagu for ac Rais.

If t you bcom xaust rst, you’v bn kick

out of t TAp – gam ovr. But if your targt bcoms x-

aust rst… Wll, you’v got a nw minion now, on’t

you.

For all raccal intnts an uross, tis works just lik

t ut powr from Savage Worlds, only t uraon

largly ns on t Sirit of your vicm:

An, of cours, if you orr t oor bastar to commit

suici or kill is bst frin (or anyting ls tat migt go

against is innat sirs), gts an immiat canc

to brak fr.

A LittLe heLp…

Okay, so mayb you'r fling lik your own brain

as bn ack an you'r sort on ias for t

rsults of a major failur. don't worry, tomo, w'v

got your back. hr's a quick an irty mto forguring it out bas on t Rank of t Club tat was

rawn:

number – T ackr gts a a-full of nural

fback. T numbr on t car is a to

t roll of a 10 (wic can Ac, by t way) an

t ackr taks t rsult as amag. T goo

nws is, it's non-ltal amag, so may gt

knock out col an sur nasty migrains for

a fw wks, but at last 'll sll b aliv. T

ba nws is irct nural intrfacing via cabls is

lik gng it wit a Rais, an anotr 6 gts

a to t total.

Fae – T ackr taks som sriously nasty

amag (of t ltal sort). A Jack is 1 Woun, a

Qun is 2 Wouns, an a King is 3 Wouns. p-

rio. No sav. T n00b robably souln't av

bn nkring wit somon's synass in t

rst lac. But y… At last 's sll aliv. Un-

lss was foolis noug to b oing tis ack

wn was alray woun. O ya… an if

was using cabls, taks t sam amount

in Fagu, as wll. Goo nigt, swt scrit ki-

i.

Ae – T ackr's got som srious roblms.

Not only os t nural fback ro im out

of is targt's TAp, but it fris is own TAp as wll.

h's unabl to accss T d or hyr Ral-

ity unl can gt a tci to gt in tr to x

tings wit a succssful Rair roll. O my… Tat

rquirs surgry, osn't it. h' br mak

sur tr's a mic tr as wll, tn.

If is vicm was a ackr as wll, 's rally

os, sinc s's abl to ri tat nural f-

back rigt into is own TAp an gts a fr ackat is brain (wit t usual moirs for is TAp

an any cabls), ing r hacking skill against

t ackr's Sirit. If r roll rsults in a Succss,

t ackr as bn ack; otrwis, sll

gts jct from is vicm's TAp wit t sam

cts as abov, lus is vicm knows xactly

wo was oking aroun in r a.

BrAin hAcKinG


20/20

18BrAin hAcKinG

table 1:H spirit rolls

spirit tarGet can attempt an opposeD roll versus your HackinG skill to

break free every

4 5 rouns/minuts if not in combat

6 4 rouns/ minuts if not in combat

8 3 rouns/ minuts if not in combat10 2 rouns/ minuts if not in combat

12 Roun/ minut if not in combat

neurAL interfAce cABLeOnc uon a m, irct nural intrfacing was t

only way to accss T d. Now anyon wit a TAp

can o it, but Nural Intrfac Cabls arn't ncssar-

ily a ting of t ast. NICs mak intrnal rrogram-

ming muc asir – a nar ncssity for roboc main-

tnanc – an so Knta Cybr dynamics is rou to b

abl to carry on t traion of roviing ig-qualityintrfac cabls to tir customrs. Knta Cybr dy-

namics: Soli. dnabl. Traion.

• Rucs nals for acking a TAp by 2.

• Confrs a +2 bonus to ing funcons wn work-

ing wit robots, anrois or comutrs.

• Cost: 500 crits.

Interface Zero Hacking 2.0

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