Communications

Communications represents a character's ability to use radios, comlinks and other communications systems. While operating communication devices is normally a Very Easy task, the difficulty numbers are higher when the skill is used to decrypt enemy codes and find enemy transmission frequencies. Characters may also use communications to send or receive a signal through natural hazards which disrupt communications, such as a gas cloud, heavy magnetic fields or locations with a high metal content.

Time Taken: One Round
Specializations: Type or model of communications unit — comlink, subspace radio.

The following difficulties are for finding a specific kind of frequency:

Action Difficulty
Listening in on a known, registered frequency. Public communications, low-security corporate networks. 3
Listening in on a specific private frequency. Low security government communications such as emergency services. 6
Listening in on a somewhat sensitive communication frequency. Local governments, sensitive businesses or security-conscious individuals. 9
Tapping professionally secure channels. Mercenary or higher-level police bands. 12
Listening in on military, or high-ranking government channels. 18
Listening in on a top-secret Spectre, Citadel or Cerberus frequency. 24

If the signal is coded, the character can use communications to make a decoding roll. Some broadcasting devices have coding die codes, which adds to the broadcaster's communication skills when determining how difficult it is to decode the message. By comparing the results on the "Decoder Roll Chart," the character may decode none, some or all of the message.

Decoder Roll Charts

Coder's roll is higher than decoder's roll by: Decoder learns:
1-5 Decoder makes out wrong message
6 Nothing can be made out
Decoder's roll is higher than coder's roll by: Decoder learns:
0-3 One or two garbled replies
4-6 About one-quarter of the information in the message
7-10 About half of the information in the message
11+ The entire message is unscrambled
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