Hi folks! here is a new piece of surveillance equipment i came up with for use in a high tech d20 modern or d20 future environment. Hope this is the right forum for something like that.
Line slicer
This little piece of electronic surveillance unit is part highly sophisticated code-breaker and part remote sensor « bug ». Instead of having to be physically placed at a target location, the line slicer can be used with any standard telephone system. When hooked up to a phone it first establishes contact with its target via the phone number. It can either do this by itself or it can be activated after someone placed the call himself. While the connection is established, the line slicer tries to break the digital encryption of the target phone and gets access to the other phone’s microphone. Even when said phone is not being used, the line slicer can eavesdrop on any conversation being held in the room where the other phone is and return it to the speaker of the phone it is hooked up to. It also intercepts any incoming or outgoing phone calls.
It only has three drawbacks: first it can’t record any of the sounds coming over the line, so a second recording system is needed for that. Secondly, if there is a power surge in the phone line or system, it will loose its electronic “toe-hold” on the target phone’s microphone and disconnect its eavesdropping. And thirdly, if the phone it is hooked to is hung up, it will also loose this backdoor.
The line slicer is pretty expensive, but can be set up and used without a need for sophisticated knowledge in electronics or computer and it can be reused after it has lost its connection. The effectiveness of the line slicer depends on the type being used, so the more extensive its slicing algorithms, the more it will cost. It can be hooked up easily to any modern telephone, be it analog or digital. Only some very old models require a bit of tampering before the line slicer can be applied.
As with any eavesdropping device, even a highly sophisticated line slicer can be detected though, because it leaves behind a minimal amount of activity over the target phone line. So while most of the larger governments and corporations take precautions against long-time line slicer attacks, it still has its uses in short-term operations and in all kinds of shadier activites. Even the police use line slicers from time to time to successfully track and identify kidnappers and blackmailers.
Mechanics: To hook up the line splicer with a standard phone, you only need to make a Repair check (DC 5). To hook it to a very old phone model, a Repair check with a varying DC is required. This can range from 10 or 15 for relatively “young” phones to 25 for some of the first commercially available phone models. The problem here is not to get it hooked up to the line but rather to make the digital sequencer, processing and software get its “highjack”-signal communicated properly to and from the line splicer. To operate it, the line splicer makes a Computer use check (DC 10 for current phones, but can be as low as 5 if the phone is older or as high as 35 or 30 if the target phone has high signal encryption or something similar) to highjack the target phone’s microphone. This check can also be attemped by a character, who adds the line splicer’s quality bonus to his own Computer Use
skill rating.
An active line splicer can be detected with a successful Electronics or Computer Use check (DC 15).
Line splicers range in quality from +1 to +10.
Size: Diminutive
Weight: 1 lb
Purchase DC: 15 (+1) to 25 (+10)
Restriction: licensed (+1)
Line slicer
This little piece of electronic surveillance unit is part highly sophisticated code-breaker and part remote sensor « bug ». Instead of having to be physically placed at a target location, the line slicer can be used with any standard telephone system. When hooked up to a phone it first establishes contact with its target via the phone number. It can either do this by itself or it can be activated after someone placed the call himself. While the connection is established, the line slicer tries to break the digital encryption of the target phone and gets access to the other phone’s microphone. Even when said phone is not being used, the line slicer can eavesdrop on any conversation being held in the room where the other phone is and return it to the speaker of the phone it is hooked up to. It also intercepts any incoming or outgoing phone calls.
It only has three drawbacks: first it can’t record any of the sounds coming over the line, so a second recording system is needed for that. Secondly, if there is a power surge in the phone line or system, it will loose its electronic “toe-hold” on the target phone’s microphone and disconnect its eavesdropping. And thirdly, if the phone it is hooked to is hung up, it will also loose this backdoor.
The line slicer is pretty expensive, but can be set up and used without a need for sophisticated knowledge in electronics or computer and it can be reused after it has lost its connection. The effectiveness of the line slicer depends on the type being used, so the more extensive its slicing algorithms, the more it will cost. It can be hooked up easily to any modern telephone, be it analog or digital. Only some very old models require a bit of tampering before the line slicer can be applied.
As with any eavesdropping device, even a highly sophisticated line slicer can be detected though, because it leaves behind a minimal amount of activity over the target phone line. So while most of the larger governments and corporations take precautions against long-time line slicer attacks, it still has its uses in short-term operations and in all kinds of shadier activites. Even the police use line slicers from time to time to successfully track and identify kidnappers and blackmailers.
Mechanics: To hook up the line splicer with a standard phone, you only need to make a Repair check (DC 5). To hook it to a very old phone model, a Repair check with a varying DC is required. This can range from 10 or 15 for relatively “young” phones to 25 for some of the first commercially available phone models. The problem here is not to get it hooked up to the line but rather to make the digital sequencer, processing and software get its “highjack”-signal communicated properly to and from the line splicer. To operate it, the line splicer makes a Computer use check (DC 10 for current phones, but can be as low as 5 if the phone is older or as high as 35 or 30 if the target phone has high signal encryption or something similar) to highjack the target phone’s microphone. This check can also be attemped by a character, who adds the line splicer’s quality bonus to his own Computer Use
skill rating.
An active line splicer can be detected with a successful Electronics or Computer Use check (DC 15).
Line splicers range in quality from +1 to +10.
Size: Diminutive
Weight: 1 lb
Purchase DC: 15 (+1) to 25 (+10)
Restriction: licensed (+1)
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