SM NE Surveillance

SURVEILLANCE
First is finding the suspected locations where the action could go down, watching them, and seeing if you are right. Once you have a pretty good hunch, the idea then is to glean as much information as possible about the target. If you are going in, you obviously want info on security systems, defenses, response times for authorities or reinforcements, locations of objectives within (so you're not dilly-dallying, trying to find the person/item while bullets are flying), and good escape routes. You want to know traffic patterns outside and inside the location (so you can hit when it is the lightest guarded), you want taps on the phone, analysis of the garbage, and building plans from county records (so you know where in the roof it would be the easiest to blow a hole and make your enterance).

Even if you aren't going in, you want a lot of the same, and more. Above all, you want to make sure that this is the place. This could be a ruse, and if it is, where's the real thing? If they move, you want to know where they're going and why. You want profiles on all the occupants so you can second guess them and try to stay one step ahead. Are you getting all this? A lot of the information will come easy once you set-up a watch and start keeping tabs. Some of the other stuff may require digging.

There are two skills that can be used. First is the military reconnaisance skill, which is tighty woven into tactics (important when guessing the layout), but tends to lean more towards the outdoors. The other is surveillance/cs and usually concentrates on a single person or place (and the patterns thereof), and most often in an urban environment.

Since this a tactical role-playing game, but not a training course, we do this in a hands-off, time-lapse sort of mode. Much of the action is declared, the comparisons are made, and the results are summarized. If there are complications, the declared action is deemed incomplete and the situation at hand is resolved (though incomplete, the action may have gleaned something before the complication). Such problems might include losing your quarry when tailing or tracking him, or having a confrontation because he saw his watchers and got annoyed.

The most basic surveillance is simply finding a comfy, hidden spot and watching a stationary whatever. Either of the two skills will do, and most of the time be indistinguishable in effect. Other times, the Ref may give slightly less information or even a bit of disinformation depending on the skill versus the target.

24 hours will give 50% of all patterns at a 50% accuracy. For each 12 hours after the initial 24, the ratios go up 15%. These are patterns, mind you, and the exceptional will be a surprise.

Certain patterns may be hidden, intentionally or accidentally, and require a minimum skill to detect. Also, if the target feels he might be being watched, he might engage in a little countersurveillance. If he so attempts, and his skill is greater that the watchers, he may detect the intrusion. If he attempts countersurveillance on a regular basis, his chances of detecting the watchers go up 5 points per attempt. The only way to defeat this regular countersurveillance is to shift methods on a regular basis. Such changes slow the 12 hour intel-growth rate to 24 hours.

Basic layout requires a Recon of 30 (surv 27). Basic patterns (leaving and coming back) require a Surveillance of 25 (recon of 22). Individual room use requires Surv of 35, while guessing total occupancy and placement requires a 42.

Any additional intelligence forays require specific attempts. Such might include tapping a phone  (requiring COMSEC skill), rummaging through garbage (how difficult this is depends on where they place their trash), placing a bug in the dog's collar (COMSEC), setting up motion radars (IMINT), passive and active listening devices (COMSEC), placing microcameras (COMSEC), borrowing building plans from records agencies (a minor adventure in itself), passive computer terminal monitoring (ELINT), etc.

For every electronic device, there is likely one somewhere that can route around it, tap into it, or otherwise play havoc with it. Placing physical taps on phones (or NetCom systems) can be done in a number of ways, from the simple wrap-around placed against (and around the wire) that intercepts signals (skill of 10), to more complicated invasive splices for truly devious manipuation (skill of 37). Going into NetCom main trunks requires a COMSEC skill of at least 45 to figure out the mess.

Setting up motion radars is variably difficult. With the technology of the late 90's, we can only penetrate light walls, and the range is little more than 20 yards. It takes a moment for the system to acclimate itself, and these can be carried in suitcases (I'll bet you thought we didn't have that sort of thing yet. Heh heh heh, and we're watching you, too...). In the early 26th century, the detectors can penetrate damn near anything except security walls that have countermeasures built in to block the signals. Even then, most people aren't aware of, nor do they account for, this technology. With an IMINT skill of 20, one can blanket a house from 50 yards and watch the pattens. At 35, he can tell the difference between individuals based on size and walk.