Can a player own a computer, and if so what does it do?


Rules Questions


First off, I understand that this seems a preposterous question, but bear with me.

So I was thinking of getting my character a Tier 3 Computer with a few upgrades and started wondering if I would just be wasting the hard earned credits we are making.

In the beginning of the section, it talks about giving tools for the GMs to use. Does this mean that the computers weren't designed to give players options so much as challenges? (Which I'm okay with, just curious)

I know that the players have access to computers in general, but could I (as a player) purchase a computer that could remotely fire a weapon or start our starship? What about store secure data to have access to when not in range of an infosphere? Or even to have an AI for those lonely nights out in the drift?

I'm just curious what other people thoughts are on this? I just want some ideas to take to my GM about it, and to have hopefully a better understanding of what I could do.


Well i store profession data, audio files of rousing Brimstone and Fire sermons that I play while I'm in combat,and i use it to access the datanet, i also save love letters to be sent to my pc's wife, also use it to scan thing. Mostly i use it for stuff that does not effect game play. Sure it may be useful in another persons hands but thats what i use it for. My gm is very strict in allowing his players to do anything cool like accessing the ships weapons in orbit and calling in orbital bombardments. So i use it for not fun things.


The tier of the computer doesn't seem to matter at all unless the starfinder is worried about being hacked.


Out of combat and in an abstract sense the tier of the computer determines how powerful it is. Last session one of the people in my group had an argument with the GM because the GM said that the basic comm unit, something analogous to a modern tablet with vid-com capabilities, didn't have a forward-facing camera to take some pictures for data preservation because it was tier 0.


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Dark Midian wrote:
Out of combat and in an abstract sense the tier of the computer determines how powerful it is. Last session one of the people in my group had an argument with the GM because the GM said that the basic comm unit, something analogous to a modern tablet with vid-com capabilities, didn't have a forward-facing camera to take some pictures for data preservation because it was tier 0.

It is at this point the player just says "Fine, then I use the rear facing camera and pose for a selfie with the data. I put up a peace sign and everything."


BigNorseWolf wrote:
The tier of the computer doesn't seem to matter at all unless the starfinder is worried about being hacked.

It matters for skills it attempts through linked devices. It theoretically matters for attacks via linked weapons, but that's always terrible at all tiers.


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Link2000 wrote:
I know that the players have access to computers in general, but could I (as a player) purchase a computer that could remotely fire a weapon or start our starship? What about store secure data to have access to when not in range of an infosphere? Or even to have an AI for those lonely nights out in the drift?

I would say definitely yes on all accounts, except maybe starting a starship. Because the rules state that "the control module for a more complex device, such as a spy Drone, Starship, Vehicle, or weapon turret, costs 10% of the device to be controlled." But since starships only have a price in BP, not in credits, that doesn't really make sense.

As to what you could do with it, computers can get any number of inputs, and can be set to perform any number of rote tasks using any number of outputs in the form of controlled technological devices or internal data. Basically, if you can define what the computer should do with the controlled devices or its own data based on some inputs it receives, it can do so automatically, without even needing you to remote control any device.
So, for example, you get a cheap camera, a control module for it and you've got yourself a security camera. You could even have the computer warn you if it detects something, maybe through a speaker. That would require a Perception check by the computer, with 2-1/2 times its tier as the total skill bonus.
Or maybe you don't even need it to warn you, maybe it's controlling a gun and can shoot the intruder automatically, with its tier as the attack bonus. If it has an Artificial Personality, it could even intimidate the intruder all by itself while you're still sleeping.
Or, heck, if you're not into automation, you can set up a weapon somewhere, have your computer control it through a control module and a range upgrade, and by controlling the weapon through the computer yourself, you can use your full attack bonus instead of the lousy +tier that automation would provide.

It's important to note what computers can't do, though. They can't access, let alone control devices they don't have a control module for. Most importantly, this includes hacking. This still leaves you with a ton of possibilities, if you're creative and prepared.


Thanks for all the responses! I will talk with my GM as to what he feels the limiting factors of the computer should be. I just thought about how cool it would be for my character to have a miniaturized computer in his data jack to control a bunch of functions remotely.
I then started feeling like I was in "GM territory" and made a full stop wondering if players were supposed to have access to these things.

I appreciate all the ideas as well!


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Starfinder Superscriber

I have a player who invested in a collection of library chips, a tier 2 computer with miniaturization, a digital personality, and voice interface.

He thereby created a Google Home that works without infosphere access, and he can grant other party members access to use it.

Even though he's not a spellcaster, he could even put spell chips in it for life-saving emergency spells and allow a mystic in the party access to cast them.


Well my gm has determined that all communication devices run on radio waves and are CBs or walkie talkies. And there for useless in in anyway that having a cell phone would be.

Exo-Guardians

ghostunderasheet wrote:
Well my gm has determined that all communication devices run on radio waves and are CBs or walkie talkies. And there for useless in in anyway that having a cell phone would be.

Does your GM realize that Cellular Devices, even smartphones, actually are just fancy transceivers keyed to a specific frequency. Like literally your iPhone/Samsung/what have you, is nothing more than a screen with a fractal antenna, a microprocessor with a built in math co-processor for graphical capability, and an additional set of radio antennae keyed to Bluetooth, and WiFi at the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency.

Long story short, a phone is a computer with a radio attached to it. His ruling makes no sense and he does not understand basic telecommunication technology.

Edit.

I know that sounds rude but let's be real here, we're dealing with a world were our pathetic cellular phones are actually just the cheap as chips throwaway phones tourists get when the travel outside their home country. It's reasonable to assume that the higher end stuff that costs thousands of credits would have additional capabilities. The above claim about you DM not understanding telecommunication is based on the fact that he's basically saying that a world with thousands of years to develop planet wide communication through wireless channels has only managed to achieve basic CB radios, which then invalidates mechanics and their explicitly stated encrypted channels, which by the way, you can't reasonably encrypt standard short wave traffic, you can encode it in a cipher, but the traffic itself is difficult at best to encrypt unless you are on a pure digital platform, which then forces the circular argument that each com device is a computer capable of deciphering encryption.


MER-c wrote:
ghostunderasheet wrote:
Well my gm has determined that all communication devices run on radio waves and are CBs or walkie talkies. And there for useless in in anyway that having a cell phone would be.

Does your GM realize that Cellular Devices, even smartphones, actually are just fancy transceivers keyed to a specific frequency. Like literally your iPhone/Samsung/what have you, is nothing more than a screen with a fractal antenna, a microprocessor with a built in math co-processor for graphical capability, and an additional set of radio antennae keyed to Bluetooth, and WiFi at the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency.

Long story short, a phone is a computer with a radio attached to it. His ruling makes no sense and he does not understand basic telecommunication technology.

Edit.

I know that sounds rude but let's be real here, we're dealing with a world were our pathetic cellular phones are actually just the cheap as chips throwaway phones tourists get when the travel outside their home country. It's reasonable to assume that the higher end stuff that costs thousands of credits would have additional capabilities. The above claim about you DM not understanding telecommunication is based on the fact that he's basically saying that a world with thousands of years to develop planet wide communication through wireless channels has only managed to achieve basic CB radios, which then invalidates mechanics and their explicitly stated encrypted channels, which by the way, you can't reasonably encrypt standard short wave traffic, you can encode it in a cipher, but the traffic itself is difficult at best to encrypt unless you are on a pure digital platform, which then forces the circular argument that each com device is a computer capable of deciphering encryption.

I know and i get it. I tried to explain it to him. But he was not having any of it. Guess he has a plan where having the pc calling to warn everyone would foil that plan. But then again i could fork out the cash for a planar cellphone anyway and just have it.


Starfinder Superscriber

They're much more than our modern cellphones. They must support an extremely wide range of frequencies and protocols, including mesh networks, in order to interface with the countless networks built by difficult civilizations you might come in contact with.

Simply put, CRB 420 says "the units are powerful enough to transmit anywhere on a planet". This is sci-fantasy; we hand-wave details like transmission power, attenuation, protocols, and communication networks.


Yeah, I'm going to have to agree, you have a GM problem, not a game mechanics problem.


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I can sympathize with that GM, though.

When coming up with homebrew adventures in a sci-fi setting the old adage comes to mind: "If only they had a cellphone the whole thing could've been avoided".


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The Ragi wrote:

I can sympathize with that GM, though.

When coming up with homebrew adventures in a sci-fi setting the old adage comes to mind: "If only they had a cellphone the whole thing could've been avoided".

That is why many people choose to play Call of Cthulhu in the 1920s. No cell phones, no computers, nothing that the PCs at the library can use to tell the PCs at the haunted house not to go in there, to burn that house right to the ground immediately.

(of course, after a certain point, we always annoyed the CoC GM because we burned the houses down right away and went home, satisfied with a job well done)


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So had a thought. Everyone is up in arms about not being able to control their ship with a computer because of bps to credits. How about this, when building/customizing you ship set aside 10% of the points to have it connect to you comm link as a module. Now you can pilot your ship and paid for the module.


Garrett Larghi wrote:
So had a thought. Everyone is up in arms about not being able to control their ship with a computer because of bps to credits. How about this, when building/customizing you ship set aside 10% of the points to have it connect to you comm link as a module. Now you can pilot your ship and paid for the module.

Closer to 9%, but that's still prohibitively expensive. That many BP get you a lot of upgrades to your starship.

I'm pretty sure it's meant to be nigh-infeasible, though. After all, being able to control your starship at range is the Mechanic's level 19 ability. It makes sense that not everyone could easily get access to another class' almost-capstone ability.


So I've been thinking about this and I did some calculations and I was thinking that a module can only control one part of what one person doesn't ship such as piloting or Gunnery checks. So I did the math and I checked it out and for her2 computer to control a T1 ship and it be of light bulk with an ai and be a comm unit as well, the computer would cost 572 credits and 50 Cent, and the control module will cost and Bill Point build points 5.5. Sorry if my wording is in better I'm using the audio function on my cell cellphone. I will havr to look at that mechanic ability too.


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Looking at the mechanics ability it removes the need to spend creds and bps on a computer and control mod to control the ship. There should be ways to go around a class to get the benifit it would provide. For example lots of parties have healing serums even if they do not have a mystic. I feel that each party has to decide how they want to play out their diverse group and resources. I like the idea of a mechanic with the setup above and power armor. The ai will be named jarvis and the character anthony stork. He looks like Robert Downey Jr.


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

You don't need to figure out the cost of the ship to add a control module, just the ship's computer.

Most ship's only function when operated through their computer interfaces. Ergo, you only need a control module for the ship's computer, since whoever controls the ship's computer controls the ship.

Fortunately, ship computers have tiers, and computers with tiers have a price tag that is not listed in BP.

Problem solved. 😊


Ravingdork wrote:

You don't need to figure out the cost of the ship to add a control module, just the ship's computer.

Most ship's only function when operated through their computer interfaces. Ergo, you only need a control module for the ship's computer, since whoever controls the ship's computer controls the ship.

Fortunately, ship computers have tiers, and computers with tiers have a price tag that is not listed in BP.

Problem solved.

I really like the idea of this but ships are paid for in bp. You could discern that a tier 2 ship still has a tier 1 computer but that is guess work. I am sure that piazo will put something out eventually to clear this up. I have to say, Ravingdork, you come up with a lot of replies that I like!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Where's the guesswork? *scratches head*

Ship computer tiers are clearly defined. Computers with tiers have a credit price tag listed in the book.

The book provides you with everything you need to determine the credit cost to put a control module on the ship's computer.


What Ravingdork is getting at is you would spend credits to upgrade the ship's computer as normal. Your BP and tier are determined automatically so you know the cost to purchase anything.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Say you have a tier 10 ship. According to page 297 of the Core Rulebook, that means your ship as a basic tier 5 computer (half of your ship's tier).

According to page 214, a tier 5 computer has a credit cost of 10,000.

Now that we have a credit cost for the ship's computer, we can take the formula for determining the cost of a complex control module from page 215 and apply it (10% of the cost of the device to becontrolled).

So a comp!ex co tell module applied to a tier 10 ship's computer would cost 1,000 credits).

What exactly that lets you do remotely control is between you and your GM. (It would seem that a ship's computer can't do everything a crew member can after all.)

I'd probably let it remotely control basic things like changing the onboard environmental settings, or activating/deactivating air locks, doors, antipersonnel systems, setting off of quelling alarms, lights, and the like.


Ahhhh! I missed what it said on page 297!


BigNorseWolf wrote:
The tier of the computer doesn't seem to matter at all unless the starfinder is worried about being hacked.

Given the various ways people can directly go after personal comps and what people tend to keep on them having a higher tier computer to make it harder to be hacked is not an unwise idea. I also assume the armory book will flesh out computers even more once that book comes out.


A ships computer, like any computer, can have an artificial personality (core p 216) that allows users to remotely operate the computer via voice commands. So........ "Computer, initiate launch protocols and open the ventral access hatch NOW!!!" - provided you've purchased the artificial personality upgrade for your ship's computer, is a completely valid option.

As far as those lonely nights along in the Drift... well..... that's a whole different kind of AI. Maybe an SRO (pact worlds, p. 213) pleasure model is more what you're looking for :)


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Kvetchus wrote:
As far as those lonely nights along in the Drift... well..... that's a whole different kind of AI. Maybe an SRO (pact worlds, p. 213) pleasure model is more what you're looking for :)

... That is so wrong on so many levels. There are regular robots, an SRO is sentient and has a soul. It's a person that's entitled to the same protections as androids. You don't just buy an SRO.


Only if you buy into all that android abolitionist front propaganda. Souls are for the living!

And anyway... are you saying, as living sentient beings, SROS can't sell themselves for cash? The oldest profession and all that......

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