Kung Fu Grip's page

In the larger scope as we move through the game I see players wanting to use the Computer skill as Disable Device. Hacking with the Computer skill just lets you access and operate a computer as it was designed/programmed. Not setting of alarms in the hangar - the retina scanner on a door lock not initiating - styrofoam cup not dropping to catch the hot coffee - their associated computers are not programmed to ignore doing these things.

Disable Device is covered under the Engineering skill and even has "disarm a security system from a control panel or similar device" as an example along with sabotaging and jamming things.

If I say the hangar alarms are fundamentally part of the hangar door module thingy and the PC uses his Computer skill to Hack to gain access would it be reasonable to require an Engineering check to Disable Device the alarm?

In a sense I like both of your options in that there would simply be another hack hand-wave skill check to not have the alarm go off regardless of how it was wired. This being an on the fly decision and not a fully pre-designed, scripted computer encounter.

Opening the hanger doors was an innovative solution that a PC came up with and I decided to roll with it by including a safety window with the alarm but wasn't quite sure how to direct him to overcome said obstacle. I'm glad that they did this, I would like them to do more of it but in that sense I can see PCs wanting to disable certain door access panels, prevent certain subroutines from working, overriding specific signals, etc. and wanted to have a quick (read not boring) way to address disabling select software commands.

Scenario: A pressurized hanger on a ship is currently full of invading goblins unaware of the PC who is in another room with access to the hanger's tier 2 computer which they have hacked. A second successful hack provides the PC with access to the control module for the hanger bay door which leads into the vacuum of space. If he initiates the hanger bay door opening command (planning on sucking the goblins out into space) there is a 1 minute safety window where alarms and lights go off and goblins can easily hit one of the many shiny red shutdown buttons in the hanger to prevent the door from opening and then descend on the PC and tear them to itty bitty bits. The hanger bay door computer module isn't designed to NOT set off alarms (duh,) there isn't an option for it because that is not present in the programming so in a sense you are disabling the command that activates the alarms.

Question: Can you "disable device" specific software like this with a computer skill check? Say DC 21 that takes 2 rounds on a tier 2 computer?