Dear fellow GMs,

I am interested in your opinions regarding the hacking of servitors and the like. My groups Tech Priest likes to hack into enemy servitors by using his binnary chatter talent. While I like the idea somehow, I am a little unsure how to handle it ruleswise and whether this should be viable at all. Normally I let him make a Secret Language (Tech) test with certain modifiers (mostly negative) to override their programming and insert simple commands like "attack this", " go on standby", "walk there". I mostly give the servitors a WP test (firewall...) to resist against this intrusion into their programming or make the skill test an opposed test aginst the servitor's WP. If the WP-test is failed the servitor acts as ordered by the Tech Priest PC, at least for a round or until a WP-test is made in one of the consecutive turns.

So, back to my question(s). Do you think that is viable at all? And how or under what circumstances would you make it possible (maybe only through a direct link/contact or only after a couple of rounds of using certain skills and/or characteristic tests)?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Luthor Harkon said:

I would not think of this as "hacking" at all. What you have to keep in mind is that Servitors aren't robots. Servitors are lobotomised, mechanized humans - often slaves or criminals that have been repurposed. Sometimes entirely vat-grown.

Hacking a servitor would be like hacking a human brain.

I would think of it as either Reassigning or Corrupting a servitor. The first is a matter of giving the Servitor the correct orders - which is a thing easier said than done, considering that the way a servitor is created, conditioned and programming likely can differ a great deal from ship to ship, sector to sector, cult to cult, etc, and so on. The latter, Corrupting, would be dealing with whatever is left of the human inside the servitor, and involving the ruinous powers.

For the former, which is the most relevant, I'd say that Reassigning a servitor would simply be a matter of going through the regular programming routines, rituals and chants involved in the making of Servitors; something any Tech-Priest should have at least a cursory understanding of. I wouldn't bother with opposite rolls - I would simply make a roll, adjusted by the Binary Chatter talent, based on how alien the servitor is to the Tech-Priest in question (For every hour spent, +10 / On your own ship, +60 / In a foreign Hive, -20 / On a chaos Reaver, Impossible).

Edit: I'd also argue that it would be impossible to reprogram am openly hostile Servitor, unless it is somehow subdued, first.

I actually like your idea about using the WP test as a sort of "firewall" to act against outside intrusions. Very creative usage. As for being able to access the computer within the servitor to take control...heres an easier way to do it without alot of unecessary rolls etc..or thought..

1) to GET access to a port TO reprogram or retask ANY servitor..like any machine with a remote access feature. That particular port must be set to OPEN for anything to get in at all..so if it was locked down ( like you lock down a port in a real firewall/router from external access...it prevents anyone from coming up and just casually changing anything ( UNLESS)

2)..They use whats called an intrusion spirit ( IE virus) which will give a variable bonus to the security test...which IS required for any "hacking" along with tech-use ( of course )...but if the ports are closed ( like they should always be unless in the repairbays undergoing maintenance) then it simply isnt going to work and your tech priest has zilch for a chance of doing anything with them ( UNLESS you decide otherwise for game flavor/fun/etc..but id never allow it to interfere with whatever main plotline or timeframes i had in mind for the mission ).

While, like the previous poster says, reprogramming servitors may not be realistic I think it is DEFINATELY a good decision to allow it. I think it's probably really fun for the tech-priest and encouraging creative solutions like this in your pcs is the sign of an excellent GM.

I wouldn't make it easy though. Maybe make it a series of Secret Language (Tech) tests depending on the complexity of the orders he's trying to give them or throw in a few other tests as well (logic?). Partly I like this just because it means secret language tech and logic can actually be used for something! Obviously more powerful servitors (praetorians for example) would be much harder to program.

Hi Luthor,

with most of the important things already said, I would try to "mimic" the rules the Schismatical from CA (p.30) uses.

Instead of the Schismaticals Willpower, I think I would ask for "Logic". Knowing an "open Access Point" for a wave signal is something I would consider a challenging(+0) to very hard(-30) test for Common Lore (Tech). You "WP-Firewall" check is a fine thing and should be kept.. and perhaps some Servitors should gain a "Resistance(Intrusion)" Talent.

Thanks for the input guys.

Regarding the organic vs. non-organic argument, I think it is stated in most 40K literature and background material that Servitors are sort of programmed (i.e. have data ports) and can be considered machines in regard to how they fuction, even though they have mostly organic parts for their autonomous fuction (i.e. their higher brain functions have been replaced though).

Secret Language (Tech) is the viable skill for me because Tech-use is already rather overrepresented (and even Logic is used quite often in my game) in my opinion. Maybe indeed Security for the better firewalled Servitors...

I will check the rules for the Schismatical, it sounds fitting. I am at the moment mostly influenced by an encounter that occured in the second Enforcer novel, where two high ranking Tech-Priests combat each other (together with their respective retinues).

Regarding the mentioned "open Access Point/port", I thought it is maybe enough for a servitor used to verbal commands to have functioning hearing organs (i.e. organic/cybenetic ears). I simply thought the Tech Priest PC somehow is able to mimick the command function und thus deceiving the Servitor to enter false subroutines/commands/whatevertechnobabble.