Tracking Device
Function: Tracking devices are far more prevalent than people think. Some cars come fitted with LoJack or OnStar tracking in case the cars are stolen. Criminals out of jail or potentially going to jail almost always wear electronic tags, usually bound around their ankles, so cops can trace their movements from afar. People can buy tracking devices for their kids, pets, computers or any other goods they want monitored.
Many consumer-level tracking devices (car-trackers, child or pet trackers) can be purchased through and tracked by a third party. Some devices allow you to track the item or individual via a website, but most report the location from a phone call. Other devices might track via a GPS handheld. In theory, only police or government officials can monitor law-enforcement private sector tags, but someone savvy enough could reconfigure such a tracking device and trace it himself. Doing so requires 15 successes on an extended Intelligence + Crafts roll, and each roll takes a half-hour.
The electronic tags used in the intelligence community (CIA, FBI, Mossad, etc.) are not available to the public sector, but particularly wealthy or crafty individuals might be able to get their hands on such devices.
Physically, a tracking device is a tiny microchip. The electronic tag tracking a pet, for instance, is a microchip implanted in the animal’s ear. Some non-standard tracking devices are encased in hard-to-break cases, such as the reinforced plastic collars around a prisoner’s ankle or neck. Reinforced devices have a Durability 2 and a Structure of 3, but, because these devices are less concealable, they do not have a higher Cost.
Hiding a standard tracking device requires a Wits + Larceny roll. The small Size of the device grants a +2 bonus. Implanting a microchip tag in a creature living or dead requires an Intelligence + Medicine roll. Making the chip part of an existing device (car, cell phone, laptop) requires a Wits + Crafts roll. Discovering a hidden or implanted electronic tag requires a Wits + Investigation roll, whose successes must exceed those made on the roll to conceal the device in the first place.
Many consumer-level tracking devices (car-trackers, child or pet trackers) can be purchased through and tracked by a third party. Some devices allow you to track the item or individual via a website, but most report the location from a phone call. Other devices might track via a GPS handheld. In theory, only police or government officials can monitor law-enforcement private sector tags, but someone savvy enough could reconfigure such a tracking device and trace it himself. Doing so requires 15 successes on an extended Intelligence + Crafts roll, and each roll takes a half-hour.
The electronic tags used in the intelligence community (CIA, FBI, Mossad, etc.) are not available to the public sector, but particularly wealthy or crafty individuals might be able to get their hands on such devices.
Physically, a tracking device is a tiny microchip. The electronic tag tracking a pet, for instance, is a microchip implanted in the animal’s ear. Some non-standard tracking devices are encased in hard-to-break cases, such as the reinforced plastic collars around a prisoner’s ankle or neck. Reinforced devices have a Durability 2 and a Structure of 3, but, because these devices are less concealable, they do not have a higher Cost.
Hiding a standard tracking device requires a Wits + Larceny roll. The small Size of the device grants a +2 bonus. Implanting a microchip tag in a creature living or dead requires an Intelligence + Medicine roll. Making the chip part of an existing device (car, cell phone, laptop) requires a Wits + Crafts roll. Discovering a hidden or implanted electronic tag requires a Wits + Investigation roll, whose successes must exceed those made on the roll to conceal the device in the first place.
Item type
Electronic / Cybernetic
Weight
Durability: 1
Dimensions
Size: 1
Base Price
Cost: •••