See also: Skills
Use this skill to access secured files and defeat security systems.
Special: You can Take 10 on Use Computer checks. You can Take 20 on a Use Computer check except when attempting to improve access. When a computer is Friendly or Helpful to you, you gain an equipment bonus on all Use Computer checks made with that computer equal to its Intelligence bonus.
ATTITUDE | CHECK MODIFIER | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|
Hostile | -10 | The computer treats you as a hostile intruder and attempts to trace your location and isolate your connection. |
Unfriendly | -5 | The computer treats you as an unauthorized user and blocks your access to its programs and information. |
Indifferent | -2 | The computer treats you as a guest or visitor and grants you access to non-secret programs and information (as long as this does not conflict with previous commands). |
Friendly | +0 | The computer treats you as an authorized user and grants you access to any program and non-secret information (as long as this does not conflict with previous commands). You may add any equipment bonus provided by the computer to your Use Computer checks. |
Helpful | - | The computer treats you as if you are its owner or administrator, granting access to all of its programs and information (even if doing so overrides previous commands). You may add any Equipment bonus provided by the computer to your Use Computer checks. |
Access Information[]
Getting information through a computer requires you to connect to the appropriate network (such as the Holonet, or its equivalent in other eras) and locate the files you seek. Connecting to an Indifferent, Friendly, or Helpful network (a Full-Round Action) doesn't require a skill check if you are using a computer that's already linked to it.
However, establishing a connection to a network using a remote computer requires a DC 10 Use Computer check. You can also get information without connecting to a network if you use a computer whose memory contains that information; the GM decides what information a computer's memory actually holds.
Finding information on a single topic requires a set amount of time (see below); at the end of this time, you must make a Use Computer check. The time required and the check DC are determined by the type of information sought.
For example, locating general information about a senator is easier than locating specific information (such as the senator's date of birth), which is easier than finding private information (such as the senator's private comm channel code), which is easier than uncovering secret information (such as the senator's cred stick code).
INFORMATION | DC | TIME REQUIRED |
---|---|---|
General | 15 | 1 Minute (10 Rounds) |
Specific | 20 | 10 Minutes |
Private | 25 | 1 Hour |
Secret* | 30 | 1 Day (8 Hours) |
*Secret information can only be accessed on a computer that is Helpful to you.
Astrogate (Trained Only)[]
You can plot a safe course through Hyperspace. Doing so usually requires 1 minute, at the end of which you must succeed on a Use Computer check. Various factors influence the DC of the check (see Astrogation). A Navicomputer allows a character aboard a Starship to make a Use Computer check to Astrogate Untrained.
Additionally, you may choose to plot a Hyperspace course more aggressively than normal, reducing your travel time by increasing the chance of something going wrong. For every 5 points by which you increase the Use Computer check DC, you may reduce your travel time by 1 day; if this would reduce the travel time to less than 1 day, you instead reduce the remaining travel time by one-half, to a minimum of 1 hour.
You must make the decision to increase the Use Computer check DC before making the check. Alternatively, you may gain a +5 circumstance bonus on your Use Computer check if you voluntarily double the travel time.
Disable or Erase Program (Trained Only)[]
If you are Trained in Use Computer, you can disable or erase a program on a computer that is Helpful toward you. Disabling or erasing a program takes 10 minutes and requires a DC 15 Use Computer check.
Improve Access (Trained Only)[]
As a Full-Round Action, you can make a Use Computer check to adjust the attitude of a computer in order to gain access to its programs and information. You must be able to communicate with the computer either through a direct interface (such as a keypad) or by connecting to it through an appropriate network (such as the Holonet).
Apply a modifier on the check based on the computer's current attitude toward you: Hostile -10, Unfriendly -5, Indifferent -2, Friendly +0.
If the check equals or exceeds the computer's Will Defense, the computer's Attitude shifts one step in your favor. If you fail, the computer's Attitude does not change. If you fail by 5 or more, the computer's Attitude becomes one step worse (for example, Indifferent to Unfriendly) and the computer notifies the computer's administrator of the access attempt.
A Hostile computer can be dangerous. If the computer becomes Hostile or you fail any Use Computer check made to Improve Access to a Hostile computer, it traces your exact location and notifies the nearest security personnel. In addition, if you fail by 5 or more when attempting to improve access to a Hostile computer, it isolates your connection and rejects any further attempts you make to access it for 24 hours.
Issue Routine Command[]
As a Standard Action, you can Issue a Routine Command to a Friendly or Helpful computer. Examples include turning a computer on or off, viewing and editing documents or recordings in its memory, printing a hard copy of a document or image on a flimsiplast sheet, opening or closing doors that the computer controls, and the like.
Issuing Routine Commands doesn't normally require a Use Computer check. However, if another character issues a contradictory command, the computer follows the command of the character toward whom it has a better Attitude (for example, it follows a command from someone toward whom it is Helpful over someone toward whom it is Friendly).
If the computer has the same Attitude toward both characters, make an opposed Use Computer check against the competing character. If you succeed, your command takes effect. If you fail, the opposing character's command takes effect.
Additional Use Computer Applications[]
The following applications of the Use Computer skill are compiled from the subsequent Reference Books released for Saga Edition:
Access and Reprogram Electronic Device[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Legacy Era Campaign Guide
To access information contained with an electronic device, you must first connect to an Indifferent, Friendly, or Helpful computer (a Full-Round Action) via a wireless or wired system. Connecting wirelessly requires you to establish a connection as you would do with a network (see Access Information, above).
A wired connection may be as simple as obtaining the correct cable or making an Improvised Connection. The same Attitudes and DCs used to Access Information (see above) from a computer are also used for devices, although most self-contained devices will not set off alarms or attempt to isolate your connection.
Backtrail (Trained Only)[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Scum and Villainy
A successful DC 25 Use Computer check reveals the identity of the last person to use the computer and the information they sought. The computer's Attitude modifies the DC as normal (see above).
Copy or Reprogram Code Cylinder or Access Card[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Legacy Era Campaign Guide
You can make a Use Computer check to reprogram a Code Cylinder or access card to accept new codes, or copy the existing codes to another Code Cylinder or access card. The DC for these actions depends on the level of security (see below).
The device must be physically connected to an Indifferent, Friendly, or Helpful computer before it can be copied or reprogrammed. Copying or Reprogramming a Code Cylinder or access card takes 10 minutes.
SECURITY LEVEL | USE COMPUTER DC | |
---|---|---|
Administrative (Civilian) | 20 | |
Encrypted Military | 30 | |
Encrypted Imperial Military | 35 |
Cover Tracks (Trained Only)[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Scum and Villainy
When you access a computer, you can conceal your presence and how you used the computer by increasing all Use Computer check DCs by 5. Any character who attempts to Backtrail (see above) the computer to determine your identity and what you did takes a -5 penalty on their Use Computer check.
Detecting Hyperspace Travel[]
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Starships of the Galaxy
When a Starship enters or exits Hyperspace, it produces a short burst of cronau radiation. Any Starship, Space Station, or sensor array within the same star system can detect a cronau radiation burst with a DC 25 Use Computer check made as a Reaction.
Success indicates that the sensor operator detects the ship entering or exiting Hyperspace, and is aware of its point of arrival or departure. Tracking a ship through Hyperspace also relies on the presence of residual cronau radiation.
Taking a Full-Round Action to make a DC 25 Use Computer check measures the amount of Cronau radiation as well as the angle of departure of the vessel fleeing into Hyperspace, indicating the most likely destination. Cronau radiation lingers for several hours after a ship has fled into Hyperspace, though each hour since the ship made the jump to lightspeed increases the DC of the Use Computer check by 5.