WEB OF THE

DATA SPIDER
EXTENDED DATA DJINN RULES
FOR CORIOLIS
by MICHAEL MASBERG
 WEB OF THE DATA SPIDER

TABLE OF CONTENTS CREDITS

INTRODUCTION 4 WRITING, TRANSLATION & LAYOUT
Michael Masberg
WEB OF THE DATA SPIDER 5
COVER ART
Mike Winkelmann
Free for commercial use.

INTERIOR ART
Gerd Altmann, Mike Winkelmann

Original material © 2021, 2022 by

Pig of Spades, a label of Michael Masberg
www.michael-masberg.de

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2022 by Michael Masberg and published under the Com-
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VERSION 2.0
 HYAENAS OF ODACON

The Third Horizon is not (everywhere) as super-connected as other science fiction set-
tings. Nevertheless, there are numerous networks and local systems in which a Data Djinn
can work their magic. These rules will expand their options.
INTRODUCTION

SOMETIMES NEW RULES need a cause first. This was the

case in our group when a new player joined and brought
a data spider on board. At the same time, I was working
on a Year Zero hack for a different science fiction set-
ting. All the tools were there, I just had to adapt them to
work with CORIOLIS – THE THIRD HORIZON.
And here we are. WEB OF THE DATA SPIDER is the result
of this adaptation. It offers you extended rules for the
DATA DJINN skill that keep the mindset and spirit of the
Core Rulebook. It is not a completely new subsystem,
but a simple and elegant extension of the existing rules.
The suggested rules are modular. You can use them as
a whole or just pick your favourites. You also find new
talents, specially designed for data spiders. They also
work outside of the extended rules of this book.
I hope you enjoy the additions when you dive deep into
the digital horizon!

USING THE RULES FOR A DIFFERENT SETTING

The rules presented here are very generic and
can easily be transferred to other SciFi or mo-
dern settings. You need an appropriate skill that
matches DATA DJINN, and then you just need to
substitute a few terms (e.g. using admin inste-
ad of system akbar). If the tech of your setting is
more advancend than in the Third Horizon, you
might want to advance the capabilities of AIs
(here: intelligences). Apart from that, you should
be ready to go.

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 HYAENAS OF ODACON

You can add the following optional rules to your game as a whole. Of course, you can also
choose only the parts that appeal to you the most.
WEB OF THE DATA SPIDER

THE NEW RULES are divided into three parts. You can use
each module on its own or combine them.
d INTRUSION is the art of entering another system un-
noticed.
d RESEARCH is a ruleset that helps you to judge the
Research,
informations that a PC can find within a certain sys- Seite 7
tem.
New talents,
d NEW TALENTS introduces you to … well, new talents. Seite 8
They are specially designed for data spiders and
most of them only make sense when your character
mastered the DATA DJINN skill.

INTRUSION
Intrusion is the art of penetrating a computer system For each additional six after the first one, choose one of
and taking advantage of bugs and flawed security pro- the bonus effects below.
tocols. It is the digital equivalent to INFILTRATION, a sub- d EXTENDED ACCESS: Increase your Privilege status by
tle and quiet method to avoid any attention. But it can one step.
also be used with brutal force, kicking your way into the d DJINN VEIL: Increase your Visibility status by one
foreign system. step.
d ACCELERATED: Reduce the time needed by 1 minute
METHODS (brutal-force attack) / 10 minutes (subtle intrusion).
However, the intrusion takes at least 1 minute / 10
You can choose between two methods to intrude on an- minutes.
other system. You must pick one of the two methods. d UNEXPECTED DATA: You find something useful or
d BRUTAL-FORCE ATTACK: This method takes only d6 more than you expected. The GM will tell you what
minutes but is a difficult (–2) undertaking for the in- it is.
vading party. If you use this method, you get Visibil-
ity: Detected (instead of Visibility: Undetected) if you e ACTIVE DEFENSES
are successful.
The DATA DJINN roll is normally modified by the com-
d SUBLTE INTRUSION: This method takes an hour, but
plexity and security of the system (as usual from –3 to
you run less risk of attracting immediate attention.
+3). However, a system can also have an active defense,
e FAILURE for example in the form of a vigilant data spider or intel-
ligence. And, of course, you can actively defend yourself
You roll no successes. against intrusions.
On a failure, you have a choice: Either you fail and do not In this case, the intrusion is an opposed DATA DJINN roll.
enter the system at all, or you succeed but you are spot- The intruding party rolls first, followed by the defending
ted (Privilege: User and Visibility: Detected; in addition, party. For each level of the intruder’s Visibility status
all further actions in the system suffer a –2 penalty on above Detected, the defending roll suffers a –1 penalty.
all DATA DJINN rolls). For each additional six after the first one, the defender
can choose one of the bonus effects below.
e SUCCESS
d WITHDRAWN PRIVILEGES: Lower the intruder’s Privi-
You roll 1+ successes. lege status by one step. If it falls below Privileg: User,
On a success, you are in the system and gain Privilege: the intruder is kicked out of the system.
User and Visibility: Undetected (or Detected if you used d EXPOSURE: Lower the intruder’s Visibility status by
the brutal-force method). You can undertake further ac- one step.
tions that are within the scope of your privileges.

5
 HYAENAS OF ODACON

d COUNTERATTACK: Ask the GM a question about the rights than ordinary users. They can usually view
intruder. You can ask additional questions, but you and edit logs, command security functions and intel-
must spend one success for each question that you ligences, add or delete non-akbar accounts, change
ask. The intruder’s Visibility status must be Unde- other users’ data and so on.
tected or lower for this effect. d AKBAR: System akbars (admins) have complete con-
trol over the system. They can access and change
ACTIVE OPPONENTS all functions and data, also change the access rights
of other accounts, shut down or restart the system,
OPPONENT WITS DATA DJINN stop and start all applications or services and add or
Data Spider 5 3 delete software.

Intelligence 3 2 e VISIBILITY
True Intelligence 5 5 A system does not automatically know your identity just
because they have spotted you. This requires another
STATUS successful DATA DJINN test for the system defending
site and the counterattack effect.
When you use DATA DJINN to intrude into a system, two d DETECTED: The system recognises your intrusion.
statuses measure how successful your intrusion is, What happens next depends on the system. If you
what possibilites you gain, and what consequences it face an active opponent (e.g. an intelligence or an-
may have. Privilege measures your power over the sys- other data spider), they will most likely start acting
tem, while Visibility tells you how easy or hard you can against you. A more passive system might notify the
be spotted by the foreign system. system akbar (which leaves you some time before
they start searching you). Sometimes the system
e PRIVILEGE
just makes a note in the log. As long as the alarm
You can perform all actions that your privileges allow is active, all DATA DJINN tests are hard (–2) for in-
you. You don’t need to roll for it. You just do it. Only if truders.
you want to do something outside your privileges you do d UNDETECTED: Your presence looks legitimate and
another roll. This is a demanding (–1) test if your status you are not considered a threat – until your actions
is one step less than needed, and a hard (–2) test if your become obvious. But they still need to find you!
status is two steps beneath. On a failure, you are noticed d HIDDEN: The system does not know of your presence
by the system. and cannot take action against you. Your actions are
d USER: Users are authorised to use all standard func- not recorded in logs and other users cannot detect
tions of the system. They can view, download, up- you. Your presence may leave traces, but finding
load and modify their own or shared data. They are them requires thorough analysis and time. All DATA
not authorised to create new accounts, access logs, DJINN rolls to find traces of your presence suffer a
change security features or take any other action –2 penalty.
that may affect the functions of the system. Everything also applies the other way around, of course,
d SECURITY: Privileges are intended for security per- when you are the defending data spider, trying to detect
sonnel who monitor the system. They have more and identify an intruder.

USER DETECTED

SECURITY UNDETECTED

AKBAR HIDDEN

6
 HYAENAS OF ODACON

RESEARCH
If you start data-based research, you use DATA DJINN to
RESEARCH
read the information flow and search for specific data
and information. That can be a local database, a space DATA BASIS MODIFICATION
station’s infonet, or the network of the Bulletin.
Nothing at all -2
A search presupposes, of course, that such an infonet
exists and that you have access to it. You can also use Conflicting sources –1
search after you have intruded a system. Broad hints +0

e FAILURE Clear traces +1

You roll no successes. Confirmed details +2

You get no or wrong information.
ACCESSIBILITY MODIFICATION
e LIMITED SUCCESS
Private or protected data –3
You roll 1 or 2 successes.
Obscure or unusual data –2
You ask the GM two questions related to your research.
The GM must answer you but can restrict the answers
depending on the nature of the source. REAL-TIME EVALUATION MODIFICATION

Building / settlement / small station –1

e CRITICAL SUCCESS
District / medium-sized station –2
You roll 3+ successes.
You can ask the GM as many questions as you have City / large station –3
rolled sixes. The questions must be related to your re-
search. The GM must answer you but can limit the an-
swers depending on the nature of the source.
In addition, you get a +1 bonus to the next action that
benefits from the insights gained through your research.

7
 HYAENAS OF ODACON

NEW TALENTS
The following talents are subject to the usual rules for
learning them.

ABRAXAS
You leave no traces in the infonet. Whether you try to
intrude other networks unnoticed with DATA DJINN or
protect your data from an outside attack, you add +2 to
your roll.

BACKBROUND CHECK
If you have enough time and access to the infonet, you
can use DATA DJINN instead of MANIPULATION for ne-
gotiations or intimidation. The use of the talent needs at
least d6 minutes of concentration and preparation.

DATA DIVINER
You feel the flow of data. Add +2 to DATA DJINN when
you try to make a data-based prediction. This is not a
e powerful vision of the future like the mystic power Pre-
Core Rulebook,
page 78 diction, but an evaluation of probabilities. You or other
crew members can use your successes for bonus dice
if you/they act on your predictions.

DATA WEAVER
You know how to forge information. Add +2 to DATA
DJINN when you try to manipulate data. Given time and
the right resources, you can create false identities and
forge important documents.

MUSE
(CYBERNETIC IMPLANT)
You have a brain implant with an intelligence. It helps
you as a personal assistent and can support you on
all data related tasks. The intelligence has WITS 3 and
DATA DJINN 2. It can act on your behalf while your busy
with something else. It can also help you on data djinn
e
Core Rulebook, tasks. The normal rules for help from others apply.
page 58
The downside of the implant is that other data spiders
can try to hack your brain. Of course, they need aclcess
to do this, for example, if you connect to a computer sys-
tem via ports in your neck.
COST: 15,000 birr

8
 CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY!
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THE PROPHETESS OF MARAKANDA

AN INVESTIGATIVE ADVENTURE ON CORIOLIS STATION

THE PROPHETESS OF MARAKANDA is a legendary artefact that has

been lost for centuries. It is said that whoever sleeps near her dreams
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the station’s most powerful factions.

The PDF comes with five brand new pre-generated characters!

ETERNAL LURKS THE DARKNESS

UNDERSTANDING DARKNESS POINTS

Written with years of experience in GMing CORIOLIS – THE THIRD HO-

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It deepens your understanding of this unique Year Zero meachnic and
shows you how to use them without it being arbitrary.
You will also find over 50 new possible uses for Darkness Point, clearly
sorted according to different situations. Also, there are more general
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