Encrypt

Rank 2 Glass Walker Gift

Paranoid Glass Walkers — which is to say, most of them — use the best encryption technologies available on the open market when they send data through the Internet or Digital Web. If a Glass Walker suspects that a Netspider is watching her Net activity, she may even choose to use this Gift, which magically protects data against snooping. Encrypt doesn’t ordinarily hide itself from magical observers — anyone with the ability to see into the spirit world will notice that the message has been enshrouded, unless the Glass Walker takes special care to hide that.

System: The player must spend one Willpower and roll Manipulation + Computer; the difficulty is (10 – the local Gauntlet). Success means that the character’s message has been encrypted beyond the ability of most mortals to pierce. This encryption can apply to either a single message (one email or burst of data) or to a connection (such as might exist between two computers for a long download or chat-conversation). A character trying to break the encryption on a single message gets just one chance to do so — the magic surrounding the message deletes it if the character fails. A character trying to break the encryption on a connection can treat the attempt as an extended test.

With just one success, the encryption can be pierced by mortal means — a human who is not magically active can break through the encryption with a Perception + Computers roll (difficulty of the Garou’s Willpower) that achieves five or more successes. With more than one success, the encryption can only be pierced by a Garou using Weaver’s Eyes (see above) or similar magical abilities. If the Garou additionally spends one Gnosis, the message does not appear to be encrypted — it seems to be an innocuous conversation, or an income-tax spreadsheet, or the like. This Gift is taught by a squirrel-spirit.

Source: Book of the City

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