For basic surveillance tools, see Media (pp. 40-45) and Sensors and Scientific Gear (pp. 45-50). The equipment below is more specialized. It has few applications beyond what the U.S. Intelligence Community calls “technical intelligence gathering”: procuring information (“dope”) through technological – commonly electronic – means. Surveillance devices are often LC3-4 but treated as having a lower LC if put to illegal use.
Audio surveillance experts skilled at gaining access to critical areas are called “inside men” or “bag men.” They may use stolen uniforms, acquire temporary jobs with custodial services, or sneak in through open windows. Another strategy is to carefully disguise bugs in everyday items presented as gifts. During the 1960s, the president of South Vietnam, Nguyen Van Thieu, was given color televisions and other American-made electronics outfitted with audio surveillance gear. Whatever the means, the goal is to plant a listening device and gather good intelligence. The true expert has many different types of bugs in his kit. All of this gear uses the Electronics Operation (Surveillance) skill.
The classic “wiretap” listens into the phone line outside a building, allowing surveillance of a phone within the building without setting off bug detectors (p. 212). This might involve cutting and splicing into the line, but often relies on an inductive coil that detects the signal noninvasively. Detecting a phone tap is almost impossible.
At TL6, a wiretap connects via a length of wire to a handset, allowing agents to listen in at the junction box or run a line to their vehicle or a nearby room. At TL7, it can use an A/V transmitter (p. 209). At TL8, it can be programmed for a specific voiceprint, timeframe, etc. Taps can be configured to monitor fax and computer communications over phone lines. $100, neg. LC3.
Audio bugs pick up sounds and transmit them to a receiver up to half a mile away. They’re about as sensitive as the human ear. When worn covertly, a bug is sometimes referred to as a “wire.”
Audio Bug (TL7). SM -9. $100, neg., T/week. LC3.
Audio Bug (TL8). Voice-activation (VOX) circuitry keeps the bug from operating during periods of silence, greatly conserving battery power. SM -13. $100, neg., T/month. LC3.
This is a small (SM -11), disk-shaped microphone with an adhesive backing. Attached to a window, wall, etc., it lets the operator pick up sounds on the far side by making an Electronics Operation (Surveillance) roll at a penalty equal to the barrier’s (DR + HP)/5, rounded down. $40, neg., T/week. LC3.
A laser mike turns any window into a bug by reflecting an invisible laser beam off the glass and picking up the vibrations caused by speech within the room. Very heavy curtains or triple-glazing might defeat this method; a white noise generator (p. 213) certainly will. Even ordinary noise – loud music, running faucets, etc. – is effective against TL7 models, but TL8 units can filter this out. Most bug detectors (p. 212) can’t sense laser mikes. Range is 300 yards at TL7, 900 yards at TL8. $5,000, 2 lbs., external power. LC3.
The audio equivalent of an endoscope (p. 209), a pinhead mike is a tiny (SM -16) microphone on a flexible cable that can be snaked under doors, through ductwork, etc. Make a DX-based Electronics Operation (Surveillance) roll to guide the cable. Failure means the mike gets stuck or makes noise. Critical failure means it breaks or is detected by the target.
Pinhead Mike (TL7). About as sensitive as the human ear. Powered by the tape recorder, transmitter, or other device to which it’s connected. Has an 8-yard cable. $20, neg. LC3.
Laser Pinhead Mike (TL8). This consists of a plastic diaphragm on the end of an optical fiber. Sounds vibrate the diaphragm, a laser reflected off the diaphragm via the fiber picks up the vibrations, and then the light pulses are converted back to sound. The laser mike (above) uses the same principle. This device won’t trigger bug detectors or metal detectors; only a physical search reveals it. Otherwise, it’s identical to a regular pinhead mike. $400, neg. LC3.
A pinhead mike (above) can be mounted in a spike rather than on a cable. The user pushes it through a wall and into contact with the wall of an adjacent room. The target wall acts as a giant sounding board, giving (TL-4) levels of Parabolic Hearing (p. B72). Otherwise, treat the device as a pinhead mike.
Spike Mike (TL7). $50, 0.5 lb. LC3.
Laser Spike Mike (TL8). $450, 0.5 lb. LC3.
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the interception, identification, and analysis of radio emissions. The DEA uses SIGINT equipment to monitor drug cartels in Central and South America. Most U.S. embassies are equipped with a Special Collection Element: a joint CIA-NSA operation that eavesdrops on local radio and cellular traffic.
This equipment uses the Electronics Operation (EW) skill, which defaults to Electronics Operation (Comm)-4.
Radio eavesdropping requires a radio receiver with the “radio intercept” option; see Radio (pp. 37-40) for statistics. Using such equipment to listen in on random, unencrypted traffic in range (cell phones, cordless phones, handheld radios, etc.) is a routine task. Roll against Electronics Operation (Comm or EW) at +4, should it matter. Encrypted signals can be recorded and decoded later.
To intercept a specific signal, the spy must know its frequency. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to conduct a “freq search” while the transmitter is broadcasting. Each attempt requires an Electronics Operation (EW) roll and 15 minutes at TL6, five minutes at TL7, or five seconds at TL8. Success allows routine monitoring of later transmissions on that frequency. If the transmitter’s operator is actively seeking to avoid interception, this becomes a Quick Contest of Electronics Operation (EW); victory lets the interceptor eavesdrop on that one transmission. LC3.
This is a specialized radio receiver for intercepting cellphone traffic. It can monitor up to four calls at a time and log everything to a hard disk, prevent the target phone from receiving incoming calls, jam the phone outright, and trace calls. The system comes in a large attaché case. $20,000, 7 lbs., external power. LC2.
Visual surveillance experts use regular cameras (see Video Storage, Recording, and Playback, pp. 42-44), surveillance cameras (p. 206), passive visual sensors (pp. 46-47), and more-specialized equipment. Most of the gear below requires the Electronics Operation (Surveillance) skill.
Experimental endoscopes date to the 1800s. These were inflexible, but gave doctors their first look inside the stomach (the earliest test subject was a sword swallower!). Versions practical for intelligence-gathering appeared in the 1950s.
Sometimes called a “fiberscope” or a “borescope,” a modern endoscope consists of optical fibers within a thin (0.1-0.3”) steel-mesh tube. Controls at the user’s end allow him to flex and bend the far end precisely. The attached eyepiece lets him see what his ’scope is pointed at.
Search Endoscope (TL6). A short ’scope optimized for looking for items concealed within hollow objects or body cavities gives +3 to Search. Used to observe lock tumblers through a hole drilled in a safe or a door, it gives +2 to Lockpicking. $1,500, 2 lbs., 2xS/week. LC4.
Surveillance Endoscope (TL7). This powerful, yard-long model lets the user peer under doors, through holes in walls and floors, around corners and window frames, etc., while staying out of sight. The tiny lens gives -3 to Vision rolls. Spotting the protruding tube requires a Vision-5 roll. $4,500, 2 lbs., 2xS/week. LC4.
This aerosol spray turns envelopes and similar paper packaging transparent on contact, revealing the contents. It evaporates in minutes, leaving no visible trace (a lab test and a Forensics roll will detect it). A can good for dozens of uses: $30, 1 lb. LC4.
The size of a desktop photocopier, this device uses infrared or ultraviolet light to examine papers and packages. It can see through ink, erasures, correction fluid, etc., and detect subtle alterations. While intended for document security, it also has surveillance applications: an Electronics Operation (Security or Surveillance) roll at -2 lets the operator produce a legible copy of a document in a sealed envelope. $500, 40 lbs., external power. LC3.
The term “bug” was formerly reserved for microphones, but microchip-sized pinhole cameras add video bugs to the surveillance expert’s bag of tricks.
Miniature Video Bug (TL8). This state-of-the-art device – about the size of a 9mm cartridge (SM -11) – contains a color camera, a transmitter, and a power supply. It provides a crisp video image up to two miles away. $1,000, neg., T/week. LC3.
Subminiature Video Bug (TL8). The smallest video bugs are the size of a multivitamin capsule (SM -13); in fact, they’re used to diagnose intestinal problems when an endoscope would be too invasive. Transmitter range is less than 500 yards. The special internal battery lasts for 48 hours. $1,500, neg. LC3.
Video Bug (TL8). An over-the-counter “spy shop” video bug is still a capable surveillance device. About the size of matchbox (SM -9), it can transmit a high-quality video signal up to two miles away. $250, neg., T/week. LC4.
Almost every TL7-8 surveillance kit bag or stakeout vehicle includes “generic” transmitters and receivers.
This receives signals from (and transmits instructions to) bugs, wireless cameras, A/V transmitters, etc., to which it’s tuned. It can receive up to four channels at a time, feeding each signal to a separate jack for viewing, listening, or recording. A small video display is included.
A/V Transceiver (TL7). $100, 6 lbs., 4¥S/4 hrs. LC4.
A/V Transceiver (TL8). $100, 3 lbs., 4¥S/4 hrs. LC4.
This transmitter connects to any electronic audio or visual surveillance device (mike, camera, etc.), turning it into a “bug.” Broadcast range is 1/2 mile.
A/V Transmitter (TL7). $500, 4 lbs., 2¥S/4 hrs. LC4.
A/V Transmitter (TL8). $500, 1 lb., 2¥S/4 hrs. LC4.
Tracking devices range from the benign – like the personal rescue beacon (p. 59) – to the more sinister “tracking bugs” used for surveillance. All communicate via radio and are subject to that medium’s inherent limitations (see Radio, pp. 37-40).
This is the classic Hollywood “tracking beacon” – a radio transmitter designed to be attached to a vehicle, hidden in a briefcase, etc. Its signal is detected using a radio direction finder (pp. 38-39). Anyone scanning for bugs has +4 to find this “noisy” device. Each tracker has a special coded signal that allows those who planted it to recognize it easily. Range is 25 miles.
Radio Beacon (TL7). $300, 0.5 lb., S/month. LC4.
Radio Beacon (TL8). $300, 0.25 lb., XS/month. LC4.
Cell phones (p. 39) broadcast a constant identification signal while turned on, even when not making calls. This is how the cellular network “knows” where to route incoming calls. Those with access to the network – e.g., government agents with a subpoena – can fix a cell phone’s location to within half a dozen blocks in an urban area or a few miles in a rural setting.
A cellular locator beacon is a GPS receiver (p. 53) that communicates its current position – accurate to within a few feet – over a cellular telephone network. A service ($50/month) is available that lets anyone with an Internet connection and the correct password track the beacon in real time. The locator may be set to transmit a record of its position history at regular intervals and then switch off its transmitter. While this prevents tracking in real time, it saves power and reduces the chance of detection. Multiply battery life by 10 for hourly updates, 100 for daily updates.
Cellular Beacon (TL8). This device can run off its onboard battery pack or be connected to a vehicle’s power supply for indefinite operation. It must be in reach of a cellular network to relay its position, and is susceptible to jamming. Triple cost for a version that uses satellite phone (pp. 39-40) technology, which can be tracked anywhere in the world. $1,500, 1 lb., S/week. LC4.
Personal Cellular Beacon (TL8). This is a smaller unit built into a wristwatch, bracelet, shackle, etc. $400, 0.1 lb., T/month. LC4.
Regardless of its Legality Class, surveillance gear is difficult to acquire “no strings attached.” Even in low-Control Rating areas, simply buying a bug or a wiretap from a novelty “spy shop” can attract unwanted attention. A credit card leaves a paper trail – and while you can always pay cash, anyone who sells security cameras will almost certainly have video of you making the purchase!
Luckily, such equipment isn’t difficult to build. The parts are common enough that purchasing them attracts little attention, and you might even be able to scavenge what you need from electronics purchased at a garage sale or dug out of the trash – a great use for Scrounging! Most audio and video bugs require about half a day’s work, $10 to $20 in materials, and an Electronics Repair (Surveillance) roll. Tiny projects are hard to pull off with a soldering gun, though. For any device smaller than a matchbox (SM -9), apply SM+9 as a penalty to skill; e.g., a 1/2” audio bug (SM -13) gives -4.
Passive sensors and audio-visual recorders are the basic tools of surveillance. Active sensors are useful if the subject lacks appropriate detection gear, or if letting him know he’s being watched isn’t a problem.
The devices that follow are useful for covertly obtaining information, or for following people or objects.
This device can tap into an optical or electrical cable line. It is a 100-yard, hair-thin optical cable ending in a clip head, connected to a pocket-sized unit which includes both a monitor and a recorder that uses standard computer storage media. An Electronics Operation (Surveillance) roll is needed to succeed without damaging the line being tapped into; tapping an optical cable is at -3 to skill. $500, 0.1 lb., A/100 hr. LC3.
This tiny tracer (SM -11) can be set to activate when it receives a coded signal (sleeper mode), or to broadcast continuously. Its signal can be picked up by radio emissions scanners up to 10 miles away. $40, neg., AA/100 hrs. (1 year in “sleeper” mode). LC4.
At higher TLs, its range is x5 at TL10, x20 at TL11, x100 at TL12.
A pinhead-sized sensor/recorder unit (SM -18) with an adhesive backing, which is usually placed somewhere where it can scan an entire room. Its camera and microphone can record constantly, listen for a specific voice before recording, scan at specific times of day, or scan when its sensors detect light or motion in the room. It includes a microcommunicator that can transmit recorded data in a short “burst” upon receiving a coded radio command. It can also be set to transmit after a specific time has passed. Once it transmits, it may be programmed to erase everything it has stored and begin recording again, or to self-destruct. It will also self-destruct if tampered with (roll vs. Explosives (EOD)-3 or Traps-3 to defuse). $100, AA (1 year).
Emissions Nanobug (TL9): As above, but instead of audiovisual sensors, it has field-emission sensors that can read data being sent to or from an electronic device that the bug is in direct contact with. It cannot read stored data that is not being accessed.
Microbot Nanobug (TL10): A single, tiny microbot spy (SM -16). As a regular nanobug, above, but add any microbot swarm chassis (pp. 35-36) at 1% the usual cost. Mobility is as per a cyberswarm. One hit destroys it.
This device turns any window or faceplate into a bug by reflecting an invisible laser beam off the glass and picking up vibrations caused by speech within the room. The user may roll Electronics Operation (Surveillance) to hear whatever is behind the window as if he were present on the other side of it. Extraneous noise such as loud music or running faucets is easily filtered out. Very heavy curtains, anti-laser coating, or triple-glazing may defeat this method; bug stompers and privacy field white-noise generators never do. Laser sensors can sense a laser mike.
Laser Microphone (TL9). Range 3,000 yards. $200, 2.5 lbs., C/10 hr. LC3.
Pocket Laser Mike (TL9). Range 300 yards. $40, 0.1 lb., A/1 hr. LC3.
Range is doubled at TL10, multiplied by five at TL11, and multiplied by 10 at TL12.
A flexible robotic snake only 0.1” wide and 2” long. These devices replace lower-TL endoscopes for examinations of body cavities or small cracks. Its light source illuminates a two-yard cone, and TL10+ worms also have Infravision. The user can see whatever the worm is looking at, but has No Depth Perception (p. B145).
The worm uses myoelectric muscles to flex and bend. It can be controlled via fiber-optic cable (to avoid emitting any signals), or it can operate using its built-in microcommunicator. A series of surveillance worms can also relay signals to each other. Surveillance worms provide +3 on Search attempts. A Vision-5 roll is required to spot the worm. $4,500, 2 lbs.
Designed to be disguised as a piece of candy, a raisin, a pill, or a seed, this is a disposable organic computer that activates once swallowed. It attaches itself to the user’s stomach, remaining in the body. It has its own microcommunicator, which only has a range of a few feet inside a body. That’s enough to contact any radio communicator implanted in or carried by the person who consumed the pill.
The computer is complexity 3, stores 1 TB, and costs $50. Its integral power supply operates it for one week.
Increase Complexity by +1 and data storage by a factor of 1,000 per TL after introduction.
Messenger Pill: A computer pill that incorporates a genetic scanner that can determine if it’s been swallowed by the right person (or family, or species, or whatever). If the scan comes up with a match, the pill will try to call the communicator of its host. If not, it self-destructs, and is dissolved by the body’s own digestive system. Messenger pills are double normal cost.
This microbot swarm (p. 35) mounts tiny video cameras and audio sensors, collectively equivalent to a nanobug (see p. 105). The swarm is programmed to remain in a particular place, observe for a period of time, and then return; it can also transmit information or be ordered to go to a different location. Base cost is $500/square yard; modify this for Swarm Chassis. LC3.