Terminals

A terminal is a special technical device that allows you to interface with programs and data.

Each terminal is made up of 4 components:

• The terminal case
• The brand of the terminal
• The number of program ports and strand sockets
• The security Frame Board

The ability for you to use a terminal is based on the terminal’s complexity, therefore it has a gradient of licensing requirements depending on its components..

Under-Licensed Use. If you attempt to use any terminal that you do not have the license for, your inexperience makes it dangerous. There is a 30% chance that whenever you try to run a program or access data on the terminal, you instead corrupt the program chip or memory strand. A creature must spend 1 hour with a terminal and succeed a DC 20 database roll to de-corrupt a program chip or memory strand that was corrupted in such a way.

Quicklinks: Terminal Case | Terminal Brands | Terminal Ports and Sockets Manually Replacing & Installing | Terminal Frame Board | Cost

Terminal Case

The size of a terminal is determined by its case. There are 8 size categories of terminals.

Handheld terminals, as their name suggests, fit in the size of your hand and can be carried in a pocket. They come with a built-in screen and keyboard, allowing you to easily interface with the device. Handhelds typically act as people’s portable communication device and host useful programs you can use throughout the day.

Portable terminals are the size of small enough to fit in your lap and be carried in a backpack. They come with a built-in screen and a full-size keyboard. They are mainly employed as personal devices or by small businesses.

Integrated terminals are terminals meant to be integrated into armor or other devices. They do not have a built-in screen or keyboard as you are expected to interface with them through another device.

Workstation terminals are terminals meant to occupy a worker’s desk. They come with large screens, keyboards, and easily accessible ports and sockets. Workstations are the most common type of terminal used in businesses.

Bio terminals are cranium bio-modifications and additionally require a level II bio-modification licence to operate. They are fused onto your skull through surgery and are generally permanent unless removed. They can be used through thought alone, and have no other interfacing options. Memory strands and program chips can be inserted through removing a discrete compartment on the back of your head. Bio terminals are used only by highly trained professionals (such as surgeons, soldiers, and technicians) who frequently rely on using a terminal in their everyday work.

Tower terminals are terminals that stand taller than a person and are wider than a cabinet. Small businesses employ them as memory holds or as a shared terminal used by multiple individuals. Tower terminals can come with built-in screens or terminals, but many opt to use other display devices.

Keep terminals are terminals that occupy an entire closet or small room. They do not come with built-in screens or terminals, relying entirely on external display devices. Companies use keep terminals as super holds or as shared terminals used by entire offices or departments.

Superterminals are the largest size of terminal commercially available. They occupy entire floors of buildings. Only government offices or large corporations use Superterminal, utilizing them as super holds or Mainframes. Larger terminals, known as Megaterminals, can be built, but they must be individually commissioned and custom built.

The maximum and minimum case size of a terminal available to you is based on your technical licensing level.

• Unlicensed: Handheld, Portable
• Technical License I: Bio, Integrated, Workstation
• Technical License II: Tower, Keep
• Technical License III: Superterminal

Each case size has some innate properties and costs associated with it:

Terminal Brands

Multiple companies make prefabricated terminals for different markets and industries. The brand that a terminal is made by has various effects on its potential. Each brand has a special property, and offers limited case sizes. You can purchase a terminal from any of the following brands:

Cybros makes Bio and Integrated terminals. Cybros terminals are invisible once integrated and any neural cord connected into it also becomes invisible.

Mechani makes terminals of all sizes except for bio and integrated. Mechani terminals are waterproof and drop-proof. The weight of the terminal is increased by 100% and it ignores the effects of intense heat, cold, and pressure. It is able to function fine at the bottom of an ocean or when submerged in lava.

Otova makes Handheld and Portable terminals only. Otova terminals appear as simple objects or devices, making them undetectable. A handheld may appear as a book, and a portable terminal may appear as a briefcase. Only people who know it is an otova terminal or see it in use will know it’s true nature.

Scrypher makes Workstations, Towers, Keeps, and Superterminals. Scrypher terminals innately compress and decompress data. All data saved onto a memory strand by a scrypher terminal uses up half the normal amount of neurons. Non-scrypher devices are unable to read this compressed data, though a scrypher terminal can decompress this data.

Solarium makes Handhelds and Portables. The final cost of a solarium terminal is doubled, but is able to access a unique OWW on the Solis Fragment that only Solarium brand terminals can connect into (without requiring a network program chip).

Zuminos makes Handhelds, Portable, Workstation, and Tower terminals. Zuminos terminals have their energy cell drain interval doubled. When using a grid connection, the terminals use half the amount of energy necessary to operate.

Terminal Ports and Sockets

Terminals have ports and sockets. The amount of ports or sockets determines the functionality of a terminal and what you can do with the terminal.

Ports are used to insert and house program chips. For a program to function properly, the program’s chip must be inside one of the terminal’s ports any time you run the program.

Sockets are used to insert and hold memory strands. When memory strands are placed inside a socket, the memory data written on them can be accessed, created, altered, or deleted.

A terminal has a maximum number of places to insert program ports and strand sockets, as determined by the case size. Both program ports and strand sockets cost 5 credits each. They are soldered onto the terminal’s case and cannot be removed without disassembling and reconfiguring the terminal.

Manually Replacing & Installing

Ports and sockets are generally installed at the time of construction. For existing terminals, ports and sockets can be added or removed. A creature with high enough licensing to operate the terminal can attempt this. As an action, the creature can make a DC 8 Technology roll. On a success, the port or socket is successfully removed or installed (depending on the chosen action). Replacing a port or socket takes two actions, one to remove, and a second to install.

A technician hired for this will typically be charged by the port or socket in addition to the material costs. The most common pricing models are listed below:

• Unlicensed: 1 credit to remove or replace up to 5 ports or sockets.
• Technical I: 1 credit to remove or replace up to 20 ports or sockets.
• Technical II: 1 credit to remove or replace up to 10 ports or sockets.
• Technical III: 1 credit to remove or replace 5 ports or sockets.

Terminal Frame Board

The Frame Board is a physical component of terminals that virtually separates incoming traffic from terminal’s programs and memory strands. This placement forces any incoming connections to move through the frame board first and allows security programs to intercept those connections.

A terminal does not need a frame board to function, but are necessary for virtual combat and to defend a terminal from malicious actors. A frame board has an additional cost to be installed (see the below table).

Frame Boards have specific slots on them that allow for only one kind of security program (grunt, wyrms, fortifications, or walls). Once these programs are inserted into a programming port, they can occupy a slot on the frame board in virtual combat.  Each case size has its own arrangement and size of frame boards and the number of slots are determined by the case size.

Megaterminals and other custom built terminals can have a custom number of slots for each type of program and typically have limitations far beyond the standards listed above.

Cost

The cost of a terminal is determined by its case size, number of ports and sockets, and the frame board. The formula is listed below:

• Terminal Price = Case Cost + Frame Board Cost + (Number Ports and Sockets) × 5

Luxury modifications, such as light up displays, brand coloring, or other decor add additional costs that must be negotiated with the manufacturer.