[GM_Clay]

Good day 2070'ers,

I am getting ready to start my groups first run with the Core Rules. I was reading about Commlink implants, with a Device Rating (DR) above 5 so it would be inside the skull if I'm not mistaken. How would one repair that Commlink once it is damaged (like after a cyber attack of some kind)? Would they have to use a medical/healing type skill to gain access to the device and then do an extended repair test as well? or could I just increase the threshold of the repair test?

Thanks in advance. And please don't be too hard on me (Phrasing Boom!) if this is a stupid question, or is covered later in the Core Rules. As this is my first crack at being a GM of any game.
If in any book, please provide page number with your response.

Love GM_Clay

[Namikaze]

Fortunately for your victims players, the commlink itself actually slides out from the skull implant.  The implant is like a server rack, and the commlink is like a server blade.

[Michael Chandra]

Since they can be implanted anywhere (skull, arm, torso) and are of relatively small size, the assumption (and confirmed by Aaron, though that's never 100% support) is that it's accessable from the outside. Added bonus is that this way a GM could decide it can be replaced, though you'd need an adjusted version since what's fit for your pocket isn't fit for inside your body and vice versa.

[Csjarrat]

At most, it would require cyber tech test (from biotech group). Any half decent street doc contact would be able to get access to it, though the rules for repair could either by cyber tech or hardware depending on GM interpretation

[Sendaz]

Fortunately for your victims players, the commlink itself actually slides out from the skull implant.  The implant is like a server rack, and the commlink is like a server blade.

This version makes a lot of sense as unlike a lot of cyber, you will probably rotate through a number of comms in your lifetime as newer versions come along..  So you will switch out your Apple 60 IComm for the new 61 coming out in the spring.

Just pay, pop and go.

[Reaver]

Fortunately for your victims players, the commlink itself actually slides out from the skull implant.  The implant is like a server rack, and the commlink is like a server blade.

I have never heard of this. Where did you find that implant description???

Thanks!

[Imveros]

I have always imagined it like this. You would move a little skin flap and then boom comlink parts mounted to your skull. Mr. Street Doc does all your upgrading here. Why give you plug and play when apple brand medical technicians need a slice of that new phone money pie too!

[8-bit]

I would assume the implant is easily accessible, if only for upgrades and repair. It would be rather inconvenient (not to mention dangerous) if you had to crack open a patient's skull just to repair a malfunctioning headlink.

[Jokersbtmbeach]

IMO, head links are not easily removed, as there is an entire device used to inhibit implanted commlinks. That's the inherent danger of an implanted commlink - if it bricks you need to go through the whole process to get a new one again. If it gets damaged, then I can see a cyberware check to get it fixed as opposed to a simple hardware repair, your decker isn't gonna be as able to bust out the soldering iron when the thing is inside your head.

[Namikaze]

I have never heard of this. Where did you find that implant description???

Thanks!

The description is based on a post by Aaron from...  god knows when.  It was a long time ago though.

IMO, head links are not easily removed, as there is an entire device used to inhibit implanted commlinks.

I think you're thinking of implanted cyberdecks - unless I've missed some device that is designed to inhibit a totally legal modification that is "popular with corporate operatives, company men, and sararimen on the go."

[Jokersbtmbeach]

P441 SR5 core: headjammer: the headjammer device is used by security personnel to neutralize implanted commlinks. When it's attached to your head (or any other body part) and activated, it works in the same way as any other jammer, with its effects limited to you an your augmentations. Removing a headjammer from someone without the proper key requires a Hardware + Logic [Mental] or a Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (8, 1 Complex Action) Extended Test. Removing a Headjammer from yourself without the proper key is an Escape Artist + Agility [Physical] (4) Test, requiring a complex action.

I mean since a deck is a digital Swiss Army knife, it's probably used on decker a with implanted decks most often. But pretty much anyone tht "security personnel" don't want calling their friends is probably going to have a headjammer slapped on them. Which is also why I believe that implanted commlinks can't be repaired with a hardware test. The threshold for someone else to remove a headjammer is double what it is for the person who has it on.

[Michael Chandra]

Yes, but that's a headjammer that's meant to not be removable. It's a security procedure aimed AGAINST the person wearing it. Meanwhile, the implanted comms/decks are probably hidden but should be quite doable to fix. There is, after all, no rule that says implanted commlinks are excluded from normal repair rules. Furthermore Aaron said they are not. Even though Aaron's word is not 100% reliable, it's still a reasonable move.

You say you can see a cyberware check, but here's the thing: There is no support in the rules for that. So you're effectively deciding on a houserule and presenting it as what you think RAI is, and that is a rather muddled argument.

[Jokersbtmbeach]

One of the specializations listed for Cybertechnology skill is "headware" as well as "repair", and an implanted commlink is described in, priced with, and in the subsection of headware. Now if the implanted commlink weren't implanted at the time I could see a hardware check. But once it is incorporated into the body of a person, either it comes out for a hardware check, or a Cybertechnology check for it to have not been removed from the persons head as it will be a piece of cyberware until it is no longer biologically attached. That's how it's been in the groups I've played with, anyway. Now, Medicine is precluded from repairing or maintaining implanted devices, but it is required for implanting or removing them. Given the utter lack of specificity in nearly every other area of rules, it is what you make it, play it how you like. All I can do here is discuss why I play this situation the way that I do.

TL;DR hardware after medicine to remove, or Cybertechnology to skip the surgery at my table.

[Michael Chandra]

You're arguing from the perspective that the commlink itself is also fully implanted, whereas others argue from the perspective that the slot is the main implant and the commlink more like a dvd into a drive, or a removable harddrive that you plug into a slot. So your arguments run flat because they do not acknowledge that difference in opinion. Plus the argument would not work on commlinks implanted into cyberlimbs.

Furthermore, once again there is nothing in the rules suggesting you cannot easily repair a bricked implanted commlink AND Aaron said it's not necessary to perform surgery when he was asked for an official standpoint on this exact debate. Now I know his explanations are not 100%-certain official, but it's still incredibly close to official designer intent so it's a bit troubling you do not acknowledge that argument in any way and claim there is no specificity at all.

Considering repairing Matrix Damage now takes a Hardware + Logic Extended Test, how does one go about repairing Matrix Damage for Cyberware, especially the Commlink and Cyberdeck Headware Augmentations? Can someone with this augmentation make the test on themselves, or would it require surgery?

All the user-serviceable parts of cyberware with wireless bonuses are accessible without surgery.

TL;DR: If you want to rule it like that at your table, that's fine, but please realize your arguments run into some serious problems regarding RAW+RAI and the near-official FAQ. Nothing wrong with houserules but in the end that's what your table has: a houserule.

[Xenon]

How would one repair that Commlink once it is damaged (like after a cyber attack of some kind)?

SR5 p. Repairing Matrix Damage
If you have a device with Matrix damage, you can repair it with a toolkit, an hour of work, and a Hardware + Logic [Mental] test. Every hit you get can be used to either remove one box of Matrix damage or cut the time required in half; the first die spent toward time reduces the time to half an hour, the second to 15 minutes, and so on, to a minimum of one Combat Turn (3 seconds). Bricked or not, the device is off-line and unusable during the repair process.

Would they have to use a medical/healing type skill to gain access to the device and then do an extended repair test as well?

No.

or could I just increase the threshold of the repair test?

No.