[Herr Brackhaus]

Wholeheartedly agreed, Whiskeyjack.

Given that the Repairing Matrix Damage section of both the core book and Data Trails does not list any special tests for repairing a damaged internal commlink, it would be house rule territory to introduce such. By RAW, you can fix even an internal cyberdeck or commlink with just a hardware toolkit and some time.

ETA:
I think the Data Lock is far more appropriate for people who want to keep data secure in headware, as it is described as effectively turning the person it is installed in into a "walking data safe". An implanted commlink, to my mind then, isn't mean to function like a data lock, it's merely a communications device that you always have with you and that provides both DNI and a sim module.

[Rooks]

Ya I always ruled the internal commlink can be accessed by a slide out mount to be repaired replaced with stronger more powerful commlink.

[Senko]

I'd imagine so as well there's way to many times you'd need to access a comlink repairs, upgrades, modifications for an implanted comlink/cyberdeck to need surgery to repair. I imagine the surgery is to install the connections/access not any specific comlink.

[Marcus Gideon]

If the internal Commlinks and Cyberdecks are so readily accessible, then what's the point? It's one thing to be super covert and have a Cyberdeck hidden away that nobody can take away from you. If tugging on your ear lobe causes it to eject out the side of your neck, then your captors are still going to take it away.

And if everybody thinks that technology is just going to keep getting smaller and smaller that there's no worry about fitting anything, then why aren't all these things little tiny grains of rice you just get injected and forget about entirely? Why are Cyberdecks described as a Tablet sized piece of equipment, when they should obviously be a fleck of sand in the corner of your eye. You should be able to stash a million nu¥en worth of Fairlight merchandise on the head of a pin.

Or... you give your players options, trade-offs, and ramifications for choosing one thing over the other. If you want an easily concealed device implanted, then the trade-off is that it's not readily accessible, and you can't really walk around with a USB thumb drive sticking out your ear. If you want to have something easily modified and adapted, you're gonna need to keep it in your backpack instead.

[ScytheKnight]

If the internal Commlinks and Cyberdecks are so readily accessible, then what's the point? It's one thing to be super covert and have a Cyberdeck hidden away that nobody can take away from you. If tugging on your ear lobe causes it to eject out the side of your neck, then your captors are still going to take it away.

And if everybody thinks that technology is just going to keep getting smaller and smaller that there's no worry about fitting anything, then why aren't all these things little tiny grains of rice you just get injected and forget about entirely? Why are Cyberdecks described as a Tablet sized piece of equipment, when they should obviously be a fleck of sand in the corner of your eye. You should be able to stash a million nu¥en worth of Fairlight merchandise on the head of a pin.

Or... you give your players options, trade-offs, and ramifications for choosing one thing over the other. If you want an easily concealed device implanted, then the trade-off is that it's not readily accessible, and you can't really walk around with a USB thumb drive sticking out your ear. If you want to have something easily modified and adapted, you're gonna need to keep it in your backpack instead.

1: no-one is saying this.

2: They're so big because they have multiple input modes including a touch screen... strip them back so that the only I/O is DNI and Simsense and you'll save a ton of space, most of that in the screen itself!

3: No-one is saying that it's "Easy" only in that it doesn't require cybersurgery levels of skill.

Also, there's never any desription of the size, they could be the size of your wireless mouse/wifi/whatever reciever, in which case they should be able to go into an internalized port quite easily.

[Pap Renvela]

RAW, cybertechnology can be used to modify or upgrade cybernetics in a cyberlimb.
Otherwise all implantation, modification or removal is medicine skill.

Why would an implanted Commlink be different than any other cybernetics?
If a Commink comes in and out as easily as some implied, that should be implicitly stated as it would be an exception.

[ScytheKnight]

RAW, cybertechnology can be used to modify or upgrade cybernetics in a cyberlimb.
Otherwise all implantation, modification or removal is medicine skill.

Why would an implanted Commlink be different than any other cybernetics?
If a Commink comes in and out as easily as some implied, that should be implicitly stated as it would be an exception.

On the other hand, repairing a Cyberdeck or Comlink is generally stated as using Hardware skill. However the implanted ones have no mention of requiring Cybertechnology, thus providing no specific rules of their own to override general rule.

[Pap Renvela]

RAW, cybertechnology can be used to modify or upgrade cybernetics in a cyberlimb.
Otherwise all implantation, modification or removal is medicine skill.

Why would an implanted Commlink be different than any other cybernetics?
If a Commink comes in and out as easily as some implied, that should be implicitly stated as it would be an exception.

On the other hand, repairing a Cyberdeck or Comlink is generally stated as using Hardware skill. However the implanted ones have no mention of requiring Cybertechnology, thus providing no specific rules of their own to override general rule.

other than the fact that it's implanted- which is why I don't implant cyberdecks/comlinks inside my body.

[Herr Brackhaus]

If the internal Commlinks and Cyberdecks are so readily accessible, then what's the point?

What is the point indeed; it's not real clear as far as I'm concerned.

The obvious benefit is that an implanted commlink comes with a sim module and grants DNI (not just DNI, but SUPER DNI). An implied benefit is that you can't exactly forget or lose your implanted commlink easily.

If you want to keep data safe as a covert operative, however, an implanted commlink or deck is not the answer; that's where the Data Lock comes in with it's Rating 12 maximum. That's not to say that an implanted commlink isn't necessarily covert; since you've got DNI you can turn it off with a thought, making it much harder to find. If you're captured and have access to information on your link that your captors want, all it takes is a millimeter wave scanner and a hit or two to locate it, and nothing is stopping a dedicated attacker from just pulling that thing out with a pair of pliers if they don't care about your health.

So for me, the risks of an implanted commlink requiring surgery to remove in order to perform basic maintenance and or repair far outweighs the benefits of having it be removable from an in-game perspective. It just makes more sense to me that it's the latter, not the former. Your mileage may vary.

[Novocrane]

If you want to keep data safe as a covert operative, however, an implanted commlink or deck is not the answer; that's where the Data Lock comes in with it's Rating 12 maximum.

You just gave me an idea - take a rating twelve data lock, and install a persona firmware module in it. You'll need to figure out how to connect to it (and establish wireless connection), but otherwise it may be the most impregnable persona option yet.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Or a Program Carrier so you can run an Agent on it. You'll literally have voices in your head!

[Rooks]

I'd imagine so as well there's way to many times you'd need to access a comlink repairs, upgrades, modifications for an implanted comlink/cyberdeck to need surgery to repair. I imagine the surgery is to install the connections/access not any specific comlink.

Ya its called the hardware skill

If tugging on your ear lobe causes it to eject out the side of your neck, then your captors are still going to take it away.

Right cause your captors automatically know your personal secret way to access your own personal commlink

And if everybody thinks that technology is just going to keep getting smaller and smaller that there's no worry about fitting anything, then why aren't all these things little tiny grains of rice you just get injected and forget about entirely?

Those are RFID tags

Why are Cyberdecks described as a Tablet sized piece of equipment,

To be accessable to non AR users

If you want an easily concealed device implanted, then the trade-off is that it's not readily accessible, and you can't really walk around with a USB thumb drive sticking out your ear. If you want to have something easily modified and adapted, you're gonna need to keep it in your backpack instead.

Or disguise it as an ear ring or any other piece of wearable usb technology that we have available today *drops mic

[Nightmare]

Looks like I've found a spot that Catalyst needs to look into and maybe set up some rules for....didn't expect that....

[k_night]

On a related note,
what are your opinions on weapon commlinks and dongles?

[Hobbes]

If tugging on your ear lobe causes it to eject out the side of your neck, then your captors are still going to take it away.

Right cause your captors automatically know your personal secret way to access your own personal commlink

Why would you need some secret hand jive to open it/eject something?  It's a DNI link.

Anyway, RAW, implanted Commlinks and Cyberdecks can be worked on the same as any other Commlink or Cyberdeck.  Matrix damage is repairable by a Hardware check, doesn't matter what device, implanted or not.  Implanted Cyberdecks and Commlinks can have Mods or Dongles or whatever the same as the non-implanted ones.  Houserule if you want, but RAW, implanted or not they're the treated the same for repairing, accessorizing, or modding.