[Lord_Puppy]

So I had an idea to play as a Rigger & The Hacker for the Party, but that's proving to be really expensive. I was wondering if anyone has seen rules for using a Cyber Deck like a RCC or vice versa.

[adzling]

Ditch the RCC and use Control Action to remote control the drone from your deck.

this means you will favor a few high value and better spec'd drones as you cannot benefit from Swarm and all the goodies an RCC and support.

It's still effective for a part time rigger however.

Our Decker put a sniper rifle on a rotodrone and stood off, using the drone to attack in meatspace when he wasnt doing matrix stuff (or while he did matrix stuff).

it can work

[Jack_Spade]

There is a drone program that lets you give them all the same command with one action without needing an RCC

That said, adzling is right: Concentrate on your deck. If you absolutely need an RCC take one of the cheap ones and add a program carrier (virtual machine) mod to increase the number of programs you can run.

You can also save a bit of money by having the right qualities for your decker side:
Perfect time lets you switch your attack and defense every round (especially with two configurator programs for the right load out)
Overclocker is a must to increase your main stat
Modding also lets you transfer a point from one attribute to an other
Add cyberprograms for an additional +1

That way even an Erika MCD-1 can operate as a 7311 deck
Add a program carrier (virtual machine) so you can run one attribute enhancer, configurator and one other program.

[DeathofVirtue]

  Yeah Adzling nailed it here, you wont be getting your dived in and rcc bonuses but your dropping a lot of the essence and NY costs while keeping some of the utility, if you want to improve later on I'm fairly sure theres a headware rcc you can get implanted to add some of those benefits.

  You can also use drones as overwatch for you while your in the matrix which is always nice if your the kind of decker who likes to sit back a little away from the action without direct support from his/her group.

[Dwagonzhan]

Even a single mobile drone works wonders for your utility.
Ambush, recon, long-term surveillance, robo-doc; all of these things are great for characters packing solid mental attributes (esp INT and LOG, the two workhorse stats of hackers at large).

[Kuirem]

There is a way to use a RCC like limited Cyberdeck, it's not the most efficient way but it exists. Put a 'Add Sleaze Modification' and 'Increase Sleaze Modification' on your RCC then pick the Practice, Practice, Practice (Hacking) quality. It will gives you a limit of 3 for your Hacking test, you can then add Programs like Exploit, Stealth or Smoke and Mirrors to raise it further.

The cost is still lower than a high end Cyberdeck but you will be limited to one aspect of the decker (either Hacking or Cybercombat).

[Fabe]

There is a way to use a RCC like limited Cyberdeck, it's not the most efficient way but it exists. Put a 'Add Sleaze Modification' and 'Increase Sleaze Modification' on your RCC then pick the Practice, Practice, Practice (Hacking) quality. It will gives you a limit of 3 for your Hacking test, you can then add Programs like Exploit, Stealth or Smoke and Mirrors to raise it further.

The cost is still lower than a high end Cyberdeck but you will be limited to one aspect of the decker (either Hacking or Cybercombat).

 Interesting that sounds like it might be a good way for a rigger to go on the defensive without having to rely on a decker.