Do regular old prosthetics still exist? Options

[FXcalibur]

Y'know, the prosthetic limbs of today. They'd be less wieldy, but I can't imagine even a well-off regular family paying 75-100k for a cyberlimb if someone in their family met with an accident...or do such prosthetics already cost so much IRL? I doubt it, but I don't know the price.

[Tyron]

I'm sure there are. Regardless of the level of technology that exists in the Sixth World, there are still plenty of poor people who simply can't afford the good stuff. Espicially since the way M&M describes public hospitals, I'm certain there are a great deal of people whom just have to settle with an old fashioned prosthetic limb.

[RedmondLarry]

Yes, regular prosthetic limbs are available. They cost no essence, and are used by the poor, by the Samurai who can't afford any more essence loss, and by magicians who don't want any essence loss, or simply by people waiting to get enough money to grow a new limb.

[Phaeton]

How ARE 2060s public hospitals according to M&M, Tyron? I'd look myself if I had any more books besides the BBB. :(

[FXcalibur]

No essence loss? Don't they have some form of neural connectivity? I do seem to recall a newsflash on this prosthetic hand which could do simple finger movements a few years ago...Not entirely sure, but I do remember. Bleh, my memory's weak. Can anybody clarify?

And for that matter, how much nuyen/essence cost is a pacemaker?

[Phaeton]

Well, I'd say that you could just use stats similar to those of a biomonitor, albeit with reduced cost and essence...

[Tyron]

Here ya go Phaeton!

Pg 142, M&M:

"Theoretically, anyone can walk into one of these centers and get care. Realistically, if an individual doesn't have cred or a SIN, he's pushed to the end of the line and may even be legally denied service despite the Hippocratic oath. Public health centers are usually overwhelmed by the poor and downtrodden, who have no other access to medical care. Getting medical attention usually requires a wait of at least several hours, unless the character's situation is dire."

Also(Same page):

"The quality of service in public hospitals is average at best. Most doctors find better paying corporate jobs. Racism and class bias are prevalent; a human suit can expect to see a doctor faster than an ork squatter."

[LaughingTiger]

well off or moderatley well off or even slightly well off families should have medical insurance which would cover the cost of the cyberlimb.

[RangerJoe]

That's just what I was wondering. What is the difference in cost between a cyberlimb and a vat-clone? Would such a difference be important to an insuarance company?

[LaughingTiger]

I would imagine since vat clones require genetic matching and can't be assembled on assembly lines and don't have spare parts, that cloned limbs would be more expensive. You're also trusting a company with your genetic information. I'd cloned replacements should be more expensive than cyber replacements. I'd also say that only your higher priced insurance companies deal in those kind of replacements. I can see Lloyd's of London insuring a model's legs for several million, and having vat copies ready in case they get mangled or severed in some freak accident. Not so much with American Family.

[BitBasher]

Ah no. Cloned limbs are 50k Cyberlimbs are up to 100k.

[LaughingTiger]

[GreatChicken]

Actually, they're MUCH harder. You might see cloning as 'copying a software from nature's standard template', whereas creating a cyberlimb is doing everything from scratch...WITHOUT the copy function.

Edit: And no, you can't mass produce cyberlimbs simply because you have to make them fit the body in question.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

[Kagetenshi]

For higher premiums, sure. Limb loss probably isn't too common.

~J

[MrSandman666]

I just looked at that section in the books and was slightly surprised... they say they can't clone a single body part, instead they always grow a complete donor body... so how come there are different prices for different organs and how come they have a different growth time??? Shouldn't the growth time be the same for all organs and body parts if they have to get a complete body to mature first? And shouldn't the price be the same no matter what part they will be using? (The price could be different since the clinic can sell off the "left-overs" to other people seeking donors)

[Cain]

Not necessarily. Shadowtech went over this best-- the forced-growth process emphasizes the desired organ above everything else, which causes the rest to be atrophied and useless.

[eidolon]

[Abstruse]

That's only in general terms. ALL cyberware has to be customized to the individual at least somewhat. Limbs, torsos, skulls, etc. all need to be tailored to the specific user, otherwise you'll end up with your "realistic looking" cyberware being twice the size as your natural arm with patchy hair and "Denmark Forever" and "I *HEART* Candy" tattooed on it.

The Abstruse One

[GreatChicken]

^ Now that would be a worthy description of the 'used' flaw when buying cyberware....

[Abstruse]

BTW, stats for peg legs and hook hands are in Man and Machine. Don't have the page number handy though.

The Abstruse One

[Young Freud]

[MrSandman666]

[Abstruse]

Actually, either by luck or by intent, FASA came up with a nice little thing to solve this problem. The Crash of 2029.

Lots of important computer systems went down for good during the crash, and untolds exobytes (that's 1,000,000 gigs) of information was lost forever. If there's some tech developed in the real world that's not in Shadowrun or would spoil something in Shadowrun, then it was lost in the crash.

The Abstruse One