So, I buy a modular cyberlimb. I go for alpha, and now I have a nice little UCCP on my shoulder and I'm down .8 essence.

Now I buy an arm, trick it out, and put a modular adaptation on it for 500:nuyen:. Fine. But that arm isn't alphaware! Do I lose .2 essence when I snap it into place? What the fuck? What. The. Fuck.

Or maybe the "Universal Cyberware Connector Plug" isn't universal. Maybe, although it will accept limbs made by Evo, Cyberdynamics, Zeiss, Shiawase, or anyone else, it will only accept alpha-grade limbs.

Or maybe I get something for 'nothing', and wham, I can benefit from a tricked-out cyberlimb for less essence at only slightly over the standard price. No broke (given the general crappyness of cyberlimbs), but still odd.

So, which is it?

If you want an ingame justification, consider ware grades related technologies that are not integrateable.

No, there's really no "reason" that a modular cyberlimb of low quality would make you lose Essence over and above what you lost from getting your high quality stump attachment point. It's basically just like the question of rigging Invader Zim arms with your datajack. There's no reason that shouldn't work either.

Now personally I have no problem at all with people running low quality modular cyberlimbs through their high quality UCCP. Is it cheap? Sure it is. But cyberlimbs are too expensive, so I don't really look at it as people getting something that they aren't entitled to.

-Frank

Thanks for the responses.

So basically, the probable intention of the rules is that the UCCP for cyberware grades is a marketing ploy, and you'll get massively killed by corp commandos of you manage crack it (which is probably pretty difficult anyway).

However, I'd probably be better off just ignoring the whole thing and letting people 'plug and play' with whatever they find lying around.

Actually, I was just looking at the book, and noticed something:
Aug, 45, "Modular cyberlimbs feature a universal cyberware connector plug (UCCP) just below the wrist, elbow, ankle, or knee joint, allowing them to be easily detached and re-attached."

They can't detach at the shoulder/hip at all.

Don't forget, having it be modular adds to the availability and has a cost multiplier.

I was looking over the cyberware in Augmentation again, and I noticed another interesting thing: there are certain types of cyberware which can only be "installed in a cyberhand". I thought that odd, as there seemed no reason that a modification which could be installed in in a cyberhand could not be installed in a cyberarm. I read further, and noticed similar references to cyberfeet.

After pondering this for a while, I came to a realization: cyberarms have cyberhands! 'Well', you say, 'no shit Sherlock'. This subtlety, however, has eluded me for over a year. It certainly makes things easier when dealing with modular cyberlimbs (e.g. the limbs can be treated separately such that a full arm replacement can use a drone hand without appearing to have a congenital defect).

Anyway, just a little 'present' to those who didn't notice.

That is for gear, not for cyberlimbs.

Moduler cyberlimb is on page 46. And yes, 33k is a good deal worse than 30k. If you can get your limb under 30k, then its only 6 bp. If its 30,001 then it cost you 7bp.

has alpha grade been factored in yet?

Nope. Alpha grade makes that 30k limb 60k, and then modular makes it 66k.

Yes, however there is a difference. Page 46 is explicitly for cyberlimb implants. Page 47 is explicitly for gear. Thusly, if you want to make your cyberarm modular, you use page 46. If you want to have an autopicker hand replacement, you use page 47 for a modular autopicker.