[Omnibobatron]

So I was just wondering if it is possible to have cyberarms attached without removing your real arms? (Kinda like the Nartaki but not them) so you can have say... two real arms and a fake one

[Mirikon]

It would likely require more extensive reworking of the existing meat, including at least a cybertorso to make it work. Probably would come with an increased nuyen and essence cost as well. But yes, it is (theoretically) possible.

[Omnibobatron]

Yea I hadn't thought of the cybertorso part. Also, on a total badass note, is it possible to mount guns on your shoulders that pop out of a cybertorso?

[Mirikon]

No, but you can get the articulated weapon mount for that Predator look.

[RHat]

So far as the extra arms go, I do see one major issue:  Cyberlimbs are controlled through a DNI; the brain essentially manipulates the arm the same way it already knows how.  And your brain doesn't have neural connections formed to allow it to control a third arm.

[Mithlas]

It could be learned if you go through enough training, but like with language acquisition there is a limit to neural plasticity and you're almost guaranteed to be looking at things like -6 dice pool modifiers for trying do do anything while the extra cyberlimbs are activated. Unless you were grafted with them while a toddler, but in that case you've got significant medical costs and Records on File at a minimum.

So yes, it's not likely to happen.

[RHat]

I'd look at it more like cyber-eyes for someone born blind - they just don't work if they're not implanted early enough, because the brain doesn't have the first idea of what to do with it.  If the signals can't get from one place to the other, there's no learning as can be done.

[Mithlas]

The book does explicitly mention that cybereyes have been used for years to replace faulty and missing vision.

However, I remember the strength of neural wiring - in biopsych, I read an article about kittens who had an eyepatch attached practically from birth and left on until they were approximately 10 months (if I remember correctly). The eyepatch was removed and they were blind in the covered eye - the neural wiring developed as if there was no input from that eye, though they could still see through the other one. As mysterious and troublesome as the central nervous system is, I seriously doubt we're going to be solving that any time in the next few centuries.

[RHat]

There are different causes of blindness.  From Runners Companion:

"Neither replacement nor sensory bypass are available for neurological-based Reduced (Sense) impairments" - if you never had vision, you never developed the neural wiring for it, and that would make it neurological based.  Experiments have been done on animals where they were deprived of their vison by some means or another after they were born, and when later they were no longer being deprived of their vision they were still not able to see.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

Seems pretty conclusive, then.  Attaching additional cyberarms wouldn't be good, because you wouldn't be able to use them.

[Mirikon]

Agreed.

[RHat]

The exception, of course, is characters with Shiva Arms.

[UmaroVI]

That does suggest that you could do this if you hooked cyberlimbs up to someone from birth. If you want to allow it, I would suggest charging 30 karma (or 15 bp) and tacking on Distinctive Style, to represent the time investment in learning to use extra limbs and the wierdness factor, and definitely charging the essence for the extra cyberlimbs.

[Mirikon]

And be sure to get a DAMN good backstory on why some parent/corp/thing implanted two extra arms on an infant.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

And why they would spend that much money.  If they were implanted at birth, they would need replaced very frequently to account for growth.