Cyberarm

Lore & Background

In the Shadowrun megacities, the line between human and machine is drawn in millimetres of titanium and myomer. A cyberarm is where that line is most visible: a runner walks into a bar, the sleeve falls, and the cold gleam of a matte-black forearm catches the neon. It is not exotic. It is not a status symbol in the way a full cyberdeck or a mag-locked skull plate might be. It is simply the arm that is there, the one that does not tire, does not bleed, and can house a 9 mm pistol in the forearm housing without a single visible seam.

The Rigger who installs the arm works in a sterile bay, threading nerve cables into the residual socket where the biological limb was once. The process is painful, the recovery is measured in weeks, and the first time the runner flexes the new fingers the feeling is described in tabletop lore as 'wrong, then right, then just.' Once healed, the arm is indistinguishable in function from the organic one—except it does not flinch, does not shiver in the rain, and can be swapped for a different model at the next Rigger appointment.

In the video game adaptations, the cyberarm is elevated from background detail to a core mechanical pillar. In Dragonfall and Hong Kong, the choice of cyberarm at the start of a run shapes the entire combat loop: which weapons slot into the forearm, what bonuses apply to melee or ranged attacks, and how the character's silhouette reads in the dark. It is the first and most consequential gear decision a new runner makes, and the one that stays with them through every alley, rooftop, and boardroom that follows.

In Their Own Story

The rain on the Sprawl never really stopped; it just changed pressure. Kael pressed the cyberarm against the wet concrete wall and felt the micro-grippers bite, each finger adjusting with a soft hydraulic whisper. The forearm housing was empty tonight—no 9 mm, no breaching tool—just the bare titanium plate catching the amber glow of a flickering street sign. She flexed the fingers. Three, four, five. The knuckle joints clicked in a rhythm that was not quite human, not quite machine, and entirely hers. Somewhere below, a car alarm screamed and died. She pulled the arm free, the grippers releasing with a faint hiss, and turned back toward the stairwell. The job was in twenty minutes. The arm would be ready before the first shot was fired. It always was.

Reader's Guide

In the Shadowrun video games, the cyberarm is the single most consequential piece of starting gear. In Dragonfall and Hong Kong, you select a cyberarm profile early in character creation, and that choice ripples through every combat encounter: it determines which forearm-mounted weapons you can equip, what passive bonuses you carry into a firefight, and how your melee and ranged damage scales.

Sourcing is straightforward. In-world, a Rigger installs the arm in a licensed clinic or a back-alley black-market bay. In-game, you acquire or upgrade cyberarms through the equipment menu, vendor shops, and mission rewards. Higher-tier arms unlock additional weapon slots, improved durability, and specialised tool functions such as lockpicking, signal jamming, or enhanced grip for heavy weapons.

What makes a cyberarm iconic in the setting is its duality. It is simultaneously a prosthetic and a weapon platform. A runner with a stock industrial arm fights differently from one with a combat-grade forearm housing a built-in pistol. The arm is not an add-on; it is the chassis. Build around it. Choose the arm that matches the kind of runner you want to be—bruiser, precision shooter, or utility specialist—and the rest of your loadout will follow.

Did You Know?

• In the Shadowrun tabletop RPG, cyberarms are available in multiple quality tiers, and the tier you choose affects both the arm's performance and its cost at the Rigger's table.
• A cyberarm in the Shadowrun setting can house a built-in weapon in the forearm, meaning the arm itself is both the limb and the gun—no separate holster required.
• In Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Shadowrun: Hong Kong, the cyberarm choice is made during character creation and shapes the entire combat build, making it one of the first and most impactful decisions a new player makes.
• Riggers—the licensed cyberware installers who fit cyberarms—are a distinct profession in the Shadowrun world, operating in sterile clinics or unlicensed black-market bays depending on the runner's budget and discretion.