Mage Net Interfaces — deck without cyberware

Game: Orion Corridor — 2277 · Rules: GURPS 4e Status: Table canon (locked Jul 17 2026) — Path B.

Companions: Netrunning · Three-Plane & Black ICE · Life-Cells · Magic System

The question

Can a mage become a netrunner without chrome implants?

Yes. They use an enchanted interface — worn gear that opens a dive channel. They still need Computer Programming and program Techniques. Magic pays the life tax; it does not write the code for free.

Cosmology lock (same as Draw Power)

Net signals are dead data — no life in them. Space is a mana desert; magic = life.

The interface does not convert packets into mana. The mage vivifies the channel: spends a little of themselves (FP / Strain) so dead signal becomes something they can ride. Same spirit as Draw Power ruling C (vivified / lossy) on the ship reactor.

Astral ≠ Net. You cannot assense ICE as spirits or project into a host by default. Three tracks stay separate.

What we rejected

Path	Why not default
A — Mundane jack only	Works, but ignores “magical implant / item”
C — Depth / Dermidine fusion	Blurs Net / VR / Astral — black-clinic plot nuke, not chargen

Devices (no surgery)

Item	Form	Default sim	₡ band	Role
Vivified Trodes	Enchanted headset / temple pads	Cold (−2 offensive Techniques)	₡2,500–4,500	Entry kit. Safest.
Weavejack Circlet	Worn crown / circlet	Hot capable	₡8,000–15,000	Primary mage deck. Looks like jewelry.
Life-Cell Coupler	Clip / socket for a Life-Cell	Extends either	₡1,200–2,800 + Cell	Burns Cell charge before personal FP

Requirements: Magery 1+ to wake the channel. Mundanes treat these as expensive jewelry.

Enchantment: Standard Q&D or lodge Slow-and-Sure work can craft them — full energy, Strain, and registration rules apply. Lodge-made Circlets are quieter legally.

Dive costs (vivified channel)

Cost	When
1 FP or +1 Strain	Open a dive / first pulse of a scene
1 FP per 10 minutes sustained	Or 1 Life-Cell point via Coupler (same interval)
+1 Strain	Force cold → hot for one pulse without a Circlet
Signature	Persona is loud on astral and warm to Sniffer / Analyze
Dim / dead mana	Interface −2 or fails until garden, Draw Power, or Coupler feeds it
Null bleed (e.g. Ivan adjacent)	Glitch: −2 Techniques or dump risk

Biofeedback, persona pools, and Black ICE work exactly as the Netrunning docs — the interface is how you enter, not a free Filter.

Optional perk — Net Conduit [1]

Once per dive scene: spend 1 FP (or Strain) to gain +1 on one Technique or treat one cold-sim action as hot-sim speed for that pulse.

Skills reminder

Still required	Not replaced by Magery
Computer Operation	—
Computer Programming	—
Program Techniques	—

A Weavejack without Programming is a glowing hat.

Legal & heat

Enchanted Net gear at LL 4+ docks may need astral disclosure / focus registration (see magic fee lines).
Undeclared Weavejack at a Concord gate = delay + fine band (same as other mid-tier focuses).
Flying a Circlet on hot sim during a bounty is a signature — overwatch and ICE notice “alive” personas.

Depth fusion (GM spice only)

Illegal neural coupling that blurs Net / VR / Astral. Rumored in Dermidine / black clinics. If a PC buys this, treat as a campaign arc, not a shopping trip — heat, Court interest, and dump-shock that can hit all three pools.

Quick table procedure

Equip Trodes or Circlet (Coupler optional).
Pay open-dive cost (FP / Strain).
Choose cold or hot (Circlet / push).
Dive per Netrunning — one action per pulse.
Log sustained FP / Life-Cell burn.
Filter Black ICE like any diver — magic does not auto-block.

Elias note

Technomage with Draw Power and the appropriate enchantment skills can build Weavejacks and feed a Coupler — this is his lane, not a second magic system.