Any Word on Retirement Cap Options

[jakephillips]

Is there any more word on the Retirement cap? Many of us are still heading to the Cons and playing and don't want to get stuck with some arbitrary rule. For example I played in NY so I can't play in some new set of mods. If someone would put out a policy so at lease we would know what we were dealing with it would be appreciated.

[Bull]

It's being finalized now. I hope to have the FAQ ready to be released in the next week or two, and the Promotion rules will be a part of the FAQ.

I will say this though... Don;t worry about it so much, and just focus on having fun. Don't deprive yourself of playing in a Missions adventure just because you think (or know) that you're near the Karma Cap for Promotion to Prime Runner Status.

Also keep in mind that there will be Prime RUnner adventures being written and published for characters that do go over the cap. You'll also be able to play Prime Runners in special Missions events (Things like the charity Mission we're running, SMH 2010 Appetite for Vengeance. And finally, if you do have to promote the character to Prime status (Or you choose to, the option is open to characters under teh karma cap as well), there are some perks and benefits you will get for your new character. Nothing overpowering or unbalancing, but a little something as a way of aaying "thanks for playing".

Bull

[jakephillips]

Sounds great looking forward to it!

[jakephillips]

Hoping to see that anytime now ")

[Bull]

Yeah, working on it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Too much to do, not enough free time, and collaborating with several other folks can really slow things down as it can take a day or two (or more) to get notes back from others.

Short answer, 150 Karma. You can opt to Promote a character to Prime Runner status at any karma point, but going into Season 4, if you have 150 Karma or more, you must Promote your character to Prime Runner status and create a new one.

There will be some minor perks that your new character will get (Higher karma characters will provide more perks, a "thank you" for active Missions players), and Prime Runners can be played in special Prime Runner adventures and in Special Event Missions (Things like the Scrambles and events like Appetite for Vengeance, the Holiday Charity Mission). For Seasonal adventures (SRMs) and Convention missions (CMPs) you'll need o start a new character.

Like season 2 to 3, Karma Transfer and Character transfer options are available for characters under 150 Karma.

I would request players not deliberately cheese the system and get as close as possible to 149 before starting Season 4. One of the points of the Promotion System is to help rebalance characters a little bit.

And, because this will likely be asked, this point total will be re-evaluated and probably tweaked when we move into Season 5, based on how many adventures we release during Season 4, the average Karma we're awarding (Which will be changing in Season 4), and the like.

Bull

[Nimbex]

Oh, that's perfect! Making it so that Prime Runners can participate in Scramble solves the one dilemma I was having. I was concerned that with Kipling potentially retiring, I'd have to have a new character for general purposes, and that the Scramble would not be a "Prime Runner Adventure".

For example, my intention for my next character for SRM is a pixie fairy with a beak and a laser. I don't want to have to LARP that!

So this way, no problems. Hurray for Bull!

[LurkerOutThere]

I might be the minority here but I feel the scramble is one of the places retirement is most desperately needed.

[DWC]

I would disagree. Since the mechanics of the Scramble (at least in 2010) were such that a character's potency under the Shadowrun rules was almost completely unrelated to effectiveness in the Scramble, throwing everyone together into one pile actually works there.

[LurkerOutThere]

Yes, I should have mentioned that, the above post was somewhat dashed off in a hurry. At the same time a part of me feels like regardless of mechanical issues at some point a reset is appropriate. I understand others feel differently and that's fine.

I'm also jaded by some of the trouncing I saw in the 2009 scramble which was my first exposure to that venue. I heard that the new system is a huge improvement but I missed the first part of this year because I had a table to run.

Which brings me back to a completely unrelated point, personally I really feel the con schedule would improve if more emphasis was placed on missions and less one shots were ran especially since we keep consistently selling out the missions events and people can't play.

[Bull]

AFAIK, Stephen's Character would have fallen under either of the Karma Limits we were debating for the Promotion System (100 and 150). If this is what you were referring to. Both Andy and my own character would have too. Stephen's character was abusive because of a combination of gear (Laes) and the rather broken Possession Tradition rules. Andy and I are just min-maxed a bit (Me moreso than Andy).

Honestly, I think there are very few regulars at the Conventions that will have to become Prime Runners this year (one reason I was seriously pushing for a 100 or lower cap).

But in the end, the scramble is pretty rules light, and as such, actions mean more than karma level.

Bull

[Wasabi]

I think there are very few regulars at the Conventions that will have to become Prime Runners this year

Among my circle of D*C friends we have 7 prime runners from the team and at least one affiliate now has a Prime Runner.

[SaintHax]

AFAIK, Stephen's Character would have fallen under either of the Karma Limits we were debating for the Promotion System (100 and 150). ... Stephen's character was abusive because of a combination of gear (Laes) and the rather broken Possession Tradition rules.

The big issue actually was not going by the rules. Ignoring the fact that anyone can tell if someone is mounted by a F6 spirit was the biggest of these issues.

[Caine Hazen]

AFAIK, Stephen's Character would have fallen under either of the Karma Limits we were debating for the Promotion System (100 and 150). If this is what you were referring to. Both Andy and my own character would have too. Stephen's character was abusive because of a combination of gear (Laes) and the rather broken Possession Tradition rules. Andy and I are just min-maxed a bit (Me moreso than Andy).

Honestly, I think there are very few regulars at the Conventions that will have to become Prime Runners this year (one reason I was seriously pushing for a 100 or lower cap).

But in the end, the scramble is pretty rules light, and as such, actions mean more than karma level.

Bull

Untue actually... unless we pump out a few more adventures... I believe Lynx sits a 79 Karma right now, so I would be elegable for transfer. So unless we get a few more adventures in...

Of course I'm volutarily retiring him because of the new character I'd like to play

[Bull]

Untue actually... unless we pump out a few more adventures... I believe Lynx sits a 79 Karma right now, so I would be elegable for transfer. So unless we get a few more adventures in...

Hence why I said "Under the Karma cap" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Of course I'm volutarily retiring him because of the new character I'd like to play

Ditto. I'm going to go ahead and promote Rush, even though he could use a few more Karma. It'll give me someone to shoot things with in the Primes.

Bull

[Bull]

The big issue actually was not going by the rules. Ignoring the fact that anyone can tell if someone is mounted by a F6 spirit was the biggest of these issues.

This I kind of agree with. Though Stephen himself wasn't being ridden most of the time during the LARP section... He was just having fun messing with everyone. He only mounted up to kick our sorry hoops when we went back to the Tabletop section. (PLus possessed poor Redshirt against his will (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

Bull