I have been playing Shadowrun a little here and there since the beginning of 3rd edition. I picked up 4th ed and loved it, but was waiting for books to come out etc, before running anything. Time passed I kinda forgot about it and now there seem to be a ton of books. Anyways I want to run the NY missions but had a few questions. These missions will pretty much be run at my home.

Questions?

1. What the heck are the calenders for? I'm guessing something with downtime between missions. I can't find info on the calender, and what can be done between missions.

2. Are the NY missions reported?

3. Can PC's start with corporate affiliations? I like the secrecy behind them and would like to offer them a reward in the first mission for completing their objective. Maybe I can have the players read over the corps and have them secretly pick one they can be affialited with if they want.

4. Are the NY missions being produced fairly regularly? I don't want to start something and then have it stall because of lack of missions?

5. What's this about riggers losing Drones in Manhatten? Is that something discussed in the Rotten Apple book? And would that book help with the missions?

6. What other books would you reccomend I purchase for GM'ing these NY missions?

7. Sorry one more, What is Dawn of the artifacts? Is it a mission or more a framed for creating your own missions?

Please reply ASAP as I really want to get this game running.

Thanks

The calendars are for keeping track of lifestyle costs, when gear will arrive, etc. Within the official Missions campaign, runners are limited to one job per week, though if you are running this at home and none of the players want to use it in official play, you can scrap it entirely.

NY Missions are reported through feedback and after-action reports that some GMs send in, they aren't mandatory. Also, every Mission comes with a debriefing log which is used to track objectives, karma, and nuyen earnings for official characters.

Not in an official game, the only way to earn an affiliation is by completing one of the tasks--note that players aren't told about the tasks necessary to earn affiliation until after they are affiliates. Some tasks may not be told to affiliates even if a runner is already with a corp, see the specific Mission for more details.

They are being released 1 Mission per month.

Manhattan is a high security zone, which means any unauthorized access or presence may be detected--depending on the area you are in, permits and SINs. The Rotten Apple book is a resource for GMs and Players alike, similar to New Seattle--giving information about neighborhoods, special laws, and organizations. It will provide additional background to running Missions or any other game set in Manhattan but is not mandatory for use.

Beyond the Core Books, the Rotten Apple and Corporate Enclaves would be my two recommendations. Other books which have been announced but not published which may be useful are Corp Guide and Vice.

Dawn of the Artifacts is separate from Missions. It is a four part adventure/campaign dealing with the some of the hidden truths in the Sixth World.