I'm familiar with Shadowrun 4th edition anniversary rules. I understand how Magic works, how Matrix combat works, and so on. I've got physical copies of the core book, all four main support books, attitude, and a number of others, and pdfs of almost everything. I get how to make an actually functional character, how to play - and run - an adventure or campaign, and so on.
What I don't understand is how Missions works.
1) During Gencon, I played in the Season 4 intro adventure (the short one, where you also have to make a character in a single 4 hour time slot), but didn't get a Mission Log - was I supposed to? If so, and I didn't get one, what does that mean?
2) I also managed to get into one pickup Missions game, "Five Minutes to Midnight", which was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. However, I've checked around online, and I can't seem to find what "season" it belongs to. It (and maybe the intro) are the only ones I have credit for, so it doesn't particularly matter, but I'm curious and I'd love to run my group though it, because it's full of delicious paranoia.
3) If I wanted to run my local game group through a set of Official Shadowrun Missions, is there anything I have to do in order for everything to "count", beyond "follow the Missions FAQ character creation rules", "fill out karma sheets" and "make sure Missions characters only play in Missions games"? I read through everything on the Catalyst website, and I *think* that's everything.
4) As a followup to the above, if I run a group of players through a Mission, what do i get? I understand that there is some sort of "credit system", because one of the guys I played "5 minutes to midnight" with was an "Official Missions Representative" (or whatever the proper title is - he knew it, I don't) and said he'd only played his character 2-3 times but had earned lots of Missions Credits by GMing missions for other players. Also, the Missions FAQ mentions "rewards" for running a game - I assume this is the Missions Credits he was referring to, but I haven't been able to find rules for how that actually works.
So, what are the credits I get for running a group through a mission, and what do I have to do (besides run it) in order to qualify for that credit?
Full Version: I'm new to Missions and have many questions
1) "Welcome to the 6th World" was the Intro thing that involved making a character and a short introduction to the campaign. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a Missions Log, but I could be wrong, since I didn't run or play it.
2) "5 Minutes to Midnight" was a Campaign Mission Pack mission, which are outside the normal season schedule and are instead grouped by year. 5M2M was CMP2012-05. Aside from the decision to bundle CMP2012-01 through CMP2012-04 along with a CMP from last year as Elven Blood, and one from 2010 that's bundled with SRM4-05, the CMPs aren't generally available outside of the major conventions.
3) That sums it up. Oh, and on the official message boards, there's an "Actual Results" board where you can make note of what you ran and where, along with the noteworthy moments. The truly awesome might make their way into canon.
4) It's the Catalyst Demo Team. If you volunteer to DM for Catalyst, they give out store credit for their online PDF shop so you can get more product. Somewhere on the Catalyst website is a link for people who want to sign up.
Oh, and welcome to the campaign.
2) "5 Minutes to Midnight" was a Campaign Mission Pack mission, which are outside the normal season schedule and are instead grouped by year. 5M2M was CMP2012-05. Aside from the decision to bundle CMP2012-01 through CMP2012-04 along with a CMP from last year as Elven Blood, and one from 2010 that's bundled with SRM4-05, the CMPs aren't generally available outside of the major conventions.
3) That sums it up. Oh, and on the official message boards, there's an "Actual Results" board where you can make note of what you ran and where, along with the noteworthy moments. The truly awesome might make their way into canon.
4) It's the Catalyst Demo Team. If you volunteer to DM for Catalyst, they give out store credit for their online PDF shop so you can get more product. Somewhere on the Catalyst website is a link for people who want to sign up.
Oh, and welcome to the campaign.
QUOTE (BobChuck @ Sep 13 2012, 02:17 PM) 
4) As a followup to the above, if I run a group of players through a Mission, what do i get? I understand that there is some sort of "credit system", because one of the guys I played "5 minutes to midnight" with was an "Official Missions Representative" (or whatever the proper title is - he knew it, I don't) and said he'd only played his character 2-3 times but had earned lots of Missions Credits by GMing missions for other players. Also, the Missions FAQ mentions "rewards" for running a game - I assume this is the Missions Credits he was referring to, but I haven't been able to find rules for how that actually works.
So, what are the credits I get for running a group through a mission, and what do I have to do (besides run it) in order to qualify for that credit?
So, what are the credits I get for running a group through a mission, and what do I have to do (besides run it) in order to qualify for that credit?
DWC hits most of the other points on the head admirably so i'll just elaborate on this one briefly.
If you sign up for the catalyst demo team, which has a smidge of a process to it, but isn't actually all that bad, especially if you GM for them at conventions as they'll waive many of the hoops. You get PDF credits for every table you run and free access to all the "published" missions currently available after running 4 events. The PDF credits can be used for anything that Catalyst offers as a PDF which includes all the missions and pretty much all the books, which is very handy if you want to round out your own PDF collection.
If you
for Catalyst at the big conventions(Origins, Gencon, and Dragoncon?) that have a booth credit they will give you more tangible rewards to offset your costs at those conventions.There is not, at this time, an actual in mission (karma, nuyen) reward for running missions. But i have it from a highly placed source that they are looking at changing that, but I will let others address that.
If you are interested in signing on witht he Catalyst Demo Team here's a link to help get the process started. If it seems to be taking a little (like more then a couple weeks) you might PM on here any I will use my incredible powers of Politely Nagging the Actually Connected People™ to see what can be done.
Also i may have been in on your game of 5 minuetes as i was the big gent sitting next to the pretty girl trying to convince folks to scrub the mission. I'm very glad you had fun with it.
Finally as DWC mentioned as much as I love Dumpshock the official boards have kind of become a hub for mission related stuff here is that link
Thank you both for the helpful replies. I have a few followup questions:
5) followup to 3: If I run a Missions Adventure using all the Missions rules, the players who participate do in fact legitimately qualify for the various karma, nuyen, contacts, found gear, and other standard rewards that get listed on the Missions Log, even if I am not officially registered as a Catalyst Demo GM?
(I understand that most companies give "corporate script" as payment to their volunteers - my brother and I did that for AEG last year - I just want to verify that there isn't anything I'm missing.)
6) followup to 4: Also, I the GM do not receive credit for playing the Mission, and I do not receive a Missions Log for any of my characters, correct? If this is the case, does that mean I am still allowed to play through that Mission normally later, and earn the corresponding Mission Log and associated rewards? Or does GMing the adventure bar me from receiving the Missions Log (since I have "insider info" and thus might cheat - intentionally or not)?
Oh, just in case: if I GM an adventure, does that bar me from ever playing it at all? I'm pretty sure this last one is "no, you can still play", because any other answer would be silly ("thank you for GMing this mission for us, you are hereby forbidden to ever play again - have a nice day"), but may as well be sure.
7) I understand that, once a character starts playing in Missions from a certain season, he cannot later participate in Missions from previous seasons - but what about "Elven Blood" and the other "Convention-only Missions"?
I ask because there's a specific, mildly complicated situation. One of the potential players I've got played through a few Missions at Gencon, which means they were either Season 4 Missions or Season 4 "Convention-only" Missions. We know that if I run any of those, he can't use the same character for that mission a second time, which isn't a big deal; I'll run those on weeks he's not there, or he'll swap in a different character, whatever.
But I really want to run them through Elven Blood. The fourth Mission has (spoiler) A Freakin' DRAGON! I can't pass that up and the rest of the group (if they knew) wouldn't want to skip it either (their characters, not so much). The guy with the Seasons 4 Missions credit (and the only player or character with any significant experience) would be very annoyed if I technically couldn't run them simply because he played at a con with a character he liked, and I don't think it'd be particularly fair if he had to play a different character for those adventures - it is five whole Missions, after all. And the dragon. Can't forget the dragon. Anything involving a dragon needs to end up on your main character.
So, two questions: 7a) what's the technical ruling here, and 7b) if the technical ruling is "no, it belongs to a previous season", how likely is it to matter to anybody if we do it anyway?
5) followup to 3: If I run a Missions Adventure using all the Missions rules, the players who participate do in fact legitimately qualify for the various karma, nuyen, contacts, found gear, and other standard rewards that get listed on the Missions Log, even if I am not officially registered as a Catalyst Demo GM?
(I understand that most companies give "corporate script" as payment to their volunteers - my brother and I did that for AEG last year - I just want to verify that there isn't anything I'm missing.)
6) followup to 4: Also, I the GM do not receive credit for playing the Mission, and I do not receive a Missions Log for any of my characters, correct? If this is the case, does that mean I am still allowed to play through that Mission normally later, and earn the corresponding Mission Log and associated rewards? Or does GMing the adventure bar me from receiving the Missions Log (since I have "insider info" and thus might cheat - intentionally or not)?
Oh, just in case: if I GM an adventure, does that bar me from ever playing it at all? I'm pretty sure this last one is "no, you can still play", because any other answer would be silly ("thank you for GMing this mission for us, you are hereby forbidden to ever play again - have a nice day"), but may as well be sure.
7) I understand that, once a character starts playing in Missions from a certain season, he cannot later participate in Missions from previous seasons - but what about "Elven Blood" and the other "Convention-only Missions"?
I ask because there's a specific, mildly complicated situation. One of the potential players I've got played through a few Missions at Gencon, which means they were either Season 4 Missions or Season 4 "Convention-only" Missions. We know that if I run any of those, he can't use the same character for that mission a second time, which isn't a big deal; I'll run those on weeks he's not there, or he'll swap in a different character, whatever.
But I really want to run them through Elven Blood. The fourth Mission has (spoiler) A Freakin' DRAGON! I can't pass that up and the rest of the group (if they knew) wouldn't want to skip it either (their characters, not so much). The guy with the Seasons 4 Missions credit (and the only player or character with any significant experience) would be very annoyed if I technically couldn't run them simply because he played at a con with a character he liked, and I don't think it'd be particularly fair if he had to play a different character for those adventures - it is five whole Missions, after all. And the dragon. Can't forget the dragon. Anything involving a dragon needs to end up on your main character.
So, two questions: 7a) what's the technical ruling here, and 7b) if the technical ruling is "no, it belongs to a previous season", how likely is it to matter to anybody if we do it anyway?
5) Nope just sign their logs, there's no requirement to be a member of the demo team to run games and give logs would be counter to what we're going for. I just recommend that if you are passionate about running missions and especially if you want to do it in a public space like a game shop or the like you might as well go for the demo team gig as then you'll get rewarded for getting missions out there.
6) You can play the mission later and receive a log just like anyone else. The thought process has thus far been, people that are going to cheat will find more direct ways of cheating. Now usually if your at a table of people who havn't played you'll want to let them do most of the decision making, but I'm betting you already kind of leaned that way if you were asking.
Corollary to that, no please play when and however you can, I know I do.
Convention missions packs, which elven blood falls under, are outside of the normal seasonal framework, so your free and clear on that! They can be played anywhere with pretty much any character not over 300 karma (if i remember correctly). So yea no reason to worry about your player who got some time in at Gencon having to miss out.
6) You can play the mission later and receive a log just like anyone else. The thought process has thus far been, people that are going to cheat will find more direct ways of cheating. Now usually if your at a table of people who havn't played you'll want to let them do most of the decision making, but I'm betting you already kind of leaned that way if you were asking.
Corollary to that, no please play when and however you can, I know I do.
Convention missions packs, which elven blood falls under, are outside of the normal seasonal framework, so your free and clear on that! They can be played anywhere with pretty much any character not over 300 karma (if i remember correctly). So yea no reason to worry about your player who got some time in at Gencon having to miss out.
I'm also new to the forums, still learning more on how to take part in Shadowrun...and hope to make some friends while I'm at it.
QUOTE (LurkerOutThere @ Sep 14 2012, 03:26 PM)
5) Nope just sign their logs, there's no requirement to be a member of the demo team to run games and give logs would be counter to what we're going for. I just recommend that if you are passionate about running missions and especially if you want to do it in a public space like a game shop or the like you might as well go for the demo team gig as then you'll get rewarded for getting missions out there.
You speak as the new person to contact regarding joining the Catalyst Labs Demo Team, that's cool.
Anyway, I tried asking Bull sometime ago about joining the Demo Team, but was a bit stuck at writing the essay or getting a store to sponsor me. I had planned to run SRM at the 4 local gaming conventions that happen around Chicago that I attend.
The last convention I worked (Cod Con) I had 1 table of SRM for each of the 6 slots of RPGs that happened. Each time the table had between 6 and 8 players. We ran SRM Y3 mods because I love NYC... covered 03-00 thru 03-05 because nobody who attends these cons has played Missions.
Prior to that I ran the TTG department for Anime Central and the event would typically have 2-3 tables of SRM per slot (7 slots).
Is there a way to join the demo team if I fall into the above category? I don't know that I could make any of the major cons, but I can drum up people who will head down to attend them to play SRM
Good evening everyone!
My name is Ray and I am the Lead RPGs Agent for the CDT.
I will respond to the above questions as well, sorry, but I am usually over on the Shadowrun Forums and rarely visit Dumpshock...Bull pointed out this conversation.
1) There isn't a Debriefing Log for Welcome, though that will change soon.
2) DWC is right on.
3) SR Missions must be held in a public venue where it is likely to draw more players. Venues must be submitted and approved via the CDT website. As of right now, there may be players that have characters that played in non-approved venues with non-SR Agents. I am devising a better method to track this as well as get the SR Agents in more compliance with our Ops Guide...probably have to bribe them more. As DWC pointed out, Bull wants the Missions results posted on the boards, which includes all venues. SR Agents also post it on the CDT site (which is where you get your PDF tokens). If players are also registered on the CDT website, the SR Agent can note their attendance...there is not a reward system in place for the players yet, but I am working on that.
4). Lurker pointed you to the right link. Please make sure to follow all steps. If you are not able to get a local game store to sign off or can write a scenario, please put together a short note as to your circumstances and I will review it with the CDT Coordinator and let you know.
5). I believe 3 answers this.
6) Lurker answered this.
7) Lurker answered this.
Lastly, there will be some changes to the way conventions are organized and managed, so it will benefit anybody wishing to be a GM at a major convention to register as a CDT agent.
@Cryptoknight: please follow the link to the CDT website and apply. Also put a note in there about your situation and we will move forward.
If anybody who has applied to become an SR Agent has not heard back in one week, e-mail me a copy of what you submitted and I will harass the person who builds the profiles. My e-mail is: sinthalix@yahoo.com
Thanks and I look forward to working with y'all!
My name is Ray and I am the Lead RPGs Agent for the CDT.
I will respond to the above questions as well, sorry, but I am usually over on the Shadowrun Forums and rarely visit Dumpshock...Bull pointed out this conversation.
1) There isn't a Debriefing Log for Welcome, though that will change soon.
2) DWC is right on.
3) SR Missions must be held in a public venue where it is likely to draw more players. Venues must be submitted and approved via the CDT website. As of right now, there may be players that have characters that played in non-approved venues with non-SR Agents. I am devising a better method to track this as well as get the SR Agents in more compliance with our Ops Guide...probably have to bribe them more
. As DWC pointed out, Bull wants the Missions results posted on the boards, which includes all venues. SR Agents also post it on the CDT site (which is where you get your PDF tokens). If players are also registered on the CDT website, the SR Agent can note their attendance...there is not a reward system in place for the players yet, but I am working on that.4). Lurker pointed you to the right link. Please make sure to follow all steps. If you are not able to get a local game store to sign off or can write a scenario, please put together a short note as to your circumstances and I will review it with the CDT Coordinator and let you know.
5). I believe 3 answers this.
6) Lurker answered this.
7) Lurker answered this.
Lastly, there will be some changes to the way conventions are organized and managed, so it will benefit anybody wishing to be a GM at a major convention to register as a CDT agent.
@Cryptoknight: please follow the link to the CDT website and apply. Also put a note in there about your situation and we will move forward.
If anybody who has applied to become an SR Agent has not heard back in one week, e-mail me a copy of what you submitted and I will harass the person who builds the profiles. My e-mail is: sinthalix@yahoo.com
Thanks and I look forward to working with y'all!
QUOTE (DWC @ Sep 13 2012, 11:34 PM)
2) "5 Minutes to Midnight" was a Campaign Mission Pack mission, which are outside the normal season schedule and are instead grouped by year. 5M2M was CMP2012-05. Aside from the decision to bundle CMP2012-01 through CMP2012-04 along with a CMP from last year as Elven Blood, and one from 2010 that's bundled with SRM4-05, the CMPs aren't generally available outside of the major conventions.
All my sourcer say the "Five Minutes to Midnight" is CMP2012-02
http://www.catalystdemos.com/EventInfo.asp?EID=12048
http://www.shadowrun4.com/2012/04/2012-ori...event-schedule/
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-in...vent/RPG1235044
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