Being Aspected has nothing to do w/ power. An Aspected mage can become more powerful than a full mage, or less, depending on the characters. An Aspected Mage is a specialist b/c he's forced to be one-- he can't do as many magical skills as a full mage. A full mage, by contrast can spread himself thin across many magic skills or specialize in one area while enjoying the benifits of additional magical talents.

So, it's not a difference of power, but a difference of approach.

Nope, Aspected Mages are just cripples. They have been born with part of a "magical limg", so to speak, missing and the idea that they're still just as worthwhile as people is, of course, utterly absurd.

~J

Alright. I planned on running SR Missions at my local group. But I have a big problem. Most of them might not know what SR is. I don't want to teach them 3rd Edition, only to have to switch to 4th Edition a week later. Isn't there a primer or something that 4th could release before Gen Con that'll at least let me make simple characters?

And how will SR Missions change once 4th Edition hits? Will the old missions still be playable? I doubt it, as they'll be before the crash and the new rules will be hard to translate.

There is - to my knowledge - no access to any SR4 rules as of this time.

SR Missions will continue to use SR3 rules until the end of the current campaign - sometime next year IIRC.
The next SR Missions campaign - IF there'll be one - will use SR4 rules.

Alright. Although, it's a little disapointing to hear that SR missions might not have another campaign.

There are definite plans to continue SR Missions under SR4. Currently we're looking at generating a new story arc beginning where SR4 begins as well as publishing new guidelines for character generation that conform to SR4 rules. I can't say yet whether or not there will be conversion rules for taking SR3 missions characters into the SR4 missions.

Thanks for the info, I'm really looking to that!

Grendel,

As a player of VS since 99, I want to tell you that SR:M is dead in the water for many players in my circles if you don't allow for a conversion. I realize the time-line jumps, but I'm sure the creative folks at FanPro can come up with something

Edit: Sorry, posted in wrong forum by accident.

I live in Hamilton, Ontario. At Gencon last week, I played Shadowrun for the first time since the early 90's, and enjoyed it greatly. Are there any GM's running games within reasonable driving distance of Hamilton interested in another player?

BTW, kudo's to the GM (if he is reading this or not) who ran "Mission Briefing" for us. Well done.

Hans, a.k.a. Babylon the very recently created Shadowrun character.

Bah, I'm a tard--deleting this because someone already answered my question before I actually got the question out.

I'm sorry, Toecutter, SR4 mechanics are just too different to allow a conversion between editions. However, returning SR:Missions players will be allowed to transfer their karma from their 3rd edition character to their 4th edition characters.

My concern is less about the game mechanics and more about the character concept / background. Would it be possible to recreate a character in SR4 and apply the good karma gained from the SR3 Missions thus keeping the background, concept and general flavor of the character? Maybe have a Commando eventually look over the character and give some sort of blessing.

This might be an easy pill to swallow than starting completely from scratch.

Yes, the world of Shadowrun hasn't changed. The mean streets of Seattle are the same under 4th Edition as they were under 3rd edition. There will be some differences, of course, because of the new method of character generation as well as some limits on availability for starting equipment. But your basic 4th Edition character resembles your basic 3rd Edition character in many aspects.

I am posting this as feedback. I have just run Double Cross and after I ran the scenario as I normally do, I allowed my players to read it. This is the opinion of my group: We are disturbed about the high frequency of NPCs whose stats are "as good as you need him to be" that are nowhere the level of Ultimate NPCs. These virtual ultimate NPCs and blanket rail-roading statements like "no way the PCs can discover X" detract from the gaming experience.

There are so many ways to screw up this scenario for the GM but as the scenario states that the plot will not be derailed, then the PCs no longer have any control over the outcome of the plot. It simply boils down to working towards a predetermined conclusion.

It's hard to answer your feedback without introducing spoilers, but --

Yes, Double Cross is a railroad. No question about it. I had a very similar reaction to yours the first time I read the adventure. Decisions were made for the sake of the story arc that the first arc adventure would be a railroad.

It's my opinion that a well-run railroad can still be a fun adventure for both the players and the GMs. However, they aren't my preferred adventure style either. I don't feel that any of the other adventures in the SR3 arc are quite so forced, nor do I plan on introducing SR4 adventures that use that approach.

In a story-driven campaign, it's normal that some things are staged and forced. The runners take place in a larger scenario, and the writers must find how the runners will witness the events that unfold. Presenting story elements while the runners are direct witness isn't easy. "Railroading" is the simpler way to shove down story elements down players' throat. If not, there's indirect witnessing, but that's less interresting for the campaign. Without railroading, we would cross our fingers that the players will choose the right choices, and as an experienced gm, this is a very wrong thought to have...

The solution? There's no easy solution. Some players prefer learning about the history, appreciating more indirect witnessing. Some prefer taking place in the events. But in a campaign such as SRM, the later is more frequent, and fun in the end. I think some railroading might be the price to play.

Had a quick question or two:

When do you deal with buying stuff, research rolls, paying lifestyle bills, etc. Do you do it at the end or beginning of an adventure, or both?

If you fail to acquire an item, for example Availability 9 and miss the roll, how long do you have to wait to try again.

Noobie questions, thanks.