[Marcus]

Make the more generic?

Professional Licence- allowed to perform tasks prescient to the profession.
Restricted item authorization licence- the right to carry and use a specific piece of equipment.
Vehicular operation licence- the right pilot a specific class of vehicles.

 

[Fedifensor]

I'll look to see if there's a better way to list who can play what Missions.

I kind of agree that licenses might be rebooked, the problem is that there are a bajillion permutations.  Security guard license.  Ok.

Hunting license?  Private eye?  Mallco?  Locksmith?  White Hat hackers?  The list goes on.

Based on the premise that Shadowrun Missions characters rarely buy more than 5 licenses, you could create a Profession License that costs 5x what a single license costs, and applies to anything for that stated profession.  NTMP will review these licenses when checking SINs, and anything that seems out of place for the stated profession will be flagged and sent up the chain for additional review (which will cause a second SIN check, even if the first one was passed without issue).  In other words, Missions GMs have the authority to clamp down on overly broad licenses.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I'll look to see if there's a better way to list who can play what Missions.

I kind of agree that licenses might be rebooked, the problem is that there are a bajillion permutations.  Security guard license.  Ok.

Hunting license?  Private eye?  Mallco?  Locksmith?  White Hat hackers?  The list goes on.

Based on the premise that Shadowrun Missions characters rarely buy more than 5 licenses, you could create a Profession License that costs 5x what a single license costs, and applies to anything for that stated profession.  NTMP will review these licenses when checking SINs, and anything that seems out of place for the stated profession will be flagged and sent up the chain for additional review (which will cause a second SIN check, even if the first one was passed without issue).  In other words, Missions GMs have the authority to clamp down on overly broad licenses.

It might just be that I like the idea of it being prohibitively expensive to get around needing to hide/stash illegal gear when not using it... but I'm thinking that a "one license covers ALL your illegal drek" is a terrible idea.

Table variation sounds like a nightmare on what sorts of specific gear falls under certain professions.  Is a bodyguard license going to cover a firearm?  Is a Private Investigator expected to be allowed to have an Autopicker?  Honestly, those are very variable answers depending on the GM.  I prefer one piece of gear needing one license.  If you don't wanna pay for all that, don't get caught with an arsenal of illegal gear on your person.   Heck, I'm hoping Jayde Moon clarifies my earlier question upthread about licenses for formulae meaning "yes, you need a spellcasting license in general AND a license per spell category you intend to claim is legal spellcasting to the NTMP"

[Fedifensor]

Table variation sounds like a nightmare on what sorts of specific gear falls under certain professions.  Is a bodyguard license going to cover a firearm?  Is a Private Investigator expected to be allowed to have an Autopicker?  Honestly, those are very variable answers depending on the GM.

Well, we know the answer to your first question if they're playing Seasons 9-12. 

There's already a lot of table variance depending on GM.  One GM I play with regularly will always have a spirit spend Edge to resist Summoning.  One I played with this weekend used Etiquette instead of Con for me to talk my way past a guard.  I don't see this being any more of a hazard than what already exists. 

I prefer one piece of gear needing one license.  If you don't wanna pay for all that, don't get caught with an arsenal of illegal gear on your person.   Heck, I'm hoping Jayde Moon clarifies my earlier question upthread about licenses for formulae meaning "yes, you need a spellcasting license in general AND a license per spell category you intend to claim is legal spellcasting to the NTMP"

That seems like a lot of effort for something that will only stop characters who haven't played a single mission.  With 8k+ per mission, you can buy 5+ licenses for a level 5 fake SIN (Availability 15, attainable by a starting Contact) and still have money left over.  It just becomes a convoluted tax for starting characters, unless Missions starts routinely burning SINs.  We're playing the game to have fun - it's not Living Accounting.  If 5x normal cost is too cheap, make it 10x normal cost.  The goal isn't to get away with stuff cheaply - it's to reduce the level of complexity so people can get back to having fun.

[Jayde Moon]

Is the GM ALWAYS spending Edge to resist summoning?  Are they running an official Missions game?

[Michael Chandra]

Always?_? Not only to resist over-summoning??

[Fedifensor]

Is the GM ALWAYS spending Edge to resist summoning?  Are they running an official Missions game?

Well, he definitely does it when players summon Force 6 spirits.  I think he cuts players a break if they only summon Force 3 or less.  I've only summoned one spirit at his table recently, because after a few games playing a mystic adept shaman who liked summoning Spirits of Man, I switched to playing a decker.  I just started a magical character for the first time in years last month, for Neo-Tokyo.  And yes, it is official Missions.  I don't see a rule against the GM using the spirit's Edge to resist, so it's technically legal - just harsh.  To be clear, I haven't been playing a mage for a while, so he may have discontinued this practice, but it was definitely a thing a few years ago, and the reason I stopped playing a mage at his table.

Anyway, this is already a bit more public than I'd prefer.  For more details, I can take it to private messages.

[Marcus]

As far as I'm aware there's no rule against a GM doing that.

[Michael Chandra]

So then, since someone decided to abuse their Missions GM position to bully mages out of Shadowrun with excessive behaviour, it should apparently be made an explicit rule. And it's incredibly disappointing that someone would force that.

[Marcus]

I think that it's kind of adorable that you believe, that would bully mages out of SR Missions play.
We all already know what did that, and even during the very beginning of Chicago when the BC nonsense was at it's worst we
will still had good number casters. Making it harder to get spirits services is far from end of the world.

[Jayde Moon]

The problem is more one of consistency across tables.

A GM making a call to use Etiquette instead of Con to schmooze past a guard is one thing (maybe you were just trying not to sound like a total idiot while chatting up the latest Urban Brawl series as a distraction as opposed to convincing them you're the CEO of the company they're guarding) but always having Spirits use Edge is a pretty big inconsistency.

[Ktonberry249]

I agree, i don't see a need to have a spirits ever use edge to resist summoning. I usually ask myself "Does this make the game more fun?" or "Does this add something to the player's experience?" before i do something like that and 100% of the time the answer to that is no.

[Michael Chandra]

Edge against oversummoning is a fair gameplay-balancing measure, and was an explicit rule in SR4. Given the impact a Force 10 Spirit would have on a table (which is easier to summon than a F6 using Edge), it can be quite reasonable to employ. But there needs to be consistency.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Edge against oversummoning is a fair gameplay-balancing measure, and was an explicit rule in SR4. Given the impact a Force 10 Spirit would have on a table (which is easier to summon than a F6 using Edge), it can be quite reasonable to employ. But there needs to be consistency.

This is all glorious news to me.

I'm thinking "if you spend edge on summoning the spirit, then the spirit spends edge on resisting being summoned" is a 'fair is fair' guideline on when to spend edge.

[Marcus]

I agree consistency is important. But I'd suggest that consistency with the we trust the GM is more important, then whether GM are edging spirits resistence rolls. The other thing to keep in mind not all uses of edge are equal. High edge value prespending verses re-roll.