[antaskidayo]

Thats why I asked about character death coz a GM's character can also die. If he has only one character and can't get anymore GM creds from previous modules then how does he recover from that setback?

[antaskidayo]

Personally I think its healthier for a GM to have experiences on different character templates in order to know how to balance different party composition on a module or how to aid them incase the party hits a wall. Anyways, if SRM only gives GM cred once then its fine, I just need to know how to handle GM character death setback.

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

I'll be honest, I didn't really consider folks running a single adventure umpteen times, because ideally, they are the vast minority of GMs running these.  And for GMs running these at conventions or home stores, they should be part of the CDT Agent program, which means they're actually getting credit for running these games as an Agent, which has its own awards out of game.

The idea behind opening this up was so that when you had a GM who ran a regular game at home or at his local game store, he's always the GM and thus doesn't get the opportunity to play much.  And it would kind of suck if he got to go to a gaming convention with some of his game buddies, but was stuck playing a 0 karma character while his buds all have 100+ karma ones, because he was always the GM.

So yeah.  Ideally, the GM just has one character.  Because really, if you're GMing that much anyway, what good are 10 different 100 karma characters ultimately going to do you anyway? 

That was the original intent, at least.

All it takes is coming back around to replay the Missions line, which people do.  Since I've GMed most of the missions at their convention debut, when I get home I can't play...just get back behind the screen and GM some more.   

By your logic, why are players allowed to play (for credit) a mission 10 times with 10 different characters?

[The Masked Ferret]

So yeah.  Ideally, the GM just has one character.  Because really, if you're GMing that much anyway, what good are 10 different 100 karma characters ultimately going to do you anyway? 

Thats why I asked about character death coz a GM's character can also die. If he has only one character and can't get anymore GM creds from previous modules then how does he recover from that setback?

Aside from the death issue, 10 different 100 karma characters gives you options when you play. Generally,they would probably have a different set of modules on each. So, if you got a chance to play 05-05, you could look at your characters and pick one that does not have credit for that module. It also allows for versatility. If you sit down to play your Troll Technomancer, and it turns out that everyone is playing Troll Technomancers and Deckers, you would have the option of pulling a different character out to balance the party better.

[Jayde Moon]

Yes, I don't particularly understand the drawback to allowing credits going to multiple characters for GMs.  I won't go over why that might be beneficial, other agents have touched on that.

Honestly, I think that we should either allow all GMd missions credits to go towards any character, or if we really do think that's too much, then GMs can assign Primary, Secondary, Tertiary characters and then the first time they run a mission, it goes to their primary, the second time they run it, to their secondary, etc.  This keeps the cherry picking mitigated, which was explained as a reason we use the first mission.

The latter creates more 'bookkeeping', the former is just easier overall.

I am not a Catalyst Agent because I am looking for rewards, but I do like that my time behind the screen contributes to my time in front of it.  If I run 5 people through the Seasons 5 times and they all get 5 characters with all the bells and whistles... why shouldn't I?

So, I get it, the rules say a specific thing... but you are the keepers of the rules after all.

[Bull]

I'm just pointing out why that specific ruling was worded the way it was.  It's simply not something that I thought much about before.

It's in Ray's hands now, and I'm sure this conversation has given him something to think about.

[Raven2049]

I'll be honest, I didn't really consider folks running a single adventure umpteen times, because ideally, they are the vast minority of GMs running these.  And for GMs running these at conventions or home stores, they should be part of the CDT Agent program, which means they're actually getting credit for running these games as an Agent, which has its own awards out of game.

The idea behind opening this up was so that when you had a GM who ran a regular game at home or at his local game store, he's always the GM and thus doesn't get the opportunity to play much.  And it would kind of suck if he got to go to a gaming convention with some of his game buddies, but was stuck playing a 0 karma character while his buds all have 100+ karma ones, because he was always the GM.

So yeah.  Ideally, the GM just has one character.  Because really, if you're GMing that much anyway, what good are 10 different 100 karma characters ultimately going to do you anyway? 

That was the original intent, at least.

All it takes is coming back around to replay the Missions line, which people do.  Since I've GM'd most of the missions at their convention debut, when I get home I can't play...just get back behind the screen and GM some more.   

By your logic, why are players allowed to play (for credit) a mission 10 times with 10 different characters?

this was my thought exactly, whats the difference between playing the mission 10x with 10 different characters as there are rules for it in the missions FAQ (sit back enjoy the ride, don't try to metagame, don't try to influence the group to get a better result etc), and the GM running the game 10x and crediting 10 different characters with the credit? this is my interpretation of it with one caveat, the mission credit can ONLY go to a character that has been created and is missions legal at the time of the GM running the game. which i believe is also spelled out in the GM credit area somewhere...

[antaskidayo]

Okay so me and my buddies should register at http://www.catalystdemos.com/ and use those accts for the mission? is that correct? thnx

[Jayde Moon]

antaskidayo, what is your ultimate goal?

If you and your group of friends merely want to play Shadowrun, it is not necessary to 'register' at the Catalyst site (though it doesn't hurt).

If you are a Shadowrun enthusiast and are having a hard time finding a group to play with, registering at the Catalyst site can help you find other players in your area, though the site is not really optimized for locations that don't follow a sort of 'City' ST' format.  Being in New Zealand, I don't know how easy it would be to use the site's functionality to find players.

If you would like to kickstart a Shadowrun community in your area, then definitely sign up at the Catalyst site and submit to be a Catalyst Demo Team Agent.  Then you can host events at local game stores and share Shadowrun with others.  This can give you access to some pre-release content and PDFs of most of the rulebooks as they come out.

[antaskidayo]

What do you mean? Don't you need to indicate some kind of acct number on the logsheets when you play SRM?( I thought it is included on the paperwork to keep things official ) I know its like that for organized play -  like Adventurer's League(DCI number) or Pathfinder Society(Pathfinder #). Regarding joining the Demo Team,...we'll think about it later, maybe when me and my pals are more familiar with 5ED, so many changes from the last time  we played. We'll try first the round robin GM-ing and see which direction it will lead to.

[Jayde Moon]

No, not at all.  If you are JUST running Missions and are not interested in joining the Demo Team (at this time, maybe later) and you don't foresee your players taking their characters to other 'Missions Legal' tables, then you don't need any sort of 'account' number.

In fact if the above is true, you don't need documentation at all, except for your own use.

If you foresee your players going to another 'Missions Legal' table with their character, then they will want those logs... maybe.  I don't see any Missions GM kicking someone off the table with an otherwise Missions Legal character simply because they can't produce all of their logs.

In either case, you can't be a 'Missions Legal' character if you run them through anything outside of the Missions line and they keep their Karma and rewards.  You CAN run them through a non-Missions line adventure and they can stay Missions Legal as long as they don't keep any Karma/Nuyen/Street Cred/ Contacts, etc.

---

Now, if you want to become a CDT Agent, this sort of changes.  As a CDT Agent, anytime you run an OPEN table event (that is at a Public Venue registered with Catalyst and that is open to the public, so anyone can sit down) you will earn a credit if you report the event, how many people attended, who they were, etc.  You can use those credits to get PDF copies of Shadowrun source material and fluff.

Currently, players can also be marked for attendance but there is no benefit to do so... though Catalyst is trying to think of something.

---

Anyway, bottom line, if this is just you and a group of friends, there is nothing more that you need to do than get a copy of the adventures and run them.

[antaskidayo]

No were not gona play homebrew. Thats why I asked about mission-legal stuff and all those things at the start of the thread. But how do you guys trace people playing SRM home-group games if you don't use account numbers and such? How will I know if a player's logsheet is authentic and he didn't just made it all up?

[Bull]

From the FAQ:

Any special blanket rules players and gamemasters should be aware of?

Yes, there are three.

Wheaton’s Law: Don’t Be A Dick. This means that players and gamemasters alike should remember that everyone at the table is there to have fun. Characters might be utter bastards, but players should be courteous and considerate of other players and not do anything that would ruin the fun of others at the table. This means accepting that payments are divided evenly amongst the characters. This means not playing out flaws, character quirks, or whatever else you think is “in character” if it will ruin the fun of other players or make them uncomfortable. And it means no non-consensual PvP (player versus player) actions such as mind controlling, attacking, or stealing from other players. One person’s fun is never more important than anyone else’s.

In Player We Trust. From time to time gamemasters may do a character audit and look over your sheet, but at the end of the day they are rarely going to sit and do all the math and inspect every item, every skill, every contact, and every Mission Log. At the end of the day, we trust the player to be honest in their record keeping and their math. Please be honest and don’t abuse our trust. It’s just a game, and if you need to cheat to “win” a roleplaying game, it’s a little sad.

In Gamemaster We Trust. Missions adventures are written to be as broad as possible and to encompass as much as possible while still telling a good, fun story. However, we never know what the players are going to bring to the table, and any gamemaster who has sat behind the screen knows that players rarely follow the roadmaps that are laid out for them. So Missions gamemasters need to think fast on their feet, will often have to improvise, and will often need to adjust the power level and scale of the adventure to fit the players. And that’s okay! We trust the gamemaster. Feel free to adapt as needed, so long as the core adventure and events remain intact. Add what you need, remove what you need. Just try to keep the adventure rewards within the established guidelines for the Mission, and don’t go giving out attack helicopters or let them have Lofwyr as a contact. Keep things sane for the next gamemaster who deals with these players!

[Bull]

It's really #2 and #3 there.  This could change at some point, but currently Missions doesn't have the time, manpower, energy, budget, resources, etc to get all fancy with Missions.  So long as you have a character, half the GMs won't even bother looking your character over, and won't bat an eye at anything you say or do unless you pull out something crazy like a Rating 10 Sniper Rifle Weapon Focus.

Shadowrun's not a nice, neat class and level based system where we can categorize and file cahracters away nice and neat.  So we don't really bother trying.  It's on you, as the GM, and you as the player to be honest, be straight forward, and to play to have fun.

You want to cheat?  Eh.  You're just cheating yourself.

[Jayde Moon]

^ What that guy said!