[Crash_00]

Is a character promoted to a prime runner after the mission in which he goes over 150 experience or at the end of the season?

[DWC]

He'd get promoted at the start of the next Season, preventing him from playing said next season.  Fom what I'd heard, this is part of why Season 4 is getting split in half.  It let's people get promoted out and keeps the karma levels down.  Meanwhile the promoted folks play the Scramble where the rules don't matter, and the CMPs, which seem to be written more over the top.

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

Season 4 FAQ, p. 4:

Prime Runners may only be used in Prime Missions and in Special Missions events such as the Scramble live action event or the Holiday Charity Mission.

So once you promote to Prime Runner status, that runner can't run in CMPs any more.  However, since the CMPs are independent of season, and promotion occurs only when you transfer into Season 4 (and, presumably, each subsequent season), you could theoretically play in all of the CMPs you want as long as you don't play a Season 4 mission...or as long as you're < 150 Karma when you play your first Season 4 Mission.

I don't recall hearing anything about this business of splitting Season 4 in half.

[UmaroVI]

Are you sure you only promote between seasons? I thought you promoted as soon as you got 150 karma, now, since it says

"Players who have played in previous Shadowrun Missions scenarios and 150 karma or more are automatically promoted to Prime Runner status." Since it says "scenarios" and not "seasons" I took that to mean that you can promote midseason.

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

The 150 Karma measurement takes place only during Karma Transfer into Season 4.  At least, that's the conclusion I reach from the FAQ and the Karma Transfer Log form.

[Bull]

I'll clarify that in a future update, but it's between seasons, not automatically once you hit 150.

[Tsuzua]

I'll clarify that in a future update, but it's between seasons, not automatically once you hit 150.

Any ETA on that update?

If you're still "in-season" i.e. say in the middle of Season 4 but have karma > 150, can you still play in CMPs?  I assume you can, but I want to make sure.

[Bull]

CMPs count as "Normal" Missions for all intents and purposes, they're just not usually linked to the core seasonal storyline.  Consider them more "one and done" stories and adventures.  usually.

The exception to this is a couple missions in the 2010 CMPs.  Ando Muneno and I actually wrote a couple Missions with Season 4 in mind, as "prequals" of sorts.  CMP 2010-02 Copycat Killer? and CMP 2010-03 Ashes both introduce and set up a couple plot elements that we ran with in Season 4.

I'm not sure when the FAQ will get updated.  I need to find the free time to sit down and go through all the books again to update things (And answer questions folks have been asking here and there).  Then it needs to be proofed because I'm the King of Typos.  Then it needs to be approved by jason.  then it needs to go through layout, and our layout department is always overworked and understaffed

Bull

[Crash_00]

Thanks for the answers. I was running Season Two at my local shop and the scenarios wording made me think immediately but I thought I remembered it being between seasons.

Anyway, I didn't want them to go through all of season two and start season three only to have them have to retire and rebuild three sessions in, so I appreciate the quick answer.