Current metaplot events:
>Demons errywhere
>Northern Gun is best gun
>Thank the Emperor for secret Nazi wizards
>THE COALITION WAS RIGHT!
>The CS totally planned the whole Vanguard thing
>Only a mutant deebee loving traitor would say otherwise, you aren't a traitor are you anon?
>SOMEONE in the dimensions of Hell and Hades didn't read the CS Navy book
Books to get you started:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1dsdr28ic5vk0/Palladium#1dsdr28ic5vk0
>CS is slowly turning into WH40k
>TFW nobody plays mutants in orbit even if it's The Expanse with Glitter Boys and Mutant Insects
>>46148436
My group is taking a short break from a year long Mutants In Orbit game. Shit has been awesome from the word go.
>>46148663
DETAILS, MAN.
>>46148436
The "Glitter Boys" part kinda ruins the feel of The Expanse, but yeah, it's a cool orbital setting.
>>46148329
>Implying Psy Stalkers are not heroes and that their range isn't the domain of humanity
>Implying that the entire Eastern seaboard down to Washington DC isn't isn't comtrolled by ARCHIE 3 ally of humanity
>Implying that Northern Gun, Free Quebec and the CS aren't united in saving humanity from this invasion.
Please report you demon worshiping ass for immediate termination you slave.
>>46148878
The real question is, why doesn't The Expanse have more power armor?
Also they seem nearly obsolete compared to ARCHIE-7's VR-controlled giant robots anyways.
Can somebody tell me what the hook of Rifts is? Like how the hook of Shadowrun is 'cyberpunk future meets fantasy' and 40k is 'grimdark galaxy and our heroes are catholic space nazis'.
>>46148968
>why doesn't The Expanse have more power armor
I think it's because they're expensive.
>>46148974
You can be/do/fight just about anything. It's the ultimate kitchen sink setting, with the aesthetics of an 80s heavy metal album cover.
Be a dragon piloting a robot punching the gods themselves.
>>46149027
Some of those MCRN armored space suits look like they could belong in a rifts game.
>>46148974
Hook: Be that Robot-Dinosaur-Fighting Ninja Alien Tech-Wizard you always wanted to be!
It's technology, magic, aliens, laser guns, spaceships, dragons and everything else rolled into one fucked up setting.
>>46148436
Both of my secondary (i.e not everyone showed up for the session) groups deal with Mutants in orbit, they are doing quite well.
One is trying to explore New England since they made first contact with ARCHIE and his Satellite, the second got their ship blown to bits trying to reenter over Japan and crash landed.
The first group are doing pretty well since ARCHIE wants to know about the lunar version of him that isn't sentient, they are just exploring and barely know about the CS, Republicans of even magic.
The second group i kinda fucked up with. Not with having their ship crash land in the Japanese Republic or or anything like that, but because 3 of them are imported Robotech characters. I actually did a dice roll off with them (3 out of 3 d6 rolls) them to see if the Robotech anime existed in Rifts earth, they won the roll. So not only does the Robotech Anime exist in Rifts Earth, these fuckers have a pair of Veritech Fighters, half a dozen cyclones and a micronised Zentaradi officer with a female officers REF battle pod. In the grand scheme of things their mecha is weak and mostly harmless but if they get copied they are pretty destablising. They have an almost unlimited strike range, are pretty good at commando operations, heavy missile capacity and most importantly can slowly whittle down the orbital blockade over Rifts earth.
>>46149323
>fucked up with.
I think you misspelled "made hilariously awesome".
So they can watch the Anime version of themselves with the knowledge they literally are fictional characters?
>>46148752
Some highlights have been
>playing as a Monkey Boy names Charles Heston
>sneaking onto the moon to steal a VR bot and control system.
>framing an asteroid mining conglomerate for said theft.
>power armor dogfight in a giant debris field.
>getting into a nine day running fight with three other ships.
>destroying two of the other ships before taking any serious damage in return.
Most of that was not in order, nor is that a complete list of our space shenanigans. We paused the game because the GM has to take most of the next 9 months off due to RL reasons. The last session ended with us watching the third ship that we were fighting start to break up in Mars' upper atmosphere as our orbit rapidly decays behind them and collectively panic.
>>46148974
It offers an almost unlimited choice of character types from being a hobo to being a literal God.
It also includes a strong dose of HFY as well as practical sense. While your God character might have awesome combat abilities it is far more likely that you hobo will live longer than the God. Mostly because the God will inevitably abuse it's abilities and get killed while the hobo will just avoid the problem in the first place.
A problem for many new players is the CS or NGR, they are used to 'random encounters' like you get in D&D. The CS/NGR are national armies and the response your adventurers get when they fight them is equal to the IRL response you get when you declare war on the IRL US government. I.E you are going to die.
In Riftys you can be insanely powerful but you need to temper that with the fact that like in the real world there is always someone bigger and better than you.
>>46149522
Actually now that I look at it it's mostly in order.
>>46149640
Is this IRL or online? What rules are you using for resolving the dogfights/spaceship battles?
>>46149432
>So they can watch the Anime version of themselves with the knowledge they literally are fictional characters?
YES! The Japanese Republic has determined that the reason that such a large number of Manga/Anime writers are introverts is that they are psychic clairvoyants/sensitives. Much like the Coalitions Psi battalion they formed a psychic hive mind and predicted possible alternate futures, although less organized than the CS effort obviously.
Since the Robotech characters came through a Rift i can leave it open to debate if their coming was predicted or if they were summoned from an alternate reality.
So far i'm having the Japanese treat them as if they were living cartoon characters come to life which they literally are. The Zentradi member gets treated like she was Elsa come to life and the rest almost as well.
The Veritechs and Cyclones can easily be replicated besides the power source but even then they can still work even with nuclear instead of protoculture power cells.
What i have to figure out is do the protoculture powercells contain the DNA for the protoculture flower? If so it can be replicated and grown on Rifts earth (Conversion books mentions this, the answer is yes) but the Japanese Republic would have to clone a seed from a DNA strand.
So much thinking but still, my line of thought is that the more Japan endorses the Robotech visitors the more likely it is that more of them show up.
>>46149948
Addendum: I just pulled that explanation out of my ass but given the state of Rifts Earth it is a plausible reason why Japan has 4 people who are literally 200+ year old cartoon characters walking around with super advanced transforming mecha.
It is kinda a pain in the ass, despite their low MDC the Veritechs are quite large and strong, i'm trying to conceal from my players exactly how many Rifts mini missiles they could hold because the number is in the several hundreds. I am dreading the "Why can't my Veritech use a pair of boom guns as pistols" conversation because the answer is most likely me saying yes.
>>46149948
Now I'm picturing the Republic of Japan's "Otaku conscription campaign", breaking down the locked bedroom doors of nerds who write anime and enrolling them in the SDF.
Of course as a spinoff that means that if one anime is true, then ALL are potentially true. Meaning there's a Death Note artifact, magical girls, sailor moon, dragon ball, astro boy, etc... out there.
>>46149910
Not an online game, RL. Our GM handles space combat very theatrically. For anything other than open space shoot/dodge fests we describe what we are attempting to do, then make pilot or zero g movement checks against whatever we are fighting, then attack rolls if we succeed. For ship fights at anything other than point blank range there is a lot of time between attacks being made and resolved which adds a lot to the combat I think.
Also that should read he is out for 6 months not 9.
>>46150407
I allowed the Robotech characters as an obvious extension of Rifts and the Conversion books, i'm not willing to go much further.
Although...
>Death Note
The Death Note would be an artifact that allows the killing of MOST people (Not folks like well known characters or the CS Emperor who is protected against that sort of thing) via long range death magic. It would not be automatic and there would be defenses against it but the Death Note would be powerful in killing important minor characters, i'll have to figure out how it works and how the victim can defend. Semi-plausible.
>magical girls
A greater Angel reincarnated in Japan who is fanatically devoted to the defense of family and home. Plausible.
>sailor moon
All JSDF reports indicate that the entity known as 'Sailor Moon' does not exist. If she did exist she would be capable of mass resurrection of the dead, almost invincible levels of combat ability and would be a power to rival the Splugorth of Atlantis. Furthermore she would have 7 companions easily equal to an alien intelligence as compatriots and/or minions. The JSDF does not consider these reports plausible nor does their Robotech Expeditionary Force advisors.. Implausible.
>dragon ball
A artifact that grants a wish that many people desire? Plausible.
>astro boy
A powerful AI that was created to serve humanity? Plausible.
Note to self: Remove one of the Pantheons of Light, replace with Moon Empire. 1st level sailor scouts equal to hatching dragons, 15th level equal to alien intelligence. Focus on area of effect (global) abilities, not personal combat. R.C.C. requirement: QT.14, PB 21 MA 21, alignment chaotic adorable.
>>46149948
Actually by the old novels, the older protoculture power plants (VF series veritechs, Macross era destroids, and Zentraedi spacecraft) each contained a seed from the flower of life held in stasis. The seed trying to germinate is what generates power in those power plants. Southern Cross era mecha is almost exclusively powered by fusion plants. New Generation is powered by Protoculture Cells which used a different means of storing energy, the second matrix created during the Sentinels campaign was imperfect and couldn't be used to make old style protoculture plants.
So if your crew has Macross era mecha they have Flower of Life DNA in their possession.
>>46147736
It never ceases to amaze me how many Rifts fans and players there are who never bothered to read the Coalition Navy book.
The CS has 1000+ strategic atomic weapons targeted against every known state on Rifts Earth. The CS Emperor can kill all of his enemies with the push of a button.
The only reason he doesn't is because besides not wanting to wreak the planet worse than it already is he has humanitarian concerns.
The CS doesn't want to remove the alien invaders, it wants to remove them in a way that they know that there is no coming back. So while the CS can exterminate anyone even Atlantis in a blanket of nuclear warheads they would rather fight it out with them to prove exactly who this planet belongs to.
>>46151297
I was going to suggest to >>46151117
If there are any concerns about balance, just assume they can't replicate the protoculture part of the veritech fighters, and adjust the performance (space, flight, speed, etc) accordingly to something that wouldn't be game-breaking. Say, they can fly but only so far/fast before needing to cool off the reactor.
>>46151437
CS navy is a powerhouse, no two ways about it. It's one of my favorite splat books.
>>46151297
Thank you. From what i can tell from the conversion books the only thing that prevents a flower of life from being planted on Rifts earth is that it can't be done within 100 miles of a ley line.
They have 2 Macross era Veritechs with fully powered Protoculture cells.
Okinawa, the Alaskan islands, the northern Japanese islands and anywhere that doesn't have a ley line within 100 miles will do. Japan itself can cultivate them but probably not in the amount needed to fund a massive force of JSDF Veritchs equipped with modern Rifts weapons.
Even if i double the MDC of a basic veritech they are still way underpowered for Rifts. I plan to keep them fragile but massively upgrade all their weapons with Rifts equivalents. I plan to double their missile capacity and/or trade off any short range missile ability for 2x their number in mini missiles and trade medium missiles for 6x times their number of mini missiles. The rifle will be replaced with a boomgun.
The Cyclones are pretty good as they are, i'm thinking a 50% increase in MDC over the current Battler version and replacing the forearm mini missile launchers with automatic gernade launchers.
>>46148974
Imagine a drugged-up lunatic and a hobo fighting a giant mecha while a wizard plays heavy metal in the background.
>>46151596
The CS Navy book points out that at a push of a button the CS can exterminate all life on earth opposed to them including Atlantis/Splyncryth but that they don't simply because the CS wants to defeat them in open battle.
The CS can destroy the Continent of Atlantis at a moments notice, they don't simply because it would be dishonorable and cowardly to them.
It may sound weird but the only reason the CS hasn't used their 1000+ nuclear warheads to cleans the earth of the invaders is due to the CS using moral restraint and taking the moral high road.
That's right, the moral restraint of the CS is keeping everyone on Rifts Earth alive.
>>46151532
The conversion books mention this. The big difference is that if you replace the protoculture cells with nuclear engines they need to cool off every day or so. So they don't have the nearly infinite range of protoculture power.
Also you get a small decrease in the number of attacks as the protoculture systems help the pilot manage the robot body via a minor form of pilot/vessel biomancy. That is understandable.
The veritchs in battiloid mode are much bigger than most Rifts robots. I am going to stick with just doubling their MDC at the moment, so far they could carry 500+ mini missiles and use boomguns as pistols, not to mention being long range strike who can potentially get into orbit.
Rifts MDC standards dictate they should have 3 or 4x their normal MDC if rebuilt but if that happens they will not be able to transform or be as agile as they are supposed to be.
Note to self: Proto culture powered Veritech or Cyclone piloted by a JSDF Juicer.
>>46151532
The Japanese love flower gardens and their ilk, i could just restrict their ability to recreate and breed the Protoculture Flower.
So while the Japanese Republic would love to cover the skies (and outerspace) with upgraded Rifts JSDF Veritech fighters they simply don't have the means to supply them.
So the JSDF gets a only a few dozen (4d6) upgraded Veritechs a month and 20d6 Cyclones a month, most of the Cyclones with +50% MDC but nuclear instead of protoculture engines.
>>46152446
Require the republic to depend on the Empire to grow them.
>>46149042
> the aesthetics of an 80s heavy metal album cover.
In the Multiverse in flames book there is a demon Lord who literally turns his body into steel and plays heavy metal music for his army using a shapechanging battle axe/guitar.
>>46152786
Is his name Doviculus?
>>46152697
Good idea. It keeps the amount of the protoculture flower that can be grown down (which is limited anywhere besides Russia or parts of Canada since it cannot be grown within 100 miles of a ley line) while helping the empire get economic power over the republic. The Empire might not know why it is so valuable but they will eventually figure it out.
The fact that it cannot be grown near a ley line is an important plot hook, it is to valuable for the Japanese Republic not to grow it everywhere they can. So they will look for land it can be grown on.
If the Invid Regis or Regent somehow find Rifts earth and try to invade due to the proto culture flowers they are going to get their asses kicked and kicked hard.
That might make a interesting plot twist, what if the Invid try to land in Japan, get ripped apart by the orbital defenses, land in Japan then are confronted with overwhelming fire power then the Japanese welcome them?
The Japanese greet them with both friendship and overwhelming firepower, they will treat the Invid as either allies or target practice. It is the Invids choice what happens next.
>>46152795
Overlord Sindel:
Weapons and Armor of Note: Overlord Sindel carries a massive Rune Battle Ax called Deceiver. Deceiver has the capability to transform from one weapon to another. In total, it can assume the attributes of three melee weapons (typically something that fits its user’s W.P.s). With Overlord Sindel, the weapons are a Battle Axe, Pole Arm and Spear. The transformation from one weapon to the other counts as one melee attack/action. Does the same damage regardless of its shape. The transformation keeps most opponents off balance. Note: The Deceiver can also transform itself into any stringed musical instrument to completely hide its true nature. Because Sindel enjoys music, when Deceiver transforms into a battle axe, its handle is that of an electric guitar, which baffles some opponents. Because of this, Overlord Sindel has learned to play the guitar and sometimes plays music for the troops.
Metal Behemoth (special): His gift from Lady Hel is the ability to alter his physical structure to that of steel, which gives him an extra 800 M.D.C.! When transformed, he is a metal behemoth with increased strength, almost indestructible. This transformation can be attempted in any form he chooses, Beast, human or bull.
>>46148974
Rifts is like Doom happens to Star Wars in an 80s saturday morning cartoon. It's like Doom because there are a ton of demons coming out of portals, it's like star wars because there are a ton of alien races, laser guns, stormtrooper guys in full body plastic armor and so on, and like an 80s cartoon because of all the crazy plots and huge villains getting beaten by plucky mixed groups of heroes with weird gimmicks
>>46151297
>>46151532
>>46152446
>>46152697
>>46153061
This brings up a rather important question:
What is the life cycle of the Protoculture Flower of Life and how long would it take the Republic of Japan to start mass planting of it? Assuming the Veritechs had a seed in each power cell then even with cloning the best the Japanese Republic could do in the first year is a few dozen plants. After that (and as soon as the first flower was inseminated and produced seeds) they would be able to to make a few hundred seeds after the first year. Only half of those would be available as a power source since most of them would be planted
After year 2-3 they could mass clone the plants (and would do so) but they lack experience in how to handle them. So i'm figuring:
Year one: Successfully replicate and clone a Protoculture plant and start planting it
Year two: Limited harvesting, keeping the REF Veritechs working and planning to replicated them
Year three: Limited use in military power armor, critical civilian applications.
Year four: Serial production of JSDF Veritechs, Cyclone copies. Independent JSDF applications of transforming tech.
Year five: Protoculture seed production reaches a high enough level that Japanese SAMAS, Cyborgs and all power armor and robots use it.
Year six: export to other human powers is negotiated.
Year seven: Somehow the Coalition States now have Veritech technology, all their power armor,robots and tanks as well as their Veritechs are all protoculture powered.
Year eight: You just noticed the CS has 10,000+ Veritech Fighters and they all are raining death onto your head
How the hell do you play this game? The rules are all over the place and it says nothing about what dice I need to roll!
>>46155369
Combat checks are d20+bonus, skills are d100 roll under.
As for the rules being all over the place, its easy to figure out once you realize rules are written in chronological order. That being the order the author remembered them in.
Thanks Kevin.
>>46155777
>Thanks Kevin
Eat shit, kid.
>>46155795
>>46155777
Also the totally different and not very compatible ways it handles melee and shooting.
Or the lack of any real rules about how movement and attack actions work together.
>>46151437
A nuclear war is how the Rifts started in the first place. Nuking all his enemies and killing so many sapients would simply open more rifts with more aliens coming through. It's not a solution to anything in this setting.
>>46157839
It didn't even work when they tried to nuke Tolkeen anyway.
>>46158128
Speaking of Tolkeen, what was the sorceror's revenge? All i know about it is it pushed quebec from on the fence leaning towards supporting Tolkeen, to right back into the coalition's yard.
>>46158128
Considering the huge number of divination spells, impenetrable walls of force, and "teleport to other dimension" abilities, the idea of simply nuking an enemy out of existence is totally ineffective.
>>46158169
Large counter-attack with multiple assassination squads sent into CS territory. I feel like the "brutality" part might have been a little overplayed, or left in the background, but it was enough to bring in Free Quebec on the side of the CS in the war.
>>46158272
>Considering the huge number of divination spells, impenetrable walls of force, and "teleport to other dimension" abilities, the idea of simply nuking an enemy out of existence is totally ineffective.
And the idea of nuking Atlantis is equally laughable. I mean, Atlantis is just an outpost, the Splugorth have most of their forces offworld/off-rift/phased away and they number in the billions.
>>46158416
I feel like anyone suggesting nuking atlantis hasn't read their fleet writeup in "Phaseworld".
One Splugorth capital ship could drop rocks on Chi-Town and every other CS city and completely obliterate it.
So, I'm interested in Rifts, mainly due to the setting. The thing is, the crunchy parts, like >>46155777 and >>46156514 turns me off a lot.
Is there something, anything, where the rules are written in a logical and understandable way? I heard something about an "ultimate edition" or whatever, does that clear things up?
Also, gamewise; is it all action-hack n slash-big explosions, or is it suitable for mystery and adventure as well?
>>46158901
>Is there something, anything, where the rules are written in a logical and understandable way?
There is a Savage World's version of Rifts coming this summer. It may be the only coherent, concise version of the rules ever published. We'll see.
>I heard something about an "ultimate edition" or whatever, does that clear things up?
No, it makes the problem worse, actually, because it's a kinda-sorta unofficial 1.1 version of the rules that references 1.0 version of the rules all the time, and still manages to omit large numbers of rules (eg, cold exposure, holding your breath) from previous books.
>Also, gamewise; is it all action-hack n slash-big explosions, or is it suitable for mystery and adventure as well?
Mostly the former. You could run it for mysteries but you'd have to forbid 90% of the classes and races out there.
>>46158901
>Is there something, anything, where the rules are written in a logical and understandable way?
There's a rifts combat reference guide here (attached) - it's about the simplest summary of how combat works.
All of the rules? No, you'll never find those totally summarized anywhere very consistently. The Ultimate edition is an improvement but you'll almost certainly have to house rule some things.
Basically there's a particular rule in some book somewhere for about any situation that arises, but you can also just make up a rule based on general D20 mechanics, or D% if it involves a skill.
>Also, gamewise; is it all action-hack n slash-big explosions, or is it suitable for mystery and adventure as well?
It can be run any way you like, but it really depends on what characters you're allowing and what kind of game you want to run. A lot of them can be easily game-breaking unless you take their powers into account.
That being said, saying "yes" to ideas and letting characters run with them and getting into improbable scenarios is half the fun.
>>46159043
KarlProsek.jpg
>>46158128
They didn't 'nuke' Tolkeen, they used a massive long range missile bombardment.
>>46157839
The CS knows that, one of the reasons they avoid using them except in naval battles.
>>46158416
CS knows that as well, wasting everyone on the island is pointless.
You CS fans at least object to their ban on literacy, right? This site would be illegal in CS territory.
>>46161043
>they used a massive long range missile bombardment
Which simply vanished en route. Nuclear missiles simply don't work.
Not to mention longer-ranged ICBMs would explode when they hit the orbital debris field or the SDI satellites keeping earth quarantined. So your only option is slower cruise missiles that could easily be detected and destroyed.
>CS knows that as well, wasting everyone on the island is pointless.
They really don't have a good handle on the scale of the Splugorth empire, no - they're aware it's a major interdimensional power, but have no idea how big the enemy is they're dealing with.
>>46159043
Hey look it's the savage worlds aspie again! How's it going bro? Ever get to an autism-friendly screening of the force awakens? I know you've really been looking forward to seeing the savage worlds of star wars for a while.
>>46161132
Judging by some of the posters here, I'm not sure they'd be capable of breaking the laws against being literate.
What're good/AWESOME ways to make and play a robot character?
>>46163099
1. Soucebook 1, you can make a huge range of possible robot characters, anything from malfunctioning household maid to combat death-bot.
2. Machine people from phase world if you just want to be a regenerating alien.
>>46158901
Heres a combat cheat sheet.
Skill are just a percentile roll, dumb simple.
Perception is poorly written.
All the rules you will likely need to play are in the Rift Ultimate Edition, which i think was an improvement over the Rifts Main Book of old. It still fucking sucks to read and find the rules in, but at least its one book.
>>46147736
Is this a new wdition?
>>46167972
There is really only one edition of Rifts. The Ultimate book is just a reprinting with a few extras tacked on and some rules clarifications. Megaversal is perfect in every way, it was handed down by God himself to his great prophet and savior of RPGs Kevin Siembieda.
>>46167972
Depending on how you look at it, either there are dozens of editions of the "Palladium Rules" out there, or there's only one but it's a "Choose your own adventure" in terms of which specific numbers come into play in which circumstances.
The logic of how certain numbers are determined can be baffling. Case in point: what "speed" is supposed to equal exactly? A speed of 11 goes 12 km/h, 7.5mph, or about 3 1/2 meters per second, or 50 meters in one melee round - but you'll never find that "50 meters per melee round" figure anywhere in the books. And it's not clear if extra attacks per melee mean you can actually run faster or not.
And the "simple" conversion table never once even uses a fucking round number. Seriously - give the figures for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20... nobody wants to calculate that shit.
>>46161043
>>They didn't 'nuke' Tolkeen, they used a massive long range missile bombardment.
"I regret to say, there's not much to report. At 0500 hours,
CS forces unleashed a volley of low yield nuclear missiles at the
enemy as a preemptive strike."
- Coalition Wars Book 1 page 9
Perez No.1
>>46171006
Goddamn, I'd forgotten mow much I loved Perez's artwork in these books.
BRB pulling out New West and Warlords of Russia to drool over the artwork.
>>46171477
Don't forget Free Quebec, frenchie armour is best CS armor.
>>46171579
>that picture of the Violator SAMAS.
HHHHHNNNNNNGH
>>46171622
Looking at it for the first time in years, the Frenchies really do have the best looking gear in the CS.
>>46168513
It says how to figure how fast you can move per melee in the book, under the speed stat, in the right attributes section. It has for 25 years.
>>46174214
That still doesn't excuse the horrendous layout.
>>46177588
>Stop liking what I don't like!
>>46177617
>Admitting the layout is horrible means hating every part of the game.
Can't wait until Kevin kicks off and someone competent takes over the Rifts and Palladium IPs.
But knowing our luck it'll be his accountant who gets it.
>>46178130
Is there a company that would be able to keep the tone and style but still fix the formatting and inconsistencies?
>Catalyst - as if Palladium needs another financial crisis.
>WotC - 3 new editions in the next 5 years, each one totally different than the last and nothing compatible, none of which improve on the baseline
>Pathfinder - lots of glossy new art without actually fixing anything.
>Fantasy Flight Games - hope you like having to buy 10 new dice for every OCC
>White Wolf - Frustrated that Palladium included humanoid animals without being totally furried out? We can fix that.
>>46178130
>>46178492
Oh good the savage worlds aspie is back! Did you ever get out to see an autism friendly screening of the force awakens? I know how much you've been looking forward to seeing the savage worlds of star wars movies!
>>46178672
Try to direct your tard rage at the right person. Nobody even mentioned Savage Worlds.
Random thought: The biggest danger Lazlo can pose to the Coalition should be something totally different than Tolkeen or the Federation of magic.
They should be the nation devoted to making magic accessible to everyone, eliminating the fear and doubt around it, and spreading magical knowledge to the poor and ignorant of the world.
Rather than any artifacts or weapons, Lazlo can be the source of a book, "Introduction to Magic: A Primer", written in extremely simple language, able to be easily copied by machine or by hand, which anyone with even basic literacy skills can use and understand.
It contains enough information to allow even ignorant farmers and young people to learn 1-2 simple, 1st level spells. No bonus to PPE, no special abilities, and no chance of developing more powers without taking an OCC, just basic magical literacy and much less fear of the supernatural.
It would be interesting for a world with giant robots, magical artifacts from the dawn of time, and living gods, the most dangerous artifact in existence to the Coalition States would be a simple children's school textbook.
>>46178798
Aww, that's cute, he's playing imagination!
>>46179449
As long as we're playing imagination, is it just me, or is Rifts the autism friendly version of Dungeons and Dragons?
>>46179547
I dunno, our resident autistic (savage worlds guy) is really mad about it so probably not.
>>46179547
Pretty much. It started as a heavily houseruled mix of 1st ed. D+D and Runequest. You still see a lot of that legacy in the rules.
>>46179604
I don't know, you seem way more autistic than the guy that mentioned Savage Worlds, you've mentioned about five times as much anyone else.
>>46179547
Also some Basic Roleplaying thrown in too.
>>46179723
>he's here
>at this very moment
>on a mongolian basketweaving forum
>pretending not to be himself
>he does it because he's mad
>mad about games
>>46148974
It's 40k meets Shadowrun
>>46179723
Just ignore him. The people who think Palladium rules are perfect are even more annoying than the people who hate everything about the game.
>>46179815
>he's still doing it
>he loves replying to himself
>because he's furiousfurious about games
>>46178492
>WotC - 3 new editions in the next 5 years
Heh, that's pretty funny. But honestly, if there's any game that desperately needs a new edition, it's Palladium.
>>46179414
>25 years of Rifts and still no Lazlo or Chi-Town sourcebooks
>>46179547
>is Rifts the autism friendly version of Dungeons and Dragons?
Pretty much. Kevin (with help from Wujcek) took a whole bunch of stuff from D&D, Call of Cthulhu, Traveller and others and mashed it all up.
>>46179892
I agree it's 2016 I can't believe all this heteronormative bullshit is still forced into every RPG. One look at Rifts and you can see that it's extremely trans* (especially *human and *gender) friendly, but without the solid narrative mechanics of a game like FATE, Apocalypse World or Savage Worlds it will never shine as the educational tool that we need it to be.
If you love roleplaying and want to see a transformative process (pun happily intended!) take place at Palladium books, make sure to support Rifts Savage Worlds and any other Palladium conversions that are Ally-Friendly that come along.
Thanks for listening and enjoy the rest of your morning fellow Palladium Fans! =^.^=!!!
>>46179949
Agreed. If the Bernie campaign has taught us anything it's that we need to be the change we want to see.
>>46179949
Well I've been doing my job in these threads. I make sure to mention Rifts Savage Worlds to any new posters that come in as soon as they get here. Down with Clunk!
>>46179892
So what are the defining characteristics of Palladium rules (aside from being laid out terribly)
1. Attributes make some difference but are far from defining a character.
2. There's no such thing as "balance" between power levels. Some characters can be flat-out stronger than others, but everyone can still contribute.
3. Skill selection matters, skills are fairly specific.
4. There isn't much power creep over levels: 1st level and 15th can both be competitive with each other.
5. Strong simulationist focus: as little as possible should be abstracted.
What else?
>>46180059
>4. There isn't much power creep over levels: 1st level and 15th can both be competitive with each other.
Spot on, except for magicians. They tend to get fairly powerful as they level up. They're one of the few classes that isn't front-loaded with everything.
>>46180059
6. Doesn't maintain a "living narrative" forcing every new player to read hundreds of pages of material to know everything about the system
7. Terribly clunky, way too many choices in combat, about ten times more than in the other clunky RPGs like D&D. Just terrible, I can't believe they honestly think a difference between a dodge and a parry roll matters, I mean come on.
8. Few (if any) representations of People of Color or LBGTQ* allies
9. Offensive usage of male pronouns in descriptions of NPCs with unspecified preferred pronouns
10. Way, way too much equipment that focuses on fighting and killing. Hundreds of guns? Really? What's the point? Are you trying to roleplay a Republican? (I hope not!)
11. No FATE point mechanic, leading to tons of missed rolls in combat creating an unfun condition for many players.
I cannot wait for Rifts Savage Worlds. I literally cannot.
>>46180059
These are so good. I feel liberated, like I've been waiting to hear these criticisms broached my whole life. Can you believe what a waste of a great setting this game has been? It's so **unbalanced** as it is right now, it can't even be taken seriously. It's like literally totally unbalanced as if the designer was some post-colonial slave owner who loves role disparity.
So much anger. Why are you so mad the Uncle Kevvy is trying to expand the reach of his game? The Coalition isn't going to show up and burn your OG Rifts books just because a new version came out.
>>46180169
Spot on! I wish I could upvote you, you are seriously literally speaking the truth right now. All these hate-filled nerds need to grow up and realize that it's 2016 and we're not going to be turned away from hobbies any more!
>>46180127
What type of effects should using bennies have in Rifts, do you think?
Reroll, obviously, in case you missed a crucial role.
Cause an MDC attack to miss if you do not have MDC protection
Turn normal shot into a called shot or a called shot into a critical hit?
Obviously these suggestions need some balancing but I think they are a great start.
>>46179949
>>46179980
>>46180127
>>46180154
>>46180224
Jesus christ, what's happening to the thread? Who let the D-Bee lovers in?
>>46180120
Although for Magicians they can acquire new spells any time they discover them (at least most normal mages/ley line walkers). So spells are a bit like equipment - they can be found and used at any time. Less so for the Mystic, but that's what you get for not studying.
Rifts aims for that "sweet spot" power level you find in D+D campaigns around 5-10th level of "useful, but not too powerful" and keeping all the player characters around there in terms of ability, with slow growth within those bounds and real differences in power.
>>46180291
Knock it off, what's wrong with you? Are you really one of those guys? Rifts is a friendly space, it has always been a friendly space and you need to back off. I for one won't stand for any more abuse in this thread. I'll report you.
Looking to start DMing for my group since our DM is taking a break. I've never done it before and I want to start simple, probably a modern setting with sueprnatural stuff. What's your favorite rifter campaign that deals with this?
>>46180291
Someone's trying to troll by cosplaying as "Super-Tumblr-SJW". It's annoying bullshit but if you ignore them they'll just go be butthurt on their own.
>>46180334
>SJW
Here we go, goobergrape has arrived. Let the abuse pour in.
>>46180273
I think these sound pretty good. In a narrative-focused system we don't need RNG constantly deciding who lives and who does the most damage, it should be a plot point just like any other good piece of fiction. After all, fiction first!
>>46180334
But why?
>>46180273
When should you get bennies? I'm thinking 3 or 4 per session plus bonuses for roleplaying within your aspects (I'm sure they'll replace the clunky "alignment" system in the new version). So maybe 4 or 5 per session for good players except for Vagabond who should definitely get at least double.
>>46180362
But Goobergrape is delicious, only rivaled by Gooberstrawberry.
>>46180433
>Troll making jokes about the abuse of women and minorities
I bet you don't even feel ashamed of yourself. I hate so-called "gamers".
>>46180432
That sounds pretty good. Rifts is a higher power level game than Savage Worlds core so I think it makes sense within the Narrative to have more bennies than in an average game.
>>46180398
For some reason they feel threatened by any suggestion the Palladium system is anything but absolutely perfect despite the fact that nobody has ever run a Rifts game without houseruling half a dozen things to make it work.
It's pathetic but these threads seem to attract them like flies.
>>46180307
Do you know if they are planning to restrict the available OCCs into groups based on power level in the new version? I am sooooooooooo sick of everyone picking some kind of super soldier every time we roll up new characters. When's it going to be my turn to decide what type of adventure we're playing? It isn't fair that someone is always hogging the spotlight with some kind of mecha pilot character in every game.
>>46180497
Did you mean to reply to >>46180433? Because you replied to yourself accidentally and I can't tell who you are talking to. Chat can be so confusing, I prefer voice. Does anyone have a skype channel?
>>46180495
I would love to have bennies in Rifts! I'm so sick of missing attacks, it really brings me right out of the action. I thought I was supposed to be a hero in this game? Or a worthy villain at least!
>>46180569
>>46180529
>>46180513
Samefag go home.
>>46180591
Quiet down, the adults are talking here. I'm putting you on ignore from now on because you can't be civil. Goodbye!
>>46180569
I can't wait for the new version. It's going to be great not to have to wade through clunky sloppy random mechanics every single time you want to play a session. How are you supposed to develop a character properly if you have to beg the dice to cooperate with anything you want to happen?
>>46180625
That's been my experience with most of these old games as well. Just pure clunk and slop every single time. "Oh, that person died mid-way through their character arc because something rolled high." It's really not even worth playing these older systems anymore, not without some serious changes. Luckily we've got some really good AW hacks out now and Interface Zero just came out for all the cyberpunk fans out there.
>>46180591
Oh here we go with this old trope again.
>>46180318
"Beyond the Supernatural" somewhat fits the bill but that's been out of print for a while. That's supernatural investigators in the modern era - low magic, fairly realistic setting aside from ghosts and monsters.
If you're more looking for supernatural horror (mostly in the form of body horror, conspiracy and mirrors that blink at you) then Nightbane is Palladium's main horror title.
There's also Dead Reign, which is their requisite post-apocalyptic zombie horror survival game.
Any particular campaign you were thinking of running?
>>46180669
I really don't even like Rifts. Ever since the first edition it's been all slave girls with oversized you know whats in every book. Really blatantly oversexualized female characters. There's never been a non-sexualized female in any Palladium product, I'm sure.
>>46180719
Don't forget Heroes Unlimited, I just got into HU and I think it is easily the best Palladium game. We play on Sunday, it's been amazing.
>>46180719
>>46180756
Yeah, I definitely want to run out of Beyond the Supernatural. I know that much. My group usually plays HU on Sundays as well and I do love it, but my DM needs a break so I'll be taking the mantle. I'd like to do something like The Secret World; crazy mythology and supernatural shit leaking into the real world and all that.
I was asking about campaigns in particular, I don't really know where to begin to find one that would fit. I'm looking through the synopsis of some of the rifters to see if there are any good ones but I feel like I'm just looking blindly. Any recommendations?
>>46180800
I'd suggest making your own campaign that revolves around some of the great tropes presented in the World of Darkness games.
>>46180800
Look into Nightbane!
>>46180756
HU is probably one of the better superhero systems out there.
>>46180800
Specific campaigns: Ghostbusters, Paranormal investigators, uncovering conspiracies (government supernatural research?), etc.
>>46180874
Oh I agree. As soon as we make that system shed the pure unadulterated clunk that plagues it I'm sure we'll be left with one of the best systems of all time. Just a simple addition of a bennies system will improve the game so much!
>bennies
Fucking cancer
>>46180840
Yeah I think that's what's going to end up happening, and I'm cool with it. Worldbuilding is fun, just afraid of biting off more than I can chew.
>>46180860
>Nightbane
Whoa! This actually looks awesome! I didn't know about this, thanks.
>>46180874
>Specific campaigns: Ghostbusters, Paranormal investigators, uncovering conspiracies (government supernatural research?), etc.
I will look into these, thanks anon
>>46180934
Just watch out, Nightbane is just as clunky as all the other Palladium games. I hope you aren't planning on inflicting all that clunk on your group, it's really just unplayable with all that extra clunk.
>>46180934
You're welcome, hope that helps. If you really want to throw them a curveball, mix genres a little.
>>46181432
I think that remixing genres is really what Palladium games are all about. There is such a strong transhumanism aspect to most of their games, they are really like the forerunner to many great new products like Eclipse Phase and CthulhuTech, two games that I really love.
>>46180934
How many players are you working with?And what's the duration of the campaign? Just a one shot, or something ongoing?
>>46182026
He's going to be DMing for us while our DM goes on hiatus.
>>46182105
oh god who are you
>>46182026
Something for at least a couple of weeks probably, maybe months. Like the other guy said, depends on our DM. We're 5 people.
>>46182288
I think the most important advice I can give you as a big fan of narrative-style gaming is to remember that fiction always comes first in every instance of player conflict. If you just let the plotline get out of control you will never be able to handle getting the players back on the course again and it will all immediately fall apart. It would help if there wasn't such a strong master/slave dynamic inherent in these games and they encouraged everyone to take the role of leader at different times.
>>46180800
I've used Delta Green and Call of Cthulu campaigns and story arcs in Beyond the Supernatural before, they fit well theme wise and are pretty easy to port over.
>>46182547
Oh I love Delta Green! Are you excited about the new kickstarter or what?
>>46182584
I threw some money at them to get the book when it goes to print. It's not a system I've run but one my groups run games of it semi frequently, the guy who GM's it has all the books and they are a great source of inspiration for other games.
>my Rifts group has teamed up with Karotechia to dick over Atlantean slavers. This totally didn't bite them in the ass down the line....
>>46158272
no, part of the sorcerers revenge was charge on cs front lines. the cs were routed and for an entire week tolkeen chased and slaughtered them. along with the death, many shifters lost control of monsters and demons=torture and eating
>>46147736
When is the Coalition wizard team book out?
>>46184855
Couple months
>>46185695
Is that really a couple of months, or is it actually coming out May 2017?
>>46185801
Says here that it's coming out as soon as Savage Worlds is a good game. So I wouldn't hold your breath.
>>46148974
Real Answer: A Nuclear attack at the second-worst possible time at once of the worst places sends the spiritual energy of millions of souls into Earth's depleted Magic Field, supercharging the planet and causing the collapse of civilization. Three- to four-hundred years later, Earth is a hodgepoge of POST-post-apocalyptic states, Demonic invaders, Alien refugees, Eldritch drug-dealers, transdimensional mercenaries, Ancient Gods, time-displaced cities, Vampire crustaceans, and the descendants of the US Navy.
>>46171477
Chuck Walton has been doing some awesome stuff in recent books.
>>46186520
His stuff is great, but I feel like he needs a pen and an eraser for the pencil lines.
>>46183005
>Atlantean slavers.
>bite them in the ass
Literally or figuratively?
>>46188591
Why not both?
>>46186520
Honestly Palladium has been pretty fucking lucky to get some really good artists.
>>46191373
And some lucky licenses. Between Robotech/Macross and TMNT that's some of the bigger franchises in the 80s and 90s of pop culture.
>>46178492
Modiphius, if you force them to keep the Palladium system?
Have a bunch of fan made OCCs and RCCs, probably a complete autistic shitshow though.
Has anyone ever tried running Rifts in another system? GURPS could probably make a good bash at it, what with its default setting being Infinite Worlds and all.
>>46155777
...WHAT?
That's...I spent three weeks going over that 'Ultimate Edition' rulebook word for word and *that's* how it's supposed to be played?
Nu-Uh, Fuck this! House rules all the way now!
is there a possibility we could name the next general for Palladium rather than Rifts? It's like a Chinese place saying they only serve fried rice
>>46196297
>>46198041
Awww look, Savage Worlds aspie is back! Hey man, did you ever make it to that autism-friendly screening of the Force Unleashed? I know how much you wanted to see the Savage Worlds of Star Wars!
>>46165949
As someone who forgets rules and is about to DM i kind of wanna blow you right now, thank you
>>46199147
>>46162763
>>46178672
It sounds like you want to see that screening, Kevin, since you won't shut up about it.
>>46199188
Awww, looks like I struck a chord with our pet samefagging autistic troll.Pro tip, cutie. Not everyone who is making fun of you is the same person.
>>46199188
It would be kind of pathertic, except that shitposter is nearly half the posts in the thread and contributes absolutely nothing.
He's the herpes of Palladium games. Everywhere, impossible to get rid of, not dangerous but seriously annoying.
>>46187737
>he needs a pen and an eraser for the pencil lines.
He does. All his stuff looks like unfinished sketches. Give the man a good inker and his stuff would be fantastic.
But my fave is still Ramon Perez's stuff.
>>46199398
Yeah, it's bizarre how one or two Palladium fanboys (like the guy who keeps talking about "the savage worlds aspie" all the time) shit up their own thread with so many insults that it's almost unreadable.
Way to sell your favorite game to other people.
>>46199444
>Maybe if I ignore everyone making fun of me and keep doing it they'll think I'm cool
Trips confirm, you are cool. Very, very cool.
>>46199444
This is really, really mortifying. Think about what you are doing. You've got a mental illness.
>>46199444
Some threads really show you why certain game systems are dying.
>>46199418
Ramon Perez is probably one of the best artists they've had, it's just a shame others seem so terrible. Case in point - the "sunfire" robot in Northern Gun 1. It really just doesn't look professional at all.
>>46199723
>Some threads really show you why certain game systems are dying.
Amen to that.
As for art, it's always been a very mixed bag in Rifts, from the start. There's usually a great lead artist, like Long or Perez, plus 3-4 very second-rate artists that kind of churn our mediocre filler, +2-4 amateurs who are terrible but Kevin takes pity on them or something.
>>46200571
>As for art, it's always been a very mixed bag in Rifts, from the start. There's usually a great lead artist, like Long or Perez, plus 3-4 very second-rate artists that kind of churn our mediocre filler, +2-4 amateurs who are terrible but Kevin takes pity on them or something.
Hopefully they can focus more on putting the amateur artists in the Rifter, and promoting the people with talent into the more official books. It's kind of nice seeing some amateur artists getting a shot at doing artwork for the game, but not when it's an official book that you're shelling out more money for.
I remember a time when mods would remove threads being samefagged by some retard pretending to have a conversation with himself.
>>46202411
Pepperidge farms remembers too.
>>46202411
It's really annoying to see, but at least they keep the thread bumped right?
>>46199418
Parez and Walton are my favorites, both make Rifts look completely different, but awesome none the less.
Really dislike Vince Martins balloon art though, think thats who the artist is that just has the three lines for his sig
>>46203842
I kind of like his stuff. It all looks a bit the same, but he's good at the Naruni weapons at least, and gives them a distinct flair.
It seems like he should at least be kept on for doing a few types of weapons and armor.
So, Rifters, what's your next character going to be?
>>46203842
Three lines for his sig. Lol it's a stylized M you retard.
>>46207682
I want to do an Operator as a drone master. I guess sort of a rip off of riggers in Shadowrun.
>>46207682
I am in a Transdimensional TMNT game and I just rolled up my character. I am an escaped sample Ankylosuarus taken from the Jurassic time period who ended trained by a guy obsessed with medieval lore (altered Ninja background, I traded HTH Ninja for Expert and a few historical skills) so he has knightly skills.
I got 20 BIO Points from my background and 80 from shrinking down to Size 7. And I bought full biped and hands, partial speech, and Extra-Heavy Body Armor (AR 17, SDC +120). He is a beast to hurt, a good thing because I rolled abysmally on his speed (7) so he isn't dodging crap.
He has taken to calling himself Sir Reginald of Lyons (the game is set in the Chicago area. He is trying to keep a lower profile, the company that snatched him considers him a valuable test subject and is still on the lookout for him, but the rights of the downtrodden must be avenged.
>>46207682
I want to run Rifts as a Burning Wheel game.
Somewhere a bit more low tech, like a gang in the Burbs' or something.
Not sure if I will take this challenge on, but its certainly going to be on my mind.
>>46208130
Please tell me he always tries to carry himself as formally, like a proper medieval nobleman.
Considering he's traveled millions of years to get to the present, being off on local customs by only a millenia would be pretty close.
>>46211377
I haven't played him yet, our first game is this weekend. We did all our rolling for characters last Saturday.
That is exactly what I am going for. Gentleman Dinosaur. Since he has ridiculous natural armor he is not a knight in shining armor, but he does have a shield. I haven't decided on what sort of "accent" dinosaur partial speech is, I don't think it is a sibilant one like a snake's hiss. I am waffling between a bird-like voice or a growl-y crocodile-like voice.
>>46212564
Nah, posh british accent the whole way.
>>46212641
But I don't have Full Speech so I have to go for a more animalistic speech pattern. The game killed me with BIO-E for being a biped and having real hands (15 and 20 points respectively).
I suppose I could get full speech if I downgraded the Armor to Heavy (AR 15 SDC +75) (freeing up 15 points) and getting full speech (5 points) and bumping my size to 9.
>>46212872
Aim for an old man British accent then. Mumbling and "hum, he, yesh, very good". Thick and unintelligible enough that nobody can tell what the fuck you're saying.
>>46199147
Stop projecting your hidden lusts for lightsaber dildos on everyone.
>>46150407
We need to make a Otaku Shifter class variant that can summon anime characters and open Rifts to Anime realities. Desertion to Harem anime realities would be a constant problem though.
Anybody have Megaverse in Flames?
>>46215666
So instead of "Link to the Supernatural" you'd give them "Link to Waifu"?
Yeah, that might create problems.
>>46214874
No, I cannot contain my lust for Savage Worlds
>>46207682
I'm taking inspiration from something in one of the World Books.Book 14, pages 199-200
>>46210201
What the heck is that thing on the chest supposed to be?
>>46221081
The robot's torso can take off and fly around as an aircraft.
>itsriftsiaintgottaexplainshit.jpg
>>46219126
Faggot
>>46221451
Huh, sounds legit.
Anyone thought of running a Rifts "police quest" campaign?
Having to deal with juicers, crazies and borgs in a podunk town seems like it could be a regular source of adventures.
>>46215666
calm down satan
>>46224828
Did a "Rifter" already have a mage that can turn into a cartoon character? I think that's a morphus in Nightbane as well.
>>46225249
>"Rifter"
>>46225487
>Doesn't realize the Rifter is the best thing Palladium puts out.
>>46225934
The best characters my group ever had came from the Rifter, we made a party using all the obscure CS OCCs in it. Everyone else played a CS NBC/Study , and i used the CS Cook specialist class. later on we had a guy who was helping set up those high altitude hover relays the CS uses instead of satellites.
We had a great time, we beat the fuck out out of a bunch simvian with the power of logistics.
>>46227316
>beat the fuck out out of a bunch simvian with the power of logistics.
that's hardcore shit.
So just grinding them down in skirmishes while you got resupplied and they didn't?
Mutants in Orbit really seems overdue for a new edition - a more rifts-focused update would be great.
>Scramble to colonize the outer planets
>Mutants on Titan
>Pirates in the belt
>Open war between stations
>Euro station being evacuated to Venus
>Laika crashes on the far side of the moon
>War to reclaim mars from giant insects
>Attempts to leave the solar system and running into terrors between stars
>>46223619
That might actually be pretty cool. All the mayhem of RIFTS without having to go bigger and badder in terms of opposition and the rest.
>Colonialism IN SPAAACE
>>46223619
If I was running a police game I'd make the PCs Coalition Cops in the burbs. More moral ambiguity and Wierd encounters.
>>46234652
Make sure at least one of them is secretly a D-bee, trying to use his powers to solve crimes without being detected himself.
