Jab's Rifts Builds (Rifts- A Final Summation!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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catsi563
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dolphins & Whales! Whale Magic! Lord of the Deep!)

Post by catsi563 »

I read them did a lot of rifts adventuring at one point so lots of nostalgia for me.
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Shadow Sharks

Post by Jabroniville »

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SHADOW SHARKS
Role:
Nightmare Fuel, Apex Oceanic Predator
PL 9 (91)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Sea Acrobatics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Bite) 3 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 14 (+13, +15 Size)
Perception 10 (+10)
Stealth 9 (+11, +6 Size)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Bite) 4, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 6 (Extended 2 & Acute Scent, Tracking-Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [6]
"Lateral Lines" Senses 1 (Ranged Touch) [1]
"Electrolocation" Senses 5 (Detect Electrical Signals- Acute, Accurate & Ranged) [5]

"Sea Creature"
Swimming 4 (16 mph) [4]
Immunity 1 (Drowning) [1]

"Natural Size" Growth 5 (Str & Sta +5, +5 Mass, +2 Intimidation, -2 Dodge/Parry, -5 Stealth) -- (18 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [11]
"Shark Scales" Protection 1 [1]
"Shark's Bite" Strength-Damage +4 [4]

"Bio-Regeneration" Regeneration 6 [6]
Concealment (Vision) 2 (Flaws: Source- Shadow) [2]

"Ocean Magic" (Black Water, Change Current, Sonic Blast, Water Pulse, Tongues, 1D4 of choice)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shark Bite +7 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +10, Fortitude +11, Will +6

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Sharks cannot speak to humans, nor use their fins to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled- Sharks require water to survive, and will die quickly if left out of it. Also, they MUST be able to continue swimming to be able to breathe- if trapped by anything, they will slowly drown.

Total: Abilities: 18 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 41 + Magic / Defenses: 16 (109 + Magic)

-Shadow Sharks hail from another dimension, and are twice as big as Tiger Sharks, the variety which they most resemble. Smarter and semi-magical, they disappear in the shadows and are clever hunters, typically killing sentient beings because this is Rifts.
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Underseas Gear

Post by Jabroniville »

UNDERSEAS GEAR:
-Gear in Rifts Underseas is split into each individual group's page, meaning it's spread out. The bit on Whale Armor appears with the Whale R.C.C.s, for example.

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GUNS:
-A lot of pretty ordinary stuff, though some are meant to be used underwater. Tritonia uses "Blue-Green" lasers (Blast 7-10) and a "Stormbringer" Rocket Launcher (Blast 14). The New Navy has variants of Blast 10 stuff, but looks more boxy than Martin's usual art. The Naut'Yll have Johnson-drawn shiny, boxy/swooping-bits gear doing Blast 11-13. Horune get a Blast 13 Sonic Rifle, and a +12 Energy Trident. The Splugorth have created underwater Rail Guns doing Blast 14 damage, elite grenades, and Horune-level gear otherwise. Plus a bunch of Rune Weapons with magical powers attached. The NGR get their own Blast 11-13 gear, too.

ARMOR:
* Most of these can allow the wearers to survive underwater.

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"SCUBA Armor": +8 Toughness.
-Tritonia's gear.

"Amphib Armor": +9 Toughness.
-Amphib variant of the above.

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"Merbot Power Armor": +12 Toughness, ST 10, Swimming 7, Wrist Laser +11, Torpedos, "Beach Stormer" Blast 14.
-A really cool-looking Martin-drawn "Merman Armor" with segmented tail, multiple "fins", and a few pointy bits sticking off. Really inventive. Generic capabilities, though.

"Navy Body Armor": +8 Toughness.
-Crappy, super-weak New Navy gear.

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"US Marine Armor": +8 Toughness.
-Slightly-enhanced version of the above.

"Semper Fi Amphibious Assault Power Armor": +12 Toughness, ST 8, "Multi-Gun" Blast 14.
-The elite Power Armor of the New Navy's Marines.

"LEWS-9 Light Environmental Wet Suit": +7 Toughness.
-The lightest of light wetsuits. Just a cheap "whatever" thing.

"MEWS-10 Medium Environmental Wet Suit": +8 Toughness.
-Just a bigger version of the above.

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"Aqua-Tech LEA-50 Deep Sea Power Armor": +11 Toughness, Swimming 6, Flight 6, ST 6, Blast 11, Mini-Missiles.
-Solid gear, and a "meatier" Martin-drawn set-up, with bulbous limbs, seashell-bra bits on the front, and a pair of large, rounded jets atop "wings".

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When you fail "Sword Safety" in Weapons Class.

"Aqua-Tech Orca-50 Deep Sea Power Armor": +12 Toughness, Swimming 6, Flight 6, ST 6, Blast 13, Vibro-Swords +9.
-Very lightweight-looking, but a muscular guy wearing it makes it look bigger. Two tiny, rear-facing "fins" on the arms that are actually Vibro-Swords (which seems totally safe). Seems unusual that it's mightier than the LEA-50.

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"Aqua-Tech Orca-100 Deep Sea Power Armor": +14 Toughness, Swimming 6, Flight 6, ST 6, Blast 13-15, Mini-Missiles.
-Shockingly has a BOOM GUN-level armament on it, describing it all simply as a "weapon cluster" even though it does 3D6x10 damage. The art is the most bulky thing compared to Martin's Titan Juicer, with a huge rear jet pack and more.

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"Shell Body Armor": +9 Toughness.
-Naut'Yll body armor. Basic but has a cool, distinct helmet.

"Shell Body Armor": +10 Toughness.
-Korallyte version of the above.

"APAL-10 Naut'Yll Torpedo Power Armor": +10-12 Toughness, Swimming 6, ST 6.
-Generic, boring-looking segmented Power Armor that can either be normal or Korallyte (the tougher version).

"APAL-20 Naut'Yll Techno-Wizard Power Armor": +12 Toughness, Swimming 6, ST 6.
-Has a bunch of Magic Spells placed onto it, depending on the user's preference.

"Sea Hunter Robot Vehicle": +12 Toughness, Speed 5, Swimming 4, 10 feet tall, Blast 15, Torpedos, ST 10.
-Combat Robot of the Naut'Yll.

"Deathbringer Combat Robot": +14 Toughness, Speed 5, Swimming 4, 20 feet tall, Blast 14, Torpedos, ST 11, Pincers +13.
-Giant Combat Robot of the Naut'Yll. Looks like a giant crab.

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"War Urchin Power Armor": +11 Toughness, Speed 4, Leaping 3, Flight 6, ST 6, Three different sets of magic abilties.
-A Techno-Wizard bit of Kittani tech (since they're disallowed magic, TWs empower completed suits) with a LOT of random magical powers that can be activated separately.

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When only "Full Image Comics" designs will do, you simply must include Cock Spikes.

"Kittani Destroyer Power Armor": +14 Toughness, Speed 4, Flight 5, 13 feet tall, ST 10, Three different sets of magical abilities, Six kinds of magic attacks, Grenades, Blast 14 Double-Gun.
-A friggin' HUGE set of Kittani power armor, made up of various "Martin Traits"- organic-looking rounded armor, a spikey shoulder pad, asymmetrical features, guns upon guns, random holes in the suit to justify whatever, Cock Spikes, a huge gun, and a tiny head. Has even more Magic than the War Urchin.

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"Cock SPIKES? Amateur."

"Kittani War Fish Power Armor": +13 Toughness, Speed 4, Swimming 8, 16 feet long, ST 8, Blast 12-13, Vibro-Blades +10, Torpedos.
-Looking like Martin's version of the insanely detailed Kittani gear in Rifts Atlantis, this mimics the Centaur power armor and instead has fins and tails. Including two giant jet-pods with narwhal-horns on them, a big rear fin, multiple extraneous bits that are pointless, a Dick Gun, and about 14 different kinds of weapons on it.

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Holy shit, did Martin just copy off of Ewell's sketchpad or what?

"Kittani War Crab Power Armor": +15 Toughness, Swimming 2, 20 feet tall, ST 10, Blast 13-15, Claws +13, Torpedos.
-Actually an even BETTER version of the Rifts Atlantis gear, this Crab-Centaur suit is nearly as tough as a Glitter Boy, and does EVEN MORE DAMAGE, with 4D6x10 damage from a Quadruple Blast of their Quad-Plasma Cannon Turret, something I'm shocked Kevin S let into the game (it's likely he wasn't paying attention, after seeing suit after suit given stats). It has about six different kinds of gun, and a detachable "robot" (the upper, humanoid part of the armor, which is empty of pilots and meant as a distraction).

"TXD-6 & 8 Frogman Armors": +8-9 Toughness, Blast 10-13 gear, Vibro-Blades +8.
-Looks like a generic SCUBA-suit. Made by the NGR.

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See, this shit looks like such a let-down when you put all the awesome Martin art in the earlier part of the book.

"TXD-100 Ultra Deep-Sea Power Armor": +13 Toughness, Flight 4, Swimming 6, ST 7, Blast 10, Missiles, +2 Damage unarmed.
-Another generic Long design, this one with his patented "angry man" face sitting in a shiny underwater suit of power armor. HUGE jetpack on the back, and a big drum of mini-missiles on one shoulder (one of the few Rifts things to actually draw a complete Missile Launcher onto it- most just have tiny slots in the gear to fit them.

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"VX-20,000 Barracuda": +14 Toughness, Flight 4, Swimming 8, ST 8, Blast 12, Missiles, +2 Damage unarmed.
-Actually a Full-Conversion Cyborg, this just looks like a Veritech or something- likely the result of Long tracing anime again.
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Vehicles

Post by Jabroniville »

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VEHICLES:
-oh, geez. This section looked small at first, but then just snowballed into nightmare territory, with EVERYONE getting stuff. This has some of the worst "Bloat" in the entire Rifts series, with FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS of giant sub/carrier-type super-ships with similar MDC counts. Every group has a "light" armor, "medium" armor, and strong Power Armor.

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The issue with using Martin so much is that he's not really that good at "shaking up" his designs- so all of his stuff looks like it belongs to the same military force.

-The New Navy has a 600 MDC mini-sub, and two Combat Sleds that mimic the gear dolphins get (Martin drew them, so they have many similar visual traits, though are less streamlined and more bubble-shaped, especially the Sea Fin, which has a HUGE structure on top, making it look like a weird building). Both have +10 Toughness and some generic guns & torpedos. The New Navy get a transport ship, a combat boat, and some of the only Rifts flying vehicles you'll see. And a submarine with over 1,000 MDC, and the Ticonderoga itself- a 20,000 MDC super-aircraft carrier that can do 1D4x100 Damage with its Ion Pulse Cannons! The Naut'Yll get some very slender, Martin-drawn bulbous ships- either 150 or 1,100 MDC. Horune Sea Sleds only have 233 MDC, but their Dream Ships have 20,000 MDC and can go toe-to-toe with the Ticonderoga, making you wonder why the New Navy isn't easily beaten by these monsters, since there is more than one of them. Their Strike Ships have 6000+ MDC as well. The NGR get a transformable sub with 400+ MDC and a "Mech" version, plus a ton of different submarines, and a 14,000 MDC battleship and 20,000 MDC submersible carrier in their "secret navy" nobody knows about.

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Long's stuff is even worse here. Look at this- two different species and this looks like a re-detailed version of the other thing.

-Kittani have a 3000 MDC Submarine, 850-MDC Mini-Subs, and a Splugorth Sea Skimmer, one of the most dangerous things in the setting, but so clearly another version of the Horune Dream Ship that it's a bit silly- did Kevin Long just draw two things and Kevin S decided to use both? Because they're CLEARLY the same artist doing the same thing- ships drawn to look like floating high-heeled shoes. These have 30,000 MDC (about Toughness +24, maybe?), Plasma Guns that will kill a Glitter Boy in one shot (4D4x100 MDC!), and more. They have 30 Eyes of Eylor, giving them weird abilities. Fatal & Friends notes that it's WAY more powerful than the Splugorth gear in Rifts Atlantis, proving yet again that Carella completely overpowered some aspects of the game. A weaker Sea Fin has only half the toughness, and looks likea generic sub with some "evil fins" on the back- not a Sploog device.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dragon Ray! Zomba! Stidjron! Underseas Gear!)

Post by Jabroniville »

And that does it for Rifts Underseas! A very interesting book that kind of encapsulates everything about the setting- ridonkulous Power Armor. Great Vince Martin art. Carella's "Nations of Adventure" stuff (sooooo many different societies!). Stuff vastly overpowering later stuff, like multi-thousand M.D.C. vehicles, guns that way overpower prior stuff and something snuck in that can beat a Boom Gun (Siembieda must have been FURIOUS to discover this!). Plus a ton of Shockingly-Evil Monsters, "M.D.C." is dumb examples all over the place, guns that are barely different from each other, and the infamous Whale Power Armor. It's a book that's equal parts silly, dumb, crazy, and "haha, this is actually pretty awesome"- pure Rifts.

Plus all the promises of Lemurians! Can you imagine chomping at the bit to see Rifts Lemuria? A book that was over TWENTY YEARS late?
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Rifts New West

Post by Jabroniville »

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RIFTS WORLD BOOK FOURTEEN- NEW WEST (1997):
-Another of my favorite side-books, New West explores the previously under-utilized portions of the American West, where of course they've taken a regional stereotype and made an entire setting out of it. So it turns out that in the lawless wilderness that is a de-populated zone, all of the generic Wild West tropes have come anew and nobody pronounces the "G" at the end of any words. But with, like, cyborgs and robots & junk. So you've got your cowboys, farm-hands, miners, preachers, sharp-shooters, gunfights and saloon girls, all copying what 1990s teens thought of as "The West". Oh, the previous books indicated that the Cyber-Knights hailed from "Out West"? Well, they're not really here. I mean, they ARE, but not in this book- they just mostly ignore them, because of course the Cyborg Zen Arthurian Knights don't fit into the visual milieu with a damn.

This book was, to me, Ramon Perez's finest Rifts work. An artist known for gritty-looking, '90s-style people with scuffed-up, "lived in" armor, he exemplified the setting to me as much as any other artist. While Vince Martin had more work, his armor was all very shiny and spotless, looking fresh off the assembly line. Perez's armored guys looked like they'd been in FIGHTS. Scrappy, tough-looking smart-asses in armor that'd lost some MDC here and there, ya know? And that style was perfect for the gritty, cartoonish version of the Wild West seen here.

The book wisely JUST focuses on the "Cowboy" stuff, as Spirit West came out shortly, focusing on uncomfortable Indian Stereotypes and mostly being ignored by the setting forever. But of course, this book is arguably the worst in Rifts history for "Class Bloat", pumping O.C.C. after O.C.C. into the setting, with incrementally tiny differences throughout. I mean... there's a GunFIGHTER and a GunSLINGER. Two OTHER guys with "Slinger" in their name, too. A Saddle Tramp, who is just "like other classes, but worse, but maybe a funny, lazy loser". Three or four varieties of useless NPC classes, a "Justice Ranger" to act as a vigilante... and in my favorite example in the entire setting... a Sheriff AND a Deputy! WHY IN THE HELL ARE THEY DIFFERENT CLASSES!?!?!?

And that was BEFORE I actually statted up the classes. I swear I actually enjoyed this book more before I actually had to stat up all the O.C.C.s, because that's when I realized that they copied the same "trick shot" text, filling 1/4 of a page about ten times over with the exact same descriptions of gunfighter tricks. So many of the classes are "Like X, but with Y" that it becomes silly.

One of the most peculiar aspects of the book is that almost every class you'll find offers up "O.C.C. Bonuses" to stats, often useless stuff like "+2 to pull punch", but usually with minor bonuses to your statistics or toughness. It's a cool effect that honestly should have been on EVERY class, but I've only ever seen it here and in things like Juicers & Crazies, which offer up stat-boosts as a major class feature.

I can't go any further without mentioning the sheer amount of the term "Scalawag" you will find in here. I'm pretty sure about 50% of the O.C.C. descriptions use it at least once. And OH MY GOD THE TYPOS. Every other page seems to feature "vehilces" or something like that. One class is even called a "P.C.C.".

This book is also the one to feature a lot of real-world Dinosaurs, now inexplicably fitted with MDC bodies because MEGA DAMAGE IS DUMB, and it's a necessity to make them anything other than a joke in a setting where regular civilians have access to weapons equivalent to a broadside from a fully-loaded battleship.

The co-author (alongside Kevin Siembieda), Chris Kornmann, appeared to work on a handful of Palladium titles between 1997 and 2001 before dropping out- I'm not sure what became of him, but he also did Psyscape and some additional books of collected things (Book of Magic, Bestiary). This is apparently his debut for Palladium, as he'd heard of their upcoming "New West" idea, and while waiting for it, came up with his own stuff and submitted it. This was close enough to Kevin's "vision" (for those still unaware, Kevin is a notorious over-promiser who also takes on too much for himself, so he often has to pawn off jobs to others), and so he was hired on.
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Saddle Tramp

Post by Jabroniville »

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SADDLE TRAMP O.C.C.
Role:
Shitty Class, Drifters
PL 7 (64)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 2 (+4)
Insight 4 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+8)
Technology 4 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Guns, Armor, etc.), Ranged Attack 4

Equipment:
"Big Bore Shotgun" Blast 8 (16)
"MDC Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gun +6 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Disabled (Under-Educated)- A huge majority of the human population is now illiterate and under-educated.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (64)

-Ugh, this is so Rifts. A character class that repeatedly trashes the concept IN THE DESCRIPTION, pointing out how they're lazy bums who drift about from place to place with no goal in mind, but aren't outlaws... not because they're too moral, but because they don't want to work hard at it. So basically they're Hobos. They're swindlers and con-men, but somewhat charismatic and enjoy the finer things... temporarily, as their money usually runs out. Oh, but they know how to fight, so they often end up as companions to... other fighters? Lawmen, adventurers, mercenaries and bandits often have Saddle Tramps as an "extra guy", I guess? Oddly, despite going on and on about how shitty they are, they have remarkably bad-ass O.C.C. Art, featuring a muscular cyborg with smoking pistols and a "downturned hat" shadowy grimace.

-Saddle Tramps are unusual in that they're more of a low-grade version of every other combat class, but get decent enough gear to "hang" at PL 7. They're sorta half-way between a Vagabond Non-Skilled and an actually gifted cowboy, but are explicitly mentioned as good "companions" (ie. sidekicks).
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dragon Ray! Zomba! Stidjron! Underseas Gear!)

Post by Ares »

It sounds like these guys are suppose to be more of a "ROLEplaying" class where you play a charismatic type who supports other heroes, but for the life of me I can't imagine why you'd play that in a game like RIFTS.

I mean, if you want to play the smooth talker, con-man, fixer or what have you, you play a charming gambler or an alchemist who functions as a Rifts snake-oil salesman, something that'd actually be fun to play. Because Saddle Tramp sounds like an NPC class, or just a waste of page space.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dragon Ray! Zomba! Stidjron! Underseas Gear!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, they're pretty much the kind of thing Kevin S LOVES- guys who suck, but have some "character" to them. It's just funny because you don't really need a separate CLASS for "traveling hobo", but... this book is full of that. Thank God the art and style is terrific throughout.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dragon Ray! Zomba! Stidjron! Underseas Gear!)

Post by catsi563 »

Interestingly in a game ran prior to the ocean campaign we did. the group ran a wild west one of the players did a saddle tramp inspired a bit by Jack Reacher. the character was one that didn't settle in one place too long had a bit of wanderlust. played right though those type of vagabond occs can be fun if you give them that reacher vibe of I go where the wind takes me and oh yeah I guess I help people out on the way.
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Cowboy

Post by Jabroniville »

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COWBOY O.C.C.
Role:
Literal Cowboy
PL 7 (75)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8)
Expertise (Cowboy) 8 (+8)
Insight 4 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Perception 5 (+6)
Technology 4 (+4)
Treatment 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Cowboy Gear), Minion 5 (Horse), Ranged Attack 2

Equipment:
"Big Bore Shotgun" Blast 8 (16)
"MDC Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Shotgun +6 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (The Code of the West)- Minor stuff like how to greet a fellow cowboy (assume they're friendly; offer hospitality) and to dismount if another does.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (75)

-New West is clear that it both adheres to and avoids the romanticism of the Wild West- going all "oh this is just a romantic ideal" but then putting these guys out there as put-upon do-gooders. Cowboys on Rifts Earth are doomed to a short career of constant action, MDC monsters, and invasions from hostile military forces while they live their lives out being underpaid for drudge-work like mending fences and chasing down animals. The job is so bad that most are either minorities, Psi-Stalkers, or D-Bees. However, in this lawless world, ranchers (60%) can become so mighty and wealthy that Cowboys are basically their private army. Most, however, will follow "The Code of the West", which is like the whole Knight thing they copy into every book, but thankfully shorter and not cut & paste.

-The art at least looks stylish and cool, avoiding most of the tired tropes- it's a young man with shades and a chin-goatee (the apex of '90s fashion), an Eastwoodian scarf and a casual look.

-Cowboys are another "Regular Job" class, don't have access to terrific gear (typically only 50 MDC armor), and even have some pretty crappy skills- they're more utilitarian than great fighters.
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Sheriff

Post by Jabroniville »

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SHERIFF/LAWMAN O.C.C.
Role:
The Law In These Here Parts
PL 9 (94)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8)
Expertise (Law) 9 (+10)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Technology 4 (+5)
Treatment 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Benefit 1 (Reputation), Equipment 5 (Lawman's Gear), Minion 5 (Horse), Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Weapon Mastery/Quick-Draw Initiative"
Enhanced Skills 2: Ranged Combat (Rifle) 2 (+8) [1]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Improved Initiative 2 (Flaws: Limited to With Rifle) [1]

Equipment:
"Laser Rifle" Blast 10 (20)
"MDC Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Laser Rifle +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The Law)- A Sheriff is meant to uphold the law at all costs. This can make them very unpopular, or a marked man.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 12 (94)

-New West puts a lot of focus on the concept of the "Local Sheriff" archetype, and the idea that each town or region should hopefully have SOMEBODY in charge of the law, and if they don't, anarchy reigns. Sheriffs are said to be charismatic guys who are taken seriously, and given some combat bonuses to improve them just a little bit. Most of their stuff seems pretty small-time, but the book indicates that places without Sheriffs will have to be overseen by guys who cover multiple towns, and so each town might not see the law for days or weeks at a time, especially if the Cyber-Knights don't share the territory. The picture is of a guy who could easily just be a Wild West Sheriff from a movie- he doesn't look "Rifts" at all. Granted, that's kind of what the book says most people look like, but the rest of the World Book seems to have SOME MDC-type gear on guys.

-A Sheriff receives a boost to accuracy & initiative with one type of weapon (I went with Rifles here), gets some good gear (generally "Bandito Arms or Northern Gun", which can mean a LOT of stuff), and even has some Reputation once he hits 6th level.
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Sheriff's Deputy

Post by Jabroniville »

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SHERIFF'S DEPUTY O.C.C.
Role:
Superfluous Jobber Class
PL 8 (74)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8)
Expertise (Law) 5 (+5)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Investigation 5 (+6)
Perception 5 (+6)
Technology 4 (+4)
Treatment 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Lawman's Gear), Minion 5 (Horse), Ranged Attack 1

Equipment:
"Laser Rifle" Blast 10 (20)
"MDC Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Laser Rifle +5 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (The Law)- A Sheriff is meant to uphold the law at all costs. This can make them very unpopular, or a marked man. Deputies share these duties.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (74)

-These guys are HILARIOUS. Even as a kid, I was like "WTF?" and "Who the F would play this?" about these guys. And... why not just have them also be the "Sheriff" class, but at lower-level? Or assume they're standard Men At Arms or something? It's SO DUMB. It's 100% "Like the Sheriff, but lower requirements and sucks more" because they have the same O.C.C. Skills, but lower (except they get two more of the "Other Skills" section for some reason). The whole thing seems so goofy.

-Towns that can afford a real police department will typically have a Sheriff and a few Deputies, though others will have numerous of each. They're worse overall.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Bounty Hunter

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

See, this is why I love the art in this book. Used-looking tech, great character design, and they even made the extra step and turned this guy into an ALIEN character, so it's not just a book full of crusty old white guys doing Western stereotypes.

BOUNTY HUNTER O.C.C.
Role:
Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, The Baseline Guy
PL 9 (119)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Expertise (Bounty Hunter) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 3 (+6)
Technology 3 (+5)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Diehard, Equipment 13 (Gear), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Laser Rifle), Ranged Attack 3, Tracking

Powers:
"Makeshift Cybernetics"
Senses 1 (Infravision) [1]
"Radio Jack" Communication 2 (Radio) [8]

Equipment:
"Body Armor"
Protection 6 (Impervious 5) (12)
Immunity 6 (Radiation, Vacuum, Hot, Cold, Suffocation 2) (6)
Mini-Computer (2)
Tinted Visor, Loudspeaker, etc. (3)

"NG-L5 Northern Gun Rifle" Blast 10 (Extras: Multiattack, Penetrating 5) (35)
"Laser Pistol" Blast 6 (12)
"Assorted Gear" Gas Masks, Radios, etc. (4)
Knife +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Bionic Arm +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Vibro-Blade +8 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Laser Pistol/Finger Blaster +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
NG Rifle +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+9 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 10 (119)

-Humorously, Rifts New West features a SECOND class called "Bounty Hunter", after Rifts Mercenaries already included one. And it's almost the EXACT SAME CLASS- "Tracking" has becoming "Track Humanoids" and some of the skill percentages are off by 5% or so, but they even leave in one "choose one" option of the four things a Bounty Hunter can have- Armor & Cash, Power Armor, Magic Armor (including Bio-Wizard Parasites and stuff from Rifts Atlantis), or a Special Vehicle with double the normal MDC. But it leaves in the "you can have a vehicle or a horse" stuff of the other classes, because EDITING IS HARD.
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Woodclaw
Posts: 1462
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:05 pm
Location: Como, Italy

Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Rifts New West! Sheriffs! Bounty Hunters!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Well I haven't commented in a while because of my shitty internet connection, but as a big fan sci-fi westerns this last book seems right up my alley... Except that it feels like it fell in all those logical traps that always made me hesitant to even try playing Rifts (redundant classes, over-reliance on specialization, etc.).

As far as the underwater bestiary, I really liked some of the concepts (especially the dragon ray), but many of those creatures looked more like roadblocks than actual parts of the setting.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
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