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

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Jabroniville
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Rifts Canada

Post by Jabroniville »

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RIFTS WORLD BOOK 20: CANADA (1999):
-Now here's a somewhat notable one to my initial RPG group, as it came out at a very particular time- right as I discovered Rifts in Grade 11, and just got into the thing and read all the old books my friend Paul had... out came Rifts Canada- one of the first new releases while I was already a fan. Despite that, the fact that I was so into the OLD stuff and still figuring things out, meant that I never gave this any more than a cursory glance. So Rifts Canada is actually a near-complete unknown to me.

"Getting Canada right" tends to be an issue with some writers, who either think of Canada as "just like America" or a "vast wilderness of cabin lodges", but FEAR NOT! Kevin Simebieda suggests that as a frequent traveller to Chapters Bookstores (now mostly Indigo Bookstores) who lives in Detroit and thus crosses the Great Lakes often, he knows his stuff! While Kevin suggesting he knows something is usually something that fills readers with dread, in this case I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. And a few pages in I recognize a ruined grain elevator, so I breathe a sigh of relief- you'd have to know Canada to know that.

This book DOES do the "Vast Wilderness" thing, but it's hardly notable as a stereotype given how the entirety of Rifts Earth is like that. Kevin also understands that there were large cities, and has utilized that with the city of Lazlo, one of the few major "Good Guy Strongholds" in North America, built on the ruins of Toronto. There's also all of Free Quebec, detailed in another book. So... yeah, Kevin is very "Eastern Focused", like typically all Canadian-themed things are, but again- not unusual in this setting, which features the vast majority of human civilization in the same corridor where Palladium's office is located.

There's, naturally, an enormous section on cold and how to live in it using gear or a few unique skills. Then there's a monster list of towns which I usually find boring in these books. The Tundra Rangers are kind of a "signature" of this book, featuring an RCMP-like organization in Northern Canada. Plus there's aparently a large section of Headhunters, as someone gets a bug up their butt around that idea. There's a HUGE section of Animals, with the mandatory Wendigo and stuff, so we'll see how that shakes out.

Onward to Canada!
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Canada in Rifts

Post by Jabroniville »

CANADA AS A WHOLE:
-So Canada is a vast, uncivilized wasteland, full of terrible horrors, furry beasts, and lethal, bitter cold. And Canada in Rifts is pretty rough, too!

Canada (said to be the "second-largest country in North America" by the geographers at Palladium- really setting the book off on a great start, guys!) is known to most Americans of Rifts Earth for being a savage, hostile, wild world, but Erin Tarn notes that three of the biggest bastions of human technology reside there- the Coalition States of Iron Heart and Free Quebec, and the Techno-Magic city of Lazlo.

They detail some new towns, too- the generic "you buy stuff here" city of Mechanicsville, and the collection of shantytowns, drug dens and Pirate Enclaves that is the "Island Kingdom of Montreal" (no idea who's the King), where it's said that you come there for only four reasons: "to loose oneself for whatever the reason (typically to hide from the law), to buy or sell questionable goods, to kill somebody, or to die."

Newfoundland has been wiped of all civilization, and is now a haven for Faeries, which has led to the FRICKIN' SPLUGORTH setting up a goddamn satellite colony in the province! Seriously, that seems like BIG NEWS, but it's just buried in here- the Sploogs have this as their first beachhead outside of Atlantis. New Brunswick is settled by many D-Bees and has a "Debris Wall" of stuff washed in from the other Maritime provinces. Nova Scotia was largely wiped clean, along with "Cape Brenton" (someone added a letter to Cape Breton) and the now-numerous Prince Edward Islands.

Central Canada is now a wild zone of random powers, as the Coalition & Free Quebec are now engaged at war with each other- now free to act, as the CS's provisions and soldiers are elsewhere and no longer patrolling or guarding with regularity, various warlords can pop up, and old grudges can be settled. The Relic is the former city of Hamilton, now given a couple pages of "this place is lawless" with mention of Juicers & Psi-Stalkers & what-have-you wandering around a patchwork Pre-Rifts city. The former Brampton, now Perez (named for Rifts artist Ramon Perez), is known for being a film center run by the King's son, named Quentin (probably after Tarantino)- there's also a "Rogues' Alley" black market/drug den thing in town, which even the Prince hopes to eradicate. So I guess some story hooks there.

Manitoba is largely entirely a Xiticix hive now- completely overrun. One of the big "Here Be Dragons" map-blockers in Rifts, right there. A huge Psi-Stalker population keeps them somewhat at bay, and Lazlo is planning on dealing with them, too. But that's always kind of a hanging threat in the setting. Alberta & Saskatchewan are equal parts "New West" (sharing features from that book) and "Monster-Ridden Hellhole", with the infamous "Calgary Rift", established from the Main Rulebook on, being a fixture. The Simvan, Xiticix and Devil Unicorn all hail from this singular region.

One of the three chief monasteries of the Cyber-Knights is in Alberta, where Lord Coake and the others keep a close eye on the Calgary Rift, seeing it as a source of vile monsters, and something that may soon create a warzone. My birthplace of Red Deer is listed as being in ruins, and a vicious gang of "Calgary Highlanders" make Central Alberta their home- made up of demons, mercenaries, etc., it's a bandit group and has gone from thousands of members down to about 400 after numerous battles.

Almost nothing is made of British Columbia- it's mentioned that it's wild and has lots of animals & monsters, Vancouver Island is now a place from which nobody ever returns (a plot hook that isn't detailed further- just that there is "commotion" heard on it daily), and there is a "Shifting Veil Wall" that appears 1-2 times a year to transport people to random worlds.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 27, 2020 7:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Werejaguar! Werepanther! Wereserpent!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 7:44 am
Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 1:38 am]
Next up, a look at Rifts Canada!
Oh, boy. :roll:
haha, now what's YOUR take on the book and its contents?
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Davies
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Werejaguar! Werepanther! Wereserpent!)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed May 27, 2020 6:59 am
Davies wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 7:44 am
Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 1:38 am]
Next up, a look at Rifts Canada!
Oh, boy. :roll:
haha, now what's YOUR take on the book and its contents?
I bounced off the cover and didn't look back. (Skulls on the Maple Leaf? Seriously?) Your summary assures me that this was the right action. I expect to be groaning through most of these builds.
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Jabroniville
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Tundra Rangers

Post by Jabroniville »

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TUNDRA RANGER O.C.C.
Role:
Future Mounties, Roving Do-Gooders
PL 8 (96)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Demon & Monster Lore) 6 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Technology 4 (+5)
Treatment 5 (+6)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment 8 (Rangers Gear), Ranged Attack 3, Tracking

Equipment:
"Early-Coalition Quality Gear"
"Energy Rifle" Blast 9 (18)
"Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Energy Rifle +7 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- The Tundra Rangers fight despots, monsters, and evil in all its forms, and has a rigid structure of rules to abide by.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (96)

-A large chunk of Rifts Canada is based around the Tundra Rangers, who are effectively a good-guy organization in the far north (the book compares them directly to the Cyber-Knights). Made up of 50% white, asian & black humans, 24% Native Americans (yes it lists them separately), then Simvan Monster Riders (many of whom have grown to respect and admire the Rangers), Juicers, Cyborgs, Crazies, etc., they are directly descended from survivors of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Their base is one of those "Pre-Rifts Superbases" with of course fully-functioning factories, so they had lots of cool stuff... and of course we get one of those "So time skipped ahead for them" as they miss 256 years and enter Rifts Earth in its current state, still having Pre-Rifts ideals. This part is a bit inexplicable for me, I guess "justifying" them as a very recent addition to the game-board- they now ally with the Cyber-Knights, fight the Simvan and assorted demons, and distrust the Coalition, whom they see as evil.

-Tundra Rangers are roving do-gooders who usually travel about in small groups, helping out those in need while giving off a sense of politeness- literally part of the O.C.C. description. They are more like Special Forces operatives than frontline soldiers, doing surgical strikes and getting information- only a few major conflicts have been recorded involving hundreds of Rangers.
-Amazingly, Tundra Rangers actually get an EXTRA ATTACK, something almost unheard of for regular human O.C.C.s. They're still only "Everyday Quite Good" and their armor is unimpressive- only 60 M.D.C. altogether- but they're pretty solid fighters.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Wereserpent! Rifts Canada! Tundra Rangers!)

Post by Davies »

Well, this first bit isn't so bad, and the logo in that illustration -- I can't quite make it out -- isn't nearly as wrong as the one on the cover. (Red maple leaf diagonally cut with a blue-and-white maple leaf, maybe?)
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Wereserpent! Rifts Canada! Tundra Rangers!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 3:13 am Well, this first bit isn't so bad, and the logo in that illustration -- I can't quite make it out -- isn't nearly as wrong as the one on the cover. (Red maple leaf diagonally cut with a blue-and-white maple leaf, maybe?)
That brings up an interesting thing I only realized from Fatal & Friends- the "Skull in the Maple Leaf" thing, which I hadn't noticed when I started these builds, appears to be an artifact of some prior draft. The cover artist may have thought he was making a "Canadian Coalition" or something, and given them a CS-style insignia, but the book makes it very clear that the Tundra Rangers are out-and-out GOOD GUYS and work with D-Bees and Mages rather than hunt them down.

This makes me think that the book's uncredited co-writer, Eric Thompson (who is given a "By _____ & Kevin Siembieda" on many write-ups in the book itself), had that idea, and Kevin put the kibosh on it. Because Kevin notes in the early part of the book that Eric was "understanding". The guy only appears to have written for Palladium twice. I WONDER WHY?
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Tundra Ranger- Scout

Post by Jabroniville »

TUNDRA RANGER- SCOUT O.C.C.
Role:
Future Mounties, Roving Do-Gooders, Scouts
PL 7 (96)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Espionage) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Demon & Monster Lore) 6 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Stealth 5 (+8)
Technology 4 (+5)
Treatment 5 (+6)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment 8 (Rangers Gear), Languages (English, Inuit/Native, 2 others), Ranged Attack 1, Tracking

Equipment:
"Early-Coalition Quality Gear"
"Energy Rifle" Blast 9 (18)
"Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Energy Rifle +5 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- The Tundra Rangers fight despots, monsters, and evil in all its forms, and has a rigid structure of rules to abide by.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 8 (96)

-So of course the signature class of this book is going to have some "Class Bloat" with other versions, but at least it's only two others. The Scout is more focused on wilderness survival, espionage, intelligence-gathering and laying & avoiding traps.

-And well I'll be- reading the O.C.C. description I was guessing this was a "Ranger, But Better" sort of deal, given the slightly higher stat requirements, but this one actually TRADES OFF- Scouts are worse in combat than basic Rangers, but have better Skills.
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Tundra Ranger- Cavalry

Post by Jabroniville »

TUNDRA RANGER- CAVALRY O.C.C.
Role:
Future Mounties, Roving Do-Gooders
PL 7 (78)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Athletics 6 (+13) -- (Flaws: Limited to Riding Animals)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Demon & Monster Lore) 6 (+7)
Intimidation 5 (+6)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+4)
Technology 2 (+2)
Treatment 2 (+2)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 8 (Rangers Gear), Ranged Attack 1, Tracking

Equipment:
"Early-Coalition Quality Gear"
"Energy Rifle" Blast 9 (18)
"Armor" Protection 6 (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Energy Rifle +5 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- The Tundra Rangers fight despots, monsters, and evil in all its forms, and has a rigid structure of rules to abide by.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 8 (78)

-The Mounted Division of the Tundra Rangers is actually quite odd and unique for the setting- a largely non-human force in a human organization. Made up mostly of Simvan, Psi-Stalkers, Ixion Centaurs, regular Centaurs and other aliens with an aptitude for riding animals, this is the literal Cavalry. Despite old rivalries (between Simvan & Psi-Stalker, and humans against D-Bees), the army puts aside everything for a great cause, in a rarely-uplifting thing in Rifts.

-The Tundra Ranger Cavalry seems to have "worse" stats overall, but this is largely because the nature of the R.C.C.s that make up the class- Simvan have +2 to ST & STA, and other creatures are likely M.D.C. So they don't need the big boosts to stats that others get. Though this class looks kinda wimpy without it, again losing the extra attack that Tundra Rangers get.
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Trapper-Woodsman

Post by Jabroniville »

TRAPPER-WOODSMAN O.C.C.
Role:
Another Useless Rifts O.C.C.
PL 7 (74)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Animals & Monsters) 10 (+10)
Expertise (Traps) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 6 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+4)
Technology 2 (+2)
Treatment 2 (+2)
Vehicles 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Trappers' Gear), Ranged Attack 2, Tracking

Equipment:
"Early-Coalition Quality Gear"
"Energy Rifle" Blast 9 (18)
"Fury Beetle Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Energy Rifle +5 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2 (+8 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Prejudice (Unrefined)- These woodsmen like to belch, fart and curse in public, to bother people and presumably get monocles dropped into glasses.
Responsibility (Do-Gooders)- Though they pretend to be aloof, antisocial weirdos, these guys tend to get themselves roped up into adventure for a good cause.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (74)

-*sigh* you knew there was gonna be a couple things like this in the book. Yes, it's a "Regular Person O.C.C.", like the Vagabond, City Rat or Saddle Tramp. Even more, it's a "Walking Stereotype O.C.C.". But it's Rifts and it provides easy snark, so here's your everyday Lumberjack Hero. "Resourceful Rogues" at home in nature, they sometimes ally with Tundra Rangers and are known to take a "shine" to people and become close allies in the fight against evil, but generally just trap and skin animals for fun & profit. Howeve, their focus is often on crazy-ass wild monsters that include Fury Beetles, Demon Bears and WINDIGOS! The fact that they are different from Mystic Russia's Huntsman-Trapper O.C.C. is important enough to be specifically noted in the class description.

-Trapper-Woodsmen hunt all manner of deadly creatures, but have pretty generic "Light M.D.C. Body Armor"-type stuff and the kind of gear that makes you wonder how they catch and kill anything. I guess they have Mega-Damage Bear-Traps and whatever (ugh, Mega-Damage is dumb), but it's still weird. They don't even have bonuses to hit or damage animals- that'd be super-useful to this class!
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Centaur

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Fatal & Friends" already made the Scott Summers joke, so I can't.

CENTAUR R.C.C.: ST +0 (2 w/ Growth), AGI +2, STA +1 (3 w/ Growth), AWA -1, Close Combat +1, Tracking, Speed 4 (30 mph), Leaping 1 (15 feet), Growth 2 (Innate), Stealth +4, Survival +4 [20]
-Unusually, Canada of all places is where it's decided that Centaurs are a super-big thing. They are nomads of the plains, moving from place to place, and typically focus on Alberta, Saskatchewan, Idaho & Montana. They tend to use O.C.C.s like Hunter, Wilderness Scout, Shaman or "equivalents" of the Indian Tribal Warrior & Spirit Warrior, but have half of the Secondary Skills, owing to a dislike of study. They have allied with Cyber-Horsemen & Simvan, and learned to fear the forests, owing to their demon infestations. Most tend to use M.D.C. bows & arrows.
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Re: Centaur

Post by JDRook »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:09 am CENTAUR R.C.C.:
...
-Unusually, Canada of all places is where it's decided that Centaurs are a super-big thing. They are nomads of the plains, moving from place to place, and typically focus on Alberta, Saskatchewan, Idaho & Montana.
I blame the Calgary Stampede.
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Cyber-Horsemen

Post by Jabroniville »

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This picture makes me feel funny.

CYBER-HORSEMAN OF IXION R.C.C.: ST +0 (2 w/ Growth), AGI +2, STA +1 (3 w/ Growth), INT +1, PRE +1, Protection 7, "Rear Leg Kick" Damage +7, Improved Initiative, Speed 6 (120 mph), Leaping 2 (30 feet), Growth 2 (Innate), "Bionic Lung" Rebreather, "Translator" Comprehend (Languages) 2, Stealth +2, Survival +4 [46]

-The Cyber-Horsemen of Ixion are an... extra kind of Centaur included for whatever reason. I guess because Ramon Perez drew some cool Cyborg Centaurs and thus we had to get a cool R.C.C. out of it. These enigmatic D-Bees have founded the City of Ixion ("Eye-zon", it reminds us twice) somewhere in British Columbia, after it was transported there by a rift. They are effectively alien Centaurs, but most males have replaced their horse-parts with powerful bionics, becoming Mega-Damage creatures. Females, owing to desiring to have natural births, tend to opt out. Intelligent like humans, they have befriended many, having met Indians & Cyber-Knights early on in their adventures outside of Ixion, but they distrust other D-Bees.

-Cyber-Horsemen end up with very, very good M.D.C- about +11 Toughness overall, more if they have "Bionic Barding", which sacrifices a point of Speed for a point of Protection. They do +9 Damage with their bionic horse-half, as well as with an "Energy Rod" that also has Blast 10 (ten shots). The Sensory Deprivation Web is a blinding Snare (add an extra Affliction to it).
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Headhunters (in Canada, I guess)

Post by Jabroniville »

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HEADHUNTERS DEFINED:
-And now, like nine years into the line, they decide to go into detail on Headhunters, making this what Fatal & Friends calls a "Stealth Splatbook", like Lone Star was for Mutant Animals. Though Rifts Mercenaries was all about that. Really, this is just a collection of five different KINDS of Headhunters, thus providing us with some "Class Bloat"/Prestige Class stuff. It goes into stuff we already kinda figured out- that Headhunters are a "catch-all" for men at arms and mercenaries who fight using technology (cybernetics and/or gear). While they admire and befriend Juicers, Crazies, Cyborgs & Pilots, they often feel a bit superior, owing to the fact that they don't modify themselves as much, nor rely on Power Armor. The notion of "Headhunter" as a specific thing is a bit odd to me, though, because it's more of a generic "Fighter Class" to me- not this particular thing that people would refer to as they would a very distinct thing like a Juicer or Crazy. People saying "Headhunters!" is odd, when the setting includes various other Men At Arms, including Bounty Hunters and other generic gun-guys in other books.

-Headhunters are described as usually belonging to large groups, associating with other combat classes, and even using Psionic & Magic O.C.C.s in their bands for versatilty. Some act as assassins, while others are private armies, meant to settle disputes or protect people and places.

-The art in this section is mostly excellent, at least- Ramon Perez is given sway with his scratchy, used-up armor designs, with bad-ass, tattooed mercenaries giving an air of "You want to play this, don't you?". MUCH better than the typical Rifts stuff, or the clean (or non-existent) art of the Tundra Rangers.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Wereserpent! Rifts Canada! Tundra Rangers!)

Post by Davies »

... does it explain why they call themselves that? <he asked, faintly appalled>
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