Jab's Rifts Builds (Rifts- A Final Summation!)
Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
oh i sued this book for a couple advetures and actually made one of my villains for HU from it Bluebottle a mutant blue bottle fly whose only manner of speech was sayig BLUuueeBoootttle!! he was a fairly tough opponent but generally went down to a good fighter
the rest of the book had lots of good stuff for space fights and such if you played it right
the rest of the book had lots of good stuff for space fights and such if you played it right
Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare
Showdown at the Litterbox
Catsi stories
Showdown at the Litterbox
Catsi stories
Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
There are things I like and things I do not in this book.
Things like the VR Robots and the Glitter Boys are always cool.
VR Robot Dragons? Yes! Please! Flying Glitter Boy armor? Moar!
Mars, I always saw as the Xiticix homeworld, given that the Rifts can be through time as well as space and dimensions. Let it have a couple million years of evolution alone and see what happens. But over all it's a dull setting that people wont ever get to go to.
Over all it's a nice setting but one the game specifically needs to be build for as most players on Earth (Rifts or otherwise) wont ever get to experience. And I think that's one of the downfalls of the game. the isolation. The inability to get from one place to the other. You can have all the world, dimension books you want but if you can't ever get there because the entire premise of the game disallows you from doing so... then what's the point?
Don't get me wrong. I love to geek out over all the space stuff. Very proto-Firefly. But as most games occur planet side, it leaves the question, what's the point. You can plant certain clues (a crashed shuttle containing armor that no one has ever seen before, etc) but it's few and far between.
Don't mind me. I'm just bitter that a perfectly good book usually gathers dust on a shelf.
I'm gonna go yell at clouds now.
Things like the VR Robots and the Glitter Boys are always cool.
VR Robot Dragons? Yes! Please! Flying Glitter Boy armor? Moar!
Mars, I always saw as the Xiticix homeworld, given that the Rifts can be through time as well as space and dimensions. Let it have a couple million years of evolution alone and see what happens. But over all it's a dull setting that people wont ever get to go to.
Over all it's a nice setting but one the game specifically needs to be build for as most players on Earth (Rifts or otherwise) wont ever get to experience. And I think that's one of the downfalls of the game. the isolation. The inability to get from one place to the other. You can have all the world, dimension books you want but if you can't ever get there because the entire premise of the game disallows you from doing so... then what's the point?
Don't get me wrong. I love to geek out over all the space stuff. Very proto-Firefly. But as most games occur planet side, it leaves the question, what's the point. You can plant certain clues (a crashed shuttle containing armor that no one has ever seen before, etc) but it's few and far between.
Don't mind me. I'm just bitter that a perfectly good book usually gathers dust on a shelf.
I'm gonna go yell at clouds now.
Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
From what I remember of this book from the Rifts side of things, one thing it clarified was the reason why long-range communication didn't work in Rifts.
Like Jab mentioned, there were several theories as to why no one could successfully launch a simple communications satellite into orbit despite the vast technology available for Rifts Earth. One popular theory was that there were some satellites in space, possibly populated, that kept shooting down every new satellite launched up there in order to keep Rifts Earth from finding out about them. This idea was generally held as "ridiculous" by the more "educated and enlightened" people, including Erin Tarn, who said the simpler and more logical explanation is that there was so much space debris in orbit thanks to the pre-existing satellites, which were likely damaged and destroyed by the Coming Of The Rifts, that any new satellite launched simply got shredded whenever it achieved orbit, and that it would simply take time and resources beyond what Rifts Earth had at the moment to clean up the debris field for the time being.
What the Rifts side of this book revealed was that the egg heads were wrong and that the space station survivors were in fact shooting down any satellite Rifts Earth sent up here because they wanted NO part of the insanity going on down there, and they had NO intention of getting caught up in any Rifts politics, to have demons and aliens invading their territory, and otherwise to be involved in the Hell that is going on down below. It got a chuckle out of me when I first read it.
Like Jab mentioned, there were several theories as to why no one could successfully launch a simple communications satellite into orbit despite the vast technology available for Rifts Earth. One popular theory was that there were some satellites in space, possibly populated, that kept shooting down every new satellite launched up there in order to keep Rifts Earth from finding out about them. This idea was generally held as "ridiculous" by the more "educated and enlightened" people, including Erin Tarn, who said the simpler and more logical explanation is that there was so much space debris in orbit thanks to the pre-existing satellites, which were likely damaged and destroyed by the Coming Of The Rifts, that any new satellite launched simply got shredded whenever it achieved orbit, and that it would simply take time and resources beyond what Rifts Earth had at the moment to clean up the debris field for the time being.
What the Rifts side of this book revealed was that the egg heads were wrong and that the space station survivors were in fact shooting down any satellite Rifts Earth sent up here because they wanted NO part of the insanity going on down there, and they had NO intention of getting caught up in any Rifts politics, to have demons and aliens invading their territory, and otherwise to be involved in the Hell that is going on down below. It got a chuckle out of me when I first read it.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)
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- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
Haha, okay, that satellite explanation is pretty clever- I must have missed that.
Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
it was also mentioned that it was a bit of the earlier explanation as well their were killer sats left over from the Pre rifts apocalypse very rare but active enough to make even attempting travel to earth dangerous so even if the Space folk had the idea to try the danger was very real
it was kind of one of thsoe things where all explanations were valid in some way like the blind men explaining the elephant
it was kind of one of thsoe things where all explanations were valid in some way like the blind men explaining the elephant
Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare
Showdown at the Litterbox
Catsi stories
Showdown at the Litterbox
Catsi stories
Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Mechanoid Robots! Mutants In Orbit!)
Rifts is probably the only setting where 'were-killer sats' makes sense as a creature type.
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
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Extra Stuff
CHARACTER CREATION PROCESS:
-Because this is more rooted in older Palladium games, it's far more devoted to "Random Selection Tables" than anything- you even have to roll up species and O.C.C.! A fairly small smattering of animals are acceptable, which defeats the whole purpose of this to me. O.C.C.s are much less combat-oriented. Classes include:
* Astrologer (minor psionics, actually- Clairvoyance, Sense Evil & Sixth Sense)
* Cyberjack (hacker)
* Defense Officer ("less-well-trained" CS Military Officer with Hand to Hand: Basic and other military abilities)
* Energy Specialist (like an electrician or whatever)
* Freebooter (independent operatives who are self-employed and do whatever to survive)
* Guard (seen as stupid thugs; less well-trained than Defense Officers)
* Jack of All Trades ("shifty" operators trained to do a little bit of everything, but are seen as dishonest)
* Medic
* Miner
* Salvage Expert
* Ship Engineer
* Space Pilot
* Survival Systems Technician
* Research Scientist
* Trader
RANDOM MUTATIONS: Of course you roll these up. Most are pretty simple and minor, but you can roll a good handful of them on the table. Wall-Crawling, enhanced stats & senses, Chameleon, Detect Psionics, Extra Limbs, various Immunities, the Bio-Manipulator and other Psionic powers, and even a Light Blast doing +10 Damage in Rifts!
-Because this is more rooted in older Palladium games, it's far more devoted to "Random Selection Tables" than anything- you even have to roll up species and O.C.C.! A fairly small smattering of animals are acceptable, which defeats the whole purpose of this to me. O.C.C.s are much less combat-oriented. Classes include:
* Astrologer (minor psionics, actually- Clairvoyance, Sense Evil & Sixth Sense)
* Cyberjack (hacker)
* Defense Officer ("less-well-trained" CS Military Officer with Hand to Hand: Basic and other military abilities)
* Energy Specialist (like an electrician or whatever)
* Freebooter (independent operatives who are self-employed and do whatever to survive)
* Guard (seen as stupid thugs; less well-trained than Defense Officers)
* Jack of All Trades ("shifty" operators trained to do a little bit of everything, but are seen as dishonest)
* Medic
* Miner
* Salvage Expert
* Ship Engineer
* Space Pilot
* Survival Systems Technician
* Research Scientist
* Trader
RANDOM MUTATIONS: Of course you roll these up. Most are pretty simple and minor, but you can roll a good handful of them on the table. Wall-Crawling, enhanced stats & senses, Chameleon, Detect Psionics, Extra Limbs, various Immunities, the Bio-Manipulator and other Psionic powers, and even a Light Blast doing +10 Damage in Rifts!
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Mutant Insects
MUTANT INSECTS:
-A regular enemy, I guess, are Mutant Insects, who colonize Mars. They are basic and dangerous in After The Bomb, but Rifts gives them Supernatural Strength, which means they can do anywhere from +4-14 damage! Much is made of their senses, the dangers of hive-based insects (who have tons of expendable warriors that will fight to the death), and more. As related to other Palladium games, BIO-E points can be used for Extra Limbs, Senses, Leaping, Speed, Winged Flight, and more. Spend enough BIO-E and you can gain truly vast durability, up to +13 Toughness, but of course Rifts just rolls the characters up as normal, with the assumption that you auto-get some of these things. Durability runs on only three tiers- 100-ish, 240-ish, and a higher tier.
-A regular enemy, I guess, are Mutant Insects, who colonize Mars. They are basic and dangerous in After The Bomb, but Rifts gives them Supernatural Strength, which means they can do anywhere from +4-14 damage! Much is made of their senses, the dangers of hive-based insects (who have tons of expendable warriors that will fight to the death), and more. As related to other Palladium games, BIO-E points can be used for Extra Limbs, Senses, Leaping, Speed, Winged Flight, and more. Spend enough BIO-E and you can gain truly vast durability, up to +13 Toughness, but of course Rifts just rolls the characters up as normal, with the assumption that you auto-get some of these things. Durability runs on only three tiers- 100-ish, 240-ish, and a higher tier.
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Mutant Ants
MUTANT ANT- WORKER: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +5, INT -2, Speed 2 (8 mph), AE: Burrowing 2, Protection +5, Chemical Attack (Blast 9- Diminished Range -2), AE: Large Mandibles +5, Defenses +1, Dodge +1, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics) [69]
MUTANT ANT- WINGED MALE ANT: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +5, INT -2, Speed 2 (8 mph), Protection +6, Flight 4, Chemical Attack (Blast 9- Diminished Range -2), AE: Large Mandibles +5, AE: Burrowing 2, Defenses +1, Dodge +1, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics) [78]
MUTANT ANT- WINGED FEMALE ANT: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +5, INT -2, Speed 2 (8 mph), Protection +6, Flight 5, AE: Burrowing 2, Chemical Attack (Blast 9- Diminished Range -2), AE: Large Mandibles +5, Defenses +1, Dodge +1, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics) [80]
-Mutant Ants are incredibly strong, dangerous creatures, with bonuses to all combat, and +10 damage with their "Large Mandibles", in addition to all the Antennae-based powers. Winged Males have Flight & greater durability, with females being a notch faster.
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Mutant Bee & Wasp
MUTANT BEE & WASP: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +5, INT -2, Winged Flight 5 (60 mph), AE: Speed 2 (8 mph), Protection +6, Stinger/Small Mandibles +2, AE: Burrowing 2, Defenses +1, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Ultravision, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics) [60]
-Mutant Bees are pretty generic, and far, far below Ants in power, but are still rather durable.
-Mutant Bees are pretty generic, and far, far below Ants in power, but are still rather durable.
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Mutant Beetle
MUTANT BEETLE: ST +10, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +6, INT -2, AWA +1, PRE -1 Winged Flight 5 (60 mph), AE: Speed 2 (8 mph), AE: Burrowing 2, Extra Limbs 2, Protection +8, Wall-Crawling, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics) [53]
-Beetles represent the largest group of insects, and here they are HUGE tanks, with 400-480 M.D.C. (Toughness +13-14!) and a remarkably strong body (5D6+30 Strength, about +13 damage). This makes them PL 12 powerhouses! So despite their stupidity, they're very hard to beat.
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Mutant Cockroach
MUTANT COCKROACH: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +3, INT -2, AWA +1, PRE -1 Winged Flight 4 (30 mph), AE: Speed 2 (8 mph), Mandibles +3, Protection +3, Wall-Crawling, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Ultravision, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking- Hearing, Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics), Dodge +1, Improved Initiative [34]
-Mutant Cockroaches have pretty average stats- 130 M.D.C. and large mandibles, with only four attacks. Probably PL 9 overall.
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Mutant Earwig
MUTANT EARWIG: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +4, INT -2, AWA +1, PRE -1 Winged Flight 4 (30 mph), AE: Speed 2 (8 mph), AE: Burrowing 2, Mandibles +2, Protection +3, Wall-Crawling, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics), Improved Initiative, Dodge +1 [33]
-Mutant Earwigs are similar to Cockroaches in stats, but have weaker mandibles. About PL 8-9 overall.
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Mutant Fly
MUTANT FLY: ST +5, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +2, INT -2, PRE -1 Winged Flight 7 (250 mph), AE: Speed 2 (8 mph), Mandibles +2, Protection +6, Wall-Crawling, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Radius Sight, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics), Improved Initiative, +4 Defenses [36]
-Mutant Flies are incredibly durable and fly at like 300 mph, and are said to be sneaky.
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Mutant Bluebottle Bristle Fly
MUTANT BLUEBOTTLE BRISTLE FLY: ST +8, STA +5, AGI +1, FIGHTING +4, INT -3, PRE -3 Speed 6 (120 mph), Protection +6, Wall-Crawling, Polarized- Immunity to Visual Dazzles, Chemical Alarm- Features, Antennae (Tracking-Scent, Acute Scent, Accurate Hearing, Ultra-Hearing, Communication 1- Ultrasonics), Improved Initiative, +3 Defenses [33]
-This is a very... Palladium thing to do. One thing I kind of admire about them is that they'll not just use the standard-issue "Cool Animals" or whatever, but they'll find a random obscure one and make a thing about them. Bluebottles are a type of fly. These are crazed, rapid-fire killers who blitz about and attack everything, and are the stupidest of the Mutant Insects.