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

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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Coalition Troops, SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots)

Post by Batgirl III »

I do kinda like the idea of a bunch of civilian militaria enthusiasts back in one of the upper-middle levels of Chi-Town sitting around with their copies of Jane's All Worlds’ Fighting Robots or Osprey Cyborgs and arguing over which Skele-Bot design was superior.

Despite the outlandish nature of the setting, there really is an odd verisimilitude to the military hardware and force structure. Hell, one can easily imagine that politics and corporate intrigue are as responsible for some of the designs more so than just MOAR MEGA-DAMAGE!!!

Case in point:

Image

A troop transport that can’t carry troops, a recon vehicle that can’t maneuver in dense terrain, a quasi-tank with less armor than the infantry it carries, but enough firepower to level the half of Old Chicago that didn’t fall over in the apocalypse. Seems legit.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Coalition Troops, SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots)

Post by MacynSnow »

Batgirl III wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 7:48 pm I do kinda like the idea of a bunch of civilian militaria enthusiasts back in one of the upper-middle levels of Chi-Town sitting around with their copies of Jane's All Worlds’ Fighting Robots or Osprey Cyborgs and arguing over which Skele-Bot design was superior.

Despite the outlandish nature of the setting, there really is an odd verisimilitude to the military hardware and force structure. Hell, one can easily imagine that politics and corporate intrigue are as responsible for some of the designs more so than just MOAR MEGA-DAMAGE!!!

Case in point:

Image

A troop transport that can’t carry troops, a recon vehicle that can’t maneuver in dense terrain, a quasi-tank with less armor than the infantry it carries, but enough firepower to level the half of Old Chicago that didn’t fall over in the apocalypse. Seems legit.
That's what i love 'bout the Rifts setting,as it's just not all about survival and monster fights.You can have an entire micro-campaign involving location Politics(which was a heavy undercurrent in the 4 year Weyland-Yutani game,as it involved Lone Star Politics,the nature of Command and how far one is willing to go for the "Greater Good")....
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Coalition Troops, SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots)

Post by Jabroniville »

MacynSnow wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 6:22 pm I honestly think they overdid the Skelebots.The basic design and intention was fine,maybe upgrade the software & hardware with the times(typical Military Doctrine, "If it ain't broke,don't fix it.") don't go making look bipedal or demonic looking,as it kinda defeats the whole "Humanity First!" line... ;)

Aside: I even had Eduardo point this out during one of his many Duel's with Col.Murphy when they deployed both the newer models after us... :lol:
The Martin redesign of the "original" is okay, but kind of loses some of the menace of the original version. The Hellion & Centaur are said to be "too inhuman", even in-universe, though the Hellion contains no information about being dropped.
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Psi-Stalker

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

PSI-STALKER R.C.C.
Role:
Mage-Hunters
PL 8 (118)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 7 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 6 (+7)
Technology 4 (+4)
Treatment 2 (+2)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit (Rank- CS Soldier), Equipment 12 (CS Gear), Fearless, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Psi-Hunter" Senses 4 (Detect Psionics- Ranged, Tracking, Acute) [4]
"Mage-Hunter" Senses 4 (Magical Awareness- Ranged, Tracking, Acute) [4]
"Monster Hunter" Senses 3 (Supernatural Being Awareness- Ranged, Acute) [3]
"Bonuses" Enhanced Will 4 (Flaws: Limited to Psionics) [2]
"Minimal Food Requirements" Immunity 2 (Starvation & Thirst) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
"Psionic Empathy With Animals" Features 2: Immediately Accepted by Domesticated Animals, Animals Treat Like Another Woodland Creature [2]

"Low-Level Psionics- Sensitive"
"Telepathy" Mind-Reading 4 Linked to Communication 1 (Mental) (Flaws: Limited to Brief Messages) (11) -- [16]
  • AE: "Empathy" Mind-Reading 6 (Flaws: Limited to Emotions) (6)
  • AE: "Astral Projection" Remote Sensing (Vision) 6 (Flaws: Physical Body is Defenseless) (6)
  • AE: "See The Invisible" Senses 2 (Vision Counters Concealment) (2)
  • AE: "Object Reading" Postcognition (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (2)
  • AE: "Drain P.P.E." Weaken Powers 10 (Flaws: Limited to Psionics & Magic Creatures, Limited to Bleeding Victims) (3)
  • AE: "Mind Block" Immunity 10 (Mental Powers) (Flaws: Limited to Mental Intrusion, Limited to 10 Minutes, Side-Effect- Cannot Use Other Psionics) (3)
Equipment:
"CS Gear"
"Dead Boy Body Armor"
Protection 5 (Impervious 5) (10)
Immunity 6 (Radiation, Vacuum, Hot, Cold, Suffocation 2) (6)
Mini-Computer (2)
Tinted Visor, Loudspeaker, etc. (3)

"C-12 Heavy Assault Rifle" Blast 10 (Extras: Multiattack) (30)
"Assorted Gear" Gas Masks, Radios, etc. (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Assault Rifle +6 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +4 (+9 Dead Boy Armor), Fortitude +6, Will +6 (+10 vs. Psionics)

Complications: 
Responsibility (The Coalition States)- All Coalition military personell are expected to uphold the virtues of the CS, and are subject to "reorientation", or worse, if they stray.
Enemy (Tolkeen)- The Magic-heavy state is anathema to the Coalition States.
Hatred (D-Bees, Psychics, Magic)
Power Loss (Empathy)- Cats will not treat a Psi-Stalker as one of their own, nor as a normal animal. Possibly just to be dicks.
Responsibility (Friend to the Animals)- The empathic link with animals goes both ways- Psi-Stalkers are protective of animals, and do not like to see them harmed.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 33/ Defenses: 13 (118)

-Coalition "Dog Packs" led by Psi-Stalkers are a big part of the backstory of the CS, though they don't appear all that often in the materials, given how they don't change all that often. Apparently a later book added a TON of powers "they'd always had" to Psi-Stalkers, but this is the Main Rulebook version- essentially an elite Coalition Grunt with 32 points' worth of Powers (six "Sensitive" powers, plus a bunch of specific advantages, mostly sensory in nature). They can also drain the P.P.E. of other creatures like a vampire, draining it out via cuts (or, typically, just killing the victim and absorbing all of their P.P.E., which doubles at the point of death). 

-Psi-Stalkers are actually a Racial Character Class, meaning they're mutants who are born this way- though many species can be PSs, the CS only allow the most human-looking ones, and use them more or less as Special Agents- among the only Psionics they tolerate (probably because their tracking abilities make them good at hunting enemies of the state). 
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Apr 23, 2019 5:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
MacynSnow
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by MacynSnow »

They're also increadibly close to Dog Boy Packs.So close,in fact, that they're usually put in charge of them on border patrol's...
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by Batgirl III »

It makes a lot of sense; Psi-Stalkers and Dog Boys share the same sensitivity to magic and psychic activity. Dog Boys are better trackers and Psi-Stalkers have better psionic powers of their own, but it’s close.

Psi-Stalkers’ supernatural animal empathy also makes them feel more at ease with Dog Boys. In turn, the Dog Boy’s inborn loyalty to humans combined with the animal empathy factor means that they aren’t creeped out by the presence of Psi-Stalkers like humans are.

The so-called “Feral” or “Tribal” Psi-Stalkers often form bonds with wild canines, like wolves, or even d-bee canines, like wargs. With the Psi-Stalker taking the role of Alpha.
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Dog Boys

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

See, if they'd looked like the top pic in the first book, I'd have thought they were AWESOME. But instead, they looked like the second one.

DOG PACK R.C.C.
Role:
Mooks, "Depending On The Artist" Guys (some look awesome... others, not so much)
PL 6 (56)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+5)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 6 (+6)
Technology 4 (+3)
Treatment 2 (+2)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit (Rank- CS Soldier), Equipment 4 (CS Gear), Teamwork, Tracking

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Ultra & Extended Hearing) [5]
"Psi-Hunter" Senses 2 (Detect Psionics- Ranged) [2]
"Mage-Hunter" Senses 2 (Magical Awareness- Ranged) [2]
"Monster Hunter" Senses 3 (Supernatural Being Awareness- Ranged, Acute) [3]

"Low-Level Psionics- Sensitive"
"Empathy" Mind-Reading 6 (Flaws: Limited to Emotions) (6) -- [10]
  • AE: "Sense Magic" Senses 2 (Detect Magic- Ranged 2) (3)
  • AE: "Sense Evil" Senses 2 (Detect Evil- Ranged 2) (3)
  • AE: "Sixth Sense" Danger Sense & Uncanny Dodge (2)
  • AE: "Object Reading" Postcognition (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (2)
Equipment:
"CS Gear"
"Dog Boy Body Armor"
Protection 4 (Impervious 3) (7)

"Vibro-Blades" Strength-Damage +4 (Penetrating 4) (8)
"Assorted Gear" (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Vibro-Blades +4 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Assault Rifle +4 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +3 (+7 Armor), Fortitude +4, Will +2

Complications:
Responsibility (The Coalition States)- All Coalition military personell are expected to uphold the virtues of the CS, and are subject to "reorientation", or worse, if they stray.
Enemy (Tolkeen)- The Magic-heavy state is anathema to the Coalition States.
Hatred (D-Bees, Psychics, Magic)

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 5 (56)

-Genetic modification was once a big part of Rifts Earth, but the coming of the Rifts changed a lot of that. The Coalition, despite being human supremacists, keep and modify "Dog Packs" to help them hunt down magically and psionically-powered foes. They treat these sentient Dogs as mere trained animals and experiment upon them because they refuse to do so with people, but troops & their Psi-Stalker masters often love and appreciate them as hard workers... but the CS still treats them like pets, and most will simply replace a dead Dog Boy casually. Only Psi-Stalkers seem to dislike this heartless abuse- the Rulebook suggests this could turn them on their Coalition masters.

-Dog Boys were infamous to me and my friends, largely because of some pretty sketchy art in many of the early books. Drawing "Animal People" that don't look cartoony or silly is, as I've said many times before, REALLY HARD, to the point where only Dale Eaglesham could draw Tom "Wildcat" Bronson properly in JSA, and why most artists just gave up on "Cat-Like" Beast. The art for these guys in the Main Rulebook, which consisted of a tiny SHNAUZER breed holding a vibrating knife, a bulldog with a mace, a dog that's crouching and yelling, and a doberman delicately holding its limp-looking wrist forward with "Wolverine Claws", really wasn't the best. Other art in later books didn't much help. It was so bad that my friend Paul had a player in his campaign who specifically hunted down and killed Dog Boys "because they LOOK DUMB!". It would take Chuck Walton's art to make me realize how AWESOME they could look- use a bad-ass enough breed, and suddenly you have a powerhouse.

VARIOUS BREEDS:
* The game offers many stat modifications for certain breeds, often with very granular stats for Senses & Tracking, because Palladium works off of percentages. A bit too granular for M&M, though. Naturally, because this is Palladium, you have to roll on a CHART to determine this.

Wolf, German Shepherd: +1 STA, +1 ST, +1 INT, Athletics +2, Intimidation +4, Perception +2 [10]
Rottweiler: +1 STA, +1 ST, +1 INT, Athletics +2, Intimidation +4 [9]
Boxer: +1 STA, +1 ST, +1 INT, Athletics +2 [7]
Wolfhound, Bull Terrier, Elkhound: +1 STA, +1 ST [4]
Bulldog: +1 STA, +1 ST, Perception -2 [3]
Golden Retriever, Setters, Spaniels: +1 STA [2]
Irish Water Spaniel: Swimming 1 [1]
Beagles, Terriers: -1 ST, -1 STA, Fearless, Perception +2 [-2]
Coonhound, Pointer: Perception +4 [2]
Greyhound: -1 STA, Athletics +4 [0]
Jabroniville
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Giant Robots Overview

Post by Jabroniville »

GIANT ROBOTS:
-Easily the one thing M&M struggles the most with as an engine for RPGs is the whole "Giant Piloted Robot" thing. There's just no STAT to showcase someone's Piloting Skills maintaining the fighting ability of a Robot- you have to use the Fighting Stat. Oh, and what about the necessity of co-pilots, gunners and other things? How do you stat up the whole "tear open a small hole and then invade the Robot from within" stuff? It's just an ugly mess you're better off role-playing when you come to it, and leaving the stats out.

-Rifts, of course, features a lot of Giant Robots. Though oddly, they're nowhere near as prominent as the Flying Power Armor guys- even the iconic Glitter Boy is only about ten feet tall. Giant Robots in this game are treated more or less like giant, slow-moving things that are rare sights on the battlefield. Perhaps justified due to their enormous size, combined with the close-in or urban fighting Rifts is known for. None of these things can fly in order to keep up with Dragons or whatever, either. I think you're generally not expected to have much access to these as a player.

-In terms of stats, most are no match for a Glitter Boy in combat, lacking the durability or damage output. There ARE a couple of exceptions, however, especially since I pile on most of the extra attacks into a singular high-level "Multiattack" where able. This makes a lot of these extremely dangerous opponents.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by Batgirl III »

-Rifts, of course, features a lot of Giant Robots. Though oddly, they're nowhere near as prominent as the Flying Power Armor guys- even the iconic Glitter Boy is only about ten feet tall. Giant Robots in this game are treated more or less like giant, slow-moving things that are rare sights on the battlefield. Perhaps justified due to their enormous size, combined with the close-in or urban fighting Rifts is known for. None of these things can fly in order to keep up with Dragons or whatever, either. I think you're generally not expected to have much access to these as a player.
Unless, of course, you manage to talk / threaten / bribe your Game Master into allowing you to use the Robotech books Palladium published or one of the many net-books that converted the non-Robotech mecha from the rest of the Macross franchise into Palladium stats. It's hard to top a variable fighter for sheer speed, maneuverability, and firepower in the Rifts setting. Unless, of course, you use another, better variable fighter.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by MacynSnow »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:50 am
-Rifts, of course, features a lot of Giant Robots. Though oddly, they're nowhere near as prominent as the Flying Power Armor guys- even the iconic Glitter Boy is only about ten feet tall. Giant Robots in this game are treated more or less like giant, slow-moving things that are rare sights on the battlefield. Perhaps justified due to their enormous size, combined with the close-in or urban fighting Rifts is known for. None of these things can fly in order to keep up with Dragons or whatever, either. I think you're generally not expected to have much access to these as a player.
Unless, of course, you manage to talk / threaten / bribe your Game Master into allowing you to use the Robotech books Palladium published or one of the many net-books that converted the non-Robotech mecha from the rest of the Macross franchise into Palladium stats. It's hard to top a variable fighter for sheer speed, maneuverability, and firepower in the Rifts setting. Unless, of course, you use another, better variable fighter.
That's why you buy the Macross II RPG that Palladium so generously put out for just such an occasion.... :)
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Re: Giant Robots Overview

Post by MacynSnow »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:30 am GIANT ROBOTS:
-In terms of stats, most are no match for a Glitter Boy in combat, lacking the durability or damage output. There ARE a couple of exceptions, however, especially since I pile on most of the extra attacks into a singular high-level "Multiattack" where able. This makes a lot of these extremely dangerous opponents.
This is why we of The Weyland-Yutani Corporation(tm) take the approach of "you can't see it,you can't hit it."...which mean's we hide from the bigger one's and threw enough Grenade's to level a Skyscraper at it. :P
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by Spam »

This reminds me of my favorite original Jab creation, Dogfish.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by Batgirl III »

MacynSnow wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 1:57 pm
Batgirl III wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:50 am
-Rifts, of course, features a lot of Giant Robots. Though oddly, they're nowhere near as prominent as the Flying Power Armor guys- even the iconic Glitter Boy is only about ten feet tall. Giant Robots in this game are treated more or less like giant, slow-moving things that are rare sights on the battlefield. Perhaps justified due to their enormous size, combined with the close-in or urban fighting Rifts is known for. None of these things can fly in order to keep up with Dragons or whatever, either. I think you're generally not expected to have much access to these as a player.
Unless, of course, you manage to talk / threaten / bribe your Game Master into allowing you to use the Robotech books Palladium published or one of the many net-books that converted the non-Robotech mecha from the rest of the Macross franchise into Palladium stats. It's hard to top a variable fighter for sheer speed, maneuverability, and firepower in the Rifts setting. Unless, of course, you use another, better variable fighter.
That's why you buy the Macross II RPG that Palladium so generously put out for just such an occasion.... :)
Lol, obviously you missed out on the SteelFalcon.net website and it’s lovingly converted mecha from the actual Macross series, from Do You Remember Love through Macross 7.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by MacynSnow »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 4:28 pm
MacynSnow wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 1:57 pm
Batgirl III wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 11:50 am

Unless, of course, you manage to talk / threaten / bribe your Game Master into allowing you to use the Robotech books Palladium published or one of the many net-books that converted the non-Robotech mecha from the rest of the Macross franchise into Palladium stats. It's hard to top a variable fighter for sheer speed, maneuverability, and firepower in the Rifts setting. Unless, of course, you use another, better variable fighter.
That's why you buy the Macross II RPG that Palladium so generously put out for just such an occasion.... :)
Lol, obviously you missed out on the SteelFalcon.net website and it’s lovingly converted mecha from the actual Macross series, from Do You Remember Love through Macross 7.
Obviously i did,though in all honesty i was never a fan of Macross.I just got the book by blind chance at a yard sale for a dollar.... :)
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (SAMAS Pilots, Skelebots, Psi-Stalkers

Post by catsi563 »

I used the macros saga as a fifth season to my Robotech campaign. basically I had the first second and third seasons , then I ran Sentinels, then I did a end of the cycle movie campaign, then I jumped it a hundred years in the future where humanity was using the Macross mecha and get attacked by the Zentran and Meltran and their masters. Once again Music and love win the day as the meltan and zentran have no understanding of it and it causes massive dissonance among them.
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