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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Preacher

Post by Jabroniville »

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PREACHER O.C.C.
Role:
Travelling Judge
PL 7 (76)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 2 (+6)
Insight 4 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Religion) 6 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+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 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
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: 40 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (76)

-This dumb class is all about travelling around judging disputes and crimes, just like a Sheriff, but different somehow, because they also preach the bible at the same time. The book warns GMs about respecting faith and dealing with the players in situations like this, but the O.C.C. is supposed to be about hard men going from town to town, settling things and carrying out sentences. There are "Fire & Brimstone" and "Peacemaker" Preachers, though both will sentence murderers to death. The former tends to dole out vicious, deadly, or hard-labor sentences.
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Ares
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Re: Gunslinger

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:47 pm Image

BANDIT- HIGHWAYMAN O.C.C.
Role:
Master Thief, Highwayman
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 11:11 am Image

How many "Clint Eastwoods" are there in this book, anyways? Did anybody count?

GUNSLINGER O.C.C.
Role:
Duelist, Hired Assassin
Part of me thinks that the artist just really had lot of good Not-Clint Eastwood pieces of art, and decided to make class art out of all of them rather than having a single "Gunslinger" class. It just shows what a mess the book editing was and how disconnected Rifts could be with it's own source material.

I mean, in a kitchen sink post apocalyptic world, having a Wild West that is this anachronistic blend of "classic film Western" and "Thundarr the Barbarian" is a perfectly fine idea. It's Rifts at it's most Riftiest. The problem being that, well, why on Earth do you need 15 variants of "Guy who rides a horse and shoots a gun" when the only real difference between them is one or two skill bonuses or sucking hard compared to the other variants. It would have been dirt simple to just have a "Gunslinger" class with some minor variants at the end, like a Sheriff has "Appropriate Lawman" skills and Highwaymen have "Appropriate Banditry" skills.

For that matter, if you're playing in Rifts, wouldn't the whole point of Gunslinger to be this guy who shoots with almost superhuman accuracy and ability? Shooting with extreme accuracy, shooting multiple targets, bouncing shots off of targets, bonuses to difficult shots, etc.? Otherwise you're just "Guy with gun on horse" riding alongside "Cyber-Knight", "Glitterboy" and "Ninja".

They honestly should have taken a page from the Japanese book and what they did with the Ninja. Have some Gunslingers who are just that badass due to their skill and training, and then have other Gunslingers who "cheat" by becoming Juicers or Cyborgs.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 11:07 am Image

I thought this was the most bad-ass piece of art in the entire "Rifts" catalog when I was younger.

PSI-SLINGER O.C.C.
Role:
Duelist, Hired Assassin
Now THIS is more like it. This is an appropriately Rifts class. Psychic Gunslinger is just an awesome concept.

I hope there's more stuff like this in the book. It's been ages since I flipped through my own copy of this book, so I don't really remember what's in there. But you'd think there'd be more stuff like this, like the Preacher should have had some Deadlands-esque Divine Magic, you'd have a Techno-Mage with an Alchemy gun that fires magic bullets, Centaur cowboys, power armor with a metal sombrero built into the helmet, stuff like that. BraveStarr this bitch up.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Gunslinger

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2019 2:40 pm Part of me thinks that the artist just really had lot of good Not-Clint Eastwood pieces of art, and decided to make class art out of all of them rather than having a single "Gunslinger" class. It just shows what a mess the book editing was and how disconnected Rifts could be with it's own source material.
Yeah, I guess it's like I mentioned in the past- Rifts is very much a game of "Our Artist drew it, so..." They had the art, and so they made the guys. Which is funny, because Fatal & Friends makes frequent gags out of all the cool-looking characters who don't fit any of the established O.C.C.s or R.C.C.s in the game- "There's no stat block for me!" is a common refrain.
I mean, in a kitchen sink post apocalyptic world, having a Wild West that is this anachronistic blend of "classic film Western" and "Thundarr the Barbarian" is a perfectly fine idea. It's Rifts at it's most Riftiest. The problem being that, well, why on Earth do you need 15 variants of "Guy who rides a horse and shoots a gun" when the only real difference between them is one or two skill bonuses or sucking hard compared to the other variants. It would have been dirt simple to just have a "Gunslinger" class with some minor variants at the end, like a Sheriff has "Appropriate Lawman" skills and Highwaymen have "Appropriate Banditry" skills.
"Class Bloat" has never really been more obvious. At least in Rifts Underseas, you have two different, distinct human kingdoms, so their O.C.C.s being different, thus giving you different Skills, makes a bit of sense. These are all similar people in the SAME SETTING, making it pretty goofy that you have two kinds of Bandits, Gunfighters & Gunslingers, Sheriff, Deputies AND Lawmen, etc.

Repeating the exact same statblocks in almost every build just makes it more obvious. And makes it strange, when some are objectively better, because some of the classes drop a thing or two.
They honestly should have taken a page from the Japanese book and what they did with the Ninja. Have some Gunslingers who are just that badass due to their skill and training, and then have other Gunslingers who "cheat" by becoming Juicers or Cyborgs.
I think the only real case of that is the Gunslinger group- Gunslinger, Wired Gunslinger & Psi-Slinger. Everyone else is just "Guy With Gear".
Now THIS is more like it. This is an appropriately Rifts class. Psychic Gunslinger is just an awesome concept.

I hope there's more stuff like this in the book. It's been ages since I flipped through my own copy of this book, so I don't really remember what's in there. But you'd think there'd be more stuff like this, like the Preacher should have had some Deadlands-esque Divine Magic, you'd have a Techno-Mage with an Alchemy gun that fires magic bullets, Centaur cowboys, power armor with a metal sombrero built into the helmet, stuff like that. BraveStarr this bitch up.
Tragically, this is as good as it gets, and probably their cleverest thing. It's something completely unique, and if "overpowered", it's overpowered in a distinct way. It actually reminds me of CJ Carella's stuff, as Kevin S usually lacks the imagination for Powergaming beyond "all the M.D.C." and "All the Spells".
Jabroniville
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Mining Borg

Post by Jabroniville »

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MINING 'BORG/PROSPECTOR O.C.C.
Role:
World's Toughest Tradesman
PL 9 (147)
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA -- AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Insight 2 (+2)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Expertise (Miner) 9 (+9)
Expertise (Blacksmith) 3 (+3)
Technology 6 (+6)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

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

Powers:
"Full Conversion Cyborg"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 13 (Extras: Impervious 9) [22]

Features 8: Headjack, Toxic Filter, Compartments, Rope, Radio, Loudspeaker, Increased Mass 2 [8]
Senses 6 (Infravision, Extended Hearing & Vision, Ultra-Hearing, Time Sense, Compass) [6]
Comprehend (Languages) 2 [4]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Speed 4 (30 mph) [4]

"Arm Attachments- Plasma Torch/Jackhammer" Strength-Damage +1 (Extras: Penetrating 8) [9]

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

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Jackhammer +5 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Gun +6 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +13, Fortitude --, Will +4

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

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 84 / Defenses: 8 (147)

-One of the most "WTF?" things for me as a teen was to read the "Mining 'Borg" class, like... who would wanna play THIS? In a setting that includes Military-Grade Cyborgs, who want to play the guy with the same toughness, but fewer guns and fighting-based skills? It's just so WEIRD. This also plays into the strange bit of the setting where things are so bad that some people just willingly turn themselves into machines just for the sake of being stronger. It's a potentially great, sick, world-building bit, but tends to be glossed over in favor of "LOOK AT THIS COOL THING". At least Ramon Perez draws a pretty kick-ass "casual pose" 'Borg, with his huge drill.

-People tend to becoming Mining 'Borgs because these are the most effective ways to mine for jewels, gold and other ore, and wealthy men are willing to turn regular joes into 'Borgs for free in return for eight years of service- this is the quickest and cheapest way to gain the supreme power of a 'Borg.
Jabroniville
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Cactus People

Post by Jabroniville »

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CACTUS PEOPLE R.C.C.: ST +1, Ultravision, "Psionics" (See Aura & Invisibility, Empathy, Telepathy- Limited to Cactus People) [3 + Psionics]
-The hideous Cactus People look like lumpy, cancerous growths, but are vegetable-like, drawing sustenance from the sun and from the vegetation they cultivate. They are said to have delicious blood (...), making them vulnerable to evil people on the plains. I remember seeing these guys way, way back when the book first came out, laughing at their stupid-looking faces, going "Who would EVER play that?!", to which my friend Paul got a bit defensive, suggesting that roleplaying was more important than sheer stats, and that they could be perfectly okay characters. The art, by Michael Dubisch, makes them look grotesque and eyeless- he draws a lot of lumpy, gross-looking things throughout the Rifts New West book.
Jabroniville
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Fennodi

Post by Jabroniville »

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FENNODI R.C.C.: ST +2, STA +1, AWA +1, Improved Disarm, Infravision, Force Field 6, Insubstantial 4 (Cannot Interact w/ World at All; Half Speed), "Psionics" (Telepathy, Empathy, Sixth Sense, Empathic Transmission, 3 Healing Powers) [30 + Psionics]
-Another ugly Dubisch-drawn race, the Fennodi at least look appropriately alien and not truly hideous. They are said to be peaceful, kindly people, with mostly defensive powers. They have a great bond with the Whisker Coyotes, also drawn by Dubisch, making me suspect they just created a race to fit his art.
slade the sniper
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Justice Ranger! Gunslinger! Psi-Slinger!)

Post by slade the sniper »

The best thing about Rifts is that there is no "character balance." Characters are either awesome...or homeless bums. I kinda like the fact that the GM and the PCs just sort of deal with it. There is no artificiality to the game (well, at least that aspect of it...) so you can make and run the PC you want, and as long as the GM and the players are cool with it, you can do it. You don't see anyone complaining about tiers of characters and whether or not they are viable, but at the same time I don't see any theory-crafting BS builds for how to build a PC either.

-STS
Jabroniville
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Whisker Coyote

Post by Jabroniville »

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WHISKER COYOTE
Role:
Psionic Creature
PL 2 (52 + Psionics)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA -1 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 3 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+2)
Expertise (Survival) 10 (+12)
Insight 3 (+5)
Perception 5 (+7)

Advantages:
None

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 6 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Scent-Tracking, Ultra & Extended Hearing) [6]
"Natural Weapons- Teeth" Strength-Damage +1 [1]
"Animal Physiology" Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Small Size" Shrinking 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [9]
(-1 Strength & Speed, +2 Defenses, +4 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)

"Sense Magic" Senses 16 (Magical, Ley Line & Supernatural Creature Awareness- Ranged 2, Acute, Vision Counters Invisibility) [16]
Immunity 2 (Simvan/Psi-Stalker Empathy/Command) [2]

"Major Psionics" (Sense Evil, Sense Magic, See Aura, Mind Block, Empathy)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Teeth +3 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness -1, Fortitude +2, Will +2

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Whisker Coyotes cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: 4 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 36 + Psionics / Defenses: 3 (52 + Psionics)

-An innocuous creatures seemingly added just for flavor, Whisker Coyotes are strange animals with Psionic senses and great empathy for the Fennodi aliens. I kinda like them thematically, as they're simple S.D.C. creatures and don't go too nuts. They'd be handy for players who want to figure out what kind of magic's going on around them.
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Re: Whisker Coyote

Post by JDRook »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 12:24 pm WHISKER COYOTE
-An innocuous creatures seemingly added just for flavor, Whisker Coyotes are strange animals with Psionic senses and great empathy for the Fennodi aliens. I kinda like them thematically, as they're simple S.D.C. creatures and don't go too nuts. They'd be handy for players who want to figure out what kind of magic's going on around them.
They'd make a nice pet/watchdog for a group, probably as a 5p Minion since they're too weak to make Sidekick that useful. Would make a great familiar if the GM is willing to bend the restrictions the magic system puts on that.
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Professional Gambler

Post by Jabroniville »

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PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER O.C.C.
Role:
Con-Men
PL 7 (87)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 4 (+7)
Insight 7 (+9)
Expertise (Gambling) 10 (+10)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Streetwise) 8 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 7 (+12)
Technology 4 (+4)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Guns, Armor, etc.), Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
"Cardsharp" (yes, not "Card Shark")
Quickness 2 (Flaws: Limited to Card Stuff) [1]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Improved Initiative, Seize Initiative (Flaws: Limited to Drawing Handgun/Throwing Knife) [1]

Equipment:
"Energy Pistol" Blast 8 (16)
"MDC Armor" Protection 5 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
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 +6

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

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 10 (87)

-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
Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Justice Ranger! Gunslinger! Psi-Slinger!)

Post by Spectrum »

Wow, this book really reminds me of how much better/simpler Rifts could be if it was a more customizable system. Maybe not all the way point buy, just more options.

The XP chart system where each class has its own needed xp to move on to the next level helps a little but not by much.

I also ran into some huge issues in the short time that I played where there seemed to be a lot of classes that didn't really need xp. They just needed bigger guns to get more powerful.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Justice Ranger! Gunslinger! Psi-Slinger!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Spectrum wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:41 pm Wow, this book really reminds me of how much better/simpler Rifts could be if it was a more customizable system. Maybe not all the way point buy, just more options.

The XP chart system where each class has its own needed xp to move on to the next level helps a little but not by much.

I also ran into some huge issues in the short time that I played where there seemed to be a lot of classes that didn't really need xp. They just needed bigger guns to get more powerful.
I would try to convert it to the Cypher System.
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Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Justice Ranger! Gunslinger! Psi-Slinger!)

Post by Spectrum »

I've heard some good things about it but haven't delved into it myself.Thanks for the suggestion!
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Jabroniville
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Saloon Bum

Post by Jabroniville »

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SALOON BUM O.C.C.
Role:
Shitty Class, Drifters
PL 7 (65)
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) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Streetwise) 8 (+8)
Technology 4 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit (Big Drinker- 2.5x as Resistant to Alcohol), Equipment 5 (Guns, Armor, etc.), Ranged Attack 2

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

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Gun +4 (+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: 30--15 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (65)

-The Saloon Bum is so similar to a Saddle Tramp as to make it completely redundant- two more skills and similar gear. The only stat difference I can even put here is their "can drink as much as Dwarves" thing. SO DUMB. Saloon Bums are just generic backgrounders in bars everywhere, but are said to be good at knowing certain things (Streetwise). They are good messengers, spies and information-brokers. Good ones are allies to the Sheriff, while evil ones are backstabbing opportunists.
Jabroniville
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Saloon Girl

Post by Jabroniville »

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SALOON GIRL O.C.C.
Role:
OH MY GOD THEY LITERALLY MADE A WHORE O.C.C.
PL 6 (70)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9, +11 Attractive)
Insight 5 (+7)
Expertise (Gossip) 8 (+8)
Expertise (Saloon Worker) 6 (+6)
Expertise (Singing & Dancing) 6 (+9)
Persuasion 4 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Attractive, Equipment 4 (Guns, etc.), Ranged Attack 2

Equipment:
"Pistol" Blast 8 (16)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Gun +4 (+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: 36 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 8 (70)

-Okay, so Saloon Girls aren't ALWAYS call girls; it says so right in the description for the O.C.C. But they mention that SOME are, and that these girls are largely here to provide assistance to the saloon keeper, dancing with guests, making sure folks are happy, talking with people, and keeping the drinks flowing. Basically they made a class out of being good-looking wait-staff. That said, they're quite skilled (being secret-keepers and secret-getters), and way more tough than you'd think (EVERY CLASS in this book gains a bonus to S.D.C.!), but don't even gain M.D.C. Armor.
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