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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Swordfish! Dragon Turtle! Storm Crab! Lemuria Done!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

The sheer contrast between some of the super-OP classses and weapons you can get in the books..and crappy-ass classes like this is still hillarious. Still better than stuff like the Safecracker and Forger, though..
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Swordfish! Dragon Turtle! Storm Crab! Lemuria Done!)

Post by Spectrum »

Looking at classes like this, kinda have to wonder- is there any room to play a minor heroes game in Rifts?

I mean, the system lends itself well to being gods among men.

But, could you play a more quiet, 'street level' heroes game where all the woefully underpowered OOCs are the balance? In M&M, you can center a game around PL 12 but you could also run a game at PL6 with a change in focus.

It does feed into one of the other big power oddities in the setting. Sure, you have your classes that are entirely equipment focused and level really doesn't matter all that much. On the other hand, you also have some classes that start out extremely weak and only grow into their own when they hit higher levels.

Rifts is just weird. Thanks again Jab for bringing the cool concepts into a better system.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Swordfish! Dragon Turtle! Storm Crab! Lemuria Done!)

Post by catsi563 »

theres plenty of room to do so actually but it requires both the PCs and GM to know the limits of the campaign and classes,

A Herbalist is a great class when dealing with a campaign where knowing plants and using millennium weapons and such is needed

put that same PC in a Chi-town urban warfare campaign though and hes a fish out of water trying to fly

Rifts has a staggering variety of classes many of which fit in everywhere a Dragon or CS solider or Mind melter or Mage all fit in any fight

A cyber doc or Body Fixer have great potential but need to stay out of the fighting so they don't get body parts ripped off

A rogue scholar is in many ways the essence of RIFTS a person in pursuit of Knowledge lost to calamity in a word that fears it

but at the same time the PC is in GRAVE danger because there are PC classes alone that can literal and figuratively tear them limb from limb and beat them to death with the wet ends
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Swordfish! Dragon Turtle! Storm Crab! Lemuria Done!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Kevin S 100% wants games to be low-powered. The man is obsessed with low level mages, Vagabonds and Rogue Scholars. A lot of his early R.C.C.s were also SDC beings. I think his dream campaign is “small band of powerless rogues desperately trying to survive with their malfunctioning gear”. Ideally he doesn’t seem to care about high power at all.

The irony, of course, is delicious.
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Magical Herbs

Post by Jabroniville »

HERB MAGIC:
* OH LOOK, THERE'S MORE! Wands & Staves made from Herbalist stuff generally costs a fortune in P.P.E. to create, and will work 3 times per day.

"Alder Tree" Summons Air Elementals.
"Amaranth" Youth Serum- lasts three months.
"Ash Tree" Light Healing.
"Ash" Heals when eaten. May restore lost body parts, though not entire limbs.
"Blackthorn" Enchants berries. +2 to Save vs. Psionics or Horror for 20 minutes.
"Black Hellebore" Soothing incense.
"Belladonna" Paralysis & cardiac arrest if eaten.
"Carline Thistle" Storm prediction.
"Castor Oil" Potions to see the invisible or negate blindness caused by magic.
"Catnip" Boosts fighters to +1 Initiative & Close Combat +2, but -1 to Defenses.
"Cedar Tree" Impervious to Electricity. Damage 9 to Energy Beings.
"Clover- Red" Heailng ointment or makes a sprig feel like a full meal.
"Clover- White" See the Invisible, Immunity to Curses.
"Dwarf Elder" Prevents drunkenness. Poisonous to eat otherwise.
"Elder- Black Elder" Bestows minor curse, sickness or luck curse.
"Ergot Fungus" Causes hallucinations or sees through magic illusions.
"Foxglove" Causes convulsions.
"Ginseng" Prevents fatigue & increases speed.
"Holy Thistle" Cures diseases.
"Horsetail" Impervious to Magic & Toxic Gases or Breathe Without Air.
"Jimsonweed" Keeps Faeries Away, See Invisible. Poisonous if chewed for too long.
"Mandrake Root" Dowsing, Empathy, Telepathy, or Future Sight, but also suffers from narcotic effects. Can be used to Befuddle or as a Voodoo Doll's basis.
"Mistletoe" Charismatic Aura, Impervious to Fire, Float on Air.
"Oak Tree" Makes a few things- Holy Water or a "Chameleon" spell drink, or Tracking. Makes Dowsing Rods or a throwing stick that's Blast 9 to supernatural creatures.
"Rue" Makes Holy Water. Also causes Sleep in wand or drinking form. Anti-Magic Wands give a +6 bonus against magic.
"Solomon's Seal" Summon one of any four lesser Elementals.
"Willow Tree" Drink that makes you immune to energy attacks. Also Lightning Rod Staff that makes you immune to electricity.
"Wormwood" Keeps away Goblins, worms & Taut beings.

HERBS OF ALIEN, MYTH & LEGEND:
* AGH THERE'S EVEN MORE!!! Most of these have multiple purposes and powers (via different potions you can create), and are much more difficult to obtain. They at least come with Newton Ewell art, as he gives them appropriately hyper-detailed, alien-looking creatures.

"Brain Tree" A plant that will create highly-dangerous Psychokinetic Storms if harmed. Can create various things, like a Crystal Ball; Electrokinetic Rod (blast as a 10th Level Mind Melter); Eyes of Thoth, Oracle, or Trance as a potion; or a staff with numerous magical powers (Commune With Spirits, Controol Entity, Banish Entity, Turn Dead, Exorcism).
"Cobra Vine" Cures a vampire's bite or fixes numerous blood maladies.
"Dagda's Scepter" Gives seven different powers- Oracle, Sense Magic & Evil, Commune With Spirits, Impervious to Fire, Resist Fire, Invulnerability & Healing.
"Faries' Cauldron" A mushroom-like thing that gives different effects- it's a P.P.E. battery, but humanoid blood makes it poisonous, and faerie blood turns you into a faerie for a while. Dragon's blood lets you turn into ANYTHING. Potions made from it can negate poison, spoil anything, create metamorphosis potions, petrification potions, reverse petrification, or turn water into wine.
"Snapper Heart" Like a venus fly trap, but acts like Juicer drugs- making you +1-2 stronger, faster, etc.
"Towershrooms" So... an artist drew a house made of mushrooms and they made stats for it. An M.D.C. place to live.

We are literally a quarter through the book and have learned about Millennium Trees and druggie hippies who can't fight.
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Re: Rifts England

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:04 am
That would require the Knight classes in this book to actually be exceptional or interesting. Besides, it's not like these are martial artists . . . though Rifts China kind of sucked in that regard as well.

I've said it before, but Rifts England's biggest sin is how BORING it is.
Truly a shame- I did a look-through and saw all the O.C.C.s about knights and figured you'd be all over that noise. They gotta do a really shitty job if YOU can't get into the knights!
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SO MANY DRUIDS!!

Post by Jabroniville »

THE WOODLAND DRUIDS:
-Next in the big list o' things in this book are FOUR KINDS of Druids, which all, thank goodness, give you "Mystic Herbology" Skills, because holy cow they'd be useless without that gem of an ability.
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The Filidh

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE FILIDH O.C.C.
Role:
Bearded Bards
PL 8 (100)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+7)
Expertise (Mystic Herbology) 6 (+9)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Storyteller) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Faeries) 4 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Hippie Gear, Bark Armor), Ranged Attack 1, Ritualist

Powers:
"Super-Hippie Powers"
Features 1: Can Make Magical Herbs [1]
Immunity 2 (Faerie Magic) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]

"Bark Armor of the Millennium Tree" (Flaws: Removable) [8]
Protection 7 (7)
Immunity 10 (Magical Effects) (Flaws: Limited to 1/3 Damage) (3)
-- (10 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Staff +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+10 Bark Armor), Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Power Loss (Magic)- Magic requires the internal energies of the Sorcerer to work- too many Spells will wear them out.
Responsibility (Fighting Evil)- The Filidh's jobs are to tell stories and fight evil.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 7 (100)

-The Filidh are said to be "scholars, philosophers, bards, herbalists" and more, and are big-time foes of evil, despite being giant wimps. But don't worry- they have the almighty power of HERBALISM on their side! Though at least they're likely to have M.D.C. gear, and have Martial Arts as a basic skill. The art is of a pretty basic, boring guy with a beard, sitting on a throne with two dogs in front of him- a very "Olde English" kind of picture. Given only two tiny paragraphs as a class description, I'm a bit unsure of who's supposed to want to play one.
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Ares
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Re: Rifts England

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 5:51 am
Ares wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:04 am
That would require the Knight classes in this book to actually be exceptional or interesting. Besides, it's not like these are martial artists . . . though Rifts China kind of sucked in that regard as well.

I've said it before, but Rifts England's biggest sin is how BORING it is.
Truly a shame- I did a look-through and saw all the O.C.C.s about knights and figured you'd be all over that noise. They gotta do a really shitty job if YOU can't get into the knights!
Let me put it to you this way: I forgot the Nexus Knights existed until you mentioned them on Discord. That's how dull they are.

I just remember most, if not all, of them as being super generic and more boring than the Traditional Samurai from Rifts Japan. You'd literally be better off just re-skinning the traditional Samurai OCC from Rifts Japan as a Knight, make some minor tweaks, and it'd be a huge improvement. There's a reason why the Cyber-Knights are my overall favorite Earth-based Rifts class, why the Mystic Knights from Madhaven are pretty awesome, and why Cosmo-Knights are concentrated cosmic awesome. They have unique features and are actually capable of doing cool stuff.

I just flipped through the Rifts England book and of the two player character knights, they don't really get anything. I was wrong about their gear, they do have mega-damage armor designed to look like knight armor, but is actually environmentally sealed. Apart from that, they don't get any specialized gear, no unique items, no special combat techniques, nada. They just have the same options for gear and cybernetics as literally everyone else. Even the really useful NPC Knights are all other classes or non-human to get anything cool. The only Knights who get any unique gear and abilities are the Nexus Knights. Who . . . . Spoiler Warning . . . ARE EVIL.
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The Dryad

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Man, I hate it when hippies with giant parakeet familiars bother me about recycling.

THE DRYAD O.C.C.
Role:
The Most Powerful Shroom-Addicts Of All
PL 8 (88 + Wands)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Expertise (Mystic Herbology) 6 (+9)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Insight 1 (+4)
Perception 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Hippie Gear, Bark Armor), Ranged Attack 1, Ritualist

Powers:
"Super-Hippie Powers"
Features 1: Can Make Magical Herbs [1]
Immunity 2 (Faerie Magic) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]

"Bark Armor of the Millennium Tree" (Flaws: Removable) [8]
Protection 7 (7)
Immunity 10 (Magical Effects) (Flaws: Limited to 1/3 Damage) (3)
-- (10 points)

"Wands & Staves" (2 Wands or 1 Wand & 1 Stave)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Staff +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+10 Bark Armor), Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Power Loss (Magic)- Magic requires the internal energies of the Sorcerer to work- too many Spells will wear them out.
Responsibility (Fighting Evil)- The Filidh's jobs are to tell stories and fight evil.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 10 + Wands / Defenses: 7 (88 + Wands)

-So the Dryad is bizarre, because not only does he have no link to Greek Mythology, but he's also supposed to be the best herbalist of all... moreso than THE HERBALIST. However, they're so over-specialized as to be useless at nearly everything else, dropping Skills in particular like crazy. Hilariously, their O.C.C. description is all of half a paragraph long, making them one of the least-explained classes in Rifts. At least they get a pair of wands to start, and their gear gets explained a bit. But holy cow- you take something as specialized as "Herbalism" and you penalize the class in everything else?
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Re: The Filidh

Post by kreuzritter »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 5:53 am The art is of a pretty basic, boring guy with a beard, sitting on a throne with two dogs in front of him- a very "Olde English" kind of picture.
That is literally Odin. one eye, two ravens, magic ring, and his pet wolves Freki and Geri
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Re: The Filidh

Post by Jabroniville »

kreuzritter wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:08 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 5:53 am The art is of a pretty basic, boring guy with a beard, sitting on a throne with two dogs in front of him- a very "Olde English" kind of picture.
That is literally Odin. one eye, two ravens, magic ring, and his pet wolves Freki and Geri
Haha, so it is. I think I noticed a connection, but forgot about it because the Art was so boring, then didn’t notice it when I went searching for the pic again.
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Re: The Dryad

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:29 am
-So the Dryad is bizarre, because not only does he have no link to Greek Mythology,
I suspect that the author is going for a possibly discredited linguistic link between 'dryad' and 'druid', drawing on the theory that the dryads of ancient Greece were priestesses rather than minor goddesses. (This is very Victorian.)
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The Scathach

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

These guys didn't get a picture, so here's a pic of a random wand-twirler!

THE SCATHACH O.C.C.
Role:
Magical Blacksmiths
PL 5 (94)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+7)
Expertise (Mystic Herbology) 2 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Blacksmith) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Carpentry) 6 (+9)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Hippie Gear, Bark Armor), Ranged Attack 1, Ritualist

Powers:
"Super-Hippie Powers"
Features 3: Can Make Magical Herbs, Can Make Magical Cauldrons, Can Make Magical Weapons & Tools [3]

"Magic Items" (Magic Hammer, 2 Cauldrons, assorted magical tools)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Staff +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Power Loss (Magic)- Magic requires the internal energies of the Sorcerer to work- too many Spells will wear them out.
Responsibility (Fighting Evil)- The Filidh's jobs are to tell stories and fight evil.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 3 + Magic Items / Defenses: 7 (94)

-Named for the same Celtic Warrior-Goddess that was sacred to Red Sonja, these characters are Warrior Blacksmiths who are great iron & wood-workers. They specialize in created magical cauldrons over the course of several weeks- different cauldrons include ones that are permanently heated without a fire being lit under them, ones that can melt down even Rune Weapons into slag, neutralize poisons, feed many more people than normal, and more. It's a very "utilitarian" class- one of many in this book. As usual, they get junk for skills outside of their narrow avenues of focus, and don't get baseline Bark Armor or Wands- instead, they choose from their Magic Hammers and other tools (most of which do S.D.C. damage, though some do more to supernatural creatures.
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The Millennium Druid

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

“One might argue that the real powers of these druids are kindness, strong will and dedication to their beliefs rather than magic.”
-HAHAHAHAAHA!!!


THE MILLENNIUM DRUID O.C.C.
Role:
Tree-Huggers
PL 8 (92 + Wands)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Faeries) 4 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Treatment 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Hippie Gear, Bark Armor), Ranged Attack 1, Ritualist

Powers:
"Super-Hippie Powers"
Comprehend 1 (Trees) [2]

"Bark Armor of the Millennium Tree" (Flaws: Removable) [8]
Protection 7 (7)
Immunity 10 (Magical Effects) (Flaws: Limited to 1/3 Damage) (3)
-- (10 points)

"Wands & Staves" (2 Wands or 1 Wand & 1 Stave)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Staff +5 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3 (+10 Bark Armor), Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Power Loss (Magic)- Magic requires the internal energies of the Sorcerer to work- too many Spells will wear them out.
Responsibility (Fighting Evil)- The Filidh's jobs are to tell stories and fight evil.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 10 + Wands / Defenses: 7 (92 + Wands)

-Oh man, an entire MAGIC CLASS devoted to philosophy, helping others, and the Millennium Trees- I can't believe Kevin was able to write up this class while firing ropes all over the office at the thought of it. So yeah, they're wandering teachers, giving lectures, helping farmers, and doing good deeds- they refuse to eat animals (but Kevin notes they're sure not to judge those who don't), and are all travellers, though some stick to a specific region. They fight evil where they find it, but never to the death- they hope to teach compassion in all ways and blah blah blah. Though their real power may be kindness (yes, really), they are the best friends of the Trees, and those that know and recognize the Druid will impart upon them all of their cool tree stuff, like healing, resurrection, and gear, without a word. They are the most well-armed of the Druids as a result. They also get WAY more side skills than the others, from nearly any source. But like... that's it.
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