Forums of the Megaverse®

Blackwater Sniper

In my Rifts world, almost everything has a basis in CARBON NANOTUBE technology.

Today, we use iron (steel) for structural integrity and copper for electricity transmission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIif11QOsRI

Do your own research on what's out there today to extrapolate what it could be ...

Blackwater Sniper

I’ve been binge-watching “The Good Doctor” (again) and I found myself asking the usual question: “Can I use any of this in a Rifts Game?”

So, would you ever play a character who underwent Crazy-conversion and it failed, making you autistic not the psychic ninja promised in the brochures. Maybe you ...

Blackwater Sniper

"Sixth Sense" is like Spidey Sense; it tells you that you will be in danger within a specified amount of time, not when or where or what kind of trouble. Will the danger always lead to a fatal result, or can it be a sprained limb, or a stray thought about how easy it would be for an insider to take ...

Blackwater Sniper

Matrix

In the Matrix or out of the Matrix? Both?

-STS

I like the idea of being in both without knowing which is the "real world" and which is a game.

Recently it was done in both The Matrix and Inception .

If you go back a few years (I'm showing my age), look up Mazes and Monsters ...

Blackwater Sniper

Blade Runner
Mad Max
Logan
Firefly/Serenity
Dark City
i, Robot
Edge of Tomorrow
Avatar (James Cameron)
Alita
Book of Eli
The Rocketeer
Oblivion
Matrix
Transformers

Blackwater Sniper

In the beginning, there was Pain.

In the beginning my Mind created Pain. Now the Pain was formless and empty, and I hurt all over my surface and the Pain ran deep and the Spirit of Consciousness was hovering over my broken body.
And the Nurse said, “Let there be Medication to take away the Pain ...

Blackwater Sniper

Due to the nature of Rifts Earth, there are no child labor laws and there is no OSHA. You can begin 'work' at whatever age a person is willing to take you in as an apprentice. Around the 1920s more people lived in US cities than rural areas; the mechanical advantage of tractors was taking over horse ...

Blackwater Sniper

I recently presented my players (not the characters) with a “once in a lifetime” chance; assassinate Emperor Prosek and as many (named) Coalition leaders as possible.

Of course, as players we had talked about it since the game’s inception, but never to the level of; “Is it even possible? And if so ...

Blackwater Sniper

I think the number of skill slots a character has available to them is woefully too few.

To prove a point, I did a fast look at the skills I had in my life up to getting out of the Army (30ish years ago). I could easily double the number if I really sat down and included college and experience ...

Blackwater Sniper

Regardless which OCC is involved, a high Charm/Impress percentage is a must.

A "max-level" Cyber-knight (supposed to be natural leaders) with a 'who cares' attitude' and cloudy disposition isn't going to inspire anyone to follow them into a fight. But a low-level City Rat who is charming can give a ...

Blackwater Sniper

Armor of Ithan
Attune Object to Owner
D-Phase
Dimensional Envelope
Dimensional Pockets
Time Capsule
Wink Out
Blinding flash
Mystic Alarm
Tongues
shadow meld

My Most Useful 10 plus an Honorable Mention

Blackwater Sniper

How do you get to Atlantis?

Practice, practice, practice

Blackwater Sniper

One of my favorite races in all the Rifts Universe is The Atlantean; of all my books, World Book 2: Atlantis, is my most thumbed-through tome. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has similar feelings, otherwise, why invest in another book completely devoted to them? With a few minor exceptions ...

Blackwater Sniper

How did Rifts Earth come about? Well, there was a Great Cataclysm that literally shook the Earth to its core. Due to the nature of the event, no one actually knows what happened and everyone’s guesses are “a Credit a dozen.” Did the Ley Lines cause the Cataclysm or did the Cataclysm bring the Ley ...

Blackwater Sniper

Land Nav, in the current military, is about knowing how to read military maps, determining your position by shooting an azimuth, and knowing your pace count. It’s about getting from Point A to Point B most efficiently given the terrain, weather conditions, and time of day.
Tracking is using signs ...

Blackwater Sniper

Rifts is a lot like LIFE ... it just doesn't make sense.

Any GM can allow a character to learn any skill if they have the aptitude.

Blackwater Sniper

How would you plan a civil war within the Coalition?

Military Coup?

Just fed up with Prosek?

Or maybe a shape changer has infiltrated the upper echelon and is causing chaos from the inside.

I have my plans already on paper. I’m interested in how you would begin, whether outside forces would ...

Blackwater Sniper

While we've always left OLD EARTH religions that focus on a god out of the games, those that have a basis on animalism, shamanism, or taking the individual to a higher state of being may be practiced in minor tribal settings. The more tech-oriented a society has become, the more they move away from ...

Blackwater Sniper

I wish I could say it was me, or that I had a hand in its inception, but I just ran into the most hilarious situation.

We had a new player join our band and his introduction was spot on playing a Crazy with a couple cyborg attachments. At random times, an internal playlist would blast out over ...

Blackwater Sniper

Whether or not crosses are useful against vampires on Rifts Earth, I would rule there has to be an actual belief in The Cross and what it stands for, not merely showing a cross-like symbol.

Cool.

Why?

Religion, as we know it today, is not a big part of Rifts Earth.

There are some theorists ...

Blackwater Sniper

I used to work with a guy who was a bit.... jumpy. You could walk up to him while he was concentrating on something, say his name or even "HI" and he would nearly jump out of his skin. It's similar to those who are scared by walking around a corner or opening a door and unexpectedly finding someone ...

Blackwater Sniper

In no particular order:

Education – All Coalition Citizens are required to attend a Montessori-Style schooling system for 1st-12th Grades, or until they age out at 16 years old. Those who show an aptitude for STEM classes are allowed to go further. The Coalition cannot exist without an educated ...

Blackwater Sniper

Whether or not crosses are useful against vampires on Rifts Earth, I would rule there has to be an actual belief in The Cross and what it stands for, not merely showing a cross-like symbol.

Blackwater Sniper

I agree with your ratio, it's one I've used for years.

In a MD-world, everyone must have energy weapons to survive.

We had rules that small caliber handguns and rifles couldn't damage armor of certain a type, regardless of how much actual damage was dealt.

I like the visual of kinetic rounds ...

Blackwater Sniper

I had a LLW who wanted to cast a protection spell to cover the robot they were piloting. After some table discussion, we decided the protection would only be viable to the individual, not the vehicle they were inside.

There are some specific robot/power armor models that come with a suit of armor ...

Blackwater Sniper

I've never liked the Physical Beauty attribute in a multi-racial game.

Even in a single race game, where everyone is humanoid, beauty is truly "in the eye of the beholder."
I'm attracted to a certain body shape, hair/skin color, smile (or lack of), and am willing to overlook certain "flaws ...

Blackwater Sniper

I think it's like athletic ability; some people were born to play professional sports, some try all their lives to achieve 'the next higher goal,' but not everyone has the ability.

Blackwater Sniper

Part of my job is operating a "hi-lo" forklift. A "hi-lo" is a kind of forklift where you stand with a 360* ZTR and a joystick for the forks. I'm a basic novice, while some of my contemporaries can swivel, square-up, and raise/lower the forks all while moving in 'at speed.' They've been doing it for ...

Blackwater Sniper

Which matters more in your games: Character Level or Power Level?

In Level-based systems (e.g. DnD) you wouldn't want to play a Level 3 Doomstalker with a party of Level 7-9 characters.

In Rifts a low-level Rahu-Man Cyber-Knight would fit right in with an upper-level party of SDC-based characters ...

Blackwater Sniper

New Technology is never born out of a vacuum, it takes steps from older, established approaches. Look at our main methods of mass transportation: trains, planes, and automobiles; each began as crude, inefficient ways of getting from Point A to Point B and now, by today’s standards, are so economical ...

Blackwater Sniper

For the low-down on what's happening in Land/Space Warfare in the early 21st Century, check out "FM 3-14 Army Space Operations."

It shows the intricacies of what it takes to conduct modern operations.

It’s also good if you’re having a hard time falling asleep.

Blackwater Sniper

I expected to read a reworking of (and possibly more buff version of the already powerful) the Four Horsemen.

I was pleased to see a thought-out Continent.

Blackwater Sniper

Immediately after 'Wormwood' came out of course our group had a player who wanted to bring an Apok to Rifts Earth.

Liking the OCC, we brainstormed a good way to make it so, without being overpowered.

I think we decided to have the symbiote mask tap into the wearer's PPE base and reduce the ...

Blackwater Sniper

I recently played a fast and loose short-term game where we used the 75% rule: Base rolls were 75% of max (rounded down) and then you added/subtract any bonuses afterward.

Humans had a cross-the-board base of 13 (18*75%=13.5). None of those stats give any bonuses, but, with OCC skills, allows you ...

Blackwater Sniper

I would always allow a Dragon Juicer to "try" to find a compatible dragon.

It could lead to a great long-term campaign. Imagine having a pact with a dragon!

You could be tasked with keeping "your dragon" safe from outside threats.

The ideas are as endless as your imagination.

Blackwater Sniper

I haven’t read most of the posts, so if it’s already been posted, just disregard.

One of the biggest differences between Rifts warfare and “modern 21st century warfare” is the lack of satellites.

Today everything on the battlefield is interlinked with satellite communications. We can hardly think ...

Blackwater Sniper

Is there a single interactive character sheet (in Excel) that includes most Rifts OCCs, races, magics, psionics?

The sheet on the Palladium site looks great, I love the layout, and the fact that spells/abilities are automatically modified with character stats/level (saves a ton of time) is a ...

Blackwater Sniper

What do humans do when faced with an invasive species?

To be considered ‘invasive,’ a species can’t be native to the land, must be able to adapt quickly to the new environment, be of serious harm to native species, and cause physical environmental or economic harm. Some are introduced to the non ...

Blackwater Sniper

Name a movie, book, TV Show where the "new aliens" in town are considered good and welcomed by the human populace?

It's far more likely that you'll have various factions of aliens coming to Earth where some are allied with humans against a third faction.

With that in mind, humanity is doing its ...

Blackwater Sniper

Palladium Rifts is an enigma that will give you headaches for years if you try to figure things out logically. At its core, it is a game that involves magic, dragons, aliens, on a post-apocalyptic Earth which can be inhabited by every monster in cinema history.
I really enjoy reading when someone ...

Blackwater Sniper

Rifts is one of those games which allows GMs to modify the rules in nearly any way they can imagine. I've found rules contradicting rules contradicting rules.

I think if a player wants an item enchanted with D-Pockets or D-Envelope, you should use the duration of the spell as listed but max out ...

Blackwater Sniper

You know all those warnings on lawn mowers? (Even the stupid ones like: "Don't clean the undercarriage with your hands while the blade is spinning")

They all got there because someone did something stupid and sued the company. Even people posting on YouTube have to say "Don't do this at home" as a ...

Blackwater Sniper

This is where the backstory of the character(s) should determine what equipment they do/don't start with.

Just "giving" a character what they start with cheapens the items. How does a first level character end up with a pristine suit of Glitter-Boy armor? Imagine a crew of hijackers taking down a ...

Blackwater Sniper

Was it a story in a RIFTER or on these boards?

In a weird way, it sounds similar to a story I was spit-balling.

Blackwater Sniper

With those limitations, it seems like he just ripped the guts out of what makes Rifts - "Rifts."

TL;DR every post to see how things went.

Does the GM run the game or do the players have a voice in where they go and what they do?

Blackwater Sniper

If you are trying to sneak in, get the info, and get out without being detected, a large force will only complicate matters and put everyone on a higher alert status.

When no attack is happening or directly imminent, people become complacent, let down their guard, think about what they will do when ...

Blackwater Sniper

Aside from remote recon outposts which are by nature covert, I'd say that a CS base would be pretty much impossible for even a large player group; hire some mercenaries to help. At least a reinforced platoon, but a full battalion would be better.

Actually it would be just the opposite.

The ...

Blackwater Sniper

If you want "real" for your story; (1) look at who would want to attack that specific base and how you would defend against that threat or (2) decide what is being protected and decide how important it is, the more valuable, the harder you want to make to get through each line defense and more lines ...

Blackwater Sniper

Whatever you choose to do, remember that drones, semi-/autonomous robot systems work best as a first line of defense.

They can be easily and rapidly deployed in most terrains and don't get tired/bored/hungry/distracted. And with realtime electronic monitoring, the Dog-boys, psi-stalkers, and ...

Blackwater Sniper

No.

There's nothing normal about me.

Search found 178 matches