Mutant Humans in Rifts

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ardashir
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Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ardashir »

Okay, I've looked at Rifts Australia, Madhaven, and Dinosaur Swamp and their rules for mutant humans. Do any other books have more information on them, like how common/uncommon they are in the setting? Or how people both human and D-bee react to them?

Any help would be appreciated.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by taalismn »

The Sea Titans in Rifts Underseas are mutants(as opposed to the Amphibs in the same book and the Achilles superhumans of South America Book 2 who are the descendants of deliberately engineered humans). The Sea Titans are generally regarded the same as superheroes; with a little fear and jealously for their powers and longevity/Immortality, and awe because of their powers.

There's also the Keepers of the Desert in Rifts New West who are nomadic mutants created by leaking radioactive waste and magic energy. They are generally feared for their deformities, powers, and secretive nature.

There was also a Rifter article on random human mutations(I forget which exact issue) which suggests mutants are more common than one might think, and that many (beneficial/successful) mutations are generally concealable, since may human communities(especially the Coalition) are just as likely to react negatively to mutants, as embrace them for their useful talents..
Last edited by taalismn on Wed Aug 31, 2022 1:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

Many psychics are considered mutant humans, such as Psi-Stalkers and Psi-Ghosts, with another interpretation applying the term to most or all psychics. The orbital community has a large number of mutant humans as well.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

ardashir wrote:Do any other books have more information on them, like how common/uncommon they are in the setting? Or how people both human and D-bee react to them?

There are a lot of human mutants/variants out there, but most of them are more standardized and will have varying degrees of what responses they get.

The old RMB had a table for human mutants/aliens/D-Bees (pg18 under Family Origin) which was removed in RUE (pg297) for some reason. Said table should still be viable.

How common a given type/categorization of them will vary from region to region. For example, the Psi-X aliens are technically human mutants (result of Genetic engineering, though enough time has passed they don't think of themselves as human) but will mostly only be found in/near Lonestar region, but Psi-Ghosts are another human mutant region locked to a single town in terms of origin, but then you have Psi-Stalkers who seem to be nearly everywhere ripe with PPE rich creatures.

As others have pointed out you have Underseas with the Sea Titians and Amphibs, South America 1&2 have mutants (mostly animals, though #2 does have a genetically engineered human mutant), New West has the Keepers of the Desert, but also hinted at the Mountain Giants (IIRC) also are human mutants, Splogourth Bio-wizardry could give rise to mutants, Amazons (SA1) and True Atlanteans (WB1) are human relatives (along with Star Child in England), several of the psychic classes in Psycape are considered mutants (including Mind Melters, Burster types, Psi-Ghosts, Nega-Psychic, Psi-Slayer, I want to say Mind Bleeder).
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ardashir »

Thanks everyone for their responses, you've all been helpful.

It does now occur to me that something else I wanted to ask was how commonly humans get mutated in the setting proper? I know the chief scientist at Lone Star did it in some cases, but it seems like others must be if I go by entries in books like Merc Ops where 'Illegal Augmentation/Genetic Manipulation' is a crime worth some hefty bounties and serious penalties. It makes me think of some mad scientist turning humans into half-animal mutants or what have you until the CS shuts him down and tosses his victims out into the Burb. "Shame what happened, but you freaks can never become CS citizens now. Humans only and all that. Have fun spending the rest of your life in the Burbs and try not to get killed in the next purge."

I suspect the answer to my question is 'It happens if and when you want it to happen' but some advice would be helpful.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by taalismn »

ardashir wrote:Thanks everyone for their responses, you've all been helpful.

It does now occur to me that something else I wanted to ask was how commonly humans get mutated in the setting proper? I know the chief scientist at Lone Star did it in some cases, but it seems like others must be if I go by entries in books like Merc Ops where 'Illegal Augmentation/Genetic Manipulation' is a crime worth some hefty bounties and serious penalties. It makes me think of some mad scientist turning humans into half-animal mutants or what have you until the CS shuts him down and tosses his victims out into the Burb. "Shame what happened, but you freaks can never become CS citizens now. Humans only and all that. Have fun spending the rest of your life in the Burbs and try not to get killed in the next purge."



That's the Psi-X 'alien' story right there.
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The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
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And the Turning of a Page"

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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ardashir »

taalismn wrote:
ardashir wrote:Thanks everyone for their responses, you've all been helpful.

It does now occur to me that something else I wanted to ask was how commonly humans get mutated in the setting proper? I know the chief scientist at Lone Star did it in some cases, but it seems like others must be if I go by entries in books like Merc Ops where 'Illegal Augmentation/Genetic Manipulation' is a crime worth some hefty bounties and serious penalties. It makes me think of some mad scientist turning humans into half-animal mutants or what have you until the CS shuts him down and tosses his victims out into the Burb. "Shame what happened, but you freaks can never become CS citizens now. Humans only and all that. Have fun spending the rest of your life in the Burbs and try not to get killed in the next purge."



That's the Psi-X 'alien' story right there.


You're right. I forgot. Who knows what else Dr. Bradford's been up to with his 'voluntary' human test subjects?
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by glitterboy2098 »

taalismn wrote:There was also a Rifter article on random human mutations(I forget which exact issue) which suggests mutants are more common than one might think, and that many (beneficial/successful) mutations are generally concealable, since may human communities(especially the Coalition) are just as likely to react negatively to mutants, as embrace them for their useful talents..

Rifter 26 had an article on various origins for ATB style animal mutants in rifts (other than CS experiments at Lonestar). it has a section on mutant humans as well, giving three types ("mutoids", "Psychic Mutants", and "Super mutants", with tables of altered features and special abilities you can use for them, in addition to the psychic and super powers the latter two types get. (mutoids just get extra of the features and abilities. which range from physical features like fags, fur, horns, etc, to improved attributes. most of the mutations are fairly minor, though a few are pretty potent)
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

ardashir wrote:It does now occur to me that something else I wanted to ask was how commonly humans get mutated in the setting proper? I know the chief scientist at Lone Star did it in some cases, but it seems like others must be if I go by entries in books like Merc Ops where 'Illegal Augmentation/Genetic Manipulation' is a crime worth some hefty bounties and serious penalties. It makes me think of some mad scientist turning humans into half-animal mutants or what have you until the CS shuts him down and tosses his victims out into the Burb. "Shame what happened, but you freaks can never become CS citizens now. Humans only and all that. Have fun spending the rest of your life in the Burbs and try not to get killed in the next purge."

In terms of mutant humans on Rifts Earth sourcing is going to look something like this:
1. Breeding (these are the various "standardized" mutants like Psi-Stalkers for the most part)
2. "Natural" Events/Phenomena that alter the subject and basically are more random chance (which is what the RMB mutant table reflects IMHO).
3. product of genetic engineering (these would be your Lonestar/Bradford creations, Gene Splicer creations, Bio-Wizard subjects, Kittani creations, etc).

Now #2 and #3 can lead to breeding that sustains the population with those mutations, in fact there are examples of these that have already moved to that status.

In North America there are only 3 "powers" with the technology to perform genetic experiments: the CS, Atlantis/Kittani (Atlantis for the magical, Kittani have their own tech version), and the Gene Splicers (who aren't known to operate in NA, though WB30 suggests at least one of its DBees might be Gene Splicer in origin). You also have the Mechanoids, but they are supposedly wiped out (or should be). There are other powers on Rifts Earth that have access to the technology but none are known to operate in NA (doesn't mean their products can't reach NA).
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ardashir »

glitterboy2098 wrote:
taalismn wrote:There was also a Rifter article on random human mutations(I forget which exact issue) which suggests mutants are more common than one might think, and that many (beneficial/successful) mutations are generally concealable, since may human communities(especially the Coalition) are just as likely to react negatively to mutants, as embrace them for their useful talents..

Rifter 26 had an article on various origins for ATB style animal mutants in rifts (other than CS experiments at Lonestar). it has a section on mutant humans as well, giving three types ("mutoids", "Psychic Mutants", and "Super mutants", with tables of altered features and special abilities you can use for them, in addition to the psychic and super powers the latter two types get. (mutoids just get extra of the features and abilities. which range from physical features like fags, fur, horns, etc, to improved attributes. most of the mutations are fairly minor, though a few are pretty potent)


Thanks for giving me the number of that issue of The Rifter, I really appreciate it.

Especially if it defines what the heck "mutoids" are/were supposed to be.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ardashir »

ShadowLogan wrote:
ardashir wrote:It does now occur to me that something else I wanted to ask was how commonly humans get mutated in the setting proper? I know the chief scientist at Lone Star did it in some cases, but it seems like others must be if I go by entries in books like Merc Ops where 'Illegal Augmentation/Genetic Manipulation' is a crime worth some hefty bounties and serious penalties. It makes me think of some mad scientist turning humans into half-animal mutants or what have you until the CS shuts him down and tosses his victims out into the Burb. "Shame what happened, but you freaks can never become CS citizens now. Humans only and all that. Have fun spending the rest of your life in the Burbs and try not to get killed in the next purge."

In terms of mutant humans on Rifts Earth sourcing is going to look something like this:
1. Breeding (these are the various "standardized" mutants like Psi-Stalkers for the most part)
2. "Natural" Events/Phenomena that alter the subject and basically are more random chance (which is what the RMB mutant table reflects IMHO).
3. product of genetic engineering (these would be your Lonestar/Bradford creations, Gene Splicer creations, Bio-Wizard subjects, Kittani creations, etc).

Now #2 and #3 can lead to breeding that sustains the population with those mutations, in fact there are examples of these that have already moved to that status.

In North America there are only 3 "powers" with the technology to perform genetic experiments: the CS, Atlantis/Kittani (Atlantis for the magical, Kittani have their own tech version), and the Gene Splicers (who aren't known to operate in NA, though WB30 suggests at least one of its DBees might be Gene Splicer in origin). You also have the Mechanoids, but they are supposedly wiped out (or should be). There are other powers on Rifts Earth that have access to the technology but none are known to operate in NA (doesn't mean their products can't reach NA).


Thanks for the information. Though I always thought that the Kittani were more into 'nuts and bolts' technology rather than bioengineering.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

ardashir wrote:Though I always thought that the Kittani were more into 'nuts and bolts' technology rather than bioengineering.

WB2: Atlantis pg35 one of the notable places in Ki-Talan, Kittani city on Atlantis is "The Bio-Genetics Medical Center", the primary fluff deals with cloning, but there is also a few tid bits here that are relevant:
-"The cybernetics and genetics facility is unparalleled, though its marvels are kept quite secret."
-more specifically "Recently they have embarked on a new level of genetic research and manipulation and have successfully cloned dog boys and are on the verge of figuring out the genetic manipulation process to create dog boys from animals, just like the Coalition."

So, I can certainly see discarded Kittani genetic experiments existing and possibly loose in the wild, though they might not use the technology on themselves.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

ardashir wrote:Okay, I've looked at Rifts Australia, Madhaven, and Dinosaur Swamp and their rules for mutant humans. Do any other books have more information on them, like how common/uncommon they are in the setting? Or how people both human and D-bee react to them?

Any help would be appreciated.

Technically the Mutants in Orbit book (split between AtB and Rifts) has a human mutation table on pg13 (Rifts character creation), though it should be noted the options are "normal", "psychic", "super powers".
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by thorr-kan »

Some indexing I've done over the Palladium lines:
Animal Psionics Converson for I.S.P - After the Bomb, p30

Mutant Determination Table (Animal) - Mutants in Orbit, p9
Random Mutation Table (Animal) - Mutants in Orbit, p10
Unusual Mutant Characteristic Table (Animal) - Mutants in Orbit, p12

Hominidon Mutant - Transdimensional Turtles, p16

Human Mutant - After the Bomb2, p119 OR Transdimensional Turtles, p11

Human Special Abilities Table - Lone Star, p97

Special Aptitude Bonuses - Nightbane Survival Guide, p51

Mutant Determination Table (Human) - Mutants in Orbit, p13
Psionic Powers Table (Human) - Mutants in Orbit, p13
Super Ability Table (Human) - Mutants in Orbit, p14
Unusual Mutant Characteristic Table (Human) - Mutants in Orbit, p14
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by Shorty Lickens »

You have to decide.
I like to have my rifts earth be comparable to Heroes Unlimited. Which is to say theres quite a few mutants running around. And some can be quite dangerous.
Your rifts earth might have none at all.
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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by SolCannibal »

ShadowLogan wrote:
ardashir wrote:Though I always thought that the Kittani were more into 'nuts and bolts' technology rather than bioengineering.

WB2: Atlantis pg35 one of the notable places in Ki-Talan, Kittani city on Atlantis is "The Bio-Genetics Medical Center", the primary fluff deals with cloning, but there is also a few tid bits here that are relevant:
-"The cybernetics and genetics facility is unparalleled, though its marvels are kept quite secret."
-more specifically "Recently they have embarked on a new level of genetic research and manipulation and have successfully cloned dog boys and are on the verge of figuring out the genetic manipulation process to create dog boys from animals, just like the Coalition."

So, I can certainly see discarded Kittani genetic experiments existing and possibly loose in the wild, though they might not use the technology on themselves.


And the reasons a Kittani budding geneticist might have for discarding one of its own homemade psi-hounds or not could be quite arcane and elusive indeed, from different priorities to practical interests, limited data on how buggy the CS processes can actually be, to aesthetic preferences and more.

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Re: Mutant Humans in Rifts

Unread post by Kagashi »

The Super Soldier in Mercenaries and the Gladiator in Merc Adventures have options for that OCC to have mutant powers from HU2.
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