give a review on Rifter 45?

[gaby]

Any one who have Rifter 45,tell me about the Court of Tarot?

[Rogue Shadow]

It is still at the printer right now I believe. I am interested in the Court of Tarot article as well.

[Lord Z]

Hello, I'm the writer of that Court of Tarot article. I'd like to thank Rogue Shadow for pointing me to this thread.

Anyway, Wayne's tagline really sums up the idea well. I is an elitist organization which rivals the Lazlo Society. I realized that player characters in BtS-2 are assumed to probably be altruistic, and the Lazlo Society encourages that. I thought that players should have a similar support structure if they wanted to play characters with self alignments. The Court of Tarot is that support structure. The Court was organized in the late 19th Century in my home town (Saint Augustine, Florida) and has operated as a secret society ever since. The structure of the Court insures that only a certain number of people can be members at any given time, and most of them are super-rich elitists who seeks to use the supernatural to their own advantage. The result is a much smaller but more economically powerful organization than the Society.

To be honest, I'm not entirely certain which materials got in. I submitted a series of four articles, and the first three were specifically about the Court. The papers I got from Wayne didn't specify which materials were being printed. Furthermore, I have no idea how Wayne and his crew edited or re-wrote those articles. The articles were on the long side by Rifter standards, eight or nine pages each, so I wouldn't be surprised by anything which happens.

So long as I don't have to give away give away any secrets which are best left in the magazine, I would be happy to answer any questions. Personally, I'm looking forward to that Mystic Knights article.

[Danger]

Hello, I'm the writer of that Court of Tarot article. I'd like to thank Rogue Shadow for pointing me to this thread.

Looking forward to reading this article.

[Vidynn]

any word on wether the "alternative" DR-setting was rewritten for the RIFTER? or which stuff was chosen to be in print?

[Vidynn]

If past Rifters are a clue then it will not have been rewritten, just standard editing. But they are only printing the parts they want to print so it won't be everything that was cut.

yeah, but everything cut out would be too much for a RIFTER anyway, I guess.
plus, it needs to work as a RIFTER-text now so Im (wild) guessing they use material with a certain theme / context, not just bits and pieces of edited-out-of-DR-stuff.

I have to admit Im a bit surprised you werent involved with what will be printed in the RIFTER.

[Rogue Shadow]

Hello, I'm the writer of that Court of Tarot article. I'd like to thank Rogue Shadow for pointing me to this thread.

Anyway, Wayne's tagline really sums up the idea well. I is an elitist organization which rivals the Lazlo Society. I realized that player characters in BtS-2 are assumed to probably be altruistic, and the Lazlo Society encourages that. I thought that players should have a similar support structure if they wanted to play characters with self alignments. The Court of Tarot is that support structure. The Court was organized in the late 19th Century in my home town (Saint Augustine, Florida) and has operated as a secret society ever since. The structure of the Court insures that only a certain number of people can be members at any given time, and most of them are super-rich elitists who seeks to use the supernatural to their own advantage. The result is a much smaller but more economically powerful organization than the Society.

To be honest, I'm not entirely certain which materials got in. I submitted a series of four articles, and the first three were specifically about the Court. The papers I got from Wayne didn't specify which materials were being printed. Furthermore, I have no idea how Wayne and his crew edited or re-wrote those articles. The articles were on the long side by Rifter standards, eight or nine pages each, so I wouldn't be surprised by anything which happens.

So long as I don't have to give away give away any secrets which are best left in the magazine, I would be happy to answer any questions. Personally, I'm looking forward to that Mystic Knights article.

No problem Z. Being a big fan of BtS, I am looking forward to your Court of Tarot article more now than ever. In December I ran a BtS game for my group and opted to use an organization of my own creation called the Kaufman Social Club, rather than having the characters be part of Lazlo Society. I am quite interested to see the Court of Tarot and see whether I can't use that in my games as well. Allies or adversaries, a new group in the mix is always good.

[Lord Z]

It's nice to meet you guys. Roguey, could you tell us a little more about your reasons for deciding to develop your own organization?

[Danger]

It's nice to meet you guys. Roguey, could you tell us a little more about your reasons for deciding to develop your own organization?

Welcome to the boards.

[Danger]

it's usually happy around here ... no arguing or fighting at all.

Oh yeah?!?

[Library Ogre]

it's usually happy around here ... no arguing or fighting at all.

Oh yeah?!?

when was the last time you saw me fight with anyone in public?

That time those three midgets took your wallet.

[mrloucifer]

Hello, I'm the writer of that Court of Tarot article. I'd like to thank Rogue Shadow for pointing me to this thread.

Anyway, Wayne's tagline really sums up the idea well. I is an elitist organization which rivals the Lazlo Society. I realized that player characters in BtS-2 are assumed to probably be altruistic, and the Lazlo Society encourages that. I thought that players should have a similar support structure if they wanted to play characters with self alignments. The Court of Tarot is that support structure. The Court was organized in the late 19th Century in my home town (Saint Augustine, Florida) and has operated as a secret society ever since. The structure of the Court insures that only a certain number of people can be members at any given time, and most of them are super-rich elitists who seeks to use the supernatural to their own advantage. The result is a much smaller but more economically powerful organization than the Society.

To be honest, I'm not entirely certain which materials got in. I submitted a series of four articles, and the first three were specifically about the Court. The papers I got from Wayne didn't specify which materials were being printed. Furthermore, I have no idea how Wayne and his crew edited or re-wrote those articles. The articles were on the long side by Rifter standards, eight or nine pages each, so I wouldn't be surprised by anything which happens.

So long as I don't have to give away give away any secrets which are best left in the magazine, I would be happy to answer any questions. Personally, I'm looking forward to that Mystic Knights article.

As an exclusive BTS GM and long time fan of the series I am stoked to read up on the new BTS material.

[Lenwen]

it's usually happy around here ... no arguing or fighting at all.

Oh yeah?!?

when was the last time you saw me fight with anyone in public?

That time those three midgets took your wallet.

HEY!

There were three of them and one had a broken beer bottle.

OMFG HAHAHAHAHAHA ..

And to think the only reason I would ever fight a midget is if they walked by my ol lady saying how good her hair smelled today ..

[Rogue Shadow]

It's nice to meet you guys. Roguey, could you tell us a little more about your reasons for deciding to develop your own organization?

Oops, I missed this. Maybe because against my black background the original text color was almost invisible.

I think mostly my mindset was that I wanted an agency of my own creation that I was free to twist and turn their motives and designs as I saw fit, while leaving the Lazlo folks as a friendly competing organization that is a more "straight line" kind of organization. That way Lazlo then flys as a group with the good of people and the world as their primary motive and goal. I wasn't necessarily looking to get away from the Lazlo Society, in fact many members of Kaufman are also loosely affiliated with the Lazlo Society.

Kaufman Social Club members aren't necessarily motivated to evil, but I can use different factions of them to that end, while leaving Lazlo as the "white knights" of my campaign.

I realize that I could likely do that all within the Lazlo Society itself, but I felt a seperate organization would work better in my game.

[Lord Z]

R, that explanation does make perfect sense. I have to agree that using your own small group in that situation was the more manageable choice. It's also completely feasible that little monster-busting groups would pop up and again in the BtS world.

That being said, I went a different way with the Court of Tarot articles. The Court is supposed to be a major player in the BtS world. The Court is more of a secret society which exploits psychics and magicians than an alliance of monster-busters.

I've started using the default black lettering instead of my previous green. Thank you for letting me know that some people were having trouble with it.

Arrg! Waiting to see this issue is driving me turbo-nerdy...

[Rogue Shadow]

Arrg! Waiting to see this issue is driving me turbo-nerdy...

You and me both.

[Lord Z]

Here is some evidence of how my nerdiness is spiraling out of control: Link-o-matic!

[Danger]

And to think the only reason I would ever fight a midget is if they walked by my ol lady saying how good her hair smelled today ..

[Rogue Shadow]

So, does anyone have any inside info as to whether 45 has shipped yet? I am losing my freaking mind here in anticipation of seeing it.

[The Galactus Kid]

So, does anyone have any inside info as to whether 45 has shipped yet? I am losing my freaking mind here in anticipation of seeing it.

It shipped yesterday.

[Rogue Shadow]

So, does anyone have any inside info as to whether 45 has shipped yet? I am losing my freaking mind here in anticipation of seeing it.

It shipped yesterday.

Thanks. I think Alex posted the release thread just after I posted my question.

[The Galactus Kid]

LOL. I still haven't got my Rifter #44s and I was in it. hahaha. They should be here today, though.

[Lord Z]

I'm glad you mentioned that, Galactic Kid. I should order an extra copy anway, so I'll go ahead and buy one. If I do that, I'm more likely to see Issue #45 some time this month.

[BookWyrm]

Same here. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks until I can get into NYC to Compleat Strategist to pick mine up.

[Balabanto]

I really liked that Mystic Knights article. I wish other organizations in Rifts would get the same excessive treatment this one has. That would please me greatly. This made me feel like a Mystic Knight could belong to a playable group of PCs and not just slaughter them the moment that they saw an advantage in doing so. The internal politics were fantastic.

However, I have a special request for future writers. (Warning, if you only play Rifts and don't run it, stop reading here.)

Please stop linking everything to the Sunaj and Clan Aheriman. It is driving me cuckoo! Every time I turn my head, it's more "And this guy from Clan Aheriman is doing this..."

Clan Aheriman is not supposed to be an OPEN secret. People are not supposed to know about this. But if they literally have a guy in every single organization, it won't be long before everyone knows.

[Rogue Shadow]

I really liked that Mystic Knights article. I wish other organizations in Rifts would get the same excessive treatment this one has. That would please me greatly. This made me feel like a Mystic Knight could belong to a playable group of PCs and not just slaughter them the moment that they saw an advantage in doing so. The internal politics were fantastic.

However, I have a special request for future writers. (Warning, if you only play Rifts and don't run it, stop reading here.)

Please stop linking everything to the Sunaj and Clan Aheriman. It is driving me cuckoo! Every time I turn my head, it's more "And this guy from Clan Aheriman is doing this..."

Clan Aheriman is not supposed to be an OPEN secret. People are not supposed to know about this. But if they literally have a guy in every single organization, it won't be long before everyone knows.

I'm glad that you liked it Balabanto. We are proud of the work we did on it, but it is great to hear that others like it as well. One of our goals with the article was to do exactly what you said, make a Mystic Knight that could belong to a PC group instead of just being a villain, and I am glad that it comes across.

Sorry to drive you cuckoo there partner, totally not our intention. I can't remember if it was Ian or myself that spun out the details on Marius Sigil, but I think we made him up that way because we felt it really fit with the orientation of the Great House. It was easy to see a Sunaj forming a house based on the art of assassination.

Again, glad you liked it and hope you can make use of the material in your games.

Brian

[The Galactus Kid]

I really liked that Mystic Knights article. I wish other organizations in Rifts would get the same excessive treatment this one has. That would please me greatly. This made me feel like a Mystic Knight could belong to a playable group of PCs and not just slaughter them the moment that they saw an advantage in doing so. The internal politics were fantastic.

However, I have a special request for future writers. (Warning, if you only play Rifts and don't run it, stop reading here.)

Please stop linking everything to the Sunaj and Clan Aheriman. It is driving me cuckoo! Every time I turn my head, it's more "And this guy from Clan Aheriman is doing this..."

Clan Aheriman is not supposed to be an OPEN secret. People are not supposed to know about this. But if they literally have a guy in every single organization, it won't be long before everyone knows.

I'm glad that you liked it Balabanto. We are proud of the work we did on it, but it is great to hear that others like it as well. One of our goals with the article was to do exactly what you said, make a Mystic Knight that could belong to a PC group instead of just being a villain, and I am glad that it comes across.

Sorry to drive you cuckoo there partner, totally not our intention. I can't remember if it was Ian or myself that spun out the details on Marius Sigil, but I think we made him up that way because we felt it really fit with the orientation of the Great House. It was easy to see a Sunaj forming a house based on the art of assassination.

Again, glad you liked it and hope you can make use of the material in your games.

Brian

Yes, thanks for the feedback, Balabanto.

I was going to say the same thing as Brian; I don't remember which one of us came up with that. It has been a while since we wrote it, so I'll have to check in the notes and determine who gets the blame. I know it got added during the creative process as an effect, not as a goal. That is to say, we didn't set out to work the Sunaj into the Mystic Knights, but rather as we were flushing out the great houses it just seemed to fit.

As a defense, the Sunaj could be a Rifts version of the Illuminati, and have someone in every organization while maintaining their secret existence. But I do understand where you are coming from, and respect your opinion; That part could probably but cut with very little affect on the article.

Ian

I really liked what I saw of the article too. I really want to do more of a deep dive into it, but it seemed to be really well written and organized. The mystic Knight organization is formed a little different in my world (which is what I based the order of the white rose off of), but that is what I love about role playing. People can read the EXACT SAME THING and form different histories, backgrounds, cultures, societies etc. Its just so cool to me. Good job, you guys.

[Lord Z]

How do contact Nick "the Brick" Bradshaw? I just wanted to thank him for artwork. -- Never mind! I found him.

[Balabanto]

I'm going to use the article anyway, make no mistake. It's too good to not use. Plus, it makes good sense with the groups I've got.

[Lord Z]

I found the wrong Nick Bradshaw. Okay, how do I get into contact with Nick "the Brick" Bradshaw?

[Shawn Merrow]

I found the wrong Nick Bradshaw. Okay, how do I get into contact with Nick "the Brick" Bradshaw?

You, can send bradshaw a PM.

[Lord Z]

Thank you much, SM!

[Rogue Shadow]

What about Kent Burles? Is he on the forums here as well? Anyone know?

[Ahulane]

Got my copy in last week...

The Mystic Knight section was terrific but left me wanting "more," of what I don't know...but regardless, I was geeking out when I was reading their background. Great Job

The psi-archers were cool however, I felt that the cost for the MD arrows was a bit too steep considering the bow cost and the average ISP for a first level character...even if you had 30 ME you'd only have 60 ISP, which would give you roughly 2 shots for 2d6 MD, a bow activation and 3-6 minutes of activation or just 2 shots and 3 min duration if you needed it ready immediately. Hitting people with Super-Telekinesis is more cost effective than using the psi-bow and arrows...MD or not.

The Demon Archer was badass as was the bow hand to hand styles and "trick shooting"

[Marrowlight]

For the record, apart from my own stuff, I thought that Rifter 45 was one of the best I have read in a long time.

Just did a read through of all 45 that I own over the weekend -- and I think part of the problem is with half the Rifters we get in a year being Theme Rifters.

[Lord Z]

I have a longer, discussion-style review of this issue over at Nexus Nine dot net. Here are some highlights.

I'll abstain from writing a review of my own article. The zombie cover is actually better, in my opinion, than the cover art of Dead Reign. The Holidays art by Mark Dudley is rather mediocre. It could have been shrunk to half of a page, and no one would have complained much.

From the Desk... and the 2009 State of Palladium Books are a little bit belt & suspenders, but that is forgivable. I actually welcomed Kevin's lengthy explanation of business in the 2009 State...

Only seven pages were used for advertisements (not counting the back cover). That's acceptable.

Another World of Zombies Let's be honest: this article is the major selling point of the issue. It featured a good explanation by Kevin (heaven help us, he's actually explaining things for a change) about why he changed Dead Reign so drastically from the original manuscript. Kevin's arguments do make a good amount of sense, but it still isn't clear to me which parts of the final product were written by which author... The artwork by by Stephen Fox is dark, dynamic, and slightly over-the-top, perfectly suited to the text. The monsters actually look as described, a new standard! All and all, I like the version written by the Joshes just slightly better than Kevin's generic version. Whereas Kevin's version is nearly the same game as Systems Failure, the alternate version is very nearly the same game as Nightbane. If you have this issue, #40, and any Palladium main rule book, you effectively have an entirely new horror RPG.

The Order of the Mystic Knights ...This article is second biggest draw. Partially this is due to the popularity of Rifts and the popularity of the Mystic Knights (I've seen two appear as actual player characters, and I've yet to see anyone play a Cyberdoc). I found the artwork by Kent Burles is dark and organic, very much his work in Free Quebec -- love it or hate it. I particularly like the Knight portrait on Page 69. It portrays the rough veteran soldier-vibe effectively. The introductory story is, to be blunt, better than mine. The last four pages of the article are the Mystic Knight O.C.C. Revised. It's an excellent revision, but it isn't actually a full O.C.C. A player would still need the Federation of Magic Book or Madhaven Book to create a character. I can see someone like myself making that mistake and showing to to Character Creation Night with only this Rifter and a main rule book. Overall, the article is excellent. It has a good balance of crunch and fluff. This article enhances the game without complicating the game by adding a lot of new rules.

I haven't read the archery article nor Hammer of the Forge yet, but I will be getting to those soon.

[Prysus]

The psi-archers were cool however, I felt that the cost for the MD arrows was a bit too steep considering the bow cost and the average ISP for a first level character...even if you had 30 ME you'd only have 60 ISP, which would give you roughly 2 shots for 2d6 MD, a bow activation and 3-6 minutes of activation or just 2 shots and 3 min duration if you needed it ready immediately. Hitting people with Super-Telekinesis is more cost effective than using the psi-bow and arrows...MD or not.

The Demon Archer was badass as was the bow hand to hand styles and "trick shooting"

Greetings and Salutations. Well, glad you liked most of it. As for the Psi-Archers, I have to admit I didn't compare it to Super Telekinesis. I did compare it to Mind Bolt. It's slightly more expensive for the first 2D6 arrow (based solely from the PF main book, though Rifts should be fairly similar), but meant to be cheaper for prolonged use with a much better starting range. I had also based it slightly on the Psi-Slinger (Rifts New West). Though for a ISP note, they do get +10 ISP at level one (in addition to ME). The bonus starts at level one (listed in the article). I know, not a lot, but just something else to note. Though I'm always fond of the notion if you don't like it, change it. If you'd like any help making it more usable for your games I'm happy to help, just give me an idea of what you're aiming for (most of my O.C.C. are based off of 2 or 3 other O.C.C. for a basis). Anyways, hope that helps and take good care. Farewell and safe journeys.

[gaby]

What do you think of the Court of the Tarot?

Do they use Tarot,s cards as ranks?

Are ther any Npc,s in it?

if ther not,maybe you can show your Npc,s for it?

Thanks for helping.

[Premier]

The Demon Archer was badass as was the bow hand to hand styles and "trick shooting"

tee hee
http://madjaguar.deviantart.com/art/Cro ... -110303809

[Prysus]

The Demon Archer was badass as was the bow hand to hand styles and "trick shooting"

tee hee
http://madjaguar.deviantart.com/art/Cro ... -110303809

Greetings and Salutations. HA! So you're the one I have to thank for the art? Very nice. I did enjoy it. I have to say after learning I was going to be published I them became more excited to see the art for it. Thanks a lot. Farewell and safe journeys.

[Lord Z]

I like that color version of the Demon Hunter Archer sooo much better. The b&w sketch was good but it seemed a little awkward after that fantastic psi-archer illustration. Fully colored, the Demon Archer isn't awkward at all.

No one else answered Gaby's questions, so I'll answer them briefly. Yes, the Court does use Tarot Cards as ranks, two decks worth of minor arcana cards (numbered cards) and one set major arcana cards (face cards). That limits membership to about one hundred characters at a time and preserves elitism. The original version of the Court used only one deck, but the current queen expanded membership. Their powers have little or nothing to do with their card-based titles.

Yes, there are three NPCs in the article, all fully stated. Other NPCs were cut for space. It may have been Wayne who cut them or me -- I lost my copy, so I'm not certain who cut what.

No, I can't show my NPCs because of that loss. I lost my primary and backup copies last summer when my computer died as I was performing a backup. I've been thinking about re-creating those lost NPCs, but no one has asked for any character in particular.

[gaby]

Thanks Lord Z.

[Brian Manning]

What about Kent Burles? Is he on the forums here as well? Anyone know?

I don't think he is, but man he really did some killer Mystic Knight stuff for this issue. Are you going to be at the Open House? He's been to both of them so far, and hopefully he'll make it to the this one.

[Rogue Shadow]

What about Kent Burles? Is he on the forums here as well? Anyone know?

I don't think he is, but man he really did some killer Mystic Knight stuff for this issue. Are you going to be at the Open House? He's been to both of them so far, and hopefully he'll make it to the this one.

Unfortunately no, I live out in California, and I just can't afford the trip.
I agree, I like the artwork he did for the article a lot. I do know a few people who have gone to the Open Houses though, so maybe I can have them give him his due props for the work if they go this year.

Thank you for the information.

[Brian Manning]

I'll be there, and I do enjoy hanging out with him, so I can pass the message along as well.

[Premier]

The Demon Archer was badass as was the bow hand to hand styles and "trick shooting"

tee hee
http://madjaguar.deviantart.com/art/Cro ... -110303809

Greetings and Salutations. HA! So you're the one I have to thank for the art? Very nice. I did enjoy it. I have to say after learning I was going to be published I them became more excited to see the art for it. Thanks a lot. Farewell and safe journeys.

Ohh by all means it was an honor and I enjoyed the article and seeing such wonderful ideas about archers. I have always felt certain ways about Archers (especially how effective they were in cmparison to samurai) and the way they are often portrayed. Legolas saved the day , and you guys are bringoing home the bacon with the possibilities. I msut say that an Archer martial art form is long overdue, hmmmmm... Especially in Fantasy RPG settings.
Dont get me started... Keep up the good work Prysus!!!

[Premier]

I like that color version of the Demon Hunter Archer sooo much better. The b&w sketch was good but it seemed a little awkward after that fantastic psi-archer illustration. Fully colored, the Demon Archer isn't awkward at all.

Well, I am glad that you enjoyed them both and sometimes I like to see things in both perspectives. I wanted so bad to do a fantasy piece in color and the Demon Archer was right on time.

[Lord Z]

Pyrus, I've added a short review to your article. It's in the ongoing Rifter #45 thread over at nexusnine dot net.

[Marrowlight]

And still more store doesn't have it -- I'm getting rather annoyed at the local distributor.

[kevarin]

ok got a question about the pis-archer if you cant use the bow
to parry or strike since things will pass right thru it will the
arrows go thru armor and hit the target or do they impact the
armor first


and would giving the arrows more damage every other level be
to over powering like level 1-1D4 , level 2-2D4 , level 4-3D4
ect thoughts on this would be great