You guys ever run a mad scientist adventure? You make it a whole campaign or did you add it to your running campaign?

[Shorty Lickens]

Did your players help the scientist? Did you play AS mad scientists? What kind of insanity did they create or exploit? Was it mostly mechanical or biological?
Aside from SB 1, 2, and 3, what else should I be reading for ideas? I think Lone Star had some experimenting in it, but its been so long I cannot recall.

[taalismn]

"They said it couldn't be done! The fools! The fools!"
"They were right, you know."
"....quit reminding me..."

[ShadowLogan]

SB1 has Robot Construction Rules for AIs and robot (can also do in a pinch for manned system/vehicles)
SB3 has the Gene Splicers who do Genetic Engineering (examples also found in WB7)

Not sure what you are thinking about being in SB2 for Mad Scientist inspiration.

Genetic Engineering sources on Rifts Earth:
-Gene Splicers (SB3/WB7 come to mind, IIRC WB30 postulates some of their DBees might actually be subjects)
-Lone Star (WB13)
-Achilles (Silver) Republic in SA(2)
-Kittani (WB2, yeah its in there but they don't elaborate much, and no I'm not talking about Bio-Wizard modification Kittani GE is supposed to be nearly on par with Lone Star)
-Tritonia (WB7) and a City in WB6 (SA, its the one with the GE mutant cats) MIGHT still be able to source "new" creations

Bionics Source Book might also be one to offer ideas (they have a component that make a FCB a puppet IIRC), augmentation ideas also can be found in SB3, WB12 not present here (plus I guess WB10: JU).

World Book 5 and Mutants in Orbit have alternate Robot Control Schemes (I'd recommend WB5, MiO looks like a trimmed version of WB5 really).

Rifts Japan mentions a teleportation experiment that had consequences in that region. Dinosaur Swamp (WB26) also mentions something about teleportation portals (WB13 IIRC is supposed to house a Dimension Rift Generator, plus a few scattered DBee races mention this tech capability in WB30 like the Vernulians and Kremin Cyborgs).

"Novel" weapon systems can also be found in several WBs IIRC (pure tech sonic weapons for example are RARE for example).

[Warshield73]

I have only run it once but I have a convention game were the players are sent to aid a techno-wizard conducting experiments on a fade town. The experiment went awry, wackiness ensued. The scenario ends with the entire fade town being relocated to another part of the world or different dimension. If I ever got a chance to run this in a campaign I was going to use it to instigate a world tour or even a megaversal one where the PCs would have to choose to protect the town or try to head out on their own.

[Shorty Lickens]

Sorry, I forgot I made this thread.

In Sourcebook 2 we have the mechanoids and in my mind they like to experiment either for advancement of their species, or just personal pleasure. Also theres more info about ARCHIE 3 and Hagan, and they like to do dangerous research in my campaigns.

[MidnightNova]

Admittedly it's in a Rifter, but Rifter #77 has the city of Nowhere in the Pecos Empire. It's a TW based city that makes PPE "pipelines" to power TW gear in customers' towns. It also has a GLORIOUSLY INSANE scientist nicknamed "Z-Doktor" who has created a charming little horror called the Schrodinger Engine. It summons puppies, kittens, etc from alternate dimensions and atomizes them, harnessing their PPE at death *and* the energy released from breaking the atomic bonds to produce up to 56,400 PPE per day!

Of course the downside is there's a 1% chance every month the whole city goes up in a dimensional fireball, but hey, what is a little sacrifice for the sake of science!

Running it in my campaign now. For published mad scientists this guy and Angel of Death top the list.

[Aermas]

There's a ton of good stuff in the Rifters. Like Spoils of War Adventure that has players chasing leads on a mad Techno Wizard to find a dragon Iron Juggernaut & TW Borg rules, or TW Gloem Hearts which I'm really fond of in Rifter 84. There's mad science stuff across all their settings.

[Daniel Stoker]

Cisco Ramon: I'm sorry, don't you have, like, six PhD's?
Dr. Harry Wells: Seven.
Cisco Ramon: Yeah, which one of them is in mad science?
Dr. Harry Wells: Mad science is just an area of study. It's not a degree, okay?

That being said I've run more then a few Techno-Wizards as versions of mad scientists before, but I admit it's easier to do as an NPC where you can handwave away those pesky things like rules.


Daniel Stoker