best OCC for a new player

[Mallak's Place]

got a guy joining our game who, while having played alot of D&D and white wolf, has never played rifts before. for a long time he was dead set against rifts, being too big of a mash up and way too easy to munchkin. in trying to get a starting OCC for him ill we have been able to come up with is a classic headhunter, good all around skills and not as easy to twink as a borg. any other ideas? the party does not really need anything, our bases are pretty well covered, just looking for a OCC that will be fun for a starting rifts player.

Let him play a Vegabond for a little while as a hire on to the party till he gets the hang of it then let him change to another character

[Rallan]

got a guy joining our game who, while having played alot of D&D and white wolf, has never played rifts before. for a long time he was dead set against rifts, being too big of a mash up and way too easy to munchkin. in trying to get a starting OCC for him ill we have been able to come up with is a classic headhunter, good all around skills and not as easy to twink as a borg. any other ideas? the party does not really need anything, our bases are pretty well covered, just looking for a OCC that will be fun for a starting rifts player.

Let him play a Vegabond for a little while as a hire on to the party till he gets the hang of it then let him change to another character

Oh yeah that's great advice. Let him play as the guy who's got no spells, no psionics, no cool powers, no badass training in anything, sucks in combat, and whose only schtick is "I'm an unskilled everyman". That's the best way to introduce someone to a game that's supposed to be about impossibly cool badasses running around blowing up robots and monsters

[Ale Golem]

got a guy joining our game who, while having played alot of D&D and white wolf, has never played rifts before. for a long time he was dead set against rifts, being too big of a mash up and way too easy to munchkin. in trying to get a starting OCC for him ill we have been able to come up with is a classic headhunter, good all around skills and not as easy to twink as a borg. any other ideas? the party does not really need anything, our bases are pretty well covered, just looking for a OCC that will be fun for a starting rifts player.

Let him play a Vegabond for a little while as a hire on to the party till he gets the hang of it then let him change to another character

If he wants
Oh yeah that's great advice. Let him play as the guy who's got no spells, no psionics, no cool powers, no badass training in anything, sucks in combat, and whose only schtick is "I'm an unskilled everyman". That's the best way to introduce someone to a game that's supposed to be about impossibly cool badasses running around blowing up robots and monsters

It's actually not a bad start, a Vagabond is like the ultimate blank slate for character design. If he wants "cool" powers later there's always juicer conversion, MOM implants or bionics. If he's looking to obtain psionics he can just start pounding liter after liter of Psi Cola. I'm sure it's as safe as the guy in the ally said, after all they wouldn't sell it if it wasn't safe...right?
You could also let the player thumb through D-Bees of North America for inhuman characters.

[Hystrix]

The best homespun OCC or one by the books?

By the books, it might be better to start out with something simpler before moving on to the more complex OCCs. I would say almost any OCC in RUE with maybe the exception of Elemental Fusionist would be easy enough to play. The problem with Rifts is that there are, litteraly, hundreds of OCCs and RCCs to choose from. If they are an experience gamer in another game, then they should have no problem playing a Rifts character. It's the infainite amount of choices that will blow them away. Limiting them to RUE OCCs only with narrow that down, yet give them a decent variety of what's out there on Rifts Earth (or at least Rifts North America).

[keir451]

Vagabond isn't bad, but I might suggest an actual Power Armor pilot OCC to start. Even tho' he'll have the suit to start he's not automatically the toughest guy on the block and the cost of repairing and aquiring new ammo can be enough of a challenge as well.

[rat_bastard]

I have to disagree with the sentiment that Vagabond is a starter character. My First "character" was a vagabond and he was the most boring useless condescending thing I have ever played. While people around me where casting spells, inventing new weapons and using psychic powers and I had the ability to sew 40% of the time.

What you need to do is ask your player what he wants to be, don't include language like OCC or race in this, ask him what he wants to be in terms like "Ultimate swordsman, super hacker, mad scientist" then hand him books with OCCs you think best describe what he's after. He's already a experienced gamer so its allot easier to give him a character, you don't really need to attach retarded training wheels to his character sheet.

[Grinning Demon]

got a guy joining our game who, while having played alot of D&D and white wolf, has never played rifts before. for a long time he was dead set against rifts, being too big of a mash up and way too easy to munchkin. in trying to get a starting OCC for him ill we have been able to come up with is a classic headhunter, good all around skills and not as easy to twink as a borg. any other ideas? the party does not really need anything, our bases are pretty well covered, just looking for a OCC that will be fun for a starting rifts player.

The first question I would ask is what is everyone else in the group playing? If you have supernatural/power armor/high end stuff this guy won't be happy playing a Cyber-Knight. That being said try to keep him in the power range of the other characters so right off the bat he doesn't feel inadequate. I don't know how this would help you but when I first started Rifts at 14 I played a SAMAS pilot (with a SAMAS) and loved it. Very simple, you fly around and shoot things; and you have enough MDC and mobility to where you don't need to be terribly tactical in combat. It's a very basic and fun concept for a character too, also it teaches him the vulnerabilities and limitations being in and out of a suit of power armor. Bandito Arms in New West and Free Quebec both have knock offs of the old SAMAS if you're not into the player being part of the Coalition.

But I guess my real answer to your question would simply be a power armor pilot of some sort (Headhunter or Robot Pilot OCC) with a set of decent Power Armor.

[anarchclown]

I agree with Rat Bastard. Though almost all of the Adventurer O.C.C.s have their charms Vagabond is somewhat of a bleak choice for a first time character. I would suggest an Operator if you don't have one though or a cyberdoc. Both can add support to the group just by doing what they do.

If you are looking for badass but still in a somewhat contained way Mystic could be a good choice since they can do magic and psionics but they don't get to chose quite as freely as the "pure" classes. This is also a magic and psionic class so it represents two of the things Rifts is all about.

Though I actually think the Headhunter is a pretty awesome choice for a first character. They are tough, good at skills, look cool with their partial conversions and can have Hand to Hand Commando which is pretty damn good. For more Headhunters you could always have him check out Rifts Canada, there are a like a gazillion of them there.

[Jay05]

I'd have to agree that the Headhunter would be a great first character, especially since they've been expanded recently right? To give varitions on the occ. On a side note, while I don't disagree about the vegabond as it is in original Rifts, wasn't that occ expanded in RUE as well? I'm not 100% on that since I have yet to get RUE.

[Hystrix]

I'd have to agree that the Headhunter would be a great first character, especially since they've been expanded recently right? To give varitions on the occ. On a side note, while I don't disagree about the vegabond as it is in original Rifts, wasn't that occ expanded in RUE as well? I'm not 100% on that since I have yet to get RUE.

The "upgrade" on the Vagabond was terrible. Like them or not, the original vagabond was basically an "ordinary" person who got swept up in an adventure. The New Vagabond seems more like a specific skill set (and a pretty lame one at that), than an ordinary guy...

[runebeo]

I'd suggest the Robot Pilot O.C.C. it wields allot power but nowhere as much as a GB but then again one day he could get a hold of one. This world is rough and if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough and I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye I knew you'd have to get tough or die and it's the name that helped to make you strong."

[Jay05]

I'd have to agree that the Headhunter would be a great first character, especially since they've been expanded recently right? To give varitions on the occ. On a side note, while I don't disagree about the vegabond as it is in original Rifts, wasn't that occ expanded in RUE as well? I'm not 100% on that since I have yet to get RUE.

The "upgrade" on the Vagabond was terrible. Like them or not, the original vagabond was basically an "ordinary" person who got swept up in an adventure. The New Vagabond seems more like a specific skill set (and a pretty lame one at that), than an ordinary guy...

Ok, I figured as much

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

What you need to do is ask your player what he wants to be, don't include language like OCC or race in this, ask him what he wants to be in terms like "Ultimate swordsman, super hacker, mad scientist" then hand him books with OCCs you think best describe what he's after. He's already a experienced gamer so its allot easier to give him a character, you don't really need to attach retarded training wheels to his character sheet.

this

[The Galactus Kid]

What you need to do is ask your player what he wants to be, don't include language like OCC or race in this, ask him what he wants to be in terms like "Ultimate swordsman, super hacker, mad scientist" then hand him books with OCCs you think best describe what he's after. He's already a experienced gamer so its allot easier to give him a character, you don't really need to attach retarded training wheels to his character sheet.

this

Doubly this.

[johnkretzer]

What you need to do is ask your player what he wants to be, don't include language like OCC or race in this, ask him what he wants to be in terms like "Ultimate swordsman, super hacker, mad scientist" then hand him books with OCCs you think best describe what he's after. He's already a experienced gamer so its allot easier to give him a character, you don't really need to attach retarded training wheels to his character sheet.

triple this

[Jay05]

Actually, yes that would be the best option. Since he's an experienced role player, it should be fairly easy.I don't know how many people here would agree with me especially since it seems a fair number of GMs like to limit pc options. But I've always felt that players are happiest when they can play the character they design. Whatever that is. Now don't get me wrong, I understand the whole game balance arguement. And for new, or inexperienced players that can be a problem. But if this person is a good player, I think whatever they really want to play that fits in with your game should be good to go.

[Danger]

Let him play a Vegabond for a little while as a hire on to the party till he gets the hang of it then let him change to another character

Oh yeah that's great advice. Let him play as the guy who's got no spells, no psionics, no cool powers, no badass training in anything, sucks in combat, and whose only schtick is "I'm an unskilled everyman". That's the best way to introduce someone to a game that's supposed to be about impossibly cool badasses running around blowing up robots and monsters

Agreed. Few things say suck like a Vagabond.

Give him a Glitterboy, Cyberknight, or Psi-Slinger to start with.

[TechnoGothic]

got a guy joining our game who, while having played alot of D&D and white wolf, has never played rifts before. for a long time he was dead set against rifts, being too big of a mash up and way too easy to munchkin. in trying to get a starting OCC for him ill we have been able to come up with is a classic headhunter, good all around skills and not as easy to twink as a borg. any other ideas? the party does not really need anything, our bases are pretty well covered, just looking for a OCC that will be fun for a starting rifts player.

Let him play a Vegabond for a little while as a hire on to the party till he gets the hang of it then let him change to another character

Oh yeah that's great advice. Let him play as the guy who's got no spells, no psionics, no cool powers, no badass training in anything, sucks in combat, and whose only schtick is "I'm an unskilled everyman". That's the best way to introduce someone to a game that's supposed to be about impossibly cool badasses running around blowing up robots and monsters

VAGABONDS can have Psionics. Everyone can have Psionics. Minor or Major levels.
Vagabonds from Rifts Main Book were Good. Even without Psionics. It is the Everyman OCC. At least back them. Not in RUE (which sucks btw). Give him a good knife, a Wilks laser and let him enjoy being the NORMAL Person. Which can be a Great thing. The group may run into places Mages, Supernaturals, Psychics, Cybernetic/Bionics are not allowed. Thats were the Vagabond comes in. PLUS in RMB he is the ONLY OCC that takes Baths and likes CANDY. Has SOAP and CANDY. Use the Candy or Soap to lure out a GB and kill 'em with the Wilks pistol when they do. Then take they stuff....Classic AD&D/D&D mentality.

It really depends on what the other Characters are.

NIGHTBANE RCC would be nice for a begineer. Supernatural Powers, Magical talents, Morphs between Human form and Supernatural form. Alot of cool concepts only a Nightbane can do IMHO. RIFTS Dark Conversions has the Nightbane Rifts version. Awesome RCC.
They used to "Humans" then one day they went through their "Becoming" and became more.
So much can be done. The Hero/Villian, Tortured Soul, reluctant Adventurer, etc...Alot of Fun can be had just Making a Nightbane.

Titan-Juicer ?? Not that powerful or Muckin.
Cold-Blooded from Merc Adventures ?? Anti-Vamp OCC conversion process. Pretty cool.

WERE-BEAST (Dark Conversions)
Invulnerable to most Damage, excpet Silver, Supernaturals, Psionics, and Magic.
Three Forms. Human, Were-beast, Giant animal.
Jaguars seem to be Popular by the writters of RIFTS. They love to hunt other supernaturals.

But my #1 choice. Nightbane.
The can be so many things. His Morphus might only have Physical Perfection. Which would be Great for a beginer. Look for Rifter #20 for extra Tables that are awesome.

[TechnoGothic]

If you have conversion book 1 and heroes unlimited then the vagabond get's alot more superhero power options then then other adventure classes get. But still i'd go with more flash and bang to get him into the game more. But honestly you got to know what he wants to play. Basically have him describe what his character can do or wants to do then find an occ or rcc that matches that the best.

Most of us forget that Vagabonds can Have Super-Abilities from HU2.
Give him one of the APS powers and he is great.

[jtjr26]

I would think a starting OCC would depend on the setting. A Vagabond or City Rat can be good in a urban setting. If your game setting is in the new west try a Saddle Tramp or Deputy Sheriff.

[Rallan]

If you have conversion book 1 and heroes unlimited then the vagabond get's alot more superhero power options then then other adventure classes get. But still i'd go with more flash and bang to get him into the game more. But honestly you got to know what he wants to play. Basically have him describe what his character can do or wants to do then find an occ or rcc that matches that the best.

Yes but at that stage you're no longer playing a character that has anything at all to do with the basic schtick of his character class, you're just playing a powergamer build that doesn't have any Rifts-ish feel to it (especially since he's been loaded up with powers from a completely different RPG). Which is a pretty lousy choice if you're trying to give someone a feel for what's good about Rifts.

The best bet would be to steer him in the direction of some of the game's really iconic character classes and encourage him to pick one of them. Or if you're bringing a new player into a high-powered game, some sort of gonzo balls-out RCC/OCC combination that's powerful out the wingwang and turns the ridiculous up to eleven.

[TechnoGothic]

Vagabond with Super-Abilities = HANDCOCK (movie)

[Tearstone]

Vagabond with Super-Abilities = HANDCOCK (movie)

Hancock.

Handcock is what you do in your bedroom when your roomates/parents aren't around.

[Hystrix]

4. Anything radically and drastically in-humanoid (Faerie Bots, Armored Slayers, Whales, Cyborg Dogs). Players usually get over the "shock value" and kitschiness wears off and they are stuck in this weird character that can't do much of anything. I had a player totally new to Rifts make a character that Rifte in from a planet that was covered in jungle, had ancient tribal weaponry, no magic, no psionics, and spoke english. He was hilarious for the first few gaming sessions (wathing him chuck stones from a slingshot etc) but eventually he lost te spark and felt uneeded, and outcast. His character easily faded shortly into the campaign.

I had a new player(that had been told "you can play ANYTHING in Rifts" by somebody) ask if they could play a dolphin. I tried explaining we were playing a 3G campaign, but she insisted. I still regret saying yes to that.

Oi. Ok, I'll bite. How did that work out?

[Mr. Jays]

I think juicer (my first character) headhunter, as was first suggested, or the catch-all...Super Spy from Mercenaries. If the player prefers magic...covered. If the player likes psionics...covered. if the player likes bionics...covered. The character is pretty powerful but flexible to whatever the player prefers.

[Danger]

If you have conversion book 1 and heroes unlimited then the vagabond get's alot more superhero power options then then other adventure classes get. But still i'd go with more flash and bang to get him into the game more. But honestly you got to know what he wants to play. Basically have him describe what his character can do or wants to do then find an occ or rcc that matches that the best.

Most of us forget that Vagabonds can Have Super-Abilities from HU2.
Give him one of the APS powers and he is great.

Any scholar/adventurer O.C.C. can have Super Powers, unless they have Psionics as well. Vagabonds simply get an additional MINOR super ability to help cancel out the suck.

[Danger]

Vagabond with Super-Abilities = HANDCOCK (movie)

Hancock.

Handcock is what you do in your bedroom when your roomates/parents aren't around.

[vsper]

It depends on the player. If they are experienced player in a lot of games you have little to fear. I had a player with no experience in Rifts playing a kill cat. Did great.

If they are the type of player who likes to be in the middle of everything a head hunter or robot pilot. I sucked one player in because they love jedi and they played a cyber knight.

I would say it is more important how they like to play, as far as style than the complexity of the character. They will learn the details later. Also make sure there is a place for them to shine. If you make the character for them the first time that is probably the best. Half of the difficulties is what too choose and where to find it. A character sheet with a couple of special abilities is a whole lot less scarry than a pile of books to make a character, especially your first in a new system.

vsper

[Hystrix]

4. Anything radically and drastically in-humanoid (Faerie Bots, Armored Slayers, Whales, Cyborg Dogs). Players usually get over the "shock value" and kitschiness wears off and they are stuck in this weird character that can't do much of anything. I had a player totally new to Rifts make a character that Rifte in from a planet that was covered in jungle, had ancient tribal weaponry, no magic, no psionics, and spoke english. He was hilarious for the first few gaming sessions (wathing him chuck stones from a slingshot etc) but eventually he lost te spark and felt uneeded, and outcast. His character easily faded shortly into the campaign.

I had a new player(that had been told "you can play ANYTHING in Rifts" by somebody) ask if they could play a dolphin. I tried explaining we were playing a 3G campaign, but she insisted. I still regret saying yes to that.

Oi. Ok, I'll bite. How did that work out?

Well, she died the first session. I don't know where she got the idea that dolphins can survive explosive-decompression....

That's horrible... I've heard of character that don't fit a campain...but this...

[vsper]

4. Anything radically and drastically in-humanoid (Faerie Bots, Armored Slayers, Whales, Cyborg Dogs). Players usually get over the "shock value" and kitschiness wears off and they are stuck in this weird character that can't do much of anything. I had a player totally new to Rifts make a character that Rifte in from a planet that was covered in jungle, had ancient tribal weaponry, no magic, no psionics, and spoke english. He was hilarious for the first few gaming sessions (wathing him chuck stones from a slingshot etc) but eventually he lost te spark and felt uneeded, and outcast. His character easily faded shortly into the campaign.

I had a new player(that had been told "you can play ANYTHING in Rifts" by somebody) ask if they could play a dolphin. I tried explaining we were playing a 3G campaign, but she insisted. I still regret saying yes to that.

Oi. Ok, I'll bite. How did that work out?

Well, she died the first session. I don't know where she got the idea that dolphins can survive explosive-decompression....

That's horrible... I've heard of character that don't fit a campain...but this...

In space no one can hear you squeeeeee......

[rat_bastard]

What you need to do is ask your player what he wants to be, don't include language like OCC or race in this, ask him what he wants to be in terms like "Ultimate swordsman, super hacker, mad scientist" then hand him books with OCCs you think best describe what he's after. He's already a experienced gamer so its allot easier to give him a character, you don't really need to attach retarded training wheels to his character sheet.

triple this

the people have spoken, why is there more posts in this thread?

[TechnoGothic]

@ Rat...

ULTIMATE SWORDSMAN ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that then ??
Dont forget Manhunter rpg.

MAD SCIENTIST ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that ??

Just asking is why. That and to you what you think fits those concepts.

[The Galactus Kid]

@ Rat...

ULTIMATE SWORDSMAN ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that then ??
Dont forget Manhunter rpg.

MAD SCIENTIST ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that ??

Just asking is why. That and to you what you think fits those concepts.

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'd like to throw in my two cents.

1) Amaki dualist or True Samurai (Ronin)...probably the samurai.
2) Genetecist from Splicers or russian cyber-doc. Be sure to throw some extra insanities for kicks.

[rat_bastard]

@ Rat...

ULTIMATE SWORDSMAN ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that then ??
Dont forget Manhunter rpg.

A men at arms class, mystic knight, cyber knight, duelist, slayer, battle mage, Angel cyborg shocktrooper, psi-slinger, mega juicer, dragon juicer, magebane, samurai, ronin, probably allot of chinese occs, nearly any OCC with knight in the title, power armor pilot off the top of my head. Rifter 30 is a must for such an endeavor imho.

MAD SCIENTIST ... Which OCCs would you suggest for that ??

Just asking is why. That and to you what you think fits those concepts.

my two faves would be rogue scientist and the Triax research scientist, though body fixer and cyber doc are also valid. There are several other scientist occs in other books and Techno wizard is probably also a interesting idea too.