Palladium/Rifts into M&M

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Jabroniville
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Jabroniville »

Cool old Vince Martin, man. Dude had some distinctive armors.
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catsi563
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by catsi563 »

Batgirl III wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 5:09 am Nice take on the Operator! I’ve always had a soft-spot for this class, specifically for its rather romantic take on being an adventurer in a post-apocalyptic world. I kind of like the idea of wandering the wasteland fixing irrigation pumps and coaxing farm machinery back to life... Easily as important to the survival of the common man as using your BFG-9000 to frag monsters.

Although now I guess I can scrap my notes on how to convert the class.
Jab’s is better anyway.
Bloody Canadians.
heh I had a Dwarf operator I ran for a bit , played him in classic stodgy Dwarf fashion with a freaking Power Hammer as a weapon and a knack for fixing everything. ended up part of a massive tank raid on Lone Star that raised 6 kinds of hell. :)
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Jabroniville
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Jabroniville »

Here's the infamous takedown of Kevin Siembieda's management style, from one of his own ex-employees (who later apologized for being so unprofessional... but didn't refute his statements):
One of Kevin's biggest problems is that he is a micro-manager in the truest sense of the word. He runs an operation where ultimately, every single decision must go through him, and frankly, that's too much for one person to do and still keep up a company whose primary asset is a steady stream of new intellectual property. He's still living this fantasy where he thinks he can oversee everything himself and still go home and bang out a great sourcebook in seven days. Do you see the folly in this? You do? Well, bully for you, because Kevin sure doesn't.

This is where another big problem of his comes forth and compounds his first problem: Kevin simply cannot accept the fact that sometimes he is wrong or might have fallen short in something. Work with the guy long enough, and you'll see this is the case. He never, ever accepts responsibility for something bad that has hapened to the company. Or if he does, he couches it in terms of how he's too much of a nice guy and gave Idiot Freelancer #23 a break when he should not have, or he was too open a boss and let Treacherous Scumbag #44 stab him in the back, and so on. His fault, but not really his fault.

As a result, he surrounds himself with people that he can shunt blame to, ignoring all the while that you can't really shunt anything away from yourself in a company where you are the one guy who ultimately approves every single thing that happens. But, he does it anyway, which is why when an order gets boggled, it's one of his worker's fault. When he can't get writing at home done, it's the fault of somebody in his family. When he assigns a book to be written, has fully crystallized views on what that book ought to be but does not share them with the writer, and gets a book he didn't expect, why, that's the writer's fault. When the distributors don't order 8,000 copies of his latest book which is three months overdue, it's the tough marketplace's fault.

(IMO, this explains why Kevin holds some measure of disdain for pretty much everybody in his life -- the way he sees it, everybody he comes into contact with lets him down at some point or another. For a guy who feels like he's propping up the efforts of a bunch of halfwits and marginal talents, he still can't see that without all those people, he wouldn't have a company.)

These things have a nasty tendency to pile on top of each other and create vicious circles of which Palladium's goofy production schedule is a great example.

It starts with Kevin receiving a manuscript proposal for Rifts Greenland. Kevin likes the pitch and greenlights the project. Whatever the freelancer's ideas for the book are, Kevin gets jazzed over the concept of the book and develops all on his own what the book ought to be. Only, this is going on while the poor freelancer is writing the book, so surprise, surprise, when the book gets turned in, it's not what Kevin wanted. This is a classic case of somebody hating Black Hawk Down because when they went ot see it, they were in the mood for M*A*S*H. So, Kevin does what he does best, he writes the freelancer a patronizing letter on how excited he was when the project was first pitched and how disapoointed he was that all that promise never materialized. Sometimes, the freelancer doesn't take this well, and he goes off on Kevin, which is never a good thing because then it prompts Kevin to call his other writers, read to them the letters he and Angry Freelancer traded back in forth and lament about how sad it is that there are so few professionals in this business.

But back to work. We now have a Rifts Greenland is not to Kevin's liking, but he wants to put the book out, both because he wants his vision of it realized and because he needs new product. Objectively speaking, it might, in this case, be smart to write off Rifts Greenland and instead put out the book he's been working on himself. Only he can't, because he hasn't been working on a book himself. He's been busy running a company by chewing out the guys in the warehouse, fighting with Disney over preserving his right to sell Rifts tee shirts he'll never produce once the movie comes out, and calling his other freelancers to bitch about how difficult his life is.

Thus, as shipping day looms, Kevin has no Rifts Greenland, and no Mechanoids Space, BTS 2E or whatever he really ought to have been working on all this time. But he's got bills to pay, so he must produce something. And, since he got all fired up about the very idea of Rifts Greenland way back when the project was first introduced, he started pimping the book thirty-two seconds after he received a signed copy of the book contract from the freelancer. So now the public expects Rifts Greenland whether its ready or not. And what's more, he put the book on a release schedule that would only be met if every stage of the book's production goes entirely according to plan.

There are (surprise!) a few problems with this. One, by now Kevin ought to know full well that unless he's got a dependable full-timer writing for him (ala CJ Carella) he hits his schedules a fraction of the time. So, until he goes a year or two hitting every single release date on the nose, he ought to budget 50% more time for his projects than he does. Or at the very least, he should have the decency to not get bent out of shape when his unrealistically planned project goes overdue, further cementing his company's reputation for having one of the most unreliable production schedules in the business.

The second problem at this stage of the game is that Kevin never actually looks at a finished book until it's a few weeks away from its date with the printer. This, my friends, is akin to a flight crew performing a pre-flight check on a plane that is taxiing down the runway. If Kevin were smart, he'd give all incoming manuscripts a full edit the moment they hit his desk a) to see if they are any good and b) to speed the production process along. Kevin's editors would certainly do a better job of making sure the book is what Kevin wants if Kevin molded it a bit himself to begin with.

But no, what happens is Kevin gets the book, often holds on to it for a period of time, then drops it on his editors, who he routinely criticizes for not really being able to edit. Then, 12 days before print time, he expects to be able to do a quick brush-up edit himself on a book that by his reckoning, shouldn't need it anyway. This particular recipe for disaster, in comparison, makes mixing buckshot, nitroglycerine and pistachio ice cream together in a Slurpee machine seem like the next big thing in frozen desserts.

Thus we come to the best part of the process, where Kevin -- already disgruntled because he feels obligated to rewrite Rifts Greenland into what it should have been in the first place, and even further disgruntled because he feels this is pulling him away from the projects he really wants to be working on (even though he really wasn't working on them anyway) -- undergoes a commando rewrite of the project. He's got about two weeks to do it in, a vision of the finished project and about three half-decent ideas ot get him there. Obviously, Kevin can't get blood from a stone, so he writes up some half-strength filler material, knocks about some reprint material, and takes what he likes from the original Rifts Greenland manuscript, giving himself co-credit for having the wisdom to give it a second chance. If he's really hard put, he'll take a look at the art that's already come in and mine it for ideas ("Hmm...this D-bee wasn't in any other books, but it looks cool, so I hereby declare this guy the Grinkle-Nosed Hogtailer R.C.C. Nobody will mind if I reprint the picture, especially once I Xerox it and scribble a few more details on it myself..."). If he's got a freelance writer he works with who he trusts, he'll call them up and ask for a quickie section on something that tangentially refers to Rifts Greenland by the end of the weekend.

What's that, you say? When does he play test any of this stuff? That's a good question. Too bad it's got a bad answer. For starters, he's only got a few days between when he finishes a book and when he gets it out to the printer, so there's no time for a proper shakedown. Not that any of this needs one, don't you know, because the Palladium engine works, it's rock solid, the fans like it judging by the number of books that have sold over the years, and all those jerkoffs over at RPGnet who keep telling him to revamp the engine can kindly take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut. Third, when I was still working for the man, Kevin didn't role-play anymore. He was too busy running a role-playing game company. (Some poor saffron-clad Tibetan is up in the mountains right now trying like hell to wrap his brain around that one.)

Once Kevin's ready for layout, he prints out the whole mess and fires up his wax machine because he still puts these damned things together by hand. What's that? Desktop publishing software? Naw, he's faster without it! To his credit, he lays out the book in fairly decent time, but he also illustrates why all Palladium books have a simple two-column format. Kevin isn't going to cut columns to shape or deviate from formula because he might have to reflow a section of the book, and when he does, all those columns have to be standard or else none of it works. Where this really makes you want to bang your head against the tip of an artillery shell is when he lays out 80% of the book, discovers that he'd like to rename an alphabetically ordered item on page 5 and decides that it would be too much work to reflow the rest of the list. You know how every so often in a Palladium book you'll have a series of NPCs or OCCs or something and one of them is grossly out of alphabetical order? That's why. I used to think it was because Kevin couldn't read the alphabet. Now I know it's because he's truly, madly, deeply in love with putting books together in ways that even Monty Burns would decry as old-fashioned.

Voila! He's finally got Rifts Greenland in the bag and off to the printer. And all it took was him not sleeping for a week (after he already skipped a week's sleep handling the Post Office of the Apocalypse sourcebook fiasco), telling a fresh freelancer to go take a hike, calling up his other workers to say that somehow this might be his best work yet, executing a slapdash layout job, recycling artwork and telling himself over and over again that nobody does it like than he does. In that regard, he's dead on, because 1985 ended way back in NINETEEN EIGHTY FUCKING FIVE.

This is the crazy way in which Kevin Siembieda produces a book. I don't really know exactly how he handles the precise details of managing the rest of his operation, but I always felt that his book production methods set an ominous precedent.

If any good comes out of it, it is all thanks to him. If any bad comes out of it, well, then it's your fault and my fault and that guy's fault and her fault and the industry's fault and the fault of that fucker who sold him a soggy pierogie yesterday and...you get the picture.

What really keeps this vicious cycle going, however, is that for a long time, Kevin was extremely successful working this way. So successful, in fact, that it reinforced all those nasty elements I've outlined so far, proving not only that Kevin was right all along, but that the way he does things is practically the Gospel According to Kevin, patron saint of keeping it real in the RPG industry. Only the GAtK doesn't really work that well anymore. Sales are slipping because the company's premier game seems to have played out its best ideas, its other games don't get much support and -- get this -- the new stuff coming out is largely recycled from a game line that is suffering from falling sales. (There's a Tibetan monk working on that one, too.) And of course, taking the fans' input into consideration for what they'd like to see, such as a simplified core book or a drastically rewritten engine, is simply out of the question. Maybe he's too busy writing up memos about how he gives his fans what they want or something.

But the bottom line is that all is not well, and that some major changes ought to be made to keep the business dynamic and thriving. But those changes keep getting ignored while it gets harder and harder to sell product that is already coming out in smaller print runs and abbreviated page counts. Times are tough, no doubt about that. And you know what? Maybe, just maybe, it's not the industry's fault or some freelancer's fault or the weather's fault, or his pet chinchilla's fault. Maybe it's Kevin's fault.

Naaaaah.
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Ares »

Damn Bill, tell us how you REALLY feel.

To be fair, I can easily believe everything he wrote there, given what I've seen from Palladium and Kevin over the years. It's frankly criminal that at this point there have been no major rules updates, that the only Rifts video game adaptation was a game for the frickin N-GAGE, and that the most innovation we've seen with the setting was when the Savage Worlds team got a hold of it. Rifts seems to be one of those unfortunate cases where the creator of the franchise has now become the most detrimental thing to said franchise.

It sounds like, above all else, Kevin needs to learn how to delegate authority and listen, but at this stage in the game, it's unlikely to happen. More likely either someone just needs to buy Palladium outright.

I mean, thinking about it, it's a tragedy there hasn't been a good Rifts game put out. It's basically the perfect setting for a MMO or action RPG. You'd need one hell of a game engine to pull off the sheer variety of characters, but there are games that do that these days.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Batgirl III »

Somebody on YouTube hacked together clips from a bunch of films, anime, and video games to make a RIFTS trailer. It really does capture the balls to the wall insanity of the setting. Almost.
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Batgirl III
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There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do...

Post by Batgirl III »

Rifts: Africa or to use it's full name Palladium Books® Presents: Africa™ RIFTS® World Book Four is one of the earliest offerings in the RIFTS line, originally released in 1994. There have been two printings of this book and near as I can tell the only change is to the cover artwork... No, I have no idea why they changed it.

Image
Original Flavor! Rather nice day for a zombie apocalypse.

Image
New and Improved Flavor! Red skies at night, demon's delight?

Rifts: Africa deals with some key places, imporant people, and various societies found on the African continent of Rifts Earth. It's even got the official game stats for Erin Tarn and Victor Lazlo! There are some fifteen O.C.C.s and R.C.C.s in the book, most pretty flat variations of Village Priest/Shaman... Although the real draw here is the Metaplot and the Big Bad Evil Guys

In a nutshell, the demonic Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse threaten to destroy all life on Rifts Earth. Once life has been obliterated on Earth, the monsters will use the dimensional Rifts to carry their destruction throughout the Megaverse! If they can be defeated one at time, the Earth and the entire Megaverse may be spared. Failure means oblivion.

Kevin Siembieda did the main writing, Kevin Long and Julius Rosenstein are credited for "Additional Text & Ideas," which I suspect most likely means that Rosenstein wrote the original draft which Kevin re-wrote at the eleventh hour... And, of course, Long's "sketchpad characters" are the inspiration for most of it. Three editors are credited, but if they did anything beyond making sure "Africa" was spelt correctly, I'd be shocked.

So... Let's address the elephant in the room: Is Rifts: Africa a racist book? That's an obvious question in this day and age, but it was an equally obvious one in 1994 when the book came out. I mean, Siembieda and the rest were a bunch of middle-class white guys from the Detroit suburbs, publishing a book about a post-apocalyptic Africa. Race was going to come up. Colonialism and colonialist attitudes were bound to come up... So, what does Siembieda have to say about why he chose to write Rifts: Africa?
Rifts Africa wrote:From a game designer's point of view, Africa offered all the right elements of immensity, the kinds of setting and adventures I wanted for this book. The Africa of Rifts Earth is an enigmatic wildernesses inhabited by exotic creatures and few people. A land of contrast, mystery, noble people and monsters. A place both pure and primordial and yet somehow frightening and mysterious. A continent teeming with life, danger, adventure, and places to explore. Add to this the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and other supernatural forces, pit them against the gather of heroes in a fight to save not only Africa but the entire world (possibly the Megaverse), and you have the perfect environment for epic adventure. Well, that's my plan anyway. I hope it worked.
I have to say, that I think it did work. I mean, I'm a middle-class white girl from the Detroit suburbs so obviously I can't claim "lived experince" or anything... and yeah, the book is the typical ham-fisted Palladium offering of weird monsters, weirder gods, overly verbose verbage that conflates sesquipedalian loquaciousness for depth, and as always MOAR MEGA-DAMAGE! But, then again, Palladium treats every other corner of Rifts Earth with the same approach. There's some steroyping here, but its mostly along the same lines of "Take local folklore, dial it up to 11" that we see in Rifts: Japan, Rifts: New West/Spirit West, Rifts: Warlords of Russia/Mystic Russia, and so forth... And, beleive it or not, the most disorted from their original folklore roots things in Rifts: Africa are of Christian origin.

Rifts: Africa certainly doesn't present the native African people as being inferior to Europeans or North Americans. Yes, a lot of them are now living in mud-huts, herding cattle, and being led by spellcasting Shamans and Witch Doctors. But, like, so is everyone living more than a few hundred miles outside of Chicago over in the old U.S. of A...

So, anyway, on to the list of classes, which aren't as varied as other books:

FIGHTING TYPES:
* Pygmy Hunter (Okay, so, yeah. This might be as close to racist as this book gets. For some reason this is an R.C.C. instead of an O.C.C. It kinda makes it seem like the Bayaka and related peoples seem to be a different species than humanity... While I don't think that's the intent. It is kinda weird. Pygmy isn't the prefered term in the real world, incidentally. It's not considered derogatory, but the word derives from Greek as it was what the Greeks called these tribes. They prefer to be called their own name. Anyhow, this guy is a good hunter and tracker.)

MEN OF MAGIC:
* African Witch (NPC class for typical "evil witch")
* Medicine Man (PC class for typcial "good witch")
* African Rain Maker (witch-type spellcaster with extra powers related to, well, making it rain)
* African Priest (shaman-type spellcaster with a focus on community leadership... Interestingly enough, also has the inate ability to make alcohol, no skill check needed!)
* Necromancer (Exactly what it sounds like)
* Pygmy Shaman (shaman-type spellcaster who can make magical charms and talismans)

PSYCHICS:
* Mind Bleeder (Basically a Mind-Melter who can drain psychic points from other people)

RACES:
* Phoenixi (Egyptian hawk-headed bird-men with some fire powers; Loyal to the god Bennu)
* Ramen (Egyptian lion-headed cat-men with a silly same; Loyal to Ra)
* Tautons (Egyptian croc-headed scorpion-tailed lizard-men with a silly name; Loyal to Set)
* Children of Amon (Egyptian mish-mash monster men, kind of Morlock like; Loyal to Amon)
* Crocodillians (Egyptian crocodiles with human-like intelligence and hands; Loyal to Sebek)
* Agogwe (Yeti-like ape-men, although they don't have Bigfoot's height)
* Tree People (Anthropomorphic sugar-gliders)

MONSTERS AND OTHER NPCS:
* The Four Horsement of the Apocalyse (These guys are nasty. Some of the biggest, badest, and most evil BBEGs in all of the Rifts franchise!)
* Gods of the Nile (There's a Light Pantheon and a Dark Pantheon, they do D&D-like god stuff.)
* Jinn (fire genies, like in other RPGs, but rewritten to match this setting's cosmology and divorced from their Islamic roots)
* Pharaoh Rama-Set (evil necromancer pharoh who is [not-so-]secretly a dragon)
FATAL and Friends wrote: Rifts® World Book Four: Africa may indeed be the worst book for the line, though I say that not having looked over all 80+ books in the game line. Why?
Overpowered Opposition: All of the villains in this book are litanies of powers and "get out of consquences" cards. Having fights against them is going to be nothing short of miserable without a deus ex machina. (Yes, there are weapons that will certainly help fight them... in much later books.)
Bad Mythology: Rifts Africa plays fast and loose with mythology, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that it alters it almost always to its detriment. Worse yet, they're near-homongenous in personality, with the majority of them being in on the "destroy the world" plot even when it's to their detriment.
Romantic Racism: Though hardly intentional, there's just such an ignorance regarding the African people that it boggles the mind. Even if you could wind the clock four hundred or five hundred years, it wasn't idyllic. There's an overwhelming amount of terrible things and issues wrought by colonialism, but pretending people will return to some utopian tribalism without it is insulting. (Also, what happened to the numberous descendants of European settlers and colonials in Africa? Did they spontaneously implode?)
The Phoenix Empire: It's basically just Atlantis but more boring and one-note. What's more, there are no signs of conflict between the African natives and the monstrous immigrants, which makes the African tribes look like a bunch of hapless pushovers. Rama-Set's madness is dull, reducing him to a scheming nihilist with no actual personality behind it. Their technology is even really dull, being a dull echo of the Kittani's more imaginative devices.
Africa Without Faces or Names: Speaking of which, the locals take a back seat to the metaplot, hardly ever showing up save as victims in descriptions. If you have an entire social class - the medicine men and priests - dedicated to fighting supernatural evil, they need to matter. They don't. There are very few major communities noted, no local rulers outside of Rama-set. We don't get any serious discussion of African cultures, lifestyles, or communities. It's populated by caricatures, not people.
Bad Classes: Classes like the Rain Maker and Priest are too one-note and dull to be taken up by PCs, and the African Witch is a paper tiger, the Pygmy classes are even more horrid and incapable... what's more, it has four added forms of magic or psionics, which eat up page space on material players aren't likely to use. The minions of the gods aren't deeply exciting either, with only the Phoenixi really standing out.
The Gathering of Heroes: ... is self-indulgent as fuck. Most of the heroes are pet characters without interesting foibles, flaws, or agendas to bring to the table, but are mostly just fan service, Siembieda being the main one being serviced.
Kevin Siembieda: ... should never have primary art duties. He just wasn't that great yet. He thankfully gets better over time, but I sense the powerful force of photo reference all over his art, and rough copies of photos just makes me cringe.

Are there good things? Well...
Kevin Long: Though not his best work, his designs for the Four Horsemen stand out as strong and imaginative. They're not terribly deep, but if you want a bunch of monster men to fight, you can't go wrong with that art.
Mind Bleeders: Aside from the silly concept, their powers fill an unfilled niche and it seems like they'd be fun to play.
Medicine Men: Though not fantastic, they're solid enough to fill a role as a shamanistic casting class.
Phoenixi: Powergamers, this is a gem in the rough. You get free casting levels over 1st and the ability to totally regenerate. Keep an eye on this one.
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Ken
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Re: There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do...

Post by Ken »

Batgirl III wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 11:28 pm Rifts: Africa or to use it's full name Palladium Books® Presents: Africa™ RIFTS® World Book Four is one of the earliest offerings in the RIFTS line, originally released in 1994. There have been two printings of this book and near as I can tell the only change is to the cover artwork... No, I have no idea why they changed it.
I have a random guess, assuming the blue one was first. On that one, the background actually looks like Africa. And the zombies are, well, nothing but skin and bones. It could be that someone thought an image of people who are all skin and bones in Africa was in poor taste.
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by catsi563 »

Erin Tarn (oldest of 7 daughters, Famous Scientist, the Most Dangerous Woman in the world)

Image

PL: 9/222pp

OCC Note: level 14 Rogue Scholar [History and Anthropology]

Abilities (52pp)

Str 0 Agi 2 Fight 4 Awe 5

Sta 3 Dex 2 Int 5 Pre 5

Skills (83pp)

Athletics 8 (+8 ), Close Combat (Unarmed Combat) 2 (+6 ), Deception 5 (+10 ), Expertise (Arcane Lore) 12 (+17 ), Expertise (Cooking) 8 (+13 ), Expertise (Forgery) 8 (+13 ), Expertise (History) 13 (+18 ), Expertise (Human Sciences) 13 (+18 ), Expertise (Streetwise) 8 (+13 ), Expertise (Wilderness Survival) 8 (+13 ), Investigation 8 (+13 ), Intimidation 7 (+12 ), Insight 7 (+12 ), Perception 9 (+14 ), Persuasion 11 (+16 ), Ranged Combat (Energy Pistols) 6 (+8, +10 [Ranged]), Sleight of hand 3 (+5 ), Stealth 6 (+8 ), Technology 12 (+17 ), Treatment 6 (+11 ), Vehicles 6 (+11 )

Advantages (26pp)

Artificer, Assessment, Benefit 3 (Famous Historian, NGR Celebrity, Wealth of Collected Knowledge), Connected, Contacts, Daze (Intimidation), Defensive attack, Defensive roll, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved trip, inspire, Languages 3, Luck 2, Lionhearted, On-Line research, Ranged Combat 2, Ritualist, Skill Mastery 2 (Expertise History, Human Sciences), Well Informed

Powers (45pp)

Cybernetic Implants:
Clock Calender and Gyro Compass (Senses 2 (Time sense, Direction Sense) 2pp

Universal headjack and Ear Implant (Comprehend Machines 2, Sense 1 (radio) 5pp

Millennium Tree Leaf Armor (Device 2) (Protection 6 (Impervious 6) 10pp

Platos Magic Amulet (Device 2) (Immunity 10 (Undead, Illness effects) 8pp

Millennium Tree Wand of Life with 5 buds (Device 15 (Indestructible) 20pp
(Immunity 2 (Poisons and Diseases), Regeneration 1)
Healing 10 (Flaw: 5 heals per day)
Cast Magic Spells (Array x)
Negate Poison
Cure Illness
Cure Minor Disorders
Purify Food and Water
Water to Wine

Equipment:
*Adventuring Clothes, and Pack, and Utility belt.
*Explorers gear
*Environmental Helmet
*Portable Language translator
*Pocket Mirror, Camera with film, Sewing Kit, Magnifying Glass, Pocket Flashlight, Matches, lighter, Hand cuffs, 100' string, 10' Nylon Cord, 2 spikes, First Aid kit with 6 RMK and IRMSS Med Nanobots, PDD (audio recorder player), Portable Pocket Computer, IR Binocs with Multi Optic band, Multi Tool

Transportation:

Bionic Horse

Weapons:
Silver Cross
Large Survival knife
Wilks Laser Pistol
Wilks Laser Wand
Wilks Laser Scapel
Squirt Pistol
6 Flares

Combat (16pp)

Toughness: +3, +4 (Defensive Roll), +10 (Millenium Armor)

Dodge: +6

Parry: +6

Fortitude: +6

Will: +12

Complications

========================================================
Abilities 52 + Skills 83 + Advantages 26 + Powers 45 + Combat 16 = 222 Total pp
========================================================

Yep here she is the Most Dangerous woman in the world and top of the Coalitons Most wanted list many years in a row. The narrator for the game, who often provides contextual exposition. A longtime adventurer and writer, she has traveled across Rifts Earth and even visited other dimensions. Her writings are published by her fans in her home city of Lazlo, which is a haven for learning of magic and science. To her chagrin, she is the most famous person on Rifts Earth and her books have even been read by beings in other dimensions. The Coalition States consider her Public Enemy Number One for her criticism of them and promotion of literacy and education. Fortunately for her, the only public photos of her are from when she was young, and most people do not recognize the roughly 70 year old lady as the legendary adventurer.

Much to the annoyance of the Coalition States, the people of the New German Republic, the most powerful human nation on Rifts Earth, absolutely worship Erin Tarn and adore her writings. They even have television series and movies about her adventures (both fictional and real). She is also hugely popular in most other nations that are not specifically run by evil beings. Even many CS citizens have (secretly) read her essays (or had them read to them in the case of the illiterate majority), which only makes the CS government want her dead even more.

Despite all this fame though Erin remains one of the nicest and msot humble people you'll ever have the privilege to meet. Shes in point of fact embarrassed by all the celebrity, and is trully one of the best good people you can be. In a grim dark world of things tyring to eat humanity she remains a beacon of all thats good in the world and promotes peace and tolerance of all life.

This warm and humble nature has earned her friends from all walks of life and beings of immense power Including Victor Lazlo, the Goddess Isis, and King Artruu of England and Lord Croak of the Cyber Knights. Her perosnal Bodygaurd and Protector Sir Thorpe remains steadfast at her side.

It cant be overstated how much of a hero she is. Shes outlived numerous assasination attempts and survived many battles inlcuding the battle agaisnt the Four Horsemen demons of the apocalypse. Shes made enemies of Merlynn, and other dark powers as well as the coaltion states, and continues to live and learn and thrive. hell shes evne been saved at least twice by Coaltion soldiers who didnt realize who she was.

Expensive as hell for a mere Bookworm but a badass one at that. Erin is the epitome of the Rifts Hero.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Batgirl III »

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DEATH
Rifts Character
Power Level 18 ( 500 PP )

Revelation 6:7-8 wrote:When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and all Hell was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
ABILITIES
Strength 6
Stamina 20
Agility 1
Dexterity 1
Fighting 10
Intellect 4
Awareness 8
Presence 0

SKILLS
Athletics 2 (+8), Close Combat [Unarmed] 5 (+15), Expertise [Forestry] 16 (+20), Expertise [Holistic Medicine] 16 (+20), Investigate 16 (+20), Perception 7 (+15), Sleight of Hand 14 (+15), Stealth 14 (+15)

ADVANTAGES
All-Out Attack, Diehard, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative (2), Power Attack, Sidekick [Bones; (49)] Takedown (2)

POWERS
16,663 M.D.C. Impervious Toughness 20 [ 20 PP ]
Animate and Control the Dead Summon 6 (Sixteen 90 PP Minions; E: Controlled, Horde, Multiple Minions [4], Variable [General Type: Skeltons & Zombies]) [ 40 PP ]
Attach New Limbs Extra Limbs 7 (E: Sustained) [ 7 PP ]
Create Nightmare Zombies! Summon 8 (Four 120 PP Minions; E: Controlled, Horde, Multiple Minions [2], Variable [Broad Type: Undead]) [ 50 PP ]
Decay Living Flesh by Touch Weaken Abilities 5 (E: Broad, Reaction, Continuous; F: Permanent) [ 40 PP ]
Demonic Resistance Immunity 20 (Fire Descriptor; Life Support) [ 20 PP ]
Demonic Sight Senses 4 (Visual: Counters Invisibility, Darkvision) [ 4 PP ]
Four Arms Extra Limbs 2 (E: Innate) [ 3 PP ]
Horror Factor Affliction 10 (Resist/Recover: Will; Conditions: Dazed and Vulnerable, Stunned and Defenseless); E: Area [Perception], Extra Condition; F: Limited to Two Degress) [ 20 PP ]
Knows Lots of Magic and Has Lots of Psychic Powers Variable 10 (E: Move Action) [ 80 PP ]
Rapid Regeneration Regeneration 10 (-1 Penalty Every Round; E: Persistent) [ 20 PP ]
Sense Other Horsemen Feature 1 (Mentally sense if the other Horsemen are alive and on the same world/plane of existence.) [ 1 PP ]
Twelve-Foot Tall Growth 4 (+4 Strength, +4 Stamina; +3 Mass; +2 Intimidate; -2 Defenses; E: Innate, Reduce Mass Gain [1]) [ 10 PP ]

The Staff of Death (20 Base; E: Indestructible; F: Removable) [ 17 PP Total ]
Damage 14 (Strength-Based; E: Penetrating [5], Reach [1]) [ 20 PP ]

DEFENSE
Dodge (13) Base 14
Parry: (16) Base 8
Fortitude: (20) Base 0
Toughness: (20) ——
Will: (16) Base 8

WORKSHEET
Attack: 10 Effect: 6 Total: 16 (Unarmed)
Attack: —— Effect: 5 Total: 5 (Decay Living Flesh by Touch)
Attack: 10 Effect: 20 Total: 30 (Staff)
Dodge: 13 Tough: 20 Total: 33
Parry: 16 Tough: 20 Total: 36
Fort: 20 Will: 16 Total: 36


ABILITIES [ 84 pp ] +
SKILLS [ 45 pp ] +
ADVANTAGES [ 59 pp ] +
POWERS [ 282 pp ] +
DEFENSES [ 30 pp ] =
500 PP TOTAL

COMPLICATIONS
Vulnerability: Magical fire, magic weapons, and weapons made from silver cause extra damage, halve Death's Impervious Toughness against them; Weapons made from the Millennium Tree inflict massive damage, Death's Toughness is not Impervious against them.
Power Loss (Destruction of the Other Horsemen): Every time one of the other three Horsemen are slain, Death loses one-quarter of his power! Reduce Death's Dodge, Parry, Fortitude, Will, and Toughness by two ranks, reduce his Power Level by two, and reduce all of his other Advantages, Skills, and Powers to match.
Power Loss (Banishment): A slain Apocalypse demon must recuperate, remaining in their hellish dimension for 1,000 to 6,000 year. Even after that period of time, they cannot return to the place of their defeat (in this case, Earth) for at least 50,000 years.

Background:
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, also known as the Apocalypse Demons, have appeared at separate points around Africa. All are making their way, with devastating certainty, towards the Great Pyramids. If the four gather together, they will merge to form one, unstoppable force of destruction... At their current rate of travel, the heroes have five months to stop them. Good luck. (But, remember, according to Rifts canon, a sixty year old librarian and her pals were able to thwart these guys.)

Death is the least outwardly combative and murderous of the Four Horsemen. He is cold, quiet, confident and calculating. He moves slowly and gracefully, which makes him seem all the more frightening. He is also terrifying in his relentless resolve; ever in motion, always moving toward some new terror or act of destruction. All around him is carnage, with War, Famine, and Pestilence at his side or following in his footsteps.
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Borg

Post by Jabroniville »

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BORG O.C.C.
Role:
Cyborg Warrior
PL 10 (164)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA -- AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Mercenary/Soldier) 8 (+9)
Insight 3 (+4)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Perception 6 (+7)
Technology 4 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 9 (Assorted Adventurer Gear, "Rail Gun" Blast 12- Ranged 2, Penetrating 8), Extraordinary Effort, Ranged Attack 6, Startle

Powers:
"Full Bionic Conversion"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 12 (Extras: Impervious 11) [23]
Speed 6 (120 mph) [6]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Senses 6 (Infravision, Extended Hearing & Vision, Ultra-Hearing, Time Sense, Compass) [6]
Features 4: Finger Camera, Hidden E-Clip Port, Increased Mass 2 [4]

"Weapon Systems"
"Forearm Blaster" Blast 11 (Feats: Ranged 2) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (30) -- [31]
  • AE: "Vibro-Blades" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 6) (8)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Vibro-Blades +8 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Blasters +8 (+11-12 Ranged Damage, DC 26-27)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +12 (+6 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +5

Complications:
Power Loss (Extra Stuff)- Borgs diminish their Psychic potential greatly, and cannot cast Magic, nor use Techno-Wizard items.

Total: Abilities: 22 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 101 / Defenses: 8 (164)

-Another major aspect of Rifts is the use of Cybernetics, both on small scale (most combat classes are allowed some degree of bionic enhancements), and large, such as the "Borg", which has been almost completely changed into a machine. Borgs are a feature even in the human-loving Coalition (since they usually are still people-shaped), and show up in a bit of art. It's another sign of the setting's darkness that someone would give up their humanity for sheer power- it's implied that many saw no other way to survive, want to provide a better life for their families (Borgs are ideal for combat or dangerous manual labor).

-The "Borg" O.C.C. is assumed to be a Combat Class, though there's the option for what consists of slave & labor Borgs. They actually deck out to be rather powerful, sporting the heaviest MDC of any human not in a suit of Power Armor, and weapons easily equivalent to a SAMAS.
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Chris Brady »

Why can't the OCC classes be built in 150 points? (Honest question)
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Batgirl III »

Chris Brady wrote: Fri May 25, 2018 2:02 pm Why can't the OCC classes be built in 150 points? (Honest question)
Because the O.C.C.’s are not at all created equal. Although it would probably be possible to create PL10/150PP versions of most of the O.C.C.’s that would preserve the “theme” and “feel” of the original — like I’ve done with Ready to Play Superheroes — I’ve been trying to keep my conversions of the O.C.C’s faithful to the original game’s vast disparity of power levels between classes. As has been mentioned, the core rulebook runs the gamut from “Vagabond Unskilled O.C.C.” to Juicer, Rogue Scholar to Mind Melter, Grunt Trooper to Glitter Boy...

Once you add in the supplemental material. Oi vey.

If I were to run a RIFTS game using M&M3e, I’d use these conversions as a baseline, but just let my players build things from scratch themselves all with the same PL and PP Budget. Probably PL8/120PP for a scholars and survivalists story, PL10/150PP for a cyborgs and sorcery campaign, and PL12/180PP for a go nuts gonzo romp.

OTOH, in superhero campaigns of the past, I’ve successfully run games of mixed PL. Default was PL10/150PP, but players could also opt for PL8/180PP or PL12/120PP. This gave us broadly skilled Badass Normals (a la Black Widow or Nightwing), standard experienced but not earthshaking heroes (a la Captain America or Flash), and very powerful but inexperienced or very specialized heroes (a la Kyle Raynor or Scarlet Witch). Worked pretty well for supers, might be fun for RIFTS.
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Chris Brady »

Sorry, I meant power level to point ratio. So PL 8 to 120 or 10 and 150. I apologize, I wasn't clear.
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Batgirl III »

Chris Brady wrote: Fri May 25, 2018 2:31 pm Sorry, I meant power level to point ratio. So PL 8 to 120 or 10 and 150. I apologize, I wasn't clear.
In my case (and I believe Jab’s, if I may presume to speak for him) it’s because we aren’t necessarily building these as Player Characters, were just writing them up as more or less straight conversions from one game to another. So if something winds up costing a weird point total, so be it.

Also, there’s no inherent link between PL and PP Budget. The standard 15 PP per PL ratio is suggested for Player Characters and it’s a very popular model, but it’s not carved in stone. GMs can assign their players any PL they want and any PP Budget they want. (I find PL 8 or 10 to be my “sweet spot” for the sort of stories I like to run, with 120 to 180 PP being a good value for the kind of heroes I want to feature.)
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Re: Palladium/Rifts into M&M

Post by Chris Brady »

Fair enough. Was honestly just curious.
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