Jab's Rifts Builds (Soviet Soldiers! Vedmak Cyber-Doc! Cyborg Soldier!)

[Jabroniville]

Heck if you want a rabbit hole to dive down try nightbane ive got all the books and it is a fascinating setting imo

I REALLY hate the horror genre and so have zero interest in Nightbane's stuff- I will probably never touch that.

[Jabroniville]

D-BEES:
-Unusually for a human empire, the Sovietski have allowed a small list of D-Bees to join as Soviet citizens. This is largely the ones that look human, as inhuman ones are assumed to be par tof the Demon hordes that threaten Russia.

[Jabroniville]

GRIDGITZ R.C.C.: ST +3, STA +2, AWA +2, PRE +1, "Psionics" (Dead Pain & 7 Healing Powers, Meditation & 3 Healing Powers, or no Psionics, +1 Healing Power- choose randomly or select one) [16 + Psionics]

-Gridgitz look human (and are so close physiologically that cybernetics work on them just fine), but are a little bigger and stronger. They meshed so much with Russians after the Great Cataclysm that most thought they were human until it was proven otherwise. They are very thick-headed and stubborn, never stopping until they've succeeded- this makes them good at things even beyond physical labor, like medicine, law and engineering. They almost all refuse to learn Magic or use Techno-Wizardry devices, finding it dishonorable. They are otherwise notable for a kind of unconscious "Group Healing" psionic power, as families will pray around a sick person and they will just get better- some become great Body Fixers doing this, once they learn it's a real power that can be enhanced.

[Jabroniville]

SHU-SHUUM R.C.C.: STA +1, INT +2, AWA +1, PRE -1, Perception +4, Eidetic Memory, Comprehend Languages 3 (Flaws: Requires Weeks of Study), "Pattern Recognition" Quickness 4 (Limited to Mental Tasks) [14]

-Diminutive gnome-esque people with grey skin, the Shu-Shuum were accepted early-on because they lacked means of power and were willing to work with humans after the Great Cataclysm. They have an innate talaent for math & logistics, and have adopted Sovietski customs, being greatful for their early acceptance (they would have surely died otherwise). Their race had been forced into servitude on their homeworld and thus they got used to being a dutiful people, and don't wish for recognition or a lot of action. Most hate physical work and adventurers are rare. They have few powers but most make them better at administration- they can recognize a single thing missing from hundreds of items almost instantly, notice weapons missing from their usual holsters, and more.

[Ares]

RIFTS WORLD BOOK 30- MEGAVERSE IN FLAMES (2015):
-It's time for a "big story" book! Megaverse in Flames is something briefly teased in 2007 as an invasion of Earth from DEMONIC FORCES- Demons from Hades and "Deevils" (ugh) from Dyval. BTW I'm just gonna call them "Devils" for the duration of my builds because HOLY SHIT I hate that name. This seems to be a big deal in the line, following on the heels of "The Siege on Tolkeen", and was probably Kevin S trying to keep up the drama and stakes with something newer and bigger, as every faction on Earth gets involved. Following it are two separate Dimension Books- one on each faction. I probably won't be covering those (I HATE Rifts books featuring just Demons) but there was obviously a push here.

What happens is that Earth is subjected to invasion by "The Minion War"- a war between Hades and Dyval, who have been rivals for millennia. These rival factions fight with each other, but have grabbed up land on Earth. The Demons attacked the Devils, but found the counterattack more powerful than expected, and now the factions are grabbing beacheads everywhere. It's suggested that their warring may have helped Earth in the Dark Ages, as they were too busy fighting each other to take land on Rifts Earth- only the Vampire Kingdoms, Yama Kings and Splugorth managed to grab significant chunks.

What follows are descriptions of the "Hell Pits"- regions of demon infestation right alongside major settings in the world- plus the Hell Lords being set up as "Bosses". Most of these have about 1,000 M.D.C., making them tough but not impossible like most Gods and Elder Daemons in the setting, so some lessons might have been learned by the staff on that front. Every faction is included in little bits here and there- the Coalition in particular has always expected an "Alien Invasion" from the Rifts and so was the best prepared, and of course are the early heroes of the day (a recurring element with Kevin, who LOVES these guys). They call themselves the "Heroes of Humanity" and Emperor Prosek is in his glory proclaiming the CS as the best chance, and millions join them, and everyone else takes notice at how serious this is. There's even a MAGIC faction of CS patriots living in the Chi-Town 'Burbs!

Ther'es also a mini-section of this book that is titled "Rifts Cuba", like they didn't have enough for a full book so just shoved it in here.

THE FACTIONS:
-Archie-Three is more interested in the Vampires- an enemy he already has- and is unsure of how to proceed. He limits his involvement to the sales of Titan Robotics. The Vampire Kingdoms are busy with Doc Reid's anti-vampire forces. Ishpeming/Northern Gun has united alongside the Coalition and their armaments of Giant Robots has made them a great defender. The Splugorth are incensed at the Minion War coming to their doorstep and will now HELP HUMANITY, but in subtle ways, like allowing elite Kittani weaponry to fall into human hands, and allowing asylum on Atlantis- even to True Atlanteans & Lemurians! The Federation of Magic are as opposed to demons as the CS are.

The New German Republic, finally having the Gargoyles & Brodkil on the defensive, are now stunned to find MORE demons against them. However, those two Empires like their indepdence so much they'll actually TEAM UP WITH HUMANS to fight Hell Lord Heart Ripper's invasion force! The Yama Kings are from a separate section of Hell and are unallied with Hades or Dyval, and so both sides are just not messing with the others yet in a public way (the Yama Kings are instead sending assassins out in secret).

Man, it's been a while since I posted in here.

The Megaverse in Flames / Minion War concept seems like it could have been pretty cool, but in practice it sounds like it was just an excuse to have some more bloated splat books full of monsters and the like, rather than really have an engaging story or series of adventures. The idea that the war would spread and be felt in not only Rifts but also Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural and other dimensions could have been really cool. Just something like a dimensional breach opens up on Phase World and demons start pouring out of them into this technological sci-fi setting. Could have been a lot of fun.

[greycrusader]

The problem is the same one the late, lamented TORG Multiversal RPG fairly quickly fell prey to, Ares; essentially a company is going from ONE model of play (here's the basic narrative for our setting which sets the stage for individual GMS to run campaign adventures) to another entirely, the overarching plot-point campaign which dictates certain events WILL happen, assumes that individual gaming groups at least broadly follow this, and then release future source material based on that assumption. This can end up completely derailing a line (e.g., TORG) if the creators fall in love with a story line (or imagined finale), and most GMs/PCs simply...don't. I think the Minion War concept definitely COULD have worked better if multiple options were presented for how the Megaverse in Flames scenario might unfold, with adventure hooks presented for each path.

All my best.

[Jabroniville]

WOLVERINE PEOPLE R.C.C.- Males: ST +5, STA +8, FIGHTING +1, INT +1, AWA +2, Survival +6, Ranged Attack +1, Dodge +1, Regeneration 1, Immunity (Cold- Half-Effect), Acute Scent, Extended Scent- Tracking, Features 1: Loud Howl Carries For Miles, "Psionics" (Presence Sense, See the Invisible, Sixth Sense, Sense Evil OR Sense Magic) [45 + Psionics]
WOLVERINE PEOPLE R.C.C.- Females: ST +4, STA +8, FIGHTING +3, INT +1, AWA +3, Survival +6, Ranged Attack +3, Dodge +3, Regeneration 1, Immunity (Cold- Half-Effect), Acute Scent, Extended Scent- Tracking, Features 1: Loud Howl Carries For Miles, "Psionics" (Presence Sense, See the Invisible, Sixth Sense, Sense Evil OR Sense Magic) [53 + Psionics]

Military Bonuses: Expertise (Soldier) +6, Close Attack +1, Ranged Attack +1, Pick One: Infantryman (+1 Toughness)/Reconaissance (+2 Perception, +6 Demon/Monster Lore)/Special Forces (+6 Sleight of Hand)/Espionage (+4 Perception)/First Aid (+6 Treatment)/Science (+6 Science)/Technical (+6 Art) [6-9]

-A race of hairy trackers, the Wolverine People are also somewhat accepted by the Sovietski, as they are exceptionally useful in the wilderness. They are cheerful and boisterous, and put up with low pay and getting the dirty jobs, because they see other soldiers as comrades and just like to fight and track things. Their only flaw is an innate fear of the Supernatural- soldiers have to be trained hard to not automatically flee and instead fight savagely. Wolverine people are quite strong but EXCEPTIONALLY durable, having 160-180 M.D.C. on average! About as durable as a good suit of armor, actually. Females actually gain an extra attack at Level 2 (3 faster than males do), and are prettier, but weaker.

[Jabroniville]

Man, it's been a while since I posted in here.

The Megaverse in Flames / Minion War concept seems like it could have been pretty cool, but in practice it sounds like it was just an excuse to have some more bloated splat books full of monsters and the like, rather than really have an engaging story or series of adventures. The idea that the war would spread and be felt in not only Rifts but also Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural and other dimensions could have been really cool. Just something like a dimensional breach opens up on Phase World and demons start pouring out of them into this technological sci-fi setting. Could have been a lot of fun.

Yeah, the inevitable slowdown as I move past the "interesting" books and get to "the ones after the internet was common and we all shared how dumb the rules are" kind of let to a de-emphasizing, as it were, of this thread. Part of why I was always right at the edge of just putting an end do it, as some of it is a real slog. I'm still not sure I'll cover any of those other books.

And yeah, the Minion War feels like it SHOULD be huge. And it kind of is, in theory- it has two Dimension Books, plus one about the war itself, and all kinds of spinoffs... yet it never feels as "big" as it should, maybe in part because it doesn't deal with actual battles, or even involve the deaths of any prominent characters.

One issue here is the "Holding Pattern" of the narrative- most of it just never moves forward except for the War on Tolkeen. EVERYTHING ELSE- Shemarrions, ARCHIE-3, the New Navy, the NGR- EVERYTHING- just sits there waiting to be used by players. I guess the point is obvious- players are supposed to change history THEMSELVES... except Kevin S seems content to leave everything static like this.

The problem is the same one the late, lamented TORG Multiversal RPG fairly quickly fell prey to, Ares; essentially a company is going from ONE model of play (here's the basic narrative for our setting which sets the stage for individual GMS to run campaign adventures) to another entirely, the overarching plot-point campaign which dictates certain events WILL happen, assumes that individual gaming groups at least broadly follow this, and then release future source material based on that assumption. This can end up completely derailing a line (e.g., TORG) if the creators fall in love with a story line (or imagined finale), and most GMs/PCs simply...don't. I think the Minion War concept definitely COULD have worked better if multiple options were presented for how the Megaverse in Flames scenario might unfold, with adventure hooks presented for each path.

Never heard of TORG- what's that about?

[greycrusader]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torg

Basically a coalition of inter-dimensional tyrants and conquerors, led by the "Gaunt Man" (from a Victorian/Gothic Horror world) invade a version of Earth (similar to the "real world", but 10 years advanced in the timeline and with low-level psychic/super-powers possible), causing eruptions of "possibility energy", monsters being unleashed, pocket dimensions forming, etc. The invasion is opposed by all sorts of heroic types, including the "Possibility Knights", humans who can slightly manipulate reality. More to it than that, but you get the main ideas.

All my best.

[Ares]

The problem is the same one the late, lamented TORG Multiversal RPG fairly quickly fell prey to, Ares; essentially a company is going from ONE model of play (here's the basic narrative for our setting which sets the stage for individual GMS to run campaign adventures) to another entirely, the overarching plot-point campaign which dictates certain events WILL happen, assumes that individual gaming groups at least broadly follow this, and then release future source material based on that assumption. This can end up completely derailing a line (e.g., TORG) if the creators fall in love with a story line (or imagined finale), and most GMs/PCs simply...don't. I think the Minion War concept definitely COULD have worked better if multiple options were presented for how the Megaverse in Flames scenario might unfold, with adventure hooks presented for each path.

All my best.

I'm a big fan of TORG, though I missed out on it initially, I've gone back and collected a decent chunk of the original line. I've also been supporting the revamped TORG: Eternity, which thus far is proving a lot of fun and an overall solid update to the classic.

[Ares]

Man, it's been a while since I posted in here.

The Megaverse in Flames / Minion War concept seems like it could have been pretty cool, but in practice it sounds like it was just an excuse to have some more bloated splat books full of monsters and the like, rather than really have an engaging story or series of adventures. The idea that the war would spread and be felt in not only Rifts but also Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural and other dimensions could have been really cool. Just something like a dimensional breach opens up on Phase World and demons start pouring out of them into this technological sci-fi setting. Could have been a lot of fun.

Yeah, the inevitable slowdown as I move past the "interesting" books and get to "the ones after the internet was common and we all shared how dumb the rules are" kind of let to a de-emphasizing, as it were, of this thread. Part of why I was always right at the edge of just putting an end do it, as some of it is a real slog. I'm still not sure I'll cover any of those other books.

And yeah, the Minion War feels like it SHOULD be huge. And it kind of is, in theory- it has two Dimension Books, plus one about the war itself, and all kinds of spinoffs... yet it never feels as "big" as it should, maybe in part because it doesn't deal with actual battles, or even involve the deaths of any prominent characters.

One issue here is the "Holding Pattern" of the narrative- most of it just never moves forward except for the War on Tolkeen. EVERYTHING ELSE- Shemarrions, ARCHIE-3, the New Navy, the NGR- EVERYTHING- just sits there waiting to be used by players. I guess the point is obvious- players are supposed to change history THEMSELVES... except Kevin S seems content to leave everything static like this.

Yeah, outside of some shake-ups (the Mechanoid Invasion, the Siege of Tolkeen), Rifts is kind of stuck in a static pattern. Which makes sense, since they haven't yet finished fleshing out a whole bonkers world, so you need to establish a Status Quo before you start changing things. Unfortunately, with a more streamline engine, less character class / weapons bloat, fewer pointless new monsters, they could have likely established most of the world in a few World books and been able to focus on other things. Rifts as a whole was a fun setting to play with, but there were relatively few adventure modules, and the one major shake-up event (the Tolkeen Siege) wound up being kind of a mess.

It is a delicate balancing act of "Do we just keep putting out setting stuff" vs "Do we put out things that actively change the setting", especially since you'd theoretically want your players to have a hand in shaping how things play out. If you aren't careful, you could run into the Aberrant RPG issue where you had this big shake up adventure where the PCs basically stand around while two godlike NPCs (one of which being an author avatar) take center stage.

You almost have to put out the shake-up events as optional, include a lot of possible ways it could play out, and then include it as a possible event in future books. That or you commit to the change and risk your older books losing relevance.

But yeah, a series of adventures where two demonic factions go to war and it bleeds out across the multiverse should have been more epic and impactful than what happened here.

The problem is the same one the late, lamented TORG Multiversal RPG fairly quickly fell prey to, Ares; essentially a company is going from ONE model of play (here's the basic narrative for our setting which sets the stage for individual GMS to run campaign adventures) to another entirely, the overarching plot-point campaign which dictates certain events WILL happen, assumes that individual gaming groups at least broadly follow this, and then release future source material based on that assumption. This can end up completely derailing a line (e.g., TORG) if the creators fall in love with a story line (or imagined finale), and most GMs/PCs simply...don't. I think the Minion War concept definitely COULD have worked better if multiple options were presented for how the Megaverse in Flames scenario might unfold, with adventure hooks presented for each path.

Never heard of TORG- what's that about?

Well, since greycrusader gave you the abridged version, I might as well give you the Ares version if you're interested.

So TORG begins with the idea that there is a multiverse, and each universe within that multiverse has what's called Possibility Energy. This Possibility energy manifests itself in different, quantifiable laws of reality (Axioms) that determine what can and can't exist in that universe, including Magic, Society, Spirt and Technology, each with their own rating. Furthermore, each world also has unique rules that apply to it (World Laws), which often reflect certain genre rules.

For instance, the universe (or cosm) of Aysle is a fantasy world with the following Axioms: Magic 24, Social 16, Spirit 18, Tech 14 and has World Laws such as "The Law of Enchantment", "The Law of Light and Darkness" and "The Law of Magic". What this means is that Aysle has extremely high magical potential, that society will advance to around a more enlightened medieval status, that spiritually divine / spiritual power is a real thing where gods can actually manifest, and that technology is stuck basically at the 'telescope/microscope/black powder cannons" level. The Law of Enchantment means that items can become spontaneously enchanted if used in certain ways, the Law of Magic means that magic is an even more inherit part of the realm than others, and and the Low of Light and Darkness means that virtue is a palpable thing, and that adhering to "Light" literally reflects in the land you live in and your appearance, making your realm look healthy, ever green and beautiful, while adhering to "Darkness" results in physical corruption for the land and the person, resulting in desolate realms and monstrous inhabitants.

By comparison, the cosm of the Living Land is a very Savage Land "Dinosaurs and Barbarians" kind of realm where lizard men ride triceratops into battle. Their Axioms are: Magic 1, Social 7, Spirit 24, Tech 6. So in their realm, magic barely functions in only a vague "omens and portends" kind of way, society will never advance beyond really large villages and a kind of tribal life, their spiritual power allows for divine miracles like almost no other realm, and technology will never advance beyond early bronze age technology. And they have World Laws that focus on primal 'life' over inorganic technology.

For anyone curious, Core Earth (aka, our world)'s Axioms are Magic 6, Social 23, Spirit 9 and Tech 23

So, why does this matter?

Well, because in each cosm, there's an artifact called a Darkness Device that's the remnant of some ancient cosmic evil that was fought, killed and scattered throughout the multiverse. A person of sufficient quality (usually evil AF) can bond with the Darkness Device (which takes on a form suitable for the cosm it's in, such as a crown in Aysle) and it grants the bonded person a direct link to the Possibility Energies of their cosm. From there, these beings (known as High Lords) to a being will use their power to amass more power and try to take over their realm.

What's worse, these High Lords can create links to other cosms and try to invade them. This takes time and effort, but if a 'beachhead' is created, it creates this zone where the invading cosm's Axioms and World Laws over-write the native Axioms and World Laws. You wind up where you have the Axioms/World Laws of the realm being invaded, a 'buffer zone' around the invaded area where the Axioms/World Laws of both cosms are kind of at war with each other, and the invader controlled territory, where the invading Cosm's Axioms/World Laws have primacy. So for instance, if the Living Land were to invade Core Earth, it would create this buffer zone around the invasion area where their powers work just fine, and any territory they control will now function like their own world. So if a group of US soldiers ran into a Living Land controlled zone, their guns would stop working because the Living Land's Tech level doesn't allow for guns. Communication and organization would break down because the Social level doesn't allow for advanced warfare tactics.

What's worse is that if an invading Cosms' presence becomes too strong, it will literally "disconnect" that portion of the world from it's home cosm and do a reality shift where the conquered territory resembles the invading realm. So if Asyle were to invade Earth and take over a decent enough chunk of territory, that conquered territory might become "disconnected" from the rest of the world and be turned into a fantasy version of what existed before. All of the buildings will become fantasy structures, a police officer might become a city guard with a sword and shield, and remember a life that now fits with his new perceived reality. This can happen even to people entering that kind of zone, so a modern British soldier walking into that disconnected/conquered territory will likely become disconnected themselves and turn into a fantasy man-at-arms.

If the invading Cosm gains enough territory, the invaded world will get absorbed into the invaders home dimension, and the High Lord will gain all of that planet's Possibility Energy, increasing their own power. So each High Lord is basically going around invading other worlds, adding them to their collections and growing more powerful.

Which is where Core Earth comes in. The most dangerous High Lord, the Gaunt Man, discovered Core Earth, which is unique amongst the cosms as it has the potential to be *anything*. It has near limitless Possibility Energy. In fact, it has too much Possibility Energy for any one High Lord to consume at once. If the Gaunt Man tried invading, even if he won, the influx of Possibility Energy on that scale would destroy him. So he gathered up the other High Lords for a meeting and made them an offer: We will all invade different sections of Core Earth. Each of us will siphon off Possibility Energies into our own cosms, making us stronger. Once we've all conquered enough territory, having spread that power evenly amongst ourselves, we can then see who was the most successful. Whomever conquers the most of Earth gets to keep it, and even the losers will still have grown in power immensely during the course of the invasion.

Naturally each High Lord starts scheming to betray the others and take all of that power for themselves eventually, but for the time being, they all agreed. So one day poor Earth just gets blitzkrieged on all continents by these other dimensions. Lizard men riding dinosaurs, Victorian horror monsters, Pulp-style master criminals with superpowers and weird science, fantasy creatures with dragons and legit magic, a cyberpunk setting ruled by an evil Cyber Pope, it turns the entire world on its head in a matter of days.

Fortunately, not all is lost. Because in every invading Cosm, there were heroes who would fight against the High Lords, and who in turn would ally with Earth. And it was discovered that there were unique beings called "Storm Knights" whose connection to their home realm was so strong that they basically carry their own physics around with them wherever they go. So a Core Earth Storm Knight always fights like he's in a summer blockbuster action movie, an Asyle Storm Knight will always have access to their magical abilities even in a low magic world, a cyborg Storm Knight's cybertech will always work even in low-technology worlds, etc. And some people have a strong enough connection to their own world while simultaneously connecting with aspects of an invading realm that they can willingly 'adapt' the Axioms/World Laws of a different realm while retaining their own memories and personalities. One such Storm Knight did this in Asyle and wound up becoming a Paladin.

So now Earth is in this massive battle for survival, with enemies and allies on all sides, and the heroes are fighting to reclaim the conquered portions of the world at all cost. And unfortunately, it isn't as simple as just beating up the bad guys. Because if you just force the bad guys back, the disconnected individuals within that zone might be wiped from existence. So you need to basically weaken a controlled area, show the populace the villains can be defeated, remind them of their past lives, and get them to disconnect from the invading realm. Then you can force the bad guys back and the citizens can re-connect with their home realm and old lives.

It's all very cool and I've probably done a terrible job explaining it here. But the point basically is that not only are there multiple fictional genres attacking Earth, there are rules in the book so that a Fantasy Hero operates using slightly different rules than the Pulp Hero, the Action Movie Hero, the Barbarian Hero, etc. So it makes for an amazing cross-genre adventure game.

[greycrusader]

Yes, TORG (a loose acronym "The Other Role-Playing Game", yes I said loose) was cool and inventive, with a few VERY clever ideas for alternate Earths/other planes, but it very quickly ran into a few problems which left it a niche game, later falling into obscurity. First, while the core book gave the rules for Axioms and the Possibility Energy of the Storm Knights, the World Laws were ONLY in specific source books, ALONG with psychic powers, spell lists, mad-science inventions, and stats for monsters and minions for each realm. That required a decent amount of buy-in financially, along with being willing to wait until the books came out before creating characters or adventures in the un-detailed realms. Or, a GM made up their own, which meant that by the time those books came out, maybe the GM and players were already happy with THEIR versions of Aysle, The Living Land, Orrosh, etc. It also used cards to resolve certain mechanics, and playing cards get dinged up, faded-out, or otherwise destroyed a lost easier than dice do. Then the company insisted on doing updates which basically detailed how the Possibility War was moving along, which was influenced by gaming groups who decided to take part in voting by email. This likely seemed like a good idea at first, but ultimately just meant the source books increasingly became less broadly useful.

I'm friends on social media with the main GM of (probably) the longest-running superhero RPG campaign currently (a thirty-year running Villains and Vigilantes 2nd edition group), and just about up to the pandemic, I wrote up the C.H.E.S.S. (basically a world-wide equivalent of SHIELD) report on a quarterly basis, an overview of supervillain activity, weird phenomena, notable events, etc.; but nothing that altered the setting irrevocably, had any immediate impact on the PC heroes, just the sort of things that might warrant checking out, being prepared for what was on the horizon, or that served as worthwhile updates for the heroes case files. That's why the GM and his players enjoyed them. No "the Xenomorphs have overrun London, millions in casualties, and a Predator fleet has arrived for the Great Hunt!"

All my best.

[Spectrum]

Legend of Five Rings was another game where the ongoing story really killed it for me.

We started out with the first edition, pretty much from time of publish.

Then they decided that the storyline would be dictated by the player group of the parallel card game. Which started changing the overall storyline. Not just in little ways, but entire player factions coming and going.

The second edition of the game was changed to fit the card storyline. It also hurt that significant changes to character advancement were made, severely nerfing my character in the process.

Kinda lost track of the game after all.

But then, I've also been a fan of the World of Darkness, which has comic book continuity levels of cannon stupidty, eventually leading up the publishers blowing up their game world. A nice touch there, the much later releases giving a Shrug of God to the cannon- things /might/ have happened and they give some suggestions on what could have happened but not really nailing anything down. In my recent attempts at getting involved in a game, its been causing me no end of frustration with misremembering what the current storyline contains.

[Jabroniville]

YAGANAR R.C.C.
Role: Strange Elementals
PL 6 (60)
STRENGTH 7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Perception 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
Immunity 10 (Heat, Cold, Sleep, Starvation, Thirst, Fire Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]
Comprehend 2 (Speak & Understand All Languages) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Skill) [2]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Regeneration +2 (Flaws: Source- Elemental Planes) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +7, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (New Experiences)- Yaganar take childlike glee in learning and experiencing new things, and will readily take to new friends of this can be promised.
Responsibility (Outcasts)- Yaganar are seen as inhuman and even disturbing by many.
Disabled (Illiterate)- Yaganar seem to be unable to read & wright.
Vulnerable (Cold/Fire)- Cold Attacks do double-damage to Fire Yaganar; Fire Attacks do double-damage to Water Yaganar.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 11 / Defenses: 9 (60)

-Yaganar are weird-looking, emaciated creatures thought to be Ice Demons or otherwise monsters- they have eyes like staring into an abyss. Their origins are unknown- some think they might be Elementals possessing corposes, while others thing they were imprisoned inside normal human bodies. There are four types, adhering to the four major elements, and mutate as they age to look even less humans- Earth Yaganar turning bark-like, Water Yaganar looking icy or snowy, Air Yaganar growing skinnier, and Fire Yaganar gaining red skin. People are suspicious of them and find them haunting- mistrusting that no Yaganar knows its own origins (they all simply awaken in a farmer's field with "someone" talking to them), but they take well to humans and can be powerful allies. This has made the Sovietski focus on capturing and integrating the Yaganar, as they will readily defend humans from supernatural foes. When a Yaganar reaches the pinnacle of its power and age, it disappears into thin air- nobody knows if this is death or a next stage in their life cycle.

-Yaganar start out as weak Supernatural entities, and slowly gain immunities until by Level 5 they gain a powerful Blast (10-11 ranks) that appears to cost them NOTHING. Level 7 brings them a small number of Elemental Magic Spells and Level 8 brings them all armor of varying degrees, which takes a couple rounds to activate, but costs no P.P.E. They all get the same boosts from Level 11-15- gaining way more Regeneration, Magic, Armor and even extra blasting power (going from Blast 10-12 to 11-13).

Elemental Types:
AIR YAGANAR- PL 6 (69): Acrobatics +4, Sleight of Hand +2, Stealth +4, Expertise (Singing) +4, Dodge +1, Extended Vision [9]
Level 2: Features 1 (Creates Small Winds) [1]
Level 3: Immunity 2 (Lightning) [2]
Level 4: Movement (Safe Fall) [2]
Level 5: Lightning Blast 11 [22]
Level 6: STA +1, Flight 1 (Limited to Air-Walking), Flight +3 (Source: Wind) [6]
Level 7: 1D4+4 Air Elemental/Warlock magic spells [Magic]
Level 8: Air Armor +3 [3]
Level 9: Flight 5, Lightning Fists +3 [10]
Level 10: Extended Vision +2, Flight +1, See the Invisible, +4 Elemental Spells [8 + Magic]
Level 11: +1D4+2 Elemental Spells [Magic]
Level 12: Intimidation +4, Immunity (Starvation & Thirst), Regeneration +4 [7]
Level 13: FIGHTING +2, Ranged Attack +2, Dodge +2 [8]
Level 14: Blast +2, +4 Elemental Spells [4 + Magic]
Level 15: Armor +1 [1]
-Air Yaganar aren't as combat-savvy as others (they get few bonuses to Toughness and max out at +10 durability with their Armor), but get the best Blast (Lightning 11). At Level 9 they can do +10 damage unarmed with their Lightning Fists.

EARTH YAGANAR- PL 7 (70): ST +2, STA +1, Deception +4, Expertise (Science- Limited to Earth Sciences) +6 [10]
Level 2: Move Object 1 (Limited to Earth) [1]
Level 3: Immunity 1 (Poison, Half-Effect) [0.5]
Level 4: ST +1 [2]
Level 5: Stone Blast 10 [20]
Level 6: STA +1 [2]
Level 7: 1D4+4 Earth Elemental/Warlock magic spells [Magic]
Level 8: Earth Armor +2 [2]
Level 9: Stone Fists +2, Thrown Stones (Blast 9)- alt of Stone Blast [3]
Level 10: ST +1, STA +1, +4 Elemental Spells [4 + Magic]
Level 11: +1D4+2 Elemental Spells [Magic]
Level 12: Intimidation +4, Immunity (Starvation & Thirst), Regeneration +4 [7]
Level 13: FIGHTING +2, Ranged Attack +2, Dodge +2 [8]
Level 14: Blast +2, +4 Elemental Spells [4 + Magic]
Level 15: Armor +1 [1]
-Earth Yaganar are the strongest and the toughest, going from ST 9 to ST 10 (then doing +12 damage with Stone Fists), and gaining Toughness +11 with their Armor.

FIRE YAGANAR- PL 7 (74): FIGHTING +2, Dodge +2, Close Attack +1, Ranged Attack +3, Athletics +4, Perception +2, Extended Vision [14]
Level 2: Move Object 1 (Limited to Flames- Go by Volume) [1]
Level 3: Immunity 5 (Fire- Remove Half-Immunity) [2.5]
Level 4: Immunity 2 (Smoke) [2]
Level 5: Fire Blast 10 [20]
Level 6: STA +1, Movement (Water-Walking- Lava Only) [3]
Level 7: 1D4+4 Fire Elemental/Warlock magic spells [Magic]
Level 8: Fire Armor +3 [3]
Level 9: Fire Fists +3 [3]
Level 10: FIGHTING +2, Close Attack +1, Ranged Attack +3, Extended Vision 1, Speed 1, +4 Elemental Spells [10 + Magic]
Level 11: +1D4+2 Elemental Spells [Magic]
Level 12: Intimidation +4, Immunity (Starvation & Thirst), Regeneration +4 [7]
Level 13: FIGHTING +2, Ranged Attack +2, Dodge +2 [8]
Level 14: Blast +2, +4 Elemental Spells [4 + Magic]
Level 15: Armor +1 [1]
-Fire Yaganar are just kinda... Fire-Immune, not getting much fancy stuff, except for boosted FIGHTING, which increases at Level 10.

WATER YAGANAR- PL 6 (62): Swimming 2 [2]
Level 2: Move Object 1 (Limited to Water) [1]
Level 3: Immunity 5 (Cold Damage, Cold- Remove Half-Immunity) [5.5]
Level 4: Immunity 2 (Pressure, Suffocation- Half-Effect) [1.5]
Level 5: Ice Blast 10 [20]
Level 6: Movement (Water-Walking), Swimming +2 [4]
Level 7: 1D4+4 Water Elemental/Warlock magic spells [Magic]
Level 8: Ice Plate Armor +3 [3]
Level 9: Ice Fists +2 [2]
Level 10: Immunity (Suffocation), Swimming +1, Extended Vision 1, See the Invisible, +4 Elemental Spells) [8 + Magic]
Level 11: +1D4+2 Elemental Spells [Magic]
Level 12: Intimidation +4, Immunity (Starvation & Thirst), Regeneration +4 [7]
Level 13: FIGHTING +2, Ranged Attack +2, Dodge +2 [8]
Level 14: Blast +2, +4 Elemental Spells [4 + Magic]
Level 15: Armor +1 [1]
-Icy Elementals with a lot of water-related movement stuff and Immunities. They get the weakest Fist attack of all the Yagnar, doing only +9 damage.

[Jabroniville]

COLD BORN O.C.C.
Role: Ice Psychic
PL 9 (100)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Ice Blades) 1 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+10)
Perception 6 (+8)
Persuasion 2 (+3)
Stealth 3 (+5)
Technology 4 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+7)
+8 Points (M.O.S.)

Advantages:
Equipment 8 (Red Star M.D.C. Armor, Motorcycle, Rifle), Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
Immunity 1 (Cold) [1]
"Clairvoyand Weather Trance" Senses 4 (Preconition) (Flaws: Limited to Weather, Source- Trance) [1]
"Weather Powers" Senses 6 (Extended Vision 4, Danger Sense, Direction Sense) (Flaws: Limited to Within Storms) [3]
Environment 2 (Cold 2) [4]
"Ice Armor" Protection 4 [4]

"Ice Blades/Claws" Strength-Damage +3 (+5 vs. Entities/Ghosts/Spirits) (Feats: Split) (5) -- [8]

• AE: "Freeze Liquids" Transform Liquids to Solids 1 (Extras: Ranged) (3)
• AE: "Ice Shards" Blast 2 (4)
• AE: "Calm Snowstorm" Nullify Weather 8 (Flaws: Limited to Snowstorms, Source- 3 Other Cold Born) (4)

"Psionics" (1 at Levels 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15- Bio-Regenerate Self, Death Trance, Hydrokinesis- counts as two selections, Mask I.S.P. and Psionics, Meditation, Mind Block, Nightvision, Presence Sense, Resist Fatigue, Resist Hunger, Resist Thirst, See Aura, See the Invisible, Sense Dimensional Anomaly, Sense Magic, Sense Time, Summon Inner Strength, Telepathy)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Vibro-Blade +6 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Rifle +6 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+7 Ice Armor, +11 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (State Peacekeepers)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 21 + Psionics / Defenses: 8 (100 + Psionics)

-The Cold Born are a class of Psychics born with the ability to control water, ice and cold- effectively, Bursters & Zappers for a new element. They are typically cool, calm & collected individuals, always keeping their emotions in check, and they are naturally outdoorsy. They are beloved and respected in Russia, often joining the military or being accepted by villages for their usefulness in predicting or controlling the weather. Like Soldiers, they can pick from an M.O.S., pretty much using the same ones. Their powers aren't really that impressive- just a bunch of utilitarian stuff- and they get 1 extra Psionic power every couple levels or so.