Jab's Rifts Builds (Rifts- A Final Summation!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Raptor King! Razorback Rhino! Saurian Terror!)

Post by Batgirl III »

It’s kind of a shame that McFarlane Toys has never come out with a licensed RIFTS® line of adult action figures. It’s no secret that Siembieda has always fancied himself a comic book artist and he’s talked for decades about how toy companies have approached him to turn his IPs into toys.

A lot of the Dinosaur Swamp, New West, and Atlantis monsters would be perfect for the McFarlane Toys line which has a lot of really intricately sculpted dragons, demons, and other monstrous critters. The CS Dead Boys, Dog Boys, SAMAS suits, and all the various robots from Triax and Northern Gun would fit right in with their WH40k, Spawn, and other lines.
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Tree Prowler

Post by Jabroniville »

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TREE PROWLER
Role:
Arboreal Hunters
PL 10 (97), PL 11 when Arboreal
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 7 (+7)
Intimidation 10 (+6)
Perception 7 (+7)
Stealth 8 (+9)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 7 (Infravision- Accurate, Acute Scent, Extended Scent 2- Tracking) [7]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
"Pounce Attack" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Arboreal Specialists"
Enhanced Fighting 2 (Flaws: Limited to When Arboreal) [2]
Movement 2 (Environmental Adaptation- Arboreal, Wall-Crawling) [4]
Enhanced Dodge 2 (Flaws: Limited to When Arboreal) [1]

"Psionics" (Bio-Regenerate, Detect Psionics, Psionic Purification, Stop Bleeding, Deaden Senses, Presence Sense, Resist Fatigue, Sense Time)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Pounce +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Arboreal +11 (+10-11 Damage, DC 25-26)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (+11 Arboreal, DC 19-21), Parry +9 (+11 Arboreal, DC 19-21), Toughness +9, Fortitude +9, Will +6

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Tree Prowlers cannot speak to humans, nor use their claws to easily manipulate objects.
Disabled (Blind)- Tree Prowlers have no eyes.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 17 + Psionics / Defenses: 12 (97)

-Arboreal predators, the Tree Prowlers are also drawn by Jeff Russell, but with a more simple look- just a faceless mouth with some big arms attached, and a smaller lower body- sort of like a gorilla or sloth. Like Titan Raptors (possibly because somebody forgot to check cut & paste errors), the females are better fighters.

FEMALE TREE PROWLER- PL 11-12 (95): FIGHTING +2 [4]
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Native Americans

Post by Jabroniville »

NATIVE AMERICANS IN DINOSAUR SWAMP:
-KAY, let's just get this over with. It's clear that only Camp Cherokee survived of the Native reservations, and that many communities are made up entirely of Pure Ones that disallow contact with outsiders. Shamanism & Spirit Magic helped many of them survive when others died, so they didn't have to use Eco-Wizardry and such. Camp Cherokee is right next to the SteelTree Forest, which they claim, but nearly anyone can go there- they build their lodgings from it, but forging the metal is too similar to the technology which the Traditionalists disdain. Only some "Modernists" do that and Eco-Wizardry. The people generally hate the city of Char, believing it to be a "blight on the land" that keeps attracting more outsiders. Camp Cherokee's strongest ally is an "Ancient Fire Dragon"... who is actually a HATCHLING who has disguised himself and tricked the others into accepting him as an ancient, wise creature.

The Ocmulgee Mount Complex is detailed, with each of the four mounds having various healing & magic-boosting properties. It's watched over by the Ft. Hawkins people from the first Dinosaur Swamp book, and has potential to teleport people elsewhere in North America.
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Char Characters

Post by Jabroniville »

CHAR CHARACTERS:
There's also a bit more on the city of Char, which has a guildmaster who's cruel and arrogant, hoarding good technology for himself while the quality of life falls all around him. There's also an ex-Coalition cybernetics doctor who was drummed out of the army by a rival family, and seeks to buy his way back in using the Dinosaur Swamp stuff. Four gangs are all detailed, one in particular made up of orphans of dead adventurers. The Concrete Vipers are racketeering & prostituion masters, while the Gear Heads do bionics & cybernetics, and the Raptor Claws engage in abduction and slavery, to the shock of the rest of Char (which doesn't usually have to deal with such things). There's a quirky weapons & antiquities collector with contacts in all the major cities of North America, and an evil giant Necromancer who demands to be treated as a King (and will often demand tribute from trespassers). The Arclight Brigade are a band of bandits who operate outside the city and are in a deal with the aforementioned Guildmaster to share information and scrap.
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Deearn Neenok

Post by Jabroniville »

DEEARN NEENOK:
-So Rifts Dinosaur Swamp was given a lot of descriptions by the explorer Deearn Neenok- the "Erin Tarn" of this chunk of the world, as he was an explorer from Lazlo who investigated it. This meant that we got a non-Tarn description of things for once, and they had a more inquisitive, scientistic bent than her more poetic, emotional stuff. Neenok had apparently visited the Swamp 2 decades ago, and has finally gotten a return trip. This is in part because he was annoying everyone in Lazlo with his insistence that they fight the Coalition- this gets him out of their hair. Similarly, Titan Industries has given him a Behemoth Explorer (those GIGANTIC mobile laboratories that can take nearly anything), in part because they're a subsidiary of Archie-Three and the evil robot gets all information submitted in the Explorer.

Neenok wishes to investigate Char first, trying to see how the city developed. Then it's on to the Indian Mounds with some mages in tow to investigate the time portals & such. Plus he wants to see how the islands of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc. have fared since the Coming of the Rifts- it was his great shame that they failed to make it to open water last time. 5 Shifters, 5 Mystics, 6 Ley Line Walkers, 6 Techno-Wizards and a Temporal Wizard are with him, plus tons of other skilled men and women of every discipline making up Scouts, Researchers & the Military wing. This kind of gives us an interesting look at what a fully kitted-out "Adventuring Party" would look like- far greater than the usual stuff PCs would do... and it's probably likely that a party or two are meant to be PART of this group.

Neenok himself is given a LONG bio, clearly a lot of love went into this one. He is a spider-like D-Bee, surprisingly, and his parents were explorers. Neenok himself has visited Africa, India & Indochina (this gives us some of the very little information on India thus far), and spent ten years doing so- every time he returned home he soon felt wanderlust again, being a born explorer. His exploration into Dinosaur Swamp went down 24 years ago, lasting two years- he'd long wanted to explore the unknown territory and let a group through it, but only 40% of them returned home. He was commended as a great leader, but felt great disappointment and shame in the deaths, and his book describing the Swamp was too dry to sell all that well. Even so, he's redoubled his efforts for a second look.

His second in command is an old friend, and they have a random assortment of people in charge of various departments- of most importance is the head physician, who is an actual SERIAL KILLER who uses her medical skills to kill people subtly. This is a very "Kevin S" idea and she plans on making the most of having a bunch of savages in the Swamp for her future victims. One of the story ideas (written by Todd Yoho, so maybe that was his idea) features her deliberately killing two people with bacteria she found in the Swamp, then looked like a "hero" for inoculating everyone else against it.

Their Behemoth Explorer is Toughness +16 and has a lot of info given for how many rooms it has, the three observation decks, a laboratory and a folding "arm" that replaces the two arms the normal model has.
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A’rac

Post by Jabroniville »

A'RAC R.C.C.: ST +1, STA +1, AGI +2, INT +4, PRE +1, Protection 1, Infravision, Ultravision, Extended Vision 2, Wall-Crawling 2, Expertise (Science) +4 [29]

-Tall, four-limbed spider-people, the A'rac are natural explorers and intellectuals. There aren't many of them, and nobody knows where they came from, but they love going to dimensional nexuses like Earth and traveling about. Unlike many races, they don't gain strength via excercise- their bodies don't build muscle like that. So most are instead scholars- with a +4 bonus to INT, that's not surprise.
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Other ADS Stuff

Post by Jabroniville »

OTHER STUFF:
-The Heinland-Carter Freehold is a small living quarters established in the wilderness that shows what a successful farm looks like. Two families formed a unit- one friendly couple and one suspicious one (as both are ex-criminals with a lot of enemies in search of them, from the CS to Tolkeen to the Black Market). Both families lost children in a bad hunting trip involving a raptor pack. There's then a percentile table for "random encounters" with people in the wilderness- friend or foe. Stuff like hermits, escaped slaves, or Raptor Kings modified by Splugorth into new "Minions". Other stories are just random encounters- in one, a Fairy pops up, having teleported from far away, and it likely needs the party's protection in this mysterious land. Attack it and it will seek revenge, but the story makes "the little guy" seem pretty vulnerable and sympathetic, and it may attempt to join you. In another, a Raptor King may directly ask to join the party as well.

The Horune Pirates get reprinted here, in smaller type to cram it in. It's kinda funny, but they were in a MUCH older book so I guess they wanted to re-emphasize them. But there's no new art or anything.
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Adventures Gear

Post by Jabroniville »

ECO-WIZARD GEAR:
-Well they stuffed some more things in here. More utilitarian things like a skin for water that gives Cure Illness, EW bandages that heal magically, an EW Limb Cast that can actually restore SEVERED limbs (over the course of weeks), portable versions of the "Magic Shield" and "Immune to Fire" spells, and a way to carry messages via an animal's tongue. There is "Horror Armor" (only +8 Toughness total, but gives off a "Horror Factor" due to its T-Rex hide that makes people -3 to hit you for the duration of the battle if they fail the save- basically a Reaction Impaired Affliction) and the "Cradle of Life"- a hut made from sauropod ribs that can restore or even resurrect someone (only three tribes are said to have made this).

NEW DINOSAUR SWAMP GEAR:
-More utilitarian stuff, like portable tents and light M.D.C. gear. Some of it is M.D.C. jumpsuits that provide only a minor M.D.C. and have an Armor Rating so you can actually roll to ignore it entirely. Effectively a cheap way to have M.D.C. that isn't armor.
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Adventures in Dino Swamp Summation

Post by Jabroniville »

RIFTS ADVENTURES IN DINOSAUR SWAMP SUMMATION:
-So this one is... equal parts "Monster Manual", "Campaign Ideas", and "Reprinted Material". Some of the "Hook Link & Sinker" and random encounter stuff is a bit clever (Yoho reminds me a bit of CJ Carella in terms of actually making use of all the weird stuff in this world), though it's funny that it reprints stuff from Rifts Underseas and Rifts New West considering neither book is rare. I mean, I GUESS it's good to have to be only 2 books if you want the entirety of the Dinosaur Swamp region covered.

The art is good- Jeff Russell is definitely a great new "get" for Rifts at this point, carrying a lot of the day with his distinctive designs, though some are a bit same-y for the same reason hiring Vince Martin to do 100 drawings in a book gives you the same trapezoidal smooth-edged armor in different communities. Instead of "just T-Rex & Allosaurus" you get the Alien Rex & Devilsaurus, plus Devil Eels and two kinds of truly gigantic predatory turtles, long with the Razorback Rhino. All of these are PL 12-14 absolute monstrosities, and in the low-tech world of Dinosaur Swamp, that's actually completely horrifying. Like, a bunch of PL 8-10 heroes are DEAD against these things.

All in all, if you dug the first Dinosaur Swamp, might as well get this one. Longtime players of the game might be annoyed at the reprints, shoddy gear section at the very back, and general "yeah, this is just some ideas and some NPCs" stuff.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dinosaur Swamp Gear & Summation!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Yup. I stand by earlier assessment… I wish Dinosaur Swamp and Adventures in Dinosaur Swamp had released at the dawn of the game line instead of so much later on. This is the setting that really nails the “survival in a world gone weird” tone that the core rulebook seemed to be leaning towards, in a way that World Book 1: Vampire Kingdoms kinda missed and World Books 2-6 Atlantis, England, Africa, Triax and the NGR and South America all totally missed.
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Rifts Megaverse Builder

Post by Jabroniville »

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RIFTS DIMENSION BOOK 7: MEGAVERSE BUILDER (2004):
-Hey look! Some random Dimension Book by Carl Gleba! This one's about how to build a dimension setting using percentile tables. That's... horribly uninteresting to me, but the book is only 98 pages and has a handful of builds in it. The art style is very "1990s comic books" with artists I don't recall seeing in Palladium's stuff before. It's sort of a "Shifter" Splatbook at points, giving you an expanded description of the O.C.C., five possible Familiars for them, and some other interdimensional stuff, mostly demons.

There are Pocket Dimensions (small ones), Infinite Dimensions (the standard; "even the gods" don't know how big any of the dimensions are), and Parallel Dimensions (like you see in comics & science fiction). Then a big chart on how to roll up random ones with lots of detail I ain't gonna read. Three kinds of dimensional storms are detailed, each of which has random effects: Dimensional Maelstroms are hidden until you try to go between dimensions, and Dimensional Vortexes happen at ley line nexuses- Displacement Storms also turn up. Things that can happen include P.P.E. drains, going through time, finding the wrong spot in the dimension, etc.

The rest of the book contains random things- a small handful of monsters. A Shifter expansion, with some Familiars. A giant listing of "The Megaverse" and different Dimensions you can visit, some of which have the occasional character (like "The Great Machine"). Plus a planet of junk and the Scavenger O.C.C. that inhabits it.

It's... nothing here really speaks to me, but maybe a Shifter player can use it? Or someone who wants to run stuff outside of Rifts Earth or do a random offworld adventure if they fall through a rift? I dunno.
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Re: Jab's Rifts Builds (Dinosaur Swamp Gear & Summation!)

Post by Batgirl III »

I’ve leafed through it at the FLGS. I used to be rather fond of Big Book O Random Charts style books as aides for GMing, especially ones that were written in a mostly system agnostic format (and to this day I still get a lot of use out of Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number).

I would almost consider this particular book a “system agnostic” supplement more than a RIFTS product… I just tend not to ever use cross dimensional jaunts in my gaming. I’m just not big on “cosmic” stuff. Seems like a decent book, just not my thing.
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Re: Rifts Megaverse Builder

Post by Sidious »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 3:06 am Image

RIFTS DIMENSION BOOK 7: MEGAVERSE BUILDER (2004):
-Hey look! Some random Dimension Book by Carl Gleba! This one's about how to build a dimension setting using percentile tables. That's... horribly uninteresting to me, but the book is only 98 pages and has a handful of builds in it. The art style is very "1990s comic books" with artists I don't recall seeing in Palladium's stuff before. It's sort of a "Shifter" Splatbook at points, giving you an expanded description of the O.C.C., five possible Familiars for them, and some other interdimensional stuff, mostly demons.

There are Pocket Dimensions (small ones), Infinite Dimensions (the standard; "even the gods" don't know how big any of the dimensions are), and Parallel Dimensions (like you see in comics & science fiction). Then a big chart on how to roll up random ones with lots of detail I ain't gonna read. Three kinds of dimensional storms are detailed, each of which has random effects: Dimensional Maelstroms are hidden until you try to go between dimensions, and Dimensional Vortexes happen at ley line nexuses- Displacement Storms also turn up. Things that can happen include P.P.E. drains, going through time, finding the wrong spot in the dimension, etc.

The rest of the book contains random things- a small handful of monsters. A Shifter expansion, with some Familiars. A giant listing of "The Megaverse" and different Dimensions you can visit, some of which have the occasional character (like "The Great Machine"). Plus a planet of junk and the Scavenger O.C.C. that inhabits it.

It's... nothing here really speaks to me, but maybe a Shifter player can use it? Or someone who wants to run stuff outside of Rifts Earth or do a random offworld adventure if they fall through a rift? I dunno.
I think I tried returning that one as just being f-ing awful.
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Cerebellus Demon

Post by Jabroniville »

CEREBELLUS DEMON
Role:
Rift Demon, Dimensionalk Conqueror
PL 12 (133), PL 16 Defensively
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 14 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 10 AWARENESS 7 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Expertise (Dimensional Rulers) 4 (+14)
Expertise (Magic) 4 (+14)
Insight 4 (+11)
Intimidation 8 (+12)
Perception 4 (+11)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist

Powers:
"Demon"
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Protection 5 [5]
Growth 2 (Str & Sta +2, +2 Mass, +1 Intimidation, -1 Dodge/Parry, -2 Stealth) -- (10 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [5]
Senses 6 (Extended Vision 2, Vision Counters Concealment) [6]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Sure-Footed) [4]

"Brain Bugs"
Remote Sensing (All Senses) 20 (Feats: Dimensional, Subtle- Erases Memories of Being Bugged) (Flaws: Source- Other Beings, Limited to Brain Bugged Beings, Limited to Mortals) [22]
"Possession" Mind Control 12 (Extras: Continuous) (Flaws: Limited to Brain Bugged Beings, Limited to Mortals, Unreliable- 5 Beings at Once, Side Effect- Lowered 10% of Stats) Linked to Protection 4 & FIGHTING +1 (Flaws: Affects Others Only +0, Limited to Brain Bugged Beings) [15]

"Steal Skills & Memories" Mind-Reading 12 Linked to Variable (Skills) 4 (Flaws: Limited to Victims of Brain-Eating) (36) -- [39]
  • AE: Teleport 12 (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (Flaws: Unreliable- 1/Minute) (36)
  • AE: Movement 3 (Dimensional Travel 3) (Flaws: Unreliable) (3)
  • AE: "Claws & Bite" Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Reach 2) (6)
"Magic" (As 7th Level Line Walker or Shifter, All Spells Level 1-6, all Ley Line & Dimension-related invocations, 2D4+1 Temporal Magic Spells)
"Psionics" (Master Psionic equal to Mind Melter at half-level, 1D6+6 Sensitive & 1D4+4 Physical Powers, 1D4+2 Super-Psionics)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Natural Weapons +12 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +19, Fortitude +14, Will +10

Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Cerebellus Demons are all world conquerors, attempting to rule kingdoms and eventually even solar systems. It can never be enough.
Responsibility (Untrustworthy)- Cerebellus Demons never associate with each other, and never have "partners"- only minions and associates. They never trust anyone.
Weakness (Lack of Eating Brains)- Cerebellus Demons need to eat the occasional brain of someone at least of INT 0 to stay at this level.

Total: Abilities: 124 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 96 + Magic/Psionics / Defenses: 9 (248 + Magic/Psionics)

-These goofy-looking demons are actually god-tier powerhouses with thousands of M.D.C., so aren't as big a joke as they look (they resemble a potato with an angry face and a brain sticking out, walking on spider-legs). These potato-demons are "master manipulators" who often rule several kingdoms and even entire solar systems, covetously eyeing the areas next to their domain all the time. They are so power-lustful that they trust nobody and never ally with each other.

-Cerebellus Demons have little insectoid things called "Brain Bugs" living in their belly that will "possess" beings by painfully inserting themselves into a being's brain- they can limitlessly see through the eyes of possessed beings, while "True Possession" actually diminishes the creatures but allows them permanent mind control (they never do it to more than 5 people at a time). They're also good teleporters, can gain skills temporarily by eating the brains of others, and have ass-tons of Magic & Psionics to use, but they're only PL 12-ish fighters. Their big advantage is a huge Toughness score- +17-19 or so. Still not a match for many Gods, however.
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Nexus Spider

Post by Jabroniville »

NEXUS SPIDER
Role:
P.P.E. Vampire, Giant Spider
PL 8 (128)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 1 (+8)
Expertise (Survival) 6 (+6)
Perception 7 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Close Attack 1, Tracking

Powers:
Senses 16 (Extended Vision 2, Infravision, Ultravision, Vision Counters Concealment, Detect Dimensional Portals/Ley Lines- Ranged 2 & Radius, Magical Awareness- Ranged 2 & Radius) [16]
Concealment 2 (Vision) (Flaws: Source- Ley Lines, Limited to When Not Attacking) [1]
"Ghosting" Insubstantial 4 (Flaws: Uncontrolled- 50% of Attacks, Limited to Non-Magical/Psionic) [12]
Protection 1 [1]

"Create Dimensional Storm" Variable (Dimensional Effects/Summon) 5 (Flaws: Unreliable- Random Table) (30) -- [32]
  • AE: Strength-Damage +0 (Extras: Affects Corporeal 7) Linked to Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Affects Corporeal) (23)
  • AE: "Webbing" Snare 7 (Flaws: Touch Range) (14)
Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 2, Sure-Footed) [6]
Extra Limbs 4 [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Webbing +8 (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Bite +8 (+7 Damage & +8 Affliction, DC 22 & 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +8, Fortitude +7, Will +4

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Nexus Spiders cannot speak to humanoids, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 72 / Defenses: 9 (128)

-Nexus Spiders are low-tier M.D.C. beings that hide about in the nexus points between dimensions and ambush sentient beings, whom they drain of P.P.E. until death. Some people are trapped in their webs and drained for weeks until they starve to death. They are minor adversaries, but are immune to 50% of the physical attacks sent against them (Insubstantial, but limited to random) and will nearly always attack in groups to subdue and drain prey.
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