Rifts Lone Star Review

 

Today, I'm reviewing Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star by Kevin Siembieda.  Basically the north half of Texas, Lone Star is about the genetic engineering lab called the Lone Star complex.  It is here that "mutant" dogs are bred and genetically engineered.

The book begins by touching on the ten thousand year history man has with the dog.  While the dog was genetically engineered from the wolf ten thousand years ago, the dog has become man's best friend.  For instance, in the Fertile Crescent, dogs were buried with their masters when their master died. Flash forward to the time of Rifts, and the dog has been genetically engineered to become a two legged biped with human intelligence.

Then the book touches on how to create dog boys (what the Coalition calls the mutants) for your game.  The book goes into different breeds of dogs, and how they are used within the Coalition States.  The book also touches on the creation of other mutant animals -- like big cats and apes. And also other mutants.

My Game

I ran a short lived game of Rifts.  It was a playtest of Rifts Lone Star.  The players had to create characters that were all Canines.  And we had fun playing in southwest Kansas.  The dog boy rules seemed to work and, keeping balance, we managed to do combat well.  The game was balanced, for Rifts that was saying something.

Like Rifts World Book 14: New West this book has something to contribute to your Rifts game. Whether it be Savage Worlds Rifts or original Rifts.  The balance wasn't all over the place, and it stayed on one locale.  You should go on Drivethru and pick up a copy. I recommend it.

Palladium Fantasy RPG Review

 

I received my copy of the Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game today, about 2:30 pm Mountain Daylight time.  I bought it from GameNerdz.com, and since my experience with them has been good -- I ordered a dead tree copy of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game from them.

First look, the cover sports the Palladium Books logo, the title, and a picture of a three headed dragon breathing fire on a paladin or knight on horseback.  It was written by Kevin Siembieda.  Opening the cover shows a powerful fight between a human fighter and a albino wolf-man (wolfen in the game, to be explained later).  This is in full color, and graces both the inside front cover and inside back cover.  Aside from the obligatory warning that graces this book, it's a work of fantasy, and not real life.

What is inside?

Inside the Palladium Fantasy RPG (PFRPG, not be confused with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or again -- PFRPG) is a section on creating your character -- dealing with character attributes, races to choose from, hit points, insanity, alignment, and experience points.  There is a section on skills, along with the Occupational Character Classes.  These include: Men of Arms -- Mercenary Fighter,  Soldier, Long Bowman, knight, paladin (or spelled Palladin), ranger, thief, assassin, and a few optional O.C.C.s that work for NPCs.  Then includes Men of Magic -- the Wizard (or mage), Warlock (elemental magic), Witch (diabolic magic), Diabolist (Mystic wards and symbols), Summoner (Circle magic), Mind Mage (psion or psionicist), and Alchemist (NPC class). After that comes the Clergy, which includes the Priest/Priestess (Cleric or specialty priest), druid (shapeshifter), shaman (oracle), and the Healer.  After that notes on creatures and monsters as well as the world of Palladium itself.  Then the Tombs of Gersidi adventure and the Arms of Nargash-Tor adventure.

Differences from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

The PFRPG is a complete Roleplaying Game.  It has information on how to play a roleplaying game and information on the world in which the game takes place.  It uses a variety of Polyhedral dice -- including all the dice from the D&D basic game.  Rolling attributes for your character is no different from D&D, and also percentile dice is also used.  The twenty-sided die (d20) is also used for combat related applications.  That should make the PFRPG similar to Dungeons and Dragons, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and other similar games.  So, what makes it different?

The differences include: the magic system, the alignments, the available races, the Occupational Character Classes (O.C.C.), the skill system, and Monster statistics (which are gone more in depth in Monsters and Animals -- the monster book for the PalFRPG).  First are the O.C.C.s.

 An Occupational Character Class works like the Character Class in both D&D and AD&D.  But certain classes are split into different Occupational Character Classes.  In fact, the Fighter class from AD&D is split into the Mercenary Fighter, the Soldier, and the Long Bowman occupational character classes.  The mercenary fighter is your typical fighter.  The soldier is a career fighter, and the long bowman is trained in the use of the yew longbow. The paladin class and the cavalier class are the palladin and knight occupational character classes respectively.  The ranger and thief remain the same concepts from AD&D, and also from AD&D is the addition of the assassin occupational character class.

The Mage has been split into different occupational character classes as well.  You have the wizard (mage) which specializes in spell magic.  The witch is a class that worships demons or devils.  The warlock is a spell caster specializing in elemental magic.  The diabolist specializes in symbology, wards, and runes. The summoner works in magic circles of protection, summoning, and power.  The mind mage is your basic psionicist.  And the alchemist is an NPC class.

The clergy classes include: the priest or priestess (regular cleric class). The druid, who specializes in changing into animal shapes.  The shaman which is an oracle. And finally the healer who heals people.  And then there a number of optional O.C.C.s, which can be used for NPCs.

A key difference from AD&D and other FRPGs is the inclusion of many other different races.  Some of which can be quite alien -- including the wolfen, orc, and troglodyte. You can choose any number of races to play, although some (such as dragons and giants) are off limits.

Another difference, or innovation, from  D&D and AD&D is how the spell magic system is handled.  A Wizard may cast any spell from any level he knows, despite his current level. However, he's restricted by level of how many spells he can cast (same with the witch).  As he goes up in experience, a wizard would be able to cast more spells.  Although this is not universal.  The warlock's spell knowledge is limited by his spell level.

Besides this, the diabolist specializes in symbol, ward, and rune magic. Then the summoner specializes in circle magic.  And there are drawings of each circle, symbol, or rune included in the book.  Plus, the priest and shaman classes also use the Wizard spells for their magic.

Alignment is different and I touched on how it works in my Rifts RPG review.  The concept of Alignment works like how it works in Dungeons and Dragons.  It's a guide to help you roleplay your character to your likes.  You can select between two good alignments: Principled (Lawful Good), and Scrupulous (Neutral Good); between two selfish alignments: Unprincipled (Chaotic Good), and Anarchist (Chaotic Neutral); and between three evil alignments: Miscreant (Neutral Evil), Aberrant (Lawful Evil), and Diabolic (Chaotic Evil).  After that, your character is basically done.  There are no neutral alignments.

The skill system is another "innovation" of the PalFRPG.  It comes from the Runequest RPG.  Basically, each skill is governed by a percentile roll.  If you roll under the percentile chance, you perform the skill expertly.  The skills go up in percentile range as you gain experience levels.  This is different than AD&D, which can work without skills.

As for monster statistics, they are considerably shortened than those in the Monster Manual.  Something I'll get into more depth when I review Monsters and Animals.

 Conclusions

 The Palladium Fantasy RPG is a good game to start young players on.  Just remember to tell them the difference between fantasy and reality.  The game system is easy to learn and use, even though it's a bit dated compared to newer systems of D&D (3rd, 4th, and 5th editions). The game is a good system and I recommend it.  Just remember, it's a fantasy game and not real life.  The book itself is a marvel, though. I suggest you order yourself a copy.  Oh, and this is the 1st edition of the game, which is forty years old, now.

Getting a copy of Palladium Fantasy RPG tomorrow

 

I recently bought a copy of The Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game by Kevin Siembieda. This game takes me back to my teen years, where it was an alternative to AD&D. I also have a copy of Rifts, which I previously reviewed.

I have a pdf copy of two versions of the Palladium Fantasy RPG, the revised edition and the second edition. I was reading the revised edition, and I find that I am very tempted to start a game. I will review the Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game as soon as I read it.

The Rifts RPG Review

 Today, I'm reviewing the RIFTS® roleplaying game by Kevin Siembieda. Kevin is a great guy.  He gets ideas from everywhere and turns them into RPGs.  Rifts started a long time ago, probably after Kevin watched STAR WARS A New Hope. It is certainly one of the most imaginative settings for a Roleplaying game.  It literally includes everything, including the kitchen sink.

The book begins with the usual Palladium Books' disclaimer.  That the Rifts RPG is one that deals with the supernatural and occult themes.  This disclaimer may have been warranted in the early eighties when there was a scare on Roleplaying games and their themes.  Dungeons and Dragons was attacked for including elements of the occult.  Something the publishing company got away from during the Second Edition publication of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game.  However, when Wizards of the Coast took over Dungeons and Dragons, the occult themes returned.

As for Rifts®, it's part of the landscape that magic is included.  And like other roleplaying games, you won't be able to learn magic for real.  Still it's a strange RPG chosen by my wife as her first time playing roleplaying games.  I don't recommend Rifts® for the first time player.  I would suggest the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game (BECMI) for the first timer.  Rifts is just too strange for the first time gamer to grasp.

When did the Rifts come?  When did it all began?

Technically, they came after a nuclear war exchange.  The death of so many caused their energy to pump into the ley lines.  Which opened up rifts into different places and times.  This caused more people to die, which caused a surge, and the result was a chain reaction no one could stop. As a result the Earth had changed.  With a landscape that is both familiar and alien.  The landscape is crisscrossed by a web of ley lines, which can be seen from space.  The land is full of alien creatures called "D-Bees" which is short for dimensional beings.  It is into this world that the Rifts® character enters the picture, a larger than life character.  It's a savage, violent world, the world of the Rifts®.

Character Creation

Character creation is like that in AD&D.  You roll 3d6 worth of dice on seven different attributes.  After this is done, you calculate your hit points and your structural damage capacity (SDC). After that, Mega-damage and mega-damage capacity (MDC) is figured.  Then you determine if you are psionic or not. After that, you select your Occupational Character Class (O.C.C.) or a Racial Character Class (R.C.C.), figuring out your skills. After this is done, you figure your Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.).  Then you figure your money and equipment.  Then comes alignment.

The concept of Alignment works like how it works in Dungeons and Dragons.  It's a guide to help you roleplay your character to your likes.  You can select between two good alignments: Principled (Lawful Good), and Scrupulous (Neutral Good); between two selfish alignments: Unprincipled (Chaotic Good), and Anarchist (Chaotic Neutral); and between three evil alignments: Miscreant (Neutral Evil), Aberrant (Lawful Evil), and Diabolic (Chaotic Evil).  After that, your character is basically done -- with a few things that need to be explained.

Innovations from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (TSR, WotC) and Basic Roleplaying (Chaosium)

There are four major innovations from AD&D and Basic Roleplaying.  Basically, the Palladium System has these four innovations.  They are the way Character Classes are handled. The way Alignment is handled, the way experience is handled, and the way Skills are handled.  Alignment has already been touched on.  There are basically three categories of alignment, and at least two different alignments for each category.  Character class is also handled differently, in that you either select an occupational character class or a racial character class. However, within these classes there is little customization in the way of skills. So before you choose a character class, be thoughtful because it might very well be the only character class you will have.  Unlike other Palladium Roleplaying games (like Robotech or the Palladium Fantasy Game) multiclassing isn't mentioned.  It may not even be possible with some concepts.

Experience points are awarded differently than in Dungeons and Dragons. You are rewarded for performing a skill, coming up with ideas, endangering yourself to save others, avoiding unnecessary violence, and other actions.  You typically get less experience for defeating foes.

Skills are also handled differently.  Although it's the same in Basic Roleplaying, you have to roll under a certain number (in this case a percentage value) for the skill in order to successfully preform the skill in question. This percentage value has a maximum score of 98%, because there has to be a margin for error. Plus, there are a large number of skills to choose from.  This is different from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

All of these innovations allowed the Palladium System to be unique from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (by TSR and WotC) as well as the Basic Roleplaying Game by Chaosium..  "Basically one can consider the Palladium setting as a major reimagination of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

Rifts is not a good introductory roleplaying game

I would stay away from Rifts if you are a first time gamer.  I actually got started playing Dungeons and Dragons -- but Rifts is a whole different dimension. The game features darker things to play as your regular PC -- juicers, crazies, borgs, dragon hatchlings, mind melters, psi-stalkers, "mutant" dogs, men of magic, and many others.

Plus, the system is dated.  It was great in 1990 when Rifts came out.  But now it shows it's age.  The system shows signs of wear when compared to other roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition.  The lack of customization, the plethora of O.C.C.s and the way alignment is handled can be quite counter intuitive. Plus, you have adult themes in the game.  You are most likely locked into a game of survival, where the normal concept of heroics is usually not to be had.  A RIFTS game is usually about surviving in a world that is both alien and familiar more so than about being heroic.  Although heroic actions are rewarded, and there is at least one heroic O.C.C., the Cyber-knight.

So Why Buy the Game?

You should buy this if you are looking for a different game to run.  If you want to run a survival game, where saving someone from that demon is a good idea.  The visuals are stunning, and there are a number of world books you can buy to enhance your game.  In fact, I was stunned when my wife decided to play Rifts® for her first roleplaying game. Although she chose the Savage Worlds system for her first system, she read my entire library of Rifts Books and had fallen in love with the setting.  She has picked the New West setting for her first campaign and I'll be setting that up in time. (DAZ soon). 

Combining Barsoom with Lothlórien

After reading all of the posts on the Palladium boards and the Savage Worlds RIFTS boards I can world build a little.  The game is set in the New West setting for RIFTS, and my wife wants to play a nude elf cowgirl.  The game system we are using is Savage Worlds, the setting is RIFTS from Palladium.

by Mezzotint on Shutterstock.

I'm figuring a dude ranch in Southern Utah (like the one above is in Zion National Park).  She wants to be based in Moab, Utah, however, but we'll talk about it.  The changes everyone is suggesting is either cosmetic or mechanical, however.  The trick is creating a culture that combines Barsoom with Lothlórien.  Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Barsoom to be an exotic Mars.  The Martians wore harnesses and very little clothing (their harnesses are their only clothing).  Something my wife approves of.  Remember, she's a nudist and wants her character to be nude in game.

Lothlórien is an elven forest found in the Lord of the Rings. The magical nature of the kingdom is protected by Galadriel's ring. I'll figure more out of the setting once I talked to my wonderful, nude wife. I'll be world building this for her.  And North America is a big place in RIFTS.  The most powerful nation, the Coalition States, only takes up a small part of the Heartland of America.  The rest is considered to be wilderness by the Coalition States.  There's room for an elven kingdom in Utah.  Even if they are nudists.

Barsoom and Lothlórien

My wife had the great idea of playing in a Rifts game (campaign) as her first introduction to roleplaying games.  She wants to play RIFTS mostly because she had read my entire Rifts library and wanted to play.  She wants to play an elf cowgirl in the New West (a setting where the Old West comes to life in RIFTS, see my Rifts: New West review below).  Not just any elf Cowgirl, but a nude one.  My wife is a nudist and yes, I'm very lucky.

This is the first time for her playing any sort of Roleplaying Game, especially Rifts.  I already reached out to the gaming community.  Both at the Palladium Forums and the Pinnacle Entertainment Group RIFTS forums for some ideas for creating an elf community that is based both on Lothlórien and Barsoom.  And both communities have responded with ideas of their own. I was surprised that she picked RIFTS as her first foray into Roleplaying Games, actually.  RIFTS is not an easy setting to grasp, but then again she read my entire library and picked both the New West setting and the Atlantis setting as places to start a campaign in.

Rifts Atlantis Review

Cover by Keith Parkinson

Ah, Atlantis.  Atlantis is my second favorite setting for Rifts®.  Kevin Seimbieda wrote Atlantis and a lot of good ideas flowed to him. Atlantis is the lost continent, the ancient enemy, the place of lost secrets. And in the Rifts Earth it has returned with all the magic and technology. Returning to KS' vision of Atlantis is not exactly coming home for me.  Although I know a lot about Atlantis (I studied Atlanteology). Rifts World Book Two: Atlantis is a book with good ideas.  Ley line storms, true Atlanteans, Bio-Wizardry (an advanced form of genetic manipulation), Rune Weapons and ultra technology, this book is an unique setting for your Rifts® campaign.  Since my wife wants to play in a campaign featuring Atlantis, I thought this is a good book to review.  It's one hundred sixty pages long.

What's in it?

Atlantis contains a lot of good ideas.  It begins with a diatribe from Erin Tarn about Atlantis, and how she will predict war with Atlantis and the Coalition states.  Although the CS is over extending itself in the Heartland of America, the war would not go well.  Atlantis returned after millennia and the Splugorth -- aliens with a Cthulhu Mythos inspiration -- had already conquered Atlantis.  They built their city of Splynn and it's become a haven of trade and commerce through out the Megaverse®. When the Atlanteans returned, they found that their continent had been conquered by these alien beings.  Also, Atlantis is adjacent to the Bermuda Triangle, a region of sea that has become very dangerous to sail.  Called the demon sea, the place is an unsettled region.  It typically can appear in different worlds at different times, and sea monsters roam the area.  And true to Palladium system fashion, there is a random table you can roll to see what happens while you are on the Demon Sea.

Next are the ley line storms, and they are storms of energy that happens along ley lines.  The random tables provide occurrences that can happen along a ley line.  Then Atlantis is talked about.  All of it is wild imagination, even the Splugorth that conquered Atlantis is just imagination.  Good imagination, I should say!  Then the Atlantean race is discussed, and are given an R.C.C. treatment (in Savage Rifts, they are an alternate race that you can apply an Iconic Framework to).   After this, the various nations of Atlantis are visited.  With a dragon city, a gargoyle kingdom, a refuge, and then the kingdom of Splynncrith are all detailed.

Splynncrinth is a Splugorth, a mighty being that looks like a shuggoth from the Cthulhu mythos. He enslaved everyone and has built a mighty financial empire that rivals that in power of the Coalition States.  He built a market where everything and anything imaginable is bought and sold.  He also enslaved the humans of Atlantis and sells slaves from all over the Megaverse.  Is Splynncrinth powerful enough to conquer Earth?  Most probably he is.  But his financial empire is enough to satisfy him, for now.

Atlantis Map by Will-Erwin.

 

Player Options

There are a lot of player options in this book.  New Racial Character Classes (R.C.C.) such as the true Atlantean, the Atlantean Nomad, the minions of the Splugorth, including: the Highlords, power lords, and others.  Oh the Splugorth slaver and the blind Warrior Women are detailed in this book.  Also included are the Kittani, and other options.  Including some slave stock (which more are detailed in Splynn Dimensional Market). After that comes the OCCs.  Including Tattooed men (of which there are four different types).  And so far humans, neanderthals, and elves may become tattooed with magic tattoos.  Stone magic is discussed, along with Bio-Wizardry.

Bio-wizardry itself is described as disgusting.  As it is used to manipulate the DNA of a person, animal, or whatever.  (Splynn is a big place).  It's a magical science that includes transmutation of a person.  Then there is a transmutation table.  After that, various bio-wizardry items are discussed.  Some of these are just strange, others are beneficial.

Then there is a section of bio-engineered parasites.  These include the brain feeder, the mystic leech, the mind slug, heart worms, zombitron, and others.  Then there is a section of symbiotes.  Including the chest amalgamate or chest thing, the elom, mind link, and pathic healer, talo mind worms and others.

By Gaius31duke.

Then comes the bio-wizard weapons.  And there are many.  From items that can be used to control slaves, to P.P.E. batteries that are powered by captured and enslaved fairy folk.  Then rune weapons are discussed.  After that, futuristic vehicles and power armor are introduced!

Conclusion

This book contains a lot of information on Atlantis as a setting for your Rifts campaign. Most of it is imaginative, wildly so. The city of Atlantis has been renamed the city of Splynn. And it's ruled by aliens and D-bees.  There is a lot here for the setting and should be a good starting place for GMs.  A good book for your Palladium Rifts game.  I give it seven stars out of ten.

Savage Worlds Rifts: The Tomorrow Legion's Guide

 

Ah, original Rifts.  Good setting, very good setting, but the game mechanics was something of a fusion of AD&D and Chaosium Basic Roleplaying. While it worked when I was a teen and a little later, today it's dated and in need of a overall.  Fortunately, the Savage Worlds team approached Kevin Seimbedia one day and said they like to do Rifts for Savage Worlds.  Well, Kevin thought it would be a good idea and so we have Rifts: the Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide. While most players would play Rifts with a different system, the Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide contains all the rules for playing Rifts in Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE).

Kevin is a gregarious and generous person.  And while I liked him when I met him, he will not open Rifts up to third party publishers.  I don't know if he will use the Open RPG Creative license, although it would be awesome if he did.  Rifts is very imaginative: Man just rose from a Dark Age, although illiteracy is common in the Coalition states.  The world is not how we see it.  The world is beset by the rifts: doorways into dimensions and far away worlds. The Tomorrow Legion Player's Guide contains all you need to get started with a Savage Worlds Rifts campaign.  Of course you'll need the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition core rulebook to play.

What is in it?

Savage Rifts still does not contain classes, but most of the classes in Rifts were converted into Iconic Frameworks for Savage Worlds.  These iconic frameworks work like the Occupational Character classes in Rifts. And as Savage Worlds does not use levels, there are no levels for these classes. But don't worry, you can improve your character using the Savage Worlds RPG.  The iconic frameworks include: Burster, a pyrokinetic; combat cyborg, a being built with cyber-bionics; crazy, a person with cybernetic brain enhancements; Cyber-knight, Rifts answer to the D&D paladin; dragon hatchling, yes you can play a dragon!  Glitterboy, a futuristic warrior in a power suit; Juicer, a person that uses drugs to enhance their performance; Ley-line walker, technically a wizard; MARS, catch all for iconic frameworks for the doctor, headhunter, and others. Mind melter, a super psionic person; Mystic, a man of magic that creates miracles like a priest; finally Techno-wizard; a man of magic that can create gizmos.

After all this, some of the Rifts dimensional beings and aliens are discussed. These include: the Altara blind warrior women; D'Nor, the devil men; dog boy, a genetically enhanced dog; Fennodi, or cactus men of the West; Grackle Tooth, a dee-bee found mostly in Canda; Lyn-Srial, an eagle like humanoid with bat wings.  They are found in the West too. Of course, you need a psi-stalker, a mutation among humans that feed on magical and psionic potential; Quick Flex, a dextrous human like alien.  And of course the simvan, which are found in the Lonestar state.  Finally, the Trimador is discussed.

  After that we get into traits.  These include new abilities, like Anti-personnel and nimble; and a few new attributes for a Savage Rifts game.  Including strain, and super strength.  And then there are new skills: like Cybernetics.  And there is discussion of how existing skills work in the Savage Rifts setting.  After this, languages are discussed.  Including American and Elvish/Dragonese. 

New hindrances and edges are discussed.  Although magical edges (such as the Weird Science edge) are discussed in the magic chapter; this section discusses how some edges are reconfigured for the World of Rifts. It also includes new edges.  Many new edges, including some that are iconic.

The next chapter deals with Gear. Player characters may start with a lot of gear already, depending on which iconic framework is chosen.  Then gear in the game is discussed.  There are a lot of items in Rifts listed.  Plus, you can use gear from Savage Worlds.  Then there is a section on Armor, after that power armor is discussed (this includes the Glitter-boy armor).  Then we have a section on weapons. Many different weapons. 😀

Gear also goes over vehicles.  There are several vehicles to choose from. Including robot vehicles. After vehicles are discussed, we get to the cybernetics section. And several cybernetics are discussed.  Like organ replacement and strength upgrade.  Everything you need for your character to have cybernetics.  Of course the Atlantis module talks about bio-wizardry.  That I will be reviewing at a later date.

By sakkmesterke, on Shutterstock.

Chapter three discusses the new setting rules in Rifts.  These include: Blaze of Glory, rules that state when the character using it goes to die.  Blood and Gore, like it says.  Death and defeat; when the player character decides not to use the Blaze of Glory rules. Siphoning PPE rules (from another individual to cast a spell), includes rules for blood sacrifice.  Rules for technical difficulties are put forth.  After that, vehicle fatigue rules are discussed.  And that rounds out chapter three.

After that, rules for magic and psionics is discussed in Chapter Four: Psionics and Magic.  First, some basic rules -- like how spells work with mega-damage rules (yes, mega damage is discussed in Savage Rifts), and basic rules for strain are discussed.  After that, the arcane backgrounds are also discussed how they work in Rifts. There are some changes rather than those discussed in Savage Worlds. Ley lines and how they work are discussed.  Then there is a section on rituals and items that can be used for rituals.  Including PPE batteries.  Then some rules regarding magic spells in powers in Rifts are discussed.

Finally, in Chapter five the hero's journey rounds out the chapters in Savage Rifts. This chapter goes over various hooks you can use for your character's background.  These include body armor, education, close combat weapons, and other tables.  After these are discussed, we get an index.

Innovations from Vanilla Rifts  

One thing you've got to remember is that the Savage Worlds system is completely classless. Well, what I mean is that they don't have classes.  While vanilla Rifts does have classes, occupational character classes -- or O.C.C.s; and (if you're going by the 1990's version of Rifts like I do) racial character classes or R.C.C.s. So, what did Pinnacle do with this sort of situation?  Come up with Iconic Frameworks!  That is one good innovation right there.

The iconic framework in Savage Worlds Rifts allows you to pick a "class" while allowing you some customization.  While vanilla Rifts allows for some customization through skills -- you are still playing that O.C.C. or R.C.C.  And while vanilla Rifts was a step up from the class system of AD&D and the skill system of Call of Cthulhu -- the probability that you will end up with two different Glitterboys in Savage Rifts is very high.  Customization is par excellence in Savage Rifts that you might end up with a Glitterboy who can do magic (Arcane Background: Magic) and one who can do psionics (Arcane Background: Psionics).  The frameworks are there to provide you with a scaffold to build your character with.  It's kind of like a class, but then it's not.  You're not defined by your framework in Savage Worlds Rifts.  You are allowed to come up with any kind of character you want: the framework is there to help you leave the occupational character class of Rifts behind.  In fact, you define the character you want to play.

If you want to play a gunslinger with psionics you can (in fact, the Psi-Slinger is an iconic framework in another, later SW Rifts product.)  If you want to play a cowboy who does magic, it's very possible to do that (Empires of Humanity details the cowboy and the gunslinger).  Each iconic framework "is a package of powers, special abilities, Edges, gear, and other character elements that define an iconic
role within a setting. In the case of the world of Rifts®, where characters begin with incredible capabilities and devastating machines of war as a matter of course, the Iconic Framework is a necessary tool to help represent these ideas while still working within the core ideas of Savage Worlds."

An iconic framework is there to help you make the character you want.  How different races are handled is another innovation.  While you can select a race in Rifts (human or Dimensional Being, like elf, orc, or simvan), some of these are considered Racial Character Classes in vanilla Rifts®.  That means it has it's own skills and other things to consider.  In Savage Worlds, you can choose a race and then choose a framework.  This means you can play a simvan cowboy, a grackletooth mind melter, or a "mutant" dog crazy (the dog boy is actually genetically engineered, something I'll discuss once I get to Rifts: Lone Star). Each race in Savage Worlds Rifts is just an option to pick.  To help you customize your character to your tastes.  And yes, you can still play a dragon hatchling.  Except it's an iconic framework, not a race.

One other innovation over vanilla Rifts is how skills are handled.  In  vanilla Rifts® you roll percentile dice and hope to get under a certain percentage.  Savage Worlds handles skills differently.  You roll a die.  The better the die, the better the probable outcome.  Rolling a skill with a d4 in it is a lot different than rolling a skill using a d12. It can provide different results than rolling a percentile die (note: I know skills in Rifts are varied in their application -- one skill might just raise your Physical Strength, another might raise your Physical Prowess).

Cybernetics is another important innovation over vanilla Rifts®. You can still get cybernetic implants, but you are simply restrained by a mechanic called strain.  Strain tells you how you may recover from cyber-surgery.  Although some systems are unlimited, some are not, and some may require a basic cybernetic implant.

So, mega-damage.  Is it in there?  Yes, it's in there. A weapon in Savage Rifts that can do mega-damage is considered to be a heavy weapon in Savage Worlds.  Armor capable of having MDC is considered to be heavy armor in Savage Worlds. One problem with vanilla Rifts® was that you had different scales of damage and most weapons did mega-damage.  In Savage Worlds, this is handled differently. The damage scaling is more realistic.  A hand-held Wilk's laser weapon does not do mega-damage in Savage Worlds. Therefore, if you shoot a regular Joe with your laser weapon in Savage Rifts®, you aren't going to suddenly turn him into a pile of ash. He'll be hurt, but he won't automatically burn up.  However, a mega-damage weapon -- like a rail gun -- does gritty damage per Savage Worlds' rule systems.

Potential Psychic Energy, or P.P.E. and Inner Strength Points, or I.S.P.  Are they in Savage Rifts®? Yes, they are.  P.P.E. can be transferred like it is in vanilla Rifts®, and there are ways of cultivating your personal P.P.E.  Usually everyone has P.P.E. (this includes Mystics), and psychics have I.S.P.  This is discussed in the Magic and Psionics chapter, including a discussion on each Arcane Background (Gifted, Magic, Miracles, Psionics, or Weird Science).

Conclusion

So, you're a Rifts player of the original system. Maybe you enjoy the original system.  And you are curious of how Rifts work with the Savage Worlds system.  And they did their best translating Rifts to Savage Worlds. It's beautifully laid out in living color.  And it looks well done!  I suggest you get a copy of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and this book to begin a campaign.  Savage Worlds and Rifts work well together.  There are no levels, that's for sure, and no alignments. But Savage Worlds brings Rifts up to date and nearly into the 21st Century.

Central Casting: Heroes of Legend Review

by Paul Jaquays

 Ah, the Tour de Force of random tables and charts for your fantasy roleplaying game.  Central Casting: Heroes of Legend was written to help you as a gamer figure out the background of your character.  From unusual births (such as, being born exactly at Noon or Midnight), to childhood events and events in your adolescence.  To events in young adulthood, this book has it all. Although it's dated (like how it treats homosexuality, we now know that there is nothing wrong with a homosexual). This book is still useful in creating a 3D character.  Although some roleplayers tend to think up their characters whole cloth for fantasy roleplay, others could use a little bit of help.  As such this book is out of print and buying a copy from Amazon is way expensive: it costs almost a thousand dollars on Amazon.  So it's best to download it from the Internet (as if anyone is willing to spend that amount of cash for this book.)

What's in it?

Paul goes over how characters in most roleplaying games are one dimensional.  Actually, characters are often one dimensional.  Even characters I created do not have the depth to them.  I just go with a character with a small background and then proceed to play them.  The tables and charts in this book proceed to change all that.

The book takes you through some considerations for your character. The book talks about survival skills (something that equals the skill survival in Pathfinder first edition and Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition). Literacy, motivations, and generating NPCs using the tables in this book.  The tables begin with your character's race.  Of course you could choose your race, or randomly generate the race. Races in the book include humans, elves, dwarves, half-elves, halflings, beastmen, reptilemen (Dragonborn or lizardfolk), orcs, and half-orcs.  Although your fantasy campaign might have their own races.  

By DomCritelli from Shutterstock.

The book continues with a random table choosing culture (and this goes from neolithic and stone age cultures to decadent cultures). Then you can randomly choose your social status and whether or not your character is legitimate (bastards are possible).  Reasons for being illegitimate (like your character's mother might be a harlot), then your character's family, your character's siblings, then birth order.  The tables are relentless -- birth order, your character's time of birth, place of birth, even exotic birth locations.  Then you see whether or not your character had an unusual birth.  After that, your character's parents and important NPCs can be randomly generated.

After that, you can randomly generate what happened during your character's childhood and adolescence.  First, you figure out how many events happened during your childhood and then you roll.  This table, unlike other tables in other products (Ultimate Campaign, for instance); does not pull any punches.  It is very detailed and controversial.  One of the events that happens in childhood or adolescence (since you are using this table twice) is that the character could have been sexually molested.  There's even one where the character enters a political marriage with another (arranged marriages can happen).

Besides that, certain events require you to go into other tables. And there is a lot of them. But, the book maintains that in childhood and adolesence a personality develops -- so you may get certain traits based off of your character's history that you roll up.

From Shutterstock.

After that there are many tables with which you can generate your character's history and personality.  A lot of them.  From randomly generating personality traits, to love, to others, to non-humans, to time in the military, to being enslaved, to unusual skills, this book has it all.  Even something that is GM only.

Conclusion

If you are looking to go beyond what Ultimate Campaign and other similar character generators offer for generating your character's background.  This book provides that.  Unfortunately, unless you are ready to pay a small fortune for this book, I suggest downloading it off the internet.  It may be illegal, but it's the only way you're going to get it.  The book is worth it to get off the Internet, or to pay for the near one thousand dollars for a copy.  It's an excellent resource for your fantasy campaign; even though it's jaded and dated.