dragoner
KosmicRPG.com
What's it not an exaggeration of? Chicago totally has Dead boy armored troops in flying skull carriers, right? 100% completely normal. Same as the UP being a bastion of civilization.
DTRPG Says 'Don't criticize us or we'll ban you'
I'm not familiar with the Palladium lore, but I've spent time in the UP. I even met Hoolie once. I can see the joke.
Justice and Rule
Hero
Just having wild stuff doesn't make it a parody. There has to be a joke there. What you are describing isn't a joke, it's an aesthetic. An exaggerated one, a pastiche, but just that, and not one that has anything to really do with Chicago. There's nothing necessarily being made fun of, especially given that the skull-o-mania aesthetic can be done unironically: just look at 40K, which may have started out using that aesthetic ironically but over time morphed into using it rather unironically.
Just making a place that is rural and backwoods into a thriving industrial power doesn't necessarily mean it's a parody, unless they are actually making fun of the area. Like, do they have a pasty on their flag or something, because from what I can find I don't think it's actually making fun of it.
To give an example, OCP in the Robocop series is a parody of corporate culture, but you can't just have an evil corporation that only cares about the bottom line and nothing else; there's no parody in that. It becomes a parody when you have the CEO looking down from a balcony on his new crack-powered police robot with the brain of a druglord massacring innocent civilians and cops and his only response it to calmly say "This could look bad for OCP, Johnson. Scramble the best spin team we have."
This whole thing started with the idea that "Midwestern humor is really dry" and I went "No, I grew up a drive down 696 and a turn onto 275 away from KS and I don't really see any unique Michigan humor here". If you wanted something like that, he'd make a magical healing elixir with a ginger taste that cures all minor aliments.
That's not to say Rifts has no parody, but I just don't see it here and I don't think it's because it's some sort of regional humor thing.
Justice and Rule
Hero
I mean, yes and no. So exaggeration can be parody, but it has to have something to it. 40K can be parody, but it can also be completely straight-faced (and was for quite a while). In particular, the skull aesthetic became less parody and more a stylistic choice given how the Imperium and its story became more of a serious thing. You need something more there to make it a joke beyond the aesthetic because skull stuff might not work as a joke on its own. To me, when I look at Rifts, all the skull stuff comes off more 1970's-1980's heavy metal-esque stuff.
I suppose my bigger point is that as someone from the area, I don't see those things as particularly parodic. Maybe the UP is, but I just find it kind of a very lame joke (especially when we in the right hand can probably make some better ones about those in the left hand). With the Coalition, I don't see anything that really relates to Chicago beyond calling it Chi-town. Like, I do find stuff like this funny:
But I don't think that's really "dry" as it's just ridiculous (and great, as someone who isn't a fan of Rifts). But outside some stuff like this, I don't think the Coalition and them as fascists are really meant to be a joke. I just thought they were meant to be the villain faction of the setting.
Also huge missed opportunity to not call the Lower Peninsula "Troll Country".
Cordwainer Fish
Imp. Int. Scout Svc. (Dishon. Ret.)
I understood that reference.
Crusadius
Adventurer
I don't think the Coalition/Chi-Town is a parody. But I do think it might be a homage to movies like Mad Max with a post apocalypse setting and the villain runs a town. Instead of half-naked bikies who haven't had a bath in years you have armored soldiers wearing skull helmets riding/flying vehicles with skulls.
Justice and Rule
Hero
I figured general fascist imagery along with healthy doses of heavy metal skull/2000 AD/Terminator inspirations.
aramis erak
Legend
He's the third name that comes to mind on "likely to be affected"...
RIght after Zac and RPG Pundit.
Quite possibly due to temperatures and not being able to afford A/C...
To be honest, makes me think "Ted Nugent"...
Heck, one of my 3 videos on Youtube was done shirtless... but you only see my hands, so it's irrelevant. It was quite warm when I shot it.
