Devall2000
First Post
I'm curious about the RIFTS RPG by Palladium. What can you all tell me about it? Where's the best place to start?
thanks
Jamie
thanks
Jamie
[OT] What can you all tell me about Rifts?
- Thread starter Devall2000
- Start date
It's the single most broken system I have ever played. Game balance wasn't very good in the core book, and went straight to hell after that.
In general, I don't find the system very good. Skill progression is kinda clunky, and combat is a giant pain.
Having said that, it's a very interesting world, and by far the best campaign I ever GM'd was a Rifts campaign. Which simply shows that rules are a very small part of enjoyable roleplaying. As for where to start, just pick up the core rulebook. It has the rules, character classes, and the outline of the world. It's all you need to run a Rifts campaign, and you might in fact be better off not introducing things from any of the other books. After that, I thought Atlantis was the best one, though it's been maybe 6 years since I've bought a Rifts book.
Cullain
In general, I don't find the system very good. Skill progression is kinda clunky, and combat is a giant pain.
Having said that, it's a very interesting world, and by far the best campaign I ever GM'd was a Rifts campaign. Which simply shows that rules are a very small part of enjoyable roleplaying. As for where to start, just pick up the core rulebook. It has the rules, character classes, and the outline of the world. It's all you need to run a Rifts campaign, and you might in fact be better off not introducing things from any of the other books. After that, I thought Atlantis was the best one, though it's been maybe 6 years since I've bought a Rifts book.
Cullain
Shard O'Glase
First Post
I'd start by playing something else, but that's me. 1st palladium systems I have some problems with especially the I hit on a roll of a 5 or above on a d20. But rifts can be decent at least setting wise and as a palladium game if you do one thing. Only buy and use the core book. Virtually every other book published for it makes the power inflation done in d&d add on books look patheticly weak in comparrison. The core book classes are somewhat balanced, but once you stray from the core you have demi-gods uber weapons, and other lameness that just makes the game a power inflation race.
About the only good thing is it is absurdly lethal, so it almost forces role-playing, unless your players really like rolling up new characters.
About the only good thing is it is absurdly lethal, so it almost forces role-playing, unless your players really like rolling up new characters.
Crothian
First Post
I've been playing since the game came out in 89 (I think) and I've got all the books.
Rifts is a post apoclyptic world filled with magic, psionics, high tech, and greater supernatural creatures. THe current world looks a little like the world today, with a little flooding due to the rise of Atlantis. There are hundred of classes throughout the books, psioic and races are their own classes. Blance is something the GM has to handle as it is not buitl into the system. THere are powerful magics, psionics, and tech that may or may not easily be gotten depending on the GM.
The only book you need is the Rifts main book. THere are other add ons that define specific places and organizations, but they aren't crucial. They do have a GM's Guide, a Magic Guide, and an andventures guide that have tons of info in them for a really good price (2 are 352 pages for only 25$).
Rifts is a post apoclyptic world filled with magic, psionics, high tech, and greater supernatural creatures. THe current world looks a little like the world today, with a little flooding due to the rise of Atlantis. There are hundred of classes throughout the books, psioic and races are their own classes. Blance is something the GM has to handle as it is not buitl into the system. THere are powerful magics, psionics, and tech that may or may not easily be gotten depending on the GM.
The only book you need is the Rifts main book. THere are other add ons that define specific places and organizations, but they aren't crucial. They do have a GM's Guide, a Magic Guide, and an andventures guide that have tons of info in them for a really good price (2 are 352 pages for only 25$).
Daebryn Bladestorm
First Post
As others have said, the setting itself is really original and fairly cool. But I also agree that the system is really annoying. The scary thing is that when I was younger it was my favorite system 
.
I agree with the others that you should stick with just the original core book. The books after that seem to always be trying to outpower the last one. The Japan sourcebook and the England source book are really the only two that even try to maintain the power level of the original book. (although I do occasionally enjoy playing a God
)
.I agree with the others that you should stick with just the original core book. The books after that seem to always be trying to outpower the last one. The Japan sourcebook and the England source book are really the only two that even try to maintain the power level of the original book. (although I do occasionally enjoy playing a God
)
Tsyr
Explorer
To sum it up in a catch phrase...
Post Appocolyptic Anything Goes Sci-Fi Cyberpunk Fantasy Horror gaming.
Confused?
Short version... Rifts takes place a few hundred years in the future, on post-rifts earth... the rifts are giant portals formed through the release of the life force of billions of people all at once. The portals cross time, space, and dimensions. For many years earth is ravaged by horrors from different dimensions... the world changes... atlantis returns, nations are burned off the map, japan falls through a hole in time and falls out a few hundred years later (missing the entire ordeal), the four horseman stalk the earth... it goes on and on.
The world is vast, but not wide, if you follow. Each nation exists in relative isolation to each other... the assorted problems of the world make inter-nation contact difficult at best.
Some of the major players, both human and otherwise, of rifts earth...
The Coalition, basicly the remnants of the eastern United States, is probably the most "common" area to set games in Rifts. The Coalition itself is fairly nasty... something between the empire in Star Wars and Nazi Germany... leaning more towards nazi germany... Very human-centric, and belives in keeping its people ignorant of the truth.
The Triax and the New German Republic are one of the more advanced nations left, and aren't near as nasty as the Coalition. Locked in a more-or-less constant state of war with the gargoyle empires of the more inland europe. Have a loose partnership with the Coalition, but both are doing things behind the others back anyhow.
Japan, spared the devestation of the comming of the rifts, is the single most advanced nation left, with pre-rifts technologies such as nanotech (Which no post-rifts nation has been able to dulicate). Almost an unknown player though, as they have only recently actualy "come back" as it were from the time warp that saved them.
Atlantis, ruled by the Splugorth (An alien race bent on conquest, very advanced with biotechnology) is a powerful nation in its own right, and generaly does its best to make life bad for the human nations. Humans do exist there, though generaly as lower-class citizens or slaves.
Those are the major ones... there are countless smaller ones... the Manistique Imperium, Mindwerks, the ARCHIE systems, King Ar'Turs court, the Pheonix Empire, etc etc.
Dragons, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and dozens of other races walk the earth. Magic and psionics are quite real. So are far more horrible things, such as vampires, the four horsemen of the appocolypse, death cults, etc.
Technology is also very advanced... Power Armour, Mecha, Lasers, Plasma Rifles, Railguns, Robots, Cyborgs, Juicers (Bio-chemicly enhanced people), MOM implants (Psionic brain implants), anti-gravity, jet packs... you name it, it probably exists in some form, somewhere.
It's a constantly changing world, much like the World of Darkness setting, with an on-going metaplot... but the metaplot is loose enough that you are free to ignore the entire thing, or just parts of it, if you like.
The setting (using the default rules) isn't "gritty"... actualy it's fairly high-powered... but it is grim... the world is a wreck, and there are threats around every corner... man's nightmares walk the earth, and nothing is as it seems. People outside the major cities (and in them too) strugle just to survive from day to day. A person who makes it to old age without ever seeing combat is lucky, or is one of the elite in the major empires. Starvation happens. People sell themselves into servitude to feed their families, accepting juicer conversion to turn themselves into a warrior for a few short years of protecting their loved ones (The juicer process makes a human very powerful, but burns out their body in about six years). Death cults and other groups kidnap people for sacrifice and worse. Predjudice, hatred, oppression, and policies of racial genocide exist as official state policies of many of the nations. People are kept dumb to keep them easy to manipulate.
I love the SETTING.
Now, as other people have said, the rules could use some work. They aren't very balanced.
On the other hand (dons asbestos underwere), I don't care if Rifts is blanced or not. Sadly, it attracts alot of munchkins (And i mean that in the worst way possible)... But it's a GREAT place for a good roleplayer, which is what I use the setting for. And I don't think balance is critical using the setting for that type of game.
Post Appocolyptic Anything Goes Sci-Fi Cyberpunk Fantasy Horror gaming.
Confused?
Short version... Rifts takes place a few hundred years in the future, on post-rifts earth... the rifts are giant portals formed through the release of the life force of billions of people all at once. The portals cross time, space, and dimensions. For many years earth is ravaged by horrors from different dimensions... the world changes... atlantis returns, nations are burned off the map, japan falls through a hole in time and falls out a few hundred years later (missing the entire ordeal), the four horseman stalk the earth... it goes on and on.
The world is vast, but not wide, if you follow. Each nation exists in relative isolation to each other... the assorted problems of the world make inter-nation contact difficult at best.
Some of the major players, both human and otherwise, of rifts earth...
The Coalition, basicly the remnants of the eastern United States, is probably the most "common" area to set games in Rifts. The Coalition itself is fairly nasty... something between the empire in Star Wars and Nazi Germany... leaning more towards nazi germany... Very human-centric, and belives in keeping its people ignorant of the truth.
The Triax and the New German Republic are one of the more advanced nations left, and aren't near as nasty as the Coalition. Locked in a more-or-less constant state of war with the gargoyle empires of the more inland europe. Have a loose partnership with the Coalition, but both are doing things behind the others back anyhow.
Japan, spared the devestation of the comming of the rifts, is the single most advanced nation left, with pre-rifts technologies such as nanotech (Which no post-rifts nation has been able to dulicate). Almost an unknown player though, as they have only recently actualy "come back" as it were from the time warp that saved them.
Atlantis, ruled by the Splugorth (An alien race bent on conquest, very advanced with biotechnology) is a powerful nation in its own right, and generaly does its best to make life bad for the human nations. Humans do exist there, though generaly as lower-class citizens or slaves.
Those are the major ones... there are countless smaller ones... the Manistique Imperium, Mindwerks, the ARCHIE systems, King Ar'Turs court, the Pheonix Empire, etc etc.
Dragons, Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and dozens of other races walk the earth. Magic and psionics are quite real. So are far more horrible things, such as vampires, the four horsemen of the appocolypse, death cults, etc.
Technology is also very advanced... Power Armour, Mecha, Lasers, Plasma Rifles, Railguns, Robots, Cyborgs, Juicers (Bio-chemicly enhanced people), MOM implants (Psionic brain implants), anti-gravity, jet packs... you name it, it probably exists in some form, somewhere.
It's a constantly changing world, much like the World of Darkness setting, with an on-going metaplot... but the metaplot is loose enough that you are free to ignore the entire thing, or just parts of it, if you like.
The setting (using the default rules) isn't "gritty"... actualy it's fairly high-powered... but it is grim... the world is a wreck, and there are threats around every corner... man's nightmares walk the earth, and nothing is as it seems. People outside the major cities (and in them too) strugle just to survive from day to day. A person who makes it to old age without ever seeing combat is lucky, or is one of the elite in the major empires. Starvation happens. People sell themselves into servitude to feed their families, accepting juicer conversion to turn themselves into a warrior for a few short years of protecting their loved ones (The juicer process makes a human very powerful, but burns out their body in about six years). Death cults and other groups kidnap people for sacrifice and worse. Predjudice, hatred, oppression, and policies of racial genocide exist as official state policies of many of the nations. People are kept dumb to keep them easy to manipulate.
I love the SETTING.
Now, as other people have said, the rules could use some work. They aren't very balanced.
On the other hand (dons asbestos underwere), I don't care if Rifts is blanced or not. Sadly, it attracts alot of munchkins (And i mean that in the worst way possible)... But it's a GREAT place for a good roleplayer, which is what I use the setting for. And I don't think balance is critical using the setting for that type of game.
Crothian
First Post
The balance and the power can get out of hand. I look a Rifts and advise people it really is for either beginers (who don't really know enough to realize that all the power is bad and can have fun with it) or veterns (who realize that power is power in all sort and are experience enough to police themselves to make sure the game is fun for everyone).
You will get more negative responses then positive ones on this board. Rifts is one of those games that people either love or hate, and there seem to be many haters here.
If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me
remmington@insight.rr.com
I'll try to give you an unbiased opinion and I can answer anything about it.
You will get more negative responses then positive ones on this board. Rifts is one of those games that people either love or hate, and there seem to be many haters here.
If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me
remmington@insight.rr.com
I'll try to give you an unbiased opinion and I can answer anything about it.
Crothian
First Post
kibbitz said:
I might have posted something like that on the Palladium Message boards, but if so that would have been years ago. Mu current Palladium campaign has none of the PC using technology, so I get to smudge over much of that.
Personally, I just allow weapons to be single shot unless they specifically giove damages for burst firing. I've found this to be the best and the least confusing for everyone.
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