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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 5486378" data-attributes="member: 40177">Absolutely.  I've been in those situations, predominantely with 3e (personally speaking).  The big "however" here comes down to splats - you can have this happen in 3e, but when it does, it's usually because some people are using a lot of splats, while others are using just the core rules or maybe one or two books.  In RIFTS, these problems happen right out of the gate.Hell, they happen when you've got two very similar classes (the rogue scholar and the rogue scientist, for example), and one clearly overshadows the other in most ways (I can't remember which, but one is clearly better at the role it is built for).  And the thing is, in D&D, we can usually assume that combat and dungeon exploration are going to be the main part of the game - the game makes that fairly clear, and we can assume that most newbie GMs will either do that, or announce that their game will be "different" (god help those poor players, but whatevs).  RIFTS has all these great speeches about how the game is the best game ever, but it gives no real suggestion what you do.  A player reading a writeup for a SAMAS pilot will have an entirely different idea of what the game is about than the player of a Vagabond.  Or a Ley Line Walker.  Or a Dragon.  Hell, let's imagine that group - how are they going to fit together?  What are they going to DO?  The SAMAS and the Ley Line Walker won't get along, but hey, that's fun RP possibilities.  But they don't really belong in the same encounter.  And the Vagabond and the dragon are going to fit in entirely different settings.  Much of the game is going to consist of one-on-one screen time with the GM, while the rest of the group watches.This is a similar problem that Shadowrun had.  And you'll remember that, to keep the audience, steps were taken to fix that problem and keep the entire group occupied, with mixed success.  But at least steps were taken.  Rifts took no steps.   Now, in D&D, let's think of some mixed up character roles - a crazy wizard variant, a binder, a swordsage from Bo9s, and a half-dragon half-werewolf barbarian.  They're all werid characters, and might not all get along.  There will probably be power discepancies between the characters, which was a failing of 3e in particular in my book.  However, the group can all participate - the way the game is set up, it doesn't encourage one player to get all the face time (although, admittedly, the druid and some summoners kind of break that rule, just a little bit).  The main point?  Any game can be screwed up by a bad GM.  But RIFTS is one of those games that, as written, will directly contribute to a bad play experience.  The only way it can work for long-term play is to have players either deliberately choose to avoid taking certain classes, or to have the GM be clever in how he sets up encounters so everyone can contribute. ***For what it's worth, I do have some decent memories of RIFTS.  In fact, it can be a fun system - but only with a small group (two players, three max).  When run in a small group, the imbalances of the system seem smaller, and you can actually run games where a Vagabond and a Dragon can get along.  I ran a halfway decent mini-campaign where a wilderness scout and a glitter boy were trying to escape a Coalition company in the wilderness of Northern Illinois.  Although, even then it was annoying.  In any scene where the Glitter Boy was awesome, the wilderness scout was basically secondary, and in any scene where the wilderness scout shined, the glitter boy was actually a liability.  It's fine for a mini campaign, but it'd be a serious PITA in a long-term campaign.Also, fun aside, for years I'd look at my dragon magazines and the ads for RIFTS Underseas.  I wanted that product so bad, even though by this point I knew RIFTS was not the game for me.  I lacked money, being a teenager, and when I finally had cash to buy the book, it wasn't in my game store.  For years, it was like the holy grail for me - I really, REALLY wanted that book.I mean, psychic whales?  Undersea cities?  Aquatic mecha?  All amazing things.And then, a few years ago, I found a copy and snagged it up.  And, well...  I think I may have shaken a fist at the heavens and shouted "SIEMBEIDA!"  Also, Rifts: England was a crock, and one of the worst books I've ever read.  Just sayin.</blockquote>

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