Tell me about RIFTS

[KaosDevice]

RIFTS can be fun. Way back in the long, long far ago I used to be an admin on Rise from Chaos a RIFTS themed MUX. We had a pretty big player base and much fun was had by all. As has been said before there are some fun ideas there. I played for awhile in a rules conversion of it (using a system that rhymes with burps) and that was fun, it powered the whole setting down a bit. Other things can make the whole thing a bit more tame as well, using the MDC to SDC conversion takes things down a notch. There are other multi genre games out there but RIFTS does really try to throw in everything including the demonically possesed kitchen sink.

 

[Crothian]

Rifts is the ultimate: This looks cool, let's add it to the setting. THe First Rifts books were rellay good and dfescribed a very fascinating world of alien invasion after magic ripped down the walls of dimensions. Then more and more books came out, some of these redefined heavily what was orginally said in the main book.

Rifts is not an easy setting to run, with all the exopansions. But if you keep it to just the main book and a few choice suppliments it can be a blast. Oh, and the rules systems is also not the best.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I liked Rifts for the first 3 or 4 supplements for the same kind of over-the-top fun we had with Robotech. But just like Robotech, the power curve kept ramping up. Robots could stomp on Glitterboys. Atlanteans ate robots for lunch. Triax mecha could slaughter tribes of Atlanteans, etc, etc.

And the setting books were scattered all over the multiverse while leaving great gaping holes in the settting from the main book; primarily Chicago. I think the Western US was released as World Book 14. Not book 4 but 14. They hit Japan, Europe (twice), Africa (three times), Atlantis, the ocean, and the psychic plane before releasing the setting immediately adjacent to that in the main book.

Which is not to say the game can't be fun. It can be. Just don't expect any inherent form of game balance.

 

[Turanil]

If I understand well, what is cool about RIFTS, is that everything sci-fi and fantasy is thrown together. That is: you could have a PC group including a Jedi Knight, a Sorcerer, and a Tough/Daredevil together, in a world where next to the 22nd century city you find a gate to another plane from where pour demons and dragons? If that's so, I have a question: using everything D&D plus D20 Modern/Future thrown together in a similar setting, would it be as much "fun" as RIFTS, or is there something else to it??

 

[wingsandsword]

If I understand well, what is cool about RIFTS, is that everything sci-fi and fantasy is thrown together. That is: you could have a PC group including a Jedi Knight, a Sorcerer, and a Tough/Daredevil together, in a world where next to the 22nd century city you find a gate to another plane from where pour demons and dragons? If that's so, I have a question: using everything D&D plus D20 Modern/Future thrown together in a similar setting, would it be as much "fun" as RIFTS, or is there something else to it??

d20 Modern with Urban Arcana and d20 Future thrown in, and borrowing heavily from Star Wars and D&D is what most all of the Palladium-hated d20 crossovers usually end up looking like The only real "something else" is the RIFTS specific terms and items, like the chromed laser-reflective "glitter boy" mecha with the huge railgun being the most iconic example.

Oh, and yeah, there are even Jedi Knights in the RIFTS setting, they just call them "Cyber Knights" and they get the whole mind-blade ability like a D&D Soulknife, and a far more uber version of them called "Cosmo Knights" that can take on starships single handedly.

 

[Kanegrundar]

<snip> I have a question: using everything D&D plus D20 Modern/Future thrown together in a similar setting, would it be as much "fun" as RIFTS, or is there something else to it??

Yep. That's pretty much what I'm doing. I use the Rifts setting, which BTW is a bit more super-high tech in a magical post-apocalyptic world. Few places have great living conditions like that of say a SW city even with all the high tech gadgets. However, I use primarily the D20 counterparts for most of the creatures, which may not be on par with what Rifts has (especially for Gargoyles). The stuff I convert, I tend to power waaaaay down (especially with the classes and playable races) while trying to keep the overall feel of the race.

IMC, I use it all. D&D, SW, EQ, Warcraft, AE, and so on to make a futuristic-magical-post apocalyptic universe. It's been a lot of fun so far.

Kane

 

[Crothian]

If I understand well, what is cool about RIFTS, is that everything sci-fi and fantasy is thrown together. That is: you could have a PC group including a Jedi Knight, a Sorcerer, and a Tough/Daredevil together, in a world where next to the 22nd century city you find a gate to another plane from where pour demons and dragons? If that's so, I have a question: using everything D&D plus D20 Modern/Future thrown together in a similar setting, would it be as much "fun" as RIFTS, or is there something else to it??

Rifts does have a time line, the books advance the time line and that is another cool things about the setting. But for the most part you are right. In fact there is a book designed to let you do just that: The Second World Sorcebook. And no one gives that book more love then our very own Psion, there was a few month period it seemed that he was raving about the book in a lot of threads.

 

[Felon]

For me, RIFTS was fun in that you never really knew what could happen next. You could encounter anything. You could find yourself in just about any kind of action scene. It was the first graphically-intense game, and it's probably still the best in that respect. Lots of beautiful full-color illustrations of vampires and cyborgs and ley line walkers and Coalition armored vehicles really fired the imagination. Pluse, the core rulebook offered the GM lots of idea mines on where to set the next adventure. I really liked the way it suggested terrible or fantastic things going on in the hinterlands (like the Vampire Kingdoms).

I didn't keep up with the supplements, so what's the deal with cosmic knights? IIRC, one of the reasons why global communications couldn't be established had to do with every satellite launched into space being destroyed. What was responsible for that?

 

[Crothian]

I didn't keep up with the supplements, so what's the deal with cosmic knights? IIRC, one of the reasons why global communications couldn't be established had to do with every satellite launched into space being destroyed. What was responsible for that?

Are you talking about the Cosmo Knights from Phaseworld? Becasue they really aren't Rifts, just a seperate Universe setting that has tyies to Rifts.

The killer Satellites are due to time of the Rifts. Most of them went rogue as WW3 basically happened, and they are programmed to destroy anything that doesn't have the right code or something. Plus the Moon colonies nad other space stations have placed Earth in Quarintine becasue of the demons inhabiting it, so they alos basically destroy anything that comes from there.

 

[Neo]

I'm with Crothian on this.. absolutely nothing wrong with Rifts setting at all, the only problem the game suffers is with the system and totally lack of balance.

My advice, if you want a good setting, sure check Rifts out.. but be ready to use the setting through another ruleset like D20 Modern/Future or the like.

Also the comment someone made that RIFTs is for 12-16 year olds is not true at all, though that age group IS probably more likely to make excuses for its failings rule wise