What is Rifts like?

[pawsplay]

I wrote what I think is a pretty definitive review of the game:

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9555.phtml

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Good review!

Or, to sum up RIFTS-

Setting: Incredibly imaginative, sometimes to an illogical fault.

Mechanics: WARNING, WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! DANGER!

I like the game- the setting at least. I've a huge collection of the books, but I'm currently more likely to run the game in a different system than Palladium's.

As for its lack of game balance, that never bothered me one bit. In that, its not unlike a superhero comic book (not RPG!) in which the same supergroup contains a "normal" human being with some fighting skill and the mind of a detective and a being who can shrug off tacnukes.

(If I were the BBEG, I'd drop that tacnuke to limit the number of targets to concern me to 1, but nobody ever does that. )

In that sense, RIFTS puts a premium on role-play and good GMing. If one or the other side of the screen can't handle the potentially vast gap in PC capabilities, then you're in trouble.

That, IMHO (besides the wonky mechanics, of course), is the best reason to run the game in a different system. You don't need to be at your best every session to have a good time.

 

[Graf]

Rifts is a great setting.

The mechanics are just painful. Arbitrary. Weird. Great character concepts don't really work in play, while profoundly stupid munchkin type characters who can level a building an attack (and get lots of attacks) often drive the game.

It's an unbelievable shame really.

If you have a good DM the world is a fantastic place to play around.

Oh, and quality of the boods is very choppy. Their primary goal (as with all RPG companies) is to sell sell sell, so they'll repeat old material, churn out books that are wildly off topic or uninspired with abandon, etc. Buy with care.
Read reviews of things on line, pick and choose what you buy very carefully. A few rifts fans have put of "essential lists" that do a good job talking about what you need and what you should avoid.

 

[DarkKestral]

I've had a fairly fun RIFTS game, but the GM knew what he was doing and actively nixed some of the more broken combos in the game. (That said, I'm sure anyone who played with me would agree that tranq dart guns can be deceptively powerful when used right.) The skill system is wonky (some skills start at a certain percentage once you get them initially, while others start at others, and rate of advancement is not always equal.) and the advancement-by-level is reminiscent of OD&D and AD&D where different classes had different advancement speeds.

Certainly, it's not a system noted for it's balance; the difference in power between characters can be huge.

 

[Mort]

I played RIFTS for a long time - and I have just about every supplement they ever sold - until 10 years ago. It was then that I just lost any faith in the system at least from a mechanics point of view (I take a look at RIFTS supplements as they come out to see if anything has changed - and nothing has their newest addition is nothing more than a fancy gloss that addresses none of the real problems with the system).

I'll agree with the general sentiment - great ideas and world building (Vampire Kingdoms is still one of my all time favorite supplements, Doc Reid is one of the best ideas for a villain ever).

And absolutely horrible mechanics - that are 20 years out of date to boot.

One example - the world revolves around armor which is (usually) all encompassing and oblative (meaning unlike D&D you have to get past it to damage the being underneath) unless you are very special (an MDC being) armor is your best and really only hope for survival. And yet, other than a throw away line in the main book that it takes a full facility to make and or repair armor (i think costs are mentioned) there are no rules for repairing it - even for the class that's build for the job (operators) .

 

[Wik]

Just mail him a bullet. There was a discussion way back on UseNet about which systems would be better or worse for conversion to Rifts. We never even converted anything just discussed which features of systems might make things more or less difficult. He sent out C&D letters. I returned mine with a single 180 grain 7.62 boat-tail. Never heard from him or that damned wife of his again.

Yeah, that's just a little creepy.

 

[Simon Atavax]

i believe the kool thing about Rifts is all the different characters you could have in a i ran we had a rift open in space in the Robotech world bringing in a veritech fighter and one opened near an old t.v. that had loony tunes playing and out poped Daffy Duck then Dr. Doom had a machine go wrong and Spider-Man was in the group too

This post--complete with the poor grammar and lack of punctucation--perfectly sums up my Rifts experience.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Yeah, that's just a little creepy.

That was kind of the point. He attempted to use threat of lawsuit, I raised him via threat of physical violence. The point was made, all action related to the C&D letter ceased, and that was where it ended. If you're willing to escalate beyond the tolerance of the other party the cultural chest-thumping dies down very fast.

 

[Andor]

That was kind of the point. He attempted to use threat of lawsuit, I raised him via threat of physical violence. The point was made, all action related to the C&D letter ceased, and that was where it ended. If you're willing to escalate beyond the tolerance of the other party the cultural chest-thumping dies down very fast.

Or maybe you were just very very lucky that he didn't call the cops. I'm pretty sure you'd be in a federal prison right now if he had, since mailing in a threat involves the feds and the bullet provides physical evidence. Not the best idea ever really.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Not the best idea ever really.

QFT!