This thread will contain postings of various rules, modifications, and clarifications we'll be using for this game.

Discussion should go under the General Discussion thread, so please do not post comments.

Currently, we are using a combination of the various Rifts rules pre-Ultimate Edition and some of the Ultimate Edition rules to get the best combination (Ultimate Edition has some good rules, but it also has a lot of mistakes and missing rules).
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:34, Sun 11 Oct 2015.

Psionics
(Rifts 37-38, Rifts: Ultimate Edition 366-367)

Using Psionics
     Each use of a psionic power counts as one attack/action
     Saving throw is based on the target’s level of psionic ability
          Non-psychic beings and animals save at 15 or higher
          Minor or Major psychics save at 12 or higher
          Master psychics save at 10 or higher
     Saving throws do not apply to external physical manifestations or passive sensory powers
          e.g. Telekinesis, Levitation, Presence Sense, See Aura
     Other details
          Physical Psionic manifestations require line of sight (no save allowed)
          Powers that require touch cannot be used through armor or a vehicle
          Powers that require being heard can work through speakers in an armor
          Radiate Horror Factor affects everyone within 90 feet regardless
          Powers affecting the mind or emotions can affect people in a room or slow moving vehicle
               As long as line of sight is available (or via Astral Projection)
          Empathy can be used to sense strongest emotions in a room

Abilities without Range Improvement [house rules]
     Most Psionics now see their range increase by level (incomplete, ask about others):
          Bio-Manipulation – 160 feet +20 feet/level
          Commune with Animals – 200 feet +20 feet/level
          Empathic Transmission – 60 feet +10 feet/level
          Empathy – 100 feet +20 feet/level
          Hypnotic Suggestion – 12 feet +2 feet/level
          Levitation – 60 feet +10 feet/level
          Mental Illusion – 90 feet +10 feet/level
          Presence Sense – 120 feet + 20 feet/level
          Pyrokinesis (Combustion) – 30 feet + 5 feet/level
          See Aura – 60 feet +10 feet/level
          See Invisible – 120 feet + 20 feet/level
          Sixth Sense – no change, it has little effect
          Telekinesis – 60 feet +10 feet/level
          Telepathy – 60 feet +10 feet/level or 140 feet +20 feet/level
     Touch (or very-close range) range abilities will generally not see an increase

ISP Recovery
     Normal ISP Recovery is 2 per hour of total relaxation or sleep / 6 per hour of meditation
          Meditation physically counts as restful, restorative sleep
     At Ley Lines, psychics can draw 1d6+1 ISP every melee round (cannot be stored)

Ley Line/Nexus Boost
     Within 1 mile, range and duration increase by 50%
     On ley line or nexus, range and duration are doubled
     On ley line, damage is increased by one die / On nexus, damage is increased by two dice

Natural Psionic Abilities in Animals
     Rifts: Ultimate Edition page 367
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:52, Thu 16 Mar 2017.

Magic
(Rifts: Ultimate Edition 185-197, Rifts 161-166, Book of Magic 21-22, Federation of Magic 125-127)

Spell Casting
     Casting speed: Levels 1-5: 1 action / Levels 6-10: 2 actions / Levels 11-15: 3 actions
     Verbalization and line of sight to target (or area of effect) are required
     Roll to strike is required for some energy bolt attacks
     Base saving throw is 12 vs spell magic, 16 vs ritual magic (animals are at -4)
          in general, mages get +1 spell strength at 4, 8, 12, and 16
     Spells can be interrupted
          If caster parries, dodges, runs, gets knocked down, etc.
          If caster loses concentration (by being hit, stunned, etc.)
          No PPE is lost
     Spells can be cancelled by caster at any time

Ritual Magic
     Any spell level 7+ can be ritualized
          Levels 7-10 require 10 minutes
          Levels 11-15 require 1d4x10+15 minutes
          Spells of Legend require 1d6x10+30 minutes
     Federation of Magic, page 126, provides rules regarding interruption of ritual casting

Ley Line/Nexus Boost to Casting
     Within 2 miles of a ley line or nexus
          The range and duration of magic is increased by 50%
     At a ley line, or within 1 mile of a nexus
          The range, duration, and damage of magic is doubled
     At or within 200 feet of a nexus
          The range, duration, damage of magic is tripled
          Mages are +2 save vs magic, +2 to save vs HF, and +1 spell strength
     During a Partial Solar Eclipse (at a ley line or nexus for the 5 minutes it peaks)
          The range, duration, and damage of magic is increased by 10 times
          Mages are +6 vs magic

Spell Casting in Armor
     Armor made from natural materials (leather, wood, etc.) provides no penalties
     Armor made from man-made materials covering more than half the body causes penalties
          Spells require 20% more PPE to cast
          Roll once on interference table
               01-20 Reduce spell damage or effects by 1d4x10%
               21-40 Reduce spell duration by 1d4x10%
               41-60 Reduce spell range by 1d4x10%
               61-80 Reduce both the range and duration of the spell by 20%
               81-100 Lucked out, no additional problems
     Same penalties apply to power armor
     Casting in robots/vehicles is not possible without sticking head out
     Note: some special armors/vehicles may be exempt.  This includes armor made entirely with magic, such as non-environmental enchanted metal armor.

Spells without Range Improvement [house rules]
     The following spells now see their range increase by level as follows (incomplete, ask about others):
          Blinding Flash – 60 feet +10 feet/level
          Cloud of Smoke – 90 feet +10 feet/level
          Globe of Daylight – 30 feet + 5 feet/level
          See Aura – 100 feet +10 feet/level
          See the Invisible – 200 feet +20 feet/level
          Befuddle – 100 feet +10 feet/level
     Touch (or very-close range) range abilities will generally not see an increase

PPE Recovery and Personal PPE storage
     A mage can hold 3 times their normal PPE for their PE in minutes
          (this does not include the excess PPE from ley lines or nexuses which fades over time)
     Normal PPE Recovery is 5 per hour of rest or sleep / 10 per hour of meditation
          Techno-Wizards are 4/8, Ley Line Walkers are 7/15, True Atlanteans/T-Men are 10/20
          PPE Recovery cannot restore PPE above permanent base
          Meditation physically counts as restful, restorative sleep
     Ley Lines and Nexuses increase recovery rate (no rest or meditation)
          These rates are double for Ley Line Walkers; Nexus rate is doubled at super-nexuses
          At ley line/within 1 mile of nexus – 10 per melee; within 200 feet of nexus – 20 per melee
          Rate increases to 20 and 40 during the following: [house rules]
               5 minutes following midnight and noon
               Daylight hours of Vernal Equinox and Summer Solstice
               Nighttime hours of Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice
               90 minute peak of a Lunar Eclipse
          Rate increases to 50 and 100 during: [house rules]
               5 minute peak of a Solar Eclipse
               15 minute peak of a minor planetary alignment
          Rate increases to 100 and 200 during: [house rules]
               a major planetary alignment

Other Sources of PPE
     PPE batteries or specific magic items
     PPE can be drawn from beings within 20 feet
          If they are willing, can absorb up to 70% of their PPE
          If they are unaware, they get a magic save: failure means can absorb up to 50% of their PPE
          If they are unwilling (includes anyone in combat) you cannot draw their PPE
          Mages cannot have their PPE drawn without consent
          The PPE released by death (double) is only available if the mage is ready for it
               It drains away at 1d10x10 per minuts
          Ultimate Edition, page 186, provides PPE values for animals
          Magic and Psionics Game Master screen has base values for various humanoids
     Ley Lines and Nexuses – Extra PPE can be drawn during special events [house rules]
          5 minutes following midnight and noon – draw 25 or 50 PPE per level
          5 minutes following sunrise and sunset on the equinoxes – draw 50 or 100 PPE per level
          5 minutes following sunrise and sunset on the solstices – draw 100 or 200 PPE per level
          During 90 minute peak of lunar eclipse – 250 or 500 PPE per level
          During 5 minute peak of solar eclipse – 500 or 1000 PPE per level
          During 15 minute peak of minor planetary alignment – 500 or 1000 PPE per level
          During 8 minute peak of major planetary alignment – 1000 or 2000 PPE per level

Special Events at Ley Lines and Nexuses
     Odds of Rifts opening – page 193 Ultimate Edition
     Lunar Eclipse – 2 to 5 occur around the planet annually
     Partial Solar Eclipse – 2 to 5 occur around the planet annually
          Total solar eclipse occurs somewhere on earth once every 18 months
     Minor Planetary Alignment (3-4 planets)
          3 planets align every year or two
     Major Planetary Alignment (5-6 planets)
          5 planets every 40 years or so, inner 6 align every 50-100 years

Individual Spell Modifications [house rules]
     Sub-Particle Acceleration recharges the following amounts per casting
          1/2 of standard E-clip; 1/4 of long E-clip (or FSE clip); 1/6 of Energy Canister
     Winged Flight is Self or Others by touch
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:01, Thu 16 Mar 2017.

Perception
(Rifts: Ultimate Edition 367-368)

Essentials
     Roll 1d20 to perceive (bonuses derive from OCC and IQ value on the ME bonus list)
          4 or better: Easy situation/circumstance
          8 or better: Moderate
          14 or better: Challenging
          17 or better: Difficult

If being followed or watched by supernatural evil
     Creature must be within 200 feet and focused on the specific character (not group)
     15 or better for Supernatural Predators/Lesser Demons
     17 or better for Demonic Servants/Greater Demons
     19 or better for Ancient Evil/Dark God/Alien Intelligence
     Always 15 or better for Psi-Stalkers, Psi-Hounds, etc. / At normal range for their powers

Perception vs Stealth/Concealment Skills
     1d20 roll-off: Skills add +1 to roll per 10 percentile points
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:27, Sun 08 Nov 2015.

Bionics
(Headhunter O.C.C. in Rifts: Ultimate Edition, Momano Headhunter in Rifts: Canada, Rifts: Bionics Sourcebook, Warlords Burgasov and Romanov in Rifts: Warlords of Russia, and T-Man O.C.C. in Rifts: Atlantis)

Effect on Magic/Psionics
     Minor Augmentation – 2 or 3 implants (depending on size) or 1 limb
          Reduces PPE by half
          Reduces the duration, range, and damage of magic abilities by half
          Prevents drawing on external sources of PPE
          Reduces the effectiveness of magical healing by half
          (for magic Tattoos, this level reduces effects, range, damage, and duration by 25%)
     Minor Augmentation – more than 3 implants or 1 limb
          Reduces PPE by 90%
          Causes the loss of all magic abilities
          Reduces the duration, range, and damage of psionic abilities by half
     Partial Cybernetic Conversion (40-55% of body)
          Reduces ISP by half
          Prevents the use of Techno-Wizard devices
     Full Cybernetic Conversion (80%+ of body)
          Minor psychics lose all ISP and abilities [house rule]
          Major psychics lose all but 2 abilities
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:20, Sun 08 Nov 2015.

Skills
(Rifts: Ultimate Edition pages 298-330; 360-361 for modern W.P.s)

Skill Percentages over 98% [house rule]
     Skills percentages can go over 98% by an amount equal to the character's IQ skill bonus
          a character with an IQ of 26 (+12%) can have a skill of 110%
          this overage only offsets possible penalties, rolls of 99 or 100 are still failures

Human Racial Skill Bonus [house rule]
     3 selected skills each have a +20% bonus

Languages, Literacy, and Writing (Creative Writing) [house rule]
     Are still Technical skills (not Communications skills as in Rifts: Ultimate Edition)

Boxing [house rule]
     Provides +2 pull punch

Concealment and Palming [house rule]
     20% +5% per level (+5% with small objects)
     The practiced ability to hide small items on one's body or in hand, usually by moving it around from
     hand to hand or place to place, or hide them on one's person or an innocent bystander unnoticed.
     Objects must be no larger than 14 inches in height and 6 inches in width.  The weight must be 10 pounds
     or less.  The smaller and lighter the object, such as a knife, gem, key, etc., the easier it is to conceal (add
     a bonus of +5%).  Small objects can also be "palmed", which is the ability to pick up and seemingly
     make a small object, such as a coin, key, dagger, or playing card, vanish by concealing it in one's hand.
     Larger items such as a book, scroll, club, statue, or similarly large or heavy object are difficult to
     conceal on one's person for obvious reasons.
     Adds +5% to the Card Sharp and Pick Pockets skills.

Weapon Proficiencies [rule from original Rifts edition]
     Each one provides a Recognize Weapon Quality skill percentage at 30%+6% per level
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:40, Wed 11 May 2016.

South America reductions

     South American guns, armor, and vehicle see MDC reduced by 25%, range by 20%, payload by 20%, and bonuses by 50%.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:39, Sun 08 Nov 2015.