please keep it here.

Howdy new person!

*Waves* Hi there....your psychic kitty engineer here. :D

Hey all! I'll be your ever-practical Rogue Scientist with a mysterious past!

Cool. Sounds like my 'Borg will have plenty of tech support. Look forward to working with y'all.

Hello hello good people, I will be your friendly neighborhood Burster, Pyro. I'm looking forward to playing with you all as we investigate this newly rifted area.

Welcome, looking to be a good group

Man, for all its innumerable faults, no other RPG does 'motley crew' quite like Rifts.

This group is going to be awesome.

Right? I love this system. Even with all its flaws.

Very much so.  It is a great old friend. :)

I made up my first Juicer in the late '80s. It's been one of my favorites ever since.

My brother introduced me to TMNT with an old copy of the game he'd got from a car boot sale. :D I think my first Rifts character was a Glitter Boy.

We had already been playing TMNT and Heroes Unlimited and Robotech for a couple years by the time Rifts came out.

My first character was a Shifter.

Howdy, y'all! And by "howdy, y'all" I mean joyous greetings.

Mei will be joining. A displaced samurai from the Empire of Japan, she's far, far away from home. But samurai might find they like the West very much. At least if you believe a certain set of very famous movies.

Rifts was my first true love, as an RPG setting. My second was Legend of the Five Rings. I... May have been trying to find an excuse to play a Rifts samurai for like... Two decades? Maybe. I don't know. I am not a doctor.

Doctor Sunyi, your opinion?

Doctor?

Doctor who?

My opinion is that, which culture seems very stable and solid to most people, it's actually a big ball of wibbly wobbly, cultural wultural... stuff.

My first RPG love was TMNT. I'd played D&D for some years before that, but somehow D&D felt like the baseline activity. But the whole run of TMNT and the After the Bomb books just fired up my teenage imagination like nothing else.

I also love L5R. Have you seen the 5th edition? What do you think?

Welcome to the new shores.  Great thing about Rifts is the near enough anything can find it's way anywhere. :) Hmm, yes, do like a bit of L5R, not played the 5th ed yet.

In other news, description is all finished.... I think I'm pretty much ready to go.

I was really primed to dislike 5th edition. Anything with a unique die set really rubs me the wrong way. Especially because it moved away from the roll & keep system that's been with the game since its inception.

I love it. It might be my favorite edition of the game. The rules are flexible, and the unique die systems combine with pools of abilities that give players a lot of agency over HOW their character does things. The Rings becoming more conceptual and abstract mean you can build your Crane courtier who specializes in Earth with an endless dedication to history and citation, or a Hida general who strikes with the precision and tactical grace of Air. The schools are much more customizable and play less like character classes than variations on a theme- with much less gaming of Insight.

The fiction is more toned down and grounded, with a much greater focus on making Rokugan feel like a real place. Less magical nonsense than 3rd or 4th, less focus on high-caliber featured NPCs then 1st or 2nd, and none of the CCG-driven wackiness that created the Spider Clan (I will never not be mad about the Spider Clan).

I think 5th Edition is the best version of L5R. It's certainly the one I want to play the most.

I dig it.

In reply to Hideyori Mei (msg # 17):

I agree. I was also ready to dislike it intensely and I was also pleasantly surprised by how well they embedded the values of the game into the mechanics. I keep thinking I should try running a 5E game, but I keep not quite getting around to it.

In other news, I am also ready to go, I believe.

yes, sir, you are ready to go. take the first door on the right and talk with my assistant, Mr. Cthuhlu.

Hey there Cthulhu!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxScTbIUvoA

Really looking forward to getting to know characters.

Did someone call for a sawbones with magic and psionics?
Don't worry augmented folks, I have an MD in Bionics as well.

Your sometimes friendly neighborhood Nutball here!  Howdy folks!

"Nutballs and Sawbones" is the name of my new Folkcore album.

Welcome everyone!

Always good to have a doctor on side, was concerned that we might have to rely on Jen's psychic surgery only. :)
A friendly Nutball is better than and unfriendly one that is for sure.

Very cool mix of characters I must say.

hello all,
thanks for all the effort that it took to put up with my tedious GM bullcrap. I feel we have workable group. everyone should be ready to go this weekend at the latest. I will post the binging thread later today. You can post into that thread at your leisure, just please have your first post in by monday so we can move forward.

if there is any last minute questions or requests go ahead and get them out of your system. if you guys want to work on any connections, shared backstories, etc. between the characters feel free to do that here.

i have set up a large cast is large and i hope everyone stays in the game, but it is RPoL after all so attrition happens. however, if i am not making it fun speak up before you split and let me know. bring up here for discussion, i may own the game but we all have to participate so everyone has a voice in the game. if there is an issue lets work it out and move to enjoy our game.

well, all that said. thanks for your participation and i look forward to the game.

Allow me too officially declare Hawkins open for pre-game connections if anyone wants to be pre-game connected to a Bionic Marine.

If you know him well enough you may even get to know his first name...

This is the first time out in the wider world for Jennifer, while not totally naïve (knows to find cover if the CS turn up), curiosity and exploration are the name of the game for the character.  However if someone wishes to have a pre game connection then can work on that.

Hey so latest addition. Whoam (pronounced guturally like you're trying to make the sound of a giant's footsteps) is a Rocky Mountains, Mountain Giant. They're big, generally violent and hostile to humans, Whoam is gentler than most, but still quite strong and not a pacifist by any stretch. The degree of pacifism Whoam displays is he uses the least amount of force he feels safe using.

Mountain Giants love dogs of all types including Dog Boys, and children/babies regardless of species.

Working on solidifying how he met with the group. One plan calls for having helped out a dog out by rescuing their human leading him to meet the group. Not sure if any of you plan to have been in the New West area prior. But having a George to his Lennie (Of Mice and Men) could work. He isn't exactly Lennie Small but close enough for a metaphor.

A suitable George needs to have spent time in northern New West, and somehow have evoked Whoam's love such as by being a dog, having a companion dog, rescuing a dog, or rescuing a child. (I suppose having beena child could also work but that's significant backstory entanglement)

I am open to extending love of dogs to other suitable animals and animal people preferably fuzzy. @Jennifer let me know if you'd like to be seen as "good-kitty", to be clear this 'relationship' is like a slightly over the top dog lover seeing literally any dog and not being bothered that said dog can talk to them. It's exploitable but not a sure fire thing, it means getting a bunch of attention, but is definitely totally platonic.

Dog & Child abuse are rage button issues for Whoam, he also wants to protect baby animals but is less upset if you show hostility towards those because sometimes it's hard to tell if you're dealing with a baby godzilla. He doesn't like people entering his "lair" which is whatever room he sleeps in including a tent/cave (except dogs and children)

Sidney set up in the 'Burbs about 3 years ago, and has been scraping himself together as a no-questions fixer for hire who leaves no scars. If I have a connection, that might be a good angle.
Or I was dealing some juicer drugs like Rush or Juice.

Edit: also, is there any particular reasons why you guys chose to jump into a game?

Mine is fairly simple. In Ontario, we have recently faced renewed government lockdown measures due to Corona that keep me from gaming irl. Couple that withe working as an essencial military subcontractor, I don't just get time off like others, so I get the worst parts of working AND having to stay home.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:22, Sat 17 Apr 2021.

If nobody else wants it I think I can manage a sort of interpreter or face for Whoam, which might also simplify getting you hired if that was part of your trouble integrating into the group.

I wasn't specifically planning time in the New West, but there isn't any reason I couldn't.

Well hopefully getting that IQ of 4 increased, not that it makes any mechanical difference. He speaks American, not great but if you talk at a normal speed and avoid talking about quantum flux trapping, and substrate oxidation, he should be fine. But yeah if you tell him you need a SQuID¹ to make an MRI² he'll wonder if you mean the sea creature and want to turn people into eyes.

Sounds like it could work. Originally I was thinking a dog but it occurs to me if you rescue a child, get in trouble the child can't rescue you from. He find the child and the child gets him to rescue you, you get the child home together, then he's got it in his head you're good people and will gladly stick with a good friend. Provided you're good with not disliking children or dogs.

---

¹ Superconducting Quantum Interference Device
² Magnetic Resonance Image machine (not: them are eye)

I was thinking the dog path would work reasonably well, I tend to ignore the entire concept of children in RPGs, as that just tends to get people confused.

And there are significant differences in lower attributes, you will find those On page 282 of the Rifts Ultimate Edition.  A 4 IQ is potentially interesting, but it would probably be best to try and swap that roll around or get it up to an 8 somehow.

Hey! I'm also in Ontario! Great White North Solidarity Fist-bump!

I joined because I love Rifts and games are pretty rare here on Rpol. And I find that the majority of Rifts games that do pop up are heavily (or even exclusively) focused on military operations. Small tactical special forces units, or guarding a given space under attack or the like. I generally don't do well in those kinds of games. So it's a very rare occasion I get to apply to a Rifts game that centres on interpersonal interaction and Weird Shit^TM.

As far as connections go, I'd love to whip some up between other PC's. Sunyi is actually not from Rifts Earth. He'd be vague about his background, but he's been sort of stranded here on purpose as some kind of test or trial, and he doesn't get to 'go home' until he's proved himself by learning everything he can about the universe. He's been wandering Rifts earth for some time. He doesn't like to say how long, but it's at least one human lifetime.

Anyone who knows him well might might know that he has several magical tattoos and can change both his appearance and his shape (and, in fact, he thinks of his current body and gender as no more important than someone might a set of clothes).

So he'd be very interested in anyone who either IS uncommon and interesting or who KNOWS something uncommon or interesting.

Ah well that's interesting...

So with 16 RCC, 4 related, and 1 secondary those penalties would be
-8 RCC, -(0-3) related and +(0-3) secondary and -1 at 4 8 10 and 12th level. Net -8 skills average. That'd be manageable but unpleasant.
Bonus my god-son is 4 years old so real life experience whee.

at 5-6 it's -4 RCC, -2 Related, +1d4+2 secondary and lose skill bonuses which is net -1.5 skills average. (and other penalties)

7+ is no penalty.

He's also kinda an ugly brute PB 6 which is slightly below average for his race (3d4: 7.5avg)

Which means he's apparently suppose to be compensated for his weak attributes.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:38, Sat 17 Apr 2021.

As a fellow Dog lover and violent protector of children (it's in the Marine rules) Hawkins would love being friends with Whoam. It would also give him someone to share his crayons with.

characters are looking really cool. for those of you who has a stat of 9 or less use the following guidelines for those stats.

2-4 add 1d4+4
5-7 add 1d4+2
8-9 add 1d4

hit me up with any question.

And we went from dim-wit the G&T kid who never went to school.

Um PB ended up at a 9 after the bump. Am I supposed to bump again or leave it. Personally I don't real care how physically attractive the mountain giant I'm playing is. He's beauty is definitely not a priority for him to my mind and 9 is average.

sorry, i didn't mention that, just one roll per low stat. so if it is still under a 9 i am sorry, but just one roll please. thanks for asking.

besides no one will be arbitrarily targeted by the GM for being a non-comformist class, well except for anyone playing mutant, cyborg, alien, rifted entity, displaced human, spell caster, psion, or non-coalition citizen. everyone else is perfectly safe.

Hmmm, I tick off three of those....

So I'm seeing RUE rules for supernatural strength with basic punches. (RUE 286) Anyone know where to find information on what the impact on say damage from the wrestling skill?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:46, Sat 17 Apr 2021.

Most of the time, when it based on anything at all, damage for maneuvers is based on basic punch damage.

Thank you Mr GM, for the under 9 bonuses, it helped.

As for pre game connections I'm up for it. Maybe one of you in the Burbs could have shown Pyro around since she's just moved there from Pecos. She's lived there less than a year, so any help you give her would be appreciated.

Mei has only been in the Burbs a few months, as well. She's been working as a bodyguard and muscle at a local bar. While she's new, she also stands out enough that a few words may have gotten out about her- magic swords, low grasp of American, and a deep unwillingness to learn how a credit works. That said, Rifts Earth is full of weirdos, so...

In reply to Hideyori Mei (msg # 46):

How did she get from Japan to the Burbs? It could be that Sunyi was in Japan hanging around and they knew each other there and/or arrived together. I get a pile of languages and can take Japanese no problem.

intro post up, its dry but a start.

think about the fact that it is in the burbs, so any large equipment or large amounts of equipment will be considered stored safely in a location of your choosing like a storage facility, short term apartment, in a vehicle kept in a secure garage etc.

consider that you will be getting a steady paycheck from Weller Group too. How much are you worth. Their flyer said wages began a 5,000 credits per month, but wages were negotiable and that Weller Group offered the best benefits package to contract explorers in all North America.

I realized, while composing an answer to this, that Mei is basically Samurai Jack. So. Yeah. Know that.

Mei showed up after intentionally charging through a portal/Rift that it was her family's duty to guard. So she definitely didn't arrive with Sunyi. But she'd definitely dig someone being around to speak Japanese with. If you really want to go for coincidence, they could be re-encountering each other. Mei's family definitely would've hosted a strange traveler from Hiroshima (where they would've assumed anyone with advanced technology came from).

Man, actually, one of my best stories. Went out to a ramen place with a friend who taught English in Japan for a few years. The owner of the place (a hole in the wall in New England) comes and asks us how everything is. He's this old man. My friend answers with the traditional Japanese compliments for a chef. The chef pauses, answers in some Japanese. And my friend answers, in Japanese. And this look of relief on this guy's face is just... Unforgetable. They spend 15 or 20 minutes speaking Japanese together while it's obvious he's supposed to be running this restaurant.

One of my best friends, no longer with us, taught English in Japan for a couple of years. He came back with some great stories.

In reply to Hideyori Mei (msg # 49):

Yeah, maybe they'd known each other back in Japan. Sunyi's parents are crazy-powerful spellcasters, so it's possible her parents hosted them for that reason.

 I've loved L5R for years, and greatly miss the two long-running games of it I was in here (The Price of Peace and Rebellion Cast in Shadow). Also, I'm hopefully your new dog boy - no petting - general purpose mercenary sort.

 Haven't tried fifth edition yet though. Maybe I'll give it a look, but I do adore the old mechanic.

In reply to Killian (msg # 52):

I'm so happy we have a Dog Boy. They're great to have around no matter what you're doing.

"BUT BUT IS GOOD BOY. WHAT ABOUT JUST A LITTLE PET PET?"

No worries. Whoam might be sad to hear no petting, but he's not going to ignore a direct rule like that from the dog themself. He might ask periodically hoping to change his mind.

Next thread to begin the mission will be posted later tonight. please get any last minute details taken care of.

Hello everyone.
I guess I am a bit of a late arrival, it took me longer than I expected to finish my character, but our generous GM has been very patient.
I am playing Will (Willy to his friends), an atypical country boy from the Colorado Baronies, who joined a militia & opted for Juicer augmentation.  His training was heavily focused on scouting, tracking, & wilderness skills.
He is almost always accompanied by his best friend Princess, a large black dog of mixed breed.
He's friendly, but not very socially skilled.
He isn't that smart, and generally approaches problems like a hammer on nails, but he has a lot of different sized hammers to choose from.
And yes, you can pet Princess, but ask first.  She's picky about her people.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:13, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Oooóh.  The arrival of a rival.

lol, i never figured that the crazy would see the mixed breed dog as a rival. well, they call them crazies for a reason, i guess. luckily, the dog is a demi-god rifted to earth from the dog star.

The only kind of rival Willy wants is the friendly kind.  He's already had enough of the other growing up.
Wait, Princess?!  Don't go messing with a man's dog now!  That's his best friend!  Demi-god or not, she's  family!
XD   :p

When I played the original version of Nutball, the group began in a bar.  Never happens, I know.  He was sitting at the bar drinking pre-Rifts whisky, when this figure gets thrown from the moshpit of the concert in the next room.  He slides right into Nutball's stool and dumps him on the floor.  GM had me roll PP save, and I got a natural 20, not spilling a drop of the shot in his hand.  He knocked it back, looked at the guy who had slid into his stool and realized ge was a Juicer.  Nutball bought a round for both of them and they became great friends, but also rivals.  Always competing, but always having fun with it.  Like Legolas and Gimli.
Oh, and good news, Willie.  Nutball stands about 5'6" as well.  Though not as broad.  Built more like an aerialist, gymnast, or a runner.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:28, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Awesome!   :D
This is going to be so much fun.  :)

 Last time we started our party in a bar, we were all getting along and starting to bond as a team when someone playing a murder mage seven levels higher than the rest of us took a dump on the floor and killed someone. The game sort of fell apart after that...

 ...but nice to know it can still work out! ^_^

so a group of PCs walk into a bar and the bartender yells 'hey, we don't serve their kind here!' who leaves. everyone is a borg, mutant, db, magic user, psycher, crazy, juicer, etc.

Are you Sirius?

AHEM

Sorry. I'll see myself out.

That dog will be a STAR!

In reply to Nutball (msg # 65):

A radio star!

The brightest Star in showbiz!

Would Mei be allowed to take her horse on the plane?

yes, her horse would have been transported, most likely it would have been sedated first, but it will be available

Surely with all the super powers at our disposal that's not a problem.

Worst case Hawkins has 1 ton test rope and we can sling the horsey from the ceiling for the ride.

The previous thread seems to have vanished?  Is it going to be available for read only or such, I do like to have the option to reread things if possible.

so i have noticed people are taking it upon themselves to through a lot of little details about their characters that would be queues to the others. thanks, this is big complex cast at the moment. i will do what i can, but that you guys are keeping up with the little complexities of your characters within the game and working with each other to make it work is really great. i appreciate that immensely.

when and where i miss something PM me. it isn't intentional and i enjoy working with you guys on these little character flourishes.

the original starting thread has been locked out for the moment so that none of the slow posters that are catching up have to feel like they need to be double posting. once we have moved on for few days i will open that thread back up for anyone who wants to go back over what was said. thanks for your patience with that.

Is Killian headed into town or to the Weller Group camp? It is an easy enough mistake to make with the way I wrote the description. I just need to be sure so I know to describe what he finds in town.

 My bad, I was unclear. He's doing as Vector told him to do and headed for the camp. ^_^

thanks, just wanted to be sure before i posted something that was way off.

Be advised that, as stated in the earlier thread, there are no cylinders sticking out of Nutball's head.  This was shown by the cloth mask he wears over his face and head.  When he got his implants, all they cyber-doc had left were the micronized one that no self-respecting Crazy actually wants, because the old-style cylinders "advertise".

In reply to Nutball (msg # 76):

 Killian just took the 'modestly psychic and has invisible friends' thing and went there. ^_^

LOL.  They are NOT "invisible friends," they are "invisible siblings."  Well, they were as close as siblings when they were alive, considered each other family.....

Is there something invisible that held the seat belts up off the chair, or just belts connected and left to sit?  That was somewhat unclear.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 79):

Some clever or subconscious use of telekinesis maybe?  ;)
.
GM (should we call you PLU?), I am very glad to hear that.  I was worried I was adding TOO much detail & description.  I have been told I do that some.  I am very glad to see all the details & depth of everyone's characters, as well.  This is the type of RP I really love.
Thank you everyone!  I'm loving it!  :D

P.s.  if anyone has any concerns, complaints, or just want to say something to me, please feel free to.  I appreciate criticism, especially constructive &/or friendly.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 79):

yes, the crazy actually is for once.

once everyone is settled in a few things to know and decide.

1. basic ammo is available, every character can acquire 1+1d4 reloads for e-clips, long e-clips, e-canisters, box of projectiles (50 rounds for a gun or railgun). this in +d4 of each, but a total of all of that you choose. for example it i roll a 2, i can choose up to 3, i go with two boxes (50 rounds each) for my rail gun, and a long e-clip.

2. consider travel, if there is not enough seats, and a cargo area large enough for Whoam, you can ask for the use of a large cargo truck. if needed i can provide specs.

3. order of travel and speed of travel. i will through up a map later. thin about how you get to the medicine wheel. of course i will send many, many, bad things to consume your bodies as your are raped to death. well maybe not exactly. in that order i mean.

4. if something noteworthy to you or your character comes up in the threads please make a note on your character sheet. that way is you have to refer back to something we don't have to dig through tons of posts. a simple copy/paste is ok. that way you can remind me and i can simly read it on your sheet to remember what is pertinent and why. thanks.

any questions?

Ah the sweet, sweet smell of ammunition!

Yay...Only started with one e-clip...

I guess that, since I get an energy rifle and energy pistol with four extra e-clips, and I chose the NG Super Laser and the C-14 Firebreather, it's okay that I listed four full reloads for the grenade launchers, too.

I've always seen it that way.

What if qe want to requisition an SDC firearm or two?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:56, Thu 22 Apr 2021.

One of the reasons I went for the Juicer rifle is that it has the SDC rifle barrel integrated.  Makes for a very versatile hunting rifle.

If I want to do SDC I usually just flick a booger at 'em.

 And the fairly crummy CS rifle Killian was issued has an integral SDC setting, no fiddly multiple barrels needed. That said, since he has two guns and only one reload for each:

 18:30, Today: Killian rolled 3 using 1d4+1.  Ammunition Palooza (L-clips).

 That better than doubles his ammunition supply!

In reply to Nutball (msg # 87):

you can probably find some in town for sale to tourists, you know, replicas of weapons from old earth.

In reply to Hawkins (msg # 89):

so long as you don't use the crunchy AP boogers.

In reply to Killian (msg # 90):

nice turn of phraseology!

 I have the best words. Apparently. ^_^

what? you have ape parents. you must have been adapted!

basic map of the area loaded.

 Well... yes. ^_^

"Adapt and overcome," I always say.

Woohoo....4 long e-clips for me.

What would the math on that work out to for arrows?

24? sound ok? not really sure actually. go with 24 per selection.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Sat 24 Apr 2021.

Nutball will go back for more e-clips after dinners.

When everyone is ready meet at the 'edge of the camp'. It's saturday so no real posting expectations until monday. enjoy your weekend guys.

I'll throw a post up soon. Sorry I haven't really kept up with Pyro, but things are settling so I should be able to do better now.

no sweat, monday is the day i was targeting for regular gameplay. these games always take a week or so to flesh out and get rolling.

 Nutball the player, who already answered.

 The character doesn't necessarily know or care and the GM already has an obligation to provide that information. ^_^

So didn't know the answer did some googling. Near as I can tell while Whoam possesses some supernatural properties, he is not a supernatural creature. He is however a major psionic and did just use see invisible.

In reply to Whoam Mountain (msg # 106):

 From what I recall, Whoamm'd basically be a creature of magic - which is to say he's a creature that has magic properties without being out and out uncanny.

 Supernatural creatures on the other hand, can tell reality to get bent.

 Or possibly the other way around.

 In any case 'gently hinky in a way not terribly surprising for a guy who'e like, twelve feet tall'.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Sun 25 Apr 2021.

Mountain Giants are definitely not a creature of magic. Not magical at all really.

The general speculation is that Mountain Giants are engineered mutants originally produced by Loan Star Genetics. If this is true, it puts them in the same classification and intellectual lineage as Psi-Hounds, psionic mutants. This however is canonically presented as speculation. Alternatively they could be alien, or dimensional imports, but there's no evidence of this.

They are supernaturally strong and sturdy and possess major psionics but that's the extent of them being "supernatural".

Wow.  Kinda crappy.
17:26, Today: Nutball rolled 1 using 1d4.  Rifle e-clips. – [roll=1619385960.62531.356783]

17:25, Today: Nutball rolled 1 using 1d4.  Pistol e-clips.

Pg 136 of Rifts: New West says pretty much exactly that.

Their affinity for Dog Boys is cited as evidence of the origin at Lone Star.

I've considered playing one a few times myself.

In reply to Whoam Mountain (msg # 108):

 That's fine, they don't need to be magical to be creatures of magic (because: Rifts).

 The formal definition is 'any mortal creature that is born with magical abilities' and a Mountain Giant is a mortal creature (check) born with skin that on average provides approximately the same toughness as four M48 'Patton' tanks parked nose-to-tail between you and the bad man with the laser.

 Which seems moderately magical to me. That said, if it ever came up, I would argue that their power is probably like, some kind of inherent psychic thing instead of an inherent magic thing because, flavour text. It also makes absolutely no difference at all to them or anyone who isn't like, part of the RSCG. ^_^

Mountain Giants  are  hulking, musclebound behemoths that, according to  some rumors and speculation, are  the creation of Doctor Desmond Bradford at the Lone Star Genetics Complex in an attempt to bring out humankind's primal instincts and power.

keeping it cannon to new west book, giants are not magical creatures nor are they psionically active.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 112):

 I thought that they were major psychics.

 In any case, their 'magic' is just being MD creatures on Rifts Earth, and SD ones in a less energy-soaked environment... Unless we've got another explanation for how they can tank a 120mm HEAT shell to the forehead and just go 'ouch', I tend to chalk that one up to 'a mage did it' (unless the explanation is just to hold your hands up and go 'Nanites!'). ^_^

There are many forms of MDC creatures, through technology, (with and without nanites), magic, psionics, or just alien biology.  Trying to determine which one is the source of each creature is part of the challenge of the Rifts setting, why there are such rumors, and part of what makes each Rifts game potentially different from the last one.

misunderstood what you implied. sorry for that.

 Nah, not at all. You're dead right in that they're not even a little bit magical...

 ...but neither are a lot of Creatures of Magic, really. It's a vague term that, like a lot of Palladium stuff doesn't get applied at all consistently because I swear they never read their own books half the time.

 I mean, dinosaurs. How the hell do they even work?

 The whole universe runs on rule of cool basically, and we're stuck trying to make sense of it. ^_^

/\
100%

The mechanics of this game only seem to make sense from the perspective of a 12 year old with ADD & tons of pop culture knowledge.
Rule of cool seems to be the only rule in this game.

been involved with palladium games since the mid 80s, it's kind of their thing to create something and just say 'well, it just is'. i especially love the games where a character has access to skills that almost nothing, if anything, in that particular setting actually support those skills. but, if it weren't like that it just wouldn't be the palladium system we all know and love.

I was introduced to Palladium in the early 90s, through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, and have loved it ever since.  Rifts, from what I read, was heavily influenced by Bubblegum Crisis.

I think the TMNT game is by far the best mechanically functional version of the Palladium system.

Rifts is so heavily influenced by so many things it is like a fun house mirror, you always see your own thing in it.  Whatever you know best is what rings true because it is more obvious to you but there are so many things in it that would later become known as tropes or memes it is sometimes difficult to remember that Rifts isn't one game, or one setting, it is dozens.

I ran Heroes Unlimited in high school and played Robotech and TMNT ('86-'89).

Our team of mutant waterfowl (3 Ducks and a Goose) in TMNT was called The KWACs (Kamikaze Water Assault Commandos) and we were soldiers as opposed to ninjas.

 I think I came in through either Ninjas and Superspies or TMNT, one of the two. I actually sort of like the core world ideas, I just find myself facepalming over and again with some of the things they did with them - for example, knowing the mythic history of the British Isles fairly well, I want to slap Mr Siembada upside the head with a big stick marked 'stop defaulting to French stories about King Arthur'.

 The system's also ropy as hell, and you regularly stumble over moments of 'huh, what?' such as the complete blindness they have to any mathematics of scale or basic physics (spaceships go how fast? Huh... So it takes about ten months to fly a fast space fighter from Earth to Mars unless you make an ftl jump? That seems... dull. And bullets fired by gravity railguns go further than magnetic ones? And ships have a top speed, even rocket ones?)

 I still love Phase World as a setting though. ^_^

I once recreated the Turtles and Splinter using Ninjas & Super Spies.  Splinter was a Dedicated Martial Artist, while all the Turtles but Donatello were Worldly; he was a Dreamer Gizmoteer.  April was going to be a Detective, to simulate her investigative reporter skills.

Those are all cool stories. I still enjoy those 80s rpgs - star frontiers, gamma world (i was a 2nd ed fanboy), red box DnD basic, Twilight 2000 (1st ed all the way), gang busters, flashing blades, cyberpuck 2013, battle tech, and Middle Earth Roleplay (role master was neat as hell).

i moved to a new town with my family in 89, met by future best friend for life, and got introduced to GURPS 3rd ed. still living in that town, still loving GURPS 3rd ed, and that dude is still the best man i know. it was good year.

On Paladium I Came in through Invid Invasion because the GM wanted a post apocalyptic robot thing without dealing with a squad of giant mecha. So we were mostly cyclone riders. Did some fantasy and rifts as well. Mostly I grew up on D&D which my mom tells me I was "playing" at age 4 though I only recall it from a bit older. Mostly 2e but started in 1e.

Gamma World, Star Frontiers, Paranoia, Twilight 2000, Basic (red box) and Expert (blue) DnD, Battletech and Car Wars (precursors to GURPS) were my real beginnings.
Currently, I own 2nd through 4th editions of DnD in hardback/paperback, Ghostbusters International and Star Wars by WEGs, Macross, old Robotech and Sentinels, new Robotech, Elf Quest, Earthdawn 2nd, Shadowrun 3rd, Cyberpunk 2020 and Cybergenerations, Mekton, Middle Earth Role Playing (love their crit tables), a newer Gammaworld, Top Secret, Lords of Creation, Legacy, Werewolf the Apocalypse/Wraith the Oblivion/Hunter the Reckoning/Changeling the Drwaming (and even a Transformers Beastwars game based on the system from the internet), d20 Star Wars, and, of course, Rifts/Heroes/PFRPG/After the Bomb/Ninjas & Suoerspies/Beyond the Supernatural 1/Nightbane (mine says Nightspawn)/Chaos Earth/the electric bug alien one whose I can't think of and Revise Recon by Palladium.  And a couple I can't think of off hand.

Oh, I was looking for something to show what the mask he is wearing over his face looks like.  I have decided that it is a white, stretch fabric, over-the-head mask with these printed on either side:
https://images.app.goo.gl/rjSkmkDTb4e53BB86

  I am in such good company.  So many RPGs I recognize, so many I have never heard of.
My 1st RPG character was a 7 foot tall mutant tiger, with a motorcycle, for the setting Road Hogs.
  I have played Palladium (all?), White Wolf, D&D (1st through 5th now), & so many others I can't recall.  Most I have loved.
  I love hearing about peoples RPG experiences.

I went to a gaming convention one year, tabletop and videogames, because one of my friends was going to run a Jedi-centered W(est) E(nd) G(ame)s d6 Star Wars.   There were two interesting things.
One, the guy sitting next to me had once worked for WEGs as a playtester, and that's why he joined the game.
Two, my Jedi was the only Jedi who didn't go Dark during the battle.  My jedi was also the first to die.

 A few years ago now, I did the 'how many games have you actually played' count and a short, but by no means conclusive list went:

Advanced Fighting Fantasy
AD&D
After the Bomb
Alternity
Ars Magica
Blue Planet
Buck Rogers XXVC
Call of Cthulhu (assorted editions)
Changeling the Dreaming
Corporation
Cyberpunk (2013 & 2020)
D&D
D&D 3.x
D&D 4th
D&D 5th
Deadlands
Earthdawn
Exalted
Fading Suns
Feng Shui
Fireborn
Firefly
Gamma World
Gangbusters
GURPS
Heavy Gear
Heroes Unlimited
Hunter Planet
Hunter the Reckoning
Ironclaw
James Bond 007
Kult
Lazerburn(sic)
Legend of the Five Rings
Lone Wolf RPG
Macho Women with Guns
Mage the Ascension
Mechwarrior RPG
Mutants and Masterminds
Mutant Chronicles
Ninjas and Superspies
Palladium Fantasy RPG
Pathfinder
Paranoia (assorted editions)
Pendragon
Rifts
Rolemaster
Runequest
Savage Worlds (assorted settings)
Seventh Sea
Shadowrun
Shatterzone
SLA
Space 1889
Star Trek RPG
Star Wars (WEG)
Star Wars (D20)
Star Wars (Saga)
Tales from the Floating Vagabond
Talislanta
Teenagers from Outer Space
TMNT
TORG
Traveller
Trinity
Tunnels and Trolls
Twilight 2000
Vampire the Masquerade
Warhammer 40,000 RPG (Dark Heresy, etc)
Warhammer Fantasy Role Playing
Werewolf the Apocalypse

Crap.  I forgot I have Deadlands.  And Manhunter, the actual game as well as the Rifts supplement.  I have seen Alternity.

For whatever reason I have two Rifts Manhunter Trilogy books, never really figured that one out.

Off that list there are 4 games I haven't played, I did that sort of thing once long ago and came up with 78 games, but I lost the list itself as that was before google docs started being the permanent storage of all data.  Probably added a 20 or more games since then.

right, if we took the amount of time we spent just tinkering with a new game to see if it would be one the one's we played a lot we probably have many months of time in those games too.

I will give everyone a moment to post. I will post in and move the game along late tonight or tomorrow morning. great work so far guys really entertaining.

 So, uhm.

 This rift and storm. How far away?

Isn't the town on a Nexus Point?  I'd say it's probably right on top of us.

Indeed, not far enough away.  Probably about the same distance away from the landing site as the town, Theresa wasn't traveling very fast until after she found it.

 I'm still waiting on an answer boss!

Not sure how far I wandered away from the clearing before it happened, but the rift was less than 30 feet from me when it started to open, so chances are it is 'danger close' from most perspectives.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 139):

 Yeah, there's a problem right there. ^_^

alrighty then, a few quick things

new map...its very basic
area the portion of the displaced town occupies is in blue
area where the scattered troops currently occupies is in red
area where the expedition team currently occupies is in green
the direction of flight of the two flying creatures is the purple arrow

the latest rift opened directly above the far west (left) edge of the red area of the troops. they attach the beasts as they flew by, then received return fire (literally)

the creatures are in constant motion, the arrow is their 'right now' position and direction of flight

the area where the team is gathered is fairly broad for, roughly 50 yards by 50 yards, and it offers little more than some uneven, rolling plain and scrub brush

  I always find it a fascinating combination of frustration & excitement, when I as a player believe I know what an enemy or monster is, but my character doesn't.  There's always a part of me that wonders something like "well, I'm almost positive it's this, but what if it isn't?  What could it be if it isn't?"
  This is a lot of fun so far.  Thanks GM.  :)

much appreciated. we are really just starting to get into the action. this is just the plot hook. what comes next is will (or i hope it is) the truly fun part.

  Well, I've done it now.  Reply is posted.  Willy the Juicer is the first member of this party to enact violence.
Is anyone surprised by this?   :p
  In all fairness, when I re-read the latest post from our illustrious GM, PLU (is it ok if I call you that?)...
  Anyway, when I read it the first time, I didn't realize our party had been attacked, much less blatantly.  I initially thought it was something from the activity of the rift or town techno-wizard device.  When I realized the party had been attacked, I asked my self "what would Willy do?", which is the same as asking "what would a 'cowboy soldier permanently hyped up on super drugs that make him jumping as hell' do?"
  The answer was more obvious than I thought at first.  "Same thing any other juicer would do.  Shoot back!"
  So, I hope this doesn't upset anyone, but I can't help but feel this is were things were headed anyway.  I mean, seriously!  It's Nazis with sci-sorcery weapons!  Nazis couldn't stand humans with dark skin!  What are the chances they would tolerate "mutants", much less an actual giant?  Who knows how they'd feel about a cyborg, or the other 2 augmented humans in the party?

Don't sweat it. There will be shooting in my next post.

I think Willy reacted exactly how he should, he's part of the guard for the team and the team is receiving fire.  His reaction is totally correct for the situation, the other side have indeed 'started it'. :)

  Thank you both, I appreciate you sharing that.  I was hoping I wasn't overstepping the diplomatic attempts of the party.  As far as I (& Willy) could tell, there was no diplomatic options with those guys to begin with.
.
Please disregard that 4d20 roll.  I guess I can't take a shortcut like that.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:41, Sat 15 May 2021.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 144):

 If you weren't justified in doing so, I'd grumble but it's not like you've just stepped out of the plane and lit them up, they gave you plenty of reasons to be angry with them. I'm just at a bit of a loss for Killian right now, since nothing's responded to anything he's tried to do since they started chasing him.

Killian, sorry you feel left out, it wasn't intentional. you fast, bad guys not.

now that the fighting has broken out it should be obvious that the incoming fire is SDC level attacks. it may not stay that way.

their is about to another event involving the rift, it is doubtful anyone in the expedition will be avoid this event unless they don't post by tuesday. after that anyone who has affirmed their desire to stay with the game will not remain in the cast. everyone else will be dastardly GM plot-device thrown into the event at the rift.

as such, future combat that is intended to possibly kill the PCs will be handled with somewhat more order.

thanks for hanging in there for this really long intro into the adventure.

Everyone is awarded 500 XP.

I thought it was fairly clear the humans were using high end SDC armor/weapons, particularly when the grenades went off.  The bugs are less clear but I would have guessed they were low MDC weapons at least.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 149):

 I hoped as much, I would have just been grateful for a note to that effect somewhere so I could continue to play. ^_^

Is the flashing tower within 2000' of Nutball?  1000'?

no, the flashing building is in the center of the town (or part of a town), it's probably closer to 1,000 yards (3,000 feet) away.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 150):

yeah, basically the weapons are high end SDC weapons that can cause low end MD. glad that came through the description. From having handled them with hands and psychic powers it is obvious to Theresa that these weapons are compact, light weight, and partially magically powered (TW type stuff) that are well made and seemed based on older firearms designs from the past. though the weapons themselves do not seem to be that old.

In reply to Killian (msg # 151):

sorry, didn't want to give away too much by saying hey, you are just running around like a yapping mad dog with dog catchers from the mental hospital chasing you but don't worry you are too fast and erratic for them to catch up to. besides, with how hard Killian took the encounter with the rift it kind of left me wondering how to present the situation so that the scene didn't completely exclude Killian.

So, it looks like our steady players are Book, Hawkins, Jennifer, Killian, Nutball, and Theresa. I will wait until later today to post in and push the scene forward. If none of the others have posted by then we will move on without them.

Thanks for your patience to this point and I hope to be hunting you all down with lots of vile creatures, evil minions, and chaos laden explosions very soon.

If it is more a pacing issue than an interest issue we can have Whoam show up as a feature role only when the player is available but follow along more passively otherwise and Theresa can manage any interaction.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 157):

i am not trying to be a hardass about people's posting rate or attendance, but the rules thread states expectations for attendance and posting. players should be present if there characters are present. i don't mind if a player takes over running someone else's character if that player leaves the game.

I don't like actually running multiple characters, least of all ones closely in league with each other.  But if someone else wants to do something like that I don't mind.

Sounds okay to me.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 155):

 It's kind of the down side of playing a psychic bomb-sniffing dog... When someone drops a psychic bomb literally right on top of you, you're gonna' have a bad day.

 Being I think the only guy in armour or shields that doesn't provide total coverage would sorta' suck with those lightning guns around too. ^_^

In reply to Killian (msg # 161):

  Don't worry buddy, I'm there with you.  Juicer armor is specifically described as NOT fully environmentally sealed, including the helmet, without more extensive measures.  It's why he has a protective mask with a small air supply in a pack on his hip.  His drug harness allows him to almost ignore "minor" problems like tear gas, but not more "serious" stuff.  After he encountered tear gas once, & suffered through the discomfort after, he realized he needed a solution for more dangerous environmental conditions.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 155):
  I can understand your position.  It's like running a sit down RPG every week, but there's a player who only shows up now & then.  There are almost never any good or manageable solutions.
.
wait..... did Princess come through with us?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:10, Wed 19 May 2021.

new map is up

thanks killian, i will post once everyone has had a chance to update their actions and post.

I will update a bit later tonight, when I take my dinner break.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 164):

 I'm a good boy. ^_^

I'm updating today as soon as I'm done work!

no problem, thanks

fantabulous guys. i give the others time to post and probably proceed with the scene tomorrow evening of monday morning.

Headed to Myrtle Beach on vacation. Posting will be more limited than normal for about a week.

Have a good vacation

 We're more or less narratively running this, but Killian ran out of first-round actions with three dodges, two shots and a run for cover.

 You'll let us know when we go again, right? ^_^

SO, think of this as the next round. narrate according to actions you could take. we will work through it. it's been really good so far. i will probably award some significant XP for all of this. i'm thinking, 12, maybe even as high as 15 XP.

15 down, only 2,105 to go!


This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Wed 02 June 2021.

that was awesome

Considering how much he's trying to look at, & taking some time to see if the giant is still moving, I figure Willy would use 1 action scoping out the enemies, then use the rest of his actions shooting.  He has 7 actions each melee round.  Should I just roll damage for all shot, in case they all hit, or wait?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Fri 04 June 2021.

i would think of it in groups of actions, say two to four at a time. work the scene, sort of let it play out some. i do the same for the NPCs, monsters, bad guys, etc. that you guys encounter. no need to feel like you have to devise a mini-plan every round. besides you may need to save some actions for when the events go against you; flee, dodge, roll, change weapon, etc.

  Willy isn't sure what to make of these slavers yet, and is uncertain if he could do more damage in melee.  So for now, he is going to keep his position, & keep taking headshots, trying to focus on 1 target, in hopes of wearing down whatever defenses it has.

I am assuming the plan is for us to fight in the gladiatorial arena in Splynn city....

nah, not you guys, to unknown, you will most likely wind up fighting in spleen city, not as well known, and well just not that good either

If we wind up in Atlantis after this fight, then we are officially in the Rifts version of Wandavision.

nope, no wandas were injured in the making of this rifts multiverse player character grinding machine

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 180):

 Well, being a level one character, out of the gate with a standard laser rifle... It's not deeply surprising that Killian is achieving precisely fuck-diddly against these guys.

 I just wish I had Mind Block as a power so I could stop whoever that is from messing with his emotions.

GM, please let me know how many attack rolls you want for my grenade launcher this round.

 Are they acting at all?

 I don't want to post all my actions before they take some of their own.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 184):

on, one shot or multiples doesn't matter, either it goes well or it doesn't. we'll roll with it. Roll well, do well, roll alright and do alright, miss, well that just sucks anyway.

I will roll 3, to get an average.... hopefully.
.
Please ignore that 3d20 roll.  I'm trying to figure out how to use the dice roller to roll multiple dice at a time & give the results separately.   I'm still new to this system.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:32, Fri 11 June 2021.

Just check the box marked "Record Each Die".

In reply to Hawkins (msg # 188):

Gotcha, thank you.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 189):

De nada (almost literally).

 Well, we made five hundred posts!

Yay! 500 XP for all.

Nice!

Or do you mean 512?

actually it worked out to 499.887, i just rounded up.

nice bantor, good character work. a couple of things

1. the weapons and armor used by the warrior women are mostly shot to hell, but there is the this; a handful of e-clips, some manacles, a sword (it was flaming a moment ago), an oddly large pulse laser pistol, and a still functional breastplate (47 MDC, non-enviro).
2. the barge is in about ten feet of water with the top of the barge sticking out due to the angle it sank at. it is salvageable with the right skills (electronics, MDC components, etc.)
3. those of you who want to try to track these slavers describe it and roll for those actions please. If you are magically talented and want to investigate the gear or the magical residue in the area describe it and roll for those actions please.
4. is anyone going to interact with the locals? If so, please describe it and make any rolls (if needed) please.
5. please hit me up with any questions or ideas here. i have no problem with working with the details of the area before you post in and we move the scene forward.
6. great job, i have enjoyed the posts so far.
7. are the individual responses helping to keep the scene clear? or clear-ish at least?

 The individual responses are fine except on that they leave you with very little idea as to who has survived what - Killian spent a round shooting at the giant after he fell and would absolutely have put another burst into the downed slaver, for example.

 Maybe an 'end of turn summary' including a rough count of NPCs, their approximate state and general actions would help?

I kind of like the individual results posts.  It does help keep things a little clearer.  Though, it can be accomplished in a similar in one big post using individual sections, if you want.

I agree with the sentiments that the individual responses directed at characters is good.  The suggestion of it all being one pose is also agreed with, like having a paragraph directed to what individuals are doing is cool.

As for the recovered equipment, Jen would be interested in examining the flaming sword to see how it works., whether psionicly activated or technological.

She has also been moving about the locals to free them and gather them together, so would be chatting with them while she checks they are ok.

With use of Telemechanics on the barge and the tool kit carried, would there be a way to jury rig controls and repairs to get it into a usable state as a vehicle, don't think we have the materials to repair any armour damage to it so no really chance of making it back to a battle platform, but having something that can just act as a hauler might come in handy.

And we do have a prisoner, if anyone wants to do something with that.  She might have to be brought round though.

It took me a bit to realize that there even were individual responses, in part because I just happened to check the update from work on my phone the first time they happened and quite a bit of scrolling was required to even see them.

But once I had sorted that out I think they are in general a good idea, but there should still be a brief overview of the scene itself, the setting as if it were it's own character might be a good way to think of that, which would include a comment about it being a new round.  This is particularly important if the individual replies are done one at a time, with the occasional player posting between them.

  I also like the replies to individuals, it really helps me keep track of what each member of the team is doing.  Please keep posting the player's name at the beginning of each of them, it helps a lot.
  I would greatly appreciate a general post as well, maybe an 'end of round report' like others have mentioned.  I also was often confused as to which enemy was down, up, attacking, etc.
  Having said all of that, I want to add that this gas been very enjoyable & exciting so far, & I hope it keeps going for awhile.  You are doing a great job, GM.
*thumbsup*
This message was last edited by the player at 21:36, Sat 26 June 2021.

thanks for the deed back. i will keep working at it. it's mainly just fine tuning how the gameplay works out so that we are all enjoying the game. i have had plenty of feed back from many of you in PMs, I am trying to keep everything in mind, but remember that this is a large group especially for a Rifts game, and that means there are a lot of powers, skills, abilities, and the like to deal with. no one is excluded on purpose, it usually means i overlooked a particular ability of a character or simply just forgot.

it's not intentional, feel free to remind me of certain things also. just occ it in your posts.

 Sadly, Field Armourer wasn't a power or skill I got, nor indeed, any other sort of engineering ability and I don't think we're making much out of MD materials, sans tools.

 I think the only thing the GM regularly missed for me was the scope and power of Dog Boy senses - a lot of the magical shenanigans would have given him a hard lock on their location and an illusion would have been like banging a drum and tiring a horn.

 Other than that, it's been fine, if way the hell out of Killian's league.

 Not really.

 They are probably going back where that came from, but we can't be sure of it, so Killian's more interested in their trail - which he can follow faster than a human can walk.

 That said, if they turn out to both be the same thing, hell be fine with that

Just to let people know, from 7th to 13th I'm going to be away as visiting family and will not have much access to a computer.

sounds like a good time, hope you enjoy yourself.

Just a reminder, things are slowing down with vacations, summer work schedules, family commitments, and what-not. I didn't want this to get overlooked, it is part of the plot arc.

'Checking the time. Hawkins was surprised to realize two things. The fight had lasted for less than two minutes. And the his chronometer read that it was midday, 13:23 hours, on June 18th. He was confused, that put the date two days before the mission left from the Burbs outside Chi Town.'

sorry, I only posted this in a post reply to Hawkins, that was because of his internal systems.

Doh! Yeah meant to share that with everyone.

Everyone should just pretend that I did.

 That's fairly alarming, because your internal timekeeping isn't going to be picking up its cues from an external source and There Is No Time Travel...

 ... So something jacked up your onboard chronometer and we're a long way from a mechanic.

In reply to Killian (msg # 209):

  No time travel?   I thought that was a possibility when it came to Rifts, since they are tears in the fabric of space & time.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 210):

 I think the last I read of it, the official line was that time was constant, but different dimensions weren't necessarily on the same clock - so if you stepped into a rift and arrived in the middle ages, it was actually another world that 'just happened' to be very similar to the past. You could do anything you liked and come home, because there'd be no paradox, primarily I think because it was a noodle-strainer to deal with.

 That's why you get some humans from 'the past' in Rifts Earth (other than the ones who took the slow boat, so to speak). They're actually DB's, technically speaking.

 The one exception I know about is from the TMNT setting, where it's got a set of Temporal Energy mechanics and a really convoluted timeline thing. That said, I can't point to a page so I could easily be pulling this all out of my arse. ^_^

that's funny. but, you are sort of on the right path with what has happened.

 Hey, it's Rifts... Anything could have happened. The only thing I can't quite figure is how Hawkins clock got rolled back. I can't imagine a military-grade combat cyborg's enabled for wi-fi updates, so either Shenanigans Are Afoot, or you just wanted a convenient bit of foreshadowing for us to worry about. ^_^

Without a clear view of the stars it is more likely that the time system is reading the high altitude gps and signal repeaters the coalition states maintains, which raises its own questions about data security, but it isn't to far fetched to presume there is a more public access aspect of those that includes a timestamp and little more.

 With the full understanding that Kevin Siembada and Company put very little thought into a lot of the things they write, I don't know.

 On the one hand, communications are supposed to be bad in Rifts and a hundred miles is considered a long way, even though power armour with jet engines and atomic powered radios are a thing.

 On the other hand, only a crazy person puts a wireless connection of some sort in a hardened military system, even on something as innocuous as a clock... Witness what happened to that flight of F-22's that tried to go from Hawaii to Japan and lost almost all their onboard software to crashes when they hit the dateline. If I had to suggest a system for Hawkins, it'd be some sort of chip-scale atomic clock...

 ...But on the gripping hand, that wouldn't roll back when he goes through a rift unless shenanigans happened.

For a culture that has used time zones for far longer than it has even considered digital time keeping there is a significant track record of that being a problem, just madness there.

Rifts has a wide range of technology paradigms, from even more places, fiddled with after market in an immeasurable number of ways.  All of which are fighting against the background static of magic, and the limitation of not being able to have orbital relays.  The number of workarounds that could be in place at any given time just isn't worth considering.

ah, the magic of Siembeda

  Ok, so that's what you meant about time travel not existing, gotcha, I'm on your page now.
  As for Siembeda & the others, & how much they fail to consider, it causes me no amount of face palms & headaches.  Sure, satellite communication, GPS, etc, are no longer options, but there are SOOO many more options, including just simple short wave radio.  I had a buddy who would regularly chat with people in AUSTRALIA, from the west coast.  Thousands of miles, no direct connection or relay, & able to talk as easily as a long distance phone call.  Is this not an option in Rifts Earth?  Nope.  Why not?  Nope.  No explanation, not even a mention of anything that would overshadow it as a big mystery, just hand waved as "not an option".

 Not to mention how small towns are supposed to be isolated, but flying supersonic battle armour is ubiquitous.

 I think the best explanation for the communication thing is 'a wizard did it', and blame ley-lines for disrupting communications in some fashion, but that wouldn't stop drone links over the ocean or foptic links... I've got a bunch of handwavium explanations I use for stuff, but they're strictly my headcannon.

and the good old days of a layer of hyper velocity trash and rubble encircling the planet.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 220):

Which could rip satellites to shreds, and block signals from getting to any outside the orbit of the debris.

In reply to Nutball (msg # 221):

  Except that disastrous debris for some reason never interferes with the "Killer satellites"  that kills anything that gets past said space trash, but said killer satellites don't seem to shoot at anything else, including each other.... ever.
  Seriously, I love this game, it can be a ton of fun, but it needs about a dump truck full of "suspension of disbelief" to deal with all the inconsistencies & plot holes.

The sad part is that that isn't even from Rifts.  It's from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness:  After The Bomb setting, Mutants in Space. LOL

 I still have some of my old TMNT&OS characters around.

 Heh, I might bring one in if and when Killian gets annihilated. ^_^

The Rifts Mutants in orbit book has a lot of explanation for those issues, as do some of the later world and source books.  It is all back fill and still a bit clunky, but it works out well enough to use eventually.

There is a sort of genius to the whole patchwork style of RIFTs. If you ask Siembieda he will tell you it's because GMs are meant to decide exactly how things work in their own games from all the options.

 But he'll take four paragraphs to do it, one of which will be explaining how 'proper' GMs have group sizes of 14+ ^_^

Only four paragraphs?  I am fairly sure there are multiple sections of multiple books where he does just that and takes several pages.

Techniwizardry?  Well, I guess Biowizardry could be related....

 Magic in general, really. It freaks out Dog Boys and while he's not in a position to give people shit about it - someone probably took the lightning staff from the dead giant for example - he's going to be avoiding it like the plague himself. ^_^

life has caught to Armen, he will not be able to continue forward with us at this time. we will continue forward as if he is staying with these hunters. i'm always sorry when a player has to drop out of a game, i wish him good fortune.

Sorry to hear it.  I wish him the best. :)

May things work out well for him.

i second those well wishes. i am sure he appreciates it.

You know, the name Professional Liars Union could be an apt description if the US Congress.

It was founded back in 1987 by us Game Masters, Congress tried to sue us and make us give up using the name. We offered to let them use the name if they would pay royalties. they declined. union guidelines specifically stated that each of us had to be paid an equal share. somehow having to pay anything to millions of well adjusted, imaginative, and emotionally stable citizens was something they didn't cotton to. oh, well, they wouldn't pay us GMs either.

Yeal, well, a congress is also what they call a group of baboons.  Seems appropriate some how.

In reply to Killian (msg # 227):
  He can say what he wants, but it's clear to a lot of people, his head doesn't work anywhere near normal.  Just as an example, I firmly believe any GM willing, much less eager, to run a campaign with 9+ players has fallen right off their rocker.  14+ players?  They've busted up the rocking chair & thrown it in a fire.  He also does take a good long while to say the simplest of things sometimes, & other times he gives a few scant sentences when there should be several paragraphs or even pages about the subject.

In reply to Nutball (msg # 235):
  /\   Exactly.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 236):
  LMAO!!!   XD

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 231):
  My regrets & best wishes to them, I hope everything goes well.

  I myself have had a life bomb dropped on me earlier this week.
  My father will likely be having surgery soon, a hip replacement if I recall.  Unfortunately, none of his kids live anywhere near him.  Thankfully, one of us is in a perfect situation to fly there.  Said sibling is also perhaps the best suited to be the one to help dad during his recover time.  They have no kids to take care of, recently divorced so no spouse to miss them, recently unemployed, so no career to ruin, & have no vehicles, so no need to maintain an unused car while away.
  In case anyone hadn't guessed by now, said "perfectly suited sibling" is me.
  (am I seriously being praised for being unemployed, divorced, carless, & childless?  can my life possibly get any..... I better stop there before I tempt fate too much.  :p  )
  Anyway, I have been attempting to get in touch with family members to learn specifics, but with no luck so far.  From what I have been told, it is likely to be sometime in August, but that is not certain.  It could be next week for all I know.  I will let you all know when I know.  I hope I will be able to keep up with this while traveling & tending, but I can't make any guarantees any more.  Sorry.

  With that, I hope we all keep having a lot of fun with this campaign.  Thanks again to everyone for making it great so far, & an extra big thanks to our illustrious GM for making it all happen.  You're doing a great job.  :)

One of my most successful Rifts games had 14 players in it, although I had a really long table so I split them into two teams, 7 magic users, and 7 tech, and I sat in the middle to run the game.  They had some idea what the other team was up to and were in roughly the same area but weren't responsible for taking into account the opinions of anyone from the other team so the amount of time spent discussing their options was a lot lower.

Hope everything goes well with his surgery!

In reply to Theresa (msg # 239):

  An interesting solution.  I doubt I could manage it.

  Update on my situation:  my dad's surgery won't happen until September at the earliest, so I have some more time to prepare.

In reply to Theresa (msg # 239):

 We did something not dissimilar a while back with a Savage Worlds game in which each of us were running a Ghostbusters^(tm) franchise in neighbouring areas. Ours was relatively set-up, professional and organised and we did good work, earning a reputation with the local authorities...

 ...one of the others advertised themselves as 'Kevin the Ghost Exploder and Other Guys' and ran viral phone cold-call ads asking if people needed their ghosts exploded. Then they abducted some guy in their van and mildly tortured him before letting him go, after which they indicated that they weren't sure why the police were harassing them.

 Fun times. ^_^

i once played in a post-apoc game using d20 modern where the group i was in met on thursday nights, another group met on wednesday nights. the same GM ran the game for both groups. it was the same setting, the same world, and almost the same story arc. the group i was a part of was always coming along a day after the other group and finding their trail/collateral damage/rumors. it was cool at first until we figured it out and realized the GM was playing us against the other group in a weird race against time sort of thing. after that it was just weird since we were chronologically a day behind the other group and was apparently unable to not be involved in the tell-tale of their story arc.

I've run similar game but always Superheroes or Fantasy. Never tried doing it in RIFTs.

Out of curiosity, GM, just how big is that log, how many people are dragging it, & where are they dragging it to?

lol, currently you and the others are standing there holding it up. its about twenty feet long, but only about two feet in diameter. hardwood, so say 2,000 pounds with a juicer and ten other men holding it up.

kidding, i meant to toss in a bot of scene where the log was set down so everyone could gawk and take part in the conversation. sorry to have missed that. i think i am going to go back to addressing each players' post individually, i am missing to much that needs to be addressed.

 Impressively, Killian could manage half that. ^_^

  Dang, Killian must be a buff boy.  I need to rework my mental image of how big he is.
  Unsurprisingly, Willy could carry the entire thing by himself, with some lifting capacity to spare.  Freaking Juicers.
  I'm tempted to have Willy just hoist it onto his shoulder & carry it off, but he figures that would be too disruptive & might draw the wrong kind of attention.  Plus, you know, it's 20 freaking feet long.   XD
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Thu 05 Aug 2021.

 Killian's a big, burly boy... Who has just about one MD's worth of hit points and SDC!

That whole MDC to SDC conversion rate thing has always seemed a bit excessive.  Even more so for non environmental armor.

 We played around with MD doing one-to-one hit point damage for a bit, but ignoring SDC... One of a number of house rules we tinkered with to try and manhandle some sort of cohesiveness out of Palladium. It rarely went smooth. ^_^

Ive never had any trouble with it. I do enjoy the different feel of the all SDC games too though.

The only reasonable change I have ever found just changes it from a 1 to 100 conversion to 1 to 10.  There are a very small number of things in the system clearly designed as SDCx100 rather than MDC for some minor detail reason, and those need to be changed as well to x10 but they tend to be fairly obvious.

I have a friend who ran Rifts as an SDC game, with a 1:10 conversion.  Except explosives, grenades, and missiles.  He used the SDC damage values x10 because he wanted them to be something feared, just like IRL.

 The Savage Worlds Rifts isn't at all bad - SW is a pretty good system and there, MD is just a tag you put on certain weapons and armour. If it doesn't do MD, it can't hurt something that is... But otherwise, you just roll 'em.

I always wanted to play more SW games, but never got a lot of chances.  Not the most popular game system, for some reason.

Savage worlds is a very odd mix of both very 'crunchy' mechanics that turn off the heavy RP focused crowd, and a wide range of very detailed settings and story focused material that tends to turn off the heavy mechanics crowd.  Much like Rifts itself the majority of the players are the rare 50/50 mix people.

 I genuinely enjoy it. The main merits are simplicity, that the characters tend to be genuinely good at one or two things straight out of the gate while a lot of development involves them getting 'broader' rather than 'taller', adding capabilities instead of getting untouchable at one and that there are a stupid number of settings, including the awesome Red Sands (Space 1889) setting. Locally, we've played a multi-party Ghostbusters franchise campaign, a Buck Rogers XXVC campaign, one based on the Ravnika(sp?) setting from Magic, a Deadlands campaign...

 ...I heartily recommend giving it a shot.

I've played Deadlands and Weird West.  They were both entertaining.

I like Savage Worlds a lot. We once went 2 and a half years without playing any other system.

That said a hate Savage Rifts and Savage Deadlands: Reloaded with a purple passion.

most enjoyed running savage worlds in homebrew settings; Fallout 2 inspired post-apoc, Axler's Deathlands inspired post-apoc, generic nuclear war indoced post-apoc (we did a lot of post apoc games in savage worlds), not to mention some fantasy inspired by Tolkien's works, and a pirate game after we got hooked on Sid Meyer's Pirates!.

 For Pirate-y games, I rarely go further than Seventh Sea. You absolutely have to love a system where your Panache is a key combat stat. ^_^

love 7th sea, hate how drawn out some of the fights can be. it is especially aggravating when the published adventures include basic town guards skilled enough to turn every fight into one of DuMonte's infamous duels that made the three musketeers famous.

 A fair point, but I keep coming back for the Grenade rules. ^_^

I also enjoyed Savage Worlds, what little I experienced of it.  I played only a few short campaigns, in WeirdWest, Weird War II, & 1 the GM made, based heavily on his favorite anime series.  I had fun with all of them.  I hope I get more opportunities to play more of it.

Now, Nutball does not have the old-school MOM implants of cylinders and boxes that stick out of his skull like most Crazies want.  Those are at a premium,and the cyber-doc happened to be out of them at the time.  He has the more advanced, micronized im0lants that no Crazy worth being called a Crazy wants, because they just aren't as intimidating.
Plus, he has a lot of moments of clarity and lucidity that make people wonder if he is really crazy, or if he is just playing at it.

In reply to Nutball (msg # 266):

 True, but every couple of minutes since they met, Killian got to roll to identify Nutballs psychic scent. ^_^

Psychic Scent reveals psychic or magic powers.  Does it reveal cybernetic implantation as the cause of those powers?  Now, I could see physical scent revealing the presence if cybernetics, but not necessarily what type, and maybe not even the difference between cybernetics and bionics.  But, I could be wrong.

Yeah everyone just thinks he's crazy because he acts crazy (and has super powers), which ironically, first level crazies are not crazy (yet).

Exactly.  Here's an interesting question.  If you are crazy, but you know it, are you really crazy?

 Well, no. It also reveals the type of creature and is sensitive enough to distinguish between a human with pyrokinesis and a burster. I imagine a Crazy has a pretty different sort of psychic fingerprint from someone whose powers are entirely natural.

 It's not terribly important mind you.

It's actually a silly question. If you are on fire, and you know it, are you really on fire?

 Hmmm. It would be a slightly more interesting question if the Kevin Siembada approach to mental illness wasn't more than a little 1980's and never updated. ^_^

better still, if you are an egg plant, with twelve fingers and eight toes, are you still a rift's PC?

No one is required to fight dinosaurs. the camp is mobilizing to go out to meet them in an organized fashion so it would be safe to assume the camp will be safe since no one is bothering to pack up expensive, fragile equipment to protect it from rampaging dinosaurs.

I think Nutball needs to learn Horsemanship, Horsemanship:  Exotic, and Trick Riding.....

might be interesting, planing on learning to ride a dino?

A Crazy doing trick riding on a T-Rex sounds awesome.

sorry, but there are not any crazy t-rexs.

They don't have to be crazy.  That's my schtick.

 The crazy in my last party was a wannabe superhero called - I kid you not - 'Florida Man' and he was i) awesome and ii) not always available to join the game.

 Brontosaur riding was one of his occasional schticks.

This is pure win, & hilarious!    :D


1000%!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Sat 14 Aug 2021.

Get me a copy of Transdimensional Mutants and the Rifts rule book and I'll make you a T-Rex Crazy...

In reply to Jennifer Long (msg # 283):

make him t-rex crazy. what? normal crazy isn't enough? now, you want him as crazy as a mind-over-matter modified 35 ton flightless, featherless bird of pray?

well, that is pretty damned crazy. whoever heard of a featherless bird.

I've played a gargoyle Crazy a few times.  Have one now in a game that has stopped cold.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:43, Sun 15 Aug 2021.

In reply to Jennifer Long (msg # 283):

 Played an Allosauroid biker in After the Bomb for a bit. Dumber than a sack full of hammers, but the loveliest guy. ^_^

yeah, after the bomb is a cool game too. played several characters, the hardest was a mutant ape that was great in fight but was too unattractive and insensitive to carry on a conversation with anything other than rocks, flowers, and fish in glass jars.


wound up getting killed because he kept getting into trouble when he opened his mouth. he ticked off a bunch of road-hogs from the printed material. it was a 1 on 11 fight and he did kill 4 of them before he went out. But, we were actually trying to recruit them against a rival faction and my character simply lacked the interpersonal skills to do anything but piss them off.

Sometimes it is fun to play a creatively stupid character, or one that is rude by choice, but I really try not to make characters with no mental capability what so ever regardless of how focused on physical stuff they need to be.

One of the most successful games I have ever run was After the Bomb, ended up with players making dirigibles from the Mutant's Down Under book and taking on the human empire.

i have a twilight 2000 game running with the new rules set. its pretty cool so far. i like the combat mechanics. it might a good system for a Rifts game.

@Professional Liars Union

Did anyone ever respond to Willy when he asked if he could tag along on the hunt?  I know you're busy, so I don't want to come across as impatient or anything, just wondering.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 289):

Interesting.  I played Twilight 2000 once a very long time ago.  First Edition, back in the 80s.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 290):

probably not, sorry, but yes the implication is that you are welcome on the hunt.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 292):

Groovy, thanks.

I was mistaken. I said Alma would trade a Big Boss ATV. I meant a Mountaineer. It is large and can accommodate everyone in its crew compartment and cargo area.

Mountaineer All Terrain Vehicle
An extremely popular armored, all-terrain vehicle. It has a pilot’s compartment that can seat five and a large, enclosed cargo bay ( 10×8×8 foot cargo area).

Vehicle type: Wheeled armored ATV transport vehicle.
Crew: One pilot and can accommodate four passengers comfortably, plus cargo area.
Maximum Speed : 120 mph (192 km).
Engine: Electric engine in this particular vehicle.
Maximum Range: 600 miles (960 km) due to an extra large bank of batteries.
Size: 25 feet (7.6 m) long, 18 feet (5.4 m) tall, 6 tons.

M.D.C. by Location:
Main Body: 210
Super Tires (4): 25 each
Reinforced Pilot’s Compartment: 50

Other features:
Radio with 20 mile (32 km) range, small refrigerator (3 cubic feet), spotlight mount, fore and aft winches (25 yards of steel cable, 6 MDC), fold-down seating in cargo area, camouflage paint job suited to the swamp, sunroof with weapon mount (no weapon provided).


Black Market Cost: 70,000 credits for electric engine. Additional armor can also be added at a cost of 10,000 credits per 30 M.D.C.
Weapons: None are standard.

In the cargo area are lock-boxes bolted to he floor. They have electronic locks keyed the vehicle's key card (only one). Each holds a portion of the cash Alma promised in the deal. The money is a credstick for 500k in coalition credits and stacks of gold bonds for 300k in Federation dollars. The lock-boxes aren't very large (2'x 2'x 1', 5 MDC, -35% to pick lock)
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:17, Mon 06 Sept 2021.

Awesome!  For a group our size, a Mountaineer is definitely a better option.  It is a lot bigger, so it isn't going to win any stealth awards, but it will have plenty of room for us all.

Oh, there is more to the Mountaineer than that.  It has sleeping quarters up top.  Check out the infor in the Northern Gun book.

yes, it is a handy vehicle for sure. and definitely will provide room for all of you.

I think at this point, with everyone always referring to him as Douglas, it only seems reasonable to do so as well.   Willy is no more.  Here stands Douglas.
He doesn't stand very tall.   :p
This message was last edited by the player at 09:58, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

so, Willy? ok, we can do that. i crown thee Willy. Not to be mistaken with the singer, the feeling you get when you walk into a haunted house, or the slang reference to a male mating appendage.

At least no one called him Dougie, or Doogie....

Advancing the story line for monday. nothing drastic. just moving along with the intended plan to enslave everyone in texas to a bordello owned by intergalactic travelers from zeta reticuli.

Dun!

Jennifer asked: (OOC: Quick question, what is the power source for the Mountaineer?)

it is powered by and electric engine.

It's not ideal (the combat penalties while he is doing it are severe) but Hawkins can re-charge the Mountaineer off his reactor.

He can also recharge e-clips (much more easily) one at a time.

LMAO!!!!!  :D

you have transport, money, and some advice on the world you are now in. you will be at the GAW/Huntsville area by tomorrow evening. you can try to raise GAW/Huntsville via radio and what approximates an internet here to check on businesses, rooms, meals, equipment, jobs, laws and trade regulations, etc.

 Someone has money. Killian has six hundred credits that won't spend, a destroyed set of armour, is 25% down on his ammunition and owns two sets of clothes, both with prominent CS patches. ^_^

you guys just picked up a mountaineer, a lot of money, and advice on how to get about in this world. stop being so whining and go get your armor repaired or buy some new armor.

 Ain't whining if I find it funny - which I do - and no-one's given Killian jack or squat.

 I just like to keep tabs on these little situations. ^_^

cool stuff, the place is ideal for a camp, but it is uniquely unperturbed by your appearance. it is as if you rolled up and nothing really changed. even in a big noisy vehicle or the smells technology.

Killian and Jennifer both feel a subtle feral quality to the place, like a faint sensation of primordial crudeness. it doesn't create an uneasy feeling, but it does stir a twinge of nostalgia from the animal side of your ancestries. The area also has an aura of ancient power, like a faded nexus point perhaps.

everybody add 400xp, if that levels you up please update your character sheet.

willie this area is to calm, make a perception roll or get out and stroll around to use appropriate skills to investigate the clearing and the pool.

hawkins has superior electronics to the vehicle sensors if he would like to try to check the area out as well.

theresa feels strangely heavy here. as if there is some force bearing down on her causing her to take on mass/increase in ecto-plasmic density. feel free to investigate.

nutball, for some unfathomable reason your spirit companions walk into the water and seem to just vanish as they dive in down into the water. they haven't returned, and even more vexxing, nutball no longer feels their presence in the area.

Not sure if I've just missed it, but I don't remember having gotten any xp before, please correct me if I'm wrong.

sounds about right for me. i have to ask if i've given out xp in other games. so, make it easy, everybody go to 1 point over the minimum you need for second level and level up accordingly.

 Nope, we got 500xp for the lightning town and another 500xp for making that many posts.

 I would still have been some way off of level 2 though, and Killian's on the fastest of the xp tracks.

  I honestly can't recall recieving XP either, but *shrug* I don't have the best memory.  Anyway, GM just said everyone leveled, so there we go.  Maybe those of us (not me) with lower xp requirements could get a bit more?

yeah, sorry about the confusion, go ahead and level up everyone, this screw up is on me.

The sense evil worked out well, maybe, the sensation that Killian feels is strong, local, and definitely growing in strength. it feels like it is coming from the pond nearby.

Sorry I'm very confused as to where things are and what's happening?  Have we moved around any of this time?  Are we in the vehicle or not, have we actually taken any actions?  What is the effect Coalition influence mentioned?

 As far as I know, Killian stuck his head out of the truck to check for danger, then everyone bailed out before he reported. There was some ambling around and people started to get nervous, wanting to leave. Some headed for the truck, some span their wheels in circles.

 Killian detected evil in the pool, Hawkins tossed him a grenade and we find out that there was no pool, just something angry and evil.

 In a short bit, after more posts we'll find out how it feels about satchel charges. I only regret not having twenty minutes and a bale of wire to work with. ^_^

Wow, that was an effective magical effect. no one knows what going on. i'll have to try that again later.

seriously, you guys pulled up to the pool, ominous stuff started happening, you guys thought you were doing something about it, but weren't, then Killian sort of put it together, the pool went away, it left a big hole in the ground, a grenade accidentally but on purpose found its way into the hole, there was an explosion, something got mad, you felt it, something or somethings is/are crawling out of the hole, hawkins is moving the ruck slowly along so everyone can catch up to it, and the GM is thinking about two scoops of vanilla with chocolate syrup.

nice work, i will give jennifer until tomorrow, then i will advance the scene. she has been pretty buys in RL as i recall. i don't want her to feel like she is holding the game back by having to deal with real issues. besides, you guys do well, can't wait until the vampire intelligence crawls out of that hole in the ground.

*in the voice of Maynard G Krebbs*  VAMPIRE INTELLIGENCE?!

  I am now seriously regretting my decision to not play a True Atlantean Tattooed Vampire Slayer.    :P

ah come on, a vampire intelligence, really? you guys are yet to face hordes of varying degrees of vampiritude (is that an actual word?). such foes would proceed any actual encounter with a vampire intelligence. what GM in their right mind (or left one, either) would do that? Besides, I have already decided that it is something completely different now that you have figured it out.

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 321):

so, i have completely confounded Jennifer with the meandering posts. i have spoken to others in PMs about pertinent questions they had and didn't put the needed details into the scene so Jennifer has been left confused. she sent me a PM to inquire about the scene.

sorry that i got so sloppy this time. in the future please speak up and i will do what needs to be done, even backtracking the scene a little, to keep it clear for everyone. i apologize Jennifer. i hate that you may have felt like you held the game up or anything. this is on me and i appreciate that you stuck with the game.

nice move jennifer. that will definitely come into play soon.

 Particularly when the satchel charge goes off in there with them.

That's 5lbs of NG6. Stats are in the Mercenaries book and also in on of the NG books.

I'd give you a page number but you have all my books,

lol, that's true. i miss the RPA merc's campaign.

  LMAO!!!!   XD



  Rift's Mercenaries, page 100 to 101.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:43, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

In reply to Douglas William Book (msg # 330):

nah, sorry, i was referring to an at the table campaign. a small group that formed their own little company of never do-wells that took on contracts suited to RPA pilots and full conversion borgs. It had a definite military bent to it, but it was a lot of fun to see all the fireworks. it was pretty rough on their budget at times though.

That's the page number for the NG6 explosive.

please disregard that messed up roll at 22:11.  it added the 2 d20s together.

& please disregard the second set of attack rolls at 22:22.  I can't seem to get this thing to cooperate.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Sun 10 Oct 2021.

Thanks for the rolls.

For everyone who failed the saving throw, you now hear an eerie voice in your thoughts that is distracting and intimidating that is repeating the phrase 'you are murderers, you murdered by children, you are going to die in my mouth'.

sorry, i forgot to add that if you fialed the save you are a -4 or -20 on rolls for a little while. it would be 5 minutes, but in this format it will last for a few rounds of posts.

Opps.  Posted that in the wrong place.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:47, Wed 13 Oct 2021.

I honestly can't recall what number I need to reach to save against that.

(edit)
Also, please let me know when you want another set of rolls from DW.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:16, Sun 17 Oct 2021.

Save vs psionics depends on who you are:

Master Psionics save vs 10
Major & Minor save vs 12
Non psionic save vs 15

bonus from high ME adds to your roll.  Hope that helps. :)

nope, no help for william, the GM has decided that all juicers are to be battered and deep fried with their shoes on.

Killian posted:

I can't really dodge or parry from the pintle station (and only my head and shoulders are sticking out anyway) so hell with it: Dakka dakka!

in an OCC segment of his post.

that is awesome.

  My shoes will be quite distasteful.  DW has terrible fashion sense, after all.  The rest of him will be tasty, like any other hormone/drug enhanced meat product.    :P

In reply to Professional Liars Union (msg # 340):

 In retrospect, it's more like dakkadakkaclick, because I run out of ammo at the last shot but hey, you can't have everything!

 Although it would be nice if I had Sharpshooting like Doug, because those firing-from-a-vehicle penalties suck.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:10, Tue 19 Oct 2021.

yeah, they do, but hey. sometimes it just feels good to shoot at the enemy.

 Not so much in Rifts, where most things with shooting at have enough MD to absorb a dozen rounds of fire. It usually ends up feeling a little like a Nerf duel, which is why I appreciate the high tension descriptions. ^_^

(OOC:
I agree entirely, but then again, it wasn't intended to be a military vehicle, just an exploration ATV.  It adapts well, but it would serve us better with more ..... 'thorough' modifications.  Also, in all of the 'official' pictures I have seen of it, it doesn't make it clear how many windows, hatches, or doors it has, just that it is big.
If I recall correctly;

Jennifer is driving the giant bog buggy, & making it look easy like a pro, despite having no actual training in it.  <thumbsup>
Nutball is (for lack of a better description) balancing & dancing on top of the vehicle while slicing & shooting away at the smaller creatures.  I imagine he is looking very much like a gleefully maniacal armored jester.  <hilarious & awesome>
Killian has been, as you know, in the top hatch, blasting away the best he can, & doing a fine job at it from what I have seen.   <you go dude!>
Theresa has been shooting from a window or hatch on the side or back, also doing well for herself.  <you go girl!>
Hawkins was at the wheel (?) but has moved to the roof, where he initially pulled out what I can only imagine to be a Rifts version of a Thunder / Rocket Hammer, but is now landing what I would call glancing shots with a large particle beam 'rifle'.  Still, he's doing considerable damage.  <what can the big guy not do? :p >
DW (I seriously don't know what to call him anymore :p ) took a spot at a side or back window or hatch as well, maybe the same 1 Theresa is at.  He threw a few hand grenades, & has since been taking aimed shots at 'weak' spots on the big ugly bug.
)

@DM:  I wasn't sure where to put this, since it is entirely OoC.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:38, Wed 20 Oct 2021.

 That about works. Assume since it's semi-civilian that there's a couple of windows on each side, which would put Theresa and DW on the same side (the one facing most of the monster) and blazing away, then trade out Killian for Hawkins in the pintle position.

 And seriously, does everyone except Killian have some variation on Sharpshooter? I just couldn't find the skill slots to pick it up.

Read all the posts.

Hawkins is standing on top of the ATV with his magnetic boots/feet holding him up there (He makes use of a lot of magnets being mostly metal).

He is not in the gunners hatch or any other opening.

As for why Nutball isn't having trouble staying up there my guess would be he is availing himself of one or more of the handholds installed in Hawkins' 'Borg armor (which he has mentioned a couple of times).

This GM has been running RIFTs (and a couple of dozen other games) since about 1989. He's a crusty veteran if ever there was one. Rest assured he'll let us know if we try something we aren't able to do.

In reply to Hawkins (msg # 347):

 Yeah, but I figured he had to have some way to get up there, except it looks like he bundled it up through the pintle hatch before Killian even boarded the truck. Well, that does help.

Sorry I haven't posted recently.  Been meaning to, but been busy and just kept forgetting.  I will try to get one late tonight, early tomoorow.

no sweat nutball.

well stated douglas. i figure there are probably a few doors and window around the vehicle to make it accessible for loading passengers, cargo, what not. also keeping everyone cooped up during the bug chase just seems boring. i would hate to leave someone out because i was to anal as a GM to make the vehicle only have one or two points of view.

  If we're going to make a habit of having fire fights from the top of the vehicle, it would be nice if we could perhaps modify the roof with a platform & railing.  Maybe something like what is on this thing.
https://writeups.letsyouandhim...cf5782e7dbde4f66.png

All Jenifer's technical training is psionic, between Telemechanics, object read, total recall, psychic surgery & diagnosis, heal wounds Tech Mind, she can handle most short term techinical issues.  As to installing a battle platform, I agree thats a good idea but will need a proper engineer and half decent workshop.

hey, at least you got some money to work with.

good group work, i will give everyone one more day to post in. also, if you guys want to come up with some sort of plan or strategy feel free to work it out. you are running hellbent for leather through the night, smashing through the swamp, being chased by DB spider creatures that want to suck your brains from your skulls. what more could you need party organization for?

nice thinking on Killian. That improvised smokescreen will have some benefit just because its a cool idea.

 For the record, my maths roughly goes:

 One stick of dynamite contains about 1Mj and does 1D4x10 SDC. That's an average of 25 SDC, therefore four sticks, or four Mj is about 1 MD.

 It takes about 2.5Mj per kilogram to vaporise water, so... A single 2D6MD laser pulse, if mostly absorbed would flash-boil anything up to five kilos of water. One kilo is one litre, and when water boils, the steam expands 1,700 times...

 Poof! ^_^

  Solid line of thinking there, good job.   :)

  Is there something wrong with my browser, or has there been no new posts from anyone all week?

Looks like no posts.  Not sure what to do other than to post 'Keeps driving' things are sort of dependent on what happens to the people doing the fighting.

sorry, real life sucks sometimes. i will discuss this with the gm and see what he can do about it.

nice team work guys. i only plan on killing three of you, so if you want to talk it out and let me know who the sacrifices are i will post it.

just kidding, only out to kill the ecto-man and the cyborg. this thing like crunchy and spicy.