Fear the awesome power of... the Vagabond

[Subjugator]

I can't believe you forgot it. The one thing that REALLY sets the vagabond apart.

He has...

Two. Pieces. Of. Candy.

/Sub

[flatline]

I can't believe you forgot it. The one thing that REALLY sets the vagabond apart.

He has...

Two. Pieces. Of. Candy.

/Sub

Yes! The ultimate in barter items. He's also the only one with soap, implying that he's the only one who bathes. Uh, Glitter Boy pilots, make sure you're downwind when you climb out? Thanks.

Cleanse should be a starting spell for every caster OCC.

If only to keep your party members from getting too ripe...

--flatline

[Shark_Force]

eba and power armours generally have air conditioning (or equivalent).

not that i'm saying it's comfortable, mind you. i'm just saying that heat at least will be significantly less unpleasant for them.

[Nekira Sudacne]

I can't believe you forgot it. The one thing that REALLY sets the vagabond apart.

He has...

Two. Pieces. Of. Candy.

/Sub

Yes! The ultimate in barter items. He's also the only one with soap, implying that he's the only one who bathes. Uh, Glitter Boy pilots, make sure you're downwind when you climb out? Thanks.

Cleanse should be a starting spell for every caster OCC.

If only to keep your party members from getting too ripe...

--flatline

In one game i'm currently playing a nightbane sorcerer where the party was rifted to Dead Reign. No running water. no baths. The party is asking for clense spells so much I'm considering charging a few dollars a casting

[Neo]

I can't believe you forgot it. The one thing that REALLY sets the vagabond apart.

He has...

Two. Pieces. Of. Candy.

/Sub

Yes! The ultimate in barter items. He's also the only one with soap, implying that he's the only one who bathes. Uh, Glitter Boy pilots, make sure you're downwind when you climb out? Thanks.

Cleanse should be a starting spell for every caster OCC.

If only to keep your party members from getting too ripe...

--flatline

In one game i'm currently playing a nightbane sorcerer where the party was rifted to Dead Reign. No running water. no baths. The party is asking for clense spells so much I'm considering charging a few dollars a casting

Ya zombie goo is very stinky, never mind zombies which have been stewing in the bottem of a pool for god knows how long....
"UGH I swallows some of the water! I think I might have swallowed a finger nail with it"

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

This here is an unbelievably useful ability that will keep your party alive in situations where the usual collection of misanthropes, with an unbelievable talent for death and destruction, are often at a severe disadvantage. Dealing with ordinary people. And this is where I touch on my own experiences with the old version of the Vagabond, which shares a certain advantage with it's newer iteration. As a vagabond, you are normal. Unless you are a psychic, you are an ordinary individual, just like the majority of the people in the world. You are a little odd in that you actively travel great distances just to see what you can see, but other than that, people can relate to you. The average person has no comprehension of what it is like to pilot a Glitter Boy and dispense justice at five times the speed of sound. They have no comprehension of what it is like to wield powers arcane, to bend the very fabric of the universe to your will. They have no comprehension of what it feels like to have raw power or drugs coursing through your veins, to be able to rend MDC plating with your bare hands. They can barely comprehend what it is like to look at a archive or file and drool at the prospect of uncovering some forgotten shred of lore. No, but they can comprehend the desire to know what's over the next hill. They may not share it, but they can comprehend it. And in that lies the Vagabond's greatest power.

He is one of them. A stranger, yes, but one that they can relate to. He puts their minds and ease, at least relative to the distress of a walking, talking engine of destruction. He is also plain-spoken, he doesn't use hundred-credit words in a two-credit world. And as such, he raises less attention when asking questions about the local area and people. He's a traveler and naturally wants a lay of the land, but he's not likely a scout for an raiding party or invading army. That's what wilderness scouts are for. They'll still be wary of him, yes, but when compared to whatever else might have walked out of the apocalyptic wasteland and into their lives, a lot less frightening. A scholar or scientist frightens them, because they hold knowledge of the old world, perhaps even the knowledge that caused it's destruction. (Even the majority of learned individuals are ignorant of what actually happened.) Or, these educated individuals could have the Coalition hot on their heals, dedicated to wiping out the "threat" they represent with extreme prejudice. No, the vagabond is comfortably similar, familiar, and therefore far more likely to receive a warm welcome, a friendly warning of local raiders, or just a hot meal and a place to sleep before moving on again. The vagabond is a valuable addition to any party, simply because he's a constant reminder of what the common individual of the world of Rifts Earth is like, helping prevent them from becoming so detached, that they are little better than the monsters (human or otherwise) they fight.

it would be awesome if people really played RIfts this way.

[Lord_Dalgard]

Wilfred Mott in the 3rd and 4th seasons of the current run of Doctor Who strikes me as the Vagabond OCC type.

[flatline]

Well, obviously my group does, but I take your point. It's depressing how jaded GMs and Players alike get. I remember hearing about a player complaining that the gun he salvaged "only" did 6d6 M.D.

***?!

Well, if he was accustomed to running around with pulse rifles that did 1d4x10 or 1d6x10 (or more), 6d6 would definitely feel like a downgrade.

I remember when the Wilks pulse laser rifle was first published with its 1d6x10 burst. We were all terrified that anyone who could carry a 6 pound rifle could destroy our armor in a single attack. Before the Wilks pulse laser rifle, that kind of damage was mostly limited to power armor, borgs carrying heavy weapons, and a handful of other weapons that were well known and easily identifiable (mini-missle launchers, particle beam rifles, etc).

Even the GM chose to ignore the Wilks pulse laser rifle feeling that it was probably an editing error...but then Atlantis came out with a whole bunch of powerful weapons, most notably, the Kitanni knock-off of the Wilks which did even more damage!

I still think it was a mistake to allow a non-heavy weapon to do more than 4d6MD in a single attack. Weapons with x10 multipliers should have been left strictly in the realm of power armor, and vehicle/robot mounted weapons. The original robotech did a good job with this and that's how we expected Rifts to be when we first started playing...boy were we wrong!

--flatline

[Akashic Soldier]

it would be awesome if people really played RIfts this way.

My original group did. My new group does SOMETIMES. A lot of a time they're bad influences on one another.

As for Eagle Eye, welcome back to the game man! I love the enthusiasm and I hope to see more from you here on the board. We need more posters like you.

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

Well, obviously my group does, but I take your point. It's depressing how jaded GMs and Players alike get. I remember hearing about a player complaining that the gun he salvaged "only" did 6d6 M.D.

***?!

i'm not talking about weapon damage or power gaming in general. I'm talking about putting this much thought into their character, or even a character class they aren't playing and are just reading about.
what im really saying is, this is good work here. im glad you and your group are enjoying the game.

[The Baron of chaos]

Educated or not.
Rich or poor.
"Works hard or works at a desk for a living"
From what part of the country the person originates.
Artist or skilled laborer or management.
Currently flush with money or operating on a budget.
If a person is being honest and genuine, or putting on airs.
Happy or discontented.
Being genuinely friendly or looking to get something out of the exchange.

This here is an unbelievably useful ability that will keep your party alive in situations where the usual collection of misanthropes, with an unbelievable talent for death and destruction, are often at a severe disadvantage. Dealing with ordinary people. And this is where I touch on my own experiences with the old version of the Vagabond, which shares a certain advantage with it's newer iteration. As a vagabond, you are normal. Unless you are a psychic, you are an ordinary individual, just like the majority of the people in the world. You are a little odd in that you actively travel great distances just to see what you can see, but other than that, people can relate to you. The average person has no comprehension of what it is like to pilot a Glitter Boy and dispense justice at five times the speed of sound. They have no comprehension of what it is like to wield powers arcane, to bend the very fabric of the universe to your will. They have no comprehension of what it feels like to have raw power or drugs coursing through your veins, to be able to rend MDC plating with your bare hands. They can barely comprehend what it is like to look at a archive or file and drool at the prospect of uncovering some forgotten shred of lore. No, but they can comprehend the desire to know what's over the next hill. They may not share it, but they can comprehend it. And in that lies the Vagabond's greatest power.

He is one of them. A stranger, yes, but one that they can relate to. He puts their minds and ease, at least relative to the distress of a walking, talking engine of destruction. He is also plain-spoken, he doesn't use hundred-credit words in a two-credit world. And as such, he raises less attention when asking questions about the local area and people. He's a traveler and naturally wants a lay of the land, but he's not likely a scout for an raiding party or invading army. That's what wilderness scouts are for. They'll still be wary of him, yes, but when compared to whatever else might have walked out of the apocalyptic wasteland and into their lives, a lot less frightening. A scholar or scientist frightens them, because they hold knowledge of the old world, perhaps even the knowledge that caused it's destruction. (Even the majority of learned individuals are ignorant of what actually happened.) Or, these educated individuals could have the Coalition hot on their heals, dedicated to wiping out the "threat" they represent with extreme prejudice. No, the vagabond is comfortably similar, familiar, and therefore far more likely to receive a warm welcome, a friendly warning of local raiders, or just a hot meal and a place to sleep before moving on again. The vagabond is a valuable addition to any party, simply because he's a constant reminder of what the common individual of the world of Rifts Earth is like, helping prevent them from becoming so detached, that they are little better than the monsters (human or otherwise) they fight.

Oh, and one last thing for those without RUE. The vagabond now starts with a suit of light or medium MDC armor. My advice? Go for the longcoat from the Branaghan (page 178 of New West). Yeah, it's only twenty-eight points, but you don't look like a threat in it.

Sir, I take my hat and I say "well written". It is all true, you really nailed well the reason to be of the vagabond. He is the average man, with perhaps an exceptional desire to travel and see the world, that really help give people a sense of balance. It is also a sign of hope, no joke. think about the other setting/dimensions of Palladium, some of them are even more grim and esperate than Rifts earth and infact we see no trace of Vagabond. Or any other class other than monstrous bad***(sometime literally monstrous...other time more spirtually monstrous).
TheVagabond is a sign that in the end even normal human can do it in this crazy crazy world.

[kaid]

Well, obviously my group does, but I take your point. It's depressing how jaded GMs and Players alike get. I remember hearing about a player complaining that the gun he salvaged "only" did 6d6 M.D.

***?!

Well, if he was accustomed to running around with pulse rifles that did 1d4x10 or 1d6x10 (or more), 6d6 would definitely feel like a downgrade.

I remember when the Wilks pulse laser rifle was first published with its 1d6x10 burst. We were all terrified that anyone who could carry a 6 pound rifle could destroy our armor in a single attack. Before the Wilks pulse laser rifle, that kind of damage was mostly limited to power armor, borgs carrying heavy weapons, and a handful of other weapons that were well known and easily identifiable (mini-missle launchers, particle beam rifles, etc).

Even the GM chose to ignore the Wilks pulse laser rifle feeling that it was probably an editing error...but then Atlantis came out with a whole bunch of powerful weapons, most notably, the Kitanni knock-off of the Wilks which did even more damage!

I still think it was a mistake to allow a non-heavy weapon to do more than 4d6MD in a single attack. Weapons with x10 multipliers should have been left strictly in the realm of power armor, and vehicle/robot mounted weapons. The original robotech did a good job with this and that's how we expected Rifts to be when we first started playing...boy were we wrong!

--flatline

And yet, I "make do" with 4-6 dice attacks all the time. Mostly because I actually use things like cover, concealment and decoys. It's great to watch them fire off seven shots, only to need to reload, meanwhile I'm still rocking strong after twice as many.

If I was a GM I would unless running a really high level or phase world type game make the 1d6X10 type guns power armor/robot available only. When you look at the normal "heavy weapons" they tend to be 6d6 or 1d4x10 which is roughly similar damage. A heavy infantry weapon should be scary but most people wearing medium or higher usually take a hit or two from that. A laser rifle that has a good chance of one shot killing people in light or medium armor is a bit to much.

Now if your whole group is in power armor or are dragons and what not I can maybe see it but otherwise I was never really comfortable with those damage levels on widely available weapons.

[Blue_Lion]

I can't believe you forgot it. The one thing that REALLY sets the vagabond apart.

He has...

Two. Pieces. Of. Candy.

/Sub

Yes! The ultimate in barter items. He's also the only one with soap, implying that he's the only one who bathes. Uh, Glitter Boy pilots, make sure you're downwind when you climb out? Thanks.

Cleanse should be a starting spell for every caster OCC.

If only to keep your party members from getting too ripe...

--flatline

I know right? This is definitely a game by gamers, for gamers. Only one class in all of Rifts get's "basic hygiene" in the form of a bar of soap, a toothbrush and some paste.

No the wired slinger (crazy gun slinger can have soap and even laundry soap.)

[Blindscout]

Damn fine post, Eagle's Cry!

I had a ton of fun playing a Vagabond, albeit in a BTS2E game. The two psychic types I wanted to play were specifically barred from me by the GM. I wanted to play a willingly homeless guy, but none of the skill packages really fit. I asked the GM to let me convert the RUE Vagabond to BTS2E. She liked the idea and I ended up with Roland Dortmund, professional Wanderer

Roland Dortmund drove around the country in a beaten old Ford F-250 with one of those big campers built into the bed with his trusty Labromuttweiler, Indy and a .45 under his seat. He had an obsession with weird/inexplicable news stories and places that locals had dark tales about (Streetwise: Weird). He was a masterful chef specializing in cooking food on a hot engine block and making some darn fine Chicago style pizza (on the one occasion he got a hold of a wood fired pizza oven).

One of my favorite moments from that game involved coming face to face with a Gargoyle. Blew an entire magazine of .45 and never got past it's natural AR. The other characters were doing a decent job messing the thing up. Frustrated, I yelled "Ima run up and punch that ****** in the nuts!" The GM says "You want to make a called shot to the crotch? It's not wearing anything and appears to be female the way, so no nuts to punch."

"Fine", says I, "Im going run up and punch that ***** in the crotch!" She gives me this incredulous/exasperated "Really? Fine, roll it."

I roll.

Natural 20

Rolled max damage and had a decent PS bonus to boot.



I will never, ever, forget the look on her face when she realized that the critical crotch punch had damn near killed the thing . It busted through a nearby wall and flew off into the afternoon sky before we could finish it off.

[Tor]

EAF sounds like an excellent skill for con artists to have.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Honestly, when i saw the new skill in Vagabond in RUE, i was impressed. Its a really good skill.

[Athos]

Well, obviously my group does, but I take your point. It's depressing how jaded GMs and Players alike get. I remember hearing about a player complaining that the gun he salvaged "only" did 6d6 M.D.

***?!

Well, if he was accustomed to running around with pulse rifles that did 1d4x10 or 1d6x10 (or more), 6d6 would definitely feel like a downgrade.

I remember when the Wilks pulse laser rifle was first published with its 1d6x10 burst. We were all terrified that anyone who could carry a 6 pound rifle could destroy our armor in a single attack. Before the Wilks pulse laser rifle, that kind of damage was mostly limited to power armor, borgs carrying heavy weapons, and a handful of other weapons that were well known and easily identifiable (mini-missle launchers, particle beam rifles, etc).

Even the GM chose to ignore the Wilks pulse laser rifle feeling that it was probably an editing error...but then Atlantis came out with a whole bunch of powerful weapons, most notably, the Kitanni knock-off of the Wilks which did even more damage!

I still think it was a mistake to allow a non-heavy weapon to do more than 4d6MD in a single attack. Weapons with x10 multipliers should have been left strictly in the realm of power armor, and vehicle/robot mounted weapons. The original robotech did a good job with this and that's how we expected Rifts to be when we first started playing...boy were we wrong!

--flatline

And yet, I "make do" with 4-6 dice attacks all the time. Mostly because I actually use things like cover, concealment and decoys. It's great to watch them fire off seven shots, only to need to reload, meanwhile I'm still rocking strong after twice as many.

Nekira aptly pointed out in another thread, that there have been two schools of thought in Rifts almost from the beginning : first, the real life, combat is fast and deadly idea and second, the comic book slugfest idea. While real life realism isn't always fun in a game, fast and deadly combat should, SHOULD, make players stop and think twice before they just wade into it, since there character actually has a chance to die. Comic style combat, that lasts round after round with ample chances to flee and survive is probably more fun for the casual gamer, or those that like to fight first and talk later. To me, both have their ups and downs as far as gaming goes, and I can see why both are in Rifts.

[Nekira Sudacne]

The Rifts main book actually had a decent mix of the two. You had average OCC's like the wilderness scout, rouge scholor, city rat, who had a real chance to die at any given time. Then you had full conversion cyborgs in heavy armor, the Enforcer robot and hatchling dragons, that could slug it out for rounds, and the Glitter Boy, that could take down most things quickly but was itself mostly a sitting duck. It was trivial for the GM to decide what he wanted sinse infantry weapons had a reasonable spread and the more powerful classes all had weaknesses that could be exploited.