Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

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Bill
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Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

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This thread compiles my Palladium resources, including printable characters I've generated for demos, my most common house rules, and some homebrew material that I've put together. Use what you like and ignore the rest. Due to rules regarding how many URLs may be included in a single post, my Rifts characters have been relocated down-thread. Happy gaming.

-Bill

Zerebus' List of Languages for Rifts Earth

Rifts Custom Character Sheet V.6-1
After years of trying to make a generic Palladium Megaversal character sheet, I've elected to customize my sheets for each game line. I've also moved away from including detailed notes on the different spells, powers, and abilities that a character might have. Instead I make a note of where the power's description can be found and recommend that players using my characters review them in detail before the game begins. This version of the sheet integrates a combat bonus grid, which should permit players to more quickly combine bonuses and keep multiple combat options all in one place for easy reference.

Colony Sheet
A form for use with the random colony tables from Dimension Book 14, Thundercloud Galaxy.

Rifts Houserules and Rule Variants
Actions
Your character has a number of actions available each melee round (15 seconds) determined by its class, equipment, and training. On your turn, you may declare one action that will resolve immediately. If for any reason you must declare more than one action in a turn (i.e. you choose to declare a power punch or that your character will make an aimed called shot against a target's hand) see the multiple action maneuvers rule below.
Multiple Action Maneuvers
Spells and other powers or actions that may be disrupted or interfered with resolve on the final action necessary to declare them. If your action is disrupted before it resolves, you may attempt a Mental Endurance Check (save vs insanity) to recover any unused actions. Failure indicates that you character is unable to refocus his or her mind quickly enough.

Armor Penalties for Casting Spells
Disregard the random interference table on p188 of RUE. A spellcaster covering more than 50% of his or her body with armor must spend an additional 20% of the P.P.E. cost to cast any given spell. Reduce the Spell Strength of all spells cast by this character by -2; reducing the saving throw roll for spells to a base 10+ at level 1. Damage, duration, and range are unaffected.

Dodging & Parrying
All characters with combat training may attempt to parry any melee attack as a free action, if they have a suitable weapon to do so with. A mega-damage creature's limbs are not a suitable weapon to parry mega-damage attacks with, but extra-long talons or horns may be if the creature possesses them. Many attacks may only be dodged though and dodging requires most characters to forfeit their next action. And if the Knock Down and Knock Back house rule below is in play, dodging may be the only way to avoid being sent sprawling by an opponent's attack. If you have spent all of your actions for the round and must dodge, you may forfeit an action from the next round’s allotment to do so.

Insanity
When rolling for a random insanity, roll 1D4 to determine the basic duration for that insanity in weeks. The character may control his or her behavior related to the insanity, and the player should look at this as an opportunity for creative roleplay; hinting that the character is troubled and struggling with something internally. For this duration, the character no longer rolls for further random insanities. Instead the player rolls an additional 1D4 and adds the result to the number of weeks that the insanity will last without treatment. When an insanity's total duration, including time passed, reaches 26 weeks the insanity becomes permanent until treated and severe enough that the character can no longer manage the symptoms. The player and GM should make an effort to include the impact of the character's insanity on most sessions without allowing it to take over the game. The character will roll for another random insanity when next prompted to.

Knock Back and Knock Down - untested
Substitute the following rules for the optional knock down tables appearing in CB1R, p14. Attacks that result in a target being knocked to the ground remain unmodified and knock back does not apply to them. Kicking a down opponent may cause them to roll or skid though.
Basic Knock Back
An attack that hits or is parried which inflicts 25 Mega-Damage or more will knock back a human-sized character (100-300 lbs) 1D4 yards. Each additional 25 M.D. inflicted by the attack will increase the distance by another 1D4. A character that is knocked back a number of feet greater than its P.P. bonus will fall (losing its next attack/action and initiative) unless it can maintain its balance. Note that characters performing simultaneous attacks can both generate knock back dice and both characters may be knocked away from each other by the force of their blows.
Maintaining Balance & Bracing for Attacks
The knocked back character may attempt to maintain their balance (using an appropriate skill check such as Sense of Balance from Acrobatics or Gymnastics) to avoid falling.
Rather than defend itself with a parry or dodge, a character may spend its next attack action to brace itself against the attack and resist being knocked back. Subtract a number of feet from the final distance equal to the character’s Physical Endurance statistic. Each foot resisted in this fashion causes 1 normal damage to the character’s personal S.D.C. or Hit Points, bypassing its armor. If the knock back distance is reduced to less than a yard, the character will not fall. Mega-Damage characters suffer no additional damage by bracing for an attack, but it still costs their next action to do. Characters that have supernatural endurance (not just Mega-Damage Capacity) may attempt to resist knock back as an automatic effect in this fashion, without spending an action.
Modifiers
Multiply and divide before adding and subtracting; always round down. Apply the doubling rule for damage to knock back as well; a flying character caught in an explosion would triple the number of knock back dice rather than quadruple it. Note: Changes in gravity do not alter a being's mass, but may have an affect on how far a character will be thrown before gravity's pull brings them to a stop. The GM can add or subtract as many knock back dice as he or she deems appropriate to reflect this effect. Characters in microgravity are effectively flying and should be subject to the modifier below.
  • Characters with normal strength inflict an additional 1D4 yards of knock back per 25 points of P.S. (round down).
  • Characters with augmented and robotic strength inflict an additional 1D4 yards of knock back per 20 points of P.S.
  • Characters with supernatural strength inflict an additional 1D4 yards of knock back per 15 points of P.S.
  • For each doubling of the defender's mass (ie 600lbs, 1200lbs, 2400lbs), reduce the knock back dice by 1D4.
  • Defenders with less than normal human mass increase the knock back dice by 1D4 per time halved (ie 50lbs, 25lbs, 12lbs).
  • Characters that Roll with Fall/Impact to reduce the damage they take add 1D4 to the knock back dice.
  • Explosive attacks double the number of knock back dice they generate.
  • Cutting and piercing (such as claw attacks and edged weapons) attacks halve the number of knock back dice they generate.
  • Bite attacks, grabs, holds, and other crushing attacks generate no knock back dice and no other modifiers are applied that would add knock back dice.
  • Incorporeal and intangible characters are immune to knock back.
  • Quadrupeds and targets in a similarly wide stance, including ones lying on the ground after being knocked down, reduce the knock back dice by 1D4.
  • Characters anchored to the ground cannot be knocked back unless the attack is strong enough to pull the anchor free (G.M. fiat, not usually less than 4D4 knock back after other modifiers and pulling anchors free will negate several of those dice as well).
  • Flying characters double the number of knock back dice generated, and must make an appropriate skill roll (piloting, maneuverability, etc.) to avoid losing their next attack action and initiative. Depending on the character’s altitude and the origin of the knock back effect, it may crash into the ground and take damage based on its speed.
Application
To accelerate using this knock back rule, make a note of each character's knock back modifier. Follow the normal combat sequence until after the defender rolls his or her dice. If the attack was parried or if the defender failed to prevent the damage, determine the base number of knock back dice and apply all pertinent modifiers. If the defender failed or chose to take the damage, damage is applied as normal before the knock back dice are rolled. The total knock back dice (if any) are then rolled and the distance in yards that the defender is knocked back determined. If the defender is knocked back a number of feet greater than its P.P. bonus, and the defender is still conscious, it may attempt to maintain its balance with an appropriate skill check to avoid falling.

Layering Armor
Most environmental body armor is similar to an armored wet-suit and wearing armor under, or much more than close fitting underwear, is impossible. Adding heavier armored plates over a standard suit can be done, but it will rapidly compromise the mobility of the armor. Increase the mobility penalty of the suit by 1% for every two additional M.D.C.
Typical power armor suits are also not constructed with an armored pilot in mind. However, suits that may be classed as miniaturized robots like the Glitter Boy or Ultimax have enough room in their cockpit to allow the pilot to wear armored clothing or light environmental body armor (less than 50 M.D.C.).
Full conversion cyborgs are designed to have specialized armor attached to their frame. While very few suits of environmental body armor or power armor are designed to accommodate the additional bulk of a combat cyborg's frame, cyber-humanoids (SB5, p74) may use them. Note that it is incredibly rare for a cyborg to be trained to operate giant robots and power armor; it is seldom even an option for full conversion borgs to do so. Custom built suits are prohibitively expensive, costing two to ten times as much as mass-produced models.

Perception
The perception rules appearing on page 367 of Rifts Ultimate Edition do not mesh well with the skill mechanics for the game. In lieu of those, add the following skill to the Espionage, Rogue, and Wilderness skill categories.
Awareness
A character with the awareness skill has honed his or her ability to notice things in their environment, providing additional insights and offering them some protection from concealed attacks. When selecting Awareness, a character should select an environment that the skill specifically applies to (cities, forests, space, etc.). Awareness may be taken multiple times; add a new environment each time the skill is selected. Apply a -20% modifier when attempting to use Awareness outside of the character's selected environments. Characters without the Awareness skill will notice only obvious aspects of a scene while those making a successful Awareness skill check will be able to find less obvious or hidden clues and details. Apply the character's Awareness skill as a penalty to skills like Prowl, Disguise, and Palming attempts against the character.
Magic users and psychic characters can also use Awareness to sense the presence of magic and the supernatural, including concealed or invisible sources, in their immediate vicinity; 50ft +10ft per level of experience. All other characters may attempt to notice magic and the supernatural, but do so at -20%. Characters that are unaware of magic or have never encountered it before may not recognize it as magic, but will instead experience it as a spooky or weird feeling.
Add a +5% bonus to Awareness for each +1 to Perception that the character may have. Characters with Perception bonuses that do not select Awareness gain a base skill equal to 5% per +1 they may have that applies to their native environment; this skill does not improve with experience. At the GM's discretion, character classes that are described as having superior senses, such as vision or hearing, may also gain a +5% to +10% bonus to Awareness. Characters that select Awareness as a skill gain a one-time bonus of +5% to Appraise Goods, Crime Scene Investigation, Detect Ambush, Detect Concealment, Find Contraband, I.D. Undercover Agents, Interrogation, Recognize Weapon Quality, Surveillance, Tracking (humanoids and robots), Tracking (animals), Wilderness Survival and any special senses that the character may possess; such as the Undead Slayer's ability to sense vampires and the Dog Boy's ability to track by scent. Taking Awareness multiple times does not increase this bonus.
Awareness may be selected as a secondary skill. Base Skill: 20% +2% per level of experience.

Movement
Your character’s speed attribute represents in feet per second how far your character may move. This does not map well to the action system though. As a compromise, observe the following rules.
  • As part of any action, your character may travel a distance in feet up to the character’s speed attribute
  • The character may move twice this distance as part of any action, incurring a -6 penalty to strike and inflicting a -2 penalty against any strikes by your opponents
  • The character may move up to four times this distance as an action unto itself (you may not attack); your opponents still take a -2 to strike your character
  • A character may not exceed its normal maximum movement distance per melee round (SPD*15) through any combination of movement and action

Leaping
A full speed running start (four actions) allows a normal character to leap four inches for every point of P.S. long/across and half that vertically, reduced by 40% for a standing start (no actions). Characters with augmented strength increase the distance by 50%, those with robotic strength double the distance and characters with supernatural strength triple it, unless otherwise indicated in the RCC or OCC of the character. Characters skilled in Acrobatics or Gymnastics may execute a running leap for one fewer actions and increase their standing leap to 80% of a running leap. This rule is modified from the Heroes Unlimited Game Master's Guide.

Swimming
A character trained in the Swimming skill has a swim speed equal to 60% of its Physical Strength. Swimming otherwise follows the rules for movement above. Untrained characters may attempt a Physical Prowess check, see Untrained Skills below, to remain afloat. Apply a -5% penalty for every 10 pounds that a character is carrying in addition to any penalties due to the character's armor. The GM may apply additional penalties if the character is restrained or attempting to do anything but remain afloat.

Shooting Into Melee
Firing into melee is dangerous for friendly characters. You may attempt to fire wildly into the melee, at a -6 penalty, hoping to hit an enemy. To improve your chances you may call a shot, reducing the penalty to -2, using an additional action. A player may also elect to take the aim action, for a total of three actions, to offset the penalty entirely. On a successful roll, the desired target is hit. On a miss, roll a D20. If the roll is 11+, the shot is randomly assigned to one of the characters in the melee; possibly your ally.

Sniping
Per the standard combat rules for Rifts, a character making a ranged attack that the target is unaware of automatically gains initiative and the target is unable to parry or dodge the attack. A character may gain a +2 strike bonus by performing an aim action and an additional +2 strike bonus from the aim action if they have the Sniper skill. Equipment such as an energy rifle designed for sniping or cybernetic eyes may grant additional bonuses to strike. A character may attempt to hit targets at ranges up to the effective range of his or her weapon at no penalty, and may increase the range of their weapon by up to 30% if they take a -5 penalty to the strike roll. It may be advantageous to attempt a called shot against an unarmored or vulnerable portion of the opponent; doing so will incur a penalty on the strike roll based on the size of the intended target (heads are typically -4, hands or feet -6 to hit). Performing a called shot costs an additional action; aiming, then performing a called shot to snipe a target is a total of three actions.
House Rule
In addition to the bonus to aim, the sniping skill grants an additional combat action per melee round that may only be used to aim or declare a called shot and increases the long range of any weapon used by the character to 50% more than the effective range. Using this action counts as one of the two actions that a player may declare in a round (see Actions, above). Successful called shots against vital areas (the head or heart of a human being) are critical strikes. A successful Lore skill check appropriate for the target will reveal any vital areas that it may possess. The relative rarity of certain D-Bees, monsters, demons, and creatures of magic may impose a penalty on the Lore check.

Suppressive Fire
Any weapon that may fire in bursts may be used to lay down suppressive fire on an area up to five feet in diameter for every round in the burst. (i.e. a three round burst affects up to a 15 foot area while a 30 round burst may be spread across a 150 foot area.) Suppressive fire is not specifically intended to hit anybody, instead it is used to pin down an opponent and prevent them from effectively shooting back. That said, persons in an area under suppressive fire can be injured or killed by it. Note: Firing into a crowd of civilians is not suppressive fire. The GM should decide how many people are killed when a character turns his or her weapon on a crowd.
After declaring suppressive fire, randomly select one target in the area to execute a wild shot against (-6 to strike) for every 10 rounds in the burst (minimum 1). If the target is hit, inflict the damage for a single shot from the weapon. If a critical is rolled, inflict the damage for a single shot (not double damage) and randomly select a target to execute a wild shot against again. The same target may be hit more than once. Repeat the process if another critical is rolled until all shots are accounted for. It is highly improbable that a player will roll more than a single critical, but it is possible. Targets behind full cover are exempt from randomized hits. Note: Only M.D.C. cover can protect a character from Mega-Damage attacks.
In addition, any character in the area under suppressive fire or attempting to cross it must save vs Horror Factor to move or shoot without penalty. The base Horror Factor of suppressive fire is 10; add +1 for every 10 rounds in the burst (i.e. a 30 round burst has a H.F. 13). If the character fails their save, they must spend their next action to take cover and they lose initiative. Characters that save versus Horror Factor may attempt to return fire, but doing so is considered a wild shot (-6 to strike). Suppressive fire remains in effect on an area until the end of the current initiative round.
Weapons that fire clouds of projectiles, such as shotguns loaded with pellets rather than slugs or explosive shells are more effective for suppressing an area. Multiply the number of rounds fired by three to determine how many strike rolls to make and the effective horror factor that targets in the area must save against. Suppressive fire is only effective against characters that can be harmed by the attack. A hail of S.D.C. bullets will not perturb characters that are invulnerable to that type of damage.

Untrained Skill Checks
Skills that may be learned without formal training (those defined specifically as secondary skills on page 300 of Rifts: Ultimate Edition) may be attempted with a skill percentage equal to an appropriate attribute selected by the GM. No other skills may be attempted without training.

W.P. Polearm
Instead of receiving a bonus to damage at levels 2 & 8, characters gain +2 initiative with Polearms at levels 2 & 8.
Last edited by Bill on Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:18 pm, edited 115 times in total.
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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Howdy, Neighbor
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Bill
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Power Ballad - Rules and Notes on Musical Instruments

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The character concept of adventuring performer may be accomplished easily by selecting play musical instrument, performance, and other relevant skills with any extant class. It is therefor unsurprising that there's not a lot in the way of material specifically designed to support those characters. I'll be adding to this for a little while. At least until I get bored with the idea.

New Skills & Skill Adjustments
Communication: Creative Writing
Modify Creative Writing to include the following: Taking this skill twice indicates a professional quality. Choose whether the character is professionally capable as a song writer or literary writer; if the character is capable of professional quality song writing, he takes no penalty for attempting to compose lyrics. Creative writing may be selected three times to make a character capable of professional literary and lyrical works.

Communication: Literacy
Add the following options to Literacy: Musical Notation. Similar to Technocan, Musical Notation has no spoken equivalent. It is used by skilled musicians to record the precise structure of a musical composition. Staff (or stave in England) notation is the most common form of musical notation, but many others are practiced both by groups of humans and the various d-bees that have made their homes on Rifts earth. Musical Notation (race) may be selected as many times as a player wishes with each selection applying to a different racial form of music. Note: Species that have no written language are unlikely to have any form of musical notation; consult your Game Master.

Domestic: Play Musical Instrument
Modify Play Musical Instrument to include the following: Selecting the same instrument twice grants the character the ability to perform at a professional level of quality. Add a one-time bonus of 15% to the skill if this option is taken. This option was included in the original iteration of Play Musical Instrument; see Lancer's Rockers p.9. I do not know why it was removed.

Military: Demolitions
A character with the demolitions skill may attempt to create a pleasing pyrotechnics display at a -10% penalty to his or her normal skill. Characters trained in demolitions gain a one-time bonus of +5% to pyrotechnics.

Technical: Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the specialized skill of producing gaudy displays of light, smoke, and sound for entertainment purposes. 30%+5%/level
A skilled pyrotechnician may attempt to destroy a structure or create a boobytrap at a -20% penalty, if he or she has access to appropriate volatile materials. Characters trained in pyrotechnics may add a one-time bonus of +2% to demolitions and demolitions disposal.

General Modifiers
Attempting to identify a particular piece of music or a song from a culture that a character is familiar with may be accomplished with a -10% to -40% penalty to the relevant skill (Anthropology, History, or Lore), depending on how popular the piece is or was.

Equipment
Concealed Weapons
Concealing weapons in musical instruments can be quite tricky. The shape and materials of most instruments cannot be altered without changing how they sound. Therefor, while it is possible to disguise a weapon as a small instrument, it is impossible to conceal a weapon in anything smaller than a violin. Even then, the concealed weapon makes it more difficult for the musician to perform; apply a -15% penalty.

Any concealable bionic weapon system that may be adapted for use with an e-clip can be concealed in the musical instrument of your choice for 10,000 credits. Work with your GM to determine what the weapon looks like when it is deployed.

Magic Instruments
Many common enchantments may be applied to musical instruments with little modification. A competent alchemist or other artificer may apply these enchantments for the listed prices.

Blinding Flash three times daily as a 4th level caster. Used by a skillful performer, the blinding flash can be used to augment his or her performance skill by +5%. 4,000 credits.

Color any color can be selected. 500 credits.

Continual Glow amber, white, light blue, light red. This enchantment is impressive for common audiences, +5% to performance. 1,200 credits.

Impervious to Fire the instrument is impervious to normal flame. Even enchanted instruments are not normally megadamage items and they would be instantly destroyed if hit by a MD fire or plasma attack. 4,000 credits.

Indestructible the gold standard in magical insurance for your precious musical instrument. Only removing the enchantment will allow it to be destroyed. While not intended for use as a weapon, an indestructible instrument may be used as a club with damage appropriate for its size. Consult your GM for how many dice to roll when hitting a target with your indestructible musical instrument. 30,000 credits.

Invisible Instrument the person playing the instrument is able to see it all other observers cannot without magical aid. This gimmick can grant a performer a small bonus (+10%) to his or her performance skill the first time an audience sees it. 25,000 credits.

Demonbane the sound of the music made with the instrument causes intense discomfort to demons. Demons must save vs Horror Factor 14. Even if successful, the demon suffers the following penalties while it can hear the music; -3 Initiative, -2 Strike, -2 Parry, -2 Dodge. 15,000 credits.

Deevilbane as per demonbane, but affects deevils. 12,000 credits.

Dragonbane as per demonbane, but affects dragons and sea serpents. 20,000 credits.

Flaming this instrument is covered in fire. While impressive, the effect does not make the musician immune to flame and any character that is not will suffer 2D6 SDC for every action that he or she attempts to play it. A musician that is immune to fire damage enjoys a +10% bonus to performance. A flaming instrument comes with a fire-resistant case. 20,000 credits.

Returns When Thrown allows a character to perform impressive feats, throwing the instrument over the crowd's head and continuing the performance after it returns, granting a 10% bonus to his or her performance skill. 20,000 credits.

Spits Fire Balls launches fire balls up to three times per day. The fireballs may be launched in an impressive display, granting the musician a +15% bonus to his or her performance skill. They may also be used to attack targets within 60ft, inflicting 3D6 MD. 35,000 credits.

Spits Lightning shoots bolts of lightening up to three times per day. A well timed lightning bolt can grant the musician a +15% bonus to his or her performance skill. The bolts may also be used to attack targets within 40ft, inflicting 4D6 MD. 40,000 credits.

Teleport Player a tremendous way to make an entrance, the instrument will teleport the musician playing it up to five miles three times per day; follows the same limitations as the teleport spell. Timed correctly, the musician's sudden appearance or change of position can grant a +10% bonus to his or her performance skill. 200,000 credits.

Thundering the musician may cause his or her instrument to emit a clap of thunder at will. Used judiciously, this effect can augment a crescendo to new heights; granting the character +10% to his or her performance skill. Overused, it is deafening and annoying. Additionally, when used as a blunt weapon, the enchantment increases the damage of the instrument by 2D6 and converts it to megadamage; a peal of thunder announces every strike or parry. 40,000 credits.

Turns Player Invisible the musician may make himself and up to one other person touching the instrument invisible for up to ten minutes, three times per day. Used effectively, this enchantment can grant a performer +15% to his or her performance skill. 50,000 credits.

Turns Player Fire Resistant frequently coupled with the flaming enchantment, this option makes the player immune to fire produced by his or her own instrument as long as he or she holds it. As an additional benefit, the player may invoke the instrument's power up to four times per day, for up to 20 minutes, to become immune to normal fire damage. The character takes half damage from magical and MD fires. 20,000 credits.

Rune Instruments
Techno-Wizard Instruments
Last edited by Bill on Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:33 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Power Ballad - Rules and Notes on Musical Instruments

Unread post by zyanitevp »

Bill wrote:The character concept of adventuring performer may be accomplished easily by selecting play musical instrument, performance, and other relevant skills with any extant class. It is therefor unsurprising that there's not a lot in the way of material specifically designed to support those characters. I'll be adding to this for a little while. At least until I get bored with the idea.

New Skills & Skill Adjustments
Communication: Creative Writing
Modify Creative writing to include the following: Taking this skill twice indicates a professional quality. Choose whether the character is professionally capable as a song writer or literary writer; if the character is capable of professional quality song writing, he takes no penalty for attempting to compose lyrics. Creative writing may be selected three times to make a character capable of professional literary and lyrical works.

Communication: Literacy
Add the following options to Literacy: Musical Notation. Similar to Technocan, Musical Notation has no spoken equivalent. It is used by skilled musicians to record the precise structure of a musical composition. Staff (or stave in England) notation is the most common form of musical notation, but many others are practiced both by groups of humans and the various d-bees that have made their homes on Rifts earth. Musical Notation (race) may be selected as many times as a player wishes with each selection applying to a different racial form of music. Note: Species that have no written language are unlikely to have any form of musical notation; consult your Game Master.

Domestic: Play Musical Instrument
Modify Play Musical Instrument to include the following: Selecting the same instrument twice grants the character the ability to perform at a professional level of quality. Add a one-time bonus of 15% to the skill if this option is taken. This option was included in the original iteration of Play Musical Instrument; see Lancer's Rockers p.9. I do not know why it was removed.

Military: Demolitions
A character with the demolitions skill may attempt to create a pleasing pyrotechnics display at a -10% penalty to his or her normal skill. Characters trained in demolitions gain a one-time bonus of +5% to pyrotechnics.

Technical: Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the specialized skill of producing gaudy displays of light, smoke, and sound for entertainment purposes. 30%+5%/level A skilled pyrotechnician may attempt to destroy a structure or create a boobytrap at a -20% penalty, if he or she has access to appropriate volatile materials. Characters trained in pyrotechnics may add a one-time bonus of +2% to demolitions and demolitions disposal.

General Modifiers
Attempting to identify a particular piece of music or a song from a culture that a character is familiar with may be accomplished with a -10% to -40% penalty to the relevant skill (Anthropology, History, or Lore), depending on how popular the piece is or was.

Equipment
Concealed Weapons
Concealing weapons in musical instruments can be quite tricky. The shape and materials of most instruments cannot be altered without changing how they sound. Therefor, while it is possible to disguise a weapon as a small instrument, it is impossible to conceal a weapon in anything smaller than a violin. Even then, the concealed weapon makes it more difficult for the musician to perform; apply a -15% penalty.

Any concealable bionic weapon system that may be adapted for use with an e-clip can be concealed in the musical instrument of your choice for 10,000 credits. Work with your GM to determine what the weapon looks like when it is deployed.

Magic Instruments
Rune Instruments
Techno-Wizard Instruments

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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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Klamath Falls...Is that any where near Eugene?
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The Oh So Amazing Nate!

Nate, you sir win the internet for today! You've definitely earned the "oh so amazing" part of your name today. :lol:
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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Class Modifications

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Shifter
Link to Supernatural: Gods of Love (fertility/love/sex/etc.)
These are deities and pantheons that focus on love, lust, sex, fertility, and associated concepts. Some may approach a Shifter after he or she has found his or her soul-mate, others may require a Shifter to engage in all manner of seduction and perversion before bestowing power upon him. A few may give and take their gifts without provocation (love can be fickle), but most require the Shifter to demonstrate her commitment.
Bonuses: +5D6+6 to P.P.E., +1 to save vs magic, +2D4 to Mental Affinity, +2D6 to Physical Beauty, the Shifter may use astral projection as per the psychic ability at will (requires one action), and gains 1D4 spells from the following list Charismatic Aura, Charm, Distant Voice, Ensorcel, Hallucination, Locate, Magic Pigeon, Mask of Deceit, Second Sight, See Aura, Tongues, Trance, Water to Wine, and Words of Truth (the GM may allow the character to select other spells if they are appropriate to the deity to which the Shifter has linked himself to). If the Shifter proves worthy, at levels four and eight he will be granted a +1 to Spell Strength in addition to his own O.C.C. bonuses.
Penalty: As an agent of these deities, the Shifter will be tasked with arranging the pairing of specific people at different times and places or breaking up couples that have offended their masters. The Shifter also becomes easily infatuated and may fall in love with a new person, place, or idea at any time. This can make her behavior highly erratic as she abandons plans to pursue her new love with all of the resources at her disposal.
Last edited by Bill on Fri Oct 16, 2015 5:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by Warshield73 »

Bill, this is great stuff. I plan to use a few as NPC's in some upcoming demos. Thanks for sharing your work.
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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Nice!
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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Warshield73 wrote:Bill, this is great stuff. I plan to use a few as NPC's in some upcoming demos. Thanks for sharing your work.
zyanitevp wrote:Nice!


Thank you both. I have added a few things. :-D
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by FatherMorpheus »

Bill wrote:I'm creating this thread in an effort to promote my (mostly) weekly Rifts demo in Klamath Falls, Oregon. We play (nearly) every Wednesday from 6pm to close at Astral Games, on 8th and Main. Anyone is welcome to attend and, if you wish to create your own character, I only ask that you contact me in advance to discuss what would be appropriate for the group.<SNIP>


Hey there, any chance you get up to Northern Oregon at all? Like all the way up Highway 97 to the Columbia River?
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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I visit Wilsonville for work about three times a year. Otherwise, no.
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by grandmaster z0b »

Thanks heaps for these NPCs, a GM can never have enough.
The word "THAN" is important. Something is "better than" something else, not "better then", it's "rather than" not "rather then".
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Re: Klamath Falls RIFTs - And Resources

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You're welcome.
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Wormwood Specific Stuff

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On July 1, 2015, I started a semi-weekly, drop-in campaign set in Wormwood. The campaign was scheduled to run 10 sessions over 20 weeks. It concluded November 4, 2015.
Original material for the campaign appears below.

Support Documents
Introduction Handout
Campaign Notes

Symbiotes
Adrenal Claw
An adrenal claw attaches to its host's abdomen just above the waist, over one of his or her kidneys.
Powers & Bonuses: Wearing an adrenal claw enhances the host's strength to the augmented category and increases their S.D.C. or M.D.C. by 25%, while granting them a +10% bonus to save vs Coma/Death. In combat, the wearer can further enhance their strength to supernatural levels for 1D4+1 melee rounds. For this duration, the character gains +50 S.D.C. or M.D.C. and is impervious to pain, fatigue, drugs, disease, mind control, possession, bio-manipulation, or empathic transmission. In this state the character is hyper-aggressive, gaining +1 attack/action per melee round, and benefits from +2 to initiative, +1 to strike, +2 to parry and dodge, +6 vs Horror Factor until the duration lapses.
Penalties: The character becomes incredibly jumpy and anxious after bonding with an adrenal claw. All skill performance is done at a -10% penalty. After using the adrenal claw's combat abilities the host becomes fatigued for 1D4+1 hours. Reduce the character's usual combat actions by -1 and all of the character's combat bonuses, saving throw bonuses, and Speed attribute by half; skills are performed at an additional -10% penalty. Note: Wearing more than one adrenal claw has no additional benefits.

Aural Claw
The finger-like limbs of this claw wrap around its host's throat.
Powers & Bonuses: The character's voice acquires a strange vibrating quality and tends to shift up and down in tone unpredictably when he or she is not intentionally controlling it. The symbiote allows its host to manipulate the sound of its voice, to mimic others, to produce deafening screams, shatter fragile objects, and even blast individual targets with damaging sound at short range.
Mimicry: The character can attempt to produce any sound. To mimic a specific voice, the character must roll 01-50% +4% per level after the first. Characters with the Imitate Voices & Sounds skill gain a +20% bonus to that skill. Characters with Impersonation gain +5% to impersonate specific individuals.
Deafening Scream: All characters within 30 feet +5 feet per level after the first, must roll a 15 or better to save vs being deafened for 1D4 minutes.
Shatter Fragile Objects: Any object within 30 feet +1 foot per level after the first, made of glass, crystal, pottery, hard plastic, cement, brick, stone or other somewhat brittle material with M.D.C. of 1 or less shatters when the character finds the right frequency. Finding the correct frequency takes 1D10 melee rounds. The character may unintentionally damage other objects while searching for the right frequency (01-50% chance).
Sonic Blasts: The character can strike targets up to 10 feet in front of them, +1 foot per level, with a destructive blast of sound. One or two targets that are within five feet of each other suffer 2D4 M.D. +1D4 M.D. at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. Each sonic blast counts as one attack.
Penalties: Reduce P.B. by one point. The character's voice may be damaged by using it as a weapon. After each battle where the character has used the aural claw's sonic blast attack roll a 15 or better on a twenty sided die to save against straining the character's voice. If the roll fails, the character cannot use any of the powers granted by the aural claw until he or she has fully healed all damage (minimum one day). Note: Wearing an aural claw and a digestive worm negates the powers of the former.

Black Claw
Like the booster claw, the black claw must be attached on the face around one of the host's eyes. The black claw is actually a mottled blue and yellow. Within two days of being attached, the eye turns a milky white.
Powers & Bonuses: The character gains the ability to project an inky black bolt of pure negative energy from the eye that the black claw is around. The bolt inflicts 1D6 M.D. +1D6 at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 and has a range of 400 feet. Each blast counts as one melee attack and experienced characters can control the amount of damage inflicted in 1D6 increments. The black claw enables the character to see perfectly in absolute darkness (including magical) and to detect creatures and objects concealed by magical and non-magical darkness (including shadow beasts). Lastly, the character may attempt to control shadow beasts; 01-50% chance +2% per level of experience, beginning at second level. If successful, the shadow beast will obey most of the character's commands; though attempting to restrain it from committing acts of violence will prompt another control roll. Even if the character fails a control roll, shadow beasts will not attack he or she unless attacked first. Note: Bonding with a black claw does not grant the character the ability to summon shadow beasts.
Penalties: Reduce P.B. by 20%. The character's circadian rhythm shifts and he or she will become nocturnal. Being forced to operate during the day will be uncomfortable and exhausting. The character also becomes very sensitive to light; double the damage and/or duration of light based attacks (lasers, blinding, etc.). The character's number of attack/actions and combat bonuses are reduced by half in bright light.

Bounding Claw
These claws are typically worn in pairs (or more), with one around each leg over the quadriceps muscles (or equivalent). Unlike claw-feet, the bounding claw does not by itself grant the ability to inflict Mega-Damage with kicks.
Powers & Bonuses: The bounding claw enhances each leg's strength and flexibility, granting the character the ability to leap a prodigious 10 feet per point of P.S. As long the host is able to land on his or her feet (a successful balance or flip roll), he or she can fall up to twice this distance. The character also gains +10 to its Speed attribute, 15 S.D.C. or M.D.C., +1 to roll with impact, and is able to inflict +1D6 damage with kick attacks.
Penalties: The character is constantly moving and must conspicuously lope and spring, even when walking. -15% to any attempt to move stealthily and -10% to all other skills. The character prefers to be outside where he or she can move freely.

Whip Claw
The whip claw burrows under the skin of its host's forearm, giving it a thick, knotted appearance while leaving an eight inch boney protrusion exposed.
Powers & Bonuses: The whip claw is actually a ten-foot long muscular tentacle that is housed in the host's forearm. Used to strike a target, the whip-claw's barb inflicts 2D4 M.D. It may be used to entangle an opponent's weapon as an attack or defensive action, with a +2 bonus. It can also manipulate objects with a P.S. equal to its wearer or be used to climb up any surface that the barb can anchor itself into or that the tentacle can wrap around; +10% to climb. 25% of whip claws are venomous; an opponent damaged by a venomous whip claw must save vs Poison or take an additional 1D4 points of damage per melee for 1D4+1 minutes. Wearers of venomous whip claws are impervious to normal poisons and gain a +2 bonus to save vs magical or supernatural poisons. Note: W.P. Whip can be applied when using the whip claw.
Penalties: Reduce P.B. and P.P. by 1. An attacker that successfully grabs the whip-claw can attempt to tear it free from the host, but must inflict a minimum of 20 M.D.C. to do so (use normal punch damage).

Spark Bug - A Crawler
A large beetle-like creature with two thick wing-covers that attaches to its host's chest like a breastplate. The spark bug provides its host armor and shares its strange bio-pyrotechnic powers with he or she. The creature's body is usually bright blue, but its wing covers may be a variety of wild patterns. Symbiotic warriors that wear spark bugs often decorate their wing covers with heraldry and, if literate, personal mottoes.
Powers: The spark bug grants its wearer +50 M.D.C. After bonding with a spark bug, the host may cause the creature's abdomen to glow, illuminating 30 feet in front of he or she. The host may also fire blasts of explosive jelly from the creature up to 50 feet per level of experience, inflicting 2D4 M.D. +1D4 at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14; the explosion ignites flammable materials. Each blast counts as one melee attack action.
Penalties: Reduce P.B. by 1 and Spd. by 1D6. The character can not wear additional armor on his or her main body.

Vambrace Centipede - A Crawler
This armored, many-legged monster grows as large as five feet in length and can weigh up to 50lbs before it bonds with a host. The vambrace centipede wraps its segmented legs around the host's arm while burrowing its tick-like head into the host's back, near his or her spine, to tap the dorsal scapular artery and nerve. The armored plates of the vambrace centipede protect its host's arm while the creature's muscles augment his or her strength to supernatural levels. The creature's tail covers the top of the host's hand, restricting the character's movement, but leaves his or her fingers free.
Bonuses: The host gains 1D4x10+20 M.D.C. on the arm that the vambrace centipede has attached itself to, +10 P.S. and its strength with that arm becomes supernatural (allowing the character to inflict Mega-Damage with punches). The character may attempt to parry Mega-Damage melee attacks with the arm and gains a +2 bonus to do so. In S.D.C. environments, treat the vambrace centipede as a shield with 1D4x10+20 S.D.C. (see PFRPG p.60; reduce damage from a blocked attack before applying it to the shield by 10%). The character's strength is still increased and enhanced to supernatural, see the supernatural strength damage table for the appropriate setting.
Penalties: Reduce the character's P.B. by 1, P.P. by 1 and skills that require fine motor skills are performed at a -5% penalty due to the thick chitenous plates covering the character's hand.

Breakstar
A small, blue and green star that can be worn in the palm of one or both hands.
Powers: The breakstar acts as a focal point for the wearer's energy. After a moment of concentration, the host can gently touch a person or object and unleash that energy in a single catastrophic attack. Each use of this power costs two attack actions. The target suffers damage as if struck by a power-punch from a creature with supernatural strength equivalent to the host's own P.S.
Alternatively, the host can choose to direct his or her energy to push the touched target. The target is pushed 2D4 yards +1 yard per level of experience, loses initiative and two melee attacks. The target also suffers damage equivalent to a punch from a creature with supernatural strength equivalent to the host's own P.S.
Penalties: The breakstar requires a huge amount of the potential psychic energy and will only attach to individuals with 50 or more P.P.E. Characters that do attach a breakstar reduce their permanent P.P.E. by 50%. The breakstar causes wearers to become distant and aloof.

Obedience Star
Attaching to the wearer’s head or neck, this ugly brown star is about the size of a human hand. The obedience star is a product of the Unholy’s tampering with Wormwood and is used to keep slaves docile.
Powers: +5 P.E. and increases the wearer’s endurance to supernatural levels. He or she never seems to tire and can operate at full effectiveness up to a week without sleep.
Penalties: The wearer will obey the verbal commands of anyone he or she can understand, even harming himself in the process. Reduce the wearer’s I.Q. by 20%, save vs psionics by -2, and save vs mind control by -4.

Telestar
This shimmering gold star is three inches from point to point and attaches to the wearer's forehead or chest.
Powers: Psychic body field, telekinesis, telekinetic leap, telekinetic lift, telekinetic punch and telekinetic push. ISP: The character's M.E. x5.
Penalties: Makes the character very sensitive to confined spaces and being touched; -1 M.A. and may freeze-up/hyperventilate in confined spaces (01-50% chance).

Volitation Star
The silver and black volitation star attaches to the wearer's back, between his or her shoulder-blades.
Powers: With a mental command, the wearer can cause the volitation star to expel a pair of ectoplasmic wings proportionate to the wearer (wingspan approximately double the wearer's height; i.e. a five foot tall character will produce wings that spread up to ten feet wide) that will carry him or her aloft or be used to prevent the character from falling. The actual appearance of the wings is reflective of the wearer's psyche and can range from huge and feathered, to leathery, to insect-like; however, without exception, the ectoplasm that forms the wings is semi-transparent and white. Covering the volitation star with armor or clothing prevents it from working. The ectoplasmic wings may be used to fly or hover in place and confer the following abilities and bonuses while the character is hovering at least several inches above the ground:
Spd. 160 mph plus 10 mph per level of experience, +2 strike, +2 parry, +4 to dodge when hovering or flying at speeds less than 80 mph, +6 to dodge when flying at speeds 90 mph or faster, each wing has 30 M.D.C. Reduce the character's flight speed by half when one wing is reduced to 10 or fewer M.D.C. Destroying a wing prevents the character from flying for 24 hours.
Penalties: Wearers become prone to depression when they cannot fly. The character will never willingly walk as long as they wear a volitation star. The character can attempt a save vs Insanity to enter spaces where they cannot fly or to conceal their wings. A character that fails this save must be forced to do so and will resist violently.

Wonderstar
The body of this star is only two inches across, but it has very long arms; more than a foot when fully grown. It must be attached to the host's forehead, its five limbs wrapping around the head. Only one wonderstar can be worn by a single character. These stars are green with gold scales.
Powers: The wonderstar's effects are influenced by its host's alignment. Hosts with a good alignment gain an awe factor, psychically influencing those around them and stunning evil beings with their aura of supernatural goodness. Hosts with an evil alignment gain a horror factor that terrifies their opponents with waves of psychic dread. Those with selfish alignments gain a bonus to their ability to charm and impress others. The character's Awe/Horror Factor is 1D4+10 +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12. Selfish characters gain the ability to Charm/Impress at 50% or a bonus to Charm/Impress of +20%; the ability or bonus increases by +5% at levels 4, 8, and 12. Changes in the host's alignment can change the symbiot's effect.
Penalties: The wearer's face is permanently disfigured by the wonderstar; reduce P.B. by 1D6. The wearer also becomes reckless and prone to overestimate his or her abilities.

Brain Worm
A slim purple worm, eight inches in length, the brain worm is inserted into its host's nose. It climbs through the sinus cavity, pierces the thin wall of skull and attaches to the frontal lobe of the host's brain. The worm dangles from its host's nose, like an enormous booger. Wearers of the brain worm are able to perform incredible intellectual feats and amazing acts of deductive reasoning.
Powers: Increase the wearer's I.Q. to 24 +2d6 and add a one-time bonus of +10% to each of the character's Language, Literacy and Mathematics skills in addition to the bonus from having an exceptional I.Q. The character gains +2 to save vs mind control, possession, and illusions (including magical ones). In addition, the host may use the psychic sensitive power Clairvoyance at will. Note: This places the character's I.Q. well beyond the genius range. Any player that chooses this symbiot for his or her character should work with the G.M. to make sure the character can effectively make the logical leaps that are outside of his or her actual abilities.
Penalties: People with brain worms are frequently lost in thought and distractible. When not specifically focused on searching for something, the host is -5 to Perception rolls. The character is also more susceptible to insanity, suffering a -3 penalty on saves vs Insanity, and anyone receiving a brain worm immediately rolls on the Random Insanity Table (RUE, p.332) with no saving throw possible! This is one of the very few ways that a Wormspeaker, who is usually of good or selfish alignment because of his or her bond to the living planet, may become an evil alignment.

Digestive Worm
This very large worm is two feet long and over an inch in diameter. It must be swallowed whole and alive, a feat that few humans are able to accomplish. It attaches to the stomach wall and esophagus, effectively lining its host's throat, granting them the ability to vomit a stream of powerful acid as well as the ability to eat almost anything remotely classifiable as food.
Powers: As often as once a minute, the host can vomit a stream of acid (10 feet, +2 feet per level of experience) that will inflict 3D6 M.D. to anything it hits. It continues to burn anything it is touching for 2D4 melee rounds or until neutralized; inflicting 1D6 M.D. each subsequent round. The acid is quite potent and it is capable of dissolving most metals (even Mega-Damage ones!) and hardened resin. The host also gains a +5 bonus to save vs Poisons and Drugs and becomes completely immune to food-borne illnesses; capable of eating the most spoiled and rotting foods, even those carrying non-supernatural parasites, with no ill effect.
Penalties: The host's esophagus becomes thickened and rigid, impairing his or her ability to speak. They can only speak at a whisper. Many that choose to carry a digestive worm elect to learn one form of sign language or another.

Worms of Pain
Changed into a weapon by the Unholy’s dark priests, six of these tiny purple worms are force-fed to prisoners as torture. Typically a dozen or two may be found or summoned
Powers: The victim is wracked with pain for the next six hours, or until expelled by magic. This grants interrogators a +25% bonus on all attempts to extract information from the victim.
Penalties: The agony reduces the victim’s ability to move to 10% of his normal Spd, attack actions are reduced to one per melee, and all combat bonuses are reduced to zero. Skills are performed at -50%. The victim may attempt to save vs pain (16+) once per melee to reduce these penalties; moving at half normal Spd, half his normal attack actions, reducing combat bonuses by half and skill performance by -25% instead.

Corrupted or Evil Symbiotes
Phage Mites
These nasty bugs are a quarter inch in diameter and bright red. They move very fast in swarms and devour any non-living organic matter that they come into contact with. Living flesh they encounter is not safe either; the phage mites burrow into it to lay their eggs. The living victim becomes a walking hive for these monsters and spreads them across Wormwood until they die from the phage mites spreading through their bodies. A phage mite infested creature has many small open wounds where the bugs have burrowed into their flesh. A careful observer can see them crawling both on the hive and under its skin.
Phage Mite Swarm Stats
Attributes of Note: Spd. 30
M.D.C.: 1D4x10 points
Notes: The phage mite swarm inflicts 6D6 damage (S.D.C. or M.D.C.) per melee round to non-living organic matter such as wood, leather, cloth, paper, bones, angel hair, etc. Depleting a swarm's M.D.C. causes the swarm to disperse. If no hive is present, the swarm is unlikely to reform. If one is available, the swarm will reform in 6D6 hours. Everyone within the general vicinity of the swarm (10 yards) that is not impervious to symbiotes must save vs Disease to avoid becoming infested by the phage mites. An infested creature suffers 1D6 damage (S.D.C. or M.D.C.) per week that they are infested. This damage cannot be healed while infested, even by regeneration. The bugs may be removed by successfully casting Repel Symbiotes, but they will return if eggs have already been laid (after 1D4 days; the eggs hatch in a week). Only the spells Purge, Purge Self, or Remove Symbiotes are totally effective. Phage Mites are especially attracted to the undead and will completely consume animated corpses in very short order. Vampires, ghouls, worm zombies, and other types of undead that are more a form of living death are infested as above.

Parasites
Medusae
Looking similar to giant jellyfish in a myriad of colors and ranging in size from a foot in diameter to three yards across, the graceful medusae drift through Wormwood's atmosphere on the breeze, their long oral arms trailing beneath them. Like other parasites, medusae once acted as Wormwood's natural defense system, capturing stray creatures and absorbing pollutants from the air. Since being corrupted by the Unholy, a swarm of medusae is a dreadful sight that inspires terror in all that behold it. On a gentle breeze, they are easy to avoid and present nothing more than a nuisance. Driven by conjured gales the swarm can devour entire communities without warning though. The delicate looking arms carry lethal venom and will drag victims into the beast for digestion, never to be seen again. Medusae grow and shrink in size depending on the availability of food. The more they consume, the larger they become, and the longer they must go without food, the smaller they are. Rare specimens up to ten yards in diameter with arms over 100 feet in length have been sighted by some aerialists. Thought to have been altered by the Host's foul sorceries and intentionally overfed, these behemoths carry war engines and raiding parties on their gas-filled bodies.
Medusae - Small
Attributes of Note: P.P. 22, P.S. 20 (supernatural), Spd. N/A (drifts with the wind)
M.D.C.: 4D6 points
Mega-Damage:
Slap: 1D6 M.D.; struck targets must save vs Non-Lethal Poison or be stunned for 2D4 melee rounds, characters in environmental battle armor are immune to this effect.
Digest: 2D4 M.D.; a stunned target must first be held by the medusae, then it may begin digesting it. Digestion does not require an action, but only deals damage once per melee round.
Number of attacks per melee round: Three with oral arms.
Bonuses: +6 strike, +6 entangle, +6 hold, +5 roll with impact.
Medusae - Large
Attributes of Note: P.P. 22, P.S. 30 (supernatural), Spd. N/A (drifts with the wind)
M.D.C.: 1D4x10+20 points
Mega-Damage:
Slap: 3D6 M.D.; struck targets must save vs Non-Lethal Poison or be stunned for 2D4 melee rounds, characters in environmental battle armor are immune to this effect.
Digest: 1D4x10 M.D.; a stunned target must first be held by the medusae, then it may begin digesting it. Digestion does not require an action, but only deals damage once per melee round.
Number of attacks per melee round: Five with oral arms.
Bonuses: +8 strike, +8 entangle, +8 hold, +2 roll with impact.
Medusae - Gigantic
Attributes of Note: P.P. 22, P.S. 50 (supernatural), Spd. N/A (drifts with the wind)
M.D.C.: 6D6x10+100 points
Mega-Damage:
Slap: 6D6 M.D.; struck targets must save vs Non-Lethal Poison or be stunned for 2D4 melee rounds, characters in environmental battle armor are immune to this effect.
Digest: 2D6x10 M.D.; a stunned target must first be held by the medusae, then it may begin digesting it. Digestion does not require an action, but only deals damage once per melee round.
Number of attacks per melee round: Eight with oral arms.
Bonuses: +10 strike, +10 entangle, +10 hold.
Notes: A small medusae (between one and three feet in diameter) is little threat, but it is very rare to find one by itself. Swarms are usually composed of 2D6+2 individuals and may include one or more large medusae as well. Medusae are nearly mindless. Unless controlled by a Wormspeaker or other character capable of summoning & commanding parasites, they go only where the wind takes them and consume anything that comes within reach. Large and gigantic medusae may be ridden; large medusae can carry up to one ton while giants can carry up to ten tons. Some travelers and traders construct elaborate cabins on the backs of their medusae.
Last edited by Bill on Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:55 pm, edited 41 times in total.
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by Fell »

Always enjoy Wormwood additions :)

Nice. My current game group has spent the last two years (IRL) playing Rifts and 90% of it has been on Wormwood. Its crazy I keep trying to get them to leave (plots and story arcs) but they seem to like it there too much (even with descriptions of how much World Gate is a cesspool) lol.

All the resources here are great, used several of your NPC's, thanks.
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by Bill »

You're welcome. I'm glad they've been useful. Leaving Wormwood can be very costly. Especially after picking up a symbiot.
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by Crash187 »

Not too shabby bromeister9000!
In the crash-zone; we fight the nothing.
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Ninjas & Superspies Material

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I'm adding Ninjas & Superspies to my demo rotation.

Custom Ninjas & Superspies Revised Character Sheet
This sheet features a section for the character's randomly generated family and background information, cover identities, up to two martial art styles, and a set of check-boxes for the various martial arts moves available to these characters designed to help a player keep track of their combat options and which form they have to be using to take advantage of them.

Characters
One
Espionage Agent - Gadgeteer (Hacker)
Free Agent - Thief
Gizmoteer - Gizoid
Martial Artist - Dedicated (Sumo)
Mercenary - Cyborg Soldier
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

Unread post by zyanitevp »

Very cool, thanks for sharing!
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Bill
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

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Mutants in Orbit is honestly its own setting, so I'm treating it as one. The characters below include Orbital Occupations presented on pages 7-9, a juicer, and a crazy. The latter two are modified using the changes from page 59 of MiO. The Orbital Occupations in the book are very bare bones, which makes characters using them very fast to build.

Custom Mutants in Orbit Character Sheet

The sheet includes a check box section for all combat maneuvers native to Rifts. My intent is to showcase a wider variety of combat maneuvers when I run demos. The indicated damage dice expressions are from Heroes Unlimited; they are slightly different but from what is printed in RUE, but more distinct from each other than what is printed there. I've also separated Roll with Fall from Roll with Impact/Punch because the former has a fixed difficulty.

Stuff under Basic Combat Moves is included in all combat training. Ultimate Edition doesn't actually say what moves can be performed without training, but I'd be inclined to cross off Body Block/Tackle, Body Flip/Throw, Disarm, Pull Punch, Roll with Fall/Impact/Punch, Elbow/Forearm, and Power Punch in the rare instance that a player chooses to not take a Hand to Hand combat skill.

I also built some new background tables for MiO that may be useful if you're generating your own characters. The Character Origin Table consolidates the information from the original version appearing on page 7 of MiO with the Rifts setting information for the stations and the Mutation Determination Table on page 13. The family background table is adapted from Ninjas & Superspies. The disposition and attitude tables are adapted from RUE. The star sign table is my own; MiO includes an astrology skill which I intend to use at some point.

Characters
One
Advanced Human Crazy
Human Advanced Juicer
Human Cyborg Defense Officer
Human Mutant Medic
Mutant Guinea Pig Survival Systems Technician
Mutant Snapping Turtle Salvage Expert
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Bill
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Re: Reno RIFTs - And Resources

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Gearing up to run Splicers at this year's RageCon. Creating the custom character sheet for this game was challenging. Splicers features an overwhelming number of moving parts. The Archangel, Dreadguard, Outrider, and Packmaster especially. Each class features deeply customizable elements that more or less necessitated supporting record sheets. I ended up making a two-page character sheet, a two-page host armor sheet, a two-page war mount sheet, a two-page gorehound pack sheet, and a one-page personal wing pack sheet. And theoretically, over the course of a campaign, a single character could end up with one of each!

These sheets have been modified from my basic Rifts sheet. They do not include saving throws for psychic or magic powers since those are intentionally removed from the setting and the combat maneuvers only include the options presented in the Splicers rulebook. The war mount and gorehound sheets do not include Spd in the stat blocks. A gorehound's movement rates are more or less fixed unless modified by a biological enhancement and are included in the common traits section. Movement rates for war mounts are broken out into the various mile per hour ratings.

My set up for the game will be that the player characters are an advance party for House Griffin's first sortie against The Machine in more than a decade. The house's leadership has changed and Warlord Santiago has decided that it's time to quit hiding underground. That will give me a good excuse to explain things as if the player characters had never seen them before.

Custom Splicers Character Sheets
Characters
One
Archangel
Dreadguard
Outrider
Packmaster
Saint
Scarecrow

For the demo, I had three players who selected the Dreadguard, Outrider, and Scarecrow. They were tasked with retrieving a biological sample from a nearby preserve. The retrieval gave them a chance to try a couple skills and even make some combat rolls with no stakes. They managed to blow the crap out of a waterfall area, which set up the next encounter well. After returning the native guide, the players elected to hang around and wait for possible retaliation by the machine. I obliged them with a standard drone squad. Three rounds of combat later, they managed to put down four necroborgs, four necrobots, and two steel troopers.

The game played smoothly and all three players enjoyed the demo. They noted that it was a little difficult to keep track of all of the information. Switching between the character sheet, host armor sheet, and war mount sheet was especially confusing. I could possibly redesign the sheet to break down the combat bonuses for all states in a single table, but that might be just as confusing. I'll think it over for my next Splicers demo.

The characters performed exactly as I expected. The Scarecrow was nigh untouchable while the Outrider's mount put out massive amounts of damage. The Dreadguard was very effective as a generalist without dominating the scene. The session filled the entire four-hour time slot. I might have needed to throw one of the more powerful robots in as a boss-fight if all six PCs had been in play.
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Bill
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Heroes Unlimited

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Messing about with Heroes Unlimited. For these sheets, I've divided it into the character's heroic identity and their mundane identity. Since I expect to focus more on costumed action, I put all of the combat and powers on the hero ID page while the skills, equipment, and background info are on the back. Obviously some characters make that distinction much more blurry and I may end up revising this sheet quite a bit.

Custom Heroes Unlimited Character Sheet
Characters
Level 1
Doctor Ra - Magic (Enchanted Object) - Blaster
Night Wolf - Magic (Enchanted Weapon) - Leader/Flying Speedster
Sphinx - Magic (Bestowed Powers) - Brick
The Acolyte - Magic (Mystical Study) - Tool-kit Spellcaster
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Bill
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Rifts Characters - Level One

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I exceeded the maximum number of URLs that could be included in a single post, so the characters had to get moved down-thread. I've generated many characters over the years, but only since starting to develop my custom character sheet have I been keeping them in an electronic format. Please feel free to print and use these as you see fit. Many characters tagged with (NPC) are suitable for use as player characters, but are on my one-page short form character sheet and may not include all skills that the character has access to. Some characters may also feature equipment that could unbalance a group. Review all characters carefully before handing one out as a PC. All content, beyond the character names and brief back-stories is property of Palladium Books. No challenge to Palladium's copyrights is intended.

Grogach (NPC)
Technically, the grogach doesn't have levels.

Bruutasaur (NPC)
Dog Boy
Emirin (NPC)
Flooper (NPC)
Hawrk-duhk Adventurer
Human Apok (NPC)
Human Coalition Heavy Combat Cyborg
Human Coalition Mind Melter
Human Combat Cyborg
Human Descended Glitter Boy Pilot
Human Gypsy Spy (NPC)
Human Hack Rat
Human ISS Intel Spector (NPC)
Human Merc Soldier (Heavy Weapon Specialist)
Human Mutant Wilderness Scout (NPC)
Human Rogue Scholar
Human Symbiotic Warrior (NPC)
Human Mutant Vagabond - Plant Powers
Hytril Monkey Man (NPC)
Shaper (NPC)
True Atlantean Stone Master
True Atlantean Temporal Wizard
True Atlantean Undead Slayer
True Atlantean Wanderer
Zembahk Mind Worm (NPC)
Last edited by Bill on Mon Dec 17, 2018 12:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

Unread post by smrutibora »

Thanks for this post, this was very helpful for me.
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Re: Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

Unread post by smrutibora »

Rewards: +5D6+6 to P.P.E., +1 to spare versus enchantment, +2D4 to Mental Proclivity, +2D6 to Physical Excellence, the Shifter may utilize astral projection according to the mystic capacity freely (requires one activity), and additions 1D4 spells from the accompanying rundown Appalling Quality, Appeal, Removed Voice, Ensorcel, Pipedream, Find, Enchantment Pigeon, Veil of Double dealing, Second Sight, See Atmosphere, Tongues, Stupor, Water to Wine, and Expressions of Truth (the GM may enable the character to choose different spells in the event that they are fitting to the god to which the Shifter has connected himself to). On the off chance that the Shifter demonstrates commendable, at levels four and eight he will be allowed a +1 to Spell Quality notwithstanding his very own O.C.C. rewards.

Punishment: As an operator of these gods, the Shifter will be entrusted with organizing the matching of explicit individuals at various occasions and places or separating couples that have irritated their lords. The Shifter likewise turns out to be effectively captivated and may begin to look all starry eyed at another individual, spot, or thought whenever. This can make her conduct very whimsical as she surrenders intends to seek after her new love with the majority of the assets available to her.
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Re: Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

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Last edited by tocnaza on Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Class Modifications

Unread post by PIKILIYA »

Bill wrote:Shifter
Link to Supernatural: Gods of Love (fertility/love/sex/etc.)
These are deities and pantheons that focus on love, lust, sex, fertility, and associated concepts. Some may approach a Shifter after he or she has found his or her soul-mate, others may require a Shifter to engage in all manner of seduction and perversion before bestowing power upon him. A few may give and take their gifts without provocation (love can be fickle), but most require the Shifter to demonstrate her commitment.
Bonuses: +5D6+6 to P.P.E., +1 to save vs magic, +2D4 to Mental Affinity, +2D6 to Physical Beauty, the Shifter may use astral projection as per the psychic ability at will (requires one action), and gains 1D4 spells from the following list Charismatic Aura, Charm, Distant Voice, Ensorcel, Hallucination, Locate, Magic Pigeon, Mask of Deceit, Second Sight, See Aura, Tongues, Trance, Water to Wine, and Words of Truth (the GM may allow the character to select other spells if they are appropriate to the deity to which the Shifter has linked himself to). If the Shifter proves worthy, at levels four and eight he will be granted a +1 to Spell Strength in addition to his own O.C.C. bonuses.
Penalty: As an agent of these deities, the Shifter will be tasked with arranging the pairing of specific people at different times and places or breaking up couples that have offended their masters. The Shifter also becomes easily infatuated and may fall in love with a new person, place, or idea at any time. This can make her behavior highly erratic as she abandons plans to pursue her new love with all of the resources at her disposal.

Your character has a number of actions available each melee round (15 seconds) determined by its class, equipment, and training. On your turn, you may declare one action that will resolve immediately. If for any reason you must declare more than one action in a turn (i.e. you choose to declare a power punch or that your character will make an aimed called shot against a target's hand) see the multiple action maneuvers rule below.
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Re: Rifts and Other Palladium Demo Resources

Unread post by shyam »

I say this as someone who does play it: Because basically no editorial oversight has gone into it. No thought given to internal consistency of setting, rules, or book organization. Kevin famously barely uses his own rules when running a game, but fewer seem to notice that he writes exactly the same way. Off the cuff rulings, never looking back at another book to refresh himself on the details or to see if he's addressed the same issue before. Things that could have general rules instead have rules describing how they work in a few specific items/classes/whatever that do those things, and all of them are different. Sometimes he'll throw out a bonus to some specific kind of roll, and how to make that roll is never described at all! And with how haphazardly the books are laid out, you might never know if you're missing something. Similarly, the setting is surface-level cool, but doesn't hold up to more than five seconds of scrutiny. They love giving specific demographic information that doesn't make sense at all, and the implications of the stated technology, societies, monsters, and so on don't match up with the fluff descriptions of how the world is at all.

I do think the rules are more serviceable than most people will give it credit for, but with two caveats: it's nearly impenetrable to pick up because of the poor organization, and you have to be prepared for an OSR-ish experience where the rules seem to have lots of little fiddly bits but you're actually going to fill in a lot of blanks with GM judgement.
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