Tips on New GM running Rifts

[Mechanurgist]

Start somewhere relatively open and lawless, like Merctown or Kingsdale, so that players can play anything and have the freedom to explore. Don't start in CS territory, they may get their asses kicked or feel frustrated at being hunted.

[Kalidor]

To get everyone on the same page, I'd probably ask that everyone start out as a human and pick only OCCs from the main book.

That's not to say you can't get more advanced later on, but you want to be on the same plane when starting out, I'd say.

Start off simple -- small towns, think of it being like the old west except with lasers and armor.

[Killer Cyborg]

It all depends on what kind of game you want to run.
You can run Rifts adventures in the style of any of the games that you mention running, so pick whichever style is most popular with your players.

Once we know what style, we can give more detailed answers.

[Incriptus]

While not Rifts Specific advice it is expecially true of the "everything & the kitchen sink" approach of Rifts but make sure you know what kind of game you want to GM, and what kind of game the players want to play. There is no attempt at an artifical balance between the different character options, so the dizzying array of options are up to you to control. Secondly while you can be very open with what your characters play, and i personally think the more diversity the better, do make sure there isn't a "anything you can do I can do better senario". Lots of Rifts OCC's are just a better or worse version of a different OCC. Avoid that. A team with a rogue scientist and a Mega Juicer can be fun regardless of the power gap because they do different things, but a team with a Standard Juicer and a Mega Juicer will actually be less fun. Also don't over analyse or over think your senarios, the discrepencies in power levels creates a signifigant difficulty creating a logical mathatical rule base [the way 3.x has]. It is not a tactical combat game either.

[Athos]

Ive been thinking about running my players through Rifts. I consider myself a noobie GM, ive only ran D&D, CoC and Paranoia. I need some tips on running the game. Where should I start the campaign? Should I run only off the main book? I love the Rifts fluff and play in a game currently and I want to put my players through the world of Rifts.

Thanks

Assuming you are going to start at level 1, I would say that atlantis and vampire kingdoms might be too tough, so I would go with either the central US, like Oklahoma, or over to the east, like Tennessee, places where there might be some CS but not too much. Out West is ok as well, like the Colorado Baronies, there are enough places I think mentioned that the location shouldn't be too tough to plan out.

Make sure the party is compatible. Pro or against the CS. The group should be one or the other, don't mix them on your first time, mandate whether the group will support or oppose or be neutral to the CS. You don't need intra-party squabbles when you are getting used to running the game. Likewise, don't allow evil alignments. They will cry and moan over this, especially since they want HTH Assassin, but be firm. (personally I allow HTH Assassin for non evil, but that is another discussion). Once again, you don't need alignment conflicts or wannabee tough kids tearing the group apart. If the group is cohesive, that will make your job a lot easier. You don't need wannabees either, but I think all kids go through that phase of wanting to be tough guys, I am sure I did, (in my case the US Army broke me of thinking I was all that and a bag of chips) so I try not to be too harsh if they are willing to compromise on their loner assassin type .

MDC or SDC, I always allow MDC... I think Rifts was designed for it. In settings like the Chitown burbs, MDC will be very much penalized, but hey if they still want to try it... I do mandate that all PCs not from the RUE book must be approved by GM first, this keeps the silliness to a minimum. One thing I do is I try to make all the characters as equal as possible when starting out. This means that if there is a Human Wilderness Scout and a Dragon Juicer for example in the same group, I keep the juicer's equipment to what is listed and not allow anything else, but for the wilderness scout, I might let him have a simple magical sword (4d6 MD) or a medium naruni force field that fits over his body armor, something to make him more of an "equal" with the juicer and his autododge. Obviously the wilderness scout will NEVER be the equal to a juicer in combat, but a little extra help will make him be able to at least stand on the same field of battle. If a fights come down to one character only, the group will soon get bored and then you will have real troubles, so make sure everyone can at least contribute somewhat to combats.

Be honest and up front. If you are going to have one or more combats per session, let the players know this. If you are going to average one combat per 4 sessions, this is also very important to know. Players want to know what to expect RP vs. Action, so they can make their characters accordingly.

Get each player to write out the long term goals for his/her character. Do they want to travel? Do they want to settle down and create their own kingdom? Do they want to start a mercenary group? Do they want to overthrow the CS? Where do they see themself in a year, etc. USE THIS INFO !!! If your characters want to go to Wormwood, hey, let them go when they get tough enough. If they want to go another direction, steer the game that way.

And last but not least, the game should be fun for the GM as well as the players. It is more work for the GM, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun. If there is a player or situation that is making the game not fun for you to run, resolve it as soon as possible. If you have to ask the unruly player to leave, better sooner than later. Don't get burned out, keep it fresh, keep it fun.

Best of luck to you,

Athos

[drewkitty ~..~]

snip...
Should I run only off the main book?
...snip

Run it with what ever books you have. Even D&D books can provide flavor to the game if you wok it right.

BTW, I'm one of those players that Can Not make a char purely from one PB game book/setting. So I hate it when GMs say something like "I want chars that are purely from the Rift Main Book" or "...From the PFRPG main Book." I hate it because I have 98% of the books.

[grandmaster z0b]

My advice is think ahead a bit about the story arc and plot, and ask the players what kind of game they would like to play, but don't be ruled by that. You still need a story that you find exciting and inspiring, because you need to be excited about the game to GM well. This is particulalry true in Rifts because so many different types of games are possible it's easy to loose focus.

Kevin's S advice in the Adventure Guide is to start with a villian, a really interesting character that the players love to hate and have him/her/it the heart of the adventure. Let the characters fight him/her/it a few times, but always let the bad guy/girl/thing escape and return with new and tougher allies and new tricks.

[Killer Cyborg]

Someone mentioned the Adventure Guide. Is that worth buying?

Yes.

[Saitou Hajime]

For you the Adventure book is gold, new GM should start the investment here. I personally bought it because i didn't have it.