Rifts racial Hybreds

[LethalLight29]

So, i was thinking about creating a homebrew RCC by combining the silhouette and the pleasurer. does anyone know if there is a form of that already done or what would be the best way to do that?

[Curbludgeon]

Maybe if I'm the first person to say that Palladium generally doesn't do interspecies reproduction then no one else will have to bring it up.

I'll see about writing something up, but as a guideline I'd take either the average or worse of each attribute. I'd make them S.D.C./low M.D.C., have less psionics than the Pleasurer, lower P.P.E. than a Silhouette, and no ley line powers. I'd keep the tele-empathy and emphathic dependence. The shapeshifting could perhaps take on elements of the Silhouette's quasi-elemental nature, and be dependent on shadow in some way. (edit:spelling)

[ITWastrel]

You're the GM. Look at the entries of each thing you want to combine, and cherry pick what you want to keep or get rid of. Lift whole abilities from other creatures if you want, copy them verbatim and make them function identically, or change the details. Once you have everything you want from both (or many) other races, look for incompatibilities or combinations that could be game breaking, and make any balance changes you might need. Remember, while not every race is equal, everyone wants to be a Kryptonian.

After you've cobbled together a stat block, everything else is color text. Describe your new race. Are they genetic splices? An odd splinter race? A completely unrelated race that just happens to look like a shadow and a porn star had a shapechanging baby? Have fun with it.

If you're wanting to play these new RCCs in someone else's game, I would recommend documenting the "why" for each ability, as you'll need to get GM approval. Be ready to defend your assumptions, and have a SOLID backstory ready. You'd be amazed at what a good GM will allow into her game if it comes with a good backstory and a couple solid adventure hooks. Especially if it makes worldbuilding easier. Stay away from world-changing backstory, though. Sure, it's cool if your race secretly replaced some people in the government. It's not so cool to declare your race secretly replaced the President, the senate, and seven supreme court justices. That'll work in YOUR game, but not mine, because in MY game the aliens only control 33 senators and the vice president. The President is controlled by the robots in his shoes, and that's MY decision.

After you've written it up, I would get opinions from your players on how they feel your creation would play, and they may have suggestions for improvement. I'm pretty sure there's a thread around here for the same effect, and most of the time these boards are very supportive of creative GMs, especially newbie GMs and players.

[Curbludgeon]

For the most part I went with what I suggested above, frequently halving each parent species' abilities, and aiming a bit below what some might prefer.

It's arguable if Silhouettes can learn new spells at any time or must intuit them in the fashion of Mystics. I split the difference and leaned into their nature as quasi-elemental shadow beings, where general Invocations are normally gained only via leveling, but Shadow Magic (see DB15: Secrets of the Atlanteans) can be learned independent of level. If Invocations can be learned at any time I'd reduce the P.P.E. to 3d4x10.

Players that don't have a copy of DB15 might consider instead making a Heroes Unlimited Alien with the Major Power Alter Facial Features and Physical Stature, the Minor Power Shadow Meld, and either another shadow-based minor or a few psionic sensitive powers.

Silhouette/Pleasurer hybrid (some possible names: Umbrath, Shadechanger, Crepusculan)

Alignment: Any, but often selfish
Attributes: I.Q. 4D6, M.E. 3D6, M.A. 3D6+6, P.S. 3D6(Bionic in normal or brighter light, Robotic in shadow), P.P. 4D6, P.E. 4D6, P.B. 2D6 in natural shape, maximum of 4D6+6 when shapechanged, Spd. 4D6
Size: Varies with their current shape
Weight: 100-200 pounds
M.D.C.: P.E., +1D6 per level of experience, starting at 1st
Horror Factor: 10 in native shape if species' reputation is known; otherwise varies with shape, typically not more than 12
P.P.E.: 5D4x10, +2D6 per level of experience
I.S.P.: 1D6xl0 + 10 per level of experience
Average Life Span: 350 years
Natural Abilities:
Shapeshifting: Same as Pleasurer, save that character may only maintain a given appearance for a maximum of 1 hour per character level before reverting to their natural shape for no less than 15 minutes. Any penalties for being in bright lighting are doubled when the character has assumed a different form.
Tele-empathy and Empathic Dependence: Same as Pleasurer, save that chance of being swept up by others' extreme emotions increases to 01-75% chance when in shadow, and decreases to 01-50% when in bright lighting. The character is also more likely than not to respond positively to the negative emotions of others.
Shadow Powers (applicable only in shadow or darkness): P.S. increases from Bionic to Robotic; heals 1D6 M.D.C. points per hour of rest or meditation; +1 to Spell Strength; +2 to Perception Rolls; +1 to initiative; +1 to strike, parry, and dodge; +2 to save vs. Shadow Magic.
Vulnerabilities/Penalties: In normal light the chimera loses all shadow bonuses. In bright lighting they are -1 to strike, parry, dodge, and -1 action per melee, and when shapeshifted penalties double.
R.C.C. Bonuses: +2 to Perception Rolls; +4 to save vs Horror Factor, +2 to save vs Possession/Mind Control/Curses, +1 to save vs magic at levels 2,5,8,14; +1 to Spell Strength at levels 3,7,10,14; impervious to insanities that involve darkness, shadows or the denizens of the Shadow Dimension and is never afraid of the dark.
Psionic powers: The chimera is considered a Major Psionic, with the abilities of Empathy (double normal range), Mind Block, Meditation, and choice of 4 from the Healing/Physical/Sensitive categories, plus their native tele-empathy
Magic Powers:
Invocations: 3 from levels 1-3, +1 per subsequent level of experience. New spells cannot exceed character level.
Shadow Magic: Shadow Meld and 3 from levels 1-3, +1 per subsequent level of experience. New spells cannot exceed character level +3. Shadow Magic spells of any level may be learned at any time, while invocations may or may not dependent on house rules
Skills: As Silhouette, with additional 10% for Sing, Dance, or Languages