Thread 96486950

Palladium Games and Rifts General! /PGaRG/

The world is a broken, post-apocalyptic wasteland destroyed by the eruption of inter-dimensional portals, rifts in the fabric of space-time and ley lines which crisscross the world. Demon & alien invaders have poured out of the rifts to destroy human civilization and claim the Earth. Now the wasteland has had 300 years to partially recover, and civilization has returned to the world; but not just human civilization: alien empires, monster kingdoms, lost time travellers, lands of mutants, demonic overlords and wizards have arisen from the ashes, all trying to rebuild the world in their own image!

RIFTS! The science fantasy world of post-apoc cyborgs, wizards, dragons, ninjas, giant mecha, super-nazis, robot ninjas, vampires, underwater kingdoms, remnant human supertech civilizations and everything you can imagine all rolled into one setting where interdimensional RIFTS have pierced Earth's fabric and turned it into a playground for aliens and monsters!

Plus other Palladium Games about superheroes, zombies, classic fantasy, supernaturals investigation and more.

Talk about:
>RIFTS(tm)
>Heroes Unlimited
>Palladium Fantasy
>Beyond the Supernatural
>Dead Reign
>Robotech (lol)
>TMNT & Other Strangeness + After the Bomb
>Splicers
>Nightbane
>Savage Rifts

>Resources, PDFs, links, podcasts, etc.:
https://pastebin.com/nCtwd6Jw

>official discord:
https://discord.gg/xGkk75Z

>Scholarly Adventures reviews and guides
https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/blog

>The Rifter torrent with issues #0 to #85
https://files.catbox.moe/57wqyo.torrent

>Previous thread:
>>93709026

>Thread Question:
Should there be a core rulebook for Palladium with just the rules and no setting info, as a universal reference for every game line?

>>96486950 (OP)
I've only briefly played Palladium games, and the system struck me as clunky as hell, but something about the insanity of Rifts has always been appealing to me. Unfortunately it's hard to really convey this in an appealing way to the uninitiated.
How do you do it?

>>96492861
>How do you do it?
1. Convince them to disregard any preconceived notion about the system, whatever they've read is wrong
2. If they're mechanically oriented give them a combat rundown of a SAMAS Vs. Glitter Boy scenario starting at 3km
3. If they're roleplay/social oriented explain the CS Dog Boy and ISS-Citizen dynamic.

>>96492861
Well you're right, the system IS clunky as hell, but the best way to introduce people is to show them the world (preferably Rifts Earth, but Splicers or Heroes Unlimited is good too) and let them make characters. When they see how many cool options there are to play they'll get invested.

The system... use it sparingly and ignore large chunks of it for best effect.

I gotta ask: could big tits count as shields or some technical additional limbs with HP to cripple?

>>96489923
That reminds me, which is better for sneaking: Reduce self or Metamorphisis: Animal?

>>96498463
According to the Glitter Girl unit, yes.

>>96498518
I think Animal because it gives you natural Prowl at a high level.

>>96498463
I like the way you think, anon, and yes is the answer.

>>96501883
Man they dont make album covers like they used to

>>96498521
A what?
>>96501883
All around, so this means I could kill someone with fat tits or a fat ass.

Or idk a hip slam

>>96504079
>A what?
You read that right. Canada has so many glitter boys they straight up made some with titanium tits. 45MDC each, iirc.

>>96492861
Get them excited about one specific thing in the setting to get them to not worry about the system until they try it.

>>96497727
I HATE the savage rifts interpretation of Juicers. The expressions look like poser art that was traced over and they do not have their juicer harnesses displayed. They are just assholes in normal armor with mohawks.

Juicers should be wearing bare armor, proudly showing that they are being drip fed every drug known to man and some that are unknown.

>>96486950 (OP)
Alright rifts bros. My party is all godlings and demigods hybrid classes except me and an anti-monster. The GM is asking if I'm feeling alright being a normal human leyline walker. Personally, I think that being a LLW means that I'm getting as powerful as them with every level but what do you guys think? Is a LLW able to scale up to high power games?

>>96511762
>Juicers should be wearing bare armor, proudly showing that they are being drip fed every drug known to man and some that are unknown.
Preach on, brother.

>>96518529
Borgs should look ludicrously overpowered as well.

MEGA-POWER!!!

>>96513985
Doubtful a LLW would ever reach a Demigod's power level unless your GM gave you access to all spells and let you cheese the interpretations of some of them. You can stack some combos from rare spells that are overpowered as Dyval.

>>96518554
I didn't like how they tried to push the kinda vampire skull face as the iconic combat cyborg design. Really, I dont know how the path of the cyborg goes in Rifts. Like, what's the essential books for that?

>>96518567
He is letting me off easy. Whether intentional or not he is letting me write in any invocation spell and not pushing the half day per level of spell training time to learn it.

>>96518529
>>96518554
>juicer and cyborg have a flex off
>Crazy with a brush taped to his head and a muscle suit jumps in.

>>96518529
>>96518554
>>96518567
man ai is fucking insane nowadays

>>96520328
>what's the essential books for that?
There are a ton of Borg options, new classes, weapons, and other stuff in Rifts Canada. Many of the robot/ai construction options in Sourcebook 1 can also be used on Borgs.

Tell me of any adventures you had in phaseworld

>>96486950 (OP)
Cool setting
Shit rules
Terrible company (lookin at YOU, Kev)

>>96525525
Never been, but thought about going to Center... except it sounds like a very generic cosmopolitan space opera city. Is there anywhere more interesting than that in the Three Galaxies? I only know the basic lore that an adventurer on Rifts Earth would know .

>>96520704
Speaking does this look like a crazy and good to you? I'm trying to learn inpainting and boy am I learning the hard way.

>>96488436
Damn what a classic!

>>96526586
I was thinking Krang before I clicked it but yeah, that looks like a Crazy to me, albeit a cool 90's comic style interpretation

>>96526586
Looks more like a clown supervillain than a Crazy to me, but ofc Crazies can look like pretty much anything weird, there's no real standard. I'd give him some more obvious armor though. He's going adventuring, not joining the circus.

>>96506589
Which book is this in?

>>96525967
Ah, Center.....the Mos Eisley of the Megaverse.

>>96530192
That is a Glitter Girl from Free Quebec.

>>96530192
>>96530428
The one thing the North American Frogs do well is Glitter Boys & Girls.

>>96528429
>Looks more like a clown supervillain than a Crazy to me
Well its suppose to be >>96520394. I was just having trouble genning it.

But you bring up the point of what is the difference? Look at any official art of a crazy and see if it doesn't have an expression that can only indicate they have an erection from the violence they are witnessing.

I keep looking at the cyberknight and I just can't see how this is high powered at all. Like, it's like a juicer, a psychic, and has some rather janky armor. It doesn't seem like it can walk into a room full of equipped man at arms and walk out in one piece.

>>96532924
Cyber-knight isn't high-powered, it's mid at best. This has been a debate among fans of the game since the 1990s and has never been corrected. We had this debate a few threads back, and the consensus was that CKs definitely need some powering-up to be on par with other major combat OCCs. Their psi-swords and armor needs to scale up more and their psi powers need to work against demons, undead and monsters and not just "electronics".

Somebody here had a rework of the CK, if only I could find it...

>>96486950 (OP)
>jacks prices up on books
>oh shit nothing is selling
>multiple humble bundles blasted out
>september sale 35%-50% off deadtree
these palladium & rifts guys are nothing if not a barrel of laughs

>>96532924
What it really comes down to is that as a CK, you are part of a Brotherhood of Knights, sort of like the BoS from the oldscool FO.
Which in PA North America, is worth far more than the statistics afforded to you by your OCC.

>>96537627
>september sale 35%-50% off deadtree
I haven't heard of that site and would like to know more.

>>96537667
So their secret power is nepotism?

>>96539310
So their secret power is nepotism?
Not sure what you mean by this, the power is listed in the OCC write out.

>>96539310
Kek. NTA but no, their secret superpower is Reputation, as trustworthy, good knights of human resurgence and anti-evil power. In the lore, notice how this compares to how mages, psychics, juicers, crazies and d-bees are treated in most communities. Palladium does not have mechanics for reputation but cyber-knights are paragons of virtue like no other class or race.

Cyber-knights should have been the anti-demon, anti-undead, anti-monster champions of humanity.

>>96486950 (OP)
Where were you when Tolkeen struck back?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQR0tA7xXUA

>>96513985
A llw versus a dimiegod....really depends on the class of the dimiegod, over all youll be similar again depending on your race

But a godling? A godling caster takes 2 caster classes, so shifter +warlock, or temporal wizard+ necromancer...ect.
The power dynamic of a llw is dwarfed by a godling caster, unless your llw's race is very powerful or utility filled. If its a godling combat class non magical an anti-monster is pretty close in power range.

>>96525694
Perfectly fine company. Company sucks massively on realistic time frames for kick starters sure....but its a nearly 40 year old gaming company still spitting out kino product, still putting good looking female characters, still admitting slavery exists in pre industrial society

Cry more about your failed kick starter though

>>96544379
Yay, anti-woke company still existing, what a power flex. No, really, I'm happy Palladium still exists, but it's a tiny niche of niche product company. If it died tmrw I don't think anyone would notice.

>>96506589
Beautiful

Just beautiful. It would take a fucking superhuman punch to cripple those things.

Now I got a crazy ass idea: if I constructed a machine that runs on leylines and portal energy in general, I would be constructing a full on GetterRobo/Gurren Lagann type thing

Let’s see anybody try shit when I my robot has reached critical energy absorption and get shredded to nothing

>>96544379
anti woke is as retarded as woke
because it is an ad
stop getting brainwashed by 0 effort marketing

also the brick that guy is holding looks like furniture more than a weapon
iv seen couch cushions more ergonomic than the pump on that disasterpeice

>>96532924
play a furry with half inch claws that deal mega damage

is the Blood War, err, I mean the Minion War metaplot over yet?

What should the next big metaplot be? I vote for the Vampire Intelligences making their move in a coordinated fashion. Vampire Kingdoms invading North America, secret vampires assassinating and taking over key positions in the NGR and CS, and maybe taking down Lazlo cause those goodie-two-shoes are weak and too trusting.

>>96539324
I was poking fun at that cyberknights seem to be connected to every major organization but aren't that strong in combat as their reputation makes them sound. So being a part of the elite order that is in every major group outside of the CS or maybe Canada.

So they have the power of nepotism. You want to slap Erin Tarn's fat granny ass you can give uncle Thomm a call and do the secret cyberknight handshake and there you go!

>>96542915
I agreed. Im surprised Kev never reconnect that in.

>>96548201
What was the minion war, anyway? I mean I get why it happened and what caused it but as I understand it in execution it was just a campaign based around the paranoia that any random person could suddenly become a demon person.

>>96545148
You say that but Kev is anti woke and Sean is woke but pretends not to be when Kev is around. I think there are people who will say whatever you want to hear to get you to buy their products, for sure.

>>96545183
So that's
>Mexican were panthers
>space Wulfen
>several different kinds of aliens and DVees
>biomancers with the right spells
>bioborgs if the head came out kinda furryish
>The dinosaur race
>cyborgs that cant contain their fetish

>>96545148
I wouldn't call them anti-woke, more not woke, they dont intentionally egg on the woke or anti

What other dimensions have anons travelled to in their games? Is rifting a regular or rare occurence for you?

>>96554485
I tend not to if im gm'ing unless it's the whole premise of the campaign. It basically removes the storyline you wrote as its not on this plane of existence. Players tend to forget why they should care about the barron was torturing the tows folk when he's nonexistent where they are.
I have done Wormwood a few times but Wormwood characters loose their symbionic powers, their stones loose out, in like 2 days away from Wormwood.
An apoc becomes a moody dude with a sword instead of a combat monster on earth.

>>96555047
Those are good points but it is possible to plan an adventure around multiple dimensions with the NPCs/villains/enemy forces also traversing dimensions through rifts. Maybe different rifts, or they also have a Shifter or LLW who works for them.

It does derail an existing campaign but that can be fun (for a short period of time) and shake things up in a game that's gotten stale or predictable or when the PCs are stumped or out of options.

I've had PCs pop into Wormwood, Eyelor, a synaesthesia universe, a Nighspawn dark place, the Plane of Earth, and rift to random locations in Africa, the Gargoyle Empire, Lone Star, Dinosaur Swamp, the Library of Bletherad, and more.

Do you play for money or rep or revenge?

>>96557680
Depends on my class
>men at arms: Money
>Men of Magic: Maaaagic. Which I suppose is a form of rep
>If the OCC has a code of honor: Situations where I deliberately can use my code of honor to burden the group.

>>96551343
My players will be meeting some of these cuties soon.

>>96557765
You're siccing splicers on them?! Did you know that the grub cannon has no language against living targets?
>The creature shoots a peanut sized projectile and hits you on your chest armor. Turn over. Next turn! Player, you feel like something is grazing your chest with a sharp knife.
>You look down to see the ass-end of the largest maggot you've seen since you headbutted that starfish guy. and this maggot is squiggling wildly.
>You hit in the head, you get point blank shot another giant maggot furiously gnawing on your face screen trying to get through.

What would be the horror check on that?

>>96560027
HF of at least 14, I think. That's some nasty stuff. But no I wasn't intending to throw Splicer borgs at them, it was more a reference to the Werepanthers. Probably the wrong pic for it.... oh, here is what I actually meant to post.

Ever been "assaulted" by a pack of Altaran BWWs?

>>96543251
Terrible song but neat that ai can do that now.

>>96506589
>MDC Armor booba
>>96562853
>Supernatural MD booba

>>96486950 (OP)
any good actualplays of rifts?
alot of the old ytrpg brigade rifts content seems to have either been privated or the channels are just gone.

>>96566961
Good ones? None that I've seen. All of them have either terrible mic/audio quality, awful people, horrible nasally voices, or no video/maps/visuals.

Legion of Myth and RPGisDUm are probably the most popular right now as there seems to be an audience for them. You've watched these guys, right? But you're never going to see any Palladium live plays like Critical Role etc. for D&D.

Looks like the TMNT re-release from kickstarter is on track to ship in November. For once Palladium got their stuff out on time.

>>96569487
If only these were good games.

>>96571008
Yeah, the rpg doesn't quite capture the more action oriented martial arts you saw in the 2k series onward, if that can be done.

I've been thinking a lot about Lazlo and what would be in it's own book. I think new spells probably would be expected but I don't know what they would be. I think they would likely have a TW robot force that is reconstructed scrap power armors like a cross between New West TW power armors and Federation of Magic constructs or the Iron Giants from Tolkien.

If I was writing I would have a horrible secret involving the government officially not condoning necromancy that uses sentient creature corpses but using something that runs on human souls, like a percentage of their defense force is animated wood puppets running on human souls.

The political bits would be complicated as they already established there are several different parties ranging from Warhawks to peaceniks to human supremist parties, to a dragon supremist party. And of more militant and aggressive New Lazlo wanting to punish the CS which I think is a thing you could write how they are being secretly supported by some Lazlo factions that want to kill skullboys with deniability.

>>96573039
I bet the Feng Shui RPG could do it.

>>96573234
>The political bits would be complicated as they already established there are several different parties ranging from Warhawks to peaceniks to human supremist parties, to a dragon supremist party.
Those are from that Rifter article about Lazlo, aren't they? I doubt they used that as the baseline, it's probably non-canon.

But it would make sense to have different political factions with secret agendas and sometimes even illegal militias or plots to "Get those bad guys". Otherwise Lazlo ends up too boring. Even the Rifts: Promise of Power video game had to spice things up in Lazlo with the Cabal.

>>96573234
>do NOT studio ghibli Rifts

>>96575250
>Those are from that Rifter article about Lazlo, aren't they? I doubt they used that as the baseline, it's probably non-canon.

I'm expecting Kev to reprint it into the Lazlo book. Its mostly fluff, and also says DBee prostitution is legal.

>>96576153
I genned it specifically because I think if there was anything sort of group to do the ghibli, it would be Lazlo or Castle Refuge. Its the hippie hippie goody goody capital of Rifts Earth, emphasis on the hippie.

>>96576685
>>96575250
More on that the evil factions, Lazlo does have the church fo Dragonwright which is the same as the one in Atlantis. The dragon supremist faction wants to not acknowledge their connection to atlantis on account of a large amount Atlantis escapees in Lazlo. So you would have this complicated relationship with dragons being both having tried to destroy Lazlo but alo saved Lazlo and now help run lazlo but also wants to take over lazlo.

>>96573234
>>96576685
True, Lazlo would be best for Ghibli. Got any more?

>>96576838
So dragons are jews in this story? Yes, that gets complicated.

>>96576839
I can whip some out
>Battle Magus, Dwemoer City. Kind of came out looking more like a cyber knight.

>>96578295
>>96576839
Erin tarn, girl, in Lazlo nook.

>>96578326
Erin tarn in Lazlo when I bracket that shit.

>>96578295
>>96578326
>>96578342
Never thought I'd see Rifts in Studio Ghibli style but for Lazlo it kind of works. Thanks for postan, anon.

>>96579044
True. I'll ruin it by posting more.
Here I have what I think the Lazlo grunt is equipped with. Unlike the CS and Canuckistan, Lazlo doesn't produce normal arms but a lot of TW items. So troops are equipped with bulk purchased NG armor and arms with heavy encouragement to bring your own equipment if it's better than the GI.

Troops are, however, issued an animated TW construct for combat and logistical support and TW items to supplement their MOS. The idea is that since Lazlo couldn't support their troops like the CS factions they would support them in ways the CS couldn't as in every soldier having a dedicated servant.

Lastly the gay color patterns. I imagine the armor will be whatever they can find but the colors of Lazlo will likely be the most colorful and loudest emblems purely because they are a multicultural society to the most extreme sense and the ugliest option would be the only thing they would agree on, thus every Lazlo defender has a strip louder than a gunshot and fabulous.

>>96579546
Here we have a veteran in crusader armor. A better example of the Lazlo Stripes.

As explained in the rifters, there are a lot of non magical humans in the Lazlo military alot of which were veterans, defectors, or refugees from other militaries. Joining the defense forces help some vets cope with the cultural shock of joining a society where DBees aren't shot on sight and the government wanting their input and at no point sending them to jail forever.

I think a cool campaign idea to use for a more malignant Great House in Splicers is that they have a few unique "Loadouts" of Host Armor (They can be built like a normal suit, but they come with some stuff baked in) that they can Field in much larger numbers than one would expect, but they also never use Biotics.
I think you can guess exactly what they're doing.

>>96581537
>I think you can guess exactly what they're doing.
Fucking and impregnating their host armors?

>>96579546
>the most colorful and loudest emblems
Imagine getting decimated in battle by the Lazlo Glowing Gay Furry D-bee brigade.

>>96581629
No.
The Librarian at the head of the Great House has gone full Megalo and decided to use people that would normally be turned into Biotics as raw materiel to construct Host Armor.