T-Balls Pack – Audacious Smith

March 13, 2018

Design Notes

Next we are going to make a Juicer for the party – another iconic Character Class from Rifts.  Juicers are humans who are enhanced through a combination of nanotechnology and drugs to create something stronger, faster, and tougher than anything else.  The downside is that it burns out the human body guaranteeing death in only a few brief years. Palladium expanded on Juicers significantly in the Juicer Uprising book, but I am sticking with what is available in the first book.  

To start with our stat rolls, we have IQ – 13, ME – 14, MA – 8, PS – 15, PP – 17, PE – 16, PB – 17, and Spd – 15.  Other than being an uncharismatic or untrustworthy guy with that low Mental Affinity, it is a pretty good start! That 17 for P.P. becomes a 19, while the P.E. 16 only becomes a 17 with the bonus dice but the P.B. comes through to a 23 from a 17 making a truly beautiful physical specimen.   Juicers get significant bonuses to their Physical Attributes meaning that before we get to skills, Audacious actually starts with a P.S. of 25, a P.P. of 22, a P.E. of 27, and a Spd of 65. Yes, 65. You’ll also note on the character sheet that Juicers get hundreds of S.D.C. on top of that!  

Aside from the enhanced attributes, Juicers have an Auto Dodge and Auto Parry ability.  They may roll to dodge or parry any incoming attack without sacrificing a subsequent attack.  This even applies to surprise attacks and is one reason Juicers are so formidable. I also added some of the equipment and skill interactions to the O.C.C. Abilities section to show how they can interact such as the Sniper skill providing +2 on Aimed Shots, the JA-11 Rifle providing +1 for its targeting Laser, and the Multi-Optic Helmet providing a targeting sight for another +1 that all stack with the Weapon Proficiency training so that Audacious will have a +7 to Strike with a sniping shot even though modern weapons don’t use the P.P. bonus.  

Juicers are created almost exclusively to be killing machines and mercenary soldiers.  They skill list reflects that. When looking at Other skills, I went straight for the 4 Physical skills that have the largest impact on attributes – Acrobatics, Boxing, Gymnastics, and Wrestling.  This just pushes Audacious even further over the top. Prowl and Sniper both seemed to be skills that follow the natural idea of the Juicer’s utility as a special operator and the Secondary skills provided a good place to add a handful of more weapon proficiencies and the useful Detect Ambush.  By the time we are done with skills, Name is a P.S. 33, P.P. 24, P.E. 31, and Spd. 73 character.

Obviously, the eponymous Juicer Plate will be one set of armor for Audacious.  It is a medium armor that provides a very low prowl penalty. For a second set, needed in case a high combat situation is anticipated, I added the Explorer armor from the Rifts Sourcebook.  Aside from having a much higher amount of M.D.C., I just like the way it looks and think it is a very snazzy looking suit of armor. For weapons, Audacious starts with the Juicer JA-11 rifle which has multiple settings and functions from an ion blaster to a laser rifle for sniping to a single chambered bullet for delicate S.D.C. work. I added a Wilks 320 Laser Pistol as a good side arm for him while a Browning Semi-Automatic Pistol seemed appropriate.  Every good juicer needs a sword and a vibro-knife to complete the classic look. I added nunchaku and imported the Kusari Gama from Ninjas & Superspies to round out the weapons using his W.P. Chain.

For his vehicle, the Highwayman Motorcycle from page 227 of the First Edition Rifts Core book makes the greatest amount of sense! It is fast, flashy, and it is easy to see a classic Juicer bopping along on this.  

Looking at Page 18 of the Rifts First Edition book, here are the results of the Optional random tables to round out the character:

  • Birth Order: Last Born 
  • Weight: Average 
  • Height: Average 
  • Disposition: Wild man, cocky, overconfident, takes unnecessary risks (as all good Juicers are) 
  • Family Origin: Earth native. Character is human 
  • Type of Environment: small to medium city 
  • Sentiments towards Coalition: Wary.  Heard lots of things about the Coalition and the bad seems to outweigh the good 
  • Sentiments towards Non-Humans:Hates demons, but will give other non-humans the benefit of the doubt.  Still, tends to be wary and suspicious of non-humans.

In the next section, these will be worked into Aud’s character description

 

Character Notes

Audacious “Aud” Smith, if that is his real name, is the youngest of his family.  As close to a middle class family and upbringing as you can find in the world of Rifts, his father works in Whykin for a manufacturer while his mother spends her days raising their children and foraging or trading for more food.  All in all, there isn’t much in his background before he turned 18. Being the youngest, though, meant there was not as much immediately available for him in his future. As a teenager, he had been blessed with a superb physique and dashing good looks coupled with the impetuousness all teenagers have. Despite the Coalition State’s overtures in Whykin, he didn’t want to become a CS citizen; he wanted something different.  This led him to strike out on his own and try to make a name for himself away from his parents and from Whykin. His older siblings were settling into a routine there, and following in his parents footsteps but he was restless and didn’t want to just be the next iteration of his parents.

With a backpack and some basic weapons, Audacious struck out on his own but not long after found out how woefully unprepared he was for the world outside Whykin’s gates.  If it hadn’t been for a passing Juicer, he would have been prey for a monster from a Rift and what he saw set his mouth agape. Stronger, faster, better than anything he had ever seen, the Juicer made short work of the creature.  By the age of 20, Audacious had decided to trade longevity for the the benefits that come from Juicer augmentation – it is better to burn out than fade away after all. It was Northern Gun that provided the augmentation in Ishpeming in exchange for two years of service.  A not insignificant price to pay as he became 22 on his discharge and now called “Aud” with 5 years left to live at most.

After growing up in Whykin, Audacious still has some trouble acclimating to all of the magic and D-Bees in the world, but that may be changing now that he is part of T-Ball’s Pack.  When T-Ball sent word to him that she needed some help with Iron Heart on her tail, he came running – it was a chance to show off! Now, he impatiently taps his foot while T-Ball plans their next move but can’t help but smile when he saves Jorj’s hoop over and over.  Maybe this “family” will end up meaning more to him than just going out in a blaze of glory.

T-Ball’s Pack overview Here.

 

Audacious – Juicer RiftsCharacter Sheet

 

Palladium Books, Rifts, The Mechanoids, The Mechaonid Invasion, and Megaverse are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda. Mega-damage, M.D.C., S.D.C., P.P.E., Triax, Xiticix, Splugorth, Erin Tarn, Victor Lazlo, and their likenesses, The Palladium Role-Playing Game, Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, Ninjas & Superspies, and other titles are trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda.

Any brief excerpts and descriptions of the contents of the book are done for review purposes through the fan creation of example characters.  No claim of ownership is intended or implied to the copywritten and trademarked works and marks.

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