Sci-Fi, Space, Frontier, Intrigue
The colony rocks of the DeHelia System have drawn the profit margins of the Orange Interstellar Interests company, a holding enterprise looking to profit off the system’s asteroid cloud. They’ve come with what they say is a claim they’ve bought fair and square. But the claim tries to reach into the homes of long held micro-colonies and things are looking to get ugly as frontier settlers fight back against the Big Orange Star.
The DeHila Cloud
Location, Setting
The Dehila system isn’t what most would consider an interesting system to come to. A young star system, the system is composed of two rocky worlds, a massive asteroid cloud, and two large gas giants that mark the edges of the system. The cloud was the result of a massive inner rocky world being struck by a rogue planet. This rogue body knocked the remains of most of the planet out of orbit of the DeHelia star, and both entities exited the system as rocky debris. What remains have become the DeHila Cloud.
The Cloud will settle eventually in distant eons. But for now, the cloud is a mass of countless asteroids teeming with resources. Navigating the cloud takes care and constant course correction, and for this reason despite its resources few companies have looked at it as a viable star worth investing in. This has left the star open to frontier colonists. No corporate claim meant others could settle legal homestead and start to develop the cloud.
Besides the cloud, the four other worlds in system are worth mentioning. DeHila A and B are rocky words, one too close to the sun and the other too far away to develop sustainable life without outside measures. DeHila C and D are gas giants out beyond the cloud. DeHila C is considered highly dangerous as many of its moons are pulled out of the DeHila Cloud and have unstable orbits. Collisions still occur and new moons are tracked monthly by the residents of the colonies.
Fitting the Dehila Cloud In
A dangerous place for the wayward, the Dehila Cloud is a place where a frontier settler could make a solid claim and get rich. The system is extremely unstable, making its original observations not attractive to early interstellar corporations. But as the frontier and the border of civilization gets pushed further and further from earth, Dehila has drawn the eye of several companies looking to build on top of the frontier settler’s hard work.
DeHelia 2291-KF081, “Long Ball”
Place
Located in the inner ring of the DeHelia system, Long Ball was colonized two centuries after it’s discovery by Frontier explorers. The asteroid was rich in desirable construction materials, and its neighbors served as developmental foundations to get the colony hub started. For nine generations, the colonist of Long Ball dug, cracked, hauled, and built their home in the rock.
The Long Ball is a place of hard work and labor. They’ll take kindly to visitors looking to trade fairly while they’re spit in the view finder of anyone coming into their space trying to cheat them. Long Ball’s the biggest of the colonies, but they’ve branched off to various manufacturing hubs throughout the belt. Some are even looking to try and see about landing on one of the few rocky worlds in the inner system within the next few decades.
But now all that hard work is being threatened. About a hundred years back one of the founding families of Long Ball left the colony with network information entitling them to represent the colony’s interests. The idea was to start looking for a place to sell their raw materials in bulk to out of system interests. But tragedy struck and most of the negotiating families died. Only a few orphans remained on a timid escape pod. They grew up without the tethers to the rock that was home, and when corporate interests took a look at the DeHelia system, they bought up the claims from these descendants.
Fitting DeHelia 2291-KF081, “Long Ball” In
The colony of Long Ball is a working-class colony. They deal with heavy haulers looking to pick up some cleaned up raw materials on the regular, but the typical adventuring party is likely to draw an interest from the crowd. Players can find minor ship parts here, nothing military grade, but the colonist are very industrious in terms of finding ways to repair shipboard tech and components. And who knows? Maybe someone wants off the rock, and the players’ ship might just be the means of egress they desire. Keep in mind that the residents of the colony won’t just let anyone into their airlock. They know how dangerous others can be and mostly work by sending package through short range drones rather than inviting people onboard.
The Big Orange Star
Entity, Antagonist
Founded in the early 26th century, BOS, or it’s official name of Orange Interstellar Interests Company, is a corporation built around expanding humanity’s rise into the interstellar community. Their galaxy spanning view includes planetary purchases, star system purchases, resource claims in deep space sites, monitoring and managing stellar distance hauling, and helping colonists find their way amongst the complexity of interstellar law.
Make no mistake, the Big Orange Star isn’t the type to get intimidated by a couple of bad apples. They know many want to live apart of society’s influences, society’s rules, and society’s money. But that’s just not right in the corporate’s view, and they’ll do their best to educate those who aren’t willing to play ball, even if that means cracking a full hull plates to depressurize the situation.
Big Orange Star’s got a lot of work to do to help this human race, and they’re always hiring. Transporters, haulers, movers, shakers, thugs, muscles, spies, they’re all welcome so long as they accept the corporate motto, “Do it for the star, do it for humanity.” Just don’t read too much in between the lines.
Fitting The Big Orange Star In
The Orange Interstellar Interests Company is a growing entity in this leg of the galaxy. Founded long after humanity reached into the stars, BOS has little to no interests in actually connecting to the complex web of corporate existence in the inner worlds. They’ve set their eyes outward and the myriad of mineral rich star systems just waiting to be claimed. For those seeking to explore the unknown, BOS pays well for frontier jockeys and adventurous types. They also prefer to hire local (in a stellar sense) haulers rather than dealing with the complexities of owning their own ships. What they don’t like is competition, and uncooperative individuals interfering with their work. BOS isn’t scared to get their hands dirty in the deep dark, but will try and look spotless in the eyes of the sanction star bases.
Using Do It For the Star
The Whole Block
The players in this setting stand between two powers looking to control the star system Dehila and the asteroid colonies. Long Ball is hardly the only colony in the system, but they’ve got the biggest claim thus far. That means the Big Orange Star will focus on them primarily to gain ownership of the cloud. The DeHial Cloud should be played up for the danger of traversing its field. Depending on how realistic of a game you’re playing, the asteroid cloud should feel extremely dense and erratic compared to most the players would contact. Probes and automated systems should have a hard time navigating between the colonies, and getting lost should be relatively easy. But what can hinder the players, can hinder the antagonists too.
Welcome back to the Card Catalog Edition Wars: Rifts series! We are taking some of our existing Card Catalog Rifts characters and advancing them into a new edition of the Rifts game to see how they compare and to advance their personal sotries in the world timeline. Mikal’s rework and advancement also let me begin to work in some of the lore changes or additions – the Nemians the the Republicans are given much greater depth in the revised Rifts Sourcebook One where they are tied much more completely into the saga or A.R.C.H.I.E. 3 and the Rifts world itself, but they are mostly here as a macguffin for this quartet of characters to seek out.
Design Notes
First, I will work to translate the Wilderness Scout, Mikal, from our first Rifts write up to the updated Ultimate Edition. Then, I will take Mikal up to 7th level to simulate the years that have passed and put some more levels behind him since running around with the pack. Go back and read the original write-up here and come back to see how the Wilderness Scout changed, and how Mikal’s sheet changed with it.
As we mentioned in the overview, the different O.C.C.s, or Occupational Character Classes, received some significant updates as well as some new ones being added to the new Rifts Ultimate Edition. It also would reference the proliferation of World Books and Sourcebooks that expand the options exponentially. I’ve picked up a few choice ones so I’ll link to the Drive Thru RPG Affiliate links for them as I mention them.
For the most part, the Wilderness Scout kept the same O.C.C. skills you would expect in the edition update. That made it an easy start, and as with other O.C.C.s, the Scout received some special abilities in addition to attribute bonuses: Trailblazing, Cross Country Pacing, and Cartography. These make sense in providing the Wilderness Scout the opportunity to not only travel outside the “civilized” areas of the Rifts earth, but also to provide a service as a courier or explorer giving them a clear role to fill in the world. Sadly, though, the skills for the Wilderness Scout were cut down in the Ultimate Edition, removing one from the Other skills, and four from the Secondary skills!
As already mentioned, there were some changes to the Secondary Skill availability so first I removed anything that wouldn’t be allowed under the rules, and still had a pair of skills left. I decided to let them become the advancement secondary skills just to make things easier on me!
While I have picked up the book with robo horses, I kept Mikal with his Hovercycle piloting just so that he can stay a bit consistent across the editions.
Advancement Notes
Advancement in Palladium is a straightforward affair as a level and class based system. The main improvements that occur are in the skill percentages and Hit Point increases. Additionally, as a character advances, additional skills may be learned as both the Other Skills and Secondary Skills, though they start at 1st level when they are acquired. There is some expectation that gear and equipment will also increase in power, especially as the books that come out do have better equipment, but there is not a mechanical measure of the “level” of equipment like some other games.
Skills: As far as additional skills, I add Lore: Demons and Monsters to the list of Other skills and then History: Post Apocalyptic Earth. The former from his repeated forays against them bolstered from his time before and then during the Tolkeen Siege and the latter what he picked up from his time around mages, scholars, and other mystics. He still has a sharp mind and a thirst for knowledge so this gives him a better background in my opinion. I kept the Play Musical Instrument and Pilot: Truck Secondary skills having moved them to the advancement list when the skill totals were cut back.
Equipment & Armor: Gear has some improvements as well, as for all characters, but Mikal’s isn’t as significant. First, the armor received an upgrade as nearly all armor did in the new edition. I replaced the Huntsman with the Bushmaster which is a medium armor that will provide better protection, and a seconda suit that is the Bushmaster Trooper – same style, but heavier, that he got while in the active war zone against the Coalition. While he lost his original Hovercycle, the new Northern Gun Hovercycle he picked up more than makes up for it. Also, he now has Audacious’ old JA-11 Rifle. He may not be a Juicer, but his friend’s life keeps going by having it in his hands. This isn’t the most damaging or possibly efficient set of gear advancements, but it makes sense for Mikal and in the group with T-Ball and Lady Sieglinde, he isn’t really needing to be a heavy damage dealer so he can sit back and fire away with his arrows or rifles.
Character Notes
Mikal had never known what it was like to be alone. As a twin, even when he was hundreds and hundreds of miles away, he knew that he was not alone. Now Piter is gone – another casualty of the Coalition Campaign of Unity and the Tolkeen descent into madness. Piter always cared about people more, and when the Coalition went to war, he left Lazlo and as a Body Fixer was readily welcomed into Tolkeen during the war effort.
Mikal didn’t know this … he had spent his time with T-Ball and this “Pack” running from Iron Heart, exploring the world, and only then being sucked into the Campaign of Unity and the Sorcerer’s Revenge. Fighting against the Coalition was a simple choice in the beginning. He had seen Iron Heart and others take their actions against the D-Bees he grew up with and the inhumanity with which they proclaimed and preached their own. On the road, he heard stories of the Nemians, and the Republicans who sprang from them to the East but couldn’t pay them any mind. He was caught in the fog of war, and hadn’t realized just how far gone he and his friends were until the Tolkeen forces, enhanced and fortified with demons and monsters themselves took out their revenge through magic and power against the Coalition and the innocents who just had no place else to be safe.
He saw F’arlum snap, and shot his own friend to save the rest. He saw the hatred and anger in F’arlum’s eyes, and it left him shaken. He was still shaken when the Coalition patrol found them and it was only Audacious’ sacrifice that snapped him out of it. The Juicer was an interesting fellow – fatalistic as Juicers often are, but hopeful. He had to do something. With Piter’s death, Audacious’ sacrifice, and the world on the brink of collapse, he knew that the idea of the Republicans could be an answer – someone who would stand against the Coalition. This legend had to be explored, and had to be found. T-Ball needed a break as well, and they were joined by Lady Sieglinde who also sought redemption, and Capaneus for reasons best left to his own. While Annie & Jorj took other new companions the opposite direction, Mikal hopes they find the past they seek while he tries to look towards the future.
Palladium Books, Rifts, The Mechanoids, The Mechanoid 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 and are trademarks owned 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.
So in the last show about this we touched on 4 Topics today we will be diving into 2 of them with a bit more detail.
Discovery/Exploration:
This is a classic example of the “Look over the Hill” campaign. Here are two examples of a Campaign designed around that theme:
GuardaManger (Fantasy) – There’s No Place Like It
Overview
This campaign will have a Theme of “Home”. I want to design a campaign to have the players ask themselves what “Home” means to them. An exploratory campaign style means they will be away from home and I can focus on the idea of relationships and circle back to home by means of the NPCs and tempting the PCs to stay where they quest.
The basic idea would be to have them either hired or inspired themselves to go over the hill on the edge of the map looking for spices or trade goods. This provides the entry to have a reason to go, and come back, as well as to ensure there is conflict for them to stumble into.
Person – Travin: Troublemaking itinerant merchant
A recurring NPC can be helpful. Since the PCs will be heading where they don’t know and looking for additional items to explore, an itinerant merchant can be a great NPC to provide counsel, either good or bad, equipment, and hooks to other stories once there. An ex-patriot form their own home, a somewhat conniving merchant named Travin will pop up often. Travin is a wiry, even lanky, person who manages to always have his fingers in some sort of deal that is almost too good to be true and, as an outsider between all the locals, can be used to dispose of stolen items easily. A good source of information and of trouble in equal measures.
Place – Ghulla: Rough hewn mountainous shoreline full of treasure and unknown civilizations
For the best natural resource options, I am going to make it hard on my PCs by using Argentina as a guide for the area they will explore. A fantasy setting means they have more limited communications and a mountain ridge right against and ocean should provide not only resources either mundane or magical to be harvested but also would let me isolate communities to create conflict between them as the PCs face the difficult climate and travel to explore and map this region.
Thing – Ghulitta: The Ghul Trees that seem almost to calcify once cut from the Ghulla soil
The thing here I believe is best suited to be the resource. I am envisioning something that presents like a natural resource, but I don’t want it to be ore – specific and special trees inspired by real Ironwood trees instead seem like fun. These majestic trees are as easy to fell as any other tree, and to process, but within a week of it’s harvesting, it becomes hardened and resistant to damage – light as wood but hard as metal. Part of the campaign will be about these trees and uncovering the mystery behind them, if the PCs desire to. The thought I have here is that one of the gods of this world fell to the ground here, shattering the coast and leaving the rough hewn environment. These trees are the god of the planet’s extensions – every piece of this wood is an extension of the planet itself. This means that rather than the god being dead, it can be alive in the ground, and perhaps be brought back if enough of this wood is brought together.
Zendead (Super Heroes/Modern) – Seeds of a New Age
Overview
This is a spin back to the older days of Supers and what happens when you have group of powerful beings turned back into civilians. Then flash forward to the children of those beings. As the are coming of age in the wake of the atomic age. Sure you have powers and they are amazing and you are not only learning about what you can do, as well as learning where those powers come from. Is it something that should be dug into or as the saying goes “let sleeping dogs lie.”
Person
Iron Tower is the code name of the man that led the old team of heroes. Now he has seen better days and likes to remember the good old days through those rose colored glasses. He may hold more secrets then all of the parents combined. He was the first Mega to be paraded around like a monkey for the war effort. He has been through more hellscapes of the battlefield then anyone man alive today. He has a chest full of medals and a head full of bad memories. He only talks about the good ones the 5 or 6 he can still remember.
Place
The Octagon is the headquarters of the Megas that are still working for the Feds. It is located near the Cheyenne Base in the mountains of Colorado. It is buried deep underground in case the bombs fly and the need a location to work out of to rebuild the great US of A. It has all the newest tools and toys to help in the protection of democracy. As well as the files of how the first generation of Megas came to be.
Thing
3 as it is called by the creators is the 3rd attempt at AI. How well did it work it is more like a really fast calculator that has been able to help figure out where the next hot spot is going to blow up. Not a personality in this thing just a bunch of computers running what they hope will be able to make the connections the team needs to get ahead of the Russian threat that is growing in the world.
nulloperations (Speculative Fiction) – Mapping the Psyche
Overview
The idea behind exploring the inner world of the mind let’s a campaign run through the realms of memory, imagination, and untold hidden beliefs. Exploration turned inward, transitioning hidden truths into metaphorical constructs and dangerous foes, the psionic delver takes tools many games already have and turn them into interesting scenarios to explore.
Person – Dr. Irene Abbasi
It was her work that made this all possible. Healer, comforter, brain mechanic; they are all names she’s been known as. Her technology is what allows us to go into the worlds within, to battle the wars we hold in our brains. Her work has brought back coma patients, helped treat depressions, and have allowed so many to deal with the dark seeds of their past. Her therapies have changed the world, but not all uses of her technology are so noble. There are those who want her secrets, and they will not take no for an answer. You know how to use her machine. You know how to step into the mind and find the hidden truths and lost memories. Step into hers. Find out who did this and help us save her.
Place – The Mind Palace
The mental landscape varies from subject to subject, and the Mind Palace is a realm of organized possibilities. Like a museum, this construct hides its secrets in plain sight. Travelling its vast corridors is easy, but taking the time to dissect the meaning of each artifact, token, image; that all takes time. An avatar needs to be careful while moving about, keeping the psyche of the subject focused on particular wings else the mind can wander and different memories will demand attention. Beware though, as the Mind Palace is a place focused on preserving memory. Attempting to alter the displays, or reveal things the displays are meant to hide can break the mindscape and trigger a cognitive dissonance episode. The guards tolerate explorers as patrons, but they do will not suffer admittance for thieves and corrupters.
Thing – Mental Apparatus Gateway
The machine comes in two parts. First, the cradle. It’s a cage that surrounds the user’s head and when activated causes their body to go limp as they are brought into their own mindscape. From here, they can access the second part of the MAG. The Projector, which must be used by a third party, allows the user to leap to another’s mind. Here things get more complicated. Only the first target needs to be subjected to the projector as the avatar of the user can then travel from mind to mind as the subject of the projector focuses on other people. In this way, the avatar can explore different mindscapes, but the power of the signal is based on how well the person knows the next subject. Images and public knowledge of someone isn’t enough. They must know them to truly provide a clear path.
Metaconflict:
Sometimes, it is fun to have the players caught up in a larger battle or war between different factions. The Metaconflict theme can encompass that handily as players take actions that have an impact far outstripping their own immediate control. Epic battles of good versus evil, or the machinations of empires through their agents both witting an un.
I’ll take the classic, but often unused genre of espionage games for my metaconflict campaign. Here, I am going to look at a larger theme of losing humanity to match up with the scale of the campaign theme. Maybe next time I’ll do counterpoints. Here, I want to push the PCs to make harder and harder decisions, especially ones that may hurt people they have met or a town or country generally. While doing that, I will unveil piece by piece how their actions are part of a larger attempt to instigate a small war or skirmish between countries in the name of the greater good, but with horrifying results.
The Campaign title comes from the setting of a preserve for big game cats. You see, the best spot where there is instability to be exploited happens to also have jungles and big cats prized for their hides and feared for their ferocity – lions, and tigers, and jaguars oh my! This means that the PCs will have a place where there is potential danger as well as a reason for their covers to be easily.
Person – Sergei Klatvonic: Covert operative for the Gray Horizon
Sergei is the recurring villain and big bad of the campaign. Simply put, she embodies what is being railed against by our players. The Gray Horizon is what happened when members of the Vory left their criminal organization by joining with former Soviet military groups in the fall of the Soviet Union bolstered over the past few decades with similarly dispossessed individuals. The extent to which they have a finger in international sovereign and corporate espionage can chill to the bone people who study such things. Sergei’s goal to instigate a small border skirmish or larger conflict is actually about disrupting the market valuation of the investments in the country. When the valuations drop at just the right time because of instability, the markers that the Gray Horizon will call in should allow them to effectively create a new front to wash and launder money as well as take considerable legitimate actions. Sly and dangerous, Sergei’s goals are usually three steps away from where she is, tended by trusted lieutenants while she distracts those who may already know about the Horizon.
Place – Johnson Endowed Sanctuary for the Preservation of Predatory Felines
Look, everybody is loved by somebody and Mr. Johnson loved giant predatory felines. After a lifetime of being an industrial tycoon, Mr. Johnson donated greatly in his last few years of life including turning his private getaway into a sanctuary for big cats. Because it was an eccentric tycoon’s vacation house, there are little features here that may surprise – the sauna and whirlpool that abuts the lion’s area; the secret passages between the rooms; the state of the art surveillance system; and the absolute abundance of wet bars in the rooms. It is a lovely place with a significant endowment and a lot of feline themed design. Where else in the world will you find such a wondrous place, and stuck between two countries that seem destined to war is a minor inconvenience for saving and protecting these majestic creatures.
Thing – The Red Phone: A Hotline to the Top Brass
How soon you want to break the metaphorical glass and call in the reinforcements should haunt the players. How soon they reveal their own actions in this tangled web should give them pause. Or perhaps pride, as Top Men, holds their hand. Either way, The Red Phone, a code to use in any telecommunications system, will connect them securely with the top brass at home, waiting for a report and also able to provide support … if the funding came through from the government this year. Is it worth the chance to call? Could you tank a career on this bet before you are sure what is really happening?
Zendead (Sci-Fi) When Worlds Collide
Overview
Deep space exploration is a staple of Sci-fi. What happens when you get out there and you walk into the center of a galactic conflict that happens to be not physical in nature. What if you find beings in a spiritual battle for the minds of all sentience. The crusades of old got nothing on this war. The Calvorians think the way to win this is by logic and only logic. The Gal know the way to win is the power of the mind to change the world.
nulloperations (Regency Fantasy) – Shattered Crown Part II
Overview
I’m cheating a little for mine. In April I brought you the conflict known as the War of the Glass Dragon, a Regency era meta-conflict that outlined a war of succession between two siblings of the royal house of Coelmunr. The conflict focused on the aftermath of the death of King Nazerai the Third by the shattering of the artifact known as the Dragon of Midnight. The characters’ place in the realm varied from attempting to gathering up pieces of the Dragon of Midnight to supporting the king or his usurper brother. The meta-conflict here set the tone of a war-torn country, and danger around every corner as participants would never know what side the players really stood on.
Person – King Nazerai the Fourth
“I killed my father. He was weak, and his rule was a plague on this country. Foreigners owned land even here in the capital, our armies abroad were starving, and diplomats entreated my father to let them sap our mystic legacies so they may empower their armies against us. Even now, my brother stands with these foreign powers using our traditions against us. I could not stand for it then, and I will not stand for it now.
“I regret the other deaths; but a ruler must be decisive. The Dragon of Midnight was a perfect vehicle to deliver the killing blow to the traitors in the court, but the weak king’s death was my goal. I only wish the artifact had reformed as expected, but now it’s pieces litter my kingdom like magical weapons waiting to be harvested. So, while I send my sorcerers to the border to protect the lands of my barons, I send my soldiers throughout the kingdom to find the shards. I will cement my rule through the gift of magic, and ensure weakness never returns to this throne.”
Place – The Palace of the Stone Claw
The seat of the house of Coelmunr rests in this mighty palace. Sitting high above the cliffs over the capital valley, the palace can only be approached by air or through caves found deep below in the city. The cliff ledges are too jagged, and years of magical protection have made the landscapes around the keep untraversable. It’s not a particularly large palace but its form of bladed stone and scale covered walls inspires the notion of draconic fear in the residents of the capital below. The castle is built around the large courtroom in its heart, but the artistry of this space has been marred by the charred remains of the explosion that ripped through it two decades ago. While the shards of the Dragon of Midnight have long ago been removed from its pillars and walls, the slashes made from the glass death still scar the stone.
Thing – The Writ of Nazerai
While the words of kings are powerful, those in the land of the Shattered Crown carry literal magical weight. The Writ of Nazerai is a powerful token presented to those sent on direct errands of the king. It provides a boost in moral authority against all those who dwell in the land, whether they be loyal to the king or not. Only members of the royal house are immune to its effect. Only twelve such tokens exist, and their ownership is tightly controlled. Finding one and returning it to the House of Coelmunr comes with great reward to those loyal to the crown. Finding one and using it to support a usurper, however, carries a danger as all commands granted by the writ will be known to the monarch when the writ falls back into their hands.
Stat Blocks
Zendead- The Gal-Dura
In the beginning the quiet was nice just you and your thoughts. Then those thoughts and more random ones surfaced. They all came crashing in, some fast, some feeling like it would take forever to get to the end of it. Then the fears washed over you. Fear of inadequacy is usually the first but each person that undergoes Dura is different. Therefore each passing through is different. For you the fear of your parents was the first to surface. The Dura while individual is also archetypical of the journey to deeper knowing of the self. Which to become a Gal or “one that delves the realms” you must have undertaken this test of self.
The presiding Gal has only placed you in a cold iron box. Some take days or up to a week to make that first dive. It takes you into the first realm, that of the self. Later if you can come from the first dive without losing yourself then you will get to make dives into the deeper realms. Now why would you do all this since at any point you could not awaken from a dive. The power of course, the power to shape the world around you.
Periwinkle’s Perfectly Prickly Permanent Pear is a rather interesting magical item. It resembles a pear, but has a sheen about it when encountered as though dipped in paraffin to preserve its near perfect symmetry and beauty. The Periwinkle Pear does not resemble it’s mundane versions though – it is delicious beyond description. Juicy and flavorful with a sweetness just slightly undercut by a sour note so you don’t feel overwhelmed, it can provide succor enough for a whole group of 6 for a day as both food and water.
The permanent side of the pear is the precarious part – precocious even. If the adventurer were willing to plant the pear, and pursue a domestic life tending it, the pear could provide for everything needed. A tree of fruit, good enough for all and any, that never dies, never succumbs to the elements or pests, always flowers, is an untold amount of riches. But does a staid life as a gardener suit you? Does the chance to retire, knowing others will covet the tree leave you thinking twice about those precious seeds you found inside the pear?
And what are you going to do about growing those prickly spines?
nulloperations – ARe U In? (Concept, Tech) from City Block 5f-4
It’s a hard hack of the Aug Visors. A smart network that looks up profiles, addresses, and cross checks them against known and current moods. The algorithm was made by the kids over at unit 5f-Under H, and a couple of the minders toss them creds to keep it up to date. It’s a little friendly detector; lets us know who’s level with the street and who’s an outsider at a glance. If you want in, you gotta get our votes.
Now the read is this: once a week it flushes the numbers. The movers on the network send out a list of folks they’re speakers for. Related folks get random up down votes on ’em. Folks like ya, they’re gonna up you. Deal shit and they’ll out you. Too many outs and the network bans you. Puts a mark on ya that lets everyone know you’ve been dumped hard. People around might still do business with you, but they won’t think you’re safe. They won’t cut you a deal. They won’t trust you.
Let me do an introduction, let you meet a few folks. Be kind and you’ll get the vouches. If you’re just here for a bit of work you’ll fade from the votes, and just get deleted from the network rather than banned. Cause trouble and every face you meet today is going to turn against you for the rest of your days. You’ll not be forgotten.
So, are you in?
Fitting ARe U In? In
The software is an opt in hack the locals use to track their social connections. It’s a reputation system that reflects how people treat each and the community’s general opinion of them. It’s a tool the players can use to track if they’re causing waves or if they’re doing right by the npcs around them. It’s also a way to learn who the community’s enemies are. On a micro scale campaign focused on working within a small section of a city, the tech works for an in-character way of tracking where players stand. On a macro scale campaign, versions of the software can allow players to track their progress throughout a city. When used on that scale, let players see the overall opinions of them based on groups, not individuals.
Joules – The Meandering Dreams
“I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re goin’, and hook up with them later.” – Mitch Hedburg
This is an excerpt from one of the “The Monn’s” digital seminar. (The Monn is an online sage of sorts. Offering insight and advice on being fabulous in the digital age)
We’ve all experienced it. Stumbling through life with no direction, no drive. You have no idea what you want to do or where to go. It is such a frustrating phenomenon. So what happened?
Hate to say it, but you’re part of the problem there, sonny Jim. Fullying dedicating yourself to the constant firehouse of information, meaningless stimulus, and the pablum time sinks of modern day have made your dreams lonely and starved for attention. You actually expected your dreams to hang around after that level of neglect? You’re more delusional than I thought. Dreams need attention, time, and nurturing before they grow, develop, and eventually manifest into reality. Without all of that, dreams just wither and die. And a part of you dies with them.
But now? Your dreams are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Electronic media in all its forms gave your dreams a means of escape and the possibility of finding a new home. They attach themselves to media that compliments their essence and wait. Eventually they’ll come across someone with a drive and a passion that matches their nature and bingus bongus, they’ve found a new home. Cue the overdrive. You see, your former dreams were starving and stagnant for so long. So, when they find someone willing to focus on them and nurture them, they grow, expand and develop with a speed and ferocity that’s nigh impossible. In essence, your dreams became the equivalent of digital muses on steroids for somebody else. That’s why, in this day in age, big names from a variety of categories seem to come out out of nowhere.
You know when you feel insanely jealous and resentful of somebody for achieving what you dreamed of doing but you still can’t muster any motivation to do anything about it? And all the while you feel empty inside, like you lost something? That’s the reason.
So how do you keep your dreams? It’s simple really. Pay attention to them. Focus some time and energy on them. Feed them. Keep them part of your essence. If you do, your dreams will grow, change, and evolve alongside you. They’ll help define you as much as you mold and shape them. Your dreams represent who you want to be, the ideal version of you. So do whatever you can to realize your dream and be that person. Especially if that person is Batman.
Lexicon
Shorn
Definition of shorn
past participle of SHEAR
Shear verb
\ ˈshir \
sheared; sheared or shorn\ ˈshȯrn \; shearing
Definition of shear (Entry 1 of 2)
transitive verb
1a : to cut off the hair from
b : to cut or clip (hair, wool, etc.) from someone or something
also : to cut something from
shear a lawn
c chiefly Scotland : to reap with a sickle
d : to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument
2 : to cut with something sharp
3 : to deprive of something as if by cutting
lives shorn of any hope
— M. W. Browne
4a : to subject to a shear force
b : to cause (something, such as a rock mass) to move along the plane of contact
History and Etymology for shear
Verb
Middle English sheren, from Old English scieran; akin to Old Norse skera to cut, Latin curtus mutilated, curtailed, Greek keirein to cut, shear, Sanskrit kṛnāti he injures
First Known Use of shear
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Look-up Popularity Shear
Bottom 50% of words
Look-up Popularity Shorn
Bottom 40% of words
Closing remarks
Zendead- I have been Listening to the Shannara Chronicles for the first time and I have liked them for the most part. But if you like Audiobooks check out your local library some like mine let me download them to my phone to listen to as I walk around. It is pretty cool.
Guard-a-Manger- Aside from the Fate of Cthulhu Kickstarter – It’s hit 6 of the stretch goals at the time this is written and you have only the after kickstarter options left! IN the meantime – Into the Badlands. The now ended AMC show is a textbook class in using evocative design and styling while also engaging in ever expanding world building. It goes from a campaign about succession of power, to Microconflict, to Macroconflict across its seasons.
nulloperations – Rewatch of The Venture Brothers. Season 7 came out last year and I was a few seasons behind. Just picked up and watched the whole thing. The series has a lot of interesting arcs that cover so many time of possible campaigns. From long term character development to a meta-plot the main protagonists aren’t even aware of half the time.
This part of Edition Wars: Rifts will translate the T-Ball from the original edition to the Ultimate Edition, making any necessary changes along the way and also then we will advance her a few levels up to Level 7 because it is fun to see the characters grow. Go back and read the original write-up here and come back to see how the Headhunter changed, and how T-Ball’s sheet changed with it.
Design Notes
As we mentioned in the overview, the different O.C.C.s, or Occupational Character Classes, received some significant updates as well as some new ones being added to the new Rifts Ultimate Edition. It also would reference the proliferation of World Books and Sourcebooks that expand the options exponentially. I’ve picked up a few choice ones so I’ll link to the Drive Thru RPG Affiliate links for them as I mention them.
Kevin Siembieda took the chance in the Headhunter entry to clarify that he always intended that O.C.C. to be the partial conversion cyborgs and that the Headhunters in his conception were after an edge through the cybernetics and bionics. That is made much clearer in the Ultimate Edition, including a sidebar from Kevin about it. The Ultimate Edition of Rifts has a lot of notes from him about the design and choices made.
First, the Headhunter has some additional bonuses in the new Edition including bonuses to P.S., P.E., Initiative, and Horror Factor. I’ll add those in to the Character Sheet, but they seem to reflect the idea of the hardy and tough mercenary. Additionally, the Headhunter has a special ability to Find Contraband specifically for technology and focused on bionics and cybernetics. There is a now a skill “Find Contraband” but this is specific and tailored to the cybernetics and Black Market weapons and when coupled with the special ability of Contacts allowing the Headhunter to develop a network of contacts for dealers and smugglers, you see this creating a strong roleplaying development and the flavor of the class.
With the addition of dozens of books and the full adoption of rifts bringing in characters from all the other Palladium games and worlds, the list of skills expanded significantly. Many of the O.C.C.s saw an increase in available skills to go along with that. Headhunters O.C.C. skills added Recognize Weapon Quality & Wilderness Survival. While the Other skills didn’t change in amount and options much, the Secondary Skills required me to make some changes to convert T-Ball over. Secondary skills have a specific list to choose from, not tied to the same limits as the Other skills anymore, so I switched a pilot skill from the O.C.C. selection to the Secondary skills and am losing Streetwise in its entirety. In its place, I’ll pick up General Repair and Maintenance for upkeep on her gear and also replace the Literacy added to the O.C.C. skills with Jury Rig to make her more clearly a slap dash tinkerer.
Starting gear stays mostly the same, but in the advancement part, we will provide some increased and enhanced gear for T-Ball over the past 6 levels to keep her State of the Art. The most notable change for equipment is that as a partial conversion `borg, T-Ball will have some of the heavy Cyborg Armor to use which is a definite heavy duty bit of protection.
While the starting amount of cybernetic and bionic parts is pretty close, I am going to be adding additional enhancements with the added experience levels. I am keeping the NG Samson even though some better powered armor suits exist for continuity.
Advancement Notes
Advancement in Palladium is a straightforward affair as a level and class based system. The main improvements that occur are in the skill percentages and Hit Point increases. Additionally, as a character advances, additional skills may be learned as both the Other Skills and Secondary Skills, though they start at 1st level when they are acquired. There is some expectation that gear and equipment will also increase in power, especially as the books that come out do have better equipment, but there is not a mechanical measure of the “level” of equipment like some other games.
Class Bonuses – T-Ball gets additional bonuses to Initiative and to save against Horror Factor in addition to the advancement of the Find Contraband and the expectation that they will have role played their way into Contacts.
Skills Advancements – In addition to the additional percent of competence for the existing skills, T-Ball gets an additional O.C.C. Related Skill at levels 3 and 6 as well as 2 additional Secondary Skills at levels 3 and 6. Headhunters are not skill heavy, but the chance for additional skills is one of the most important character choices for a Rifts character. As the number of Military skills available have increased greatly, I am going to look there for the O.C.C. Related skills. With her background as being Ishpeming Military, Military Etiquette should probably be added and after the time in the midst of the Tolkeen War, or the Coalition War of Unity, Field Armorer seems a sound choice to have learned. For her Secondary Skills, she was learning some Basic Math to be a better rounded individual and to make sure that the Computer Operation skill she had worked and picked up some D-Bee Lore at 3rd level. By the time the War was done, she had also picked up Public Speaking as she was expected to be a leader and Lore:Magic.
Equipment & Armor: For Headhunters, the gear improvement will be a lot of the fun! First, the Light Espionage Borg Armor is a much heavier suit of M.D.C. armor, though still not near the Samson Powered Armor T-Ball still prefers. Also, I am going to add some more cybernetic parts to reflect the `borg part of the Headhunter and to add to her recovery from the story/plot points As the Rifts set of sourcebooks expanded, the amount of gear available increased exponentially including some of my favorite books like Rifts: Mercenaries and the Rifts: Triax books. As I’ve advanced the Pack here past the Coalition War of Unity, and to a mid-level group, I wanted to add some better gear. First, the Samson powered armor seems a bit underpowered as an infantry suit after the Triax SuperTrooper and new Coalition suits that were published, but thats her Elite piloting skill. Instead of abandoning it, she has managed to get a Narauni force field generator installed from the Rifts: Mercenaries book which adds better M.D.C. for her. Similarly, the Naruni Plasma Cartridge weapons pack great bang for your buck and that will be replacing the TX-16 as well as adding the larger Northern Gun Laser Rifle & Grenade Launcher. It is similar to the Super Laser pistol & Grenade Launcher which T-Ball is keeping partially because of her fondness for NG products.
Cybernetics: Adding additional cybernetic components will help bring home and I’ll work it into the story advancing here as well. By adding some additional cybernetics, we up the Partial borg design decision and give more spots to add some enhancements to the cyborg parts like the new Cyberlegs and concealed weapon rod. There are some other changes on the character sheet linked below that I’ll recommend you look at.
Character Notes
T-Ball still isn’t sure how she got to where she is. After being chased by Iron Heart, and getting through some misadventures with the rest of her “Pack”, the Coalition’s War of Unity began in earnest. Despite having handed over the plans from Iron Heart to Ishpeming, it was clear that Northern Gun and its client state were not getting involved. She had to leave behind some new friends they made because there was no way to let the Coalition steamroll over Tolkeen and expand its influence – she had seen too much of their machinations from Iron Heart. It wasn’t enough.
Tolkeen fell, as we all know, but not without revealing that it too had succumbed to the allure of war. Demons and summoned creatures were not the only monsters from Tolkeen as the Sorcerer’s Revenge showed. She saw F’arlum slipping away, but it was in the aftermath of the torture and loss of those innocents, coalition citizens or not, that his descent was apparent. The fight itself was brief, but intense as F’arlum lashed out against his old friends, being driven off only to see the Coalition Scouts take aim. It was Audacious’ actions that saved T-Ball. He took the brunt of the grenade that would have killed her, a wry smile confirming to himself that he got his blaze of glory as the plasma ignited. She lost her legs, but what is a headhunter without metal parts anyway. Her pack came out of it alright, having already picked up stragglers in the war like Augustus, and Ozzy, but it was Lady Sieglinde that arrived also leaving the Tolkeen fall that saved them that day. Disillusioned in herself but not her calling, Lady Sieglinde found herself saving the Pack.
With the Coalition’s strength consolidating, Free Quebec still allied, and even her beloved Ishpeming within the Coalition’s sphere, T-Ball wanted to look for allies starting with the legendary Republicans that lived somewhere near the DeeCee area. It worked out well, since Annie and Jorj were heading toward Lone Star to look deeper into the secrets of the Dog Boys and those other mutant animals they saw in the war. The aloof shifter Augustus and Hulking but nimble Minotaur Gunslinger Ozzy went with them. Lady Sieglinde and the Mind Melter, Capaneus , joined her and Mikal. Mikal needed to leave as well and let his brother’s death mean something. A Body Fixer that tried to save so many was caught in this war where nobody could win.
Letting Lady Sieglinde be the leader of this group, exploring the eastern coast, is good for T-Ball, maybe letting her be more of Theresa again. She is providing tactical advice and skills, while facing the opposite of Lady Sieglinde – she has lost faith in her calling, but still knows she is as sharp as ever.
Palladium Books, Rifts, The Mechanoids, The Mechanoid 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 and are trademarks owned 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.
Welcome to a new feature in the Card Catalog – Edition Wars! We all know hoe games will go through editions and we gamers will often argue about the superiority of one over another and this presents an opportunity! Similar to the 3 Ways posts where we take one concept through different game systems, Edition Wars will take some of our Card Catalog characters and see how they change in different systems, and update the little vignettes we’ve got going here. Originally, we looked at Rifts through the lens of the first two books when we did the write up of T-Ball’s Pack. Since those 1991 published books we started with, Rifts has put out over 30 setting based World Books, a dozen Dimension Books, and a host of other assorted books. The breadth and imagination of the world is on display and the sheer ability to play anything is a big deal! In fact, getting all of the ideas corralled caused a little delay in getting this posted! You’ll see the next two characters roll out over the next two days and then be back to our weekly postings thereafter!
While Palladium and Kevin Siembieda don’t release new editions often, in 2005, the Rifts Ultimate Edition was released which I picked up after dusting off the old Rifts books for Card Catalog (and more than a few other books as the world is so engaging). The underlying mechanics of the system were not changed, but the character classes were updated and changed. Two in particular had significant changes and will be featured in new character write ups – the Cyber Knight and the Psi-Stalker. Both had suffered from being able to fulfill their role in the world as it grew. Rifts is known for its power creep but it as much an example of the constantly expanding character options. For the Edition Wars posts, I’ll take some of the characters from T-Ball’s pack and convert them to their new equivalents highlighting the changes and add a few characters to the mix as well as advancing the plot of the world and how these little characters fit into it.
Rifts is set in a post-apocalyptic future that has significant horror, survival, and sci-fi components. It brought together and harmonized rules for psionics dating back to The Mechanoids, the Potential Psychic Energy (“P.P.E.”) based magical system in Beyond the Supernatural, the Mega Damage Capacity (“M.D.C.”) concept from the Robotech series, and the alien intelligences foreshadowed by The Old Ones in the Palladium Fantasy RPG. THis time out, I’ll use the Ultimate Edition Core book as well as some of the supplements that had made it out by the time that the Coalition War was over, Tolkeen razed, and Quebec’s secret Glitter Boy production revealed when it split from the Coalition States. Like last time, out of respect for Palladium’s Intellectual Property and their professed preferences – Palladium does not support a fillable PDF of the Rifts Character Sheet, I am converting the character generation spreadsheet I used into a PDF to display the characters; and I am limiting the amount of information from the books being used, for example I will give a brief description of a power armor suit but will refer you to the book for more information.
System Notes
With a few modifications, this is generally the same description from the T-Ball’s pack write up. You can skip ahead if you’ve heard this before!
Rifts, and the Megaversal system, start from a randomly generated set of eight attributes – I.Q.; M.E. (Mental Endurance); M.A. (Mental Affinity); P.S. (Physical Strength); P.P. (Physical Prowess); P.E. (Physical Endurance); P.B. (Physical Beauty); and Spd. (Speed). A normal human rolls 3D6, but a result of 16-18 adds an additional 1D6 to the total. If that bonus d6 rolled a 6, you could roll again for a maximum of 5D6 or 30 on any stat. Rifts characters have both I.S.P. (Inner Strength Points) that fuel Psionics and P.P.E. (Potential Psychic Energy) that fuels magic. After you roll your stats, you choose an O.C.C. (Occupational Character Class) that provides the framework for your character including the O.C.C. skills, a list of “Other” skills that may be selected with bonuses, and “Secondary” skills that round out your character without bonus. Skills are expressed as a percentage to roll under, with bonuses from high I.Q., O.C.C.s, and advance by level with the character. This includes choosing your Weapon Proficiencies because, while your P.P provides a bonus in melee combat, it provides no bonuses to modern weapons at range. The character gets to be rounded out a standard gear list for each O.C.C. with some extra credits to buy and personalize your equipment.
A huge selection of races and species are available that provide different starting attributes to roll. This began with Palladium Rifts Conversion Book One and continued in every book since where more O.C.C.s, races, and hear were provided to enrich the world and the game experience, to an almost overwhelming volume at times. This plethora of options is at once both the greatest strength and weakness of the system and setting – You can play anything! We will again use the optional random charts as well to flesh out the characters.
Setting Notes
The world of Rifts is set after a near extinction level event that reawakened the magical ley lines that criss cross the Earth. In the wake of humanity nearly falling out of existence, and magic returning through the newly opened rifts at the ley line nexuses, Atlantis returned to Earth and dimensional beings, or D-bees, came through the Rifts. Some of these D-bees were nearly human and just another race on the planet but others were like monsters or demons of lore and they proceeded to further place humanity’s future at risk. In 101 P.A., there are few pockets of urban civilization like Northern Gun and the Coalition States, where power armor, giant robots, and bionic conversions flourish. Psionically gifted and magically active humans and B-Bees have banded together in different communities as well especially in light of the Coalition State’s hatred and distrust of magic, psionics, and D-Bees in general. In Rifts, humanity and population is scarce but on the planet you will find full conversion cyborgs, magic wielding Ley Line Walkers, the awesome mental powers of Mind Melters, Dragon hatchlings, and scholars and adventurers trying to survive from one day to the next.
Since our first look at Rifts, the world advanced, allowing for the adventures and stories contained in many of the supplements to unfold, such as Rifts: Africa and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Coalition States went to war against the magical city of Tolkeen … and eventually won. Through the Coalition War Machine’s rise and deployment, the Coalition faced a Juicer Uprising and the development of new kinds of Juicers, met the magical power of Tolkeen on the Battlefield, and laid bare the truth that there were dark parts of Tolkeen when the massacre of the Sorcerer’s Revenge galvanized many views against the magical city. The Siege of Tolkeen took place only after the Coalition lost Quebec as its own member state, unveiling their secret production of Glitter Boys, but siding against Tolkeen at the end of the day, and a surprising return of military might that had been dispatched to quell the growing Xitixic threat in the wilderness. The city of Tolkeen fell, the Coalition face a setback or three, but Emperor Prosek’s vision moves forward. In 109 P.A., welcome back to the world of Rifts where the world is full of fear, hope, adventure, and the unknown!
Edition Wars Notes
The major changes between the original edition and the ultimate edition that I see is the reworking of the character classes. The optional attribute rolls from the Conversion Book 1 were implemented, so all characters if they roll an 18 on 3d6 followed by a 6 on the bonus get one more bonus 1d6. While the corebook doesn’t include other species to play outside of the Dragon hatchlings and Dog Boys, the world of rifts has dozens if not hundreds of species published in the supplements with their own R.C.C.s or able to take other character classes. The skill list also had some significant changes with the addition of some skill groups, like Cowboy Skills from the trilogy of Rifts World Books in the West (Lone Star, New West, Spirit West) and a different limitation on what can and can’t be secondary skills compared to the original book. Small changes, but when I convert our surviving Pack members over, I’ll highlight them.
The underlying mechanics described above stayed the same, but the way that characters classes worked was brought in line in many ways with how we described the Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game in 1 Archer, 3 Ways. Each Class has specific special abilities in the Core Rulebook now making them more distinct. Headhunters are more clearly laid out as partial cyborgs, and there are new classes for a Merc Soldier and a revamp of Power Armor and Robot Pilots as O.C.C.s. The names of the different species of dragons were also changed from the FIre, Ice, and Great Horned variety to other more prosaic names. Character Classes like the Mystic, intuitive psychics and magic users, were given some refinement such as additional initial spells and psychic powers with a more robust skill selection. Ley Line Walkers were given a reason not to wear environmental armor as it interfered with their magic. Every O.C.C. seems to have some small amount of balancing or tweaking that went on as far as skills and special abilities if not the wholesale refinement described below.
The two O.C.C.s that had the biggest changes were the Cyberknight and the Psi-Stalker. While the Rifts setting, and Palladium in general, don’t focus on game balance between classes leaving that up to the G.M. and the players to have an unbalanced group like many older games, these two classes could not fulfill their stated in world purpose as built. Rifts is accused of escalating the stats, of power creep, and in many ways it is fair that the new books that come out seem to have better equipment, more useful classes, and stronger opposition as there has not been an edition to reset that. One example of this is the Coalition War Machine book that updated the available tech for the Coalition States on the verge of their war increasing the damage, armor, and scope of their resources.
A CyberKnight didn’t seem like he or she could stand up to the world and even a light suit of powered armor like a Samson in a fair fight. The story behind them was deepened in the midst of the Coalition’s Siege on Tolkeen in Coalition Wars 4: Cyber-Knights which, aside from fleshing out this cadre and order of do-gooders, also expanded their powers. We’ll talk about that when we make one shortly, but it provided specific bonuses to the Cyberknight and penalties to electronic and computer-reliant opponents to even that a bit. In many ways it made the CyberKnights geared to fighting technology in the flip of the way that the Psi-Stalker was changed making them almost mirror images of each other.
The Psi-stalker was expanded in the World Book 13: Lone Star where they were discussed in conjunction with the Dog Boys. Lone Star is the Coalition State in Texas where the genetic engineering to create the mutant dogs is happening, and the psychic powers of the mutant dogs are remarkably similar to those of the Psi-Stalkers. They are now described as human mutants and leaving many questions about their origins. The World Book 23: Xiticix Invasion, which I have not yet picked up, expanded further but the promise of expanding on the seemingly random throwaway insectoid cross dimensional infestation from the original book intrigues me greatly. As Psi-Stalkers must feed on the P.P.E. of magical entities, magic users, or psychics, the proliferation of these entities being Mega Damage against the normal human base Psi-Stalkers doesn’t fit as a way for them to hunt them very well. The new Ultimate Edition details a secret that the Psi-Stalker becomes a minor Mega Damage creature when in combat with their prey. The Psi-Stalkers were able to reasonable hunt the purported prey and were well set to fighting and tracking down magical foes.
T-Ball’s Pack
T-Ball’s Pack isn’t what it once was. In the last 7 years, a lot has changed as T-Ball and the rest were swept up in the Coalition’s War against Tolkeen and the fall out is still reverberating throughout the continent. Now, as the Coalition basks in it’s high cost victory, the Pack has split up to follow two different courses of action. T-Ball herself is still in a bit of shock. Audacious always had a limited life left, and after seeing so many Juicers cut down in the Juicer Uprising, his fatalism had amped up even more. He saved T-Ball, taking the brunt of a blast as they were trying to get away from a Coalition skirmish, though she bears more cybernetics now thanks to that. After Piter died in the Siege on Tolkeen, having volunteered to try to help Lazlo’s neighbor, Mikal needs to get away from the battlefield’s and the loss. The two of them are joined by a pair of new members – Lady Sieglinde, a Cyberknight that helped come to their rescue a few times in the war and especially in that last skirmish when Aud died and T-Ball needed a Cyber-Doc. It’s hard sometimes to understand these Cyberknights with their vows and their intensely altruistic motivations, but never look a gift horse in the mouth; and an irascible Mind Melter Capaneus, these four are heading back to the East Coast, to explore the area around DeeCee and seek out allies against the growing influence of the Coalition from the legendary “Republicans” purported to be there.
Going the opposite direction, Annie and Jorj are heading towards Lone Star. Everybody knows that lone Star is where the Dog Boys come from, but during the War with Tolkeen, Annie came face to face with a Killcat engineered by Lone Star, and the stories that Ozymandius told about the mutant animals in the Pecos Empire means she has to see if she can do anything to save her brothers and sisters, even if they would kill her as a traitor. Jorj can’t leave her on her own as they have become inextricably linked and she has become the daughter he never had. Ozzy was already heading back home and his stories were part of what was drawing them towards Texas and the New West, and a mysterious Augustus choose to come with them. While a help during the war, the Pack doesn’t know much about Augustus’ history but when Vampires were mentioned, she came along.
F’arlum didn’t make it out as any of his friends recognized him. He had been slipping into a more and more violent outlook especially against the despised Coalition. He cheered the Sorcerer’s revenge when the forces from Tolkeen routed the Coalition war machine but engaged in the slaughter and horrors of war themselves. He wanted to hurt anyone who wasn’t with him, and when T-Ball stepped between F’arlum and innocent but scared villagers, the depth to which the Federation of Magic had sunk it’s claws into F’arlum became apparent. He abandoned his old friends, flinging energy blasts and lightning from the sky at them swearing that he would make sure that the “turncoats” who fooled him would see him again.
T-Balls Pack – Coastal Explorers
Theresa “T-Ball” Chandler Headhunter and Reluctant Leader 05/29/19
T-Ball had never been more glad to have left the Northern Gun service than when she saw Ishpeming side with the Coalition States. As a Headhunter, a partially cybernetic mercenary, she could leave her home behind but it didn’t make it easier. She had seen her friend Audacious die, saving her in the Coalition’s War on Tolkeen and F’arlum turn on them when the innocents were more important than vengeance. Tolkeen had fallen to pride and was no better than the Coalition when it was all said and done, but it doesn’t make the Coalition any better. It was time to heal after the war, and that meant splitting up the pack. SHe and Mikal went East, towards the coast and the land of DeeCee where there was rumored to be an enclave that would help the world. T-Ball wasn’t ready to give up yet, but she needed the time away and letting Lady Sieglinde think she was in charge was also a relief.
Mikal Wilderness Scout Finding New Paths 05/30/19
He never should have gotten mixed up with the city folk. He had great adventures with T-Ball and the rest, but the Coalition War took its toll. Mikal lost his twin brother Piter. Before anyone knew how far Tolkeen had slipped from their ideals, his Body Fixer brother had gone to Tolkeen to help the wounded. He had to do something – damn idealist. It wasn’t the Coalition that killed him in the Siege, but the creatures and pacts the Tolkeen leadership had made. Mikal was withdrawing a bit and the loss of Audacious’ vibrant spirit to fatalism and death while F’arlum spat insults while leaving them behind hasn’t been easy. The wilderness is still his home, and a new area to explore, to map, and to find can help calm a soul.
Lady Sieglinde Cyberknight Crusader Looking for Atonement 06/04/19
Sieglinde left the teachings of the Cyberknights during the Coalition’s War on Tolkeen. She hadn’t listened to Lord Coake’s counsel for the Cyberknights to stay out of this conflict. It was clear that the Coalition was the rampant evil that Cyberknights were told to fight against, to stand before, to protect people from. The leadership of Tolkeen, though, had succumbed to arrogance, pride, and desperation making deals with dimensional horrors and perpetrating the sorts of actions that all moral beings reviled. It was war, but war did not need to be prosecuted with such immoral abandon even against the Coalition. She had made a mistake. When she had the chance, she came to the aid of T-Ball’s Pack, saving them from being overwhelmed as they tried to flee a skirmish towards the end of the siege. She saw Audacious die protecting T-Ball, and set her righteous course in motion. Atonement is needed and these adventurers seem on the course to find a way to right wrongs, and if the legends are true in the land of DeeCee, to help the entire planet. It is the way to reclaim the certitude lost in the arrogance of youth.
Capaneus Arrogant Mind Melter 06/11/19
The next step in the evolution of the human kind is right in front of you – at least if you ask Capaneus. A simple change and the Mind Melter would be like all the rest of these quiet and terrified people and D-Bees. Instead, by the grace of the powers of the mind, he can see what is unseen, fly, and control the very building blocks of nature. Just ask and he’ll be glad to tell you. The fall of Tolkeen was an experience for him, especially on the heels of the great prophecy that the psychics all experienced about the coming threats. Rarely does he know fear, but the Coalition frightened him because of how many willingly agreed to follow them. Now, he must rage against them in the way he best knows – once he gets back from this quest to the East that is.
T-Ball’s Pack – Out Texas Way
Jorj Porgey Rogue Scientist/Hacker 06/18/19
Jorj used to be on the waiting list to be a Coalition citizen. Instead, he found answers and more importantly questions while living in the Burbs and teaching himself not only to read but how to get into the Coalition computer systems. Insatiable curiosity and a need to tell the stories of the past has led this city boy to venture through the wild from outpost to outpost trying to unearth more of the story of the Pre-Rifts times and even what really happened in the recent past. A timely meeting with Annie has led to an intrepid duo that above all else just wants to know more.
Annie Courageous Dog Boy 06/18/19
A Boxer Breed Dog Boy with an uncommon curiosity, the Psi-Hound now called Annie fell into T-Ball’s Pack by way of Jorj. She had been trained as a radio and communications specialist in her Dog Pack and when they were tracking a dangerous Ley Line Walker the entire pack was wiped out. Annie would have been dead if Jorj hadn’t found her. Jorj’s own quest for knowledge spurred something in this curious and illegally literate Psi-Hound and she has stuck around ever since.
Sure, a bull headed western themed gun fighter sounds like it is out of the mythology of the Old World … and so it is. Ozymandius, or Ozzy, is a Minotaur whose herd came through a Rift decades ago and found the West of the Rifts North America to their liking. It kept them insulated from the growing Coalition States, and Lone Star was never as expansionist as the rest, but the Pecos Raiders made life difficult. It gave rise to Ozzy learning the up close and personal art of the Gunslinger. Maybe going East to see what this Coalition war was all about was a mistake, but it certainly was eye opening. A gunslinger never shies from a fight, and is superb in close quarters with loud clothing and a devil may care attitude so the horrors of war surpassed even the Pecos Bandit’s handiwork. WHen he said he was going home, Annie and Jorj were interested in the Lone Star proximity, and something flickered in Augustus’’s eyes when he muttered about Vampires.
Augustus True Atlantean Shifter 07/02/19
Still young at a few hundred years, Augustus is following a less common but well known path of a True Atlantean. A descendant of one of the few who came from Atlantis millenia ago, before the Splugorth took it, Augustus is an experienced dimensional traveller who felt it time to see what had become of the legendary homeworld. Inquisitiveness isn’t always safe, and as a Shifter she constantly flirts with the dark side of the multiverse that the Atlanteans try to stop. She had to understand these dark creatures and the extradimensional powers that pushed the multiverse towards chaos and destruction. As an Atlantean, magical power came easily to her and the ability to summon and control the creatures, to open the rifts and portals between the dimensions rapidly followed. Calling, using, and learning from the Atlantean’s ancient foes is a dangerous line to walk, but also the exact line that an Atlantean would walk.
Palladium Books, Rifts, The Mechanoids, The Mechanoid 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 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.
I described this group of characters and this goal for the Card Catalog to look at 1990s inspired comic book characters built with the FASERIP system – to that end I give you Gun Bunny! The 1990s were full of EXTREME characters who were grittier and used blades and guns frequently. Sometimes, they didn’t have significant other powers and their names could be a bit “EXTREME” as well and so I give you Gun Bunny. GB is an alien and because the idea of balanced heroes was sometimes lacking in the 1990s, I pulled the Ultimate Powers book out where there are far more powers available and a potentially larger number to start. The Advanced Player’s Guide we were using provides for modest characters and to close out Nightblade, I thought we’d get a little crazy. The character also developed a tragic backstory from a winning side of a war that degenerated into tyranny she had supported. A great reason to be surly and short tempered!
Design Notes
Origin: Alien. Aliens have a lot of potential in the Advanced Player’s Guide. The column they roll their statistics on is the most generous so they are most likely to have the higher stats, and like Robots can even roll into a Monstrous statistic to start. On the downside, they have one less power than rolled though using the Ultimate Powers Guide charts mitigates that somewhat, have Poor starting resources, and only starts with one Contact.
Primary Statistics: As a reminder, this is the FASERIP of the FASERIP System – Fighting; Agility; Strength; Endurance; Reason; Intuition; and Psyche. The following shows the rolls, the Rank, and the Rank Number for Gun Bunny:
F – 63 – Remarkable (26)
A – 61 – Remarkable (26)
S – 68 – Remarkable (26)
E – 49 – Excellent (16)
R – 72 – Incredible (36)
I – 93 – Amazing (46)
P – 76 – Incredible (36)
Definitely an above average and better than humans character with enhanced physical attributes and mental attributes that far surpass what most humans would display. Perhaps some of it is attributable to her training or is not a normal member of her Alien Race.
Secondary Statistics: These include Health and Karma that are generated by adding FASE and RIP respectively, Popularity that is built from a standard base with some optional changes from the character’s history, and Resources which starts at Typical and is modified by a random roll.
Health – 94
Karma – 118
Resources – Aliens start at Poor and with a middling roll of 57 it increases to Typical
Popularity – Popularity starts at 0. Secret ID, hangs out with a couple of weird mutants, and has a penchant for guns.
Special Abilities are rolled to create a range of powers, talents, and contacts. There is a minimum number available, but a character may sacrifice Resource ranks for additional powers, talents, or contacts up to the maximum shown. The Ultimate Powers Book more than doubles the number of powers available and increased possible results for all of these significantly so you could start with a truly awe inspiring character as a Deity character could manage to start with 200 powers in the right circumstances.
Powers – A roll of 60 means a result of “5/7”. As an Alien, I subtract one power and then roll on the expanded charts and get:
Fighting Powers – Martial Arts Supremacy Incredible (36)
Defense – Resistance to Mental Attacks Remarkable (26)
Well the roll for regeneration certainly fits the feel for Gun Bunny, but the * means it counts as two powers which is why you only see three rolled. Martial Arts Supremacy works in conjunction with one of the 5 Martial Arts styles available as Talents increasing that Martial Arts Rank and also doing Rank damage to non-living Matter. It’ll be Martial Arts D which I will explain below. With Resistance to Mental Attacks, it has a minimum requirement of Psyche +1CS (Column Shift), so it gets adjusted:
Defense – Resistance to Mental Attacks Remarkable (26) Amazing (46)
While I was sort of hoping for Hyper Leaping the Resistance to Mental Attacks and Martial Arts Supremacy will let me play into the 90s martial artist tropes as well with Gun Bunny.
Talents – a Roll of 95 means a result of “4/4” so 4 Talents, which are trained abilities. Since we have already gotten the Martial Arts Supremacy Power, one of those Talents will be Martial Arts D and I think Marksman makes a great deal of sense as well since it provides a +1CS to all ranged attacks using weapons which Gun Bunny will pick up throughout the game. That costs two talent slots, though leaving one more to roll.
Fighting Skills – Martial Arts D (Remarkable Fighting[36] + Remarkable Martial Supremacy[36] = Amazing [62])
Weapon Skills – Marksman*
Professional Skills – Pilot
While I wouldn’t have been sad to get another Fighting or Weapon Skill to really double down in the 90s era, Piloting makes sense and between her origins as an alien and her Reason, it certainly includes spaceships as well. Martial Arts D allows Gun Bunny to bypass armor for the purpose of stunning or slamming a foe after observing them for two rounds. Since she likes to start at range shooting at her opponents, this shouldn’t be too bad and plays into her as a trained martial artist in a style humans do not understand quite yet.
Contacts – Aliens have one contact. It can be generally the originating race they come from, or if anything else they are an Outcast that is likely being hunted by their own people. As a bargain for some equipment so Gun Bunny can shoot things, they get both. Gun Bunny’s alien originating home is in the midst of a losing insurrection and so while she has contacts with her own people as a resistance fighter and leader, those can turn her in to the people hunting her as well the sympathizers in her own people.
Weakness – Every good hero needs a weakness. With a power like Regeneration, it is a classic trope to have one type of attack or damage not be healed by the power. In FASERIP terms this is an Energy Allergy that causes Power Negation. I am going to go with Hard Radiation which, while rare in our real world life, comes up more often than you might think in super heroics especially in the 90s with cosmic radiation, X-Rays, Gamma Rays and more. This means the villain BANG that is constantly emitting low levels of radiation would be quite a problem for Gun Bunny.
Equipment – We have not touched much on the normal equipment possibilities as heroes tend to have special equipment better described as powers. The FASERIP system does have rules for inventing super-science gadgets and making them part of the work. The Classic FASERIP Podcast did a good description here. Gun Bunny is going to be using some normal guns and weapons including the pictured shotgun as well as a machine pistol to start and will be trying to get more as she goes along. Increasing her resources will certainly help but for now she makes do by just being better than the rest of this crew. One of her first Karma expenditures may well be an Energy Projection power that is repairing some of her old weapons for use.
Character Notes
L’prd’onia has seen things go from hopeful to dark in her short two hundred years of life. For the most part, her race had been embroiled, and beset even, in a war with the Lolt for decades and that is where she was trained. As a special operator sent to undertake risky and deadly missions against the Lolt, she was given extensive training that supplemented her already Remarkable abilities. She rose in the ranks as one of the greatest fighters and shots that the R’Cadams had in the war.
Then they won. They won at a cost. While the Lolt were defeated, it was more that they had a different and more pressing war to fight. One with this planet it would seem if the histories are correct. That was 50 years ago when the pyrrhic victory left L’prd’onia’s home in ruins. It was 50 years ago when the military junta started. At first it seemed to make sense as the fractured civilian structures were having difficulty adapting to having won the war while losing ⅓ of the R’Cadams. At least the military’s sense of structure and order would provide the base on which to rebuild society. The base wasn’t transferred, though, it is was all she could do to drop into the shadows and fight against her own people when Supreme General W’rt ordered the permanent control and purging of the planet in his name.
At least, that is what she told Barracuda and Section Gamma. When Section Gamma found her, the ship had crashed and she was still wounded heavily from the crash here on Earth. She claimed to have left to look for a way to undermine W’rt’s control of the planet. Section Gamma hasn’t said whether they have contacted other extraterrestrial sources to confirm or deny this, but L’prd’onia hopes they haven’t.
Like all of her kind, L’prd’onia was resilient and able to bounce back from most injuries quickly. In fact, the R’Cadams never knew it was unusual that they all healed as quickly as they did. Section Gamma definitely seemed intrigued by this when they learned the entire race regenerated like that. She was brought around to train and work with Barracuda and Brique. These disparate individuals formed a sort of ad hoc team, though there was often some frictionhttp://seizethegm.com/2019/04/23/nightblade-chimera/. Gun Bunny, as she was being called, had a very direct and militaristic attitude befitting her background as a soldier and then freedom fighter, but Barracuda was nominally in charge. He would slow her down, and make her ask questions. More than once, Brique quietly absorbed a blow or two Gun Bunny intended for Barracuda … to “test his little suit”. Chimera’s appearance galvanized them more than she will ever know as that gave them a direct enemy.
Gun Bunny took a liking to Chimera, as she reminds her of her old days and old friends. More than that, the New Millenium Patriot’s Blanks reminded her of something from the war. Something that shouldn’t be on this planet at all and her new friend Chimera could be in the middle of that mystery.
TSR is a registered trademark owned by TSR Inc. TSR inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a division of Hasbro, Inc. Marvel Super Heroes was a mark and system owned by TSR. This is a fan work and is not intended as a challenge of ownership to the trademarks of copyrights of the original and respective owners. Seize the GM is using the now no longer produced system for review and commentary and no claim of ownership is intended or implied.
Cyberpunk, Street Level, Mystery, Heist Within the walled city social circles are armor. The life and times of who you trust determines if you’ll get a knife in the back or a warning of an incoming threat. Pay your dues, support the street, and the street will give back to you.
ARe U In? Concept, Tech
It’s a hard hack of the Aug Visors. A smart network that looks up profiles, addresses, and cross checks them against known and current moods. The algorithm was made by the kids over at unit 5f-Under H, and a couple of the minders toss them creds to keep it up to date. It’s a little friendly detector; lets us know who’s level with the street and who’s an outsider at a glance. If you want in, you gotta get our votes. Now the read is this: once a week it flushes the numbers. The movers on the network send out a list of folks they’re speakers for. Related folks get random up down votes on ’em. Folks like ya, they’re gonna up you. Deal shit and they’ll out you. Too many outs and the network bans you. Puts a mark on ya that lets everyone know you’ve been dumped hard. People around might still do business with you, but they won’t think you’re safe. They won’t cut you a deal. They won’t trust you. Let me do an introduction, let you meet a few folks. Be kind and you’ll get the vouches. If you’re just here for a bit of work you’ll fade from the votes, and just get deleted from the network rather than banned. Cause trouble and every face you meet today is going to turn against you for the rest of your days. You’ll not be forgotten. So, are you in? Fitting ARe U In? In The software is an opt in hack the locals use to track their social connections. It’s a reputation system that reflects how people treat each and the community’s general opinion of them. It’s a tool the players can use to track if they’re causing waves or if they’re doing right by the npcs around them. It’s also a way to learn who the community’s enemies are. On a micro scale campaign focused on working within a small section of a city, the tech works for an in-character way of tracking where players stand. On a macro scale campaign, versions of the software can allow players to track their progress throughout a city. When used on that scale, let players see the overall opinions of them based on groups, not individuals.
Block Deconstruction Conflict, Scenario
The way the rumors go, the higher ups want the block. We’ve seen it before, a block gets big, gets organized, gets efficient and socially strong. It scares the big kids up on the hill. They want to slap down the ant pile before it becomes a problem. It unravels the network, it unravels social circles, it frees up block space for new projects and lets them take a firmer grip on the whole toy chest. It always starts bigger than you’d think. Move a ton of folks from the various blocks into the offending block. Most of these folks are outsiders to the inner collective; not loyalist, troublemakers like known thieves, violent folk, folk that need help more than they need judgement. Seed that group with a couple of smart loyalists and let them work for a month or two. Needle in the social structures, find out what makes the group work, and then twist it. Break it. Make sure the walls of trust crumble down like so much hate. And then the violence starts. And then the the big guys step in. They’re “quelling the bad” after all. They’re “helping.” Then they have one of their little thorns do something really stupid. Sometimes it’s a bomb, sometimes it’s an assassination, sometimes it’s a health panic. Just something big that justifies to all the other blocks why the big boys had to come in and knock heads to break up the band. It’s coming. You can feel it. What can your gang do to help stop it? Or are you one of the worms helping to set all this up? Fitting Block Deconstruction In The undermining of a community through unrest and breaking of social bonds is a powerful and delicate scenario for players to be involved with. Using this scenario in a game, players can be situated on both sides of the fence. If they’re working with the target of the Deconstruction, they’re running a mystery game attempting to root out the dark elements in a community before their plans come into play. Players have to be careful as not to tip the scales of the conflict too far or they’ll act like a catalyst for the hammer to fall. If they’re the executioners of the plan, then they’re running a heist as they put into position different tools to break a community, but they have to careful as not to over play their hand and get caught before the hammer falls. It’s a delicate game of risk and reward, and both scenarios offer a lot of potential to the plotter style of gamers.
Wall Sentry Ortica Person
Minding the walls between the blocks isn’t easy. Station runs, wall miners, saboteurs, they all dig at the job, dig at the place, dig at what makes Ortica alive. The walls are more than just steel and concrete. They’re slotting with living residents that have been bio-engineered to protect the borders between the blocks. These wall sentries are human in their base DNA but their augmentation allows them to traverse the walls with ease, to hear vibrations between it’s sections, to know when it’s been hurt or pierced. The sentries are, in many walls, the living antibodies of the wall. Wall Sentry Ortica is no exception to this. Once a down and out smuggler, he was caught on his fifth run across the blockade between section 5f and 4f. It was a stupid mistake, but it cost him freedom as the wall sentries closed in on his heartbeat. They ripped him apart. Limbs, organs, they all went quick as the sentries slashed at the intruder. But the sentries that found him were smart, they knew they’d found someone who wasn’t going to be a messy fight. They found someone they could save enough of to replace one of their own. Where the wall sentries do their surgery, no one knows except them. Ortica never had a chance to object before they changed out everything had made him human, and made him into them. But unlike the others, Ortica remembers. He knows what he was. He knows who his friends were. He recognizes. They say if you know the old codes, he’ll let you through. He’ll delay the others. But don’t play him too much. He’s got to appear in line with the other sentries. He’s got to protect himself, because he doesn’t want to find out what the sentries do to those who don’t protect the wall. Fitting Wall Sentry Ortica In The Wall Sentries are dangerous creatures meant to protect the barriers between the blocks. They’re deadly, violent, and unforgiving. Most don’t remember who and what they were, but every now and then there’s an exception. Ortica is one such man. Laying clues about his existence will help the players getting past the border, but make sure to stress not to overplay their hand. Ortica has to protect himself, and those who use his goodwill also want to keep him safe. He’s an expensive fast pass, and he shouldn’t be used often.
Using City Block 5f-4
The Whole Block The City Block 5f-4 scenario is a powder keg of social unrest. The block is finally getting structured into a recent community after the last Block Deconstruction here a few years back. The ARe U In? protocols are starting to worry the higher ups of the city, and now they’re sending in agents to try and push the culture down before they infect another block. So far, the Wall Sentries have done a good job of purging attempts to smuggle ARe U In? into other blocks, but it’s only a matter of time until someone finds the right route to spread the tool. The higher ups can’t let that happen. The Block Decon must happen now. The players role in this scenario can vary between simple smugglers tossed into heavy events, city agents attempting to dismantle the block, or insurgents as part of the 5f-4 block organization. Danger and suspense should underlie as much of the events as possible during the team’s time in City Block 5f-4, even if the players attempt to avoid the conflict. At some point, you may even need to force their hand by having one of the factions decide that the players are their enemies. The scenario is representative of a lot of scenarios in RPGs, and reflects any large power attempting to keep control of smaller organizations within their realm. Play with them and see how far you can push the characters’ morality and willingness to see NPCs as people with desperate needs of survival.
Today I am bringing you a sneak peek into what I hope is something that draws more folks in to see the kinds of things we are working at for our patrons.
We talked about the Discord Server for the show and here is an invite link to that. https://discord.gg/67jsus
The name, and some of the basic ideas, for Brique come from my own gaming experience with my randomly rolled mutant character back in the 90s, but this Brique is a chance to use the Robot Origin for the FASERIP system and to delve a little further into the darker supernatural elements of that era.
Design Notes
Origin: Robot. Like many other aspects of the game, Robot can mean many things! In this instance, Robot means golem or magically created entity that is not just a modification of a human (Altered Human Origin) or a vat grown artificial human. Robots in the FASERIP system have little to set them apart – they use a specific column to roll their Primary Statistics, which provides a greater range (all the way up to Monstrous) than the other Origins we have seen this far. The Robot character starts with 0 Popularity, like a Mutant, but that is about it. A Robot can be restored after “killed” but has 0 karma. It’s quite straight forward.
Primary Statistics: As a reminder, this is the FASERIP of the FASERIP System – Fighting; Agility; Strength; Endurance; Reason; Intuition; and Psyche. The following shows the rolls, the Rank, and the Rank Number for Chimera
F – 40 – Good (8)
A – 25 – Good (8)
S – 93 – Amazing (46)
E – 100 – Monstrous (63)
R – 37 – Good (8)
I – 52 – Remarkable (26)
P – 94 – Amazing (46)
Well, if it wasn’t clear from the name, Brique is going to be a Brick for sure. We see a clearly metahuman level of strength as Amazing is in the area of the old 50 Ton press, so that era of comic characters would be someone like Rogue or on DC’s side Aquaman (though both have seemed to spend some karma into the Monstrous range since then). Endurance of Monstrous means a really resilient and hardy body … which I will make work with the whole Brique/Brick thing. This set of rolls also provides a great resistance to psychic and magical attacks because Psyche is used frequently for that purpose!
Secondary Statistics: These include Health and Karma that are generated by adding FASE and RIP respectively, Popularity that is built from a standard base with some optional changes from the character’s history, and Resources which starts at Typical and is modified by a random roll.
Health – 125 (no matter what that sheet’s autoformat says)
Karma – 80
Resources – A roll on the modification chart from Typical gets us to Good.
Popularity – Popularity starts at 0. Its the side effect of the robot thing described above.
Special Abilities are rolled to create a range of powers, talents, and contacts. There is a minimum number available, but a character may sacrifice Resource ranks for additional powers, talents, or contacts up to the maximum shown.
Powers – A roll of 58 means a result of “3/4”. The first roll means that we end up on the right track, but by the third power, I made a choice for fun:
Body Alterations – Defensive – Body Armor Incredible (36)
Matter Control – Earth (Worked Earth) Incredible (36)
Movement – Teleportation Remarkable (26)
With Body Armor and Earth control rolled up, we are in good stead to make this brick a literal brique but for the final power, I wanted to get a movement power but one that was not immediately obvious. Brique can develop a power stunt for riding waves of bricks and concrete later. I decided to go for Teleportation because I think that shifting and sending consciousness through the highway, turning it into a literal information superhighway is a little amusing and the sort of tongue in cheek powers that began spreading like wildfire in the 1990s.
Talents – a Roll of 81 means a result of “3/4” so at least 3 Talents, which are trained abilities, and up to a maximum of 4 if Resource ranks are sacrificed. The book specifically allows for the Mystic Background Talent to be directly selected. This Talent is something that can allow to purchase of powers as spells later and also demonstrates some general familiarity with magickal forces which fits my conception for this character
Mystic Skills – Mystic Background
Mystic Skills – Occult Lore
Scientific Skills – Archaeology
These skills provide a definite “in” for Brique being a starting point for creepy occult stories and also to provide some mystery as to Brique’s background as well.
Contacts – a Roll of 62 means a result of “4/4”. With a lot of contacts, first we will start with some of the Mystical side. As I will be pulling these characters from my own world, let’s look at what sort of a role they may fill instead to explain how to choose them – As this is a 90s theme, a former villain is always a good option for a hero’s contact. James Robinson’s Starman put this front and center with the work on the Shade so in that vein, I’ll use the supernaturally powered Vrykolakas who was active in the 1970s and 80s in this world and empowered by a mystical connection to the earth. If you are a Card Catalog junky, you’ll remember the oblique reference to his attempt to recreate Chernobyl on American soil in the Atomic Avenger write up which also ties into Barracuda’s origin. Another contact is more of an human type who isn’t a being of magic but can provide endless bits of story. Professor Li who studies archaeology and is likely at the same school that Akasha attends making this a tidy and interconnect bit of story. Brique is still not done though as 2 more Contacts are available. One of the options for the original FASERIP system was to leave contacts undefined at character generation which is similar to how you could write in more of a backstory later in a comic book. Since I have Brique with one of those trademarked 90s dark and mysterious origins, I am going to leave 2 Undetermined so they can be revealed later and be somewhat worrisome or creepy.
Weakness – Every good hero needs a weakness. Brique is no exception. Since I have already conceptualized this as a golem character tied to worked and semi-worked stone and earth, it makes sense to have a weakness to Air based powers. This will also create a neat antagonism with his teammate Akasha and his air based powers. Air based powers bypass Brique’s Body Armor leaving quite a sting at times.
Character Notes
The infamous first time the modern age of heroes started a decade ago created images everyone remembers. The self proclaimed Demon Lord’s attack shocked the world as the city of Campaign suffered the brunt of the attack. Whether the fell creature is really a demon and magical is something most never will know, but the fledgling group of heroes who stepped up after Praetor and Halo were beaten did include a young but powerful mage from France we now just call Sorciere.
Why are we starting with the Campaign Crisis for Brique’s origin? Because that battle unleashed eldritch and glorious magical power that ripped across reality. Demon Lord was beaten, and the city began to heal … and Brique grew from the city’s wound mingling with the energy of that battle. It is a fair question that has not been answered on whether someone was trying to create Brique, from here or elsewhere, or whether the specific combination caused a spontaneous combustion of a spirit of the city. It may matter, but Brique isn’t saying.
Despite the occasional run in with a costumed hero or magical troublemaker, Brique spent several years as an urban legend in Campaign. Section Gamma put an end to that but for what reason, we still don’t know. It was then that Brique’s connections with the magical sense of the universe began to be more apparent. Not just a golem of brick and concrete, Brique spoke eloquently with Prof. Li at Campaign University and it should perhaps come as no surprise when Vrykolakas, well past his time as a world shattering supervillain, knocked on Section Gamma’s door to speak with Brique. Vrykolakas had always claimed the draw power from the Earth, and it seemed natural for them to be discussing Ancient Egyptian society. Barracuda and Skasha don’t know that they still have a regular tea and chess meeting scheduled monthly and it is sometimes Vrykolakas who has provided hints and favors for Nightblade.
Backing up to the formation of Nightblade not unlike how Brique sometimes describes time – the mortar sealing reality together – it was several years of quiet reflection, tea and chess, and the occasional trip to find old and buried cities before Chimera crashed through the wall of the warehouse where Brique was watching Barracuda and Gun Bunny argue over the best way to train together. Chimera’s arrival galvanized their action against the wave of Blanks from the New Millennium Patriots. While the NMP seems quite intent on catching Chimera, there is a distance and respect that seems left to Brique from them.
Brique certainly isn’t saying why and neither are they.
TSR is a registered trademark owned by TSR Inc. TSR inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a division of Hasbro, Inc. Marvel Super Heroes was a mark and system owned by TSR. This is a fan work and is not intended as a challenge of ownership to the trademarks of copyrights of the original and respective owners. Seize the GM is using the now no longer produced system for review and commentary and no claim of ownership is intended or implied
