Rifts Earth NPC-Style

A Catalog of Differences

 

General Thematics:

  The level of weird has been raised. We're not quite talking "Umerican Survival Guide" weird here, but more like Trigun, Cannon Busters, and Knights of Cydonia.   Industry is just not quite "there" yet. The current state of the world and its population just can't justify the crazy-active industrial output that the core game books try to present. All the gear and tools you love from "vanilla" RIFTS is still there, but a lot more rare. Not only that but also…   Supply and distribution chains are few, far between, and extremely fragile. This is a world where rifts randomly pump out unimaginable monsters, and where pockets of civilization are quite sparse. Only the strongest of producers can maintain long-reaching supply chains, and those must be heavily defended at all times. This means that outside of major industrial zones like the bigger cities of the various Powers That Be, expensive hi-tech gear tends to be either damaged, stolen, even more expensive than listed, or more commonly all of the above. More often than not, it is the so-called "Black Market" that makes these goods available, too, meaning that your dealings are usually attached with dangerous strings.   As such, hi-tech Mega-Damage gear is not super common, and is considered a rare and valuable resource out in the great wilds and wastes of the new world. Just possessing a single mega-damage weapon can allow a small gang of bandits to predate upon any number of distant and poorly-defended villages. Adventurers are strongly encouraged to take care with their hi-tech gear, and maintain it well.   This also means that mega-damage armor and shit is also not super common. Many warrior types will have a set, but common thugs likely won’t, and even if they do, MD armor and weapons (see also: robots and power armor) are almost never allowed inside the perimeters of many towns. In addition, while stories abound of terrifying beasts that are immune to conventional weapons, in reality they are the (exceptionally dangerous) exceptions, and not the norm.   This in turn means that “normal” (SDC) level weapons are actually valuable. They’re cheaper to buy, cheaper to repair, cheaper to reload, and cheaper to lose. Most opponents will be hurt by them, and a well-placed shot to those enemies can be just as deadly, without the added problems of completely atomizing the enemy and all buildings in a 500 foot span behind them (as MDC weapons are wont to do). And it can be a simple effort to shoot an enemy first with a SDC gun as a “test shot” to determine if you do indeed need to bring out the Big Guns (TM).   In addition to this, we're incorporating three tiers of damage. SDC and MDC are still there, but MDC is now divided into two damage categories: "minor MDC" (aka MDC) is damage at a reduced x10 scale, and "Major MDC" (aka MMDC) is the classic x100 scale.  

Faction: The Coalition

  The Coalition States (CS) are rechristened "The Divine Coalition of Humanity Ascendant" or DC. They are ruled by the First Empress Karla Petrov, who has only recently given birth to her first child, Josefina. Karla is married to Lord Coake, the Divine Consort, leader of the Loyal Cyberknights.   If you are familiar with canon Rifts Earth, you undoubtedly liken the Coalition to be, more or less, “future Nazis.” I have re-skinned them, as I don’t like Nazis, even as bad guys. In this version, they are more technologically-advanced pro-human (and anti-magic) religious zealots. If the Divine Coalition ever makes it to space? Well, we all know Warhammer 40K...   The Coalition never acquired Lone Star. However, there are rumors of a place called "Abilene" and a completely new military faction moving to take over the former state of Texas…   As such the Coalition never experimented with mutant animals. Instead, they focused on psionic breeding. Psions are highly respected in their ranks, and their tech has taken a psi-tech bent as of late. Add in the new training from the recently-joined Loyal Cyberknights, and you have a terrifying psi-heavy Coalition indeed.   Within the Coalition States themselves, Quebec never joined - in fact, the nation of Free Quebec never happened at all! Instead, Iron Heart stands strong as the strongest and most valued of the vassal states.   In summation, the DC's new theme is: Humans = Good, Psionic Humans = Better, D-Bees = bad, Rogue Psychics = worse, Magic = the worst, Demons and shit = the double worst. Oh yeah and the oppression and indoctrination and propaganda is still there just as before, if not worse. Not only are they pro-human, they are religiously fanatic about it. Just not, you know, fucking Nazis.  

Faction: The Cyberknights

  After a particularly heinous strike from Tolkeen against the Coalition, the Cyberknights suffered a great schism, forming two splinter groups. Half of them followed Lord Coake to join the Coalition against the demonic forces of Tolkeen, calling themselves The Loyal. The other half followed Coake's former second-in-command, Yamasama. They called themselves The Ronin, and formed an alliance with Tolkeen. The war still rages on…  

Factions: Other

  Free Quebec never happened. The nation just isn’t there. Glitter boy factories were never discovered. As such, the "Glitter Boy" is not a thing in the world's legends. Oh, there are most definitely lost arsenals and factories out there somewhere, undiscovered to this day. And undoubtedly some old suits from the pre-Rifts days survived and may even still be in use, and could very well also be called Glitter Boys by those who know them. But the great legends of the righteous GBs never spread.